Review Update: 12/13/04

Codeseven -- Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds
Ex Models -- Zoo Psychology
Fangs -- Watch What You Say To Ghosts
The Kidcrash -- New Ruins
Luke Temple -- Self-Titled EP
Maserati/Cinemechanica/We Versus The Shark -- Split
Oh No The Modulator -- Semi-Formalizer
Panicsville -- Perverse
Point Line Plane -- Smoke Signals
Quantice Never Crashed -- Self-Titled
Straylight Run -- Self-Titled
T.A.S.C. -- Self-Titled
Various Artists -- Take Action!, Volume 4
Von Iva -- Self-Titled EP
We Versus The Shark -- Ruin Everything!

Codeseven -- Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds
Equal Vision Records
For their Equal Vision debut (what I believe is their third proper full-length), North Carolina’s Codeseven obviously set out to make one of those sweeping, atmospheric albums whose depth and poignance matures with each listen. And frankly, they’ve got a leg up on bands like Cave-In who tread these same spacey waters before them due in larger part to the strength of Codeseven’s vocal melodies. The only drawback I hear here is that some of the echoing, delayed guitar affects are a little long-winded. Otherwise, this is a stunning effort that has more than a few stunning musical features in common with Travis, Radiohead, Tears For Fears, Cave-In, and Rising Tide-era Sunny Day Real Estate.
-Tim Anderl

Ex Models -- Zoo Psychology
French Kiss, LP split release with X-Mist/Psychotica Records
Hold the phone and possibly your ears cause Ex Models are here to make a effing racket of unparalleled proportions. Not since Brainiac’s heartbreaking demise have I witnessed anything like this. Though I’m not one for sacrelig. I’d venture a guess that these dudes are way more twisted and Devo-obsessed than our gem-city brethren ever were. The proof is in the “Sex Automata” puddin’. In fact, if I may be so bold, these guys are the Dillinger Escape Plane of electro-skronk. Stand back and enjoy the gnarly, “ain’t-nothing-like-it” second-hand buzz that the smoke coming off of these guys is going to give you.
-Tim Anderl

Fangs -- Watch What You Say To Ghosts
Lujo Records
Fangs is a quartet that uses art-rock guitars, reminiscent of Les Savy Fav and Broken Hearts Are Blue, and classical piano to their extreme advantage. The vocals, which remind me of a slightly tone deaf version of Twilight Singers frontman Greg Dulli (which is still 99 percent better than most of the vocalists out there), are delivered with every bit as much conviction and soul as the former Afghan Whigs frontman is known for. There are a couple missed opportunities early on – most noteably the flat trumpet-like guitar tones on “Pentagramme Lollipoppe” and the lackluster, grunge like vocal melodies on “Hole In Your Fatigue” – but surefire classics like the Broken Hearts Are Blue-inspired “Snow” more than make up for those misfires. It is probably also worth mentioning that Bettawreckonize’s favorite National Public Radio engineer, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me’s Bob Weston man’s the boards and occasionally the bass here. Though this record isn’t perfect, Fangs has proved that they have sufficient bite.
-Tim Anderl

The Kidcrash -- New Ruins
Lujo Records
Like the Braids, Parks and Mock Oranges before them, The Kidcrash are far more academic and musical than most of the bands who are categorized as emo these days. So while I’ve tired considerably of bands that normally fall under that three-letter qualifier, The Kidcrash have studied “the classics,” and by borrowing from the best, have set themselves apart from most of what you’ll see this afternoon on TRL. If you’re a sucker for Blinding Stars-era Cursive, Diary-era Sunny Day Real Estate, and Jimmy Eat World’s Static Prevails, I expect you’ll be fast-friends with The Kidcrash -- I know they’re getting an invitation to my next makeout party.
-Tim Anderl

Luke Temple -- Self-Titled EP
Mill Pond Records
Luke Temple’s EP is a dazzling combination of pop mastery and bluesy fingerpicking that sincs Temple up with the premiere folk and pop icons of the last five decades (Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith). It is also the perfect argument that there are still contemporary artists who are capable of legend or icon status – it’s just that good. Temple has a golden, tenor song-bird voice, an instinctual knack for melody, and four songs here that are just as good as many of my favorites from the songwriters I mentioned a second ago. Ye of little faith, there is a renaissance of artistry and instinct coming. You’ll recognize it when Luke Temple tours in support of this EP and his full-length, Hold a Match for a Gasoline World (LP, Mill Pond Records) in 2005.
-Tim Anderl

Maserati/Cinemechanica/We Versus The Shark -- Split
Hello Sir Records
For their second release, the new, seemingly Athens, Georgia-based Hello Sir Records drops a mostly fantastic, six-song, three-way split. Maserati is an ambitious instrumental sextet that demonstrates both precision and passion in a way few post-punk instrumentalists have before. If Tristeza had ever covered Mogwai or Sigur Ros, they would have provided the perfect touchstone for comparison to Maserati’s “Towers Were Wires” and “Asymetrical Threats.” Andy Baker (who recorded and co-mixed the songs with Maserati bassist Steve Scarborough) and Roger Seibel (who mastered the disc) cranked the knobs and really made these songs jump out of their skin. Maserati is sure to inspire-awe in the contemporaries and competitors. Cinemechanic, who reminds me of a couple of my mid-nineties favorites (Shudder To Think, Sleepy Time Trio and Frodus), offers an unreleased track (“I’m Tired of Paul McCartney”), as well as a heavy hitting instrumental from their EP1 (“The Professor Burns Vegas”). This is the kind of band that could rescue post-hardcore’s reputation from the polluted depths and ugly imposters by which it is currently being measured. For their unreleased “See Carolina’s Fastest Trees” We Versus The Shark’s female lead drives the song’s satisfying bratty opening vocals in a LeTigre-like direction, before the rest of the band offers a spazzy, albeit winded cacophony that would turn Ex-Models’ ears. While what WVTS offers in the way of dance worthy math rock is adequate, in my mind, Maserati and Cinemechanica have already stolen the show. Kudos to HSR for releasing this three-headed rock monster that actually delivers.
-Tim Anderl

Oh No The Modulator -- Semi-Formalizer
KFLR/Liquid Death Records
You’re at a former member of Steppenwolf’s house playing Mario Brothers on his aging NES system when a glitch cause the plinky soundtrack to spiral out-of-control, and the system starts spitting white hot fireworks. You try another level of the game, but the next thirty boards are freaking out just like this. You know that getting too close could singe your hair or send pieces of the microprocessor into your skin searing your flesh, but you don’t care because this phenomenon is unlike anything you’ve seen before. Then suppose, the whole scenario was captured on tape by Death From Above 1979’s Jesse F. Keeler. Oh wait, that is exactly what you’re gonna hear on Semi-Formalizer, and yes, it is that fuggin' cool.
-Tim Anderl

Panicsville -- Perverse
Liquid Death/Hello Pussy Records
As an outsider, I’ve surmised that part of the allure of the “noise” music scene is that these bands are delivering something that is largely unimitatable and is significantly more original in concept than mainstream music fans are going to be able to stomach. Though I’d like to think of myself as progressive, labels like Epicene Sound Systems and Liquid Death/Hello Pussy, bands like Hair Police and D Yellow Swans and the like, have proved that my view up until now has been limited if not wholly short-sighted. Although I know avant garde and experimental music tendencies have a legacy that probably reaches back to the first ever musical instrument, until recently I just hadn’t had much exposure to music I couldn’t predict or memorize. Having more in common with the jam bands of the hippie/Americana realm than they’d probably like to admit, I’ve witnessed noise jams so spontaneous that the exact music, beats, samples and whatever else could never ever be exactly recreated. Moreover, many of these artists are playing on a field that exceeds (or underachieves depending on the band and on your outlook) music theory, convention, and just operates way, way outside of the box. That may be the norm for folks familiar with this kind of stuff, but again I’m happy to admit that I was spinning Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. (not Wolf Eyes) before I sat down to write this, so these phenomena are gonna be both alien and somewhat exciting to me. Anyway, while I’m totally intrigued by the intricacies of a band/collective like Pancsville, reviewing a record like this is gonna present quite a challenge for someone like me. And though I’ve given it my best shot, unless you want to read something like, “Track two, ‘Coprophiliaktionist’ sounds like someone put Alvin and the Chipmunks, a Furby, and a the last chair trumpet player from your local middle school into a dryer and turned it on ‘Tumble Dry,’” I’m going to have to follow my gut feeling, stay true to my observations, and let those of you fortunate enough to discover Panicsville interpret this in whatever way you like. For what it is worth, this creeps me out, gets me psyched, hurts my ears, intrigues me, and confuses the shit out of me, and I’ve probably owned hundreds of records that didn’t conjure the least of those feelings in me. On a side note, I could definitely do without the decaying animal and maggot cover art (since I’m listening to this post-mealtime), but then again the album is called Perverse.
-Tim Anderl

Point Line Plane -- Smoke Signals
Skin Graft
Portland, Oregon drum/synth trio Point Line Plane are fuggin' intense. They’re the kind of band that would give Gary Numan and Peter Murphy angel dust flashbacks or something, which is quite a feat if you ask me. To say they’ve muddied the waters of new-wave, neo-no wave, dance punk and noise music simultaneously would be an extreme understatement. Sisters of Mercy, Sunshine, P.I.L., Depeche Mode, Quintron, and Lightening Bolt may have each had something to do with the amalgam that you’re hearing here, but let me assure you that they also have a thing or two thousand to learn from these dudes too. Consider this another home run from the label with the world’s coolest logo.
-Tim Anderl

Quantice Never Crashed -- Self-Titled
The Death Scene
There are primarily two types of “screamo” bands these days; those who liken themselves to The Used and Story of the Year, and those whose touchstones are bands like Saetia and Portrait. Quantice Never Crashed fall in with the later of those two schools. In true mid-nineties-era emo fashion, a couple of the edges here are a little rough (I think the guitar may be slightly out of tune on “The Physical Setting Of A Dream” and the opening rhythms of “William Shatners Powergun” don’t sinc up exactly). I suspect those small imperfections are the reason for QNQ being released on Equal Vision’s The Death Scene imprint rather than on the label proper. But those endearing blemishes also show that the band haven’t had that pro-tools makeover. Thankfully, that probably means the rest of what you’re hearing here is the genuine article – a true-blue, basement-bred, bloody, sweaty and tearful hardcore band. Remember what those sounded like? If the guitar-solos on “Shaolin Casanova” are any indication of the direction these guys are going to continue heading, you’re looking at a band that is going to make your latest mixtapes right between that track by The Assistant and the one by Off Minor. File this album amidst you favorite Ebullition-, Mountain Collective and Level-Plane-released records and consider yourself lucky that you uncovered the real deal this time.
-Tim Anderl

Straylight Run -- Self-Titled
Victory Records
Though I’m not a gambling man, I do admire those people who are braver than I am, that rare breed of person willing to dump a sure thing for the riskier, and possible significantly less lucrative option. Straylight Run is just that kind of ballsy collective (you know the web-gossip). In making the decision to disregard the avalanche-like momentum, and dolla’ dolla’ bills they were assured by maintaining their respective roles in Taking Back Sunday, Shaun Cooper and John Nolan surprised us all. With the help of former-Breaking Pangaea drum maestro Will Noon and kid sister Michelle Nolan, they even managed to line-up a few small surprises for their debut. While this is largely the sort of pristine, piano-driven pop album you’d expect from a Vanessa Carlton type, the band’s lyrical honesty and sweet, memorable melodies are the real magic here. “On Mistakes We Knew We Were Making” the Nolan siblings sing, “We bottled and shelved all our regrets/let them ferment and came back to our senses/Drove back home, slept a few days/Woke up and laughed at how stupid we used to be.” Though they’re certainly no Ben Folds/Vanessa Carlton duo, the Nolans are candid, and seem to be singing from the gut. Heart-on-sleeve is par for course here. So though this band isn’t forging uncharted waters, their willingness to lay themselves on the line is sure to resonate with their fans long after the rumors and gossip are forgotten – I suspect that is good enough for Straylight Run for now.
-Tim Anderl

T.A.S.C. -- Self-Titled
Fast X Records
Everything I know about industrial dance music, which isn’t much, I learned from Ministry. If the long-haired dude in the bandana inside the CD sleeve art who bears a striking resemblance to Al Jourgensen is either Marko Olson and Brian Scott (the men behind T.A.S.C.) then they seem to follow a similar model. Though Ministry’s influence is definitely heard here, at times the vocals deliver a bat-out-of-hell wail that reminds me of Lemmy from Motorhead (especially during the thrash breakdown on “Ghosts”) while at others they harken to Rob Zombie (“Misery Train”). The band closes the CD with their take on KISS’s “God of Thunder,” which is strangely satisfying delivered by a throatier vocalist. Though I suspected the electronic plinks and plods in the production would irritate me, they aren’t any more or less hateful than the covers of their higher-profile peers (Orgy and Marilyn Manson), which I reluctantly admit to sort of liking. If you’ve maintained your KMFDM and White Zombie back catalogues, and have seen each of the Crow movies at least twice, I’m pretty sure that T.A.S.C. is the kind of band that’s going to turn you on.
-Tim Anderl

Various Artists -- Take Action!, Volume 4
Sub City Records
While the cover of this compilation touts 2 CDs and 41 Tracks, what it doesn’t tell you is that if a Take Action! comp. is the kind of thing that is normally gonna turn you on, you probably have about 98 percent of this material committed to memory already. There’s a botched up NOFX song, an acoustic version of “You Look Like I Need A Drink” by Against Me! and unreleased stuff by Brazil and Brandston, but none of the music “unique” to this compilation is “must own” material… unless you must have another “par for course” song by one of the bands I just mentioned. I’m not saying that this isn’t a good collection (offers some of the best bands that the emo, indie, screamo, metal, hardcore, metalcore, pop, and punk genres have to offer), and five percent of the proceeds go to The National Hopeline Network. There’s just probably not a lot here you’re not familiar with if you’re the kind of person who can find your way around a Hot Topic or a Best Buy.
-Tim Anderl

Von Iva -- Self-Titled EP
Cochon Records
Von Iva are at the crossroads where Motown and disco meet, and they are shaking their asses like they've rarely been shook before. Vocalist Jillian Iva sounds like she may very well be the love child of James Brown and Debbie Harry. Supported by a cast of shimmering keyboards, dirty bass, and the rock-steady clap of the drums (provided by ex-members of 7 Year Bitch and Clone), it is no wonder that Von Iva is turning San Francisco on its ear. If I didn’t know better I would’ve guessed that Gravy Train and Gossip had joined forces, but Von Iva are the heavy hitters with the party band heavyweight championship title in their corner. From the looks of the back sleeve these four females are every bit as sexxxy as they sound. Expect this disc to come with the sweat already on it, and be careful, it may be too hot to open.
-Tim Anderl

We Versus The Shark -- Ruin Everything!
Hello Sir Records
WVTS deliver a math rock/dance punk hybrid similar to that of Heavy Vegetable or Q and not U. Their particular brand of disco is a little rougher around the edges – their male vocalist sings through clentched teeth and their rhythm section sticks each slight change with every bit of muscle they have. That said, their style is certainly nothing new, at least not for anyone who has followed the Touch And Go, Dischord, and DeSoto record labels over the last decade and a half. This can be good or bad. Because while Athens, Georgia’s WVTS are a capable, even good band, I can name no less than half a dozen bands of this same ilk within a simple 65 mile driving radius of my Dayton, Ohio home. And those bands do their thing at least as well, and a few do it significantly better.
-Tim Anderl