“Black Lips + King Khan & BBQ” is now “Black Lips + King Khan + BBQ” or is it? Will the Almighty Defenders legacy continue or will die just like the King Khan & BBQ Show? Surely, Sultan and Khan are only 2/7 of the super-group, but if there is some bad blood between two of them at the moment, wouldn’t that make things kind of awkward? We’ll see next Wednesday when the Defenders play at Sled Island.
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
Quote of the Day
RANDOM GUY: Damn, you guys need a sound guy.
Mark Sultan: We need to not exist as a band. Done!
—————–
As a King Khan and BBQ fan, it’s not nice to read that.
Nathan Williams Commands You…
1) TO DOWNLOAD King of the Beach: “Our record leaked today, so go download it. Don’t pay for that shit.
2) TO BRING GOODS + PARTY: “BRING US a) WEED b) ALIEN AND OR GARFIELD STUFF c) MIX TAPE. COME AND PARRRTTTTYYTT.
CD Review: Electric Toys [2010]
Band: The Dig
Release: 6/2010
Label: Self-Released
1. “Carry Me Home” – B+
2. “Two Sisters in Love” – B+
3. “You’re Already Gone” – A
4. “She’s Going to Kill That Boy” – A-
5. “Penitentiary” – B+
6. “Sick Sad Morning” – A-
7. “He’s A Woman” – B
8. “Look Inside” – B+
9. “For All Your Sins” – A-
10. “Shadow” – A-
11. “I Just Wanna Talk To You” – B+
12. “Feel Like Somebody Else” – B+
Comments: The Dig is at their best when they’re crafting straight-up rock songs. While the more atmospheric numbers are a nice little change-up once in a while, tracks like “You’re Already Gone” and “Shadow” are more immediately engaging. At any rate, The Dig are way bigger than their unsigned status indicates. This LP isn’t ordinary self-released fare.
Grade: B+ (88)
Walkmen Cover Art/Boston Tour Date
Some more Walkmen related news!
First things first, they will be playing in Boston on October 7 at the Royale Nightclub, presumably headlining or co-headlining with The Helio Sequence. This is exciting!
Second, here is, again presumably, what the cover of their album Lisbon (out September 14 on Fat Possum), will look like:
The Dig: Daytrotter Session
The Dig! I’ve seen them three times live (twice opening for The Walkmen and once for Editors) and they’ve always put on a solid performance. I can almost vividly remember them playing these songs at the House of Blues. Speaking of these tunes, they are all on the band’s just released debut record Electric Toys. Expect a review of that LP soon.
For now, here’s a think to the Session: http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/the-dig-concert/20031186-3738326.html
CD Review: King of the Beach [2010]
Band: Wavves
Release: 6/2010
Label: Fat Possum
1. “King of the Beach” – A+
2. “Super Soaker” – A+
3. “Linus Spacehead” – A++
4. “When Will You Come” – A-
5. “Baseball Cards” – A+
6. “Take On The World” – A
7. “Post Acid” – A
8. “Idiot” – A
9. “Green Eyes” – A-
10. “Mickey Mouse” – A-
11. “Convertible Balloon” – A-
12. “Baby Say Goodbye” – A
Comments: Ye gods, the production quality on this is fantastic. Nathan Williams goes from being a lo-fi tape hissing noise punk on his first two records as Wavves to a pop punk extraordinaire on this one. Count me in on The Impressed Club. These songs are simply warm-weather chilled out re-playable classics. For obvious reasons, Wavves does a much better job at this than any of those ’90s/early ’00s hype summer pop rock bands that birthed hit singles. Wavves is much more real. Thank God they got a nice studio to kick around and experiment. It seems like they really took advantage of that setting by trying out new sounds: a light organ and sleigh bells (reminiscent of something in between Panda Bear and Christmas music) on “When Will You Come,” snapping, more vocal samples, synths, and all around Panda Bear esque psychedelia on “Baseball Cards,” and uncontrollable laughter on “Idiot.” A song built around laughing behind someone’s back? There you go. Like I said before, I’m truly impressed that this is the same guy who recorded simple, but only sometimes really catchy tunes in his bedroom. This isn’t selling out folks. It’s exploring and expanding. It’s…surprising and unexpected. A stripped down “Mickey Mouse” would have fit in Wavves catalog fine a few years ago, but it would have had only two or three layers. The “Mickey Mouse” on here has at least six different layers and every single one of them truly makes a world of difference. “Baby Goodbye” might be really awesome live, but damn that ending is far too long. The first three minutes or so are just fantastic. This record is tied for being my favorite of the year. I really don’t see that changing much. The quality and immediate impact of these songs is currently blowing my mind, but that might be because I’m looking outside it’s 90 degrees and sunny. This kind of weather just works this sound. Good work, Wavves.
Grade: A (94)
CD Review: In and Out and Back Again [2010]
Band: Woven Bones
Release: 5/2010
Label: HoZac
1. “I’ll Be Running” – B-
2. “Guess You Already Knew” – A-
3. “Seven Year Mirror” – B+
4. “If It Feels Alright” – B
5. “You’re Way With My Life” – B
6. “Creepy Bone” – B+
7. “Half Sunk Into The Seats” – B+
8. “Couldn’t Help But Stare” – A-
9. “Blind Conscience” – A-
Comments: Awesome drumming. Vocals can be a little disappointing, but am I the one to talk?! Woven Bones’ got Thee Oh Sees thing going on, but ho ho ho something is lacking. I may never figure out what it is, but it’s not like whatever isn’t here isn’t helping. Whatever is here works to a satisfiable degree. It might be the sometimes apparent cross between shoegaze psychedelia and no-gaze garage rock.
Grade: B+ (87)
7″ Review: Strangle You [2010]
Band: Southside Stranglers
Release: 6/2010
Label: Fashionable Idiots
1. “Strangle You” – B+
2. “Daddy’s Worst Nightmare” – B+
Comment: Fast, fairly catchy, pretty retro, borderline hardcore. Worth a listen.
Grade: B+ (87)
Song of the Day: Lissie
Cover Me Songs — the best covers blog I’ve encountered — posted this video of Lissie covering Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness.” That song was one of my favorite hip-hoppers of 2009, but I’ll tell you this spirited cover might just be a tad better.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 