Sunday, August 28, 2005

My Last CD Review @ DIY-Music!


The decision was made about a month ago - to split up CD and live show reviews, or rather, have a different p.o.v. in preparation for defining the look of my future zine (and eventual magazine). I thought it would be best to end blog reviews of CDs altogether since I'm doing reviews for other print and online magazines (for legal and personal reasons). So I'm pulling the plug on the CD blog reviews.

But on second thought, that's too extreme. There are a lot of CDs I wouldn't be reviewing in magazines or other web sites that would probably get ignored. So instead of killing the CD reviews I'm officially splitting one blog into two. DIY-Music will be dedicated to "objective" live shows and behind the scene reports of indie/underground/d-i-y music. And one "CD of the Month" review. Kill The Critic will be dedicated to honest and entertaining CD reviews, from brand new releases to classic reissues. Occasionally I'll put my two cents in about live shows. So Things That Go Pop is my last review on this blogger. (Check them out below! :-) I'd like to thank them and the other artists (you know who you are) for supporting this site. I've had a few loyal readers who encouraged me to make the move to print media and I thank them also. No thanks to the spammers who "cleverly" waste space in my comments sections. Ha-ha.

It has been fun, and I'll continue to blog about live shows and house parties I dare to attend from Austin, TX. This is supposedly the live music capital of the world, after all.

I will have at least 4 new music reviews posted at Kill The Critic this month. Check that out!

~ diy-danna

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Things That Go Pop - LP


Image courtesy of Things That Go Pop

Things That Go Pop
ST
©2005 Self Released



(out of 5)

I sum up this first full-length CD from Things That Go Pop in a phrase: An infectious confection of danceable guitar and electronic pop. And what's so bad about that if it sounds this good? It's a revolutionary concept that has seemed to escape popular commercial radio - good music with thoughtful lyrics. There's probably something wrong with you if you listen to Things That Go Pop and aren't moving some part of your anatomy - if you're able. I'm not ashamed to admit, I danced in my "office" for a good 20 minutes - nearly half the length of this album. But it's just not the synthesizer & drum-driven beats that will get to you. Listen to the musicianship and harmony of guitar, keyboard, and the solid songwriting, and you've got one great indie pop/rock record to rotate in your stereo. There are 4 members in this band, and three share lead vocal duties. You would think this would confound the listener, but it only makes the CD worth listening to even more.


My last CD review was a bit long, so I won't bore you with a track by track detail. That's about as exciting as detailled billing for your cell phone. Here are highlights instead: A strong team (or is it teen) spirit song, "Teenage Plastic" introduces us to the dance party vibe that is sustained through most of the album. It also makes you aware that they do make a fuss about the lyrics. Yes, it's sweet electronic dance pop, but there's a little medicine in it. The follow-up "Bright Colors" is a definite trip, with loopy synth and catchy beat. I was on my feet dancing to the beat then. My personal favorites were "Backbeat Testament" and "Lorraine", for completely offbeat reasons. It reminded me of the old new wave music from the 1980s, with smarter electronica. The kids would probably call this Smart Pop or something like that. I'm dating myself, but the latter track reminded me of The Romantics hit "Talking In Your Sleep". Just a bit. The vocals were earnest and slightly awkward, to good effect."Backbeat" is about the sinful(?) seduction of a dancebeat. Some of the songs are not danceable, which makes a good mix. A good example? "She's Too Sexy". It's lo-fi, low key indie pop with honest lyrics and earnest delivery. It's almost sexy. There weren't really any duds, but one track, "Reason 2 H8 U" was somewhat redundant with the drum & synth combo. However, the guitar and vocals were excellent. The last track completely surprised me, in a good way. It may not be the case for some listeners, but the title alone had my attention - "Love Song for The Revolutionary". It was like coming down from a dance high. A serious song that indicated the end of the party. And like every party, every good CD must come to an end.


~ diy-danna

DJ Request Picks: "Bright Colors", "Backbeat Testament", "Lorraine", "She's Too Sexy", "Rock & Roll Leisure Class", "So Nouveau".

A revised printed version of this review will be available in INsite Magazine's Back-2-School issue, on stands September 2, 2005. Used by permission ©2005 diy-danna publishing, inc.


Things That Go Pop are:
Jared Kolarik - Hyper Vocals, Guitar, Roland SH101
Josh Batschelet - Heavy Vocals, Bass, Roland MC-09
Andy Klier - Moody Vocals, Reason2 - Computer/Keys, Guitar
Jeremy Ridge- Keeper of Rhythm (Drums)

Listen to the band @ MySpace: myspace.com/thingsthatgopop.
Official web site: www.thingsthatgopop.com
CD Available at Waterloo Records August 30, 2005.

Monday, August 8, 2005

The Total Foxes at the Carousel Lounge & Ars Ipsa Gallery



The Total Foxes


with



O'Doyle Rules
Dover Drive



August 2, 2005
The Carousel Lounge
1110 E. 52nd Street



(Out of 5, because it would've been better with a friend.)


also with


Arab League


and a special appearance by

Texas Roller Girls



August 6, 2005
Ars Ipsa Gallery
503 San Jacinto
Austin, TX



(Out of 5, because it was a darn good show.)


I made sure I got to The Carousel Lounge early to interview frontman/huitarist Jerm Pollet. There is a little bit of idol worship involved in this blog that must be explained. When I was a co-ed Gal's Panic was all the local rage. Punk Ska was hot in the mid 90s, and although they captured this sound, their songwriting was original. Even the atypical cover songs in "I Think We Need Helicopters" won me over. The Carpenters. Twice. Fast forward 10 years and a lot has changed. Jerm Pollet the artist and the man has matured in some ways, yet retained his youtful spark. This fine balance comes across in his live performances. Jerm insists on a party-like atmosphere wherever he performs, and his bandmates Stacy Hoobler (drums) and Gary Newcombe (bass) seem to thrive in it. Tonight The Total Foxes is short one fox. Gary is out sick. But the show must go on! And they still rock the party! Frontman and guitarist Jerm has made the Carousel his signature event, with a witty, laidback charm that encourages audience participation. He's the host of the entire musical carnival, plus he fills in for Mr. Richard Dawson with a round of Family Feud at the end of the night. Following The Total Foxes was the hard rock/punk sounds of Dover Drive. I noted a lot of t-shirts, and a nice tour following. There were a few fans turned away and pissed off by the no one under 21 allowed policy, but the host. It's not exactly my style of music to party to, but I loved the energy and dynamics between these band members who were on the final stop of their national tour. I was more impressed with O'Doyle Rules, although they claimed it was a weak set. The lead vocalist Scott (a former member of another Jerm Pollet band, Missile Command) was wearing a Beatles shirt, and for more notalgia, they played a remarkable cover of the Violent Femmes mega-hit song "Blister in the Sun" (b.k.a. "Big Hands"). This less than stellar performance still proved why they received a Houston Press Award for Best Indie Pop/Punk upon their return home. Congratulations...

A friend of mine got word first about The Total Foxes performing again, this to benefit a local art gallery, Ars Ipsa. He wanted to see the band Tuesday night with me, but his radio show had recently moved to a drive time slot, and he wasn't sure he'd have the energy to stay up so late. I assumed Jerm was performing solo - a performance art type event from what I read - but was pleasantly surprised to see all three foxes ready to rock. For an art gallery with no seating arrangements, there was a nice turnout, and the missing member from the last Carousel ride, Gary, impressed me with his melodic bass lines. A band was practicing above, but the quirky & catchy punk pop of The Total Foxes drowned them out. THey made room for a hip hop group called Arab League. My friend was not impressed, and declared it was racist for them to dress like Arabs, fake beards included. He compared it to blackface. I found it to be shocking at first, and could see from his p.o.v. But I tried to keep an open mind and listen to the music, the lyrics. My good friend is not a hip hop fan, so he was more interested in talking with one of the roller derby queens of the awesome Texas Roller Girls league (and who could find fault with that?). But I was impressed with the message and heart behind the lyrics - even the politically incorrect ones. For an ultra-liberal who watched Bill Maher's "Politically Incorrect" religiously, my companion surprised me by not paying much attention to the words. Yes, some of the music and beats were a bit routine. And "HipHopistan"? (Come on...) but overall, I liked Arab League's willingness to be critical of our country's Middle Eastern policy and war of terror. Please note the exchange of pronouns. War = violence. Violence is terror, no matter who's on the receiving end.

But enough about politics. I liked the second show and thought it was for a good cause - promoting art in Austin.

~ diy-danna

Listen to these bands @ MySpace (or e-mail a complaint to):
The Total Foxes - myspace.com/thetotalfoxes
O'Doyle Rules - myspace.com/odr
Dover Drive - myspace.com/doverdrive
Arab League - not found

UPDATE: The Total Foxes are on a tour of Austin! ;-) They have a new bass player too, Boy Cory. Hear him at The Carousel Tuesday, August 16, or visit thetotalfoxes.com or their myspace page for other "tour" dates. Check out the new CD, "Retirement Community" available at fine record stores like Waterloo, Cheapos and End of an Ear.

Sunday, August 7, 2005

Live At The Parish - Dance Disaster Movement



Dance Disaster Movement


with

Kill Me Tomorrow

Glass Candy


The Parish - August 5, 2005

214 6th Street (Upstairs)

Austin, TX





Unfortunately I only spoke with one of the musicians performing tonight, briefly, but I did record my first concert on MD thanks to RadioMike's generosity and technical assistance. In fact I'm recording it from purse to PC for MySpace right now! I had never heard of Dance Disaster Movement (DDM), Kill Me Tomorrow or Glass Candy before, but there was something appealing about Austin Chronicle listing under Recommended Music for the week of August 4 -10. Read it aloud and it sounds suspiciously like a fan. For a professional music critic, this is considered dangerous. Reverence for the talent is acceptable. Gushing is not. This is just my impression. It was the first thing I read, and I jumped on it after some other plans for the evening fell through. It was the best thing that could've ever happened to me musically. Socially it was suicide - no date to enjoy it with (booh-hoo). But it wasn't a pity party once I caught the suprise opening act - a trash synth punk band. (They wore garbage bags and electrical tape to make it crystal clear what they sound like.) It wasn't great music, but it was more entertaining than the "toothless pop punk" playing on the radio these days. I still don;t know the name of the band. Or the name of that 70s psychadelic rock meets synth band that I actually enjoyed. They even dressed the part. The burping synthesizer dude with the drooping mustache and dread-like black hair (was he for real?) was actually so annoying he was cool. Yes, he had the colorful open-neck Polly & Esther shirt with chains. Groovy. But I digress with the fashion report....
The synthesizer player was his grooviest when interacting with the audience. At one point he jumped off stage, danced around this pretty girl and jumped in the nearest waste receptacle (a bright euphemism for trash can). I was hooked on Glass Candy. But they weren't Glass Candy, although one of the members played with them later that night. Confused? Me too. Let me explain...
Since I was clueless about who was playing and how they sounded assumed the first band dressed in black garbage bags was Kill Me Tomorrow. In fact I misled a conservatively dressed woman who was also flying solo when I announced that she missed the first band. I think she gave me the evil eye when the actual first act on the bill took the stage, or maybe when I whipped out the MD-R as I noticed the next band setting up was obviously not DDM. I intended to record the headlining performers, but my impulsive nature took over. Good thing, too. Glass Candy - the real Glass Candy - was good. The vocalist reminded me of Blondie. Just a little bit. With programmed synthesizer in the background she got the crowd hype. A few members from the first two bands were dancing at the front of the stage. I don't care what those diehard retirement home metal rockers think - synthesizers rock. This band proved it by linking tasty synth pop with heavy guitar and drum rock. Can't we all just get along that well? I can't list particular tracks. (Just listen to my first monotone, bootleg live recording @ www.myspace.com/diyrevolution August 21). Gwen Stefani could take lessons from this chick. explained that two bands joined in because they didn't want to play competing gigs - or something like that. (Damn earplugs.) After listening to the jagged sweetness of Glass Candy I think the rest of the former No Doubt should sue Gwen's ass. She's got the money from the Bananas song. Forget The Killers, The Bravery or whoever you've been listening to lately. I like their soft new wave rock vibe, but it lacks a certain edge that I'm hearing from Glass Candy. OK - you now know where I stand with this band.
Kill Me Tomorrow was more challenging to my ears. Thanks to a couple of alcoholic beverages I was getting a little sleepy. The trippy Gong-like music wasn't helping either. So I sat down on the comfortable side bench and pretended to medititate. The Gary Oldman look-alike lead vocalist/percussionist/synth ops man woke me up with the beat of a drum at the end of the sound check. The melodic blass player, a blond lady with skunk streak bangs (who also reminded me of Blondie), and the frenetic guitarist kept up the pace with the intimidating but talented drummer. It's not the best recording, but listen to the sound check on the second track of the concert @ MySpace for proof that this is a bad, bad man. His vocals are grating, and the a lot of the rhythms he pounded out were not easily danceable. Yet he got the crowd moving, and he dad my complete attention. This is definitely not synth pop. The second brief song had an almost pulsating hip hop beat with erratic guitar riffs, and I thought I was in love with the man for a moment. The rest of the audience probably had the same reaction. Dark primal synth would be the best description for Kill Me Tomorrow. They sounded almost improvisational at times, which may frustrate - or annoy - some listeners. For other it's a primal dance experience worth hearing. The only way to describe it: Kill Me Tomorrow is a land bridge between the continental divide of Experimental American Rock and European Ambient Techno.
With Dance Disaster Movement I had a few preconceived notions from the description in the AC that were completely dismissed with the opener. Keyboardist, guitarist and human synthesizer Kevin Disco and drummer Matt Howze continued the primal dance beat. It was symphony of organ-like notes and heavy beats. I was expecting funky, quirky dance rhythms, and two guys dressed all in white doing the centipede or breakdancing across the stage. Oh, there was a little of that. Mr. Disco & Mr. Howze were in fabulous form. With the second song it was evident that this would be a beautiful disaster. The dissonant keyboards and driving drum beat had me as mesmerized as the vocalist almost chanted the lyrics. He played to the crowd with the holes in his valentine t-shirt. (Was that a red thong underwear peaking out the back of his trousers?) And there was even crowd participation with the audience (myself included) chanting along "Way-oh!" (or something like that). Then it became a pep rally for the anti-sports league. More audience participation? I didn't know where this was headed with the chants, and I was a bit skeptical. But the music soon had me not thinking so much, which is sometimes a good thing. By the end of the show, DDM delivered an electric performance that rivaled the best traditional indie rockers.
Hearing these bands live I felt as though I somehow belonged to a community of outcasts and aliens, which is easy to feel in a land of homogenization that frowns on differences that aren't automatically marketable to the masses. Today's punk has become re-packaged and gone pop. Some of it is actually worth listening to, don't misunderstand me. But planned suburban living to escape the undesirable elements (?) of urban dwellings, generic strip malls and witnessing people talking on cell phones in front of cashiers taking their orders has an alienating effect. This definitely comes out in the varying forms of musical expression with all of the bands that performed tonight. The result was unifying the music and the listener. It was people connecting through music in a world of hardwired and wireless extremes. I'll let Dance Disaster Movement have the last words in this blog review:
"Hey. Let it move. Make it right. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance.
Lift up, take a stand. Revitalize. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance.
Rise, captivate. Make a move. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance.
Try, let it be. Make it through. Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance."
*
~ diy-danna

* From the track "Seizure" - We Are From Nowhere (2003 LP).