Month: November 2013

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Honeyglazed – The Trouble With Girls (1999)

Honeyglazed trouble with girls
Honeyglazed
The Trouble With Girls
1999

Honeyglazed were three guys and two girls. More significantly, Honeyglazed were vocals, keys and two bass guitars. They used both configurations to their advantage on The Trouble With Girls. Honeyglazed were peddlers of fuzzed-out bliss.

There are ultra-chic back and forth, harmony, and unison boy-girl vocals all over this record. “Under The Boot” and the horn-augmented “Milk And Morality” are prime examples. With Tim Catz going all out on his heavily distorted lead bass, the absence of guitars becomes a non-issue. The dual bass setup never feels like a gimmick. The unique instrumentation also leaves plenty of room for the keyboards to add to the sonic landscape.

Stand outs? “True In Tokyo” puts forth a vibe that is indescribably cool. Yes, they misspell Tokyo as T-O-Y-K-O. Yes, it’s awesome. The more atmospheric “747’s” is beautifully crafted and executed. It’s the type of song that transcends its genre and stands alone as a classic.

Where to get it:

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Sarah Rabdau & Self Employed Assassins @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 11.15.2013

The more I listen to Sarah Rabdau & Self Employed Assassins, the more I hear the pop undercurrent that flows beneath their adventurous arrangements. There’s a lot that goes into their sound—so much to take in. Couple this sense of layered artistry with an engaging live performance and you have a show to remember. Like this past Friday when Sarah Rabdau & Self Employed Assassins released Free as Thieves at TT’s…

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Butterknife – Attractions (2013)

butterknife - attractions
Butterknife
Attractions
2013

Butterknife’s slick Do The Needful was one of my favorite releases of 2012. The crisp production and hooks-for-days tunes “Restless” and “Coattails” were the sugar that made the emotionally charged subject matter go down easy. The band’s 2013 follow-up, Attractions, mines similar lyrical coal with less of the candy coating to keep your tummy from getting flip-floppy. This is grown up stuff. There are still hooks, but this time they cut a little deeper. It still sounds great, but this time the band isn’t afraid to let things stay a little ugly.

The opening riff to “Goodnight Goodbye” messes with your balance before delivering a knock-out chorus punch. “Muscle Memory” conjures the best escalator imagery since the movie Mallrats. “Afraid Of Me” has a guitar-and-vocals-in-unison run that is the perfect lead-in to another well crafted chorus. All six songs are solid. Attractions is really good. Butterknife wins.

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Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 11.15.2013

Crazy. Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling just released two songs, with videos(!!!), on the same night night. That’s not the crazy part.* The crazy part is that they added a few folks to the DNFMOMD fold for the occasion. Matt Graber, Rachel Blumenthal and Susannah Plaster all pitched in on various instruments for a memorable set. What’s so crazy about that, you ask? One look into Sophia’s eyes and you’ll understand…

*For most people releasing two videos on the same night would be called crazy. For Sophia and Michael, it’s called Friday.