Dogstrum? Dog? Strum? It’s true – all the great band names are spoken for. You’d have to wonder how many other supposedly worse names this Seattle band discounted before deciding that Dogstrum would be their best. Luckily, though, for this particular power trio, their music shows more than a glimmer of greatness. Labelled ‘grump-punk’ (whatever that might mean) by a local paper, their sound is hard and dirty, energetic and sometimes raw in spirit, though fidelity-wise, these six tracks are well recorded with plenty of punch in all the right places.
Tag Archives: alternative
KAMIKAZE GIRLS – Sad EP
Aiming to “stamp out gender stereotypes in music for good”, UK lo-fi duo Kamikaze Girls not only identify with the feminist anger of the 90s riot-grrrl movement, but also do so whilst being fifty percent male. Their music, an angry melting pot of riffs and social commentary, is unrelentingly vibrant.
CATTLE – Nature’s Champion
Cattle’s debut EP was a short and sharp burst of angular noise rock that really stood out among the many great releases of 2013. With such a forthright approach, their musical arrangements were truly impressive, but best of all was the overriding bass sound, which came with so much overdrive it made JJ Burnel’s efforts sound small and made the Melvins more grinding affairs seem non-committal. Not long after that EP, various band members returned to their co-existing noise-rock outfit Super Luxury…and it seemed that Cattle might have been just a one-off experiment. But what an experiment it was!
Dinosaur Jr. – Live @ Parades De Coura 14/08/2014
Since reconvening the original JayLouMurph line up, alt-rock heroes Dinosaur Jr. have gone from strength to strength. The first three albums released since the 2007 reunion (‘Beyond’, ‘Farm’ and ‘I Bet On Sky’) are a match for anything the three men recorded at the end of the 80s.
There’s a plethora of live footage of the band out there, but finding stuff in good quality can be a challenge. Finding live recordings will well balanced and even audible vocals is even harder, but this show from the ‘Beyond’ tour is absolutely stellar. The band are sloppy as always, but in great form because of that, never despite it. The balance between the guitar and vocals is perfect and the setlist well chosen.
Hear a new track from The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson
John K. Samson releases his second solo album ‘Winter Wheat’ on October 21st 2016.
For this release The Weakerthans and ex-Propagandhi man is backed by Greg Smith, bassist of his parent band and others as he takes us on a stripped back and journey through various thoughtful singer-songwriter moods.