National CD Reviews
Issue 234 / June 2008 More from this Issue
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36 Crazyfists
The Tide and its Takers
Ferret Records
Street: 05.27
36 Crazyfists = From Autumn to Ashes + Killswitch Engage + Underoath
Normally when bands release albums, they gain experience and knowledge, know where they made mistakes and where to grow and progress. Apparently, 36 Crazyfists aren't the norm. The Tide and its Takers might just kill what career the band has; at least their past albums were listenable. There is not one redeeming quality on this album; even fans of the screamo genre are smart enough to know when something is horrible. Sometimes with this style of music I can say, well, at least the music is OK and it is just the vocals ruining the album; well, we have a multi-faceted crapper here-the music just runs in circles repeating the same structure and form with plenty of recycled, uninspired riffs. Then the vocals don't get me started. The screaming is piss-poor; the guy's attempt at sounding pissed off just comes off as whiny and wussy. Then the clean singing is out of key and just grating, it sounds like he has a cold and needs to blow his nose. Perhaps the worst of the worst is the song "Only a Year Or So " where there is spoken word moments that try to sound heartfelt and serious about a couple separated by the war, but the spoken word from both the female and male sound like they're reading something; the girl sounds like a spoiled cow and the guy sounds like he doesn't give a crap, then there is the actual music, which is just pointless. This is absolutely horrid for the band's fans or fans of screamo or melodic metal in general. Bryer Wharton
Alkaline Trio
Goddamnit
Asian Man Records
Street: 3.21
Alkaline Trio = The Lawrence Arms + Bayside + TSOL + Joy Division
Alkaline Trio's reissue of their first iconic record, Goddamnit-nearly 10 years since its original release-solidifies the fact that AT were/are an important band in punk rock, regardless of where they have gone since then. As many would say, later releases don't hold a flame to the aggressive nature and morbid lyrics of GD. The album is remixed and remastered by the album's original engineer, Matt Allison, and also includes Trio's 1996 demo recordings. Along with the spruced-up music disc comes a DVD which includes Original Sin: The Story of Goddamnit, interviews from all involved, early live recordings of nearly every song on the album (complete with explanations from band members of the lyrics and meaning behind each track), live performances of each song during a show on the 2006 Occult Roots Tour, and other miscellaneous bonus features. This is one dark, demented, wonderful and packed release that is a must-own. Jeremy C. Wilkins
Al Green
Lay It Down
Blue Note
Street 05.27
Al Green = Marvin Gaye + Otis Redding + L-O-V-E
God bless Al Green. R&B was one of the few early 70s music trends to make a real imprint, and Green was a legend in the field. But a pot of hot grits, a suicidal friend and Green's subsequent religious conversion pulled him out of the spotlight. When he started recording again, his newer material left much to be desired. That is why this new disc hits so hard. It is fantastic. Recorded with minimal overdubs in the old-school live-studio style, the Reverend Green has set a whole new R&B standard. Joined by Roots drummer ?uestlove (who also produced the album) and a host of several other mid-30-year-old soul players, Green lays out a vintage love-themed record. And while it is peppered with moments of Memphis-style soul and early Southern blues, the disc is, more than anything, a record about making love work even when the chips are stacked against you-about refusing to be held back. As an artist, despite years of ho-hum recordings, Green refuses to be held back. Lay it down, brother. Lay it down. James Bennett
Animal Collective
Water Curses
Domino Records
Street: 05.06
Animal Collective = Atlas Sound + Panda Bear + Topless Dancing + STDs
In the years I've known of and heard Animal Collective, I've never really cared much for their bombastic brand of folk-core. They have sounded to me like they were trying to out-60s anyone and everything, and they were definitely succeeding. That all seemed to change last summer when I heard Panda Bear's Person Pitch, a brilliant mini-album of haunting, Beach Boy-esque dark summer hits. Now, as I listen to Animal Collective and I hear Panda's seminal role in crafting their sound, I am listening with recalcitrant receptivity. I'm beginning to sense somewhat of a new psychedelic movement of indie bands like Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, and Deerhunter, to name the most prolific, which is redefining the uses and limits of psychedelia. I'm hoping that this movement will lead to an outbreak of jiggly topless dancing in front of "art" galleries and to crusty STD infections of epidemic proportions. Megavore
Anla Courtis/Seichi Yamamoto/Yoshimi
Live at Kanadia
Public Eyesore
Street: 05.09
Live at Kanadia = KK Null + Steve Vai
The avant-garde noise scene has often been associated with pure nihilism and destruction of music as we know it. Japan has the richest tradition of noise artists, and unlike American noise, is consumed with reverence rather than violence. What ultimately is interesting about this release are the players involved and the situation in which they performed. Yamamoto and Yoshimi of Boredoms fame are the substrate, and Courtis of Argentinian lineage is the enzyme. They got together at a restaurant in Osaka and masturbated the night away. The result is unexpected as a mixture of feedback, spazzy guitar, modulated vocals and various percussion instruments that are chemically different than the substance they were formed from. There is no nihilism here, but a mutual respect of each other's ability to produce unmusic that is surprisingly listenable. Andrew Glassett
The Tide and its Takers
Ferret Records
Street: 05.27
36 Crazyfists = From Autumn to Ashes + Killswitch Engage + Underoath
Normally when bands release albums, they gain experience and knowledge, know where they made mistakes and where to grow and progress. Apparently, 36 Crazyfists aren't the norm. The Tide and its Takers might just kill what career the band has; at least their past albums were listenable. There is not one redeeming quality on this album; even fans of the screamo genre are smart enough to know when something is horrible. Sometimes with this style of music I can say, well, at least the music is OK and it is just the vocals ruining the album; well, we have a multi-faceted crapper here-the music just runs in circles repeating the same structure and form with plenty of recycled, uninspired riffs. Then the vocals don't get me started. The screaming is piss-poor; the guy's attempt at sounding pissed off just comes off as whiny and wussy. Then the clean singing is out of key and just grating, it sounds like he has a cold and needs to blow his nose. Perhaps the worst of the worst is the song "Only a Year Or So " where there is spoken word moments that try to sound heartfelt and serious about a couple separated by the war, but the spoken word from both the female and male sound like they're reading something; the girl sounds like a spoiled cow and the guy sounds like he doesn't give a crap, then there is the actual music, which is just pointless. This is absolutely horrid for the band's fans or fans of screamo or melodic metal in general. Bryer Wharton
Alkaline Trio
Goddamnit
Asian Man Records
Street: 3.21
Alkaline Trio = The Lawrence Arms + Bayside + TSOL + Joy Division
Alkaline Trio's reissue of their first iconic record, Goddamnit-nearly 10 years since its original release-solidifies the fact that AT were/are an important band in punk rock, regardless of where they have gone since then. As many would say, later releases don't hold a flame to the aggressive nature and morbid lyrics of GD. The album is remixed and remastered by the album's original engineer, Matt Allison, and also includes Trio's 1996 demo recordings. Along with the spruced-up music disc comes a DVD which includes Original Sin: The Story of Goddamnit, interviews from all involved, early live recordings of nearly every song on the album (complete with explanations from band members of the lyrics and meaning behind each track), live performances of each song during a show on the 2006 Occult Roots Tour, and other miscellaneous bonus features. This is one dark, demented, wonderful and packed release that is a must-own. Jeremy C. Wilkins
Al Green
Lay It Down
Blue Note
Street 05.27
Al Green = Marvin Gaye + Otis Redding + L-O-V-E
God bless Al Green. R&B was one of the few early 70s music trends to make a real imprint, and Green was a legend in the field. But a pot of hot grits, a suicidal friend and Green's subsequent religious conversion pulled him out of the spotlight. When he started recording again, his newer material left much to be desired. That is why this new disc hits so hard. It is fantastic. Recorded with minimal overdubs in the old-school live-studio style, the Reverend Green has set a whole new R&B standard. Joined by Roots drummer ?uestlove (who also produced the album) and a host of several other mid-30-year-old soul players, Green lays out a vintage love-themed record. And while it is peppered with moments of Memphis-style soul and early Southern blues, the disc is, more than anything, a record about making love work even when the chips are stacked against you-about refusing to be held back. As an artist, despite years of ho-hum recordings, Green refuses to be held back. Lay it down, brother. Lay it down. James Bennett
Animal Collective
Water Curses
Domino Records
Street: 05.06
Animal Collective = Atlas Sound + Panda Bear + Topless Dancing + STDs
In the years I've known of and heard Animal Collective, I've never really cared much for their bombastic brand of folk-core. They have sounded to me like they were trying to out-60s anyone and everything, and they were definitely succeeding. That all seemed to change last summer when I heard Panda Bear's Person Pitch, a brilliant mini-album of haunting, Beach Boy-esque dark summer hits. Now, as I listen to Animal Collective and I hear Panda's seminal role in crafting their sound, I am listening with recalcitrant receptivity. I'm beginning to sense somewhat of a new psychedelic movement of indie bands like Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, and Deerhunter, to name the most prolific, which is redefining the uses and limits of psychedelia. I'm hoping that this movement will lead to an outbreak of jiggly topless dancing in front of "art" galleries and to crusty STD infections of epidemic proportions. Megavore
Anla Courtis/Seichi Yamamoto/Yoshimi
Live at Kanadia
Public Eyesore
Street: 05.09
Live at Kanadia = KK Null + Steve Vai
The avant-garde noise scene has often been associated with pure nihilism and destruction of music as we know it. Japan has the richest tradition of noise artists, and unlike American noise, is consumed with reverence rather than violence. What ultimately is interesting about this release are the players involved and the situation in which they performed. Yamamoto and Yoshimi of Boredoms fame are the substrate, and Courtis of Argentinian lineage is the enzyme. They got together at a restaurant in Osaka and masturbated the night away. The result is unexpected as a mixture of feedback, spazzy guitar, modulated vocals and various percussion instruments that are chemically different than the substance they were formed from. There is no nihilism here, but a mutual respect of each other's ability to produce unmusic that is surprisingly listenable. Andrew Glassett
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