It's the half way point of the year, so here's a little overview of some of my favorite albums so far for 2010.
Bison BC - Dark Ages
A French horn? METAL!!!! Opener "Stressed Elephant" blew my mind when I first heard it. The rest of the album comes close to matching it for pure awesomeness. This is powerful, sludgy thrash from one of the best metal bands in the world
Caribou - Swim
A gorgeously layered and disorienting headphone record from a guy who is good at making headphone records.
Cathedral - The Guessing Game
After 2005's The Garden of Unearthly Delights, I had pretty much given up hope of hearing a new Cathedral album ever again. I only discovered that a new one was coming out by chance actually. Anyways, this is a solid Cathedral album which continues and even expands on Garden's overt prog leanings. It is a double album after all. That said, there's still enough heavy riffage and cock-eyed Lee Dorrian cackling here to satisfy most fans, unless you are the kind that are still pining for a return to Forests Of Equilibrium.
Dead Meadow - Three Kings
Dead Meadow have a pretty good handle on their sound. Over the last decade their heady, heavy and hazy sound has not really changed a whole lot. This live multimedia album/Song Remains The Same homage serves two purposes: It acts as a sort-of greatest hits compilation, and also lets the acolytes know that Dead Meadow have a better sense of humor than they might have imagined. Anyways, the performances are good, and die hards will enjoy hearing how they vary from the originials. A side of new studio material is here as well, and these 5 songs are no more and no more than what you would expect- Fuzzy, shoegazy stompers with plenty of Jason Simon wah-guitar solos all over them.
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
As a general rule I try not to talk about stuff like this too much in this blog, because a) I'm worried about revealing my ignorance of the intricacies of the very wide world of electronic music, and b) if you're reading my thoughts about obscure hard rock bands like Budgie and Stray, there's a good chance you've already made up your mind about what you think of electronic music, and nothing I say will change your mind. Suffice it to say, COSMOGRAMMA IS FUCKING CRAZY! I've never heard so many styles of electronic colliding and conflicting with one another, but somehow, instead of a tangled mess, it's an impeccably produced masterpiece. The stylistic schizophrenia can be off-putting, but there's no question that the music here is a serious accomplishment.
Harvey Milk - A Small Turn Of Human Kindness
Apparently, some long time Milk fans were disappointed with Life... The Best Game In Town
's supposed accessability, and it appears the band took the criticism to heart. This album features none of the uptempo sludge-sprints to the finish line or thrashy, blown-out Motörhead-style barnburners that made up most of that album. Instead, this is album composed entirely of crawlingly slow Melvins-inspired agony. Torture-victim vocals neck-shackled to a wall of feedback and suffocatingly heavy doom-riffs. Lift with your knees.
High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine
No need to rehash the review I wrote when this came out, suffice it to say that it's awesome.
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
Okay, so here's the thing. I don't like dance music. I don't like dancing. I didn't ever really like LCD Soundsystem very much before I listened to the first song on this album. But when that fat, gnarly synth bassline in "Dance Yrself Clean" hits, it'll wipe your memory clean of any preconceived notions. Just awesome. The rest of the album is an exercise in arty electro-pop in the vein of Bowie's late 70's Berlin trilogy or like-minded art-rock and post-punk experimentalists like Robert Fripp, David Byrne and Brian Eno. Worth the time if that sounds like something you'd be into.
The Liars - Sisterworld
Experimental rock band adds another winner to its vastly interesting discography. Full review is in the archives somewhere.
Pontiak - Living
Nothin' fancy here, just good heavy rock with a pile of great riffs and ferocious power-trio ensemble playing and a handful of really good songs too.
Sleepy Sun - Fever
Everything that makes a rock n' roll album great is here. Fantastic and memorable songs, melodically informed vocals, ferocious guitar playing and an incendiary production job courtesy of Vancouver's own Colin Stewart. The album is supremely well-paced, as calm, psychedelic passages melt into pyrotechnic guitar eruptions, and the whole thing seems much shorter than its 42 minute run time. If that isn't the mark of a truly awesome collection of rock n' roll music, I don't know what is.
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
The indie-blog world is going nuts for these psych-pop revivalists from down under, but with good reason. Beatles comparisons are inevitable, but to these singed eardrums, the lineage of Sweden's Dungen is immediately apparent, not to mention crimson-hued 90's indie psych experimentalists like Apples In Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control and Mercury Rev. Tame Impala up the accessibility factor over these bands by actually singing in English and displaying a greater ratio of song-craft to sound manipulation.
Ufomammut - Eve
Cosmic Doom titans Ufomammut have returned from their journeys beyond the Kuiper Belt with their mightiest slab of space metal yet. Eve is a 5-part musical odyssey which delivers exactly what you would expect from the band. Nothing new for them, but they have certainly raised the bar once again. The riff in the third section is about as heavy as anything EVER.
UNKLE - Where Did The Night Fall?
Trip-Hop iconoclasts UNKLE wheel in a few friends to help them make another album, this time shooting for a woozy psych feel. The end result is closer to kraut-pop dreamers like Stereolab and Deerhunter than Pink Floyd however. Plenty of chilled, elongated grooves and wet, subdued beats. Works for me. Various guest vocalists including members of The Black Angels and Sleepy Sun show up and pitch in, but the highlight for me is Mark Lanegan's turn on the mic on the closing number, "Another Night Out."
Vex'd - Cloud Seed
Master producer brings another album of HEAVY dubstep for the ladies. They'll dance the night away for sure.
Woods - At Echo Lake
Although I preferred the somewhat darker Songs Of Shame from last year, this band has again crafted a set of superb Crazy Horse inflected lo-fi roots rock. As I am not generally a fan of that kind of stuff, it speaks volume of the quality of their music that I can so thoroughly enjoy it.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Musing
Time Machine: The Stray Anthology 1970-1977 is heavy listening. The RAWK-ASS self-titled debut, Stray, fits squarely in the middle of heavy rock's first creative boom in 1970, while the next year's Suicide features some seriously heavy lead(LED?)guitar to back up the lyrics' Bloodrock-worthy morbidity. These two were both cut when the band were teenagers. Apparently they released ten albums before breaking up in 1977, so as you can imagine there were a few rushed efforts there. The later half of Stray's career slackens somewhat into boogie territory, but the group is capable of some serious fireworks and a few fine tunes when inspired. These guys could play and showed it best when they stretched out. I'm working my way though this thing still, I have a pile of stuff that I haven't even got to yet. Most of these records are out of print anyways, but chances are that 2 and a half hours of Stray will be more than enough for most heavy rock fans to get inside unabashedly bar-rockin' trip.
As when discovering any long lost band of the golden age of experimentation and excitement in rock, (roughly 1968-1973 and referred to as the Cosmic Portal by some) always consider the cardinal facets of rock excavation:
1. ALWAYS start with the first album. Work your way forward from there.
2. The longest songs are ALWAYS the best.
Anyways, like most good rock n' roll bands ever formed, Stray have a melodic voice, and ultimately the desire to let that voice speak grows stronger over time as the rewards to do so increase and as the players' proximity to their own teen years shrinks. As they age, rockers develop as musicians and become more skilled in the manipulation of the music's form, but in doing so they inevitably lose the spontaneity and enthusiasm that characterizes their most vital work. The technical know-how of equipment/songwriting/performance/ experience gradually subsumes the primal urge to create a racket in the first place. Greatness lies in balancing the conflicting impulses.
Some groups reach the optimal point in their career early on, while some need a few albums to get there. A few special ones can sustain creativity at a high level for a number of years, but this is uncommon. More groups only occasionally rise above mediocrity, but create a small amount of sonically beneficial music for a short time, maybe an album or two, maybe less. Hell, some of those garage bands which the NUGGETS series has done wonders for unearthing peaked with their first 45s! Come to think of it, it's not too different from how the hype-driven world of indie-blogs seems to react to some bands today, but I digress. The point is no matter how important or talented or just flat out incredible any musician or band is, the quality of that work will decline after the artist's peak period. For some, the drop is precipitous, while a few may decline very slowly and have a long and productive career, possibly experiencing a few reversals in this trend once in a while. The decline varies in intensity, but is as irreversible as time.
As when discovering any long lost band of the golden age of experimentation and excitement in rock, (roughly 1968-1973 and referred to as the Cosmic Portal by some) always consider the cardinal facets of rock excavation:
1. ALWAYS start with the first album. Work your way forward from there.
2. The longest songs are ALWAYS the best.
Anyways, like most good rock n' roll bands ever formed, Stray have a melodic voice, and ultimately the desire to let that voice speak grows stronger over time as the rewards to do so increase and as the players' proximity to their own teen years shrinks. As they age, rockers develop as musicians and become more skilled in the manipulation of the music's form, but in doing so they inevitably lose the spontaneity and enthusiasm that characterizes their most vital work. The technical know-how of equipment/songwriting/performance/ experience gradually subsumes the primal urge to create a racket in the first place. Greatness lies in balancing the conflicting impulses.
Some groups reach the optimal point in their career early on, while some need a few albums to get there. A few special ones can sustain creativity at a high level for a number of years, but this is uncommon. More groups only occasionally rise above mediocrity, but create a small amount of sonically beneficial music for a short time, maybe an album or two, maybe less. Hell, some of those garage bands which the NUGGETS series has done wonders for unearthing peaked with their first 45s! Come to think of it, it's not too different from how the hype-driven world of indie-blogs seems to react to some bands today, but I digress. The point is no matter how important or talented or just flat out incredible any musician or band is, the quality of that work will decline after the artist's peak period. For some, the drop is precipitous, while a few may decline very slowly and have a long and productive career, possibly experiencing a few reversals in this trend once in a while. The decline varies in intensity, but is as irreversible as time.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Stopgap
Just stopping in to let you know I haven't given up on this thing. I haven't felt much like writing lately. I've been reading a lot actually, about music and other things. Being that this is a music blog, I guess I should let you know that Joe Carducci's Rock And The Pop Narcotic: Testament For The Electric Church and Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From The American Indie Underground 1981-1991 are both on my bedside table right now. The former is probably the best book I've ever read about rock itself, despite the fact that I find Carducci's many extraneous digressions pointless and am bothered by his readily apparent homophobic, racist, xenophobic, sexist and ethnocentric prejudices. No one's perfect though, and the guy has still done a better job writing seriously about rock theory than anyone else, so until I publish a rebuttal, it'll have to do. Not to mention the fact that I've discovered dozens of obscure bands, many of them of excellent quality (I'll get to those in a minute). The Azerrad book is not quite so dense, it's a more straightforward chronicle of the life and crimes of a number of seminal bands (Black Flag, The Minutemen, Dinosuar Jr. and so on... you know, the classics) The best thing about it is that it introduced me to Mission of Burma, a band I had heard of but never investigated. Their 1982 album Vs. is fantastic noisy garage pop on par with contemporary Hüsker Dü or Sonic Youth. If anything, MOB was far more advanced in their songcraft at the time, but they broke up before the underground support network built by those other bands was fully functioning. They've since reformed however and are successfully touring and putting out new records, so hey, good on them. Anyways, it just strikes me how innocent it all seems, the DIY aesthetic I mean. That these kids were able to run labels, promote scenes, start bands, tour the continent and make records all on a shoestring budget and no fall-back alternatives and without even the luxury of the internet that we sonic travelers take for granted now... it's quite remarkable.
Anyways, enough preamble. Here's what's been curling my toes recently... I've been on a major 70's hard rock kick lately. Of course, there's been other stuff, but this what I feel like telling you about. Nothing fancy, we're going with a list today!
Bedlam - Bedlam (1973)
A forgotten British hard rock band that knew where it was at. And they did it pretty heavy to boot.
Blackfeather - At The Mountains Of Madness (1970)
Australian heavy prog. This album is an absolute treat. They balance the dramatic voice-overs and Canterbury-esque pastoral reveries with plenty of sabbathy riffage.
Bloodrock (1970)
Out of Fort Worth, they were the most rockin' band in America short of the Stooges in the early 70's but they fizzled out quick. I think Terry Knight of Grand Funk fame had something to do with them too. Thier hit, 'D.O.A.' appears on the second album, but their debut is where the REAL goods are. Melvin Laid An Egg indeed!
Budgie - Bandolier (1975)
Take your pick which is the best Budgie album. I've never settled on just one myself, although this one has been getting plenty of play lately. "I 'Aint No Mountain" is probably the catchiest song the band ever wrote, while "Breaking All The House Rules" and "Napolean Bona-Parts 1 & 2" were some of the heaviest and most flat out awesome.
Coloured Balls - Ball Power (1973)
Australian heavy blues jams. For Canned Heat (or Blues Hammer) fans.
Euclid - Heavy Equipment (1970)
Really, the name says it all. Skull-crushing power trio from Maine lays it down.
The Flow - The Flow's Greatest Hits (1972)
Like these guys had hits. It's heavy psych through and through, with plenty of fuzz-wah guitar freakouts.
Grand Funk Railroad - Live (1971)
Capturing the top American concert draw of the early 70's at their lunk-headed live peak. Plenty of songs here outshine the studio versions, and there is some particularly tasty bong-rattling bass from Mr. Mel Shacher throughout. Bonus points for Mark Farner's unintentionally hilarious stage banter and Don Brewer's always competent drum work.
Jerusalem - Jerusalem (1972)
The song "Primitive Man" is sluggish boneheaded riffage at its finest. The rest is very good non-classic rock.
Leaf Hound - Growers Of Mushroom (1971)
'Freelance Fiend' is officially one of my favourite songs ever. The rest is all excellent hard rock from this unfortunately short-lived band.
Luv Machine - Whatever Turns You On (1971)
Recently re-issued with some killer bonus tracks on double vinyl. Props to Ben at Neptoon Records for the hot tip on this one. It's all good, though I'd pick "Reminiscing" as the standout.
The Master's Apprentices - Masterpiece (1970)
An Australian garage band that started out worshipping the Stones in the late 60's then graduated to heavier prog-influenced material at the turn of the decade. Both phases are worth checking out.
Mystic Siva - Under The Influence (1971)
A Great long-lost heavy psych artifact. Trippy, groovy fuzzed out acid rock.
Shiver - San Fransisco's Shiver (1972)
These guys played heavy biker rock spiked with Blue Cheer's acid around San Francisco just as the good vibes were turning heavy in the late 60's. The Hell's Angels were frequent and vocal supporters of the band.
Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come (1970)
This just might be the ultimate rock 'n' roll album, with all the good and the bad of what that implies rolled up in one heavy, fuzzy ball of testosterone, leather jackets, tight jeans and long hair.
Stray - Anthology (1970-1977)
By far all that anyone would ever need from this band. 35(!) Tracks of heavy, boozy boogie from these long lost longhairs. Crack a beer and let those grooves roll.
Speed, Glue & Shinki - Eve (1971) Much heavier on their feet than countrymen the Flower Travellin' Band, these Japanese maniacs made HEAVY power-trio rock with plenty of overt drug references.
Spooky Tooth - Spooky Two (1969)
Ignore the one ballad here, and the rest of the album is a winner. Judas Priest even covered the infamous "Better By You, Better Than Me."
Tin House - Tin House (1971)
Michigan rockers released this one album of catchy heaviness. 100% Rock. 0% Bullshit.
Vanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge (1967)
The band that invented 70's arena rock. Oh yeah, they did it in the mid 60's too. This album is all covers, but they are all given a suitably heavy treatment by the mighty rhythm section of Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert.
Warhorse - Warhorse (1970) Apparently one of these guys was the original bass player for Deep Purple. This record stands on its own merit though. This single heavy blast was all that this band released, but few bands directly influenced by Sabbath were as close to the masters as these guys were. Wonder what happened to 'em?
West, Bruce & Laing - Why Dontcha (1972)
THESE GUYS LOOK LIKE THE MELVINS!!! - Noah's priceless reaction to seeing this album at Scratch. Mountain may have broken up, but two thirds of the band returned with Jack Bruce and kept right on rocking through the early `70s.
Anyways, enough preamble. Here's what's been curling my toes recently... I've been on a major 70's hard rock kick lately. Of course, there's been other stuff, but this what I feel like telling you about. Nothing fancy, we're going with a list today!
Bedlam - Bedlam (1973)
A forgotten British hard rock band that knew where it was at. And they did it pretty heavy to boot.
Blackfeather - At The Mountains Of Madness (1970)
Australian heavy prog. This album is an absolute treat. They balance the dramatic voice-overs and Canterbury-esque pastoral reveries with plenty of sabbathy riffage.
Bloodrock (1970)
Out of Fort Worth, they were the most rockin' band in America short of the Stooges in the early 70's but they fizzled out quick. I think Terry Knight of Grand Funk fame had something to do with them too. Thier hit, 'D.O.A.' appears on the second album, but their debut is where the REAL goods are. Melvin Laid An Egg indeed!
Budgie - Bandolier (1975)
Take your pick which is the best Budgie album. I've never settled on just one myself, although this one has been getting plenty of play lately. "I 'Aint No Mountain" is probably the catchiest song the band ever wrote, while "Breaking All The House Rules" and "Napolean Bona-Parts 1 & 2" were some of the heaviest and most flat out awesome.
Coloured Balls - Ball Power (1973)
Australian heavy blues jams. For Canned Heat (or Blues Hammer) fans.
Euclid - Heavy Equipment (1970)
Really, the name says it all. Skull-crushing power trio from Maine lays it down.
The Flow - The Flow's Greatest Hits (1972)
Like these guys had hits. It's heavy psych through and through, with plenty of fuzz-wah guitar freakouts.
Grand Funk Railroad - Live (1971)
Capturing the top American concert draw of the early 70's at their lunk-headed live peak. Plenty of songs here outshine the studio versions, and there is some particularly tasty bong-rattling bass from Mr. Mel Shacher throughout. Bonus points for Mark Farner's unintentionally hilarious stage banter and Don Brewer's always competent drum work.
Jerusalem - Jerusalem (1972)
The song "Primitive Man" is sluggish boneheaded riffage at its finest. The rest is very good non-classic rock.
Leaf Hound - Growers Of Mushroom (1971)
'Freelance Fiend' is officially one of my favourite songs ever. The rest is all excellent hard rock from this unfortunately short-lived band.
Luv Machine - Whatever Turns You On (1971)
Recently re-issued with some killer bonus tracks on double vinyl. Props to Ben at Neptoon Records for the hot tip on this one. It's all good, though I'd pick "Reminiscing" as the standout.
The Master's Apprentices - Masterpiece (1970)
An Australian garage band that started out worshipping the Stones in the late 60's then graduated to heavier prog-influenced material at the turn of the decade. Both phases are worth checking out.
Mystic Siva - Under The Influence (1971)
A Great long-lost heavy psych artifact. Trippy, groovy fuzzed out acid rock.
Shiver - San Fransisco's Shiver (1972)
These guys played heavy biker rock spiked with Blue Cheer's acid around San Francisco just as the good vibes were turning heavy in the late 60's. The Hell's Angels were frequent and vocal supporters of the band.
Sir Lord Baltimore - Kingdom Come (1970)
This just might be the ultimate rock 'n' roll album, with all the good and the bad of what that implies rolled up in one heavy, fuzzy ball of testosterone, leather jackets, tight jeans and long hair.
Stray - Anthology (1970-1977)
By far all that anyone would ever need from this band. 35(!) Tracks of heavy, boozy boogie from these long lost longhairs. Crack a beer and let those grooves roll.
Speed, Glue & Shinki - Eve (1971) Much heavier on their feet than countrymen the Flower Travellin' Band, these Japanese maniacs made HEAVY power-trio rock with plenty of overt drug references.
Spooky Tooth - Spooky Two (1969)
Ignore the one ballad here, and the rest of the album is a winner. Judas Priest even covered the infamous "Better By You, Better Than Me."
Tin House - Tin House (1971)
Michigan rockers released this one album of catchy heaviness. 100% Rock. 0% Bullshit.
Vanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge (1967)
The band that invented 70's arena rock. Oh yeah, they did it in the mid 60's too. This album is all covers, but they are all given a suitably heavy treatment by the mighty rhythm section of Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert.
Warhorse - Warhorse (1970) Apparently one of these guys was the original bass player for Deep Purple. This record stands on its own merit though. This single heavy blast was all that this band released, but few bands directly influenced by Sabbath were as close to the masters as these guys were. Wonder what happened to 'em?
West, Bruce & Laing - Why Dontcha (1972)
THESE GUYS LOOK LIKE THE MELVINS!!! - Noah's priceless reaction to seeing this album at Scratch. Mountain may have broken up, but two thirds of the band returned with Jack Bruce and kept right on rocking through the early `70s.
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