Indie and Lo-Fi music reviews

My first experience with Swell was a live concert in Los Angeles, where they opened for The The and Frank Black. They weren't even supposed to play, but filled in for another opening band that couldn't make it. The only thing Swell did wrong that night was leave the stage. It was a mind-blowing show that I still remember parts of, and it's been more than 10 years since that show. Their albums are complex explorations of atmospheric randomness, and they inhabit a corner of the music world that very few people visit. I think this is the first album, and at this moment there is a copy available on this website for under two dollars. I recommend buying it to see for yourself the orignality that mainstream radio and culture can't quite appreciate. I often think of the band name to represent powerful undersea waves, which is what this album sounds like.

I cannot say enough about Swell. They are a wildly underrated band, sort of an indie-pop Helmet, if you will. This is, as far as I know, their very first album first released on vinyl in the late 80s and then again on cassette tape shortly afterward. Poppy upbeat songs alternate with shoe gazing, and sometimes even menacingly dark tracks. 'Sick side of a church' is an electric organ peice with a sample of a man on a street corner preaching his twisted views to an uncaring world. Wooden Hippie Nice [wouldn't it be nice] is about as happy as I have ever heard this band, almost dreamily euphoric. A very fun album from a band destined to do great things.

THE DAGONS have a unique otherworldly sound which pulls at you with repeated listenings...like living seaweed in a forlorn Sargasso Sea.Backed by the gypsy-influenced drumming of Drew Kowalski, vocalist Karie Jacobson sweetly sings songs whoose lyrics glimmer with weird,psycho musings and surreal imagery of despair and longing. On the one hand you think you know what the song is about but her ethereal voice fools you...like a black widow. At one moment the music sounds like gothic "pop", then it dips into Nick Cave territory. Very creepy.
Though the cd is only 33:45 minutes long, the strange stories are carried by the drumming and various tempo changes.The sound is lo-fi, and the group at times sounds like a country-gothic Beat Happening.
Lyrics are included. THE DAGONS (named after the Philistine fish god!) seem to context all their lyrics with associations to water;the sea; and the mysteries of death through drowning and submersion...along with "things" one might feel or see in those realms of consciousness.
Good stuff.1 star less for the length.

It only took a couple of listens before "Teeth for Pearls" started to get to me--in a very good way. Suspended somewhere between troubled dream and blissful nightmare, the Dagon's third album conjures up the best of the dark genres, from badland folk and country, goth, dance and deathpop. Its sheer range and depth make it perfect for any emotion, even if you go through dozens in a single day, like I do.

The band is Los Angeles-based, and has produced several albums prior to this one. The lead singer is Sabrina Stevenson, who, in real life, is indeed a schoolteacher. Often teaching third grade. Two other members of the band, Laura and David, are married to each other.

This album shows a variety of styles. The band is quite versatile in experimenting with different formats. Hard to pigeonhole. Though all the songs appear to have been recorded in a studio, they have been played many times in Los Angeles venues like Spaceland and Mr Ts.

The Monster song has, shall we say, exceedingly simple lyrics. But works great at Halloween gigs! Speaking of lyrics, this album is labelled "Explicit"?! Look, most of the songs have very mild lyrics, in this respect. You could safely play these in front of any audience. (We're not talking about rap music, here.)

Now, if only the band could strike it big on radio!