There’s this tribute record called Daddy Rockin’ Strong: A Tribute to Nolan Strong. Mark Sultan’s brilliant vocals are on display in a cover track called “The Wind.” It’s quite an R&B ditty. The Dirtbombs, too, made a great cover of “Daddy Rockin’ Strong.”
CHECK OUT BOTH TUNES:
http://www.myspace.com/nolanstrongtributealbum
Band: Deerhunter
Album: Cryptograms
Label: Kranky Records
1. “Intro” – (B-) – Reminds me of an atmospheric No Age number.
2. “Cryptograms” – (B+) – Not really my kind of Deerhunter tune, although it does have a lot of little hints of catchiness.
3. “White Ink” – (C) – Relaxing and probably great under the influence of some kind of drug, but as a stand alone track…boring.
4. “Lake Somerset” – (B) – Too chaotic for my liking, but still decent enough. If pure noise and subliminal hooks are your kind of thangs then God bless you.
5. “Providence” – (C) – See “White Ink” for this.
6. “Octet” – (B-) – Too long, but has a decent drumbeat.
7. “Red Ink” – (D) – Really, really, really pointless. Top of the line pointlessness.
8. “Spring Hall Convert” – (B+) – Mellow rock. Perhaps veers too much in the ambient direction.
9. “Strange Lights” – (B) – Similar in quality to the track before it.
10. “Hazel Street” – (A-) – Down to earth (woo hoo!). A fun adventure.
11. “Tape Hiss Orchid” – (D) – See, “Red Ink.” Thanks.
12. “Heatherwood” – (B+) – Pretty neat. Not a great closer, but it’s fun.
Final Comments: If you are sucker for ambiance and I mean AMBIANCE, this record is for you! If you like rock and roll and I mean ROCK AND ROLL, this record is probably not for you. For those suckers who like a delicate mix, it will probably be like flipping a quarter. TAILS, you like it. HEADS, you hate it. For me, unfortunately, this would probably fall somewhere in the middle or lower end of my favorite albums of a given year. In other words, this record isn’t very notable in Deerhunter’s discography let alone music. Period. I feel like I might be too harsh to a certain degree…I mean this isn’t an aimless record. Deerhunter is better than that.
Grade: B- (80)
#1: Songs that compare drugs to emotions or status. Example: “Your love is like a drug” AND “The only drug I need is being with you.” Wow, can this get anymore annoying?!
#2: Male singers of cowardly pop songs. There’s not much worse than a man singing a hip-pop number, but this applies to basically every man on pop radio. I feel bad that they actually agree to do this.
Band: No Age
Label: Sub Pop
7″: Glitter
“Glitter” (A/A-) – No Age has always liked themselves some samples and atmosphere. Weirdo Rippers was ripe with what critics have termed “experimental” sounds. Nouns had a fair share of these tunes as well, but was more “punk” oriented, espesically on the album’s very best tunes: “Teen Creeps,” “Eraser,” and “Ripped Knees” just to name a few. 2009’s Losing Feeling was a mix of atmospheric sounds and straight up rock, but pretty much involved a heavy appetite of samples on every song. If “Glitter” is any indication of the direction of Everything in Between, No Age is aiming at a continuance of their Losing Feeling vibe. I don’t think this recording does too much in terms of how great this song could be. The sample in the background can be a little much at some times, but actually I really like how everything comes together on the latter part of the song.
“Inflorescence” – (A) This one is neat. It reminds of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart kind of twee pop plus, of course, an extra sample or two. Good stuff.
—————————————————————-
Band: Nobunny
Label: Goner Records
Album: First Blood
“Motorhead With Me” – (A+) – This one’s been kicking around for over a year and will make its LP debut on…this LP! It is chaotic powerpop/punk genius.
“Blow Dumb” – (A+) – What a stellar song this one is, too. Fucking A! It’s got cowbell, a stellar rhythym and high energy written all over it.
Kansas, you so lucky!
Previously Known As: ONO
Track Listing:
Release: September 21, 2010
Label: Goner Records
Midheaven Description: Hail! Hail! America’s favorite loopily leporine rock ‘n’ roller, Nobunny, is back with a new album, First Blood, and it’s his catchiest batch of tunes yet. The melodious masked man kicks it off with “Ain’t It a Shame,” a bittersweet tale of a rocky romance in which Nobunny’s lover has no choice but to endure his frequent indiscretions. He’s just that damned charming. “Blow Dumb” is a Velvet-y tribute to all the things that make life worth livin’–“smokin’ Copenhagen,” make-out sessions and “burger breaks.” In fact, First Blood never overstays its welcome and lasts about as long as a particularly adventurous mid-party burger run. “(Do the) Fuck Yourself” immediately jumps to the top of the list of onanistic rock songs along with the Who’s “Pictures of Lily,” Devo’s “Praying Hands” and the Gizmos’ “Pumpin’ to Playboy.” Have fun trying not to sing this infectious little number in inappropriate situations. Sure, we all know that Nobunny can deliver a raunchy, good-times number like no one else, but can our floppy-eared fop get sophisticated? Let the contemplative vibe and beautiful strings on “Breathe” answer that. “Live It Up” is the most optimistic of a collection of upbeat songs. Nobunny is so happy, he makes the 1910 Fruitgum Co. sound like Joy Division. On “I Was On (The Bozo Show),” Nobunny dreamily recalls a moment from his childhood where he actually shared the stage with the late, great clown-god Larry Harmon. In under half an hour, Nobunny goes through every worthy rock ‘n’ roll subgenre–bubblegum pop, garage, rockabilly and psych–and still beautifully articulates every single human emotion with ease.
Great reverb soaked noise punker from Thee Oh Sees:
Random new feature that tells of shows that happened in Boston (because that’s what we’re familiar with) that look highly unusual or unbelievable in hindsight.
#1 – BLACK LIPS Opening for THE PONYS @ TT THE BEARS – MARCH 27, 2007
There are a few oddities in this one! Obviously, Black Lips opening for The Ponys just wouldn’t sound right today. Since this gig, they’ve played a show at the Bank of America Pavilion opening for Raconteurs (reasonable) and three at the Middle East Downstairs. As for the Ponys, they’ve only been back here once and that was later in 2007 opening for Spoon. The Ponys did “breakthrough” before Black Lips with their March 2007 release of Turn the Lights Out on Matador. Black Lips would get their big break in September with their Vice studio debut Good Bad Not Evil. And finally…this was at TT The Bears, the little venue for national bands just starting to make the rounds across the country! Black Lips were doing their thing for 7 years before this show and The Ponys for at least 6!
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 