Sound: Experiments in Sound
Shamu Soul
Kronos
Squeaky wheels, brown-note rumblings and hemorrhoidal moaning are the hallmarks of Kronos, the six-song release from experimental act Shamu Soul. The SeaWorld-inspired name is appropriate—the whole thing sounds like it was recorded inside the belly of a whale. It's slow-moving and formless stuff, but if you imagine your own horror movie to accompany the spooky sounds, this can be a frightfully fun time.
—Chris Maroulakos
Sick Balloons
Farewell to the Swagger Kids
Sounding like Mark Lanegan circa Screaming Trees fronting Crooked Rain-era Pavement, this is a pretty solid debut LP, filled with poppy post-punk anthems and slacker ballads. Listen to tracks like "1974"or "Worst Ideas"and try not to imagine Spike Jonze or Richard Linklater directing the music video. Good stuff.
—Seth Combs
The Sickstring Outlaws
Sampler 2012
Rootin', tootin', knee-slappin' country licks that ol' David Allen Coe would be proud to have influenced. These outlaws have done an impeccable job of reconciling the two opposing faces of classic country music—the solemn and the sillyóto deliver a lively set with killer harmonies, menacing fiddles, heartfelt honesty and odes to whiskey.
—Sammi Skolmoski
Simeon Flick
Sub Rosa Demos
Remember that scene in the movie Singles when Matt Dillon is sitting at the table with the guys from Pearl Jam reading a review for their fictional grunge band, Citizen Dick? Yeah, well, I could very well describe the grunge-worshipping halfwits in Simeon Flick the same way. Here's a link: youtu.be/EtuakvfWUzw.
—Seth Combs
Simon Bar Sinistar
4-Song Demo
If this band had fallen into the hands of the right Pitchfork reviewer, they may have proclaimed it to be some lo-fi, return-of-stoner-rock masterpiece. To me, it sounds like an overzealous Joe Satriani fan who just discovered GarageBand. Fans of that horrendous Lou Reed / Metallica album should check this out.
—Seth Combs
Skull City
Skull City
When
an artist writes "Dare Ya 2 Like It"on the sleeve, it means the artist
is really cocky or leading with his or her chin. I've listened to these
instrumental electronic dance numbers a half-dozen times and I still
can't figure out to which camp they belong.
—Jim Ruland
Sledding with Tigers
The Arrested Cats
Sledding
with Tigers have a unique name and a unique sound, with band members
describing their music as a hybrid of folk, punk and bluegrass. The
description fits, and the lyrics are both relatable and powerfully
angsty. I might recommend this for fans of Matt & Kim and/or The
Elected, meaning the songs are fun to yell along to.
—Kaitlin Perry
The Smart Brothers
Live on the Golden Hour Radio Show WOKC 1929
Full
of energetic, heartfelt, twanging love songs, this live album is
nostalgic, fun and uplifting. This old-fashioned country duo pulls off
some impressive harmonizing, as well. All in all, a truly happy
experience.
—Kaitlin Perry
Snakesuit
3-Song Sampler
Snakesuit
can't decide what they want to be. The band dabbles in trance-y
glitch-pop on "Truly Amazing" Muse-aping arena-rock belting on
"Celebration" and Album Leaf-evoking bedroom electronica on "The
Hangover." They do a fair enough job with each foray, though singer
Howard Goldstein's marble-mouthed Britpop impersonations are often
tiresome or outright laughable. Affectations aside, there's some real
talent at work here. If Snakesuit can commit to creating one thing,
instead of stealing from everything, they might just become a band to
watch.
—Chris Maroulakos
SO3
3-Song Demo
There
are three things worse than this half-assed, all-crappy attempt at
blues-rock. The Holocaust, human slavery and forced female circumcision.
Yep, it beat out AIDS and sweatshops. Deal with it. www.facebook.com/so3music
—Seth Combs
Some Guy
The lovelorn Musings of…
This
EP should be re-titled "The Insane Ramblings of Some Guy." The first
line goes, "Mary Anne, I fucking hate you / You're such a fucking
goddamn fucking little bitch"and the singer goes on to explain that he
hates her because he loves her and loves her because he hates her. This
is all happening over happy, Elvis Costello-style pop, mind you. I don't
know if it's intentionally or unintentionally funny, but either way,
it's delightfully bizarre in the "I bet this guy's actually weird in
real life" kind of way.
—Aaron Carnes
EXTRASPECIALGOOD
Shiva Trash
Shiva Trash
Shiva Trash are catchy, contemporary and complicated. They do lots of time changes, and they’re hard to pin down. “Bleach Bath” starts with a surf-rock platform and takes off from there. Did I say “takes off”? I meant rockets into the fucking stratosphere. “Gnarly Thirst” changes tempos so many times that it’s like a medley of songs. It’s got a bright, brisk beginning, throttles down in the middle and then goes full bore at the end. “Residual Backwash” is somehow both poppy and full of jangly reverb at the same time. It’s an exotic, druggy clash of styles that culminates in a rock ’n’ roll apotheosis of wasted nights and wasted days. The epic pop of Shiva Trash makes the majority of music being made today sound downright pedestrian. If there’s a limit to where Shiva Trash can go, it’s not evident here. More, please.
—Jim Ruland
South Psycho Cide
Pacman Anthem
For
a Filipino-Mexican rap group whose name boasts of craziness, the
moralistic rhymes of "Pleasure and the Pain"come off as disappointingly
sane. But I'm fine with "Pacman Anthem" a bombastic tribute to boxing
champion and politician Manny Pacquiao that bursts with Filipino pride.
—Peter Holslin
Space Town Savior
Starfields and Cityscapes
Space
Town Savior's Facebook page describes their sound as "dance music that
doesn't believe in the existence of MDMA." But even if MDMA did exist in
this band's world, people still wouldn't be able to dance to their
music. This isn't dance music; it's an amalgamation of sounds that
conjure up memories of sore thumbs; dry, bloodshot eyes; and the echo of
your mom's voice insisting that you stop playing that damned video game
and clean up your room already!
—Justin Roberts
Special Delivery
“Rock & Roll Princess”
Essentially
the male version of Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi." "Rock & Roll
Princess" combines the cool-guy posturing of Good Charlotte, the nasally
vocals of blink-182 and the teachings of Songwriting for Dummies into
one horribly obnoxious pop-punk ditty.
—Peter Holslin
Submarines & Astrophysics
Double Dip Recession Demo
Seriously,
this is the kinda shit that happens when there's a recession. I can
only assume that this is an out-of-work bohemian collecting unemployment
and spending it on musical equipment he doesn't know how to use. "I
Closed My Mouth & Made a Billion Dollars" sounds like a
malfunctioning Fisher-Price keyboard taking a dump on Robert Moog's
head.
—Seth Combs
Subterranean Horses
Demo
I
once saw the Subterranean Horses play a show at Scolari's Office in
2004. Their singer was half-naked, drenched in beer and intent on making
everyone in the audience totally uncomfortable. Needless to say, it was
a pretty awesome show. Color me pleasantly surprised, then, that the
band has resurfaced. Their five-song demo is just as menacing and
hedonistic as their live show, with its jerky guitar riffs and
start-stop rhythmic dynamics. They do Jesus Lizard-style churn right,
which is entirely appropriate for a group whose leader has been known to
drop trou.
—Jeff Terich
Supertasty
Demo
This
seven-piece soul / funk combo just doesn't sound that soulful on this
two-song demo. But they still lay down some solid grooves, and singer
Peach has a lovely, sweet voice.
—Peter Holslin
The Suicide Chords
11:11 (The Prelude) EP
I
thought nu-metal died six or seven years ago, but The Suicide Chords
are here, and they're carrying the melodramatic groove-metal torch
passed on by bands like Godsmack and Staind. If you were a fan of this
over-hyped, over-played genre 10 years ago, maybe you'll be a fan of
this band, but hopefully this isn't a sign of some nu-metal renaissance.
—Aaron Carnes
Sundrop Electric
Sundrop Electric
This
promising rock five-piece isn't afraid of instrumentals, channeling Joy
Division or meandering into the realm of shoegazy dream-pop. Their name
may scream Winstons, but they're Casbah through and through.
—Scott McDonald
Sunrise at Duck Pond
Demo
It's
hard to tell anything from just one three-minute song, but there are
some interesting ideas happening here. The moody atmospherics and crafty
sampling make me want to hear more. M41985@yahoo.com
—Scott McDonald
