1. The Thermals – Now We Can See – Before listening to this, I was exposed to just a few Thermals songs. That said, I’ve held this band in high regard. This LP was rather disappointing mainly because it was filled to the brim with pop-punk songs that weren’t eccentric enough for me.
2. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest – For me, a lot of what made Grizzly Bear “epic” was nowhere to be found on here. Okay, there are a few songs that I really dig from this LP, but in general I’d say Grizzly Bear changed their direction to a more prim and proper baroque-pop style with less experimental flair than ever before.
3. Lovely Feathers – Fantasy of the Lot – Hind Hind Legs (2006) was an amazing disc. So amazing that I don’t think Lovely Feathers could ever out do it, even if they tried really really hard. This LP has some really strong points, but it kind of has a weird pace that’s all over the place. I just thought Hind had an immaculate flow. This really doesn’t.
4. Flaming Lips – Embryonic – Considering I’ve only listened to the “hits” from these guys, I sort of had a gut feeling that this album would be filled with catchy songs! Was I ever more disappointed? Save maybe one or two songs, this wasn’t memorable for me at all. It was mainly sound.
5. Japandroids – Post-Nothing – This thing is shockingly similar to Now We Can See. I’d say it’s straight up noise rock with a strong pop-punk undertone. Based on the initial reception of this album, I was excited! Then I actually listened to it and was mildly disappointed.
1. “Throw It Away” – A+ 2. “Freakout” – A+
3. “Ain’t No Deal” – A
4. “Stone Cold” – B 5. “I’ve Got a Knife” – B+ 6. “Down and Out” – B+ 7. “Steps” – B- 8. “Fad” – A+
9. “Sweet Kin” – B+ 10. “Crazy Girl” – A 11. “Everybody Loves A Cocksucker” – A 12. “Cant Get Me Down” – B- 13. “You’re Dumb” – A-
Fun Facts:
– Recorded 100% in Georgia from 2000 to 2002!
– Cover art by Bradford Cox
– Guitar/noise specialist Ben Ederbaugh died before this was released.
Comments: This is truly a special record that will be forever admired by Black Lips purists. During the band’s beginning years, they relied almost exclusively on a lo fi-punk sound heavily influenced by early garage and country rock outfits. In many ways, Black Lips were much different in the old days. Their music was more cut-to-the-chase like-it-or-you-don’t. Their last two records (’07 and ’09) were put out by Vice, a much larger/notorious corporation than say In the Red or Bomp!. Arguably, their sound has become increasingly fine-tuned and more ready for the masses than ever before. Getting back to this record, more than few songs aren’t garage poppers. You might think “damn, this is draggy OR when does this get good?’ Black Lips don’t care what you think, though. They just shat tracks out of their musical ass (seemingly) and put them on this record. Whatever the excretion system did to them worked, with very few exceptions.
Grade: A- (90)
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LP Title:We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow Release: 2004 Label: Bomp!
1. “MIA” – A+ 2. “Time of the Scab” – A+ 3. “Dawn of the Age of Tomorrow” – B+ 4. “Nothing At All” – A+ 5. “100 New Fears” – A-
6. “Stranger” – A+
7. “Juvenile” – A+ 8. “Notown Blues” – A+ 9. “Ghetto Cross” – A+ 10. “Jumpin Around” – B 11. “Super X-13” – B+ 12. “Hope Jazz” – B+
Comments: Great to watch a band grow, isn’t it? This time around Black Lips were actually able to accomplish more in terms of catchy songwriting while maintaining that lo-fi fuzzy sound that got everybody going on their debut. Even something as completely out of left field (at the time) as the organ-infested “100 New Fears” ends up fitting in well and introduces us to the genius of Joe Bradley. “Stranger” is probably the most crazy yet instantly fun-loving track on here. “Juvenile” continues that vibe. What I really love a great deal about this album, too, is how well the guitar and lead guitars complement each other. For songs like “Jumpin” and “Super,” I wish they were cleaned up only a teeny weeny bit. They have (had?) so much potential.
Grade: A- (93)
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LP Title: Let It Bloom Release: 2005 Label: In The Red Records
1. “Sea of Blasphemy” – A 2. “Can’t Dance” – A+ 3. “Boomerang” – A+ 4. “Hippie Hippie Hoorah” – A+ 5. “Not A Problem” – A+ 6. “Gung Ho” – B+ 7. “Everybody Doing It” – A 8. “Feeling Gay” – B 9. “Boone” – A 10. “Gentle Violence” – A
11. “She’s Gone” – A- 12. “Fairy Stories” – A+ 13. “Dirty Hands” – A+
14. “Workin” – B+ 15. “Punk Slime” – A 16. “Empassant” – A-
Comments: It’s fun to listen to this record because it’s coated with tunes that are excessively lo-fi. Keep in mind how I said that some songs on We Did Not needed some cleaning up to reach their potential. Same deal here pretty much! In some cases, it’s more sad than others. Soon we find out that they do get purified albeit in a live setting two years later. The most pure song on here is “Dirty Hands,” perhaps by a long-shot.
Grade: A- (93)
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LP Title: Good Bad Not Evil Release: 2007 Label: Vice Records
1. “I Saw A Ghost (Lean)” – A+
2. “O Katrina!” – A+ 3. “Veni Vidi Vici” – A 4. “It Feels Alright” – A+ 5. “Navajo” – A+ 6. “Lock and Key” – A+
7. “How Do You Tell” – A 8. “Bad Kids” – A+ 9. “Step Right Up” – A
10. “Cold Hands” – A+
11. “Off The Block” – A+ 12. “Slime and Oxygen” – B+ 13. “Transcendental Light” – A–
Comments:The first really really really really awesome through-and-through Black Lips LP.
Grade: A (95)
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LP Title: Los Valienteles Del Mundo Nuevo Release: 2007 Label: Vice Records
1.
Middle East Downstairs Headlining Bands: Black Lips, Sunset Rubdown, The Walkmen, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, King Khan & BBQ Show
2. Great Scott Headlining Bands: Handsome Furs, Head Automatica, Warlocks, Rifles, Wavves
3.
Harpers Ferry Headlining Bands: Jay Reatard, Trevor Hall
Honorable Mentions: Paradise Rock Club (Arctic Monkeys, King Khan & Shrines), House of Blues (Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys), Wilbur Theatre (Sonic Youth), and Wang Theatre (Pixies).
1. Bands: Black Lips/Gentleman Jesse & His Men/Mean Creek Venue: Middle East Downstairs Date: March 7, 2009 Grade: A+ Comment: Meeting Cole before the gig. Getting handed beers from Ian. My favorite band playing all my favorite classics. Great mix of moshing and positive crowd interaction.
2. Bands: King Khan & The Shrines/Mark Sultan/Homosexuals Venue: Paradise Rock Club Date: May 14, 2009 Grade: A+ Comment: Khan is a legend of a performer. He really got the entire room energized. Everybody was grooving and singing along to his sexually provocative lyrics. It’s too bad that I wasn’t able to appreciate Mark as much as I wish I could have at the time.
3. Bands: No Age/The Beets/Lemonade Venue: Wellesley College Date: April 2, 2009 Grade: A+ Comments: Met Randy and Dean before the show. Hugged them after the show. The show itself? Fantastic. By the end, I was all sweaty from jumping around like crazy in between Dean’s drum-kit and Randy’s guitar set-up. A plus was that I recognized every single song that they played.
4. Bands: KK+BBQ/Dum Dum Girls/Downbeat 5 Venue: Middle East Downstairs Date: October 29, 2009 Grade: A+ Comments: Like I said before, Khan is a legendary performer. BBQ is a master at all three of his crafts: vocals, guitar, and drums. Combine the two and what do you get? A thing of beauty. Rockin’ out and singing along, always.
5. Bands: Jay Reatard/Nobunny/Hunx and His Punx/Box Elders/Useless Eaters Venue: Harpers Ferry Date: October 2, 2009 Grade: A+ Comments: Quite the freaking bill, huh? I witnessed the greatest overall opening experience at this gig because garage-pop has that sort of effect. And what about Jay? His music was tight and this time around I really was able to connect with a greater majority of his songs than before. F-U-N times.
6. Walkmen/Here We Go Magic/The Dig – Middle East Downstairs – September 19, 2009 – Grade: A+ 7. Arctic Monkeys/Screaming Females – House of Blues – December 13, 2009 – Grade: A 8. Pixies/Jay Reatard – Wang Theatre – November 27, 2009 – Grade: A 9. Sonic Youth/The Feelies – Wilbur Theatre – November 22, 2009 – Grade: A 10. The Rifles/Mike Fiore – Great Scott – September 23, 2009 – Grade: A
Cool bands (in alphabetical order?) that I discovered for the first time in 2009. Rule: they must not have been formed in 2009/must not have released their first record in 2009. Anything questionable, I didn’t include. And no doubts that I forgot some.
– Atlas Sound
– Black Moth Super Rainbow
– Bloodshot Bill
– Bobby Ubangi
– Box Elders
– Galaxie 500
– Mika Miko
– Portugal. The Man
– Thee Oh Sees
*Rough Trade Records named this the top album of 2009. But is it? In my never ending quest to find great music, I am reviewing this LP! But wait…I already named my top 5 albums of 2009. That’s tentative, though. So let’s see about this.
Comments: This is the first band to actually cause my sub-woofer to make crazy ass noises. There are some pretty cool beats and stuff like that, but this record isn’t that special. Vocals are kind of shabby and not really unique at all. The “chill-wave” that this record embodies is limited in the sense that you can only stare at your shoes for so long before you fall asleep. In essence, the only things that save this from mainstream success are the male vocals and the consistent darkness and ambiance. Pop music usually doesn’t regard the latter as positive or particularly marketable. And to some degree, I can see a lot of independent-minded people shunning this kind of music or writing it off as done before, or what have you. The album begins to crumble after the third song, but there are some cool spots after that.
Artist(s): Arctic Monkeys, Screaming Females Location: House Of Blues, Boston, MA Date: Sunday, December 13, 2009
Part I: Pre-Show Activities:
As soon as we arrived, it was pouring, so we raced through puddle after puddle. Along the way, we witness the most depressing thing to a concertgoer: lines and lines of people ahead of you. All bodies closer to the front then you. Fuck…
After some waiting outside, we made it in and at least we weren’t as far back as we were at Animal Collective. To pass the time we chatted with some fine lads (one of which bared strong resemblance to a notable Wakefield High student) about everything from college acceptances to the harsh reality of 18 + shows; this one was All Ages, which of course unleashed some fine talent. I bet that’s the one, the FBI I will nail me for lol.
Part II: Screaming Females Chris: Well, not quite… Singing for the most part, but occasionally screaming female (the other two members were of the opposite sex) would be more apropos. They were ok, nothing special. They rocked out for a while with sledegehammer drums, powerhouse guitars, and a caterwoul sceam from the lead singer. Most of the time her vocals were high and reminded me of the voice of some Disney villian haha, no offense. I appreciated the individual parts of the songs, but overall they weren’t memorable or “stand out” numbers. They played far longer than I wanted them to.
Glen:Chris basically said what I was going to say. I’m sure if I look up more of their songs (“damn, I should have YouTube’d them”, I’ll probably develop an affinity for a few of them. That’s because I did really like a few, but in an overall picture they were kind of forgettable. At times they seemed too hard rock — which is a turn off for me.
Part III: Arctic Monkeys! Chris: Ok, so if you’ve been to the House of Blues, at least in my experience, then you have withstood the shoving back and forth deal, resulting in enormous perspiration and lack of air to the point of leaving some attendees unconscious, and at points loss of the ability to see the show itself, at least for us 5’3 and below. Ok, well it got in the way of the music at times, but I just want to throw this out now, so I can properly critique the performance for the remainder of the review. So, in terms of music, the band was excellent. Unfortunately, they did no play that much from their debut as I hoped, but that was to be expected. They opened with a chill and mellow song, I believe it was “The Jewller’s Hands,” from their latest release, please correct me, if I am wrong. Then they exploded into “Brianstorm,” and like thunder as the song proclaims, the audience roared and entered a frenetic state of sorts for quite some time. The group went on to unleash such old and new classics as “Still Take You Home,” “My Propeller,” “Crying Lightning,” “Pretty Visiters,” “The View From the Afternoon,” and “I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor,” which rightfully garnered fantastic crowd response; I was pogoing my ass off! It was one of the best sing alongs that night. They slowed down for a “gentle” song in the form of “Cornerstone,” one of my new favorite monkeys’ offerings. It gave most of us a chance to breathe, relax and hear a slow, little, love song, whilst boyfriends held girlfriends and the rest of us envied them and held on to the dude beside them… kidding. The evening would end on a happy note with the beloved, fan favorite, “Fluorescent Adolescent,” this received a similar response as ‘dancefloor,’ but not as much excitement/dancing, because the song itself was slower and softer than I expected, but almost everybody in the house knew the words. Fans were greeted with a neat treat when the song suddenly transitioned into “Last Christmas,” as drummer Matt Helders took over vocal duties with black shades over his eyes, a glass of wine in his hand, he belt out the sappy lyrics to that sappy song. This digression left as quickly as it came; Helders returned to his drum set and the band smoothly transitioned back into ‘Fluorescent.’ They said goodnight and left the stage. Of course, we shouted, “Monkeys! Monkeys! Monkeys!” and naturally they returned for an encore. They started with “Secret Door,” a new favorite of mine and one of the best tracks of ’09 and finished with “505.”
Glen: I had a smashing time. Yes, at some points I couldn’t really concentrate on the music. And that’s annoying. But for the greater part of the show, I could see the band and didn’t have to worry about certain externalities (girl yelling that they she couldn’t breathe, another girl yelling because she lost her cell phone, etc). A big big fan of Humbug, I was quite pleased that they played quite a bit from that LP. Obviously, “Fluorescent” and “I Bet” got everyone going like Chris said. The slower jams were pretty awesome in their own right. So yeah, great shit. This was a great show, but there were some things that prevented it from being among the best. Also, fuck the Boston Herald. They called the Arctics performance “lukewarm.” Huh?
Set-List
Dance Little Liar
Brianstorm
This House Is A Circus
Still Take You Home
Potion Approaching
Red Right Hand [Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Cover]
My Propeller
Crying Lightning
Catapult
The View From The Afternoon
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Cornerstone
If You Were There, Beware
Pretty Visitors
Do Me A Favour
Fluorescent Adolescent / Last Christmas Encore:
Secret Door
505
Overall: Chris: Musically, it was a really good show. The whole shoving, not to be confused with moshing, thing was irritating for not just me, but for most people and it certainly at times interrupted the performance for us; there’s just not enough space for everyone, it seems. But, in the end the concert was memorable and it ranks #15 for me, around the A-/B+ range. Props to Arctic Monkeys.
Glen:I’d give it a strong A.
Glen’s comments, which should be highly valued, will be arriving shortly…
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 