Category: Just The Bits

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Emily Peal And The Band Of Skinny Men – “Have Yourself…” (2012)


Emily Peal & The Band Of Skinny Men
“Have Yourself…”
2012

Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
From now on our troubles will be out of sight

Never have those words sounded so foreboding. Emily Peal & The Band Of Skinny Men have turned a holiday classic inside out. The dark clouds that hang over their rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” makes the warm and familiar feel detached and cold. Every piano chord and string-like swell increases the hollow, empty feeling that the now haunting melody planted deep inside you. It is dispiriting and beautifully executed. I can’t stop listening.

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John Powhida International Airport – “Santa, Santa, What’s in the Bag?” b​/​w “Let’s Make Nice” (2012)


John Powhida International Airport
“Santa, Santa, What’s in the Bag?” b​/​w “Let’s Make Nice”
2012

John Powhida’s ability to write a twisted power pop tune is legendary. The man has now set his sights on the holiday season with “Santa, Santa, What’s in the Bag?” It’s classic J-Po with witty lyrics, a snappy backbeat, hand claps and a big pop hook. The festive number is topped off with a riotous guitar solo, glockenspiel, sleigh bells and some holiday sneer to ensure it gets regular play through the end of the year. “Let’s Make Nice” is a send up of the traditional holiday duet with Amy Correia as the reason for J-Po’s blue Christmas. Merry JPx-mas!*

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* I “borrowed” that from the JPx Bandcamp page. It was too good not to use.

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Parks – “Sweater Weather” (2012)


Parks
“Sweater Weather”
2012

The King of Pop Mountain has returned. Parks is the new outfit from Oranjuly mastermind Brian E. King. “Sweater Weather” is the band’s first single. It proves that I may have been premature in my prediction that Mr. King may soon be battling dragons, bees and broken glass. Apparently there is no bottom to the well from which he draws some of the city’s best power pop. Jangly guitars, bouncing bass, a snappy beat and the perfect tambourine part keep the groove buzzing along under the pitch perfect hooktastic harmonies. Every facet of this gem has been polished to perfection. All the pieces work together, unlike the hodgepodge of words I’ve thrown together in this post. I should have just told you to listen to the song.

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Emily Peal – Fine Fur Coat (2012)


Emily Peal
Fine Fur Coat
2012

I first became aware of Emily Peal when she opened the release party for Static Of The Gods’ final EP, The Midnight Fires. Emily and Mike Agentis stripped their songs to the core, letting a sense of quirk and craft shine through. I was particularly infatuated with the cunningly coy “Wise To You.” Even in full studio regalia, the song has a decidedly pop bent. That’s what I thought I was getting into.

Lately I’ve been reminded that first impressions can be deceiving. I’m still enthralled with Emily Peal’s music, but for more varied reasons. The depth of her recent releases have left a mark. Tunneling drove home Emily’s flair for the theatrical and unique arrangements. Her cover of “Bang Bang” was a vehicle driven by tension and power. Now Emily and her Band Of Skinny Men unleash Fine Fur Coat. All of these elements are pulled together. Here are three stories set to music that rattles and pounds until the fate of the protagonist is felt as much as it is told. This is cinema. The title track is an ever evolving affair, with stellar drum work getting more and more frantic as Emily’s vocals desperately search for some truth in a guarded relationship. “February” bears witness to fierce, fuzzed out bass overtaking a finger-picked guitar introduction. Neither instrument is a match for the haunting chat that closes out the song. The EP closes with “Mountain,” a sprawling epic built around piano arpeggios and blasts of sonic fury. The dissonant walls of distortion that accent the song carry me further from the Emily Peal I first saw at TT’s. I’m enjoying the journey.

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The Flying Blue Squirrels – Ancient Alien Squirrels In Space (2012)


The Flying Blue Squirrels
Ancient Alien Squirrels In Space
2012

Talk about timely releases. I had to write about this one straight away.

The Flying Blue Squirrels (Eric Baird, Mary Bichner, Randy Creasi, Jessica Sun Lee and Cathy Capozzi) formed at last year’s One Night Band.* They blew me away. I couldn’t believe they came into existence a mere few hours before performing their set at the Middle East that night. Listen to “Crossed On The Wire” and tell me it isn’t crazy good. The Flying Blue Squirrels have created an aggressive indie rocker that bristles with energy. Now remember that they wrote that song and two others in one day. And learned a cover. Oh, and as of 10 o’clock that morning they had never played together before and didn’t even know they were a band.

The rest of this Ancient Alien Squirrels In Space is a fun romp of creative guitar work, grooving bass lines, twinkling keys and non-novelty flute.** Pick it up as a reminder of the inspired, spontaneous collaborations that can come out One Night Band. Then come on out to the Middle East Downstairs on Saturday night and witness it all first hand. Here’s another reason to snag this one right away: One of The Flying Blue Squirrels lost her home in the Columbia House Fire, so if you download this EP before September 10th the band is donating the proceeds to the ‘House on Fire Fund.’ Get on that.

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* I took their promo photo that morning! So much fun. More on this year’s One Night Band coming soon!

** Seriously, it’s hard to use flute in rock music and not have it sound like a gimmick, but The Flying Blue Squirrels pull it off.

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Cask Mouse – “Vultures Live @ Tupelo Music Hall in White River Junction, VT” (2012)


Cask Mouse
“Vultures Live @ Tupelo Music Hall in White River Junction, VT”
2012

As much as I love Cambridge Sessions, Cask Mouse will always be a live band to me. Every time I see them I walk away impressed. They have the enthusiasm of a young band and the ability to play off of each other like seasoned veterans. Now they’ve got a live track to prove it. “Vultures” was recorded during one of their performances in Vermont. The track is a barn burner. The performance is exhilarating. It makes me wish I was there. That’s the true test of a live recording.

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MMOSS – “Spoiled Sun” (2012)


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…

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Fat Creeps – Fat Creeps EP (2012)


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?

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Rule – Rule (2012)


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.

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* 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.

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Earthquake Party! – vs. Pizza (2011)


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.

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