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Number One Fan
Compromises
Pat’s Record Company
This small-town Wisconsin
quintet has a sweet, pop-rock
bliss, punctuated by crisp vocals
and undulating guitar
riffs. They’re one of the first
bands signed with the newly
established LA-based indie
label – Pat’s Record Company,
founded by Pat
Magnarella (Green Day, Goo
Goo Dolls, All American Rejects). Intermixed among the lyrics
are words like heaven, praying and sin – but there’s a
whole lot of lonely, sorry, distance, change and love lingo.
It’s mostly an album about indecision and heartache. And
we do feel their pain through the Jimmy Eat World wholesome
vocal approach and Dashboard Confessional reflective
stance that explode and retract appropriately. “Call anytime
you need/ I have been waiting/ I will be waiting,” Nicholas
Ziemann vies for sympathy on “Come On.” By the end of
it, we actually want this guy to get the girl. Number One Fan
earned a spot on the next Warped Tour, where you can decide
if their live performance jerks at your heart strings as
much as this debut. numberonefanonline.com - Monica Cady
The Cooper Temple Clause
Kick Up the Fire, and Let the
Flames Loose
RCA
Everyone talks about the new
“genre defying” act. In an effort
to avoid the cliché rock
critique of uselessly combining
ten music categories to
define a sound – let it be
said, that these six Reading,
England blokes deliver exhilarating,
eerie, danceable and delectable audio. CTC recently
made their mark in the U.S. touring with Black Rebel
Motorcycle Club. At times this second LP for CTC is a
Radiohead electronic experimentation with drifting cry-boy
vocals and Nine Inch Nail moody darkness. On one track
we’re slam dancing ‘90s thrasher style, the next, enveloped
in a deep meditation sputtering with an alluring trip-hop beat.
“We came/ We played/ We drifted away… What’s happening
to us?” Ben Gautrey glides us through “New Toys,” a steady
fuzz of beats and digital melodies. The repeat option on your
stereo was made for songs like “Talking to a Brick Wall,” an
industrial power ballad with distorted vocal peaks (“The flowers
look like glitter/ But then so do you, my dear”). A Spiritualized
“Home of the Brave” isolation is felt on “Into My Arms”
(“Everything is the same only you’re not around/…One night
is never enough with you”). Sometimes it’s like these guys
left us in a mystical wasteland punctured by random hums,
bleeps, chants and claps. If this all seems absurd, not to
worry – there’s much diversity here. Chances are, if you
don’t fancy one track, the next may suit you more. Seriously
give it a go. thecoopertempleclause.com – Monica
Cady
The Beautiful Mistake
This Is Who You Are
The Militia Group
These Christian punk rockers
provide some sturdy melodies
of stop-start guitar riffs and
surging choruses with enunciated
lyrics that make their message
obvious. “Oh how blessed
we are/ to share in everything,” a
clear-headed Josh Hagquist harmonizes
on “My Reminder Lyrics.”
Most of the songs offer equally direct religious sentiments. “The
light will call you/ To wrap its arms around you,” the chorus echoes in
“The Great Divorce.” Hagquist rejoices about being protected from
the “doubt that’s in our heart” on “Walking Wounded.” While the music
punches and kicks in all the right places, the holy lyrical content will no
doubt turn away nonbelievers. But for those who try this 10-song
deliverance, it could be mosh-pit heaven.
thebeautifulmistake.com - Monica Cady
All Night Radio
Spirit Stereo Frequency
Sub Pop
Like Prozac for the ears, this
10-song pack from All Night
Radio conjures up sunny-day
feelings of picking flowers and
skipping through the park. The
first track glides into place with
a series of catchy bum-bumbum’s
and warm, light pitchaltering
vocals. Carefree guitars
parade along with a swirly, psychedelic kaleidoscope that is
the music’s mainstay. It all brings back the delightful echoing
eeriness of Pink Floyd’s Meddle and its middle-of-the-night mysterious
energy. Spirit Stereo Frequency would be the perfect
soundtrack for your next acid trip, or just a cool break from top-40
radio. – Monica Cady
The Von Bondies
Pawn Shop Heart
Reprise
Lead singer Jason Stollsteimer
got his ass kicked by The White
Stripes’ Jack White – so what?
Here, Stollsteimer makes a
good point, “You really haven’t
lived life yet, if you ain’t got no
regrets” – a statement he
proudly wails on the first track
of this major label debut for the
Bondies. We get lots of hand clapping and cheerleader-chanty
lyrics from these boys and girls, whose style veers toward glam
garage rock with a Billy Idol heart. All this vintage flavor is tied to
spunky attitudes and girly rebel choruses (“You’re not that social,
just a good drinker”). According to Stollsteimer, the concept
Pawn Shop Heart, is based on the fact that people will get rid of
an ex-lover’s belongings – no matter how much it hurts. The
only pain sensed here is the sigh from exhaustion after this
high-spirited rock album ends. – Monica Cady
20• RAG MAGAZINE • APRIL 2004