Category: New Album Review

Album Review: Money For Rope – Picture Us

Best Tracks: Hold, O’Chelles, Earl Grey, Look

FCC Violations: Actually

Melbourne, Australia’s Money For Rope has found its niche by crafting their art outside of the traditional context of rock n’ roll and have successfully done so. The band features two drummers and while one would think that would be an overbearing undertaking, they do it quite well, without oversaturating tracks with meaningless noise. Blending various styles, including surf, soul, and psych rock, Money For Rope’s forthcoming album Picture Us is a mix of slow and heavy grooves, 60s nostalgia, and fervent vocals in a contemporary mold.

The track ‘Hold’ kicks off the record with building intensity as it starts with just the guitar, vocals and melodic chanting, gearing to a more dirty but uplifting sound midway through. They also manage to mix walkie talkie parts with the melodies effortlessly, making a complimentary and subtle addition to the track.

‘Stretched My Neck’ is a fun one that stays in the upbeat blues rock realm, taking the listener on a rampage of self-sabotage through the singer’s lyrics boasting “She stretched my neck in two different places and I don’t mind/Yeah I don’t mind.” The bridge comes in with a roar of controlled aggression as the guitar settles in the pocket with pure riffage, incorporating hammer-ons and pull-offs while riding the octave.

In the spirit of The Doors, ‘O’ Chelles’ kicks off with Ray Manzarak-style keys and vocals that speak more like poetry reminiscing the sounds of Jim Morrison. The 50s sounding backing vocals add more to the nostalgic feel of the track, making the listener forget it is a song of this century.

‘Remember My Name’ is an intriguing song with a delayed rhythm guitar track filled with washy, slightly distorted chord fills, eventually leading to an epic chorus led by a higher and more intense vocal range. This song definitely has some Pink Floyd influence, stemming from the sounds of The Wall, even incorporating the white noise underneath a few guitar bends that was used frequently on the album. Money For Rope seems to effortlessly refer to past talents while consistently making it sound like something different.

Picture Us definitely surprised me and surpassed any expectations. Whenever my gut told me ‘Oh, this is going to be a bland one,’ melodies seemed to come out of nowhere and were blended with perfection and clarity. Every part and every section serves a purpose with its highs and lows. You can tell there is a huge emphasis on storytelling in showcasing the album. There really isn’t a sore spot on the record and as such, I will be adding this to my library and you should too!

– Justin Capoccia

Album Review: Dumb – Club Nites

Best Tracks: Club Nites, Cursed, My Condolences, Columbo  

FCC Violations: Beef Hits, Some Big Motor Dream

This is probably the most indy album I’ve ever heard in my life! Insert “LOL” anywhere you’d like and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Filled with underground angst and shenanigans intertwined with a few unknown characters that are roasted through a narration-style of vocals, Club Nites is out there in the stratosphere somewhere but I can be sure of one thing: I’ve never heard anything like this before. It’s aggressive, out of the box, covered in a blanket of punk rock, and pulls you in with its weirdness and colorful textures.

‘Club Nites’ – it’s that title track heavy-hitter that starts off the record while basically showing you what to expect in its entirety with short songs just over the two minute mark, in-your-face belligerence while holding the title of definitely not being the music your parents… well, probably grandparents listened to. Yeah, I’m just old enough to have a teenager. Where has the time gone!

Anyways, back to the intro-track. Midway through, the lines “I got punched out dissing whining trading favors for regrets/I get it you’re an artist yeah you’ve got so much to say,” has that airy pretentiousness with a hint of hypocrisy and elitism but maybe that’s what Dumb is going for here: being hipster within the hipster realm and as such, trashing out your own social community in a satirical way. I dig it and if this sample of sound was regurgitated into television, it would be a Netflix original series comedy. Maybe baby Franco could reprise his high schooler counterculture role from 21 Jump Street as a spin-off series.

The bass tracks are superb, especially in ‘Cursed’ and ‘My Condolences’ where the bass keeps a clean ride while holding the fort down so the other instrumentation can glide effortlessly in the chaos. Shelby Vredik is a talented bassist for sure. I mean, you’d have to be to keep the foundation strong in a band that excels in organized mayhem.

There’s even a cowbell! Used in ‘Some Big Motorcity Dream’ as an eight-count in the intro, it kicks in with the gritty, paving the way to an abruptly placed pre chorus with Vredik’s vocal harmony and upstroke guitar chords.

Oh, I forgot, De Mas is sung entirely in Spanish which is just another reason to take this band at more than just its name and musical ambiance. This track is a fun one with fantastic drumming and by gosh a breakdown? Yep, that’s what ended the song, lasting no more than 8 seconds.

Somehow, everything works here for the Canadian four-piece who seem to be experts at blending noise effectively to give the listener a rollercoaster of a ride. It should be known, the band made some noise while playing on the Vancouver independent music scene from 2015 to 2016, releasing three EPs and two albums in that small timeframe. Dumb is a workhorse that more than deserves a look see.

– Justin Capoccia 

Album Review: The Pinheads – Is This Real

Best Tracks: Pure Hate, Feel It Now, On & On, Is This Real, Don’t Have A Home

FCC Clean

Forming on accident, as it has been described by the band, the Pinheads came together in 2013 after sharing music tastes during a few games of bowling. With a mix of punk, rock, and a dash of the British invasion of the 60’s, the band doesn’t sound like any band in particular in a given song. Rather, they unleash a sonically balanced blend of audio that grooves close to the curve that strays off into the creative stratosphere in some instances, but not beyond the realm of understanding.

The Wollong, Australia based band’s second full-length effort Is This Real, covers just about every feeling and emotion that can be simmered into existence. Ranging from upbeat, a bit heavy, and with a few slow to medium paced tracks, the album is enriched in texture that keeps the average rock listener engaged.

Like many of the albums I have reviewed thus far in the warm months, Is This Real contains some serious tones that come second to none. The cool thing about this band is that they seem to find convention in the unconventional. I’m reaching out in left field here but if you’ve ever been keen to Pearl Jam’s Ten, you’d notice a guitar playing a dirty riff and another playing something totally different in the clean, primarily a sequence of jazz chords. Well, that’s kind of what The Pinheads do as well, though in their own musical language. The textures are bountiful and you can trace all the instruments on their own path while maintaining a cohesive listening experience.

There are also some sweet filler guitar parts, especially in the verses. The use of bends, slides, dissonant chords, and the occasional blues rip makes a substantial number of songs stand out  noticeably. The self titled track “Is This Real,” is ironically the best example of this. It rushes the listener with lush sounds and marinades with satisfaction. Look no further as “Don’t Have a Home” comes in afterwards with a groovy rockabilly feel, riding the blues scale with refreshing pace and melody.

As a former closed-off rock and metal enthusiast, I thought it would prove uneventful to waste time searching for good music after 2000. With the opportunity of being handed music to review, I’ve found out how much of a disservice I was maintaining. It’s honestly quite shocking! I’ll definitely be adding this Indy gem to my library and I urge you to do the same! If you’re looking for a bit of rock n’ roll that calls on the forefathers then look no further.

-Justin Capoccia

Album Review: Christelle Bofale – Swim Team

Best Songs: Moving On, Getting On, Origami Dreams, Where to Go

FCC Clean

Soulful jazz rock! At least that’s how I would describe Christelle Bofale’s EP Swim Team. This a first for me in regards to hearing this genre, which I’m sure there are a bountiful number of bands in it. “Well, who does she sound like?” I can hear you ask. To be completely honest with you, I have no idea but it’s pretty dope and the perfect backdrop to just about every activity.

The Congolese American songwriter’s roots in music started young as she was fully immersed in her family’s heritage. Bofale grew up listening to Soukos, a genre of dance music from the Congo, and started writing songs on her father’s guitar at the age of 13. Currently, at the age of 22, Bofale uses her instrument and voice to transcend space and sound to create a vivid dream-like state of euphoric sounds. Her guitar tones are massive – a difficult undertaking when you stay exclusively in the cleans and her voice lays over the music like a cushy blanket, occasionally hitting those sweet vibratos and high whisper tones.

At only five songs, Swim Team is a wonderful peek into this artist’s form of expression. Her first release is full of sounds of gloom and bleakness that somehow translate into happy ebbs and flows. Origami Dreams sticks out as one of those soul-touching tracks that comes from a place of genuineness and will find a way to soothe the consciousness of just about every lover of music. It is filled with everything from a chugging bass riff in the verse, to a half timed chorus with out of this world arpeggiated guitar bends, and a solo that rips while staying covert as not to overshadow the song.

Where to Go takes the listener on a journey of self-discovery. With lyrics like “Don’t know where to go/ So why don’t you show me” and “Swallow the pill and figure it out” has the possibility to touch the emotions of many, especially in the fast-paced environment we currently find ourselves in. This is probably the best analogy to describe this work, a much needed break from the outside world and an opportunity to self evaluate…not to get too sappy of course LOL.

Do yourself a favor and check out this EP by Bofale. Coming in at five songs and clocking in at just 26 minutes, it’s a quick listen. This is her first release and hopefully soon we will get a full-length album that will give us more from this amazing artist.

-Justin Capoccia

Album Review: Nots – 3

Best Tracks: Woman Alone, In Glass, Built Environment

FCC: Clean

Since 2011, this Memphis three-piece has been releasing gritty, noisy, yet somewhat experimental and trippy punk tunes while building a small following along the way. Some call them garage-punk, others say psychedelic-punk but for the sake of making things simple, Nots is a straight forward punk band at its core.

The album’s A-side kicks off with a nonchalant, laid-back ride along called ‘Low,’ fueled by a chugging bass line that serves as the song’s mover. It still gets the veins moving but does not reside in aggression and angst in the traditional sense of punk, though it still serves as a fantastic intro to the album.

‘Woman Alone’ is a song that swells with sound and emotion. The lyrics “What’s it like to be a subject analyzed” takes you into a world of unease that the singer feels comes with the territory of being female in American society. The trippy and experimental guitar tracks give this song its edge but flow inconceivably.

‘In Glass’ is another thrasher of dirty bass lines and hallucinatory noises that fit congruently with the direction of the song. Filled with chants and a stampede of a drum beat, it proves difficult to sit still, provoking the listener to move about in whatever rhythmic variation comes to mind.

3’s B-side starts off with ‘Half-Painted House,’ which comes off as a bit dry and repetitive but is still intriguing nonetheless. Maybe this was the intent with the lyrics “Take another pill to calm my mind” and “Make another drink to calm my mind,” in serving the purpose of showcasing the habitual actions one takes when relying on substances to function in an overstimulating world.

The second half of the album is not as intense as the first but still reigns in the grooves and punchy-ness while not overreaching. ‘Surveillance Veil’ still has the floor tom rumbles and dirty bass lines but with a bit more fluidity. The scorching guitar riffs that buzz and resonate with soaring bends chime with a dark resolution and carry the track on a life of its own. The album’s last track ‘Built Environment’ kind of ties things up as far as the structural theme of the record by providing a mix of everything from the release: clean pockets of organized noise, sporadic drum fills, echoing vocals, and galactic guitar effects.

3 is a great album by a phenomenal band that has just met my acquaintance. I will definitely be taking that adventurous stroll through their discography as they have made a lasting impression on me.

-Justin Capoccia

ALBUM REVIEW: INJURY RESERVE- Injury Reserve

Best Tracks: Jailbreak the Tesla, Wax On, Three Man Weave

Injury Reserve is the self-titled debut by the rap group Injury Reserve. Injury Reserve hails from Arizona and includes members Stepa J. Groggs, Ritchie with a T and Parker Corey, their producer. The trio formed in 2013 and have since released three mixtapes and two EPs, the most popular of them being Floss and Live From the Dentist Office. Injury Reserve is a group that embraces a lot of different sounds and infuses them into their music, injecting their sound in the veins of post-industrial, 90s boom bap, rock and electronic. On their self-titled album, Stepa J. Groggs and Ritchie spit clever lyrics in their distinct flows with the album’s guest features doing the same. This albums guest highlights include Rico Nasty in Jawbreaker who delivers a down to earth verse, Amine in Jailbreak the Tesla who comes in at the end with relevant and funny bars and Cakes Da Killa who crashes in hard and fast on GTFU. Injury Reserve begins with Koruna & Lime, backed with a beat reminiscent of Odd Future, introducing the rappers and the group itself by describing brand deals and the group’s avoidance of a genre label. Throughout the album you can find a sampling of very different, crunchy and melodic sounds on timely topics like Instagram, Elon Musk, Hypebeasts and depression. The last track ends off with Three Man Weave wherein Groggs and Ritchie rap on the group’s connectedness and collaboration throughout the duration of their careers featuring a sample of Phoenix’s Embuscade orchestrated by Parker Corey.

Some of the album’s best tracks are Jailbreak the Tesla, Wax On and Three Man Weave. It is evident throughout this work that Parker Corey, who curates the unorthodox rap beats and the guest appearances were the ones who carried a lot of the weight of this album’s freshness and boundary pushing aesthetics. However, this is not to take away from Groggs and Ritchie’s lyricism that is mostly consistent throughout the album, they preserve the “Injury Reserve sound” with their rapped lyrics and in tandem, Corey pushes it past the borders of what rap music sounds like. This album strikes me as a continuation and expansion of Injury Reserve’s fragmented, but original sound which takes hold through Parker Corey’s production while also keeping it accessible through the rhymes of Stepa and Ritchie. Injury Reserve is one of 2019’s most experimental, energetic and fun rap albums and is most definitely worth a listen.

-Makayla Mack