SWANS

This review should have been done weeks ago.  I was actually ready to write this at the end of September when the new record was released.  After all, it's not often that your favorite band ever that happened to have broken up in 1997 releases a new album for the first time in 15 years.  I've gotta say that usually this type of wait usually results in a huge let-down.  Bands often over-think things and wind up producing shit albums (see G 'n R).  So, it was with mixed feelings that I approached the release of SWANS new album, My Father Will Guide me Up a Rope to the Sky.  Expecting the worst, I was blown away by the record.  It's painfully loud, absolutely sublimely primal, and hauntingly beautiful all at the same time.  It's also not overly long.  The new album clocks in at just over 40 minutes, which is just about perfect.  Every song on it is a gem and there isn't any cheap filler material.

Grinderman

Nick Cave has been busy as of late.  Hot on the heels of a new novel, a critically acclaimed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Album, the first record from his side project Grinderman, and scoring a handful of movies such as The Road and The Assassination of the well whatever the rest of that title is, Mr. Cave and co released the second Grinderman album, Grinderman 2 yesterday.  Of course I already have it and of course I got the deluxe edition.  For the other two of you out there that still buy cds, the deluxe edition is totally worth it, even if there are no extra tracks.  The packaging kicks ass.  You get 64 pages of sketches, lyrics, and liner notes that don't come in the regular edition along with a poster. 

In case you're not familiar with the work of Nick Cave, he's an Australian native who has been working in the music business since the early 80s.  He got his start fronting The Birthday Party before forming Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, (and now you know that the Johnny Cash version of that song is a cover) whose revolving cast of members has included more people than I can possibly list here.  Highlights of that roster would have to include Mick Harvey, Neubauten's Blixa Bargeld, and Warren Ellis, though.  He's also written two novels (the first being better than the latest, but both are good), penned the screenplay for the excellent film The Proposition, and scored quite a few other movies as well as lending his voice talent to the short film The Cat Piano.  Tired of links yet?  Sorry, but the fucker is prolific if nothing else.  Thankfully, he is also a god damned genius.  I can't say enough positive things about most of his work, although there are a few Bad Seeds albums from the late 90s/ early 2000s I could have lived without.  He got into this weird sort of gospel music, ultra-mellow religious thing that I don't get.

 Luckily, he's learned to rock again.  The last two bad seeds albums set the tone which he continued in the first Grinderman effort and through into an amplifier again for the newest Grinderman.  The album is like getting punched in the gut...in a good way.  As long as you don't hate rock music, you'll love the album.  Grinderman is composed of Long time Bad Seeds Nick Cave, Warren Ellis (not the comic book writer), Warren Casey, and Jim Sclavunos.  Warren Ellis' guitar work puts a lot of hack players attempts to stretch the limits of their effects pedals look amateurish at best.  The man is a virtuoso on the violin and guitar, although he's actually playing a fendocaster rather than a guitar, which you'll probably see later.

I could try and describe the sound for you, but would no doubt come up short.  The closest I can come is imagine Ministry playing blues rock (but not Ministry playing this, because it was fucking awful and far too literal an interpretation of what I was trying to convey).  Probably best just to let the music speak for itself.







and because Warren Ellis' fendocaster is the craziest thing ever- so much noise from such a tiny little thing (and the entire band collectively look like Jesus), here's a live clip from the first Grinderman record

School Of Seven Bells

New York's School of Seven Bells has been described as shoegaze, dreampop, ethereal, and any number of other completely meaningless genre distinctions.  Comprised of the identical twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and Benjamin Curtis, formerly of Secret Machines, the band released their second full length, Disconnect from Desire, in July of 2010.  I was pretty much floored the second I heard it.  So much so that their first album, Alpinisms, should be arriving in the mail shortly. 

Working with a completely backasswards technique, the group actually writes their lyrics before anything else.  The rest is all added in to the tracks later in what they describe as simple "accompaniment."  Well whatever they're doing, it works.  Blending the textures of the old 4AD records dreampoppy sound (primarily Cocteau Twins and early Dead Can Dance) with the droning shoegaze of acts like Ride and M83 and catchy synthpop hooks reminiscent of Ladytron (this Ladytron, not this Ladytron, though both are great), they've managed to create a very satisfying and relaxing listening experience.  If you like any of the groups I've mentioned, you'll love School of Seven Bells.  If you haven't heard of any of those groups, but like what you're about to here, go back and follow those links.  I promise you won't regret it. 

Here are some videos from Disconnect from Desire

The Massacres- The End of an Era

If you live in or around the Chicago area and like music, my Psychobilly band, the Massacres, will be performing our last show ever opening up for the Nekromantix this Saturday.  Details can be found here.  We'll also be playing an afterparty set featuring most of (if not all of) our catalog after the show is over next door to the venue.  It should be a great night and you'll get your money's worth.

It will be a little bit of a bittersweet night for us as this band has been around for quite a while and has taken us all over the country in some of the smelliest vans ever to grace the earth.  As I'm not a founding member as such I can toot the band's horn a little bit and say that they were responsible for bringing a Psychobilly scene to Chicago.  There are a dozen or more bands playing out in the area now and several of them have cited us as one of their biggest influences. 

The singer (Hoagy- you've seen him lurking here before), bass player, and myself will be recording an EP shortly with our new metal band Crusader that should prove to be most excellent.  I'll also be meeting with a producer this weekend to discuss finding me a female singer for several hours worth of synthpop tracks that I've written over the years.  I'm looking forward to what's to come musically and to giving the Massacres a kick ass sendoff.

What's that?  You want to see a live video taken from an awkward angle featuring my ass sweating all over a drumset and poor sound?  Well here you go:



Here's a bonus video with a better angle and sound:

Male Bonding

I haven't done an album review in a little while.  Truth be told, I haven't been listening to a lot of new music lately.  I recently got the new hyper-limited edition Michael Gira album/DVD whose proceeds go to support the recording of the first SWANS (my all time favorite band ever in all of ever) album due out next year.  It's a solo acoustic album with pretty strict pleas against copyright violation that I will heed- sorry if that piqued your interest.   It also doesn't help that my album rotation while painting Elysians has been a little bit eclectic to say the least.  It has included all of the following:

1. Gustav Mahler Symphony no. 2
2. Scott Walker- Scott 4
3. France Gall- Greatest hits anthology
4. Dave Dee, Doz.... aww fuck I can't remember the rest- Singles
5. Sheep on Drugs- Crime Time
6. Male Bonding- Nothing Hurts

Well of at list only Male Bonding is a recent band, so I'll talk them up a little bit.  Hailing from London England, they are technically considered a punk rock group.  Their first album, "Nothing Hurts," released in 2010 on SubPop records should be a pretty good indication of their sound- a little bit indie rock and a little bit punk rock.

The band seems to be floating around in obscurity a little bit, so not much has been written about them.   It's pretty good stuff, other than slipping into moments of trying to be too much like Vampire Weekend and blending afro pop guitar hooks into songs unnecessarily.  Given the fact that I've already linked to a million different things and have just hit the Burgundy a little hard, I'll just let a few songs speak for themselves.  I think you'll like them.

Front Line Assembly- party like it's 1992!

Two album reviews in one week?- I thought this was supposed to be a gaming blog. Well, I just got the new Front Line Assembly album, "Improvised Electronic Device" in the mail. I've given it several listens and have very conflicted feelings towards it. What better time to review it, eh? This also gives me an opportunity to step outside of all of the indie-rock albums I've been reviewing lately. I like that shit a lot, but really I just like music. I'm not a hipster douche-bag, but unfortunately that's where most of the interesting shit is happening in music right now.

Tobacco

US artist Tobacco released a new album "Maniac Meat" at the end of May. If you're not familiar with his work- which you're not in all likelihood- Tobacco is Tom Fec, the front man of Black Moth Super Rainbow (BMSR). As with his other band, Tobacco is centered around a completely analog synth sound recorded on all analog equipment. This makes for a very thick sound that you can't get with digital pro tools bullshit these days. Unlike BMSR, Tobacco is focused on a slightly darker sound and tends to shy away from pop hooks and go more the glitchy electronics that you have probably figured out that I'm into.

2008 saw the release of his first album, "Fucked Up Friends," which was released to quite a lot of critical acclaim and featured a guest appearance by Aesop Rock. That album was great, but if anything the new album surpasses it musically. The synth work is phenomenal as it treads a fine line between playing and sequencing its parts. Beck also joins the show to add guest vocals on 2 of the standout tracks on the album. If you're a fan of Stereolab or Add (n) to X (fair warning on that last video: it's totally NSFW and does actually have nekkid boobs in it, so you're warned that it's the greatest music video of all time), you'll like Tobacco.

Here's the first song off of the newest album "Constellation Dirt Bike Head"



And here is one of the songs featuring Beck- "Fresh Hex"



Last this is "Sweatmother" which somebody has set to 80s aerobic workout tapes for some reason. The first time I hear this I thought my iPod fucked up and had put on NIN's "Terrible Lie" for a second.

Crystal Castles

Ontario Canada's Crystal Castles released their second full length "Crystal Castles (II)" on May 25th. It's pretty great. Funny thing is that the album actually leaked in April and managed to dominate a bunch of dance charts as an mp3 without an actual release.

I really don't know quite where to place these guys (or more specifically this guy, Kath, and a girl, glass). They're not really a dance group and the hipster kids love them. I don't know I guess the hipsters must be getting angry or something, because Crystal Castles sound a lot more like Atari Teenage Riot than Animal Collective. Hey speaking of !Atari, the band isn't named after the 1983 game. The name is actually a reference to the She-ra TV show.

So getting back to the sound, I guess you'll probably have to make your own judgement on this. It's kind of dancy, but with yelling and lots of really cool production techniques and really cheesy MIDI and 8-bit synths. They are capable of pulling off some vocal treatments that would make Skinny Puppy jealous.

In the short time they've been around, this band has been surrounded by controversy. They have been sued for copyright infringement on at least 3 occasions: once for art and twice for samples. To be honest their first album probably contained more sampled music than music created by the band. That being said, their second effort is much stronger musically and feels more like an album than their first record, which came off sort of like a random collection of singles and sound collages.

Well, here are some videos. Enjoy




Off the new record here's "Not in Love"



This is "Year of Silence" which is built on samples of Sigur Ros' "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur" wonder if you can guess why I like it so much....



Last here's a track off of their first album that I happen to like quite a bit, "Vanished"

We Were Promised Jetpacks!

I'll bet that looking at the title when it came up on your blog roll, you thought that this was going to be about a Blood Angels jump pack army, right....

Heartbreak

Not enough time yesterday or today to work up a real article. The short version of the story is that I spent almost 4 hours at the vet yesterday to get xrays for a leg issue my dog (Loki) has been having. the good news is he doesn't have a break, bone tumors, or a sprain. The bad news is they think it may be a ligament tear- like an ACL-type injury. Now it's time to catch up on my homework to turn in at my Managerial accounting final tomorrow.

I'll leave you with something, though..... In honor of Loki, here is one of his favorite bands: Heartbreak. I have seen this band described by critics as gay Italian Goth Disco. As near as I can tell, all of those things are quite true. According to their lastFM page they "create a hybrid that will make the world dance with tears in their eyes, like bi-polar maniacs in the brink of an ecstatic panic attack!" Possibly the best description ever. So if you like intelligent dance music (but not IDM), track suits, and sleazy mustaches, you'll enjoy heartbreak. Their debut album, "Lies," was released in 2008 and generated some buzz on the NME scene. Hopefully they will be working on another album soon.


Want some videos? Here you go:

New M.I.A.

A new M.I.A track "Born Free" from a new album due out later this year hit the interwebs last week. If this is any indication of how the rest of the album is going to be, I'm pumped. I had a little bit of a love/hate relationship with her last album, so it'll be nice to see if she can pull it together on the new effort. Seriously though, that Jimmy song is possibly one of the biggest pieces of crap ever written. If I wanted to listen to something that sounds like bollywood tunes, I'd just go listen to some bollywood tunes. The new song, however, is super awesome and crunchy. Lots of distortion for the win. Reminds me a little bit of a few songs off of Bjork's last album, where she used the reactable synth.

When I went to show Dr. Girlfriend the new M.I.A. video on youtube, the following conversation occurred:
Deth: Have you heard the new M.I.A. track yet? It's totally boss.

Dr.: Haven't heard it yet, but you know I don't like her child voice. Super annoying to listen to, like Gabby Lala.

Deth: But I think you'd like this, it sounds a lot like old suicide.

Dr.: I have no idea who that is...

Deth: remember, they're that electronic group from the late 70s that I'm obsessed with. They did that "Ghost Rider" song......grabs a Suicide album and proceeds to play ghost rider

Dr: Oh yeah, I like that song, let's hear the new M.I.A. then.

Deth: Queues up the new song Holy shit, I just realized that's a sample of "Ghost Rider." That's like the whole fucking song. This is awesome.




Now here is "Ghost Rider" by Suicide, for your additional listening pleasure.

Dum Dum Girls

Just got a new CD in the mail today from the LA based, Dum Dum Girls. For those not in the know that's an Iggy pop reference. Great song writing from this all female four piece that is a throwback to 60s girl groups with a slight nod to early punk rock (IE the real punk rock, none of that NoFX, Blink 182, Greenday, anti-flag, etc bullshit). It actually reminds me a little bit of Canadian cuddle punkers, Cub*, but with musical talent. The songs are all short, as in the 11 song album clocks in at right under 30 minutes, and incredibly catchy. My only complaint is that the album is deliberately recorded poorly. I'm all for not using studio cheats and auto tuners, but I don't get the whole "lo-fi" scene**. Speaking of Iggy Pop, if I want to listen to a great record that sounds like complete and utter shit, I'll throw on the Stooges' "Raw Power" (Bowie dropped the ball producing that one- for better or worse), so stop trying to recreate that experience. That album was a happy accident, and any attempt to relive that recording comes off as contrived. The surprising thing about it all is that the Dum Dum Girls producer, Richard Gottehrer, has done so much better working with the likes of Blondie, the Go-Gos, Voivod, and the latest Raveonettes album. All I'm saying is that it's a shame to bury good songwriting under poor recording and mixing, especially if it's on purpose.

Anyway their first full length, after a string of vinyl only releases over the last few years, is entitled "I Will Be" and is available on Sub Pop records. I honestly am very impressed by the album and can't wait to hear more (hopefully with better production).

Here's the only video clip from their album "I Will be." It's called "Jail La La" and it will knock your socks off and make you wanna dance around like a goof.



Here is another song from the same album that I like a lot as well. This isn't an official video, but watching spliced together clips of really old anti-drug propaganda is a fair sight better than staring at the album cover for two minutes. So get ready to take a trip from squaresville; here's "Bhang Bhang, I'm a Burnout."




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*In case you thought that song was originally by TMBG, you were wrong :p
** I do actually kind of like the Mummies, though. They could more or less pull off the whole lo-fi thing.

Fang Island

Just got back from an awesome show. Well, by awesome I mean I paid $25 to see the opening band play a 30 minute set and then left out of sheer boredom during the 2nd* of 3 bands' sets. Tonight was Dr. Girlfriend's birthday, so we hit the town in style to go see one of her, and Andrew W.K.'s, favorite new bands, Fang Island. With roots in Providence, Rhode Island, they've been kicking around since 2006. Their first full length and self titled album was released in February 2010 on the heels of 2 EPs in the years prior (one of which I now own and is signed with a happy birthday message to the girlfriend...the guys were all super cool, and I think I was next to their bassist's grandparents during the show).

In trying to describe this band's sound, I keep coming back to comparisons to Akron/Family (could not for the life of me find a studio version of that song, but you should buy the album, it's great) and Animal collective with oddly metal undertones. So they're kind of like indie rock metal. Sounds awful, but somehow it works. Great guitar virtuosity and riffs that would make a lot of "face melting" guitarists jealous drive their songs and are backed by 4 of the 5 members periodically singing chorus style vocals. Most of the songs launch into instrumental passages that breezily fly through a number of styles, tempos, and time signatures with a natural ease. These guy have some talent, that's for damn sure.

Here's "Daisy" from their self titled album. For some reason they added an extra minute of nothing happening to the video mix, so just go ahead and skip to about 1:15 in. I won't judge you for it.




Their 2nd video from the same album is "Life Coach." This is the song on the album that most reminds me of Animal Collective, but not in a ripoff kind of way. It's a little "lighter" as well, but if you listen closely, there's some pretty heavy palm muted guitar in there.






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*This was a band from Boston named Caspian. Super boring derivative garbage with no stage presence. I know they keep coming up a lot over here, but they really thought they were Sigur Ros or God Speed You! Black Emperor. Too bad they sucked. I wanted to like them, but left 3 (obnoxiously long and boring) songs in. The 3rd band was the Red Sparrows, who I checked out a few weeks ago and came to the conclusion that it would end up as the same bullshit as Caspian.


Hey you made it this far. Here's another Animal Collective video, because they're awesome. Reminds me a bit of when the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson started doing A LOT of acid during the making of "Pet Sounds."

Jónsi

Every once in a while an album comes along that changes my entire perception of music.

Neon Neon

Neon Neon is a collaboration between Welsh Gruff Rhys (of super furry animals fame) and Ohioan Boom Bip, a fairly well known record producer. They released their first and only (ever) album in 2008 with some success. Going with the current "Back to the Future" theme that is developing on Dick Move in the back half of this week, their album "Stainless Style" is a concept album chronicling the life of automotive mogul John Delorean. I kid you not, the record is about John fucking Delorean.  Given the bands incredibly narrow scope they have publicly stated that this will be the only Neon Neon album, although the duo may collaborate together again under a different name.

To say that the record lacks a musical focus would be a huge understatement, as it bounces back and forth between new wave style throwback tracks and several different varieties of hip hop. I really like all of the new wavy stuff and can stomach most of the hip hop as well. I generally don't like modern rappers (but listen to NWA, Public Enemy, Kurtis Blow, etc frequently enough), but Neon Neon manages to even make a song featuring Har Mar Superstar (who I despise) tolerable enough.

Here's my favorite song on the album "I told her on Alderaan" which loosely uses Star Wars references to tell the story of Deloreans divorce following a hugely public drug scandal.  Gruff's voice on this one really reminds me of Colin from Men At Work, which makes me smile. Remember- some times a gear shift is just a gear shift :)




As a counterpoint to that, and to show the album's variety, here's one of the hip hop tracks, "Sweat Shop."



As a bonus, here's an a link to the official video for "I told her on Alderaan/Trick for Treat."  I didn't use the it above, as it cuts both songs off short to mash them together, but the video is well done enough to make it fun to watch.

A Place to Bury Strangers

Billing themselves as "the loudest band in New York," A Place To Bury Strangers don't disappoint. While certainly not as loud as early 80s SWANS (who reportedly played loud enough to induce vomiting amongst audience members on more than 1 occasion), I am certainly glad I brought my earplugs when I saw them live last fall. It was an awesome show and they certainly don't disappoint live. It's a little hazy due to a fog machine and too much cheap beer, but I'm pretty sure that at some point in the middle of one of their songs their guitar player created some kind of infinite feedback loop, threw his guitar down on the ground, dragged it around to make more noise, all while getting a second guitar out to continue playing more "melodic" bits. Clap your hands if you believe in a wall of noise.

Released in October 2009, their 2nd album (their first album being borderline unlistenable), "Exploding Head" is a masterpiece of noise and shoegaze mashed together. It's a welcome sight to see a guitar player who actually knows how to use lots of effects pedals and not look like a total douche rocket*. This is as it should be, since lead singer and guitarist Oliver Ackerman makes custom pedals in the comfort of his trendy NY loft.

Apparently they've gotten a little positive NME press across the pond after touring with MGMT and opening for NIN**, but are still largely unheard of outside of their native NY. Which is a damn shame, because they're pretty fucking amazing.

Here's the first single off their 2nd album "In Your Heart"



Just in case that didn't satiate your fever for more feedback, here's the second single "Keep Slipping Away"








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*I'm looking at you Tom Morello. You know you're a piece of shit. Every time you play it sounds like you're twiddling knobs on a new pedal that you just bought and are trying to figure out how to use. Fuck you Tom Morello, burn in hell!

**Speaking of douche rockets, fuck you too Trent Reznor. You're a fucking washed up hack. Not only have your last 3 or 4 (or however many shit sandwiches he's released since "Downward Spiral") albums been bland and uninspired, but you snubbed Pigface you asslicking cunt. There isn't a deep enough layer of hell for you to occupy.

The Presets

Certainly not new to the music scene, but definitely under appreciated in most parts of the world, The Presets are helping to bring back my interest in purely synthesized music. Releasing albums from Sydney Australia since 2004, this duo has done wonders to alleviate the boredom in the electronic music scene caused by years of bland trance and shit classified generically as "electronica." Their use of edgier tones, but no less danceable beats creates a very intersting mix that a lot of neo-industrial acts wish they could pull off. Here are some videos from their most recent release 2008's "Apocalypso" which is now triple platinum certified in Australia. First up is the first single off the album entitled "My people" which has a video that probably causes seizures.



2nd video is not my favorite track from the album, but check out 0:11 for a special nerd treat. Here's "if I know you."



Lastly, here's my favorite song/video off their first album, "Beams," called "are you the one?" This video makes me laugh every time I see it and reminds me of some of the early Muppet show stuff on acid. Creepy to say the least!

The Horrors

Those of you reading this site in the UK have probably had this band shoved down your throat for the last 3 years or so by NME, but these guys haven't really made their presence known on the other side of the pond.

With two albums in the bag, they have proven their musical chops and put a lot of buzz to bed about being a one trick pony or more concerned with fashion than music*. With their second album, "Primary Colours," they unveil a new more mature sound than the harsher, punkier first album, "Strange House." 'More mature' is usually used as a euphemism for boring, but luckily in this case it's not. They show some real talent with song craft and made a really good neo-shoegaze record in the process. I still think I like the grit of the first album better myself, but the girlfriend and most of my friends prefer the second. I'll put two vids up here, so you can decide for yourselves.

The first is Sheena is a parasite from "Strange House." Video is directed by Chris Cunningham of Aphex Twin fame. It features the creepiest use of squid vagina I've ever seen.



The second video is the second single from "Primary Colours" and arguably my favorite on the album. Here's "Who Can Say."







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*although they do appear in an episode of The Mighty Boosh that seemed to exist only to make jokes about pencil leg jeans.

The Raveonettes

Just dug their newest album "In and Out of Control" out of the vault for a listen today and it reminded me what a great band these two are. Originally from the Netherlands, they've since relocated to New York to try and make it big. Still hasn't happened for them yet, although I think I heard a clip of this song during some god awful VH1 show. Saw them live here in Chicago last year and it was one of the best live shows I've seen in a while, especially after being a little underwhelmed by Ladytron's live set earlier in the year.

Anyway, each of the Ravonette's albums is great and I would highly recommend any of them. They have a very unique sound that is sort of a re-imagining of 50s/60s rock in roll with elements of no wave and modern synths added in. It doesn't hurt that their singer/drummer/bassist/guitarist is a stone cold fox either. She's the one singing to the bird at the end of the video. Now sit back and enjoy the happiest song ever written about overdosing.

Full Metal Fury!

If you happen to be in the Chicago area this week why not come check out my new band, Gravedirt? Details are on the flier. This will most likely be our last time performing under that name, as we have transitioned away from the initial horror punk concept into the wonderful world of FUCKING METAL! and are finding ourselves needing a more fitting name. Also, a number of personell changes have occured since the band's inception, so it's time for a rebirth of sorts.

But anyways, I will leave you with a hastily recorded demo* that someone attached some ultra low quality live video to and tried to turn down the suck by splicing in some Gamera footage. And to answer your question in advance, yes he is saying 'land of unicorns.' By way of apology for the poor recording I will let you all know that we should be hitting the studio for real to lay down at least enough material for an EP.

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*seriously this demo was 3 tracks recorded in a little under 2 hours, including setup/teardown time. So we basically got 1 take with everything when all said and done. Idiot "recording engineer" fucked it up so badly that we couldn't even do any overdubs on it, so we couldn't cut out sloppy guitar solos in the end as we'd intended to do. Meh, enough excuses, enjoy this....