Category: Reviews

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Township – Life Goes On (Until It Don’t) EP (2014)

township life goes on
Township
Life Goes On (Until It Don’t) EP
2014

OK, folks, time to put on our optimist hats. Sure there may be multiple feet of snow on the ground and piles of the dirty white stuff that reach high up into the sky, but winter can’t go on forever. Summer will be here in no time, complete with a brand new crop of summer songs. Looking back, it’s safe to say that the summer of 2014 was the Summer of Dudes Summer of Township. These guys put out four top notch EPs that season. I’ve written about a couple of them, but failed to mention my favorite. The Life Goes On (Until It Don’t) EP is the most seminal, horn throwing, unabashedly rocking set of tunes the band has bundled for mass consumption. The title track is hooky, vital and impossible not to sing along with. “Diamonds In The Floorboards” might be the band’s best live tune.* The recorded version is just as killer. The vocals are impassioned while the riff goes for the jugular. EP opener “Chevy Nova 1979” sounds exactly like a song with that title should sound. So, roll down the windows. Crank the stereo. Township just provided the getaway soundtrack for your next big heist.

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* Although the monolithic “Garden Of Our Love” gives it a run for its money.

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Animal Talk – Kid (2014)

animal talk - kid
Animal Talk
Kid
2014

Animal Talk makes living, breathing dance music. A year ago, they released Kid, an EP with a pulse as human as it is electronic. Why am I writing about it now? Because, today, the triumphant buzz and thump of songs like “Tie Me Up” and “Mama Was A Teenage Rocker” are keeping me sane. In fact, if I can play “Color Wheel” on repeat for the rest of the day I might just live to post again tomorrow. Guitars and effects blend into a kaleidoscope of sound. These songs get in my head and suddenly the world seems better than it probably is. That’s something.

Where to get it:

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Scott Janovitz – Fall In EP (2015)

scott janovitz fall in
Scott Janovitz
Fall In EP
2015

Picking up where The Russians left off,* Scott Janovitz returns with an EP of layered power pop that may just melt the 100 inches of snow that fell on my heart this winter. The warm inviting sounds of “Fall In” belie the song’s less sunny undercurrents. Scott singing “Hear it in my voice now it’s ringing true/Hear it in my voice/Listen to my voice” in the damn-near-perfect second verse provides one of those subtle little songwriting twists that make my giddy. The Fall In EP is loaded with those moments. Like the unusual two-line-plus-twinkling-melody verses of “The Worst.” Or the chorus postscript tacked on at the 2:50 mark of “The Big Reveal.” The end result is magnificent. It’s good to be warm again.

Where to get it:

* That’s a very good place to pick up from.

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Magen Tracy – “Fiercely” (2014)

Magen Tracy Fiercely
Magen Tracy
“Fiercely”
2014

OK, so she’s put out another single since this one, but I just can’t let this fantastic song slip away without saying something. On “Fiercely,” Magen Tracy brings the Muscle Shoals sound to Boston. The Rhodes! The slide guitar! The backing vocals! It’s intense. The song is a slow, steady burn. Magen’s confidently restrained vocals go for honesty over emotional manipulation. There’s no melodrama here. This is real. This is good.

Where to get it:

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Worshipper – “Black Corridor” b/w “High Above the Clouds” (2015)

Worshipper black corridor high above the clouds
Worshipper
“Black Corridor” b/w “High Above the Clouds”
2015

This… I mean… Come on! How can a band’s first pair of singles be this good? Oh, Worshipper is John Brookhouse, Dave Jarvis, Bob Maloney and Alejandro Necochea? Well, there you go. “Black Corridor” and “High Above the Clouds” are a pair of towering tributes laid upon the alter of the metal gods. The riffs smoke. The rhythm section destroys. The tunes are timeless. The performances are inspired. This is everything I want from metal in 2015, which is pretty much all I’ve wanted from any metal ever. Go figure.

Where to get it:

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Sidewalk Driver – My Face (2015)

sidewalk driver - my face
Sidewalk Driver
My Face
2015

Oh, boy. I hate this. Wait, that came out wrong. I love My Face. That didn’t come out right, either. This isn’t going well. What I meant to say is that I love the new Sidewalk Driver record, but I hate that I can’t think of any good way to tell you that. And I need to tell you that. Ugh. Let’s get this over with.

So, how shall we proceed? Let’s start at the top. Sidewalk Driver’s magnum opus begins with the bang-bang combo of “Kidnapped” and “My Face.” These are two of my favorite songs, sans qualifiers, and no finer album opening salvo shall you find. “Call My Name” never fails to put a smile on my face.* “Five Steps” is a mind-blowingly awesome, dirty birdie rocker with a hair metal heart.** If a band like Tora Tora or Baton Rouge had had a song like this back in the day, they’d have been household names. Sidewalk Driver works some Fat Albert funk into “Because I Want You.” “So Close” is expertly crafted pop. The live favorite “Karaoke Guy (Monday Night)” always brings the house down; the recorded version does the same. “We’re Going Down” and “Rock Star” tack on a couple more big rock tunes before “Ya Know” gently brings things to a perfect end. Are you convinced of My Face’s brilliance yet? I hope so.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back to listening to music instead of butchering the English language in an attempt to write about it. Write about the music that is, not the English language. Please make this end.

Where to get it:

Full Disclosure: Nicole Anguish of Daykamp Creative did the artwork for this here record. You may have already guessed that since it’s awesome. The artwork and the record.

* That “my face” reference was unintentional and I hate myself for it.

** Anyone who knows me would recognize this as a compliment. It should not be taken otherwise.

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Goddamn Draculas – The Drax (2015)

goddamn draculas
Goddamn Draculas
The Drax
2015

Now that we’ve got all of our pics posted from the Goddamn Draculas release show, we thought it’d be fitting to say a few words about this frighteningly good album. The Drax is one bloody anthem after another. Honestly, “Say Goodbye” is one of the biggest album-closer-worthy tracks to come out of Boston in recent years. It’s the second song on the record. They hook you early and don’t let go. Killer harmonies drive a stake through the dense riffs, delivering witty and honest lyrical nuggets that deliver hard truths with tongues firmly planted in cheeks. The Drax cut their hubris with humor, creating a band persona that is as endearing as it is egotistical. They’re monsters of rock. They’re Goddamn Draculas. Raise your fist and smile.

Where to get it:

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Eddie Japan w/ Ruby Rose Fox – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” (2014)

eddie japan Christmas Baby Please Come Home with Ruby Rose
Eddie Japan w/ Ruby Rose Fox
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
2014

This is good. This is really good. I’m all for crazy renditions of holiday classics, but I always come back to well crafted versions that echo the originals. This here rendition of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” with Eddie Japan and Ruby Rose Fox is just right. Old school recording techniques, great vocal interplay and special guest Doug Orey on guitar make this worth the download. All of the proceeds benefiting the DCF Kids Fund make it worth a lot more.

Where to get it:

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Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents – Electric Candyland (2014)

Jenny Dee Electric Candyland
Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents
Electric Candyland
2014

What happens when you take the handful of incredible singles you’ve released over the past couple of years and you put them all on the same record with a bunch of other great songs? If you’re Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents, Electric Candyland happens. I’ve sung the praises of “Get Away,” “Don’t Tell Me” and “Bandit Of Love” in the past, but the release of a proper full-length album is as good a time as any to remind everyone how great these songs are.* The Deelinquents manage to blend ELO, Olivia Newton-John, Sweet, Darlene Love and Blondie into something new and different. It sounds wonderful. They snarl on “Bite Your Tongue.” They’re playful on “Wake It Up.” They rock on “Lookin’ For Clues.” They cover “Fox On The Run” and I’m happy. I think I’ll go listen again.

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* They’re really, really great.

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Doom Lover – Until Everybody Dies (2014)

doom lover until everybody dies
Doom Lover
Until Everybody Dies
2014

As a kid I had a cat named Pudge. He was a wee tiny kitten when we got him, but he grew up to be a pretty sizable feline with a bit of a belly. The name fit. Little did I know that spending my childhood with Pudge would prepare me for Doom Lover.

There’s always been something a little bit haunting and seductive about everything Doom Lover does. It’s right there in their name. When they released the eerie “Under The Alders” back in April, right before their appearance in the Rumble, they planted the seed. Until Everybody Dies shows how much they’ve grown. While a hint of the spring single’s darkness remains, Doom Lover pull back the veil on this EP. There’s an exuberance to these evocative recordings that’s hard to describe. Maybe it’s the joy of five people making music together. Maybe they’re secret optimists. Maybe their big hearts just can’t be contained. Maybe they are just lovers of doom, just like their name says.

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