Son Volt

Son Volt
American Central Dust
Rounder/Umgd, 2009
www.sonvolt.net
www.rounder.com

I hate the term "alt-country". It's just a catch-all genre for anything that's not quite traditional rock, but not quite squeeky-clean enough to be peddled as "new country" to the majority of Americans . To me, bands that are considered "alt-country", such as Rodney Crowell, Son Volt, Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell, Tift Merritt, Steve Earle, Scott Miller, Old 97's, Hayes Carll and, of course, Lucinda Williams, are the rightful inheritants of the true country music of Cash, Jones, Cline, Haggard, Jennings, Lynn and Coe.
The bile that's spewed from Nashville these days is hardly "country". It's more like brain-dead-pop music for people who don't like music to begin with. I myself would have to be about a case-deep in Milwaukee's Best Ice with an ice pick firmly inserted in my frontal lobe in order to even attempt to make it through a Rascal Flatts or Trace Adkins record. Even then, I would probably question it's authenticity.
Son Volt is one of those bands that I love, then I forget about, then rediscover all over again. Their 1995 album Trace was truly a classic "alt-country" (vomit) record, and these guys have rarely let me down since.
My only hangup (there's always one) is that Jay Farrar's voice is a bit monotone, and sometimes I think it holds the band back a bit. I always liked Volt's music more than Wilco, but I like Jeff Tweedy's vocals more than Farrar's. If only they could join up to form another band sans the Uncle Tupelo sound. I despised that band. But the chance of that happening is about the same as me ever putting money on the Celtics to win another championship game.
A highlight here is "Cocaine & Ashes". Farrar is able to sing a song about Keith Richards' infamous drug-fueled salute to his dad, true or not, in which he snorted a line of coke cut with his father's ashes. The thing is, Farrar is able to make it sound endearing. In fact, it's down right touching.
Now if that's not country, I don't know what is. Great album.

The Soft Pack

The Soft Pack

The Soft Pack

Kemado, 2010

www.myspace.com/thesoftpack

http://www.kemado.com/

Man, I love San Diego. The weather. The women. It's laid-back beach vibe. And of course its geographical proximity to Tijuana and non-prescription pharmaceuticals. Of course, I've never been there. But it sounds fantastic. San Diego is also known for producing a lot of great bands. Pitchfork, Rocket from the Crypt, Pinback, Drive Like Jehu and of course Ratt just to name a few. Now welcome The Soft Pack.
I would now like to take the time to thank these guys for making the kind of music I want to hear. It's upbeat and melodic but with a definite punk undertone that can be found in a lot of the music from that area. Matt Lamkin even kind of sounds like Rick Froberg sometimes.
It seems almost too easy to like these guys. Seriously, after the first track I knew this was for me. I had heard about them when they were at SXSW, but didn't pay a whole lot of attention to them. What a mistake on my part. Not quite the same level of mistake as getting into a habanero sauce drinking contest with my brother, but more like when I went to see Kool Keith at the Cat's Cradle and thought it would be awesome. Just a misinformed mistake. But no more sleeping on this band. If SoCal keeps putting out records like this, I'm packing my bags for San Diego.

You know, I hear "San Diego" is German for..

MURS & 9th Wonder

MURS & 9th Wonder
Fornever
Smc, 2010
www.myspace.com/murs
http://www.9thwonder.com/
http://www.smcrecordings.com/

MURS has never been one of my favorite MC's. It's nothing personal or anything. I'm just not that into him. I love Living Legends and Felt, but not so much his solo efforts. So what really attracted me to this record was Durham's own hometown hero, 9th Wonder.
Basically, this is a record about women and relationships. Or maybe that's just a metaphor for hip hop (it's always hard to tell with these "conscious" MC's).
It starts off decently, and then you're hit with a track all about Asian women and how hot they are. MURS is a little behind the curve here. Techie nerds and Anime fans have been celebrating/worshipping the submissive and borderline pedophilic sex appeal of Asian girls for years now. It's honestly pretty lame and almost unlistenable.
Then I get beat over the head with a track about cigarettes and liquor, which seems a little out of place. And as a pack-a-day smoker, I apparently haven't been shamed enough by those truth.com a**holes, so now I'm being judged by MURS. Outstanding.
There's also a track about the problems that arise from dating a porn star, which could have been really good. Alas, in a shocking twist that I never saw coming, he realizes that maybe porn stars aren't quite relationship material. The track ends with the heartfelt advice to "never let your d**k dictate who you love." Thanks MURS. It's like a hip hop fortune cookie that I didn't even want.
Basically this is a forgettable album, which is a shame considering the talent involved. Even Wonder's not at the top of his game. Granted, his beats are better than 80% of what's out there at the moment, but these sound like the leftovers from his other projects. I really wanted to like this, but honestly, it doesn't stand up to repeated listens. Pick up a Felt record instead or check out Skyzoo's collab with Wonder.

A Place to Bury Strangers

A Place to Bury Strangers
Exploding Head
Mute, 2009
http://www.aplacetoburystrangers.com/
http://www.mute.com/

It's taken me a while to come to a verdict on this one. Had I been forced to give my opinion on this band after one listen, I would have said, "Thanks but no thanks, A Place to Bury Strangers. I'm not interested." Aside from their magnificent name, they didn't do much for me initially. And I think I know why.
This sounds like vampire music.
"Now wait just a minute," you say. "Vampires are so totally in right now. Shouldn't that work to their advantage?" To that I would say, "No. Remember when Jurassic Park came out and all of a sudden everyone was suddenly interested in paleontology? Same deal. Hollywood gets people into some really nerdy s**t."
This isn't vampire-ish in a tweeny-bopper, Twilight Saga kind of way. This sounds more like something straight off of The Lost Boys soundtrack, but better. This record has a distinct 80's throwback sound and reminds me of The Jesus and Mary Chain, but with random sonic blasts of god-knows-what that probably register at the same decibel level as a nitrous-fueled jet engine.
That in and of itself is not a bad thing. It's just the whole vampire sound that gets me. And maybe that's not even a fair description. They don't sing about vampires, or even look like them. It's just the first thing that popped into my head. I picture some jackass with a chin piercing, a ruffled shirt and fake fangs totally digging this.
But the more I listen, the more I'm able to set my vampire-prejudice aside. It's a decent album. A very loud album, but decent. It's growing on me like a flesh-eating bacteria and I'm strangely okay with that.
If you're into The Jesus and Mary Chain and white noise, this is something you can really sink your teeth into.
Yeah, I just said that. What.

Superchunk

Superchunk
Leaves in the Gutter EP
Merge, 2009
http://www.superchunk.com/
http://www.mergerecords.com/

My first encounter with indie rock came when I was in the 8th grade. I was at the local used CD store and took a chance on an album by a band named Superchunk called "Incidental Music: 1991-1995". Sometimes taking chances is bad and it doesn't pay off. Like NBA players putting out hip hop records (Shaq, Ron Artest). Or choosing a career as a killer whale "trainer" at Sea World. They didn't earn that name by being friendly. However, on that day back in 1995, the chance that I took with my hardly-earned money paid off in spades, and I would love to thank the scrub who probably traded that CD for a Veruca Salt record.
To me, Superchunk along with Pavement are the quintessential indie rock bands. Superchunk is by far the best and most important band to ever come out of North Carolina and I don't foresee anyone taking that title from them anytime soon. If you disagree, feel free to email your argument and/or opinion to me at blahblahblah@noisenoisenoise.com. I will only view submissions that follow official MLA guidelines. And please, include proper citation.

This EP features a few new songs as well as "Misfits & Mistakes". All the songs are fantastic, but I can take or leave the acoustic version of "Learned to Surf." I guess it's cool to hear what a song sounds like without everything that makes it great... Leaves in the Gutter also shows that this band has only become better with age. Therefore, I am now replacing the metaphorical "wine" with "Superchunk". For example: "Wine is like Superchunk. It only gets better with age." Or even: "Johnny Depp is very much unlike Superchunk. His choice in roles as of late has transformed him into an unlikeable, living cartoon. He's kind of like Judge Doom in the 1988 cinematic masterpiece Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and I can't believe this is the same guy who made What's Eating Gilbert Grape and The Libertine." Responses to that one can be forwarded to the same email address listed above.
But getting back on topic. Leaves in the Gutter reminds me of the Superchunk that I discovered and immediately loved when I was young, and they've managed to stay more than merely relevant. As far as EP's go, this is totally worth your money and proves again why Superchunk is such an important and influential band.

Pick up Superchunk's new album Majesty Shredding on 9/14.