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June 2008 - Issue 234

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

Annihilation Time
Annihilation Time III: The Tales of The Ancient Age
Tee Pee
Street: 06.10
Annihilation Time = A dirty diaper
First of all, Annihilation Time has to have the stupidest band name of all time. Their name should be more like Lame-o time or something. These dudes are weak. Their brand of Southern-tinged bluesy bar punk rock makes me want to jump headfirst into the deep end of an empty pool. I if was forced to listen to their music on a regular basis, I would probably just start wetting my pants because I would be so depressed and bummed about things in general that my will to live would go right out the window. This band makes life hard and that’s bogus. –Jon Robertson

At the Soundawn
Red Square: We Come in Waves
Lifeforce
Street: 06.10
At the Soundawn = Cave In + Isis + Red Sparowes
At the Soundawn may seem like Lifeforce Records’ answer to the post-hardcore scene; however, while the band definitely goes into that broad realm, they offer up tidbits of something different as well. The band has the spaced-out vibe that Cave In has portrayed on their last few records and then the organic moments from Isis’ later albums. With Red Square. the album’s seven tracks all seem to be about building upon each other and creating a momentum to come to a climax then slowly winding down, with the process repeating itself. That said, the songs aren’t redundant at all; each carry their own weight and are worth listening to again and again. There are some whisper-quiet moments that make those climaxes seem that much more heavy than they actually are. Fans of the post-hardcore genre should find a new excursion in melodies, beautiful tranquility mixed with a pulsating, heavy drive unique to At the Soundawn. –Bryer Wharton

Au
Verbs
Aagoo Records
Street: 06.26
Au = Efterklang + Panda Bear + Grizzly Bear
2008 is destined to be the year of orchestral pop and Au is going to be one of those cited as promulgating such a newly perfected medium. They are a band that has grown into their own boots while still maintaining the core of their previous personae. Their music has become much more focused, ethereal, expansive, episodic and collaborative. I can’t stress enough how much more heart this has than Animal Collective, and how much more musicianship it has than The Cinematic Orchestra. The subtleties are what set this release apart from most orchestral releases; it has classical music form while maintaining an edge of experimentalism. There are serious minds at work here surrounded by emancipated spirits. –Andrew Glassett

Awesome Color
Electric Aborginies
Ecstatic Peace
Street: 06.17
Awesome Color = Overrated
If you cloned the White Stripes but forgot to add a few chromosomes, you would have the overrated power trio of Awesome Color. These dudes have been on tour with Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth recently and either this bands just really don’t care who opens up for them or they have both gotten old and senile. It seems that everybody is so caught up in naming this band “the band of the future,” yet all I’m hearing is some cheap-ass Jimi Hendrix garage-rock rip-off business. I don’t see how this band is bringing anything to the future of music; they are only ruining the future of music by distracting everybody with a new flavor of vanilla. These dudes are wimpy. –Jon Robertson

Battleroar
To Death and Beyond
Cruz Del Sur
Street: 04.24
Battleroar = Bruce Dickinson + Blind Guardian
Need a description of Greece’s Battleroar? Try “epic,” “really epic,” or “extremely epic.” The whole record just exudes that battle-like, power-metal feel, never mind the fact that some of the songs on here are over eight minutes (“Oceans of Pain” is over 10 minutes). The song lengths aren’t a detractor; the crafty way each song is written it’s impossible to get bored. Add the lyrical content about battles and war and such and it’s even that much more epic. Manowar only wishes they could sound this cool without being cheesy. Album opener “The Wrathforge” is seriously one of the most ass-kicking power-metal tunes I’ve heard in a while. While the band’s sound is in the realm of modern power metal utilizing some keyboards, there is a massively classic feel to the album; it has that Iron Maiden Powerslave album effect, like when you’re done listening to it, it feels as if you just finished a huge novel or watched the director’s cut of all three Lord of the Rings movies. Hear my battle roar, my friends; this album deserves multiple listens and a nice spot on your CD shelf. –Bryer Wharton

Belphegor
Bondage Goat Zombie
Nuclear Blast
Street: 04.15
Belphegor = Behemoth + Dark Funeral Austria’s Belphegor, much like Poland’s Behemoth, started out as a black metal band and have morphed their sound throughout their albums to create a death/black-metal hybrid. With Bondage Goat Zombie, the band sees a bit of a resurgence of black metal in their playing in all aspects, with vocals, guitars and drumming combined. The last album, Pestapokalypse VI, was more of a death-metal excursion. Metal fans that thrive on their music to sound pristinely produced can easily sink their teeth into this monster. The whole thing just seems a bit darker than the last album, but there is no alienation of the band’s fans here; it’s still Belphegor. The musicianship actually seems a bit tighter and in the realm of brutal, it seems to unleash more of a beast and a punch. This style of metal can be fun to jam out to for a while, but the repetitive nature of the tracks sinks in after a few listens and the novelty of brutality wears off rather quickly. –Bryer Wharton The Black Watch Icing the Snow Queen The Eskimo Record Label Street: 06.10 The Black Watch = Kenna + The Cure – the 80’s Some people get real turned on by British accents, but don’t want to deal with the British teeth. If you have found yourself in this predicament, then The Black Watch is most definitely for you! Although from Los Angeles, TBW are able to produce angelic British vocals. Maybe they were in England for the last decade or so and haven’t gotten the memo that the 90s alt-rock phase has long been completed. Aside from watching Friends, TBW isn’t really experimenting. It would be great if they tried a little harder to find a sound for our generation. Once they get a little more risky, I’m sure they could be neck-in-neck on the racing track with bands like Kenna or the Kaiser Chiefs. Repeating classic sounds doesn’t have to be a band thing; you just have to know how to do it right. –Lyuba Basin Bloodbath Unblessing the Purity Peaceville Records Street: 03.10 Bloodbath = Behemoth + Decapitated + Vader This band might mostly be known as the death-metal side band of Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, but one thing is clear: They’re respected for a hell of a lot more than that. In under 10 years, they’ve released two EPs, two solid albums (the first one with the illustrious Dan Swan collaborating), and never let up on the fucking brutality. Unblessing the Purity is the first release for Bloodbath in four years, and doesn’t disappoint at all. Although death metal might be a well-tapped genre, when it’s written well, it always will stand out amongst the herd. Fans who prefer Opeth’s heavier moments will want to check this out, since half of Bloodbath’s roster shares Opeth members, with Martin Axenrot beating from behind the drum kit. Even though this little EP is a mere 15 minutes in length, it will make a great introduction to what Bloodbath has to offer. –Conor Dow The Boy Bathing A Fire to Make Preparations Unsigned Street: 06.15 A Boy Bathing = Wheatus + Bright Eyes A Boy Bathing in puke, my puke, all over the keyboard. Maybe I’m hung over again, but I think not. This album is one to bring up some day-old dinner. There is a reason “Teenage Dirtbag” was a one-hit wonder, and that’s because you can only stand to listen to an androgynous, whiny voice for so long. When you add lyrics like “What are you doing? I’m writing a song. I’m going to a movie; would you like to come?” along with the lullaby melody, then you’ve found yourself sitting in Sunday School again wishing you could drink a beer and listen to real rock n’ roll. It’s not that I have something against cute bunnies and rainbows, it’s just that I am a little distraught about a band saying their sound is “cuddle core.” That means a heart in between every X. –Lyuba Basin Blue Skies for Black Hearts Serenades and Hand Grenades King of Hearts Records Street 5.20 Blue Skies for Black Hearts = John Cusack in Say Anything + The Strokes The blue skies definitely overpower the black hearts when it comes to this album. It’s hard to imagine anything close to the dark side went into putting this record together. Serenades and Hand Grenades brings back the once ideal mop-top band, fully equipped with harmonized vocals. Like before, the serenades seem to over-weigh the hand grenades or any tool that could be used in violent acts. (Is the darkness and weaponry supposed to add an edge?) The album is jam-packed with modest love songs. Let’s just say if the Strokes had a secret lollipop twin that had just come out of years of hiding, Blue Skies for Black Hearts would be it. They have created a sweet, safe and yet still surprisingly catchy record, just in time for the horny youth that blooms in spring. Here’s to the new age of holding your boom box outside your lover’s window. –Lyuba Basin Brothers Black Friday Saw Her Ghost Records 1.15.08 Brothers = Ruiner + Comeback Kid + Miles Away Brothers music exists for a very specific niche audience. Obviously, this is the case for most subgenres, and Brothers play the emotional hardcore part pretty well. The unfortunate aspect of this is that instead of drawing out the bigger topics of their music evident in the descriptions in the liner notes (violence, betrayal, human nature), Brothers is stuck in a 19-year-old frame of mind. They are trying to straddle the fence between brutal honesty and poetry. What ends up happening is they rack themselves on the fence with lyrics like, “It’s pretty clear who my real friends are” or “Shut your mouth.” A little more commitment to either side of the fence would have saved the ball-busting. Barring the formulaic and sometimes grating lyrical content, musically, this isn’t too bad; there are gang vocals and a good mix of fast, slow and melodic parts. Black Friday is a straight-up emotional hardcore album without many frills––for better or worse. –Peter Fryer Bum Kon Drunken Sex Sucks Smooch Records Street: 4.08 Bum Kon = Black Flag + Agent Orange The press release for Drunken Sex Sucks is all about saying that this release is “the best unreleased hardcore record of ‘83.” If that’s true, then I think we’re set for hardcore from ‘83. Obviously, this thing is the intellectual hardcore fan’s dream record, sporting songs like “This is Art,” “Gay Rodeo” and “Reagan Sucks.” The liner notes are written by one Johnny Maggot, a diehard Bum Kon fan who was around when they were active. He seems to mention the fact that they were a hardcore band in Colorado an awful lot, almost like it’s a built-in alibi for when you discover that this doesn’t quite stack up against other hardcore releases from the time. But what about 7 Seconds and JFA? They were from Nevada and Arizona, respectively, and they still killed it. This isn’t a bad collection of tracks, by any means, but it should have been released 25 years ago. I don’t think this deserves to be washed under all the standout hardcore from that era, but the timing of this release almost ensures that exactly that will happen. –Aaron Day Butcher Mind Collapse Sick Sex and Meat Disasters In a Wasted Psychic Land BloodySoundFucktory 2.29.08 BMC = Tom Waits + Mclusky + post punk + no wave Hmmm. This one left me scratching my head. Maybe it’s because I’m not Italian. Maybe it’s because I’ve been stuck in a metal haze lately. Whatever the case may be, Butcher Mind Collapse has me confused. This thing’s a mess. Somehow lead singer Jonathan Lencinella can find some melody in the noisy accompaniment of guitar, bass, sax and feedback that are clanging on behind him. It’s quite a feat. These seven songs are an interesting quest into noisy endeavors, but end up coming off as some wacky dudes who came home from the bar one night to wail on their instruments. Or maybe it’s brilliant. I applaud them for their unique approach, but it’s just not making the synapses fire they way they should when something is really, really good. After the first couple of minutes the shtick wears thin; but maybe that’s what they wanted all along. –Peter Fryer Colin Meloy Colin Meloy Sings Live! Kill Rock Stars Street: 4.08 Colin Meloy = The Decemberists with an acoustic guitar - all the other band’s members (duh) Colin Meloy Sings Live! Is every bit as impressive, and even more so in many instances, than Meloy’s work with his mainstay The Decemberists. Recorded back in 2006, Sings Live! contains mostly Decemberists tracks, but also a track from his first band Tarkio, a cover of British folksinger Shirley Collins’ Barbara Allen and even his self-proclaimed worst song ever written, Dracula’s Daughter. Meloy’s great stage presence can be both felt and nearly visualized through his great banter and interaction with the crowd throughout the set, encouraging the crowd to sing along and explaining to the crowd that the setting of the show was intended to be like friends sitting around a campfire. By the end of the last track, it’s easy to be a fan of Meloy (as if you weren’t already) and his singing and songwriting, and even easier to feel like you know him personally. –Jeremy C. Wilkins Dantesco Pagano Cruz Del Sur Street: 04.24 Dantesco = a different kind of doom metal When you first hear Puerto Rico’s Dantesco’s Pagano, the greatness of it won’t set in until a few listens. At first, the Spanish operatic vocals will throw you off because initially, they sound strange and out of place for the doom-metal style that Dantesco plays. The record is a brooding epic one; each note as powerful as the last with some booming riffs. But I’m going to lay the attention of the record on its vocal performance—while the music is great, it seems merely a vehicle for a great voice, even though I don’t know Spanish. The vocalist seamlessly changes up from clean operatic to these crazy operatic screams. You will never hear a singer sound like this in metal, ever. It creates a foreign but amazing atmosphere that you won’t forget and which you will come back to again and again. So here’s some devil horns up for this punishing, guitar-heavy and grandiosely epic doom metal. –Bryer Wharton Dead Man Euphoria Meteor City Street 06.10 Dead Man = My Morning Jacket + Witchcraft + Cat Stevens I will be playing this album a lot this summer. I’m very impressed with this sophomore release by a band who endures the cold of Sweden. Released in Europe by Crusher Records, the cover image is a stylized dandelion blowin’ apart in the wind. Perfect music for warm weather when you just want to relax with a drink in your hand. Maybe a green smoke in the other. Psychedelic folk-pop by a stoner metal band is the exact theme for this summer’s playlist. They are not so much pop as more bluesy than their label proclaims this “dark” album to be. Dead Man is still rooted in heavy rocker psychedelic, with Sabbath-esque guitar riffs (“The Wheel”) and Led Zepplin-like vocals/guitar (“Rest In Peace”) played by musicians with experience: former members of The Strollers and Norrsken. Song messages may be darker (squeezing livers til they ooze and being possessed by ghosts of your lurid past), but they’re Euphoric, too. “I’ve had my share of hardships, but I’ve seen some good times.” Well, let the good times roll! –Jennifer Nielsen The Dead Next Door There’s No Business Like Horror Business Dr. Cyclops Records Street: 03.06.08 The Dead Next Door = The Misfits + Nekromantix + Balzac One look at this album’s cover art and you know exactly what you’re getting into. As if band members with names like Jonathan Poe and Thomas Lovecraft aren’t enough to tip you off to The Dead Next Door’s sound, song titles like “Monster Girl” and “Zombie Blood” should point you in the direction of that oh-so tricky genre of “Horror Punk.” Of course, all of the practitioners of this sub-set of punk rock wish they could be The Misfits, and of course, none of them can be, but The Dead Next Door are a good example of the genre done right. The Dead Next Door are campy without being too campy and just plain fun, delivering bouncy, kinda evil tunes with B-Movie-caliber lyrics and plenty of “whoa-ohs” to get you singing along. It ain’t the Misfits, but it’s certainly not bad. –Ricky Vigil Ellen Allien Sool BPitch Control Street: 5.26 Ellen Allien = Twerk + Oval + Tujiko Noriko The High Priestess of Techno returns with an album of introspection. Born after a “hot and crazy summer and autumn,” Ellen Allien retreated to her studio where “I push buttons and sing” went on all winter. The result is a deconstruction from the last decade of Allien works: “beats” are formed from anything but drum sounds; so-corny-they’re-cool synthetic swirls flesh out melodies (“Sprung”); jumbo-jet cabin ambience couples with restaurant conversations and chiming drones (“Einsteigen”); bursts of air occupy the bass frequencies while digitized flutes float overhead (“Ondu”). The few danceable tracks, “Its” and “MM,” would have a hard time garnering more than a few head nods, as Allien prefers to work your senses, choosing subdued electronics and field recordings (I think I hear the sound of water pipes as heard from another flat on this one) instead of driving 808 thumps and screaming acid. Screw the club: Sool is a headphone delight! –Dave Madden Farflung A Wound in Eternity Meteor City Street: 05.06 Farflung = Black Sabbath + Pink Floyd + et al What a fantastic surprise this was. I’m not very familiar with space rock in general, but I can tell you right now that this band is wonderful. The songs here are between four and seven minutes long and cut out much of the progressive wank that sometimes plagues bands that play similar styles. Each song has a distinct sound to it, and they all gave me a reason to return to them repeatedly. This is a rare thing for me when I listen to albums, but something that I immediately noticed here after a few days of listening. The first half of the album is a bit more aggressive and rock-based, while the last four tracks are a bit more atmospheric, psychedelic and even eerie in certain respects. The only thing that I can say about Farflung at this point is I’m very impressed and I want more … much more. –Conor Dow Farmakon Robin Candlelight Records Street: 4.29 Farmakon = Opeth + Into Eternity + weird Dillinger Escape Plan breaks Prog-metal is what this is, plain and simple. If you’re not into prog-metal, then read no further. If you are, then Farmakon may have something for you, but no guarantees. This album features offbeat time signatures, loungy jazz breaks, soft-clean singing interludes and the complicated stop-starts that you would expect from the genre. Farmakon has a little more rock n’ roll in their mix (and lounge) so they don’t come across as dark as others. Robin runs right down the middle of the road of prog-metal; it will appeal to fans of the genre because it is competently executed, it just isn’t imbued with a strong desire to blow your mind or entrap you with the intricate weaving and offbeat patterns of those at the forefront of the genre. Well played and interesting in parts, Robin is a good listen for the prog-metal fan, but it probably won’t do much for those not already invested. –Peter Fryer Four Tet Ringer Street Date: 05.06 Domino Four Tet = The Books + Oval It’s been three years since we last heard from Kieran Hebden’s Four Tet side-project, but in his downtime we’ve seen Hebden get his old band Fridge back together, release a two-volume set of improvisations with Steve Reid, an additional non-improvised album with Steve Reid, a DJ-Kicks compilation and God knows how many remixes. Perhaps that’s why Ringer sounds so modest: a half-hour mini-album spread across four tracks, marking the next logical step in his “I hate live instruments” phase, moving from the live-drum flavor of Everything Ecstatic into full-on laptop rock territory. With layers of keyboard blips colliding and interlocking, this album could have easily been a pretentious mess, but instead it turns out to be a surprisingly danceable affair, proving to be both funky and minor-key at the same time. The harp samples on “Ribbons” will make some hip-hop producer exclaim “daymn!”, the title track will sound like the greatest thing ever when stoned, and the sheer minimalism of “Wing Body Wing” is enough for a polite round of applause. It doesn’t have the same moments of sheer melodic beauty as his previous discs, but when the tracks are this funky, you’ll be hard-pressed to care. Evan Sawdey Hatchet Awaiting Evil Metal Blade Street: 05.27 Hatchet = Metallica + Testament With thrash metal seeing a resurgence in all facets and styles, the creations of new bands that worship the old-school style—in Hatchet’s case, Bay Area thrash metal—is only natural. There is quite a few of these next-generation thrash bands popping up, but while some of them sound like a novelty act, Hatchet sounds pure and true. As any great thrash metal should be, the music is fast with tons of snappy leads and guitar solos. This record reminds me a great deal of early Testament; not a bad thing at all. Hatchet definitely isn’t out to create some new style or form of the genre, it just sounds like they love that 80s sound and are more than happy to create it and play it, wearing their influences proudly on their sleeves. Not needing further analysis; enjoy Hatchet for what it is—fun thrash metal inspired by the greats (though not surpassing them by any means). –Bryer Wharton The Hellfire Villainy A Demonstration in Disturbing the Peace Whorsebath Records Street: Out Now The Hellfire Villainy = the Motrhead fan club Now available for parties: it’s the Hellfire Villainy! They rock! They roll! They sound like Motrhead being played on glam-rock guitars! They can’t really solo but they don’t really seem to care! Lead singer Gibby tries out a different vocal style on each song, ranging from Depeche Mode-styled baritone laments (the horribly-titled “Know One Really Cares”) to Stephen Merritt-styled baritone laments (“The Last Frontier”)! Their songs all kind of sound the same except for this fantastic slow-burner called “Good” that actually switches up the tempo and rides a really strong hook, easily making it the highlight of the band’s debut EP! They’ll probably play that song at your next basement get-together! Once they’re done playing, you could probably pay them in beer! ’Cos they’re named the Hellfire Villainy and that’s how they roll! –Evan Sawdey Ihsahn Angl Candlelight Street: 05.27 Ihsahn = Emperor + a progressive touch + Cradle of Filth Everybody that listens to black metal knows who the hell Ihsahn is, only the founder of Emperor, a band that in its beginnings was touted as one of the greatest from the Norwegian scene. However, the band adapted their sound throughout the years and many of the “true” black metal fans abandoned them. This is Ihshan’s follow-up album to his first solo album and when the progressive style guitars and clean vocals are going, the album surpasses Ihsahn’s first offering as a solo artist. But much to my heart’s discontent, for some strange reason there are crappy Cradle of Filth moments in the music itself and in Ihsahn’s vocal approach; yeah, there are times when he sounds almost exactly like Dani Filth, who personally I think sounds like an elf that got punched in the nuts. So take those tracks out of the album’s equation and you have a brilliant record; it’s a damn good thing those moments aren’t horribly frequent. Overall, the album is well played in every instrumental aspect; it’s diverse, keeping interest, and surely won’t disappoint longtime fans of the artist. –Bryer Wharton I Shalt Become Requiem Moribund Records Street: 05.06 I Shalt Become = Xasthur + Velvet Cacoon Ten years after I Shalt Become released Wanderings, which became fairly prolific, this mysterious one-man project from Illinois is finally showing productivity again. The style here is similar to the old material, with dreary guitar melodies that melt over each other as the snarling vocals and drums continue about their way underneath. The main thing that sets this apart from previous material is that the writing seems to have a more intentional direction now, rather than just trailing off without any resolve or purpose. After several listens, I can say that I enjoy this as much as I enjoy Wanderings, though I must heartily disagree with the press release, which claims this as the “Filosofem for a new generation!” However, I Shalt Become still sticks out to me as some fairly interesting black metal to have come out of the United States. –Conor Dow Jamie Lidell Jim Warp Street: 4.28 Jamie Lidell = early Marvin Gaye – early Jamie Lidell From the beginning of his musical career as part of the duo Super_Collider (with Christian Vogel), Jamie Lidell let us know that he has an amazing set of pipes, a voice lifted straight from Motown, channeling Otis Redding, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, et cetera. However, the amazing part about Lidell—the main draw for me—was his ability to drop his brilliant voice into a blender and come out purely unique (i.e., his sultry croon over the top of a programmer-heavy beat on “Daddy’s Car,” or the futuristic broken funk of “Radianatians on the Rise,” or a forceful, echoing dub on “The City”). Now, he’s just Jim sans electronics (he fired the beat-box orchestra and hired a band). Yes, the talent is there, but what made Lidell so utterly interesting is absent, leaving a guy who does a great neo-soul act yet nothing else. Jim, tell Jamie to come back. –Dave Madden Joan of Arc Boo! Human Polyvinyl Record Co. Street: 05.20 Joan of Arc = American Football + Cap’n Jazz + Owls Tim Kinsella is no stranger to the world of experimentation and noisemaking. Boo! Human, Kinsella’s 12th full-length under the Joan of Arc moniker, continues his trend of ambient, acoustically delicious tunes that creep up my spine in a way that nobody else does. The album was put together in an interesting fashion: Kinsella took a week in the studio and invited musicians to come in and sign up on a sheet and lend their helping hands on the songs. The result is an album full of surprises with no two tracks sounding alike. I’d say Boo! Human is Joan of Arc’s most cohesive and accessible album to date. Kinsella’s knack for humorous and smart songwriting doesn’t stop on this album, evident in “A Tell Tale Penis,” a song laced with piano riffs and a post-rock vibe. Whether you’re a longtime Kinsella fan or someone who hasn’t ever heard him before, pick up this album immediately. –Tom Carbone Jr. Kataklysm Prevail Nuclear Blast Street: 05.27 Kataklysm = the Northern Hyperblast Prevail is a culmination of Kataklysm’s last record, In the Arms of Devastation, and what they did on previous records Serenity in Fire and Shadows and Dust. Thus it is the very essence of what the band has done in the last six years. If there is one constant in the those last albums with Kataklysm, it is the fact that the band’s production is pristine, making their self-dubbed death metal style “the Northern hyperblast” all that much more heavy, especially in the all-out blastbeat drumming assaults. In the Arms of Devastation added a bit more melodic moments to Kataklysm’s sound whereas the previous two albums were pretty straightforward, heavy in grooving guitar moments, without lots of soloing or leads. This bringing together of those styles is highly cohesive and works well for Kataklysm because where records like Serenity in Fire got tiresome after awhile, the newer style of more leads and more focus on the actual guitar-playing makes the songs more interesting and actually keeps the pacing and songwriting interesting. There is no question here that this is Kataklysm’s best and most diverse album yet. –Bryer Wharton Kings X XV SPV/Inside Out Street: 05.20 Kings X = Rush + Fates Warning + Nightingale Kings X have been around the progressive rock/metal block and back; they formed in 1980 with a multitude of releases. I will openly admit I haven’t followed the band’s career; I’ve heard their last few releases, but not the older material. The new album offers up more of what was the sound of their previous record, Ogre Tones, released three years ago. The music is in the realm of pop and hard rock with a bluesy feel to some of the tracks. Prog rockers and fans of just melodic modern hard rock will enjoy this album for all it’s worth: the songs are plentiful and diverse. The music is interesting, but after repeated listens, the emotions that are trying to be portrayed on the record seem to fall flat. Where they first sounded sincere, many songs become about relationships. The band has established their fanbase, and I can see how longtime followers will enjoy the music that Kings X creates. However, I can also see that the music has a level of mediocrity and is in a certain comfort zone, daring not to be truly progressive and try something different from their last few albums. –Bryer Wharton The Little Ones Terry Tales & Fallen Gates EP Branches Recording Collective Street: 04.08 The Little Ones = early New Pornographers + Los Campesinos! Let’s face it: indie-pop is hard! These days it feels like all you need are two vocalists and a glockenspiel to get some sort of contract, often inadvertently following the indie-pop template that Jellyfish established and the New Pornographers later defined. L.A.’s The Little Ones, unfortunately, aren’t much of an exception. Though the exuberance of songs like “Tallies” and “New Branches” is undeniable, the warm melodies fail to last beyond their three-minute running time. They do, however, give a nice kick to your ears with the mid-tempo “Unlock the Door!” a fantastic track with bouncy Shout Out Louds-styled percussion and the most infectious melody on the whole disc. No, it ain’t perfect, but the Little Ones’ EP at least shows the promise of brighter, richer choruses to come. But damn, indie-pop is hard! Evan Sawdey Made Out of Babies The Ruiner The End Street: 06.24 Made out of Babies = a female-fronted Neurosis + Jesus Lizard From the amazing opening riffs of The Ruiner’s first track, “Cooker,” there is no doubt that this record is different from the pack. If you want to give it a technical tag as to what genre the band would fit in, it would be post-hardcore. But screw the technicalities; this is something in its own world, blurring the lines, yet not so out there that it’s a chore to listen to. The guitar tone and riff structuring is something that needs to be heard; it is beyond explanation other than there are big pounding moments and melodic ones. The whole thing has this subtle dread to it, be it in the fuzzy distortions or the stellar vocal female vocal performance that will leave any fan of experimental-type rock/metal reeling for more. Ultimately, music is all about feelings and there are plenty of them being stirred up, sifted around or screamed in your face on The Ruiner. Simply put, this album needs to be experienced firsthand to begin to remotely understand its power. –Bryer Wharton Marduk Obedience EP Regain Records Street: 04.30 Marduk = Dark Funeral + Immortal + Belphegor Although Marduk’s Obedience EP came out eight years ago with much sexier artwork, the material is still here intact. In fact, since it’s been re-released, Obedience includes two songs that were previously only available on a limited box set. One track is a Rolling Stones cover (I’ll let you guess which song), and the other is a short but sweet track called “Earth AD.” Of course, a re-release like this would really only be for completist fans or those who need a quick quarter-hour of hateful Swedish black metal. Certainly nothing wrong with that … but if you enjoy black metal, you pretty much know what to expect here. –Conor Dow Mass Solo Revolt Easy Mark Self-released Street: 06.01 Mass Solo Revolt= The Shins + The Pixies + vocals from any band on the radio As a fan of the bass, I really dig production that utilizes this often-buried asset. Mass Solo Revolt, in Pixie-esque style, features the bass guitar in a great way on a few songs. The rest of the instrumentation is on point: tracks do a nice job spotlighting keys and other odd, expansive noises. The album is also not limiting in terms of song length. These guys don’t give a shit about keeping a track at the “ideal” 3:33 song length that make hits radio “playable.” That’s nice to see; and being raised on enough punk rock makes me nostalgic for a song that’s two minutes long. Easy Mark has them. It would have been interesting to see them build on the bigger sound they created on the second track, “All Bark” (a Shins-like orchestration), on the rest of the album. It dissolves into mostly uninspiring rock after that. –Jon “JP” Paxton The Memphis Morticians Play Primitive Trashman and 13 Other Love Songs Kaiser Street: 04.01 The Memphis Morticians = The Raymen + Mad Sin (early) + The Legendary Invisible Men It’s funny to me that garage rock came out of the rockabilly of the early 60s and this band from NYC has taken the best parts of both those genres and slammed them together with some punk-rock vigor. I can honestly say that I have never heard a band quite like the Memphis Morticians. Their self-dubbed trashabilly is really the perfect word for what they do. Fuzzed-out guitar and scratchy, echoed vocals delivered with frantic fervor on top of a revved-up rockabilly rhythm section is truly something to behold. The song “Linda Lee” starts out with some traditional rockabilly-sounding guitar, but pretty soon turns into an outrageous expression of rock n’ roll energy. Although plenty of tracks have that old 50s feel, I believe that the best example of the Memphis Mortician sound is on songs like “Hearse Drivin’ Man,” which is full of grinding guitar, hard slappin’ bass and that fuck-you attitude that lead singer Trash Only is so fine at. –James Orme Microtia Distance Is Oval Exigent Street: 06.03 Microtia = A blues band on speed and acid Microtia is most definitely the coolest band on Exigent Records by far. These dudes are cool as hell. I was hoping and wishing secretly with all my heart that I would get the opportunity to review their album. Finally, my wildest dreams have come true. Every song is the coolest song of all time. Their music is what Queens of the Stone Age should sound like but don’t have the sweet action to pull it off. The vocals sound like Kirk Kirkwood from the Meat Puppets if Kirk actually had the motivation to step up and get some pipes to belt out the sultry vocal lines heard on these six songs. If I had the power to be impregnated, I would totally have Microtia’s babies. –Jon Robertson Morland & Arbuckle 1861 Northern Blues Street: 04.08 Morland & Arbuckle = White boys playing the blues that need to forget they’re white boys playing the blues This trio from Kansas knows the trick to the secret of doing the blues well. It’s keeping the base of what you do simple; just build on top of three or four chords and let it do what it do. The record has a great live feel to it that just makes it jump and pop. I have to say that Arbuckle’s harmonica work really accents these tunes and gives them the authentic tone lacking in most modern blues. The different guitar sounds keep things sonically interesting, especially the sounds from the rarely heard cigar-box guitar. Every now and then these boys let their white side show with songs like fishin’ holes with a rustic feel that causes them to fall into Dave Mathews territory, something we could all do with less of. That being said, I can’t think of any better three-piece blues jam bands out there today. The blues are all about the feel and Morland & Arbuckle know how to make you feel it. –James Orme My Shameful Descend Firebox Street: 04.24 My Shameful = My Dying Bride + Anathema (old) Quite honestly, if you listen to My Shameful’s newest offering to the doom metal scene, the dread will overwhelm you. This record is ultra down-tuned and moves at a snail’s pace—almost with the effect of funeral doom, just without the strange atmospheres. The music is straightforward with no fancy frills attached. Descend is filled with these seemingly long and drawn-out riffs that echo and reverb. While ultimately, the songs carry the same feelings, there is diversity in their composition, which makes listening to this drab affair enjoyable and worthwhile. The death-style vocals shred through everything, adding more of the lovely gloom My Shameful has become known for. There are hallowed melodies that pop in from time to time—yes, melodies—but not happy ones. Guitar tones, while strongly based in one sound, also root around in other territories, offering change throughout the lengthy tracks on Descend. The sound reminds me of when Anathema played doom metal, but with an added darkness and loss of hope. Drape yourself in black, cover the windows and wallow in this darkened opus. –Bryer Wharton Night Stalkers Toxic Cesspool Kaiser Street: 05.13 Night Stalkers = Demented Are Go + Phantom Rockers + Satan’s Teardrops Starting out with the creaking of what I can only assume is the lid of a coffin, this record then launches into sheer psychotic boogie via “Tombstone Hop.” The Nightstalkers must have somehow heard what I’ve been saying for years, that you can still hit hard as hell with your psycho-side, but if you don’t bring along the ‘billy’ of psychobilly, you’re really nothing all that exciting. These Canadian boys don’t pull back on the attack, but songs like “Bound and Gagged” still make you wanna bop ‘till you drop … dead, that is. Honestly, if they could get their recording quality just a little more crisp, especially around the stand-up bass, which at time sounds muddy, the Night Stalkers could be sitting at the top of the psychobilly pile. Creepy, energized, mean-as-hell rock n’ roll. Now that’s a grave I can’t help but dig! –James Orme Nine Inch Nails The Slip Self-Released Street: 05.05 Nine Inch Nails = this is like trying to describe The Rolling Stones Working sans label these days, Trent Reznor is making up for lost time. His output during the last two years rivals that of his whole career; it’s amazing what you can do while sober. Following up March 2008’s soft-spoken Ghosts I-IV, Reznor and company (Robin Finck is back!) return two months later with a counterpoint (and it’s a free download). A brief drone and we’re off: “1,000,000” growls with Stooges riffs and hypnotic, distorted dive-bombs; the broken, unquantized swagger of “Letting You” drips with overdrive, reaching near Atari Teenage Riot proportions before gradually peeling off with some skewed pop tracks, the bi-polar pedal-screwing solo on “Head Down,” a piano/vocal interlude, two atmospheric instrumentals and the hyperactive closer “Demon Seed.” Despite the apparent immediacy here, these works are polished (having Alan Moulder at the helm will do that), appealing for their vigor yet rife with experience and plenty of clever Reznorisms. –Dave Madden Odd Nosdam Pretty Swell Explode Anticon Street: 05.28 Odd Nosdam = Alias + Jel + Headset Despite numerous petitions, no one has ever been able to properly explain to me what “backpacker” hip-hop means. However, the name cLOUDDEAD—or at least one of the band members—comes up whenever I hear a conversation about the genre. Judging from this collection of remixes and B-sides featuring Black Moth Super Rainbow, Jessica Bailiff, Tarsier, Bracken of cD’s beatmaker Odd Nosdam a.k.a. David Madson, I think I finally have it: you put your drugs in that backpack, and lots of them. Madson’s music is the sound of drugs, glorious drugs that never turn wrong, allowing the listener to peer through into another dimension; I’m not talking about chill-out sushi lounge grooves, but a Boards of Canada (coincidentally, Madson remixes BoC here) style, “I-don’t-feel-so-hot-but-if-I-just-lie-here-nothing-bad-will-happen” psychedelics created from overly compressed production, psychoacoustic rhythm tracks and otherwise deft studio wizardry. – Dave Madden Opeth Watershed Roadrunner Records Street: 06.03 Opeth = Porcupine Tree + Camel + Katatonia (old) Wow, Opeth finally puts out the first record in many years that I’m not bored to tears listening to. Watershed tends to remind me of the greatness the band achieved with their Blackwater Park record. With past albums, Opeth seemed to be just jamming and not putting a whole lot of thought into their songwriting, mainly because they really didn’t alienate many of their fans with that formula, so I can’t argue with doing something when it is easy. Watershed has easily renewed my interest in Opeth, though they are still one of the most remarkably boring live bands in existence. The formula which has defined the past many Opeth records remains the same; mellow parts and then heavy parts. But as mentioned before, with this new offering, the band put some effort into making the songs interesting. They’re still trademark-Opeth long, but they don’t get old after 30 seconds, with the rehash factor very low. There is plenty of great guitar work to listen to on Watershed. Vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt still sounds the same as ever, with clean singing and growls. There is a small amount of female vocals on the album opener, which the band should have utilized more of just for diversity’s sake. The main thing that stands out on this record is that the keyboard use is more prevalent and definitely more of a factor in the complexity of the songs. Thanks, Opeth, for not putting me to sleep within listening to one of your records for five minutes. –Bryer Wharton Ours Mercy… American Street: 06.03 Ours = Vast + Placebo From first listen, the new Ours album seems like it is going to be bad ass, but as you get listening through the rest of the tunes you start to realize that this album is pretty much just a one-trick pony kind of thing … if that one-trick pony was ferocious and had rabies but no teeth. So this ferocious freaked-out pony keeps trying to test-bite you and be all mean and the only thing the non-intimidating pony can do is try and gum you to death. This album has absolutely no teeth or drive in any way. It seems that Jimmy Grecco and producer Rick Rubin are just going through the motions and not putting any power or emotion into this anthemic gothic-tinged alternative rock, which is a shame, because the possibility for Grecco’s voice to own some heavier, more powerful music is there. –Jon Robertson Parlor Mob And You Were a Crow Road Runner Street: 06.24 Parlor Mob = Posing as Black Oak Arkansas This band from New Jersey I think listened to Led Zeppelin’s I & II a little too much. Parlor Mob seems to be just trying to remake these albums into one album. Singer Mark Melicia does his best to impersonate Robert Plant, but doesn’t seem to have the savage fury to shout out the vocals like Mr. Plant could. But, being a fun-loving Led Zeppelin fan like myself, you can’t hate on these guys for doing what they do. They are playing a tight version of some metaled-up blues riffs and I want to be down on this, but I can’t do it. This shit is boss!! And I’m into it in a big way. I just hope no one finds out because I’m worried that I’m going to get made fun of. So do me a favor and don’t tell any body. –Jon Robertson Pattern Is Movement All Together Hometapes Street: 05.06 PIM = Thee More Shallows + Trans Am + Christopher Guest I keep waiting for the punchline, but I don’t think it will ever come. All Together, Pattern Is Movement’s third proper release, is their most accomplished and dynamic. It was recorded in band member Scott Solter’s studio, and is superior sonically to their previous release, Stowaway, which was recorded at the infamous Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco. The songs are dramatic and engaging with the band’s signature use of odd time signatures and uncommon harmonies. There is an eeriness to songs like “Tragedy” and “Peach Trees” that are at the same time comforting. PIM’s music is distinctly theatrical, like you have experienced watching some type of personage pass through a series of ritualistic rites. –Andrew Glassett The Penetrators Bad Woman Slovenly Recordings Street: 03.08 The Penetrators = Blowfly + a tinge of punk rock + a wall of saxophone As far as I can tell, Bad Woman is a collection of re-recorded old songs. This is my first encounter with The Penetrators. They’re all right. They are the type of band that doesn’t have a gigantic fan base, but the fans they do have are real diehards. It’s not hard to see why; this is just straight-up, stripped-down rock n’ roll. This stuff isn’t dressed up and it doesn’t rely on anything that isn’t there. Don’t take that to mean that this is simple stuff. There is a lot to hear on this record. In addition to the standard drums and guitars, there is also organ on a few tracks and saxophone on most tracks. Their cover of “Little Red Riding Hood” is a really great track, as is “Gotta Have Her” and “Teenage Lifestyle.” These dudes are old, but there is more energy, attitude and soul in “#1 Band in Town” alone than most young punk bands can ever hope to have in their whole discography. –Aaron Day P.O.D. When Angels & Serpents Dance Columbia Street: 06.03 P.O.D. = N-metal band not evolving I’m not going to lie; I am kind of a closet P.O.D. fan and I feel like a douche for being so weak and giving into this contrived music. There’s just something about how tight the band and Sonny’s voice is. But here is the deal—most of their songs really do suck and are cheap rip-offs of n-metal bands that weren’t even good in the first place. Apparently this marks the return of original guitar player Marcos, which is not a good thing. It means two things. First, the music is going to start to suck again (because Truby the guitar player that replaced him actually brought some prog elements to the band and made the music less doofy) and second, the band is just trying to recreate their old popularity by re-churning the same corn-dawg songs out again. So the real stone skinny is that, like, five of these songs are tightly composed guilty-pleasure songs and the rest of the album is cheese dick for sure. –Jon Robertson The Silver Jews Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea Drag City Street Date: 06.16 The Silver Jews = Brinsley Schwarz + late-era Pavement Really, David Berman? It's come down to this? You had one of the strongest, strangest careers in recent memory: a one-off partnership with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus resulted in a barroom rock group that penned spectacular character studies worthy of collegiate analysis and Indie Rock Hall of Fame canonization. With Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, however, you seemed to have lost you muse between the crevasses depicted in the album's title: in "Strange Victory, Strange Defeat", you spend the whole song talking about squirrels imported from Connecticut. There aren't any other levels to read these lyrics at: it's a song about squirrels, just as how "Candy Jail" spends way too much time describing what exactly a Candy Jail would look like ("peppermint bars / peanut brittle bunkbeds / and marshmallow walls"). It's a puzzling, bizarre effort that is lifted by only a few songs that veer towards coherency ("San Francisco B.C." could have landed somewhere on the Velvet Underground's Loaded, for example), but by and large, David, your lookout has long deserted you. –Evan Sawdey The Slanderin’/Difference of Opinion Psychobilly on My Hardcore Split Split 7 Records Street: 06.03 The Slanderin’ = The Meteors + The Batfinks Difference of Opinion = We’vegotalottosaybutyou’llneverknow’causeyoucan’tfuckingunderstandus. I put this on my turntable, Slanderin’ side up and put the needle down on the record. I thought, “Jeez, this sounds terrible.” Then, I noticed that it’s not a 45 RPM 7”, so I switched it back to 33. This helped out an awful lot. The Slanderin’ are obviously very influenced by The Meteors, which is cool, ‘cause The Meteors are the best band in the world. “Little Black Hole in the Sun” is the better of the two tracks on their side. Both are decent hopped-up psychobilly numbers, though. The Difference of Opinion side, however, is a different story. Hardcore past about 1995 is lost on me. One of the prerequisites for hardcore seems to be that you have to make your voice sound exactly like every other hardcore singer’s voice. Difference of Opinion obliges this request. To be fair, “Complicated” is bearable, even by me. I would say that overall, this split is worth the $4 for admission. –Aaron Day Slaraffenland Sunshine Hometapes Street: 05.03 Slaraffenland = Polyphonic Spree + Paul Simon Undisputedly the best packaging of any indie label ever, Hometapes is more than just pretty on the outside. Take, for example, their signing of Slaraffenland, an anomalous quintet from Denmark. Five happy Danes making even happier music. Not only are they confident, but superbly proficient in all kinds of horn and string instruments. What is so great about Slaraffenland is that rather than the drug-drenched pseudo-happiness of the Polyphonic Spree, these guys seem genuinely happy to be doing what they are doing without thought of consequence. It is a breath of fresh air in the increasingly dark and overly sexualized music industry. This tour EP contains three new shimmering songs and two covers: “Take On Me” by Norwegian neighbors A-Ha and also probably the best recorded cover of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android.” It is a great introduction to a band with a very bright future. –Andrew Glassett Sonic Devastation Imago Mortis Demo Self-Released Street: 06.10 Sonic Devastation = Deicide + Darkthrone + Death There is no doubt about it; Sonic Devastation is off to a great start. Relative neighbors to Utah, the band hails from Idaho Falls, getting their start in roughly 2006. This two-track demo shows a massive progression from the band’s self-released debut album, The Proliferation, released last summer. Playing a death/black metal mix, the style infused in these tunes is captivating, sinister and carries that evil atmosphere that many bands try to capture. The vocals are visceral, taking some strange middle ground between a death growl and a black-metal shrill. While there is a foundation in the band’s blastbeats and the main structure of the songs, the band excels to astounding territory in its leads and solo work. There is a somber melody to them and a showcase of some great technical prowess going on. The songwriting here is fantastic; listening to these two tracks will undoubtedly leave listeners ready for more. The music truly is Sonic Devastation. –Bryer Wharton Steinski What Does it All Mean?: 1983-2006 Retrospective Illegal Art Street: 05.27 Steinski = DJ Shadow + The Furious Five Long before labelmate Girl Talk became known as the King of Mashup, hell, even before M/A/R/R/S sliced together the inimitable “Pump Up The Volume,” two advertising dudes named Steve “Steinski” Stein and Douglas “Double Dee” Di Franco put together a mix of the most used hip-hop breaks for a contest, one judged by the likes of Afrika Bambaataa. They won, and thus was born … the first in their series of “The Lessons” (Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow would later recreate these live using the original vinyl). This two-disc release explores every genre, dropping beats over everything from Humphrey Bogart, Looney Toones, Clint Eastwood and The Zapruder Film samples, the myriad James Brown breaks, Led Zeppelin’s “The Crunge” and a whole ton of stuff you have to Google to figure out. Simply put, this collection is what mix-tape dreams are made of; an equal blend of humor, cool and certifiable badass collage-work by the master. –Dave Madden These Are Powers Taro Tarot EP Hoss Street: 04.01 These Are Powers = Sonic Youth + The Vanishing While talking about her own and other art music in a recent interview, Berlin art-punk Gudrun Gut states “You really need to be able to create your own bubble and live in that bubble for a while.” Chicago/Brooklyn’s These Are Powers is a good example of a band who takes this to heart, as the band continues to hone their screaming, tribal sound (a good thing). The most interesting example of this “something old (and still cool), something slightly new” is “All Night Services,” where bassist Pat Noecker takes on lead vocals: he follows a lyrical blues style, pairing his mystical phrases (“went home for Easter and I got back my name”) over the band’s Gamelan ensemble meets early Neubauten mayhem. Still just as heavy, Noecker, Anna Barie and newcomer Bill Salas find just that much more control over the dynamic chaos and get better with each release. –Dave Madden Title Fight Kingston 7” Flightplan Records Street: 02.02 Title Fight = Lifetime + Daggermouth + Set Your Goals When a band’s sound is described as “emotional punk,” it’s enough to make one wary, especially in the age of innumerable eyelinered, tight-pantsed Hot Topic-core bands polluting the modern musical landscape. In contrast to those bands fueled by fads stands Kingston, Pennsylvania’s Title Fight, chock full of emotion and free of all pretentiousness and fashion accessories. Taking cues from bands like Lifetime and Can’t Slow Down-era Saves The Day, Title Fight combines emotional lyrics with lightning-fast tempos and buzzing guitars. This 7” blows by in just over seven minutes, but you’ll catch yourself spinning it again and again. The main riff of “Loud and Clear” is permanently implanted in my head, and the cool tempo shift midway through the song sets it apart from the other two songs featured on Kingston, though all of the songs here are energetic and entertaining. Keep your eyes opened for these guys. –Ricky Vigil Triclops! Out of Africa Alternative Tentacles Street: 03.25 Triclops!= The Mars Volta + Green Party rally pep band on acid Tri-Klops is a character in the He-Man series, and his helmet has three different eyes that give him a specialized perception through each one. This San Fran band uses their particular “Awesome Rock Eye of Skepticism” to penetrate the bullshit in society and the modern music scene in seven surprising songs. I was initially skeptical because the band’s first track,”March of the Half-Babies,” is such a sensory assault that some serious concentration was required to sift through it. It was worth the effort. Their decidedly anti-sheep mentality tracks reach their pinnacle with satirical lyrics from “Freedom Tickler”: “We are the only ones alive/We drive just what we want to drive/We shoot our guns into the air/Where bullets land I just don’t care.” It’s nice to hear a rock group actualizing what only rock can do best: applying serious fucking riffage under vicious verbal attacks on outmoded ideals. –Jon “JP” Paxton Unleashed Hammer Battalion SPV Street: 06.10 Unleashed = Grave + Dismember + Amon Amarth Well, it’s been almost two decades since Unleashed started wrecking the scene and helped establish Sweden as having a distinct brand of its own death metal … no, not melodic death metal; this is straight-up death metal, brutal as brutal can be. With Hammer Battalion, not much has changed in the realm of Unleashed. No big surprises: They’ve been successful at what they do for years, so why change? I’m not saying every record is the same or boring, they all have their distinct flair and this new effort is extremely war-metal oriented and as always, brings a Viking touch to the battle. The record is heavy on the groove and less rooted in blastbeats like much of American death metal. The thing that really makes this behemoth pound in a creative way is the wealth of great guitar solos, howling and howling to Valhalla. If you never liked Unleashed or Swedish death metal, is this going to change you mind? No, but do Unleashed care? No. For a band that’s been around the block, they know what they are doing and have a clear direction in the sound that they created for Hammer Battalion. I’ll keep spinning this CD along with the rest of my Unleashed collection. Records like these make you forget the trends and just enjoy some good old-fashioned death metal. –Bryer Wharton

Various Country Artists
Hushabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of Country Music Favorites vol. 1-4
CMH Records
Street 4.22
Hushabye Baby = Dolly Parton + Waylon Jennings + Alan Jackson
Lullabies? I’m not sure why the deviant SLUG was sent this four-volume set, but I accepted the reviewing challenge—which it wasn’t so much of. The artwork is brightly colored, has a pony and a Dixie Chicks song (don’t laugh) to entice me like any five-year-old. Each CD has 10 songs of classic or modern pop-country performed anew by studio musicians, while keeping true to the feeling of each song without the loud concert energy the originals can put out. Thank heavens there are no vocals. I can’t pick a standout track because most tunes I don’t recognize. I do recognize artists’ names: Kenny Cheseny, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, Gretchen Wilson, Shania Twain. The fourth volume carries the classics: Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline. All volumes do their job: I felt relaxed, even sleepy. The downside of this collection is best said by a sticker I once saw: It’s not who you sleep with that matters—it’s who keeps you awake at night. –Jennifer Nielsen

Via Vengeance
Dieography
Street: 2007
Via Vengeance = Neurosis + Clutch + [(Phil Collins + guitar) - pop sap
There ain’t many one-man bands that don’t involve a mariachi guitar or carnival gloss, but Shane Ocell bucks tradition by combining low, heavy-ass guitar, drum and voice into a pleasing musical conglomerate that is actually dead serious. Shane opted for the one-man band approach for the independence factor. I met Shane when he was a merch guy for the Red Sparowes up in Portland about a year ago and he is one o’ the nicest chaps you ever done met. Dieography, recorded by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis) is his second recording (I think the first one wasn’t official), and it’s easy to see the progress. The production is beefier and thick enough to clog arteries; do not mix with McDonald’s. The chromatic-scaled Black Sabbath-y riffs are simple, stripped down and covered in barbed wire. My one gripe would be to add more drum variation, but I think that would require expanding into a two-piece, and hell. Where’s the charm in that? –Rebecca Vernon

Volbeat
Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil
Mascot Records
Street: 06.10
Volbeat = Metallica + The Misifts + a country/rockabilly edge
Denmark’s Volbeat are taking metal to a whole new realm with Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil. This groove-heavy beast is a blast to listen to and has an upbeat feel to it that most metal lacks. Vocalist Michael Poulsen, formerly of a more death-metal-oriented Denmark band Dominus, uses a unique vocal approach with Volbeat. Think a heavy-metal Elvis. There are songs that make use of some country-style acoustic guitars, then there are some completely either thrashing or grooving moments. “Sad Man’s Tongue” has made its way into my music-listening rotation daily. The whole record is ultra-catchy and mostly heavy as all hell without giving you a headache, just full of plentiful head-bobbing grooves, unique vocals and catchy lyrics. Overall, it’s the really great guitar moments and its psychobilly edge that make this album fantastic. I dare you to just try and listen to this record once. –Bryer Wharton

Walls of Jericho
Redemption
Trustkill
Street: 04.29
Walls of Jericho = nothing resembling Walls of Jericho
I can picture it now: a hardcore/metalcore kid walks into Hot Topic, sees a new Walls of Jericho record and says, “Hey, this is cheap, cool. Oh, it’s an EP, still cool.” They purchase it, head to their car excited to listen to the new offering from a hardcore band they’ve grown to love, pop it in their CD player and then say, “What is this? This isn’t hardcore, it’s like Tori Amos or something! What the hell!” Yeah, this EP, if not heard about before, will cause some confusion. The band basically moved into Corey Taylor’s home for two weeks and went acoustic. I’m all for bands trying something different from their normal style and am very glad that they decided to do an EP instead of a full-length acoustic CD because the end result is a boring bland offering that sounds like some hippie college kids got together and jammed out to get in touch with their pseudo-feelings. There is no feeling behind this record; it all seems very forced and not to mention, the songs don’t differ from each other and it’s not truly acoustic because there is a guitar solos among other electrified moments. The Walls of Jericho that was The Bound Feed the Gagged album is gone and has been for a while, but the other stuff is listenable; this EP is just pointless and painful. –Bryer Wharton

We Versus the Shark
Dirty Versions
Hello Sir Records
Street: 06.01
We Versus the Shark = Fugazi + Drive Like Jehu + something else entirely
“Keep it simple stupid,” I want to yell at the Shark during hectic moments on their latest CD. Sometimes a band needs to have a lot of noise drowning out parts of their songs, I guess. I imagine an anonymous 5th member of this group randomly enters during the recording process just to fuck with distortion levels on odd sound machines. However, a good portion of this disc is salvageable from extinction and at its worst is very technically challenging math rock. Common ideas about “what” sounds good “where” in songs are ignored on some tracks in place of squealing screeches, hyper drums and distorted braying. The worst thing about this disc is the under-use of lone female Samantha Paulsen’s vocals. Her earnest voice shines in stark contrast to the males’ distortion-heavy vox. Track 11, “Mountaineering” is a great example of this. The quality lyrics are also of note. –Jon “JP” Paxton