The Key Party - Hit Or Miss

The Key Party's Darren Gaines gave me full permission to use his CD as a coaster if I found that it doesn't meet my pretentious rock snob standards. Well, he needn't worry because it looks like the beer I'll be drinking while listening to this release shall continue to make permanent circle stains on my living room table. "Hit Or Miss" is definitely a hit for me as it cranks out 15 tracks of Waits-ian lo-fi gutter rock, stripped back and fully believable. The song "Born Permanently Cool," besides having the best title ever, has a slight junkyard rockabilly feel to it. "Police KMD" contains a unique "sung through a megaphone" harmony, which makes it a delightfully disordered yelpfest. And "To Begin Again" is a moving almost-ballad with a hooky chorus and a slight grunge-style single guitar riff that ends the album off nicely. The latter song has already received a fair bit of recognition on American college radio. Throughout the CD, you'll find that Darren sings of heartbreak and unemployment with complete conviction and you'll truly believe that he has the full authority to do so. There is no posing here, no fakery. Overall, this is a very fun, yet poetic release that will surely satisfy fans of Scott McCaughey, John Prine or the aforementioned Tom Waits.

Downloads:
Born Permanently Cool mp3
To Begin Again mp3

Visit The Key Party on myspace
Purchase "Hit Or Miss" at CD Baby.com

Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger

Basically, Ryan Adams is a freak. I mean that as a compliment. I really do. He releases way too much material, his albums are all too long, but miraculously, just about everything he does is great. I can literally count on ten fingers anything that I would consider mediocre by the man. Most critics would likely disagree but let me explain. First of all, it should be noted that much of his stuff does take getting used to. Usually when I listen to one of his new releases, I immediately like about a third of the songs and I consider the rest to be filler. The reasons for this however, can simply be chalked up to a simple case of Ryan overload. When listening to all of these songs together, some of them do start to blend in to one another. The A.D.D. kicks in and the mind starts to wander. But then several months later, I'll have the old ipod on shuffle, and one of the "filler" cuts will play. It almost always outshines whatever else I happened to be listening to prior during the day. Yes, Ryan Adams has a gift. He just tends to lack a little discernment, that's all. As of right now, "Easy Tiger," released today, has about 5 or 6 solid cuts on it. I won't run down the whole list, but I will say that it gets better as it plays on. The first two songs do very little for me, but beginning with track three, Adams' impeccable songwriting and melody-making is here in full force. The album has a bit of everything: heavy rockers, classic country, mild Americana, and some stellar singer-songwriter material. One word of caution, this one is being promoted quite heavily, moreso than usual, and the heavily promoted track is the truly boring song "Two", which has Sheryl Crow singing along. It basically sound like, well a Sheryl Crow song. Yawn! Don't judge the whole CD based on this song, because it really is quite good. Like some of his albums, this review is starting to run on way too long. So I'll stop. Now.

Download:
Everybody Knows mp3

Ryan Adams on myspace
Purchase "Easy Tiger" on Amazon.ca

Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere

I think I had set my expectations a little bit too high for the new Apostle of Hustle release, entitled “National Anthem of Nowhere.” Not that it’s a bad album. On the contrary, it’s actually quite excellent. However, I had only heard the first two songs, and they are undeniably great. The first song “My Sword Hand’s Anger” is still heavily steeped in rhythm, much like many of the songs on the Apostle’s previous release “Folkloric Feel”, but it’s a little bit more pop oriented and accessible. The second song which is the title track of the album, has been test driven at a few BSS shows, and it’s far and away the best track on the album. It has a slightly epic feel which is enhanced by the always powerful BSS percussion style. From there on, the album goes in a slightly different direction than I was anticipating. I guess I was hoping for another Broken Social release under a different name. However, this album is definitely an Apostle of Hustle album, which is still a good thing. What’s remarkable about Andrew Whiteman’s Apostle project is that this music is designed to grow on you. It’s a little bit strange, it sounds like nothing else out there. In a way, Andrew is somewhat inventing his own style. He draws influences from his other projects as well as many Latin influences. The song “Rafaga!” is based on a poem by Frederico Garcia Lorca, and is sung completely in Spanish. The song “Haul Away” was inspired by some sort of word game that he was playing with Feist. Another standout for me is “Cheap Like Sebastien” a decent little number, that has the privilege of vocal additions by Lisa Lobsinger. I think the song deals a bit with privacy, and coping with the decision on what to keep private, and what to make known. Lyrically, this album truly is a step up for Whiteman, with many of the lyrics being abstract enough so as not to be too obvious, but still logical enough to be open to various forms of interpretation. In many ways, this is a thinking man’s release which is why it may take a few listens to fully appreciate.

Apostle of Hustle is playing Lula Lounge on May 18^th.

Download:
My Sword Hand’s Anger mp3
National Anthem Of Nowhere mp3

Visit Apostle of Hustle on myspace
Purchase “National Anthem of Nowhere” on Amazon.ca

Dean & Britta - Back Numbers

So I’m stuck inside on a beautiful day because I’ve been struck with the Pink Eye, and apparently anyone within a 50 mile radius of myself is likely to disintegrate on the spot. In fact, simply reading any of my posts will make you susceptible. However, I’ll soldier forth with my blog. Thankfully, I finally got around to purchasing the latest release by former Luna members Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, “Back Numbers.” This is the perfect CD when you’re in a melancholic mood. Although it doesn’t stray all that far from the Dean’s previous work, it does give Britta more substantial vocal time which makes this much more of a standout release. The original songs on the album were again learned from the classes of the Velvet Underground, although with slightly better production. The song “Words You Used To Say,” for example, is rooted deep in Phil Spector wall-of-sound-land. At the risk of comparing them to everybody, I also think they sound a bit like Serge Gainsbourg, only in English. There’s a definite French pop-noir style to their sound, especially with the inclusion of the vibraphone on many of their tracks. The disc also includes a handful of covers, which is fine because they were obviously carefully chosen. The best of these is the Lee Hazlewood / Ann-Margret classic “You Turned My Head Around,” which really showcases Britta’s tremendous vocal talent. This is definitely a disc for a rainy day … or a sunny day when you’re stuck inside with a potentially deadly eye virus.

Downloads:
Words You Used To Say mp3

Watch the video for “Words You Used Say" on youtube.
Visit the Dean & Britta myspace page.
Purchase “Back Numbers” on Amazon.ca

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

There has been an awful lot of anticipation over Modest Mouse’s new CD “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.” The reason of course is that indie rock legend and former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is now an official member of the band. When I first heard that, my feelings were mixed to say the least. The Smiths, of course, are one of my favourite bands of all time. Modest Mouse, on the other hand, I’ve never really understood. It’s not that I dislike them, it’s just that while many of my peers feel that they’re the saviors of indie rock, my feelings have always been more, well, modest. I do like a lot of their music, but they are flawed in many ways as far as I’m concerned. Still, I am mildly fond of the “The Moon And Antarctica”, and songs like “Space Travel Is Boring” are fantastic. But I never ever ever have to hear “Float On” again for as long as I live. So how do I feel about the new one?

It’s pretty good. The first song “March Into The Sea” is very energetic, and while Isaac Brock’s voice usually gives me a migraine, I actually found his maniacal cackle to be somewhat amusing on this one. Many people are referring to “Dashboard” as this album’s “Float On”, but I think “Dashboard” is a significantly stronger single. The tracks that appeal to me the most are “Spitting Venom” and “Parting Of The Sensory.” “Parting…” has James Mercer of The Shins lending his vocal talents, and “Spitting…” is classic epic MM, 8 minutes of fevered intensity. To be honest, I can’t say that I really hear Johnny Marr’s influence all that much on this album. In the past, I always thought that he had a very unique style to his playing, but this CD doesn’t sound all that different than MM’s past releases. I suppose it’s a little bit more upbeat than fans of the Mouse are accustomed to, and that may be a result of Marr’s influence. But overall, the things that I enjoy about MM are still there and the usual complaints are still there too. The CD’s way too long as usual and Brock’s voice does grate on me after awhile. However, the “it’s not you, it’s me” adage can certainly be applied to my relationship with this band. Regardless of my personal views, the talent they possess cannot be denied, and I think we’ll be seeing this album on many a “best of 2007” list come year-end.

Modest Mouse will be at the Hummingbird Centre on April 24^th.

Downloads:
March Into The Sea mp3
Dashboard mp3

Visit Modest Mouse on myspace.
Purchase “We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank” on Amazon.ca