A quick eulogy

Sad to see Patrick Swayze pass away. He was in one of my "guilty pleasure" movies-Point Break, the rest of the stuff didn't really capture my fancy.
Perhaps in the jetwash of his passing the media missed out on the death of poet/musician Jim Carroll. Most semi-hipsters have seen The Basketball Diaries but how many have actually read the book? Not for the faint of heart, Jim was a heroin addict at a very young age and a male hustler to feed his habit. Eventually he kicked the drugs.
Known more in the late 70's for his poetry he morphed into a musician eventually. His first stab at commercial success was Catholic Boy. It still sounds fresh to me today. It's just a great album of hard rock and his dead pan talking/singing prose over it. I suppose the closest analog would be Patti Smith and her early albums. It did spawn a small hit with People Who Died, likely as more of a novelty/one hit wonder kind of deal but the rest of the album is really solid. Not chainsaw Ramones type stuff or ventures into Television type guitar jams but somewhere as an amalgam of both but really not copping either one's style to the point of being a ripoff.
There were a couple other albums after that and Jim does a short guest spot on a Rancid song from Out Comes the Wolves but his music output was pretty sporadic after that.
So it goes, Jim Carroll, dead of an MI at age 60.

Photoside Cafe

Photoside Café
The Beauty Of Innocence Remains.
©2009 Grrr Records
HYPERLINK "http://www.photosidecafe.com" www.photosidecafe.com

The Cannyshark came back from Cornerstone 2009 with glowing reviews of Photoside Café and their live set. Okay, I was all ears (and apparently eyes in this case). We sat down and he showed the video he’d shot. Pretty compelling stuff: a super tight band, great rhythm section, and a violinist who took the traditional place of a 2nd guitarist. Very good players, all very competent, and the devotion to their craft was evident. So, the Cannyshark asks if I’d like to review their CD for my blog, sure…

Studio recordings are very different beasts than the live arena. Some bands just never reach the level set by their live set when turned loose in the strange wonderland of the studio. Photoside Café does a decent job. Live, their dynamic sound creates power and an epic, dramatic sound. On the studio recording it sometimes translates, other times, it starts to sound like drama for drama’s sake. The studio recording is pretty plan vanilla, it begs for some space to play out the interplay of the instrumentation and the vocals. It gets this on “Sweet Fascination”, a great down tempo piece with keys and powerful use of the violin. Other tracks are solid, most are of mid to up tempo with interesting and off the beaten path melodies and more complex than usual instrumentation. None of it feels forced, occasionally a little overwrought, but this is nitpicking by me.

Hard to pigeonhole this band, and that’s a good thing. Occasionally jazzy, other times veering towards prog or fusion, but never lapsing into chops over song territory.
Bravo to Photoside Café for taking their own path.

I like this CD, I hope they continue to evolve musically, and I’d definitely try to see them live if they happen upon our little corner of the country.

8/10 kilts
DAA

Superdrag

Superdrag
Industry Giants
©2009 Sound Laboratories
HYPERLINK "http://www.superdrag.com" www.superdrag.com

Boom, right out of the blocks Superdrag come swinging. “Slow to Anger” is a blast of old school punk sounding melody. Uncluttered by useless fluff, it’s the bass/guitar/drums/vocals and production that makes it ring out like an anthem. Raise your fists. The kids ARE united!

Stylistically, things get psychotic after that. An acoustic guitar starts off “Live and Breathe” as it drifts into a dense, almost shoegaze sounding blur. Superdrag bob and weave through this disc with musical adaptation and authority. They are shape shifters and pull it off with aplomb. I’ve heard discs like this that just collapse because there’s no real momentum. You’re always hearing a band trying to find it’s sound. Not in this case. They are adept at the swerving in and out of their musical costumes and have no trouble shifting gears. Some of it sounds like power pop, some like modern post punk. I didn’t do much research on this band although I seem to recall a single “Who Sucked Out the Feeling” or something like that? Also, I seem to recall a lead singer who accepted Christ and a band that disbanded and reformed? Lyrics are interesting and solid, no overt clichéd Jesus banter, but no shirking away either. No matter, this is a great disc, highly recommended for people that just like great modern rock. I’ll avoid dropping RIYL bands here, but suffice to say they’d fit in with, uh, fans of Dave Grohl’s band named after sci-fi protagonists.

This is one of few CD’s that I don’t start getting cranky over poor production. The production is fitting for the music and doesn’t sound cheap or filled with gimmicks to hide the lack of substance. Most of it is really solid, and there are few low points. Bully for you, Superdrag.

9/10 kilts

TVB!

The Violet Burning
Sting Like Bees And Sing
©2009 Independent
HYPERLINK "http://www.thevioletburning.com" www.thevioletburning.com

Oh, man! How do I act objectively on behalf of the Violet Burning? I’d never heard of them 2 years ago and through a strange series of events, they’ve become one of my favorite bands. I mean, to the point of scouring the internet to amass a pile of their recordings, some familiar and some obscure. Enter thecannyshark, yet again, to hook me up with some rare tracks, as he’s been a fan for a billion years.

In all of this, I’ve never seen them live. What motivation would MJP and the band have to visit the bleak snowy tundra of the northeast and forego the laconic neverland of so Cal? As they’re currently on tour in Europe, I guess we’ll likely not see them anytime soon.

As one that can never explain matters of taste, my favorite recording of theirs is “The Loudest Sound in My Heart.” It’s probably because the DVD of this tour is a pretty stunning primer of the band also showcasing their popularity in places like the Netherlands, as well as their cult-like following here at home. Songs like “Moon Radio” and “Gorgeous” off TLSIMH left me wondering why they weren’t huge in the US?

Fast forward to the present. Most of us TVB fans have been waiting with baited breath for any output from the band, as Drop Dead was the last we’d had a real chance to listen to. Sting Like Bees And Sing is a home grown live affair, and kudos to the band for not needing/wanting/having a label to drive this release. If nothing else, it helps keep the profits where they deserve to be, with the band. It’s well recorded for a live disc (very hot levels) that was probably done without a huge mobile truck and high-end digital equipment. Live recordings are about performance, no digital trickery can add conviction where there is none or provide energy to a band that is mailing it in that night. TVB bring it on this recording, performance is solid and MJP’s banter with the crowd is great. I think I have this Cornerstone performance on DVD somewhere and there’s a power outage in the middle of the set, but it doesn’t get them down. You’d never know it from the energy of this performance. The material is great too. Most of it avoids being overlap from TLSIMH, which is great for fans. It’s predominantly material from the s/t (pomegranate) album to the present.

Okay, here’s my only minor gripe, and I hate myself for bringing it up because, as I mentioned earlier, I am a huge fan. There are some pretty direct references to Cure material. More quotes a phrase from the song “Just Like Heaven” and “Rewind” quotes a musical motif from “A Forest”. No, neither song is a rip-off, and while I can't presume to know the motivation for using them or even if it’s a subconscious glitch that called them up in the writing, they exist never the less. For those of us who are big fans, they do pop up pretty noticeably in the disc.

You’ll get no poor reviews of TVB from me, they are just too great not to be huge, and I admit my bias.

9/10 kilts

Neviah Nevi

Neviah Nevi
Tales of Terror
©2009 Wounded Records
HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/nnrocks" www.myspace.com/nnrocks

Hmm, death metal with a female vocalist? Word up. Count me in. Let me preface all this with the fact that I like metal, although certainly some of my frames of reference are a bit outdated. I have listened to the modern stuff, cookie monster vocals, down-tuned guitars, and prefer mine with some variety.

Put in the disc and press play. Heavy, mid tempo with the ubiquitous cookie monster(ess) vocals and drop tuned guitars. Good production, sort of symphonic in areas, overall pretty well done. Better than average lyrics (thanks for printing them in the booklet).

The issue I have with releases like this, is that, they limit themselves. Death metal has a formula like most other genres. I bet I’d really dig these guys/girl if they broke rank occasionally. I like the energy. If they’d ask me (they never do), I’d tell them to mix things up a bit. Hmm, would they be shunned if they put an acoustic break in a song? Would they lose their metal cred if the vocalist occasionally broke from the cookie monster deal? You do get a break in No Escape and it really sounds great, the contrast in the heavy/ethereal just really nails it for me. Towards the 2:00 mark of Pushing Up Daisies there’s a great break (I’m digging it as it reminds me of Hum but that’s likely the drop D tuning) where they again show some contrast in what they’re capable of. The end of Break These Chains breaks down into a solo piano briefly, that’s cool. Elsewhere there are brief snippets of non-CM vocals but largely that’s what you get. Again, the playing is very good, the songs are well constructed and the production sounds more than competent. DeAngela can hold her own vocally, in the growling and non-growling department.

I hate the fact that music has become so genre conscious. The most interesting bands towards the heavy end of the scale are the ones that can mix it up. Even Demon Hunter can throw an acoustic song on an album and not make it sound forced or calculated. Opeth, under the guidance of Steven Wilson, put out a largely acoustic album.
I guess you can’t argue with an artist’s vision. I hear some pretty solid ideas and decent chops in this but I occasionally grow fatigued with the vehicle it’s delivered in.

Fans of this genre are likely to dig this. Call me when they’re in town, I bet I’d enjoy them live,

7.5/10 kilts
DAA

After Hous

After Hours (various artists)
The Night Belongs To Us
©2009 Independent
HYPERLINK "http://www.tastyfresh.com" www.tastyfresh.com

Another CD gets pushed across the table for review. This time thecannyshark slips this in my eager paw and I get down to business, Gosh, electronica/dance music that you can only acquire by attending Cornerstone 2009? Okay, thecannyshark was in attendance, I was home working and sleeping in my own bed with a hot shower and 3 square meals in the comfort of my own home.

I’m starting to wonder if the whole dance/electronica scene hasn’t just become a cottage industry with people cranking out mixes on their PC/Mac and hoping there’s an audience. Dance music in general is an odd duck. You’ve put an action to take place (people dancing) at the center of the construction of your “music.” The purpose is no longer to create music for the art of music but to get people to dance. Therefore, you’ve slipped out of art into formula. Oh sure, you can do things like look for obscure or interesting samples (Moby’s Play stills stands as a monument to this) or jump across musical genres/styles to raid some pan cultural beats but in the end you’re filling a prescription.
Technology has made all of this rather easy as well as, frankly, all a bit homogenized.
If this whole thing is a global as I’m lead to believe I guess that’s cool. Christians putting out stuff that people dance to, maybe not just at Cornerstone but around the world.
Some consolation I guess, but not enough to make me give it another spin. I’ll trade you a Roland TB-303 for a Les Paul and a Marshall stack any time.

5/10 kilts
DAA

Water and Bodies

Water and Bodies
EP Sampler
©2009 Rain City Records
HYPERLINK "http://www.waterandbodies.com" www.waterandbodies.com
HYPERLINK "http://www.raincityrecords.net" www.raincityrecords.net

Ah, now you’re talking. A band that records an EP live in the studio, in this day and age, gets major positive points from me. No Pro Tools, no auto-tune plug in, and no safety net. And, oh man, right out of the starting gate it sounds great. I mean, energy unadulterated by the studio process, as close to seeing a great live band on CD, except no cover charge and filthy bathrooms to contend with.

Major props for not lapsing into the twee, whimsical neutered sound of most indie rock these days. This is rock with ringing guitars and soaring vocals, not in a hard rock mode, but an unselfconscious blast of a band that knows who they are and what they want to say. While done live, there is space and ambience around tracks. This EP will get replay in my home.

The bio says the band were only together a few months when they recorded this. My hope is that they will not stray far from what makes this great, REALITY. The magic of a newfound chemistry helps many bands’ initial recordings and then rapidly disappears as they “mature.”

The rich musical legacy of the Pacific Northwest is carried on proudly by Water and Bodies. I’m not referring to the whole hoopla of the 90’s scene, but inclusive of great bands like the sadly forgotten Wipers, the Posies, and today’s Death Cab for Cutie.
Bravo and thank you.

9/10 kilts
DAA

The Appleseed Cast-Sagarmatha

The Appleseed Cast
Sagarmatha
©2009 The Militia Group
HYPERLINK "http://www.myspace.com/theappleseedcast" www.myspace.com/theappleseedcast

Wow! Let me lead off with the understanding that I really love this disc. It’s rare that someone so jaded and opinionated gets blown away by something from the first spin.

The Appleseed Cast have an interesting history and, based on my research, have evolved to this very interesting point. “Sagarmatha” sounds to me as if someone used reference points from my past, the much beloved Factory Records and 4AD bands and filtered them through today’s pigeonhole of “post-rock.” Ultimately, this does them a disservice because I find them way more interesting than much of what passes for post-rock these days. Sure, it’s largely instrumental and melodic. What often draws me into music is the sense of the grandiose tempered with an undercurrent of melancholy. The Appleseed Cast does it very well. They avoid lapsing into cliché, or sounding like another Isis, Saxon Shore or Unwed Sailor, and yet somehow manage to incorporate ingredients found in each. Vocals appear on rare occasions and are largely used as another instrument, unintelligible and low in the mix.

The construction and performance is top notch. There is breathing room in the songs, and yet it avoids sounding too arid or less immediate.

“The Summer Before” just destroys me. Vocals are a little more akin to a traditional rock song, but a sense of longing and beauty just permeates the track. It was a nice touch to change the snare sound on the track too. The late Martin Hannett, producer of Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, etc., said something to the effect of “The snare drum is what drives rock and roll.” I agree and more time and thought should be given to it’s place in the mix as well as it’s sound!

Dang it, why aren’t there more CD’s like this coming out today?

10/10 kilts
D
July 2009

Await the Day

Await the Day
Time for Change (EP)
©2008 Tooth and Nail records
www.myspace.com/awaittheday

Hmm, EP’s are an odd lot, are they not? It used to be back in the glory days of vinyl that an EP offered a nice alternative between the single and the long player. I mean you might get a couple mixes of a song and some non-LP tracks, perhaps a coveted rare live track or some other nugget. Oddly enough they don’t seem to be all that popular anymore. What if you were a band that had 5 good songs but not enough money or motivation for a full length CD? Maybe EP’s are still a good idea. On the flipside, maybe you’ve got one good song and four others that are rather undifferentiated. Perhaps then, an EP is the vehicle to promote yourself rather than falling flat with a full-length effort that only has one or two good tracks?

It’s hard to figure out Await the Day’s strategy with the “Time for Change” EP. They have better than average songs, unflinching Christian lyrics, and very competent musicianship. Oddly though, other than track 2, “It Won’t Be Long”, nothing really jumped out at me. I really, really like track 2 however. It plays to all their strengths, and the hooks are massive. Vocals are strong and the contrast between the clean guitar and heavy is very well done, although a bit typical for this genre. The remaining four songs are pretty good, nothing I couldn’t listen to if the CD player was across the room and I had to make an effort to hit the “skip” button. Actually, I might right reach for that button on track 4, “Rescue”, the vocal melody gets under my skin in a few points, the screams in the background are cool.

I suppose those that follow Tooth and Nail and are fans of this genre will have more substantive thoughts in terms of how this band measures up, but overall a decent effort. Hopefully when they get to a long player, it will be a more consistent effort.

I give it 7/10 Gibson SG’s

DAA

Haydon Spencely-Circles

Haydon Spenceley
Circles
©2008 Independent
www.myspace.com/haydonspenceley

I was so ready to slag this off after one listen but I give it another spin and was surprised at my thoughts after a second go ‘round. I like electronica. I came of age musically when the cost of technology dropped enough that the post punk scene became littered with anybody writing a catchy tune on a cheap analog synth. Some bands carved out a niche in musical history, others dropped off radar quickly.

I suppose we’re now at the edge of the technology/cost precipice where you can purchase software and achieve results at home on your Mac/PC that would have been prohibitively expensive just a few years ago. Again, the market is a DIY proposition. This can yield excitement from those who use the technology well and a fat strata of those who just plug and play offering up mediocrity and a stew of half baked ideas seasoned with generic playing.

Haydon’s strong point is his song writing. Chord progressions and melodies are well constructed and not culled from a pool of clichés. I actually felt the little instrumental vignettes were some of the most compelling moments of the whole album, which is largely vocal based. Actually the vocals are where I was let down a bit. His singing affectation(s) got on my aural nerves after a bit. Almost like the guy giving the speech that keeps saying, “You know?”. After a while, it’s all you can focus on even though he’s giving you the secret formula for staying young and thin. Haydon uses the phony British accent thing too much except on track 4 where he does a spot on Trent Reznor impersonation. Oh wait, Haydon is from the U.K. Okay, I gave you back a point for that faux pas on my part. The vocals are placed way up front in the mix which is not always a bad thing especially if you’ve got something to say which I think Haydon does. The other beef is that he needs to capture and make use of dynamics and breathing room in the music. Some tracks have vocals right through the whole song with nary a 2 bar break.
It makes me wonder how much better this would be with somebody like Flood behind the board twiddling and suggesting those spaces and creating greater dynamic range.
My somewhat faulty sense is that this was a home grown/recorded effort and would benefit from some tweaking. Overall, I’d recommend it as I think Haydon can seriously write and despite the vocal affectations he has a pleasant voice that fits his music. Count me in for the re-mixed album.

7.5/10 racks of Pro-Tools outboard gear.

DAA

Denison Witmer-Carry the Weight

Denison Witmer
Carry the Weight
©2009 The Militia Group
www.myspace.com/denisonwitmer

Let’s get this straight. I don’t care for most “indie” or “alt-country” stuff out there right now. Most of it sounds contrived and at worst, twee and whiney. I do like the roots of most of it.

I was very, very surprised at Denison Witmer’s offering: superbly recorded and rock solid in the writing department; perhaps the awkward offspring of Simon and Garfunkel and Death Cab for Cutie being trained by Peter Case and Crowded House. All to say, this has great pop leanings with heartfelt and interesting writing. I can spot an emotional phony a mile a way and this whole project seems dead on for honesty and reality. I was listening to it while kind of shutting my eyes, and it was the soundtrack for a lazy, hot afternoon. There’s an undercurrent of melancholy, without being distracting or too personal. Denison’s voice is pleasant, and while occasionally sounds a shade Gibbard-esque, avoids being derivative or self-conscious. I’m guessing Mr. Witmer has done more than one acoustic gig in his life.

Lyrically, the album is strong. Thankfully, the lyrics are provided on the miniscule CD-booklet. It’s personal, but not embarrassing or ham-fisted. Life Before Aesthetics is a stand out lyrically. The recording is crisp with the guitars sounding lively and well balanced. Round that out with appropriate mixing of bass, drums and keys (mainly organ/piano), and this is one album that will receive repeat play for me. I may have to refuse to return this CD to its lender.

Flavorful tracks - From Here On Out, Song of Songs, If You Are the Writer

9/10 packs of phosphor bronze acoustic strings

DAA

the Mustard Seeds s/t

The Mustard Seeds
S/T
©1996 Forefront

Disclaimer: I like King's X, I've followed their career from around the time of Gretchen Goes to Nebraska being released until they finally failed to capture my interest or harbor my allegiance, which was about the time of "Tapeheads". I do like this CD, the following is a critical review...

So, some sage-ancient postulated, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Right and when do you cross the line from that pleasant little platitude and become a blatant rip-off? And, will the adoring fans care, much less notice?

The Mustard Seeds S/T CD was an assisted discovery for me. Way back when we had our first computer, a nice little Mac Performa with a blazing fast 14.4K modem, I found a guy that was a King's X fan in Texas. We swapped postings on some long forgotten bulletin board. Eventually we swapped tapes via the mail. He sent me several mix-tapes (which I still have in my possession) and on one of them were a few songs culled from this CD. Hmmm, nice stuff: melodic, pop with heavier underpinnings, killer multi-part harmonies lifted from the template forged by that band from Liverpool, some obvious influences, Queen/Sabbath/Beatles etc. Oh wait, there's already a band doing that?

The obvious and easy comparison is with King's X, whom they actually thank on the CD. To say that King's X is a singular reference point for this CD is like saying Nietzsche influenced Stalin, oh crap perhaps that's a bit ham fisted by way of comparison, or not. I mean, the melodies, the chords, the dual primary vocalists sounding like Ty and Doug, the tight grooves and the avoidance of ordinary intervals for chords and melodies. I mean come on, is anybody going to miss the comparison?

Okay enough carping on that end of things. I can tell you that occasionally they veer away from being an “almost cover band” and become shade more original than chameleonic (yes I made that word up). The playing is adequate and the songs are actually good. The production lacks the luster of the early Sam Taylor work that gave definition and clarity to that aforementioned power trio from TX. It's adequate although the guitar sounds generic, the bass a bit flaccid and the drums almost sound like a victim of poor mastering in points with subtle balance issues. This is nitpicking, so I'll again state, I actually like this CD.
I've been lazy and didn't bother to try and track them down via the Internet to see what became of them or if there's a rabid fan website or something like that. For all I know, one lives in my neighborhood and will leave a bag of flaming dog crap on my porch after reading this, although I suppose that infers that he will care enough to actually read and react to this.
I won't do the Amazon review trick where I go through each track and break it down and grade it, for goodness sake, I have a life and time is a precious commodity.

The recovering snob gives this CD 6.5/10 bags of flaming dog dookie

High points: Mother May I, Last Man on Earth

D

The U2 problem.....

Hmm,
I picked up the new U2 cd at my buddies store. I was on my way home from work after kind of a rough week and felt I needed to pick up either a cd or DVD or something.
It's odd, U2 are probably one of my favorite bands, TO A VERY CLEARLY DEFINED POINT! I couldn't listen to them after Achtung Baby. It's like all the air had been sucked out of them and the Pop/Zooropa crap was just awful to my ears. My favorite album of theirs remains The Unforgettable Fire. It's an odd one for sure, the Eno production and experimentation just kind of hit me where I live musically. I do love The Joshua Tree but all the hype and megalomania that ensued after it kind of put me off, at least on U2 as a commodity.
So, I haven't even listened to it yet but did pull the liner notes, oops, I mean the cd booklet. Am I a jerk to be predisposed to not liking it based on the 2-3 pages of recording info/thanks/causes that we support info? While I completely dislike being preached at by somebody in the entertainment industry, I think that Bono has been pretty honest and sincere in his moral quests. I think that he probably does put his money where his mouth is but I still kind of get my hackles up when I see 3 pages of perceived self-aggrandizing information.
I'll rip it onto my iPod and see how it hits me. It's nice to see Eno/Lanois/Lillywhite in the credits for production, maybe it will be at the least, sonically interesting to me.
We shall see.........

Enter the Braggin'

Greetings ladies and germs.
I've avoided blogging for far too long and now you'll be forced to suffer because of it.
Actually the Cannyshark shamed me into it.
I hope to post up some music reviews and general observations about music, media, art, life and what constitutes a satisfying meal. Hopefully done in a joyous and occasionally insightful manner.
More to follow.......
D