Iceage - "Shake The Feeling"

Danish punk rock quartet Iceage is set to release the compilation Shake The Feeling: Outtakes & Rarities 2015-2021. They are sharing the title track which is a ramshackle guitar barn-burner that sounds like a 90s Dinosaur Jr. track. 

Horsegirl - "Option 8"

Horsegirl's debut album Versions of Modern Performance channels all the alt-rock icons of the 80s-90s like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and My Bloody Valentine. I love the ravenous guitars on the stellar track "Option 8."

Album Review: The History Of Apple Pie - Out Of View

The History of Apple Pie
Out of View
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

With the first release from shoegaze titans My Bloody Valentine in over 22 years out in the world, new focus is laid at the feet of a bunch of upstarts to see if they can equal or better them in the sonic maelstrom department. While MBV still shows that they are the undisputed masters of the genre, there is still life to be kicked around from the young whippersnappers. British five piece The History of Apple Pie (one of the worst band names ever) show they have a big collection of shoegaze/dream pop/and alt-rock albums at their disposal and wear their influences well, but also have their own way to sneak their personality into the mix. Like peers Yuck, The History of Apple Pie are not afraid to drone out like Dinosaur Jr., create dense sonic soundscapes a la MBV, or pretty things up like Lush. Their debut album, Out of View is a nice mix of different styles and while it is a little too heavy on their influences, there are still moments where their own voice makes it into the wall of noise.

The History of Apple Pie are best when they hit shoegazing straight on and turn up the dense swells of guitars. Tracks like the buzzing "I Want More," which gets more and more complex as added layers of guitars take over,



hard-edged "Mallory" which grimes things up with hefty Dinosaur Jr.-esque guitar riffs,



subtle electronics buried underneath squalling guitars enlivens the Lush leanings of "The Warrior,"



and closing track "Before You Reach The End" never forsakes melody even while the guitars take off into Kevin Shields' flights of fancy.



It is not to say that quieter moments are less interesting than the more overtly guitar-centric tracks, it is just under a more razor honed microscope the leaning on their influences becomes more pronounced and you never get a sense that the band is owning the tracks. "See You" becomes a little too twee, with cooed harmonies and chiming guitars which echo bands like The Primitives and Catatonia,



"Glitch" tries to marry Lush-like drifting guitars with squalling blasts of feedback and ends up more muddled than interesting,



while "You're So Cool" merely becomes bland power pop, its sweet vocals laid upon a bed of choppy keyboards and droning guitars.



But these missteps are more signs of youthful idolization than a serious defect in band trajectory. Once they shed their reliance on these crutches they will be able to make their sound grow further. The foundation is already there for something special, and if they push themselves a little harder they will achieve great things.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

The Men: Open Your Heart - Album Review

The Men
Open Your Heart
Rating: Woof Daddy

My close friends usually shake their heads at me because my musical taste is so broad that I generally like a little bit of everything. So generally, if someone hasn't heard of someone they ask me first, because 9 times out of 10 I have listened to it, or at least know of it. This unselectivity, if you will, usually creates chaos for me at music festivals, because I end up wanting to see almost everything. I think this fractured way I listen to music stems from growing up in a city that had no real alternative music channel, so I grew up on 70s and 80s pop music. It wasn't until going with my parents to UGA football games that I began getting exposed to more adventurous music played by the local college radio stations; which was a dense mix of new wave, post-punk, hardcore, dream pop, shoegaze, and a thousand other indie genres. So, through all this immersion, I wound up with the bizarrely eclectic musical taste I now have. The reason for this long-winded ramble is that when I tell people to listen to The Men, I get a lot of weird stares, as if this band falls so far outside my zone to be almost alien. The Men are loud, obnoxious, and bratty alt-rock that somehow grabs onto several different genres and makes it their own. And I really get into them. I suppose it's their energy and reckless abandon when they play; their music just speaks to me for some reason. Perhaps it pulls me back to those impressionable days when I was really discovering new music all the time, and it just makes me smile.

Their last album Leave Home didn't find its way onto my playlists until well after its release, preventing it from making it into my top albums of the year, which was a shame. Their hardcore take on shoegaze left me pretty breathless, and I couldn't wait to hear more from them. What is different about Open Your Heart is not so much that the sound is different, or even the same for that matter. It is definitely a record from The Men, but there seems to be something directing their unhinged guitar sound, keeping it just on the rails through many a hair pin turn. Just when you think they are heading for a pileup, they right everything again, and head off in a new direction. A criticism of The Men, and this record in particular, is that their influences are worn too obviously on their sleeves, and while you can easy spot their influences, it is blended through their own unique filter.

From the opening chords of "Turn It Around," you know The Men aim to bring big, brash guitars back to the forefront. Mark Perro's vocals recall Dave Grohl's raspy croon as the band charges through the song, the drums almost spilling over in the rush.



Open Your Heart is not afraid to turn up the volume and well, throw a party. Recalling at times everything from SST records acts like Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and Husker Du, the guitars are mainly turned up loud and brash. From the dense push of "Please Don't Go Away,"



the buzzy, hardcore squall of "Cube,"



and the driving title track,



The Men get almost everything right. There is such amazing energy here, and a great melodic sense that is never overshadowed by the sheer amounts of noise.
But Open Your Heart is anything but one note; there are many diversions and side routes taken. The droning, Spacemen 3-esque haze of "Presence"



and "Country Song,"



to the Krautrock influence heard in "Oscillation," which ditches minimalism for outright rock,



the sweet, alt-country feel of "Candy," which is their most mainstream sounding track,



shows a stylistic diversity that is awe inspiring.

Open Your Heart is one of those rare albums that really sends me back to a wonderful time in my life, yet is no mere nostalgia trip, and is certainly not mere aping of their influences. There is genuine care and love here for making great music, and making fun music. If this is only the tip of the iceberg from these guys, I am thrilled to see where they take us next.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Yuck: Yuck

Yuck
Yuck
Rating: Grrrr

Back in the early 2000s and Interpol came onto the scene, you couldn't get more than 2 sentences into a review or commentary before someone mentioned how their sound was influenced by Joy Division. I am sure for Interpol it became more than annoying to constantly have to deal with those comparisons. Luckily for them, even though there were some (in my opinion, minor) Joy Division qualities to their sound (to be honest they drew from more post-punk influences than just Joy Division) they had their own distinct approach to their sound, which allowed them to transcend the comparisons. UK buzz band Yuck is similarly saddled with comparisons to their heroes, however, in this case, instead of post-punk bands such as Joy Division, their albatross around the neck are the 90s alterna-guitar bands like Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Pixies, Pavement, Jesus and Mary Chain, et al. See, I made it 4 sentences in before I made the comparisons, must be a record! There really is no way to sidestep these comparisons I'm afraid. The band definitely wears their influences on their sleeves, but unlike bands who are mere parrots, Yuck uses those sounds merely as a base, building their own unique take on driving, fuzzed out, effects heavy guitar rock. And with the band members barely into their 20s, it is amazing how fully formed that sound is.

The band's bread and butter are driving rock songs filled with explosive guitar parts, that has to have the band making mincemeat out of their effects pedals. From the blistering "Get Away"



the ear bleeding fuzzed out "Holing Away"



and the Sonic Youth-esque droning "Operation"



the band knows loud well. While these are some of my favorite songs on the album, what really takes the band out of merely proficient into the area of amazing is in the quieter moments. What is wonderful about Yuck is that the band is willing to slow things down, try different styles, and even using unique instrumentation.

The delicate "Suicide Policeman" even has a sweet bridge featuring horns and xylophones straight out of Lawrence Welk.



"Stutter" takes a page from the Pavement slacker oeuvre:



"Georgia" even has an alt-country feel to the chorus:



What is truly going to make Yuck a band worth watching is that, based on this album, they are not satisfied sticking with the identical sound throughout. The album meanders, takes chances, is not afraid to do the unexpected. This is most evident in the final two tracks. "Rose Gives A Lilly" is a gorgeous instrumental full of echoing, shimmering guitar that veers ever slightly towards the post-rock sound of Mogwai:



which then segues into "Rubber" which is 7 minutes of slow building fuzz guitar, erupting into a maelstrom of feedback that would make Jesus and Mary Chain grab their earplugs:



In the end, comparisons with other bands are unnecessary, as Yuck is not a 90s alt-rock cover band. It's as futile as comparing The Rolling Stones to their blues influences, or, as I mentioned earlier, Interpol with their post-punk forefathers. Yuck made wear their influences out in front, but they wear them proudly and with their own innate style. Yuck is a fantastic debut album, one that will long linger in your head.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.