Donewaiting.com: Review
April 30, 2008 – 10:00 pm | Written by Andrew Patton
MP3: The Lesser Stars
Two years after releasing their first full-length album (Birds & Butterflies) on Columbus Discount, Columbus’ Proper Nouns have returned with A Million Hurtful Things, their first release on upstart local label All Hail Records. Though the boys at CDR recorded most of the album and the relationship between the label/studio and the band appears to be intact, the shift in headquarters seems to make sense stylistically. The Nouns’ precise pop doesn’t mesh very well with the rougher textures of bands like Necropolis and El Jesus De Magico (however unfair the pigeonholing may be), and as they are a bit unique in the Columbus “scene,” the association with a more varied label like All Hail (Paper Airplane, Electric Grandmother, etc.) likely ensures a less biased perception of their tunes.
After the two-year break, A Million Hurtful Things builds well on the foundation laid on their previous release. The band’s lineup has changed, with Justin Riley (Terribly Empty Pockets, Super Desserts, etc.) replacing the departed Dave Gibson on Wurlitzer, other keyboards, and background vocals. Though the keyboards have always been an integral part of the Nouns’ sound, Riley seems to be more assertive in his contributions, especially on the Animals-esque “Conditions Are Worse” and the jaunty “The Lesser Stars.” Lead singer/guitarist and primary songwriter Matt Ogborn has concocted another batch of roughly delicate pop songs. His wit and enunciation are as sharp as ever, lending humor to “Long-Time Correspondent” and the “sneering” “My First Death Ray.” The rhythm section of Travis Kokas (bass, background vocals) and Phil Francis (drums) continues to provide a steady backbone for the band, and Francis’ rumbling fills add excitement.
Though the sound presented here is very similar to that of their previous effort, the main difference (and in my opinion, improvement) is that the songs on A Million Hurtful Things are much more drawn out and relaxed, with a perceptible swagger that was often lacking in their previous material. These longer tunes seem to allow the band to get more comfortable with the task at hand, to pleasing effect. The addition of handclaps is nice too.
The Proper Nouns will celebrate the release of A Million Hurtful Things with a show at Cafe Bourbon Street on Friday, May 2. Joining in the festivities will be RTFO Bandwagon and Heavy Mole.
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April 22, 2008 – 2:33 am | Written by Wes Flexner
I sat out to write a review of the new Atmosphere album, When Life Gives You Lemons. Paint That Shit Gold. It comes out today. I play the roll of official indie rap guy to a certain segment of Central Ohio, I suppose. So I feel like I should say something.
However, upon listening to this record I once again came to two reoccuring conclusions.
1. The last Atmosphere album that I was the audience for was LucyFord.
Take the above video of “Shoulda Known”. There are parts of it there for me. I respect the electro-ish beat. The grainy filming has a Terry Richardsonish vibe. Slug sounds like he is dissing cocaine on this too. I ride for that. At least dood isn’t rhyming about windmills, how bad the radio sucks, or saving rap. But still something about the video and song screams Suicide Girls to me. So it loses me.
Thats the best way I can describe why I can’t really bump or hate the new Atmosphere album. I guess I need more Tom Waits (who beat boxes on the album), and less Warped Tour to be into it. But the difference between old indie rock doods, and Emo Pop-punk fans is prolly 100,000 records. And since the last Atmos record pushed 120k, though I don’t like Suicide Girls, you prolly do. (more…)
Posted in MP3, Review, Video, Wes Flexner | 3 Comments »
April 9, 2008 – 9:08 am | Written by Kevin J Elliott
MP3: Warning
MP3: I Don’t Feel Young
Formerly known as Monarch, Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, now named after the Maryland state tree, Wye Oak project the hallmarks of a band too meticulous and maybe even a bit overproduced — long nights, double takes, excessive overdubs, might have sucked some energy from what might translate live. In the style of the trad-Merge, off-kilter, dual sex subgenre (see Butterglory, the Rosebuds, She and Him) If Children, the group’s debut is as varied as leaves from the tree. As we wait with baited breath for the next installment of My Bloody Valentine there’s still time to throw your own Loveless replicate into the ring and Stack shows submits his love letter. Well, at least on “Warning,” a full-on fit of buzzing and massaging waves of guitar fuzz, pure sonic navel gazing.
Coming from Maryland, disbelief is suspended and the mess is that bit of the Dixie seeped over the border. I hear harbor and fog, salty inlets forged by the sea rather than swampland and twang. Sure the duo is guilty of staying up late night with Palace LPs (the barren-soul whimper is a constant) but these songs are more shanty – swaying, low-ended, benders more reminiscent of the Breeders and Come and Scrawl (‘specially when Wasner takes the commanding lead, not just using her the voice as wispy instrument) on the double bummer of “Family Glue” and “Orchard Fair” – these are not death ballads. Hope is prevalent; it’s just wobbling in intoxication.
Stack is a trained songwriter and great at the finger picking (an epilogue to Bon Iver?), which makes his band’s eclectic choice of ideas even the more strange. Pleasantly surprised is the apt descriptor here, as most of If Children doesn’t follow a blueprint, it goes from feeling to feeling. It’s certainly not groundbreaking stuff. Songs like the ballooning mini-epic “I Don’t Feel Young” though, tend to stun more often than not — always a stinging and spacey subversion from slightly similar precious and sensitive albums that battle with mediocrity. In here there’s a beating heart.
Posted in MP3, Review | No Comments »
April 9, 2008 – 4:27 am | Written by Wes Flexner
This past month I have watched DJ Detox+ friends rock so many packed rooms. Sweatin, Get Right, The Catalyst’s release party, So What Wednesdays, The Milk Bar and even Twiztid at the Newport all got handled.
I am gonna hit you with a series of blogs with pictures and playlists from a gaybar, a downtown nightclub, a boutique, a shitgaze(jokes) haven turned Stretch + Bobbie 89.9 for a night and a sold-out Juggalo event to let you know Home Mortgage scandals don’t need to be the norm
Lets start with the Sold-out Newport.
Might as well set it off with proof that if God doesn’t love ugly, someone else will and make 25 dollars at ticket.
Photos By Danielle Kline
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Posted in Columbus, Photos, Review, Wes Flexner | 48 Comments »
March 25, 2008 – 2:34 am | Written by Wes Flexner
Photo’s By Steve “Homeschool” Lieb check his blog The Grip .
MP3: Wale & Catchdubs:100 Miles & Running Mixtape
Wale came to Columbus this week. The DC rapper had just announced that Interscope had signed him. Bun B, Pharrell, Kanye, Lil Wayne would be fucking with him on his album. Wale had been rolling with Marc Ronson for awhile and had a strong buzz.
So I was kinda curious what that translates to on a 12-15 dollar ticket in Columbus,Ohio. We are 2.5 kids and dog and all. Coke Zero and Clear Pepsi didn’t test well. But we did invent the digital screen that tells you how much your Wendy’s is. So I guess we are a good gauge of whats gonna fly between the coasts.
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Posted in MP3, Photos, Review, Wes Flexner | 8 Comments »
March 11, 2008 – 11:19 am | Written by Tankboy
I’m listening to the new Mystery Jets album Twenty One right now and — so far — it’s delivering the goods I had hoped for! I’ve had the luxury of hearing them progress from close to the very beginning since a friend of the band’s was kind enough to send me an early version of their debut (which, by the way, changed substantially before its UK, and then belated American, release).
I’ve loved the band’s output, but always felt it was missing that one extra little magical ingredient to launch them from being great to truly terrific. When I saw them play live a few months ago that extra spark manifested itself in spades and I realized that not only were they gonna catch up to their hype, they were bound to surpass it.
They’ve lost a bit of the ‘67 Pink Floyd freneticism that drew me to them in the first place, but they’ve replaced it with an alarmingly mature grasp of rhythm and dynamics. They’ve launched past my sonic expectations and delivered a (proper) sophomore album that sounds like it was crafted with a band with decades of experience instead of the handful of years the Mystery jets have actually been active.
Posted in Review, Tankboy | No Comments »
February 25, 2008 – 5:37 pm | Written by Tankboy
The new Breeders disc, Mountain Battles, sounds an awful lot like the very first Breeders album, Pod. Most of the songs unfold at a sluggish pace, with Kim Deal’s ethereal vocals often the heaviest component of the songs within. In fact. there’s very little here reminiscent of the pop leanings explored on Last Splash, although the bouncy “Walk It Off” could have fit in alongside any of that album’s tracks. And were this a Major Label offering I suspect they’d bring in another producer to scrape the grime off “It’s The love” to reveal the shiny pop tune underneath.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the “comeback album” Title TK, but I’m enjoying this return to form more than I thought I would. To be honest, when I first heard Pod, I hated Albini’s production and though the whole thing dragged, but after listening to the album over and over during the interminable wait the group made us sit through before finally recording Last Splash, I grew to appreciate the subtle intricacies Pod offered up. Mountain Battles plots the same path, and while it doesn’t outdo its almost 2-decade-old predecessor, it does prove the band is slowly marking a clear return to form.
Posted in Music, Review, Tankboy | 3 Comments »
February 25, 2008 – 2:04 am | Written by Wes Flexner
Photos By Danielle Kline
Cleveland often gets a rep for being a location of pure misery. But things may be looking up. About 4 Years ago it quietly the Land started standing out as the best city for graffiti in Ohio due to the efforts of the Droids, BHS, and TKO. William “Upski” Wimsatt predicted this would happen in his book, Bomb the Suburbs. More recently, Mick Boogie, Chemical Kickdrums, Chipper the Ripper, and Fat Al, have started an upswing in Cleveland Hip Hop. So when I heard Diplo was coming to Cleveland to redeem himself for the worse show experience in his life, I was mad curious. Do people actually have fun in Cleveland these days?
Detox, the roadtrip only homie William,myself and Dkline hopped in the whip, and headed up to see how C-Town Rides in 0-infinity.
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Posted in Graffiti, Music, Photos, Review, Wes Flexner | 3 Comments »
February 21, 2008 – 12:24 am | Written by Kevin J Elliott
MP3: “About to Walk”
The fact that most of the indie online community spent the bulk of last week waxing nostalgic about Neutral Milk Hotel’s opus and (so far…) swan song In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, is a testament to that album’s endearing resonance and effortless grandiosity, so much so that a decade removed, anything even slightly resembling Jeff Mangum’s tortured croon and baroque arrangements (i.e. Decemberists, Beirut) is showered with accolades even if it’s incapable of eclipsing this generation’s Sgt. Pepper’s.
Moonbeams, the debut from Seattle’s Throw Me the Statue is not exactly the second coming of Aeroplane but it is an imagined carnival of synths, bubbling tropical brass and sundrenched melody – worthy of giddy enthusiasm and multiple studied listens. Here Scott Reitherman (with a little help from some friends) forges a sound too ramshackle and carefree to carry such a torch. If anything Moonbeams embodies Mangum’s (and the entire Elephant Six Collective’s) inner-child, and that spirit is let loose to express itself within a bedroom full of eclectic musical toys and oddball love lyrics.
“Lolita” and lead single “About to Walk” are the bright buoyant gems that define his pop ambition. The latter, the most immediate, a cut-and-paste of cloudy distortion, acoustic strums, answering machine messages, and boundless melody. The songs on Moonbeams are catchy to the point of being almost too saccharine (”This is How We Kiss” bringing to mind first contact with Fountains of Wayne), the twee addition of xylophones and hand-claps don’t help to diminish the sugar rush.
Reitherman though does not lead us through the circus without humbling the us with bread. The album’s second half projects a mood of heart-on-sleeve emotion to balance the initial blast of whimsy. The title track in particular owes artistic gratitude to the Oldhams and Callahans of the folk world, sung in fragile quivers but still sounding hopeful, triumphant, even if it could all tumble with the wrong utterance from his lover.
While the album’s status as a “classic” may only come in flashes throughout, the rest of the time Moonbeams is irresistible fun without being overly cheeky. For that it’s hard not to recommend, especially with spring around the corner.
BUY: Amazon.com
Posted in MP3, Music, Review | 2 Comments »
January 28, 2008 – 3:34 pm | Written by Kevin J Elliott
MP3: “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”
I’ll take wisdom from David Byre at any time. His glowing endorsement and the buzzy blog bits about a 4-song blue CDR by Williamsburg’s Vampire Weekend was a compelling subplot in last year’s indie rock universe. Their ascent almost mimicked the Strokes meteoric rise, nonchalantly stinking of privilege, with talking points that highlight the bands’ worldliness and educations — only that first EP tossed off by Vampire Weekend was The Modern Age recorded on a sailboat, filled with trinkets and baubles found on exotic travel, progressive and hopeful instead of grubby and indifferent. The gifted kids hit an ephemeral pocket of ecstatic pop bliss.
Their self-titled debut doesn’t add much, but what it does add shows the band is without gimmick. Ezra Koenig’s love of African guitar motifs and polyrhythms is far from waspy musical colonialism. He may have studied a myriad of ethno-musics at Columbia, but it never sounds like he’s stealing or even dependent on global blueprints. It’s telling Koenig is a huge fan of hip-hop, while the Paul Simon (and consequently Talking Heads) comparisons are granted, here, in widescreen, placed upon sparkling yet sterile backdrop, his organic pastiche of sound is engaging, refreshing, and constructed from many sources to build something completely new.
Sonically this record is even cleaner than their demo — the antithesis to 2008’s other important record (so far) Rip it Off — and on addition “M79″ they add Victorian waltz through strings and harpsichord, their nerd-punk now gilded in regal sweeps. The same goes for “I Stand Corrected,” more in line with the halcyon lite-psych of the Zombies than their modern counterparts (Shins, Spoon, the National). Through good vibrations and breezy minimalism Vampire Weekend take chances those aforementioned bands never dare to touch, it’s an effortless combination of preppie formalism and cultural adventure that hopefully continues to flourish.
Posted in MP3, Music, Review | 7 Comments »
January 16, 2008 – 7:35 am | Written by Andrew Patton
MP3: Washington Beach
MP3: Bombshell
MP3: Ghost and Shadows
Columbus’ Mors Ontologica has been bangin’ around ye olde Washington Beach for some years now, issuing forth raucous live shows and releasing fine albums. Back on November 27th, 2006, the foursome holed up in Used Kids Records and recorded an album “raw and alive,” with the results soon to be “lovingly fucked with” by Columbus rock veterans Mike Rep and Tommy Jay. After months of making the rounds via burned CDs and whispered rumors, what became The Used Kids Session is now in physical (read: beautiful vinyl) form.
This collection of muddy rock ‘n roll seems to have been flavored by the nature of the recording session. There is a perceptible haze hanging over these songs, which surprisingly does nothing to temper the various moods and tempos therein. The band swings back and forth from fiery thunder to smoky passion under the able guidance of drummer Tim O’Dell and bassist Jeff Wiseman. The difference in styles of the two singers/songwriters aids these mood swings, as Drew Clausen leads the charge on uptight bursts like “Washington Beach” and “Black Market” and Crow Antifonario emotes all over ballads and laments like “Don’t Feel Alright” and “Voice of Degeneration.” The album feels well-assembled, as Drew’s wailing “Bombshell” kicks things off and Crow’s crooning and peppy keyboard on “Ghost & Shadows” (Reprise) make for a fitting finale. While Dead And/Or Famous was a bit more sprawling and grandiose (well, relatively speaking), UKS feels more focused and cohesive. Though the potential sloppiness of a one-night recording session shows here and there, the urgency of the affair contributes to the immediacy of the tunes.
The limited-edition vinyl release of The Used Kids Session (while available for a while now) is being officially celebrated this Friday at the Ravari Room. The lineup includes an opening set by Mike Rep and the Quotas, followed by two sets of Mors. The band will play UKS in its entirety and will then play a set of new material. Though the vinyl is the way to go here, you can get ready for the show by downloading the whole album here! Blam!
Posted in Columbus, MP3, Review | 8 Comments »
January 14, 2008 – 9:39 pm | Written by Andrew Patton
On Saturday night, a friend and I traveled down to Columbus’ beloved Basement to see a cavalcade of Detroit rock bands. Freer kicked off the show at 8:30 sharp. This quintet seems to be more influenced by various strains of keyboard-pop and classic “alternative rock” than their hometown counterparts. Hell, they seem to have appropriated most of the bridge from “Under The Milky Way” by The Church for one of their songs, which surprised me. Overall, the set didn’t move me much. When lead singer Jeremy Freer swapped his keyboards for a guitar, the band rocked decidedly harder, but still hit me weirdly (I am tempted to call one of the tunes punk-funk, which I wasn’t ready for). After a short 25-minute set, the band left the stage abruptly (with some members unaware that it was over). It seems that Jeremy busted his mouth open somehow during the last song, as evidenced by his heavily-bandaged face when he was behind the merch table. Hopefully he is healing well.
Next up was SSM, whom I had seen rock the not-so-mighty audience at Little Brother’s almost a year ago. Unfortunately, during the set changeover, my friend’s medical condition flared up and I had to take him home. Therefore, I missed the first half+ of the set. I did get to see some lively versions of a couple of my favorites from their 2006 eponymous full-length as well as a few songs (presumably) from Break Your Arm For Evolution, to be released on January 29th via Alive Records. They ended their frenzied set of electronically-enhanced garage with a long take on “Put Me In” that went from the angelic squelch of John Szymanski’s keyboards into a weird rap into some Kraftwerk chants (”Pocket Calculator”) and back into a rousing chorus of the actual tune. What I saw of the set was great, and the crowd seemed to enjoy it.
After a long transition, the headliners hit the stage. Despite changes in lineup over the past few years (lead singer Jason Stollsteimer and drummer Don Blum are the only holdovers from the liner notes to 2004’s Pawn Shoppe Heart), the Von Bondies are still squeezing the most out of their poppy garage tunes. They are touring on a new limited-edition EP, but played over half of the songs on PSH. So, for a town that saw this band 3 or 4 times when the album came out, this was kind of like a nostalgia tour. They seem to be regrouping after a hiatus (or reformation?), but more new material would have been nice. Stollsteimer crooned all over the catchy boogie of “Pale Bride,” the only memorable new song from the set. The band did old standards like “No Regrets” and “C’mon C’mon” proud, but I was still left wanting more.
Posted in Columbus, Review | No Comments »
January 8, 2008 – 6:37 pm | Written by Andrew Patton
MP3: Trouble by Linda Dachtyl
For Hep Cats is the second album by Columbus’ Linda Dachtyl. She has had a successful career so far in the local and national jazz scenes, playing organ, keyboards, and drums in a variety of projects. Her own group, LDB3, is a jazz organ combo that is steeped in the traditions of ’60s soul jazz stars like Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff and Columbus organ heroes like Hank Marr and Tony Monaco. Her first album, Blue Bop (recorded under the LDB3 & Friends moniker), was one of my favorite Columbus releases of 2006.
For Hep Cats builds on the success of her debut by sticking with that album’s strengths (fresh renditions of organ classics and jazz standards) while also adding some bluesy vocal numbers and two Dachtyl original instrumentals. The album’s opening track, “Trouble,” features Columbus tenor sax legend Gene Walker in an update of the soul jazz classic popularized by the tenor sax/organ tandem of Stanley Turrentine and Shirley Scott. This version features plenty of gospel feel and climaxes with a double-time sprint to church before a stately return to the original melody. The group’s take on Thelonious Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser” features the nimble guitar work of Robert Kraut (of the Tony Monaco Trio) and Dachtyl’s emotive soloing. The vocals add some sultry soul to the proceedings, especially Jazzmary’s triumphant take on Nina Simone’s “Do I Move You?” and Larry Smith’s smoky “Little Red Rooster.” The program wraps up with “Frame For The Blues,” a gentle yet solid finale with substantial solos from Walker, Kraut, and Dachtyl.
Tuesday, January 8th, marks the national release of For Hep Cats on Summit Records, via Monaco’s Chicken Coup Records imprint. Visit the “Releases” page at Linda Dachtyl’s website for ordering information and album samples.
Posted in Columbus, MP3, Review | No Comments »
November 13, 2007 – 2:49 pm | Written by Tankboy
So, listening to the new Duran Duran album, one can’t help but admire the group for trying to update their sound via a truly risky route. Timbaland may be production gold to most, but his aggressively odd production doesn’t always mesh well with established acts. Plus, after missteps like his own solo joint, and the M.I.A. collab that is almost painfully brutish, his track record is no longer untarnished. So the fact that Timbaland, and his protégé Nate “Danja” Hills, basically sculpt Duran Duran (what is it, v13.0 now? something like that) is more fraught than it might have been a year or two ago.
The results are mixed. On one hand it’s a testament to Simon LeBon, Taylor, and the Rhodeses’ nimbleness that they end up sounding just like Duran Duran, despite the hip-pop backing beats. For the most part their pop smarts reign supreme, and the band actually turns in one of its best efforts in ages. At the same time, it’s weird that the flattest tracks on the album are the ones featuring Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. “Nite Runner” and “Skin Divers” feel constricted and too heavily scripted, and stand in stark contrast to the freewheeling white-boy funkiness of tracks like “The Valley” and “Tempted.” For the record, Timbaland does turn in one winner, “Zoom In,” even if I could have done without the race-car revving sound effect that pops up throughout that tune.
So Duran Duran proves they can still pen a winning pop single that sounds of the moment, but they also display, yet again, their inability to actually produce a solid album of pop singles. The album has too many turgid tunes weighed down by their own sense of misplaced drama — and one inexplicable instrumental track — and it’s these that ultimately torpedo the disc as a whole. I almost wish they had truly embraced the “now” and just released a series of digital singles … and maybe a couple cool globe-trotting videos to go along with those singles.
Photo from the band’s MySpace page by Kristin Burns
Posted in Music, Review, Tankboy | 2 Comments »
November 12, 2007 – 5:21 pm | Written by Tankboy
Only Neil Young would write a sequel to an album that never got released in the first place. The original Chrome Dreams lives in that grey limbo also occupied by the long-in-the-works retrospective box set Young has been piecing together for, well, forever. Chrome Dreams II collects songs written over a really long span of time and shuffles them together in a fashion that would lead most to believe the album was conceived as a cohesive whole from the get-go.
The album begins with the bucolic bliss of “Beautiful Bluebird” and then picks up to a shuffling boogie with “Boxcar.” So far, so good … nice pace, pleasant build-up, and solid songwriting is all in play. And then comes the walloping 18+ minute opus “Ordinary People.” Who has the balls to put an 18+ minute song three songs in?
Well, the answer is pretty obvious, and even more surprising than the placement of “Ordinary People” is the fact that those 18+ minutes never get old. Young hits gospel-choir heights through his churning guitar chords and trademark tenor warble, evoking a spiritual air grounded by his matter-of-fact lyrics and delivery.
The problem is that as wonderful as “Ordinary People” is, and it’s pretty terrific, there’s still seven songs to go after it’s finished it’s last note. And Young simply is not up to the task of besting such a shining moment, so the listener is left with an album’s worth of music that on its own would be a lovely experience, but pales as it’s forced to follow a true epic. And it’s a pity, because moment like the children’s choir bursting from within “The Way,” and the Appalachian hootenanny feel of “The Believer” are truly affecting.
I guess what I’m saying is that Chrome Dreams II is a terrific album, flawed only by its internal architecture. There are worse things to complain about, huh?
Posted in Review, Tankboy | No Comments »
