Category: Music Reviews

Scooterbabe, an Athens, Ga.-based noise pop trio, recently released an EP. The 5-track Scooterbabe EP is available digitally on a “name your own price” basis, and the band also released the project on a limited number of cassette tapes… Yes, I just said (well, wrote) cassette tapes… As in those plastic music squares that had a unique relationship with pencils and share a nostalgic sorrow with floppy disks. Scooterbabe’s choice of genre and audio release format clearly display their respect for noise pop and their nostalgic tendencies. So be sure to grab your Walkman, throw on a pair of jncos, and give them a listen.

If you played Tony Hawk Pro Skater and enjoy bands like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, then this EP might be for you. The band finds their niche with songs like “Clean” where the soft “oh’s” that comprise the melody smooth some of the rough production edges.

The album has an untainted garage-rock sound that feels dreamy and seems to embody Athens. The town is constantly producing new artists, and new artists are constantly altering the Athens music scene. Scooterbabe’s most recent self-titled album is one of them. I’m sure I’ve seen one of its members downtown or on campus. Little did I know this person was working out a lyric about Annelise, “Why’d you let yourself down, waiting for some boy to set you straight?”

Scooterbabe presents an indie pop sound, with surf-like guitar riffs and base and catchy lyrics. The attitude is fast and fun as Scooterbabe chants, “Are you bored? If so, scooterbabe, go.”

Scooterbabe is Athens. It is feel-good; it is easy to sing, and it is easy to relate to.

Girl Talk recently teamed up with former Roc-A-Fella MC Freeway to release the Broken Ankles EP. The project was released free on DatPiff, and I was so hype to get to write my first review on a hip-hop project. I looked up to 2Pac, Biggie, Eazy-E, and the remaining Rap Gods, but they stared down from Thugz Mansion and didn’t see fit to have me review something as dope as Freeway’s earliest releases.

If you don’t remember, Freeway first burst onto the hip-hop scene with a featured verse on “1-900-Hustler” from Jay-Z’s monumental album The Dynasty. Since parting ways with Roc-A-Fella in 2007, Freeway’s work has been largely directionless. While Broken Ankles isn’t completely uninspired, it still finds Freezer an MC with nothing new to say.

The boisterous, in-your-face intro sets the hyped up tone of the album, but I kept wondering when Girl Talk was going to do Girl Talk. The answer is never. If you’re expecting souped-up pop samples for Freeway to spit on, then you’d be just as disenchanted as I was when the only recognizable sample is a single Notorious B.I.G. line used to comprise the hook on “I Can Hear Sweat.” Freeway juxtaposes the Biggie hook by trying to tap into 2Pac when he announces, “all eyes on me, all eyes on me.” Freeway concludes his attempted legendary East Coast/West Coast marriage by surmising that he thinks “they love me like Pac now.” While the historical hip-hop nod is nice, it just seems to be missing a point; much like the entire project.

This isn’t to say that the EP is a total failure. Whenever Girl Talk takes a back seat and allows Freeway to drive, hints of the old MC appear in soulful songs like “Tell Me Yeah.” The EP also has some great guest verses. Waka Flocka Flame makes the first track, “Tolerated,” tolerable, and Jadakiss was born to rhyme over “I Can Hear Sweat.” Unfortunately for Freeway, he raps in the shadow of his featured verses for the majority of the EP. He spits recycled similes and tired lines like: “Betty Crocker, got my cake up” and “I learned lessons went to summer school.” Baseless rhymes like this combined with the hit-and-miss beats make the EP perfect for a mindless jog or background music at a pregame everyone just left.

The EP is currently sporting a 4/5 rating on DatPiff (so hey, what do I know, right?), but the majority of the commenters agreed with me as we reminisced on the Freeway who proved he had honest, inspired flow and something to say in the early 2000s. If Girl Talk had simply done what Girl Talk has done in the past, then it would’ve allowed Freeway to spit over some sweet samples. I mean, that seems way more hip-hop than what Broken Ankles actually winds up being. Unfortunately, even if that were the way the record was spun, I’m still not sure Freezer has any new stories to tell.

2.5/5

 

GIRL TALK TOUR DATES:

Fri. April 11 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

Fri. April 18 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

Sun. May 4 – Tampa, FL @ Big Guava Festival

Thu. May 15 – Gulf Shores, AL @ Hangout Music Festival

Sat. May 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Centennial Olympic Park

Fri. May 23 – Sun. May 25 – Chillicothe, IL @ Summercamp

Fri. June 20 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival

Wed. June 25 – Sun. June 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest

Nashville native, Bobby Bare, Jr. exemplifies southern rock ‘n’ roll in his most recent album, Undefeated, out today! Along with the album, a documentary, Don’t Follow Me (I’m Lost) will be released May 1^st. The documentary, ironically, follows Bare in his musical endeavors and family affairs. On Bloodshot Records artist page, Bare is described as “rambunctious” and “freewheeling,” generally a relatable guy. What’s more enjoyable than listening to a man who doesn’t take life too seriously?

Undefeated embodies just that; don’t allow trivial matters eclipse what is important to you.

Undefeated opens with “North of Alabama By Mornin’.” The piece presents an echo effect with a deep, harmonizing voice, giving it the primary pop, rock ‘n’ roll style. On the other hand, pieces like “If She Cared” and “Don’t Wanna Know” feature a female voice that creates a graceful, blues sound. “The Elegant Impostor” follows the heartbreak blues sound with elegant, synthesizer chimes.

BBJ is skilled and eloquent at crossing genres. “Undefeated” combines a country, blues guitar with airy vocals and rock guitar riffs. In general, the album is able to mix country rock with more experimental pop pieces, like “Don’t Stand at the Stove,” which utilizes more synthesizer and high-pitched vocals, to create a very original piece of work.

More interesting is the story-like style of the album, as if Bare is sitting around a campfire with the listener. “My Baby Took My Baby Away” begins with the principal country sound and Bare telling us a story about his “baby”: “He comes stumbling through the door with his bottle in hand…he closes his eyes while he’s mumbling.” The story-telling format allows the listener to relate, and it is, generally, entertaining. Bobby Bare Jr. is a master at narrating through his music in an original and nontraditional way.

3/5

Challenger, the electro-indie band from New York City, plans to drop their second full-length album on May 27^th. Led by producer/songwriter John Ross, Challenger debuted their first LP, The World Is Too Much for Me, in 2012. Their sophomore effort is titled Back to Bellevue and features eleven epic pop tracks rooted in indie electronica. Ross left the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn and returned to his childhood room in Florida to write and record the album.

DISCLAIMER: I’m a huge fan of electro-indie music. My friends and I have a collaborative Spotify playlist called Electropolis. It’s filled with hits from bands like Washed Out, Purity Ring, Small Black, and Summer Heart, and we’re pretty selective about what makes the cut. If you don’t dig the smooth sounds of a cinematic synthesizer, then, first of all, what’s wrong with you? And, second, read no further, because liking Challenger’s Back to Bellevue was just way too easy for me.

Driven by bright synth leads and punchy, robust percussion compositions, Challenger’s latest offering separates itself from the crowded electro-indie genre by lacing its tracks with honest, fragile vocals that aren’t buried in reverb. While this album reminded me of bands like Summer Heart and Washed Out, the raw and delicate vocals held hints of Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. Think Small Black but with more rough edges. This combination of clear, raw vocals and catchy synth leads works best on tracks like “How Terrorism Brought Us Back Together” and “Sweetheart in San Francisco.”

Ross’s experience as a composer for television is apparent in the album’s cinematic synth pop sounds. Several of the songs seem suited for the screen. I could see a car driving further and further away as the sun sets or a couple sharing their final kiss before we fade to black as each track on Back to Bellevue flows into the next. But Ross doesn’t stop at simply crafting cinematic songs. Challenger shows their diversity with songs like “Sylvia,” which provides a hauntingly beautiful juxtaposition to the brighter melodies. With “I Want You To Love Me,” Challenger strips away the intricate drums and synthesizers in favor of an acoustic ballad that echoes back to the happy holiday declarations found early in the album on “Birthday At Beth Israel.”

While I thoroughly enjoyed the album and admired its bold, different vocal approach, I have to admit that the raw vocals seemed out of place on the song “Sorry,” which is arguably the most beautiful track in terms of musical composition. Then again, even when the chosen vocal style seems out of place, it still sounds incredibly honest and makes the music more endearing. Challenger’s latest album is an undeniable success for any fan of electro-indie. Rest assured that several of the songs from Back to Bellevue will find a home in Electropolis come May 27^th.

4/5

“Let me hold you swing you round, pack our bags and leave this town”, begins band Kris Orlowski in their new single “Stone by Stone” from their forthcoming debut full-length album, Believer, set to be released April 25, 2014.

Kris Orlowski is a Seattle-based band dedicated to making music that is “about creating something that touches the soul”, according to their bio. And “Stone by Stone” certainly does that.

The Americana tune is very affectionate and uplifting, telling a story of love in which “fooled by the world, I’m tingling; you’re leaving me whole again.” The Mumford and Suns-esque tune leaves the heart and soul feeling rather touched.

The band has shed the big-band folksy feel of their previous work for a more “punch-y and experimental” album, and the single certainly reflects a more simple instrumentation, relying on the vocals and lyrics to do the storytelling, which they do rather well.

The song ends with a beautiful promise as they sing, “I won’t stop trying now, I can’t start lying now, because I’m sacred in my vows to see this through.” “Stone by Stone” certainly makes me excited for the release of Believer.

4/5

Baby Guru is, once again, all over the board. Their new album, Marginalia, released in March via Inner Ear, is a collection of songs whose wildly diverse inspirations are apparent, with songs so distinctly different from one another, yet songs that flow together to create a coherent and unique album. What they lack in reasoning, they make up for in creativity on a record that takes the listener on a strange and interesting journey.

Baby Guru is, in their own words, “an ever evolving musical organism conceived by three childhood friends, in a basement, at the end of 2009.” A very unique band, the musicians rely on “unexpected spontaneity” and blend a combination of “kraut rock,” psychedelic music and African percussion to create a sound unlike any other.

Marginalia seems to draw inspiration from every type of music under the sun – and then some. Songs like “Marginalia” and “Turtle Hearts” are very modern-day Beatles, with Ringo-like drums and multiple clear, harmonizing vocals. David Bowie seems to have had a hand in inspiring spacey songs such as “Explain” and “We Need Some Space.” Baby Guru’s far-reaching influences are apparent in the almost Celtic-sounding electronic beat, “Exegesis” and the tribal sound of “Most of the Times.” No two songs are similar, and it makes for fascinating experience.

While every song is wildly different, the album as a whole is very synth- and keyboard- driven, creating an upbeat, indie-pop sound. It is fun and wild and different. While at first listen, it may seem a bit random and out-there, after a few times hearing the album, it certainly grows on you. The three members of the band, Prins Obi, King Elephant and Sir Kosmiche not only wrote the entire album, but recorded and produced it themselves, and in a world where most artists don’t even write their own songs, you’ve got to respect the band that can do it all.

Plus, there’s a groovy video to go along with the track, “Especially When,” that is incredibly entertaining. Featuring kaleidoscope shots of the band and a beautiful woman in a muscle car, the song makes you want to get up and dance. And maybe take a shot or two with a stranger in a leather jacket. It’s dangerous and psychedelic and very cool.

This consciousness-expanding album is open minded, fun, and certainly worth the listen.

“Dex Romweber was and is a huge influence on my music. I owned all of his records as a teenager, and was thrilled at the fact that we were able to play together recently on tour. [He is] is one of the best kept secrets of the rock n roll underground.” —Jack White, White Stripes

Hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Dex Romweber Duo has released their first album since 2011, Images 13. The sibling duo is made up of singer and guitarist, Dex Romweber and drummer, Sara Romweber. Images 13, produced through Bloodshot Records, hit March 18^th.

You know you’ve accomplished a prodigious musical goal when Jack White considers you somewhat of a personal hero. There is nothing more valuable in the music industry than inspiring other artists, rather than competing against each other. Dex Romweber should not only be honored to have such a talented artists praise him, but to know he had a part in influencing a praise-worthy artist. More interesting is Romweber’s contributions to Athens. Bloodshot Record’s artist page states, “He starred alongside R.E.M. and The B-52’s in the 1987 cult classic film ‘Athens, GA Inside Out’.” Are you looking it up on Netflix now? Let me save you the time and sorrow and tell you it is “unavailable to stream.” Every time! Yeah, too bad we’ll never get to see an ’87 Athens mullet.

Images 13 opens with energy in “Roll On.” Romweber immediately exhibits his coarse, but surprisingly smooth, voice. Although the duo is primarily rock, they diverge into a surf rock sound in “Blackout!” and “Blue Surf,” both of which are instrumental.  Still, Romweber is able to turn it down a notch with a classical, deep voice similar to Roy Orbison’s in “I Don’t Want to Listen.” The duo is versatile and is able to make listeners energetic with “Long Battle Coming,” and then immediately create a slow, emotional tone with “One Sided Love Affair.” Dex Romweber Duo leaves a lasting imprint accompanied with conflicting feelings. The album can make you feel lawless, heart broken, and weird with simple instruments and vocals, all in one sitting.

4/5