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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)

We Are Scientists MySpace page
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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)

Foxy Shazam MySpace page

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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)

Melissa Auf der Maur MySpace page

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Quintessential Songs of the ’00s: #9 “Hate to Say I Told You So”

June 7, 2010 / John Paulsen

It was early 2002 and the “The” bands (The White Stripes, The Strokes, etc.) were taking the U.S. by storm. This track from The Hives was actually first released in late 2000 and re-released about a year and a half later.

From the song’s wiki page:

In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 54 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The chord structure bears a strong similarity to The Kinks “All Day and All of the Night”. It also lists at 244 on Pitchfork Media’s Top 500 songs of the 2000s.

The song peaked at #86 on the Hot 100 and #6 on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart, and is known for its opening riff.

More Quintessential Songs of the ’00s.

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Andy Bell: Non-Stop

June 7, 2010 / James B. Eldred

RIYL: Erasure, Hercules and Love Affair, being absolutely freakin’ fabulous

It’s clear after listening to Andy Bell’s latest solo effort Non-Stop that he’s the happy half of the synth-pop duo Erasure. While both Erasure and Bell’s solo material primarily consist of poppy synth-pop melodies with dance floor-friendly beats, the lyrical content of Erasure songs are always melancholy, introspective and down. Maybe Vince Clarke, the other half of the legendary synth-pop duo, likes to bring you down when you get your groove on. Conversely Bell’s solo tunes are, with rare exception, just as happy, upbeat and hopeful as the synth-heavy music that accompanies them. About as down as Bell gets on Non-Stop is “Will You Be There?” where he questions a lover’s reliability. But the tone of the song pretty much assumes that the answer to the titular question is a resounding “yes.” Almost every other track on this stellar solo effort is an excursion into fabulous happiness, climaxing in the brilliant “DHDQ,” which stands for “Debbie Harry Drag Queen.” It’s a track tailor-made to be the theme song for the next season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” It, like just about every other track here, is a sure-fire hit for gay clubs across the world, don’t try to be ‘manly’ and pass them up. ‘Real’ men can listen to dance-pop while sipping on Appletinis too, dammit. Well, they can at least listen to dance-pop. (Mute 2010)

Andy Bell MySpace Page

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