Indie and Lo-Fi music reviews

This album is a really good. Very original. I would sugest this one to anticon/why? fans. Good tracks; Ben & Joey, America Won, 21st Century pop song, America Two, The Act, and a bunch others. This a good record to put on when you want to relax or sleep or something. Its very chill.

You need this record in your life.

The lyrics are absolutley amazing, the music beautiful in the purest kind of way.

If you have a soul, you'll love it.

I was riding in my friend's car just soaking up the apolstery and boom like a comet... or... bathroom cleaner i was all ick... hip hop...
then... it grew... melodious... exploding into my head... bobbing along rhymically rowboat... compulsion... emulsion?
21st century pop song is my new wonderland in which to frolick!
the politik is just in thyme for this season!!!!!
lilting, quirky, honest, abstract!
crossing the limits of hip hop and the real music world...
(...)

If you like the ramshackle lo-fi days of GBV, you should have no problem with this. In the blink and you missed it style of so much GBV and Pollard material, it rewards on frequent returns. Jabberstroker reminded me of how much I enjoyed Tobin's contributions. Cocksoldiers eludes to the epics like Redmen and Their Wives albeit in minature. Trendspotter Acrobat exposes a rare and enjoyable Greer vocal. Stabbing a Star rates up there with the rock haikus that made up the Alien Lanes album. Since everbody has already touted the very cool If We Wait I see no reason to refute it. Okay so it is not essential but if you love the band I don't see why you'd complain. Not a place to start but a fine addition to that ever-expanding collection of GBV related projects.

This was one of my first GBV records, and I somehow lost it. Very depressing since I didn't know that it was somewhat rare when I got it. I'm not an expert at finding music on the internet, but I've finally managed to get most of the songs over time.

Anyway, there are some really good tunes on this one. "If We Wait" is probably the best, but the whole thing is good and very much worth getting if you're a fan. Yes, even if it costs you fifty bucks.

Sweet stuff...9 great songs (Trendspotter Acrobat is awful). Heavy Metal Country is perfect.

I recently saw KaitO open for British Sea Power, another great band different style. The guitar work of Dave Lake blew me away with the sounds he created. Niki Colk, is a Chrissie Hynde meets Anna Karina and she was mesmerizing as her strange voice shouted Should I?...Should I?

Along with the powerful drums and the nonchalant bass at first I didn't know what to think, their sound is different from anything I'd heard. But it stuck with me and the next day I was humming "he's the coolest, he's the coolest and gogogogogogogo!" I had to buy the CD but couldn't find it anywhere near and ended up driving 45 minutes away to ROCK! Buy IT!

Just brilliant -- I saw them open for the (mediocre by comparison) British Sea Power -- when KaitO's set ended, I ran to the card table they had set up selling their wares and bought this -- I've been sharing this cd with friends nonstop since

This cd has KaitO expanding on the sonic territory of their first album. The songs are still beautifully done pop songs broken up, thrown back together and drowned in distortion. On this album Kaito plays with some new song stuctures and is rather successfull. Some of the highlights are Enemyline, Anamoy, and Driving manual auto.

this is one of my favorite releases, tobin shows he was very much a part of the early gbv albums, because those albums were the best, gbv is done and with no wonder, their songs became bad ''WHO'' remakes, they were much better when they had the ''BEATLE'' influence that tobin aspires to. this album is very simple but at the same time very catchy in their pop sensibility. too bad tobin was out of gbv before they really would have hit it big i hope he continues to release more and more solo stuff though this release has been out for a long time and the other solo albums don't have the same feel

I've been a big GBV fan since Vampire on Titus and was embarassingly upset when Sprout left the fold and Pollard fired the band. This cd righted the ship for me. Without the shadow of Pollard over his shoulder, it seems like Sprout could write some non-self conscious songs that really resonate. I love the vibe of this whole cd and listen to it every couple months. If you like Bee Thousand cut with a little Belle & S style acoustics, toss it on. It's like soul, man.

The Last Man Well Known to Kingpin, with lyrics that seem to merely consist of the text from handbills for old psychedelic rock club shows, is, quite simply, one of the most transcendent and exhilirating pop songs ever recorded. A fitting cap to a nearly perfect record that, like the best pop, is both meaningless and monumental in equal measures. The cover art (a detail from one of multi-talented Sprout's lovely photorealist paintings) succinctly says it all.

This rock CD was recorded at Ghetto Love Studios in 1995. It is a typical self-released Wesley Willis album. Three of the songs here later appeared on the CD "Rock 'N' Roll Will Never Die". All songs feature the same song structure and the same pre-programmed keyboard backing track (although the backing track is played at slightly different speeds for different songs). That might sound repetitive, and indeed it is. But that repetitiveness is one of the things that Wesley's fans loved about him (may he rest in peace). The subject matter is typical Wesley. There are 8 songs about concerts he attended, 4 songs expressing his admiration for particular musicians, 3 songs about friends of his, 2 songs about the first Gulf War in Iraq, 2 songs about robberies, 2 songs about murders and 1 song about one of his schizophrenic outbursts. Like I said, typical Wesley. His fans should enjoy this CD, most other people probably won't enjoy it. Here is the track listing:

1. Nerve-Shattering Hellride
2. Liz Phair
3. Jefferson Airplane
4. James Doo
5. Saddam Hussein
6. Joe Squire
7. DJ Quik
8. Courtney Love
9. Go Getters
10. Grendel
11. Jack Plane
12. Kill His Ass
13. Goo Goo Dolls
14. Night Ranger
15. Sweet Back
16. Fire Delta Beam
17. Wendy Solomon
18. Mercy Rule
19. Bruce Finkleman
20. Put the Gun Down
21. Dino Recla
22. Junior Wells

I love the taste of cheese
I saw a used car
Children throw rocks
Who said that?

Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy

The sky is not blue
It's night so it's black
There's a mole on my toe
I have a calculator on my watch

Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy

Three ring notebooks
Work at Foot Locker
Sunflower seeds
Paper cuts

Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy

The dead are blind
They can't hear either.
What do the dead eat
Nothing you dummy

Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy
Boogers taste like candy

Roll over London
Rock on Chicago
Kotex fits. Period

Wesley is a musician of the classical type. I don't mean Bach, Mozart, Bethoven. I mean the chanters of the Greece of Socrates and before, where the insane were inspired by the gods. Thank you Wesley, thank you.

"ever get the feeling you've been cheated" comes to mind when I hear this sorry branch of the Elephant 6 mega-tree. There are only so many retro-pop artists a man can take in one lifetime, and I think I just reached my fill, thank you. Here the chipper happy instruments and one voice arrangements (with short tack-on harmonies for good measure) has left the realm of Beatle/Beach Boy impersonation, and stumbled into the backwater of Brit-pop (AKA Peter Noone).

This is the best album of the last half of 1998. Period.

There, I got that bit over with. And it's true, might I add.

In the course of 35 minutes or so, The Minders set a course on their debut LP that begins in the midst of the Magical Mystery Tour, jaunts about with a Rubber Soul, jumps on the Last Train To Clarksville, and finally ends back where it begins.

This is a delicious blend of instant-classic pop and head-spinning psyche that will leave your head dizzy with melodies and hooks for hours after every listen. Once you get over the amazing Paul McCartney simulation that prevails over the title track and the could-be-a Rubber Soul outtake `Pauline,' you begin to realize just how deep and well crafted this record really is.

Fans of retro, fans of pop music, fans of indie, all should give this a few spins.

...at least when it comes to pop records. The anonymous person who gave this one star must've lost a girlfriend or boyfriend to one of the Minders, or owe them money, or something...

Anyway, unlike many Elephant 6 bands, you can actually believe the British accent with which Minder leader Martyn Leaper sings: he was born in the UK--so there. He's been blessed with the ability to write incredibly catchy, dramatic songs, too. Way too many E6 bands come up with one nice riff and try to make a whole song out of it; Leaper and Co. manage to use that great riff as a starting point for a great song with choruses, bridges, and dramatic turns: "Red Bus" has a great hook on the verse, but nothing prepares you for the sheer gorgeousness when the multipart vocal chorus comes in.

A final word on the backing vocals that have been disparaged elsewhere.... They're absolutely lovely. Someone in this band has clearly studied piano pretty seriously, because many times the vocals drift into contrapuntal structures--from firsthand experience, those are *tough* to do.

This clocks in at a beautiful 32 minutes, just perfect for what's being attempted. When I hear this, I hear elements of the Kinks (very Edwardian at times), the Fab Four, and even the Who. Highly Recommended!

Smog, like much good music, is a bit of an acquired taste. Bill Callahan's music might prove a little difficult to some because of the impenetrability of its bleakness and despair: the sparest of guitar chords are scratched over minimal ornamentation, and Callhan does a kind of speak-sing comparable to Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed and David Berman (imagine the latter on lithium, narrating about failed relationships and death. If this is your cup of tea, this is the album for you. But if you're one of those who wish Callhan would break from his usual routine (as he has demonstrated capable of doing with a few stellar cuts off Songs and Devotion and Knock Knock), then you might be disappointed. There are a few tracks that step forward to distinguish themselves from the gloom and doom, however; Live Your Life Like...is a beautifully written and captivating song. Song, Revanchism and Short Drive also have a little hop in their step, more of what Callahan needs.

Rain On Lens is one of the most straightforward record Mr Callahan has recorded. He sets up stall by leading us into a film where there's "rain on lens, boom in frame, all is ruin"
then 'Song' gives you a flavour of whats to come on the first half of the album. It seems to operate in a similar universe to Quickspace, with dark driven krautrock, shifting form in small nuances and offering a twisted philosphy that Smog fans have come to love. It might just be me but it has a very European feel to this record. Perhaps it's all the black & white cover Art and the dense and dark metaphors that are littered across this album.

The second half is quite beautiful and quite upbeat in places.
'Live as if...' is reminiscent of Rem, My Bloody Valentine and various other abstract pieces of Alternative music (and at one scary point I was reminded of the Crash Test Dummies, though it might be safer to say the red house painters.)

It feels like a short album, a inbetweener that stands in a field of its own to previous releases, but like most Smog songs it's difficult to put you finger on what makes you feel this way, but it matters little as it's a nice dark place to be.

Bill 'Smog' Callahan's 4-tracking days are far behind, and only for the better, it seems. Each album since 1995's Wild Love has offered significant improvement (or at least new wrinkles) on Callahan's dry, stark, and occasionally morbid observational songwriting techniques. The big variation on this album, which perhaps explains the slightly altered billing (as "(smog)"), is that Callahan employs a full band on every song, or more precisely, one band, rather than a rotating crew, as on past albums. This includes Eleventh Dream Day's Rick Rizzo on guitar, US Maple's Pat Samson on drums, and avant-garde oboeist Kyle Bruckmann. The result is perhaps the tightest, most cohesive album Callahan has ever delivered. As always, the outward prickliness of his music only serves to set those frequent moments of instrumental beauty and lyrical clarity ("God does not answer / This type of prayer") in sharper contrast. Another American classic, from a true national treasure.

A tour EP, and a generous one with a running time of over 40 minutes, a blessing or a curse depending on your threshold for challenging music. Sadly, there is nothing resembling a song on the EP, gone is the Beatlesque pop of "Cubist Castle". Instead the listener is assualted by a lo-fi sonic jumble of theremin, processed clarinet, violin and Casio VL Tone. The band has abandoned the soothing, backyard ambience of "Explanation" for dated avant garde posturing: electro-acoustic jams, Reich-influenced spoken word phase experiments and dully academic musique concrete compositions. The EP's brightest moments are reminiscent of Ralf and Florian's pre-Kraftwerk experimentalism, but there are simply not enough ideas to sustain anyone but the most indulgent of listeners. Recommended for only hard-core fans and completists.

The music on this EP is defintely experimental, with band members approaching electronic performance art in a new, low-fi way. It's art, but thankfully, not Modern Art. This is experimental music that looks you in the eye. I thought the EP was successful and definitely plan to listen to it more. The EP is LP length, but, wisely, OTC's releasing it as an EP is their way of saying, "This is where are heads are at. This is what we're playing with. We think it's music, so far. What do you think?" I saw them 01/23/99 at East Atlanta's Echo Lounge, and they were good, fun to watch perform, and were definitely seemed devoted to their sound. This CD is worth owning-- and hearing.

I cannot even begin to express how much i disagree with the previous reviewers assumptions. All basically do to the fact that I have personally had dozens of people who knew nothing of the band listen to this album and they all responded in the exact same way, in absolute and utter amazement that humans actually created something like this.They were however in a state absent of internal diologue and especially not approaching it from some cheesy, analitical standpoint.Also the most obnoxious thing thats haunted me in my Olivia excersions is having to hear people constantly compare them with the Beatles,when all the two have in common is that they both have created extremeley magical and powerful mind altering music, the Olivia much more so even.Many just asses them or just disregard them by stereo typically commenting "this sounds too much like the Beatles", when there are barley any simularities.The Beatles have an influence on practically everyone after their time so just give up(The comparison made to Steve Reich i must add is equally as,if not even more absurd).So, if one were to abandon all their quasi intellectual comparisons they would hear the album for what it truly is, one of the most rewarding musical experiences theyll ever have.Perhaps not as mindblowing as the Late Music, the Tour e.p. still stands among the greats, and believe me, it must be approached correctly or one will miss out. Some of the people i showed it to didnt like it at first under different circumstances but eventually and suddenly it dawned on them like a divine light and they witnessed the mental reprogramming it is capable of.So for those unfortunates who just continue to complain about the album all I have to say is STOP THINKING, cause your just depriving yourself of energy, and a gift of absolute abundance. Out of the hundreds of experimental albums (or albums of any kind for that matter) iv'e experienced this remains one of the greats.Certain noises will dance on the dreamer if the sermo inteftinuf will rest.

Julian Cope is indicative of my schitzophrenic muiscal tastes. I've been somewhat of a fan of his for over 20 years now. I say somewhat because his output though always interesting, has been very uneven over the years . On "20 Mothers" you get a mixed bag. Some of it is well produced while some suffers from almost no production at all. In my opinion his best work can be found on "Saint Julian"(1987) and "Peggy Suicide"(1991) as well as his work with The Teardrop Explodes from 1979-81. It's ironic that much of the material I just mentioned is not available anymore, except for some found on his "Floored Genius" compilation. All in all, there are some fine moments here. "Wheelbarrow Man" and "Senile Get" are fine examples of his off the wall humor that often earns him comparisons to Syd Barrett. "Try,Try,Try" shows his ability as a strightforward pop tunesmith who loves 60's style vocal harmonies. The harmonies toward the end of that particular tune remind me of The Turtles. Oh, I almost forgot the liner notes. They're very funny at times.

Cope seems to have sort of settled into a domesticated groove on this disc. his songs seem punchier and more to the point than Peggy Suicide or Jehovakill. he seems very "at home" within tunes like "Try Try Try" and "Senile Get." and alot of this album has a very home recorded kind of feeling. you can imagine Julian calling up his band for a late night rendevouz and recording whatever melodies they've got. unfortunately, there are some very flat moments on here "Queen/Mother" and "Lonley Guy" being a few of those moments; but overall, the songs are joyous and fresh and find Cope sounding alot more inspired than he was on the Autogeddon album. i also really like the cover art and the pics of Julian with his kids...and as usual, his notes to the songs are fabulous and entertaining glimpses behind the album's tracks. 20 Mothers is a cool record.

Don't be fooled by the cheeseball cover this is one very good piece of music. Excellent use of effects throughout.... This should have been a huge seller but instead is a regular find in the bargain bin... and what a bargain it is.

This album is basically a compilation of imported 7 inches / CD singles from the past decade plus some BBC tracks and a new song. I'm torn on this album. The new song 'White Ribbon' doesn't do anything for me. But, 'Wine Stained Lips' makes the whole purchase worthwhile. With lines like 'some people shouldn't drink wine at parties / some people shouldn't have woke up this morning' it's hard not to chuckle a little. 'Chosen One' is another classic Smog song. Then you have 'Just Like Napoleon', which sounds like a bad high school metal band with a pasty white boy talking really fast about something he heard during his History period earlier in the day.

I guess my main problem is the questionable song selections and sequencing. Here are some b-sides that I think would have fit better, or could should have been tacked on:

Grey & Castles
Be Hit
Duckpond Blues
37 Push-Ups

But that's just me. I'm glad Drag City released something, although a bit incomplete and inconsistent. For the people new to the world of Smog, I would have to say go with 'Kicking a Couple Around' or 'Doctor Came at Dawn' and come back to this later. There's nothing wrong with this, it just sounds a bit bipolar.

Bill Callahan is the brain child behind smog. He writes all the songs and gets different people to play with him on his albums. I disagree that this is the place to start if your not familiar with smog. I would recommend 'Dongs of Sevotion', 'Red apple falls', or 'knock knock' as good places to start. I think this CD is for the diehard smog fans, especially fans of his early albums. With the exception of White ribbon (new song recorded specially for this album) this collection focus on smog's more lo-fi tendencies. The second to last song (I break horses) is great but I prefer the acoustic version on the 'Kicking a couple' around EP. The end of the song Real live dress segways into Bill singing lyrics to Baby's got back the Sirmix-a-lot song (it's a good example of Bill's strange dry humor). Over all I find this collection a bit spotty, The last song is just unlistenable, but short, It sounds like it was recorded by a drunken monkey. Cold blooded old times, White ribbon, and I break horses are the stand out tracks, but the rest doesn't stand up to repeat listening as well. So if you love smog, especially his early lo-fi stuff this is for you, for everybody else your probably going to think it's just ok.

If you are like me and have the complete Smog catalog, then this is a nice compilation of some earlier hard to find material. If some one were to come to me and ask me what Smog album to get first I would point them to 'Red Apple Falls' or the 'Kicking A Couple Around' EP. For die hard fans of Smog, this album has it all: the depressing songs, the dry humor, and the powerful song writing that keeps you coming back for multiple listens.