THE GREAT DEPRESSION UNCONSCIOUS PILOT Princess As the name of the band might suggest, The Great Depression, this lot create music with a predominantly mellow and melancholy tone. Not to say that there isn’t some lovely drum work to keep things from bottoming out and the occasional piano bit to swing away from the cascading
THE BLACK SWANS WHO WILL WALK IN THE DARKNESS WITH YOU? Delmore Recording Society Having recently listened to The Tiger Lillies masterpiece Shockheaded Peter: A Junk Opera I was primed for a slice of this overtly theatrical debut release from Jerry DeCicca and Co. What makes Shockheaded Peter brilliant is that even though it is
THE COFFEE KIDS “DANGEROUS FREQUENCIES” MN2S Records Causing quite a stir among the likes of Miguel Migs, Sandy Rivera and Brian Tappert, this jazz-filled flight will engage you on an energetic journey to club land. Produced by Cricco Castelli (coffee king) and Gavin ‘Face’ Mills (Copyright), this full-blooded house groove reminds me of a hybrid
THE HIDDEN CAMERAS MISSISSAUGA, GODDAM Rough Trade Oh dear, The Hidden Cameras sounds like a rather twisted wreck of the flamboyant sexuality of the Scissor Sisters with the dark wit and tangled allusions to debauchery of The Beautiful South, the sing-along retro-chic of Belle and Sebastian and the awkward humanity found in all things by
THE FUNK ENSAMBLE “SKUNK” Purple Tracks From the label that has brought you KOT—”So Alive” (Purple Tracks) and the infamous Michelle Weeks “The Light” (Purple Music) comes the latest installment of funk and gospel. Produced by Dario Dattis (the man behind Inaya Day’s “Freedom” PM026), this Saturday-night church-floor-filler will keep your crowd in an ass-shaken’
The Dead Science Bird Bones in the Bughouse Absolutely Kosher The drummer plays in a jerky, attacking motion that reminds me of Tori Amos. The vocals are hushed, falsetto and reaching for a dramatic beauty that falls between the dissonance of the guitars and stand-up bass. It’s mutant jazz on downers twitching along in
The Cloud Room is a collection of finely crafted songs with great hooks and a sense of sincerity that is missing from the majority of this second-generation post-punk revolution. … read more
The Growlers = Not in the Face + Allah-Las + Beach Boys … read more
The Cannanes = Jem + Honeybunch … read more
The Cave Singers = Deer Tick + Delta Spirit … read more
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh here, but I dreaded reviewing this album. Southern rock doesn’t have to be an homage to the dying art. I felt like I was overhearing a TV in the adjacent room playing one of those awkward Time-Life Singers and Songwriters commercials, but they were introducing a strange, assorted collection of ’70s and ’90s rock. … read more
What began as a labor of love for the Chapin Sisters has become a terrific installment to their catalogue, and even though the entire record is made up of Everly Brothers tunes, its almost as if the record is a collaboration of the two groups. … read more
