30th Nov2011

Album Reviews: The Evens – 2 Songs

by Ryan

If you visit this site and have an interest in indie music, you should know of Fugazi. If you know of Fugazi, you should most likely know Minor Threat. If you know of Minor Threat, then you probably have an inkling of familiarity with The Teen Idles and Embrace. What is the common trend with all of these groups? Mr. Ian Mackaye; a stalwart of the punk rock and post-punk scenes. He manages the infamous Dischord Records, and currently plays in the two piece band The Evens with his wife (and drummer) Amy Farina; both proving that Fugazi’s “hiatus” isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They have released two full lengths a few years ago, and just put out a new single called 2 Songs.

The Pros:

It’s great to see these two back. Their dynamic is so cool. Most two pieces give the impression that something is missing from their sound. The Black Keys were quite the victims of this, before they blew up and added touring members. A band needs some structure to their music in order for it to sound full. Mackaye is equipped with a baritone guitar, which is brilliant. Not only does it fit his playing style perfectly, but it allows for the two to have the required backing. Farina really does kick on the drums. She’s a bit more savvy than flashy, but also not afraid to throw in a roll or two on this single.

“Warble Factor,” in a word, is awesome. It is a marching burner that seems to have a say in the dull repetition and normality of everyday life and its inhabitants. Mackaye drones on towards the end, “Look at the ants go/I think those ants know,” as if monitoring a row of office cubicles on fast forward. “Timothy Wright” is less of a source for pent up frustration like the first track. In fact, it’s a pretty interesting listen for any enthusiast of Mackaye’s bands. The song is more mature than anything he has ever done with Fugazi, where just about any song had some sort of aggression behind it. Skip years ahead to the release of 2 Songs, and you have a b-side that doesn’t harbor any type of anger, but rather tells a story of a man, (be it a boy or the titular famous gospel singer), for the sake of a song. A fine song, at that. It has great chord changes and pensive lyrics.

The Cons:

This section is kind of pointless. There’s a single and a b-side, so there isn’t much to pick at from the outset. On top of that, The Evens have made two, perfectly written songs. Nothing’s wrong here. Enough said.

The Verdict:

So basically, this is a really well done single by Mackaye and Farina. As mentioned, they continue to show signs of maturity taking effect on musicians. They did recently become parents, and that most likely influenced the toning down of things. Nothing is lost because of it, though. This is what you would expect from modern day Mackaye. It’s more subdued than Fugazi, but still brimming with passion and songwriting wit. One could call it post-post-punk. All in all, 2 Songs deserves a nice spot in your singles collection.

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28th Nov2011

Album Reviews: Polinski – Labyrinths

by Ryan

Labyrinths is the debut solo album of Paul Wolinski from 65Daysofstatic; the active British, electronically flavored group in which he participates. Polinski is the title that he has chosen for his lone work, and I can only imagine that it is pronounced [pawl-in-skee] given that it’s a portmanteau of his actual name. The album cover is pretty damn sick to look at, too. As you can see, it appears to be a sort of Dali-like treatment of William Gibson’s cyberpunk aesthetic, which is not a far cry from the music within. Wolinski offers up a batch of seven songs, each echoing similarities to the electronic nature of his main project.

Listen to “Stitches”

Polinksi – “Stitches” (Feat. Big Black Delta) from Cluster 1 on Vimeo.

For those of you who are easily struck by nostalgia (and are over the age of 25), check this awesome music video out. It’s chock full of text adventure glory.

The Pros:

Wolinski crafts a really creative blend of chiptune music on Labyrinths. One song from this album can venture sonically in a variety of ways. You could see this played to a laser tag party, a dance club, or a sweet GameBoy cartridge game. All would be totally fitting. I find it hard to critique this without mentioning Halloween Swim Team, a band that I reviewed earlier this year who also delved into the realm of 16-bit sounds. They didn’t impress me in the slightest, but comparatively, their music was quite subdued. Wolinski’s synths are on full blast, 24/7. He works from beautiful, quiet breaks that build up to fast raves harkening back to the scores of Blade and The Matrix. Another important difference is that this entire album, save for some computerized vocals used as the silver lining of a couple tracks like “Stitches,” is an instrumental work.

When electronic music is set at this pace, it is usually best left as a sans-vocals deal. Daft Punk finds a hell of a lot of success following the same formula. “Tangents” has remnants of the samples you could use in the Playstation bargain bin classic MTV Music Generator. Not literally, but if you know what I mean, then you know the greatness in store. The track with the most potential is “Still Looking.” It’s an odyssey of a tune that makes you wish it could last a second helping of seven minutes. Speaking of lengthy clock-ins, you may notice that “Kressyda” ends at eleven-and-a-half minutes. Wolinski thankfully doesn’t spend this time in self indulgence by “experimentally” spewing out blaring digital screeches left and right. Labyrinths remains listenable throughout; a feat that many artists have a hard time pulling off.

The Cons:

After listening to this album, you get a sense that if Wolinski can do something as good as this, he can produce a much better album. This isn’t necessarily a con, but it’s more out of excitement for what’s in store. This is the world’s first taste of the Polinski outfit. Once you have heard it, you get that itching feeling for the music that lies ahead. To reference a past example, Labyrinths has a great possibility of being what Tweez was like before Spiderland.

The Verdict:

So, hold on to your seats. My fingers are crossed for two reasons: one, being that Paul Wolinski continues to make music in the first place and that Polinski is not just a one-off project, and two, that his presumed sophomore effort electrifies our socks volumes more than his debut already does. As for the here and now, Paul has a great sleek and retro image going for him. Get familiar.

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25th Nov2011

Album Reviews: Uniform Motion – One Frame Per Second

by Ryan

Uniform Motion have been kept as a secret for too long it seems. Yeah, they have only been around for a couple of years, but an act as innovative and interesting as these guys would make you think their work should have been discovered by now. Andy Richards is the primary creative force behind the band. He plays the guitar, sings, and writes the tunes. He is accompanied by drummer Olivier Piotte. Although it does not serve the musical aspect of the group, the other member’s role is pretty neat. Renaud Forestié fills in as the “artist” during live shows. Apart from designing for the band in general, his artwork is created and projected in tandem with Andy’s songs in concert. It’s very much akin to Mike Watt‘s “Ear Wax” shows performed with Raymond Pettibon. That is the last I will mention of Forestié though. The matter at hand of course is their sound.

Listen to “One Frame Per Second”

The Pros:

Here, you have a soothing and relaxing album. Think Belle and Sebastian, if they always played acoustically. Andy sports what sounds to be a classical guitar for the entire ride. Piotte’s easygoing drums make for a combination that is nothing but cozy. This doesn’t come off as the annoying sense of cozy, either. Belle and Sebastian do catch a lot of flack for being the “cutesy” sort of band. The only hardcore thing about them is their use of monochromatic album covers. Anyways, the point here is that Uniform Motion does not overdo it on the soft style represented in their songs. Tranquil is the nature, but not every tune is for the bright and happy listener.

“Our Hearts Have Been Misplaced In A Secret Location” and “I Will Put My Life On Tape” for example are both rather dismal subjects in comparison to the musical counterpart. Not that it’s all on the gloomy side, though. One Frame Per Second is for the most part a joyous affair. “There Is No Way There Is No Way” hails as one of the feel-good hits from this collection, as is “Fools, Don’t Listen To A Word I Say.” Richards sure knows how to strike a warm feeling with his tunes.

The Cons:

You can’t pigeonhole this album or regard it as strictly “mood music” necessarily, but it does help to be in a calm state when listening. There’s just no middle of the road. It’s essentially the same problem that The Sea and Cake are plagued with; it’s all sound that appears a tad out of place when the listener’s atmosphere is anything less than relaxing. In addition, and probably a more affective downside to this LP; some may find the instrumental simplicity to a few songs a bit repetitive. Richards is no virtuoso on the guitar, and he doesn’t need to be at all, but there is an all-too-common trend going on with his strumming and picking patterns that borders on uninspiring after a few tracks.

The Verdict:

Putting the negative details aside, this is a very fine and well-produced album. It’s a very enriching, hearty listen, and at times it can instill enough confidence in you to take on great challenges with its endearing attitude. For concertgoers, I can also only imagine that Uniform Motion’s live performances are amplified immensely with the addition of on-the-spot artwork. If you need another reason to grab One Frame Per Second, how about the benefit of naming your own price? This of course can go for cheap as free, or you can kindly through some dough in the band’s direction. They definitely deserve it.

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24th Nov2011

A 402 Thanksgiving

by nickwan

Remy Chan and I usually have a Thanksgiving with our friends the week before real Thanksgiving. Some people call it a “Friendsgiving” but we’ve settled on the name Fakesgiving. That really just stems from everyone calling me up and asking me when our fake Thanksgiving was. My reply usually began, “Well, FAKESgiving is…”

Every Fakesgiving, Remy and I make turducken. We make it pot luck invite style since a turducken for 20 people cost around $70 – $90. It’s recommended people bring sides since we are providing the main course and stuffing (with turducken gravy and turducken soup).

If you don’t know what the hell a turducken is, you’ve been living under an internetless rock for a few years now. However, you also may be the select few vegan or vegetarian readers of 402, in which case not knowing what a turducken is not only makes sense but also will make you think less of us for killing and eating the amount of food I am about to show on this site.

A turducken is a Frankenstein sort of dinner, where you have a duck inside of a chicken inside of a turkey with stuffing between each layer of bird. On top of that, it’s entirely boneless except for the legs, which stick out the back like “a six-legged mutant bird” (as Remy likes to refer to it as). The first picture at the top of this post is the stuffing. It’s usually made first. The stuffing was fairly traditional: mirepoix, portabella mushrooms, whole wheat bread (cubed and staled), and a mix of my secret seasoning (which consists of coarse pepper, light salt, and nutmeg).

I taught Remy how to debone a bird a few years ago. Ever since, he’s been the deboner and I’ve done the stuffing. Here’s the first bird, which is a turkey.

As you can see here, there is a smaller bird on top now. That’s a chicken. Below that is the stuffing layer. It’s about 1/3 inch thick of stuffing. That’s actually skimping out of stuffing for a turducken. But you’ll see we make it up in a few pictures here…

Believe it or not, there is a duck under the stuffing here. The duck is usually the hardest to purchase because they are always really small in comparison to the other two birds. When deboned, the duck becomes maybe the size of a large chicken breast. Very sad.

The second hardest part of the turducken is to sew it up. I don’t know why my back is so arched in this picture. It’s really awkward. My butt looks pretty good though. Anyway, folding about 25 lbs of food into what resembles a turkey is sort of where the art is. Remy and I will try to engineer a bird that has the legs stick out through the back next time, but the image below was our final product this year.

Pretty good, right? The cool thing about boneless cooking is the fact that it all cooks through real fast. This turducken comes out in about 5 hours at 350F. Mind you, that’s a turkey, chicken, and a duck all cooked together in 5 hours.

This wasn’t the best picture I could have got, but the other “images” were embedded in video and I can’t really grab screenshots right now. This will have to do. Notice the stuffing flowing out of the turkey!

Keep your bellies full this year, readers. Happy Thanksgiving!

Category : Complete Miscellany
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14th Nov2011

Album Reviews: Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler/The Dream

by Ryan

San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees brushed closely against the bar set by The Brian Jonestown Massacre back in 1996 in regards to album release. No, they didn’t come out with three full-length LPs during this year, but two full-lenghts and a couple of split records scratches wildly at the surface. The band is pretty well known; they are one of the standout acts on the fantastic In The Red record label, along with The Dirtbombs and many others. Judging by their constituents, it is obvious that the label is home to countless, neo-garage rock outfits of today. Thankfully, Thee Oh Sees have been putting out music at a consistently fast pace. Earlier this year, they released Castlemania, which is freaking awesome. But now we are here to look at their latest, fresh-out-the-kitchen effort, Carrion Crawler/The Dream.

Listen to “Carrion Crawler”

Thee Oh Sees – “Carrion Crawler” by rockedition 

The Pros:

Really though, LISTEN to “Carrion Crawler.” John Dwyer, the vocalist and guitarist, is the driving force behind this entire album. He naturally is the typical “frontman” for the group, seeing as it grew out of necessity for him to record his own songs. On this particular album, every track lives and breathes with the essence of Dwyer. He is in full form at every turn, dripping with insanity. Dwyer goes anywhere from being a cackling prophet of doom to a mad hatter in search of methadone. In “Crack In Your Eye,” you do not want to come in contact with the guy. His voice is brimming with craziness, and it’s a trip to listen to; very much in the same vein as Iggy Pop‘s on any pick from Fun House.

Even when Dwyer’s voice isn’t at the epicenter of a song, his maniacal guitar work takes over. “Carrion Crawler” and “Opposition” are both lush with the jittery, jangled quickness of the band’s genius concept of garage and psychedelia. Brigid Dawson’s keyboard skills are as complimentary as ever on this album. Never really taking the center stage, her instrument still provides a necessary element to songs like “Chem Farmer” and “The Dream.” She offers a good deal of backing vocals too. You wouldn’t notice it right away, but that’s her accompanying Dwyer’s malicious prattle.

The Cons:

It’s not as good as Castlemania. Yes, it is a lackluster “con” to present about this album, but given that it has been only several months since their last release, it’s a comparison that cannot help but be made. The former was emulative of ’60s groups like The Byrds, while also receiving a dose of Dwyer’s own sense of creepiness. It also featured more variety in songwriting. Nearly every track sounded differently, whether it was production value or the instruments being used. “Stinking Cloud” was one of its masterpieces, a song cluttered with strings, flutes, and melting horns. Castlemania also managed to be a largely acoustic affair, all while maintaining a strong garage rock vibe. In summation, if anything is to be said negatively about their newer LP, it is that Carrion Crawler/The Dream lacks some of the inventiveness that Thee Oh Sees were spouting hot with further back this year.

The Verdict:

Sure, it plays more like a straightforward and standard album than its recent former, but Carrion Crawler/The Dream still rocks. The band seems to have completely shifted gears on this effort, as it is wholly an amplified, electric product. Listened to in one sitting, each mind-bender of a song transitions appropriately to the next without hesitation, making for a much cleaner and cohesive experience. There’s no tiptoeing around the fact that Castlemania bests this release by a thin margin, but it still contains all the essential components to what makes Thee Oh Sees awesome, and tunes like “Carrion Crawler” and “Robber Barons” will go in the books as some of their best work. Dwyer and company pass with flying colors.

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10th Nov2011

Plastic Villains @ BAMM.tv 11/10/2011

by nickwan

 

The headliner tonight, and winner of the SFStation.com The Lineup voting contest, is Plastic Villains. Honestly, after seeing these guys live… it makes complete sense why.

Their album is pretty good, but it doesn’t do their live show justice at all. They all have a swagger about them. In fact, if you recall my other review on Outlaws & Preachers you’ see me talking about their bassist… HE’S IN THIS BAND. And he isn’t the shining star over everyone else, it’s a completely shared collective. Now that I see these guys in a live setting, I can definitely be assured that this isn’t just a collection of good musicians… this is truly a band. The layers, the gestures on stage, how tight every single song is… it’s all there. These guys are about to explode and no one knows it yet.

The live set does a lot of justice to some songs on the album that may have been looked over. The simplistic punk nature that the breathe into some songs doesn’t come across as fiery or lush as it does live. You can tell these guys grew up on the stage. They might not have grown up together, as they only have been playing shows since May, but they all have a presence that isn’t something you are just born with… unless you are. In which case, these guys have something very special about them. All rare performers who could all probably front their own projects. All five contribute extremely well with each other.

These guys are just hunting for a hook. If they find one hooky song in their catalog, they are set. I am completely surprised they aren’t signed to a smaller label yet. To all the label headhunters reading this blog, pay very close attention to this band. Shortlist them. Add their management, Salty Management, to your Rolodexes. Get your interns to add them on Facebook. Honestly, these guys are about to explode.

 

 

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10th Nov2011

Seatraffic @ BAMM.tv 11/10/2011

by nickwan

Seatraffic, a two-piece slowcore group, is more of my flavor. If you have never listened to Headphones, Dave Bazan‘s project post-Pedro the Lion… this group would be like what Headphones would have been like if Bazan came out with another Headphones LP. Very intense, yet shoegaze-style toe-tapping.

The one thing that sets these guys apart is the vocalist, who throws on this really intense filtering of delay and reverb with some other digital nonsense on top of that. I don’t know if I would have preferred this sans dream-pop vocals. Then again, I could only imagine what sort of acoustic set these guys put on. If they are anywhere near as weird and dreamy as the songs they are laying down tonight, they might be a great opening band for someone like The Radio Dept.

On a side note, I think the other dude who was charging his laptop in the press room took my charger on accident. If not, someone doing some sort of house keeping did. Sad face for me.

 

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10th Nov2011

Outlaws & Preachers @ BAMM.tv 11/10/2011

by nickwan

Outlaws & Preachers throws down a sort of funk/soul groove meets a rock/jam vibe. Vocally, it’s hip-hop. They might be a more punky The Roots or a more soulful, less aggressive Rage Against the Machine.

The stage show itself isn’t too wild. The frontman is the most mobile, which sort of makes sense as he has no instrument. However, the bassist seems to be the second most emotive, as he tries to sway back and forth. In fact, out of the five of them, the bassist seems to be the most interesting part of the group, as his intricate bass lines seem to fill out the barred chords and tit-for-tat vocal melodies. It seems that he is the most consistent out of the five on each song, with all other instruments focusing more on the genre they may be switching to and from…

Next time I hear these guys, I would really want to hear maybe something more like this last song they are jamming out right now. The first couple were interesting, showing their more intricate and poetic side, but their meat and potatoes are definitely in the harder, upbeat stuff in their catalog.

 

 

 

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10th Nov2011

BAMM.tv Presents: The Lineup 11/10/2011

by nickwan

Yes, all. Nick Wan here, trying to throw down some live reporting on BAMM.tv‘s The Lineup. The press room is cozy, I’m waiting on my friend right now, and Chris from BAMM is currently jamming out some nifty one-liners for tonight’s introductions. Stay tuned all night for set reviews of Plastic Villains, Outlaws & Preachers, and Seatraffic!

Of course, my Twitter account will also be hot tonight, so give a follow if you want some updates that was too (note: if you follow me any longer than tonight, you might be bombarded with a 50/50 of music related stuff and my personal life. Sorry… or you’re welcome. Either or.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10th Nov2011

Album Reviews: The Steve Adamyk Band – Forever Won’t Wait

by Ryan

Disco is dead, that is for certain. Punk rock is not dead, but it rather morphed into different outfits over the years. Let’s face it, you will not find a punk band today that shares the same visceral intensity as Bad Brains or Minor Threat had back in the day. People just aren’t pissed off enough anymore. Hüsker Dü bridged the gap between breakneck-speed punk and its eventual transition into pop-punk. This is a group that dabbled in both realms, starting ferociously angry with Everything Falls Apart, and growing into a softer side of punk by the release of Flip Your Wig. Pop-punk is not a bad way for the genre to branch off, but it just about ensured that a return to the original form would not happen again. It is the norm as of now, and the term is so broad at this point, that bands have to be self-proclaimedly “punk” to be recognized as such. A lot of whininess has risen as a result, and it’s really disappointing to see what punk rock has become. Blink-182 says to go fuck dogs in their asses, and Sum 41 will always be quick in saying to fuck the establishment; even though the latter ironically has a few too many platinum albums under their belt.

The Steve Adamyk Band are a group of fun-loving Ottawa residents who play pop-punk together, and are seeing the release of their sophomore album Forever Won’t Wait on Dirtnap Records.

The Pros:

Boy, I couldn’t wait to say this: THEY’RE NOT ANNOYING! I never thought I would see the day where a listenable pop-punk band would appear. Well, that’s not entirely true; The Steve Adamyk Band is under the radar of course. Blink-182 and Sum 41 are popular subjects because they have done swimmingly, as far as finances are concerned, in turning the genre into a weak, querulous medium for which angry suburban kids can revel in buying CDs with parental advisory warnings.

Forever Won’t Wait harkens back to the beautiful era of Hüsker Dü and early Replacements. This is tuneful punk music that isn’t abrasive to the ear one bit, but still packs a punch. A majority of the songs are based off some fast, power chord rhythm accompanied by a sprinting drum set behind it. The Band generally takes the time to break off into a small fragment of guitar solo heaven, and it sounds great. Key examples are towards the end of “Take It Back,” the rippling opening of “Landslide,” and the Joey Santiago-esque break in the titular track.

Steve Adamyk and his fellow punkers achieve a level of poignancy on this album as well. At times it can be tongue-in-cheek, but it is by no means comparable to The Dead Milkmen. Their narrative value in songs are more of a childlike and innocent honesty on matters like ending relationships and living it up before you get old. “Election Day” even bears a political voicing. Best of all, they close things out with a wonderful cover of The Dickies‘ ”Crossed Eyed Tammy,” to show where their hearts lie.

The Cons:

There is no gargantuan problem that looms over Forever Won’t Wait. It is a fine, refreshing product of pop-punk, which by itself is a good thing. The Steve Adamyk Band are lacking in one department however, that is all too common to so many bands in general. Originality. Sure, these guys are putting out awesome music reminiscent of the greats, but what does it do for the listener? The ballad to their province, “Ontario,” differentiates the group geographically, but that doesn’t make the music any more unique. If you ever find yourself in a mood to put on this album, you could just as well go for playing Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash; which most would probably even prefer.

The Verdict:

For what it is worth, The Steve Adamyk Band have brought a breath of fresh air to modern punk rock. Forever Won’t Wait comes complete with hooky tunes, adequate lyricism, and a passion for what they create. These Canadians may be an anomaly in the realm of pop-punk today, but vast improvements can be made if they diversify their style in some form. As of now though, they definitely get a passing grade.

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