Reviews - 6/20/07

A little note about reviews. A lot of these reviews are reviews of CDs/LPs/7"s sent to my radio show, which is great. Most of the stuff I receive, I'll review, but it might take some time. In some cases (like today), if I happen to have your record in my bag, I'll probably toss up a review of it.
If you want to submit your stuff for review and possible air play, send it to:

WLUW 88.7 FM
Attn: Underground Communique
6525 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, 60626

Here's some stuff that came in yesterday, which hasn't made it into the stacks-o-wax and the piles-o-plastic yet.

The Newlydeads - Dreams From a Dirt Nap - Full Effect Records
This is probably one of the best band names ever. Very clever. A+ for a good band name. My cousin, Stan was talking about this band a while back and going on and on about how great they were. This carries a lot of weight, because Stan has good taste. It's not always MY taste, but it's good taste for what he's into.
I couldn't really remember what he said about this band, which was good, because I was going in with no pretense at all. The cover art suffers from what many indie bands suffer from: bad Photoshop work. It's fairly simple and to the point, so that works ok, but there are some major cliche's going on. Had I not heard of this band prior to seeing the cover art, I probably would have dismissed it.
Going past the artwork and actually listening to the music, I quickly realized why my gothtastic cousin liked this band. After examining it a little close, more pieces of the puzzle fell into place and I suddenly remembered what this band's deal was. This was the band that Taime Down of Faster Pussycat started in the late 90's. Ah yes. Taime Down. Faster Pussycat. Two names that bring back memories of junior high and my obsession with bad metal.
The Newlydeads weren't bad metal, but are a better version of what a lot of hair bands eventually became: industrial rock influenced goth metal. This collection of their "hits" from 1997-2001 pretty much document a band that was taking an existing formula and trying to develop and improve it. Sadly, they never really caught on, because as far as this stuff goes, it isn't bad. If your thing is bands that took the formula of mid period Ministry and early My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and gave it hooks, then you'll probably dig this. This is a band that the late 90's mall-goth culture totally missed out on, so there's still some amount of credibility here. Had the right labels pushed this band, they would have been on a mega tour with Marilyn Manson and that one band that did that horrible cover of New Order's "Blue Monday."
Just to clarify, I'm not taking cheep shots at these guys; I'm just saying that these guys probably deserved the same amount of success that much lesser bands received. That's all. This really isn't my bag, but if you're into late 90's goth metal, this is probably your new favorite band.
No website or myspace listed.

Mostly About Nothing - Welcome to the Wreck - Self Released
Mostly About Nothing is a pop-punk band from suburban Chicago, playing a style of music that's been done to death by millions of bands and has started becoming a parody of itself. It has that Screeching Weasel charm with safer, more pedestrian lyrics that just don't touch the bar at all. The problem with all of the Weasel-clone bands (and I should know, I've played in many a generic Weaselcore band) is that they replicate the style well, but they can't replicate the biting cynical social commentary or sharp wit that Ben Weasel pretty much trademarked in the 90's.
The overall production of this recording is stale, bland and safe. This record should have been recorded on a cassette multitrack in a basement, or in a pro-studio with a real producer, because those are the only two aesthetics that work with this style. The former would make this band sound more like the Crumbs or FYP, which would make this awesome and the latter would make them sound like Blink 182, which would get these guys onto the bigger stages around town. If anything, a real producer would help them sing in key, where as a more DIY approach would make out of key vocals forgivable and endearing. Either way, this isn't a sound you should cut corners with. Either go all out or eliminate all the corners and do it yourself. Maybe I have a personal bias against records that are recorded at Pirate Studios; I don't like the way records that are recorded there sound. As an engineer, I can hear weird artifacts caused by bad plug ins and lazy engineering all over the place.
All of this negativity being said, I will say this much. I have a feeling that these guys are really good live. I've heard records and recordings like this a million times and more often than not, I'll see the band live and they destroy. I really hope that's the case with this band and they're simply suffering from lazy engineering. I'm willing to give these guys a shot live.
Mostly About Nothing - Myspace

The Minor Times - Summer of Wolves - No Future
Not what I was expecting AT ALL. I saw the cover art and the name and I was expecting either an indie rock band or something more along the lines of a Vagrant Records band. Instead, I get some brutal metalcore. This isn't my thing at all, but these guys pretty much tear everything a new asshole. They're clearly pissed off about something, although I'm not entirely sure what. The musicianship on this album is pretty awesome, but I think the vocals are a little too much in the forefront. I really would have liked to have heard the wicked guitar lines a bit more and the screamy vocals a bit less. If you're into bands that are on Level Plane or Relapse, it's probably a safe bet that you'll like this band. Otherwise, if you find Tegan and Sarah cathartic, you might want to pass on this, because there's a lot of testosterone in this band.
Prosthetic Records

Fucked Up - Year of the Pig 12" - What's Your Rupture
This is yet another release from the band that is making it ok for skinny awkward kids to listen to punk again. I honestly love Fucked Up and everything they're doing to equally welcome everyone into punk rock and completely piss off the punk rock elite who dismiss them as being "too artsy" or "too pretentious." What a lot of people seem to miss about Fucked Up is that they're whole intent is to be artsy and pretentious to piss off the "too punk" crowd.
This is a two song 12", containing a less rowdy, more "indie-friendly" track called Year of the Pig, which is equally weird and cool at the same time. It took me a few listens to actually get into this song, but by the end of my third listen I was pretty much sold. The b-side, a song called "The Black Hats," is a bit more of what we're used to from Fucked Up. This is a bit more of a punk rock n roll song, driven by a bass line that reminds me of something off of "Funhouse" by the Stooges.
Collectors should be creaming their jeans right now, but if you're interested in getting into this band, I'd probably check this record out last and start with either "Hidden World," or "Epics in Minutes," which is one track off of all of their 7"s.
What's Your Rupture? Myspace
Fucked Up Blog