Catching Up '09 Round Three

Another slew of the new; at least relatively so. Lets see what the cat dragged in today.

The Dead Weather- 'Horehound'

The Dead Weather actually does sound remarkably like the sum of its parts; the harder rock of Queens Of The Stone Age, the sexiness of the Kills, and the blues of the White Stripes all surface in equal parts here. Over 'Icky Thump' and 'Consolers Of The Lonely', one couldn't help but feel that Jack White was slipping away from the roots that had originally made him so great. And while the same trends continue here, by taking the guitar out of his hands it is somehow so much easier to bear (not to mention solidifying suspicions that Dean Fertita can really play). Given the increasing rarity that a good hard rock record is these days, I probably tend to give The Dead Weather the benefit of the doubt in spots. When you get down to it though, 'Horehound' hits you hard right in the gut. With all the twee and folk proliferating hard drives these days, on occasion that is exactly what is needed. If nothing else, the album is a testament to the reality that sex and violence will always have a place in rock music.

Rating: 7.5/10
Best Tracks: "I Cut Like A Buffalo","Treat Me Like Your Mother", "New Pony"


Drug Rug- 'Paint The Fence Invisible'

A young couple playing music together: tougher than Mates of State, cuter than The White Stripes, lacking the folk of Bowerbirds, and with none of the mush of Hello, Blue Roses. You're right, that didn't really help at all. This music falls into the trap of having no truly unique characteristics apart from being straight-up indie rock. That said, it is pretty good straight-up indie rock. Fans of music running the gamut from Dr. Dog to the Unicorns to A.C. Newman's first record will all find a lot to like.

Rating: 6/10
Best Tracks: "Don't Be Frightened By The Devil", "Coffee In The Morning", "Sooner The Better"


Wheat- 'White Ink, Black Ink'

It is truly unfortunate for Wheat that Phoenix's 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' beat their 'White Ink, Black Ink' to release. Both are electro-tinged, yet guitar based pop records that play on equal fields. If maybe a little slow to start, Wheat manages to take their listeners to more places along the musical journey than their contemporaries even try to. The melodies of the "singles" here may not be quite as catchy, but the record certainly carries its weight. Maybe three or four cuts short of being a truly exceptional record, it is at the least a good one.

Rating: 6.5/10
Best Tracks: "H.O.T.T.", "Music Is Drugs", "Mountains"


The Legends- 'Over And Over'

A record which is in many ways similar to The Raveonettes 2008 release 'Lust Lust Lust'. Lots of backwashed distortion for the sake of pure noise, often with a smooth 60's boy/girl vocal melody submerged somewhere just under the surface of the scuzz. It is not always a pleasing cacophony however. This is a highly produced, sought after buzz (not at all the no-fi hum of No Age or Wavves), which on cuts like "Seconds Away" and the title track, is just confounding. When the noise pulls back, there are some pleasing moments, but again they overdo it, often crossing from heartfelt territory into schmaltzy. For a record with so much promise, this one can be frustrating. That being said, if you can overlook a few grievances, there is a lot of fun to be had in between.

Rating: 5/10
Best Tracks: "Always The Same", "Heartbeats"


Lacrosse- 'Bandages For The Heart'

I can't help but think that the word pop doesn't quite do the music here justice, kind of like how the demure bear sitting on the cover in no way prepares you for the busting-out-of-the-speakers-raucous-synth-happiness-explosion that is Lacrosse. When the tunes have the melody to carry themselves, the sound works. On occasion however, the group find themselves outstripped by their own ambition. When this happens the record can come off as cheesy or plain annoying, but I must say that these moments are rare. Most of the time, the listener will find themselves won over by the dazzling charm and energy that characterizes the entirety of 'Bandages For The Heart'. I can't help but wish that the unison male/female vocals would make the occasional attempt at true harmony, but what Lacrosse lacks in chops they more than make up for in spirit.

Rating: 7/10
Best Tracks: "All The Little Things That You Do","Bandages For The Heart", "I See A Brightness"


Howling Bells- 'Radio Wars'

Besides giving Zooey Deschanel some stiff competition for the title of cutest girl in indie rock, Juanita Stein also fronts a band. Here her vocals are soaring and spacey, with nothing bearing the immediacy or crunch of the grungier tracks off the bands 2006 debut. The backing instrumentals give her the room to air out these melodies, yet effectively keep her from straying into the unstructured washes of noise characterizing artists like Bat For Lashes. This can make it hard to figure out what exactly Howling Bells are trying to be; not quite a straight rock band, and yet far from the lush pop of Mazzy Star. The heavy production bores, and sucks whatever character there is right out of the mix. I for see the group surmounting this identity crisis sometime in the future, but for the meantime, the music is just not that compelling.

Rating: 4/10
Best Tracks: "It Ain't You", "Digital Hearts"