Category: Reviews

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Ryan Lee Crosby – “The War” (2011)


Ryan Lee Crosby
“The War”
2011

Ryan Lee Crosby has released a couple of singles recently. His latest, “The War”, absolutely smokes.

Ryan Lee Crosby’s work has always been raw and visceral. Rarely is it this combustible. The lyrics are perfectly matched to the late-’60s protest anthem feel. Nicholas Ward (bass) and Kevin Micka (drums) cause a dust-up while Elio DeLuca pounds away on a Fender Rhodes. It’s quite the groove they’ve got going on. Throughout it all Ryan lets the guitar solos fly.

“The War” is a fantastic racket.

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Christians & Lions – More Songs for Dreamsleepers and The Very Awake (Acoustic) (2006)

Christians And Lions - More Songs for Dreamsleepers and The Very Awake (Acoustic)
Christians & Lions
More Songs for Dreamsleepers and The Very Awake (Acoustic)
2006

For their first release, Christians & Lions pulled together a loose collection of eclectic folk tunes. More Songs for Dreamsleepers and The Very Awake (Acoustic) sounds like a mix of Iron & Wine, Cat Stevens, The Kinks and The Shins. There are even a few songs that share an aesthetic with O’Death.

There’s a definite energy to these recordings. They’re intimate. “A Roots Grave Is Above Ground” and “Bones” are heartfelt and touching. “Stay Warm” is a toe tapper. “Free Radio Post Apocalyptic Metropolis Blues” and “Longboy” stomp and howl.

Many of these songs got a fresh treatment on Christians & Lions’ follow up (which happens to go by the same name), but that doesn’t make these inferior versions. The newer versions feature more of a full-band treatment than those presented here, but it winds up being a classic case of different, not better.

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Brendan Boogie – I Hate New York (2011)


Brendan Boogie
I Hate New York
2011

It took me 2 minutes and 42 seconds to take a liking to Brendan Boogie’s I Hate New York EP. You see, at exactly that moment in the title track there is a killer multi-part harmony that completely surrounds you. It’s mesmerizing. The song has a Simon & Garfunkel feel to it, with an arrangement that reminds me of “The Boxer” at times.

Brendan Boogie continues the shaking off of his bubblegum pop persona with this release. His originals have taken on a darker tone. Songs titles like “I Want To Be Rented” and “Empty” are reflective of their lyrical content. I Hate New York closes with a well arranged cover of Dire Straits’ “So Far Away” that finds Mr. Boogie accompanied by acoustic guitar, viola, harmonium and glockenspiel.

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The Fagettes – The Fagettes, Vol. 2 (2011)


The Fagettes
The Fagettes, Vol. 2
2011

I can’t get enough of The Fagettes. They’re a blast of stale, musty air in an oxygen tent. This is a band that makes you realize just how sterile things have become.

The Fagettes, Vol. 2 picks up right where their first EP left off. The band delivers four more garage rock nuggets with reckless abandon. It’s a crackin’ mix of Tommy James & The Shondells, The Velvet Underground, The Kinks, X and The Troggs.

Wanna feel good? Listen to The Fagettes.

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Nate Leavitt – Inference (2011)


Nate Leavitt
Inference
2011

Nate Leavitt’s new solo EP is a somber affair. The four songs that make up Inference are built around Nate’s acoustic guitar and intimate vocals. “My End” is nicely augmented by tremolo and slide guitars. “Alone Together” and “Won’t You Be Mine” both feature a touch of piano to go with their feelings of longing and vulnerability. The songs are heartfelt and personal in both their nature and delivery.

“The World Today” stands out as a beautiful contradiction. The song’s sunny melody and major chord progression are tempered by its world-weary sentiment. It’s a work of profound simplicity. This is the sound of innocence lost.

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Space Balloons – Hugs And Hovercrafts (2011)


Space Balloons
Hugs And Hovercrafts
2011

Big Little Guy woke up sick the other morning. He had a nasty fever, wouldn’t eat, and seemed bored out of his skull.

I picked him up, plunked him on my lap, and pulled up the Space Balloons website. He loves Welcome to Balloononia. Maybe their new Hugs And Hovercrafts double single would cheer him up.

I press play and the ukulele strums of “Hug War” start in. He listens intently to the song. He seems to be perking up a little.

“I want to hear the rest.”

“Hovercraft Full Of Eels” has the same sense of whimsy as “The Tale Of The Space Balloons”, a song that Big Bittle Guy likes quite a bit. As we’re listening I explain to him what a hovercraft is.

“Can it go on water, too?”

“Yes it can. It can go over land and water.”

He goes back to listening. When the song ends, Big Little Guy asks me to play it again. Space Balloons have once again enchanted him. He quickly learns how to play the song over and over again.

Mom comes home.

“Mom! A hovercraft is like a car, but it doesn’t have wheels! And it can go on land and water!”

Later that night, as I was emptying the dishwasher, a familiar tune popped into my head. I start to sing. Big Little Guy and Mom join me.

Floating in our hovercraft full of eels
Flying through the air ’cause it has no wheels
Really, really happy is how we feel
Floating in our hovercraft…

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Parlour Bells – “Speak Up” (2011)


Parlour Bells
“Speak Up”
2011

Parlour Bells are making me look good. Ever since I caught their set at Brighton Music Hall back in March, I’ve been blabbering on about what a great band they are to see live.

Now along comes their new single, “Speak Up”. Drummer Brandon Erdos immediately make his presence know with the clock-steady beat that anchors the song. Glenn DiBenedetto pulls you along as his voice weaves a melody through the thumping bass and strummed guitars. There’s a simplicity to the song that draws you in before Nate Leavitt’s harmonized guitars carry you out. Well played.

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Space Balloons – Welcome To Balloononia (2011)


Space Balloons
Welcome To Balloononia
2011

“Hey buddy, want to hear a song about mustaches?”

“Yeah.”

If you want a mustache you gotta take care of it…

That’s how it started. My five year old thought a song about feeding and reading to your mustache was funny. He liked it so much he made me play it over and over and over. I couldn’t even play the rest of the Space Balloons EP, Welcome To Balloononia, for him. He just wanted to listen to the song about the mustache.

Then he started singing it around the house.

I did eventually convince him to listen to “Grapes”. He liked it.

I had made it clear that we were going to listen to the whole record (all three songs clocking in at just over four minutes), so “The Tale Of The Space Balloons” came on next. Oh boy. This intergalactic tale of balloons, lagoons and monsoons captivated him. I can’t even tell you how many times we listened to this song.* I have video of him singing this song in the car. If my son was a member of The Recording Academy, “The Tale Of The Space Balloons” would win the 2011 Grammy for Record Of The Year.**

Michael J. Epstein and Sophia Cacciola, who also happen to be Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling (who sound nothing like Space Balloons) and integral parts of about a billion other projects (which vary in their degrees of Space Balloons similarity), seem to be onto something here. The kids dig it.

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* Well, actually, thanks to the wonders of the iTunes play count, I could tell you. Truth be told, I’m afraid to look.

** I predict “The Tale Of The Space Balloons” is a better song that whatever wins the actual award.

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The Modifiers – Show And Tell (1998)


The Modifiers
Show And Tell
1998

If there was a club for bands that carry on the spirit of The Replacements in Boston, The Modifiers would be card carrying members (along with The Dirty Tuckers and *AM Stereo). Their rock is loud, loose and noisy. There are melodies and stories to be told.

The Modifiers may have some Westerberg hero worship happening, but they never go quite so far to make you think they should be sending the guy royalty checks. The songs are solid indie rock affairs. “Favorite Waitress,” “Glowing” and “Passage Through” are all fine examples of The Modifiers sound. “Outbound” is an ode to Mary Lou Lord a-buskin’ on the Red Line.

There’s not a lot of variety on Show And Tell. For the most part The Modifiers do one thing and do it well. The band does mix it up a bit on the bass driven “Tonight.” “Possession” is an all out basher. “Rough Draft” breaks things down to just guitar and vocals, showing once again that underneath all the noise it’s the song that matters most.

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Helicopter Helicopter – Analog & Electrical Fields (1999)


Helicopter Helicopter
Analog & Electrical Fields
1999

Analog & Electrical Fields picks up where Helicopter Helicopter’s debut album, Squids And Other Fishes, left off. The songs are still dark, still noisy, and still beautiful.

The album opens with the blistering “Ghost Face”, which is reminiscent of the aggressive rockers of their debut. In fact, “Ever Since The Buzzards Moan”, “Scarab In A Hole” and “Sinking Light” all share the same ethos as those early songs.

The band begins to expand their sound a bit on this record. “Please Take Me To Mars” sounds like it would be at home on The Flaming Lips’ Transmissions from the Satellite Heart album. “Firefly Mechanical” lays back a bit and really lets the vocal take center stage. The triumphant closing chorus of “Map” could be on infinite repeat for a very long time before wearing out its welcome.

Helicopter Helicopter have created a classic album by balancing their emerging pop sensibility with their knack for dark imagery. The band proves once again that there’s beauty in the shadows.

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