"Will the kids in the back deny it?".

Jesus Christ. Let's get this part out of the way - any semi-conscious music buyer with a decent set of speakers could easily tell you that this cd contains moments that sound very similar to a little "in the media's eye" band called the Blood Brothers. If that is all some kid is going to say about The Fall of Troy and this beyond in.fucking.credible release is sorely missing the entire point by a margin larger than their shitty ego. I just finished the painful touches on my "what I heard this year - and enjoyed" list, then the next damn day finally got around to hearing the glorious sounds this trio has unleashed upon the nation. This is top list material boys & girls - you need this shit. This is the sole reason I keep the small wick of fire burning in my unheard musical soul - just for reasons such as this. This is epic, in so many ways. Ok - the opener, 'Rockstar Nailbomb!' gets the affair off to a very frantic blood brothers / botch start - but my friends - this is where TFOT take over, and take over every small area of your listenable area. These fucking guitars, who taught these guys to play guitars like this? There is squelch & metal all over these chords, it's quite possibly the most intense thing you have ever heard in the first 2 minutes of hearing your new favorite band. And the drums - good jesus, this see-thru kit is begging for the boy to just "stop beating me - please!". It's beautiful - I have played this track alone at least 10 times prior to typing where I am now. Let's just pretend I have the hip job screening music for a hip spot like CMJ - I would fill in the R.I.Y.L. spot with the following designated credits: ATDi, Hopesfall, Botch, Mastodon. A short tour of their website reveals all three - yes just 3 guys make this HUGE noise, jesus - are mostly fans of many of these bands (plus a modest mouse in there for mega-extra credit). It just makes sense. Here is where I must make an outsiders statement: the 3 members of this band ALL play an instrument, and the 2 guitar/bass players also sing / scream / contribute vocally. Do you realize the sheer importance that this reveals about this band? There aren't 5 or 6 members in the band, with 1 or 2 members dedicated to the microphone ONLY - you following me shortcakes? This is talent, and it is very good talent. I'm searching all online databases for info on these guys and am coming up a bit short. I do find that they have supported BANE and the like on tour - I have a feeling the kids in the crowd had a fit for this crew.

Alright, more about the music - the longest abbreviation in my history of rock songtitles 'F.C.P.S.I.T.S.G.E.P.G.E.P.G.E.P.'is a bit off the path of ziploced shrapnel that the first part of it has been, but hey - the guys needed a break. The liner notes reveal they have recruited a few extra "singers", one of which is producer Joel Brown (The Prom), to add some substance to this fiasco. You may dig it - but I want CHAOS, and I know these kids can brew some - I've been hearing it for the last 5 tracks. YES - here it is - 'Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man's Bones'. The guitars are way over the top - chords on top of chords, fighting to get escape the amp before the others. The vocals are really raspy - like he's cheering the chords out of the speakers too - "WAKE UP!! CONFORM!! SHOOT!!" he commands. Then out of the background comes a sound that brings to mind a herd of very angry Elephants, seriously like ten or more giant beasts that are about to exit the circus and nothing will stop them. The grizzly drums lead the animals through the end of the near 5 minute track, somebody had to have gotten trampled. Did I tell you how good this all sounds yet when it's as loud as it can possibly get? The grand finale on this disc is 'What Sound Does A Mastdon Make?'. The fucking Mastodon killed all your fanbase on the track above - that's the sound that 5-ton beast makes. This track runs a touch over 7 minutes and has left me ready to take on a small colony with my bare feet & fists. ANGER FILLS MY VEINS as I hear "Bite the bullet / get your gun. Do you feel safe now?" - yes, I feel safe enough to KILL. This track alone crushes most bands attempting to do what The Fall Of Troy are doing - and I can't quite describe this method of song, but it's better than what you were listening too before you read this - DO NOT ARGUE, can't you see I am ENRAGED? Fist fighting vocals atop vocals, guitars as weapons, drums as drill seargents - then as quick as it all ran over your willing ass, this Mastodon exits to a few light chords.

You are going to find this album - right?

kaleb. 12.17.03
L i n k s : TFOT

FANTOMAS
Delirium Cordia
( Ipecac ) 2004

If you don't know who Fantomas is you, need to get a life because they are reinventing music. Fantomas consists of Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Faith No More.. . ), Buzz Osborne (the Melvins.. .one of the heaviest bands ever), Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle), and Dave Lombardo (SLAYER!!!).

I call Fantomas a "super band" because the members are all in legendary bands. This release is 1 "song" that's around 75 minutes long. Believe me the whole thing is more than worth listening to. Basically Fantomas has absolutely zero lyrics. Mike Patton uses his voice as an instrument and pulls it off more than amazingly. You won't hear any metal on this album like their earlier albums. When listening to this album you must have the state of mind that you are in surgery under anesthesia. Yeah that's right this album is a fuckin' trip. Also I'd like to say that the artwork on this album is totally rad. Get this album NOW! If you are into music and Art you NEED this album. Like seriously. GET IT!

Now if they would only release it on vinyl for geeks like me.

daniel 10.24.04

Favez | the Sad Riders
Bellefontaine Avenue | Lay Your Head on the Soft Rock
(Doghouse) 2004 | (Sticksister) 2003

"I could have had a better plan, and gone out in style"

Who the fuck told Favez they could come over here (again) and release Bellefontaine Avenue? Find the guilty and thank them - present them with the richest of fruits. See - Favez hail from Switzerland, and hopefully you already knew this considering they released the solid 'From Lausanne, Switzerland' on doghouse in 2002, hailing comparisons ranging from Dinosaur Jr (favez has worked with Dino Jr. producer John Agnello on previous albums) and Far. Yeah - that Favez. They have been around since the early 90's y'know - well, they've created and album edgier than 'From Lausanne', and it's posed to takeover the airwaves if you ask this kid who fears the radio.

The first thing that will grasp your attention on a favez release is Chris Wicky's range - it's a gift from above, no doubt. The first thing that floored me on Bellefontaine Avenue was the second track 'times were high' - if this one song alone doesn't show up at least 90% of the American junk / punk scene this summer, I'm blaming Bush for that too. 'Times were high' has all the right pieces I imagine a song should include to be a "hit" : heavy guitars, sweeping vocals and a wholesome amount of substance. It brings to mind one of the most underappreciated albums of the past 5 years, Elliott's False Cathedrals (the two album's similar cover subjects are simply bizarre). Hell, while we're on songs that every bit of rock - 'Olé José' gets my vote too.

If you are a label junkie, you will be aware that Doghouse is the home to past TRL breadwinners The All American Rejects as well as new recruits (and sctas faves) My Hotel Year. That said if you are still out of rotation on Favez and enjoy the punch either of the two crews above deliver - Favez have given you eleven more reasons to listen with Bellefontaine Avenue.

The Sad Riders is Chris Wicky's solo outing, tinged with everything glorious about American folk - yep, folk. 'Lay Your Head on the Soft Rock' may just put you in a position to call Chris one of the most promising singer / songwriter's of our days. The softer sounds on Bellefontaine, like 'the system', are a sneak peek at this 'sad' side. I don't think you can call what Chris has accomplished here the result of influence or study - this honestly sounds like a guy raised on a couple acres in the American mid-west. The whole Favez crew have their parts somewhere on this album - the whole thing shines like a mountain of gold. Again - rejoice in knowing that both of these albums are in your reach.

"I've got pictures of Elvis spread out on the floor of my rooms"

kaleb :: (05.25.04)

Progression Through Aggression
Various Artists
(Ferret) 2004

Ferret Music have made quite a name for themselves in the underground music world.
With 8 years and 43 releases under their belt, they show no sign of slowing down. With releases from such hardcore heavy hitters as skycamefalling, Scarlet, Remembering Never, and soon Zao. This comp has 18 tracks of Ferret's latest signees, and former signees. With tracks from groups such as Misery Signals, From Autumn To Ashes, Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die, Twelve Tribes and Suicide Note, Ferret shows they have one hell of a label roster.

Key tracks on this album would be the latest from their latest groups, Twelve Tribes and Misery Signals. Other tracks that really stand out are Every Time I Die's Logic of Crocodiles, and one of my personal favs A Static Lullaby's Lipgloss and Letdown. You should definitely pick this little bastard up, especially if you like listening to a bunch of different stuff while chilling out or driving around.

ray :: (06.25.04) [ buy it ]

Fiver
Let It All Fall Down
( Devil in the Woods ) 2004

"Static on the radio, laugh it off an let it snow"

Fiver are the best kept secret those friends you've yet to meet already know and love. Those friends may be firmly rooted in the vibrant fields of the west coast, but someday you will rejoice in knowing Fiver make the only sounds you ever need to hear. Not so much a departure from any past record as it is more of constant evolving, Fiver have again modified their sonic sound to create another album to accompany endless summer nights.

Fiver have an undeniable talent of crafting songs that layer around their listener (headphones optional), gently magnetizing you into the world they reside in. Lost Enterprise is just that type of track that slowly builds into a wall of fuzz before twinkling out of sight. Title track 'Let it all fall down' brings the pace to just above a crawl, with Dave Woody's part helium, entirely loveable vocals on full display as a steady drumbeat follows him to the end. The results bring to mind a Fiver best that could lovingly be placed alongside the likes of Air, circa-Premiers Symptomes. Stunning. To follow one of the most infectious tracks I have heard from the Fiver outlet since 'mini-bunny', 'It's Your Funeral' comes and trips my senses twofold. Following the pattern of delicate instrumentation - a static beat and no more than a handful of keys - is Woody's hypnotic tone. "Tell them all to get it right" is the last thing you hear before the guitars take over, opening up the space around them like walls coming down. It's not only obvious that this is a band as the height of it's young career, but this is a group of musicians that has handcrafted a sound that they have nearly perfected.

And you thought 'Here It Comes' had Fiver at peak performance, "this one leads to may more" (from that album's "Every Light is Gone Out"), has new meaning. Like the fermented fruits that Modesto, California is famous for - Dave Woody and crew only better with years. Don't tell Fiver how to rock, they're from here.

+ kaleb 09.13.04

FLARE
HUNG
( Le Magistery ); 2003

So, what do a Bilhorn Telescopic Harmonium, Schoenhut toy grand piano & a Melodica 36 have in common? Well, when combined with a trunkload (oversized trunk plus, & counting) of other interesting instruments PLUS one extremely gifted songwriter, LD Beghtol, you get an affair as listenable as HUNG. Ladies & Gents, this is truly a grand & fascinating album. Released on the highly (x10) respectable Bloomfield Hills label Le Magistery [home to Momus, Stars], and somehow created in The New York City - this being FLARE's second proper release, you best be prepared to see me hunt down their debut micro-album Circa (Mother West / Subliminal Violence, 2000). If you catch a subtle hint of Magnetic Fields / 6ths vibe from this wonderful work of art, you're not that far off the trail that Beghtol travels - he is credited on past Magnetic projects such as the "listen to until the end of time" box of 69 Love Songs, and Merrit is credited in this here's albums notes. The recipie folks: genius. You do like people that know how to properly play instruments you've never heard of, right? I promise you - you will after you spin this album the second or third time. Keep It To Yourself - this track alone and it's "I don't need to know how you suffer / Please keep it to yourself" belongs in your head. Brilliant right down to the design details. Mr. Beghtol, if you ever decide to take on a project of ridiculous scientific proportions - please allow someone to clone your talent. New York needs it. Listener, I only ask of you a few things - Do you fancy the darkest side of the Black Heart Procession, and find your mind stalled when you accidentally smoke candle wax & baking soda? Did your internet fling not go as well as you had expected [see fig. 9: (Don't Like) The Way We Live Now]? All these answers and more are contained in one exquisitely structured box of music entitled HUNG. Glory be.

+ kaleb 01.26.04

for stars
'...It Falls Apart'
( Future Farmer ); 2004

"calm down baby - you're making such a fool of me"

"good god". That was the initial reaction when Carlos Forster's vocals first creeped from my speakers on opening track 'I should have told you' (fig. 1). The "plug-in, let's get started" sounds part like storm clouds and the lyrics "you should've seen her - when it all began" take their place like the sun that hasn't shown itself for weeks. There is simply no sense trying to find the right descriptive that justifyibly corner this song - astonishing or defining are just about as close as your going to get - but still, it deserves better.

What follows are seven equally delicate ( and, at moments, awakening) tracks that do their fair part of revealing a band that is at the height of their career. From the chilling, experimental vibe of 'reminds you' (fig. 6) , to the grand ten minutes of grace enttled 'If It Fall's Apart' (fig. 7) - '...It Falls Apart' will paralyze your senses, forcing you to fall victim to it's grand melodies. Seriously, each of this albums 38 minutes - and the piano that follows it - will take the very breath from your lungs, purify & refresh it before gently placing it back into your body. If by this, for stars 4th release, you are not listening - talk about a hell of a loss.

All-Music Guide told you 5 years ago that "Carlos Forster may have the most gorgeous lonely voice in the history of pop music", and some textual facts stand the test of time. Something tells me the Future Farmer lines are going to be buzzing.

'I should have told you, calm down baby. It doesn't really matter in the end. Shattered glass reminds you, If it falls apart - lend out your love.' You will wish you made this album.

+ kaleb 03.19.04

Josephine Foster
All the leaves are gone
( Locust Music ) 2005

Ms. Foster is part of / has been lumped with the American "free folk" scene, which might have been called the "acid folk" scene at one time (the time in the 1960s, of Pearls Before Swine, Erica Pomerance, and Dino Valenti), a scene/movement taking Anglo-American folk music where is has never gone before. While Foster is very talented (see my forthcoming review of another of her discs), the way she applies her vocal abilities on ...Leaves... is a little.. . much. She has a very unique voice, impressive range and has likely training in operatic or classical music, and she recalls Nico, early Joan Baez, Joan La Barbara, PJ Harvey and Dagmar Kraus (from Slapp Happy and the Art Bears) - but the problem is she displays her technique a little too much for her (or is it my?) own good, affectedly going up-and-down the scale, coming of as precious and / or look-at-me instead of heartfelt.

Her band (Brian Goodman, guitar & bass, Rusty Peterson, drums) are indeed sharp-as-a-tack (choppy & snappy in a good way, a bit pugnacious), but it sounds like everyone is going overboard on trying to be dissonantly different for the sake of sounding "unique," sometimes sounding as if she's playing & singing pretty folk songs in one studio and they're trying to sound like Ornette Coleman's Prime Time or Capt. Beefheart's Magic Band in another.

Relax, Ms. JF, we KNOW your not just another painfully earnest singersongwriter.

Mark Keresman 07.22.05

Josephine Foster
Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You
( Locust Music ) 2005

Yes, YES - THIS is more like it! That is, "It" being the keenly strange majesty of the free-folk/acid-folk designs of Josephine Foster. Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You is a true solo album, where Ms. JF plays several instruments and sings all the parts, with her voice an enchanting instrument in itself. Warm and quavering, she recalls the very traditional UK folk lasses Shirley & Dolly Collins, with touches of the astringent purity of free-jazz doyenne Patty Waters and the acid-dinged lunacy of Erica Pomerance. The general tone of her songs conjures the stark austerity of Anne Briggs, Barbara Dane and Jean Ritchie - music from an Antiquity that evokes Chaucer's time, Mother Maybelle Carter, the unkind feudal 16th century of Paul Verhoven's film Flesh + Blood, or simply some time Other. Where her Leaves... album feels self-satisfied, Hazel cuts into your soul like the first bitter winds of November. Plus, this CD's cover art recalls the graphics of some releases on the ESP-Disk label, that selfsame elusive entity that released the recordings of Waters and Pomerance in the 1960s (along with Albert Ayler and the Godz).

A singular wonder, Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You indeed could have been issued by ESP, and I mean that as high praise.

Mark Keresman 07.29.05

four tet
Everything Ecstatic
( Domino ) 2005

Jubilance is often juxtaposed to adolescence; because when we are young, happiness comes in candy wrappers, elaborately colored boxes, or television sets. Our happiness as kids depends more upon ice cream or sprinklers and less upon the intricacy of human love or purpose. Most of the many things in which adult humans find anxiousness are simply a given to the adolescent and thus their cares are limited.

The mere existence of pain is inconsequential to the adolescent. While it certainly exists, youth dominates the ability to understand the complexities of life, leaving the young person in a state of constant ebb and flow. But in those true and free moments of honest jubilance, all the pain in the world could not disturb the forward momentum of pure happiness.

As the years go by, we come to understand the world for what it can be: an uncertain reality that, if navigated properly, can be tamed but never controlled. Our happiness is dependent upon our abilities to understand, filter and decide on significant decisions. It is a complicated happiness but an ultimately rewarding, albeit often times confusing, one.

four tet captured human adult jubilance in song on Everything Ecstatic.

The music is undoubtedly positive. Structured layers of dance beats, subtle harmonies, and electronic warmth give the music a sunrise at dawn feel. Its certainly no major departure from Rounds but still finds a way to surprise. "A Joy" starts off the love fest with a ridiculous groove that begs a head nod. The most beautiful parts about the song come far in the background as we hear the beat take a back seat to the great triumph of the record; background accents. The album is heavily beat driven but is completed in its distant melodies, even more distant harmonies, and almost completely faded countermelodies. Listen closely.

The album waxes and wanes changing from the straight forward to the downright strange and anarchic. This is the new face of electronic music. It's older, wiser, but infinitely more complex. The look on its face shows no clear emotion but rather stares straight ahead with a glance of mischief and a hint of satisfaction. This new face is self assured but broken, confident but timid: a modern look to a younger soul. The complexities in the songs on Everything Ecstatic mirror the complexities in the effort. Kieran Hebden mixed and matched a pounding percussion with a simple serene, melody and finished with an effort that is equally pretty as it is powerful.

Hebden puts together the songs probably not with the consciousness that warrants many of my comments however the result is still the same. I can't help react the way I do to his music. I can't help but love it for its joyful noise. And I can't help but allow myself to become captivated about what it all could mean.

JK 07.03.05

The Frames
Burn the Maps
( anti-) 2005

During a recent discussion about the state of British rock, a friend referred to British darlings Keane as "vagina rock". He has a point - the recent successful acts out of Britain (Coldplay, Keane, Travis) have been romantic, epic bands that have audiences comprised mostly of teenage girls and soccer moms. With searing ballads of beautiful love and quiet romantic desperation, the anthem rock of the new millennium has been overwhelmingly.. .perfect.

The Frames, hailing from Ireland, seem to play counterpoint to Keane and Coldplay's immaculate sentiments. Singing a similar brand of mope-rock and working with the same palette of muted greys, occasionally breaking out for the anthemic chorus. However, the Frames have an almost intrinsically imperfect brand of hurt, as evidenced on "Fake", with its chorus of "C'mon, the guy is a fake/What do you love him for?" Echoing more Jeff Buckley than U2, the Frames' manner of dramatism is balanced by th personal lyrical sense and earnest vocal delivery of singer Glen Hansard. Songs like "Finally" and "Ship Caught In The Bay" make use of his gruff tenor and simple lyric, and are wonderfully lacking the panorama of their arena-rock counterparts, settling for polaroids instead of widescreen. The whole album seems to have a slow burn quality to it, as if an explosion is lurking around the corner of the tightly wound numbers like "Dream Awake" and the slow stomp of "A Caution to The Birds". This tension often doesn't result in a satisfying result, but like the unfufilled romance in Hansard's lyric, this might be exactly the point. Coldplay and Keane can have the beautiful visions of love and desire, but the Frames sing songs for those who know that love is wonderfully imperfect.

tyler 02.28.05

Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
(Domino) 2004

After hearing one track and dismissing it as a ripoff of the Strokes (who weren't exactly the most original band themselves), I wrote off Franz Ferdinand as another band trying to ride the wave of retro rock salvation. After hearing another song by the group and having it stick in my head, I finally caved in and now I have to admit that I've been listening to the damn thing nearly every day for the past couple weeks. It's true that while Franz Ferdinand may not be the most original band out there, they do what they do better than a vast majority of other bands doing similar stuff. As a friend of mine stated, "it's almost too catchy" (with a slight look of evil on his face).

Really, though, this is nothing to be afraid of. This is 11 tracks and just under 40 minutes of rock music that really is insanely catchy and perfect for singing along with while the windows are down on your car and a sweat is breaking out on your body because your air conditioning isn't working quite right. Opening with quiet strummed acoustic guitars and crooned vocals, "Jacqueline" soon shakes loose with a totally sweet guitar riff and basically acts as a launching pad as the song blasts into a song of more hooks than you can count. "Tell Her Tonight" alternates between wanky, rockstar verses and multi-part vocal choruses that bring a bit of dumb fun in before "Take Me Out" opens with that Strokes-esque beginning but takes a corkscrew turn and slows into a full-on rock stomper.

Song after song follows with very little stumbles and plenty more singalong fun. "Auf Achse" moves through slightly dreary passages but turns around and obliterates them with rollicking moments and "Cheating On You" (which doesn't get a whole lot more lyrically deep than the title) keeps things on the rails with pure propulsion alone. Interestingly enough, it's the first single from the release ("Darts Of Pleasure") that fails to stick as well as many of the other songs on the release, rolling through re-hashed riffs and overly affected vocals. In the end, this isn't anything you haven't heard before musically, but it's a musically solid variation on something a lot of bands are doing and it does it better than most. Get set for heavy replay.

aaron :: (05.21.04)

Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
(Sony) 2004

Poor Franz Ferdinand. They look so delightfully lovely with that moustache - yet they are treading on ground I / many of us have come to despise.

If Franz are proving one thing, it's that the "scene" as we know it may have run out of chords. I was beginning to have a tough time with this album until I discovered it is a concept album of sorts - let me explain. The Franz have cleverly decided (with bigger label help) to put out a "strike while the Strokes are hot" kinda album, reworking their own original material with edges of their influences. Here we have a track-by-track that tells of each songs kindered spirit, complete with sample lyric -so don't you worry:

1. jacqueline - "I don't mind if you kill me" - Dead Kennedys, Pearl Jam. Do they play Pearl Jam in Glasgow?
2. tell her tonight - the line 'tell her tonight' kinda sums this one up - Hot Hot Heat
3. take me out - "we're just a cross-hair" - the 'Quadrophenia' beginning only leaks a Strokes vox effect that will NOT go away.
4. matinee - "so I'm on BBC2 now" - take your pick of any spy-flick from the mid/late 1960's.
5. auf acshe - "she's not so special" - the Cure
6. cheating on you - cheating! - Supergrass (great choice)
7. this fire - "I'm out of control" - Interpol
8. darts of pleasure - "you are the latest contender" - those Strokes are evil, and somehow influential as well.
9. michael - "so heavenly" - one of two originals left to be. great song as is.
10. come on home - "I replace you easily" - U2
11. 40 ft - "la la la" - the second original Franz bit. Again, great song - wish they all sounded this good.

Go boys - sell 3 million. Next.

k :: (05.25.04)

Franz Ferdinand
You Could Have It So Much Better With Franz Ferdinand
( Domino ) 2005

Franz Ferdinand managed to come into the spotlight at a moment where eyeliner and stringy, wire-thin guitars over disco beats were refreshing, new, and wonderfully between retro and achingly post-modern. Who knew they would explode? Except, well, everyone.

Their eponymous debut set a high bar for bands willing to follow in the path of the Glaswegian foursome, matching wit and style with hooks and riffs - every song on their first album was undeniable, if overly pop-driven, and had more catch-phrases than a season of The OC. (Who the fuck is Terry Wogan?)

So, after over a year of getting to know the boys of FF, where does that leave us? We, their audience, have been through the Killers, the "new" Interpol ("Slow Hands") and the reintroduction of dance beats to, well, everything. LCD Soundsystem broke and moved hips from shaking to all-out throbbing, and it seemed all things "indie" were swaying to a new (disco) beat.

In short, Franz Ferdinand are now victim to their own influence, with You Could Have It So Much Better With Franz Ferdinand sounding too.. . Franz Ferdinand? "Do You Want To" isn't a rehash, but after a year of deeming things too much like "Take Me Out," it's hard not to judge the boys' new single as such. Undeniable, yes - equal parts coy and sexy, yes - but new? Hardly. Their tempo shifts are now their stock-in-trade, and tracks that keep at the same click ("This Boy") seem to be the exception, not the rule. Opener "The Fallen" sets the tone of the album, bubbling with so many ideas that the track hardly gets a moment to really settle in its own skin. The fiery guitar duo of Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarty doesn't achieve the tight trouser pomp of tracks like "Cheating On You," instead giving way to a chorus of "hoo-oo's" and a nice hook pointing to a stronger sense of songwriting, breaking from the choruses that pined a little too similarly on their debut. In terms of change, the band has finally settled in with their David Bowie influence, songs like "Walk Away" aching in a way that's more than a little reminiscent of 70's Bowie, but exchange the spacesuit for a vintage one.

There are great songs on this album, for sure, including a live favorite, "I'm Your Villain," that exemplifies the FF tricks that make this album a bit of a holding pattern - thankfully it struts so fine that they're hardly noticed. Other tracks, like "Evil and a Heathen," sound like a hungrier, more lo-fi version of the band, regressing to the point where it sounds almost like a totally different band, if not for Kapranos' ambiguously sexual sneer, which has never been more lecherously dangerous as well as direct.

We can't get mad at Franz Ferdinand for not debuting version 2.0 on this record - if anything, they've proved that the first model still works damn well. And if the band doesn't hold up to their debut, few things have in the last few years.

Here's to keeping ears perked and hips shaking.

Tyler McCauley 10.01.05

Nik Freitas
Heavy Mellow
( Future Farmer); 2003

Nik Freitas doesn't want a crappy job. Chances are you don't really love the job you currently wake each morning and go to, who cares - maybe you do. Maybe your job is cool, remember - this is about Nik and his latest release Heavy Meallow (out now on Future Farmer). If you don't want a job you are gonna hate going to each day - do what you love (or at least think you would like better). Burn your ties, bury your briefcase and take the fuck off into your own world - Nik did it. But yes, be careful what you choose. Nik, an established photographer for many a year, seeing the world - decided a bit back that he wanted to try his luck with making music (he had previously played drums in the west coast band For Stars), and in the summer of 2002 released Here's Laughing at You (on Future Farmer) to widely positive reception. Folks were scrambling to put a "sounds like this" tag on the album, with names like Ben Folds, the Beatles and Mercury Rev all popping up in his reviews. This equally diverse follow-up continues in Nik's blend of "hey let's try that instrument in here too" brand of DIY rock (he is credited with playing all instruments on his debut release). Summer Hearts, the third track in the album, seriously and in a good-kinda-way sounds like it could have been lifted right out of any Mull Historical Society recording session from the 'Loss' recordings. Led by a fine tuned and very well played piano, Nik delivers his words in an aching manner - "teenagers speed sown a freeway, wishing there were no rules / summer hearts, can't be broken". Then comes a simple set of drums, played right along to give these kids some direction. It is a beautiful song that makes for a moment acceptable what we wish would never happen - you live and you lose, time stops for no one. Yes, I'm gonna have to say I am glad this cat decided to make some music. Penny, another piano-based tune (do you see a pattern forming in what I like?), is a swanky, choice jam. The guitar has that certain "hit & stop", all Paul McC during the peak of his Wings-era, another winner. The majority of this second album is straight ahead smart rock - big guitars and steady drumming ('Be Honest', 'Bad Dream'), carefully chosen instrumentation - all placed in line by Nik's witty lyrics and style. Then there are those particular times when the pace slows and the steady, intelligent songwriting takes the lead ('Cheaters', 'Sentimental Life'). This well-crafted release is not to be overlooked - the Future Farmer(s) win again.

+ kaleb 12.17.03

LINK::: : the farm

fuck
those are not my bongos
( Future Farmer [US] ); 2004

"Does the penis offend you? Do the female charms alarm you?"

These are the opening words on 'motherfuckeroos', from the latest fuck offering 'those are not my bongos' - right before us motherfucker(oo)s are instructed to "get over it". There is certainly nothing I like more than waking on the goddamned sabbath and being called a motherfucker - especially by a band who goes by the "janet & justin" industry alarming title of fuck. Hell - my man even goes so far as to say he's gonna 'hack my body up, tear me limb to limb' [on 'vow'] - well, good morning. Oh who the fuck am I kidding - all that talk of the Sabbath .

fuck have had homes with the makes of Smells Like Records, Matador (home of their most recognizable release 'Pardon My French') and Italy's Homesleep Records, who originally released 'Bongos' in 2003. Now the fuck boys have formed a new American nest in their starting state of California with San Fran's Future Farmer. Those are not my bongos is a delightfully grand explosion of tales of human genitalia, Archie's pal Jughead and unsightly body hair. Hidden beneath swanky cymbals, carefully executed organ hits and a fuckload of witty vocals - fuck get the job done. With 3 improv pieces to break up the fun (the start & stop lounge of 'jazz idiodyssey', the spacey 'olives vs cherries' & the acoustic 'good eavnin') the 16-track offering is a true addition to your fuck collection.

Let's be frank, Cupid's Cactus was a predominantly darker album - by that I'm thinking 'someday aisle' and 'panties off', a heartwarming tale of date rape.. . maybe? This is the ever changing beast that is fuck injected with an ample amount of high-grade serotonin. Now, let's pretend: picture Eels witmaster 'E' fronting Grandaddy on a drunken, debauchery-infested pirate ship - sounds pretty fucking fun, doesn't it?

So, the morals are: A] Keep paying off that loan and don't trust whitey. B] Go for the rock and stay for the cock. So - who's bongo's are they?

Extra credit: without looking back in the document, how many times did the word fuck appear? Write the number here: ______

+ k 04.20.04

Bobby Fuller Four
I Fought The Law - The Best ofŠ
( Del-Fi / Rhino ) 2004

Most folks that've found themselves anywhere near a radio in the past 30 years has probably heard the 1966 "oldie" (I hate that word) "I Fought The Law," most notably covered by that English lot the Clash (among others). Not only is that one of THE rock & roll songs of any era, but there was a lot more to the Bobby Fuller Four, who managed to withstand the British Invasion with their synthesis of Buddy Holly/Texas-style rock & roll, surf sounds, Spector's Wall of Sound, and garage-land edge & energy and Fuller's robust, clear, vaguely B. Holly-esque vocals comfortable with moods both celebratory and angst-ridden. The BF4 INVENTED the "Americana" style/genre -- they played the basics, but with panache and urgency and an eye towards the future (i.e., not stuck in some idealized past). Bands such as Rank and File, the Long Ryders, Tom Petty & his Heartbreakers, Sir Douglas Quintet, the Vertebrats, Ducks Deluxe, Graham Parker & the Rumour, NRBQ, and to an extent, even the Clash, the Band and the Replacements (when sober) are following in their footsteps. As a primer/intro to the glories of the BF4, you like any of the 'formentioned bands or, simply, American heartland rock of the mid-'60s, this set is HIGHLY recommended. (If it contained "Never To Be Forgotten," it'd be comprehensive & FAB, instead of merely "a must."

Mark Keresman 12.07.04