THE BLACK PINE "With Us" CD
reviewed by Elana Bean
Looking for a soundtrack to your long, dark winter? With Us, the first full album from Los Angeles based THE BLACK PINE, is dark, moody and best listened to watching the sun set at 4 in the afternoon. The male and female lead vocals remind me of a mix between early 90's Brit pop and when THE CARDIGANS went "dark". Seeming a bit scattered? Not at all. This album is well produced, well played, and screams to be left on repeat all day. I'm equally a fan of all the tracks on this album, however "Laurel Canyon Sunrise" stands out if only for the creepy synthesizers that remind me of a Dario Argento film. Excellent..
The New Black Music; http://tnb-music.com/
JO AND THE MUTHAF!@#$%^ERS "Jo And The Muthaf!@#$%^ers" CD
reviewed by Elana Bean
What caught my eye on this cd were two things: Mike Kelly from THE DROPKICK MURPHYS is playing drums on here, and lead sing "Jo" seems to only posses one facial expression (see cover for example). After that I start to lose interest. Production on this was really poor and I felt like I was listening to the album with earmuffs on. The vocals try to be hard and breathy at the same time, but end up mostly out of key. I feel like in trying to create a gritty, snotty punk rock album it was too rushed and fell short. The second track, "The Shells", at least had the fun sing along chorus which was amusing, and would probably go over well in a bar. And isn't it more punk rock to spell out Motherfucker? JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER did, and they're more experimental than punk come to think of it.
http://www.myspace.com/thebandsonicbomb
THE NEUTRINOS "2 Song EP" CD
reviewed by Elana Bean
I wish I could have heard more from this band. This female led four piece from the UK delivers powerful punk garage beats that easily make you want to get up and jump up allover the place. Here the repetition of "Build Him 'Till He Breaks" works to build up to an intense climax that ends with a satisfying finish. The second track "Mother's Mother Tongue" is the more garage of the two tracks complete with heavy drums and breaking glass. The heaviness of the instruments is offset by the harmonious lead voice. The two parts equal one hell of a sound that makes me anxious for more.
http://www.neutrinos.co.uk
THE RECIEVER "Decades" CD
reviewed by Elana Bean
I wanted so much to like this album. I had listened to the track "In Tunnels" a few months back and recommended it as a must listen to song. The interest in the song is how the beats come in waves, combining slower simple melodies and then moving to epic builds. The song is interesting to listen to and for that I love it. However, because the track had an upbeat tempo I was expecting similar tracks from them. The album "Decades" is as a whole a more relaxed, dreamy album. The lead vocals take on a monotone that at times is hypnotic and the use of live and electronic instruments have a tendency to replicate that singular nature. I would recommend this as more of a chill out album than something to race to an appointment with.
Stunning Models On Display; http://www.stunningmodelsondisplay.com
SYSTEM AND STATION "Latest Flame" CD
reviewed by Elana Bean
SYSTEM AND STATION started off with the thought that this album could have great commercial appeal, but mainly because the album sounds like many bands already on the radio. The music in itself is catchy and does cause one to nod their head as each track progresses, however their style tends to move in several places: hard rock to indie to pop to piano infused slow tracks. Overall it leant a little too much on the hard rock for my tastes, which isn't a bad thing, it's just not my particular style. For those hard rock tracks, the vocals were the scratchy sort you'd want to listen to with those songs, however once the style changed, they seemed out of place.
I am however a big fan of the album art though. The cover is pretty striking visually, and if I had been browsing at a store, I probably would have picked it up and given it a turn over.
"Here Is Now," the last track, was the most appealing to me. Well structured with a good build from soft piano (and voice!) to a strong faster arrangement. I think if they could narrow their style down some, then the whole album would be a solid listen.
Latest Flame Records; http://www.latestflame.com
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