EARTHLESS "Sonic Prayer" - Gravity Records [June 2005]
Earthless is a krautrock spaceship by way of San Diego. This release has only two songs, both clock in just under 21 minutes each. Behind the wall of acid rock guitars and hypno drumming is a live jam band. The Germans consider the word "improvisation" to have negative connotations, so think instead of a band that knows where it wants to go but each journey into that interstellar sun is a little different, each has its own unique magic. Despite the songs' girth, they are not simply normal song structures dragged out to triple indulgences; it's not a 3 minute intro and 5 minute break. "Flower Travelin' Man" launches straight into string bending mayhem and ride cymbal shimmering tones. Towards the end the guitars seem to run up against their own momentum, like they caught up with all the energy launched in the first few minutes. The guitar sounds like it's going through a shapeshifting metamorphosis, coming out of each speaker a little differently. There is no pause for breath or reflection. Side 2, "Lost In The Cold Sun," has some half-time drums and a slower, hypnotic, acid drenched guitar, with the bass emphasizing the heavy drums. Again, no vocals, and so your mind is cast adrift on a 21 minute journey to space. About 5 minutes in the music shifts into quickened riffs before freeing the guitar to float like Iron Butterfly. Despite the title, it's not a Pink Floydian type of jam. And although kosmiche musik is no doubt intended, these jams are more mid 70s than late 60s. Hawkwind more than Ash Ra Tempel. Earthless definitely sound like they've had some tabs of inspiration before making this. --- Leeds 6/11 top

EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS - "Home Away EP" - Interscope [May 07]
First thing that jumps out at you from ECC is the way the singer's voice sounds a lot like Matt Bellamy doing his nasal crooner bit. A couple moments on "The Box" sound like ECC is actually trying to do that whole Leon Redbone skronk. Fortunately that sound is not constant throughout and quickly gives way to a more listenable style. I am reminded of the unusual singing of Sam Herlihy (Hope of the States) when I listen to ECC. It takes some getting used to because it's like this guy is trying too hard to hold notes that are not designed for his particular apparatus. The band is a pretty tight outfit and when the songs are faster, the singer has to keep up and can't hang on to those notes. On "Noah" you get mostly a cool uptempo pop song, but a breakdown near the tail lets the singer whine for a good minute or two and that really just tears it. I think this is an intentional pose for the band, they want to have this strange style. Remember Alice 'n Chains, when they had that one hit with the weird vocals? Take that sound and throw it over an indie band. And then take it with you! On another song, "Navy Man," ECC play a fast jangly folk-pop riff that is largely successful. Faster is better, for these guys. I guess every singer wants to have a singular voice that when anyone hears it they can immediately ID the band, but I think the trick is to let this happen naturally and not to shoot for a style no one else uses. --- 4/11 Sid Arthur top

THEO EASTWIND - "The O" - Select Bands Entertainment [July 2006]
The marriage, or civil union in most states, of Seal and Dave Matthews is a strange idea at best. Theo Eastwind is a bit more rock and roll than these two singer/songwriters, but he sings his heart out in a way that makes you wonder where he ends and they begin. I haven't been much of a fan of Dave and Seal hasn't come across my interest-radar since he was singing about kissing some rose from the grave, but Theo Eastwind has restored my faith in the relevance of a Dave Matthews-inspired ballad. Though not everything on this disc is soft and soulful and reeking of the aforementioned musicians. "Ted Mahoney," my favorite on the record, is syncopated and playful and rockin' as hell. Mostly though, Theo's repertoire seems to be of a chill and unassuming nature - not too hard, not too soft, but right at a nice lull. The kind of lull that will calm you after a long and hard day but won't put you to sleep during dinner. Lyrics on this disc aren't too unconventional and, as I've already suggested, neither are most of the songs but there are the beginnings of experimentation going on here. I get the idea that the musician in question is tentatively trying to think outside the box but is still only willing or able to push the sides of it a little. We'll see how far he gets the next time around. ---7/11 Melissa Treolotop

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - "Dancing Horses Live DVD" - MVD Visual [Aug 07]
This concert DVD is recommended for all longtime fans of these chilly Liverpudlian rockers. The setlist is a tour through their bigger sounding music, not quite a "hits tour" but a set chosen to blend the newer songs with the old standards. "Scissors In The Sand" from their recent "Siberia" album slots in next to "The Cutter" and if you hadn't bought "Siberia" you'd think you were hearing a lost b-side contemporary to their 1983 masterpiece "Porcupine." This show was shot in London in 2005 and in visual and audio quality, they've done a great job. Mostly intuitive editing, keeping the focus on the two stars, Mac and Sergeant. They are the only 2 original members, as Pete deFreitas died in a motorbike crash years ago and bassist Les Pattinson moved on some time ago. The fill-in men are young and hip but stay in the background, letting Mac and his floppy hair, sunglasses, and ever-ready cigarette weave a spell of post-punk magic. Highlights include a haunting rendition of "the Disease" followed by "All That Jazz" that reminds one instantly of the greatness the Bunnymen were capable of achieving. It is 25 years on, since a gangly trio debuted at a Liverpool YMCA with a drum machine (the original "Echo"), and so our two heroes are a bit long in the tooth, Mac's 1980's devastating good looks have matured, Will has filled out a bit, but they still sound amazing and deliver the goods. --- Leeds 8/11 top

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN "Siberia" - Cooking Vinyl [Jan 2006]
Don't get me started on how the Bunnymen are the architects of everything that has been interesting in music for the past couple of years. Stop with the Joy Division namechecks, people. Everyone knows it was the mac-clad, flop haired Liverpudlians who took post punk and made it sexy as fuck. There would be no Interpol, Editors, Killers, British Sea Power, Cooper Temple and so on, without these 4. They were cool, they looked great, and played amazing songs. So as a huge fan of their work I am caught between longtime admiration and wanting to tell you the truth. There are plenty of bands that have soldiered on well past their sell-by date, and The Bunnymen were getting fairly wimpy and soft as far back as their eponymously titled 5th album, to say nothing of "Evergreen," "What Are You Going To Do With Your Life," and "Flowers." I would tell you about those albums that there were always 2 songs worth having and a lot of fluff stuck in besides. On the new "Siberia," Mac & Sergeant (and some new Bunnymens) remember what made them great in the first place and at least 3 of these songs deserve to be compared alongside their early 80s heyday. I always preferred the paranoid claustrophobia of "Heaven Up Here" to their warm and fuzzy pop but there is a bit of both here. They've never recreated the awesome balance they hit on "Porcupines" largely because they've been on a trajectory of easy pop ever since. Because the old rhythm section is gone, you can't expect to hear the same brilliant, inventive drumming (this guy is not a patch on Pete DeFreitas), or hypnotic bass lines. Still, "Parthenon Drive" does recall the glory days of "Heads Will Roll." Sometimes there's too much acoustic guitar washing the songs, but underneath Sergeant is still carving up the sky with his surfy psychedelic lines. Mac was always a killer singer when he was slightly fucked up and hollering like an English Jim Morrison, and always a bit full of himself when he indulged his crooner side. This collection generally takes the template they created on the "Bedbugs & Ballyhoo" / "Bring On The Dancing Horses" single and runs with it. The title track is more than a little reminiscent of "Bedbugs." There's a song that echoes "Crocodiles" tighter approach called "Sideways Eight." My only complaint is that the only really outstanding song on "Siberia" is "Scissors In The Sand." This is the only song that has the pace and energy the Bunnymen used to have in such great supply. Check out their live disc to hear how their sets are generally chaotic and brilliant affairs. How come they remember how to really rock on only one song? If your favorite Bunnymen songs were the languid pop songs, you'll be happier than if you were expecting the Jack Daniels-swilling fashion god kicking it out. Even in the weepier songs, Mac still has a great voice and none of these songs show any wear and tear on his pipes, I just want a little more fight in them. Is this album up there with "Heaven Up Here" and "Porcupine"? No of course not, don't be stupid. Those are 2 of my all-time favorite albums and a must-own for any fan of modern music. "Siberia" is not radically different from "Evergreen," except no string arrangements. That record's 3 great songs (Evergreen, Altamont, Empire State Halo) rival this record's 3: (Scissors, Parthenon Drive, Of A Life). The rest is a wash. Still, in 2006, alongside the current crop of bands, it has to be said that if The Bunnymen were debuting on this album, they'd be hailed as geniuses. That they are indeed but I fell in love with their darker side which they no longer really want to acknowledge. --- Leeds 7/11 top

EDITORS "The Back Room" - Kitchenware Records [Jan 2006]
Entry #100 in the "this is the new Interpol" sweepstakes. That is a casual dismissal but also a fairly apt description of what these synth heavy English post-goths are up to. Their current "single" is called Munich, and if you think you heard a new Interpol song with a disco beat and a goosebump inducing synth on the chorus, you've actually heard it. Editors are more listenable than the NY hipsters they are aping. It's sort of like a game of Telephone Line, in that this sound started in Manchester, came to New York, and now is being picked up again in the UK. One of the few things that differentiate these guys is that they have some very new wave sounding parts that wouldn't be out of place on a 90s Cure album. The guitarist in Editors has an ear for riffs that add balance to the slightly adenoidal singer. Lots of delay fx also give a nod to the pioneering genius of The Chameleons. So the long and the short of it is that Editors have a cool, moody sound that is equally influenced by early 80s gloomy post-punk and modern day NYC hipsters. Much, much better than She Wants Revenge, who is also being hyped like the new Interpol these days. --- Leeds 8/11top

EELS Electro-Shock Blues Show - E Records
This is the live document of the "Electro-shock Blues" tour, featuring an orchestra and a number of guest musicians to flesh out the Eels' madness. Includes an early version of "Souljacker Part 2" with different character names. This presentation of the songs which, on record, are extremely morose and often downright morbid, lifts the melancholy shades and lets the blood flow. Eels' singer and songwriter, E, has an elephant of sadness on his back but manages to write songs with beautiful melodies and dark tales of people he loved imploding, exploding, and plain disintegrating. This live disc is culled from shows around the world, proving that kids everywhere love Eels. Like the TV ads, this disc is not available in stores, so head on over to CDBaby to order it. The orchestra parts make the darker songs from this era more listenable so you won't be afraid to listen to this record while cleaning your gun. A must for Eels fans. - Nelson. top

EELS Souljacker - Dreamworks Records
There was a serial killer who claimed to not only kill his victims but to also steal their souls. The media dubbed him the "souljacker" back in the day when the media was all about helping killers get famous. On this record E sings "you can shoot me up full of bullet holes, but the souljacker can't take my soul." It sounds to me like E needs to move out of Echo Park and into a a safer part of town. Maybe that's part of E's psychic makeup: he just always thinks death is around the next corner, impersonal, random, and unavoidable. Maybe he's right. Lest this review make anyone think Eels are more depressing now than they were on the darkly beautiful "Electro Shock Blues" album, the opposite in fact is true. This doesn't mean Eels are done with being morbid and macabre. The title track goes, "...44 skulls buried in the muck, ah yeah" in such a gleeful way you'd think he was singing about having a TV party or something fun. There is a new life in the Eels music these days, quite probably from E's recent marriage. He's been filled with hope and maybe he's just a little bit, dare I say it, happier now. One thing that really comes across live and maybe the average Eels fan doesn't get is how funny E is. He has a dark sense of humor, no doubt, but even from the album cover's image of E looking like the Unabom suspect holding a morose white doggy, you have to laugh. That seems to be the Eels' take on life: even though people do randomly get killed, don't let it get you down. Gallows humor. This album is the fourth studio Eels record, and the seventh record E has made (including two solo albums and a live album). If you liked Eels only a little before, this will make you a true believer. "Fresh Feeling" is a song about pure happiness overwhelming someone despite all the things right in front of their eyes that should be denying it. "birds singing a song / old paint is peeling / this is that fresh / that fresh feeling / words can't be that strong / my heart is reeling / this is that fresh / that fresh feeling." E sends this one out to listener's hearts, wrapping the lyrics in a gentle melody played with cellos over a funky beat. Elsewhere, "Woman Driving Man Sleeping" is a wistful view on a relationship in transit, caught in an ambiguous moment. "Souljacker" brings a lot more energy to the Eels sound. "Dog Faced Boy" and "Souljacker Part 1" are straight forward rocking numbers with guitars (!). "Jungle Telegraph" connects with your snaking spine to get up and unwind. They do this while still being the Eels. It's a progression in their sound. "World Of Shit" could have been hatched during the "Daisies" sessions, and it's lyric of "...in this world of shit / baby you are it" remind you that E is still in control. This album immediately took over my stereo for weeks. It's that good. It is further proof that Eels are one of the most important bands around. If E manages to stay with it, his gifts of melody and verse will be recognized as legendary. As E gets more serious, the music gets better and better. "Souljacker" is the best record of the year so far. --Paul top

THE EIGHTIES MATCHBOX B-LINE DISASTER Horse Of The Dog - No Death Records
Also causing a sensation across the pond with their aggressive sound harkening back to a wilder time, is TEMBD. With songs like "Celebrate Your Mother," "Whack Of Shit," and "Team Meat," you are put on notice that these guys aren't here to sing you to sleep with a pretty tune. This is all chaos and frenzy, power and distortion. Take the insane recklessness of The Birthday Party and the driving power of The Murder City Devils, and you will behold the spectacle of the 'Disaster. Guy McKnight strains full-throated into the microphone with plenty of reverb, an intense, commanding singer. The double guitar windmilling from Andy Huxley and Marc Norris make sure there's never a dull moment. It's raw, blistering and loose. These 10 songs in 25 minutes have real live vibe in them and capture the soul of a dynamic band on the rise. --- Paul Leeds 8/11 top

THE 88 Kind Of Light
I first caught this band at their Temple Bar residency in October, which was one of the best $5 shows I've ever seen. Suited singer/guitarist Keith Slettedahl looks like a handsomer version of Wes Anderson, and can rasp his voice into a salacious Jack White-y croon, or crow like Chris Robinson, depending on the song. Suited bassist Carlos Torres lays down Abbey Road-worthy countermelodies, and suited keyboardist Adam Merrin (aw, hell, they all wear suits) is the band's Chuck Leavell, never stealing the spotlight but adding the honky-tonk and organ funk as necessary. The band plays retro, inviting well-deserved Kinks, Beach Boys, Beatles and even glammer comparisons, but a Radioheadian bent note sneaks its way in edgewise every now and again. They are a great live band. The problem with their CD is, well, it's kinda light. This is a band at the crossroads - they have songs on "The O.C." and NBC's "JAG" (and will no doubt expand beyond acronym-titled shows), and they have influential fans in KCRW"s Nic Harcourt and the late Elliott Smith (whose reverently-covered songs creep up in their sets). The album is soft and mainstream, but not offensively so - "All The Same" and the title track rock in a timeless sort of way, and dig the "Exile on Main St." breakdown at the end of "Melting In The Sun" (better yet, see it live) - but there are some disconcertingly bubblegummy tracks, like "How Can It Be", that remind one of Elton John in the 80's. Still, when you hear it live, it's always on the right side of the fence. Despite the cheese, something compels. The question is, will the 88 be the next Gin Blossoms and perform for millions of nubile, impressionable young girls at the Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards, or the next French Kicks (whose song gave the band its name), and be that kind of band that plays in Rochester 'cuz the bar has a funny name? Their live show is an easy 9, but they need a real producer, sounding like two different bands live and on record. Life is full of difficult decisions. --- Roger That 7/11 top

ELECTRIC SIX Fire - XL Records
Irreverent gay guitar disco, is how I'd tag Electric Six. And funny as hell. In their video for "Danger! High Voltage," singer Dick Valentine wears a codpiece that lights up whenever he thrusts his pelvis and is joined by a female psychiatrist type also gyrating with glowing breasts, and finally a moose or elk joins in the fun and his groin area lights up too. If you don't think that's funny, how about a song called "Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)"? Or the ass-shaking dance rocker, "Gay Bar"? ("I wanna take you to a gay bar, gay bar, gay bar / let's start a war / a nuclear war / at the gay bar...") Electric Six are the newest nightclub sensations to breed rock guitars with the glitz, glamour, sex and cockiness of disco, sort of like Thrill Kill Cult meets The Hellacopters. Or staying within the idiom, it'd be like those two bands sniffing poppers all night and then having a gangbang sponsored by KY Jelly and Absolut Citron. Many of these songs are what you want to hear when you're out partying and just starting to get out of control; Electric Six will push you over the line into party nirvana. 13 of the 14 songs on here were written by Tyler Spencer, so my guess is that "Dick Valentine" and Tyler are one and the same. His Valentine persona is part swank, part sleazy lothario, and very camp. "I'm The Bomb" gets this across in capital letters, "...hey girl, when I'm fucking you / it's like nothing else matters / 3,2,1 I'm the bomb / and I'm ready to go off in your ship..." It's a swinging record, although it is dance music despite the guitars and puckish humor, so be ready to get off your ass when you put this record on. From the album cover picture of a guy in full disco pose engulfed in flames on a lit up disco floor from "Saturday Night Fever, " the game is on. Electric Six have created a camp masterpiece. Fashion show crawlers, diet pill addicts and dance floor commanders need music too, and Electric Six are their champions. ---Paul Leeds 7/11 top

ELEVEN MINUTES AWAY, "Arson Followed Me Home" - Deep Elm [April 05]
At this point, the pop punk/hardcore-metal hybrid has nothing new to introduce to the world of music. The disparate elements of sing-along pop punk and watery hardcore-metal simply do not blend. The better points of this record are nestled in the songs that stick to a more consistent mood. "Purpose is Distraction" is a minute and a half long song with a simple melody and a consistent color that makes it catchier and more concise than the other tracks. There are even what sounds like grade-school recorders piping in the background: a nice touch. The following track "Shall I Happily," sets a mellow mood for half a minute, then pauses, and stumbles in the reverse direction with exaggerated screaming over a bouncy pop punk beat. This on again off again, sing-scream-sing-scream style of hardcore is a vulgar attempt at conveying emotional depth. It is an unimaginative formula that should be put to bed. If you enjoyed Grade's Under the Radar in 1999, and are still interested, six years later, in a diluted version of that record, you will probably enjoy Arson Followed Me Home. ---Brad Amorosino 3/11top

ELF POWER Nothing's Going To Happen - Orange Twin
Elf Power did what every band wants to do: make an entire record of cover songs. Usually when bands try this, like Face To Face, for instance, the product sucks so much it not only makes you hate the cover band but also the originals will forever have an unpleasant to them. Elf Power chose a bunch of covers that you have to be a record collecting geek to even know, and then they push them through their indie/neo-psych/folk blender and they come out?pretty good, actually. The covers include songs by Husker Du, Bad Brains, Gary Numan, Buzzcocks, Thirteenth Floor Elevators' Roky Erickson, Frogs, Sonic Youth, Jesus & Mary Chain, and The Misfits. Their versions of "Why Can't I Touch It" and "Hybrid Moments" are worth the price tag alone. The Husker Du cover, "Never Talking To You Again" adds a bappa-da-bappa drum pattern over the already folksy melody, which I think Bob Mould would have totally dug. Elf Power's own songs are pretty eclectic and catchy, and their treatment of these independent icons doesn't fully show how good they can be. This is a fun record, just to trip out on the familiar melodies and chords. --Paul Leeds top

ELLEGARDEN -"Riot on The Grill" - Denko Secca Records [Oct 06]
I've never heard anything out of Japan sound so commercially "American Alternative" in my life. Ellegarden is the Japanese clone of Blink 182 and Sum 41. You know, those "Name and Number" bands that decided to take the slightly ballsier styles of Pennywise and NOFX and water them down a for commercial appeal. It's uncanny! I could pretty much cut and paste a Blink 182 review into this paragraph and just change the name a couple times and you'll know exactly what to expect from this band. They have the same exact style, whiny lead vocals over polished power pop that start out sort of sappy and then burst into hyper fast drum breaks. The mimicry of style is utterly astounding, and the quality of musicianship and production values are identical in every respect. When they sing in English there's not even a trace of accent. If you like any of the aforementioned bands you'll love this too. How could you not? They're exactly the same. Unfortunately you'll be getting exactly the same product too might have to pay a couple bucks extra because it's an import. And to top it off, you won't be able to understand a couple of the songs unless you speak Japanese. Then again it won't really matter because you can pretty much rest assured that they'll all be about the same thing...some whining complaint about their relationships with their girlfriends or youthful angst. You can rest assured they'll be getting on a Warped tour bill soon and are already selling thousands of product units as we speak. As far as rating this numerically...just plug in whatever number on a scale of 1-11 you'd give any other one of those bubblegum alternative bands. [We'd usually give them a "3" - Ed.] ---The Swedetop

ELLEN DEGENERATE - "Modern Girl" - s/r [Oct 07]
Inside the sleeve is a photo of two gigantic women in lingerie eating McDonald's French fries. Awesome, annoy me straight outta the gate. So you can dig ED's approach: this is in your face, snotty, spit on the crowd punk. They have that caveman punk sound down pretty good, nothing too fancy, just power chord madness. The vocalist tries a bit too hard to "sing" when he should just shout that shit out. You don't have to carry a tune to sing in a punk band, but if you can't do it, don't show us you can't. This record is like those limited pressing punk albums back in the day that were more about having a good time, saying some outrageous shit, and getting some energy down on vinyl because work was beckoning Monday morning. The songs are brief fuck-you's in double time. --- Leeds 5/11 top

EL PRESIDENTE - s/t - One Records Ltd [Nov 06]
El President is your basic a indie/glam/disco/Stones coed 5 piece that will have you thinking second thoughts about laughing off glam in 2006. El Presidente learned (or borrow) from the masters, namely Sweet and T. Rex. By the third cut, "100 mph," you already hear the ghost of Marc Bolan [he's dead? - Ed.] kicking up some good fuss. What keeps El Presidente a hipster band is their blend of Stonesy blues and self-consciously retro grooves. Check out "Turn This Thing Around" to hear the best 70s disco Stones song not written by either the Stones or James Hall. Also full credit for their great album sleeve design and art. They went full color with a massive poster foldout when other bands give you the finger. Not a track on here is a clinker. EP succeeds because they're out there on a different trend and they commit themselves 100% to the cause, with a showy frontman in lapels and mustache. Yes. --- Leeds 8/11top

EMIL - "Songs From The Second Floor" - Royal Army Recording [Sept 2007]
When I opened up the CD case for "Songs From The Second Floor" I instantly thought "What the fuck?" because tucked in the sleeve was a burned piece of folded parchment paper. Upon closer inspection it turned out to have the song titles and album information printed in the center of its hand burned edges. Then I put the CD in the stereo, and I not quite as instantly thought "What the fuck?" again. A weird ominous groaning came out of the speakers, accented by light fluttering sounds, and atmospheric droning accented by whispery vocals and booming gongs. Later songs were a little more traditionally listener friendly but still slightly bizarre too, sort of like a cross between soundtrack or theatre production music, and an orchestra tuning up. Emil employs everything from live string sections and folk instruments, to xylophones, decaying keyboards, and electronic loops to create their strangely epic sound. It's interesting eclectic stuff that doesn't have many imitators in the field. Most of the tracks left me a little sleepy to be honest, but those of you in the market for soothing strangeness will most likely enjoy Emil. 5 on a scale of 1-11. The Swede top

EMO DIARIES 11 - "Taking Back What's Ours" - Deep Elm [Oct 07]
This series has ably spotted some emerging great new bands over the years. It's always a mixed bag on any comp, so let's get to the 3 winners and 3 losers. Winners: This Drama - reminds me of old guy angry emotional hardcore back in the day; The Decoration - not really in this genre but a good lyric, good vocals, and great instrumentation; Young Hearts - I admit I am a sucker for any band that can replicate the great first Jimmy Eat World album; Losers: Hey Lola - American Idol girl vocals don't quite work with this style of music; Knockout Kings - goddamn, another whiny upset boy, we really have heard this already!; I'm Fashion You're Victim - goddamn bro core screamo shit, do these dorks ride their BMXs to band practice? One odd thing is that on this comp, the band names and song titles are virtually indistinguishable, surely a commentary on emo hardcore these days, no? --- Leeds 5/11 top

THE EMO DIARIES 8 My Very Last Breath - Deep Elm Records
Uh, well, sometimes you get compilations that rock your world, and sometimes you get compilations that want to be drink coasters. This is Volume 8 in the Emo Diaries series, so maybe the well is getting a little dry at this point. There are some good tracks on here but you have to really be patient. The comp starts off with the worst song on it, a bleating generic stinker called "Superstud" by the band Kelly8. Female singers have it rough in the rock business, I'll grant you that, but I still want them to come up with something at least listenable. The other really dreadful track on here is by A Season Drive and it reminds you why so many people have jumped on the bash-emo bandwagon. Because a few bands can pull of an emo sound without being sissies or just shameless carbon copies, the term "emo" has been applied too liberally. A Season Drive need to fucking hang it up. The good tracks on this record are one by Sweden's Logh, a moody tune by Slow Coming Day, and an actually surprisingly cool track by The Colour Blue. The Colour Blue win this shootout no problem. The problem with comps is that a band might submit a song in a certain style to fit in, but that song might not be indicative of their actual "sound." I would recommend checking out those three bands, Logh, Slow Coming Day, and The Colour Blue and skipping the rest. Then I would urge people to go out and caution young bands from attempting the emo sound. If you have to cry about your girlfriend, write a journal, not a song. If you're too sensitive for this world, don't put that vibe down in a song. One more Dashboard and the killing spree begins. --Scott. top

EMO IS AWESOME, EMO IS EVIL - Deep Elm
19 songs from the rising stars of the melodic hardcore underground. The best of the Deep Elm roster are represented here, and for a compilation this one has only a few songs that fail to deliver. Featuring some amazing bands like The Appleseed Cast, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Logh, Lewis, Desert City Soundtrack, and Red Animal War, this compilation is an excellent introduction to some of the best independent music in the country. The term "emo" gets slapped on anything too slow to avoid getting tagged these days. I've heard people call Weezer and Death Cab For Cutie "emo." You repeat nonsense long enough and eventually it becomes reality. This music is nothing like those bands. Most of this stuff is intelligent, poetic noise that sounds like music for other planets. It comes from the anger and energy of punk rock but has evolved and taken a good look around, decided shouting "question authority" is a little outdated, and instead decided to question questioning. This music occupies the frontal lobes, the thinking centers of the brain, and the body feels the drums and banshee guitars kicking out in adrenalin overdrive. Most of these songs here are harder edged than any of the bands in rotation on M2 or Fuse as being "punk" bands. A couple, like Sweden's Logh, are right up there alongside Sigur Ros for providing after hours astral plane music. Deep Elm has reason to be proud of its commitment to emo because the strain they sell is a purer, more virulent, more dangerous strain than any of the other slow clowns being labeled "emo." --- Paul Leeds 8/11 top

JEREMY ENIGK - "The World Waits" - [Feb 07]
The amazing voice of Sunny Day Real Estate returns with his second solo album. Unlike "The Frog Prince," the new album does not feel like an extended rumination on why he had to leave SDRE and the sorrow that went with his decision to drop out of rock. It's obvious that whatever rhythm section Enigk employs on anything non-SDRE will not be as mesmerizing, but the players on this album manage to acquit themselves nicely. Taking front and center stage is Jeremy Enigk's incredible voice. He appears in a multitude of guises, one moment a sandblasted falsetto plays a pretty and gentle song of life (River To Sea), the next, his voice is operatic and spilling over with that SDRE wail of emotion (Damien Dreams). This album has a lot of space and roominess on it, where the instruments back off and Enigk spins a tale by weaving his tremendous voice into the empty spaces until the track is bursting. Throughout his career, Enigk has sought to bring songs with poetic import and dramatic impact, and "The World Waits" is another step down this path. If there are points to be deducted, it would start with the overall sonic timbre of this album being too ethereal. I love hearing Enigk sing, but I also love it when his voice is paired with a band that matches his intensity. Here, there are an awful lot of parts played on piano and acoustic guitars. I know that Enigk means what he plays, and he is a consummate artist. I know I will enjoy this record when I put it on, but I will be far more likely to grab a SDRE album instead. --- Leeds 8/11 top

ENON The Nightmare of Atomic Men b/w Pollen Lane - Sub Pop
Enon straddle the fence between lo-fi noise and electronic art rock. "Nightmare" is a throwback to muscle-cramped new wave like Wall of Voodoo (before their hit) used to make, or that Clinic is making now, with jerky timings and strange synthesizers. "Pollen Lane" is like a long-lost Pavement song from "Crooked Rain". So Enon are either showing us two sides or they are a band that with each song redefines their sound. It's hard to judge from two songs, especially these two which sound like different bands recorded them. Of the two sides, side A proves to be the more interesting, despite retro touches. Neither song will have you going back to wear the grooves out, but both songs hold promise. We'll see what their LP is all about. --Will top

EPOXIES "Stop The Future" - Fat Wreck Chords [May 2005]
Here is a band having fun playing a self-consciously retro new wave music that seeks to hit all the synth-heavy speed freak highs you can cram into a 3 minute song. Double time drumming, sci-fi synths, nerd-noodling guitars, and a singer with enough chutzpah to steal from Debbie Harry and Terri Nunn. Epoxies should have been around in 1983 and played alongside Devo. They have the same manic energy but solid pop hooks bubbling through each track. "Synthesized" and "This Day" sound like the cool new music the kids were dancing to in "Sixteen Candles." Roxy Epoxy has a great voice and I'd like to check them live because it looks like they've also got the whole vibe of the band sorted out, wearing sci-fi space outfits, and they hopefully play it up on stage. Good high energy music. This is recommended for fans of fast, skintight new wave. --- Leeds 7/11top

ESCAPE GRACE EP - City Of Hell Records
This sound comes in three colors: black, grey, and grey-black. It's all low-end mastery and thudding bass notes, like Queens Of The Stoneage at midnight in a swamp. The riffs are quick and snappy on "Day Of The Triffids," (a movie about monster plants that take over the world). The gas flavored screams sit above the sonic mosh pit and the resulting balance rises above the majority of bands aiming for this sound. EG then take a step to the left (Your Yellow Hammer) and a step to the right ( Goodbye, Hy Vanessa) so you're not sure what they're up to. The first of those is a fairly common new school hardcore song with Iron Maiden licks, and the second starts out aching in the sunlight before someone slams an iron mask on the kid's face and drags him into the dungeon. Their music is evocative and I can't help it if I think in bad horror film terms, this music does not call to mind anything else. The next song thunders across the plains like a vengeance-seeking warrior, so good thing it's called "In Rides The White Knight." The music sounds like divebombers and hoofbeats carving up some alien terrain. Maybe an EP is best for this band because they didn't overstay their welcome, and in only 5 songs they showed some range and diversity. Mostly it is semi-metal riffs rejuvenated with some crazed screaming. They add enough other things into the sound to keep it lively and interesting, but please just a little more, and it would have been great. Lighten up just a little before breaking the vocal chords on a scream. Give the music a few more shades to operate in. My two cents of advice for EG would be to take a couple songs and sing them differently, just to see if that creates another level to their sound. They really get close to it on "Phoenix" and get close to really shredding. My fucking copy of this record skips, too, so the end of every song was a custom remix everytime I spun it. ---Leeds 7/11 top

ESKIMO JOE - "Black Fingernails Red Wine" - Warner Music Australia [Oct 07]
This Australian trio is trying to break America by playing the same pop rock that put Coldplay on the map. It seems a little late. EJ has some more rock 'n' roll going on than Coldplay, and a song like "Sarah" shows a better side to them - punchier guitars and drums and singalong chorus. My guess is that on earlier albums they were more of a rock band and now on this one they have toned it all down in order to broaden their fanbase. Somehow they remind me of 80s pop band Red Rockers. The DVD part of this package has 4 videos that show the band looking good, bloated, tired; you learn they drive on the wrong side of the road, know a hot blonde with great blue eyes, the guitarist looks like Ringo and runs like a girl, and that the singer should never go swimming in the ocean at night. For fans of modern pop with an Aussie twist, that's neither too indie nor overly commercial. --- Leeds 6/11 top

EULOGIES - "Eulogies" - Danger Bird [Oct 07]
Eulogies has basically everything you want in a self-respecting down-tempo indie rock band. The singer has a great voice with some range (but doesn't oversell it) and the band moves easily from dazzling to sitting back and allowing the songs to flow. Check out "Under The Knife," a great piece of catchy indie pop. Eulogies's sound is bracketed by the well-crafted and somber rock of Earlimart and the sonic flawlessness of Midlake. Their music is melancholic and moody, with memorable melodies and a surefootedness that allows you to embrace the sound. I like that they have different tempos and songs that feel distinct without sounding like it's a different band. Check out "Little Davie" for a beautiful ballad that sounds like David Bowie wrote it for them. --- Leeds 9/11 top

EURYTHMICS "Ultimate Collection" - Arista [Nov 2005]
Anytime the word "ultimate" is used, it should call up Spiccoli saying "my dad's a TV repairman, he's got an ultimate set of tools" or you have no soul. Eurythmics, however, have soul, too much soul. Plastic soul, even. I've never heard the 3 albums they made as The Tourists, but the first 2 Eurythmics albums were part of the New Wave movement that challenged macho rock and roll: can anyone forget Annie Lennox in her business suit and bright orange buzzcut? Wow, androgyny was daring way back in 1983, Marilyn Manson can suck it. How could anyone also not know their monster hits, which even to this day have appeal? Checking out this career spanning collection, I was reminded how many of their later "hits" were rubbish and ridiculous. It's easy to chart their course from brilliance to wannabe soul blandness and burnout phase R&B, with Dave Stewart's synths getting bigger and dumber and lamer with each album and Lennox's fascination with Aretha Franklin reaching embarassing heights. Once they were out of their new wave phase, they essentially became music for hairdressers. Although they can claim at least 2 classics, "Sweet Dreams" and "Here Comes The Rain Again," most of these songs suck. Nothing is on here from their 1st album, In The Garden, either, which would have reminded the world they had an artsy side before all the R&B jive. I lay the blame at Stewart's feet. Lennox and her beautiful eyes and voice is far superior to his bargain-basement tracks he gave her. ---Leeds 3/11 top

THE EXETER POPES - "Snow Moutain, Geisha" - White Shoe Records [May 07]
5 more songs from the Brooklyn Britpop outfit Exeter Popes. This time around, Stephen Lipuma has assembled a full band, featuring Michael Figgiani, Becky Cousins and Greg Hoy. I can't tell if the bio is joking but I assume it is, when it mentions Cousins being "...fresh off a hippie commune." This ain't hippie music. Since I reviewed the previous Exeter Popes EP, I'm doing this one too. On the new album, the band is heading deeper into Creation Records territory, the vocals becoming more open and emotive, the playing even lighter. On the excellent "Bristol Takes Arms" I hear a low energy, gentle version of Biff Bang Pow and Belle & Sebastian. The differences being that EP use a strummed, echoing guitar sound instead of intense picking, but you could still definitely say they are cousins in sound. (sorry Becky, had to do it.) Lipuma has seemingly been studying up on all those rain-soaked Creation-ists, because he even seems to be using a disaffected English accent, on "Bombs...Bombs...Bombs." Another reason these 5 songs hold up well is because the bio mentions that over a dozen songs were recorded and were winnowed down. Too often a band decides to just throw it all out there and you end up with a mix of good and bad. "Snow Mountain, Geisha" plays like side one of a great mid 80s rainy afternoon band from Northern England. --- 8/11 Leeds top

THE EXETER POPES "EP" - White Shoe Records [June 2006]
With one EP of home recordings, The Exeter Popes already have my attention. On these 3 songs they fill in the gaps between jangle pop and British invasion. "Temporary Skin" has a slowed down appeal that reminds me of Biff Bang Pow and Jacobites. Stephen Lipuma sings with the nonchalance of many Britpop stars of yesterday but I hear some Ian Brown (think of "Sugar Spun Sister.") These 3 songs are slight, they don't push the capabilities of the home recording environment (simple drums, basic tracking etc) but they serve their purpose in that it's easy to hear that Lipuma has a good ear for melody and an interesting voice. ---Leeds 7/11 top

EXHAUST Enregistreur - Constellation Records
This is a bass-drum-and tape trio from Montreal who've been around since the mid-90s. An album of down-tempo tape experiments and studio exploration, Enregistreur is a soundtrack for the sleepless night in the city. Fans of God Speed You Black Emperor, Autechre, and Aphex Twin, this is your bag. When people walk by as you're listening to this, you might need to say, "it's supposed to sound like that." Then explain it's a minimalist collage. They will leave you alone. Some of the soundscapes on here are not quite songs, not quite samples, and not quite effects. It is a hallucinatory and phantasmic concoction of mood, texture and tone that speaks in emotions instead of words. Exhaust skip over the endless loopy shit that many electronic bands make and instead their hypno-trance music is generated live and organic; almost a krautrock sound but played by French-Canadians. This music doesn't fit into the traditional forms, rather it steers into territory that is not easy to define, a place where you have to allow other parts of your brain to register this music. An artful, strange album. -Chris top

THE EXIT "Home For An Island" - Wind-Up Records [Nov 2005]
The Exit's first record was a great pop record with a hard-on for classic Police. It was between them and Maxeen over who could reanimate that sound best. Here on their follow up, The Exit have left their obvious influences at the door. With 2 singers, they exploit the duelling-songwriter approach to create 2 bands under one banner. Ben's songs (he's rocking the Hendrix look) are more energetic and give drummer Gunnar the space to kick out some Keith Moon kinesis. Jeff's songs (he looks like Billy Bragg) are layered with effects and introspection. Both are writing denser and more cerebral songs this time, their competitiveness providing grist for the mill. You can't have two Lennons in one band, or two Bob Moulds: you need contrast and tension. This dynamic gives some extra depth to the record. Lead single "Don't Push" is a bass-led testament to the new power in their writing. The vocals are hungry and inviting, riding on the gas of the song like Thom Yorke telling you about aliens. When a band gets too comfortable or proficient at their instruments there's danger of turning into prog-rock, and on "Let's Go To Haiti", The Exit show you they can play two-fingered bar chords and kick out the jams. They're also willing to let the songs breathe, with spare guitars and empty spaces around the vocals. There's a lot more confidence about the songs and for the most part this is justified because they've just gotten better and are taking more risks. On "The Sun Will Rise In Queens" they offer a stomper that is equal parts 60s glory and modern pop showmanship, think Small Faces jamming with Supergrass. There is a whiff of "Zenyatta Mondatta" on "So Leave Then," so fans of the Police-y sound won't be disappointed. Still, side one seems to have the better songs, and side two takes a few hits with some kinda dead songs, like the ballad "Soldier" which tries for a Dylan "Blonde On Blonde" tip but falls a bit short. "Warm Summer Days" has provocative lyrics but gets a bit lost in some production morass in the middle part of the song. Still, there are some great songs here. This album is not their swansong just yet: I wish their b-material was as strong as their a-material. ---Leeds 8/11 top

THE EXIT New Beat - Some Records [2003]
I was very stoked to get this record in the mail. It doesn't get released until next month so that's always nice to be included before the media blitz starts on any band. The Exit are a band I heard earlier this year from Marko in Sugarcult. The whole Sugarcult band are big fans of The Exit. The photocopy artwork on the sleeve is a good simple graphic. Understated. Good so far. The first thing you will notice is that the guitars are not all cranked to 11 with distortion pedals blowing holes through your eardrums. These guitars use delay and chorus for a sound that hovers between The Police and Jimmy Eat World, although some moments recall Crumb. Like the album title sez, this is a new beat. This is not punk rock and they are trying to tell you this, at the outset. The Exit are one of the new crop of bands that have moved on from the 1980 punk rock world and are zeroing in on the first wave of postpunk English bands. This record makes one hopeful that new bands are emerging with the correct influences. You can bet The Exit don't listen to New Found Glory, for instance. I would bet that the cd's in regular rotation around their house are The Chameleons, Echo & The Bunnymen, and Elvis Costello. This is musically articulate music for more demanding listeners, which means if you're tired of the same old "new school" bullshit and you're ready to move on, this is a good buy. Demo the songs "Still Waiting" and "Find Me" to get a feel for their sound. "Still Waiting" sounds like a radio hit, so be prepared. --Paul.top

THE EXPLODING HEARTS "Guitar Romantic" - Dirtnap [Jan 2006]
People are still surprised when they hear this band and find out they are not part of the original Class of '77 punk rock scene. Musically and stylistically you can lump them in with greats like Buzzcocks, every Mick Jones Clash song, The Undertones, and The Heartbreakers - but they are (or were) men out of time, rocking Portland, Oregon in 2003. I'm late on the scene very often, and had this record without knowing that 3 of the 4 members were killed when their van rolled on tour. It felt so after the fact to tell everyone how great they were but I'm tired of listening to stacks of shitty records from kids made in their mom's basement and want to just give a massive shout out to The Exploding Hearts. This is great rock and roll. This is classic punk. Melodic and fun and catchy. These songs make great additions to any comp you're making because people guess all sorts of authors before you lay it on them that this was a west coast band on the verge of breaking America. Sad tale of rock and roll but at least we have this fantastic disc and we can thank them for 30 minutes of great music. --- Leeds 10/11 top

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place - Temporary Residence [March 04]
Explosions In The Sky is not a "post-rock" band. All the elements of being a post-rock band exist, but to call them that almost seems like an insult. If you have gotten a chance to catch an Explosions In The Sky show then you know that there is not much else out there that is in fact as "rock" as these four kids from Austin, TX. To say that this band is cathartic is also an understatement. Explosions In The Sky is a full out assault on all levels of aesthetic enjoyment, lulling you in with soft melodies and hushed percussion, and then when you least expect it turning the amps to 11 and then gleefully handing your ass back to you. EITS's The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, is the bands second proper release on Temporary Residence, and from the sound of things the bar has certainly been raised. The album begins with "First Breath After a Coma," which starts off with a simple guitar melody that imitates a heart monitors steady beep. The heartbeat is then mimicked by a bass drum and then as music seeps in from all sides it is like life being breathed back into a near lifeless body. Whereas, the tone of their previous album, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live For Ever was decidedly morose and contemplative, right off the bat it is obvious that the underlying theme of this album is renewal and hope. This also places a wedge in between Explosions, and their supposed "post-rock" brethren Godspeed You! Black Emperor, whose themes center primarily on the apocalyptic. It's not as if there aren't morose moments on this album. Track 3, "Six Days at The Bottom of The Ocean" is a portrayal of the ill-fated Kursk, the Russian nuclear submarine that sank, killing all aboard. Because of the lack of lyrics, pointing to an intended "meaning" of a song, one is allowed to explore the premise of the track without preconceived notions or biases. One can almost imagine that as the music builds and swells on this track that it is the national pride of the Russian sailors renewing itself as they boldly decide to face death together. Either way, it is left up to the listener to fill in the blanks for themselves. The momentous climax of this album occurs on the next track, "Memorial." Starting off subdued and quiet, this song moves along initially at a slow pace. The track builds itself up, and then burns itself down, possibly reflecting the artwork on the cover of album of trees burning down and rising from the ashes. Finally the song reaches its momentous finale with all four members of the band absolutely wailing on their respective instruments. It becomes hard to believe that such a powerful sound can come from a simple four piece. EITS will forever be linked to the likes of Godspeed and Mogwai, but in many ways will always be the odd man out. In the end, defining a band under a certain genre is really just an annoying thing that music critics do to have some frame of reference to speak from. With The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place the band proves that whether or not you feel the need to place a genre on this band, they have enough visceral power to not only be considered a rock band, but one of the best. --- Rocky Ramirez 9/11 top

EXTERNAL MENACE - "The Process of Elimination" - Doctor Strange Records, 2004.
Punk Rock purists will enjoy this re-release from 1997. The typical bad luck and bullshit prevented the band from releasing any material in full-length album form until this record although they'd been writing material as early as 1979, and the story behind External Menace's temporary disappearance for a few years is absolutely tragic (one of the members was beaten nearly to death by baseball bat wielding Dutch soccer hooligans and took a long time to recuperate. That counts as a setback I'd say). There are some other distinctive elements to External Menace that deserve notation: 1. Cool samples from movies and other assorted media. 2. Distinctive far above average bass. A little tinnier and more distinct tone than a lot of other early Britpunk bass, with forays into a slap style of playing that manages to remain more punk than funk. 3. Elements of Reggae and Ska . Fans of the Clash will definitely enjoy like this rougher edged interpretation, and several of the tracks sound like unreleased Clash songs, although the vocal styles owe more to Strummer than Jones and they're Scottish, not English. A nod to Stiff Little Fingers is also in order on the harder edged stuff. 4. Lyrics of political unrest, which seem to have thinned out greatly amongst most modern punk bands or have been reduced to such vague utterances regarding "The System" or "The Government" they become impotent and self-congratulatory. The optimism of attempting to use the genre of punk rock to intelligently address issues or vent dissatisfaction at the sorry state of current affairs was one of the aspects of the movement that lent it credibility outside of the music alone. Healthy doses of profanity on this record were also a plus in my book because I've always liked songs I can cuss along to. External Menace is revving up for their first live tour of the United States coinciding with this new Doctor Strange release, and would probably be a good thing for older and younger classic punk enthusiasts to see. God knows they deserve something for plugging away this long and were actually there at ground zero when the British punk explosion came into being. ---The Swede. 8/11top

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THE FACTORY INCIDENT "Red Tape" - [Oct 2005]
Much respect to front man John Schroeder! The man behind the very underrated D.C hardcore outfit Government Issue and leader of this 5 piece rock band. While the songs on the this 6 track release, recorded at the now legendary Inner Ear studios, are very good, it leaves me wanting to dip deeper into the GI back catalogue than it does absorbing this interesting, but not thrilling release. ---Craig Goossen 7/11 top

THE FALL "The Real New Fall LP" - Narnack Records
Convoluted pedigree on this release: originally called "Country On The Click" and put out on another label in the UK after some twat leaked the recordings on the 'net - you know, took all the band's hard work and gave it away free before they were finished. The songs evidently were gussied up with some big wack production and the album was DOA. Mark E. Smith, the cult leader of The Fall, was never happy with the sound and so took the masters back and remade the album, et voila! On the Narnack release, the big production is vamoosed and in its place is the comfortably familiar Fall sound full of disjointed and almost danceable tunes with Smith's intoned Lou Reed burr. The Fall has made about a million albums and were around when dinosaurs roamed the earth. They're spoken of in hushed reverent tones by nearly everyone involved with the original flowering (or deflowering?) of British music following the punk rock explosion. Eveyone loves 'em and everyone cites them as influences. Their peers include the usual suspects: Wire, Teardrop Explodes, Josef K, Killing Joke, Buzzcocks, XTC and so on. I've got only a few Fall albums and while I am not going to end up hunting down the ones I don't own, I strongly urge you to at least get one Fall record, and starting here is as good a place as any. They've always been a bit prickly and dark, droning, mechanistic, and enamored of literary allusions. They occupy a similar role in UK music as Sonic Youth occupies here: brilliant elder statesfolk (The Fall also had a lush female, the ex-Mrs Smith, Brix) who constantly challenged the music norm with their artsy forays into the unknown, winning a cult following, critical raves, and tepid record sales. Fall circa 2004 are in fine form. In "Sparta #2" they spew vitriolic chants like they just fell out of 1979. "Contraflow" is a buzzing, murky, complicated song that chimes along on twin guitars and Smith's disdainful vocals. It's as vividly "English" as The Streets, idiosyncratic and poetic. Wide variations in songs make this a full listening experience. The subtle "Janet Vs. Johnny" paired with the mod guitar of "Boxoctosis" is one example. It shows a band (or at least Smith) still brimming with ideas, still viable after 27 years in the game, hats off! If you're new to the Fall fold, this new disc backhands the modern competition and will slide in nicely next to your Franz Ferdinand collection. --- 8/11 Leeds top

FALL OF SNOW "Okay" - FOS Records [Jan 2006]
This Los Angeles band is led by the honey-voiced honey Stephanie Casey, whose broken heart bleeds all over this debut album. Her musical styles encompass the tender and melodic stylings of Amie Mann with the orchestrated bliss and glissander of British pop in the style of Badly Drawn Boy. Casey's sad chanteuse persona treads the emotional wreckage terrain that was so deftly explored on Tori Amos' first album and so quickly abandoned for schmaltz thereafter. "Daddy's girl, lost in the crowd, on hands and knees, already down, can't stand to be adored, there's nothing else..." she breathes on "Not A Word," one of the more delicate and impassioned songs. It seems we've reached brenschluss in the world of dating, where the happy swinging singles of MTV shows are revealed the next day as melancholic suicides. Casey's world is filigree and shadow, wintery air and cigarette smoke curling like a cat around her feet. The piano touches and haunting background vocals make this a standout cut. Casey warned me that the first cut is "rather girly" and it is, but that's not to say it's for girls only. There is something admirable when an artist chooses to document something fairly painful on record, because every night they sing the song, that person who scored a point on them is continuing to exert dominance over them. So for boys you have Henry Rollins' version of getting the demons out, and for sensitive women, you get Amos, Mann and Casey. My two favorite songs on here are "Lullaby," which indeed begins as a gentle nursery song and then gets up on its hind legs and starts knocking down book cases, and "Missing" in which Casey does a spot-on Mazzy Star vocal performance. There is some excellent rumbling guitar work and what sounds like timpanis or something heavy on the drum track. The contrast between light and heavy, floating and earthbound, makes this song shine. The initial pressing of this album features a handsewn and numbered silkscreen sleeve, and the band's gigs and merch can be found through MySpace, as any self-respecting young music turk should know by now. ---Leeds 8/11top

FALL RIVER "Lights Out" - Thorp Records [March 2006]
Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally, a female hardcore vocalist. Speaking as a humble reviewer, and one that is of the same gender I might add, I am so proud of Alison Bellavance for breaching the barrier of this male-dominated world and for doing it rather successfully. The "woman scorned" theme of some of the songs comes across loud and clear with the angry growls and guttural screams that are trademarks of Bellavance's vocal repertoire. But what I like even more than the chilling oral portion of this disc is the music, which is some of the most compelling hardcore instrumentation I've heard. Ever. The songs are dynamic and seem to be inspired by a panoply of musical genres: Metal, punk and the early 90s grunge sound of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. Track #4, "If We Knew Then What We Know Now," is my favorite. It starts out fast-paced and heavy, then transitions into a bit of pop-punk rock for the duration of a single line, "In our mind we hold the knife poised just above our own hearts." This line is played with for a few moments, and then we're back to heavy, electric guitar chaos. I also liked "Dead Ends and U-Turns" (Track 8), which breaks the hardcore intensity down to some much needed mental R & R (well, if you count rest and relaxation as being the result of a slower song with a vocalist that is screaming her head off). This album is quite impressive and I end this review with a single word of warning to all male hardcore bands of the world: Beware. ---8/11 Melissa Treolo top

THE FAMOUS "Light, Sweet Crude" - Leading Brand Records [April 2005]
Whiskey soaked American Music that's tight and varied. The CD kicks off in supreme fashion with a grinding groover in Son Of The Snake, than gets even better with a rootsy raver that's sure to stick squarely inside your head with It's Done. Tear takes the disc in a more straight country-fied direction that's (heart) felt through much of Light, Sweet Crude. There are about 6 songs on this debut disc that are very good, well written and impassioned performances that point to a very bright future. ---Craig Goossen 7/11 top

THE FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS Bomp!
Firstly, I must admit a secret prejudice I have for this band. I assume their name was coined in homage of one of the greatest and most ridiculous of all martial arts cinematic achievements, "Master of the Flying Guillotine" (okay, I'm a fucking loser. Sue me. You're still missing out). In that film, the main character firmly straddles a Nietzsche like position beyond good and evil or maybe both at the same time, not really sympathetic or heroic and at times downright villainous, all the while beheading people with a nefarious razor rimmed object that resembles a Frisbee yo-yo on a chain. This review is not about that however, starting now. All I know is this: The Fatal Flying Guillotines happily wallow in the same rough cutting edges as the character in the film. Their shit is not about technical musicianship or technical dexterity, just a Bacchanalian celebration of fun trashy rock. The guitars are gritty and positively haphazard (I mean that in a positive way) and the vocals are always hurled out in a spitting, sputtering, exasperated mode of delivery, very similar in style to the sounds of Clawhammer's Jon Wahl or Bantam Rooster. You can almost feel the spit and sweat hit you in the face if you close your eyes and crank the volume. It is precisely because of their rough edged delivery that pretty much every song by The Fatal Flying Guillotines has a great live feel. This is a loose record, and is clearly intended for an audience that puts more faith in energy and attitude than in proper technical musicianship any day of the week. This is not meant as an insult, although the cavalier sloppiness may rub some the wrong way. Not me, though. I kind of like it. Some of the songs employ a cool discordant interplay between the guitar and bass. There's lots of intentionally lame duck guitar, and the occasional furious string scrubbing going on, very punk in attitude. It is a spastic twitching style that revels in the trashy looseness of itself, though sometimes perhaps a little excessively. The third track especially reminds of Richard Hell's classic intro to "Love Comes In Spurts". Also they aren't above inserting some planned chaos by using sloppy trumpets on some stuff (think of how well the same trick was used by The Cows with the same success) or pulling some Sonic Youth guitar chaos sounds. The whole album is equipped with a "Fuck You, I'm Rocking Here" attitude that's worth hearing. It's Function over Form, with heavy emphasis on the Fun. --- The Swede 7/11top

FAUXLIAGE - s/t - Nettwerk [Aug 07]
Fauxliage features the combined forces of Sixpence None The Richer's vocalist Leigh Nash and two members of Delerium, for a laidback, chilled album of dreamy pop. If you're not familiar with those two bands, Fauxliage's sound is akin to the moody electronica of Portishead with a more emotive and adventurous singer. Nash's voice is best when she's at the middle of her register, like the beginning of "Someday The Wind," where she gives real feeling to the words, sounding comfortable and assured. On the chorus of this song, she shifts up an octave and in these higher notes sounds not unlike Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays, (had Mrs Wheeler moved past waiflike ways) and the kittenish/babydoll breathiness starts sounding like those songs HBO picks to run under ads for their new shows: emotional choruses, gentle chords, but enough of a "modern" edge to stay in the demographic. You have to remember this is a pop record, and those arrangements are needed in pop music: the chorus has to be big and invite the listener to join in for a few words. I think it's the influence of the Delerium boys that has kept Fauxliage interesting. Nash could easily have arranged her songs with acoustic guitars and then you might not be far from a Shawn Colvin type of record. With the excellent percussion programming and shimmering pianos, however, Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber have tethered Nash's vocal aerials to the earth and kept them from floating away like clouds. Some songs, like "Let It Go" sound almost entirely like a band you don't want to listen to, like somehow Avril Lavigne sneaked herself onto the record and stunk up the place with generic girl-pop nonsense. This is a balancing act that Fauxliage does not always successfully navigate. --- Leeds 5/11 top

FAVEZ "Bellefontaine Avenue" - Doghouse America
How many Swiss rock bands can you name? Besides Yello, this is the only one I know. I've hungout in Switzerland and there was no action in terms of music, everyone preferring techno beats or cheesy Euro-disco. So it's with some shock that Favez turn out to be a melodic rock band that wouldn't be out of place on Saddle Creek or Deep Elm. A good shock. They sing in English, don't be scared. This is the fourth LP from Favez and it sounds like they've been listening to more rocking tunes on their iPods. The guitars are fuzzier and more present. They've dirtied up the drums. They've also been tweaking the song structures, giving room for pre-choruses and tripping out the tempos on the breaks between verses. Check out "Sloganeering" to hear the result of Radiohead loaning a song to Foo Fighters. Favez is a bit softer than both those bands despite some grungy intros and what keeps them down is the repeated doubling of the vocal tracks with the tracks separated by about a minor third. This constant harmonizing robs the vocals of some needed edge. When it's one vocal track the songs are invariably better. "Killer Show" is one song with constant double vocals that make the overall effect too soft focus. Ironically the worst song on here is called "It's A Hit," but it's followed by the best one, "A Better Life." The ingredients work together: the angsty vocals push the drums and guitars and the whole thing sounds like it's about to get out of control at any moment. Favez mix it up with a couple of ballads that take some getting used to. When they just let loose, like on "Battle Weary Blues," their comination of forceful music and evocative vocals works to great effect. RIYL: Statistics, Red Animal War, Lock And Key. --- Paul Leeds 6/11top

FEABLE WEINER Dear Hot Chick - Doghouse Records
There's a band you've never heard of playing a kick-ass tour somewhere near you sometime soon, and you should go see them. They are called Feable Weiner, and they make their Doghouse Records debut with "Dear Hot Chick," a hysterical, rockin' album that puts me in mind of Nerf Herder at their tongue-in-cheek best. The record starts with the jamming chords for "San Deem Us Ready," a song particularly close to my heart with its beach sounds and California girl theme. In a creditable first effort, "Dear Hot Chick" layers pop sounds with grin-cracking lyrics such as these ones from 7th Grade: "...she said she's grounded/dude I doubt it/on top of that she's sick/bullshit!/why can't you go out with me??" It's pre-Disneyfied pop music that actually pops. Toward the middle of the album FW display a possible straight edge tendency with "U Minus Cool," telling us that "you are U Minus Cool/when you are smoking every afternoon." The barbershop harmonies help take off the preachy edge of the song, but it still stood out as the low point of the album. Still, music that is entertaining and listenable is hard to find, and FW is both. They set out to make themselves a place next to Nerf Herder and do a pretty good job of it. Unfortunately the website has a distinct lack of information about the band itself, but the tour diary is great and you can find a story about the band bowling with Bowling for Soup tucked at the bottom of the "Links" page. Merchandise for a band named "Feable Weiner" is bound to be entertaining, so keep an eye out for the new shirts when they are finally up for sale. "Dear Hot Chick" is a first album that promises no less than it delivers. It is upbeat, fun and has a punchy guitar line that maintains its energy all the way through to the last song. This is a band worth keeping an eye on. --- Angel Dylan 8/11top

FEU THERESE - "Ca Va Congner" - Constellation [Oct 07]
This new FT album sounds more like Air and nothing like their first album. The best parts of the previous album were the deep space krautrock jams they got into, which are absent here. In place of this, FT have evolved into a synth led band that uses a drenching, techno sound to goose along the melodies. The best song here, "Ferrari On Fire #2" does illustrate their proficiency at great drumming and quirky guitar work, but again the GHB/ecstasy glissandos of the synths are overpowering. Another cool song, "The Night Is A Woman" starts on a moon safari and then warps at the tail, guitar sounds getting all weird like lasers. Some good melodies and the songs are pleasing enough but that synth sound is just too much. I'm really surprised by how up and poppy this new batch of songs sounds. Gone is the experimentation and epic palettes. --- Leeds 5/11 top

FEU THERESE s/t - Constellation Records [March 06]
Feu Therese is a companion outfit for Fly Pan Am's guitarist Jonathan Parant and Klaxon Guele's bass player Alexandre St-Onge, with help from soundscape artist Stephen De Oliveira and drummer Luc Paradis. This doesn't mean much to anyone until the second song, "Mademoiselle Gentleman" thunders to life, and then, eat your heart out Can, Feu Therese delivers a brain-beating 7 minutes of the finest space rock this side of the Pleiades. The drum and bass groove is instantly hypnotic, and the screeching guitar just chops this sucker up into chunks of psychedelic craziness. Other songs on this album range from a tripped out timpani-laden drone to some synth heavy space rock to some ambient sound effect music. Three of these songs are amazing, two are not so exciting. No faulting Feu Therese for being a little experimental and trying to be more than a mere band, but that's our loss, as a full album of cosmic music would have been amazing. --- Leeds 8/11 top

FEVERDREAM "Freeze!" - Coalition Records
I've got no problem with Holland, Feverdream's home turf. In fact, my grandma is of Dutch descent, Ruud Van Nistelrooy of Manchester United is Dutch, and I enjoyed riding my bicycle all over Amsterdam when I visited. Their rich musical lineage, descending from Urban Dance Squad alone, is maybe not the robust, but it's Feverdream's dopey lyrics that rile me up. Sample: "America you pay the price for preaching your morality / the white man's burden/ the niggers burning on crosses made of great American trees..." Lynchings? We had a Civil War to stop that shit, so it's a bit disingenuous. Where's the "mea culpa" for Holland exploiting Africa? It's old news, fuckers. Could be fashionable to spout anti-American vacuities and Feverdream are just trend followers. Remove the mote in your own eye, as the saying goes. Remember Int'l Noise Conspiracy getting self-righteous on us? Like INC, Feverdream are a pretty decent rock band with some sharp, nagging hooks and a forward-looking approach that crosses the lines of discordant postpunk and artistic noise. Sprinkle some freshman year poli sci bullshit over it, and the cake falls. I would wager that Feverdream get feverdreamy over INC and Refused. They'd probably cite contemps like The Rapture and Yeah Yeah Yeahs as bands they'd like to associate with. This EP serves up 5 tracks of a band finding its feet. "Shake hands with my johnson," is another lyric that should be a self-parodic swagger, sort of like the Hives' shtick. It must be funnier in Dutch because it kinda just bores me in English. It's hard to get excited about a band that starts out in attack mode. These recordings go back to 2001 and were probably ahead of the curve. I would like to hear what the band has gotten up to since then. --- Leeds 5/11top

THE FIELD REGISTER - "Tire & Caster" - Ships At Night Records [July 2006]
I cherry picked this one out of the stack that came in because the first song grabbed me. Or should I say, it opened the door and gave me a needed break from describing Emo Band #2,342. The Field Register play in the same sunlit playground of melody-drenched atmospheric bands like (the unjustly forgotten) Felt or the newer school Redneck Manifesto and Always The Runner. Take "Fair Grounds," a song that builds calmly until the drums and guitars crescendo in a blaze of windswept ecstasy. Each of these tracks is well-crafted and each tells a mini-epic: everything is meticulously planned. The fretwork and intimation of beauty on "Lines" is reminiscent of the classically-trained shimmering scales of Felt, but these vocals are yearning and wistful, giving a sad beauty to the music. There's kind of a "part two" on the song that doesn't really take the song any further, just turns down a one-way street and gets lost. This band has a very scholarly and artistic approach to creating indie rock. You never get the feeling any of this was jammed out. This is a music that will be at home in the art studio or in the sidewalk caf?, at the anarchist meeting or in the park while you watch the sun go down. --- Leeds 8/11top

THE FIGHT "Nothing New Since Rock 'n' Roll" - Repossession Records 2004
This is a teenage English version of new school American mall punk. Hyper tight rhythms, snotty vocals, hooks and choruses in an overly familiar format. The Fight are lead by "K8," a young lass who seems to worship Fat Mike's singing. Imagine seeing a band like Sum 41 or New Found Glory (no really, imagine it) and instead of their usual singer, an English teenybopper girl jumps on stage and takes over. Voila, The Fight. I guess by today's standards they are a punk band but one has only to look backward to The Go-Gos to find a suitable model. Their look and sound is exactly what is selling today. Hot Topic clothes, tried and true guitar tricks, self-help therapy lyrics ("...you must understand, that i have got the right, to say just what I like..."), etc. These sounds are clean and perfect, polished up and shiny. Not a whole lot of rock 'n' roll here, despite the title. This is pop rock for kids. I hope this band is still in high school, and if so, they're doing great, seriously. Thing is, I suspect they are a bit older, and if so, this music is too contrived and light for any real consideration. For fans of Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan and similar pop bands who want only to get their fans jumping up and down before it's time for mom to come pick them up. If you're over 20, you will be embarrassed to own this. I'm guessing kids will be down with this, but for me it's like candy with sugar on it dipped in honey.--- Sid Arthur 3/11 top

THE FILMS "Filter EP" - Filter US Recordings [Jan 2006] 3 songs to test the waters of the fucked up fickle music seas. The Films play a tight guitar pop with some mod upstrokes and tambourines and Hammond organ. On this scant 9 minutes' preview, they do have some snotty and precocious Supergrass vigor and the guitar as rhythm machine that has suddenly propelled Arctic Monkeys to the top of the charts. With only slight adjustments, The Films could find themselves and their bright, hooky sound swept up in Arctic Monkeys frenzy and ride it to the bank. This EP has picqued my interest, and if their LP has as many hooks per song, with hopefully a little less spluttering vocals, it will be a winner. Time will tell. --- Leeds 8/11 top

FILTER MAGAZINE "PSSST! Holiday 2005" - FilterMMM [March 06]
I won't say that this is one of those great albums where each song is a gift that I just can't wait to open. Certain selections, that will remain nameless, left me more than a little puzzled as to what the hell they were doing on a Filter Magazine compilation album. But what I absolutely loved, what I lusted after, what satisfied me in more ways than I should really be admitting to (hey, not like that you sickos!) was one song: "Fashionably Uninvited" by Mellowdrone, a song that sounds almost like an understated version of "Be Quiet And Drive" by the Deftones. It's more melodic though and packs hints of jazz with outright declarations of guitar rock. The track ends on a fadeout, which to me just sounds like an indecisive ending, but it's a well-crafted song nonetheless. The rest of the disc contains some other good points amid the sea of randomness. "Sealake," by Taratula A.D., has got a weird, Sigur Ros-meets-Billy Corgan charm. It's a short song that ends before it really starts to get good, but the band uses a violin in a way I've never heard before and I pretty much dug the hell out of it. Elsewhere on the CD you'll find inclusions of The Subways and Devics and a fully orchestrated song by World Leader Pretend called "Bang Theory." This song is uplifting and inspired and should be on the soundtrack of some "trendy and triumphant" movie (you know, like a Ron Howard film but with Cameron Diaz or Scarlett Johansson in it). Other notables are "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt," by We Are Scientists and a song by The Films, called "That Kind of Day." It is for these and the aforementioned songs that you should purchase and listen to this record - though, I have to say, you don't have to look beyond your local alterna/indie radio station to hear some of them (The Subways, We Are Scientists). But, to insure for yourself a more pleasurable listening experience than I had, I strongly urge you to use your right to "skip." ---7/11 Melissa Treolo top

FIRE DIVINE It's All A Blur - Deep Elm Records
The newest entry in screamo, popularized of late by Story Of The Year and Finch, here's Fire Divine. FD neither add nor detract from the rote forumlas laid down by those bands, just a pale ripoff, so if you like that stuff, get this. The biggest problem is that Fire Divine offers nothing new, it's vanilla from another vendor. The sound they're exporting is schizophrenic. FD compose soft little ballad passages designed to have the girls in the front row closing their eyes and singing along, and then suddenly they piss all over their own creation by having a Sam Kinison clone rampage in and scream-o the chorus idiotically. Why write a capable song like "Clark And Wrightwood" only to faff it all up by trying to make it Warped Tour-friendly with faux aggressive shouting? Then they go out of their way to make a pretty ballad, "We Ride On Sunbeams." So which is it, lads? Hardcore "punks" or wilting flowers? "Reputation Outlives Application" toys with metal guitar chugging and riffing, then switches gears to a sensitive middle third, then again gears down into Sam Kinison territory. This band is chasing someone else's tail. For some bizarre