Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

TSAR – The Dark Stuff EP

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Back in the early 2000s, an acquaintance gave me a CD-R of tracks by undervalued power pop/melodic alt-rock bands he loved – bands he felt deserved more attention.  While the exact contents of the homemade disc are now just a fuzzy memory, it introduced me to Far Too Jones and Sugarbomb – two sadly missed bands who released a couple of superb records.  Also included was the Tsar track ‘Kathy Fong Is The Bomb’ – a stupidly, stupidly infectious tune that mixed power pop and glam, ultimately delivering an absolute suckerpunch of a chorus which, once heard, was never to be forgotten.

I quickly sought out a copy of Tsar’s self-titled debut on the sheer strength of that track, only to be bitterly disappointed.  Despite numerous attempts to get into it, none of that album’s tunes hit me in the way ‘Kathy Fong’ did.  In fact, I found nothing else to be particularly memorable and eventually, I gave up trying to like it.  Tsar, meanwhile, released a follow up record a couple of years later and recorded demos for a third in 2008, before taking a brief hiatus.

The band reformed in 2010, some ten years after ‘Kathy Fong’ first lodged itself inside the heads of a few unsuspecting power pop connoisseurs.  In 2012, they released ‘The Dark Stuff’, a five song EP of brand new material, celebrating their brand of glam rock chops and power pop hooks as if they’d never been away.  In honesty, it’s fair to say that if you liked Tsar before, then ‘The Dark Stuff’ will be a welcome addition to your power pop collection.  If they never clicked with you first time around, even though parts of this EP have a more mature sound, chances are, they still won’t.

There are a couple of occasions where Tsar sound great, as they do on the lead track ‘Police Station’.  A combination of twin guitar leads and trashy pop collides to create something brilliantly disposable, while a wordless chorus adds to its overall dumbness and a rock ‘n’ roll guitar solo appears in danger of going totally off the rails…  It’s a great track, evocative of the wondrous Redd Kross.  ‘White Lipstick’ is an upbeat fuzzy, glammy affair replete with distorted vocals, where again, Tsar bear more than a slight resemblance to Redd Kross – but frankly, if this were the work of that band, the McDonald brothers would have taken things up a notch and absolutely smashed their audience into oblivion.  For Tsar, despite best efforts, such attitude seems to come far less naturally.

Less instant, ‘Punctual Alcoholic’ blends downtuned acoustic guitars with a harmony driven – though not especially memorable – hook, which when pulled across almost five minutes just wanders into indifference, while ‘Little Women’ brings similar harmonies to a slightly reverbed tune that never quite kicks in.   A little better, ‘Something Bad Happened To Me’ is a decent pop-rocker with a late 70s/early 80s influence, loaded with a a radio friendly hook and a great – if a little raggedy – guitar break.  Although the music is well arranged, it’s on this track that the vocal limitations become more apparent; as before, Jeff Whalen has one of those nasal voices which, if not approached in the right frame of mind, can grate fairly quickly.

Overall, ‘The Dark Stuff’s weaker moments make Tsar sound more mature than they did before, and obviously, that’s a plus.  And even though those weaker songs don’t have the chops to stay in on the mp3 player for the long term, they’re far from objectionable.   As for its two killer cuts, despite going in with all guns blazing, they may just not be killer enough to make ‘The Dark Stuff’ a favourite.  While the Redd Kross influence that powers those numbers is very, very welcome, after a few spins you may find yourselves reaching for a Redd Kross record instead…  [and if you’ve not already done so, make sure you check out their comeback disc ‘Researching The Blues’ – it’s one of 2012’s finest releases].

September 2012

JEFF LYNNE – Long Wave

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One of two Jeff Lynne projects for 2012 (the other being a selection of re-recorded hits from Electric Light Orchestra), ‘Long Wave’ finds the sunglassed, curly haired Brummie paying tribute to those songs he heard on his fuzzy long-wave radio during his younger years.  Despite the age of the chosen songs and the home demo feel to the album, Lynne’s choice of material comes delivered exactly as you’d expect: multi-tracked and then topped off with that compressed drum sound (a la Traveling Wilburys), a sound that makes so much of his work so distinctive.

Lynne’s rummage through the catalogues of a pre-Beatle world results in somewhat of a mixed bag, but he really comes alive on ‘At Last’ – a much covered tune, but most famous in a version recorded by Etta James.  Synthesised string sounds (which surprisingly, do not sound too bad here) meet a stabbing piano in a way that only the period could muster, and even with Lynne’s more modern shine – and the fact that he’s not quite as gifted vocally as some who’ve tackled this tune previously – the power of the song comes through in spades.  Lynne’s noodling, jazzy guitar tones are also a nice touch, of which, perhaps more could have been made.  Against the odds, ‘Beyond The Sea’ also comes out rather well, with sharp, multi-tracked electric guitars replacing the strings to great effect.  Those guitars are a gentle reminder of just one of the many things that made ELO’s best work so enjoyable.  To be honest, ‘Long Wave’ could have used a few more of them… Likewise, the album’s lead single, ‘Mercy, Mercy’, while not presenting anything out of the ordinary for Jeff, comes across with sparkle and it’s obvious he loves this song.  In fact, with its gated snare drum and spirited vocal, it wouldn’t have been out of place on his ‘Armchair Theatre’ disc.

On the surface, Roy Orbison’s ‘Running Scared’ gets a respectful reworking, with Jeff’s vocal still allowing the listener to imagine The Big O crooning his way distinctively through each line.  While Lynne’s voice is perfectly good and stabbed piano and acoustic guitars evoke Orbison’s favoured musical arrangement, a closer listen uncovers something of a disappointment – it’s a pity Lynne didn’t splash out on a full string section as warranted.  His choice of synthesised strings (on this track and a couple of others) just pushes things too far into the realms of “polished home demo”.   Many would suspect that Chuck Berry’s ‘Let It Rock’ would be one of ‘Long Wave’s highlights – and in many ways they’re not wrong, since Lynne’s rock ‘n’ roll influenced numbers were always decent in the past.  As good as his take on Chuck is, though, there’s a sense of the over-familiar and as a result, it lacks the overall enjoyment of Lynne’s own works within that field, whether that be The Wilburys’ ‘Rattled’ or ELO’s ‘Hold On Tight’ et al.

Much more unfortunate, a take on the Richard Rogers tune ‘If I Loved You’ is slow, a tad laboured and so ultimately uninteresting that even Jeff’s lead vocal drags in places.  With an over-reliance of blanket keyboards to replace the string section it begs for, it’s all a bit dirgy.  The only bright spark is a huge guitar chord appearing just once, only then to vanish under the dragging mire of droning keys.  The old crooner within tries his hardest on ‘Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered’, but the end result is ordinary at best, while ‘Love Is a Many Splendored Thing’ (from the 1955 movie of the same name) turns out a little better.  The rumpty-tumpty way the tune lumbers along suits Lynne’s trademark drum sounds, his guitar adds a few nice jazzy flourishes and – lurking in the back – a piano fleshes everything out.  Most importantly, occasional wordless vocals hint at Lynne’s own musical past with ELO – although, thankfully, he forgoes any use of vocoder!  Despite some okay elements, though, it is not something many would consider a classic Jeff Lynne performance.

Elsewhere, you’ll find reasonable renditions of ‘Smile’ (the Charlie Chaplin penned standard) and The Everly Brothers’ ‘So Sad’ alongside Charles Aznavour’s ‘She’ (a commendable effort which incorporates just enough of Lynne’s own style, but ultimately isn’t a patch on Elvis Costello’s version).   After hearing, it is obvious why each one has been chosen, but the resulting performances are predictable.  As with much of ‘Long Wave’, instead of insisting on playing absolutely everything himself, perhaps Jeff should have hired a few extra musicians to give these performances a little more dimension?

Listen to Lynne collaborating with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison on ‘Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1’ and the spark of various geniuses colliding results in something that sounded like it was fun to be a part.  Similarly, Lynne’s studio expertise on Harrison’s ‘Cloud Nine’ and Petty’s ‘Full Moon Fever’ appears to lift those works to new, sparky levels.  Looking beyond ‘Long Wave’s home-recorded roots, it is full of multi-tracked wonderment from a technical level, but the lack of other musicians means that, in places, it’s lacking a sense of fun – something that no amount of studio understanding could ever replace.

‘Long Wave’ worth hearing for ‘Let It Rock’, ‘Mercy, Mercy’ and a couple of others, but it’s all rather more a labour of love than a musical masterpiece.  Although the more devoted fans will love Jeff Lynne no matter what, since ‘Long Wave’ comes over two decades since Lynne’s last solo effort – and some eleven years since the last completely new work from ELO – the fans deserve much better than they essentially get here.

October 2012

BONRUD – Save Tomorrow

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Eight years is a long time between albums, especially for a band that is less than established, but that’s how long it took Bonrud to follow up their self-titled record from 2004. While it is unlikely Paul Bonrud and his chosen band spent all of the intervening years working on this sophomore release, the end result does not sound like it was rushed.

In those passing years, Bonrud changed labels from Frontiers Records to Escape Music and prior vocalist David Hendricks stepped aside for Rick Forsgren (previously of Conditioned Response), but essentially the band’s core sound of big and beefy melodic rock remains unchanged.  ‘Save Tomorrow’s twelve songs may not bring anything new to the melodic rock/AOR genre, but the songs are well crafted for their type and given plenty of life by noted Fleetwood Mac/Journey/Whitesnake/REO Speedwagon producer Keith Olson.

On the title cut, Bonrud go straight for a classic AOR sound.  The staccato rhythm guitars and driving quality echoes the 80s greats, with a particular nod to Journey in the way the vocal rises during its chorus and the lead guitars beaver away throughout.  It’s strictly by-numbers, but Mr Bonrud’s technical abilities are such that this tune holds its own.  A similar influence is at the heart of ‘I’d Do Anything’, a harmony-driven workout which echoes the kind of albums on which Olson made his mark in the past.  The vocals are powerful – enjoyable too, provided you can grasp Forsgren’s John Schlitt-esque top end wail – while, once again, Bonrud’s lead guitar work during the outro tips the hat to Neal Schon.  Interestingly, it’s not actually until that outro he plays anything too distinctive, preferring instead to let Forsgren’s voice and an old fashioned slab of keyboards carry the song.

Exercising the band’s harder chops, ‘Bullet In The Back’ really delivers the goods.  The riff is chunky and Paul Bonrud’s sweeping lead guitar lines top said riff nicely.  While Forsgren’s vocal delivery is a little full on, he’s complimented by a thunderous bassline, which favours meaty simplicity over anything complex. While not technically flashy, Olson’s production really brings it out – so much so you can hear the strings rattling on occasion.  A noticeably weaker cut, ‘Blinded’ mixes sharp lead guitar work with a mid-paced riff which occasionally sounds like it might break into something more interesting but never really does.  Despite Bonrud’s best efforts in the lead guitar department, this tune is a little ploddy all round.

While it’s somewhat of a coup to have First Signal/Takara keyboard player Eric Ragno guest on a couple of tracks, he isn’t given the opportunity to make the most of his talents.  On ‘We Collide’ in particular, after about two seconds of synthy keyboards, there aren’t that many audible keyboards to speak of.  No sooner is it out of the starting blocks, the music smashes into a piece of hard rock/melodic metal with a huge presence, with barely any room for keyboard flourishes.   One of Bonrud’s toughest tunes, even with the addition of harmonies, most of the vocals are more of the Tony Mills/Geoff Tate mould than straight up AOR.  As with most of the album’s best moments, it is Paul Bonrud who is the real star: during his couple of lead breaks, he shreds enough for this tune to be considered metallic, but his playing has just enough finesse to remain melodic.   It would have been a definite plus to hear more of Ragno, though.

Although ‘Save Tomorrow’ features strong material almost throughout, the band closes the disc with one of its strongest tracks.  ‘End of Days’ combines crisp rhythm guitars with a blanket of keys during the intro, before  quickly finding its feet as a punchy mid-paced rocker. Forsgren’s curling vocal combined with the keyboards and a pompier tone hints at influences from classic (‘Mindcrime’ era) Queenryche.  Again, it’s the kind of thing that won’t be new to any melodic rock buffs, but a good performance, solid song writing and sharp production from a legend in his field makes a winning combination.

Fans of the slightly harder end of the AOR spectrum will enjoy ‘Save Tomorrow’.  Despite Forsgren’s tendency to over-sing on occasion, the production is fine and each of the performances are often more than solid.  Although recorded at various different sessions – with different guest keyboard players and bassists – it has a surprisingly consistent feel too.

It’s a minor point, but it seems that Bonrud’s weakest element is their choice of band name:  In the summer of 2012, Real Gone poked gentle fun at Wigelius for having a vanity moniker – but at least we never had any trouble remembering it!  For some reason, “Bonrud” took a long time to stick… Prior to writing this review, they got called Bodman, Bodrun, Bodrum and often Bodnar… Only two syllables and yet it just would not sink in.  Since the band has two Pauls at its core and Paul #1 insists on naming project after himself, may we suggest “PAUL!” [exclamation mark optional] next time?

…No?
Okay then…

September 2012

THE DEAD EXS – Relovolution

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Dead ExsBlending the attitude of The Stooges and Billy Childish with some traditional Howlin’ Wolf-esque blues grooves, The Dead Exs debut record ‘Resurrection’ was one of the finest releases of 2011. Since the New York duo’s fuzzy sounds have their obvious limitations, a follow up record ran the risk of just settling for more of the same, but thankfully, although it has many similarities, 2012’s ‘Relovolution’ takes the band’s talents and in many places pushes them to deliver a more mature record.

The title cut begins the album in style with a rallying cry before David Pattillo (guitar/vox) and Wylie Wirth (drums) throw themselves headlong into a stomper driven by furious slide guitar work and an aggressive reinterpretation of Johnny Cash’s “boom-chick-a-boom” rhythms.  In just under three minutes, these guys work up a real sweat as Wirth absolutely dominates with an unshakeable drum line, while Patillo’s heavily distorted voice cries out with carefree abandon.  Similarly, on the reverb drenched ‘White Collar Crime’ the duo adopt the subtlety of a truck as they crash headlong through a number which takes everything that made them great previously, turning everything up to eleven in the process.  It’s like experiencing Jon Spencer tackling Leadbelly’s ‘Rock Island Line’ while having his demons exorcised.

A largely unaccompanied vocal punctuated by two chords makes ‘Get Over’ immediately striking, and while this tune could have fit snugly onto ‘Resurrection’, with extra experience under their belts this performance sounds a touch more self-assured than The Dead Exs did previously. Wirth attacks his kit with the kind of energy befitting of a garage blues band, but occasional bass pedal moments hint at a more focused edge to his playing than before.   Tackling something a little more unexpected, on parts of ‘Let The Natives Loose’, Pattillo’s guitar mixes staccato rhythms and bigger, longer blues-filled notes in a way not quite experienced on a Dead Exs recording before. The more sophisticated approach to light, shade and subtler grooves suggest that these guys have worked very hard to ensure ‘Relovolution’ has elements which catch even their most staunch fans a little unaware.

While ‘Relovolution’ is a very consistent album, three of its most essential tracks are also its most commercial, relatively speaking.  Putting Pattillo and Wirth in pure blues mode with a strong ‘Little Red Rooster’ influence, ‘Paper Doll’ is tough yet lean, while ‘If You’ve Got The Time, I Got The Love’ owes a great debt to Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brand of Texan boogie blues.  Its main riff blends distorted edginess and very accessible blues tones in a fashion that is certainly far smoother than anything from The Dead Exs’ debut.  Although slightly sleazier, similar grooves sit at the heart of ‘Don’t Mess With The Girl From Texas’, a track which captures both musicians in a restrained mood, pulling the best from the kind of blues sounds which would suit Walter Trout, SRV et al. There’s enough grit on each of these numbers to avoid the band being labelled sell-outs by those members of their audience who prefer things a little more raucous, while the more accessible elements may help pull in a few unfamiliar listeners.

Like ‘Resurrection’, ‘Relovolution’ is a release that quickly grabs the listener and then refuses to let go.  Although a couple of bouts with the Texan blues and a few moodier numbers helps to ensure it isn’t a carbon copy of its predecessor, most people will be thankful of this album’s largely familiar nature.  There’s more than enough variety here to keep you listening… Join the “Relovolution” now!

September 2012

JUSTIN KLINE – Cabin Fever Songs

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After releasing two solo EPs dedicated to multi-layered, sun-filled power pop, followed by a third outing of alternative rock (with his band Origami Hologram),  singer-songwriter Justin Kline takes a different tack yet again for his first full length release.

‘Cabin Fever Songs’ is a stripped down affair.  Recorded entirely by Kline alone at home, these thirteen songs feature voice and acoustic guitar, sometimes bolstered by bass and occasional keyboards.  The songs sometimes come from a much darker place.  Where previously Kline was happy to indulge his listeners in a world of candyfloss brilliance, these songs rely on sheer honesty and heartfelt lyrical content far more frequently than before. These are songs the artist felt he just had to write: deeply personal songs, which given the relatively lo-fi recording techniques, can sometimes feel a little bleak.  Stripped of all the bells and whistles which made his previous recordings so vibrant, it’s much easier with ‘Cabin Fever Songs’ to get a handle on what makes Kline’s songs work…or in some cases, not.

‘Nighttime Girl’ has all the hallmarks of Kline’s earlier brilliance, though in this sparser setting, it exposes how simple his songs can be.  Clean acoustic chords back a voice that occasionally sounds a little sugary for such an earnest recording, while a bassline marks time, never really breaking beyond its two note march.  A world of “oohs and ah’s” flesh things out adequately – and in all honesty, are very much needed.  ‘Resurrect With Me’, if anything, is even more simple, relying on a one line hook and not the most interesting of tunes.  The bass’s marching approach returns for ‘Sunday Night Blues’ a three-chord pop song which showcases Kline’s previous gift for a hook, even though this bedroom recording doesn’t do such a potentially great song justice.

‘Your Mystery’ is one of a few numbers where Kline tackles something truly worthy of standing alongside his previous work. Here, a quirky keyboard tune (sounding slightly distorted and off-key) tops a much busier acoustic riff.  Even without full band backing, Kline’s multi-tracked vocal is a ray of sunshine, while a more staccato approach on a hooky chorus allows his previous brilliance to come bursting through.  The woozy ‘His Knives’ works an unfussy melody and riff around a shiny sounding vocal to create something enjoyably intimate – one of a few tracks where the lack of drums isn’t quite as obvious – while on ‘I Already Do’, Kline turns an enjoyable intimacy on its head and unnerves with a truly bleak lyric.  The one-time purveyor of sunshine pop allows a look into his darker side via lyrics such as “there is no way you can act, to expose the life I lack” and “I was marked when I was born and cursed to always mourn / you can’t make me want to die, more than I already do”.  While he admits that these songs were created during a particularly troubled period, it is unlikely anyone familiar with Justin’s earlier releases expected anything quite so cutting.

The relationship once explored in ‘Triangle’s ‘Alison, We Cannot Be Friends’ is revisited and explored from a different viewpoint on a particular high point, ‘Alison, I’m Here’.  Where as previously Kline was adamant that he and the Alison in question had no more to give each other, on the slightly wistful acoustic sequel, he reaches out to the imagined heroine.  A gorgeous finger-picked guitar has a slight McCartney-esque approach and is impeccably delivered, but it’s this songs bittersweet melody and dual vocal which gives it a most enjoyable quality.  It’s easy to imagine both songs bookending a compilation of Kline’s best work, should such a release ever appear.   Just as enjoyable, the jangly ‘Carol Lynn’ is classic Kline: with an upbeat vocal and buoyant melody, this number is a great acoustic pop workout, underpinned by a ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ inspired mellotron accompaniment.  Looking beyond the sugary, happy melodies, Kline takes on the role of untrustworthy narrator, delivering the song’s brilliant kick in the teeth via a lyric that forewarns of Carol Ann’s bad streak.

Although the songs are deeply personal and rather candid, ‘Cabin Fever Songs’ is an underwhelming beast at times.  If you’re a listener who values tunes over lyrical content, the relative lack of variety within this album may become quickly apparent…and it probably wasn’t meant for you anyway.  Long standing fans may find some of the songs are in danger of sounding a little unfinished, but if this is the case, don’t worry too much; as Kline says himself of ‘Cabin Fever Songs’: “It might not be for everyone…it may even be a letdown to some”.

If after a few plays you’re still listening, feeling there’s something here, but still finding yourself looking for that moment where everything clicks, try thinking of this as a collection of songs instead of a fully formed “album”.  At first, avoid listening from end to end:  dip in and out and it works far better.  If, after that, you’re still not convinced, just remember one thing:  Justin doesn’t necessarily care if we like these songs or not, they just needed to shared.  Sharing one’s art can be a wobbly experience, but the stark honesty and cathartic edge at the heart of these ‘Cabin Fever Songs’ may appeal to some.

Listen via the widget below and send Justin a few bucks if you can.

August 2012