Album Reviews
RAINY DAY SAINTS
Saturday's Haze
(Get Hip)
Dave Swanson (AKA Rainy Day Saints) has impeccable credentials for indie rock: he's a former member of Mag Earwhig-era Guided By Voices and a current one of Cobra Verde. With the lo-fi looseness of GBV and the tight songcraft of CV in his pocket, Swanson makes Saturday's Haze an effortlessly enjoyable slice of garage pop meatloaf. I wish he were a stronger singer, though. Michael Toland [buy it]
SANFORD ARMS
The Twilight Era
(Blue Disguise)
From the sound of The Twilight Era, former Alcohol Funnycar leader Ben London's been listening to plenty of the Pernice Brothers. Sanford Arms' second album is sweetly bitter in the nicest way, as London pours out his melancholy atop dreamy melodies. The music's too pretty for it to be sad, but the emotional undercurrent makes it more than just shiny ear candy. Michael Toland [buy it]
SEX AND REVERB
Sex and Reverb
(Paisley Pop)
Shanti Jones is Sex and Reverb, and from the sound of his debut album, I'd say he's also a major eels fan. The combination of pop melodies and dry wit with hip hop-influenced production and heart-on-sleeve emotion is a dead giveaway. Not at all a bad thing, and if he's starting off at this point, imagine into what he might eventually develop. Michael Toland [buy it]
MINDY SMITH
One Moment More
(Vanguard)
This is the kind of record triple-A radio thinks it loves. Smith's clear alto, gentle melodies and pristine production will soothe even the most savage of beasts, which makes the suckerpunch of songs like "Down in Flames" ("And I would tell you I am happy/If I wasn't so damn sad") all the more powerful. Smith finds comfort in her Christian faith, but sometimes that seems to be the only thing saving her, and it's that admission of vulnerability that puts Mindy Smith miles ahead of the Sheryl Crows and Slaid Cleaves of the world. Michael Toland [buy it]
THE SONICS
Introducing the Sonics
(Sundazed)
Seattle's Sonics put out Introducing the Sonics in 1966 to little notice outside of the Pacific Northwest, yet over the years they've become one of the most influential bands in rock. When garage punk bands push their R&B-based tunes and carnivorous vocals into the red, when they play every song as if they had only the next two-and-a-half minutes to justify their existence, "Psycho" and "The Witch" are what they're copying. Michael Toland [buy it]
THE TALK
It's Like Magic in Reverse
(MoRisen)
If I had to use a single word to describe the Talk, it would "urgent." The North Carolina band plays its angst-ridden power pop as if the members had five double-espressos each before the session. Singer Justin Williams has a lot to say and an apparently short time in which to say it; amazingly, he and the band never lose their articulation in the rush to get the point across. Michael Toland
20 MILES
Life Doesn't Rhyme
(Fat Possum)
As 20 Miles is a side project from Judah Bauer of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, a band I absolutely despise, I've never paid it much mind. More fool me—Life Doesn't Rhyme is a solid, surprisingly restrained roots rock record, without any of the Explosion's snide condescension or over-the-top showmanship. Unlike his boss, Bauer's got soul. Michael Toland [buy it]
UNTO ASHES
I Cover You With Blood
(Projekt)
I'll freely admit to being a Scrooge when it comes to the alleged art of the remix, so I'll keep my opinions on the "Wounds Mix" of "I Cover You With Blood" (from the band's amazing Empty Into White) and the "Ochun Mix" of "Serve Me" (from Saturn Return) to myself. This CD single does include a trio of nifty covers of medieval songs, though, which makes it worth it to me. Michael Toland
WOLVERINE
Cold Light of Monday
(Elitist/Earache)
This Swedish progressive metal sextet dances to the edge of ridicule, but never quite falls off. Credit the arrangements, which, while suitably grandiose, are more atmospheric than most bands of this ilk even attempt, and the vocalist, who actually makes you feel his pain. Prog metal ain't everyone's tumbler of absinthe, of course, but, lemme tell ya, this beats the feces out of Dream Theater. Michael Toland [buy it]
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Shite 'n' Onions Volume 1
(Omnium)
Shane MacGowan's songs have had a big impact, but who knew he was such a huge influence as a vocalist? Every other singer on this compilation of "15 up-and-coming Celtic/Punk bands" imitates MacGowan's slurred phrasing and guttural bark. Fortunately for MacGowan junkies like myself, the disk emphasizes Pogues clones more than Dropkick Murphys/Real McKenzies swipes (which are just booze punk bands in kilts anyway). Nothing groundbreaking here, just a whole lotta fun. Michael Toland [buy it]
