Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

VULTURES UNITED – Girls

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Following a string of DIY records, on the appropriately titled ‘Girls’, Orange County hardcore punks Vultures United pay tribute to works originally performed by female fronted acts.  And that’s not all: in addition to the half-dozen covers which make up the bulk of this release, the band have also included a few self-penned instrumental segues.  Largely made up of keyboard noodlings and drones, ‘Girls’ doesn’t always necessarily benefit from these distractions.  However, since each one is named after the performer that follows, it appears a more than reasonable idea from a conceptual point of view.

With regard to those covers, Vultures United’s re-working of Bjork’s ‘Army of Me’ is an instant classic.  Since it had already been given the alternative metal treatment by Powerman 5000, this tune has already proven to be easily malleable, but even Powerman’s best attempts don’t match the ferocity of VU’s offering here.  The hardcore punk riffs are like concrete blocks to the skull, matched with vocals full of throat-bursting intensity.  Bubbling underneath, a new wavish keyboard is on hand to remind the listener of the electronic bias of the 1994 Bjork hit, but does little to soften the otherwise uncompromising nature.  In short, this is a job well done from all concerned.  Equally enjoyable, a punky romp through Best Coast’s ‘Summer Mood’ brings out the best in the Vultures’ musical abilities.  Between the distorted vocals and meaty riffs, this tune somehow sounds as if it was made to be a hardcore classic, though it is no longer especially summery…  It would be great to find out what Bethany Consentino thinks!

The usually uber-irritating ‘Not My Name’ (a hit in the hands of the bewilderingly untalented Ting Tings) gets beefed up and – naturally – improved.  The simple riff (little more than one chord) adopts a hardcore punk stance – with unavoidable metal chug, while the dumb lyric moves from sounding twee to threatening…in a fun way.  A really oddball choice, ‘He Needs Me’ (as made famous by Shelley DuVall in the oft-panned ‘Popeye’ movie), presents the first of a couple of times this release really misfires.  The slower approach combined with deliberately discordant vocals makes this incredibly hard listening all round.  If you can make it past the first minute or so, the bass sound is terrific and nearing the end, xylophonesque percussion comes as a big surprise, so it’s not a complete dead duck.  Perhaps – and this the most likely – ‘He Needs Me’ just wasn’t that good a song to start with anyway.  Let’s face it: even Fat Mike and co gave this a wide birth when putting together Me First & The Gimme Gimmes’ album of film and show tunes.

A high speed romp through the X Ray Spex classic ‘Oh Bondage, Up Yours’ takes a great trashy punk number, toughens it up and gives it a Dwarves style send off, at least musically, while – as always – the lead voice opts for a more extreme delivery.  Often cited as one of the first wave of punk’s essential cuts, thankfully VU don’t trash it.  Their sledgehammer delivery should be of huge appeal to most punk fans.  A left-field choice, the Jackson Browne-penned ‘These Days’ brings the cassette edition (yes, cassette!) to a close with a world of gang vocals.  While the arrangement is perhaps the release’s weakest overall  – something not entirely helped by the vocal approach, resembling a raucous sing-along with friends – it doesn’t necessarily sit so comfortably with the rest of the material either… Although made famous via a recording by Nico, how would Jackson feel about having been considered one of the “girls”?  He’s probably not so worried – after all, he did once forget he actually played on the Nico recording!

Released on CD, vinyl EP and cassette, each version of ‘Girls’ has a slightly different track-list  [The Cranberries’ ‘Salvation’ appears on the vinyl, Nico’s ‘These Days’ on the cassette, a Bikini Kill track on the CD], but since the key songs are duplicated, you’ll get the three best tracks whichever format you choose.  Broadly speaking,  ‘Girls’ isn’t much more than a bit of fun, but you should still try and pick up this release if you can, since the Bjork, The Ting Tings and Best Coast songs are well worth the price of admission.

December 2012

SLO BURN – Amusing The Amazing EP

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With guitars tuned to a low C and with fuzz pedals galore, Kyuss became kings of the stoner metal movement in the early 90s.  The band went their separate ways at the end of 1995, with guitarist Josh Homme forming Queens of the Stone Age, who would go on to critical acclaim with their mix of retro hard rock, post grunge and psychedelic  metal.  In 1996, vocalist John Garcia formed Slo Burn – a fuzzy low end rock quartet, who took the core sound Kyuss had made their trademark on their later albums.

‘Amusing The Amazing’, co-produced with Masters of Reality man Chris Goss, was released on Malicious Vinyl records in 1997. While Slo Burn’s sound doesn’t ever reach quite the extremes reached by Garcia’s former band, the core sound isn’t so different and their intentions are clear right from the beginning of the opening track.  Distorted guitars pave the way for ‘The Prizefighter’, which then get overlaid with a sledgehammer riff.  Garcia adopts the same vocal tone as before, just about holding its own against the grinding, sludgy bass and guitar work.  Although only a short track, weighing in at just over two and a quarter minutes, it does everything that’s required to prove that (perhaps more than Queens of the Stone Age would ever be) this band were more than worthy successors to the Kyuss throne.

‘Muezli’ and ‘July’ both follow similar traits and make for solid listening, even though there are moments during the latter where Garcia’s voice almost gets lost under the swamp of guitars and bass.  During ‘Muezli’ in particular, it would take a pretty hardcore Kyuss fan to spot that Garcia had a different band in tow.  Although not containing one of the most imaginative riffs, ‘July’ makes up for any shortcomings by including an added focus on the drums.  In places, Brady Houghton adopts a solid, tribal feel as opposed to his usual unsubtle, hard rock heavy-on-the cymbals approach (which had been clearly influenced by Brant Bjork’s style on the Kyuss debut).

‘Pilot The Dune’ is the EP’s absolute high point.  It’s not just a standout in the Slo Burn catalogue, but also a standout moment in the history of stoner rock, its mid paced beginnings typify what’s great about the sub genre, capturing a tight band and Garcia in good form.  Even better is the slow, grinding end section which holds the real power.  Over a brooding Kyuss style riff, Garcia tells the world: ‘when it rains I feel love, when it pours I feel hate’, in what could be one of his best ever performances.   In a complete change of atmosphere, this is broken up by a few bars of clean toned guitars which sound like they’re played through a Leslie Cabinet.

Breaking up mid tour in September of the same year, Slo Burn never recorded their planned full length LP, leaving us with only these four songs issued officially.  ‘Amusing The Amazing’ acts as a taster for something much bigger and better, but sadly it wasn’t to be.  For any self-respecting Kyuss fan, this EP is a must have.

January 2010/February 2011

THE ANTICS – Running Faster

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Hailing from New Jersey, this four piece band borrow influences from Joy Division, The Strokes and a few other post-punk/garage bands to create a debut album that’s unlikely to be very broad in its audience appeal, since their approach to all things post-punk is, at times, rather slapdash.  They appear to have a great bassist; even their guitarist offers a few interesting sounds of an angular nature, but looking beyond that, there’s not always a lot of tightness…and even less in the way of particularly memorable songs.

The album’s best track ‘Overload’ begins with a mechanical beat, joined by a simple bassline and clanging guitars.  By the time vocalist Luke Meisenbacher steps up to the mic, his voice – part unfussy belt, part croon – the band’s love of Joy Division is obvious.  Although many have been influenced by that cult electro-goth band, few – if any – have ever come close to equalling their cold mechanical brilliance, and The Antics are no exception.  Accepting the tune for what it is, though, the bass work is solid in its simplicity with a great tone, while – lurking somewhere in the back – cleaner lead guitar lines add an extra depth to the overall atmosphere [no pun intended].  Also enjoyable, ‘Payday’ has a nice walking bassline coupled with hard rhythmic chords defiantly recalling The Clash’s ‘London Calling’, over which the naturalistic vocal seems well suited.  By the time an organ part joins midway, the arrangement sounds pleasantly full, with the song’s simple swagger being its strongest selling point.

There’s yet another enjoyable bassline at the heart of ‘Take Your Passport’.  Combined with two distinctly different guitar parts – a staccato lead and intermittent crashing chord for rhythm – this is one of the band’s most effective arrangements (again, with hints of Joy Division; maybe a touch of Joy Division obsessives Editors). It almost single handedly proves this band aren’t untalented – they’re just not going to appeal to everyone.

Beyond these two tunes, the band’s output is even more of an acquired taste.  The short ‘Francine’ works around a near discordant one note guitar line tempered by a choppy rhythm and mechanical drum.  While rather angular, it sums up the unrefined elements of The Antics’ style well enough, like an old tune by Wire jammed by The Strokes.  ‘In The Night’, a slightly slower tune which allows Meisenbacher to adopt more of a croon, once again.  Occasionally his unfussy voice brings moments where his wobbling off-key is not always easy listening, eventually marring an otherwise reasonable (though never earth-shattering) tune.  A definite skipper, the quirky ‘Dancing’ sounds like the work of an unfocussed indie-rock band playing in a garage – mixing elements of The Strokes and Frankie & The Heartstrings – with raw results.  The rhythm guitars have some pull, but as with ‘In The Night’, the vocal is rather challenging (particularly so on the chorus) eventually working towards the song’s detriment.

After prolonged listening, the rawness of the vocals and general ragged approach taken on ‘Running Faster’ becomes a little too hard on the ears in places. For a DIY project, though, the album sounds decent enough from a sonic perspective and the bass is often nice and high in the mix. Overall, The Antics have a couple of good ideas (usually their more obvious Joy Division-esque ones) lurking among some largely forgettable material, but while its always easy enough to understand what they’re aiming for, they don’t always leave a lasting impression.

There’s a good EP in here somewhere.

December 2012

THE VINDICTIVES – Mono Flexi EP

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Despite only recording two full length albums of original material between 1996-2012, Chicago punks The Vindictives have secured a cult following.  This is due in part to their having shared members with Screeching Weasel (including Ben himself).   Most of their legacy seems to revolve around punk fans’ love/hate relationship with their 1998 re-recording of Ramones’ ‘Leave Home’: in a controversial move, the band not only changed the running order, but also took it upon themselves to substantially alter lots of the arrangements.  Ben Weasel once claimed he would never listen to it in case “Joey [Vindictive] has somehow ruined the best punk album of all time”.  Perhaps ruined is a strong word, but it really wasn’t very good – certainly not as good as Weasel’s own cover of Ramones, or Mr T Experience’s take on ‘Road To Ruin’.  It’s biggest problem  was not its various musical embellishments but – like most recordings by The Vindictives – Joey Vindictive’s nasal delivery.

After ten year absence, the band returned to recording in 2012, ending the year with the ‘Mono Flexi’ EP – their thirteenth 7” release.  A coloured flexi-disc (with a digital download for ease of listening), with the tunes recorded in mono, it could be accused of mere gimmickry, especially given the lack of quality evident on some of The Vindictives’ prior releases.  Surprisingly, though, a couple of these tunes are half-decent.

Best of all, ‘Shrinkerhead’ is classic punk pop, capitalising on a solid Ramones-esque riff and call and response vocal on the chorus.  The general tone suits Joey’s delivery and despite the patchiness of The Vindictives’ past works, it’s unlikely that Dan Vapid or Ben Foster would have achieved better musical results with any of their projects.   Even more tuneful, the mid-paced ‘Nightmare, Man’ includes some superb guitar lines and a vocal that leans farther towards late 70s power pop/new wave than Ramones-obsessed punk.  The music is great, the wordless backing harmonies even greater, while the understated lead vocal is one of Joey’s best.  There’s a brief bridge section with an out-of-place almost cartoonish approach, but that can easily be overlooked.

The other pair of tunes are less fortunate.  ‘Touch It’ features a superb bassline and pleasing 50s rock ‘n’ roll twang in the guitar depot and, as such, is far from terrible, but the enjoyable moments are often quashed by Vindictive’s misjudged yelping.  Still, at a minute and a quarter, it’s over quickly enough.  Beginning with muted guitar motifs before blossoming into a classic punk chord progression, ‘Join The Circus’ seems as if it’s going to be another winner…and then it falls flat.  Aside from the main riff, there’s nothing much to enjoy here – Joey’s voice is more nasal than usual, while the chorus is irritating (probably designed that way on purpose) and the inclusion of circus theme music (‘Entrance of the Gladiators’ played as a sloppy guitar interlude) just pushes goodwill too far.

Based on this release, The Vindictives aren’t always as shoddy as parts of their 7”-heavy back-cat would suggest.  However, despite sparks of brilliance, it’s likely they’re always destined to be considered a second division outfit. Since this comeback only offers four numbers – two of which aren’t much to write home about – they’ve not put in enough hard-yards to make a long-lasting impression. After such a long time, surely a full-length wouldn’t have been too much to ask for?

November 2012

ERIC BURDON & THE GREENHORNES – EP

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Recorded in a weekend, this EP comprises four tunes by retro/garage rock band The Greenhornes (best known for their association with Jack White and Brendan Benson) jamming with ex-Animals vocalist Eric Burdon.  Given Burdon’s prior love for keeping things a little raw and The Greenhornes naturalistic performances, the results are interesting.

“My name’s Winston Churchill…and I’m having a fucking nervous breakdown” grumbles Burdon during the intro of ‘Black Dog’, as Patrick Keeler leads the band with a crashing entrance, before everyone settles into a classic blues groove that’s a dead ringer for Hendrix’s ‘Who Knows’ (from ‘Band of Gypsies’).  Backed by slabs of organ and fuzzy guitar lines, the aging Burdon lets his inner animal loose as he snarls and shouts, delivering each line with a real fire and defiant power; his loudest moments among the best a white blues growler can muster, while his quieter moments (of which are few) have an equally ominous presence.

With cleaner guitar and a very welcome electric piano, ‘Out of My Mind’ finds Burdon turning in a much more thoughtful performance, though never quite managing to eclipse Jack Lawrence, whose wandering basslines are very high in the mix and sound terrific throughout.  In the producer’s chair, Brendan Benson seems to have had the good sense to let everything happen naturally, doing very little himself – the “live in the studio” vibes are perfect for both The Greenhornes and Burdon.  ‘Can You Win’ pitches Burdon’s fearsome growl against a near funky bass and some reverb-filled guitar lines.  Burdon’s voice wobbles, caring not for anything remotely close to perfection, but placed against the quasi-aggressive guitar lines and loud drum parts, this appears to be a yet another perfect matching of musicians from different generations.  As they pull things to a close, it’s clear that this is their finest moment – one which you may wish could have gone on for longer.

After three blistering performances, expectations are set high for the EP to finish with a forth.  Sadly, the EPs closing track ‘Cab Driver’ is so bad – so offensively bad, even – it comes close to spoiling the good work that’s been laid down previously.  So, what’s so objectionable?  Over a tune with a distinctly eastern flavour – like a garage band jamming out bits of Sol Bloom’s ‘Snake Charmer’ music – Burdon adopts a cod Arabic accent where (amongst other things) he “sings” about having a tattoo removed that was anti-American, before claiming he has nothing against the English soldiers if they stay lying in their graves.  Christ.  How this was deemed to be okay in the 21st century is a mystery, considering other racially motivated pieces – such as ‘Doctor I’m In Trouble’ by Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren – are often viewed as being in bad taste.  Much in the same way his ‘PC3’ did forty years previously with its themes of police brutality and sexualising the monarch, was Burdon aiming for controversy here?  Yes.  Was it necessary? No.  Should this have been kept private? Certainly.

So, there it is – four tunes recorded in less time than it takes some bands to decide on a drum sound.  The off-the-cuff approach yields some excellent results from a great band sparking off an unquestionably edgy vocalist.  In places, it could even represent the sound of artists who’d been working together for years.  Now, if someone had the foresight – and possibly the guts – to tell Burdon that ‘Cab Driver’ was a bad idea, this EP would have been even better.

November 2012