Category: Rock (Page 79 of 241)

Jemina Pearl: Break It Up

October 1, 2009 /

“It’s not all the cocaine/not a chemical reaction in my brain/that’s making me go insane.” That’s the first line to “Heartbeats,” the opening track of Jemina Pearl’s solo debut Break It Up. It’s nice to see that the lead singer of the recently departed Be Your Own Pet hasn’t lost her edge. Sure, the music behind her vicious and vindictive lyrics may be better tailored for the dance floor than the mosh pit this time around, but this is dance music in the vein of Blondie, using disco beats to accompany dark lyrics and an overall menacing feel. While the Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the same approach this year with their excellent disco revival record It’s Blitz!, Pearl instead goes even further back in time with her dance-pop, instead drawing from ’60s pop music. Songs like “Selfish Heart” and “Ecstatic Appeal” sound like punk rock covers of unreleased Ronnettes songs. And others, like the brilliant “I Hate People,” an ode to misanthropy and true love (featuring Iggy Pop!), are freakish bubblegum pop songs from hell combining easy listening sounds with twisted lyrics and themes. “I Hate People” might just become an anti-love song classic; its chorus of “I hate people but I love you” should be anthem of every punk rocker in love, maybe even becoming a new wedding song. One thing’s for sure – Jemina’s back, she’s still pissed and kicks more ass than ever. (Ecstatic Peace! 2009)

Jemina Pearl MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Punk, Rock

AFI: Crash Love

October 1, 2009 /


RIYL: Alkaline Trio, The Misfits, Naked Raygun

In punk years, AFI have been around for a lifetime. While many of their mid-’90s counterparts have bitten the dust or become completely irrelevant, the Northern California quartet have kept their career fresh through a series of albums where they’ve opened up their material to all sorts of sonic experimentation. The band started out as a dime-a-dozen melodic punk band in the vein of Bad Religion, but their more recent output has revealed everything from synthpop to Goth-rock leanings woven into their assault. For the last decade or so, Davey Havok (vocals) and Jade Puget (guitars) have been the primary driving forces behind AFI’s open-ended songwriting style.

On their newly released album, Crash Love, AFI tone down the electronic flourishes of their last full-length effort (2006’s decemberunderground) which, looking back, did come off heavy-handed at times. Puget’s guitars are pushed to the front of the mix while Havok’s candy-coated vocal melodies take center stage. There are still some of those electro touches included, like the drum loops in “End Transmission,” but they are harder to find. Listeners who fell in love with the band from hits like “Girls Not Grey” and “Silver and Cold” don’t have much to complain about this time out.

“OK, I Feel Better Now” and “I Am Trying Very Hard To Be Here” are the kind of modern rock nuggets that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on their breakthrough Sing the Sorrow album while the pulsating rhythms in “Too Shy to Scream” are sprinkled with Marc Bolan and Suzi Quatro glam dust. Havok and company even prove they can spool together a bonafide pop gem in the irresistible “Veronica Sawyer Smokes.”

Producer Garret “Jacknife” Lee (Bloc Party, Kasabian) does a splendid job of blending the textural nuances with AFI’s anthemic qualities. All of the act’s strengths are at full display on Crash Love and Lee highlights all of the right instrumental spots in all of the right moments. He does especially impressive work with the lead and background vocals and if you know AFI’s discography already, you’ll know how impactful that aspect of their attack is. There isn’t that one song to truly push the album into the four-star range, but you would be hard-pressed to find a better alt-rock record hitting shelves for the rest of the year. (Interscope 2009)

AFI MySpace page

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Rock

The Clientele: Bonfires on the Heath

October 1, 2009 /

In an era where slacker sensibilities and low-gazing attitudes seem to dominate the musical mainstream, the Clientele’s preoccupation with lush, radiant textures and elaborate, ethereal arrangements consistently go against the norm. Vocalist/guitarist/musical mastermind Alasdair MacLean’s aversion to bombastic singers and self-serving guitar solos finds thoughts morphed into action via the collision of horns, harmonies and soft-swaying melodies that adorn Bonfires on the Heath, the latest extravaganza from this Hampshire band. The group conjures up a number of obvious influences – Love, the Zombies, Galaxie 500 and the Felt – but given their seamless delivery and breezy, shimmering style, it would sell them short to merely attribute their sound to appropriating that of their predecessors. “I Wonder Who We Are,” “Bonfires on the Heath” and “Jennifer & Julia” purvey a genteel charm and a soothing, sensual ambiance that seizes attention even on first encounter. And while the scattershot shuffle of “Sketch” almost seems disruptive in the midst of these mellow soundscapes, a song such as “Never Anyone but You” shows their ability to make a seamless transition from meditative reflection to gently compelling refrains. Varying the tempos between a samba and a sway, this rich mélange provides an allure all its own. (Merge 2009)

The Clientele MySpace page

Artists, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Melodramatic, Pop, Rock, Widescreen

Rusty Anderson: Born on Earth

September 29, 2009 /


RIYL: Paul McCartney, Jason Faulkner, ELO

No surprise here. Rusty Anderson, Paul McCartney’s current guitar foil, releases a second solo album that oozes the same vibrant and infectious rock and pop that his boss is so fond of sharing with the masses. However, don’t look for McCartney among the backing crew, although it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that he’s lurking in the shadows and maintaining anonymity under an alias. Actually, it’s no matter either way, as Anderson proves more than adept at delivering a set of mostly solid rockers, brimming with fanciful hooks and catchy choruses. Anderson’s approach tends to be rather explosive, as is evident with opening track “Born on Earth” and succeeding entries like “Baggage Claim” and “New Beginning,” but he’s also inclined to flirt with fluffier essence as well, lapsing into mellower terrain with “Timed Exposure,” curbing the tempo with “Where We Would Go?” and attempting some pseudo soul with “Intro.” Anyone looking for Macca comparisons will likely find them in the cuddly “Julia Roberts” and “Under a White Star,” but overall Born on Earth shows that Anderson is comfortably rooted in terra firma all his own. (Oxide Records 2009)

Rusty Anderson MySpace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Power Pop, Rock

Monsters of Folk: Monsters of Folk

September 29, 2009 /


RIYL: Hem, The Weepies, Bittersweets

The term “super group” is bandied about all too frequently, often arousing great expectations that are rarely fulfilled. The door to disappointment is left wide open; participants hedge when it comes to contributing their best songs or find their creativity stifled when compromising to serve to other egos. Yet while it’s rare to witness the second coming of an all-star outfit like Blind Faith or Crosby Stills and Nash, a blending of big names inevitably cranks up the curiosity factor regardless.

On the other hand, a summit session involving lo-fi provocateurs M Ward, Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and Jim James (AKA Yim Yames) might be greeted with some hint of suspicion, given the fact none of them is known for emphatic exposition. Surprisingly then, this, their first recorded collaboration, comes across as significantly more inviting and accessible than just about anything these individuals have managed on their own. While the name of the conglomerate indicates a tongue planted firmly in cheek, the songs themselves are straightforward and sincere. What’s more, given the fact that the songwriting is shared collectively and that all the instrumentation is doled out between them, the set is surprisingly consistent, showing equal input from all four contributors. And though most of the music is on the mellow side, the melodies make an emphatic impression – from the folkie sing-along of “Man Named Truth” and the gentle caress of “Magic Marker” and “His Master’s Voice,” to the breezy country sway of “The Right Place” and the steady ascent of “Whole Lotta Losin’” and “Ahead of the Curve.” They’ve done their ongoing outfits proud, while making what may well be the best album of their collective careers. (Shangri-La 2009)

Monsters of Folk MySpace page

Americana, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Emo, Folk, Melodramatic, Rock

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