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July 2007 - Issue 223

Alamo Race Track
Black Cat John Brown
Minty Fresh
Street: 07.07
Alamo Race Track = The Strokes + Peter Bjorn & John
This Dutch foursome gained some popularity after their title track on their upcoming album Black Cat John Brown was recorded on video and put onto YouTube. 200,000 + plays later, and the band is gaining more and more recognition, and even recently placed the title track in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. This album touches on so many musical genres, and the band’s different influences are certainly prevalent from song to song. Songs like “The Killing” leave a post-punk feeling on me, but songs like “Kiss Me Bar” make me feel like I’m listening to some 60’s pop band. Whatever the case may be, these songs are all very original, and melodious for the most part. Catchy guitar hooks filled with vocals similar to The Strokes or Peter Bjorn & John are all over this album, and it’s probably one of the catchiest groups you’ll discover this summer. –Tom Carbone Jr.

Allerjen
Surrender and Be Destroyed
Sonic Wave International
Street: 03.29
Allerjen = Sepultura + Death + Pantera
Apparently for a few years Allerjen was a nu-metal band, good thing they changed their sound because the current incarnation is a power filled romp filled with old school sounding production and influences. This English trio seems like they may have had a hard time finding their niche in the metal world but when they caught it they hit it smack dab on the head. Raw scream your throat bloody vocals invade a fast paced thrash atmosphere broken up by breakdowns that sound more metal than hardcore fill the air when Allerjen is cranked. I find much comfort in the rough production value of Surrender and Be Destroyed in this day and age of Pro-Tools and metal records that sound like they spent too much time on the cutting room floor. Allerjen are raw but not too obscured as to where parts are inaudible or “empty room,” sounding. The bass is present on every track playing a crucial role with each song, not to mention it makes it much more fun to jam out too. Thank you Allerjen, for embracing the old sound of metal and creating a worthwhile listen. It seriously sounds like it’s the early 90s and I just bought this album along side Sepultura’s Arise album. –Bryer Wharton

Apostolum
Anedonia
Moribund Cult
Street: 04.03
Apostolum = (old) Katatonia + Bethlehem + The Shinning + Forgotten Tomb
Originally intended as a split with Sleeping Village explains why Anedonia is only 34 minutes and one track is a cover of Katatonia’s “Brave.” This dose of suicide black/death metal is filled with dark atmospheres and textures that fill the head with idealizations of a darker realm. It is unfortunate that the record is so short it seems as through it is just getting started and then it’s over. Regardless this first offering to the dark metal gods is a glorious one from these Italian bred masters of doom. Did I say that the record is too short? Well I’m saying it again it should be considered and EP not a full length. The lead work on the mid-paced “Anxiety Attack,” is stunningly dark, enough to drive away any good mood in a heartbeat. I guess I’ll just have to anxiously await the next offering from Apostolum and hope it’s longer to appease my metal craving appetite. –Bryer Wharton

Art Brut
It’s A Bit Complicated
Downtown Records
Street: 06.19
Art Brut = early Weezer + Ramones + Wire
2000 saw the demise of bands like Weezer because they took their aloof high school nerd appeal too far and turned into uncharming jock rock. Now, with witty and ironic phrases being so hip that the only next step is to bite the tongue that sits in the cheek, Art Brut has taken the confused innocence of Weezer and has brazenly traced onto it Wire’s short, dynamic and direct song structure (all the while avoiding the horrendously awful trappings of “talk-singing”). It’s A Bit Complicated is so uncomplicated that it makes breaking up with someone so much easier! Catchy, frenzied, anthemic and endlessly amusing like a whore falling through a barstool, Art Brut has made a stunning sophomore album. –Erik Lopez

Au
S/T
Aagoo/Oedipus Records
Street:
Au = Animal Collective + Panda Bear
Au is another group stemming out from Portland OR who attempts to take us on an ambient journey through the happenings of the hippest coffee shop on Hawthorne Blvd. I felt like I was having a reoccurring experience from the last time I heard a live act in the background at the local coffee station were I was more interested in my drink and the ad section. The eight tracks on this self-titled album are the work of Portland native Luke Wyland who describes his music as “avant-folk, art-pop” and “new music’s nuance” whatever that means. The album starts with two faster paced songs involving piano, banjo, percussion and orchestrated melodies, but soon dives into the sea of ambient abyss. The latter of the tracks seem to have more of a Sonic Youth- NYC Ghosts and Flowers feel to them, but much more mild and timid. The production of the tracks was the most interesting part; many of the sounds seem captured almost haphazardly. Most of it works really well, but some of it is a lot of filler. In all, not a bad brew; I would give it three out of five coffee beans. –Andrew Glassett

Battles
Mirrored
Warp Records
Street: 05.22
Battles = Animal Collective + Don Caballero + Fantomas
Throwing up a mailbox full of EPs from 2004 to 2007, it’s about time Battles stopped swimming in small albums like Scrooge McDuck and started developing a full length respective of their short output. Mirrored finds Battles aptly taking and reflecting all that they have done in previous EPs but this time, lengthening their stride with an electronic sound that switchbacks between a vocal styling reminiscent of Sparks and a mix between Blade Runner, Hackers and checkers. A busy album that is not distracting, a joyful noise that is sophisticated yet explosive, Mirrored is on my top ten for 2007. –Erik Lopez

Bone Thugs and Harmony
Strength and Loyalty
Interscope/Full Surface
Streets:07.03
Bone Thugs = Krayxie Bone + Layxie Bone + Wish Bone
Strength & Loyalty… Lets be honest here… it is going to take more than that in order to get through the whole of this CD without performing some sort of self-destruction. To no surprise bone thugs-n-Harmony is at it again, and to no surprise again… Strength and Loyalty sounds similar to the predictable entourage of “Top 40’s” radio artisans (AKON Mariah Carey and bow-wow); Strength & Loyalty reflects everything expected. And as track 13’s title so fittingly states it all “sounds the same.” While I must give credit to the fact that these guys can rap faster than most people can run. I have to say that Strength and Loyalty heightens emotional appeal about as much as an empty grocery bag. We get it.. This is how you ride, you need a little L-O-V-E, and we should “bump in the Trunk.” No mater how much track 14 states “You’ll never forget me” personally… I find it quite easy. –Myles

Brandon Butler
Lucky Thumbs
Gypsy Eyes
Street: 04.17
Brandon Butler = Pete Yorn + Southern Rock
Brandon Butler is blue collared with arms tattooed with stories and a full heart of living. and He plays his guitar with a heavy handed strum and a backing that gives a nod to country without falling into some serious twang. Imagine a young Bob Dylan singing over a Bruce Springsteen’s Devils & Dust had he swapped out New Jersey for Alabama. Missing the overt rockabilly elements of Mike Ness or John Doe’s solo releases but pleasing nonetheless. –ryan michael painter

Candlemass
King of the Grey Islands
Nuclear Blast
Street: 07.17
Candlemass = Black Sabbath + Cathedral + Trouble
Candlemass have had a tumultuous career with many line-up changes including the exiting and return of vocalist Messiah the bands most popular and arguably best vocalist. Last year’s self-titled record was amazing so this year with Messiah gone again the band faced a new challenge in replacing him. But as the bands bio states if Black Sabbath can have life after Ozzy with Dio Candlemass can exist with their new singer Robert Lowe of Solitude Aeturnus. In a way every stoner/doom metal band pays an unspoken homage to Sabbath and Candlemass do just that with their new record but with much added dread and despair. If you love epic metal in any form Candlemass is a one-way ticket into oblivion, with giant riffs and thunderous drumming. The production courtesy Peter Tagtren is crisp and heavy as heavy can be. To find something fresh and new in a band that has existed on and off since 1985 is a feat in and of itself. This record is worth owning for its song “Emperor of the World,” but that isn’t the only bud worthy track, if I smoked pot I’d be higher than a kite while listening to King of the Grey Islands. There are some seriously mind-blowing riffs here that you don’t need a hallucinogen to transfer yourself to another realm. Just listen to “Of Stars and Smoke,” and you’ll find yourself floating on the moon in a blissful stupor. Candlemass have never let me down before and if you love stoner/doom metal you will have no trouble in finding comfort with this latest offering to the doom gods from these mighty Swedes. –Bryer Wharton

Carnal Forge
Testify For My Victims
Candlelight
Street: 05.22
Carnal Forge = Terror 2000 + Darkane + Dew-Scented
Sweden’s Carnal Forge have never been really that exciting, yet somehow they continuously put out albums, that means somebody must like them. They are one of those bands that sound pretty much the same from record to record with slight exceptions. This latest offering is a bit different from the records I have heard, though I think I missed their last album regardless instead of track after track of rehashed yet pummeling thrash metal the band has added a tiny bit of melody to their madness. There also seems to be a bit more abundant lead work, this ultimately makes Testify for My Victims actually their most interesting album so far, so in that there is something to be said. Does it change my opinion about the originality of the band? Not even close, this CD is likely to get filed away in my promo box and most likely never listened to again. To make things simple, if you have followed the group’s career closely throughout the years and enjoyed what they do you ultimately will probably enjoy the new offering. But if you are like me and just peek in from time to time to hear what the band is doing it likely won’t peak much interest at all. –Bryer Wharton

Daymares
Can’t Get Us All
Selfmadegod Records
Street: 05.21
Daymares = Tragedy + Cro-Mags + Ringworm
I really wanted to like this. I was really disappointed. The little “for fans of” section included such awesome bands as From Ashes Rise, Ringworm, High On Fire, and Cursed…and this thing falls amazingly short of being in the same league as ANY of those bands. Really generic d-beat hardcore that comes across as stuff that could have been written and played by anyone who listened to enough His Hero Is gone and had access to shitty instruments. While I can appreciate what these guys are shooting for here, it just falls completely flat less than 2 songs into the album. D-beat and crust stuff isn’t exactly known for pushing musical boundaries, but this is just plain rehashing of stuff that doesn’t need to be rehashed. -loveyoudead

The Dead See
Through the Veil
Pluto Records
Street: 05.22
The Dead See = Neurosis + Mastodon + Crowbar + High on Fire
If what kind of music the Dead See plays were an original idea this record would be beyond stellar. Instead relying on a sound created long before The Dead See run more in the territory of a band borrowing heavily from other bands. All comparisons aside the band is dump truck heavy, sludge and doom are king here all with a touch of noisiness which actually make the album stand out a little bit. There is a sort of crushing power in the bands repetitive nature but there is also an underlying boredom that cannot be shrugged off while wading through the albums 10 tracks. The atmospheric layered “E T C,” coupled with its eerie dark sample is a welcome excursion from the ultra sludge that the band produces. It is these moments off difference from an already distinct sound that The Dead See succeed in creating something worthwhile. If you are also a fan of detailed cover art this debut album for these Texans, previously known as Plauge of Locusts the cover for Through the Veil is a regular work of art, detailed, nightmarish and horrific, it’s a shame the music can’t be as diverse. –Bryer Wharton

Death Before Dishonor
Count Me In
Bridge 9 Records
Street: 05.22
Death Before Dishonor = Madball + Hatebreed + Sworn Enemy

In a letter to the press Death Before Dishonor issued the following statement:

Death Before Dishonor is here to mosh you. Plain and simple. We are not here to reinvent the wheel. We are here to bowl you over with the mosh. We’re tough, our music is tough, and dammit we like it that way. If anyone has a problem with that come to our show, chances are you will be moshed, but you might just like it.

Weekend Editor Ivan Moshington wrote the following response:

Yes DBD we know you are here to mosh. You have made that clear. Your riffing is tight, and some of your songs, although not terribly original, are a fun listen. Your new release has very beefy production and will satisfy those wanting to feel tough, I suppose that’s all we can really ask for at this time and all we should really expect, but unfortunately it will accomplish little more. –Peter Fryer

Despised Icon
The Ills Of Modern Man
Century Media
Street: 05.22
Despised Icon = Cryptopsy + Aborted +The Black Dahlia Murder
The thing that sucks about reviewing stuff like this is that after awhile it all begins to sound the same. Am I the only one who seems to think this kind of standard deathmetalcore is the next “nu-metal?” While not entirely bad, it IS pretty formulaic, and I can easily see hordes of wannabe “evil” kids blasting this in their shitty cars to try to get weird looks from whatever poor soul they find themselves sharing the road with at that particular time. To be honest, until I heard this I was usually able to find something redeeming about the bands that played this type of music, and after beating myself up trying to find something positive to say about this record, I came to the conclusion that this is, for better or for worse, nothing more than unoriginal and uninspired tough guy metal. Kudos on the triggered double-bass kicks guys (sarcasm intended), but next time try something that hasn’t been completely done to death. –loveyoudead

DJ Mayonnaise
Still Alive
Anticon
Street: 7.17.07
Mayonnaise = Deep Puddle Dynamics + 55 Stories + Welcome Back
Since the dawn of Deep Puddle Dynamics a taste of rain, why kneel? and in subsequent years, Dj Mayonnaise has dropped out of the spotlight only to have his place taken by other hard working musical talent. Entering the Anticon scope and once again surprising the world (and myself) with his impending record release, Mayonnaise has re-formed his craft, re-arranged his formula and reclaimed his innate ability to master the sample and scratch. In Still Alive, Mr. Mayo masters the hypnotic groove with his click’n’clack percussion, alternating drums and rippling synthesizers. The whole album is filled with perfection pacing and rolling through crispy drums surrounded with a collection of fuzz that builds and fades. The hypnotic grooves explode at times, but they always leave you fulfilled and wanting more. If I didn’t feel alright before I listened to this record, I sure do now. DJ Mayonnaise has veritably returned. –Lance Saunders

Drakes Hotel
Tell Me Everything
Reverb
Street: 05.01
Drakes Hotel = The Bangles + Shakespears Sister + My Bloody Valentine
Tell Me Everything is a very promising debut release from Nebraska duo consisting of vocalist Amy Drake and multi-instrumentalist Chris Y. Drake’s vocals makes me think of a Suzanna Hoffs/Siobhan Fahey hybrid while the music throws on a heavy dose of shoegazer; which is to say that there’s a lot of pop brilliance mixed in with a bit of bite. Not nearly as dramatic or angular as Stellastarr*, nor as atmospheric as Phaser, more on par with the sound of Asobi Seksu (minus the Japanese vocalist) Drakes Hotel are among the few new acts to deliver a solid full-length and a hint of a promise that they could stand among those they emulate. –ryan michael painter

Dublin Death Patrol
DDP 4 Life
Godfodder
Street: 04.13
Dublin Death Patrol = Testament + Exodus
Damn this is where it’s at my metal friends! Combine enough back-story into how this super-group/collaboration started, add two seasoned metal vocalists Chuck Billy and Steve Souza and you have yourself a virtual thrash masterpiece. Don’t get the title confused with the music there is no Irish influence on this record the guys are from Dublin, California. Other members include brothers of Chuck Billy and members of Laaz Rockit as well as other formidable thrash bands many stemming from the long gone old school Bay Area thrash band Rampage. While this journey through the realm of the thrash old school may be great and filled with plenty of solos as well as a defined punk rock influence the highlight of the DDP is the combined vocal duties of Billy and Souza. The guys basically share their duties with no glory hogging at all, each singer may be distinctly recognized from song to song but neither one dominates the songs. Billy’s deeper growls and sung passages coupled with Souza’s higher pitched scream is a wet dream for any metal fan. If you aren’t singing along to this album after the second listen you seriously have hearing problems. Up the irons, bust out the metal devil horns and loosen up your neck because the DDP is on the loose. –Bryer Wharton

Dungen
Tio Bitar
Kemado Records
Street: 05.15
Dungen = (King Crimson / Hendrix) * Swedish folk
Distant sirens bray in the background as fierce reverberating guitar squall slowly grows in violence and intensity, before launching into a track laden with astute mind melting riffage and pounding tribal drums. However, this first track is somewhat misleading, as Swedish psych rock revivalists Dungen follow up 2004's excellent Ta det lugnt with a more restrained album full of pastoral aural landscapes and dreamy soundtracks to hazy summer days. While still showing a strong presence, the electric guitar no longer dominates these soundscapes as it did on the previous album, leaving ample room instead for flute, piano, organ, and fiddle to intertwine themselves among the sometimes ambling, sometimes galloping drums and airy vocals. The presence of actual songs is also a noted departure from the sound crafted on Ta det lugnt, here having definitive beginnings and endings, never bleeding unassumingly into one another, and often jumping between freak out psych rockers and low-key, sun kissed, dream folk (the title Tio Bitar in fact translates to “Ten Pieces”). While this my not be the unabashed rock statement of Ta Det Lugnt, it is still an impressive piece of work by primary Dungen man, Gustav Estjes and guitarist Reine Fiske. –Brian Roller

Eyvind Kang
Athlantis
Ipecac Records
Street: 7.10
Eyvind Kang = Michael White + Toru Takemitsu + John Zorn + Sun City Girls
Slowly unfolding like a huge old-world wall map, Athlantis is hushed, hallowed and flies in a direction similar to Dead Can Dance at their best. Drawing inspiration from Renaissance literature and philosophy, Kang has described Athlantis as an oratorio. But where the vocals hover and the string and brass arrangement swaddle them in royalty, there are hints of a background steeped in the likes of Blond Redhead and Bill Frisell sweeping through the wings. While this kind of classical musical styling may not be for the more bluntly rock and roll of tastes, its cross-genre platform is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant indie rock arena. Mike Patton and Jessika Kenney sing the main parts. Surprisingly to some, this is also another top ten for 2007. –Erik Lopez

Feist
The Reminder
Interscope Records
Street: 05.01
Erin McKeown + CocoRosie + Broken Social Scene = Feist
In follow up to her sensational album Let It Die (2004), singer Leslie Feist again showcases her talent as a performer with great vocal range while playing acoustic & electric guitars, banjo and even the piano. Although it's all Feist's style and lyrics, a lot of guests help compose this album with their instruments, singing and producing. Creating it to be a bit soulful with help from Jamie Lidell (So Sorry) and a sample of Nina Simone (Sealion), a little bit of folky acoustics like Ron Sexsmith (Brandy Alexander), poppier hi-fi rock (My Moon My Man). My favorite song I Feel It All, repeats most verses; as she does in most songs to make sure we understand how she hurts or loves. Her list of collaborators is a roster of hot rock stars including Jason Collette (Broken Social Scene), Grizzly Bear (just finished tour together), Peaches, Kings of Convenience..... Everyone adores her and The Reminder shows why. --Jennifer Nielsen

Fourth of July
On The Plains
Range Life Records
Street: 7.6.07
Fourth of July = Saturday Looks Good to Me + Bright Eyes +
Nylon strings and raw observations make up this album, which is full of artistic originality. Singer/songwriter Brendan Hangauer might be onto something. Intimate interaction and innocent observations bleed through every lyric, leaving you daydreaming in a day-to-day pattern job environment. This record is devoid of secrets. Brendan’s lyrics reflect an un-tainted projection of young adulthood holding onto social dramas, hopes and desires. The music is simplistic and easy to digest. Flooding guitar licks and exploding trumpets make up most of “Surfer Dude”, while the slide guitar reigns with contentment on “Why did I drink so much last night?”. The whole album flows with ease, but each song has its own extraordinary feeling and message. Deriving from Lawrence, Kansas, where people just play for the fun of it, it’s nice to hear some special and honest music getting out of what seems to be a dead-end in the music scene. -Lance Saunders

Gallows
Orchestra of Wolves
Epitaph Records
Street: 07/10
Gallows = The Locust + Fear Before the March of Flames + Vanna
I was really excited to listen to this album at first. After all, Keraang Magazine had hailed Gallows as “the best British punk band since The Clash”. Unfortunately, after listening to this band I’ve simple decided that the journalist who came up with that line has their head shoved way up their ass. It’s not that Gallows are bad—they just sound like every other post-hardcore band that has been inspired by Black Flag and The Refused. Many of the songs are indecipherably similar and at many point the band comes off more whiney than angry (even on their Black Flag cover of “Nervous Breakdown”). In short, Gallows is a hardcore band for pretty boys who have the same haircuts as their girlfriends and rock chick jeans on their upper thighs. It’s no surprise that they’re headlining Warped Tour. (07.07 Fairgrounds) –Jeanette Moses

The Ghost is Dancing
The Darkest Spark
Sonic Unyon
Street: 06.19
Rock Plaza Central + Modest Mouse + Ben Folds Five = The Ghost is Dancing
Since the 2006 release of their debut ep, The Ghost is Dancing has added an extra vocalist, strings, and more notably, on a few songs: a trumpet. Piano melodies and group choruses are still a focal point, keeping the songs sounding pop even when members lament. College-grads collectively singing about leaving home, changes in life and bonding with new friends. They'll even be your friend. Look on their website, they'll be your Prom Date, too. Once there, listen to songs from their ep; showcasing this Canadian indie-rock sounds more Modest Mouse than label mates Wooden Stars. --Jennifer Nielsen

Gogol Bordello
Super Taranta!
SideOneDummy
Street: 07.10
Gogol Bordello = World/Inferno Friendship Society + Throw Rag + Flogging Molly
Super Taranta! is another bunch of hyperactive and infectious gypsy-punk from Gogol Bordello that proves that they are far from a novelty or gimmick band. Gogol Bordello fuses Eastern European folk music with everything from reggae to the kind of music you'd find in an old spaghetti western movie and tops it all off with the immediacy and energy of good ol' punk rock. Frontman (and Ukrainian refugee) Eugene Hutz leads the band through the album's 14 tracks as he examines American life from an immigrant's eyes ("American Wedding"), explores the problem of white slavery in post-U.S.S.R. Eastern Europe (Zina Marina) and just barks and shouts over gypsy party music ("Wanderlust King"). The album is a little on the long side, and even with the unique instrumentation and genre bending, the songs seem to run together in the middle of the album, but Super Taranta! is still a shining example of the true spirit of punk rock: It doesn't matter what you look like or who you sound like as long as you've got something to say. –Ricky Vigil

Graveworm
Collateral Defect
Massacre Records
Street: 05.25
Graveworm = Everything Bleeding Through wishes they were, and are not.
This CD is pretty interesting. On the one hand, I kind of hate it. On the other hand, it’s pretty infectious and I find that I don’t particularly mind listening to it. While this could be a sign of tolerance on my part or solid song writing and decent progressions on theirs, I can say that this album won’t stick out to me a few months from now. My biggest complaint is that none of the songs stick out except for the cover of Bonnie Tyler’s “I Need A Hero”. If your band has been doing a single cover for the past four albums, do you think it also might be worth going above and beyond other copycats in this genre and pour those efforts into something extraordinary? The Cradle of Filth kids with huge black cargo pants and wallet chains will enjoy this. –Conor Dow

Greg Brown
Yellow Dog
Earthwork Music
Street: 05.07
Greg Brown = Jerry Garcia + Billy Bragg
Live in Yuppie Town! One night only! Put on your Birckenstocks/Tevas/Chacos! No time to take your socks off or change out of that light cotton, button down kokopelli-print shirt of yours either! Apparently our friends over at Kennecott have proposed to drill a metallic sulfide mine near Yellow Dog River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so in the summer of ‘05 Greg Brown recorded this live album, all proceeds of which are being donated to help preserve the beautiful wild area. As far as live albums go, it’s about as perfect as they come. Brown’s fluid acoustic guitar playing, his embattled vocals and gently rumbled lyrics are of studio quality here, but it’s the light tapping of his foot and the occasional polite applause that put you right into the flannel-soaked Michigan audience. With the proceeds going to a good cause, you can be sure you’ve made the right purchase, unless you’re like me and would like to see Kennecott fuck with someone else’s state for once. —Jeff Guay

Hannah Fury
Through the Gash
Mellow Trumatic
Street: 08.07
Hannah Fury = Chandeen + Mandalay
At times recalling a slightly more sinister Julee Cruise and her collaborations with Angelo Badalamenti Hannah Fury’s releases have aptly been called “spooky,” “creepy” and “disturbed.” While many of those adjectives could be placed upon Through the Gash Fury’s compositions are also beautiful, hypnotic and far more substantial than a string of Halloween attributes. Fury’s voice haunts like the ghost of Kate Bush above the orchestrated undercurrent of piano, acoustic guitar and atmospheric synths that float away in a heavy dose of reverb while the occasional drum machine keeps time. I can only imagine what she could do with a cover of “Wuthering Heights.” Grim and highly recommended. –ryan michael painter

Hopewell
Beautiful Targets
Tee Pee
Street: 07.17
Hopewell = The Flaming Lips + Mercury Rev + Bloc Party
Far from being the immense, crushing sonic maelstrom of intensity the press release lead me to believe this would be, Hopewell instead occupy a particularly sunny spot between the lushly orchestrated balladry of The Zombies and the catchy, angular rock of XTC, resulting in a disconcertingly energetic soundtrack for perpetual summer. Granted, their pop stylings may be a bit too incense-and-peppermints for some (or most), and the lead singer’s relentless aping of Wayne Coyne got on my nerves quickly, but the sincerity of these guys is just so damn endearing that it’s hard not to like them, or at least root for them silently. So I’ve devised a litmus test: this is the kind of record you’d listen to in a flower-dappled field with your summer fling, chasing each other around and gazing into one another’s eyes, the knowledge that you must part ways eventually coloring everything with a hint of melancholy. If that sentence made you want to puke, avoid at all costs. If not, you’ve found your new favorite band. –Jona Gerlach

Horse the Band
A Natural Death
Koch Records
Street: 06.26
Horse the Band = With All Sincerity + These Arms Are Snakes + Nintendo + Isis
I have to be honest I’m a sucker for a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Yes, some of the song structures on A Natural Death aren’t the most original, and they rely a little heavily on gimmicky 8-bit sounds. But at the same time, they are Nintendo sounds! These guys are no dummies, the formula: make something that makes people nostalgic for their childhood, put in really odd time signatures and syncopation, scream some nonsense about avoiding animals and then top that with some moody guitar interludes and you have a recipe. I don’t know if that’s a recipe for success, but it at least keeps the ears perked and makes you forget that this is in the same genre as Underoath and other Warped Tour screamotacular favorites. The standout tracks “Hyperborea” and “New York City” are well crafted. “New York City” ends in a cacophony of bottle rockets being shot off - it’s sort of like the video gamer’s answer to Bjork’s weirdness. The chugs and constant Contra sounds can get monotonous, but if a band doesn’t take themselves that seriously you shouldn’t either. –Peter Fryer

Howard Hello + Greenness
Self-titled
Sickroom
Street: 07.03
Howard Hello + Greenness = Pinback + Rumah Sakit
Looking to fulfill your good deed for the day? Here’s an opportunity to do something for those damn kids these days and their music! All proceeds from this double CD release featuring the bedroom indie pop of Howard Hello (a.k.a. Kenseth Thibideau of Pinback, Goblin Cock, Rumah Sakit etc.) and the technical instrumental rock of Greenness go to Children’s Musical Education in St. Augustine, Florida. As an added incentive for math rock nerds, the Greenness disc features collaborations between guitarist Mitch Cheney and Thibideau, which constitutes a 2/4 Rumah Sakit reunion. Plus, it’s for kids! Look, do you want to help train the next generation of Rob Crows and Zach Hills or not? –Jona Gerlach

Ian Hunter
Shrunken Heads
Yep Roc
Street: 05.15
Ian Hunter = John Mellencamp – Sentimental Americana + Relevance
Revisionist history suggests that Mott the Hoople were nothing more than a one hit wonder with the Bowie penned “All the Young Dudes” but Ian Hunter and company flirted with stardom for a number of years before disintegrating. Hunter would prod forward into a solo career. Bowie’s Ziggy era guitarist Mick Ronson would be a frequent collaborator with Hunter, the duo quietly releasing material until Ronson succumbed to cancer leaving Hunter to wander on alone. Having now teamed with John Mellencamp’s guitarist Andy York Hunter has recorded an album full of wry observation without completely succumbing to the heavy decadence of sentimental nostalgia. Closer to Springsteen’s The Rising than Mellencamp’s recent efforts Shrunken Heads will thrill old fans and suggests to those of us who hadn’t paid attention might want to check out the back catalog. –ryan michael painter

Ion Dissonance
Minus the Herd
Abacus
Street: 06.04
Ion Dissonance = Bury Your Dead + Botch
Dear Ion Dissonance, why did you have to change your chaotic sound to a form of breakdown based metalcore? Your Solace album was masterful filled with technicality, controlled chaos and utmost brutality. Minus the Herd sounds like so many other bands that are just plain boring and overdone. Will you please return that honest chaos that bled insanity to your next album? Also could you please tell your publicist that having 55,000 friends on Myspace.com means absolutely nothing considering my account gets up to 15 spam “friend requests,” a week. I’m sorry to come off so hard it is just painful to know how good your Solace album was and to turn that success around and create a Hatebreed knock-off. I know you have it in you to be more than just tough-guy metalcore, you have the talent please consider this fact next time you write an album. Sincerely, a disenchanted fan. –Bryer Wharton

Iron Fire
Blade of Triumph
Napalm Records
Street: 06.29
Iron Fire = Queensrche at a LARP convention
Power metal does not give a FUCK what YOU think. Yes, YOU! Much like the defenseless nerds you picked on in high school, despite all the scoffing power metal gets, it keeps on persisting because it LIKES being nerdy. I find this to be respectable above much in the metal world. While power metal isn’t close to my favorite style of metal, it still somehow holds true to exactly why I started loving metal in the first place: it’s a lot of fun. Iron Fire is one of the several bands at the top of their genre, and this album is no disappointment. Musically it’s consistently rocking and definitely something that would be great to listen to while your World of Warcraft guild battles against the Orcish Horde. Sometimes there’s not much more that you can ask for. ONWARD, TOWARD VICTORY!! –Conor Dow

Jason Holstrom
The Thieves of Kailua
Mill Pond Records
Street: 07.24
Jason Holstrom = Hele mei hoohiwahiwa!!!
Fuck yea, Hawaii! Take a musical style reminiscent of a surf-crazy tropical vacation, mix in some ukuleles and various Hawaiian phrases, and you have yourself a $10 Pacific Island vacation, jam packed into a one little CD. Alright, maybe it's not that good; It might even remind some people of those “Hawaiian days” everyone has in elementary school, where everyone gets to bring a beach towel to the cafeteria. Either way, it certainly has a unique and fun energy about it that will, at the very least, make you think of something tropical. A fruity cocktail, perhaps? —Ross Solomon

Jena Malone and Her Bloodstains
The Social Club no.1
The Social Registry
Street: 05.07
Jena Malone and Her Bloodstains = Bjork + Tom Waits
The first in a series of 7-inch vinyls called The Social Club, Jena Malone and Her Bloodstains is no joke. The truth is this is the best band name since Molly Ringwald and Her “What the fuck is on my sheets?” Players. So let’s get this clear before we continue: yes, Jena Malone is singing bluesy, Cat Power-ish folk songs with a surprisingly resonant voice. Yes, she has chosen to call her supporting talent “bloodstains,” which I can only assume is a reference to her...emotional scars. The two songs released here hardly represent a fully realized sound, but show promise. Malone’s powerful but subdued voice is like a choked and even throatier version of The Faun Fables’s Dawn McCarthy. The band is solid, with Russell Simins (Blues Explosion) and Chris Maxwell (Skeleton Key) to name a few. It’s all centered on Malone’s wandering vocals and a loose, rootsy acoustic guitar, the result is aimlessly enjoyable. Period. –Jeff Guay

Karl Blau
Dance POSITIVE
Marriage
Street: 05.08
Karl Blau = (D+) + Arthur Russel + obscure funk 45s
Dance POSITIVE is Karl Blau’s tribute to ex-bandmate Bret Lunsford (D+, Beat Happening), whom he feels is grossly underappreciated at a lyricist. I’m thinking he’s probably right there (do you appreciate him?), and this collection probably won’t rectify that situation, but it may solidify Blau’s reputation as a indie blue-eyed soul singer to be reckoned with. In most cases, Blau creates entirely new melodies and musical contexts for Lunsford’s lyrics, floating his high, haunting falsetto over spare live instrumentation and dusty old samples, creating a perfect early Sunday morning groove. This is certainly no Big Statement, but it’s an imminently likeable and listenable tribute, and probably worth seeking out for any self-respecting K records fan. –Jona Gerlach

Kill Your Idols
Something Started Here
Lifeline Records
Street: 05.15
Kill Your Idols = Sick of It All + Negative Approach + Black Flag
Kill Your Idols played their last show in a parking lot somewhere in New York after their big farewell show got shut down by the cops in May of 2007. Most bands probably would've just called it a night, but not these guys. Their passion for music is apparent throughout the 38 tracks on Something Started Here, and even though they weren't a particularly well known band, they made some seriously ass-kicking music that any fan of aggressive, angry punk rock should love. Something Started Here collects Kill Your Idols' various contributions to splits and compilations and other rarities, including a couple of covers of songs by Negative Approach and Jawbreaker among others, and even though this collection is uneven and pretty damn long, it's definitely a great place to get into the band. Kill Your Idols may be gone, but hopefully their music will inspire others to keep hardcore punk going in the right direction for years to come. –Ricky Vigil

Korpiklaani
Tervaskanto
Napalm Records
Street: 06.26
Korpiklaani = Traditional Finnish folk music played by bad metal musicians
I usually NEVER trust anything released on Napalm Records, but since the release of Ahab’s “The Call of the Wretched Sea” I’ve relented a bit. Man, what a mistake. This sucker is interesting in a kistchy sort of way, but there’s no way in hell I could find myself taking this stuff seriously. While their label describes them as “original metal influenced by traditional Finnish folk songs,” all that stands out is the folk aspect. The “metal” contained on this album sounds closer to badly played d-beat hardcore, and the album as a whole made me want to find the closest renaissance fair and bomb the shit out of it. There are a handful of bands around that have been able to successfully meld metal and folk music (see: Drudkh), but this isn’t one of them. The majority of this album made me want to grab a draught beer and start imitating the Riverdance…badly. -loveyoudead

Leyode
Fascinating Tininess
Eastern development
Streets: 06.05
Leyode = Prefuse 73 + Broadcast
In following Truffaut’s ‘Une certaine tendance du cinema francais’ I find it hard to believe that any musician that has had as much exposure to the workings of Prefuse 73 Can’t be a bad musician. That is to say that at their worst, Yusuke Hama’s and Laurel Wells (Leyode) will always produce charming child-like beat-and-sample melodies accompanied by harmonious vocals better than the best music a trinity such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony could ever produce. What does that mean… well, nothing. It’s more of a self-affirmation thing. Getting to the sweets. Yusuke and Laurel have somehow built the strengths of a child’s imagination into the sounds of Fascinating Tininess. A bliss mix of heart-warming electro-pop beat-candy that your ears will want to munch until your stomach starts truing over sick. Leyode’s sound is the red balloon that floats fluid and friendly as it fills your ears with lightweight consonance. Trust me when I say even a churning stomach-ach won’t deter your child’s mind from opening Fascinating Tininess’ sugary goodness again and again. –Myles

Light Travels Faster
after the black of Baca County
No Dance Records
Street: ?
Light Travels Faster = Modest Mouse + Pixies
There are some bands and albums that it’s hard to decide whether you really like or not. It’s easy to go back and forth from song to song or album to album, Light Travels Faster is one of these bands for me. I’m no expert of their music, but since I was assigned to review their ep, after the black of Baca County, I have listened long and hard trying to come to a conclusion about whether I could deal with the strong, strong similarities of Christopher Rigel’s vocal style to that of Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse fame and I don’t think I can deal with it. I enjoy Modest Mouse and Brock’s vocals are a lot of what make his band what it is, so to me there should be other reasons I should like and want to listen to LTF, other then because its vocals are similar to a band I already listen to and that have been around for much, much longer. Next is the music, which isn’t bad by any standards, but the experimental side of it drags on in many parts of the five tracks for what feels like hours, which is disappointing because the soundscapes created start off being very interesting and entertaining. LTF is a band showing potential, but until they are able to refine a few things, it may not be worth your time. –Jeremy C. Wilkins

Linkin Park
Minutes to Midnight
Machine Shop Recordings/Warner Bros. Records
Street: 05.15
Linkin Park = The scum found in the depths of Fred Durst's vagina
Imagine, if you will, having a cigarette being put out in your left eye. Twenty minutes later, some diseased hobo shoots his load into that same eye. Fuck! Now you have a burnt eye, festering with every disease imaginable, spreading themselves slowly throughout your body. Scared and disoriented, you stumble toward the closest hospital. Just your luck, its a seven mile walk... uphill. After hours of walking, you finally make it to the ER, where you put your name down on a list and wait for the rest of the day. The doctor finally sees you, puts a bandage on your eye, and tells you that you have gonorrhea in your eye and a full blown case of AIDS. The above scenario is more appealing than listening to this album. –Ross Solomon

Los Campesinos!
Sticking Fingers Into Sockets
Arts & Crafts Records
Street: 7.3.07
Los Campesinos = The Streets + The Islands + The Cure (happy)
This album sounds like someone put an ad in the classified section of the Sunday London Times paper, looking for a combination of people who can play any instrument (doesn’t matter what kind) and lumped it all together for the fuck of it. Some songs like “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” come off as professional compositions of happy and heartfelt ballads, while others like “Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s)” express chaotic enthusiasm for the music they create, but falls flat under dodgy lyrics, cracked vocal cords and off-beat instruments. It almost seems like these guys woke up one day and said, “I want to be in a band!” with forced practice sessions and a tolerant ear for the substandard and out-of-tune…they birthed this record. It’s a collision of U.S. alternative rock attitude with a United Kingdom indie-pop ditty. It’s irresponsibly fun, sometimes annoying, very short and a gorgeous new album for 2007. –Lance Saunders

Lost Eden
Cycle Repeats
Candlelight Records
Street: 04.17
Lost Eden = Soilwork + In Flames + Trivium
Motherfucker! I was actually digging this album until the pussified clean break part that ruined it about 30 seconds into the second song (the first, not including the quick noisy intro). After a full listen, what sets Lost Eden’s “Cycle Repeats” apart from the great majority of its generic counterparts that seem to be flooding the metal world as of late is the production…clean, but it’s got a much-needed hint of grit to it that actually gives it some balls. While definitely catchy in some parts, this is ultimately an album that doesn’t really deserve much more than an occasional half-spin, at best. It’s got some life to it, but not enough to save it from being one of those random titles you see in every damned CD shop you’ll ever visit again for the rest of your life. Decent enough for a metal album, boys and girls, but nothing groundbreaking, challenging, or ultimately fulfilling. -loveyoudead

Mad Juana
Acoustic Voodoo
Azra
Street: 06.11
Mad Juana = Polly Panic + Diamanta Galas + Gogol Bordello
I wanted to despise Mad Juana based on the much-too-self-aware poetic-gypsy pretentiousness of track one, but ended up being verily impressed by the musicianship, songwriting and studio-quality of Acoustic Voodoo overall. Plus, they have the bassist for Hanoi Rocks (who also replaced Arthur “Killer” Kane in the New York Dolls)! PJ Harvey vocal influences come out in “Whatever Hell You Choose” (nice whistling!), “7 Below,” “6” Ditch” and “Ecstasy,” and indeed, PJ has a song called “Ecstasy.” Hmm. Spanish/flamenco horns, guitar and violin in “Ghost Riddim” and several other tracks are amazingly executed and will transport you to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, or at the very least, Zorro. “Stars” will break your heart in the real way, not the five-minute way, and the sleazy road-house harmonica, horns and sultry vocals of “Steel Will” are so Davie Lynch it hurts. However, the four (!) different versions of “Venus in Furs” (including a French one) is, you know, pretty much overkill. –Rebecca Vernon

Matadors
Flame the Whisper
Devil Doll Records
Street: 04.10
Matadors = Hives + Tango + Country + Queens of the Stone Age
Garage, Stoner, something else weird from Sweden, however you want to classify it Matadors have a sound all their own. The tango infused melodies and beats add something to a genre that is usually by the numbers. Frontman Andreas Bergrstrom’s vocals are thick and much lower than his usually unwieldy counterparts in the garage genre, and it’s a welcome addition. Although the songs don’t all pop, there is enough substance to warrant repeat listens, and the more rocking numbers (“21st Century Monotony Disco” “New Wave Coke”) are killer. Portions of the disc meander, plus any album over 12 songs needs to be 100% solid all the way through. Unfortunately, some of Flame the Whisper should have been left on the cutting room floor. When all is said and done, it isn’t the rock formula that makes bands interesting, it’s the band, and Matadors have unique and creative tattooed all over them. –Peter Fryer

Meat Puppets
Rise to Your Knees
Anodyne
Street: 07.17
Meat Puppets = The kings of punked out desert-space rock
The Meat Puppets are back in full effect. Recognize! This is the band’s first release since 2000’s Golden Lies (which shouldn’t have really counted as a Meat Puppets album anyway, because the only original member was Curt Kirkwood) and finally after seven years of hibernation the Kirkwood brothers have reunited. The band now consists of Curt Kirkwood on guitar and vocals, Cris Kirkwood (fresh from a 24 month stay in prison) on bass and Ted Marcus (some dude that was a soundman on a Meat Puppets documentary) on drums. Sadly original drummer Derrick Bostrom is no longer in the band but, Marcus seems to have a little bit better drum chops so it’s okay. Rise to Your Knees is a return to the old school Meat Puppets. They have resurrected their more natural sound with simple production and a slight country tinge which makes Rise to Your Knees similar to a more mature version of their third and best album Up on the Sun. The band seems at peace once again and it shows in the music, every song has a feeling of relaxed confidence and optimism. The return of the Meat Puppets is a good one. –Jon Robertson

Mogwai
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait Original Soundtrack
Wall of Sound
Street: 05.07
Mogwai = Godspeed You! Black Emperor + Explosions in the Sky + Sigur Rs
In a soundtrack thematically and emotionally similar to Explosion in the Sky’s work for the film Friday Night Lights, Mogwai create an original score that perfectly captures raw emotions and feelings of a soccer match from the perspective of Zidane, the French soccer player most famous for his head-butting incident in the 2006 World Cup. The lush, instrumental soundscapes, and cinematic build-ups and climaxes that define contemporary post-rock today fit perfectly into the dramatic soccer sequences that the film is filled with. Returning to their style most seen on their album Come on Die Young, Mogwai depart from the more rock-based Mr. Beast with Zidane, and the songs feature more gentle piano melodies (“Half-Time”), and ambient noise arrangements (“It Would Have Happened Anyway.”) Scottish film maker Douglas Gordon asked Mogwai in late 2005 to score his upcoming film, and it appears that he picked a band worthy to do the job right. –Tom Carbone Jr.

Nine Inch Nails
Year Zero
Interscope
Street: 04.17
Nine Inch Nails = Pretty Hate Machine + 18 years’ sophisticated fine-tuning
Year Zero/With Teeth comparisons are inevitable but they are not sister albums. With Teeth was a solid return after an extended smoke break, but nothing that topped The Fragile, and Year Zero is more than just a diluted With Teeth postscript—it is simply the finest pop-anthem NIN record since Pretty Hate Machine. YZ’s musical concepts are sculpted, sticky and zinging. “Meet Your Master” (my favorite track) is the best potential radio single appearing on the mainstream horizon in years. Driving, industrial subwoofer beats on “HYPERPOWER!” “Vessel” and “Me, I’m Not” are addictive and sound-crafted with the excellence and precision of a watchmaker. The album ends with “In This Twilight” and “Zero-Sum,” two back-to-back slower numbers with gorgeous chord progressions and lyrically probing chorus lines. Reznor has veered from analyzing his twisted inner world to our collective twisted outer world; a lone watchman proclaiming the apocalypse. He’s doing a damn fine job of it. –Rebecca Vernon

Nocturnal Rites
The 8th Sin
Century Media
Street: 06.05
Nocturnal Rites = Rhapsody of Fire + bad Iron Maiden + really bad Dio
OK, this just plain sucks. Wang-doodling guitars aside, the goddamned over-the-top keyboards should be enough to keep any self-respecting metal fan away from this. The second track on the album, “Never Again,” begins with keyboards annoying enough to rival Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” a feat that one would think damned near impossible. The entire album sounds like really bad hair metal mixed with angry white kid music and topped off with some poor sap’s keyboard penis envy shining through far too much. Of course, if that’s your sort of thing…–loveyoudead

O Pioneers!!!
Black Mambas
Team Science Records
Street: 07.01
O Pioneers!!! = Hot Water Music + Small Brown Bike + 12 Hour Turn
Black Mambas is jangle-y rock/soul/punk/folk/jazz—all of these things fused into romantic chord progressions—that screams with vocals of sand and a beard of bees. I say romantic because the lyrics, “I’ll play with my heart and scream out my thoughts” are scattered everywhere to establish community, passion and barebones love. I say screams with bees because like Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music, O Pioneers!!! play their vocal chords as loud and distorted as their guitars. This has been the new, heightened and balls-to-the-wall form of campfire sing-a-longs, and—whether by nostalgia or genuine allure—I can’t help but raise my fist and grit my teeth to the sounds of Vikings putting their hearts into music. —Spanther

Octavia Sperati
Grace Submerged
Candlelight
Street: 05.22
Octavia Sperati = The Gathering + Madder Mortem
I’ve heard female fronted bands that sound like The Gathering before but Octavia Sperati take the cake for sounding pretty much exactly the same as the How to Measure a Planet era of The Gathering. Now does said fact make listening to Octavia Sperati less enjoyable? Yes and no, the songs contained on the disc are eclectic, emotional and diverse enough to keep things interesting. Yet it is still hard to get over the fact that they sound so much like another very well established band. The only slight difference is maybe the fact that Octavia Sperati remains harder edged with their use of guitars and not as much utilizing the acoustic and piano aspects. The value of the band as a whole is fleeting, it doesn’t take long to get bored listening to Grace Submerged and why listen to a band that copy another’s style so much when you could just listen to The Gathering and have a better time doing so. –Bryer Wharton

One Hand Loves the Other
One Hand Loves the Other
Stickfigure
Streets:06.26
OHLtO = sad sappy music
Listening to this promo I found myself lighting cigarette after cigarette and contemplating whether to put them out on my skin. Maybe it’s the overuse of alliteration (damn… I think I might have a problem with that myself) or constant metaphors of a fucked up doomed life. Or maybe it’s just because the emo inside of me was screaming to get out & join the other tight pant wearing kids sitting on the floor nodding in agreement that their lives just plain suck. Woe are they: One Hand Loves the Other, I find the name strangely similar to what my friend Trevor does every Night before he sleeps. Coincidence? Perhaps. I feel as thought Lou the lyricist recorded every track on first take placing in his colorless lyrics at will with no larger picture at hand. Melodramatic piano solos, semi-techno background sounds and whiny guitars complement this miserable experience. If this is their goal, high five! Count me in. If not it’s a large dose of Xantax when all I want to do is dance. –Myles

Paradise Lost
In Requiem
Century Media
Street: 06.05
Paradise Lost = Amorphis + My Dying Bride
Paradise Lost have been around for quite a while now, since 1988 in fact. The only other album I have heard by the band is their 1995 Draconian Times record so for comparison sake I only have that outlet not the bands entire career to base anything on. What I do know is that In Requiem is a hell of a lot catchier than what I have heard before. The guitars are heavier than I recall with a slight loss of the atmosphere that the band previously had. Regardless these guys are supposedly the originators of gothic metal, all according to the bands bio. The singer kind of reminds me of the former Amorphis vocalist, there is nothing growled, all clean singing, transitioning from healthy harmonies to deeper excursions, all with plenty of catch choruses, most notably the song “Prelude to Descent.” The keyboards compliment everything and make the songs much more epic than they would be if it were solely guitar based gothic rock. Regardless of the bands long history In Requiem stands alone as it is as a solid effort worth multiple listens and a regular rotation in any metal heads music listening repertoire. –Bryer Wharton

People Press Play
People Press Play
Morr Music
Street: 07.03
People Press Play = Fourtet + Alias + Feist + My Bloody Valentine + Caribou
Sweden, you gave us the Knife and Anna Ternheim (we will not mention Ace of Base or ABBA) and now you give us this. What else should we expect from your musical bounty? People Press Play is all at once ethereal, electronic, moving, and catchy. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a long drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon at night or the closing credits of an airy heartfelt love story. Singer Sara Savery’s voice is enchanting and layers beautifully over the music of Anders Remmer, Jesper Skaaning, and Thomas Knaak who have been playing music together since the 90s. Its combination of Caribou-esque blips, electronic keyboards and beats that swell as only songs from Sweden can, are engrossing, and although repetitive, are never boring. Indeed this is a superb offering from Scandinavia. –Peter Fryer

Pissed Jeans
Hope for Men
Sub Pop
Street: 06.05
Pissed Jeans = Flipper + The Jesus Lizard setting fire to a men’s support group meeting
Did you hear the news? Your masculinity that means so much to you is nothing more than a social construct. You’re not Harry Callahan or John McClane; you’re just some regular sad sack piece of shit who’s been lied to all his life. But don’t worry: Pissed Jeans are here to help. These guys cut through the bullshit pretense clouding rock and roll these days and deliver the kind of wretched, drunken glue-huffing scuzz rock that was thought to be extinct since the early 90s. Their songs come staggering through the speakers, vomiting pig’s blood into your vegan loafers and wiping their asses with the liner notes of your Decemberists CDs. “Scrapbooking” is especially resonant considering the culture around here, and “I’ve Still Got You (Ice Cream)” may just be the most widely relatable song I’ve ever heard. Essential listening for those with soul-crushing jobs and everyone who remembers the kinds of records Sub Pop used to put out. –Jona Gerlach

Qui
Love’s Miracle
Ipecac Recordings
Street 09.11
Qui = Scratch Acid + early Helmet + the Unknown Instructors
Qui (pronounced qwee) is a three-piece band from Los Angeles. Originally formed as a duo in 2000, drummer Paul Christensen and guitarist Matt Cronk teamed up with Jesus Lizard/Scratch Acid vocalist David Yow late last year. Since adding Yow, the trio has released a single, staged a brief tour and taken part in Austin’s SXSW festival. Love’s Miracle is the band’s first full length as a threesome. The disc is steeped heavily in punk, noise and metal, with arrangements and stabs in directions that can only be described as experimental. Add to this the hypnotic, soothing voice of Yow and it is almost like it is 1992 all over again. The music is unyielding and deliberate, and still different enough from Yow’s past projects that you can listen without having to think about how much better the Jesus Lizard was. Not surprisingly, it is not as good as the Jesus Lizard, but it is sizably better than whatever the hell Yow was doing recently with the Melvins. And with a tour in the works, this might be the disc that brings the fanatic frontman back through our fair state. Hell yes! –James Bennett

Ray's Vast Basement
Starvation Under Orange Trees
Howells Transmitter
Street: 07.03
Ray's Vast Basement = M. Ward + Smog + Califone
Every song creates a visual image of a traveling, down-on-his-luck bard, sitting on an apple crate, strumming his acoustic guitar. Singin' of the hard times now and future pleasures of living the "American Dream". If you've read John Steinbeck your image might be similar, as every track is inspired by his depression-era novels and penned for the Actors Theater of San Francisco's production Of Mice and Men. Songwriter Jon Bernson is the bard of Ray's Vast Basement and his companions on this rough journey include Nate Query (The Decemberists), Enzo Garcia (Jolie Holland), and Tim Cohen (Black Fiction). I despise Of Mice and Men. As much as I dislike Steinbeck, I equally love this crafty album. Well-recorded in an old-timey style, these "cinematic folk" songs will have you sitting on a hard floor tapping your toes. –Jennifer Nielsen

Samael
Solar Soul
Nuclear Blast
Street: 07.17
Samael = Dimmu Borgir + Rammstein – the German vocals
Never being able to remain as a constant, Samael has updated their sound from death/black metal in their early years to industrial metal with their last few albums, each with their own distinct sound. While their previous work Era One showcased the more electronic side of the band and regardless of what some metal purists may say Samael exudes talent and Solar Soul is a new showcase for fans of the Passage/Eternal era of the bands discography. The songwriting here is nothing short of astounding each track its own entity and embodiment of striking emotions. The guitars may not be filled with soloing and excessive leads but keyboardist/programmer XY is at the top of his game, creating an epic and diverse sound for the group’s rough industrial base. Don’t forget there is guitarist/vocalist Vorph leading the helm with his distinct darkened snarls and deep throaty vocal efforts. The rhythm section of Samael has always been one of their key features, actually one of the only things that has remained consistent even within the stylistic changes of the band, you will always be banging your head with fervor along to the bands bass heavy bottom end. Samael is one of those bands in metal that you can always count on for an interesting listen regardless of your taste, now with Solar Soul once again taking the band to new frontiers. –Bryer Wharton

Shapes and Sizes
Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner
Asthmatic Kitty Records
Street: 05.22
Shapes and Sizes = TV on the Radio + Arcade Fire + Coco Toothsom
Shapes and Sizes know how to create a sonic rocket and ride it without wobbling: They make bright, ambitious rock that moves quick and tight, so it’s difficult to find fault. Or, back to metaphor, imagine a candy store packed to the tops; how is it possible to, one, choose anything, and, two, having any sense of sound critical abilities when confronted with a wall of color and sugar? When Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner does slow down it tastes a bit like the taffy in the sample bowl: pale and stale. Maybe it’s the girl’s vocals—that Joanna Newsom/Coco Rosie bullshit of let’s-see-how-many-whimsical-voice-inflections-I-can-do-in-a-song is really getting annoying—because I enjoy the tracks where I don’t hear her. —Spanther

Stereo Total
Paris-Berlin
Kill Rock Stars
Street: 06.22
Stereo Total = Deerhoof-Greg Saunier + 50s beach house
There is nothing particularly new or exciting on this latest release from German darlings Stereo Total. They definitely have defined the nitch of jango-pop in Germany and France but seem a little afraid to explore new territory. The production is a little better on this recording but removes some of the punk energy that is found on previous albums Musique Automatique and Discotheque. Silly little pop-songs about plastic surgery and hermaphrodites sound a little too tongue and cheek this time around. Although Paris-Berlin isn’t necessarily that important, there won’t be another album this year that will capture the cuteness and awkwardness of French Germans. –Andrew Glassett

Street Smart Cyclist
Self-Titled
Our Neighborhood Records
Street: 07.01
Street Smart Cyclist = Cap ‘n Jazz + Braid + Tit attachment
The influence of Cap ‘n Jazz and the like on these “six enthusiastic kids from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania” is very apparent. This three-song EP makes me want to listen to Cap ‘n Jazz not because Street Smart Cyclist are a carbon copy that does better than represent its predecessors, but because it succeeds in reestablishing the sentiment, and creates a desire for the original quality. I’m not usually one for mathematics (or authenticity, for that matter), but Street Smart Cyclist aren't reinventing the wheel (they’re not even making the early 90’s emo wheel run smoother), and are thus a square root or exponent short of ANALPHABETAPOLOTHOLOGY. Regardless, I think they’re having/creating just as much fun as their ancestors despite being a few pubic hairs short of avant-garde—Spanther

Sian Alice Group
Nightsong 7”
The Social Registry
Street: 06.19
Sian Alice Group = Dead Can Dance + This Mortal Coil + Lycia
Hauntingly, Sian Alice Group’s Nightsong 7” finds the group roaming the same hallowed grounds as that of Lisa Gerrard in its folksy eeriness (coincidentally it sounds much like This Mortal Coil’s “The Lace Maker” and their cover of “Mr. Somewhere”) Following a proud tradition of breathy female vocalists like Elizabeth Frazer and Siobhan De Mare, the first track is overlaid with vocalist Sian Ahern’s dream pop, abandoned house tone. The second track, an instrumental version of “Nightsong,” lets the delicate neo-classical/Saint Etienne sound puff out thickly between dynamic soft and loud passages. This 7” easily slips between ponderous insight and Sunday brunch. –Erik Lopez

Skinny Puppy
Mythmaker
SPV/Hell-O-Deathday
Street: 01.30
Skinny Puppy = If you need an introduction, read a different review.
If there is one thing that Skinny Puppy has never done, it’s stagnate. After a roughly 8-year hiatus, they returned with “The Greater Wrong Of The Right” in 2004, which immediately showed that the resurrected Skinny Puppy was not going to be content with sticking to anything they had previously conjured, and has since become one of my personal favorite albums. With “Mythmaker,” Skinny Puppy once again prove that they are the frontrunners of electronic/industrial music by a damn sight. The clean production and relative space between sounds on “TGWOTR” is still captured here, but a new dimension of darkness has been added. For instance, the track “Haze” begins, innocently enough, with the sound of birds chirping, and proceeds to completely spiral downward from that point on. Ogre’s heavily synthesized vocals combine with an almost orchestral backdrop, and ultimately drop into an extremely sparse and downtrodden atmosphere. Where the songs on “TGWOTR” tended to blend together after a spell, all the individual tracks on “Mythmaker” flow together perfectly, and yet are all perfectly distinguishable as their own separate entities. If nothing else, the album’s closer alone (“Ugli”) warrants immediate purchase of this album. “Jesus wants to be ugly,” indeed. –loveyoudead

Sonata Arctica
Unia
Nuclear Blast
Street: 05.22
Sonata Arctica = Stratovarius + Nightwish – female vocals
Apparently Sonata Arctica are really big in Europe, mainly Scandinavia but then again so is David Hasselhoff. I can’t exactly pinpoint why I enjoyed other offerings from the band, maybe they were more guitar oriented and less keyboard fluff. Unia is the Finnish word for dreams and I guarantee it’s not what the band intended but the album sounds more like a nightmare filled with clowns and balloons instead of a blissful dream. When the guitars are roaring Unia is bearable but the keyboards sound like they’re straight out of a bad 80s movie soundtrack at times other times it’s just ultra peppy silly crap. I guess when the bands bio goes on and on about how popular they are and how many times they topped the European charts instead of actually talking about the current record it’s a bad sign for the album. Previous achievement alone cannot save this record that is filled with way too many ballads and not enough power to even be called symphonic power metal. –Bryer Wharton

Street Smart Cyclist
Self-Titled
Our Neighborhood Records
Street: 07.01
Street Smart Cyclist = Cap ‘n Jazz + Braid + Tit attachment
The influence of Cap ‘n Jazz and the like on these “six enthusiastic kids from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania” is very apparent. This three-song EP makes me want to listen to Cap ‘n Jazz not because Street Smart Cyclist are a carbon copy that does better than represent its predecessors, but because it succeeds in reestablishing the sentiment, and creates a desire for the original quality. I’m not usually one for mathematics (or authenticity, for that matter), but Street Smart Cyclist aren't reinventing the wheel (they’re not even making the early 90’s emo wheel run smoother), and are thus a square root or exponent short of ANALPHABETAPOLOTHOLOGY. Regardless, I think they’re having/creating just as much fun as their ancestors despite being a few pubic hairs short of avant-garde—Spanther

Thee Ohsees
Sucks Blood
Castle Face
Street: 04.03
Thee Ohsees = Wooden Wand + Ariel Pink + Guided by Voices
OCS, Oh Sees (OCS), Thee Ohsees: considering this is starting to look like John Dwyer’s (Coachwhips, Pink and Brown, etc.) main gig, he may just want to pick a name variant and stay with it. (My advice: drop ‘thee.’ It’s pretentious.) Mild moniker modification aside, Dwyer continues to explore his mellow singer-songwriter side with another set of hazy, sundazed psych-folk. Though not as aggressively lo-fi as previous efforts (i.e. not recorded with a boom box behind a couch in a crowded room), Thee Ohsees still retain their scratchy, blown-out sound, enlisting David Sitek (TV on the Radio) to add some lysergic production help. Great listening for late summer afternoons when you’re too hot to fall asleep, too lazy to get up, and too stoned to care. –Jona Gerlach

They Might Be Giants
The Else
Idlewild/Zoe/Universal
Street: 07.10
They Might Be Giants = Yes, no, maybe, I don't know
They Might Be Giants, with such a huge trail of fame and fortune dragging behind them, don't need any kind words from lil ol' me. As such, I will give you the real skinny on their new CD: It is the musical equivalent to having hairy balls resting upon your chin when you wake up from a night of excessive drinking and debauchery. Each and every one of their damned songs sound so similar that I had an incredibly hard time listening to the album the whole way through without audibly groaning, and that was after the 7th or 8th beer. –Ross Solomon

Tia Carrera
Heaven and Hell EP
Arclight Records
Street: 06.12
Tia Carrera = (Boris + Hendrixian solos + Sabbath) – vocals and smeared with jam
Not to be confused with the actress from Wayne’s World (Tia Carrere) , Wayne and Garth would nonetheless find this band to be totally worthy. This three-piece instrumental likes to bring the rock, and its obvious they know what they are doing as exemplified in this three song ep. What makes this disc even more impressive is that the three tracks are culled from a single take, on a single reel of one-inch tape (which is awesomely revealed by viewing the liner notes in the mirror… simple, but still cool). The result is a 30 minute session of fuzzed out Hendrix meets Sabbath guitar hero rock, with the rhythm section prodding and pulling the guitar from epic solos to tribal ethereal noisescapes and back again. While they offer nothing truly “new” to the rock catalogue, these jams will catch you with their enthusiasm, and will certainly sate any craving for epic 70s six-string mayhem. –Brian Roller

Tim Armstrong
A Poet’s Life
Hellcat Records
Street: 05.22
Tim Armstrong = The Aggrolites + Operation Ivy
A Poet’s Life serves as a free thank you from the notorious Tim Armstrong to all of his fans. Songs from the album began being released on the internet for free in the fall of 2006. Luckily, the album has also been released on Hellcat Records for fans that lack the patients to track down the 10 songs on the web. A Poet’s Life marks Armstrong’s debut solo release and it couldn’t be stronger. Armstrong is backed by the Aggrolites on this release and his scratchy punk rock vocals blend seamlessly with the free flowing reggae grooves. Every song on the album is a solid release and they all managed to get stuck in my head after only a few listens. My favorite tracks were “Take this City”, “Translator” and “Among the Dead”. Play this album loud with the bass turned up to ten. –Jeanette Moses

Toxic Bonkers
Progress
Selfmadegod
Street: 05.21
Toxic Bonkers = Kataklysm + Pungent Stench + Vader
With a name like Toxic Bonkers you would expect something entirely different than the thrash/death metal stylings that these Polish fellows produce. The band has been around since 1993 but undergone many line-up changes throughout the years and even the death of a main member. Apparently odds and adversity don’t get the Bonkers down, Progress is another step in the right direction for the band. The guitar tone is a blissful shredding powerhouse reminiscent of old school Swedish death metal, not something you would expect from a Polish band. The group is also heavy on the groove side creating catchy and heavy songs. Toxic Bonkers may not be an entirely original idea but they sure as hell are great at what they do. Prepare yourself to be pummeled from this carpet burn raw feeling and pain inducing relentless monument hybrid of death and thrash metal. –Bryer Wharton

Track a Tiger
We Moved Like Ghosts
Deep Elm Records
Street: 06.05
Track a Tiger = Yo La Tengo + Low + Ida
Track a Tiger returns with another excellent indie album. With Kristina Castaneda lending vocals to many of the songs, they reach the atmospheric sway of Low. Reaching lofty heights and remaining there, relaxed; not because they're boring, but because there's so much texture happening it's best to take it slow. Strange instruments like an ebow & a buddha machine mixed with the orchestral rhodes piano, timpani and sometimes a cello, keep Track a Tiger floating, as implied by the album title. Acoustic guitar & banjo, percussions & drum rhythms stop them from floating too high off the ground. Sounding a bit Americana, though more Midwest than Far West or the twangy South. --Jennifer Nielsen

The Unseen
Internal Salvation
Hellcat Records
Street: 07.10
The Unseen = Cheap Sex + Career Soldiers + Western Waste
With some pretty decent albums released in the past, The Unseen have a fairly good track record. Their past two albums (Explode and State of Discontent) have been mediocre at best. With Explode, The Unseen were launched into the mainstream that is Hot Topic, generic, people pleasing trash. With this release, that garbage has really killed the last shreds of underground street punk sound they once had. Mark Unseen’s once rough scream has been replaced by a half-ass scream that sounds more like he’s trying to sing. All of the songs seem to have the same formula: slow intro that builds to a somewhat fast guitar, mid-song interlude where Mark speaks and makes it sound like it’s coming from a loud speaker, and generic “government and religion sucks” attitude. Any Hot Topic fan boy will love this new album, but fans of the old Unseen albums will be very disappointed. Pardon my bad pun, but this album should remain unseen. –Josh McGillis

Various Artists
C’est Merveilleux
Luxophonic
Street 06.01
C’est Merveilleux = a mix of loungy, stylish pop from the 60s and 70s
Paris has always had its own music score. You’ve heard it before—the Hammond organ heavy, sophisticated 60s pop that sold millions of records to people too proper to listen to the Beatles. There’s one of these songs on every romantic comedy film soundtrack, usually in a scene where Meg Ryan asks Tom Hanks if he loves her despite her pug-nose and her stereotypically cute list of neuroses. This new compilation on France’s Luxophonic label groups together almost two dozen of these songs. There’s a track by Doris Day, one from Ennio Morricone, and even a song recorded by a pre-A&M records Claudine Longet. Not many of the other easy listening artists are recognizable by name, but they all seem to play that same sort of orchestra lead, well-rehearsed songs that were thankfully pushed aside when 70s rock busted onto the scene a few years later. It is not a bad compilation, but it doesn’t seem to have much going for it either. It’s boring. It might work well as house cleaning music, but only if you vacuum while wearing pearls and sporting a beehive hairdo. –James Bennett

Various Artists
Music with a Twist - Revolutions
Columbia Records
Street: 05.15
Revolutions = Ricky Martin + Paris Hilton
For the sake of all that is good in this world, I hope that this album is just a terrible attempt at a very sick and maniacal joke. Seriously: its like a terrifyingly freaky fusion of that Monster Ballads mix, the most irritating of trashy pop, and a fresh cup of steaming ball sweat. Garnish that fun little concoction with Mr. Ivri Lider, touted as a “Hebrew-speaking Ricky Martin,” and you've got... well, a ground up dude in a cup of ball sweat. Seriously, though, don't ever buy this CD. Ever. —Ross Solomon

Various Artists
Essential Dub
ROIR Records
Street: 06.26
Essential Dub = An exquisite sampling of the best Dub around!
This comp was an absolute delight. ROIR Records has compiled a CD of some of their favorite dub reggae artists and the tracks were all picked from releases that are currently available from ROIR. Artists range from Dub Trio, 10 Ft Ganja Plant and Dr. Isrela. The release also features music recorded in the early 80s (Bad Brains) as well as tracks released in 2005 (Bush Chemists). Essential Dub fulfills its promises and won’t disappoint. My favorite tracks were “Truth and Right” by Ras Michael and “Bassie Dub 1” by Twilight Circus. –Jeanette Moses

Vomitory
Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize
Metal Blade Records
Street: 04.20
Vomitory = Napalm Death + early Aborted
IS IT BRUTAL?! I dig this album, I really do. I just sometimes think that brutal death metal is a style that should be consumed minimally so the appeal isn’t diluted in the growly blast beat madness. Hailing from Sweden, Vomitory is renowned for good reason. This album might remind some that you can write punishing brutal death metal without losing the creepy atmosphere or the “dingy cheerleader genital torture basement” feel that it should be emanating. Despite my own reservations about the style played here, these dudes should be proud that they’re putting out material that is not only consistently strong, but maybe also a bit above some of the others in the game. Put this on, remove your shirt, chug some beers, and twirl your helicopter hair clockwise. Repeat until you can no longer remain standing. –Conor Dow

Wednesday Night Heroes
Guilty Pleasures
BYO Records
Street: 06.05
Wednesday Night Heroes = Gorilla Biscuits + H2O + Judge + Youth of Today + Rancid + Better Than A Thousand + Time Again + GBH + the list goes on and on
Wednesday Night Heroes are a melting pot of numerous hardcore and punk rock acts. As their BYO Records debut album, Guilty Pleasures, plays out, each song and even within each song there are notable similarities in style and sound as compared to countless 80s and 90s hardcore and punk bands. Anything from a growl reminiscent of Youth of Today’s or Better Than A Thousand’s Ray Cappo to a guitar breakdown that could be found in a Rancid song to a chorus that might be found in something from Time Again. The comparisons continue on and on. What you have to decide is if you enjoy hearing pieces of your favorite legendary bands done in a new way or if it would bother you. Just because there are a plethora (that’s right, I used the word “Plethora”) of recognizable musical influences that can be picked out doesn’t diminish the quality of the record necessarily. The music is energy-filled enough to revive any nearby corpses from the dead-that is for sure. WNH have been playing their brand of hardcore punk from their hometown of Edmonton in Canada since 1997 and have shared the stage with many remarkable US acts like Bad Brains, The Casualties, Youth Brigade, etc, so maybe it’s time you checked them out and got your own opinion. –Jeremy C. Wilkins

You Say Party! We Say Die!
Lose All Time
Paper Bag Records
Street: 08.14
You Say Party! We Say Die! = Pretty Girls Make Graves + Monsters Are Waiting
In an age where music just doesn't care how much you move your body, its always a nice reprieve when an album like this comes floating along: Like a steamy clusterfuck of dance-your-ass-off punk rock mixed with pleasing female vocals, this album reeks of the intense energy found at the best of YSP!WSD! Shows. Throw some slow piano solos into the mix, and you've got yourself an impressive little album that will have your stereo shouting “DESTROY!” for weeks to come. —Ross Solomon