A Day in Black and White – Artillery

A bunch black t-shirt wearers who want to scream and not being content to have their guitars turned up to 11, they instead turn their amps up to 666. Claiming to be experimental hardcore, I can hear the hard and the core, but the experimental doesn’t seem to be evidenced.

If they are experimenting, I can’t hear it. The mix isn’t any good at all (especially the vocals), and a final mix will need to be heard for a final judgement. I’m sure Final Judgements are just the thing this band are interested in. Yet if screaming earnestly is your thing then you might get something out of this band.

ABIBAW is like a train that goes full tilt, then derails into a mess, then quickly gets back on the rails again and goes full tilt again. Not sure what I exactly mean by that. It’s definitely to do with the cut-and-paste style writing and stop-start style of the guitars being turned down and then suddenly turned up and then down again.

With the mix we’ve got, the vocals sound weak, and really, for music like this you need a voice that can match the guitars. This song sounds like a little bit melodramatic, but I must confess, most of this sort of music sounds melodramatic to me. One is relieved when it’s all over.

GCP – Gotta Get

This sounds very smooth and something to play to set the mood when you invite that special someone over to your place. The beats are glossy, slow and deep, and the singing is about, ‘doing it over and over again.’ A simple little piano motif is the backbone of the song. It’s the sound that the piano leads that sets the mood for the whole track.
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The singing (in the mix I was hearing) sound a little robotic – just a slightest hint of a vocoder-type effect on the vocals. That’s the completely wrong thing to do when you want to set an emotional mood. Yet the sexual overtones still stand out, and so you could still get away with it if you and your partner’s attention are not fully on the music. That’s not a huge advantage, but you’re still in the game at least.

The block party shout outs in the lyrics seems to be at odds to other parts of the song that are more on the intimate ‘take me home’ kind of angle. Perhaps those lyrics should have been split up a bit and left to another song.

Helicopter Helicopter – Wild Dogs with X-Ray Eyes

Boston’s Helicopter Helicopter is probably sick as all hell of having to read review after review comparing their brand of earnest pop rock to hometown heroes The Lemonheads, but one listen to “Helicopter Fight Song,” the first track on their new LP, Wild Dogs with X-Ray Eyes, makes the comparison difficult to avoid. The verse is a three-chord head-bobber driven by a strummed acoustic guitar that leads the song into some power chord distortion and a seriously danceable chorus layered over with the female vocal that brings the song (and most of the songs on the album) to life. Even the inflection and rhythm to the words have a little Dando affectation to them. But enough about that. H2 (as they are sometimes called) aren’t ripping anyone off and their sound is hardly confined to a familiar hat tipping to It’s a Shame About Ray.
For one, the group’s vocals, a shaken (not stirred) cocktail of male and female melodies and harmonies far surpasses most bands’ ability to make such a drink taste so good and make a song glow so effortlessly. What that was supposed to mean is that the combination of the two vocalists is the key to their songs, and they do it as well if not better than anyone around. The hooks are flawless and dressed to kill. He might remind one of Ben Kweller’s easy, cool-kid approach, while her’s is a thin voice that rings with honesty. Neither has a voice delivered from the heavens, but that’s what makes them so good . . . together they demand all your attention.
Something must be said too about the quality of their lyrics. Personable, accessible, but not boring or unoriginal, they have moments where they could actually read like almost respectable poetry. No, really, some of them can. From “Waves Roll in to Boston”: “Waves roll into Boston / but something isn’t right / it’s quiet on the docks / on the streets beneath the buildings . . . Trains pull into stations / spill their cargo out / hunters and gatherers / heads of secret corporations / animals, lonely kids / workers and invalids”
And this is in a catchy power-pop tune? It’s not John Berryman, but it’s certainly not Green Day. There’s never a forced rhyme, the images are fresh and vivid, and they reveal a depth usually vacant from toe tapping power-pop that might just be the saving grace for Helicopter Helicopter. For as the music and arrangements are nothing new or particularly challenging (some are even downright predictable), those wonderful voices singing words that deserve to be heard are the reasons for going back to the record. It’s what might make H2 relevant, in the sense of their songs having any staying power.
This record certainly has appeal, but perhaps it’s at its most appealing when it hints at what Helicopter Helicopter could be capable of if they pushed their boundaries a little bit, artistically speaking, and traded in some of their safety for some risk taking.

Drive Til Morning – S/T

“You’re at the center of my world, at the center of my universe. Will you stand there with me?” asks Francis Garcia of Drive Til Morning on “At Center of the Universe.” Unfortunately, at the center of Garcia’s universe wait clashing guitars and endless, repetitive arpeggio. Garcia is a veteran of rock bands (including Pop Unknown) who has set about to make a solo record of the sensitive songwriter variety. His guitar playing, which is the highlighted element of this quiet record, works its way in and out of the tempo on these songs, for which time signature seems to be a mere suggestion. Other background instruments, such as pedal steel and violins, float underneath the melodies but aren’t allowed to feature or add much other than background music.
Each song is built around a fingerpicked melody that varies only slightly song to song, making the tracks blend together. In addition, you could probably shuffle the lyrics around like a set of magnetic poetry, reorder them completely, and the album would neither gain nor lose anything. Garcia fearlessly runs headlong into cliché after cliché. “Let the storm brew strong tonight and bring you home before twilight,” he sings on “Minutes Turn to Miles.” In “By Scenic Highway” (this record is full of highways that “go on for ages”), he gives an awkward nod to Bruce with the line, “Clouds follow the car, like we’re fugitives on the run.”
What makes singer-songwriter albums work when they work is the quality of the songs stripped of a band’s pyrotechnics or stylization. The song itself has to compel the listener. Garcia rarely writes a bridge into his songs, relying instead on a two- or three-chord pattern to carry the songs. And the muddiness of the production does little to help all this.
The strongest track is “Stompers.” It has a country-ish swing to it with its endearing banjo and slide guitar parts, and it possibly provides the album’s only recognizable hook. Still, on this song too one metaphor gives way to the next without coherence. Garcia barrels through his ideas one after the other, from “making my bed” to getting “my head above water” from being “six feet under” to the “mileage on this rocketship” (?). All of this metaphor mixing only serves to leave the listener confused. Clearly, this is an intentional technique for Garcia. He writes his songs this way for a purpose. Maybe it’s just me, but I fail to see what the purpose might be.
I’m not big on giving out numerical ratings, but Drive Til Morning almost invites it on the album’s closing line, which challenges, “Bring the single digits on. For tonight we’re reaching record lows.”

Brendan Benson and the Wellfed Boys – Metarie EP

Metarie is a little gem of a five-track EP from Detroit-based artist Brendan Benson and his touring band, The Wellfed Boys. The title track is offered in two versions (track one is the “wellfed version”; track two is the “UK version”). The second has a slightly trippier feel to it, but both explore the moody depths of the song. “Metarie” starts off innocently enough with a formulaic “I met a girl …” but then veers off into avenues of alternating self-defense and self-deprecation, set off by the girl’s kiss-off: “You need a bath and your clothes are wrong.” It’s a quick, engaging trip through typical complaints and wishes: he wants to get out of where he is; he’s jealous of a friend in LA. He wants to “get a life,” though, it seems, only to “put it in my song.”
Benson reads through all his songs with a bright, if not too energetic, delivery. The easiest comparison to make is with Elliot Smith, though there’s a lot of Badly Drawn Boy in there too. The most Smith-like song is the third track, “Alternative to Love.” It’s a quiet, charming meditation on things gone wrong, wondering whether they’ll work out the next time. “Maybe I’m just damaged goods,” he sings, staying deadpan and earnest-sounding (though not in an overwrought way) wondering if there is some kind of alternative.
Actually, the fourth track, “You’re Quiet,” breaks off from the meandering acoustic guitar melodies of most of the EP and makes its attack directly, complete with fuzzy guitars, and it sounds more like The Rentals than anything else. Except for its 70s classic-rock-sounding bridge, it’s firmly in quirky pop territory, trying to pick up a girl (“You’re like me, we’re the same / I’m Brendan, what’s your name?”). It definitely sounds like some Beach Boys influence went into this song, too, with a good result.
The closer is a terrific surprise: a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It.” While the guitars can’t be described as “heavy” anywhere on this album, they come closest on this track, fuzzed into mid-70s Eric Clapton territory, over muted, shuffling snare drum and a deep, rubbery bass line. There’s also a fantastic harmonica solo (it’s not credited anywhere, but I assume it’s Benson playing).
While the title track, which clearly seems to have had the most work put into it production-wise, is excellent, it’s the variety (not to mention fun) offered by these last two tracks (“You’re Quiet” and “Let Me Roll It”) that most of all make me wish this was a full-length album. Benson is clearly a strong enough songwriter to fill one out in this vein. He’s released two already; 1996’s One Mississippi is considered by many a forgotten (and now out of print) masterpiece. It had studio backing and a professional production (from Ethan Johns, who has produced Rufus Wainwright and Ryan Adams), and won critical praise but only mediocre sales, even by indie standards. Last year’s Lapalco features different versions of some of the same songs on the new EP (which probably explains why Metarie was only released as an EP supporting the two versions of its title track).
Benson is reportedly good friends with The White Stripes’ Jack White, so hopefully White might be willing and able to swing some renewed big-label interest Benson’s way. It would certainly be well-deserved, and probably well-received by fans wanting something smarter than most of the candy-sweet pop rock bands on the radio, not to mention something that reminds you of what didn’t suck about music in the 70s.

Pesky – An Effort to Do Good

I kind of cringed when I looked at the cover art for An Effort to Do Good by Pesky. I know that the quality of album art does not necessarily correlate to the quality of music, but the clashing combination of hot pink, yellow, and electric blue squares on the cover failed to excite me. Based solely on the cover, I was expecting to hear a mediocre, cutesy pop band.
I popped the CD in and was pleasantly surprised by how good Pesky is. Pesky is a trio that makes the most of what they have with their appealing melodies and vocals. They have an 80s sound to them without resorting to heavy use of synthesizers or singing with detached voices. Pete Thomas, guitarist and vocalist for the band, possesses a likeable voice with slight emo tendencies that is reminiscent of Matt Sharp (The Rentals) at times. Pesky creates concise pop songs that are new but familiar sounding. Most of the tracks on An Effort to Do Good are upbeat and catchy yet contain surprisingly melancholy lyrics. On “Rounding Error,” Thomas sings, “You ripped your heart out of your chest / And you handed it to me” and “I’ve seen a lot of bad things come out of an effort to do good” on “Apologize.”
Perhaps another reason to like Pesky is that they like the Magnetic Fields. A lot. In fact, two Magnetic Fields covers are featured on this album, “Candy” and “No One Will Ever Love You.” Although lyrically the songs fit in with Pesky’s brand of broken-hearted pop, the first cover proves to be more successful than the second. Having two Magnetic Fields tracks is a bit distracting when sung as straight-faced as Pesky does. While “Candy” is lyrically in the same vein with Pesky’s other songs, “No One Will Ever Love You” falls a bit short because it lacks the humor of the original and is sung too seriously.
Overall this is a fun album whether you choose to listen to the lyrics or not. An Effort to Do Good is a solid debut album with excellent pop tunes that are immediately likeable. This is the first release off the new Closed System label, and with Pesky’s debut album, this label is off to a good start.

The Like Young – Art Contest

After releasing a five-song EP, Looked Up Plus Four, The Like Young has released a full-length that fulfills much of the promise heard on their shorter release. Art Contest contains 11 short and rocky tunes that will please the ears of Weezer fans the world over. Basically, every single song is good.
While the sound of The Like Young is reminiscent of just about every other power-pop act ever in existence, what’s unusual is Art Contest’s song structure and lyrical content. The Like Young, made up of Joe and Amanda Ziemba (formerly of Wolfie), eschew “verse, chorus, verse” and even traditional rock song narrative. Take for example “I’m Old Fashioned”: “Do you like bloody noses when you’e all alone in the car and your neck starts shivering? Oh I lose control, one of the best things in the world. I don’t care if there is no one who agrees with the way that I may think.” See? Okay, maybe you don’t, but reading the liner notes for Art Contest is more like reading prose than song lyrics. Some songs even seem like personal in-stories or jokes, like Joe talking to Amanda at the breakfast table. Most of the time this works in the band’s favor. You feel like you are getting a glimpse into the lives of two people inhabiting a world of their own design, who speak in a shorthand and finish each others’ thoughts. At the same time, this can be a little off-putting, like trying to follow the conversation of two people who inhabit their own world. Which is alright, because the actual music (guitar and drums, this is a duo, folks) makes up for any lyrical shortcomings. Perhaps taking their cues from the Foo Fighters, The Like Young have gotten mixing pop with metal-tinged rock down to a science.
Stand-out tracks include “Nice People” and “Snobs and Slobs.” Both accesible in every way, they prove that the band knows how to rock harder than their former kindercore affiliated bands. The last track, “Be Honest With You,” is a bittersweet ode to realizing you actually have it good. Angst mixes with relief, just like the dual vocals.
If you were impressed with the Looked Up Plus Four EP (which I was), you won’t be dissapointed. The Like Young have enough chops to write almost radio-friendly in a Cuomo sort of way songs, but with that indie style that’ll keep The Like Young their black-frame glasses-wielding fan’s little secret.

The Legends – There and Back Again EP

How many years have passed since the beginning of the rock revival? Two? Three? The initial wave included, as you know, The Strokes, White Stripes, and Hives. To rehash the back-to-basics rock blueprint the “The” bands followed (and continue to) seems pointless, but I ask you to remember the emphasis on Rolling Stones-esque “blues” through the drug tattered filter of the Velvet Underground. (Well, whatever. Every band claims to have been influenced by the Velvet Underground, and every hipster owns a copy of Whitelight/Whiteheat, but when was the last time you went to a party and heard a VU song besides “Venus in Furs”?) After the first wave of the revival has finally finished washing over the masses, a second wave has begun to swell, but instead of ripping of 60s bands who they themselves had ripped off 50s and 60s R+B artists, these new “The” bands have decided to bypass Beggars Banquet and go straight to the source. Case in point: The Legends.
Hailing from Sweden (home of The Hives, Sahara Hotnights, and Refused), this four-song EP, There and Back Again, is a blend of pop and soul. The title track has a Ronettes “Be My Baby” style beat pulsing below its wall-of-fuzz. “Thanks For Nothing” leans slightly more modern, although it boasts falsetto backing vocals on the “oh la la la” chorus. “Wish Me Gone” also has the soaring vocals slightly reminiscent of the Wilson brothers, but it’s equally in debt to the doo-wop groups of yesterday. The last song, “It’s Not Going to Happen” finds the band stepping almost completely into present day aesthetics, with a slow-moving canned beat leading the charge. Upon closer examination, it’s revealed that this is a remix, and a damned good one at that. It kind of reminds me of a dude version of Enon’s “Shave,” except shorter and less quirky.
Hats off to The Legends for getting even more retro than was thought possible, and for making a pretty tidy little EP while at it. The bands’ influences are pretty identifiable, but the results don’t seem the least bit contrived (paying attention Pelle?).

Ima Robot – Public Access EP

This is one of the newer signings to the big-time record labels (Virgin), and though I can’t say the music is predictable, the quality of it sure is. This five-piece band is made up of some session hands, one of which is drummer Joey Waronker who played with the likes of REM, Beck, and so many more. The band has a sound that is clearly intended for the masses and ready to be pushed into the mainstream at the drop of a hat. They stick to their robotic schtick full tilt, using a lot of programming and hiccupped vocals in their assault.
This EP is extremely strange, and I try as hard as I can to find the good in all that comes my way, but sometimes, like this one, it’s extremely hard. I’m sorry, but stuff like this makes me fear for the future of music and hope to high heavens that this is not a new trend to come. But seeing as the way modern radio has been for a long time, now someone will pick up on this stuff and push it down the public’s throat. Ok, I’ll admit a song like “Black Jettas” is actually kind of interesting, with its fun keyboards and really neat programming. I can see what some people could see in such a thing, but believe me, it’s fleeting. The vocals are really annoying as they try to be funny and fail miserably. It’s a weird mixture of punk attitude and what sounds like male runway models combining to create some freakish unthinkable hybrid.
The other three songs here unfortunately don’t even have the slightest thing going for them, each stocked with hyper energy that really goes nowhere. The vocals are way too grating for my liking. The guitars go nuts in “Sex Symbol,” which creates some interesting melodies but not enough to redeem the juvenile antics. Here’s another band that is bound to hit it big if given a big enough push, as the songs are relatively catchy and actually somewhat unique in today’s modern rock scene. The band actually seems to have some musical chops, but that’s about it. Occasionally they can kick out a rather fun groove, but it is usually ruined by their vocal antics and just plain embarrassing gimmick and songwriting.
I’m sure there will be an audience for this kind of stuff and I predict soon this band will have its buzz. My question to those involved or interested is: Why? I really gave it my all to listen to this thing with ears and mind open, searching for even the slightest enjoyment in such a recording, as is my policy. The closest thing to enjoyment I found was the musical backing to “Black Jettas” and occasional snippets of sounds from the rest of these tunes. Here’s another project that seems to be tongue-in-cheek and show a humorous side, but it falls flat in practically everything. My advice is stay away from this at all costs; you will be a better person for doing so.

Possum Moods – S/T

For the record, I am not one of those reverse music snoots who believes that bad production means good music or that music recorded in someone’s basement somehow has more integrity or authenticity than music recorded at Huge Corporate Studio. I try hard not to quote trite or elitist opinions taken from the Indie Rock Bible. “Thou shalt not employ good production in the pursuit of musical expression.” I Dichotomies, Ch. 10, v. 16.
This leaves me open to explore and enjoy the Possum Moods’ debut CD. This self-titled offering is a friendly cooperation between two ladies who know a thing or two about making records by now, as they have already been in several before this project was birthed. Mia Schoen hails from Australia and is of Sleepy Township/Huon/Long Weekend fame, while Jen Turrell is a US resident and the guiding force behind Red Square Records and such bands as Boyracer, Rabbit in Red, and Fog and Ocean. Mia and Jen apparently found each other to be capable foils, and Possum Moods is the result. It’s a lazy, quiet afternoon sort of disc that’s mostly composed of vocals and a few very sparse accompanying instruments. Sometimes there’s drums, sometimes guitars, sometimes synth, sometimes a full band, but mostly just the words and playful, infrequent instrumentation.
Songs like “Cat’s Cradle,” “Strike,” and “Golden Tone” showcase a sound that is entirely based around bolstering the vocal melodies and allowing them to dominate the compositions. Interestingly enough, the vocals themselves don’t really dominate many of the songs, with those tracks buried in the mix. The effect isn’t unpleasant, though, while listening to the music without trying to hard to understand precisely what you are hearing. If you start to listen hard to the vocals in an attempt to discern a meaning or direction to the songs, you risk frustration and disillusionment with the project. If you accept it where it is, then you’ll find yourself relaxed, listening to a disc that’s a labor of love between two friends.

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