A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Choke Cherry Tree LP by Ben Miller Band. The catch, when any band attempts to infuse a time-honored sound and style with new energy and fresh inspiration, is that they often lose sight of all the reasons why and how that form worked in the first place. While the heart and hopes might sound enough, the results often feel as though someone has tried to weld the fins from a ’57...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Loner LP by Caroline Rose. I have to confess that, as soon as I began listening to Loner – the new full-length album by Caroline Rose – I realized that everything I thought I knew and expected from the singer was incorrect. My first contact with Rose was with the song “Yip Yip Yow” from an NPR live performance, and that was enough to get me looking around for other music...
The Melvins A Walk With Love & Death What can be said about a band like the Melvins at this point? With a catalog that’s as strange as it is expansive, plunging into this band’s music can seem like a daunting task. But, the more you do, the more you come to appreciate the Melvins’ greatness. You either get it or you don’t. As Krist Novoselic himself said (I believe), they’re the only band of their era still out...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Recreational Hate LP by Lemuria. The coolest thing about the moment after a new album gets released, people begin to find it and it proves to really connect with them in a popular way is that time seems to stop for a minute and everything the band did prior to the release of that album becomes a footnote. From the moment that record breaks the band into the popular consciousness, all...
Magnolia Motion Picture Soundtrack and Score Where does one even begin with a director like Paul Thomas Anderson? Where does one even begin with Magnolia? Yes, PTA has gotten the reputation of having his head up his ass. Does that have any merit? I don’t know. I do know that his movies are nothing if not thought-provoking, whether you love them or hate them. The man writes and directs his own projects and each of his movies are a unique...
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Murder of the Universe Photo: turntablelab.com I’m hard-pressed to find a band that’s been as prolific as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. It makes sense seeing as they run in the same crowds as Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall. What is this – a race against time? Jay Reatard once said that he considered his musical creativity to be limited to a specific period of time. As in, he would only...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Meet King Leg LP by King Leg. The beauty of working in a pop culture-identified medium like pop music is that, while the music does initially have finite appeal as ‘new music,’ the basic structures and forms can easily be revisited, re-purposed and re-presented as often as new artists are willing to rediscover them. Any music can be reborn with the power of belief Take King Leg’s new album, Meet King...
WHO: The Monsieurs WHAT: Deux WHY: Deux is the long awaited sophomore release from these Bostonians. It’s gritty, raw, loud, and kicks like a mule. Deux ups the ante for these garage rockers and is a testament to the fact that this New England city has got the goods. I pity anyone who hasn’t heard this album. Be forewarned: it might be too much for you to handle. Check them out on...
The Kids in the Hall The Complete Collection Mill Creek Entertainment I think we’re living in a new age of comedy. Don’t believe me? Then, you’re a dummy. Pop open your Netflix, HBOGo, or Hulu and almost every other show is a semi-autobiography about comedians, a standup special, or a talk show-type thing hosted by a comedian. What’s missing, however, is sketch comedy. Probably Key and Peele was the last high-profile sketch comedy show (same with the Birthday Boys,...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Trinity Lane LP by Lilly Hiatt. I must confess that I slept on Lilly Hiatt and her Trinity Lane LP when the album first arrived in my office. Regrettably, there was no good reason for it; given the timing of when it arrived, the album just kept getting shuffled under one thing after another. I did not give it the attention that it deserved, and it was only very recently –...