Live: Holy Fuck and A Place To Bury Strangers

When: 5/22
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg

Although A Place To Bury Strangers has long been one of my favorite NYC bands, I haven't actually been out to see them since the fall of 2007, when they "broke" -- thanks to a feature on Pitchfork's "Best New Music." So when I finally got to this show, a year and a half later, I was reassured (but not surprised) to see that the band's success hasn't led to musical comprise. In fact, critical acclaim seems to have helped the band fully recognize those things that has always set them apart - they seem far more focused and powerful than they did in 2007 (and they were pretty damn focused and powerful back then).

Undoubtedly one of the loudest bands in history, their noise has only intensified. Oliver Ackermann's custom-made guitar pedals - sold by his own Death By Audio - give his instrument a sound like no other. It's like one long metallic roar, more massive, more dense than anything you've ever heard - unless maybe you live on a very busy military airfield, that is. Confrontation by sheer volume isn't an idea invented by APTBS, but they can certainly join the list of bands that have pushed the approach to new extremes, a list that includes folks like The Who, The Stooges, Swans, Dinosaur Jr and My Bloody Valentine.


A Place To Bury Strangers

One of the things that makes APTBS so great is that the three musicians seem to come from very different places. Instead of meeting in middle stylistically, they each maintain their identity, crashing into each other at full force. This unusual interplay guarantees the band's unique sound. Drummer Jay Space plays relentless 16th-note-based heavy dance rhythms, while Jono Mofo's measured bass lines open up the sound, while deepening it into the lowest registers. This odd couple of a rhythm section make it pretty much impossible to say whether what you're hearing is fast or slow. Meanwhile, Ackermann's noise guitar buries heavy chords under squeals and roars while his vocals fight through the sonic combat zone undeterred.

Despite some problems from the sound booth during the first few minutes of the set, APTBS's inertia proved unstoppable. Hardcore fans would agree it wasn't their greatest show ever, but it was still a mindblowing performance. About halfway through the set, the band went into overdrive, hitting the strobe lights and letting loose. It's amazing Ackermann's guitar survived as long as it did, seeing the thrashing he gave it. Eventually his aggressive energy towards the guitar reached a breaking point and he threw it down, then dragged it around the stage by its cord.

The only mistake the band made was letting their noise jam go on a little too long. A good motto is "quit while you're ahead" - by stretching the boundaries of the audience's attention span, the band did lose just a touch of momentum near the end. Still, the onslaught was impressive, and by the time they actually exited the stage, amid deafening feedback, they'd fully recovered from any miscalculations. As always, lending to their mystique, the band didn't speak a word, just went on stage, made their noise and walked off. It leaves an impression on ya, it really does. [MySpace]

Holy Fuck followed APTBS and the combination seemed even weirder in practice than it seemed on first glance at the listing. Holy Fuck is an instrumental indie electro-dance group from Canada. But I guess it's not too strange, I know plenty of people (myself included obviously) who rank both these bands among their favorites.

Holy Fuck is one of two bands that convinced me electronic music can be good live (the other being Norway's 120 Days). All of the music is created on the fly - sure, there are sequencers and beats, but the band is constantly setting them off, inputting new samples, changing effects and creating sounds from a variety of sources. And the band members love to bob, pogo and dance to their own beats.

It's danceable music with complexity and merit, integrating a slew of rhythmic influences. The songs are loud and aggressive, but still fun. The only real problem is that the songs do get a bit "samey" and for those not dancing, the set was really too long. But as long as the front third of the audience is still jumping around, can anyone really criticize? In other words, Holy Fuck get to act like they're the shit because they are the shit. [MySpace]

With these two bands, I'd be shocked if anyone didn't get their $15 worth of awesome - maybe lost more than $15 worth of hearing, but definitely not short changed!

Dust It Off: Rocket from the Tombs - The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs

OK, OK, I'm still running way behind. Dust It Off is one day late this week. My sincerest apologies...


Album: The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs
Smog Veil, 2002
Recording date: 1975

During the years leading up to the first wave of American punk, Cleveland, Ohio emerged as an unlikely epicenter of the new movement, drawing influence from and in turn influencing scenes Detroit and New York City. The two most notable Cleveland proto-punk bands, Pere Ubu and Dead Boys, were both born of the splintering of their joint prototype, the short-lived and oft-forgotten Rocket from the Tombs.

Feautring future Dead Boys Stiv Bators and Gene O'Connor (aka Cheetah Chrome) alongside Ubu founders Peter Laughner and David Thomas - not to mention Craig Bell of Mirrors/Styrenes - this reverse-supergroup provided the ideal petri dish in which to breed a completely original approach to rock'n'roll. Training so many of punk and post-punk's greatest innovators, RFTT could not have been more important.

However, the inevitable clashing of the group's creative minds tore them apart before any official recordings could be made - RFTT was doomed to obscurity, just a footnote in the history of punk. A handful of live recordings and demos floated around among collectors, but absolutely nothing was available commercially until the release of this compilation in 2002.*

Scraped together from what few recordings remained intact, The Day the Earth features early incarnations of many of the best Ubu and Dead Boys songs: "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," "Life Stinks" and "Final Solution" (Ubu), and "Ain't It Fun," "Down in Flames" and "Sonic Reducer" (Dead Boys).

Most importantly, however, the album includes a fairly extensive overview of Peter Laughner's work. Though Laughner would go on to found Pere Ubu, drug and alcohol problems led to his quick departure from the group and not long after, to his death at age 23. One of the greatest innovators in the Cleveland scene, Laughner's songs are profoundly affecting and remain the album's best tracks. In "Ain't It Fun" (written jointly with O'Connor), Laughner speaks of utter desperation and hopelessness, plunging as deeply into life's darkness as any lyricist to date. Such is the despondent resignation of the song that Laughner's prediction of his own early death sounds more tragic than haunting.

The rough, raw sounds of the album bring to mind garage rock and the likes of the Stooges, but the artistic approach to sound and song sets RFTT far apart from any band of their era. The ear-splitting guitars on "Final Solution" sound more like a metallic demolition you might hear in one of Cleveland's factories than like rock music. Thomas's refusal to conform to any existing notions of song craft, as evidenced by "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," would not be matched by New York's art rockers for years to come.

Many years ahead of its time, The Day the Earth is an essential document in the development of American punk. And education aside, it just fucking rocks.


*One compilation was released in the 90's but the limited pressing (<1,000) was virtually impossible to find.

Upcoming Shows: X, A Place To Bury Strangers + more

TONIGHT! Wednesday, May 27

A Place to Bury Strangers, Shilpa Ray, Sisters, Coin Under Tongue @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | $10
If this isn't the best NYC line-up imaginable, I don't know what is. Four bands associated with the always-excellent Death By Audio family = delicious. Sisters sound like Sonic Youth at their most minimalist-punk. Coin Under Tongue I haven't heard, but it's ex-Dirty On Purpose, so you know it's good. Shilpa, well, I've already explained that. And APTBS, well, one of the loudest bands you ever hear. Not to mention one of the best. [Sisters MySpace] [Shilpa MySpace] [APTBS MySpace]


TOMORROW! Thursday, May 28

Tyvek, Cause Co-Motion! @ Monster Island Basement | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $7
Tyvek are rad punks from the Midwest. When I saw them at Death By Audio, they kicked serious ass. Cause Co-Motion! are lo-fi C-86-style pop, friends and labelmates of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Crystal Stilts. Don't miss. [Tyvek MySpace] [CCM MySpace]


Friday, May 29

Beluga, Wild Yaks @ Monster Island Basement | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $8
I'm sick of describing Beluga and how much I love them. Super awesome lady punks who scream and rock out and put on a hell of a show. Check out my last review of them. Wild Yaks are one of those names I've heard, and I have a friend who really loves yaks, the species, so that seems like a good reason to catch this band too. [Beluga MySpace] [Wild Yaks MySpace]

A.R.E. Weapons @ Webster Hall Studio | East Village, Manhattan | $10
A.R.E. Weapons may have a disappointing recorded legacy, but their live show is unbeatable. Their massive electronics and noise sound like Suicide - dissonant, heavy and noisy, yet focused. They play with a rare chemistry, their improvised parts weaving together in nigh-perfection. This is the shit. [MySpace]


Saturday, May 30

X @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
One of the finest of L.A.'s original punk movement, X helped define second-wave American punk (aka hardcore) in the late 70's and early 80's. They gradually moved towards accessibility, but never sold out their edge. Though never as aggressive as southern California's hardest core (Henry Rollins's Black Flag, Fear, etc.), X were and remain badass and bold. [Website]


Sunday, May 31

X @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $27
Same as the above. Only difference: this show hasn't sold out yet. [Website]


Monday, June 1

Grant Hart @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $10
Ex-Husker Du, Grant Hart was the "hippie" of the group. His songs for Husker had a folksy leaning, and his solo work only takes him further down this path. Frankly, anyone who played in Husker Du (which is only three people ever) deserves everyone's undying respect. It's as simple as that. [MySpace]

Live: 28 Degrees Taurus, Blacklist

When: 5/16
Where: Cameo, Glasslands, Public Assembly

OK, I know I've fallen really far behind here, but if you can think waaaay back to a week and half ago, there were a whole ton of amazing shows in one night. Luckily, most of them were on the western edge of Williamsburg, so bouncing back and forth between venues was not all that hard.

After grabbing the first couple numbers by My Best Fiend and determining it too mellow for my mood, I crossed N 6th St to Public Assembly to catch the legendary (in my mind) Beluga for their short set. I won't bother to review these lady punks, because I've reviewed them quite enough lately. But it is safe to say I was disappointed by the venue's decision to cut the set short (presumably to make room for DJs who would spin to an empty house the rest of the night. Ugh.)

So I cut back across the street to Cameo where 28 Degrees Taurus had recently begun their set. I wrote up 28DT a while ago but it's been too long since I've caught them live. 28DT play a shoegaze-inspired rock that completely defies classification or description. It is loud, aggressive and unruly, with an arty disregard for convention.

Frontman Jinsen Liu's high-energy noise guitar duels some of the best drumming I've ever seen (yes, I said it) - Greg Murphy plays about ten thousand beats a second, never losing track of the beat and never letting up. The velocity and intensity of his drumming and nearly unmatched. Bassist Karina Dacosta keeps things under control, though, her calm demeanor and rock-solid bass lines anchoring the frantic music and providing a much-needed reference point. The vocals, shared by Liu and Dacosta, are delivered with a careful balance of passion and humor that match the oddly arresting lyrics ("Let's drink / and drive / and crash / and die / Woohoo!"). It's art and it's fun, it's edgy, it's pop and it's just a damn great show.

As they hit their final notes, I bolted in a surprisingly successful attempt to catch Blacklist a few blocks over at Glasslands. I haven't written up Blacklist in ages, and last time I did, they were playing at the acoustically-murky Vanishing Point. For all its flaws, Glasslands has consistently excellent sound, and hearing Blacklist in full clarity makes a helluva a difference. At VP, the band stood on stage presence alone, but at Glasslands, the musical merits could also impress.

Simply put, Blacklist takes everything good from the darkest side of early 80's pop and combines it into a delicious darkwave rock. And it's not dated either - though I'm pretty sure of fans of the Cure, New Order, Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and the like will love Blacklist, their dense guitars and lack of electronics set them apart and make them a fully 2009 sort of band.

On stage, the band (dressed in black, of course) command attention with their professional, almost imposing stance. They play tightly and attentively, pouring their energy not into antics but into their solid front. The band's gloomy posturing is never whiny and never fake, it's the real deal. No wonder NYC's few surviving goths flood every show - Blacklist are everything we miss.

28 Degrees Taurus on MySpace

Blacklist on MySpace

Dust It Off: Wipers - Over the Edge

Album - Over the Edge
Brain Eater / Restless, 1983

The Wipers are one of the great lost bands of the American underground. Formed in the early years of West Coast hardcore, the Wipers influenced everyone from Nirvana to Beat Happening to Dinosaur Jr. Though their music is undeniably rooted in punk, it stands out from its peers by incorporating certain elements of metal and hard rock. This influence is not so much on the guitars, but rather on the wide-open melodies and moderate tempos. It's no coincidence that five years after the release of Over the Edge, the ultimate metal-punk hybrid known best as "grunge" arose in the same northwestern corner where the Wipers made their name.

But unlike in grunge, the Wipers' metal influences are subtle and restrained. Cutting any direct ties between the Wipers and hard rock is the album's pop sensibility and most importantly, its distinct DIY aesthetic. This, their third album, was released more than five years into their career, and combines the best elements of the preceding two. Their unpolished, self-produced sound, always cloaked in distortion, predicts many of the rough qualities that would later be called "lo-fi." This style was also prominent in their sophomore album, Youth of America (1981), but here it is here molded into short, focused songs. Accessible melodies help ease the listener into the album's more edgy sonic landscape.

Though some of the lyrics are lamentable ("Why do people hate each other? / Why can't we just be brother and sister? / what is this thing / human being?"), most are passable. The riffs and choruses of songs like "Doom Town" and "Romeo" are unmistakably fun, but like all good hardcore, the whole thing stinks of youth alienation and angst.

No one can blame you if you've never heard of this lost classic, but if you haven't given the Wipers a listen, now's the time! Seriously, right now.

MySpace (presumably unofficial)

Album: Passion Pit - Manners

Album: Manners
Frenchkiss, 2009
Rating: ******** (8/10)

Boston electro-pop stars Passion Pit release their much-anticipated debut LP, Manners, today. And I despite myself, I like it a lot.

For a while, I've wondered why I prefer acts like Passion Pit and MGMT to so many of their more musically sophisticated peers (e.g. Cut Copy). There's so much I should hate about Passion Pit's hyper-poppy electronic dance music, from the cheesy, dated synth effects to the over-the-top pop cliches all over the melody. But truthfully, I enjoy it.

Now, let's get this out of the way. Passion Pit is primarily the project of one Michael Angelakos, who is something like 21 years old (maybe 22 now?). And his lyrics sound like they were written by a 21-year-old, at best. They are cramped with dime-a-dozen infantile "insights." But this is dance-pop and who listens to the words anyway? There's enough music going on that it's not hard to ignore the lyrics, and I highly recommend that you do so.

In terms of the music, however, Angelakos nails it. Yes, pop music is formulaic, but it isn't easy to get the formula this right, this much of the time. The first three tracks on the album are all bombshells, from the writ-large opening notes of "Make Light," to the children's chorus back-up vocals on "Little Secrets" and the tight layers of "Moth Wings." Even the slightly wince-inducing 80's dance beats are pulled off surprisingly well, probably because Manners doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is - a self-indulgent, artless, hook-centered pop album. (Or if it is pretending to be anything else, it's failed badly enough that it doesn't matter.)

The album does make some missteps. The first biggie is track four, "The Reeling," which falls on the wrong side of that narrow line between irresistible pop and vile top-forty-esque banality. Occasionally, the meritless lyrics also become too audible and too sophomoric to completely tune out (Exhibit A: "Swimming in the Flood," starting with the title itself). It also ends on a surprisingly weak note, "Seaweed Song," which fluctuates between annoying and unremarkable.

Still, the album's strengths compensate plenty. Most notably, the arrangements are nothing short of brilliant. The music never sits still, as layers pop in and out and vocal tracks play off one another without a moment's pause. The hooks and melodies are also exceptionally good - simple and formulaic, sure, but also irresistible. Of course, the album's break-through track "Sleepyhead" remains a strong point, but similarly strong synth riffs, unabashed high-range vocals and thoughtful composition are matched by plenty more.

This may be an album to buy tracks from online, rather than paying for the whole thing. But I'd definitely recommend you get your hands on some of it. You know what? It's called "pop" for a reason! People like it. And I'm one of those people. Anyone got a problem with that?

[MySpace]

Live: The Vandelles + SikSik Nation

When: 5/15
Where: Cameo

I can't believe it, but looking back, I have not yet reviewed the Vandelles, one of my favorite NYC bands. The Vandelles run with folks like A Place To Bury Strangers, but their music isn't quite like anyone else's on the scene. Yes, it's pop songs laden with feedback and noise guitar, but these pop songs hearken back all the way to the 1950's and 60's, rockabilly and surf tunes at the core, despite the psych-influenced walls of sound.

The Vandelles are good on record but their live show is what's really outstanding. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the band consists of some of the best lookin' indie kids in New York. And they make the most of that fact by knocking out their tunes with maximum sexiness. They are an easy band to watch, let's just leave it at that.


The Vandelles* (photo by Eileen Schwartz)
The Vandelles showed remarkable chemistry on stage on Friday, locking in tightly with one another and delivering one roaring number after another with compelling confidence. Cameo is not nearly a big enough space to hold this band. Though their popularity does not yet justify a major venue, their stage presence is absolutely massive. Frontman Jason Schwartz's bold posturing and bassist Lisha Nadkarni's powerful poise lend the band a sense of professionalism. In the back, Sue "Honey" Pagliorola defies her slight build and girlish looks, proving herself one of the most aggressive drummers on the scene today. She slams the drums with mechanical fury. The least immediately captivating is new guitarist Christo Buffam, but that's only because he's pouring his attentions into his guitar and pedals, painstakingly crafting the subtleties of the band's sound.

Top-notch musicianship is not lacking from any of the four. The band's rhythms are unusual, but the term "syncopated" would be misleading, since most beats the term has been applied to are light-footed, and the Vandelles are anything but. Their syncopation so heavy, it obliterates the beat for everyone - except, apparently, the band, who somehow always reemerge from such passages as tight as ever.

I could go on and on, but I'll leave it there for now. Definitely, definitely, definitely a band to watch.

[MySpace]

Next up was SikSik Nation, a Detroit-based psychedelic trio making their first-ever stop in New York City. I didn't have the highest of expectations (for no reason except that I don't usually), but I'm very glad I stuck around for their set! It's easy to forget there's an indie-music world beyond the New York-Boston-DC axis, if only because there's so much going on here. But a band like this, fresh from Motor City, illustrates how insular the East Coast can be. Though the components of SikSik were not particularly original, their music explores a different alley from those inhabited by their New York counterparts, giving indie-psych fans a breath of fresh air.

The band's sound is more spacious than the shoegaze-inspired East Coasters', with more room for the listener to jump right in. Instead of arty noise rock, their music gains its kick from ever-so-slight nods to the garage rock that once made Detroit a rock music capital. Their playing was tight but flexible, working in the unearthly sounds of a theramin and a restrained amount of electronics while still kickin' it out old-school.

SikSik isn't groundbreaking, but they're solid and satisfying, and an hour in their audience is an hour well spent. Come back to New York soon!

[MySpace]

*The original guitar player (second from left in this picture) has been replaced with the talented Christo Buffam, but the only picture I could find with him kept looking really pixelated. Sorry!