The Banner's Best Effort

The most exciting trend in metal/hardcore (uh, “metalcore,” if you will) is a return to the faster rhythms of older hardcore and punk. It seems that more and more bands are moving away from the near-death metal slow-to-midtempo song with all its cliché breakdowns and chug-chug-chuging to playing thrashy punk like it’s 1988 all over again.

Such is the case with The Banner. Frailty makes The Banner sound like peers of pioneers like Ringworm and Integrity instead of their bastard progeny. “IWIWD,” “Sphrenia,” and “Ratflesh” all display the 90’s hardcore meets 80’s thrash sound Ringworm nearly perfected. Hell, there’s even a semblance of a guitar solo in some of these songs. Damn – don’t hear that much in hardcore any more.

But with a southern doom intro like “Welcome Fuckers” and the devilish funeral march of “The Wolf” opening the album, The Banner let it be known from the get-go that they’re not all about thrash hardcore. In fact, when they’re not playing at breakneck tempos, much of The Banner’s music sounds like the slower, sludgier parts of Converge’s catalog. “A Hellbound Heart,” with it’s saw-grind intro, sounds like it was pulled straight from You Deserve Me. “Dusk,” likewise is born of Bannon and Co.

“On Hooks” may be the best The Banner has to offer. The track starts with a painfully slow wall-of-sound intro, moves on to a two-step NYHC tempo, and then the band just loses it, driving at death wish speed through an almost grindcore sounding rhythm. “On Hooks” is everything The Banner seems to love rolled up in one joint.

Signing The Banner was probably the smartest move Ferret made in a long while. Frailty is a solid blend of doom, hardcore, punk, thrash, and metal. Despite briefly disbanding in 2007, after their Ferret debut Every Breath Haunted, The Banner are back stronger than ever, and have released their best album yet.

mp3: "On Hooks"
myspace: www.myspace.com/thebanner

Nas' "Sly Fox"

No need for commentary - this video is great and the song is even better. I got a leak of the album too - shit is hot.

Fantastic New LP From Austin's Grupo Fantasma

Originally published at AllAboutJazz.com





When you’ve got Prince’s seal of approval, little else matters. Austinites Grupo Fantasma have long been the Purple One’s band du jour, logging a two-month residency at his Las Vegas nightclub 3121, a Golden Globes after party performance that saw the band joined by Prince as well as emcees Talib Kweli and Will.i.am, Mary J. Blige, and Marc Anthony, and other performances alongside the icon in London, Miami and the Capital City itself.

Sonidos Gold is the best document of Grupo's cumbia-salsa-funk fusion to date. Led by guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada, the Grupo orchestra is in fine form on the dozen tracks that make up Sonidos, and give, as the title would suggest, a golden performance. (Too hard to avoid that one…)

Whether it’s the Grupo horn section of Gilbert Elorreaga (trumpet), Joshua Levy (saxophones), and Leo Gauana (trombone) leading the way, as on opening jam “El Sabio Soy Yo,” or the percussive force of Johnny Lopez (drums), Matthew Holmes (congas) and quasi-frontman Jose Galeano (timbales) moving and shaking the rhythm, as on “Arroz con Frijoles,” Grupo Fantasma is above all tight, operating as a cohesive unit, always in-tune with each other.

Speaking of which, “Arroz” is all but a drummer’s wet dream – loads of percussion (timbales, congas, cowbells, shakers, handclaps and whistles) all layered on top of one another make for one of the most exciting drum breaks ever. Fania All-Stars arranger Larry Harlow lends his hands to “Rumba y Guaguanaco” along with Parliament Funkadelic vet Greg Boyer. “Bacalao Con Pan” shows signs of Grupo side-project Brownout, combining breakbeat funk with Latin soul a la Eddie Palmieri. Rounding out the guest appearances is the legendary Maceo Parker, whose saxophone lights up “Gimme Some,” a stick-up anthem that finds that band singing in English for a change.

The production is perfect and exactly what the band requires. The excitement and raw energy of their live shows is translated brilliantly to record, with little if any post-production fluff. Go see Grupo Fantasma live and it’ll sound a lot like this record. The horns carry all the necessary punch, drums speak to the soul on a spiritual level, vocals are just about all that carry any signs of post-production, with reverb adding psychedelic air to Quesada and Galaeno’s words.

Grupo Fantasma turns in an inspired performance on Sonidos Gold. Truer to the tradition than West Coast contemporaries Ozomatli, Grupo are one the most exciting bands out there right now – just ask Prince.

mp3: "Bacalao con Pan"
myspace: www.myspace.com/fantasmatics
video: Grupo Fantasma performing "Mentiras" on Austin City Limits

Ocote Soul Sounds

Originally published at Allaboutjazz.com





Ocote Soul Sounds was born of strange conditions—a (sort of) failed biodiesel-fueled road trip that lead to jam sessions in Austin, TX, that in turn lead to the cross country trade of mp3s and song ideas, that gave birth to a surprising debut, 2005's independently released El Nino y El Sol (reissued by ESL the following year). Masterminded by two of the freshest voices in new music today, Ocote Soul Sounds is in top form on The Alchemist Manifesto, a worldly mix of sounds found “at the intersection of the downtown dance floor, the sweaty basement bembé, and the smoldering campfire on a remote beach.”

Martin Perna has made a name for himself in recent years by lending his flute to tracks by TV on the Radio, Scarlet Johansson, and others, as well as being a founding member of Sharon Jones' Dap-Kings and leader of Antibalas. Adrian Quesada is the mind behind two of Austin, TX's hottest bands, the Prince-approved Grupo Fantasma and deep-funk aficionados Brownout. Perna and Quesada together? Simply unstoppable, as evidenced by the stellar selections found on their sophomore Manifesto.

The Alchemist Manifesto blends brassy downtempo jazz (”The Grand Elixir”), Fela-like afrobeat (”La reja”), and breakbeat funk (”The Alchemist Manifesto”) and wraps it all in a soundtrack-worthy sheen. “Les Dunes d'Ostende” is more akin to the indietronica of Four Tet and Tortoise than Grupo Fantasma or Antibalas' interpretation of the word funk. “Hacia un manana major” is digital boom bap (think Anti-Pop Consortium), “Contra el sol” a getaway driver's soundtrack, and “Pelican,” Latin-flavored soul rap (some Teddy Riley shit).

Perna and Quesada are in top-form on The Alchemist Manifesto. Collectively, from Antibalas to Brownout and all the many other projects these two brilliant artists are involved in on the side, it's clear these two are not running out of ideas any time soon. Manifesto is invigorating, the essence of cool, and a perfect soundtrack to your sultry summer.

mp3: "The Grand Elixir"
myspace: myspace.com/ocotesoulsounds

Houston TX - This Years Tiger

In the vein of Small Brown Bike, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and Leatherface, Houston, TX’s This Year’s Tiger play Pabst-chugging rock ‘n’ roll, the sort adored by thick-bearded bros from Gainesville to Riverside. As it stands, the band sounds at home on a label like No Idea, though their self-titled, self-released EP shows plenty of signs that This Year’s Tiger is looking to move beyond that cliché sing-a-long style of punk rock.

The band’s latest offering is 6 songs deep and, while the band rarely wavers from a tested and true formula of breakdowns, gang vocals, and hoarse-throated semi-screams, who cares? What the world needs now is a damn good rock ‘n’ roll song, and This Year’s Tiger has some pretty damn good rock songs on it.

“Your Face Has No Melody” showcases TYT’s signature sound and opens the EP perfectly. “A Bullet For You” has your cliché but oh-so-true, got-your-back-if-you-got-mine chorus found so often in This Year’s Tiger’s songs: “some things you never forget – I’d take a bullet for you then and I’d take a bullet for you now.” So true.

“Playing Matador” is slightly more agro than the rest of the EP; “Anchors” more Helmet than Hot Water Music; and one of Tiger’s best tracks, “Raise Your Glass”, is a poor man’s Foo Fighters jam. “Like Snakes” shows This Year’s Tiger’s true promise, as snakewinding seventies’ leads battle chunky post-punk and requisite gang vox.

This Year’s Tiger are the type of band you might see playing the next Food Not Bomb’s benefit in your local organic grocer’s parking lot and you’ll definitely see them at The Fest in Gainesville. Hardly original, This Year’s Tiger is nonetheless a great listen and a promising debut.

myspace: www.myspace.com/thisyearstiger
mp3: "A Bullet For You"

Two Great New Artists I'm In Love With

Jamie Lidell
http://www.myspace.com/jamielidell
check out: "Another Day," "Hurricane"

Good white-boy soul and funk on Warp Records (weird...) Just saw the video for "Another Day" on ME and fell in love. Lidell's name is one of heard and read on blogs and in magazines but had yet to take the time to listen to. Great song, great video, assuming the rest of the album is just as great. For fans of Sharon Jones and Gnarls Barkley.





Eli "Paperboy" Reed"
http://www.myspace.com/elipaperboyreed
check out: "The Satisfier," "Doin the Boom Boom"

Thanks to Tito for once again hipping me to a great new artist I haven't heard. Deep funk and blues something like Sam Cooke meets Amy Winehouse - not surprisingly Reed is playing this years Austin City Limits Festival. Reed's new album "Roll With You" is fucking stellar.

Holy Fuck (better late than never)

I was asked to review this album for Decoymusic.com only to discover through the course of writing it, and upon publication, that the review is pretty much 4 months late. Oh well, enjoy...



Holy Fuck is four dudes from Toronto, Canada who use live instrumentation to create “the equivalent of modern electronic music without actually using the techniques” (Pitchfork.com). Fuck’s second full-length, the nine-song LP, does just that. Fuck loop beats, layer sounds and textures, and organically build digital symphonies setting the soundtrack for the noisiest dance party ever.

The band has been a backup sound provider for avant-emcee Beans, toured with electro-clash titan M.I.A. and played a private SXSW party hosted by TV chef Rachel Ray, causing blogospheric outrage. LP follows a promising self-titled debut but finds the band much more adept at their tinkering.

LP is, like all great dance records, rhythm-centric. The evolution and intoxification of beats is the main focus in Holy Fuck’s sound, and all the other beeps, bells, clicks and whistles come later. Fuck follow in the tradition of Kraftwerk and Can, Daft Punk and The Faint. “Super Inuit” is Krautrock on uppers, “Milkshake” something along the lines of Chemical Brothers meets Ghostland Observatory.

“Lovely Allen” is one of the best single tracks I’ve heard all year, a walk-in-the-park pop melody covered in Holy Fuck’s noisey shine. “Royal Gregory” is Fuck’s funkiest contribution, a dance-happy vamp. “Echo Sam” is raucously fun, “Safari” an 8-bit gamers glitchy manifesto.

Besides the clearly brilliant name, Holy Fuck has put out one of the more brilliant records this year. LP is blasphemous and loud, a mohawked dance party for those who dance because they’ve got nothing else to live for. A band like this shows true brilliance in their live performance, but LP does well to capture Holy Fuck at their best.

myspace: www.myspace.com/holyfuck
video:

Carry the Torch's Hot New EP

Let’s just get this out the way right now – I can’t remember the last time a four song EP impressed me as much as Carry The Torch’s Dead Weather. Wait, yeah I can. It was circa 1999, when I heard Shai Hulud’s A Profound Hatred of Man for the first time. Like Hatred, Dead Weather packs more emotional punch, more energy, and more strength into 4 tracks than some bands manage to muster in a career, let alone one album.

Carry the Torch’s sound can best me described as “melodic hardcore,” something along the lines of the aforementioned Shai Hulud, old Hopesfall, Poison the Well – bands like that. Melodic leads over chug-chug rhythms with lyrics that are empowering and personal, the sort that make you want to hug your brothers and raise a fist for the sing-a-long.

The clarity of Brian North’s vocals is refreshing. Not only are his lyrics great but being able to hear his words and not have to spend repeated listens deciphering their meaning is a welcome change from most hardcore bands today which have vocalists who would rather squeal like pigs than write an intelligent word.

“For All I Care It Can Burn” is the album's standout track, an anthem if ever there was one. From the “end transmission / walk away” gang vocals to the uber-melodic breakdown and face-melting climax that follows, it is one of my favorite tracks right now.

The only criticism of Dead Weather is obvious – it’s length. The sound quality could be a little better too, but what are you going to do? This band is ballin' on a budget, baby! Without a doubt, Dead Weather is stunning, as a good a debut as hardcore music has seen in years.

mp3: "For All I Care it Can Burn"
myspace: www.myspace.com/carrythetorchmusic

Jay Electronica

Jay is the hot shit right now. Here's his latest and a link to Nah Right's archive of free Jay Electronica joints (audio and video). "I ain't a hot boy but the flow is jalapeno." SERIOUSLY - damn. Hailing from New Orleans, Jay Electronica is one cat who has used the blogosphere entirely to his advantage, probably unlike any artist before him, to build his career and get his name out.

video:
website: Nah Right's Jay Electrography

The Stance Brothers

Yo - who the fuck is The Stance Brothers? Why is Helsinki, Finland tearing shit up better than the United States? My buddy Eddie, DJ E Be Lo A.K.A. The Chorizo Funk hipped me to this band from across the pond. Check out these videos on YouTube. Band definitely rips shit - up there with the Dap-Kings, Quantic Soul Orchestra, Soulive. Link to their myspace at the bottom.







myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thestancebrothers

How Vocals Ruined a Band

Sirhan Sirhan’s latest release, the full length Blood (Anodyne Records), would be a fucking brilliant record, the type of album you put on during a shitty day and blast loud as fuck until your neighbors bang on the walls or your mom bangs on your bedroom door. Would be. If guitarist/vocalist Jason Blackmore, of Midwest projects Gunfighter and Molly McGuire, would just put a goddamn sock in it.

Sirhan Sirhan have a bit of a Hot Snakes vibe, which means they sound a lot like The Wipers on uppers, except for when they drop out into sludge metal breakdowns (“Rise”). There’s some of The Bronx mixed in their sound as well, definitely a Melvins influence here and there, but the guitars are too chunky and full to be considered garage rock, the vocals too processed to be considered punk.

But as previously stated, the big downer on Blood is the way Blackmore seems to be forcing his vocals through all sorts of weird effects, adding echo, distortion – all sorts of unnecessary stuff. Just scream dude. Be a man. Blackmore’s voice is all over the place, barking like Corey Taylor of Slipknot on “All Aboard,” effeminately whispering on “Burn it Down,” and wavering between both on “Surgery.” Then you have “Remove My Eyes,” which is perhaps the most ridiculous vocal exhibition I’ve heard in a long time.

Musically there is nothing wrong with Sirhan Sirhan – the band’s got balls and the play with unapologetic fury. The whole blood, death, fire, and destruction schtick is a little bit ridiculous, though (“Chop Chop” is simply absurd). All in all, throughout Blood I couldn’t shake the overwhelming desire to grab Blackmore by the throat and scream “SHUT THE FUCK UP! Your band is incredible and you’re fucking ruining it!”

You fucked it up, Jason. You fucked it up.

mp3: none - not worth it.
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/sirhansirhan

Horrible Band Name, Great Band

The Human Flight Committee takes familiar influences and molds them into something truly unique on their latest offering, the impressive Oh, When The Animals Unionize. Try and stick with me here – see, I could tell you that this band cites At the Drive-in, The Blood Brothers, The Mars Volta, Botch, and Minus the Bear as influences and you could easily come up with a general idea of what they sound like. You’d be wrong, though. There’s just something fresh about Aaron Shelton’s vocal swagger, Chris Alfieri’s percussive approach to melody, the rhythm section of Garrett Henderson and Christopher Shelton’s ability to keep everything moving forward that altogether feels so new, yet still so comfortable and familiar.

“The Last Song Anyone is Ever Going to Hear” starts with Shelton proselytizing over Botch-like leads, builds into a cathartic disco meltdown and, just when you think the song can’t get any better, in come the gang vocals. That’s everything I need in a great song these days (a Botch reference, disco beats, and gang vocals). “Tint and Quarantine” further establishes Shelton as a force to be reckoned with, a quick-witted and sharp-tongued lyricist who recalls the likes of Jordan Buckley (Every Time I Die) and Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw).

“Russian? We’re Barely Moving” is for folks looking for a true sense of panic in their disco. “The Shortest Distance Between Two Points is a Punch in the Mouth” lags but “The Five Second Saga” picks up the hyperactive, These Arms Are Snakes vibe before boredom ensues. Even at their simplest (“You’ll Get in When You’re Older”) The Human Flight Committee sound better than most of their better known peers. “Wolves in Cheap Clothing” is a mouthful at 7 minutes, but its bold sense of adventurism, its self-indulgent and cocky self-assuredness, is The Human Flight Committee in a nutshell.



Rarely does a band show so much promise and potential, but The Human Flight Committee show plenty of both on Oh, When the Animals Unionize. With familiar influences, THFC produce a batch of songs that are all over the map, yet manage not to leave the listener lost.

mp3: Russian! We're Barely Moving

Some New Music

The Cool Kids - "Miami Beach"
here
Off their soon-to-be-released EP The Bake Sale. Tracks is dope. Typical Cool Kids party shit but hey, that's what they do. "Everywhere I go I act an ass..." amen, brotha.



Jimi Hendrix - "Gloria" (cover)
here
Jacked this one from the guys over at I Guess I'm Floating. Jimi could rock a cover song like nobodies business and he definitely takes this one in a direction Van Morrison never could have imagined. The spoken word parts are rad as fuck. Consider the Source did a cover of this last year sometime. Never thought to do with it what Jimi did, but we had fun either way.



Tyga - "Space Joyridin"
here
Hate all you want, I can't wait for Tyga's new record to drop (on Decaydance Records, home of Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes, etc). This is off the latest installment of his mixtape series "No Introduction." Download that shit for free off his myspace - www.myspace.com/tyga. Lil Wayne is all over that shit.



4 or 5 Magicians - "Forever on the Edge"
here
I have a thing for songs about being a struggling musician, a dreamer, etc so this is sort of my anthem right now. These kids are from Bristol, England and have a great pop sound that would be altogether generic if not for Dan Ormsby's clever delivery and penchant for self-deprecating humor.

Sean Falyon

Props to Eyez over at Che Sing The Cool for putting together a list of 12 hot Atlanta rappers to look out for and including Sean Falyon.

Check out the track below - "Get To That." Falyon is Philly-born, ATL-made, signed to Bonecrusher's Vainglorious record label. Falyon's rhymes have a 90s party rap vibe to them (I'm thinking Digital Underground, Will Smith, even De La Soul). Beats are kinda hipster-hop, but not annoyingly so. N.E.R.D. style.

Love hearing new hip hop.

mp3: "Get To That"
myspace: www.myspace.com/seanfalyon

Some Things Cost More Than You Realize

New Radiohead video is amazing. "All I Need" is one of the better songs on the new album. Lot of bands making activist videos lately. Positive trend?

Hasidic Emcee Y-Love!

Just got turned on to this cat Y-Love out of Brooklyn. Born in Baltimore, dude converted to Orthodox Judaism at a young age, grew up listening to punk rock and metal but got turned on to hip-hop while studying the Talmud in Israel of all places. Getting mad love all over the planet, Y-Love garners comparisons to great politically minded emcees like Immortal Technique, Mos Def and Talib Kweli and rhymes in English, Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin. Born Yitzchak Jordan, Y-Love won the 2006 Jewish Music Award for Best Hip-Hop, receiving more votes than Matisyahu. Shit!

Three tracks below. "New Disease" has a beat that reminds me of Anti-Pop Consortium, rhyme style is pretty raw but shows promise. "Bring it on Down" is straight electro jam, dance-party ready for sure. "State of the Nation" rocks a dope, noodling keyboard melody.

Read more about Y-Love in this great interview at Broowaha.com. Really interesting interview, especially where he talks about the significance of rhyming in Aramaic. He breaks it down and says Aramaic was the street lingo of Jews living in exile, the first non-holy language essentially.

mp3: "New Disease"
mp3: "Bring it on Down"
mp3: "State of the Nation"
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ylove
video:

Spring Heel Jack Best Yet

Songs and Themes is a visionary fusion of jazz, electronica and chamber music. With its eighth contribution to the Thirsty Ear Records catalog, the production team of Ashley Wales and multi-instrumentalist John Coxon has truly outdone itself. Songs and Themes is ambient and atmospheric while still maintaining a link to the avant-garde.

Songs and Themes is as much trumpeter Roy Campbell's record as it is Coxon and Wales.' Beginning with “Church Music,” which marries the psychedlia of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969) with the symphonia of the trumpeter's Sketches of Spain (Columbia, 1959), it's abundantly clear that Campbell will be the featured player throughout. “Dereks” recalls Albert Ayler in a church in Sweden or somewhere, if only in metaphor as much as in memory. “Clara” is a ballad unlike any other—Campbell sings the voice of the tormented lover telling his partner everything she wants to hear, while the backdrop of tortured strings and wandering bass lines tell a much different story.

Finish reading about Spring Heel Jack's Songs and Themes here

mp3: "Church Music"
video: Spring Heel Jack with J Spaceman

One Dull Sword

Austin, TX isn’t home to just hippies and country boys. There are more exciting and innovative metal bands popping up in this town each week – Pack of Wolves, The Roller, and Baron Grod are but a few. And of course there is The Sword, every hipster’s favorite metal band. The Sword is one of those uber-cool buzz bands everyone is talking about post-Coachella, with a buzz made louder by the recent announcement of a string of dates opening for Metallica overseas. Oh and having a song on Guitar Hero II certainly helps!

Gods of the Earth is The Sword’s second full length, again released on every stoner rock fans favorite label, Kemado Records (Saviours, VietNam). Littered with the themes of sci-fi and fantasy novels, driven by pounds of the good stuff, with riffs that shred and breakdowns that are nothing short of brutal, Gods of the Earth is… well, it’s pretty fucking typical and exactly what I expected.

Now excuse me while I ask but one question: what the fuck is all the fuss about? I want to love this band, not because everyone else seems to but more because they are from Austin; I’ve seen the dudes around town plenty and I want to be down with what they are doing. I just don’t get it. Yes they can shred (“The Frost-Giants Daughter,” “How Heavy This Ax”) and there are certainly some gems buried in this record (“Maiden, Mother and Crone,” “The White Sea”), but in all it’s just typical stoner rock, doom metal, 70's shit.

All the references are obvious – clearly there is a fair share of Black Sabbath-isms in there, a little bit of slowed down Motorhead, Kyuss of course, and nods to contemporaries like High on Fire and Mastodon. “Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians” is a jam and a half but nothing to cream your pants over. The acoustic guitars on “To Take the Black” are nice, but DUH every stoner metal album HAS to have one acoustic guitar jam.

Throughout Gods, Cronise’s voice sounds strained – shit is just painful to listen to honestly. The worst part is I know for a fact that it’s the way Cronise is choosing to sing these songs, in a baroque and grandiose fashion, and not necessarily his voice in and of itself, that sucks. This past SXSW, Cronise led an all-star Faith No More cover band and fucking wailed in place of Mike Patton – what a rad show! Dude can sing, without a doubt.

The Sword’s best piece is buried ten songs in. “The White Sea” is largely instrumental and epic as fuck – I mean, come on, listening to this you can’t help but imagine you’re some ancient Norwegian warrior, covered in furs and armed with, well, a big fucking sword, ready to do battle with the Grendel or some shit…

That’s another thing that bugs me about this record – I mean, I guess I just never really got into J.R.R. Tolkein and George R. R. Martin or whatever. I'm just not into Norse mythology, anything about dragons, dwarfs, or swords for that matter. Maybe I am missing some grand metaphor, but if this shit is literal, grow up. Sing about girls. That’s way more awesome.

Gods of the Earth is the sort of record you’re gonna get into because either a) you are already an avid fan of stoner rock or b) every other cool kid is listening so you should be too. This sword is, frankly, dull.

myspace: www.myspace.com/thesword
mp3: "Mother, Maiden and Crone"

Jim Ward's new Sleepercar Project

Jesus I don't know what it is about this band but I am digging the hell out of Jim Ward's new project Sleepercar. The former At the Drive-in guitarist and Sparta frontman returns to his West Texas roots with the appropriately titled West Texas. Ward's voice isn't as worn as Ben Nichols, but there's definitely a Lucero feel to some of these songs. Other songs are more like Bright Eyes at it's most country moments. "Wasting my Time" sounds like The Replacements with pedal steel guitar.

The album hits stores Tuesday and is currently streaming over at the bands myspace (link below). Ward played Red7 a couple months back and I have to admit I wasn't really feeling it. It was Jim Ward solo and not Sleepercar, but still, Ward's post-Sparta career didn't seem promising. I remember he did play a bunch of Sparta songs, which obviously had a much different feel sans band. That was cool. Check out a video for "Air" below.

Maura Davis is absolutely perfect alongside Ward on "You Should Run." Huge Denali fan - such an amazing band and The Instinct, an amazing record. That record came out when Jade Tree was really wrecking shop in the indie world, putting out a ton of dope shit. Sharing an mp3 below - "Hold Your Breath" off The Instinct (Jade Tree 2003).



Seriously, grab some Miller High Life and a pack of smokes and just sit on the porch and listen to this Sleepercar record. Tap your foot and fucking enjoy life. Do it.

mp3: Denali - "Hold Your Breath"
myspace: Sleepercar West Texas
video: Jim Ward (solo) - "Air" (Red7 Austin, TX)


video: At the Drive-in - "One Armed Scissor" (Live from Jools Holland show)

Broadcast Sea - Pluto Records

Pluto Records seems to pride itself on having as eclectic a roster as possible. No band on the Texas-based indie-core upstart approaches rock ‘n’ roll the same way – not recent signees Sparks is a Diamond, not fellow Texans The JonBenet and The Dead See, and especially not HORSE the Band. When so many other labels are signing bands that are no more than cookie cutter copies of bands they’ve already signed, a label that actually makes a point to sign an eclectic force is more than refreshing.

Broadcast Sea call Dallas and Austin home but their sound is something far more industrialized than the wide-open country roads that connect these two Texas towns. And now I’m not talking about Ministry / NIN / God Lives Underwater “industrial” but the actual rusted wheels, broken windows, grey skies and cold concrete of an industry town. Wounded Soldier isn’t garage rock – it’s factory rock. It’s metal and concrete, coffee and cigarettes; it’s the sound of hard work and hard liquor. This wounded soldier isn’t a boy home from battle, it’s a broken down man who has given his life to the toil of labor.

“We’re a Dying Breed” is the wounded soldier’s ‘Dead or Alive’ anthem. “I’ve Seen Better” is These Arms Are Snakes on downers, a Sabbath-esque riff blasted from a Seattle basement. “Black Waves” – now stay with me here – sounds like The Bends era Radiohead, but, you know, like, pissed off at shit – hauntingly beautiful and jarring in the most perfect of ways.

“Heavy Heavy” is something like The Stooges at the end of a long day, a slow dance with hard drugs. “The News Came This Morning” is slow to unfold but eventually reveals itself to be the most developed tune on Wounded Soldier. A truly great album would have been loaded with gems like this one. Instead it is buried seven songs deep, which is why Wounded Soldier, though full of promise, is mediocre at best.

I feel the same way about this record as I do any of Quicksand’s seminal output – in the right frame of mind, the slow, prodding rhythms, steady swing and constant drive can be soothing (“One Day We’ll Find You”). Or it can bore you to tears (the stuck-in-the-mud “As The Story Continues”). Broadcast Sea are blessed to have been signed by a label that seems committed to exploring that proverbial ‘something different.’ Wounded Soldier is a solid listen, but I’ll be waiting for the sophomore session to make my final judgment on this band.

myspace: www.myspace.com/broadcastsea
mp3: "One Day We Will Find You"
video:

A New Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey

Jacob Free Jazz Odyssey's Lil Tae Rides Again unfolds more like an eclectic indie-rock album than the jam band romps they've been known to fashion. A marriage of instrumental post-rock-infused jazz in the vein of Tortoise's brilliant TNT (Thrill Jockey, 1998) and hyperactive avant-funk and digital illbient a la DJ Spooky, Lil Tae is the ultimate in accomplishments, a near perfect reinvention of direction and sound.



And perhaps that has more to do with the way this record was fashioned: with electronics fanatic Tae Meyulks locked away in a century-old warehouse in the oldest part of Tulsa to deconstruct and remix the tunes Brian Haas, Reed Mathis and Josh Raymer created. Lil Tae is eclectic and adventurous. Chicago-esque post-rock jams (”Autumnal”) give way to electronic soundscapes (”Winter Clothes”) only to be followed by Mike Ladd-like futurist hip hop (”Tether Ball Triumph”).

JFJO begin to lose some of their muster with “Tae Parade,” settling in too much and sounding too much like another out-there trio—the genre-less Medeski Martin and Wood. “Santiago Lends a Hand” is joyfully quirky and haunting at once. Likewise with “Scuffle in the Hallways,” a disorienting fog of handclaps, fragmented conversations and static-laden drum beats. “Recovering the Time Capsule” cries out for a lost New Orleans while “Goodnight Ollie,” the bands longest offering, is a soothing lullaby on digital playback broadcasting future dreams. JFJO put Lil Tae to rest perfectly to say the least; few bands learn how to end an album this strong.

JFJO go digital with Lil Tae Rides Again but they don't end up sounding like they belong on the Thirsty Ear roster, as this isn't Anti-Pop Consortium or Matthew Shipp in the least, though both seem to reference a post-modern marriage of digital and acoustic sonic realities.

It's rare that a band undergoes such a perfect reinvention and are then able to document that reinvention on wax but Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey prove on Lil Tae Rides Again that evolution is scientific fact. Reed Mathis' time with Marco Benevento and The Greyboy All-stars, Brian Haas' seeming break from the madness of music altogether and the addition of new blood in Josh Raymer, all seems to have been what the band needed.

myspace: www.myspace.com/jacobfredjazzodyssey
mp3: "Autumnal"
mp3: "Recovering the Time Capsule"

God's Revolver is Deadly

[originally published at Decoymusic.com]



I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that Provo, UT is a shitty place to live. So shitty in fact that the dudes in God’s Revolver have committed themselves to a "Live Fast, Die Young” attitude – cause fuck it, when you come from Provo, UT, what’ve you got to lose.

God’s Revolver do the whole 70s revivalist thing but with a Gainesville punk edge to it that makes the songs sound more honest. Listening to Little Black Horse Where You Going With Your Dead Rider? you really get the feeling that vocalist Reid Rouse’s liver is corroding, that guitarists Jon Larsen and Trey Gardner really have an unhealthy infatuation with fast cars and loose women, and that drummer Elliot Secrist is 3 short steps away from Keith Moon-like self-destruction. These dudes aren’t selling records, they're living the dream – the shitty, starving, sexed-up dream of every young punk who loves bikes and bitches.

Rouse attacks the microphone with a swagger seldom seen since ’77. “Dead Rider Theme (This Long and Lonely Drive to Hell)” is just that – an anthem for your headfirst dive into a pool with no water, the song you hear before snorting the biggest line of your life. “How long does it take to drive to hell?” Rouse asks, knowing the answer is, “Not long,” at the speed these fucks are traveling. On “Cantina Poetry Blues” it’s Rouse again asking the questions and pointing fingers - “Whose fucking bed are you sleeping in tonight?”



“Boxes Done Buried” is the sort of backwoods bluegrass sung by bikers in leather jackets and Wranglers. “Holy Breath” is a desert meditation akin to the sobering effects of the sun rising over a desert sky, some seriously different shit and a perfectly placed moment of respite, a break from all the thrashy Southern. “Iron Fuck” follows, another anthem to the "Live Fast, Die Young" mantra. “Roca Del Desierto” opens with Spanish-sounding, finger-picked guitar and closes with brutal gang vocals something like a pack of wolves howling at the night sky. You can’t help but think that this is what the fucking Eagles would have sounded like if they had, ya know, balls.

Little Black Horse Where You Going With Your Dead Rider? is Mississippi Delta Blues meets Motorhead-era metal with a touch of East Coast punk, and it works because God’s Revolver are the real deal, five dudes hell bent for pleasure and the pain that excess inevitably brings.



mp3: "Boxes Done Buried"
myspace: www.myspace.com/godsrevolver

Cadence Weapone's Sophomore Set

One-time Pitchfork.com columnist, Cadence Weapon’s sophomore session, Afterparty Babies, is made for the “hip-hop hipster” – so says the scribe himself. With dance worthy beats and lyrical references only the iGeneration would understand, Afterparty Babies is a hip-hop record by a club kid and offers a fresh perspective on an increasingly tired genre. And what’s more impressive – Afterparty Babies was released on Epitaph Records imprint Anti.

On “Do I Miss My Friends,” Cadence laments the arduous task of hunting down lost homies on Friendster and the difficulty of rhyming to “peculiar timing.” “In Search of the Youth Crew” is Bassment Jaxx styled bouncy club music, or breakbeats meet cheap synths at a warehouse party with a $5 cover and all the Sparks you can stomach.

Gamers will all get down to “Limited Edition OJ Slammer” with its 8-bit arcade groove. “Getting Dumb” is more Daft Punk than De La Soul – and that just about sums up Cadence Weapon right there. “House Music” – same shit; dance-ready Beauty Bar beats for the scene queen and her skinny-jeaned cohorts

In all, Cadence Weapon is hip-hop for the American Apparel generation. Afterparty Babies speaks to stargazers and the stars-in-their-own-eyes, the Myspace whores and Cobra Snake-spotted C-list celebrities who dream of life in Williamsburg, BK.

Now don’t get it twisted – ain’t shit wrong with a little dance in your rap, or a little hipster in your hip-hop for that matter. Afterparty Babies is an evolution in hip-hop, a scene sadly stuck waiting for punctuated equilibrium, and emcee Cadence Weapon is an original voice in a genre that seems to have lost its.

Found this pretty dope interview with Cadence Weapon on YouTube.com, check it out:



mp3: "The New Face of Fashion"
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cadenceweapon

Tyler Ramsey's Asheville Folk

[originally published at Decoymusic.com]



What if Neil Young wore his heart on his sleeve in the fashion of one Chris Carrabba? Tyler Ramsey is an old-school troubadour, a bearded country boy who relishes in defeat and singing songs for the broke-down trucker in all of us, an emotional child in a working man's uniform. A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Sea is a storyteller’s album in the vein of My Morning Jacket, Wilco and Iron and Wine.

“Ships” and “Birdwings” explore the shuffling rhythms of Americana while “Once In Your Life” and “Night Time” delve into quiet digital backbeats, an acoustic Postal Service... almost. And “Once In Your Life” does both, beginning as a plaintive ode to the loveless before pulling a 180 and jumping into foot-stomping, dancehall country, the sort you can still hear all over the Texas Hill Country in small towns like Gruene and Luchenbach, and no doubt in Ramsey’s Asheville, NC as well.

The instrumental “Chinese New Year” recalls The Black Keys or maybe Kings of Leon. “No One Goes Out” is admittedly the anthem of my February, about long nights of hard drinking, playing shows and feeling like the King of Pain.



Ramsey speaks his mind with backwoods clarity, his songs written late at night, on the porch, drinking Pabst and all alone. Or maybe fireside with friends and loved ones, feeling alive in the cool Carolina air. A Long Dream is full of brilliantly simple and honest lyrics – “Once in your life you’re meant to find true love,” “All I gotta do is get high and I’ll forget about you,” “These days I sit on cornerstones and count the time in quarter tones to ten.”

Ramsey’s best songs are the ones where he’s sitting solo, introspectively plucking at his fretboard and singing for only himself as on “A Long Dream,” “Please Stop Time,” and “When I Wake.” A Long Dream is the perfect album for the waning days of winter. Listen to it with a loved one, listen to it alone, listen because you’re lonely or because your life has never been better.

Check out the video for "A Long Dream" below:

Free Form Freq's "Urban Mythology"

[originally published at AllAboutJazz.com]



Guitarist Vernon Reid, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer G. Calvin Weston give the power trio new meaning with Urban Mythology Volume One. Released under the moniker the Free Form Funk Freqs, the album is less jazz and more improvisational rock, powered by Weston's double bass drum and heavy crash, hard rock approach and Reid's space-bending, delay-loving fretwork.

The awesome impact of the trio is also shaped by Tacuma's ability to take a repetitive funk form and keep it interesting—by finding new ways to interpolate the same idea, flipping patterns on their heads, adding and subtracting, dividing and conquering the rhythm he creates.

Remarkably, Urban Mythology Volume One marks just the third time that Reid, Tacuma and Weston ever performed together (the first being a night during Tonic's last days, the second a gig one month later in Weston's Philadelphia).

”A Tale Of Two Bridges” is thoroughly dominated by Reid, who unleashes note after note like bombs bursting in the air. His guitars dance around each other, as in an electronic seance, the strings conjuring sounds only angels and ghosts make.



”Over And Under” finds Tacuma slapping his bass with enough intensity to match Weston, who keeps a steady double bass beat going and crashes his cymbals as if playing for a crowd of thousands. After the workout that is “Over And Under,” the trio wisely take things down a couple notches with “A Lost Way Found.” Though it seems Weston didn't get the memo: as his bandmates settle into an atmospheric groove, the drums stay busy as ever.

”Cump Chank Chunk” is a bluesy riff that gets the trademark Thirsty Ear post-production touch, as Reid adds layers of angels moaning and other spectral sounds. “Doing Within,” on the other hand, may be just too heavy a workout to sit through; some listeners, like the band, will likely have been whipped by the time this penultimate track comes along, worn out by the sheer funk freakiness of the session.

Reid and company are definitely onto something here, and hopefully they'll continue to explore this monster. Urban Mythology Volume One is punk rock jazz, free-form funk declaring sonic warfare on the rhythm and the beat.




mp3: "Over and Under"
myspace: www.myspace.com/freeformfunkyfreqs

3 Dope Hip Hop videos

Gotta thank the great writers at nahright.com for hippin me to these great new hip hop videos.

The Cool Kids - "Black Mags"
http://www.myspace.com/gocoolkids

This shit makes me wanna get the tires on my 20 inch fixed. Cool Kids have been generating buzz among hip-hoppers and hipsters for a minute now. Two skate kids from Chicago, Chuck and Mikey get as much attention for their brightly colored alt-B-Boy fashion as they do for their trunk rattling beats.



Jim Jones - "Love Me No More/Byrdgang Money"
http://www.myspace.com/jimjones

Jones represents the best of NYC hip-hop. Founder of the Diplomats/Dipset with Cam'ron, Jones recently signed a joint venture deal for his Jones Family Productions with Columbia Records. His latest, Harlem American Gangster drops soon this Tuesday, February 19. Dude has been surrounded by controversy for his beefs with Tru-Life, Jay Z, and ex-runningmate Cam'ron.



Wiz Khalifa - "Say Yeah"
http://www.myspace.com/wizkhalifa

First off, how many dope emcees are coming out of Pittsburgh, PA? Wiz is one of those cats who's done stuff indie for years and recently been sucked into the major label machine - type of cat just waiting for a hot single to break him through. His mixtapes have been in and out of DJs and fans hands. Great quote from his manager: "[Mixtapes] are to hip-hop what touring is to rock," he says, "an important tool in getting the word out on an artist, and to let the streets decide whether he is ready for the world."

Sometimes I just have fun with these CD reviews...

What if Paramore’s Hayley Williams screamed and had less cute hair? Well, she could probably try out for Eyes Set to Kill, the Tempe, AZ five-piece whose debut full-length Reach is out now on Break Silence Records.



Now if you'll please excuse my while I sip a little Hater-ade...

Of the bubbling pool of female-fronted rock bands (In This Moment, Kenotia, Patience, etc.), Eyes Set to Kill is certainly one of the better ones. But looking at this band it’s hard not to think they were created via some nefarious conspiracy involving Hot Topic, Fuse, and their label Koch Records (parent company to Break Silence). Led by sisters Alexia and Anissa Rodriguez, Eyes Set to Kill play a watered-down version of the metalcore / screamo those myspace kids get so moist over – I’m thinking The Devil Wears Prada, Memphis May Fire, and the like. From the perfectly placed facial piercings to the combed over hair, pouty lips, and token metal dude with full sleeves and huge plugs, Eyes Set to Kill look more like a marketing department’s master creation than a legitimate band worthy of respect, praise, and a recording contract. Maybe the record industry is folding because they keep signing bands not worth the price of admission.

Maybe?

Man this Hater-ade is tasty.



Alexia and keyboardist Brandon Anderson trade vocals in a boring call-and-response format. It seems like the two sat down with Alexia’s lyric book and decided, “OK, you sing that line, I’ll scream this line, then you sing that line, then I’ll scream this line, then I’ll sing that line…” I think you get it. Drummer Caleb Clifton would do well to lay off his double bass pedal. The kid plays like a chef who only keeps salt and pepper on his spice rack – about as flavorful as tapioca pudding. And as for the guitars, they’re typical Killswitch Engage style metalcore, nothing interesting in the slightest.

“Reach” is a predictable title track, with empowering lyrics and a doodling guitar melody you can’t get out of your head, “Violent Kiss” is at the tempo and shuffle that those two-step kids love to get down to, and “Give You my All” is your token acoustic track. Overall there is little variation in this twelve song album, little to get excited about – little substance at all.

It’s a shame, really, that "female-fronted" is getting to the point where it sounds like such a gimmick when used as a qualifier. It’s like that band Loom – am I supposed to ignore the fact that their post-ATDI indiecore is rather generic simply because they incorporate a violin in their music? Likewise, am I to ignore the fact that Eyes Set to Kill is rather generic screamo simply because they feature two rather attractive females?

But then again you know me – steady sippin' on some Hater-ade. Take it as you will.

Today's YouTube Find...

Came across this amazing video on YouTube today, while snacking on a Red Barron's microwave pizza. This live video taken from the Knitting Factory in NYC features three amazing musicians who never cease to amaze me.

Ronald Shannon Jackson: Out there drummer, really out there. Helped pioneer the "free funk" sound (a blending of funk rhythms with free jazz improvisation) leading the group The Decoding Society, circa 1979. Went on to perform with Last Exit, a "super group" if ever there was one, featuring Bill Laswell (bass), Sonny Sharock (guitar), and Peter Brotzman (sax). Killer drummer. Live at Greenwhich House is one to check out.

Vernon Reid: C'mon dude - Living Colour? Seriously one of the best rock bands of all time. Dude is an extraordinary talent. The stuff he's done with Thirsty Ear Records, primarily his work with DJ Logic as The Yohimbe Brothers is brilliant.. He's got a record coming out under the banner Free Form Funky Freqs that I'll be reviewing shortly.

Melvin Gibbs: Like Reid, Gibbs got his start working with Jackson in the late 70s. Later he would join Rollins' Band and perform with DJ Logic as well. Unfortunately, this video cuts off right as Gibbs is about to launch into a solo. Sucks.

Enjoy.

Sparks is a Diamond sign to Pluto Records

This band is on some hot shit.

A little like Death From Above 1979, a little like Blood Brothers, a little like Circle Takes the Square, a little like Pretty Girls Make Graves, a little like The Faint - Sparks is a Diamond is three piece (guitar, drums and an amazing female vocalist) hailing from Philladelphia, PA. The band just signed to Pluto Records (HORSE the Band, the JonBenet) and are destined for big, big things. Trust me.



Look at those kids - cute as fuck, eh?

Here's a sweet little video for their amazing track "Check Your Lease, You're In Fuck City" from their Emerald Moon Records debut EP.



The danceability of their tracks, the screamed male/female vocals - Sparks is a Diamond are the next hot internet buzz band - guarantee it. At least in the screamy, dancey punk hardcore community.

Enjoy friends - this is what I'm here for.

myspace: www.myspace.com/sparksisadiamond

Saviours - "Into Abaddon"

I had the opportunity to see Saviours live at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin late last year. Unfortunately the band was sandwiched between Sweden’s Witchcraft and Austin’s own The Sword – two bands exploring a similar sound as Oakland, California’s Saviours. In this awfully repetitive live context, Saviours were too much to handle – no matter how high I was and how ready I was to hear some old fashioned riffage, because with The Sword due up, I admittedly turned my back on Saviours' set, choosing to go check out one of the other bands on the diverse festival lineup.

If that live set was anything as impressive as Into Abaddon – the band's Kemado Records debut – I can say just one thing: WHAT THE FUCK WAS I THINKING?!?! This shit is brutal, harder hitting than a cross-face bitch-slap from a big black dildo. Stoned out grooves fueled by fast cars and loose women, Sabbath-loving and Lemmy-inspired, Saviours are four motor heads stuck in the wrong decade and loving every minute of it. The band was born from the ashes of East Bay thrashers Yaphet Kotto but sound nothing like that incredible proto-screamo band. Saviours are good in their own right, without the need to name drop Yaphet Kotto (who also happen to be one of my personal all time faves).



“Raging Embers” kicks off Into Abaddon with an almost Yes like chromatic groove. Like a lot of southern sounding seventies metal, “Embers” shuffles forward in 6/8 time. This can get tiresome after a few songs, but Saviours manages this formula tastefully.

One thing I definitely dig about Saviours' songs is their length – five, six and seven minute stoner metal jams are where it’s at buddy. The closing “Inner Mountain Arthame” is some epic Brit-metal and shows all of the band's talents perfectly. Recommended listening, no doubt.

Austin Barber half-screams, half-chants his vocals, like a drunkard yelling at the night sky before kissing the cold concrete. Barber’s hoarse throat sounds like it’s nursed enough bottles of Jim Beam to give the man a liver aged well beyond it’s years. Fuck it – if it helps you write riffs this brutal, who gives a shit? Party hard.

“Narcotic Sea” begins with fazer-effected guitars panned from one channel to the other, dizzying the listener, before the band drops into some early Metallica thrash. “Cavern of Mind” settles into a groove that’ll make every kid want to be a guitar hero, crushing posers in its wake.

Seven songs deep, Into Abaddon is the perfect length, clocking at just under 40 minutes. That's just enough time for you the really begin to enjoy Saviours post-hardcore meets “New Wave British Metal” sound without wearing you out. Into Abaddon is a stellar effort.

Enjoy a live video for "Cavern of Mind" below:



mp3: Saviors - "Raging Embers"
myspace: www.myspace.com/saviours666

San Antonio's The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

I'm really digging this brutal instrumental band from from San Antonio, TX called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. Check out my review of their CD from decoymusic.com below.



Though billed by the band as “54 tracks of dense, heavy, delicious, moist poundcake,” The Grasshopper Lies Heavy’s Gun (released via Forgotten Empire Records) is really just six tracks of dense, delicious doom metal – and 48 tracks of nothing but beeps.

San Antonio’s The Grasshopper Lies Heavy play feedback heavy instrumetal and their second EP is a promising introduction to a band with big potential. But for all intents and purposes, Grasshopper is merely the demented ramblings of James Woodard. With the closing of each measure, Grasshopper leaves the listener worried whether the bottom will inevitably drop out, if the crushing riffs will collapse upon themselves, resulting in a dismal display akin to a self-imploding building, the rubble of a bombed out suburb, the twisting metal and shattered concrete of a trade center collapsed.

“Equalizer Drone” begins with feedback, a reverberating fury; as anticipation builds the band teases like a buzzed 18 year old. The level of tension developed is something along the lines of what Tool creates on some of their feedback-laden interludes. Grasshopper comes in as band for the first time with “Gifts” and immediately make a map of thematic ideas to be developed over the next five tracks.

“Untitled2” is Grasshopper’s most melodic offering – sounding almost like a ridiculously heavy version of Mineral or some other mid-90s shoe-gazing indie rock band.

Read more about Gun here.

mp3
The Grasshopper Lies Heavy - "Equalizer Drone"

Colin Munroe

Colin Munroe is this cat from Toronto that I'm really feeling right now. His latest release is a remix/cover of Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" (Graduation, 2007) available on his myspace profile. He's also dropped this beautiful music video for the track:



I guess I'm really just feeling this tracks as a struggling musican and artist myself. I WANT THOSE FLASHING LIGHTS for real - just gotta get that shit PLAYED.

Beyond this track though, Munroe's material is interesting, but nowehere near the quality of his Kanye remix. According to his myspace profile, the young songwriter has hooked up with Dallas Austin to work on some tracks. Could this kid be some sort of Canadian J.T.? It's certainly a possibility.



Here's another video from Munroe, a great stop motion flick for the Ben Fold's like "World of Pain." This is more piano rock akin to The Fray or some other adult-oriented pop but still an entertaining video and decent song.

Robots and Empire - Poughkeepsie's best kept secret

Robots & Empire writes the most intense, blue-jeaned and whiskey gutted rock ‘n’ roll ever. These Poughkeepsie, NY natives know how to rock a riff like the best seventies guitar gods. The band's sophomore powerhouse Omnivore would have been the sort of post-hardcore record to rival Quicksand and Failure if it was released back in 1996. This album is a post-post hardcore record that challenges the best of their generation’s output by blending the best of rock ‘n’ roll from 1976, 1996, and 2006.

“Pure Shit” is sludgy trash metal, with ultra-distorted bass and throaty growls, which kicks this album off in stellar fashion. On “Monolith,” the next track, the band naturally switches from 90's-esque grunge to Neruosis-leaning doom.

Vocalist Brian Conway’s voice is what seals the deal for this band. It’s not that his voice is really unique, it’s just not the way most metal or hardcore vocalists sing today. His approach is more of a late-90’s alternative rock style of singing but a hell of a lot more intense. Conway does tend to wear his influences on his sleeve though: Mike Patton (“Spider Mites”), Ken Andrews (“The Midst of This”), Layne Staley (“Monolith”), and Matt Talbott (“Nameless”).

The rest of the band all matches Conway in intensity. Drummer Jason Petagine’s beats sound like the slow-moving drums of Satan’s marching band, guitarist Nick Haines creates a wall of sound, a shit-covered-and-smiling palate for Conway’s song, and Greg Nazak’s bass tone is just sick... sick like leaning over a toilet bowl sick.



“Mudgash” moves like a four-wheeler stuck in 8 inches of slush. “Erase Your Name” is too tough-guy, too much of a meathead bro-mosh, so much so it almost sounds like Sevendust meets Throwdown. “Bob Roberts” is written for fans of Open Hand’s Trustkill Records classic "You and Me".

Robots & Empire is where the flannel shirt meets the skinny jeans, where the Meat Puppets meet Mastodon. Rarely does an unsigned band excite me this much. Plain and simple, Robots & Empire are a rock band and this album is intense as fuck.

Visit Robots & Empire on myspace here.

Oh Astro

This husband and wife duo is sample happy - they're sample crazy. Shit is ridiculous. Oh Astro is husband and wife duo Hank Hofler and Jane Dowe and their latest Champions of Wonder is currently streaming at their promotion teams website here.



These two are like mad scientists - they even look a little kooky - cutting up the best tracks from all over the music landscape and piecing them back to together as the best post-everything groove pop out there.

This is straight from Fanatic Promo's press release - trust me, I ain't hip enough to recognize any of these originals Hofler and Dowe dissect. But just look at some of the works reworked by Oh Astro:

"Snow Queen" - Ratatat "Desert Eagle" and Lily Allen "Everything is Wonderful."

"Hello Fuji Boy" - Hot Chip “Boy From School,” Fujiya & Miyagi “Ankle Injuries,” and Lionel Richie “Hello.”

"Candy Sun Smiles” – Busdriver “Sun Shower,” Gnarls Barkley “Gone Daddy Gone,” and Electronic “Getting Away With It."

CMJ said the debut Oh Astro mini-album, Hello World (Illegal Art) was “funky and pretty...Hello World’s bite-sized samples concoct a weird pop universe." The same could be said of Champions of Wonder. Oh Astro live in a world where the synthesizer has taken over, where humans only speak in sampled cuts of previous conversations, where originality lies in the ability to manipulate previous attempts at originality. The say there's nothing new under the sun so Oh Astro say fuck it - we'll take we what got and rethink that shit.

Can't wait to pick up Champions of Wonder when it hits the street.Oh shit... and the physical release contains surround sound mixes of the first three tracks by Aaron Paolucci (who also mastered the stereo mixes) that can be played on a computer connected to a 5.1 sound system. Fucking nuts. Audiophiles please hide your hard-on.

Here's a link to Oh Astro's label home, Illegal Art, on on Wikipedia. The label is the home of the popular Girl Talk and releases sampled-based music only, challenging copyright law and advocating their artists' right to sample freely.

Visit Oh Astro on Myspace.

Danny Malone

Austin’s Danny Malone is your classic singer/songwriter – a heart-on-his-sleeve hopeless romantic who bares it all and then some on his four song EP, Baby Bleu. But Malone’s songs would be nothing without the rich arrangements and assortment of musicians who make up his revolving cast of characters posing as a backing band.



I can’t breathe, I can’t even see, I’m begging you please because my fingers are freezing.

With a whistle-worthy hook provided by trumpets, “Silence” recalls fellow Austinites Spoon and is simply one of the best pop songs I’ve heard in some time. I’m convinced that the horn solo is indie rock’s new trick to writing a hit worthy pop song. Feist’s iGen anthem “1234” and Spoon’s “The Underdog” come to mind.

“Swimming Pools” is toe-tapping rock, the sort that litters the Saddle Creek Records catalog. And is that a freakin' vibraphone? Amazing. The bouncy backbeat Malone brings in for the chorus makes the walk home after a long night of drinking more tolerable, because a good song can make every hangover easier to deal with.

When I wake up, Oh I’m so confused, still can’t find my shoes.



Malone’s music is painfully honest, littered with "I"s and "You"s. That can wear thin after some time, but if it’s what you’re into it’s not that bad. “Lucky Break” is a bit too introspective, too slow and adult oriented pop for my tastes. Without his backing band on “Baby Bleu,” Malone sounds confidant yet still vulnerable.

At four songs long, Baby Bleu is the very definition of a tease. One can only hope Malone has more music up his sleeve, more songs in his bag, and more hits in the making.

Wishin I was somewhere lost with you, and not lost without you Baby Bleu.

Visit Danny Malone on myspace here.