Once again people, get your asses to Goodbye Blue Monday tomorrow, June 16th to see Machete Archive. They are an incredible band with incredible musicians. One kinda looks like Wayne Coyne, another like Animal, and another like David Wooderson from Dazed and Confused. Come out to find which is which. They are sure to impress.
Worst Case Ontario
Smallcraft
Self Released
Spring 2010
Once again Sam Weisberg and company have sucked our faces back to the summer of 1994. Worst Case Ontario and their fan base may get tired of people saying this, but it is meant in the best possible way. The epic two part guitar melodies juxtaposed with Weisberg’s gas huffing garage rock voice shuttles me back to the sidewalk out of Duffy’s Tavern to listen to the Flaming Lips sing Pilot Can At The Queer Of God. This is the stuff of geniuses; it was a time when you either sided with Pearl Jam or Nirvana; it was a time made for Little Bastard, Semisonic, Sponge, and all the other pop wrought bands that emerged mid-decade, after the descriptive “alternative” no longer referred to otherness or alterity, but rather the very essence of the mainstream. Slacker culture had won out on top. The only thing known about irony came from that damn Alanis Morissette video. This was a time for Mall Rats and Swingers; a time for being money. Tucked within those days of corduroy and flannel, were debates pitting Doolittle against Surfer Rosa, or Slanted and Enchanted against Wowee Zowee. Worst Case Ontario cannot help but evoke these memories. This isn’t the same thing as the Williamsburg music scene or the Bushwick art scene. Who had time for fine things? This band might circulate within the New York music scene, but they do not supplicate the trends of the day.
While their last record Burning Politely was noted to have had the same effect, Worst Case Ontario has made a shorter more concise EP trimming off much of the fat that weighed them down in the past. Like Burning Politely, Smallcraft is both endearing for its saturated musicality of the late 20th century, and inspiring for its display of rawness and earnestness. Particularly salient in this regard are the songs The Complainer and Starve, which encapsulate the very spirit of the band, though the other tracks on the EP are not nearly as interesting. The entirety of the Smallcraft project is displayed a marked improvement. The band has harnessed that space in the garage, that love affair we have with our slacker selves, and has added to it the slightest promise that they aim to be better, that they aim to be more. This is at no time more apparent than the 5:22 minute marker of the concluding track Capricorn every member of the band draws their instrument out full throttle, it is the very second where an otherwise bland track is given life and the band asserts themselves, that they aren’t exactly about not giving a fuck about life. Though the band does need to figure out how to find their sweet spot a little more often….the EP is so far from perfect…it doesn’t need to be perfect.
-FF
Thought & Memory
Time EP
Unsigned
January 1st 2010
“Man is a wolf to man” (“lupus est homo homini” Plautus: Asinaria, 495). This quotation from Though & Memory’s myspace embodies the reflexive and philosophical frame through which their debut EP ought to be absorbed. Referencing the atrocities man inflicts on man, Thought & Memory have built and self-released an epic four song EP titled Time, a record wrought with an animistic serenity, ruptured by the thunder of collided sheet metal and the feral intensity of natural violence. Song titles like Wing by Wing, Sixty Sunsets, and What Are We Now, are the only words attached to the music. They are also indicative of the thought put into every moment of the EP. The music is both beautiful and obscure, sophisticated and primal, calming and destructive. The band sprouts from the post-rock genre, finding fraternity with the likes of Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, or early Pelican, but the cutting juxtaposition of instrumentation on the record reveals a unique and compelling band who do not wear the tag of “knock off,” rather they have orchestrated a brilliant mélange with considerable energy, which culminates in the sixth minute, fifty-sixth second of the fourth and final track What Are We Now. The EP is short and definitely leaves the listener wanting more. Having seen a few of their live performances, I know that more will be released soon enough.
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/thoughtandmemorymusic
Upcoming Shows
January 23rd 8PM – Mr. Beery’s – Bethpage, NY
February 14th 1 PM – Sinclair’s Pub – West Babylon, NY
February 27th 9PM – Bartin – Babylon, NY
Color Radio
Be Safe, Be Aware
September 2nd 2009
Unsigned
Not to contradict the legions of intelligent and insightful music critics who have commented on the worth and wonder of Color Radio’s newest EP Be Safe, Be Aware, but the best you can do is compare these kids to Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Doves, Travis, and Radiohead?! Let me set the record straight, if they must be compared to something or someone, let’s talk about Matt Johnson, Morrissey, and Tim Kasher smoking reefer in an alternate universe where 1984 and 2009 collapse into an eternal nightclub in Manchester. In this sense I can see why some might compare them to Doves, but not necessarily because they sound alike, but because Doves actually used to hang out at The Haçienda in Manchester in 1984. Some may say Tim Kasher, really? And I say yes, he is there, at least for a moment or two. But that would only be if I wanted to compare them to anyone at all.
Color Radio’s music is modern-it is heart felt-it is a topographic tour of dreamscape melody. Jonathan Ifergan and Tohm Ifergan, are an excellent guitar drum duo charmed by the familial fact that they are indeed brothers. The two are only increased in beauty by Matthew Thomas and Joel Chasco who in infuse the intense ambiance with their respective contributions of keys and bass. I would be excited to have this group meet and pair up for a couple of nights in New York City with another great Midwestern band Eagle Seagull. Color Radio are what their band name says they are. They pulse with color, attitude, and passion. Better yet, they are having a three date stint next week in New York, so December calls people, let’s go…
7/9
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/colorradio
http://colorradioband.com/
Other Music
Newest News- 2009
Feeling Like You Used To EP- 2008
Tour
December 11th 9PM Skully’s w/ Loyal Divide Columbus, Ohio
December 12th 8PM TBA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
December 14th 8PM Arlene’s Grocery New York, New York
December 15th 8PM Midway Cafe Boston, Massachusetts
December 16th 8PM Glasslands Gallery Brooklyn, New York
December 17th 9PM Lulu’s Village Pub Port Jefferson, New York
December 18th 9PM Cranky’s Manatee Pub Cleveland, Ohio
December 19th 8PM TBA Fort Wayne, Indiana
For those of you looking for incredibly loud walls of melodious majestic sound with which to deafen yourselves The Sunshine Factory has confected a sugary short-list of songs. The band offers the Sugar EP at a name your price bargain on their website thesunshinefactory.bandcamp.com. The music is highly orchestrated power shoegaze replete with pedaled ambiance and seraphim vocals. They hail from Mobile, Alabama and will be driving northward in March to play Trash Bar, a local Williamsburg bar in Brooklyn. Trash Bar is located South of Metropolitan of Grand between Roebling and Driggs, and conveniently across the street from my apartment and my favorite restaurant, so I really have no reason to miss this one. Of course these guys have a heavy dose of My Bloody Valentine influence, and they’d do well to seek out the likes of Chicago’s Airiel, that is if they are still making music-I need to check in with them, or local NES shoegaze outfit Depreciation Guild. Here is a taste…
The Sunshine Factory- Save This Human Race
The Sunshine Factory- Look Deeper
NYC Dates
March 17th 2010 Trash Bar Williamsburg, Brooklyn
http://thesunshinefactory.bandcamp.com
http://www.myspace.com/sunshinefactoryband
Here we have a great recording of a show that took place back in March. I was fortunate enough to get to see Cursive on their spring tour and it was beyond expectation. These guys have only gotten better with age. Mama, I’m Swollen is a masterpiece. Check out my show review Tim and Damien are a Spectrum.
-FF
Hollands
Faces EP
November 25th 2008
Hollands
Hollands – Coughing Boy
A review of Hollands first EP Faces simply does not require the verbiage of the common critique. If that’s what you want visit their web-site. Granted, a review drenched in metaphor and simile has its purpose—to convey a description of an artistic aesthetic that cannot be truly experienced without an encounter, a close approximation by deference to a literary and poetic image. My first thoughts on Hollands are uncomplicated and antique in their creativity. I believe that by deferring the experience of Hollands’ music to memories of our bucolic summer evenings, and self reflective and still mornings we are missing an opportunity to tell it like it is. Save the gobbledygook; save the bullshit.
Hollands is a wide ranging band that draws heavily from early 70’s classic rock and country. The band has the pop sensibility of Rick Springfield, the poeticism of The National, and the sincerity of Wilco. The band is simply excellent. John-Paul Norpoth plays guitar and sings, sometimes with the awesome discipline of CSN&Y, and sometimes with the raucous croon of Uncle Sticky. In this respect they’d get on exceedingly well with the likes of the Whiskey Go Gos. The energy is strong and the music well written. Though Faces is a mere 5 songs long, it covers a lot of ground. Hollands release their 2nd EP this fall. Having begun from such a sturdy, straightforward debut, Hollands is destined for good things, great times, and increased attention.
7/9
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/hollandsss
http://www.hollandsss.com/Wilcommen%20friendos.html
Tour
Sat Sep 12 2009 – 6:00 PM Boulder Coffee Company – B…Rochester, NY
Sat Sep 12 2009 – 8:00 PM Lovin’ Cup Rochester, NY Age
Fri Sep 25 2009 – 9:00 PM Nines Ithaca, NY
Sat Sep 26 2009 – 8:00 PM Lovin’ Cup Rochester, NY
Tue Oct 13 2009 – 8:00 PM Mother EP Drop Drop! New York, NY
Black Hat Brigade, a band long championed by Frederick Foxtrott, has just released a live session with AUX TV in part with Audio Recording Academy of Toronto (TARA). It offers a little more of an intimate look at who they are and where they’ll be going.
Black Hat Brigade
Fathers EP
May 29th 2009
Unsigned
Black Hat Brigade- Zombie City Shake
Far from the cavernous sprawl expressed by earlier recordings, Black Hat Brigade has recorded an EP that will be described as one of the best releases of 2009. Their Fathers EP kicks so much ass, they aren’t permitted to tour in America for fear that their presence will make the heads of residents in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick explode. This really is a national security thing. It is worth noting that the religious right and Billboard magazine have rigorously lobbied INS to approve visas for the band—clearly an attempt to silence northern Brooklyn’s pesky music scene. You know what I say? Fuck it’s worth it! Get your asses to NYC! Sure Robert Haughey’s vocals might remind some of fellow Canadian Dan Boeckner, but who really gives a damn?
Like the morose joy of Eagle Seagull, Black Hat Brigade’s music is entirely different and in many ways better than Wolf Parade. Fathers is defined by a paradox. Dark lyrics that speak of blood, guts, and zombies are cradles inside of some of the brightest and most expansive dance music written for the small club stage. Or maybe it is just that I can dance to anything, but we all know this to be untrue. While there is not a bad track on the 7 song + 1 reprise EP, there are certainly a few standouts. Zombie City Shake, Castlevania, and Vera are all exceptional. These songs not only have the pop sensibilities that provoke inebriated jigs, but they throw back to the epic layers common on their first EP. Here, the voluminous multifaceted interplay is harnessed to produce ridiculous crescendos, the heights of which truly press the limits of grandeur.
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/blackhatbrigade
http://blackhatbrigade.com/
Other Music
Black Hat Brigade EP- 2007
Tour
NOT NEW YORK WHO CARES…
Modernage
Sirhan Sirhan EP
September 2nd 2008
Pirilla Records
The advent of adult pop alternative rock was a difficult time. During the mid 90’s, a fevered rush of talented but uninspired musicians emerged on the national music scene riding on the coattails of late 80’s early 90’s college radio and Seattle rock. They could shred, they could keep a beat, and in the parochial sense of the word, they could sing. Often they could do everything except what made the great bands of the early 90’s so exceptional; they lacked a certain madness, depravity, abandon, and self destructiveness that made the Pixies, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Pavement, and (yes) Pearl Jam worth while. College radio and Seattle rock became ubiquitous staples of MTV and suburban fashion. After the Violent Femmes distributed their collected opus Add it Up, chronicling their music from 1982-1993, there was no going back. It was a genuine and rare moment when radio pop and subversive rock met at a crossroads. The crossroads allowed future iconic bands like the Flaming Lips, who had been making music since the mid 80’s, to release songs on top 40 radio. On the other hand, it was only a matter of time before Candle Box, Bush, Semi Sonic, and Sponge would be playing all the summer festivals, seamlessly taking the banner of subversive rock away from those who had led the way. It was bait and switch all the way.
In a shocking segue, I turn to Miami Florida’s Modernage. Last year they released their latest EP Sirhan Sirhan and I have to say, the record hints at the very same domestication and pasteurization experienced last decade. It would behoove Modernage, or should I say Middleage, to go the route of Tonic or Train, not because they are untalented, but because the aesthetic they construct was never meant to be anything more than FM ready. In moments throughout Sirhan Sirhan, Mario Giancarlo slyly simulates Matt Berninger of The National (“Really?” you ask, listen to the chorus on Creatures), but without the earnestness. The music is pop; it is catchy and easy on the ears. Make no mistake Modernage knows song writing and all the little elements that go into putting out a really cogent, polished record. They have a market with plenty of potential fans. This 5 song EP thoroughly and unabashedly explores the genre of pop alternative- they makes no bones about their decidedly lacking constitution. This could be the beginning of a new era where pop radio is overtaken by this modified indie rock, but somehow I think that things have changed so much in the industry that the formula simply is not the same.
4/9
-FF
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