Rock – Page 200 – 7th Level Music

Rewind Review: A Place to Bury Strangers – Exploding Head (2009)

I’ve been meaning to pick up A Place to Bury Strangers’ 2009 album, Exploding Head, for years. I have no excuse other than it was never for sale on CD whenever I’d see them live. I love the band, so shame on me for taking seven years to pick up this fine record.

The opener, “It Is Nothing,” displays Oliver Ackermann’s (vocals and guitar) love of My Bloody Valentine. His guitar sounds like he’s playing it upside-down and backwards while his vocals seem to be coming from the bottom of an empty pool. “In Your Heart” is one of my favorite APTBS tracks. It has the stabbing guitar chords, chugging synth beats, lyrics about screwed-up relationships (“Don’t say you’ll be with me again. There’s nothing there, it’s dead.”), and David J-like bass I love from their songs, and it slays live.

Tribal drumming grounds “Lost Feeling” as Ackermann pleads with his girl to come back to him, but he knows he’s not even on her radar. It’s like a great lost Bauhaus track with even more blaring guitars. “Deadbeat” is nothing but, as it has some of the hardest, slickest beats and bass on the record. It’s an instant mosh pit creator, so be careful where you play it.

“Keep Slipping Away” is like early Cure but with more reverb, heavier amps, and not as much moping. “Ego Death” is heavy goth rock with a chorus that might knock you out of your boots. “Smile When You Smile” is equally heavy and a bit creepier. “Everything Always Goes Wrong” could be the theme for every Three’s Company episode by the title, but the sound of it is better for a modern Euro-horror film.

You’d think the title track would be loud enough to make your head explode, but APTBS wisely flips it around to make it a catchy industrial track with almost a dance club bass line and vocals free of reverb. The closer is one of their hardest and loudest live tracks – “I Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart.” As fast as it is on the record, it’s twice the speed live.

Don’t be like me and wait seven years to add this to your collection. It’s essential noise-psych.

Keep your mind open.

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WALL – self-titled EP

I’m happy to report that fun post-punk music is alive and well thanks to New York’s WALL (Vanessa Gomez, Vince McClelland, Elizabeth Skadden, Samantha York). Their four-song EP is a jolt of lightning to everything drab coming out of your radio right now.

“Cuban Cigars” is a middle finger to rich douchebags full of skronky guitars and visceral lyrics like, “These guys they got the money, only once they’ve been to the laundry.” It’s one of my top singles of the year so far. “Fit the Part” is a great mix of X (sing-along / shout vocals), Buzzcocks (beats and guitar), and Circle Jerks (attitude). “Last Date” could be an early Devo track, but it’s really more of a paranoid freak-out fueled by McClelland’s Gang of Four-influenced guitar. Just when you think they’re all about post-punk madness, along comes “Milk,” which is neo-psychedelic rock (Post-psych? I should trademark that term.) with slightly reverbed vocals and building instrumentation that is perfect for tripping or getting ready for a fight.

This EP is a shot across the bow of modern rock. WALL have put up a metaphoric version of their namesake and dared anyone to scale it. It’s covered in spikes, barbed wire, fuzzy amps, and four New York rockers atop it ready to stomp down anyone who even tries to climb up there. They can’t release a full-length album soon enough for my tastes, and the sake of the world.

Keep your mind open.

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Radiohead to release new album May 8th.

Radiohead, arguably the biggest band in the world (and still one of the few pushing the envelope and daring to not be pigeonholed), have announced their as-yet untitled new album will be released on May 8th in digital formats and in physical formats on June 18th.

The band surprised everyone by erasing their entire Internet presence for two days and then returning with the new single “Burn the Witch.” Two days later they released the single “Daydreaming,” which has a video directed by film director Paul Thomas Anderson (for whom Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood has scored multiple films).

Radiohead are playing multiple festival dates in the U.S. and around the world starting this summer. They always put on an excellent show, so don’t miss them if they’re near you.

Keep your mind open.

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Midnight Oil announce 2017 reunion tour.

Aussie legends Midnight Oil announced on May 4th that they are reuniting for a tour in 2017. In case you don’t know “the Oils” (as they are sometimes called) are one of Australia’s greatest bands and easily one of the most politically charged / Stick-it-to-the-Man bands of the last 30 years. Lead singer Peter Garrett even went into politics after the band split up to further their causes for Aboriginal Australians, economic equality, and environmental action.

They haven’t announced tour dates or locations yet, but this will be a must-see show. My wife and I have seen them twice, and both shows were excellent. We got to meet some of them after a show, and they were all good lads.

They’re offering a free download of a live version of “Forgotten Years” (one of the hits off the classic Blue Sky Mining album) through their website to celebrate the announcement, so grab it while you can.

Keep your mind open.

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Radiohead erase Internet presence, return with new single and video.

In case you missed it, music titans Radiohead erased their Facebook, Twitter, website, and pretty much everything else they had on the Internet two days ago. They were gone. Fans were puzzled, but not entirely surprised as Radiohead have been Internet renegades for years. They were the first to release an album (In Rainbows) online and told fans they could pay whatever they wanted for it, even nothing at all if they liked.

Their website and Twitter content was often cryptic, and they’d go for long stretches without posting anything.

They came back yesterday with a new single and video – “Burn the Witch.” It’s a dissonant, almost frantic song with Thom Yorke’s usual mysterious lyrics. The video is also a tribute to the unsettling film The Wicker Man. Don’t bother with the Nicolas Cage version. Just don’t. Enjoy the original, this new song, and the upcoming album (whenever that is) instead.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Beck – Guero (2005)

Beck was eager to rock in 2005, as evidenced by the opening of his Guero album. “E-Pro” starts off with heavy guitar, stadium drums, and that funky ass white boy delivery of his that only he can pull off without sounding like a fool. I’m sure this was a hit back then, but why isn’t it still now? The breakdown on it alone is worth multiple spins.

“Que Onda Guero” is one of the funkiest tracks Beck had laid on us in years. It has a bit of that “Loser” feel, with Spanglish lyrics and references to things like Burger King crowns and Latino vegetable vendors. The beats from the Dust Brothers on it help, of course. You can’t go wrong there. They come back for “Girl,” on which Beck plays everything else and sings about his girl “with her cheap sunglasses walking crooked down the beach.”

“Missing” has Beck lamenting the loss of his girl. I don’t know if she’s the same one from the previous track, but he was heartbroken when he wrote it. You might not realize it at first due to the bossa nova beats and smooth groove, but can’t miss it with lyrics like “I prayed heaven today would bring its hammer down on me and pound you out of my head. I can’t think with you in it.”

I’m not sure which is funkier on “Black Tambourine” – Beck’s bass or the Dust Brothers’ beats. Money Mark’s organ work on “Earthquake Weather,” might beat both of them, however. The whole track is a great mix of 1970’s funk, trip hop, and acid jazz. “Hell Yes” is vintage Beck, with lots of quirky rapping, snappy electro-beats, and fun lyrics. I think, and hope, that it’s about a janitor who gets his groove on while cleaning floors in an office building and not giving a damn what anyone thinks.

“Broken Drum” is a lament to a lost friend, with nice lonely piano work by Beck. “Scarecrow” is a near-blues toe-tapper. “Go It Alone” is about Beck deciding he’s better off being a cool loner than getting entangled in a marriage that scares the hell out of him (and that’s Jack White on bass, by the way).

With all these songs about weird and doomed relationships, songs about death were inevitable. “Farewell Ride” is something from a dark southern swamp shack sung by someone with weathered skin and gnarled hands from fistfights and hard work. “I don’t see the face of kindness, I don’t hear the mission bells, I don’t smell the morning roses. All I see is two white horses in a line carrying me to my burial ground.” Good, heavy stuff right there.

“Rental Car” is about going as far as one can on borrowed time, and the closer, “Emergency Exit” is about someone coming to grips with death and feeling relief in knowing kindness and life will go on in their absence.

I seriously have no idea how I’ve avoided this album for eleven years. Guero would’ve been in my top 10 of 2005 if I’d heard it back then. Each track is good. There’s no filler here. Shame on me for missing it.

Keep your mind open.

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The Heavy – Hurt & the Merciless

One of the things I love about The Heavy (Kelvin Swaby – vocals, Dan Taylor – guitar, Spencer Page – bass, Chris Ellul – drums) is how they come out of the gate gunning on their new album Hurt & the Merciless. “Since You’ve Been Gone” is a blazing hot track with wah-wah guitar, fat horns, and funky drumming. The Heavy don’t mess around, and we need more bands that ain’t got time for suckers. The album’s title sums up the theme of the record – every song is about nasty relationships or heartbreak.

The album’s title sums up the theme of the record – every song is about nasty relationships or heartbreak. “What Happened to the Love?” is a great example of their sound – dangerous rock with a bit of soul thrown in for good measure. “Not the One” is an anti-love song. It’s not against love, mind you, but Taylor (who wrote it) knows that getting into a relationship with the person mentioned will only bring heartbreak, so he begs them to stop the flirtations and amorous behavior that will only end in ruin. Taylor’s guitar and Page’s bass are extra funky on it.

Speaking of extra funky things, wait until you hear the horns on “The Apology.” They get a Latino / spaghetti western touch-up on “Nobody’s Hero.” “Miss California” brings the humor, with Taylor writing about a former beauty queen turned hellish bitch (“It took more than just a crucifix to keep that thing at bay.”). “Turn Up” brings back the big horns, and “A Ghost You Can’t Forget” swings hard, with Swaby channeling Howlin’ Wolf in his vocals as he sings about returning to haunt the woman who wronged him (“I’ll wipe that look from your face when I’m dancing upon your deathbed.”).

As a former bass player, I love Page’s riff on “The Last Confession.” It thumps along and drives the whole song, really. “Mean Old Man” has Swaby asking his lover why she’s surprised by his behavior when she “knew the kind of man I was before you found yourself begging for more.”

“Slave to Your Love” has Swaby (or Taylor, who wrote it, perhaps) begging for more from a dominatrix. “Roll me over easy meat, pick me off the floor, knock me off my feet.” Ellul goes for broke on the track so hard the rest of the band can barely keep up with him.

The album ends with the soulful “Goodbye Baby,” another example of how the Heavy can switch from blistering rock to something you’d hear on a vintage Stax Records album you found at a thrift store. It’s a sad song about a breakup that hit Taylor like a Mack truck and left him dumbfounded.

Hurt & the Merciless is another fine entry in the band’s discography. They’ve yet to stumble, and are already selling out venues on their current tour. Don’t miss a chance to see them and hear these songs live.

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity

Holy crap.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have come to “fuck shit up” (as they put it) on their new record – Nonagon Infinity.

The band (Ambrose Kenny Smith – harmonica, vocals, synths, Cook Craig – guitars and bass, Eric Moore – drums, percussion, theremin, Joey Walker – guitar and vocals, Lucas Skinner – bass, Michael Cavanaugh – drums, Stu Mackenzie – guitar, vocals, flute) is wildly prolific and able to switch musical styles faster than a chameleon changes colors. Their last album, Paper Mache Dream Balloon, is a lovely bit of psychedelic hippy pop music with some rock and blues touches.

Nonagon Infinity, however, is the most blistering rock record I’ve heard in a long while. “Robot Stop” explodes from the opening seconds like a land mine hit by a tank. Each track flows seamlessly into the next. This happens so well that the album loops on itself by the end. I’ve read interviews with the band in which they had planned this all along. The album can be listened to on loop without any noticeable bumps in the road. In fact, you could start Nonagon Infinity on any of the nine tracks and it would still loop itself without stumbling. It’s an incredible piece of audio engineering.

“Big Fig Wasp” emerges from “Robot Stop” like a train emerging from a tunnel. Everything is layered in wall-flattening guitars, double drumming, and slightly distorted vocals before launching into “Gamma Knife” like a rocket leaving Cape Canaveral. The harmonica on “Gamma Knife” is the booster on that rocket, taking the song out of orbit. “People Vultures” follows it, with lyrics about rampant consumerism and a heavy Jethro Tull feel.

“Mr. Beat” has a great trippy groove before “Evil Death Roll” comes in with heavy reverb on the guitars and a cool mix of stoner rock and psychedelia. “Invisible Face” sounds like they recorded it while diving 80mph down a dark desert road. “Wah Wah” refers to both the guitar effects and the near mystical chant lyrics as it builds to mind-blowing intensity. It melts your brain into the closer (or is it the opener?) – “Road Train,” which might crush any sanity you have left by this point.

As stunning as Nonagon Infinity is, I’m sure it is even better live, so don’t miss them on their current tour. You won’t regret it, or buying this record.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: Allah-Las

Los Angeles psych-rockers Allah-Las will be performing at Levitation Austin on May 1st. They have a neat mix of surf, psych, and 1960s garage rock that I’m guessing comes from the fact that three of them met while working at Amoeba Records where they had ample opportunity to talk music and dig up vintage gems from the era.

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Levitation Austin artist spotlight: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Australian psych-rockers King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard return to Levitation Austin on May 1st. My wife and I were lucky enough to see their first performance on U.S. soil at the festival two years ago, and I’m keen to see them again. Their new album, Nonagon Infinity, is a sizzling rocker that loops on itself from multiple directions. Hearing it live should be mind-blowing.

Keep your mind open.

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