Darling Pet Munkee: You Better Believe It [Album]

What do you get when you combine the freakishly awesome guitar licks of Axemunkee’s Catherine Capozzi, with the eclectic and original talents of Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola’s project Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling?  Well, besides another very clever band name, you get some damn fine rock and roll!  Ghoulishly delightful, If you will allow it.

Darling Pet Munkee’s second release, You Better Believe It, seems to pick up right where their debut EP, Glows In The Dark, last left us.  Here we have 7 new spook rock tracks that as delightfully scary as they are purely entertaining.  Capozzi is an absolute madwoman on the electrics.  Whether she’s throwing down hardcore blues riffs (“Grow Man Grow (Ladies Too)”), or slamming down grunged out riffs on the hypnotic (all pun intended) track “Hypno-Coin”.  And When Michael and Sophia swap vocal duties in such a smooth manner, it really starts to feel as though this trio of brilliance morphed into one musical beast, similar to the strange characters they write their songs based around.

For fans of Axemunkee, and the plethora of acts Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola are already involved in, this is a trio that probably just makes perfect sense to you.  If you ears are pure of the insanity, prepare to have your ear drums pierced, shaved, and then tendered for the frying.  And You Better Believe It is an amazing album to hear whilst losing your freaking mind.  With elements of classic rock, elements of occult like fantasies, and a freakishly brilliant crew, there is nothing here you will not love.

Wooden Indian Burial Ground: (Self-Titled) LP [Album]

This is the perfect music to drink to. It can even make Pabst taste good (you know you hate the taste of Pabst, hipsters, or have you moved on to another cheap alternative?) This is the music that should be playing in every house party on the wrong side of the tracks. I imagine it’s no coincidence that this Portland band’s name is a reference to the wooden indian sold by infamous Portland crimp, Bunko Kelly to a ship captain, which was angrily cast overboard when the ship captain couldn’t wake his wooden crewman. I hope that was intentional, but if it is coincidence, then the rock ‘n’ roll gods have blessed them with a great name.

Regardless of their name, WIBG has found a perfect formula/dynamic between it’s four members to make some of the best psychedelic garage rock ‘n’ roll that is out there right now. Everything from the “whoops” or “yips” or whatever the hell the singer yells at least once in almost all of their songs, to the violent use of guitars smothered in fuzz and reverb and that perfect vintage sound, to the creepy organ played masterfully and always placed in the right spots,this band plays psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll exactly how it should be played; loud, loose, and free, as if it’s all about to just fall apart. Many have tried to walk the fine line between garage rock and just sloppy bullshit, and most have failed. Not Wooden Indian Burial Ground. You can tell that each of them has the musical chops to exceed the expectations of an indie “garage” band.

Their latest self-titled release, out October 4th on Mon Amie Records, is an 8 song trip that feels much longer than only 35 minutes. That being said, it is very well condensed. At no point on this record did the psychedelic break-downs last too long. In other words, you’re not left wondering, “what the hell are they doing?” or, “why are they still milking the feedback?”. WIBG brings you down into it, then pulls you back up out of it just in time. There really isn’t a boring spot on this record. It really is ALL good, from the balls-to-the-walls opener, “Helicopter”, to the marching cadence of “Waltz for Eldritch”, to the dark and tremendous guitars of “Bryant St. Death Cult”. For me, though, nothing beats “Sparklerella”. Complete with a female background chorus reminiscent of zombie prom cheerleaders, the “signature” screams that you’ll notice in other WIBG songs, insane guitar work, and a stellar organ solo that is the perfect length, that song has it all; including a few “whoops”, of course. It’s enough to make a sober man sway and stagger like a drunkard.

Check this band out in Portland on Friday, Nov. 2 @ Doug Fir.  http://woodenindianburialground.bandcamp.com/album/wooden-indian-burial-ground-3

Ember Schrag: The Sewing Room [Album]

Her voice is as gentle as summer’s rain, yet her words burn through your heart like a burning match in the moonlight.  Who might this be?  Obviously it has to be the midwest based darling of the folk world, Ember Schrag.  Being one of today’s most immaculate singer/songwriters to emerge since Neko Case went solo.  She rights with the pain of an oil soaked sea lion, yet sings with the softness of a gentle bird resting on a willow tree.  Her latest release, The Sewing Room, is merely a continuation of the sort of triumph we should have come to expect from this lovely curator of persuasive and angelic masterpieces.

Just as she did on her 2009 debut album A Cruel, Cruel Woman and her 2010 follow-up EP Jephthah’s Daughter, Ember Schrag demonstrates just why exactly she is one of the finest artists strumming and singing beautiful tunes today.  Harrowing and humbling are tunes like “La Maria” and “In The Alley” from her latest release, The Sewing Room.  There is a bit of religious overture within her songs, but only in the sense that she believes in something beyond her own self.  Even if that something is simply another human soul.  She begs to be understood.  But, like so many fabulous artists over the years, it is the mystery of their soul and what they aspire to feel that will always be the most appealing.  The ability to self interpret as we see fit is a gift we should all cater to, and be thankful for a wonderful songstress such as Ember Schrag for allowing us the opportunity to feel something, anything, everything.

Photo by R. Clark

Ember Schrag’s sophomore full length release, The Sewing Room, drops on June 30th courtesy of Philadelphia based labels Edible Onion Records and Single Girl Married Girl Records.  If you act quick during the pre-order phase, you can receive your copy of this fantastic album with a hand-bound illustrated lyrics book.  But be quick!  Only the first 100 buyers will receive this gem, and they might have very well already been snagged up.  Never too late to try.

And be sure to look out for Ember on tour.  She is constantly moving around, playing wherever you may be as well.  Check out her Website for pre-order and tour information.

The Memorials: Delirium [Album]

The wild and ready Viveca Hawkins and prodigal son Thomas Pridgen are back for more this year!  It’s hard to believe, or even consider the idea, that they were due for another release already.  No dust has fallen upon the cover of my own copy of their debut album.  I still find myself in a frenzied stir of rock and roll dreams as I indulge in their perpetually well-mannered form of rock and roll anarchy.  But, alas, the cherry on the top has arrived.  The Memorials are back in a strangely different, and actually far superior way.  I didn’t believe it to be possible either, but you have to hear this album.

The sophomore effort from The Memorials is not just a collection of spastic, well timed tracks for our amusement.  No, Delirium is nothing short of a rock and roll opus.  The tracks are extensive in length, which will leave you spinning out of control, and even after 9 minutes or so you will be clenching your teeth while you beg for more.  The spirit of Delirium is intense to say the least.  This album is the soundtrack to a high paced taxi ride through Times Square with a driver tripping balls on benzidrine and cocaine, all the while telling you his feelings.  The guitar work is exasperating sound, leaving you drenched to the bone in sweat and jealousy of how shitty you play guitar yourself.  And, as could only be expected, Pridgen’s drum work is phenomenal and rightfully overexemplified which leads to us getting to hear Thomas at the highest point of his career.   The final track of the album, ‘Mr. Entitled” also features some absolutely mind blowing saxophone and flute work that will definitely surprise you ears and senses.  And of course this said track is fronted by Hawkins’s dubiously beautiful vocal chords that battle the likes of Jill Scott or Keyshia Cole.  Only badass!

Yes, these cats are absolutely incredible.  It was staggering to hear at first, as I just could not imagine such improvement and drastic change in a group that I have come to know and love so whole heartedly.  It is becoming bloody obvious that The Memorials are going to have a time spanning career that will constantly be filled with the pressures of constantly out doing their last turnout.  But, I am willing to believe that they are up to the task, and we the listeners shall never be let down.  Tough job for them, but awesome deal for us!  Just as a memorial should do, this a band that will stand as a true testament of what could be, but rarely is, done to rock and roll in this day and age.

The Memorial’s sophomore album, Delirium, drops on June 5th.  Check out the bands website for more details.  Also check out this great mention of the band on NPR’s All Things Considered.  If you can’t take my word for it, you have to believe NPR, right?

The Jesus Rehab: Drunken Hillbilly Fight Bar EP [Album]

Photo by Gregg White. (greggevanwhite.com)

The Northwest’s star children of the underground are back (finally)!  The boys I once proclaimed to be “down to earth pranksters” are riding their way through the indie storm with their signature hard-sweet-core pop music brings us back to a time when a group like Weezer didn’t dull our senses with mediocrity.  Their new EP, Drunken Hillbilly Fight Bar is a beautifully crafted and stripped down (there’s just two of them now) project that frontman and mad genius Jared Cortese has been yearning to make.  And it’s safe to say that he has nailed it with his own grunged out fuzz pop that is not only rare, but beautiful in it’s own right.

Drunken Hillbilly Fight Bar EP is an absolute delight to say the least.  When Cortese screams over a loud western themed rhythm section with the line ‘We come like troubadours….” on the album’s highlight track “Night Terrors”, it is perfectly fine to feel that tingling sensation down your spine.  And when “Holiday” creeps up on you stealthier than a walrus, it’s not hard to hear elements of 90’s “alternative” rock, before it was branded as “alternative”.  Think Presidents of The United States of America (maybe a Seattle thing?) and you might be spot on, if you subtract the campy bewilderment, and substitute it for brilliant stories and danceable hard rockingness.

photo courtesy of Laura Ashbrook Compton.

The Jesus Rehab created one of my favorite records to date back in 2010 with The Highest Highs and The Lowest Lows.  And with this release, we find the band in the midst of some serious changes.  Their sound is a bit different, but that’s called growth folks.  I’ve also consistently compared these rogue gentlemen to the likes of the similarly well conceived Athens based group The Modern Skirts.  They both started in similar directions, and both shot 90 degrees in another direction, and both managed to create brilliant lo-fi, Chuck Taylor tapping, whiskey swilling indie pop that leaves your spirits higher than you were in the dirty bathroom just hours before Jared Cortese and company ripped your heart out one perfectly noted lyric at a time.  Feel the power.  Feel the intensity.  Listening to The Jesus Rehab is almost like having an outer body experience.  You’re going to feel something.  Even if it’s just “good”.

Drunken Hillbilly Fight Bar EP will be released on April 21st at the Josephine in Seattle, WA.  Stay in touch with The Jesus Rehab at their official website.

And check out an album review I wrote for their spectacular full length debut album, The Highest Highs and The Lowest Lows at Fensepost.

Age Sex Occupation: This Side of The Fence [Album]

“Well isn’t this fun!”

This could very well be a line you would inadvertently blurt out when Age Sex Occupation comes on.  These Portland scat cats have a sound that exceeds all standardized means of being “hip”, and takes it back to a 1940’s, meets 1990’s, sort of super cool “entering the room” kind of tunes.  Images of fedoras and flannel shirts cloaked over a “poet” of the new age are relentless.  Horns blaze through like a helping hand of hysteria throughout.  They’re blues.  They’re jazz.  They’re funky as all hell.  They are great.

The enlightening and entertaining sound of Age Sex Occupation’s This Side of The Fence is nothing if it is not intriguing.  The sound is collective.  Each song makes you want to dance and cry the night away, all the while balancing a fine brandy in one hand as a poorly rolled cigarette burns away in the other one along with whatever youth you are desperately trying to hold on to.  By the time “Hide and Seek” nabs your ears in its opening stages alone, you will be hooked.  The fire in your belly will burn with joy in ways you didn’t think you could even fathom at this point in your life.  That is unless you are already a happy person, then consider this album fuel.  High grade fuel that is.

The reinvention of old sounds is becoming quite the commodity these days.  Taking the old and restoring it in the 1080p generation is a modern-day cultivation that should be absolutely welcomed with the widest of open arms.  Especially when it is a band like Age Sex Occupation presenting their magic to us in such a beautiful manner.

Watch for This Side of the Fence to hit the streets on May 29th.  Keep up with the band on their Facebook page.

The Projection: While You Were Out [Album]

Pop punk is that sort of harshly label brand of music that seems to have a place in time that is neither subjective nor selective.  It just sort of pops up one day, and you find yourself remembering something you haven’t thought about it in years.  Maybe, like, having fun.  Jumping around in circles, playfully punching the shit out of your best friend as a few simple chords send your brain on a 3 minute vacation.  When did  you get so serious?  Or better yet, when did you decide that a group like The Projection couldn’t speak to you?  They can!  And they will do it….LOUD!

Hailing from heartland of Illinois, The Projection is a group that is obviously nostalgic, but still sound fresh and original.  Their sophomore release, While You Were Out, finds these punk troubadours battling through some serious love loss, party fouls, and a determination that sometimes life just sucks, so let’s have some fun with it.  Each track on the record is simply better than the next.  Each song sends you on a new journey into the band’s train of thought.  And each one feels as though it has been soaked in cocaine and sent directly to you in a dire time of need.

For all the aging snooty hipsters out there (could sometimes probably through myself in there), think of The Projection as that band that you might be able to justified spending hours among “those damn kids” at The Warped Tour to hear something so profound, and very reminiscent of the glory days of Green Day (pre-Dookie, of course).  To say that While You Were Out is a fun-filled, high-speed album with an immense amount of joy and pain to be shared alike, might just be an understatement.  This is really good (and yes, fun) stuff you really don’t hear enough of these days, in this caliber of course.

Bradley Wik & The Charlatans: Burn What You Can, Bury The Rest [Album]

Full fledged and unapologetic Rock & Roll seems to have gone to the way side.  That down home feeling that used to thrive with success in days passed has pretty much subsided.  Don’t get me wrong, I love “indie” music for all it is worth.  And there are still several amazing folk oriented artists out there.  But, what if I want an upgrade of the old Tom Petty and Springstein records my father would subject me to in my youth?  Well, it turns out, there is a cure for such nostalgia for organic, purebred rock and roll.  And it comes in the form of Bradley Wik & The Charlatans.  Or shall we say, Bradley the savior.

Bradley Wik & The Charlatan’s 2012 release, Burn What You Can, Bury The Rest is, simply put, just an amazing record filled with so many full fledged emotions and inspirational outlooks on the struggle and striving process of life and the ambiguties that tend to follow.  You can have the time of your life with this man and his friends with a track like “Friday Night Is For Drinkers”, or you can go on a rock and roll odyssey through time and pain and love in the 8 minute long opus “Just Like Jon Fickles”, which is an amazing story that just isn’t long enough even at it’s current length.

Anyone who listens to Bradley Wik, especially lowly music critics, will instantly put a tag on him as the new generation’s version of The Boss.  And this may be very well deserved.  But, why?  Comparissons can only rationally be drawn because Wik, like The Boss, is doing everything the right way.  His way!  What is the result of yearning to tell a lovely story in the most sincere and organic fashion.  Exactly what you should expect:  One of the finest albums you will hear in 2012.  That’s a fact.

The album is available now through your usual sources, and more information can be found at BradleyWik.com

And if you find yourself reading this in the Portland area, be sure to make it out to the record release show March 17th at the Secret Society Ballroom.  You will not want to miss this!

Rags & Ribbons: The Glass Masses [Album]

Rags and Ribbons is one of the classic oriented, 90’s influenced collective works sort of groups that shows greater group orientation and organization of sound than a a 9 piece metal band.  It’s actually almost unfathomable to know that this is a the work of just three people.  Three amazing people, sure, but the amount of sound crammed into one album is absolutely phenomenal.

The Glass Masses is an album that could very well make your heart bleed with envious emotions.  The ability to convey such amazing feelings and introspective ideals in anyway (a song in this case) is a trait that everyone should, and probably does, wish they could obtain but probably never will.  But, not these guys.  They have it.  No track proves this solid theory that their beloved single, and kick off track to the album, “Even Matter”.  The vocals are feel like Elton John on LSD, the keyboards flare in a Narnia like fashion, and the emotional tidal waves of trying to differentiate the dream world from the modern existence that can sometimes be far less entertaining.  But, as amazing as this singular track is, it is the entire album that should be praised.  Although, personal emphasis seems to be on the entirely eccentric cut “The Minds” is most definitely a stand out as well.

Needless to say, for you will hear it when you buy this album immediately after reading this, but Rags and Ribbons is one of the most interesting groups out there today, and The Glass Masses is definitely a wonderful piece of work to kick off the new year.

Learn more about Rags and Ribbons on their Facebook Page.  Also check out their Bandcamp page for even more wonderful tunes.

Mainly Lanes: Oomami [Album]

There is something so wonderful about simply “having” to love a group. When you discover a new band that seems to fit the prototype of exactly what you want to hear, it is a beautiful thing. What is even more special is when said band steps upon your line of acceptance, and kicks it into a zig zag pattern that pushes your own limitations, and exposes you to fresh new ideas you might have never considered. This is exactly what Mainly Lanes have done to standard indie pop on their debut album, Oomami. They take seemingly ambitious and joy oriented pop songs, and stabs them in the proverbial throat with lyrics about suicide, isolation, and why you are an asshole.

Now, Mainly Lane’s Alanis Morissette circa ’95 attitude is not always prevalent. For example, the track “Global Warming”, though the word “hate” is thrown in more than the word “ass” in an Akon song, it’s lyrics are much more lovely (I hate global warming/ because I want to go snowboarding with you!). “My Hero”, with it’s incredibly mild attitude yet pain staking violent lyrics, features a strange Opera like interlude in the middle of the track that is so perfectly out of place that it fits oh so well (look for an even greater example in “Keep The Quit”). The entire play list of Oomami is one that slips and slides through a spectacular bevy of emotions that are definitely worth a full listen.

Front woman Toni Zaman’s vocals are very much in tune with the more smiling and pretty side of indie pop, but Mainly Lanes goes beyond such simplicity. And Oomami is a brilliantly developed exposure of their insatiable seperation from the relaxed and flower riddled sort of indie pop we are used to hearing from female fronted groups. This is not to say these happy go lucky songstresses aren’t wonderful, but this is a group that disregards any sort of standard stereotypes you could possibly try and throw their way.