Moroni's Review of The Airborne Toxic Event's "Such Hot Blood"

I have to admit that - in the last five years - The Airborne Toxic Event is one of my favorite new bands, along with Silversun Pickups.  So it is with great anticipation that I have waited for this album.

That said, I want to put forth my only complaint about this album right up front.  However, my complaint is not about the music, but about the marketing.

At the beginning of the year, I purchased their single for the song "Timeless", which is an amazing song.  A month, or so, later, they released a four-song EP called "The Secret".  It also contained "Timeless", but also three other songs - "The Secret", "The Storm", and "Safe".  I also purchased this.  A matter of weeks later, the new album - "Such Hot Blood" - came out. I was upset to find that four of the ten tracks were the same songs found on the EP.  The EP wasn't like Silversun Pickup's three-song EP "Seasick" - material not found on any album.  Essentially, I paid for the same music - twice.  And in the instance of "Timeless" - three times!  It is a cheap gimmick perpetrated by the record company to get you to pay more, and I hate it.  I totally fell for it.

But "hate" is not a word that I would use to describe the new album.  In fact, I like it.

It was the summer of 2009 that I was first introduced to this band.  I was in Montana on the fair circuit.  In my travels, I had picked up a local 'zine and had seen this band advertised for an upcoming show.  I knew nothing about them, but decided to pick up a copy of their debut album.  It was a hot day in July, and we were tearing down the booth in Bozeman at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.  The CD player was sitting on the wet grass, and I was hooked at the first listen.  This was deep-rooted Americana, something that you would listen to in a bar in some small town.  It was evocative of R.E.M. when they were on IRS, a little of the Smiths, and when I heard him growl at the end of "Missy", it reminded me of Tom Waits.  All summer, this CD was on heavy rotation.  I took this music home and introduced it to my family.

A couple of years later, we made a special trip to a music store in Mesa, Arizona to buy a copy of their sophomore release, "All At Once", for my then-wife, Temple.  She was in love with this band as much as I was.  The cool thing about this band is that they have acoustic versions of all their songs on YouTube called "Bombastic Versions".  In many ways, I prefer these versions over the album versions.  I bet these guys are great live.

The new album is not as moving as the previous two, but it is still a great album.  They have a deeply and richly layered sound, much like Arcade Fire, accented by heavy use of piano, orchestra, and violin.  In many ways, the new album has a sound similar to U2 or Springsteen with huge, driving anthems bold enough for flag waving.

The opening song, "The Secret", is a song that is typical of the band.  One of the thing that sets them apart is their lyrics.  I have said before - I am more of a music guy rather than a lyric guy.  But lead vocalist, Mikel Jollett, was a writer first and started a band as a vehicle to express his poetry.  And it shows.

The  next song is "Timeless".  I really hate when bands use the best song on the album as their primary single.  But really, this is the best song - or as Temple describes it - "genius".  It doesn't get any better than this song.  The third track, "What's In A Name?", is a driving tune fit for an Irish pub, and it is one of my favorite songs.  "Safe" and "The Bridegroom" display their fine usage of orchestra as a means of poetic expression, as does "The Fifth Day".  My absolute favorite song is "Elizabeth", the final track - a mellow song that tells a story in much the same way that "Sometime Before Midnight" did.

If you have not had exposure to this band, go out and listen to them.  This album is a pretty good place to start...

Moroni's Review of Bad Religion's "True North"

The other day, I was reflecting about  how - as a teenager - I loved horror movies so much.  When I went to the video store, I went right to the horror section, and that's what I would look for - everything from cheesy renditions of H.P. Lovecraft stories to Troma movies to underground slashers.  I don't know when I stopped being so interested in horror.  I can't remember.  There just came a day when I was renting other stuff.  On my DVD shelf, I still have a cherished copy of the original "Evil Dead" that I break out every couple of years, but horror is no longer really my thing.

It is the same way with punk rock, hardcore, or death/ speed metal.  There was a time between the ages of 13 to 16 where that was all that I listened to.  In junior high in the early '80s, there was the crowd that was break dancing or listening to Michael Jackson's "Thriller".  Then there was the other crowd that listened to Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy, an Mötley Crüe.  In all of Casa Grande Junior High School, there was  only one  other kid who listened to punk, and we developed our friendship based on exchanging music.  (And we still maintain a friendship to this day.  This friend spends his spare time shopping for obscure vinyl in New York City and Philedelphia.)  Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Circle Jerks, D.R.I., Minutemen, X, 45 Grave, the Effigies, D.I., Reagan Youth, and, yes, Bad Religion.  

It's amazing to think that this was all I practically listened to.  I don't know when that changed, but I gradually started listening to other things to the point that now I almost never listen to hardcore or metal.  Don't get me wrong.  I still really like this stuff, but it’s like “Evil Dead” – I only break it out every now and then.  Usually when I am angry.

Of all the hardcore bands from the ‘80s, the one that I listen to the most – and relate to the most – is Bad Religion.  Maybe because they endured and are still around.  Maybe because they are like me – middle-aged men with a punk background.  Their sound has steeped and aged and become refined.  Their sound now reminds me a lot of Hüsker Dü back then.

So punk died in the ‘80s, and, a decade later, I had a younger friend in Cornville (still in high school at the time) who invited me to a party at his house.  I was married with a child, but I went anyway.  I remember that I was surprised by their selection of music.  It was Bad Religion’s
“Stranger Than Fiction”.  Yes, I remembered Bad Religion.  I liked their first album.  I even liked their keyboard-heavy, new wavey second album, and I really like “Suffer”.  This was the music of my youth, but it was a tighter, cleaner sound, better engineering.  I was also surprised to see this band reaching out to a younger generation.  I bought the album, and for the last 18 years I have listened to it and listened to it.  I didn’t realize that it has become one of my most-listened-to CDs, but it really has.

So I recently downloaded their new album “True North”.  I have really enjoyed listening to it.  One thing that can be perceived as a strength or a weakness – all of Bad Religion’s songs kind of sound the same.  The song starts out with a guitar screech, and the drums make that punk gallop.  Greg Gaffin packs some wordy, intelligent observations into a two minute song, accented by some yawning harmonies in the background.  Yes, this band has their unique sound, and it hasn’t changed much over the years.  

But that’s one of the things that I like about this album!  I tap my finger at every song from start to finish.

Once again, Gaffin’s lyrics are ironic, socially conscious, and often caustic.  Take, for instance, this jab at Mitt Romney in “Robin Hood in Reverse”:

Here's the church; there's the steeple.
Open up the door; corporations are people.
Wait, what did he say?
What the fuck did he say?

There are some grinding rock songs like “Hello Cruel World”, and there are break-kneck fast songs like “Vanity”.  On an album like this, it is hard to pick favorites, but mine are the opening track, “True North”, “Robin Hood in Reverse”, “Dharma and the Bomb”, and “My Head Is Full of Ghosts”.  A particular favorite is “Fuck You”, a song that Gaffin says was 30 years in the writing.

I hope that Bad Religion is around for another 30 years, but there are rumors that this is their last album.  If so, this was a  good way to go.  You should definitely check it out.

Moroni's Review of Crystal Castles' "(III)"

Before the summer of 2011, I wanted some new electronic dance music before I went out deejaying on the fair circuit.  I wrote a friend in Chicago and asked for music suggestions.  She referred me to Skrillex, and to a couple of songs by Crystal Castles.  One was their remix of "Lovers Who Uncover" by the Little Ones, and another was the single "Not In Love" off their second album which featured vocals by Robert Smith of the Cure.  Pretty soon, my deejaying that particular summer became all about dubstep.  But Crystal Castles remained in my mix all summer.  In fact, in addition to those two songs, I added "Untrust Us" and "Black Panther" off of their first album.  And this was because their sound is so infectious and original. I played this music to thousands of people all across Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana (thanks to my friend from Chicago).

Their third studio album (III) continues their unique sound.  It is like a wash of unfiltered, raw sound that cascades over you in a wind of metallic chaff.  Like Purity Ring (whom I just reviewed here), they have a very unusual, staggered concept of rhythm.  Unlike Purity Ring, vocalist Alice Glass's vocals are not clear and are more often than not run through digital processors to give them a mewling, robotic sound that is more part of the music than designed to convey a message.  I am not saying that there is no message; I just can't hear it over the wall of sound.  Sometimes it sounds like she is singing with the aid of a helium balloon.

Often their music is cacaphonous, chaotic, and shrill, like in their songs "Pale Flesh", "Insulin", and "Mercenary".  But I think that is intentional.  On several songs, the tidal wave of noise sweeps you along and leaves you feeling head over heels in love, like in the songs "Plague", "Kerosene",
Wrath of God", "Sad Eyes", "Transgender", and "Violent Youth".  My favorite song is "Affection" - a song that is deliciously nostalgic.

All in all, this is a pretty good album, and it re-establishes the high opinion I already had of this band.

Moroni's Review of Purity Ring's "Shrines"

My grandfather was from Mexico, and his favorite kind of music was a brass music called banda sinaloense. This kind of polka music was loud, brash, and discordant.  My dad told me that Mexican men liked to listen to this music when they are very drunk.  When I listened to it, I could see why.  The music sounded like a drunk man lurching down the street, barely able to keep on his feet, and yet not falling.

What does banda sinaloense have to do with Purity Ring's debut album "Shrines"?

Well, first of all, I will tell you what this band is.  They are an electronic duo from Edmonton, Alberta.  They were signed to the prestigious 4AD label (which included Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance, and whom I recently posted about here).

So, this is not a very conventional electronic band.  Their rhythm is very discordant.  There is no beat in the normal sense.  It is staggered and severed is several places.  There is no pulse where you are expecting one, and beats fill what you think will be empty spaces.  This is not the " boom boom boom" of club techno.  But you know what?  It works!

The music is slow and languid, like a slow jam on an acid trip.  (Sometimes it is just a bit plain slow-moving.)  And the same concept flows through every song from start to finish, each song blending into the next, making this a wonderful, dark ambient experiment.  The cement that hold it all together is Megan James' breathy, dreamy vocals.  It took several listens, but I see this album becoming one of my favorites.  Never has trip-hoppy music been so compelling since Mono in the '90s.

I am usually not a "lyric person", but James' lyrics are so stark and vivid and beautiful that you can't help but take note.  It's like poetry.  For instance, this selection from "Obedear":

I came down over the sleeping mountains

Where our white tones plunged

Into the weeping shelter

Tear our skin up out from the bottom

Leaves our ankles bare

Don't just wander back and forth and leave it

Build it into

Pinnacles and shrines

Of some,

Some ghastly predicament in mind

You'll find

Leaves us plastered to a bed of hairs

We'll be all coiled up near the bottom

With my chest, unbare it

Obedear, the sky is low

Gather up its harm and gods

With grateful arms

Obedear, the sky is low

Gather up its harm and gods

With grateful arms

It is hard to pinpoint which songs are my favorite, because they all kind of sound the same.  Songs that stand out are "Fineshrine", "Amenamy", "Obedear", and "Lofticries".  (I know - unusual, yet pleasant song titles.)  My favorite song, by far,  is "Belispeak".  They have also released a single called "Belispeak II", which is essentially a reprisal of the song with rapper Danny Brown.  It's great.

There is nothing mainstream about this album, but it is a jewel.  If you like electronica, and if you like original music, then check this selection out.  It is worth it.

Other Blogs

This summer, take some time to check out my other blogs, including my movie blog.  I also have a polygamy blog, and a blog that details my writing project.

Thanks, and have a great summer!

Moroni's Retro Review of Love and Rockets

I grew up in the small town of Casa Grande, Arizona - located smack dab between Phoenix and Tucson.  It was a town that survived mainly on the work of cotton farmers.  On a good day, starting from 1986, we could pick up the airwaves in our dusty town from Phoenix - new alternative stations, the KEY 100.3, and later, KUKQ where radio personalities like Jonathan L and the Bone Mama introduced us to alternative music.

Alternative music was welcome relief to the musical wasteland that was the '80s - like the summer rains that occasionally settled the dust of Casa Grande.  Back then, alternative music was just that - an alternative to what the radio stations were playing then.  It wasn't particularly a genre.  It was a melange of styles and sounds.  It wasn't until the early '90s that it burgeoned into a solid movement (and many argue that it ended when it went commercial).

During the '80s, many of us who embraced the alternative movement were laughed at and scorned by our peers for our tastes.  This was especially true in high school.  There was a moment of vindication my freshman year at Central Arizona College in 1988.  In our philosophy class, Dr. Buys played us a couple of song selections and asked us to interpret the philosophical meanings behind the lyrics.  The songs were "I Do" by Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians.  The second song was "No New Tale To Tell" by Love & Rockets.  I was so happy that a teacher was playing "my music", I remember grooving while seated at my desk.

Since I recently reviewed Bauhaus and Tones On Tails, I decided that it would be fitting to review Love & Rockets.  So Bauhaus broke up, and Tones On Tail ended, and Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, and David J decided to form a new band called Love & Rockets, which was basically the same lineup as Bauhas, minus Peter Murphy (who was having a prolific solo career.)

Their first album was "Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven", which was released in 1985.  With this new album, they departed from the gloomy, gothic sound of their previous bands and embraced a more '60s psychedelic sound like many of the bands of that era, like the Church or Dream Syndicate.  This sound seemed prevalent on most of their other albums.  The most prevalent song on this album is "If There's A Heaven Above", which was an anthem of sorts on alternative radio.

But it wasn't really until their next album, "Express" (1986) that I started to get to know them.  "Ball of Confusion"  - a remake of a Temptations song - dominated the airwaves on the alternative stations.  On my laptop, I have other Love & Rockets albums, but I noticed that I did not have this album, which is my favorite of all their albums.  So I recently downloaded it.  The album starts out with "It Could Be Sunshine" with it's sax intro and 80s pop that could be Tears For Fears, but then it corrodes into smashing finish.  "Kundalini Express" was always a favorite with its train motif.  It always was reminiscent of the '60s, a feeling also found in "Life in Laralay".  "All In My Mind" is good jangle pop, and "Ying and Yang (the Flowerpot Man)" with its driving acoustic guitar is a good example of what good songwriters they are.  "An American Dream" is my favorite song, an acoustic gem played with a Pink Floyd-esque charm.

Their next album, 1987's "Earth, Sun, Moon" never moved me as much as "Express" did, but it is still a good album.  By now, they were well-establlished icons of the growing alternative music, as well as darlings on MTV's "120 Minutes".  This album contains "No New Tales To Tell", as well as my favorite song, "Waiting For the Flood".

By the time their self-titled album came out in 1989, I was kind of over Love & Rockets.  It was 1990, and I was living in Salt Lake City, working at an AutoZone on State Street.  We used blast a Top 40 station on the car stereos.  It seemed like every hour, they were playing "So Alive".  Instead of saying, "Oh, wow, Love & Rockets...  On the radio!"  I was mildly annoyed by the song.  It seemed as if they had become parodies of themselves.  I don't know; I might like it now.  But I never followed up with any of their albums afterwards.

But I do recommend the first three albums - especially "Express" - for any who are wondering what '80s alternative was all about.

Moroni's Review of Pink's "The Truth About Love"

Okay, so this is really not that new of an album, but it is new to me.  My ex-wife (who adores this album) downloaded it to my laptop a couple of months ago.  I am just getting around to reviewing it.

It should be said that I am not a really a huge fan of Pink.  I don’t really dislike her music, either.  I guess I am not really a big fan of Top 40 Pop in general.  But if you are going to listen to this kind of music, then Pink is definitely the artist to listen to.  I wish other pop artists were like her.  She either writes, or co-writes, all of her music.  She has retained creative control of her albums, and she has a deliciously punk-rock attitude.  You have to respect that, especially in a Top 40 artist.

When I started to research this album – “The Truth About Love” – I was startled to see how much of Pink’s music I already had on my laptop.  So one day, while waiting for my clothes to wash, I listened to selections from each one of her albums, and I had to admit to myself, her music is not that bad.  The same can be said of her new album – not that bad.  Maybe it’s just my mild derision of music that dominates the airwaves, and my mistrust of the music establishment.  It is listenable, but, honestly, this album will probably not be on repeat on my phone.  It probably won’t even go on my phone, and I will probably move on to other music the moment I am done writing this review.

The album kicks off very nicely with the tongue-twisting “Are We All We Are”, with a pounding beat and eerie background vocals.  The next song “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” receives a lot of radio play.  From the first moment I heard it, I thought it was an obvious rip-off of Modest Mouse’s “Float On”.  But that’s okay, because “Float On” was definitely a rip-off of Wolfgang Press’s “The Great Leveller” (whom I discussed in the last post) from the ‘80s.  It’s all relative, and everyone borrows from someone else.  But just as something to pass the time, YouTube these three songs and compare them.  It's amusing.

The next track is “Try” – a motivational ballad.  I actually like this song.  There are a few collaborations on the album – “Just Give Me a Reason” with Nate Ruess from fun. (whom I think are not that fun.) and “True Love” with Lily Allen.  Neither are enough to write home about.  The effort with Eminem – “Here Comes the Weekend” – is pretty good.  However, I mistook Eminem for Snoop Dogg (er, Lion?)  It gets to the point where are rappers sound the same to me.  There are a couple of piano ballads, “Beam Me Up” and “The Great Escape”, that are okay, at best.  “How Come You’re Not Here” emulates Pink’s obsession with Janis Joplin.  “Slut Like You” and “Walk of Shame” are both catchy tunes, and, by far, my favorite songs on the album. 

Once again, this is not a bad album, but the hard and sad truth about “The Truth About Love” is that it is not at all that memorable.  Still, I like Pink as a celebrity personality, and as an artist with integrity.  I do hope that she is around for a long time.

Moroni's Retro-Review of "Lonely Is An Eyesore"

It was 1987, and, in my 17 year-old opinion, the best record label in the universe was 4AD.

This was the label that had given us such great acts in the early '80s as Bauhaus, Modern English, the Birthday Party, and Lydia Lunch.  Today, they continue to amaze with acts such as Iron & Wine, TV On the Radio, Bon Iver, and Purity Ring.

In 1987, it was Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, Dead Can Dance, as well as new acts, the Pixies and Throwing Muses (both out of Boston).

As a promotion of their music, the British label put out a compilation that showcased their best bands.  I think I made a special trip to Tower Records in Tempe, Arizona to buy it.  The LP came in a really nice case complete with a booklet with photographs and articles of each band, produced by 23 Envelope - 4AD's visual department.  I treasured this LP.  They also released the album on VHS, also produced by 23 Envelope, with each video shot in grainy black and white - very artsy.  I no longer have the LP, but I still have the VHS cassette.  I wanted to add it to my collection, and so I decided to download this treasure digitally. Of course, I decided to review it.

Now that many years have passed since I first bought this album (26!), it is easy to see how much influence that Ivo Watts-Russel, the iconoclastic founder of the 4AD label, had over his musicians.  Just like the videos, the music all has common aspects.  This makes for a great concept album, envisioned by each of the different artists.

The first song is a a rowdy tune by Colourbox, an electronic outfit.  The song, "Hot Doggie", has a dance beat and rocking guitar layered beneath a barrage of samples - most of them from movies like "Evil Dead" and "The Last Starfighter".  Colourbox created a hit that same year under the name M/A/R/S called "Pump Up the Volume".  You may have heard of it.  (It was also a 4AD release.)

The second song is "Acid, Bitter, and Sad" by This Mortal Coil - one of my favorite bands of all time.  This Mortal Coil, however, is not really a band.  It is a project concocted by  4AD executives Ivo Watts-Russel and John Fryer, who both serve as musicians.  This Mortal Coil would typically do cover songs from late '60s and early '70s acts like Tim Buckley, and each song would consist of a series of guest musicians, most of them from the 4AD catalog.  They released three albums, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.  "Acid, Bitter, and Sad" is a typical example of This Mortal Coil's music - dreamy and ethereal.  It starts out with wind chimes and soft electronic music with vocals provided by '90s house music artist Alison Limerick, her voice run through an early equivalent of AutoTune.  Then the song build up to an orchestral crescendo.  A very nice song.

Track #3 is  "Cut the Tree" by Wolfgang Press, also one of my favorite '80s bands.  The song is very slow-paced and was always reminiscent of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by the Police.  Except that the vocals provided by Michael Allen (who sport white dreadlocks in the video) are deep, typical of most gothic bands of this era, and sets the song apart, along with its stark lyrics.

The next song is "Fish" by Throwing Muses, and the title "Lonely is an Eyesore" comes from the lyrics of this Boston quartet.  They were fresh and young at the time they were signed to 4AD, formed by step-sisters Kirstin Hersh and Tanya Donelly (who went on to co-found the Breeders with Pixies' bassist Kim Deal, also a 4AD act.)  I had the chance of meeting and seeing Throwing Muses live in 1989.  They opened up for New Order, and the thing that struck me - this band was fronted by three women that scarcely stood above five feet, and they rocked.  This song - driven by its staccato drum beat and Hersh's wailing vocals - is no different.  The album contains a studio version of this song, but the video is a messier impromptu version of the song that captures some of their live energy.

This is followed by "Frontier" by Dead Can Dance.  Many may not know that this legendary set of musicians started out in the punk communes of Melbourne, Australia in the late '70s.  They would assemble and make music on whatever implement they could find - pots or pans.  On their self-titled debut album released in 1984, Dead Can Dance released a studio version of this song.  But on this compilation, it's the version of this song from their demo, which was made in one take with Lisa Gerrard making up her nonsensical lyrics on the spot.  The interesting thing about this song - the instrumentation consists of them banging on metal drums filled with water, true to their roots.

Cocteau Twins - anyone who know me knows that this band (whom I was fortunate to see live in 1994, shortly before their breakup) is one of my favorite bands.  This is a band that has gone through many phases - from spooky gothic in the early '80s, to the ancient Greek of "Treasure" to the liquidy chimes of "Victorialand".  This song - "Crushed" - was from their "Love's Easy Tears" phase.  It is scintillating jangle pop.  Liz Fraser's vocals are resplendent.  The best description that I have ever heard of Robin Guthrie's guitars is "feather-light guitars that sound like anything but guitars".  Their music is so unique and has always withstood classification.  This song is a jeweel.

Dij Juz is a band that I still know little about, but I always enjoyed their song "No Motion", which is an instrumental that seems to have strong jazz roots.  A guitar driven song, it starts out with a strong bass line and a watery guitar, and they it splashes into its climax.

Clan of Xymox was one of my favorite bands.  Their first few albums still are favorites of mine.  I used to describe them to people in the '80s as "dance goth".  Eventually, they became a parody of the gothic image people have of them.  I look at their live videos now and laugh at the black lace and poofy hair.  But at their core, they were really good songwriters, especially on this catchy tune "Muscoviet Mosquito".  At the time, it was rare to combine acoustic guitar with electronic dance music, but that was Xymox's signature.  The infectious rhythm is carried by Anke Wolbert's rapid fire guitar strumming, and Ronny Moorings wailing vocals.  In fact, now that I think of it, I only liked Xymox as long as Anke Wolbert and Pieter Nooten were involved.  Once they left, I lost interest.

This compilation is completed with "The Protagonist" by Dead Can Dance.  At the time, DCD always stated that they wished to write soundtracks, and, since then, their music has graced several soundtracks (Heat, The Myst, ect.), and Lisa Gerrard has gone on to score several films (Gladiator, Whale Rider, etc.)  This piece feels like it could be from a movie - grandiose and epic.  It is an instrumental complete with a full orchestra.  The brass section is particularly moving, along with an excellent oboe solo halfway through the song.  The song ends with a crashing finale, and diminishes away with chimes.

This album is a must-have for aficianados of 4AD's music, and it is a good intro to those curious about the artsy side of music in the '80s.