sound·think

/soundˌTHiNGk/
Noun
The practice of thinking or making decisions with sound in a way that encourages creativity and individual responsibility.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Devil's Cut

I'm always excited when there's a new band in Lansing. Oftentimes (not just in Lansing, this goes anywhere) I walk away without really being affected, but the interest and anticipation I have in discovering something new is something that never goes away. Music scenes always go in waves; for awhile there (after the Eastern Block and Battle Scars fizzled out) I didn't feel like there were any "punk" bands in the fair Capital City, and the few that I would catch at matinee shows at Mac's Bar were often too "screamo" or something-"core" for me to get into. (A musical genre accidentally invented at a suburban New York high school in 1996 when some kid tried to pass off Cap'n Jazz as his own band and had to stumble through some terrible live shows at the VFW). Luckily this has turned around and there's a number of bands that are worth a drunken shout-along in the area, and the latest is the Devil's Cut.

They're a cut above the rest! (Cricket. Cricket)

I've seen Devil's Cut by accident a number of times, and intentionally once or twice now. They've gigged with Goddamn Gallows a bit and it seems like they've been hopping on anywhere that'll take them lately so I've had the good fortunate to look up from a beer and see them on stage. Self-described as "a blend of country and punk," there's definitely an element of rockabilly and roots music going on here, but no greaser or old timey posturing thankfully. I swear to god if I see a jackass in a monocle and suspenders stomping away with a washboard onstage again I'm going to... well, grumble. But, anyway, it's nice to see music devoid of irony, something that even my beloved punks can have a problem with.

Basically, these guys play energetic shows, aren't afraid to get their voices raw, and in general create a good atmosphere for a live music audience be it at at a dive bar, bigger club, basement show, or anything in between. And the two guitar guys are really tall. They don't have any music recorded that captures this vibe yet, but the tunes on their reverb nation are worth a listen. Hopefully they crank out a fun and beautifully ragged record soon here... in the meantime I look forward to continue running into them.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Jackpine Snag - "Omega Stump"

Well it's about time I live up to my own manifesto and actually write about a band from Lansing!


The Jackpine Snag are a "grungy doom blues" band from Lansing that started in 2010. One of these guys was in a band called Gaytar that played Dischord-ish punk around a fair shake in like 2005, and one of them was in band that I once remembered seeing wear creepy wolf masks and suits at a Halloween show a few years back but whose name escapes me now. Anyway, the point being that they're dudes that have been kicking around the grubby Lansing dive bar and basement "punk" scene for awhile now, so I expected some solid grooves out of them at the very least. Fortunately for everyone they've also got some wicked songs, and they released them last week on a slab of vinyl, so the grooves are definitely in the picture too. Grooves. Bad pun.

I gots the hit in the balls with the train cinder block right in the balls blues!

 Omega Stump is a four song 7-inch EP, released on Jackpine Snag drummer Todd Karenin's label Silver Maple Kill Records (named after a failed attempt by Ian MacKaye to start a syrup production branch of Dischord Records in the post-Nevermind haze of 1992). The production is raw in all of the right ways, and singer Joe's deep howl combined with the intricate sludginess of the band's songs recall what it may have sounded like had Danzig recorded for Sub Pop in the late 80s. Full disclosure: after typing that last sentence I immediately looked up Danzig's discography on Wikipedia to make sure this didn't in fact happen since it seems like just the type of thing that may exist and lead to angry correction letters from the masses.

Don't even joke about that.

So I'm listening to the digital version of this EP on Bandcamp, which has two extra songs on it, and I'm trying to think of some criticism but I'm coming up blank. No, this isn't the greatest band I've ever heard in my life, but damned if it isn't a really solid listen. These guys know how to keep a song moving and they appreciate brevity without being afraid to explore some interesting instrumental territory. So, shoot, I think that's as high of praise as I can muster up at the moment. Get the record from Silver Maple Kill, a legit DIY label that's in it for all the right reasons. They're limited to 200 copies and if there's any justice in the world they'll be gone soon!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

M B V

M B V: Abbreviation for revered British shoegaze (a term that began as a homonym for "shoe gays," a short lived mod-revival in late 1980s London that revolved around a series of NME articles pitting bands' footwear against one another) band My Bloody Valentine.

See also: m b v the much anticipated 2013 album by above band, a 22 years-in-the-making followup to their most influential work, 1991's Loveless.

See also: My Boring Vacation, in which this highly anticipated album was released during, and where I failed to get a chance to listen to said album in a timely fashion.

This "MBV' applies to none.

Out of town for the weekend, I ended up at a family friend's house, where a Super Bowl Party was set to be held on February 3rd, 2013. Football has never held a whole lot of interest for me, but a party is a party and I wasn't going to be a downer. So, mid-afternoon on February 2nd I hear about My Bloody Valentine (from some phone-text savvy music loving types back home) setting a release for a new full-length album at midnight. At first this seemed like a joke, as these beloved alt-rockers (a term beloved by all) had been "working on a new album" for most of my life, but no, this was true, and I was, seemingly, mere hours away from hearing new music from a longtime favorite band.

I don't go into new albums by "classic" bands expecting peak-period greatness. I also don't take it easy on them, as... well, Sonic Youth made Rather Ripped 25 years into their career, while in the same interval the Rolling Stones made Dirty Work (not a musical based on the influential, beloved, and revered film of the same name starring Norm Macdonald, but this); great work is possible with some effort. Mostly, though, I try to just take on any new album as just a collection of music and avoid the context of the artist's career for the first few listens. If a "legacy" artist delivers the goods, awesome, if they don't well, they still made some good records so, whatever. Life goes on. So, I wasn't trembling with anticipation for m b v, but I was certainly interested.

Every mystery of life is locked in this blurry image, we just have to KEEP STARING!!

But... I was with some friends that I never see, so a bar trip was in the cards for the evening of the release. Maybe one of these friends knew what a new My Bloody Valentine album meant to over-thinkers like myself, but it was not really a plausible excuse to cut out. And I didn't drive myself. So, 2 AM rolls around and, back at my weekend digs, I miss the already legendary website server crash of fans trying to download m b v at midnight, but early reviews are already making their rounds. I decided that I needed fresh ears to listen and wouldn't read any of the reviews, so this potential masterwork of alleged genius will wait until the morning. The morning... where my hosts are having people over for the Super Bowl, preceded by a blues jam by some of the parents and their friends. I'm finally starting to tremble, but it's a weird sort of anxiety that I'm not acting on the reality of something speculated on during some late-night Loveless listens with friends a few years back and less anticipation to hear new music. A ponytailed 50-something guitar player guy at this pre-Super Bowl blues jam finds me attempting to listen to some youtube streams of the first few songs on m b v through shitty laptop speakers and I don't think he thought I was listening to music. m b v would have to wait another day.

So, I've listened to it finally. It's good. Especially the last few tunes. It sounds like My Bloody Valentine, but also like they're working on some new ideas. It's not the most groin-grabbingly transcendent thing I've ever heard, but it went down easy and I'll listen to it again. There. I did it. Now I know I can wait til the vinyl edition is in stores in a few weeks... but, until then...

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Radar Bros. - "Eight"

I suppose you could say that a lot of my favorite music has a timeless quality to it, at least a post-1970 something timelessness. Bands that get caught up in trends in style or production generally don't age well, and there's nothing worse than a poorly aged band.
But sometimes there's nothing better.
The Los Angeles based (quin/sep not sure which number it is currently)-tet Radar Bros (originally conceived by leader Jim Putnam in 1993 as a Super Nintendo game that would combine Super Mario-esque adventures with thorough tutorials in aircraft detection techniques before a stern "what the hell are you thinking?" from friends) have released 7 albums of dreamy, melodic guitar driven music that has been consistently well crafted. At times there's a nice Jesus and Mary Chain-ish 80s college rock vibe, at others a less self-conscious Pavement-able off-kilter guitar jangle, but it never really feels like "throwback" music. (Can a band that's been around for 20 years make "throwback" music to 20 years ago in the first place? Isn't that just allowed by the terms of being a band for a certain period of time? Ask me later.) Anyhow, the fellas are back with Eight, released this week on Merge Records.
Eight is their seventh album and it contains eleven songs. That's a sentence that almost makes no sense. While it contains a generally dreamy vibe, the album doesn't just drift by as every song is distinct enough on its own terms. This record doesn't reinvent the idea of dreamy guitar rock, but even if a riff recalls something else (I kind of want to sing "Tiny Dancer" to closing song "Horse Down" but, Jim and the gang just have so many tasty harmonies and nice textures that I can't bring myself to do it!) the Brothers Radar know how to craft a good tune of their own around a standard chord progression. There are nice jolts of energy, particularly second song "Reflections," but by and large the tempo is moderate and the songs go down easy. My favorite of the moment is "Couch," which has a very organic band feel with call and response vocals, and a very hooky chorus that recalls, of all things, "Ride the Cliche" by Stone Temple Pilots. That's a good thing though, that's an STP song that doesn't sound like brain dead Sasquatch-rock or a sitcom theme (kind of their somewhat impressive yin/yang of sucking)... when they actually just wrote good songs. Don't worry about it though, just listen to "Couch." It rules.

Overall, Eight is a solid record and a nice addition to the catalog of Radar Bros. I'm not sure if they're doing much touring outside of California, and honestly they're not the most exciting band to see live, but Eight is definitely a nice record to put on the turntable and enjoy a night in.

And what an enjoyable night in it would be.


Get it from Merge - they deserve your business!