World's Largest Rubber Band Ball - Trixine

The Ivory Coast “Clouds”
I think the title of this CD is misleading, because nowhere on
this album is there some cloudy dreaminess you might
expect. In actuality, Ivory Coast does nothing but have fun
rocking out. This is good, standard indie guitar rock, without
much new or innovative going on. However, you can’t deny
that the songs are undoubtedly catchy and listenable pop, a
little reminiscent of bands like Silkworm. I dig it. (Polyvinyl)
Owen “Owen”
Owen is the solo project of Mike Kinsella, who over ten years
has been in well-known projects like Owls, American Football,
Joan of Arc, and Cap’n Jazz. This album is mostly layered
acoustic fingerpicking with some background guitar and
synth noise, occasionally surrounded by light electronic beats
that flutter around like little little glowing orbs. The vocals are
also very full bodied and textured using some after-effects.
Written, played, recorded, and produced by Mike himself.
Overall, this is well thought-out, and very relaxing. (Polyvinyl)
AM/FM “Getting Into Sinking”
AM/FM is mainly Philly’s Brian Sokel (Franklin) and Mike
Parsell (Goodbye Blue Monday, The Science Of), plus Terry
Yerves helping out and producing, and tons of other Philly
hipsters filling in on bass, guitar, vocals, keyboards and whatever
else deems itself appropriate to create an album full of
trippy, acoustic mish-mash. The album ranges from upbeat to
chanting, and you can’t really put a finger on any direct style,
except that it’s fairly soothing, and there’s lots of things going
on under the face of it. While Brian writes most of the songs,
and plays guitar and sings, Michael mostly sticks to the drum
set. The production makes this album a real treat. (Polyvinyl)
Owls “Owls”
If you liked earlier Joan of Arc, and wish they had sped up
rather than drifting off into sparse guitar minimalism, then this
should please you. Owls was the pre-teen pre-existence of all
things Joan of Arc, Cap’n Jazz, Ghosts and Vodka, American
Football, but they broke up in ‘94, never releasing an album.
Now all a little more mature, everyone recently pulled back
together to make this new album, and it’s damn tight. Victor
Villarreal’s technical jazzy guitar playing really livens things
up, putting Mike Kinsella’s drumming to the test. (Jade Tree)
Milemarker “Anaesthetic”
Blend melodic hardcore with new wave synths, mechanical
and grinding post rock, cold girl/guy vocals, and an indescript
bright pink album cover and you’ve got something in between
jarring and novelty. Over the past 4 years, their stated goal
has been to re-create hardcore that moves you like it did
before it became pre-packaged. While the lyrics reflect on a
dark machine future, there are parts where it gets very 80’s
goth, which is fine, except they won’t admit it. (Jade Tree)
Strike Anywhere “Change Is a Sound”
Straight-forward Richmond, VA hardcore punk full of sing
along anthems. Singer Thomas Barnett has has kind of a
high, raspy screamy voice, and the fast drumming and guitars
have almost a tight pop-punk edge. The lyrics are better than
those of your average political punk guy, and they actually
captured my interest by being grassroots and pro-union,
hence the name ‘strike anywhere’. They yell about taxes
instead of bombs, so I suppose you could call this a sort of
working-man’s uprising. (Jade Tree)
Atombombpocketknife “Gog Bless The ABPK”
ABPK have added another guitarist, Che Arthur (the sound
engineer for Don Cab, Trans Am, Cinerama), which means
two new things have happened. On this new full length, there
are less ‘starts and stops’, or breaks, which is why I loved
Alpha Sounds, their last album. However, because of the
addition, this album is more textured, and it allows them freedom
for more exploration. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s a
change none-the-less. It’s still harsh, noisy, and dissonant as
ever. (Southern, PO Box 577375, Chicago, IL 60657)
cEvin Key “the gHost of eAch room”
In keeping with the tradition of his well-composed synthesized
and industrialized soundscapes, the most noticeably
unexpected thing on this CD is the tweaked and ripped up
hip-hop beats. As the album literally floats around chill keyboard
experimentations then explodes into electronic freakouts,
there is no doubt still some Skinny Puppy left in cEvin’s
blood. I thoroughly enjoyed the guests like Nivek Ogre,
Edward Ka-Spel and others from the Pink Dots. (Metropolis)
Haujobb “Polarity”
So, was the this CD worth the wait? I’d say so. There are so
many different elements on this album, and they are all mixed
together in a very satisfying fashion. Combining their patented
terrifying minimalistic landscapes mixed with German tech
beats and good old never-fail industrialism, portions of this
are actually danceable, as opposed to some of their more
experimental past albums. Track 8 even gets a little funky
with a Mouse on Mars-style. Never fear though- there are still
plenty of breaks where Haujobb play with those strange
sound effects that make your face twitch. (Metropolis)