|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In This Issue: Communist Swedes Arm Us With Love Whether you know it or not, The (International) Noise Conspiracy are a bunch of communists. Seriously, I don't mean that in a slanderous, 'they suck' way. They are self-proclaimed communists who in past releases have expressed their disdain for capitalism. Although that hasn't changed, they have toned down the political messages in their songs on their latest release, Armed Love. This time around, these Swedish boys got a deal with American Recordings (still keeping their ties with Epitaph), employed the producing mastery of Rick Rubin and released a disc which they are touring the US in support of. That's not all either. Armed Love seems to incorporate a richer sound than they already had, including organs, harmonica and even some saxophone. The album is more upbeat than past (I)NC material, and that's evident right from the get-go with Black Mask. The song features sensual lyrics in a very subtle way and a cool change about two-thirds of the way in followed by an organ solo. As we move into The Way I Feel About You, we're treated to more organ solos and continue with a lyrical theme that is more intimate than political. Now, even though I said (I)NC have toned down their communist messages, that doesn't mean they're entirely eradicated from this album. The title track is just one example of that, as are Let's Make History (which contains a rhythm perfect for driving), A Small Demand, The Dream Is Over and especially on Communist Moon. The liner notes also contain an explanation of the words "O bailan todos O no baila Nadie" which appear on the back cover. Translated into English, they are: "Either everyone dances or No one dances". These words were scrawled on the walls of an upper-class Uruguay nightclub by a group of revolutionaries more than thirty years ago. That's definitely a sign they haven't lost touch with their political stance. Overall, the album is solid. The music is captivating yet simple from beginning to end and regardless of what the message was intended to be, the lyrics are compelling. This may not be commercially successful in a large way, but it could prove to be a stepping stone for the career of these commi-Swedes. (I)NC are currently on tour in the US right now until December. There is one stop in Vancouver on December 10th and Canadians Danko Jones are joining them on seven US shows (sadly, not on the Vancouver show though). Yes, you read that correctly. The Tea Party have split after fifteen years of providing Canadians with impressive music. Singer/guitarist/all around incredible musician Jeff Martin released a statement this week announcing the split. He recently moved to the Irish country-side with his family to record an acoustic solo album which he hopes to release this winter and tour in support of. Martin, Jeff Burrows (drums) and Stuart Chatwood (bass, keyboards) remain friends and Martin won't rule out playing with his band-mates sometime in the future. The Tea Party formed in 1990 after a jam session at Toronto's Cherry Beach Rehearsal Studios (where I spent a semester doing a work-term two years later) and released their first independent album in 1991. The 3500 copies of the self-titled disc sold-out within a year, mostly in Ontario. In 1992, EMI Music Canada offered them a contract that allowed them the creative control other labels weren't prepared to offer and Splendor Solis arrived a year later. Since then, the band have release five full-length albums, one best-off collection, one DVD of their videos and an EP. The last release was 2004's Seven Circles. Early in their career, The Tea Party were accused of being Doors rip-offs, mostly due to the fact that Martin sported an appearance much like that of Jim Morrison. There was even a rumour that he had his name legally changed so that he would share the same initials (J.M.), which is preposterous. Personally, in the early stages I found their music to more resemble Led Zeppelin with it's eclectic middle-eastern/East Indian sounds than the Doors. They were among the first bands to ever hold an internet-only live concert in March of 1994. It was around that time that I first experienced the band live at the old Ontario Place Forum. I had the good fortune of witnessing what is still a legendary performance from a still-emerging Canadian rock band, especially Burrows' frantic drumming-on-crates. He was so incredibly fast and intense that each time he broke a drum-stick, you could barely notice that he'd already snagged a fresh one without missing a beat as the splinters of the last one still flew through the air. Even after attending their performance here with the Calgary Philharmonic (which was unbelievably good), that latter memory is still the most vivid I have of the band. For what is their now-apparent final effort, Seven Circles, the band spent the time recording it in Hawaii with producer Bob Rock. Most recently, they were employed as the backing band for former Creed singer Scott Stapp. Nothing has materialized from those sessions. Is There Anything About The New Strokes Single That Doesn't Reek Of Sex? For quite some time now, fans of The Strokes have been anxiously awaiting news of their new album. Well, not only can I give you some information, but I can also point out the obvious sexual references of the new single and it's video. OK, so the single is called Juicebox (do I really need to explain the potential sexual reference in that title?) and last weekend they shot the video in New York City. The concept is that the band (whose name also bears some sexual connotations) play the song live at a radio station in NYC. From there, the video will portray lovers of all kinds getting busy to the song. Sexy. The song is the first single for the new album, First Impressions On Earth and has a slightly more aggressive sound than their previous work. The North American release date is scheduled for January 3rd. You can hear it Juicebox here with the QuickTime plug-in. For other options, check their web-site. The Ongoing History Of New Music Turns 500 For those of you who live in Toronto and/or listen to new rock radio station edge102, you'll be familiar with The Ongoing History Of New Music, a weekly program hosted by Alan Cross. The show looks at music in all its glory (and sometimes shame) in ways that I've yet to find elsewhere. It's become so popular that it is syndicated on a number of rock stations across Canada, and at its flagship station, is broadcast four times a week (a new episode Sunday's at 19:00 hrs Eastern, a repeat on Monday's at 23:00 hrs Eastern and two back-to-back old episodes Sunday mornings from 10:00-12:00 Eastern). They even have one minute snippets of the show on edge102 three times daily, Monday to Friday. They've recently celebrated the show's 500th episode and continue to go strong. The web-site offers some details of the show, upcoming episodes, and transcripts of past shows. There are even PODCASTS available. I highly recommend checking them out. Air Traffic Control Can't Seem To Take Off From the very first notes of lead track Feel Proud, the one thing that immediately comes to mind is that the Comstock boys sound much like Blue Rodeo without the country feel. Although that feeling disappears as the album continues, I find it difficult to get really excited about what I'm hearing. This trio from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is made up of brothers Kirk (vocals/guitar) and Jordi (drums/vocals) and cousin Luke on bass. The brothers used to be in Madhat with which they released three CDs and toured across Canada. Air Traffic Control showcases their obvious talent but seems to lack depth and excitement. Although Feel Proud is an upbeat simple rock song, there's little to note about until track five, titled Soul. The song's vocals are smooth and it contains a subtle yet captivating rhythm which is highlighted by the guitar laden bridge between each verse. Unfortunately, the tail end of the track contains a very odd mock children's book narrative backed-dropped by gun fire. The second half of the album actually picks up with Daydream, Starting, House Of Cards, Animal Crackers and Burn. Each song further displays their potential and offers something positive to build upon. They tone things down for Me and You and close the album with Enemies which once again, shows some promise. Overall, although I can't get terribly excited about Air Traffic Control's self titled release, they can certainly improve upon some of the good ideas they have the next time around. I can also hear how some of these songs may turn out much more exciting live than on this disc. They've just signed a deal with MapleNationWide/Universal music which should help them gain more exposure. They also have a number of shows this month with a gig at The Barfly in Montreal tomorrow (October 21st), Mavericks in Ottawa on October 23rd and at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on October 25th. QOTSA To Deliver Burn The Witch Video In Time For Halloween Queens of the Stone Age have teamed up with multimedia "Wizardbrain" Liam Lynch for their upcoming Burn The Witch video. It features the entire band as cast and crew, plus Billy F Gibbons (of ZZ Top), Chris Goss, UNKLE, Jesse Hughes and more. The video features an "angry mob, foolishly playing with the fires of rumor, only to risk being burned by it's treacherous flames" as stated by the band's newsletter recently. You can catch a glimpse of the video here. Germans Have A Sense Of Humour Too! This week, German industrial-metal band KMFDM sent an email to their fans announcing the end of their North American tour in support of their latest release, Hau Ruck. They were happy with the turn-out, thanked the fans for showing up and sticking around after each show to meet the band and get autographs. The email came to a close with this statement:
Intended or not, KMFDM now prove to be funny as hell! Soul Asylum To Release New Album In March Despite the death of bassist Karl Mueller this past June, Soul Asylum are planning to release their next album in March of 2006. An exact date or album title has yet to be determined. The album features songs Be On My Side, Crazy Mixed Up World, Directions, Good For You, Showtime and Standing Water. Mueller was able to contribute to the album before he succumbed to throat cancer. "It makes me think of Karl," said singer Dave Pirner. The album was recorded in the band's hometown of Minneapolis and will be the follow-up to 1998's Candy From A Stranger. The band (including founding member Dan Murphy and backed by former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson and drummer Michael Bland) have a couple of shows in the coming week; October 24th in Minneapolis and October 26th in New York. How To Shoot A Video With Cell Phones First of all, I had no idea that The Presidents of the United States of America were back together. Well they are, and they have a new song titled Some Postman. It's not as good as the quirky power-pop-rock band's more memorable material from their days of Peaches, but the real news here is the video. PUSA are the first band to film a music video (which you can watch here) using only cell phones. Australian director Grant Marshall filmed the video in one day in Seattle using approximately one dozen Sony Ericsson K750i phones. The footage was transferred via blue-tooth to a Mac and cut together like a jigsaw puzzle. Since the phones' video quality is 1/3000th the quality of standard broadcasts, the band had to perform at half time, and the resulting footage still looks blocky and compressed. The song and video are in support of their new album, Love Everybody, released in Australia this month. They are currently touring Australia which wraps up at the end of October, including a final show in New Zealand on the 30th. October 25th will see the release of a couple of live CDs of interest. The first coming from Aerosmith with Rockin' The Joint - Live From The Hard Rock; the second being a posthumous release from George Harrison (with a little help from his friends) with The Concert For Bangladesh. The Aerosmith disc was recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas in January of 2002 and the DualDisc DVD side will contain additional bonus songs and video footage. Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh took place and was recorded in 1971 and is being re-release as a two-CD set including an additional song by Bob Dylan (Love Minus Zero/No Limit). Fans of Toronto's Death From Above 1979 may have reason to be very happy next Tuesday. It's being reported at a number of retailers that their Romance Bloody Romance release hits stores next week, although other web-sites are stating a release date of November 22nd. The disc contains a number of remixes of Romantic Rights and Black History Month (including the Josh Homme remix) and is rumoured to contain some live tracks, although I've been unable to get any confirmation of that (and oddly enough, there isn't ANY mention of this release on the DFA1979 web-site). If you see a CD review of this release in next week's newsletter, you'll know that it's available. Lastly, you may have had some difficulty obtaining Bucket Truck's new album Favour the Bull this week. That's because the distributor screwed up and the CD won't hit stores until next week. Since it is an independent release, you'll likely have to ask for your local retailer to bring it in for you. The boys in Bucket Truck (who've had to cancel some tour dates because Squid slipped and fractured his arm and wrist) urge you to ask for the album and NOT buy it if you find it for more than $18. It should be available for purchase on www.maplemusic.com soon. This Week's Releases Reviewed
~~ kMNR v2005.089 ~~ If you would like to hear about or if you have any information on a particular band or artist, please email and I will do my best to cover them.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
