Rawk Releases
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Release Spotlight: The Like - Release Me
Out today!!!
Artist: The Like
Album: Release Me
Recommended if you like: retro girl band pop
From the press kit:
“the songs are melodic, even cinematic at times, relying on a fairly simply power pop base. Elements of organ and a ‘60s girl band aura flesh out a sound that falls somewhere between Elastica and The Pipettes...Release Me will be a candy-coated guilty pleasure for you.” - snob’s music
Standout Tracks: “I Can See It","Why When The Love”
Worth a second listen?:
When we last had a studio album from The Like, they were a trio and I bought the CD at the now defunct Tower Records. Sigh. What a difference a few years make. You might also remember that they were all barely legal and now I actually think they can hang out when they play the Casbah! I was pretty excited to hear this new record - I’ve been following Z (their lead singer) on twitter and grabbed “Fair Game” by giving up my email addy. All good there. So the verdict? The Like v.2.0 is a bit more poppy, a lot more girl bandish but still has some edge to them. The album was produced by Mark Ronson, so if you’re a fan of his, that’s even more of an incentive to take this for a ride.
More info: official/myspace/Z on twitter
Listen: “Release Me” (click to stream, right click and save as to dl)
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Release Spotlight: Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Artist: Gaslight Anthem
Album: American Slang
Recommended if you like: east coast punk
From the press kit:
“Tracks...bristle and burn with the spirit of soul and the artistic adventurousness and impressive confidence of a band that has come into its own and found its own voice.”
“New Jersey’s most buzzed-over young band...scrappy, catchy and hyperpassionate.” - Rolling Stone
Standout Tracks: “The Queen of Lower Chelsea","Stay Lucky”
Worth a second listen?:
I’m not really sure why alt radio did not embrace this band’s excellent sophomore album The ‘59 Sound. Sure, a few stations played them here and there (the title track topped off at 35 on the alt rock charts) but they never seemed to really catch on. This album is a game changer for them. The title track is an instant classic - full on nostalgic power punk. Maybe I just like it because I can imagine my old punk rock boyfriends singing songs like these to me. Not a bad thing at all.
More info: fb/myspace/Brian on twitter
Listen (streaming until the album release on 6/15):
(individual tracks here)
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Release Spotlight: Against Me - White Crosses
Out today - let’s get to it…
Artist: Against Me!
Album: White Crosses
Recommended if you like: punk rock produced by Butch Vig
From the press kit:
“White Crosses is a huge, mainstream rock album that draws as much from Bruce Springsteen and U2 as it does from their own folk-punk roots. Sorry, bitter old-school fans, but it’s really, really good.” - popmatters
Standout Tracks: “We’re Breaking Up","Rapid Decompression”
Worth a second listen?:
Against Me!’s 2007 album New Wave brought the band to the mainstream with a single (the inspired “Thrash Unreal") that reached #11 on the alt rock chart. By all accounts, Against Me! strayed from their hardcore punk roots on that album - how else can you explain such power pop goodness as the duet “Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart” with Tegan Quin? That is not a knock by any means - musicians get older, they grow up, they aren’t as angry any more. Deal with it. On White Crosses, again produced by Butch Vig, the band builds on that mainstream sound, but seems to yearn for their punk rock days. On “I Was A Teenage Anarchist”, Tom Gabel laments “Do you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?” Why, yes, Tom, I do. A lot of the songs’ lyrics have that yearning for the past, but it is clear that the band is moving forward with their sound. Again, more mainstream ("Teenage Anarchist” is at #20 on the charts and rising), but with enough street cred to make you sit up and take notice.
More info: official/Tom Gabel on twitter
Listen: on spinner (for a limited time)
Monday, June 07, 2010
Release Spotlight: Nada Surf - if i had a hi-fi
I know, I should have done this review a couple of weeks ago when they were in town at the Belly Up....but since the official release date of the album is this week, I figured, better late than never…
Artist: Nada Surf
Album: if i had a hi-fi
Recommended if you like: indie rock cover albums
From the press kit:
“fizzing with energy and hope...and all of the songs sound as though they could have been written by the band themselves.” - drowned in sound
Standout Tracks: “Enjoy the Silence”,"Question"
Worth a second listen?:
I was very intrigued when I found out the new Nada surf album would be a covers album. When I looked at the track listing, I didn’t recognize any of the songs except the Depeche Mode cover so I didn’t have any pre-conceived notions on how these songs should sound. Like the reviewer from drowned in sound, I found the songs to sound like Nada surf originals. So for those of you who already like Nada Surf, you will be all over this. If you’re new to the greatness of this band, it’s still a pleasant listen.
More info: official/myspace/twitter
Listen: “Electrocution”
Monday, May 10, 2010
Release Spotlight: The Dead Weather v2.0
Out on Tuesday (that’s tomorrow!). M-Theory is sponsoring a listening party at El Camino tonite at 8pm.
Artist: The Dead Weather
Album: Sea of Cowards
Recommended if you like: any project that includes Jack White or completly rawking chick vocals
From the press kit:
“ they (editor’s note: Jack White and Allision Mossheart, duh) harness this icy alpha-dog tension into a distorted call-and-response aggression that’s now greater than its parts, a rudely heavy swath of rock’n’roll authority.” - Spin
Standout Tracks: “Blue Blood Blues”,"Gasoline"
Worth a second listen?:
I’m going to admit that I never warmed up to their first album. That being said, I have been listening to this one for a few days and it’s a brutal assault to your ears in a good way. I love when Jack White and Allison Moss trade off on vocals (such as on the single “Die By The Drop"). But that’s not the only reason to like this. The album has a swagger to it that has been irresistable to me. I just want to turn it up loud and rock out.
More info: official
Listen: “Die By The Drop” (yt)
P.S. They’ll be playing HOB SD on July 19th.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
RSD 2010
I’m kinda bummed I won’t be in SD this weekend because M-Theory is so awesome on Record Store Day. You can check what they have going on via Sounddiego. There is also a great list of RSD releases to view or to download.
Some things I am looking out for:
Band of Skulls - Live at Fingerprints 12/15/2009
Coconut Records - Bored To Death Theme Song/Nighttiming
Deftones - Rocketskates
Hole - Skinny Little Bitch
Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension (WXRP live recording) b/w “Long Island Blues” (previously unreleased)
Nada Surf - If I Had a Hi-Fi
Phoenix - Fences (PINK VINYL!!!!)
I’ll be in Chicago checking out the scene at Reckless Records before heading to the Art Institute for the day.(Expect a travel/photo post this weekend!)
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Battle of the Retro Pop Girl Bands: Dum Dum Girls vs. The Living Sisters
Lots of good music out there right now - I’m especially intrigued by this retro pop thing going on - lovelovelove Codeine Velvet Club and the new She and Him. But these two bands I specifically wanted to write about - mostly because of the Dum Dum Girls San Diego connection and then Inara George (of the Bird and the Bee) in the Living Sisters. So let’s get to it, shall we?
Artist: Dum Dum Girls
Album: I Will Be
Recommended if you like: retro pop with a punk rock spin
From the press kit:
“a blistering half-hour of menacing, witty bubblegum pop” - P-fork
Standout Tracks: “Jail La La","Blank Girl”
Worth a second listen?:
It’s not a secret that Dee Dee is Kristen Gundred (formerly of Grand Ole Party). Anyone who watched GOP knew that Kristen was the star of that show so I was really curious as to how this project would end up. The tracks have a JAMC feel to them (with chick vocals of course). And the track ("Blank Girl") that she does with Brandon Welchez (her husband and lead singer of The Crocodiles) is a total throwback to the JAMC/Hope Sandoval collab “Sometimes Always”. So the songs are really a bit punk with that pop sensibility. I liked it way more than I thought I was going to.
More info: official on sub pop/myspace
Listen: “D.A.L”, “Jail La La” (via Subpop - click to stream or right click and save as to DL)
Artist: The Living Sisters
Album: Love to Live
Recommended if you like: retro pop with an emphasis on vocals
From the press kit:
“Gorgeous harmonies highlight poetically charged lyrics and sing-along choruses backed by retro pop instrumentation” - from the record label’s press release
Standout Tracks: “Hold Back”, “Double Knots”
Worth a second listen?:
This trio also has a couple of recognizable faces from the indie rock world - Beck Starks of Lavender Diamond (who also was prominently featured on the Decemberists’ last album Hazards of Love) and Inara George of The Bird and the Bee. The trio is rounded out by Eleni Mandell, an L.A. based artist. All three have gorgeous voices and the material really shows them off. The songs are mellow and the emphasis is on the melodies and harmonies. A perfect record for a sunny afternoon where you are sitting on the porch reading, drink in hand.
More info: myspace
Listen: the album streaming on lala
