Davila 666 of Puerto Rico is going on TOUR. They will make several stops in the U.S. Check the list here: http://www.myspace.com/davila666/shows. For Boston area folks, the dudes will be playing at Charlie’s Kitchen in Cambridge on April 18. Now, it’s 21+, but according to the venue site, underages may enter if with a parent. This is a good provision!
Band: La Sera
Release: 2/2011
Label: Hardly Art
1. “Beating Heart” – B
2. “Never Come Around” – B+
3. “You’re Going to Cry” – B+
4. “Sleeptalking ” – B+
5. “I Promise You” – B-
6. “Left This World” – C
7. “Hold” – B-
8. “Under the Trees” – B-
9. “Devil Hearts Grow Gold” – A-
10. “Dove Into Love” – C
11. “Been Here Before” – B+
12. “Lift Off” – B
Comments: Here we have it, a brief exhibit in well done girly harmonies, light noise, and a tidbit of dream. Kickball Katy (La Sera) knows her music and stuff like that. Of course, this album is chock full o’ hooks and all that stuff that we music listeners enjoy, but there is that thing that haunts a lot of today’s music — uniformity. Unintentional, probably. Just comes off that way. We hear some neat psych-pop numbers, but also some commercial (literally sound like background TV advertisement/nu-Christmas music…”Left This World” I’m pointing at you) cutesy jingles. Don’t let the jingles get to you, though. Katy’s preciousness so-to-speak is both the high and low point of this record. She doesn’t have that rock ‘n roll spirit possessed by her contemporaries, Best Coast (probably closer to Katy’s sound than…) and the Dum Dum Girls. It’s just not really her thang. This is more of an easy listening thing, like 8th grade final slow dance music (why hello there, “Dove Into Love”). Some of my favorite numbers, in case you are wondering: “Sleeptalking” and “Devil Hearts Grow Gold.”
Grade: B- (83)
Great song by a band on infinity hiatus. Yes, infinity.
Who: Kerry Davis, previously of Red Aunts and The Screws
What: Three tunes. Very enjoyable. Catchy a la Breeders.
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thetwotears
Like? Link Fo’ More: http://www.kindturkeyrecords.com/releases/turk-003-press/
Our dude Nobunny cranking through seven tunes in twelve minutes or so. Maybe his most expansive set to date. Amazing video footage.
PART ONE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns-ntKDoXKU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
PART TWO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElxTdexjP4Q&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
PART THREE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HdB5x9_znI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
Set-List
Monster Kiss
Mess Me Up
Blow Dumb
Boneyard
Give It To Me
Gone For Good
Do The Fuck Yourself
It’s True
Live It Up
Hippy Witch
I Am A Girlfriend
Not That Good
Motorhead With Me
Ain’t It A Shame
Chuck Berry Holiday
**ENCORE: Nobunny Loves You***
On Letterman
It’s been a while (a year and a half) since the Handsome Furs played in Boston at the Great Scott. Well, in advance of the release of their latest album, they’ll be coming back! A KLYAM Recommended band to catch, so if you can check them out.
The date is April 13.
The first is a cover of the Deerhunter tune. The second is off their amazing 2004 record Bows & Arrows.
Band: Radiohead
Release: 2/2011
Label: Self-Released
1. “Bloom – B+
2. “Morning Mr. Magpie” – B
3. “Little By Little” – A
4. “Feral” – C
5. “Lotus Flower” – B
6. “Codex” – B
7. “Give Up The Ghost” – B+
8. “Separator” – A
Comments: A quick examination of message boards and the like will reveal that this album isn’t universally agreed upon as excellent or anything like that. Three years ago, I was quite convinced that In Rainbows was fantastic (and that everyone thought similar), but upon reading plenty of diverse views, a lot of people suggested it was one of the band’s worst efforts. So here we are. From the start, I was struck with a Kid A vibe, something industrial and electronic. The drum beat sounds like machinery running. The bass line is pretty much kind of dub — I’ve seen it ‘post-dubstep’ thrown around, but what? — but that doesn’t really matter. It’s an ethereal song, perhaps best appreciated for what it is, rather than what it isn’t. It improves with listens, as you’ll gain new perspectives on exactly what is going on. Maybe the first time you missed the left panned vocals that precede each line of the last verse. “Morning” continues the tradition of very structured drum and bass and galactic environment. There’s nothing that makes the song a real standout, but it acts a pretty solid follow-up to “Bloom,” instrumentally at least. The rock ‘n’ roll side of Radiohead, which as of late has been accompanied by, at the minimum, a tiny bit of electronica, comes on strong in “Little By Little.” This tune matches up along side the standard fare of In Rainbows…just catchy, bullshit-lacking pieces of work. It’s always humorous how people interpret songs. On Song Meanings, a few people say it’s about corporate evil and greed (this is what we’d expect from Radiohead) while another equates “the one that broke the seal” to a dude who has had a lot to drink and needs to take a piss every ten minutes. As far instrumental, throw-away tracks, “Feral” isn’t too bad. It’s bad in terms of necessity/placement, but in the context of this LP, it somewhat works. We’ll settle for average. “Lotus Flower” and “Codex” are good, but are pretty in-differentiable if I had to say so myself. “Separator” is classic Radiohead, just a beautifully written song. The best on here, for sure. So at the end of this review, I must say a great ending followed an effective (but not the most captivating) mix of seven tunes. Good Radiohead, just not the best.
Grade: B (86)
“Champion. I’m home. What’s cooking?”
“Egg sandwiches. Oh, and bacon, too.”
Okay, please hurry, it’s almost time for the Jay Reatard show.
It’s 7 AM in the fucking morning. Why is the show so early? It’s because the man is a provacateur. He took an ordinary task and decided to multiply that by at least twenty eight. His ability to merely craft a song so infectious and rebellious and unconforming to typical standards. That’s why. He was a living legend. Right a long with the likes of the man himself, Robert Marley. Do you hear those train keys? He said “just gotta push on through” while at the time the lightest, most graceful of keys kicked in. The duration is short, but the fact that everything is going to be all right is the real indication. Anyway, brush your teeth we’re heading out the door soon.
