American Alternative music reviews

Fresh Aire 4 is a step back in the Fresh Aire series in many ways. Thematically, there is little cohesiveness ("The Dream" doesnt even have a place on the album!) which makes the album sound a lot more like a collection of Fresh Aire singles than a Fresh Aire album. Fresh Aire II and III flowed remarkably well; Fresh Aire 4 didn't even attempt to build a transistion between its tracks.

FA4 is the most clearly experimental of the first four releases. Whereas II and III continued to break new ground in a new genre, each adding depth in musical arrangements and the types of instruments used, 4 is less complex, and for the most part fails to blend the synth sound with the old world sound as well. Crystal and The Dream sound ridiculously dated (like something off the original Terminater soundtrack), Interlude 7 is hardly an interlude, and Embers is as cheesy as they come (and Davis KNOWS cheesy. Pick up a copy of Christmas in the Aire, and you'll know what I mean.)

It's not that this album is bad. It's really not; G Major Toccata is a first for Mannheim Steamroller, and proves that classical organ can really rock. Four Rows of Jacks and Dancing Flames are both very much like Fresh Aire III's excellent Mere Image, and if not as good are comparable. Red Wine is like FAII's Toota Lute, only richer and more beautiful, thanks to a backing symphony. But if that's the best the album offers, then its hardly essential. Basically, Mannheim Steamroller has done this cd before, and much better.

Despite some scattered moments, this album ultimately dissapoints. Oh, and Chip; this is the fourth album in a row to come in squarely under 35 minutes. The Steamroller, it seems, is starting to run out of steam.

What works so well about this album is that it genuinely sounds cold. Mannheim Steamroller has always been good at evoking moods through their music, and this album truly succeeds. Surprisingly, their interpretation of Winter here is not a cozy, fuzzy, Christmassy one, but rather a harsh, lonesome one. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the album was released before their highly successful Christmas series even began. The one track that stands as an exception to this is "Red Wine," which definitely captures a Christmas feel, and admittedly "borrows" from "Greensleeves." The final track, "Embers" is interesting for two reasons: First, as another reviewer pointed out, its melody is used on Steamroller's version of Silent Night, but even more interesting than that is that the melody is identical to a song from Fresh Aire I (Just play Sara's Band slower, and you'll see what I mean.)
The highlights of the album are Dancing Flames, Red Wine, G-Major Toccata and Four Rows of Jacks... all memorable pieces and great to listen to over and over. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is largely filler. Crystal and Interlude are both effective at creating a mood, but are ultimately boring pieces. The Dream is a very Avante-Garde, experimental piece. It's okay, but not really what you want when you buy a Steamroller album. Still, the good tracks more than make up for the lackluster ones.

This is my favourite Fresh Aire album for many reasons. Unfortunately it's considered by many to be the worst installment in the Fresh Aire series mainly because of the significant and experimental use of synthesizers. I myself have a deep appreciation for synthesizers, and I feel that this album just wouldn't be the same without the use of them. The music in this album tends to intermittently send chills up my back every time I listen to it. I'll be very frank and point out that this isn't a happy depiction of winter. Every time I'm finished listening to it I feel very lonely and empty. Winter is my favourite season of the year, and a great deal of the feelings that I experience in the winter I feel again when listening to this album. I especially like the G Major Toccata piece. This piece is very powerful and the pipe organ sounds beautiful in it. For me, this album is very dream-like, and certain pieces like Crystal, and, of course, The Dream make me feel like I'm dreaming. Ultimately, I would recommend this album to everyone, and especially to those who appreciate music because of its different stories and meanings, and not just its popularity.

Fresh Aire 4 is a step back in the Fresh Aire series in many ways. Thematically, there is little cohesiveness ("The Dream" doesnt even have a place on the album!) which makes the album sound a lot more like a collection of Fresh Aire singles than a Fresh Aire album. Fresh Aire II and III flowed remarkably well; Fresh Aire 4 didn't even attempt to build a transistion between its tracks.

FA4 is the most clearly experimental of the first four releases. Whereas II and III continued to break new ground in a new genre, each adding depth in musical arrangements and the types of instruments used, 4 is less complex, and for the most part fails to blend the synth sound with the old world sound as well. Crystal and The Dream sound ridiculously dated (like something off the original Terminater soundtrack), Interlude 7 is hardly an interlude, and Embers is as cheesy as they come (and Davis KNOWS cheesy. Pick up a copy of Christmas in the Aire, and you'll know what I mean.)

It's not that this album is bad. It's really not; G Major Toccata is a first for Mannheim Steamroller, and proves that classical organ can really rock. Four Rows of Jacks and Dancing Flames are both very much like Fresh Aire III's excellent Mere Image, and if not as good are comparable. Red Wine is like FAII's Toota Lute, only richer and more beautiful, thanks to a backing symphony. But if that's the best the album offers, then its hardly essential. Basically, Mannheim Steamroller has done this cd before, and much better.

Despite some scattered moments, this album ultimately dissapoints. Oh, and Chip; this is the fourth album in a row to come in squarely under 35 minutes. The Steamroller, it seems, is starting to run out of steam.

What works so well about this album is that it genuinely sounds cold. Mannheim Steamroller has always been good at evoking moods through their music, and this album truly succeeds. Surprisingly, their interpretation of Winter here is not a cozy, fuzzy, Christmassy one, but rather a harsh, lonesome one. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the album was released before their highly successful Christmas series even began. The one track that stands as an exception to this is "Red Wine," which definitely captures a Christmas feel, and admittedly "borrows" from "Greensleeves." The final track, "Embers" is interesting for two reasons: First, as another reviewer pointed out, its melody is used on Steamroller's version of Silent Night, but even more interesting than that is that the melody is identical to a song from Fresh Aire I (Just play Sara's Band slower, and you'll see what I mean.)
The highlights of the album are Dancing Flames, Red Wine, G-Major Toccata and Four Rows of Jacks... all memorable pieces and great to listen to over and over. Unfortunately, the rest of the album is largely filler. Crystal and Interlude are both effective at creating a mood, but are ultimately boring pieces. The Dream is a very Avante-Garde, experimental piece. It's okay, but not really what you want when you buy a Steamroller album. Still, the good tracks more than make up for the lackluster ones.

This is my favourite Fresh Aire album for many reasons. Unfortunately it's considered by many to be the worst installment in the Fresh Aire series mainly because of the significant and experimental use of synthesizers. I myself have a deep appreciation for synthesizers, and I feel that this album just wouldn't be the same without the use of them. The music in this album tends to intermittently send chills up my back every time I listen to it. I'll be very frank and point out that this isn't a happy depiction of winter. Every time I'm finished listening to it I feel very lonely and empty. Winter is my favourite season of the year, and a great deal of the feelings that I experience in the winter I feel again when listening to this album. I especially like the G Major Toccata piece. This piece is very powerful and the pipe organ sounds beautiful in it. For me, this album is very dream-like, and certain pieces like Crystal, and, of course, The Dream make me feel like I'm dreaming. Ultimately, I would recommend this album to everyone, and especially to those who appreciate music because of its different stories and meanings, and not just its popularity.

If you got into Soul Asylum via "Runaway Train", this album probably is not for you, but it has two of my all-time favorite Soul Asylum songs: Closer to the Stars and Miracle Mile. Not a perfect album like "Hang Time", or "Horse They Rode In On", but enough guts and heart to merit a solid 4 stars...

You wouldn't know it from their later work, but in the mid 1980's, nobody could touch these guys for flat out, big fun, ear bleeding straight ahead rock and roll, (with a little punk rock mixed in, not to mention an occasional Bad Company cover). You can still relive the glory days with "While you Were Out" and the companion "Made to Be Broken". From the fade in of 'Freaks', the eleven tracks come awfully close to replicating the intensity of their live show. If you were lucky enough to see them in the day, close your eyes and drift back to when 'alternative' rock was for college radio only, no one even knew where Seattle was, and half your records were from Twin Tone. Then again, I only bought the CD because my cassette bootleg finally gave it up after fifteen years.

Anyone else out there just a little tired of Soul Asylum's new found depth and maturity? well take a stroll back to early 1980s and listen to this. Dave and co at their best. Full-on punk sound reminiscent of latter-day Husker Du. Hey, you've even got the original Closer To the Stars (not the Candy... bonus track) so you can hear how it should've sounded. My only regret? Never seeing these guys when they had this fire in their souls...

This was moe at their rawest, when they were still just doing it for kicks, and not taking themselves as seriously (if that's even possible for Moe.) If you haven't heard Moe., and you need a good album to start with, don't get this one. For the quintesential moe. get "No Doy!" or possibly "Dither" as a second choice. For me "No Doy!" ranks up there with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, AC/DC's Back in Black, and The Dead's Terrapin Station as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

This is Moe's first full lenght album. It was an independent production, released on cassette tape in 1992. It was converted to CD in 1999 and the sound quality is very good. It is 41 minutes long.

This CD has the typical indie, first album feel to it. The music is loose and all over the place. It has a great live feel to it. I usually enjoy these early works, before a professional record producer gets ahold of a group and polishes all the life out of the music (great example is String Cheese Incident's One Step Closer).

Most of the songs on this CD would be featured in moe. concerts. So, if you have any of the moe. live albums, you already have most of the songs. But, it is nice to hear them played in a studio setting with a little more (but not too much) structure.

Many people equate this music to Primus. Personally, I think it is a little more like early Phish, but better.

There is some serious music here, but there are silly things thrown in, like Hava Nagila intro to Island Girls and closing out the CD with the theme to the British comedy show, Benny Hill (usually played when Benny Hill chased around women in their underwear). And then there are the potty mouth lyrics to some of the songs....but for some reason, it doesn't come off as being juvenile. It all has to do with context of the music and songs.

The main attraction to moe. is the great and unique sound of the guitar playing. That the group usually has good songs to support the music makes them a more viable jam band than someone like Phish or String Cheese Incident.

There are a lot of great jam bands on the scene today it is true, but most of these bands are only worth it to actually see. The magic of their live shows does not transend very well onto CD. I know a few people who would probably beat me up if they saw me writing that, but I don't know.
Moe. is amazing live, one of the best. I'm glad PHISH is dead, I could never stand those guys at all. ALthough they did have THE STORY OF GHOST which was their one good studio album.

MOE has one good studio album themselves. This one, FATBOY. Its good because its not a studio attempt at re creating a live show. This is always a bad idea. Actually though, I think when they came out with this album there really was no live show.

This album is a lot of single length tracks, some are pretty heavy and raw, as opposed to later tracks where they get sugared down and lengthy. (Not that thats a bad thing...) Its just these jam bands don't write the best songs lyrics wise and that can be a big deal. Also, I like trippin' out when I'm at a show and smoking pot. When I''m at home, I like something with a little edge. In that case this album delivers. HARD EDGED JAM ROCK! THATS FUNNY, TOO! WORD.
DONT F WITH FLO is my favorite, but they are all cool.

This 2-CD set is worth it if only because it's got a very reasonable pricetag. As the other review mentioned if you are not into noise then don't bother with this one; it's not anything else. The Japanese acts as usual manage to provide a much harsher, more straightforward assault on the senses with contributions from more established artists such as Masonna, MSBR, etc. The American bands tend to integrate more musicality and attempt to impose a more musical context on the genre, which occasionally works but not usually. For fans of noise, this is interesting but not essential. If you're curious, though, this might be a good place to start in terms of price and quantity.

This double CD changed my life! I had heard a bit of Noise music before, then this came out and I bought it and it was like a veil was removed from my ears and mind. I have since bought dozens of other noise CDs but this one started it all for me, and continues to be one of my favourites. Buy it now!

The world we live in now is full of cut-up sounds. Birds, drills, car engines, coughing, snoring, etc. This complex evironment is what John Cage used to illustrate that "music" is everywhere. But, what exactly is music? That is a question the individual must answer for him/herself. I personally believe that large quantities of so called "noise", as well as the complexities of chaos, contain structure. Mathematically, chaos can be bizarre, but our human minds stretch much farther than what we ascertain on the surface of sensory perception. Noise has structure, but it is up to the individual to find it. This MUSIC is an objective experience. A noise recording is the universe speaking. Listen and learn.

Donna The Buffalo is good times music. No matter what your mood, put on some DTB and you're gonna smile and feel like shufflin' around the floor. In particular, Tara Nevins is a fine fiddler and a singer in a vein similar to a young Emmylou Harris.

DTB are some of the best songwriters in the jamband scene, they write songs with great hooks and they can sure mine a beat. Unfortunately, what doesn't come across as their strong suit on this release is their relatively limited ability to stretch out and jam. If you're looking for great instruemental solos, this one is likely to leave you lacking.

Normally, I prefer live releases over studio discs by any given artist on any given day, but this one just didn't do it for me. DTB has three excellent(!) studio releases in "Rockin' In the Weary Land", "Positive Friction", and "Life's a Ride", all of which get more listens (and smiles!) from me than this one.

Sure, listening to this you can tell the audience was having a party - but their studio albums will have you dancin' and grinnin' even more than this one.

The music of DTB absolutely WILL make you happy, but I'd start with their other releases first. 2 1/2 stars.

I really, really like Donna the B. This is the band that brought me out of my post Garcia blues, the first band that wrote songs that were so engaging I played the discs over and over again. I wore out, literally, Positive Friction and bought a second copy. This double live LP is less good, but still definitely worth owning. The recording is a little lifeless from a technical standpoint, but then it's live, and maybe they didn't have the best sound that day. Or those days. But be that as it may, this is wonderful, happy jam music, highly recommended. I know they aren't the Dead, not by a mile, nor do they wish to be, but this music made me perk up my ears when nothing else did.

Donna The Buffalo provides a young-blooded backcountry twist to the American South. Their new double-album "Live From The American Ballroom" illustrates their ability to capture an audience, and shows how an accordion and washboard can truly make a band unique. "Live" was recorded during Donna The Buffalo's spring tour of 2001, incorporating country melodies and rhythms against rock and a touch of Zydeco. "Ancient Arms" and "Come To Life" stand alone against the rest of the album. The lineup features Jim Miller on guitar/banjo, Richie Stearns on organ, Jed Greenberg on bass, and Tom Gilbert on drums. Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear take care of writing the material, adding their expertise on guitar and fiddle/washboards respectively. "Live Form The American Ballroom" will satisfy the hayseed hippie in anyone regardless of age. The band's official website lays the foundation for the music, providing links to their mp3's and breakdowns of the equipment and set materials. Check it out at www.donnathebuffalo.com

If you're looking for a good representation of what the Cows sounded like, this is an OK place to start. I'd personally put "Cunning Stunts" and/or "Sexy Pee Story" as their two best CD's, and would also consider them the most accessible. I've seen Cows in concert Plenty of times, and, although nothing can capture the fury and insanity of their live shows, their albums will let you glimpse their greatness. Standout tracks on this album include "Cow Island", "Allergic to Myself", and "Baby Love". Sorry that I can't really compare them to another band, but, if you hear Cows, you'll know why. Check them out if you like very densly layered guitars with lots of feedback, clever (although usually undecipherable) lyrics, and NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! See Amphetamine Reptile's homepage, or listen to the audio clips for more...

One of the wonderful Amphetamine Reptile Record's finest purveyors of sonic melee, The Cows play rock & roll the way it's meant to be played, loud and noisy. With amps cranked up past 11 and songs that threaten to dissolve into chaotic noise orgies at any second, The Cows blistering blend of perverse punk rock is the ideal equation of incompetence and brilliance. Their 7th installment in the war against conventional music, "Orphan's Tragedy" continues to carry the band's signature lack of style, but unlike many of their peers, i.e. The Jesus Lizard, Helmet, each ensuing Cows release shows a marked maturity over its predecessors and on Orphan's Tragedy, this growth is best represented by the album's incredible diversity. Able to cruise along at accelerated punk rock tempos or revel in the dirgy grind of metallic experimentalism, The Cows extract an immense amount of creative results from their never ceasing inundation of feedback. Eerie, Avant Garde crawls like "Pickled Garbage Soup" and "Witch Hunt" are as soothing as they are shocking and the rockabilly tinged "I'm Both" as well as the poppy "Baby Love" show that even within the confines of their fuzzed out warzone, The Cows still push the boundaries of noise rock far beyond the breaking point. The Cows can therefore not only churn out frenzied chord after chord, but most importantly, they can do it intelligently. Like all Cows albums, Orphan's Tragedy is another fascinating maelstrom of sloppy brilliance that should appeal to most noise rock and grunge fans alike (The Melvins, Mudhoney, The Jesus Lizard); So if you want to hear a CD that'll really make your ears bleed but still make sense when the album ends, Orphan's Tragedy is highly recommended.

It's only once in a few lifetimes that something like COWS comes along. It's the rare man who can write lyrics like Shannon, and much fewer who can deliver them in such a manner. Do yourself a favor and buy this disc- as well as Cunning Stunts, Sexy Pee Story, and Sorry in Pig Minor. Expand your mind by allowing COWS to enter.. you won't be sorry. If you're like the guy above- who doesn't "get" the lyrics, well.. I'm very sorry for you.

BTW they are now defunct- but Shannon has a new band, "The Heroine Shieks" which is quite good- I hear an LP will be available in Sept 2000

I must confess to being very dissapointed in this album when I first purchased it. The fact is that the explicit and 'controversial' song titles only mask the fact that this is a very poor album. The songs don't really go anywhere, and Mike Muir's lyrics are really lazy and uninteresting. You could see at this point that ST were starting to fall apart.

Not reccommended.

This is 1st St album I heard and because of it I looked for others.
Music is great, lyrics are provoking and funny, although repetitive on some (2nd, 3rd) songs. I like every song, I don't see any as filler. Unlike this, most other albums do have fillers and boring songs. I have been listening this album for years now, and is my ST favorite. Yes, I have heard all others.

This is more like 4.5 stars, This CD probably gives me the strangest vibe out of all the ST albums, for some reason it always feels out of place compared to the others, I don't know why either, sometimes I totally dig it and other times it doesn't really click with me, I don't know its weird like that.

The Music however is 100% right on, the production is REALLY good, its clear, and heavy as a mofo. This album has some of ST's best riffs on it, every song has great music, just crank it up and it gets you going, The band was definetly on top of their game on this one. just listen to songs like "I wouldn't mind" and "No F...'n Problem", "Love vs. Loneliness", and especially "What Else Could I Do?" which is my favorite track on the CD and on of my Favorite ST songs. I can't express how much I love the music on this album.

Like I said the production is REALLY good.

Theres something about some of the songs that just don't vibe though, they all have cool parts, there is not one BAD song on here, but songs like "No Bulls..t", "Suicyco Muthafu..a", and "What you Need's a Friend", get kind of repetetive, but they have cool elements to them, just the song as a whole is not that great. Vocally, it's really good, lyrically its about Half n half, some of Mike's work is brilliant, some of it is not his best.

Overall, I would recommend this to ANY fan of ST, it is a great album its just got a different feel to it, but most ST albums have different feels to them, I would not recommend this as a first album though, start off with "Lights, Camera, Revoloution", or "How will I Laugh Tommorrw".

a true work of art. From the first track "Final Market" to the last track the trully unforgettable "i'm not lisa" this CD is really "one for the people"

killdozer really is one of a kind. i mean its experimental communist noise rock. you got to love it just for the wierdness. i don't know if its really that experimental though because its slow. real slow.like a bulldozer. the first time i heard this i was waiting for the slow (but heavy) songs to pick up. they never did. just listen to "peach pie" and you'll know what i mean. this is also probably one of the few albums that can be enjoyable by both marx-ist communist politacal followers and noise rock listening bohemian freaks. for something differant i always put this gem in. its interesting.
p.s. if you like killdozer you should also check out a band called "earth" from olympia. there very sludgy!

Killdozer speaks the truth, finally the horrible facts about Earl Scheib's death at the hands of Lee Iacocca are revealed.

Lydia Lunch is capable of much stronger work past and present. But the reason that people praise this act is nothing more than sycophancy. Lydia Lunch hated 8-eyed spy, which was formed as an alternative to Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and Beirut Slump, and ditched the band right after they had recorded the five studio tracks. Shortly thereafter George Scott died and the remaining members disbanded the act. The label, rather than release these studio tracks as a coherent EP, they crammed it full of useless live track filler, because LP's sell more than EP's.
The end result is a half-hearted album that is lop-sided. Side One really rocks, and side two is the sound of a disinterested vocalist and a stoned bassist playing around to fill for time. Get the LP and listen to side one which has the right tracks in the right order (Diddy Wah Diddy, Love Split with Blood, Ran Away Dark, Lazy in Love, Swamp, Run through the Jungle). now this is a unit that could really rock. Personally, Lydia Lunch is right, groups are good for one album.

but no, i'm serious, dude. this release, plus lydia's queen of siam, represent the only musically decent recordings of ms. lunch's career. sure, i like teenage jesus & the jerks, but only on a visceral level. the key here is the great backup playing by a hot band, leaving lydia to "concentrate" on her vocals. the second half is live, featuring the incredible bass playing of the late george scott III, a true virtuoso amongst punks. add pat irwin (raybeats) & jim scaluvoiucs (or however you spell it) and there's enough to distract when lydia gets too whiny. two great covers are included: run through the jungle & diddy wah diddy, both as good if not better than the originals. 8 eyed spy only lasted about a year before lydia went back to following her muse: despair, degradation, and duds. she was never fun again. and for the record, nick cave is NOT on this release, he's on honeymoon in red.

I remember seeing 8-Eyed Spy live in NYC years ago and thinking they were awful. It was as if five people were jamming on a stage and couldn't hear each other and couldn't care less. This album shows them for who they really were. Lydia was the provocative lead singer who could really sing when she wanted to and had a knack for lyrics that is unsurpassed in No wave/Punk circles. The band, featuring Jim Sclavunos and Nick Cave rock. It seems when they weren't strung out and throwing attitude, these guys could really play. If your a Nick Cave fan and never heard Lydia or any of the Feotus stuff. Get this album.