Blackstar by David Bowie

I woke up this morning to the news that David Bowie is dead. It had never occurred to me that he would mean enough to me that his death would come as a shock; but on reflection I can see that he was such a pervasive force in music that even an unreconstructed, unrepentant rock'n'roller such as myself was greatly influenced by him. So out of love and respect I gave his new, and last, album a listen.


1. "Blackstar"   9:57
2. "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"   4:52
3. "Lazarus"   6:22
4. "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"   4:40
5. "Girl Loves Me"   4:51
6. "Dollar Days"   4:44
7. "I Can't Give Everything Away"   5:47


It's full of his absolutely unique voice of course, sometimes pure, sometimes distorted electronically. Here are strange sonic landscapes recorded on alien worlds so distant from our solar system that life itself there would be unrecognizable as such, nor we to it. Very little of this could be described as "straight ahead"; in fact as far as rhythm and tempo goes this album is deliberate madness. It's experimental music in places where he begins a line of verse on 1 a couple times, then begins one on 4 just to fuck with your head. Often the time of the vocals and the time of the music have no relation to each other, disconnected except perhaps in key signature. The title track is the worst, and therefore the most disturbing.

The last song is haunting. Haunting, I tell you. It has to be deliberate. He must have know he was a dead man recording. So the last song on his last album was designed to haunt those who heard it. It is a ghost singing to us of regret. And he's right, he can't. But he did give us this. I guess it will have to do.

http://www.discogs.com/master/939598

When Things Get Ugly by The Gears

This is one of the bands from the early Los Angeles punk scene, the 70s. True to form this is mostly punk rock'n'roll. And true to form they all use aliases, punk nicknames. In the 70s if you were a punk in LA you could be physically assaulted by "hippies", or arrested by police just for the way you look, so a fake name was a good idea. Nowadays if your employer finds your name on a punk rock record that would be too cool. In the late 70s and early 80s that could get you fired on the spot. These guys were one of the bands who lead the way for the rest of you so show some respect for the two old farts in this band.


1. Down in the Basement 2:40
2. Uncle Lanny's Farm 2:54
3. Psychotic Sweetheart 2:33
4. Hang On 3:44
5. Ghost Flames 2:49
6. My Confession 2:43
7. When Punk Rock Rules the World 2:59
8. Fuf 2:45
9. The Master Plan 2:30
10. Another Problem (That Won't Go Away) 3:26
11. Everything's Alright 2:26
12. The Wizard of Blas 3:44

The first three tracks are hard rocking, yet catchy. Then track four takes a header off in the odd direction of a poppy anthem with with gang vocals in the refrain, about relationships. Then back to what I expect from these guys: hard, tough rock'n'roll, that has that 'edge' and excitement one expects from real punk. Track eight gives me chills. Fuf stands for Fucked Up Families, and no punches are pulled. And what the hell is that noise? Is that a goddamn saxophone? Fuck the rules I guess, ha ha! :)

I can't get over how catchy this record is despite the tough drumming and ripping guitar. Mike holds up is end on bass, and Axel's vocals are always excellent. I highly recommend. This is available many places, here's one of them:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thegears

Patterns Of The Modern Age EP by Caliban and the Witch

This falls under the general category of folk punk, though the subject matter is more doom/apocalypse, and the strong use of accordion and the more "gypsy" style music sets them apart. Good gang vocals, with accordion, banjo and a cello instead of a bass. This lineup no longer exists; last I heard the cellist was in NoCal somewhere. This is one of those bands that one wishes had stayed together and done more.


1. Charmstone 02:35
2. The Fence 04:33
3. In Coalesce 02:43
4. Rituals 03:15

All of it is good, and In Coalesce is excellent. Rituals is quite dark and creepy. Give it a listen.

http://calibanandthewitch.bandcamp.com/

The Morning After by Chad Bandit

This is what I call soft rock and some might call pop punk, standard rock band of guitar, bass and drum kit. It has a lot of attitude and emotional intensity. It's actually pretty catchy. The hoarse vocals lend themselves pretty damn well to the material, which can harsh on things the songwriter doesn't like. I would prefer this to be a bit edgier but that's just me; I'm an old punk and prefer more energy in the drumming. A good overall catchy, even anthemish release.


1. Morning After 02:43
2. Summer Anthem 02:37
3. Monster 02:27
4. Rusted Gold 03:25
5. Silver Sex 02:06
6. Bury Me 02:32
7. Roadtrip Remedy 02:43
8. High Noon 03:08
9. Killing Spree 03:04
10. Home Wrecker 02:27

Morning After is more than what you think it is, post date regrets and criticism. Rusted Gold is damn pretty. Monster is self criticism that doesn't come across clearly enough. Silver Sex is a full on anthem, and comes across as much more sincere than Monster. Bury me is another catchy anthem. Roadtrip Remedy is yet another anthem style song. High Noon I wanted the drummer to double up on it, heh heh. The album continues like this all the way: pop rock with an edge.

Songs about drinking and women, what can I say? Give it a listen and see if you want to buy it.

http://chadbandit.bandcamp.com/

Brake by Leaking Pigs

Weird, atmospheric and occasionally droning, this psych release by some LA teenagers is actually fun. The lyrics show humor and sophistication; the music is fairly primitive, which I like. The use of what sounds like an old farfisa organ in the first track took me into the wayback machine. I am totally tripping on the lyrics: simple teenage issues mixed with an undercurrent of far more intelligence than first glance. The singer and guitarist of this band is Wolf Woodcock, Lightning Bill Woodcock's son. Your kid did good here, Bill.

1. Frank 02:52
2. Love Drunk 02:40
3. Dracula 03:57
4. Angel of Death 04:14
5. Kicker 03:11
6. Alone 03:37
7. Brake 06:53
8. ADHD 02:49
9. The Lung 04:17

http://leakingpigs.bandcamp.com/album/brake

Probably Nothing, Possibly Everything by Pat the Bunny

Pat the Bunny, performance name of Pat Schneeweis, released this full length in 2014 I think, but now that I am doing record reviews again, I will review the hell out of it. Pat is in my opinion one of the top two songwriters in the folk-punk subgenre; I consider Jesse of Days N Daze his only real equal. Pat is that good. And his singing is astonishing in power. I sometimes call him the Hank Williams of folk-punk; he has that same heartfelt delivery, wedded to a brutal honesty about himself that is almost shocking.

Pat has in the past struggled with addiction. Sometimes drugs or alcohol kills creativity, sometimes they fuel it. With Pat it doesn't seem to make a difference. This album by a sober Pat is just as powerful as the earlier material. The lyrics here remind me of Tony Adolescent in his Abandoned period.


1. I'm going home 02:28
2. The hand you reach out is empty, as mine is 02:34
3. I'm not a good person 02:54
4. We were young once 02:13
5. Run from what's comfortable 02:57
6. Take me by the hand and lead me through this disaster 01:55
7. Make total destroy 02:50
8. We don't get tired, we get even 03:17
9. The club hits of today will be the show tunes of tomorrow (cover) 01:11
10. A glorious shipwreck 03:59

Track one is amusing because it contradicts the song about never coming home again that he released with his old band Ramshackle Glory -- yet it expresses the same discomfort with people and a desire to get the hell away from them! The sad, hopeless nihilism in track two leaves me almost speechless (almost). In track three he eviscerates himself publicly as not the sort of person you should associate with. Pat is an anarchist, and this album is full of smashed windows, hated prisons, and yearning for something better, see track eight for his feelings about society.

Track 10 is an anarchistic monster, full of teeth and unsuccessfully held in fury. It is the most powerful song on the album. It is breathtaking.


http://patthebunny.bandcamp.com/album/probably-nothing-possibly-everything