Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Right on the heels of her latest video release, Ruby Rose Fox and her band entertained the folks gathered at the Davis Square Theatre for a night of Jingle Ball Rock.
Jonathan Pape
“When The Lights Went Out”
2013
Jonathan Pape has released a couple of compelling singles in recent months. The first of these is the brooding “When The Lights Went Out.” The song grabs you immediately with the repetitive guitar pattern and haunting harmonies. Tension builds before a brief breakout at the 1:45 mark. It’s a short-lived respite. The terse patterns soon return. Mr. Pape has worked too hard setting the mood to let us off that easy. His words echo in the dark.
Where to get it:
Space Cranes
Christmas Robots
2011
Space Cranes (aka Chris n Kate) put out this collection of holiday tunes a couple of years ago. It features oddball arrangements of the classics. There’s the new wave surf of “Winter Wonderland” and “Good King Wencenslas.” Their version of “Silent Night” is a spacey country waltz with horns. Like synths? Check out “Deck The Halls.” Would “Jingle Bells” arranged for a pair of ukuleles, slide guitar, shaker, sleigh bells (naturally), bass and a couple of horns make your season brighter? Chris and Kate have you covered. “Hark the Drunken Angels Scream” is pretty much what you would expect (and then some). I love the wacky world of Christmas Robots.
Where to get it:
Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws (Nada Surf) just finished up their first tour as Minor Alps. Their final stop, at The Sinclair,* brought Juliana home to Cambridge. The respect that these two artist have for each other is quite evident. Complementary styles are in play. The sum of Minor Alps is distinct, yet familiar. Their voices work beautifully together. They sounded wonderful in the Harvard Square venue. The duo played songs from their debut record, a few Nada Surf songs, some of Juliana’s songs and a handful of covers. I could have listened to them all night.
* The lovely and talented Nicole Anguish of Daykamp Creative made an amazing poster for this show. Here it is. Nice, right?
Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling
By Hook Or By Crook
2013
Boston’s favorite “The Prisoner”-inspired musical act is getting feisty. Not content to wail and fuzz with bass and drums, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling wail and fuzz with bass, drums, keys, oboe and viola on By Hook Or By Crook. “Episode 10 – Living in Harmony” may be my new favorite DNFMOMD song. The vocals are simultaneously desperate and matter-of-fact. The augmented instrumentation adds to the emotional pull. Oh, the video ain’t too shabby, either. “Episode 15 – The Girl Who Was Death” will be instantly recognizable to those who have seen one of the band’s recent performances. The refrain of “You have just been poisoned” is effective in its directness and repetition. This is music design to make in impact. It does.
Where to get it:
Here’s Butterknife at TT’s. They’re releasing their fantastic new Attractions EP. Their set is a lesson in how to shine in the face of diversity. Date and venue changes threatened to derail this moment, but Butterknife are having none of that. Bravo, gentlemen. Bravo.
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:
Change of venue? No problem. Change of date? No probl… er… one problem. No drummer. Get Jim Theodore from Butterknife to fill in? Problem solved. The Susan Constant helped make the Butterknife EP release the special night it was. They even covered a Butterkife song for the occasion! Awwww…
After falling in love with the Sinnet song “Year Of The Whale,” I’ve had several opportunities to see the band live slip through my fingers. No more, I say! Thankfully, Sinnet appeared as the silver lining to the rescheduled and relocated Butterknife EP release show.
November’s Rock-n-Romp event found Spirit Kid slapping smiles across the faces of the families gathered at The Sinclair. Timeless tunes have a way of doing that.
