Elevate Difference

Reviews tagged garage rock

Baffled and Beat

There must be something in the Oxford water that breeds talent. How else could you explain the abundance of good, great, and truly classic music that has emerged from the southeastern English city over the last twenty-plus years? Need examples? Ride, Supergrass, and Radiohead all hail from there. I say it is not an overstatement to also count raucous duo Little Fish among these ranks.

Ribbon of Fear

Ribbon of Fear is a totally solid K Records release that places emphasis on humble production and a certain lo-fi artistic quality. My partner, endlessly amused by my penchant for unsophisticated music, asked if K Records isn’t “that label that will put out anything.” While I did mockingly protest, for a band on the label, the difference between recording in a studio or a basement is negligible.

Rainwater Cassette Exchange

Deerhunter's latest album, Rainwater Cassette Exchange, is just five songs in fifteen minutes. Five songs perfectly placed and executed, there is nothing superfluous and nothing lacking.

Fuckbook

Nineties alt-rock favorites Yo La Tengo have released a new album of cover songs under the moniker of Condo Fucks. Presumably taking its title from their 1990 album Fakebook, this eleven-song effort has been christened Fuckbook.

Scramble

Scramble is the fresh and inventive sophomore album from The Coathangers. This all-girl band will impress you with the witty lyrics.

Sittin’ in a Tree

If you’re like me, you were totally shocked to learn that Sittin’ In a Tree is Juliana Hatfield’s eighteenth recording.

Destroy Me I’m Yours

Move over Sid and Nancy. Free form rock is the new black and Brooklyn, New York do-gooders Jen and Johnny from Shellshag are the ultimate musical couple. Years ago while performing in separate bands, they were involved with a public arts warehouse and living experiment in San Francisco called Starcleaners. Fast forward to present day, where Starcleaners has become a haven for the artistic community, releasing limited edition music including Shellshag’s first full-length album, Destroy Me I’m Yours.

Hats Off to the Buskers

The View’s Hats off to the Buskers opens with “Comin’ Down,” a ruff and raw garage sound with a catchy hook and muffled vocals. “Superstar Tradesman” is no different and continues along in the same vein. The comparisons swirl overhead as the music continues. I hear Jet, Phantom Planet, The Strokes, The Sex Pistols and Fishbone. “Same Jeans” and “Don’t Tell Me” are lighter and more mainstream.

Cornucopia EP/DVD

I must admit, on the first couple of listens to the Cornucopia EP, the music brought me back to high school when I had bands like Veruca Salt and Throwing Muses on heavy rotation in my Sony Discman. The question is: was it solely the nostalgia for my high school listening habits that lead me to appreciate this largely estrogen-laced pop metal?
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