Category Archives: Art

Art, Honorary KLAYMERS, Music, pictures, Wavves

More New Wavves! “Horse Shoes”

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Song:  New Shoes

Link: http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/15442-horse-shoes/

As stated in the Pitchfork blurb this is a reworking of an old tune from Wavves’ 2009 Daytrotter Session, when drummer Zach Hill was still in the band.  Hill’s louder, more chaotic drumming is apparent here as is the lack of Stephen Pope (unless I’m totally wrong and he is on this recording, but I don’t hear it!)  Hopefully, this is a glimpse at the forthcoming release of old Zach Hill/Nathan Wavves material, if it is this should be a decent record. Though the song may not contain the strong  hooks Wavves are known for, it’s raw musicianship can be appreciated.  I also second Pitchfork’s sentiment that this has a “garage punk” feel to it. We’ll see what happens next, it seems like Wavves songs are coming out left and right these days!

Art, Band of the Week, Music, pictures, Punk, Uncategorized

Band of the Week: Girlfriends

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Check out our Band of the Week, Boston’s Girlfriends. Since, The Maine Coons sudden departure, Girlfriends are easily the best Boston band around or at least my favorite. Their take on the “garage” style is intriguing, to say the least and without a doubt they have a knack for writing catchy pop numbers. Favorites of mine include “Good To Be True” and “I Was Here, But I Disappear.” Here is a link to their myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/girlfriendsus

Animal Collective, Art, CD Review, Classic Album Review, Classic CD Review, Honorary KLAYMERS, Music, pictures, Video

Classic Album Review: Animal Collective- Sung Tongs

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Full Title: Sung Tongs
Artist: Animal Collective
Year: 2004
Label: Fat Cat
Tracks:
1) Leaf House- 7
2) Who Could Win a Rabbit- 9
3) The Softest Voice- 7
4) Winters Love– 9
5) Kids On Holiday- 7/8
6) Sweet Road- 7
7) Visiting Friends- 6
8) College- 7
9) We Tigers- 8
10) Mouth Wooed Her- 7/8
11) Good Lovin Outside- 8
12) Whaddit I Done- 7

Comments: Animal Collective is in the haus with some wonderful tongs for you and me. These tongs are brought to you by Panda Bear and Avey Tare, two of today’s greatest tongwriters. On this record, we hear mostly soft tongs, an incredibly warm, serene vibe is communicated. Much of the loud, manic, beastial quality to AC’s music as can be seen in their then previous release Here Comes the Indian (2003) and later recordings is absent here. Instead, we experience something much gentler and calmer- which isn’t bad, but at the end of the day isn’t what I chiefly adore about this group. With that being said, it works quite well on this record and emotional inducing songs like “Winters Love” and “Kids On Holiday” (particularly the former) produce a massive feeling of nostalgia and an almost quiet joy in me. WL is without a doubt one of AC’s best musical moments, powerful in it’s shamanistic yalping and simply acoustic guitar strummin’. Speaking of which, the acoustic guitar plays a crucial role in the sound and recording of this album; it’s all acoustic! Naturally, the lack of electric guitar has an undeniable impact on the sound/production of the album, and for fans of more folkier music this might be a positive thang, for those that dig heavier music, then I could easily see this as a turn off. In any case, I feel like the boys succeeded in what they set out to do and though it lacks in the oft-seen menace of AC, it still delivers a bizarre mish mash of humanity and insanity- especially on what is arguably the band’s first breakthrough “pop” song “Who Could Win A Rabbit,” which was my introduction to their music. Rabbit’ is both playful and savage and is perhaps the biggest song from Sung Tongs. As a whole, I didn’t love this record, but I really dig it; ST marks Animal Collective’s transition from unknown Neo-Psych Rockers to fairly recognizable underground stalwurts.

Grade: 7/10

Art, Music, Punk, Wavves

NEW WAVVES!: “TV LUV SONG”

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http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1v8wwv/www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-new-wavves-song?utm_source=spintwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=spintwitter

I’m going to give this a 7/8, out of all the new songs Wavves have been conjuring up for us recently, this ditty is definitely one of the better ones. I really dig the “Post Acid” esque production: heavy percussion, loud guitars, prominent-poppy vocals, etc. Lyrically, we see the same themes of laziness and overall apathy that often appear in Wavves’ tunes. This track is certainly catchy, but doesn’t reach the emotional level of a “So Bored,” or the innovation of a “Linus Spacehead.” With that being said, it looks like they are moving in a positive direction and this is a step forward from King of the Beach, which admittedly is a hard record to top. In the end, there are no surprises here, but it’s also not a carbon copy of previous Wavves songs. Fans will most likely enjoy this, I did.

Art, concert review, Music, pictures, Punk, reviews

Concert Review: Hurricanes Of Love, Ladderlegs, Sinbusters, Human Tail, Thick Shakes @ Dirty Douglas (2/12/11)

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Thick Shakes

Artists: The Human Tail, Thick Shakes, The Sinbusters, Ladderlegs, Hurricanes Of Love, Gangsta Love
Date: Saturday, February 12, 2011
Venue Dirty Douglas (Lowell, MA)
Comments: This was my first time at the Dirty Douglas, a DIY venue in Lowell, and from the looks of it there’s a pretty rad scene going on in this Heavenly city, as Frank- singer/guitarist for Hurricanes of Love would put it. Good old Frank is from Atlanta, GA and is well-acquainted with our tru gangsta home boys, The Black Lips! Frank and his saw playing bandmate put on a nice, warm folksy-bluesy set that didn’t blow me away, but was still solid. I also really dug Frank’s rastafarian esque interludes in which he always made it a point to thank his Heavenly brothers and sisters. The rest of the evening consisted of various Punk and/or potentially Garage acts. The Human Tail delivered a fast, rockin’ performance and I could easily see them appearing on a small, national label in the vain of Burger or Goner someday. The Thick Shakes bore a similar aesthetic and certainly rocked just as hard, but with a little bit more of a pop element. Speaking of “Garage” influence, Thick Shakes certainly displayed it more than any other band on the roster. Even on their myspace page they descirbe themselves as “Garage” and if their raw, 60s Hard Rock sound didn’t convince you enough just a glance at their influences: The Kingsmen, The Sonics, and In the Red greats, Thee Oh Sees (according to their myspace page) should be enough to end the debate. I suppose for these reasons TS stood out the most to me. The Sinbusters and Ladderlegs rounded out the show, each continuing the trend of heavier, energetic, Garage oriented Punk. Sinbusters actually reminded me of Thick Shakes’ faves, Thee Ohh Sees, especially listening to them now on myspace. Ladderlegs also contains an undeniable savage and certainly strange quality and reminds me of earlier hardcore punk, but a bit more experimental and also some early Reatards vibes, but much more fleshed out and musical. Overall, the sound was top notch for all of the bands, thanks in part to the venue’s audio, I assume. I can’t say my mind was blown by any of the artists, but I did enjoy myself and this show introduced me to several talented, garagey bands that I had never heard of before. Each artist was decent in their own right, so I can’t complain.

The following is a list of the bands and their myspace pages or websites. Check em’ out!

The Human Tail
http://www.myspace.com/thehumantail
Thick Shakes
http://www.myspace.com/thickshakesmusic
The Sinbusters
http://thesinbusters.bandcamp.com/
Ladderlegs
http://ladderlegs.bandcamp.com/
Hurricanes of Love
http://www.myspace.com/hurricanesoflove