Long Weekends are a Garage/Pop band based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This three piece group first released a four song EP that was recorded at Echo Chamber studios in Halifax entitled Warmer Weather in March of 2011 and before they even played a show they begin to receive publicity and appear on bands to watch lists. The bands sound is simple to describe, it’s Garage, Punk, Pop and it’s catchy as hell. The band is made up of Noel Macdonald on guitar/vocals, Devin Peck on bass and Adam Hartling on drums. Prior to forming Long Weekends, Devin Peck and Noel Macdonald were in a Punk band, which after putting together some songs folded. Macdonald and Peck did some work on the songs, citing influences such as The Chameleons, The Smiths and 80s Post-Punk groups as their main inspiration behind the songs reworking, and after finding Hartling Long Weekends were born.
“Shame On You” was the second release was made available for free via their bandcamp page in October of 2011. In January 2012 the band has released their first physical release the Don’t Reach Out seven inch, all of their releases prior to Don’t’ Reach Out have been available in digital form only and currently the seven inch is only available through the Noye Records website. It should also be noted that all of the bands artwork for the two major releases (Warmer Weather and Don’t Reach Out) was done by Yorodeo a prominent screen/print designer in Canada. The bands philosophy is simple, they love to write and make music and hopefully they continue to do so for some time.
1. The Long Weekends – Don’t Reach Out
2. Brazilian Money – Give Up That Dog
3. Hands & Teeth – Sound of Hamilton
4. Heavy Chains – Commo Wire
5. Exxotone – Big Shot
6. Neverever – Mexicoco
7. NoBunny – Blow Dumb
8. Telepathe - Destroyer
9. Tumours – Twilight Zone
10. Vendetta – I Wanna Be A Star
11. The Tranzmitors – Teenage Filmstar
12. The Embers – I Walked All Night
13. Cake – Moustache Man (Wasted)
14. The Phantom Chords – Swamp Thing
15. The Damned – Politics
16. The Howlies – Zombie Girl
17. Link Wray – Deuces Wild
18. Harlem – LSD Saves
19. Seven Story Redhead - Don't Wanna Know
20. The Saints – Run Down
21. The Velvet Underground – One of These Days
22. Nervus Rex - There She Goes
23. Magazine - Boredom (BBC Session)
24. Bob Dylan – Positively 4th Street (Live April 13th, Sydney, Australia 1966)
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 24. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
Today I filled in for the CJAM program Beating Time, usually hosted by Angela Womann Wednesdays from 10:30 to Noon on CJAM 99.1 FM. Today's show featured a variety of new and old music and some obscure 70s Punk.
Beating Time play list:
1. The Revolvers – Rock y Roll
2. The Smugglers – 5-4-3-2-1
3. Dan Sartain – Box Cutter In My Boot
4. Golden Hands Before God – Communist Party
5. Indian Wars - Just Can't Get Along With You
6. The Modernettes - Barbra
7. The Adverts – Quick Step
8. Bok Bok – Misfit
9. The Nerves – Hanging On The Telephone
10. The Pagans – I Juvenile
11. The Scabs – Amory Building
12. Le Butcherettes – Bang!
13. C’Mon – Underneath The X-Ray
14. The Mark Inside – Shots From A Broken Bottle
15. The Velvet Underground – Guess I'm Falling In Love (Live)
16. The Almighty Defenders – The Ghost With The Most
17. Link Wray – Deuces Wild
18. The Locusts Have No King – Song 6
19. Radio Birdman - Do The Pop!
19. The Carbonas - Blackout
20. Crocodiles – Neon Jesus
21. X – The New World
22. Cramps – Drug Train
23. The True Lovers – Guilty Pleasure #9
The UK Punk act The Boys had their beginnings generate from the combination of several factors, one being from the influential group Hollywood Brats, a band that was the UK equivalent to the New York Dolls. The Hollywood Brats featured keyboardist/vocalist Casino Steel after making some recordings the band split (although they continued with a different line up) who would join forces with Matt Dangerfield (guitar/vocals), who converted his flat into a recording studio. The two joined up with Honest John Plain (guitar/vocals), Duncan “Kid” Ried (bass/vocals) and Jack Black (drums) all of whom met at a T-shirt factory where Plain worked as a foreman, they like Dangerfield and Steel had known each other from going to school together. In addition to this Steel and Dangerfield also played in the infamous London SS group, a group that featured a revolving cast of UK musicians that would later form groups of their own. Some of the members that would be in the group at one point in time were Mick Jones (later of The Clash), Tony James and Billy Idol (later of Generation X), Rat Scabies and Brian James who would later form The Damned and a few others. The Boys, who began around 1976, decided that Reid and Dangerfield would share the vocal duties and began playing concerts that September. After several concerts, in January 1977 The Boys signed a contract with NEMS. Technically The Boys were the first UK Punk act to sign an album recording deal, The Damned were the first UK band to have a recording deal, but it was for a one off single for Stiff Records not an album.
The Boys would release two full length albums and three singles for NEMS before switching over to Safari in 1979 where they recorded two additional albums. The first single to be released by The Boys was the “I Don’t Care” single which was backed with the song “Soda Pressing, the single was released in April of 1977. To support the release of this single, The Boys went on a national tour with John Cale, previously of The Velvet Underground. In May of 1977, The boys began recording their debut full length album laying down sixteen tracks. Produced by Pete Gage the band felt that the album sounded too polished and after some adjustments, the album was ready to be released. Despite being completed, The Boys was delayed commercial release by NEMS and released on September 9th, 1977. This delay caused several other UK Punk acts to release albums denying The Boys the status of releasing the first UK Punk album but, regardless of this fact the album went to number fifty on the UK album charts. The Boys displayed their Power Pop and Punk Rock dynamics, a sound that began its embryonic stages on their 1977 “I Don’t Care” single, it was a sound that was both catchy and raw sounding.
The Boys second single was the now classic Punk anthem “First Time” a song also written by John Plain, it was released in July of 1977 and quickly became the “Single of the Week” in Sounds magazine. The single received a good amount of air play on John Peel’s radio program and went to number 77 on the UK singles charts. The single would have most likely climbed even higher on the charts, but in August of 1977 when Elvis Presley passed away. RCA Records, who distributed The Boys and many other bands releases stopped releasing all other bands associated with RCA in order to press and release Elvis' music posthumously to satisfy the insatiable demand for Elvis Presley’s records. In 1978, The Boys released their second full length album Alternative Chartbusters. An album that despite its name featured many catchy Power Pop/Punk Rock gems, the album sessions also produced the bands next single “Brickfield Nights”, a song that is often regarded as the band at their finest hour. The album was once again met with distribution complications via NEMS, which had a negative impact on the albums potential. The band toured to support this album with New York Punk act The Ramones. In 1979, the group moved to Safari, where they released two full length albums, as stated previously. The band subsequently split up in 1981.
Throughout The Boys initial status as a band from 1977 to 1981, The Boys released Christmas themed singles and one full length Christmas album as The Yobs. The one and only released as The Yobs was The Yob’s Christmas Album in 1979. While the band seemed to have hard luck in terms of label promotion in the UK, they quickly built up a European following, where they had a higher success rate. The band reformed in the summer of 1999 with five of the original band members. The band reformed with the complete original line up in 2000, for the Holidays In the Sun festival and in 2006 began playing shows again. In 2008, The Boys released an early recording of the song “Jimmy Brown” as a single. Currently The Boys have become involved with a side project of Matt Dangerfield titled The Mattress Boys.
This week's play list:
1. Guided By Voices – The Head
2. The Revolvers – Cadillac 21
3. The Haunted – Mona
4. The Plimsouls – Magic Touch
5. The Prabes – 30 Minute Meal
6. The Oblivians – You Better Behave
7. The Micronite Filters - The Rise of the Machines
8. The Lost Satellites – You Turn Me On
9. The Vaccines – If You Wanna
10. Zona 84 – Dispara
11. The Stomach Mouths – Cry
12. Thee Midniters – Jump, Jive & Harmonize
13. The Hysterics – Everything’s there
14. Superhumanoids – Mikelah
15. Queens of the Stone Age – You’ve Got A Killer Scene There Man
16. The Boys – I Don’t Care
17. The Boys – First Time
18. The Boys – Brickfield Nights
19. New York Dolls – Pills
20. Ardels – Piece of Jewellery
21. Mike Jones Group – Funny Feeling
22. King Khan & The Shrines – Bite My Tongue
23. Young Rival – Authentic
24. The Black Lips – Notown Blues
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 17. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
In 1978 The Rolling Stones released the album Some Girls, an album that is often referred to as the album that saved the Stones. At the time it was being recorded, the future of the band was uncertain. Keith Richards was busted for Heroin possession and on trial for drug related charges in Canada, there was the possibility of him going to jail. In addition to this, Punk and Disco music had taken over the younger generations of music fans, the bands future was as mentioned earlier uncertain. With Ron Wood of The Faces officially becoming a Rolling Stone, in October of 1977 the band began sessions for what was to become the Some Girls album. The sessions were recorded at Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris and were completed in March of 1978. This period in the bands recording history was extremely prolific, the band ended up with approximately fifty new songs, which would be released on bootlegs for decades. Several of these extra songs were also used on the albums Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You, albeit in alerted states, most notably the Some Girls outtake “Start Me Up” which wound up on Tattoo You. Further tracks would be released on the 2011 deluxe edition of Some Girls, but more on that later.
Some Girls yielded many bonafide Rolling Stones classics which absorbed influences from the bands past and present. “Miss You” was influenced by Disco, but there is an underlying Punk influence through out this album, Jagger has said in interviews that the album was very influenced by New York at the time which was in a state of transition from Punk to Disco. The influence of New York Punk is apparent on the track “Shattered”, where Jagger rants in a Richard Hell vocal style. The album is sleazy and raunchy, it is known for having a stripped back production based approach. Albums prior to this one such as It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll and Black And Blue had rotating casts of guest musicians and high production values. Some Girls also featured more classic songs such as “Beast of Burden” possibly one of the best Stones ballads ever released, “Lies”, the Country Parody “Far Away Eyes” “Respectable” Keith Richards outlaw anthem “Before They Make Me Run” and “When The Whip Comes Down”. Some Girls certainly packed a much needed punch for the band, and one that could have very well had a different outcome. In addition to this Mick Jagger played guitar on many tracks on this album and the album also produced much controversy lyrically on tracks such as “When The Whip Comes Down’ and “Some Girls”.
Visually the band also brought in another controversial element, the artwork. The albums cover which featured women in lingerie originally featured famous celebrities Lucile Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Raquel Welch and some others, they threatened the band with legal action. As a result a new cover was made, although several copies made it out to print with the original design. With all the factors that surrounded it, Keith’s drug charges, Ron Wood entering into the Stones fold, and most importantly the uncertainty, it produced a classic album which proved that following Keith’s dropped charges, The Rolling Stones weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Now fast forward to 2011, The Rolling Stones release a deluxe edition of Some Girls containing a bonus disc of twelve previously unreleased tracks from the Some Girls sessions. The album is just as gritty and raunchy as Some Girls was in 1978, but it addresses more of a R&B, Country Western, Blues and Boogie influence. There are inflections of Country which is not unheard of in The Stones catalogue. The album features several songs which were added to in the same way that the band did for the Exile On Main St. bonus disc of outtakes, but it is very hard to tell. Additions were made to songs, most notably “No Spare Parts” a song featuring newly recorded vocals from Jagger which has currently climbed the Billboard Hot Singles charts.
The album is a great companion to the Some Girls album, and although some fans may argue that there weren’t early versions of songs found on Some Girls or even the B-Side “Everything's Turning To Gold”, this bonus disc has plenty to offer that will appeal to any Rolling Stones fan. The album starts off with the controversial and filthy Boogie Woogie of “Claudine”, a song which lyrically is about Claudine Longet’s shooting of her boyfriend Spider Sabich. Other highlights includes the filthy cool of “So Young”, the Soulfully Keith Richards sung “We Had It All” a song originally by Waylon Jennings, a cover of the Hank Williams song “You Win Again”, a raunchy rendition of “Tallahassee Lassie”, and the greasy “I Love You Too Much”. The album ends with a short piano piece “Petrol Blues”, often labelled as a throwaway track, but one that fits perfectly with this collection of songs. When looking back on this release the bonus disc really does make it worth while, the twelve previously unreleased tracks pack enough sleaze and swagger to knock you out.
This Week's Play List:
1. Sonic Avenues – Television Youth
2. The Dry Heaves – Factory Punishment
3. Action Makes – Bellhop
4. Steve Diggle – Life On The Telephone
5. The Quiet Americans – Be Alone
6. Surf City – Teachers
7. Kinetic Ideals – Together
8. Logikparty – Anti-Omerta
9. Lightning Love - Deadbeat
10. John Cale – Whaddya Mean By That?
11. James OL & The Villains – Late Night Drive (2011 Demo)
12. The Schomberg Fair – Black Train
13. Solvents – Is It Really So Strange?
14. The Skaliwags – Turn Him Down
15. Mutts – Done It Again
16. Radiohead– I Might Be Wrong (Live)
17. Radio Birdman – What Gives?
18. Nothing At All – Busted
19. The Spits – Get Our Kicks
20. The Modernettes – Won’t Have To Worry
21. The Carbonas – Phone Booth
22. The Rolling Stones – Do You Think I Really Care
23. The Rolling Stones – Tallahassee Lassie
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 10. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
On Friday, I filled in for Friday At The Hideout from 8 to 10 PM on CJAM 99.1 FM. Here are some videos from bands featured on the program, the actual program can be downloaded below the play list, as usual.
Friday At The Hideout Fill In Play List:
1. The Damned – I Feel Alright (Live at The Paris Theatre, London 1977)
2. The Oblivians – Trouble
3. The Dirtbombs – What You’ve Got
4. Thee Oh Sees – Contraption/Soul Desert
5. Those Rogues – Girl
6. Thee Deuces – Hung Up On You
7. Free-For-All – Show Me The Way
8. Witness Inc. – Not You Girl
9. The Visitors – Miss You Too Much
10. Lost Patrol – Tell No Lies
11. Reigning Sound – Can’t Hold On
12. Golden Hands Before God – Blue
13. Ty Segall – Caesar
14. The Howlies – Whiskey Night
15. Deer Tick – Walkin Out The Door
16. Indian Wars – Just Can’t Get Along With You
17. Tell All Your Friends - Another House Party
18. The Strangeloves - Night Time
19. The Knickerbockers – Lies
20. The Lyrics - So What!!
21. The Association – One Too Many Mornings
22. The Bobby Fuller Four – Baby My Heart
23. The Cynics - Be True To Your School
24. Albert Hammond Jr. – Hard To Live In The City
25. The Androids – Roller Derby Queen
26. Rage – I’ve Got Your Number
27. Wire – Dot Dash
28. The Stranglers - Nuclear Device
29. The Clash - Protex Blue (Live Chorus TV, Paris 1980)
30. Mystics – Play Your Game
31. Public Image Limited - F.F.F
In 1981, the UK Ska revival act The Specials had several songs featured in a movie entitled Dance Craze. At the time of the films release the label 2 Tone, which was owned by The Specials Jerry Dammers was in a declining state, the soundtrack to the film featured only 2 Tone artists, even charting at number five on the UK album charts. The soundtrack featured 15 of 27 tracks that were used in the film, one of the tracks not included on the soundtrack that is the main topic of discussion here is The Specials song “Raquel”. The song was released on a 1981 single release of The Specials song “Concrete Jungle”, the songs B-side was the then previously unreleased Specials song “Raquel”. Clocking in at about two minutes, the song is a fast paced Ska number, done in the vein of songs such as “Little Bitch” found on the 1979 debut album from The Specials. As a result of the Dance Craze soundtrack this exclusive seven inch single was released for promotional purposes and for years remained a hard to find single featuring this track “Raquel”, which was equally as hard to find. The song dates back to The Specials early days when they were known as The Coventry Automatics, it was also released on a cassette tape compilation album in 1981 with numerous other 70s Punk and New Wave hard to find nuggets titled NME C81, released by NME magazine in the UK. The track continued it’s hard to find status for about twenty years until a demo version of “Raquel” was released on The Coventry Automatics – Dawning of a New Era, which collects recordings from The Specials early days. In 1993, The Compact 2 Tone Story Box Set was released, which featured the song as it appeared on the 1981 B-side to “Concrete Jungle”, as well as all of the A and B-sides that the 2 Tone label released.
This Week's Play List:
1. Dan Sartain - I Don't Want To Go To The Party (Toerag Version)
2. Minutemen - Voodoo Slaves
3. Psycho Surgeons - Wild Weekend
4. Silent Movie Type - She Says
5. Johnny West - You Turn Me Off, I'm A Microwave
6. Pere Ubu - Misery Goats
7. Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters
8. David Bowie - What In The World
9. Public Image Limited - Careering
10. The Stig – Who Are You
11. Huladog – R88
12. Jack Pine and The Fire - Lost In New Orleans
13. Sumner Brothers - Big Rock Candy Mountain
14. Le Butcherettes - I'm Getting Sick Of You
15. The Black Angels - Sunday Afternoon
16. The Ugly Ducklings - Hangman
17. The Specials - Raquel
18. The Love Me Nots - End of the Line
19. The Pointed Sticks - Splish Splash
20. The Libertines - I Get Along
21. Miesha & The Spanks - Night Danger Baby
22. The Jam – Going Underground
23. The Waldos - Golden Days
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 3. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
The following is a collection of reviews of eleven of my favourite albums of 2011, a top 11 of 2011 if you will. I’d like to note that while these releases are technically my top 11 albums, all of the songs featuring on today’s program I enjoyed and encourage you to check them out (info can be found in the play list below).
Arabia Mountain features sixteen tracks, all of which sound fresh and exciting while at the same time staying true to the bands ethics. Working with producer Mark Ronson has helped Black Lips and their songs to reach their maximum potential. Lyrically the album features many songs that reflect a narrative based nature, sounding mature while at the same time keeping true to the unique tenacious style. Amongst the sixteen tracks found here you will find elements of Surf, 60s Garage, 70s Punk, and Psychedelic music. After six albums this album serves as a new starting point for the group, while fans often choose 2005’s Let It Bloom and 2007’s Good Bad Not Evil as the bands best work, Arabia Mountain serves as a new contender. The band has never sounded better on record and as a result, this may be not only one of the bands strongest produced efforts, but also one of their best albums so far.
Indian Wars are a band that comes from Vancouver, BC. Walk Around The Park was released in April 2011 and has an interesting array of influences. While the band is often labelled as a Garage Rock band, drawing comparisons from band such as The Black Lips and King Khan & BBQ Show, they also have underlying Country Rock influences. They have been said to also be influenced by The Band, George Jones and Dead Ghosts (another Vancouver Garage Punk band). The combination proves for a an interesting blend of Garage Rock and Country with tracks such as “Old Hotel”, “20,000 Cans”, “Bullfrog”, “Won’t Do A Thing”, their influences are diverse and at times hybridic. Lyrically and musically the album conjures up images that are reminiscent of songs once heard by artists such as Johnny Cash, Neil Young, and Crosby, Stills and Nash with a dash of Garage Rock and Punk mentality for good measure, this certainly is one interesting walk around the park.
In 2010, Toronto's Mark Inside released their False Flag EP, and in November of this year they released Nothing To Admit, their second full length album. In 2008, the band went to the UK and began work on Nothing To Admit, over the course of six weeks. The album was produced by Jim Abbiss, an acclaimed UK producer who has worked with artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian. Signing to Jim Abbiss' own Metalbox Recordings label (and Sony Music Canada in Canada), the False Flag EP followed in October of 2010. Nothing To Admit came out on November 1st, 2011 and adds to the EP expanding it adding more depth than on False Flag.
The album features great Post-Punk themed tracks “There Is Nothing To Admit”, “Lime Green Monkeys” and “Questions”, while at the same time dipping into Garage Rock on tracks such as “House of Cards”. “The Bottom Line” is a track that is worth the price of admission of the album alone, the song which has charted on the Canadian Alternative Rock charts at # 31, is a slower soulful track that is lyrically a different kind of working mans anthem one that addresses issues surrounding big corporations. “Shots From A Broken Bottle” a single released from the album is another track that makes this album not only unique, but great. It is a song that simmers with elements of Blues and builds to a soulful roar. The album ends with the bands usual live set closer “The Sky Is Falling Down”, the song captures the bands live energy, which is never short of explosive and it clocks in at over seven minutes. Nothing To Admit features a variety of influences from Garage Rock, Post-Punk, Blues and Alternative, it is the sound of a great Canadian live band coming into their own.
In April 2011, Papermaps released their first full length album, simply titled Papermaps. Like a paper map, the Papermaps album charts into new musical territory using Central Meaner Street as a starting point, the band has currently ventured into Power Pop influenced territory. Papermaps features ten well crafted Pop songs mixed in with other elements that gives you something that keeps you on your toes. The albums opener “Angela” sets a tone for the overall album building as it progresses, it features predominately guitar/bass and drums. Near the end there is a splash of synthesizer which gives the listener a tasty bite of what’s to come. The second song featured on the album is the piano driven sing-a-long “Reunion”, which has done very well on Independent campus radio based charts, the third song on the album is the guitar driven and energetic “Can’t Make A Living” which moves the listener along the albums ten track course. “Complicate Things” is a moody yet synthesized anthemic Dance Rock track, while “Exit” is one the heaviest tracks on the album. “Coddled” is a song that starts off like a solo John Lennon outtake, reminiscent of a lullaby before it picks up in to all its loud glory, “You Are My Gallows” ends the album with a call and response dynamacism. Papermaps blurs the lines of their musical territories for a sound that is all their own. A second full length album is due to be released in the fall of 2012.
I did an interview with Dean of Papermaps in November just before a show they played in Windsor, it can be heard here:
This May Sloan released their 10th full length album The Double Cross, which also marked their 20th anniversary as a band. The album features twelve new tracks building on their addictive Pop Power formula. The Double Cross starts off with "Follow The Leader" a song penned by bassist Chris Murphy, the drum and tambourine heavy Rock song has a seventies flavour. The song segue ways into "The Answer Was You" which is a Pop song written by Jay Fergusson, it sounds as if it would have fit perfectly on their 1996 release One Chord To Another. The album also features "She's Slowing Down Again" a song by drummer Andrew Scott, which sounds like it could have been from the 1998 album Navy Blues. According to Scott, the song has been around for a while. Other interesting tracks include "Unkind", a Patrick Pentland number, which is the first single for the album and "It's Plain To See", which is yet another high energy Pentalnd song. In addition to these, other tracks of note include "Shadow of Love" a song in a similar vein as “G Turns to D”, the acoustic Pop of "Green Gardens, Cold Montreal", "Beverly Terrace", and "I've Gotta Know". There is also the song "Traces", a song written by Andrew Scott that features bassist Chris Murphy on drums. The Double Cross which in Roman numerals is XX means twenty, has many songs that fans can identify with and love, but at the same time it also has a fresh sound and feel to it. Sloan has now been around for twenty years and with yet another album and tour underway, they show no sign of stopping anytime soon.
In May I Interviewed Sloan's Chris Murphy live on my program, it can be heard here:
This album kind of came out of nowhere this year. Brazilian Money are based out of Edmonton, Alberta and are essentially just one person Garrett Johnson. This Is Not A Dream is filled with catchy sometimes weird junkyard gems, displaying elements of Garage Rock and Lo-Fi music such as Pavement at times. Brazilian Money has garnered other comparisons to bands such as Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols and are labelled as experimental when loading their music in itunes, but they are difficult to pin down. This album has great tracks such as "Give Up That Dog", "Then You'll Know", "Party Till I'm Dead", and the gritty "Nobody's Coming". An EP also followed this year titled Jive With The Killer Instinct that is six tracks long, it is essential if you liked This Is Not A Dream. Check them out for yourselves at http://brazilianmoney.bandcamp.com
Many critics hailed this album as a return to form when The Strokes released their first single from the album “Undercover of Darkness”. While the song is a return to form of sorts, it sounds as if it combines elements from the bands first album Is This It? with songs from their second album Room On Fire. The song could be described as “Last Nite” meets “Reptilia”. It is a strong song found on the album, which shows off many different colours, sometimes leaning in the experimental electronic sounding direction. As a whole, Angles is heavily rooted in the 80s, the first track “Machu Picchu” is a song that was originally conceived by guitarist Nick Valensi and has a Reggae flavour in the verses with Rock sounding choruses, sounding fresh and retro at the same time. The first line “I’m putting your patience to the test” is a declaration of what is to come musically, the songs are at times familiar sounding, at other times different leaning either in an 80s influenced or electronic influenced direction.
Critics have also been fast to attack the album, but it has many strong moments. “Two Kinds of Happiness”, another Valensi original sounds like an 80s song from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, exemplifying The Strokes slower, but catchy groove, while “Taken For A Fool” sounds like an outtake from The Strokes Room On Fire album, “Gratisfaction” is a guitar heavy track, sounding like classic Strokes, but at the same time sounding like a song that could have been on their last studio effort First Impressions of Earth, “Life Is Simple In The Moonlight” ends the album and ties up all the loose ends. It is an encompassing, catchy track with lingering synthesizers, dual guitar lines, and lyrics from Casablancas stating “Don’t try to stop us, get out of the way” that brings the album musically and lyrically full circle. The Strokes have returned with Angles an album of many eclectic shades and colours, but also one with elements that fans have come to identify and love.
In September 2011, The Pack A.D released Unpersons. This album further displays the bands evolving sound and adds different elements into the mix. Unpersons elevates the Pack A.D’s sound making them sound bigger most likely due to Detroit producer Jim Diamond, who adds edge to the bands sound. On this album the band truly have evolved at a sound that is both different and as fascinating as their past. The albums title originates from the novel 1984, which is a form of “newspeak” meaning someone who has been stripped of rights, identity or humanity. While The Pack A.D have not been stripped of their musical identity, they do venture into new and different music territory and lyrically the songs reflect a dystopian view and plays into the titles meaning. Unpersons finds the band exploring the very elements of their sound, reconstructing themselves with their brand of raw Blues, Garage and Punk which has made them a Mint Records artist to watch.
On The Horrors 2009 full length released Primary Colours they took their Garage/Punk influenced sound into a Post Punk direction and on Skying they advance their sound into yet another direction. Combining elements of Post Punk stylings with elements of Shoe Gaze, this album shows the band coming into their own. Recorded at their own studio in the UK, songs such as “Still Life” which has drawn comparisons to Simple Minds, “I Can See Through You” features over driven guitars, and “Monica Gems” to name a few that add to this albums aura. Skying shows The Horrors building on the atmospheric and Jesus and The Mary Chain influenced sounds that first appeared on 2009’s Primary Colours while at the same time re-focusing themselves musically into a clearer stronger image.
The fourth full length release from Rhode Islands Deer Tick bites down hard and adheres to their rowdy, beer drinking image. This album shows a band embracing their roots and having a good time doing it. While there are still elements of Country and Folk which the band are known for having, the band is also much heavier, in a good way. The albums feel and themes are set forth by the lyrics to the first track on Divine Providence “The Bump”, in which singer John McCauley says “we’re full grown men, but we act like kids”. The strongest track on Divine Providence has to be the song “Main Street” in which the band flexes their Rolling Stones influences musically and lyrically.
This album snuck in just before the end of the year. Thee Oh Sees already released an album in 2011 titled Castlemania, which was also great, but Carrion Crawler/The Dream is a tighter more cohesive sounding release. Thee Oh Sees have been releasing music for years and are known for being quite prolific, two albums in one year even without prior knowledge of the band hints at that. The band started as a vehicle for John Dwyer, who is the driving force behind this band, they were started by Dwyer in order to release instrumental and experimental home based recordings, but it evolved into something else in the process. Dwyer himself has been part of numerous bands (Coachwhips, Pink and Brown, Burmese, The Hospitals to name a few), and this version of Thee Oh Sees on Carrion Crawler/The Dream is perhaps Thee Oh Sees at their best.
As for the rest of my picks, check out my play list below it can also be downloaded as it is a radio show. There are a few other albums that deserve a mention and although they didn't make my list they would have if time permitted. The other albums I’d like to mention are John Doe - Keeper and Tom Waits – Bad As Me.
2011 Play List:
1. The Black Keys – Gold On The Ceiling (El Camino, Nonesuch 2011)
2. Beastie Boys - Lee Majors Come Again (Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, Capitol 2011)
3. Johnny West – Purgatory Waltz (Medium-Fi Music For Mentally Unstable Young Lovers, Tosteestostas Music 2011)
4. Ty Segall - Booksmarts (Singles 2007-2010, Goner Records 2011)
5. Chang-A-Lang – Monday Again (No Clean Rock and Roll, Self Released 2011)
6. Wire – Clay (Red Barked Tree, Pink Flag 2011)
7. The Rapture – Miss You (In The Grace Of Your Love, Red General Catalog 2011)
8. Reigning Sound – Lyin’ Girl (Abdication...For Your Love, Scion AV 2011)
9. Ry Cooder – Lord Tell Me Why (Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down, Nonesuch 2011)
10. Dum Dum Girls – Just A Creep (Only In Dreams, Sub Pop 2011)
11. Luger Boa – Lazy (New Hot Nights, Stuka Records 2011)
12. The Polymorphines – Anna Lee (The Slip EP, Self Released 2011)
13. Thee Oh Sees – Chem-Farmer (Carrion Crawler/The Dream, In The Red 2011)
14. Deer Tick – The Bump (Divine Providence, Partisan Records 2011)
15. The Horrors – Wild Eyed (Skying, XL Recordings Ltd. 2011)
16. The Pack A.D. – Sirens (Unpersons, Mint 2011)
17. The Strokes – Gratisfaction (Angles, RCA Records 2011)
18. Brazilian Money – Then You’ll Know (This Is Not A Dream, Self Released 2011)
19. Sloan – Shadow of Love (The Double Cross, Yep Roc Records 2011)
20. Papermaps – Complicate Things (Papermaps, EMI Music Canada 2011)
21. The Mark Inside – House of Cards (Nothing To Admit, Metal Box Recordings/Sony Music Canada 2011)
22. Indian Wars – Bullfrog (Walk Around The Park, Bachelor Records 2011)
23. The Black Lips – Modern Art (Arabia Mountain, Vice Records 2011)
24. The Black Lips - Raw Meat (Arabia Mountain, Vice Records 2011)
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for December 27. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
Revolution Rock has been on the CJAM airwaves since June of 2004. In 2006, the show won Best Punk/Hard Rock show at the CJAM Jammy Awards. Revolution Rock focuses on 60's Garage Rock, 70's Punk/New Wave, Alternative and new music that is within those genres. Currently my show can be heard Tuesdays from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM. This is an informative blog that provides band histories, download links to my radio show, play lists and more.
I am the host of the Revolution Rock radio program on CJAM 99.1 FM and an avid music fan.
Download links to my show are provided by the the CJAM website and can be found at the bottom of each play list on this blog.
I am always looking for bands that fit the format of my show (punk, post-punk, new wave, alternative, garage rock, etc). If you are a band you can send music to me, if I like it I will play it.
To send music:
ATTN: Revolution Rock c/o University of Windsor/CJAM 99.1 FM 401 Sunset Ave. Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4 [FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY]
