|
|
CD / BEACHBUGGY
/ Sport Fury / Poptones
Surprisingly, the band responsible the massive Z-Rock hit, "We Don't
Have a Machine" (7" still available from the band, see their
website for details), has only released two albums and a handful of singles.
They've certainly shown a fair amount of progress since their '98 debut
album "Unsafe...at Any Speed! Gone are the cliche sound bites starting
each track -- even Man...Or Astro-Man? got tired of doing that -- and
there's a marked improvement in the recording quality, due at least in
part to the skills of Steve Albini. And while Jack Straker's vocals still
show him to be a graduate of the Mark E. Smith Singing Academy, this record
sees him lose the distorto vocal effects; his British accent is also less
pronounced. I think they've been listening to a lot of Pixies records
(and the Sonic Youth songs with talking in them).
My favorite tracks: "Science Fiction," "Touch My Stuff
(You Can Die)," "Bad Guys Wear Black" and "It Might
Be the Jets."
---Peter Ledebur |
|
|
CD / THEE MICHELLE
GUN ELEPHANT / Casanova Snake / Skydog
(France)
While we don't have much of their stuff at the Z (one full-length and
a single or two, I think) this is the band's 6th album since their 1991
inception. The album was originally released in Japan in March '00, but
this is the newly available French import, which also includes all three
songs from a single that came out last fall. Elements of rockabilly and
sixties rock and roll are fused with Detroit-style pummel-rock and P-U-N-K
punk. Lead vocalist, Yusuke, reminds me of shrapnel-voiced Dan McCafferty,
singer of the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth (think "Hair of the
Dog," not "Love Hurts"). Way more musically interesting
than easy-point-of-reference Guitar Wolf; however, they don't let their
competence stand in the way of rocking the f*ck out.
"Pinhead Cramberry Dance" starts out like The Sweet's "Ballroom
Blitz" with none of that song's candy-ass swagger, and when the fuzz
bass kicks in, you know someone's gonna get hurt. "She thinks she's
the passionate one" indeed. The song takes it's time, coming on all
menacing-like before REALLY blowing it's top. My favorite track on the
CD. "Bogie's Dawn" is a minimal, noir-ish instrumental with
spoken vocal. And the almost-ballad "GT 400" (the lead-off single)
shows that even tough guys can have their tender moments. The object of
desire? A motorcycle. It doesn't hurt that the song is based around the
same two great chords as the Dave Clark Five's "Any Way You Want
It." I only mention these few specific songs to keep this review
short, the whole thing is friggin great. PS In case you were wondering,
the band's name comes from a mangling of the title of the Damned's wonderful
second album, "Machine Gun Etiquette.
---Peter Ledebur |
|
|
3xCD / THE MILLENNIUM / Magic Time / Sundazed
Records
This is 3 disc set which contains all of the recordings of Curt Boettcher's
group the Ballroom also contains the classic Millennium album Begin. The
other collections that Carl added in December were simply the icing and
this here is the cake. Disc 1 starts us out with the original recordings
of Curt's first studio group named The Ballroom. The Ballroom contain
a concoction of equal doses easy pop and psychedelia reminiscent of such
acts as Mamas and Papas and Beach Boys. When it gets psychedelic, it's
never overkill - held in tow by the easy pop sound. Favorites on disc
one include "Would You Like to Go", "It's a Sad World"
and a mind-bending version of "Baby, Please Don't Go" - this
song so impressed Gary Usher that he then asked Curt to help him out with
his group Sagittarius. Be sure and check out the instrumental version
of "Would You Like to Go" to see how bizarre a tune it really
is. Also note the vocal on "It's A Sad World" by Michele who
later recorded a much sought after album Saturn Rings on ABC. Disc two
contains Ballroom versions of songs that were later re-recorded by The
Millennium and included on the album "Begin." Other odds and
ends make up this second disc including a 1965 single by Summer's Children,
a duet between Curt and Dottie Homberg (doing Sea of Tears my favorite
song on Disc 2 - reminscent of Margo Guryan) and one song by Sagittarius.
This disc easily shows the segue from The Ballroom to The Millennium and
shows how the lines blur between the two. Disc 3 contains The Millennium
album "Begin", the unreleased "Blight"/"Just
About the Same" single, and the single versions of "It's You,"
"I Just Want to Be Your Friend," "5 A.M.," "Prelude,"
"To Claudia on Thursday," and "There Is Nothing More to
Say." The Begin album right off the bat will strike you as a group
project, a culmination of all that Boettcher had been aiming for. There
is so much talent on this album its breathtaking. And while sometimes
the lighter than air songs - most of which are the epitome of psych sunshine
pop - will blend into a breeze of lusciousness, the incredible production
and harmonies raise this album into the realms of lost classics. Favorites
on disc 3 include "5 A.M.", "The Island", "Sing
To Me", "Prelude", and "To Claudia On Thursday".
Overall I would recommend this collection to anyone who digs 60s light
psych, easy listening pop (think early-Carpenters), Saint Etienne, Margo
Guryan, Cass Elliot, Mamas and Papas, Association, Beach Boys, Byrds,
or Beatles.
---Patrick Rands
Thanks Patrick. All I will add is that Monday Sinclair covers 'Would You
Like To Go" on the Siesta 'Simultaneous Ice Cream' CD.
---Carl |
 |
CD
/ various / AUDIO.VIDEO.DISCO / WMF
Records
WMF is an electronic music club in Berlin. They have begun to release
mix records by some of their most prominent DJs. The first one was the
'komfort.labor' CD mixed by Stefan Betke (Pole). This new entry is the
second in the series. 'Audio.video.disco' earns its name by focusing on
beat driven music - some with vocals, some without. It was mixed by resident
DJs Dixon andf Mitja Prinz. If you listened to this comp with an aversion
to modern disco you might have a hard time with it. If you allow the tracks
to reach you based on their strength you might find yourself really liking
'Audio.video.disco'. The one song that ANYONE will love is "Metro
Area 2" (#6) by Art Of Hot. It is an instrumental that has hand held
percussion and many interesting flourishes, including a touch of fiddle.
I had read about the song "Greatest Hit" for ages in Jockey
Slut, but I had never actually heard it until this compilation. Annie
is an artist from Sweden and the song is a blast. It has the same type
of propulsive synth that Giorgio Moroder pioneered, without actually sounding
like a Moroder ripoff. Her vocal does not come in until mid-song, and
stays just long enough for you to get a taste to hear it again. The 2
tracks that follow "Greatest Hit" (#9) are tops as well. "Turning
Orange 2 Please U" (#10) by Freaks has an urgent vocal and cool beats,
and DJ HMC's "Polarize" (#11) reminded me a bit of Luomo, which
is definetely a good thing. The last of my faves is Borneo & Sporenburg's
"This Is Music, Added To My Day" (#7). It has a chilled vocal
and is probably the easiest track to absorb for someone coming into this
comp from a Kruder & Dorfmeister angle. All in all I think this is
a very interesting comp. I put in many hours listening to this comp (as
it is not built in a genre I usually inhabit) and found myself glad that
I spent the time and heard all these new artists. Life is rich!
Faves: 6,7,9,10,11
---Carl |
|
|
CD / various / MORRICONE RMX / CineSoundz Records
I usually don't enjoy tribute or remix albums of older artists but was
quite happy to find that the Morricone RMX project is excellant. Perhaps
because he did "background" soundtrack music for westerns and
thrillers, his influence has fit so seamlessly into modern music. We've
grown up with his sound ingrained in us, so much so that it has become
part of the vocabulary of modern music. With that in mind, most of the
cuts on this disc take that sense of atmosphere and drama we associate
with a Morricone sound and add a modern beat in many cases dub or drum
n bass. What's great is that where most tributes or remix albums might
end up sounding cheesier than its parts, the Morricone Remix album is
a diverse set of imaginitive remixes including my favorite tracks: 5.
Clan of the Sicilians mixed by Bigga Bush, 7. Il Grande Silencio mixed
by Thievery Corporation, 11. La Bambola/Come Maddalena mixed by Sofa Surfers,
12. La Lucertola mixed by De-Phazz, and 13. Clan of the Sicilians mixed
by Dj Dick. Other mixes worth mentioning are by Nightmares On Wax, Rockers
Hi-Fi, Terranova and Fantastic Plastic Machine who puts in an excellant
multi-lingual vocal track.
---Patrick Rands |
 |
CD / POTUZNIK
/ Concorde / Cheap
Records
Gerhard Potuznik from Austria records dangerous sounding pop electro
under lots of different names. In the April
3rd gullbuy I reviewed a CD by G.D. Luxxe, one of his guises. Many
of the identities he uses appear on stuff which comes out on Cheap Records.
This CD is the first disc we have on Cheap. I have become very interested
in stuff on Cheap. I have heard the two Japanese only compilations ('Have
A Cigar, My Friend' and 'Five Years In Satan's Ass'), the Louie Austen
'Consequences' disc, and Slut's N' Strings & 909's 'Carrera remixed'.
All of them are pretty great. Louie Austen was just signed to Kitty Yo,
who will release his upcoming record. For this CD ('Concorde') he split
the tracks between spoken pieces narrated by Max Goldt, and music tracks.
Around half of the music tracks have vocals by Gerhard. The art for the
cover consists of a series of CD sized color panels (one for each song)
designed by Chicks On Speed, featuring Tina Frank. The spoken pieces (#'s
1,4,6,8,11,13,15) have slight music touches in them. They are pretty entertaining
stories. My fave is the last, #15. As for the music, it is sharp sounding
- a mixture of electronics and rock not miles aways from what Ed DMX does
on his Breakin' Records compilations. At times (#9) it sounds a bit like
the NYC band Suicide using technology from the 90's. Faves: 5,7,10,14,15,16
---Carl |
|
|
CD
/ STORM BUGS / Let's Go Outside and Get It Over / Snatch Tapes
Storm Bugs are an anomaly. How could such sounds, radically challenging
the accepted texture of electronic music, have been recorded over 20 years
ago? And how come nobody has ever heard of them? The tracks on Let's Go
Outside and Get It Over, originally released by Snatch Tapes on cassettes
and vinyl between 1978 and 1981, exhibit Storm Bugs' spacious, reverberating
grittiness. Howled vocals shift from front to background in the midst
of industrial pounding percussion loops, urgent echoing monotones and
an array of tinny sound effects. The quiet moments on these songs are
underlayed by disturbing mechanical creeks and muted primal thuds that
evoke the cynical futurism of Fritz Lang or George Orwell. As complex
and foreign as much of these recordings sound, the hand-made, DIY ethic
of the group's production is distinctly present. Philip Sanderson and
Steven Ball, who made up Storm Bugs, must have taken immense pleasure
in screwing around with the recording process. From scalpelling vinyl
to messing with short wave radio signals from the Soviet Union, these
guys hardly ever did anything twice, yet still managed to create a defining
and genuine aesthetic in their music. Their relatively recent appearance
on the compilation I Hate the Pop Group probably accounts for some newfound
appreciation of Storm Bugs and the consequential release of this CD only,
digitally remastered work. Limited to 300 copies, this is not a record
you want to wait for the last minute to pick up. For Pete's sake, don't
sleep on: 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10
---Sandra Barrett |
|
