Category Archives: Music

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)

Entertainment, Music

“We Already Know”

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Uninhabitable Mansions!


I’m very excited for this show. Along with UM, there is Ketman, an extremely catchy rock band from Boston, who have drew comparisons to Shellac and Mission of Burma, Thalia Zedek, a band from Allston that’s hard to describe, but is both on the noisy and soft side, and finally The Big Big Bucks, a powerpop/punk group from Allston as well.

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)

Cassette Review, Entertainment, Music

Cassette Review: Tape [2010]

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Band: Brian Flannel
Release: 2/2010
Label: N/A

1. “Restraining Order” – A
2. “Date Rape (Real Estate)” – B
3. “Symptom Set” – B+
4. “Dogs Not Dead” – B
5. “RMPM” – A-
6. “Bonus Track” – A

Comments: Damn catchy start to the cassette. The chorus is really awesome as it features a male/female harmonious assault. “Date Rape” is more lo-fidelity and faster. I’m thinking “Symptom Set” is similar to some heavier Sonic Youth punk jams. “RMPM” is a notable jam. The exchange between the dude and chick leads to a really solid ending in the Bonus Track.

Grade: B+ (89)

Art, Entertainment, Music, pictures, reviews, Video

Classic DVD Review: Wildmen In Action

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Full Title: Black Lips: Wildmen In Action
Concert Location: Madrid, Spain
Year: 2007 (concert itself: May 18, 2006)
Comments: THE BLACK LIPS! Naturally, since they are my favorite band, I really dig this performance. Musically, it’s a typical (which is atypical for almost every other band) BL show: fun, wild, and great, simple, stripped down Rock N Roll! Since this video takes place pre-Vice days we see no material off Good, Bad, Not Evil (2007) and 200 Million Thousand (2009), save “O Katrina!” which was recorded (or at least written) during the bedlam of the tragedy. We hear most of the Let It Bloom era classics along with some other early, sloppy, Lips era jams as well as some other unknowns, like “Hott Pistil.” My only complaint is that there are virtually no shots of the crowd, which is usally a crazy site to be seen. The show ends with Cole whipping out his wee wee and punishing it with his guitar. They then come back for an encore of “Wildman,” which is featured as a music video documenting the euphoric abandoment and chaotic times of their 2005 tour including Cole drinking his own piss and spitting it at the camera, ohh Cole… The video looks more like a trailer for a movie that was never released as far as I know. Also featured is the timeless music video for “Fad.” Here’s the set list:

1. Born To Be A Man
2. O Katrina!
3. Boomerang
4. Sea Of Blasphemy
5. Buried Alive
6. Stranger
7. Time Of The Scab
8. Dirty Hands
9. Not A Problem
10. M.I.A
11. Hott Pistil
12. Gung Ho
13. Hipi, Hipi, Horah
14. Take Me Home (Back To Boone)
15. Ain’t Coming Back
16. Make It
17. Juvenile
18. Freak Out

Encore: Wildman (after credits, so watch for it, I missed it the first few viewings!)

Grade: A-

Here’s a live video of”Wild Man,” they used to have a video for this DVD’s trailer, but I cannot find it, so y’all will have to settle fot his vid

Chris