Category Archives: Uncategorized

Uncategorized

CD Review: Mikal Cronin – Mikal Cronin [2011]

Leave a comment


Band: Mikal Cronin
Release: 9/2011
Label: Trouble In Mind

1. “Is It Alright?” – A-
2. “Apathy” – A
3. “Green and Blue” – A-
4. “Get Along” – A+
5. “Slow Down” – A-
6. “Gone” – A
7. “Situation” – A
8. “Again and Again” – A-
9. “Hold On Me” – B
10. “The Way Things Go” – A+

Comments: Mikal Cronin. Get used to that name. For those of you particularly in-the-know, you might not have to put that much effort into getting to know Mikal. In his own right, he is quite prolific. Perhaps not to the degree of friend Ty Segall, but still prolific at that. Now Ty and Mikal, I’m sure they both listen to the same kind of music. I don’t think picking a song to jam to on a crisp California night has been at all difficult. Hell, when you live in the same state as Oh Sees John Dwyer, it’s tough to imagine anything less than a spectacular event of music making. Of course, we have Dwyer’s flute on the first song and a — oh snap is it that a saxophone? — on “Apathy”. So yes, Cronin has been fed a healthy diet of mixed greens and fuzz rock by farmers near and wide. The bent, so to speak, that Cronin has is a bit more melodic than what we’ve historically seen from Ty. The core of the apple we call pop is ever present on Mikal Cronin. Even in such a heavy assault as “Green and Blue,” we get a drained out sort of Radiohead at their heaviest kind of thing going on. “Get Along” deserves a place right next to the “My Sunshine” and “Melted” of the world. It’s the heavy strumming, brah. Brah-Naymith. “Slow Down” is like “Get Along” slowed down seventy-five percent. Like that time Justin Beiber was slowed down to sound like Animal Collective. Gangsta slowcore shizz. Sounds like an organ/reed to me. A droning one at that. Notes are held. Chord progressions change like seasons. The Beach Boys revival ode “Situation” features Ty Segall on drums. “The Way Things” is particularly odd, but really great bait for the experimental at heart. If you like slow, heavy, weird, funny, etc, this is a particular nice one. There’s like six song ideas all combined into one closer. Good way to go out, I’d say.

Grade: A- (92)

Uncategorized

An Inside Joke I Don’t Get [PART ONE]

Leave a comment

The first segment of many of this new little series. It’s called An Inside Joke I Don’t Get, which features thoughts and opinions on happenings in underground pop culture from an outsider with absolutely no relatable insight.

Odd Future’s Performance at Pitchfork Festival
“Musicless noise. There is no music. Music implies melody and lyrics. There are none.
So what is it if it isn’t music?
They are yelling into an overmodulated microphone.
What about the message of the lyrics, which were present, that said fuck school, kill people.
Put your money where you mouth is. Let me see your diploma and your body count. Did you get a concussion with that broken leg, too? When do the meds kick in?

Black Lips “Family Tree” Video
See, you know what the problem is? I liked the video because I liked the song. In other words, the song deserved a good video. Too many bands have crappy music, but have brilliant directors.
What stood out about this video?
The amount of blood. Not that that shocks me in any way. I assume they are trying to convince me of something. I’m a person to believe a video is a bad thing. When I listen to a song I see something in my own mind. I would prefer to make up my own slideshow. This opinion goes back to the ’80s when the video was invented. There was a belief that bands should have anything other than their playing of their instruments.

Wavves “Nodding Off”
Somewhere behind all that guitar there is someone singing. I wish I could hear them. They might actually have something to say, but we’ll never know.
Okay, how about this other song just released “Destroy”? Did he fix that problem?
Now he is frustrated. He is trying to scream over the guitars. He learned his lesson. If you can’t mix it right, just sing louder.

Nobunny ‘It Tastes Just Like A Milkshake”
No thoughts. Don’t love it. Don’t hate it. Felt more like Cheezits. I like Cheezits.
What does Cheezits have to do with anything?
I felt like a snack.

——-
Submissions are fair game. Please send them along to klyamemail@gmail.com or comment.

Uncategorized

Some Recent Choice Daytrotter Sessions

Leave a comment

Black Lips: [LINK] Need I say more! A commenter said this session is a return to form so to speak of the “raw Black Lips we know and love” and that commenter is pretty spot-on. Their sound at Daytrotter is what’d you expect when seeing them live. “Dumpster Diving” lacks the toy piano and perfect timing/tone of guitar riffs found on Arabia Mountain, for instance. “Time” is more brash on here than on Arabia. Non-album tune “Make It” clearly is one of the band’s favorite songs to play and it’s filled to the brim with sloppy energy, rolling guitar riffs, improvisation of guitar solo, and such. “Go Out and Get It” feels much more punk-like live, faster and heavier than its album counterpart. I’ve heard fans of shitty music say that seeing their favorite band live was so great because they sounded just like they do on CD! Not the case with the Lips and thank God. It’s the little imperfections and added level of excitement that they bring on stage that separate them from this blandness that a lot of bands suffer from.

Bass Drum of Death: [LINK] Having not seen Bass Drum of Death live, I can’t really make a comparison like I just did with the Lips, but I will say that from hearing their debut album GB City, the dudes in this band play pretty much no-bullshit rock ‘n roll. Loud and noisy. The mix of this session captures that element of course and you can clearly tell the difference between the relatively slick production of GB City and Bass Drum in a live, more anarchic studio setting. Stand out tunes to me are “Young Pros” and “Get Found.”

CD Review, In The Red, Music, Thee Oh Sees, Uncategorized

CD Review: Castlemania [2011]

Leave a comment


Band: Thee Oh Sees
Release: 5/2011
Label: In The Red

1. “I Need Seed” – A
2. “Corprophagist” – A-
3. “Stinking Cloud” – B
4. “Corrupted Coffin” – A
5. “Pleasure Blimp” – B+
6. “A Wall, A Century” – B+
7. “Spider Cider” – B
8. “Whipping Continues” – B+
9. “Blood on the Deck” – A-
10. “Castlemania” – B-
11. “AA Warm Breeze” – B
12. “Idea for Rubber Dog” – B-
13. “The Horse Was Lost” – B+
14. “I Won’t Hurt You” – B15. “If I Stay Too Long” – A+
16. “What Are We Craving?”- B-

Comments: For Castlemania, Thee Oh Sees seem to have rekindled (an understatement considering the band’s output) their interest in noisy experimentalism, all in the name of the pop hook. John Dwyer and Brigid Dawson deserve a great deal of credit for crafting ‘thee song’, but I feel obligated to mention how crucial the other members, Petey Dammit and Mike Shoun, were to this album. I mean, I don’t know this for a fact, but the reason why a lot of the tunes — the tunes that aren’t obvious pop gems — simply stick is due to sturdy rhythm. I’m talking about a thing like “Corprophagist,” which is all experimental and weird, but still maintains this unprecedented sense of pop realism. The speaking guitar noises as I like to call them because on their own… they blend in so well with the parts that Dwyer sings. Instrumentally speaking, “The Horse Is Lost” has a very dreary, yet optimistic feel to it. The obvious pop gems are tunes like “I Need Seed” (a psychedelic trip in itself, if you have a strong imagination of it), the dream/space rocker “Corrupted Coffin”, and the top of the Pops-esque, Brit invasion “If I Stay Too Long.” Now, the chorus in that song (and the ending) is one of the best I’ve heard in a while. It’s big. Now, now, my experience listening to Thee Oh Sees up to this point never included anything like this. It’s albums like these that might not get the end grade they deserve, but merit many listens after listens. I’ll give this one more chances and more time, but I’ve expressed my admiration for what I really dig above.

Grade: B+ (87)

Art, Band Spotlight, Music, music video, Uncategorized

Top 5 Favorite Musical Acts (at the moment)

2 Comments

Hey sorry readers I haven’t been around lately (school work), I should be posting again regularly by the end of next month. Anyway I have had some time to check out some bands I never really gave a chance to before so I figured I would share them with you.

1) The Kills

2) Cage the Elephant

3) The Drums (personal favorite right now)

4) iO Perry

5) The Stills

Art, Concer t Review, concert review, Music, pictures, reviews, Uncategorized, Video

Concert Review: Glassjaw, These People, Tidal Arms @ Paradise (3/25/11)

Leave a comment

Artist: Glassjaw, These People, Tidal Arms
Date: Friday, March 25, 2011
Venue: Paradise Rock Club (Boston, MA)
Comments:
Act I: Tidal Arms- These guys certainly had the musical chops and perhaps could be better appreciated by musicians or those that value technique as a high standard of musical quality. Not to say they were mind blowing musicians, they weren’t, but some of the drummers I attended the show with were definitely impressed with the musicianship displayed by Tidal Arms. For me, they fit too nicely in the typical rock band realm and didn’t do much sonically outside those confines.

Act II: These People- These people were better than the previous people. I felt like I was watching a combo of a less experimental Sonic Youth (especially in the vocals) meets the danceable quality of a Lemonade.  They didn’t totally floor me, but kept my intersted and I certainly enjoyed their performance. They were more on the inventive side than Tidal Arms and for me that is far more appealing than being a virtuso or a techncially sophisticated musician.  Overall, TP’s set was short, but sweet.

Act III: Glassjaw!!!-“You don’t know! You don’t know! You don’t know!” screams singer Darryl Palumbo as they open with the new classic ” You Think You’re John Fucking Lennon.” I think we do know Darryl; we know that Glassjaw is an unflinching powerhouse, a force to be reckon with. The band’s set placed heavy emphasis on their 2002 sophomore effort Worship and Tribute, an album that contains some of the group’s finest and most recognizable songs, This in turn got the crowd all riled up and I must say GJ fans appear to be some of the most energetic out there. Memorable moments included “Ape Dos Mil,” “Convectuoso,” “Tip Your Bartender,” and easily the most exhilerating number all night-“Siberian Kiss,” one of the band’s angriest/heviest tunes- a wise closer on their part. Alas, this was the only song from that LP- a major qualm for me and many others, with it being arguably their most beloved work. Also, while I enjoyed the fact that they played many of their current songs, I thought the choice of performing an encore consisting of an entirely NEW EP (Coloring Book ) was a poor one. And though I appreciated the music, I felt like coming off the intensity and heightened engagement of “Siberian Kiss,” playing solely subdued, reserved, more mellow music was a little too much. With that being said, as a whole GJ and particularly Darryl, with his frentic style and off the wall antics/persona, put on an amazing show of upwards to 105 minutes of pure, sonic insanity.

Set List:

You Think You’re (John Fucking Lennon)
Tip Your Bartender
Mu Empire
Stars
Ape Dos Mil
The Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports
Pink Roses
Jesus Glue
Natural Born Farmer
All Good Junkies Go To Heaven
El Mark
Convectuoso
Two Tabs Of Mescaline
Siberian Kiss

Encore:
Black Nurse
Gold
Vanilla Poltergeist Snake
Miracles In Inches
Stations Of The New Cross
Daytona White

Grade: 8/10

Excuse me for the extremely late arrival of this review! You guys deseve better… I’ve been very busy with school, work and the whoel shabang, but better late than never fuckers!

Uncategorized

Not for weak stomachs

2 Comments

Watch out Steve-O here comes Chris Schewe (Shoenice.) This guy must have either an alien stomach, or stool so unique scientists will have it under examination. Shoenice has eaten everything from tampons to douche bags to lit boxes of matches.

Bound to be a nationwide success, Schewe understands two very important things. 1) People love to watch other people eat gross shit. 2) Communicate with your fans and they will always come back for more.

Chris takes requests, gives shoutouts, and is one funny dude.   

…THANK YOUUUUU!

Art, Band of the Week, Music, pictures, Punk, Uncategorized

Band of the Week: Girlfriends

Leave a comment

Check out our Band of the Week, Boston’s Girlfriends. Since, The Maine Coons sudden departure, Girlfriends are easily the best Boston band around or at least my favorite. Their take on the “garage” style is intriguing, to say the least and without a doubt they have a knack for writing catchy pop numbers. Favorites of mine include “Good To Be True” and “I Was Here, But I Disappear.” Here is a link to their myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/girlfriendsus