Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau have been writing and recording their twisted hybrid of ambient and fuzz rock under the mysterious moniker of M83 since 2000. Not since Tangerine Dream or Jean Michel-Jarre’s signature recordings has a duo rendered such a noteworthy time capsule. The duo’s formula is twofold: layer each song until there’s virtually zero space for cross-comparison, and use melancholy to drive the mother lode. The simple subtleties found within tracks like “Gone” speak volumes. One listen to “Unrecorded” or “Be Wild” should be enough reason to toss those Boards of Canada records aside. Without a doubt, this album should be considered the hallmark release for all electronic music during the 21st century. Dead Cities is a masterpiece—hands down, the best album of 2004. (SN&R)
Some bands are born to linger in the underground, drawing sizeable crowds only in major cities. Such is the case of Scotland’s highly revered Delgados. Although they’ve logged countless kudos from previous releases, it’d be fair to say the Delgados have always hidden themselves in the background. However, they finally have hit their stride on their latest and fifth release. Universal Audio is their first real “pop” album, and it should appeal to fans of early Kinks and modern groups like Elastica, Bis, Belly and Spoon. Emma Pollock’s vocal schemes on “I Fought the Angels,” the opening track, and “Everybody Come Down” are as witty as any written by Tanya Donnelly or even Karen Carpenter, yet Pollock’s name will never be whispered in the same breath. Too bad. Log another triumph for the Scottish. (SN&R)
As a member of Firehose, a trio that gave new meaning to improvisation and post-punk during the 1980s and early 1990s, bassist Mike Watt became the focal point. Although Watt has been known for enlisting guests—Eddie Vedder, Flea and countless others have recorded and played on his solo projects—his latest album should both ignite a new following and reunite him with his older fan base. Watt’s guitar-less quartet recorded the new album in his San Pedro studio earlier this year, achieving a sound unlike his previous efforts. Fans of the Hammond B-3 organ and Watt’s signature, off-kilter bass plucking should find reward in songs like “Tied a Reed ’Round My Waist” and “Puked to High Heaven.” Anyone hoping for a carbon copy of Watt’s last opus should know better. Watt likes to change it up. (SN&R)
New Jersey band the Dillinger Escape Plan (the DEP) is a confusing lot. Not only does the band record albums to please itself, but also its fan base grows exponentially. As the leader of the “new” crop of math-rock bands, the DEP (guitarists Ben Weinman and Brian Benoit, vocalist Greg Puciato, drummer Chris Pennie and bassist Liam Wilson) has taken its new album to dizzying heights that focus on the left side of the cerebral cortex, while gently agitating the right into violent convulsions. Here, the DEP succeed in cross-pollinating a number of genres—death metal, jazz, Latin and industrial rock—but extend each further than the usual five-second burst. If tracks like “Unretrofied” don’t sound right next to the quagmire provided by “Highway Robbery” or “Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants,” it’s because they don’t.
Since 2001, Bay Area band Crime In Choir has wowed audiences with its Moog-infused, prog-rock hybrid sound. Although the band’s original lineup has changed slightly from its first recording for local indie Omnibus Records, the ingredients are essentially the same. That’s a good thing. In addition to original members Kenny Hopper and Jesse Reiner, Crime In Choir includes the accomplished musicianship of Carson McWhirter and Ian Hill (both formerly of the defunct band Ent) and guitarist Jarrett Wrenn. One listen to such tracks as “The Perfect Cover for This Is Fur” or “Magnetotail” will make you recall Oxygene-era Jean Michel Jarre and Genesis’ Live album featuring Peter Gabriel. Fans of math rock (Don Caballero, Hella and Four Tet) should enjoy and embrace the soundscapes herein. A slam-dunk for true audiophiles.
It’s much too easy these days to sit in the confines of your living room basking in Sex and the City reruns or Super Bowl halftime outtakes. Why would you go out to see a local band when you can accomplish next to nothing while absorbing and retaining even less? How about supporting the local scene at home by buying, and then listening to, a locally produced recording?
In the last two years alone, we’ve been treated to a veritable onslaught of new musical talent that has, for the most part, gone unnoticed. Although much attention has been directed to artists such as Jackie Greene, Cake, Deftones and Tesla, the real talent pool lies far below the A&R reps’ radar.
Clairecords, an upstart label distributed by local music store and distributor Tonevendor, is one such label. The current amalgam of artists on its roster—from the electro-dance of Airiel to the subtleties of Sciflyer’s shoegazer opus to the quandary of St. Avalanche—should please at least one out every five audiophiles. Dan and Heather Sostrom, using the Clairecords umbrella, local acts as well as bands from abroad. If you’re tired of visiting Insound for new releases, www.clairecords.com should be a welcome respite.
Another label, although much different in scope and focus, is the under-appreciated and grossly overlooked 720 Records run by Eric Rushing, who also handles the booking for Orangevale’s only happening club, The Boardwalk. Since the mid-1990s, Rushing has served up a healthy platter of emo, hard rock, nu-metal and now hardcore, with the late-February release of thug-core legends Hoods. Although the label hadn’t secured national distribution as of press time, it has made most of its releases readily available in the Sacramento Valley and the greater Bay Area, in addition to distributing them through the Internet. Current and upcoming releases include Five Minute Ride’s Bathroom Walls … Lipstick Secrets; Athena in Hades’ Memories Mascara; Hoods’ The Legend Continues; Fight Paris’ debut, due this summer; and a new album from Five Minute Ride.
Samplistic Records, run by Davis’ own Idiom Creak, a.k.a. Michael, is essentially a one-man tour de force with his hands in nearly everything near and dear to the electronic world. Much to the music community’s chagrin, his releases are few and far between and are hard to find in local record stores. The roster, which includes Nostalgic Progression, Idiom Creak, Scatter-Shot Theory and Mr. Dark Keys, also hasn’t secured distribution and does the bulk of its sales via the Internet at www.samplistic.com.
Whether or not you believe it, we have a rich music scene with people who aren’t out to make a quick buck or to cash in on the “next” alternative bandwagon. These three labels represent just a small portion of our ongoing musical heritage and should be applauded for their efforts. And listened to.
Local death-metal band World Of Lies really wants to ignite a scene here in the valley
Dude, where’s my Carcass? World Of Lies is Paul Suchoski, Dan Van Kuren and Tony Avila.
10 p.m. Thursday, February 5; at The Distillery, 2107 L Street; with Relapse Recording artists Exhumed, Origin and Uphill Battle; 21 and over; $8.
Death metal is an extremely aberrant form of music, characterized by abrasive vocals, occasional blast beats, nauseating guitar riffs and double-bass-drum workouts that world-class runners might envy. For a long time, it has existed in the underground, whether via tape-trading communities, Web collectives or suburban word-of-mouth circles. But the subgenre has never received the proper respect and admiration that related forms heavy metal, power metal and speed metal have.
Though such bands as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Entombed and Napalm Death did much to elevate and increase visibility for death metal, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that bands took the subgenre to a whole new level, perfecting their craft while incorporating elements of groove with hyper-speed precision.
If you’ve been to any death-metal show at PoundSF in San Francisco’s Bayview district, or in the greater Bay Area or Sacramento Valley, chances are, you’ve been handed a flier or demo by World Of Lies’ frontman, Tony Avila.
Avila’s band, Sacramento-based World Of Lies, has gone through several incarnations, borrowing members from such local bands as Sons of Chaos, Shrine Of Scars, KnifeThruHead and Cowboy Killer. Its current lineup is Avila and Paul Suchoski, both on guitars and vocals, and Dan Van Kuren on drums. Avila is the band’s one consistent member; Suchoski was World Of Lies’ bassist in 2001, but he was then on loan from Sons of Chaos.
The band formed in 2001, and Avila thinks it has played around 50 shows. “We started sending CDs off and promoting the band at the end of 2002,” he said. “At the end of 2003, we recorded a new album worth of material plus some oldies but goodies.” That new CD, still not titled, is all done, save for a few minor studio tweaks. World Of Lies has been promoting its current CD, Material God, in the meantime, and Avila hopes to get the financing together in time for a summer release. “We just hooked up with a really good artist, as well,” Avila said, “and he is gonna do a cover for us.”
In addition to opening for numerous local and semi-national acts, World Of Lies was fortunate enough to land a gig at San Francisco’s prestigious club PoundSF, which plays host to such national acts as Kreator, Nile, Immolation, Amon Amarth, Incantation and Goatwhore. “The show was great,” Avila mused. “We got to play on the stage where we go to see all the other bands we like.” He added, “That was the last show with our bass player, Kevin [Ryan], and we are currently looking for a replacement. But we will continue to move forward with or without one.”
Death-metal bands, especially local ones, don’t make a whole lot of money. Avila, however, seems undaunted by the less-than-appreciative clubs that host the genre. “We play to please ourselves and those who like our music,” he explained. “Music was made to come from the heart, to say what you feel and play how you feel. This music comes off aggressive because we are. Money is not the goal. We give our hearts and soul to our music and don’t need money to make us happy.”
Apart from The Distillery and Capitol Garage, which host infrequent metal and hardcore shows, there are very few local clubs that understand the music, let alone give the bands any stage time. “As far as the music scene goes,” Avila said, “I would really like to see Sacramento become one of the places touring bands come to [rather than pass through]. Over the years, we have lost just about every place to play—and this has hurt the scene.”
It hasn’t stopped Avila, though. “I will still drive to San Francisco to see a show,” he said, adding, “but we really need to do something about getting something going on here.”
The EP starts off with “A Blueprint of Something Never Finished,” a lovely number by Ohio’s finest instrumental ensemble, the Six Parts Seven. Formed in 1995 by the brothers Karpinksi, the band has become quite the force on the indie slow-core circuit, which has given rise to such acts as Maserati, Mogwai and the Mercury Program. The Black Keys throw the somewhat somber mood into a tailspin with cuts from an on-air performance at a college. Such tracks as “The Moon” and “Thickfreakness” restore faith in the two-man-band configuration. Singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney tear through some bluesy, distorted numbers that not only recall but also stand up against any Junior Kimbrough or T-Model Ford release. Odd pairings rarely ever work. Somehow, this all makes sense. (SN&R)
Everybody’s favorite figurehead, Bono, returns with his Irish companions in tow to rock you in their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. This DVD compilation finds the band digging deep into its early repertoire, including “Out Of Control,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day.” Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton are still a competent rhythm section, and The Edge still churns out wall-of-sound, effect-laden leads like no other. Even frontman, Bono, seems energized and enthusiastic as he waxes nostalgic about the first time the band played in Ireland as support for Phil Lynott’s Thin Lizzy. Some may scoff at U2 for its indulgent live shows and Bono’s politics, but one thing is certain: U2 is still a great live act. “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “One” didn’t make the pop charts on good looks alone. (SN&R)
Although gender shouldn’t be an issue, San Francisco’s Erase Errata has gained more attention for its femininity than for its musical prowess. At Crystal Palace should lay to waste any ill-conceived notions that female bands can’t play. The girls in Erase Errata rock as hard as any early Sonic Youth or Alice Donut and have a stunning live show to back it up. The new album picks up right where the previous release, Other Animals, left off. Songs like “Driving Test” and “White Horse” feature the odd, juxtaposing rhythms of bassist Ellie and guitarist Sara against the snarl of vocalist Jenny. Sure, there are moments of sloppiness where the use of a metronome might have helped. It’s these moments that make the Erase Errata experience such an aural, blissful, psychotic hodgepodge.
Eddie
