Slipped Discs

Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd

Reviews From: Year 2008
Kills - Midnight Boom

Kills - Midnight Boom

Kills
Midnight Boom
Label: Domino Records

Inspired by a documentary on playground clapping-songs, The Kills’ dirty up childhood rhymes for some catchy, cocky rock and roll. Maniacal, industrial-strength bump and grinds rock nocturnal yearnings into a sexy, slaughter-house burlesque driving, “Boom,” with an explosive mix of throbbing hooks, salivating metaphors and steamy teases. The Kills headline Madison’s Annex May 10th.

The Kills WebsiteThe Kills Wiki

Wilders - Someone’s Got to Pay

Wilders - Someone’s Got to Pay

Wilders
Someone’s Got to Pay
Label: Free Dirt

From hoedowns to honky-tonks, the Wilders’ commando jams swing through toe-tapping tempests and last call melancholy. Somber, fuel-injected traditions and snazzy, twang-filled philosophy highlight “Pay” with big returns on the listener’s investment as real-life murder ballads meet slammin’ solos of fiddle and dobro. The Wilders hit Madison’s High Noon April 16th.

The Wilders Website

Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster

Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster

Los Campesinos!
Hold on Now, Youngster
Label: Arts & Crafts

Youthful exuberance propels a head rush of sneaky cacophony, revved-up ridicule and snappy, hip-swinging bravado as Canada’s Los Campesinos produce tub-thumping beats and ambulance-chasing playfulness. Syncopated shout-outs and tongue-twisting lyrics produce frenzied fits of pep rally rock as, “Youngsters,” bleat and shriek for an energetic free-for-all. LC plays two nights at Chicago’s Empty Bottle starting May 26th.

Los Campesinos! WebsiteLos Campesinos! Wiki

Clinic - Do It!

Clinic - Do It!

Clinic
Do It!
Label: Domino Records

Snaggle-tooth serenades whine around an eerie, swirling psycho-circus, pounding and pirouetting as acid-tinged punks mumble bittersweet mantras over woozy, shard-spitting solos. Hell-bound lounge music dissected, reassembled, roughed-up and fuzzed-out, “Do It,” does it without alienating or disappointing. Intriguingly seedy and giddily ramshackle, Clinic takes you down dark paths - letting loose, but never letting go.

Clinic WebsiteClinic Wiki

Babylon Circus - Dances Of Resistance

Babylon Circus - Dances Of Resistance

Babylon Circus
Dances Of Resistance
Label: Mr. Bongo

French Rastafarians concocting klezmer cabarets, high-stepping ska and hard-hitting horns, BC’s happy madness conjures politics and polygraphs around a roadrunner’s bar mitzvah. A frothy, funky frenzy of zany syncopation and mellow patois, “Dances,” is a high-octane carnival of concern juggling jungle fevers and spiraling calliopes, gypsy sunshine, festive traditions and revolutionary spunk.

Babylon Circus WebsiteBabylon Circus Wiki

South - You Are Here

South - You Are Here

South
You Are Here
Label: Bluhammock

Bristling British brass, foreboding atmosphere, decisive drums and shimmering harmonies, “You,” boldly positions itself between love, life and logic, quietly announcing no clear winner. In South’s articulate and nuanced chamber pop, graceful melodies and boyish bravado simmer in jangle-y electricity, leaving smart first impressions and lingering after-thoughts as dreamy illuminations sail among military shadows.

South WebsiteSouth Wiki

Lili Haydn - Place Between Places

Lili Haydn - Place Between Places

Lili Haydn
Place Between Places
Label: Nettwerk records

Drawing from her Philharmonic upbringing to a blossomed activism, P-Funk sessions, Page and Plant reunions and Herbie Hancock face-offs, Haydn’s violin and voice soar over ghostly poked solos and feather bed productions.  Patience, playful and predatory, “Place,” adds gypsy mystery, oriental weaves and industrial steam to cosmopolitan lullabies, evocative fantasies and slicked-back jive.

Lili Haydn WebsiteLili Haydn Wiki

Skybombers - Take Me to Town

Skybombers - Take Me to Town

Skybombers
Take Me to Town
Label: Albert Production

Swinging from tasty bluster kicking apart adolescent frustration to thunderous raspberries, this precocious Aussie quartet shows Outback belligerence via sometime in L.A. - howling through rockabilly garage toss-offs and knocking out pitch-perfect, stomping mad scowls. Walloping pop-rock, “Town,” produces scuffling, amped-up six-string skiffle, jammed inside El Kabong riffs and brief, greasy hooks.


Charlatans - You Cross My Path

Charlatans - You Cross My Path

Charlatans
You Cross My Path
Label: Self Released

Loaded with juiced dance grooves, hyperbolic bass and crashing grandeur, “Cross,” elevates earthly relationships to Valkyrie dimensions forging legendary status in classic rock fashion. Courtly rock that takes no prisoners, the Charlatan’s unsubmissive mission snarls with glam, gung-ho struts and game, come-hither glories, triumphantly butting heads against soul-drenched working-class and kick-ass new wave.

The Charlatans WebsiteThe Charlatans Wiki

Hayden - In Field and Town

Hayden - In Field and Town

Hayden
In Field and Town
Label: Fat Possum/Hardwood Records

Ambling piano, far-away guitars, trusty harmonicas and Flaming Lips synths - “Field,” testifies, witnessing fresh injections into home-grown alt-folk idioms. Whether playing casual toe-tapping social observer or humble, hum-able broken-hearted tumbleweed, Hayden stamps his grizzly delivery over badlands ballads, newspaper narratives and space-age emo.  Simple yet sumptuous, “Field,” offers sadly hopeful relief.

Hayden WebsiteHayden Wiki

Rupa and the April Fishes - Extraordinary Rendition

Rupa and the April Fishes - Extraordinary Rendition

Rupa and the April Fishes
Extraordinary Rendition
Label: Cumbancha Records

A collective of multi-lingual flings, teasing beats, pouty polkas and tangled tangos – Rupa’s basket of salty and sultry mingles the sad with pizzazz and elegant despair with can-can chicanery. Novelties surrounded by melancholy, hot jazz laced with sad fiddles and muted trumpets, “Extraordinary,” hops, skips and tumbles into the heart.

Rupa and the April Fishes WebsiteRupa and the April Fishes Wiki

Nik Freitas - Sundown

Nik Freitas - Sundown

Nik Freitas
Sundown
Label: Team Love

Friendly, ambling anthems bubbling with simple but sage advice, Freitas’ cavalier tunefulness brings a light on its feet feel to the infectiously sensible, “Sundown.”  Bouncing through life’s brambles, Freitas’ plainly spoken prose and strolling observations buoys the disc’s rambling slice of life approach to battling tar baby heartaches through good-natured level-headedness and easy-going charm.

Nik Freitas Website

View More

Viewing Page 3 - of 7

 < 1 2 3 4 5 >  Last ›