Category Archives: Indie Rock
Sleepy Sun – Spine Hits (The End)
Sleepy Sun
Spine Hits
The End
Link: Sleepy Sun Official Site
When you dig through most of Sleepy Sun’s Spine Hits, it sounds like they traded their Jefferson Airplane pscyh buzz for Creedence’ Mardis Gras. More earthtoned than their previous attempt, Spine Hits is finally a step in a personalized direction.
Some looped Sleepy Sun as purist ‘70s gazing instead of wrapping a finger around their own selves and what they can do as a group. And while there are elements of that on this album, it’s not blatantly so. Maybe it’s the idea that after three albums, we are not used to ‘70s folk-rock complacency to be their identity, where we are not exactly sure what the true Sleepy Sun looks like under the mask.
But Spine Hits seems to feel more like acceptance, and that is not necessarily a bad thing here. Instead of an out-of-body experience, the band feels like they are trying to be more comfortable in their shells.
Songs like “Stivey Pond” and “Siouxsie Blaqq” channel the slow-moving guitar jam that Sleepy Sun has done well to develop, while “She Rex” is nestled in between and moves at Fogelberg pace while ending with some Rod Stewart-like crooning.. One thing you they can celebrate is for successfully being able to open up the volumes while having the discipline to control it. Don’t rule out earplugs, this song set to live is enough to let your ears ring for days.
Like the parts in “She Rex,” this album is a snapshot. And while the band does not settle on one particular sound and level, each song is distinctively Sleepy Sun.
Where “Martyr’s Mantra” opens up the choke and allows the band to add nitro to their electric guitars through a haze of smoke, “Still Breathing” is an ambient daze through comparative reality. “Yellow End” transforms into a crooner’s delight and a bar ballad that lies at the end of the world, that is if you fall off and soar into moderate ‘70s guitar jam.
If Spine Hits is any indication, Sleepy Sun will never find its place, left to wonder like rock and roll gypsies. Here you will find some destinations to blow your mind while others simply a transient stop.
Johnny Headband – Who Cooks For You (Self-Released)
Johnny Headband
Who Cooks For You
Self-Released
Link: Johnny Headband on Bandcamp
This is too good to be true. Detroit’s Johnny Headband is one of the greatest hidden secrets of the year. Who Cooks For You will blow your mind with songs that run the gamut of generations. If someone threw in the kitchen sink, they would make it sound like it fit all along. Even though they suit up to bring you some amazing tunes, they do so with a sense of grit. What else can you expect from the Motor City?
The title track sounds like a lost ‘80s gem with synths galore and cool rock poses. When the guitar springs into crisp depth mode, you will instantly get a boner for their silky sounds.
This album will sex you up right from the start. But that’s not where things end. This is only the beginning. With nine songs of action, bring a change of underwear, “And Then Again” is your own private party in Montenegro. Then comes “Pineapple Triangle” that spins downtempo, lounge, and a love scene out of that one spy movie. They may not be as cool as Mancini, but you will never be as cool as what Johnny Headband can do.
And if “Argentina” does not make you dream of sun and drives down the coast, then I don’t know what to tell you. Their white on white sound is pure carefree dominance. It’s hard to get through the song because I want to keep replaying it before it’s over to give off the impression of an infinite loop of awesomeness.
I could keep going, but what mystery is that to the listener. Besides, it will take repeated listening to get to the heart of what these songs really mean to me. For now, I can say that they make one hell of a first impression.
Gabriel and the Hounds – Kiss Full of Teeth (Ernest Jennings Records)
Gabriel and the Hounds
Kiss Full of Teeth
Ernest Jennings Records
Links:
When I got this assignment I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of Gabriel and the Hounds’ debut album Kiss Full of Teeth, but upon first listen I was instantly hooked with its mix of pure indie brilliance, scoping from spaghetti western music, slow gothic desperation, orchestrated elegance, early ’70s Velvet Underground like punk, spacey electronic ambient and psychedelic folk.
Upon further review I realized the band was basically just a one man outfit consisting of Brooklyn native Gabriel Levine (Founding member of Takka Takka), who invited a few friends (including members from St. Vincent, Bjork, Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros, and Beirut) to record with him.
I was truly blown away at this diverse outing. Levine’s style reminds me a lot of old Beck in the way that Beck was not afraid to stick to one style or genre when recording albums and Kiss Full of Teeth is cut from that same fabric.
From its opening track “A Beginning (rethinking the Urban Agenda)” with its ambient beauty; it is clear that this album is something special.The reverb-heavy guitar virtuoso “What Good Would That Do?” the song sounds like the backdrop to a Clint Eastwood Italian Western flick. Next up is the somber “Wire and Stone” with its gothic undertones surrounded by be-bop persona and orchestrated beauty followed by the horn-filled “Lonely Thief,” with its haunting vocals over mandolin strums and flutist brilliance.
The next track “The World Unfolds” is my favorite track of the album and has that CBGB punk rock vibe synonymous with the sounds of the Velvet Underground and Wreckless Eric during the late ’70s. The next song, “When We Die in South America.” reminds me a lot of late ’80s Jesus and Mary Chain. Its echoing beats, brazen but spacey vocals covered lavishly in sonic reverbing guitar licks blend together with some violin accents. The amazingly acoustic ditty “Talk of the Town” and the earthy folk driven “Photos of the End” offer up amazing contrast to one another and truly show Gabriel’s musical range.
Surrounded by two acoustical gems “An In-Between (Full Where You Are)” and “An Ending (Between Friends)” falls the highly graceful “Who Will Fall on Knees?.”
Having listened to this album many times over, it is now clear to me that this album comes from the heart and is highly personal to Gabriel. Each song remains a reflection of emotions ranging from love to empathy. It could not come more highly recommended.
The Jukebox – Holy Esque’s “Rose”
Link: Holy Esque on Facebook
When you listen to Pat Hynes sing, you wait for the moment he might choke on his words because it sounds like he is on the edge of doing so at any given moment he belts out a melody. It could come from his Scottish accent or it could come from the emotion he chews on.
On “Rose,” Holy Esque showcases a sound that is brisk and powerful. An escalation of emotions, you feel it churn throughout the band from their guitars to the drums that beat like a war cry for humanity.
Much like the way Television presented themselves on Marquee Moon, this young band is able to balance sounding refreshingly youthful while writing prose that is surprisingly mature.
A teaser of their debut EP to be released later in April, Holy Esque shines as a standout in the Scottish indie rock scene. A talented bunch of lads who will make you feel the music down to the tips of your toes.
Paradise – Diary of an Old Soul (Self Released)
Paradise
Diary of an Old Soul
Self Released
Link: Paradise Official Site
What is it about the farfisa that leads to instant iconic rock hits? You throw the combination of farfisa with any punchy drum beat and you are bound to have successful results. Remove the howl and you have a modest rock song. The farfisa is to rock what 4/4 beats are to club anthems.
Some farfisa hits are better than others, of course. You have to have charisma to really pull it off. And the more dangerous the music sounds, the better off.
For Paradise and the song “Everybody Be Damned,” the band spins through less than three minutes of raw power and broken glass, all constrained in a world where the Kinks were leading the orgy. The song is taut while being edgy. And when you hear the words “Everybody Be Damned,” you can feel the middle finger impact your face like a branding iron to your ass. Either way, it will have you up and moving.
The album is not all this intense, but it can be. The title track is one to grow on you. You feel it in the groin of the music, but the vocals don’t match its intensity and feels like the words are trying hard to keep up. The key is to make it constrained without feeling constrained. It’s when the band relaxes a bit, like on “Diamonds and Pearls,” where things match up and the rock and roll mind fuck begins.
Just because there is a farfisa does not mean it should be as commanding as how it was recorded on this album. Sometimes all too powerful, it leaves the rest of the band in the dust. And often (“Humans and Rust,” and “Creatures of the Night”) the rhythm is what matters most. The farfisa is there to help push you over the edge and the results of this makes me feel that the band is not confident enough to create a better blend between the musicians.
The only time this works is when everyone has the levels and intensity turned up, leading me back full circle to “Everybody Be Damned.” Rock and roll is there to help you lose your mind. The whites in the eyes at the concert, the feeling in the gut listening to something like this in your bedroom. It may not do it every time, but there are moments where you can really get down with what Paradise is doing.
