New Music Review: Cloud Nothings-Attack On Memory

Cloud Nothings-Attack On Memory

Carpark Records

Grade: 9.25 (A)

Available At: Amazon MP3 & CD, emusic, Soundcloud

"I need to time to start moving, I need time to stay useless." ~ Stay Useless

Cleveland based lo-fi/noise rock band Cloud Nothings have really jumped light years ahead of previous material with their latest album titled "Attack On Memory". Every song brims with raw and visceral energy that makes you want to keep listening over and over. What comes to mind first is Nirvana's "In Utero" which had the exact same vibe and the figure that ties these two releases together is Steve Albini who was the engineer and produced both albums. But not all praise should go to Albini as band leader Dylan Baldi's songwriting has a lot to do with everything coming together and sounding very fiery.

Baldi deals in a lot of self loathing and dead end scenarios. The opener "No Future No Past" sets the stage as it slowly builds on a pulse that becomes primitive with Baldi driving home the point that there is No Future and No Past...just now. The nine minute follow up "Wasted Days" is a full on assault of guitars and interchanging rhythms that nearly makes you want to bounce up and down, even as Baldi begins screaming in the second half of the song, it just adds to the fury. "Getting tired/Of living till I die" is the crescent to his frustration and you feel it in the malevolent vibe.

If the first two songs may feel a bit inaccessible to listeners on the first couple spins, the last six songs have a more fluent vibe. Starting with the catchy "Fall In" until the closer "Cut You", the band plays off each other like the only rock band that matters on the planet. The theme of self loathing stays the same, but all six of these songs have hooks, melodies, you name it...without losing any of the energy. "Stay Useless" is prime noise rock with a bittersweet chorus, "Separation" is a knockout instrumental which will have you nodding your head in appreciation and "Our Plans" is the only place where the opening guitars have a sunny disposition but just become clouded by furious pacing with a chorus that would make all of Gen-X give a thumbs up to memories from their favorite 90's loathing anthem.

The big fun, and why I'm really enjoying "Attack On Memory", lies in the fact that these songs have a rush even as you know the material is for the bleak and hopeless at heart. You can relate to that young pent up frustration whether you're in your early twenties or reaching the stranglehold of middle age. Like "In Utero", "Attack On Memory" dives head first without blinking into the abysmal chaos that everyday life can create. And sometimes, in my book, that's just called good rock n roll.

JHO Picks: Stay Useless, Cut You, Separation, Wasted Days

Rolling Stone Super Band Contest: Five Year Mission

The Super Bowl and all of the festivities that come with it hit Indianapolis this coming week. One of the big shows is the Rolling Stone show with Jane's Addiction and The Roots taking place 1-5pm on Super Bowl Sunday.

But who's opening for them? Well that's up to the voting public. They've got a Rolling Stone Super Band Contest going on where you can vote for a band from Indianapolis to open up.

For my co-worker and friend Joy, I recommend Five Year Mission. They're third in the balloting right now and could use you vote. According to the bio: Five Year Mission is the collaboration of five Star Trek fans who endeavor to write and record a song for each of the episodes of the original Star Trek series from the 1960s. We love the show, and we wanted to create something that we could share with other fans and something we would have a blast doing. And their music sort of reminds me of They Might Be Giants from what I've heard, which is always a good thing.

So help out Five Year Mission and vote below. Plus, check out the video on youtube shot by Joy for the band and their website. Voting ends Sunday, so get a vote or two in for Five Year Mission.

Vote For Five Year Mission For Rolling Stone Super Band Contest Here!
Official Website: fiveyearmission.net

New Music Review: Porcealin Raft-Strange Weekend

Porcelain Raft-"Strange Weekend"

Secretly Canadian

Grade: 8.05 (B-)

Available At: Amazon MP3 & CD, emusic, hypemachine

Official Site: porcelainraft.com

The first two songs on the debut album from Italian born Mauro Remiddi's project Porcelain Raft set the stage nicely on "Strange Weekend". The opener "Drifting In And Out" slinks by romantically on a pulsating beat and a bit of a shoegazing haze with the chorus of "Drifting in and out" bringing you in and out of consciousness to great effect. The second song "Shapeless And Gone" is equally as sly laying down more of the same effects as the opener with just as pleasing effect. In just those two song titles alone, I think you can sum up the album: both drifting (in and out) and shapeless and gone.

When Remiddi is expanding his template some, it works with mixed results. "Is It Too Deep For You?" is a bit sluggish, never being allowed to catch full on intensity. And some of the songs on the second half of "Strange Weekend" ("If You Have A Wish" and the closer "The Way In" being the guiltiest) are a bit forgettable once you've completed the album. But the accomplishments help keep the whole affair from being a wash. "Unless You Speak From Your Heart" is a pure pop song built to dream pop perfection, "The End Of Silence" reminds me of a girl group performing in an airplane hanger (or wherever the acoustics are terrible) with neat effects and "Picture" works on the same hook as the Four Tops "Sugar Pie (Honey Bunch)"...which is a pleasant song no matter how you re-arrange it for a new sound.

"Strange Weekend" is like an amoeba of sound that can't decide if it wants to be a bedroom outfit (like Neon Indian, per se) or go for a big stadium like sound (M83). I'm not even sure if it's on par with Washed Out's "Within and Without" from last year in terms of sensuality. When compared with those peers, which Remiddi is definitely in the corner with, he falls somewhere right in the middle. "Strange Weekend" is a weekend you'll enjoy experiencing on Saturday and Sunday. But by Monday, you'll forget what was so strange about it.

JHO Picks: Drifting In and Out, Shapeless And Gone, Unless You Speak From Your Heart

Tuesday's Top Ten: Mountain Songs

Let's countdown ten songs with "Mountain" in the title this Tuesday. Complied together, it makes a neat little playlist (feel free to throw in Alabama's "Mountain Music" to countrify things up if you wish...)

1. Jane's Addiction-Mountain Song
2. Blitzen Trapper-Wild Mountain Nation
3. Prince-Mountains
4. Fleet Foxes-Blue Ridge Mountains
5. Drive-By Truckers-Lookout Mountain
6. INXS-Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)
7. Midnight Oil-King Of The Mountain
8. Bob Dylan-Thunder On The Mountain
9. Led Zeppelin-Misty Mountain Hop
10. Billy Bragg & Wilco-Remember The Mountain Bed

As a bonus, why not another ten songs..from early seventies rock outfit Mountain. I remember listening to Leslie West, Felix Pappalardi, Corky Laing and Steve Knight on vinyl from my dad's vinyl collection when I was young. "Nantucket Sleighride" is still the bomb. Goodbye....little Robin Marie....don't try following me. Never has a song about whaling touched the heart so much.

Top Ten songs from the band Mountain:
1. Nantucket Sleighride
2. Flowers Of Evil
3. Theme For An Imaginary Western
4. Don't Look Around
5. Tired Angels
6. Travelin' In The Dark
7. Pride & Passion
8. Long Red
9. Mississippi Queen
10. For Yasgur's Farm

New Music Review: Craig Finn-Clear Heart Full Eyes

Craig Finn-"Clear Heart Full Eyes"

Vagrant

Grade: 8.14 (B-)

Available at: Amazon MP3 & CD, NPR

Official Site: steadycraig.tumblr.com

Giving the celebratory vibe a breather, lead singer of the Hold Steady, Craig Finn, makes his solo debut this week with his introspective "Clear Heart Full Eyes". For fans of the band's exhilarating catalog, this stands as the morning after antidote. Finn brings down the intensity and muses about his surroundings, paints some desolate landscapes (Apollo Bay, Honolulu Blues, Western Pier) and talks here and there about Jesus, Freddie Mercury and the Sex Pistols. And the results are mixed to good.

A comparison in the arrangements that comes to mind is the storytelling efforts from the Drive-By Truckers. Finn uses that blueprint on most of the songs here. He gives tales about the wounded hearts and troubled people he sees and then lets slide guitars or whatever any other instrument fits the scene fill in the breaks in between. It works for atmosphere perfectly, but yet never catches fire to completely draw the listener in (you're almost begging for a major guitar riff at times).

What does work best is with the tone brought down twelve notches from the Hold Steady's raucous anthems, you get a chance to focus in even more on Finn's lyrics. "Jackson" works because you as the listener really wants to know what happened to Jackson in the threesome he muses about. "Honolulu Blues" also works as he wearily talks about searching for panoramic views and "souvenirs to prove that we were there." He touches on Jesus again and again on "Clear Heart Full Eyes" as on "Honolulu Blues" you don't know if Finn's found a renewed faith "the cross reminds us that He died for me and you" or he's lost it "And you’ve got to maybe think that maybe Jesus isn’t getting through". The most lighthearted campfire song on "Clear Hearts Full Eyes" is "Friend In Jesus" and again Finn wrestles with religion. "Got a new friend/And my new friend’s name is Jesus" or the just wrong "People say we suck at sports/But they don’t understand/It's hard to catch with holes in your hand" (Just wrong). But these lyrics and stories are what will keep you interested the most.

"Rented Room" works best for me here. It's eerie and just sparse enough that you feel like you're in the same desolate, empty room with Finn. And while I wish all of "Clear Hearts Full Eyes" either touched the same lonely vibe as "Rented Room" or picked up the intensity, I still can't say I'm completely dissatisfied. A good if not essential pick. Hold Steady fans should eat this up.

JHO Picks: Rented Room, When No One's Watching, Honolulu Blues, New Friend Jesus

New Music Review: First Aid Kit-The Lion's Roar

First Aid Kit-"The Lion's Roar"

Wichita Recordings

Grade: 9.15 (A)

Available At: Amazon MP3 & CD, emusic, NPR

Official Site: thisisfirstaidkit.com

Move over Swedish pop (ABBA, Ace Of Base), there's a new sheriff (music movement) coming to your Scandinavian town. With The Tallest Man On Earth's 2010 releases and the latest release from Klara and Johanna Söderberg, two sisters hailing from Sweden (aka First Aid Kit), I think it's time to re-examine Swedish folk's full on potential. "The Lion's Roar", the second proper release from the Söderberg sisters, is a triumphant sophomore effort that is not afraid to wear it's heart on it's sleeve while delivering ten fine tunes.

The Söderberg sisters vocals are the real winners on their latest effort, matching pitch perfect harmonies with overwhelming honesty. The biggest finger pointing on "The Lion's Roar" goes to the album's bookends. The album's self titled song opens the album with a brassy feel of complete self confidence and a healthy dose of realism. It marches at a waltzes' speed to gain your full attention but never forgetting how important a hook is. Just as compelling is the closer, "King Of The World", where the song turns into a completely joyous occasion with a knockout chorus ("Well I'm nobody's baby, I'm everybody's girl, I'm the queen of nothing, I'm the king of the world") and Mariachi horns..and wait, what???? Bright Eyes Conor Oberst out of left field, makes a last verse contribution to make the song a complete home run. In a young 2012, it's my song of the year.

Another element going for "The Lion's Roar" is the sincerity The Söderberg sisters use to remind you of their roots. "Stockholm's cold but I’ve been told/I was born to endure this kind of weather" on "Emmylou" or "The street's here at home have rapidly filled up with the whitest of snow" on "To A Poet" show a humility and an ode to their surroundings. And they're not afraid to incorporate that with an old school country music leaning (as on the wonderful "Emmylou") or chamber pop folk (as seen on the wonderful "Blue"). On Emmylou, the part in the chorus name dropping June (Carter-Cash), Gram (Parsons), and Johnny (Cash), is absolutely brilliant. It shows the sisters' versatility brilliantly and debt to, not only folk but, old school country music. That ying playing off the yang is what will keep you coming back to visit "The Lion's Roar".

Plus, there is a lot going on underneath the surface of "The Lion's Roar" held together by one tie...the Söderberg sisters gorgeous vocal harmonies. It is never too saccharine and there is never too much over instrumentation to bog the album down. There will be Fleet Foxes comparisons, but I think there is enough for First Aid Kit to revel in their own accomplishments. They've released an early 2012 highly recommended release to help guide you through a year that sill has 11 months to wade through. For me, that is no small feat, at all.

JHO Picks: King Of The World, The Lion's Roar, Emmylou, Blue

New York (50 Songs For 50 States)

Here's the deal. There are a ton of songs available with the title New York in it (this isn't a high task like finding the perfect North Dakota song is gonna be). And true, a lot of songs are dealing with the city of New York, not the state. With the smart playlist on my I-Tunes, I've narrowed down that I have 11 songs with New York in the title...and two with NYC (from Interpol and Conor Oberst).

The List:
Billy Joel-New York State Of Mind
Fun Lovin' Criminals-The King Of New York
LCD Soundsystem-New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down
Lou Reed-New York Telephone Conversation
Prince-All The Critics Love U In New York
Ryan Adams-New York, New York
Sex Pistols-New York
Simon & Garfunkel-The Only Living Boy In New York
Sting-Englishman In New York
They Might Be Giants-New York City (Big Room)
U2-New York

And even if I don't own it, Sinatra's New York, New York comes barreling through my mind as well.

So who shall I take? I mean, a lot of those songs are good. Billy Joel shows a love affair with the city, The Fun Lovin' Criminals talk about John Gotti, Prince gives an eerie ode to critics in NY, Simon & Garfunkel deliver an underrated gem (which has been used a bit too much in car commercials lately) and Sting and U2 talk about immigrants in New York. Yeah, none of the songs have anything to do with the state. So I've got to pick a favorite.

My favorite of the bunch has to go to Mr. Adams. It's got a vibe for the city of New York that makes me reminisce my visits there. The rush of the tune, the geographical name dropping, the lovely chorus, Adams treating New York as if she was a girl he keeps going back to (I'll always love you though New York") and that saxophone solo at the end that reminds me of countless street performers seen in the Big Apple. And in the wake of 9-11, Adams delivered an ode to a city desperately in need of an ode. It would be wrong not to give New York anything but Ryan Adams-New York, New York. Although I'm sure I'm missing something....

Cover This: Ryan Adams-Round And Round (Ratt Cover)

As we continue to uncover one cover a week in 2012, check out this week's feature as Ryan Adams takes an 80's arena rock classic from Ratt and puts his own spin on it. Somehow, I see Adams as a youth sitting in a car with his parents loving this song (and Quiet Riot). However, his take of "Round and Round" from an NPR session a couple weeks ago makes the song a lot more intimate....I wonder how Stephen Pearcy and the guys from Ratt feel about this one. Enjoy!

  Ryan Adams - Round and Round (Ratt cover) (Live on NPR) by rfp86 

New Music Review: The Big Pink-Future This

The Big Pink-"Future This"

4AD

Grade: 7.05 (C-)

Available At: Amazon MP3 & CD, SPIN

Official site: musicfromthebigpink.com

Big Choruses. Who loves to get wrapped around a big chorus? I don't mind it. Well, the sophomore album from London outfit The Big Pink has ten songs full of big bombastic choruses. For starters we have the opener "Stay Gold". It wraps itself around a repetitive keyboard line through the verses until it erupts in a fist pumping chorus of "Stay Gold! Shine the light for us to follow". It's big time anthem worthy and gets your blood pumping even if you're not sure why. It's a very close cousin to the their sort of breakthrough hit "Dominoes" released a couple years ago. So a good start, right?

Unfortunately the ONLY thing going for "Future This" is those big choruses. They practically creep up like someone preparing to pull an unknowing prank on you (BOO! Gotcha! Here's a chorus!) and are the only things you take away from the ten tracks on the affair. "I Don't Want To Hit The Ground", "Move In Slow Motion", "I Was Busy Rubbernecking", "Lose Your Mind, Doing It On My Own"...yeah, these are the lines that are going to sit in your brain like capsules labeled "Empty Lines from Big Choruses". The songs just don't formulate at all with any sort of fluency. The Big Pink have decided to put all their money on one number of the roulette wheel: Red 18 (or choruses without songs). Take for instance the biggest offender "Give It Up" a song that relies on hollow sound effects in the verses until crashing into a chorus that doesn't even match the rest of the song "Give it up, give it up for me". There is a positive vibe flowing through "Future This" but I'm having trouble where to find it on an album that wants to have a big heart but fails on how to convey it. The only time that heart shows through is on the closer "77" which, ironically, is a song about depression and death and the 77 ways to say goodbye. It's reminiscent of good Violator era Depeche Mode and has a big chorus that works with the song as well. If The Big Pink could've executed this side throughout the album, then "Future This" wouldn't have the after effect of forgettable songs.

I was on the fence after a few listens but just can't get myself to enjoy this entirely. It's not a terrible affair, just disappointing after the rush of the opener "Stay Gold". But it's tough to rile on an album that obviously wants to have a big, positive feel. It wants to be human, but doesn't know how to show itself . No one will probably be talking about "Future This" in the near future. So in the meantime, just Stay Gold.

JHO Picks: Stay Gold, 77, Hit The Ground (Superman)

Uncle Salty's Take:

Grade: 8.6

Picks: Stay Gold, Hit The Ground (Superman), Rubbernecking, 77