The Born Again Floozies – 7 Deadly Sinners

Upon first listen to 7 Deadly Sinners by The Born Again Floozies, you might think you have returned to the early 90s ska era, except these guys rock a tuba instead of trumpets and utilize tap dancers for added percussion. While this idea is great, it’s not only been done, but defeated. Tilly and the Wall was the first to release this tap dance idea. Is it necessary to have more than one band with a tap dancer percussion section?

The tunes are upbeat and awfully daring, with unpleasant male vocals joined by less- than-average back-up vocals. The first eight tracks sound as if No Doubt and Reel Big Fish decided to collaborate, heavily drugged. Tracks ten through twelve, however, are much better. They sound like a completely different genre. These tracks are more folky, and the vocals miraculously change into magic.

In a way, this is two albums in one; the difference between tracks is night and day. The Floozies really take advantage of uncommon instruments. Aside from the tap shoes, there are finger cymbals, wood blocks, and…a suitcase. Vocalist Joey Welch is an excellent songwriter. “In my mouth, my suffering I tried to escape, but religion said no, keep on suffering. That’s the way you know you’re saved” is a sample of the lyrical content found on this album. Buy this album just for the last four tracks. The rest of the record is dispensable.

By Ginger Hebert

Sound The Alarm – Stay Inside

Punk rock died when Johnny Thunders bit the dust in 1991. Green Day attempted to revive the fuck-all spirit of the former New York Doll three years later with Dookie; that release presaged the second demise of the scene as every acne-wrecked teenage boy who struggled with an instrument in a high school imitated newly crowned icon Billie Joe Armstrong, the obnoxious, perennial loser they saw in themselves during heavy MTV rotation.

Sound The Alarm is no exception to the unfortunate image-conscious and profit-driven ground rules laid out by Green Day and all the punk-pop eunuchs that followed—the whole lot, the complete antithesis to Thunders’ street-savvy, I-did-it-my-way-with-guitar-in-hock posturing.

And not unlike the over-the-top obnoxiousness of “Bubble Boy” from Seinfeld, Sound The Alarm should remain in a hermetically sealed container (see the red hoodie-wearing, all-American reject on the cover) to spare the world from their repetitious and thoroughly unconvincing emo-punk-pop rave-ups.

Stay Inside, the major label debut from this barely-legal Eastern Pennsylvania quintet (produced by radio-friendly, hotshot producer Howard Benson), displays none of the riff heavy classic rock of Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin, acts name-checked in the perfunctory press blabber. Instead, we get a recycled treadmill of half-assed, post-break-up lyrics from front man Cody Jancovic and monotonous, breakneck melodies swiped from the playbooks of contemporaries Nine Days, My Chemical Romance and Diffuser. Sound The Alarm is definitely not geared toward balding, weekend Harley riders or lip-pierced goth boys, but strictly to modern radio-hungry jailbait, and all future sales from their prospective ring tones venture. ‘Nuff said.

By Ron Bally

Readnex Poetry Squad – Social Issue

Social Issue is a collage piecing together different sounds, issues, words, and allusions. The album is very in touch with history, and has an educated basis. I was first given hope by the subtitle “poetry squad” on this album. To me, this signaled an emphasis on lyrics. I was proven right by poignant writing, with its messages about the state of our nation. This is an interesting album that explores all sorts of ideas (hence the album’s title, Social Issue).

Some of their songs have the more-typical gangsta rap feel, while others are much more unusual with background music and spoken word. I enjoy rap (with the exception of a lot of the worn-out shit that gets played on the radio), but it’s sometimes hard to pinpoint value in a rap album that’s just enjoyable to listen to. This album is different: it’s not only an enjoyable listen, but there are distinctive reasons beyond this that make it worthwhile.
Each track is different from the last. “Wade” begins with the classic hymn “Wade in the Water” before the rap fades in. “Calles” has a reggae beat while “Ms. Education of Bling” has strings and piano in the background. The average tempo of songs on the record is slow, and the album is made much more for listening than for dancing.

This group of four refers to themselves both as poets and MCs, which is, after hearing Social Issue, very appropriate. Lyrics are in English and Spanish. Readnex Poetry Squad explores different styles, languages, and content. Overall, this is a very good album with content of substance and diversity from song to song, and even within songs. 

By Annelise Kopp

Keith Murray – Rap-Murr-Phobia

Longevity is a subjective concept in hip-hop nowadays, and based solely on the innumerable, watered-down offerings on the shelf at the record store, any artist who releases two decent albums can very loosely be said to have achieved permanence. There are still a few rappers who have truly been in the game for more than ten years, and Keith Murray steps back into the public eye with Rap-Murr-Phobia. Just as Murray has passed in and out of the legal system, so too does Rap-Murr-Phobia fluctuate in quality. Although produced by the accredited Erick Sermon, Murray’s usually clever flow and lyrical prowess is sporadic. While Murray’s earlier work is considered classic by many connoisseurs, Rap-Murr-Phobia is lacking the consistency that garnered that merit.

Sermon’s production is good overall, and Murray’s excessive profanity and references to violence are what keeps the album as a whole from being the monochromatic. Three of the 16 tracks are skits, and such thin content is disappointing from Murray. “Hustle On” is the best track on the CD; superb both for the high quality beat produced by Sermon and for the story-like recital of Murray’s rapping. While the first half of the CD features only one rhyming guest spot by fellow Def Squad members Redman and Sermon, the second half features members of Murray’s Legion of Doom crew on almost every track. “What It Is,” featuring Method Man in classic form and 50 Grand, is another standout on Rap-Murr-Phobia.

By William Pitcher

Parkway Drive – Horizons

One of the most labor-intensive parts of being in a band is the grueling, rarely democratic, and often fight inducing process of choosing a great band name. After all, a band without a name that screams “Hey, we’re a band!” isn’t a band at all really.

And hence my confusion when I got the new Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage) produced disc Horizons from the down-under metal outfit “Parkway Drive”. Sorry guys, but we all know that bands with street names are about as un-metal as bands named after one of the members, i.e. “The ___ ______ Band”. Metal bands have names like “Murder by Death”, “Napalm Death”, or just plain “Death”. Get with it, kids.

Anyway, it’s a damn good thing I didn’t let the name bias me from the music, after all, I’m too good for that. The first three tracks on Horizons read like an all-star audition reel of metal musicianship. Don’t expect a whole lot of melodies until you get to “Carrion”, where the enviably produced guitars and chest pounding, gorilla killing drums begin making a melodic bed for one of metals most talented voices to fuck his brains out on.

By “Filthy” Rich Savoie

Mountain – Masters of War

Tribute albums and cover bands usually conjure images of middle-aged, monochrome make-upped garage band rockers coping with a midlife crisis, but there are exceptions to every generalization, and Mountain’s Masters of War is one of them. Masters of War “pays homage to (Bob) Dylan’s song writing genius,” the band claims on its website. Mountain succeeds where others have failed simply because they understand rock. The combination of the band’s instrumental skill and guest appearances by heavyweights Ozzy Osbourne and Warren Haynes makes for an interesting and genuinely good interpretation of Dylan classics. While “interpretation” can be an aurally painful term, the bluesy rock versions that Mountain plays are a decent hypothetical evolution of Dylan’s mainstays.

The title track features Ozzy Osbourne, and his wavering, nasal vocals are a fine representative version of Dylan’s unique voice. “Serve Somebody” guests Warren Haynes on guitar, and his skills seem to make the guitar sing over the rolling bass line. The next track is one of two versions of “Blowin’ in the Wind” on the CD, and the band labels this one the “heavy” adaptation. The funky bass of Ritchie Scarlet and rhythmic drumming of Corky Laing create a decidedly more upbeat offering than the Dylan original, and aficionados may scoff, finding that the latter Leslie West “acoustic” rendition is much more to their liking. Haynes makes a second appearance on “The Times They Are A-changin’,” and his guitar sometimes conflicts with Brian Mitchell’s melodic piano. But that’s a negligible offense on an otherwise good album.

By William Pitcher

Milton and the Devils Party – How Wicked We’ve Become

Milton and the Devils Party’s latest album, How Wicked We’ve Become has just left the record player, and has left an uninterested and totally distracted feeling with its listeners. Every song has the same really dreary, monotone vocal by singer/bass player Daniel Robinson. The song structure is decent in terms of instrumentation, however. Mark Graybill has a sort of surf guitar sound and Bob Falgie adds an upbeat indie drum sound that is constant on this record. Their sound is a bit unique, and I stress a bit, only because I can’t really compare them to much I’ve heard.

The lyrics seem juvenile for an older group of men. Track five, “Too Old to Die,” seems to be the beginning of a good streak, but it’s a red herring. The lyrics are more entertaining and they add simple keyboard elements for depth, but the interest ends there. The piano continues to the next track, “My Head Is Bowed.” This tune has pretty strong verses, building up to a complete drop off of a chorus.

The guys even refer to William Shatner in “Muse of Mundanity.” Robinson sings, “if you were Shatner you could choose between a goddess or a muse, and you could take her down and make love, sweet love and write poetry.” Really now? I have to admit that parts of this album are okay, but the majority of what I have just heard will be easily forgotten.

By Ginger Hebert

Small Sins – Mood Swings

I forgive you, Beck. No seriously, I forgive you for your talent. I forgive you for your business savvy. I even forgive you for being a Scientologist. But I swear to God, it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the plague of mediocre crybabies with keyboards and drum machines that you’ve unleashed upon us. Honestly, I’d rather have the locusts and give up my first born that hear another Moby wannabe try and get panties wet with a well-timed cowbell sample.

This brings us to the new full length album Mood Swings by the ‘band’ Small Sins, aka Thomas D’Arcy who proudly crows on about writing and recording most of the music and vocals on this album. Except for a few infectious and truly hand-clap worthy moments, I’d rather crow about taking the world’s largest dump before I’d claim responsibility for this tiny one.

The music is repetitive, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but in this case the monotony isn’t broken nearly enough and when it is, the samples are generally played out. Vocally, the song “We Will Break Our Own Hearts” is worthy of a spin if you want to fool your friends into thinking Brandon Flowers truly lost his mind. I need not get into the lyrics unless you like your music as you like your Seinfeldian humor; purely observational. The highlights include the Beatles-esque anthems “On the Run” and “Bullet” as well as the fuzzy bass/synth infused “Airport”. Man, am I a sucker for fuzz bass.

By ”Filthy” Rich Savoie

Melody Club – At Your Service

Being likened to ABBA is an outwardly questionable-at-best comparison, but in the case of Swedish rockers Melody Club and At Your Service, it’s a complimentary measure. Melody Club is a badass, contemporary version of ABBA without the prancing, leotarded visions of Mamma Mia! So what warrants the comparison? Because Melody Club plays catchy, fun music that is just as able to pack the dance floor as it is to make the regular rotation on the local pop radio station. Melody Club plays a sort of synth-glam rock hybrid, and part of this appeal can be attributed to excellent production including Michael Ilbert, who worked with The Strokes and The Hives, and Klas Ahlund, who worked on Robyn’s latest album. At Your Service is a compilation of the best tracks from the band’s first two albums, 2002’s Music Machine and 2004’s Face the Music.

One of the most appealing qualities of Melody Club is the seemingly chronological adaptability of their music. Any one of the songs on At Your Service could easily fit nicely on a John Hughes movie soundtrack, while several of their music videos have garnered habitual play on MTV Europe. At Your Service opens with the band’s 2002 debut hit single “Palace Station,” and Kristofer Ostergren’s pleasing vocals over Jon Axelsson’s hypnotic keyboard are reminiscent of another Scandinavian pop juggernaut; A-Ha’s infectious “Take On Me.” Befitting of the band’s current appeal, “Breakaway” sounds like background music from a skate or snowboarding video

By William Pitcher

Mass Shivers – Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy

Give the Chicago-based band Mass Shivers credit. Not only is its latest CD Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy short (a mere 29 minutes long) but the band has released one of the more obscure rock recordings of the year. So kudos go out to this band, because it has the guts to spit in the face of the rock world of bloated 70-minute records full of songs that are more filler than killer.

Unfortunately, the raves for Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy have to stop there. Despite the obvious talent of its core members (vocalist Brett Sova, guitarist Ben Mjolsness, and drummer Sean Wilke), the songs here will leave a listener rather disjointed and mystified.

Truth be told, the music on the CD is interesting. Classic rock guitar riffs are heard bubbling under the surface of the songs, and there is an almost tribal vibe to the percussion on the recording. This works great in the opening track “Womanizing Metal Studs” and the saxophone-aided “Mossy Nethers.”

However, the lyrics are mostly forgettable and unclear, detracting greatly from the songs. Case in point: “Because the Sun” uses a constant repetition of the chorus that turns annoying rather quickly.

In the end, the biggest complaint just might be what was mentioned before as a strength—the short duration of the recording. It turns out that it is hard to describe the sounds of Ecstatic Eyes or to figure out the band’s intentions with the release because of its brevity, no matter how many times you listen to it.

By Todd Sikorski

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