Radon Reviews: Adaline “Modern Romantics”
It takes about a grand total of five notes for Adaline’s Modern Romantics to present itself: an off-center pop album set inside of some futuristic cabaret. The album does more than just that, but the pulsing electro beats of “That’s What You Do Best” have their own place among the distorted guitars just as the dark horn section of “Lovers Collide” fits in to the scheme of things like a modern pop song mixed with the Peter Gabriel albums of yesteryear. Still with all that experimentation, Modern Romantics never really feels as if it’s pushing boundaries.
The Latin, percussive beat of “Silent Prayer” versus the soft piano of “Heartache” is just one of the many contrasts an album that under most circumstances could be called experimental or avant garde. But Adaline manages to be just as familiar as unexpected, even if the lyrics and rhythms aren’t anything overly complicated or daring. This is music you’re supposed to dance to, and there’s just the added benefit of being able to dance to almost every track differently.
Toward the middle and again at the end, Modern Romantics lost my attention a bit the first time through, and I wasn’t blown away and immediately compelled to play it for anybody within earshot. Still, I can’t say the album has a single song that isn’t worth listening to, from the almost Metric-like “The Noise” to the serenading “Cost Is Too High (Not To Love).” If you want something new to listen to that could fit right in with all the songs you’ve heard your entire life, Adaline is certainly not risky in checking out.
SOD: Etta James & Harvey Fuqua “If I Can’t Have You”
Only doing this because of Etta James dying recently and I’m out of ideas to post an SOD so here you go. But in true Bearcules fashion its not one of her most popular songs and it happens to be a duet that really captures a juke joint feel to it, enjoy.
Radon Reviews: Sparrow & the Workshop “Spitting Daggers”
Where do I start with the sublime Sparrow and the Workshop album Spitting Daggers? Having just finished my first complete listen of the album despite picking at it in chunks here and there, I feel like I saved the best for last. While the whole album is really something truly special, the final track, “Soft Sound of Your Voice” left me feeling absolutely touched. But how did the album get to this point, to make one track hit so hard and leave me with no other options than to start from the beginning?
Sparrow and the Workshop are really a truly amazing band that I am glad to be aware of, and Spitting Daggers builds and continues a legacy put forth by their previous release Crystals Fall. Typically starting each song with an unassuming, innocent build-up, the band explodes into every chorus with an absolute burst of energy and noise. Look no further than the opening riffs of “Pact to Stay Cold” to get a feel for just what this album plans to do sonically throughout. Songs like “Against the Grain” and “Snakes in the Grass” have all the raw beauty of a Lush song with all the northern European twang and harmony of The Cranberries.
SOD: Bleeding Knees Club “Bad Guys”
To the 5 or so people who actually visit the site I apologize for the lack of posts. The holidays have wrecked the body and mind and killed the motivation to update. That however is completely fucking over with and now we can get back on track. Live shows will begin flowing like wine again and Radon will hopefully send some more album reviews our way and Benjamin will school us is some Haiku’s this year! Today for the years first ever SOD we have Bleeding Knees Club who sound a lot like Black Lips and Jay Reatard mixed in a blender of megaphone and surf rock, enjoy.
*Click the main picture to see the full album.
“Put on your helmets, bitches!” Fort Collins Natives Elway & Friends Play 3 Kings
Fort Collin’s invaded Denver on Friday, Dec 1st, well okay, not necessarily an invasion, but they definitely sent some hard rocking ambassadors.
Arliss Nancy and Sour Boy Bitter Girl opened for Elway, who all brought they’re respective, yet intermingled genres to 3 Kings Tavern. One band, a little country, another a little Conor Oberst, and the last a little more punk, and in that order too.
The schizophrenic sounding line-up all complimented each other and the venue well. 3 Kings Tavern, a venue that jostles between super awesome and extremely frightening, somehow manages to get a different genre, and thus new crowd every night of the week. One night you could be enjoying a ska-punk show, skanking and chugging 40’s with strangers and the next night you could be seeing “The Show is The Rainbow” (Lincoln, Nebraska) and watching a coked-out, half-naked version of Jack Black running around in circles strangling himself with a microphone chord while spouting off some paranoid nonsense.
And yeah, tonight would merely add to that eclectic mix.
Haiku Review: Melt Banana @ Studio 13
Melt Banana / 400 Blows / Sohns / Wonderland - Studio 13 - 11/20/2011
Sohns are everything music should be; loud, fast, energetic, engaging and completely bad ass. 400 Blows were the elder statesmen and played like a modern Big Black, minus Roland. Melt Banana’s lead singer dressed like a cat, mingled with the crowd and then the band blew the crowd’s ears off. Punk rock is alive and well and for a single night it was living in a strip mall in San Antonio, Texas.
In the last 12 months (December 2010 – December 2011) I’ve reviewed exactly 40 albums for Bearcules. They’re not all necessarily new, some are a few years old, one a couple decades old, but one thing that they all have in common as a result is that they are all officially eligible for the 2011 Bearcules AWESOME Award (Which Exemplifies Special and Outstanding Musical Excellence) Awards! I know, Top ____ posts are a total copout, but I wanted to put something together in time for the holiday season so you would know exactly what to buy for people who have good taste in music, but not enough good taste to read Bearcules. Without further ado, here are my Top 5 albums for 2011.
#5 – Land of Talk – Cloak and Cipher
When I heard this release, I was confident it was a front-runner for one of my top albums of the year, and it continues to hold its own despite everything else I’ve listened to. A perfect mix of slow and fast, gentle and noisy, Cloak and Cipher continues the tradition of excellent albums by Land of Talk, and was the first to really make me feel like they could follow up their initial EP Applause Cheer Boo Hiss. “Goal Time Exposure” and “Colour Me Badd” have grown on me immensely, while “Quarry Hymn” and “The Hate I Won’t Commit” still remain favorites of mine. Solid from start to finish.
#4 – Hollerado – Record in a Bag
Recently coming to my attention and quickly becoming one of my favorites, Hollerado’s “Record In A Bag” evokes everything fun about rock music while still being emotionally honest no matter what. Self-produced but with all the professional trimmings, Hollerado pulls no punches delivering an album that is funny, intense, heartfelt, and powerful. The album loses a little steam during the interludes, and I’m still not really digging “Hard Love,” but “Walking the Sea,” “Juliette,” and “Got To Lose” are all amazing enough to elevate this album despite its few weaknesses.
Radon Reviews: Cuff the Duke “Morning Comes”
My love affair with country-folk-rockers Cuff the Duke has waxed and waned over the years, as I tend to tire of their sad whines and defeated sound when my confidence is high, and then when things aren’t so sure, I find myself looking for them, a security blanket, an ex-girlfriend who won’t let you make any regrettable decisions but will still hug you when you need it. Their latest album, Morning Comes, fits all of these bills. When things even out, I think I’ll find myself putting this one back on the shelf, but for now I can’t get enough of everything this album represents.
I always draw the comparison in my head between Cuff the Duke and Weezer, as they both have similar qualities when it comes to songwriting, melodic structures, and vocal styles, but Cuff the Duke embraces that classic southern rock sound, combining country twang with the principles that shaped rock music through its truly defining years. The emotional aspect of these songs is sharp, pulling no punches, eschewing the metaphors and imagery to present something that instead just defines itself clearly as accusatory or pitiful, sometimes both.
Live Review: Priory @ Hi Dive 11/20
Technical difficulties lead to a brutally brilliant performance by Priory.
Now I’m not saying this because my comped tickets were in fact not comped, or because the time it took to correct the technical difficulties came dangerously close to the amount of time actually spent playing by the Oregon based band or even because the laser lights during the show may have caused permanent retina damage, but seeing Priory live brought the fucking house down. And for all 12-ish of us that stuck around (bartender, Priory, four weird kids sitting on the ground by the Contra machine, sound guy and assumed guy doing coke in the back NOT included) Priory was well worth the ticket price.
The quartet, choosing to travel by bus, have been on heavy rotation on my iPod ever since I heard their first track off their self-titled album. Consisting of bass, guitar, drums and a killer mix of keyboard, glockenspiel and whatever else you can beat the shit out of, Priory can easily fit under the umbrella term of “Indie, but with a sub-genre labeled “Awesomeness.” I have yet to see a band handle technical difficulties with such ease. Having to stop several times midway through a song, giving the audience only a mere taste of there self-titled album, and finally having to take a 10 minute break to put the problem to rest. The guys of Priory did not just bounce back from what could have been a set ending malfunction and a long night at the bar, but exceeded expectations by keeping the audience involved and making them part of the show. I can’t even say that they “recovered” because the guitar and drum instrumentals kept the toes-a-tappin’.
Haiku Review: Morrisey @ Bass Concert Hall
Morrissey - Bass Concert Hall - 11/15/2011
Morrissey’s stage show was pretty engaging and what you’d expect of him, lots of preening, spotlights and projection video coating the stage and the band. Morrissey played a lot of his singles, some smiths and a lou reed cover. Morrissey sounded pretty amazing, he still sounds just like he does in your old smiths albums. This was one of the better shows I’ve been to and one you should check out if the huge price tag doesn’t scare you off.
-Ben Drinkin
