The Eleventh Blog of Christmas: The Cribs - In the Belly of the Brazen Bull (2012)

I've reviewed The Cribs a number of times.  I've called them "alternative rock at its logical extension", "solid, decent", "'below average' but still a B+", and "really pretty bland overall".  You see where their career is going.

At first blush, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull is a step back up.  The first three songs ("Glitters Like Gold," "Come On, Be a No-One," and "Jaded Youth") are right there with any album.  At that point, I really thought I was getting the next Sugar - Copper Blue -- yes, it's that good.

The rest of the album, unfortunately, is more cutting-room floor material.  The dropoff is staggering -- it's like a replacement band stepped in and did the rest of the album.  I turned the volume up at one point to make sure I wasn't missing anything.  I was not.

In short:  one of the best 3 song EPs you will ever hear.  A rough 14-track album that just never, ever, ever seems to end.

CD Placement Rating:  I think it has to be Sell-Back Pile 1.  After those first three songs, that seems pretty much impossible, but it is what it is.

Merch Rating:  I'll have to downgrade their next album to "wait and see reviews first."  I will not being going to a show either.

- Snilch

New Music Roundup, Part 1

We're skipping the preamble today.

• Against Me! - White Crosses (2010).   The promise of 2007's New Wave is fulfilled in this album.  The "new punks" have slightly refined and smoother the rougher edges of their abrasive sound, but not at the expense of their energy or lyrical vitrol.  "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" is a great single, and the rest of the album is solid to great.  This is a band in their prime, making great music; that's tough to find those these days.  Check them out if you haven't gotten too old to deal with pop punk. 
  CD Placement rating:  Car CD Changer.
  
  
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo (2010).  BRMC had a brilliant first two albums; their 5th album (a lot like their fourth, Baby 81) has moments of brilliance (like "Conscience Killer," "Shadow's Keeper") which break the mold, but mostly sounds exactly like the first two albums.  (My guess is uber-fans Moira and Kevin will disagree with me here.)  I'm more likely to return to the highlights as opposed to the album.  But it stays in my collection for the time being (i.e., prior to the next culling).
  CD Placement rating:  CD Rack.
  
  
• The Cribs - Ignore the Ignorant (2009).  I declared these brothers "to be approaching alternative rock at its logical extension" after 2007's brilliant Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever.  And that was before they added Johnny Marr of The Smiths!  On paper:  a recipe for something sublime, perhaps even transcendent.  In reality:  a step back.  It's a more pop-friendly approach, but lacks the bite and edge of their previous recordings.  It's really pretty bland overall, actually.  Maybe going back to a simpler approach might help.  Hopefully they realize Maar is Dave Navarro to their Red Hot Chili Peppers:  an excellent guitarist, but adding him to the mix does not make the band better.
  CD Placement rating:  CD Rack.  Sad, really.
  
  
• Charlotte Gainsbourg -- IRM (2009).  After 2006's startling 5:55, Gainsbourg returns with help from Beck for her follow-up.  I'm not a Beck fan, but his collaboration with Gainsbourg is solid and the production is excellent.  This is a great album, as striking as 5:55 in many ways, although it lacks a true single.  Let's compare her to Cat Power:  You Are Free was a classic, but her follow-up (or follow-ups, for that matter) don't hold a candle to the original.  Gainsbourg has followed one great album with another.  Very impressive quiet, whispered pop.
  CD Placement rating:  Car CD Changer.
  
  
• Jesu - Opiate Sun (2009).  Paul H. convinced me to pick up 2006's Conqueror, and I'm pretty sure he recommended this as well.  This picks up where Conqueror left off.  Just great stuff, especially considering it's a genre ("heavy dirge") I'm really not into.  For fun, here are words allmusic uses to describe Jesu:  "Bleak," "Angst-Ridden," "Sad," "Suffocating," "Volatile," "Brooding," "Cerebral," "Visceral," "Wintry," "Gloomy," "Intense," "Somber," "Fierce," "Reflective," and "Unsettling."  How awesome is that!  (Is it bad that this music makes me smile?  What happened to all the small animals that used to live around here?)
  CD Placement rating:  Car CD Changer.
   
  
• Kill Hannah - Wake Up the Sleepers (2009).  One of my ongoing guilty pleasures, these guys are a cross between New Order and VHS or Beta; I'd describe them as "glam pop with splashes of dance and goth."  I wouldn't describe this album as brilliant, but it's musically solid, with some albeit lyrically cliche moments.  (Aside:  I still can't believe that's a guy singing.)  However, as with all Kill Hannah, I keep coming back for the brilliant moments they always tease me with.  Oddly, it's their "ballad" on this album ("Why I Have My Grandma's Sad Eyes") that's my favorite -- and this is stylistically, lyrically, and musically off target with everything else they've done.  Speaking as someone who is extremely suspicious of the whole "ballad" phenomenon that appeared in the mid- to late-80's, this is a first.  Not only that, but it's a synth ballad, which is like finding out your scurvy has a case of polio.  But I cannot deny it.  "New York City Speed"  and "Tokyo (Dance in the Dust)" (more typically my speed) would be hits in some other era.
  CD Placement rating:  Portable CD Case.

- Snilch

Some Old, Some New

Let's get right to it, shall we?

• The Black Keys - Rubber Factory (2004). Thanks to Brian for recommending these guys. They're a two-man group, ala Local H or The White Stripes. Whereas Local H is more grungy and The White Stripes more crunchy alternative guitar/Jack White's vocals, The Black Keys are more deeply rooted in the blues. (Yes, I know The White Stripes visit the blues neighborhood, but The Black Keys live there.) It's pretty clear that the two musicians play multiple parts; what makes it most interesting is that they still retain the charm of a two-person approach. It's really quite ingenious. Apparently they opened for Sleater-Kinney in 2003, but I must have missed that tour. (Aside: has there ever been a band that has remained as below the radar as S-K that broke so many other acts? The White Stripes, The Gossip, and Yeah Yeah Yeah's immediately come to mind.) These guys are fierce and write amazing songs. Great stuff from Akron, OH. Who knew?
  CD Placement rating: Portable CD Case.

• The Cribs - The Cribs (2004). The Cribs scoreboard stands at 1 up, 1 way way up. Their debut is the worst of their efforts thus far, but it's a Bob Mould scale: their "below average" is a B+ in any other book. There are still some gems here (like "The Lights Went Out," "Direction," and "Another Number"). New one is out now (with Johnny Marr on lead guitar) and I can't wait.
  CD Placement rating: Portable CD Case.

• Merle Haggard - Country Roads (2007). Thanks to Tim for recommending this. Unfortunately, it appears I really, really don't like country (except for Johnny Cash), even if it's done very well (like it is here). I'll take a couple of tracks and move on.
  CD Placement rating: Sell-back Pile 1.

• Mayfield - Mayfield (1998). Curt Smith's Halfway, Pleased was so good, I felt compelled to go back into his back catalog. This album is the product of a brief '90's project, and it does not disappoint. I'm not sure how I (and apparently, everyone else) missed the boat on a truly gifted artist, but I can't help to be continue to be impressed with his work. Unfortunately, (besides Halfway) his two other earlier solo albums and this one are almost impossible to track down. An aside: Curt, please come to Boston.
  CD Placement rating: Portable CD Case.

• The Proletariat - Voodoo Economics and Other American Tragedies (1998). Thanks to Paul for recommending these long-gone (and mostly forgotten) Boston legends.  They sound a bit like an Americanized, slightly more mainstream poppy, slightly more politically pointed version of Gang of Four.  At 45 songs, you get pretty much all you'll ever need to hear of these guys; they were definitely ahead of their time and this is a very nice compilation.
  CD Placement rating: Portable CD case.

• Ride - Going Blank Again (1992). Dan had recommended the band Ride when I reviewed them here.  However, I got the actual album he was recommending wrong -- I believe what he was referring to was Going Blank Again. (Well, at least I think it's the right album this time.) This is tremendous shoegazer pop, think a lighter/poppier My Bloody Valentine.  The 8+ minute opener ("Leave Them All Behind") does not feel long by any means, which said it all for me right off the bat.  Yawning guitars, a strong rhythm section, and lofty vocals on the more shoegazer numbers:  all tremendous. Jangly guitars, that same strong rhythm section, echoey but more down-to earth vocals on the more poppy numbers:  also tremendous.  When they come together (like "Time of Her Time"), it's even better.  Eclipsed by MBV at the time, these guys are absolutely fantastic.  How did I miss them the first time around?
  CD Placement rating: Car CD Changer.

• The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues (1988). Thanks to Scott for this one.  The Waterboys are your favorite Irish pub band, just a lot better.  A very pleasant, upbeat, melodic Celtic folk-rock disc.  At times it's bouncy, others it's tranquil; it's always complexly arranged and very well produced.  It's purely speculation on my part, but I could definitely see them being an influence on The Frames.
  CD Placement rating: CD Rack.

- Snilch

Year-End Roundup, Part 3

Thank God for 10-12 hour car rides. Final installment for 2008.

• The Cribs - The New Fellas (2005). After declaring these guys the next big thing on my radar, I felt a strong need to go back to check this album out. It's not as good as Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever, but it is a solid, decent effort; there are more dead spots here, but it's still very good.
  Verdict: Recommended. It's a CD Rack-quality album that gets into the Portable CD Case based on their 2008 effort.

• James - Pleased to Meet You (2001). Reviewed here, after their Greatest Hits compilation it seemed like the chapter was closed on these guys. This, their "spectacular" return to form (quoted from allmmusic.com), is not as rock oriented as their previous efforts; lead singer Tim Booth has a great voice, but the previous successes of the band were based on contrasting his voice with the music. Here, they blend his voice with the music, which is fine, but just not as interesting to me. There's no song that reaches out and grabs you, which is what James is all about in my book; this is thus more consistent in a bad way. It needs more bite and a hit single.
  Verdict: Slightly recommended. This goes into the CD Rack for now, but I'd be surprised if the album is still there five years from now.

• LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (2006). This was commissioned by Nike to be a long-form song suitable for a 45 minute workout, which intrigued me. Here's what I read at Wikipedia (after I had bought and listened to the album): "The track is, strangely, 45 minutes and 58 seconds long, and was claimed to 'reward and push at good intervals of a run.' However it was later revealed that this was not the case, but that [LCD Soundsystem songwriter and frontman James] Murphy merely wanted the opportunity to create a long piece of music." Thanks for nothing then. In fact, the "track" is boring, monotonous, and plodding. (Hey, isn't that what we're trying to escape from during a workout?) I didn't like LCD Soundsystem before, and this effort and deception does them no favors with me for the future.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Run away (get it? get it? WOW I am clever). Pile of death.

• Naked Raygun - Jettison (1988). Here's what you need to know about Naked Raygun: they know how to write a heavy guitar riff. It's old school, aggressive, viciously effective guitar play. This album includes four bonus tracks, which are well worth it: the cover of Stiff Little Fingers' "Suspect Device" is absolutely great. If it were more consistent, it'd be in the Car CD Changer... but it's not. Still damn fine punk/rock 'n roll.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case.

• Ride - Nowhere (1990). Ride was a significant shoegazer band in the early 90's, but history swallowed them up (like most of the other bands in the genre) in the mighty wake of shoegazer geniuses My Bloody Valentine. This is a great second place to MBV; time and the rock canon appear to have conspired to allow this one to fall through the cracks. It shouldn't be. It's not as layered and flowing as Loveless, but it's great in its own right.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Car CD Changer.

• Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004). This is a reunion I doubt anyone saw coming. Childhood friends Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith hadn't spoken since an acrimonious breakup of their songwriting partnership in 1992; Orzabal even made two more albums as TFF without Smith. In 2000, they were forced to communicate with each other for the first time since the break over some legal matters; they patched things up and decided to give it another go. Now, this is no Songs from the Big Chair (their 5x Platinum breakthrough), but it is a nice, pleasant, poppy, Beatles-esque album. It's listenable throughout, and a more mature sound, but "Quiet Ones"... well, that separates this reunion from others. It's classic TFF, and an absolutely sky-searing pop tune. Phenomenal. That song alone is worth the price of admission -- if they have more like this left in the tank, I hope they come back for at least one more rodeo.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. "Quiet Ones" takes this album on its shoulders and moves it from the CD Rack into the Portable CD Case.

- Snilch

New Music, 2007-2008 - Part 3

Yes! The third of three parts. Onward:

• Burnt Fur - Unfurl (2008). I listened to their tunes on their myspace page, and was duly impressed. So I figured it was worth the plunge to get the album. Describing themselves as Electro/New Wave/Experimental (and who am I to argue?), this Boston band's release is a tale of two albums: there's the half that sounds good, and there's the half that doesn't. When they are good: great mix of guitar, keyboard, and vocals that blend together. When they are not: the music and vocals don't jibe, and/or the music nudges over the fine line between "not complicated" and "simplistic." Overall, it's a nice listen, but you're clearly slumming. It's terrible in the car; it's good on my office boombox. Tracks 1, 3, 6, and 8 are, respectively, pedestrian; not bad but not good, and therefore not good; ripping off a band who was, in turn, already ripping off Nine Inch Nails; and awful. Tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9 are, respectively, reminiscent of very early Ministry and therefore decent; pretty solid both lyrically and musically; ripping off Pearl Jam’s opening to “Corduroy,” with a solid (and original) remainder; good; and why I bought the album. There's something here, just not enough of it, or enough variation.
  Verdict: It's close. Recommended for the five tracks that are good. CD Rack.

• The Cribs - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever (2008). These guys are the real deal -- excellent musicians, smart lyricists, and thoughtful arrangers. Three is the magic number here. Three brothers from England, this is there third album and it boasts three great (and I mean great) tracks: the angular "Men's Needs"; the cacophonous "Ancient History" (chorus: "I drag up ancient history/Hope that they'll forgive me"); and the spoken word missive "Be Safe" (which features Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth). And the rest of the songs are either good or very good. The production is excellent -- they get a dynamic mix of sounds out of all of their songs, despite the standard rock instrumental setups. Quite impressive. They seem to be approaching alternative rock at its logical extension, and I think they've got a serious future ahead of them.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. You're damn right this is a Car CD Changer album.

• Crooked Fingers - Forfeit/Fortune (2008). Eric Bachmann, the frontman and sole songwriter for this outfit, is pretty prolific to be flying under the radar: between Archers of Loaf, Barry Black, his solo work, and Crooked Fingers, he has now released sixteen albums and EP's since 1993. Not bad for a guy still living out of his car. Of those sixteen, I'd only call two pedestrian: his soundtrack Short Careers in 2001, and this effort. Neko Case injects some life into the last song on the album, but by then it's too late. Not bad, just not great. I'd characterize it as "pretty bland."
  Verdict: Not recommended. I'll keep it in my CD Rack out of respect to the man, but expect it to be gone by the next culling. The Archers of Loaf albums Icky Mettle and White Trash Heroes, Barry Black albums Barry Black and Tragic Animal Stories, and Crooked Fingers s/t debut are better places to start than this.

• Millencolin - Machine 15 (2008). The eighth album by everyone's favorite Scandanavian skatepunks. Usually their albums consist of one or two mind-blowing tunes and the rest not hitting the mark, but here they are a little less aggressive and a little more consistent, which makes the album a nice listen front-to-back and surprisingly solid as a whole.
  Verdict: Recommended. Portable CD Case.

• The Roots - Rising Down (2008). The veteran Philadelphia jazz-rap outfit is back, following up on 2006's brilliant Game Theory. Evan tried to get me to listen to these guys for years, and I can see why. This is very solid, although it's a little more mellow and a little less aggressive musically, and thus I prefer Game Theory.
  Verdict: Recommended. CD Rack.

• Bruce Springsteen - Magic (2007). I heard "Radio Nowhere" and loved the song -- Bruce is back! So I bought the album... and not so much, unfortunately. Great song, though.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Sell-back pile 1.

• Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk It Off (2008). Following up on their impressive 2005 debut The Loon, the boys clean up their sound with an overly produced effort. Sometimes production makes an album (like The Cribs, above); sometimes it completely takes the edge of the music and sanitizes it in a horrible, horrible way, wringing the life out of the music until the sponge is dry. You may have guessed -- this is the latter. It's just too clean; there are a few excellent songs here, but they rest have been polished to death. Did I mention I loved their debut?
  Verdict: Not recommended. Sell-back pile 1.

• Weezer - Red Album (2008). Now the first thing with this album is to listen to it in the correct order -- start with track 3 ("Pork and Beans"), play it straight through to the end, then play the first two tracks; "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" is a final track if I've ever heard one, but an odd choice for the second track of the album. Their track ordering choices are not good, but otherwise this is their best album since Pinkerton. "Pork and Beans" is absolutely fantastic, which always helps; the rest of the songs seem really autobiographical, which in this case works. It's really remarkably good, especially since (IMHO) they launched three bombs in a row before this one. It's an impressive return to form -- classic Weezer, which inevitably is good sounding, guilty pleasure rock. They do what they do, and they do it well.
  Verdict: Recommended. Portable CD Case.

• Wire - Object 47 (2008). Wire's story follows a bit like the Buzzcocks: Wire released three seminal albums in the late 70's, went on hiatus, then released some tired-sounding albums from the mid-80's and early 90's before re-forming at the beginning of this decade. (Granted, in the Buzzcocks case they had a longer layoff to the early 90's, and a shorter time to reforming early this decade, but you get the idea.) Here's the difference between the two: the Buzzcocks have not been able to recapture the magic, but Wire has. At a Buzzcocks show, you feel the electricity through the old songs, and the lack thereof in the new ones; at a Wire show, it's a blur of electricity, front to back, no matter what era is being played. And this album is great. Anchored by the three great tracks ("One of Us," "Perspex Icon," and "All Fours", the latter starring Page Hamilton from Helmet), this album is a good listen. They're art rock at its finest, and have proven they still have their game after all these years, despite guitarist Bruce Gilbert leaving the band. Close your eyes -- you'll think it's a lost classic.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Car CD Changer.

- Snilch