March 23 – Opening For Thick Shakes W/ Big Big Bucks
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
Kids Watching Panda Bear!
THAT’S WHAT’S POLLUTING OUR BEACHES !
Black Lips Bruise Cruise 7″
Band of the Week: Wheels On Fire
Wheels On Fire! Go on YouTube, you won’t find too much tune-age. Tune your radio to WMBR and you might just hear these guys. I did this morning, in fact. Becky, the DJ of Breakfast of Champions (what a DJ by the way, playing my request of “Punk Slime” in a timely fashion), spinned “Losin” off their 2010 Liar, Liar record. That song was instantly catchy and I had no clue it was by Wheels On Fire. Thanks to Track Blaster, though, for showing me the way. At any rate, I haven’t heard a Wheels On Fire track that did not appeal to me. So Band of the Week, check them out somehow!
MYSPACE: http://www.myspace.com/wheelsonfire
BUY RECORD: http://www.bompstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=12133
LISTEN:
Good Ole Music Limelight: Bishop Allen
Got into Bishop Allen in 2007 — around this time of the year. It was because of MLB 2k7. I heard “Middle Management” a few times (main menu!) and thought gee, this sounds good, let me look into this band. So I did and found out that they named themselves after a street in Cambridge, a street that we always travel on to go get to the Middle East, which is the best place to see music in and around the city. Anyway! Always get a little nostalgic about this band when driving on that road so here’s to an irregular feature where I talk about how I got into bands that I like. I’ve yet to listen to any of their albums completely and sincerely, but I have some songs to recommend: “Click Click Click Click,” “Rain,” “Middle Management,” “Eve of Destruction,” and “Ghosts Are Good Company.” Bishop Allen has been described as power-pop, which is pretty accurate, but I would say the band also has an outsider vibe going on — similar to Adam Green, The Moldy Peaches, et al. Listen below!
King Khan On “Cunt”
CD Review: The People’s Key [2011]
Band: Bright Eyes
Release: 2/2011
Label: Saddle Creek
1. “Firewall” – B
2. “Shell Games” – B+
3. “Jejune Stars” – B-
4. “Approximated Sunlight” – C+
5. “Haile Selassie” – B+
6. “A Machine Spiritual” – B
7. “Triple Spiral” – A
8. “A Beginner’s Mind” – B+
9. “Ladder Song” – B+
10. “One For You, One For Me” – A-
Comments: Connor Oberst is a pretty intriguing dude. Not sure exactly what’s behind this record lyrically, but it’s something deep. That alone is pretty riveting. The songs, though, range from pretty all right to pretty nice. For me, the folk tunes aren’t as awesome as songs like “Triple Spiral,” which is a post-punk rock ‘n roller along the lines of “Take it Easy”/the sound of I’m Wide Awake (to get broad on you guys). Oberst and crew did for sure do a job at nailing a specific theme for this. It’s better as a complete work than a ‘the songs are the best’ kind of thing.
Grade: B (86)
CD Review: Zonoscope [2011]
Band: Cut Copy
Release: 2/2011
Label: Modular
1. “Need You Now” – B+
2. “Take Me Over” – B+
3. “Where I’m Going” – B
4. “Pharaohs & Pyramids” – B-
5. “Blink And You’ll Miss A Revolution” – B-
6. “Strange Nostalgia For The Future” – B-
7. “This Is All We’ve Got” – B-
8. “Alisa” – B+
9. “Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat” – A-
10. “Corner of the Sky” – A-
11. “Sun God” – B
Comments: Though not my favorite type of music by any stretch, the electronica/rock and roll mixture can be a real entertainer if done right. Cut Copy is a groovy group — fitting bass lines/overall dance-y feel, etc, etc. They often do it right. Historically speaking, that tune of theirs “Going Nowhere” was and still is somewhere in my favorites of all epochs list. I think I fell sucker to it during my Postal Service/Figurine stage of life around ’05 or ’06. It’s greatness. “Hearts on Fire” was a jam, too. Initial feeling of this record is that it’s likable, but not overly so. Not sure they could’ve done anything differently to make it standout…the nature of the dude’s voice is a lil’ limiting. Perhaps not go the Merriweather Post Pavilion direction and stick to captivating pop? At any rate, props should be given where props are due and Cut Copy deserves some on a few songs like “Take Me Over,” “Alisa,” and “Hanging.” “Hanging” is the standout of the group — relying on fairly subtle electronic arrangements and favoring more typical rock ‘n roller elements. “Corner” is quite the dance song.
Grade: B (84)
SOTD: “I’m A Pretender”
The Exploding Hearts
CD Review: The Mind Spiders [2011]
Band: The Mind Spiders
Release: 1/2011
Label: Dirtnap Records
1. “Go!” – A-
2. “Don’t Let Her Go” – A
3. “Mind Spiders Theme” – B
4. “Read Your Mind” – B-
5. “Going Away Tonight” – A
6. “No Romance” – A-
7. “No. 3” – A-
8. “One Step Ahead” – A
9. “Slippin’ and Slidin” – A-
10. “Your Soul” – B-
11. “Neurotic Gold” – A-
12. “Close the Door” – B-
Comments: From the start, I could tell ya know, this is going to be a very enjoyable record. Heard The Marked Men for the first time or so a few months ago and they stuck out. This is the new band of guitarist/singer Mark Ryan. First song on Mind Spiders “Go!” sounds real revivalist, real nice to me, though Dusted said it was the “least pop-oriented rocker.” I have to respectably disagree. “Don’t Let Her Go” has a Jay Reatard vibe, especially in the vocals and the non-intrusive hella catchy synthahsizer. I got the same feeling for “Going Away Tonight.” These songs are the best. Ryan and crew probably influenced Reatard a ton, so I don’t mean to make it sound like they are taking anything from him…not at all. The instrumentation/recording is very precise and nice. “One Step Ahead” is pretty much pure hooky rock and roll. The guitar work should be noted. The bass line and the overall eccentricity of “Neurotic Gold” makes it a tune to remember. Some of the slower, less immediate tunes are still solid tracks, but the Mind Spiders are at their best at their heaviest.
Grade: B+ (88)
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 