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nihiti – The Orchids (Psychic TV cover)

nihiti (purposefully lowercase) is a NYC psych-folk duo, and their cover of “The Orchids” by art rock vanguards Psychic TV is my pick for track of the week. The original version is so lo-fi it’s barely audible, but the cover double tracks the vocal, which almost sounds triple tracked with added echo, to make sure the listener can understand each and every beautiful lyric. “And in the morning and the night, I fall in love with the light.” The cello on top with violin underneath adds even more sweetness to an already tender song. Fans of everything from Califone to Fairport Convention will go bonkers over this truly multi-generational track. Contributed by Chris Gedos

nihiti (Soundcloud)

Rating 9.05

reviewed by b3

11-05-11

REVIEW: Harrison Hudson – American Thunder

Pop Rock Track Reviews

American Thunder, the new album from Harrison Hudson, is an unexpected treat from the Nashville outfit. Lo-fi production fuses with ambitious sing-alongs to create an unassailable combination. It’s been a while since I’ve heard songs so tightly structured around linear-sequential, narrative storytelling. “Bookstore Girl” could become a winter semester anthem in Cambridge, Madison and Ann Arbor. “Cherish The One You Got” takes a twee sensibility and ages it like a fine wine, like a post-pubescent b-side from Who Will Cut Our Hair When We Are Gone. The single, “Every Girl”, is lovely enough but one of the safer songs on the album. However, that’s the mark of a great LP, when the deep cuts are indistinguishable from the singles. The pedigree is apparent: Big Star, Guided By Voices, Magnetic Fields. (Also listed on their Facebook page is Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Ricky Nelson.) But then you hear The Crystals-esque backing vocals on “Run My Way” and all comparisons go out the window. I want to put this review in a time capsule for three months, because when the songs are there, the replay value is a given. Bravo, Harrison Hudson! American Thunder is my favorite album of Q4 2011. Contributed by Chris Gedos

Harrison Hudson – Every Girl

Harrison Hudson – Bookstore Girl

INFO: (Official)

Rating 8.7

reviewed by b3

11-01-11

SHOW REVIEW: The Peach Kings / Ryan Traster @ Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles 10/24/2011

Live Show Reviews Rock Songwriter

By: Chris Gedos

Upon arriving to the Bootleg Theater I stepped out immediately to make a phone call and missed the first several minutes of Ryan Traster’s set. According to my friends, he started playing as a four piece before his band retired due to technical difficulties. He continued solo. We preferred his material stripped down and acoustic, how he wasn’t out of step with the best of 90’s college rock. Ryan is a Minneapolis native currently stationed in Brooklyn and has a song which was featured on Keeping Up With The Kardashians (!) that was “hijacked by Starbucks without him knowing”. Seeing him live while never having heard of him before reminded me of that never-ending cycle of talented unknowns which take a ride on the LA carousel night after night. Fortunately for Mr. Traster, this isn’t his first rodeo – his songs are too well-developed for him to still be wet around the ears. He can croon like Elvis Costello and sing from the throat like Matt Sharp. I’m also reminded of some of Ian McCullough’s solo work (especially Candleland, sans dated synths producing wind noise). Like him on Facebook and you can stream several deep cuts. His new record, Good Hearts, was released yesterday and celebrated with an online concert which was streamed to all. #toogoodtogounnoticed

Ryan Traster – Gutter Truth (Facebook)

We next caught The Peach Kings. It’s surprising they haven’t received more buzz since their EP, Trip Wop, is fierce and available for free download via their website. I guess trip wop is a valid enough oxymoron. Per their website: “It’s a new breakthrough in The Peach Kings’ hypnotic science of sound that fuses the melodic and vocal elements of doo-wop with the droning thump and choked up percussion of a trip-hop beat.” Singer Paige Wood’s powerful voice hits a wide array of cadences, emotions and decibel levels. Because she doesn’t go big constantly, it’s even more effective when she does. Also interesting is that she doesn’t conform to typical gender roles i.e. she isn’t dressed like Kesha or even play the emotional leverage card like Feist. Her singing approaches this feeling of androgyny which is highly sexualized and genderless at the same time. The guitarist, Steven Trezevant, provides classic licks and a capable back-up / secondary vocal. The instrumentation is rambling and sloppy and that’s how they like it, but Wood’s vocal is so strong I think it could be maximized more. All they need is a little time, and maybe a bit more urgency. But they’ve already proven they can make a record.

The Peach Kings – Thieves and Kings (Official) (Facebook)

reviewed by b3

10-27-11

Neil Young: A Top Ten

B3Sci Mixtapes In the Mix Rock

Neil Young: A Top Ten
By: Chris Gedos

It’s October! That time of the year again. Time to watch playoff baseball, battle that addiction to baseball-reference.com and lament Joe Buck’s poor imitation of Bob Costas. (DiMaggio had just 13 strikeouts in 1941!) Time to uncork those vintage Rieslings, pick apples, ride bikes and listen to “Monster Mash”, and only the version by Bobby “Boris” Pickett which made it to #1 in 1962. And finally, it’s time to listen to Neil Young, my favorite Canadian! So roast up those pumpkin seeds, pour a glass of hot cider and take a look at my selections for Neil’s top ten. And by “top ten” I explicitly mean not the best, completely arbitrary, but rather my ten favorite Neil songs which hopefully provide a sufficiently comprehensive introduction for the Neil neophyte.

10. “Silver & Gold” – Although released in the year 2000 on the album of the same name, “Silver & Gold” the song was originally written in 1981. Neil has been known to sit on songs for decades, as one can only conjecture as to how many albums of unreleased material reside in Mr. Young’s vaults. “Silver & Gold” is one of his sweetest love songs, concurrently saccharine, innocent, hopeful and eternal.

9. “Out On The Weekend” is the opening track on Harvest, his most popular album and one of the most popular of the year when released in 1972. “Think I’ll pack it in, buy a pickup, take it down to LA” is one of those famous Neil lyrics which epitomizes his infatuation with the American West. Although Harvest is far from Shakey’s most cohesive work, it does feature 5 of his best songs, with “Out On The Weekend” kicking things off in a big way. (see Elliot Smith and Lady Gaga covers).

8. “Mellow My Mind” is Neil’s most uplifting track from his most despondent album, Tonight’s The Night, originally released in 1975 after a two year delay, recorded in a tumultuous period following the death of Danny Whitten (of Crazy Horse and The Rockets). Album #3 in the Ditch trilogy (following Time Fades Away and On The Beach), Tonight’s The Night is a big favorite among hardcore Neil Young fans (see Thrasher’s Wheat).

7. On The Beach” – 1974’s On The Beach, Neil’s first studio release post-Harvest, was recorded under the influence of Honey Slides, a marijuana infused concoction that “felt like heroin”, according to Shakey, the Neil Young tome of a biography written by Jimmy McDonough. Much like Tonight’s the Night, the album was unappreciated upon release on account of its crude production and sense of foreboding which set a clean stylistic break from his first four studio albums. The title track’s combination of lyrical repetition and remorseful jamming add up to a perfect commentary on the failed social revolution of the late 60’s. On The Beach was finally released on CD in 2003, after a long petition spearheaded by Thrasher’s Wheat.

6. “I’m The Ocean” – The best track on 1996’s Mirror Ball, recorded with Pearl Jam as a most fitting backing band for the Godfather of Grunge. While somewhat inconsistent, Mirror Ball ranks among Neil’s hardest albums (along with Ragged Glory and side 2 of Rust Never Sleeps.) A 7 minute jam, “I’m The Ocean” is a lyrical tour de force. “I’m a Cadillac, I’m a Cutlass Supreme,” is a line so emphatically American it’s hard to believe it was written by someone from Winnipeg.

5. “Rockin’ in the Free World” – Opening song on 1989’s Freedom, the album which re-launched Shakey’s career (after a shakey Eighties), the live version of “Rockin’ In The Free World” was the emblematic song of the period surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. Again, much like On The Beach, the effective repetition during the chorus is striking for a musician best known for his lyrical variety and depth. Along with “Ohio”, “Rockin’ In The Free World” is Neil’s most overtly political song. Listening to it two decades later makes you feel as though you’re taking part in a still-burgeoning political movement.

4. “Down By The River” – One of Neil’s most popular and oft covered tracks, “Down By The River” closes side one of 1970’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, his second studio album. The song’s ranking may be inflated because it’s my favorite of his longer, more expansive, jam/solo driven tracks ( including “Cowgirl in The Sand”, “Like A Hurricane” and “Cortez The Killer”, among others. The track further proves Neil’s obsession with water as a Mark Twain between safe and dangerous, sanity and desperation, happiness and despondency. No posturing, only music. Even the lyrics during the chorus seem to fade into the swirl established by the urgent jamming of Danny Whitten’s Crazy Horse.

3. “Journey Through The Past” – What a shame that the only version of “Journey Through The Past” available on CD is the Live At Massey Hall version (which fortunately captures Mr. Young at his commercial and creative peaks), as 1973’s Time Fades Away, a live album, has yet to receive a proper CD release. The past as halcyon days is a theme Neil returns to again and again, but never as effortlessly as on “Journey Through The Past.” Shakey’s voice has never sounded so haggard or beautiful. “I will stay with you if you stay with me, said the fiddler to the drum. And we’ll keep good time on a journey through the past.” Solid gold.

2. “After The Gold Rush” – Much like Journey Through The Past, the sparse instrumentation of piano and muted french horn on “After The Gold Rush”, the title track off his 1971 LP, his best minute-for-minute album. The imagery is inventive, simplistic, visceral and timeless, from knights in armor to spaceships in the sky. Recorded in the period after Déjà Vu, it’s the album which bears the most traits of kin with CSNY.

1. “Heart of Gold” – His best track on his most famous album, “Heart Of Gold” is the perfect three minute pop song. The slide guitar is divine. This is the Neil song most recognized by the general populace, but by no means was he selling out, as proven the subsequent “Ditch” trilogy. By casting a wide geographical net, it contains some of his most ambitious lyrics. The backing vocals at the end by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt are wonderful as well. The song represents a critical juncture in Neil’s career as the moment he officially entered the rock pantheon, right before he forsook his commercial fame.

Second Ten (no order): Don’t be Denied, Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Lotta Love, Like A Hurricane, Harvest Moon, Old Man, Don’t Cry No Tears, Thrasher, Burned

And just like with any of the great artists, the more that Mr. Neil Young reveals of himself, the more enigmatic he becomes.

Neil Young (Official)

reviewed by b3

10-26-11

Pinebocks – Flee / My Unfunny Valentine

Rock Songwriter Track Reviews

According to his bandcamp page, Pinebocks is the still nascent project of Cory Clifford, “an indie pop obsessed 21 year old idiot living in Texas.” His first release, Flee / My Unfunny Valentine, is quite simplistic but is held together by strong songwriting. There’s no trying to razzle dazzle with gimmickry and layers of synths, just a man with words, a guitar and some feelings to share. “Flee” is very Magnetic Fields with a pinch of Van Dyke Parks. “My Unfunny Valentine” has a traditional, almost Leadbelly bent. These songs are unfinished, but they don’t need a band propping them up. They have enough panache on their own. Peep this and propose a toast to all the precocious youths writing songs throughout the Heartland. Contributed by Chris Gedos

Pinebocks – Flee

Pinebocks – My Unfunny Valentine

Pinebocks (Bandcamp)

Rating 7.95

reviewed by b3

10-22-11

FESTIVAL REVIEW: Culture Collide, October 6-9, 2011, Los Angeles

Live Show Reviews

Last weekend (October 6-9), FILTER Magazine sponsored their second annual Culture Collide festival. Exposing international artists to the ears of Angelenos is the name of the game at Culture Collide, and this year’s Echo Park-based festival saw CSS (Brazil), Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (USA), Liam Finn (NZ), and Datarock (Norway) as well as artists from Australia, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, etc. Here’s a re-cap of what you missed.

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Nirvana: Live at the Paramount: Screening @ Los Feliz Vista Theater Wednesday October 5, 2011

Culture Collide kicked off in a big way on Wednesday evening with a showing of the recently released Nirvana: Live at the Paramount, a Seattle homecoming from Halloween night, 1991, just five weeks after the release of Nevermind. The film screened at the famous Vista Theater, located at the intersection of Sunset and Hillhurst in the Los Feliz neighborhood of LA. Live at the Paramount is the only Nirvana show ever shot in its entirety on 16mm film (how is this even possible!?), which makes the concert all the more special. We’ve been conditioned to digest Nirvana’s performance via 30 second midi video clips which have aired on VH1 continuously since 1995, so to see Nirvana without commercial breaks is quite exhausting – I can only imagine the electricity inside the Paramount 20 years ago. Flanking the sides of the stage are two dancers, an androgynous boy wearing a shirt that says ‘girl’ and an androgynous girl with a shirt that says ‘boy’, a gentle reminder of how Cobain and co. playfully tested the public’s perception of society as a whole.

Grohl does most of the between song banter, with a little help from Novoselic, but Cobain remains nearly mute. It’s important to appreciate that even on the eve of worldwide fame Cobain was uncomfortable with his status as an (albeit budding) “rock star”. Also, Nirvana was anything but a DIY project by October, 1991, as they’d already been given a healthy advance for a major label release. Societal implications aside, Nirvana is merely a band with one fantastic album and two very good albums. But Live at the Paramount reminds us that Nirvana can never be separated from the culture which catapulted them to fame. – Chris Gedos

Nirvana – Rape Me (Home Acoustic Demo)
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Liam Finn @ Echo Thursday October, 6 2011

To start his set, Liam Finn joked that his band ‘had traveled the longest way’. The New Zealand-bred Finn (son of Crowded House leader Neil Finn), who had likely traveled further distance than anyone else at The Echo on Thursday night, brought his serious songwriter and musical chops. The sort of chops that, like some of the best — Buckley comes to mind (father/son coincidence aside), where the music just seems to pour out of them. Like it’s just an extension of who they are, like having arms or legs or cool hair or whatever, it is their person. In describing Finn’s music and performance, we heard influences like whisperers Travis and Elliot Smith up to the straight folk rock of the 70’s and it’s modern disciples like Wilco. During the set, the band joked they didn’t have enough room on stage, and they kind of didn’t – as we counted up to 9 musicians on stage at any one point. Percussion played a big role (think WIND CHIMES), Liam even occasionally guest-dueled on drums, hitting the skins like a pro. “Gather to the Chapel” was a favorite take from the dynamic set. The band played through each tune, song for song, like seasoned folk pop professionals (maybe Decemberists-esque) and left a half full venue crowd (those that were there really into it) cheering, screaming, clamoring for more.

Liam Finn – Gather to the Chapel

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Lindstrom @ Echoplex Thursday October 6, 2011

Norwegian producer Lindstrøm closed the evening at Echoplex with a set of late night nu-disco macparty music. A chilled but focused Hans-Peter vibed his way through a mind-bending set of contemporary retro electronic music. On-lookers couldn’t help but move.

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The Postelles @ Taix Friday October 7, 2011

The Postelles took the stage Friday night at Taix. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a band this tight. They’re unconcerned with fads and styles while relating to the present and having something relevant to say for the year 2011. After being dropped by Capitol/EMI last year, the group didn’t skip a beat and eventually released the Albert Hammond Jr. produced, eponymous debut with +1 records this past June. As I write this, “Bad to Me” by Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas plays at the café, which is fitting because the Postelles truly sound like the lost songs of Lennon/McCartney (in a very good way). Is there anything left to say about the songs band vs. ideas band debate? Songs have always and will always win out.

A band of lesser value may not have survived as unscathed by a similar corporate runaround. But the Postelles sound even better than their videos online from eighteen months ago. “123 Stop” has to be one of the top rock songs of 2011. By channeling Eric Carmen and the spirit of (dare I say) Lee Mavers, the Postelles have created one of the most perfectly retro albums since Is This It. Properly rooted in the CKLW sound of 1960’s Detroit, these guys have been listening to their complete Motown Singles! The last, best thing I can say about them is that their new songs sound even more complex and intricate, with increased vocal duties on the part of the lead guitarist. The Postelles are touring America with The Wombats and then The Kooks at the end of October and through November. Drive the necessary distance and see these guys live, if only to know that old time Rock n’ Roll is alive and well. – Chris Gedos

The Postelles – Hold On

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Tennis System @ Taix Friday October 7, 2011

Tennis System, recent LA Transplants via Washington D.C., plays a hard but endearing mix of Psych-Pop and Shoegaze. I can’t say I’m a big fan of the name, but many of my favorite albums in recent memory have come from bands with immeasurably more preposterous names (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to name one). They’re loud but not abrasively so, as they’re well aware that playing at a decibel level above 100 doesn’t make you automatically good. At the same time, they were shut down at SXSW for noise complaints. They’re like Weekend but more pop. “Hey, We Tried” (love the comma!) wouldn’t sound out of place on either Loveless or Carnival of Light. At the same time, Tennis System isn’t a genre band per se, succeeding with a sound which channels a wide spectrum of influences as far back as Pink Floyd and as recent as The Flaming Lips. Most importantly, they’re not just a live band, since their EP makes for a captivating and intimate listen. – Chris Gedos

Tennis System – Arcane

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Avi Buffalo @ Taix Friday October 7, 2011 and @ Toyota Antics Block Party Sunday October, 9 2011

Long Beach collective Avi Buffalo made use of their Friday and Sunday sets to deliver a fresh take on 2011 indie rock. Avi Buffalo are a band able to walk the line of producing popular songs like “What’s In It For?” while maintaining an off-the-beaten-path musical identity relative to other bands in their space. For example, how many other bands can actually play blistering guitar solos for minutes in the vain of Dave Gilmour or even Stevie Ray Vaughan? Or rather, how many other indie bands actually have the balls to rock out a 5-string bass on stage? Avi Buffalo march by the beat of their own drum (or 5-string bass slap). AB’s mostly moderately paced set was chock full of the most of dynamic crescendos and Neil Young-like shrieking by lead singer Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg. The band even delivered a moving version of ole Shakey’s “Cortez the Killer”. While Avi Buffalo is certainly rooted firmly with the pantheon of great 70’s classic rock groups, they aren’t shy about embracing more contemporary elements. Take for example, their bringing on stage of an MC, who joined the band at various points to spit rhymes over some of the set’s more funkified music beds. Also the shoes! The band had great contemporary-lookin’ shoes!

Avi Buffalo – What’s In It For?

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Yacht @ Echoplex Friday October 7, 2011

Yacht drew a packed house for their headlining slot at Echoplex Friday night. Yacht brought funk. The house got down. Phased-out and clean guitar effects, tight on-the-beat syncopations, cow bell, Eurythmics, you get the picture. Lead singer Claire L. Evans was in control taking charge of the party atmosphere and not letting go throughout the entire high energy set. The band’s spot-on cover of The B-52s “Mesopotamia” fit the pocket, a solid example of the best sort of minor keyed pop song. With a full and accomplished sound, Yacht are still that crossover hit away from landing on the commercial landscape. Do they care? Probably not.

YACHT – It’s All The Same Price (Featuring Eats Tapes)

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Asteroids Galaxy Tour @ Echoplex Friday October 7, 2011 and @ Toyota Antics Block Party Sunday October 9, 2011

Danish pop collective The Asteroids Galaxy Tour brought the full production for their Friday (Echoplex) and Sunday (Toyota Antics Block Party) sets. One of the more pop-orientated groups at Culture Collide this year, the band’s uptempo set fused high energy soul with an almost Brit-pop strut. The theatrics of lead singer Mette Lindberg were a highlight and the band definitely ramped up some well deserved anticipation for their forthcoming sophomore release Out of Frequency, due early 2012.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – Inner City Blues

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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Toyota Antics Block Party Sunday October 9, 2011

Clap Your Hands played a very respectable 45 minute set in between Asteroid Galaxy and Datarock. They had been scheduled to play at F*** Yeah Fest on 3 September but were unable to travel west due to hurricane Irene. My main gripe is through no fault of their own: it seemed they wanted to play longer than they did, but were forced to stick to the strict time constraints mandated by the two stages’ proximity to one another. In fact, PA music came on before their encore! 45 minutes is ample time for a nice, thorough sound check, but for a band like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, who officially has a body of work now, the set seems way too short, especially since a majority of the set was from their now iconic, 2005 self-titled debut, a release which embodied the DIY movement at the time.

Regarding that debut, few albums come along with as cohesive or a singular of a purpose. I will forever compare Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to Ziggy Stardust if only because both albums run through 12 tracks in 38 minutes, and because Bowie championed Clap Your Hands when they first broke through. The Philadelphia five-piece opens with “Sunshine and Clouds and Everything Proud”, a little ditty which is track 4 on the aforementioned debut. This choice of opener suggested that the set wouldn’t be about Hysterical, the John Congleton-produced LP which was released on September 20th in The States, but rather their LP which was released 6 and a half years ago. I can’t say that the crowd minded the preponderance of older material. “In This Home on Ice”, my personal fav, was spot-on, and “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth”, their undisputed most popular song, sent the crowd rocking back and forth in place. As for the new album, “Hysterical” begins unassuming but builds throughout to something with a level of urgency. The single, “Maniac”, would make a nice B-side from their first album. Unfortunately for Mr. Ounsworth and co., however, the band has lost much of their relevancy and have therefore come to be defined by their past as opposed to their future. Whether Hysterical will set their career on a new trajectory remains to be seen.– Chris Gedos

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! – Maniac

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Datarock @ Toyota Antics Block Party Sunday October 9, 2011

What you see is what you get with Norwegian heavyweights Datarock, which is a lot. Tight, concise guitar licks, kraut-house melodies and vocals which serve as atmosphere during the verse and go big during the chorus. To say that Datarock brings a lot of energy to stage would be a vast understatement. They bubble over with energy, jumping up and down in their trademark red jumpsuits with a fair bit of running man thrown in for good measure. Frontman Fredrik Saroea is the group ambassador, drummer Tarjei Strøm donates several drum sticks to the audience and bassist Thomas Larssen never stops head banging. But Kjetil Møster, while not a founding member, is arguably their heart and soul. He mixes in layers of synths with a killer saxophone solo on several of their best known tracks. I saw Datarock at the Echoplex back in March and must say that their sound lends itself better to an indoor environment, as it seemed they weren’t quite as loud on Sunday night. Yet their performance was clear proof why they’ve been darlings of the electro rock scene for nearly a decade. – Chris Gedos

Datarock – The Pretender
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CSS @ Echoplex Saturday October 8, 2011 and @ Toyota Antics Block Party Sunday October 9, 2011

CSS brought some Brazilian soccer culture worthy-type “A” game to Culture Collide – headlining stages on both Saturday (Echoplex) and Sunday (Toyota Antics Block Party) nights. Perhaps the festival’s biggest draw, the band’s tight mix of multicultural nightlife soul won over the crowd of both new and longtime fans.

CSS – Red Alert (Feat. Ratatat)

reviewed by b3

10-13-11

REVIEW: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Tape Club

Rock Track Reviews

How many great songs does SSLYBY have to release before they become a regular part of that Best American Bands of The 2000’s conversation? Tape Club is a triumph. By deliberating staying away from their most popular tracks, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin has released a compilation equally representative of their talents, proving that their B and even C-sides are of great merit. The first half of the collection (through the Cobain meets bubblegum “Not Worth Fighting”) will be very familiar to fans of the group, mainly consisting of cuts from their first two pre-Broom EPs, Gwyn and Grace and Someone Still Loves You Michael Holt. “Let’s Get Tired” and “Song W & Song L” reside among their best work. “Lower The Gas Prices Howard Johnson”, an angsty yet innocent love song, could most easily have been inserted onto Broom. The Wilmington Demo of “Dead Right” is probably better than the original Pershing version on account of the warmer production and harmonies. “Cardinal Rules”, about the Springfield, MO minor league baseball team, and “We Can Win Missouri” explore the same issues of autochthony and personality of place as on “Yellow Missing Signs”. It would’ve been cool to see a live cut (they’ve been known to cover “Mr. Wendal”) or something from Daytrotter at least, but fortunately the collection has much of interest for even the most avid devotee. As for the SSLYBY neophyte, new bands will form on both sides of the Mississippi after listening to the 26 choice gems which comprise Tape Club. Contributed by Chris Gedos

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Dead Right (Wilmington Demo)

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Cardinal Rules

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Official) (Bandcamp)

RATING: 8.8

reviewed by b3

10-05-11

LIVE SHOW REVIEWS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. / Gossip Culture / Trade School @ Grog Shop, Cleveland 09/26/11

Electronic Live Show Reviews Rock

It was a Midwestern affair on Monday Night at the Grog Shop, with Trade School (Minnesota) and Gossip Culture (Cleveland) opening for super-fresh Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (Detroit). To be from the Midwest is to embody a certain mindset or philosophy that it’s OK to be the underdog, i.e. we don’t care about our forgotten industry because we’re really the backbone of this hackneyed American Dream.

The Grog is small and intimate with no strange corners for the sound to get trapped in; the beer selection is impressive and the prices reasonable; with a max capacity likely less than 300, it’ll rock with 75-80 people inside; really an ideal place to see a show. After a bout on the infamous Ms. Pac-Man machine, Minnesota’s Trade School took the stage — a guy and a girl playing synths with warmth and emotion, strong beats and stronger melodies. According to their singer, the other band mates are in rehab and prison, a tidbit he related with brilliant deadpan if he was indeed joking. Information’s scant beyond this – to give you a sense of their talents. With a full lineup they could be a force to be reckoned with.

Gossip Culture (Ryan Sheridan) is from CLE, and us Northeast Ohioans love to promote a homegrown product. I’d say there were 15-20 devotees who had seen him a few times before. Surely they would like Gossip Culture regardless of their place of origin. The music is fun and danceable, at times obscure but never pretentious. The bassist was an old pro and the drummer was proof that a wide variety of sound can erupt from an 8-piece kit. Their cover of “Maneater” by Hall and Oates was a highlight of the set. I loved the Pere Ubu / Devo influence, (two of the area’s most notable exports.) Fans of The Avalanches and Caribou must keep an ear to the ground for news of Mr. Sheridan’s whereabouts. In addition to an occasional Youngstown show (a.k.a. Steeltown, U.S.A.), Gossip Culture has an EP release show set for October 22nd at The Beachland Tavern.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. made their presence known between sets by carrying out a J & an R bedazzled with 100 watt light bulbs, easily an A+ shop class midterm. It helped brighten the dimly lit stage for a few moments at the beginning of the set. The letters embody D.I.Y. mentality, which is the ethic of the entire rust belt. The name of their acclaimed LP says it all: It’s A Corporate World. In a world where corporate greed has destroyed the American Dream, only a D.I.Y. ethic will allow the stomped-upon individual to cut his/her little slice of destiny. Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein took the stage wearing Detroit Tigers warm-up jackets with synths blaring and their fists pumped to the sky before opening with “Morning Thought”, and in that moment the drastic population flight from Cleveland and Detroit became moot. The 75-80 people in attendance rocked out with the fury of 200. As they played through their LP and made it to their cover of “God Only Knows”, those once-heralded titans of rock radio, CKLW and WMMS, still held sway in Michigan and Ohio. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s saccharine melodies are instantly relatable (think Wayne Coyne circa ’95), but a pervading world-weary wistfulness is only detectable by us fellow natives of the Midwest. There was witty banter full of site-specific references and irreverent swinging from the Grog’s creaky ceiling plumbing, which capped a night replete with an authenticity rarely found on the NYC / LA culture farms.

Contributed by Chris Gedos

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Morning Thought (Official)

Gossip Culture – Horses Run Wild (Facebook)

Rating: 8.5

reviewed by b3

09-29-11

HANDSOME FURS w/ SUUNS @ ECHOPLEX, September 2, 2011 Los Angeles

Live Show Reviews

A band’s label is a prime credibility indicator for the active music listener. There are people who’ll buy an album just because it’s been released on Secretly Canadian or Sub Pop, the labels for Suuns and Handsome Furs, respectively. The ambassadors for these two labels combined forces for a powerful show in front of a packed crowd at the Echoplex Friday night as part of the “Not Safe for Work” tour.

Montreal’s anomalous North American experience has produced a bevy of musical groups, including Suuns (pronounced ‘soons’) and Handsome Furs. While these groups sound very much ‘American’, the curious distinction of coming from the largest non-English speaking city in North America provides for a more continental sound. Suuns, however, sounds little like other groups making music at the moment. A little bit Muse, a little bit early Clinic, the comparisons are abound as they always are, but Suuns is a unique live band. Their layers of vocal and instrumental effects are delay core fantasy on paper, but they don’t sound like most delay core bands. The writhing, twisted lyric delivery is quite macabre, but Suuns are goth in sensibility as opposed to sound.

The levels were perfect for Suuns. They seem like the type of band that’s oftentimes mixed too loud, so I’m led to believe that they have a strong sense of how they should sound live. Suuns will have no trouble increasing their following is they continue on with performances as charged as Friday night’s. Be sure to give their debut album, Zeroes QC, a spin if you haven’t already.

I was a big Wolf Parade fan from the point that they released their first EPs. I still prefer the more electronic version of “Modern World” to the stripped-down Isaac Brock-produced version on Apologies To The Queen Mary, one of the most hyped and critically acclaimed albums of the past ten years. Additionally, I preferred Dan Boeckner to Spencer Krug, if only by a hair – ‘We Built Another World’, ‘Shine A Light’, ‘Fine Young Cannibals’ and ‘Ghost Pressure’, all Boeckner’s , rank among my favorite Wolf Parade songs. They also put on a fantastic live show when I saw them at the Beachland Ballroom in November, 2008.

It was always unfortunate that the ‘indie supergroup’ status of Wolf Parade kept them from achieving self-actualization. Now that the group is on ‘indefinite hiatus’, we’ll have to remain content with Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown, Krug’s conception, who also put on a hell of a show back in 2006 (@ Beachland Tavern.)

While I still regret not having seen Wolf Parade a second time, I left the concert Friday knowing that Handsome Furs is a project to be judged independently, on its own merits. Boeckner and wife Alexei Perry are very much in love as their chemistry radiated throughout the performance. Perry’s acrobatics kept the crowd energized as well. While I would’ve like to see Boeckner pick up the guitar a few more times, Spoon’s Britt Daniel took the stage for an awesome encore, possibly setting the stage for the birth of another supergroup. Contributed by Chris Gedos

Handsome Furs – Repatriated (Sub Pop)

Suuns – Up Past The Nursery (Secretly Canadian)

Rating: 8.22

reviewed by b3

09-06-11

The Dodos w/ The Luyas, Saturday, August 27th, 2011 @ The Autry, Los Angeles

Live Show Reviews

Everyone who has the chance to spend an extended period of time in Los Angeles should make it a point to visit the Autry Museum of Southwestern Heritage, where The Dodos and Luyas played on Saturday, August 27th. Located right next to the zoo at the southeastern corner of Griffith Park, the museum includes a bevy of Native American artifacts, paintings by the 19th century landscape artists Thomas Moran and Alfred Bierstadt (who worked in many of the same Yosemite locations as Ansel Adams), and even a recreated saloon town. Both bands played in the atrium on the bottom floor to an engaged audience of a couple hundred.

The Luyas drove all the way from Montreal to play on Saturday! It seems an odd choice to begin a tour 3,500 miles from home, but lead singer Jessie Stein remarked between songs that Los Angeles was the only place besides Montreal where the band feels at home. She brings a quirky, Miranda July quality to her performance, experimenting with intonations, even whispering large patches of lyrics. Drummer Stefan Schneider plays with an excellent math rock style, and French horn player Pietro Amato has played with Bell Orchestre and Arcade Fire. Stein’s guitar went mute for a minute during the set, but the band played through and the audience enjoyed the improvisation. Be sure to check out their Too Beautiful to Work LP, which was released via Dead Oceans in February.

DJ cut between sets: “Point That Thing Somewhere Else” by The Clean

The Dodos capitalized off of the energy built during Luyas’ set, as it’s apparent that the bands share many of the same fans. Guitarist Meric Long and Drummer Logan Kroeber maintain a lot of energy without coming off as over-the-top. The two mesh well together. While Luyas’ features more of a rise and fall of action, the Dodos take the best from Neutral Milk Hotel in that even their softest sound has a roughness and intensity to it. If WU FLY plays self-described heavy pop, Dodos play ‘super jangle’. The selections off No Color were interpreted with pinpoint accuracy and the audience loving every minute. Late in the set, Amato joined in for a French horn solo from the concourse above, which was the highlight of the set. A strong showing by the lads from San Francisco. Contributed by Chris Gedos

The Dodos – Don’t Try and Hide It (Facebook)

The Luyas – Too Beautiful to Work (Official)

RATING: 8.0

reviewed by b3

08-29-11

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Yellow Missing Signs

Track Reviews

Rolling Stone unveiled on Wednesday a new track from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin’s fourth full-length, Tape Club, set for release on October 18th via Polyvinyl. The promo trailer bills the LP as a double album of rarities and unreleased tracks, including “Let’s Get Tired” and “Song W and Song L”, eternal bangers originally released on the 2004 Gwyn and Grace EP.

“Yellow Missing Signs” is both a great introduction to the band’s sound and a reminder of synchronicity to their most zealous supporters. This is SSLYBY at their best, a return to Broom’s mastery, autochthonous music married to its place of creation, Springfield, MO. The opening lyric “somebody in this town knows where you’ve been,” captures so perfectly what it means to be young and disaffected and from the Midwest. There is a pathos that was somewhat missing on Let It Sway, as “Yellow Missing Signs” has that ‘proper purgation of emotion’ highlighted by Aristotle as essential to any great art. It reminds me of how much I idolized them when I first saw them play in front of 20 other people at Detroit’s Lager House in February, 2006. – Chris Gedos

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Yellow Missing Signs

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Official) (Bandcamp)

RATING: 8.35

reviewed by b3

08-20-11

LIVE SHOW REVIEWS: Cults w/ Guards @ The Echo, L.A. July 27th, 2011

Live Show Reviews

WU LYF on Tues, Cults on Wed? The lineup as of late can hardly get better @ the Echo. I’m sure many folks pulled double duty, but after the grandeur of WU LYF I was looking forward to Cults’ laidback / throwback girl-pop.

After an epic jockeying for a prime parking spot, I entered the venue as opener Guards finished up one of the first couple songs of their set. This five-piece from NYC via San Diego (just like Cults) has got some nice ideas behind them. The clear distinction of quality is unmistakable as they fly into their next song. Guards strike a chord both relevant and classic – they wouldn’t sound out of place on the Freaks and Geeks or Adventureland soundtrack (as opposed to Sixteen Candles). The lead singer says “thank you very much” after each song, acknowledging the symbiotic musician-audience relationship.

Guards have two or three pretty good songs and one great song titled “Resolution of One”. “On a better day, I hope to give it all away” is crooned with this rare sense of nostalgia lacking bitterness. The quick introduction into the second verse and chorus is quite memorable and worth the price of admission. A couple of their tunes sounded too schizophrenic, going from ballad to freakout and back to ballad in 2:40, but “Resolution of One” shows that Guards can channel some very powerful energy when they follow a singular idea from start to finish.

Cults took the stage a little after 11pm. Singer Madeline Follin introduces the band with a bubbly, “Hi! We’re Cults!” then commands the stage with effortlessness. She and guitarist Brian Oblivion started the band while students at NYC – amazing that a project supposedly recorded for friends could be so ‘radio’ ready! The sexy duo tours as a full band and sound A LOT harder live. Comparisons to The Ronettes and The Crystals fall in favor of a Let It Be Spector wall-of-sound.

“Abducted” sounded amazing and captured the hardness of the original recording. “You Know What I Mean” retained its early Motown Magic. The crowd was obviously digging the harder sound, but I think some of their saccharine sweetness becomes lost amidst the lush instrumentation. As a Motown / OBG purist, I’m always relieved when I hear the revival of classic pop music in the year 2011, which the slick production values on the self-titled Cults captures so perfectly. I can appreciate any live experimentation with arrangements and sounds, but with Cults there was little tone-for-tone sameness.

The mark of great musicianship is versatility. The best artists are chameleons and blend into the colors of the chosen genre. By the time Cults played the viral “Go Outside” late in the set, it seemed to me that they’ve already evolved beyond their debut sound. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put out a completely different record next year, but I want Cults to maintain their youthful nonchalance forever. – Chris Gedos

Cults – The Curse (Official) (Bandcamp)

Guards – Resolution of One (Bandcamp)

RATING: 8.35

reviewed by b3

07-28-11