ACME ROCKET QUARTET "Sound Camera" - Lather Records
If the Val Kilmer movie "Salton Sea" had been better, this record could have been the soundtrack. To clarify, "Salton Sea" had a lot of emotional pull and drama, some great performances, and a horn-playing protagonist. ARQ's seductive detective jazz is rife with drama and film noir moments that should inspire a darkly comic tale of crime and punishment. Aside from having ace horn players and a cutthroat drum 'n' bass duo, ARQ add surreal vocal segments culled from thrift store ¼" tapes. From the cover photo that appears to be an alien planet or Dr. Seuss botanical study (but is, I think, onions gone to seed) ARQ thrive on the border between the liminal and the unknown. Their song titles indicate a knowing humor, with nods to Tenacious D ("Inspirado") and mock self-importance ("Lusitania - Long Beneath The Whelming Brine"). The muted trumpet introductions and solos add a patina of nostalgia to the vintage sounds, and the tremolo-rich guitar undulates with danger. Is that guitar lead the intro for the booze soaked flatfoot, or the foreshadowing of the gun on the mantle? The ARQ take you on a mood-soaked journey of high drama and dangerous seas. ARQ create instrumental stories built on the spill 'n' thrills of pulp fictions. --- 8/11 Leedstop

RYAN ADAMS Rock N Roll - Lost Highway Records
Ryan Adams is becoming a legend. He's a songwriting juggernaut. Three albums with Whiskeytown, two albums recorded but not released, four solo albums, about 10 albums worth of songs recorded and waiting on ice, and two 8-song E Ps, and he's only 29. He helped define the "no depression" country movement and without him, I believe no one would have heard of it. He's the burning star, the one that the others look to and cling to and ride along to fame with. He's the Jack Kerouac of indie rock, not only in temperament and gift, but also in soul. Ryan has also done a prodigious amount of boozing a drugging, dated Winona Ryder (who hasn't), busts out live covers of Black Flag, Gram Parsons and The Smiths, and wrote one of the saddest albums of all time (Heartbreaker). His fans are not legion, but they are devoted. He's loved in the worlds of country, rock, and indie music. The new record, "Rock N Roll," is Adams' first purely rock album. He proves his mettle with hooky aggression on "Shallow," "So Alive," and "Boys." After so many years of affecting a country croon and plying it with whisky, Ryan Adams has developed a unique and amazing voice. He's at home ripping his vocal chords out one minute and hitting an impossibly sweet and high note the next. Last year's "Demolition" has some great tunes on it but lacked quality control. The new record gels together much better and there's only 1 song I'm not 100% about. His approach rests somewhere between The Replacements and Oasis. His lyrics strike to the bone. He says things brutally, without trying to tart them up as poetry, but instead they become a poetry of the street. On "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home" he sings, "…can you recommend an education or drugs, because I am bored with you already…" On "Wish You Were Here" he tells someone "…and everybody knows the way I talk, knows the way I feel about you, it's all a bunch of shit, and there's nothing to do around here, it's totally fucked up, and if I could have my way, we'd take some drugs, and we'd smile…" The more you listen to him the plainer it becomes that he really is comfortable in any genre. The country roots of rock, and the rock roots of indie are all firmly within his grasp. Stars come along once a decade, and here he is. ---Paul Leeds 9/11 top

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA "Cubic Zirconia" - Big Brown Shark
The carnival art school madness of Ad Astra Per Aspera unspools on "Cubic Zirconia" like spending a chemically pleasant evening at Beck's mansion as he pulls the curtain back on the origins of his peculiarities. Like the fearless idiosyncrasies of that Silverlake God, AAPA shift gears at will and create collages that almost make you feel like you're listening to multiple albums at once. "I Am The Palm Tree" starts with a carnival piano riff before launching into a e-bow laden riff with two singers holding down both ends: one sings calmly while the other is fed through a distortion pedal. "I am the palm tree, a reconstruction. I am a sentimental coconut obstruction." At first blush AAPA recalls the complex experiments of Sukia, Dust Brothers, and Exhaust, with the exception of sounding more like a real band than those artsy collectives. While making interesting sounds they don't forget the rock, in other words. Intense moments of precision power chords segue into surreal movements in different time signatures. Vocals waft in where moments before stood only a wall of noise. Grinding guitars and urgent voices wash into Casio keyboard riffs and handclaps, and then the music is propelled forward with staccato piano and guitars, on "Bi-pedal, Ungrateful, Empty and Awake." These four songs continually demand your attention with nary a dull moment. Closer "Goodland At Night" combines the bleeding fingers angst of some of the finer underground bands with poster-boy pretty vocals, tortured screaming and Middle Eastern fretwork. A heady concoction that is highly recommended! --- Leeds 9/11top

ADOLESCENTS " O.C. Confidential" - Finger Records [Sept 2005]
Every kid in high school should at some point memorize Adolescent's debut album, with its old school hits like "Wrecking Crew" and "Who is Who." They had snotty vocals and a guitarist whose leads were as warm and intoxicating as cheap beer left in the sun. You cannot count the legions of bands who ripped them off. And now they've got a new album, and it's been so long since the first that Frank Agnew and his son are both in the band! Ringo Starr, The Allmann Brothers, and Led Zeppelin did it (fathers and sons), so why not these OC punks? And that brings up OC itself: Adolescents and later DI at least popped the tough guy OC hardcore balloon. Now this sound is kind of the blueprint for OC punk to this day. So what's changed? On the title track, they decry "this is a town where a mind can't grow!" Tony Cadena's voice is no longer ravaged by puberty. He sounds like current day Milo Auckerman, but Cadena never was a "singer" and he still really isn't one. Frank Agnew still rocks, but there's no Rikk. Steve Soto is still a gentle giant, a bass and vocals machine. Instead of "I Hate Children" they now sing "Where The Children Play." Being a dad can do that to you. These punk vets used to play with total abandon because adulthood was looming and they were desperately trying to square their youthful world with the beckoning soul-crushing work world. Now, they've been through it and survived. Music never goes out of you, so the Adolescents in 2005 play with a nostalgic look to the wasted brats they were back in the day but with a wiser, less desperate approach. "California Son" is a message to you, OC punk, that "life's just begun, go and have some fun." Forget Darby, and Sid, and Rozz - go on and live. This song has a Beach Boys simplicity to it that is pure and direct. Occasionally life in California is beautiful, the Ads know it too. Like any reformed group, the dynamics have changed, but mostly these are solid songs, less frantic and speedy but still spiky and uncomfortable. I like about half these songs, because I know that they are capable of doing better than this, some of these songs are almost throwaways, and if they had indeed tossed 'em out and kept writing and come up with another half album of top material, this would have been a triumphant return. As it is, it's a good record, but not a patch on their early work. ---Sid Arthur 6/11top

ADOLESCENTS "The Complete Demos 1980-1986" Frontier Records [April 05]
Completists and purists, take note: this compiles all of the rare and lost Adolescents songs including the song that didn't get finished in time for the 1981 "Welcome To Reality" EP. It starts with 4 songs recorded in Tony's Mom's garage and sounds a lot like Germs, then seques into 4 songs done at a real studio. These are some of the incendiary classics from the blue album here in baby photos: "I Hate Children," "Who Is Who," "Wrecking Crew" and "No Friends." By the time they did these demos, the snotty, snarling, suburban punks were in fine form. These songs show a band growing song by song, gaining confidence enough to send the tapes to Rodney On The Roq, who played them and lead to their deal with Frontier. It's a snapshot of the early, incestuous OC punk scene. The people playing on this record were in Social Distortion, Flower Leperds, Christian Death, D.I., Agent Orange, 22 Jacks and probably others. I like the version of "No Friends" here better than the LP version. Steve Soto's bass is more McCartney-esque, roping up and down over the guitar chords. Some songs are reasonably clear, in others, audio quality is what you'd expect from demos that were copied a thousand times then mastered for this CD. They literally found the tapes in someone's shoebox. Sort of a bonus surprise is the original version of "Richard Hung Himself" which was later done up by drummer Casey Royer in his D.I. incarnation. Hear where they got their nerve together. I personally adore the first Adolescents record, and I'm glad I heard this disc, but it's kind of a tough listen and for the completist only. ---Leeds 6/11top

A FAITH CALLED CHAOS 'Forgive Nothing' - Volcom Entertainment
More confused screamo metalcore. AFCC are from Dallas, Texas. Again, referring to their bio, they are compared to early Grade, Every Time I Die, and Botch. AFCC at least keep their shit a little more together than Folly (also reviewed) and play only one style of music per song. On one hand, they have an indie type of spirit by playing this metalcore without a pussy radio song (like Story Of The Year) but on the other hand, this is a well-furrowed path and there's no points for originality or improvisation. Like Folly, AFCC spend all their best creative energy on naming songs. "Ten Thousand Times Tongue And Cheek," for instance. The sad part is that AFCC are playing a style of music that is way past its shelf life. Screamo, metalcore, whatever you call it, it's tired. It combines Guitar Institute excess with the corporate idea of punk. There is nothing to recommend this singer over any of the others using processed throat garglings for vocals. The technical prowess of bands able to stop and start then peal off jazzy solos does not translate into soul. This is technical without heart. Some parts of their songs would make good starting points if they decide to play another style. This is a genre I don't like at all, but no one else does here at CB either, so I get stuck with it. This isn't my idea of intelligent underground music and seems more like the modern equivalent of Queensryche. --- Paul Leeds 3/11 top

AGAINST ALL AUTHORITY / COMMON RIDER split EP - Hopeless Records [May 2005]
Of the few punk bands that last as long as AAA, a good many of them lose their aggressive edge. This is not a bad thing. Plenty of punk bands are able to express their discontent in subtle ways that are equally effective. But it is refreshing to see a band like AAA stay loud and pissed off for so many years. After over a decade of making music, Against All Authority still possesses that youthful anger that gives such power to punk music. AAA teamed up with the late Common Rider for this fast paced, pissed off, split EP. The first four tracks are AAA's usual aggressive bursts of political criticism. Their lyrics are really the driving force behind the band. The straight-forward nature of the lyrics makes them very accessible to a youthful movement like punk rock. AAA bashes the 'war machine,' 'the thieves that rose to power,' and expresses the relentlessness of the minority's will to rebel, speak out, and strive for change. The aggressive nature of the lyrics is far from a block-headed leaning towards violence, or other destructive cycles. Instead, AAA shouts, "You just want to hurt me / I just want to be heard / Killing freedom of speech / You can break my body / But you can't break the unity behind these barricades." The aggression in their music is not exhausted in hatred or hopelessness. AAA demands full use of our freedoms and full attention on our ability to unite, critique, and disrupt the powers we disagree with. The four Common Rider songs on the split have a different feel to them than the AAA tracks, a good thing for a split release. The two bands compliment each other nicely. Common Rider was put together by Jesse Michaels (of Operation Ivy) after nearly a decade of absence from the punk scene. The four tracks on this release have somewhat of an Op Ivy feel. They certainly have that raw but bubbly feel that Op Ivy did so well, though Common Rider has much less ska influence. The songs are still bouncy and full of catchy half-sung half-spoken lyrical anecdotes, but it is obvious that Michaels' influences have broadened since his Op Ivy days. The guitar work is more expressive and the lyrics have a greater depth to them. The songs are catchy and well-composed, and lyrics like "Faith in places where the mind can't go but the heart hangs around," give these seemingly light-hearted tracks some good solid weight. ---Brad Amorosino 8/11 top

AGAINST ME! The Eternal Cowboy - Fat Wreck Chords
Something immediately clear about Against Me! is that they have an easier self-image than some of their confreres. The perspective is self-deprecating and makes for more interesting music. After a show you'd expect them to want to grab a few beers, not whip out their Howard Zinn and start underlining passages. "Sink, Florida, Sink" is a strummed campfire ballad that minces off into the distance to a few bars of piano. It's that sort of assuredness and confidence that makes Against Me rise above their competition. "Slurring The Rythms" is my favorite track. It's freakout vocals and Billy Bragg plugged-in-but-not-really-rockin' guitars is a welcome reprieve from overheated Marshall stack antics. Their sound is unusual: the singer goes hyperkinetic one minute and then croons the next. The music could be backing The Smoking Popes or The Smiths, and then on a song like "Rice And Bread" all of these elements join forces and delivers a fucking knockout punch. This is the anguished cries of Billy Bragg and his lonely guitar coupled with an irresistible armory of styles. "You Look Like I Need A Drink" has the up, down, bass you get in rockabilly, and then the vocals get staccato like the record needle sliding all over the wax, and you don't know what you've got. But it's good, shitkicking good. This record is way too short. Give us more. --- Paul Leeds 9/11 top

AM "Francophiles & Skinny Ties" - AM Mayhem Records, 2005
Skip ahead right to "Sex 'n' Drugs" - AM get their punk rock take on garagey new wave done right. It's got a lurching apeman bass riff and some nicely spastic vocals. The sound is not burdened with lots of studio tricks and has a good live feel to it, as befits a proper power trio. Some of the other tracks ("Quite n Dayglo") take you in a totally opposite direction. Starting with a ballad paced intro, it kicks up into a boozey anthem with shimmering reverb guitars. Elsewhere they do a good moonstomp ("Bloodshot") and bend back some 60s riffing with full arm lo-fi punk playing. The album title made me fear for a new wave band but they sound nothing of the sort. They have a retro cool sound that is popular with the Crypt and Bomp scene, although it's a bit more modern, like a rougher version of Whitelight Motorcade or Mooney Suzuki. They have some good sounds, some decent energy, and combine past and present to reasonable effect. ---Vermin 6/11 top

ALKALINE TRIO Good Mourning - Vagrant
You have just murdered your girlfriend. Now you're drunk, covered in blood, and starting to miss her. Alkaline Trio's "Good Mourning" is your soundtrack. "I touch myself / at the thought of flames / I shat the bed / and lay there in it / thinking of you…" kicks off the new AT opus. Somehow lyrics like this make me uncomfortable enough to skip singing along in the car. Picking up where they left on "From Here To Infirmary," AT ply their black-hearted love song expertise with a new maturity. Exploring the now familiar themes of love turning to murder and drinking turning to loss, AT is a 3 chord hit machine on the top of the entire pop-punk heap. The writing is more assured and matured on this latest disc, attention being paid to come up with clever lyrics, songs slowing down to release their poison in doses. The biggest change is the choruses don't leap out at you after the obligatory chord change, the main-stay of pop-punk. The pop-punk costume has been blown away and the larger rock vibe is left in its vacated space. Possibly because million dollar producer Jerry Finn is behind the desk, the new AT sound like they're on the road to Foo Fighterish rockland. As always, AT's two great singers are what give them extra depth and the fan two bands for the price of one. Matt Skiba sneers out vitriolic diatribes on bad women and getting loaded, and Dan Andriano croons about the colder side of loss and regret. On 2002's "From Here To Infirmary," Andriano snuck in and stole the show with "I'm Dying Tomorrow." That song, like many AT songs, has hooks so sharp you bleed. The 1-2 punch of the two singers doesn't quite hit on this disk. Andriano's "One Hundred Stories" is mediocre and fails to deliver a memorable hook. Not his best stuff. Adding organs under the chord changes to flesh it out sounds like a good idea, but ends up only a distraction. It's good AT is experimenting with other instruments and trying to keep the blood and creative juices flowing. Overall, the songs on "Mourning," while still solid and rocking, are slower and more controlled than the AT you know and love. "Continental" is the standout track: a terrific evil love song sung by a wider, detached Skiba who has clearly been working on writing more complex melodies. It's an AT showcase: a solid gold chorus aided and abetted by growling guitars, and AT prove their mastery of the dark pop song. "All On Black" has Skiba's vocals double tracked to give the AT sound extra melody, a sound that has stepped away from appealing to the Warp Tour fans and has risen to the challenge of writing great songs outside of their genre ghetto. AT has adroitly graduated to the next level. "Emma" is another Andriano song, this one fires on all cylinders: a two-part chorus with Skiba that again proves how goddamn amazing AT is. " A poinsettia in poison rain / traded true love for insult and injury / We washed it down the drain / with one silver bullet and two vicodin…" runs the chorus. It claps onto your ears like a fist and the lyrics are brilliant. I have a guess that "Every Thug Needs A Lady" is a demo because the guitar intro not only doesn't sound in tune but also sounds recorded on cheap home equipment - all middle tone mush with cymbals nipping away at every strum. Blow for blow, "Mourning" can't go the distance with "Infirmary." Of the 12 songs, about 6 of them meet the level of their last effort. It's a step in the right direction, but a bolder step was needed. --- Paul Leeds 7/11 top

ALKALINE TRIO The Show Must Go Off DVD - Kung Fu Records
The Chicago powerpunk trio is captured live in their hometown on Halloween on this new concert film. The 18 songs span their career and might turn out to be a snapshot of the band at the peak of their powers, when "From Here To Infirmary" marked the highest achievement of pop punk. Performing in front of diehard hometown fans also inspired the band to really deliver the rock goods that particular night. I caught AT on their "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" tour, and frankly, they were boring as hell; the stage seemed too big for them and the floor too spacious to give any crowd feedback to the band. I would that they were as good then as they are on this DVD. The five camera setup provides enough up close footage of the band to make you feel like you're being jammed against the stage, some sweaty jock moshing on your back. AT have dabbled in pseudo-goth imagery for awhile now with their dead-eyed album covers, skulls etc., and so performing on Halloween night fits them like a coffin. The boys come out in priest costumes and blackened eyes with mouths dripping blood, leading off with "Hell Yes." The crowd goes wild. During the course of the night they trot out a punchy set list, including "Maybe I'll Catch Fire," "Take Lots With Alcohol," "Armageddon," and "Private Eye." If you want to borrow some of Matt Skiba's licks, this show covers enough of his fretwork to become an AT guitar primer. I found the tabs I had for "Take Lots With Alcohol" were wrong this way, to illustrate. The live sound is crisp and mixed well, sounding better than most live albums. But here's a note to live video producers: stack the front rows of your audience with hot chicks in cool/skimpy outfits. Whenever we cut to the front row terrorists, it's almost always some dorky dudes who don't know all the words. Buzz killer right there. And when you've got staccato jabs of guitars and drums like you get with AT, skip the cheesy dissolves between cuts, it sucks out the energy. The DVD also features an amusing band commentary and a bonus photo gallery, for you to unwind with after getting all your energy out during the show. AT will probably never be this good again, making this a memento of them at their greatest. ---Paul Leeds 8/11 top

ALKALINE TRIO / HOT WATER MUSIC split CD Jade Tree
Just like the split 7" records of yesteryear! In theory it should allow bands to get more songs released and free them up from the stifling one record per 16 months deal most bands are on. Both of these bands are pretty good but this split doesn't show either band's strengths. Alkaline Trio writes more traditional songs, sort of in the "Dear You" style of Jawbreaker. They have two singers and two styles of songs. One guy writes songs for the girls and the other writes songs with more edge. More and more they sound like one band that should split and become two. This is for AT fans only. If you're new to the band, get "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" instead. Hot Water Music are less polished as a band, but I think they mean it more. Someday I could see AT being national like Blink or any Warp Tour band because they sound like a pop band with vague punky stylings, but HWM will forever be a fans' band. Again, this isn't their best stuff either. It's cool having each band cover the other's song, but here neither band really does the song any justice.---Will top

THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS Doghouse Records
This was recorded by Tim O'Heir, the legendary knob twiddler behind the genius first Superdrag album, and bands like Sebadoh and Possum Dixon. O'Heir knows how to pick winners, and All-American Rejects are no exception, combining impossibly hooky songs with a bright, crisp sound. AAR would fit perfectly on a bill with Jimmy Eat World and The Jealous Sound. Now here's the strange part, AAR are a two-member band, one guy is 18 and the other is 20. God knows where these guys are getting it from, but this sound is huge and immediately accessible. Song three on here, "Swing Swing" is going to takeover the airwaves, it's a song that makes you play the damn thing over again a few times in a row. AAR use keyboards and guitars to cook up their sound that seems to have three or four hooks in every song. If you take the first (the FIRST!) Tears For Fears record and graft it onto the latest Jimmy Eat World record, voila, there you have it: AAR. The guys in the band are pretty foxy too, one of them looks like James Dean, so that's not going to hurt them either. Holy shit, "Time Stands Still" is going to be an even bigger hit than the other song. These guys write melodies that flit up and over a few octaves like it's no big deal, and the result is far more catchy than the current crop of popsters like Travis, and Coldplay. -- Will Naught top

ALL HOURS "In Flagrante Delicto" - Hybrid Recordings
The title is Latin for getting caught boning, and that is a tip off to what to expect aurally. The disc sent to the bunker is only a 3 song taste but we felt it was important to issue a warning nonetheless, as a public service. You're supposed to close your eyes and imagine yourself back in a late 70s Hollywood music scene that never existed, where rock was bending into the new sounds that would become new wave and punk, and to think this all sounds gas. Except you're not at the Whisky and it's not 1975. With your 2004 ears this will sound exactly like what it is: assrock pretending to be an "Exile On Mainstreet" descendant. You know, tambourines and soul singers and shit. There should be a fucking law against any band trying to mimic the Stones. I don't know what All Hours' angle is, what they plan on using as their selling feature or their "hook" for the kids, but this music is just plain and boring and makes me feel like I'm listening to Dr. Hook or something equally gay that you only hear when you're in someone else's car that's radio is set to some classic rock station. Total bunk. 2/11 --- Sid Arthurtop

ALLI WITH AN I I Learned It By Watching You - Suburban Home Records
First impression: the band photo has one guy rocking a sideways baseball cap and another with a shirt from The Used. Well fortunately they're not biting either The Used or Blink 182, whew. The cover has some gradeschool paper over a black and white photo of a toddler leaning his head against a mirror. I don't know what to make of this. Maybe the kid is someone in the band's kid, or brother, or nephew. It's not exactly what you'd call a "rock" cover. The cover flunks. Fourth song, "Last Parade," really contains these lyrics: "How could you stand there and watch me cry? Not even a tear falls from your eye…" Yes, it sounds like a Whitney Houston lyric. I guess I don't mind that the singer is a sensitive guy, I mean, everyone can't be Danzig, but that doesn't give license to cry on record, ya know? Despite those goofy lyrics, it's a pretty fun song. I like the energy. "Don't Look Down" has the same guitar chords and riffs as Yellowcard's "Sure Shot," which struck me as curious, since Yellowcard is the nearest equivalent to AWAI's sound (except no violin, of course). Maybe they're fans. Singer Matt Sileno sings kind of high, but not too high to be sugary. He gives the songs a sort of summer camp youthfulness. There's a lot of hope and expectation in the songs, like they can't wait to get back to school to tell of their adventures at camp. There are a lot of new school tricks, the techniques on the verses, riffs on the choruses - all the popular sounds. They can also craft some loopy, grand melodies, as evidenced in "Letting Go." The chorus just circles round and around itself, like a singalong. The guitarist (Matt Sileno) chops up and down the fretboard, making this a pretty urgent anthem of broken romance. The latter half of the record dominates the first. "Two Sides" should've lead off this album. It is rich with all the right ingredients of a great pop emo bomb blast: busy guitars, drums pounded extra hard, a singer soaring over the din. I was a huge fan of this type of music about 5 years ago, and if this record came out then, I'd really be pumping it. In 2003, it sounds a little bit too much like many other bands, in a style that the best of them have already moved on from. Maybe it's a little clean and poppy for me, but if you're an emo kid, you'll dig this. AWAI traverse the troubled corridors of high school with their songs of spent passion and unrequited loves as full of hope as a new pair of creepers on the first day of school. --- Paul Leeds 7/11top

ALWAYS THE RUNNER s/t - Myla Records
Set amidst a shimmering delayed guitar, Always The Runner introduce themselves with a saturnine slice of beauty. The half time tempos and blissed out melodies beg for a tag other than pop because ATR call for anything but the grabby hooks of radio. It's layered and textured like the detail of an oil painting. Spidery guitar and buoyant piano spin a web on "Telling Lies Over Lattes," an instrumental piece that recalls Durutti Column and Mogwai. I already liked ATR after reading song titles like "Let's See If The Bastards Can Do 90!" and "Not What Jesus Would Have Done." ATR are mainly instrumental but occasionally toss in vocals. Which is odd because on the 2 vocal tracks, ATR have a damn fine singer. But they prefer to let the instruments be their voice. Believing that music can be powerful and evocative without the guidance of lyrics is an alien concept to today's major labels and radio stations. But it's a valid concept that radiates forward from Beethoven. When a modern band like ATR creates music that is full and rich without vocals, you don't even notice it. It's like noticing that "With Or Without You" had no accordion. Many instrumental bands these days are experimental or art projects (Hangedup, The Books, etc) and that's all good, but occasionally it's also good to hear real music that doesn't make you feel like you need a PhD in music to understand. ATR have a sunnier disposition than their peers in the majestic rock tradition, and it appears they are not (thankfully) working out their inner demons in their songs. ATR shows that sometimes it's good to enjoy the sunlight and gossamer beauty of monumental songs. --- Leeds 8/11 top

AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN "Print Is Dead" - Double Zero Records
This sneaky fucking record grows on you. As it kicks to life, you start thinking you can peg them as another Yellow Card type of snotty new-punk band with hooks. It's not even before the first song is done that you realize ATM are madly struggling to break free from this limiting genre. By track two, "Pink Eye," they are already saying good fucking riddance to the clones of Punk Rock Inc. Are the fans ready for what they're serving? Who knows. This ground has become a graveyard for similar bands that write great little hooks and have well-crafted pop songs only to find that audiences are too stupid to pick up on them. The Stereo, Ultimate Fakebook, Material Issue, Motion City Soundtrack - all these bands are laying a psychic high-five on these guys. They are saying, "we see that you guys know what goes into classic power pop, you get it, and we're right there dying in the trenches with you." What will it take to turn ATM into a band people care about? Maybe an expensive video, maybe one guy in the band will start banging Paris Hilton. In short, there's no reason besides having a well-muscled PR firm behind them that will stop them from becoming a national act. Short of Ms. Hilton giving it up for this Chicago trio, ATM will just have to slog it out the hard way. If you like fast pop that you can sing along too, buy this record. The gutsy chorus of "So When Did Everybody In A Band Become A Hair Farmer," with it's "na-na-na's," captures the listener with the catchy simplistic bliss of the Ramones. The lines that follow, "God is love, love is dumb, I am dumb so, I am God…" show that ATM has a great sense of humor and is not taking it all too seriously. The better ATM songs are when singer Rick Muermann brings his register down just a little bit, giving his voice more strength and character. Overall, ATM share the Chicago bloodsport of three minute polished pop in an easy to embrace style, similar to citymates Alkaline Trio and The Lawrence Arms but several more degrees removed from punk rock. The more I hear this record the more prominent the hooks become. The songs all exist in the brighter spectrum of emotions, avoiding the grinding moments of angst that AT and TLA deliver, even though ATM lyrically approach darker topics ("Into Your Heart.") One thing that strongly separates them from those other 2 bands is that ATM have essentially 1 kind of song and one singer. It's all, "hey, I just did a line of blow, let's rock." The cover art looks suspiciously like "Catcher In The Rye," which counts for something. - Leeds 7/11 top

AMBER PACIFIC"The Possibility and the Promise" - Hopeless Records [July 2005]
Amber Pacific belongs on MTV. That is neither a compliment nor an insult. They simply have nothing to offer punk music or underground culture. The band is primarily influenced by bands like Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday, and Fall Out Boy, and they are doing an excellent job of emulating these acts. But the genre of pop punk that these bands fall into is lacking in originality and soul. Its seems like the musical influences of a lot of these bands are so specific to their own genre that the genre of pop punk as a whole is boring and stagnant. Nothing new, nothing refreshing comes out of the genre. Pop punk is completely incestuous. Still, Amber Pacific are talented musicians in the technical sense of the word. Very talented. The record sounds great, the singing is dead on, and the craftsmanship is super tight. They must be super heroes to the Warped Tour crowd. And some of the guys in the band are not even 20. The Possibility of Promise is an impressive release for such a young band. Unfortunately, Amber Pacific's sound is the same old shit. Sure the band sounds professional, but the music is immature and redundant. We know how the story ends before it begins. It's amazing how all these pop punk bands can sound so lifeless while playing such upbeat music. So much of the appeal of a band is built on character and this is exactly what pop punkers don't have. There needs to be something unique in the mood, the structure, the words, the members, something to give the band some shape. Otherwise there's nothing to distinguish them from the rest of the pretty kids that play formulaic pop music. I will not say that Amber Pacific wasn't stuck in my head after the record was over. It WAS. It has all the necessary hooks. But so do car commercial jingles and cell phone ringers. I get those stuck in my head all the time. And they don't mean anything. It's just noise. Buzzing in my ear. ---Brad Amorosino 4/11 top

AMBER PACIFIC "Fading Days" - Hopeless Records
I knew a girl named Amber, and she had amazing, full, luscious, ripe (like melons in summer) breasts. They defied gravity and although I haven't seen her in years, I hold onto their memory to this day. Amber Pacific? She's not a girl, but rather, four rockers plying melodic tunes of lost love in an accessible pop confection. This is a band that has taken the formula of The All-American Rejects and run away over the hills with it. On this 5 song EP, Amber Pacific provide variations on TAAR's "Last Song" recipe of high and clean vocals, soaring, begging, grasping with desperate arms - the emotionally scarred listener. The rest of the band grinds out some capable poppy guitars and drums. Never having seen this band, I don't know if they rock it up live or if they choose to calm the waves. On record, AP are catchy and airy, their songs of romantic questing are perfect for those ensnared in the traps of the dating game. Their positive approach avoids blaming and castigating the girl who got away but instead encourages self revelation and introspection. All 3 bands cited in their bio are laughable, so it's with some surprise that AP blow those turkeys away. Rufio, Taking Back Sunday, and Chris Carraba? For reals. The only real moment of embarassment on this intro is the closer ("Here We Stand") which has church youth group-styled acoustic guitars and harmonizing vocals. The other four songs are ready to be embraced by fans of TAAR, The Honorary Title and similar giddy guitar pop. This last song is the audio equivalent of not getting into her panties. It makes you think acoustic guitars should be destroyed. That transgression aside, I recommend this band for all those out there desperate for the next Rejects album (which hasn't even been recorded yet). --- Fang 5/11top

AMBRY "Holding On By The Blindfolds We Hide Behind" - The Death Scene [June 2005]
Sounds like: Armor For Sleep, The Used (new album), All-American Rejects. You will know them by: the singer's high, youthful wail. Their unique hook: nothing comes to mind. Competence: solid marks for good musicianship and good production. Low tide: "Car Crash Love" which starts out treacly sentimental and becomes a squeaky Jimmy Eat World knockoff. And the acoustic dorm stairwell demo "Linguistic Relativity For Horses." Painful. High tide: album closer "A Collapse Of Confidence," which uses the helium vocals and emo guitars to best effect. For: kids eager for more of the same they got with the last Used album. Result: Ambry are like a great horde of other bands and not much really sets them apart beside the high registry of their singer. Their sound is currently popular but this does not advance the cause or chart new territory. --- Vermin 4/11 top

AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD "Worlds Apart" - Interscope (Feb 2005)
The good ship Trail Of Dead took the majority of last year off, time to regroup and rethink their strategy for global domination. They also had to part ways with multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Neil Busch, trimming the singing staff down to a skeleton crew of 3. Part of what made live TOD shows so dangerous was the constant shifting of personalities when it was impossible to tell who would be playing what instrument on the next song. Part of that dynamic has obviously been sacrificed at giving Busch time to recoup or rehab, but the recorded Trail in 2005 is still two-fisted and swinging hard. The loose-cannon chaos of earlier work has given way to a more skillful, deadlier approach. Early songs had them using Sonic Youth's template to vent some dark Texas fury, but they've slowly progressed their way to a unique and vivid sound. They are still a tough band with a fistful of songs that seem to come from a sinster, more violent world. The new album is more geared to piercing your mind than your eardrums, although 3 of the 12 songs are interludes, making you want more already. There is maturity and progress in this new Trail. Jason Reece still drums like the beats are taking down incoming divebombers, Kevin Allen's guitars still light fires on the hillsides, and the narratives Conrad Keely unspools are small films in their own right. As a longtime fan of Trail Of Dead, the new album took a few spins to really sink in, but since then, I can hardly stop listening to it. They've been a favorite for awhile because they are everything that is cool and exciting about underground music: they have something to say, they play their fucking hearts out, and their music is constantly shifting and weaving in new ideas. They've woven elements of John Lennon and David Bowie into their new work, in their confidence of taking a measure in a song and soaring with a melody or laying in a moody piano and backing "oohs and ahs" (A Classic Arts Showcase) that show not only a firm grasp of rock history but a profound talent for improving upon the past. There's a song that seeks to disguise the morbid waltz underneath (Worlds Apart) its condemnation of our culture: "…look at those cunts on MTV, with their cars, and cribs and rings and shit, is that what being a celebrity means…" Trail has always been a smart band, providing food for thought as well as music that shakes you by the collar bone. Some have said that this album's slower songs are out of place, but they must never have heard "Novena Without Faith" off their debut LP. They've always mixed the subtle with the bombastic. Trail has always been exploring interesting sonic landscapes, and they've continued, layering harmonies on "The Rest Will Follow," adding almost cabaret sounds to "All White" that sounds like "Aladdin Sane" era Bowie, or the head snapping genius anthem "Caterwaul," which is among the best songs they've ever done. It's got that elegant cinematic quality they're famous for while providing uncompromising playing that would make Sonic Youth proud, and when they sing "Eyes at night never see the day, because it's not in my nature, golden wings rise from the plane, they burn above the red earth…" you know it's the song of the apocalypse, that the end is near and Trail Of Dead are playing loud enough to keep the collapse momentarily at bay. This band is down one member but still has more fight in them than most armies. ---Leeds 9/11top

AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD Source Codes + Tags - Interscope Records
Named in a paraphrase of one of the most enigmatic sentences ever written, ...and you will know us by the Trail of Dead are blazing new paths in music. Their name is cryptic, their biographies more so, but perhaps their music is the most cryptic of all. And indeed, wouldn't you be a bit disappointed if a band called Trail of Dead was just a boring ol' rock band like everyone else? I thought so. Don't worry, they're not. Their major-label debut, Source Codes + Tags, is nothing if not all about fulfilling promises. Music today is full of huge promises made by labels, even the artists themselves, and are never kept. "The break-out CD of the year!" is a phrase seen so often at the CB that we have started filing press releases under D for Don't Ever Use That Phrase Again. With so many unkept promises ruining our eardrums, it is refreshing beyond belief to hear a band that promises little and delivers a lot. Now I'll be honest here, I didn't really like this album when I first heard it. It's noisy, loud, and has that under-produced fuzziness that makes me wish I could use a "sharpen" feature like the one on my television. But the lyrics made it worth a second, third and fourth listen, and suddenly I can't get it out of my CD player. Like any good poetry, they are timeless and beautiful. In "Heart in the Hand of the Matter," you hear "and there is virtue in loneliness/in vacant lots and flourescent malls/in one-room coffins and crowded halls/there is nothing to be done." But here's the catch - you really have to work for the words. The music is difficult, almost atonal at moments, full of sound, feedback and the crash of a drum kit. It almost doesn't go with the idea of the lyrics, if that is at all possible. And yet, it makes perfect sense when you hear it; you just have to pay attention. This is music everyone should hear at least once. It is dense, complex and visceral, and definitely does not belong to the faint of heart. It doesn't belong to the weepy emo kid moping in the corner, bemoaning what he's lost either. This is rip-your-heart-out-and-feed-it-to-you music, and belongs to those who listen to music for music's sake. Too long has music lingered in the head, a cerebral and analytical version of life. Trail of Dead brings music back to the gut, where it belongs. Ride the Apocalypse. --- Angel Dylan top

ANGEL CITY OUTCASTS "Let It Ride" - Thorp Records [July 2005]
If you're down for some terrace chant anthems played with old school punk abandon, ACO are for you. They have a lusty full throated choir turning their speedy punk into barroom singalongs, and when Celtic punk is thrown into the mix, it's an explosive cocktail. One of the best songs, "Popeye In Afghanistan," is guaranteed to destroy any small venue ACO get booked into (promoters be warned). It sounds like Rancid and Dropkick Murphys ramming their skulls together. This whole album is explosively played and bursting with energy, all kick ass punk shredders. ACO bring in some classic elements into their songs while keeping a modern perspective. For fans of Radio One, The Briggs, Rancid, Dropkick Murphys. ---Vermin 7/11. top

ANTI-FLAG The Terror State - Fat Wreck Chords
Anti-Flag are a political band in a time when radio is awash in bands singing about their girlfriends. For that alone, AF deserve credit. Their politics are anti-globalist mostly, railing against the WTO, decrying CIA subversion, and getting steamy indignant over Bush's lies, going so far as to sample the Shitmeister himself. The irony is, AF now owes Bush royalties for his vocal "performance" on the record. AF acknowledge the role of protest singers past, and for their efforts were allowed to root through Woodie Guthrie's archives for lyrics to a new song. Unfold the CD sleeve to find an anti-Bush stencil: photocopy, exacto, and spray. Great idea (but if you tag my house, you die.) Activism is a double-edged sword, and too often you get lumped in with crackpots and zealots, when all you're trying to do is save the world. Zinn, Chomsky, the Black Panthers and Mumia? C'mon. Anti-Flag at least come from the right place: that fabled land of Punk, since paved over with condos and colonized by carpet-bagging clowns like Good Charlotte. Protest and rebellion are key pieces of the punk puzzle, and AF score an A for reminding audiences of this fact. They look cool enough in the band photo, no Hurley shirts and sideways baseball hats, but they are wearing armbands... Calling yourself Anti-Flag and sporting armbands is disingenuous. One could suppose that the anti-flag means they are internationalists, like The Clash, and the particular problems of their causes (like The Clash's Sandinistan government becoming as corrupt as the old one) shouldn't undermine the commitment to positive change. Okay, enough superficiality: to the music. AF are catchy, power chord new-punk. Singer Justin Sane recalls Davy Havok (before the Diet-Danzig sex change): a little snotty, a little thin and snappy. The songs are mostly sing-alongs and medium tempo rock songs. This works to magnificent effect live, as AF is one of the premier live acts going. On this, album #5, AF toys with altering their sound. The RATM-esque "Post-War Breakout" is a rap over ska guitars. It's a misplaced homage to a one-note band. The rest of the tunes are oi-boy/beerhall choruses and fairly straightforward guitar attacks. Track 8 is the best cut on, and all of AF's rage and anger, righteous sense of purpose, and their guitar weapons come together for a sizzling public service assault. If only the other songs were as good. "Wake up to the world around you!" they implore, and I agree. The music of AF is choppier and more aggressive than many of the modern "punk" bands and less likely to attract 14 year old girls. It's for real punks, the kind dedicated to the alternative and who avoid the mainstream, for those who demand more than clever chords. --- Paul Leeds 7/11 top

ARCTIC MONKEYS "Beneath The Boardwalk" etc - unsigned. [June 2005]
Now from Sheffield come a band that has either the bizarrest marketing plan in the world or they're so full of great songs that they come flying out of them like lies from Washington. They have freely posted links to about a dozen of their songs on the net, free of charge. This has caused legions of fans to sing along with every word at live shows even though they've been together for less than a year. Yes, but what about the music, you say. The singer has very Eengerlish pronunciations, an accent sounding nothing like other Sheffield acts like Cabaret Voltaire, Human League, or Pulp. Is it real or is it plastic soul hype? It makes Billy Bragg sound like Hugh Grant. AM are one of the sprouted seeds sown by the fast and loose Libertines. Their style is roughly equal but with one singer. Now throw in some Paul Weller social observations and his 1981 attitude. Lastly, make 'em young and foxy and fearless. They could very well be the next phenom. Look for their only official release, the shambolic "A Certain Romance" b/w "Dancing Shoes." They are very much New Britain. Unafraid to have the lyric "cigarette smoke in your eyes/watching a stripper/smacking a bloke tonight/and snorting some coke off her thighs." (Cigarette Smoke). They echo the early rocking working stiff sounds of Blur on "Choo Choo" and "Scummy." Other standout tracks to search for are the herky jerky funk of "Fake Tales Of San Francisco" and the clever "Bigger Boys And Stolen Sweethearts" - "…no intention of a wedding/ he pinched your bird/ and he'll probably kick your head in." These songs are excellent and they're only demos. This band has bags of confidence and the songs to back it up. I expect this band to release a proper album that slays all in its path. --- Leeds 9/11top

ARIEL APARICIO W/ THE HIRED GUNS "Frolic & F***" - Bully Records
Lest you think the stars on the above title were added by us, rest assured that this bit of naughtiness comes from the band. We have no problem saying fuck, as in, this FUCKING sucks! The only redeeming quality is a shout out to Paul Westerberg, John Doe, and Exene in the booklet. Those three would not be jazzed to be lumped in with this, and Westerberg will be especially riled since this band butchers "Unsatisfied" and makes it sound like Bon Jovi wrote it. A lawsuit is in the offing, and maybe a resolution from the UN War Crimes commission. First track is called "Punk Rock Girl" and is supposed to be a Johnny Thunders type of drunken blast but is beat by its own totally bogus vibe. Not punk. Not funny either. Basically this is a record from what I hope is a home-recording project from someone just getting started as a performer. This is a record you make and give to your friends or sell as you play in open air markets. The cover has Ariel shirtless, showing his buff physique and tribal tattoo, and on the back you see his guitar laying on a bed next to a few dried roses, all of which have been hand-tinted like those photos you see of kids in romantic settings. The whole artwork turns my stomach and makes me not want to listen to the music, which isn't very accomplished anyway. There are hundreds of deserving bands out there and I can't waste my time on this. 1/11 Sid Arthur top

APOTHECARY HYMNS 'Half Of What Is Seen' b/w 'The Marigold' - Jugendstil Records
This limited edition 7" single by Brooklyn artist Alex Stimmel is ten minutes of a singer-songwriter who plays a mean acoustic guitar and hews to an eclectic folk tradition. In only two songs, you can hear Robyn Hitchcock and heroin days James Taylor. The b-side is a more straightforward folk number accentuated by Stimmel's confident and tricky guitar pickings and a ¾ tempo that plays almost like an air or waltz. As Apothecary Hymns, Stimmel harkens back to an East Village style of troubadourism that relied on talent without effects and studio gimmickry. The a-side is longer and colored with antique textures like banjo and harmonica, then shifts into garage-distorted feedback, then melts into a flute and strummed guitar Syd Barrett section. AH doesn't fall easily into any categories. I could see a full-length drawing out more of these interesting stylistic shifts (like the a-side) and appealing to fans of contemporary weirdo eclectic artists like the Kill Rock Stars roster and the West Coast folkies like Dearest, Crown. --- Paul Leeds 7/11 top

RACHEL APP "Burstin' EP" - Cats Rock The Boat Records [May 2005]
This shit is downright awkward...As herky-jerky as the music is, the lyrics are straight forward positivity. The 1st cut on the EP, NEW ERA, , Rachel APP's awkward styley is on full display, but dive deeper past The SLITS impression and you are treated to some serious P(positive)M(mental)A(ttitude) (Roundabout Bad Brains shout out...gotta fit those in when ya can get 'em). The 2nd cut on the 16 minute disc is the best, My New Home...Toned down on the Ari Up and focused enough to whistle in time to the flow, which leaves me open to the prospects of building upon Track #2. Tone down the grating quirkiness and I'm in for round two! --- Craig Goossen 3/11 top

THE APPLESEED CAST Lost Songs - Deep Elm
Another stellar record from one of our favorite labels. The Appleseed Cast here presents their version of (take your pick) Dead Letter Office, Demolition, or Found All The Parts. In other words, these are songs they half-finished and have been sitting around waiting for their number to get called. The liner notes mention a revolving door personnel so it's anyone's guess whether these songs were made by the Appleseed Cast you know and love. For the determined fan, it's a must-have. For the casual or new fan, AC have one foot in noise and one in experimental pop. One song on here starts out so catchy and has such an obvious and direct connection, it's amazing it was left off any of AC's normal records. The song, "Peril, Parts 1,2, and 3" is a showcase of singer Chris Crisci's full throated wail and the punchy chops of guitarist Aaron Pillar. As soon as this song settles in and you're ready for the next chorus, bass player Jason Wickersheim leads the song off into experimental territory, breaking it down with only Dave Ott's rhythm grounding the sea of noise to earth. Before you know it, the song has morphed into an epic battle of distortion and rhythm. The band got big notices for their last effort, a double LP of sonic experiments called "Low Level Owl" and this record may provide a breadcrumb trail for figuring out how they got there. Maybe it is because of that record's name, but I hear a melding of Christie Front Drive with Owls in this music. AC stay edgier than either of those bands. There is a fire in them that pours on the urgency in songs like "Novice." The song finishes with riffs from trumpets and vocals echoing against the churning guitars. If you like Jawbox and Unwound, if you like cerebral and serious-minded anthems, with waves of guitar washing over a roiling floor of crashing drums, this is your next purchase. Because this album is a random assortment of tape ends and unfinished sketches it does not hold together the way a standard LP would. The songs were composed at different times with different members, and the songs' connections with each other are not apparent. It's a bunch of pieces, not a full picture. It serves more as a Whitman's Sampler of what this band can do, a teaser, and a promise. --Paul Leeds top

AQUI "The First Trip Out" - Ace Fu Records 2004
This is a pretty amazing and unusual record. It's not one to dance around to or anything like that, it's more of a selection of audio landscapes and strangely jilted atmospheres that intrigue. The shameless love of musical cacophony and trippiness cuts through like a knife and offers no apologies. Most of the songs are bursts of sound and divine noise, hovering in outer space before burning magnificently on re-entry when they fall back towards more familiar musical terrain and kick in with frantic punk energy. They are less songs than movements or audio descriptions of altered emotional states. Lots of ethereal echo effects and distorted tones more commonly found in psychedelic music clash and bump into sped up New Wave riffs and both find themselves uncontrollably guided by bouts of manic guitars and crashing drums. The female singer has a wide range of styles. High pitched and unusual in her delivery, sometimes straying into almost Geddy Lee like stratospheres that are delivered with the same sort of early Space Metal theatrical flair. Then in the next song she'll have almost Lene Lovich or Souixsie Sioux style breathy quirkiness. Then onto screeching like an early 80's angry performance artist turned punk singer. Then like a big haired female Heavy Metal tough chick with a dolphin stuck in her throat. The musical range covered is wide as well, and hearing just one or two songs won't really give you a fair idea of what they're capable of. There are a few more conventional fast screamin' songs but I found myself more interested by the unusual forays on average. Some hit more than others miss of course, but there is no resting on any one focus long enough to really get sick of anything. This is an unfamiliar Frankenstein of a sound, crafted from familiar and assorted unidentified parts, and it is a tall creature indeed. Many times there are moments of sheer noise exploration that could definitely be a turn off to those not willing to put up with a little dissonance in the name of art, but I rather enjoyed it. Sometimes it's a little demanding to listen too, other times it requires some patience, but overall it's enthralling and unique. Definitely interesting and an experiment worthy of study. 8 out of 11. The Swede. top

ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI Fingers Crossed
If there is an argument for p2p filesharing, this is it. I was browsing on someone's computer who seemed to share my musical interest, and I stumbled upon the song "The Owls Go" by AIH. I thought the name warranted more attention, so I downloaded this song. What followed was my new obsession with first finding out more about this band (found their website easily, but couldn't find out about their label until I emailed the band about it), finding the cd in the US (thanks to Amoeba on Sunset), and then just a pure obsession with one of my favorite cds of the year. This album is like a more sparse Belle And Sebastian, with a wide variety of instrumentation; they even provide a key in the cd packaging to let you know which songs use which instrument, which range from thumb piano to bass recorder to Roland jx3p. The songs feature quiet breathy singing, interplaying Cameron Bird and Kellie Sutherland in various arrangements. AIH has just been picked up in the US by Bar None Records, and will be touring the us in the spring. Get on this boat before the other indie kids beat you to it. --- Theominster Crowley 10/11 top

ARMOR FOR SLEEP "What To Do When You Are Dead" - Equal Vision Records [April 05]
For the Equal Vision faithful, Armor For Sleep are going to seem tame, but for the randomly Culture Bunker reader, AFS are an anthemic, melodic rejoinder to the Sunny Day Real Estate school of rock. They've got a single burning up the airwaves, "Car Underwater," which showcases their strength. It's a single with real hooks. This album is more or less a rock opera about some sad sack who offs himself over a failed romance and then pens an album full of self-pitying postcards to his unfaithful belle. Admitted, that ain't much of a selling point. While the songs are still new you will enjoy it more, and some of the more vibrantly naked lyrics will still be background, but eventually lyrics like "I came down here to tell you / it rains in heaven all day long / …I'm miserable up here without you…" will become clear. And then you'll just have to make sure the guys at the tattoo shop don't hear you playing it or they will beat your ass down. This record is a bit more pro-sound than I'm used to but I find myself humming some of the songs. It's undeniably catchy and loaded with killer guitars and Ben Jorgensen has a hall-shaking voice that recalls the muscular intensity of J. Robbins and the temerity of Jim Adkins. Because this album plays in chapters more than songs, some are slow and introspective and some are rousing rockers. Taken as a whole, as it's meant, it's a good sound movie that is vivid enough for you to paint your own scenes. The album artwork is also topnotch, including a secret booklet for the newly dead with hilarious tips like "if detected by small children or animals, tell them you do not exist." Along with the first track, the other terrific cut is "The More You Talk, The Less I Hear." I like this album even though it's super-stereophonic sound and studio muscle make it more mainstream than I usually dig. --- Leeds 7/11top

ASCII DISKO - Metropolis Records
Here's more electrobeat mesmer from the Metropolis compound. Ascii Disko is the one man electro band project of Daniel Holc, formerly of Slown, Venus Vegas and TigerBeat. This serving of acid house techno synth is right for the ecstasy crowd and the Matrix technophiles both. I like electronica and am always ready to hear some new beats and some new approaches. Some songs are in German, other in French. It appeals to that trans European elite that was so wonderfully served by Kraftwerk. The beats often take a back seat to synth melodies, emphasizing melody over percussion. On "Ne Travaillez Jamais" (Never Work), Ascii Disko floats synth leads that Gary Numan would personally bless. One early criticism of this record is that the songs burn up their fuel long before they end. Most of these songs run over five minutes, which is fine for dancefloor drug-induced monotony but wear thin on the home system. "Strassen" (Streets) has a prominent Teutonic vocal and a rudimentary beat. The name of the band might be too much of a giveaway for how the music was created, Ascii being the international system of giving numerical values to the characters on a keyboard, indicating this was all generated on a home computer. The simplistic approach might be part of the charm, as there is a clear intention to recreate sounds from the 80s in these songs. "Cool" uses a vocal effect like Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" but doesn't bring much more to the mix. I feel that in general the songs are too Spartan and sound as if the tracks are missing some instrumentation. There are fun moments ("Einfach"), and parts that you'd love to hear on your next nightclub dancefest, as if these songs are bits to mix in and out of a live set, but this record unfortunately does not gel as an album. Bring it on your next DJ gig, but you're going to want something else when you're back home. --- Paul Leeds 5/11 top

THE ATOMIC MISSILES "Are Real" - Regular Size Monster Records
The Atomic Missiles want you to know that the war is still raging full-on. The war against mediocrity and gutless cookie cutter rock is being waged by Brooklyn's Atomic Missiles, with their arsenal of Flamin Groovies meets Pagans style of unpretty garage rock. Yes, the 'Missiles are real. White noise guitars and stick-to-the-point songs without solos are their strengths. A tendency to slow it down is their Achilles heel. The paced rocker "Warm Bed On A Cold Night" is a sad lover's tale that allows everyone to go refill their beer cups. On the California paeon, "California," singer Sean Korman bellows "it'll be okay in California," in a slightly druggy vocal delivery that suggests the person in question will never actually make it out here. But that's okay because their best song is "Mississippi River," full of shaking amps and speed trial verses. It's short and sweet, like huffing a Pixie Stix up your nose. The Atomic Missiles prefer slowing things down a bit too much. Some cool moments of bass and drum keeping time while the guitar has a smoke break works to give the singer room to create a mood ("Broken"). That song likens the fallen Twin Towers to to the demise of a relationship, a powerful image. Maybe the tone got a little heavy for them so they quickly kick it into higher gear with "(East Coast) Rock And Roll." It's throwing down the gauntlet, challenging, threatening. The A.M.s kick ass when Korman is in high holler mode, Nick Fury is beating crap out of his traps, and Kotar's guitar never slows down while Jasper Sessions' bass gives you something to move your spine to. The slower tunes that have some Galaxie 500 in them ("How Much Do I Adore You?") are not as much fun because they lack conviction, although in a different mood (such as being high) I could see them having more appeal. The flying-eye over a pyramid artwork and cocky bio show a more puckish sense of humor than is in evidence in the songs, as if they're holding back. When they let loose, they're great. Too many slow songs (3 of 8) when their forte is their rougher, looser approach. ---Leeds 7/11 top

AUDIOKARATE 'Lady Melody' - Kung Fu Records
Audiokarate should have been the subject of a bidding war between Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords and all the purveyors of modern angsty punk rock. AK's ear for melodies and their determined gutsy guitar attack call to mind so many favorites without straying too close to any hallowed ground. In other words, they shred their own sound but will appeal to fans of sweeping anthemic guitar music with a heart of pure girlish sentiment. Think of Jawbreaker jamming with The Lawrence Arms. The first three songs alone are worth the pricetag. "Jesus Is Alive And Well (And Living In Mexico)" introduces you to the emotionally eroded voice of Art Barrios, who rides the razor's edge between holding a note and having it shatter into a thousand pieces. AK do the shoe-gazing punk to perfection with their stirring "Hey Maria," belting out "…you're the whore I wanna save from the haze." Okay, so maybe they still subvert the grandeur of the music with lyrical pranks, but the effect still slams you in the gut. From what I've been told, forget their previous record, "Space Camp." It's hard to appreciate when a band progresses and matures beyond their old fanbase. Take this new AK with a fresh slate. They are "pop punk" no more, although you will see them again at the Warped Tour this year. Almost all of these songs have transitioned past the pop punk straightjacket. Perversely the weakest link on this record is the title track. This new batch of songs has a new gravity and a stronger commitment to making borderless music. The same punk energy spills out of the grooves without the shtick and formula. --- Paul Leeds 8/11top

AUDIOSLAVE Audioslave
Born from the ashes of the dynamic Rage against the Machine and grunge icons Soundgarden, Audioslave produce the album we've all been waiting for since the impending break-ups of the respective bands. To the minority of you that don't know the history behind Audioslave, just think one part Soundgarden (Chris Cornell) and three parts Rage (Tom Morello, Tim Commerford & Brad Wilk). Released perfectly in unison with other imperative 90's bands Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters, maybe to cash in on the moment, this record actually packs a punch infrequently heard since the halcyon days of grunge. This is a perfect hard rock record, a record to sink your teeth into and hear the machine gun paced interplay between the band members. Cornell has never sounded better, (with whispers of a throat operation completed to make this record) he is the motor behind this well-oiled and well-travelled wrecking machine of boisterous guitar, and don't forget the rhythm section of Commerford and Wilk that rip roar along like Zack had never left. The first single and telling introduction to a fine hard rock album, 'Cochise' showcases Cornell at his optimum, trading lyrical fire with Morello's disjointed earth shaking axe work. This track shows off the best of both worlds, Cornell's genuinely superb lyrics and the ex-Rage against the Machine boy's hard rocking background. The difference from Rage is obviously the lyrics aren't as politically orientated, which brings for more personally shaped tunes. On certain tracks the band creates master balladry. "Like a stone", "I am the highway" and "The last remaining light" give Cornell's voice box a well- earned rest and to give the other three guys a not often heard lay off from riff rock. On these tracks the guys play it cool but not surprisingly pull it of with ease. "Show me how to live", "Gasoline & future single "What you are" bring out the attributes akin to the old school Soundgarden sound. Another highlight of this album along with Cornell's vocals is the fiery guitar soloing of Morello in such rave-ups as "Shadow on the sun". That along with most tracks incorporates the vintage Rage against the Machine thud that we've come to know and love over the years. It is still to be seen whether this is just another one-off by a supergroup but all indications lead in the positive direction. Audioslave is the missing link between the nu-metal and the classic rock of the early 90's- if only Soundgarden and Rage were still pumping out records, oh well; here we have the next best thingÉ -- ANDREW WATT top

AUTOLUX "Future Perfect" - DMZ Records (Feb 2005)
Autolux is one of those rare finds that makes you happy to live in Los Angeles. A band this cool and this talented surely isn't going to just pop up at the next Echo gig in the support slot. This trio of shoegazing hypnotists are indeed an LA phenom, having been burning up the Silverlake Lounge and all ports east of Highland for many months. Autolux is not going to be a secret for very much longer, a matter of months. This debut album is brimming with everything that has made British indie music great in the last 20 years: sugar-frosted female harmonies, guitar effects that summon UFOs, thomping drums that sound like they're playing in the Grand Canyon, and a sense of style and dynamic that drips with cool. To help you fooligans who can't visualize, imagine Secret Machines rubbing thighs with My Bloody Valentine. Throw Lush in there too, maybe as the massage oil specialist. And SubPop gloomy drug rockers Plexi, add them in too, as the Polaroid photographer. Point is, Autolux has an epic, million dollar sound. "Turnstile Blues" is a massive call-to-arms that leads off the record. Singer Eugene Goreshter peals with the best of em, Kevin Shields lookout. Their album artwork is done in a Pablo Ferra hand-lettered style (think "Dr. Strangelove") and they drop reference to William S. Burroughs ("my ticket, exploded" on "Angry Candy"). This music is all atmosphere and intrigue. Autolux is this year's Interpol, and don't be surprised if they remind the world at large that Los Angeles has an amazing music scene too, nevermind the Brooklyns. --- Leeds 9/11 top

AVAIL Front Porch Stories - Fat Wreck Chords
All hail Avail. They come from Richmond, VA, a product of an area rife with industrialized ugliness, high murder rates, and unemployment. So says the press kit. I always thought Virginia was supposed to be a scenic place. Avail's hardcore crunching befits a town of angst and anger. These guys have been around awhile, always on the periphery of success. This is the era of pretty sissies dressing up in punk trappings but otherwise being Duran Duran. Avail are from the school of ugly punks with an ax to grind. In 1991 they made the daring "Satiate" for Lookout! Records, a blast of hardcore guitars and shouts that would break off into erratic flights of harmony from outta nowhere. Unpredictable. Ten years on, Avail are determined to just kick some tail. Much harder songs, musically snipping riffs and note sustaining flicks you'd hear in metal. But that's also been their strength, forcing punk and metal to knock heads. They break stride on "Subdued & Arrested" giving the kids in the pit a moment to catch their breath. They pull well back from turning in a ballad. Avail let the lyrics dominate the distortion and then on the next song, "Monuments" they are chugging into a old-school hardcore riff/belt like vintage Swiz. Avail maintain their ethic of intelligent hardcore, a good sign following the mediocre "Across The James" record they made last time. The best song is "The Falls", a showcase of all that is rad about Avail: eyes-closed full-throttle vocals, chunky guitars, and a wailing chorus. -- Fang top

AVENGED SEVENFOLD "City Of Evil" - Warner Bros. [June 2005]
Avenged Sevenfold have a large following and I have no idea why. They went from cute goths, like evil Pokemon characters on their debut, sounding like an AFI tribute band, to cribbing from Pantera and possibly taking singing lessons from Mike Patton. While AFI's Davey Havok completed his transformation into Lily Munster, A7X (as they like to be styled) morphed into a metal/Slayer/Hagar/Poison hydra headed beast. They've gotten tattoos, Jack Daniels shirts, and played too much "Doom 3" but they're stuck in the Hell levels. Evil is rad, if it's the "evil" that features chicks with big tits and horns lying on altars waiting to be fucked by pimply tools who would sell their soul to actually touch a real live tit. They are A7X's fanbase. The artwork is cartoony and dopey and so is the music. The "evil" image they're using as their come-on might take a page from Danzig or Sabbath, both of whom can sing and write a cathartic song; A7X need to dig those albums out and actually listen to them this time. Sometimes "scary" singer "M. Shadows" channels Rob Zombie and sometimes Sammy Hagar, usually both in every song. Or maybe there are 3 singers. The first song has a guitar bridge that sounds like the solo in Boston's "Don't Look Back" and the theme to the videogame Galaga - at the same time. Odd, but I don't think they meant it as a curiosity. A7X overplay the shit out of every song: riffs, fills, noodling, vocal treatments, the whole shootin' match. These songs show no knowledge of songwriting, the music never builds or carries tension or conveys emotion. It's everything at once cacophony, like 3 stereos in the same room playing different albums. Guitar work is GIT twin metal leads, remember Judas Priest? Drums, well why have one kickdrum hit when you can have 8, over and over and over? What is this? A7X are now on Warner Bros and probably on Easy Street. Maybe the whole thing is just shtick, but I doubt it: I believe they think this image is cool. Andy Wallace needs to go to mixer jail for working on this record, it sounds like ass: everything is all over the place at once like you're standing in the middle of Guitar Center during "dickhead appreciation day." --- Leeds 2/11 top

AVOID ONE THING s/t - SideOneDummy Records
Upbeat singalong powerchord punk in the vein of Face To Face and Social D. Don't know what's going on with the cover picture: a kid with a dirty face (or is it face paint?) whose left side is blended with a picture of clouds at sunset (or is that rocket contrail or a nuclear bomb blast?) and barbwire crisscrossing through the band's name. These aren't songs about war and dispossessed kids. First song "Yakisoba" is all sugar hooks and melodies. "Every Second Of Every Day", with its "na na na na na" chorus and reverb guitar lead should be on the radio. It's a catchy hit. One also has to point out that guitarist/backing vocalist Amy Griffin is (from the photos) a pretty hot chick: voluptuous, dark haired, tattooed - woohoo! One lyric in particular is epic, "she brought car crashing / back in fashion / and laughed all night with her forehead gashÉ" This record will stoke out any fans of punk rock with huge choruses that sound like a 1000 kids already are singing along. Especially fans of the first Face To Face record will recognize the formula of chugging guitars and little vocal parts that stick in your mind like they've got needles in them. I would pick this band to be moving up to a major label soon, so get in on the ground floor of this one. --Anton top

A WILHELM SCREAM "Ruiner" - Nitro [Sept 2005]
What is it Han Solo says, "I got a bad feeling about this..."? From the bio it states this band are punk, metal and melodic. Honestly, how did and how does this metal beast keep slipping in past the guards? AWS are not as bad as many of the bands who drop similar clues. To be honest, it's not a sound that really works for me, and it doesn't sound shatteringly different from what Coverge were doing 10 years ago, with the random hammer-on notes and speed changes. There's too much going on, as soon as they hit a little patch that sounds good, they quickly alter it to change it up. Like on, "The Pool," a song with momentum and an interesting vocal but then they lay on these weird sounding guitars, like something from Poison.That's my beef with AWS: they have lots of cool little pods in their songs but each song itself suffers from the kitchen-sink mentality, or some just plain bad choices. A good song is "In Vino Veritas II," which has a totally different singing style and approach, sounding more like Minus The Bear than AWS. Easily this is the best song on the record. They aren't trying to jock anyone and you momentarily lose the image of them all jumping up and down onstage in sync to their clever chord changes. I could like this band if they sounded this way more often. Most of what they give instead is forced singing in that nearly shouting, tough guy style, and some busy-ass metal guitars and robotic drums. Other songs I liked were "Speed Of Dark" and "Congratulations," both of which keeps their shit together for the whole song without the guys standing around looking at their watches and thinking, "we played only 2 minutes, what do we do to finish the song? I know, drum fill! Guitar riff!" Not to be too hard on this band, but their style holds little appeal, which is not to say they are bad, because they very often show some cool moves but they lack the desire to reinvent themselves out of this tired genre. ---4/11 Sid Arthurtop

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BAD ASTRONAUT Houston: We Have A Drinking Problem - Honest Don's
Joey Cape was in singer's prison for a long time with his foundation band, Lagwagon. Maybe it was the demands of being in a "pop punk" band or the exigencies of the times, but the formula was too thin for Cape to really get it on with his bad old self. Bad Astronaut is Cape's project for making music outside of the confines of the Warped Tour school of rock. Lagwagon had some great songs scattered over there four or five albums but never came up with anything original enough to make them stand out in their genre. If anything, the band was no match for Cape's vocals, and the heavy metal guitar riffing on verses and drum fills out of 80s hair rock never sounded like a happy home. Cape could sing like Scott Weiland if he wanted to, and that's meant as a compliment. He has the same deep, scarred vocal range but with a sharper edge that was honed over many years belting it out to punk rock crowds. Where the arena stage made Weiland soft, the VFW hall made Cape edgy. The songs are built up as showcases for his singing, although the band features a Santa Barbara all-star cast: Marko (bass) from Sugarcult, Derrick Plourde (drums) from Lagwagon, Thom Flowers (guitars) from The Black Watch and The Woodburning Project, Angus Cooke on cello, Summercamp's Tim Cullen played some guitar, solo chanteuse Kirstin Candy provided backups, as did This Ascension frontgirl Dru Allen. They're as inbred as hillbillies up there in Santa Barbara. Bad Astronaut is avant garde rock. It's what would happen if Radiohead's tour bus crashed into The Sound Of Urchin, then they all decided to huff paint. The songs have the overly-competent sheen of a band playing music to impress other bands. Any tempo change, chord progression, random instrument, whatever, as long as it isn't anticipated. Cape got a bunch of aces together and recorded all the wild and wooly notions that came into their heads. The high caliber playing and the tricky parts that twine together will have bands scratching their goatees and saying, yes, we could have done something like this, and many fans will probably remain oblivious. It's not a radio-friendly sound: these are not hit singles, and this record is meant to be listened to in its entirety. The best songs are the ones displaying the greatest amount of chance and risk-taking, when Cape lets go of the Lagwagon mould and achieves something on a grander scale. It's a reward when strings and looped percussion take over the last half of a song, taking it to the bridge for Cape to come back in and send the song to sleep, as they do on "These Days." It's not uncommon for tempos to switch two or three times in one song, and for a rocking song to suddenly become a "Low"-era Bowie space ballad. That's the hook, line and sinker of Bad Astronaut: they constantly surprise you and treat almost every song as a way to challenge their own preconceptions of what a rock song is. On "If I Had A Son" a straight forward ballad with jangly piano and cello accompaniment, builds into an anthem courtesy of a honey-thick guitar solo and the best vocal dancing from Cape on the record. Then when you expect the song to end it launches into a fast four bars of modern mosh rock, and winds back down with a multi-part harmony. Huh? Like someone throwing an expensive cocktail in your face: it surprises you and when you get a little taste, it makes you want more. --Paul Leeds top

BARS "Introducing…" - Equal Vision Records
I think this record showed up on my doorstep drunk at 6am, with half a pitbull hanging out of its mouth. Bars is a tough band that isn't taking any lip from anyone. More than most of the EVR roster, Bars hew to the hardcore ethic without metal diversions. It's a crunching, sweaty little beast that's been thumping chumps in the pit. On songs like "You Are My Target Audience" you get a lot of muscle, attitude, and chops. Unnecessary frills like solos are dispensed with. It's the meat-n-potatoes tough rock sound. Singer Kevin Baker howls out the words with a crazed venom and only sporadically shifts into a more subtle mode. You will not be able to sing along, your vocal chords will have polyps if you try. Sometimes Bars just want to punish the listener, without offering any mercy in the form of a hook or a melody, as in "Toecutter," which is a painful dirge. The best tune follows this, "The Frequencies Are Fucked," which is loaded full of energy and ready to explode. This will appeal to fans of bands like The Used and The Bronx, although Bars' approach is less fashion conscious. The artwork went a little Spinal Tappy, maybe in parody, maybe not, but it did call to mind Nigel's dour assessment of their new album, "how much more black could it be? None more black." They slapped a red band logo on the jewel case to offset the black on black look. The bio drops comparisons to Black Flag (sorta), Misfits (not at all), Entombed (you be the judge) and Dead Boys (hardly that light). Either way, maybe it gives a clue as to what they're on about, even if you can't hear it. Bars uses shifting chords to convey the momentum of their music where a lot of their contemporaries resort to dual guitar leads. This keeps Bars low to the ground, mean, and ready for a fight. --- Leeds 6/11top

STIV BATORS "Disconnected" - Bomp!
First, this great little disc wouldn't be available if it weren't for the great talent, enthusiam, skill, and intelligence of Bomp's honcho, Greg Shaw. Shaw was a champion of underground and forgotten music, and he passed away last month, a terrible blow to the world of real music. This solo album from the maniac singer of Dead Boys, later of Lords of the New Church. Bators has earned his Hall Of Fame iconic status. The Dead Boys were one of those bands who traded on the grimy back alley smuttiness of punk rock, and Bators himself was no stranger to the sick and twisted, including being given a blowjob during his vocal recording of "Too Much To Dream Last Night," and nights of wild drug excess with then superstars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Stiv was an update on the rock 'n' roll animal image created by Iggy Pop. This solo album was made after Lords but was released posthumously, as Stiv got hit by a car in Paris in 1990 and died from the injuries. The songs on "Disconnected" have the late 70s punk patina of grime but since the times were a-changin,' they also bear the first blooms of the crossover new wave sound. "Evil Boy" has a certain Cars-meets-Gen X texture lead by a sweet then sour vocal by Stiv that takes turns echoing Costello and the snotty Bators of old (think "Sonic Reducer.") While his stint in Lords showed him developing a velvety style, I think his heart was more in the confrontational, puckish side of punk. Here he's got the venom of "I Wanna Forget You (Just The Way You Are)" and "Bad Luck Charm." Back when it was released, "Disconnected" probably was deemed too scruffy for the radio, think of the glossy sound of 1980 (Eagles, anyone?) Now, when fans are eagerly rediscovering this era, with newfound interest in Buzzcocks, Wire, The Vibrators et al, music fans will be able to appreciate these songs that walked the line between punk and new wave. --- Leeds 9/11top

BBQ "Tie Your Noose" - Bomp! [April 2005]
I think it's said best on the CD booklet to one man band Mark Sultan's new release that sounds like it's been dug outta the 50's and dusted off real, real nice! "Dedicated to people who do what they love, no matter what" and on a other note "I hope this fuckin world implodes soon and takes all you competitive back stabbing wannabe rock star poseur fuckheads to a better place. Or maybe you'll all get those major label contracts you've been waiting for and finally stop swing dancing." That being said this music deserves your ears. Nuggets style, garage rock tunes that are tasty, simple gems with a generous dose of grit and a splash of Buddy Holly's ghostly dust. --- Craig Goossen 8/11 top

BEAR VS. SHARK "Terrorhawk" - Equal Vision Records [July 2005]
Of the many gifted and talented and ear-bleeding acts on Equal Vision, Bear vs. Shark is the one that I'm surprised isn't huge. They seem to fit the bill for success: a unique and passionate singer, musicians who play tight, intricate patterns without overstepping into self-indulgence, and an aesthetic borne from hardcore but not pandering to that scene. BVS are more of a missing link between the passion-fueled post punk of bands like Lungfish and The Jesus Lizard and the reinvigorated alt music of today like The Bronx and Cursive. Hopefully they won't hate those reference points, but use them solely to get your bearings, and maybe you can triangulate on their sound. On "Terrorhawk" they provide more of a complete music trip than just a folder full of hardcore songs. It gels as an album better because at moments like the end of "5,6 Kids" singer Marc Paffi breaks into a white soul electric blues tear that becomes an eddy, a moment to absorb. If a BVS were less assured, some engineered might have taken them aside and said, "hey you can't end a song like that!" and we'd be sunk. BVS also know when to crank it up and when to sit back, they know how to build the power of a song so that it demands a chorus shouted with an exploded lung. Take note, all you poseur hardcore assclowns out there! Buy this record and study it. Terrorhawk takes an introspective turn on "What A Horrible Night For A Curse," a moody, muddy waltz. BVS seek to undercut their own sincerity and emotional rawness with a clutch of inappropriate and silly song titles - don't let this fool you. This record is sincere and intelligent. ---Leeds 9/11 top

BEASTIE BOYS "To The 5 Boroughs" - Capitol Records
Running on the strength of the hilarious song and video "Ch-Check It Out," the new B Boys seemed destined to rule. It's good to see the three crown clowns of hiphop back in action. Always a divided band, they play to the hiphop faithful and those, like me, who hate hiphop. I have no use for lyrics like "rock this motherfucker" and "hiphop - ya don't stop" that mimic the braindead busy signals offered as ideas by most hiphop. Sometimes I see it on MTV and it makes me shudder due to the lack of tunes, the redundancy, the crass commercialism, and the karaoke quality of the artists. It's shit. Beastie Boys offer rhymes from MCA that don't seem to be in on the joke, and ones from Ad-Rock that tickle the funnybones while shaking 'em. Mike D and Ad-Rock don't seem to get bogged down in self-righteousness. They hit paydirt with the single "Ch-Check It Out" and the accompanying video shows them laughing it up as magicians, Spock, and old ladies. But you know this, right, that the rest of the record isn't as good? "Triple Trouble," "We Got The," "That's It That's All" are the ones you'd choose if you're iPod was getting full (mine is). Some of the bass is below the floor heavy and sounds rad in the car, but on a recent trip to San Diego I kept punching to the next track. You get the standard MC rivalry of "Crawlspace," a sepia-toned Hallmark card to NY in "An Open Letter To NYC" and a bunch of tracks that lean too heavily on samples for life ("3 The Hard Way", "Hey Fuck You"). "Paul's Boutique" is still their best, and consider this: it was made out here in Silverlake, folks, not in any of the 5 Boroughs. Slap! A couple of my favorite samples come from the Joe Frank radio show and from the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer." Backslaps for these samples but I still wish the record had more creativity. They seem to work really hard on a few tracks and gloss the rest. Lots of filler. --- Leeds 6/11

CRAIG BENNETT Faster Forward - BlackCottage Records
Singer-songwriter Craig Bennett's fourth album, "Faster Forward," is chock-full of jangle pop gems and wry contemplations of life. Bennett's adenoidal croon might remind you of Paul Kelley (The Messengers) or a more accented Nikki Sudden (Jacobites). Bennett is homegrown, hailing from Georgia. Like Kelley and Sudden, Bennett uses an acoustic guitar and a sardonic wit with great aplomb. His sophisticated grown-up pop songs come on with jangle-pop ringing guitars and hooky choruses. The songs are all intimate and suggest the coffeehouse or the living room, instead of the concert hall. If you got invited to a party in the Hollywood Hills and they had a great deck overlooking the city, Craig Bennett would be a good musical accompaniment to the festivities. The songs range from standard acoustic numbers to blues-rock based 4-bar songs, with harmonicas (Isn't She Wonderful?), strange carnival guitars (Film School), and other sonic incongruities that make for a diverse sound. Bennett exists in the same atmosphere as the greats of the semi-ironic, confessional songwriter genre (Harry Nilson), and the horrible mawkish side of it (Shelby Lynne, Sheryl Crow, and those of that ilk). Bennett's songs also sometimes mix elements of greatness and cheese in the same song. A song like "Wedding Dress" is melodically interesting with a Hammond-like organ, but the lyrics about a "girl with a glass eye" make you wonder if he's just mucking about and not taking it seriously. Then again, that playfulness also finds ways to shine and appeal, like in "The Sun… It Shines!" As the record plays on, I keep thinking of Barenaked Ladies and their semi-comic songs, of which Bennett is a blood-relative. "Faster Forward" is one of the more successful songs offered. It's mainly a straightforward pop song with a cool break in the middle punctuated with vibes. Overall, Bennett is an interesting performer. His songs exist outside of any current popular sound; an anachronism of songwriting and pop sensibilities. --- Paul Leeds 7/11 top

BENTON FALLS Guilt Beats Hate - Deep Elm Records
Just because a band switches between heavy guitar riffs to melodic, sweeping, gentle strums doesn't mean it's interesting. It seems that this Santa Rosa trio has taken any and all characteristics of post-punk bands used them however they want. There is no method to their crapness. Their bitterness towards society and anyone who is "fake" is only an attempt to sound "hardcore." Well, anyone who is trying to sound "hardcore" is "fake." Any fight to end problems with society will not be addressed in the slightest after listening to Guilt Beats Hate. All one is left with is a feeling of lost time and déjà vu, because we have all heard this before. --- Evan Rude 3/11 top

BIG COLLAPSE Prototype - The Militia Group
Big Collapse proffer a big rock power chord nu-emo sound that combines deft chord progressions with rock swagger vocals. Their strengths are in the chugging, muted chord growling guitars, and their weaknesses are in their vocal decisions. Musically, Big Collapse combines the styles of current wave of radio rock with a smattering of punk rock. Like Finch, P.O.D., and other nu-rawk bands, they write great foundations of buzzing guitars and pounding drums. But here's where the story ends: the vocal stylings of Joshua Loucka will make it or break it for you. He's sometimes too high up in his vocal registry to mesh with the gritty guitar work, and sometimes the chorus vocals create a sound eerily similar to 80s metal. In other words, you get moments that sound like Sammy Hagar fronting Finch. It's a conscious decision the band made to have vocals that display tightrope walkin' acrobatics instead of keeping it grounded. You can be the judge if that works for you. To my ears, the music is too low end to support these edgeless vocals. Grinding, guttering guitars that suddenly pause so a chorus can hang on a high note - it's a musical style that doesn't work for me. There are some great interludes on this disc. "Deliver Me" is a head-bobbing, foot mover, and at least until the chorus comes in it's a pretty respectable song. Likewise, "Pull Out The Guts" starts off brilliantly, stop/start drums and downstroke guitars. Loucka keeps his vocals down and it fits in great. The backing vocals on this song don't help. The music breakdown in the middle of the song picks up with Loucka's urging and it almost kicks ass. Almost. There's a pre-chorus that halts the momentum dead in its tracks. Each song has some creative and snappy musicianship, but the results never come together into anything besides formulaic, gutless, wank. I really don't like this sound at all. It's not enough to have some cool guitars for 10 seconds and that grimace through the remainder of the song. Not to be harsh on this band, because they seem innocuous enough and are probably nice guys, but I can't listen to this stuff. --- Paul Leeds 3/11 top

THE BLACK JETS "Bleed Me" - (Deadbeat Records)
The Black Jetts are a 4-piece combo hailing from Sin City, Las Vegas. "Bleed Me", their first full-length album was recorded in two sessions on an 8 track recorder and the liner notes wisely inform the listener that all the tracks were recorded raw. The sound quality is appropriately shitty and does lend the material an inherent rock roughness, but on many tracks I found myself distracted by the disparate levels of the tracks. Sometimes a few of the instruments drop down to nearly inaudible levels while (usually) the vocals grind loudly over the top like an uninvited early morning leaf blower. The Black Jetts are good but unfortunately not that great. The first track "Come On" would give you the impression that they're just another one of those punky white soul/R & B outfits mirroring the efforts of other contemporary Soul Punk bands like Flash Express, Delta 72, and The Red Onions. After a little more listening though you realize that the predominant influence would be early Stooges circa "Raw Power". Ron Asheton speed blues guitar riffs dominate the album, and the 6th track "Summer Girls" sounds exactly like the song "Raw Power" in its delivery, complete with practically identical pounding background piano. The lyrics are low-key and fun though and "Cheap Date" is loaded with blues based guitar licks that hearken back to 70's cock rock. You will be exposed to lots of "Oh Yeahs", "Baby"s, "Man"s, "Get Downs", "Alrights", and even the time-honored rock n' roll "Muthafuckah"s too. The vocal tones are trashy and intimate, like they're in the same room as you and not just on tape. The overall crunchiness of their lo-fi recording technique is admirable for its cost efficiency and its purist attempt to capture the "live" feel of the band, but I kept wondering how much better a more polished release might have sounded. Recording and mixing costs big bucks and its always a struggle for smaller bands to pony up the cash, and I tried to keep reminding myself of this while I listened. Unfortunately (all audio geek bullshit aside) the material on the record comes off as too derivative and much too aware of the bands it's referencing to the point of raising suspicion. It's a little too perfect in its audio mimicry and came off sounding like a shtick. Not much coloring outside of the lines going on. The one slower song sounds like something off of "Funhouse" if Iggy had a cold and the singer of the Pagans had to fill in. Don't get me wrong. I love the genre they're plumbing but never got to lose myself in the songs enough to forget the fact that this is definitely a genre band. The guitar licks are smoking but safely familiar and I can't think of a single guitar lick on the album that wasn't cribbed from either the Stooges or the MC5. At points it's every bit as good but never really any better than its root sources. While I suspect that they probably put on a fun live show, all I have to go on is this CD unfortunately. ---The Swede 5/11. top

THE BLACK KEYS The Moan - Alive Records
A 4-song blast from the sultans of raw power blues awaits you. The Black Keys were the toast of the town a year ago and this EP is to get the gums flapping again about the dynamic duo. They're young, white and from Akron, Ohio, so no wonder they sound like grizzled old whisky-soaked Missippians. The fact is, these two can crank out a howling full sound, like starting up the GTO inside the garage. They rework The Stooges' "No Fun" into a traditional blues arrangement and dress it up in brokedown rock rags. Add this to their earlier Beatles cover and you're kind of left hanging because there's nothing resembling those bands in their music. Makes you wonder why they chose those songs. At any rate, BK are a gutsy union of garage heat and fret-worryin' blues. I like 'em because they're a low-voiced thrash version of The White Stripes with a kickass drummer. These new songs pick up where the last record left off. Goes well with wine and beer. --- Paul Leeds 7/11 top

THE BLACK KEYS The Big Come Up - Alive Records
I'm not a fan of the blues. I think it's boring shit, I think the guitar playing is cliched and trite. Imagine my surprise when I listened to this Black Keys disc. It is a great blast of garage feedback guaranteed to change your 'tude on blues. Two white dudes, guitar and drums only, dishing up power trash blues. It's a smokin' rock record. This is land surveyed by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and colonized by The White Stripes. Cool vibe on this disc is that if you didn't know it was new you would think it's some lost garage rock masterpiece. Low fi recording, minimalist drumming, distortion that sounds like they took a fork to their amp membranes. Singer sounds like he's been drinking whiskey and howling about trains, devils, bitches for 40 years, but he looks 20 in the photo. They picked a weird song to cover, The Beatles' "She Said, She Said" although it sounds pretty dope. Instead of the well-known psych ballad, they do a shuffling slapbang rockout. My friend who's a big Beatles fan didn't even recognize the song, although he said it "sounded familiar." That's the way covers should be done, don't just hump the corpse of some old band, take it, ingest it, trip out on it, make it your own. They even cover Junior Kimbrough's "Do The Rump," which sounds like some live to 2-track grind. Never heard the original but this cover smokes too. When you talk about this band people automatically imagine White Stripes. Every kook in America is onto the Stripes now, so the comparisons are gonna fly and there's nothing you can do. Black Keys do not have the pop sweetness nor the guitar chops of Jack and Meg. This is music covered in motor oil, played in the garage or the VFW Hall, it's not pretty and darling, it's unshaven and had too much too drink. -Paul Leeds 7/11 top

THE BLACK LIPS - Bomp! Records
The Black Lips are probably a great party band, for all the great and not so great reasons. Everyone's gonna have Safe and Sane fun, can dance around to it, and half sing along without needing to remember any words. Another way of describing very comfortable terrain with no bumps or surprises, which can make for a rather boring road trip unfortunately. Basically what you have here is a collection of cool covers with other words on top. Unfortunately it's a bit of a problem for this record. Almost every song sounds like something you've heard before. There are some very clear-cut though admirable sources that should be cited (but should they be cited by The Black Lips, I wonder?). The Standelles. Tommy James and the Shondells. Small Faces, early pissed off Kinks. And those are just some of the earlier influences. The first song sounds very much like a twitchier version of the early Iggy "Passenger," which ain't too bad when you consider some of the other shit people are listening to these days. "Ain't No Deal" is a two chord anthem that pretty much mines the same sources as The Strokes, if perhaps a little less ably. The Velvet Underground heroin sound without actually being loaded. A 'Strokes Light' sort of beverage. "Stone Cold" is somewhat affected and Spoooooky late 50s/early 60s garage rock, a theme revisited a few times on this record. If you've ever heard Deadbolt or The Oblivians you probably know what I mean. The fifth track "Fad" is more fun than a lot of the other tracks, because it's played more loosely and emphatically than the others, but still the background vocals occasionally stick out like an anal wart on a sore thumb, a feat not quite achieved unfortunately to the point of distraction. "Cocksucker" actually irritated me pretty bad and really seems to have stemmed from someone in the band getting a new effects pedal and trying to figure it out (hopefully they made progress with it later on). A Word To The Wise: Just because you recorded something doesn't mean it's worth listening to. The mixing and sound quality of the recordings is quite good and definitely traditional. The tones (I hate that word too) are absolutely great on most of the tracks, drawing very specifically on some past classics, and the varieties of styles being appropriated are impressive. It's almost like they grew up with hip older brothers or younger parents that bought them their equipment but never got around to showing them how to play. I must admit these guys have pretty good taste as far as musical role models go and it's highly likely that we could hear some good things in the future from The Black Lips if they'd learn to color outside of the lines a little more. If they're going for sloppy they need to be sloppier (not just shitty). If they want fake emotion, more fake emotion please. If they're going for retro they need to be tighter at imitation, and if they're trying to do anything someone else can give a shit about, they really need to push it a little more. All said and done, there are a few too many tracks that are doing the same job and that same job has been held by many and much more efficient employees. The Black Lips might be just another nameless party band with a name for now, but if that's all you really need then I can highly recommend this album. Every band exists in two dimensions, their recorded work and their live performance. I actually got to see The Black Lips perform at The Silverlake Lounge not long after I penned the review of their CD. While I must stand by my review of the CD, I would feel like a complete ass if I didn't mention how hard they rocked live. They were energetic and loose and really poured it on. While the music is what it is, their live performance was totally punk rock, definitely not "Safe and Sane" as was the impression from the CD. Clearly the live energy was lost in the recording process, which is not an uncommon problem with many bands unfortunately. I wish the CD had made half the impression of seeing them live, but I'm going to have to stick to my guns on that. They are all basically kids (the oldest member being just 21) and they still have all the bright eyed sincere enthusiasm for rock n' roll that many unfortunate bastards tend to outgrow. The end of the performance combined partial nudity, honest to God puking onstage and a dogpile into the front of the crowd. If you notice them coming to your town, I highly recommend that you check them out. Sit in the back if you're a pussy, but by all means go. --- The Swede. 5/11 top

BLACK OX ORKESTAR - Constellation Records
The newest addition to Consellation Records' dysfunctional family is another, you guessed it, Montreal-based group sharing its members with collectives like A Silver Mt. Zion and Sackville. But Black Ox Orkestar is a bold change from the often religiously ambiguous crew at Constellation. Black Ox mixes time-honored Jewish traditions with foot stomping folk jams and jazzy awarenes without a single bit of English. The Yiddish lyrics at first may seem distracting, but in the end, the record is musically sound and engaging. If the meaning behind "Stav Ya Pitu" is half as sad as it sounds, then language is a non-issue. Black Ox proves music is universal with the almost sing-a-long "Toyte Goyes in Shineln." Melody and emotion don't need a translator and neither does Black Ox. But be careful of expecting greatness from this album just because it is a Constellation release ( I joyfully get caught doing that every time they release an album). It is great for its own reasons and may not share its audience with the Godspeeds and Fly Pan Ams. For someone who likes Jewish Folk music, you'll love it. For someone who never knew Jewish Folk music existed, but know your musical elbow from your ass, you'll dig it for sure. --- Evan Rude 8/11 top

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB "Howl" - RCA [Sept 2005]
Get it out of your head that this is some sort of mellow acoustic guitar driven folk twaddle. Yes, it's true, Peter has shelved most of the effects pedals, but this is still BRMC, the band that crawled out of the dark Echo Park night to lay a hand of uber-cool on the tacky LA music scene. Thinking of an acoustic BRMC is like that scene in "Pulp Fiction" where Jules and Vincent show up at the diner in beachwear. Lest we forget, you'd still be deader 'n' fried chicken if you fucked with Jules, and likewise, if you think the fire has gone out of BRMC you are gravely mistaken. Nearest I can explain it would be to imagine BRMC playing a party on short notice and forgetting some of their gear. The title track is as moody and dark as anything from their debut LP, Robert's alien bass taking center stage and driving the song. And when was the last time, before BRMC, that you saw someone be so bad-ass on bass that you wanted to learn to play it? The lack of sonic density is compensated for with tales straight from Johnny Cash's fakebook: the devil, gospel, death, redemption, salvation. Hoary themes that are the lingua franca of black clad rock and roll, death country, and the wellspring of rock, the blues. BRMC tap these roots without losing their claim to be the heirs to the Jesus & Mary Chain throne. "Ain't No Easy Way" is an uptempo blues rocker, almost an homage to the furious slide work of Leadbelly. At the end of the day, this experiment in stripping back the layers of paint to see what the bones look like (home owner jargon) found a real band comfortable with turning off the gear and effects. A song like the dazzling "Promise" would have been buried beneath the black leather, but stripped down here it is...vulnerable and beautiful, and shows a side to Robert that you never have seen before. A lot of these songs still feel the same as their evil forebears and you can almost hear how the guitar would have sounded. Problem for me is that I love that crazy wall of sound they churn out. Fair play to them, they must have been dying to give their eardrums a break. These appear to be good songs but so far the record has not sucked me in the way their first 2 did, although in time I can foresee getting inside these songs. "Howl" is maybe for those days that are just too sunny or for when the party starts a wee bit early, and you might just find yourself in beach attire, but don't for a moment think we've gone soft. Got that, Ringo? ---8/11 Leeds

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB Take Them On, On Your Own - Virgin
The most important band in rock and roll delivers another spellbinding, white hot fistful of songs on their sophomore outing. One thing BRMC doesn't get enough credit for is reinvigorating the mythos of rock and roll. They make rock music seem larger than life, a mysterious and powerful affair. They channel the energy like Jim Morrison did, making you believe, believe, that rock and roll is important. In other words, they ooze coolness and seeing them live (in the words of a friend) "make you want to dress all in black and learn to play guitar." That BRMC demand to be taken on their terms is unquestionable. Their huge success in the UK hasn't changed their general aversion to interviews and self-hype. You can tell they feel tacky and uncomfortable when placed in the 'rock heroes' mould. They seem ill at ease posing for photos or commenting on their success. First and foremost, they just want to shake the walls down with their sound. Lead by a wildly talented bassist, Robert Turner, BRMC thump out their riffs and driving anthems with some of the catchiest and menacing bass riffs, none more clearly evidenced than the new single, "Stop." Turner's partner in crime is Peter Hayes, the wild-haired aloof guitarist who wrings equal parts Ride and Jesus & Mary Chain out of his 6 strings, sometimes bouncing between graceful wavering notes and speaker shredding riffs in the same song. There have been many famous bands with two singers and songwriters, and just as often, those twin pillars fought incessantly, creating not only the dynamic spark but also the fire that lead to the eventual flameout of the band (Paul & John, Mick & Keith, Joe & Mick, Morrissey & Marr etc). In BRMC, Turner and Hayes appear to be wholly allied together against the fickle winds of critical acclaim. Many of their best songs feature one singing the verse and then the chorus sung by the other. "Six Barrel Shotgun" features the two of them both wringing out the lyrics. You never get the feeling that "this is a Robert song" or "that's Peter's spin." Together they are BRMC. "US Government" is a fairly harmless criticism of governmental control but is a banging great rocker. The first BRMC record had more effects and production on the guitars and I would guess that their intention on this effort was to peel back some of the layers and prove they aren't a studio band. Relying on the bass to deliver so much of the melody makes BRMC a bottom heavy band but it also frees up the guitar to leave the melody and punch hell out of the sky whenever it's necessary. Fans of Joy Division will recognize some of this technique. This record has a more immediate and energetic feel, although there are songs with a similar pedal-heavy moodiness like the first album ("And I'm Aching"). The songs have as much dynamic but less murkiness. Sometimes that murkiness was devastating ("Head Up High," "As Sure As The Sun"). It's not the brutal shifting of gears that Jesus & Mary Chain pulled from their first to second albums, thankfully. This second batch of songs shows the band filling in some of the lines they sketched last time without dramatically altering their sound. It hasn't been cleaned up or dumbed down for the masses. Some people just don't fucking get it, but BRMC are the real deal: this is what rock is all about. --- Paul Leeds 9/11 top

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB B.R.M.C. - Virgin Records
This review is way after the fact. Started feeling guilty for not having this up, for not crowing about this band. Feel this completely every weekend I go out and catch so local bands that by rights should have their fingers broken. Los Angeles is still enthralled with generic Guns Ôn' Roses ripoff bands, and bands that think the 80s metal scene was a cool fucking thing. You get to the point where you're ready to just pack it in, afraid no one will ever rock again. Then along comes a band like BRMC. Originally from San Francisco, this trio moved down to our fair city because all those elitists up in the city did not appreciate them. After about a year of playing the Silverlake Lounge, BRMC were the hottest band on the LA circuit. With every reason. If you want your rock and roll dark, brooding, melodic, intense, theatrical, and cool as fuck, BRMC are your band. Both bass player Robert Turner and guitarist Peter Hayes trade off singing lead. Their songs challenge each other. These two play off each other and it's like two amazing bands in one. Okay, enough smoke, you say, what do they sound like? From their vo