Reviews: June 2002 Archives

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

June 28, 2002 9:53 AM | 4 Comments

Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Wichita Recordings) [mp3]

One extremely drunk night not too long ago, there was a friendly group call placed to our favourite whipping boy. Yelling into the phone, "As a fuck son, you suck!" is mighty liberating. Though we used their words, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs wouldn't be proud with us. They'd take their whipping boy out to a dank fuck of a bar, run around covered in cheap beer and growl-cum-scream with cigarette breath into your face. That's class.

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Mary Timony - The Golden Dove

June 27, 2002 8:22 AM | 1 Comment

Mary Timony - The Golden Dove (Matador) [mp3]

Blessed Be! The Golden Dove further reveals the wind-walking of Ms. Timony. We delight as she waxes and wanes through magickal soundscapes and enchanting themes. While some of the Spells here (Musik and Charming Melodee and Look a Ghost in the Eye) may make you think you're listening to a non-wiccan, she continues to travel where Frodo fears to tread.

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Brian Wilson - Pet Sounds Live

June 26, 2002 4:07 PM | No Comments

Brian Wilson - Pet Sounds Live (Sanctuary Records)

What can I say - one of the greatest albums ever. The only difference is that it's live this time. Sure, Brian's voice has aged a bit over the years and he's lost a little of his youthful buoyancy. We'll let it slide. The album still sounds incredible. The ten piece band does a great job of capturing Pet Sounds in a live setting - right down to the tympany and bicycle horns. My only real complaint is that Wilson thanks the crowd before they clap on almost every song. Maybe it's a nervous habit.

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Arlo - Stab The Unstoppable Hero

June 25, 2002 10:41 AM | No Comments

Arlo - Stab The Unstoppable Hero (Sub Pop) [mp3, mp3]

Instantly hummable, and utterly irresistible, Arlo rock like the bastard spawn of H.R. Pufnstuff and Keith Moon. Traditionalists who put the raw power back in pop (without the press-hungry fashionablity *cough*thestrokes*cough* that has plagued all too many of their peers) these kids are easily the best thing to come out of LA since Burger King’s Shaq Pack, dunking twice as hard and with half the cheese.

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Cornelius - Point

June 24, 2002 8:10 AM | No Comments

Cornelius - Point (Matador) [mp3]

The eternal man-boy takes a break from remixing to release his first full length lp in almost five years. Despite being known more for his electronic work, this is hardly danceable or "rock"- it's practically genre-less in a positive way. It's atmospheric and eclectic as ever, using found sounds, layered female vocals, and some minor knob twiddling. Give him credit, he's not following any trends, he's creating new standards. You can either open your ears or not, either way he's not waiting up.

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The Rocking Horse Winner - Horizon

June 21, 2002 8:26 AM | 2 Comments

The Rocking Horse Winner - Horizon (Equal Vision Records) [mp3]

Jolie Lindholm raised her stock by contributing backing vocals to the latest Dashboard Confessional effort, though it’s the charming pop love songs with her own band - The Rocking Horse Winner - that will make her an idol to Teen People readers everywhere. Far from the emo tag that the band has been pegged with, TRHW should appeal to an audience that enjoys everything from the effervescent pop of Letters to Cleo to the introspective shoegazing styles of The Sundays.

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Belle and Sebastian - Storytelling

June 20, 2002 3:45 PM | 2 Comments

Belle and Sebastian - Storytelling Soundtrack (Matador)

Everytime I listen to this record, all I can think about is that line from Spaceballs: "It's Mega Maid! She's gone from suck, to blow!"

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Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice

June 19, 2002 4:03 PM | 3 Comments

Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice (Swami) [mp3]

Last week I got into a bar fight. I don't think it's a small coincidence that I happened to get this record the very next day. A Hot Snakes record is like the soundtrack to getting your teeth knocked out. Theme music for running through the summer night, screaming at the top of your lungs, knocking over everything in your path. Intense rock riffage mixed with Rick Froberg's trademark yelp, this album begs to be cranked while you search for that jackass with the tazer and settle the score. Hells yes.

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Counting Crows - Hard Candy

June 18, 2002 8:35 AM | 2 Comments

Counting Crows - Hard Candy (Universal) [audio]

Ok, yes - they are on a Coke commercial - and sold out to the MAN - but at least they write their own music. The Counting Crows know what works for them, and they are sticking to it. With their fourth album, Hard Candy, Adam Duritz continues to write introspective lyrics about women and cities, delivered in his trademark melodic wail. The musicianship is solid and catchy, with the normal Crows balance of guitar and piano. Sure, you have heard it all before, but this time it is a good thing.

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Swearing At Motorists - This Flag Signals Goodbye

June 17, 2002 11:47 AM | No Comments

Swearing At Motorists - This Flag Signals Goodbye (Secretly Canadian) [mp3]

Here is the perfect two man band, complete with a herky jerky carnival barker live show and performed by two guys who look like they may have starred in a Univision sitcom that was cancelled in 1976. Much improved recording quality, the songs have remained catchy and brief, leaping from a whisper to a wall of noise and back again. Most importantly, there are hooks that stay in your head for days and lyrics dealing mostly with ingesting intoxicants and having imaginary conversations with ex-girlfriends.

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Techno Animal - The Brotherhood Of The Bomb

June 14, 2002 3:33 PM | 1 Comment

Techno Animal - The Brotherhood Of The Bomb (Matador) [mp3s and videos]

As if the boundaries between genres hadn't been blurred enough already... It's not quite techno - not quite rap. Imagine mixing your favorite underground hiphop artists with the soundtrack to a violent and terrifying nightmare. Yeah. It's sort of like that. No one distorts a bassline like Techno Animal. The indie-hop cream of the crop: Anti-Pop Consortium, Company Flow, Cannibal Ox, Dälek... they're all here - and they're ready to brutalize your eardrums.

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Silkworm - Italian Platinum

June 13, 2002 3:32 PM | 1 Comment

Silkworm - Italian Platinum (Touch and Go)

Officially their 7th LP, a recent appearance at the ATP festival may result in getting the respect they deserve and shedding the tag of being too old for punks or too loud for their peers. Usually a trio, this release has Matt Kadane of Bedhead/New Year on organ and Kelly Hogan from the Rock*a*Teens singing on a few tracks. More experimental than usual but no less entralling, they still rely on Andy Cohen's shitload of guitar licks, matter of fact vocals and Michael Dahlquist's economical drumming to draw their blood.

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Various - THC - The Hip Hop Collection

June 12, 2002 4:28 PM | No Comments

Various - T.H.C. The Hip Hop Collection (High Times) [audio]

Rap and weed go together like ugly and your friend's sister, so this comp was a no-brainer. Pharcyde and The RZA are predictably "dope," contributions by MF Doom and Lootpack prove that indie rappers get blunted too, and High and Mighty get bonus clever points for their "oops, uh oh, I forgot the chorus" hook. The egregious omission of both Redman AND Snoop is forgiven, if only for the near-pornographic cover shots of some niiiiiiice sticky icky icky.

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The Cells - We Can Replace You

June 11, 2002 11:16 AM | 3 Comments

The Cells - We Can Replace You (Orange Recordings) [mp3, mp3]

Glamirific power-pop with a heavy nod towards RAWK (Chicago style, y'all). Singer Cory Hance sounds like the snotty little brother who annoys you by singing at the top of his lungs in the family station wagon on the 6-hour drive to grandma’s house. It's all good though, because secretly you know he's talented as shit. "Silver Cloud," "All Be Happy," "Say Hello" and "I Go Out" are bombastic radio hits in the making, too bad you'll never hear 'em there.

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Super Furry Animals - Rings Around the World

June 10, 2002 7:59 AM | No Comments

Super Furry Animals - Rings Around the World (Epic/Sony/Beggars XL)

Think of some of the good things that have come out of Britain in the past decade - Radiohead, Blur, The Verve (big, layered guitars), Portishead, Massive Attack (psychedelic beats) - and mix in a group of young Welsh guys who worship Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys) and you have pretty much got the new release from The Super Furry Animals. Co-released with a brilliant DVD of animation and lo-fi music videos, this record will rock you, hypnotize you, and get you humming "Rings Around the World" all day.

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Kilowatthours - The Bright Side

June 7, 2002 1:39 PM | No Comments

Kilowatthours - The Bright Side (Temporary Residence Limited) [audio, mp3]

Melodic, intense and winding songs which have a way of creeping up on you - catching you off guard. Songs build and crash. Lyrics make bitter accusations. Synthesizers climb inside you. Kind of like that ivy growing through the windows in your grandparents' garage - the album has it's beautiful side and it's destructive side. Slow at times. Fast at times. Well written, intelligent love/hate songs. "A How-To Book" amazes me every time.

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Pedro the Lion - Control

June 6, 2002 9:56 AM | 4 Comments

Pedro the Lion - Control (Jade Tree) [mp3, mp3]

Pedro the Lion are back with their trademark unremarkable yet immediately recognizable sound. A bit like a sober Sebadoh playing at an AA meeting minus Lowenstein and fronted by Charles Grodin's tone deaf grandson. This is noticably noisier and harder than past releases, not because of fast tempos but because of a rich full sound and pounding drums. Far better than adequate, yet not quite amazing, whether alone on his guitar or fronting a full band, the vocal delivery is always stoic - really good music for feeling bad.

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Radio 4 - Gotham!

June 5, 2002 8:32 AM | 1 Comment

Radio 4 - Gotham! (Gern Blandsten) [mp3s]

I don't know what "the struggle" is, but if this is its soundtrack, I'll get behind it. Here we have another hot New York band taking a cue from the past (Gang of Four) and creating something new, stylish, and all their own. This is "new disco," and it totally rocks. That's right, it's punk rock you can dance to - catchy, propulsive, layered, groovy, addictive. It won't change the world, but it'll sure shake yours for an hour or so.

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Yahoo - The Search Engine

June 4, 2002 10:22 AM | 4 Comments

Yahoo - The Search Engine (Matador) [mp3]

Yahoo's sophomore effort sees the band embracing a handful of new styles including hip hop, trance and jungle. Fans who thought that Yahoo was a one trick pony now have to adjust to the new sound or find themselves left behind clutching their Stone Roses CDs. Maybe Yahoo can be accused of just being trendy and jumping on the next musical bandwagon but when the music is as authentic sounding as this, it doesn't matter what the accusers may say. Yahoo brings flat out heavy beats to shake your ass to.

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Joi - Star Kitty's Revenge

June 3, 2002 8:27 AM | 4 Comments

Joi - Star Kitty's Revenge (Universal) [audio]

Macy Gray decided to hit the gym, give up the whole homeless person schtick, and change her name to Joi. Star Kitty's genuinely ill live instrumentation provides the right balance between booty and Bootsy, while the mix of slowjams ("Munchies For Your Love") and Dre-esque funk ("You're A Whore") keeps the whole thing moving. Don't forget the thoroughly cracked-out secret track ("written and sung" by Joi's 4-year-old daughter). About time the dirty south got a feminine touch.

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June 2002 Archives