Chamis also secures some witty word play in "Television," which chronicles the history of TV and its gradual takeover of the American family.
Poor Valentino has potential. One song, "Wait," manages to mix Chamis' vocals with music worth singing to. The song starts slow then builds to a short, happy and extremely catchy love tune with a arpeggio-based guitar riff.
Thankfully, this particular riff knows its place and weaves in and out rather than serving as the foundation for the entire song. Unfortunately, "Wait" is the only song of this kind. The album quickly returns to tributing the constant.
If Poor Valentino's members were to develop their skills as musicians and actually dare to be different, then they just might have something.
Although the band is trying to use its moody basement rock to set itself apart from the masses, it looks like it's going to have to try a lot harder before the world will turn its head and take notice.
Best wishes and better luck next time.
Sarah Kucharski
Shipping News
Very Soon, and in Pleasant Company
1/2
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Side projects can often be a way for musicians to goof off and try something they couldn't get away with normally. The various Squirrel Nut Zippers spinoffs and Ben Folds' silly (but good) Fear of Pop album are two examples of the way side projects work in Chapel Hill.
But things are different in Kentucky.
For a side project, Louisville's Shipping News makes some pretty serious music. The trio, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jeff Mueller (June of 44, Rodan), bassist/vocalist Jason Noble (Rachel's, Rodan) and drummer/vocalist Kyle Crabtree (MetroSchifter) makes music for hipster crime dramas. Think "Chapel Hill Confidential."
Actually, the veteran Louisville rockers got together in 1996 to make soundtrack music for an episode of NPR's "This American Life," but the band quickly grew into something greater, releasing two records and touring the United States.
With Very Soon, and in Pleasant Company Shipping News reaffirms its place as a serious band, more than the just the sum of its well-known parts. The group delves even deeper into the dark noise it dredged up with earlier releases. Whispered lyrics, rumbling bass, minor chords and jagged, dissonant guitars abound. This is music in black and white. Indie rock noir, if you will.
Very Soon can be divided between "rockers" and "nonrockers," with the rockers being searing walls of noise and the non-rockers dragging a bit. The record's opener, "The March Song," moves with sinister repetition like someone creeping through shadows. The muted chords gradually build up to bursts of sound that highlight the group's use of percussion as an integral part of the song rather than something that just keeps the beat.
The mathy instrumental "Nine Bodies, Nine States" is the most up-tempo song on the record. But up-tempo doesn't mean upbeat. With its driving bass line and at times distorted dissonance this song could score the chase scene at the end of a murder mystery.
The 8 1/2-minute epic "Quiet Victories" manages to inject some sense of warmth into the record, but at the same time stick with the gloom Shipping News purveys so well. Strong dynamic shifts, reverberated guitars, and Noble's seemingly mono-induced vocals exude a sense of immediacy. But then the band slips back into the scratchy bass-driven riff from "Books on Trains" (Save Yourself's most recognizable track). As if we wouldn't notice. It is such a great riff, though, that there are worse crimes to be guilty of.
For all the good things about this record -- the great interplay between the instruments; big, beefy production; attractive packaging -- I was a little disappointed. While Very Soon stays with Shipping News' trademark gloom and sinister atmospherics, it doesn't have the urgency or raw power of earlier releases. As for soundtracks, this could be the score for some mediocre sequel.
Brian Bedsworth
Brassy
Got It Made
A cross between white-bread hip-hop and electronic music, Brassy's debut Got It Made is the British group's attempt to make it in the United States after achieving popularity in U.K. hip-hop circles.
The album features the garage sounds of heavy guitar and drums along with scratching and spinning records. The vocals give the impression of female Beastie Boys rocking out with not-so-great, repetitive lyrics. The songs aren't painful to listen to; they just all sound the same, so there is no distinguishing between the tracks. The album sounds like one song that goes on for 45 minutes.
The band's lead singer, Muffin Spencer, sister of rock star Jon Spencer, expatriated to England in order to pursue her musical endeavors. She came up with Brassy, an attempt to blend hip-hop, dance music and rock together in a fusion of sound and bring something new to the music world. There is nothing different or special, however, about this album, except maybe that it brings horrible thoughts of bad punk rock to mind.
Drummer Jonny Barrington provides the dance beats and the talent of the group, but guitarist Stefan Gordon and bassist Karen Frost only provide mediocre musical backup. The result is that the sounds of the album don't leave any memorable impression on the listener. All the songs fall short of being catchy enough to be noteworthy in any way.
The group's single, "I Can't Wait," is no more impressive than any of the other songs on the album. It is more of the same repetitious lyrics and bad sound.
The album has no depth, since the composition of the songs is similar and seems to be wanting in strength of vocals and musical talent. If one song is not stellar, all the rest follow suit. The band never seems to want to think differently or add dynamic to its album.
Got It Made sounds like it's not adventurous enough to be hard-core, not lyrical enough to be hip hop and not electronic enough to be any sort of dance music. The music isn't even good enough to give anyone a headache.
Tiffany Fish
