Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

CITY MOUSE – EP (2011)

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imagesFollowing a much earlier EP and cuts on various comps, this 2011 7” by City Mouse is a superb disc.  Issued on It’s Alive Records (home to The Copyrights, The Methadones and Gateway District), this record represents the Riverside, California punks as an underground band at the top of their game.

Fitting a huge amount of energy into just over six minutes, these four songs grind and bounce just as well as material released by many of the best-known names in melodic punk rock/pop punk.  Classic sounding tunes need a great vocal, and in City Mouse’s frontwoman (and mainstay) Miski Dee Rodriguez, this band has an extra edge.  Her voice moves between a melodic punk warble and attitude-filled hard rock rasp, which although not as instantly recognisable as a voice such as Tilt’s Cinder Block, for example, is more than distinctive.

The strongest cut, the razor-sharp ‘Dumb Dumb Dumb’ makes great use of a simple refrain and equally simple riff.  Listening a little closer, a particularly busy bassline provides some more sophisticated elements; Zac Howe is a very talented player.  Likewise, the highly infectious ‘Bird Song’, combines a fast punky riff with a sharp vocal line, the intermittent presence of the already familiar “here is the church, here is the steeple” line is guaranteed to make this tune stick in your memory.

The other two songs (‘You’ and ‘The Rhyme’) may not quite have such instant lyrical hooks, but are certainly on a par musically, especially at those times Howe’s basslines rattle out notes at speed, constantly fighting Dee’s guitar work for superiority.  Of particular enjoyment is Miski’s performance on ‘The Rhyme’, on which her voice rings the best results out of nearly line.

Like Pinhead Gunpowder’s ‘Fahziah’, ‘Nervous Breakdown’ by Black Flag or ‘Spiral Scratch’ by Buzzcocks, here, City Mouse adds more weight to the argument that, when approached correctly, the 7” four-song EP is the ultimate punk artefact.  If you have ever been attracted to (m)any of the punk bands from California – particularly the best Larry Livermore-produced ones on the Lookout! Records label – then this is definitely for you.

August 2012

EDGE – Heaven Knows

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edge‘Heaven Knows’ may be the first outing for Swedish rockers Edge, but the more aware listeners among you will certainly recognise a couple of band members.  The core of this band features vocalist Jonas Forss and guitarist Tobias Andersson, both of whom have also plied their trade as members of Seven Wishes.  Upon first hearing of these guys, one thing is evident: when recording this album, they had a bigger budget at their disposal than most.  From a technical perspective, ‘Heaven Knows’ is a great sounding disc, with plenty of punch.  Since so many lesser-known melodic rock bands feel that demo quality records are fit for release as finished product, the near impeccable sharpness here is most welcome indeed.

Combining years of experience with the great production and a few huge choruses, it seems that Edge are set to push all the right buttons for a classic melodic rock release.  Toning down the glam edges of Seven Wishes in favour of something closer to classic sounding melodic rock, Forss delivers all of his vocals with conviction and a curly accent, while Andersson’s guitar playing is fairly solid throughout.  He may not have the chops of Pole Position’s Lars Boquist, but he tackles each number with enough gusto to add a little more flair to this set of otherwise workman-like tunes.  Some may consider the phrase “workman-like” to be harsh, but as yet another small fish in a pond full of other second division melodic rockers [most of whom seem to be signed to Edge’s label Escape Music], that’s how this album often comes across.

There is one main reason for this: despite knowing how to put together a melodic rock number which boasts a good chorus (nearly) every time, Edge aren’t quite as adept at crafting varied tunes. The main problem stems from their insistence on pounding most things out at just above a mid-pace.  Aside from an obvious ballad, they rarely break beyond the boundaries set out by the opening track.  This means, individually, each of the songs are fine, but when tacked as a whole – which should still be the preferred way of hearing an album – it all begins to blur.  The differences between each number become so indistinct in places; it even sometimes feels as if Edge are recycling the same tune on occasion.

While ‘Heaven Knows’ is well played and well produced, there’s no real reason to recommend this above any number of melodic rock albums you could pick up instead.  Although better than some, this album just don’t possess that “something special” that’s necessary in order to make a more indelible impression, which is surprising considering the number of years each of the band members have worked within the scene.  At its very best, ‘Heaven Knows’ contains some rather fine stand-alone tunes, but looking at the album as a whole, it never feels like much more than a time filler.  Some of the more undemanding among you may be okay with that, but in all honesty, if you have that much time that needs filling, there are literally hundreds of better melodic rock albums with which to fill it.

January 2013

TURNPIKE GLOW – Inflatable Optimism EP

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1976380304-1 (1)The four songs on this debut EP by Turnpike Glow present the beginnings of a band with a great talent.  There are various influences at play, and although each of them add plenty of colour to this London indie-rock quartet’s sound, there’s never anything that’s obviously plagiarised.  This is a band talented enough to borrow various styles and meld them into their own style, which throughout this release, treads a fine line between rhythmic sharpness and a garagey fuzziness.  Fuzz is cool, but, most importantly, Turnpike Glow have the songs necessary to back up the tunes – and a couple of them are absolutely terrific.

On two of the EP’s numbers, Turnpike Glow’s sound is rooted within 21st century indie pop.  ‘No More Dancing’ comes with a slightly distorted vocal, while a particularly loud drum gives things an extra edge.  From time to time, a few surprisingly funky moments hint at bands like Frankie & The Heartstrings – but only much better.  A similar mood drives ‘Marie’, largely thanks to Anthony Hutchinson’s tight drum grooves, over which some catchy woo-hoo vocals and occasionally surprising harmonies greet the ear.  Digging beneath the loud drum, you’ll also discover some lovely bass runs which, while relatively busy, are always melodic.  These tunes alone would be strong enough to recommend Turnpike Glow, but ‘Inflatable Optimism’s other pair of numbers are much stronger.

The EP’s unmissable tracks take the best elements of Turnpike Glow’s general sound and dish up something a touch more new wave influenced.  By the time ‘1986’ kicks in, there’s a vibe of an early XTC number played by Robert Pollard’s Boston Spaceships.  Guiseppe La Mela’s vocal is, again, distorted and a little ugly in places, although this is balanced out by a ridiculously catchy hook which isn’t even diminished by the presence of odd falsetto yelping.  With a spiky rhythm, largely driven by fuzzed up bass, ‘The Turn, The Pike, The Glow’ features great performances from each band member, but of particular note here are the ringing lead guitar parts connecting the verses.  Combined with another upfront drum part, they help to give this track a real feeling of urgency.

With a perfect mix of strong songs, great musicianship and a decent amount of controlled aggression, Turnpike Glow are worth seeking out.  In short:  If you like things with a strong indie-rock bias, you’ll want this.  You can stream the EP via the widget below.  [Also, watch the video clip for ‘The Turn, The Pike and The Glow’ at Popdodger.]

October 2012

PINK CREAM 69 – Ceremonial

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ceremonialWhen Pink Cream 69 first appeared in the 80s, their brand of Germanic hard rock found an instant audience in Europe.  Over the years, working through various line-up changes, the band have soldiered on, intermittently issuing albums in the melodic rock/melodic metal vein, but in the UK and US, never really gained more than a cult audience or that necessary shift from seeming like a second division band.

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LYN SAGA – Venice

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Lyn-SagaAppearances can be deceiving.  Despite the presence of a guitar, one look at Lyn Saga’s debut full-length album and you may be forgiven for thinking it is an album of shiny pop aimed at the teen market.  Her love of the pop-sock and the list of “fun facts” on her website [such as “Lyn’s favourite colour is purple.  Lyn uses arpeggios of cat noises as warm up tapes for shows” etc] may not be instantly attractive – or of any real importance – to the more mature audience either.  Here are the real facts about Lyn Saga: in her formative years, Lyn Saga spent every penny she could collecting records by the eras alternative rock greats.  Citing the likes of Hole, Smashing Pumpkins, Fountains of Wayne and Weezer among her early influences, she takes everything she’s ever learnt from those bands (particularly the latter) and, with her obvious ability to write catchy hooks, created a wonderfully radiant debut release.

Beginning with the title cut, the sheer weightiness of the music should win over most alt-rock/power pop afficianados.  The intro cheekily uses a similar guitar tone to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, before a chunky riff in the vein of Fountains of Wayne in an aggressive mood takes over.  Naturally, Saga’s vocal is a little sugary, but since the combination of cutesy voice and gritty music recalls Kay Hanley and Letters To Cleo, that’s very appealing.  The combination of its key influences may be obvious, but Saga pulls together all the elements to create something enjoyable.  Just as she cheekily began the tune with something familiar, the blatant steal from Weezer’s ‘Buddy Holly’ at the close should raise a wry smile.

While that sets the tone for the rest of the album, the ante is upped by a couple of the following tunes.  One such number ‘This Way’ comes with a marching time signature which pulls the best from the hard chord structure and Saga’s vocal, but better still, it’s embellished with brass.  Such an arrangement keeps things incredibly buoyant and the upbeat qualities really hit home via a brief section clearly inspired by The Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’.  The sunny musical vibes are often at odds with the hard confessional lyric regarding greater understanding and maturity, but that contrast makes this superb.

‘Life Is But a Dream’ could be accused of not using as much of Saga’s own style as before, since it’s even more of a blatent Weezer homage – right down to the brief stops in the chorus – but like Tally Hall’s ‘Two Wuv’, that isn’t necessary a bad thing.  The merest mention of Weezer means you’ll already have very strong ideas of how this sounds.  However, looking at the overall performance, there’s merit here: most of the melody is carried by a multi-tracked vocal, while a strong bassline and twin lead guitar solo provide the instrumental high points.  With its 90s chug colliding with a 50s doo wop lilt, ‘Runaway’ showcases almost as much love for Rivers Cuomo, but is perhaps a slightly better tune thanks to a more obvious sense of light and shade.  The chugging Weezer-isms are joined by strong pop vibe – equal parts that dog. and Letters To Cleo – resulting in more predictable (yet wholly enjoyable) retro rock. As to whether Lyn Saga’s influences are perhaps a little too obvious, given how many copies Weezer’s blue album sold in the US in the mid 90s, it’s only natural they would be a seminal influence for many.  Frankly, though, this album is much better than some of the other Weezer-style releases that have followed in the wake of that debut…including most of Weezer’s own work.

On the surface, ‘I Believe’ sticks out a little with a poppier bias and a sound that feels a touch more mechanical.  The lightness of the vocal gets a lighter tune to match, where the driving drum part – for once – takes precedence over the usual wall of guitars.  There’s a near danceable groove reinforced by a lot of hi-hat work, but digging deeper, Saga’s more typical Fountains of Wayne and Weezer obsessions are still in there with an occasional guitar part fighting to get out.  Perhaps the album’s most interesting number all round, ‘I Didn’t Mean To’ revisits the kind of punchy verses which adorn most of ‘Venice’s best tunes, this time adopting a marching beat.  To add extra interest, the previous power pop elements are complimented a touch of vaudeville jazziness. Centring around piano and glockenspiel accompaniments, these interludes recall works by the brilliant Hush Sound.

Using filters to give the impression of an older recording during its verses, Saga sounds like she’s singing down a telephone on the closing number, ‘We Didn’t Realise’.  This works fine against the samba-esque rhythms employed and provides a great contrast to the chorus sections where she reverts back into the hard-hitting Weezer/Anna Waronker /Letters To Cleo hybrid which she’s wisely chosen as her main calling card.

Comprising ten songs and clocking in at just half an hour, this is an excellent example of how to make a streamlined album with no obvious filler, the way people used to when approximately fifteen to twenty minutes of music per side constituted a full release.  Although ‘Venice’ is somewhat formulaic in places, if you dig any of the bands mentioned here, Lyn Saga should certainly be on your list of artists to investigate.

January 2013