Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

I saw this coming. Maybe I'm just a killjoy but I always thought, even back when no one could shut the fuck up about it, that "Infinity Guitar" and the rest of "Treats" were self-limiting endeavors. The choppy, crackling, lo-fi (maybe faux-fi) guitar hooks paired with the saccharine-sweet yelps of Alexis Krauss can only take listeners so far. The not-so-subtle back and forth between sexy vocals and distorted guitars with no mid ground got grating on "Treats".

The opening track boasts an obnoxiously indulgent Brian May-esque riff with live applause. I don't know if it's supposed to be an ironic nod to 80s metal, just like the testosterone-filled track names seem to be, but sometimes it comes off as profoundly dorky. The best moments of the album are not the contrived flights of cock-rock the duo indulge in so often but the slower, more emotional ones. "D.O.A." despite what the track title might conjure, is a beautiful atmospheric ballad that would sound at home on a Blonde Redhead or School of Seven Bells record. Tracks like "End of the Line" and "Never say Die" also fall into this slightly milder but more tempered category.

My assessment is that the duo is still a little confused about their direction, which is something I don't want to fault them for. However, I will say that tracks like "Born to Lose" and "Crush" are stinky turds whose nasty smell effects the overall quality of "Reign of Terror". Worth a quick listen but not a home run by any means.

Onwards to the Wall - A Place to Bury Strangers

By Jack Daniel Betz

I've been waiting a good, long, time to hear more from APTBS, ever since I caught them opening for The Big Pink two years ago. But sadly, half of this EP is more catalog filler than anything else.

The fluttering bass line of "I lost you" gets lost in the noise because there's no dynamic contrast. The title track is equally aimless at times but does at least include some sexy female vocals.

"Nothing Will Surprise Me" is catchy enough at first boasting its chugga chugg choo choo snare backbeat but the fuzzy songwriting makes the product so oblique in the end that it's forgotten.

"So far Away" works. It's got a decent core.

The closer, "Drill it Up", fills me with some hope too. A buzzing, highly distinguishable bass riff cuts through the din and isn't crowded out by too much unnecessary clutter. Vocals are easy to hear.

Let's hope these are on the EP because they're not quite up to snuff for the LP rather than the intended highlights.

Le voyage dans la lune - Air

I've been listening to the promo copy of this album at work for the past two weeks and before even listening through it once I'd already made up my mind about it. Le voyage is a brilliant concept album that explores different sonic depictions of space rock ranging from Holst to Manfred Mann.

The first track sets a grave Kubrickian tone with booming timpanis and warbling, gregorian dirge. But then it evolves. Songs like "Sonic Armada" take listeners back to the glorious days (way before I was born, in fact) when the Earth Band shredded Moogs like rice paper. "Parade" lends some very modern, punchy, Coldplay like guitar lines, which, as much as I hate to admit, is space rock. It closes out with "Lava", which is clearly a tribute to the most iconic space-rockers of all: Pink Floyd.

I wish all rock music was still this album oriented.

Rhianna has left the building

Tonight I plan to schlep over to Stereo Live to watch Clavin Harris tonight knowing full well the crop of amazing fuckheads that I'll run into. The drinks will be expensive: there will be no lone star to speak of (unless that's changed). There will be throngs of jail bait most likely lured there in hopes of finding Rhianna since that's the only exposure they have this young Scottish artist.

He provided a cheesy, bare bones, organ riff for that Rhianna song which has a name that escapes me. Some nonsense about yellow diamonds. But at least he didn't fully throw down for the song. It would have almost been more disappointing to know that he broke a sweat offering something really good that would guild such a low-quality, top 40 turd. I'm imagining Harris plunking down the simple two chord riff on his laptop, emailing it to the producer, and getting a check for thousands of dollars. It's one of the few times that mediocrity equals awesome.

I plan to jump up on stage before he goes, grab the mic, and bellow that Rhianna has left the building to see how many morons I can get to leave. Besides that though, the show should be pretty sweet. A lot of his music has been panned by critics most likely because the name of his first LP was "I created disco" which is kind of presumptuous. But as far as fun, electronic music goes, it's way better than David Guetta or any of that dubstep bullshit.

The Shows of early 2012

I'm back. No, for real. I'm back and I plan to keep this blog updated like I used to. I used to update like a champ and then I let it all go to shit. No more. This blog was my baby and so shall it be once again. Anyway. . .

It's shaping up to be a pretty decent new year with a decent crop of interesting shows on the Houston horizon. Here are my top picks for February.

2/14 The Polyphonic Spree: say what you want about them; they're too happy, they're too weird, their garb reminds you of Raelians meet Harikrishna. But fuck, they're Trent Reznor's favorite live band! Someone told me this today and from YouTube videos I've seen, I can sort of believe this.

2/16 Los Campesinos!: peppy British indie-rock with a very big sound. They have a lot of albums out for a band of their age. One of the more memorable twee type acts these days.

2/18 This Will Destroy You: super-minimalist post-rock that makes you feel high without a speck of THC. It's drony, alienating, swirling post-rock from San Marcos Texas.

2/23 Reptar: I've already gushed over how much I liked these guys at ACL so I'll hold back a bit. This will be the band's second time at Fitz but their first time as a headlining act.

2/28 The Legendary Shack Shakers: a second wave psychobilly act who have toured with the likes of Rev Horton Heat.

Houston Press Music Awards: My Take (the right one)

To say I don't like bitching about things would be a lie. I'm a music critic. I love a good bitch session but at the same time, I love my city. I don't like to cut down anyone who represents Houston to the outside world but Houston Press has made some serious booboos in their 2011 music awards. But to give them (and voters?) credit for their successes, let's start with what they got right.

• Local Musician of the Year: Robert Ellis
• Best Jazz: Free Radicals
• Best Miscellaneous Instrument: Geoffrey Muller
• Best Blues: Little Joe Washington
• Best Zydeco: Zydeco Dots

Ok those make sense. But here's where they (or we) fucked up a bit:

• First of all, the best music store was Guitar Center. Their headquarters are in CA and they are all insufferable douchebag fuckheads. Of course, there are some douchebags who work at local music places like Rockin Robins for example (not talking about the majority of employees, just one or two specifically) but seriously, are you going to sell out your city like that? You couldn't find one local business to fill the bill? That's laziness.
  
  
• Secondly, touching on a similar theme, the best music venue was House of Blues. This is a true what-the-fuck moment. House of Blues is over-priced, a national chain, and has the worst parking ever. Is this really what people want to represent the city of Houston? A place that serves 10 dollar jack and cokes?

I didn't get to vote so I won't bitch too much more but I just hope that these last two things don't happen again. Because they're not really Houstonian in origin, they probably shouldn't have even been on the ballot.

Awarding either of those two is like saying that Pizza Hut serves Houston's best pizza: yes, you could theoretically reach a consensus like that with enough votes but why was it an option in the first place? Houston has way more to offer than Guitar Center and House of Blues, both of which are related to authentic music as much as hugging is related to HIV.

David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time

"These are my friends" rings of the same sad list-making in "Is there anyone home?". Behind the dusty hissing of brushed drumbeats and chorus-bathed guitar Lynch lists the things that comfort him and his friends much in the same way Waters croons that he's got a "spoon on a chain".

"Speed Roadster" tells the story of a maudlin stalker in Lynch's quavering voice. While it's disturbing, Lynch's in-song personality is a lonely one and deserves some pity. He gets you to sympathize a little each verse but shatters it each and every time he repeats, "I guess you could say, I'm stalking you."

The title track carries the same grotesque weight as the rest of the album, maybe even much more. The scene Lynch describes in the lyrics doesn't even seem to be fully possible. There are so many missing pieces to the situation that you never really understand what Crazy Clown Time is. It's more like a drug-fueled nightmare or a hallucination during a heat stroke. This quality is only enhanced by the buzzing insect-like drone of the crescendoing lap steel.

It doesn't have a wide appeal but for listeners who appreciate outsider music like Daniel Johnston or Jandek, it's a nice little treat.

Despite the creepy tone of the album, the music could easily serve as a palliative for the person not having the "Good Day" that Lynch begs for in the album's most talked about single. It's cold comfort but comfort nonetheless.


Grade: B-