BAND OF SKULLS — “BABY DARLING DOLL FACE HONEY”

BAND OF SKULLS — “BABY DARLING DOLL FACE HONEY”
By Rick Zeigler

The debut album by this UK trio is a wonderful roller-coaster ride, which contains boozy, bluesy hard-rock stomps as well as pastoral folk offerings. The band pulls both styles off with equal aplomb, greatly enabled by the dual vocals of Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson. “Light Of The Morning” kicks things off with blues-drenched power chords and a strutting melody. “Death By Diamonds And Pearls” is a powerful hard-rocker with a great fuzzed-out guitar solo. “I Know What I Am” has the two vocalists trading off licks, and then combining their lungpower for a tour-de-force chorus. As the album progresses, the band begins to incorporate more of their folkier leanings. After their power-chord laden crunchers, to encounter a song with just female vocals and an acoustic guitar (“”Honest”) is a wonderful change-up, reminding this listener of Black Sabbath’s (and Black Mountain’s) more acoustic moments. And as the album progresses, the power chord and folk strands begin to be increasingly interwoven (“Patterns,” “Dull Gold Heart,” “Cold Fame”) to great effect. Make no mistake, however, this band loves its hard-charging rockers, and they are never far away, even when accompanied by the dreamiest of melodies (“Impossible”). Further, Marsden’s guitar work shows plenty of flash but no indulgence, as when he rips off psychedelic solos both slow and fast (“Blood”). All in all, a fantastic debut. 

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RAVEONETTES — “IN AND OUT OF CONTROL”

RAVEONETTES — “IN AND OUT OF CONTROL”
By Rick Zeigler

There is nothing “out of control” on the Raveonettes fourth, and finest, album. The duo of Sune Rose Wagner (songwriter, master instrumentalist) and Sharon Foo (singer) are still centered on combining sixties girl-group and garage-rock goodness with lots of fuzzed-out guitars, echo, and the occasional blast of distortion. But unlike previous albums, which were either too sweet, too distorted, or too wrapped up in some concept (e.g., their second album had all songs in the key of B-minor), they have struck just the right balance with In And Out Of Control. The hooks keep coming fast and furious, with lots of “ba-ba-ba” background vocals, three-note guitar figures, and lovely melodies over driving rock beats. The kicker this time is that the lyrics, dressed up in gorgeous, hummable melodies, tend to explore much darker subject matter. Opener “Bang” sets the bar high with its Phil Spector chorus over layers of guitars, with the central character ready for some adolescent fun with her partner, who is described as “vicious,” “evil,” and “controlling”.  “Last Dance” uses glockenspiels and soft-as-silk vocals to create a lovely, melodic backdrop for a tale of the singer constantly taking her lover to the hospital because he keeps overdosing. She simply wants to make sure he understands that, before that final dose, please save the dance for her. Even more explicit, and even lovelier, is “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)”. Containing a beautiful minor-key guitar solo and wonderful sixties-ish vocals talking about “b-boys b-boys who rape should all be-be-be-be destroyed,” the song gives a simple depiction of the horrors of rape framed in undeniably catchy music.  And in case we haven’t yet caught on, there’s also a dreamy song about suicide (“Suicide”), as well as another entitled “Oh, I Buried You Today”. Despite these glaring contrasts between hummable music and dark subject matter, there is really nothing new going on here, as “Leader Of The Pack” and other death-obsessed sixties songs have always made clear. But as with those songs, when the writing and hooks are as strong as they are here, the combination of sugary sweetness and dark undertones can make for a very compelling listen.

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MATT MITCHELL PROJECT — “Matt Mitchell Project”

MATT MITCHELL PROJECT — “Matt Mitchell Project”
By Rick Zeigler

Formed in December 2007, Indiana’s Matt Mitchell Project (MMP) has just released its first album. Simply put, if you like melodic rock with its roots in American power-pop (Raspberries, Big Star, Cheap Trick) as well as English “guitar bands” (Beatles, Oasis, et al), then you owe yourself a listen. Without a duff song over its 10 tracks, MMP prove themselves a band to watch with this self-titled debut. Each tune is built on straightforward drum beats (both live and programmed), sturdy bass lines, loads of strummed acoustics and tastefully picked electrics, light keyboard/synth shadings, and most crucially, superb and memorable melodies. Simple in concept, but very difficult to pull off with any consistency (especially when it comes to melodies), MMP has no problem drilling their catchy songs into your head over the course of its 40+ minutes. Opener “Back To Me” sets the template, with its stately (programmed) beat, layers of acoustics, and keyboard colorings backing up an Oasis-worthy melody. From this point on, the songs show their American (rather than English) roots, as “Glad You’re Gone” uses crunchy power chords, an organ-led middle eight, and a tasty, concise guitar solo to conjure up memories of the Raspberries and their cohorts. “Top Of The World” employs a gorgeous chorus to go along with its chiming electric guitar work. “Keep Your Head” sounds like a radio-ready rocker, while change-ups are thrown with “If You Leave Me” and “The End,” as they employ just Mitchell singing over his acoustic, with the former adding in some nice piano in the background, while the latter gains texture with the addition of a violin. “Life In Stereo” also throws a curve with its dancey beat and spoke-sung verse. The songs alternate between melancholy reflections and more hard-charging declarations, but whatever the approach, melody takes the day. And it should also be noted the production, courtesy of the local boys at Azmyth studios, is superb. With this debut, the Matt Mitchell Project has put itself forward as band to watch.

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YO LA TENGO — “Popular Songs”

YO LA TENGO — “Popular Songs”
By Rick Zeigler

Aside from Sonic Youth, no indie-rock band has been more consistent in output over the last 25 years than Yo La Tengo (indeed, how many bands even survive for ten years, let alone 25). Popular Songs is Yo La Tengo’s 12th album (or 16th, depending on how you count ‘em), and the band shows no evidence of resting on their laurels. As is their tendency, Popular Songs again shows the group taking on a diversity of styles, from fuzzy noise-pop (“Nothing To Hide”) to shoegaze (“More Stars Than There Are In Heaven”) to waltz-like folk (“I’m On My Way”) to psychedelic rave-ups (opener “Here To Fall”). They even add in a bit of Motown funk with “Periodically Double Or Triple”. Through it all, the band unfurls their gorgeous, often lighter than air melodies and harmonies, courtesy of the husband-wife team of Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley. Indeed, when they sing “Why don’t we float up into space…for an hour,” this album largely invites the listener to do just that. The oddest thing about Popular Songs has to be the sequencing, with the three longest songs also being the final three tunes on the album. And while the aforementioned “More Stars…” is a superb tune with great guitar work from Kaplan that never wears out its welcome over its ten minutes, the final two tunes do tend to meander. “The Fireside,” in particular, tends to drag on for its eleven-plus minutes with its classical-folk guitar shadings recalling, at its best, the work of Leo Kottke and John Fahey and, at its worst, new age jazz. That said, there is more than enough here to once again confirm Yo La Tengo’s ability to put forth original tunes while also paying respect to the musical roots from which they were born. If they continue on for another couple of years, they’ll be ready to do a covers album of their own tunes.

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