Author: Charles Sullivan

What is to be said about the Red Hot Chili Peppers that hasn’t been said?  After almost 30 years of being a band they have had enough substance abuse, lineup changes and monstrous hits to fill multiple Behind the Music episodes.  Their latest personnel change happened this year when the at times mysterious and always entertaining John Fruscainte parted ways with the band and was replaced with long time understudy Josh Klinghoffer.  The real question about “I’m With You” isn’t really how it’s going to sound or even if it will sell. The main concerns are that the Peppers are going to try to force Klinghoffer into a Fruscainte sized role if he’s capable or not and what the future holds for the quartet.

This album delivers exactly what you are expecting from it.  Anthony Kedis still delivers oftentimes non-sense verses over mid to up-tempo funk laid down by Flea and Chad Smith. Kedis’ voice, however sounds better on this album than any other Pepper’s album I can think of.  It’s still not anything to brag about, but he’s finally gained the ability to pinpoint the range that he is capable of. This can be heard specifically on “Brendan’s Death March” and “Meet Me On The Corner.”  Flea and Chad Smith have honestly never left me wanting when it comes to the amount of funk that they bring to Pepper’s songs, in fact it’s what my fandom is mainly based on.  This album is no different. Tower Power meets Parliament bass lines on “Look Around” and a four on the floor, steady disco boogie on songs like “Dance, Dance, Dance” are just a taste of the intricate interplay they have as a rhythm section.  Even Klinghoffer does a great job too by blending in perfectly and trying not to outperform Fruscainte or force his own style into the musical make up.  His presence isn’t ever really felt, in fact the few solos he has are short and sweet as on “Did I Let You Know”

The lack of a second creative mind that Fruscainte brought to the band is the album’s biggest downfall.  I say this now, I like half of this album; it is classic Pepper’s stuff.  There are some really good, stand out tracks, yet most tracks are copy cats of other ideas the Peppers have succeeded within the past or the band experimenting with a new direction.  I like that they recognized this as the time to experiment, but most of their experiments like “Even You Brutus?” and “Happiness Loves Company” leave me thinking “what the hell were they doing?”  As a Pepper’s fan, this album really left me with a lot of questions about the future of the band without Fruscainte.  It seems to me that he was the driving force musically of the band. I wonder how much longer these guys can keep the train on the rails.  The band is quite aware of this by the overwhelming amount of down trodden and cynical lyrics throughout the album. The feeling can be summed up in “Brendan’s Death Song.”  And When You Hear This, Know It’s Your Jam / It’s You’re Goodbye.   I hope it’s not a goodbye from the Pepper’s, but they don’t seem too confident about it either.

Robert Ellis’ new album Photographs is a bit of a departure from the work he did as a member of The Lonely Sparrows.  However you can hear the distinct similarities in the albums. Ellis is originally from Houston, Texas and after the first track you would probably be able to guess it based on his deadpan draw.   This album trenches it roots in two distinct genres, acoustic driven, front porch folk songs and blues injected country.

The album really lives up to its name. Each song feels like a different page of a photo album, steeped in nostalgia of your old friends and lovers that Ellis has never met, yet knows all about. You could almost draw a line in the sand an divide the songs on Photographs into the two aforementioned categories. Songs like “Bamboo” and “Cemetery” are folk songs that feel like a window into the past. Then there are songs like “Two Cans of Paint” and “West Bound Train” that are a nice blend of bluegrass and honky tonk country that you might hear in a juke joint.  Ellis tends to keep the guitars simple, relatively speaking.  He keeps his playing very chord driven for most of the album, but he does beak down into some nice finger picked melodies throughout the album.  The steel pedal implemented in songs like “Comin’ Home” are twangy and upbeat where on songs like “Photographs” they are lonesome and barren.  The violin or fiddle if you will is placed perfectly on personal favorite “Cemetery” to give the ballad a weepy feel.  However, they build excitement  to the upbeat rhythm on “No Fun.”  There’s even a good Conway Twitty impression on “What’s In It For Me?”

Ellis has taken those classic country songs from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s that we all know and has added a 21^st century attitude to the mix without losing the passion and sense of innocence of the original songs. This album is just about for everyone. There are influences on here that range from Doc Watson and George Jones to Garth Brooks and Del McCoury. So put this record on, pull out a high school yearbook, have a beer and take it all in.

Guy Clark’s career has played out a movie, he started out in the hills of Texas with a guitar and some songs, now almost 40 years later he’s still releasing albums while many of the stars that he wrote songs for have gone by the wayside. Obviously, Clark is getting up in age as you would expect someone with a 40 year career would and his aged, wisdom giving demeanor on Stories and Songs fits his music faultlessly. The album flows like a stream and imitates the intimacy that a Guy Clark concert emits. The transcript of the album would read like an episode of Storytellers with Clark telling, often times hilarious stories in between songs.

Musically Clark is an old school singer songwriter whose Texas hills draw makes a lot of his songs lean toward the country western side of the fence. There are all of your typical instruments that you have come to expect to be the major players in Americana music. There is some really great fiddle work on tracks like “If I Needed You” and “The Cape.”  Due to the subdued nature of the rhythms there are some occasional tom drum fills and some mild rapping on a bongo. The thing that really drives the music is Clark’s guitar work. Saying that he is a guitar picker is an offensive understatement.  Clark slides chords around the fret board with such dexterity and precision that it’s hard to believe that he’s 70 years old. Not unlike lots of Americana and Country music there are some hacky, almost corny songs thrown in the mix. Songs like “Homegrown Tomatoes” which is about how good farm fresh tomatoes are and “Joe Walker’s Mare” a tale of a man finding a horse, just seems elementary and childish compared to deeper songs like “L.A. Freeway.”

Overall this album is a good for Clark fans and fans of Americana music but honestly if you aren’t a fan then Songs and Stories will probably miss the target. Clark is an amazing musician and is a legend, but just not for everyone. If you enjoy the music that people like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Ricky Scaggs put out then you should check this record out because you can hear Clark’s influence in their distinct sounds.

The year is 2011, yet for some reason the trend in Indie music is to make music that sounds like it was recorded using equipment that was found in the closet of the recording studio collecting dust. Seapony is a three piece indie pop band that has found a niche using jangling guitars , catchy hooks and lo-fi production qualities to craft a pretty impressive debut record, Go With Me.

The band hails from Seattle but you can hear the SoCal surf sound and 60’s girl pop all over this record. The songs seem to just be made for sipping a beer in a beach chair. There are some really great harmonies in these songs from Jen Weidl, the lead vocalist. However the sound quality they landed on for this album makes it sound like she’s singing into a tin can at times, which is a detractor from the music. There are times on songs like “Blue Star” and “So Low” where you can hear what seems to be an Alt Rock, almost Smashing Pumpkin’s vibe to the tone and ferocity of the backing guitars.

A majority of the songs do stick to the formula that is set up on the LP’s opener “Dreaming.”  Songs open with sugary sweet lyrics from Weidl, followed by an instrumental break which doesn’t expand at all, it just repeats the pre-established rhythm and melody, then more lyrics from Weidl and possibly a quick guitar solo to close. This is the thing that pulls this album’s credibility down for me. If I’m not looking at the tracks as they play, I cannot tell you which song is which.  They all seem to just run together, which might be fine for some listeners, but I would have really like to have seen them expand their sound a lot more.  Hopefully they will attempt this in future records.

Despite the lack of color in some songs there is plenty to enjoy about this record. The times that Seapony does venture away from their formula it’s stunningly catchy, and the songs are well crafted pop songs. If you have ever found yourself tapping your foot along to Best Coast or Beach Fossils then you will enjoy this record. It’s fun, it’s relaxing and the hooks will live in your brain so long you should charge rent.

Los Angeles based singer songwriter Jeff Martin, who records under the name Idaho, has just released a new record, You Were A Dick.  On this record, Martin puts a very personal spin on heartfelt, simplistic songs.  At times the album sounds like you are looking through a kaleidoscope with all the different song parts moving and morphing into something unconventional and appeasing, but not always that captivating.  At times, songs like “Weigh It Down” carry the same mysterious sound of the down tempo Radiohead songs via In Rainbows. Martin really doesn’t overstay his welcome on any one song, quickly moving to the next thought as if each composition is an individual chapter. This feeling is supported by some very nice instrumental numbers that act as intermissions.

The album is mixed very well, and the vocal layering and effects really move a few songs such as “Happiest Girl” and “A Million Reasons” to the next tier. Despite the amount of acoustic tracks on this record there is some surprisingly rocking moments. They tend to sneak up on you because they are buried deep inside the songs. The thing that brings the album down is the lack of diversity in the arrangement of the songs. This overwhelming parity really becomes unnoticeable toward the end of the record. Tracks like “The Setting Sun”, “Flames” and “What Was That?” are all very light precise pianos and acoustic guitars chords with Martin quietly pouring out poetic, melancholy verses. While not bad songs, the similarity makes them feel bland and lifeless.

Idaho is not bringing anything new to the table with You Were A Dick, but it is a decent album and a good introduction to Martin’s work. If you are into acts like Pete Yorn , Iron & Wine, Ray LaMontange then you will probably enjoy this album more than most.

Imagine with me if you will, Frank Zappa sitting down and writing and album involving alien abduction, cross species impregnation, mind altering experiments and finally alien invasion. Well, that is what Human Eye’s new record They Came From The Sky precisely sounds like.  This album really snuck up on me on the second listen. Human Eye has developed a sound that is saturated in guitar buzz, schizophrenic, fervor inducing hollow drums and just enough middle finger to conformity that hits right at home.  The genre influences on this record range from experimental rock to various punk bands to even some mid-2000’s Hives records.

I mentioned Frank Zappa earlier for a reason and that reason is because some of the early part of the album sounds like they could be B-sides on Uncle Meat or Weasels Ripped My Flesh. “Impregnate the Queen Pt. 2” is even titled like a Zappa song. “Alien Creeps” usage of unique background instrumentation with radio squeaks and static and the orchestrated feel the song posses brings to my mind “Who Are The Brain Police.”  The other sound that sticks out and makes up basically the second half of the LP, is the heavy hellish rhythms and the tuned down guitar that reek of Black Sabbath. “The Movie Was Real” seems to be a nod to “Fairies Wear Boots” Lyrically the album could read as a script for a cheesy 70’s B-movie. The odd lyrically decisions give the album a every a more relatable feel than a lot of hard rock I’ve heard recently and shows that Human Eye isn’t taking themselves too seriously.

The album never loses its steam throughout the album, but like a machine that running on all cylinders, it has the tendency to be repetitive. The last three tracks, “Serpent Shadow”, “We are the Peopleoids” and “They Came From The Sky” all run together until the last 2 minutes when the album hits a climax and comes to a close.  Besides the replicated nature of the last few songs this is a solid album. I really found myself enjoying the entire package that Human Eye was presenting and I look forward to more.

The Men know how to fake a listener’s ear. Leave Home starts with a few minutes of hazy noise. Feedback whines, another guitar clanks and wobbles, sketching out a scarce melody. It could be preparation for some epic rock, or double as just a meandering study in tone and dissonance, but by the middle Leave Home, things have fall apart severely.

There are only eight songs on Leave Home, and they do experiment with all sorts of sounds that came in the wake of the punk movement. There’s shades of post punk, metal and even some hardcore. Every track hits, and every blow comes at you from a different angle.  I was surprised how much of this album was instrumental.  This is probably for the best because the lyrics are unintelligible, but that’s the punk influence bleeding out of this album.

To those who like to dive deep into the tides and trends of the punk sea, this could be an enjoyable album. There are plenty of different sounds so there are probably multiple tracks that you can pick out and add to a playlist.  There are tacks that feel in some ways shoegaze, but there are other’s that as stated before could be put on any hardcore album.  I suggest you check out Leave Home if you have had a bad day, or just want to get your blood pumping.

That’s Outrageous is a screamo band through and through. Teenage Scream is seriously the equivalent of listening to bricks roll around in a washing machine. The screamo style of rock thankfully faded from the public eye a few years ago after all the Hot Topic kids sobered up.  However, even if this album came out then, it would still suck. The lyrics that aren’t screamed at you are super whiny and aggravating.  It’s no surprise That’s Outrageous have lots of songs about heartbreak; because no woman would want to be with a man who makes putrid music like this.

The album opener, “The Poughkeepsie Tapes”, opens with some soft pianos and it is the albums only highlight.  The most annoying thing about the album hands down is the brute they have screaming at you. It’s so completely over the top and unnecessary that if I wasn’t writing this I would have turned it off. The band is all over the board with the sounds they drop into the songs. Do not get me wrong, I love diversity in music, but this thing has hints of post-hardcore on songs like “#Winning” and “The New York Chainsaw Massacre.” While songs  like “Star69” and “Is It 2012 Yet?” venture into and mallrat synthpop.  The biggest cluster fuck on this whole album though is “Re:Why I Killed My Girlfriend.”  It’s another miserable screamo track that tries to tie drum and bass into the song. For no real reason whatsoever, for about a minute and a half the song gets all emotional and turns into a Dashboard Confessional chorus; then more screaming. There are all kinds of other influences thrown in there. I can hear some pop-punk, some metal bass lines, there’s even a rapper on one track. As I stated before, having a full plate is good, but if you take all the food on your plate and blend it together, it’s going to taste like shit. This is a band that shouldn’t have progress beyond a MySpace page, yet they have a record out.

Honestly what is there to say about Weird Al that hasn’t already been said in his 30 year career? The only question that I can think of is why is he still making records? His new album Alpolcalypse Weird Al stays tried and true to the sound that has made him a household name. I personally listen to any Top 40 radio, so a lot of the songs that were being parodied on this album were lost to me.  However there are songs that you would have to be under a rock to not understand.

A great example is “Perform This Way” is a shot at Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”  Al pokes fun at her zany outfits and perhaps inadvertently or not mocks her for acting as if she isn’t putting on a show with her appearance.  There’s also the mindlessly silly songs as well; like the B.O.B parody, “Tattoos.” The thing that surprised me a bit were Al makes nods to The Doors on “Craigslist” and what I think is his take on The White Stripes on “CNR.”

The one thing that Weird Al does that I do find actually enjoyable is the polka covers that he does on his albums. “Polka Face” is this albums entry to that category.  Al impressively adapts, Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, Justin Beiber, Katy Perry, and randomly 80’s band Dead or Alive. It’s always interesting to me to hear songs that you know redone in a different way. You can’t argue that Al is a talented polka musician.

If you have ever heard a Weird Al record before then you know what you’re getting into here.  If you like Weird Al you will probably enjoy this album. If you don’t like Weird Al then pass on this one. Love him or hate him, it’s hard to argue that Weird Al is one of a kind.