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The Arkhams
“The Road To Arkham” myspace.com/thearkhams | |
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Opening with spectacular instrumental title track, The Arkhams instantly announce themselves as a force to be reckoned with in Rockabilly circles. That’s not to say that they play traditional Rockabilly or even Psychobilly, but rather they swerve and sway between those lines, occasionally spinning out into left field. They find a way to monkey with formulas and fiddle with knobs to manufacture something familiar but still all their own. What’s more, they do a cover of the Exciters’ “He’s Got the Power,” switching genders on a 60’s Girl Group anthem, then later covering Ray Smith’s “Right Behind You Baby.” Where they really prove themselves, though, is on the many songs they penned themselves. I’ve seen Bobcat play several times in other bands and have always been impressed by the originality of his guitar work, and Matt is no slacker on the upright bass, having taken home the trophy at last year’s bass-off at the Heavy Rebel Weekender. Sometimes what it takes to renew your interest in a genre is hearing a band like this who has an infectious love and energy for the music. - Ben
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B-Movie Rats "Radio Suicide" www.rankoutsiderrecords.com | |
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This sounds like 70’s hard rock loosely connoting Kiss, Aerosmith, and AC/DC, at least in the mind of one reviewer included in the press sheet. I guess I’ll go with that, since I’ve got nothing better to offer. My problem is that it isn’t nearly as catchy as any of those bands, and I don’t even like Kiss or Aerosmith. There definitely are no residual traces of the era when they were reportedly a punk band. They have a gloomy whiff of seedy LA glam rock to them, and the album progresses slowly with a drippy ballad only three tracks in. It doesn’t help that I am not fond of the singer’s vocals either. All in all, a nice soundtrack for doing whippits with Duff McKagen, but not really destined for my ipod. - Ben
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The Barbarellatones "Coldsore" www.barbarellatones.com | |
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Deviant sex, drugs, Native American-inspired religious ideals, and heinous medical conditions. Partial “Don’t Fear the Reaper” Blue Oyster cult riffs. Semi-hilarious, off-the-wall lyrical subject matter. The Barbarellatones must live in a strange neighborhood. The third track off this disc is titled “Chocky (Hawaiian Dirt-Cat)”. It’s about a dirty cat. An old dirty cat. Meows penetrate the narrative, in stereo. A sampling of other tracks on the disc “Tranni Troglodite”, “Acid Test”, “I Had Sex with a C.H.U.D.”, and “Junkie Girlfriend” offer more glimpses into the strange realm the Barbarellatones inhabit. On “Chinese Food” singer Robbie Quine reads a short list of common Chinese foods as if he’s looking over a take-out menu as back-up vocals double up each moo-goo inspired item. Then a guitar solos. And then the song ends. Most songs are like that here: vignettes of a Californian life of weirdness. Sometimes borderline silly and definitely arty yet strangely captivating at the same time. – Bram
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The Barbarellatones “ Interview with a Glampire” www.barbarellatones.com | |
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More strange, Bowie-esque songs from The Barbarellatones’ Robbie Quine. “Interview with a Glampire” is more focused than the band’s 2005 “Coldsore” release. Goth-rock pervades like a heavy-soled black boot with lots of sparkly chrome zippers. There is less sense that Quine is exclusively writing innumerable songs about his random, deviant trips about the neighborhood but has decided to settle also on the dark images playing across his TV-movie screen as he personifies the dark creatures of the night (though there are still a wealth of songs, like “Corn Huskin’ Man,” that are reserved for Quine’s social ire). There is diverse instrumentation: fiddles and mandolin as well as the usual choices of guitar, drums, bass, heavy back-up vocals, and kitchen-sink percussion and samples that The Barbarellatones throw in at random and will. “The Trip” is a notable highlight on the disc. At fifteen tracks long, if you like the glam, give The Barbarellatones epic “Interview with a Glampire” a try. - Bram
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The Barbarellatones “Invasion of the Surf Zombies!” www.barbarellatones.com | |
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Robbie Quine’s Barbarellatones dove headfirst into a full-concept B-movie-zombie-monster-vampire album with the 2005 release of “Invasion of the Surf Zombies!” Quine’s quirky glam-songwriting seems less outrageous when streamlined as on this release, rather than bouncing randomly from social-critique to sexual fantasy to dirty cats to Native American mysticism helter skelter as on past releases such as The Barbarellatones “Coldsore” CD (several tracks from that disc are re-released on “Invasion” as well). Once again, there is a wide range of orchestration, lurching background vocals, and samples that are a staple of The Barbarellatones sonic arsenal. Surf-themed songs, androids, sex, bats, hellhounds, deviant sex, transvestites, bat queens, murderous marionettes, goth and glam culture, bondage, and sex are just a sampling of song topics that you’ll find loaded onto this nineteen song opus to space and B-movies a la David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” years but with more monsters. - Bram
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The Barbarellatones "Beyond the Valley of the Barbarellatones" www.barbarellatones.com | |
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More glam-rock gothness from Robbie Quine’s Barbarellatones—if a bit more restrained. The opening track “Hellhound” stays true to The Barbarellatones sound (as does “Baby Wants a Corndog,” among others). “Hellhound” features some nice lead guitar fills, hilarious lyrics, a stalking beat, and mandatory hellhound baying as an outro. As on other Barbarellatones discs, numerous tracks on “Beyond the Valley...” are carried over to and re-released on other Barbarellatones discs. But despite less-over-the-top and perhaps more clever, heart-felt lyrical content, this 2005 offering doesn’t quite capture the cohesiveness, direction, or energy of past Quine projects. “Beyond the Valley...” has a notably darker, more personal, introspective feel as highlighted by tracks such as “Underwater Dream World,” “Tarot Card,” and “I Killed Love.” Still, the instrumentation and creativity of Quine’s songs rarely falters and stands on par with nearly all of his other Barbarellatones’ releases. - Bram
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Bent Left “Premeditated Insanity” EP www.bentleft.com | |
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They serve up a form of street punk not altogether different than other bands sharing the same raison d’etre. They tend towards the speedy delivery of political positivism with the seeming aim of having packs of youngsters singing along to every line at their shows. Nothing wrong with that, and they do it with humor and enthusiasm. I’m just not getting anything to hold onto here aesthetically. I’m not haunted by any melodies, hooked by any choruses, or getting a goosebumpy rush of hardcore adrenaline. It is kind of like punk rock camouflage, in that it sort of blends in with the punk rock landscape. - Ben
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Blame Gary “Between the Syntax Errors” www.zeroyouthrecords.com | |
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Blame Gary is a five-piece band from St. Louis with a modern hard rock motif. Think late 90’s-early 00’s a la Your Favorite Rock Station mixed with some 80’s metal-pop sensibilities, which it seems is par for the course in all aspects of pop culture these days. Loads of high-gain amps and splashing cymbals, low-end toms, some lead guitar work reminiscent of Tom Morello’s Rage Against the Machine days if Tom Morello were using a mouse for a plectrum, and not so audible, if impassioned, vocals are what your in for with “Between the Syntax Errors”. There is a message of youthful exuberance and rage here which likely translates nicely in the live arena, but the songs are long and the disc eventually devolves into one extended opus of pop rock FM radio. - Bram
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Blood Vessels Self-titled CD myspace.com/teenageheartrecords | |
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The Blood Vessels are a “primal punk rock n roll outfit from Boston, MA.” This self-titled debut disc sounds good—lots of 70’s and 80’s punk feel without sounding dated. The track list reads like an angry teenage poem inspired by horror-films, graphic comics, and rebellious self-loathing: Punk Rawk. Nice production work and bonus points for the guitar tone. If you like it loud, raw, and dirty, keep a bloodshot eye out for this first offering from Blood Vessels. - Bram
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The Bombshells “Audio Wasteland” CD Baby Page | |
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The Bombshells sound very much like California punk rock, mixing a bit of the older Social Distortion sound with some heavy Sex Pistols influence and coming out somewhere in the realm of Rancid. It’s got energy and the songs are brief like miniskirts or kilts or some smelly kid yelling “Oi!” in a dark moldy punk rock dive bar beside the beach where the sun shines across golden beaches and foamy white surf and things don’t really seem all that bad until you have to walk all the way home to your tiny parents home amidst millions of other people’s tiny parents homes under a smog-filled sky and into your poster-bedecked bedroom. If you picked up a copy of the Bombshells’ “Audio Wasteland” at the club, you’d be able to recreate the good times and audio release of that smelly old club and rekindle the heat on your home stereo. Also recommended for bar-b-cues, skate-parks, or other functions loud, fast, and foul smelling. - Bram
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Chop Suicide Demo CD myspace.com/chopsuicideonline | |
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It’s a big rock sound that hearkens back to the arenas of the late 80’s. Singer Danyell has the right amount of snarl and growl to her voice, and you can get your fill of wah-wah guitar solos, but they haven’t quite got me into a pair of leather pants just yet. - Ben
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Death By Rodeo “Girl Haggard” myspace.com/deathbyrodeo | |
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Fun-loving Rockabilly from Ohio that stays lively and in love with its roots. They swerve between traditional twangy tunes to songs with a little more thunder under the hood. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve ingested way more Rockabilly than is advised by the USDA food pyramid, so I’ve become more jaded than the casual listener, but I have to admit, you could do worse than Death By Rodeo. It may not be all that distinguishable from the other cans in the case, but once you crack the top you won’t be spitting it out. - Ben
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The Dogshit Boys “Business Doing Pleasure With You” www.dogshitboys.com | |
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Mostly sung in Finnish, this EP by the Dogshit Boys showcases their trademark “Flashrock,” which is a full-frontal exposure of sleaze punk and the GG-ification of Turbonegro. Their songs have graced porno movies and one has even been the theme for Finnish wrestler Eddie Anarchy. I am sure they are very skilled at making audiences uncomfortable, judging from their music and pictures. While this is decent, I’m sure the live show is where the real fun is. - Ben
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Dyslextasy “Live. Die. Repeat.” www.myspace.com/backdoorstan | |
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I would say this band mixes pop hooks with a little post-punk quirkiness and runs it through some obscure algorithm that spits out cleaned-up rock that is strangely 90’s sounding to me. The songs aren’t too bad, but they don’t really give me anything to cling onto and I just slip away. In addition, they can be really repetitive, and the singer’s voice keeps me at arm’s length as well. Lyrically, most songs on this EP could’ve been scrawled on barroom napkins (not meant as a bad thing) with the last song veering more towards the political, lamenting the horrible wreck GW has made of our country. Seems like I’d much rather drink with the band themselves than their CD. - Ben
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The Eyeballin’ Torpedoes “In Stereo Where Available” EP myspace.com/eyeballintorpedoes | |
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This is the debut, four-song EP from a Swedish rockabilly band called The Eyeballin’ Torpedoes. The band name refers to the pre-radar/WWI-era days when the commander of a torpedo carrying vessel would “eyeball” his prospective target for speed and projectile placement. This is a raw, often sloppy, recording much like the early torpedo technology, but it’s fun and well-paced and hits the mark the band was presumably aiming for on a debut EP, though certainly not “dead-on.” The double bass work is notable. - Bram
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The Forbidden 5 “Chop You Up!” www.myspace.com/forbidden5 | |
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The Forbidden 5 were born into Pittsburgh from a surfy-Cramps lineage that, despite being thoroughly flogged to death since its inception, still makes an appealing carcass. In doing this zine for so long I’ve consumed way more than my fair share of similar sounds, and The Forbidden 5 don’t really mix up the recipe much, nor do they mess it up. They display all the requisite B-movie obsession and appealing garage sensibilities, but they don’t inject quite enough of their own pathogens into this musical bloodstream. Virtually all of the songs have worn-out chord structures and riffs used by so many bands. The instrumental “Fang Boner” was probably my favorite, though, and has got to be a reference to the road with the same name near Toledo, Ohio. This CD is highly listenable but ultimately inessential due to not enough of their own DNA in this bastard child. Still, it’s well suited to guzzling cheap beers in dark bars, or vice versa. - Ben
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Horror of 59 “The Golden Age of Sin” www.sharkattackrecords.com | |
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I’m a hard sell on Horror Punk these days, as it has become one of my least favorite genres, so I was a little leery about putting this in the player. But once I got beyond the opening track I was carried away by the heavy tide of old metal that jets through these songs eroding all resistance. What’s even better is that most songs manage to sidestep the usual Misfitsy melodies in favor of original hooks that snag you up into their own unique musical abattoir. On a couple tracks you can hear a little rootsy business going on, but this thing is primarily a fast moving predator that will stalk your consciousness long after you think you’re clear and safe. Lyrically, they not only bite into monster flicks and get sexploitation kicks, but they’re well-acquainted to their regional ghostlore as well. “The Golden Age of Sin” might not be a revolutionary album, but it does breathe a little life into the genre of the dead. – Ben
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Howitzer “Turncoat” 7" www.howitzer.us | |
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I’m not too fond of the gruff and throaty vocal style employed by a lot of Oi bands, but I will say Howitzer does it a tad better than most. They have a shade of New York metalish hardcore tinting their British influenced Oi, all slathered with a huge helping of country gravy. Musically, they kind of remind me of Skrewdriver mixed with Sick of It All. Try and wrap your bacon around that morsel. Despite all expectations, they aren’t really right wing, but more conspiracy-minded. Plus they have a Myspace blog about Liver-eating Johnson, whose grave I wanted to visit last summer in Cody, Wyoming, but I didn’t have enough time. All in all, not really my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t go running from the room if they came on the stereo. - Ben
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The Limbs “Boo The Villain” www.landofthelimbs.com | |
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The Limbs are actually just John Mazzucco, a multi-genred One Man Band from Denver that grew out of his singer-songwriter background. I have yet to see him play live, but everyone I know who has seen him reports on his captivating coordination of the limbs. The first song on here is a re-recording of the Funk tune “Bad Anna” that he let us use on our “Attack of the One Man Bands” CD, whose main guitar hook lodges itself in my head for days after listening. Many of the songs have strong Funk and Soul undertones, and there is generous dollop of Bowie in the mixing bowl too. However, many of the songs here are a bit too slow and plodding, letting my attentions drift away. That’s not to say all of the slower tracks blur into the background, with the mournful Soul of “Friend” being one of the standouts. “March from L” definitely snaps you to attention too, laying siege to the senses with the intense rhythmic patter of an invading horde. But immediately afterwards the falsetto vocals on the Motown inspired “Story of Me and You” just didn’t work for me. There are definitely some gold nuggets to pan from this stream of musical consciousness, though, including the rock’n’roll juggernaut “When It All Comes True” and the Beefhearty Blues of “You Take the Trash Out,” among others. I give this high marks for originality when many of his One Man Band peers seem content to flock around the altar of Hasil Adkins. - Ben
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The Malamondos “It’s a Bad World, Baby!” www.malamondos.com | |
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North Carolina trailer park garage from the same Appalachian plateau that sprouted Southern Culture On The Skids. Lots to like here, especially the Link Wray influence mired the grit and gravel of the guitars. Songs like “What You Got On” and “Ming Shocker” actually float on a sultry groove with sporadic riffs sparkling on the surface. Often the guitars unhinge in striking and effective ways, and throughout the disc a sleazy kitsch keeps it fun even on darker numbers like “Your Place.” My only reservation is the vocals. Not the voice exactly, but the way she sings on some songs is just taking me a little getting used to. Overall it’s still a keeper, though. - Ben
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Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders “Holdin’ Onto Trouble’s Hand” www.rankoutsiderrecords.com | |
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Pat Todd used to front the Lazy Cowgirls, and this is the second offering of his Rank Outsiders, I believe. There is a lot of bluesy Southern Rock guitar lingo with hints of Thunders in the background, but they also pull up more than a fair amount of Country Roots as well. One song reminded me of John Mellencamp while another hit me with Nine Pound Hammer. The skillful tidiness of the songwriting shows a real veteran status of someone who’s played Rock’n’Roll for over a quarter of a century. It is flawless, mature stuff that would go over well in almost any big belt buckle bar. Clearly Todd is completely invested in his music, and this is definitely not at all hard to stomach, but it’s just not what I crave. I guess I still prefer the less digestible fare of the Lazy Cowgirls. I’ll keep it in the cupboard, though, and check back in a few years. Not a bad album by a long shot. – Ben
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The Pulses “Gather Round and Destroy All Our Records” www.dirtnaprecs.com | |
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This disc has a whopping sixteen tracks. The Pulses are from the Pacific Northwest where tracks seem to grow like trees except a bit faster and not as tall. The Pulses are a rock band in the vein of the Shins. They’re pretty good and I have little doubt that a college-rock crowd would dig them like clams from the ocean floor. “Secrets of Life and Death” and “Future Home” stand out. However, in keeping with a newly instated Rock N Roll Purgatory mandatory policy of “Best Song Title Per Disc Review” handed down recently by the Higher Authorities at Purgatory Central, track eleven on this disc wins my vote hands down: “I Will Take Your Drugs and Try Them All.” (Really, They chop off the “T” and “~/,” buttons of your home computer keyboard if you do not comply. And that’s just the first offense. So I heard.) But anyway, The Pulses are OK and have some good song titles. Nice and mellow. Like good background music if you don’t want to get too riled up about things like missing computer keyboard buttons or the WTO taking over the world one poor country at a time or the fact that that asshole barkeep won’t serve you up another PBR. Dammit. Bastard must not have a pulse. - Bram
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Rumble Club “Rumble Club Rides Tonight” www.rumbleclub.com | |
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Rumble Club is a psychobilly band from the Cincinnati, OH/Covington, KY area led by singer Jack Coray. There’s an obvious Social Distortion/Johnny Cash-heavy influence to the band’s psychobilly sound, particularly due to Coray’s natural low-tenor, that sets Rumble Club apart from many bands in this speed-billy, car-crazy genre. This is a good, solid spaghetti-western-sounding (“Drive ‘Em On” stands out) psychobilly disc that will likely find many fans with grease in their hair and hot rods on their minds. That said, it would have been nice for the disc to have included one or perhaps a few more standard, slower country-sounding tracks (“The Country Way” comes close) to highlight the bands songwriting and Coray’s vocals. After all, it’s not everyday that a singer comes along with a Cash-like voice. Though David Childers does come to mind. Overall, a fine disc worth a listen for any modern rockabilly fan. – Bram
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Scary B.O.O.M. “Lovecola” www.scaryboom.com | |
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I defy anybody to pigeonhole this band. Often tucked into the Psychobilly scene, this Russian band draws influences from all over the musical landscape, from the valleys of jazz to the mountains of metal, and to pinpoint them all would be like mapping dark recesses of the subconscious mind. ‘Billy-wise, I initially thought they reminded me a little of Finnish bands like The Stringbeans or Moonshiner, but then I listened to those bands and found the resemblance to be very slight. At this point in their musical progression, Scary B.O.O.M. feels more stylistically iconoclastic than roots-oriented, which is just fine by me. They do weird stuff like play a funked-out disco number with horns and vocals reminding me of the B-52s of all things, then the title song has an amped-up 60’s pop feel, as if The Shirelles sat down with them and helped them hash it out. “Electropop,” on the other hand, feels very post punk or Joy Division-ish to me, and it’s flat out great. “Misanthrope” is another amazing track that is heavy but still exhibits their trademark eccentricities that constantly keep you on your toes. I can’t even catalog all the twists and turns in sonic architecture that make this a noteworthy release. While it sounds like a schizophrenic mess to hear me describe it, they actually maintain a coherent strain of identity no matter where their musical adventures take them. This gets better with every listen, and it is obvious that these are great musicians having a great time. – Ben
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Shaun Kama & Kings of the Wild Frontier “Dear Scarecrow” www.bostonkrownrecords.com | |
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This is one produced record. The musician’s list alone takes up one page of the CD booklet and reads like a tribute to sidemen from innumerable bands ranging from Ozzy Osborne to Dwight Yoakum to Fishbone. So there’s a lot of stuff going on here on former Damnation front man Shaun Kama’s ambitious new disc, “Dear Scarecrow”. A whole lot of sounds, mostly western sounds. I just don’t really dig it. The vocals are a bit pleading and the music is too slick. It’s not bad; it just plays like the soundtrack of countrified rock production from the bowels of a shiny new L.A studio. Then again, if I was drinking a lot of tequila in a dusty Wild West tavern on the set of a Robert Rodriguez film and not paying too much attention to anything but all the gore and hilarity going on about me, this disc might due for a quiet backing track at times. Maybe. - Bram
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Sunday Valley Self-titled CD myspace.com/sundayvalley | |
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Sunday Valley plays country rock with some bluegrass attitude, which is fitting for a Kentucky-based outfit. This eight song disc showcases some nice upbeat work that should find a welcome home in more staid venues of pop-friendly country music or perhaps with some Budweiser-drinking buddies. Political overtones shade a number of the tracks, notably the hidden track “911 (Folded Flag)”. Highlights include the opening track “Sometimes Wine”, “I Wonder” which features some nice organ work, and “Jesus Boogie”. Despite the preponderance of cymbal-heavy drum tracks and the inexplicably frustrating nine minutes of silence before the hidden, political track (why hide the overtly political song?), this is good, high-energy country rock from the heartland. - Bram
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Touch My Rash “Doomed From the Start” www.bittersick.com | |
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To me this sounds like a late 90’s poppy street punk trying to add a little ’77 punk snottiness to the vocals and not pulling it off. The singing and the melodies actually made me cringe more and more as the album dragged on, especially the tuneless backing vocals. When I listened to the lyrics being sung I thought they were inanely juvenile, but in reading them later I could see there was at least some sincerity behind them. It just sounds like kids making hackneyed music with big production that will appeal to other kids who also don’t have much of a musical frame of reference. There’s nothing original or particularly well done. I don’t mean to sound so scathing in my review, but I just don’t see much redeeming here other than they are probably nice people who never meant me any harm. – Ben
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The Tremors “Invasion of the Saucermen” www.tremorsrockabilly.com | |
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First off, “Invasion of the Saucermen” has some very cool art. It’s in “3-D Tremorvision” and is designed to be viewed through 3-D glasses. Visions of the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” are instantly conjured up from the first glance at the cover art and had me scrambling to find the blue and red 3-D glasses in my review box (sadly, they were either missing or lost), but with art like that, a name like The Tremors, and a disc title referencing spacemen, I knew I was in for some rockabilly. Fourteen cuts worth to be exact. The Tremors are a three-piece rockabilly band hailing from the South, USA: upright bass, picking frenzy guitar, and drums double time. Tales of extraterrestrial meddling, drive-ins, and my favorite track title, “Atomic Jesus”, combine with some Chuck Berry-esque attitude that will put some tremors in your knee bones. And if that won’t do it, the excellent track “Shakin’ From Seizures” surely will. This is a nice, crisp clean disc that’s well produced and features some nifty bass-clicking by upright player Slim Perkins. If you like your rockabilly with side of a trailer park and a frosty cold PBR, check it out. – Bram
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The Undertakers “Carburettors, Crankshafts and Cadavers” www.myspace.com/undertakers | |
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Who knew carburetor was spelled with two “t’s” in Europe? The strange world of British and American spelling differences. The Undertakers grind out six rock n roll tracks on “Carburettors, Crankshafts and Cadavers,” a self-released EP, which includes two low-quality live songs. Heavy, gloomy/horror rock with ominous, threatening caveman lyrics and riffs fill up the time you’ll spend listening to this disc. The track listing is strangely incorrect (track 2 and 3 reversed?). The Undertakers material takes a page from the Misfits-inflected pyschobilly manual that just isn’t that interesting or original. Perhaps like moustache/mustache, aeroplane/airplane, or arse/ass, the difference is in the pub vs. the wider public. - Bram
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The Vestiges "The Promised City" E.P. www.thevestiges.net | |
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This is a five-song offering from The Vestiges. It’s pretty pop-indie-rock sounding with vocals that sound somewhat reminiscent both in sound and lyrical style as Bob Dylan or perhaps the Replacements. But the songs don’t really grab me like a good Dylan or Replacements song would. If many bands instantly recall the West Coast, The Vestiges instantly recall a modern NYC-indie sound. The music is sharp and the production is nice, the lyrics are intelligent, but overall there isn’t much going on that distinguishes The Vestiges from many other pop-rock-indie bands that one can find in bars all across our commercially-driven country. Perhaps Woody Allen or college pop music radio fans would think differently. - Bram
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Victorian Halls “Springsteen” www.victorianhalls.com | |
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The good news is that this is fairly original, or at least I am not well-versed in its antecedents. They are most often described as a “theatrical” and the music has a melodramatic modernism informed by artsy pop and garnished with piano and a brooding temperament. It’s almost like progressive hair metal for the neo-hipster set hankering for more substance and sensitivity. When I popped this in I thought the singer was female, his register was so high – like King Diamond without the growls and more versatility on the high end. That brings me to the bad news. The vocals, while quite impressive and powerful, are a tough sell to these ears. Somehow they manage to remind me of a nightmare I had once where Queen redid “The Wall.” Then there’s possibly even some weird highbrow version of Steelheart or Slaughter in effect here. In places I sense a sort of Hip Hop cadence to lyrical delivery, reminding me slightly of Mike D in higher falsetto working on a rock opera. All that may sound interesting, but that’s where it stays in my estimation – just sort of interesting. I don’t particularly want to hear it again. I’ll kindly respect this as an unusual tangent evolving from the tree of music, but not a branch I’m overly keen to walk out on. – Ben
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The Willycranes “Domestic Disturbance” www.willycranes.com | |
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I remember feeling sort of ambivalent about their last CD, but this one hits me a little harder with its greasy knuckles. It sounds like this Finnish band grew up on punk and metal in the 80’s, but also has an affinity for Southern rock riffs, fried foods, pinstriping, and binge drinking. The songs have all the requisite horsepower to keep you moving along. I’m still not quite in love, but if you are infatuated with all things Motorhead-inspired, you could do much worse. - Ben
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VARIOUS ARTISTS - COMPILATIONS AND SPLITS | |
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Boxcar Satan and Ghostwriter "Hobo Nouveau" www.dogfingers.com www.endofthewest.com | |
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This really isn’t so much a split CD as a full-on collaboration between San Antonio’s Boxcar Satan and Austin expatriate, Steve Schecter, better known under his One Man Band moniker: Ghostwriter. It is an American folk album for the deconstructed and disillusioned 21st century, borne of hardship and hope and emanating the all warmth and weariness of the current zeitgeist. Planted among the rows of new crops are old tunes by Elder Charlie Beck, Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Merle Travis, and Woody Guthrie. The sounds run the gambit from refashioned delta blues and modern dustbowl ditties to smokestack spirituals and wayward work songs. As always, whenever I hear Boxcar Satan I get a feeling of Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart, but that’s good company to keep. – Ben
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“Revenge of the Hot Rod Zombies” Various Artists Compilation www.bossbeatrecords.com/a> | |
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A nice compilation featuring 26 songs of bands from all over the U.S. and Mexico playing all manner of ‘billy-oriented music, greaser punk, and even a ska track. More than half the songs are previously unreleased. Bands included are: The National Hot Rods, The Irish Brothers, Devil Doll, Thee Merry Widows, The White Barons, The Slanderin, The Phenomenauts, Los Creepers, Pep Torres, Hellbound Hayride, Left Alone, Los Benders, Mad Max and the Wild Ones, Bad Luck bandits, Dead City Rockers, and lots more. - Ben
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White Clouds and Gunfire & Destructors666 “Caveat Emptor” Split CD www.destructors666.com | |
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Two British bands from Peterborough that sound nothing alike. White Clouds and Gunfire that reminds of Jimmy Eat World when the guy sings and Avril Lavigne when the girl sings. I had a severe allergic reaction to this and had to get an epinephrine shot. It was horrible. Destructors666 fared much better on their 3 songs, with one being a cover the Flamin’ Groovies “Teenage Head.” To me these guys sound like a vaguely metalish mid-tempo Oi band, while their bonus track is more of a thrashy UK ’82 number. Actually, I rather enjoy their stuff, and believe they’ve been around since the late 70’s. I have no idea why they are always doing split CDs with shitty bands, though. – Ben
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