Seldom is a band able to venture into undiscovered countries or sound completely unique within the rock idiom anymore. Part of that has to do with the availability and user-friendliness of recording software; digital recording platforms have become so easy to use now that it's possible for any numbskull with a free weekend, a laptop and a creative urge to make his own magnum opus with little or no experience and about as much instrumental ability. Such ease afforded means...
Okay, before everyone takes it upon themselves to jump on Freak Out! and tear a strip out of it for the same reason critics have been lambasting Teenage Bottlerocket since the band released its second album in 2005 (a chorus of “It sounds the same as their other records!” invariably goes up), it might be time to realize that their albums have to be judged by a different set of values. Yes, Freak Out! sounds similar to the other four...
Maybe it's because Elk is coming out of a scene which has numbered hardcore punk (A Day And A Deathwish, In These Walls, Ceremonial Snips, Attack In Black, Alexisonfire and more) and folkish country (Attack In Black again, City and Colour) as its greatest musical exports over the last decade, but there's no doubt that the band's indie/garage rock commands attention and will cause those who hear it to stop what they're doing and just listen. From the moment “Before...
I'll concede that this review is a bit late in coming (the better part of two months behind release, in fact), but there were outside factors which kept me from getting to Marvelous Clouds right away. I was shocked when I heard that Aaron Freeman was quitting Ween and – whether it was done expressly to ensure that the singer would be able to remain sober or not – I felt personally injured at the loss of one of my...