The continuing saga of a wholly irreverent new way of reviewing
albums! It's like sitting in a room with a bunch of jaded music
critics and getting a snapshot of how they feel about an album.
Honesty and first impressions are the key to the Bargain Basement. (opinions expressed may not hold true
after repeated listenings to albums)
This month's episode: Everyone Loves Ramone.
The
Amity Front - Highway Bound
Joey: Like the looser moments of The Band - slower
and more Whiskey influenced er something. Marky: Southern Mad Dogs and Southern Men. A little
Leon Russel. Singer needs a tune-bucket. Dee Dee: Yo! It's Randy Newman! Randy Newman, play
me a song! Johnny: Vagabonds with ponytails, the bridge between
what's hippy and what's hip.
The
Bosch - Buy One Get One
Joey: Good solid pseudo-punk rock. A more pop-savvy Ramones
or modernized Stooges. Awesome. Marky: Ramones-influenced, but with their own chunky
flavor. Great rhythms and drills. Cool, buddy. Dee Dee: Loud rock that would be ablast live. Rock
on! Johnny: Fun, upbeat lo-fi with and organ.
Cholo
- Cholo
Joey: Like the most musical moments of The Fall similarly
redundant lyrics and wild content. Marky: Frank Black meets Black Francis in Sweden to
discuss Lou Reed. Nice stuff. Dee Dee: Rawkus Pixies spawned off-key rock. Johnny: Mucho Pixies, un polito sabroso, como Surfer
Rosa.
Early
Grace - Kick The Sky
Joey: A slower, gentler, countrier X - Burning House Of
Love era. Really great instrumentation & production. Marky: Soul pop hard-folk closest to 4 Non-Blondes.
Her voice is slightly grating and needs effects. Dee Dee: Carly Simon is that how you spell Carly
Simon? Cause this is definitely Carly Simon. Johnny: Good alt-country, inspirational crying jag.
Sponge-bathing the mule.
Exeter
Popes - Exeter Popes
Joey: Off-key warbling on tunes that sound like rejects
from Cure records. Downbeat and moody. Nice. Marky: The Carpenters for the new age. Inoffensive
and pleasant. Pass the suppositories. Dee Dee: A sleepy jog through the Tootsie Roll forest
of Rock and Roll land. Johnny: Morning sounds like this when you kill the
pain of a trust-fund with heroin.
Gingerbread
Patriots - Wax Lips And Hummingbirds
Joey: Cool, catchy Indie-electronica. Fairly low-beat
with excellent production and really nice songs. Postal Service
stylee. Marky: Smashing Pumpkins playing quiet so as not to
wake the neighbors. Bittersweet wussiness. Dee Dee: Mellow downbeat toons to chill out to. Johnny: Seducing the Snuggle Bear , breaking
his heart. His little fresh-smelling heart.
Arden
Kaywin - Quarter Life Crisis
Joey: Amazing vocalist on mature pop music. Kind of Dionne
Farris style. Terrific production and nice songs. Marky: Another nasal, breathy piano popster with hidden
country roots. Good songwriting, style wears thin. Dee Dee: Solid singer/songwriter. Johnny: Is sexy and, apparently, a musician.
Lack
Of Knowledge - Grey CD
Joey: The continuation of The Factory sound continues.
Section 25 mixed with Joy Division. Imagine that! Marky: So much like Ian Curtis it's startling. Something
attractively naïve about it. I dig big. Dee Dee: Is it legal to put a Joy Division CD in your
own jewel case? Johnny: Faraway post-punk with melody and angst.
Lowry
- Awful Joy
Joey: Some nice indie rock from a kid who might be Conner
Oberst's little brother adopted. Marky: J Mascis took Sleep Eze and No Doze. Then had
someone sporadically cinch up his jewells. Dee Dee: More of that Bright Eyes crap. When will it
end? Johnny: Good music, talentless singing.
Mojo
Gurus - Shakin' In The Barn
Joey: NRBQ went back to playing smoky barrooms! 12 bar
blues trying country. Nice job. Marky: Hoodoo? Southern pop rock? Billy Vera goof-country-rock.
Next please. Dee Dee: Well, it has happened; hipster indie cowboys.
Those boys sure dress pretty. Johnny: Standard rock with the edges smoothed out and
sanded. Piano, muted slide-guitar.
Nuffsed
- Ignite The Fuse
Joey: Some good high energy white reggae wih good rapping.
That's a fair solid, mate. Marky: Decent reggae. Good power and tunes. Some dancehall/reggaeton.
Good for dancing with babies. Dee Dee: Ruff-reggae-rock that hasa twist of hip-hop,
sadly it leaves an unpleasant taste behind. Johnny: Mostly white reggae which undoubtedly plays
well in mostly white ski towns.
Amy
Obenski - Kite
Joey: Crisp, clean new folk. Nice songs. Fans of Ani Difranco's
good music should pay attention. Marky: Simple, pretty early 70's folk pop. Carol King,
Maria Muldaur. Great for hitting on hippie moms, OK? Dee Dee: Singer sonwriter chick laying down what you
expect from singer songwriter chicks. Not bad. Johnny: Sensitive, self-involved girl (brushes, piano,
acoustic guitar, liberal arts degree.) Required listening
for introspection.
Adam
Rich - You Can't Escape Life
Joey: Basement Joe Satriani gives it a shot. Some good
playing, fair ideas, but lacks soul. Marky: Loved him as Nicholas Bradford, but Grant Goodeve
writes better lyrics. Poor man's Joe Walsh. Dee Dee: Simple, predictable, and often off-key. Which
is OK if you're into that. Johnny: The best album I have ever heard! I feel like
I'm actually in Adam's basement!
Robert
Cherry - The New Forever
Joey: Lloyd Cole style slow pop. Thoughtful songs and
cool production. Terry Scott Taylor-ish Marky: Hard to pin down. Robbie Robertson meets Rob
Dougan. Divirsity for old people. Dee Dee: Not very inspiring, a serious blend of popular
90's styles. Johnny:Good time to get another slice of pizza, have
another cigarette. Most of the time, I fight the urge to be
a glutton but seeing as I can't slow my head down enough to
figure out what my next step is, I may as well dispense with
all of the slight grief in my life and enjoy another slice
of pizza, another beer and another cigarette. I will distract
myself with slow music in the meantime. Then I figure I have
to make some sort of effort. Fucker. Robert Cherry is a fucker.
Matthew
Shaw - Convenience
Joey: Perfect electro-pop along the lines of Postal Service
and Say Hi To Your Mom. Awesome. Marky: So unengaging, I jack-jawed through the whole
thing. It's whiny enough, I'll give him that. Dee Dee: Beep Beep Postal Service Beep. Johnny: Reminds me of that stupid Republican bitch.
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