Number One Fan Compromises Pat’s Rec<strong>or</strong>d Company This small-town Wisconsin quintet has a sweet, pop-rock bliss, punctuated <strong>by</strong> crisp vocals and undulating guitar riffs. They’re one of the first bands signed with the newly established LA-based indie label – Pat’s Rec<strong>or</strong>d Company, founded <strong>by</strong> Pat Magnarella (Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, All American Rejects). Intermixed among the lyrics are w<strong>or</strong>ds like heaven, praying and sin – but there’s a whole lot of lonely, s<strong>or</strong>ry, distance, change and love lingo. It’s mostly an album about indecision and heartache. And we do feel their pain through the Jimmy Eat W<strong>or</strong>ld wholesome vocal approach and Dashboard Confessional reflective stance that explode and retract appropriately. “Call anytime you need/ I <strong>have</strong> been waiting/ I will be waiting,” Nicholas Ziemann vies f<strong>or</strong> 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 perf<strong>or</strong>mance jerks at <strong>your</strong> 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 eff<strong>or</strong>t to avoid the cliché rock critique of uselessly combining ten music categ<strong>or</strong>ies 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 Mot<strong>or</strong>cycle Club. At times this second LP f<strong>or</strong> 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 <strong>your</strong> stereo was made f<strong>or</strong> songs like “Talking to a Brick Wall,” an industrial power ballad with dist<strong>or</strong>ted 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 <strong>by</strong> random hums, bleeps, chants and claps. If this all seems absurd, not to w<strong>or</strong>ry – there’s much diversity here. Chances are, if you don’t fancy one track, the next may suit you m<strong>or</strong>e. 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 ch<strong>or</strong>uses 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 ch<strong>or</strong>us echoes in “The Great Div<strong>or</strong>ce.” 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 f<strong>or</strong> 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 f<strong>or</strong> 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 <strong>guitars</strong> 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 f<strong>or</strong> <strong>your</strong> next acid trip, <strong>or</strong> 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 <strong>by</strong> The White Stripes’ Jack White – so what? Here, Stollsteimer makes a good point, “You really <strong>have</strong>n’t lived life yet, if you ain’t got no regrets” – a statement he proudly wails on the first track of this maj<strong>or</strong> label debut f<strong>or</strong> 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 flav<strong>or</strong> is tied to spunky attitudes and girly rebel ch<strong>or</strong>uses (“You’re not that social, just a good drinker”). Acc<strong>or</strong>ding 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• <strong>RAG</strong> MAGAZINE • APRIL 2004
PAPA ROACH