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[reviews from 2000] The Skywriters Love Is In The Air (7") (Galaxy Train) How appropriate is it that the last Skywriters release came out on a label based in Japan -- the promised land of indie pop band tours? Maybe it's just me. Aside from that I'm just psyched anyway because this 7" has one of my "new" favorite Skywriters song, "how did you get so...". In classic Skywriters style, the songs are clever and bright and endlessly catchy. Going back to "how did you get so...", I just love the stop/swish pace and the lethal jangles and the punctuating beats. I'm definitely going to miss them, and having had the pleasure of seeing them a few times I can honestly say they were my absolute favorite labelmates. Wolfie Heavy Lady (7") (Kittridge) The budding Kittridge empire rolls on, this time enlisting the heavy artillery of Illinois pop stars Wolfie. They get their groove thang on in Heavy Lady with get-down old-school guitar pyrotechnics blazing the trails for their always refreshing boy/girl singing. Based on their recent stuff I say this scoots in nicely with their new rock sound, but I heard that these songs are older. Hmm. Well, no matter where in the Wolfie timeline this batch comes from, it's still Wolfie and -- all biases aside -- this is quality listenin'. The Promise Ring Electric Pink (cdep) (Jade Tree) I recently re-discovered TPR courtesy of their Boys + Girls EP and been kind of madly hooked on them ever since, so naturally I picked up this EP... and damn, it's rockin my ass so hard. This EP starts off with the rock-steady single track that has three devil-hand-sign enducing light-guitar-feedback-leading-up-to-rock moments that's so essential I can hardly take it. The chorus is dead catchy and entirely memorable. "Strictly television" was my first favorite off this EP, as it's more like an obvious rocker -- again with the catchy poppy chunkiness. "American girl" is on this too, a different version from the one that's on the Boys + Girls EP. What's the deal with that? I wonder if it's like some exclusive info that newbie TPR fans like me don't get to know. Oh well. So if you had asked me 6 months ago if I'd be going to see them the next time they came through I would've been all "nah, silkey" but now you can bet I'd be all over that like... Laura Watling What's Your Favorite Color? (7") (Shelflife) The former voice of the Autocollants steps up to the mic by herself on this pretty 7", appropriately released by the Brooklyn-based Shelflife Records. Laura's solo stuff is soft and upbeat, bringing to mind a hushed version of Tiger Trap and, of course, the Autocollants. Out of the four songs I keep going back to the sweetly bright "my fondest wish" with its cheerful jangles and knock-out dual vocal action at the end. In fact, it's already made it onto a mixtape of mine. A perfect bite-size summer pop treat. Masters of the Hemisphere I am not a Freemdoom (cd) (Kindercore) ...so what about Freemdoom? This 13-song epic depicting a tale of an evil dog and his sidekick, written and performed by the Masters, is pop genius taken to new heights. The musical story is accompanied by a comic book, hand-drawn by the Masters, giving you their visualization of the accounts of Freemdoom, Gorgar, Ed, Mal, and his fellow resovoir dwellers on the Isle of Krone Ishta. Musically the Masters pick up quite a way down the road from where they last left off with their self-titled debut (which was pretty damn good to begin with); and rocket past us with very memorable melodies, unique song topics and a sense of humor unmatched in today's society. For those who are new to the Masters experience, think of them as an upbeat pop orchestra -- a glockenspiel and various woodwind instruments accompanying the traditional guitar-bass-drums set-up. So what about Freemdoom? So what about this CD making many people's year-end top-lists? The Maulies On Holiday With... (7") (Hub City) Tooting a candy apple clear-red vinyl etched with three very distinct songs, these four pop n' roll ladies from Austin, TX gives us a lot to write home about (and you *can* with the fancy detatchable postcard that comes with it!). "rude limey" kicks it cutely a-la "criminal boy" (that would be Bunnygrunt) with a rhyming scheme that's as relentless as it is adorable: "used to find his accent charming, but his behavior is alarming; that british bastard has no shame, rude limey go back to the place from whence you came". It's easily one of the early hits of the summer! Next, they boogey down a Kinks cover of "gotta get the first plane home" all garagey-poppy with smacky tambo(u)rines and claps, yeah-yeah-yeah. And then filling up the entire b-side is is the sorta-YLT-y keyboard-fueled instrumental "tofu pi". It's hard to pull off instrumentals in pop (especially), in my opinion, but cool things happen in "tofu pi" that keeps it interesting. This 7" isn't just your ordinary pop single, folks. The Maulies show versatility and range in taste and there's a shiny see-through red piece of vinyl to prove it! Wolfie ...and the Coat and Hat (cdep) (Kindercore) Pow! Wolfie gets down with the monster sound on this grand 6-song EP! There's no messing around as rolling fuzz guitars explode from moment of impact catching a lot of us off guard. They've taken giant steps away from the "sound" they had cultivated over their last two albums and gotten closer to what the general pop populous would consider *rock*. But woven into that massive granite is still the familiar Wolfie charm, appearing in the form of sweet organ sounds, oohs and hooks. I'm especially partial to the opening rocker "they call me leaves" (the best example of the aforementioned roling fuzz guitar) and "calvin grove" (with the pop-glorious chorus you can NOT miss). It's Wolfie, and the Coat and ROCK. The Patty Duke Fanzine bonus 4-band split (7") (Top Quality Rock & Roll) This is a killa pink marble 4-band split with a line-up that'll have you doing a double take: Buck, Gaze, International House of Karen, and Rose Melberg (a line-up that's also 3/4 Canadian, one way or another). All of these artists cover oldies songs that'll leave you in a swoon. Buck busts out with a shreddin' rendition of "sure gonna miss him" -- love that growly snarl that Lisa's got. Gaze chimes in with the bittersweet melody "whenever she holds you", performed beautifully with seamless vocal trade-offs between Miko and Megan. If I were to pick a favorite off this 7" it would be their song. International House of Karen (that would be Karen ex-bunnygrunt) cutely bops out lo-fi style on "tell me momma". A warm 4-track home recording of "I love how you love me" by Rose Melberg rounds out the 7", sweetly lulling you to bliss. There's a "hidden" track at the end where a guy (who I can only guess is the Patty Duke-obsessed label owner Mike) gets on a radio contest. He's asked to name a band Kip Winger was in before he did Winger... I'll let you figure out what his guess was (it wasn't Alice Cooper, or Twisted Sister ... or Bob Dylan) (don't ask how I know this). Pontius CoPilot / The Speed Train split single (7") (Jet Glue) From my old stompin' grounds of Lexington, KY comes a cool split 7" of a sweet pair of bands. Pontius CoPilot crank out smart, catchy rock that's sure to have turned a few heads. I'd venture to say their songs sound familiar, but not derivative... rocking out in a dynamic fashion while retaining lo-fi charms. On top of that the guys harmonize really well without sounding slick. Whaddya think of that? The Speedtrain breaks out with three poppy garagey rockers in a Rondelles / Emily's Sassy Lime kind of way that totally knocks me out. I got to see The Speedtrain once and their show was pretty ass-rockin'. What can I say to all this? "Fine, start a scene after I graduate and move away." Lexington's got it goin' on The No-No's The Damage Done (7") (Chromosome) How about some angular poppy rock from this friendly pack from Portland, OR? Flying high, fueled by Robin's strong vocals, The No-No's deliver clean-air rock and roll that's satisfying and not too filling. I especially liked "I deserve someone nice" when Robin's vocals flip and hits a cool falsetto. The new drummer, filling in for the departed Heather Dunn, packs a nice punch with crisp beats. Check this 7" out, and while you're at it, look for the full-length they released in 1998. [Chromosome Records: 1529 Hawthorne Blvd. #205, Portland, OR, 97214] Japancakes / I Am The World Trade Center Kindercore Single Of The Month (March) (7") (Kindercore) If you're looking for a lean piece of vinyl, you found it here. Japancakes' song, "soft and easy", is easily my favorite by the lap steel wieldin' instrumental-ists from Athens, GA. This tune maintains a sweet groove powered by violins, keyboards and telecasters, bringing to mind the stretches of blissed out moments by Northern Picture Library without getting spacy... but then there's a definite comforting southern feel keeping it all together and that separates them from any band or scene you can hope to make a comparison with. Sharing the 7" is I Am The World Trade Center busting out an electronic version of The Promise Ring's fan favorite "a picture postcard". I'm rather taken by WTC's playful digital beats, mixed in sampled sounds and f/x'ed vocals, enough to make this self-proclaimed non-fan of The Promise Ring to check out the original version. I found the original sort of uncharacteristic for the band, and the song being done by WTC in this style made it that much more interesting. As far as I'm concerned this split has two side A's. Rabbit in Red untitled (cd) (Blackbean and Placenta) Rabbit in Red bound from the magical forest of Philadelphia, carrying a pouch filled with 13 jangly melodies. In this debut full-length release, Rabbit in Red offer up a mix of slow pretty numbers (avec violin) to breezy latter-era Velocity Girl-esque pop hits. Lead vocal duties are split between Jayme (also of The Skywriters) and Jen, with harmonies sprinkled about. They've been compared to The Haywains and that's not very far off the mark, especially during their zippier moments when Jen's backing up Jayme on vocals. They did a tour out west earlier in the year and they're working on putting together a European one right now. Who knows where they'll turn up next? |
