A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “The Beast” b/w “Rebecca” split 7” single by The Drowns and Wonk Unit. Perhaps just to prove how versatile they can be, The Drowns’ “other” recently-released split 7” single (shared this time with Wonk Unit) illustrates just how far the band can stray from their established punk pedigree and steer into something closer to rockabilly without crashing, terribly. Some fans will scoff at such a change and they’re well within their...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “Subculture Rock N’ Roll” b/w “Pleaser” split 7” single by The Drowns and Last Gang. Few things are as potentially harrowing for artists as a split 7” single release. Granted, a 7” can present several potential decisions which could make or break a band on the back of that release, but it’s even harder when a band has just one song to work with AND potentially has to compete with another...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Bambara’s Birthmarks LP. Frances Bacon may have famously claimed that, “In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present,” but he couldn’t possibly have accounted for the darkness sounding as fine as it does on Birthmarks, Bambara’s fifth studio album. Bands like The Dirty Three might ring bells in comparable quality, but they are all similar only in perfectly abstract terms and prove it as, for the...
Bloodshot Bill So Fed Up (Goner Records) The moment I first saw Bloodshot Bill will forever be burned into both my eyeballs and my memory. It was at the Middle East in Cambridge while waiting for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to go on. And here comes this guy, wearing a robe, hair slicked back, armed with nothing but a guitar, bass drum and hi hat. What followed was thirty minutes of raging thunder honky tonk country music powered by...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Jealous Butcher reissue of the Meaningless LP by Jon Brion. Sometimes, as good as a record might be, it just cannot buy a break. Take the Jealous Butcher reissue of Jon Brion’s Meaningless LP, for example; even a cursory listen effortlessly illustrates the album’s power pop perfection but, released as it was alongside albums like Gorillaz’ self-titled debut, Ani DiFranco’a Revelling/Reckoning, Sum 41’s All Killer, No Filler and Exciter by Depeche...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Burn All The Ships LP by Headstones. Since returning in 2013 with Love + Fury, the Headstones have illustrated that they can orchestrate a comeback with greater competence than most other bands. Over the last twelve years, the band has come back in a manner similar to how Hard Core Logo did in Bruce MacDonald’s mock/rockumentary before stripping their sound to bare bones, picking up acoustic instruments and revisiting their early...
Lou Reed Metal Machine Music There’s this Venture Brothers episode where they make fun of Andy Warhol’s Factory collective. I got what they were parodying and just felt like it was a tribute them. What do I know about art, anyway? Then I heard the audio commentary from the creators and them skewering both Warhol and his minions. It was incredibly gratifying to know that there were other (smarter) people out there who thought both Warhol and...
Lambrini Girls Who Let the Dogs Out? I’ve been holding off on reviewing this record because I’ve been thinking about it a lot the past couple months. There’s a lot of buzz around this band right now and rightfully so. Their music has the best elements of punk rock: it’s socially and politically conscious and has a sense of urgency to it. It’s also confrontational and has guts, which I love. People love comparisons, and why not? Why not try...
The Brian Jonestown Massacre “Makes Me Great” b/w “Out Of Body” 10” (A Records) A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “Makes Me Great” b/w “Out Of Body” 10” single by The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Since beginning to self-release their records twenty years ago, Brian Jonestown Massacre has unilaterally chosen to not only take control of their output, they’ve occasionally proven that they’re not above getting very, very self indulgent in service of their muse. That often means...
The Peawees One Ride LP (Wild Honey/Spaghetty Town Records) A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the One Ride LP by The Peawees. While it would be difficult to call what The Peawees do on their debut album particularly unique or innovative (from front to back, the band makes the most of its own barroom rock aesthetic, and seasons in horns to make the standout cuts on the album sparkle and shine), actually listening to One Ride can win...