Category: Reviews

Review: Flat Worms – Antarctica

Recorded in just six days, Flat Worms‘ fourth album, Antarctica, is a loud, wild, angry, and yet hopeful record about where we’re going as a species. Are we heading for a barren wasteland of a future, a world of people who don’t want to come back out after COVID-19 is gone, or a world where people still have hope and work toward building a better tomorrow?

Those are the questions Flat Worms (Tim Hellman – bass, Will Ivy – guitar and vocals, and Justin Sullivan – drums) ask themselves and us, beginning with “The Aughts.” Remember them? The years 2000 – 2009 seem like more than a decade ago, don’t they? We’ve already forgotten the lessons learned during those years, which might explain why Ivy’s guitar sounds like its growling for the entire song and Sullivan sounds like he’s beating his snare drum to death at some points. “The aughts, the teens, the tens, only a means to an end,” Ivy sings.

Hellman’s bass is like facing a blitz of punches from a boxer on “Plaster Casts.” Up next is the dangerous “Market Forces,” which is currently my top single of 2020. It absolutely flattens anything that comes into contact with it. The lyrics skewer self-isolation via our phones and addicting entertainment long before a different kind of self-isolation became necessary. “I’m like a piece of the puzzle that’s lost in the living room. I’m looking for a catapult to escape the situation, but every time I thought I got out, I’m just stepping in quicksand again,” Ivy sings. Good grief, haven’t we all been there?

The title track starts with what almost sounds like hip hop beats from Sullivan, but then Hellman’s prowling panther bass enters the room and Ivy’s guitar flits around like a vampire bat. “Via” builds with a solid chug and then warps into post-punk madness. Ivy’s guitar on “The Mine” plunges into psychedelia while Hellman’s bass is the jagged rocks below and Sullivan’s drums move back and forth between garage rock and near-metal rolls.

“Ripper One” does indeed rip, reminding me of a high-powered engine that’s pushed to its limits. “There’s nothing to lose, nothing to offer,” they sing amid heavy cymbal crashes and power chords. A lot of us are stuck in that mode of being nowadays and we’re unsure of how to break the cycle. We know that moving into a “Condo Colony” (which sounds like an early Public Image Ltd. cut) won’t bring us much relief, if any. A gated community not only keeps people out, it tries to convince you that you shouldn’t leave. Ivy implores us with warnings like, “And as the towers grow, see the traffic swell. A phantom opera glove is behind the controls. It’s a condo colony! A condo colony! Step out.” and “If I could somehow escape outside of the wall, then I look over my shoulder and everywhere I go it just follows me.” Hot damn. He’s not playing.

“Signals” could refer back to those traffic jams controlled by unseen phantoms. It’s a short instrumental before “Wet Concrete,” which has bass that’s as thick as its namesake. The album ends with “Terms of Visitation,” which sounds like something you might run into on the Home Owners Association agreement you signed to moved into that condo colony. It’s a wild, chaotic tune about the delicate dances we do in romantic relationships. “These are the terms of visitation, fit for prisoners, fit for lovers just the same. It’s just the same.”

This is one of the best albums of 2020 so far. Flat Worms are bringing their A-game right now, and in this time of no professional sports we need serious players for serious times.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Sofia Kourtesis – Sarita Colonia

Hailing from Peru but based in Berlin, producer / DJ Sofia Kourtesis released a four-track EP, Sarita Colonia, earlier this year that slipped under my radar until I read about it in an article about the best electronic music we might’ve missed so far in 2020. I’m glad I found that article (which I can now no longer locate), because Sarita Colonia is a gem I would’ve otherwise overlooked.

The opening title track gets off to a great bouncy house start. The synths grow in volume and brightness as a steady dance beat keeps us grounded. “Moninga,” with its reversed samples and loops, is even happier than its predecessor. It even includes a sample from the cult film The Warriors (“Everybody says Cyrus is the one and only.”), which delighted me.

“Hollywood” is a groovy house track with thumping bass, Marilyn Monroe samples, synthesized hand percussion, and beats that shake more than a rabbit’s nose. It turns into a floor-filler around the two-minute mark when the synths back off and the bass takes the forefront. The closer, “Akariku,” has snappy synth-beats that almost sound like they’re cut off before they become full chops as heartbeat-bass thuds alongside them. The synths bubble until they’re at a rolling boil and you’re incapable of standing still by this point in the song (not even a full two minutes). The song is about love and lust, sampling The Temptations‘ “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and Jakatta‘s “Ride the Storm.”

This is a slick EP. A full-length from Ms. Kourtesis would be a great addition to 2020’s electronic music catalog, but this well-crafted record is a great appetizer for more things to come.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: L’appel Du Vide – Demo 2020

I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my favorite things about writing this blog and being a part-time radio DJ is getting correspondence from bands I’ve never heard, especially ones from outside the U.S.

One such band is L’appel Du Vide (The Call of the Void) from Chemnitz, Germany. Their new EP, Demo 2020, is a solid post-punk guitar assault mixed with krautrock precision drumming. The band is also a supergroup of sorts, consisting of members of Black Lagoon, Die Tunnel, Mvrmansk, and Out on a Limb.

The four-song EP is good from start to finish. Opener “Falle” (“Cases”) is post-punk to the core with its jagged guitar lines, sharp drumming, and wicked bass. “Schweineherz” (“Pig heart”) takes on a distinctly gothic tone and is downright relentless as it comes at you non-stop for about two and a half minutes.

“Einer von hier” (“One from here”) has probably my favorite bass line on the EP. It’s like a freight train roaring alongside you. The guitars are like police sirens blasting by as you’re walking along a rainy German city street. The closer, “Verschlungen” (“Devoured”), growls along with more precision drumming, popping bass, and wall-shattering guitars that pound like engine pistons.

A full-length album from this quartet would be one of the loudest, heaviest records of the year if Demo 2020 is any indication. These four tracks pack more power than many LP’s in the same genre. I’m keen to hear more.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: The Chats – High Risk Behaviour

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, that really is the cover of The Chats‘ full-length debut album, High Risk Behaviour. I love that it looks like a gig flyer you’d see stapled on a phone pole somewhere in Sydney, Australia. Don’t let the simplicity of the cover fool you. These three young Aussie punks have crafted a fun record that blasts out of your speakers and has more attitude than several hardcore bands combined.

Lead track, “Stinker,” starts so fast you almost think part of the track is missing. The Stooges-like chords are immediately apparent as lead singer and bassist Eamon Sandwith sings about waking up after a wild party weekend to discover his place is trashed…again. I’m not sure if his bass riffs or drummer Matt Boggis‘ high-hat work is fiercer on “Drunk and Disorderly.” Guitarist Josh “Pricey” Price takes over lead vocals on “The Clap,” which is, as the band’s press materials state, “the closest you’ll ever hear The Chats get to write a love song.”

“Identity Theft” is a tale of woe as Sandwith sings about his identity being stolen while buying drugs on the internet. What’s he supposed to do? Report it to the police? “Guns” is an absolute middle finger in the eye toward U.S. gun culture. “Little Johnny had V.D., but went on a shooting spree. Learned it from the TV, USA let him free. Kids need guns!” Price’s solo on it is particularly sharp.

“Dine and Dash” is about loading up on food and splitting before you pay. “Keep the Grubs Out” is a spoken-word piece (backed by chugging, fuzzy guitars) about a security guard, a manager, and a business owner telling the band (and I’m sure these are direct quotes) they’re not proper social class and / or look appropriate and thus are not welcome in the venue / restaurant / business. The songs ends with the line, “Feel free to come back when you get a haircut.”

“Pub Feed” is a salute to bar food, not to mention one of the hottest tracks on the record. “Ross River” is a song about picking up a nasty infection from people Sandwith has met at shows and pubs. Good grief, that sounds pretty prophetic nowadays, doesn’t it? “Heatstroke” does indeed sizzle. “I discriminate ’em all the same,” Sandwith sings on “Billy Backwash’s Day” – a track about a guy looking for a fight anywhere he can find it.

“4573” is a great call-and-response punk track. The last two tracks on the album are a nice pairing – “Do What I Want” and “Better Than You.” The first is a song about defiant independence. The other has the band claiming they’re better than those who would sneer down at them because at least they’re honest and not trapped by the constant need to impress anyone else.

It’s a record that will make you laugh, cheer, mosh, and hungry. That’s a winner in my book.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Earthless – Live in Guadalest (2013)

Back in 2009, psych / kraut-rock trio Earthless (Mike Eginton – bass, Isaiah Mitchell – guitar, and Mario Rubalcaba – drums) played a music festival in Guadalest, Spain. Thankfully for all of us, Live in Guadalest was recorded and released in 2013 as a special item at the band’s merch table during an Australian tour and also made available as a digital download for those of us who missed out on the few physical copies produced.

The set is “only” two songs, but the shortest one is twenty-two minutes and fourteen seconds long. That’s the second track, “Godspeed.” The first, “From the Ages,” is over half an hour and tears out of the gate like an Arabian race horse with black coffee in its veins. It turns into a meditative jam around the eleven-minute mark. The song is cruising along a dark highway by minute-fifteen, and your mind is blown eight minutes later when they break the song down yet again.

“Godspeed” melts whatever traces of your brain are left from the previous track. It starts mellow enough, but soon Rubalcaba is hammering away at his kit with renewed vigor and Eginton and Mitchell put the pedal to the metal. Eginton’s bass is particularly funky on this version of “Godspeed,” and Mitchell seems to be playing two guitars at once. The breakdown at the seventeen-minute mark is outstanding and the fade out leaves you breathless.

This is a good place to start if you’ve never seen Earthless live. It will make you want to catch them as soon as possible, as you should. You won’t regret it.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Matt Karmil – STS371

UK producer / DJ Matt Karmil‘s new album, STS371, has an enigmatic title and equally intriguing song titles and cover (Are those worms? Fish? Amoebas?). The music is just as fascinating because it’s some of the best electro-house released so far this year.

The opener, “Smoke,” starts with chopped vocal samples and scratchy record sounds before dance floor beats and bass subtly drop into the track. “Hard” beings with dreamy synths that pulse like a heartbeat and then that sweet bass drops in to get you and, I would venture to guess, your lover moving.

You might think that a song called “Snail Shower” would be a slow, mellow cut, but it’s the opposite. It’s a bright, refreshing track with looped synths. “PB” was the first single released from the album. It’s a bold track with synths that hint at anger but drums and bass that hint at being a cool cat…until that wicked high hat comes in and gets you in the mood to move.

As someone who is studying the French language, I love the title of “Still Not French” – a peppy house tune that I can envision hearing while on the train in Paris. “Congo” is as steamy and mysterious as its namesake, with beats that are so layered they almost seem to trip over each other. “SR WB” could be the theme to a lost sci-fi show from the 1980’s.

“Breezy” continues the dance beats (and, wow, that electro-high-hat!) and adds poppy synths to the mix. “210” ends the album with more bright beats, sizzling synths, and body-moving grooves.

Even after listening to STS371, I’m still not clear on the meanings of the album’s and songs’ titles, but that’s okay. We don’t have to know everything. We can just play an album like this and groove to it while we undergo self-isolation.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Deeper – Auto-Pain

The cover of Chicago post-punks Deeper‘s new album, Auto-Pain, features an image of Northwestern Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago – a hospital known for its modern architectural style…that was demolished in 2015. Healing, death, illness, impermanence, and presence are themes weaved throughout the album.

It opens with “Esoteric,” as guitarists Mike Clawson and Nic Gohl (who also sings lead) lead us by the hand with catchy hooks while Gohl asks “Is it any wonder I feel so old?” He’s bogged down by the pressure of living under constant demands from all angles. The song breaks into bright synths and power riffs that bring Wire records to mind. “Run” has some guitars just as bright and shiny as before, and other with a lingering sense of anger behind them.

“This Heat” could be a tribute to the band of the same name (and the sharp guitars certainly are reminiscent of This Heat), but I suspect the song is about the heat of emotions and trying to tame them. “I’m so sick” Gohl repeats again and again, as well as “You’re crossing the line.” He’s ready to burst with rage as his temperature rises. “It’s all right” is repeated often on “Willing,” and you’re not sure if Gohl is trying to convince us, his bandmates, himself, or all three groups. I love the way the guitars sound like warped records, and Shiraz Bhatti‘s beats (influenced by sounds heard as a kid at pow wows he attended with his family) on it are wicked.

“What’s the point of living this life?” Gohl sings on “Lake Song.” A repeated line in the chorus is “I just want you to feel sick.” The lyrics take on heavier weight when you learn that Clawson killed himself after leaving the band during Auto-Pain‘s recording. He had battled depression for a long time. The band was stunned, as you can imagine, and “Lake Song,” with its dark synths and krautrock beats, feels like Gohl, Bhatti, and bassist Drew McBride working out their grief in the track.

The synths burst forth with new light and the guitars throw fits with new fire in “Spray Paint.” On “4U” the synths and guitars almost become manic, probably reflecting the stress building on the band at the time. McBride’s admiration of Peter Hook is on full display on “V.M.C.” and “Helena’s Flowers” – two tracks that deal with obsession and attachment.

“The Knife” brings to mind early stuff from The Cure as Gohl sings about feeling best when one realizes most of life is nonsense. It can be a depressing thought, and Gohl has admitted that depression is the main theme of the album and the recording of it was a healing process for he, McBride, and Bhatti. The closer, “Warm,” has Gohl’s guitar sounding like it’s stumbling across a desert landscape in search of a cool place to rest. “Is this the cure you believe in, or just another cast line?” Gohl sings. The last line of the song and thus the album is “Inside I close the door.” Does he mean inside the safety of his home or inside the domain of his mind? I’m not sure if it matters either way. He has found a way to shut out the noise, and wouldn’t we all be better off if we could do that?

The title, Auto-Pain, is a reference to Brave New World and a substance that lets you feel everything at once. Could we deal with such a wave of emotion? Would we end up enlightened if we did, or crushed? Sometimes the reward is worth the risk.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Radar Men from the Moon – Subversive I (2015)

It’s a bit difficult to describe the music of Radar Men from the Moon (who are actually from the Netherlands). Is it psychedelia? Prog-rock? Synthwave? Shoegaze? All of that? None of it? I’m not sure. They were all playing synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines when I saw them at Levitation France a couple years ago, and Subversive I is heavy on electronica and synths, whereas other albums are more guitar-based. I do know, however, that everything I’ve heard from them is good.

Subversive I is the part of a triptych of albums released in consecutive years starting in 2015. Subversive I is only four instrumental tracks, but the shortest one is six-and-a-half minutes long.

That one is the first track, “Deconstruction,” which starts off with fuzzy synth bass and sharp drum beats before robot pulse guitars come in to get you moving. It’s an industrial dance track in many ways, again making RMFTM difficult to categorize.

“Habitual” takes on a darkwave tone with guitars that sound like they were recorded in a dark tomb and bass and synths that sounds like some…thing pounding and clawing it’s way out of that tomb.

“Neon” is the longest track on the album at eleven minutes and sixteen seconds. It starts quiet and brooding, like a slow, building rain hitting a tin roof. It turns into a theme for a cool futuristic mystery-thriller movie you think you’ve seen but never have.

The closer, “Hacienda,” is the most “in your face” song on the record with its buzz-saw guitars and “Peter Gunn”-like bass that gets under your skin.

Subversive I, like a lot of RMFTM’s work, is one of those albums that changes the feel of the room when you play it. It’s one of those albums that makes people ask, “What is this?” Sometimes they ask it out of intrigue, other times out of confusion, and other times out of apprehension. If that doesn’t make you want to hear it, I don’t know what will.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Public Image Ltd. – This Is What You Want…This Is What You Get (1984)

The fourth album by Public Image Ltd., This Is What You Want…This Is What You Get, came out in the Year of Orwell – 1984. The world was in the middle of the Cold War and people were wondering which side was going to first heat it up. It was the “me decade” here in the U.S. for Wall Street tycoons who were grabbing all the wealth they could while the rest of us were waiting on Trickle Down Economics to make our lives easier. Spoiler alert: We’re still waiting.

John Lydon and guitarist Keith Levene were working on the album and had an early mix, entitled Commercial Zone, completed. Levene took it to Virgin Records, but Lydon abandoned the project and re-recorded all of it to create This Is What You Want…This Is What You Get.

It starts with the buzzy “Bad Life,” which was the first single off the record. It mixes funky bass with cool horn blasts as Lydon sings, “This machine is on the move. Looking out for number one.” It’s a nice shove at 1980’s yuppies stepping on others to get what they want. The title of the album is repeated over electric drum beats toward the end of the track (and throughout the album).

“This Is Not a Love Song” was Lydon’s poke at people who kept asking him, “Why don’t you write a love song?” He write a brassy jam that mostly repeats the title and ended up being one of his biggest hits. “Happy to have and not to have not. Big business is very wise. I’m crossing over into the enterprise,” he sings, telling all of us that he could take the money and run if he wanted.

Louis Bernardi‘s bass on “Solitaire” is downright nasty. You could easily slap it onto a funk record and it wouldn’t sound out of place. “Tie Me to the Length of That” is a reference to Lydon’s birth, even referencing the doctor who slapped him when he was born. It crawls around the room like a creepy goblin. The horn section echoes from the background like some sort of distant warning.

“The Pardon” has Lydon calling people out for being resistant to change. The beat is a weird tribal jam that is hard to describe but one that sinks into your head. “Where Are You?” is barely controlled chaos as Lydon searches for…someone. I’m still not sure whom.

“1981” is a post-punk classic with Lydon ranting about everything he could see was going to go wrong in the decade and how he figured it might be best to leave England for a while. The drums are sharp, the baritone sax angry, the cymbals sizzling, and the lyrics biting: “I could be desperate. I could be brave…I want everything in 1981.”

The album’s title is repeated again at the beginning of the last track – “The Order of Death” – killer drum beats back dark piano chords. The guitar chords are like something out of a Ridley Scott film score. It’s a cool ending to a cool record, and somewhat of a forgotten post-punk classic.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor – SikSik Nation

Back in 2006, Detroit psych-rockers Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor were known as the garage rock band SikSik Nation. They record a four-song EP that never saw the light of day…until now.

The EP opens with power drumming and chords on “Power Couples,” with vocalist Sean Morrow sounding a bit like The Cult‘s Ian Astbury. Drummer Rick Sawoscinski beats his kit like he expects the rented studio time to end at any second. Morrow’s guitar and Eric Oppitz‘s bass on “New Face” has some of the psychedelic touches (space rock guitar solo in Morrow’s case) and heady fuzz (Oppitz’s bass line) the band would later refine when they became SOYSV. The honky tonk piano in it is another great touch.

“You’re rising up now, but she’s always got you down,” they sing on “Murder on My Lips,” which ups the fuzz and power even further from the last track. This must flatten walls when its played live, as must “Sold Gold Souls.” The final track screeches like a Detroit auto plant’s assembly line at full production during an earthquake. The whole track rumbles with menace and chants of “Sell my soul, it’s solid gold.” before it melts into a weird warp that wouldn’t be out of place on a doom album.

It’s great to hear SOYSV so raw, angry, and hungry. SikSik Nation is the map to the psychedelic trips they would later take. It’s must-hear stuff for fans of the band, or anyone else.

Keep your mind open.

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