Listen To This In 2005
by Neddal Ayad
I'm not even going to attempt a year-in-review, as I'm completely and
thoroughly burnt on the whole concept of "top whatever" lists. It seems
like over the past weeks I've been inundated with lists.
Lists of records, lists of movies, lists of books, lists of lists [I'm not joking,
poke around some of the music blogs and you'll see what I mean].
Having said that, I did do a short piece on some of the discs spent a lot of time
in my player here.
There's a bit of crossover with the reviews below, but there's enough
other stuff that it's worth checking out.
Why that piece is there and not here, is a bit complicated. The short version is that
the person who normally inhabits the blog, an author by the
name of Jeff VanderMeer [read his books] asked me
to blog-sit for a while and really, what am I going talk about besides
music?
Since I missed the last review update, I'm going to sneak in the following
reviews in place of a 'year in review' kind of thing. I'd also like to
second the thoughts expressed in Drew's editorial regarding the horrific tsunami in
Asia and the death of Dimebag Darrell.
25 Suaves- "I Want It Loud"
Bulb/Bastard Son
On this, the follow-up to last year's excellent "1938" the
25 Suaves have
changed things up a little: They've gained a member, bassist Dave Sahijdake;
they've tightened their sound considerably; and most importantly discovered
METAL. This means that everything on this disc is bigger, meaner, and yes,
louder, than anything they've done previously.
The change is apparent from the opening track, "Turn Up The Music" which has
an up-tempo 'Priest meets Motorhead vibe and sets the tone for the rest of
the album. The 'Suaves give the disc a good sense of pacing by throwing in a
surprise such as the sludgy "Born Dead" about every third song.
Most bands treading these waters fuck it up somehow, either they do everything with a
wink and a smirk, they take it too seriously or worst fall they just don't
get it. The 'Suaves manage to avoid these pitfalls by playing it loud, mean,
and with a snarl.
Can - "Monster Movie", "Soundtracks", "Tago Mago" & "Ege Bamyasi"
Mute Records/ Spoon Records
I something to admit: before receiving this set of
Can re-issues
I'd heard exactly one Can song. I was aware of them, I'd read a few articles about
them, I'd read chapters in books about them, seen books devoted to them,
heard other musicians rave about them, but somehow I never got around to
checking out an album.
So I feel like I'm at a bit of a disadvantage when writing about these discs. For example, I have
no idea how SACD sound quality compares to the original vinyl and CD releases. I haven't had years
to familiarize myself with the albums and believe me, there is a lot of
material to take in over these four albums.
On the other hand, sometimes an outside perspective can be a good thing. One
thing that jumped right out at me was that the music isn't that strange.
Can fanatics would have you believe that what they were doing on these early
discs was totally divorced from the rest of the music current at the time;
"The music was like nothing I'd ever heard before, not american [sic], not
rock 'n' roll, but mysterious and European, a true occult sound", writes
Primal Scream's Bobbie Gillespie in the liner notes to "Tago Mago."
It's not that I put much stock in what Gillespie has to say, but a lot of writing
about the band is similarly breathless. The truth of the matter is that
while Can certainly had their own sound, their music certainly isn't far
removed from their more experimental contemporaries; Hendrix, The Doors, The
Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and late-period Beatles.
What they did do was come at the rock from a different angle; they weren't a
"rock" band in the typical sense of four or five guys from similar
backgrounds working their way from R&B covers to original material. They were
classical and free jazz musicians looking to escape.
One of the things that jumps right out at the novice listener is what an
incredibly tight rhythm section the band had in bassist Holger Czukay and
drummer Jaki Liebezeit, just check out the awesome groove on the epic "Yoo
Doo Right" from "Monster Movie", or the samba-like beats on "Don't Turn the
Lights On, Leave me Alone" [and note its resemblance to the Rolling Stones'
"Sympathy for the Devil"] from "Soundtracks", or the bizarre-funk of
"Halleluhwah" from "Tago Mago."
It also becomes apparent just how much of an influence Can were on our
little subgenre, especially on the loose conglomerate of musicians from Palm
Desert responsible for it's "modern" incarnation... The Can influence is
especially prominent on the first couple of Queens of the Stone Age EP's
and the self-titled CD, and the band has admitted as much.
So, where to start? The consensus seems to be that "Tago Mago" is the Can
disc to have. I'm not quite sure, having sat down with all four
discs. "Monster Movie", and "Soundtracks" have
an edginess that seems to have been curbed by "Tago Mago", or it may
be that "Tago Mago", originally issued as a double album is too much of a good
thing [although it does contain the afore mentioned "Halleluhwah"]. "Ege Bamyasi" has the
ominous, almost broken sounding, yet strangely funky "Spoon."
And that's the problem. All of the discs have something to recommend them.
Of course fans of the band are going to want them all, for those new to the
band I'd suggest starting with "Monster movie" and then moving on to "Tago
Mago" and if those discs grab you, moving on to "Soundtracks" and "Ege
Bamyasi."
Fireballs of Freedom - "Greasy Retrospective"
Wantage Records
It's hard to believe, but the Fireballs of Freedom have been
around for almost ten years [longer if one counts the "Honky Sausage" years]. I was first turned on to
them about four or five years ago when a band mate of mine dubbed me a copy of "Total Fucking Blowout."
It rocked harder than just about anything going at the time, and this was at a time when there was a
lot of solid rock 'n' roll being recorded.
This compilation collects tracks from their first couple of singles, released on Wantage
and Empty records; unreleased tracks from the sessions for those singles; recordings
from the "Honky Sausage"- era of the band along with the earliest stuff recorded after the
name change; and some more recent material recorded with Tim Kerr.
One thing that becomes apparent is that the Fireballs... had their sound in place from day one. If
the dates and recording info weren't listed on the sleeve, it would be next to
impossible to guess which songs were recorded when. That's not to say that everything sounds the
same, but the Fireballs are a band that found their sound and stuck with it.
And what a sound! They play a messy, angry, and scrappy mix of punk, southern
rock and old fashioned hard rock. It's not a sound that's derivative of any one band; over
the course of a song you'll catch a nod to U.S punks like The Germs, Pagans, or
Black Flag; there'll be a solo that brings to mind Lynyrd Skynryd, a darker section that
conjures early 'Sabbath, another that invokes vintage Alice Cooper. It's a heady
mix, and good stuff.
Unlike a lot of "odds and sods" collections, this disc holds together as an album
and makes an excellent place to jump in and get to know the Fireballs of Freedom.
The International Playboys - "Sexiful"
Motron Records
If this disc had arrived in my mailbox a month earlier, and I had done of 2004 list, it would
have been on it. As it stands, it's an early contender for my "Best of 2005," provided that
I don't succumb to list overload again next year.
What's so great about the disc? The International Playboys play
raw, sex-addled rock 'n'roll. There don't seem to be any gimmicks, just five guys and
a whole pile of killer riffs and catchy tunes.
The music is a sauntering, swaggering mixture of riffs lifted from Aerosmith, the New
York Dolls, and AC/DC. The singer, Monty Carlo, I don't want to say he makes the band, but he
somehow manages to sound like Bon Scott, Janis Joplin, Taime Downe, and the guy from
Nazareth rolled into one. That's not to diminish the rest of the band
though, as they absolutely rip.
What really makes the disc for me, is that the band has balls. How many bands
would have the balls to straight-faced cover Gladys Knight and the Pips
and Nazareth on the same disc? How many could pull it off? Very few. The International
Playboys do it, and do it with style.
The Juanita Family and Friends - "S/T"
Family Plan Records
The Juanita Family and Friends consist of Lana Rebel from the
math / metal band Last of the Juanitas and a
bunch of friends [thus the name] getting together to lay down some traditional
sounding country music.
Now a lot of Roadburners might wonder why I'm writing about what, for all
intents and purposes, is a straight up country record. As I'm sure some of our
more musically adventurous readers know, country music and doom have
quite a bit in common [Stop laughing].
Songs about alienation, loss, and altered
states [booze mostly, in country music, everything else in the doom] are the
meat of both genres.
The songs move along at similar tempos, and when done right both
will make you cry [ok, not so much crying with the doom, but you know what I mean].
Back to the Juanita Family and Friends... They're a surprisingly good country band.
Lana Rebel has a sweet, sad voice perfectly suited to the tales of longing, heartache, and
loneliness she spins in her lyrics.
Her backing band is loose enough to give the music an edge, without ever devolving
into sloppiness.
The disc has the vibe of a late night / early morning jam session, and makes
for great late night / early morning listening. Especially those late
nights / early mornings when you've been out too late, had too much to drink, and can't
take Jus from Electric Wizard screaming about zombies.
Hopefully this disc will entice some people into checking out similar stuff by Neko
Case, Gillian Welch, and Dwight Yoakam, and maybe prompt them to dig a
bit a bit further back into the music of Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, and
Loretta Lynn.
Write the Juanita Family.
Lost Sounds - "S/T"
In the Red Records
When I first heard this disc a verse from The Misfits' "All Hell Breaks
Loose" came to mind, "I send my murdergram / To all these monster kids
It comes right back to me and it's / Signed in their parents' blood
And broken bodies in a death rock dance hall / Please be my partner
And eyeballs pop, accelerated blood beat / Veins a-shaking..."
The Lost Sounds would be the perfect band to play that
'death rock dance hall.'
The band refer to what they do as 'black wave' [black metal + new wave =
black wave]. It's a fairly apt description, as they do take the cold,
isolated vibe of black metal and marry it to the cold, isolated vibe of new
wave.
Black metal fans may be disappointed however, as the Lost Sounds lean
more towards the "new wave" side of the equation; the disc is bursting at
the seams with ultra catchy keyboard hooks and piles of melody [although the
songs "Ophelia" and "We're Just Living" have some nasty riffing].
At times the Lost Sounds bring to mind a science fiction obsessed Murder City
Devils -check out "Clones Don't Love", "Let's Get Sick", and "And You Dance."
The Narrows - "Alligator"
Wantage Records
I wrote about the Narrows most
recent full-length, "The Skull at Life-Size" in an earlier Roadburn update. "Alligator" collects their
first two records, "Days are Numbered" [2000] and "Six Ten" [2001]. The music is in the
same vein as "The Skull at Life Size," heavy, oppressive riffs along with warbling vocals
that alternate between broken voiced singing and more intense almost-screaming.
The lyrics revolve around alienation, recrimination, self-disgust, and crumbling
relationships. It's heavy stuff, emotionally and musically, and fits
nicely next to your Floor, Slint, Slow-Horse, and Codeine records.
Quick Shots:
Gin Palace's debut full length
"Kicking On" picks up exactly where last year 's "Kill-Grief" e.p. left off
with their savage, staggering blend of Black Flag, Black Sabbath, and The Cramps.
Speaking of which of The Cramps. This
past fall The Cramps released "How to Make a Monster" a
2xCD set of demos and early live shows. This is The Cramps at their most raw, and that's saying
something. Fans will be all over this, newcomers might want to start with one of the studio albums.
This past fall also saw the release of Growing's "The Soul of
the Rainbow and the Harmony of Light", their follow-up to last year's "The Sky's Run
Into the Sea" [which was one of my favourite, if not my favorite record of
2003].
On this new disc the band lets things swing a bit too far over into ambient territory, losing a
lot of the urgency that made "Sky's Run." so great. Still, "The Soul." is better than a good 90% of
what's out there, so it's definitely worth a look.
On their disc "Character Assassins" Missoula,Montana's Ass-End Offend deal
in brutal hardcore / punk rock that bridges the gap between old-school Poison Idea-inflected
hardcore, the crustier crossover stuff from the early to mid-nineties, and the more
recent crop of hardcore bands influenced by the rosters of labels like Hydra Head and
Deathwish Inc. This is music for breaking things -walls, windows, people... and is great
for those days when you're pissed at everyone and everything.
Records Neddal wants to hear in 2005:
- Torche [Steve, ex-Floor's new band] - TBA, due on Robotic Empire.
- Buzzov.en - Re-issues due on Alternative Tentacles
- Joe Preston - The new solo album
- Something new from Federation X
- Septic Youth Command [Jonah fm. Milligam's new project]
- Last of the Juanitas - "In The Dirt"
- The proper Screaming Trees retrospective
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