Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Fat Creeps buzzed their way through another set at Precinct with snappy beats and lyrical wit. Dig it.
MMOSS
“Spoiled Sun”
2012
Take a journey inside your mind’s garage. MMOSS can take you there. “Spoiled Sun” has an hypnotic groove that will open up the doors of reception; welcome to the world of mid-fi psychedelia. The guitars drone. The synths rip holes in the space-time continuum. The modulated vocals are nearly unintelligible so as to not distract you from whatever it is you’re thinking about now that you’ve entered MMOSS’s realm. Let go. You’ll be back in 5:35. Unless you put it on repeat…
Where to get it:
Fat Creeps
Fat Creeps EP
2012
It’s no secret that I’ve been on a Fat Creeps bender lately. I’m hooked on the noise-pop they’re peddling. The band’s new EP makes me feel a little better about my addiction. It’s the good stuff. How good? I forget that I can’t stop listening to it even if I tried. This thing has been looping from the fiery “Secrets” through the haunting “700 Parts” from the moment I downloaded it. I dig the surf-tinged intro to the cautionary “Fooled.” I can’t get enough of the growing tension in “Horoscope.” “Cherry”, with its snappy beat and trippy pool party video, is the feel-weird hit of the summer. “Leave Her Alone” has intriguing harmonies and some perfectly placed tremolo bar action. So what if I can’t kick this habit? When it sounds this good, why would I try?
Where to get it:
Star Ghost Dog
Underdrive EP
2000
Star Ghost Dog’s Underdrive EP is a hip little CD. The disc was released in anticipation of The Great Indoors. The first 2 tracks are from that record. The slick indie rock of “Underdrive” gets things started before yielding to the beautiful melancholy of “Holiday.”
The other two songs on the EP make it truly special. “The Only One” is a power pop gem, complete with tight harmonies and “bop-badda” backing vocals. This song was previously unreleased and is one of my favorite Star Ghost Dog tunes. Closing out the 4 song package is a remix of “Plus De Vaches” that was previously only available on a 7” single.* Master Cylinder gets his hands dirty to create a ten minute disco epic. “Plus De Vaches (Qui Remix)” is undoubtedly the definitive version of the song. Local radio DJs take note – this remix makes for great bathroom break material.
Star Ghost Dog’s Underdrive EP is worth picking up if you can find it.
Where to get it:
* The original version of “Plus De Vache” appeared on the band’s 1998 release, Happylove.
Thick Shakes
French Dyppe
2012
What’s it going to take to get you into Thick Shakes? Their live shows are non-stop garage rock meltdowns. They released a cool 7″ on Aurora 7 Records last year. Would a limited edition cassingle featuring a pair of Farfisa-soaked, distortion-drenched ditties float your boat? You’re in luck. Thick Shakes have released an audio artifact that fits that description. French Dyppe opens with the driving “Friends Like These” before the hip shaking and head spinning take over during “Jaywalker.” No frills, just stripped down rock ‘n’ roll thrills. They even throw in the instrumental versions of the songs on the B-side.*
Oh, French Dyppe is also available as a digital download. You know, in case your cassette player is hanging out with your VCR and 8-Track player in some moldy old box down in the basement.
Where to get it:
* I love that the “1-2-3-4” was left in at the beginning of the instrumental version of “Friends Like These.”
Rule
Rule
2012
The hardest thing when writing about Rule is trying not to use the band’s name to describe their music – no matter how appropriate it may be.* It’s a cheap trick and I won’t sink that low, not even if it means missing out on the most fitting way to describe them. Settle in. This could get messy.
It becomes apparent that Rule’s debut EP draws its inspiration from old-school metal as soon as the intro solo to “Sucker” kicks in. What happens? More like what doesn’t happen. No rhythm guitar part. Awesome. These guys are a classic power-trio-plus-wailing-singer type of band. After an epic intro, this vampire-themed tune kicks in with a modern take on the Blizzard Of Ozz sound. “Das Brute” follows with another ominous opening sequence before unleashing the band’s Anthrax influence in full fury. Check out a blistering live take on the tune right here to see that these guys can bring the noise live.**
I’ve gushed over “Bloodletter” in the past, so let’s skip to the next cut. Since I’ve already fallen into the trap of comparing Rule to the forefathers of heavy darkness, I might as well go all out. “Fire My Angel” would make Halford and company proud. No turning back now. Did I miss anyone? Oh, yeah. How about a Motörhead meets Maiden scorcher to wrap things up? Sounds good. “Pain On Pain” it is.
Well, there you have it – one impossibly clumsy write-up of a great metal EP. I’ve managed to avoid using the band’s name as a verb while unfairly comparing them to metal gods. Damnit. One of these days I’ll figure out an adequate way to describe their updated take on classic metal. One that shows how they’ve lived and breathed these well-forged sounds. One that that expresses how they have come up with a refreshingly irony-free take on the genre. It’ll probably involve the “R”-word.
Where to get it:
* Something I’ve managed to avoid for the most part, with one minor misstep here. It’s OK, though. I compared them to my cat in the same piece.
** Oof. That was bad. That’s not even a real Anthrax tune. Rule sound nothing like that. This is getting ugly.
Earthquake Party!
vs. Pizza
2011
Are you looking for three short bursts of super-saturated, hook-laden noise pop? Do you want to top it all off with perfectly paired boy/girl vocals? Earthquake Party! has just the thing for you!
vs. Pizza is 5:01 of fuzzed out bliss. “Pretty Little Hand” is a straight-up power pop tune riding a gorgeous wave of distortion. The guitar and synth blend perfectly. Earthquake Party! then proceeds to blast through “Nails&Hammers” in a mere 49 seconds. Songs that clock in under a minute and still feel complete have a special place in my heart. This one has a guitar line that will be stuck in my head for days. “Brains” closes things out; its vintage vibe meshes perfectly with the band’s noise aesthetic. I love this.
Where to get it:
If Parlour Bells got things steamy, Aloud got things sweaty! Talk about a band that leaves it all on stage. The music flows from every pore of their body. Aloud put on a powerhouse performance to cap off an amazing night of music at TT’s.
A huge thanks to Aloud, Sidewalk Driver, Dirty Wings (who came up from NY), Parlour Bells, Boston Band Crush and Daykamp Creative for a wonderful evening. We were so happy to be a part of it.
A couple of weeks ago, we presented a show at TT’s with our good friends over at Boston Band Crush. Sidewalk Driver was on the bill. I may have posted some pictures of these guys before. I kinda sorta like ’em a little bit. They’ve got these songs. Really cool songs. Songs about magnets and Tad’s face. And they play the hell out of ’em. They do all that while blowing confetti all over the friggin’ place.
One of my favorite things about a Sidewalk Driver show is telling my boys about it the next morning. As I was describing this particular show, Big Little One suspected I may be embellishing the tale a bit.
“You’re teasing.”
I assured him I wasn’t, although I understood his skepticism. It all sounded to fantastic to be true. It was too much for his six-year-old brain to process. I paused a minute to let him take it all in.
Then I told him about the parachute…
We here at Daykamp Music recently got to present our first show. We did so with the fine folks at Boston Band Crush. How spoiled are we? Quite. The very first band to play at one of our shows was Parlour Bells. That’s just crazy. The ‘Bells got things steamy right from the start. These debonair popsters have a dark spark that lights up whatever stage they grace. Their passionate set was a sign of good things to come.
