Up On The Ridge
By Dierks Bentley
Download

The Boxer
By Kele
Download

Devil’s Music
By Teddybears
Import

Phobia
The Kinks

I remember getting this CD from an out of the way Circuit City, walking in with the expressed purpose of buying something by The Kinks and being won over by the cover (and, truth be told, the bargain bin price).

Phobia has its merits. “Somebody Stole My Car” is hilarious, helped musically by a great bassline (always a surefire way to win my heart). While the Davies brothers’ duet “Hatred” inspires surprising levels of disgust in certain Kinks fandom circles, I’ve always rather enjoyed it. I think every guy in the world can identify with “Only A Dream,” that moment when you catch a smile from a pretty girl and you imagine all the possibilities, only to be let down when you see her again and you get nothing.

All that said, there is a lot of deadweight here. In fact, the album is, by majority, merely serviceable, undistinguished, substandard Kinks. Ray Davies lyrical acumen is less sharp than usual, Dave Davies snarling guitar toned down, the production apparently aspiring for the finest in background music for malls. I’d be interested to hear the brothers give the album a To The Bone treatment, stripping it down to acoustic guitars and punching it out live. Ray Davies is a gifted songwriter, so I can’t help but think there’s something great buried beneath the slop.

Phobia isn’t a bad album, just mediocre. I strongly suspect my lingering good feelings towards it are due mostly to familiarity, like that old sweatshirt you love to drag out on bad days but are embarrassed about when strangers catch you wearing it. Listening to Phobia again I’m at turns appreciative of its comfortable feel but, frankly, growing increasingly bored with the whole affair. Time to be moving on.

Worth The Revisit? No

I figured out the other day that, on average, I listen to music 10 hours a day. Of this, a good 80% is new to me. While I do have favorites that I regularly revisit, I prefer the enjoyment of new stuff to sticking with the same. It’s a big musical world out there and I try to dance at as many parties as I can make it to.

Given this, year end lists usually hold little interest to me. I can see the merit in acknowledging those releases that stood out and to draw attention to albums a reader might have missed, but to me it’s a dull exercise I rarely participate in.

I was discussing this very state of affairs with Sean and Ceci the other day, and I remarked that, whatever the best album of the decade might be, the one I by far enjoyed the most was Rancid’s Indestructible. Their response was correct: Isn’t that what the criteria should be?

I’ve listened to Indestructible literally hundreds of times. Not only have I never gotten sick of it, I manage to love it a little more each time. There have been tracks I’ve liked from the first time through (“Fall Back Down”) and some that I’ve gotten into only recently (“Spirit of ’87″). It’s 19 tracks with zero filler. It’s punk and ska blended with Tim Armstrong’s hip-hop lyrical flow. It’s the best album to listen to in rush hour traffic that I’ve ever found. It’s by a band that lives the same punk ethos they sing about. It’s managed to follow me through 7 years of my life and still find a way to apply to what I’m going through, no matter how much I change. It’s authentic, true, beautiful, aggressive, and the first album I’d pack if I was sent to a desert island.

In short, it’s about as close to perfect an album for me as I’m likely to ever find. And it would have been a lesser decade without it.

[Buy It]

Doubt
Jesus Jones

Driven by the hit “Right Here, Right Now,” Doubt hit the airwaves with U2′s Achtung Baby, Depeche Mode’s Violator, and Nine Inch Nail’s Pretty Hate Machine, bringing electro-rock to widespread exposure. Jesus Jones hasn’t maintained the level of popularity the others listed above have (although the moderate success of follow up album Perverse at least meant they outlasted contemporaries EMF) and Doubt has mostly faded from view. I dusted off my copy to see if its disappearance is warranted.

Doubt holds up well, mostly due to it staying away from the faddish club sounds of the day and instead concentrating on blending loops and samples into guitar rock. For listeners more accustomed to the aggressive noise of current electro-rock purveyors such as Does It Offend You, Yeah? and Pendulum, Jesus Jones can sound somewhat tame. Even the driving “Trust Me” is a little quaint.

The best reason to revisit Doubt is for the hits. “Right Here, Right Now” is timeless radio fare, although now it’s mostly consigned to commercials and political rallies. “Real, Real, Real” is my pick for the album’s best thanks to the infectious, layered chorus. While “International Bright Young Thing” is still popular, it’s never done much for me – I prefer “Welcome Back, Victoria” with its Tom Petty-esque guitar. Also of note is “Two And Two,” which you could rerecord with a more antagonistic sound and slot it seamlessly into an electro festival DJ set.

There’s a historical value which supplements the hits. Most of the ideas here, fresh at the time, have now been developed further with additional complexities added, leaving Doubt influential but sounding a bit simplistic at times. It’s definitely worth a spin, though I can’t see it garnering much replays. This is more one you pull out from the back corner of the collection, say “Oh man, I remember this!” and give it a play, are glad you took the time to do so, then put it back in the corner for another year.

Worth The Revisit? Yes

Here we go with another new album from The Bravery, which means the professional critics are piling on so quick the reviews are as half-assed as they are negative. It’s hardly a surprise – this is an antagonistic band, intentionally so or not. There’s something in vocalist Sam Endicott’s delivery and demeanor that both transmits and invites scorn.

So let’s save the indignation and get a couple well known caveats out of the way: 1. Yes, the band are hardly the most original. 2. Yes, the band are truly terrible live. 3. Yes, their best song was Honest Mistake and 4. Yes, they’re probably never going to be that good again.

Okay, got it out of your system? If not go through the list again because once you get past that justifiable tension you’ll find Stir The Blood has got some great songs on it. It’s New York club music, made to be listened to whilst leaning against a reverberating wall, the volume so loud the instruments are indistinguishable. It comes across cynical, ruminates on alienation and withdrawal, and moves like a twenty-something with a sway lifted from a Goddard movie.

Yeah, you want to pop the band one in the mouth, but that doesn’t change the fact that these guys can take a well worn set of tools and build a catchy song. Is it memorable? Probably not, but for a moment in time it’s both pugilistic and beautiful and that’s a far sight more than most bands can do.

MP3: The Bravery – The Spectator
[Off Stir The Blood, out now. Stream It. Buy It.]

A soundtrack squeezed out in the midst of production for Dark Side Of The Moon, Obscured By Clouds is largely considered successful yet second tier Floyd. Nonetheless the album contains many important advancements for their later sound, notably the incorporation of synthesizers.

So how does it stack up today? The production is a bit dated but fans of Space Rock, Chill, Lounge and the more retro corners of Brooklyn will fondly recognize the sounds. In fact, much of Obscured By Clouds would slot nicely in the modern indie scene. Any question about the debt Air owe to early Floyd is easily settled with “Mudmen” and “When You’re In,” clear precursors to Moon Safari and Love 2. Straight up: tracks like “The Gold It’s In The . . .,” standard rock fare of the day, are a bit hokey for today’s audiences, but the beautiful “Wot’s . . . Uh The Deal” still shines.

Amusing how the attitude towards soundtracks has changed so much. For well known bands today, soundtracks are a dumping ground for outtakes and b-sides. None of that nonsense here – this is a strong collection of quality tracks. While the production may have aged, the songwriting and playing has not.

Overall it’s an album which is still being made today, just by other bands who aren’t as good at it.

Worth the revisit? Yes

These days find many bands attempting styles of yesteryear but few sound like they actually belong there. With Arrow, their new full length release, Clare and the Reasons have crafted an album which sits naturally between Pet Sounds and the soundtrack for What’s New Pussycat. It’s best described as “lush,” an exercise in early 70′s symphonic pop. The combination of orchestral glides, Beatles-esque arrangements, and Burt Bacharach infused romanticism make the album a wise choice for penthouse apartments, late night drinks, and consenting adults enjoying their personal liberations.

Arrow works well. The songwriting and arrangements are superb. At times vocalist Clare Muldaur is almost too cute for her own good, landing her vocal performances square on the edge of parody (she’s done no favors in this regard by the retro horn lines, an technique already used for laughs in other corners of the music world). Yet the band manages to keep matters on the side of earnestness, moving forward with confidence in their lush (that word again!) song construction. Some cynical listeners might have trouble taking it with a straight face but those who can are rewarded with an intoxicating blend of beautiful sounds and effortless flow.

MP3: Clare and the Reasons – Ooh You Hurt Me So
[Arrow is out now. Stream It. Buy It.]

Bands like The Wooden Sky are the hardest to review because they do everything right. Most album reviews depend on a band missing the mark or doing something provocative that inspires discussion. The Wooden Sky, however, come in with a batch of impeccably written songs, put every note in the exact right place, record it expertly, then go home with minimal fuss. It’s an album that, as a listener, you treasure, but as a reviewer you groan a bit. What’s to say?

So I say this: The Wooden Sky’s If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone is perfect Americana/indie-folk. The songs are painfully beautiful and infectiously catchy. There’s not a damn thing wrong with it. I suppose there’s not much else that needs to be said, really.

MP3: The Wooden Sky – (Bit Part)
MP3: The Wooden Sky – Something Hiding For Us In The Night
[If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone is out now. Stream It. Buy It.]

Truthfully, at this point Mick Jones could be phoning it in and we’d be happy with it. After learning the hard way about creative decline through late career mediocre releases by The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Oasis, and other once vital artists, we’ve come to accept that, at a certain point, we have to stop reasonably expecting exciting new things and just be satisfied we get to hear the band play again. So we deliberately adopt low expectations.

I suspect Jones knows this and, being the purebred punk that he is, refuses to passively accept this state of affairs. Instead he’s still recording potent music, giving it away free online, fighting the fight, and being the creative force we secretly wish he would be. And it’s thrilling! Thrilling in the way punk was when it first blew up the scene, when you realized these guys were breaking the rules, when you realized you were on new ground.

Fittingly, Carbon/Silicon have a fresh sound to them. The guitars have a clear tone, the production squeaky clean, no extraneous noise or filler clogging up the tracks. With partner in crime Tony James, Jones isn’t hiding anything behind walls of distortion or slight of hand production tricks. It’s no secret he’s an incredible musician and songwriter, and it’s wonderful to have the production acknowledge that.

Jones may be older but his lyrics clearly possess the same counter-culture stance and intelligence of his youth. At turns snarky, contrarian, and culturally aware, the clear thinking of the words match the clear sounds of the music. There’s a return to vintage rockabilly and punk riffs which will get Clash fans hopping. In short, it’s very Mick.

I thought The Last Post was one of the best records of its year. The Carbon Bubble isn’t quite that height, a combination of the songs being a little less strong and stronger competition from other groups. That said, this is still worth your time.

MP3: Carbon/Silicon – Reach For The Sky
MP3: Carbon/Silicon – That’s As Good As It Gets
MP3: Carbon/Silicon – Make It Alright
[Off The Carbon Bubble, out now. Download it free.]

The Knux are what hip hop is supposed to sound like: literate, authentic, inventive, pushing a genre chasing yesterday’s hit back to being forward thinking. It’s audible adrenaline, made to be performed live on stage rather than endlessly overdubbed in a sterile studio. The tracks seem to push against the physical limits of the medium they’re on, as if their sheer massiveness is so tightly compacted there’s a very real danger of them exploding free and blowing your stereo apart.

I’ve noticed there’s two overall techniques of rapping – in the beat and outside it. The Knux work in the beat. No surprise since Knux brothers Al and Krispy are more musically adept than the genre average, playing and writing the music they rap over. They stay tight in the rhythm, making the lyrics and music weave together to the point the notes become as much a part of their flow as the words.

Remind Me In 3 Days … bangs more than a lot of recent releases from some “rock bands” I could name. It’s made to be listened to with the windows down and the volume up, a generous dose of club sensibility to give it a long term spot on your Friday night playlist, a confident flow to keep you on target, and made for those who understand the groove is more important than the diss. In a genre increasingly relying on image, The Knux are about the music. This is hip-hop done right.

Recommended Tracks: Fire (Put It In The Air), The Train

Video for “Fire (Put It In The Air)”

You can buy Remind Me In 3 Days … on Amazon and iTunes.

Keep up with The Knux at their official site, their MySpace page, and Twitter.

The Knux will be at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle September 7th and Austin City Limits October 2nd.

I came into Rings skeptical of its staying power, a perception built over several failed attempts to educate myself on reggae. The lack of success in these endeavors leaves me unsophisticated enough to know if Sean Bones plays quality reggae or not. I do know I enjoy it.

Genre conventions are mixed with indie scene lyrics (you’ll find no protest songs here). The tracks are kept simple and interesting, no mean feat in a genre easily ruined by overplaying. Rings falls off in the second half, “Smoke Rings” being the only standout, leaving me with that familiar suspicion this album will get a lot of play in the dying summer months then be relegated by Smart Playlist to Summer 2010.

Recommended Tracks: Act So Casual, Smoke Rings

Luxury Wafers has a great session with Sean Bones here.

You can buy Rings at Amazon and eMusic.

“Act So Casual” live at Piano’s in New York, NY on 5/6/09:

Like most sampler albums, it’s a grab bag, using bigger names (Bad Religion, NOFX) as incentive to try newer artists.

Despite my punk roots, a lot of this just feels too young for me, having already gone through the stage bands like Sing It Loud and All Time Low inhabit. The target audience for this is junior high girls, which I don’t mean as an insult (Green Day has done some great work aimed at this exact demographic). For more adult listeners Cash Cash mines the Daft Punk sound with “Party In Your Bedroom” and Westbound Train pulls some reggae out with “Check Your Time,” but both end up sounding rote.

The big guns split results. NOFX’s “Creeping Out Sara,” a recount of meeting Tegan and Sara‘s Sara (or was it Tegan) at music festival, is predictably hilarious (“I told her I was a big fan of her band, she asked me if I had a favorite song, I admitted I’d never actually heard them but I liked k.d. lang”) but an acoustic version of Bad Religion’s “Sorrow” unfortunately doesn’t work as well as the impactful electric version on The Process of Belief. The only keeper for me was Jeffree Star‘s “Prisoner,” an electro rock stomper with a catchy club feel.

Recommended Tracks: “Prisoner” by Jeffree Star, “Creeping Out Sara” by NOFX

You can download it free through iTunes using this redeem code.

Cooke comes from the Bruce Timm school of art. His drawing has an animation feel, brush stroke lines, and backgrounds are suggested rather than rendered in minute detail. His page composition is superb, bring a cinematic feel.

Ego & Other Tails is a collection of six stories (only four of which have Cooke’s art), but a mere two of these are worth discussing herein. The first, “Ego,” is a Batman story. It sometimes seems everyone who writes a Batman comic starts with a psychological analysis story. Cooke pulls it off better than most, seeing Batman as a manifestation of “make your weakness your weapon” strategy. Though, with neither a shift in the character’s thinking or groundbreaking presentation, this comes off as just a reaffirmation of purpose. Which, in reader terms, equals “yawn.”

Two things Cooke does best is Catwoman and noir, so the big treat of this book is “Selina’s Big Score,” a Catwoman story without the Catwoman costume. It’s a heist story done straight noir, with all the themes of desire leading to destruction. Really it’s the only compelling reason to own Ego & Other Tails, but this story is also available in trade paperback by itself (including a gallery of covers and pinups), so nothing new is being offered here. However, since the Selina’s Big Score trade is out of print, you can save some hassle, buy Ego & Other Tails, and just ignore the deadwood.

You can buy Batman: Ego and Other Tails on Amazon.

At first I thought Polysics were from Mars. Then I realized, no, Mars is close enough that the average joe has a minimal understanding of it. Polysics are from a garage on Themisto, hidden behind Jupiter from our prying eyes and telescopes, under an alien flag of Devo album sleeves, making records that take at least one full listen just to orientate yourself to their world. It’s worth the effort – once you pierce the veil of their seeming foreign musical language, We Ate The Machine is secretly awesome. In fact, it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard in the past year.

Making sense is so overrated.

Recommended Tracks
Blue Noise – It’s like riding It’s A Small World on, well, another world.

Rocket – Garage rock slammed into New Wave and shot in a rocket to one step beyond the furthest reaches of known space.

Is it too easy to say this is what I always wished the White Stripes would sound like? If Band of Skulls is criticized for wearing influences on their sleeve a bit too obviously then tracks like “Light Of The Morning” do nothing to help their case. It reminds me of when Black Rebel Motorcycle Club started and everyone cried “Jesus and Mary Chain!” but by Howl they had developed their own voice. And their first album was aces anyway.

It’s the same with Band of Skulls. The execution is superb, the writing skillful enough to make the tracks interesting without mucking them up by overplaying. Nothing against guitarist Russell Marsden, but I think the songs improve greatly when bassist Emma Richardson joins the vocal mix. Baby Darling is not essential, but it sure is fun. And it just might be the first step to a unique band three or four albums down the road.

Recommended Tracks
I Know What I Am – An obvious choice, but for good reason.

Patterns – Rolls like a fuzzed our Robert Palmer track.

Bomb – Stomp worthy anthem to run off the stick figure hipsters

Lowry is wicked good at nailing that slightly askew sound. Even the quickest perusal of Love Is Dead will prove “Whiskey” is a thing of beauty, starting as displaced folk and ending as one of the best Mercury Rev songs never recorded. Songwriter Alex Lowry gives each song depth and nuance with some tricky and advanced songwriting while the band alternates between extended ruminations and radio-friendly firecrackers, all acoustic and all heartfelt.

Despite the sadness in the sound it’s not a depressing record, rather an optimistic melancholy. Tracks like “One Thing” and “You Die Alone” have such a gorgeous flow to them you half expect to physically see the sound waves coming out your speakers. Special mention is deserved by album closer “The Road You Left On,” which is such an absolutely perfect winter song I can barely stand it.

Recommended Tracks
Whiskey – See below.

The Road You Left On – See above.