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Although the songs from the recently released and excellent Andorra sounded less poppy and more experimental when mixed with older offerings, this was still a phenomenal live show complete with psychedelic flashing lights that made it feel like the UFO Club in 1966! Born Ruffians reminded me a lot of MODEST MOUSE and occasionally of TALKING HEADS as well despite the fact that I’ve seen numerous PIXIES comparisons. I just don’t hear it at all!
The only album this often overlooked band ever released; I’d never even heard it until a friend sent it to me recently. I’d only known their name from one of those Rhino D.I.Y. compilations as well as for the fact that THE DICKIES (some of whom were former roadies for The Quick) covered one of their songs. Nevertheless, while this album is heavily influenced by early SPARKS, it can be seen (along with ZOLAR X) as a bridge between the early ‘70s glam rock prevalent at RODNEY BINGENHEIMER’s English disco and the late ‘70s punk explosion that followed in its wake in Los Angeles. It also doesn’t hurt that these songs are catchy and the vocals really high, in the best power-pop way possible, enough that it makes ERIC CARMEN circa THE RASPBERRIES sound like BARRY WHITE on occasion.
After several albums of weird, atmospheric electronica, this is a pleasant and unexpected surprise given both how different it is from Caribou main man DAN SNAITH’s previous work as well as how good it is. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy his last album The Milk of Human Kindness, just that I’ve already played this far more and that I REALLY like this one a lot. This record is clearly inspired by the “sunshine pop” of the late ‘60s. THE ASSOCIATION, FREE DESIGN, and even THE BEACH BOYS have been thrown around as comparisons here, but what I hear even above comparisons to individual bands is a record rooted in 1967, the moment when things were still poppy, but the world (and even more mainstream groups) all seemed a little bit more psychedelic. As such, any of these songs could’ve been placed on Come to the Sunshine, Rhino Handmade’s collection of sunshine pop and soft-psych songs recorded between 1967 and 1969, or even on The Who Sell Out.
When KURT COBAIN asked this great band to open for NIRVANA on their In Utero tour, GREG SAGE and company turned him down. Furthermore, the album they made at the peak of post-grunge a few years later (1996) shows them not embracing the influence they had on later, more well-known bands from the Pacific Northwest, but instead just doing their own thing regardless of any trends. This is a mellower effort than any of their ‘80s albums, but like everything by The Wipers oh so good, and of course the guitar playing is top notch!
What a weird show. Unfortunately, singer RAMESH SRIVISTAVA was so sick that the normally energetic frontman had to sit on a stool for most of the set and when he stood, he clearly wasn’t into it. Plus, vocally he suffered too, but to his credit, he persevered and delivered the best show possible under the unforeseen circumstances. After the show, he had to go to the hospital to have emergency surgery for a staph infection in his leg. Fortunately, he’s OK now, though they had to cancel some Canadian tour dates.
So anyway, their set was abridged, but still good. The crowd energy was also dissipated, which is understandable, again given the circumstances.
As for the openers, THE 1990s were so-so but THE LITTLE ONES just about stole the show with their ARCADE FIRE meets NEW PORNOGRAPHERS brand of uplifting power-pop.
Jay Reatard’s live show is simply astonishing. He must’ve played about 15 songs in this barely over 20-minute set. I don’t know how Jay and his band keep it all together as they’re amazingly tight even as the songs are played about a million times faster than their recorded versions, with the bulk of the set taken from the excellent Blood Visions. Simply breathtaking!
I wrote about this great reissue last week, but since that week, I had a chance to watch the DVD that comes with it and much to my pleasant surprise, the footage is great. It contains five videos of songs from this reissue, and most surprisingly, the sound is incredible and the visuals aren’t bad, either, and that’s not even considering the great music here, too.
The third Sparks album and the one containing “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us,” the song that made them stars in the U.K.; I pulled this one out about listening to The Quick’s Mondo Deco (see entry #2 on this list) and yep, they definitely took a lot from it, but that’s no matter for me as I really like both of them.
After a few days of listening, I can confirm that this is yet another great Radiohead album, much like all of their releases except for their so-so first album Pablo Honey. Although they haven’t released an album for over four years before this one, they’re still on an amazing streak of five consecutive great albums. This one sounds a lot like its predecessor, Hail to the Thief, in that it’s experimental like Kid A and Amnesiac, but with more emphasis on guitar, bass, and drums than on electronics. My favorite track is “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” but all of it is worthwhile. And yes, we bought the box set.
I revisited this great double album compilation/soundtrack a few days ago thanks to this site.
