Category: Reviews

Rewind Review: Warm Drag – self-titled (2018)

I couldn’t tell you where I first heard Warm Drag (Paul Quattrone and Vashti Windish), but I can tell you that I was immediately hooked by them when I did. Two people making so much powerful psychedelic stuff couldn’t be ignored, and their self-titled debut is a top-notch record.

Opening track “The Wanderer” (not a cover of the 1950s classic) starts the album off with a thudding beat you feel in your jugular veins and enough distortion to probably cause your houseplants to shrink back from the speakers for fear an earthquake is rumbling through your living room. “Cave Crawl” was the first track I heard from Warm Drag and the song that stopped me in my tracks. Windish’s vocals bounce off the wall behind you and creep up on you like a vampire while Quattrone’s beats sound like a spaghetti western soundtrack record that’s been left in the sun a bit too long.

Windish is looking for love on “Cruisin’ the Night,” which blends girl-group rock with David Lynch film beats. “End Times” pours out of your speakers like some kind of venom that saps your willpower and entices you to lie down and let it carry you away with its filtered reverb effects, industrial drumming, and psychological thriller film synths. “No Body” ripples with krautrock beats and Windish’s vocals are pure shoegaze beauty.

“Sleepover” could fit in a horror film, a romance film, a compelling drama, or a spaghetti western. Windish’s lullaby vocals are a perfect match for Quattrone’s haunted saloon synths. “Lost Time” continues the sensation of being in a dusty ghost town street while the long-dead residents shamble out of the shanties to stare at you with hollow eyes.

Quattrone’s synths and beats on “Hurricane Eyes” buzz like a beehive and Windish is the queen commanding all of us drones with her breathy delivery. “Someplace” is like honey dripping from a spoon into yerba mate spiked with peyote. Quattrone takes his time with the beats on it, not rushing anything so as to let the guitar and Windish’s sorceress-style vocals stretch out like a pair of leopards on a hot rock. The album ends with nearly eight minutes of “Parasite Wreckage Dub.” I love a good dub track, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It mixes dub with krautrock, industrial, and synthwave. That’s not an easy task, but Warm Drag makes it sound like they can do it in their sleep – and it’s a great soundtrack for dreams.

The entire album is, really. These are songs from dreams, hallucinations, illusions, hauntings, and seductions. It’s an album you’ll never tire of hearing because you’ll find something new in it every time, and the feel of the album will change as you listen to it in different locations. I hope it’s not the one and only Warm Drag record.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Exploded View – Summer Came Early (2017)

Mexico City’s Exploded View put out a four-song EP three years ago that’s perfect for this time of year when half of the world is approaching summer and the other half is approaching winter. Summer Came Early is the hope of everyone on the planet every year.

The opening title track drips like a lazy candle on a porch railing overlooking a warm beach. It sounds like a record being played in a distant apartment you can’t find, or something from a dream you had once with its smoky guitars, rattlesnake drums, and hypnotizing vocals from Anika Henderson.

“Forever Free” is like a story of a haunted house or at least the female ghost who lives there seeking to have a nice chat with anyone, or perhaps even take a living lover to bed. “Mirror of the Madman” has this cool 1960s swing beat to it while Henderson half-sings, half-tells the story of a mysterious figure she saw during a walk one day.

“You don’t say nothing at all,” Henderson sings / snarls on “You Got a Problem Son” as psychedelic guitar and garage rock drums swirl around her like the snakes on a caduceus symbol.

This EP can be a great way to start your summer days or one to escape the winter blues. It will alter your perception of what lies ahead and what is coiled around you.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Screaming Females – What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.? (2007)

I don’t know. What if they are?

That’s the question that arose when I began listening to Screaming Females‘ second album, What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.? for the first time. Let’s see if a trip through this blistering, wailing, shredding, and sometimes tender album can provide an answer.

“Theme Song” starts the album with Marissa Paternoster‘s guitar sounding like something you’d hear blasting from the Mach-5 as it whizzes by you. The song goes from post-punk to pure punk power by the end, which makes one think the album is going to be full of this same energy if the opening track is, after all, the theme song of the album. Lyrics such as “You are always talking and you never stop.” and “I am a victim of the general public.” certainly fit in with the theme of death by television.

That thought turns out to be correct, because “The Real Mothers” doesn’t let up on Paternoster’s vocal fury ((“The cost of killing is free.”), and “Humanity Arranged” doesn’t let up on Mike Abbatte‘s funky bass riffs. Drummer Jarrett Dougherty puts down some of his best chops on “Starve the Beat” – a track (about good and bad memories of youth) that has the great low key / heavy thrash swerve that Screaming Females do like no other band I know. Paternoster’s solo on it is one of her best.

“Little Anne,” a lovely song about love, lets us catch our breath, and makes us wonder if perhaps the answer to the album title’s question is that many will miss out on love right in front of them if they’re too busy with distractions. “Fun” is a song about moving on from death (of a loved one, or our own) with Abbatte and Dougherty swinging a great groove for over three straight minutes.

“Limbs” is the only song to mention television in it, and the lyrics “When you keep a fight, I pass your room at night, pinned to the brain, birthed the insane, set your TV live.” bring to mind images of Paternoster looking for some kind of solace while someone else is zoned out watching trash TV. The song has a slightly creepy vibe to it that makes it a standout.

“I will tear the heads off this culture,” Paternoster proclaims on “Pedro.” A bold statement in 2007, and even bolder now as both sides of the political aisle claim to be, or at least desire, to be doing just that. Paternoster’s guitar deftly moves from garage to metal to psychedelic, making it sound easy.

“If mother knows best, then mother knows why,” Paternoster sings on “Mothership,” a fast track that includes handclaps among Dougherty’s sharp drumming. “My Earth’s gone flat and the sun burns sour.” All of this is happening while we’re scrolling through Netflix and Amazon watchlists we’ve created but never view. The closer, “Boyfriend,” is one of Screaming Females‘ greatest punk-as-fuck tracks as Paternoster sings / screams what could well be a real conversation she had at age nineteen about her sexuality and Abbatte and Dougherty go for broke as sets the damn studio on fire screaming “While you sit on the fence I will burn in hell.” over and over.

What is someone is watching their TV? My guess is that they run the risk of missing the present world around them, which includes passion and compassion. Screaming Females were warning us thirteen years ago that we were drifting away from each other and toward our screens. They were right, but this album can still shake you out of it. Turn off your TV. Listen to this album instead.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Ela Minus – Acts of Rebellion

Gabriela Jimeno, otherwise known as Ela Minus, doesn’t allow herself to make music using computers. Everything has to be made with analog gear to give it a human touch. Her sharp new record, Acts of Rebellion, is no exception. Despite its political and personal shouts, the album is intertwined with themes of love. Club beats and ambient waves mix like a two-colored cocktail served in a high-end club that’s located in an abandoned warehouse with sawdust all over the floor.

Opening track “N19 5NF” builds its synths like a Jon Hopkins track and then drops win Vangelis-like touches to immediately take you from the moment into a bright future you can’t quite make out but know is within reach. Her lyrics on “They Told Us It Was Hard, but They Were Wrong” encourage us to embrace compassion (“When you love, you love it all, and nothing seems impossible.” Her vocal stylings on it remind me of early Ladytron tracks.

The deep house bass of “El Cielo No Es de Nadie” instantly gets you grooving, and Minus’ native Spanish vocals move around you like a sexy spectre. “You don’t want to understand, you’re choosing to lead us apart. But against all odds, you still won’t make us stop,” she sings on the anthem-like “Megapunk.” Minus was formerly a drummer in a Colombian punk band, so standing up to The Man is par for the course for her. She now does it with analog synths instead of a drum kit.

“Dominique” is a bouncy, lovely track that has beats James Murphy would love to have written, but don’t let the peppy synths fool you. The song is about dark depression that can come after a lover leaves for good. On “Tony,” Minus gets out of the house and into the dance club to dance until dawn and break out of her funk. The closer, “Close,” features Helado Negro, and has Minus singing about keeping her lover closer, even when they’re apart. It’s a fun track that has some lullaby-like synths mixing with soft electronic beats that seem to come from a dream.

The album also has three instrumental tracks, which I always appreciate. Minus knows that sometimes lyrics get in the way of grooves, and it’s best to let the grooves stretch without them.

Love is an act of rebellion in this day and age. Acts of Rebellion is a delightful reminder of this.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Tim Heidecker – Fear of Death

I’m not sure if Tim Heidecker is best known as a stand-up comic or a musician. I first heard of him when I heard his new record, Fear of Death. I then learned he’s also a stand-up comic, and I wasn’t surprised. The album’s themes of death, existential dread, ennui, and, yes, light found in darkness, are all prime subjects for comedians and Heidecker’s perceptive wit is on every track. Collaborating with members of Weyes Blood, The Lemon Twigs, and Spacebomb on the record doesn’t hurt either.

A classic country / Americana sound permeates the entire record. “Prelude to Feeling” opens the album with the instruction (or is it a warning) that “You’re about to feel.” It’s true. The record is one to make you think. “Come Away with Me” is a tale of Heidecker pleading to his lover (voiced by Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering, who provides dual and backing vocals throughout the record) to leave the hot and smelly city to live in the country with him. It’s a fun little rocker.

“Grass is gettin’ browner, trees are fallin’ in the heat…We’re movin’ backwards,” they sing on “Backwards” – a song about devolution and how we should be helping each other instead of leaving the planet a dried-out husk for those to come after us. Despite this grim outlook, the song is upbeat and full of great slide guitar.

The title track has the great line of “Fear of death is keeping me alive.” as garage-rock guitar bounces around in the background and Heidecker proclaims he’s done partying and growing. “I’m moving on, I’m getting out. I can’t take any more lies,” he sings on “Someone Who Can Handle You,” a heartbreaker in which Heidecker finally gives up on a relationship that has worn him down to the bone.

“Nothing” might be the most gothic song you hear this year as Heidecker and Mering sing about there being nothing but a black void after we shuffle off this mortal coil. Heidecker tries to juggle Hollywood bullcrap while thinking all the time that none of it matters in the end. “Say Yes” opens with a CCR-like groove and then melts into a psychedelic bit of great bedroom rock as Heidecker pleads with his lover to stay the night with him.

The big and bold, and funny, “Property” is a tale of how cemeteries will eventually be turned into rental properties, shopping malls, and golf courses, because the dead won’t mind and by then we, the living, won’t care about the dead anymore. “Little Lamb” is almost a lullaby over Heidecker claiming he’s moving on from a lover because he’s tired of being fawned over and needs the time alone.

His cover of “Let It Be” is an alt-country delight and a moment of calm introspection for Heidecker as he muses on his mortality. “Don’t want money, don’t want fame, don’t want to be a household name,” Heidecker claims, but quickly makes the disclaimer that he truly doesn’t want those things without love in a Jackson Browne-like toe-tapping rocker. Mering takes lead vocals on “Oh How We Drift Away,” a haunting. lush song about how even good friends can drift apart over time.

It’s a lovely record that shows how accomplished a performer Heidecker is and embraces not only mortality, but also the mortality of institutions. It’s an album about impermanence, which everyone needs to embrace sooner or later. Why not do it sooner and enjoy life in the present? Heidecker’s on board.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Martin Thulin – Into the Light

Martin Thulin is part of the psychedelic / shoegaze band Exploded View, and his new solo album, Into the Light, is full of psychedelic and dreamy ruminations on death, life, impermanence, and presence.

Opening track “Not Afraid to Die” blends Velvet Underground guitars with 1980s synth wave keys to send you floating into whatever version of the afterlife you prefer – or at least out of your current troubled reality. “Here in My Room” adds some disco horns to create a cool lounge-rock track. The bass on “Amazonian Smoke” is post-punk, the synths are goth, and the drums are industrial. It all works. “Thin White Duchess” is, of course, a play on David Bowie‘s “Thin White Duke,” and Bowie touches are sprinkled throughout the track. I like the way Thulin filters his vocals to the low end when you think they’re going to come in at full volume and then slowly brings them back into the front.

The thick keys on “New Dawn Coming” start off side two of the record, and soft electro-beats slide into the room like a sultry lover. The smoky bass of “Day Out Day In” and Thulin’s echoing vocals bring Peter Murphy to mind, and I love the simple, clear piano compliments throughout it. They’re almost like drops of ice water falling onto you during a humid day.

The guitars on “Upstairs Room” sound like they have strings of taffy as Thulin sings about listening to the radio on a quiet, lonely night – even though he’s with his lover (who is mourning their mother’s death) in the same place. Church organ-like keys usher in “Silence You Forever” while Thulin’s vocals take on a raspy spoken word quality. “Your anger makes you so blind, you can’t see you’re being fooled. And when they finally take it over, you’ll have no voice at all,” he sings / chants. Good heavens, those are some prescient lyrics in 2020, aren’t they? The closer, “Amalgam,” sounds like a film noir score and brings to mind images of rain-coated alleys, shady business deals, femme fatales, and suitcases of money that needs laundered as soon as possible.

It’s a haunting record, a cool record, a smooth record, and an uplifting record. That’s a rare combination in any year.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Mr. Thulin!]

Review: Oh Sees – Levitation Sessions

Recorded live in the parking lot of the famous Pappy and Harriet’s music venue in Pioneertown, California, Levitation Sessions by OSees is another great live set put together by the Reverb Appreciation Society and the folks behind the Levitation Music Festival. It’s also another great live album from Osees / Oh Sees / Thee Oh Sees / OCS (By the way, John Dwyer, if you’re reading this – I recommend “Eau Seas” for the next spelling, possibly calling the album under that moniker Water Weird.) that brings out some old tracks the band hadn’t played in years.

The album / show starts with the crowd favorite “Carrion Crawler,” getting things off to a deceptively quiet opening before unleashing rock fury. Mr. Dwyer (lead singer / guitarist) and his crew (Tim Hellman – bass, David Rincon – drums, Paul Quattrone – drums, Tomas Dolas – keyboards) give you a four-count to catch your breath before launching “I Come from the Mountain” at you like a rocket. “Static God” is the re-entry burn of that same rocket, and by now you’re holding on for dear life. Hellman’s bass is the harness keeping you in the rocket’s seat while Rincon and Quattrone are the sounds of the heat shield nearing critical failure. Dolas’ keys rise as Dwyer screams, “It doesn’t matter at all – your fucking institutions!” Impermanence is the only real thing.

The post / garage punk of “Sewer Fire” is outstanding and might cause you to pogo in your living room or office. Just try not to do it in your car while driving. “Chem Farmer / Nite Expo” blends keyboard-heavy prog-jazz with mammoth-heavy riffs and cymbal crashes. It ends with Dwyer yelling, “We have fun!” “Dreary Nonsense” is both fiery and goofy, which means it’s great. “The Fizz” is one of those older tracks they haven’t played in a while, and it has a great call-and-response chorus and fun keyboard dexterity from Dolas.

“Corrupt Coffin” and “Together Tomorrow,” both each under two minutes, blend together like a punk cocktail made out of Red Bull, sweat, vodka, and highly caffeinated Earl Grey tea. “Night Crawler” is pure psychedelic fuzz to lull you into a smoky headspace. You take a breath, and then “Terminal Jape” comes around the corner to mug you and then shove you into oncoming traffic. “The system has been broken down!” Dwyer grunts as the whole band turns into a tsunami. “Rainbow” slows things down a bit, but it’s almost a feint because “Heart Worm” is a straight-up punk boot to the head. “The world’s so fucked up!” Dwyer sings. It’s hard to argue with him if you watch the news.

The band pauses a moment before “Transparent World Jam” melts your mind and perhaps your body into lava lamp ooze. As Oh Sees like to do, they end with a mostly instrumental jam. This one is the nearly twelve-minute-long “Block of Ice” – a track that reminds you of Zappa, Allman Brothers, 13th Floor Elevators, and My Bloody Valentine all at once.

Few things can top the energy of a live Oh Sees show, and capturing that energy in a recording is a colossal feat. Levitation Sessions sounds great and the record’s mastering by J.J. Golden cannot be understated. This is a nice appetizer for, hopefully, many more live shows to come.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Holy Motors – Horse

At first blush, you’d never guess that Holy Motors is from Estonia. Their music sounds like shoegaze made by a band that grew up in the American southwest and spent their teen years making out with their respective lovers atop red rock mesas during sunsets and then spent the night drinking spiked yerba mate and counting stars.

Yet, they are from another continent. Their love of Americana and psychedelia is evident from the first track of their new album, Horse. On “Country Church,” lead singer Eliann Tulve tells a tale of a cowboy facing a moral crisis and looking for guidance, but the “country church is only open on Sundays, but the night comes down on me every day.” The guitars shimmer but have a dusty edge to their riffs throughout the track.

“Endless Night” would fit right into a David Lynch film with Tulve’s reverbed vocals, the hazy guitar chords, and the distant drum beats in the tale of lust and theft in a seedy roadside motel. The sad country blues guitar of “Midnight Cowboy” adds a classic touch to Tulve’s tale of unrequited love (“You’re the stream I never swam in…”). “Road Stars” has two tired people realizing they could be tired together if they could get past their vices and egos.

“Matador” is another spooky road story as Tulve sings of being on the run from creepy men in her hotel room and spending every cent she can get on gas so she can keep moving. The guitars on the track go deep into psychedelic visions during the chorus and the simple drum beat is almost a tribal chant. The guitars turn into mesquite smoke on “Come On, Slowly.”

The guitars on “Trouble” bring spaghetti western scores to mind with their mix of bold chords and echoed soft touches. The stunning instrumental closer, “Life Valley (So Many Miles Away),” is like a long lost Velvet Underground or Traffic cut that sinks deep into your veins and carries you away from whatever you’re dealing with at the moment.

Horse is one of those records that lures in the back of your head once you hear it and emerges in serene moments. It’s a record that, if you hear part of it in passing, will stick with you and make you seek it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Review: Teenager – Good Time

It’s not hyperbole to say that Toronto post-punks Teenager almost died while making their new album, Good Time. As the story goes, the band created it in a new space they rented for two years underneath a restaurant. Among the many things they had to deal with while working on Good Time were rats, power outages, flooding, mold, and a carbon dioxide leak that threatened everyone in the building. To then call the record that came out of this chaos “Good Time” is, I imagine, a delightful inside joke. It’s also a delightful record, so it all equals out fine.

Opening track “Beige” immediately brings early B-52’s cuts to mind with its snappy bass, swelling synths, and lyrics about everything being the same day in and day out. Teenager couldn’t have predicted two years ago how relevant this song would be in 2020. “I’m stuck in a strange wave. Everything starts to feel beige,” they sing. Everything is bland and every city neighborhood looks the same. Now, our daily routines and homes fall into this category.

The jagged angle guitars of “Trillium Song” are like a breath of fresh post-punk air in a world clogged by bro-rock smog. “Pleasure” has a bit of a Japanese punk rock vibe to it with its fun, echoing guitars and Devo-like synths as they sing, “Too much pressure for pleasure, and pleasure takes pressure.” That might be the most Zen thing I’ve read so far this month.

“Romance for Rent” is a standout. It’s a tale of a man seeking romance online since he’s incapable, or just unwilling, to find it in real life. Again, the Teenager of 2018 could not have predicted how perfect this song would be in 2020, as many of us, for the sake of our health, have to find connections online. The percussion on this track is great, mixing a full kit with conga and other hand percussion. The whole track clicks perfectly and is one of my favorite singles of the year.

“Straight to Computer” is a dire warning about the online stuff they mention in the previous track. Teenager encourage us to get outside and away from these things that are designed to keep us indoors and barraged with advertising. “Can’t remember yesterday, can’t remember what I did today,” they sing in the opening of the title track – a song about how everyone’s in the same boat and often putting on the same mask to hide that they’re miserable. It’s hard to tell where the guitars end and the synths begin in this track, which is to say that it sounds pretty neat.

The guitars on “Touching Glass” move back and forth between heavy rock riffs and bouncy post-punk grooves. The closing track, “The Drain,” could refer to cleaning out their flooded basement studio, the general feel of malaise in this day and age, or both. It’s full of bold guitars that build to a fun, hopeful energy despite its lyrics about acid rain, depression, and being in a funk. By the end you’re thinking the song isn’t about falling into a dark hole. It’s about letting negativity wash off you down the drain and away from you forever.

To put out a record this good despite all the challenges Teenager went through to complete it is damn impressive and inspirational. We all need to get off our collective keisters and do something with this bonus time we’ve been given (if, granted, we are healthy and secure enough to do so). Teenager show that we can all have a good time, a great time, if we choose to grow.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Review: The Death Wheelers – Divine Filth

What do you get when you combine Mötorhead, The Cramps, Misfits, surf rock, grindhouse movies, hallucinogens, guitar, bass, and drums? You get The Death Wheelers and their new album, Divine Filth.

The album is pretty much the soundtrack to a lost post-apocalyptic movie involving bikers fighting the living dead, or a Satanic cult, or an evil corporation, or all three. The Death Wheelers are known for creating albums like this, and their records make you wish you had some sort of teleportation device that could take you to the alternate dimension where these films exist.

“Welcome to Spurcity” opens the album with deep synth-wave bass that brings to mind 1980’s slasher films (and the power tool guitars certainly help), and then the guitars, bass, and drums kick in with stoner-doom power to set you back on your heels. It ends with the sound of the bands’ motorcycles racing off into a zombie wasteland. “Ditchfinder General,” a nice play on the Vincent Price film Witchfinder General, is brilliant thrash metal that transitions into spaghetti western rock. It works, believe me.

“DTA (Sucicycle Tendencies)” begins with instructions on how to smoke a joint before thudding bass, agile guitar shredding, and military march drums come in to cause a miniature riot. The title track comes at you like machine gun fire after we hear a group of men declare war on another gang who’s been picking them off one by one. It’s non-stop after this little bit of dialogue. You can hardly catch your breath for four minutes.

“Lobotomobile,” believe it or not, brings in surf rock elements. “Born mean. Savage servants of the devil!” is the opening line to the raucous “Corps Mortis” – which seems to up the bass and swap the metal guitar riffs with 1960s garage rock grooves. The drumming on it, by the way, is batshit crazy.

The opening lines of “Murder Machines – Biker Mortis” are, “It is the biker’s drug. / How dangerous is it? / It’s very dangerous.” That pretty much sums up the whole album, not just the song. Everything on Divine Filth has a rusty saw blade edge to it (but look and listen carefully and you’ll see the rest of that blade is highly polished by expert craftsmen). “Motörgasm – Carnal Pleasures Pt. 1” is a wild, sexy, psychedelic, and, yes, funky jam that must’ve been just as fun for them to play as it is for us to hear.

“Chopped Back to Life” sounds like a bar fight that leads to a foot chase that then leads to a motorcycle chase that ends up in a junkyard next to a cemetery where the people in the fight end up having to team up to fight zombies from next door – but still end up finishing their fight once the zombies are dead (again). “Road Rite” starts with a quote from, if I’m not mistaken, Pink Flamingos, so The Death Wheelers’ love of trash and exploitation cinema crosses multiple boundaries – which only makes me appreciate them more. The album’s closer, “Nitrus,” would make Dick Dale proud – as it sizzles with his style of playing and frantic surf drums that send the record off on a roaring note.

I should mention that this wild, face-shredding instrumental album was recorded in two days. This hardly seems possibly when you hear it. A live Death Wheelers performance must be like standing in front of an open blast furnace if they can make an album this powerful in 48 hours or less.

Keep your mind open.

[It would be divine if you subscribed.]

[Thanks to Dave as US / THEM Group.]