Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Lunachicks - Pretty Ugly


Artist: Lunachicks
Album: Pretty Ugly
Genre: Punk/Grunge
Release Date: February 26, 1997
Record Label: Go Kart

Tracklisting
  1. Yeah
  2. Throwin It Away
  3. The Day Squid's Gerbil Died
  4. Dear Dotti
  5. Mr. Lady
  6. Spork
  7. What's Left
  8. Gone Kissin
  9. Don't Want You
  10. The Baby
  11. @#%
  12. Wing Chun
  13. MMM Donuts
  14. Missed It

From start to finish this album doesnt disappoint. From songs about PMS (@#%) to ones debating on whether a spork is a spoon or a fork, it will leave you hungry for more.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Refused - The Shape of Punk To Come


Artist: Refused
Album: The Shape of Punk to Come
Genre: Punk
Release date: October 27, 1998
Record Label: Burning Heart

Tracklisting
  1. Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull
  2. Liberation Frequency
  3. The Deadly Rhythm
  4. Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine
  5. Bruitist Pome #5
  6. New Noise
  7. The Refused Party Program
  8. Protest Song '68
  9. Refused Are Fuckin Dead
  10. The Shape of Punk to Come
  11. Tannhäuser/Derivé
  12. The Apollo Programme Was a Hoax
It's a ballsy move to claim you're reinventing a musical genre that has been slogging along quite happily for more than two decades, but the Refused back up their chutzpah with an absolutely awe-inspiring and fearless slab of musical mayhem. The Shape of Punk to Come is nothing short of a punk-rock manifesto. Hardcore pathos is merely the foundation for their architecture: upon that they build an edifice of political expression with a take-no-prisoners approach to the search for artistic meaning and a musical liberation that includes elements of speedcore, free jazz, electronica, lo-fi, and absolutely no pop. Politics, art, and music merge into one monolithic whole. The disc starts with the spoken epigraph, "They told me that the classics never go out of style, but they do, they do," followed by a swirling mess of noise that finally jells into the last undiscovered thunderous riff of "Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull." The song stutters, then speeds along, skips, pauses, then rolls. They follow that with the groovy Gang of Four metronomic punch of "Liberation Frequency." When vocalist Dennis sings, "We want the airwaves back" in a sweet falsetto that belies his ability to deliver a screech not unlike a bull alligator clearing its throat, you believe this band isn't going to gently rise up the Billboard charts; they'd rather storm the ramparts. Unfortunately, when the band writes a song called "The Refused Are Fuckin' Dead," they aren't kidding around: the band broke up before the release of Shape. Let's hope enough people hear this album to kick-start the revolution. --Tod Nelson

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Monday, February 9, 2009

Sigur Rós - Takk


Artist: Sigur Rós (Sea-or Rose)
Album: Takk
Genre: Ambient/Post Rock/Icelandic/PHENOMENAL
Country of Origin: Iceland
Release Date: September 13, 2005
Record Label: Geffen Records


Tracklisting
  1. Takk
  2. Glosoli
  3. Hoppipolla
  4. Med Blodnasir
  5. Se Lest
  6. Saeglopur
  7. Milano
  8. Gong
  9. Andvari
  10. Svo Hljott
  11. Heysatan
Takk does what Agaetis Byrjun did by burrowing into the consciousness and snuggling down to bed there, purring. Each listen brings out another mood, another thought. It's gorgeous. - musicOMH.com

People will be Takk-ing about this truly amazing album for years to come. - E! Online

Their expanded sound, with its explosions of noise and romantic swells, deserves reconsideration by fans and skeptics alike. - Splendid

Get it Here

Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Cramps - Smell of Female



Artist: The Cramps
Album: Smell of Female
Genre: Punk/Rockabilly/Surf Rock/Psychobilly
Country of origin: United States
Year: 1983

1. Thee Most Exalted Potentate of Love
2. You Got Good Taste
3. Call of the Wighat
4. Faster Pussycat
5. I Ain't Nuthin' But A Gorehound
6. Psychotic Reaction
7. Beautiful Gardens
8. She Said
9. Surfin' Dead


R.I.P. Lux Interior.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7AB1PPKZ

Monday, February 2, 2009

The Receiving End of Sirens - The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi



Artist: The Receiving End of Sirens
Album: The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi
Genre: Punk
Release Date: August 7, 2007
Label: Triple Crown Records
Country of Origin: United States


Tracklisting:
1. Swallow People Whole
2. Disappear (Oubliette)
3. The Crop and the Pest
4. The Salesman, The Husband, The Lover
5. Smoke and Mirrors
6. A Realization of the Ear
7. Saturnus
8. Wanderers
9. Stay Small
10. Music of the Spheres
11. The Heir of Empty Breath
12. Pale Blue Dot

It is no small order to tackle a concept album based on Johannes Kepler's theory of Earth's tonal orbit, centering around the themes of misery and famine. And surely, this is not a process that becomes any easier when your band loses one of it's prime creative forces in Casey Crescenzo, who has since gone on to do great things with his Dear Hunter project. So really, it is quite understandable that listeners are rather apprehensive as they first approach The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, the second studio album from The Receiving End of Sirens. With all factors considered, it sounded like the boys might have bitten off more than they could chew - especially when they were playing with a roster that Crescenzo disciples would (recklessly) consider "crippled." Nevertheless, the band hit the studio with Matt Squire to take a swing at the expectations laid out before them, and have met them in stride.

It is absolutely essential to highlight that if you come into The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi expecting Between the Heart and the Synapse Part II, you are going to be sorely disappointed by the differences between the works. This is not to say that fans of the first will not like the second, at all. But rather, if "Planning a Prison Break" was a barometer for the BTHATS, "Swallow People Whole" is an equally appropriate water mark for TESMFM. The new record's commencement shows off what we should expect from this revamped TREOS - a more subdued approach that is calmer and more melodic, yet still tactfully affecting. All of the energy is channeled strategically, in a way that lends both the song and the album to a pair of massive crescendos that are really quite operatic and epic.

From there, The Earth is quite consistent, yet there are still variances between the songs that deserve to be analyzed. For those looking the bridge the gap from Between, then they shall look no further than "Smoke and Mirrors," "Saturnus," or "Stay Small." These tracks all offer up the blazing guitar riffs, passionate hooks, and overall driving pulse of the TREOS we have all come to know and love. Besides these, there is still quite a bit to be enjoyed, but on a different set of levels. Whether it be progressive guitar chunks ("Oubliette (Disappear)"), narrative lyrics ("The Salesman, The Husband, The Lover"), surprisingly skilled beats/sequencing and gorgeous harmonies ("A Realization of the Ear"), The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi is a very full, a very rich, and a very complex record. And everything comes to a head on the album's final chapter, "Pale Blue Dot" which is quite simply a perfect closer. It is the type of slice that makes you swell up with pride and emotion, and makes you want to play the record over again just so you can get to that point once again. Stunning, for sure.

When I first came to hear how TREOS would sound in Round 2, I was incredibly nervous, and naturally so. The tracks released on their own were solid enough, but they were without the standalone punch that is inherently expected from a post-hardcore band such as this. But when you hear these songs within the context of the album and its corresponding story, it all sort of clicks. With a little background, you are able to understand the band's vision and see it realized. The Receiving End of Sirens have given us a very ambitious album indeed. And for someone that has been sorely disappointed with what Matt Squire has churned out lately, I was quite pleasantly surprised to hear what he has done here. The production is clean, but not overdone, and layered without being overly cluttered or fake. The mixing could be better, as the percussion and bass can get lost in the sea of guitars and vocals, but it could certainly be worse. All in all, the sound of the record does its reach justice, and in total, The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi excels brilliantly to deliver on the promises made by the potential of its sculptors. For those with an open mind, this record comes highly recommended. - Absolutepunk

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mc chris - Eating's Not Cheating (Re-Issue)


Artisit: mc chris
Album: Eating's Not Cheating
Genre: Nerdcore/Rap
Country of Origin: Unites States
Year: 2005

Tracklisting:
  1. mcchrisownz
  2. badass
  3. illyoi!
  4. tractorbeam
  5. robotdog
  6. evergreen
  7. variety
  8. toothpickspliffs
  9. rats
  10. stoptime
  11. yachtbirds
  12. carebear
  13. boysdon'tcry
  14. mynameis

"Meatwad get the money, see?"

If these words mean anything to you, there's a respectable chance that the name MC Chris does, too. There are few casual fans of the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim mainstays, little middle ground between geeked-out obsessiveness and indifference, so the hardcore should recognize Chris's name as a regular contributor to shows like Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He voiced the character Hesh on the former and the oft-reincarnated MC Pee Pants on the latter, and he's a regular behind-the-scenes presence on several shows. As if working the ultimate dork dream job weren't fulfilling enough, MC (real name Chris Ward) is able to nurture his fantasies of hip-hop stardom through self-released albums like this, his third. Along with friend and producer John Fewell, Chris makes "geekhop" that's funny and exciting due to its bald honesty and unpretentious near-virtuosity.

Setting out simply to make a "really good dorm room album", Chris and Fewell have in fact made a really good anywhere album -- one that crudely and hilariously cries (or screeches) out to the desperate, sex-starved youths of the internet generation. In Chris's world, long distance web relationships and chatroom shorthand ("OMG!", checking her "LJ") have usurped physical intimacy and English. It's telling that "boysdon'tcry", about overseas email romance ("I'm jonesing harder than Gollum / please God say that's London calling") plays so much more affecting and heartfelt than "yachtbirds", about actual physical interaction. There's even a whole song about a Robot Dog, some sort of electronic sidekick or "tech pet" that ends up having a vampirical effect on Chris's game-spitting and general well-being.

A late-in-the-review warning: the annoyance potential of Chris's voice is near-astronomical. If you're easily put off by vocalists who sound perpetually heavily congested, or like a rapping version of Ween from "Push th' Little Daisies", you won't make it past verse one, but his bratty, Mountain Dew-fueled delivery serves the material's coarse naivete. Chris rattles his lines off at a rapid clip, but like all good fast-rappers, he never sounds like he's crowbarring them in. Genius bits like "weak MCs decompose 'cause they know I can flow like Wessel comma Zam through coruscant corridors" blow past without giving you time to wince at the obscurity of their Star Wars references.

Eating's Not Cheating would be possible to write off as a prankish, disposable novelty good for only a few laughs between IM chats if it weren't for Fewell's sophisticated, intensely blendered production and Chris's compelling openness. On "ratz", over a bells and bass-led beat, Chris bemoans the life of a "dot com curmudgeon who's love life is sufferin' / it's the rope or the oven or the hope I find love in the end". You feel the moment poignantly, and that's saying something for a guy with a voice like a six year-old who, not four tracks ago, spent a whole dis track on a Robot Dog. -Justin Stewart, Splendid Magazine



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