Disc Reviews
by Max Ink Staff Writers
Here We Go Magic - A Different Ship
Here We Go Magic
Album Title: A Different Ship
By John Noyd
Posted: Aug 2012
Label: Secretly Canadian
(1962) Page Views
Cantering sea shanties submerge beneath shimmering rhythms while soul-searching folk and dreamy cowboy doo-wop wash over oceanic mechanics fired in tireless dynamics; “Ship,” whips delicious conniptions into sizzling whimsy coating lonesome blizzards with snow-globe hopes. Spiraling vibes scatter fluid grooves through babbling labyrinths trapping locomotive emotions as Brooklyn-based escapists captivate and encapsulate, rallying rabid ballads dabbling in adventurous sentiment and scrambling past funky conundrums. A bubbling broth rocking runaway trains, swaying parades and gurgling circuses, the Nigel Goodrich-produced soup scoops unsettled regrets into scurrying diversions, persuasive labors flirting in uncertainty and tropical gossip raised from fretting lectures to tangy alt-rock meringues for lip-smacking tracks glistening in swirling whirlpool wisdom. A recently re-tooled HWGM visits Madison’s Overture Hall Sept 20th opening for masterful multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird
Here We Go Magic Online
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
Joe Jackson - The Duke
Joe Jackson
Album Title: The Duke
By John Noyd
Posted: Jul 2012
Label: Razor & Tie
(2141) Page Views
Tapping into Ellington’s multi-cultural influences of American swing, European symphonies and African spirituals and drawing from talented collaborators adding their modern jazz, rock and hip-hop stylings, former New Wave punk turned musical renaissance man, proves his agility once again with, “The Duke.” A hornless tribute to a big band genius, Jackson dives into the double-timing, half-beats and complicated rhythms directing incandescent instrumentals, melting medleys and sweeping themes with sophisticated shots of salsa-flavored chamber-pop. A musician passionate about surprising, revising and improvising, “The Duke,” proves Jackson’s mastery of transmuting moods and using inspiration to move new ideas, reinterpreting familiar melodies into fashionable acrobatics combining Fred Astaire flair with prowling alley-cat elegance. Joe brings his red-hot band to Milwaukee’s Pabst and Chicago’s Vic, September 28th and 29th
Joe Jackson Online
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
Kicksville - The Singles, Season 4
Kicksville
Album Title: The Singles, Season 4
By Sal Serio
Posted: Jul 2012
Label: Dept. Of Records
(2027) Page Views
If Kicksville were a place, would you be able to drive there, or is it too remote? If Kicksville was a time zone, what time would it be there, now? If Kicksville were a state of mind, would it defy logic and mood? Maybe we’d have to time travel to a far away city where we’ll totally get out of our minds. I get it… Kicksville IS all of the above!
“The Singles, Season 4” is the latest installment of the journey to Kicksville. Sometimes it’s lovey dovey, sometimes it’s music for the apocalypse. Never boring, this is funky Jaco/Levin-esque bass lines keeping time with poly-rhythms that often seem to be a paradoxical mix of primal and techno. Always intriguing, this is beauty in contrast, borderline industrial bashings next to eastern spiritualism sitting on the lap of German avant garde synth prog with lyrics like “I Wanna Go Live With Charlie Manson”.
Obviously, this is heady stuff. Especially if you actually make your way TO Kicksville, and get the full sensory effect, visual enticement along with the wild sounds. This art / film / computer / music / acting / etc EXTRAVAGANZA… is coming Sat. Aug. 18 to the Barrymore in Madison. I can not stress my recommendation to attend more emphatically. Come be a citizen of Kicksville and join in the fun, but watch out for the “Filthy Piss Soaked Monkey”!
Kicksville Online
• Website • Facebook
Saint Motel - Voyeur
Saint Motel
Album Title: Voyeur
By John Noyd
Posted: Jun 2012
Label: On the Records
(2325) Page Views
Stalking urban jungles armed with crocodile smiles and barracuda moves, L.A.‘s regal dream-pop robbers and disdainful disco dilettantes rock cosmopolitan monarchies dissecting modern squalor into sleek lines, greased rhymes and tweaked heartache. Casting scandalous dancing debutantes into Afro-pop chops, royal brass blasts and frenzied indie angst, “Voyeur,” peers into restless medicines and unique critiques of nightclub gazelles, flippant sycophants and kick-start martyrs; doling out and riffing through champagne-wrangled fandangos and Smith-derived trials tucked in suave bravado and machine-gun seductions. Saint Motel’s tropical-rock concoctions atop rallying stallions churn gallant talent, wry surprises and self-pleasing allegiance into cool steel-cased gazes and audacious latent impatience stylishly applied and classically arranged for glistening listening. Touring with L.A. neighbors Races, catch them before they explode July 19th at UW-Madison’s Terrace.
Saint Motel Online
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
MonstrO - MonstrO
MonstrO
Album Title: MonstrO
By Sal Serio
Posted: Jun 2012
Label: Vagrant Records
(2304) Page Views
Witness L.A. band MonstrO’s debut release, it’s molten metal glaciers pushing the boundaries of the heavy-new-rock genre with swelling burning rivers of psychedelia and classic rock. Charlie Suarez’s vocals have elements of the best hairy rock crooners, say Phil Mogg of UFO mixed with Mark Lanegan, meshed with an even weirder mix of ‘80s English hard-psych-rock workouts like the early Cult were known for. Guitarist Juan Montoya kept me transfixed with the history of rock interwoven into his creatively conceived riffing.
All of these embellishments push MonstrO in to a world of their own, where they must be judged by their own merit, since there is absolutely no one to size them up against. I happen to like that. Several of my favorite bands of recent times (ex: Mars Volta, System Of A Down, Mastodon) keep the metal genre relevant, viable, and a force to be reckoned with, by refusing to be formulaic… denying the demands of the industry. MonstrO broke the mold, and then smashed the pieces to bits.
To this end, I must gush and pontificate the praises of this gnarly MonstrO aggregation and it’s full length first recording. For Gump’s sake, just get it, crank it, and ENJOY the HELL OUT OF IT all ready. Don’t sweat my whacked-ass prose or the sci-fi hippie paintings that make up the cover art – this group will kick your ass and simultaneously blow your mind.
MonstrO Online
• Website • Facebook
Anna Givens - Just Last Year… Part One
Anna Givens
Album Title: Just Last Year… Part One
By Sal Serio
Posted: Jun 2012
Label: Galena St. Music
(2167) Page Views
The latest release by singer Anna Givens was recorded live Spring 2011 at Murphy’s Place in Toledo, Ohio. Claude Black (Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery) serves as primary pianist on these jazz vocal standards with minimal accompaniment, mostly just piano and bass. Givens illuminates the material with a touch of spunk and playfulness, evident on “Honeysuckle Rose”. Some material swings more emphatically, especially with drums (“Green Dolphin Street”) provided courtesy of Jay Bergs.
When the composition calls for a melancholy, reflective attitude, Anna rises to that occasion too, with a sweet seriousness that tugs at one’s heart strings, stopping just shy of total heartbreak (“Blame It On My Youth” & “Since I Fell For You”). The Bacharach/David classic “Alfie” showcases Givens’ impressive range, from a sultry baritone to pristine soprano altitudes, giving the popular Dionne Warwick version a serious run for it’s money.
My personal highlight is “One For My Baby”, the pinnacle of all barfly last call scenarios. Ms. Givens paints the mood perfectly to the point where I swear I felt my pupils contracting in reaction to low light, there was a whiff of glass sanitizer in the air, and I swear I saw Jack Kerouac slouched in the corner.
Anna Givens Online
• Website
The The dB's - Falling Off the Sky
The The dB's
Album Title: Falling Off the Sky
By John Noyd
Posted: May 2012
Label: Bar None Records
(2511) Page Views
Alternating between hearts on their sleeves and chips on their shoulders, The dB’s original line-up return with fresh eyes and tested chops thirty years after their last album. Unrolling rosy chamber-pop serenades inside sweetly sad strings, brassy blue-eyed soul covered in Byrds-like jangle and Big Star oomph, the quartet’s effortless licks and pithy delivery send upbeat sustenance to recovering lovers and ax-grinding fuel for confused losers. Southern grit mixed with Britpop then marinated in snarky nostalgia, earnest concerns and unfailing wonder, “Falling,” flings hairpin hooks against subtle riffs capturing life’s twisted missions in ironic romances between underdog advocates and redeemed dreamers. The band’s s signature twin-guitar sound remains largely unchanged, proving great songs don’t need much make-up and well-dressed sentiments beat pseudo-hipster revisionists every time
The The dB's Online
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
Plants and Animals - The End of That
Plants and Animals
Album Title: The End of That
By John Noyd
Posted: Apr 2012
Label: Secret City
(2252) Page Views
Facing an uncertain future, “End,” sits squarely on the crossroads blending endless speculation into snapshot biographies. Punching bag swagger from tumbleweed troubadours cruises loose grooves before panicked anthems blast past blown fuses and punch-drunk bruises; light swipes and deep dark bites swirl together to conjure hip, hallowed shadows, hurtling half-hearted curses before seamlessly shifting into lusty seductions. Predatory and victimized, P&A’s dynamic stamina binds breathless beatnik lyrics beside explosive crow-eating prose, tense tunes consume personal mementos. Limber honky-tonk bursts into steely fears as maverick tactics deploy six-string taunts and off the cuff lyrical cast-offs rolling in exasperated gasps and power-rock howls/ Blazing daylights swimming in late-night reflections covered in indie-rock bliss and heartfelt folk-pop side-stops, this versatile Montreal trio takes over Madison’s Frequency May 12th.
Plants and Animals Online
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
Paul Weller - Sonik Kicks
Paul Weller
Album Title: Sonik Kicks
By John Noyd
Posted: Mar 2012
Label: Yep Roc
(1939) Page Views
Ever the adventurer, the man who helmed prickly British hit-makers The Jam only to go soft and soulful with The Style Council before exploring a solo career that honed hearty chamber-folk introspection alongside fist-shaking electric blues doesn’t slow down on his eleventh solo disc. Indeed, “Sonik Kicks.” is a clobbering culmination of Weller’s stylistic changes. Rustic cuts evaporate under singing wisdom dipped in daydream fevers and level-headed confidence, Weller caresses playful excesses, classical sentiments and crackling passions into throaty poems of pub-crawling philosophy, launching knob-twiddling space-rock from lonesome acoustic movements before fading into writhing reggae rambles. Fired up and limber, micro-experiments lay scattered in cosmic after-thoughts as, “Kicks,” seamlessly shift from pre-millennial jams to post-modern holidays; beautifully boisterous, quietly mystical, happily recreational and infectiously upbeat.
Paul Weller Online
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
The Grasshoppers - Feed My Monkey
The Grasshoppers
Album Title: Feed My Monkey
By Sal Serio
Posted: Mar 2012
Label: Grasshoppers Music
(2278) Page Views
How to describe the music on the debut release by Madison’s eclectic Grasshoppers band? Let me paint you a picture of summer sunshine and skies of deepest azure. Let there be beach balls and Frisbees and hula hoops and FUN. Let’s pawn off our worries and just have a damn fine time, alright all ready?
If YOU like to have a good time, then you should feel right at home with these Grasshoppers. You can sample some beefy thematic rock & roll workouts (“Feed My Monkey”), puff some ire island sounds (“Cup Of Dreams” & She’s So Serious”), and even get far-out weird in a head-bangy Oysterhead sort of way (“Frankie”). It’s ALL good. These guys shift from style to style better than most drivers merge lanes on the Beltline. No question.
The Grasshoppers’ keyboardist Joe Burbach has that big organ sound that speaks in Gregg Allman and Chuck Leavell tones, but also raves up in jazzy New Orleans style too. This pairs up well with Jimmy Sanborn’s solid guitar playing, punctuated by clean Gilmour-esque leads. All four Grasshoppers sing too, so 3 & 4 part harmonies abound on this extremely well engineered CD. I say, go see these guys as soon as you can, and then save a few beer bucks so you can buy this disc from the merch guy. After all, YOUR monkey need to be fed too.
The Grasshoppers Online
• Website • Facebook
Take Solace - Throwing Of The Die
Take Solace
Album Title: Throwing Of The Die
By Sal Serio
Posted: Mar 2012
Label: Take Solace
(2200) Page Views
Now HERE’S something almost completely different. Take Solace, and be thankful, for this is one darn interesting group of musicians from Milwaukee.
From the opening Cake-like dry vocal on “Everything Is Bigger In Texas”, I knew this was going to be a challenging review. Still, with intestinal fortitude and tenacity, I dove headfirst into the Spy Vs Spy TV themed tempest, where punchy trumpet bursts swam aside reverb-drenched garage rock bashings. Although, I hesitate to settle on any convenient genre categorization, as it’s just not that simple. Take Solace playfully and skillfully dance around a culturally diverse musical landscape. Ultimately the journey is mysterious, uncharted, intriguing, and oh so worth the ride!
Dave Klapatch and Dirk Watkins are the guys up front, singing and playing the guitars, so you can’t miss ‘em. Their styles run the full gamut of everything to infinity, relatively speaking. Dirk’s lead guitar takes command of an array of effects pedals, adding flourishes of wah-wah and echoplex to the epic proceedings. As the peak subsides and the trip nears conclusion, we are at “The Show”. It’s funky, it’s poppy, it’s rockin’ and hoppin’ and happenin’. Man, I really lucked out with this throw of the die. Take Solace. We made it.
Take Solace Online
• Website • Facebook
Doug Stanhope - Before Turning The Gun On Himself
Doug Stanhope
Album Title: Before Turning The Gun On Himself
By Drew Madden
Posted: Feb 2012
Label: Roadrunner Records
(4240) Page Views
“Before Turning the Gun on Himself” is a refreshing return for Stanhope. You know that type of comedian who rants on his hatred for the napkin holder at that corporate coffee bar? Yeah Stanhope ain’t that guy. In this album he returns to the topics that made him great: abortion, politics, hookers, addiction, sex and drugs. The album answers questions you’ve been dying to have answered like; why this straight libertarian white man needs a big black cock in his mouth.
Not familiar with Stanhope? Remember when you were young and you hid porn under your mattress? Like when your erotica collection consisted of two Playboys, a Penthouse, a Oui, and two Betamax tapes filled with bootlegged Skinamax movies? Now imagine you found some wild German smut so disgusting you thought perhaps your family would disown you if they were to stumble upon it. Now imagine where you would hide it. That’s exactly where you would keep your Stanhope CD’s.
You always hear about comedians like Lenny Bruce or Sam Kinison and how they pushed the envelope, how they were so controversial, how you had to be there and how there will never be anyone like them. Stanhope is that guy now. Will you be offended? Yeah, if you get offended he will find a way to offend you.
Stanhope is reaching a seminal point in his career, and in his life. In the final track “Remember When I Used to Give a Shit/ Killer Closer,” Stanhope is struggling with the realization that the themes that echoed throughout his first albums are going to be the eternal themes that follow him throughout the rest of his career. And that in his striving for originality he is best when he does so within a very small number of subjects.
Stanhope started his career in Vegas doing dick jokes for free drinks. In many ways he’s still that guy. You can shave a mullet off, but when you’ve had a few beers, that metaphorical mullet comes back…and Stanhope has always had a few beers.
Just like your friend after a few beers, there is an openness, an honesty in his body of work that is rarely seen. He will influence generations of comedians. There is a quote who’s origin is in question but I believe came from Brian Eno that says: “The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band.” Stanhope may not be the most widely known comedian, but he may be the most influential comedian of our time. He will never be packaged for prime time. He will never host The Tonight Show. He will never release an album that is played by your family after Thanksgiving every year as a new tradition. He will shock. He will offend. He will make you feel naughty the way you haven’t since you were fifteen stealing your Dad’s beer.
Stanhope is at his best when he is huddled in his dark cave of hate, drunk off his ass with just enough Adderall in his system to keep him upright and ranting. So should you buy this album, hide it in your sock drawer. And the next time that guy at work sends you a video, you know the disgusting kind that you can’t stop watching even though you’ll feel a little sick after, introduce him to Stanhope. Then go see him live so you can tell young kids hey I was there when…
Doug Stanhope Online
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
View More
Viewing Page 27 - of 41