Comments (People That See Sound
Before The Quiet CD
(MVD Audio)
Samantha Crain
The Confiscation
(Ramseur)
From what sounds like an
empty, vandalized farmhouse situated somewhere out on the vast American Plains,
Samantha Crain brings us this, her “Musical Novella.” A short, sparse
collection exuding melancholic whimsy and longing, The Confiscation sounds
like Mazzy Star singing Decemberists-inspired folk
KMFDM
Extra Vol.1 2x CD
(Metropolis)
Compiling tons of vinyl and
CD-singles from their classic Wax Trax! Records heyday (1986-1992), this set
shows the German-American industrial rock group's quick progression and growth
as they stormed the states on a huge tour with Ministry in their prime
(1989-90).
Beginning with the early raw electronic-beats of stuff
like 'Don't Blow Your Top' (featured here in a superb Adrian Sherwood remix),
'Extra' follows the group into a dancier, clubby realm (‘Naive,’ here remixed a
couple of times by Chicago sleaze-disco act Thrill Kill Kult), some trippy
psycho-dub ('Virus', 'M+F 244'), and finally, their now-trademark electro-rock.
One of the band's definitive cuts, 'Godlike,' is reprised here, and this Slayer
sampling club track can still melt dance floors while appealing to the
longhairs and head bangers at the same time. Very fun. And disc 2 has even
more!
KMFDM have always been
masters of the anthemic, and 'Go To Hell,' 'Split,' and 'Money' all feature
this second disc, often in multiple mixes. The remastered sound here makes it
all go 'boom' in the car, as well, so that's always a plus. Overall, Extra is a great collection of
now-unavailable mixes and versions for the hardcore KMFDM fan, and also a
fitting starting point for anyone curious about this band's extensive 22-year
history. - Todd Zachritz (4 Guitars)
Martin Atkins
Tour Smart - And Break The Band"
DVD
(Invisible/MVD Visual)
Martin Atkins has spent the
better part of 30 years touring, recording, performing, networking, running a
label, screen-printing, and generally 'effing it up (pigface) .' He's spent
time with a number of pretty damned important bands (Pigface, Killing Joke,
Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, etc.) In essence, Atkins knows his stuff.
In-between all this work, Martin has been working as a
lecturer, and he's now an author. His book, 'Tour Smart,' has been hailed as an
essential read for bands or artists who are looking at touring and building up
a fanbase.
This DVD release, which basically collects a bunch of
(mostly brief) clips of Atkins explaining and demonstrating his ideas and
experiences, is an entertaining and oftentimes enlightening bit of work. From
mapping out and strategizing a tour (his easy 'how-to' here could logically
save new bands hundreds of dollars and many hours), to his no-nonsense
marketing basics, this DVD is a wise investment indeed, for any musician or artist,
regardless of genre or affiliation. Atkins' charismatic and animated
personality is down-to-earth, and his tips are easy to grasp. This one's fun to
watch if you're a fan of any of Atkins' many musical projects, but it's a
must-have if you're starting a band, or even thinking about it. I, personally,
am wiser for seeing this! - Todd Zachritz (3 Guitars)
Blind Pilot
3 Rounds and a Sound
(Expunged)
If you’re like me, you tend
to spend most of your adult life and your time appreciating music and art trying
to recapture certain feelings hidden back in the dark corners of your youth –
those nostalgic, spectral places in your memory where beauty and truth wrap
themselves up and hide away from the prying eyes of the world at large. You
throw on certain albums in private moments that, like Greyhound busses on
expansive highways of time, carry you away to places where the paths of your
youth get lost in the overgrowth of your future, and suddenly the world seems
new again, seems complete and without want. I could liken this collection of
songs by Blind Pilot to any number of great acoustic-based albums of the last
decade or more – think In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk
Hotel), Chutes Too Narrow (The Shins), Mutations (Beck), Return
of the Frog Queen (Jeremy Enigk), Electro-Shock Blues (The Eels) –
but none of those comparisons could ever do justice to a band with such a clear
sense for what melody is capable of doing to the emotions of another human
being. Such a band deserves to be judged on their own merits, for they too are
in communication with that eternal “muse” so many go crazy chasing. I can
foresee a time when I begin to think of the 11 songs presented here in much the
same way that I think of those aforementioned albums. Time will tell, I suppose,
if its roots grow into me as deeply as they once did, but I will venture to say
this album will serve for many as a shining musical road marker for this
twisted age we live in. One thing I am definitely comfortable saying without
reservation, this is the best album I’ve heard in 2008 so far. If this is the
first time you’ve heard of Blind Pilot, it won’t be the last. – Brad Linzy ( 5 Guitars)
Steve-O & Jimmy D
Steve Nelson Presents Steve-O &
Jimmy D
Here is a weird little EP.
It’s hip-hop recording that talks about being, of all things, humble!
Imagine that – hip-hop music that’s not talking about how many and how
expensive the cars and gold chains one owns, but instead talks about the
importance of helping your fellow man and getting your financial and spiritual
house in order against a coming economic hardship! Amazing! Despite what the
major record companies would have you think, there is still worthwhile music
out there with a worthwhile message. I have to admit, listening to the first
song, I was skeptical I would find anything here worth listening to a second
time, but the second song “All I Know” featuring local Rastafarian artist,
Zion, changed that. “Times are gettin’ harder/The dollar’s getting’
weaker/We’re losin’ jobs and our economy is droppin’ like a subwoofer” goes the
second verse, that sounds more like a Ron Paul House Financial Services
Committee indictment of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy than a hip-hop
song. But, I am a firm believer in the principle that when troubles come, so
will people to show the way out of them. Steve-O and Jimmy D have done what few
hip-hop artists have managed to do – make a positive statement without sounding
campy or cheesy. Just go easy on the vocoder next time, guys. – Brad Linzy (3 Guitars)
Bobby Clark
Between You and
God
(myspace.com/BobbyClarkandWitchDoctorsHooch)
From the opening verse of
the title track, it is evident that Bobby Clark and Co. have much to say about
the nature of man and God, love and hate, peace and war, and it’s also evident
they have the musical talent to carry it off, I’m just not convinced they have
done it to the best of their abilities on Between. As a “critic” of
someone else’s music, I am always left with the struggle between brutal honesty
and diplomacy. My nature not being such that I am willing to accept anything
less than the truth as present to me, I must be brutally honest. Much of the
disparity between what an artist means to say and what actually gets said on
tape can be attributed to the difficulties in the recording process. As soon as
a song is written, it belongs to the world and is subject to its imperfections
and the judgment of others, not to mention the writer’s own harsh judgment, and
this is before a single note has been committed to record. The recording
process is the diametrical opposite of playing music for enjoyment’s sake; it
is fraught with technical challenges and is a drain on the emotions. This is
why professional record companies hire engineers to carry off the
technicalities of the process and producers to make sure the process doesn’t
get bogged down and the artist doesn’t get lazy in their writing or
performance. This is not a “nice” process. This is a process full of
disagreements and Hitleresque decision-making, and it requires the kind of
brutal honesty not often expressed between friends and family members, which is
why most indie releases fail. On Between someone needed to step up and
tell Bobby to find his own voice and stop trying to sound like Mellencamp, to
edit out some of his words and consolidate his thoughts in his verses. Someone
needed to step up and tell the band they were dragging tempo in spots on the
record, or at least throw on a click track and make them regiment to it like a row
of German soldiers. Someone in this process needed to take control…to be
brutal. Since no one did that, now I have to, and it’s too late in the process
to change it. As a musician foremost, not a critic, this isn’t a position I
enjoy. In this day of cheap technology, there are hundreds of thousands of
independent releases created every single day, but only a handful ever get
noticed. This is why it’s doubly important to make sure things are done right
the first time, or if your goal in making an album is simply to entertain a few
friends and have a stocking stuffer for your family, you’d do better to record
live. You’d get a more honest sound, you’d enjoy it a lot more, and I’m betting
so would your audience. – Brad Linzy ( 2 Guitars)
