Archive Review: Various Artists - Radio Dick, Volume One (2003)

Named after the notorious pirate DJ, Pal-Tone calls its Radio Dick compilation “The 3-sided LP Series.” Each CD will feature four songs each from three distinctly different bands (thus the “3 sides”); volume numero uno offering up cuts by the American Plague, Windfall, and Vangard. The American Plague hail from Knoxville, Tennessee and sound a lot like stadium rockers trapped in punk rock bodies. “Alabama Tough Love” rips a riff right out of the Johnny Ramone playbook, pumps it up a bit with steroidal amplitude and rocks the hell out of it. The band’s other three songs shake the earth in a similar fashion, all muscular power chords and soaring vocals, kind of like a cross between Pearl Jam and Loverboy.

Windfall has a female lead vocalist, which lets you know right off the bat that you’re going to experience a different aesthetic from the Plague’s throwback crotchrock. Singer Jennifer Catucci has pretty good pipes, but fairly pedestrian material to work with, shimmering guitars and rhythmic crescendos supporting her operatic vocal gymnastics. “Kindle Eyes Nude” is the best of the batch, a hard-driving tune with clashing instrumentation, wiry leads and odd timing that works to great effect behind Catucci’s larger-than-life vocals. Of the trio of young ‘uns here, Windfall sounds the most like the big time. 

Vangard rounds out Radio Dick, Volume 1, kicking out the jams with rapid-fire, generic pop-punkola that could easily find a home on Drive Thru or Vagrant. Not that any of Vangard’s material is offensively dreck – it’s all pleasant enough I suppose, kind of like cherry cough syrup, with the sweetness covering the bad aftertaste (and the shudder of revulsion that follows). All in all, a mighty mediocre comp with little to distinguish these three bands from the universe full of rock ‘n’ roll hopefuls. (Pal-Tone Records, released 2003)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat music zine... 

Jersey Beat Archives: The Cinch, Deerhoof, Furthermore, The Gossip, Morals Galore (July 2003)

For several years in the early 2000s, the Reverend contributed CD reviews to Jersey Beat music zine. It was a heck of a lot of fun, with JB editor Jim Testa mailing a package of punk and alt-rock CDs that I’d work up reviews for every month. Some of these reviews deserve representation in this archive...

July 2003

THE CINCH – ep 
A half a world away from the much-vaunted NYC scene of the Strokes, the Liars, et al, Vancouver BC’s the Cinch were blazing their own fiery path towards garage rock heaven. Fronted by the angelic vocals of Jennifer Smyth and supported by the wire-taut six-string work of guitarists Kathy Dube and Mark Epp, the Cinch released this enchanting five-song EP themselves in Canada before it was picked up stateside by the good folks at Dirtnap. It’s a good thing, too, because ep kicks ass on so many levels that it’s hard to count them all. The Cinch wears its musical influences on its collective sleeve, stylistically recalling every honest bunch of rock legends from the Velvets and the NY Dolls to Television and even Brit buzzsaws like the Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. That songs like “French Maid” and “Once A Week” manage to pillage rock history so blatantly without pretension and without sounding overly derivative is part of the Cinch’s magic. Extra credit is hereby rewarded for a bullseye shot at the Modern Lovers’ “She Cracked,” swirling guitars and pounding rhythms deliciously surrounding Smyth’s vocals like watercolors dripping across a canvas. Worth your hard-earned coin however you have to get it, check out the Cinch. (Dirtnap Records)

DEERHOOF – Apple O’ 
Deerhoof is a product of the multi-cultural musical stew that is San Francisco, and not unlike other mixed-bag bands that have come out of the “city on the bay,” it’s real hard to place your finger on Deerhoof’s sound. The ambitious foursome makes music that is, at times, a gorgeous blend of harmony and melody; a heartbeat later, they’ll crank out a chaotic cacophony that would have Eris hiding her head and covering her ears in disbelief. Apple O’ is ostensibly a romantic album, tho’ the band’s minimalist lyrics would make Picasso shrug, and while John Dieterich and Chris Cohen are imaginative, if limited guitarists, bassist Satomi Matsuzaki’s cutesy, childlike vocals grate after a cursory spin or two of the album. Adventuresome to a fault, Deerhoof may be unlike anything you’ve ever heard. It will be up to the individual listener, however, to decide if the glorious din of Apple O’ is worth the investment in time and money. (Kill Rock Stars)

FURTHERMORE – She And I
Salt Lake City’s Futhermore rock the mic on the hip-hop tip…er, that is, the male/female duo of Fischer and Lee create a unique sound with rap roots and infectious dance rhythms. The pair is at their best on tracks like “Letter To Myself,” where Fischer’s awkward attempts at rhyme are overshadowed by Lee Chang’s deliciously lofty vocals and the lush backing instrumentation. Although a lot of the lyrics on She And I wrestle with problems of a romantic and spiritual nature (Furthermore is signed to Tooth & Nail), Fischer sometimes spirals into surrealistic, stream-of-consciousness fits that end up nowhere. Really, what the hell does “bearable abominable karma comical possible cause is jellyfish” mean? It’s a mystery to me. When Fischer sings “furthermore is for my enjoyment,” it’s a Freudian slip that sums up She And I perfectly. Enjoyable in an odd, disquieting way, kind of like hitting your funny bone… (Tooth & Nail Records) 

THE GOSSIP – Undead In NYC 
Although the Reverend has vintage bootlegs in his collection with better sound quality than Undead In NYC, there’s no denying the power and the passion of the Gossip’s performance. Kicking out mutant punk blooze with a whiskey edge and an amphetamine heart, the Gossip’s secret weapon is singer Beth Ditto. Ditto’s sweaty, leather-lunged vocals rise above the muddy mix to grab the listener by the ears and shake ‘em out of their major label induced coma. Axeman Nathan Howdeschell rails at the world with all the subtlety of the Mississippi River breaking through its levees and flooding the Delta. With Ditto’s vocals lost in the din, and her lyrical obsessions with love and lust all but indecipherable, the band rocks like a drunken fratmonkey and the audience’s obvious enthusiasm is contagious. A raucous cover of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” performed with friends from Chromatics, quickly spirals out of control and into chaos before ending in an orgy of feedback and clashing instrumentation. Undead In NYC may not be the best example of the Gossip’s charms but it does show that 30 minutes is all it takes for this Arkansas trio to rock your world. (Dim Mak Records)
     
MORALS GALORE – Donerail  
Northern Kentucky, culturally existing forever in the shadow of Cincinnati, is an unlikely place to spawn a great rock band. Yet, the area has produced one of the more interesting (and entertaining) alternative rock bands these ears have heard in Morals Galore. They sound a lot like Guided By Voices and, indeed, have been mentored and supported by GBV resident genius Bob Pollard. Where GBV tends to wear its Britpop influences on Pollard’s sleeve, however, Morals Galore imbue Donerail, the band’s debut, with a spy mix of musical influences. The album opening “Best Day” takes its first chords from the Clash, the fast-paced rocker offering hidden vocals, machine-gun guitars and crashing rhythms. “Best Day” sets the pace for the rest of Donerail, the band throwing out dark-hued introspective numbers with subdued vocals and overwhelming instrumentation alongside frenetic, hyperkinetic rockers. Think of a cross between the Replacements and Creedence Clearwater Revival (with a hint of Big Star thrown in for good measure) and you’d be in the right ballpark. The band supports its songs with thick, meaty instrumentation, stinging guitars and powerful rhythms riding high above the vocals (which really should be brought up in the mix, to better decipher the lyrics). Donerail is the musical equivalent of comfort food – it soothes the soul even while it rocks your head. (self-released)

Archive Review: The Damnwells’ PMR+1 (2003)

It would be too damn easy to dismiss the Damnwells as a mere Wilco clone, given the band’s penchant for mournful vocals and weeping guitars. The truth is, although the seven songs on this EP skew awfully close to Jeff Tweedy’s artistic vision, the Damnwells throw a few disparate elements into the mix, barely separating themselves from the alt-country legends. 

For one thing, the Damnwells fill their guitar pop with traces of psychedelic instrumentation, the brightly shining guitar of Dave Chernis adding swirls of texture behind Alex Dezen’s appropriately morose vocals. The rhythm section of bassist Ted Hudson and former Whiskeytown drummer Steven Terry are solid, if underutilized. 

The band’s songwriting tends to lean towards Tweedy’s minimalist lyricism and, lacking the Wilco frontman’s ability to create emotional architecture, the Damnwells come across as less-interesting travelers on an already familiar road. The band should emphasize the aspects that elevate their sound, allowing themselves greater freedom with its instrumentation and pumping up Dezen’s vocals. 

Pmr + 1 is a 2002 reissue of an earlier six-song disc self-produced by the Damnwells, so they may have already outgrown their Wilco fascination and moved onto something else entirely. The Damnwells are worth keeping an eye on just to see what they do next. (In Music We Trust, released 2002)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat music zine...

Jersey Beat Archives: The Busted Lives, The Evoka Project, Fear of Fred, Goodbye Girl Friday, High Beams, The Microphones, The Mountain Goats & Nakatomi Plaza (February 2003)

For several years in the early 2000s, the Reverend contributed CD reviews to Jersey Beat music zine. It was a heck of a lot of fun, with JB editor Jim Testa mailing a package of punk and alt-rock CDs that I’d work up reviews for every month. Some of these reviews deserve representation in this archive...

February 2003

THE BUSTED LIVES – One Flap Down 
One Flap Down offers the listener nothing more than buzzsaw rock ‘n’ roll with lo-fi production and an amateur’s love of the genre, the Busted Lives too cool to be old school. Roaring and rattling like a hopped-up ’74 Mercury on high-octane homebrew, tunes like “Hac Man” or “Landlord’s Bitch” represent the artistic ghetto of the ‘60s garage rock aesthetic currently championed by the American rockcrit fraternity. With tongues placed firmly in their collective cheeks, bassist “Mr. Arafat,” guitarist “Mr. Valiant,” drummer “Mr. Lotion” and vocalist “Mr. Mobutu” drop musical bombs like the riff-happy “Beaked Forever” or the echo-drenched “Drinking Like An Oakland Raider” with reckless glee. A shambling trainwreck of retro-rock, One Flap Down is nevertheless a hell of a lot of fun. Somewhere Sky Saxon is laughing maniacally at the chaos he has unleashed... (Blueball Records)

THE EVOKA PROJECT – December Drive EP 
Better minds than I have chosen the Evoka Project for big, BIG things, but the Reverend just doesn’t hear it boys and girls. The six songs on the band’s December Drive EP seem to represent an FM radio consultant’s idea of “modern rock,” derivative and broadcast-friendly with shallow vibes and as much originality as an American Idol contestant. Take one part U2, throw in a little Britpop, some Creed-styled posturing, and a healthy dose of arena-rock histrionics, say the magic words – “marketing opportunity!” – and you have the next big media sensation! Produced by Ted Comerford and mixed by high-stakes playas Lou Giordano (Goo Goo Dolls) and Mitch Easter (R.E.M.), the Evoka Project’s December Drive EP is a musical resume banging on the door of the corporate starmaking machine. (AudioLab Records)

FEAR OF FRED – Another Bad Day 
Exiled from the NYC/NJ music scene, this humble scribe wouldn’t otherwise have heard of Fear of Fred and Another Bad Day if not for the infinite grace and mercy of Mista Testa and his magic package of promo CDs. The band’s sophomore effort, Another Bad Day is a mighty fine collection of alt-rock tunes drenched with pop hooks and whip-smart melodies, easily appealing to fans of Cheap Trick, Marvelous 3, Weezer, etc. Bill White’s fabulously imperfect vocals lend each song a flawed excellence, Chris McGrath’s six-string work is razor-sharp and riff happy and the rhythm section of bassist Mark Illiano and drummer Matt McCluskey are as tight as a clenched fist. The band’s chemistry is explosive, whether they’re recklessly throwing out infectious originals like “She Don’t Know” or joyfully revisiting a classic pop gem like “I Think We’re Alone Now.” A real find by any measure, Fear of Fred is the sound of a new rock revolution – don’t wait for it to steamroll over you, go ahead and check out Another Bad Day now. (Spin Around Sound Records)

GOODBYE GIRL FRIDAY – Mr. And Mrs. 
A trio comprised of Berklee School alumni Dave Sherman (keyboards) and Dan Grennes (bass) and drummer Andy Sanesi, Goodbye Girl Friday landed in NYC from Boston by way of Nashville, picking up some considerable musical chops along the way. Formed out of the ashes of the acclaimed outfit Edison with the Weather, Goodbye Girl Friday explore a similar sort of artistic groove, throwing jazzbo riffs, avant-garde rock, and hipster attitude into the studio blender and pouring out Mr. And Mrs., the band’s debut disc. A challenging and often infuriating collection of songs, Goodbye Girl Friday are good at what they do, tho’ what they do doesn’t really appeal to these ears. Slickly produced and crafted with some skill, Mr. And Mrs. is nevertheless too smart for MOR radio and too highbrow for low rent rockers such as the Reverend. (SUS4 Recordings)

HIGH BEAMS – Hallucination 
Every smart Jersey Beat reader has seen it happen dozens of times – a music style or scene bubbles up from the underground, grabs some mainstream attention and, sooner or later, the suits come sniffing around. They’ll offer contracts and tell sweet lies of fame and fortune. By the time the major labels begin exploiting a scene, tho’, it’s pretty much over. One of the unintended results of this corporate feeding frenzy, however, is that bands like High Beams, formed by ex-Mullens frontman Matt Mayo, often get a well-deserved shot at the brass ring. Now that “garage rock” (or whatever the boys in marketing finally end up calling it) is the flavor du jour, we’re seeing musical throwbacks like the Strokes and the White Stripes receiving all sorts of hype. It’s all rock ‘n’ roll to me, and High Beams kick out some righteous jams with Hallucination, the band’s debut hewing closer to the Dictators and the Dead Boys than to the skinny tie aesthetics of the Hives. High-voltage tuneage like “Lori Looker” or the blues-infused “Tell Somebody” scream to the heavens with crackling riffs and soulful vocals while “Hallucination” sounds like vintage ‘70s Clevepunk with a shot of Motor City Madness. Graced by the ghosts of Rob Tyner, Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, and Stiv Bators, High Beams deliver the cheap rock ‘n’ roll thrills we all crave with Hallucination. (Dead Beat Records)

THE MICROPHONES – Mount Eerie 
Mount Eerie opens with a swelling rhythmic pulse, builds to a crashing crescendo and then, about halfway through the 17-minute opus “The Sun,” descends into instrumental chaos before hitting its stride with sparsely-accompanied, morose vocals. You have to respect a band that opens an album with what amounts to a funeral dirge, as the Microphones have done with Mount Eerie. One of many musical projects for the enigmatic Phil Elvrum, the Microphones have a reputation as fantastic purveyors of experimental psychedelic pop, but Elvrum has grander schemes in mind. Much as the band’s 2001 album The Glow, Pt. 2 was connected to its predecessor, so too is Mount Eerie part of the same thread, a concept album exploring the transitional nature of life and the finality of death. White noise and subliminal sounds introduce “Solar System,” dissolving into a melancholy folk-rock head-scratcher while “Universe” throws orchestral grandeur alongside droning decay. The lengthy title cut is the centerpiece of the album, clashing voices (including K labelmates Mirah and Calvin Johnson) providing fleeting and tantalizing scraps of lyrics while the mesmerizing “Universe,” with chanted vocals and rhythmic instrumentation, closes out Mount Eerie. A difficult album, Mount Eerie offers a surreal listening experience, reminding this writer of ‘80s-era mad scientists like Current 93 or Nurse With Wound, though without the occult trappings or industrial baggage. (K Records)             

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS – Tallahassee 
The Mountain Goats represent a departure from the typical 4AD modus operandi. Although Tallahassee opens with the title cut – a moody, atmospheric 4AD-styled snoozefest – most of the remaining tracks are a pastiche of alt-rock with folkish tendencies. Mountain Goat John Darnielle has been kicking around the indie rock hinterlands for over a decade now, prolifically cranking out lo-fi tunes that are long on lyrical retrospection and short on grand musical aspirations. Although slicker and certainly enjoying a larger recording budget, Tallahassee shouldn’t alienate any long-time Goat fans even as it recruits new listeners. Darnielle’s nasal bleat takes some getting used to, but delve beneath the surface and you’ll find a complex and interesting wordsmith. Tracks like the lovingly discordant story song “See America Right,” the whimsical “No Children,” with its lovely piano fills, or the bittersweet “Old College Try” witness a dark sense of humor and an intelligence sorely lacking from more commercial musical fare. Deeply personal, delicately crafted and about as far from the Billboard Top Forty as you’re likely to tread, the Mountain Goats’ Tallahassee is nevertheless an earnest effort, John Darnielle a troubadour for a new era. (4AD Records)

NAKATOMI PLAZA – Private Property 
Unabashedly hardcore, Nakatomi Plaza manages to soften the blow of its guitar-driven fury with some well-crafted melodies and thoughtful, acoustic-oriented vocal passages. An expanded CD release of the original 7-song album, Private Property builds upon the passion and intelligence of innovators like Minor Threat, Nakatomi Plaza’s odd time signatures and syncopated rhythms complimented by Hüsker Dü-styled melodies and spoken, sung and shouted lyrics. Songs like “Bike Rock Revolution” and “Next Bus To New Orleans” evince a certain social consciousness, but really attempt to lyrically reconcile the fragility of human relationships carried on under the spectre of ever-growing societal fascism. Private Property is a thought-provoking and intelligent record, Nakatomi Plaza the hardcore punk equivalent of System of A Down. (Immigrant Sun Records)

Jersey Beat Archives: Audio Learning Center, Pole Position, World Inferno Friendship Society, "Down In Front" (March 2002)

March 2002

For several years in the early 2000s, the Reverend contributed CD reviews to Jersey Beat music zine. It was a heck of a lot of fun, with JB editor Jim Testa mailing a package of punk and alt-rock CDs that I’d work up reviews for every month. Some of these reviews deserve representation in this archive…

AUDIO LEARNING CENTER – “Friendships Often Fade Away” 
With veterans of two Sub Pop bands – Christopher Brady from Pond and Steven Birch from Sprinkle – Audio Learning Center has street cred to burn. Joined by drummer Paul Johnson and working with Seattle producer Adam Kasper, the band has created an impressive debut with “Friendships Often Fade Away”. Pairing the hard-rocking grunge ambiance of early ‘90s Seattle sound with an energetic punk attitude and a musical complexity unmatched by many of their Pacific Northwest brethren, ALC has delivered a multi-layered, multi-textured collection of songs. Brady is a solid wordsmith, penning emotionally charged lyrics that cut to the quick with surgical precision and a deceptive simplicity. “Favorite” is one of the better expressions of band fandom that I’ve heard while tracks like “Winter” and “The Dream” offer insightful commentary on the human condition. Should I also mention that ALC make a lot of noise for just three guys? If you want a disc that you can sink your teeth into, check out “Friendships Often Fade Away”, Audio Learning Center’s ticket to indie rock stardom. (Vagrant Records) 

POLE POSITION – XO 
An old rockcrit rule of thumb says that the more hyperbole you find lurking around in a band’s press kit, the less quality you’ll find in the record’s grooves. Pole Position certainly talks the talk, but do they walk the walk? Referring to their 8-song EP XO, the band’s press kit asks “is it too early to call it the album of the year?” It goes on to compare the band – the duo of the singularly named Daniel and Rui, actually – to Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Portishead, and a couple of heads to be named later. Where the rubber hits the road, or, more accurately, the laser hits the metal alloy, XO fails to excite. A mish-mash of turgid style and electronic ambiance, Pole Position fill every song with an abundance of synth squeals, cold rhythms, and muted vocals, music so laid back that you can’t tell if the band is coming or going. Once again turning to the press kit, Pole Position’s Daniel states that they are “contemporary musicians who believe in music as concept.” Maybe next time they’ll conceive of some more lively and original music. Is it too early to call XO the album of the year? Yes, it is… (Polar Music)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Down In Front 
We’ve had all sorts of tribute discs and compilation albums covering just about every obscure songwriter or cult artist that you can think of. However, I don’t know of any project such as Down In Front, which pays tribute, of sorts, to punk figurehead/zine genius Aaron Cometbus ‘cause he’s the only common thread that ties together the various artists here. Down In Front offers twelve bands cranking out twenty-one songs that cover the complete gamut of punk musical theory, and I’m guessing that it’s Aaron kicking the cans behind every track. There’s lots of fine punkola in these grooves, too, with outfits like Pinhead Gunpowder, Sweet Baby, Shotwell Coho, and the Blank Fight providing the jams, Down In Front collected from ten years’ worth of low-budget 7” singles, obscure tapes and various EPs. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then I’d recommend that you get thee hence to No Idea and grab a copy ‘cause at a mere $6.00 for 21 slammin’ tracks, pure punk thrills have seldom been so cheap. (No Idea Records)
 

THE WORLD/INFERNO FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY – Just the Best Party
If you know from jump street that the music you’re creating doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of getting picked up by a major label, then why not have some fun with it? With Just the Best Party, the nine-piece World/Inferno Friendship Society does just that, commercial aspirations be damned, just raise a ruckus! Many of the songs on Just the Best Party have a sort of traditional Irish lilt to them, Jersey’s answer to the Pogues, but a careful listen to the dozen tracks here reveals a lot more. Arena-rock riffs stolen from Springsteen are paired with soulful horn-driven R&B, stately waltzes are delivered with punkish glee and staccato vocals punctuate new wavish pop rhythms and ragtime rave-ups. Songs like “I Wouldn’t Want To Live In A World Without Grudges” or “Zen & the Art of Breaking Everything In the Room” deliver cryptic lyrics while masterfully mixing musical genres – often within a single verse – providing the listener with food for thought. Amazingly, the World/Inferno Friendship Society pull off this grab-bag of styles and influences, every track on Just the Best Party snapping and crackling with manic electricity and barely-contained excitement. Musically adventuresome, stylistically maddening and yet entirely entertaining, Just the Best Party fires the first shot in defining a new alternative music for the new millennia. (Gern Blandsten Records)

Jersey Beat Archives: Black Cat Music, Munition, Saturday Supercade, Winepress (February 2002)

February 2002

For several years in the early 2000s, the Reverend contributed CD reviews to Jersey Beat music zine. It was a heck of a lot of fun, with JB editor Jim Testa mailing a package of punk and alt-rock CDs that I’d work up reviews for every month. Some of these reviews deserve representation in this archive…

BLACK CAT MUSIC – “hands in the estuary, torso in the lake”
Punk rock supergroups seem to be the rule rather than the exception these days and Black Cat Music are as much to blame as anybody. Hailing from the thriving San Francisco Bay music community, BCM was formed by former members of such beloved thrash-and-bang outfits as the Criminals and the Receivers. Unlike those long-gone outfits, these Black Cat boys seem as likely to mimic some black-clad Goth posse as they are to namecheck the Sex Pistols. “hands in the estuary, torso in the lake” is the band’s erstwhile debut, and if you’re looking for the trademark brand of bubblegum punk that Lookout! Records has built their reputation on, you won’t find it here. Songs like “The Valentine” or “The Cipher In the Snow” offer the sort of dark-hued poetry that Jeffrey Pierce created a legend with, Brady Baltezore’s existential wail revealing a tortured psyche and a lyrical obsession with life’s less pleasant moments. The band creates a nice ambience, hypnotically deceptive, steady rhythms sharply punctuated by Travis Dalton’s screaming six-string. Call it “thinking man’s punk” if you will, the sound of Black Cat Music heady sonic brew of noise, emotion, and passion. (Lookout! Records) 

MUNITION – The Black Wave
Chicago has a musical vibe all its own, from the city’s legendary blues clubs to a punk tradition that dates from Rick DiBello and the Swingers in the 1970s to Naked Raygun and the Effigies in the ‘80s. Munition is just the latest in a long line of talented Chicago bands and from the monster tunes they created for The Black Wave, their debut, these ears tell me that they’re poised on the brink of a major league breakthrough. With a tight musical chemistry and three-dimensional sound that belies their relative youth as a band, Munition mixes the aggression and attitude of punk with populist lyrical leanings and a massive, take-no-prisoners wall-of-noise that suggests that somebody has been listening to their Husker Du records. Axeman Donovan’s guitarwork hits you between the ears like a pneumatic hammer while Mark’s vocals chisel away at your subconscious with intelligently worded songs that tackle such heady themes as consumerism, alcoholism, and television. Most of all, Munition rocks with the reckless abandon of a young gunslinger who has yet to earn the first notch on his gun. (Failed Experiment Records)

SATURDAY SUPERCADE – Everyone Is A Target 
Remember a few years ago, when, in the shadow of No Doubt’s inexplicable success, ska-punk became the commercial flavor of the month? Now jump forward a couple of years to 2001, the year of the punk odyssey, when snotty, lightweight commercial punk won the hearts and minds of young American teens flush with cash and willing to feed the hungry maw of the rabid trendmongers that run the industry. Well, take equal parts of Blink-182, Sum 41, and Fenix, Texas and you’ll have Saturday Supercade, a band that predates the current major label obsession with marketable teen sounds but plays right into the hands of the starmaking machinery nonetheless. Everyone Is A Target is filled to the brim with cheap, faceless three-chord wanknoise that, while not unpleasant, doesn’t challenge your heart and soul the way that, say, Bad Religion or Rancid does. Saturday Supercade and their ilk are like a bucket o’ Halloween candy – familiar, pleasantly sweet, and partially satisfying. Inevitably, though, this sort of disposable punk will end up rotting away your mind much like the candy corrodes your teeth. (Liberation Records)

WINEPRESS – Complete Recordings
The history of rock ‘n’ roll is littered with the aspirations and intentions of thousands of bands that deserved some modicum of success but found only indifference beyond their small but loyal following. Chicago’s Winepress was only around for a couple of years during the early ‘90s, but they left an indelible mark on the city’s punk legacy. Offering every Winepress recording made, collecting the tunes from 7” singles and album compilations, the Complete Recordings CD offers the former teenage band a chance to get heard outside of their hometown and adds a bit of legitimacy to their brief career. From a critical perspective, Winepress cranked out generic punk rock with pop overtones. From a music lover’s viewpoint, however, in their day and in their own way, Winepress was an impressive band. The youthful enthusiasm and kinetic amateurism found on songs like “Revenge of the Nerds” and “You’re So Punk” sounds absolutely refreshing in comparison to the slick, over-produced dreck oversold to us these days. Although there’s nothing on Complete Recordings that will make you toss aside your copy of London Calling, you’re looking for unpretentious cheap thrills and some satisfying tunes, check out Winepress. (Harmless Records)

Archive Review: The Gossip's Undead In NYC (2003)

Although the Reverend has vintage bootlegs in his collection with better sound quality than Undead In NYC, there’s no denying the power and the passion of the Gossip’s performance. Kicking out mutant punk blooze with a whiskey edge and an amphetamine heart, the Gossip’s secret weapon is singer Beth Ditto. Ditto’s sweaty, leather-lunged vocals rise above the muddy mix to grab the listener by the ears and shake ‘em out of their major label induced coma. Axeman Nathan Howdeschell rails at the world with all the subtlety of the Mississippi River breaking through its levees and flooding the Delta.

With Ditto’s vocals lost in the din, and her lyrical obsessions with love and lust all but indecipherable, the band rocks like a drunken fratmonkey and the audience’s obvious enthusiasm is contagious. A raucous cover of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” performed with friends from Chromatics, quickly spirals out of control and into chaos before ending in an orgy of feedback and clashing instrumentation. Undead In NYC may not be the best example of the Gossip’s charms but it does show that 30 minutes is all it takes for this Arkansas trio to rock your world. (Dim Mak Records)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat music zine, 2003

Archive Review: Velvet Crush's Free Expression (2003)

Velvet Crush is one of those great little pop/rock outfits that continuously cranks out choice tuneage with little or nothing gained in the way of commercial success, fame, or even respect, fer christ sakes. If you haven’t heard of VC before, well, Free Expression is as good a place as any to get your feet wet. Originally released in 1999 on the band’s own Action Musik label, this two-CD deluxe reissue from Parasol is the way to go. Disc one offers the complete original Free Expression album as produced by Matthew Sweet (no neophyte around a pop song himself), as well as a bonus song tacked onto the Japanese version of the album. The second disc holds the original demo versions of many of the songs on Free Expression, recorded by vocalist/guitarist Paul Chastain in his home studio (including several cool unreleased tunes!)

The demo disc holds several unheard gems and holds up well on its own; sounding better than most of the legitimate album releases you’ll hear this year. The full-bore Sweet-produced version of Free Expression is a marvel though, Chastain and partner Ric Menck crafting an excellent collection of power-pop and twangy rock that will have you humming for days. Imagine the Byrds jamming with Big Star with the Everly Brothers adding harmonies. Sweet contributes some of his own underrated guitar work here, but Free Expression is Chastain and Menck’s show, an obvious labor of love resulting in an obscure classic that stands tall among the giants of rock ‘n’ roll. (Action Musik/Parasol)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat music zine, 2003

Archive Review: "Dirtnap Across the Northwest" (2003)

Compilation discs are the best way for the budget-minded (read: broke) punk rawk consumer to familiarize themselves with a wide range of available muzak. Take, fer instance, Dirtnap Across the Northwest, an ultra-fine collection of tunes from a variety of rock ‘n’ roll types offered by Seattle’s Dirtnap Records at a reasonable (i.e. $10) price. This monster comp serves up a whopping 31 tasty tracks, each one previously unreleased and many actually worth your valuable time. As usual, some comp performances rise above the others, and it’s no different here. Among my personal faves are the Epoxies, whose “Join the Professionals” shows all the guts and fire of the Avengers a quarter of a century after the fact. The Stuck Ups’ “Missing You” is all unrelenting white noise/white heat while the Cripples sound like new wave techno-punx with their squealing synths and snotty vox.

I swear that Midnight Thunder Express are the New York Dolls reincarnated sans J. Thunders and with a lippier frontman than Buster. The Triggers also dance on the Avengers tip with “Song By Heart” and the Flip Tops deliver old-fashioned crash and bang punk rawk with unintelligible vocals and monster riffs. The Hollow Points rock like Stiff Little Fingers circa ’77, cranking out a nifty little anti-war ditty with balls. Lopez cuts a rug with “Cretin,” sounding like a higher-voltage, hardcore version of AC/DC with choogling guitars that will please punks and metalheads alike. The High Beams, the Cinch, the Spits – there’s something for every taste on Dirtnap Across The Northwest and not a single pop/punk poseur in sight. Dirtnap Records has become the Reverend’s new favorite indie label and it should be yours, too! (Dirtnap Records)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat music zine, 2003

Archive Review: Rubber City Rebels' Pierce My Brain (2003)

Twenty-two years after the release of their first and only album, the legendary punk posse Rubber City Rebels has come roaring back to claim the legacy that should have been laid upon the band to begin with. Ohio’s RCR cut their collective eyeteeth on the Stooges and the Flamin’ Groovies, hanging out with fellow acolytes of the three-chord, garage rock aesthetic like the Ramones and the Dead Boys. Unlike Stiv and his gang or art-punk poofters like Pere Ubu, the Rubber City Rebels never succumbed to the lure of Sodom or Gomorrah, choosing instead to bring the band’s revved-up brand of rant and roll to the Midwestern masses. Needless to say, in an industry built on formula and supported by trends, RCR went over like a dervish at a debutante’s ball, and the band splintered into sleeper cells soon after releasing its hard-rocking, self-titled debut album in 1980.   

Recording a dozen new tunes in the wake of a successful reunion mini-tour, slash-and-burn axeman Rod Firestone has returned to lead his band of merry men – vocalist Buzz Clic, bassist Bob Clic, and drummer Mike Hammer – on a musical search and destroy mission with Pierce My Brain. The band succeeds admirably, walking a tightrope between young, loud and snotty and metallic K.O., lyrically ravaging the entire Hot Topic mallrat culture of manufactured dissent. “(I Wanna) Pierce My Brain” slags conformist trendoids by taking “body mod” to its logical extremes while “Grip of Fear” delivers a more insightful commentary on current events than any of those pseudo-intellectual, candy-ass political punks have managed to come up with lately. The profoundly disturbing “I Don’t Wanna Be A Punk No More” examines both punk’s self-imagery and the band’s place in history while “Dead Boy (Eulogy For Stiv)” offers memories of Firestone’s fallen comrade.

One guitar, three chords, scorching leads and throbbing rhythms – the Rubber City Rebels are back and Pierce My Brain is both the band’s manifesto and an opening salvo for the (kind of) new millennium. If all the music on the radio all sounds the same these days and you can no longer swallow cookie-cutter “punk” pop stars like Good Charlotte or Simple Plan – nice boys playing polite music for a demographically chosen market – check out Rubber City Rebels. The wise and sage Rod Firestone said it best in “Punk Daddy,” loudly proclaiming “Old School Rules Fool!” Rebels Forever, Forever Rebels! (Smog Veil Records)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat music zine, 2003

Archive Review: Halfacre Gunroom’s Wrecked (2004)

It should come as no surprise that Memphis, Tennessee is experiencing a roots-rock revival, carried on the shoulders of bands like the Porch Ghouls and Halfacre Gunroom. The home of Stax Records, Elvis Presley, Sun Records, Dewey Phillips, Sam Phillips, Holiday Inn, and Rufus Thomas, the city on the bluff has deep roots in American music and culture, a legacy that few cities can legitimately claim.

Wrecked is Halfacre Gunroom’s debut, a red-hot rocker that weds alternative country influences with a restless punk rock spirit, a Memphis version of Jason and the Nashville Scorchers. Bryan Hartley is the ringleader here, a skilled wordsmith with a Johnny Cash baritone and a firm grasp on the heavenly concept of “glorious din” while the band, including guitarist Brian Wallace, manufacture a joyous noise. Wrecked is a maelstrom of bluesy vocals, savage guitar riffs, powerful rhythms, and songs that dance too closely on the brink of disaster.

Hartley reminds me a lot of Joe Grushecky, his lyrics telling stories of people who work too hard, drink too much, love too quickly and, at the end of the day, still find the strength to carry on in the face of adversity. This is blue-collar roots-rock – Southern style – as only a band from Memphis could deliver, Springsteenesque tales matched with a rowdy twang and a belief in the power of rock ‘n’ roll that the Boss lost years ago. Highly recommended for fans of Slobberbone, Uncle Tupelo, or the V-Roys. (Icarus Records)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat zine...

Archive Review: Slim Cessna's Auto Club's The Bloudy Tenent, Truth & Peace (2004)

Slim Cessna’s Auto Club blends punk attitude with Gospel fervor, traditional C&W roots, and rockabilly riffs, creating a mutant strain of spiritual music that sounds like it was brewed up in some mountain hollow. Cessna is the band’s main vocalist and songwriter, a prophet without honor with a background seeped in mystery. The rest of the band – Rev. Glasseye, Munly Munly, Tim Maher, Dwight Pentacost, and Judithann – aptly support Cessna’s musical ministry. As you might guess, the lyrical direction of The Bloudy Tenet, Truth  & Peace concerns itself with sin and salvation, the benefits of a simple country life and the evils of modern society. A thought-provoking collection of songs by a talented if slightly off-center band, The Bloudy Tenet, Truth & Peace is unlike anything you’ll hear this year. Gospel music from Hell’s half acre? Joyful noise from the Devil’s playground? Only the Lord hisself can judge… (Alternative Tentacles Records, 2004)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat zine...

Archive Review: Bill Janovitz & Crown Victoria's Fireworks On TV! (2004)

Alt-rock veteran Bill Janovitz – late of the Boston band Buffalo Tom – originally formed Crown Victoria as a vehicle for his solo efforts. Recording during the downtime from his critically-acclaimed major label band, Janovitz’s solo work eventually eclipsed the band’s vision and, as things are wont to do in rock ‘n’ roll, Crown Victoria eventually became a full-time pursuit. Fireworks On TV! is the band’s third album, a mature and fully-realized group effort, the tight chemistry between Janovitz and his bandmates showcased on tunes like “Almost Beating” and the eclectic “One Two Three.”

Janovitz’s musical milieu definitely falls into the folk-rock vein, with a little alt-country twang and alt-rock guitar pyrotechnics thrown in to spice things up a bit. An engaging songwriter of no little folk influence, Janovitz has an eye for the minutiae of daily life and the complexities of human relationships. As frontman for Crown Victoria, however, Janovitz nevertheless enjoys the crashing of cymbals, chiming guitars and the Fort Apache studio approximation of Phil Spector’s “wall of sound.” Fireworks On TV! is a smart, hard-rocking and entertaining effort, Janovitz and Crown Victoria ready for prime-time and a higher profile in indie-rock circles. (Q Division Records, 2004)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat zine...