thanks for the add. now i will go clutter your comments.

Lights Out Asia- indie electronic ethereal shoegaze. the sound of glaciers melting from global warming...but then reforming on their own! ha! take that, humans!

Out of the Miasma- normal mbv influence. the intentionally buried vocals need to be dug up and injected with fullness.

TheAyeDeeDees- boring genericness. except for that one sexy seducing breakdown in the middle of the song! go with that! ADD? ooo i get it.

Richard Hawley: Lady's Bridge (Mute)
release: October 2, 2007
style: solid full lite rock ballads
similar: Kid Silver, Divine Comedy, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett
rating: ****
Solo record after solo record, Pulp guitarist Richard Hawley has been phenomenal. Lady's Bridge is another triumphant work, especially when his full, deep vocal joins an orchestra. Hawley's song are for people that love great, timeless music without needing to remember the melody. He writes ballads that Richard Ashcroft dreams of putting in his own solo material. When he's not singing ballads, Hawley adapts to a Smiths "Vicar in a Tutu"-like rockabilly swing. Get jealous. -Kenyon

this is seriously wack on many levels. i mean, they should be smoking *camel lites*!

Brad Laner: Neighbor Singing (Hometapes)
release: November 6, 2007
style: lo-fi noise-pop psychedelia
similar: Sean Lennon, Medicine, Super Furry Animals
rating: ****
Brad Laner is the man. Don't ever say anything bad about Brad Laner. Except you can say something about when i interviewed him and asked him what he does when not working on music. He said, "well...i have a DOG". Seriously, Brad Laner is the man though. The first record with his band Medicine [look it up] was brilliant. Later he did some experimetal noise as Electric Company, Amnesia and whatever else. He's been involved in so many bands and projects it's mindboggling. Neighbor Singing, the first record under his own name, is completely unexpected. There are elements of Medicine here--processed guitars, multi-layered vocals and swirlyness--but also acoustic guitars, piano and thick Byrds-like harmonies under a lo-fi home-recording umbrella. Neighbor Singing is a defining, songwriter record that Laner always needed to make. And it's a keeper. Ah yea! Quote me! -Kenyon

classic vintage video
Jane Wiedlin-"Rush Hour" (1988). Jane Wiedlin riding dolphins. the best Go-Go ever.

dm photo

Liars: Liars (Mute)
release: August 28, 2007
style: eccentric abstract rock
rating: ***
Liars played at Madison Square Garden with Interpol (and Cat Power, but that's a whole other story). Bad idea. They blew away Sonic Youth in 2002 in support of the debut album, which was relatively accessible wacked out dance rock. But MSG with Interpol in support of THIS? Whatever! The fourth album--which has, for a change, much shorter track titles--is an easier listen than the previous two outings, as they hold back on the self-indulgent, annoying random dabbling. Not that Liars is an easy record to get into, especially for the crowd at MSG waiting for Interpol. But you have to give the trio credit for always thinking outside the box. "Cycle time" puts a Black Sabbath-like riff against falsettos. "Freak Out" sounds like an ode to the Jesus and Mary Chain. Closing track "Protection" shows a possible new direction, as it's weepy and subdued and shockingly soothing on the ears. Keeping with previous work from the Liars, the album is deep in dischordant guitars and disembodied, unintelligable vocals. "Leather Prowler" and "What Would They Know" is noise-rock that's been smashed to smithereens and cancels out any hopes for a complete re-tooling. By now we should expect an unpredictable record from Liars. An unpredictable record that is more focused and memorable would do wonders. -Kenyon

U2: PopMart Live From Mexico City DVD
(Island/Interscope)
filmed: December 3, 1997
release: September 18, 2007
Having already a decade for reflecting upon, U2's PopMart--a step up stage-wise from Zoo TV--was indeed overly over-the-top and ambitious. Despite the criticism the tour and record received (U2 has "lost its way," the tour wasn't quite ready to go yet), Pop and Popmart were an experiment and something different. There was nothing that compared to an enormous LED screen and a huge glittering lemon in which the band is revealed to be inside. You had to see it to believe it. Offering a light statement about consumerism, PopMart was F-U-N and free of political meandering. In Mexico City in particular (this recording has previously been issued on VHS), a good portion of the crowd could barely see, if at all, the actual U2. The place is gigantic. Even so, they seemed to appreciate every last song (unlike the poseurs in New York, who weren't familiar with "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me"). The setlist in Mexico (count how many times Bono says "Mexico," it's a lot) is a satisfying assortment, with the bulk coming from The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and Pop. There are some surprises, both good and bad--the Edge singing "Sunday Bloody Sunday" solo, Bono forgetting lyrics to "Desire." The rest is brilliant and colorful, making the more "intimate" and "sincere" subsequent tour for All That You Can't Leave Behind look plain. [there is also a two-disc version with unreleased live audio and video, documentaries, a PopMart tour visuals montage, and more].-Kenyon

She Wants Revenge: This is Forever (Geffen)
release: October 9, 2007
style: broken promises and broken hearts electro dance goth-rock
similar: Fischerspooner, Joy Division, Interpol, The Faint, Bauhaus
rating: ****
With song titles that fit the dark, anti-love mood of the debut ("Written in Blood," "This is the End"), This is Forever was already destined to vary little from the debut, which regenerated a composite of the best dark electro, goth and post-punk. It's an unpretty world that She Wants Revenge isn't shy to expose, opening with the ominous "First Love" (not far from Depeched Mode's "Pimpf") and "Written in Blood," which is something about a wedding and being dressed in black. While several tracks are remarkably similar to those on the debut-- "She Will Always be a Broken Girl" for example nearly replicates "These Things"--it's effortless to get lost in the melodramatic subject matter and dance club-ready hooks. Simply put, if you bled your heart on the dancefloor for the first album, This is Forever should have the same effect. -Kenyon

Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails don't need record labels.

girl you know it's NEW on magic marker records.

Tullycraft- "The Punks are Writing Love Songs" (Magic Marker) record out October 23, 2007. when Tullycraft had that song out called "F*** Me i'm Twee" i was like, dude, that is NOT twee. i think i missed something. someone please explain if i am. Their next record includes this song which has punk and love in the title, which is twee enough i guess. it begins with a Ramones-like "hey, hey, hey" and guitar riff. oh yea.

The Owls- "Peppermint Patty" (Magic Marker) record out October 23, 2007. not to be confused with Owls (no "the"). This is like sugary raindrops. The kind of raindrops that are pure and clean which you can drink, not like the dirty ones that fall around here in New York.

advance copy is in this week's Long Island Press. check out how i linked my own website. pretty crazy right?

Small Arms Dealer
Patron Saint of Disappointment (Deep Elm)
Release: August 2007
style: punk
similar: Latterman, Kid Dynamite, Black Flag
rating: **** It's not too often you'll see punk bands covered here or on most blogs in general, so count your blessings sucker! One of the few exceptions will be this local Long Island band, whose line-up consists of members from several previous local groups. Patron Saint is another medolic punk-rock rock record with random, inside-story titles ("Harry Houdini Says No and Proves It," "Venkman, Burn in Hell"). The back-up vocals perfectly complement the lead, urging us to learn the lyrics asap to sing along. Despite the titles and the "F you's," the statements about religion, war, drugs, death, et al are necessary reality checks for this F'd up planet. -Kenyon