Rick's Mailbox Volume XV: Making You Famous
Posted 05/14/2010 08:23AM by Rick Gebhardt as Rick's Discoveries
Being an editor here at Decoy, I get a fair amount of mail from bands, labels, PR companies, and other random sources. Most of the mail comes in the form of packages containing CDs for bands that want reviews, coverage, or just a mention somewhere in some publication to get their name out. It would be impossible for us to review every album submitted to us, and I think many bands know that, but I sometimes feel guilty letting things slip through the cracks, especially since people no doubt went out of their way to send something my way for consideration by Decoy. In the spirit of trying to get the word out there for artists who might otherwise not get much coverage elsewhere, let’s dig into my mailbox and see what interesting submissions have come through lately.
Adams Dagger – Adams Dagger
This three-piece keeps it short, simple, and raw. Adams Dagger are firmly planted in the old school, DIY punk rock style and unabashedly play their hearts out. You can feel the energy and the raw playing of the band, which gives the album a very live and authentic feel. However, the simplicity also keeps the band from excelling. The majority of the songs are very similar in nature and the band never truly pushes themselves to go beyond creating very basic songs. They’re passionate about their music, but they aren’t quite as passionate about pushing boundaries. (artist website)
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The Muzzler – Common Sense
There’s something odd about hearing bits of thrash mixed in with some grind interspersed through a hardcore filter. It’s fast, it’s abrasive, it’s all over the place, and it’s in your face. At times The Muzzler sound like a grind version of Every Time I Die, at other moments they sound like a dirtier Dillinger Escape Plan, and then you get some hints of the band sounding like a competent version of The Chariot. I can’t say whether or not I like Common Sense, but I can tell you that I do feel used and abused after listening all the way through… which may be exactly what they wanted. (artist website)
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Paddy and the Rats – Rats on Board
This should be a pretty easy taste test for people—do you like Flogging Molly, The Tossers, and The Dropkick Murphys? Then you’ll have no problem enjoying Paddy and the Rats and their Irish blend of punk complete with tin whistles, fiddles, accordions, bag pipes, and mandolins. Heck, the band even does their own rendition of “Drunken Sailor”. The only real difference between Paddy and the Rats and the aforementioned bands is that Paddy and the Rats play more to the traditional Irish sound than to their punk side. (artist website)
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Noia – Noia
Inside the album’s cover it listed Eduardo Noya Schreus as playing the bass, keyboards, and Gameboy. I thought it might be Schreus being cute, but the tracks on this album are actually a vehicle for Gameboy sounds and compositions using a Gameboy’s 8-bit palette. Imagine, if you will, a soundtrack to videogames of yesteryear… but on crack. The addition of drums and keys to the Gameboy-centric songs is novel and unique. If you love your blips and bleeps and have a bit of nostalgia for the 8-bit era, then you’ll be behind this release 110%. (artist website)
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The Northern Key – The Northern Key
Fans of Elliotte Smith or Iron & Wine will be right at home listening to The Northern Key, the brainchild of Andrew Galluccio. The Northern Key is a bit more mellow than the aforementioned acts, so you’ll need to be careful to not let your eyelids rest, lest you fall into a light sleep, but assuming you stay focused on the music you’ll have a captivating experience. Despite the very minimalist nature of most of the tracks, there is a sense that Galluccio is completely at peace with himself and his surroundings. The compositions are quite serene and beautiful. (artist website)
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The Shoreline – Fake It ‘til You Make It
Not quite pop-rock, but not really pop-punk either, The Shoreline tread a path between the two. They have the pop-punk look and attitude, but more than a few songs on here have a decidedly pop-rock vibe to them. The band feels like they’re really, really, really grasping for a handhold in the current pop scene with this EP. All the pieces they need are in place—a cover of a popular song (“I Gotta Feelin’”), an anthemic pop-rock song with a guest artist (April Johnson shows up on “Sincere”), and a couple of songs crafted for appealing to the teenie-boppers. If you’re looking for musical integrity, The Shoreline sure don’t have any, but they look like they know how to appeal to the audience they’re targeting. (artist website)
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Prizzy Prizzy Please – Chroma Cannon
This album feels like a futurist take on the glitchy indie rock scene. Melding together a mix of electronics, sci-fi themes, classic rock sensibilities, some kitsch, an alto sax, gruff vocals, and a bit of noise-punk, Prizzy Prizzy Please are unique, to say the least. The album is, at the same time, all over the place yet consistent with its own theme. This eclectic album may have a hard time finding an audience (are there many people who are craving a mix of Horse the Band, jazz, and ZZ Top?), but whatever audience they do find will enjoy puzzling over what they’ve gotten themselves into. (artist website)
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The Atlantic Manor – The World Beneath This World is Brightening
According to the band, this is The Atlantic Manor’s 11th album. Their entire career they’ve been a DIY style band, so that’s one heck of an accomplishment, if for no other reason than for sticking with creating music for so long. As for the band themselves, you can imagine them as something of a low-fi Pink Floyd, I guess. Or maybe you can think of them as a psychedelic-tinged doom-folk band. It’s interesting to hear a band so gloomy and somber, yet utilizing pieces of genres that are not necessarily of that mood. There’s an overwhelming sense of spiritual contemplation to accompany the otherwise darkly moody music, which makes for a compelling listen. (artist website)
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Videoville – Videoville
Hailing from Montreal, Canada, Videoville have produced a nice opening salvo into the post-punk indie scene. Their purely instrumental style seems to oscillate between fuzzed out, feedback laden bursts of energy and prototypical indie song progressions. There are occasions where the two distinct styles mesh together, but more often than not the band is working in one of the two styles exclusively. There’s a lot to like, however, as the band comes across as raw, passionate, and talented. I could see a bright future for this three-piece. (artist website)
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Anarbor – The Words You Don’t Swallow
Anarbor are one of Hopeless Records’ pop-punk darlings. The Words You Don’t Swallow is the first full length from the band, but they’re not new to the scene at all having released 3 EPs before this album (2 of which were with Hopeless). What’s most surprising about this album is that Anarbor seem to be more than just another All Time Low clone, which is what I wholeheartedly expected. Instead, you get plenty of the pop-punk sound you’d expect, but there’s actually a decent amount of pop-rock tossed into the mix and *gasp* there’s even some guitar solos. With that being said, this is still a pretty safe and watered down album with the band not really taking too many chances. Still, they ended up creating an album that surpassed expectations! (artist website)
Comments
Minnesota
Some interesting bands in here that fans of more underground genres should be able to get into.
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Illinois
anarbor is a pretty notable band, i like them
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hit a lot up man.. nothing, in reading, tickled my fancy, but my gratitude for you going through all the albums & taking time to post highlights is still there... respect!
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Never liked anything Anarbor has done since their early EPs.
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