Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Brian Carpenter And The Confessions came out from the shadows just long enough to lure us in.
Devil On Horseback released a new 7″ at Great Scott with a set of space-fuzz-infused-riff-heavy-buzz-o-matic rock ‘n’ roll. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Hearing Muck And The Mires play “Saturday Let Me Down Again” on a Saturday night will never get old.
When I want it done wrong I gotta do it myself.
I love this song. This is disaster rock in action.
AM Stereo brought their disaster rock to the Great Scott stage Friday night. They played a bunch of old favorites and some tunes off of their fantastic new record, When You Wish Upon A Bar.*
* When You Wish Upon A Bar features design by the lovely and talented Nicole Anguish at Daykamp Creative and photography by yours truly.
The Russians
EP.02
2007
The Russians are the brainchild of Scott Janovitz. On this 2007 EP, Scott and his comrades-in-rock created 17 minutes of musical escapism.
The songs here are exceptional. Scott’s songwriting has always been a cut above. These songs ranked among his finest work at the time. “Your Only One” is an instant attention grabber with its piano and vocal intro. “Taking Noise Away” has a beautifully evolving chorus. “Talking To Yourself” has a gentle verse and a power pop chorus.
Pianos, guitars, accordions, handclaps and “aaahs” weave an intricate musical tapestry. It’s a complex mix and The Russians make it sound easy. The vocal layers call Brian Wilson’s production to mind. The seamless song transitions wouldn’t be out of place on Wish You Were Here. The guitar leads in “Your Only One” sound like they came straight off of Revolver, the bassline of “Crashing The Party” from Abbey Road. The Russians look to the past to create their modern rock sounds.
Half of this four song EP would end up on 2010’s stellar Crashing The Party. The other two songs, as well as the thoughtful sequencing, make EP.02 worth checking out.
Where to get it:
Here’s Rule barreling through their song “Das Brute” at Church last week.
Rule opening for Manitoba?* You know I’m there. The band blasted through their set (and a kick drum head!) at Church. Rule doesn’t mess around.
* I know they aren’t local, but I’d be remiss not to mention how great Handsome Dick and his band of merry men were. Hopefully Manitoba will be back around these parts again soon.
Muy Cansado
“Not For Nothing”
2012
When I caught Muy Cansado at The Rosebud, I commented that their sound had “echoes of Boston bands gone by.” I stick by that assessment with their latest single,* “Not For Nothing”. Muy Cansado manages to evoke thoughts of The Pixies, Permafrost and Trona without ever sounding like any of those bands. The song’s signature is a danceable groove offsetting a cool, reverb-drenched guitar riff. Throw in some boy/girl harmonies and you’ve got the makings of a pretty great indie rock tune. If only it had a fantastic breakdown in the middle with cool backwards-masked sounds to put it over the top. Oh wait, it does…
Where to get it:
* They’ve got a video, too!
What better way to head into Memorial Day Weekend than with some pics of Roy Sludge playing at a BBQ festival? The Roy Sludge Trio, with special guest Kevin Barry* on lap steel, entertained the hungry crowd at the Lexington Battle Green BBQ Festival. Roy’s originals blended perfectly with the group’s tasty cover selections. Great songs, impeccable musicianship and Roy’s voice. That voice! So good.
* Roy Sludge Quattro if you will…
