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Articles by Jim Cunnar
[18663] The Cure - The Head On The Door - Classic Albums - Albums - Reviews - Soundblab
A girl I had a crush on turned me on to this album. Alas, I didn’t get the girl but got The Cure. It was 1985 and the “Alternative” movement was in full swing and if name dropping The Cure was going to impress the girl of your dreams, then by god, you did your research. It wasn’t long before I conducted a full investigation into this quirky English band with the screechy vocals an ominous bass lines. Truth is, I wasn’t nearly as smitten with The Cure as I was by the Smiths.
WIVES - So Removed - Soundblab - Soundblab
Sometimes when you aren't expecting it, you get the pleasure of stumbling across a sound that you know the instant you hear it, will be huge. The sound has to be familiar yet new, not rehashed but built upon its influence. It can't be copied but has to respect where it, the sound, comes from. Queens, NY based WIVES, on their debut album So Removed, has crafted a sound that is going to fill music halls, bars and wherever else they want to play with fans who love noisy, smart, distorted punk rock.
Vivian Girls - Memory - Soundblab - Soundblab
Few bands captured the sound of the Brooklyn DIY scene better than Vivian Girls in the late aughts and early 2010s. With each album and 7” release you could tell the band was passionate about the changes in sound they were bringing to the “indie mainstream”. When the band announced that they were calling it quits after their 2011 record, it seemed like no one else could carry that sound.
Boris - LφVE & EVφL - Soundblab - Soundblab
Legendary Japanese band Boris have been going since 1992. LφVE & EVφL is their 25th album (they have also done 13 albums in collaboration with other artists) and is intended to be viewed as two albums. The album(s) come out on Jack White’s Third Man Records. Away From You starts with skeletal Shoegaze guitar from Wata. Takeshi and Atsuo soon join in on bass and drums. The bass-line doesn’t settle, it’s always searching for new areas to go.
Girl Band - The Talkies - Soundblab - Soundblab
Girl Band’s sophomore effort, The Talkies, kicks off with some heavy breathing. That’s pretty much all ‘Prolix’ is, outside of some synth pulses but the masturbatory implications are clear. A charming start before the onslaught of, ‘Going Norway’. A furious blast of ornery angst. Unlike a lot of acts around today, Girl Band doesn’t have the burning need to be liked. But there’s definitely something going on in between the ears. I confess I had to look up the definitions of the song titles.
Moon River Festival 2019 - Chattanooga, Tennessee - Day 1 - Soundblab - Soundblab
They say that thieves come in the night. And apparently, they do. At this year’s opening day of the Moon River Festival, the thief came in the guise of a scruffy haired singer-songwriter playing in the pre-closer slot on the event’s smaller stage. Sandwiched between the day’s two biggest draws, Josh Ritter used a twenty year catalog of incisive songs and a crack band to show how an hour-long set should be done. But first up for us on a scorcher of a day was the dynamic Lady Wray.
Crushed Beaks - The Other Room - Soundblab - Soundblab
With all things rock ‘n’ roll, it all begins, and it all ends at the crossroads. And this album is smack dab at the juncture of dense psych melodies, intricate 70’s hard rock, post-punk (think The Cure, The Lucy Show, or The Chameleons UK), and the big windmill sonic wall of the current post-rock Mogwai moment. Now, give this one time because its thick pulsing sound demands patience to reveal its charms. “Sky Burial” begins with a great melodic guitar figure.
Mannequin Pussy - Patience - Soundblab - Soundblab
With 2016’s Romantic, Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy established themselves at the forefront of modern riot grrl punk. Romantic came during a time that punk bands needed to make a stand, with the impending 2016 election looming over everyone’s heads. Mannequin Pussy toured extensively and joined the ranks of other buzzy punk bands like Dilly Dally, Tacocat, and Perfect Pussy (RIP).
Frankie Cosmos Announce New Album and Tour - Soundblab - Soundblab
The always prolific Greta Kline and her band Frankie Cosmos return barely a year after the acclaimed Vessel with another full length album, Close It Quietly. The album will release on September 6 and is available for preorder from SubPop here. Working with Gabe Wax as engineer/co-producer (Wax has worked with War on Drugs among others), the remaining band members remain intact: Lauren Martin (synths); Luke Pyenson (drums); and Alex Bailey (bass).
Slowness - Berths - Soundblab - Soundblab
The San Francisco snorecore trio’s third album continues their droney shoegaze ethic, with melancholic, phased guitars a la Spacemen 3 and The Cure in evidence on opener, ‘The Fall’, which could easily have sat on Disintegration. Early single ‘Rose’ adds a downer Neil Young vibe, ca. On The Beach supplemented with lava-flow melody lines and sleepy vocal harmonies from founding members Julie Lynn and Geoffrey Scott that suggest a touch of The Charlatans in the mix.
Titus Andronicus share pilot of sitcom 'STACKS' - watch here - Soundblab - Soundblab
Ahead of the release of the new album An Obelisk on June 21st via Merge Records, Titus Andronicus have today shared the pilot for their brilliant new sitcom. STACKS is a day in the life of a fictionalised version of Titus Andronicus singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles and is directed by Ray Concepcion who also worked with the band on A Productive Cough: The Documentary. Watch it below.
Amyl and the Sniffers - Amyl and the Sniffers - Soundblab - Soundblab
“You sniff it, it lasts for 30 seconds and then you have a headache - and that's what we're like!” That’s how Amy Taylor describes her band. Naming your outfit after amyl nitrate and sporting mullets is certainly one way to get noticed. Playing hard as nails, speedy Rock & Roll is another. Musically, it's Husker Du, Black Flag, and the Stooges. Yeah, we’ve heard it all before. But isn’t that the point? As Neil Young once sang, “Rock & Roll will never die.” And here’s the story of Johnny Rotten.
The Get Up Kids - Problems - Soundblab - Soundblab
Being in a band is a lot like being in a relationship. At first, the honeymoon period is awesome. It’s exciting and new, with a certain novelty which can be intoxicating. As time passes, the grinding work begins, and like a lot of relationships, some bands come to an end. The healthy ones figure out a way to grow, as individual members and as a group, which allow for the natural changes that occur to improve, not wedge between, the songwriting and performances.
SOAK - Grim Town - Soundblab - Soundblab
Grim Town, the sophomore effort by Northern Ireland singer-songwriter SOAK (Bridie Monds-Watson), nicely avoids the pitfalls of a sophomore effort. It’s been four years since the release of her critically acclaimed (and Mercury Prize nominated) debut Before We Forgot How To Dream, spacing which is a bit extreme from debut to follow up, but time in which SOAK used to craft a strong album which highlights her growth as a songwriter without losing the vulnerability of her messages.
Josh Ritter - Fever Breaks - Soundblab - Soundblab
Plugging away at his craft for over 20 years now, Idaho bred singer/songwriter Josh Ritter has come up with his best album in nearly a decade with Fever Breaks. Ritter hit his stride back in the early 2000s with flawless albums like The Animal Years and the succeeding (and not so humbly named) The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. On Fever Breaks, Ritter gets an able assist by Jason Isbell as producer and is backed by Isbell’s band The 400 Unit.
Lusts - call of the void
Let's say you happen to have a Delorean motor car in your garage equipped with the highly sought after flux capacitor option. Let's say you decide to take a day trip back 30 years to the mid-1980’s. You could feel completely comfortable taking the new album from Lusts, “call of the void” with you without drawing attention.
Cloud Nothings announce new album Last Building Burning - Soundblab
Cloud Nothings have revealed details of their new album, Last Building Burning, to be released October 19th on Wichita Records. At just 30 minutes long, the album was produced by Randall Dunn, which may hint at a heavier sound to previous albums, Dunn has previously worked with Earth, Sunn O))), Boris, Anna Von Hausswolff and is also a member of Master Musicians of Bukkake. Listen to the first track, Echo of the World, below.
Various Artists - C89 - Soundblab
I’m sat here somewhat despondent over the news that ex-NME editor, freakbeat artist (The Executive’s classic ‘Tracy Took A Trip’), author/musicologist of the much-loved Illustrated Record series of band discographies (Beatles, Stones, Bowie, et.al.), and creator of the influential Cnn series of cassettes Roy Carr has passed from a heart attack at 73.
Eleanor Friedberger - Rebound
Rebound, the latest release by Eleanor Friedberger, is yet another 80s throwback concept which seems to be the norm for every indie rocker nowadays. Recorded mostly by herself, with an assist from producer Clemens Knieper, Rebound can’t escape the gravity of its influences, making it a nice but fairly forgettable listen. Rebound is a classic two-sided long-player, the first five songs having a different feel than the final five.
Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog
There is a rumor that the days of the guitar are marked. With a seismic shift to the electronic sounds of EDM and hip-hop, guitar based rock seems to be taking a back seat. But, if one peels back the outer layer of today’s music scene, you will find that the guitar is alive and well, and it is thriving in the hands of some very capable women. Hop Along’s third album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog, is an incredibly strong effort.
Frankie Cosmos - Vessel
Greta Kline is prolific, to say the least. Vessel, the fourth album she’s released as bandleader of Frankie Cosmos, is actually her 52nd release since 2011. Considering Kline is only 23 years old, this should make you sit up and take notice. With that much product, it would seem natural for there to be bunches of filler, but Kline’s approach to music writing keeps her output incredibly fresh.
Amyl and the Sniffers - Big Attraction/Giddy Up - Soundblab
Punk rock requires a few basic ingredients. First, you need a great name. The Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Wire, H?sker D? - all epic names. Second, you need to have style. The Ramones had their leather jackets, The New York Dolls had their make-up andThe Sex Pistols had their bobby pins. Third, your songs should be radio friendly, if it wasn’t for their light-speed pace and blistering hooks. Blitzkrieg Bop clocks in at barely two minutes, and live versions are more like a minute thirty.
Bob Mould annihilates The Late Show with David Letterman
On February 5, Bob Mould once again graced the stage of The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City as the musical guest of late-night stalwart David Letterman. Still supporting his phenomenal 2014 release Beauty and Ruin, the trio of Mould, Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster blistered through face-melting renditions of 'Tomorrow Morning' and 'Kid With a Crooked Face'. Mould looked like he was 22 again, prowling and pogoing around the stage with glee.
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