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June Reviews Artist of the Month: Grand Archives Unquestionably, Seattle’s Grand Archives got a leg up given that the group is headed by Mat Brooke of Band of Horses and Carissa’ Wierd fame. And while Brooke’s past benefited Grand Archives (formerly just Archives), the band wouldn’t be where it is now if they didn’t simply just rock. You may have just found your latest craving and pleasure that is anything but guilty. Grand Archives take the BoH’s basic indie rock frame and layer and molest it with terrific Beach Boys-esque melodies that are absurdly appealing. Helping Brooke perfect lovefest harmonies are drummer Curtis Hall, guitarist/keyboardist Ron Lewis, guitarist Thomas Wright, and bassist Jeff Montano; the band also employs horns and strings to fill out their sound. Even though GA first started up in the fall of 2006, a relentless desire to fine-tune every song led to recording at a number of different studios and taking the longer than normal two years for their debut to see the light of day. Grand Archives’ debut begins initially with disinteresting string plucking on “Torn Blue Foam Coach,” before ripping into the melodic indie rock that will accompany you for the rest of the ride. “Miniature Birds” employs the more and more common whistling as bridges, while GA move toward shoegazing on “Swan Matches.” However, these first three songs are only a warm-up for the best song on the record – “Index Moon.” “Index Moon” is a wistful, indie rock classic with big guitars and magical melodies. You can’t go wrong by simply putting “Index Moon” on repeat for a few hours. It is hard to match “Index Moon” and followers “George Kaminski” and “Breezy No Breezy” stumble in this regard, though “A Setting Sun” sets you straight once again with a poppy skipping. “Sleepdriving” slows down the tempo and weaves spacey harmonies across the verse and chorus. “Louis Riel” features labelmate Sera Cahoone to waltz down a short poppy path, while Cahoone joins GA on the rocker “The Crime Window.” Along with “Index Moon,” “The Crime Window” has the most gusto as the whole outfit group sings and you imagine the last song of the night at a dueling piano bar. For reasons entirely non-obvious, Grand Archives decide to close their debut with the anti-climatic, organic plucking “Orange Juice.” The only expectation is that they didn’t want the perfect ending for their debut and thought “Orange Juice” was a good way to throw a wrench in the machine.
A Verse Unsung Capitalizing on their solid EP and touring efforts, the Minneapolis-based A Verse Unsung got hooked up with Somino Artist Group and offer their debut full-length Sleeping Tigers. Similar to their EP, the ten songs on Sleeping Tigers move as heavy punk rock with everything solid, but nothing that’s going to rock your ass off. Thankfully, Verse Unsung don’t come off as just another generic heavy rock band, but they aren’t too far off. If nothing else, the future looks bright for Verse Unsung.
Andy Werth Andy Werth follows up on his 2006 “Back to the Sun” and beats it over the head on this five-song EP. Using the vocal prowess of the Smoking Popes/Duvall and a thick orchestration including piano and Rhodes, Werth can make the completely jaded renew faith in the little guy and that great music still permeates seemingly out of nowhere. For the style of pop that Werth travels, his voice often can’t meet the range that the music demands. Save for the common “Miss Lonely” and “It’s Alright,” the rest of the EP is exciting particularly opener “Goodnight” and the slight 70s glam on “Snowing in Buffalo.”
Arson Anthem The only reason Arson Anthem is getting notice is that they are supergroup of heavy music guys that are more famous than this project ever will be. Featuring Phil Anselmo, Mike Williams, Hank Williams III, and Collin Yeo, Arson Anthem’s raison d’être is to bring the listener back to early 80s hardcore punk metal that was all about attitude and intensity, and very little about sound quality. That’s a great endeavor. Problem is that the music back then sounded that way because these bands were hard, working class guys who did the best they could with what they had. When you have the ability to record high quality music and you offer your debut EP as essentially a mic set up in the middle of the room, it comes off as dishonest. However, there is little doubt that Arson Anthem demolishes live. As a side note, this is the first release on Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Records.
Bayard Russell Bayard Russell’s debut is one of the records where you say ‘if every song sound like song X then this would be a great album.’ The song in question for Russell is opener “Living at My Moms,” where soft, ethereal electro indie pop comes fluttering in on building instruments. Russell could simply stop with that and have a strong number on his hands. While the rest of the record is not as hip as “Living at My Moms,” it is not nearly a failure, coming with songs such as like-minded “I Know,” the acoustic strumming “Crazy for You” and “A Candle That’s Burning,” and the super emo piano ballad “Uptown Harbor.” Bayard Russell is someone to keep an eye on.
Broadband Shortwave Out of Helena, Montana, Broadband Shortwave offer this six-song, pop atmospheric indie rock for your listening enjoyment. Offering a couple of releases over the past few years, Lazy Atoms hints at what one day may be a fantastic band; but who are still searching for their footing. You wouldn’t necessarily call Broadband Shortwave amateur, but neither would you say they’re professional (witness closer “Technicolor”); however, this feeling may all be in the production. Regardless, sink your teeth into strong opener “Monster,” the sweet melodies of “City Lights,” and the mellow and soft “Space Real Estate” where classic indie rock vocal cadences are employed. Broadband Shortwave are a band to keep an eye on – and could be Sub Pop’s next signing.
Carry the Torch Carry the Touch reminds us that you can do a lot within the span of a four-song EP. This Sacramento outfit merges heavy hardcore with massively complex and intricate rhythmic solos that move in and out of melodic sections. Passing through the EP you get the feel of New Jersey melodic hardcore bands mixed with intricately heavy hardcore bands. One thing is for sure – Carry the Torch rip out some awesome songs. Come and feast.
Casy and Brian Moving on from their former band Dalmatians, Casy M. and Brian M. joined quirky forces by bringing together beats and electronics to make their own version of dance, electro-punk noise. Originally from Seattle, you’d swear that Casy and Brian are from the 3.1.G. crowd save for the actual reliance on rhythms and apparent lack of hard drug usage. On the pair’s debut full-length, Casy and Brian smash through a gaggle of influences on ten songs that mostly wind-up a little over a minute. As continually mentioned on the opener, Casy and Brian are rocking their sound on Catbees for themselves and if anyone else wants to get into it all the better.
Elbow If the moniker Elbow sounds familiar to you, there are probably two reasons. First, the band name Elbow just sounds too obvious for a band to actually use. Second, the band Elbow has been releasing music since the late-90s and you have likely come across them in some regard. The English outfit originally launch on Island before moving to an indie after label cutting before winding up on V2. Now on the Fiction/Geffen label, Elbow’s fourth record The Seldom Seen Kid continues their thick, poppy modern rock with excellent production. With most songs cresting on four-to-five minutes, the eleven-track The Seldom Seen Kid is best felt as background music and not a track-by-track skipping. That is, the album as a whole is appealing, though you’d be hard pressed to locate a natural standout number.
Every Avenue On Every Avenue’s debut full-length for Fearless, the boys from Michigan knock out eleven, catchy pop-filled punk numbers on Shh, Just Go With It. Every Avenue first got national attention with their EP Ah! released in August, allowing them to build anticipation for this record. Taking the standard route of touring with like-minded punk bands and those slightly harder, Every Avenue take their game to another level on Shh. It is easy to write off Every Avenue as just another new pop punk band that prefers to see themselves featured on MTV than Maximum Rock N’ Roll. Yet, allowing a just a few spins of Shh, you soon find yourself enjoying the catchiness too much. Such fun-inducing songs include opener “Days of the Old,” “Where We You,?” “A Story to Tell Your Friends,” “Trading Heartbeats,” and even the slightly-too-mainstream “Think of You Later (Empty Room)” is enticing. Making a curmudgeon smile with this type of music takes skill.
Eyes Set to Kill Seen it and heard it all before. On this Tempe-based, five-piece’s debut full-length, Reach slashes through twelve tracks of melodic hardcore mixing female vocals in lighter sections to male screaming in heavier sections. Even though there is nothing truly new here, Eyes Set to Kill are quite adept at executing their melodic hardcore and have the feel of true pros. When sisters Alexia and Anissa Rodriguez’s vocals are well-merged with the heavier sections and screams, Eyes are at their best. Such examples include the title-track, “Violent Kiss,” “Where We Started,” and closer “Behind These Eyes.” Bad moments are when Eyes move to nearly-exclusive heavy songs and their odd acoustic-filled ballads. The more curmudgeon among us will give Eyes Set to Kill minimal props, but younger folks and those totally into melodic hardcore will likely embrace the quintet with due spirit.
Flying When you see that a release is on Menlo Park, you know it’s going to be strange and quirky music – the unknown is whether it will be good or bad weirdness. The trio of Eliot Krimsky, Sara Magenheimer, and Eben Portnoy do achieve strangeness, but their blend of organic urban sounds and intermittent sweet melodies makes Faces of the Night an enjoyable listen. Outfitted with similar minded outfits like Deerhoof, Shapes and Sizes, and the Curtains, Flying illustrate the potential to dazzle on Faces of the Night, but they also show the ability to just get on your nerves. Highlights come courtesy of “Cloud of Doubt,” “The Wrong Hearts,” the lo-fi “Draw It In the Dark,” and the lengthy “Fire Truck.” Somewhere in Brooklyn, an indie rock band grows.
Her Vanished Grace On this NYC-based band’s fourth release, Her Vanished Grace push forth ten songs of mild-tempo, shoegazer indie rock that hints more towards acts like Echo and the Bunnymen than contemporary gazers. Featuring the ethereal lead vocals of Nance Nieland and Charlie Nieland, HVG are seemingly a fabulous producer and large recording budget away from being one of the tops in the shoegazer pop realm. Although many of the songs meander through four to five minute gawkers, check out “In Between,” the cute “Motor,” “It’s Not Love,” and the super awesome riffs on “Shining” from some flair and excellence. Her Vanished Grave are a band to keep an eye on.
Holy Roman Empire Bedroom recordings are fun when you can listen back and hand them to friends that like you and actually care about what you’re doing. Beyond that the magic/relevance of the recordings drops like a lead weight. And indeed such is the case on Egress – the Holy Roman Empire’s (aka Lucas Williams) foray into the eclectic, mostly acoustic world of bedroom recordings. My ears hurt.
Kristen Bergman This outfit tries desperately to achieve the mostly acoustic and instrumental whispers that inspire ethereal, dream-like hauntings. Instead, most of the four tracks pull painfully at your teeth and wish to bid them ado.
L’Ocelle Mare This is one of the worst pieces of music I’ve heard in some time. L’Ocelle Mare is one Thomas Bonvalet, of the mildly enjoyable Cheval de Frise, and this sixteen-track record is like stabbing pins into eyeballs over and over again. Bonvalet simply works over an acoustic guitar with complete randomness and bullshit. I could have recorded this in my bedroom in two hours.
Loom On this five-song EP, Salt Lake City’s Loom offer their own version of angular indie punk with varying odes to Cursive, Joan of Arc, and an array of southern college town indie bands. The two items that undeniably stand out on Angler are the continuing background use of violin and that almost all the vocals are group sung. This creates for some good moments on such numbers as opener “Castles,” “Hourglass,” and closer “Yell.” Loom are providing an interesting take on a well-worn indie road, but they haven’t reached their potential in how to take advantage of their distinguishing characteristics. More development will move Loom to another level.
New Bloods When you see the cover art and that the record is on KRS, you realize that the moniker New Bloods does not refer to a bunch of young loud punkers or an evil metal band. Instead, New Bloods are a Northwest all-female trio of indie punkers, like many that have come before on KRS. The problem here is that New Bloods aren’t that good and sound like they just threw the songs together at the last minute. Even the bad lyrics and vocals aren’t endearing – that’s a huge negative in this world. Ouchers.
Once Nothing Pittsburgh’s Once Nothing self-description as “Blue-Collar Metal” is so obvious and perfect it is amazing that the term didn’t already exist as a means of sub-categorization. Don’t get the idea that Once Nothing play cock-metal, spandex-loving 80s stuff – instead they smash your head into walls with a strong melding of attack metal and tough balls hardcore. With a set of four-plus minute songs, First Came the Law merges so many subgenres into one sound that never comes off as half-baked or forced. This is particularly the case on such fantastic songs as “Avoid Me Like the Plague” where Converge-style sledgehammer guitars open to southern rock riffing before a melodic shift. Once Nothing is some good shit.
PlayRadioPlay! Recently it seems that new bands on Island are either terrible commercial rock outfits or are terrific, hidden gems. Thankfully for the world as a whole, PlayRadioPlay fall into the later category of awesomeness. PRP is actually one youngster Daniel Hunter, now with a live supporting band, who offers super catchy electronic indie rock – with obvious nods to the Postal Service and the more contemporary The Secret Handshake. This may sound like a nightmare for some, but it is difficult to deny that Hunter’s melodies get your knees and head moving. Most songs verging between four and five minutes, Texas opens on the call-to-the-world “Loco Commotion” before moving to the like-minded but even poppier “I’m a Pirate, You’re a Princess.” Other songs to take notice of include “Some Crap about the Furniture,” “Madi Don’t Leave,” “My Attendance is Bad,” and “I’m Afraid There’s a Hole in My Brain.” PlayRadioPlay is an electronic indie-rock machine that will snare all he encounters – prepare yourself.
Polydream More than usual, if every song on the ten-track Send Me to the Sun was of the brilliance of the first track “Catch Me If You Can” this would be a fantastic album. Instead, Polydream move off of the atmospheric magical pop rock of the opener and towards generic pop rock that would hear in coffee shops or super mellow bars. It is not that the rest of Send Me to the Sun is terrible, it simply pales in comparison to “Catch Me If You Can.” This one song has the potential to get Polydream noticed on a national-level; just in time for the shift towards digital singles.
Prizzy Prizzy Please This Bloomington, IN collective rock out with their cocks out trying to destroy nine songs with their patently spazz punk on their self-titled release. Hence, Prizzy Prizzy Please are not that off from the 31G San Diego posse, as you are constantly reminded throughout. Yet, PPP actually do have song structure and punk is more of an element than just simply a noise attack. Further, in spots there are actually melodies – witness “Too Many T-Shirts” and “Captain Bob.” Also, check out the absurd Michael Jackson-like “CampFire Girls Weekend Party.” Prizzy Prizzy Please are a fun, drunken college band, but that may be where they stay.
Salt the Wound When an evil metal band claims to have been founded on September 11, 2001, you have to assume they actually weren’t formed then; too much perfect back story. Regardless, Carnal Repercussions is Cleveland’s Salt the Wound’s debut record and provides a fairly standard set of high tempo, speed guitars, and cookie monster mixed with banshee vocals. You wouldn’t call Salt the Wound straight up metal – no lame ass, metal guy moments – but they neither fit into the metalcore classification. A decent comparison is to a less esoteric and talented Dillinger with a great emphasis on structure. All in all, Carnal Repercussions is a pretty badass display.
Set in Sand Saying something is set in sand is like saying you have a memory like a mud trap. Set in Sand is actually one Lendin Hopes and this moniker serves the producer an outlet for his electronic compositions that step between hip instrumentals and borderline awful speaking rhymes. The opening number “In a Sense a Flowers” is terrific instrumental electronic bliss and it sets you up for great expectations on the rest of Nothing Against the Ocean. However, nothing else matches “In a Sense a Flowers” prowess and when Hopes lends his voice, the song quality drops like a weight. More often than not, Set in Sand comes off like a marginal Cex with more of a nod towards the goofy. Potential for greatness exists here, but it is not realized at present.
Skeletons with Flesh on Them Seattle’s Skeletons with Flesh on Them are way too damn good not to be sitting with a substantial record contract supporting them; unless their goal is to pursue the DIY route a la Clap Your Hands. Though The Fish Don’t Mind only is a six-song EP, the fact that the songs typically reach four and five minutes the record comes off closer to a full-length. Skeletons strike you as a quirky melodic indie rock band that clearly has that ‘local band sound’, but are also breaking out of that mold. Their one-sheet comparison to Pavement is dead on for the quirky indie moments, but Scott Roots’ vocals are too goofy/nerdy (in a good way) leading the Skeletons’ melodic charge to pin as a knock off. Songs to take note of include the great opener “Bein’ in Love,” “Houseguests,” and the slow “Everybody is our Savior.” Seemingly, if Skeletons can get a producer to take their sound to the next level, they could be a force.
Sump Pumps When you name your band Sump Pumps you know you won’t be writing meaningful, serious songs. And such is the case with this Bloomington, IN four-piece who blast through ten songs of quirky electronic pop punk. Not exactly a joke band, but not too far off Sump Pumps range between super fast punk like opener “Space Camp” and more electronic new wave styled songs like “The Mechanical” and the quicker “Shortest Fuse.” One imagines that having to sit through an opening set by the Sump Pumps wouldn’t be that bad whatsoever.
Sunny Day Sets Fire Assumingly tying Sunny Day Real Estate and Boy Sets Fire into one package, although sounding like neither, Sunny Day Sets Fire is accompanied by several friends in this one original song and swath of remixes EP. The original song is the solid indie poppy “Stranger,” plus a radio version, while six remixes are included but only two of “Stranger.” Those remixes are from The Slips who take “Stranger” make it uber-distorted dance electronica and The Cool Kids who make things more haunting. CSS remix “Wilderness,” XXXChange takes on “Adrenaline,” while Baron Von Luxxury and Mad Decent offer their remixing skills to “Brainless.” These off-remix albums generally only have marginal value, but this one is somewhere above the cut-off.
The Attorneys You’ll likely be tempted to assume that the Attorneys are literally lawyers who decided to rock but their name is dictated by a NYC landmark instead. The Attorneys rock out ten songs of catchy modern rock on their debut Stereocracy that crosses such influences as Weezer and a host of piano pop rock bands (e.g., Ben Folds Five). And in that regard the Attorneys are a good listen and generally are a host of fun. Stereocracy opens on the fantastic “On a Whim” is a catchy as all-get-out and you’ll be hitting repeat to savor the poppiness. Even though the rest of Stereocracy doesn’t follow on the magic of “On a Whim,” you aren’t left out in the cold as the Attorneys offer strong numbers in soul-flavored “Open Up,” “Stay,” “Madison,” and “Anytime.” The Attorneys have a lot to build with and hopefully this is just a taste.
The Cure The ultimate dark modern rock band the Cure is setting up for their most recent venture on Suretone and “The Only One” is one of the choice cuts off of the forthcoming record. For the Cure, “The Only One” is quite poppy and if sadness exists you are going to have to decipher it from the lyrics. “The Only One” is a song to keep spinning and boads well for the new record.
The Details The Details are one of the best bands that you’ve likely never heard of; and it definitely is not all in the details – you know it within in a minute of the opening song “Always, Always, Always, Never.” This Winnipeg four-piece pull from the best Canadian indie rock bands and make it all uniquely theirs. In one of the rare instances where the RIYL is dead-on, the Details specifically combine the best of the Weakerthans and Okkervil River, and do it in a manner to make it sound comfortable, warm, and not a rehashing. “Always, Always, Always, Never” is a fantastic opener – slow burning indie rock gem – but Draw a Distance. Draw a Border doesn’t crest with that one song. The Details move onto to rock you with the more straight-ahead “Reunion Souvenirs,” the lighter rocker “Underground,” “A National Anthem,” the organic rocker “Capture and Develop,” and simmering “Hit Parades.” A close listen on headphones uncovers a smidgen of rough production, but blasting from your stereo you can’t tell any difference. You have just found the latest undiscovered band that makes you cooler than all your friends.
The Epochs Simply knowing who the Epochs have rocked with provides a fairly strong notion of their sound and vibe. These boys have taken the stage at shows with the Walkmen, Tokyo Police Club, and Girl Talk, and clearly they carry the hip indie band logo. The Epochs go for the bombastic electro-fused indie rock that’s high on getting people to move their feet to all sorts of tempos. The highlights of this include the Elliot Smith-styled voice on opener “Thunder & Lightning,” “Opposite Sides,” the poppy acoustic “Head in the Fire,” and “Right On.” Sometimes, however, the Epochs try to push soul onto your ears and the whole thing just falls apart – see “Mister Fog.” The Epochs have much to build and mature with here and with enough buzz you’ll hear, and have likely heard, tons about these guys.
The Eye The Ear and The Arm Within the first several songs of LA’s The Eye The Ear and The Arm’s record Paths you come to the fairly concise image of a bunch of indie rock guys blending 80s new wave pop with traditional rock. The problem is that the EEA don’t have the prowess at present to successful accomplish this blending. The foundation and basic attraction is there, but there is also a certain element of amateurism that floats throughout the eleven songs; almost as if more talented musicians could rework the songs and create magic. Find baseline levels of enjoyment from “Sell This,” “The One With the Gold Tongue,” and “All Claws and Teeth” and hope for better times in the near future.
The Gutter Twins Sub Pop has been on such a run over the past few years, you almost always expect awesomeness on every release heading out of their Seattle HQ. The Gutter Twins, however, are a let down. The Twins are Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, QOTSA) and Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, the Twilight Singers), both of whom are noted frontmen, who have collaborated with a gaggle of friends for Saturnalia. The problem is that the whiskey-soaked, rootsy, baroque rock of the Gutter Twins is so-so at best and entirely annoying at worst. You have to respect the work Lanegan and Dulli have done, but the twelve songs on Saturnalia just don’t cut it. Wished for awesomeness and got none.
The Maine The Maine are a band that most struggling bands would love to emulate and more possibly strangle. Starting in varying stages of high school and not, this five-piece from Phoenix played their first show to over 600 people and a list of label scouts; soon after which they signed with Fearless. WTF? Given this you are probably asking whether the Maine the next great thing? Not so much. As demonstrated on the five-song The Way We Talk, the Maine play catchy, melodic soft punk where the goal is make sure each song sticks you in head. Pretty good for a bunch of youngsters, but nothing here is going to knock you out. One assumes that if they stick together the Maine will someday be something special.
The Ruby Suns If you left it up to the opening track “Blue Penguin” on The Ruby Suns’ debut for Sub Pop, you would throw the record out the window and be done with it. “Blue Penguin” is five minutes of various field recordings, all kind of smashed together into nonsensical nonsense. However, the following “Oh, Mojave” with its sunshine, beach feel mixed with Americana has you coming to take another look at Sea Lion. The Ruby Suns are headed by Ryan McPhun, an American who has made New Zealand his home, and are filled out by Amee Robinson and Imogen Taylor. McPhun and the Ruby Suns have played all around Australia and NZ, and are now set on surfing in on an eclectic Jack Johnson wave. Not entirely brilliant, a number of tracks surprise you. “Tane Mahuta” is similar in form to “Oh, Mojave” and sung in the indigenous language Maori. Taking a completely different avenue, “There Are Birds” is all Silver Lake shoegazing rock mixed with bits of eclectic percussion. “Adventure Tour” is a rambling good time, while the closer “Morning Sun” switches several moods over its six minutes and ends with an odd parallel to dancey Depeche Mode. There are a number of strong elements under the eclecticism of Sea Lion; you just need to parse them out.
The Warner Logic It is difficult to imagine being in a band in Alaska. With a relatively small population, great expanses between locals, and just crappy weather, I’ve always admired bands from there; although the amount of time spent indoors might be beneficial to rocking. The Warner Logic, now obviously from Alaska, rock out jangly indie rock that rides a slightly lo-fi vibe on the nine-song Easiest to Grab. Comparisons to Brian Jonestown Massacre are appropriate, but less spazzy and more mid-tempo college radio filled. The highlights here come courtesy of the title track, “Ambulance,” and closer “What Began to Splinter.”
Up the Fury Even though Up the Fury boast some serious LI pedigree, their style of heavy hardcore only comes across as average to simply staid. The ten-song debut Behind Every Mind chugs along at often a moderate pace that hurts some of the better guitar sections (see, e.g., “Dude, We’d Have Like $900”) and when Up the Fury do raise the tempo it pushed too far. The only track that actually seems up the task of representing is the four-minute “From My Cold Dead Hands” – still a mostly moderate tempo, but the guitars rule and the throat seems the most genuine here. Behind Every Mind will keep those in the NYC-area HxC scene content, but it isn’t going to rip your balls off.
V/A Is this the inevitable consequence of music today? Melodic punk’s attempt to go gangster on Fearless Records’ terrible idea of covering hip-hop songs is generally scary; and it is not like many of the covers are of crunk acts. The general trend is for these punk bands to pretend they’re quasi-rap acts and do a half-assed version. It is only a handful of bands that take the material and turn it in to what they do best – rock. Among the highlights are the excellent cover of Akon’s “I Wanna Love You” by the Maine (this cover saves the album from one of the worst ever), The Devil Wears Prada’s version of Big Tymers’ “Still Fly,” the cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” by the impressive All Time Low, and Lorene Drive’s version of “Hey Ya!” (a song that’s impossible to fuck up and make sound bad). The few savers here might be best snagged as singles instead of the album at large.
Weezer This is the first single off of Weezer’s latest self-titled album for DGC, and in pure Weezer form “Pork and Beans” moves between catchy light verses to a catchy heavy chorus. The word on the street is that the song is direct response, with tongue-in-cheek, to DGC saying there were no singles on Weezer’s red album. “Pork and Beans” sounds as if you mixed early, quirky Weezer with the some of the more recent “heavy” songs. Fun.
Yesan Damen Somehow this debut from Yesan Damen got buried underneath the swath and array of records currently filling the spare room. Initially listened to and set to be written on, Chronos/Kairos got lost along the way. When I finally re-discovered the record, I smacked myself for not including at least one full listen a day to be regimen. Yesan Damen go for Belle & Sebastian melody simplicity mixed with indie rock flair along the lines of Pavement with a bit of Silver Lake shoegazing. Regardless of the gaggle of comparisons you can make, the bottom line is that Yesan Damen are awesome! This is quickly established on the opening song “Whoa!” which is like the long-lost soundtrack to your life. “Whoa!” is obviously the star number, but you aren’t left hanging with such great songs as the rocking “Monuments to Ambition,” the shoegazing “Osaka,” “Outer Space,” the mellow “Consequence,” “American Riot,” and the busy closer “Canons of Devotion.” These songs are the highlights, but also you will not find any bad songs among the bunch. Although released in January, Chronos/Kairos should comprise a substantial portion of your chill-out summer soundtrack. Anything less than the highest attention is selling Yesan Damen short.
Yikes! You have to spend at least a little bit of time with a band that draws a giant Yeti-type creature on their album cover. SF-based Yikes! is lead by John Dwyer along with Eric Park and Mike Donavan, and on this seven-song EP the trio blast mid-to-fast tempo mega distorted guitars and vocals in a lo-fi colonic. If you love distorted noise with decent structure then Yikes may be for you.
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