Category: Rock (Page 94 of 241)

White Rabbits: It’s Frightening

May 22, 2009 /

It is increasingly difficult to stand out in the overcrowded pop scene these days, but leave it to Missouri transplants White Rabbits (they’ve since relocated to Brooklyn, much like fellow Midesterners Locksley) to take a trick from .38 Special’s playbook and turn it on its ear: two drummers! The similarities end there, though; It’s Frightening, the second long-player from the White Rabbits, takes those two drummers – think Adam and the Ants, not the Doobie Brothers – and frames them with singer Stephen Patterson’s barroom piano and some sparse guitar work to create the kind of angular pop that you’d expect from the bands on the other side of the pond. Britt Daniel’s presence here as producer is no surprise, as the band’s “They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong” sounds like a lost Spoon track, and Single of the Year candidate “Percussion Gun,” armed to the teeth with handclaps and double-decker harmonies, is delightfully quirky and insanely catchy. That unusual approach to their drum tracks could prove to be an albatross – ask Guster about that one – but for the moment, all is quite well with the White Rabbits. (TBD 2009)

White Rabbits MySpace page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

twodoggarage: A Gross Display of Penmanship

May 22, 2009 /

Here’s the setup: the folks at RPM Challenge dared bands and solo artists to write, record and deliver a finished album in one month. Any number of things could happen under that kind of deadline: pigs could fly, songwriters could lose lots of sleep, and the biggest risk of all – the music could suck. One of the people who took the RPM bait was SoCal based twodoggarage, led by singer and songwriter Alex Kimmell. The band’s debut, Pinboy, was chock full of catchy pop tunes that brought Kimmell out of left field and onto our radar. This one, A Gross Display of Penmanship, with its diverse and interestingly arranged songs, is arguably even better. And further, the more you listen, the more it should grow on even the most skeptical of critics. Kimmell shows versatility galore with catchy ditties like “Something Real” and “Enough,” flowing mid-tempo Glen Phillips-esque tracks such as “Gradually Disappearing” and “Lift Me Up, Carry Me Down.” He even gets truly experimental on super-cool electronic instrumental “Circles” as well as on the rap-infused “The Runner” and spoken-word-meets-fuzz-box title track. Sure, the recording quality is at times bedroom-ish, but Kimmell makes the best of it, as well as the most of his time putting an album together on the fly. (self-released 2009)

twodoggarage MySpace Page

Alternative, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

Yes: Symphonic Live

May 22, 2009 /

Yes and all their pompous self-love usually produce fabulous music because they aim so high, to continue a legendary presence, none more exalting than the ones in their own minds. However, as good of an idea as it sounds, Symphonic Live is kind of a dull and flat effort. Jon Anderson’s energy level sounds a bit low and the band at times doesn’t sound all that inspired; in fact, they sound as if they’re mailing it in. Contrast this with the Magnification album (2001), a record written specifically to be accompanied by an orchestra, and this album doesn’t measure up. I am sure that Yes-o-philes will lap this up, because let’s face it, there are some people who will never tire of hearing “Roundabout.” They do manage to play three tracks off of Magnification which still sound very good, and the Steve Howe guitar solo is well worth the listen. He is an eloquent and underrated player and chooses material like “Lute Concerto in D Major, Second Movement” as a part of it instead of wanking on and on like some of the young turks do. They have put out some good material in the last 10 years or so (Essentially Yes), but this one is fair at best and one you can skip. (Eagle Rock, 2009)

Yes Myspace page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Rock

Mikey Wax: Change Again

May 22, 2009 /

Being a singer/songwriter today and trying to stand out from the pack is not an easy task. You have to be damn good, and you have to be damn good in the first 30 seconds to hook the listener in. Long Island’s Mikey Wax will hook you in with his debut, Change Again, and he’ll keep you there with melodic stuff that is also a nice mix of uplifting pop/rock and darker, slower-tempo fare. Wax has a breezy way about his songs, which have a modern yet classic feel (think Josh Rouse or Ari Hest) and his slick falsetto is the perfect vehicle to deliver that material. The falsetto is also overused, but if the songs are this good on a debut, it’s easier to let those things slide. And while tracks like “Slow Motion” and “Yes” are driving, mid-tempo hooky songs, Wax is at his brooding best on the more somber material such as “Love Light (Triad)” or “Cedars Bay.” (LABEL: self-released)

Mikey Wax MySpace Page

CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

True Nature: Feels Like Centuries

May 18, 2009 /

True Nature, fronted by Lou Barlow (not to be confused with the man of the same name in Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, et al) and featuring other talented musicians such as Aaron Comess, Gerry Leonard, and Tony Levin have come together to release this, the group’s second CD. At five tracks, this EP packs more punch than many full-length albums released these days with “The Color of Day Light” easily being the disc’s standout track. Barlow weaves strong melodies with smart lyricism, allowing a song like “My Freedom Lies Behind the Sun” to resonate passionately in today’s era of political change and societal shifting without falling over on its own message. “Woman” and “Truth I Have To Steel (Simple Heart)” also mark Barlow as a gifted lyricist and musician. With tunes this solid, it’s not hard to imagine True Nature being able to conquer an entire album’s worth of songs and sounds. Here’s looking forward to that moment. (Fire Sign Records)

True Nature MySpace page

CD Reviews, Pop, Rock

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