Mixing the catchy rhythms of a jam band with the alternative sound of the mid-1990s, Ballyrag makes an album that is innocuous and bubbling with energy. Coming to the table with omnipresent bass guitar, Ballyrag first bands a good impression with individuals on “Sweet Thingsâ€. In this track, a surf rhythm is mixed with classical Spanish music to create a style that transcends the conventions of both the genres. “Johnny…
“Dog Eat Dog†starts off in a way that sounds more in tune with progressive metal than anything else heard in popular music lately. There are also nods to country-rock and a little bit of the earthy-punk that acts like Fugazi and Husker Du were known for; The Balls tell a tremendously detailed story with only three minutes of music, to start off “Come Out Swingin’â€. The guitar is the…
An anthology about relationships written by guys sounds about as appealing as…well talking about relationships with guys. But thanks to a stellar list of authors – heavy on comedians like Jon Stewart, Patton Oswalt, Stephen Colbert and Will Forte – and the comedy-prone topic of getting dumped, makes the task that much more compelling. The essays are offered as lessons of sorts, far from practical, but extremely funny nonetheless.
Baleen is a hard band to follow during the first track of their “Follow Me Blindâ€, which to be honest really has an opening style not quite unlike the early-nineties gospel-rock tracks that are still played often on Christian music stations. The stop-start sound present on “Magnifico (The Mule)†really puts Baleen in the nexus between a number of different styles, as diverse as Jazz and college-rock. The multiple-vocals that…
Glyn Bailey starts up “Toys From Balsa†with “Sorryâ€, a track that sounds like and continues the same humor that the late Warren Zevon strove for in eir career. “East & West†has Glyn going a little too far with eir vocals, straining at points where the placement of vocals should have been a cakewalk. The second set of vocals are melodramatic, but do end up working. However, Glyn really…
Listening to Death Cab for Cutie’s first proper release, 1998’s Something About Airplanes, there is little indication that the band would someday be headlining major festivals, churning our records for a major label and pretty much adding a touch of indie cred and respectability to mainstream radio stations. It’s not that the songs are not good, in fact for the most part they are just as beautiful as the latter…
I thought this album had an introduction that was spoken word, but then would go into something that was perhaps a little musical. That is not the case with “A Random Litter of Thoughtâ€. What Dennis Bagwell does on this album is essentially what all perzine creators do with their zines. The minor amount of instrumentation that works as the backdrop for tracks on “A Random Litter of Thought†is…
Dennis Bagwell has the onerous honor of garnering one of the lowest ratings ever given by NeuFutur. However, it’s been about 6 months since I reviewed eir last album, “A Random Litter of Thoughtâ€. “All Our Friends are Enemies†has a weak version of President Bush’s set of vocals doing some stream of consciousness rant as looped samples of vocals are played throughout the background. The rhymes are all obvious…
Much like the Just A Fire disc released by Asian Man this last year, “Twelves†is a completely upending of the roots of the record label and a complete step towards a sound for Asian Man that can’t be described as “skaâ€. Bagheera really just reminds me of a more professional version of The Devil is Electric/Operation Cliff Clavin, albeit with a slightly more experimental edge. By far, the crux…
For those individuals who have been inculcated into more pedestrian and popular music, the long-drawn out and intricate compositions that The Bad Plus use on “Suspicious Activity?†may be off-putting, to say the least. The strongest thing that one can say about The Bad Plus is that they are one of the most intense bands currently out on the market. Forget the thrash metal acts, or those bands that use…
