album of the week: 11.5

Buffalo Daughter

The Weapons of Math Destruction

Buffalo Ranch (2010)

why you'll love it: some driving instrumentals. Pleasing moog heavy sound.

why you'll hate it: Aimless, flat, uncharacteristic childish moments.

A new Buffalo Daughter album is one of those things to come across my media radar as an absolute gift. Something that I didn't even bother crossing my fingers for because it seemed so improbable. Over the past couple years, musings over twitter, rumors, and a couple leaked songs here and there, have finally led to a real-life physical release by the progressive krautrock pop act.

While trying my best not to turn my nose away from this "gift", I gotta say, The Weapons of Math Destruction falls short of the inspiration left by most Buffalo Daughter albums. Many of the songs have a disappointingly simple, even sophomoric, delivery to them that you wouldn't expect in a 4th album. There are a lot of outdated Shibuya-Kei tropes (of which I feel the band has never had a significant relationship with in the first place), like Microsoft Sam/Speak-N-Spell vocals, a flat G-rated rap, and some badly placed show-tunes samples. It's not just the presence of these cliches, but the flippant and insignificant use of them that make me stunned that this was the same band that made such fantastic progressive works like I (2001) and Psychic (2003).

While the album does spend a good chunk of its time suspended in air flailing, there is at least a good half hour of solid music (which is all I ask of any album really). Most of these moments of joy come from instrumental tracks such as "Two Two" and "Run". bd still can build an hypnotizing beat better than more popular party-driven krautrock acts like !!! and Fujiya & Miyagi. "A11 A10ne" is one of the few impressive tracks with lyrics. Other songs I'm on the fence with are "The Battle Field in My Head" (very Tom Tom Club inspired) and "Unknown Forces" (which never quite emotionally manifests itself as intended).

This is sort of the same situation I ran into with this year's releases by Gorillaz and Hot Chip. It's a good album; but with all the filler, and comparing it to their back catalogue, it's hard not to see it as a failure. Hot Chip was trying something new, Damon simply doesn't care about the Gorillaz universe anymore; but bd's case apparently seems to be incompetence. I mean, they released a song last year ("Galactic S-O-U-L") that is dramatically better than anything on this album. They certainly aren't over the hill, or out of ink; it just seams as if this time they fumbled the ink and spilled it all over the canvas.

I heart Labrador Records

2010's most improved band, Club 8, has a new single called "Closer Now". It sounds like the rest of The People's Record, which means it's fantastic. You can download the song here

album of the week: 11.4

Marnie Stern

Kill Rock Stars (2010)

why you'll love it: A surprisingly mature approach, crazy good drums/guitar

why you'll hate it: not enough wild unpredictability.

Marnie Stern is one of those personalities where superficiality is enough. She's a Hella fanatic, has an amazing finger-picking guitar talent, has a charming bubbly vocal delivery, and writes a lot of songs about math and time-traveling. 2008's This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That was a triumph of organized chaos. Its as if she can just coast on "insanity with talent" for an entire career… which makes an introverted self titled album a bit of a surprise.

There are no corny acoustic ballads, but a distinct change in tone. To accommodate this outpouring of the heart, no songs truly explode with "Woah, what am I listening to?" levels of insanity. There is a steady flow of rocking provided by Marnie's guitar playing and Zach Hill again on drums, but the music structure isn't priority, thus rendering some of this album forgettable.

The rest adapts well in subtle ways. "Risky Biz" is a catchy little number. "The Things You Notice" and "Transparency is The New Mystery" mirror her humbling lyrics well. After a few listeners, I started to see interesting vocal progressions in "For Ash" and "Female Guitar Players Are The New Black". To be honest, the only song that feels like the Marnie Stern I had became enamored with in the first place is "Nothing Left"

I enjoy the fact that this album exists; and it's nice to hear Marnie show us a more personal side. None of the songs are bad at all. Zach Hill is along for the ride, how can the quality possibly slip? It just isn't very representative of what she does best.

DDD

A lack of embedding makes the reveal much less exciting, but the first post-Kayo Polysics song is online!!

At least I can embed this!

album of the week: 11.3

Zach Hill

Face Tat

Sargent House (2010)

why you'll love it: out of this world noise rock. chaos chaos chaos!

why you'll have it: Some will find it to be hardly music. Not as imaginative as last album

Becoming a relevant rock act today is quite hard. Not only is mainstream success about as likely as winning the lottery while being struck by lighting, but the indie world has the internet to compete with, where anyone can get 15 minutes of fame. It takes a lot of hard work, practice, and patience. That or just align yourself with Zach Hill.

Since gaining notoriety as 50% of Hella, the SoCal ultra-drummer has worked on about a dozen side projects with the likes of Boredoms, Marnie Stern, and Omar Rodriguez (of The Mars Volta), to name just a few. in 2008, his gonzo prog influenced solo album, Astrological Straights, proved he can do more than just trash a drumset into rubble.

Face Tat starts off along the same lines as Astrological Straights. Apart from the noticeable increase in volume, the Frank Zappa vibe is strong and still welcome. Suddenly, with the song "Ex Ravers", we get a taste of the Zach Hill that made Hella famous. Face Tat is NOISE ROCK, and "Ex Ravers" is only the tip of the iceberg. If noise rock isn't your bag, "The Sacto Smile" and "Green Bricks" will send you running.

This is probably the best noise rock album I've ever heard. A complete attack on the eardrums. Even at minimal volume, it still sounds loud on my headphones. Aside from the last track, none of this album drags or repeats. Every song (if you can call some of them songs) hits a different nerve.

While I still prefer Astrological Straights simply because it was so unexpected and different, Face Tat is pure genius. Not much of a surprise from the guy who improves the quality output of whoever he associates with.

the same series of signals, over and over again!

I fulfilled one of my life goals this weekend and saw Man or Astro-Man? perform live. The show was a total blast, and thankfully, some other fans filmed it. Check out the ass kicking below.

album of the week: 11.2

Fake Problems

Real Ghosts Caught on Tape

sideonedummy (2010)

why you'll love it: another new side of a talented band

why you'll hate it: way softer than the last album, bad intro/outro songs

It's Great To Be Alive was my favorite album of 2009. It was a whirlwind of Swami Records style rockabilly punk with a dose of southern Baptist mumbo-jumbo. Good edgy fun. If Real Ghosts Caught on Tape proves anything, being an east coast junior Rocket From The Crypt is has never been this band's intention. Just as last year's album shed away the sophomoric cow-punk of How Far Our Bodies Go (2007), Real Ghosts trades in the high energy and grit for a fresh coat of Americana pop.

This year's softer and warmer Fake Problems are sure to repel older fans, but I've found the change of pace to be refreshing. Few bands shake things up with every album. They seem to nail every genre they take on, with only a few stumbles. The songs of Real Ghosts Caught on Tape are good clean fun, and like the past two albums, sometimes lean over the edge of "gimmicky". "Soulless" starts off making you think you're listening to something like The Foundations. It's a sugary album for sure, but an honest and well made one.

Although it isn't a lack of rock that weakens this album, it's a few instances of corny songwriting. Chris Farren is in some ways still stuck in a high school mentality. His melodrama in the past two albums seemed to complement the genres well; but "ADT" comes off as a by the numbers young hopeless romantic pop song. Worst of all, it's the very first track. Fitting that the only other bad track "Ghost To Coast" is the closer. It's a needless ballad, especially after the perfect closer, "Grand Finale". Everything else in the middle makes for a great album, but I can imagine a lot of people switching off after a fatiguing bad start; or coming away with a bad taste in their mouth with a shrug of an ending.

Real Ghosts has just as much heart as other Fake Problems albums. It just comes down to how much you can get into the genre. Although this album is nowhere as resonant to me as It's Great To Be Alive was, it makes me respect them all the more for being such a versatile act.

album of the week: 11.1

Screaming Females

Castle Talk

Don Giovanni Records (2010)

why you'll love it - Garage rock lives!

why you'll hate it - not as raw as earlier albums

Back in March, I caught Ted Leo and The Pharmacists in NYC. Despite Ted Leo and Rick Froberg, two of my modern rock idols also performing that night, it was the opening band that stole the show. In a modest Amish looking dress, the diminutive guitarist soon exploded with sound. A solid 45 minutes of old school rock followed and what felt like an endless supply of guitar solos.

Castle Talk doesn't provide that sledgehammer feeling one's first Screaming Females show does, but that doesn't stop if from being an absolute killer of a rock album. There are a few nitpicks you could jab at this album with, like a complete abandon of Marissa Paternoster's unique screaming voice, or one or two instances of corny lyrics (the chorus to "Sheep"). None that matters. The songs are that good, and get better with each play through.

Without resorting to any attention getting hooks or gimmicks, this is already my favorite Screaming Females album, and one of the best albums of 2010. Loud or soft, gritty or danceable, the band is talented enough to corral their range into a tight package that never loses momentum to the very end. Just one track, "Deluxe" sounds a bit too much like a demo, compared to the rest of the album; but this is yet another invalid complaint that gets swallowed up in the surrounding wonderful. If you love bands like Television, Wipers, or The Birthday, this is a must listen.