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Due to overwhelming volume, OpeningBands.com regrets that is not accepting CD admissions at this time.
| by todd hunter (todd) | |
1. Down and Out*
2. Like You Better
3. Closer
4. Hurt Your Head
5. Jesus, Driving High
6. Mr. Man*
7. Shake Your Heart*
8. So Tired
9. Tricky Love*
10. Anybody Listening
11. Getcha' Good*
*demo on self-titled EP
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Band: Suffrajett
CD: Black Glitter |
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Three years ago, Suffrajett opened for Local H at The Canopy Club and stole the show. A follow-up show at Courtyard Café fell through, and Suffrajett never has been back to Urbana. In the meantime, the Chicago via New York quartet has put out a self-titled EP and now Black Glitter.
Rock 'n' roll comes naturally to Suffrajett, and Black Glitter documents this. Five of these songs composed the self-titled EP, and only the soft one, "Shake Your Heart," distinguished the band before. Songs that boil down to "You are bad for me, and I love you" put a lot of pressure on performance, and performance is where Black Glitter sparkles. "Like You Better" and "Closer" are a one-two punch that showcases singer Simi Sernaker at her sultriest. Guitarist Jason Chasko, bassist Kevin Roberts, and drummer Danny Severson are just as tight.
"So Tired" is a nice curve ball: it rocks as hard as the rest but sounds somehow brighter, less bleak. Black Glitter is best taken as a whole, though: a very good album, very much at odds with so much indie rock that forgot the rock.
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| by joseph m. pence (notaninja) | |
1. Authenticity
2. The Love Kills Theory
3. Something Goes Around
4. Found
5. Region of the Worms
6. Gray
7. Vacuum Space
8. Suicide Girls
9. The Poverty of Student Life
10. The Thing
11. King of Cream
12. 44
13. Dream of Sleep
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Band: The Love Kills Theory
CD: Happy Suicide, Jim! |
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I wanted to review this CD because it features a cake with Kool-Aid Man saying "Happy Suicide Jim," a reference to Jim Jones, and the label that published it is Xemu Records, a reference to L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology. I figured if nothing more, The Love Kills Theory had excellent taste in charismatic sociopaths.
And while the album layout suggests a certain audaciousness, there is that, but moreso, there's cleverness. And I don't mean clever in a "using Harry Potter characters in songs" sort of way; that's not actually clever but rather sad. I mean clever in that the songs are all light, upbeat pop sound but lyrically wink and nudge at existential messages. It's the same mildly subversive quality as Frank Black's "2-D is much more interesting than real life" subtext in "(I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain" or The Dandy Warhols' "Isn't it great that we're clones!" subtext in "Bohemian Like You."
The indulgence of needful things is their main point. "The things we buy are the things we hold dearly / We're in love with The Love Kills Theory," which singer Cevin Soling lays out in a Wayne Coyne "just fuckin' with y'all" drawl. Similarly fitting, the song "Region of the Worms," about the drabness of consumerism, is punctuated with homage to Nineteen Eighty-Four and the title being spoken out in a so-serious-it's-silly refrain by a woman in a German nihilist monotone! "Suicide Girls" lays out a person's habitual work escapism to the blogosphere which they collectively (and perhaps correctly) describe as populated by "angry boys and lonely suicide girls."
The band outline their opposition to this public desire for instant gratification without artistic content or credibility on their site as their parody "manifesto," even to the point of Photoshopping their heads onto Lee Harvey Oswald. And while I confess I don't get what the bizarre significance is, or if there even is any significance, to using Flintstones sound effects and the Psycho string passage as samples on the album's weak spot "Something Goes Around," The Love Kills Theory doesn't stray so far from the Dandys guitar/keys pop schematic that you ever really feel like they're getting carried away or lost in their ideas. It's great to see a band so capable of both writing fun songs and lyrically developing them on their own terms.
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| by nathan schwalm (mythox007) | |
1. Anything
2. Crossing the Mississippi Again
3. Ramblin' Cowboy
4. Sick with Motion
5. Jennie Catherine Baugher Baird
6. My Lost Confidence
7. Bounce Back
8. Breathing
9. Lake Water
10. Coming Up for Air
11. Wal-Mart Blues
12. Beauty in Me
13. Just a Movie
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Band: Joni Laurence
CD: With No Apology |
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Right around the time this album was recorded, Joni Laurence was planning to head out to the West Coast to Portland, Oregon. Joni's musical sound is similar to the singer-songwriter folk rock of Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell, recent Joan Baez, and Emmylou Harris along with elements of country, pop, and blues. This album is a souvenir for the dedicated fans as well as a sneak peek at Joni's full band ensemble at a live concert on February 18, 2006 in a church in Urbana. The musicians who are gathered with Joni are: Ryan Groff on harmony vocals and guitar, Jeff Magby pounding away on drums and percussion, the talented Matt Stewart on slide and lead guitar, and the well known bass guitarist Josh Walden.
"Anything" sets the stage for a good steady folk-rock groove with an optimistic view and ironies about love with a line such as: "I am for you, and you are for me, and together we can face anything." "Crossing the Mississippi Again" sounds like a long-lost melancholy cowboy song about trying to move away from the problems while still battling her problems from the past. Honky-tonk song "My Lost Confidence" is a catchy novelty that is quite similar to a '60s country song by the late, great Roger Miller.
The song that stands out as a personal favorite is the mellow ballad "Breathing" as it holds up as a simple melodic folk song but beautiful. Another highlight is the only tune that isn't written by Joni as well as being the only song for Joni to be secondary in the spotlight. That tune is the elsinore repertoire "Lake Water" written and sung by Ryan Groff: a sunny-pop song that deserves to get radio airplay. A catchy mid-tempo tune "Coming Up for Air" has a hint of sarcasm while revealing the woes of hard-working people during every day life. The silly blues number "Wal-Mart Blues" claims about her "being broke while saving money at a cheap discount store" while making the crowd chuckle to her useless junk blues while being broke and considering having a garage sale.
Overall without considering a couple of bland songs, an excellent recording to showcase at the peak of Joni Lawrence's talent with a rare treat of a full-live band similar to her most recent studio album Trashbag Birdie. This recording is easily recommended for the folk, Americana, and eclectic music fans out there.
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| by lance birch (lance) | |
1. Center Where Sight
2. Freezing Water
3. Sheets and Organs
4. Here to Ruin the Party
5. Eighth War
6. Suffocation
7. Minds
8. Sons of Horn
9. In Veins
10. Towers of Silence
11. Day Eleven
12. Ear Ever Hear
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Band: xbxrx
CD: Wars |
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xbxrx's wars is a collection of weird, spastic hardcore-derived songs with electronic sounds and monosyllabic shouts in time with the beat. The attack is lean, but often brutal. These are all good qualities. Their sound is like a fusion of The Blood Brothers and The Feud.
As for the vocals and lyrics, one may think this is Zach de la Rocha's new experimental album where he takes the next step and removes any chance of coherence. Judging from the poetry, we may be hearing the scientifically-created child of Zach and Michael Stipe. As an upstanding American capitalist, I am reminded of the commie goal of making art meaningless. If communist revolution is their goal, maybe xbxrx should be deported. However, a meaningless mass of lyrics doesn't do much to add or take away from the music, a jumbled but energizing series of blasts all its own. Great drinking music, I'm sure.
Tracks 5-8 are the most interesting. Pieces fall into place as "Eighth War" builds. Electronic blips and organ sounds fill "Suffocation." The rolling drums of "Minds" slow down and restart to keep the intensity coming. "Sons of Horn" returns some traditional structure to their quasi-hardcore, and it lasts about as long as a hardcore song should last. "Day Eleven" isn't so bad, though I think it could be described as simply "indie rock."
What you get here is something neither original nor great, but interesting for the combination and order of rhythmic smashing patterns and the occasional awkward notes and timbres. Someone else could do it, but it would undoubtedly be done differently. Sometimes it is simply neat to see the musical directions one chooses when given a fork in the road. This CD will likely collect dust until I want to hear something that shakes things up. Then I'll put it away, remembering it was neat but nothing special.
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| by Aaron Blythe | |
1. Put Down the Racers
2. Let
3. Cool Runnings
4. Falling on Scissors
5. Closer
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Band: Ladycop
CD: Ladycop |
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Ladycop is a Brooklyn-based indie/electronica rock band. After careful review of their self-titled EP, I have confirmed similarities to Radiohead, Fugazi, and a touch of some other forgotten stoner rock band (all three of which I am no stranger to).
4 of the 5 tracks on the disc demonstrate the use of a drum machine, except "Let." It stands out as a nice change of pace, with the use of acoustic guitars at the beginning, and later towards the end some electric guitars as well.
"Cool Runnings" has nothing to do with the Disney movie about the Jamaican bobsled team, although embarrassingly enough, that's the first thing that came to my mind upon reading the title. This song climaxes at the end with some rather crazy stereo panning, especially if you listen to it through headphones as I did.
It's a very nicely written, recorded, and mixed EP that Ladycop has provided us to enjoy. Although not my favorite cup of tea, I certainly did enjoy. It was recorded 11/05-11/06, so be on the lookout for the next EP, and check it.
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| by amanda shively (lostinpoetics) | |
1. Male Dominated Jam Rock
2. Residual Residue
3. News to Me
4. John Hughes
5. Safe Inside
6. Again
7. Bound by Ties
8. Better on the Other Side
9. Death in the Past
10. Give Back
11. Shed
12. Outro
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Band: Cameo Turret
CD: You Bring It with You |
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Based out of Champaign, Cameo Turret's latest effort You Bring It with You exemplifies my every notion of '90s indie rock. While I may be only eighteen and working to catch up on what that exact definition is (and I could be terribly mistaken), I can certainly agree that You Bring It with You is the pleasant sound of lo-fi recording with an undeniable emotional attachment. As the simple biography found on Cameo Turret's MySpace page states, "Cameo Turret's sound blends pleasure and pain in Rachel's haunting vocals."
From opening (self-explanatory) instrumental track "Male Dominated Jam Rock" to the also aptly titled closer "Outro," Cameo Turret fills twelve tracks of what seems to be an alternating pattern of male-female vocals, each with their own sense of urgency and passion. Unlike many bands that seem to have difficulty transitioning from loud aggression to softer, more melodic pieces, Cameo Turret embodies this exact ideal between "Again" and "Bound by Ties." Both standout tracks in their own right, they seem to demonstrate the power of the band to play up the contrasts.
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| by libby daggers (Libbyloo) | |
1. The Wall's Gonna Break You Down
2. Standing Offer
3. Ragdoll
4. Ordinary
5. Massive Attack
6. Shoshana
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Band: Squaretape
CD: Squaretape |
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According to Squaretape's website, "Squaretape was founded in 2004 by multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter Kirk Hamilton, along with guitarist Dan Nervo. Based in San Francisco, their lineup also features Dan Apczynski on keys, guitar and backing vocals, Brian Fox on bass, and Peter Thomas on drums. They play regularly around the San Francisco Bay Area." The Squaretape EP starts with what I feel is the strongest song, "The Wall's Gonna Break You Down." This gave me the impression that Squaretape was another synth-pop sensation on the rise. However, as the EP goes on it has its highs and lows with tracks similar to the first, and a few that are far more mellow such as "Ragdoll." While all of the tracks are well written and sound great, it was kind of a letdown after the first one; I felt as if the EP were missing something. Overall the EP has a very tight sound and is enjoyable to listen to. However, in my own opinion more up-tempo tracks like the first could give this EP the kick it is lacking.
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| by joseph m. pence (notaninja) | |
1. The Zombie Walk
2. Spin Variations
3. The Forging of Battle Plan B
4. Headphone Music OP 001
5. The Listening Test
6. Hideko
7. Osaka, She Knows!
8. Tu Es Monono?
9. A Million Years Now
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Band: Cameran
CD: A Caesarean |
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So you want a band with the incendiary ambition of At the Drive-In and the stadium-stomping drive of The Who? Cameran might be the band for you. From the moment you put on "The Zombie Walk," the head-bobbing hard rock of this Austrian band takes amplifiers to places they were always meant to go. I really mean that; the opening of this album is like the audio equivalent of the storming of the Bastille. If you want one reason alone why this album is incredible, look no further than the production credits on A Caesarean. The producers, Eskil Lövström and Andreas Nilsson, and the studio in which it was recorded are both the same as The Shape of Punk to Come, and Magnus Lindberg is also on board. (The Refused trusted him to score their DVD, for chrissakes.) But this isn't so much a case of the stars coming aligned as it might seem because Cameran is not another Umeå hardcore band. At times they sound further than anything from it: for instance, the guitar parts in "Osaka, She Knows!" sound like Jimmy Paige trading shots with Tom Morello. If any of the mantle of The Refused is passed, it's not that Cameran has a punishing heavycore sound; it's their superb ability to carry through a song. The lyrics are the icing on the cake, but they're not politically invective so much as emotionally invective, and the band changes things up a lot, whether it's ending "Spin Variations" with a glockenspiel march, or the Eastern European rhapsody in nyckelharpa and upright bass on "Headphone Music OP 001." It's the beauty of the unexpected details in A Caesarean that make it a must-buy.
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| by nathan schwalm (mythox007) | |
1. Waterfalls
2. Sweet Dreams
3. Shoulda Said
4. Heavenly
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Band: Lucky Mulholland
CD: La Petite Rendezvous |
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This is a second recording by Lucky Mulholland, the once-solo project by Bryan Phelps, now morphed into a strong five-piece band. As with the first EP, also four songs with a power pop vibe but a much fuller sound compared to their debut sounding a bit bland. Nothing extravagant, but then again it's straightforward rough-sounding indie pop with a dash of power pop.
"Waterfalls" kicks off the EP in full gear with a nice drum kick leading to a synthesizer interlude with a little bit of guitar to go along with the track. A very well done power pop single that aches for Mark Rubel to finalize it from a demo vibe to a solid indie hit written all over it.
"Sweet Dreams" is a shoegazer lullaby that fits with late '80s The Church stuff or even Gold-era Starflyer 59. Nothing much builds up beyond a basic mellow mood that can relax and make me tired at the same time.
Just when the album lost the rock kick, "Shoulda Said" has a nice buzzing double guitar sound with the keys and acoustic guitar in the near distance while the singer mumbles the lyrics with a nice nasal attitude.
"Heavenly" stands out like a sore thumb compared to prior tunes as the synth leads the introduction to a sweet guitar lick that leads to a steady mid-tempo drum beat. At the closing song, this is quite good and highlights the overall mood of 3AM with a nightlife chill vibe. Quite a tight cool shoegazer cut.
Overall, it is not a great recording and it is far from being well produced, but it is a trace of good things to come for this group. Unfortunately, it doesn't showcase their nice blending talents to duplicate from their live shows. Overall, a nice and cool EP to add to the indie and power pop fans out there.
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