Some Velvet Morning – Silence Will Kill You
Rhythm Bank (10/9/07)
Rock / Alternative

I haven’t heard a British rock band sound so good in years; Silence Will Kill You, released last fall is a strong, energetic release by a band named after a psychedelic Nancy Sinatra track from the ’60s. But don’t let that give you the wrong impression of this band, whose foot-stomping rock-’n'-roll-meets-indie sound will give you a swift kick in the ass. The eleven songs on the album are full of emotionally driven, catchy lyrics that urge the listener to join in and participate in human history.

The content found within Silence Will Kill You encourages human/political involvement, and there really is no excuse to be passive after hearing this record. This is more than just a rock ‘n’ roll album put together to have some fun on a Saturday night; it’s music that wants you to think.

...read full article...

Teletextile – Care Package
Self-released (2007)
Art rock / Indie

Teletextile is the post-musical project of the Pamela Martinez Band. Lead singer Martinez is quoted on the band’s Web site as saying, “[Teletextile's] name comes from an obsession with relating music and art you can touch and feel like fabric.” Enlisting another talented multi-instrumentalist, Brian Hamilton, they put forth Care Package. The album was recorded at a variety of different locations, and showcases a host of fabulous musicians, while highlighting the incredible vocal and instrumental range of Martinez and Hamilton.

Care Package uses a wide array of musical instruments ranging from cello, harp, violin, mallet and piano to convey a sense of vulnerable isolation. The album bears grace and magnitude with a composition of oscillating sensations. It is minimalist, indulgent, dreamy and epic.

...read full article...

Six – Between the Warning and the War
1605 Records (10/23/07)
Rock / Metal

How best to describe Six’s latest offering, Between the Warning and the War? Basically it’s a metal band taking all the elements of the hardcore genre and spewing it forth without falling into the worst subtlety of the genre—the simple nature of the song structure.

Pulling a heavy amount of inspiration from the legendary Suicidal Tendencies, along with elements of hardcore and punk, Six pulls everything together in a blistering metallic shell and each song seethes out of the speakers, full of fury and rage.

With guest appearances from Tony Campos (Static-X) and Mike Clark (Suicidal Tendencies), Six attacks the listener with a barrage of punishing grooves (“A Guide to Living Alone” and “The Beautiful Things”), thick riffs (“Broken Girl”, with its insanely catchy melody, and “Had Enough”, which features some great machine-gun blast beats) and punishing intensity (“Forgiveness” and “Warning”). The couple of curve balls, where the band most emulates Suicidal, come in the form of “Perfect Life” (a more mellow approach that still loses none of the band’s intensity) and “Throwing the World Away”.

...read full article...

Emerson Hart – Cigarettes & Gasoline
Manhattan Records (7/17/07)
Rock / Pop

Anyone reading this would more likely recognize Emerson Hart as the frontman for the band Tonic, a group which, in the mid-’90s, scored one (and only) big hit with “If You Could Only See”.

Now on his own, Hart has crafted an album that fails to measure up to that one big hit, but manages to string together a collection of songs that… well, isn’t entirely a waste. And I mean that in a completely positive way.

Take the opener, “Run To”. The song almost feels like a throwback to the mid-’90s, and I can almost imagine it getting tons of airplay. There’s this infectious bass hook underneath the proceedings, and the overall melody really pulls you in. And Hart sounds pretty comfortable behind the mic, but the lyrics just feel lacking, which can’t be a good thing when you shed the full band for a solo endeavor. The more I listen to the track, the more I like it musically but dislike the lyrics.

...read full article...

Bassnectar – Underground Communication
Om Records (4/24/07)
Electronic (Big Beat / Breakbeat / Drum & Bass / Grindcore) / Hip-Hop

It’s been almost two decades in the industry for Bassnectar.

If you’re reading this review you either know that already or you’ve never heard of him. Can’t imagine there are too many casual, occasional fans out there.

Quick intro for those new to the show: Bassnectar plays big shows and back alleys at a clip of about 150-200 shows per year. You’ve probably heard one of the many generic derivatives of Bassnectar’s sound if you’ve been to any nightclub in the world—bass-heavy, electronic beats over the club-supplied smoke machine and $12 cocktails.

On Underground Communication, it’s easy to hear the difference between Bassnectar and all of the imitators. With apologies to Gertrude Stein, there is a there, there.

The title track is layered with no less than a half-dozen sonic styles from beginning to end that start, stop, speed up, slow down, then morph into something new just as the ear has managed to catch up. And, if that sounds like a cop-out description of a song in a genre that’s impossible to describe, then you’re reading the wrong review, son.

...read full article...