Category: Reviews

Rewind Review: Cosmonauts – Persona Non Grata (2013)

The title of Cosmonauts‘ 2013 album Persona Non Grata is Latin for “Person Not Appreciated.” In the world of politics it refers to someone prohibited from entering or staying in a country. Cosmonauts are known for wall-to-wall shoegaze riffs that highlight lyrics of alienation and dissatisfaction (from the world in general to something as simple as the effort it takes to go to a party), so it’s a perfect title for an album reflecting themes of not fitting in anywhere.

The album starts with “Shaker” (which does indeed have a shaker prominent in its sound), in which the band sings about uncertainty and being dumbfounded by one’s own willful ignorance (“I can’t believe that I can’t believe that I can’t believe.”). “Sweet Talk” brings in psychedelic reverb to the rolling riffs and a solid rock groove in a song about murder.

“Wear Your Hair Like a Weapon” was the first single from Persona Non Grata. It’s a crunchy, echoing blast that tells the tale of a dangerous woman. The drum beat on it is wicked and the way it drifts into a trippy section near the end is great. The guitars on “My Alba” have a Middle Eastern sound that I love and might make a lava lamp materialize in your office or bedroom while you’re not looking.

“What Me Worry” was the slogan of Mad Magazine‘s Alfred E. Newman whenever confronted with something out of his control – particularly in the world of politics. The song keeps this attitude throughout it, but focuses it toward a relationship coming to an end (and the killer bass line and shredding guitar solos only make it better).

“I don’t worry about the other guys, ’cause they know me well and I’m cold as ice,” they sing at the beginning of “Pure Posture” – a song about posturing masculinity to hide insecurity. The opening guitars on “I’m So Bored with You” sound like saw mills in full operation. “Vanilla” is the song that follows. “Vanilla” is another term for “boring” or “plain,” especially in the bedroom. The song bounces along like a groovy dream and is hardly boring. The wink of it following “I’m So Bored with You” is inescapable as it tells the tale of girls coming to Los Angeles (the band’s hometown) and them pleading for her to go home and avoid the pitfalls of the city and new relationships there

“Dirty Harry” moves along as fast as an action film and almost dares you to keep up with it. The closer, “Summertime Blue,” ends the album with southern California shine that turns into prismatic colors swirling around you, even as the band sings, “Nothing ever seems to turn out right, and I’m staring at the sky…”

It’s more disconnection. Cosmonauts knew in 2013 that we were all racing down a road of distancing ourselves from others because we were too afraid to embrace the present and the light within us and everyone else. We made ourselves into persona non grata, never at home anywhere because we were too busy being elsewhere with our phones and computers. They, in the meantime, were using rock to propel into orbit and encourage us to kick down the barriers we’d created.

Keep your mind open.

[I feel like persona non grata when you don’t subscribe.]

Rewind Review: Priests – Bodies and Control and Money and Power (2014)

The first record by Washington D.C. post-punks Priests, Bodies and Control and Money and Power, was a great kick in the junk in 2014 and is still hits hard now.

The opener, “Design with Reach,” has blaring guitar by G.L. Jaguar while vocalist / firebrand Katie Alice Greer reminds us all of our mortality and Taylor Multiz‘s bass is the rumble of a hearse and Daniele Daniele‘s drums are the footsteps of the Grim Reaper. “I’m not sure I should be talking to you,” Greer sings on “Doctor” – a witty tune about how words can quickly trip up a relationship (“You put your fingers in other people’s mouths all day. Don’t you, Doctor?”).

“New” is blaring punk rock that has some of Greer’s most dangerous vocals and riffs from Jaguar that almost clang like a skillet hitting you in the head. “Powertrip” is even faster. Mulitz’s bass runs all over the room and Daniele’s drums are pure punk bliss.

“Modern Love / No Weapon” dares you to tame it. It just comes at you like a four-headed hydra while you’re armed with a toothbrush. “I think about you all the time,” Greer sings / yells in a tone that’s more menacing than seductive. The groove on “Right Wing” (on which Jaguar and Multiz swap instruments) is great while Greer tells us to “Worship me, politely.” and that she’s “not trying to be anything.”

The album ends with the bonkers “And Breeding,” with Greer chastising all of us for spending most of our time “fucking and breeding” and “trying to understand” why we’re so attached to our cubicle mazes. “I know what we gotta do,” she says before she proceeds to verbally trash Elvis Presley, Madonna, and other icons to which we compare ourselves for no good reason whatsoever.

It’s seven songs of rage, riffs, and rock. What more could you want? Priests have, for the time being, amicably called it quits, but at least we have this and other fine records from them to appreciate.

Keep your mind open.

[Subscribing is good for the soul.]

Review: Shadow Show – Silhouettes

Detroit’s Shadow Show (Kate Derringer – bass, Ava East – guitar, and Kerrigan Pearce – drums) mix 1960’s garage rock with psychedelia and post / art-punk to create their debut album Silhouettes.

The album’s songs deal a lot with perception and illusion. The band’s and album’s names represent things that are real yet unreal. The first track on the record, “Charades,” begins with Pearce’s rapid-fire drumming and then dives into lyrics like “I could be you, you could be me. I could be anything I see.” The fiery “Contessa” is a tribute to a fiery ex-lover who deals in deception (and hot love that sometimes makes it worth it, to be honest). Derringer’s bass on “Green Stone” is as funky as Donald Dunn‘s on “Green Onions.”

An alchemist is someone who, among other things, seeks ways to transform one element to another. It’s another reference to altering perception and reality. The song “The Alchemist” has a cool underlying fuzz to it and lyrics about seeing “the center of your mind.” “Shadow Box” refers to something preserved for all to see, but yet still entrapped. The lyrics refer to a lover who couldn’t see and think outside the box and thus screwed up the good thing they had.

The deft “Trapeze Act” moves and glides like its namesake as a relationship is compared to death-defying stunts. East knows when to let her guitar take the lead and when to swing it back, and the reverbed vocals near the end are a great touch. Her guitar takes on a bit of bluesy swagger on “Glass Eye” (another title alluding to false images and altered perception). “Dreamhead” opens with dreamy acoustic guitar (and, I suspect, acoustic bass) for a groovy trip that discusses how some secrets are best left that way.

The opening riffs of “The Machine” remind me of old Love and Rockets tracks and even seem to have a bit of Middle Eastern flair in them. The words “There are times you keep me hanging on…” start the closer, “Silhouette.” It’s a song about finally seeing truth and reality in a relationship and realizing that going along the path that’s been set will only result in becoming a shadow of what you once were.

Silhouettes is a lovely, groovy, sexy, and somewhat dark record that I suspect has many layers that will reveal themselves over multiple listens. Don’t miss the Shadow Show.

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]

Review: Shopping – All or Nothing

London post-punkers Shopping slid into the last few days of 2019 by releasing one of my favorites singles of the year, “Initiative.” That track brought back their crisp, “cold water skipping across a hot pan” fun sound and also indicated something more…something that was somehow extra cripsy.

That turned out to be their newest album, All or Nothing. The band (Rachel Aggs – guitar and vocals, Billy Easter – bass and vocals, and Andrew Milk – drums and vocals) had split apart geographically (Aggs and Milk in Glasgow, Easter in Los Angeles) but got together in Seattle to record “Initiative” and then the rest of the album came together in a ten-day period recording in London and Glasgow. The title of the album refers to not only their “go for it / we’re not screwing around” approach to the rapid recording process, but also the pop production of the record, bringing in more synths, changing up guitar styles, and sharing lead vocals through several tracks.

The album has plenty of political jabs, queer power cuts, and plenty of encouragement to live your life in truth and have a good time doing it. The opener, “Trust in Us,” is both a middle finger to the 1% and a rallying cry to the 99% to trust and rely on each other instead of embracing the myth that billionaires know what’s best for us. The song has a bit of a Yeah Yeah Yeahs vibe to it, which isn’t surprising since Shopping has admitted that YYY’s, LCD Soundsystem, Bronksi Beat, and Talking Heads were all major influences on the record.

“Initiative” follows with its snappy beats and fun lyrics about dealing with the daily work grind. The song would’ve been featured on the Office Space soundtrack had it been released in 1999. The bass heavy “Follow Me” (and Easter’s killer bass is all over this album) is up next. “Follow me, I’ll make it worth it,” Aggs sings. “CCTV is living for me,” Milk replies. London, it should be noted, has more CCTV cameras than most major cities on Earth, so I can’t help but wonder if the song is about doing goofy stuff just in public just to make those watching the cameras have plenty of “WTF?” moments at their desks.

Milk takes lead vocals on “No Apologies,” a killer cut abut realizing that a relationship is going down a dark, possibly dangerous path and that waiting for an apology is wasted, useless time. “For Your Pleasure” is probably filling dance floors in clubs all over London and Glasgow and L.A. by now with its bright synths and Milk’s wild beats that are seem to trip over each other and yet never get out of time.

His beats are like a kitchen timer on “About You,” and Aggs’ guitar seems to be playing in another room as she sings about problems in her relationship with her lover that she doesn’t want to admit are probably her fault, at least in part. The LCD Soundsystem influence is clear on “Lies” with its synth bass and hand percussion as Aggs and Easter sing a plea about trying to convince their respective lovers of simple truths.

“Expert Advice” brings back Aggs’ funky guitar work and Milk’s lead vocals. Milk and Aggs sing about being frustrated with someone close to them, but I can’t help thinking the song is also aimed at political figures (“You keep selling me the same old story…”) trying to convince everyone in Britain that Brexit will be great for everyone involved. The slightly down-tuned guitar on “Body Clock” is a pleasant surprise, and the title and final track is a tale of a relationship in which one half (Aggs, in this case) is doing the majority of the work and simply wants more from her lover or to call it quits.

All or Nothing is a solid record from beginning to end, with Shopping exploring new song structures and instrumentation, but keeping their sharp lyrics and only getting better as musicians.

Keep your mind open.

[Take some initiative and subscribe today.]

Review: Mush – 3D Routine

Post-punk has been thriving the last couple years in the US and the UK. One of the UK bands getting a lot of attention in the genre nowadays is Mush (Nick Grant – bass, Dan Hyndman – vocals, Phil Porter – drums, Tyson Porter – guitar) who combine quirky jamming with sharp spoken word lyrics about work life drudgery, political mockery, and crushing debt left behind by past generations on their debut album 3D Routine.

“Revising My Fee” starts with sharp guitar angles and reminding everyone that practically everyone in Mush’s generation is “always in debt.” Tyson Porter’s solo on it is outstanding. The band punches back at the forces keep them in that debt on “Eat the Etiquette” and then tackles death on “Existential Dread” – a snappy tune (with even snappier drumming by Phil Porter) about shuffling along and avoiding life while approaching death.

I’m guessing “Coronation Chicken” is about the Royal Family, but I could be wrong. I do know that it has a swanky groove to it that I love. “Island Mentality,” like “Eat the Etiquette,” starts with a short instrumental intro, before it kicks into quick post-punk rollicking. “Fruits of the Happening,” apart from having an intriguing title, has another solid intro before Hyndman sings about how, if we’re not vigilant, we can become the product of events around us that are often out of our control.

“Hey Gammon Head” has Tyson Porter’s guitar work bordering on psychedelic rock territory. Hyndman spits his lyrics so fast on the title track that you can barely keep up with him, but Grant’s bass keeps the tune rooted. “Gig Economy” is a frantic take on not only the economics of being in a touring band, but also how everyone is working some sort of side hustle gig just to get by.

“Poverty Pornography” keeps up this theme by throwing down a snarky track about rich folks getting richer and enjoying the fruits of the poor’s labor. “No Signal in the Paddock” has one of the best grooves on the whole record, with the Porter brothers and Grant all working in perfect timing yet still sounding rough and raw. The closer, “Alternative Facts,” is over nine minutes of ranting against those who power who expect us to swallow their bullshit.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Hyndman’s weird vocal delivery. He mixes post-punk sarcasm with punk snot and art rock flair. In other words, he’s perfect for singing in a post-punk band.

This is a routine you’ll enjoy.

Keep your mind open.

[Show some love by subscribing.]

Rewind Review: Soulwax – Essential (2018)

When the Belgian duo of David and Stephen Dewaele, otherwise known as Soulwax, were asked by BBC Radio to create an “essential mix” in 2017, they decided to create an entire album of new music based on the meaning of the word “essential” instead of just mix a bunch of material made by other folks. The result, Essential, turned out to be a great record mixing house music, dub, electro, and trance.

The twelve tracks are named “Essential One,” “Essential Two,” “Essential Three,” etc. No other ornamentation is needed. “One” mixes radio static and electronic alarm clock blips into a funky cacophony. “Two” brings in disco bass and what sounds like electro-vibraphone to get your booty shaking. It flows so well into the ready-made-for-the-dance-floor “Three” that you might not notice the transition.

The groovy bass continues on “Four,” and there’s a brief pause before the echoing chants of “Five” fill your head. The bells and other percussion of “Six” are downright addictive. “Seven” is a bit mellower than the previous tracks, but not by much. It still keeps you moving. The bass on “Eight” is fat as a whale and will have your entire house party moving so hard they might topple over your china cabinet. “Nine” mixes in odd rhythms to the funky bass for a cool brew.

“Ten” starts with menace, but drifts into a quiet bliss by its end. “Eleven” has the most discernible, and sexiest, lyrics. The sultry synth-beats certainly don’t hurt either. “Twelve” is the shortest track on the album at two minutes-thirty seconds, but it still has enough swanky bass to supply a half-hour DJ set.

Essential is indeed that if you’re a fan of Soulwax or electro music. They recently announced that their U.S. tour has been postponed, but dates would be rescheduled. Don’t miss them if they’re near you.

Keep your mind open.

[It’s essential that you subscribe. Well, not really, but it would be nice.]

Review: Okay Kaya – Watch This Liquid Pour Itself

Kaya Wilkins, also known as Okay Kaya, explores depression, love, sex, death, and boredom on her album Watch This Liquid Pour Itself. That’s not to say the album is a bleak bore. It’s quirky, catchy, clever, and intriguing.

“Baby Little Tween” has Wilkins flat-out telling her lover she’ll eventually get tired of having sex with him and wondering if her anti-depressants will shut down her libido altogether. The electro beats behind the track are slow jam-sexy, however, so it seems that Wilkins is getting busy while she can. “Ascend and Try Again” is Wilkin’s blueprint for reducing stress and staying in the moment as she sings about breath control atop simple acoustic and bass guitar chords.

The lazy beats of “Insert Generic Name” reinforce Wilkins’ sexy croon as she sings about how it sucks to be someone’s girlfriend and the “center of resentment in your harem.” “Anything could happen at any given time, no wonder I’m overstimulated,” Wilkins sings on “Overstimulated.” It’s a Velvet Underground-like song about her being fascinated by her lover, but it could as easily be a song about ADHD. “Psych Ward” would be a major Pixies hit in another reality, but Wilkins beat them to it as she sings witty lyrics about her own experiences in treatment (“You can peel an orange however you please in the psych ward…”) while her backing band puts down a wicked groove.

“Guttural Sound” is a dream-like track about the dangers of looking forward to a future that might not, and probably won’t, happen. It also skewers hipsters (“I desperately want to be thirty-something, on my way to the nearest AA meeting.” / “In the dog park, have a discussion on which Brita filter is the best one.”). “Asexual Being,” in which Wilkins admits that “sex with me is mediocre, but I can probably feel what you’re feeling.”, has house music bass encouraging you to get down and at least entertain the idea of being okay with mediocre sex and Netflix and ice cream. “Popcorn Heart” is as tender as a 1950’s ballad and perfect for your kid’s prom slow dance playlist.

The bass groove, beats, and piano of “Mother Nature’s Bitch” make it sound like a lost Fleetwood Mac cut. “Hallelu Ya Hallelu Me” is another dreamy track, this one about obession (“It’s so creepy. I think of you instead of eating or sleeping.”). “Symbosis” has Wilkins comparing herself and her lover to algae while weird synths shift around in the background. It’s not unlike a Gary Wilson song. In fact, Ms. Wilkins and Mr. Wilson would probably make a great album together because they love singing about and exploring the same themes – love, loneliness, romance, kissing, and obsession.

The cleverly titled “Givenupitis” is a lovely slow-funk slap upside the head of apathetic people who are so attached to their IDGAF attitude that they’ve lost connections with nearly everyone around them. The lyrics for “Helsevesen” are in Norwegian (the title translates to “health service”), and the song has an echoing, icy quality to it that befits the Norwegian landscape. The electro beats and bass of “Stonethrow” produce the most danceable track on the record as Wilkins worries that she’s “becoming what the kids these days call insecure.” Wilkins’ voice goes low for “Zero Interaction Ramen Bar” while she sings about being alone in a bright, yet dreary place with nothing and no one to console her apart from booze, tasteless dumplings, and her own thoughts.

This is one of those records that’s perfect for the right mood. It’s hard to determine what that mood is, as it will be different for everyone, but that shows how good of a songwriter Wilkins is. She has crafted an album that will resonate with different listeners in different ways. That’s no easy task.

Keep your mind open.

[You can subscribe whenever you please.]

Rewind Review: Iggy Pop – Post-Pop Depression (2016)

Iggy Pop once described his 2016 album Post-Pop Depression in a Rolling Stone article as “discussing issues of what happens when your utility is at an end, and dealing with your legacy.” It’s also an album with heavy themes of sex and death.

The opener, “Break into Your Heart,” with it’s heavy, menacing bass by Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age) is about Pop willing to do whatever it takes to win the object of his desire. “Gardenia” has Pop and Joshua Homme (also of QOTSA as well as Eagles of Death Metal) singing of a “black goddess in a shabby raincoat” with an “hourglass glass” and “slant devil eyes” and how he just wants to pay for one more night with her. A friend of mine wondered if we needed a song about Iggy Pop, who was sixty-nine years old at the time, getting laid. I figured a guy pushing seventy singing about how he’s wanting (and, let’s face it, getting) more sex than guys decades younger than he is pretty damn punk rock.

“American Valhalla” is a song about figuring out what’s left behind after we die. “Death is the the pill that’s tough to swallow…I’m not the man with everything. I’ve nothing but my name. Lonely, lonely deeds that no one sees…Where is American Valhalla?” Everyone wants to know the answer to this, especially when we realize it’s not found in consumerism, Instagram, or reality TV. Homme’s guitar on “In the Lobby” reminds me of Mick Ronson‘s chops, and Pop’s vocals about hoping he doesn’t lose his life as he walks behind his shadow as “the dancing kids” who are out for their kicks are oblivious to the passage of time.

“Sunday” is a tale of enduring the drudgery of the work week and, I suspect, the life of a rock star (“This job is a masquerade of recreation.” / “I’ve got it all, but what’s it for?”) just to get to a day off. “Vulture,” with its spaghetti western showdown percussion from Matt Helders (of Arctic Monkeys) is about the spectre of death and record company executives waiting to bleed you dry.

You can’t help but wonder if Pop is writing from experience on “German Days” – a song about Bavarian brothels, “champagne on ice,” and the opportunity to “germinate in a German way.” Pop did spend many years in Berlin, so I’ll take his word for it. “Chocolate Drops” is about letting go of the past and not fearing death, and it’s no secret that Homme’s work on this album helped him after the terrorist attack at an Eagles of Death Metal show in 2015.

The album ends with the angry rants of “Paraguay,” in which Pop sings about “going where sore losers go to hide my face and spend my dough.” Pop is sick of sycophants and tired of the constant barrage of knowledge and information. He’s tired of living in a place where everyone is afraid and chooses to live in that fear. The song breaks down close to the four-minute mark into a fiery rant from Pop in which he tears down us, the listeners, that he’s sick of our “evil and poisonous intentions” while Homme, Fertita, and Helders chant “Wild animals, they do. Never wonder why, just do what they goddamn do.”

Thankfully, this wasn’t Pop’s last record, as some thought it might be. He isn’t leaving for Paraguay just yet, but Post-Pop Depression is a warning that he might at any moment and not look back at us as he does. It’s also a warning for us to get off our asses, throw away our laptops, and make something of our lives before we’ve run out of time.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t go into post-blog depression. Subscribe.]

Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Live in Adelaide ’19

This is the first of three (so far) live albums released this month from Australian juggernauts King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. All proceeds from the purchase of Live in Adelaide ’19 (and the other live records) go toward wildlife rescue efforts during Australia’s horrible brush fires.

The home crowd set is a great one that mixes tracks from Infest the Rats’ Nest, Fishing for Fishies, I’m in Your Mind Fuzz, Flying Microtonal Banana, Polygondwanaland, and Float Along – Fill Your Lungs.

They come out roaring with “Planet B,” “Mars for the Rich,” and “Venusian 1” – any of which can flatten the uninitiated. “Cyboogie” is a switch to synth-blues and the grooves of “Real’s Not Real,” “Hot Water” (with guest flute from Adam Halliwell of Mildlife) and “Open Water.” “Sleep Drifter” is one of those songs that always delights when you hear it live.

“Billabong Valley” is always a crowd favorite because Ambrose Kenny-Smith takes on lead vocals in the song about an Outback outlaw. “The Bird Song” is another great live treat, as the song is so happy and groovy you can’t help but smile when you hear it. Things get weird on “Inner Cell,” a tune that had a menacing buzz throughout it, and “Loyalty,” which has plenty of odd time signatures to amaze you.

The groove on “Plastic Boogie” makes you think the song should’ve been named “Solid Rock Boogie.” The band then heads back into thrash metal with “Organ Farmer” (which is bonkers) and “Self-Immolate” before learning they still have thirty-five minutes of stage time left. What to do? How about playing a nearly half-hour version of “Head On / Pill” which is nothing short of outstanding?

This is a solid live album by one of the best live bands on the planet right now, and you can’t beat the price and you’re contributing to a great cause when you buy it. It’s a win for everyone.

Keep your mind open.

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

Review: Praÿ – self-titled

Hailing from Lyon, France, doom metal trio Praÿ (Antonie Berthet-Bondet – drums, Maud Gibbons – guitar, and Jason Rols – bass) let you know right away on their self-titled album that they are not screwing around with you.

Rols’ opening bass on the first track, “First Trip,” sets the creepy tone / begins the ritual and soon Gibbons’ guitar is calling to ancient things beyond the stars and Berthet-Bondet’s drums are heralding their arrival. The song floats into psychedelia close to the nine-minute mark and brings back to Earth, although we return wondering if there are things lurking in the shadows (Spoiler: There are.)

“Heretic Eye” also gets off to a dark, quiet start before unleashing fuzzed fury that might knock you out of your chair. “Sulphur” ups the speed a bit and reveals some of the band’s prog-rock influences (mainly through some of the time signatures and Gibbons’ chords early in the track) before the raw power of all three members hits you in the chest like a sledgehammer…and then quiets down to a low rumble before smashing up the place again. The song goes through at least three changes, and each one is somehow better than the last. The final track, “Bottom of the Universe,” sounds like its emerging from a black hole somewhere beyond Alpha Centauri, so the name is appropriate. It hits you with big cymbal crashes and bass thuds and guitar chords that sound like the devil revving the engine of his hot rod. Then, the bottom drops out and we’re floating in a psychedelic Steve Ditko-drawn universe that leads us to a Jack Kirby-drawn post-apocalyptic planet.

The album is only four instrumental songs, but the shortest one is eleven minutes and twelve seconds in length. They don’t cheat the listener or themselves. They explore the shadows as long as they like. Do you dare join them on the journey?

Keep your mind open.

[Take a trip over to the subscription box while you’re here.]