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Category: Alt rock
Rewind Review: The Kills – Blood Pressures (2011)
I’m hard pressed to remember an album I’ve recently heard that starts off as well as The Kills’ (Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart) Blood Pressures.
“Future Starts Slow” is one of their biggest hits, and it’s for good reason. Hince’s guitar is like a haunting alarm and Mosshart’s pleading vocals (“…don’t ever give me up. I could never get back up when the future starts so slow.”) have both rock swagger and blues desperation. “Satellite” is another song pleading for more time to love as the Kills’ phone calls to respective lovers are cut off by bad satellite transmissions beyond their control.
“The Heart Is a Beating Drum” is a reminder to keep passion burning in a relationship. Mosshart sums up a hundred thousand sex life columns as she sings, “And you feel like you been here so many times before. It’s not the door you’re using, but the way you’re walking through it.” Hince’s guitar has this cool low fuzz to it well-suited for late night dalliances. There also this cool percussion that sounds like a sped-up Ping-Pong game throughout it that I love.
For having such sad lyrics (i.e., “I’ve made mistakes I can’t take back home. I love you just not the way you want.”), “Nail in My Coffin” has one of the best grooves and some of the heaviest guitar on the record. “Wild Charms,” with Hince on lead vocals, is a nice introduction to “DNA,” in which Mosshart references them (“True, I had those wild charms for you, but oh how my fire burnt them out.”) as she oozes sexual power and attitude.
“Baby Says” has a slick bass line throughout it and sounds like an early Blondie track. “The Last Goodbye” is a heartbreaking break-up song as Mosshart swears this will be the last time she returns to “half hearted love.” “Damned If She Do” has hints of heavy fuzz rock but the lyrics are pure blues. “You Don’t Own the Road” has Mosshart telling her ex that he doesn’t have a monopoly on loneliness and misery, but she’s willing to make him feel better (“Come on over if that’s the way you feel when you’re lonesome. Steal it back when you’re lonely.”). I love the way her vocals get slightly distorted in the chorus. They match the great crunch of Hince’s guitar work. The closer is “Pots and Pans,” in which Mosshart tells her lover that she’s done caring (“Ain’t enough salt in the ocean that care enough to keep you floating.”), and Hince’s fuzzy acoustic guitar draws a line in the sand.
Blood Pressures is solid rock about heartbreak and passion. Both subjects are easy to make sappy or over the top, but the Kills make it look easy. It’s not, because the road you have to walk to write songs like these isn’t easy. Most can’t handle it. The Kills did.
Keep your mind open.
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Moon Duo’s new album due February 03, 2017.
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The Orwells’ new album is due out February 2017, but you can hear two singles from it now.
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Keep your mind open.
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Live – Beach Slang, Bleached, Hunny – October, 21, 2016 – Cleveland, OH
I was bummed that I missed Riot Fest in Chicago this year, and one of the reasons was that I missed Bleached‘s set there. I discovered Bleached earlier this year DJ’ing for WSND and really enjoyed their new record, Welcome the Worms.
Luckily for me, Bleached were playing in Cleveland at the Grog Shop on the night my wife were there for her birthday road trip. The Grog Shop is a nice venue. My wife described it as one of her favorites of all the places I’ve dragged her to this year. It’s roomy, but not cavernous. Just avoid the Ace pumpkin cider.
First up on the bill were Hunny, a pop-punk outfit from L.A. with a lot of guitars and swagger. They sounded like Green Day if Green Day decided to keep playing mid-size venues instead of writing Broadway musicals.
Bleached played second, and they killed it. A batch of Millennial girls started a tiny mosh pit as soon as Bleached put down the first chord. They opened with “Keep On Keepin’ On” from the new record and tore through other tracks like “Trying to Lose Myself Again” and “Wasted on You” from Welcome the Worms and “Looking for a Fight” and “Outta My Mind” from their first record, Ride Your Heart (review coming soon).
Jessica Clavin had a definite Suzi Gardner / L7 power in her guitar work, and bassist Micayla Grace was on point. Drummer Nick Pilot did a great job, and even swapped his drums for Jennifer Clavin’s guitar (while she took over kit duties) at the end. It was a solid set that won them a lot of new fans.
Last up was Beach Slang, which was only singer / guitarist James Alex that night for reasons unknown. He played a loud, wild set of punk anthems and even invited audience members to join him on stage to play with him. Two people did, picking up a bass guitar and getting behind Bleached’s drum kit for one track – and doing well for being an impromptu rhythm section. Mr. Alex had a lot of fans in the crowd who went wild for his new material.
It was a good night of rock. I hope you were there.
Keep your mind open.
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Live – Elephant Stone, the Tilt Room, One Day Steady, Paul Labrise – October 20, 2016 – Pittsburgh, PA
We made the 5-hour drive to Pittsburgh through the rain and got in a nice romantic dinner before settling in at Howlers – a local rock / dive bar in Pittsburgh to see Elephant Stone. My wife and I have been fans of theirs since we first saw them at Levitation Austin in 2013, and I was eager to hear tracks from their new album, Ship of Fools, live.
We had to wait a little while, however, because we were surprised to learn there were three bands playing before them. The first was a local hero – Paul Labrise – who played in a rock three-piece that laid down a good mix of surf, rockabilly, and garage rock.
Following them were One Day Steady – who were only on the second date of their current tour. They played loud, enthusiastic that reminded us of Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and a little bit of Red Hot Chili Peppers for good measure.
The Tilt Room were another three-piece, but this one played Americana / acoustic jams and didn’t mess around. They got on stage, blasted through a short set, and sounded good.
Elephant Stone got on stage after 11:00pm and ended up played a shorter than normal set due to the late start time. It was, nonetheless, impressive as always. This is the smallest venue in which we’ve seen them, and hearing tracks like “Andromeda,” “Manipulator,” and “The Devil’s Shelter” in such a space was uplifting. Many of the members of the other bands stuck around for their set and were impressed by their sound and efficiency.
We got to chat with Elephant Stone frontman Rishi Dhir, and it was great to finally meet him in person after a couple years of seeing them in Texas and swapping Tweets. He gave us a hug before and after their set, which was (unbeknownst to him) the best birthday gift he could’ve given my wife – as it was officially her birthday by the post-midnight end of their set. It was a fine set at that, and shame on you if you missed it. Catch them on this tour if you can.
Keep your mind open.
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Live – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979, Deap Vally – October 13, 2016 – Chicago, Illinois
I knew this was a triple bill I couldn’t miss. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979, and Deap Vally were playing the Chicago House of Blues all in the same night. That’s a killer lineup. Any of the three are worth seeing alone, but all three on the same night. It’s a no-brainer.
First up were Deap Vally, who I’ve wanted to see since I missed their set at Levitation Austin in 2013. They came out to a large crowd and, no exaggeration, stole the show.
They opened with “Make My Own Money” and powered through prime cuts like “Gonnawanna,” “Walk of Shame,” and “Royal Jelly.” Guitarist Lindsey Troy and fill-in drummer Lia Simone (formerly of A Place to Bury Strangers and Les Bucherettes) rocked so hard that I felt bad for DFA 1979 who were to follow them. Ms. Simone played like she’d been playing the tracks for years. It turns out she’s longtime friends with Ms. Troy and full-time drummer Julie Edwards, so Ms. Simone practically knew the chops already when she jumped behind the kit. Everyone within earshot of me was talking about their set even after the end of BRMC’s, proclaiming Ms. Troy’s “bad ass” attitude and Ms. Simone’s excellent kit work.
Death from Above 1979 were no slouches, mind you. Their crazy light show was perfect for their loud fuzz-rock. How drummer Sebastien Granger can sing lead vocals while playing those insane drum licks is a mystery to me, but he makes it look easy. Jesse Keeler wanders the stage like an enraged Rasputin and plays as heavy as the mad monk’s legend. A crazy, aggressive mosh pit broke out during their set. I got in for one song, still happy to mix it up with the youngsters.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club closed out the night and, as usual, put on a great show. “Let the Day Begin,” “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo,” “Conscience Killer,” “Red Eyes and Tears,” “Cold Wind” (a personal favorite) and “Ain’t No Easy Way” were all crowd-favorites. Any worries anyone might’ve had about drummer Leah Shapiro’s health (who underwent brain surgery in 2014 for Chiari malformations) were dashed because she unloaded on her kit like a machine gunner.
The only bummer of the set was some sort of equipment malfunction on Peter Hayes’ side of the stage. The band had to alter some of their song selection, and the broken thing (my guess is a bad monitor) apparently was never properly fixed. They closed with a winner – “Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll” – and had no encore due to the faulty gear.
It was a good rock show despite the early exit from BRMC – one of the best rock bills I’ve seen in a long while, in fact.
Keep your mind open.
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Death from Above 1979 – Live at Third Man Records
Recorded September 30, 2015, Live at Third Man Records is a fast, furious capsule of the raw energy of Death from Above 1979 (Sebastien Granger – drums and vocals, Jesse Keeler – bass and vocals). No guitar here, folks. Drums, bass, and vocals are more than enough.
“Right on Frankenstein” has enough electro-fuzz in it to bring an animated corpse to life. “Where have all the virgins gone?” the band wonders on “Virgins,” which has a wickedly slick bass groove that’s hard to describe. The bass on “Going Steady,” however, is almost like drone synth rock. Jack White, head honcho at Third Man Records, probably loves the title of “White Is Red,” and he can’t argue with the heartfelt lyrics.
“Trainwreck 1979” is about a deadly crash of a chlorine train tanker and hits about as hard. “Gemini” hits even harder, with squeaky, almost tortured bass and race to the finish drums (which makes sense since it was the last track recorded for side A of the vinyl release).
Side B starts with “Little Girl,” a love song with doom rock bass riffs and post-punk drums. “Go Home Get Down” has freakier bass and lyrics, and “Government Trash” is appropriately trashy and loud.
I’m going to assume “Always On” refers to the distortion pedals used by the band, because the song is a cranked-up, raucous rocker that reminds me of a rocket launch in the way it constantly builds to near burn-out. They close the live session with “The Physical World.” “Oh no, not again. I get this feeling this is not the end,” Granger sings, but end it must and they go for broke and fade out in squalls of feedback.
It’s a short, but strong live recording and a must for DFA 1979 fans.
Keep your mind open.
Deap Vally – Femejism
Deap Vally’s (Julie Edwards – drums and vocals, Lindsey Troy – guitar and vocals) Sistrionix was my favorite album of 2013. I bought it for three different people and turned on at least one other to it. It shouldn’t surprise you, then, that Femejism, apart from having the greatest album title of the year, is one of my favorites of 2016.
With production help from Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Femejism is full of swagger, sweat, and shredding. The first single and track, “Royal Jelly,” demands you crank your stereo volume to 11. It’s a power anthem / warning to others who want to live the rock life. “If you wanna be queen bee, then you better make honey. If you want to be miss thing, then you better start hustling,” they sing. Don’t whine and bitch about it. Get out there and do it.
“Julian” is a send-off to an ex-boyfriend who missed his chance at something great, and it has some of the fastest guitar work from Troy. “Gonnawanna” has Troy planting a flag for riot grrls everywhere, declaring she’s going to do whatever she damn well pleases and no one’s going to stop her. It’s powerful, near-stadium filling rock (Favorite line: “I’m on a psychic safari, and I’m not sorry.”).
Speaking of powerful rock, wait until you hear “Little Baby Beauty Queen.” It’s frantic post-punk madness with John Bonham-style drumming from Edwards. “Smile More” brings back the distorted blues rock Deap Vally does so well and deserves to be on every woman’s mix tape from now until eternity.
Zinner’s touches can be heard on “Critic,” as it sounds like an early Yeah Yeah Yeahs track (and that’s not a bad thing) with Troy lambasting critics, Internet trolls, and haters. “Post Funk” is layered with reverbed vocals as the band sings about getting out of dodge (both in terms of places and relationships) before things get stale. It has some of Edwards’ best percussion on the whole album. She absolutely cooks, and I’m sure this song hits even harder live.
“Two Seat Bike” has Troy willing to get it on if her lover would just turn off the damn camera and quit insisting on shooting amateur porn. “Bubble Baby” has that crushing guitar sound I love so much from Lindsey Troy. It’s full of chugging riffs, alarm-like squeaks, and blues chords (and her vicious vocals) blasted to the back of the room. “Teenage Queen” has the band going after more haters who ask them if they plan to live their lives the way they do into their golden years.
“Grunge Bond” is as grungy and grimy as you’d hope, complete with call and response vocals, Edwards’ go-for-broke drumming, and Troy apparently playing a Hammond B3 organ by beating it with her guitar. That’s how it sounds to me at least, meaning it sounds great. Her guitar on “Turn It Off” is loud yet distant, much like her lyrics about not wanting to succumb to her attractions. On “Heart is an Animal,” it’s so heavy and fuzzy that it feels like Sasquatch breaking down your door.
Femejism is a strong record that buzzes with power. Listening to it is like meditating next to a power substation – dangerous, thrilling, and possibly illegal.
Keep your mind open.
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Public Image Ltd. offer 4-disc/album “Metal Box” and “Album” sets.
Post-punk legends Public Image Ltd. are offering impressive “super deluxe” sets of two of their classic albums – Metal Box and Album – through a PledgeMusic campaign.
Both records are available on either CD or vinyl and include remastered versions of the albums, a live record, unreleased tracks, art prints or posters (depending on which version you get), B-sides, BBC session cuts, and a lot more.
Metal Box was first released in 1979 as three 12″ singles in one package (a literal circular metal box) that made up the entire album. Album came out seven years later (and, full disclosure, is one of my favorite albums of all time).
The signed versions of these deluxe sets sold out on September 20th, so don’t wait to get an unsigned copy if you want one.
Keep your mind open.
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