March 2006
Live
Polysics
Record
Polysics
The Weepies
Trespassers William
Psychic Ills
Milk
Lise Westzynthius
Wolfmother
Mystery Jets
National Trust
Goldspot
DVD
The Buzzcocks
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Live Review
Polysics
Cafe Du Nord/San Francisco
March 4th
It's a Saturday night and I'm trapped in the front of Cafe Du Nord with the world's biggest nerd.
We're both here to see Polysics, who are dubbed as Japan's answer to Devo.
And when I say the biggest nerd, I also mean "biggest" size wise, in addition to style wise. He's about 6'5, but too
stocky to play basketball. I think he's wearing lederhosen. And he's not black, he's a middle-aged white man who
is enthusiastically tramping the smaller members of the audience in his delight at being out for the evening.
His arms appear to be grossly small in proportion to his body, and no amount of jostling from the crowd will cause
his taped horn rim glasses to fall from his face. I keep hoping his mom will arrive early to pick him up, but no such luck.
The world's biggest nerd and I both liked Polysic's rambunctious energy, but only I appeared to like their cover of "My Sharona",
the nerd momentarily paused from jumping up and down on the trampled bodies in his wake of destruction to pick his nose for a good minute.
He did, however, take more of a shining towards the spastic lead singer, and loudly screeched in my ear whenever Hayashi brandished his
guitar and yelled, "Hello!!! Fuck shit up San Francisco!!!" in that charming Japanese way.
The nerd appeared to not consume alcoholic beverages, but without the help of a couple of beers
I could not have gotten through the evening. The stoic, ray gun sunglasses wearing keyboard playing glanced our way a couple of times,
perhaps trying to zap the nerd with her x-ray powers in sympathy, but I'm not sure. Maybe she was wondering about genetic mutation
in America; I know I was.
At the end of the evening, the nerd bowed to Polysics in honour of a great show, and I did too.
I was hoping to trip him on the way out, or at least try to steal his pocket protector, but he vanished into
the crowd using his newly perfected Dungeons and Dragons stealth move.
Tuula Ala
Record Review
Polysics
Now Is The Time
Tofu Records
This band is a favorite of SF Burning. We have done a few different
interviews with the band. All of them have been not so successful. Polysics started in
1997 and have released a few albums recently. I think the last one was a
greatest hits album. This has the feel of being a more recent album. Polysics has
in the meantime met Devo and played with Kajagoogoo. They seem more focused
this time. They sing in English and Japanese, but also their very own invented
"Space Language." This Technicolor pogo punk music is a little bit musically
advanced compared to Devo. I think someone in the band is a classical musician.
Some of the best songs are "Super Sonic" and "Mr. Psycho Psycho." This is
pretty exciting stuff. They are a good live band. Check it out for yourselves.
The Weepies
Say I Am You
Nettwerk
There have been some interesting records coming out this year. Some of them
are a little subtler. The Weepies is one of them. It's more songwriter based.
It's more easy listening. This is a group with two distinct songwriters. There
is Deb Talen and Steve Tannen. They are from Boston and New York. Some of the
best songs are "Gotta Have You" and "Suicide Blonde." I wonder if this a
reference to the novel by Darcey Steinke? All art is the affirmation of
existence. This seems very current. This is a good document of everything good in
music.
Trespassers William
Having
Nettwerk
Trespassers William are a band that has become well known in LA. They are
known for moody landscapes and atmosphere. They probably get a lot of comparisons
to David Lynch and Sigur Ros. Much of their past music has been including in
movie and film soundtracks. This time they have collaborated with Dave
Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips) and have created something much more exciting.
Trespassers William are one of the bands from California that may be very big.
Psychic Ills
Dius
The Social Registry
Psychic Ills are band that become very interesting in the past year. I heard
an early single last year, which was more conventional. They have got more
members and have expanded their sound. It is much more like movie soundtracks and
very rhythmic. The whole album is almost instrumental. "Untitled" has more
to do with avant-garde music than pop music. "January Rain" is more like Echo
and the Bunnymen. The vocals are quiet and low. A guitar riff soars over the
atmospheric palate. Elizabeth hart is very talented. This is a band to check
out. There used to be more unconventional bands like this. I am glad that
someone is still making challenging music.
Milk
Milk
www.milkmusic.net
This is a new exciting band. If you like The Verve and Oasis, you are
probably going to dig what Milk is about. They have a load of songs that are pretty
cool. The songs "Fly" and "Monochrome" are probably the best. I would like to
see these guys live. I hear that they are from LA, but they recorded part of
this about in Liverpool. Psychedelic Rock is still alive with bands like Milk.
This band is worthy.
Lise Westzynthius
Rock, You Can Fly
One Little Indian
The music of Denmark is coming to our shores this year. This is the latest
singer-songwriter. It's a little like Stina Nordenstam and Emiliana Torrini.
It's more piano based music than regular folk music. It does have some of those
trippy aspects of bands like Zero 7 and Portishead. "Rock, You Can Fly" is a
good example of what Lise is about. If it weren't a female vocal maybe this
would seem like Pink Floyd? This might be a record to talk about and discuss.
Brilliant.
Wolfmother
Dimensions EP
Modular
This is probably the most exciting CD to hit the planet in a long time. The
first notes of "Dimension" sound like the heaviest record in a long time. The
scream at the beginning recalls The Stooges and The Birthday Party. These
songs have parts and major riffage. There is nothing simple. I saw them play
recently at Spaceland. The gig was totally packed and a hundred people were waiting
outside. "Mind's Eye" is a mellower ballad. The chorus is fabulous. Power
chords throughout. "Love Train" is a more funked up version of Blue Cheer. It
ends up sounding like Blues Explosion. This is an amazing EP. There are two
videos of the band, so you can see what they look like. They are just them
playing in the desert. Wolfmother are the band of the year!
Mystery Jets
5 Songs
679 Recordings
This is the first taste of the art school band, Mystery Jets. They are from
Twickenham. They are admirers of Syd Barrett. They just blew though SXSW and
LA. "You Can't Fool Me Dennis" is more pop. "Zootime" is more like prog rock.
This is like their first few singles. It's pretty wild stuff. They are a
breath of fresh air with all these Britpop revival bands. Mystery Jets are more
like a bunch of guys who are into Mojo Magazine, rather than all this bothersome
noise about chip shops and cigarettes. In that way they are probably more like
The Coral and The Zutons, and we should expect wild and wonderful things from
them in the future. It's good.
National Trust
Kings and Queens
Thrill Jockey
This is a jamming record. It's like a mix of everything great about electro
and R&B. It is pretty amazing. It sounds so great for a dance record. There are
tracks with a guy from Sun Ra Arkestra. It's a dance groove and smooch pit
record. It is very listenable. This is a record that needs to be heard. If you
think Prince is cool, then you are really going to like this.
Goldspot
Tally of the Yes Men
Nettwerk
Goldspot are one of the most popular new bands from LA. They have been played
a lot on KCRW. They recently just played at the KCRW Sounds Eclectic night,
which is a showcase for singer-songwriters and easy listening. Goldspot are a
mix of eastern and western ideas in music. There is a little Bollywood and a
little Indian influence. Plus there are more American bands like REM and Modest
Mouse. It is a very interesting sound. It's very new and unexpected.
Alexander Laurence
DVD Reviews
The Buzzcocks
Live At Shepherds Bush Empire 2003 DVD
Music Video Distributors
The Buzzcocks came back in 2003 with a self-titled record that was really
good. This DVD celebrates the 30th anniversary of the band, which are still going
strong. This concert has 32 songs. It is mostly from the first three albums.
There are a few new ones like "Wake Up Call" and "Lester Sands" which was an
early song that was never recorded. I saw them play in California at this
time and they were amazing. This DVD has a bunch of extras. There is an interview
with Steve Diggle and Pete Shelley. They recount some of the early gigs and
the early formation of the band. Howard Devoto help start the band but left
after a dozen gigs. He went on to form Magazine. The Buzzcocks were the ones who
started the whole Manchester scene that we know today. Maybe The Stone Roses,
Joy Division, and Happy Mondays, are more relevant, but the Buzzcocks were
there at the start.
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
The Road To God Knows Where/Live At The Paradiso DVD
Mute Records
A Nick Cave tour film sounds sort of ominous. Nick Cave in the 1980s was more
the anti-social junkie who was obsessed with the blues. He seems like he
likes to have his photo taken but Cave hates interviews. The Bad Seeds seem like a
tightly knit group that has a lot of in-jokes. It's funny watching Nick Cave
wearing a cowboy hat and talking on an early cell phone. Most of the comedy in
the film is supplied by the flamboyant Kid Congo. Lydia Lunch talking about
serial killers seems really immature. Another funny scene features Cave and his
manager harassing the owner of some Midwest venue about the sound system. I
am not sure if this film enlightens anyone about the art of Nick Cave. He is
from Australia and lives in London. How America figures into this is unknown?
Maybe they were trying to create their own version of Spinal Tap? The live show
DVD is a document of the early version of the Bad Seeds. They are one of the
most successful bands from Australia. Nick Cave is now a more controlled and
more mature artist.
Alexander Laurence
