Little bit more than a month until they hit the pit of a warehouse called House of Blues:
All posts by G. Gordon Gritty
CD Review: Wall of Arms
Band: Maccabees
Label: Fiction Records
Release: May 2009
1. “Love You Better” – 9.2
2. “One Hand Holding” – 9.4
3. “Can You Give It” – 9.6
4. “Young Lions” – 9.8
5. “Wall of Arms” – 9.5
6. “No Kind Words” – 8.9
7. “Dinosaurs” – 9.2
8. “Kiss and Revolve” – 8.9
9. “William Powers” – 9.6
10. “Seventeen Hands” – 9.5
11. “Bag of Bones” – 8.8
Comments: I guess The Guardian already wrote what I was going to say: “If this all sounds a bit Arcade Fire, note that production credits go to Markus Dravs, who worked on Neon Bible. Thankfully, though, the sound of cynical bandwagon-jumping has been edited out of the mix. In its place are a collection of atmospheric, heartfelt pop songs that frequently fly off at unexpected angles.” The comparison is uncanny and frankly a little disheartening, because naturally Arcade Fire is so awesome that, for lack of a better word, ripping them off is going to make you sound pretty damn good. I try my best to think of Maccabees as a completely separate entity that just happens to sound like Arcade Fire. Doing that makes this album fall in place among (sort of) the greatest of the year. Oh yeah and you know how sometimes you listen to a song and then one minute later forget that you were listening to it? That’s happened to me with this album. What should I make of it?
Grade: 9.3
Punk Your Wednesday
Thee Oh Sees Rock!
A Quick Five:
1. “I Remember You” by The Ramones
2. “I Don’t Mean It” by The Carpettes
3. “No Socks” by Sleeping In The Aviary
4. “Grease 2” by Thee Oh Sees
5. “It’s So Useless” by Jay Reatard
Festival Des Inrocks
48 minutes of the best in the business:
http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/The_Black_Lips_au_festival_des_Inrocks_TckTckTck/
Thinking Of A Dream I Had
Actually the video I posted is of very poor quality. But I was just thinking of a dream I had. Thought you should know.
Why They Are My Favorites
Why are my favorite bands my favorite bands? I think a fairly big reason is because I like a very large catalog of songs from them AND their songs tend to never get old or boring (on record and live). I’m interested in finally rationally concluding who my favorite bands are based on the logic of how many songs I truly love from each AND their best live performance rating.
The Top Ten
1. Black Lips – 42 + (10) = 52
2. Jay Reatard 35 + (10) = 45
3. Walkmen – 33 + (10) = 43
4. King Khan & BBQ Show – 30 + (10) – 40
5. No Age – 23 + (10) = 33
6. Radiohead – 23 + (9) = 32
7. Arctic Monkeys – 23 + (9) = 32
8. Animal Collective – 22 + (9) = 31
9. King Khan and the Shrines – 16 + (10) = 26
10. Editors – 17+ (8) = 25
Not Far Behind:
X. Sunset Rubdown – 14 + (9) = 23
X. The Rifles – 13 + (9) = 22
X. Pains of Being Pure at Heart – 10 + (9) = 19
X. Peter Bjorn and John – 18 + (0) = 18
X. The Lovely Feathers – 10 + (8) = 18
X. The Libertines = 17 + (0) = 17
Glen
M.I.A.
CD Review: Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Band: Franz Ferdinand
Release: 2009
Label: Domino Records
1. “Ulysses” – 9.2
2. “Turn It On” – 9.7
3. “No You Girls” – 9.7
4. “Twilight Omens” – 9.5
5. “Send Him Away” – 9.1
6. “Live Alone” – 8.8
7. “Bite Hard” – 9.4
8. “What She Came For” – 9.1
9. “Can’t Stop Feeling” – 9.3
10. “Lucid Dreams” – 9.6
11. “Dream Again” – 8.8
12. “Katherine Kiss Me” – 9.8
Background: Everyone remembers “Take Me Out.” Unfortunately, I never got the chance to listen to any more of Franz Ferdinand since they released that in 2004. The band stayed on independent label Domino even after that song exploded. Listening to “Take Me Out” for the first time in five years reminded me that this band is like many other video game soundtrack, slightly-below-the-mainstream bands (Hot Hot Heat, Louis XIV, The Bravery) with their fun dance punk. Case in point for their quick breakthrough: they went from playing the teeny T.T The Bears in 2004 to playing the newly built Agganis Arena in 2006?
What’s On This Album: “Turn It On” is awesome and so is “No You Girls”! Check those out for sure. It’s almost hard not to enjoy listening to Franz! I’d even argue that this is more likable than something slightly similar (and on the same label) like Humbug by Arctic Monkeys, although Tonight has a lot of the same beats/bass lines that make these songs so good, but inevitably individually forgettable. “Can’t Stop Feeling” might be an exception to what I just said. It’s got this really heavy synthesizer and general swagger that isn’t easy to forget. Franz, I conclude, prides itself on anthemic choruses and bridges for survival. They don’t sell themselves out by doing this, but you got to admit that they probably work off a very limited number of song structures to create their musical goodness. They change it up for the last song “Katherine Kiss Me,” which is an acoustic The Veils-esque power ballad. They couldn’t make an album out of songs that sound like this, but this has to be easily one of the best on here.
Grade: 9.3
6 Nuggets Classics!
Awesome doo-wop, garage, and psychedelic stuff from way back! Still, I don’t quite get the comparison of the Black Lips, King Khan and BBQ to these bands. I can hear influence, but I would never go as far as to say modern bands are “ripping off” these tunes…except for the Black Lips (in one instance) since they covered “You Must Be A Witch.”
1. The Choir – “It’s Cold Outside” – Sundazed Records
2. The Rare Breed – “Beg, Borrow, and Steal” – ????
3. Sir Douglas Quintet – “She’s About a Mover” – Smash Records
4. The Music Explosion – “Little Bit O’ Soul” – Sundazed Records
5. The Gestures – “Run Run Run” – ????
6. The Lollipop Shoppe – “You Must Be A Witch” – Music Maniac
