Recent Reviews:
Darling Downs - It’s Dark Down Under
In the United States we are unfortunate to have so little contact with music from other countries. To listen to a band from Britain is enough for most people, and the only contact with Australian music comes …
KatJonBand. Keepdoingwhatyou’redoing.
…except for omitting spaces. It’s confusing to me.
The dirty rockabilly-esque sound and tight drums representative of Jon Langford and the wailing (in a good way) vocals and experimental sounds of Kat Ex string together quite nicely in this new collaboration …
Latest reviews:
- Darling Downs - It’s Dark Down Under
- KatJonBand. Keepdoingwhatyou’redoing.
- Old Believers - Eight Golden Greats
- Willard Grant Conspiracy - Pilgrim Road
- The Watson Twins - Fire Song
- The [other] War On Drugs
- Kid Dakota - A Winner’s Shadow
Recent Posts
- Concert Review: Jay Reatard & Cola Freaks
- Darling Downs - It’s Dark Down Under
- KatJonBand. Keepdoingwhatyou’redoing.
- Married (pt. 1)
- And death shall have no dominion.
- Old Believers - Eight Golden Greats
- Willard Grant Conspiracy - Pilgrim Road
- Pela.
- Concert Forecast: Saturday, 6/7 - Pela, Static of the Gods, The Motion Sick, Shawn Fogel
- Bo Diddley - Gone.
- Concert Forecast: Hayden & Haley Bonar
- This Weekend: 5/30-6/1
- The Watson Twins - Fire Song
- This Weekend: 5/23-5/26 (Memorial Day ‘08)
- Slim Cessna’s Auto Club!
Down to business:
Concert Review: Jay Reatard & Cola Freaks
Jay Reatard (blog) has been around for a few years now, and he is still making waves in the Rock n Roll world. Most recently he was signed to Matador Records to do a string of 7″ singles, ending with a full album of Collected Matador Singles. He is best known for his consistent stream of quality output in 7″ form, and for his debut record in 2006, Blood Visions (In The Red Records).
I’ve been hearing about him for a while, ever since my wife was able to see him live in Philly, at a free show outside a newly opening clothing store. There was free beer, a sidewalk, and Jay Reatard. Those of you that know me and Amanda might say, “I don’t think those two would like Jay Reatard at all.” Well, you’re half right - although I have to point out that Amanda did not get to see him in a very controlled environment, and I got to see him in a decently small club. Our two experiences are hugely different, and perhaps explains why I like him more than she does.
To me, Jay (Mr. Reatard?) seems to be very focused on sound, and sound quality. I can’t say this about a lot of musicians in his particular genre, so this is definitely a compliment. The band is tighter than any punk band I’ve seen in that past few years - the guitar riffs are tighter than Mother Theresa, and louder than an attacking Rhino. I also noticed something that made the drummer stand out among punk drummers - he used his ride cymbal like a ping ride (usually), not just like a larger crash cymbal. It’s not that his drumming was subdued, he just managed to use the instrument to a greater potential than most mental and punk drummers I’ve seen recently. Jay Reatard is definitely pushing the sound of modern punk, and I hope he continues he semi-prolific output as long as he can.
Do yourself a favor and pick up Blood Visions as soon as you can.
Jay Reatard - My Shadow
Jay Reatard - See-Saw
— See Him —
October, 24 2008 08:00 PM - Bowery Ballroom
New York, New York -
October, 25 2008 08:00 PM - Glasslands
Brooklyn, New York -
October, 26 2008 08:00 PM - Santos Party House
New York, New York -
October, 27 2008 08:00 PM - Johnny Brenda´s
Philadephia, Pennsylvania -
October, 28 2008 08:00 PM - Black Cat
Washington, Washington DC -
October, 29 2008 08:00 PM - Outback Lodge
Charlottesville, Virginia -
October, 30 2008 08:00 PM - Local 506
Chapel Hill, North Carolina -
October, 31 2008 08:00 PM - Variety Playhouse w/ Deerhunter, Pylon and Times New Viking
Atlanta, Georgia -
November, 1 2008 08:00 PM - Lenny´s
Atlanta, Georgia -
Darling Downs - It’s Dark Down Under
In the United States we are unfortunate to have so little contact with music from other countries. To listen to a band from Britain is enough for most people, and the only contact with Australian music comes from pop groups like Silverchair, pop/country acts like Keith Urban, and pop/folk groups like The Waifs. “Goth Country” is a genre pioneered (”pioneered” is a term I used lightly when talking about country) by groups out of the western US; bands like 16 Horsepower and The Handsome Family (also on Carrot Top Records), from Colorado and New Mexico, respectively, have shaped how we listen to new country music, and returned the genre to it’s former dust and ashes glory. Yes, murder ballads and jilted lovers are what country music is all about, and these Aussies have shown that they’ve got the stuff.
Ron Peno, the Darling Downs’ frontman and songwriter also sounds amazingly like one of my other favorite country/folk singers - Robert Fisher from the Willard Grant Conspiracy. Dry and forceful in his upper register and resonating in his lower register, Peno’s voice sends a chill down your spine and embraces the listener in reverberating darkness. Lovely.
Darling Downs’ sophomore release From One To Another jumps to it’s feet right away; perhaps a little more upbeat than expected from my previous descriptions. The first track is lead by a steadily picked guitar, accompanied by strictly country countrified vocal riffs, giving the listener an different expectation as to what is coming for the rest of the album. The lyrics themselves follow the theme of the album, but for a first-listen, everything comes across a little more positive than it actually is. Following the opening track A Moment of Despair, comes Gather ‘Round (Stomp It Down) - a stripped down and bright banjo driven melody with eager, almost hollered lyrics.
After the first two songs, the album really gets going (and by that, I mean “slows down”). Everytime We Say Goodbye has a slightly lazy feel, with a plunked bass line and present lazy bottleneck slide guitar. The harmonies are beautiful - yearning and distant, with a hint of regret. The albums single (Circa ‘65) is a perfect henchman to the yearning melodies of the previous track, diving deep into the dark and gritty depths, with lightly finger-picked backup. These first tracks are my favorites of the album, and they compliment each other nicely in their darker nature.
Highly recommended. Pre-order From One To Another from Carrot Top Records. Seems like I need to keep my eye on this Chicago-area label.
Darling Downs - Circa 65
KatJonBand. Keepdoingwhatyou’redoing.
…except for omitting spaces. It’s confusing to me.
The dirty rockabilly-esque sound and tight drums representative of Jon Langford and the wailing (in a good way) vocals and experimental sounds of Kat Ex string together quite nicely in this new collaboration from KatJonBand. The minimalist guitar riffs are a kickback to early punk and 3-piece rockabilly. Add in a driving sixteen beat, and you have a strange post-country-folk-punk thing going on. The sound varies from straight, driving, call-and-answer (Do You?) to a more British folk-shanty feel (Albion). The British folk-punk sound is strong in this album, and is something I don’t really have enough of. The stripped-down punk seems to be in vogue these days with guitar/drums duos popping up all over the place. On the other hand, the duo format is not something that is generally done well - I’m happy to report that KatJonBand pulls through with room to spare.
Given both Jon and Kat’s histories in European punk, their pairing is a logical combination, and seems to be more reined in than either of their recent albums. Jon Langford has also had a long history with the Ex (pre-Katherine Ex) - starting with a co-producing role with The Ex’s third album Tumult. Both individuals stand out on their own, but it is the minimal sound that brings the separate rhythms and riffs together to form an intentionally gritty and powerful sound.
Order from Carrot Top Records today.
KatJonBand - Machine Gun K The Ugly Doll
KatJonBand - Bad Apples
17-09 New York NY(USA), Knitting Factory
18-09 Brooklyn NY (USA), Union Hall
20-09 Chicago IL (USA), Hideout Block Party
23-09 Madison WI (USA), Frequency
24-09 Minneapolis MN (USA), 7th Street Entry
26-09 Chicago IL (USA), Hideout Carrot Top Party
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Also, check out a review at the Onion A.V. Club, and a review of previously reviewed album (at now-defunct AuralFitness) Weinland - La Lamentor at Berkeley Place.
Married (pt. 1)
I’ve been gone for a long time, and my sitemeter stats are really showing it. Not that I had hundreds of visitors before, but now it’s really tapered off to nothing. I will update soon, and I’ve got huge roadtrip playlists to upload. Not only did I have to drive the 24-26 hours from Massachusetts to Minnesota, but I also took a little honeymoon up to the North Shore of Lake Superior, so that tacked on another 8+ hours of roadtrip driving. Needless to say, I did not create a roadtrip CD that would cover all 50-60 hours of driving. I certainly have enough music, but I have to leave enough room for public radio and Rush Limbaugh (so. angry. impossible to fall asleep.) to round out the roadtrip experience.
What happened? I’m married, and have been for almost two weeks. Send me presents.
Massachusetts -> Minnesota
Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner (this one always starts off my road trips)
The Band - Look Out Cleveland
The Mountain Goats - Going to Cleveland
Bob Dylan - Highway 51 Blues
Wilco - Via Chicago
Waylon Jennings - Amanda
Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago
John Prine (with Melba Montgomery) - Milwaukee Here I Come
Tom Waits - 9th & Hennepin
Lucinda Williams - Minneapolis
Tom Waits - Ol’ 55
Honeymoon - North Shore, MN
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Bruce Springsteen - The Honeymooners
Son Volt - Afterglow 61
Billie Holiday - What A Night, What A Moon, What A Girl
Mason Jennings - Duluth
*Elvis Costello - The Long Honeymoon
Robert Earl Keen, Jr. - Gringo Honeymoon
I’ll have a return playlist and a few extras soon, plus a review of the excellent John Langford & Kat Ex album “KatJonBand.”
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