Month: June 2009

Posted on: June 25, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

!!! – Louden Up Now (CD)

After reading so much laudatory praise about this band, I was quite amazed to hear that they were just another dance act that seemed ultimately influenced by bands like Apell, Depeche Mode, Orbital, and Kraftwerk. I really was not sure what to expect from the band, but “Louden Up Now” attacks every possible corner of the dance phenomenon, instead of driving itself into a rut like Fluke’s “Puppy”. Instead of…

Posted on: June 25, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 1

Laura Izibor – Sampler (From Let The Truth Be Told)

Laura Izibor starts out this Sampling of tracks from “Let The Truth Be Told” with “From My Heart To Yours”. What comes forth is a bit of Lauryn Hill and Angie Stone, tying together a late nineties sound with the soul of a Pink or Christina Aguilera. The inclusion of the tempo from The Temptations’ “Lean On Me” further moors the track to a rich musical tradition, ensuring that fans…

Posted on: June 25, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Jeff Buckley – Grace Around the World: Limited Edition (CD/DVDs)

You’d have to go back pretty far to find a story of wasted musical talent as tragic as Jeff Buckley. The son of folkie Tim Buckley, Jeff was a struggling singer/songwriter playing clubs in New York’s East Village in the 90’swho was finally discovered by Columbia Record execs, who put out his only studio album “Grace.” The record was extremely promising, but took years to find a following. As Buckley…

Posted on: June 25, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Pepperdome – Let’s Try The Otherside (CD)

“Wake Up” is a bit of thrashy rock that will immediately call forth images of acts like M.O.D., but there seems to be a harmony present to this first track on “Let’s Try The Otherside” that acts from that genre simply were unable to commit to disc. The title track continues the side thrash-heavy side, but Pepperdome has a little bit of contemporary (Static-X, Powerman 5000) influence that comes to…

Posted on: June 25, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Ben Cooley Hall – Owning Up To A Life (CD)

“Dream excerpt no. 1” is a track that is eclectic in its sound, blending together indie music with folk and even alt-country. There is little in the way of instrumental adornment to be had with the track, but Hall’s vocals take a strong step forward in the creation of an impressive first glance. “Sunny Day” brings in a little bit more to the instrumental side of things, and listeners will…

Posted on: June 25, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Chixdiggit – Pink Razors (CD)

Fairly formulaic punk in the vein of early Green Day or Less Than Jake, and the band has seemed to tame their entire sound down from “Henry Rollins is No Fun” and “Best Hung Carrot in The Fridge”. The copious amounts of dope that the band consumed and smoked before this disc makes for some of the most tepid and boring music to come out (even in the over-filled pop-punk…

Posted on: June 25, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Coalesce – Ox (CD)

Coalesce was one of those bands that petered out just as I first started creating NeuFutur, and as a result, I never really got into them as much as I did with acts that were creating and crafting when the magazine took off. The disc begins with “The Plot Against My Love”, a tight bit of hardcore metal that kicks ass as easily as it bounces between genres. What Coalesce…

Posted on: June 24, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Designing Women: The Complete First Season (DVD)

It is pretty shocking that there had not been a cohesive collection of Designing Women up till this point, considering that Designing Women was one of the most well-known shows from its time period. The show itself enjoyed a long re-run run, so why it was not given proper shrift at the beginning of the DVD’s era. This box set, which covers the 1986-1987 season, focuses on the interactions between…

Posted on: June 24, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Cherry Suede – S/T (CD)

Cherry Suede play a brand of radio hair rock that blends together the sound of Loverboy, Def Leppard, and Bon Jovi. This means that the choruses that the band creates for this album are immediately catchy, and could be sung alike by young and old. “Not A Day Goes By” is the first track, and the band steps up confidently to the microphone even at the early reaches of the…

Posted on: June 24, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

War Tapes – The Continental Divide (CD)

No idea how you can be gloomy in LA, but something’s bumming out the kids in War Tapes. On The Continental Divide, the band’s first full-length, the group draws strongly from fellow somber rockers like Joy Division, Interpol and Echo and The Bunnymen. The result is a solid effort, if a bit repetitive.