The Rock Blogger

Crippled Black Phoenix. A Love of Shared Disasters. 2007. 3.5 stars.

A Love of Shared Disasters is an incredibly difficult album to get into. It’s not that its songs are really that obscure, unconventional or abstract, its that each one sounds completely different from the other, making it seem uneven and beguiling at times. The eclecticism in the material may come from the diverse membership of Crippled Black Phoenix, featuring a few folks from Mogwai, Electric Wizard, Portishead and others. The band touches on everything from ambient to folk to explosive post-rock all across the album’s lengthy running time.

When CBP are at the top of their game, like on the rollicking “Suppose I Told the Truth”, they sound inspired and ambitious as they blend clear alternative-rock hooks with spiraling post-rock ambiance. The effect, on that song in particular, is quite moving, sounding like a cross between the infectious melancholy of The National and the star-gazing wonder of Explosions in the Sky. Moments such as these are plentiful, albeit scattered, across this album, with each effort brimming with tension and cool, nightly atmosphere.

Its just unfortunate that these shinning moments are fitted between indulgent experiments that don’t really lead anywhere interesting. Long, barren ambient interludes, awkward spoken word samples and drawn out ’slowcore’ passages fill out the album. While these moments are certainly moody, and occasionally gripping, they drag down the record’s overall flow and detract from the genuinely epic numbers.

If the collective had decided to trim 15 minutes or so from the record, they may have had a definitive and essential post-rock record on their hands. When this band plays tightly, they are on another astral plane, drawing avant-garde and alternative rock sounds together in wildly original and beautiful compositions. So until they produce a more cohesive album (fingers crossed for a followup), you’re pretty much skipping through half of the songs here to get to the gems. Still, they are definitely worth searching for.

The following songs are from At the Drive In’s final landmark album The Relationship of Command (2000). This is probably my favorite post-hardcore album, its energy searing and lyrics kaleidoscopic.

Damn I miss these guys. Oh well, we still have The Mars Volta at least.

Invalid Litter Dept

One Armed Scissor

Pattern Against User live

Torche. Meanderthal. Hydrahead Records. 2008. 4 stars.

I’ve seen Torche perform twice before, opening for Mogwai and Jesu, and I while I was impressed by their crushingly loud sets, they just seemed like a slightly above average doom band.  To my pleasent suprise, their latest LP Meanderthal lives up to the internet hype with its brisk and infectious stoner metal jams. Sounding like a cross between Queens of the Stone Age and Pelican, Torche’s songs are full of tight melodies and furious riffs, moving along at a speedy pace while still laying down the heaviness. The majority of the tracks here are short and sweet, with only one song pushing past five minutes, making Meanderthal a breezy and accessible listen that begs repeating.

While Torche successfully culminate several styles together in a satisfying package, there is no ‘Feel Good Hit of the Summer’ to knock it out of the park. Still, that may not be a bad thing, since Torche will fair well with the avant-stoner crowd (fans of Boris and Isis take note). Torche may sound like a band teetering on the fence between arena-rock stardom and the underground, but they’re still carving a sizable niche for themselves with their ‘fun’ brand of doom metal. If Meanderthal is any indication, I’m expecting many more great things to come from this band.

Torche “Healer” - live
(Hey, the lead singer has the same Jesu shirt as me!)

Radiohead Live. This song is from Kid A.

That there
Thats not me
I go
Where I please
I walk through walls
I float down the liffey
I’m not here
This isn’t happening
I’m not here
I’m not here

In a little while
Ill be gone
The moments already passed
Yeah its gone
And I’m not here
This isn’t happening
I’m not here
I’m not here

Strobe lights and blown speakers
Fireworks and hurricanes
I’m not here
This isn’t happening
I’m not here
I’m not here

My Morning Jacket . Evil Urges . 2008. 3.5 stars .

MMJ’s Evil Urges gracefully picks up were 2005’s Z left off, bringing together eclectic styles and influences into a festive and confident whole. Just as Z pushed MMJ’s sound from folksy, rustic indie rock to full-bodied arena-rock jams, their latest offering continues their evolution towards orchestral pop and funk, with many oddball dynamics thrown in. While purists may initially be caught off guard by the gauzy and free-wheeling nature of these 14 songs, repeated listens uncover the great variety and brave experimentation within, making this a work that grows on you over time.

The first thing many listeners will probably notice is Jim James’ uncanny falsetto on some of these tracks, most notably "Evil Urges" and "Highly Suspicious", used to full histrionic effect. The wails, coos and laughs give these songs a very strange, theatrical air, reminding me of some early Micheal Jackson songs, which can be either excellent or terrible depending on your tastes. These funk-inspired moments, while entertaining, seem out of place among MMJ’s previous output, and place emphasis on performance rather than tight song craft.

Luckily, there is some more familiar ground to be tread on here, including the infectious "I’m Amazed" where James’ stunning voice returns to room-shaking form. Other highlights include the groovy, bass driven "Touch Me I’m going to Scream Pt. 1" and the operatic "Librarian" which describes the hidden beauty of a bookish woman in the same lovelorn fashion as the late great Roy Orbison. MMJ’s genre-blending throwbacks are executed with great success, carrying the same stadium-filling grandeur possessed by many 70s era rock acts, but rarely seen in our contemporary (and highly disposable) music culture. While Evil Urges may make an awkward first impression, being an amalgamation of disparate pop and rock elements, it still provides some uplifting moments when given time to reveal itself. Despite my preference for their gritter and more straightforward material (ie. their unbelievable Acoustic Citsuoca EP), Evil Urges is still a refreshing listen that is amplified even further when placed within the context of the band’s continuous progression.

I’m Amazed

While I was never the greatest fan of Marilyn Manson’s music, he really comes off as a well spoken and intelligent artist in this interview. I couldn’t think of a greater contrast to O’Reilly’s self-righteous, blustering manner. To be fair though, O’Reilly keeps his infamous temper in check and is courteous to his guest. I do find it funny that O’Reilly challenges Manson on his use of profanity in his lyrics, considering his own previous outbursts…

Nine Inch Nails. The Slip . 2008. 4 stars .

Trent Reznor is on a roll. Just two months after NIN’s epic ambient release Ghosts I-IV , and not even a year after the excellent dystopia that was Year Zero , Reznor has unveiled another full length work - a more traditional sounding album that merges noisy industrial metal with hook-laden arena rock jams, all for free from the band’s website. Presented as a gift to NIN’s loyal fan base who made Ghosts a financial windfall, The Slip is a solid and accessible collection that, while not groundbreaking, still showcases Reznor’s newfound artistic freedom and energy.

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Ashes Divide . Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright . 2008. 4 stars .

A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel returns with his new solo project Ashes Divide, providing a logical extension to where his last efforts left off. With APC closed up, and Maynard James Keenan occupied by Tool and his own (disappointing) Puscifer project, the technically savvy Howerdel has been left to own devices, allowing him to step out of the shadow of his former band mate. While Howerdel is more than a proficient guitar player, providing the organic, jangly riffs that made many APC songs so compelling, his vocal abilities and songwriting had yet to reach the limelight. Until now.
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I’m heading to Buffalo to see Matthew Good perform the last show in his acoustic tour of the U.S. I think this will be the 11th MG show I’ve seen since I started listening to Underdogs at the beginning of the decade. In celebration of today’s show, here are my Top 5 Matthew Good videos:

5. Strange Days. Beautiful Midnight 1999.

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The Gutter Twins. Saturnalia. 2008. 4.5 stars.

This stunning alternative album is a collaboration between grunge legend Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age) and Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs) who have been working together on this project for over three years. The result is a refined, post-grunge masterpiece that boasts stellar songwriting, strong vocals and powerful rock hooks, drawing you into a murky and blues-inspired emotional trip.

Saturnalia has a gritty, dark gospel feel to it, touching similar nerves as Tom Waits and The National’s Boxer, with Lanegan’s moody baritone moaning over “being the devil’s plaything” and lamenting his eventual journey “seven stories underground”. With lamentations over sin, lost love and a general lack of options, the lyrics here are poignant, clever and reveal the duo’s sharpened writing abilities, coming from their years of experience in the underground.

The musicianship is also impressive, with slithering baselines, fiery guitar solos and impassioned vocal harmonies. The second half of the album moves beyond expectations, incorporating subtle electronic effects and piano lines to add to the album’s sonic palette. The sound of The Gutter Twins, while dark and bluesy, is not despairing, but rather plays sorrow with a cool and refined swagger rarely scene in alternative rock. Leagues ahead of the decaying grunge corpses that have dominated the mainstream since the main players faded away, The Gutter Twins return to that genre’s emotional core and revitalize it with intelligent songwriting, diverse sounds and a cathartic delivery that feels genuine, as if coming from real, desolate places.