Nerina Pallot – Everybodys Gone To War

This is the latest lifted from Nerina’s LP “Fires” it is one of the more upbeat tracks on the album. A lot of the album was a mix of your softer songs and your power pop songs. “Everybody’s Gone To War” as the titles suggests is a rather of a political song. But lyrically she does go on and attack, yet, it really doesn’t feel like she is throwing it in your face. Its instantly catchy as well, you will be amazed by how quickly you will be humming along with this song. The song goes after the reason as why people go to war. The lyrics are clever “”If love is a drug/I guess we’re all sober/If love is a song/I guess it’s all over,” and this will surely be a nice hit that Nerina so much deserves.

By John Siwicki

The Walkmen – Louisiana

The one word that springs to mid when listening to this song is

Shooting At Unarmed Men – Yes! Tinnitus

At the turn of the year 2005 Jonathon Chapple split with his old band Mclusky. One of Wales’ best indie rock exports, Mclusky layered scratchy punk rock vocals over loud guitars and branded the world with their messy brand of Pixies-influenced punk. In 2002, Mclusky created a collection of fast-paced punk-rant songs that were assembled and would make up the critically acclaimed “Mclusky Do Dallas” album. While it never reached commercial heights, it was generally agreed by critics that “Mclusky Do Dallas” was a brilliant mix of punk, grunge and scathing ear-busting chaos.

Fast forward three years and Mclusky have broken up. Rising from the unwholesome ashes is Shooting at Unarmed Men, Jonathon Chapple new side-project. Chapple and his new band mates released an EP in 2005 and then headed down to Australia to escape the harsh realities found in their war-ravaged homeland of Wales. Maybe the sprawling deserts and kangaroo sightings fucked around with Chapple’s head as the new album to be released May 22nd 2006 entitled Yes! Tinnitus marks a marked change in his songwriting. Gone are the indecipherable distortion-ladened chords. Yes! Tinnitus is mainly laced with bass hooks and riffs that sloppily glide along one note at a time. The leaves of brutal chaos that fell from the Mclusky tree have become more coniferous, allowing the listener to decipher some of the shouts and the screams that pour from their speakers.

While these leaves still fall in random sadistic patterns over the forest floor, the frantic melodies of the last few Mclusky records have also been cleaned up. A notable example is the closing track “In-Flight Instructions are a Joke, Say I.” What might be the strongest track on the album bounces along with a sing-along melody not unlike one found in the catalogues of Nirvana or The Smashing Pumpkins. Its slow steady riff marches in a straight line while the vocal hook takes control and creates what has the potential to be a minor hit single.

But Instead of taking my yet-to-be published advice, Chapple and co. decided to release the testosterone-oriented “Music Made for Girls,” as the first single. A strong effort, “Music made for Girls” introduces various guitar lines riding the tail of a steady bass line eventually exploding into a distorted jam. Many songs on the album follow this blueprint, and herein lies its weakness. Several of the songs are too similar in tempo, instrumentation and style. While the hooky songwriting may keep you in for the first few numbers, the lack of melody and variety weaken the album to a point where you almost wish you could rock out to the fuzz of an old Mclusky record. Overall, Yes! Tinnitus is by no means a failure, but the only song that stands out as a solid highlight is the closer In-Flight Instructions are a Joke, I Say. And while weak tracks on the album are few, too many rest in limbo between mediocre and acceptable for this record make it’s mark on the ever-shifting indie-rock landscape.

By Ryan Tolusso

Primal Scream – Country Girl

“Country Girl” seems to have people divided so far. Some find it annoying, some find it great. But what it does offer is a feel good happy song. It has country undertones tucked away in the verses but the country influence comes to the surface in the last third of the song.

The vocal harmonies even sound like they come straight from a country song. The song offers something different from the usual chart music and comes complete with country instruments. It’s a song that suits loads of different places and will get everyone up dancing. It’s a good bit of fun really. Definitely worth a listen.

By Helen Daw

The Futureheads – News and Tributes

I have to say, these cheeky boys from Sunderland got me. Their new album starts with “Yes No

Metric – Poster of a Girl

Canadian synth-foursome Metric’s second single from their 2005 album “Live It Out”, Poster of a Girl, is a dark, repetitive, sometimes French-sung electronic piece. Singer Emily Haines has a unique vocal style; very different from the most famous female vocalists of today i.e. Jemina Pearl, Karen O etc. and this brings the song out of the gutter; without her, this could be written by any band. Dull, trite, whatever you want to label it, this song sure isn’t original – it fits perfectly in the synth-happy 80’s. The repetition of two riffs spread out to fit into nearly 5 minutes doesn’t impress; this is a lazy song built around untalented musicians. Note to any band thinking of using keyboards in your music: do something interesting with them, as opposed to this utter garbage given an ounce of respectability thanks to the human voice.

By David MacDonald

Every Move A Picture

Hi, how are you today? Thanks for talking.

Cool. Thank you.

How is the songwriting process in the band? Are you guys always writing songs?

That’s an interesting question, because you use the word ”process.” Our first reaction is to say that our songs are written in batches, at times when we’re really focused on writing, and while we’re all in the studio together, but that’s really only part of it—not really the entire process. In general, the songwriting process is much more drawn out than that.

For example, a new song idea popped into my head [Brent] a few days ago and since then I’ve been picking up the guitar and working out some of the rhythm guitar parts, messing with the bass line, trying different arrangements, and thinking a bit about drum beats. The lyrics are coming to too, slowly, as I go about my normal routine. Like, I’ll wake up and walk to the kitchen and suddenly I’ll have an idea for the chorus. Like my brain had been working on it overnight. Weird. To me, that’s part of the process. It starts with an idea that gets pushed as far as it can alone, and then goes to the full band to see if it’s total garbage or not. That part of it usually happens when we’re in a period of working on new material.

Some of our songs happen in the studio too, all at once, but that’s not as common. Allen and Brent do most of the songwriting, and sometimes Joey will bring in a new idea too. Brent writes the lyrics.

Tell us a bit about the new record ”Heart=Weapon”?

The record has 10 songs, three of which were on our very first EP, the white cover “Signs Of Life EP”, put out by our friend’s San Francisco-based label, DIY…Or Else Records (http://www.diyorelse.com/records/). It was essentially a demo. There were only about 2,000 of those pressed, and they sold out around town pretty quickly, so it’s not like a lot of people have already heard these songs. Some of those songs did make their way around the Internet in small hipster circles, but the album versions are pretty different. So even our old-school fans from wayyyyyy back (2004) will notice something new about these songs.

We’re really excited about this record. We worked with producer Eli Janney, who used to be a member of the band Girls Against Boys, and who also engineered some amazing records for The Nation of Ulysses, Shudder to Think, and Jawbox. What ‘s great about Eli is that, while he’s got this deep background in punk rock, he’s also really into DJing and doing remixes. He did some crazy remixes for bands like Sneaker Pimps, Morcheeba, and Garbage. Given our tendency toward pretty raucous live shows, but also keeping in mind our desire to create music with a good rhythm and groove, it seemed like Eli was the perfect fit. We’re really happy with the outcome.

What are your favorite songs on the album then?

It sort of changes from day to day, but right now we’re liking “Outlaw.” It may be one of our most overtly political songs, but it’s done in such a way that it doesn’t feel heavy-handed. The song is basically about chest-thumping Americans that think being a good patriot means kicking ass around the world without asking why, driving big gas-guzzling cars without thinking about the damage it does to our national security and environment, and knowingly, even proudly, assuming the stereotypical posture of the ugly American.

There’s sort of an old west kind of mentality that goes along with the new American conservatism that people typically associate with George W. Bush and the Republican Party. It’s a glorification of the ideal of the gun-slinging cowboy who shoots first and asks questions later. The funny part is, there’s nothing particularly “lawless” or individualistic about American conservatives, in the sense that they are all marching lock-step, unified in blissful ignorance, with all political power and law on their side. That’s about as far from the true cowboy ideal as you can get. Of course what they’re doing is, in reality, truly lawless in the global sense—as it relates to justice and right and wrong. But they’re oblivious to that.

The word outlaw, as it’s used in the song, is intended to be sarcastic. We even mention country super-star Toby Keith by name, as he is the embodiment of the idea. We now use his name as an adjective. It’s like, “look at that toby kieth-lookin’ asshole over there.” It’s amazing. Toby Keith sold millions of records and became one of the biggest stars in the country with lyrics like this:

“Justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
You’ll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
‘Cause we’ll put a BOOT in your ass
It’s the American way”

That’s not a joke. Unreal…

St. John’s Night is also one of our favorites. It’s last on the record, but we put it there as more of an exclamation point than to hide it. It’s a lot of fun to play live too.

What is going to be the next single off the album?

That’s a great question. We’re open to suggestions. Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 1) was telling us he thinks Outlaw is a good choice. Steve’s a pretty important guy with a good set of ears and even better instincts. His opinion carries a lot of weight. We know a few people in America would like to see us use On The Edge Of Something Beautiful (at 12:00 AM). It’s a hard call.

You have had your work remixed a few times. Do you like sending your work out and seeing what others can do with it?

It’s always fun to see what people do with your music. The remixes we’ve had done are pretty different. They are complete departures from the original song and really make more of a statement about the artist that remixed them. For instance, Timmy and Alex from IMA ROBOT each did a remix of Signs Of Life, and each version completely reflects their individual tastes. The original song is still in there, but it’s almost like their footprints are bigger. It’s a very cool thing.

Do you guys enjoy playing live and any crazy stories from the road?

We love playing live. Maybe that will change someday after we’ve been doing it for 10 months per year for 10 years, but right now we’re totally into it. There’s nothing better than a sweaty, packed club full of rockers who came to have a good time.

A few tours ago we were lucky enough to have one stop in Dublin, Ireland. We played this really cool, intimate oddly named club called Crawdaddy. I think the show was part of some kind of festival. Anyway, we’d never been to Ireland before and had no idea what to expect. There were a few other bands on the bill so, while they played, we sort of sat around backstage drinking beers and smoking cigarettes, joking with the other bands, trying not to think about what was going on out in the club.

It turns out that by the time we took the stage, the place was totally wall-to-wall packed. When we walked out of the dressing room onto the stage, and saw the size of the crowd and heard the cheers, we were floored. They’d obviously heard of us, but were they going to like us? About 10 seconds into the first song we could tell is was going to be good. People were singing along, dancing, banging into each other, and spilling drinks. After the first song the place started going crazy. From there on it’s sort of a blur. I just remember people reaching up on stage, shouting, moshing around, crowd surfing, and generally going off.

After we played we went outside to get some air and were literally mobbed by Irish kids. One kid—I’ll remember this for the rest of my life—he had stringy long hair and was wearing a Slayer tee shirt, he sort of lunged at me through the crowd and started hugging me. He was like, “I just wanted to say you guys are amazin’.” And I was like, “cool man, I thought you were going to kill me.”
Let’s face it, if I long hair dude in a Slayer tee jumped out at me after an Every Move A Picture show in the United States, I’d expect him to be holding a shiv. I thought I was the next Dimebag Darrell.

At the end of the night, as we were getting paid and having a whiskey with the promoter, we watched as the club staff swept up HUGE piles of broken glass. I mean enormous piles—maybe four feet around, 10 inches high. And the promoter had no problem with it.

Do you notice a difference between the audiences from all over the world?

Yeah, definitely. For the most part kids in America aren’t into indie rock. I think the “rock” category, not including cross-over rock/pop bands like Aerosmith and all that, is about 10% of all record sales. So, in general, the potential size of the audience for a band like ours is vastly different than in, say, England, where indie music is HUGE and going out to clubs is like a matter of national duty. I mean, some of the biggest artists in the UK right now, who are selling out huge venues and playing summer festivals, are bands like Arctic Monkeys and Kooks. In the U.S. the equivalent is like, Tim McGraw and Kelly Clarkson or something. Although, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have made the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. And they’re sort of rock.

We’ve only played the UK, Ireland and the US.

Any new bands we should be looking out for?

Yeah, starting out with some San Francisco bands. The scene is really great right now and there are some really cool bands and diverse sounds coming out of the city. Rogue Wave, Film School, Scissors For Lefty, and Elephone immediately come to mind.

Outside of San Francisco, we’ve been digging ¡Forward, Russia!, Black Wire, Duels, and two L.A. bands we’ve played with a lot, She Wants Revenge and Rock Kills Kid. These bands have become great friends of ours and we love watching them play live.

Oh, and DJ Mike Relm. Not a band, but an asskicking dj/turntable-ist from the Bay Area.

http://www.mikerelm.com/

Give us a reason to go to San Francisco?

90% of ballots cast in the City of San Francisco in the 2004 presidential election were for John Kerry. The remaining 10% were probably for ex-Dead Kennedys front man, Jello Biafra. San Francisco is the only major city in the United States that George W. Bush has refused to visit even once during his 6 years in office, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s about as popular here as the Avian Flu and would only be welcome on the streets of San Francisco if he were dropped from an airplane without a parachute. Then, and only then, would people be happy to see him.

What’s on tap for the rest of the year?

Touring non-stop. We’re just getting a look at the calendar and it looks like we’re going to be busy with US and European dates from about mid-June until Christmas. And we’re happy about that.

Lansing-Dreiden – Dividing Island

“Lansing-Dreiden is a multi-media company founded in Miami, FL and is currently based in New York. Its output includes artwork in the form of drawings, collages, sculpture and video, as well as the production of music recordings and Death Notice, a free newspaper containing fictional stories and images. All Lansing-Dreiden projects are fragmentary, mere stones in a path whose end lies in a space where the very definition of “path” paths.”

Hmm.

Lansing-Dreiden’s second major release, “The Dividing Island” is an interesting piece that draws on many influences from all across the music spectrum. Not much is known about them at all, but based on their website; they are a nine-piece band who play everything and anything they really want to. Their music is, as their website statement would tell you, very arty, and as such you shouldn’t really expect much in the way of sing-a-long choruses and catchy pop hooks. Opener and title track “Dividing Island” begins with some kind of tribal music; huge hits on timpani lead into a glorious, epic, almost-orchestral part of the song. This is a perfect opener, with gliding, moody, incomprehensible vocals floating along perfectly with too many instruments to name. It sounds pretentious, but “Dividing Island” will take you to places in your head where you’ve never been before. That is until just after halfway when a guitar break changes the tune of the song completely into your average guitar-based song; and to be honest it really ruins such a promising first half.

“Cement to Stone”, oddly enough, starts out with what seems like an oddly tuned acoustic guitar, which makes it seem like a Scottish folk tune. This time, fuzzy guitars break up the song from time to time, which is pleasant enough by itself; but the fuzz, again, sadly ruins the song. It’s about as close as you’ll get to a pop song in the album. “A Line You Can Cross” uses dark 80’s synths, and a vocal which sounds like the devil in a keyboard-based group. “One for All” continues in this vein, but is more psychedelic than its predecessor. “Two Extremes” is a lot slower, and it feels more like a break in the album; an intermission if you will. “But you can’t hide behind/The two extremes” – it’ll take you to another strange place; this is what music would sound like if it was based underwater; especially with the lovely, relaxing keyboard part that seems to accompany the majority of the song. “Our Next Breath” is the most upbeat of all the songs on the album; a jaunty piano part goes along the jagged, yet catchy guitar stabs.

However, the majority of the song is taken up by some moody electronics; you get the feeling that if Lansing-Dreiden worked on some catchy melodies, instead of moving the songs about all over the place, they might have a musical future ahead of them. If their songs weren’t so arty, and they concentrated fully on the musical side, then they could write something a lot better than this album is. A lot of the songs seem to drag into one long psychedelic keyboard jam. Despite this, the closer, “Dethroning the Optimyth” is excellent. The drum work in the first few seconds reminds me very much of Trivium’s metal-masterpiece “Pull Harder On the Strings of Your Martyr”. The song is very much drum driven, and in parts makes me think of what a metal band would be like with keyboards and futuristic instruments. It is a fantastic conclusion to an album that had so much promise at the beginning, but faded out into constant psychedelia.

I, like most music-listeners, like to listen to music, not art. This is art, not music; however if Lansing-Dreiden took out the art part of this album and injected some music in, then there would definitely be something here for a wide variety of people.

By David MacDonald

Field Music – Write Your Own History

B-sides are great; they can be a rough to listen to sometimes. They can show the band trying something new and experimenting, or a true gem that should have been on an album ends up with B-side status. Field Music formed from the ashes of previous bands Electronic Eye Machine and the New Tellers. Some of the material on this disc goes back to the early works of these back to 2000.

The album starts off with recent single “Your Not Supposed To,” and early version of this track appeared on an EP for 2002. This is a brand new version and one of the best songs the band has in its arsenal. The track starts with thirty seconds of

Mystery Jets – On My Feet

I have been waiting for this one for ages now. Finally we get their second proper single. The first single being the stunning and wacky “Zoo Time.” The beauty of the Mystery Jets is that they don’t seem to follow your normal song structures. You never know what you’re going to get each time you put on a track. Loud shouting, lovely harmonies, its all here and mixed up. “Oh My Feet” is another wild ride that will leave you in a trance and in love with this band. There are so many things going on in the song with each listen you hear and learn more. Of course it’s a bloody fantastic tune.

By John Siwicki

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