Quintron, Jam Skate EP (Rinestone Records, 2007)

Wowzaaaa! I just fished this outta my PO box and’ve DJ-ed it at three parties in the last week and not once did it escape multiple plays – and even folks who don’t know… go nuts-o.

I’ll just come right out and say not only that “Jamskate” is the uncontested jam of the summer thus far, but also one of my absolute favorite contemporary musical acts’ finest recorded moments to date. While Quintron’s always released interesting material, even in his earliest experimental phase, and wound up churning out more than a few supreme dance tracks (years later, “9th Ward Breakdown” still emerges from my crate!), most of his past brilliance has been in regards to his role as a distinct stylist, conceptualist, dynamic live showman, general party-rocker, and, in the case of one of the 1990s top recordings, a sideman (the infamous 9 songs with The Oblivians). But, as Quintron and Ms. Pussycat’s most recent, and poppiest full-length, 2005’s Swamp Tech, illustrates, Mr. Q has also developed into quite the songwriter/arranger a long the way. MORE…

Artanker Convoy, Cozy Endings (The Social Registry, 2007)

Artanker Convoy’s Cozy Endings is this year’s supreme recording for chillaxin’. The lightly psychedelic groove-bent songs have loads of space, take there time finding their conclusions, and find their way with plenty of elegance and sophistication. And every listen reveals more defined forms that were previously obscured in the haze. MORE…

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Snacks & Pterodactyl, s/t

Now that the last of the neighing naysayers who deny that Armageddon is already in progress have been resoundingly silenced by the return of hometown hero Jesus H. to Earth in the form of an immaculately conceived hammerhead shark, we can put the debate to rest and get on with the business of preparing for the next–and undoubtedly uglier–phase of these End Times. For my part, I’ve been gluing spikes onto my football pads (don’t ask me why I have those), building a crossbow from some plans I downloaded and evaluating which punk rock haircut is the most intimidating (Isn’t “the skinhead” scarier at this point than “the mowhawk”? Or do we just THINK it is because skinheads are scarier than punks? Will there be skinheads in the future???). Oh yes, and I’ve been stocking up on Volvic (best tasting bottled water ever!), and looking on Craigslist for a car that I can turn into a death machine of death and fear (also needs good gas mileage!).Ok I know what you’re probably thinking: “Yeah Volvic is the best tasting bottled water, but HAVEN’T YOU FORGOTTEN SOMETHING??? What tunes are you going to rock out to in the post-apocalypse?” MORE…

Aa, GAame

While anybody whose ever been to a Todd P show will tell ya that Aa (Big A Little a) has been banging on stuff for years (con gusto as well), this multi-percussionist ensemble is gradually transcending, on one-end, the basement/warehouse variety of East Coast art school pretension, and, on the other, in mass terms, Blue Man Group instrumental gimmickry or bucket-banging street theater - developing both enough distinction and cohesion to warrant inclusion among the ranks the finer exemplars of the weird American underground’s more rhythmic lineage. They’re more virtuosic, yet less song-oriented than the Butthole Surfers’ Rembrandt Pussyhorse-era experimentalism, more concise and organized than Crash Worship’s tribalism, and less epic and harmonic than Gang Gang Dance’s grandiosity. With shorter songs, faster tempos, and more energy than all of the above, the disorienting nature of Aa’s soundbite pacing perhaps warrants a closer comparison to the many Boredom’s percussion-heavy offspring. MORE…

Legendary Stardust Cowboy at Europa - May 15, 2007

Worried about missing it entirely, we approached Europa’s quiet doorway a little before midnight to learn that the Legendary Stardust Cowboy hadn’t yet arrived at the venue. From outside the Polish disco seemed aweful sleepy - a little too sleepy. We took a walk to the store and, coming back to find that the doormen had vanished, proceeded to make our way upstairs to find that there was still no one to hand our money to. We found a somber scene - roughly a dozen folks at most scattered across corners of the big dark room with no music whatsoever playing. You could’ve heard a feather drop. My deaf ears could detect the sound of people quietly walking up and down the staircase from fifteen feet away… forchristsakes… MORE…

Tomorrow’s Friend, O’ Death, Artanker Convoy, and Standing Nudes - The Glasshouse (May 12, 2007)

Wet from the rain and bloated from DJ-ing a mac’n’cheese cook-off at Live With Animals, I opened the door at Glasslands Gallery to find the massive mirrored sheets from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video shoot still hanging, reflecting a comfortably dense audience. I was a few minutes too late for Standing Nudes but just in time for Artanker Convoy’s setup. MORE…

Witch Hats, Wound of a Little Horse

Witch Hats
Wound of a Little Horse
In-Fidelity Recordings 2006

Listen, ok it is Springtime, and I’m having a big time stress fest because–you guessed it–my warm weather look is soooo tired, ‘06 stylee that it simply WILL NOT STAND another year in the sun. Therefore, I am on the major new wardrobe warpath. Which is how I happened upon this great band… MORE…

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Tape Tape Tapes at Glasslands Gallery, 05-07-2007

Some folks, some of ‘em Yeah Yeah Yeah friends, tried to dissuade me: “it’ll be a madhouse of screaming kids all the way down the block,” “…uncomfortably crowded,” “…not a concert but some kind of tedious video shoot”… We’re getting so old, and their logic is totally understandable, but this was one of the rare occasions when my impracticality and intuition was triumphant. MORE…

Silver Daggers, new high & ord

Silver Daggers
new high & ord
Load Records, 2007

The name of this Los Angeles quintet, christened after the Joan Baez version of the American folk ballad, “Silver Dagger,” evokes images of a daughter whose mother keeps the boys away with a knife MORE…

Shellshag, Destroy Me I’m Yours (Starcleaner Records, 2007)

Shellshag
Destroy Me I’m Yours
(Starcleaner Records, 2007)

Globetrotting, singing punk love songs face to face through a homemade crossed v-shaped mic stand, the drum and guitar duo of Jen and Johnny of Shellshag have managed to figure out a way to locate what, at least on the surface, appears to be the ultimate indie rock couple lifestyle. Perpetually on tour, releasing their friends’ records, putting on shows, and in general, making art and helping folks out, the duo approaches music and life with the kind of elation, unpretentious soul, and D.I.Y. brotherhood that you just don’t see all that often anymore… if you ever really did. MORE…