Month: May 2011

Posted on

Sodafrog – Hang The Moon (2010)

Sodafrog
Hang The Moon
2010

Sodafrog’s Hang The Moon comes from another time. It’s folk music. It is heartbreaking, heartwarming and haunting. Tom Janovitz’s voice weaves in and out of the sparse and varied instrumentation. The overall sound draws you in with its intimacy.

“Follow The Vine” is an engaging opening track. “Central Nonsense” is beautiful and timeless. “Chances At Sea” calls Elliott Smith to mind. I love when a song title perfectly describes the feel of a song. Such is the case with “Like Dancing”. “A Casting” could have come off of a Simon & Garfunkel LP. The songs are memorable, living with you long after you’ve heard them.

The circular instrumental “Untitled (For Townes)” wraps things up nicely. It’s time to go. Given the chance, Hang The Moon is an album that will grow on you with every listen.

Where to get it:

Posted on

Full Body Anchor – The Restless EP (2011)


Full Body Anchor
The Restless EP
2011

Everyone is all worked up right now because Foo Fighters finally stopped wallowing in mediocrity and put out a great hard-hitting record. If the song “1 in 150” was on that record, it would be one of the standout tracks. But, hey, it’s not. It’s on Full Body Anchor’s The Restless EP.

“1 in 150” is the kind of song Full Body Anchor does so well. It is aggressively catchy. It will hunt you down and make its presence know. It is determined. It does not come in peace, but it means no harm. It’s doing all of this for you own good. You need this song, and it knows it.

Don’t let your guard down for the next three tracks, either. “Offering”, “Sound Searching” and “Overload” are full of intensity. They will exploit your weaknesses. One thing Full Body Anchor is not is meek.

The Restless EP closes with “Dead Inside”. Rice Edmonston’s vocals are riveting as they soar above the beautiful racket. Let it ring out. Amazing.

Where to get it:

Posted on

The Shods @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 4.22.2011

This was The Shods’ second appearance in a Rumble Finals. Most bands aren’t so lucky.

The first time, back in 1999, The Sheila Divine won it all. I wasn’t there that night, but I can almost guarantee that there were many in attendance who felt The Shods were robbed. It happens every year. Such is The Rumble.

In 2011, The Shods returned to The Rumble Finals. This time, Anngelle Wood brought them back as the special guest band. Good call, Anngelle.* A raucous and rowdy set from The Shods was a great way to end a Rumble that truly was a celebration of Boston rock ‘n’ roll.



*Seriously, how great of a job did Anngelle Wood do putting this thing together? It boggles the mind.

Posted on

The Rationales – The Going And The Gone (2008)

The Rationales - The Going And The Gone (2008)

The Rationales
The Going And The Gone
2008

The Rationales have a new CD coming out next week. In anticipation, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at their debut EP, The Going And The Gone.

The majority of these six collected songs are a pleasant mix of Wilco, Tom Petty and Big Star. It’s a sound they do well. “On The Vine” is a fine example, with its layers of acoustic and electric guitars, organ and harmony vocals. There’s a hooky chorus with just enough grit to drive the song along. The delicate closer, “Ruby Colored Halo”, features some beautiful pedal steel work.

The standout tracks on this EP are the ones that don’t fit the mold. “No Guarantees” is an infectious power pop song with fantastic vocal harmonies. It’s the kind of song the repeat button was made for. The Rationales also deliver a near perfect retro pop number in “Far Away.” If you’re a fan of the work Paula Kelley was doing with her band Boy Wonder at the end of their run, you owe it to yourself to check out this song. While the whole CD sounds very good (kudos to Ed Valauskas, Joe Tooley, Darren Burke, and Nick Zampiello for their work), “Far Away” sounds flawless.

The Going And The Gone was a very promising debut. Have The Rationales continued to effectively mix up their roots rock and pop on their new record? We’ll find out soon enough.

Full Disclosure: The design work for The Going And The Gone was done by the lovely and talented Nicole Anguish of Daykamp Creative. That doesn’t make “No Guarantees” or “Far Away” any less addictive. Just letting you know.

Where to get it:

Posted on

Spirit Kid @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 4.22.2011

Once again I find myself posting about Spirit Kid in the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble. This time Emeen and his gang are in the Finals.  Once again they’re great.  I covered their wild card winning set from Preliminary Night #3. I also praised their fantastic Semi-Final set. Now I’m supposed to find new ways to tell you about the amazing Spirit Kid? No más.

Look, Spirit Kid has more hooks than Gamakatsu International. I’m not going to sit here and blather on about them for the third time in a week and a half just to hear the click-clackery of my keyboard. Just go hit up their Bandcamp page and download this damn near perfect single.

You’re welcome.



Posted on

John Powhida International Airport @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 4.22.2011

What does a Rumble winning set sound like in the year 2011?

Well, during John Powhida International Airport’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Finals set someone from Boston Band Crush posted the following Facebook update:

“Does anyone else think John Powhida is from another planet?”

Now, most of my alien rock music experience comes from Gwar. Locally we’ve got Planetoid living among us. What about Mr. Powhida? Could J-Po be from another planet?

I think the BBC folks may be onto something. There’s just too much crazy goodness going on in a John Powhida International Airport set for it to be of human origin. J-Po’s previous outfit, The Rudds, was a pretty kick-ass rock band.  Here, the kick-assity remains, but it’s infused with synthesizers, danceable grooves and a healthy dose of insanity.  It sounds crazy.  It is crazy.  But it works. It works beautifully.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you may be wondering what a Rumble winning set looks like in the year 2011. See below…



Posted on

OldJack @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 4.22.2011

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes (like say, once every 32 years) you lose, but you still get to keep playing because of a previously scheduled gig at a clam shack.

Such was the case with OldJack’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble run.

Look, life doesn’t always go as planned. It’s what you do with second chances like these that defines you. OldJack used theirs to cook up a semi-final set that was good enough to land them in the finals.

That’s where we caught up with the band. OldJack opened the 2011 finals with a blistering set. Dan Nicklin and his gang poured their hearts and souls onto T.T.’s stage until the room felt like it would burst. They were taking nothing for granted. They showed why they were there. OldJack showed, once again, that they are one of the best bands around.

Pay attention boys and girls, this is how you do it…



Posted on

Mellow Bravo @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 4.14.2011

Mellow Bravo played their Rumble semi-final set as if it was their last ever. I suspect they play all of their shows this way.

What a fun band. I wouldn’t doubt that Mellow Bravo fans think the band has a middle name. I, for one, found myself muttering “Mellow F’n Bravo” underneath my breath more than once throughout their supercharged set.  The band was firing on all cylinders, and singer Keith Pierce was their spark plug. Jeffery Fultz and Andrew Doherty channeled every classic rock guitar riff they’ve ever heard.   Dave Jarvis on drums and Seager Tennis on bass kept things moving along with reckless abandon.  Jess Collins helped make the whole thing gel on keys.  She also happened to explode when they put a microphone in her hand and gave her center stage.

Semi-Final Night #1 of the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. Spirit Kid won the night, but any of the bands could have moved on given a different set of judges or a groundhog seeing his shadow or what have you. Mellow Bravo, Sidewalk Driver, and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling (and Spirit Kid, of course) were just that good.  What an awesome night.