Around Hear Page 2

As a musical contributor to WGN Radio’s “Steve And Johnnie Show,” you won’t always hear the full effects of Jeff Frankel‘s musical abilities over AM radio, but his reissued Sometime In The A.M. captures a guitarist whose abilities are so impressive and effortless, it’s a wonder to those who appreciate the instrument. With a style that falls somewhere between Dire Straits and Dick Dale, Frankel masterfully handles his guitar on the instrumental “Twang Time” and the rollicking “Trying To Steal My Spirit.” His vocal abilities don’t always match his fretboard capabilities, but his Robbie Robertson-style vocal on “I’m Coming Home” shows he knows how to make it work. (www.jefffrankel.com)
– David Gedge

Dedicating her CD to Elliott Smith gives the listener a premonition of what Denise Hradecky‘s It’s You Not Me will sound like, but doesn’t totally prepare one for the heavily produced, vocally affected, and mellotron-infused originals. All of which leads one to wonder why, when she simply and more effectively lets her voice and acoustic guitar take over on “Erasable,” she bothers with all the embellishments everywhere else? (www.denisehradecky.com)
– David C. Eldredge

Taking the tracks individually, Mannequin Men‘s Fresh Rot is a triumph of full-throttle Stooges-esque noise pop with a little Alice Cooper thrown in on the vocals. And in the iTunes era a band can make a name for themselves on a track-by-track basis. But, when viewed as a whole, Fresh Rot is a one-note effort with songs meshing into one another without a discernable tempo or tone difference between them. (www.mannequinmen.com)
– Janine Schaults

Chicago-based Moist Guitars was formed in the classic manner – musicians from various defunct bands get together to start a cable access show, do comedy, and write silly songs, then end up touring and recording. Their second offering, Optical Poptitude, attempts to once again capture their off-beat sense of humor and live energy. At their best (“Waiting,” the most radio-friendly track) they play average pop rock. At their weirdest (“Jesus Money” and “Cracked Baby”) they sound like Devo trying to cover the Arctic Monkeys. (www.moistguitars.com)
– Carter Moss

Like an unholy alliance between Christian Death and Siouxsie And The Banshees, Roseland excel at creating dark, mythic music. Their self-titled album showcases a consistently moody ambience: Creepy keyboards, and Azam Ali’s eerie, sultry croon imbue “Mothwings” with a solemn, elegiac aura. The chunky guitar riffs and shifting tempo in “The Spill” create a similar vibe without sounding repetitive. (www.roselandmusic.com)
– Patrick Conlan

Rosenguard‘s European dark metal roots show on Requiem For The Innocent, a militaristic but virtuosic study of power metal peaks and gothic valleys. They’re anything but U.S. new wave (lead guitarist Tomek Spirala is from Poland; bassist Nenad Lazic is from Serbia), and they’re headed in a death/doom direction, as “Bleed The Sky” foreshadows. Shoveling dirt on the title track’s power metal triumph, Rosenguard alternate clean vox with guttural, channeling the grit of Novembers Doom on a painful day. (www.myspace.com/rosenguard)
– Mike Meyer

Boston-based (but Lombard-connected) Say When get down on all fours and bow at the altar of the rock god that is Dave Grohl on their latest, I’m With The Band. The CD’s 11 tracks take on a distinct Foo Fighters air – crunching, debilitating guitars, impassioned, on-the-verge-of-screaming vocals injected with just enough melody for adult contemporary radio, and thundering drums. Lead vocalist Maxwell Latif, along with guitarists John Zaremba and Zack Starikov, bassist Mike Marvuglio, and drummer Mark McCarthy concoct a frothy helping of ’90s rock. (www.myspace.com/saywhenmusic)
– Janine Schaults

One of the Dirty South’s most recognizable voices of 2007, Soulja Boy (or Soulja Boy Tell Em) was actually born and brought up in Chicago until age six. On the 17-year-old rapper/beat maker’s debut, Souljaboytellem.com, he never really matches the catchiness of his inescapable, dance-along single “Crank That.” His painfully plain odes to trendy clothes (“Bapes”) and booty (“Donk”) could barely pass for ringtones. But on occasion, like the parents-just-don’t-understand anth-em “Don’t Get Mad,” the kid actually shows some depth. (www.myspace.com/souljaboytellem)
– Max Herman

Sunday Morning Chameleon‘s stellar sophomore effort, More Human, leaves listeners asking only one thing: Why are there only six songs on this release? Despite the short length, the album highlights the quartet’s ability to craft indelible melodies and memorable hooks. “Impulse Disorder” gets caught up in a whirl of punchy guitars and thundering drums while “Freight Train Killers” builds a spooky groove into a crescendo of clamoring emotions. Produced by Brian Deck and Sean O’Keefe, More Human provides a stunning example of what’s missing in young bands today. (www.myspace.com/smcmusic)
– Janine Schaults

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Category: Around Hear