Here’s an interesting Cleveland band. Miranda’s Moon walk
the line between punk and indie rock. While the band maintains a distinct
identity throughout the nine tracks on this self titled CD, each song has a
slightly different flavor. Overall the band mixes sixties psyche with seventies
punk and new wave, but each song has a distinctive flavor. “Saturn V” is kind
of like a punked out Syd Barrett. “You Promised” has a Dinosaur Jr. crossed
with The Meat Puppets vibe. “14 Billion Light Years” is a rocking instrumental
that sounds like a post punk stab at sixties surf/spy music, while “Neo Gibson
Girl” reminds me of early Flaming Lips. It could sound like a bunch of guys
just riffing on their influences, but the distinctive vocals, guitar sound, and
quirky lyrics make sure that no matter what style this band is playing with, the
songs still sound like the same band is playing them. The production is a bit
lo-fi, but well mixed. While I don’t mind that, I can’t help but wonder what
these songs would sound like with a recording budget and a good producer who
wouldn’t try to make them sound too slick. The only song on here that I
didn’t care for was “Cupcake”, which I found too self consciously cutesy.
Otherwise, a very solid release. Check out their
website for ordering info. (Bob Ignizio)
The Rick Ray Band – ‘Night
of the Living Dedicated’ (Neurosis Records)
The ever prolific Rick Ray Band is back with yet another
album’s worth of jazzy hard rock. As always, while the band has plenty of
opportunities to show their chops, any tendencies towards self indulgence are
kept in check. Hardly surprising, considering that one of Rick’s major
influences is The Beatles. The only time the band goes off on a lengthy jam is
the track “Civilized War”, on which Rick and flute player Rick Shultz trade off
melodic licks. While I still feel that Rick is the best vocalist in the band,
with the exception of the Beatlesesque “Zero”, the best songs this time around
are handled by the band’s other vocalists. I still find vocalist Phil Noch’s
delivery to be flat and uninteresting on his three tracks, but despite that
complaint “It’s Time” and “The Casualty Score” are two of the best songs on
here. Bass player Gary Wood also tackles a trio of tunes, and while he sings
with noticeable passion, his range as a singer is a bit limited. Still,
“Civilized War” and “Day of the Watchmen” are good songs; it’s just a shame the
vocals aren’t strong enough to give them the impact they deserve. Check
out Rick's website for
more info. (Bob Ignizio)
Dave Ignizio's Capsule Reviews:
Short takes on TV on the Radio, The Liars, In the Fishtank Volume 11, The Casual Dots, Beauty
Pill, and Blonde Redhead
There have been plenty of interesting releases lately, far
too many for me to write entire reviews for all of them, but here is a sampling
of what I’ve been listening to the most.
First off, the folks at Touch and Go are really pushing
this new TV on the Radio album. It’s called 'Desperate Youth Blood
Thirsty Babes' and it is quite good. People have been stumbling all over
themselves to try and describe the sound, cuz it’s pretty original stuff. I’ve
heard a lot of Peter Gabriel references made particularly in the vocal style,
but I don’t know. Sometimes they sing so well it gets a bit annoying, but the
music is real good. Lots of loops and heavy rhythm and when the vocals work
this adds up to a pretty great sound. Definitely worth checking out.
The new album by the Liars is really good, although
everyone seems to be lining up to poop on it. Sure it is absolutely different
from their debut lp which was recorded nearly 3 1/ 2 years ago. Shouldn’t it
be. 'They Were Wrong So We Drowned', finds the Liars stripping down to noise
and hypnotic beats. You get precious few opportunities to dance along with this
stuff. It’s just scary, noisy and experimental.
Speaking of experiments, the In the Fishtank series
is up to volume 11. This series usually throws together a couple of bands in a
studio and gives them a day or two to come up with 30 minutes of music. On vol.
11 it’s the Black Heart Procession with Dutch avant-garders Solbakken.
This effort is far more satisfying than the last full BHP record and ranks up
there with some of their best work.
The Casual Dots are the new group helmed by
Christina Billotte formerly of Slant 6 and Quixotic. The new self-titled cd on
Kill Rock Stars is nice and more reminiscent of her Slant 6 days. It’s a modern
post-punk record with an obvious soft spot for the female rockers of the fifties
sporting Etta James and LaVern Baker covers.
The new Beauty Pill cd should appeal to fans thant
enjoy lyrical storytelling and slightly off-kilter pop. 'The Unsustainable
Lifestyle' is out now on Dischord records. This album follows through on the
promise of their first two ep’s and definitely eclipses them. Fans of Smart
went Crazy, vocalist Chad Clark’s former band, should love this one.
And finally after four years we have a new Blonde
Redhead album. Entitled 'Misery is a Butterfly', their fifth lp finds them
on a new label, 4AD. They haven’t exactly succumbed to that labels signature
sound, but they’ve left behind the dissonance that marked their earlier work.
There are plenty of strings to complement the standard two guitar and drum line
up we’ve been used to and it works for them.
You should also check out:
The Ponys- Laced with Romance (In the Red)
Deerhoof- Milkman (5 Rue Christine)
Make Believe- self titled EP (Flameshovel)
Red Eyed Legends- the High I Feel When I’m Low (GSL)
Here’s an interesting Cleveland band. Miranda’s Moon walk
the line between punk and indie rock. While the band maintains a distinct
identity throughout the nine tracks on this self titled CD, each song has a
slightly different flavor. Overall the band mixes sixties psyche with seventies
punk and new wave, but each song has a distinctive flavor. “Saturn V” is kind
of like a punked out Syd Barrett. “You Promised” has a Dinosaur Jr. crossed
with The Meat Puppets vibe. “14 Billion Light Years” is a rocking instrumental
that sounds like a post punk stab at sixties surf/spy music, while “Neo Gibson
Girl” reminds me of early Flaming Lips. It could sound like a bunch of guys
just riffing on their influences, but the distinctive vocals, guitar sound, and
quirky lyrics make sure that no matter what style this band is playing with, the
songs still sound like the same band is playing them. The production is a bit
lo-fi, but well mixed. While I don’t mind that, I can’t help but wonder what
these songs would sound like with a recording budget and a good producer who
wouldn’t try to make them sound too slick. The only song on here that I
didn’t care for was “Cupcake”, which I found too self consciously cutesy.
Otherwise, a very solid release. Check out their
The ever prolific Rick Ray Band is back with yet another
album’s worth of jazzy hard rock. As always, while the band has plenty of
opportunities to show their chops, any tendencies towards self indulgence are
kept in check. Hardly surprising, considering that one of Rick’s major
influences is The Beatles. The only time the band goes off on a lengthy jam is
the track “Civilized War”, on which Rick and flute player Rick Shultz trade off
melodic licks. While I still feel that Rick is the best vocalist in the band,
with the exception of the Beatlesesque “Zero”, the best songs this time around
are handled by the band’s other vocalists. I still find vocalist Phil Noch’s
delivery to be flat and uninteresting on his three tracks, but despite that
complaint “It’s Time” and “The Casualty Score” are two of the best songs on
here. Bass player Gary Wood also tackles a trio of tunes, and while he sings
with noticeable passion, his range as a singer is a bit limited. Still,
“Civilized War” and “Day of the Watchmen” are good songs; it’s just a shame the
vocals aren’t strong enough to give them the impact they deserve. Check
out Rick's 