All posts by G. Gordon Gritty

Best Coast, Music, Wavves

New Wavves “Nodding Off” Indecisive On YouTube

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Wavves seems to cause phases, physics pun non-withstanding, in fans and non-fans. The first phase was the reaction to cramped shack garage band boy making LO-FI. The second phase was the reaction to the studio surfer equipped with Reatard’s old backing band (the super indie switcharoo). The third phase was the reaction to Billy Hayes departure from the drums. This was big news at KLYAM then Pitchfork then every other blog. The fourth phase seems to be in process. With news that Nathan is composing music for an MTV show and making songs about meeting Dave Grohl and guys not being enough, there has been quite a bit of backlash as expected. Just go watch the video and view the comments.

The song itself is, in my opinion, a lil bit of old old, a lil new new. There’s that constant noise in the background and the reoccurring oohhhhhhs, but now with precision recording and the voice of girlfriend Beth.

Black Lips, Gentleman Jesse and His Men, Music

Gaye Blades Record Out Now On Norton Records

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From Norton’s Website: Ten spectacular new recordings featuring members of the Black Lips, Gentleman Jesse and his Men and the Carbonas! Nine originals plus an amazing Sanford Clark cover! Pretty Boy / You Were With Him / His Girl / We Are Only Gonna Die / Jesus Didn’t Try Hard Enough To Save My Soul / Cry Of The Castrati / O So Far Away / I Wanna Join The James Gang / Still As The Night / Don’t Get Married

CD Review, Jacuzzi Boys, Music

CD Review: Glazin’ [2011]

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Band: Jacuzzi Boys
Release: 9/2011
Label: Hardly Art

1. “Vizcaya” – B
2. “Automatic Jail” – B-
3. “Glazin” – B+
4. “Cool Vapors” – C+
5. “Libras and Zebras” – C
6. “Crush” – C+
7. “Silver Sphere (Death Dream)” – C
8. “Zeppelin” – C-
9. “Los Angeles” – B
10. “Koo Koo With You” – C-

Comments: Upfront disclosure: I did not expect a softie album from the Jacuzzi Boys. Now, softie to one may be hardcore punk to another. This is a lite album, though, a diet rock ‘n roll.  Traditional pop hooks are everywhere on Glazin’…make no mistake. It’s just that No Seasons, the band’s debut from 2009, possessed these hooks and then some. We live in times where bands with even the most marginal independent label support can spend longer time in a studio setting and complete a nicer sounding record. Sometimes, though, nicer sounding comes across as forced. The late great Jay Reatard didn’t find any remote worth in arranging a block of time for recording. He recorded whenever he felt like it. True, many bands don’t have 24/7 access to sophisticated home recording equipment, but Jay’s point holds. I feel like the experimentation that Jacuzzi Boys endeavor in is a result of them having that extra studio time available. In the end, they stick with internal familiarity. Mid-album songs like “Libras and Zebras” and “Crush” don’t sound like anything the Jacuzzi Boys have done, but by that point in the album it’s as if “oh yeah, I’ve heard something like that a few tracks ago, but it was better.” With “Silver Sphere,” we have an excessive song on our hands folks. It drags and stuff. I sense a bit of cheesiness with Glazin’. It’s fun to be fun and the Jacuzzi’s seemed to have carried that kind of spirit in the making of this record, but where’s the “Smells Dead” and “Island Avenue” circa 2011?

Grade:  C+ (77)

Random

Drinking and Yahoo! Answers

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Since Chris put one foot forward in making KLYAM more like Beer Advocate, I’ve decided to make this alcohol related post out of necessity and clarification. As I’m passively sipping on an alcohol beverage, I’ve embarked on the chaotic quest of finding out how other people feel about how drinking alcohol feels. Chances are that the person on Yahoo! Answers asking this question has never tasted alcohol and is curious. We’ve all been there. Now, I know some (if not all, then most) of you folks did not need the aid of anonymous internet discussion boarders in gauging the mysterious liquid. Maybe one or two of you reading decided to look into this medium. Fine. Typical responses (in my viewing history AND as expected) run the gamut from the neo-Prohibitionist (“Don’t drink at all. It is poison!”) to the impudently blithe (“Get fucked up and see!”). If I had to respond, I would take a reasonably middling stance. I’ve seen a fair share of responses, though, that really get my blood boiling. I can understand the truths in both extremes that I just mentioned, but when I read a response that says “you will feel horribly sick the next morning” I get semi-angered. If you have a moderate amount of alcohol beverage, in between ONE and anywhere between TWO and ______ drinks, chances are more than probable that you won’t feel sick. It’s called moderation for a reason. It’s a crime to instill fear in the brains of neophytes with this kind of garbage…this kind of shit. I don’t know too many people that go all out/black out during their first experimental session, do you? That’s all really. I could conclude this passage much more formally, but that’s all I have. My libation is getting warm.

CD Review, Dum Dum Girls, Music

CD Review: Only in Dreams [2011]

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Band: Dum Dum Girls
Release: 9/2011
Label: Sub Pop

1. “Always Looking” – A+
2. “Bedroom Eyes” – A
3. “Just A Creep” – A-
4. “In My Head” – A-
5. “Heartbeat” – B+
6. “Caught in One” – A-
7. “Coming Down” – A+
8. “Wasted Away” – A-
9. “Teardrops On My Pillow” – B+
10. “Hold Your Hand” – B

Comments: Quick thing that I’ve noticed right off: Dee Dee’s voice goes full-circle in the sexiness/appealing category. “Always Looking” is an Austin Powers 4 sound-track candidate with swampy guitar and even a happy-go-lucky clapping part. FELT! HEART! Haven’t heard that kind of stuff since The Go Team! In terms of stuffiness of hooks and all that stuff (pun intended), this album gets high marks. I’ve always thought Dum Dum Girls had some serious development potential when I saw them open twice for KK+BBQ. It was a relatively new band at the time so things live weren’t as “hitting” as on record. But this record is much fuller than I Will Be. We get better harmonies, better vocal focus. As various press releases indicate, Only in Dreams is about relationship emptiness and life emptiness. Despite this subject matter, it never really gets in the way of fun rock ‘n’ roll. It gives Dee Dee a much better platform as a song-writer. Make no mistaking Dum Dum Girls with their girl group contemporaries. The middle chunk of songs are fine pieces, but it’s not until “Coming Down” that things pick up. This song is powerful (as I’ve mentioned in a previous review) and will knock you on your ass if your susceptible to this kind of excellence. Upon showing it to someone, they quipped… is this a live recording? Not so much the case, though the distorted/washed guitars make one wonder. I am fan of this. Puts more focus on the beautiful songwriting. Bridge is perfect: “I THINK I’M COMING DOWN. HERE I GO…HERE I GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.” It does indeed have the same chord progression/vocal stylings as Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” but builds on it in a very modern fashion. As a rule, I Will Be packs more immediate punches, more in your face(ness) than Only in Dreams. Only in Dreams takes its time and this just goes to show to you how far this band has come. Going from Sub Pop rookies, to King Khan and BBQ Show openers, to Girls openers, they’ve spent quite a bit of time covering a lot of ground while getting their music out there. And great for them. They are headlining The Paradise in October. Check this out, check that out.

Grade: A- (91)