ARTIST: Primus – DATE: 08-15-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Primus & The Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble LABEL: Prawn Song/ATO/Maple Music Recordings Even before they hear a note of music, sometimes listeners already know why a band elected to cover an album/film score/collection from front to back: it just makes sense that they’d do it. Sometimes, it’s almost like both the band and its members were born to cover that particular piece of music, and the only...

ARTIST: Ex Cops – with free mp3 download for ‘Black Soap’ from Daggers by Ex Cops DATE: 08-12-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Daggers LABEL: Downtown/Fontana North/Universal Music It might seem a little dubious but, in listening to Ex Cops’ sophomore album (and also keeping the band’s sensational 2012 debut in mind), it’s hard not to feel as though the band is earnestly trying to establish some roots by rebuilding the progression of punk’s development into new wave in...

ARTIST: Benjamin Booker – DATE: 08-11-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: s/t LABEL: ATO Records/Maplemusic The thing which has been missing from both pop and rock for the last few years has been a sense of spontaneity. With the “digital revolution” has come a terrible epidemic of artists thinking too much and/or treating their work with too gentle a hand; they build (and build upon), develop and activelyproduce ideas rather than simply walking into a recording studio, plugging in,...

ARTIST: Ground Control’s Back To School Guide (Part One) Is it almost that time already? Sure is! You’re bound for institutions of higher learning, but Ground Control studied up and has Cliff’s Notes on what you might need after you get there. DATE: 08-10-15 WRITER: Ollie Ottoman Welcome to our first ever Back to School guide! Ground Control isn’t just about telling you what cool music, shows, comics and movies you should be checking out, it’s also what cool gear...

TITLE: Vinyl Vlog 089 A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the original version of the Blizzard Of Ozz LP by Ozzy Osbourne DATE: 08-08-15 WRITER: Bill Adams “Is the reissued release of an album always superior to the original?” Such a question is valid – particularly when one takes the recent proliferation of reissues which have been released by both major and indie labels into account. In nearly every case, a “new” re-examination of an old title comes...

ARTIST: Finger Eleven – DATE: 08-06-15 REVIEW BY: Bill Adams ALBUM: Five Crooked Lines LABEL: Bicycle Music Company/Concord/Universal Music It was very reasonable to assume that Finger Eleven had totally sold out years ago. Back in 2003, the success of “One Thing” – a mid-tempo, melancholy and balladesque number found in the late-playing of the band’s fourth album – dangled the gold-plated chain of pop prosperity before the group and they took it. After that, they jumped from point...

ARTIST: Best Coast – DATE: 08-05-15 REVIEW BY: G.Murray Thomas ALBUM: California Nights LABEL: Harvest/Universal Are Best Coast trying to be the new Ramones? Not by copying their music, but by repeating their career model. That is, by developing a signature sound and sticking with it album after album. Both bands have a style which is both catchy and hard edged; where the Ramones crossed the Beach Boys with Stooges, Best Coast blend Phil Spector with grunge. It’s a...

ARTIST: The Mothmen – DATE: 08-05-15 REVIEW BY: G.Murray Thomas ALBUM: Pay Attention! LABEL: On-U Sound At first I was surprised to see that this CD originally came out in 1981. It has a very contemporary feel to it, like some of the farther out fringes of today’s music. But then I remember that 1981 was actually a prime year for experimental rock. The initial punk explosion of a few years prior had been spurred by an intense burst...

ARTIST: Radioactivity – VENUE: O\’Brien\’s – Allston, MA – 29/07/15 DATE: 07-31-15 REVIEW BY: Ollie Ottoman PHOTO: Ollie Ottoman It’s an indescribable feeling when an album just hits you, but it’s even better when it’s an album you’ve been looking forward to all year. It really does feel special when you put on that first song and you just know you’re going to be at a familiar place, like being home with old friends. That’s what it feels like...

TITLE: I Wanna Be Literated! 088 A critical evaluation of The Gigantic Beard that was Evil by Stephen Collins. DATE: 07-29-15 WRITER: Ollie Ottoman I’ll never figure out how Stephen Collins successfully made this book, because the idea for it sounds so farfetched and difficult to grasp. But The Gigantic Beard that was Evil is a testament to what comics can do when you have a talented person at the helm. Talented and a little offbeat, I should say. TGBTWE...