Category Archives: CD Review

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Future Breeds [2010]

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Band: Hot Hot Heat
Release: 6/2010
Label: Warner/Dangerbird

1. “YVR” – B+
2. “21@12” – B
3. “Times A Thousand” – B-
4. “Implosionatic” – B
5. “Goddess on the Prairie” – A-
6. “Zero Results” – B+
7. “Future Breeds” – B
8. “JFK’s LSD” – C+
9. “Jedidah” – C
10. “Buziness Az Uzual” – B-
11. “What Is Rational?” – C+
12. “Nobody’s Accusing You (Of Having A Good Time)” – B-

Comments: Poor Hot Hot Heat. Their debut album Make Up the Breakdown [Sub Pop, 2002] was positively reviewed for the most part. It was a goodie, I’ll admit. Since they’ve effectively “sold out” by signing to Warner Music, they’ve been kind of slapped around by both mainstream and independent music critics. Guitarist and Wolf Parade member Dante Decaro jumped off the band’s ship in 2005. Hot Hot Heat opened for Snow Patrol and Editors — two UK bands that have barely garnered major audiences stateside — in 2007 and 2008, before hitting the drawing board for this album.  If the band aimed to do anything notable on here, it was making up screwy song titles. Also, the band would probably win an award for “band that most sounds like Head Automatica.” The latter is actually nice in a strange way…HA hasn’t put out a record in four years. To start off with the good…the band knows how to craft catchy songs in the dance-punk genre. If you dig the singer’s voice, you’ll most likely be satisfied by the music. For some, though, this may pose a challenge. Three releases after going major, it’s not like the band is purposely “forced” to make something commercial. This thing isn’t forced at all. It seems like the group is just as creatively spirited as it was on its debut. “Goddess…” is full of hooks and straight up fun. It seems HHH took some cues from Spoon for that song and the next. Even though “JFK” is noisy and memorable and all…it’s overload. Chill out, dudes. The second half of the album takes on a more serious tone…for the worst.

Grade: B- (82)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Melted [2010]

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Band: Ty Segall
Release: 5/2010
Label: Goner Records

1. “Finger” – A
2. “Caesar” – A
3. “Girlfriend” – A
4. “Sad Fuzz” – A
5. “Melted” – A-
6. “Mike D’s Coke” – B-
7. “Imaginary Person” – A
8. “My Sunshine” – A+
9. “Bees” – A-
10. “Mrs.” – A-
11. “Alone” – A-

Comments: With such a soft beginning, I’m sure you got a little bored with “Finger” at first. Next thing you know, the song becomes a noisy medley of effects and distortion. “Caesar” stuck out in my mind as a top-shelf single and my thoughts on the song haven’t changed much as I’ve been listening to it on a fairly regular basis. “Sad Fuzz” is this album’s most overt attempt at a ’60s psychedelic-pop retrospective. It’s a success. “Melted” ends rather abruptly…aka the point that I was about to get into it. “Mike D’s Coke” seems a bit unnecessary and…filler. Filler alert. Segall’s best attempt at trying to sound like Jay Reatard — songwriting and actual voice/instrumentation — comes on “Imaginary Person.” Of course, Segall is a great songwriter himself, so he adds in a few solid touches of his own. The four chord dirty sound of “My Sunshine” is engaging. I really love the wet lead guitar riffs. This “sound,” if you will, continues onto the next track and, of course, folks, that means we have a great song on our hands. When the Strange Boys esque (minus the vocals) “Alone” speeds up…damn! Awesome. Besides a few bumps in the road, this LP contains plenty of exciting tracks. Listen!

Grade: A- (92)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Lux [2010]

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Band: Disappears
Release: 4/2010
Label: Kranky Records

1. “Gone Completely” – A-
2. “Magics” – B+
3. “Pearly Gates” – A-
4. “Marigold” – B
5. “Not Nothing” – B+
6. “Lux” – B+
7. “Old Friend” – B+
8. “Little Ghost” – B+
9. “New Cross” – B
10. “No Other” – A

Comments: Disappears is a band to keep your eyes on. It’s cool to see they are signed to Kranky Records, which has put out great discs by the likes of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound. I’d compare them to the former due to their light proto-punk sound and lo-fi prowess. The first few songs really caught my attention and the basis for such a comparison grew as one song switched to the next. Consider the jam-out on “Pearly Gates.” Not as epic as Deerhunter’s “Nothing Ever Happened,” but fun as fuck. These kind of jam-outs are more common on here than I anticipated. The only aspect of the record that I think could be improved upon would be vocal volume. Another thing I like about this band is that they portray a real sense of confidence. This sort of goes with what I said before. They don’t seem afraid to just rock out. And it’s not like they are rocking out with no sense of direction. “Old Friend” has some shouts that recall Thee Oh Sees. (A positive). The last song, “No Other,” is a winner. Good line: “when’s this gonna end? How’s it gonna be? Immediate death or slow and painfully?” OK so: while this album doesn’t necessarily stick out in the grand scheme of CD Reviews, I’m glad I ran into it.

Grade: B+ (88)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music, Wolf Parade

CD Review: Expo 86 [2010]

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Band: Wolf Parade
Release: 6/2010
Label: Sub Pop

1. “Cloud Shadow on the Mountain” – Krug – A-
2. “Palm Road” – Boeckner – A–
3. “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way) – Krug – A-
4. “Little Golden Age” – Boeckner – A-
5. “In the Direction of the Moon” – Krug – B+
6. “Ghost Pressure” – Boeckner – A
7. “Pobody’s Nerfect” – Boeckner – A-
8. “Two Men in New Tuxedos” – Krug – B
9. “Oh You, Old Thing” – Krug – A
10. “Yulia” – Boeckner – B+
11. “Cave-o-sapien” – Krug – B+

Comments: Spencer Krug starts the record off in a manner that I’ll dub uncharacteristic. He does a little spoken-word before singing in his oh-so characteristic way.  “Cloud” is (and I hate that I’ll keep referring to it at this) very Sunset Rubdown. Of course, it’s more dynamic and more dance. I like that it’s instantly catchy. It’s the catchiest tune on this LP. The Boeckner-led “Palm Road” is neat. There’s a lot of noticeable instruments going on in the background — some with weird, but cool effects. There’s also the break around the two minute mark that adds some lasting meat to the tune. The upbeat “What Did” contains an array of neat guitar riffs and a constant drum line that insists on you moving around. I absolutely am fascinated by “Little Golden Age.” Hot damn. Krug starts doing his “wa-who-wa-who” deal at the end and then Boeckner kicks back in with the chorus. Just great. “In the Direction” is a bit draggy, I’ll admit, but overall it is pretty consistent in being that, which isn’t bad. There are things I like. As I mentioned in song reviews “Ghost Pressure” features excellent synthesizer notes and a killer bridge/chorus. “Pobody’s Nerfect” has a cool rhythm section. Not breath-taking, but well enough. Too long? It makes the next song, “Two Men,” seem like an extremely short number. Comparatively so. “Oh You, Old Thing” is tight. It’s a very variable tune. It certainly has me not knowing what to expect next. For now, I’ll label it as a grower. Fantastic ending. “Yulia” just keeps getting better and better as it progresses. Matter of fact, that’s how a lot of Dan’s songs are. Cool effects are also present on “Cave.”

Grade: B+ (89)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

Classic CD Review: In Utero

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Band: Nirvana
Release: 1993
Label: DGC

1. “Serve the Servants” – A–
2. “Scentless Apprentice” – C+
3. “Heart Shaped Box” – B
4. “Rape Me” – B+
5. “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle” – B+
6. “Dumb” – B
7. “Very Ape” – B
8. “Milk It” – C+
9. “Pennyroyal Tea” – B-
10. “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” – B-
11. “Tourette’s” – B
12. “All Apologies” – B

Comments: Not exactly the biggest fan of Kurt Cobain’s singing voice or what is grunge music, I was unsure what to expect from this critically hailed record. “Serve the Servants” is the perfect speed/heaviness  that I’m personally looking for. The screaming on “Scentless” bugs me much. I dig the chorus on “Heart Shaped Box,” but other than that it’s just all right. “Rape me/Rape me my friend” is fun. It’s not something I’ll constantly listen to, but it’s fun. Jay’s cover of “Frances” is better. I don’t care. I’m not going to say the second half of this is bad, but it’s far away from pop. Big ups to “Tourette’s” for being a decent punk tune. It’s so bad it’s good.

Grade: B- (83)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Rush to Relax [2010]

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Band: Eddy Currant Suppression Ring
Release: 3/2010
Label: Goner Records

1. “Anxiety” – A-
2. “I Got a Feeling” – A-
3. “Tuning Out” – B
4. “Gentlemen” – B+
5. “Walked Into A Corner” – B+
6. “Second Guessing” – B
7. “I Can Be a Jerk” – B+
8. “Burn” – A-
9. “Isn’t It Nice” – A
10. “Rush to Relax” – B+

Comments: Goner Records, like In The Red Records, is given a preferential option, so to speak, in terms of record reviews like this one. Why? The reason is because Goner has a history of putting out excellent discs. About a month ago I discovered this band after hearing the song “I Got a Feeling” played on WMBR. It stuck out enough for me to quickly jot it down. It’s a very good song that didn’t immediately win me over, but after a few more listens I’ve liked it more and more. $30,000 richer after winning the Australian Music Prize for 2008 LP Primary Colours, the band, I’m sure, tried their best to get out an equally awesome product. While I’ve never listened to Primary Colours, I must say this record sort of gets lost in garage rock obscurity. “Tuning Out” is cool until the boring two minute instrumental jam session kicks in. “Walked Into a Corner” is the perfect short-story of social shyness: “I was feeling anti-social/I didn’t feel like talking/I walked into a pah-tee/A pah-tee full of people.” This is one of the better 59 second songs I’ve heard. Nice Australian accents, by the way. They are very intense. Don’t touch me here. The short track “Isn’t It Nice” is my favorite on here. Check it out. Don’t be deceived by the 24 minute title track. Gentle ocean waves make up a good 75% of the track.

Grade: B+ (88)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Nothing Hurts [2010]

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Band: Male Bonding
Release: 5/2010
Label: Sub Pop

1. “Year’s Not Long” – A-
2. “All Things This Way” – B+
3. “Your Contact” – A-
4. “Weird Feelings” – A-
5. “Franklin” – B+
6. “Crooked Scene” – A
7. “T.U.F.F” – B+
8. “Nothing Remains” – A-
9. “Nothing Use To Hurt” – B+
10. “Pirate Key” – B
11. “Paradise Vendors” – A-
12. “Pumpkin” – A-
13. “Worst to Come” – A-

Comments: A band that did not excite me at all live, Male Bonding was actually a “band that I wanted to like.” Could the record make up for their lackluster performance? The answer is “yes!” I’m sort of glad this record isn’t of a terribly low fidelity. Thank you… Sub Pop? Anyway, there are really fun spots in a bunch of these songs. For example, the hook in “Your Contact” is welcoming and the high string notes in “Weird Feelings” save the song from drum-centricness. For some kind of modern reference point, I’d have to point in the direction of Abe Vigoda. Male Bonding is from Dalston, England, which would seem to be like the California of that country, but it really isn’t that at all. I’m getting tropical vibes on “Crooked Scene,” although it may just be the structure of that song that conjures Abe. A casual or first time listener might have alarms going off in their head along the lines of: song A sounds like song B sounds like C. That kind of sucks as it’s hard to make distinctions between tracks, especially at the early stages of familiarity. At other times, the group sounds like Wavves. Bottom line: is this good? Yes. Is it great? Sometimes. There’s even Vivian Girls’ Cassie Ramone singing on the last track.

Grade: B+ (89)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Sea of Cowards [2010]

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Band: The Dead Weather
Release: 5/2010
Label: Third Man Records

1. “Blue Blood Blues” – B-
2. “Hussle and Cuss” – B-
3. “The Difference Between Us” – B-
4. “I’m Mad” – B
5. “Die By The Drop” – B
6. “I Can’t Hear You” – B
7. “Gasoline” – B-
8. “No Horse” – C+
9. “Looking at the Invisible Man” – C
10. “Jawbreaker” – B-
11. “Old Mary” – C-

Comments: These guys! I think I may have mentioned this in my review of Horehound: these songs (especially the first five) are really memorable, but not necessarily my cup of tea. If you like what they call ‘blues-rock’ then I could definitely see this as a suitable fit alongside a collection of Raconteurs, White Stripes, Black Keys, and Them Crooked Vultures records. The first single released in March “Die By The Drop” brings back crazy memories of Rage Against the Machine. Same with the next song.

Grade: C+ (79)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Warm Slime

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Band: Thee Oh Sees
Release: 5/2010
Label: In The Red

1. “Warm Slime” – B-
2. “I Was Denied” – A-
3. “Everything Went Black” – B+
4. “Castiatic Tackle” – A
5. “Flash Bats” – B-
6. “Mega-feast” – B+
7. “MT Work” – B

Comments: Prolific in both quantity and quality, Thee Oh Sees have been kicking out jams for years at the rate of two or three albums a year. Maybe more. Damn, the phrasing in that first sentence is a little redundant, but it sounds good. Speaking of redundant, how about a 13 minute opener? That’s more than twice the length of Mark Sultan’s $ premier number “Icicles.” Damn, I hope Pitchfork doesn’t give Stephen Deusner the call-to-the-mound, so to speak, to review this album. That hater will just hate. So, anyway, if I am going to pitch in my two cents, I might as well do that at this time. It’s only appropriate. Around the 5:00 mark things slow down from consistent beats to an A Capella (but not really) repetition of some sentence that is not comprehensible to me. A speed up, of course, follows and is actually kind of awesome. The drums remind me of when I try recording myself playing drums on the computer. It’s just a sequence of loud bass drum bangs that sort of take center stage and make everything else… off-center-stage. That makes no sense. But I continue. Let’s be real here. In the age of the information superhighway and not of the vinyl long-player, this opener is hella skippable. Listen up, though. I could see if I was reading a book or something and popped this on the record player. Yeah, that’d be fun. But fucking eh! “I Was Denied” is a loud noise club bang her with a very simple progression and an irresistibly in your face chorus. “Everything Went Black” has another classic Oh Sees drum scheme. These drum schemes work to some degree, but don’t get me into some kind of frenzy. “Castiatic Tackle” is the shit! Hot shit! That’s the way I like it, dudes. To borrow a phrase from the great Cole Alexander (and thousands of others…thanks Google search), this shit is “psychedelic as fuck!” “Flash Bats” doesn’t keep pace with the one before it, but is very good. “Mega-feast” has a cool hook and all. What a fun closer “MT Work” is.

Grade: B (86)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music, Uncategorized

Classic Review: Free Drugs;-)

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Band: Harlem
Release: 2008
Label: Female Fantasy

1. “Witchgreens” – A-
2. “Caroline” – A+
3. “South of France” – A
4. “Irresistible” – A
5. “Beautiful and Very Smart” – A++
6. “Psychedelic Tits” – A-
7. “Think I’m Thinkin’ Bout” – A-
8. “Disneyland” – A
9. “Little Black Cowboy” – A
10. “I’m on Drugs” – A-
11. “Red Herring” – A
12. “Hundred a Dollar a Night Man” – A

Comments: Not as great as Hippies, but still amazing. “Beautiful and Smart” is an instant favorite.

Grade: A

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Side note: Check out this video for “Friendly Ghost”