Category: Reviews

Review: D-Tension – Secret Rock & Roll Project

“So, what did you do during the pandemic?” is a question that’s already a popular conversation starter among those lucky enough to have lived through it. Some us studied French, wrote comic books, and decluttered multiple rooms in their house. Others started new fitness regimes, made babies, read books, built a new bathroom, or didn’t do a damn thing.

Boston area MC, producer, and DJ D-Tension taught himself to play guitar and recorded a rock record, Secret Rock & Roll Project. D-Tension emerged from the pandemic 200 pounds lighter, thanks to his sheer will and new diet, and channeled his love of the late Eddie Van Halen by picking up an axe and, again through his Green Lantern-like will, taught himself how to play.

The result is a fun record that covers gentrification, partying, aging, sex, drugs, and, of course, rock and roll. Opener “Kenmore Square” has D-T musing about how his neighborhood has changed to the point where he no longer recognizes it. He can no longer visit Planet Records or score a ticket to a Red Sox game for twenty bucks. He can’t see Gang Green or Pixies there anymore because a damn high-rise fancy hotel was built on top of it. Gentrification and the unforgiving hand of Father Time have changed all of that. He, like all of us, wants to blame it on Amazon and other big corporations, but he also admits that he, like all of us, are to blame, really. His solo is also a blast, letting us know that all that pandemic guitar practice has paid off.

“Know No Know,” with its thick bass and organ stabs, is a fun track about trying to play the subtle long game with a potential lover. “That’s Alright” has a country flavor to it, which is a smile-inducing surprise and a song of love and being happy to be with someone during times of isolation and boredom (pretty much most of 2020, really). “It Ain’t All About You” is a scorching rocker with punk speed and attitude in which D-T calls out a former lover who wasn’t around for him when he was at his lowest.

“The Night We Regret” is a simple, witty ballad with D-T singing about an old flame that might actually be late night drunken ramblings left on a voicemail. “Fast One” has a beat that D-T could’ve used on any hip hop album, but he boosts it with sizzling guitar to turn it into a wicked rock track. “Away” could’ve been a Smithereens track in another life with its lyrics of lost love and cool bass line.

“Joanna Strikes Back” has a bit of a Devo sound to it and tells a great story of a former punk girl turned Average Jane who tears it up for one night in full punk regalia and debauchery. D-T play spaghetti westerns guitars and surf on “Idata del Gaucho,” which is a stunning piece. The closer is a heartfelt ballad, “Cry,” with piano chords that are angry one moment, sad the next.

We should all so be lucky (and strong-willed) to emerge from a health crisis and isolation with art this good, and with a new skill we can grow in forever. We should also be happy that D-Tension chose not to keep this project secret.

Keep your mind open.

[There’s no secret to subscribing. It’s pretty easy. Just head over to the box and drop in your e-mail address.]

Review: Ben Seretan – Cicada Waves

Do you need to chill out? Are you looking for music for meditation, yoga, sleeping, or romance? Does your reality need a shift? Then give Cicada Waves by Ben Seretan a spin.

The idea behind Cicada Waves is beautifully simple: Hit record, play some piano in an Appalachian Mountains dance studio, and record whatever happens with no second takes, edits, or polishes. It captures moments in time in Seretan’s life and gives them to us to experience. Ambient piano criss-crosses with sounds of rainfall, thunder, wind, cats, birds, and the titular cicadas. It was recorded in isolation yet sounds expansive. It is hypnotic yet enthralling.

“Cicada Waves 1” has the critters’ buzzing as soft drone undertone while Seretan muses away on his antique Steinway without hurry. “3pm Rainstorm” is perfect for slowing down the rush of whatever is overwhelming you. “Cicada Waves 2” seems a little melancholy compared to “Cicada Waves 1,” but it’s no less lovely. The cicadas blend into more white noise on “Rain and Cicadas” while Seretan’s piano backs them.

I meditated through most of “11pm Sudden Thunderstorm” and can tell you it was a nice experience. Seretan’s piano riffs off the rain and thunder quite well. His piano work on “8pm Crickets” is a bit more playful and active, surely inspired by the insect chorus outside the studio. “Fog Rolls out Rabun Gap” moves as easily out of your speakers or earbuds as its namesake.

It’s a lovely record that you’ll want for many moods, travels, and situations. I wouldn’t listen to it while driving, however. It might lull you into a dreamland across the centerline or into a ditch. Play it at the rest stop while you take a power nap during a long trip. Open the window while you play it and you won’t be sure where the album ends and nature begins.

Keep your mind open.

[Drift over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Cody at NNA Tapes.]

Review: Osees – Levitation Sessions II

Never ones to rest on their laurels, or seemingly to rest at all, Osees put together another live-streamed show, Levitation Sessions II, and wowed everyone again with a great set of deep cuts and obscure cover tunes.

The show, recorded in an empty factory that front man John Dwyer describes as like “a fight scene set from Point Blank or the John Wick trilogy,” starts with the rockin’, swingin’ fan-favorite “Tidal Wave.” It’s hard to choose which part you like best. Dwyer’s fun guitar riffs? Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone‘s double-drumming? Tim Hellman‘s rock solid bass line? Tom Dolas‘ sneaky synths? Dolas’ synths take the forefront on the weird, wonky “Grown in a Graveyard” – a tune that keeps you guessing for its entire length. Then, once you kind of, sort of figure it out, they unleash a raucous version of “The Dream” – which might cause you to trash whatever room you’re in when you hear it, or stomp the gas pedal if you’re driving at the time…until it drifts into psychedelic bliss around the five-minute mark and give you a chance to breathe (but only for a moment). Dwyer absolutely shreds for the last two minutes of it.

“Stinking Cloud” is a jolly tune about death and heavy on synths from Dolas and Dwyer. The garage rock swing of “Enemy Destruct” is outstanding. “Poisoned Stones” sounds as gritty and grungy as you hope it will. “Spider Cider” is silly and fun (with Dolas putting his big synth rig aside to play rhythm guitar, no less). Hellman’s bass seems to hit extra heavy (without overwhelming his bandmates) on “It Killed Mom.”

Another deep cut treat is “Meat Step Lively,” which could almost fit onto an episode of Shindig with its groovy swing. “Snickersnee” is trippy bliss, which Rincon and Quattrone in perfect step as Dwyer stabs at ghosts with his guitar. “Destroyed Fortress Reappears” drifts into heavy synth psychedelia by Dolas and Dwyer and the entire rhythm section produces a hypnotizing beat.

“Web” is another great cut that builds up to a wicked beat and doesn’t let go of you. Hellman’s bass groove is outstanding on it. “Encrypted Bounce” is the longest song on the album, coming in at almost nine minutes, and it’s full of wild garage rock guitar from Dwyer and great fills from both drummers. “Beat Quest” adds heavy 1980s, and then 1970s, synths to the mix.

The encore was a set of Chrome covers: “Chromosome Damage > T.V. As Eyes,” “ST37,” “Looking for Your Door,” and “SS CYGNI.” The first is a fun, upbeat splash of driving beats and warping synths that melts into a lava lamp haze. “ST37” could almost be a Devo track with it’s goofy guitar and weird lyrics. Hellman’s bass takes on a sexy panther tone in “Looking for Your Door.” The final track is a hypnotic repetition of beats and riffs that slowly backs out of the room and drifts away.

Levitation Sessions II does a great job of making you want to see Osees live again as soon as possible. They’re starting to announce tour dates for the fall, so don’t miss out if they’re near you.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

Review: Alberto Melloni – Red Siren

Just in time to snap you out of your COVID-19 blues, Alberto Melloni‘s two-track EP, Red Siren, brings you plenty of dance beats and synth-bumps to get you moving out of the house, down the street, and to a club or house party (finally!) in order to celebrate your survival and you and your friends being properly vaccinated.

Side A is the title track, and it brings together jungle drums with cyborg synths, chopped-up Middle Eastern chants, and a bass line so subtle it pretty much seduces you before you realize it’s happening.

Side B is “Santa Serenada” – a track that somehow sounds more futuristic than the other with its “underground disco of the future” vibe that brings to mind humans and replicants dancing alongside each other and sipping drinks that glow in the dark. Chants are again used to nice effect, and that bubbling synth-bass is boiling hot.

The whole EP is hot, really. You can’t miss with this one. Mr. Melloni sure didn’t. He hit a home run with it.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Aaron at Paradise Palm Records.]

Review: Mötorhead – Louder Than Noise…Live in Berlin

Recorded on December 05, 2012 in front of an audience of about 12,000 fans, Mötorhead‘s Louder Than Noise…Live in Berlin is a good record of the band’s power and ferocity. The trio of Phil Campbell (guitar), Mikkey Dee (drums), and Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister (bass and vocals) was the longest-running Mötorhead lineup, and their locked-in energy is palpable throughout the show.

The show begins with Kilmister yelling, “Guten abend! How you doin’? All right? We are Mötorhead…Phillip, if you would be so kind?” in his signature bourbon-and-cigarettes-laced voice before they rip into the snarky “I Know How to Die.” “Damage Case” swings with a bluesy groove that is made dangerous by Kilmister’s growls and Campbell’s rock riffs. It rolls right into “Stay Clean” thanks to Dee’s relentless yet effortless drum fills.

They give the crowd and the listener a brief break before rolling out “Metropolis,” which starts like a stoner metal track and then two sharp snare cracks from Dee turn it into a fuzzy rocker. Kilmister dedicates “Over the Top” to Campbell, probably because Campbell shreds for almost three minutes straight on it. “Doctor Rock” is just as fun and fast and furious as you hope it will be. Campbell plays a nice two-minute solo (“String Theory”) and then his bandmates join him in the classic “The Chase Is Better Than the Catch.”

“Rock It” comes after the band takes a quick drink of…something, and then it rolls into the wicked, dark blues cut “You Better Run,” which I’m sure had the mosh pit amped up even more than it was at the start of the show. “The One to Sing the Blues” has some of Dee’s most ferocious drumming, including a tremendous solo. The whole track sounds like Mötorhead are daring any challengers to their throne of skulls.

“Now, then, this is a rock and roll song,” Kilmister says before they launch into the swinging, blazing “Going to Brazil” (as if all the other songs aren’t). “Killed by Death” brings plenty of fuzz and power to warm you up (if you’re not already sweating) for, of course, “Ace of Spades” to close the main set. “Remember? We’re deaf!” Kilmister yells to the audience after the song ends. I’m sure the whole audience was, too. “Overkill” is the crazy, wild finale, with Dee going for broke and Campbell and Kilmister doing their best to blow the back of the joint.

It’s a fun recording, and I wish I could’ve seen them live before Kilmister left for the giant after-party in the sky. This is a good substitute, however.

Keep your mind open.

[Why not go over to the subscription box while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

Rewind Review: The D4 – 6Twenty (2003)

Coming in hot and heavy and all the way from New Zealand, The D4 are like a Down Under MC5 (who also are probably the inspiration for the band’s name). Their album, 6Twenty, is full of crunchy guitar riffs, thunderous drums, and horny, wailing vocals.

Take opening track, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Motherfucker,” for example. It bursts through the window like John Shaft swinging into the room with a machine gun and proceeds to lay waste to everything around it. Dion Palmer (AKA Dion Lunadon) and Jimmy Christmas unleash killer vocals and guitars throughout it – and every other track for that matter. “Get Loose” has Christmas craving for action while Daniel “Beaver” Pooley hammers out a snappy beat full of Keith Moon-like fills. He also gets the party started on “Party,” and soon Vaughn Williams is joining him with a wild bass line that inspires you to go nuts. The MC5 influence is clear here, especially in Christmas’ vocal styling.

“Come On!” yanks you out of your chair and tosses you into the crowd to either get sweaty or get the hell out of the way. Their cover of Guitar Wolf‘s “Invader Ace” is a lights-out rocker. Williams and Pooley barely give you time to breathe, and then the guitar solo comes in to clothesline you over the top rope. “Exit to the City” is the slowest track on the record, and I lightly use that term. It’s a swaggering bit of cock rock with cool phaser effects and another sizzling guitar solo.

“Heartbreaker” has Christmas yelling about losing a lover while the rest of the band gives him moral support by flattening any walls around him. “Running on Empty” isn’t a Jackson Browne cover (which would’ve been amazing), but rather a fun garage rock track that has a rock-solid rhythm from Williams and Pooley. “Ladies Man” has the confidence of the Tim Meadows‘ Saturday Night Live and film character, and great organ work from guest Cameron Rowe. Their cover of Johnny Thunders‘ “Pirate Love” is a great tribute to him (and The New York Dolls).

“Little Baby” screams right on by you like a runaway armored truck, “Rebekah” has an undeniable rock groove that catches your attention no matter what you’re doing, their cover of Scavengers‘ “Mysterex” is an ode to “nine to fivers” and “soul survivors.” The album closes with “Outta Blues,” in which Christmas sings, “I’m outta blues, but I’m okay,” making us wonder which part of that statement is correct (and all of the instruments are right-on throughout it).

It’s a great debut record of rock sizzlers beginning to end.

Keep your mind open.

[Get over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

Review: Brown Acid – The 12th Trip

RidingEasy Records is back with another round of obscure, rare stoner rock, metal, and psychedelia on Brown Acid: The Twelfth Trip. This one brings you ten tunes that stretch from Hawaii to Belgium in terms of their places of origin.

First up is the fuzz-filled “Mother Samwell” by Louisville, Kentucy’s The Water. It’s like T. Rex meets The Guess Who and 1969 southern rock. It fades out far too soon and makes you wish The Water had stuck around after 1972. Hamilton, Ontario’s Village S.T.O.P. brings us the trippy, melting, fuzzy freak-out “Vibrations.” The drums sound like they were recorded in another room with walls of chicken wire and mud, and I mean that in the best way possible.

The bass on White Lightning‘s (hailing from Minneapolis) “1930” is so fat you could stick it on a Parliament track. Shane drops the funky, yet heavy “Woman (Don’t You Go)” from the San Francisco Bay area in 1968…and nothing else. They broke up not long after releasing the track, which is a shame because it sounds like they could’ve been a pretty successful psych-funk band.

Dallas’ Ace Song Service unleashes a hefty Hammond B3 organ on “Persuasion,” and combines it with a sizzling guitar solo. Opus Est is the Belgian band on the record, and their heady song “Bed” is about sex and, apparently, and drugs and rock and roll (Go figure.). The aforementioned Hawaiian band is The Mopptops, who are described in the liner notes as “the Blues Magoos meets Iron Butterfly.” I don’t think I can sum it up better than that (or that wild guitar solo!).

Do you need more cowbell? Youngstown, Ohio’s Artist gives you plenty of it (and plenty of mega-riffs) on “Every Lady Does It.” “Comin’ Home” by Carthage, Missouri’s Stagefright is akin to a MC5 track with its wild drumming, fuzzy vocals, and heavy guitar and bass. The closing track is the wonderfully bizarre, ultra-rare “Don’t Talk About My Music” by Dickens – a band made up of members of and roadies for NRBQ who barely knew how to play the instruments they jam with and recorded in an impromptu session after Jim Nabors cancelled some studio time. The result is a trippy, fun jam of which only fifty or so known copies are in existence. It’s a great treat to end a wild anthology.

Keep your mind open.

[Trip over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Review: Black Light Smoke – The Early Years

At times chaotic, other times ambient, and other times danceable, Black Light Smoke‘s The Early Years is a collection of stuff electro-producer Jordan Lieb wrote back in the last decade. It covers a lot of cool ground.

Opening track “Up Up and Away” has nothing to do with a beautiful balloon (as far as I can tell), but has plenty to do with warped synths and beats that sound like they’re coming from a drum machine that’s been doused in bourbon. “Springtime for Rioters” could fit into another “Escape from…” John Carpenter film score with it’s bad-ass synth-bass, sampled screams, and industrial beats.

The driving beats of “123456789” are outstanding, and I love the way Lieb layers them with fuzzed-out guitars. “Black Light Smoke” is a weird, wonky tune that bumps and percolates while maintaining a sense of the bizarre. “Burn” has actual vocals as Lieb sings about having nothing to do on a Sunday since everything’s closed and his lover’s left him.

“North Korea” sounds like a forgotten Soft Moon track with its sinister synths and killer cyborg bass. Lieb sings / croons again on “The Figure” as his electro-groove simmer underneath him and simple, haunting piano chords keep time. The closing track, “Celeste,” showcases My Bloody Valentine‘s influence on Lieb with its soft vocals and “wall of fuzz” sound.

I’m glad Lieb decided to release this collection of early material. It will make you want to seek out more of his work, as any good collection should.

Keep your mind open.

[Subscribe early and often.]

[Thanks to Ryan at Clandestine Label Services.]

Review: Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

British post-bunkers Dry Cleaning have a way of combining angular, jagged, rollicking chords, riffs, and drum fills with spoken word vocals that is difficult to describe and even more difficult for anyone to attempt to emulate. Front woman Florence Shaw is one of the wittiest and most enigmatic lyricists out there right now, and her bandmates (Nick Buxton – drums, Tom Dowse – guitar, and Lewis Maynard – bass) are wild craftsmen in their own right. Their first full-length album, New Long Leg, is a cool record that’s a little tighter than their previous EPs, made so by having plenty of time to tweak tracks and explore new sounds thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling their 2020 tour, but no less intriguing.

Maynard’s bass is something the Delta 5 would love on the opening track, “Scratchcard Lanyard,” while Shaw tells us, “It’s okay, I just need to be weird and hide for a bit and eat an old sandwich from my bag.” Haven’t we all felt like that at some point since March 2020? “Unsmart Lady” starts with a wild cacophony and then settles into a solid rock groove from Dowse that reminds me of good Foreigner tracks. Shaw also lets you know how to find a girlfriend: “If you like a girl, be nice. It’s not rocket science.”

My favorite lyric of Shaw’s on “Strong Feelings” is “That seems like a lot of garlic.” It comes out of nowhere among Buxton’s tight, yet slippery beats. “Leafy” seems to be about a break-up with Shaw singing about cleaning out a house (“What about all the uneaten sausages?”) while her bandmates seem to be playing a different song in another room. This is the kind of song Dry Cleaning does so well. Shaw seems to be doing her own thing while Buxton, Dowse, and Maynard are jamming on their own, but both elements somehow perfectly combine.

It will be a crime if Dry Cleaning doesn’t produce merchandise that reads “More espresso, less depresso.” – a great lyric from the jangly, yet smooth “Her Hippo.” The title track, with its stabbing guitar riffs, has Shaw musing over the idea of going on a cruise while she’s stuck at home due to every travel plan getting cancelled last year. “If you’re an Aries, then I’m an Aries,” Shaw says, perhaps flirtatiously, on “John Wick” – which has nothing to do with an Uber-assassin and more to do with old men griping about things that don’t matter. Dowse’s guitar on it is almost the sound of these men bitching about Antiques Roadshow and the trash truck running late.

Shaw’s vocals sound slightly electronic / robotic on “More Big Birds,” almost turning her into a computer voice. It’s a slight touch, but instantly intriguing. I’d love to know the story behind “ALC” because it starts with Shaw telling someone, “You can’t just come into my garden in your football kit and start asking questions about who lives here. Who’s asking?”

The closer, “Every Day Carry,” is a wild, psychedelic trip that has Dowse, Maynard, and Buxton playing a cool psych-jazz / post-punk blend in a dark club in the back of a former clock factory while Shaw sings / speaks about topics ranging from chocolate chips cookies and imminent domain construction to cab drivers and geese. There’s a great breakdown about halfway through when the band dissolves into a noise rock jam and then kicks back into gear with swirling sounds and Shaw’s voice and lyrics being the eye of their hurricane. It ends like a power outage.

New Long Leg is setting the bar high for other post-punk bands (or any other genre, really) to follow in 2021. Dry Cleaning’s forced vacation did wonders for their creative energy and focus, and for our ears.

Keep your mind open.

[Stretch your legs over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Open Hand – Weirdo

Ten years in the making, Open Hand‘s newest album, Weirdo, has plenty of appropriately weird stuff, psychedelic fuzz, vintage synths, and seriously cool chops. The album opens with someone saying, “I’ve got a message for you, and you’re not going to like it.” Okay, Open Hand. You have my attention.

“The People’s Temple” has guitarist / vocalists Justin Isham encouraging us to leave because he’s feeling much better. It’s an interesting suggestion after a decade, and even more so as Isham sings that he’s considering running away from something (Stardom? A relationship? People in general?). It’s difficult to take him too seriously, however, because the opening track bumps and jams with funky keys by Kyle Hammond and damn funky drumming by Gil Sharone.

Mike Longworth‘s rapid bass chords open the danceable “It Takes Me,” which reminds me of the dance-funk stylings of !!!. Isham and Ryan Castanga‘s guitars shimmer on the fuzz-heavy “Again?”, showing off the band’s deftness at switching from dance-funk to shoegaze and doing both genres well. They go back to dance-funk on “Like I Do,” and Hammond gets another chance to strut his stuff with formidable synth bleeps, bloops, and beats.

“Return” (with guest drums from Mike Levine and guest vocals from Lisa Loeb) is a neat, spacey track, and “In My Way” gets us firmly back into shoegaze territory, reminding one of Hum and Failure cuts. Sharone puts down some of his fiercest beats on the track. Seriously, some of his fills will knock you back in your chair. Isham, Longworth, and Castanga crank up the fuzz on “I Think So,” and it mixes well with Sharone’s rocket fuel drums and Hammond’s sunshine synths.

“Loved,” with guest co-vocals from Brittany Snow, has a bit of a prog-rock feel to it that changes things up a bit. Bill Gaal takes over on bass on “Chances,” and proceeds to get his money’s worth by thudding us with glorious fuzz and low end as the rest of Open Hand unleash a track that Josh Homme would envy. “Draw the Line” ends the album with some space rock and, I think, samples from the weird John Carpenter horror film, The Prince of Darkness.

I don’t know why Open Hand took a decade off from releasing new material, but I’m glad they’re back in 2021. Everyone needs good music nowadays, and stuff as good as Weirdo is more than welcome.

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]