Get ready for sitcom-core folks. Yes, that's right,
sitcom-core. Electric Grandmother is a Columbus, Ohio musician, who was weaned
on punk rock, but now makes lo-fi pop. His lyrics deal with mostly 80's TV
shows. This is pretty funny, and the cover art is also amusing with its
pictures of John Stamos, and Mark Paul...whatever his last name is. The
keyboards are very lo-fi and remind me a lot of what Casiotone of The Painfully
Alone does. The best song on this record is easily "I'm Insane, Ben's To
Blame, Growing Pains". The lyrics are sweet, and the Casio drum beats and
keyboards are super fun. This record is really lighthearted and enjoyable. I
also liked "Uncle Jessie Married Becky (Fuck Populi)" because, well besides the
cool title, the smurf vocals are insane. Be sure to check out more from this
Ohio talent. (Eddie Fleisher)
Hirax were one of the bands that helped define the Bay Area
thrash metal sound of the mid eighties. Despite the fact that only vocalist
Katon W. Depena remains from their early days, the band’s sound hasn’t changed
all that much. With the exception of some contemporary lyrical references, this
disc would be right at home in 1985. ‘The New Age of Terror’ is certainly no
skull crushing classic on a par with Exodus’ ‘Bonded by Blood’ or Slayer’s ‘Hell
Awaits’, but it’s still a pretty good disc in its own right. Katon’s vocals are
the most distinctive thing about the band. He has a cool delivery, but I
have to say his vocal lines start to
sound the same after a while. Aside from the vocals, there are plenty of killer
riffs and blazing leads to satisfy the metal faithful. It’s in the songwriting
department that the band comes up a little short. While ‘The New Age of Terror’
certainly rises above mediocrity, it doesn’t do so by enough of a margin to
warrant a strong recommendation. Only the title track really stands out. The
rest of the album is solid, but not especially memorable. (Bob Ignizio)
Honkytonk Damnation -
'Minutes of Pleasure, a Lifetime of Regret' (self released)
I just recently had the pleasure of seeing Honkytonk
Damnation live for the first time when they played at the Utter Trash/Rock N
Roll Purgatory Pre-Halloween Bash last month. They were drunk as hell by
the time they went on, and still turned in a great set of country tinged rock.
Live, the band emphasized their energy and sense of fun. On this CD,
however, Honkytonk Damnation come across as a straight up country band of the
old school variety. The emphasis is on the playing and the quality of the
songwriting. As much fun as the band's songs are live, I have to say I
prefer these more laid back studio versions. There's lots of bands playing
amped up roots rock, but good country music is in short supply these days.
On disc, at least, Honkytonk Damnation do their part to alleviate that shortage.
There's only five songs here, but that just means there's no room for filler.
My favorites were "Loaded Gun" and "My Fat Baby". (Bob Ignizio)
This 5-song EP from the Finnish rockers Lullacry features
two brand-new songs by the band, one cover song, and two re-makes of songs from
earlier albums. It's really just something to tide the fans over until the next
album's done (which the band's working on as we speak...check out the
interview I did with the group to find out more), and it succeeds in that
respect wonderfully. The two new songs, "The Fire Within" and "The #1 Rebel"
bode well for the new album if they're indicative of the group's current
direction. The songs rock out in a satisfyingly melodic manner. The cover
song, W.A.S.P.'s L.O.V.E. Machine, is great fun. The two re-makes, "Be My God
(Tribal Reprise)" & "Crucify My Heart (Piano Version)" are quite interesting if
you know the originals, though the latter stands nicely on it's own. All in
all, a wonderful extra outing from this rising band. The Heathen Hippy gives it
four S.T.A.R.S. (Taliesin Govannon)
Get ready for sitcom-core folks. Yes, that's right,
sitcom-core. Electric Grandmother is a Columbus, Ohio musician, who was weaned
on punk rock, but now makes lo-fi pop. His lyrics deal with mostly 80's TV
shows. This is pretty funny, and the cover art is also amusing with its
pictures of John Stamos, and Mark Paul...whatever his last name is. The
keyboards are very lo-fi and remind me a lot of what Casiotone of The Painfully
Alone does. The best song on this record is easily "I'm Insane, Ben's To
Blame, Growing Pains". The lyrics are sweet, and the Casio drum beats and
keyboards are super fun. This record is really lighthearted and enjoyable. I
also liked "Uncle Jessie Married Becky (Fuck Populi)" because, well besides the
cool title, the smurf vocals are insane. Be sure to check out more from this
Ohio talent. (Eddie Fleisher)
Hirax were one of the bands that helped define the Bay Area
thrash metal sound of the mid eighties. Despite the fact that only vocalist
Katon W. Depena remains from their early days, the band’s sound hasn’t changed
all that much. With the exception of some contemporary lyrical references, this
disc would be right at home in 1985. ‘The New Age of Terror’ is certainly no
skull crushing classic on a par with Exodus’ ‘Bonded by Blood’ or Slayer’s ‘Hell
Awaits’, but it’s still a pretty good disc in its own right. Katon’s vocals are
the most distinctive thing about the band. He has a cool delivery, but I
have to say his vocal lines start to
sound the same after a while. Aside from the vocals, there are plenty of killer
riffs and blazing leads to satisfy the metal faithful. It’s in the songwriting
department that the band comes up a little short. While ‘The New Age of Terror’
certainly rises above mediocrity, it doesn’t do so by enough of a margin to
warrant a strong recommendation. Only the title track really stands out. The
rest of the album is solid, but not especially memorable. (Bob Ignizio)
This 5-song EP from the Finnish rockers Lullacry features
two brand-new songs by the band, one cover song, and two re-makes of songs from
earlier albums. It's really just something to tide the fans over until the next
album's done (which the band's working on as we speak...check out the
