IKONS have a new album coming out on Service and it’s pretty in-your-face awesome, which is why “Guns” is playing as I type this. The song — and better yet the video — is packed with an angst-filled feeling. You know, the one that says I just want to destroy something. And that’s exactly what IKONS do in their video for “Guns”: blow stuff up. Read More »IKONS: Slow Light [Video]
Downbeat pop is often a dangerous realm in which to work. Yet Pants Yell! begins their latest album, Received Pronunciation, in this area with the catchy tune “Frank And Sandy”, and they continue it off and on throughout the album. It actually works very well. These songs are simple and, despite being recorded/performed using electric guitars, they often have the subtle traits common in acoustic pop. Even a hard-hitting song like “Rue de la Paix” has that open, personal sound. And despite three members, the music of Pants Yell! gives the impression of singularity. Read More »Pants Yell!: Received Pronunciation [Album Review]
Electronica buffs are about to have an aneurysm – in a good way. That’s because Rendezvous, the electropop band with a jazz twist, is about to launch its very first album. Read More »Raving About Rendezvous
Rare is it that you see formats outside the standard compact disc or even cherished wax vinyl. But cassettes seem to be popping up more and more as a cool retro item. With vinyl’s popularity, it seems this is the only place to go – reel to reel is out for obvious reasons, as is the 8-track. So that leaves cassette, a vestige in the vintage, a gleam of retro hope. Which brings us to today and Hometapes. Read More »Hometapes Holiday Sampler Cassette [Cover Art]
Furcast paints an intricate and dreamy picture with their opening guitar part that is merely heightened with the entrance of vocals funneled through a megaphone and mysterious electric guitars echoing on the cliff’s edge of feedback. “All For Me” has all the eccentricities and obscurities of a dream – it’s part neurotic A.D.D. and part warped genius, mashed into the subconscious and recounted during a hypnotic session with a therapist. Read More »Furcast: All For Me [mp3]
Listening to The Mantles, I am having a difficult time discerning anything truly unique about this group’s sound. They fit the standard mold of a 60s garage-pop-influenced artist swung into modern times and set to 2009’s favorite: lo-fi fuzzed-out distortion. That in itself isn’t uncommon given the decades-old influence. Their melodies are a standard sort of catchy, not too hook-ridden yet not overly complacent. Read More »The Mantles: The Mantles [Album Review]
Odessey & Oracle by The Zombies is often listed as one of the most influential pop records in history, right among the greats like The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and The Beatles Revolver. Revisited is very much like any other concert DVD, except for the fact that it features the remaining original members performing the album the year of its 40th anniversary. The songs are just as great as the originals, though filtered through 40 years of experience performing and excelling the instruments they started with. Read More »The Zombies: Odessey & Oracle Revisited [DVD]
Morr Music is known for giving us great bands that fit the electro-folk or electro-pop classification and The Go Find is no exception. In the title track of their third release, Everybody Knows It’s Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight, The Go Find create a middle ground between ethereal atmospheric heights and cloudy oceanic depths. They extend electro pop from the standard laptop meets soft guitars to include real instruments like a saxophone that swirls around the instrumental bridge dominating the latter half of the song. Read More »The Go Find: Everybody Knows It’s Gonna Happen Only Not Tonight [mp3]
Kordan‘s Fantasy Nation kicks right into gear with an almost, dare I say it, “crunk” feel. The intensity hits you harder than an ex-girlfriend’s unexpected blow. Then the madness truly sets in. With a touch of Joy Division, these New York rockers bring glam rock meets punk to a new extreme. This isn’t your older brother’s 80’s influenced rock band. This is the real 80-proof keyboard-ripping sound once known worldwide, and now rearranged to fit the new times. Read More »Kordan: Fantasy Nation EP [Album Review]
I’ve been contemplating this for some time, and I think it has finally come down to a simple fact: doing a Cover Art post each week has proven quite difficult. So, to lighten the load, I’m going to re-post each item here and thus form a new column here for all future Cover Art posts. The original page will remain, but all Cover Art posts will also find a home here. We will begin with my favorite compilation from 2009: The Hydeaway CD Newsletter Issue #1. Read More »The Hydeaway CD Newsletter Issue #1 [Cover Art]
