Coffinberry
have been playing around Cleveland for awhile now. This three song 7” on
Cleveland’s Exit Stencil Recordings is their first official release. “The
Spins” is the first and strongest song on the record. It’s got a classic 60’s
garage sound to it and features some impressive guitar work. It, like all of
the songs on this three song 7”, was recorded live in the WRUW studios and the
band sounds pretty tight. The flip side features two songs; “Cry Wolf” and
“A Minor,” which has a bit of an Elvis Costello meets Afghan Whigs feel. It’s
an impressive debut and more can be found out about the band at their
website. (Dave Ignizio)
Godspeed is an instrumental
collective that plays sprawling, wordless compositions with mostly traditional
rock instrumentation. They’re also strangely vilified for being a political
band, even by those in the indie press. Even though the traditional cries of
preaching to the converted prove groundless when dealing with an entirely
instrumental group, critics always seem to find issue with their artwork and
album inserts. Politics aside, GSYBE got noticed because they are an extremely
creative non-traditional group who put on some of the most cathartic live
performances around. I first caught on to them with the release of 2000’s
'lift yr skinny fists like antennas to heaven'. It was an album propelled by
cascading guitar sounds that kept building to sudden unexpected climax. Most of
it was loud, raw, fast and prone to sudden outbursts of genius. On 'Yanqui
U.X.O.' the group explores a more contemplative side. The pieces still build,
but without much change in dynamics or tempo. It resembles Godspeed side
project Silver Mt. Zion more than anything , but also calls to mind some of the
Rachel’s early work. The album consists of three long pieces and only the
second, “rockets fall on rocket falls” manages to engage the listener. The rest
is pleasant enough but seems more suited for background music with lots of
atmospheric droning guitars and predictable drumming. Lift yr skinny Fists
demanded your attention and advised that you better bring an umbrella because
there was no telling where all that piss and vinegar was gonna end up. Yanqui
seems content to gently wash over your open wounds with salt water. (Dave
Ignizio)
Though not as consistent as their
'Knock, Knock, Knock' ep earlier this year, 'Make Up on the Breakdown' is still
pretty satisfying. The ten songs on this one clock in at a little over half an
hour so even the duds don’t overstay their welcome. The majority of these
tracks are fantastic running on kinetic energy as one song leads right into the
next without a second to catch your breath. The Heaters just signed a deal
with Warner Brothers and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be huge. They
will do just fine if they stick to their guns and don’t give in to some asshole
at the WB who’s gonna try and convince them that they need to be produced by the
Neptunes and feature some guest vocals from Lil’ Kim. Jack Endino’s
production here is one of the albums strengths. It presents the band at their
poppy best without being too glossy. The record still has a lot of the rough
edges that the band display live. The songs are danceable, but unpredictable.
There’s some really smart guitar playing and just the right amount of synth.
Lyrically, the band don’t really plumb the depths of the human soul, but the
words aren’t embarrassingly dumb either. I’m always a secret sucker for clever
pop bands. Hot Hot Heat definitely got my attention this year. I just hope
they don’t self-destruct by this time next year. (Dave Ignizio)
Fans
of experimental pop music should definitely seek out this cd. Bobby Burg is the
singer/songwriter for Love of Everything. He grew up in Northeast Ohio, but now
operates out of Brooklyn. He’s released
a handful of little gems on his own label called “Record Label.”
The nine songs on Friends seem like song fragments. They leave you wanting more
until you realize that they’re perfect the way they are. It’s kind of like
being at the mercy of your drunk friend who is remote controlling the cd
shuffler and only playing the best single minute of all of his favorite songs.
Some of the tracks feature Bobby and his guitar only , while others take on a
complete band feel with help from Storm and Stress drummer, Kevin Shea. Bobby’s
endearing vocals are the strength in my opinion. His delivery is akin to Jad
Fair or Mac from Superchunk. If you are a fan on ½ Japanese, the Microphones or
Portastatic, you should definitely pick this up. www.loveofeverything.com(Dave Ignizio)
It’s fitting that Q and not U’s new
album starts off with a remix of sorts. “Soft Pyramids” is a song featured on
their On Play Patterns 7” released earlier this year and is newly recorded with
some additional vocals here. In interviews with the band lately they have
expressed their interest in exploring dance music. So the transformation that
started on the previous 7” is completed here. The unbelievable drumming of
Jonathan Davis takes center stage on this record and the band gets pretty funky
tearing their way through the album’s 12 tracks. Their debut album, No
Kill No Beep Beep was the most exciting new thing to come out of D.C. in the
last five years. Big changes didn’t seem necessary. However, after the
departure of bassist Matt Borlik, the band decided to take it in a new direction
while forging on as a three piece. Different Damage is mostly void of the
incendiary anthems found on the debut, but after several listens I’m convinced
that this is the better album. They’ve taken time to craft each song
individually and mature musically without destroying their sound. There are a
couple of barnburners like “Everybody Ruins” and “When the Lines Go Down,” but
those are two of the shortest songs on the album, seemingly only there so that
they could get the remnants of No Kill No Beep Beep out of their system. “Snow
Pattern” may always be the song I think about when I think of winter. It sums
up the entire season in three minutes. With fabulously cryptic lyrics and a
refusal to sound exactly like any of their influences, this is the kind of
record that people with short attention spans like to call a “difficult
listen.” Those with an open mind will call it one of the best records of the
year. (Dave Ignizio)
Coffinberry
have been playing around Cleveland for awhile now. This three song 7” on
Cleveland’s Exit Stencil Recordings is their first official release. “The
Spins” is the first and strongest song on the record. It’s got a classic 60’s
garage sound to it and features some impressive guitar work. It, like all of
the songs on this three song 7”, was recorded live in the WRUW studios and the
band sounds pretty tight. The flip side features two songs; “Cry Wolf” and
“A Minor,” which has a bit of an Elvis Costello meets Afghan Whigs feel. It’s
an impressive debut and more can be found out about the band at their
Godspeed is an instrumental
collective that plays sprawling, wordless compositions with mostly traditional
rock instrumentation. They’re also strangely vilified for being a political
band, even by those in the indie press. Even though the traditional cries of
preaching to the converted prove groundless when dealing with an entirely
instrumental group, critics always seem to find issue with their artwork and
album inserts. Politics aside, GSYBE got noticed because they are an extremely
creative non-traditional group who put on some of the most cathartic live
performances around. I first caught on to them with the release of 2000’s
'lift yr skinny fists like antennas to heaven'. It was an album propelled by
cascading guitar sounds that kept building to sudden unexpected climax. Most of
it was loud, raw, fast and prone to sudden outbursts of genius. On 'Yanqui
U.X.O.' the group explores a more contemplative side. The pieces still build,
but without much change in dynamics or tempo. It resembles Godspeed side
project Silver Mt. Zion more than anything , but also calls to mind some of the
Rachel’s early work. The album consists of three long pieces and only the
second, “rockets fall on rocket falls” manages to engage the listener. The rest
is pleasant enough but seems more suited for background music with lots of
atmospheric droning guitars and predictable drumming. Lift yr skinny Fists
demanded your attention and advised that you better bring an umbrella because
there was no telling where all that piss and vinegar was gonna end up. Yanqui
seems content to gently wash over your open wounds with salt water. (Dave
Ignizio)
Though not as consistent as their
'Knock, Knock, Knock' ep earlier this year, 'Make Up on the Breakdown' is still
pretty satisfying. The ten songs on this one clock in at a little over half an
hour so even the duds don’t overstay their welcome. The majority of these
tracks are fantastic running on kinetic energy as one song leads right into the
next without a second to catch your breath. The Heaters just signed a deal
with Warner Brothers and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be huge. They
will do just fine if they stick to their guns and don’t give in to some asshole
at the WB who’s gonna try and convince them that they need to be produced by the
Neptunes and feature some guest vocals from Lil’ Kim. 
Fans
of experimental pop music should definitely seek out this cd. Bobby Burg is the
singer/songwriter for Love of Everything. He grew up in Northeast Ohio, but now
operates out of Brooklyn
It’s fitting that Q and not U’s new
album starts off with a remix of sorts. “Soft Pyramids” is a song featured on
their On Play Patterns 7” released earlier this year and is newly recorded with
some additional vocals here. In interviews with the band lately they have
expressed their interest in exploring dance music. So the transformation that
started on the previous 7” is completed here. The unbelievable drumming of
Jonathan Davis takes center stage on this record and the band gets pretty funky
tearing their way through the album’s 12 tracks. Their debut album, No
Kill No Beep Beep was the most exciting new thing to come out of D.C. in the
last five years. Big changes didn’t seem necessary. However, after the
departure of bassist Matt Borlik, the band decided to take it in a new direction
while forging on as a three piece. Different Damage is mostly void of the
incendiary anthems found on the debut, but after several listens I’m convinced
that this is the better album. They’ve taken time to craft each song
individually and mature musically without destroying their sound. There are a
couple of barnburners like “Everybody Ruins” and “When the Lines Go Down,” but
those are two of the shortest songs on the album, seemingly only there so that
they could get the remnants of No Kill No Beep Beep out of their system. “Snow
Pattern” may always be the song I think about when I think of winter. It sums
up the entire season in three minutes. With fabulously cryptic lyrics and a
refusal to sound exactly like any of their influences, this is the kind of
record that people with short attention spans like to call a “difficult
listen.” Those with an open mind will call it one of the best records of the
year. (Dave Ignizio)