US electronic/alt-rockers Metric have posted a new video online, which can now be seen below.
The track ‘Breathing Underwater’ is taken from the band’s 2012 release ‘Synthetica’.
Metric have also announced the digital release of ‘Synthetica Deluxe’ for November 20th. Physical copies of ‘Synthetica Deluxe’ are released on December 4th.
Aaron Lewis’s debut EP ‘Town Line’ saw the Staind frontman experimenting with a more country-based sound. Having grown up with country music, he said the style felt natural to him. The result was enjoyable, but not always wholly country in a purist sense – yes, there were rootsy leanings throughout and the songs were far more country than anything Staind would likely ever record, but a couple of the tunes still had a slight rock edge. Still, it was country enough for him to gain a couple of award nominations from the Academy of Country Music.
A couple of years on, Lewis’s first full length release first capitalises on the promise of that EP and its first three tracks are pure gold. Lead track ‘75’ begins with a very traditional sounding country guitar played with a deep twang, joined in the left channel by steel accompaniment. …And then, with no messing around, Lewis offers some country staples – he’s “tired of missing the moments he won’t get back”, he’s tired of missing his loved ones, tired of motels. It may be over familiar, but the well-worn tune and combined with an oft-told tale of road weariness seems to be an appropriate place to begin this record. Its old-fashioned sentiments and tried-and-trusted arrangement (one which would suit almost any of Lewis’s forefathers) show a greater love and commitment to the genre than pretty much anything from his previous EP. The easy groove and dobro which drives the title cut is akin to southern groover JJ Cale at his most country influenced, while the more upbeat style allows for a few more lead guitar noodlings to provide musical interest, while Lewis himself offers a vocal with the confident style of a man who has been making country records for years. In a slightly poppier style ‘Endless Summer’ is a feel good tune, full of harmonies. By the time the chorus hits, it’s clear this was made for radio. There’s a slightly more pointed guitar solo than on the previous two tracks, edging things slightly further toward country-rock territory; the general mood could (almost) be likened to one of Nickelback’s softer hits…only covered by a country star. It may be the album’s most throwaway tune, but looking at the bigger picture, this opening trilogy of songs covers most of Lewis’s chosen musical moods in one triple-whammy.
From that point on, things don’t weaken. The patriotic ‘Red, White & Blue’ features some pleasing hard twangin’ guitar counterbalanced by some syrupy steel guitar, and as such is classic new country, the kind that would suit Garth Brooks or any of his million-selling peers. Perhaps part of the featured guitar solo is a little harder than on some country records, but it doesn’t intrude too much, or weaken the overall country vibes. Vocally, Lewis may be slightly filtered, but the deep richness in his voice shines through. ‘Lesson Learned’ is much more restrained, it’s pastel colours allowing Lewis to deliver one of his best performances. Set against a dobro and steel guitars (with the dobro often rising to the fore), his commanding croon sounds terrific as he works his way through a thoughtful lyric, name-checking Johnny Cash and advising us all to “slow down a little bit, take time, rewind, appreciate the little things that life provides”. The closest ‘The Road’ gets to its predecessor is during ‘Forever’, where Lewis allows more grit to influence his vocal. In turn, the drums are a little louder in places and some swirling organ fleshes out the loudest moments. With a whole world of steel guitars thrown in, it’s still firmly country and is a great song for what it is, but those coming at this from a country fan’s perspective will certainly find a stronger affinity elsewhere.
Closing the disc, the ominously titled ‘Party In Hell’ is another woozy waltz. Musically, it’s full of country music staples, with a dobro and particularly sharp lead guitar’s string-bent, hard twang punctuating each line with great effect. With Lewis reflecting his place “washed up and burned out” while imagining a raucous gathering with Janis, Jimi, Rick James…and Jamey Johnson drinking from a brown paper bag, the mood may be a little more heavy handed, but the musical mood brings things full circle with the opening number ‘75’. This adds to the feeling that for musicians, it’s all about the road… and the road goes on forever.
On ‘The Road’, there’s even less musically – and thematically – connecting Lewis with his alt-rock day job than ever before, but in terms of where he is headed with his solo career, that can only be a good thing. Overall, this is a surprisingly good record, one which exceeds expectations. With ten very strong numbers to be heard, it’s a release that those who like a little – or even a lot – of country music would be foolish not to make time for. Most importantly, for a man who hasn’t always been associated with the country scene, it’s far more country than about half of what’s often peddled in the name of the genre…
November 2012
They Might Be Giants have confirmed a string of dates for the first part of 2013.
The dates, beginning at the end of February, but mostly taking place in March and April, will find the two Johns visiting various cities and venues up and down the east coast:
| 2/27 | Portland, ME | Port City Music Hall |
| 2/28 | Burlington, VT | Higher Ground |
| 3/1 | Rochester, NY | Historic German House |
| 3/2 | Columbus, OH | Newport Music Hall |
| 3/3 | Cincinnati, OH | Madison Theatre |
| 3/5 | Louisville, KY | Headliners |
| 3/6 | Nashville, TN | Cannery Ballroom |
| 3/7 | Birmingham, AL | Workplay Theatre |
| 3/8 | New Orleans, LA | HOB |
| 3/9 | Houston, TX | HOB |
| 3/ 12 | Dallas, TX | HOB |
| 3/13 | Tulsa, OK | Cain’s Ballroom |
| 3/14 | Columbia, MO | The Blue Note |
| 3/15 | St Louis, MO | The Pageant |
| 3/16 | Chicago, IL | Vic Theater |
| 3/17 | Cleveland, OH | Beachland Ballroom |
| 3/19 | Detroit, MI | Majestic Theater |
| 3/20 | Pittsburgh, PA | Mr Small’s |
| 3/21 | Tarrytown, NY | Tarrytown Music Hall |
| 3/22 | Huntington, NY | The Paramount |
| 4/3 | Boston, MA | Paradise Rock Club |
| 4/4 | Boston, MA | Paradise Rock Club |
| 4/5 | Philadelphia, PA | Theatre of Living Arts |
| 4/6 | Baltimore, MD | Ram’s Head Live |
| 4/7 | Richmond, VA | The National |
| 4/9 | Charlottesville, VA | Jefferson Theatre |
| 4/10 | Carrboro, NC | Cat’s Cradle |
| 4/11 | Charleston, SC | Music Farm |
| 4/12 | Asheville, NC | Orange Peel |
| 4/13 | Atlanta, GA | Variety Playhouse |
| 4/14 | Atlanta, GA | Variety Playhouse |
Prior to next year’s shows, there are also three end of year shows in Brooklyn:
| 12/29 | Brooklyn, NY | Music Hall of Williamsburg |
| 12/30 | Brooklyn, NY | Music Hall of Williamsburg |
| 12/31 | Brooklyn, NY | Music Hall of Williamsburg |
Lover Under Cover is a Swedish hard rock project formed around vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Mikael Carlsson. This debut album – released on Escape Music – has a distinct Scandinavian slant, the songs sticking rigidly to the confines of some very European sounding hard rock. To help bring his band to life, he has enlisted the help of a few faces that’ll be familiar to fans of the genre: Coldspell’s Perra Johnsson guests on drums, Last Autumn’s Dream’s Mikael Erlandsson handles keyboards and vocals, while Escape Music regular Martin Kronlund contributes various guitar parts and handles production duties.
In all honesty, this sounds exactly how you’d expect from something Swedish with Kronlund in the producer’s chair. If run of the mill Scandinavian hard rock is your bag, Lover Under Cover may appeal, but be warned, you’ll have heard it all before…and almost countless times. Perhaps more importantly, you’ll have heard this kind of thing performed far, far better by others. There are two big problems here: the first being the rather weak songwriting; the second, Erlandsson’s voice: while he’s sounded great in the past with Last Autumn’s Dream, he’s obviously having an off-day here. At his best he sounds like an unpolished Euro hard rock vocalist – certainly not of the calibre of Matti Alfonzetti, Goran Edman or Coldspell’s Niclas Swedentorp, for example. At his worst, as is the case on ‘Angels Will Cry’, his raspy voice sounds like the work of a songwriter laying down a demo track for someone else to sing later.
The album’s best tune ‘Through The Storm’ is a reasonable mid-paced rocker with the kind of pompy chorus Gary Hughes (of Ten fame) would have turned into something epic sounding. Erlandsson’s old fashioned organ lends a little more of a classic rock vibe, while the Celtic leanings of the twin guitars hint at sounds once heard from Gary Moore’s ‘Wild Frontier’ album. Each element had the potential to make this a great track, but despite everyone – bar the lead vocal – turning in good performances, there’s still very much a sense that these musicians are capable of better.
The upbeat hard rock of ‘Flash In The Night’ features a reasonable bassline and piano accompaniment, but any initial promise is soon swept aside by a thin drum sound and a particularly uninspiring one-line chorus. The aforementioned ‘Angels Will Cry’ – aside from being musically uninteresting – finds Erlandsson desperately trying to pull emotion from a very limited vocal range and sounding like a man with a slightly bad throat in the process. A little better, ‘Standing In Line’ kicks off with best foot forward with a twin lead guitar, before settling in for some safe, clichéd rock – again with a particularly half-arsed chorus and equally weak vocal performance. The twin lead makes a welcome return, but Kronlund’s best efforts aren’t enough to salvage this tune…or indeed many of the others that make up this album’s eleven almost equally uninspiring numbers.
There’s very little else to be said about Lover Under Cover which doesn’t trot out variations on the various negative remarks already applied to the few songs covered in this review. Even from a second division perspective, there’s almost nothing here to get excited about.
November 2012
After years of struggling to find an identity following the death of frontman Michael Hutchence in 1997, Aussie rockers INXS have finally thrown in the towel.
Perhaps The Sydney Morning Herald best sums up the band’s bowing out, suggesting that “For fans of INXS there will be no overwhelming emotion, no note of tragedy or life passing, for the mourning has already been conducted, the farewells made. INXS effectively ended 15 years ago for most people, ending when Michael Hutchence died in November 1997.”
It’s a sentiment surely shared by many, Real Gone included. Having followed the band’s career eagerly for the ten years, between the release of ‘Kick’ and it’s many hits and Hutchence’s passing, INXS recorded some great music, but Hutch’s death really should have been taken as a cue for the them to bow out gracefully and respectfully.
At their best they were a great, radio-friendly rock band. They recorded a legacy of great music prior to 1997 (from 1986-1992 especially), but following the death of their much-loved lead vocalist, the band’s five surviving members made distasteful choices rivalled only by Brian May and Roger Taylor’s trading off the Queen brand. From whoring themselves on a talent show, playing live with whoever seemed to be around and finally trotting out a largely woeful disc of re-recordings, the attempts at hanging on tested the patience of all but the most loyal. Their one proper studio album (‘Switch’, recorded with JD Fortune) was solid by radio-friendly rock band standards, but a world away from INXS at their best.
This is time which we feel could have been better spent repackaging the back-cat and issuing any rarities they had. ‘Kick’ got a well-deserved anniversary two-disc reissue in 2002 and a shabbily cobbled together four-disc edition in 2012, but what of the rest? Surely 1986’s classic ‘Listen Like Thieves’ is worthy of a decent revisit? Where are the out-of-print VHS titles ‘The Swing & Other Stories’ and ‘In Search of Excellence’ in the DVD market? The latter, in particular, is the definitive word on the band’s career from their formation until the late 80s and would have made an essential addition to the ‘Kick’ box set, and yet, it’s in a record company vault somewhere gathering dust… We can only hope that one day the Hutch-era catalogue will get a worthy re-evaluation. That might compensate for a decade and a half’s half-arsed wandering through the wilderness with no real sense of direction.
With the band having limped slowly to their demise over the past fifteen years, we have to ask why they did it. Fifteen years is far too long to scrape a living from past glories. After all, a decade and a half is far longer than most bands get in the spotlight (or otherwise) in the 21st century – bands who’ve certainly shown far more promise than the post-Hutch INXS could ever deliver.
November 2012