Sept. - The Raleigh Hatchet, a monthly music, art and humor ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Diamond NightsPopsicleKemado Records“Destination Diamonds”, the opening trackof Diamond Nights’ debut LP, should havebeen the rock and roll hit of this summer.Of course, it wasn’t, and the pasty indierock minions that rarely venture outside oftheir Pitchfork.com niche probably won’tbe rocking out to this any time in the nearfuture, either. Bands like The Darknessand local heroes Bandway can get awaywith their inflated machismo and low-renttheatrics because they make it abundantlyclear that they have their tongues plantedfirmly in their respective cheeks. DiamondNights blur this line, and in turn, are probablygoing to ostracize some listeners. Theaforementioned album opener is a gallopingromp that sounds like The Fucking Champscovering 38 Special and from there, thealbum speeds on just as restlessly: “SaturdayFantastic” is some bastard meeting betweenThe Cars and Eddie Money, “Drip Drip” hasBrian May written all over it, “It’s A Shokka”flaunts an undeniable British Steel fetish,and so on. It can be a lot to digest, and thetransitory nature of Popsicle doesn’t make itany easier. Maybe spandex cat suits wouldhelp? An affected falsetto? Maybe if theywere British? Songs about V.D.? You seewhere I ’m going. As hard as it may be toaccept that a band of normal looking guysunabashedly cites all of those bands, atleast in their songs, as prominent influences,you can rest assured that there aren’t anygimmicks here. Popsicle, as mercurial as itis, succeeds in being a genuine rock androll record and a breath of fresh, or at leastrecycled, air in a world overwrought withturgid, whiny Englishmen. - LoweDavid FridlundAmaterasuHidden AgendaThough it’s true he hails from the nationthat unleashed ABBA, David Fridlund isby no means a pop tart. He is, in essence,Sweden’s own Connor Oberst, a veritableindie beast unabashed in his emulation(and evisceration) of the hyper-earnest (anddecadently American) white boy shtick. Aftersuccessfully fronting David & the Citizens fornearly 6 years, Fridlund goes it alone with therelease of Amaterasu, a 14 track LP namedmysteriously - and perhaps caustically - aftera Shinto sun goddess.Fridlund’s embrace and subsequentcommodification of such a complicatedfigure in Japanese mythology is almostoffensive in relation to the cacophonousape that I hesitate in even calling a solo20music“effort”. Amaterasu plays like prep-schoolcabaret, often angling for substantive stylebut never really delivering the proverbialgoods. On most tracks Fridlund barelymusters the goofy likeness of Ben Fold’spersona non grata, his generic, sexlesswhine straining over a deathless set ofexaggerated arrangements. The two mostdefiant tracks, “Before It Breaks” and “ThePast Floats Like Stones”, are perhaps thealbum’s only rewards. “Before It Breaks”marks Amaterasu’s tired climax, a knowingblend of piano, violin and cello that recallscontemporaries Aqualung and Doveman;it proves there’s more to David Fridlundthan conspicuous imitation, however littleit may be. The album’s last track, “The PastFloats Like Stones” coordinates saxophoneand percussion into a brilliant send-off, withFridlund claiming triumphantly to be “out oforder”. Without his Citizens, unfortunately,that’s all he stands to be. I hope for his sakehe realizes it. - PilkingtonNeal MedlynThe Buttoned Down Mind Of Neal MedlynSelf ReleasedCheck out nealmedlyn.com and you can seeNeal Medlyn show his ass. He’s a past winnerof Mr. Lower East Side in his city of NYC. Hislive shows are a one-man goof fest with lotsof running around, costume changes, andso forth. His disc contains casio beats, homerecorded versions of his “orignal songs”which cover topics such as “Deez Nuts” andtalking along with a tape of the TV show“Days of Our Lives”, solaugh a little. - RawlsBob MouldBody of SongYep RocAfter taking quite a few diversions fromhis power pop notoriety in recent yearssuch as writing wrestling scripts for WCW(nothing wrong with that) and a making anelectronica ablum in 2002 called Modulate,Bob Mould sounds rejeuvinated on Bodyof Song. For starters, he has been living inWashington, DC and making the most of it:for starters he has Fugazi drummer BrendanCanty, one of the best there was, is, or everwill be keeping the pace. Plus, the man whoengineered those great Fugazi albums, DonZientara did the same reputable job on Bodyof Song at his Arlington, VA Inner Ear Studio.“Days of Rain” harkens back to his solo workof the late ‘80’s, “Best Thing” has a guitar tonestraight out of New Day Rising, and a fewSugar-like tracks such as “Missing You” makean appearance, hoisting this album into theupper echelon of Mould’s extensive bodyof work. (For more on Mould, refer to ourinterview in this issue.) - RawlsPortastaticBright IdeasMergeOver the past three years it has becomeincreasingly more pragmatic to refer to MacMcCaughan as the guy from Portastatic,not the guy from Superchunk. As great asSuperchunk’s two recent sets at Cat’s Cradle(one opening for Dinosaur Jr, theother headlining) were, the Chunk hasearned a right to chill for a while. So “Mac,the guy from Portastatic”, or “Mac, the guywho gets good seats at the Springsteenshows because he knows the owner of theBackstreets zine” (either one will suffice),continually proves why he is a music lifer.There are lifers like Lemmy Kilminster(remember Superchunk has covered “I’ll BeYour Sister”) and Ronnie James Dio who dothe same thing over and over and they dothat one thing better than anyone. And theydo it under the same respective moniker.Then you have a lifer like McCaughan,maintaining dual bands, and a stellar recordlabel, who beat cynics tothe punch by having Superchunk songspublished under “All the Songs Sound theSame”. He also makes it seem like he neversleeps. Gradually building a greatmusical discography re: Portastatic, outof what seemed like incidental home
ecordings. If you bothered to read this farinto the review, then you probably knowenough of McCaughan’s history of qualitymusical output over the past twenty years ...that’s right, it’s damn close to twenty yearssince Slushpuppies were unleashed. On it’slatest release, Bright Ideas (Conner Oberstknows about it, he even wrote a review forit), Portastatic recorded the entire album ina proper studio for the first time and with amore concise line-up. Mac’s younger brotherMatthew is on drums and Superchunkguitarist Jim Wilbur is on bass, and togetherthey make for a powerful trio to be sure.The vibe of the 2003 song “Autumn GotDark” seems to continue on “Through WithPeople” and “I Wanna Know Girls”. There is alsoa strong undercurrent of American MusicClub. Recorded in that band’s hometown ofSan Francisco, with that band’s drummer TimMooney as producer, he even drums on theopening title track, which recalls AMC’s 2004release Love Songs for Patriots. Instead ofthe imagery of sharks swirling around chudon Summer of the Shark, “a black balloonimploding” lingers literally, figuratively, andeven visually on Bright Ideas. Not to say thealbum has a dour outlook. It’s balanced interms of song tempo andlyrical levity. Also not to say each songdoesn’t have it’s own strong context, butit’s hard to avoid individual lines from thesongs “Full of Stars”, “Registered Ghosts”, and“The Soft Rewind” respectively, “it’s a messyconstellation”, “I make my own scene”, and“this is us”. Through whatever develops, alifer like McCaughan is going to follow hismuse and continue to craft songs. And eventhough this Portastatic album wasn’t laiddown on a four track tape (it was hashed outin the studio of Portastatic’s touring mate inthe coming months, John Vanderslice) andI’m not listening to it on vinyl (I’m hearing iton a cd played on a computer) I’m going todo the same thing as I did after the first time Iheard a Portastatic seven inch when I flippedthe record over and played it again, I’m goingto click on the play button and listen to thisalbum again. - RawlsThe RosebudsBirds Make Good NeighborsMerge RecordsAfter hearing the title of the latestinstallment from The Rosebuds, you mightstart to worry that Ivan Howard has fallenprey to the disease that effects countlessnumbers of prolific, successful musicians. Thesymptoms span from a proclivity for wearingsunglasses indoors to dating washed upactresses to, in extreme cases, dressinglike a 19 th century conquistador. While thetitle remains up in the air as either a turgidmetaphor or a painfully earnest sentiment,one spin of Birds Make Good Neighbors willset you at ease. Literally. The enthusiasticrave-ups of Make Out, their upbeat debut,are supplanted with gentle keys, stringarrangements, and moody acoustics. Whilethe songwriting will still seem instantlyfamiliar to fans, albeit more restrained, thearrangements are much more complexwhich gives Howard carte blanche vocally,and it should come as no surprise that heis up to the task. The surprise, however, isthe auspicious debut of Kelly Crisp’s deep,breathy vocals providing a tremendousbalance to Howard’s lofty delivery, asevidenced on the western-tinged “Leaves DoFall”. This dynamic is employed again on theanthemic “Shake Our Tree”, and to such greateffect that the two tracks featuring Crisp onvocals become immediate standouts. That’snot to say that there is anything here thatqualifies as filler. “The Lovers Rights” definitelyfinds Howard indulging in a Morrisseycadence and the sublime “4 Track Love Song”is, well, exactly what is says it is, a lo-fi paeandisguised as a dirge. Birds is a great followupalbum, and knowing the work ethic ofThe Rosebuds, it will probably only be a fewmonths before they come back with more.– LoweSufjan StevensIllinoisAsthmatic Kitty RecordsNot since the Flaming Lips’ four-discs-playedin-unisonexperimental Zaireeka, has an artistattempted such a wildly ambitious conceptas Sufjan Stevens’ “50 states” project. Theomni-talented Stevens returns to the task ofpainting historically accurate portraits of ourcountry’s regions by visiting lush and eclecticPrairie State, Illinois. Despite ridiculouslywordy titles like “A Short Reprise for MaryTodd, Who Went Insane, but for Very GoodReasons,” the songs remain painstakinglysincere. Stevens employs dozens ofmusic
Page 1 and 2: contents:Raleigh Hatchet110 Glascoc
Page 3 and 4: Consumer HeroThis month, the Consum
Page 5 and 6: eath by Vanillay Charles Mangins I
Page 7 and 8: Strangewww.thisisstrange.orgtheir m
Page 9 and 10: he Body Commodity:Or Having a Creat
Page 11 and 12: editorial staff reigns supreme onth
Page 13 and 14: Ackland Art MuseumColumbia St. UNC
Page 15 and 16: hursday 1at’s Cradle Who’s Bado
Page 17: Triangle on their earlier tours. Th
Page 21 and 22: INTERVIEWAXE THE BANDInterview with
Page 23 and 24: Tanning by Numbers:What The Fuck Is
Page 25 and 26: T-ShirtsSubscriptionsThe answers to
Page 27 and 28: Serious Karma BuildingWe don’t kn
Page 29: Dear Claire,I am moving to NYC in t

Sept. - The Raleigh Hatchet, a monthly music, art and humor ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?