Category Archives: CD Review

CD Review, In The Red, Music, Ty Segall, Ty Segall Band

Album Review: Ty Segall Band – “Slaughterhouse”

Leave a comment


Band: Ty Segall Band
Label: In The Red Records
Release: 6/2012

Comments: It would be reasonable for a KLYAM reader at this moment to think to themselves, “damn, they’re all about Ty Segall lately!” We aren’t secretly working for Ty, by the way. It’s just been that what the guy has been doing lately is nothing short of incredible. Slaughterhouse, as many of you may know, is the work of Ty’s live band, which in addition to he, includes Emily Rose Epstein (drums), Mikal Cronin (bass), and Charlie Mootheart (guitar). Technically speaking, this is the band’s first studio release. (There is a 2011 complete band live album called Live In Aisle 5.)

It’s hard to tell exactly how this record was produced. In many ways, it sounds like a ‘everyone ready? 1-2-3-4!!!’ click and record effort. The depth and clarity of each instrument is something else. Getting back to the record itself, I find it fascinating to look at this from a loose concept record whose name tells all angle. You think Slaughterhouse and you don’t think of a sunny afternoon walk in the town common. It’s more like the guitars and all associated effects are no longer producers of music, but are more like intelligently crafted guns. Even Ty’s vocals aren’t at all like the Ty that we’ve heard from the beginning. He’s vicious, carefree, and destructive. He screams and he says ‘fuck yeah’ and ‘fuck this fucking song’! The songs themselves don’t fall far from the creators’ tree. The band is on the same page as Ty and the three of them, well they don’t give a flying fuck either. Some might say well “Fuzz War” is just a loada shit noises and random chords. I would’ve said that two years ago. If you look at this from a macro perspective, it’s almost a perfect ending. We start with “Death” and work backwards to when the mayhem began. (Don’t go back and listen to every song in the reverse order — though that might actually be interesting to some… including myself.) At this point you might be thinking, so what’s the best song on this thing? Well it’s “Wave Goodbye”. I believe [after much deliberation] that “Wave” is the best thing that Segall has done to date. It’s a perfectly crafted song. From start to finish, it’s a monster. You know Ty’s up to no good when he starts off “I went to churches and I went to school, I played by all of your mother’s rules”. That solo never gets old, either. The pounding of Emily Rose Epstein. Mikal and Charlie. Man. “Wave Goodbye” is so supreme that it sort of leaves you wanting to compare the other songs to past Ty efforts. But you will find that you can not simply do that. Even the 1 minute 30 second “Muscle Man” most effortlessly can compete with the fuzziest and loudest there is on Melted. Speaking of loud and fuzzy.

Where to go from here with that. Friggin “That’s The Bag I’m In” slaps “Muscle Man” around with its dick. You can’t help but smile when Ty instructs “extra fast” on the “Diddy Wah Diddy” cover. Ty and Charlie get extra giddy at times on that song and Ty. Funny dude. “I got a car with wheels. Who fuckin’ cares? Fuck this fuckin’ song. DIDDY WAH DIDDY…Wait, rewind it, let’s go again!” This is a tight band.  If we care to backtrack a bit, we can talk about some of the other tracks. “I Bought My Eyes” is insane. Some people who prefer damaging aural attacks might say this is the front-runner of them all. It sort of is. The other contender is “Tell Me What’s Inside Your Heart.” First. Any coincidence that they’ve been playing “Eyes,” “Wave Goodbye,” and Tell Me” live? They must love them long time too, right? If songs were people (as I often make the comparison), who would win in a 5k running race, “Eyes” or “Tell Me”? If you are a Melted purist, you might be more of “The Tongue” type (though that means you could be an “Imaginary Person” or “Caesar” purist…cover your ears, kids…and this isn’t an insult, those are my favorite songs, too). Or maybe you like yourself some “Oh Mary,” which indeed is a Ty Segall cover. And by Ty Segall cover, I mean one guitar/two drums one-man band 2009 style. This time around, Ty’s vocals sound nearly identical, but the instrumentation is more bopping, controlled, and clearer. Controlled chaos. I’ve seen it listed sometimes as “Mary Ann,” which either is a mistake of journalists or a purposeful re-branding made for an onslaught of first-time amateur Ty listeners. Let’s go to the bottom of Slaughterhouse.

I was about to say this is Ty’s best release. I’m not sure if it is entirely appropriate to say that though. I can’t imagine too many record reviewers have asked what the roles were of John Hassall and Gary Powell in the making of Libertine records. I don’t have any liner notes in front of me (still waiting for the record to arrive in physical form) so I feel bad coming to any conclusions and giving misinformed credits. I know the band has switched up instruments live and they are all capable of doing that kind of thing. Did it happen on Slaughterhouse? Either way, this really is a special record. This is only the beginning of my experience with it. I can’t wait to drop the needle for the first time and hear the first screeches of “Death” and the final barrage of noise on “Fuzz War”. And everything in between. Right now, I’m going to place it ahead of Hair, which I raved about. Like most great rock and roll, I can see this being under-appreciated. Maybe people aren’t on the same wavelength as I am about the capabilities of these four, but it’s really something that ought to be examined. Excellent!

CD Review, Music, The Walkmen

Album Review: “Heaven” (The Walkmen)

Leave a comment


Release: 5/2012
Label: Fat Possum

Comments: I love A Hundred Miles Off. There, I said it! The band hates it. The critics looked at it unfavorably. Fans don’t really mention it among their Walkmen favorites. What does that have to do with Heaven? Well, A Hundred for me is a fun variety of spirited tunes — the garage/punk influenced “Lost In Boston” and “Tenley Town,” the Everyone Who era “All Hands and the Cook,” the unforgettable horns in “Louisiana”. So on and so forth. 2008’s You and Me was outstanding as well, but it sure did mark a shift in the band’s sound. A lasting shift. Heaven emotionally feels like a continuation of the vibes of Lisbon. You can tell who was behind the boards for Heaven – that would be Phil Ek, who has gotten involved with some higher profile ‘indie’ bands like Fleet Foxes and Modest Mouse. The rampant “oh-oh-woah-oh-oh” on Heaven sound less like something Hamilton would think of on his own and more of an Ek thing. I hate those. BUT one of the benefits of “oh-oh-woah-oh-oh” is the fact that (most of) the songs that don’t have a part like that stand out. I will say that I’ll forgive it on “The Witch,” which additionally has a remarkable bass line and some eery clanging. Songs like “Heartbreaker” (great guitar playing and tempo), “Heaven” (minus the extensive oh-oh-woah-oh-oh) and “The Love You Love” feel the most complete to a dude like me who prefers faster stuff. I’d say these three songs in particular might be better than anything from Lisbon. That’s a good record, but not something I could consistently find myself getting into. I think some other people might feel this way. It seems sort of useless to shit on the real slow songs because they do in fact have some worth. The guitar picking in “Line By Line” really draws me in and makes me wonder how the song will turn out. The instrumental minimalism is outstanding. And yes, I can see where people prefer similar minimalist-esque numbers like “We Can’t Be Beat” and “Southern Heart,” but at this stage it’s hard to keep going back to those. The mid-tempo stuff is more pleasing. There are little critiques here and there. “Song For Leigh” has a cool chorus, but I feel like they could have it taken it a few steps further instead of diving right back into the verses. I think these guys had a pretty good idea of what they wanted to include on this record — a few big rockers, some mid-tempo jaunts, and a handful of slow songs. Perhaps the production role that Ek played wasn’t as important as I’ve made it seem, but it seems like in the recent past they’ve left more of an impression without the aid of a larger name helping out. Take You & Me. Practically every song on that record is memorable and inviting from the get-go. With Heaven, I think there is some potential for it to have a lasting impact, but as a young, long-time Walkmen fan it’s rather difficult to embrace the band’s current direction with respect to previous releases. They’re older, they have kids and frankly maybe the thought of another You & Me ‘grandiose’ album or another hard-hitting Bows + Arrows type of work just is not something they want to embrace at this stage. To each his own. I’ll always have a soft spot for The Walkmen being one of my favorite bands from a time when I really started to get into music. I’m not one to shit on a favorite after a lack-luster release or two and certainly Heaven isn’t one of those in the traditional sense. Here’s to hoping it grows on me some more and even if it doesn’t I’ll always keep a focused eye on what these guys are up to next. They’re just one of those bands.

Art, CD Review, Local Music, Music, Punk, reviews

Album Review: Atlas The Atom Smasher’s “The Snowmiser Suite”

Leave a comment

Artist: Atlas the Atom Smasher
Full Title: The Snowmiser Suite
Release Date: January 1, 2012
Label: Self-Released
Comments: It’s 2012, the apocalypse is almost upon us and the end of the world is nigh. Alright, no, I personally don’t buy into anything relating to the mayan calendar or December 21st of this year. However, if you were to ask Atlas The Atom Smasher, it can be the perfect subject matter to base an album around. “The Snowmiser Suite”, the Punk trio’s newest release, is exactly that: one 12 minute, three part punk rock odyssey about finding oneself and making sense of the world’s problems right in the midst of, you guessed it, the apocalypse. The song’s three movements each call to mind different emotions that might come out of a situation such as this. At some points the lyrics reflect hope for mankind’s future, while in other places there is a sense of anger about the factors that might have led to the world’s destruction. Finally, the boys in Atlas seem to reach a point of understanding and even acceptance with the chaos they’ve depicted here.
The EP begins with ominous guitar chords that build right into the first movement “Snowmiser”; here frontman Aaron Hibbert sings with a kind of pained optimism. The state of the world he depicts is anything but pleasant, but he holds on to a small sense of hope as he proclaims “we’ll be okay someday”, a line that goes on to be a recurring idea later in the song.
The second movement, “Heatmiser”, abruptly transitions from hopeful anthem into furious hardcore driven by the relentless rhythm section of bassist Josh Wilson and Drummer Tyler Bisson. Whatever hope might have existed in the first movement vanishes here; Hibbert and Bisson trade off angry vocals, each railing against humanities’ choices and actions (Killing the mother for fuel to survive/ as if killing each other could keep us alive). To close out the second section, the band features some fine guest appearances, the first by vocalist Chelsea Maida, who brings back the idea that “we’ll be okay”. Guitarist Nicholas Wiedeman (Big Mess) provides a heavily distorted guitar solo over a slow, heavy, blues interlude that marks the end of movement two.
From here, the band progresses into movement three, a quick paced, straightforward punk rock romp that brings back that lighthearted optimism shown at the beginning of the record. Judging from the lyrics, Hibbert appears to have reached a point of peace and acceptance as he sings “I hope that I finally get to see the apocalypse”, as if he knows whats coming, yet has no problem with it. There are even clever jabs at subjects like religion: “raise up your arms as if praising the sun could save us from anything and all that we’ve done to ourselves”. This memorable EP comes to a close with Hibbert and company proudly exclaiming “we’ll be okay”. The difference this time is that they seem confident, as if over the last 12 minutes they were able to reach an understanding of the world’s problems that led to this horrible situation.
Overall, “The Snowmiser Suite” is a very impressive release that approaches the subject of doomsday from many different angles. Hibbert’s lyrics move back and forth between optimism and pessimism, hope and despair, and sometimes pure, unabashed anger. In the process, he brings up subtle political, religious, and even environmental ideas as they could relate to the end of the world. Underneath the vocals, his band moves flawlessly through tempo and meter shifts while effectively interpreting the different moods the lyrics evoke. Each movement captures a different element of modern punk rock. Sometimes it is melodic, other times aggressive, but above all it is quick paced and full of energy while still bringing a complexity not typically seen in punk today.

Black Keys, CD Review, Music

CD Review: Black Keys – El Camino [2011]

Leave a comment


Release: 12/2011
Label: Nonesuch Records

1. “Lonely Boy” – A
2. “Dead and Gone” – B
3. “Gold On The Ceiling” – B-
4. “Little Black Submarines” – B
5. “Money Maker” – A-
6. “Run Right Back” –  B
7. “Sister” – C
8. “Hell Of A Season” – C+
9. “Stop Stop” – B-
10. “Nova Baby” – B
11. “Mind Eraser” – C+

Comments: Before legions of Black Keys fans begin tearing me to pieces let me preface my little review by saying that I’m neither a committed or knowledgeable fan of the band. I’ve liked me some “10 A.M Automatic” for a while now and I thought Brothers was a pretty good album. “Lonely Boy” is deceiving. It’s the best track on here. One of my favorite singles I’ve heard all year, in fact. It’s deceiving, because the rest of El Camino (except for the comparably heavy/catchy “Money Maker”) really doesn’t give “Lonely Boy” a run for its money. There are another slew of tunes (“Sister,” “Hell of a Season,”) that on the surface seem to rock pretty hard, but are just similar, blander versions of other better Black Keys songs. I can definitely see where a big fan of more recent BK albums may really end up enjoying those songs. They could be growers. The organ, which appears in a few of these songs, doesn’t bring much more to the mix. This is a good record. A better record for people with more Kings of Leon/pop-rock leanings than grittier, more psychedelic rock ‘n roll leanings.

Grade: B/B- (83)

CD Review, Music, The Orwells

Review: The Orwells – “Remember When” [2011]

Leave a comment


Release: 10/2011
Label: Self-Released

1. “Lays at Rest” – A
2. “Mallrats (La La La)” – A
3. “Halloween All Year” – A
4. “All The Cool Kids” – A
5. “Suspended” – A
6. “Painted Faces and Long Hair” – A
7. “Hallway Homicide” – A
8. “In My Bed” – A-
9. “Never Ever” – A
10. “Like No One Else” – A-
11. “Ancient Egypt” – A
12. “Under The Flowers” – A

Comments: The Orwells caught my attention earlier this year and they’ve damn secured that attention now. Remember When is the band’s debut full-length. It’s a loud listen, exploding with blasts of unrefined rock N roll slime. The pop slime that sticks to your brain like a piece of Wrigley’s chewing gum. Local reference indeed. I shit you not when I say these tracks stack up to the best of comparative material from recent years i.e. slightly to a lot better known bands like Cum Stain, Natural Child, Ty Segall, Diarrhea Planet, and Thee Oh Sees. The in-your-face production tactics are well-oiled, particularly on “Suspended,” which has some big echo on the vocals. It’s like if Julian Casablancas got the shit kicked out of him during the making of Is This It and wanted revenge via the recording process. That kind of thing. The shimmy shimmy might be what Reatard wanted to make when he was 15 and bashing on a pair of buckets and a shitty guitar, if only he had a few other older dudes around to make it ‘fuller’. Well, that eventually happened. The point I’m really trying to make it is that in an age of bands sprouting in an instant it’s always quite excellent to hear a youthful effort that particularly stands out. Orwells can just as fine do the slower/slacker (example, “Never Ever”) thing as the fast thing (example, “Mallrats”) as the Arctic Monkeys thing (example, “Ancient Egypt”) as the choice old tyme intro samples (“Under the Flowers” particularly is CHOICE). If this is their Animal Farm, will their next be Nineteen Eighty Four?

Grade: A (93)

Link To Listen To Remember When

CD Review, Music

Review: Kitchen’s Floor – Look Forward To Nothing

Leave a comment


Release: 09/2011
Label: Siltbreeze

1. “No Love” – A-
2. “Graves” – B
3. “116” – A-
4. “Regrets” – B+
5. “Needs” – B-
6. “Every Day” – B
7. “Kidney Infection” – B
8. “Insects” – B
9. “Orbit” – B-
10. “Twenty-Four” – B+

Comments: The aesthetic of Look Forward To Nothing is totally particular to Kitchen’s Floor. The vocals are stand-out in as though Matt Kennedy’s style is clumsy Aussie shouting, like if you’d handed the mic to the dude after a few pints and asked him to start babbling some lyrics you wrote. It’s this kind of charm on top of fairly un-involved instruments that is Kitchen’s Floor in a nutshell. On a song like “Kidney Infection,” which is just Kennedy, there’s not much in the department of overwhelming accomplishment, but it justly sums up the mysteriously odd nature of this album and the band. For a geographic comparison of sorts, it’s like an incredibly slowed down/fuzzy Toy Love. So yeah, probably not much like Toy Love at all.

Grade: B (85)

Atlas Sound, Bradford Cox, CD Review, Music

CD Review: Atlas Sound – “Parallax” [2011]

Leave a comment


Release: 11/2011
Label: 4AD

1. “The Shakes”- A
2. “Amplifiers” – A
3. “Te Amo” – A 
4. “Parallax” – A
5. “Modern Aquatic Nights” – A
6. “Mona Lisa” – A++
7. “Praying Man” – A
8. “Doldrums” –A
9. “Angel Is Broken” – A+
10. “Terra Incognita” – A 
11. “Flagstaff” – A-
12. “Lightworks” – A++

Comments: Bradford Cox shall go down in the musical history books as not only a top shelf musician, but as a trusted source of inspiration, musically and not. When I listen to Bradford (as Atlas Sound, as Deerhunter, as Ghetto Cross), I often can’t quite get a grip on what he is conveying, but I know it’s surely meaningful to him. His music creates distinct settings that bring back childhood memories and perhaps other fictitious and dream-like settings. This is particularly true for Parallax, which to date might by the man’s most grandiose work. There’s simplicity in the guise of complexity. Wait, well let me explain. Every song is layered with instrumentation that you might not realize upon first or twentieth listen. This isn’t too important. What’s important is that Parallax is affectionate. It’s not as heavy or ambient as some of Bradford’s earlier work. It’s right there in the middle. The tracks that really stand out to me on Parallax slant towards heavy. These are some of the finest songs that I’ve heard in the past couple of years. “Walkabout” from Logos was my favorite song of 2009. Naturally, I’m interested in finding an Atlas Sound successor to that sort of brilliance. I’ve found multiple successors on Parallax. The first is “Mona Lisa,” which was previously recorded as part of the Bedroom Databank. The version on this record features Andrew Vanwyngarden of MGMT (piano/vocals). There’s such a cozy vibe to this song. Perfect for autumn. A glass of bourbon and walk through Boston Common/Central Park/equivalent to your area. Next is “Angel Is Broken,” which sounds a bit like The Best of Bradford, if there was such a thing. I am particularly fond of the transitions from the verses to the chorus, the “aahhhh-ahhhhh” and the line “you’ll be a lot like…me!” The final song that I’m going to discuss is the final song. This is “Nightworks”. I love the clangy guitar and the Left-Right percussion. The harmonica. The bass line. The build-up to the finale. The song is way affirming and exudes positiveness. “Everywhere I look there is a light and it will guide the way.” The other nine songs that I’ve neglected to mention each have outstanding attributes and will surely have you coming back for more. I’ve listened to this album several times in the past two days and I’m sure I’ll keep going at a similar pace. Parallax will be remembered as one of the most engaging albums of this year, decade, and whatever else.

Grade: A (95)

CD Review, Music, The Rifles

CD Review: Freedom Run [2011]

Leave a comment


Band: The Rifles
Release: 9/2011
Label: ATC
Comments: There comes a time in a music reviewer’s life when it’s clear as day that a band has softened up. I like to call this trend ‘going softie’. Now, I heard a couple cuts off this record before it was officially released and held off posting them on here. I thought, well, The Rifles can’t be going softie! The rest of the new record won’t sound like this, right? Well, admittedly, The Rifles aren’t the brashest of rock and roll bands in the world. I don’t think they ever claimed to be. They are well-rooted in The Jam and maybe some of Weller’s other projects, including solo. So, yes, we aren’t talking classic punk rock here. Freedom Run is boring. The Rifles take some of their past tricks, which have been terrific, and dumb them down for a more mainstream audience. Shame! It’s hard to listen to them descend into some kind of Coldplay schtick. I won’t give them all the blame, though. As a fan of music, maybe it’s me after all. Maybe I’ve grown tired of the bright and twinkly stuff that I loved two years ago. Maybe this album is better than I’m making it out to be. Or maybe I just miss the heavy-hitting, rock N roll of “She’s Got Standards” and “Repeated Offender.”

Grade: C/C-

CD Review, Jacuzzi Boys, Music

CD Review: Glazin’ [2011]

Leave a comment


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)