Label: self-released Released: 2007 I first heard of Irritant at Rock of Ages. I was expecting Good Evening from the Machine to be a bit heavier, but it turns out to be more on the hard rock side of metal. It took a couple listens to adjust, but once beyond my preconception, I found the album to hold quite a… Read more »
Despite the poor review I gave it, I’m going to run a contest in which you can win a copy of the SXSW Live 2007 DVD. Hey, don’t complain, it’s free! And there are some good performances on it. So here’s the deal, the first person with the correct answer to the following question gets the DVD: In recent years,… Read more »
Label: Shout! Factory Released: August 21, 2007 John Lennon once said, “If there wasn’t a fight, it wasn’t a good gig.” So, what is it if no one even moves? Lennon was clearly arguing that a sterile show is never good and sterility is exactly the problem with SXSW Live 2007. The DVD is a collection of songs from shows… Read more »
Label: Team Science Records Released: July 24, 2007 Houston’s Papermoons, the duo that is Matt Clark and Daniel Hawkins, make music that is soft and gentle on the surface, but moves with subtle power. Their debut EP contains four songs (five on the CD) of indie folk beauty that mix layers electronic drone and traditional instrumentation. In just a single… Read more »
This is a great band, but they parted ways with their singer. Anyone interested in singing for a band that streches the limits of punk rock, check this out.
Label: Sony BMG Released: July 31, 2007 With a title like Viva Las Vegas, I suspect many people’s expectations are very low, associating this with the lounge lizard Elvis. However, that turns out to be an off-base assumption. The truth is this album captures Elvis during his second-wind. True, the young, hungry singer from the days before the Army and… Read more »
Label: Australian Cattle God Released: May 15, 2007 Lozen, a two-piece from Tacoma, Washington, take their name from an female Apache warrior and prophet. The name fits, because the music is simple, making a visceral connection more akin to prophecy than science. Enemies Against Power doesn’t rely on complex rhythms or highly technical playing. Instead it sticks to simple riffs… Read more »
Label: Our Neighborhood Records Released: April 17, 2007 (or thereabouts) Not since the Minutemen has a band been able to combine such wild abandon with such a high level of musicianship. This three song EP is quite a ride, without a note of music or a second of time wasted. The pace changes are almost too much to keep up… Read more »
Rubbing Down Debbie is yet another band from Jacksonville, Florida. After writing about the Explicits awhile back, this is the second band to approach me asking if I’d do the same for them (Baker Act being the other). Something good must be happening down there, because Rubbing Down Debbie makes them three for three in my book as far as… Read more »
…but their grammar sucks. Check out the title of this press release. The only world they’re gonna take over is the world of bad grammar. ODERUS URUNGUS ISSUE’S NEW PROCLAIMATION OF HATRED Humans, it is I, your Master, ODERUS, lead singer of the most violent band in metal history, the mighty GWAR, with the latest update on our progress in… Read more »