After the fantastic Volume Four (his best studio album in almost two decades) back in 2003, Joe comes back from a five-year silence with another terrific album, though a fundamentally different one from its predecessor. Instead of harking back to his first three albums, this one reminds me more of his early ‘80s albums like Night and Day and Body of Soul. Much more piano-heavy than its predecessor, this one also reminds me of the live album Summer in the City, which showcased Joe leading a trio with GRAHAM MABY on bass and GARY BURKE on drums. Maby, his long-time bassist, returns here, but instead of Burke, DAVE HOUGHTON returns on drums (he also played on Volume Four along with Maby and guitarist GARY SANFORD, who is absent here). Lyrically, much of it seems to deal with love and loss. His move from New York City to Berlin also seems to have inspired him as well with his new hometown given a shout-out in one of the songs.
Yes, what you’ve read is true. STEPHIN MERRITT loves THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN (and in particular Psychocandy) and on this album, he isn’t afraid to show it. I really didn’t expect this kind of noise-pop record from him, but it’s a treat nonetheless. Even at this very early juncture, this may very well end up as one of my favorites of the year.
This came out in October, but I didn’t know about it until a few weeks ago, so I promptly ordered it as The Undertones are one of my all-time favorites. How did I miss this? Anyway this album is another corker and the second consecutive great record they’ve made since their surprising reunion (with new singer PAUL MCLOONE) at the turn of the century. It’s very much in the spirit of their first two records as well as 2003’s Get What You Need, though “Fight My Corner” nods towards principal songwriter JOHN O’NEILL’s post-Undertones band THAT PETROL EMOTION (which also included his brother DAMIAN O’NEILL, also The Undertones’ lead guitar player) and there’s even a piano ballad here, but otherwise this is the band’s trademark, ultra-melodic and speedy assault on the senses.
This was my first time seeing current Juno soundtrack star (and former Moldy Peaches member) Kimya Dawson and it was spectacular. Playing a beautiful, small room with perfect sound (which she commented on) and with the mostly teenage audience sitting down and paying rapt attention to her every word (so much for the notion that kids have short attention spans these days; not!), she played an excellent set featuring songs from her five solo albums and a forthcoming album of songs for babies.
Angelo Spencer, a one-man band (he sang, played guitar and pounded on a bass drum with his foot) in the style of HASIL ADKINS (whom he name-checked during one song), played before Kimya. Though his set was marred with technical difficulties and he played half of it with one string missing on his guitar, he won me over by the end of it.
I have to admit that before I saw the movie Juno, I never really listened to The Moldy Peaches, though I’d liked the few songs I’d heard over the years. After enjoying the KIMYA DAWSON solo tracks peppered throughout the movie, I decided to check this album out and I’m in love with it. Yes, it’s sloppy, crude (both lyrically and musically) and amateurish, but somehow, it all works with the sweet harmonies and pop sensibilities of Dawson and ADAM GREEN belying the (very funny) toilet humor of songs like “Downloading Porn with Davo” or “Who’s Got the Crack”?
Her latest solo album from 2006 is my first foray into Kimya’s solo career and boy is it excellent. Armed with a child-like voice and an acoustic guitar, she transcends labels like “inde-pop” and “twee”, her humanity and zest for lie showing through on almost every track. The most affecting track here is “12/26”, about the catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami that happened on that date in 2004.
From the 1982 album Angst in My Pants and more memorably, the soundtrack to the movie Valley Girl (where it was featured in one of the more memorable scenes), this has long been one of my favorite songs by this long-running duo. Not only is it catchy and lyrically witty, but it’s a bit of a throwback to their awesome mid ‘70s records (though singer RUSSELL MAEL doesn’t use his mind-bending falsetto nearly as liberally here) complete with GARY GLITTER-like drumming and a big, catchy chorus.
This an excellent documentary about this legendary Chicago band that also features an accompanying CD with tracks from two reunion shows from 2006, including their performance at Riot Fest that year. The documentary starts off in the early, heady days of the Chicago punk scene in the early 80s and features commentary by scene luminaries like STEVE ALBINI and JOHN KEZDY of THE EFFIGIES along with plenty of footage of the current band members themselves. Interspersed among the story are performances from Riot Fest where they perform song from the particular album or era being discussed during that time. The performance and the video and audio quality are both excellent, though at times I wish that Riot Fest was mentioned less frequently as it feels a bit like an advertisement after a while. Nevertheless, this is essential for any Naked Raygun fan.
After I found out about the passing of Monks guitarist DAVE DAY, I played this and boy is it a corker! Although I listen more to Black Monk Time, this is well worth hearing for any fan who only knows the album versions of these songs. If you can imagine, they’re even rawer, looser and more biting than the album versions and this set also features a few songs that didn’t make it onto the album. Unfortunately, this set is out-of-print and expensive, so if you see it, snap it up!
Although I’ve long had the great Sink with Californija collection (which includes the more well-known version of their landmark Sound and Fury Lp and some live tracks) and a bootleg 7” that features five of the tracks here, I just picked this up the other day and it’s nice to finally have just about everything else (except the compilation tracks) that the ‘80s incarnation of Youth Brigade recorded in one place. Not only does it features all 12 tracks that were originally intended for Sound and Fury (only 800 copies of this album were made, making it a valuable collectors’ item in punk circles to this day), but you also get the underrated “What Price Happiness” 7” and a 1993 re-recording of their cover of “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight” (no doubt they were covering the version by THE REZILLOS, which was a cover of a JEREMY SPENCER-penned FLEETWOOD MAC tune releases under the pseudonym of EARL VINCE AND THE VALIANTS).
