Calexico "Feast of Wire" CD
One thing you'll notice about me is that i'll hand out alot of 100 percent and rave reviews. I'm a music fan, first and foremost, and I buy most of the albums that I review. That being said, I have remained ignorent to the brilliance of Calexico all these years. Yes, i'll admit it: until Joey Burns and John Convertino started working with the excellent Neko Case, I thought that they were some crappy indie band. How wrong I was, as Calexico seamlessly integrate the sounds of their native Arizona climate- the sparse sounds of the desert, and other sonic touches. As a matter of fact, "Feast of Wire" is practically the soundtrack to driving through the desert, with it's alternately sparse and not so sparse moments. This is one of those hard to describe discs, but i'll attempt. 'Ya got some country tinged songs with accordion ("Sunken Waltz", "Across the Wire"). 'Ya got some flemenco/spanish stuff ("Dub Latina", "Guero Canelo", "Close Behind"). 'Ya got some stuff that Angelo Badalamenti wish that he wrote ("Black Heart", with the creepy string section). You got pop songs like "Not Even Stevie Nicks", and the uncatagorizable "Attack El Robot! Attack!". Then there's the jazzy "Crumble", and the Dirty Three-ish loose jazz feel of "No Doze". And after all that, there's the album's stunning short epic, "The Book and the Canal", with it's baroque piano and cello touches. One of this year's best discs, regardless of genre (or in this case, lack of genre......).
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Punch Out
(Quarterstick)

Cracker "Countrysides"
This album is a riot; a nine song blast of fun. Mainly a covers album, they do country/ roots/ folk songs from everybody from Hank Williams (Jr.), to Merle Haggard, to Bruce Springsteen (!?), to Dwight Yoakam (!!??). And as a matter of fact, it's the odd choice of artists that they cover here that only lends to the brilliance and roots rock defiance that Cracker have pioneered over the last decade. Admittedly, I haven't heard a few of the original songs, but they are no doubt imbued and improved with Cracker's wit and way with a hook. Merle Haggard's "The Bottle Let Me Down" receives an intentional slurred vocal line, and Hank Williams Jr.'s "Family Tradition" is an unapologetic look at the families' history of underachieving. But the true gems of this thang is the cover of Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers" (if you ain't singing along, you're no fun), and the lone original song on the album, "Ain't Gonna Suck Itself", a scathing rant against the band's former label, Virgin records. Another neat touch is singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman's vocal tradeoffs on "Reasons To Quit", another Haggard cover. And once again, the best asset of the Cracker sound is the humour and injokes (every album has an in-joke, and this one seems to be the phrase "winged lizards"). Throw it on, down a shot (or ten) of whiskey, and invite all your rowdy friends over tonight, punk.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Deadly Duck
(IMusic)

Danko Jones, "We Sweat Blood" CD
"When the revolution comes, i'm gonna leave you for dead" (from the song "Home To Hell") perfectly sums up the attitude of this record. While this disc, the band's second in two years, has been getting some flak from longtime fans for whatever reason, the fact remains that this is easily one of this year's best rock n' roll discs. Danko Jones still sounds like no one but himself, and that's a much welcomed relief in this age of cookie cutter FM radio drivel. This whole thing is solid, even in it's weakest moment, the opening cut, "Forget My Name". Highlights are "I Love Living in the City", with it's War-like "Low Rider" cowbell n' strut boogie, "Heartbreak's a Blessing", "Hot Damn Woman", and "The Cross". And although Danko's philosophy has never strayed too far from his basic rock n' roll formula, the weird bass counterpart note in the chorus of "Love Travel", along with the eerie vocal echo, is something that wouldn't have been heard on previous albums. There's not much deviation from the winning Danko Jones formula- Danko's cocky Jon Spencer meets James Brown vocal delivery, Damon Richardson's excellent drumming, and JC's fuzz bass. But if I do have a complaint, it's with the bass sound, as JC's fuzz is pushed back, from it's usually more urgent, vital position. But this album is a decidedly more streamlined, arena rock ready sounding album, from the production, to the songs--which are, to date, Danko's most aggressive offerings. And the more arena friendly sound makes perfect sense, as Danko's performed opening duties on a recent Rolling Stones gig. As a bonus, Dregen (Backyard Babies, ex-Hellacopters guitarist), even guests on backing vocals for "Strut". Some bands get weaker and tame with age, but not Danko. If he ever gets that proverbial "woman", we'd better slap some sense into him, 'cause he'd never be the same. Alas, this came out in late September/ early October, baby, which is too bad, 'cause this is a summer album, meant to be blasting outta some bitchin' muscle car.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Death Race
(Universal)

Dead Kennedys "Mutiny on the Bay" Live CD & "Frankenchrist" CD
I would certainly be even more excited to hear a remastered reissue of the classic Dead Kennedys material and a live disc if there wasn't so much bad blood between Jello Biafra and the rest of the band. It's been ugly and kind of sad to read the back and forth between the parties, and as a fan, I don't really know what to think. The Dead Kennedys inspired me so much during my formative years that they were held up to a higher standard in my mind. That's not really fair, but I think it's typical for most fans. You might be asking, "how does it all sound?" Well, Mutiny On The Bay is probably the most recent, and best, chance you have of hearing a live recording of The Dead Kennedys in their original lineup -- short of a bootleg or video. The songs are as powerful live as they are on album. The music sounds fantastic. Jello's complaint that the performance is not up-to-snuff is understandable. His voice fades away on some songs, and during some parts, his vocals are more of an afterthought to the insane crowd interaction that is probably going on during the concert. I can see where he might cringe if he's listening to some of the album, but overall it's a really good performance. A DKs fan won't mind ignoring these slight vocal flubs at all. That being said, it's definitely not a starting point for a kid who wants to check out this legendary band. "Frankenchrist" on the other hand, is the first album I ever heard by Dead Kennedys, and it's the release that first made me a drooling, 12 year-old fanatic. It is still what I would think of as the definitive album by Dead Kennedys (and Plastic Surgery Disasters on other days) I can definitely tell the difference in sound between my old copy and this new one. The reissue is a lot more clean and crisp, but over the years I sort of grew accustomed to the gritter sound, so it's a draw on which one I like more. Either way it sounds great. The songs are still amazing. Absolutely brutal, intense, dark, thought-provoking, funny and sarcastic. My favorite DKs song "This Could Be Anywhere" sends the hair on your arms straight up. "MTV Get Off the Air" is even more important today than it was back in 85 (I wonder how many other reviews make that statement. I can't help it if it's true!). And I still love singing along to "Stars And Stripes of Corruption." That song was like a manifesto for me back in junior high. I seriously thought that those lyrics by Jello could solve all the world's problems. I guess they would if everyone believed them as much as I did back then. One of the greatest lines in that song is the one about "not lying so much and treating each other like dirt." I think I would feel good if everyone took that one to heart -- including everyone involved in the ongoing DKs controversy.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Pitfall
(Manifesto)

The Dirty Knees "Aural Sensations" CD EP
The Dirty Knees are a sort of New Jersey garage supergroup that includes Bob Wojciechowski from The Insomniacs and Shaggy who used to play in Swingin' Neckbreakers. The best way I can describe it is that it takes the power and swagger of the Swingin' Neckbreakers and matches it with a bit of the mod-pop sound that you got from The Insomniacs. From what I've been able to learn about these guys, they only play covers. So it makes sense that they take on the characteristics of their source material, and boy do these boys have excellent taste! This short but sweet release has only begun to whet my appetite for these guys. On this EP you get a version of "Doctor Rock" by the Apple. "Go Go Children" by the Richard Kent Style, "Thing In E" by Savage Resurrection, "Drinkin' Muddy Water" by Yardbirds and finally, "Gone" by Paul Revere and the Raiders. My own personal favorites are "Go Go Children," which is a sassy mod stomper and "Thing In E," a marvelous driving psych tune. "Gone" sounds great too. Fuck, the whole thing sounds great. You should just pick it up.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Q*Bert
(Umbrella Records -- PO Box 666 Englishtown, NJ 07736)

Exploding Hearts "Guitar Romantic" CD
I wasn't terribly familiar with the Exploding Hearts when I heard about the tragic van accident that destroyed the band, and took the lives of several members. Even so, I was still extremely saddened by the news. Those guys were out on the road, which is one of the most fun things a band can do, and anyone can relate to how tragic it is that these guys, who were slowly and surely winning people over across the country, were taken way too soon. My own band was on the way to Minneapolis when I first heard the Exploding Hearts on a boom box in the van. It was a very noisy environment and you couldn't really hear what was going on. All I could pick up were some vague melodies and guitar chords. Everything sounds pretty similar when it's muddled together with the noise of a roaring engine. Nevertheless, I decided that they were OK. Troy, our guitar player, loved them and he has good taste. I decided I would check them out again. I wouldn't check them out again until this Halloween. Troy was playing them in our practice spot as we were loading up the van again. I couldn't believe how catchy this rumbling, poppy rock and roll sounded. The first song, Modern Kicks, was immediately lodged in my head forever. I asked Troy who it was and he told me it was the Exploding Hearts. I didn't recognize any of it in any way from that trip to Minneapolis. This sounded like some kind of bubblegum Teengenerate or something. Now that I have this amazing album. I'm converted! It sports a swampy mix of sickeningly catchy mix of Parasites style pop punk and good old fashioned rock and roll. These guys are truly superb and I'm disappointed that I happened upon it after the party ended. If you haven't heard them yet, you should seek "Guitar Romantic" out. I think music fans will continue to find this album as they would any other rock classic that's been obscured by time and memory. They'll love it, and wish the Hearts could have stayed out of harm's way for just a little while longer.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Time Pilot
(Dirtnap Records)

The Go "S/T" CD
This album is fucking great. Each song really deserves its own review, because each song is so different from the next, but I don’t really want to get into that. To the passing fan, this album is going to sound like a big change. If you’ve seriously listened to The GO’s Sub Pop debut and familiarized yourself with the ingredients of their songs as much as I have (like flipping the record over again and again for hours, taping it so you can play it in the car, playing it for your friends, etc.), this newer album won’t sound like a drastic departure from their original, more aggressive material. These guys are definitely stretching the legs a bit, trying something new. But the basics that make these guys such a great band are still there. The first two songs are classic GO – with big, fuzzed out, 70s riffs and powerful-yet-surprisingly-laid-back vocals. Then they surprise you with American Pig, which is a shiny, clean, produced number. It’s not a bad fit for them but it does sound a bit more restrained than the rest of the album. They take this approach again on “Hardened Heart Blues” and get the superior results, combining a massive Steppenwolf by way of Troggs guitar sound with some slide guitar for a surprisingly catchy hybrid rock/country anthem. They give a nod to T-Rex with “Blue Eyes Woman” and they do a fantastic job of it. Songs like “Games” and “You Can Rock & Roll” combine the influence of their 60s and 70s Detroit brethren (MC5, Stooges, etc.) with what I could only call a bit of “End Of the Century” Ramones. I’m doing a lot of name-dropping here on The GO’s behalf, which is probably a bit annoying to a band as good as this, but pretty adjectives can only take you so far. They do manage to transcend their range of influence and sound like their own band. They just choose to build on a very-deep rock heritage. I think that’s a smart thing to do when it turns out this great. “Summer’s Gonna Be My Girl” is my favorite track, where The GO break out some uncouth, stripped-down, smoked-out, R&B basement sleaze. A close second has to go to “He’s Been Lying,” which takes the band into some soulful white-boy blues. You can almost smell the whiskey and cigarettes on the table, and feel a lump of longing in your stomach. When the album comes to an end, they unleash “I Got It,” which sounds like it could have been an outtake from their first album. Then they include a goofy little British-folk tune as a hidden track.

You can probably tell by the song titles that this isn’t deep stuff. It’s classic rock and roll music about having a good time, keeping the females happy, getting a little polluted and just turning up the volume. To me, that’s the best you can ask for in a rock band. This is on my “best of the year” list, and it’s definitely worth dropping the $20 or more on an import release. I wish like hell that I could see these guys with The Dirtbombs this week in Minneapolis.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: River City Ransom
(Lizard King)

Housebreaker "Greatest Hits Volume One" CD The other night, my band was playing a show with some other local bands and a band from Minneapolis. This fellow comes up to me and asks me about Les Dirty Frenchmen, I give him the lowdown, and he hands me a copy of this CD by his own band Housebreaker. I'm surprised I've never heard of them, because this is copyrighted 1998 and it's pretty damn good. Even though this is an older disc, I thought it deserved some attention. It's mostly mid-tempo punk rock with that takes some bizarre twists and turns. It recreates the good old days of SST records to me. In fact, this sounds a band made up of the bastard offspring of Firehose, and to a much lesser extent, the Descendents. The vocals sound a lot like Ed fROMOHIO. It's probably an acquired taste if you like your rock and roll as basic as possible, but if you get into something different from time to time, you're going to like Housebreaker. I wonder how these guys have evolved in 5 years?
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Rush N' Attack
(Mother of All Music -- PO Box 582033, MPLS, MN 55458-2033)

Jet City Fix, "Play To Kill" CD
This is a solid arena rock n' roll record, that has some cool songs like "Invisible," "Jet City's Rockin'", "The Fix" and "Fire It Up", with good backing vocals. The production is crunchy and clear, with every instrument receiving a democracy in the mix, although the vocals are maybe lower than they should be. One downside to the album is that it suffers from a couple of songs that veer too close to pop punk for my liking in "Dumb Luck" and "Drowning". That's not the real big contention as much as the fact that those songs are sequenced as songs 2 and 3 on the album, when, to me, they should be later on in the album. It might prove as a likely catalyst for some people not really getting accustomed to the record's more energetic rock n' roll vibe that's unfortunately sequenced later on in the record. Remember, wheat first--chaff later. Vocalist Shane Flauding has a voice that's perfectly suited to the edgy material, but depending on which camp you reside in, he reminds you of Buckcherry's singer Josh Todd and that's either: A) a good thing, or B) a bad thing My vote's on "a", although on "The Life", he sounds like a dead ringer for Todd, and seeing as the Jet City Fix boys are going on tour with Josh Todd lately, the identical sound might work for or against them. All in all, it's a solid, maybe slightly inconsistent debut from a band that has enough discipline to release a self produced album that's this catchy and rockin'. As an added bonus, the cover of the Wildhearts' "Sick Of Drugs" is one of my favorite songs right now. For those of you who love bands like Lit, and need that void of Buckcherry filled in their life, you'll probably dig this.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Mega Force
(King Bee/ Infect Records)

Legendary Shack Shakers "Cockadoodledon't" CD
Basically the brainchild of Col. JD Wilkes and JoeBuck (with musicians added later), this has gotta be THE (and quote me on that) THE best release of this genre this year, the sorta twisted roots rock invasion. But whereas alot of roots rock bands stick to a more traditional formula, the Legendary Shack Shakers stand out in this field because they add an insane edge to alot of the songs. Whereas some of their songs are more traditional, like "CB Song", the twangin' banjo of "Clodhopper", or "Hunkerdown", songs like "Bullfrog Blues", "Wild Wild Lover", and "Hoptown Jailbreak" all shake with intensity, and country punk rock attitude. Col. JD Wilkes' vocal delivery, that ranges from Hank Williams one moment, to Iggy Pop screaming in the next note, is the thing that really elevates the whole performance to chaotic (and i'll invent this term), "insane-abilly". Their cover of Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips", with it's rabid, reckless abandon, virtually obliterates the Rolling Stones' version by the time that it kicks into the chorus. The gratuitous and sleazy use of harmonica on this album is another thing that puts this thing into the red (note to self: music needs more harmonica....). The ultimate test of an album is whether you can adhere to the speed limit while the music's on, and I just couldn't stay within the speed limits while this thing was on. Laws and ears be damned.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Barnstorming
(Bloodshot)

Monkey House "Monkey Pox Mixes -- Disque De Musique 2" 3" CD/EP
As expected, volume 2 of Monkey Pox Mixes hits the street. This is another really short release -- under 15 minutes, but it's definitely as bizarre as the first. According to the member of Monkey House known as Monkeyhouse West, Roger at Coach and 6 organized this as a musical secret santa of sorts. The project started on a 4 track tape player by four different individuals who were working with no knowledge of who the other members in the project were. Each member made a tape and then they swapped periodically until everyone had sufficiently fucked with each original tape. So this is the second batch of tunes from the four resulting tapes. It's an odd assembly of crazy sounds, samples, various instruments (guitar, saxophone, piano), and weird vocals. The longest song "Re: Mercy 13" is a very catchy, spaced-out pop song. probably my favorite so far. This might not be rock but it's just different enough to work really well.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Thunder Blade
(Coach and 6)

The Mummies "Death By Unga Bunga" CD
Two initial thoughts: I love this CD -- as anyone should. I am, however, a little disappointed. It's for different reasons than you'd imagine. The music is grade-A, #1 select Mummies-mania in a beautiful little CD package. The only problem? I NEED to be able to play this disc at work. I think I'll blame it on the hidden bonus track, but this CD does not work in my computer at work! The damn thing won't play. The Mummies are one of my favorite bands, but I'm always too lazy to copy my vinyl to CD, and my tapes just get lost or copied over with something else. I was really excited to own a Mummies CD for the sole purpose of having an easy-to-transport format to bring to work. Unfortunately, I just pop my music into the computer disc drive when I'm working. I proudly walked into the office with the other corporate drones, my Mummies CD in tow. I shoved this disc in my CD drive and wham-o! Nothing happened. It works fine on every other player I've tried so I'll probably just need to buy a new cheapo CD player to keep at my desk. Bitching aside, The Mummies "Death By Unga Bunga" is packed with shabbily-wrapped nuggets of pure garage-punk genius. Most of it appears elsewhere in some way, shape or form (my ears aren't sophisticated enough to tell you whether these are alternate takes, or remastered copies of the originals and I'm not THAT big of a music geek anyway). Even if you own every Mummies vinyl ever released, you can't pass up a collection that is this stellar. Included are amazing Mummies hits like "Food, Sickles & Girls," "I'm bigger than you," "(I should better be Lookin' For) Dangerman" "I'm gonna Kill My Baby Tonight," "(You Must Fight To Live) On the Planet of the Apes" and "Zip A Dee Doo Dah." Each one of those songs are reason enough to buy this disc. Since it compiles so many classic Mummies songs in one place, this is a perfect addition to your existing Mummies collection, and it is a great starting point (and an absolute MUST HAVE) if you have never heard the Mummies before. Plus there is a real-live hidden track (an alternate take of "Just One More Dance").
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Riddle of the Sphinx
(Estrus)

Riverboat Gamblers "Something To Crow About" CD
Before this, i'd never heard the Riverboat Gamblers, but this disc perked my ears up in a way that few trashy rock n' roll bands do. These guys have such a great bravado and confidence, that one can only imagine that they are way better live. However, that don't mean to demean the efforts of these boys on record, with perfect production from the legendary Tim Kerr. The best thing about this band is that no matter how rockin' it gets, there's always a great singalong chorus, as evidenced in songs like "Save You", "Icewater", "Rattle Me Bones", or "Last To Know". It's nice to know that a great Ramones-Misfits style chorus is always just around the corner. As an unexpected turn, album closer "Lottie Mae" is a beee-yooo-tee-ful song, a sorta 50's tinged prom song, which shows that the band can pull off a slower song, and has the smarts to put it to the end of a rock n' roll album, not in the middle, or beginning.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Ultimate Muscle
(Gearhead Records)

The Sirens "Chez Maximes, Glycerine Queen, Gudbuy T'Jane" 7"
It must be that time of year for cover bands. These new queens of glam turn in three platform-boot-stompin' covers of Hollywood Brats, Suzy Quattro and Slade. Melody Licious and Deann Iovan from the Gore Gore Girls supply the guitar and drums, respectively. The record sweats droplets of perfumed, glitzy, fist-shaking attitude. Just when you're getting warmed up it's time to give it another spin. Also, Muffy Kroha is doing an excellent job on some sassy, prima-donna, glam vox. If the name "Kroha" is ringin' a bell -- you might know her brother Dan from the Gories & Demolition Doll Rods. This thing came all the way from France with an eye for detail -- with a slick metallic cover and the label on the vinyl is embedded in the plastic. Way, way cool.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Demons to Diamonds
(Wiped Out :89 rue H. Lang - 73000 CHAMBERY - FRANCE)

The Shins "Chutes Too Narrow" CD
MAN! I’ve been listening to this constantly since I got it in the mail. The Shins play absolutely lovely, deceptively modern-sounding, classic pop tweaked with some frequent harmonized vocals. It appeals to me for many of the same reasons that The New Pornographers do, but without so much of the bubblegum influence. A prime example is the album’s second track, “Mine’s Not a High Horse,” which is as cool, stark and bright as an arctic wind, with a galloping acoustic guitar and whirring synth. The rest of the album ranges from upbeat, downright celebratory-sounding rock ditties, to dawdling, morning after hymns with a bit of an old-country feel. If you don’t “Chutes Too Narrow” on your own stereo, you’re going to hear it while browsing at your local record store. I absolutely guarantee it. Remember that when you hear a really good pop song playing while you’re hunched over the racks. Ask if it’s the new Shins. I bet you that 9 out of 10 of you who do this will get a yes. It’s a hit fer shure.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Gunbird 2
(Sub Pop)

Spiritualized "Amazing Grace®" CD
Ok, i'm biased, I admit it. I love Spiritualized. I don't think that rock critics should always have to review a bunch of shitty albums that they don't like, so I like to focus in on stuff that I know will usually be on the mark. And man, this album is ON THE MARK. Aside from the pretentious and needless trademark of the Amazing Grace title, what's really so great about it is that the loud, chaotic vibe that's predominent in most of the album, is totally unexpected. Yeah, that's right- Jason "Spaceman" Pierce and his band crank the amps up to ten and rip shit up, as the amps are recorded so hot that you can literally hear feedback creeping out of every non-muted note. This is the most Spacemen 3 album that Pierce has done since his earlier days of Spacemen 3 and their loud n' drone-y Stooges and MC5 covers. This louder side of Spiritualized is not entirely without warrant, as earlier songs like "Come Together", "Electricity" and "I'm On Fire" all were pretty rockin'. But on "Amazing Grace®," songs like "This Little Life of Mine", "She Kissed Me (It Felt Like A Hit)", "Never Goin' Back", and "Cheapster" all brim with a renewed sense of soul influenced rock n' roll spirit and vitality, especially after the songs on Spiritualized's previous album, Let It Come Down never...uhh....let it come down, as the songs were all buried under lush layers of instrumentation. Mind you, the lush Spiritualized is still on here, on songs like the hymn-ish "Lord Let It Rain On Me", and "Hold On". But this album is also the shortest album that they've done, and the most pared down (although pared down for Spiritualized is still overkill by alot of bands' standards). Most great albums seem to save the best for last, as a measuring stick of the album's quality. This record is no exception, as album closer "Lay It Down Slow" is a beautiful slow epic that starts off with Pierce's hushed vocal and piano, and eventually erupts into a gorgeous cacaphony of soul sistah singers, piano and strings. Amazing Grace? Yes indeed.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Cosmic Avenger 
(Sanctuary)

Ten Benson "Benson Burner" CD
Rating 50 percent.. Genre- rock n' roll with an alleged funny element to it. I just don't get this one. The "vision" of mainman Chris Teckham, right from the start of the record with the song "Dark Forces", it sounds like uninspired, drab Nashville Pussy styled rock n' roll, with bad production. You could be excused for thinking that this record was put out in 1983 instead of 2003. And the solos are either non-existent, or when they do come around, they sound amateurish--but not in a good amateurish way, either. Adding insult to injury is the fact that i've read a few reviews of this album already, and they've been favourable writeups. I'm sorry, even though I love songs that are dedicated to the female anatomy (I love AC/DC and Pursuit of Happiness, and their lyrics are both pretty graphic), I just don't see how the lecherous lyrics of "Tits" (with the creepy, pedophilic chants of "Teenage Tits!") even remotely qualify as cool, even in an r n' r way. It would be acceptable if the music didn't sound so cliched, tired, and boring. The half spoken distorted vocals make it only worse (sounding like the industrial album that Ministry might have made in between the embarrassing Twitch and the awesome The Land of Rape and Honey). And it must be noted that, yes, i've only listened to the first half of this disc, because the first half was so bad that I had to shut it off half way through (skipping through the tracks to reveal something that proved me wrong, was fruitless). After I got to the cheesy samples and sounds of "Rock Cottage" and the experimentalism of "Robot Tourist", it is evident that this band knows nothing of whether it wants to be over the top, or just an outright joke. There's promise here (as I at least gave it a passing grade, and the riff in "The Loozin' Line" is at least a decent second rate ZZ Top riff, albeit in an Afterburner type of way), but Chris Teckham should re-evaluate his "vision", add some skilled solos, learn a thing or two about song structuring, and drop the novelty schtick, altogether. Or he should at least make a full blown comedy album, Weird Al Yankovic style, because if this is what the "rock revolution" is churning out these days, then gimme the insurgent death metal polka scene, or something.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Duck Hunt
(Jetset Records)

Timonium "Until He Finds Us" CD
Sometimes I wonder why I get certain albums given my penchant for wild & crazy punk rock and garage and all of that. Timonium are planets away from that sort of thing. I can explain the circumstances around this one. Timonium were playing at Ralph's and The Odyssey is probably one of the easiest games in town for some local press. Unfortunately I didn't receive this until after the show happened. The Ralph's crowd really liked the band, however. Anyway, Timonium create a pretty, somber and slow noise with sparse male and female vocal swapping and harmonies. It's not entirely unlike Low, but it has more of a melodic pop edge to it. It's very quiet but I likes. It's a nice surprise.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Legendary Wings
(The Pehr Label)

Upstate "Missing: A Joe Bargdill Film; Official Soundtrack" CD EP
I was scared of this one when I read a passing reference to jam bands in the press material. It’s not nearly as bad as you’d expect after reading those dreaded words (the dirtiest words I know of). The soundtrack to Missing contains five, mid-tempo, folk-inspired pop with a bit of guitar noodling and studio trickery. It sounds like kind of a cross between Sebadoh and Pink Floyd. It might be a little granola for my tastes, but you could do a lot worse. The songs all sound very similar on this EP, but that could be determined by the tone of the movie they’re writing for, rather than a tendency for repetitive songs.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Dragon Power
(Broken Lamp Productions)

The Von Zippers, The Crime is Now!
Damn, this disc rules. ROOOOOOOOLSS! This is 11 tracks of pure garage rock fun. What I really love about it is the guitar tone, which has a nice clean sound to it, while still remaining raunchy enough to rock like a bitch. Similarly, the production is perfect, as everything sounds good, and actually sounds like an instrument (a common complaint of mine about some garage bands). It's hi-fi, but not slick or overbearing at the same time (another thing that ruins some great garagers.....). This is something that you throw on a party, and drink 'till 'ya throw up, from the real burners like "Blue Suit Bullies", "Little Black Heart", "Cracked Judy", "Put on the Brakes", and "Put on the Brakes". The harmonica on tracks like "Put on the Brakes" makes a great song even better, and the best thing about the Zippers is that they are a garage band, yeah, but they're not something that's sooooohooo garage that it's offputting to the casual listener (read: more widespread appeal than some mediocre garage bands like the Black Lips). And just when 'ya think that it's all about partying and chicks, it's actually not. There's alot of political lyrics here, as "Common Sense Party Theme" starts off with the lyrics, "Canada, home to the free and false market economy, where your worth is what you're paid", and "The air's real hot, yeah, it makes me cough, but it's rebate time and you bought us off" (from "Little Black Heart"), reveals that there's some brain to the Von Zippers brawn. But the bottom line is this: The Von Zippers are an underrated band, namely 'cause they don't tour very often outside of their native Calgary. Pick this record up, turn it up to ten on your stereo, and go drink some beer. Or kick a politician's ass.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Two Crude
(Estrus)

The Weirdos "We Got the Neutron Bomb (Weird World Volume Two: 1997-1989)" CD
FINALLY! It's been twelve years, and it's worth the wait. For those of you who don't really know about these guys, The Weirdos were one of the earliest and greatest LA punk rock bands. They were an anthem machine -- creating mind-blowing, incredibly raw stooges-meets-dolls-meets-Johnny (Secret Agent Man) Rivers classics like "Solitary Confinement," "Happy People" and "Life of Crime" (none of the aforementioned songs are available on this volume, but you can hear those on Volume 1). Judging by my ears alone, you can see the foundation these guys laid for the hardcore sounds of fellow California punk bands like Circle Jerks or the 60s-psychedelia-gone-horribly-wrong sound that would manifest in the Dead Kennedys. It's hard to acquire the original vinyl stuff by the Weirdos. Believe me. I try from time to time on Ebay. With this second volume, you can get a lot of great Weirdos material in one shot. Much of it is previously unreleased. For example, you get some excellent live versions of "I Want What I want" and "I'm not like you" from way back in 1977. A live cover of Link Wray's Fatback accompanies Hank Mizell's Jungle rock in a 1980 performance. Another new one for me is "The Hideout" a catchy song with a soaring ventures-style surf riff. You also get to hear a great cover of Love's "7 & 7 is," an outtake from the recording of their 1991 album "Condor." The icing on the cake (and namesake of the album) is the Dangerhouse single version of one of their signature tunes, "We Got the Neutron Bomb," which was never available on CD before. You should not be allowed to utter the words "punk" and/or "rock" without owning both volumes of the Weird World collection. It's that important.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Space Invaders
(Frontier Records)

White Cowbell Oklahoma, "Cencerro Blanco" CD
After seeing these guys haul ass with their live show, I was prepared to be really let down by this record. You know how you see a really great live band, and their cd totally lets you down, for whatever reason? i can't count how many times that i've been in that situation. Well, fear not with this disc, 'cause the 'Bell backs up their outrageous, hilarious and raucous live show with a disc that is more hung than that meanie bull in 'yer pasture. Honestly, this is probably my top rock n' roll disc of this year, which is kinda funny, 'cause the year on the back of the cd says "2004"! But it's so damned good, mainly because it combines great production with gutsy songs and superb musicianship, which is what always makes an excellent album so deee-lectable. Another reason why this is such a great blast of r n'r is because, yeah, the band plays firin' on all cylinders boogie rock, but it's the fact that these dudes actually have talent. They can actually sing, and everything from the female soul crooning, to the guitar solos, to the guitar harmonizing (a la Thin Lizzy) to the organ/piano fills, is executed with such flair, style, and swagger, that it's insane. And that's what you should expect from a band with ten members (!) and four guitarists (!?). As well, there's an early 70's Tres Hombres ZZ Top vibe to this disc that makes it so good. Hell, the cover art is even done by Mr. Bill Narum, who did the cover art for all those ZZ Top albums. But that's not meant as any sorta slight, because the 'Bell easily cranks out the best early 'Top songs that were never wrote by Gibbons, Hill, and Beard. "Beer Drinkers and..." .....WHOOPS....I mean, "Put The South In Your Mouth" fries up licks so tasty that you'll be comin' back for more. "Shot A Gamblin' Man" makes me wanna go kick over a Keno table with a Les Paul, "Monster Railroad" is revved up rawk (with an unexpectedly mellow low key bridge part), and "San Antone"-- the first single and video off the disc-- is southern rock that's so fired up with it's refrain of "oh yeah....baby!", that it leaves tons of similar bands in the dust. "Black Mountain Top (Whiskey Woman)" should be all over classic rock radio, with it's singalong chorus. Like the band themselves, it's one part Mick Taylor era Stones, one part early ZZ Top, and Black Crowes. And what's this......an excellent feelin' southern soul song in "Ole Glory"? Man that singer, Bunny, has a set of pipes! But the highlight of the album is the title track, which should be the soundtrack to a slasher flick, 'cause like a good horror movie, it sets the mood (some echoey sombre surf), then gives some eerie stuff (backwards tape effects), and then nails 'ya when you least expect it. Gun rack, Dixie flag and cockrag sold separately.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Tapper
(Slick Monkey)