Local CD Reviews
Led by ex-Caviar lead guitarist Dave Suh, The Assembly offer bright, powerful pop on their sophomore EP, Paranoia Will Destroy Ya. “Never Even True” is the standout cut, but all four tunes (plus a remix) are first-rate, helping cement the group’s growing reputation (recently validated by their selection as a Q101 “Local 101 Band To Bust Out”) as one of the tastier morsels presently available on the local music smorgasbord. (www.theassemblyband.com)
– Jeff Berkwits
Besides being hooky and melodic, good pop music should have an almost shimmering brightness. While much of The Atari Star‘s Aniseed scores on the front end of this equation, there’s a certain muddiness of sound and the wispy, somewhat submerged vocals that disconnect on the back end. Adherence to a strict rhyme scheme seems to further hem the band in, despite the pleasantly surprising richness the unexpected addition of bassoon brings. (www.theataristar.com)
– David C. Eldredge
Singer-songwriter Liz Berg‘s rough-around-the-edges approach infiltrates her second album, Coattails, with a smattering of PJ Harvey-like vocals. The inherent spookiness of Polly Jean’s compositions are absent from this effort, but Berg makes do with her own brand of “I am woman, hear me roar” rock. “Silent” stands out as a Celtic-enhanced ditty. (www.lizberg.com)
– Janine Schaults
It’s hard to fathom how Big Sky Stringband derived a bluegrass instrumental from “The Jeffersons,” but “Sherman Hemsley” is a toe-tapping winner nonetheless. The country & western quintet’s six-song EP, Turning Of The Wheel, also includes “Rich Koz,” a fun tribute to the erstwhile Son Of Svenghoulie, as well as “Get Down Boys,” a somber song about a family losing its farm. (www.bigskystringband.com)
– Terrence Flamm
It’s all about getting the right people to hear your music, and for Chicago rockers Blacktop Mourning, that was Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz. Duritz immediately signed them as the debut act on his newly formed Tyrannosaurus Records, then went a step further by lending his vocals to four tracks on their debut, No Regret. The album is incredibly mature for such a young act – packed with tight instrumentals, intelligent songwriting, and radio-ready melodies. (www.blacktopmourning.com)
– Carter Moss
While one trio of brothers from Chicago (the Loefflers of Chevelle) have spent the last decade making quite a name for themselves, another Chicago-based brother-rock trio has been quietly earning their own underground success. Braam‘s third release, the double-disc Kings, fits comfortably into their vein of indie acoustic/electric pop (a curious blend of Big Head Todd, Wilco, and Modest Mouse), and continues to showcase their spirituality-seeking, story-telling lyrics. Unfortunately, it lacks some of the risk and a lot of the fun of their previous releases. (www.myspace.com/braammusic)
– Carter Moss
The guitar-and-synthesizer-based songs on The Crossing‘s 19-track Daisies may be firmly rooted in the 1980s, but they’re rendered with enough polish and variation to keep things interesting. Lead vocalist Steve Lazzara has the pipes to cover the arena rock of the title track, as well as the smooth soul of “Diamonds,” and he gets solid support from bassist Dennis Buikema and guitarist/keyboardist John Bullaro on harmony vocals. (www.thecrossing.info)
– Terrence Flamm
Rarely has an album about being heartbroken sounded as cheery as acoustic pop quartet Down The Line‘s new full-length, For All You Break. Given how upbeat songs like “Where I Once Had A Heart” are, you’d think these guys were celebrating falling in love – not mourning getting dumped. Still, Down The Line’s blend of bluegrass and summer festival-ready pop can be undeniably catchy, even if the group’s lyrics don’t always coincide. (www.downthelineband.com)
– Max Herman
Ezurate stage a war against holy war on Blasphemous Hierarchy, a raw black metal ground assault in the eclipse of Nachtmystium’s psychedelic shift. Lead singer Holocausto Inferni pukes black death from sick lungs, approximating Immortal’s Abbath with bitter atheism through corpse paint and blastbeats. Wasp-like rhythm guitars, rocketing mini-solos, and triggered drums fill the spectrum with incendiary shred (“Storm Raiser” and more), but the 14-year veterans succumb to acoustic slumber in the album’s two untitled folk tracks. (www.myspace.com/ezurate)
– Mike Meyer
The self-titled debut from Fear And Desire, the creation of songwriter John Bishoff, is throwback, romance-inspiring pop that features theatrical arrangements with everything from finger snaps to French horn to clarinet. Think Brian Wilson lite. Most tracks are complex and impressive compositions featuring vocalists Holland Zander (daughter of Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander) and Jinger Christal. The fairy tale orchestration often goes over the top, especially with birds chirping behind an extended flute solo on “She’s In Her Hideaway.” (www.fearanddesire.net)
– Jason Scales
Category: Around Hear, Monthly
