Clichés are basically the exact opposite of a box of chocolates: you always know what you’re gonna get next. The key to making clichés work in songwriting is to couch the clichés in a bunch of other interesting stuff so that they’re not all that important to the song, in the end. This is a lesson I learned last night, watching Jason Isbell give a fantastic performance upstairs in Whelan’s. Supporting act for the night…
Album name: The Great Disruptors EP Artist name: Sweethead Genre: Rock Released: July 13 2009 Label: Strange Addiction ZME Rating: 8/10 Website: sweethead.net With PJ Harvey taking various detours away from her intelli-punk rock of old, Brody Dalle’s Spinerette sounding less like the Distillers than a slightly more modern No Doubt, and Courtney Love continuing to disappear into a putrid puddle of confused irrelevance, there’s a gaping hole in the rock industry, just waiting for…
Album title: West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum Artist name: Kasabian Genre: Rock/Psychedelia Released: 5 June 2009 Label: Columbia ZME Rating: 7/10 Website: kasabian.co.uk When one of rock’s popular young pretenders attempt a concept album inspired by LSD-infused 60s psychedelia in 2009, it is difficult to know whether to commend British exports Kasabian or rip them apart. Upon a first spin of West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, one thing is for sure – this is not…
We’re three songs into Ham Sandwich’s set in Whelan’s, and the entire crowd is already covered in confetti and there are maybe ten beach ball-sized balloons being batted between audience and band. Everyone in the venue is either grinning madly or openly laughing. Ham Sandwich are clearly here to have some fun. But wait: like a bunch of drunks in charge of a time machine, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. (That’s an old Mr. Biffo…
It was a sweet day when we decided to go in Barcelona to see the Australian living legends. So, along with game master Tibi Puiu, a few friends and a handful of whisky and tequila bottles we head out for Spain’s cultural capital. We tried to visit as much as possible there, so we missed about 15 minutes from the opening band’s show, The Answer. There was also a Spanish band before them, but I…
Album name: Knives Artist name: Aiden Genre: Emo Released: May 12 2009 Label: Victory ZME Rating: 2/10 Website: aiden.org Jesus Christ. Look, I’m not saying that Aiden are the worst band in the world. But you know that feeling you get when you see a 13 year old boy trying to be rebellious by wearing a lot of black and swearing in a really unconvincing manner, claiming that he’s angry at the whole entire world…
Album name: White Lies For Dark Times Artist name: Ben Harper & Relentless7 Genre: Rock Released: May 5th, 2009 Label: Virgin ZME Rating: 8/10 Website: http://relentless7.benharper.com/ Band names, eh? There’s rarely an in-between with them: they either sound exactly right, or absolutely ridiculous. Try saying any death metal band name with a straight face in polite company, and you’ll have an idea of what I mean with the latter. When your grandma asks you what…
Album name: Roadsinger Artist name: Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam Genre: Folk, Rock, Pop Released: May 5, 2009 Label: Umvd Labels ZME Rating: 10(!)/10 Website: Yusuf Islam When Cat Stevens said he would never sing ever again in the late 70s, I was devastated and it seems it was just yesterday. Nah, I’m just messing with you, but still… Here was this absolutely brilliant young man that had conquered mankind just giving up on everything he had…
Artist Name: Sun Domingo Album Name: The World’s Alive Genre: Rock/Pop Release Date: 28 April 2009 ZME Rating: 7/10 Label: Racket Records (Europe) Website: www.sundomingo.blogspot.com At my former day job we had to hear the same five albums for weeks at a time. One morning, half awake, still in bed a melody swam around in my head. But it wasn’t one of those five albums, or anything else, it was Sun Domingo’s “Hot Little Room”,…
Album name: NV3 Artist name: Nouvelle Vague Genre: New Wave/Lounge Released: June 3rd-10th 2009 Label: The Perfect Kiss ZME Rating: 10/10 Website: http://myspace.com/nouvellevague The very well known French bossa nova band, who has made itself very famous through their already released albums with totally new and different covers of old punk/post punk songs are going to release their third album next month, between the 3rd and 10th of June. It’s very different from what they…
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