Indie and Lo-Fi music reviews
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Music reviews for "Indie and Lo-Fi" sorted by average review score:
New Despair EP
Released in Audio CD by Merge Records (08 April, 2003)
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Artist: Gothic Archies
Tracks:
- It's useless to struggle
- City of the damned
- The abandoned castle of my soul
- Your long white fingers
- Ever falls the twilight
- The tiny goat
- In a cave
Average review score: 
This guy needs a hugWow, what an amazing album. The lyrics are completely depressing in a really cool way. I was amused by this bands name while pirating music so a gave "The Tiny Goat" a gander and wow....I was completely blown away. This Steven guy is completely cool. His music is dark and strange and kind of has a fantasy vibe to it. No one but this guy has the jewels anymore to bust out fantasy music. Every song on this album is good. The cheese factor is kinda high, but maybe that's why I like this so much.
Deliciously WeirdI bought this album after buying one of those "Series Of Unfortunate Events' and audio book. The theme music is composed, and sung by the Gothic Archies, which in reality are just a one-man-band by the goth weirdo Steven Merritt. Merritt's voice is very deep toned, and he sings some creepy, yet wacky lyrics. This is on eof my favorite albums.
It's useless to not buy this album.Tracks such as "The Tiny Goat" and "City of the damned" are monstrously fun for sing-alongs at work while "Ever falls the twilight" and "it's useless to struggle" offer a wink and a nod to Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and how can one not go wrong with an album where the last intelligible lyric is "The world's a leech crawling down one's throat. / One would rather be a tick than be a tiny goat"?
New Despair EP
Released in Audio CD by Merge Records (14 October, 1997)
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Artist: Gothic Archies
Tracks:
- It's useless to struggle
- City of the damned
- The abandoned castle of my soul
- Your long white fingers
- Ever falls the twilight
- The tiny goat
- In a cave
Average review score:
This guy needs a hugWow, what an amazing album. The lyrics are completely depressing in a really cool way. I was amused by this bands name while pirating music so a gave "The Tiny Goat" a gander and wow....I was completely blown away. This Steven guy is completely cool. His music is dark and strange and kind of has a fantasy vibe to it. No one but this guy has the jewels anymore to bust out fantasy music. Every song on this album is good. The cheese factor is kinda high, but maybe that's why I like this so much.
Deliciously WeirdI bought this album after buying one of those "Series Of Unfortunate Events' and audio book. The theme music is composed, and sung by the Gothic Archies, which in reality are just a one-man-band by the goth weirdo Steven Merritt. Merritt's voice is very deep toned, and he sings some creepy, yet wacky lyrics. This is on eof my favorite albums.
It's useless to not buy this album.Tracks such as "The Tiny Goat" and "City of the damned" are monstrously fun for sing-alongs at work while "Ever falls the twilight" and "it's useless to struggle" offer a wink and a nod to Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and how can one not go wrong with an album where the last intelligible lyric is "The world's a leech crawling down one's throat. / One would rather be a tick than be a tiny goat"?
Monkey vs. Robot
Released in Audio CD by The Orchard (26 June, 2001)
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Artist: James Superstar Kochalka
Tracks:
- Bad Astronaut
- Soundecheck Of Love
- Monkey Vs. Robot
- Little Robot Lost In Space
- Hockey Monkey
- Show Respect To Michael Jackson
- False Start
- President Kockalka
- Fifteen Teenage Girls
- I Am Rock
- Ocean Of Girls
- Beautiful Christmas Lights
- Peanut Butter & Jellyfish
- Pizza Rocket
- Keg Party
- Put Down The Gun
- Bathroom Buddies
- Hot Rod Monkey
- Pony The Penis
- Punch The Clock
- Ballbuster
- Monkey Drum Solo
- Hey, Ronald Reagan
- Robot Drum Solo
- The Pulse
- Twinkle Twinkle Ringo Starr
- The Pants Are Up Now!
- Thank You, Etc.
- Yo...Check, Check, Check.
- The Kid Who Collects Set Lists?
- Bonus Tracks 1
Average review score:
You are not worthy...James Kolchaka is indeed a superstar, and if you don't know, you had better ask somebody. You may have seen his art (such as his short "Hulk vs. the rainstorm" for Marvel comics, but to get the full effect of JKS, you need to listen to his music.
While it would be foolhardy to say that this is one of the greatest albums ever (considering the amount of time left, in the grand scale of things) it's definitely better than anything you currently own.
The CD opens with "Bad Astronaut" and hilarity ensues. The title track and "Hockey Monkey" are also instant faves. The only bad thing about this album is that once people begin to hear about it, people will buy it, and then JKS will wind up like Nirvana... over-played, under-appreciated, and most likely dead. Do James and the rest of the world a favor, and stay away from this album. I never want to have to utter the phrase, "James Kochalka was so much better before he sold out." Because after that, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to him opening for Hall & Oates at the County Fair.
Go buy the new Britney Spears album instead. I hear it rocks.
While it would be foolhardy to say that this is one of the greatest albums ever (considering the amount of time left, in the grand scale of things) it's definitely better than anything you currently own.
The CD opens with "Bad Astronaut" and hilarity ensues. The title track and "Hockey Monkey" are also instant faves. The only bad thing about this album is that once people begin to hear about it, people will buy it, and then JKS will wind up like Nirvana... over-played, under-appreciated, and most likely dead. Do James and the rest of the world a favor, and stay away from this album. I never want to have to utter the phrase, "James Kochalka was so much better before he sold out." Because after that, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to him opening for Hall & Oates at the County Fair.
Go buy the new Britney Spears album instead. I hear it rocks.
Put down the gun, Kurt Cobain!A buddy of mine played this for me when it came out a few years ago, and I've been reciting the lyrics since. James K. gets real with his childlike yet lewd rhymes and throws in a dash of "catchy tune" for good measure. The most-played song on the college stations is obviously the title track; but I guarantee that as good as "Monkey versus Robot" is, that's neither the best song nor the best part of the album! The comic insert alone is worth buying this album... If you don't think so, you can "punch the clock!"
Good, funny stuffThis is one of the few "funny" CDs that never loses it's appeal to me. You can actually listen to it after you have stopped being so amused by the lyrics & think "Wow! This is a really catchy, heartfelt song (Hey, the man sounds convincing when he sings about Pizza Rockets)!" Basically, if you could package sheer, unadulterated giddyness onto an album, it would be James Kochalka Superstar's Monkey vs. Robot.
Pacific Trim
Released in Audio CD by Matador Records (15 February, 2000)
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Artist: Pavement
Tracks:
- Give It a Day
- Gangsters & Pranksters
- Saganaw
Average review score:
Not the band's best EP, but their most underratedWhile other Pavement EPs have gone on to classic status, this one has been largely ignored, which is a shame since it showcases the band at their best and most experimental. 'Give It A Day", the first track, is a bit of lazy Malkmus pop made interesting by his stream of conscious, first person lyrics which gradually reveals an unfocused story culminating in the lead explaining to his girl that he got in a fight with her father. "Gangsters and Pranksters" is one of the more interesting tracks the band ever recorded; the background sounds almost like an upbeat loop of a a catchy guitar melody followed by some feedback and hissing. Again, Pavements songs have often been debased for not being about anything, but these lyrics read like an expressionistic poem about the infamous merry pranksters, it's very clever. "Saganaw" sounds like the Velvet Underground would have if they had let John Cale have more of an influence. Finally, "I Love Perth" is a throw away track, a little over a minute of lazy pop, but it's fun in that respect. Anyone who is already a Pavement fan (and has all of the full lengths) really can't go wrong with this purchase.
pavementyeah, its good - but will i win a fifty dollar gift certificate?
perfection on track one'Give it a day', the first track, is outstanding...admittedly the rest of the EP doesn't quite live up to it, but buy it for the first three minutes anyway. It's beautiful, and it'll get in your head.
Garbageheads on Endless Stun
Released in Audio CD by Merge Records (09 September, 2003)
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Artist: East River Pipe
Tracks:
- Where Does All The Money Go?
- Monumental Freaks
- I Won't Dream About The Girl
- I Bought A Gun In Irvington
- Girls On The Freeway
- The Long Black Cloud
- Arrival Pad #19
- Streetwalkin' Jean
- Stare The Graveyard Down
- Millionaires Of Doubt
- It's Always Been This Way
One can see a lot from a secluded bedroom, even with the blinds closed. That's the paradox at the heart of the bleak, beautiful recordings F.M. Cornog alter-ego East River Pipe has conjured up in the confines of his Queens apartment for a decade. And while his determinedly singular methods have garnered that most left-handed of complimentary alt.rock tags--"lo-fi"-- there's a beautiful, understated opulence to every track here, tribute to Cornog's laconic pop sense and growing prowess with his faithful mini-studio. More importantly, Pipe's unique interior vista encompasses considerably more than his own hard-knocks résumé, from puzzled meditations on the old-cash class ("Where Does All the Money Go?," "Millionaires of Doubt") to litanies of free-floating dysfunction ("Monumental Freaks") and romantic deconstructions ("I Won't Dream About the Girl," "Girl On the Freeway"). Yet his troubled past can't help but deepen the shadows of "The Long Black Cloud," a nigh-perfect lament that sounds like it's been in permanent rotation on a jukebox in some dank, Lynchian roadhouse, or the detached, chilling impressionism of "I Bought a Gun in Irvington" and fade-away fatalism of the closing "It's Always Been This Way." In an age of oppressive pre-fab pop conformity, Cornog's a bracing reminder of the potential of a single, determined heart-- even when it doesn't get out much. --Jerry McCulley
Average review score:
too littleafter waiting 5 years for something more from cornog (aka east river pipe). Im left waiting for something more. Besides a few decent tunes where his template sound is stretched a little (track #4) there is little else on this particular release. On the first track he croons 'where does all the money go?' while I wondered, where did all the tunes go? It made me really wonder if there was something more that he is holding back somewhere. Seems less inspired and shorter than all the other disks which you would do better to check out first.
One of the Best Albums of 2003Seeing as how Garbageheads On Endless Stun is the first East River Pipe release I've purchased, perhaps I come to the reviewer's podium with fewer preconceptions than some of the previous pundits.
Musically, this album rates up there with another 2003 gem, Rufus Wainwright's Want One. F.M. Cornog, who is East River Pipe, sets up most of his compositions on smooth, dark beds of synth chords, similar to "More Than This"/"Avalon"-era Roxy Music, or Springsteen's "Streets Of Philadelphia". Electric guitars shimmer, glow and poke their heads out momentarily, then disappear. Drum machines click, beep and snap in the reverby mix. Philip Glass-like codas end "Stare The Graveyard Down" and "I Bought A Gun In Irvington". Neil Young haunts the country-ish "The Long Black Cloud". The spirits of Brian Wilson and Todd Rundgren inhabit the chords of "Where Does All The Money Go". Over all though, the bands that East River Pipe remind me of the most are the contemporary rock bands The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev.
But the subject matter in an East River Pipe song is generally a darker affair than the Lips or Rev. These songs are full of greedy Enron know-nothings, streetwalking teenage girls, passively suicidal priests, "slobs in SUVs", powerless young thugs with guns, and pot-smoking burnouts. A consistently grim, fatalistic vision.
East River Pipe seems to be saying one thing with the music, and a nearly opposite thing with the lyrics. It's as if Lou Reed re-wrote the words to The Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl". This tug-of-war between the light and the dark, the ugly and the beautiful, the tangible and the unattainable is what makes this one of the better releases of 2003.
Five excellent CDs in a rowAt first I was not thrilled with the 5th ERP release, having very high expectations, but it has gotten better and better with repeated listenings. True, Cornog's amazing guitar work is not showcased here and that is too bad. However, the songs all work, every one, and the moodiness and poignancy is of the highest order. I actually like this better than Gasoline Age and on par with Fricky and Shining. In sum, you would be hard pressed to find a better CD this year. Clearly deserves 5 stars.
Kid Marine
Released in Audio CD by Recordhead Records (15 February, 1999)
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Artist: Robert Pollard
Tracks:
- Submarine Teams
- Flings Of The Waistcoat Crowd
- The Big Make-Over
- Men Who Create Fright
- Television Prison
- Strictly Comedy
- Far-Out Crops
- Living Upside Down
- Snatch Candy
- White Gloves Come Off
- Enjoy Jerusalem!
- You Can't Hold Your Women
- Town Of Mirrors
- Powerblessings
- Island Crimes
Average review score:
pollard's personal favoritethe man himself declares this his best work, so who am i to quibble? though i prefer the oddball nature of his first two solo albums, this, his third, is a wonderful ride. not as lo-fi as its predecessors, it possesses a charm all its own. as GbV were moving away from the DIY sound, they risked losing some die-hard fans. instead of using the solo records as an opportunity to placate them, kid marine proves that this was the direction bob wanted to go. can you really recreate the magic of bee thousand and alien lanes over and over. and with that it is perplexing that as the sound gets more accessible, the songs require more patience from the listener to sink in and truly absorb.
for that reason, this may be one of the most difficult records bob has ever done. and, ultimately, one of the most rewarding.
for that reason, this may be one of the most difficult records bob has ever done. and, ultimately, one of the most rewarding.
Insert Witty Quip HereThank GOD for Robert Pollard solo records- This in one tasty record. Mr. Pollard- I loved every bit of it. Make GBV records as big and clean as you want as long as you keep these nuggets droppin' along the trail. You sir know how to ROCK.
Difficult but rewarding.This LP meant nothing to me on the first few listens, I couldn't hear any tunes or find any redeeming features in the music.I thought that finally Pollard has released one album too many. But it crept up on me slowly and after a dozen spins it opened up and bloomed. Songs such as Enjoy Jerusalem!, Town of Mirrors and Flings of the Waistcoat Crowd have a complex and haunting structure that rank as high as anything in Pollard's career so far. Powerblessings stops me in my tracks with its beauty every time I hear it. When is this man going to stop making wonderful music? Not for a long time I hope.
Look Away [EP]
Released in Audio CD by Spin Art (22 February, 2000)
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Artist: The Apples in Stereo
Tracks:
- Look Away
- Behind The Waterfall
- Everybody Let Up
- Her Pretty Face
- The Friar's Lament
Average review score:
Look At ThisLength - 12:12
The Apples in Stereo are one of my favorite bands around today. So many groups are always looking for the big breakthrough sound or the brand new cool, but so much new music just sounds dull, not groundbreaking at all. Many bands should take notes from the Apples. Their albums are all brief, but packed full of some amazing music. It's nothing special really, just refined pop music with an injection of psychedelia. But this band makes albums the right way. They're not fake at all, just true-to-life happy songs, and they all end up being shimmering gems as a result of the band's admirable authenticity. If you're reading this and you haven't heard any Apples songs yet, their sound is a striking hybrid of Beach Boy harmonies, Beatlesque whimsy and Big Star powerpop. Track 4, Her Pretty Face, is reminiscent of Bert Bacharach too. My favorite tracks on this ep are the catchy opener Look Away and the aforementioned number, Her Pretty Face. Everything by The Apples is great. I recommend this and all their other albums to everyone.
The Apples in Stereo are one of my favorite bands around today. So many groups are always looking for the big breakthrough sound or the brand new cool, but so much new music just sounds dull, not groundbreaking at all. Many bands should take notes from the Apples. Their albums are all brief, but packed full of some amazing music. It's nothing special really, just refined pop music with an injection of psychedelia. But this band makes albums the right way. They're not fake at all, just true-to-life happy songs, and they all end up being shimmering gems as a result of the band's admirable authenticity. If you're reading this and you haven't heard any Apples songs yet, their sound is a striking hybrid of Beach Boy harmonies, Beatlesque whimsy and Big Star powerpop. Track 4, Her Pretty Face, is reminiscent of Bert Bacharach too. My favorite tracks on this ep are the catchy opener Look Away and the aforementioned number, Her Pretty Face. Everything by The Apples is great. I recommend this and all their other albums to everyone.
cheesethunderI gave this E.P. four stars for the simple reason that all of the tracks already appear on the Australian edition of "Her Wallpaper Reverie". I am not sure if the price of the American E.P. and album are commensurate with the price of the import but it could be something worthwhile for American Apples fans to check out. I thought that the final two songs had a real B-side feel to them and were not as interesting as the opening three. However, this E.P., with the traditional E-6 reliance on the canons of the Beatles and Beach Boys, is still miles ahead of many other albums released this year.
I left toothmarks in the side of it...5 crisp and juicy new apples fallen from the applesinstereo tree, slick and sonic as you'd expect from them. "Behind the Waterfall" is the loveliest/trippiest of the batch. They're not breaking any new ground or anything, but I certainly don't regret having bought it. Come play in Georgia again, Apples, and save us -- they just added two more nights to Springsteen!
Masters of the Hemisphere
Released in Audio CD by Kindercore Records (05 October, 1999)
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Artist: Masters of the Hemisphere
Tracks:
- West Essex
- Billy Mitchell
- Saucy Foreign Lass
- Meteor
- Everybody Knows Canada
- Map
- She Plays Guitar
- Your Ship Looks Like a Captain
Average review score:
get folkedOne reviewer compared this to Great Lakes. That's ridiculous. It's like comparing the Beatles and the Bay City Rollers. Great Lakes has variety, intelligence, inventiveness; Masters of the H has only mournful dirges. This is FOLK MUSIC. If you like Peter, Paul, and Mary, or the Kingston Trio, you will like this. I don't; and I don't. Be forewarned.
Twee pop with emotional mood swingsBrace yourself for a slightly-wild ride (as wild as twee-pop can get): from the toy piano and upbeat energy of "Everybody Knows Canada" (a song that will be stuck in your head for days) to the reflective, slower "Your Ship Looks Like a Captain". Hummable melodies, catchy lyrics; a lot to like in these few short songs. Something for everyone.
Umm..not folk?This review is here to tell everyone that despite what some other person said, this is not folk music. It can be more easily classified into the indie rock/indie pop category. Also this is a very good CD. Thanks.
The Past Was Faster
Released in Audio CD by Telegraph (14 December, 1999)
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Artist: Kelley Stoltz
Tracks:
- X-Ray Eyes
- Popular Diseases
- The Fog Has Lifted!
- Emerald Stew
- Permafrost
- Cardinal Body
- Sculptures Floating On The Waves
- The Captain
- Vapor Trail
- Peppermint
- Lonely Star State
Average review score:
leave it in the past and move into the glowI'm glad I heard Antique Glow before I heard the Past was Faster. If it had been the other way around, I might have not have even cared to go check out Antique Glow.
This cd has a handful of gracious moments. The rest I would describe as Kelley sponging his influences and lacking the refinement/talent to wring out his own style. If you'd like to hear him in the beginning stages of discovering his own voice and laying down tracks that sound more like incomplete compositions, you may want to pick this up.
I'd suggest Antique Glow instead of this album. On that album your palette won't be overwhelmed with the aromas of Robyn Hitchcock, Nick Drake, Syd Barrett, Beatles, Captain Beefheart, etc. like it will be here.
Kelly!I also know kelly personally because he teached at my old school and i bought the cd from him from a long time ago..and it is the best..kelly's music reaches people's souls everywhere and keeps the musical flows steady and smooth~ I recommend it
Personaly...I know Kelly personaly, and he probably forgot me though.
I bought the CD, and lent it to my half little bro, who now has it stored away some were, so i need a new one! And I can't see how any one would want to sell it if they bought it. I loved it, expecialy the "secret" track at the very end. X-Ray eyes stays in my mind even though I havn't heard it for 2 years!
The Past Was Faster is an insperational album to all young musicians, and I think if Kelly deserves a round of aplause for his effort, acomplishment, and the fact that he is a very cool guy!
Fog
Released in Audio CD by Ninja Tune (19 February, 2002)
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Artist: Fog
Tracks:
- A Word Of Advice
- The Smell Of Failure
- Pneumonia
- Fuckedupfuckfuckup
- Check Fraud
- Hitting A Wall
- Fool
- Truth And Laughing Gas
- We're A Mess
- Staring At The Dashboard
- Glory
- Ghoul Expert
- And Stay Out
Average review score: 
A truely horrible album.I bought the original independent version of this cd, which has 2 more tracks. The ninja tune version also has a track not on the indie version. I live in Minneapolis and heard all the hype so I decided to get the CD. This cd is horrible. I love all kinds of music, including most avant-garde fare like kid koala, Dose One, cLOUDDEAD, etc. The music on FOG is largely abrasive, annoying, and simple. The lyrics are trite, and usually replace content with unintelligible abstract metaphor. Broder's singing is poor at best. The sole place that this music succeeds is in concept- hey lets make a turntable part of an atmospheric rock band- good concept, horrible execution. This band gets a lot of hype, mostly from people that don't recognize that DIFFERENT doesn't necessarily mean GOOD. I would give this cd zero stars, but Amazon wont take that as a review, and I guess you could use it as a coaster or for skeet shooting or something.
The Fog live on stage is much better. Worth seeing if you have a chance, but not something to go out of your way for.
The Fog live on stage is much better. Worth seeing if you have a chance, but not something to go out of your way for.
it's gettin' foggy...just saw these guy's in boston last monday and what i want to know is, where the hell was everybody else! i know it was a monday but what else did you have to do that was so freakin' important...well the small crowd added to the intimaticy of this wonderful group...they played as though hundreds of people showed up instead of the ten plus...you could easily tell how wholeheartedly devoted they were to their unique sound (which any discription would fall far short from what was being produced, so i won't try)...please check this fantastic group out, you won't be disappointed...Greenn#3
A warm and murky trip through the Fog.Take a little trip through the mind of Andrew Broder aka Fog. Apparently someone forgot to clue Mr. Broder in on the fact that music has genres, walls that should be left up, and bridges not to be crossed. Maybe he knows exactly what he's doing. Maybe he's watching Beck's genre-blending antics rocket him towads success and stardom and Fog has decided to follow. But for some reason I don't think so. Fog is a million times more sincere. He wears his heart on his sleave and it looks good there. The album has a beautifully cohesive feel from beginning to end, it makes you feel as though you are walking through the Fog.
Some highlights of the album:
"A Word of Advice" opens the album with MF Doom guest MCing and giving you some words of wisdom on how to live your life.
The albums first single "Pneumonia" is a tale of Fog's brush with the disease itself. Beautiful lyrics telling of silverfish, casserole quality, and revelations of life. This track would be a top 10 single in a perfect world.
"Check Fraud" is the albums next single, Broder explains this track as being about "the guilt of being wealthy". Japanese flute scratches abound.
A burst of guitar and scratched drums open "Truth & Laughing Gas" and get the second half of the album of to a flying start. This is one of the most perfect meldings of guitar and turntables accomplished to date.
The albums closing tracks of "Ghoul Expert" and "And Stay Out" showcase Broder's penchant for writing anthemic rock ballads on par with Radiohead. Fog harmonizes lovley melodies with himself and lets you slowly emerge from this murky world and back into you own.
Another amazing release from Ninja Tune and definitely a contender for album of the year. My only complaint is why did Ninja Tune remove two tracks from Fog's original independant release of the album? These tracks, "Heartcrusher" and "Just A Boy Growing Up", are beautiful pieces of the album and deserve to be heard. Let's hope Ninja releases them in the future.