Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood “Black Pudding”

Coming pretty quickly on the heels of last year’s The Mark Lanegan Band’s Blues Funeral, Lanegan’s collaboration with English minimalist bluesman Duke Garwood, Black Pudding, completely deflates the wall of sound atmosphere that Blues Funeral wholeheartedly embraced. Blues Funeral, which featured Alain Johannes, Jack Irons, Josh Homme, as well as Duke Garwood (on a few tracks), thrived on leaving no sonic space unfilled. Black Pudding is comprised of almost nothing but space. That isn’t to say that the album is full of dead air. Rather, Garwood’s minimal playing, which still manages to say a great deal thematically, keeps the album’s sound simple. Lanegan’s Americana drenched voice scratches and scrapes nicely over top of Garwood’s threadbare arrangements creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a sultry, and slightly spooky, Faulknerian Deep South gothic. One can almost envision the floating dust motes highlighted by the yellow light seeping through the yellowed blinds of Miss Coldfield’s office as described in the opening paragraph of Absalom, Absalom! in tracks like “Death Rides a White Horse.” 

Alice In Chains "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" (Review)

Some said grunge died when Mudhoney released an album on Reprise Records. Some said grunge died with Kurt Cobain (or Layne Staley, or Andrew Wood). Still some others said grunge died when Chris Cornell cut his hair, and then Soundgarden broke up. It’s a good thing that grunge is already dead now that Jerry Cantrell has cut his hair, eh? Regardless of when “grunge died,” somebody forgot to tell the aforementioned Jerry Cantrell about the news. Reunited, reinvigorated, and most of all re-validated, Alice In Chains (with new member and co-singer William DuVall, and returning bassist MIke Inez and drummer Sean Kinney) are continuing the sludgy/grungy tradition of detuned guitar riffs, heavy bass and drums, and that overall melancholy saturated music that brought a smile to the face of many AIC fans, and is now doing so once again.  

Nine Inch Nails “Came Back Haunted”

During a relatively short sabbatical from his main musical project, upon which he scored two major films, won an Oscar, and released a full album and a half of material with his wife Mariqueen Maandig under the name How To Destroy Angels, Trent Reznor has resurrected Nine Inch Nails. A new single, a new full length album (due Sept. 3rd), and a planned North American Fall Tour all comprise the Industrial King of Darkness’ return. The first single off the new album, titled Hesitation Marks has debuted, and it’s everything long term NIN fans have come to expect and want from Reznor.

Garbage on The Tonight Show 12-7-12

Seems like the 90s music revival is continuing. Not only did Soundgarden get back together and release one of the best albums of the year this year, but Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage also dropped some fantastic new work on us. With bands like Silversun Pickups, Joy Formidable, and Tribes leading the 90s rock revivalism it's only fitting that these bands start showing up on the late night circuit.

Soundgarden: Been Away Too Long (Review)

"I've got nowhere to go since I got back," wails Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell on "Been Away Too Long," the lead single off of Soundgarden's first new album since 1996's Down on The Upside, but it appears that (finally) Soundgarden found somewhere to go. For the band, it's full steam ahead into the battle to reclaim hard rock from the awful likes of Nickleback and Three Days Grace. "Been Away Too Long" embodies everything that is good about Soundgarden's sonic stylings and makes the most of Kim Thayil's droning guitar sludge, Cornell's powerful vocals, Matt Cameron's inspired drumming (I'm still convinced he's the best drummer to emerge from the whole Seattle scene), and longtime bassist Ben Shepherd's thick bass lines. Finally, a high profile rock song worth listening to in the vein of 90s grunge has arrived. 

Muse: Madness (Review)

Muse's new album, The 2nd Law is due to drop on October 2nd this year, but three songs have already been released/teased off the new album. "Survival" was the official song of the London 2012 Olympic Games, "Unsustainable," a brilliant dub-step like song created through traditional drum, bass, and guitar is visible and audible all over the web, and "Maddness," the album's latest single is now available through iTunes as part of the new album's pre-order. Like nearly everything that Muse does, it will perennially be compared to whatever Radiohead does, but at this point Muse is light years ahead of Radiohead sonically.

Flea: Helen Burns (Review)

Red Hot Chili Peppers founding member and bassist, Flea, has put out an EP of music intended to help raise money for his Silverlake Conservatory of Music. At the Conservatory's website, Flea makes it very clear that the music contained herein is very much NOT like anything that the RHCP would make and release. He's definitely right on that account...in part. Helen Burns sounds like a mashup of progressive and, in some cases regressive, music that a music theory major would indulge in. (Flea attended music theory classes as USC over the past few years.) It's interesting, but nothing that you'll replay over and over like most RHCP songs.

Orbit: Libido Speedway (Retro-Review)

The best thing about late ‘90s rock was that it all vaguely sounded like early ‘90s rock, mostly Nirvana. The worst thing about late ‘90s rock was that it all vaguely sounded like early ‘90s rock, again mostly Nirvana. There were a few bands out there that formed around the same time (or 5 years or so later), but ended up getting caught up in the backlash that most grunge/’90s alt-rock purists unleashed against these bands for “ripping off Nirvana” though. One of these bands, that was pretty much on the receiving end of my scorn, was Orbit. A three piece comprised of fuzzy, distorted and feedback drenched guitar, bass, and drums from Boston, MA (home of The Pixies-Orbit’s main influence-and the band that Nirvana ripped off), Orbit would actually win me over with their one and only major modern rock hit, “Medicine.” It was one of those rare songs that I could just listen to over and over again without getting tired of. It still is…

Smashing Pumpkins: Oceania (Review)

A quasar is “among the most luminous, powerful, and energetic objects known in the universe.” So is the first song on The Smashing Pumpkins’ long awaited new album Oceania, the aptly titled “Quasar.” In fact, the entire album stakes a claim at being the most powerful and energetic sounding object of the decade, which suffered from a serious lack of good music in the loud and guitar driven alt-rock vein. At the outset of “Quasar” Billy Corgan boldly declares "God, right on!/Krishna, right on!/Mark, right on!/Yod He Vau He Om/Let's ride on!" alluding to some of the most recognizable metaphoric quasars ever believed in, prayed to, or relied upon along with some of his interest in the Christian, Hebraic, and Oriental mysticism that he’s allowed to bubble up to the surface of his songwriting recently. All the references though are towards powerful, beneficent, and powerfully uplifting and life changing entities, both esoteric and common. The music that Corgan wraps these ideas in beautifully brings these entities to life in a vivid, multi-textured, “luminous, powerful and energetic way” not just during “Quasar,” but throughout the album. Oceania is easily the best Smashing Pumpkins album since Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness, and those were two of the best alt-rock albums ever written and released. 

The Bombpops: Like I Care/Stole the TV (Review)

 

Playing loud, fast, and hard skate punk in the vein of early Bad Religion and The (late great) Soviettes, The Bombpops make some of the most infectious punk rock music with female vocals since…well The (late great) Soviettes. Frontwomen Jen Raz and Poli Van Dam not only thrash their six strings faster than most skate punk veterans, they sing better than most of them as well. With well-crafted and well-executed songs that you can bounce AND mosh to, their debut EPs Like I Care and Stole the TV will be looked back fondly upon one day as the hard core-ish humble beginnings of what just might be the next, hopefully long lived, great skate punk bands.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Covers (Review)

Culled from exclusive official bootleg releases, various B-Sides, and special tribute contributions spanning decades, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Covers is as fun to listen to as it is bittersweet. The EP contains Chili Pepper covers of “Teenager in Love” by Dion and The Belmonts, “Havana Affair” by The Ramones, “Search and Destroy” by The Stooges, “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (live)” by Neil Young, “I Get Around (live)” by The Beach Boys, and “Suffragette City” by David Bowie. The songs are fun because we get to hear all of these (some rarely available anywhere else) great covers in one place. The songs are bittersweet because on some of them, particularly “Teenager in Love,” which originally appeared as a B-Side to the “By The Way” single, John Frusciante’s voice and guitar playing is very evident. Nothing against their new guitar player, Josh Klinghoffer, who is great in his own right,  but the Chili Peppers were and always will be considered to be at their peak when Frusciante was in the fold.

Silversun Pickups: Neck of The Woods (Review)

Packed with the Silversun Pickups’ signature guitar sounds, which oscillate from warm and enveloping to darkly sinister, their new album Neck of The Woods, which is designed to expand their sound slightly, ends up simply giving us more of the same instead. If you’re a Silversun Pickup fan though, then this is right up your alley. I must confess that I am a fan, not in the least because of their unflinching nostalgic ‘90s sound. It’s a sound that is reminiscent of the band they are most oft compared to, The Smashing Pumpkins (another of my ‘90s favorites), but is unique enough to be their own. Produced by Jacknife Lee (U2, REM, Weezer), Neck of The Woods has a tighter and louder sound than both Carnavas and Swoon and dabbles in electronic beats and synths here and there, but the fuzzy, and at times pretty hard hitting, guitar work is still front and center, as it should be on a Silversun Pickups album.

Adam “MCA” Yauch 1964-2012: “Glad If It Helps Anyone Else Out Too”

Unlike most of those offering commentary on the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch, I can’t say that The Beastie Boy’s music changed my life, changed the way I listened to music, introduced me to a new musical genre, or changed my way of thinking. I can’t even say that The Beastie Boys are one of my favorite rap/rock/alternative groups of all time. I can’t say that I own every one of their albums. I do own the ones I like, namely Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and License to Ill (I own To The Five Boroughs too, but I don’t particularly like it). What I can say though is that I do like a large amount The Beastie Boys’ music, and MCA was my (and many others’) favorite member of The Beastie Boys. I know musical talent when I see it and hear it, and The Beastie Boys, MCA in particular, were just oozing talent. Their talent as musicians, rappers, and performers is paralleled only by the greatest of the popular music world’s most talented. They were groundbreakers and did introduce millions of kids and adults to a genre of music that they most likely knew nothing about, and in their later days, as lead by MCA, supported many just causes and introduced enlightening messages into their music via MCA’s interest in Tibetan Buddhism, the plight of Tibet, and other socially conscious ideas and movements. For such a great talent, and soul, to be laid low by such a common, yet no less horrific, disease at such a young age is truly one of the most sorrowful events that the music world can experience. Even more so, it is a sorrowful blow to the human spirit.

Marilyn Manson: Born Villain (Review)

I hated Marilyn Manson and his shtick for a long time. Mostly because it was over the top silly in an effort to be frightening, he showed his ass (literally) at the MTV Music Video Awards, and scores of pre-adolescent and early adolescent kids dressed up like him and his band and hung out at amusement parks as if they were doing something truly rebellious or revolutionary. His lyrics were of the garden variety “I hate myself and the world” and “I’m the antichrist” themes. Manson’s only redeeming quality was the way his music sounded, but it took Trent Reznor (Manson was a former NIN collaborator) to give it some sonic punch by turning up Manson’s guitars. I started warming to Manson’s music, and some of his message, when I heard “The Fight Song” off of Holy Wood (In the Valley of The Shadow of Death). Manson’s refrain “The death of one is a tragedy/The death of a million is just a statistic,” (I don’t know if he came up with that or not) really captured my attention. I finally found an excuse to justify my listening to Manson, after all, someone with that much anger must care about what’s going on in the world to rail against it so. Later on, I would be ashamed to admit that I really, really liked Golden Age of Grotesque. It wasn’t lyrically expansive or anything, but it did rock. Now comes along Manson’s eighth album, Born Villain, and I wondered how I would react to it…if I would react at all…

Soundgarden: Live to Rise (Review)

Original grunge pioneers Soundgarden are back with their first new music since 1997. Unfortunately, it’s only one song, and it’s for a mega Hollywood blockbuster’s soundtrack, but there’s no denying that “Live to Rise” is something that this Gen X’er has been dying to hear. So, without further ado…has the wait been worth it?

Garbage: Blood for Poppies (Review)

1990s alt rockers Garbage are back with the first release off of their highly anticipated album Not Your Kind of People (due May 15^th). Garbage is definitely not your kind of people (or music) if you like the regurgitated and processed pop, watered down trip hop, and formulaic rock that dominates Top 40 these days. Even though at their height (and introduction actually) Garbage wasn’t very alt anything and many decried legendary producer Butch Vig’s project as a watered down NIN rip off with a sexy and trashy sounding and looking alterna-chick for a front man (uh..woman), but then again who in the ‘90s wasn’t compared to Trent Reznor if they employed any type of electronic/industrial sound in their music? Garbage was one of the most unique sounding rock acts that hit the airwaves nearly twenty years ago, and still are today. In fact, no one sounds like them right now. Perhaps an injection of “NIN rip offs with a sexy chick singer” is just what “modern rock” needs.  

The Decemberists: We All Raise Our Voices to the Air (Live Songs 4.11-8.11) (Review)

The Decemberists, makers of rock and roll folk for English majors and inheritors of 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M.’s ageing fans, finally release their first live album. It’s a collection of songs played live during their 2011 tour and is comprised of a generous cross section of their work. Old classics flow well with new tracks. Their most recent release, The King is Dead, showcased their evolving sound’s affinity for old R.E.M. (Peter Buck guest guitar played on several tracks in fact), and growing interest in Appalachian and Americana sounds. In fact, their sound would so much conjure misty Appalachian coal mine hills that they would end up being one of the biggest names to contribute a track to The Hunger Games (Songs from District 12 and Beyond) Soundtrack. (Much of The Hunger Games takes place in Appalachia, the home region of its protagonist Katniss Everdeen). We All Raise Our Voices to the Air is a great snapshot of The Decemberists tight musicianship and solid live delivery of a swath of their songs whose intricate arrangements translate well to a live setting. 

Tribes: Baby (Review)

When the Tribes’ Johnny Lloyd sings “Oh no stranger you’re just like me, these things happen we were children in the mid 90’s” during “We Were Children” off of their debut album Baby, one gets the feeling that he ironically really means what he’s saying. If there is to be a full on re-visitation, but hopefully not a full on regurgitation, of 90s rock, there really could be worse bands than Tribes involved. Tribes appears to be destined to rise to the level of Silversun Pickups and The Joy Formidable, thusly forming a trio of the most high profile, and sonically appealing, bands that ape everything 1990s, yet somehow keep it fresh enough to not sound boring. Silversun Pickups got the Smashing Pumpkins covered. The Joy Formidable got everything from Hole to PJ Harvey covered. And while we’re still waiting on someone to step up and get the Alice in Chains thru Soundgarden section covered, Tribes seems to have everything else from Nirvana-lite to The Lemonheads under wraps. Oddly though, to anyone really paying any real attention to Tribes’ sound will discover that they really are just a more marketable version of Ash, Ireland and alt-rock’s most underrated and overlooked band of the past twenty years. Yes, they’ve been around just about that long, and it’s a shame that a band like Tribes, which cites their influence as The Pixies, Nirvana, and R.E.M. but really doesn’t sound like any of them, gets the credit for a sound that Ash has been pumping out for years. Oh well, that’s rock life, and there’s no point in bewailing it. Just remember, as great as Tribes are, and they are pretty great, there’re always others who came before and didn’t quite make it as big, but back to Tribes’ brilliant debut album, Baby…

St. Patrick’s Day Rock(s)

It’s that time of year again. St. Patrick’s Day is upon us and this year it’s on a Saturday. Always a great excuse for all of us to lay claim to that, however insignificant, Irish-Celtic heritage we all wish we had (if we don’t already), and drink gallons of Guinness, wear green, and rock out to some Irish tinged rock music. Two bands come to mind most specifically, to me at least, when I think of a suitable playlist for St. Paddy’s Day, even though these two are just a small sampling of all the great Irish or Celt-Rock bands out there. 

The Cranberries: Coming Up “Roses”

When I first heard The Cranberries, I wasn’t interested in them beyond their lead singer’s hotness and unique voice. Actually, I saw and heard them at the first time since my first exposure to them was the video for “Linger.” I was slogging through grunge at the time in my best pair of scuffed Doc Martens, and The Cranberries were just a little too light and poppy for my taste. A few years later, when I was slogging knee deep through my undergraduate double major of English and Political Science (with an emphasis on International Politics-the Balkan Wars were raging and Eastern Europe post-Soviet Bloc was an area of interest for me) I heard The Cranberries again (heard only this time) and became very interested in them, and not only in their lead singer’s hotness and unique voice, but her words as well. A pretty Irish girl singing about “a war in Russia and Sarajevo too,” the War Child, John Lennon, salvation, The Troubles (as international political scholars will recognize as the now settled Protestant/Catholic War in Northern Ireland) and being “Free to Decide?” Yeah, it wasn’t long before I developed a major crush on her, and The Cranberries, music in general. I was becoming educated enough, and mature enough, to understand that everything didn’t have to be screamed or growled through the microphone to rock. Good rock, and good alt-rock, didn’t have to wail all the time to be worthwhile.