Blackouts - History in Reverse: 1979-1984 (2004)

Seattle’s Blackouts played straight-up post-punk. Influenced by contemporaries such as Killing Joke, Virgin Prunes, and Public Image Ltd, they managed to create a sound of their own that holds up well over the years. At the end of their short-lived career, bassist Paul Barker and drummer Bill Rieflin left the band to join Al Jourgensen in Ministry, helping the band transition from darkwave synth-pop to a more aggressive industrial sound on The Land of Rape and Honey.

Before the split, Blackouts put out a string of terrific 7” singles from 1979 through 1984. Because the band never formally released any albums, K Records put together a comprehensive collection of their entire recorded catalog some 20 years after their demise. Though this only consists of 15 songs, the outstanding quality of musicianship consistent among all of them is fairly impressive. History in Reverse plays, appropriately enough, chronologically backwards, starting with their last 1984 recording of “Happy Hunting Ground” and ending with 1979’s “Make No Mistake,” their first venture into a studio. The advantage of this track order is that the listener eases into a more polished sound, later followed by rougher, less accessible numbers. One particular highlight is “It’s Clay Again,” a track that could have easily popped up on the Cure’s Pornography.

Streamable Track: "It's Clay Again"


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The Church - Sometime Anywhere (1994)

The Church established themselves several decades back as an Australian band with a unique sound, blending together dark, moody post-punk that was just shy of gothic and atmospheric, textured jangle pop. Though favorably grouped alongside bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen and the Psychedelic Furs, the Church never matched their fame outside of their 1988 breakaway hit single, “Under the Milky Way.” Be that as it may, they released truly brilliant albums including Heyday and Starfish.

On Sometime Anywhere, the band explores electronic and world music styles not previously familiar to them. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. The insistent “Angelica” sounds like a great, misplaced Primal Scream track, while songs like “Day of the Dead” and “Loveblind” present the Church in welcome, well-known territory. Unfortunately, those three songs are pretty much the only stand-outs from the thirteen on the album.

The rest, not unlike the album cover itself, seem like disparate pieces forced together, cluttered and disconnected from those around them and ranging from dull to puzzling. Part of the blame could be placed on the absence of two members from the original line-up, guitarist Peter Koppes and drummer Richard Ploog. The remaining duo, frontman Steve Kilbey and second guitarist Marty Willson-Piper, try their best to compensate for the loss. The largest frustration is not that most of the album disappoints, but rather that the few enjoyable tracks show they still have significant talent but aren’t harnessing it as best they could be.

Streamable Track: "Angelica"


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Television Personalities - My Dark Places: Remixes (2006)

The trouble with remixes is that, similar to cover songs, they usually fall into one of two disappointing categories. (1) They don’t add much and sound fairly identical to the original, leaving you wondering why this version had to be recorded, or (2) they add too much and go off on a strange aural tangent far from the intention of the initial track, leaving you feeling disoriented. Thus, remixes often find themselves fated to be thrown in as EP filler or single B-sides.

This remix-only EP (issued opposite the album reviewed in my previous post) offers four tracks ripe for criticism. Actually, to be more honest, three are worthy of this, while one stands out as an exception to the rule of remixes stated above. The artists tackling Television’s tracks are Battles, Lingling, Black Dice, and Ratatat. While I love Battles dearly, their remix of the title track to the original album comes across as muddled, confusing, and without focus or direction. Both Lingling and Black Dice’s attempts are similarly disappointing, as they rework the sonic structure of the song so that it counters the original tone that still lingers with the lyrics. Only Ratatat’s version of “You Kept Me Waiting Too Long,” renamed here as “You Kept Me Waiting Too Long Long Long Long Long Long Long Long Long” (fitting with Ratatat’s pleasingly repetitive aesthetic), offers changes that complement the original song instead of conflict with it.

Streamable Track: "You Kept Me Waiting Too Long Long Long..."


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Television Personalities - My Dark Places (2006)

The Television Personalities have a long history of writing what could be called pop music, except that it isn’t very popular and sounds much too abrasive and uncompromising. Somehow, singer-songwriter Dan Treacy manages to blend the child-like innocence of Daniel Johnston, the DIY pop aesthetic of Go Kart Mozart, and the stilted post-punk delivery of the Fall’s Mark E. Smith.

The curious thing about this album is that individual songs have a tendency to sound flat and unimpressive, but within the context of the album a greater understanding and appreciation emerges. The songs are uniformly dark in subject matter, ranging from drug addictions to failed dysfunctional relationships. The huge emphasis on the latter leaves Treacy in a very vulnerable position, so much so that you almost feel guilty for listening, as if you’ve stumbled upon his secret diary and know you shouldn’t be reading. Though, that seems to be his exact intention, a cathartic release of troubling, personal emotions that he’s kept pent up inside.

On “Velvet Underground,” Treacy copes with inadequacies as a relatively untalented musician compared to the seminal Lou Reed ensemble. He frustratingly admits that while lyrics come to him fairly easily, he cannot seem to recreate the VU’s influential sound. What Treacy doesn’t seem to realize is that it’s precisely his simple-yet-quirky melodies that allow his adolescent-sounding voice and straight-forwardly naïve lyrics to have the effect they do.

Streamable Track: "I'm Not Your Typical Boy"


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CMJ: Day Four

Gang Gang Dance at Santos Party House

Recap:
The day began with a discussion panel of major label A&R reps who offered to provide insight into how they look for new bands and what they listen for on submitted demos. Unfortunately, they spent the first half of the time-slot name-dropping artists they had 'discovered' such as Fall Out Boy, the Killers, and Creed. They then admitted they were in the business of looking for hit singles and an overall image they could package and push. It became obvious that this was not my scene. It was also proposed that they'd listen to demos at the discussion and critique them in real-time. Instead of constructive criticism or honest opinions, the panelists would nod slightly and say things along the lines of "It was alright. I don't want to say anything without hearing more." It was disappointing.

On to shows. At Fontana's, an afternoon party was being sponsored by Pirate!, where I caught the raucous indie rock of Settle. I then swung by the SoHo Apple store once again to see a set by San Diego natives Delta Spirit. The evening culminated with a lengthy show at Santos Party House (Andrew W.K.'s recent and successful attempt at opening a venue), put on by the Social Registry label. The line-up featured Mike Bones, The Sian Alice Group, Psychic Ills, Growing, and head-liners Gang Gang Dance.

Highlight:
The highlight of the Social Registry set, and the day as a whole, was Gang Gang Dance. The Sian Alice Group was a very close second, but half of their set was plagued by technical difficulties and harsh feeback. Sets kept getting pushed back and GGD didn't go on until after 2AM, but it was worth the wait. They played more songs than at Tuesday's show, and the larger audience provided additional energy.

Honorable mentions go out to Delta Spirit and Psychic Ills. Delta Spirit put on a terrific set and brought to mind the likes of the Black Keys and Wilco, following in their footsteps to bridge the gap between indie rock and alt-country americana. For a San Diego band, they really do channel the 'delta spirit.' Psychic Ills play music that should be called 'trance' if that term weren't already appropriated. It's noisy psychedelic drone-rock that combines elements of shoegaze and experimental electronics.


Left to Right: Sian Alice Group, Psychic Ills, Settle