March 24, 2009
January 14, 2009
Neon Man’s "Knights of Error" is Full of Chimey Charming Guitar
Berlin’s Neonman is composed of Ben John Osborn from London, UK and Bastian Asdonk from Berlin, Germany. Together they make post-punk rock that at times swooshes and sashays with a punk ferocity and other times confidentlstrides plods forward with a signifigant dub and reggae influence. At their best they call to mind the post punk explosion of the late 70′s and early 80′s. Imagine XTC merging with Public Image Ltd, their music is something like that.
January 12, 2009
Review: Division Kent’s Gravity is a Heavy Trip
Division Kent is a two piece from Zurich, Switzerland that plays swirling, dark new wave rock composed of two members; vocalist Andrea B. and instrumentalist Sky Antinori. Their music is at times dark and heavy, calling to mind the work of psychedelic indie band Midnight Movies due to the ominous melodies and sultry voice of Andrea B. While this is the primary musical mode the band is set in there are some fun surprises along the way.
Right off the bat the band set a mood with the atmospheric “No Kryptonite” that calls to mind Blonde Redhead. “Pat the PanAm Pilot”, starts off with some quirky keyboards and a skeptical narrative of the life of a successful pilot. From there the energetic “She’s Going Places” takes flight with guitar work and a beat that sounds like a fusing of Lali Puna and the Cure. “The Big Hush” is another experiment in combining a heavy atmosphere with haunting vocals. The track “In The Headlights” separates itself from the rest of the album using ultra bendy bass and a Casio beat that gives way to the most memorable chorus on the album. I could see this track being used in a dramatic scene of a movie. For all I know it might be already.
Once the album gets through most of it’s down tempo song, the arrangements, clicks, beats and synths really shine. “L’huere Blue” erupts with a dark 80′s pop sensibility and cascades of melodies and bells. Perfect for your retro goth prom. If “L’huere Blue” is an entrance song to said retro goth prom, then “Rooftop Rallye” is the party starter. Waves of aggressive bass pulse as Andrea B. purrs her way through the song. The next track is the most fun off of the album, entitled “Offshore”, featuring the most upbeat vocals and guitars that call to mind VHS or Beta in their heyday. The album winds down with the slinky duet “Salty” and comes to a close with the hauntingly programmed number “The Year of Magical Thinking”.
All the attention to detail makes Division Kent worth listening to. There are a couple spots on here where their formula, no matter how well done, feels worn out, dark electronica rock with deep sensual female vocals, we get it. It’s when Division Kent change up their style a little bit that they really shine, on tracks like “L’Heure Blue” and “Offshore” where their sound moves past brooding girl territory and into kicking electro rock pathos. Whether you’re looking for music to sulk dramatically to or music to get the party started, Division Kent has what you need.
November 24, 2008
Heads We Dance Release New Single "Human Touch"!
The Leeds, UK synth pop group Heads We Dance has finally released their new single “Human Touch”, available now in limited 12″ and as a free download. The single roars to life with sirens in lending itself to the imagery of a “Metropolis” like retro-futurist city. Vocals are run through a razor sharp vocoder and diced to perfection in between hyper aggressive snares and mountains of fuzz bass, pausing only to tease you with a Daft Punk-like interlude before diving back into the mayhem. The B-side “You Are Never Alone With Model 21″ spotlights the velvety smooth vocals of Pierre as heavily phased riffs whiz by like hyper futuristic taxi cabs. If you’re a fan of the Human League, Daft Punk, Justice or just plain quality dance music “Human Touch” is for you.
Heads We Dance – The Human Touch
Heads We Dance – You Are Never Alone With Model 21
Heads We Dance – Love Version 15
November 6, 2008
The Cure’s “4:13 Dream” is a True Return to Form
The legendary band fronted by
On “4:13 Dream”, this time working with producer Keith Uddin who has worked with No Doubt, Bjork, Oasis and many others, The Cure experiment with some new effects and approaches while sounding distinctly like themselves. This can largely be attributed to guitar virtuoso Porl Thompson rejoining the band after leaving in 1993 to play with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. “4:13 Dream” marks the first studio album since 1992’s “Wish” that Thompson Contributed to. His trademarked chorused guitars and wah-wah solos are stamped all over the place. His musical presence is also a huge factor in the renewed vigor of Robert Smith’s vocals and lyrics. On their previous release, “The Cure”, there were some moments that felt like the classic Robert Smith coming through (“Alt. End”, “Taking Off”) but I couldn’t shake the feeling that for all of their effort and Smith’s desire to make a signature ‘Cure’ album that it was still just going through the motions. On 4:13, Robert Smith sounds invested in the music. It is because Thompson has returned to provide a rich tapestry of melody and style that gives Smith’s vocals real traction.
The opening song “Underneath the Stars” starts off with some ragged guitar and reverb and the same tinkling effect that longtime fans will remember from their seminal song “Pictures of You”. Slow melodies sing and roar, bathed in waves of feedback as Robert Smith’s vocals soar above. Immediately following this is a sugary sweet pop number entitled “Only One”, fans of The Cure’s upbeat love numbers like “Friday I’m in Love” and “Inbetween Days” will love this one as Smith croons about all the things he loves about his significant other for as cyclical guitar and marimba melodies ensue. An exciting leap forward for the band on this release is the song “Freakshow” which rides on a staccato vocal delivery and epic wah-wah funk. Heck, there’s even a cowbell here. This is definitely the most fun on the album and on par with English Pop coming out these days. Immediately following this entertaining jaunt is the most beautiful ballad on the record. The slide guitar accented “Sirensong”. The song ebbs and flows along with gentle keyboard melodies and big waves of reverb and the most authentically intimate lyrics Robert Smith has imparted to us in some time.
The Cure is at a peculiar position in their career. It’s well after their mainstream takeover in the 80’s and 90’s, and yet they’ve returned again with their best and most vital release since 92’s “Wish”. It’s true that The Cure have somewhat mined older material for a few songs on the album, for example “This. Here and Now. With You” sounds an awful lot like “
If you even remotely like The Cure, you should really Buy 4:13 Dream.
It is quite good.
October 24, 2008
A Very AZLTRON Halloween! Danse for the Macabre!
It’s that time of year again, the leaves have changed color, it’s getting colder, the winter is creeping in on us, and yes there will be drunken Halloween parties. Being the generous individual that I am I am going to share with you my custom Halloween mix of 2008. So dress up as Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin, a French Maid with a breezy chemisier, or just as a sorority girl in her underwear and enjoy the tunes that I have compiled for this Halloween season. After all, you’re the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.
The Fever – Waiting For The Centipede
!!! – Must be the Moon
The Rakes – Terror!
Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
The Cure – The Walk
Joy Division – Isolation
Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party
Villains – Thrilla
The Faint – Southern Belles in London Sing
Be safe everyone! For reals!
January 6, 2008
The Power of Vinyl Compels You!
“The Power of Vinyl”, is a segment where I will share the old records that I’ve bought from thrift stores and record shops. There’ll be some familiar favorites as well as some stuff that I had no idea what it was, but liked the cover art or title.
Today’s album, Duran Duran’s 1982 release, Rio encompasses Duran Duran’s crossover from new romantic band to mega successful pop band. I’ve heard “Hungry Like the Wolf” since I was a little kid, with all of those Time Life music compilations coming on before and after Saturday morning cartoons it was kind of hard to miss. I have to say, upon first listen, I wasn’t that impressed. I think my brain’s been hardwired to like 80′s music, but not “Omigod 80′s!” music, meaning that the well known stuff usually isn’t that interesting to me and “Hungry Like the Wolf” and the rest of Rio is chock full of conventional 80′s fare, but then again this was released in 1982, with 8 years of the 80′s left to go I’d say that it was Duran Duran that set the precedent for the many pop/new romantic acts that would follow, though few would match that standard. If I had to choose between contemporaries Wham! and Culture Club I would go with Duran Duran every time. After giving the album a few listens, the up tempo rhythms and Nick Rhodes’ innovative synth arpeggios make it worthwhile and the brilliance of their take on the pop ballad begins to show with “Save a Prayer” what would come to fruition some years later in their single “Ordinary World”.
Duran Duran – Hungry Like the Wolf
Duran Duran – Save a Prayer
December 28, 2007
The Power of Vinyl Compels You!
I’ve finally fixed up my old record player so that I can listen to all the old records that I’ve been collecting over the years. Some of them I bought because they had cool covers, some I bought because they had cool names like, some I bought because I knew they were good and some I took a complete chance on. The best of the thrift store albums will be featured in this segment I’m going to call “The Power of Vinyl Compels You!”, catchy title right? Not ripped from the Exorcist or anything.
To kick off this feature, I’d like to talk about a record that I picked up a long time ago, The Psychedelic Furs’ Forever Now. Previous to listening to this record, my contact with Richard Butler and company was limited to a Polyphonic Spree cover of the excellent tune “Love My Way” and the song “Pretty in Pink” that was featured in the Molly Ringwald movie of the same name. I have to say that the sheer scope of the sound is great to listen to. I’m sure that The Rapture knew about the Furs song Danger when they put together the saxophone groove on”Get Myself Into It”. Their style of music owes a bit to David Bowie (But honestly, who doesn’t?), but their sound and production techniques sound like this album could have been released yesterday.
The Psychedelic Furs are definitely a rock band, but the accents are what make the songs jump out. The shining synths, the chugging bass, the little bell melodies, The brilliant drumming, the occasional use of cello(?) and most of all the surprisingly (still) relevant lyrics.
The Psychedelic Furs – Love My Way
