All Girl Summer Fun Band – 2

Portland, Oregon’s All Girl Summer Fun Band completely live up to their name with their sophomore effort 2. AGSFB consists of indie-pop luminaries Jen Sbragia (The Softies) on lead guitar and backing vocals, Kathy Foster (currently of The Thermals, formerly of The Urban Legends) on drums, Kim Baxter (Cherry Ice Cream Smile) on lead vocals and guitar, and Arirak Douangpanya on bass respectively. And they have produced the most joyful and fun-filled album I have heard this year.

The simply titled 2 is the follow up to their self-titled debut album, but that is not to say that it is a carbon copy of their first. 2 still contains great girl-group harmonies, super catchy melodies, and cute and clever lyrics, but the songs are more rocking the second time around with distorted guitar added to the mix. The music and lyrics are quite simple, but that happens to be exactly the point.

AGSFB is not set out to musically revolutionize the indie rock world but simply out to have a good time, which can be seen in their subject matter of grizzly bears, road trips, and celebrity crushes (“Jason Lee”). Despite the simplicity of their lyrics and playfulness of their music, sometimes a surprising amount of emotion is conveyed through Baxter’s sweet, girlish vocals. When Baxter sings, “And when it seems like you don’t really care, / Somehow it makes me think I love you” in “Video Game Heart,” it rings true to anyone who has suffered a broken heart.

Many people may dismiss AGSFB as being another fluffy, disposable pop band because they are not making “serious” music. And to tell the truth, I don’t think that AGSFB would care. Their song “A Million Things” probably sums it up best when they sing, “Got a million things I have to do / But all I want to do is dance with you.” AGSFB’s music sets out to have fun and with 2, they hope they can make you dance with them.

Madeline Fix – Ferris

I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that a record label that has popped up that deals with MP3s only. Hell, it saves in pressing and distribution costs. I guess mp3.com is kinda a label or at least a distributor of MP3-only stuff.

So we have the label of sorts (nothing more than a web host if truth be told) called Lung Cookie, and from them we have Madeline Fix with “Ferris.” No, not about Mr Bueller (Did anyone catch the Ferris Bueller TV series that stared Jennifer Aniston? Was it as bad as it sounds?), but a guitar-led amble though the mind of our Maddie.

Recorded a few years back now, we once again find a performance that you’re likely to hear at a café. Sung by the fireplace with people sipping coffees and thinking dark thoughts or catching up with the latest reading. The lyrics have some nice imagery to them – of dreamlike colour and beauty. It’s not a bad tune with the guitar and voice being augmented by some cello and other synth sounds.

The Silence Kit – Fifty Things to Do

This is a slow build-up melodic lo-fi serving from The Silent Kit. It’s very much the kind of thing that you listen to late at night while alone in your bedroom when you’re depressed – seem to get a lot of that round here. The subject matter here is of being alone with one’s thoughts.

Sparsely plucked guitars, a slow rhythm section, and flat depressing vocals gives way to the chorus when the guitars get turned up a bit with the equally slow rhythm section and even more depressing vocals.

Usually I give songs a few listens when I’m reviewing , but I didn’t want to listen to this song again. Not because it was bad or anything, but it had a real downer vibe about it and I just didn’t want to go down there with it. So if that’s what they wanted to achieve they hey, I guess they succeeded. It just left me with an empty feeling inside.

If I was an actor and had to prepare for a really intense gloomy scene then I would listen to this. this is real suicide soundtrack, this stuff.

Puerto Muerto – Elena

On Elena, Puerto Muerto take their listeners on a geographical and perhaps even ethno-musical world tour of haunting songwriting and instrumentation. At moments chilling, at others sly and almost tongue-in-cheek, the songs yearn to get under your skin in a most seductive, creepy-crawly fashion, and mostly do just that. Once there, the dark-lit tales of woe, abandonment, and jealousy weave a mesmerizing spell that leaves one longing to watch Nos Feratu, or read ghost stories of the old west.
“Father’s Treasure” begins as if it could belong in Act I of a country musical filmed in technicolor. A story told from a child’s perspective about her parents falling in love seems delightful enough, only as the song progresses it slowly turns on its heels and becomes a dark tale of a mother’s jealousy over the love her husband has for her daughter. Eerie? Not half as eerie as the barely audible German murmuring of the “mother” that enters as the song goes minor and accentuates it’s waltz. Or how about at song’s end the female screams caterwauling through the mix before a slightly out of tune child’s piano plays an exiting melody? Nightmares are more comforting.
The following track, “Pretty Girls” follows suit with soaring female vocals that sound like Anne Rice vampires singing for their lost loves over top a fuzz bass and infectiously sleepy drum beat. Forgive the cheap comparison, but it really is fairly accurate: Portishead diced and blended with some “Island Years” Tom Waits, backing vocals provided by a laudanum weary Patsy Cline.
The rest of the record is equally intriguing, unnerving, haunting, and beautiful. Cellos, castanets, ukes, clarinets, and a sitar all make for enchanting juxtapositions and simulate the atmospheres of French burlesque, India, Rumanian gypsy camps, and American bedtime stories. The last three songs are actually remixes of earlier songs on Elena, but they are mostly unrecognizable as such as they take a route more kin to electronica than anything else. And even these are mesmerizing in their own way.

HiM – Many in High Places are Not Well

Doug Scharin is a well-travelled man, having established himself as a consummate collaborator through tours of duty as a member of Codeine, June of “44, Directions in Music, and Rex. Yet curiously (and perhaps frustratingly for the man himself), his own personalised musical operation – HiM – has remained in the side-project shadowlands, despite a series of albums and EPs that began with 1996’s Egg LP. This new HiM album should however give Scharin the platform to push himself forward as an inspiring instigator as well as a backroom facilitator.
With its galloping afro-beat percussion, hazy/lazy sliding guitars, blasts of New Orleans brass, and guest singer Christian Dautresme’s wordless harmonies, Scharin couldn’t have picked a better starting-track for a summertime record release than “Elementals.” The second song in sequence, “Many in High Places,” fits a similar schematic, but with the drums doubling-up on the good-voodoo vibes to fill-in the brass gap. The beauty and imagination of the whole production stems from Scharin’s ability to masterfully mould melodies from the shades and subtleties of some 16 guest contributions; pushing his songs into fulsome intercontinental rhythm reveries (“Elope and Secede”), gorgeous gliding space-pop (“The Way the Trees Are,” with Mùm’s Kristin Anna Valtysdottir on vocals), and stripped-down slow-melting jazz interludes (the aptly-named “Perspective from a Slow Spin”).
Occasionally Scharin does slip a little too close to patronising “world music’ pastiche (the first-half of the closing “Coming of Age” being a moot misdemeanour) and dinner-party saccharine soul (the sickly Sade-like vocals on “Slow Slow Slow”), but on the whole this is a fine career-defining turn for HiM as a band. It’s an album that extols the joys of crossbreeding tropical head-music with heart-stopping urban groove rides: an exemplary exploration of erudite sonic shape-shifting.

The Templars – Phase Two

I’ve admitted to expecting little from the first Templars’ re-release but not so for Phase Two. Originally released on Dim Records, a small D.I.Y. label, in 1997 and out of print until recently, Phase Two followed 1994’s Return of Jacques de Molay, and both were recently re-released simultaneously through GMM Records. The re-release of Return Of… is a refreshing mix of gritty, pre-pop streetpunk and Lynard Skynard-type rock but never overcomes the trite, Oi! stereotype; Phase Two, however, solidifies their unique punk sound.
From the first track, a one-minute instrumental, the Templars flaunt what brightened Return of Jacques de Molay: the harmonic guitar work. Two twangy guitars play a casual, mellow melody over buzzy drums while the bass bounces cheerfully in the background, and, as on Return of…, the whole affect lends the traditional gritty Oi! sound a laid-back, jam quality. Interludes of these playful guitar melodies are a respite from the driving, three-chord punk noise throughout the album and work best on songs like “Pawns in Their Game,” where the Templars don’t lose the traditional buzzy streetpunk sound or their breezy melodies.
Like most Oi!, Phase Two is a poor recording, fuzzy like a tape or live recording. On the one hand this is good, de-emphasizing the singer’s already weak, growling voice, highlighting the guitars, and lending the whole album that buzzy vivacity that makes original Oi! a fun listening experience. On the other hand, the poor quality drowns out the drums, the driving force in most any rock band. On “Make Your Mark,” ostensibly meant as a drum showcase with staccato chords over deep, jungle-beat drumming, the beats fall flat and lifeless under the poor recording. Perhaps to rectify this, the vocals are jazzed up with a slight reverb, making the whole song into a bit of a technical mess. This happens again at the beginning of “Land of the Free,” the last official track.
As if they’ve shed all pretensions of being strictly a raunchy streetpunk stereotype (and no longer want to be pigeon-holed), The Templars stick stubbornly to their own unique sound on Phase Two with a confidence not present in the imitative Oi! tracks on Return of Jacques de Molay. Each track sweeps a southern breeze over the stale Oi! genre, and, as rare occurrence as this is in an album, not one song is skipworthy. I’m glad to see this release achieve a wider distribution through the work of GMM Records.

The Lassie Foundation – The El Dorado LP

If you’re not familiar with The Lassie Foundation, you need to be. Why? They’re probably the best pop band you’ve never heard. Their first album, Pacifico, had a sound that was equally composed of sun-kissed Beach Boys-esque harmonies and frothy, choppy feedback and white noise ala The Jesus and Mary Chain. But what really held the album together were the songs. Sticky, sticky pop hooks as far as the eye could see and fun-and-sun slacker lyrics. A perfect album for summer. Each subsequent release showed The Foundation moving farther away from the layered guitars and into more of a laid-back, hazy pop approach. The band remained great, however, churning out fantastic pop song after fantastic pop song, never seeming to slow down or even hit a sour note. Their second full-length shows a band that has hit their stride and is confidently riding it out, sure of themselves and sure of their place in their musical world. And the results are nothing short of amazing.
The album starts out with the hushed “Good as Gold,” an almost entirely a cappella track portraying the band with their hands out, “collecting, cause we’re good as gold.” Kind of a cocky statement, but no need to be apprehensive: they back it up, and then some. “Every Line Has Let You Inside of Me” comes next, riding easily on an echoing guitar line and a simple rock beat courtesy of drummer Jason Boesel (now in Rilo Kiley). The vibraphone hits in the background also bring additional depth to the sonic pallet. Combine this with the next track, the laid-back “You Can’t Deny a Broken Heart,” and you have one of the best one-two punches I’ve heard on an album in a long time.
The new disc also shows the band experimenting with some different instrumentation. Whereas many other bands will try to add new elements, throwing things to the wall to see what sticks, the Foundation shows a masterful command of many styles. The horn section on “Let Your Boy Come Back” demonstrates this amply, sax and horn line slipping over each other and giving the track a slightly 70s rock feel, even ending with a great jazzy flute solo.
The CD ends with two of the best Lassie cuts ever penned, “Hero,” and “Vive Les Animaux.” “Hero” is simply gorgeous, a melancholy ballad which pits vocalist Wayne Everett’s smooth voice against that of Julie Martin (wife of Jason Martin, of Starflyer 59). The two sing back and forth over a bed of humming synths, acoustic guitar, vibraphone, and reverbed guitar slides that give the song a spacey, slightly ambient feel. “Vive Les Animaux” ends the CD on a triumphant note, going back to the feedback-drenched style of old. The song itself is slightly silly, with Everett singing goofy lines like “Our love’s strong, like her buffalo” with a straight face and deadpan sincerity, and then following those lines with a chorus sung almost entirely in French. Lyrics aside, the music is to die for.
Excited? You should be. This is a flat-out great album. Unfortunately, this is also supposedly their last. Get it while you can. Thanks for the music, Lassie. You will be missed.

Joseph Plunket and the Weight – Seven Stories EP

I’ve been listening to Wilco lately and thinking it’s a damn shame. I’ve been getting my latest country doses from Chicago, of all places. What does the land of meat packers and wind know about the down-home “my wife ran away with my pick up and my dog, and I’m drunk on whiskey thinking about my washed up life’ vibe. True purists will cry that Wilco has a little too much “alt” in their country to be considered authentic. But being the populist that I am, I use Wilco as the barometer of contemporary country, as most everyone knows who they are. But to bring me back to my original point. What do all those bar rockers in big cities know about the hardships of life on the road and the land? Well, I guess they don’t know much about the true grit of country.
Joseph Plunket and the Weight, at least get it right geographically, residing in Georgia. Ok… Athens, Georgia, the not exactly hayseed college town of REM, but hell, they pull it off authenticity. They make me think a tumbleweed is blowing down Main Street at this very moment. Joseph Plunkett and the Weight, I’m sure, have not experienced the cliched hardships of every guitar-wielding honkey tonk, but then again JP&TW thankfully are not exactly cliché.
The whole vibe of this record is that of an intimate storyteller spinning his craft to a small, captive audience. One can only guess that is the inspiration behind the title, Seven Stories EP. The sound is stripped, bare, and sorrowful. The bare sound can be attributed to sparse arrangements, and perhaps the fact that this was recorded in a kitchen helps (though the production is not hurt by either aspect). The sorrow is easy to pinpoint, as Plunkett’s voice is wistful and sad. It’s a deep and powerful voice, with just the right amount of country twang that, when accented by a viola, could have even the toughest dude crying in his whiskey.
The subject matter of this record is the pain of love and loss. Universal themes of course, inherent to any genre of music, but specifically suited to JP& the Weight’s arrangements. They dutifully cover the Smiths’ classic, “There is a Light that Never Goes Out.” Covering the Smith’s songs is risky territory. Most groups take it over the top, failing so miserably. Indeed it is hard to reinterpret perfection. JP & the Weight fare pretty well, however, as they have deconstructed this song and made it one that could easily fit into their own repertoire.
Country is not everyone’s thing, but this is country done right. For anyone interested in broadening horizons, this is a worthy pick up.

The Forecast – Proof of Impact

Ah, sour home Chicago. For all your Nanas, your Skibas, and your Kinsellas, we salute you. Actually scratch that, we only give you a half salute for the Kinsellas. And I proudly applaud another one of your native sons, trying to join the upper echelon, Mr. Jared Grabb, front man of The Forecast, who have provided us a splendidly promising seven-track CD.
Grabb Sings, “Home is where the heart is…” on “Water Makes the Weeds Grow Tall” – it’s a trite cliché, but in this case one that is especially appropriate. The Forecast is a band indebted to their forefathers from Champaign/ Urbana and Chicago for much of their sound. Most notably influential are the Bob Nanna projects Friction and Braid. In fact, it is on “Water Makes…” that Forecast most clearly capture the energy contained within Friction’s off-key blasts. However, influences aside, the Forecast clearly improves on the sound Friction pioneered rather than being a strict carbon copy. The music is more melodic and accessible, and the group includes better songwriters. Throw in elements of bands like Seville, Gauge, and As Friends Rust, and you’ve got The Forecast.
Forecast aren’t quite ready however, to become gods of the scene. They need a bit more polishing before they captivate national attention and get everyone asking, “what’s in the water up there?” Not to keep harping on the idea that location is everything, but the song “Chicago” has its faults. The music is driving and tight, but the vocals try too hard to hit the right notes. For the most part they’re on, but you can tell he’s straining, and as a result the band disregards the energy of the backing music. If the singer let himself go a little bit, it would be much more appropriate for the anthem chorus.
It’s always nice to throw a Skynyrd reference whenever possible. The motivation for naming their song, “Freebird 2: This Time its Personal” may be to actually have a musical response when any heckler yells the obligatory “Freebird” at shows. You won’t find any traces of Van Zant in this piece though. It’s a rocking number that features some of the many back-up female vocals courtesy of bassist Marsha Satterfield. The highlight of the album, though, is the closer “Bad Reception,” a lulling and building ballad that stretches to a chorus of sparsely accompanied vocals, only to be kicked back in with loud guitar. A resonating highlight, for sure.
So consider Proof of Impact the next chapter in the Chicago underground. It’s a weighty torch to carry, but The Forecast are up to the challenge. Even with some rookie imperfections, this album is worth your attention, no matter where you are from.

Noise Ratchet – S/T EP

These boys have been busy, but their strategy seems to be paying off. To support last year’s debut full-length, Til We Have Faces, the band completed tours with the likes of Dashboard Confessional, Piebald, Hot Rod Circuit, and others. The album ended up turning enough heads to earn the band a deal with American Recordings, home to acts like System of a Down, Johnny Cash, Slayer, and the Jayhawks. But before bidding the indies farewell and heading off to the majors, the guys found time to record six songs for this self-titled EP, five of which are brand new and one of which is a revamped version of a previously released number.
Noise Ratchet blends layers of crisp guitar one on top of the other, consistently blending the pretty little melodies with the big, crunchy riffs. In similar fashion, the vocals come from multiple sources and take multiple approaches, from wispy crooning to slight growls. Songs like “When Losing Ends” and “New Room” highlight these techniques, showing off the band’s airy rock at its best. The drums and bass create a rhythm section that is sometimes aggressive and driving, as on those two tracks already mentioned, occasionally quirky and playful, as on “Fiction Arms,” and occasionally mid-tempo and lulling, as on “From Your Lips” and “Desire.” Those slower, sappier songs are a bit less interesting and much more predictable, but they do a fine job of bringing some diversity to the disc. “A Way to the Heart,” the original piano ballad version of which can be found on Til We Have Faces, is an atmospheric and acoustic-tinged tune complete with cutesy female backup vocals, wispy male falsettos, and lyrics about “angel’s tears crying for you” and whatnot. It’s a bit over the top in the cheese department, but it shows how good this band is at writing a batch of songs that includes both gritty rockers capable of getting people to bang their heads, and dreamy pop lullabies worthy of adult contemporary radio.
If you hadn’t heard of Noise Ratchet until just now, you can expect to hear more. These hardworking lads have vowed to spend the majority of their coming time on the road, the major label debut is scheduled for early 2004 with a full-length to be released by American, and the band’s songwriting capabilities seem to be getting sharper with every release. Everything seems to be lined up correctly, and it will be interesting to see what Noise Ratchet can accomplish with a little more support behind them.

Next Page »