Grey Matter : " Climbing Out"

 I do not like ska for one reason...it's too happy for me. I used to think it was the horns , but David Bowie plays sax. Morphine uses sax. It shows up in some of the more progressive metal I like, so that is not the problem in and off it's self. Then you might think it's the bouncy rhythm. But " the Passenger" by Iggy is an example how this can still work. Bauhaus , Gang of Four and the Police all touch on that as well. This is what this band is going again. When it goes more toward the jazz side of things I am going to be fine with it , but ska well..um. The longest song is three and a half minutes. They use some dissonance on the opening track.  It has a darker undertone to it and gave me some hope about this album. It could have been combined with the second song and served as more of an intro. I can still with the unhinged screamo like explosion blended with chaos on "Not My Friend". I am not totally into these guys whole "social justice warrior" slant.  There is almost more of a King Missile thing with spoken word vocals of " Climbing Out" . It is still in  safe zone for me as it has not gotten ska  I might not like it as much as the first two songs , but it's still pretty decent.

They lyrics to 'Consent' are apologetic for being a man. Which I think is fucking bull shit and turns me off on the whole song. They are solidly punk rock on " Dang" the brass is used like smooth 80s jazz til things speed up. They are solid musicians .It sounds like what happens when Millennials get into music from the 90s. The longest song "Can't Go Back' does a good job of blending legit jazz with kinda hard core. More on the screamo side , as it is not as aggressive as hard core. "Upswing" finds him trying harder to sing. Not the most effective thing that happens on this album and it's also when things begin to get too happy.  "Mas Fuerte" is in two parts but it might as well be one song. The first part they are bitching about cops which is punk enough. "Greet Debt" they are bitching about gentrification. Hitting all the notes of the things millennials get fussy about. As a song if I ignore the bitching , it's pretty solid.

I like when things get moodier on "Downswing", I would like to hear more introspective stuff like this from them .  Midway into the song they go into a funky groove. I wish they would focus more on the music and less on the social justice warrior thing. It ruins what would be an otherwise impressive band. "Panic" finds him trying to sing again. This attempt is not much better. He kinda raps on the last song, which is more of what we have already gotten from these guys, but they are good at it. I hate most of the lyrics , but musically these guys are solid enough for me to give it an 8.5, this take on ska is still enough for me to digest if I ignore what they are saying.

Anti-Flag : "American Fall"

Despite the predictions on social media after Trump's win, 2017 has not has not been a big year for punk. Sure some punk album's have come out , but no more than normal. These guys have been around since 96, so they have held on longer than most pop punks bands from that area, perhaps it's because they did not shine the pop side of their hooks up as much as say Blink 182. Though these guys have always struck me as being more from an Offspring or Bad Religion mold. The second song is more run of the mill than the first. This album is well produced, which might have taken some of the punk snarl from it. One of the fools from Good Charlotte produced this so that factors in on the pop meter. The first song starts off as a strummed sing a long and then goes into more of a ska bounce. My problem with ska is it's way too happy. In their promo picture one of the guys is wearing an Operation Ivy shirt so I should not be that surprised. They then proceed to sound like a pop infused Rancid on "Trouble Follows Me".

"Finish What We Started " makes it obvious that bass player is the most talented member of this band. The big choruses are beginning to get annoying. "Liar" then makes a pretty good effort to get this album back to being punk. There is a darker note to "Digital Blackout" which makes it one of the album's best songs.Here the big sing along chorus reminds me more of 80s hair metal. From there things get back to being too happy. "Racist" is one of the more lame brain moments, with lyrics that could have come from their Facebook feed. In fact sonically the final three songs fall rather flat with "Throw It Away" being the best of the three.

I think giving this one a 6 is being pretty generous as it has a few moments , but over all lacks the danger that punk should have. I am ok with the slick production if something with more depth is being packaged in it. These songs could very well be left over from the days of Myspace.

Up From the Under Ground : The Great Game

Normally if you tell me to think of a jazz album that has hints of Mr. Bungle, I would picture John Zorn. This is not that sort of jazz. It doesn't defy you to keep listening. The singer sounds more like dude from Embodyment than Mike Patton. His vocal chords are nowhere near as elastic as he stays in a smoky baritone. There are other voices that join in as well, as varied brass instruments. The opener is the one of  the few songs that flirts with the Dream Theater side of prog, though "Bipolaroid" does get a litter meaner, but in almost a Living Colour sense. The crazy sax that runs wild in the middle of this song is the only John Zorn moment.

Estradasphere is a good reference point when it comes to some of the gypsy touches that crop up such as the ballad like "El Hechizo De Hoy". Sometimes the poetry of the album finds an odd way of going into motion, as mariachi collides with jerky math-rock, while caress by a Norah Jones like vocal. This is expanded upon on "Television" with the instrumentation carrying them off into a wild gypsy dance.There are other times the band reminds me more of Morphine like lounge, "the Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma" being one of the most notable. There is an almost big radio rock  chorus like something Aaron Lewis of  Staind might do on "Pax Romana", but this is not the norm even this song mainly basks in a jazz smoothness.

Lyrically they delve a little deeper into the human condition, but do so with an often playful cadence with a song like "Relgionism" taking on a cheerful ska bounce. The horns are more adventurous than your average stab at ska, making me wonder i these guys are fans of the Urge. There is a similar dynamic, though they are much less rock, than the whole 311 scene that came out of the 90s. That's not to say there songs don't have some smoking grooves to them. The Great Game is not like Mr. Bungle or their clones as they don't just pulls any genre out of their hat just o catch you off guard, they have a sound very rooted in jazz, which is a cohesive exploration of the roots of this tree. This cohesive sound may get more zany in some songs than others.

The rock elements put their foot on the monitor during "And the Blind Man Lead the Way". I don't think this side of the band is always their strong point, some of the quirkier vocals lines are a little pitchy in places, which surprises me a band so precise about everything else would allow to slip through the cracks even if it was more of a character voice.But the musicianship generally distracts your from this. The metal growls would be lacking to regular readers of this blog. They take you back to more of a System of a Down type place, despite the lower narration that is supposedly more Mike Patton. They make better use of rock trappings on "Slave Majic". The vocals don't try to push, but relax and let it come more naturally. This is a lesson easily learned from jazz, which goes with the flow, but the testosterone of harder can obscure this.

The song that is their name sakes feels like it is playing it safest, despite the Adrian Belew like approach to the vocal pattern. They stroll along an up-beat jazz groove that dances along more of a middle path than some of their more exploratory work. Overall if you are looking for a jazz album that can get an attitude as it travels the globe, then here you go. If you normally like rock but want to broaden your horizons after growing out of Incubus, Rush and the rest of the radio fare this is also worth a click. They are offering free downloads on their website, so have a taste below.

 

Up From the Underground : Random Order's Black Lipstick Kiss

The what is goth and what isn't debate can go on endlessly. It ranges from Dead Can Dance to Marilyn Manson, neither of which sounds like the other. So there is a lot of diversity with in the genre.  I am not trying to build a case for this  Canadian band that mixes surf rock and tangos up like a martini, but that might appeal to the bat cave kids as their day time listening. Most Goths I know listen to the Cramps, and the   title track of Black Lipstick Kiss  comes to being rock a billy. They also summon up a steamy swing feel . Think f the Cherry Poppin Daddies  if they were fronted by Lords of Acid's singer.

Random Order's lead singer Lynx purrs and growls as much as she sings. Sure there is a ska bounce at times, but New Model Army gets pretty jovial at times too. Horns are normally a no no for me unless we are talking Morphine, but somehow the rest of the band distracts me from them and they do help add a coat of Vegas after dark sleaze. Siouxsie fans should especially take note. This eclectic array of styles gives a middle finger to genre rules. Often staccato flamenco guitar sets it up for a latin sweat, before being cooled off by Lynx's sultry alto. 

 This album strikes me as being more about the feeling these songs invoke. This is a perfect soundtrack for   David Lynch  to pay homage to 60's beach movies or Russ Meyer. It's dirty like the French Quarter and has a similar attitude as Concrete Blonde just less emphasis on vampires.The darkest song being "Black Heart" which would win most of you over, unless you never stray from your Death in June. "Excess or Rise" reminds me of the Devils Blood, in it's 70's groove and blues laden vocals. You can trust me in the fact that I hate music that is too happy, sure some of the ska moments might have too much skip in there step for me , it's balanced out by some cool reverb heavy guitar, old school Robert Smith might envy.

The imagery is darker than the music , but to be honest isn't Switchblade Symphony? This is very organic is every way shape and form, though you can still dance to it, not that your d.j is going to throw this in-between Skinny Puppy and Sisters of Mercy, it would work against Oingo Boingo or some Horror Pops.  So what we have learned today is your iPod is filled with others sounds spreading out from the dark gnarled branches of goth's family, particularly if you are a fan of the first wave and 80's variety, so Random Order would fit nice in your shuffle mode. Click below for a taste and I can ensure you , that you will want more from where this came from.