Tag Archives: Alternative
The Twilight Sad- No One Can Ever Know (Fat Cat)
The Twilight Sad
No One Can Ever Know
Fat Cat
Links:
The Twilight Sad on Facebook
The Twilight Sad on Myspace
Fat Cat Records home
Melancholy and sweet, borrowing much from the mid-80s British alternative/proto gothic music scene, The Twilight Sad released No One Can Ever Know earlier this year.
Occasionally energetic and aggressive, most of No One Can Ever Know features a wall-of-sound presence recalling their Scottish compatriots Idlewild, yet at other times the it is more like a mopey, shoe gazer version of lo-fi Bauhaus or Joy Division. The most obvious difference, aside from the 30-year time frame, between these bands is the absence of infectious hooks with The Twilight Sad. They’re one clear, repetitive and catchy line per song away from bringing the glory days of black nail polish and exploded hair-sprayed jet-black big hair.
Their third LP, the gloomy No One Can Ever Know is a breath of fresh air in these stale days of reverb non-surf indie rock that currently floods and washes out the music scene. Generally adhering to the modern lo-fi sound with the occasional clipping of vocals or instruments, the album stays consistent without overdoing the sound or lyrical feel.
The third track, “Sick,” is a standout song. As a perfect example of the influence from the 80s alternateen music scene, “Sick” uses muted, rapid-fire electronic drums and lightly distorted guitars to carry singer James Graham’s heavy Scottish accent. Toward the close of the song, strong, building synthesizers add a strong crescendo to off set Graham’s dying words “Until the party ends, until the part when we retire.”
“Don’t Look At Me” is the strongest song on the record. Heavy bass lines lay over an accordion (sounding much like a synthesizer in its relentlessness) and odd-timed drums carry the song through four minutes of near-constant aural massage. Lacking an obvious chorus to repeat, opting instead to repeat a changing set of lyrics over a more defined musical chorus, “Don’t Look at Me” never allows the listener to get to an easy ending point. This matches the lyrical content as well. Leaving out the beginning of the story by starting with “And I still watch you/ It’s not the right thing to do,” Graham moves to repeat “I hated watching you grow old” near the middle, and circles back to asserting “and I still watch you,” the song never fully starts or resolves—forcing the listener to hit the repeat button.
Ronin – Fenice (Tannen Records)
Ronin
Fenice
Tannen Records
Links:
Ronin Official Site
Ronin on MySpace
Tannen Records
According to the translation of the band’s biography from their website via GoogleTranslate, Ronin is a mixture of Balkan and Mediterranean traditional music.
Descriptions I’ve seen around describe them as folk, rock, and “world” music. I really dislike the adjective “world” when describing or categorizing music, as it seems obvious that someone in the world put music together… how could anyone get away from that?
Being completely unfamiliar with the sounds and structures of either Balkan or Mediterranean genres of music, I’ll review them in terms of what I am familiar with.
Fenice (“phoenix” in Italian) is primarily an instrumental ambient album, save for a fine cover of the Evin Drake song “It Was a Very Good Year.” Most of the tracks are sweet and pretty well produced. There is some level clipping and under production; though it comes through consistently enough to sound intentional. The album doesn’t have very wide tempo or key ranges, making the tracks rather well-connected to each other.
Nine tracks appear on Fenice, which was released earlier this year. Most of the tracks could pass for maybe a smoky adult (read: slower, intentional) version of surf music with the guitar reverb that is employed liberally throughout the album. The drums are steady and strong with a quiet production of the noisy drums, giving off a feel that much more could be done if Paolo Mangardi was turned loose in an exponentially noisier band.
Any fans of Public Radio International’s “Echoes” radio program at nights will appreciate most of the tracks on the album, especially “Selce,” a slow and droning piece that rolls back and forth for four-and-a-half music. It’s no surprise that Ronin’s music appear in soundtracks; they make excellent background music for indie art films. Their music would have fit in perfectly on the soundtrack for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.”
“Spade” opens the album with triple arpeggios between the strings in a dizzying swirl, backed by steady and slow drums. If Slayer or Iron Maiden played soft rock, their solos would sound like this.
“Benevento” stands out as a somewhat rowdier track, with open hi-hats and jangly and lightly distorted guitars. It recalls Karate à la “In Place of Real Insight,” if they just let the music jam out a bit.
Viva DeConsini – Rock & Roll Lover (Music Review)
Viva DeConsini
Rock & Roll Lover
Self-Released
Rating: 3 out of 5
Links:
Viva’s Homepage: http://www.vivamusic.info/live/
Viva on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/vivadeconcini
Viva DeConcini and her back up band released Rock & Roll Lover in mid-July.
Rock & Roll Lover is good, girl-fronted, girly-centric fun rock and roll. Many tasty ingredients make their way into this gumbo of a record. The title track is a bouncy, funky, danceable song that should appeal to the rockabilly kids in the crowd, as should “Go-Go Boots,” and her instrumental cover of Carole King’s/ Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman.”
DeConcini’s vocals are skilled and show a plethora of influences. She goes from fun and flirty to slow and serious in the span of the record. Her voice seems better suited for the upbeat tracks more than the solemn track “Emily.”
The strings are mainly well-crafted blues and rock guitar with some late 60s Brit-psyche. Nothing about the bass and drums stand out too much; the focus stays on Viva’s voice, the guitars and horns. Horns? Yes! Viva employed the services of a full horn section in this her release, and apparently takes a 4-piece with her on tour.
Rock and Roll Lover is over all a good record, a solid record. It is not, however, a fascinating listen. I have always had the opinion that when a musical outfit plays a little bit of everything on a single record (for this record, it would be a psychedelic rock song, a few upbeat rockabilly-new swing songs, and an instrumental Motown cover, etc), they prove themselves to be a great studio band. They do not prove themselves to be a good independent band with their own sound.
Where the band may lack in a sound that they own, they make up for in playing decent songs. Overall, Rock & Roll Lover is a fun record to relax to and have as background music, or to see at a festival or show; not a band to make a point of seeing based on the contents of this record alone.
RIYL: Stray Cats, Motown records, Ani DiFranco, any alternative-Grrrl music, David Bowie, neo swing music.
Viva – Rock & Roll Lover (Music Review)
Viva
Rock & Roll Lover
(Self-Released)
Rating: 3 out of 5
Links:
Viva’s Homepage: http://www.vivamusic.info/live/
Viva on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/vivadeconcini
Viva DeConcini and her back up band released Rock & Roll Lover in mid-July.
Rock & Roll Lover is good, girl-fronted, girly-centric fun rock and roll. Many tasty ingredients make their way into this gumbo of a record. The title track is a bouncy, funky, danceable song that should appeal to the rockabilly kids in the crowd, as should “Go-Go Boots,” and her instrumental cover of Carole King’s/ Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman.”
DeConcini’s vocals are skilled and show a plethora of influences. She goes from fun and flirty to slow and serious in the span of the record. Her voice seems better suited for the upbeat tracks more than the solemn track “Emily.”
The strings are mainly well-crafted blues and rock guitar with some late 60s Brit-psyche. Nothing about the bass and drums stand out too much; the focus stays on Viva’s voice, the guitars and horns. Horns? Yes! Viva employed the services of a full horn section in this her release, and apparently takes a 4-piece with her on tour.
Rock and Roll Lover is over all a good record, a solid record. It is not, however, a fascinating listen. I have always had the opinion that when a musical outfit plays a little bit of everything on a single record (for this record, it would be a psychedelic rock song, a few upbeat rockabilly-new swing songs, and an instrumental Motown cover, etc), they prove themselves to be a great studio band. They do not prove themselves to be a good independent band with their own sound.
Where the band may lack in a sound that they own, they make up for in playing decent songs. Overall, Rock & Roll Lover is a fun record to relax to and have as background music, or to see at a festival or show; not a band to make a point of seeing based on the contents of this record alone.
RIYL: Stray Cats, Motown records, Ani DiFranco, any alternative-Grrrl music, David Bowie, neo swing music.
Demander – Future Brite (Music Review)
Demander
Future Brite
Self-Released
Rating: 4 out of 5
Links:
Band home: http://vimeo.com/9746894
Band MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/demander
Released in January of this year, Future Bright is an entire butt-load of fun. It’s a collection of somewhat simple yet rather punchy, energetic, aggressive pop tunes. Compared to their 2 earlier releases, the Future Bright LP is brighter and more experienced, while increasing the energy and focus. Demander practically requires crowd sing-along. Obviously well rehearsed for the studio, Demander has to be a lot of fun live. I get the feeling many babies will be made listening to this record. I hope it was released with a disclaimer.
I’d be a bit surprised if they don’t get approached for radio and television video rotation. This band would have enjoyed as much rotation on MTV’s120 Minutes as Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails had they existed 20 years ago. The alternative and indie labels should be ashamed of themselves for not beating down Demander’s door for publishing rights. Ashamed. Tsk.
Karen Correa sings and plays bass, Sian Harlap beats the drums like they deserve it, Jared Scott plays guitar. Included in the album are a whole host of guest artists. Go to their website to get the list.
The title track, “Future Bright” provides ice dynamic- break down with bass and drums, moving to piano chords, then on to high-distortion guitars with a definite industrial metal feel, and finally ends up in string section with myriad parts playing together. Honestly, it sounds more like a description for Norwegian black metal music than for power op, but I assure you it’s true. Karen’s sultry vocals reign throughout the track.
The fifth song, “Math” comes in at a brisk 2 ½ minutes long, with plenty of punch in the bass and bouncing steady drums. The guitars sound like Johnny Mars chords and strumming. Sing along vocals with repetitive chorus and guitar hooks and sounds. Check out the video link below.
“Coulee” has more fun guitar hooks and great vocal textures. It’s a dynamic piece, with slow crescendos and quick drops in the tempo. “Rising” is similar, but with almost steady energetic driving beat.
The production is good, showing some skeelz in the recording studio. The bright, energetic, and dynamic sound lends itself very well to the power pop and alternative rock that Demander delivers. With strong and breathy vocals, Karen sounds as if she were born for the role. The bass is strong and driving providing the backbone of the rhythm, and the guitars show a wealth of ability. The drums are full of highs and high-mids in the playback which is damned-near perfect for the album.
RIYL: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Killers, Strokes, Archers of Loaf.
Check out the “Math” video:
http://vimeo.com/9746894
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.6MB)
