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RVA NO. 5: Record Reviews

Posted by: Necci – Jun 22, 2011

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Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic! (Cooking Vinyl)
The fourth full-length outing by these British art-punks is more subdued than some of their earlier LPs, though there are still a few ragers to be found. Think of The Fall (if their singer had a soul) collaborating with the Pixies. Or something like that. Either way, it's awesome.

The rest of the record reviews from the new issue (all 23 of them!) are after the jump.

READ THE FULL VERSION OF RVA #5 HERE

Atmosphere - Family Sign (Rhymesayers)
On this quirky, inconsistent album, Atmosphere focus heavily on live instrumentation and dark, haunting grooves, moving them away from their "backpacker" past. Though some of these songs just do not work, the unconventional, emotionally-driven hip-hop on display here will still give longtime fans something to enjoy.

Buffalo Tom - Skins (Scrawny)
These 20-year alt-rock veterans are still doing what they do best: literate, emotional, guitar-driven heartland rock, like some sort of cross between Wilco and Dinosaur Jr. They don't really bowl me over with their awesomeness the way they once did, but I'm glad these guys are still making records.

Bill Callahan - Apocalypse (Drag City)
Former Smog leader Bill Callahan's third solo album is full of dark folk songs, featuring an almost-uncomfortable emotional intimacy. His striking baritone voice is at the front of the mix, while instruments other than his acoustic guitar mostly just add background textures. Excellent album, unsettling listen.

Creeping Weeds - See Through (creepingweeds.com)
Philadelphia's Creeping Weeds integrate several prominent indie trends of the moment--Animal Collective's Beach Boy vocalisms, Vampire Weekend's worldbeat plundering--into a gorgeous, melodic sunshine-pop indie sound with Beatlesque instrumentation and a Caribbean feel. See Through is guaranteed to brighten your day.

Dammit Matthew Dammit - Dammit Matthew Dammit (self-released)
Three-chord midtempo rock from this Richmond trio, who aren't quite fast or loud enough to really sound like punk to me--they're more reminiscent of Weezer, The Knack, or maybe a keyboardless version of Devo. Their joke lyrics aren't that funny, unfortunately. Dead Milkmen fans might dig this, though.

Des Ark - Don't Rock The Boat, Sink The Fucker (Lovitt)
Des Ark's long-awaited second full-length has a split personality--recorded at two different sessions with two different lineups, the songs alternate between quiet acoustic pieces and full-blown rockers. That said, it's all excellently crafted and performed, filled with passion and heart, and not to be missed.

Eleventh Dream Day - Riot Now! (Thrill Jockey)
These alt-rockers from the early 90s grunge era resurface after over a decade's absence with a darker, heavier sound than they used to have. Their X-style male-female vocal harmonies are still in place, though, and mix well with their louder guitar sound. Fifteen years later, they've still got it.

The Greater The Risk - Say What You Never Said EP (thegreatertherisk.storenvy.com)
These days, emo is seen as music for vapid teenagers. But it's really just pop music, and pop songcraft never goes out of style. Richmond's The Greater The Risk showcase their excellent guitar-driven melodies on this EP, and my only complaint is that it's too short. Record a full-length already!

Heidecker And Wood - Starting From Nowhere (Little Record Company)
This dead-on recreation of schmaltzy 70s soft-rock crap was made by Tim Heidecker of Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, so it's a joke, but it's the sort of ironic humor that's so deadpan, it eventually becomes indistinguishable from what it's parodying. Funny once. Maybe. After that, it's just bad.

Jim Ivins - Late Night Drive EP (self-released)
Richmond singer-songwriter Ivins takes a break from fronting his eponymous band on these five emotion-tinged acoustic pop songs. I'd probably like these songs better if they were performed solely by voice and guitar, rather than including tinkly piano and percussion adornments. However, this EP is still quite good.

Laura Stevenson And The Cans - Sit Resist (Don Giovanni)
Based on their connections with Bomb The Music Industry, I was expecting this group to have more of a punk feel. Instead, this is straight-up melodic indie rock with folk and girl-group tinges. Stevenson's songwriting skills enable her to create an excellent pop album. Absolutely worth checking out.

Liturgy - Aesthethica (Thrill Jockey)
This black metal band still bring the raw, primitive blastbeat fury sometimes, but it's broken up by strange keyboard detours; monolithic, hypnotically repetitive jams on single riffs; and moments where their music crosses some random border into Hella-style math-core. Whatever--it all rules. You need this.

Lord By Fire - Relics (lordbyfire.bandcamp.com)
Often overlooked, wildly underrated Richmond doom-metallers Lord By Fire kick things up a notch with their latest EP, simultaneously keeping things slow, heavy and powerful and retaining interest over the course of their lengthy tunes with varying tempos and intricate drum patterns. Head-crushingly awesome.

The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck (Merge)
Despite a subdued instrumental palate and smooth, clean production, this new Mountain Goats album, their sixteenth, still retains the raw passion that has characterized all phases of their career. Leader John Darnielle's brilliant lyrics and fiery delivery just can't be smoothed out--to his credit. May he forever rage.

Parlour Shakedown - Geography King (parlourshakedown.com)
This group of local teenagers have a great grasp of pop songcraft--there are some excellent melodies here, particularly on "Mr. Silver" and "Corona." However, the production is too polished. There are no rough edges here, which significantly reduces its impact--a shame, in light of their obvious talent.

Pontiak - Comecrudos (Thrill Jockey)
Much of this EP's duration seems taken up by very little--ambient feedback hum, unchanging dub-like rhythms, slow lengthy codas, etc. What songs that surface are pleasant and tuneful, not unlike mid-70s Pink Floyd. But for the most part, this EP feels like filler. Needs more actual songs.

Pygmy Lush - Old Friends (Lovitt)
On their third full-length release, DC's Pygmy Lush move ever farther from their hardcore origins. There are no electric songs here, just a dozen psychedelic folk epics. However, Pygmy Lush retain a post-hardcore consciousness, combining it with acoustic instrumentation to produce an excellent, original sound.

Reatards - Teenage Hate/Fuck Elvis Here's The Reatards (Goner)
This 40-song double LP combines the late, great Jay Reatard's earliest recordings--the first Reatards LP and his original demo, recorded on a four-track with bucket drums. These lo-fi slabs of raw, raging rock n' roll de-emphasize melody in favor of pure venom. Crank it up and get reatarded one last time.

Ryat - Avant Gold (Obvious Bandits)
This glitchy keyboard-driven indie dance-pop gains its main strength from group leader Christina Ryat's strong, polished voice, but the excellently constructed pop hooks are what gives this album its heart. Fans of The Knife, Radiohead, Aphex Twin and Bjork will be thrilled with what they find here.

Skull Tape - The Invisible Hand And The Descent Of Man (LA's Fine)
This excellent debut, the brainchild of former Mae Shi member Brad Breeck, mainly features keyboard-based post-hardcore songs infused with both mathematical complexity and incredibly catchy choruses. Should please fans of Parts And Labor and The Faint, or really anybody who likes good music.

US Royalty - Mirrors (Family)
These guys mix mid-70s era Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and other radio-rock influences from the same era, and overlay them with a modern sheen. Their sound varies significantly from song to song, too, making some far more enjoyable than others. Not terrible, but not worth repeat plays either.

Wormrot - Dirge (Earache)
25 songs in around 20 minutes from this Singapore grind unit. They use the classic grind trio lineup--vocals, guitar, drums--to shred without mercy. Blistering speed, furious distortion, and awesome song titles like "Semiconscious Godsize Dumbass" and "All Go No Emo." What more could you ask for?

Young Widows - In And Out Of Youth And Lightness (Temporary Residence)
This Louisville post-hardcore band started out loud and heavy, but become less conventional with each new release. This one incorporates the echoing guitars and wide open sonic landscapes of Isis/Mogwai-style post-rock, but the rhythm section still pounds. A spooky, excellent album.

By Andrew Necci


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