Year: 2004
Local Review: Micah Dahl Anderson – EP #1
Micah Dahl Anderson EP #1 Mother Clucker Micah Dahl Anderson = Patti Smith + Death Cab for Cutie acoustic Tranquil folksy indie guitar stuff swaps off with Tourette Syndrome outbursts of frantic panic sans swearing. Nick Drake overtones swell and ripple, early Radiohead bleeds through sometimes as in “Pirates of the Universe;” if emo in
Local Review: Le Force – Le Fortress
Le Force Le Fortress Wäntage USA It’s finally here, Le Force’s first record label release. The deflowering honor goes to Wäntage USA, out of Missoula, Mon., which also hosts Federation X and The Fucking Champs, among others. Hot tubs filled with whiskey and semen, feathered hot-pink boas and glass fish tanks full of cobras and
Local Review: Less People, More Robots – Self-Titled
Less People, More Robots Self-Titled LPMR = Fiona Apple + Weezer My friend Melinda told me that robots are one of the three things in the entire world that scare her. The other two are children and monogamy. Go figure. Though some, like Melinda, would argue against having more robots in the world, you’ll probably
Local Review: Last Response – Have You No Sense of...
Last Response Have You No Sense of Direction? EP Last Response = AFI + Taking Back Sunday + Sunny Day Real Estate Yes, I never thought I’d put AFI and Taking Back Sunday in the same equation, either, let alone Sunny Day, but once you hear Last Response, you’ll hear what I mean. Sanguine anthems
Local Review: Jupassa – Attack of the Red Dinosaurs
Jupassa Attack of the Red Dinosaurs Kitefishing Family Jupassa = Edward Scissorhands + Ray Bradbury If Mogwai were approached about concocting the soundtrack for The Nightmare Before Christmas Part II: Jack Gets Funky Fresh with Kwanzaa, this is what they might come up with. Trip-hoppy electronica skips rope with quirky guitar breaks and odd
Local Review: Ichor – Metal Bigotry
Ichor Metal Bigotry The lo-fi sound recording and instrument playing of Ichor’s unrefined, jugular-choking death metal is about at Mayhem-and-Burzum level (sometimes the guitars and drums need to make friends more), which is just fine with me, because what Mayhem and Burzum lacked in $100,000-studio recordings and target-market interviews in metal magazines they made up
Local Review: Ibex Throne – Self-titled
Ibex Throne Self-titled (Elegy Records) Ibex Throne = Mayhem + Blasphemy + Beherit + Dark Throne From the cold wastes of Salt Lake City comes one of the fastest, most brutal experiences ever. While some parts are slow and somber, Ibex Throne is typically light-speed. The searing death growls and tortured screams of vocalist
Local Review: Gerald Music – Take Part of Group Activities
GERALD MUSIC TAKE PART IN GROUP ACTIVITIES Gerald Music = Temporary Residence Records + William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition + yin-yang My favorite part of Gerald Music is the silver, fawn-soft bells that seem to rise like multi-colored bubbles above the heads of a dreaming, silhouetted crowd in a club infused with magic, if only for
Local Review: Gina French – Of Rapture
Gina French Of Rapture Gina French = Emmylou Harris + Robert Johnson + Dead Can Dance Gina French has more soul than Al Green french-kissing Tina Turner. She is the only folk artist I know that takes the sexiest, dirtiest parts of the blues, rock and alt-country and mixes it with Middle Eastern scale progressions.
Local Review: DulceSky – Media-Luna/Half-Moon
DulceSky Media-Luna/Half-Moon Eden’s Watchtower DulceSky = The Cure + Violet Run – Nirvana worship Once again, DulceSky have delivered a glazed-honey concoction of dense, multi-layered goth-tinged shoegazer; a smooth, dark glide down a river with no reflection, like Ophelia’s ride to her final resting place. The female harmonies are especially potent on Media-Luna, and the