Review: Dikembe | Mediumship

First impressions can be tricky. Dikembe's debut EP Chicago Bowls, our introduction to the Florida-based emo foursome, memorably rechristened certain stars of the fabled mid-'90s Chicago Bulls championship squads with weed-related surnames, and -- to our knowledge -- the songs had little to do the EP's quasi-theme. That thematic dissonance detracted hardly at all from the music's inherent quality, and so the short stack helped establish the act as one to watch in the underground. The ensuing first full-length Broad Shoulders [review] followed a similar sonic template but eschewed the goofball song-naming scheme, to thrilling results, although Dikembe now bemoans what it calls a lack of cohesiveness to the set. And so, with its titanic second full-length Mediumship, the band aimed to craft a front-to-back, real-deal album, one that felt of a piece all the way through. The record is a resounding success.

The LP's book-ending tracks provide a tidy framework for the triumphant collection. "Even Bother" and its counterpart, the towering album highlight and closer "Throw Lips," each commence solemnly, respirated by sparsely strummed guitar and fronter Steven Gray's world-weary vocals. By midsong Gray and Co. are reeling, firing in all directions while propounding a propulsive beat amid the din. While the two songs rely on similar dynamics and structural elements, the latter is hardly a retread of the former, as the amazing chorus of "Throw Lips" touts brilliantly overlapping vocal lines. But both songs are among the heaviest hitters on an album replete with bangers. Sure, dynamic songwriting is hardly a new development for Dikembe -- indeed, they routinely cover loudQUIETloud standard bearers Pixies in their live sets, as they did again this past Sunday at Great Scott in Boston -- but the Floridians have never before wielded their guitar attack with such devastating focus.

A re-recorded version of early Dikembe track "Donuts In A Six Speed," which sits in the final third of Mediumship, provides an interesting benchmark for analyzing how far the band has come. The original recording, from a four-way split released by Count Your Lucky Stars, feels two-dimensional when contrasted with the new version. On Mediumship, and especially live, Dikembe's explosive performance creates space in which the guitars feel especially cutting, the fill-heavy drumwork from David Bell particularly vital.

Indeed, in a live setting the band's sharp shifts in volume and tone transpire with twice the intensity. The band opened its show Sunday with Mediumship's gritty lead single "Hood Rat Messiah;" the tune's steady build to its shout-along chorus neatly distills the sound that characterizes the entire new record. The show ended with the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?", but not before graciously dipping into the aforementioned back catalog, all of which elicited appreciative cheers from the assembled throng. The performances were terrific, but hearing cuts from Mediumship within the context of favorites from Chicago Bowls and Broad Shoulders made plain just how much the band has elevated its game with the new collection. Mediumship was released by Tiny Engines earlier this week on 12" vinyl and as a digital download, both of which can be purchased right here. The entire record can be streamed via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Dillon Riley

Dikembe: Bandcamp | Facebook



Previous Dikembe Coverage:
Introducing Clicky Clicky Live / Here's Episode 1 Featuring Dikembe's Steven Gray Today's Hotness: Dikembe
Clicky Clicky's Top Songs Of 2012: Jay Edition
Review: Dikembe | Broad Shoulders

Today's Hotness: Johnny Foreigner, Fashoda Crisis

>> A new release from Clicky Clicky top-faves Johnny Foreigner turns any day into Christmas, and when the release is dropped on us as a total surprise, well, it is that much more enjoyable. So imagine the glee we felt Monday morning heading back to work/drudgery after a delightful holiday at the beach when an email from Bandcamp announced the arrival of AlwaysTheBarmaidNeverTheBar -- Live Recordings 2013-14, a new live album from the Birmingham, England-based noise-pop titans. The title of the 19-song set is self-explanatory: the collection indeed does contain live recordings captured during the last 18 months, a period of time during which Johnny Foreigner gestated and released its triumphant fourth LP You Can Do Better [review/postscript]. AlwaysTheBarmaidNeverTheBar features recordings of a number of tracks from that LP and its precedent, the 2012 Names EP, but if anything the collection is remarkable because of how well it covers the quartet's 10-year career. Sure, there's nothing from the band's "lost" first full-length WeLeftYouSleepingAndGoneNow, but there is a cracking version of the early, early tune "Candles," which was part of the Every Day Is A Constant Battle compilation that was, along with the rest of the band's rarities, gussied and put on Bandcamp back in 2010. The legendary "The Coast Was Always Clear" is included, as are cracking versions of older singles "Dark Harbourz," "With Who, Who, And What I've Got" and "Eyes Wide Terrified." Perhaps even more exciting than the breadth and depth of AlwaysTheBarmaidNeverTheBar are the blazing and tight performances. The pulsing live version of the terrifically affecting "Riff Glitchard" may in fact be definitive, and the dynamic and seemingly effortlessly great iteration of "To The Death," fronter Alexei Berrow's chronicling of living in the wake of a friend's suicide, is also a marvel. The band's personality shines in smatterings of hilarious stage banter. And the whole damn set is available as a pay-what-you-like download, which is totally amaze considering the quality and quantity here. That said, Johnny Foreigner do have something new for sale, in the form of a new You Can Do Better T-shirt, the purchase of which also entitles the buyer to a download of the new, four-song Candyland session, which was recorded live in the band's studio in Birmingham. Details on the shirt/session deal are right here; listen to all of AlwaysTheBarmaidNeverTheBar -- Live Recordings 2013-14 via the Bandcamp embed below and click through to give the band some money for it. Our highest recommendation.



>> Early this month we had an editorial powwow with Mr. Charlton about the then-new Hard Left single and the discussion turned to our increasing disappointment with the lack of political engagement in contemporary indie rock. During the exchange we grasped for examples of bands doing such work these days (in addition to Hard Left, of course, which has since announced a second, equally potent single). We did come up with a couple of course, but for some reason we didn't recollect at the time one of the strongest exemplars: the mighty Southend-on-Sea, England-based agit-punk concern Fashoda Crisis. The trio Monday released its third long-player, a brawling yet sophisticated 11-song set of filth and fury titled Almost Everyone is Entirely Average at Almost Everything. We recall an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the surprising popularity of Jane's Addiction (this was around the time of the release of Nothing's Shocking), and that the article included a fan quote dubbing Jane's "thinking man's metal" or some (gender-insensitive) such. Well, Fashoda Crisis certainly qualifies as "thinking man's punk." Its thrilling collection commences with the incisive line "amnesiac electorate you have relapsed and left us with a system that worships television politicians," and proceeds from there scooping out satire, manifesto and social criticism to any takers. Fronter Sim Ralph characteristically berates the objects of his white-hot ire in a vitriolic voice not unlike that of Black Francis at the Pixies-man's most unhinged. Mr. Ralph is no slouch when it comes to "unhinged," either: Fashoda Crisis' "Everything: The Musical," a highlight of the new album, features the comically bizarre, syncopated lyric "don't question my version of events, I'm wearing pajamas." Underpinning the anger and weirdness of Almost Everyone is Entirely Average at Almost Everything are tight, dynamic performances and intelligent songwriting. It makes the set indelibly refreshing, not only because it dares to rouse some rabble, but because it is so well-executed and well-conceived. Almost Everyone is Entirely Average at Almost Everything was released digitally by Fashoda Crisis Monday, and will be issued on vinyl later this year; fans who purchase the digital download receive a £7 discount on the LP when it is ready to ship. The set is on offer now in various bundles via Bandcamp, with added inducements coming in the form of t-shirts and posters and badges for the discerning punk fan. Fashoda Crisis are slated to perform July 5 at The Ace Hotel in Shoreditch, London, and Aug. 28 at Gwidhw, Cardiff, for those of you reading these words from the opposite side of the Atlantic. In the meantime, soothe your savage breast with the sounds of Almost Everyone is Entirely Average at Almost Everything via the embed below. We last wrote about Fashoda Crisis here in late 2012.

Review: Speedy Ortiz | Real Hair EP

It's hard to believe that fewer than two years have elapsed since the release of Speedy Ortiz's debut single, "Taylor Swift" b/w "Swim Fan." Since its inception, the band has worked its ass off, and as a result it has become one of the biggest successes in contemporary indie rock. Oh, yeah: it also wrote awesome songs. And while we don't pretend to know what drove the decision, it is interesting that, while its terrific and terrifically successful 2013 long-player was recorded with Justin Pizzoferrato, the Northampton, Mass.-based quartet reunited with producer and engineer Paul Q. Kolderie for its newest set of songs, the uniformly thrilling Real Hair EP. Mr. Kolderie was also behind the boards for the aforementioned debut single. His bona fides are well-documented and recitation of same typically includes words like Pixies and Radiohead and Dinosaur and Uncle Tupelo.

Could Speedy Ortiz be hoping to catch a little of Mr. Kolderie's '90s shine to help boost them to some mythical "next level" with Real Hair, which will be released by Carpark next week? Like we said, we don't know -- we're not even sure what "next level" means in the music business anymore. But we do know that Kolderie's recordings (and, specifically, these recordings) sound great. His deep experience was likely reassuring as the foursome experimented with the different sounds and production techniques that make Real Hair a confident step forward for the band. The results speak for themselves: Real Hair in places sounds rounder, fuller and crunchier than last year's long-player Major Arcana [review]. Weird organ peeks out of the corners of the unsettling closer "Shine Theory," and the bass guitar on "Oxygal" is delightfully rubbery. The guitars in the chorus of the undeniable rocker "American Horror" rage like a tsunami. Last month we called that song "an explosive and noisy (and, we should say, radio-ready) gem, shot through with unforgettable melodies. The lyrics deal with watching a loved one struggle with mental health issues, and despite the seriousness of the subject matter fronter Sadie Dupuis is still able to forge perhaps her most undeniably sing-alongable chorus since the 'Taylor Swift' single, no small feat."

The reunion with Mr. Kolderie may not have been the band's only look to the past. Attentive listeners may hear in Real Hair the influence of Pavement's superlative sophomore set Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. In a curious little bit of serendipity, Ms. Dupuis and her cohorts Mike Falcone, Darl Ferm and Matt Robidoux all recently proffered remarks to MySpace (yeah, really) regarding that particular Pavement record (which was released 20 years ago next week). Of course, if we are going to plot parallels between the discographies of Pavement and Speedy Ortiz, well, Real Hair should be analogous to the Watery, Domestic EP, right? Nonetheless, the dense, melodic thrust of Dupuis and Robidoux's guitars in the chorus of "American Horror" suggest a more aggressive restatement of the final 30 seconds of Pavement's "Elevate Me Later." Similarly, Speedy's "Everything's Bigger" announces itself with a grimy revision of the descending melody to Pavement's biggest commercial moment, "Cut Your Hair," an aural motif that recurs between choppy verses that highlight Dupuis' easy drawl. "When I got my driver's license, I would cruise around listening to Crooked Rain with my windows down," Dupuis told Justin Timberlake's cute retro web site. Vigintennial sonic echoes aside, it's Dupuis' facility with story-telling, her deceptively versatile singing voice, and the interesting sonic interplay between the vocals and guitar melodies that persist as Speedy Ortiz's defining charms, and it is those charms -- and not rank adulation of a bygone band -- that shine brightest on Real Hair. Incidentally, Speedy Ortiz will tour with Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks this spring upon the Mass. act's return from a strand of tour dates in the UK and the obligatory sojourn to the annual South By Southwest confabulation.

Speedy Ortiz plays an all-ages record release show in Cambridge, Mass. this Saturday at Tasty Burger with supporting acts The Channels, Sneeze and Idiot Genes. The evening is also a release show for Sneeze's long-player Wilt; there are additional (and FREE) Real Hair release shows in New York Friday and Monday. For the time being, one can stream all of Real Hair via Pantsfork Adpants right here. But, as Edie Brickell warned lo those many years ago, everything is temporary. When that link dies you can stream the aforementioned "American Horror" and "Everything's Bigger" via the Soundcloud embeds below. There may or may not will be copies of Real Hair availz for salez Saturday night, and the set can be pre-ordered on orange vinyl via Insound here and as a download via the digital music store operated by the company with the $447 billion market capitalization here.

Speedy Ortiz: Interpants | Facebook | Soundcloud

Today's Hotness: Joanna Gruesome, Bailterspace

>> A wise man once said, "All great records remain misunderstood." Take for instance the debut from recent Slumberland Records signatories Joanna Gruesome. The Cardiff, Wales-based quintet's Weird Sister hit finer retail outlets this morning in the wake of substantial buzz. Despite that fanfare this reviewer didn't love Joanna Gruesome at the outset, when the early preview track popped up on Soundcloud. This is admittedly surprising, something we attribute to the fact that lead single "Sugarcrush" at first blush seemed too pale an imitation of the band's influences. Evoking plenty of buzzing C86 groups like The Shop Assistants or The Flatmates, with a pinch of split octave melodies and a notable absonous chord a la MBV's "You Made Me Realise," "Sugarcrush" seemed too calculated an appeal to this hipster's most sacred devices. However, after a listen to the even more aggressive call-to-arms "Secret Surprise," I was convincingly won over and made a point to revisit and reassess "Sugarcrush." Upon further inspection, the song can be seen as an exercise in the group's worthy fascination with coordinated strumming. Guitarists Owen and George achieve such an amazing conglomerated rhythm with their lacerating dual attack that the choppy sounds merge into something like a punky crest. Of course, what becomes very apparent is that Slumberland was right all along: Joanna Gruesome are no amanuensis, but rather the spiritual heirs to at least one bygone SLR standard-bearer, the legendary Henry's Dress. In context, then, the Gruesome's grinding noise-pop represents another mile marker along the road toward Slumberland's inevitable domination of the underground. Weird Sister is available now from the Slumberland store right here. The record is presently streaming here in its entirety for the next week at Pitchfork. Fans may be interested in hearing an earlier version of the aforementioned "Sugarcrush," which is on offer (for free!) from Joanna Grueseome's Bandcamp right here. The vocals of the old iteration are louder, there is some creative stereo panning and overdriven cymbals splash to the fore. However, the older version lacks the great chaotic ending. Why not listen for yourself and judge? Both versions can be streamed via the embeds below. -- Edward Charlton





>> Lazy journos will surely tie the reunion of New Zealand's mighty indie-space-rock trio Bailterspace to the growing list of original ultimate alternative wavers that have famously reunited. It's easy to imagine a statement about how the trio is "following in the footsteps of Pixies and Dinosaur Jr" into a festival-lined sunset. Well, that's baloney. Bailterspace have followed few, if any, since it first formed in the mid '80s. And with their latest album, called trinine and due Sept. 30 via Fire Records, that's still the case. Indeed, like the recently reunited Swervedriver and Lorelei, Bailterspace's return sounds like much more than a victory lap for an aging fan base. Instead, they pick up where they left off and clearly have more to say. The band's progressive, dreamy and dour distortion couldn't be more relevant at this moment in rock and roll music, and the preview single "Films of You" from the forthcoming set is a stark reminder to listeners of the threesome's rarified position within noise-pop. After shaking off the dust with a loose, jammy opening, the tune locks into a mid-range-filling bass and snare groove akin to those that defined Bailterspace's 1995 masterwork Wammo. Not long after, a pleasing tremoloed synth maps out a melodic cadence that is slowly overwhelmed by pings and scrapes across a guitar bridge. Bubbling to the top is Alister Parker's mysterious, accented vocals, which recall the Anglo everyman stylings of fronters from acts such as Mclusky, The Clean or Dead C. At less than two-and-a-half minutes, the number quickly dissipates into its own heavy psychedelic storm, but even so it makes an indelible impression as a potent, sunglasses-at-night fuzz mover. "Films Of You" makes plain that Bailterspace's plan hasn't changed during its thirteen-year caesura. Listen to the tune via the embed below, and click right here to pre-order the collection from Fire on LP or CD. -- Edward Charlton

Today's Hotness: William Tyler, Life Model, 28 Degrees Taurus

>> More music taste-makers should look past the gloss and acknowledge the spiritual connections between all types of music; they're never as different as radio programmers and the guys who magic marker shelf dividers at the record store would have you believe. This idea is reinforced by Merge's recent release of William Tyler's Impossible Truth, a tasteful and gripping collection of solo guitar compositions. The double LP, released March 19 in the U.S. and April 29 abroad, avoids the pitfalls of virtuoso showcase; instead, the pieces are restrained, structured and brim with thoughtful layering and emotive chord sequences. Indeed, Mr. Tyler can say anything with only the basest metallic vibrations, and his tune "Cadillac Desert" serves as a fantastic introduction. Opening with an orchestrated two chord chug, the song recalls the majesty of Joy Division's "Atmosphere," albeit as filtered through the drop tuning carnival and clang-drone of classic Cale-era Velvet Underground. The song drifts gradually into mid-'70s Laurel Canyon folk serenity via delicate picking and distant slide guitar. Still, "Cadillac Desert" never completely sheds the sense of power that defines its opening moments, although it re-focuses eventually into a questioning introspection. Tyler is as much a skilled arranger and producer as he is a guitarist, managing to sound forward-thinking despite a relatively traditional approach. And so Impossible Truth is a record for spring afternoons, preferably with a book and wine and the scent of freshly mown grass. It is also already one of 2013's most beautiful albums. Stream "Cadillac Desert" via the Soundcloud embed below, and buy the record from your friends at Merge right here. -- Edward Charlton



>> Now that the hype surrounding My Bloody Valentine's shocking return has abated, shoegaze devotees can return their attention to listening to and appreciating music being created by newer bands working with the sound in singular and revealing ways. Glaswegian noise-pop upstarts Life Model released April 1 its eponymously titled EP, and the opening number "Glazed" quickly caught our ear. Driven by a baggy Madchester-rhythm, Life Model further appoint the song with a Kim Deal-evoking, root-note bass line and gratifying amounts of fuzz. Underneath it all is storming, clean drumming that seems taken from the mixing boards of Marc Waterman and his god-like production of Ride's towering Nowhere. Floating above is fronter Sophie Evans' voice, and hers is a commanding performance that is dreamy yet full of presence. Taken in sum the sound hearkens back to the more neon, liquid, colorful, and outwardly sexy generation of noise-pop bands working at the turn of the '90s, groups that brought an otherworldly element to the quiet-loud pop formula propounded by the Pixies. And so Life Model show that there’s still a lot of life within an area of danceable dream-pop that references the work of previous heroes. "Glazed" certainly suggests that the quintet's splattered, sensual take on things will make a long-player a record worth partying to. For now, Life Model is certainly about 18 minutes well-spent. The EP, issued by the U.K.-based Viscerality label, is available on a limited edition purple cassette and as a digital download via Viscerality's Bandcamp page right here. Stream the EP via the embed below and then click through to order. Life Model plays a hometown show May 21 with the hotly-tipped Bleached. -- Edward Charlton



>> While its Facebook fans can readily recognize the band is at an inflection point, it'd be unfortunate if that completely overshadowed that veteran Boston psych-rock outfit and DIY stalwarts 28 Degrees Taurus issued late last month a pretty, foreboding new digital single "Vast Majestic." The release, which also includes the tunes "Playing With Fire" and "Out Of The Ashes," is a harbinger of a full-length expected to be released later this year. "Vast Majestic" aspires to its title, as Ana Karina DaCosta's chiming vocals -- which will sound very familiar to Slowdim fans, as she also plays bass in that band -- skate across steady waves of ethereal guitar and reverb and into crashing choruses. "Playing With Fire" ups the tempo and the intensity with guitarist Jinsen Liu's vocals shadowing the syncopated drum beat. The brief rocker "Out Of The Ashes" opens with a skittering, hi-hat-pocked drum pattern that recalls The Cure's "Plastic Passion," although 28 Degrees Taurus' characteristic wet and spacey production markedly contrasts with the uncharacteristically dry sound of that early tune by the legendary British act. The Boston trio had intended to make a short tour out to the midwest last week, but a personal matter led to the band having to scotch the jaunt. The band's next local appearance will be April 20 at the rejuvenated and now-thriving Boston-area psych-pop festival Deep Heaven Now. The festival again takes over Somerville's PA's Lounge and Precinct nightclubs and feature numerous Boston noise-pop heavy hitters including Infinity Girl, Night Fruit, Winter and Boom Said Thunder. 28 Degrees Taurus play the midnight slot at Precinct, and it may be one of the last times fans can see the band for the foreseeable future, so definitely put the set on your list. In the meantime, the new single is streaming in full via the Bandcamp embed below; click through to grab the three songs as a pay-what-you-want download.

That Was The Show That Was: Frank Black | The Beachcomber, Wellfleet, MA | 28 July

[We are pleased to mark the return to these digital pages of the writing of longtime friend and former editor Ric Dube. Mr. Dube these days hosts the terrific More Lost Time rare indie rock podcast. Subscribe right here -- we continue to heartily endorse his product and/or service. Photo by Ric Dube. -- Ed.]

The Beachcomber billed the man as Black Francis, so it seemed like a lot of people showed upexpecting to hear Pixies songs, of which few were played. But within moments of the erstwhile Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV's taking the stage, guitar slung behind his back, it was clear that this was a Frank Black show. Tom Waits' "The Black Rider" was more preached than sung, an insane carnival barker's pitch delivered on the edge of a erupting volcano. And while a celebrity of his caliber can usually expect to have the crowd on his side anyway, it would have been difficult for any audience to have not been immediately attracted to the confidence of his evangelism. "The Black Rider" turned into a version of Larry Norman's "Six-Sixty-Six," completing a de facto cover medley for the damned, before Black took a breath to greet the crowd.

The crowd at the Beachcomber on a night like this one is a weird marginalized bunch because you have to understand the Beachcomber. More than 50 years old, the club sits at the end of a narrow road at the bottom of a hill, yet still on top of a cliff overlooking Cahoon Hollow Beach, one of the few beaches in New England with surfable waves. A big chunk of the place is open-air patio-style, they don't require shirts or shoes and are thus the only nightclub you're likely ever to hang out where the sand on the floor wasn't dumped there in an effort to manufacture atmosphere.

For the most part, the police leave the Beachcomber and Cahoon Hollow alone, so it's a 24-hour party there. During the day, it's a parking nightmare as locals and tourist families jockey for space on the beach and meals at the Beachcomber. In the evening, the Beachcomber is the nightspot of choice, but never feels crowded because there's practically no border between it and the beach. Late at night, the area becomes its own lovably freakish community.

This means that at a Frank Black show there's an odd mix of more casual Pixies fans, bigger fans who appreciated every movement their hero made, casual tourists in the room more to check out a legendary nightclub, and stoned locals just making their regular scene. I'm part of a tourist family, but part of the Beachcomber faithful, indoctrinated in the '80s, and lucky to schedule vacation in Wellfleet the week this show is booked.

Black performed with Eric Drew Feldman, the former Captain Beefheart and Pere Ubu bassist and keyboard player who produced Black’s 1994 Teenager of the Year, played on 2000's Frank Black and the Catholics' Dog In The Sand and has worked closely with PJ Harvey, Polyphonic Spree and others. The set included a handful of tunes from Teenager ("Two Reelers," "Sir Rockaby," "I Want to Live on an Abstract Plain") alongside Dog In The Sand numbers ("Robert Onion," "Bullet," "The Swimmer").

It has seemed weird for a lot of years that Black's best-known solo material has remained the two cuts on his 1993 debut solo release that got a fair amount of MTV video airplay despite that stuff being fairly mediocre compared to both the quality and amount of his output since then. It's just another indication of the power of MTV during that time. "Los Angeles" and "I Heard Ramona Sing" got some of the biggest responses of the set, though to be fair, it was hard not to appreciate versions of those tunes stripped of almost anything but the barest parts. What made that first solo record a little disappointing was not so much the songs as how overweight the damn songs were -– in every possible way.

Those there for Pixies numbers got the aforementioned few; in addition to "Where Is My Mind?" and "Nimrod’s Son," Black's own "Ten Percenter" turned into a noodling rendition of "Planet of Sound." Amid applause, Black mused, "Sometimes that sends a few people out the door, and sometimes that brings a few people in."

Twenty or so numbers flew by, as is always the case the crowd called for more, and Black declined with a smile on his face –- making it clear he was not playing coy by unplugging and bagging his guitar on the spot. "We have to drive to Hyannis tonight and it's late as it is," he explained.

In fairness to the fans, Hyannis is just not all that long a drive from Wellfleet. Thought it was late, for some. The flipside of the police mostly leaving the Beachcomber and Cahoon Hollow to exist in its microcosm is ever vigilant patrolling for drunk driving and disorderly behavior of every nearby road. With the show over, it was still too soon to drive home. I wandered down the trail toward the beach in darkness so thick I couldn't see my feet, though near the bottom I could see a few bonfires. Above, every star in the sky was clearly visible. "Who are you?" said a girl in the blackness behind me.

"Hi," I answered, my arms across my chest, looking up at the night sky. "Did you see the show?"

"Yeah," she answered. "He was beautiful. But I didn’t know any of those songs. Hey, we’ve got
some weed -- but I don’t want to interrupt your peeing." -- Ric Dube

Frank Black: Internets | Facebook | YouTube

That Was The Show That Was: Yuck | Paradise Rock Club | 28 April

[We are pleased to welcome back to these digital pages longtime friend and former editor Ric Dube. Mr. Dube these days hosts the thoroughly wonderful More Lost Time rare indie rock podcast. Subscribe right here -- we heartily endorse his product and/or service. -- Ed.]

Oddly, even though Bryan Adams used to sing "everywhere I go the kids wanna rock," all he ever served up was that Canadian, Phil Collins-type ballad gunk. Maybe his observation was one of despair. "I'd like to help," he was trying to say, "but I only know these songs about Robin Hood."

And this is where we're at with rock n' roll these days. The kids want to rock but so many of the bands are still heavily involved with the bleeps and the la-la-la. Sure, there are plenty out there that would like to bring it, but they just don’t have the songs.

Which is why it was so damned exciting to see the audience at the Paradise last night love Yuck.

The beauty of Yuck is that the London-based quartet's songs are deceptively simple and extremely influenced by much of the best classic alternative rock of the '90s (Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Sugar, Pixies, Lemonheads) and thus, fantastically well written and about as common these days as a Drop Nineteens reunion.

For a quartet of near children -- two members of the band were without wrist bands, suggesting they are not of drinking age -- Yuck boasts a road-weathered confidence. The 45-minute set consisted of tunes from its debut record released in February, performed on a pair of Fender Jaguars with a self-assurance that follows from constant touring over the past 12 months throughout England and Europe. On one hand, tight performance sound can make an act seem unenergetic. But to Yuck's credit, this professionalism made the songs extremely accessible for anyone there to see the evening's headliner, Australia's Tame Impala, and not already familiar with the act.

Also, there's something to be said for pacing a set; at this early phase in its career Yuck is finding a performance style. For now that means keeping things moderately restrained and focusing on the songs for most of a set ("The Wall," "Get Away," "Suck") so that its finale ("Rubber") is that much more effective when it's time to really open up stage presence.

The few simple tones of "Rubber" throbbed within a haze of feedback, a young artist’s punk rock symphony about hoping away his virginity. The room groaned and surged, as if the floor might suddenly part to reveal a layer of fossilized music that might explain this as sound left behind decades ago, when Dinosaur Jr. and Galaxie 500 had procreated and left behind a fertilized guitar pick that was covered in volcanic Rolling Rock (your father’s PBR). Fans already familiar with every note became indistinguishable from the undetermined number of immediate converts. Both stood thoroughly involved -- closed eyes, heads slowly nodding in unison. -- Ric Dube

Yuck: Internerds | YouTube | Facebook | Flickr | SoundCloud

Previous Yuck Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Oupa
YouTube Rodeo: Yuck's "Get Away"
Be Prepared: Yuck | Self-titled | 15 February
Footage: Yuck's "Rubber" [NSFW]
Footage: Yuck's "The Base Of A Dream Is Empty"
YouTube Rodeo: Yuck's "Suicide Policeman" Live
Footage: Yuck's "Weakend"
Footage: Yuck's "Automatic"
Today's Hotness: Yuck
Today's Hotness: Yuck

Be Prepared: Get Help | The Good Green Earth | 10 May

Midriff Records will release next month the sophomore set from this, the other Beatings side project, Get Help. Fast on the heels of Beatings ying Eldridge Rodriguez' recent solo effort You Are Released, Beatings yang Tony Skalicky (along with compadres including Mike Ingenthron) readies The Good Green Earth for delivery to the masses May 10. The 11-song set is a wholly satisfying amalgamation of all your favorite fruit. "A Brittle World" piggybacks on a melody from Pixies' timeless and delightful "La La Love You;" affecting closer "Crooked Streets" charts a soulful march into a two-dimensional wooden sunset with the same wry resignation as They Might Be Giants' "Road Movie To Berlin" (organ and all). The final lyric of "Crooked Streets" -- a dense, barroom holler, "There's too much background noise as the saints come driving through" -- is just icing on top of icing.

Perhaps the highlight of an album filled with highlights is curiously sequenced at track 8, the desperate strummer "You Should Be Home By Now." Dig the stream below. Get Help has just announced a Boston record release show, which will transpire at PA's Lounge May 26 [details]. Additional acts on the bill include the aforementioned Eldridge Rodriguez and Clicky Clicky faves Soccermom. That's a hot show. We reviewed Get Help's full-length debut The End Of The New Country here in 2008.

You Should Be Home By Now by Get Help

Rock Over Boston: 90s Redux | Pavement | Agganis Arena | 9.19.10

No matter how successful we may or may not be at keeping up with the hip new tunes that all the kids like, the fact is that we all have our defining musical periods in our life, and those periods were most likely in our youth. The bands you somehow managed to get into a club to see even though you weren't yet 21 (or 18, even!); the bands you heard as you struggled to keep the big city college radio station tuned in; the band whose records or tapes you spent hours scouring the city's record stores for; the band you were driving to see packed dangerously into someone's car with 5 of your friends; the band you listened to while you were getting lost; the band you were listening to when you fell in (and out of) love - those are the bands you'll always go back to, no matter what.

You don't really realize it when it's happening, but all these years later, here I am to tell you about how great the early 90's were. And this week is my lucky week, since the Self-Curating Early 90's Festival is finally hitting Boston.

Kicking off with last Saturday's Pavement show, and continuing Tuesday with Superchunk and Versus at Royale, Thursday with Bettie Serveert at TT's, Saturday with Teenage Fanclub at Royale, and concluding Sunday with Come, this is an amazing week for "college rock"-ers of a certain age (and this isn't even including other period bands like Fountains of Wayne and Guided By Voices that are coming around later in the fall).

Some ten years after their dissolution, it is no surprise that Pavement has become one of the elite bands to transcend their generation and get discovered by the younger fans who are seeking out the roots of the bands that Pavement influenced. Like the Pixies, who they are a few years behind, they have come back headlining much bigger places than when they left.

Though perhaps not quite as strongly as the Pixies, as the Agganis Arena was about 2/3rd full for their visit on their pretty intensive world tour that culminates at the stupid-dumb Matador Records 21st Anniversary party in Vegas at the end of the month that I didn't even want to go to anyway. I must admit that I was ambivalent about this one: Pavement were a bit hit-or-miss as a live band back in the day, depending on Stephen Malkmus' mood, and especially as their career waned. How wrong I was - these guys are focused, and the months the band has spent on the road this year has whipped them into a formidable live unit.

These are arena-rock anthems, as it turns out. Weird album tracks like "Conduit For Sale!" are transformed into ginormous, raging, fist-pumping rockers once the Marshalls are turned up, the nostalgia kicks in, and utility man Bob Nastanovich starts lurching about the stage shouting "I'm tryin'! I'm tryin'!" Pavement's records are full of lo-fi pop and/or clean jangle, so it's been easy to forget what kind of life these songs take on when they've been liberated from their 4 tracks.

The set was front-loaded with energy, hits, and earlier, stronger album cuts and lost a little steam while going past the 60 minute mark and they explored some of less familiar deep cuts and later meanderings. For a band with only 5 albums, Pavement sure has a deep bench when you start adding up EPs and whatnot. When they closed with Slanted and Enchanted's "Here," with it's refrain of "everything's ending here," the crowd seemed satisfied. I was.

"These guys should be huge!" is a common battle cry among the passionate supporters of an under-appreciated band or scene. I'm always cautious about saying it, though, because with that kind of success comes compromise. Why would you want to go see your favorite band in a giant, sterile arena, when you can keep seeing them in whatever club is your second home? It's selfish, of course - Pavement deserves at least this much for the soundtrack they've provided us. For all but the very most successful, being in a band is more about following a passion, and passion often won't pay for your retirement.

- Michael Piantigini

Pavement: Intertubes | MySpace

Today's Hotness: Museum Mouth, Pixies

>> Museum Mouth's "Outside" is 117 seconds of indie-punk perfection. Tucked into the middle of the Southport, NC-based trio's solid, self-released full-length Tears In My Beer, the tune leads with the increasingly trendy surf guitar and throbbing drums. "Outside" distinguishes itself, however, with a sing-alongy, bouncing chorus of apologies that recalls the great sounds of the Pacific Northwest underground, circa 1995. Museum Mouth intends to spend most of this month touring, although the itinerary it has posted still looks in need of some filling out. But you can catch then Saturday in Brooklyn (or can you? the date disappeared from the band's MySpazz) and later in the month back in North Carolina; inspect the full slate of dates at Museum Mouth's MySpace dojo right here. Tears In My Beer was released in March.

Museum Mouth -- "Outside" -- Tears In My Beer
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[buy Tears In My Beer from the band right here for only five bucks]

>> We highly recommend the book "Fool The World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies." We were wary of reading another oral history of an indie rock act after finding the Replacements oral history "The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting" very, uh, unsatisfying. But "Fool The World" succeeds remarkably, we think because the quality of the sources is so much better. Where in the 'Mats book most of the band was unwilling to give interviews (founding guitarist Bob Stinson, of course, died 15 years ago), "Fool The World," published in 2006, has all of the Pixies present and accounted for. But better still, there are label folks, tour managers and promoters -- the extremely affable Marc Geiger, in particular, with whom we used to occasionally chat during our reporting days -- who all offer valuable and interesting insights into the rise and fall and rise again of the now legendary and reformed Pixies. However, what we liked most about the book was the very thorough history it provides of Fort Apache, the studio -- actually a series of studios -- where many early Pixies recordings (not to mention recordings by Dinosaur Jr., Radiohead, Uncle Tupelo and Buffalo Tom) were made. Buy "Fool The World" from Amazon right here. And speaking of Pixies, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that for a limited time Bradley's Almanac is giving away a recording of the quartet's Nov. 28, 2009 Boston performance of Doolittle right here.

That Was The Show That Was: Mission of Burma | The Paradise | 16 Jan.

[File Photo: Jay Breitling] You’ve gotta give the guys in Mission Of Burma credit. They haven’t been content to just get the old band back together and play somewhat lucrative gigs at festivals and in college towns (I’m looking at you, Pixies).

Since reuniting in 2002, the storied Boston-based trio has already surpassed its 1979-1983 output: Mission Of Burma has released three excellent studio albums and managed to maintain the blistering live sound it developed the first time around. Over the weekend Burma played two shows at the Paradise to showcase material from its latest album, The Sound The Speed The Light (Matador).

On Saturday, the band played to a near-full house and, as with the several shows I’ve seen them do over the last eight years, they showed no signs of slowing down. Maybe they don't play as many gigs as they used to, but the ones they do play pack a punch. Unlike previous Burma shows, the crowd at the Paradise Saturday seemed a lot younger. Guitarist-singer Roger Miller and bassist-singer Clint Conley kept up a breakneck pace while drummer-singer Peter Prescott kept things light with plenty of his patented hollering and between-song wisecracks. Bob Weston provided tape loops from his perch at the mixing board.

Miller, whose problems with tinnitus led to the band’s 1983 breakup, no longer wears the industrial headphones onstage, opting for in-ear plugs. As with fellow ’80s indie rock guitar gods J. Mascis and Bob Mould, Miller continues to play at ear-splitting volume. Conley pounded out frenetic bass runs and seemed to have fun responding to Prescott’s remarks and pointing out familiar faces in the crowd.

The 75-minute set was packed with songs from the three newer albums -- "1, 2, 3 Partyy!!!" and "SSL83" from the latest release and "Spider's Web" and "2wice" from The Obliterati were standouts -- as well as choice cuts from the band's first incarnation. These included "The Ballad of Johnny Burma," "This is Not a Photograph," "Dumbbells," and the post-punk classics "Academy Fight Song" and "That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate." Conspicuously absent was the band’s signature song, "That’s When I Reach for My Revolver."

Burma also broke out a few brand new songs, including "Hi Fi," which Prescott announced was "fresh off the production line." If the new stuff is any indication, it looks like we can expect more great things from the band in the future. -- Jay Kumar

Mission Of Burma -- "1, 2, 3 Partyy!!!" -- The Sound The Speed The Light
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[buy Mission Of Burma releases from the band here]

Mission Of Burma: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Mission Of Burma Coverage:
That Was The Show That Was: Mission Of Burma | 6/14/2008
Today's Hotness: The Notwist, Mission Of Burma, Yah Mos Def
Today's Hotness: Hockey Night, The Cure, Mission Of Burma
Review: Not A Photograph | The Mission Of Burma Story [DVD]

Review: Velvets | Big Star | Feelies | Pixies

The Beatles weren’t the only trendsetters whose work reissued in September. Their legacy goes without saying, but there’s an influential underground that musicians and record geeks look to that has been –- until the internet, at least –- a sort of shared secret code. This month, there have been a few reissues of bands that represent the missing links between the Beatles and modern/indie/what-we-used-to-call-college rock.

The Velvet Underground practically pioneered the underground leaping from a springboard of some simpler '50s/'60s early pop song structure and launching themselves forward into the avant garde and sometimes backward into the primitive. “Heroin” came out the same year as Sgt. Pepper, and though it was weirder and less accessible than The Beatles's stuff, it has had an impact just as deep. The Velvets already have a comprehensive box set out there, 1995’s Peel Slowly and See, that contains all of their original albums plus singles, demos and live tracks. It is essential. Still, though, this new Sundazed box of reproduction 7” vinyl singles is awfully tempting.

Big Star were, I guess, what happened when you took '60s pop and gave it bigger amps and distortion pedals, and moved it to Memphis in the early '70s. Which is to say, big rockers and tearjerker ballads, all with amazing harmonies. Criminally under-appreciated in their time and suffering their share of turmoil (though not nearly as much as their British power pop brethren Badfinger), their influence has nonetheless been well-documented; Cheap Trick, REM, The Replacements, etc., etc., yadayada… Anyway, after a recent lackluster reissue of the two-fer of their first two albums (the same shoddy artwork, one non-essential bonus track, no thanks), the new box set Keep Your Eye On The Sky is a long time in coming and is finally a release worthy of their legacy. Rhino is really, really good at this reissue business and this set is packed with demos, alternate mixes, and a live disc, and sounds amazing and is simply a must-have.

The '80s gave us The Feelies, who took elements of all of the above, added a healthy dose of post-'70s druggy New York jitters and made it all uniquely their own. How lucky are we that they have recently reunited (their show at the Roxy last year was a highlight) and are (supposedly) working on new material? Like Big Star and so many other influential bands, The Feelies’ catalog was out of print for a long time surviving mostly in used vinyl racks (scarce in its own right) and through online traders. 1988’s Only Life, their third album, was quietly (and we think un-officially -- ed.) reissued last year on the Water label and is findable, but good luck finding any official online recognition of its existence.

So, finally, the band’s seminal 1980 debut, Crazy Rhythms and its follow-up, The Good Earth have been reissued by Bar None, with bonus tracks and everything. Though they are unlikely to be as scrutinized for their sound as the Beatles reissues, these albums have been re-mastered from “digital sources” as the original master tapes could not be located. I’m not entirely sure what that even means, and I have only heard mp3s (from official sources, deadbeats) so can’t comment on the CDs or the vinyl. They sound good to me -- they seem to have a bit more life than what’s been available. They’ve taken a novel approach to their bonus tracks: they want the albums to stand on their own, so the bonus tracks are not on the CD, but available by download with a provided code. According to the press release, they are only going to add a couple of the bonus tracks to the digital versions, so I’d say go with the physical formats. These cats are old school.

You are definitely advised to make sure you get all of the Crazy Rhythms extras simply to hear the demo of “Moscow Nights,” which is even more propulsive than the album version. The demo for “The Boy With The Perpetual Nervousness” has a bit of a darker vibe, though is no less manic. The original single version of “Fa cé-La” is rawer than on the album, and you can hear that the band have not missed a step with the pair of live tracks from DC's 9:30 Club from earlier this year that round out the set. There’s also a reverse bonus track of sorts: the album originally contained their cover of “Paint It, Black,” but it was added by the label without their consent, so they’ve left it off here.

The Good Earth bonuses include another track from the 9:30, plus the non-album tracks from the 1986 EP No One Knows: their straightforward cover of the Beatles “She Said, She Said,” and their hyper cover of Neil Young’s “Sedan Delivery.”

Tickets are already on sale for The Feelies return to our fair city on November 22nd to open for Sonic Youth at the Wilbur. Hopefully, they’ll try out some new stuff –- singer and lead guitarist Glenn Mercer’s 2007 solo album Wheels In Motion and bassist Brenda Sauter’s 2006 Superbus album with her band Wild Carnation were both great records, so they collectively still have a lot to give.

Not having much more to give, apparently, are the Pixies. At the end of the '80s and into the '90s, the Pixies perfected the soft strum/screaming guitar dynamics (before Nirvana et al merged it with metal) combo with melody and wacko lyrics that influenced another few generations. Look, I LOVE the Pixies and have been a huge fan for a long time, and I was beyond excited to see the first round of reunion shows –- I saw a few of them. But they’re starting to wear out their welcome, aren’t they?

They tour for the money, and have not claimed otherwise, but this latest round of Doolittle shows and, especially this frivolous Minotaur box set is really pushing it. Seriously, guys -- $200 for four and a half albums? Or $500 for the super-duper version? Sure the CDs are gold, and that’s good because, well, I don’t know... Maybe you can recoup the price at Cash4Gold?

I’m happy that they too have been getting the attention and accolades that they richly deserve and were just starting to get when they broke up after touring with U2 in 1992, but if you’re going to keep this going, make a new record already. -- Michael Piantigini

The Feelies: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | at Bar None Records
Glenn Mercer: MySpace | YouTube | at Pravda Records
Wild Carnation: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube
Big Star: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | at Rhino
Velvet Underground: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | at Sundazed
Pixies: Internerds | MySpace | 4AD | Facebook | Minoutaur