The Black Keys have also put out the first single in support
of the new album. It is called Fever and may see a spot on next weeks post.
Other than that there is not much new news that I have felt
was noteworthy since the last post a few days ago.
I have gotten in the new album from The Faint two weeks
early though. Excited to hear it, just got it in literally today. Thanks to
Insound for that one.
Here we go...
This is one of two EPs released last year. It was originally
released on Melters Records. It has recently been re-relased through
Slumberland Records. Slumberland has released this on Cassette and on
translucent red vinyl. I think that the cassette is translucent red too but I
can’t pinpoint any text stating this. What I do know is that there will be a
full length album out on slumberland later this year. This EP is super short
clocking in at just over 12 minutes long. I am still not sure if this is punk
genius or complete laziness in music history.
The shortest song on the album is the lead off track,
Nowhere To Go. It is a whole 48 seconds and totally reminds me of a snip-it
from a Weezer track. I think this is one of my favorite tracks on the album.
The second track is called Change My Ways. This also has a
lick of the Weezer sound. in the guitars. It is a longer song but not by much.
The vocals are multi-tracked giving the vocals more presence.
The sixth track, Sick Ass Riff, is another short track but you get a nice
acoustic solo part that is completely unexpected considering everything has
been distorted guitars up to this point. It is a nice quick break from the
distortion.
The Way Things Are follows in the multi-tracked distorted
guitar theme that seems to run through the EP. The guitar solo on the track is
truly brilliant. I think that I can pick out three separate guitar parts but
there could be more that that.
The last song that I want to mention is another acoustic
track called Wondering Boy Poet. My favorite lyrics are when he sings, “This is
not reality, this is just formality.” It reminds me of my job that pays the
bills. It is another short track at 47 seconds but the lyrics are genius and
the acoustic guitar is a welcome change.
If you like punk and 90s alt music this is the best
combination of both styles of music that I have ever heard.
This is the second album from Withered Hand. It has been
released through Slumberland Records in the US and Fortuna Pop! in EU. The EU
limited version is gold metallic vinyl, like the 7” single that was released,
in a gatefold black sleeve. The US limited version was pressed on gold and
black splattered vinyl with a chip board sleeve. Slumberland offered a special
bundle that included the first album from Withered Hand, Good News. Since I
still have yet to hear anything from Absolutely Kosher Records, the company
that put out Good News on vinyl in the US, I decided to get the bundle from
Slumberland Records. I still can’t express how annoyed I am with Absolutely
Kosher Records that I still haven’t heard anything from them since November of
2013. When I first heard that this album was going to be released last year and
heard a couple of songs from the album I was really excited. I was so excited
in fact that I researched the group and got a few singles from them.
The first single released from this album is called BlackTambourine. It features Pam Berry of seminal 90's US noise-pop band Black Tambourine on the
track Black Tambourine. The song is sweet and fragile at the same time. The electric
guitar is clean and clear with the acoustic just underneath supporting the
electric guitar. The electric guitar solo on the other hand is distorted but
fun and short. The vocals work so well but come off a bit sappy.
The second single from the album is called Horseshoe. I had this to say
about this song recently in Vol. 5 Episode 8, “It
is mainly an acoustic based track with organ and piano floating in the back
ground. The drums come off very big sounding and take over most of the track.
The drums are simple but big. There is also electric guitar but it is kept
simple to focus on the vocals. The vocals are the star of the show next to the
big drum sound. It is a good song that I can get use to hearing quite
frequently.”
The song Heart Heart was previously released as its own 7”
EP in 2012. I talked about this one in Vol. 4 Episode 50, “It is a great crowd
chanter if the crowd is smart enough to catch when to yell the words as it is
done musically by every other word not by full phrase. The song is a lot of
fun.” The version on the record is a little different though. This new mix has
the piano part further forward on the mix. I am not sure if I would like this
version more had I not already heard the previous mix.
This is a really great album. It does get sappy in some
parts but for the most part it is a happy loving album. I just hope that the
group comes to my home town so I can see them play live.
This is the first full length album from Nothing. It was
released early in 2014. Previous to this album they had released three EPs one
of which was on cassette. I found out about the group from one of my favorite
bands, Whirr. The album was released through Relapse Records. The vinyl version
of the record was released in many different colors; black, white, half
black/white and clear. The clear version is the most limited version and the
black and white version was for the deluxe package. I had no idea what the band
was going to be like so I opted for the standard black version. I think that
the group are a great band for noise rock but not exactly the best. It is very
hard to match the likes of My Bloody Valentine for example. But, for the new
crop of Shoegaze music that has come about in recent years they sound very
good. The first few times that I listened to this album I listened at quieter
volumes. The last time I listened to the album I turned up the volume a bit and
found the music to be somehow better. I am not sure if it is that I have gotten
to know the music and then to have the volume louder somehow engages me more or
if it is something else within me that I can’t describe.
There are no official singles from the album. This seems to
happen with Indie groups. It is like they know that there will be no radio play
so why bother putting something out as a single. There are some great songs on
the album though. One of my favorites is called Get Well. The vocals are what
make this song for me. The music is just a hard rock song but the male
whispered vocals make the song stand out as something to listen to. It is just
perfect.
I also like the slow song on the album, Guilty Of Everything, for the clean guitars
and the continued breathy vocals. The music for the song reminds me of the song
Under The Bridge from The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think that it is the drums
that lead me that way. The song changes direction a bit when the full band
plays during the chorus. It really just gets louder during the chorus though.
The third track that I really like is called Beat Around TheBush. This is also a slower song but the
distortion on the guitar is near perfection. It has that alternating current
feel to it. The vocals also continue with that breathy style that seems to run
through the whole album. This is a consistent sound through the album keeping
the group grounded even though I call the vocals airy they have also got this
earthy quality about them. I guess you could call the vocals airy but swirling
with lose dirt, like a dust bowl.
Anyway, this is a great album that I have enjoyed listening
to over the past few weeks. I waited so long to write about this one because I
wanted to be sure that it was something that I liked. So, it kind of grew on
me.
That is all I have for now...
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