reviews

The A-Sides
"Hello, Hello" (Prison Jazz)
60's psychedelia pop for fans of The Shins (or, originally, The Beach
Boys, The Kinks and The Who). The harmonies are rich, the riffs solid
- the songs are there. Recommended.

Barbez
"Insignificance" (Important)
Eastern European Gypsy folk rock. For those of us who are fans of the
Pogues and Faun Fables but who aren't annoying, gross hippies.

Goblin Cock
"Bagged and Boarded" (Absolutely Kosher)
Exactly what you'd expect from a dude from Pinback making a Black
Sabbath record.

Gogol Bordello
"Gyspy Punks: Undetrdog World Strike" (SideOneDummy)
They have a song called "Think Locally, Fuck Globally". They are to
gypsy punks what Sublime was to '60's Jamaican ska. One word:
Chumbawumba. I bet they wear "funny" costumes onstage. Hey dudes,
y'know, it IS possible to go down the pub, raise a pitcher and put
your arm around your best mate without having to make lousy music
about the experience.

Linda Draper
"One Two Three Four" (Planting Seeds)
A very tasteful, pretty record of lovely songs. Draper is more upbeat
than Hope Sandoval but more restrained than Neko Case, more poppy than
Julie Doiron but calmer than Mirah. Produced by, surprisingly, Kramer
(ex-Bongwater, Butthole Surfers). A nice surprise. Highly recommended.

Longwave
"There's a Fire" (RCA)
This music is so earnest, sensitive and joyless, it can, literally,
only be heard by teens writing in their Live Journals. Literally.

The Makers
"Everybody Rise!" (Kill Rock Stars)
With production by Jack Endino, an architect of grunge, I expected
something in the AC/DC-garage rock mode. I didn't expect Sunset Strip
hair metal 1986, especially on the once-unimpeachable Kill Rock Stars.
That's it, I'm retiring.

Moggs
"The White Belt Is Not Enough" (Absolutely Kosher)
The title - and the photo of this duo, dressed mostly in white - would
suggest a too-cool hipster dance party. For better or worse, the music
is actually closer to the post-punk of Joy Division or early Sonic
Youth, an icier Quasi. Recommended.

M.O.T.O.
"Raw Power" (Criminal IQ)
Yes, I know that this is supposed to be a joke - a dumber Ramones -
but it's just not that funny. Songs like "Gonna Get Drunk Tonight" and
"Spend the Night on Me" were done better by Poison or Whitesnake, who
at least were trying to get girls with their bad music.

Sybris
"Sybris" (Flameshovel)
Now this, this one here, this is a headscratcher. This group sounds
100% like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, only with less energy and a lesser
grasp of song structure. I just don't understand why this exists.

Voltage
"Building the Bass Castle, Vol. 1" (Flameshovel)
Decently pleasant instrumental duo - guitar and drums - from Chicago.
Good background music, poorly recorded. I'd bet that they've listened
to some Slint or the Minutemen, and that they missed the points each
time.

c. 2006 Bejeezus