The Powder Room- Curtains

I'm late on this. I know that.  But, one of the beautiful things about this, our modern world, is that things occur outside of time. A digital release on bandcamp is just as fresh today, as it was when released 4 months ago. Anyway, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
 I stumbled across this by doing what I always do- I spend about  90 minutes a week browsing bandcamp by tags- usual ones are " Grunge" "Noise Rock" "Post Punk"  and "Sludge". These guys, The Powder Room ( sounds like it should be a recording studio, amirite?) finally showed up in my browsing, and I almost passed them by, because track one "Disappointment" sounds like Alice in Chains, and while I'm a fan of several of the individuals in AiC, that's not my cup of fur. In fact, I may have passed them by, forgotten it, and came back, I don't know. I'm glad I did, because once you get past the first track, things get much more interesting. They're more like a somewhat mathy Mudhoney, or a noise rock Skin Yard. Which makes me chuckle, because I'm old, and I remember that, originally, what came to be known as Grunge was a Seattle response to midwestern noise rock. It continued to be a collaboration of sorts- heck,  Hazelmyer was a member of the U Men, but still, you start with Ruthless records, you got to Touch and Go, Homestead, and then, you start seeing C/Z Sub Pop and Amphetamine Reptile. So, a noise band with grunge tendencies completes the circle, in a way.
I guess I should define terms, but I think you'd prefer to get into something a bit more concrete.
The music references bands that get called noise- specifically, there's some Shellac, some Jesus Lizard, some Slint and some Drive Like Jehu in the structure of the songs. But there's some Led Zeppelin, some Soundgarden, and some Nirvana in the hooks. A couple of things even remind me of early prog, like King Crimson. Yes, I realize that what I just described could also describe At The Drive In- this is more noisy than they ever got- judging from the guitar tones, I'm thinking more Telecaster ( probably with rails- there's too much distortion without icepick squeal for a standard tele bridge)  into strange tube amp ( there's a section near the beginning of "A Literal Prodigy" that sounds distinctly like an old Ampeg combo amp- Maybe a Sovtek, I'm not sure, but I can definitely hear both 12AX7 and 6L6 tubes- does that sound too music geek for you? Here's the thing- I hear BIG TIME music geek all over this. Somebody in the band has experience in the business as a non-performer. Sound guy, manager, something. I'm suspecting this is a band who has a member or two on the Electrical Audio boards- I can hear multiple mics on the drums, and very, very little compression on them. That's a Weston trick, kids.)
What I getting at is that this is more "trad" sounding than a lot of the Math rock, but definitely more "noise/math" than most of the bands I've heard from Georgia. I'm sure there are others, but the only band like this, from Georgia, that I've heard is Atlanta's Bodyfather. So, I nearly skipped it. That would've been a tragedy for me, because I would've missed "Dead Pet" - which answers the musical question- what would it sound like if Tito Larriva from the Plugz was genetically modified to fuse with both Steve Albini and Thor Eisentrager- and the answer is AWESOME!
The bass is trebley and bright, and stays entirely in the pocket- again, Bob Weston. That's huge! It's between him, Youth, Mike Watt, and Lemmy for best bass player, ever.So, this guy is superb!
Finally, it's produced by Kyle Spence. That's a shock, to me- Harvey Milk's cool and all, but he's usually associated with more "blues based" type stuff, like Valient Thorr, Dinosaur Jr and Tim Brantley - but then, everything about this is a bit "sideways" for me- just shows that despite thirty years in, I still am just a music fan, and not as open minded as I should be.
So, my bottom line- if you're into Noise Rock, Math Rock, or Grunge, you might like it. If you're into a hybrid of all the above, you're going love it. I count myself as loving it. I think I've listened to this about 20 times in the past few days. So, yeah, I'm glad to have been wrong.....

Boris- Noise

I realize this is a bit overdue. I've got a real life, and sometimes, it intrudes. Anyway, a new Boris LP came out, which isn't exactly rare, but it's the LP to get by Boris if you want to get a Boris LP.
Seriously, it's their most accessible record, ever, and yet, it has everything you could want from them- heavy neo sludge monster riffs? You betcha! Ethereal shoegazer melodies? Of course! Drones, and random  noise? Not as much as on a Merzbow record, but yeah, that's there.
It's basically like Swervedriver running headlong into Baroness, with The Melvins, and Asobi Seksu and Loop, and Merzbow all somehow involved. Melodies float in and out, and drone riffs are allowed to go on until they extinguish, and singing is exchanged with barking and screeching, and gentleness is betrayed by viciousness, but the end result is beautiful- like a heap of broken crystal glasses glittering in the sun.
I do not speak Japanese, and their English is heavily filtered, so no, I cannot speak about the lyrics. They could be singing about the joys of scrabble, and I'd have no idea. For all I know "Vanilla" is about their spice rack. It really doesn't matter- the songs and the musical ideas are more than enough to sustain repeated listening.
Bottom line- if you like heavy, mind expanding rock-based music, you probably already own this. If you'd like to get into that, here you go- get started.

Ok, joke's over

Here's what I really think about the new Tilts record-
yes, it rocks hard, but what they're doing is deceptively complex. See, we live in a post-everything indie rock kind of time. How exactly do you go about making "classic" rock in that atmosphere without lapsing into either irony or fake nostalgia for things you don't know. Think about the legions of bad stoner rock bands out there- representing nothing more than "Gee, ain't it cool that Josh Homme makes guitar sounds that remind you of Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore". Think about indie bands from Sleigh Bells to DZ Deathrays, to Japandroids that want to rock, but have to stick a layer of self-aware irony inbetween their pristine intellect and their supposedly more base urges to party. That's what makes what Tilts do so special- they bring the party, they rock in ways that make you think of that classic party rock from the seventies and eighties, but in a way that is fresh, and new- this is rock for the ages, not the aged. Get the idea? This is more akin to what Andrew WK does than to some kind of joke.It's music for the good times, not about the good times. Which makes it both more amusing, and more resonant.
As an example- opener "Brown Gum" starts with a riff that references both Ted Nugent and Kyuss- a modal minor key blues riff that goes into a Led Zep styled pseudo-middle Eastern whine that plays off the harmony vocals in a dreamy, floating suspended fashion, which lends a counter-weight to the palm muted verse riff that chugs the beat along. None of that is a joke, right? but the song will put a smile on your face, if you dig rock music. The idea isn't cheap nostalgia- it's to write riffs that will stand up with the riffs that inspired them.
Now, here's a twist- I never liked classic rock. I hate Aerosmith, think Rush is over-rated, I snore through Houses of the Holy, and would deep six Deep Purple. So, how come I like Tilts? Because they inject the whole thing with indie rock energy. It's not irony, or distance- it's urgency and a confident aggression- like fellow stalwarts such as QOTSA, Torche, Dinosaur Jr or the Melvins- while they're inspired by classic rock, they're trying to do their own thing, and aren't some kind of tribute.
For an example- I can't see any band prior to 1990 wanting to claim the thick, fast downstroked riffs of "Touchdowns"- it's an early 1980's metal riff fused with Ramones-styled aesthetics and grunge love of pure noise- so it ends up sounding modern, new, fresh, and clean.
So, the temptation is to write a flip joke or two, because it's just so obvious- if you like loud rock music, you must love Tilts. It's like classic rock, or early Punk rock- you're assumed to like Black Sabbath, and The Ramones. If you don't, you must like disco or country or something. So, I have a little of that prejudice- I just really cannot believe anyone who likes big, juicy riffs and party beats doesn't already love Tilts. So, with the war already won, we might as well crack wise. Sadly, though, too many people are sleeping on the truly great time Tilts provide. So, rectify that for yourself, pronto- get this record before you're having to explain yourself to your 15 year old nephew "Well, yeah, I was into Rock, but I missed out on Tilts. I was too busy being lame, and writing online comments about Lana Del Rey. Who was Lane Del Ray? Ummm, just this lame fake singer. Yeah, I was wasting my time. I'm really glad you turned me on to this, though..."
Tilts Cuatro Hombres is essential, vital, organic and dynamic. You;re wasting your time on anything else.

Tilts Cuatro Hombres

It'd be easy to review this by saying "It Rocks. Hard". I like things easy.

Buzzcocks- The Way

What does fame buy you? Well, it evidently buys you pledges to make records. It buys you enough good will that people will ignore that your voice is shot. and you don't have any musical ideas.
I don't like negative reviews, and I'm a big fan of  Buzzcocks, especially as a singles band- the two singles collections are must haves- both Singles Going Steady and Operators Manual. But, I have to be honest, I got the new record, and it's fairly bad. Shelley and Diggle both sound hoarse and spent. The tempos are slower, not to accommodate more intricate playing, but to stretch out the solos. It just sounds tired, and cranky, and fed on raw nostalgia and good favor carrying over from their past glories.
But, that's useless to say on its own. You might agree, you might disagree, but you won't know unless you hear it, and that renders my negative opinion moot, now doesn't it?
No, I only bring it up because of my opening question. That's the draw, here- I think we have a great test subject for the hypothesis -I believe that fame, such as what Buzzcocks have, is enough to feed a kickstarter-style campaign, such as they did, but to go beyond that- to generate new fans- genuine fans, not people acting like they like it to impress friends- you have to have at least a decent hook, or cool look, or something new- no one can truly rest on their laurels. That's what I believe. But, let's see how this ends up working for them- this album has nothing going for it but the name. Let's see how far it carries them?

Bloody Beetroots, live at the Fillmore Silver Spring

Great time, and Sir Bob & Friends are lovely hosts!

And there was a pit!

Kasabian- 48 13

ok, you can give me crap for liking a band that's going to headline Glastonbury. I understand it. But, here's the thing- yes, Radiohead, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, etc, etc ad nauseum are pushing guitar music forward, but who's pushing Rock music forward? Apart from fairly underground noise, metal and crust bands, there's no one on the national scene who's trying to push rock music forward. Whether you're talking Jack White or the Black Keys, Queens of the Stone Age or Kings of Leon, there's plenty of rock music out there, and most of it is looking backwards. I don't mind, as I enjoy certain things that are retro, and some sounds haven't been explored enough, but I honestly think there are only a handful of acts that can play stadiums that are genuinely trying to make rock music, and trying to make that rock music go in a direction it hasn't gone before. On the European continent, you've got dEUS, and Kashmir, and Ghinzu. But in the UK, I think Kasabian are really it, the only ones. By combining their Oasis-style Brit Rock with Kraftwork, and Tangerine Dream, and electronics from Italian horror movies, then harnessing a Hip Hop sense of percussion, it genuinely sounds new and different, but with a definite "rock sensibility". It doesn't sound like disco, and it doesn't sound like post-rock, it sounds like the same kind of music that put Britain on the map, from the Beatles to Blur. I think the thing that keeps them off of critics' lists is simple- lyrically, they're thick as bricks. I don't know when it got conflated, but I've got a good guess that it's a Baby Boom thing, that music critics expect musicians to be articulate and literate. Certainly, some are, but I never thought of musical talent as necessarily translating into verbal talent. Actually, from most of the musicians I know, I think it might be antithetical. Seriously, if Tom Morello really had the words for what he wants, would he play a guitar? If Mark Lanegan  could write as well as he sings, why would he sing? He'd be better off writing scripts. No, the best musicians are musicians because their best talents are musical. That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate thoughtful, witty, and insightful lyrics, only that I don't think it's necessary for the music to be good.But, you see, most music critics are basically English majors. They're writers, first, and music lovers second. Well, I make no bones about it- I'm no writer. I bet there are a dozen grammatical errors, and a score of spelling errors in this paragraph alone, and I bet that my structure is laughable. I'm clearly a music lover much more than an appreciator of poetry. So, yes, Kasabian write some pretty dumb lyrics, and not even ironically dumb like the Ramones or something. That doesn't matter. What matters is that they write anthemic, syncopated rock music that people can dance along happily while listening to it. For Rock music that really is the final word. Tracks like "Stevie", "Eez-eh", "Doomsday" "Bow" and "Bumblebee" are great rock songs, but they're off kilter and psychedelic with synth lines cribbed from a Dario Argente movie and beats that don't quite add up. It's like the Happy Mondays got infiltrated by Suicide and Eric B. Which is to say, it's definitely new, and different. I think that's genius enough.

Damn, Doc Neeson is Gone.

OK, Yes, he was crazy, and not always in a good way. Yes, his best work was behind him, and yes, the cancer he had might very well have been caused by his own misadventures, but it still sucks that he's dead. He had a unique voice, a literate way with words, and a fantastic stage presence. They don't make rock stars too often, and none like him.

New GODFLESH!

Think I can objectively discuss a new GODFLESH EP? Think again.  I don't care that it's exactly the GODFLESH I like ( Streetcleaner levels of aggression with Pure levels of programming) it's a freakin' GODFLESH release!

Bob Mould- Beauty and Ruin

This will have to be a "first pass" kind of review- I generally take about 20 listens to fully appreciate a Bob Mould record, and I've only had eight go-rounds with this one.
The nutshell is this- musically, this has exactly the Bob Mould record I want- folk song structure, with passing chords, and complex melodies, but clearly made for noise and probably composed on an electric guitar. Lyrically, Bob is still in his "grandpa" phase, all philosophical remembrances and reflections, with a few platitudes re-examined, but his inspiration seems lacking.
I still think Silver Age will stand as a better LP, but this one is less for the marketplace, and more for the fans. How do I know? Because it musically reflects his slightly harder-to-love side- Stuff like the Beaster Ep, the "Hubcap" LP, and "Dark Sheets of Rain" albeit with a much better production than any of those. Looked at from that prism, the worst track on here is the obvious single: "I don't know you anymore"- and think about what that says- the most pop track is also the most resigned.
Meanwhile, I could listen to opener "Low Season" on repeat- it's the most disconsolate on the record, and is all suspended fifths and drones, like a Richard Thompson song, but with sonic guitars.
Second track threatens to be a "Beaster" slow burn, until the second bar when it accelerates into a pissed off punk riff- like the Wipers gone on a Stooges bender. Absolutely gorgeous to me- so, yes, "Little Glass Pill" is, again, the Bob Mould I want to hear. "The War" is another great folk-gone Punk track, that, again, could find a home on "Beaster" or "Black Sheets of Rain" ( it reminds me of that LP's B side) .  And "Forgiveness" has Bob finally getting an acoustic sound that I actually really like, not just accept because the song is so good.
Much will be said about "Kid with Crooked Face" by people who weren't there. In no way does this sound like hardcore era Huskers. At best, it's like a track on "Candy Apple Grey" when the band was just referencing who they used to be.
I like "Fire in the City" but lyrically, it doesn't seem, at first blush, like Bob's "A grade" work- and it reduces the song to a thing that reminds me of Evan Dando.
In a different way, "Tomorrow Morning" is a slight let down, too- the last bridge is a needless callback to his Sugar riffing, that struck me, even then, as filling in a song, when he didn't really have it all the way written.
And then less said about "Hey Mr Grey" the better. Of the eight times I've played the LP, I've skipped this track six times. Not my favorite track. Also, the penultimate track? "Let the Beauty Be"?' I'm trying, here, but it's reminding me of a smart guy I used to know, who had embarrassingly bad musical taste. Few things have even been so uncomfortable as watching that guy singing along to "Sweet Home Alabama" trying to imbue every word with a better meaning than it had. This collection of homely homilies reminds me of that.
So, it's premature- maybe I'll warm up more, later, but right now? I'd call it a collection of B sides, and rough sketches, with a handful of really rewarding tracks...