music, movies, dvds, games and broken glass. lots of broken

May 16, 2007 pulseweekly 39
reviews
music, movies, dvds, games and broken glass. lots of broken glass.
longer. Or, maybe Black Flag would have made a
piano version of Damaged. (You know, if they got
bored or something.) What’s punk anymore? I find
myself wondering why bands like The All-American
Rejects aren’t rejected, and why bands like +44 are
getting together to make a few extra bucks to pay for
the sports cars they all bought. It’s frustrating, and as
far as I’m concerned, very un-punk.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
PUNK GOES ACOUSTIC 2
(FEARLESS RECORDS)
The whole premise of this record is disheartening. I thought the whole idea of punk rock
was to be abrasive, offensive, and (most of
all) f--king loud. Now, maybe I’m off a little; maybe the Sex Pistols would have made
an acoustic album if they lasted a little
The line between musician and punk gets blurred
whenever a kid with a mohawk picks up a guitar and
decides he wants to start a band. Sure, Nirvana did the
Unplugged thing, but I really think that punks who
want to show that they have a softer side can do it in
other ways, like turning off the distortion or taking a
shower.
This record, aside from personal rants, includes tracks
from The Audition, Anti-Flag, Sherwood (punk?),
Relient K, Say Anything, +44, Spill Canvas, and The
All-American Rejects (pictured), among many others.
The album is primarily acoustic, with some percussion
here and there, and plenty of breathy vocals to make
any fifteen-year old girl melt ... or something like that.
I’m in no way apprehensive about the stand-out tracks
– which include Alesana’s piano version of Apology,
Anti-Flag’s version of Welcome to 1984, and
Silverstein’s moody version of Red Light Pledge –
however, I’m just apprehensive about calling it punk.
(Except Anti-Flag, of course, because they’re talking
about politics and shit.)
There’s plenty of Dashboard Confessional-like songs on
Punk Goes Acoustic 2, which does show a softer side to
a majority of artists who love their distortion pedals
(and pompous production). The album is stripped
down, straight-forward and moody, and perfect for
those of you who like any of the bands on the comp.
Sure, this a huge step for some of them, and it doesn’t
matter that it’s called punk, but it matters what it
means to you, the listener.
For me, it’s average at best.
(NR)
CD REVIEWS
BLACK REBEL
MOTORCYCLE CLUB
BABY 81 (RCA RECORDS)
I’m completely biased when it
comes to the Black Rebel
Motorcycle Club for a couple of
reasons. First, they’ve consistently put out good records;
their last three releases have
been solid. Second, and it
might have to do with all the
black and white and their dirty
image, but they look pretty
damn cool. Lastly, they’re one
of the few bands from the
West Coast psychedelic scene I
actually dig.
That said, their newest disc,
Baby 81, toys with Jesus And
Mary Chain soundscapes while
incorporating bits of pop into a
subtle, but noisy, concoction.
BRMC have gotten some criticism for sounding a bit too
polished, too big, and too
thought-out on Baby 81, and
with songs like Berlin, I can
see why.
K-OS
ATLANTIS: HYMNS FOR
DISCO (VIRGIN RECORDS)
Toronto’s K-OS (pronounced
like the word, chaos) has been
pushing the bounds of hip-hop
ever since his debut record,
Exit, came out in 2003. He
crafts a sound as eclectic as
Outkast and as genre-crossing
as Gnarls Barkley. He also
enjoys switching between rapping and singing, which shows
K-OS’s way with words and his
penchant for melody.
On his newest disc, Atlantis:
Hymns For Disco, K-OS does
more of the same; he combines different sounds into a
musical concoction that
explodes with influences. His
rapping is a little old-school
(think Kool Keith) which might
throw you off, but it’s all good.
He’s doing the entire Warped
Tour this summer, so if you’re
there, check out his set, and
see for yourself.
BEARS
THE CLAY PEOPLE
GOON MOON
SOCIETYS PARASITES
(OVER IT RECORDS)
(IPECAC RECORDINGS)
(HELLCAT RECORDS)
HOW FAR OUR BODIES
GO (SABOT RECORDS)
Ever since Stephen Colbert
brought bears from the forest
and into your living room, the
faithful news-watching couch
potatoes have witnessed the
ferocious side of bears. And who
came blame Colbert? Bears are
ferocious, especially the Grizzly
... that beast is monstrous.
This Albany, NY, hard rock outfit has been in existence since
1990. Their debut record came
out in 1994 and Waking The
Dead is their newest (2007)
record. The Clay People are
seasoned vets when it comes
to playing their blend of industrial hard rock.
Goon Moon is Jeordie White
and Chris Goss. White proved
his rock legacy as Twiggy
Ramirez for Marilyn Manson
and Goss cut his teeth with
Queens Of The Stone Age and
Masters Of Reality. This project
is basically a side project for
both talents and it truly is
something you need to hear.
But Bears (the band) is far
from ferocious. Their earlier
work (which I’ve had the
pleasure of hearing, and
reviewing) has been laden
with references to twee-pop
and influences from Belle And
Sebastian. On their newest
half-record, Shortest Day Of
The Year, the boys in Bears
take their love of cute instrumentation, Beach Boys pop,
and bedroom production to a
new level. The new sound onestep closure to being their
own. Good stuff.
The Clay People bring the riffs,
they bring the rock, and they
definitely bring the beer-guzzling machismo associated with
balls-to-the-wall rock and roll.
Their music sounds like modern
rock – with a little more edge
– but without the poppy elements. (They’re like a testosterone-fueled Nickelback, if
you can imagine that.) Waking
The Dead does it exactly what
it promises; it’s loud enough to
wake the dead, and big
enough to shake them out of
their graves.
This punk rock four-piece hails
from the streets of Echo Park,
Los Angeles, which is littered
with gang violence and all kinds
of other not-so-good things. The
band formed in 1997 when
brothers Jimmy (drums) and
Freddy (guitar vocals) decided
to form a punk rock band. Ten
years later, the band penned a
deal with Hellcat Records and
this is their debut.
Naples, Florida isn’t usually
associated with punk rock.
Gainesville, however, is where
punk icons Hot Water Music
and Against Me! are from, and
that’s only a couple of miles
from Naples. So why is where
Fake Problems are from important? It’s not, but I’ve
reviewed this band before and
they make a point of saying
where they’re from. A lot.
There’s really nothing more to
say about these boys except
that they are heavily influenced by Rancid, Filth, and
Muddy Waters and that they
are straight-forward punk rock.
There are plenty of solos; plenty of angry screaming; plenty
of angry drums; and plenty of
... anger. This debut is a
strong punk rock record and
we suggest getting it if you’re
an angry person.
Fake Problems’ newest disc is
a mix of acoustic drinking
songs, ska, punk, and country
music which is played under
singer Chris Farren’s over dramatic, over-punk-rock vocals.
(It just sounds like the dude is
trying to hard to be angry.)
SHORTEST DAY OF THE
YEAR (BEARS POP MUSIC)
WAKING THE DEAD
LICKER’S LAST LEG
On their newest disc, White
and Goss mix everything rock
into a palpable palate of
eclectic music. They bounce
from folk, to rock, to metal, to
prog rock, to psycheldia (and
all other sorts of other musical
styles) to create one of the
most eclectic and awe-inspiring releases of 2007. Every
song on Licker’s Last Leg is
unique, and this album is a
perfect example of how idearich the environment of Goon
Moon is.
SOCIETY’S PARASITES
FAKE PROBLEMS
Farren’s lyrics are witty, but
the vocals are something that
you will need time to really
get used to.