CD OF THE MONTH

Knobody - Tha Clean Up
Produced by Da Beathoven, Demby, Joe Duke and Retro

“If hip-hop is dead, I’m about to necromance it.” That’s a bold statement from someone who claims to be a Knobody. But since signing to Hiero Imperium last year, this Oakland-based hip-hop artist is slowly becoming somebody and resuscitating life back into the comatose craft. With his label debut, Tha Clean Up, Knobody delivers one of the most solid Hiero releases in recent years.

Knobody’s versatility shines throughout the album as he combines battle bravado and conscious sensibilities with his ‘hood etiquette. He spits effortlessly with a braggadocious swagger on tracks like “What U Think?” and “I’m Back.” With “On My Job,” he takes a shot at the hip-hop fakers: “I’m sick of hearing ‘bout the price of your house and ice in your mouth / when ‘bout 95 percent of you cats is imposters / They should take back the Grammys and start giving you niggas Oscars.” But just as easily, Knobody can trade punches for introspective lyrics, like on “I Neva Said” where he raps, “I neva said I didn’t love this, I said it was wrong / How I’m surviving off the dope game instead of my songs.”

The production is almost as versatile as Knobody’s lyrical stylings. West Coast producer Da Beathoven handles three quarters of it, which helps to create a cohesive vibe. Retro, Demby and Joe Duke also lend a beat apiece. Filled with synthesized sounds and thumping drums, Tha Clean Up still manages to break out of the hyphy mold currently encompassing the Bay Area with songs like “Sacrifice,” “Granted” and “Caged Bird” that mellow out and create a somber atmosphere.

Though heavy-hitters such as A Plus, Casual and Mistah F.A.B drop guest verses on the album, Knobody is the MVP. And if he keeps at it, Knobody won’t be a nobody for long. (Hieroglyphics Imperium)

www.hieroglyphics.com

-Zoneil Maharaj

Post Harbor - Praenumbra
Recorded and mixed by S.J. Aguilar at BearHead Studios
Additional engineering by Colin Isler
Mastered by Mark Guenther at Seattle Disc Mastering
Produced by S.J. Aguilar & Post Harbor

Intensity of purpose and clarity of execution mark this impressive debut from the Pacific Northwest quartet Post Harbor. The influence of Sunny Day Real Estate is evident, particularly in frontman Anthony Carlucci’s ragged, aching vocals. The band’s consistent use of loud-quiet-loud dynamics follows ...Trail of Dead as well, while its sense of texture and intuitive structure treads into the headier territory of post-rock. The songs on Praenumbra evolve measure by measure, and the dynamic scheme changes song by song: “Langley” is pretty and builds gradually while “The Color Red, Not the Word” alternates the band’s heaviest, most cathartic thrashing with ethereal moments.
Guitars by Carlucci and Brandon Bogan take turns churning with angst and chiming brightly, while the rhythm section of bassist Kenny Ball and drummer Aaron Gustafson play it heavy and/or melodic as needed. Bogan’s occasional keyboards add another sometimes surprising layer of texture, from icy washes to clinking xylophone sounds to low-tech electronic bloops - sometimes all within a single song, such as album opener “And Keep Us Safe ‘Til Morning.” Smart, subtle use of strings further enriches several tracks, including the epic “Slumber with the Kraken.”

“Madrona,” “Praenumbra” and “Aristocracy” make up an impressive suite, with the middle track acting as a seamless instrumental bridge between the other two. “Aristocracy” displays the band’s penchant for lyrics of near-biblical drama like, “Rain down the fire, cut to the marrow,” “The chorus struck you like the fist of God,” and, later in the album, “Brother, forgive them, for they didn’t follow” (“Chani”). Post Harbor’s songs are both emotionally charged and structurally complex. The band is tight, but it still breathes. They describe their songwriting process as collaborative, and clearly the members have a strong affinity, because the individual parts speak with a single voice. (Self-released)

www.postharbormusic.com

-Mike Baehr

Six Organs of Admittance - Shelter from the Ash
Produced by Tim Green
Recorded at Louder Studios

Over the course of 10 albums, Six Organs of Admittance always sounded like a continual battle of principles. 2006’s volcanic rock oeuvre The Sun Awakens was an austere rumination between the circular drones of Eastern music and the propulsive linearity of the Western folk canon. Instead of pushing his experiments further on Shelter from the Ash, Six Organs’ prolific mastermind Ben Chasny does something entirely unanticipated - he tunes his guitars. The result is an album that is just as immediate, but not necessarily the same kind of volatile folk that yanked listeners down the rabbit hole before.

Chasny’s guitar work is eclectic nonetheless, ranging from dusty Southwestern fingerpicking to gargantuan amounts of distortion on album highlight, “Coming to Get You.” Acoustic guitars gnaw on skeletal walls of electric sound and the desolate landscape is scarred on opening track “Alone With the Alone.” Like many Six Organs songs, it is also highly meditative - there is conflict in the thrushes of cymbal; strings ache and droning guitar ruptures into screams.

Aside from inspiration, there are also liberal amounts of lyrical paranoia on stark tracks like “Strangled Road.” Chasny intones, “Yes it’s true they’re hiding / Waiting to kiss your skull / They may even eat the horse you’re riding.” One would expect the resulting guitar solo to bottle all that terror and let it loose, but instead it is quite sedated. Chasy keeps one quivering eye open on the sleepy folk musings of “Jade Like Wine” as well. It sounds like John Fahey trapped in a nightmare.

Nothing quite reaches the all-consuming fire of The Sun Awakens (with the exception of “Coming to Get You”), yet Shelter from the Ash doesn’t set out to be that album’s appendix. It sits quietly, inconspicuous, and adds another notch onto Chasny’s rather arresting and fertile career. (Drag City)

www.sixorgans.com

-Kyle Lemmon

60 Watt Kid - 60 Watt Kid
Recorded by Jim Schwartz and 60 Watt Kid
Produced, engineered and mixed by Jim Schwartz
Mastered by JJ Golden at John Golden Studios

There is a sense of demented unity underlying 60 Watt Kid’s self-titled debut. Sounding more like a solo project than the collective efforts of Kevin Litrow, Derek Thomas and Garrett Pierce, 60 Watt Kid is a noisily nuanced, manic, meandering album with a pop-sensitive core.

The song structures tie together the improvised and the conventional, with alternate nods to Little Richard, Sun Ra and Brian Eno. The Bay Area trio sings with estranged voices over thumping percussion, spray can hiss, and chirping synthesizers on “Every Day” before moving onto the lighter, brighter balladry of “Going Home.” Songs like “Need a Job” and “American Standard Pt. 1” hearken back to reverby roots rock, while “Ocsicnarf Nas” and “Chem Trials” have a more ambient, modern flair.

The moods vary greatly from track to track. Although there is a subtle-yet-persistent humor on 60 Watt Kid that blends social commentary with self-referential ribbing, as if to emphasize some manic dichotomy, the album’s best moments are either its most jarring or its most delicate. But at 63 minutes in length, the disc can be taxing to listen to in its entirety, especially when the group indulges its penchant for excess. Many of the songs reach six or more minutes in length, devolving into triumphant weirdness before bleeding into the next track.

60 Watt Kid is an engaging debut that has a lot to offer in terms of stylistic diversity and spastic, far-flung craftsmanship. For better or worse, this isn’t the kind of album one can just throw on and half listen to. It demands the listener’s attention. (Absolutely Kosher Records)

www.60wattkid.com

-Andres Jauregui

Blue Cranes - Lift Music! Flown Music!
Produced and mixed by Reed Wallsmith
Co-mixed by Blue Cranes
Mastered by Jim Rusby

In recent years, Portland has become a breeding ground for a number of exciting jazz combos, all of which aim to take the genre out of the cocktail lounge and into the indie rock club. One such group is an invigorating quartet known as Blue Cranes. Although it sticks to the typical lineup of a jazz quartet (sax, keys, bass and drums), the group avoids expository solos and renditions of traditional songs, instead sticking together throughout like a rock band and, on this album, even covering a song by the late Elliott Smith.

Blue Cranes haven’t completely eschewed the notions of what jazz music is, writing straightforward works like the swinging ode to another Portland band “Thirty Ought Six Circus,” as well as proving they can ride a Latin groove with best of them on “Cristo De Palacaguina.” Yet what makes Blue Cranes so enticing is how closely they align themselves with other jazz artists like Ornette Coleman and Charles Mingus, who stretched the boundaries of what jazz can be. To that end, the Cranes have included fascinating songs like “Dear Howard,” where they provide the backing track for a spoken word piece, and the slow-simmering tunes “Greenwood” and “Aluvion Song for Audrey,” which see each member (especially drummer Ji Tanzer and bassist Keith Brush) thrumming and rolling along like ocean waves.

The real star of this show is Reed Wallsmith though, not only for his brilliant alto sax work but also for his production on the album. The young bandleader adds the right amount of texture and color to this already captivating musical canvas. With his input, Blue Cranes take flight with ease and grace on this accomplished debut. (Blue Cranes Music)

www.bluecranesmusic.com

-Bob Ham

The Purrs - The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together
Recorded and produced by The Purrs at Power Flower
Mixed by Nick Holman at Electrokitty Studio
Mastered by Ed Brooks at RFI

If there’s one thing that ‘90s Britpop taught us, it’s that sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll not only sound great together, they never go out of style. And though The Purrs are actually from Seattle, they have absorbed the sounds and the vibes of their musical compadres across the pond. Double-tracked vocals and reverbed guitars are the order of the day on The Chemistry That Keeps Us Together, with the band occasionally jamming out on a groove like a more disciplined, song-oriented cousin of Brian Jonestown Massacre.

There’s a very, very dark thread woven throughout the album. It gets no darker than the opening line of “You Don’t Look So Good” as vocalist Jima bluntly observes, “nothing kills a buzz like a botched suicide.” “Disconnected” also lives up to its title, again with the blunt opening approach: “I know you’re suffering / I don’t really give a damn,” and the druggy band-aid confession: “I had a handful of pills so I took them all.” The old alcoholic stand-by comes into play as well in “Rainbow Afternoon” as a depressed narrator sits in a bar and thinks, “maybe I’d rather just lay down and die.”

Sex and love are also covered, cynically so in “Yes I Do,” where a damned if you do, damned if you don’t philosophy supersedes all thought: “If you try too hard to love her / She will leave you / If you act like you don’t want her / She’ll believe you.”

“She’s Got Chemicals” is ultimately the best entry here. With its classic use of drugs as a metaphor for love (“I can’t resist the buzz she gives ... Those chemicals are right here in my mind”), the song whose lyrics gave the album its title provides the most positive and heartwarming emotions. What’s more, its melodic refrain makes it the catchiest, most radio-friendly tune of the bunch. (Self-released)

www.thepurrs.com

-Michael Fortes

Run on Sentence - Oh When the Wind Comes Down
Recorded and mixed by Lee Howard at Mystery Machine Studios
Produced by Nick Jaina and Dustin Hamman
Mastered by Jeff Stuart Saltzman at Superdigital

It is difficult to define a band even iTunes calls “unclassifiable” - other than to say that Run on Sentence’s new album Oh When the Wind Comes Down is a stunning and quirky venture characterized by fine musicianship and inventive songwriting. With tunes that span genres (sometimes several within one song) and a semi-narrative that weaves throughout, the album often evokes the literary, intelligent, folky undertones of The Decemberists, though it is considerably more jagged.

Starting off the album is “Carrie Pt. I,” an old-timey, Alpine-sounding folk song complete with yodeling and lilting, waltz-tempo melodies. Next is the jazzy “Carrie Pt. II,” an upbeat counterattack. “November Nights” follows with Echo & the Bunnymen dark lyricism and a beat that approaches the ironic, driving rhythm of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”(minus the proto-punk). From there, the album moves into the plaintive cabaret-like, glockenspiel-infused “The Only Joy,” with a rambling patter inserted in the middle. Then the thoughtful and balladic “The Afterlife Pt. I” is punctuated by an energetic coda with strident vocals and horns evocative of Neutral Milk Hotel. The bluesy “Stonewall” and “8th St. Music Co.” creep in next, the latter descending into a Flamenco beat. And then comes the mournful and cynical “Foreign and Awkward,” the tour-de-force message song of the album which opines on the hypocrisies of contemporary society: “They’re ravin’ ‘bout the progress of the modern times / American dreams wash into the gutter / Collected by a rat whose pocket’s getting fatter.” Finally, rounding out the collection is “The Afterlife Pt. II,” which brings closure with its strummed wistfulness.

Oh When the Wind Comes Down is an album that could either shine brilliantly or fail spectacularly; with its thoughtful lyrics, attention-grabbing codas, and dead-on musicality - together with the fact that it manages to stay cohesive despite a musical chairs approach to genre - it virtually glows. (Self-released)

www.runonsentencemusic.com

-Caitlin Berka

Parker Street Cinema - Music, in the Blood
Recorded by Brad McGowan and Ken Mahru
Produced by Bravo Bros.
Mixed by Brad McGowan at Little Red Wagon Studios
Mastered by Chad Clark at Silver Sonya

Much of Parker Street Cinema’s instrumental sound rests upon Brian Glover’s diverse piano arrangements, garnering impressions of rock, jazz and even operatic flavors. Glover contrasts his vocal-like melodies with pounding rhythms (the piano is after all a form of percussion). A technically complex weave of Ken Mahru’s drum riffs adds to the tapestry, finalized by the fullness of Kevin Dick’s remarkable bass tone. PSC’s latest effort, Music, in the Blood, features an orchestra of sounds as the San Francisco-based trio and set of contributing musicians engage with a slew of other instruments from synth and samples to various horns.

The album opens with the epic, warlike “Animat” and leads quickly into the driving rock anthem “Blood Music,” an appropriate follow-up. PSC’s creative vision errs on the odd with “Something About the Audience,” where a good portion of the track revolves around a narrative. “The Hymn of El Cerrito” sings like a breezy stroll through the mentioned city, spaciously unbound by the overcast commonly plaguing the rest of the Bay, and also effectively features spoken dialogue during its introspective breakdown.
At the album’s midpoint lies one of PSC’s strongest tracks, “Separation.” A haunting melody syncopates over an arpeggiated bass line, creating the illusion of two dancing voices climbing a crescendo into harmonic bliss. “Separation” excels with dynamic fluctuation, allowing a complete retention of freshness where other tracks could start to get stale from repetition.

Of all the aptly named bands, Parker Street Cinema falls to the forefront. Lush instrumentals and a capacity for crafting elaborate visuals set this threesome apart from other artists in the instrumental genre. (Abandoned Love Records)

www.parkerstreetcinema.com

-Keane Li

Le Fits - Sportif
Recorded, engineered and produced by Ben E at UFI Studio
Mixed by Myles Boisen at Guerrilla Recording
Mastered by Myles Boisen at Headless Buddha

Self-proclaimed art rockers Le Fits draw up a new venture with the release of Sportif. This sometimes two-person band brings a full orchestration to its newest album, and starting off with a peculiar mix of standard rock, purposefully whacky vocals and video game sound effects on “Revolutionary Man,” the Oakland-based group seems far from pretentious avant-garde experimentalists. The boundaries Le Fits strive to push musically constitute an exciting, sometimes moody and sometimes uplifting spectrum of sound.

Ben E continues toying with pop hooks of addicting guitar and synth melodies that transform songs that begin with instrumentation of musical noise, like in “17 Hours.” His nonconformist voice recalls the funkiness of Robert Smith and adds to the atypical pop tunes his band creates. Le Fits are more successful than not at forming catchy anthems like “Sign Language” and “Two Kids,” though sometimes their eccentric musical rants do become more about experimentation than creating enjoyable ditties.

Halfway through the album, the band takes a more sedated turn, and songs like “Un-Say is Best” take on a deeper, less electronically sporadic tone. These don’t come across as duller versions of the fast-paced trials that precede them though, but tap into a more mainstream, and actually stronger sound. “The Glass” is haunting pop, “Psychic Voodoo” mixes folk with electric, and “Le Razoir” has a Shins-like indie groove to it.
However Le Fits hang on to their abstract writing style, evidenced in “Magic Potion” when Ben E sings, “I think there’s someone who’s been walking in my sleep ... I’d speak but my tongue might fall out in the street.” And by final songs “Lovers” and “Sleepwalker,” Le Fits find a happy medium between the sweet and the obscure; they allow their unconventional whims to subside to twanging guitars, and Ben E soothes his vocals to an intimate charm. Constantly pushing boundaries in thunderous acclaim or subtle whispers, Sportif has Le Fits unfolding music making like an artistic sport. (U.F.I. Records)

www.myspace.com/thefits

-Megan Clinard

Mist and Mast - Mist and Mast
Mastered by Mike Wells at Mike Wells Mastering

If there’s one thing that music technology has afforded over the last few years, it’s the ability for songwriters to have total control over their product. With consumer-level recording equipment that allows musicians of average means to construct in-home studios, self-produced and arranged albums such as Jason Lakis’ Mist and Mast are fast becoming the norm.

What makes Mist and Mast a success is Lakis’ songwriting ability and musicianship. It is a surprisingly full and lush listen considering the former Red Thread frontman recorded it in his apartment, playing all of the instruments himself. The songs have an incredibly nostalgic groove and would have easily felt at home in the college rock explosion of the mid-’90s.

Most of the tracks feature noodling guitar lines weaving in and out of each other with grand keyboards generally providing the melody and effective, simple drumming. All of this underscores Lakis’ dry, unaffected delivery. His voice seems droning at times, but this makes for an easy, smooth listen.

The standout track of the album is “Eyes Adjust to the Dark,” which gathers steam with an excitable tambourine and Lakis’ vocals expertly double-tracked. It is a song full of pop culture references - like Brian Eno and the Museum of Modern Art - that finishes in a flurry of precise drumming and synthesized piano. The disorientation caused by the double-tracked vocals and guitars keeps listeners on their toes and draws attention to the intricate melodies created when a guitarist battles with himself. There does, however, seem to be a general lack of urgency on the album, primarily in the lyrics. It is difficult to discern exactly what these songs are about, but that may be because Lakis’ vocals, while compelling in sound, get a little bit lost in the mix.

Though it doesn’t break any new ground, Mist and Mast is an intriguing listen that should have fans of the musical auteur excited and interested. (Oakland Petting Zoo)

www.mistandmast.com

-Rob Bergquist

Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity - Santiago’s Vest
Recorded and mixed by Masa Fukudome, Johnny Sangster, Nick Homan, Jay Folette, Gary Reynolds, and various members of The Brides of Obscurity
Mastered by Ed Brooks

Gary Reynolds is one of Seattle’s hardest working and - ironically, given the name of his band - most unsung fountains of song. Prolific by almost any standard, Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity now return with another batch of heartfelt, well-read pop/rock gems.

As on 2005’s Instant Happiness and 2007’s Extended Play EP, The Brides provide competent complement to Reynolds’ confident frontman swagger, and once a revolving stable of kindred spirits, they have coalesced into a regular quintet for Santiago’s Vest. Guitarist Don Durham, keyboardist Jeremy Manley, bassist Justin Friesen, and drummer Perry Morgan instrumentally evoke Reynolds’ precious confections with the skill of dedicated craftsmen.

All but Morgan add backing vocals, and as often as not the resulting sugared harmonies run high on “oohs” and “aahs.” “Everybody’s Somewhere” and “Wall Eyed Girl” offer particularly sun-drenched examples, but throughout there’s no mistaking that this project remains a vehicle for Reynolds’ own unstoppable songwriting.

Yet for all its surreptitious mojo, Santiago’s Vest differs little from its predecessors. All the calling cards stand firm: Reynolds’ capable if untrained falsetto (“Mrs. Love”), the repetitive, often derivative choruses (“Where Do We Go From Here?”), the mildly snarky lyricism and occasionally surprising storytelling it serves. “Who Do You Love?” offers an apex example of the latter as Reynolds intones, “We’ll write our own insider’s guide on how to live our life in high-speed drive.”

At the end of the day, Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity are either the world’s best bar band or a shameless reincarnation of Billy Joel, circa 1986. Take it or leave it, depending on your tastes - either way at least you always know what you’re going to get. (Electrokitty Records)

www.bridesofobscurity.com

-Jason Kirk

Somobe - The Great Communication
Mastered by Stephen Marsh at Stephen Marsh Mastering
Produced by The Hooligans

Vegas has undergone a major makeover, transforming from a mob-run playground for thrill seeking singles to a corporate-franchised family vacation destination. Hip-hop seems to share a similar arc, but in the midst of the madness of neon signs and bling jewelry, Sin City-based Somobe manages to keep a deaf ear to the hype and release a genuine offering into the hip-hop ether.

Coined from the swing era, the word “Somobe” translates to “so cool,” which aptly describes the feel and mood of the producer/emcee tandem’s debut album The Great Communication. Jonathan “Jon D” Owens single-handedly heads up the entire album without the aid of cameo appearances from established entities the likes of an Akon or a Snoop Dogg. Playing the part of yin to Jon D’s yang, producer Roland “Bob-J” Llapitan mans the boards for every song on the album.

Overall, The Great Communication is a thoughtful body of work. “Clap On” delves into the confusion of figuring out the truth for yourself and not believing everything from filtered news broadcasts. Along the same train of thought, “Something’s Gonna Happen” smacks the back of numbskull listeners to straighten up and fly right with hood parables.

Regardless of the acclaim their first single (“Building”) garnered with its “Hip-hop Song of the Year” nomination from the Independent Music Awards, “Long Days” is Somobe’s defining moment. Featuring the vocals of Shadow Pilot draped over a cinematic score, Jon D’s ability to paint a picture with words while narrating intimate experiences is on full display.

Production may come off as a touch too monotonous, rarely straying from the laidback pacing of the entire project, but The Great Communication is still head and shoulders above the competition. Somobe has opened the doors for Vegas emcees. Viva Las Vegas. (Get’Em Productions)

www.myspace.com/somobe

-Franklin Grimes

Ambulance for Angeles - Viper Creek Club
Engineered by Andy Meyer
Mastered by Troy Glessner at Spectre Mastering
In-studio support by Thomas Price

Listening to Ambulance for Angeles’ Viper Creek Club EP is like passing through the various emotions of a complicated break up. Mathew Wisner’s raspy voice channels Violent Femmes frontman Gordon Gano, with clear influence from fellow Seattleite Ben Gibbard. Meanwhile, Brandon Jensen frames Wisner’s expressive vocals and provocative lyrics with a backdrop of percussion and melodies that correspond in range of emotion. The album moves easily from bittersweet indie pop to angsty rock and back again, walking the troubled line between heartbreaker and heartbroken.
Opening track “The Aquarium” begins with Wisner nonchalantly chanting, “I don’t care what you say” over the repeating vivid, high-pitched notes of an organ, and later, “I’m just trying you out” over a buoyant guitar riff that falls somewhere between Minus the Bear and The Whitest Boy Alive. Following this is the slower “Sweaters for Spring,” a stripped-down acoustic song that lets the listener focus on Wisner’s powerful but uncomplicated lyrics. When he and backup vocalist Keely Bumford sing “and you screamed for weeks” so gently over meandering guitar, the result is a melancholy lullaby that Iron & Wine could appreciate. The mood shifts dramatically in “Xmas Wasps,” where the screaming side of Wisner’s gentle voice comes through over more rock-centric instrumentation. Demonstrating the harder edge to the sweet sadness of earlier tracks, his anguished lyrics carry across the heavier guitar and percussion.
Having weathered the raw emotion of Viper Creek Club, listeners are treated to the light beats and tinkling bells of the album’s b-side “Claire and the Spies” - the calm after Ambulance for Angeles’ beautiful storm. (Self-released)

www.myspace.com/ambulanceforangeles

-Lulu McAllister

Tempo No Tempo - Repetition
Recorded, engineered and produced by Tyler McCauley with additional mixing by Barett Single
Mastered by Tardon Feathered at Mr. Toad’s

Stemming from Berkeley, dance-punk outfit Tempo No Tempo are four fellas with the right attitudes, who are keeping hipster stylistics low and rhythms tight. Their latest EP, Repetition, stirs in a fine 20 minutes and is a fitting disc to spin for a pre-party. Hell - a party and after-party too.

Beginning with “Repetition,” the title track easily earns its name, as it will unavoidably be set on replay with its catchy bounce. The most sweat-inducing of the five tracks, though, is the strobe-light spastic “Irregular Heartbeats.” The song’s dirty grit sounds and feels nearly like it would live, with singer Tyler McCauley spitting urgent, almost out-of-breath lines against rabid drum thrusts from Alex Kaiser and Jason Wexler’s bristly bass bumps. Their sound evokes Q and Not U and Gang of Four, and on the slowed down “Headlights” it taps into Interpol’s drowsy pulse as well. As the last song on the disc, “Headlights” is also the longest track, spread thin and across through Chris Cadena’s vocals. Furthermore, it deviates from the upbeat atmosphere and accentuates a mellower side to the band.

In essence, TNT’s Repetition is nightclub-ready and willing. However, the drawback about danceable post-punk is that the genre is overcrowded and threatens to smear distinctiveness — a few pints in and there’s no difference between The Rapture and The Faint as long as it grooves and gets the crowd moving. So though there’s generally no need for another band of this stripe, with their vibrant tunes and local roots, Tempo No Tempo can be the exception. (Double Negative Records)

www.myspace.com/temponotempo

-Robbie Salapuddin

Bhi Bhiman - The Cookbook
Recorded and mixed in San Francisco by Nathan Harlow at Function 8 Studios and by Michael Roache at Pyramind Studios, with additional mixing by Steffen Franz, Bhi Bhiman and Katie Ross
Mastered by Rainer Gembalczyk at Sienna Digital in Menlo Park
Produced by Katie Ross and Bhi Bhiman

On his latest album, The Cookbook, San Francisco singer/songwriter Bhi Bhiman stirs up a duplicitous blend of dissent and love. Leading with “FDA Blues,” a yodeling psychedelic ode to the drugs we take, Bhiman moves through folksy protest tracks into the jazzy jam of a breakup song - “Loving You.” This track features candid poetics like, “My kisses are knee-jerk reactions whenever I catch you walking by... I can’t stop loving you, even though we’re through,” and is the first introduction to the drastic shift in temperament and topic interspersed throughout the album.

On “Up in Arms,” a thick, stretching ballad with sparse, distant guitar, Bhiman’s fiery lyrics and well-pronounced vocals are showcased front and center. His deliciously sarcastic side shines on the blues number “White Man’s Burden Blues;” the bite of the song accentuated by the fact that Bhiman manages to cram every stereotype and denigrating term into it, while peppering them with brief but sweet harmonica solos. “You Gotta Move” is a fierce, catchy anthem that calls to mind Hamell on Trial, as Bhiman works his literate, politically-charged lyrics around a heavy electric guitar track and another distant harmonica. “This ain’t Moscow in modern day Russia,” he sings, “You can vent your dissent without fear ... you can move, so honey move.” Then “Telouise,” a groovy doo-wop tune about a girl, serves as a memorable but random interlude before the staunch protest kicks back in.

While each tune is astute and effective individually, the sharp counterbalancing of themes tends to detract from their collective force, hinting that The Cookbook may have been better served up as two separate albums. For instance, “Talkin’ NASCAR” could have been the shining bottom line to a politically-fueled album had it not breaked so frequently for love. After all, how can anyone not love a refrain like: “Terror, terror, freedom, freedom, dubya, dubya, NASCAR, NASCAR?” (HinJu Records)

www.myspace.com/bhibhiman

-Kim Ruehl

The Soda Pop Kids - Teen Bop Dream
Produced by Pat Kearns and The Soda Pop Kids
Mastered by Pat Kearns

The Soda Pop Kids’ debut is sugary sweet rock ‘n’ roll all the way. This Portland-based band combines the bouncy rhythms of Jerry Lee Lewis, the vocal arrangements of Phil Spector, and the minimal hard rock approach of New York Dolls’ ‘70s glam, and succeeds at maintaining all three. It would be easy for a band with such strong vintage influences to appear washed up and unoriginal, but The Soda Pop Kids remain fresh and exciting by not trying to outdo themselves musically. They keep their songs simple, fun and catchy - exactly how rock ‘n’ roll should be.

The rhythm section is especially in sync; drummer Alan T keeps the beats tight but doesn’t add a lot of unnecessary fills, and Diet D! lays out some sharp and pulsing guitar parts. The Kids also do themselves a service in their lyrical approach by sticking to classic musings about girls, dancing and smoking cigarettes. The truth is, most memorable rock songs are not the ones with vague and deliberately obscure lyrics, but the ones that candidly relate life activities and exude blatant emotion. And The Soda Pop Kids achieve this notably on “Fell in Love at the Arcade” with the lines, “Sneakin sips off her soda pop / I had no money for the snack shop / And did I mention she was lookin’ fine? / Oh man, she’s looking fine all the time.”

Every upbeat song on this record delivers infectious pop choruses laced with vocals that alternate successfully between a high-pitched gasp and a bratty yelp, bringing necessary variety. The only thing that ruins the package is the CD artwork, or the package itself: a computer-generated image of the band sitting at a soda fountain like a futuristic version of Grease. Despite the insipid visuals, The Soda Pop Kids’ music still scores high on the party jukebox scale - and that’s what matters. (Full Breach Kicks Records)

www.myspace.com/thesodapopkids

-Meredith Jones

Half Acre Day - Fourteen Trips Around the Sun
Produced and recorded by Half Acre Day at Right Mind Studios
Mixed by Brin Addison at Hype Schwartz Studios and by Martin Feveyear at Jupiter Studios
Mastered by Rick Fisher at RFI

With lush production and an amplitude of vocal harmonies, Seattle’s Half Acre Day have noticeably been toying with the “throw everything against the wall and see what sticks” approach that has worked so well for acts like Ween and The Flaming Lips. On Fourteen Trips Around the Sun, the effect is stimulating, if a bit hollow.

The album centers around electric, acoustic and bass guitars with saw, synthesizer and drum machine flung in, producing songs like “Showers” that are engaging but lack purpose. On this track, the bass line is extremely catchy, but the song itself starts to flounder and proves ineffectual without any meaningful lyrical content to hold it together. This could also be due in part to the scattershot nature of the album’s songwriting, with each of the five band members taking turns with writing duties.
To its benefit, the group does know how to amuse and most of its songs have a humorous Weird Al feel to them, both in subject matter and vocal quality. The album frequently induces a grin thanks to its lyrical irreverence (like “Exploding stock exchange give me the fever” on “Median”), but in turn this sacrifices its weight and necessity.

The ultimate result is an album that feels disjointed and irrelevant, despite its few shining moments. There is certainly promise here - the members of Half Acre Day are skilled musicians and songcrafters - but it would be interesting (if not beneficial) to see what a new approach to collaboration could do for their sound. (Right Mind Records)

www.halfacreday.com

-Rob Bergquist

Savage Kat - Acoustic Debauchery Vol. 2
Produced by Josh Perry and Savage Kat at Unit 6 Studios in Santa Fe Springs, CA
Mastered by Josh Perry at Unit 6 Studios

Arizona’s Savage Kat have followed up their debut Acoustic Debauchery Vol. 1 with Acoustic Debauchery Vol. 2. Following in the tradition of its predecessor, Vol. 2 was recorded live at Unit 6 Studios. On it, the four-piece take inspiration from just about every genre — from country to reggae to hip-hop — and fuse them together to create a musical splendor of acoustic ear candy. While listening to the album, one gets the impression that this music was never meant to come out of a speaker. The raw energy
and truly roots mentality of the Savage sound instantly transport the listener to the very place the music was created. Conversely, with tracks like “Tape Down Yo Wig” and “Makin Waves” (which range from punk and soul to folk rock) the immediacy of the recording also places the band in the same room as the listener; lead singer Shawn Maloy is both laughing and screaming in your face while simultaneously belting out melodies in perfect harmony with Allan Benton (bassist) and Matt Wiesgerber (lead guitarist). With their mind-pounding riffs and spontaneous time changes, Savage Kat take a different approach to acoustic rock. Though doubts might arise about how much rock they can serve up without a drum set or electric guitar in sight, Copeland Holt (percussionist) pounds enough djembe to put them to rest. Picking up where their
debut left off, Savage Kat have created a highly enjoyable album with Vol. 2, dishing up enough purely fun energy to fuel a game of beer pong and enough translatable appeal to blast at a good old fashioned house party. (Rydm Records)

www.savagekat.com

-Ryan Murphy

Dynamite Walls - Dynamite Walls
PRODUCED AND ENGINEERED BY JON SIEBELS

RECORDED AT CLIFTON STUDIOS IN MONTROSE, CA
MIXED BY KEVIN HARP AT THE CLOSET
MASTERED BY MARK CHALEKI

There seems to be a pop-rock revolution welling up from San Diego as of late. One of the newest bands on the scene is Dynamite Walls, a quartet of musicians who have created a tight album of melodic rock songs, ready for public consumption. The band’s self-titled full length is both well written and excellently performed, though almost too much so at times as it tends to suffer from over-production.“Kiss and Ride” is probably one of the best crafted songs of the bunch and features everything that a rock radio listener would want to hear: a musically sparse verse that builds and builds until it reaches its chorus, where it then opens into an orchestra of guitar and vocal harmonies, carrying lyrics that are easy to remember and sing along to. “Run” is another album standout with frantic guitars that drive the verse into an even more frantic chorus. However, Dynamite Walls does have a proclivity to wear their influences on their sleeves - quite forwardly on “Everybody Knows,” a track which sounds dangerously similar to Coldplay’s big hit single “Yellow,” right down to the same chord progression. This is where the album starts to lose momentum as many of the songs begin to blur together with very little variation and ultimately lose their memorable factor.

Though this does detract from the album as a whole, Dynamite Walls is still a great band with a large amount of potential that is just refining its musical voice. With a bit more work, it’s very likely the group will pull off what it starts here and find itself reaching accomplished new heights. (Self-released)

www.dynamitewalls.com

-Casey P. O’Neill

Amateur Radio Operator - Sirens ofTitan
RECORDED, ENGINEERED AND MIXED
BY KEVIN SUGGS
MASTERED BY RICK FISHER AT RFI
PRODUCED BY KEVIN SUGGS AND
AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR




Just as music has the power to energize listeners - a valuable principle not lost on aerobics instructors everywhere - it can also act as an aural depressant. Amateur Radio Operator’s lead singer Mark Johnson sings these Sirens of Titan songs in a weary voice, methodically and desperately, like a man crawling across the hot
desert sand in search of water. His peculiar tone is not so much singing as it is a lovably lazy vocal whine. And while effective, this personalized style may be an acquired taste for anyone used to a less nasal vocal approach. Led by its town crier, Amateur Radio Operator bleeds quiet, sad, musical lethargy.

Johnson’s vocals may attract much of the spotlight, but Kevin Suggs’ pedal steel coloring is the glue holding many of these tracks together. Suggs’ work is not the crying-in-your-beer, honky-tonk country variety however. It instead paints auditory vistas of evening skies raining down tears. The album’s most striking track is “No Como Los (Bottom Feeders).” It begins calmly enough with little more than the combination
of Johnson’s vocals and an acoustic guitar before Jenna Conrad’s ominous cello sneaks into the mix. Yet before all is said and done, this evolving song closes out with an angry but majestic electric guitar part. Amateur Radio Operator also shows off its
eclectic streak by covering Minor Threat’s “Screaming At a Wall,” turning the pioneering punk rant into something akin to a “Losing My Religion”-era R.E.M. lament. Elsewhere, “Milo” reveals how this group can also crank guitars to 11, if more than a whisper is required. (Self-released)

www.aromusic.net

-Dan MacIntosh