Category Archives: Reviews
Kyson – Patience (Moodgadget)
MP3: You May Have Limited Time
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:03 — 13.9MB)
Kyson
Patience – EP
Moodgadget
Links:
Being a fan of most electronic music, I have to say that pure ambient style is not one of my favorites; however, the moodscape provided by German writer/musician/producer Kyson (Jian Kellett Liew) offers a reach inside of his mind and soul with his latest EP Patience. “This EP was about experimenting with layers of emotions to create a plateau of sounds that become one.”
Six tracks that blend together to form an ambient cacophony of mood-driven “quite music” that can played in almost any situation to the soundtrack of life. It is evident from the opening notes and soft quietness of the first track “You May Have Limited Time,” Kyson is inviting the listener to begin a journey toward inner peace and harmony.
The next track “Company for Us,” blends together and interesting mix of soft Drum n’ Bass with an almost jazzy type of irrelevance that flows through the soundscape with many fades.
The ghostly and haunting “Frustrated with Myself” is another smooth blend of beats filtered with gothic vocals from time to time and reminds me a little of an Art of Noise song.
“Washed Out” and “Patiently Waiting” are the next tracks that complement one another quite well setting the overall mood of the album. yet it does little sonically to engage the listener.
By far the best track is left for last with “Ink Ties,” a melodic melodrama that offers dainty keyboards over a tender back beat.
Suckers – Candy Salad (Frenchkiss Records)
Suckers
Candy Salad
Frenchkiss Records
Link: Suckers’ Website
The boat has just docked, and you are immersed on an island of dayglow flowers and tropical sunshine beaming down on you. In this brief moment in time, the earth has stopped moving. The only thing pushing us forward is the sound of music — beachfront bliss as the animals dance with the humans and the humans dance with the waves. Candy Salad is the soundtrack to the perfect trip into a celebration of cool vibes and blissful wig-outs.
Turning pop music into a cacophony of smiles, Suckers utilize music in such powerful ways, its unsuspecting just how you are influenced by what this band is churning out.
A progressive spin forward from their Wild Smile album, this time it is effortless. “Charmaine” is a reflection of the sun burning rays into your mind and the smell of summer bursting forth success. When the guitars hit full steam, all you want to do is blast off into outer space and wrap your arms around the universe.
“George” brings us back down to the sway of the steel drum and a feel-good sound that will blow your mind just how easy it all is. Then there is a song like “Figure It Out,” the equivalent to punching the Beach Boys in the face and recording the results.
What makes an album like this work? From what I can tell, it’s countless hours of studio work. I’m sure the hour that we experience on this album, there are days of experimentation, sweat, and strange attempts tucked away for another day. Whatever the process brought, it’s what we hear on Candy Salad that will blow your mind.
It’s been a journey, but we have arrived. Plan to make Candy Salad the soundtrack to your summer and watch the world become exponentially more awesome from it all.
Atari Teenage Riot – Collapse of History Remixes (Dim Mak)
Atari Teenage Riot
Collapse of History
Dim Mak
Links:
Steve Aoki wrote a song for his Wonderland album titled, “The Kids Are Not the Same.” Atari Teenage Riot begs to differ. On Collapse of History, the aggro-electro punks charge at us with the accusation that the kids are indeed the same progressive, rebellious youth that have been with us for decades, and indeed fans of ATR will agree that things better not change for this band. And they don’t. If there are problems in the world, the kids are going to riot, and ATR will be their soundtrack.
Within this three-song onslaught of anarchy-infused energy, it’s like they have had pent-up aggression built up for years and just now released it. What makes this band still tick is that every album they have done has that same sentiment. They just won’t slow down.
Through chanting of what sounds like a sample ripped from a live show and electro speed power, the song will instantly send your pulse into a rapid procession of quick fire beats and loudness. And if you think that’s all fine and dandy, the second version of this song doubles the level of intensity. It’s no surprise that Mustard Pimp can do that to a song. If you have ever experienced Mustard Pimp, you know just how far they are willing to push a song while keeping the core essence in tact.
The Tits & Clits Remix is null and void compared to Mustard Pimps re-working, but it’s still a version of the song to take note as it does not deviate far from the tree. It’s all about perspective and proof that this band feels increasingly viable.
Broadcaster – Tightrope Walker (Jump Start Records)
Broadcaster
Tightrope Walker
Jump Start Records
Link: Jump Start Records on Bandcamp
At one point in my life, I couldn’t wait to get home and pop in something like a Descendents album or Samiam release spinning on vinyl. Feeling those modern pop punk songs at the time and a band pounding their hearts out on a platter for you to relate to, it really meant something.
Broadcaster is supposed have the same effect or so my first impression implied. I am much older now, but I can still see where a band like this comes from and what they could mean to you. Personally, I wanted more out of this trifecta of pop punk verbage. Maybe I wanted more grit and singing at the top of their lungs until they are on the verge of passing out with passionate rage. These are the things that made the genre in the ‘80s so great, and leaves the debate of which is more important, carrying a note or stressing that note passed its breaking point because you are pouring your heart out. The Descendents did a great job at making that tune of puppy love so great, while Samiam wanted to rip their own hearts out.
Even with something like Weezer’s Pinkerton, you felt that sense of desperation in the songs. The title track to Tightrope Walker tries to spit out lyrics with a singed tongue. He wants more. It shows in the lyrics, but even beyond the bouncy crunch, the harmonies glosses over the fact that the music is just smoothed-out ritual. One has to give, and for these three songs, none of them do and that does little to convince you that he is giving it all for the cause of love.
“Anything You Never Heard” does a better job simply because it’s a great summer-like jam. The guitars crunch with fervor and you want this band to be that band that gets you. This is as close as it comes.
Three songs are not enough to develop a close relationship with Broadcaster. The Joyride EP does a better job and is a better all-around release for the band. You cannot go wrong with the rock and roll atmosphere of “Snow Party” and the college rock demeanor.
Tightrope Walker is a step down and does not capture the lively spirit that Joyride provides. Chalk it up to a smoothed-out production or trying to fall into a niche of modern rock where bands like Jimmy Eat World resides. Maybe it’s that strive for bigger hooks. Whatever it is, Tightrope Walker needs to be more pungent. Turn the volume up and cut to the quick. It’s where this band does its best work.
Hoots & Hellmouth – Salt (sonaBlast)
Hoots & Hellmouth
Salt
sonaBlast
Link:
Growing up, there is that one album you listened to that you are never sure why you started listening in the first place. It’s usually a result that you are too young, or it consists of a genre you are not as in-tuned to.
Mine was Elvis’ His Hand In Mine, one of several religious-themed albums from The King. It was my mother’s album and at my age, I had no idea why I would listen to it. But there it was, always by the turntable with Elvis Presley’s mug glowing like a spectre. The album sufficed both criteria and there was plenty reason for a six-year-old to stay away from it. But it was the allure of Elvis and one particular song that stood out for me. “I’m Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs,” is a punchy song in the spectrum of traditional gospel-themed songs like “Milky White Way” or “Swing Down Sweet Chariot.” 42 years later, I still get goosebumps when The Jordanaires belt out “I’m gonna walk dem golden stairs, ’cause I know my Jesus answers all my prayers.” At that age, it wasn’t the message that made me cling to this song. It was the immediacy and the rolling movement of the song that I took to.
Older, wiser, I realize its cinematic approach to the religious trend of country and rock of the early ‘60s. But overall, it’s that feeling of retribution on an album like this that creeps into your skin and makes you pay attention.
Hoots & Hellmouth’s Salt is not a religious album, but it is religious in a soulful way. The album bears the same characteristics and temporal direction that Elvis was trying to remark on with His Hand In Mine, or How Great Thou Art, released later in the decade.
The result of a second studio session, Salt follows on the heels of Face First in the Dirt. So this album is like a continuation to the soil they dug up on the EP.
A lackluster start “Why Would You Not Want To Go There?” is not at all how I imagined the album to begin. It’s a song that sticks out because you gauge how the band plans to present themselves, but does little to move you. After two songs, I was beginning to contemplate if I was going to like this album at all.
And like “Dem Golden Stairs,” “Lay Low” gave me the incentive. I can imagine this song to be a stand out at any of their live gigs. The hypnotic swing, the gritty blues rustled from the Deep South, and the background gospel reminders all give this song the power to attract attention with their rock and roll exorcism. You won’t find the devil in their bones, but you will be glad to see the light coming out of this song.
It takes “Apple Like A Wrecking Ball” to make me appreciate the musicianship of this group. Guitar picking moves about with folly that is ever so impressive. They flush across gentle bluegrass musical landscapes like Paul Simon does to the Serengeti.
But “City Lights on a Country Ceiling” is what defines the heart of their music. What lies in this Old Country song are summer wildflowers shinning up from the countryside, worn out from the heat. The gentle breeze blowing a warm wind around and the last spectacle from the dog days gives a final perspective that things move a little slower during this time. This is the turning point to Salt and the moment where I can fully appreciate what they are trying to do to this album.
These are songs I didn’t think I would want to carry with me, but now I know they will be there for me like that worn out Elvis record I grew up with.
