Category: Rewind Reviews

Rewind Review: Screaming Females – Castle Talk (2010)

Screaming Females’ (Mike Abbatte – bass, Jarrett Dougherty – drums, Marissa Paternoster – guitar and vocals) fourth album, Castle Talk, features a drawing (by Paternoster) of a horse on its cover. The horse’s tail seems to be made of fire. It’s a fitting image for an album that often charges straight at you like those horses from Krull that move so fast they leave behind trails of fire.

Opening track “Laura + Marty” opens with doom metal chords before it abruptly switches into almost power-pop riffs and post-punk bass grooves. “I Don’t Mind It” could and should be a big radio hit as Paternoster sings a peppy song about heartbreak. Dougherty’s “not as easy as they sound” beats are a highlight of “Boss.” His switches between hard rock beats and jazz timing are sharp.

The raucous energy of “Normal” gets your whole body shaking. “A New Kid” has this cool warped sound to it that I love (especially in Abbatte’s drunken circus clown bass), and, good heavens, Paternoster’s riffs on it blow you out of your boots. Her vocals on “Fall Asleep” are layered with fuzz, almost taking a back seat to her shredding – which is somehow smooth and buzzsaw-like at the same time.

“Wild” has soaring solos that contrast with Paternoster’s soft vocals about missing a lover. “I wanna be your late night crisis line. I wanna give you all a piece of my mind,” Paternoster sings on the snappy and snarky “Nothing at All.” “Sheep,” (a solid rocker about infidelity – “You’ll count sheep with anyone, and anyone will do.”) is a great example of what makes Screaming Females so good – their ability to make effortless turns from soft tones to face-melting riffs. “Deluxe” starts out with a left-in blooper before it drifts into a slightly psychedelic, echoed, acoustic track that lets you catch your breath for a moment. Castle Talk ends with “Ghost Solo” – a song that builds behind Dougherty’s rumbling floor toms and Abbatte’s almost-disco bass to Paternoster’s defiant vocals (“This is it, it’s the last time you set me up.”) and guitar riffs that sound like a delighted bird of prey.

It’s a good send-off to the record and a good addition to any fan’s collection of the band’s material. Few bands can make love songs that are both heart-tugging and head-exploding at the same time. Castle Talk is full of such tracks.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Mars Red Sky – self-titled (2012)

Any album that is (apart from two songs) recorded in a Spanish national park is bound to be interesting. Any album recorded in a Spanish national park that is also as heavy as Mars Red Sky‘s self-titled debut album is stunning.

I mean, good heavens, the first lines of the first track, “Strong Reflection,” are “Dead stars are burning in the sky, their light reflecting in your eyes, and here the ravens don’t show. Where I’ve been, you don’t want to know.” That alone is metal AF, so the heavy bass that moves like a mastodon, the drums that hammer like its heart, and the guitar that wails like its trumpet blast is heavy enough to knock down your garage. “Curse” is a throwback to 1970’s stoner rock with its echoing lyrics, fuzzed-out guitars, and lyrics about acid rain and how “The greatest fun, it’s not fun at all.”

“Falls” is a wild instrumental blending guitar psychedelia with thunderstorm-like drumming and bass so gritty that you could probably sand lumber with it. “Way to Rome” is a tale of gladiators (or slaves, or both since they were often one and the same) preparing for death. You can’t go wrong with lyrics like “Ride the dark horse through the fire, through the storm, as we’re set to die in the heart of the sun.” Again, metal AF, and the song shifts like sand dunes back and forth between psychedelic rock, stoner metal, and even a bit of krautrock.

“Saddle Point” is another cool instrumental, and “Marble Sky” is a harrowing tale of burning entrails, crushed mountains, and beings emerging from holes in the sky. The vocals are covered in reverb through this track, bringing to mind Black Sabbath tracks. The guitar also takes on a bit of a blues flavor as well, which is a great touch. The closer, “Up the Stairs,” is a fuzz-heavy track about climbing what seems to be an endless stairwell into space and away from the “evil sound” of Earth. That was eight years ago. Where is this stairwell in 2020? I’d like to take a walk.

This was an auspicious debut in 2012. MRS are working on a new full-length album. Let’s hope it comes soon. The world needs heavy stuff like this to shake it awake.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: DJ Zinc – Crack House E.P. (2018)

It seems wrong to refer to London-based DJ / producer DJ Zinc‘s 2018 release, Crack House E.P., as an EP when it’s ten tracks in length. He’s the DJ, however, so who am I to argue with him? It’s ten tracks of bouncing house, jungle, and drum and bass that’s great for any house party or club – even if they are just in your backyard or apartment and consist of no one but you and your pets.

“Blunt Edge” gets the party started with its killer electro-beats and even wickeder synth-bass. “Pimp My Ride” adds Afro-beat dance rhythms and you’re already starting to sweat on the dance floor. “Jekyll and Hyde” is classic strut-your-stuff house with a bass groove that gets stuck in your head all night. “Number 1 Girls” is a straight-up dancehall track featuring vocals from Benga and Sweetie Irie.

“Watch Dis” blends that dancehall vibe into a wild jungle track that will have you jumping around your living room. “Nu Sound” continues the dancehall-laced beats and drops a sick bass line on you that sounds like DJ Zinc has transformed into some sort of rattlesnake working the decks with his tail.

“Horrible” isn’t horrible. It blends retro-rave sounds with vintage video game blasts and beats chopped up by a master chef. “Because” is aptly named as Zinc loops a woman saying just that throughout the track as synths and bass swirl around her voice and then drop out into a killer cut for any dark club any night of the week. Why? Because.

“No one can complete with our killa sound,” No_Lay sings on “Killa Sound.” It’s hard to argue with her, because she and Zinc make a killer team on this hot dancehall track. The closer, “128 Trek,” is one of Zinc’s biggest hits and the first song I ever heard by him. It made me immediately want to track down more of his work, and will do the same to you. The way Zinc drops and loops beats throughout it is immediately ear-catching. You’ll want it on every workout playlist you have.

Actually, you could just make all of Crack House E.P. a workout playlist. You can’t go wrong there. It works as a house project, cooking, or hot sex playlist as well. Get it while it’s (still, two years later) hot.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Screaming Females – Baby Teeth (2006)

Baby Teeth, the first album by power trio Screaming Females (Mike Abbate – bass, Jarrett Dougherty – drums, Marissa Paternoster – guitar and vocals), is like a hard slap across the face to awaken you from a stupor induced by bland rock, bro-rock, nu-metal, and other genres that tend to dominate FM airwaves and beer commercials.

Opener “Foul Mouth” bursts forth with bold drumming from Dougherty and Abbate and Paternoster’s chugging riffs. Hearing Paternoster’s voice for the first time in 2006 must’ve made a lot of heads turn. Her singing voice is a mix of (sometimes) controlled anger, heartfelt balladry, and punk snark that was sorely absent from the airwaves fourteen years ago. Paternoster’s guitars swirl and spin like a dust devil on “Electric Pilgrim.” “Jonah” gets off to a funky start with Abbate’s bass walk and continues that groove with hand-claps and strut-down-the-street beats and guitar riffs.

“Angelo’s Song” sets you up with simple guitar notes before Paternoster unleashes with her trademark guitar fury to stagger you back a few steps before it turns into almost a power-pop track. “The Bearded Lady” has some of Paternoster’s wickedest playing and Abbate and Dougherty’s snappiest rhythms on the record. The opening of “Henry’s Embryo” seems to display the band’s love of The Cars.

Abbate’s bass on “Dinosaurs” has a cool, dark feel to it that you can’t shake. The track gets so rowdy that it made my boss once tell me to turn down the volume at my desk. “Sports” is just as wild. Dougherty’s calm high-hat taps at the beginning of “Bus Driver Man” are a deceitful whisper before the whole band unloads with heavy hits that a lot of stoner metal bands would love to steal. The closing track, “Baby Jesus,” ends the album on a powerful, wild note with furious playing by the entire band.

If Screaming Females were cutting their baby teeth on this self-produced debut, they replaced them with big cat fangs. Baby Teeth is a slap with a steel gauntlet in challenge to anyone who dared scoff at them.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Chelique Sarabia – Revolución en Música Venezolana (2019)

In 1971, the Shell Oil Company sponsored Venezuelan poet and musician Chelique Sarabia to compose an album of traditional folk music updated for modern times. This album would be given as Christmas gifts to Shell employees, friends, and customers in 1973. Sarabia enlisted local musicians to play a host of traditional instruments so he could filter those tracks through synthesizers, sequencers, tape loops, and who knows what else. The result, Revolución Electronica en Música Venezolana, was an amazing South American synth-wave album that’s still ahead of its time.

Opening track “El Pajarillo” blends funk bass with traditional guitar arrangements warped by reverb, pan, and filter controls into a trippy, exotic vacation. “Maracaibo en la Noche” blends distant female vocals and birdsongs with the psychedelic guitar. “Polo Margariteño” has what sounds like a lovely clarinet piece throughout it, and the effects are taken off the guitar to let the traditional dance rhythms come to the forefront. “Cantos de Mi Tierra” has a bit of a spooky feel to it at first, which I love, and then it curves into a beautiful dream space.

“El Cumaco de San Juan” shimmers with an underlying brightness that eventually fades as the guitars come forward as snappy as Rice Krispies. “El Diablo Suelto” is as subtle and witty as Old Scratch himself. “Polo Coriano” sounds like it’s going to be a bold piano-led track at first, but then makes a left turn and becomes a toe-tapping track that brings a smile to your face.

The opening chants of “Mare-Mare por Comer Zopoara el Pájaro Guarandol” weave in and out of the track but rarely overtake the beautiful accordion, organ, and traditional guitar flourishes. “Somobra en los Médanos” reminds me a bit of Italian romantic comedy scores from the 1960’s, and Sarabia puts the filter effects to good use again on the guitar solos.

“Barlovento” gets off to a mind-warp start and continues spinning down a rabbit hole into a Venezuelan wonderland of guitar solos, traditional hand percussion, and echoing vocal sounds. “Rio Manzanares” brings in a hot saxophone riff now and then to mix with the traditional guitar strumming, producing a great effect. Not to be outdone, the closing track, “La Bella del Tamuangue,” adds a trumpet that drifts back and forth from leading with skillful zigging and zagging to hanging out in the back with long, soft tones to add more psychedelia.

It’s a sharp record that will make you want to bug out to South American for at least a few weeks, and, again, so far ahead of its time that it sounds like it could’ve been released last week instead of almost fifty years ago.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Guerssen Records.]

Rewind Review: Brijean – Walkie Talkie (2019)

Blending Los Angeles jazz and funk with Detroit and Chicago jazz and funk with hip hop from both the west and north coasts, Brijean (Brijean Murphy – percussion and vocals, Doug Stuart – beats, synths) make moody dance music, trip hoppy meditations, and shiny summer grooves on their debut album Walkie Talkie.

Murphy’s opening percussion on “Like You Do” mixes so well with Stuart’s electro-grooves that it’s sometimes to tell where one ends and the other begins. “Fundi” seems to mix in conversations you’d overhear on a subway while Murphy sings about taking your time and lying low over Stuart’s space disco beats.

“Drive Slow” is perfect for such activity, especially when cruising along a beachside road or to or from a chillwave afterparty. The underlying hip hop synths are a great touch in it. “Time moves by so slow,” Murphy sings at the opening of the peppy “Show and Tell.” “Just let your body go, it’s easy.” She and Stuart encourage us to dance and forget our troubles, a crucial skill in this day and age. It’s a lovely track that will take you away to that ideal club in your mind, even if just for a little while.

The title track reminds me of some Thievery Corporation tracks with its electro-lounge grooves and feel-good dance beats. The closer, “Meet Me After Dark,” promises a cool afterparty for all of us somewhere in the future, which is actually the present, so celebrate now with Brijean’s sweet grooves, sexy bass, and toe-tapping beats.

Walkie Talkie is lovely. It’s a much-needed dose of sonic bliss in times of self-isolation and changing seasons. Don’t skip this one.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: Zeke – Hellbender (2018)

I don’t know why Seattle punk legends Zeke took fourteen years off between albums, but their last album, Hellbender, shows that they didn’t slow down during that time. If anything, they came back faster (the longest song on the album lasts one minute and fifty-one seconds), louder, and rowdier than when they took a break.

The opener, “All the Way,” has drums that pop like the SKS rifle on the album’s cover, snapping you awake no matter where you are. “Two Lane Blacktop” covers one of Zeke’s favorite topics – racing – and will make you stomp your gas pedal to the floor, even if you’re sitting at a desk, with it’s sizzling guitar solo and pursuit driving beats. “On the Road” (the aforementioned “long” song) covers similar ground and could be the score to a 1970’s car chase scene in which competing muscle cars plow through an empty brewery.

“Working Man” is so frantic that you imagine the title subject is hopped up on Red Bull and Mini-Thins as he speeds down a country road in his pickup so as not to be late, again, to his job at the mobile home factory. The title track is, somehow, even faster. Zeke excel at blistering pace tracks, and this album is full of them. “Hellbender” and “County Jail” each last under a minute.

The vocals on “Burn” sound like they’re yelled out of a sore throat, and I mean that in the best possible way. The drums on “Goin’ Down” hit so hard that you imagine at least five snare drum heads were broken during the record session. “White Wolf” is, I think, about some ghost wolf or the spirit of rock and roll or some cool art Zeke saw on the side of a customized Chevy van. It shreds, that’s for sure.

Speaking of unknown song meanings, I don’t know if “AR-15” is a salute to the firearm or a punk raging against gun violence. I’m fairly certain, however, that “Cougar Rock,” is about shagging older women. The guitar and drums breakdown on it is outstanding. “Devil’s Night” will get your body moving with its heart attack beats.

The last three songs on the album are more tracks about driving fast cars and blaring your horn so everyone else gets the hell out of the way. “Ride On” is a song perfect for that fire-shooting guitar guy from the last Mad Max movie. “Red Line” moves into the red on your speedometer within seconds of its opening and doesn’t let up for a full minute. “Big Rig” is suitable for smashing everything in sight harder than Kool-Aid Man breaking through a brick wall.

Zeke albums are so fast and wild that reviewing them is difficult. They’re more experiences than albums. You’re not the same once you hear one, and Hellbender will shake you up and leave you in the dust.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Calibro 35 – Sogni Di Gloria (2014)

Milano, Italy’s Calibro 35 make music for films that are either independent affairs or that never existed, but should. Their score to Sogni Di Gloria, however, is from an actual comedic film directed by John Snellinberg about two men named Giulio – one of Italian descent and the other of Chinese descent – living in Italy and trying to get by.

The score gets off to a fun start on “Maionese (Titoli de Testa)” with plenty of surf guitar to go around for everyone. “Tema dello Sbattezzato” brings in delightful organ to match the cool guitar licks. “Come un valzer” could fit right into a 1970’s Euro-crime film, and “Notturno” is the late night jazz of your dreams.

The organ chords on “Tema di Alice” bring to mind summer walks along a sunlit country road. “Tema dello Sbattezzato (Bolero)” is a nice reprise. The guitars on “Tema malinconico” take on a bit of a psychedelic touch with their surf tones. “La partita” is a fun race with groovy bass and super-spy synths. You might want to check your pulse if it doesn’t move you. The whistling on “Un rigors sbagliato” will remind you of many spaghetti western scores – something Calibro 35 do well.

The bass groove on “Lento dello Sbattezzato” is slick in its subtlety. “Come un tango” is fun, sexy, and mysterious all at the same time. More funky bass is prominent throughout “Sala da carte,” and I love that groovy 1960’s organ, too.

The score ends with reprises of “Tema dello Sbattezzato” and “Tema malinconico” before we’re treated to the lovely “Il tempo che non ho vissuto” – the only song with vocals on the record. They are, of course, in Italian, and, of course, beautiful.

I need to track down this film, and any that Calbro 35 have scored. If the films are half as good as the scores, they’ll be winners.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Rolling Stones – Blue and Lonesome (2016)

There’s a quote from Mick Jagger in the liner notes of the Rolling Stones‘ 2016 album Blue & Lonesome that sums up how good the record sounds pretty well: “We could have done this album in 1963 or ’64, but of course it would not have sounded like this…It’s the interesting thing about a record that is made really quickly, it reflects a moment in time – a time and a place.”

Yes, the Stones could’ve recorded this album decades ago when they were young and raw, and it would’ve sounded great, but Blue & Lonesome is an album that shows the Stones as masters of their craft. They have evolved and matured to the point where they can walk into a studio and record a stunning blues album in just three days. Also, as mentioned in the liner notes, legendary producer (and musician in his own right) Don Was says Blue and Lonesome wasn’t planned. It came about while the Stones weren’t in the groove while recording another song and Keith Richards suggested playing the title track to “cleanse the palate.” After they had played and recorded it (in one take), Don Was (according to the notes) “…said, ‘Let’s do another one.’ It was clear that we had embarked upon the much-talked-about, but never realized, blues album.”

The album turned into twelve great blues classics played by one of the greatest rock bands of all time. The album opens with Little Walter‘s “Just Your Fool,” with Mick blowing out dirty harmonica riffs that nearly run away from Richards’ and Ron Wood‘s guitar licks. Their take on Howlin’ Wolf‘s “Commit a Crime” is downright filthy and sounds like it was recorded in a juke joint in the middle of Mississippi on a humid summer evening. Charlie Watts beats the cymbals on his kit half to death throughout the whole track.

Hearing the title track and remembering it’s the only take they did of it makes it all the more impressive. Richards’ guitar on “All of Your Love” sounds effortless (which it probably is, for him), and Chuck Leavell‘s piano solo on it is sharp. Jagger’s harmonica is back in business on Little Walter’s “I Gotta Go,” and Watts’ groove on it is outstanding.

As if the album wasn’t power-packed enough, some guy named Eric Clapton plays the slide guitar on Little Johnny Taylor‘s “Everybody Knows about My Good Thing.” I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Darryl Jones, who plays bass on the entire album. He puts down a lot of lockstep grooves, and the one he drops on Eddie Taylor‘s “Ride ’em on Down” is solid as a rock. Their cover of Little Walter’s “Hate to See You Go” is a definite toe-tapper, and I like how they bring Watts’ snare drum to the front.

Lightnin’ Slim‘s “Hoo Doo Blues” is as rough and raw as you’d hope it would be, and Jimmy Reed‘s “Little Rain” is the slowest, and still one of the most powerful, songs on the record. They get back into a fun swing on their cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Just Like I Treat You.” You can tell they had a blast on this one (and the whole album, really). That Clapton guy comes back with a so-good-it’s-not-fair guitar solo to help finish out the album with a cover of Otis Rush‘s massive hit “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” Jagger saves some of his best vocal chops for the final cut, too. You can’t help but imagine him strutting his stuff in the studio as he put down the vocal track.

It’s a stunner of a record and one that was long overdue from the Stones. You owe it to yourself to hear it if you’re a fan of the blues or the Stones.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Blanck Mass – Dumb Flesh (2015)

I had heard Blanck Mass (AKA Benjamin John Power) before with his work in Fuck Buttons, but had unknowingly heard songs from Dumb Flesh five years ago not knowing who had created them. So, hearing this album in its entirety for the first time was a real treat because it reunited me with songs I didn’t realize were my introduction to his solo work – which I have come to enjoy through multiple albums like World Eater and Animated Violence Mild.

Opener “Loam” is a weird backwards vocal track that lets you know you’re in for something out of the ordinary. No Blanck Mass album is necessarily “normal.” They’re all soundscapes that range from strange and sometimes creepy dreams (like “Loam,” which almost seems to be the sound of a possibly haunted lava lamp) to industrial dance tracks to ambient psychedelia.

“Dead Format” is the first Blanck Mass song I ever heard, and I was elated to be reunited with it on this album. I actually first heard it when I saw Blanck Mass perform at the much-missed Levitation Chicago in 2016. The thumping electronic beats and futuristic bounty hunter synths are a wicked combination that get you moving and absolutely kill live.

The title of “No Lite” is a bit misleading because it’s full of shimmering synths that fade in and out like sunlight breaking through rolling storm clouds as wickedly subtle beats pound underneath them. “Atrophies” mixes synth swirls with karate chop-like processed beats. “Cruel Sports” would be a perfect theme for some sort of cyborg octagonal cage fight. The bass hits hard, the beats sound like metal clashing with metal, and the synths gleam like stark overhead lights.

“Double Cross” is a great synth-wave dance track that’s dark-wave at the edges with break-beat subtleties. It belongs in the next video game you’re designing or playing. “Lung” pops and chirps like some sort of alien machine. It becomes somewhat hypnotizing after a short while.

The album ends with “Detritus,” which is a wild eight minutes and thirteen seconds of what at first sounds like some kind of excavation machinery running with almost no oil in the gears. The synths slowly build, like a creature rising from a junkyard to see the sun for the first time in a century.

It’s a powerful record, and just one of many such records Blanck Mass has put out there. Brace for impact before you hear it.

Keep your mind open.

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