>>Nostalgia For Infinity

It’s impossible to mention either Captain, We’re Sinking and the Menzingers (reviewed here) in the same sentence without acknowledging the tight relationship between the two bands. They not only share a hometown – Scranton, Pennsylvania – they also share a genuine bro-bond through the former’s Bobby Barnett and the latter’s Greg Barnett. Scranton isn’t a place I know well – my only time in the US was spent in Dallas – and nor am I that familiar with the town’s scene, with these two being the only bands I know. But on their respective and shared strengths there is definitely something in the Scranton water.

Like the Menzingers, Captain We’re Sinking play fast-paced pop-punk with a strong and passionate edge of breakneck desperation. I first came across them by way of the It’s A Trap EP (available free via If You Make It) and, on the back of that, their album The Animals Are Out. This latest EP boasts far superior production, highlighting the band’s melodic strengths and smoothing out the rough edges.

Opening track ‘The Ballad of Ichabod Crane’ is a bright and pronounced punk rock tune, and to these British ears the relationship between the Barnetts is clear through these intense vocals – with second lead vox provided by guitarist Leo Vergnetti. Occasional moments of delicacy emerge, which serve to emphasise the strengths of these powerfully emotional vocals. » Read the rest of this entry «

We Carry the Fire opens with an extensive sample from the 1938 radio broadcast of Wells’ War of the Worlds; the excerpt concerns ground zero for the Martian invasion, the small town of Grover’s Mill. All but one of the other tracks on this record are named for persons, their age and occupation.

The obvious assumption I take from this is that this is a themed album intended to focus on the lives of various fictionalised people drawn from a small town; either within the context of a prototypical SF tale like War of the Worlds or just focusing on aspects of their lives in composing a  broader narrative or perspective. It’s not entirely clear from the MP3s I have – I don’t yet have a physical copy of this release although I hope to soon. Regardless, either approach is a cool idea but unfortunately without access to lyrics it’s hard to tell what Dolcim intended, as they have never been a band with easily-discernible lyrics. So, for now, you’ll just have to assume that this could be an album with an interesting thematic edge, but it could just as easily screw it up. I have no idea, but would like to assume the former.

Fortunately it’s an excellent album in and of itself. » Read the rest of this entry «

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Kalamazoo. What a place to live that must be. The name just rolls off the tongue: Kalamazoo. According to Wikipedia the name is derived from an old Potawatomi word; a Native American tribe from the area around Lake Michigan. Kalamazoo. The closest I can get to that is the crappy kazoo I bought to irritate the rest of my band. It didn’t work; the whole thing was funny for about two minutes and most of that was me not knowing how to use it.

The Reptilian, then, hail from one of my favourite-named places. As best I can figure out they’ve been going since about 2007 (I base this on the age of their MySpace page ‘cuz they don’t really have a bio) and since then have released a few records, including a few splits. Sometime last year their bassist left and, in time-honoured “the band dynamic is the people” tradition, the others decided that getting someone else in just wouldn’t work and instead dropped second guitar in order to cover four-string duties. On the basis of Full Health I would honestly not have guessed that these songs were written by/for a four-piece outfit (or, at least, are the first songs from a 3-piece that was until recently a 4-piece). They’re impressively accomplished pieces of rock music that draw from a variety of genres; you’ve got your noodling clean emo sound, your occasional jazz-influenced drumbeats, your occasional math-rock rhythms, and of course the inherently diverse rulebooks of indie and punk.

The opening track, ‘Pretty Big Doses’, introduces you pretty promptly to a core juxtaposition of the band’s sound. That is Jon Sacha’s piss & vinegar vocals alongside the modern “twinkly shit” sound ala. CSTVT, Grown Ups, and many of the Reptilian’s own labelmates such as Football, Etc. There is definitely something in that Midwest water, and it began in the 1990s. Anyway, the Reptilian aren’t the first to attempt this juxtaposed style but they certainly pull it off well, with Sacha’s snarled, spat and gruffly sung vocals improbably meshing with the warm power chords and occasional slower noodling of the guitar and bass.

There’s also a sense of humour to the band, a good-natured acknowledgement of nerd culture. Second track ‘Dungeons & Drag Queens’ (which has a particularly fun and speedy intro from drummer Riehl) is one such example, and another is ‘Bulls on Potron’ – which I’m guessing is a reference to Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Bulls on Parade’ but I don’t get “Potron”. Not that it matters; song titles are often in-jokes of some kind anyway. ‘Roman Sideburns’, anyone? ’200% Sweater’? Actually, the latter is one of my favourite tunes present, seeming just a shade more energetic and passionate than its fellows, full of stop-start moments of intricate picks and slamming drums then hanging chords and lush fills.

The seven tracks present are over in 17 minutes, so blink and you’ll miss what I suppose I should technically call a mini-album. I also recommend this record and band as one to watch, as I suspect that the Reptilian will become a name more widely known outside their Midwest stomping grounds over the coming year – at least among those in the know. You know?

Bandcamp | MySpace | Blogspot | Last.fm | Count Your Lucky Stars records

Long-term readers of Nostalgia For Infinity may remember London’s Boy Mandeville from last June when I reviewed their single, Christina/Raisin Snake. The four-piece have now returned with a self-released 4-track EP, titled Mo Skrib. What’s the title a reference to? Buggered if I know: I’ve got no theories this time around.

Anyway, the songs on this EP certainly fit the summery pop bill just as well as last year’s single did, if not more so. There’s a vibe to this record that I can only describe as tropical. What that means, in practice, I can’t say (hats with fruit on them? Palm trees and blue sands? Colourful fish?), but I’ll take a stab and back it up by describing this EP as cheerful, playful and something that wouldn’t be out of place at a British beach party, if Britain’s beaches enjoyed genuinely hot weather for longer than approximately four minutes.

The first track, ‘Steel Horse’, and second, ‘Bad Balance Tango’, set the tone well, with deft guitar picks over an ass-shaking rhythm section and whimsical lyrics delivered in an easy-going vocal style. The latter is a little more laid-back than its energetic predecessor – a slow dance, if you will – although towards the end it kicks things up a few gears for a stomping finale.

‘Canopies’ is a bit of a weirder number, its rhythm off-kilter yet still catchy. The drums hang about mostly at the top of the kit, complete with cowbell, and the band throw in some keys for good measure. This is followed by ‘Hives’ which starts off at a sedate piece, but it’s not long before those familiar catchy rhythms segue back in, equal parts British indie pop and xth-wave afrobeat.

Mo Skrib is a fun EP and another able demonstration of Boy Mandeville’s talents; although there are other bands pursuing similar lines of musical fusion, I’m not aware of any who do it with an equal level of infectious cheer. I am reservedly keen to see what the band produce when they eventually put out a full-length – whilst I’ve faith in their musical skills, songwriting nous and general attitude, I do wonder if they may in the future find that their bag of tricks runs low. But that’s neither here nor there; if you’re fed up waiting for summer to get here, stick on some shades, fix up a rum and coke and stick Mo Skrib on.

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Bon Jovi may have raised my ire, but at the end of the day he’s just one of many rock dinosaurs stomping creakily around, peering confusedly at the scurrying, productive mammals underfoot, and as such deserves only mild scorn and gentle mocking.

These tosspots, on the other hand, deserve nothing but contempt. “Extra cash can hurt the poor”? Fuck you so hard you choke on your cigar, you chortling fuckstick.

Nostalgia For Infinity: come up for the music reviews, leave for the incoherent political rage.

This is the second of two Into It. Over It split releases I’ve reviewed this week; you can find the first review here. At the start of that review I riffed a little on the slightly daft names the two bands had. Well, Pswingset are upholding that tradition in their own way: the “P” in their name is apparently silent.

As with that last release Into It. Over It’s contributions are songs themed around a specific town or city, and they convey simple stories of the singer’s experiences within and memories of these places. ‘Cambridge, MA’ tells of a girl but is not, it appears, a simple and direct love song. Instead, it tells the tale of telling this girl about the woman the narrator loves back home; her habits, hobbies, eccentricities, etcetera. The everyday texture out of which love and shared lives are built. Musically, the song’s a simple one, acoustic finger-picking and soft, slow vocals over rolling drums that loop throughout.

‘Orlando, FL’ is a pacier number, a little more like the band’s presence on the other split, and this one seems to be about shouldering burdens of knowledge, accepting or ignoring what’s going on around the singer, although in what context this is meant to be said I’m not sure – late-night after parties? Infidelity? Secrets between friends? The song itself is pretty catchy and has grown on me over repeated listens.

Sadly I can’t say the same of Pswingset. They offer up two songs here. ‘Everything That Was Tired’ fitting in after ‘Orlando, FL’ nicely and boasting production that is either cheap or an affectation to imitate the recording style of the 90s emo the band adulate. Whatever the reason behind it is, I do like the production, and the song isn’t a bad one – it’s pleasant enough. Unfortunately after half a dozen plays it’s still not resonated with me on any level.

The same is true of acoustic number ‘Thanks For the Record’, a faintly lovelorn tune built of vocals and two acoustic guitars that is competently written, attractively played, stylistically consistent, but about which I have nothing to say because I didn’t find it at all engaging.

It’s a shame that I didn’t get on with Pswingset as it seemed as though all the ingredients for that classic emo/indie sound are in place, but there was no spark. I’ll try them again in the future. Happily, Into It. Over It offer another decent pair of songs, so you may want to pick this up just for those. If you’re a vinyl collector I’d say go for the first, but if you’re acquiring these from Bandcamp then you may as well grab both!

Into It. Over It | Official Site | MySpace | Facebook | Last.fm

Pswingset | MySpace | Tumblr | Last.fm

Count Your Lucky Stars Records

Via the Onion AV Club:

“Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it. God, it was a magical, magical time.”

Yes, and Bon Jovi himself missed out on the magical experience of the family gathering around the piano and sticking on the latest roll.

It’s called “nostalgia”, you pillock. We may be full of it here at NFI but are at least able to recognise it for the rose-tinted bullshit it so often is.

I suppose that, after sixty years of rock & roll and hundreds of thousands of bands, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that band names are getting increasingly convoluted, improbably, ridiculous, referential or just plain odd. As names go, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) just about manages to flow nicely although I had no clue just what it’s supposed to mean. As it turns out it’s obscure enough that the band’s Wikipedia page has a section devoted to just this question.

On the flipside of this piece of wax (or the other MP3s if you’re listening to the digital release) are Into It. Over It, a name that isn’t but superficially looks like it might be a palindrome. This, by contrast, is a name that it’s at least possible to read a number of meanings into depending on what you reckon “it” is. Music and relationships are the obvious answers and it works equally well with either, which is cute.

But what’s in a name, eh?

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