http://www.75orLess.com/ Album reviews in 75 words or fewer. en-us Copyright 2010 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:17:03 -0500 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:23:59 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss ]]> Adiam Dymott- self titled (Razzia) [upcoming shows] [video]

Adiam Dymott is a Swedish twenty-something songstress with something to say. It's absolutely anticipated that Swedish popsters will make delightful, fantastic pop music, so that's what Adiam has done. Her self-titled debut works as both a complete album and a single factory, as songs like "John Denver", "Pizza", and "Miss You" sound like they were made for the radio station you wish existed. ]]> - cormac]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/02/adiam_dymott_se.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/02/adiam_dymott_se.php Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:17:03 -0500 ]]> Steel Panther - Feel the Steel (Universal Republic) [upcoming shows] [audio]

Steel Panther is heavy. Steel Panther is metal. Steel Panther is ridiculous. As a rock parody band there's the obvious comparison to Spinal Tap, however Steel Panther use their obscene lyrics and thick guitar riffs to specifically take on '80s hair metal. Similar to The Lonely Island making a hip-hop parody album that's actually good, Steel Panther actually makes good music... if you're into '80s hair metal. And if you are, you may be looking for some comedy in between seasons of Rock of Love.]]> - cormac]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/02/steel_panther_f.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/02/steel_panther_f.php Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:00:38 -0500 ]]> Red Mass - self titled EP (Semprini) [upcoming shows] [audio]

Attention! Roy Vucino, leader of the defunct CPC Gangbangs, has a new project: Red Mass. Vucino recruited over twenty Montreal-based musicians to create these seven tracks for a new self-titled EP. The first three tunes are reminiscent of Fugazi/DC punk, the latter four hit on the psychobilly of the Reverend Horton Heat. Vucino's manic energy and contagious song writing are what separates his musical output from the other mediocre garage rock groups. Red Mass is a modern example of unadulterated and delicious rock n' roll music.]]> - corey c]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/02/red_mass_self_t.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/02/red_mass_self_t.php Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:00:37 -0500 ]]> Sonya Cotton - Red River (self released) [upcoming shows] [audio]

Sonya Cotton has delivered another lovely album, keeping her overall identity intact while growing as a songwriter and performer. Rife with metaphor, spare yet lush, "Red River" has more complex arrangements than her previous work - a full band joins in instrumentation and vocals - but maintains her hushed folk sensibilities. In fact, many of the songs feel almost like hymns (and I thought that even before I noticed that one has "hymn" in its name). You should hear her voice. ]]> - meredith]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/sonia_cotton_re.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/sonia_cotton_re.php Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:30:34 -0500 ]]> One-Two - The Story of Bob Star (Four Music) [audio]

A pop opera doesn't come along every day, and if one did it wouldn't necessarily consist of crazy French accents over disco-beats that would charm the pants off of you. While One-Two has a sound of their own, songs like "Annie Mall" with its early-'80s punky new-wave guitar and the Spoon-like "Slippery Shoes" quickly demonstrate the band's ability to diversify their sound while giving you melodies that will stay with you once the disc stops spinning.]]> - cormac]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/onetwo_the_stor.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/onetwo_the_stor.php Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:00:31 -0500 ]]> The Most Powerful Telescope in the Universe - The Moonlight's Fair Tonight (Data Was Lost / Ionik) [free download] [audio]

When Ionik and Data Was Lost combine for a release, you can expect a good dose of electro-pop and indie rock. A great concept- taking members from bands in both camps - Swissfarlo, Coltrane Motion, MW Ensemble - and throwing them together in a remote cabin once per year pound out an album. "Last of the Incas" recalls the Stone Roses while "Reach for the Stars" is the closest they come to getting the inevitable New Order comparisons. On the less synthy tracks, you also have what could be a Pavement instrumental outtake and also traces of a Built to Spill influence.]]> - mark]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/_the_most_power.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/_the_most_power.php Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:28:41 -0500 ]]> Kelly Jones - SheBANG! (self released) [audio]

SheBANG! is a superb combination of '60s girl group swagger and '80s pop rock. On the opening track "There Goes My Baby", Ms. Jones struts her sweetness with such shockingly shameless self-assurance that you'll want to be sitting down before hitting the play button, while new wavy tracks like "Girl with the Silver Lining" prove she's more than pure bubblegum. With the Northeast's finest power-poppers on board (including Mike Viola, Ducky Carlisle & Adam Schlesinger), the result is one delightful toe-tapper after another.]]> - cormac]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/kelly_jones_she.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/kelly_jones_she.php Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:00:07 -0500 ]]> The Orange Velvets - Fuzz, Beautiful Fuzz (Cherry Lemonade) [audio] [upcoming shows]

Male and female sharing vocals on overly brief garage rock with simplistic lyrics. Influences must also include The Beach Boys (see Infections) but the title sums it up - everything has a layer of fuzz and reverb on this - particularly, the vocals and guitars. There's a couple of mellower tracks and one lonely harmonica solo. While this may recall The Jesus and Mary Chain (who have also heard the Beach Boys comparisons themselves), there is hardly any hint of the piercing distortion you may find on the latter. ]]> - mark]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/the_orange_velv.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/the_orange_velv.php Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:08:10 -0500 ]]> Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard - One Fast Move or I'm Gone (Atlantic) [audio] [upcoming shows]

The thought of Son Volt's Jay Farrar and Death Cab's Ben Gibbard collaborating on heartfelt Americana tunes sets your expectations high. The problem is that this isn't all that special. If you haven't heard Farrar's heartfelt Americana before, then you haven't heard Farrar. Hearing Gibbard tread in this territory is refreshing, but not a far stretch from his other solo recordings. As track numbers swap vocalists, you'll yearn for a Gibbard/Farrar duet with trade-off vocals. You'll keep listening, but you won't get it.]]> - cormac]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/jay_farrar_benj.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/jay_farrar_benj.php Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:59:28 -0500 ]]> Grant Hart - Hot Wax (CON D'OR Records) [audio] [shows]

Grant Hart's first studio release in a decade, featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, and Rank Strangers, most resembles his solo debut "Intolerance." Like most of his solo work, there's a healthy dose of keyboards and his ode to American furniture designer Charles Hollis Jones features a carnival organ. While commercial potential never seems to be a factor in his music, it's a shame the only appreciation Hart seems to get are from those people who remember the band he was in over twenty years ago. ]]> - mark]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/grant_hart_hot.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/grant_hart_hot.php Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:08:15 -0500 ]]> Propagandhi - Supporting Caste (Smallman) [audio] [upcoming shows]

Supporting Caste!!!!!......get it!!????!! It's a pun!!! Ugh, another lousy pun. Anyways, Propagandhi is back and keeping up their fondness for metal-inspired punk. Fans of "I'd Rather Be Flag-Burning" or basically anything from the '90s will be brutally disappointed. Sure it rocks, but the message is far too forthright to be considered tongue-in-cheek, and this gets old quick. Real quick! Back in the mid-90s when punksters were debating whether or not the singer was gay was when I stopped caring. I'm going to listen to The Weakerthans in protest. ]]> - cormac]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/75orless_will_b.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2010/01/75orless_will_b.php Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:47:37 -0500 ]]> Circulatory System - Signal Morning (Cloud Recordings) [audio]

Brace yourself for a 46-minute ride of psychedelia in its most potent form. Signal Morning, the new Circulatory System record, has infinite forward movement, a creation with such depth that it begs for multiple listening sessions. Meticulously crafted riffs off fuzzy guitars, four-track tape manipulations, and deranged lyrical fury coalesce to form the most complex, wholly new record of the year. This album breathes musical brilliance and imperfect elegance. I say, seven years well-spent. Long live Elephant Six.]]> - corey c]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/circulatory_sys.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/circulatory_sys.php Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:00:10 -0500 ]]> Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster (Interscope) [audio] [upcoming shows]

The Fame Monster, like The Fame before it, is unfuckwithable where the big, banging club tracks are concerned. Lady Gaga is praised for the theatrical, visual element of her performance, but she really does write strong material to back it up. Where she's weakest is her softer side. The ballads are just self-indulgent and go nowhere slowly. "Bad Romance," "Dance in the Dark," and "Telephone" all rub shoulders with her best work, though, and she's already half way to a greatest hits album just a year into her career.]]> - paul]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/lady_gaga_the_f.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/lady_gaga_the_f.php Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500 ]]> The Middle Eight - Love EP (self released) [download] [upcoming shows]

The Love EP is such a strange sound in the context of 2009 indie rock. It's not skuzzy, purposely camouflaged in lo-fidelity or derailed by gimmicks. In fact, it's all "la-la" choruses and straightforward melodies (occasionally with full brass accompaniment, as is the case with "Ain't No Compromise"). The most recognizable comparison I could make would be Sloan at their most playful, but even then I'm selling them short. The Love EP is a hard, refreshing kick in the mind grapes.]]> - paul]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/the_middle_eigh.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/the_middle_eigh.php Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:17 -0500 ]]> Coming Soon - Ghost Train Tragedy (Kitchen) [audio] [upcoming shows]

The bad news is that Ghost Train Tragedy is, at fifteen tracks, about five tracks too long. And even at ten tracks, there would still be some filler. The good news is that when Coming Soon is on, they are really on. "Moonchild" and "Walking" are both challenging and entirely familiar, portraying the band as supremely confident musicmakers who could hold their own against any '80s guitar band we now worship. Maybe one day, they'll get the formula down for an entire album's worth of material as good as their best songs are now.]]> - paul]]> http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/coming_soon_gho.php http://www.75orLess.com/?/archive/2009/11/coming_soon_gho.php Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:00:50 -0500