Pick up sticks, it’s MB56! • Styx — The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings (Hip-O) :: On second thought … • Logh — A Sunset Panorama (Hydra Head) :: This quartet starts off with a koda intro and concludes with a primo screamo coda. • Metric — Live it Out (Last Gang) :: Girls ’n’ guitars will always be my number one fave rave and this edgy ethereal euro syntho sonic assault reminds me why, big time. • Honeyhander — Wooly Mannerisms (SAF) :: Smootho ’90s Duran Duran fused with distorto ’90s Marilyn Manson — and it works! • Seventeen Evergreen — Life Embarrasses Me On Planet Earth (Pacific Radio Fire) :: Leonard Cohen may be broke, but his influence lives on in this excellent album. Or is that Unca Lou? • Altamont — The Monkees’ Uncle (Ant Acid Audio) :: This band called Altamont is more fun than a front row seat at Dick James’ speedway so don’t be played for a dupe, stupe. Pool cue not included. • Hanner — No Guts, No Gravy (Unsound) :: Hanner is Johanna Wright and Johanna Wright is what Joan Baez would have sounded like if Joanie had been on the back of that bike without a helmet when Zimmer crashed — which is a very good thing indeed. • New England Roses — Face Time With Son (DoggPony) :: And this set of wonkie tunes would’ve been recorded if a helmetless Peter, Paul & Mary had been on the back too. • Tera Melos — Tera Melos (Springman) :: Very adept stutter-steps that splatter all over the instrumental electro jazz bop canvas from here to Ornette. • SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: The Sharking — The Sharking (202 Lions) :: Get outta that cage and dig the ragged jagged beat, the pure pop pulse, the Costello vocals, and the Enossififed snake guitars! • Be seeing you!
Jeffrey Morgan is a freelance writer. Send comments to [email protected]
This article appears in Dec 28, 2005 – Jan 3, 2006.
