Black Fiction - Ghost Ride

Black Fiction - Ghost Ride
(2006 - Howells Transmitter)

More than anything, Black Fiction wants to be an old, beat-up cassette onto which your best friend has copied his or her eccentricly amateurish bedroom recording project. Every song on Ghost Ride goes out of it's way to be different from the last. The crazy thing is that it kind of works. The problem with Ghost Ride is that it spends too much time trying to convince you that it has been created by amateurs when it is obvious that the opposite is true. For the most part the songs are genuinely creative and well written like the stunning title track, there are however a few time wasters like the band's namesake.
This may be the next step into the SUPER-disaffected-self-aware arena of indie rock where artists go out of their way to include as many elements and genres as possible and at the same time go out of their way to sound like they are very bored and not trying very hard. The result is that Black Fiction is a good album when in fact it could've been a fantastic one. The experimental nature of pushing your limits in order to find your feet is the reason that many a band's first album is it's most memorable. But with Black Fiction it's hard to tell how much of that is genuine and how much is engineered to be odd and hip.
The songs are good enough, employing creative home recording techniques, incongruous instrumentation and darkly misanthropic lyrics. The vocals however are presented with a disaffected, hipster staleness that either attempts to emulate someone else's style or, when delving into more personal lyrical content, refuses any emotion or personality at all.
All gripes aside, Ghost Harvest is different from anything else I've heard this year and, as this shoegazer-packed summer finally winds down, different is what I desperately need right now.

7 more weeks of free busses in Asheville

Hey Asheville folks, don't forget to take advantage of the free busses whenever you can. The more people ride during the free fare experiment, the more money the city will throw into the transportation system next year.

New Songs + Jukebox = Good Times

Hey folks, we've updated the jukebox on the website's music page. There's some Conner songs as well as goodness from The Bleachers and Venice is Sinking and some revelry from The World/Inferno Friendship Society.

Enjoy

Iron Hero - Safe As Houses

Iron Hero - Safe As Houses
(2006, Self Released)

Yet another head-turning band from Athens, Ga that shows enormous potential. For a band with six members Iron Hero is surprisingly taut. This is due to the guidance of an amazing rhythm section.
Thomas Wilcox (drums) and Ben Simpson (bass) keep things steady and under control with tense precision allowing the other players to cover everything is a thick blanket of post-rock atmosphere. The guitars interplay with simple, serpentine phrases which are occasionally washed in reverberated fuzz. The vocals are nice and melodic but don't seem as confident and distinctive as Iron Hero's other elements.
There are gobs of little intricacies on Safe As Houses for future discovery. Thanks to the immaculate production (provided by Josh McKay of Macha) everything shows up in the mix.
Drawing inspiration from the likes of American Football, Tristeza, The Church and Echo & The Bunnymen, I'm glad that the remnants of the post-rock movement has landed in such capable hands.

The Scourge of the Sea - Make Me Armored

The Scourge of the Sea - Make Me Armored
(2006, Alias Records)

Do my eyes deceive me? Is the label that disappeared after signing every band in Chapel Hill in the early 90's really back? It's true, the label that brought you The Archers of Loaf has returned and they've picked an oddly unmemorable album to do it with.
Don't get me wrong, this debut from Lexington, KY's The Scourge of the Sea is for the most part a perfectly serviceable college pop album. In fact they remind me of early Connells or a less ambitiously literary version of The Trash Can Sinatras. Solidly arranged, mid-tempo ditties sung wispily by heartbroken young men resigning in the face of unrequited love seem to rule the day.
There is, in fact, alot to love on Make Me Armored. The album shows great potential with songs like "Out of the Trash" and "Smitten Kitten" which may have been time-warped from my college radio station from fifteen years ago. Many a melody from this disk has popped into my head long after the spinning is done. However, despite a few saccharine sweet melody lines, Make Me Armored leaves no real lasting impression.
Unfortunately the last few tracks sail along rather lifelessly suffering from frequently trite lyrics. "The Birds of a Feather" in particular suffers from the most distracting case of every-two-lines-absolutely-MUST-rhyme syndrome in recent memory.

Snowlgobe - Oxytocin

Snowglobe - Oxytocin
(2006, Makeshift Music)

I'm honestly rather unfamiliar with Memphis, Tennessee's Snowglobe, a band that has previously put out two apparently fantastic albums that I've never heard. All I know is that Oxytocin is the first in a series of five albums, each of which will be a "solo-directed project" by a different member of the band. This one here was written and conducted by Mr. Brad Postlethwaite. Incidentally, Oxytocin is a hormone that is released during orgasm, ejaculation and birth.
The musical styles are all over the map. There's some bouncy pop, some gigantic, blown out arrangements ala The Flaming Lips and more than a little attention to detail and orchestration. Most of the songs seem to be built around Postlethwaite's promonent vocal melodies, showcasing some formidable songwriting abilities which although catchy and memorable are for the most part downright uncheerful.
Call it unfocused. Call it diverse to a fault. You can even call it the second coming of Elephant Six if you like. The thing you can't call Oxytocin is uninteresting. Unlike most songwriters Postlethwaite doesn't force his lyrics onto every second of every song. He knows when to let the music breathe. With stacks upon piles of instruments always in the mix there are plenty of rewards for the attentive listener.

The Never - Antarctica

The Never - Antarctica
(2006 - Trekky Records)

The Never may just be North Carolina's most ambitious indie-rock outfit. Their second album, Antarctica, is half of a multimedia project which includes a fully illustrated storybook featuring 50 original paintings by bandmember Noah Smith. Inspired by the storybook records of our childhoods, Antarctica tells the story of a country boy who is on a quest to return a nuclear bomb to the city. There are also witches and minions and some sort of love story and changing seasons. My details are hazy as I don't actually have the storybook with my promo.
As is necessary in telling a story of youthful innocence combating the ways of the world, The Never's music is unapologetically sentimental and self-important. It's also damn impressive for a sophmore release. Delicate indie ballads, catchy power-pop, riffs, reprisals, interludes and quite a bit of anthemic arrangement all have a hand in telling Antarctica's story. At times I'm reminded of Queen at their most Beatlesque along with a dose of Death Cab For Cutie before they were boring. It's refreshing to hear such layered and dense music coming from people naive enough to sing lines like, "I will find my heart in Antarctica." with sincerity and in four-part harmony.

The Bleachers - Suspicion

The Bleachers - Suspicion
(2006, Village Industries)

The first two and a half minutes of Suspicion paints a densely moody backdrop for the rest of the album to play-out against. Its a foggy, billowing, wastland of a world with the soft rumblings of thunderclouds far off in the distance. Once the instrumentalists cast off the droning and chanting and lurch foreward into the body of "Witch Trials" however, everything explodes into a controlled but primal flash. Guitars shimmer, drums pound and the bass carries most of the melody as dreamily processed vocals echo to and fro.
Why The Bleachers inspire comparisons to early R.E.M. is beyond me. I mean yeah, the guitars DO jangle and shimmer most of the time and the lyrics are of the hard-to-understand-and-incomprehensible-when-you-do variety, but that's where the similarities end. This trio from Las Vegas is actually more like a striking mix of The Charlatans U.K. and Bauhaus. They've got the shoegazer ear for dreamy melody but a menacing, neo-industrial edge that keeps things nice and interesting.
Another thing I love about Suspicion is that the individual songs, although although being diverse and distinctive, create an emotional arc that connects the album as a single movement. The gentle acoustic melodies of "Don't Make No Roads", the metallic claning of "Slumberjack #2" and the acid house rockout of "Poltergeist" don't simply coexist in a disjointed jumble but rather flow in a logical progression which connects the album as a single body.

Venice is Sinking - Sorry About the Flowers

Venice Is Sinking - Sorry About the Flowers
(2006 - One Percent Press)

Here is some especially satisfying fare for all you melody loving, indie-minded shoegazers out there. Sleepy guitars and lush strings build and layer around heart melting male/female vocals. Thoughtfully arranged dreaminess that evokes just enough wistful melancholy for those rainy summer afternoons. Not the self-indulgent, "Boo hoo for poor me," variety of melancholy mind you, more like a sudden moment of understanding and acceptance after a great loss.
Sometimes low-key and other times anthemic, the songs on Sorry About the Flowers are mainly of the stalwart mid-tempo ilk. Stunningly gorgeous and with plenty of musical variety to keep things interesting, Venice is Sinking consistently succeed in recapturing the shoegazer stylings of the early 90's.

The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red Eyed Soul

The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red Eyed Soul
(2006, Chunksaah Records)

This is the kind of band that I quickly find myself falling in love with. The World/Inferno Friendship Society is eclectic, vibrant, festive, soulful, irrevrent, creative and generally radiates good times. The band, which employs only two permanent members but may contain as many as twelve at any given time, has been around for several years, entreated the world with a few releases and converted a gracious plenty showgoers into devoted followers.
The players and their truckload of various instruments are tight and together in that non-clinical, feels-like-it's-natural sort of way. At first the vocal stylings of the frontman/ringmaster guy (sorry, there were no credits on my copy) seemed much too white bread for the musicians' jazzy, art-punk mayhem. However, after a couple listens I really couldn't imagine the words being presented any other way. Everything about The Society (as we'll refer to them henceforth) is just that infectious.
As one of the original purveyors of cabaret punk, The Society mix all the fun of a Gypsy Halloween carnival with pop melodies and punk attitudes to summon forth a funtastically danceable anarchy. This new album is somewhat lacking in the punk department, leaning more heavily on body moving theatrics and orchestration but Red Eyed Soul is still a slap in the face of convention. It may not have the frantic insanity of past releases and it may incorperate more ambitious musicianship but there is still a floor stomping good time to be had.

Conner - Hello Graphic Missile

Conner - Hello Graphic Missile
(2006, Sonic Boom Recordings)

The comparisons and likenesses applied to the Lawrence, Kansas quartet Conner are true and accurate but at the same time somewhat misleading. They do belong in the same bullpen as The Strokes, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and dozens of other danceable rock revivalists. The mislead is that, while most of their compatriates are all forced swagger and no substance, Conner skips the posturing and just delivers damn good songs. The swaggering coolness is just gravy.
Compiling the best tracks from the band's first two self released albums, Hello Graphic Missile is Conner's first attempt to reach a national audience. Soundwise, the influences vary from T-Rex to Gang of Four to a little bit of Rolling Stones boiled down into modern indie rock structures. Phil Bonahoom's plump basslines bounce along with Bryce Boley's no-nonsense dance/rock beats. The guitars, provided by Tom Wagner and James Duft, marry straightforeward riffage with memorable melodies for a result that is complex but never degenerating into art-wank. Duft's vocals are certainly affected in that Brit Glam / New Wave fashion that The Strokes brought back into vogue.
The initial gut reaction to Conner may be to dismiss them as another face in the crowd of an already overpopulated sub-genre but there is honestly something more to this band. Conner proves that style doesn't necessarily have to mean formula. A band can have a definite sound and still do more than one thing. What it all comes down to is that Conner offers a joyful affirmation of everything that is right about the whole dancey/rock/new wave revival thing. What's more, they're better than most of their fellows and as good as the best.

Widget

I've got a widget. A brown furry widget that lives in a shoe. I downloaded him from Apple. He likes brown rice and potted meat and publishes posts to Blogger from my swanky widget thingie on OSX. I'm typing on my widget right now. Hold still widget. You can get your own brown fuzzy widget here... www.google.com/macwidgets/

Now I can drunk post even easier, not that I'm drunk now, I just saying, though my widget tells me to have a beer. I'm at work Widget, I tell him. But he doesn't care. He mocks me and has now crashed. So maybe my Widget isn't worth downloading. I'll give Widget another try.

World/Inferno Friendship Society playing in Asheville on Sunday

Don't forget that Sunday night, July 23rd is your chance to enjoy the cabaret/punk stylings of The World/Inferno Friendship Society at Joli Rouge. Here's what their Wikipedia entry says:

"A rotating cabaret of punk/klezmer/gospel featuring horns, piano, guitar, a number of percussionists, as well as a variety of other instruments, such as accordion, xylophone and orchestra bells. All of this adds up to a mayhem-inducing live presence.
The band has historically had over 30 members, including former members of Dexy's Midnight Runners. Usually one can expect to see about nine or ten members on-stage when they perform. The group is led by singer Jack Terricloth and drummer Benjamin Kotch, who have been the most constant members throughout the group's history.
Their annual Halloween show, Hallowmas, is usually their biggest show of the year and the group tries to make it a memorable event with such things as half the band and most of the audience marching down the street, pumpkins held aloft, during the last (and hallmark) song, Pumpkin Time, which references The Great Pumpkin of Peanuts fame. Pumpkin Time has also featured dangerous, home-made pyrotechnical displays, flying band members, enough candy corn to form a thick sludge under the dancing feet of the crowd, burned effigies, or terrifying, wall-sized singing apparitions."

You can also learn more at www.worldinferno.com

We're Seeking Writers

We're looking for writers. Funny writers. Politics, Local (Asheville N.C.) Humor, Features, Current Events, Inane Scribblings are all welcome, but must be funny. If you'd like to be published online, have no use for money, and can write things that make us laugh, then we would love to hear from you. Send submissions to captainspiffo@hotmail.com

New songs on the jukebox

Howdy folks, just letting you know that we've changed the songs over at the website. We've now got songs by cinemechanica, final fantasy, about and Candy Bars. You can find 'em here: http://www.ashevilledisclaimer.com/music/

Three more days to see The Devil and Daniel Johnston

I saw this at the Fine Arts Theater last night and it was fan-freaking-tastic. It will only be playing through Thursday here in Asheville so get thee to see it. If your unfamiliar with Johnston or the film then go here and be informed: http://www.sonyclassics.com/devilanddaniel/

Cracker is to play Belle Chere

I just got a tip from one of my contacts that David Lowry and company will be playing in Asheville on Saturday July 29th as part of the Belle Chere city festival thingy. This will be their only show in NC in support of the new album Greenland.

Album Review: Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds

Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
(2006, Tomlab)

When The Arcade Fire came through town a couple years ago, their string arranger and touring violinist Owen Pallett also served as opening act under the moniker of Final Fantasy. The crowd loved his geekishly sincere songs about romance, magic, myth and video games. Many of us eagerly bought copies of his album, ...Has a Good Home!!!!!!!!!!, but were a bit disappointed that the recording didn't capture the creativity and wonder of his live set. It was pretty good but seemed hastily recorded and had little variety although there were a couple stand out tracks. Now Pallett is back with a bigger budget and sharpened skills. From the opening bars of He Poos Clouds, it's clear that the ante is being uped.
There's more of everything on He Poos Clouds. More orchestration, a greater variety of instruments with highly nuanced arrangement, better production values, more creativity, more melody and generally more realized potential. Pallett's loveably absurd pretenses are also magnified, the recording itself is a concept album based on the 8 schools of magic in Dungeons & Dragons. The title is a sillified reference referrence to some mystical proverb or such.
As could be expected, the primary instruments are strings. This time he brings in an entire quartet as well as quite a bit of harpsichord, piano and percussion. Not so many effects pedals and tape loopings I'm afraid. Don't mislabel this as chamber-pop though. The instrumental choices may imply it and at times even sound it but each song creates it's own nitch with the sound without really adhering to any one genre. To say it another way, the writing style changes even if the instruments don't.
Whereas ...Has A Good Home!!!!! mostly sounds the same, things get a bit diversified here. Some tracks like "I'm Afraid of Japan" sound as if they're composed for quartet, others such as "Song Song Song" and "This Lamb Sells Condos" are more like pop songs that've been adapted. With different instruments a song like "Many Lives -> 49" would be a riff-heavy rocker.
Did I mention that the guy has an amazing voice yet? He does. It's youthful yet seasoned and endlessly emotive, swoonworthy even. It can deliver lines such as, "When his massive genitals refuse to co-operate no amount of therapy can hope to save him marriage.", with the utmost sincerity. With that emo hair and his gayness I'm suprised he isn't a bigger hit on the Myspace circuit.

Album Review: Cinemechanica - The Martial Arts

Cinemechanica - The Martial Arts
(2006, Hello Sir Records)

Much like Nashville, our friends to the south in Athens, Ga have been busy adding a new chapter to their town's already rich musical history. In the last year bands like Ham1 and Untied States have chipped away at the musical preconceptions most listeners have about Athens. A major player in the current musical scenery is Hello Sir Records, the owners of which perform in one of the labels finest bands, Cinemechanica.
I was wondering when the first of the summertime-road trip albums would get here. The ones you pop in on a long distance drive with friends exclaiming, "Holy Shit! You HAVE hear this!" Then Cinemechanica's debut, The Martial Arts, came along and I stopped wondering.
Embodying a veritable avalanche of energetic riffs and intense rhythms, Cinemechanica are usually filed into genres with the prefix "post". Dueling guitars intertwine, race along together and then unexpectedly diverge summoning order from chaos and then nimbly diving back into chaos. The guitars may be the stars of the show here but the rhythm section is there to underline and punctuate every step of the way. The drums produce a controlled frenzy of snare and cymbal that never drowns out the prominently powerful bass. As for the vocals, they are of the screamin', yellin', make my throat hurt if I try to sing along variety.
The running time may seem brief clocking in at just over 31 minutes, but there is so much energy exuberated in that time that you may need a nap afterward. Every second of The Martial Arts demands your attention. Every riff and abrupt change wants to be the one you remember. These are songs for folks who like their riffs to come fast and furious and seldom pause for a breath.
Cinemechanica's frantic gutar work and masterful execution of complex time changes often invites comparisons to bands like Drive Like Jehu, Q and Not U, Faraquet and Don Caballero. I'll leave the genre classification to you people, just know that Cinemechanica is loud, fast, complex and will kick your indie/emo ass. Also they have given us THE guitar album of summer 2006. So far at least.

Mt. Egypt and Band of Horses at the Grey Eagle tonight, June 19

Hey all you hep cats. Don't forget that there's a damn good show at The Grey Eagle tonight (June 19th) with....

...Mt. Egypt

"Travis Graves is the singer/songwriter/frontman/forest ranger for Mt. Egypt, a band of honesty, sensitivity, romance and greatness that nods its musical head in the direction of The Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson, The Walkmen, Cat Power, Will Oldham, James Mercer, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen."

..and Band of Horses

"Guitarist/vocalist Ben Bridwell and guitarist Mat Brooke formed Band of Horses in 2004, after the dissolution of their nearly ten-year run in northwest melancholic darlings Carissa's Wierd. Carissa's Wierd trafficked in sadly beautiful orchestral pop, whose songs told unflinching stories of heartbreak and loss, leavened with defeatist humor. And, Band of Horses rises from the ashes of that well-loved and short-lived band. After playing music with each other for over a decade, Bridwell and Brooke picked up together again when Bridwell began fleshing out his compositions post-Carissa's. "It was really just a natural thing we started doing," explains Bridwell. Buoyed by Bridwell's warm, reverb-heavy vocals (which strangely channel a dichotomous blend of Wayne Coyne, Brian Wilson and Doug Martsch,) Band of Horses' woodsy, dreamy songs ooze with amorphous tension, longing and hope."