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Dave Grohl And Computers

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:52:28 -0500

I know, I know, I’m always writing about things that are so last Monday. Try as I might, I suck at being hasty. Too often when I make an effort to be timely and clever, I end up looking like an idiot. Things take forever to sink into my system and even longer for me to vomit back out as pieces of my own experience. So I saw all the Facebook posts about Dave Grohl’s Grammy speech and was pretty sure I had the gist of it without even watching it thanks to the commentary of friends and acquaintances. I finally watched it yesterday, and as it turns out, I guessed right: it’s at once a painful illustration of Dave’s oblivious rock star cloud of self-promoting smugness and a valid, possibly even heartfelt plea for human passion and physical interaction. You know, the one that’s been a perennial rallying cry ever since the industrial revolution? Don’t let technology rob us of our hearts! I suppose at some point a few hominids believed that the inclined plane would be the downfall of society.

The Best Albums Of 2011

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:51:21 -0500

I confess: in agonizing over end-of-year pieces, the idea of greatness does enter into the equation, as opposed to just what I liked or listened to most this year. Yes, it’s all subjective anyway, but it gets tiresome listening to music critics year after year mock their contemporaries for trying to make a statement beyond “I enjoyed this”, as if he or she is the first unpretentious writer to take that tack. The designation of Album Of The Year ought to carry weight, whether you’re The Academy or some guy on Facebook; it shouldn’t just be the most-tallied record on your last.fm chart. And maybe I only say that because I know I’m going to be listening to several of these albums a lot in the coming months and years yet, and I know my appreciation for them will change so much that using “like” as the basis for a list makes it pointlessly transitory, possibly even inherently invalid, whereas considering greatness, trying (if in vain) to hypothesize an album’s impact, or even what I think its impact should be, makes the exercise more meaningful.

Then again, judging by the declining market value of music reviews that exceed 140 characters, perhaps this is an exercise in vanity only. Either way, regardless of greatness, my whole point is to get anybody who reads this to check out one or more of these albums that he or she hasn’t heard before, or look at them in a new light and revisit them. So here’s what I really liked an awful lot in 2011.

My Favorite Shows Of 2011

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:40:41 -0500

If I have any perennial list-readers here, most of them probably sighed preemptively as they imagined what would top my list this year, and they’re all correct: U2 (really impossible to choose between the two shows I saw), Phish (night one at UIC being the best of the seven), Secret Chiefs 3 at the Empty Bottle, Animal Collective at Pitchfork, and Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field. Oops, ya got me: I have favorite bands. I know music critics aren't supposed to reveal those, but there's no sense keeping it a secret. But rather than blather on about them yet again, it’s probably more productive for me to mention the top ten non-my-favorite-band shows of the year. So here goes. (To keep it interesting, I’m going to gloss over other obvious big names (Wilco, Pearl Jam, Primus, STS9), since they’ve all been covered plenty.)

Wilco: Riverside Theater, 12/9/11

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:54:35 -0500

How was the Wilco show last Friday, everyone’s wondering? It was really, really good. But you knew that already, right? Pretty rare that the band plays a less-than-great show these days. In its aftermath, I’ve been pondering what the hell to write about it that would be different from what I’ve written about the other times I've seen Wilco. In fact, what was different about it? Yeah, they played a bunch of songs from The Whole Love, obviously, but that can’t be it. The real question is: was it better or worse than the other Wilco shows I’ve seen?

Anthrax/Testament: The Rave, 11/19

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:58:10 -0500

It’s not hard to understand why thrash keeps getting “revived”: the best of it, i.e. Testament and Anthrax, doesn’t get old. The problem is that most revival acts are actually a cut below tribute bands--dumbed-down imitations of the real thing but without the killer songs. While the template remains vibrant as ever, it has been done to perfection with little room for evolution. Or, if there is room, nobody’s figured out yet how to make it happen (The Black Album doesn’t count). So the best you’re going to get in a live thrash show happened at the Rave last Saturday, unfortunately.

Seizure Chicken Fall Festival (Night One)

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:33:31 -0500

The City Of Festivals kicked it up a notch this year, particularly on the local music front. Not only did we have a bigger-than-ever WMSE Radio Summer Camp, we’ve got Riverwest Fest coming up in a few weeks, and last weekend was the Seizure Chicken Fall Festival, whose title you really shouldn’t be scratching your head about if you live in Milwaukee. The local blog certainly does enough for the scene to warrant a two-night celebration, and this one was as eclectic as the musical tastes of the folks who write its content.

Mastodon: THE HUNTER

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:31:01 -0500

Clearly (mercifully?), everyone has blocked nü-metal from memory, like a teenage car crash or any other traumatic experience. How else can we explain the classification of The Hunter as “stoner” or “progressive”? Should we also rewrite history so that Sevendust and Puddle Of Mudd and Godsmack are actually “sludge metal”?

Wilco: THE WHOLE LOVE

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:05:27 -0500

It’s a hard road, becoming an experimental rock band: once you go there, you can never go back. You try, you make an unpretentiously catchy pop record, and critics and fans will desert you. “Not strange enough!” they’ll cry. So, ever since Wilco made Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and its follow-up, A Ghost Is Born, which featured a ten-minute noise barrage that most people at the time decried as impenetrable and pointless, the band has farmed increasingly familiar, folky, radio-friendly territory, orchestrating its own critical downslide. The gutsiest thing Wilco could’ve done in 2011 is release another slick album of ballads and shimmering pop-rockers. Instead, Jeff Tweedy and company took the safe route with The Whole Love and got a little bit weird again.

Loyal Divide: BODICE RIPPER

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:52:35 -0400

Once upon a time, there was a band called Lake Trout, and it was one of the best bands in the world, blending elements of jazz, electronica, punk and experimental indie rock into a powerful and ever-evolving stew of sound. Unfortunately, that band never hit it big, and its members evidently tired of the lack of recognition and moved on to other things. Let’s hope Loyal Divide doesn’t suffer a similar fate, because it’s the only other band I’ve come across that scratches a similar itch, as evidenced both by its live show and its new album, Bodice Ripper.

Colourmusic: MY___ IS PINK

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:56:07 -0400

True originality is becoming too much to ask these days (is that the most unoriginal thing I could possibly say?) so grudgingly, we’re all going to have to lower those standards a notch when discussing at least the early parts of the current decade. There hasn’t been an era of mimicry this blatant since the late 90s bands copped all the worst aspects of the early 90s bands and created post-grunge/nü-metal, ruining rock radio from that point on. Fortunately, a significant number of today’s crop of 80s-aping synthpop bands are actually making good music, and not just compared to Staind.

Primus: Orpheum Theatre, 10/13/11

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:42:49 -0400

I went to the Orpheum on Thursday pretty much blind; all I knew was that Primus would be playing two sets. If you’d told me in advance that I’d be subjected to the new Green Naugahyde in its entirety, I probably would’ve gone in with a bad attitude. Sure, I and the rest of the Les Claypool geekosphere have been clamoring for new material to freshen up setlists for many years, but just playing the whole new album is gimmicky, likely to be constraining, and, um, I don’t really dig the album very much so far. The main reason: there’s not enough Ler on it. He’s mostly relegated to generic, Andy Summers-style fake reggae and staccato background strumming, frequently drowned out by the bass. It sounds more like a Claypool solo album than Primus. Knowing that the band would at least play a goodly amount from the album, I already had pretty low expectations going in; I just knew I’d be seeing friends I hadn’t seen in too long, and whatever happened, we’d have a blast rocking out to the classics if nothing else.

Dick Dale: High Noon Saloon, 10/10/11

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:50:16 -0400

I thought about going to Miller Park yesterday to try and score a scalper ticket for the Brewer game, but for various reasons, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Probably for the best; I am, unfortunately, one of those idiots who can get extremely pessimistic when one of our millionaire pitchers gives up a two-run homer to the fourth batter he faces, then proceeds to stink up the place for his second of two postseason starts. I suspect my interests, and the interests of anyone trying to enjoy the game, were better served by driving to Madison and catching Dick Dale; the guy is 74 and I’m on a roll the past couple of years with seeing old geezers rock out. Dale might not have another tour left in him, and I’m sure the Brewers will get to another NLCS in my lifetime…(*shudder*)

Yawn: OPEN SEASON

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:06:57 -0400

I don’t enjoy drawing snarky parallels between band names and album titles and the nature of the music they represent, but Yawn makes it impossible to resist. I wouldn’t even say the music of Yawn is boring, in and of itself; if it were its own bubble in a vast cultural vacuum, it would probably seem at least decent. And no, there are no hunting references or any major spring/summer/fall/winter themes--or if there are, I’m not going to bother poking around for them. It’s just that in the wake of the success of Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, we all knew (didn’t we?) it was going to be open season on the AC sound, and this is the most pathetic, blatant ripoff imaginable. I’d swear there are actual samples from MPP sprinkled amidst the Panda Bear and Avey Tare impersonations, and they should sue (for instance, aren’t those the “Brother Sport” yelps right there in “Acid”??). There’s nothing more to even say about it. *YAWN*

Why I'm Sick Of Radiohead

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:57:06 -0400

Liam Gallagher , the bitterest Brit in the music biz, recently suggested that Radiohead ripped off The Beatles somehow with the tune “Karma Police”. Anyone who’s ever heard an Oasis song knows how preposterous that accusation was, at face value, and the Gallagher brothers have a long history of slagging Radiohead in the press; if only Liam could’ve channeled his jealousy into a more pertinent argument…

Katatonia: Peabody's, 9/25/11

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:34:22 -0400

The general trajectory for metal bands is to start off heavy and caustic and noncommercial, then gradually write more accessible music amidst cries of sell-out and, occasionally, greater measurable success. Some fans of Katatonia’s early, guttural-doom albums probably gave up after 1998’s Discouraged Ones, and many who embraced the band’s more melodic direction likely jumped ship after hearing the electronic and indie rock influences on the barely-metal Last Fair Deal Gone Down in 2001. But despite those guardians of static integrity, the impact of this album went deeper than anyone could have predicted, cementing the legacy of Jonas Renske and Anders Nyström as truly unique songwriters and musicians and permanently breaking down musical boundaries for those fans open-minded enough to stick around.

Secret Chiefs 3: Empty Bottle, 9/17/11

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:04:42 -0400

Grudgingly, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that for all time, most folks just aren’t going to get obsessed with Secret Chiefs 3. In my impossible quest to be objective, the best I can come up with is that in terms of unique style crossed with instrumental versatility and prowess, they can’t be topped. I used to think Mr. Bungle, but in the long run Bungle doesn’t quite stack up consistently. As much as I love Mike Patton, his former Bungle cohort Trey Spruance has evolved waaaaaay more as an artist since the breakup, and is now making music much better than he ever did with Bungle.

One More Pearl Jam Thing

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:54:02 -0400

So much went on at PJ20 both in my head and on stages, I still haven’t gotten it all out. So, at the risk of overstaying the band’s welcome with potential readers, here are my final words on the festival and the state of Pearl Jam.

PJ20

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:39:02 -0400

Some bands win you over with amazing technical ability, some with superior songwriting, some on attitude alone. Pearl Jam gets you by making you feel like they’re playing and singing just for you. You know it’s not true, you know you’re not special. But Pearl Jam keeps telling you you are.

Phish: UIC Pavilion, 8/17/11

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:33:17 -0400

UIC Pavilion is one venue that Phish has only played sporadically but each time will go down as legendary. It has the dubious honor of hosting the first known glowstick war in the fall of 1994, but musically, the most talked-about highlight (at least, prior to 2011) was probably the beastly “AC/DC Bag”>”Ghost” from November of 1998. “AC/DC” has remained firmly IN the bag since Phish returned in 2009, and the specter of a big “Ghost” loomed large over this final night of tour, so in a sense, even though everything after Monday night was essentially gravy, hopes were exceedingly high for some sort of further madness to keep the scene abuzz for two weeks until the quasi-festival in Denver and during the long wait for more Phish in 2012.

Phish: UIC Pavilion, 8/16/11

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:16:00 -0400

With the bar set impossibly high the night before, Phish came out on night two with a trio of tunes that just happened to be exactly the kind of opening I dream about. I don’t know what it is about “Dinner And A Movie”; it has always just been the most hilariously sinister song in the repertoire, and the little part of me that still cared about the novelty of hearing Phish play short bursts of geek-satisfying awesomeness that I thought I might never hear was suddenly and permanently satisfied when I heard Trey scruff his strings with a taste of that opening chord. Same kind of excitement, though not as ecstatic, for “Ha Ha Ha”. And then another tune that’s finally back in the saddle this year, “Chalk Dust Torture”, screechingly intense guitar picking by yer man Trey. Absurdly, this beginning was my favorite part of the show.

Phish: UIC Pavilion, 8/15/11

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:26:57 -0400

Phish tends to open runs in Chicago with statements. Last summer it was the barn-burner “Down With Disease” at Toyota Park to begin the tour, at a time when everyone complained that first shows of tours were always rusty and dull. Fun fact: the band took three days just prior to that show to rehearse in a dingy shed known as the UIC Pavilion. This year, Chicago ended the tour, but once again fans knew from the opening jaunt of “Back On The Train” on the first of three nights back at UIC that Phish meant business.

Paul McCartney: Wrigley Field, 7/31/11

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:34:03 -0400

When I saw Sir Paul McCartney play the Bradley Center in 2005, he was almost past the point where he could sing “When I’m Sixty-Four” in cheeky reference to the future any more. Surrounded by a top-notch band, he still put on a pretty terrific show, but cracks were showing; not only had his range decreased significantly since I’d last seen him, the power behind it was lacking, and he seemed unsure of himself at times. For the first time in my life, I thought he looked a bit frail up there, leading much younger musicians on a quest to update songs that are already timeless for an audience that either already gets it or never will. I remember feeling like I couldn’t imagine the ol’ Beatle touring again after this, and I was glad to be there to witness it one last time.

Across Tundras: SAGE

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:22:02 -0400

Of all the bands that have been ripping off Black Sabbath for the past 40 years or so, few have done it with as much passion and spirit of adventure and creativity as Tanner Olson. In his quest for the perfect, all-encompassing riff, of course he’s going to stumble across a couple of Iommi nuggets along the way; shouldn’t “Hole In The Sky” be public domain at this point? But unlike the entire stoner rock genre, there’s so much more going on in the music of Across Tundras. So much, in fact, that I’d argue Olson has created a completely new genre by infusing rockabilly, country and tribal rhythms into his echo-drenched, spacious, quasi-metallic stew. I know it’s the domain of the music critic to invent new labels and covet them like awards, but I’m abandoning that idea for now, unless I can coin “awesome” as a genre.

Fen: EPOCH

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:05:05 -0400

Fen ’s first full-length, 2009’s The Malediction Fields, gave no indication that the band would be capable of greatness; it seemed like an early bandwagon-jump into atmospheric black metal, a scene that’s getting close to its saturation point. But these Brits have come a long way in two years; Epoch mixes things up while taking a more melodic approach, layering clean rock and crushing extreme elements in a natural synthesis and using unique percussive techniques to distinguish themselves in this overcrowded movement.

Primordial: REDEMPTION AT THE PURITAN'S HAND

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:54:41 -0400

Following not-so-closely on the heels of the band’s most overtly accessible and consistently successful album, 2007’s To The Nameless Dead, Ireland’s premier waltz-metal band has basically stuck with the winning formula for its new Redemption At The Puritan’s Hand. The new album is a little more oppressive, a little less dynamic, and ultimately more of a regression than an evolution of the Primordial sound.

Blut Aus Nord: 777 SECT(S)

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:55:39 -0400

Riff for riff, scream for scream, there’s still no band that sounds more unholy and tortured than Blut Aus Nord. Since the terrifying 2006 masterpiece MoRT, which virtually did away with all concept of song, the band has grown more interested in subverting traditional musical structures, but the new 777 Sect(s) is a slight return to the more avant-garde assault that sets this band apart from the rest of the black metal parade of the past decade or so.

U2 played at Soldier Field a couple nights ago.

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:34:28 -0400

To be a music critic and a U2 fan, you have to fear for your credibility. At some point, maybe around the time of Rattle & Hum, it started to become increasingly unhip to believe in Bono. Nowadays, a fun and socially admirable thing for writers to do is to point out the hypocrisy of a man who stretches himself thin to help and bring joy to people uncool enough to like him (at the perceived expense of his band), to suggest that his humanitarian efforts are merely fuel for his massive ego, to scoff at him for daring to work with world leaders from whichever side of the political spectrum you don’t agree with, and for the audacity of working for environmental causes while toting around umpteen tractor trailers worth of equipment to build a monstrous stage from city to city. Less famous but more credible musicians maintain aloofness toward their fans, spend their time committing varying degrees of statutory rape, abandon their families for drugs, spread messages of violence or misogyny or self-loathing, or simply don’t bother to take a stand publicly about what they believe in, but these private hypocrisies are easier to look past than the benevolence of an enviable superstar riddled with contradictory impulses just like the rest of us.

Phish: Riverbend Music Center, 6-5-11

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:26:14 -0400

Let it first be said that if Sunday night in Cincinnati was sub-greatness Phish, we are truly in for a wild effing summer. After two unimpeachable nights in Clarkston and Cuyahoga Falls, the Riverbend Amphitheater show fell just a bit short. Despite some awkward moments, it did kick all kinds of ass. So, I feel like taking a moment to deconstruct what's happening in the Phish world right now, my misgivings from Sunday and what makes Phish unstoppable right now regardless.

Phish: Blossom Music Center, 6-4-11

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:13:44 -0400

Phish didn't make it easy on the Midwest this year (okay, maybe a little easier than on the Southwest, though). For the first time since 1995 (in years when Phish is actually touring), the band isn't doing its classic Deer Creek/Alpine Valley run, snubbing Wisconsin altogether and scheduling its only Chicago-area shows on weeknights. On Friday night, the boys made the seven-plus-hour drive to Pine Knob worthwhile with possibly their best single set of music since the turn of the century. They could've sat onstage in beanbags eating Cheetos on Saturday and this still would've been a successful trip. Instead, they put together another stellar show bursting with creativity, permanently erasing my nostalgic pining for Phishes past.

Phish: DTE Energy Music Theatre, 6-3-11

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:48:27 -0400

I can't help dreading the phone calls right after a show like DTE, to Phishheads from my crew who couldn't make the journey.

"So, how was it?"

"It was probably the best show they've played since the return." I can't just say that. It sucks to be on the receiving end of that, knowing you could've been there. But the words I do choose are true: that wasn't just some fluke mind-blowing 25-minute "Down With Disease". This summer is going to KILL at every turn, and we're all going to be there to see it at some point or other.

Scattered Trees: SYMPATHY

Tue, 24 May 2011 12:20:28 -0400

Chicago’s Scattered Trees started up years ago, splintered apart and then reconvened to record Sympathy, a dedication to the memory of frontman Nate Eiesland’s father, whose death inspired Eiesland to write this collection of songs. Listeners will have no trouble picking up on the mournful pathos and occasional bitterness that permeate the record; even the songs that don’t directly address mortality evoke a feeling of loss, making for a cohesive album that’s not as depressing as it could justifiably have been.

The Indelicates: DAVID KORESH SUPERSTAR

Fri, 20 May 2011 11:21:35 -0400

Please, God, tell me this is all just a bad joke. Surely The Indelicates don’t intend this appalling stylistic mishmash of American music to be an actual artistic statement? This is their way of getting back at the FBI for allowing two dozen British nationals to die in the Waco fire, right? Consider the U.S.A. duly punished, then; David Koresh Superstar is by far the worst album I’ve heard in the past decade at least.

the wall for the first time

Sun, 15 May 2011 04:45:04 -0400

do you remember the first time you heard the wall?

The Danglers, Alpha Transit, The Hue: Mad Planet, 5-7-11

Tue, 10 May 2011 10:11:43 -0400

It’s kind of a shame that a night like the seventh of May 2011 at the Mad Planet probably won’t be remembered in the annals of prog history, not even in Milwaukee lore. There were equipment problems, the playing wasn’t always crisp, wasn’t always inspired. But the best moments of each set amounted to musical greatness, three seasoned bands still very much relishing the ability to blow away an audience. Halfway through The Danglers’ set, bassist David Gelting summed things up perfectly: “It’s been a lovely night of complicated music.”

Panda Bear: TOMBOY

Thu, 05 May 2011 10:16:23 -0400

The songs on Tomboy aren’t the best songs Panda Bear has ever come up with, although most of them are still really good. Individually, they’re more interesting for what they evoke, what they remind you of. For instance, I want to try superimposing Captain Beefheart’s “Bat Chain Puller” over “Afterburner”. I think it might be awesome. Also, I think if you strip the title track down to its bare bones, you’ll arrive at nothing but Panda alone strumming an electric guitar and singing. It’s something we may never see him do, but that’s the essence of the song, like an old Liz Phair demo. And “Surfer’s Hymn”--go figure--sounds an awful lot like a Beach Boys jam, except on more complicated, modern drugs.

My Ten Favorite WMSE Programs

Tue, 03 May 2011 10:27:04 -0400

It is pledge drive time for the best radio station in Milwaukee. If you listen, you should really give WMSE some money. Set up a monthly payment plan; are you really going to miss five or ten bucks a month on your credit card? Isn’t it worth that much to keep this Brew City institution alive? And if you don't listen, what's wrong with you? It’s not just a treasure trove of incredible music you won’t hear anywhere else; these DJs, most of them unpaid volunteers, put their hearts and souls into playing music for us. After all these years, they’ve become like old friends (even if it’s kind of an odd one-way relationship).

Some of you know this feeling already, and as you glance down this list, I know what you’re thinking: how could Buzz and Grant and Faux Eyes and Melissa and Cosmo Cruz and Alien Andre and Rich Mars not make this list? Where’s the Chicken Shack and Five & Dime Show and the Mad Kids and Team Metal and Why My Head Hurts? Answer: they’re all tied for number eleven, because I can listen to every one of ‘em front to back and never feel like changing the station. On commercial radio, even disregarding the commercials, I’m lucky if I can get through three songs. WMSE plays almost exclusively good music and way more of it than anybody else. Wondering what shows you’d enjoy? Just tune in, give it 15 minutes and see what happens. That’s what I’ve done for the past 15 years or so; read on for my current ten favorite shows.

Arcade Fire: UIC Pavilion, 4-24-11

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:39:17 -0400

“If you guys are a good crowd, we’ll tell you all the joke song names we made for Easter today,” Win Butler announced a couple songs into Arcade Fire’s explosive set at the UIC Pavilion on Sunday, “but only if you’re good.” It was the second show of a three-night stand in Chicago, and fans clapped along rampantly off-rhythm to every doggone song of the set and cried out their oo’s and oh’s and ah’s just like they were supposed to. But it wasn’t enough, apparently; only one joke song title was revealed, and it was a good one. If you read this whole review, I’ll tell you what it was.

Young Widows: IN AND OUT OF YOUTH AND LIGHTNESS

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:37:58 -0400

Young Widows’ previous album, Old Wounds, contained a song called “The Guitar”, in which Evan Patterson sang, “Got addicted at an early age.” It seemed like a mission statement at the time. Now on his band’s third album, Patterson’s addiction has manifested in a signature sound, something he was still working out on 2006’s Settle Down City but that he defined on Old Wounds, and now he’s reveling in it. In And Out Of Youth And Lightness suggests that some day we might refer to Patterson as one of those guitarists you can't mistake for anyone else.

The Records Of Record Store Day

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:38:58 -0400

As I like to keep saying over and over again, we Milwaukeeans have it good. Not only do we still HAVE record stores, we actually have this Wisconsin chain with some real pull in terms of distribution. So while the little little guys across the country get practically shut out of Record Store Day, The Exclusive Company managed to score a lot of great limited releases for the holiday. I lined up right as the store opened and still managed to snag everything I was hoping to find. Yesterday I sat down for an old-fashioned licorice pizza party with all the new goodies; read on for my impressions.

The Luyas: TOO BEAUTIFUL TO WORK

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:16:01 -0400

Montreal's The Luyas have thrown their hats into the crowded kitchen-sink indie ring; eclectic instrumentation both organic and manufactured defies genre tags on Too Beautiful To Work. Most of the music has an eerie, desolate feel to it, and while there’s a lot going on, the songs never feel cluttered. Everything is cleverly and effectively arranged, sometimes maddeningly catchy for all its quirk, but The Luyas are still a step away from the perfect synthesis of darkness and light that they could be.

AV Club, Et Cetera

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:10:05 -0400

Just a quick note for anyone who doesn't get my Twitter/Facebook updates: I've been doing quite a bit of work for The Onion's AV Club lately; too much to put links to all of it here, in fact. If you're interested, here are a few recent reviews

Robert Plant and Band Of Joy @ The Riverside

Bright Eyes @ The Pabst

Sharon Van Etten @ The Pabst

At this point, you can't really search for my name at the AV Club's website. I hope I can get them to fix this at some point. If you happen to be on Twitter, I'm @roachcraft. Much more to come this week and in the future at You-Phoria, have no fear. Thanks for reading! We really do appreciate it.

The Beets: STAY HOME

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:49:22 -0400

Everything that’s been called “lo-fi” for the past twenty years or so just got a fi upgrade. The sound quality on The Beets’ Stay Home is barely a step above those bootlegs of hissy Nirvana demos you used to pay 25 bucks for at your local indie record store. The guitars are often noticeably out of tune, and many of the vocal parts could generously be called “approximate”. I’ve sat in on drunken campfire jams more accomplished than this album. Now I have to try and make sense of why I love it so much.

MINKS: BY THE HEDGE

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:48:24 -0400

I’m predicting 2012 will finally see a lull in the 80s retro craze. I’m not a hater, either; the trend has produced some mind-blowing albums in the past couple of years, and this intriguing gothic/dreampop hybrid by MINKS is a fresh enough take on old styles, but while you’re floating in the comatose state between comfort and unease that By The Hedge induces, let me know if you come across any decent melodies, ‘cause I tried and I couldn't find any.

Dinosaur Bones: MY DIVIDER

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:31:35 -0400

Another in a long line of overproduced mathy rock, Dinosaur Bones’ success lies in how heavy they can make their songs seem by layering and cranking the volume. When it works, as in “Life In Trees” and “Royalty”, the band combines a heady concoction of sounds and brings it to a rolling boil by song’s end. But too often, as in “Point Of Pride” and “Highwire Act”, they only manage a mildly dynamic plod that’s not rhythmically as interesting as they think nor musically as powerful as they’re aiming for.

Decibully: Farewell Show, Cactus Club, 4-2-11

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:17:26 -0400

With almost no warning and little fanfare, last Saturday brought what may have been the final Decibully show ever. After ten-plus years and four albums (a fifth, self-titled full-length hit the interwaves today), you might’ve expected some sort of big announcement or bigger party for one of Milwaukee’s most beloved acts, but for whatever reasons, the band chose to sneak up on us like one of its trademark dynamic roars, then fade suddenly into our memories.

Pearl Jam Owes Wisconsin a Festival at Alpine Valley

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:26:29 -0400

OK, maybe owes is a strong word, but it was over 7 years ago that Ed Vedder, well into his nightly bottle of red wine, gave us one of his best ever Encore Break rants at the June 21, 2003 Alpine Valley show.

King's Horses: Album Release @ Cactus Club

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:55:06 -0400

The Cactus chronicles continue: not consciously trying to set some kind of record, but why mess with a good thing? This week featured one of the most eclectic lineups in recent memory, not always successful but as usual, at least one amazing performance.

Delicate Steve: WONDER VISIONS

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:09:39 -0400

I guess it’s true, what they say: now that Beefheart is dead, I keep seeing him everywhere. (Who am I kidding--I saw him everywhere even before he died.) But the opening track of Delicate Steve’s Wonder Visions, “Welcome-Begin”, sounds just like something The Captain might’ve written for Zoot Horn Rollo to play, but he plays it like he’s auditioning for AC/DC. It makes you think you’re in for some bombastic rock record, but you’re not. Whether that’s your thing or not, you won’t be disappointed.

Yuck: YUCK

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:26:16 -0400

In the absence of a decent effort by Tapes ‘N Tapes since their debut, it was time we got a straight-up rockin’ slab of Pavement-style indie pop. If the guitar hook in album opener “Get Away” and Daniel Blumberg’s dry vocal delivery don’t remind you of Malkmus, you are flunking Alt-Rock History 101. But Yuck doesn’t get so twisty-turny with its lyrics or music; this is heroically accessible ear candy, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

The Dirtbombs: PARTY STORE

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:46:05 -0400

The concept: Detroit garage rock (unsung) heroes The Dirtbombs cover a slew of tracks from their beleaguered city’s influential techno heritage. Wait, wasn’t it techno that the garage revival was supposed to be rebelling against? Down with the old paradigms; this is the tweens, man! There’s no such thing as a genre any more.