Category Archives: CD Review

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: $ (2010)

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Band: Mark Sultan
Release: 4/2010
Label: Last Gang Records

1. “Icicles” – B
2. “Don’t Look Back” – B+
3. “Ten of Hearts” – B+
4. “Status” – B
5. “I Get Nothing From My Girl” – B+
6. “Go Berserk” – A
7. “I Am the End” – A-
8. “Misery’s Upon Us” – A
9. “I’ll Be Lovin’ You” – A-
10. “Waiting For Me” – A+
11. “Just to Hold You” – A-
12. “Catastrophe” – A-
13. “Nobody But You” – A

Comments: This is Sultan’s follow-up to his (wonderful) tastefully distorted 2007 garage pop album Sultantic Verses. “Icicles” begins with four minutes of distortion before Sultan’s fuzzy vocals enter, making the song sound more psychedelic and experimental than we are used to. “Don’t Look Back” is heavy on the drums and jangly on the guitar. It sounds like it’s primed for a Western. To give some mnstrmrs a sense of direction, it sounds a little like “Brian Eno” by MGMT. “Ten of Hearts” is the album’s first endeavor into the world of classic oldies. The production on this track is excellent packed with vintage recording techniques and structures like doo-wop harmonies, a light bass, and horns. “Status” was the first track that we got a sneak of back a couple of months ago. My initial thoughts was that it was chaotic and maybe too much so. The ending is a tad unnecessary in one man’s opinion. “I Get Nothing” is another golden gem with strong lyrics, but a rather done before musical tonality. “Go Berserk” is the funnest gem of the first six! Great guitar prowess! Sultan shows off his vocal range on “I Am the End” in a near superciliously fascinating way. Say what? Basically, Mark Sultan is one of the only men in rock and roll that can sing. Sing sing. “Misery’s Upon Us” is up there as well. This version of “I’ll Be Lovin’ You” is a bit more chaotic than the King Khan and BBQ Show version. It’s slightly sped up, for better or for worse. More guitars, more drums, more distortion and plus it features a slow break followed by a doo-wop arrangement to top things off. “Waiting For Me” is another one of my favorites off of this LP. “Catastrophe” is cool. Not the best, but cool. “Nobody But You” is a neat closer. It’s got some very cool effects on both vocals and guitar. Overall, I really like this album. At first, I wasn’t entirely convinced, but I know its got a handful of really listenable gems.

Grade: A- (90)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

Re-CD Review: Gay Singles [2010]

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*A review for this album was originally made back in October 2009, but to keep up with the times here is a more official review!


Band: Hunx and His Punx
Release: 2/2010
Label: Matador

1. “You Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll” – A
2. “Gimmie Gimmie Back Your Love” – A
3. “Hey Rocky” – A
4. “Movin’ On” – A-
5. “Cruising” – A
6. “Good Kisser” – A
7. “Don’t Cha Want Me Back” – B+
8. “The Last Time” – A-
9. “Teardrops on My Telephone” – A
10. “I Won’t Get Under You” – A-
11. “You Better Tell That Girl” – A-
12. “Do the Make Up” – A+

Comments: As Chris said in a concert review from October 3, “If you think you have seen homocore or queercore, then look again. Hunx and His Punx is just about as gay as it gets and unabashedly so.” If you ignore the hilariously creepy/flamboyant lyrics, these are pretty damn awesome glam pop-punk songs. You know, basic chord structures playing underneath an effeminate voice. Let’s not ignore lyrics for one second. Take “Hey Rocky,” which is about a gay one night stand with said man. Lyrics alone could be offensive to many, but a plethora of popular hip-hop/pop songs today are just as disgusting/immoral as this. You can’t make the claim that these songs aren’t catchy. Musically, they are as fun as can be. “I’ve got so many fellas, I make all the ladies jealous. Just hope they’re playing on my team,” hollers Hunx on “Cruisin’.” A typical immediate reaction might be: “Oh my…gay!” And that was my reaction. Try watching 10 seconds of the music video. But..but…”Cruisin’” is easily one of the rhythmically catchiest songs on here. A lot of these songs pop into my head randomly during the day. “You like Morrissey, you like U2…what the fuck is wrong with you? Are you deaf or just plain dumb?” This definitely grew on me with 6+ months of listening, so maybe I’m a little biased in giving this a really good score compared to most albums that I listen to in a day or so.

Grade: A- (92)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Shame, Shame [2010]

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Band: Dr. Dog
Release: 4/2010
Label: Anti-

1. “Stranger” – B
2. “Shadow People” – C+
3. “Station” – D+
4. “Unbearable Rock” – B
5. “Where’d All The Time Go? – C+
6. “Later” – B+
7. “I Only Wear Blue” – C
8. “Someday” – C-
9. “Mirror, Mirror” – C-
10. “Jackie Wants A Black Eye” – C-
11. “Shame, Shame” – D+

Comments: Dr. Dog sounds like one of the most pop-rock sensible independent rock bands that I’ve heard. Psychedelia is there too, but isn’t too obvious. The bad thing about this band and this record is that they/it are/is not really fun standing alone. It’s almost like “damn, this is probably really good, but I’m not feeling it.” So rather than criticize the band for what they aren’t (yes, I’m pointing to you Bitchfuck Media), I’ll give them props and critiques for what they are. Dr. Dog aren’t fun. Maybe for some people. Maybe live. I wouldn’t know. Apparently they wanted a more live feel for this album. What was sort of enjoyable in the beginning is downright sleep-inducing by the end.

Grade: C (75)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Punk [2010]

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Band: Reverend Elvis and the Undead Syncopators
Release: 3/2010
Label: Suzy Q Records

1. “I’m A Blues Punk” – B-
2. “Trouble” – B+
3. “The Angel of Death” – B
4. “Kill! Kill! Kill!” – B+
5. “Never Let You Go” – B+
6. “666” – B
7. “Tainted Love” – A-
8. “I Still Believe” – B
9. “Dead Before You Died” – B+
10. “Boppin’ The Blues” – B
11. “Country Heroes” – B-
12. “Rockabilly Riot” – B
13. “Honky Tonkin” – B
14. “Killer Wolf” – B+

Comments: A cross between Bob Dylan and Bloodshot Bill, Reverend Elvis is a great story teller and his back-up crew, the Undead Syncopators, play some sweet licks behind him. “I’m drinking all night long and getting high/I’m drinking all night long not afraid to die” sings Rev. Elvis on “Kill” with a drunken delivery. The band channels fellow rockers King Khan and BBQ Show on “Never Let You Go” if only because of the line: “Oh, little girl I love you/ I love you so and never let you go.” Side note: singing about little girls never gets old does it? How old is little? 20? Hopefully?  Ever wanted to hear a rockabilly cover of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” ??? I was actually expecting a GG Allin cover based on the first few chords, but no go. Rev. Elvis really does the chorus great. Ever bopped the blues? BBT has bopped the blues. Unveiled for the first time: a new KLYAM designation. See below.

Grade: B (85)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Volume Two [2010]

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Band: She & Him
Release: 3/2010
Label: Merge

1. “Thieves” – B+
2. “In The Sun” – A-
3. “Don’t Look Back” – C
4. “Ridin’ In My Car” – C+
5. “Lingering Still” – C+
6. “Me And You” – B-
7. “Gonna Get Along Without You Now” – B-
8. “Home” – C+
9. “I’m Gonna Make It Better” – B+
10. “Sing” – B+
11. “Over It Over Again” – B-
12. “Brand New Shoes” – C
13. “If You Can’t Sleep” – C-

Comments: Zooey sounds like some ’50s standalone rockabilly/doo-wop singer. Her voice is pretty yet very limiting. “In The Sun” works really well because it’s not an attempt at alternative country. Most songs on here are just bland throwbacks. I don’t have any recommendations for improvement because there’s a crowd of people who dig this kind of stuff.

Grade: B- (81)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Congratulations [2010]

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Band: MGMT
Release: 4/2010
Label: Columbia

1. “It’s Working” – B-
2. “Song For Dan Treacy” – B
3. “Someone’s Missing” – C-
4. “Flash Delirium” – C+
5. “I Found A Whistle” – B
6. “Siberian Breaks” – C
7. “Brian Eno” – A
8. “Lady Dada’s Nightmare” – C-
9. “Congratulation” – B+

Comments: MGMT rhymes with Polyphonic Spree. It’s true. “It’s Working” makes me mistake the two psychedelic pop bands. MGMT made this record filled to the brim with pretty basic weird music. It’s pretty listenable, but repetitive and unnecessarily exploratory. Unlike some people, I don’t necessarily hate “Flash Delirium.” It’s a bit too much to really handle, but at the same it’s relatively average. “I Found A Whistle” is one of those tracks where I imagine a bunch of people holding whistles and each other’s hands in a large auditorium. The band successfully rips off the likes of the late Jay Reatard with “Brian Eno” for nearly two minutes before a small jazz break and psychedelic mash-up sets in. So for a dude like me “Brian Eno” represents the very best of this album and is right up there with all those Oracular songs that people hold near and dear. “Congratulation” is a neat softie rock song. It won’t get you dancing or really doing anything, but it’s chill. I’d be pretty shocked if anyone really falls in love with this album.

Grade: B- (80)

CD Review, Music

CD Review: Pigeons [2010]

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Band: Here We Go Magic
Release: 6/2010
Label: Secretly Canadian

1. “Hibernation” – B
2. “Collector” – A-
3. “Casual” – B-
4. “Surprise” – A-
5. “Bottom Feeder” – B+
6. “Moon” – C+
7. “Old World United” – B+
8. “F.F.A.P”- C+
9. “Land of Feeling” – B+
10. “Vegetable Or Native” – B-
11. “Herbie I Love You, Now I Know” – C-

Comments: This is one of those mistakes where some intern at Secretly Canadian got a hold of this LP three months before its official release and decided that it was somehow in his best interest to upload online. The thing about my dad, Luke Temple, is that he knows deeply what he wants to accomplish, but his music is too much for the average miscreant to understand. Well, pops got himself a band this time around and a few overt pop hooks. Been to a Here We Go Magic show sometime in the past eight months? You definitely heard “Collector.”  By the by, the band went down hill the second they dismissed Greg as the drummer. Yes, he only played one gig with them in Boston, but still you can’t do that. Dad didn’t hear the end of that one. You might ask well “why aren’t you giving your father high marks on every song?” Because that’d be bullshit and plus he left me for New York City. This LP is less weird than when pa did hard drugs. Think of the self-titled as a heroin trip and this as your average acid trip.  At any rate, I bet you’ll find yourself liking some songs on here at least. It can get kind of freaky at times like in “Moon,” but that’s expected with a hermetical title like that. I’d say in general the band is like a messed up Grizzly Bear. “Vegetable Or Native” is my principal reference. It’s just one of those songs that you never thought adults could come up with.

Grade: B- (83)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Hippies [2010]

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Band: Harlem
Release: 4/2010
Label: Matador

1. “Someday Soon” – A+
2. “Friendly Ghost” – A+
3. “Spray Paint” – A
4. “Number One” – A+
5. “Be Your Baby” – A
6. “Gay Human Bones” – A+
7. “Torture Me” – A
8. “Cloud Pleaser” – A
9. “Faces” – A
10. “Tila And I” – A
11. “Three Legged Dog” – A-
12. “Prairie My Heart” – A-
13. “Scare You” – A
14. “Stripper Sunset” – A-
15. “Pissed” – A-
16. “Poolside” – A

Grade: I don’t know if I’m in an extra special good mood because of the fine weather I see from staring out the window or what. This record is really really awesome. Like “Friendly Ghost” is one of those great garage tracks that gets you happy as fuck. Then you got stuff like “Be Your Baby” which is the surf-punk answer to the classic 1960s track “Be My Baby” by The Ronnettes. This is definitely one of the top-bottom best crafted albums I’ve heard not only in 2010 so far, but this decade. The flow is freaking incredible until “Prairie My Heart.” Comparisons you ask? Nobunny covered in (King Khan and) BBQ sauce somewhere in Texas. If Chris DeC looking for an early favorite recording of 2010 this will be it. I know the kid. He got all warm and fuzzy with Album and this is a similar trick pony (same record label and all) except much better! You’d think these guys have been cranking LPs for years.

Grade: A (94)

CD Review, Entertainment, Femmes, Music

CD Review: I Will Be [2010]

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Band: Dum Dum Girls
Release: 3/2010
Label: Sub Pop

1. “It Only Takes One Night” – A+
2. “Bhang, Bhang, I’m A Burnout” – A
3. “Oh Mein Me” – A-
4. “Jail La La” – A
5. “Rest Of Our Lives” – A+
6. “Yours Alone” – A-
7. “Blank Girl” – A-
8. “I Will Be” – B+
9. “Lines Her Eyes” – A-
10. “Everybody’s Out” – A
11. “Baby Don’t Go” – B+

Comments: Dum Dum Girls! Yes! I like how last.fm puts it: “neither lo-fi nor too polished.” If you are looking for a quick hit, something to immediately latch you onto the group, I’d recommend “Jail La La,” the first single to go with this record. I’m already getting candidate for song of the year vibes. County jail sucks. “Someone tell my baby/Or else he won’t go out and save me” sings Dee Dee on the chorus. Literally, a great pop song that won’t get amazing treatment because it’s a bit lo-fi. Dum Dum Girls have been labeled a “buzz band” and I guess after opening for King Khan and BBQ Show and (soon to be) Girls, that’s kind of reasonable. For me, I knew the group had talent a long time ago; all of these songs solidify that. Definitely, definitely, definitely, DON’T just listen to this one and say to yourself this is pretty good and then never listen to it again. I usually do that with some decent records, but please something for me and get through this multiple times. The drums alone should have you hooked if nothing else.

Grade: A- (92)

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Head First [2010]

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Band: Goldfrapp
Release: 3/2010
Label: Mute

1. “Rocket” – B-
2. “Believer” – C-
3. “Alive” – B-
4. “Dreaming” – C
5. “Head First” – C-
6. “Hunt” – D+
7. “Shiny and Warm” – B-
8. “I Wanna Life” – C+
9. “Voicething” – D

Comments: The synthesizer is a funny little instrument. It seems like it’s an easy way to make anything sound listenable. It’s funny to see how much “synthpop” is different, yet sort of similar to synthpunk . I guess the difference is that a majority of the songs from this band seem like creative variations of other songs. There are only so many progressions and approaches that a band can make in songs like these. That kind of bugs me, listening to this record as a whole. I guess if you like repetition and electronica, you’ll like this.

Grade: C (74)