The Rock Blogger

The National have a knack for crafting beautiful lyrical imagery in their songs and their music videos exemplify this, capturing the underdog spirit and wine soaked swagger with great visual subtlety. All of the following are from 2007’s incredible Boxer.

“Apartment Story”

“Mistaken for Strangers”

“Slow Show” (live)

Primordial To the Nameless Dead. 2007. 3 stars.

I discovered this release after it had received such a strong showing on Rate your music’s Top 2007 list and its interesting to see how underground metal acts, in all sub-genres, are generating extensive cult followings online. Primordial’s grand atmospherics, passionate intensity and Celtic underpinnings make them standout among a cluttered field of Black Metal provocateurs. The sound here is epic and sweeping as the band indulge in lengthy, yet stunningly focused, song structures.

The thematics of this album explore the prideful and gluttonous failings of mankind, with tracks like “Empire Falls”, “As Rome Burns” and “No Nation on this Earth” hearkening back to the nomadic tribulations of warriors long lost, of barbarian invaders trekking across Northern Europe and the Nordic forests to make epic confrontations against imperial hordes.

If this all sounds over the top, its because it is. But the majesty and ferocity of this music overcomes its obvious lyrical pretensions. The vocals here are quite interesting as well, abandoning beast-like moans and growls for the more refined and emotional tenor of Alan Averill.

The exhaustive length of the album’s songs due take a toll on having a full, contemplative listening experience, as the epic dirges tend to drag on, blending into each other across its progression. But To the Nameless Dead remains an intriguing release that certainly demonstrates the band’s technical prowess and penchant for crafting mood and atmosphere.

Electric Wizard Witchcult Today. 2007 4.5 stars.

One hefty dose of sludgy stoner rock, England’s pot-addled Electric Wizard has concocted the infectious Witchcult Today, which is sure to stand as a new landmark for the genre. A mind-melting homage to the paranoid grooves and dark thematics of Black Sabbath, Witchcult Today immediately sucks you into shadowy psychedelic realms, alluding to the underground culture of 70’s B-Movies, pulp fiction and the occult.

A surprisingly accessible album, Witchcult Today features aggressive yet restrained vocals that do not sound as over-the top as most metal acts tend to verge toward. Speed here is not of the essence, as it is in Thrash and progressive metal, as Electric Wizard vie for a more relaxed, fuzzed out and hypnotic sound that allows you to space out to its slithering rythms.

A stoned masterpiece, I would even recommend this to those not accustomed to heavy music, as its trippy atmosphere and dynamics will be appealing to anyone who is the right ‘ahem’ state of mind…

This is a live video of the cult drone-doom band Earth performing “Plague of Angels”. This song is a fitting demonstration of Earth’s dust bowl psychedelia, producing reverberating waves of intense, bass laden riffs over deliberate drum fills and evocative noise passages. This song appears on the excellent Earth/Sunn O))) split Angel Coma.

Earth/Sunn O))) Angel Coma 2006 4 stars.

Earth/KK Null Dexamyl/Andromeda. 2005. 3.5 stars.
I also picked up the rare Earth/KK Null split Dexamyl / Andromeda which features a live Earth track and two experimental noise tracks from the Japanese avant-garde artist KK Null. Pick it up if you can, its a fuzzed out head trip like no other.

On the eve of 2008’s first American presidential primary in Iowa, the top-tier candidates are scrambling for a final push at the polls, as both parties see a dead heat race for their respective nominations. Last year saw the meteoric rise of Barack Obama, who has, not surprisingly, attracted many young people to the Democratic party. As reported by Pitchfork, Bright Eyes’ own Conor Oberst performed at an Obama rally on New Year’s Day, which was packed with political neophytes.

“Oberst played a few tunes and addressed those gathered by saying, “I met the next president of the United States earlier today.” The Observer also noted the enthusiasm of “the younger Iowans in attendance.” Let’s hope these youngsters are old enough to vote!”

Besides Oberst (and Oprah or course), Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and The Cool Kids have also pledged their support for the first term Senator.

While it is certainly refreshing to see a candidate actually inspire young people to vote (miraculous really), the youthful enthusiasm will have to face the fact that most Iowan caucus goers are usually over the age of 50…

We’ll see how Obama’s slew of indie endorsements fare for him tomorrow night…

***Update: Obama kicked some serious caucus.

Happy New Year!

To ease my recovery from last night’s shindig (where much drinking and snow skating took place), I thought I’d create a quick rundown of some upcoming releases to be excited for in the first few weeks of 2008. Look for some reviews of these albums on The Rock Blogger as they come out.

This Will Destroy You This Will Destroy You January 8th.

Magnetic Fields. Distortion. January 15th.

Black Mountain. In the Future. January 22nd.

The Mars Volta. The Bedlam in Goliath. January 29th.

It looks like 2008 is going to have a good start.