A full decade of acid jazz never produced a more stunning fusion of electronic music with live instrumentation than Making Bones. Poised halfway between Sly & Robbie and Roni Size, Red Snapper's first album for a worldwide audience surfs a wave of breakbeat funk that includes nods to dub, punk, soul, drum'n'bass and hip-hop. The rock-steady rhythm section of Richard Thair (drums) and Ali Friend (bass) holds the groove better than any sampler, tying together radically different material like classic British soul on "Image of You," metallic drum'n'bass on "The Sleepless" (with excellent rapping by MC Det) and the fusion update "Bogeyman" (with trumpeter Byron Wallen). It's obvious the Snapper have mastered all aspects of '90s electronic dance, and Making Bones is proof positive. Source: [AMG]
Red Snapper - The Sleepless
Track Listing 1. The Sleepless 2. Crease 3. Image of You 4. Bogeyman 5. The Tunnel 6. Like a Moving Truck 7. Spitalfields 8. Seeing Red 9. Suckerpunch 10. 4 Dead Monks
As it happens, Buckwild's debut album, Beat Me Silly, was the first full-length release on Lobster Records, the label guitarist and vocalist Shawn Dewey started with his friend Steve in the mid-'90s, and it could not represent the label's modus operandi any better. Dewey started the band as a return to playing parties and no pressure kinds of shows, and Beat Me Silly is obviously a work of energetic joy. The album moves effortlessly between brash, modern post-punk ("One Day" resembles what Foo Fighters might sound like if that band was as grounded in punk as they claim, bypassed bright, shiny production, and just played for the fun of it) and punk-pop a la Green Day with vocals that are less interested in the pop half than the punk half of the equation. The music on the other hand is spiked by instantly catchy melodies, and the band occasionally breaks into split-seconds of harmony and quiet musical passages. For such a loud album in a genre that prides itself on holding in any impulses of tenderness, Beat Me Silly is surprisingly attitudinal. Many common punk emotions rise to the surface, from anger to boredom, but at least five of the songs betray infatuations or love (including a cover of the Turtles' "Happy Together" that is surprisingly faithful to the original, only kicked in the rear a bit) albeit love that often turned out bad for some reason or other. In "Slipping Away" there is even self-chiding built in for showing such vulnerability: "Why do I want her...." Buckwild is less impressive when it tries to play it sensitive on the soft sections of "That's the Problem," but when the song kicks into overdrive it is a monster. Dewey is no crooner, but when he's raging through his words, he navigates an impressive vocal range. Beat Me Silly, it turns out, is an excellent album that generally sticks to its strong suits: controlled aggression that allows its vulnerability to seep to the surface despite the effort to conceal such a soft heart beats at its core. Source: [AMG]
Buck Wild - American Dream
Track Listing 1. Artificial Love 2. One Day 3. Just in Time 4. Flowerstand Girl 5. What I Saw in You 6. The Letter 7. American Dream 8. That's the Problem 9. Happy Together (is a cover of Happy Together by The Turtles) 10. Slipping Away 11. [untitled]
With Experimental Remixes, various indie rock, dance, and hip-hop luminaries step in to remix and rearrange a handful of Blues Explosion songs, and manage to create an interesting and enjoyable collection. Jon Spencer has long voiced his admiration for hip-hop, so it's no surprise that he would want to collaborate with some of the best samplers and remixers in the business. Beck and the Beastie Boys' Mike D turn "Flavor" into a cut-and-paste workout, while Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic injects "Soul Typecast" with funk and menace. However, it's "Greyhound" that gets the best makeover, courtesy of Moby and the Wu-Tang Clan's Genius/GZA and Killah Priest. Moby's version is a screaming piece of techno-pop, with a brilliant guitar solo laid on top. This segues into Genius/GZA's starker version, in which nearly all of the instruments have dropped out, leaving only the rolling bassline and drums to contend with Killah Priest's rapping. Experimental Remixes is sure to appeal to both fans of the Blues Explosion and to fans of the artists featured throughout the album. [The import edition includes three bonus tracks: "Implosion," "Explo," and "Blues 'XXX' Man"]. Source: [AMG]
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Flavor
Track Listing 1. Bellbottoms (Old Rascal mix) 2. Flavor, Part 1 3. Flavor, Part 2 4. Soul Typecast 5. Greyhound, Part 1 6. Greyhound, Part 2 7. Tour Dairy 8. Implosion 9. Explo 10. Blues 'XXX' Man
If Cast's debut album All Change was trad-rock at its most joyous, their second album Mother Nature Calls is considerably more problematic. Electing to expand their sound slightly instead of replicating All Change, Cast paints itself into a corner. They haven't abandoned the traditional Brit-pop stylings of their debut, but they've strengthened it with a tougher sound and neo-hippie mysticism that manifests itself not only in John Power's dippy lyrics, but also in trippy instrumental sections. In theory, this is a way out of the trad-rock straitjacket, but in practice it falls flat. The main problem is that Power's melodies aren't nearly as sharp or memorable as they were on the debut; this immediately brings attention toward his lyrics, which are naive and often embarassingly simplistic. Cast also doesn't have enough charisma to save the songs with energetic, distinctive performances when they're flailing. These problems become all the more evident when they do get it right, such as on the shimmering "Guiding Star," the punchy "She Sun Shines" and the heart-tugging "I'm So Lonely (Calling You Back)," and they have the same sparkling joy that made All Change a delight. But that's a rarity on Mother Nature Calls. When the tunes and attitude are there, such weaknesses are easy to overlook, but since Cast comes up deficient on both counts, Mother Nature Calls is simply a dull listen. Source: [AMG]
Cast - Guiding Star
Track Listing 1. Free Me 2. On the Run 3. Live the Dream 4. Soul Tied 5. She Sun Shines 6. I'm So Lonely 7. The Mad Hatter 8. Mirror Me 9. Guiding Star 10. Never Gonna Tell You What to Do (Revolution) 11. Dance of the Stars / (untitled)
If you thought Bob Mould's angst-ridden solo debut, Workbook, was a blast of heavy weather, you'll need a steel umbrella to withstand the torrential distortion and gale-force rage of Black Sheets of Rain. This album contains none of Workbook's pensive acoustic eloquence or diligent guitar orchestration. Black Sheets of Rain is nothing more, or less, than a long, loud howl of pain – blinding anger, unremitting loveache, debilitating loneliness – broadcast from power-trio hell.
But like the machine-gun melancholy that distinguished Mould's half of the Hüsker Dü songbook, this is the kind of high-volume torment and emotional open-heart surgery that hurts so good. "Is there an upside/To every downside?" Mould asks despairingly in the opening title track, only to answer his own question with an overdubbed assault of clenched-fist guitars and shivering feedback screams. "Stop Your Crying" is a stunning, funereal stomp that explodes with serrated circular riffing, careening solo breaks and a manic, strangled vocal, escalating into a climactic frenzy that roars like a fiercely compressed version of the haywire coda to John Lennon's "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." And the album's big, bloodletting finish, "Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace," sounds like Richard Thompson in hell, a kind of slam-dance "Shoot Out the Lights" hammered out industrial-waltz style by the returning Workbook rhythm devils, drummer Anton Fier and Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone.
Rock & roll catharsis, postpunk or otherwise, doesn't get much better than this. It's not exactly sweet release, though. Mould discovers little in the way of hope or emotional fulfillment in his misery expeditions here, other than the kinds that come from just walking away or letting go. The most upbeat song on the record is "Out of Your Life," a bright, bouncy rocker with a punky, coltish kick and a snappy Sixties Brit-pop chorus (sort of Buzzcocks meets Badfinger) that belie Mould's bleak lyrical mood: "I ain't got a life all alone/And the one I got with you could kill me."
Yet for all of its volcanic distortion and blatant suicidal desperation, Black Sheets of Rain is really about the hurt that eventually leads to discovery. "So I've been driving far and wide to find my call in life/Been looking for a place where I belong/I guess a little pain never killed anyone," Mould admits, rather matter-of-factly, in the otherwise pulverizing "Hanging Tree." This record is the sound of Mould cranking up and just sweating it out. Source: [RollingStone.com]
Bob Mould & No Age - I Apologize
Track Listing 1. Black Sheets of Rain 2. Stand Guard 3. It's Too Late 4. One Good Reason 5. Stop Your Crying 6. Hanging Tree 7. The Last Night 8. Hear Me Calling 9. Out of Your Life 10. Disappointed 11. Sacrifice - Let There Be Peace
The Smashing Pumpkins didn't shy away from making the follow-up to the grand, intricate Siamese Dream. With Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the band turns in one of the most ambitious and indulgent albums in rock history. Lasting over two hours and featuring 28 songs, the album is certainly a challenging listen. To Billy Corgan's credit, it's a rewarding and compelling one as well. Although the artistic scope of the album is immense, the Smashing Pumpkins flourish in such an overblown setting. Corgan's songwriting has never been limited by conventional notions of what a rock band can do, even if it is clear that he draws inspiration from scores of '70s heavy metal and art rock bands. Instead of copying the sounds of his favorite records, he expands on their ideas, making the gentle piano of the title track and the sighing "1979" sit comfortably against the volcanic rush of "Jellybelly" and "Zero." In between those two extremes lies an array of musical styles, drawing from rock, pop, folk, and classical. Some of the songs don't work as well as others, but Mellon Collie never seems to drag. Occasionally they fall flat on their face, but over the entire album, the Smashing Pumpkins prove that they are one of the more creative and consistent bands of the '90s. Source: [AMG]
The Smashing Pumpkins - Zero
Track Listing Dawn To Dusk 1. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 2. Tonight, Tonight 3. Jellybelly 4. Zero 5. Here Is No Why 6. Bullet with Butterfly Wings 7. To Forgive 8. Fuck You (An Ode to No One) 9. Love 10. Cupid de Locke 11. Galapogos 12. Muzzle 13. Porcelina of the Vast Oceans 14. Take Me Down
Twilight To Starlight 1. Where the Boys Fear to Tread 2. Bodies 3. Thirty-Three 4. In the Arms of Sleep 5. 1979 6. Tales of a Scorched Earth Corgan 4:16 7. Thru the Eyes of Ruby Corgan 4:14 8. Stumbleine 9. X.Y.U. 10. We Only Come out at Night 11. Beautiful 12. Lily (My One and Only) 13. By Starlight 14. Farewell and Goodnight
Danny Boyle, Andrew MacDonald and John Hodge's adaptation of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting was one of those rare films that captured the spirit and style of contemporary youth culture. That alone was a remarkable event, but what was even more surprising was how its accompanying soundtrack summarized the sounds of mid-'90s British alternative music. They couldn't hope to replicate that seminal event with the soundtrack to their subsequent romantic comedy, A Life Less Ordinary, and they don't, even though the album has plenty to recommend it on its own. Since the film is set in America, it is only appropriate that there are several American bands on the soundtrack (Trainspotting was almost entirely British), and several of the songs have a distinct country leaning. The first half of the record is stellar, featuring Beck's groovy, swinging "Deadweight," and Luscious Jackson's "Love Is Here," Ash's storming title track, R.E.M.'s re-recorded (and superior) "Leave," and Folk Implosion's "Kingdom of Lies," among others. The second half sags a bit, as a pair of oldies (Elvis Presley's "Always On My Mind," Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea") and a couple of nonentities (Dusted's "Deeper River") hurt the momentum, but that doesn't distract from the pleasures of new tracks from the Cardigans, A3, Underworld and the Prodigy. In the end, A Life Less Ordinary isn't as consistently engaging as Trainspotting, but it doesn't really matter, since this soundtrack offers more thrills than average and has a distinctive, compelling mood of its own. Source: [AMG]
Ash - A Life Less Ordinary
Track Listing 1. Beck - Deadweight 2. Luscious Jackson - Love Is Here 3. Ash - A Life Less Ordinary 4. Sneaker Pimps - Velvet Divorce 5. The Folk Implosion - Kingdom of Lies 6. R.E.M. - Leave [New Version] 7. Faithless - Don't Leave 8. Underworld - Oh 9. The Cardigans - It's War 10. Elvis Presley - Always on My Mind 11. Alabama 3 - Peace in the Valley 12. Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea 13. Squirrel Nut Zippers - Put a Lid on It 14. Dusted - Deeper River 15. Prodigy - Full Throttle
Whether it was Conrad Uno's production, the addition of more instruments to the Mudhoney arsenal (notably, Mark Arm adds organ, as can be enjoyably heard on "Who You Drivin' Now," among other numbers), a slew of brilliant songs, or a combination of the above, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge found Mudhoney coming into their own album-wise. "Let It Slide," the album's lead single, fuses everything from surf rock drumming from Dan Peters to a delicious vocal whine on the verses from Arm into a hotwired classic. It's not so much grunge as speed-freak energy, and all the better for it given the caricatures of Sub Pop's sound that would soon take over the airwaves. "Into the Drink" is another fun single, using acoustic and electric guitar to carry a nicely snotty garage stomp along, the full band adding one of their better chorus-gang shouts. More acoustic twang surfaces here and there (check out "Move Out"), helping to show that the variety of songs and styles is much more apparent and welcome here than on the self-titled album. The almost-pretty rushed guitar chime on "Good Enough" could be mid-'80s New Order or the Wedding Present, while Steve Turner's harmonica playing often suggests even deeper roots (and on "Pokin' Around" is both quick on the pace and sweetly mournful). Uno's eight-track production makes more of less plenty of times -- "Something So Clear" may not sound as full to some ears as their other records, but the basic guitar overdubs add just enough force, an effective simplicity (and Turner's soloing is pretty great to boot). The six-minute "Broken Hands" is the one point on the album where the band completely freaks out, but unlike the takes-too-long moments of Mudhoney, it's all worth it here, down to the final chaotic amplifier abuse. Source: [AMG]
Mudhoney - Let It Slide
Track Listing 1. Generation Genocide 2. Let It Slide 3. Good Enough 4. Something So Clear 5. Thorn 6. Into the Drink 7. Broken Hands 8. Who You Drivin' Now 9. Move Out 10. Shoot the Moon 11. Fuzzgun '91 12. Pokin' Around 13. Don't Fade IV 14. Check-Out Time
Written and recorded in about a week, Jar of Flies solidified Alice in Chains' somewhat bizarre pattern of alternating full-length hard rock albums with mostly acoustic, ballad-oriented EPs. That quirk aside, Jar of Flies is a low-key stunner, achingly gorgeous and harrowingly sorrowful all at once. In a way, it's a logical sequel to Dirt -- despite the veneer of calm, the songs' voices still blame only themselves. But where Dirt found catharsis in its unrelenting darkness and depravity, Jar of Flies is about living with the consequences, full of deeply felt reflections on loneliness, self-imposed isolation, and lost human connections. The mood is still hopelessly bleak, but the poignant, introspective tone produces a sense of acceptance that's actually soothing, in a funereal sort of way. Jerry Cantrell's arrangements keep growing more detailed and layered; while there are a few noisy moments, most of Jar of Flies is bathed in a clean, shimmering ambience whose source is difficult to pin down, but is well served by Cantrell's varied guitar tones and even occasional string arrangements. And coming on the heels of Dirt, the restraint and subtlety of Jar of Flies are nothing short of revelatory -- though it was written and recorded in about a week, it feels much more crafted and textured than Sap. Perhaps Jar of Flies would have gotten more credit if it had been a full-length album; as it stands, the EP is a leap forward and a major work in the Alice in Chains catalog. Source: [AMG]
Alice In Chains - No Excuses
Track Listing 1. Rotten Apple 2. Nutshell 3. I Stay Away 4. No Excuses 5. Whale & Wasp 6. Don't Follow 7. Swing on This
As Bis' career progressed, the band's music changed ever so slightly. (Somehow, the word "mature" seems singularly inappropriate as far as this trio is concerned.) The D.I.Y.-punk influences faded into the background as kandy-colored, trashy new wave-dance roots took hold. Simultaneously, the bandmembers' calls for Teen C Power rescinded, leaving them without any message, genuine or manufactured, outside of pop music and fun (or something along those lines). Nevertheless, when it came time to record its second album, Social Dancing, Bis teamed with producer Andy Gill, best known as part of the socialist post-punk band Gang of Four. Following its transformation from a band of underground activists to Casio-driven bubblegum practitioners, Bis turned into the kind of group that would have been in direct opposition to Gang of Four in the early '80s -- all the more ironic, since Gill's production makes Social Dancing sound uncannily like a period piece. That turns out to be a blessing, since his shiny retro sounds make the album go down, even when the trio's kiddie choruses deteriorate from charming to annoying. Consequently, the record is more cohesive than the band's debut, but it never feels relevant -- and at one point, that's what Bis was all about. Arriving at the tail end of Brit-pop, Bis' first EPs seemed fresh, original, part of a new zeitgeist. But since that zeitgeist was all about youth -- and the fact that the members of Bis were teenagers pining for the golden age of elementary school -- sealed the fate for the trio; Bis was of the moment in 1996, and when that year was gone, the band would never again sound hip or relevant. To their credit, they figured out how to move on, entrenching themselves within new wave, and they have made an album that's pretty entertaining. But that triumph is compromised somewhat by the fact that the album ultimately sounds as good and is as substantive as a Haysi Fantayzee record. Source: [AMG]
Bis - Eurodisco
Track Listing 1. Making People Normal 2. I'm a Slut 3. Eurodisco 4. Action and Drama 5. Theme from Tokyo 6. The Hit Girl 7. Am I Loud Enough? 8. Shopaholic 9. Young Alien Types 10. Detour 11. Sale or Return 12. It's All New 13. Listen Up
A full decade of acid jazz never produced a more stunning fusion of electronic music with live instrumentation than Making Bones. Poised halfway between Sly & Robbie and Roni Size, Red Snapper's first album for a worldwide audience surfs a wave of breakbeat funk that includes nods to dub, punk, soul, drum'n'bass and hip-hop. The rock-steady rhythm section of Richard Thair (drums) and Ali Friend (bass) holds the groove better than any sampler, tying together radically different material like classic British soul on "Image of You," metallic drum'n'bass on "The Sleepless" (with excellent rapping by MC Det) and the fusion update "Bogeyman" (with trumpeter Byron Wallen). It's obvious the Snapper have mastered all aspects of '90s electronic dance, and Making Bones is proof positive. Source: [AMG]
