// Category Archive for: Reviews

Iggy & The Stooges, Raw Power Live

By Less Lee Moore

Raw Power, the last official Stooges record, was originally released in 1973 and has been the subject of conflict ever since (amongst the band and its fans), due to the various remixed and reissued versions. This live album, recorded in September 2010 at the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in New York is a great interpretation of Raw Power and completely free of any polemic politics. There are some minor changes: the track list is slightly rearranged and “I Got A Right” is added on at the end, but nothing could ever change the incredible spirit of these songs. Raw Power is the perfect description of not just The Stooges, but Iggy Pop himself.

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The Kills, Blood Pressures

By Paul Casey

In a rock band, the lead singer is perhaps the most important element in lending identity and credibility. A distinctive, forceful voice can knock people down quicker than even the most distorted guitar. The Kills‘ new album Blood Pressures, while enjoyable, suffers from Alison Mosshart’s inability to adequately fill her role as front person.

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Invisible Hand, S/T

By Less Lee Moore

At first the name Invisible Hand conjured images of some kind of Scooby Doo villain. Discovering that the lead singer and songwriter is named “Adam Smith” (yes, his real name) made me laugh; hearing the band’s music did, too. Invisible Hand isn’t a joke band, though they are clever, both musically and lyrically. They’re also incredibly fun and addictive.

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Erland & The Carnival, Nightingale

By Less Lee Moore

“A musical and melancholy sound” is not just a lyric from “Nightingale,” the title track from Erland & The Carnival‘s latest album, but also a perfect description of the band. They weave both musical references and literary allusions into their distinctive melodies, creating an evocative, intoxicating musical tapestry that is lush and extraordinary.
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I Slept With Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoir

By Less Lee Moore

The Ramones have infiltrated pop culture to the point where one can hardly imagine a world without them. Yet out of the original lineup, all have passed away except for Tommy. Dee Dee died in 2002; Johnny died in 2004. Joey died from lymphatic cancer in 2001. His brother Mickey Leigh started writing I Slept With Joey Ramone not long afterwards, with the help of longtime friend and punk writer Legs McNeil.
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The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie: Sleep It Off and Doll In The Box by Cristina

By Chelsea Spear

Picture it: the Lower East Side, early 1980s. ZE Records had become the hot indie label, renowned for their tweaking of the nascent disco and no wave genres. The label incubated up-and-coming talent like James Chance and Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and helped spur the Waitresses on to trivia-question status with both of their hits.

While all of these artists have remained in the spotlight, one of the most interesting and peculiar talents got lost in the shuffle: Cristina. This one-named wunderkind of Brechtian disco pastiches, Lieber and Stoller covers and later, an album worthy of comparison with Marianne Faithfull’s Broken English, all but disappeared after her second album, Sleep It Off, barely got released in the States. A few years ago, the reformed ZE reissued Cristina’s discography. How does it stand up, after thirty years?
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I’m The Real Victim Here: I Spit On Your Grave Remade and Revisited

By Michelle Patterson

Victimhood has had an ironic stranglehold on cinema since the medium’s very inception. The “woman’s picture,” along with the romantic comedy and action-adventure genres, tap into the potential for an audience to live both vicariously through the film and also fully explore their empathetic side. The horror film has also allowed this to continue for over a century now.
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Zoobombs, La Vie En Jupon

By Matt Keeley

Most of the Japanese bands I listen to seem to draw their inspiration from the late ’70s. Shonen Knife are heavily influenced by The Ramones and the Buzzcocks, while POLYSICS draw from DEVO, XTC and M. The Zoobombs on the other hand, while also influenced by the ’70s, draw inspiration from the earlier part of that decade. Their new collection, La Vie En Jupon, is much closer to Black Sabbath than punk. And, as far as Sabbath goes, they are less “Paranoid” and more “Electric Funeral.”
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Thomas Dolby, Oceanea EP

By Jemiah Jefferson

Those expecting a return to the bleepy electro-funk of the early releases of Thomas Dolby will likely be disappointed with the Oceanea EP; its sound tends more to the supperclub-jazz singer-songcraft reminiscent of Dolby’s early track, “I Scare Myself.” Those willing to listen more closely, however, will be rewarded by Spanish rhythms, nuanced piano, and storytelling lyrics that make each song like a snapshot from a complex relationship.
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A History Lesson, Part 1: Punk Rock in Los Angeles in 1984

By Less Lee Moore

My interest in this documentary on some of the bands in the mid-80s L.A. punk scene was piqued by the inclusion of Redd Kross, which, as anyone who knows me will attest, is my all time favorite band. Not because they are necessarily the best band in the world, or the most famous, or the most infamous, but because they forever changed my life for the better, a topic too lengthy to get into here, but which is, unsurprisingly, completely relevant to a discussion of A History Lesson Part 1.

This is not your standard glossy, let’s-explain-why-punk-rock-is-so-important documentary. It’s comprised of old footage shot by Dave Travis, a fan and friend of the bands featured—The Meat Puppets, The Minutemen, Twisted Roots, Redd Kross—interspersed with current interviews from members of those bands. The immediacy and importance of all the bands is captured in the grainy footage, and rather than coming across as embarrassing, it’s completely invigorating.
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