June 3, 2008

Various Artists Dig For Fire: A Tribute To Pixies [3/5] It’d be hard to top such classic Pixies tribute efforts as Glue Factory’s Where Is My Mind? compilation (or Kurt Cobain’s entire recorded output), but the 15 artists on Dig For Fire come out swinging gamely. Covering Pixies presents a number of unique challenges like...

Statehood Lies And Rhetoric [4/5] Leave it to our nation’s capital to once again shine a ray of hope for indie music. On their self-released debut, Washington, D.C.’s Statehood sound better and accomplish more musically than most bands backed by major label might. Shards of ‘90s indie bands echo through their songs-a little Jawbox here,...

The Out_Circuit Pierce The Empire With A Sound [4/5] There are plenty of moods you can be in to enjoy the first album in half a decade from the Out_Circuit, but unless that mood is “morose,” you’re not getting the full effect. Five years have passed since Nathan Burke released Burn Your Scripts, Boys–the lush...

Gutter Twins Saturnalia [4.5/5] For the record, this album had an unfair advantage before the first listen-both Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees) and Greg Dulli (the Afghan Whigs) have established a permanent imprint on alt-rock history. Luckily, the lofty expectations are met in full with Saturnalia. There are confusing combinations of influences at work, no doubt;...

Ghostland Observatory Robotique Majestique [3.5/5] Like a musical Jeffrey Lebowski, Austin, Texas, two-piece Ghostland Observatory are the band for their time and place-that is, a post-indie-rock music scene patiently waiting for the tipping point when the rock-and-laptop aesthetic finally, organically intertwine. Ghostland Observatory are just as likely to represent with a cranking guitar riff as...

Dr. Manhattan Dr. Manhattan [4/5] It’ll probably take you a few songs, but once you listen to “Dirty, Scandalous, Dirty” about 30 times, you’ll begin to see the genius-albeit young genius-of Dr. Manhattan (named after a character from the Watchmen graphic novel). Catchy, yet bent into a choplogic shape all its own with farfisa-flavored art-rock...

Baumer Were It Not For You [2/5] You could never accuse Baumer vocalist/keyboardist Nate Boykin of not being crafty with the quill, as his lyrics are filled with heart-wrenching, anthemic lines that should have kids singing in delirious unison at packed venues. Sharp quips like, “My body caves ‘neath the weight of her attention/Ignorant like...

Teenage Bottlerocket Warning Device [3.5/5] In the tradition of Screeching Weasel-via-Ramones, meet the new kings of good-times woah-oh pop-punk: Laramie, Wyoming’s Teenage Bottlerocket. Including ex-Lillingtons frontman Kody Templeman and identical twins Ray and Brandon Carlisle, all the elements are present in skillfully measured proportion; catchy choruses, leather jackets with punk pins and songs about girls...

Polar Bear Club Sometimes Things Just Disappear [4.5/5] The strength of Polar Bear Club lies in lead singer Jimmy Stadt’s simultaneously warm and incredibly powerful vocal cords. Each of the 10 dynamic tracks on Sometimes Things Just Disappear are anchored by Stadt; his unflappable skill and confidence exudes from every post-hardcore swell and crest songs...