nov/dec 2001

Superchunk Here's to Shutting Up Merge

Naysayers be damned. I've heard the arguments. "Superchunk doesn't rock anymore," "Superchunk used to be hard and punk." It's called growth, maturation and it translates into staying power. Anyway, all of those arguments are wrong. Superchunk does still rock. Just listen to "Art Class" on their new record. It's a driving mix of heady guitar riffs, anti-scene lyrics and classic vocal chants. "Rainy Streets" is an uptempo rocker with big gushes of synth, loud drums and guitar reminiscent of their early Matador Work. The disk reflects the band's growth as ambitous artists and as musicians. "Phone Sex" features pedal steel guitar and the disk is loaded with soaring strings. It's just like Superchunk to make every song dangerously catchy and confident. This is a great record, and it's one of our favorites.
Smells Like: Yo La Tengo, Sebadoh, Ladybug Transistor
MP3: Late Century Dream from Merge

Anthony Rochester Music for Listening and Relaxation Dogprint

On his Dogprint debut, Anthony Rochester crafts the kind of lo-fi electro bedroom pop that every kid with a 4-track recorder and a taste for Stereolab would love to call his own. Rochester, who bears an interesting resemblance to Wes Anderson, layers his spacey lounge pop with bombastic and confident beats reminiscent of 70's AM radio while managing to keep things intimate and warm for the sensetive circles. The lyrics are sometimes sketchy, (on "Ham," Rochester meerly repeats the title for two minutes behind a swirling synth arrangement) but that's already expected and forgiven by those familiar with this type of downtempo experimantation, and even so Rochester's low but brittle voice sounds right on cue. Rochester himself adds nice bits of rebirth, violin, trumpet and electric piano to the traditional guitar and bass set up. The result is a beautiful, catchy batch of hummable songs that can stand as the soundtrack to a lazy Sunday morning.
Smells like: Stereolab, Air, Her Space Holiday
MP3: Introductory Music from Epitonic

Les Petits Sous The John Hughes Project Self Released

Les Petits Sous are all about endearing guitar propelled pop. The six charming, melodic tunes from the NYC band's self released (shame on you record labels) debut feature boy girl harmonies, whimsical lyrics about unrequited love, adolescence and late night telephone conversations. The key elements for punky teenage pop are all there, and the songs never get cloying thanks to twin sisters Alley and Claudia's sun tinged vocal calls and responses and some hyper catchy melodys. Every track has a fresh first take energy, and it makes the record sound like a dreamy, fuzzed-out love letter to wide eyed head boppers who fondly reminisce about the past.
Smells Like: Versus, Velocity Girl, Sleater-Kinney
MP3: Your Big Brown Eyes fromInsound

Dealership TV Highway to the Stars Keiki

This self taught trio create some of the most melodic, cuddly and interesting three minute songs I've heard in a long time. More than just verse, chorus, verse, Dealership work in strong time and tone changes into almost every song. One of the best examples is "I Start to Explode." The track begins with a forceful drum cadence, makes room for Chris Groves light, liquidy vocals and morphes into a crunchy guitar driven rocker. On first listen, you'll swear you've heard these songs before, not because their unoriginal, but because they're so catchy. The disk if full of the kind of teenage anthems, crush lyrics and dreamy nostalgia that suit indie pop so well. Their influences aren't hard to figure out, but that's alright. Dealership does pop almost as well as The Monkeys. That's saying a lot and you know it.
Smells Like: Superchunk, The Apples in Stereo, Papas Fritas
MP3: TV Heat from Epitonic

Mink Lungs The Better Button Arena Rock

The Mink Lungs' new album is a disorienting and needed reminder that experimantation in pop music is still alive and well. The Brooklyn based band is compromised of veteran musical mad scientist who refuse to conform to one signature style. They play honest lullaby's with overdubbed vocal harmonies, jangly acoustic numbers, mod show stoppers with gospel influenced choruses, tinny lo-fi basement songs, space pop and bouncy noise rockers. The hints of sonic phsychedelia and an alien-like vocal dialect floating through each song unify the disk's inspired genre skipping. "The Better Button" is full of brilliantly inventive and original musical ideas and stories told from a wandering, but still personal prospective.
Smells Like: Flaming Lips, Pixies, Zappa
MP3: Think of Me from Arena Rock

The Saturday People s/t Slumberland

For me, the name says it all. When I read "The Saturday People" on the cover of this disc I thought about a happy group of chaps who spend their time smiling and relaxing and inviting anyone who comes along the way to join them. Their music is just that, an inviting, smoothe and sublime lullaby to the world. The Saturday People are somewhat of an indie 'supergroup' with members from Velocity Girl, The Ropers, Tree Fort Angst and The Castaway Stones. The result of this combination of talents is a breezy, effortless sounding batch of 60's influenced soft pop songs that brilliantly subscribe to the same punchy guitar and enthusiastic vocal harmonies as tourmates The Clientele and The Lucksmiths.
Smells Like: The Lucksmiths, The Kinks, The Softies
MP3: No Matter Where You Are from Slumberland

Temper Magaphone Chien Rouge Self Released

The third album by this underground pop trio from Paris (France, not Texas) was recorded live in 8 track analog glory. Such lo-fi recordings usually sound like the singer left the mic ten feet in front of him and the master tapes spent a few weeks soaking under water. Not so here. Temper must be a great live band, because their album sounds surprisingly lush. The band plays jangly pop numbers with a great loungy swagger to them. Jean Pierre sings in a Lou Reed-esque nasal drone that tightens the instrumentation's haunted, laid back sound. They show their greatness by combining raw garage band jamming with acoustic ballad tenderness. Standouts are "Nearly Married," and "September" which features some inspired classic rock giutar noodling . The Velvet Underground is obviously an influence here, but Temper inject enough originality into their songs to better the phsychedelic drone pop genre.
Smells Like: Velvet Underground, The Jam, Luna

Dulcinea s/t Subpar

"Oh yes, bring the rock!" This is what I said to myself, or to my stereo, when I heard the first few bars of "Walk Away," the first song on Dulcinea's new record. And they did. This is a great little record full of the kind of un-self concious pop jamming that can inspire any young indie fan to start a band. The San Fransisco trio write vividly cheerful tunes that combine the pop rock sensebilities of Spoon with a raft of boy/girl harmonies and 80's style guitar crunching. Every track is an intricately textured melodic beauty that I'm guessing make for some really fun live shows. According to their website, Dulcinea can be seen playing mostly middle of the week shows around the bay area, hoping to build up a modest fan base and trying to sell enough cd's to avoid getting real jobs.
Smells Like: Breeders, Fastball, Spoon
MP3: Number 6 from DulcineaRocks.com