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Author: Nik Havert
I've been a music fan since my parents gave me a record player for Christmas when I was still in grade school. The first record I remember owning was "Sesame Street Disco." I've been a professional writer since 2004, but writing long before that. My first published work was in a middle school literary magazine and was a story about a zoo in which the animals could talk.
The Kills – Ash & Ice
I’m not sure if there’s a current band that does songs about sex and the dangerous side of love better than The Kills (Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart). Ash & Ice is certainly about both, and it’s also a hip journey into electro-rock that I didn’t expect.
The album begins with electro beeps on “Doing It to Death,” but Hince’s squawking guitar is close behind. The mix of Hince’s as-always fine guitar work with the electro touches is interesting, as is the reverb on Mosshart’s vocals during the bridge. Synth-percussion then mixes with a traditional drum kit on “Heart of a Dog,” which is a sexy showcase for Mosshart’s bad ass-ness as she sings about coming back yet again to a lover she knows is bad for her. It also has a sultry bass groove throughout it that gets into your bones.
“Hard Habit to Break” isn’t a cover of the sappy Chicago song, but instead a near drum and bass track with Mosshart dressing down her lover as he tries to control her. Ash & Ice is firmly into electro-rock territory by the time we get to “Bitter Fruit” and its programmed beats and synth bass. It’s a wicked groove, and Hince and Mosshart’s co-vocals are outstanding. “Days of Why and How” is minimalist guitar, a drum machine, some bass, and Mosshart singing into what sounds like an old microphone. Don’t worry, it all sounds good.
The opening of “Let It Drop” is so quirky that it almost sounds like the track wandered in from another record until Hince’s guitar walks into the room. “You give me the shakes. You give me the cold sweats,” Mosshart sings, making us swoon. The song could be a pop-dance track with a bit of remixing. “Hum for Your Buzz” has an interesting title and an even more interesting sound. Mosshart’s vocals are clear as Hince’s guitar sounds like he’s playing in the back of a forgotten highway bar. It reminds you that the Kills could (and I wish they would) make a great blues record.
“Siberian Nights” has Mosshart singing, “I could make you come in threes. I’m halfway to my knees. Am I too close for comfort?” No, Ms. Mosshart. The answer to that is a definite “No.” Beware the Psycho shower scene soundtrack-like synths on this, however, for I feel they reveal wickedness behind Ms. Mosshart’s seductive lyrics. She’s just as good on “That Love,” which is a pure torch song.
“Impossible Tracks” sounds like “classic Kills.” The programmed beats are minimized in favor of Hince’s panther-prowl guitar work. “You get what you give. I don’t regret what I did,” Mosshart sings. I don’t know if she’s singing about leaving someone or shagging him (and not feeling guilty about either). “Black Tar” keeps up the guitar-driven sultry rock the Kills do so well. Hince’s guitar on “Echo Home” sounds like it’s from a warped record of a spaghetti western soundtrack, and his vocals mesh well with Mosshart’s. The electro-rock comes back to finish the record with “Whirling Eye,” and it’s a sharp track that sounds like they teamed up with Metric or listened to a lot of krautrock before they recorded it (and how about that psychedelic guitar solo from Hince?).
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I didn’t expect so many electro touches from the Kills, but it all works. I suppose the “ash” in the album’s title could refer to the gritty guitar work and tough lyrics, while the “ice” could refer to the cool synth touches and loops featured throughout the record. It could also refer to Mosshart’s love of cigarettes and how both she and Hince like to kick back a few cocktails now and then. Kick this album back with them. It’s smoky and cool.
Keep your mind open.
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Psych-pop outfit Ne-Hi release catchy single from upcoming album due out in February.
NE-HI ANNOUNCE SOPHOMORE RECORD, SHARE TOUR DATES
WATCH VIDEO FOR “STAY YOUNG“; OFFERS OUT 2/24 ON GRAND JURY
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Sharon Jones has left the building.
Sharon Jones, lead singer of the funk / soul / R&B powerhouse band Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings has died at the young age of 60 of pancreatic cancer. She fought a good fight, even releasing two more records and touring after her cancer diagnosis. Her albums with the Dap-Kings were a shot in the arm to the music industry which had pretty much ignored her for years. They couldn’t ignore her when she was dropping future classics like “100 Days, 100 Nights,” “How Do I Let a Good Man Down?”, and “Your Thing Is a Drag.”
Her live performances (none of which I ever got to see, apart from recorded video) were fiery affairs, and she caught and held your attention from the moment she stepped onstage. You knew things were about to get real when she’d kick off her shoes so she could get down harder.
She will be greatly missed, but take heart in knowing she’s strutting with James Brown somewhere right now.
Keep your mind open.
Fire Down Below – Viper Vixen Goddess Saint
Landing like a meteor impacting the moon, Belgium’s Fire Down Below (Kevin Gernaey – guitar, Sam Nuytens – drums, Jeroen Van Troyen – guitar and vocals, Bert Wynsberghe – bass) brings us Viper Vixen Goddess Saint – a good bit of stoner rock to get you through the coming winter.
After a short, almost bluesy instrumental intro (“El Viento del Desierto”), the band comes out chugging with “Through Dust and Smoke.” Imagine punk drumming, Wolfmother guitar licks, and prog-rock vocal stylings and you’ll get an idea of this track. They come out swinging and hit a triple.
“Roadburner” has a great heavy charge throughout it, and I love the way it breaks into a faster beat even before the first lyrics. It reminds me of a mix of Helmet and Quicksand, but with epic arena rock vocals from Van Troyen. “Universes Crumble” might refer to the eventual heat death of the galaxy, but the track is cosmic in its scope. The hand percussion throughout it is a great touch that brings a bit of a meditative aspect. The first line Van Troyen sings is “You are stars.” We are made of stars and to the stars we eventually return. A universe can crumble, but even that energy is reborn into another form. The song weaves back and forth between cosmic psych-rock and prog-metal. It’s outstanding.
“Dashboard Jesus” is quite suitable for late night pedal-to-the-metal drives along European coastlines, city highways, or dusty back roads. The guitars shred hard and Nuytens seems to have grown a third arm by the time this track comes along because it sounds like he’s hitting multiple cymbals at the same time (and the breakdown he has with Wynsberghe is sweet). After another bluesy instrumental (“Resurrection”), the album ends with the appropriately titled “The Mammoth.” It’s appropriate because it’s over eleven minutes long and is has heavy as a woolly mammoth walking across a hardwood floor. It’s an epic finish to a cosmic trip, like the aforementioned meteor smacking the moon.
I had no idea there was a stoner rock scene in Belgium, so I’m glad these guys sent me their record. You should seek them out if you enjoy stoner rock, prog-rock, or psych rock.
Keep your mind open.
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Scattered Hamlet – Swamp Rebel Machine
Looking for hard rock best suited for running moonshine or chugging it? Look no further than Scattered Hamlet (Richard Erwin – bass and vocals, Adam Joad – vocals, harmonica, and guitar, Jake Deling Le Bas – drums, percussion, and vocals, Adam Newell – lead and slide guitars, vocals) and their new album Swamp Rebel Machine. The interior art features a rendition of the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, but the logo has been changed to “Don’t fuck with me.” It’s a theme evident in the opening track, “Battle Hymn,” and the instrumentation is indeed not something with which to fuck.
“Whip-Poor-Will” hits as hard as any Zeke track (especially Erwin’s bass groove). “Stonewall Jackson” starts with a conversation between two pals – one of who would rather watch The Dukes of Hazzard than get laid. I can’t help but wonder if this is based on a real conversation one of the band members with someone. Newell shreds on it, by the way.
“Four Barrel Mojo” is dirty honkytonk rock. “White Trash” grooves so well that the Donnas might smash a couple guitars in “Why didn’t we come up with that lick?” rage. The title track is the first single off the record. It’s a good choice since it sums up the band’s ethos (hard-workin’, hard-rockin’, hard-drinkin’, school of hard knocks graduates). “Green Bastard” has some of Le Bas’ hardest and funkiest drumming on the record. Joad salutes his grandmother on “Outlaw Breed” (“Grandma taught me nothing’s guaranteed except the hillbilly pride and the outlaw breed.”).
“Rimfire” reminds me of good hair metal, which is an elusive beast these days. “Buckshot” could be a lost Nashville Pussy track, and I love the way Joad’s vocals border on screams for a lot of it. The closer is “The Lesson,” which ends the album on a metal note that would make Clutch proud. Newell goes for broke on it, and I love the drum and bass breakdown near the end.
Swamp Rebel Machine is a good, dirty, gritty, heavy rock record. We need this kind of “Don’t fuck with me” rock right now. People are pissed and making their voices heard, and they could very well be playing this record in their earbuds as they march or mosh.
Keep your mind open.
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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard to release five albums in 2017.
Australian psych-rock workhorses King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have pledged to release five albums in 2017. The band is already prolific and this feat, if they can do it, will make them legendary.
The first album is Flying Microtonal Banana. It’s named after a guitar made for lead singer / guitarist Stu Mackenzie by a friend. The guitar has extra frets on it so he and the other band members (who also have customized guitars) can play 24 notes per octave rather than 12. Sounds crazy? Wait until you hear it on the first single – “Rattlesnake.”
Keep your mind open.
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Rewind Review: Bleached – Ride Your Heart (2013)
Ride Your Heart from Bleached (Jennifer Clavin – vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, Jennifer Clavin – guitar, bass, vocals, percussion, lap steel, Dan Allaire – drums) is a great, California sun-soaked pop-punk record about looking for love. The lead track, “Looking for a Fight,” has Jennifer Clavin warning a potential suitor to back off, but the following track, “Next Stop,” is about tearful goodbyes at the train station. Both have excellent guitar work by Jennifer and her sister, Jessica.
“Outta My Mind” has lovely vocals from both Clavins and instrumentation taking the album briefly into psychedelic territory. Jennifer Clavin goes back to wishing love would stay away from her and stop complicating everything, but it’s too good to avoid. However, when we get to “Dead in Your Head,” she roasts her ex for screwing up the great thing they had. She apologizes for her own bad behavior on “Dreaming without You,” in which she sings, “…I won’t hold you back. I know I’m a heart attack. You’ll be fine without me.”
“Waiting by the Telephone” could be their tribute to Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone,” because both songs have the same theme – anxiously awaiting the call of a lover. Bleached’s version rocks as much as Blondie’s, by the way. “Love Spells” has Jennifer Clavin first spurning love (“I don’t wanna see you no more. You keep on running back to my door. Told you once, yeah I told you before. Your love spells don’t work anymore.”), then hoping it returns (“Will I see you tonight when I open up my heart?”). It’s a clever song about the confusing nature of love.
“Searching through the Past” is a fine power pop song about missing a lover and hoping for a return to good times. It has great guitar solos by the Clavin sisters as well. The title track is not unlike a Pixies song with quiet verses backed with rock riffs that crank up during the chrous. “Dead Boy” is good, solid fuzz rock that builds to a sweet guitar fade-out. “Guy Like You” is about a guy who keeps breaking Jennifer Clavin’s heart, but she “can’t get enough” of him. It’s a sweet, sad song with lap steel guitar by Jessica Clavin that takes the song to a great, lonely place. The closer, “When I Was Yours,” builds to a wall of psych-fuzz bliss and leaves you hoping the track would go on for another five minutes or more.
The Clavin sisters thank, among others, “ex boyfriends,” in the liner notes to the album. The entire record is about them and the mindboggling nature of love, and it’s a fine salute to both.
Keep your mind open.
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Priests release single, “Pink White House,” from upcoming new album.
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Aussie surf-psych rockers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever release SubPop single.
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