// Category Archive for: Music Reviews

Thoughts On: The Band, THE BAND

By Paul Casey

Part two in a continuing series on THE BAND’s discography.

To read the whole series, go here.

Photo © Elliott Landy, 1969

Recorded primarily in a Los Angeles house that once belonged to Sammy Davis Jr., THE BAND’s second, self-titled LP, is considered to be their masterpiece. It is the album on which the legend of THE BAND was built. Unlike Music From Big Pink, Robbie Robertson gets a writing credit on every song, collaborating with Richard Manuel on three tracks, and Levon Helm on one. It does not have the diversity of their debut, but instead comes their most cohesive work.

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Neneh Cherry & The Thing, The Cherry Thing

By Kai Shuart

Neneh Cherry debuts her collaboration with new band The Thing on the album The Cherry Thing. It is a testament to the adage that no matter what the genre, good music is good music.
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Ty Segall Band, Slaughterhouse

By Less Lee Moore

If you haven’t yet heard of Ty Segall that will probably change very soon. The twentysomething California native has been exceptionally busy for the last seven years, recording and playing with a slew of bands like Epsilons, Party Fowl, The Traditional Fools, and The Perverts, not to mention stuff released under his own name as well as with White Fence. This prolific output, along with his age, garage-rock influences, and connection to Goner Records might remind you of another overachieving young musician.

When asked about being “the next Jay Reatard” in interviews, Segall admits he considers it a huge compliment. However, Slaughterhouse, the debut recording of Segall and his touring band, should firmly establish him as a musical force in his own right.

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DIIV, Oshin

By Less Lee Moore

Iona: “Why can’t we start old and get younger? I envy you. I really envy you!”
Andie: “Iona, you’re gonna OD on nostalgia.”
—Pretty In Pink, 1986

“Shoegaze” is an overused buzzword these days, with a number of press releases touting bands as such, and in the process revealing that they don’t seem to understand what the word actually means. Although I haven’t yet seen the word applied to DIIV, the newest musical incarnation of Beach Fossils guitarist Zachary Cole Smith, it’s beyond appropriate.

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Jesca Hoop, The House That Jack Built

By Less Lee Moore

It’s hard to believe The House That Jack Built is Jesca Hoop‘s third proper album. Her last full-length (the excellent Hunting My Dress, reviewed here) came out three years ago, so the artistic growth she demonstrates here is nothing short of astonishing. The mostly acoustic, low-key 2011 EP Snowglobe only hints at the magnificent song craft displayed on The House That Jack Built. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I first heard it and I want to listen to it over and over again.

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Harry Howard & the Near Death Experience, Near Death Experience

By Julie Finley

If you have never heard of Harry Howard, here is a quick history lesson. Harry hails from Melbourne Australia; he’s the younger brother of the late, great Rowland S. Howard, and is a musician in his own right. He’s had tenure in several bands—most notably Crime & the City Solution and These Immortal Souls—was a brief member in the revolving door of miscreants known as The Birthday Party, and a touring member of Shotgun Wedding (one of the many Lydia Lunch-fronted entourages). All of the aforementioned acts were always along side his brother Rowland, and always as a bassist. Harry was also the lead guitarist of Melbourne-based Pink Stainless Tail for a number of years, and strangely enough, is linked to the electronic act Cut Copy.

Harry Howard is a prominent member of the music scene that has emerged from Melbourne since the 1970s, but hasn’t ever really had the spotlight. Although he may be linked to many musicians, putting out a record is easier said than done. Life happens, and in Harry’s case, Death, and Near Death Experiences happen, too!
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Return Of The Phantom 45: Robyn Hitchcock and KT Tunstall, “There Goes The Ice”

By Cait Brennan

The delightful Robyn Hitchcock is back with two new (and free) songs, “There Goes The Ice” and “Twitch 4 Sam Surfer”—the latest in Hitchcock’s series of “Phantom 45” offerings, and a harbinger of good things to come.

A spare, melancholy duet with Hitchcock and KT Tunstall, “There Goes The Ice” turns George Harrison’s Beatles classic “Here Comes The Sun” on its head, written by Hitchcock as the Arctic ice sheet literally went to pieces around him.

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Silver Jews, Early Times

By Emily Carney

Indie rock was pure, escapist fun in the early- to mid-1990s. I lived in a fairly chaotic household in South Florida and would often lock myself in my room to enjoy whatever Pavement and Sebadoh had to offer. While I didn’t idolize the bands’ personnel (I don’t think anyone should be idolized, because it undermines his or her cultural legacy), records like Slanted and Enchanted and III definitely made the time more than bearable. The music still leaves deep personal resonances for me. Yes, I had the iconic Pavement “Sunny Side Up!” T-shirt. Through Pavement, I discovered Silver Jews around 1993.
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Thoughts On: The Band, MUSIC FROM BIG PINK

By Paul Casey

Part one in a continuing series on THE BAND’s discography.

To read the whole series, go here.

THE BAND is Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson. In common chatter, they are known first for being Bob Dylan’s backing band during the most combative and divisive tour of his career, and second, for convincing Martin Scorsese to film their last concert as The Last Waltz. Those who are fixated on “classic rock” may know them for the issues that existed between the members of the group, and how Robbie was a preening ego-fuck who took glory for himself alone in the last gasps of their existence.

Like The Eagles, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, THE BAND was home to acrimony over songwriting credits, royalties and differing philosophies. It was also home to five multi-instrumentalists, four of whom sang and wrote material. Unlike those supergroups, THE BAND did not come after the fact. They were a supergroup because of their combined talent, not their individual fame. This does not make them superior to those bands, but it is significant to the changing dynamics which resulted in The Last Waltz and their untimely end. To understand why THE BAND are so respected and influential is just to hear their music.

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Unsane, Wreck

By J Howell

If there was ever a band I thought would be easy to review, it’s Unsane. Don’t get me wrong—I LOVE Unsane—they’ve been one of my top five or so favorite bands since Total Destruction, and one of the best things about the brutal NYC trio has been their remarkable consistency.

While I’m loathe to compare them to a band I dislike, Unsane is just a little bit like a post-whatever noise rock AC/DC: While there has been marked evolution in the band and its sound, it’s remained focused enough to more or less know what you’re gonna get going in. This is not and has never been a bad thing, as I can’t think of a single band that has remained so remarkably satisfying to listen to year after year, record after record. Just as sure as fans knew the album cover would be drenched in blood, it can easily be said that longtime fans of the mighty Unsane won’t be disappointed with Wreck.
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