Category: Reviews

Review: NORMANS (self-titled)

I’m not sure that NORMANS‘ self-titled album can be described by one genre. Post-punk? Yes. Noise rock? Sure. Gothic? At times. Intriguing? Definitely.

Lead singer (and bassist) Matthew Reid comes out swinging, and screaming, on “John Hockey,” while drummer Michael Rudes hits his kit so hard that it sounds like he was pissed about being stuck in traffic for an hour on the way to the studio. The guitars, from Kyle Souza and Collin Fish are all over the place, causing absolute chaos the whole time. In other words, they picked a perfect track to open the record.

“Shut Up I’m Shopping” is a great, angry slap at consumerism and the rat race. “Murder Rich” changes gears and drops you into dance-punk while Reid claims, “You’re a secondhand son of a bitch. You’re a car going over a cliff.” to let you know he’s not impressed with your wealth and knows your pursuit of it will only end in misery.

The drums and bass on “Anti-Crusoe” switch it up again, now taking us into Wall of Voodoo-like desert rock as Reid sings about forever being a wanderer (“I’m a beast without no home. I hate everything…So go on and touch me.”). “Firepower” is, interestingly, a bit low key compared to other tracks, although still loud and wild, preferring to subtly work in the back of your brain for most of it.

“Dead Snakes” gets a bit trippy with added vocal effects (mostly echoes) and the guitars sounding like they were recorded in an empty swimming pool on a space station. “Healing an Eyesore” is downright frightening, with Reid’s vocals sounding the most frantic on the whole album.

“Schloss Loss” adds a little krautrock to the mix, thumping with deep synth bass to nudge / shove you to the dance floor. “Bending the Branch” is great dance-punk with its strange guitar riffs, relentless bass, and frenzied drumming. Closing with “Fury on the Island,” NORMANS just go nuts for the finish. Souza and Fish sound like they’re using claw hammers on their guitars, Reid’s bass stomps around like an angry sumo wrestler, and you can practically feel Rudes’ sweat hitting your face as he wails on his kit.

It’s a wild record that will almost leave you breathless. Keep your eyes on these guys. They’re dangerous.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ in New York (2022 reissue)

It’s no secret that Lightnin’ Hopkins is my favorite bluesman of all time. He’s the only one I have emblazoned on a T-shirt I bought in Nashville years ago. So, I practically jumped at the Chicago wrecka stow rack when I saw this 2022 issue of his 1960 album, Lightnin’ in New York, for sale at a stunningly cheap price.

Hopkins was slowly getting into the concert scene around this time, mostly playing in house parties and honkytonks back in the Houston area. He had trouble connecting with young, white audiences at first, figuring (correctly so) that they hadn’t seen or experienced the things he and his friends and family had. How would and how could white people relate to the blues?

He landed in New York City in late 1960 and, after being shuffled around to some low-rent apartments, learned that there were indeed some white people in the Big Apple who could relate to the blues. Downtrodden and heartbroken people can be found everywhere.

Recorded on November 15th of that year, Hopkins sat in the studio with his trusty guitar and a piano, often switching back and forth on the same song. “Take It Easy,” the opener, is a great showcase of this talent. “Mighty Crazy” is a witty, fun track that skewers oppressive social and sexual attitudes (“Ain’t it crazy to keep on rubbing at that same old thing?”).

Hopkins is relaxed and enjoying himself on “Your Own Fault, to Treat Me the Way You Do.” His playful piano work is like a strutting cat on it. “I’ve Had My Fun If I Don’t Get Well No More” is a song about approaching death, but looking back and appreciating the ride. Hopkins wants his mother to know what’s happening (“Let her know the shape I’m in. Just tell her to pray for me, momma, forgive me for all my sins.”).

“The Trouble Blues” is a powerful song with Hopkins’ vocals aching with sad memories of his girl leaving him (“I’m leavin’ in the morning. Lightnin’, your crying won’t make me stay.”) and fatigue from rough mileage brought on by the world in general. “Lightnin’s Piano Boogie” is a fun instrumental showcase of his playing.

“Wonder Why” is another heartfelt performance of Hopkins losing love yet again. He can’t figure out why his girl is leaving him, and she’s not giving him any hints. The album closes with one of his classic storytelling songs, “Mister Charlie,” about a stuttering boy who has to tell a kind mill owner that his mill is on fire. The boy is losing his home, and the owner is losing his business, but the owner lets him know things will be fine despite the tragedy.

This is a great recording of a blues legend relaxed and playing what he wants. It’s a prime addition to anyone’s blues or Hopkins collection.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Karkara – All Is Dust

Back in the spring, when you were trying to choose which bar to get drunk in during spring break, or finally cleaning out your damn garage, or planning a garden that, let’s face it, you knew you wouldn’t properly care for anyway, three lads from Toulouse known as Karkara (Maxime Marouani – drums and vocals, Hugo Olive – bass and synths, and Karim Rihani – guitar and vocals) were releasing an album about a man in search of an imagined utopian city somewhere in the desolate wasteland of what was modern-day civilization. That album’s title sums up the themes of the concept album, and your planned garden and the crap in your garage — All Is Dust.

The King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard comparisons are valid, as the trio unleashes a lot of wild guitar work and beats in what sound like ever-changing time signatures and discuss heavy concepts of end times and spin wild sci-fi tales. Opening track “Monoliths” is a wallop as soon as the first chord. You’ll have no idea how three guys produce that much sound. They’d be a great double-bill with King Buffalo.

Olive’s bass on “The Chase” is outstanding and the song might cause you to drain your car’s gas tank from mashing the pedal to the floor and not letting up for the next seven minutes. Jérome Bievelot‘s guest saxophone solo on this is on par with Captain Beefheart psychedelic chaos.

“On Edge” hits with doom-heavy bass riffs and drum as the protagonist in Karkara’s story is almost to the point of madness in his quest to find paradise. Rihani’s guitar solo on it is the sound of a frantic mind trying to figure out what’s happening while also struggling to avoid a slip into paranoia. “Moonshiner” has nothing to do with racing across Kentucky hillsides with illegal hooch while revenue men are chasing you, but everything to do with mesmerizing guitar work and mind-altering sounds to help you drift to the moon if you wish.

“Anthropia” is the name of the mythical city our hero has sought, and now he’s finally catching sight of it on the horizon. The song becomes a passionate race to get there, avoiding dangers the whole time. When he does finally get there, however, he discovers the title track — a blaster of a track that summarizes the hero’s rage and then determination to build on what has been destroyed.

It’s a heavy record, both in concept and riffs, and one of the fiercest I’ve heard all year.

Keep your mind open.

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[Merci à Angéla à NRV Promotion.]

Review: Blushing – Sugarcoat

Need some great shoegaze that sounds like it was unearthed from a music studio that was shuttered in 1994? Look no further than Blushing‘s excellent new album, Sugarcoat.

It’s difficult to choose a favorite track on this album, as all of it hits all the right notes. “Tamagotchi” lays down surefire guitar riffs designed to hypnotize and impress. “Seafoam” has gorgeous vocals and deceptively heavy bass while guest guitarist Jeff Schroeder sheds on it. It’s over far too soon. The choppy guitars on “Slyce” become roaring beasts in the blink of an eye while the dual vocals of Christina Carmona and Michelle Soto spin around each other like dancing ghosts.

“Silver Teeth” pushes a message of hope (“You never lost the light at all.”) while the guitars and drums just crush you. The title track’s bass riff and smoky-sunbeam vocals are intoxicating. The drums on “Fizz” hit hard and seem designed to wake you up from whatever is distracting you.

“Say When” is a song about how time tends to get away from us, while “Pull You in Two” is a solid rocker with ballad touches that would fit right into your 1990s rock playlist. “Charms” ebbs and flows with soft dreampop riffs one moment and then hits you with a deluge of fuzz the next. The album ends with “Debt,” which sends us out feeling like something cool is around the next corner, no matter how blue the day has been.

Sugarcoat is sweet in the right spots, shiny in others, and seriously savage from time to time. Give it a spin.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Dion Lunadon – Memory Burn

If you need a blast of frenetic garage rock, look no further than Dion Lunadon‘s newest EP, Memory Burn. Lunadon specializes in this kind of wild, near-panicked rock and roll that’s designed to make you stomp your boots or shake you out of them.

“Goodtimes”(a song about how too much of a good time usually becomes a bad time) starts with growling bass, then kicks in hammering drums, sand-blaster guitars, and fuzzy freak-out vocals. “New York” could’ve been a New York Dolls song in a previous life, and Lunadon’s love of that glam-garage band is evident throughout the track.

“Out in My World” practically throttles you from the first note as Lunadon claims that he’s “livin’ in a scam” while the guitars around him either sound like they’re on fire or being played with hand mixer. Lunadon rails about communication, or the lack thereof, on “Get Back to You,” which has some of the rowdiest riffs on the whole record.

Whereas that track might be the rowdiest, “Hollywood Blues” is the grimiest with Lunadon claiming “I lost my halo.” The EP closes with “Zenith Forever,” a raucous burner that barely leaves anything left behind when it’s over.

The whole EP is about fifteen minutes in length and feels like a high intensity aerobic workout by the time it’s done. It will burn your memory and calories.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dion Lunadon!]

Review: Aaron Frazer – Into the Blue

What do you do when you move across the country in search of something new and also ache for what you’re leaving? If you’re modern-day soul crooner Aaron Frazer, you play practically every instrument on a new record, Into the Blue, and sing about it. Frazer moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and it’s difficult to determine by the album’s cover if he’s standing on an east coast beach and looking toward his future, or on a west coast beach and looking at his past.

“Thinking of You” starts the album, hinting that the cover image might be of the latter. “I’m still thinking of you,” he sings as lush string arrangements and (new for him) samples of R&B soul jams surround him. The spaghetti western guitar of the title track bounces around Frazer’s falsetto like a happy bee in a meadow.

The hip hop sampling and beats on “Fly Away” are another great, new touch for Frazer. “Payback” will get you on the dancefloor, and Frazer’s drumming on it is slick. “Dime” (“Tell Me”) with Cancamusa on guest Spanish vocals is super sexy. “Perfect Strangers” isn’t the theme to the TV show of the same name, but is a gospel-influenced love song.

“Time Will Tell” brings in disco elements as Frazer sings about possibly finding love in his new environment, and probably if he’s made the right choice to switch coasts. “I Don’t Wanna Stay” seems to indicate his choice was right, or at least the best option available at the time. The song is a great, slow soul jam with snappy drums and sultry backing vocals. “Play On” is another good soul tune, and “Easy to Love” is downright groovy.

“Sad boy, you loved and lost, but you keep trying,” Frazer sings on the closing track, “The Fool,” which incorporates jazz flute with its seduction-ready bass and cool lounge guitar into an ode to unrequited love and a song of hope. It’s a cool way to end the record, with encouragement to keep at it until love arrives.

Frazer has given us another soulful, slick, sexy record, and not many are doing music like this or as well as he is right night.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Jake Xerxes Fussell – When I’m Called

I love that Jake Xerxes Fussell starts off his newest album, When I’m Called, with “Andy” – a tribute to Andy Warhol. Fussell’s simple guitar work and vocals (“You can tell Andy Warhol the ghost rider’s on his way.”) make the approach of a mysterious rider who probably brings death seem like the return of a welcome friend.

Fussell has long been a fan of traditional folk music, bluegrass, sea shanties, and field recordings of regional musicians across the country, putting his own spin on tracks that seem both new and ancient at the same time. I mean, “Cuckoo!” was originally written by the people who penned “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and Fussell makes it sound like a modern-day folk track he just wrote.

“Leaving Here, Don’t Know Where I’m Going” is a song to which everyone can relate, which seems to be a special knack Fussell has with his singing and playing. “Feeling Day” could fit right into a mostly empty pub on a Sunday night (probably because it’s Fussell’s version of a field recording in Scotland from 1971). The title track is a wonderful track showcasing Fussell’s guitar work while Anna Jacobson‘s horns provide a soft, beautiful backdrop.

James Elkington‘s string arrangements on “One Morning in May” make the song feel like a happy bird drifting on a wind current. “Gone to Hilo” is a song of heartbreak with Robin Holcomb on backing vocals and continues a theme of travel (sometimes for pleasure, other times for necessity, and other times because it’s the only option left in an already bad situation) throughout the album.

“Who Killed Poor Robin?” is a tale of death in the animal kingdom, and an allegory of how we’re remembered after we’re gone. The album closes with its final traveling song – “Going to Georgia,” as Fussell sings about earning love and how difficult that can be when one is wounded.

The album’s cover features a young man riding on a horse while he looks back to what he’s leaving behind, so much so that his head is turned backwards. He’s leaving, but doesn’t want to leave. He doesn’t want to fully acknowledge that the only way is forward. We’re all traveling. Jake Xerxes Fussell reminds us that we’re all on the same road, really, moving toward “the stars in the sky,” as he sings in the final track. We just need to turn our heads around from a past long gone and that never truly existed. We need to go when we’re called. This doesn’t mean When I’m Called is a depressing album about death. It’s, like all of Fussell’s work, ultimately uplifting and listening to it is an opportunity to be present while you ride ahead.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Lou Reed – Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65

If you’re like me, you also had no idea that Lou Reed, before he helped found The Velvet Underground and become one of the most influential musicians and songwriters of his time, was a songwriter, singer, and guitarist for Pickwick Records – a long-closed label that produced sound-alike recordings of artists who resembled popular bands of the day. Reed wrote everything from surf music to soul ballads, and thankfully the Lou Reed Archive has collected a lot of these rare tracks on Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65.

There’s a lot of fun and interesting stuff on this collection. It starts off with Lou in a band called The Primitives performing “The Ostrich,” a fuzzy record describing yet another dance craze, and returning again with the band later on the wonderfully wacky “Sneaky Pete.” You can instantly hear the seeds of the loud, wild edges of The Velvet Underground in this track. On “Cycle Annie” by The Beachnuts, Reed is singing hot rod rock and putting down fast-paced guitar strumming while doing it. Later, on “Sad, Lonely Orphan” and the “Okay, we get it.” “I’ve Got a Tiger in My Tank,” he hands the mic to someone else and concentrates on hammering out riffs.

Reed contributes soul jams “I’m Gonna Fight” and “Soul City” for The Hi-Lifes, slick ballads (“Oh No Don’t Do It,” “Love Can Make You Cry,” and “What About Me”) for Ronnie Dickerson, and sings lead again for The Roughnecks on “You’re Driving Me Insane,” which sounds like it could be a modern track from The Schizophonics.

The J Brothers‘ “Ya Running, But I’ll Getcha” has a bit of bluegrass flair to it, and Beverly Ann‘s “We Got Trouble” is a straight-up hippie rock track that was probably an attempt by Pickwick to create their own version of Cher.

The compilation’s title track comes from The All Night Workers and blends soul-rock with psych-drone. Jeannie Larimore‘s “Johnny Won’t Sure No More” is a bit sugary, but the drum beat behind it is the early sound of the kind of beats Reed would ask Moe Tucker to play later. Robertha Williams comes next with powerful soul numbers “Tell Momma Not to Cry” and “Maybe Tomorrow” that make you wonder why she didn’t become better known.

Terry Philips‘ “Flowers for the Lady” and “This Rose” sound like a lot of other 1960s crooners’ songs, but that’s what Pickwick wanted. Your head might explode when you hear Reed singing lead on The Surfsiders‘ goofy “Surfin'” (Dig that wacky saxophone!) and their cover of “Little Deuce Coupe.”

This is a fascinating look and listen back at a part of Reed’s career that’s unknown to many, and the seeds of his later work are all here.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Tropical Sludge – Astral Mind

When he’s not laying down epic cosmic rock guitar riffs with Comacozer, Rick Burke, otherwise known as Tropical Sludge, makes mind-altering psychedelic instrumental music that blends Eastern elements with rock sounds and even a bit of New Age styling on his newest record Astral Mind.

Starting with “Dreaming Shaman,” the album uses sitar and synths to elevate you off the ground right away. “Tranquility” blends ambient forest sounds with the sitar and tabla to the point where you start to think, “This would make a really good make-out record.”

Burke uses simple, repetitive guitar notes on “Flowers” to put you into a nice trance. I seem to hear native Aboriginal Australian instruments in “Witchcraft,” which wouldn’t surprise me at all since Burke is from Oz. Burke’s use of sampled dialogue on the track (and others) that’s sometimes difficult to decipher is a neat effect, making you wonder what’s being discussed but not worrying about it at the same time. The voices become other natural sounds emerging from and blending into the musical land / sky / sea / space-scape he’s created.

“Digital Hippy” is appropriately hazy and groovy (listen carefully for that 70s funk bass). “Zen Tribe” practically pulls up next to you on a hand-poled river boat and offers you the opportunity to glide across the water and forget everything on shore that was weighing on you. “Hypnotising the Serpent” takes us further down the river and then across the sky instead of over the waterfall.

This album might indeed take your mind to the astral plane. It’s worth the trip.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Rick Burke!]

Review: Tombstones in Their Eyes – Asylum Harbour

First, how gorgeous is that album cover?

Apart from having a cool name and album cover, Los Angeles psych-rockers Tombstones in Their Eyes, have crafted a great album of psych-rock and shoe gaze – Asylum Harbour that’s as cool as both their name and its cover.

“In Your Eyes” opens the album with rumbling bass tones and vocals from John Treanor about his willingness to win the admiration of a distant lover that sound like they’re coming from across the harbor in the album’s title. “Sweet As Pie” is about appeasing a lover to make a relationship easier (“You’re sweet as pie when you get your way.”), with Courtney Davies joining Treanor on vocals. The feel of the track reminds me of some of Failure‘s work.

The guitar fuzz on “Mirror” (which I think is about self-blame for screwing up a good thing) is grade-A. Joel Wasko‘s bass on “I Like to Feel Good” takes the album into doom territory, with the rest of the band (especially Stephen Striegel on drums) plunging into the abyss with him. “I’m Not Like That” has Treanor trying to convince a lover he’s not as bad as he seems while acknowledging his faults.

That being said, Treanor admits “I don’t wanna be the one to change.” on “Gimme Some Pain,” an acoustic cut that would easily fit on an Alice in Chains record. “By My Side” has Treanor calling for his lover to join him in good times and bad, and possibly in another dimension considering the sound of the track. Treanor has to face tough truths on “The Sky Is Blue” (“The sky is blue, and I’m nothing to you.”), and the crunch of the guitars on it only hammers the point home more for him.

“Set Me Free” has Treanor asking to escape a self-built prison of doubt, and the wall of guitars behind him might help his escape plan. The album ends with Treanor still looking for love (“It would be nice if you looked at me. It would be nice if you cared.”), but probably not finding it soon…even though the track is the most upbeat on the album. He ‘s hasn’t given up all hope.

The album’s title refers to a nautical term for a place to wait out a storm. Treanor and the rest of Tombstones in Their Eyes have sought safety in music and each other while the world thunders around them. We can all relate to that at the end of 2024, can’t we?

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Shauna at Shameless Promotions.]