Review: The Family Curse - White Medicine

Label: Fainting Room Collective

Released: October 2009

There's no doubt that the Family Curse really like noise in general and the Butthole Surfers in particular. The opening track certainly makes no bones about it, but also shows that they don't quite get it. It's random and pointless and they miss that even the wild abandon of the Buttholes and the better of their ilk had direction even when it wasn't particularly discernible. There was always the notion, swimming around in the music somewhere, that there was some point. By "Laughing My Way to the Bank," it seems quite clear that that's what this band would be doing if this record took off. However, "Back in the Water" begins to turn the corner. It's every bit as crazy as the first two tracks, but it has purpose and that purpose gives it form. It begins to break down as it meanders through what amount to two other songs within it, but at least the album looks like it's going somewhere. Much of the album continues to struggle as it wanders through their contrived stabs at shallow darkness.

All hope is not lost however. On the album's second to last tune (though tune seems like such a stretch for these exercises in dissonance), "Exodus from Birds in the Night," they draw on a higher school of noise - John Zorn. While they're still nowhere near joining his league (well, who is?), the song's subtleties are more moving and deep and its excellence not only saves the album, but sheds some light on the rest of the music, making all but their worst moments at least a little more interesting.

White Medicine spends too much time trying and too little time being and that's i's serious flaw. However, dismissing it entirely or dismissing the Family Curse would be a mistake. There's something there if only they can simply allow that to happen. Aside from one fantastic track, this record isn't very good, but this a band that clearly has a good record in them.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 4/10
Dylan: 4/10
Aretha: 5/10
Overall: 4/10

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Review: Flipper - Love

Label: MVD

Released: May 19, 2009

A reunion can be viewed in one of two ways. On one hand, it could be an attempt to cash in on the current popularity of the band's genre, something they may not have been able to do in their prime. On the other, it could be a way to expose the band to a new generation of fans as once great bands have a way of slipping into obscurity. Flipper's music is so anti-commercial that not even Kurt Cobain's endorsement brought their music to the mainstream, so it seems unlikely that former reason to reunite could be true. At the same time, they have remained the seminal art/noise punk outfit, so each generation has seemed to acquaint itself with their work. So, why reunite?

With Flipper, it's anyone's guess why they do anything and this is no exception. Perhaps their reunion for CBGB's sparked something, perhaps they enjoyed playing with Krist Novoselic, perhaps it just happened. After all, this band is no stranger to spontaneity. However it happened though, Love came to be. The album has the same heavy noisiness for which they've always been known, but there's something decidedly more deliberate this time. Though hardly accessible in any way, they have toned down the crazy into something a little more digestible. Love, which seems to be about a love that most people, myself included, don't quite get, still features that same half innocent, half debauched sweet sarcasm that underscores their art damaged existence. Overall, this new offering doesn't eclipse their catalog in any way, yet still provides a clear reason why this reunion is not just a one-and-done blip in their storied career.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 7/10

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Review: Thursday/Envy - Split

Label: Temporary Residence Limited

Released: November 4, 2008

Few albums start off with the level of frantic energy of Thursday's "As He Climbed the Dark Mountain." There are songs with fireworks and there are songs that are like the fireworks factory exploding and this is clearly the latter. Thursday's dense layering walks the fine line between noisy and melodic, without tempering either. On one hand it seems like one lumbering mass of guitar, yet at the same time, the music is intricate, interesting and downright riveting.

Envy makes an interesting pairing for Thursday. On one hand, their ambient textures walk the line between austere beauty and haunting fear in sharp contrast to Thursday's more heavy-handed approach. On the other, they blast out noisecore along the lines of a more musically mature Septic Death. In a sense they've taken the roads to both sides of Thursday's work, giving this split release not only intensity but depth as well.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

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Review: MySon - Another Shitty Band's First Demo

Label: self-released

Released: 2008

"Warning! The recordings contained on this disc are raw and far from perfect. Just how we like it!" That's the warning on the CD, but it's more like a mission statement and they back it up with the tunes. Another Shitty Band's First Demo is raw beyond belief. Thick, sludgy guitar and bass are essentials in MySon's no-groove approach augmented by wild, erratic drumming. The leads often don't even sound repeatable which might be amateur, but it's also constantly improvisational. At times they are able to even things out like on the spacey "Copenhagen Blues" and the art-punk-ish "The Middle of Everywhere," but a pair of Nirvana covers, including Sub Pop 200 obscurity "Spank Thru," make even Cobain's earliest rumblings seem glossy.

On one hand, this is awful, but it also has the heart, the abandon and the freedom of great rock n roll. It worked for Flipper and, though to lesser extent, it works for MySon. This is art for art's sake punk rock, more interested in dissonance than harmony. The music is plodding and chaotic, but it survives on mad energy. This probably has a very limited audience, but that small group of people can probably sing along with the chaos.

Ratings
Satriani: 3/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 4/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Always April - Seven Singles

Label: self-released (only available at shows)

Released: 2007

Seven Singles seethes with insanity. It reaches the outer limits of craziness without completely losing control. As such, it isn't for everyone, but if you can get past poor production and near chaos, there's something here in which to lose yourself. The drums are so loose that they're all over the place. When they're audible, the bass lines have good movement. The guitar is just contained enough to keep some sense of structure, barley keeping complete mania from ensuing. The real gem on the album is Charmaine's voice. It's bold, strong and darkly sensual. Adding a bit of phaser at times gives it a trippiness that fits right in with the overall sense of crazy.

The recordings are very live, visceral, in the moment and on one level that acts as a strength. Nonetheless, Always April needs to find a way to harness their energy into a more recordable insanity. They hint at this on "Th1rt3en," but they aren't quite there. "Elvira," the album's noisiest, remains the strongest track. Whatever they manage to put down in the studio, I'd bet money that they're practically a nervous breakdown live and that has to be worth hearing.

Watch for a full-length release this summer!

Ratings
Satriani: 5/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 5/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Lafcadio - Kibosh

Label: Joyful Noise Recordings

Released: January 22, 2008

In a nutshell, Lafcadio could be described as King Crimson meets Dillinger Escape Plan meets Black Flag meets Black Sabbath meets Shel Silverstein. If you're not immediately turned off by the threat of that, then their new album Kibosh is probably for you. At times, they are as refined (though not quite as safe as) late 70s/early80s King Crimson jazz/prog. At other times, they play what sounds like noise, except...there's something to it. In between these two extremes is the heavy, discordant noodling that can likely only be picked up by locking oneself in a room and listening repeatedly to side 2 of Black Flag's My War. Just in case you're tempted to take all of this too seriously, check out that album cover with its 70s catalog spoof and the track list with the likes of "freewillynelsonmandela." That's right, on some level, it's all supposed to be fun. The result is hardly accessible, but for the brave and silly alike, there's something here that will catch you when you're not looking.

Rating: 8/10

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