Category: Rock (Page 42 of 241)

We Are Scientists: Barbara

June 9, 2010 / David Medsker

RIYL: Weezer, Franz Ferdinand, Sloan

After spending two albums and roughly four years shuffling around the EMI family tree – Virgin released their 2006 album With Love and Squalor (a.k.a. The Kitty Album), while 2008’s Brain Thrust Mastery was released by Astralwerks – New York smart alecks We Are Scientists are going out on their own (with the help of R.E.D. Distribution) on their fourth album, Barbara. Now that the band is paying the bills, it should come as no surprise that they jettisoned the sonic experimentation of Brain Thrust Mastery in favor of the ‘record only what we can play’ approach of With Love and Squalor, though in fairness to them, economics are only half of it; the band has a new full-time drummer in the form of ex-Razorlight skinsman Andy Burrows, so you can see why head Scientists Keith Murray and Chris Cain were eager to get back to sounding like a live band rather than a studio creation.

The album is not a carbon copy of Squalor, though. Yes, leadoff track and first single “Rules Don’t Stop” will have fans of “The Great Escape” jumping for joy, but Murray isn’t ready to give up on the melodic territory he explored with his vocal tracks last time around. “I Don’t Bite” has a high, ringing vocal that was nonexistent on Squalor, and “Pittsburgh” has the album’s best pure pop chorus. Pity the band phoned in the album’s artwork, which looks like it was assembled in the cab on the way to the printing plant. (Masterswan Recordings 2010)

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Foxy Shazam: Foxy Shazam

June 9, 2010 / James B. Eldred

RIYL: Queen, Meat Loaf, Mike Patton, Epic Facial Hair

There’s a scene in Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” where two members of the fictional band Stillwater are arguing over who works the hardest. The lead singer makes his case the best, yelling at the guitarist “You know what I do? I connect. I get people off. I look for the guy who isn’t getting off, and I make him get off!”

Convert that sentiment into music, and that is the sound of Foxy Shazam’s self-titled third album. This is music tailor-made to get you off. The magnificent howls of lead singer Eric Sean Nally grab you by the ghoulies from opening minute of the intro, which he closes with an ungodly howl that will make your dog freak the eff out, and doesn’t let go. From there it’s bombs away, literally, that’s the name of opening track, and figuratively; these crazy mothers from Cincinnati are not afraid to throw everything they got at you and then some.

Past that, it’s practically impossible to describe the maniacal sound Foxy Shazam created on this record. No genre can contain them, not even on a single song. They’re part ’70s glam, part ’80s metal and part ’90s hardcore, all with an overwhelming current of timeless soul thrown in. Some tracks, like “Count Me Out” and “Unstoppable,” wear their Queen/Elton John influences on their sleeves. But odder numbers like the oddly funky “Connect” defy all categorization. Then there’s the lyrics, which are so goofy and high on camp that they just have to be serious. On “Bye Bye Symphony” Nally seductively belts out “life is a bitch but she’s totally doable” and on the ode to down-low loving “Second Floor” he compares his sneaking ability to that of G.I. Joe. It’s so crazy it doesn’t just work, it works marvelously.

You need this record. Trust me. Sure, you can buy the new Broken Social Scene album and have yourself a good cry, or you can pick up Foxy Shazam and have your ears punched in the balls with a fistful of awesome. Your choice. (Sire 2010)

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Melissa Auf der Maur: Out of Our Minds

June 8, 2010 / Greg M. Schwartz

RIYL: Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, Danzig

As a former bassist for alt-rock icons such as Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur has been through the grunge wars. She’s been lying low for a while, but she’s clearly put a lot of energy into this new album. The album seems to have a vague theme about using the power of music to transcend dark times, and Auf der Maur has put together a collection of powerful tunes with strong production value and artistic flair.

“If there’s a fire, a need, a desire, are you willing and able to set the stakes higher?” asks Auf der Maur on the darkly-tinged title track. She’s set the bar higher with this album, inviting fans to go along for a ride. All of the tunes are minor key songs that veer from moody to hard rocking, and she navigates between those two areas with great skill. Many of the songs seem to have a cinematic vibe, as the album was apparently designed to accompany a graphic novel and film. The tunes stand alone well on their own, though.

“Isis Speaks” is a hard rocker that conjures the image of a dark goddess. “Follow the Map” is a highlight with its dark, edgy riffs and lyrics about a pirate’s journey. “Meet Me on the Dark Side” is another dynamic hard rocker, interspersed with some melodic guitar lines to create some extra sonic texture. The tune conjures the image of a character like Kate Beckinsale’s Celine from the “Underworld” movie series. Glenn Danzig joins the fun for a dark duet on “Father’s Grave,” which delves into a more subdued but freaky territory. Auf der Maur amps it back up with two more killer rockers toward the end of the album in “The Key” and “The One.” Then she closes it out with “1000 Years,” which seems to allude to an epic storyline.

The material is strong and could make for an intriguing theatrical style performance in the live setting if Auf der Maur should decide to go that way. (PHI-MAdM/EMI 2010)

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The Purrs: Tearing Down Paisley Garden

May 31, 2010 / Michael Fortes

RIYL: The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Velvet Underground, The Brian Jonestown Massacre

There’s much to be said for a band like the Purrs, with ten years together and six solid releases under its belt. They might not be household names, but they’ve never compromised their music to raise their profile. This is where the music comes out ahead, and Tearing Down Paisley Garden is yet another winner.

At seven songs, Paisley is not quite an EP, though had it been released in 1972, it still might have been considered a full-length album. And then, looking at the makeup of the songs themselves, Paisley could even be called an “odds and ends” kind of collection. “Only Dreaming” and “I Move Around” are covers of songs by ’80s goth rockers Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and the late Nancy Sinatra collaborator Lee Hazlewood, respectively. And “Just a Little More” and “It Could Be So Wonderful” are new recordings of old songs, which explains the oddly out of time reference to “the president” in the former.

In spite of what could easily have been a set-up for a major bomb, Paisley plays like a strikingly cohesive collection, exhibiting all the Purrs trademarks – Jason Milne’s cutting lead guitar lines, Jima’s lackadaisically cool detachment and sarcastic wit, and that reverb-laden, psychedelic shoegazey sound married to seasoned pop songcraft. If there’s anything different about the Purrs this time around, it’s a subtle but noticeable uptick in their mood compared to last year’s excellent Amused, Confused and More Bad News that comes through even in a downer like “I’m Slipping” – which in this case keeps a song about sexual transgressions against a friend from devolving into a pity party. And in the case of the disc’s closing tune, “Always Something In My Way,” the title ends up coming across less as a complaint and more as a celebration of the challenges that would crush a lesser person. Clearly, these Seattle stalwarts are having more fun than ever, which is exactly how a good rock record should sound. (self released 2010)

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Me, Myself, and iPod 5/26/10: Legendary Scottish band, ahoy!

May 26, 2010 / David Medsker

The Trashcan Sinatras – People
I love the Trashcan Sinatras. I’m not sure when they went from the Trash Can Sinatras to the Trashcan Sinatras, but oh well, but I’m guessing someone at SPINart fucked it up when putting the artwork for Weightlifting together. Anyway, they’re a fabulous bunch of guys, and God love them for sticking with it after all these years of relative obscurity. This is the first single from their new album In the Music, and it’s another smoove slice of literate jangle pop. If you like this, you should know that the rest of the album is even better.

Kathryn Calder – Slip Away
The newest member of the New Pornographers (she’s lead singer Carl Newman’s niece, and she joined during the sessions for Twin Cinema), Calder is picking a curious time to release a solo album, since she’s tied up with touring with the New Porns for the summer. But one listen to this track from the album Are You My Mother?, due out in August, shows that perhaps Carl and Dan should bring her to the writing table, because I’ll take this over anything on the last New Pornographers album any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Donn T – Look At
Two words: Female Kenna. If that doesn’t immediate ring a couple bells, then I have one word for you: Kenna.

See Green – I Can Change
Well, that didn’t take long. Courtenay Green, who’s fast becoming a regular in these parts, covered “I Can Change” from LCD Soundsystem’s new album This Is Happening. Man, is James Murphy the new Neil Young, where his songs sound infinitely better when covered by other people?

La Roux – Bulletproof (Hyper Crush remix)
Armed with a bass line that will set off car alarms, this mix of La Roux’s “Bulletproof” is totally ADD madness, but it’s cool. And I still haven’t grown tired of that Macintosh voice program.

Clubfeet – Teenage Suicide
If you’re anything like me, you saw that title and immediately sang the words ‘Don’t do it’ in your head, since that was the name of the hit song the DJ played in the movie “Heathers.” Well sure enough, immediately after the breathy male lead sings “Teenage suicide,” two girls shout, “Don’t do it!” Bonus points for reading my mind.

Shadow Shadow – Is This Tempest in the Shape of a Bell
Gotta give some love to the guitar pop set. Man, this would have been huge in 1975.

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