Sinai Vessel – “profanity [ep]”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: A-

Key Track: “cuckold”

The guys in North Carolina’s Sinai Vessel were once approached after a show by someone, who may or may not have enjoyed the show, who called their music “punk for sissies.” The phrase “punk for sissies” is now draped across the band’s bandcamp page, as a source of inspiration. Taken in a non-derogatory way, the phrase fits the band – they’re punk, but one that’s smarter and more personal than most. There are hints of emo in their music, often in place of punk energy. Their new EP, “profanity,” is a solidly well-rounded listen that examines maturity and confusion, in a manner that switches from angry to introspective.

The EP doesn’t exactly start with any punches. Opener “cats” aligns itself a little closer to some twinkly emo than to punk, even if it’s examining small town religion. The vocals, as they are across the EP, are forceful, but the more midtempo music sets the tone of the EP – melodic and reflective, not always going for volume. The second track, “greatham,” is simply a forty second interlude. “cuckold,” possibly the EP’s best song, is a little louder and packs a secret punch in both it’s power and it’s poetry.

“drown around” matches the melodic and powerful nature of “cuckold,” with it’s screamed vocals and honest lyrics. Sinai Vessel are not focused on pulling intense punches, but the EP’s midpoint is it’s most forceful and loudest section. “flannery” is a very honest track, with the line “good country people with bad city hearts” repeated throughout. It serves as a slower song, and possibly the most developed on the whole EP. And “index on the oval” is a heavy and drawn-out finale, one that fits the EP well.

The band, consisting of Caleb Cordes on guitar, bass and vocals, Nathan Larson on drums and David Wimbish on horns, can easily create an atmosphere of cerebral and vulnerable punk, a largely untapped market. Sinai Vessel can be loud when they want to, and can even stretch themselves in post-punk (like on “index on the oval”). But they don’t overdo anything – they’re content playing midtempo and melodic rock most of the time. “profanity” is an eclectic work, one that shows Sinai Vessel have different intentions than most punk bands. Where the vocals are often intense, the music isn’t necessarily, and it’s a blend that entirely works. Sinai Vessel might be “punk for sissies,” but it’s punk for smart and despairing people, too.

You can stream and download the EP here.

If you like this, try: For the sound of Sinai Vessel, the emo-punk blend of Sleep Weather that I happened to have just reviewed. For the idea of Sinai Vessel, check out the band Swearin’, a relatively calm and poetic band that still qualifies as punk.

Iggy Azalea – “The New Classic”

(Photo Credit: NME)

Grade: C+

Key Tracks: “Walk the Line” “Fuck Love”

So let’s get this out of the way: it’s tough to tell who Iggy Azalea is, and who she’s trying to be. The white, Australian-born young woman channels Southern and Western American hip-hop in her music. Azalea has, for a while, been attempting to adopt a heavy rap persona. But it often feels forced, as it should for a persona whose very basis is this questionable.

“The New Classic” is not a consistent album. Opener “Walk the Line” is almost a call to arms, with Azalea’s vigorous and incendiary rapping. But it’s a momentum that isn’t kept up. A majority of the album is hybrid trap music and dance-pop, often midtempo tracks that range from great to dull. “New Bitch” has a surprisingly personal and reflective rhythm, even if the lyrics don’t match. But it’s followed by “Work,” a song very similar in tone but frustratingly less interesting. “Fuck Love” is an ending as intense as the opener, serving as strong bookends for the album, but what’s in between is wildly inconsistent.

Azalea is a talented rapper, accurately channeling her southern influences. Usually she’s forceful and dominating, but she’s introspective when she needs to be. It usually fits the music, which defies genres on some songs. “Fancy,” with Charli XCX, is almost a straight dance-pop song, where tracks like “Change Your Life” (with T.I.), is a cross between trap music and traditional hip-hop. “Goddess” is a straightforward song, but one that builds to an unexpectedly big climax.

But these crossovers don’t really fit with each other, and these better songs are bogged down with some overlong songs and some tepid ideas. The album’s inconsistency is it’s biggest fault, and one that keeps it from living up to it’s title. And knowing Azalea’s past and her attempted image, it doesn’t feel real, even if it occasionally sounds like it should. “The New Classic” marks Azalea as a talented force in hip-hop, but it also questions what exactly her placement should be.

-By Andrew McNally

Japanther – “Instant Money Magic”

(Photo Credit: blastoutyourstereo.com)

Grade: C+

Key Tracks: “Dreams Come True” “Vicious”

The other day I wrote about how the Menzingers’ followed a perfect album with one that copies the format. I praised it, because it’s a band fleshing out their image. But there is an inverse of that, and it’s what Japanther has become. Japanther found a signature sound long ago, and since then they’ve copied it to the point where it’s become diluted. “Instant Money Magic” is a surefired fun album, but one that brings nothing to the table for a band that used to specialize in that.

“Instant Money Magic,” the band’s 23rd official release in a 13 year span, is an improvement over last year’s LP “Eat Like Lisa Act Like Bart.” But just like that album, the band’s sound has become indescribably repetitive. Japanther formed as a riotous art-punk band, often basing songs around soundclips and doing performances in unique locales, but over the past few years they’ve settled into a groove of playing loud, fuzzy, optimistic surf-punk. And it’s never bad, but “Instant Money Magic” is just adding to the pile; we have way too much of a good thing. The band may have peaked with 2010’s great “Rock & Roll Ice Cream,” a short album that still had artsy elements, but presented a more straightforward energy. By now, it’s all energy, and too much of it.

Only three of the album’s fourteen songs stretch over two minutes, meaning Japanther has in no way lost their punk sensibilities. And the album is almost bursting with optimism, with titles like “Dreams Come True,” and songs with fuzzy, bright harmonies. Optimism-punk is not a genre, so in this sense, Japanther have kept it original. Japanther’s last few albums have provided energetic and fun summer soundtracks. But 12 of the 14 songs here sound too identical, all 12 being fast, guitar garage-punk, and they really don’t separate themselves from each other or their last few albums.

Albums like “Instant Money Magic” are a little tough to digest; if this were to be the first Japanther album you hear, it’d probably be a ton of fun, in it’s relentless energy and storytelling optimism. But longtime fans of the band might question their motives, with five largely identical albums in a row making their riotous art only a fond memory. So “Instant Money Magic” is both a quick listen that bridges heavy and fun, and an album that represents nothing new for the band, and feels a little lackluster. They won’t win any new fans, just check another box for their old ones.

If you like this, try: there’s tons of bands that have risen in Japanther’s wake, but my pick is Pangea’s near-perfect 2011 album, “Living Dummy”  (the band now goes as ‘together PANGEA’ but the album is credited to ‘Pangea’)

-By Andrew McNally

Sleep Weather – “Two Wheels Spinning”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: B

With emo, as we know it today, changing seemingly other week, it’s refreshing to hear a bit of a throwback band. Georgia’s Sleep Weather ride the waves of some their predecessors, with a louder and harsher sound then most emo bands today. It’s a little reminiscent of early, punk-influenced emo instead of the “twinkly” sounds of today.

This EP, the band’s first, is a tight four songs that hint at a bigger sound than expected. This comes partially from post-rock and hardcore influences that become apparent at certain points, and partially from the screamed vocals of Chris Branigan and Hunter Rawls. The vocals sound screamo-based, although comparing something to screamo isn’t usually a compliment. But the guttural vocals help drive the band’s heavy sound, in a crowd where many emo vocalists opt for cleaner and clearer vocals than the past. This is used the best on the album’s closer, “My Mountain,” where the music largely dies away during a great breakdown and the screaming vocals are harshly coupled with the quieted music.

The band, also consisting of Chris Slyfield on bass and Allen McCleese (with Branigan and Rawls on guitar), largely sticks to midtempo music. When it all comes together, it resembles Algernon Cadwallader’s brief existence as the emo revivalists who set the template in 2011, only to have most bands approach a more harmonious sound. The band sets itself apart in the first song, “Grasoline,” an almost painfully slow and long-winded song that’s more post-rock than it is emo. The band is, at times, in no rush to hit their climax. Their music is not necessarily heavy and it is not overly fast, but it’s very forceful. Sleep Weather have an angrier sound to them, consistent throughout the EP.

The EP’s production is a little too rough at times, but they’re just starting out, so it’s easily excusable. And the genre they play isn’t exactly classifiable. It’s like screamo, but more inventive and eclectic, and not rushing immediately towards volume. There are a lot of post-rock influences hidden in their energy and songwriting, but they most closely resemble our current Midwestern emo – just not as “twinkly.” “Two Wheels Spinning” is a promising release for a young band. They might just find an audience in people who are tired of this current, cleaner wave of emo.

The album is available for streaming and download here.

If you like this try: Rites of Spring’s legendary 1985 self-titled, and only, full-length album. While more punk-based, it shares the rougher qualities of Sleep Weather.

-By Andrew McNally

Skull Practitioners – “st1”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: B

Key track: “BPPAM (feat. Anna Barie)”

Skull Practitioners, out of New York, aren’t ones that are going to try to align with genres. Their debut tape may only be four songs, but it packs a few different punches. The band alternates between garage rock and psychedelia, channeling and coupling two opposing forces of the 70’s. The band uses alternating throwbacks to make music that’s instantly both familiar and unique. And, more importantly, they’re rocking, loudly.

Skull Practitioners are, first and foremost, a rock band. Whether they’re angled towards garage-punk or something trippier, they’re loud, in a classic rock sense. This is evident on all four songs, but especially on the second track “Nelson D,” recorded live in The Grand Victory. The song is instrumental; a pseudo-jam that has all the elements of classic garage-rock. The guitars and vocals are distorted, the volume is turned up, and the drums are fast and snare-heavy. “Nelson D” feels ripped out of a garage in 1977. Likewise, final track “Another Sicko (feat. Tom Derwent)” is a lot more psychedelic-based, but still ups the volume. It’s longer and slower, taking it’s time to flesh out some psychedelic ideas, while keeping the muzzled vocals of traditional garage rock.

The band seems to have a knack for writing throwback songs, equal parts classic rock and garage-punk. The tape’s opener and best song, “BPPAM,” has a serious garage-rock vibe, while holding onto some more traditional classic rock vocals from Anna Barie. It’s a strong and energetic song, bolstered by the great guest spot. “Foreign Wives,” meanwhile, seems to combine all of the band’s elements. The vibrato guitar rhythm with the cymbal-heavy drum beat adds a very DIY sense to the music. The whole song has an early punk feel to it, without ever actually sounding like it.

The tape’s only fault is not having any sort of real cohesiveness. All four of the songs are great in their own right, but it does feel like a collection. A live track comes second, with two studio tracks after. But it’s a first release, and in a weird way, it all fits. Skull Practitioners are not revolutionizing rock music, simply finding their place within it. By combining some established but combative influences, they’re working towards creating their own, unique sound, one that rocks and stays moderately consistent. The tape may not strive for originality, but it is a solid, loud, and heavy rock release that simply does as all rock records should.

The tape can be streamed and downloaded here.

-By Andrew McNally

Human Kitten – “Manic Pixie Dream Boy”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “San Diego” “Gender Bronoun”

Elijah Llinas’, aka singer-songwriter Human Kitten, second full-length album deals with struggling with cultural, societal and gender identities and the hushed lines between opposites. Llinas operates like Paul Baribeau – just a person with a guitar, using it more as a weapon to bring the lyrics home than as a lead instrument (although it’s not as almost abysmally basic as Baribeau’s playing). “Manic Pixie Dream Boy” is an honest look inside someone struggling to figure out exactly who they are.

Llinas has a voice fit for folk-punk, clear and strong, while still honest and raw. The vocals accurately reflect the varying emotions in the lyrics and add a very honest element to the music. And for one person with a guitar, Llinas has a firm grasp on songwriting. Whether lyrically or musically, the thirteen tracks on the album can differentiate themselves from each other. They all fit together, but Llinas employs tonal and volume shifts to keep it interesting. “San Diego” starts the album off on a reflective note, where “Share What Ya Got” ends on a guitar-heavy climax.

As mentioned, this album is lyric-focused. Llinas channels frustration with punk culture, and stresses with gender identity and acceptance. On opener “San Diego,” Llinas sings, “What have punks really done for the world?,” where later confessing to being a part of punk culture. And Llinas sings about gender on “Nature v. Nurture,” singing, “I told my doctor today that I am not a man / I am not a woman / Hell I don’t know what I am.” Later, on “Gender Bronoun,” “I’m caught between two separate identities and I can’t even decide on which one’s me.” Llinas’ poetry is more than honest, it’s a direct outburst. The songs are an inward portrayal at questioning one’s gender (and also, I just want to say, it’s 2014 and we still haven’t created a societal safe space for people questioning their gender. It’s very real and very prevalent). Llinas’ deeply poetic lyrics extend to depression, too, as on “I Still Don’t Want to Be Sad,” where Llinas sings, “I am sad most of the time but you can’t see it ’cause I keep it inside.” It’s heavy, deep, and relatable in one sentence, as folk-punk often is.

“Manic Pixie Dream Boy” is a proper folk-punk work; it’s acoustic but often fast, and lyrically devastating at almost every turn. Llinas is conflicted, and that’s something that maybe shouldn’t be analyzed and graded in a review, but it comes through in an honest and affecting way. The album looks at some societal standards in a confounding light and questions some fundamentals. But first and foremost, it’s an honest and inward release, one that’s, at times, all too easy to relate to. Folk-punk is often meant to disturb in some way, and Llinas takes the emotional route with a thought-provoking look into identity crises.

The album is available for purchase and streaming here.

If you like this, try: Paul Baribeau’s “Grand Ledge,” another completely solo and poetically affecting folk-punk release. (And I know I criticized Baribeau earlier but I truly love “Grand Ledge”)

-By Andrew McNally

The Menzingers – “Rented World”

(Photo Credit: Noisey)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore” “Rodent”

*** Let me start, as I have a few times before, by saying that this review should be taken with a grain of salt, as my love for the Menzingers runs deep enough that it’s impossible for me to stay unbiased as I shriek and clap listening to their new album. ***

The only downside to releasing a heralding, magnum opus of an album is figuring out how to follow it. Look at the most magnum opus-y album of this generation: Titus Andronicus’ “The Monitor.” (Okay, it’s probably “Yeezus,” but for the sake of conversation). The band followed it up with a significantly more straightforward and approachable album, “Local Business” (that’s just as good and I do and will always defend it). But this is tougher for pop-punk group the Menzingers, because 2012’s “On the Impossible Past” is simply a “magnum opus” because of how good it is. Listening to it for the first time is as memorable as graduating or getting married. The band accidentally created a masterpiece. So the only way to follow up an album as good as it is to just stick to the formula.

“Rented World” opens with a track called “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore.” It starts with a shrieking guitar and frantic energy, as any pop-punk opener should. But the song seems to slowly cool down, giving way a few times to just vocals. The follow-up, “Bad Things,” is strong but a lot more moderately-paced. This is how the Menzingers operate – their energy often feels forced, like they don’t quite have the heart to give it their all. And it fits them well, given their often lackluster-y existential lyrics. The album still has a ton of energy to it, but as with “Past,” the emotion comes first. Pop-punk has changed. This isn’t pizza, jorts and hating this town, this is death, addiction and overwhelming apathy.

For those playing along at home, the second track is indeed called “Bad Things.” “Past” had “Good Things” and “Nice Things,” and even those ironically-named times have taken a turn for the worse. While the album isn’t as interesting musically – it’s straighter, and it isn’t self-referential – it might just be even darker lyrically. “Past” was a cohesive album, because it told reflective stories. “Casey,” “Freedom Bridge,” “Nice Things” and “Gates” all tied specific memories to specific, lost people. But where that album was outward, this one is inward. There’s exceptions on both albums, of course, but “Rented World” is a look at all that’s wrong inside. The album is peppered with beautifully devastating lines like “I am only bad news / For you,” on “Rodent,” and “If everyone needs a crutch / I need a wheelchair” on first single and Key Track runner-up “In Remission.” “I know where your heartache exists,” “Nothing feels good anymore.” If “Past” was a sad look at a memory that can’t be relived, “World” is an honest look at a present that can’t be changed.

The Menzingers need to stop hogging talent. Sure, they’re a pop-punk band, they’re not the most talented group. But the band shares two great, similar singers in Tom May and Greg Barnett, and somehow, sharing rough lyrics between two singers deepens their impact. This album’s only real fault is lacking the arc that made “On the Impossible Past” the overnight success it is. But again, it’s an extremely tough act to follow. They do branch out just a little – “Transient Love” is a legit slower song, and almost a minute longer than any song on it’s predecessor. And it’s followed by “The Talk,” a >2:30 kicker that, at times, sounds more like traditional early 00’s pop-punk than their own moody blend. Otherwise, “Rented World” is simply a collection of songs meant to beat you up inside, and it certainly succeeds. It’s going to forever be compared to “Past,” but it doesn’t need to be; it’s a separate, confident and viable album that’s going to be remembered nearly as fondly. It’s crisp and concise; inspired and emotional, and loud as all hell. Effortlessly great songs like “Hearts Unknown” and “In Remission” prove that the Menzingers know exactly what they’re doing. So don’t fear a mediocre follow-up, and prep your heart and stomach in advance.

If you like this, try: This is a tough one, but as mentioned before, I defend Titus Andronicus’ “Local Business” to death. It’s another example of capitalizing on an insurmountable predecessor in a more straightforward but equally inspired manner.

-By Andrew McNally

The Creeping Ivies – “Ghost World”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: A

Key Tracks: “Ghost World” “The Creeps”

An immediate comparison between the Creeping Ivies and the Black Keys or the White Stripes might be unwarranted, but tough to ignore – the Creeping Ivies are a guitar and drums duo, making loud and fuzzy garage-blues-punk that calls back to their idols. But that’s only a jumping-off point, because the Creeping Ivies harken back to an entirely different era of music. “Ghost World,” their second full-length, sounds more like an album that would fit right in at a dark NY punk club in 1979.

The Scottish band – consisting of Becca Bomb and Duncan Destruction (real names, I’ll continue to pretend) – use bluesy-garage rock to channel some of the more inventive 80’s punk. Becca’s wide vocals dominate the album, often booming over the guitar and drums. It’s almost impossible not to be reminded of Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex and Exene Cervenka of X, two 80’s punk bands that often incorporated blues and jazz into their music. And like Styrene and Cervenka, Becca’s vocals determine the song, especially on trippier songs like the excellent “Ramona Wolf.” Alternately cool, standard and hollering, Becca’s vocals are disarmingly decisive, and go against the rather lackluster vocals of most other garage bands today.

While other blues-punk bands often use blues as the center of their music, the Creeping Ivies tend to gravitate more towards punk and, in the aftermath, volume. The garage and blues elements help to pump the songs up and differentiate them, but are background parts. Songs like “The Creeps” sound ripped out of a Cramps album, not from a garage somewhere in Tennessee. And it helps give the songs energy. Even if the album is bluesy, it isn’t moody or too into itself, like the Black Keys can sometimes get. Instead, it’s loud and fun, never taking itself too seriously.

So whether the Creeping Ivies would qualify more as “blues” or “punk” I think would go to the latter. Penultimate track “What Would Johnny Ramone Do?” brings forth angst about MTV and the radio while channeling, again, an idol. “Ghost World” packs a bigger punch than first expected, and sounds very original in the midst of some bands that are starting to sound too similar. It’s loud, fun, distorted, and over not too long after it begins. It’s an album for a couple different eras, as long as it’s turned up.

The album is available for streaming and purchase here. (Bandcamp has a money conversion)

If you like this, try: As mentioned, I was reminded of the Cramps, so the Cramps’ classic 1980 debut, “Songs the Lord Taught Us.”

-By Andrew McNally

Patton Oswalt – “Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time”

(Photo Credit: Indiewire)

Grade: B

Best bits: “Sellout” “My Prostitute”

There are two things that Patton Oswalt does best: self-deprecation, and total dismantling of some meaningless (usually reviled pop-culture) subject. He does both here – while mixing in some more predictable family humor. “Tragedy” certainly isn’t one of the best comedy albums, and it isn’t Oswalt’s best, but he sells all of his jokes and anecdotes and proves that he’s still at the top of his game.

The album starts with a great self-deprecating bit called “My Fitness Future,” which is just being skinny enough that he doesn’t have to attend his daughter’s graduation in a motorized cart (Bonus: after she graduates, he says has to go sit in A/C and “swap my folds,” which is one of the most guttural trio of words ever spoken). Self-deprecation is peppered throughout the album, although the second half is centered around longer stories about Oswalt’s younger days.

First, though, is a few stories about his daughter. Two bits are titled “I Am a Great Dad” and “I Am an Awful Dad,” channeling (probably unintentionally) Louis CK’s “My 7-Year-Old is Better Than Me”/”My 3-Year-Old is a 3-Year-Old” two bits. He offers stories about his daughter getting scolded on a playground and accidentally seeing “The Wolfman” on TV, and while they’re very funny, they’re a little more traditional than Oswalt is used to. The follow-up, “Adorable Racism,” where his daughter starts being extremely racist in a Starbucks, is a lot funnier, and transitions into the album’s funnier half.

“Creative Depression” is a wildly funny bit that examines Oswalt blissfully committing suicide in a grocery store’s Lean Cuisine aisle. The whole rest of the album is largely unrelated but all hilarious anecdotes. The special’s midpoint is a lengthy bit on the opinion on selling out, and how 44 year old Patton disagrees with 25 year old Patton – and includes a total dismantling take on Nickelback that makes them look, somehow, like heroes. The bit includes a story about the gig that paid him more than anything else, ever, and how it took a very questionable turn. It’s a funny story, and Oswalt’s selling of his own fate in the story is perfect.

Afterwards, he gives stories about attempting to buy fancy clothes, a sad 19th century gardener, trying to tell jokes in humorless Germany, and a very funny bit about the one time he picked up a prostitute in Atlanta. These stories are nothing more than reflections on Oswalt’s past, and do not have much of a comedic arc, but they’re all very humorous. The special has it’s faults – occasionally a little too dark, and definitely bottom-heavy – but it has glimpses of Oswalt at his finest, and his total confidence telling embarrassing tales anchors the album. Oswalt is one of the most original stand-up comics working today, and when he starts to really get rolling, he’s unstoppable.

If you like this, try: It feels painful to ever compare a comic to Louis CK, because it’s such a cop-out, he’s the best working today. But this album did feel very reminiscent of CK’s 2011 special “Hilarious.”

-By Andrew McNally

Cardinal Cardinal – “Distant Lover”

(Photo Credit: 6131 Records)

Grade: B

Key Track: “When I’m Not Alone”

On one hand, it’s a little tough to call something like Cardinal Cardinal a “side project,” when John Bradley’s primary band, Dads, only has one other member. But on the other hand, it is exactly what you would consider a side project to be – definably different than the main band. Dads have been steadily rising in popularity thanks to their often chaotic emo/punk music that mixes raging guitar and drums with deeply poetic lyrics. Cardinal Cardinal takes a wholly new approach, as an entirely acoustic EP that is focused on the opposite of what Dads seems to be – cohesive over chaos.

“Distant Lover” is very much just an offering – four songs and fifteen minutes. Bradley, working solo, is not trying to break down any barriers or reinvent genres. Instead, he’s simply showing an inspired, lighter side. Three of the four songs on the album are simplistic – they’re light and pretty, well-written and well-sung indie-folk songs. The only outlier is “When I’m Not Alone,” bolstered by a very unexpected tempo change.

Again, simplicity does not have to be a fault. Doing something that has been done can still be successful if you do it in your own way. And these songs are definitely Bradley’s. His voice and his equally poetic lyrics mark this EP. Just like the music of Dads, this album touches on losing loved ones and learning how to move on. It’s certainly sad, and the music reflects that. The acoustic nature of the album touches on sadness, not anger.

“Distant Lover” is only a few minutes long, but it’s promising to see Bradley come out of his element. This EP is inspired, a softer work that’s no less devastating. Dads have been trying to break out of the whole “twinkly emo” thing, and his might help that. Cardinal Cardinal’s debut is a reliable and memorable offering of some sad and relatable indie-folk.

-By Andrew McNally