Cursive followed up my favorite album of theirs with Happy Hollow, which probably isn’t really a step back or anything, but I always think more highly of albums that are a breakout. Domestica is arresting, an unflinching look into divorce that can be downright haunting, but The Ugly Organ was a leap forward in the songs that causes it to really stick out in my head. At any rate, this is also a great record, I’m probably just an idiot.
[Read More]In a fine concept for an album, Death Don’t Wait (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a soundtrack for a non-existent spy movie. I’m already a sucker for spy music, so I enjoy this quite a bit.
There are definitely moments on Houdini where the idea of the Melvins breaking big in the wake of Nirvana and Soundgarden didn’t seem quite so crazy. This song, for instance, would seem to me to be perfectly palatable to the grunge crowd. The record didn’t really break big, because even its most marketable moments are pushing the boundaries for a mainstream crowd, but at least you can kind of see the outline of an idea here.
[Read More]This is the song that let me finally crack the Dead Kennedys. I think there’s an adjustment, for me at least, as music gets faster and more challenging to find something you can pick out that lets you understand it. This song, as a relatively slow one and one where it’s easy to understand what Jello is singing, is the one that let me kind of get what they were up to. And from there, now that I had a rosetta stone for the band, I was able to catch up to the rest of their catalog.
[Read More]Is industrial funk a thing? There are bits and pieces of Tackhead that remind me of industrial, but it’s also very electro-funk. At the time I encountered this, I wasn’t sure of the combination, and it sounds incredibly of its time at this point, but I think I might be better inclined towards it today. I dunno, maybe I’ll spend some time with the record.
Yup, that’s a robot theme song.
[Read More]CLPPNG, the first full record from clipping., was a record with the band still kind of piecing together what they had. It would be on the next album (Splendor & Misery) that everything would come together perfectly, but there are still times on this album where things still seemed a little awkward. The individual pieces, especially Daveed Diggs, were often spectacular, but the best was yet to come.
[Read More]Yautja are chameleons with different styles coming to the fore in their albums, but this song is also kind of a chameleon. There’s some heavy noise rock here, some grind-y bits, but with those sections kind of distinct here, shifting between them easily.
A rock song like this really needs to justify six minutes.
I do think it’s pretty funny when American punk bands have accents like this. It seems particularly odd when it’s this far removed from the original punk scene.
[Read More]I really like song titles that sound like a D&D adventure. Especially when they’re instrumentals, as that means you’re not being subjected to lyrics that sound like a D&D adventure.
Love Battery’s Dayglo is one of the best albums from the grunge scene, a swirling psychedelic masterpiece that stood out at the time and only gets better with age. Before their masterpiece, many of the ideas were present in Between the Eyes, a record that featured many of the same wah-soaked moves that they would soon perfect. The bottom isn’t quite as firm, so the record isn’t quite as good, but it’s still an excellent listen.
[Read More]One day, I will discuss this band without mentioning their name. Today is not that day. Hee hee!
A thing that’s magical about good rocksteady is that it can make it feel like the sun is shining, even if it’s 10:30 at night, you’re tired, and your eyes are itching due to allergies. You know. Hypothetically.
There’s a very strong throwback feeling to the Regrettes’ first album. Everything in here reminds me of another band, even if I can’t always put my finger on what that band is. Exactly which band shifts pretty constantly, but there’s always something there. It’s kind of déjà vu, but music. Uh, déjà entendu?
[Read More]If I told you that there was a band called Cave In, and that they were showing up on this blog, you’d probably have some picture of what they sound like that would involve one or more things howling. I doubt you’d picture something that sounds like this. Kinda feel like it’s false advertising.
A thing you can’t often say about El-P’s compositions is that they’re pretty. It’s just not a goal he often shoots for, although he’s capable of it if he chooses. This beat, though, sometimes could be described as such. There’s a certain poppiness to it that doesn’t often show up in his work.
[Read More]It’s not always clear ahead of time if an album or band will click or not. Reviews and comparisons can take you only so far, and until you sit down with a record and really try it out, you’ll just never know. On paper, Idlewild should have been up my alley. And this is fine, but there’s no spark for me. I suppose it’s good that surprises still happen in this process, otherwise it would be mechanical and dull, and those exciting times when something is perfect for you are worth seeking out. I mean, if our tastes were predictable, we could build ourselves big recommendaiton engines, and people would just sit around and listen to whatever the machines suggest. Thank god that’s not going to happen!
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