The candy’s on the shelves.  The commercials are on TV.  Pink is everywhere. The first of February has launched the pre-Valentine’s Day hype and hawking. Whether you’re stuck in a love haze or just trippin’ out, California’s hallucinogenic foursome with a killer name, Mwahaha, have all the psyched-out love you can handle this holiday.

The band recently released a collaged time capsule of a music video for a single off of their recent self-titled debut album, “Love.”  ”Love” looks like it would’ve felt right at home in the middle of Roger Corman’s classic acid movie, The Trip, in 1967 (which, by the way, you can now watch in full on youtube — mind the warning).

Get caught up in the feeling and check out Mwahaha’s “Love” video below. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jack White is done clowning around.    Almost a year to the day after the official end of the White Stripes — a year filled with diverse collaborations, endless speculations, and heartbreak – Jack has announced his impending solo album, Blunderbuss, a record that is ironically being touted as his “debut.”

It’s strange to think that a rock star who has become so iconic has yet to truly strike out on his own. But Jack has never had any trouble standing out from the crowd, especially when it was just a crowd of two.  With his Draconian look, unmistakable voice, and confident creative control, Jack White rose to the top of a merely twitching rock scene with the White Stripes, towering over hush-voiced, heavy-handed bandmate Meg, lauded by critics as if he were already a solo artist. Read the rest of this entry »

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Palmist Records’ sixth split release is grungy, gruesome, and growling…from both sides of the globe.  LA’s Growlers meet Leicester’s Thee Ludds for an oil-slicked slide through 60s garage rock, though both bands add their own spin and earn their own sides.

It’s rumored that Black Keys singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach will produce the Growlers’ next album, but while we wait for official confirmation, these five songs will sing us into submission.  The short but sticking “Graveyard’s Full” starts the side off with a sort of down-home, front-porch feel, mixed with creepy witticisms and the opposite of a sunny disposition.  A modern update on a tune that draws from early blues, “Graveyard’s Full” somehow also has a lilting, carnvial-esque vibe.  Check it out below: Read the rest of this entry »

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Chicago’s Wild Belle probably don’t listen to Sublime, but that just might be the secret to their sublime sound. Jammin’ without the slightest taste of irreverence, Wild Belle’s first single, “Keep You,” transcends ironic reggae, body-rockin’ sincerely to a shantytown shuffle.

The reggae feel of “Keep You” isn’t buried; it’s the jubilant edge to a song of slip-away sorrow, hazy, over-generalized, and real.  Add a horn section and some scattered space-age sounds (and an intro that at first reminded me of My Morning Jacket’s “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2″), and you have an undeniably catchy number that puts the sway in your hips and sweet lyrics on your lips.  Check out the new tune below: Read the rest of this entry »

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Sleepy-eyed redhead and bassist for the Brooklyn-based, Jersey-bred Vivian Girls, Katy Goodman re-dubbed herself La Sera last year and graduated from her girl group roots into a solo project that was often more slow, dreamy, and subtle than the garage-band sound of the Vivian Girls.  Emerging with a self-titled album full to the brim of breathy numbers like my favorite, “Devil Hearts Grow Gold,” Goodman proved she could keep her own beat, though the tune of her drummer proved to be not too unique.

Lost amid popular lo-fi retro-pop, Goodman seems ready to add a bit of grunge back into her girly tunes, especially if the first single off of her upcoming sophomore solo album, Sees the Light, is anything to go by.  Listen to “Please Be My Third Eye,” the fun, fully-fueled, freaky little love song, below: Read the rest of this entry »

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Perhaps the most comprehensive "demo" tape ever submitted by an up-and-coming artist, Sarah Spencer, enlisting the assistance of heavy hitter Steve Morse. Between that and her raw talent, you can't go wrong.

Please accept my apologies, dear reader.  I have been meaning to do this review for so long.  Here’s the issue:  Every time a new piece of music comes across my desk lately, it has been so new, so fresh, so unheard of to me, that I simply allow myself to indulge, devour and experience.

I also need to extend a personal “thank you for your patience” to Chris Brown of Random Touch.  I am dying to do the back-to-back Random Touch albums as the BOSCH disc was killer!  (I throw that on every now and again, just because I reviewed them previously, doesn’t mean they collect duct on my shelves.  The good ones migrate into my collection.)

But where Mr. Morse and Ms. Spencer went with Angelfire, you would not expect a disc of this caliber from these fairly divergent artists.

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We were once “Born to Run” or “Born to Be Wild,” perhaps touched with a tinge of trapped wanderlust ala “Ramblin’ Man” but otherwise encouraged to cast aside the have-to hostility of fate in favor of reaching for all possibilities.  Both of these classic tracks inspire us to see life as open and free, fate as something that happens along the way, and our birthright as the ability to explore, escape, and embrace.  Earlier this year, Lady Gaga gleefully told us we were “Born This Way,” justified in all our oddities, exultant and open to each other.

But now, according to indie songstress-turned-overnight superstar Lana Del Rey, we’re “Born to Die.”  Del Rey recently released an incredibly cinematic video to accompany her new, dark single, the title track of her upcoming album, that buries the optimism of our previous “Born to”s under an all-consuming and fatalistic bad romance. Read the rest of this entry »

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Australian, all-female supergroup Seeker Lover Keeper are set to release their first, self-titled album next month, but while we wait, the band has cut a hilarious yet emotional video for their first single, “Even Though I’m a Woman,” starring Aden Young.

In the video, as Young’s mostly manly mouth forms around the girlish words and heartfelt lyrics of the song, what at first begins as a funny contrast ends as poignant and touching.  The song’s lyrics compare the narrator to a traveling salesman, and Aden seems to be the physical incarnation of this comparison, a much more believable slicked-back drifter than the cute voice that sings from between his lips.  Yet more than self-parody, Young’s constant eye contact and almost detached facial movements orchestrate a sort of painful exposition and unconvincingly hard exterior, easily bringing the tune past “pretty little love song” status, into something rooted in the rub between freedom and devotion and both the romanticism and oppression of distance.  Check out the video below: Read the rest of this entry »

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Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward teamed up for A Very She & Him Christmas earlier this year, adding their record to my Christmas rotation of Elvis Presley’s Blue Christmas and A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector.  But their cover of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” fell short, speeding up the tempo and losing the lovely, snuggle-down feeling of the song.

Stepping up to the plate to replace this lackluster cover is Little Hurricane, another boy-girl duo, but more along the lines of The Kills or The White Stripes than cutesy-pootsy She & Him.  Though most of their tracks lean on heavy, fuzzed-out blues, San Diego’s Little Hurricane kept it plain and simple for their cover of “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” available as a free download below. Read the rest of this entry »

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About to head out into the cold darkness that is BLACK FRIDAY 2011?  Hopefully you’re not headed into the gloom and doom of your local mall, but to PREX for some sweet Black Friday releases to stuff into a special someone’s stocking (or, ahem, your own stereo).  Either way, you’ll need a soundtrack to guide you through the chaos and maintain inner peace and happiness while your fellow shoppers tear out each others’ jugular for a chance at half-priced plastic.  Enter Penguin Prison.

Even their name already has everything you need: a reflection of the arctic chill found in fuming shoppers’ cold stares and the image of the world’s more lovable aspects hidden out of sight as the shopocalypse reigns its fiery fury.  But the nightmare ends there.  Push play on Penguin Prison’s new video for their hit single “Don’t F*ck With My Money” and the shimmering glory of old-school disco mixed with sunshine and hilarious swagger will rain down upon you.  And suddenly the urge to elbow that lady screaming over the last Twilight poster will leave you and another urge will replace it…The urge to dance! Read the rest of this entry »

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San Francisco’s The Downer Party released a 7″ of new material earlier this week, Blue State.  Coming on the heels of the band’s successful Cities EP, Blue State combines lead singer Sierra Frost’s cute and cutting voice with a rough folk-meets-garage sound.

The album’s title track, “Blue State,” sings sweet until Frost hits a frustrating CSNY “love the one you’re with” sentiment, where the anger and hurt break through.  “The One South” starts less adorably, with a deep note, tough voice and images of a naked drunk.  Strong and sundry, “The One South” expands across sugared ah-ahs and ascending, dirty guitar chords. Read the rest of this entry »

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Wakeman ( r ) and Anderson test drive some new material from their new collaborative LP The Living Tree as well as cruise some classic YES tunes in the Poconos. Photo by Lynn Vala

This blog has exposed me to a lot of new music.  It has also brought me close to many artists, opened many musical doors for me, and I learn something new every time I write something.  This review is unique in that while I was fortunate enough to work with the promoter for Jon Anderson, and his subsequent projects, I got to experience what many say is the heart and soul of progressive rock mainstays YES, Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman live playing songs from the YES catalog that we all know and love, but also songs from Anderson/Wakeman’s new album The Living Tree.  While this is a review of the live act, I will make a quickie commentary on the album The Living Tree: I am going to get the disc based on the performances I saw at the Sherman Theater.

The Sherman Theater is an old venue in the heart of Stroudsburg, which is undergoing a touch of a renaissance lately.  The Sherman, I would say is undergoing it’s own renaissance, with some new elements and some signs of age.  Will call got our order confused, but such associations with promoters, press agents, etc., usually leads to snafu situations.  Unless person A talks directly to person B, and when I get there I talk to person B, then the situation usually devolves to Situation Normal, All Fouled Up.

While I most likely will recognize the YES tunes, the new pieces from The Living Tree and if Anderson does anything from his new disc Open, I may need help naming them.  Thanks to a cooperative soundman and an equally cooperative stage manager named Neil (if memory serves, no chance of that happening), we managed to take pictures of Jon’s personal set lists.

Rock Journalism 101: "… if you need information about anything pertaining to the show, providing you have an actual business purpose for being at the performance and aren't just an overzealous fan…" Photo by Lynn Vala

Ask and you shall receive… Read the rest of this entry »

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Promoting the expanded re-release of Completion Backward Principle, the Tubes bring their "La Dolce Vida" tour to Jim Thorpe, PA. Photo by Lynn Vala

Jim Thorpe PA – I function in a lot of different environments.  Theaters, clubs, halls… But usually these are, at the most, extreme, in the suburbs of some metropolis.  This venue is up in the mountains of North East PA.

This up-high-rural-stuff ain’t for me.

Many of these venues often feature restaurants adjacent or within the structure.  This venue’s restaurant, Roadies, was particularly good.  I may be  a tad biased.  You see, that night, I was craving a big, sloppy, juicy cheeseburger.  I was thrilled when I saw it on the menu.  But the burger itself was so huge, juicy and sloppy, it met my craving head on and was most satisfying.  The fries were great too.  Thankfully, my doctor doesn’t read this column.

But I have found that many of these “experience” reviews contain comments and opinions about food.  I am beginning to feel like a restaurant critic.  There are enough Gordon Ramsey’s in the world…

Let’s talk about MUSIC!

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LA’s Electric Guest recently released two singles, “Troubleman” and “American Daydream,” to give us a taste of their upcoming Danger Mouse-produced album, destined to debut this spring on Downtown Records.  Though the titles of the new tracks may call Cat Stevens and Tom Petty to mind, Electric Guest’s “electro-soul-pop,” as Nylon accurately describes it, is anything but your typical radio fodder.

“Troubleman,” a top tune over at KCRW, drifts towards the nine-minute mark, turning an expansive psychedelic narrative into the dreamy pop hook, “She’s got it bad for me,” which itself morphs throughout the song’s odyssey.  Slow guitar licks, aided by Danger Mouse’s signature production quality (which sounds similar to Broken Bells here), send the ponderous tune into a lazy, hazy other-world as the song introduces its title character, a stranger set in a strange sonic landscape.

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For someone like me who keeps Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours practically glued to her record player, discovering Delta Rae was a revelation on par with the Second Coming.  This sextet from Durham, North Carolina call Fleetwood Mac to mind not just through their cover of “The Chain” but thanks to a shared musicianship and group sound almost lost in the do-it-yourself, one-man acts of these modern times.

Just in time for Halloween, Delta Rae have released a fantastically haunting music video for their phenomenal, quasi-spiritual single, “Bottom of the River.”  The track calls to mind music as old as chain gang call-and-response work songs, built on layers of percussion created by claps, chains, and the occasional thick drum thrust. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Black Keys are gearing up to release their next album, El Camino, this December.  They’ve teased us with a hilarious trailer video starring Bob Odenkirk of “Breaking Bad” (and “Oh, hey! It’s THAT guy!”) fame, and now they’ve given us an awesome look/listen to their album’s first single, “Lonely Boy.”  The dancing!  The dancing!

More rough and punk rock than their bluesy Brothers album, “Lonely Boy” certainly points to the different sound guitarist/singer Dan Auerbach was talking about earlier this year, citing The Clash and the Cramps as sources of inspiration for El Camino.  But like any good Black Keys tune, “Lonely Boy” is instantly catchy, and it makes all the boys wanna shake their booty.  Check out the awesome video and exciting new single below: Read the rest of this entry »

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Are you cool enough to chase down We Stole The Kids?  If so, you can find them there, at the place where all things hip thrive.  Fronted by drop-dead gorgeous and delightfully named Megan Vice, We Stole The Kids hail from New York City, and their music is a melting pot of today’s trendiest tunes.

“Find Me There” mixes Skrillex-style dubstep with a touch of hip-hop and a heavy dose of 80s electronic dance music.  Add a pair of badass shades and a giant pile of sweaty glitter, and you’ve got the smokey, wandering, hard-partying video for “Find Me There.”  Check it out below! Read the rest of this entry »

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Synth sounds are usually polished to the point of blinding, but one-man electro band Beat Ratio is adding analog back into techno.  This electrical banana-pants-wearing Londoner recently recorded two singles, “Monkey Girl” and “Island in the City,” which will be released as a free download via Plasticrane Prod. this Friday.

Beat Ratio told PREX that the squeaky-clean production quality of electronic music software was hampering his creativity.  “I felt I was becoming a slave of the unlimited possibilities of music software and kept losing myself in useless perfectionism,” Beat Ratio said. Read the rest of this entry »

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Oakland’s retro garage punks with some truly top-notch hairstyles, Bare Wires, recently released another single off of their upcoming Cheap Perfume record.  “Back on the Road,” which you can listen to here, works up a rough crescendo whose fury harkens back to the relentless thrust of Love’s “7 and 7 Is,” but ultimately sings of escape despite its instrumental confrontation.

Cheap Perfume drops next Tuesday, October 18th, on Southpaw Records.  In the meantime, take a listen to the new album’s title track here, and check out the video for their self-esteem single released earlier this year, “Don’t Ever Change,” below. Read the rest of this entry »

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Kurt Vile never stops.  Earlier this year, he released the phenomenal Smoke Ring for My Halo, but with his usual (perhaps contradictory) disregard for downtime, the prolific songwriter from Philadelphia is already back with new material for November.  His So Outta Reach EP is due to be released on November 8th, but he’s already let two singles leak from the upcoming album: the most recent, “Life’s a Beach,” and last month’s “The Creature.”

“Life’s a Beach” bounces along with a gentle, upbeat flavor reminiscent of Vile’s recent single, “Jesus Fever,” but sounds more like old school rock and roll, despite Kurt’s characteristically distorted vocals and hazy, atmospheric quality. Read the rest of this entry »

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