Category: Alternative (Page 86 of 155)

Walter Meego: Voyager

June 27, 2008 / David Medsker

You’d be hard pressed to find a genre with a greater POF (Poseur Overload Factor) than the Nouveaux Wave scene, where the majority of the bands equate squawky synths with detached, ironic hipster cool, as if the world needs more detached, ironic hipster cool. (It doesn’t, by the way.) Huzzah, then, to Chicago duo Walter Meego – neither of whom is named Walter or Meego – for putting the song first and going from there. Their debut, Voyager, takes Daft Punk’s poppiest work to its logical next step, matching the bubbliest of pop songs with “Aerodynamic”-style keytar riffs. “Girls” is the clear standout, which a guitar hook the size of an anchor, while the ode to voyeurism that is “Keyhole” has a tribute of sorts to “Aerodynamic” in the solo. If you’re looking for a frothy, fun summer album, look no further. (Almost Gold)

Walter Meego MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Dance, Electronica, Pop

Pomegranates: Everything Is Alive

June 20, 2008 / Jeff Giles

Their intermittently chirpy vocals and occasionally prickly arrangements have drawn comparisons to Modest Mouse and the Shins – and you can hear shades of both bands on Everything Is Alive — but really, the first full-length effort from Cincinnati-based quartet Pomegranates beats with the jangly lo-fi heart of an early ‘90s alt-pop record. Recorded and mixed in just over a week – without, praise the Lord, the use of pitch correction – these 11 tracks give off the faintly dusty aroma of music that’s been sweated over in garages and rehearsal spaces, performed the old-fashioned way, and allowed to stand on its own merits, warts and all. Ultimately, these songs act as more of a serviceable business card for the band’s live shows than a truly unforgettable album, but the chiming guitars and sunny melodies create such a wonderfully warm vibe, you may find yourself putting the whole thing on repeat even if any of the tracks fail to leave a deep impression on their own. A trifle, perhaps, but one well worth owning. (Lujo Records 2008)

Pomegranates MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, Pop

Steal This Song: ism, “Sacred Cows”

June 19, 2008 / David Medsker

Anyone who needs a temporary fix to tide them over until Muse drops their next album (rumored to be slated for late fall), this should do the trick. In fact, New York quartet ism are a little too good at the, um, Museisms, to the point where they have little identity of their own to speak of. The title track of their upcoming album, Urgency, takes elements of three Muse songs – “Time Is Running Out,” “Apocalypse Please,” and “Butterflies and Hurricanes” – and rolls them into one. They’re not awful – they just need to figure out who they really are. If there is one takeaway moment from the album, it’s this. And we’re giving it away for free download. Dig in, Museies.

Ism – Sacred Cows (Radio Edit)

Alternative, Artists, Downloads, External Music, Rock, Songs

A Kiss Could Be Deadly: A Kiss Could Be Deadly

June 13, 2008 / James B. Eldred

If a kiss is deadly, then that is one intense case of herpes. Still, don’t hate A Kiss Could Be Deadly for their idiotic complete-sentence band name. Hate them for their crap music instead. Instantly forgettable and boring, each song on the band’s self-titled debut features the dangerous one-two punch of bland music and utterly generic and forgettable lyrics which only become memorable when they fall into the realm of self-parody, like on the chorus to the puntastic “Poison IV,” which beings with the line “And you – you’re so cliché.” Irony isn’t strong enough of a word. Lead singer Lauren Baird’s whining howl of a voice doesn’t help things, either. She can’t sing, and no amount of harmonizing keyboards or the ever-so-subtle effect of an auto-tuner is going to hide that. The only thing that makes AKCBD (wow, even their abbreviated name is too long) stand out at all is their reliance on keyboards. But adding annoying synthesizers to annoying pop/punk songs doesn’t make them any better. And their electronic edge will probably be their undoing, as it makes them not emo enough for the emo kids but not electronic enough for the electronic kids either. AKCBD (yeah, that doesn’t stop being annoying) is just Paramore with a keyboard fetish. (LABEL: Metropolis 2008)

A Kiss Could Be Deadly MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Derby: Posters Fade

June 13, 2008 / Mike Farley

There is just not enough good indie pop out there, but if you look hard enough, you can find bands making it. Case in point: the trio from Portland, Oregon known as Derby, who are back with their sophomore effort, Posters Fade, the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed debut, This Is the New You. The hype is something you can take or leave, because ultimately the music-buying public is going to decide if they like it or not. With Posters Fade, Derby has delivered an album full of melodic, lushly (but not overly) produced songs that are just easy to listen to. Imagine a cross between Nada Surf and Collective Soul, maybe a bit more to the Nada Surf side, and that’s Derby. There is also a subtle Beatles influence, especially on the stunning best track, “If Ever There’s a Reason.” For the most part, Derby’s music will not grab you, shake you, and spin you around, but it will make a good soundtrack for watching someone get grabbed and shaken and spun around. (LABEL: Green Submarine)

Derby MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Indie Labels, Pop, Rock