Interview: Irritant

Irritant are an up and coming metal band from the UK. For their age (late teens/early 20s), they're amazing players. They've already come to the attention of some big names (Bruce Dickinson for one) and things are looking up for them. Bassist/vocalist Niall answered a few questions for me about the band's past, present and future.

RnRnMN: You're all in your late teens/early twenties, yet you've been together for four years. You must've grown as both people and musicians in that time. How are things different now that when you started?

Niall: Its definitely been a huge learning curve for us and we all are still learning a lot about each other, our music and the music scene at the moment. Its become much more of a career now than when we started, we spend as much time practicing and doing band work as we do earning livings so its pretty tiring being unsigned! Musically its beginning to find a foothold. We've all brought many different influences into this and the way we are all maturing as musicians is now effecting the music we write.

RnRnMN: Vic Coppersmith-Heaven produced your single. While he worked with Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones, he also worked consistently with the Jam. How did you hook up with him and how did he influence Voice Of The Siren? Is there anything that he brought to the table form his work with Jam whose music is so different from where you guys are?

Niall: It was a great experience working with Vic. He is a legend in his own right so at first was daunting as we were completely self produced up until he offered to work with us on the single "Voice Of The Siren". He lives not far from us and saw us play at a local outdoor festival and our relationship grew from there. We worked with him on a few acoustic demos of tracks and really learnt how he worked and he really got the best out of us in a studio environment. His perspective brought out a less "metal" side to the music we played and he also threw in crazy percussive ideas and his aim was to capture our live energy which we have lacked in previous recordings and releases.

RnRnMN: It seems none other than Bruce Dickinson is a fan. How did you get his attention? Since Maiden is an obvious influence on your music, what was it like to find that he really liked your stuff?

Niall: We sent in our latest singles to him at his radio show in the UK and were lucky enough to catch his attention. Its a great feeling to know that one of your heroes is aware of who you are and is into the music your producing.

RnRnMN: How important have online communities like Myspace been to your success?

Niall: Massively. I think that Myspace is possibly the best the biggest tool at an Unsigned artists disposal. Its free, absolutely everyone has some kind of profile or knows someone who has a profile and as a Band you can access all of those people. I cannot imagine how people would have got their music listened too without trawling the country playing at every toilet club going. Myspace gives artists that deserve the chance (and who have the patience to contact as many people as possible) to build up a fan base and attack larger cities and gain recognition in a respectable way. Also gives people who never would have shown off their talents, the ability to do so.

RnRnMN: How did the Ed Stone Rockwear Tour go? Were these the biggest shows you've played to date? What the crowd reaction like?

Niall: The shows weren't the biggest we have played but it gave us an opportunity to play to people a lot further away than we ever have before. We had a great response and had an awesome time. I'm sure any other band reading this will know, what goes on tour stays on tour!

RnRnMN: What is it about your music that you find special? With a lot of metal bands out here, why should someone listen to you?

Niall: I would say that at the moment there seems to be a huge resurgence of really heavy metal. We've been on so many bills where were playing with 4 other bands who seem to be carbon copies of each other, the same detuned guitars, the same screaming vocals and the same breakdowns and time changes. And it is at these shows that we get loads of new fans telling us how its really refreshing to hear something different done well. Our music is based on artists who are still going strong after 20 years, but the modern trends have missed out on all the energy and showmanship these acts had. We like to feel that we are bringing back a sense of grandeur back to rock/metal music.

RnRnMN: What does the future hold? Full-length? Tour? Any plans to break into the US market?

Niall: We are currently taking out a little time to really get back into songwriting as a main focus. Its been a really busy year for us touring all over the place, filming music videos and most recently our first mainstream tv performance so its all become a bit hectic. Its nice to chill out and really spend time on the music. So expect a full length early next year. Touring is always on our schedule but at the moment we have nothing major plans until the new record comes out which we will be working extremely hard! We would love to get over to the US, you find the venues we will be there!!

Pick your favorite from each pair:

• Beatles versus Rolling Stones: Beatles
• Iron Maiden versus Black Sabbath: Iron Maiden - duhh!
• Sex Pistols versus the Clash: The Clash
• James Brown versus Marvin Gaye: James Brown!!
• Metallica versus Slayer: Metallica

Check out my review of Good Evening from the Machine.

Ryan Holiday - Gender Politics Vol One

Download Ryan's new album for FREE here. It's different...in a good way. Seriously, it's not going to be everyone's thing, but based on what I've heard, he could take a lot of people by surprise. A review will be coming soon.

Halloween Tunes

Everyone has their own idea of what makes a good Halloween compilation. For me, it's pretty simple: the Misfits. Not Samhain or Danzig, just the Misfits. Their corny darkness and B horror movie simplicity manage to encapsulate the holiday's mix of fun and fright perfectly. Unlike Danzig's approach to his subsequent projects, the Misfits never take anything too seriously and that's the real beauty (if you can call it that).

Anyway, here's my top ten Misfits tunes:

1. Skulls
2. London Dungeon
3. Bullet
4. Last Caress
5. Astro Zombies
6. Die, Die, My Darling
7. I Turned Into a Martian
8. Hollywood Babylon
9. Halloween
10. Attitude

Tomorrow it's all Misfits, all day (and night, of course).

Review: Avenged Sevenfold - s/t

Label: Warner Bros.

Released: October 30, 2007

Avenged Sevenfold are one of those bands that makes me wonder what all the hype is about. It's not that they're bad, just that they don't seem to really separate themselves from the pack so to speak. Their self-titled follow-up to their major label break-though, City of Evil, both justifies my question about them and answers it.

The album jumps right into their metalcore bread and butter, but by the second track, they bring a sense of hooky melody that begins to show just why they may have a platinum record on their hands this time. They incorporate everything from hardcore to melodic hard rock to pop to classical. They even close with a country-tinged ballad that only works based on the strength of the rest of the album. Extremely tight throughout, they show that their music works with delicate string arrangements as well as harsh, aggressive rockers. They do have a miscue on "Lost." The song itself fits well, but no one who wants to be taken seriously should employ an effect that reminds anyone of a bad Cher song (you know the one). Still the album shows that Avenged Sevenfold graduated into being a versatile rock band that plays music big enough for arenas, not just another run-of-the-mill metalcore act. The music is certainly grand, but it's also fairly safe.

Other bands are out there taking their small sub-genre and making great big rock records. If bands like My Chemical Romance and Chiodos are the Queens of this generation, then Avenged Sevenfold are the Foreigner. That doesn't make them a bad band, it just means that they aren't pushing the limits of what a rock band can do. While MCR and Chiodos are both the present and the future, Avenged Sevenfold are simply the here and now, so enjoy them while you can.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

Lance Hahn RIP

Lance Hahn of long underrated J Church passed away on October 21 due to complications from kidney disease. See lancehahn.org to share remembrances of Lance and to find out how you can help his family who is faced with significant medical bills after his prolonged illness.

Review: Remove the Veil - Another Way Home

Label: Facedown Records

Released: October 16, 2007

Unlike most of the Facedown stable, Remove the Veil takes it's cues from gritty hard rock, grunge and stoner rock rather than more technical metal. Interestingly enough, the album still fits well with the label's catalog. Their ability to use this in a powerful hardcore format sets them apart from their peers.

The album's nod to hard rock shouldn't be taken as an indicator that they're lite compared to other bands in the scene. Their down-to-earth riffs and heavy grooves make the album more accessible, but no less intense. Their use of vocal harmonies is reminiscent of the interplay between Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell that made Alice in Chains a stand-out in the 90s. Vocalist Mark Hendrix's voice does have a tendency to get witchy in the more frantic sections where he isn't harmonizing, but while it's grating at first, it settles in with the music over the course of the album. Unlike the cold technical riffs of their contemporaries, Remove the Veil mixes in southern rock licks that make a more direct connection that the esoteric noodlings that are so prominent today. They get a little too pedestrian on the title track which all but rips off "Wanted Dead of Alive," but they otherwise walk the line between melodic accessibility and sludgey heaviness with much success.

The result is an album that is equal parts Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains and generic hard rock with perhaps a dash of the Allman Brothers. Another Way Home maintains a consistent energy level across pace changes, giving it both punch and passion that easily connects with listeners.

Rating: 7/10

Myspace

Remove the Veil is currently on tour to support the album:

Oct 31 - Phenix City, AL @ Halloween Ho-down @ Champion's Den
Nov 2 - Elizabethtown, KY @ Reno Starks
Nov 3 - Herrin, IL @ Hitts
Nov 5 - Ocala, FL @ The Capitol
Nov 6 - Tampa, FL @ Transitions Art Gallery
Nov 7 - Homestead, FL @ Life Pointe Church Homestead, FL
Nov 9 - Mobile, AL @ The Mug
Nov 10 - Cleveland, GA @ Real Hope Fest '07
Nov 12 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Factory
Nov 13 - Bartlesville, OK @ The Warehouse
Nov 15 - Memphis, TN @ The Dregs
Nov 17 - Douglasville, GA @ BBQ Fest '07 @ the 7 Venue
Nov 18 - Greenville, SC @ The Unknown Venue
Nov 19 - Kernersville, NC @ Creation Skatepark
Nov 20 - Berea, KY @ Berea Folk Center
Dec 1 - Greenville, NC @ Silver Bullet
Dec 2 - Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
Dec 4 - Melbourne, FL @ The Melbourne Jaycees
Dec 5 - Winter Park, FL @ Island Oasis
Dec 6 - Ocala, FL @ The Capitol
Dec 7 - Buchanan, GA @ The Hangar
Dec 8 - Mobile, AL @ The Chiropractor Building
Dec 10 - Baton Rouge, LA @ The Darkroom
Dec 11 - Corpus Christi, TX @ The Compound
Dec 13 - San Antonio, TX @ The White Rabbit
Dec 15 - Stockbridge, GA @ The R.O.C.K. Show at First Christian Church
Dec 18 - Corinth, MS @ Cruzin' Cones
Dec 19 - Douglasville, GA @ The 7 Venue
Jan 1 - Fredricksburg, VA @ Revelation Fest
Feb 16 - Clyattville, GA @ WoodFest @ War House Of Prayer

Review: Fell Far Behind - Reaching the Red Line

Label: self-released

Released: September 18, 2007

There are bands that do most things right, but the few things they lack make all the difference between being good and lousy. Fell Far Behind is just such a band. They have many of the pieces in place: They're tight, they understand hooks, they're polished and the production on Reaching the Red Line is very good for a self-released album. However, they forgot to add emotion and they forgot to have original ideas. They play emo by the book and their only innovation (if you can call it that) is to bring the big guitar riffs of the 80s forward to the 00s. Like the melodic hard rock bands that influenced their approach, they too want to draw some of the energy from the edgier music of their time, water it down and pretty it up. While some songs do kick off with a burst of excitement, that feeling is short lived. They all quickly degenerate into dull repetition, sounding not just like every other song on the album, but every generic emo song on the planet. Mixing it up with a few ballads doesn't help them any more than it did their lackluster 80s forebears.

Fell Far Behind may well make it to the big time, but it will be for all the wrong reasons. They are easy and palatable, but never challenging, never even approaching the "red line" the title suggests. In a certain sense, they are good, but good at the things that can be learned, not the intangibles. Their music is carefully constructed, but only in an effort to mimic the vision of others. It's as if their heads are in the right place, but not their hearts.

Rating: 3/10

Website

Myspace

Review: Chiodos - Bone Palace Ballet

Label: Equal Vision Records

Released: September 4, 2007

After finding a fair amount of success with 2005's All's Well That Ends Well, Chiodos were in a position to coast safely into their next album. Instead, they chose to further break out of the emo-screamo scene that spawned them and follow their arena-sized prog-rock dreams.

Bone Palace Ballet has some leanings into the realm of the Mars Volta, primarily with Craig Owens' vocals, but they aren't quite so esoteric, staying rooted in things the common rock fan can get a handle on. Like My Chemical Romance, they have tried to push the boundaries of their own genre to something much bigger, drawing not only on the influences of hardcore and metal, but also the operatic nature of Queen and the jazz-rock of early Chicago, and they do it well. The songs seem longer than they are, not because they're tedious, but because they move outside of the standard rock song structure and an awful lot gets packed into each one. While they have expanded their sound and minimized their reliance on growling vocals, they have also become heavier, adding another layer of intensity. There are times when they lapse into the typical, but those moments are the exception as Bone Palace Ballet spends more time pushing the limits than adhering to them.

As the field of prog-influenced metal/hardcore/emo/screamo gets more and more crowded, Chiodos looks to be one that will stand above the masses and dictate rather than follow. Bone Palace Ballet is a significant step forward from the group's already challenging body of work.

Rating: 8/10

Website

Myspace

Review: Chain Shot - Black September

Label: Irish Voodoo Records

Released: October 31, 2007

Chain Shot plays hardcore like they don't often make it anymore. It isn't overly metally or technical, just fast, hard and angry. They forgo the indulgent solos and the now dime-a-dozen growls. Instead, they stick to the raw passion that made hardcore exciting in the first place. The sons aren't complex, but they have a structure that holds them together and keeps them from falling into chaos. Chain Shot does have a tough time getting a groove going and that's the biggest thing that separates them from top tier old school hardcore like Madball. They end being fairly one-dimensional as a result, but that isn't exactly the cardinal sin of hardcore.

Unfortunately, the production on Black September leaves a lot to be desired. The minor success it has in getting a generally good hardcore guitar sound is more than canceled out by overbearing drums. It's never good to be bludgeoned by the snare (yeah, I did say the snare, not the kick drum or the toms).

All in all, Black September is a visceral album that is meant to be a release of anger and energy. It isn't meant to be over-analyzed. While it won't change the face of hardcore, it is a healthy escape from the riffs, growls and breakdowns that dominate the genre today. Using Thomas Tew's pirate flag for the cover doesn't hurt either. Arghhh!

Rating: 7/10

Myspace

Review: Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil

Label: Vice Records

Released: September 11, 2007

The Black Lips exude the dark undercurrent of lo-fi 60s garage rock, but unlike other revivalists, they haven't filtered it through the present. Good Bad Not Evil is a minimalist affair with a harsh, thin sound made up of tinny guitar, echo-laden vocals, wild, loose rhythms and production right out of some hole-in-the-wall studio 40 years ago. This album is as lo-fi as it gets and the technical skills displayed are nothing to write home about, yet Black Lips' pop sense shines through. Over the course of the album they tip their hats to early Who, country rock, early 60s AM pop, punk and psychedelia without straying from their course. This ability to capture moods and styles without much in the way of measurable skills shows an intangible talent that cannot be taught or acquired in simple practice. The hipster cleverness would derail most albums, but they actually turn that annoying quality into a mild comedic effect that squares off nicely against the album's subliminal darkness. There are plenty of revivals, but few have Black Lips' ability to recreate the past without being old.

Rating: 8/10

Myspace

Review: De Novo Dahl - Shout

Label: Roadrunner Records

Released: 2007

I'm gonna cut to the chase here. "Shout" is the biggest slice of musical joy I've heard since U2 released "Beautiful Day" seven years ago. The song bursts with unadulterated happiness. It's hooks and harmonies grab you right from the start. A tide of pop beauty rolls in on driving rhythms, infectious bass lines and waves of guitar, organ and voice and it flows out on low-key verses whose soulful vocals clear the way for the tide to return.

"Shout" acts as the mission statement for the EP (and perhaps the band as a whole), but the other two non-remixes don't give up any ground. They follow the same undeniable plan that makes the whole experience nothing short of exhilarating. Their mix of pop and soul in the vocals and keys with a rock edge, courtesy of a big guitar sound and an animated rhythm section, and the electronic details of the omnichord rocks as hard and passionately as the White Stripes, yet is as quirky and fun as Devo or They Might Be Giants. While the songs build from quiet to explosive, the actual energy never lets up, not even for a moment.

The second three tracks on the EP are remixes of the first three. While they do a few interesting things, the originals cannot be contained by their tricks and therefore the remixes never seem to capitalize on the strengths of the originals. The quality of the songs in their purest form makes the remixes expendable.

Let me leave you with one warning about this EP: If you play "Shout" really loud, be careful. You're liable to experience pure ecstatic joy.

Rating: 9/10

Website

Myspace

Van Morrison "Best of" out November 6th

From the press release:

THE ONLY CAREER-SPANNING VAN MORRISON "BEST OF" ALBUM AVAILABLE; OUT NOVEMBER 6TH

(Los Angeles, CA) - More than 40 years since bursting out of Belfast with Them, Van Morrison continues to make great music, continues to tour the world, and continues to inspire and engage new generations of fans and artists alike.

Here on Still On Top - The Greatest Hits (Hip-O/Ume) are 21 classic tracks that chronicle Van's incredible journey so far; all remaining true to his mantra "it's always been about soul."

Featuring selections spanning his work from 1964 to 2005, Still On Top - The Greatest Hits is the definitive collection of Van's original recordings. There are musical milestones from five decades of prolific recording, including - for the first time on a Greatest Hits collection - his powerful songs from the 90s and the new millennium. Among the gems included are 1995's "Days Like This," an alternative version of 1997's "Healing Game" and an already-classic from 2005, "Stranded."

Still On Top - The Greatest Hits moves seamlessly across the genres, reflecting a career which began in the 60s with the hat-trick of "Here Comes The Night," "Gloria" and "Brown-Eyed Girl" and has not faltered since. Highlights from the Seventies include "Domino," "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)," and "Warm Love." Among those selected from the Eighties are the romantic ballad "Someone Like You" (one of many Van songs borrowed by the big screen, in this case for Bridget Jones's Diary) and the glorious "Have I Told You Lately?."

Review: Motley Crue - Carnival of Sin (live)

Label: Eleven Seven Music

Released: October 23, 2007

With the possible exception of Dr Feelgood (and that's even pretty questionable), Motley Crue hasn't done anything meaningful since 1983's Shout at the Devil, so it is quite beyond me why anyone would waste their time and money to see them. That being said, Carnival of Sin turned out to be a bit of a surprise.

The two-disc set obviously concentrates of the band's 80s recordings and rightly so, because the newer songs aren't worth hearing. The first disc largely concentrates on the first two albums and is therefore, the stronger of the two. The second disc stumbles a bit with weaker songs, back-to-back ballads and their ridiculous cover of "Anarchy in the UK." While Motley Crue aren't a relevant rock band any longer, they still prove to be energetic, albeit stupid, showmen. They no longer convey the wild side that they once did, but they give a worthy performance of the old material and inject life into their newer tunes.

Just as the band surprised me with their performance, so too did Bob Rock with his production. Rather than the slick commercialism that is his hallmark, this album actually captures the rawness of a live performance without being so raw that it's unlistenable.

The album was certainly better that I expected and it gives some credence to the position that the band should tour (and maybe even that people, not me, should bother seeing them). However, the strength of the older versus the newer material makes it quite clear that they shouldn't bother with studio albums.

Rating: 6/10

DVD: U2 - Popmart: Live from Mexico City

Label: Island Records

Released: September 18, 2007

Popmart finds U2 at their most bloated. The set is absolutely huge and probably has enough lights to illuminate a mid-size town. The grand entrance with the band entering as a boxing entourage heading to the ring of a championship bout (with Bono as the fighter) all set to the tune of M's "Pop Muzik" is about as over-the-top as it could be. They had costume changes. At one point, they return to the stage in what appears to be a UFO. With all this superficiality, how could they possibly connect with the fans?

Certainly, they could reconcile this show with much of their 90s material with its Eurodance angle, but they can't avoid their older selves, the more organic U2 that saved the 80s from synthesizers and hairspray. They seemed to falter on these songs at first. "I Will Follow" gets lost in the lights. "Pride," a song that usually gives me cold chills, doesn't resonate in the way it typically does. However, by "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," they start to scale back some of the extremes of the show and let these songs stand on their own, the way in which they were intended. From that point on, they seem to reconcile the sheer size of the performance with the personal nature of their music. When the crowd sings along to "Sunday Bloody Sunday," it's downright moving. When Bono brings a girl from the audience on stage during "With Or Without You," he might as well have brought the whole audience up. It was that kind of universal moment. And hugging that girl was in sharp contrast to how he played to the cameras early on. Sure, I could have done without "Lemon," but in context, it worked. They sandwiched "Please" between "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" as seamlessly as if they all came from the same album. The one big disaster is the credits rolling over the last song, "Wake Up Dead Man," and excellent and unexpected choice by the band, ruined by the producers.

Popmart probably finds U2 at just about their worst. Amazingly enough, the show was still phenomenal. They found a way to marry huge, contrived sets and rock star bombast with music that makes real human connections. They reached out and touched tens of thousands in a way that bands struggle to in clubs that hold a few hundred. While this might not be their finest moment, it leaves little doubt that they are the greatest rock band since the Beatles.

Rating: 9/10

Review: Radio Moscow - s/t

Label: Alive Natural Sound Records

Released: February 27, 2007

Radio Moscow is a modern day power trio whose influence reaches back to the days when the sub-genre first reared its head with the likes of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. Radio Moscow don't ignore everything that's happened since the late 60s, but their influences don't stretch too far beyond that time.

The thick fuzzy sounds of Hendrix are the biggest influence on Radio Moscow's debut and like their mentor, they have that innate ability to really feel their music. They play as a band not as individuals. The vocals aren't superb, but they don't hold anything back either and while no one is a great technician, the songs' riffs and grooves are monsters. They also draw some of their fat guitar tone from early ZZ Top and Wishbone Ash (when both were good) and throw in some of the bluesy trippiness of LA Woman-ear Doors for good measure. The acoustic blues of "Lickskillet" is as good as anything this side of Zeppelin III. Radio Moscow also brings a bit of swing to their rock n roll swagger, giving the album very subtle hints of jazz. In general, Radio Moscow plays loosely, but hold everything together in a strong groove. But the album's finale, "Fuse," just rips loose and instead of drawing to a close, they explode! It makes the whole album seem like a live set rather than a studio album.

This is blues rock as it was meant to be played, not as it was watered down by the hairspray-conscious acts of the 80s. The production, courtesy of the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, is deliberately raw and the album has a decidedly live energy. However, unlike a lot of lo-fi recordings, this one is masterfully done, rough but free of noisiness and clipping.

If this was Radio Moscow's third or fourth album, I'd still be impressed with both their energy and their execution, but this is the debut! It may be a revival, but it is most certainly worthy of the past into which it taps. It's down to earth approach makes it easily accessible for anyone who simply likes their rock n roll a little on the raw side.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

RIP Foxy

Paul "Foxy" Fox of Ruts fame died yesterday of cancer. It's a sad day for punk rock. There's some more info on his Myspace page.

Review: A Plea for Purging - A Critique of Mind and Thought

Label: Facedown Records

Released: October 2, 2007

Twenty years or so ago, most hardcore bands relied on raw aggression rather than technical prowess to drive their point home. Over the intervening years however, likely under the influence of metal as much as anything, many hardcore bands developed more and more chops. The result has been a mixed blessing, with some bands pulling it off and others failing dismally, but no one has upped the technical ante like A Plea for Purging does on A Critique of Mind and Thought.

From the start, there is little question that the album will be brutal. Wailing guitars, bludgeoning rhythms and growling vocals make it clear that this is not to be taken lightly. However, all elements throw themselves into the mix without direction and the result has no sense of cohesiveness or structure.

A Plea for Purging are trying to merge the musicianship of prog-metal with the raw energy of hardcore. It seems like a noble effort, but never comes together. Andrew Atkins is not a particularly gifted singer (or growler rather), but he throws everything he's got into each song. The dual guitar approach from Blake Martin and Lyle Paschal on the other hand sounds like it was recorded for an instructional video. The transitions between the Maiden-esque guitar passages and the hardcore substance of the songs is often clumsy, adding to the troubles.

Occasionally, especially over the second half of the album, they do manage to bring the pieces together into a singular vision, where the riffing is scaled back and the songs don't seem so forced and awkward. These are the moments that offer hope that A Plea For Purging's vision of super-technical hardcore can be a reality. At this point though, there isn't enough tangible evidence that they already have the answers.

Rating: 5/10

Myspace

Review: Inked in Blood - Sometimes We Are Beautiful

Label: Facedown Records

Released: October 2, 2007

If I had to make up a name for Inked in Blood's music, it would be "pop-punk-core." They play a brand of hardcore that is a strange marriage of the Descendants and Gorilla Biscuits and they have varying success with it.

On one hand, Sometimes We Are Beautiful is typical of hardcore over the last decade or so. The growling vocals and choppy, chunky music with churning rhythms and metallic riffs is nothing new. However, Inked in Blood do a better job than most of their peers of incorporating melody. The trade-off however is a lack of punch. Some of that can be blamed on mediocre production which takes some of the crispness out of their sound, but a lot of it falls in their lap. They haven't quite brought the two sounds together. They clearly nail the melodic side as evidenced on the indie rock delicacy of "Instrumental" and the sappy emo of "This Moment" and they have moments of unbridled hardcore as well, but the two never seem to quite meet. Of course, even the near misses aren't without merit and the album overall is listenable. Better yet, it's very nature is hopeful and that positivity is contagious. Lyrically, it's open and honest without being dramatic, which further buoys its optimism.

Sometimes We Are Beautiful might not be the answer to the future of hardcore, but it could be standing at the first steps on that road. It clearly lays groundwork for growth which makes Inked in Blood a band to watch.

Rating: 6/10

Myspace

Review: The Cult - Born Into This

Label: Roadrunner Records

Released: October 2, 2007

In the late 80s, the Cult released a string of amazing records: Love, a psychdelic goth-rocker; Electric, their simple hard rock riff factory; and Sonic Temple, the album that exploded into the middle ground between its two predecessors. As successful as they were, several misguided, unfocused efforts in the 90s derailed their progress. That made 2001's Beyond Good and Evil such a huge surprise and that surprise in turn made the follow-up, some six years later, a tough act to chase.

On Born Into This, the Cult don't quite bring the same energy level that they shocked us with six years ago (or at least they don't bring it in the same way) and that makes the first listen a little disappointing. However, subsequent passes leave that last album in its time as the Cult rediscover a more distant past. This album isn't as consistent as most Cult albums. Instead of really melding their hard rock and goth egos, they alternate with one side dominating and then ceding control to the other on the next track.

Those expecting a primarily hard rock album (i.e., the Electric fans) might be disappointed, because the songs that lean their direction are the the weakest tracks. Songs like "Dirty Little Rockstar" only work because the Cult can bring their tremendous performance power to bear on even a mediocre song. It's really the songs influenced by their pre-Electric recordings that shine the brightest along with "Holy Mountain" which finds Ian Astbury doing '68 Comeback-era Elvis with conviction. However, the Cult's half step back from the hard rock with which they'd found so much success doesn't mean the album doesn't rock every bit as much once you get on board with the new (old) direction.

Although the production is weak and doesn't help the album really take off and while Duffy and the new members may not be quite in peak form, Astbury still walks that line between the dark poetry of Morrison and the cartoonish bombast of Danzig. Overall, the Cult finds its groove and captures the shamanistic feel that has made their best work seem more like a tribal experience than just a rock record.

Rating: 7/10

Website

Myspace

New song from Frontier Folk Nebraska

Frontier Folk Nebraska has posted a new song entitled "Depression Queen" in their Myspace page. It might not be happy, but it touches the soul.

Flogging Molly and Bouncing Souls set to Headline Charity Event in Hollywood December11, 2007

From Side One Dummy Records:

Los Angeles, October 19, 2007. The second annual ROCK TO ROLL charity event spearheaded by SideOneDummy Co-Founder Joe Sib is happening this year at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, CA on December 11th. The event will directly benefit the non-profit organization WHEELS FOR HUMANITY. Headlining the event this year is FLOGGING MOLLY just back from recording their new album in Ireland. Also on the bill will be BOUNCING SOULS and DEAD TO ME. The night will kick off with a set from PUNK ROCK KARAOKE (featuring members of NOFX, Bad Religion, Adolescents & Social Distortion).

The WHEELS FOR HUMANITY mission is to provide increased self sufficiency and mobility to people with disabilities throughout the world, without regard to political affiliation, religious belief or ethnic identity. WFH began in 1996 and is a non-profit organization and has since helped over 30,000 people with disabilities in over 58 countries gain increased mobility and dignity. WFH is located in North Hollywood where a small professional staff and a large volunteer workforce collect, refurbish and ship donated wheelchairs.

Last year, Joe Sib's ROCK TO ROLL benefit concert at the Key Club rose over $27,000 for WFH. The average wheel chair costs $150 to refurbish, which means last year's event directly improved the lives of roughly 180 individuals in need. This year we've moved the event to the Avalon Theater in Hollywood and our goal is to double our fundraising efforts. TICKETS go on sale Friday Nov.9th

DVD: Ramones - It's Alive 1974-1996

Label: Rhino

Released: October 2, 2007

I have but one complaint about this DVD although I have no reasonable solution to remedy it: I wish the DVD was made up of complete concerts rather than songs culled from various shows over the years. Of course the sacrifice would be the variety of shows that a career overview should cover, so it's a fair trade-off. That being said, I can find no other fault with it.

The double DVD captures the Ramones from their earliest days at CBGB's up to their final months playing together. Just as the Ramones best and most important albums came out in the 70s, so this compilation of performances also focuses on that decade with well over half of the performances culled from those years. Obviously, some of the early footage is extremely raw, but what it lacks in quality, it makes up for in historical significance. The earliest clip shows an almost entirely incompetent band with such confidence nonetheless that it's no wonder they went on to become one of the most influential bands in rock history. As time passes over the course of the video, the Ramones seem never to grow old. Even as their significance waned over the latter part of their career, they seemed to never be at the end of the road. That makes it even more shocking now that not only is the band defunct, but 3/4 of the original members are no longer with us. It's weird when they always seemed like a bunch of kids just beating the crap out of their instruments in true rock n roll style. In addition to the concert footage, there is also a few music videos and some goofy, but insightful interviews provided in the bonus section. It's Alive 1974-1996 is essential viewing not just for Ramones fans, but for anyone who enjoys rock n roll distilled into its purest form.

Rating: 9/10

Check out the trailer:

Myspace: Niki Thunders and the Temperamentals

Niki Thunders and the Temperamentals is the side project of Skitzo Calypso singer/guitarist Brad Cox. It's a bit of an alter-ego, drawing more influence from punk, 80s pop and glam than the melodic hard rock of his main project. Niki Thunders offers three moody songs on Myspace that are somewhat varied musically, yet very cohesive.

"To Die Like Morrison" begins quietly and moves toward driving punk and metal rhythms, dark goth vocals and a mix of synth and guitar layers. There are interesting hints of ska that crop up which creates tension in the otherwise dark song. Even the bombastic hard rock parts work really well in their role. The lyrics deal with serious questions about the nature of God, a topic that easily falls into cliches , but not here. Next up is the 80s alterna-pop of "The Sickness of Dreams." It taps into the Cure and New Order, but offers it up on a plate of hard rock that replaces the drama of its influences with a more believable edginess. "A Vietnam in the Neighborhood" is similar in influence to its predecessor, but has more punk energy and once again incorporates hints of ska that work subtly against the current of the song.

Niki Thunders seems to be much more free in its creative expression than Skitzo Calypso, perhaps because it's a singular vision rather than a collaboration. However, Brad Cox has enough breadth of influences that he subtly weaves into the music to keep things interesting. I'm definitely looking forward to more from this project.

Check out the review of Skitzo Calypso's latest, Between the Lines and Beyond the Static.

Review: Skitzo Calypso - Between the Lines and Beyond the Static

Label: Bi-Polar Records

Released: 2007

Between the Lines and Beyond the Static is a solid rock album. It has riffy guitars, crunching rhythms and vocals with nice range and movement. The production is crisp and clean and brings out the best in the band's abilities. This largely straightforward hard rock album is heavy, but not too heavy and polished, but not without feeling. They apply the standard formula for the genre very well and that's both their strength and their weakness.

The songwriting and production both play into this. There's nothing technically wrong with either, but the result is a collection of songs that are memorable more because, in a sense, you already know them than because they're instantly captivating. While this is the eighth album under the name Skitzo Calypso, it's only the second with the full band and the first to be a truly collaborative effort. The result of working together seems to have tempered their creativity rather than expanded it. Perhaps they're just getting the feel of their common direction, but their first shot at it seems to be something along the lines of Bang Tango meets Alice in Chains meets Godsmack meets System of a Down. Occasionally, an inkling of goth insinuates itself into the music and that is, despite it being goth, hopeful. "Hello Mother, Hello Father" even finds the band moving beyond the formulas and into more organic territory. The lyrics are also a saving grace. Their peculiar subjects and interesting imagery are refreshing in a hard rock context where we usually get nothing but misogyny and insobriety.

Skitzo Calypso still has a way to go in order to establish something that is truly their own, but they have the technical ability once they find their direction together. They've established that they have solid skills and now they need to free those skills in order to unlock their power. When the music does stray from the standard, they appear ready to fly and the lyrics display an interest in being rather skewed, but too often this album feels planned and hesitant. They have every possibility of breaking out if they use their new collaborative to spin free of the hard rock center of gravity.

Rating: 6/10

Website

Myspace

Check out the Myspace review of Skitzo Calypso side-project Niki Thunders and the Temperamentals.

Red Leader Records CMJ Showcase

* Oct 20 @ Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, New York, NY 10012
* featuring Polar Bear Club, Dear Tonight, The New Dress, Nakatomi Plaza, Scream Hello and Fire When Ready


Red Leader Records Showcase

October 20 @ Bowery Poetry Club - 5:30pm

A ridiculously amazing showcase for Red Leader featuring some of the label's most ridiculously amazing bands. Seriously...the lineup is siiiiiiick!

Polar Bear Club - 9:20pm
Nakatomi Plaza - 8:40pm
Dear Tonight - 8:00pm
Scream Hello - 7:30pm
The New Dress - 6:40pm
Fire When Ready - 6:00pm

$10 or Free with CMJ badge

Live: De Novo Dahl, Bedouin Soundclash and Hot Hot Heat

October 15, 2007, Rams Head Live!, Baltimore, Maryland

I hadn't heard of De Novo Dahl prior to seeing them on the bill for this show. Other than a few tracks I sampled to get an idea of what to expect, this show was my first exposure. That being said, I don't think there was much that could have prepared me for their set. They sported bright, tacky, sequined outfits that matched their apparent love of cheap, tacky 70s pop. However, both of these seeming improprieties are part of a broader whole that is predominately made up of rock and soul. The core of the band's performance is singer/guitarist Joel J. Dahl, whose mixture of rock guitar flourishes and soulful vocals (including a nice falsetto) is the flag around which the band rallies. They would have done well to incorporate more background vocals from percussionist/omnichordist Serai Zaffiro whose breathy voice goes so well with Dahl's, but that's a minor complaint. Most interesting of all was how this quirky pop band was able to achieve two things that elude most of their peers. First, they rocked. Not just in the generic sense, but in the broken strings and drum sticks sense. They were powerful...and sweet. Second, they were down-to-earth. Bassist Keith Lowen's nervous speech about their upcoming video shoot put the band on a plane with the crowd. After the set, drummer Mixta Huxtable walked over and gave a broken stick to a kid up front. Even without these overt examples, De Novo Dahl connected with an audience that wasn't even there to see them. People danced. The crowd was excited. They won us over on their own terms, without even asking.

Bedouin Soundclash is the band I was there to see. After hearing Street Gospels, a huge step forward in songwriting and performance, I had very high expectations for the live set. I was certainly hoping that the set list would concentrate on their recent release, but only three songs came from that album. That being said, the songs from Sounding a Mosaic incorporated everything Bedouin learned between the two albums and sounded every bit as good as the new ones, muting my disappointment in not hearing "St Andrews," "Trinco Dog" or the a cappella "Hush." Everything that made Street Gospels great, tightness, flow, energy and soul, made their live set just as good. The problem was simply that they capture so much of that on the album that the live show can't provide much more, making them victims of their own success.

I'm not a big Hot Hot Heat fan. They're a middling band who's released some decent material, but has never really found their own thing at which to excel. Unlike Bedouin, I had only moderate expectations for the headliner and by and large they failed to hit even that meager mark. Overall, their performance was as thin and dull as their imitation of the Strokes. They kicked off the show with a bombastic entrance that would have been cool had they either been an amazingly simple band (the irony angle) or as good as such an entrance suggested (the arrogance angle). Instead the band lazed through the set while frontman Steve Bays overcompensated, prancing around like Mick Jagger in a Broadway show. Interestingly, when the band finally kicked in on the last two songs of the regular set, Bays' antics no longer seemed so affected. It was as if he was free to actually perform once the weight of the show was off his shoulders. Had Hot Hot Heat played the whole set like they did the last few songs, they would have lived up to their entrance and their name. Instead, they seemed more like Lukewarm Lukewarm Heat.


Bedouin Soundclash photos:

Review: Hanslick Rebellion - The Rebellion is Here (live)

Label: July 10, 2007

Released: Eschatone Records

The Hanslick Rebellion was once heralded as "possibly the finest band to ever call Albany home" (by a writer from the local paper). I suppose that might be true, but it's still not much of a case for greatness. Neither is the re-issue of this ten-plus-year-old live recording. Back in the 90s, the band established themselves as a regional college crowd favorite and for good reason. They play a loose, jam oriented brand of rock that seems to thrive in every college town. Their originals have that kind of inside-joke rapport with the crowd that makes a band very popular with the locals, but never seems to translate out in the big wide world. Like every local college favorite, they do their share of covers and they do them well. They add funky energy to the Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso" and do the B-52s doing Syd Barrett on "Vegetable Man." They throw in a medley that mixes the Archies and Mighty Mighty Bosstones into "Heroin" which has some tongue-in-cheek charm. The covers are certainly more fun than the originals, but not a single one is even remotely essential.

While the album does capture the live experience well, the Hanslick Rebellion merely manages to give their spin on the forced quirkiness of bands like Barenaked Ladies, just a little angrier and a little less clever. People who enjoyed the local scene around UAlbany in the mid-90s will probably find this to be a fond memory, because the show was clearly a fine time, but that charm is lost on the rest of us.

Rating: 4/10

Website

Myspace

Purevolume

Be friends with Led Zeppelin

In light of the upcoming gig and repackaging, Led Zeppelin now has a Myspace page. You too can be "friends" with one of the all time greats (even if that friendship with John Bonham is posthumous).

In addition to the Myspace presence and yet another repackaging/remastering, Led Zeppelin's whole catalog (yeah, that means Coda too) will finally be available through all online music retailers as of November 13th. Once again, I have to ask, who doesn't own these albums already?

Oh yeah, and they've partnered with Verizon for Zeppelin ringtones, so they've managed to find the one format in which I don't want to hear Led Zeppelin. I don't even grow tired of "Stairway" on the radio, but I'm sick of the ringtones before I even hear them.

Review: Hematovore - Untitled

Label: Acerbic Noise Development

Released: 2004

Hematovore is what you'd get if really heavy, technical bands scored movies. Untitled is a constantly changing landscape, yet the songs flow together into a single piece of work. The band combines layers of the technical thrash of Prong and difficult to nail down avant-garde experimentalism with the melodic theatrics of Queen and Maiden and occasionally even straightforward hard rock for contrast. Just like the flow of a film, the album alternates between calm surfaces with churning undercurrents and all out assaults, sometimes with smooth transitions and other times with agitated mathy shifts. Often drawing comparisons to Pelican, Hematovore actually found their own niche with a grander sound that more tells a musical story than sets a musical mood. While the album is highly technical, it still maintains a rich warmth, making it more a piece of art than the artistic exercise that similar projects often devolve into. It would be an overstatement to say that Hematovore is the John Zorn of metal, but such a sentiment is not without any basis in truth.

Rating: 8/10

Myspace

Review: The Soda Pop Kids - Teen Bop Dream

Label: Full Breach Kicks

Released: September 4, 2007

In their prime, Sweet was only about a half step from being the Bay City Rollers, but that half step made all the difference in the world and Sweet remains one of the best of the early glam bands. However, their close proximity to badness is a potential pitfall they pass on to any band that imitates them. Hence, sounding a bit too saccharine is the Soda Pop Kids biggest problem.

The album starts off on the wrong side of the fine line between Sweet's pop rock goodness and the Bay City Rollers' sickening sweet imitation. The whole album is merely an homage to early 70s glam rock, but the first four tracks lack the edge and energy that better bands combined with AM pop hooks into that inarticulate rock expression of William Blake's innocence versus experience. However, the album picks up down the stretch. Starting with the dirty rock n roll balladry of "Another Cigarette Ends," the album draws a bit on the New York Dolls and pulls itself back onto the right side of the aforementioned line. Whether it's the agitated shuffle of "Six Gun Senorita," the loose soul of "Bloodshot Eyes" or the straightforward pop energy of "The Soda Pop Sting," the second half finds the Soda Pop Kids offering up a worthy tribute to an underserved genre that had its name stolen by inferior though vastly more popular bands a decade later.

Teen Bop Dream is no more trying to change the face of rock n roll than it is trying to hide its identity. This is a revival record that brings very little to the table that wasn't done 35 years ago. However, once it hits stride, it captures a lot of the best qualities of early 70s glam, making it a fun listen even if they are just as cartoonish as the album cover.

Rating: 6/10

Website

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Review: Various Artists - The Heavy Metal Box

Label: Rhino

Released: October 2, 2007

The trouble with this four CD box set is that it splits the difference between serious and cursory metal fans, probably only half-pleasing each camp. The serious metal fan is less likely to be interested, but may find a few gems over the course of the four discs. Certainly Tygers of Pan Tang or Angel Witch aren't in everyone's collection. For those who missed the 80s, there are also some interesting inclusions that are currently running a little pricey on Ebay. It also digs into the roots of metal with Iron Butterfly and Blue Cheer. Still, the vast majority of these tracks would show up in even a moderately complete collection.

For the cursory metal fan, there are far too many tracks that dig down under the surface. Someone with only a passing interest in metal or a bit of nostalgia for days gone by might be thrilled to hear "Metal Health" or "Round and Round" again, it is unlikely that Overkill or Manowar hold the same interest.

The Heavy Metal Box does do a good job of crossing sub-genres and the ocean, serving up songs by everyone from lightweights like Poison to the heaviest of the heavy like Sepultura and everything in between. It also bridges the Atlantic, drawing on bands that were popular here in the states as well as those who only made inroads in Europe. Depending on your interest, this could be a mixed blessing. After all, there isn't a lot of crossover between Cinderella and Testament.

The package, styled after a Marshall head, does look cool, but that only masks the mixed bag inside. In trying to be all things to all people, The Heavy Metal Box is unlikely to really please anyone.

Rating: 5/10

Here's a promo video:

Papermoons tour!

Houston, TX duo Papermoons is leaving for a short tour tomorrow in support of their debut 7-inch. Released in July on Team Science, the record was pressed on gorgeous blue and orange-splattered vinyl and is limited to 500 copies. The 7-inch also comes with a CD version of the four songs and includes a fifth bonus track. Check out the review.

TOUR
-------------------------------------------------------
OCT 12 - Houston, TX @ Proletariat w/ Buxton, Buckly
OCT 13 - Alma, AR @ Damico’s Music Hall
OCT 14 - Lawrence, KS @ The Replay Lounge w/ Cavaliers
OCT 15 - Ottumwa, IA @ Flipside w/ Story Changes, Kineticut
OCT 16 - Macomb, IL @ Day Old Basement w/ Call it Radar
OCT 17 - Highland Square, OH @ The Matinee w/ The Strange Division
OCT 18 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The DAAC w/ Nathan Kalish & The Wildfire, Meneguar
OCT 19 - Akron, OH @ 403 Kling St. w/ Titles + Talons
OCT 21 - Knoxville, TN @ Old City Java w/ Gamenight
OCT 22 - Mobile, AL @ The Mug w/ Hospital
OCT 28 - Gainesville, FL @ FEST 6 / 1982 Bar

Radio Moscow on tour!

Radio Moscow is on tour (joined by Witchcraft in November):

Radio Moscow tour dates :
Oct 13 @ House of Bricks - Des Moines, Iowa
Oct 16 @ Bali Satay - Ames, Iowa
Oct 17 @ The Hurricane - Kansas City MO
Oct 18 @ Under the Mooch Records (instore) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oct 18 @ The Continental - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oct 19 @ Double Wide - Dallas, Texas
Oct 20 @ Scoot Inn - Austin, Texas
Oct 21 @ Circle Bar - New Orleans, Louisiana
Oct 22 @ Chelsea's - Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Oct 24 @ Sluggo's - Pensacola, Florida
Oct 25 @ Martin's Lounge - Jackson, Mississippi
Oct 26 @ Grimeys (instore) - Nashville, Tennessee
Oct 27 @ Star Bar - Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 31 - Private Party - Lawrence, Kansas
Nov 4 @ Gypsy Hut - Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 5 @ Belmont Bar - Detroit, Michigan
Nov 9 @ The Oasis - New London, Connecticut
Nov 10 @ Asbury Lanes - Asbury Park, New Jersey
Nov 11 @ Cary St. Cafe - Richmond, Virginia

Radio Moscow tour dates with Witchcraft :
Nov 16 @ Visual Arts Collective - Boise, Idao
Nov 17 @ Urban Lounge - Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 18 @ Three of Kings - Denver, Colorado
Nov 20 @ Replay Lounge - Lawrence, Kansas
Nov 21 @ Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, Iowa
Nov 22 @ The Entry - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov 23 @ Cactus Club - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nov 24 @ Double Door - Chicago, Illinois
Nov 26 @ The Crofoot - Pontiac, Michigan
Nov 27 @ Grog Shop - Cleveland, Ohio
Nov 28 @ Sound Lab - Buffalo, New York
Nov 29 @ Gothic Stone Church - Brattleboro, Vermont
Nov 30 @ Middle East Club - Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 1 @ The Bowery Ballroom - New York, New York

A review of Radio Moscow's self-titled album will be coming soon!

Can I get a witness?

It's gospel day here at Rock and Roll and Meandering Nonsense. If you're wondering why I'm writing about gospel on a site about rock music, the answer is simple: Gospel rocks! Done well, gospel is as moving as any rock song and it has the same ability to get inside us and carry us away. Also, it affirms my belief that music should save our souls, not damn them, something that is often lost in rock music.

Check out my reviews of the latest releases from the Sojouners and the Paschall Brothers below.

Review: Paschall Brothers - On the Right Road Now

Label: Smithsonian Folkways

Released: October 9, 2007

I recently read something that said the greatest threat to Christianity isn't secularization or moral relativism, but lackluster sermons. People want to be moved. They want a conversion experience. Yet, so often ministers fail to deliver that. Gospel music is in a similar boat. So many gospel recordings sound more like R&B for Jesus. Even a group like the Sojourners who seem to have all the pieces in place, fail to deliver. Perhaps my bar is too high. I want every gospel song to be like the Fisk Jubilee Singers doing "Ezekiel Saw De Wheel" and maybe I just can't have that. Or can I?

The Paschall Brothers come awfully close with On the Right Road Now, their Smithsonian Folkways debut. First of all, they dispense with the backing band and their voices, the harmonies, the rhythms, are so rich and full that it never sounds thin. In fact, their a cappella work has a bigger sound than a lot of rock bands. The recording is pristine and you can hear the voices come together and separate back out into the four part harmonies, making the connection between gospel and its secular step-child Doo-Wop quite clear. They can move from quiet to loud smoothly and the music just resonates inside. The Paschall Brothers aren't just a nice listen. They aren't the easy, safe sermon. They are the conversion experience.

As with all Smithsonian Folkways releases, there is also education involved. The 32 page booklet that accompanies the CD has a history of gospel that's surprisingly thorough despite its brevity. This isn't some half-baked history either. This one comes with a bibliography. It's serious history. The liner notes also provide technical and historical details about each track. It's a perfect example of Smithsonian Folkways' commitment to not only preserving the music, but also giving it a context that truly keeps it alive in our hearts and minds.

Just as the group's patriarch, Rev. Frank Paschall, Sr., tied them to their roots, this CD helps tie us to our own roots through music. The Paschall Brothers sing, "So many church folk just keep drifting away." Those folks must not be going to the Paschall's church.

Rating: 8/10

Website

Review: The Sojourners - Hold On

Label: Black Hen Music

Released: September 24, 2007

When gospel music is on, there's almost nothing that can touch it, but when it's off, it's an awfully tough listen. When I first read about the Sojourners' Hold On, I was intrigued. Here was a trio singing traditional gospel in a traditional style rather than the R&B for Jesus that typically passes for gospel these days. In a sense, the album was all it claimed to be and that made it all the more disappointing when it didn't live up to my expectations.

There is no doubt that Martcus Mosely, Will Sanders and Ron Small can sing. They can harmonize well, but what they fail to do is to truly sing together. They lack the synergy that puts the punch in gospel music. To make matters worse, the backing band, although they do the right thing by sticking to acoustic instruments, have all the energy of a studio band, not a church band. The result is gospel music as it might come out of a barbershop quartet or a vaudeville show.

They do rise to the occasion on "Run On" and "Walking Up the King's Highway," but on "Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb," a song that should certainly have a bang, they exhibit the same lack of explosiveness that pervades the album. All the pieces are in place, traditional gospel, traditional instrumentation, traditional arrangements, good singers, but Hold On still feels like a lackluster sermon.

Rating: 4/10

Review: Bert Susanka - Onward Christian Slater

Label: Cornerstone RAS

Released: February 13, 2007

I once saw an interview with a pro surfer. When asked who was the best surfer in the world, she replied, "The one having the most fun." Bert Susanka might be the musical embodiment of that surfing ideal.

Onward Christian Slater takes the harmonies of the Beach Boys, the down-to-earth grittiness of the Replacements and the quirky eclecticism of They Might Be Giants and wrap it up into a charmingly imperfect package. There are hints of surf, ska, power pop, hip-hop, pop punk, doo-wop, even psychedelia, so the album doesn't really have a lot of musical continuity. However, it's laidback spirit ties it together in a way that can escape even the most single-minded albums. The songs are so close to pop brilliance at times that you might think with just a bit of polish these songs would be amazing. But don't be fooled. Polish would suck the life out of them. It would destroy their beauty. It would crush their spirit. This is an album that's right even when it's wrong.

It's more than just the surf theme that crops up throughout (most notably on the story-song, "The Trip That Needed to be Took") that makes this a surf album. The Beach Boys had far more of that. It's really the essence of surfing that makes it ultimately a surf album and that's something that speaks to more than just actual surfers. In a sense it may also be similar in character to the Dude from the Big Lebowski. This is not an album about the pristine, but the laidback, the easygoing, the happy (even when it's sad). It's an album that "takes it easy for all us sinners."

Rating: 8/10

Myspace

Copyright

If you're thinking about stealing from Rock and Roll and Meandering Nonsense, please note the new copyright notice at the bottom of the page. If you're too lazy or busy to scroll down, it reads, "Nothing I've written here has any kind of copyright that I could enforce even if I wanted to. If you want to steal from me, go ahead. Frankly, I'd be flattered. I'm just happy you're reading my stuff. Peace..."

A more eloquent man said, "This song is Copyrighted in US, under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin' it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, 'cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do." I hope to have captured the same even if my blog (sadly) doesn't kill fascists.

Contest from Deep Elm Records

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Review: The Frantic - Audio & Murder

Label: Sinister Muse

Released: October 30, 2007

In the late 80s, whatever charm hair metal had a few years before was evaporating quickly. Most bands were more interested in fitting the mold than in breaking it. Yet there were still a few bands that worked the formula well enough that they were fun even if they were almost entirely meaningless. Pop punk has found itself in the same position over the last several years. Bands are a dime a dozen and almost none of them are punk bands in anything other than sound (and even that connection is tenuous at times). Chicago's The Frantic is very much in that class.

Their debut album, Audio & Murder, sets them up to be perhaps the Poison of pop punk with a little more work. Of course, that's the last thing any self-respecting punk wants to hear, but there are worse things (like being the Southgang or Trixter of pop punk). The Frantic don't break down any barriers, but they do play a catchy brand of punk that is maybe one part Ramones, one part Descendants and two parts Bad Religion. They don't ever have the sense of the simple pop song that the Ramones have, the teeth of Bad Religion or the clever fun of the Descendants, but they do have a fair amount of good time energy (they ought to, they're all 18 or under).

Most of the album's 25 minutes are standard fare, but played well and with enthusiasm. They do attempt to at least appear to branch out on "Movin' Along," but it just comes off as cheap 70s country rock. If you want to know the difference between The Frantic and a band that created the formula, compare "Heifer" to the Descendants' "Fat Beaver." Both have inane lyrics, but the Descendants pull it off both musically and lyrically. The Frantic end up sounding like they're just getting out of middle school, not high school.

All in all, this isn't a bad first effort from the Frantic. While their list of influences is probably a mile long, they won't be influencing anyone else anytime soon. Still, if they maintain their energy (and write some lyrics that are at least clever if they can't be intelligent), they could be a top commercial pop punk band. I guess that translates into a guilty pleasure at best.

Rating: 5/10

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Heart & Soul: The Story Of Ian Curtis And The Making Of 'Control'

Check out this documentary about the making of the Joy Division film Control at XFM in Manchester, UK.

Review: Mick Jagger - The Very Best of Mick Jagger...and contest!

Label: Atlantic/Rhino

Released: October 2, 2007

Don't miss the opportunity to win a copy of this CD. See the bottom of this review for details.

Other than a song here and there, the Rolling Stones haven't done anything worthwhile since 1972's Exile on Main Street (don't whine to me about Some Girls or Tattoo You, either). Their last album, seen as a return to form by many, was merely the Stones as a cover band of themselves 35+ years earlier. In some ways, it was their most pathetic album, because it showed them trying to be who they once were, as if the passage of time had no effect. The problem with the Stones isn't that Mick and Keith don't have anything left to offer, just that they aren't the Stones anymore and they fail when they try to be. That's why both have been able to release some fantastic solo material during a period when the they've embarrassed themselves in the band.

The Very Best of Mick Jagger collects a number of his songs from his solo albums over the last 22 years. It glosses over She's the Boss and Primitive Cool, drawing only three of its 17 tracks from those two albums. Mick's stronger material from 1993's Rick Rubin-produced Wandering Spirit and 2001's excellent Goddess in the Doorway, two albums that show a definite evolution from the drugs and sex and rock and roll stupidity of his youth, account for seven tracks. Now the math doesn't add up there, does it? That's a good thing, because the remaining seven tracks are either unreleased or likely absent from many people's collections.

Three songs are new to our ears although not newly recorded. "Charmed Life" (recorded in 1992) sounds more like it was recorded in 1979 with the inspiration of Queen's successful foray into disco. The same year gives us "Checkin' Up With My Baby," a Sonny Boy Williamson blues number. From all the way back in 1973 comes "To Many Cooks (Spoil the Soup)," a soul number featuring Al Kooper and Jack Bruce and produced by John Lennon. Two others come from soundtracks. "Old Habits Die Hard" from Alfie (2004) is an emotional ballad with Dave Stewart that finds Mick in his best voice. "Memo from Turner," from 1970's Performance, is another interesting obscure selection. Also included is "(You Got to Walk and) Don't Look Back," Jagger's contibution to Peter Tosh's reggae classic, Bush Doctor. Unfortunately, Jagger's cover of "Dancing in the Streets" with David Bowie also found space on this album. When it was released back in 1985, it had the excuse of being a charity single, but not now. It's almost as embarrassing as Dirty Work or Bridges to Babylon.

All in all, this is a nice collection of Mick's Stones-free work. After listening to the tracks from Wandering Spirit and Goddess in the Doorway, I'd think you'd want to pick those up on their own. However, The Very Best of Mick Jagger still provides enough extra material to make it worthwhile. Plus, it's a lot better than listening to anything the Stones did in the same time frame.

Rating: 7/10

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Contest: Mick Jagger and David Bowie covered "Dancing in the Streets" to benefit the Live Aid charity. They also planned to do it as a duet at the concert, but those plans fell through. Why? Don't put the answer in the comments. Instead, click here to send it to me. I'll announce the winner on October 15, 2007.

Review: Blue Cheer - What Doesn't Kill You...

Label: Rainman Records

Released: August 21, 2007

Most people probably fall into one of two camps regarding their expectations for Blue Cheer's latest album, What Doesn't Kill You: One group expects this album, featuring 2/3 of the Vincebus Eruptum lineup, to be an amazing return to past form, proving that Blue Cheer is as vital today amongst their stoner rock devotees as they were in 1968. The other group expects this, their first album since 1991 (first in the US since 1984), to be just another in a sporadic run of attempts to relive past glory. The truth is that neither is correct.

What Doesn't Kill You does stick largely to what Blue Cheer always did best, slow, heavy, psychedelic grooves. Their mind-altering power doesn't burn quite as brightly as it once did (although the lyrics imply that it is not for lack of drug use) and by and large the new album takes a bluesier turn without abandoning all of their fuzzed out thunder. The opening track is a bit of a shock initially, sounding as though they had spent some part of the last few years listening to Motorhead, but it turns out to be an anomaly. "Young Lions in Paradise," their take on a rock ballad is the album's only misfire, but even there they achieve some degree of heaviness.

For those expecting Vincebus Eruptum, this album won't measure up, but for those fearing a disaster, this will be more than just a pleasant surprise. Blue Cheer does fail to match their past, but in trying they show why they're still imitated almost 40 years later.

Rating: 7/10

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For another opinion on this one, check out the Heavy Metal Time Machine.

Megadeth - That One Night

Label: Image Entertainment

Released: September 4, 2007

Live albums often fail to walk the fine line between "so live that I can't hear it" and "so clean that it sounds like the studio." Megadeth's That One Night, recorded in Buenos Aires in 2005, is not one of them. It is the rare live album that walks that line almost perfectly.

That One Night offers a Megadeth set that draws from nearly all of their albums (only Killing Is My Business and the not released at the time United Abominations make no contributions) with a slight preference for their late 80s/early 90s prime. Megadeth, despite the many line-up changes over the years, has always been a remarkably tight band and this makes it quite evident that it's not just a matter of studio tricks. They're really that good even 20 years down the road.

The one problem with the album is that it doesn't quite compel me to keep listening so much as it makes me think about listening to the studio albums. It does everything right, yet still doesn't offer much to entice the less-than-diehard Megadeth fan to keep coming back. It's not that the album doesn't capture Megadeth's live energy so much as their live energy doesn't offer more than their studio albums. To be fair, that's true of most live albums though.

Rating: 7/10

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Ian MacKaye is dead?

Not really, but this story is kinda funny (or annoying if you're Ian and Dischord who I'm sure got inundated with calls).

Review: St Phillip's Escalator - Endless Trip

Label: Living Eye

Released: 2006

Being a revivalist is a difficult task. How do you stay true to the past yet make it relevant in the present? The simple answer is...you rock! St Phillip's Escalator does just that.

There is no question where the heart of this Rochester, NY trio lies. St Phillip's Escalator brings 60s garage rock to you in a way that's authentic and fresh at the same time. From start to finish, Endless Trip is a nonstop assault of fuzzy guitars, loose rhythms and ghost-of-Keith-Moon drumming that captures both the naivety of the 60s and the headlong dash into losing its virginity. This is no small achievement for a band with 40 years of history and analysis between itself and those halcyon days they're recapturing. They take the sweet pop sense of the British Invasion on dark walk through the psychedelic blues.

Produced and engineered by Chesterfield Kings Andy Babiak and Greg Prevost, who know a thing or two about the garage rock revival, helps St Phillip's Escalator create the most vivid picture of the past since Redd Kross recorded Teen Babes from Monsanto. With neo-garage bands popping up everywhere over the last few years, St Phillip's Escalator is one of the few that present the format undistilled. Endless Trip isn't just a snapshot though. It's more like a time machine.

Rating: 8/10

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Review: Torman Maxt - The Problem of Pain Part 1

Label: Mars Hill Records

Released: July 1, 2007

Concept albums are a difficult endeavor with a variety of pitfalls. Only the very best avoid all of them. Most of these complex albums fall into at least a few of these traps and Torman Maxt's The Problem of Pain Part 1 is no exception. Nonetheless, that shouldn't completely overshadow its strengths.

As the title suggests, the album deals with the difficulty in reconciling a benevolent and omnipotent God with the pain of His creatures. To accomplish this, the album revolves around the Biblical story of Job, a "blameless and upright" man, and the trials and tribulations that put his faith to the test. The first difficulty that Torman Maxt faces is the literalism of the lyrics. They do too much telling and too little showing, giving the words little emotional appeal. The trick here would be to retell the story in a way that is creative and evocative and that just doesn't happen here.

Luckily for Torman Maxt (and most rock artists for that matter), the lyrics don't have to stand on their own, because songs rely just as heavily on music. Another concept album pitfall is that the constraints of the story force the album to be uneven and once again that's the case with The Problem of Pain. The first three tracks come across as technically proficient songs in the realm of Styx or Kansas, not bad for a band that hasn't hit the big leagues yet, but not exactly a ringing endorsement for their ability to rock either. However, beginning with "Satan's First Song," they really draw a lot more color into their music, showing Satan as dark and sinister, the angels as holy and pure. Psychedelic elements evoke the torture of Job's life during these trials. There are a few steps backward into more straightforward arena rock which makes it an erratic ride, but over the course of the album, Job's story is told much better by the music than the lyrics.

As this is only the first part of Torman Maxt's effort to tell Job's story and explain the problem of pain, it is neither the whole story nor the final word. Part 1 is promising enough to generate anticipation for Part 2, both to see where they go with it and how they grow as writers. It's not a perfe3ct concept album, but supposedly better bands have done worse with ambitious undertakings of this sort.

Rating: 6/10

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Cool cover of Pink Floyd's "Bike"

I found this link in a comment over at Imagine Echoes. A band called Mason Proper covered Pink Floyd's cult classic "Bike." Whether you love or hate the cover, it does do everything that a cover should. It's true enough to the original that the song is recognizable, yet the band clearly stamps it as their own. You can download the mp3 here.

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Review: Building the State - Faces in the Architecture

Label: Amnot Records

Released: October 2, 2007

Both indie and math rock can easily degenerate into dispassion on their own. Combining the two should increase that possibility exponentially, making Building the State's latest EP all the more remarkable.

Ringing guitars, complex bass lines, precision drumming, indie rock vocals and ambient sound make up layer upon layer of distinct, yet intertwined noise. Unlike most vocal music where the instrumentation just provides backing for a voice, Building the State is made up of strictly equal parts. In a sense, they seem to be conceptually more like an instrumental group. They capture the ambling pace of indie rock and have just enough pop sense to mask their math rhythms. With only four tracks over its 20 minutes, the songs have room to develop into multi-part pieces, but the transitions are so smooth that the movement from passage to passage is almost imperceptible, moving from the calm before the storm to the storm itself before anyone even notices. This is a pristine album without being cold. It feels loose, but is actually incredibly tight and that's no easy feat.

In a nutshell, Faces in the Architecture draws the best from both indie and math and the combination is on par with the best that both genres have to offer.

Rating: 9/10

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Review: Wooly Mammoth - The Temporary Nature

Label: Underdogma Records

Released: November 28, 2006

With a name like Wooly Mammoth, this band has a lot to live up to. They either have to live up to the name literally as the heaviest of the heavy or ironically as light and fluffy pop. Few will be displeased that they opt for the former even if they don't fully live up to that heaviness.

While I was expecting Wooly Mammoth to take on the extremes of the stoner/doom sub-genre with extended drone jams in the mold of Sleep, they're a much more straightforward band. Like most stoner bands, they have a strong affinity for 70s hard rock, Black Sabbath in particular, and they stay truer to that with heavy riffs and songs that actually move along at a decent clip rather than the experimentalism of their more extreme peers. Occasionally, they drift more into the realm of grunge (a la Louder Than Love-era Soundgarden) which shows that they're rooted more in rock than far out theories. The Temporary Nature does stretch out at times and manages to walk that line between cutting loose and coming unglued, showing it to be both wild and disciplined at the same time.

Wooly Mammoth isn't the band that pushes the limits of heavy music, but without bands that are somewhat grounded, it makes pushing a moot point. On The Temporary Nature, they take heed of the challenges from those who do push without forcing those challenges all at once upon unsuspecting listeners.

Rating: 7/10

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It's coming...

...but who doesn't already have the whole Led Zeppeling catalog?

Review: Bruce Springsteen - Magic

Label: Columbia

Released: October 2, 2007

It's been a long time since Springsteen has released a truly good album. Granted, he did a nice job with the Pete Seeger covers, but his own material has been dull and decidedly adult-oriented. Magic isn't a full return to rock form, but it is a step in the right direction.

From the opening guitar riff and driving drums of "Radio Nowhere," it's clear that Springsteen has at least written a rock record rather than another lackluster attempt to recapture the stripped down authenticity of Nebraska. Even slower tracks like "Your Own Worst Enemy" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" have a big sound with all the trappings of songs that translate well in concert. He does misfire a bit on the title track which falls back into the limp attempt at being understated that characterized albums like Devils and Dust. All in all though, Springsteen has finally released a new album that shows he can write arena-sized songs that appeal to listeners on a personal level, something he hasn't done in almost 25 years. It also seems clear that he wrote this record with live performances in mind. He's tried for years to translate coffee house music to the big stage and failed on both levels. Fans who catch this tour are likely to find that he once again succeeds to connect with a large audience.

Rating: 6/10

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Review: Shocking Pinks - s/t

Label: Astralwerks

Released: September 25, 2007

The latest project of New Zealand's Nick Harte, Shocking Pinks' self-titled album is actually songs collected from the two previous albums. It's a rhythm-based indie rock affair whose ambling beats support yet don't drive it's layers of ambient noise and dream pop. The album has bits of Joy Division and pieces of My Bloody Valentine, giving it both a dark undercurrent and a good pop sense that grounds it despite its oddness. There are only a few outright dance tracks, yet the whole album is in a sense vaguely danceable. When they succeed, the songs are near perfect snippets of moods. When they fail, they are merely disorganized pop songs. Luckily, there is enough of the former to make this album worth hearing.

Rating: 7/10

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Review: DOA - Smash the State (and contest!!!)

Label: MVD Visual

Released: September 1, 2007

In the days where a huge corporate rock band like Rage Against the Machine reunites to enrich themselves under the guise of protest music, seeing a band who lived their message as DOA did is engaging and inspiring. When DOA was tearing up stages in protest to all they saw wrong with the world, there was no major label money, no big arena shows and no slick videos, just some kids trying to make a difference.

No one should be expecting quality recordings of these early events in DOA's career. While the first show (On Broadway, San Francisco, 1980) is actually surprisingly audible, it's immediately followed by by a second San Fran show at the Old Waldorf the following year which is poor even by home movie standards. Most of the DVD splits the difference between the two. What is missing in sound quality is made up for in DIY charm that captures the real energy and spirit of these shows. While I'm sure it's no substitute for having been there, Smash the State is likely the next best thing, capturing the band in all their rabble-rousing glory.

Bonus material includes a music video of only slightly better quality than the homemade live clips and a Canadian news report on punk from 1979 which heavily featured DOA, the latter being an interesting window into a time when punk was not so cool as it is today.

There is little question that DOA, love them or hate them, were the real deal. Can you imagine Rage or System of a Down forgoing the big paycheck to play the Anarchist Anti-Canada Day gig? While DOA has yet to realize their dreams of change, watching Smash the State leaves little doubt that the band believed in them. It's so convincing that I'm surprised there's actually a copyright on the box. I guess the world's still that imperfect.

Rating: 8/10

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Contest:
Rather than ask some silly trivia question, I'm going to give a copy of the DVD to the person with the best answer to this question: What have you done to change the world?

I'll announce the winner on Monday, October 15.