| rockist header | |
|
Fairweather If They MoveKill Them A pretty good debut from this VA five-piece. Slightly reminescent of mid-1990's punk and melodic h/c a la Texis is the Reason and Lifetime. Plenty of catchy muted riffs and upbeat, heartfelt lyrics on here for everyone! (www.fairweatherva.com; Equal Vision Records PO Box 14 Hudson, NY 12534 www.equalvision.com) Geoff Farina Reverse Eclipse Farina (singer from Karate)'s last solo record was an exercise in minutiae, an album that looked at life through a microscope. This record's lyrics are not quite as strong, but there is some substance and poetry there. The difference between the two records seems to be the dramatic increase in the noodle factor this time aroundthe guitar lines just seem to meander with no sense of purpose. Maybe it's "jazz," maybe it's Steely Dan, but methinks it's just lazy. (Southern Records) Fashioncolt s/t EP Four fun songs on this self-released EP from this exciting, young Boston band. Three guitar players, bass, and drums and quirky, fun vocals. Dig the piano on the incredibly catchy "Transmit Her" and the winding guitar parts on the last song. (fashioncolt@hotmail.com) |
French Kicks Young Lawyer EP
NYC's French Kicks play a brand of pop that has the same sort of shuffle that you found in a few Chisel tunes and might even fit well alongside a couple Elvis Costello tunes. I really dug "take in water" and "so many cakes" from their debut EP on My Pal God in 1999. This holds much the same ground - mid-tempo, plenty of harmonies. The difference with this new EP is that I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK THEY'RE SINGING ABOUT!!!! (info@frenchkicks.com; Star Time Records 244 Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215 www.StarTimeRecords.com) Frenzal Rhomb Shut Your Mouth Completely innocuous snotty pop punk from Australia. (Fat Wreck Chords PO Box 193690 San Francisco, CA 94119-3690 www.fatwreck.com) Gauge 1 23-song retrospective of early material from this Illinois band. I first heard of them because Kevin Frank (now in Haymarket Riot) and Neil Sandler went on to form Traluma together. I'm really impressed with the packaging of this album. They give you a brief history of the band and a complete listing of shows and lyrics. As far as the music goes, it takes a couple of listens with some of this stuff, but I think that if you are or were a fan of Rites of Spring and Fugazi, you'd be pretty interested to see what was going on in the Midwest in the early 1990s. (Tree PO Box 578582 Chicago, IL 60657 www.treerecords.com) |
| rockist footer |