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Are You Receiving Me? – Surf City

by Mike Faloon

Surf City
Kudos LP
Fire Records

Surf City’s self-titled EP from 2007 is one of my favorite debut records of all-time. It’s an amazing update on the New Zealand sounds that defined that island’s music scene throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s—the Clean, the Chills, the Verlaines, the Bats, and Sneaky Feelings, among others. Uptempo songs marked by simple but clever arrangements, literate lyrics that acknowledged the hardships of daily life without yielding to them, and anthemic gather-together-and-raise-‘em-high melodies. Surf City made a big splash in a few ponds, mine included. Then they went away.

Are You Receiving Me? – Black Wine: Round #3

by Mike Faloon

Black Wine
Dark Energy 7” EP
Don Giovanni

“The train won’t stop going/No way to slow down” — “Locomotive Breath” Jethro Tull

Black Wine close their latest EP with a cover of “Locomotive Breath.” It’s a Jethro Tull song but Black Wine drag the sucker to a near-halt, creeping along at a sub-Flipper tempo, openly defying the lyrics, at least that part about not being able to slow down. The tune is asking, pleading, to go faster but Black Wine say, Nay!

Are You Receiving Me? – The Night Birds: Round #4

by Mike Faloon

Night Birds
Midnight Movies 7” EP
No Way Records

The other night I fell asleep convinced that Midnight Movies was first and foremost a declaration of the superiority of physics over biology. I was so sure of this theory that I opted not to get out of bed and scribble a note or three. It seemed so much like the one or two good ideas I get every year (if that) that I couldn’t imagine it evaporating on any level. What I recall is this: midnight movies—horror movies, in particular—are often examples of biology gone wrong. Mutant creatures running amuck, people acting on impulses best suppressed, and zombies, them worst of all, failing to acknowledge the most basic of biological principles: you’re supposed to cease operating at some point. Knowing that Night Birds bassist Joe Keller is a physicist I then deduced that the implicit message on this EP is that while biology can and does go awry, physics is a discipline on which we can rely. It made so much sense.

Are You Receiving Me? – Power Pop: Alive and Kicking

Midwest Beat
Bring the Water 7” EP
Tax Return

Bare Wires
“Young Love” b/w “Keep Your Love” 7”
Southpaw

The Half Rats
“For the Sake of Love” b/w “The Girl” 7”
Douche Master

Midwest Beat are in the lead off spot.  Baseball wisdom says put the best hitter third in the line up.  Pop fans know better: best goes first, and the Midwest Beat have to be one of the best bands on the planet right now.  They bring together three of my favorite elements: pure pop hooks, punk rock energy and country twang (the third isn’t so evident but I swear it’s there in spirit and it enhances the EP).  Now to the specifics.  Whenever I hear guitars jangle like this I think of the Byrds but the Sunset Strip bands of the late 60s always buried the drums (or at least their producers did), they were felt more than heard.  That’s where Midwest Beat update the sounds of old.  The snare is front and center, ride cymbal too, washing over the whole mix.  The result: these guys are faster and looser than their predecessors (but not careless and sloppy).  Couple all of the above with spot-on backing vocals (they know just when and how to “ooh” and “aah”) and the Midwest Beat deliver another terrific EP.   

Bare Wires: Your mom would hear this record and storm into the living room wagging her finger, all fired about because you’ve got her Who albums out—again—and this time you didn’t clean the needle and she can tell because poor Roger’s vocals are all distorted.  Kids these days!  Then your older brother gives you grief because he thinks you snagged his Cheap Trick records again.  And you think to yourself that mom’s comparison is more apt.  Meanwhile, I live in some fantasy world where parents know the Who and siblings know Cheap Trick.  I’ll work out those issues.  You check out this single.  It’s a corker.  (And if you want to play up the Cheap Trick angle some more, check out the cover art.  Cool dude on the front, leaning against his motorcycle.  Nerdy, vulnerable guy on the back.  Only it’s the same guy.  First take: arms crossed, confident, Robin Zander.  Second take: hair in his face, fingers tangled up, Rick Nielsen.  We are all, each one of us, both cover boy/front man and geek.  At least as far as image is concerned.)

Half Rats: Early Beatles.  Kaisers.  Neatbeats.  It’s Mersey, baby, and it’s done in right fine fashion here.  Ugly Things readers will take issues with the broad strokes I’m using—hey, mate, you got your fab in my gear!—but hopefully the gist is conveyed.  I say "inspired by" you might say "derivative."     

-- Mike Faloon

Are You Receiving Me? – Southpaw Records

Shannon & the Clams
Paddy’s Birthday 7” EP
Southpaw

The Splinters
“Blood On My Hands” b/w “Hot Hands” 7”
Southpaw

The Sandwitches
“Makes Me Sick” b/w “Idiot Savant” 7”
Southpaw

 Shannon & the Clams: “The Special Powers of Blossom Culp.”  Richard Peck.  One of the best stories ever.  Here’s the gist.  Blossom’s new in town, loathed by her classmates, Letty in particular, because she is unkempt and outspoken.  Also, she’s illiterate and takes to creating fantastic stories when asked to read before the class  (one involves her dead Siamese twin, another her mother’s ability to track murder suspects using her “second sight”).  Letty does her best to make life unpleasant for Blossom but learns too late that the real power in the story lies in Blossom’s ability to decode people.  In the end, Blossom plots her revenge and destroys (psychologically) Letty’s birthday party.  The a-side would make for the perfect soundtrack for that party—I ruined your birthday/I feel so bad.  The apology is so long and so dramatic that the focus is clearly on the perpetrator not the victim, the Blossom, not the Letty; you’ve got the cake and the presents but you won’t mess with me again.  That’s great material for a pop song and Shannon and the Clams really commit to it.  They stick to a waltz the whole time.  I kept waiting for the change to cut time, for the band to pause, the drummer to click off four and then everyone to come back in at the polka tempo.  There’s no such relief in sight, folks, that would only let the party resume and the goal here wasn’t to snare a moment or a minute but to detonate the whole shindig.  Pretty brilliant.  The b-side blazes for thirty seconds then downshifts and dims the lights, packing Shangri-Las like tragedy into a tune that’s like 60s Brill Building pop but rendered through a lens that twists and distorts.  This is how I first imagined Lou Reed’s pre-Velvet Underground singles would sound.

The Splinters: The a-side is heavy on the floor tom stomp, topped with simple and really catchy guitar lines, laid back, almost monotone vocals…sounds like Mo Tucker to me (again with the VU?) and it’s a wonderful thing.  Kind of dark in tone but sunny at the same time.  Both songs are gems.  I used to think Mo was the only one who could pull this off but I stand corrected.  The rare record that will appeal to my pre-school kids as much as Brooklyn hipsters.

The Sandwitches: A lot different than their last single (“Back to the Sea”) but perhaps better.  “Make Me Sick” has a field recording vocal—notes bending and twisting like a long, lost Appalachian melody—supported by a well-placed combination of acoustic guitar and piano, all of which stands in perfect contrast to the venomous lyrics.  “Idiot Savant” is neither like the a-side nor the previous single.  For most of the song two notes ping pong on the acoustic guitar carrying a gentle melody with a sweet sentiment: Idiot savant, you’re the one for me.  Unique, unusual, and quite good.

-- Mike Faloon

 

Are You Receiving Me? – Living in a Post-Marked Men World

Marked Men
“On” b/w “The Other Side” 7”
540

Mind Spiders
Worlds Destroyed 7” EP
Dirtnap

The Potential Johns
“Can I Really Not Go with You” b/w “Past Due” 7”
Dirtnap

I’ve heard that one or more of the Marked Men resent the suggestion that they sound like the Ramones.  Fair enough.  I get it.  The landfills are choked with Ramones clones so devoid of imagination as to make a reasonable mind cast doubt on the godfathers from Queens.  Still, the Marked Men have always reminded me of the Ramones (though they’re like the Godzillas of the bunch, looming large over the landscape, swatting aside challengers like gnats).  To be specific the “California Sun” side of the Ramones, Johnny in check, Joey’s heart and harmonies in the spotlight.  When the Marked Men are firing on all cylinders there’s a beautiful coexistence among the chiming guitars, the aching hearts, the candy-coated vocals and the furious eighth note action.  Plus, the Marked Men always mix their records so that you could hear everything as a massive, nearly overwhelming whole or as distinct parts.  I thought their last LP, Ghosts, sounded like they were running out gas but both sides of this single are stellar—mid-tempo up top, up tempo on the b-side.  As good as any of the tunes on On the Outside.  Now I have no choice but to revisit Ghosts.  They’ve forced my hand!

We know what it sounded like when Phil Spector worked with the Ramones.  I love End of the Century (and I’m intrigued by the “wanna see my gun?” lore).  But what would have happened if notorious British producer and madman Joe Meek produced the Ramones?  Musically, I mean.  Imagine the Ramones roar in the hands of Meek, known for his other worldly approach to sonics.  (The interpersonal angle would certainly have yielded multiple homicides.)  I bring this up to put some variables in play.  I don’t want to reduce the Mind Spiders to a nostalgia act.  Worlds Destroyed is a remarkable piece of work with or without the fan fiction tangents.  Mark Ryan borrows elements from his other bands (Marked Men, High Tension Wires) but repositions them perfectly.  I listened to the title song four times before moving on to the others.  It’s slower than I expected.  The lyrics are clearer.  Like a Marked Men song it’s built on a foundation of a wall of guitars and steady floor tom but the combined effect is surprisingly peaceful, expansive.  (At various times I’ve pictured the lonely surfer, the lonely cowboy and lately, the lonely astronaut.  Or maybe lone is more apt than lonely.)  “Time Sucker” and “Dirty Secrets” are even better.  I’m giddy over the prospect of the upcoming Mind Spiders album.

Potential Johns: “Can I Really Not Go with You” is loud, fast, and fun, a good tune that would fit well with any Marked Men album.  “Past Due” is the song of note, though.  Longer, simpler, more repetitive, it reminds me of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, those songs where they go verse/chorus/verse/chorus for a minute or two then lock into a loop that could drive on for 15-20 minutes.  It’s not jamming because no one’s wanking; there’s no trading of solos to flash instrumental prowess, just a realization that they’ve come to a point worth lingering on—this rocks, dudes, let’s stay here awhile.  The song doesn’t vary for the final two and a half minutes.  It would be a shame if it did.

– Mike Faloon

Are You Receiving Me? – Night Birds

Prognosis: Negative 7” EP
Grave Mistake

“Killer Waves” b/w “Squad Car” 7”
Art of the Underground

More please. During the course of the review that follows I hope to impart some small sense of just how great these Night Birds records are. Mostly for the sake for fellow music fans seeking out new sounds but also, to a lesser extend, to make clear my hope that there is more from the band to follow. Let’s get started.

The Grave Mistake EP. 5 songs, 9 minutes. All killer, no filler. Everything that made the band’s demo EP click—rapid fire tempos, surf guitars, Nuggets-caliber hooks—is still in place but each of those elements is better this time. The surf riffs are more prevalent. The vocals are more confident and the rhythm section tighter. Sensing the potential for hyperbole overdose I’ve gone back to the EP three times since my initial draft. From the chorus to “Prognosis: Negative” to the tempo changes and soloing throughout “Harbor Rats,” I stand by my claims.

The “Killer Waves” single will be difficult to track down but it’s worth the work. The a-side is the band’s best song yet, the most Dickies like. I believe the b-side is a Belairs cover. Regardless, it’s a great revved up surf instrumental.

I still hear traces of the bands I referred to when the reviewing the band’s debut last year (Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Dick Dale) but this is their sound now.

– Mike Faloon

Are You Receiving Me? – Superchunk

Superchunk
“Digging for Something” b/w “February Punk” 7”
Merge

For years Superchunk albums were events in my life. Initially, I didn’t know what to do with the self-titled record when it came out. I was in college, still thinking that pop and punk were mutually exclusive propositions. But week after week we kept playing that record until we gave up trying to decode it and just enjoyed it. Nine years later Come Pick Me Up came out. Mellower, restrained at times but still bursting with great song ideas. I was married by then and I’d finally figured out what to do with my life. On more than one occasion I thought, I’m going to grow old with this band, confident that they wouldn't lapse into Jefferson Starship or Who-like self-parody.

I can’t explain why I’d lost interest by the time Here’s to Shutting Up rolled out two years later. It took me awhile to buy a copy and when the mood to hear Superchunk struck that wasn’t the album I reached for. It was like they’d lost their way in trying to figure out how to age and continue changing as a band.

Then, last summer, the Leaves in the Gutter EP. “We’re in our forties. We’re kicking ass with songs that are clever and catchy but we’re not trying to recapture old glories.” They’d never be so lame as to pen such lyrics—leave that to me—but that’s the message I got from those songs. Everything I loved about Superchunk was there with new twists and turns along the way.

The streak continues with this excellent single. “Digging for Something” sounds like the band’s late '90s output. A big rock song with a chorus that catches the first time. The flipside, “February Punks,” is just as catchy but it burns faster. For all I know it’s an outtake from No Pocky for Kitty or On the Mouth.

“Familiar yet different” is what I’m saying and that’s a contradiction. Guess I’m back to trying to figure out Superchunk records. Cool.

— Mike Faloon

Are You Receiving Me? — The Sandwitches

The Sandwitches
“Back to the Sea” b/w “Beatle Screams” 7”
Southpaw

The narrative as I understand it: “Back to the Sea” calls for a return to the simple life, the way things used to be, to the primordial ooze if you want to take things to extremes. The ship’s sinking fast, let’s ready ourselves for life on the ocean floor. It’s unclear whether they make this transition by developing gills to adapt to their surroundings or building some sort of dwelling to adapt their surroundings to them. Either way it is clear that the new life is going well because once relocated we find them chatting about their favorite band. Sounds like they enjoy the new life.

The sounds as I hear them: joyful, uncluttered, melodic. Both cuts shuffle along on drums that wobble and guitars that clunk and clang, and it’s all really good. Recommended for fans of Mo Tucker and/or Jad Fair.

— Mike Faloon

Are You Receiving Me? – The Reports

The Reports
“Bill Wyman Metal Detector” b/w “Attleboro Trailers” 7”
Ride the Snake Records

On the a-side the vocals drip with Ian Curtis cynicism but the drums push the tempo way past Joy Division speed. The bass is high in the mix, like a rhythm guitar track, and the lead guitar is firing off sixteenth notes that sounded like Dick Dale at first but now sound more like the early Chills (the former: noon, the latter: midnight). It’s one of those rare songs that grabbed me the first time and reveals something different each time. The b-side is good, though it lacks the twists and turns of “Bill Wyman.”

— Mike Faloon