American Alternative music reviews

Honeymoon In Red is a collaboration between the Birthday Party and Lydia Lunch. Also J.G Thirlwell, Thurston Moore and Murray Mitchell, and the cover art includes photos by Chris Stein And Annie Sprinkle.
Generally this is a very slow album and quite raw. The scraping guitars complement the groaning and the whining. "Come Fall" is the self mocking opener. On "So Your Heart," Lydia plays the dreary hag and sings about the good time we could have had, "but there's gum on the chairs that dance inside my head..."

Horror and true crime meet sex and the single girl. She just can't stay out of trouble, trying to lure some fellow off to the middle of nowhere, where possessive and jealous sounding Cave sings about the killer's car parked right outside my face. Then they chant together in a zombie's jig music: "get it done with!!".
My favourite is the one about the murderous rampage in the movie theatre. What do Lydia and Nick make of this sad incident?: " he's an unknown sam in an unkind land ".
Still Burning is a truly macarbe pop song. Fields of fire sounds like it could be about refugees. "Raining at the border/ tears of blood".
Lydia Lunch and Rowland S. Howard belt out a very punk (Sid Vicious)rendition of Lee Hazelwood's "Some Velvet Morning".

Honeymoon in Red was as cutting edge as post punk could be in 1983. It was shelved until its realease in 1987. One of THE albums of the eighties if youre searching for the key moments in postpunk/ alternative music.

These Immortal Souls, Foetus, Coil, Current 93, The Pop Group, Throbbing Gristle, Sonic Youth, Captain Beefheart, Nico, James Chance, the Boys Next Door, Barry Adamson, Anita Lane, B52's, the Raybeats, KMFDM, ReSEARCH, Die Haut, Sort Sol, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, My Bloody Valentine, Robert Ashley, Snakefinger, Chrome, SPK, Swans, Lenny Bruce, Laughing Clowns, MLWTTKK, No Trend, the Bad Seeds, Einsturzende Neubauten, Dome, Diamanda Galas, MARS, Soft Cell, Lee and Nancy, Yoko Ono, the Fuggs, The The, Henry Rollins, Alan Vega, Henry Cow and Tricky might also be of interest.

Honeymoon in Red is one of the better albums of this genre. What genre? The genre that means you like albums by Lydia Lunch, the Birthday Party, Foetus, Sonic Youth and Swans, plus many others who were really interesting but far more obscure.

Over thirty years ago, when i first heard this song,something about it caught my attention.....the name Phaedra. i started practicing different ways to spell it,Fadra - Phadra- Faydra----and finally came up with "Phaedra" I wrote it all the time and vowed taht it would be my daughter's name.

Years later, when I was pregnant, my husband said "Your'e not naming my daughter 'Phaedra'".

When I was seven months' pregnant, she decided it was time to come......no warning.....just lightening, thunder, SNOW!!!!! I went into labor, and couldn't even make it to the hospital that she was supposed to be born at!!!!

She was delivered on 12/1/74, 3 lb. 14 oz..They recommended that I name her right away, because she wasn't very strong. I looked at my husband and said, with tears in my eyes, "the only name I ever had for my daughter was 'Phaedra'".

So she was named phaedra, and I must have had my angel looking out for us, because MY angel, Phaedra, is fine, healthy, happy, and will be will be married in one month.

Thank you Nancy and Lee, for a beautiful inspiration.

P.S. We are using this song for the bride/father song ( a little hard to dance to, but it holds a lot of memories.)

This is my favorite song of all songs I've ever herd. It contains both a sweet, alternative, yet soft sound with lyrics anyone could appreciate.

You can feel that their music is written from the heart. The songs have deep meaning in each of them. This is an excellent CD, and I recommend it to everyone.

This is the best CD I have ever listened to, if you have the chance, go out and buy it today.

Okay, I am going to go out on a limb here and plug one of my favorite bands, Washington D.C.'s brilliant experimental indie-pop band Unrest. This album, Imperial F.F.R.R. (short for Full Frequency Range Recording) was originally released in 1992, and is a masterpiece of an album. Originally Unrest started as an artsy-hardcore act, and had released a couple of albums before this, but they remained undistinguished until bassist Bridget Cross joined the band in 1991, at which time they modified their sound into the artsy, minimalist indie-pop sound that is found here. Sadly, after releasing an EP and the Perfect Teeth album, they broke up in '94. This is, I believe, their best full length release. The songs actually display a rather wide range, from the infectiously catchy songs "Suki," "I Do Believe You Are Blushing," and "Cherry Cream On" to the artsy instrumentals tracks "Sugarshack" and "Champion Nines" (the latter uses various types of bells as instruments!). For a change of pace, the band delivers the great acoustic "Isabel," a tribute to painter Isabel Bishop (a subsequent EP was named after her, for which the song was re-recorded with a lusher, "Champion Nines"-ish backing). The centerpiece of this album is "Imperial" which (depsite its seven minute length) is absolutely gorgeous. I like playing the intro to this song on my guitar. The lovely, bass-driven "June" is, I have to say, nothing short of a hidden gem. This track is the only one on the album written by Bridget Cross, who also sings lead vocals on it, and I think her voice is very warm and very beautiful. This is my favorite song on the album (although "Imperial" comes in a close second). Unrest's musical vision strictly limited them to indie status (and they are all the better for it), but I still feel like I am the only one who listens to this band, and that's kind of a shame, really, considering how unique this band was. If you are a fan of the Pixies, Sonic Youth, the Strokes, or indie rock/alternative rock in general, then I highly recommend that you track this album down and listen to it. Unrest is a great band, and they deserve to be heard.

This album is an unrecognized classic and one of the best albums of the early 90's. Stylistically very diverse, it contains power pop songs like Suki and Cherry Cream On and slower, beautiful and fragile songs like I Do Believe You're Blushing and Imperial. If you're a fan of minimalist indie I can't recommend this album enough. If only today a band would come out and make something as innocent and beautiful as this...

Although Unrest records are way hard to find at music stores, this album is common in almost every record shop�s stock and I think it resumes notabily the story of a great indie band from Washington D.C. The two catchieswt tunes, Suki and Cherry Cherry could be alterna-pop himns, while the exquisite I Think that you are Blushing touches the deepest legacyes of bands such as The Smiths. Undoubtly, the masterpiece here is Loyola, where Robinson and Co. take you to a trip of different muds guided by the excelent blending of the guitars. Unrest�s other albums -particulary the firsts, like Malcolm X Park and Cath Caroll- are notable,being comparable only with Pavement�s Slanted and Enchanted and the Watery Domestic EP, nevertheless it�s a pity that almost all of them are no longer available. However, you can get to know part of this job by purchasing the F*ck P*ssy Galore (And All Her Friends) compilation.

Haven't heard this album in 15 years. Lost! Can't wait to get a new one. Superb twin guitars. Disturbing narrative lyrics.

The only record better this sadly under-heard band put together is The One That Got Away, their live swan song double album that blisters. Long before the guitar was reborn in Seattle, this David, Calif., was staying true to the tradition of great guitar bands. With Guy Keyser leading the way with awesome guitar, scary lyrics and screaming vocals, the band pulses with an energy that has not been replicated since.

Imagine a group of cowboys in the 1800s with electric guitars and bad saddle sores. Then introduce them to Television.

What makes these guys all the greater is that Guy quit the band to get an advanced degree in soil science and became a college professor, and Roger Kunkel (also lead guitar) formed lounge/electronica/funk/theme band Acme Rocket Quartet. The two of them loved the music, and it shows.

I have to disagree with the Andy Gill review above. Where he hears droning, I hear some of the best hard rock of the 1980's. "In the Spanish Cave" is impressionistic and not very melodic, so you either connect with it or you don't. I connect with it bigtime. "In the Spanish Cave" is Thin White Rope's darkest, most hard-driving album, brimming with frustration, and not as "desert-parched" as, say, "Exploring the Axis." You do have to be in the right mood for this CD to have its effect -- if you are, then Kyser's expressions of tension and frustration like "It's OK" and "July" are irreplaceable.

This album compliments the others tremendously, while the music is different on each album, it only resonates the true love for the music. Sean McCabe (sp?) was amazing live and if the rumors are true as to how he died. It doesn't get anymore punk rock than that.

This posthumous release was absolutley one the most important releases of 2000. As such, it flew relatively low under the majorities' radar. This record really defines the bands' evolution, just as each of their previous releases were giant leaps forward for punk rock. The first time I saw them was on their first tour in '96, in Tulsa. All they had was the Love is Dead 7". I was all over it, spreading the word, infecting the town. Fast forward almost ten years and I'm still recommending a record from the year 2000. Quite a few people were uncomfortable with this release when it came out. Don't let that deter you, you are a warrior on a mission. Get it.

This CD is the product of madmen. Sane people do not write music like this. I was awestruck the first time i heard this CD. It's hate and love lusting for one another in bed. I am scared to buy the other CD's because no way can they do better than Ink & Dagger. Everything is different now. I think I need to throw away the rules in my head about music and start over. It starts now and with Ink & Dagger. This is the greatest rock and roll record to come out in the last 50 years.

What's worse is that I hear that the singer of this band passed away. Why do the truly gifted leave us...

The name says it all. Rocks premier "power trio", kickin' @ss and takin' no prisoners; and 100% American!! If you love Mountain, Grand Funk, ZZ Top etc...you'll dig this in a major way. This is "rock" the way it was meant to be played. If you don't like it...get on a boat and go back where you came from!!

One of the best CDs of the year. If you like straight up rock-n-roll with no ballads, you will love American Dog. Pounding drums, solid guitar, and hard hitting bass get your head banging and your toes tapping.

In particular "Last of a Dying Breed", and "Dogs Life". Lead vocals are Alice Cooper meets Motorhead. The music is ACDC with a slight southern rock feel.

Exceptional piece of work, straight rockin that makes you feel good. It's little like George Thorogood but more rockin'!

This 1986 release, the band's fourth full-length LP, may be the very best -- or at least "most REM-like" -- in their catalog. As has been pointed out several times, "Life's Rich Pageant" represented a turning point in REM's sound, pushing both drummer Bill Berry and vocalist Michael Stipe to the front of the mix. The result is a punchier sound that strips away Stipe's mumbling to reveal his impressionistic lyrics. It's not always clear what he's singing about, but at least you don't have to struggle just to decode the words. Though there are moments and songs on "Murmer" and "Reckoning" that may supersede anything heard here, the accessibility of Don Gehman's production, and the catchiness of these songs (including Mike Mills' cover of The Clique's 1969 then-obscure "Superman") make this on of REM's most spinworthy releases.

Michael Stipe referred to this album in Mojo magazine as being the most like REM that REM has ever sounded. And I'm inclined to agree.

For fans like myself this is the ultimate REM experience. For newcomers, an excellent introduction. For those sitting on the fence, it'll knock you clean to the ground on the REM side.

On previous albums, Stipe's vocals remain firmly buried in the mix, the lyrics practically indecipherable in places. This album shows Stipe's astounding vocal ability off to it's best. Heart-felt, passionate, full of emotion. The lyrics are often cryptic and abstract, yet somehow relevant ; as we've come to expect.

The instrumentation is virtually perfect, and not rooted in the 80's which means that the album hasn't aged at all, it's timeless and classic. This could be REM of the 80's, of the 90's, of the 21st century. Layers of delicate sound, blended to make the rich, soul-inspiring melodies which can lift us up or send us down effortlessly.

Stand out tracks include the beautifully simple "What if We Give it Away?", and the heavier yet controlled "Begin the Begin". The folk-esque "Swan Swan H" sticks in your mind with it's melodic guitar and lilting phrasing, and "Superman" is worth listening to for the harmonies alone. Tremendous.

The pivotal importance of this album in the career of the biggest band in the world today cannot be overplayed. This is the very essence of REM. Berry, Buck, Mills and Stipe all at their creative best. Essential.

This is one of the great college rock (or 'alternative') albums of all time. The song "Cuyahoga" is a college rock masterpiece - take one listen to this song, and you will wonder how you ever lived your life without this song in it. Fall On Me and Superman are also really great. Take the time to go back and check out the old R.E.M. albums. It's a fascinating musical journey to take - and a rewarding one.

Great album by founder and lead guitarist Nick Salomon, bass guitarist Ade Shaw of Hawkwind fame, and drummer Andy Ward formaly of Camel. I had the chance to see this tour in a small venue in Portland, Oregon. I had never heard of Bevis Frond, but Andy Ward is from my favorite band Camel and I had to see him play. The music was awesome, a mixture of psychodelic, feedback, blues, and folk, with some english humour thrown in and lots of heart. Nick is a master songwriter and introduces many of the songs on this CD. This gives the listener a sense of knowing a lot about Nick and where he is coming from.

The live album brought back great memories of the show. The opening song Hole Song #2 has a great guitar lick which is unforgetable and my favorite tune, Stone Trained Driver has an original set of lyrics that will make you smile.

It is truly a wonder how so much talent can be often overlooked by so many. This man proves that there are geniuses all around us everyday. Buy it and be amazed.

The Bevis Frond finally scraped their live sound onto a full CD after many years and many albums that psychedelic music fans cherish. Their sound on the live CD is the same as their sound on the stage. And I think that's the best compliment anyone can give a live record.

There was a brief time back in '87-'88, when all seemed right with the sounds coming out of boomboxes and walkman headphones. It was the time of Sonic Youth in the East, Husker Du in the Midwest, and this band, Thin White Rope on the Pacific. They each came out with pinnacle achievements, around this era, and Thin White Rope's was Moonhead. I am not going to bore with comparisons to this or that, just know if you are taking the time to read reviews and listen to samples, then buy the Lp and you won't be dissappointed. That's a promise! I bought my wax copy nearly twenty years ago now and it remains near the top of my voluminous Lp stack.

Imagine a country-rock band of ex-junkies from a ghost town run by William Burroughs, and you begin to get the idea of what this band sounds like. Call it-- American Goth? The vocals sound like a cleaner, spookier Tom Waits, and the spare echo-y sound evokes the dark side of town, full of dead end streets and boarded-up storefronts. The perfect soundtrack for driving down a desert highway at 3AM, in a vain attempt to escape the trail of blood and money in the sleazy motel room behind you.

I could go on for hours about Thin White Rope, but I think I can make my point best by keeping it simple. I own thousands of albums by Thousands of bands, and most in my top 20 are Thin White Rope... The song "Thing" is one of the saddest, most moving songs ever written. If you like Guitar Rock with brains and passion, this is the band. The way I see it, if TWR never existed, and this album came out today, they would be the talk of the "Indie Rock" world, dominating the likes of Moonie Suzuki, the Hives and the Strokes. Do your self a favor, buy this one...

Unsane are back, so no need to speak in the past tense.

This is an excellent collection of their studio work, full of more menace and sincerity than most bands can muster. I got this CD/DVD almost by accident, and boy am I glad I did. After seeing the band a few months ago at a small and grubby bar in Lansing where my hearing was duly pummeled and my money spent unwisely on cheap beer, I approached the merchandise table with $7. The stickers were gone and the CDs were all $10. I asked the guy manning the table what the coolest thing I could get for $7 was. He said, "you can have this, somebody spilled whiskey on it," and handed me Lambhouse! Hell yes. I listened to it exclusively for about two weeks straight.

I've now seen Unsane twice (nearly 10 years apart). I can say with conviction that Vinnie Signorelli is my favorite drummer of all time. He is like the ocean. They not only completely kick ass, they are also very cool, down-to-earth people.

This is so amazing I can't even begin to talk about it... Unsane were such a terrifying, destructive unit - they never compromised and made originial, powerful and amazing music. Outrageously enough, most of their catalog is now out of print, however this eminent collection makes a very good effort to ratify that horrible mistake, bringing to us 6 songs from their final album, Occupational Hazard, 6 brilliant songs from their most famous work, Scattered..., 3 songs from their least good album, Total Destruction, 5 early, rare songs as well as 4 fantastic tunes from (in my opinion) their best work: the epinomious debut album. That album, especially the first side, is a stone cold classic, groundbreaking beyond description and contained killer songs like the ones featured here: Organ Donor, Bath, Cracked Up and Exterminator - songs that will literally blow you away. But the CD is not enough: they also managed to make a DVD that was actually of relevance and quality, featuring all of their videos as well as live footage. The 9 songs pulled from a recent performance in Brooklyn are really great, but the early footage look and sound like crap yet are bound to be enjoyed by diehards. Buy this or you'll be missing out on one of the ten or so greatest and most important bands of the 1990:s!

ok-let me be the first to say that i too jumped on the unsane bandwagon after seeing and hearing "scrape".little did i know, as my ear matured, that i would be engulfed by such grungy hardcore tunes as those presented by unsane.all of their stuff is worth checking out,its just too bad i never got to see them live.every song is original,heavy,angry,heartfelt (not in a poppy way),and pure hardcore rock.great career guys.