ISSUE 22 - CD - REVIEW - THE SO SO GLOS

Those vested in categorizing everything as cool, or already over, will not like anything for more than its perceived short shelf life. That attitude causes the swift music fans to miss the gold nugget in the silt. Their perception that something is ‘cool’ overlooks the fact that it’s good. Their loss.
Some bands get labeled as the momentary cool thing, which is dangerous when they’re good. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen to New York City’s The So So Glos. They are good, they are cool and say something as they play music that puts the New York Dolls, The Clash and the sparseness of The Strokes in a cab careening down a dark alley collision.
Mixing up a sometimes overlooked genre of rock and roll and brash swagger, The So So Glos have recorded one of the best collection of songs (four to be exact) to come along in a while. You can feel and smell the city on their EP, dripping with attitude, fun and angst. The tracks are thick with rhythm and gut deep sentimentality, criss-crossing bombast with gentility.
Beginning with a singular siren guitar riff on ‘Black & Blue’ singer Alex Levine belts out The cops put a black boy in back of the car/The pretty people watch it as they strut into the bar. He sings as if being dragged away by thugs, his delivery soulful, like a staggered rally cry. The guitar is playful and pointed, moving along and then going quiet, making a point, supplanted even further by the drumming and a howling chorus of have you got it all figured out? It is fucking blissful, hoarse and brazenly Joe Strummer to boot.
‘Seventeen’ opens with harmonica, hand claps and ‘Used to Love Her’ descending guitar strumming, Seventeen and closet queen/Flashing purple on the screen…You’d rather bite the bullet than to take a chance/You’d rather be a mouse than be a man…It’s a biography with a Beggar’s Banquet feel, a wall of sound that hits hard.
There’s the New York Dolls driving strut of ‘Broken Mirror Baby’ as the band namedrops themselves. ‘Low’ is a rave-up, sounding thirty years old and new at the same time. Four songs and the band have produced something more meaningful than some say with a whole record. It has power, wildness, and a vibe and elicits the promise of something more.
The band contentedly echoes The Clash, The J. Geils Band or the swagger of T.Rex. Thank god this style of playing lives on; fun and dangerous just the same. They’re telling stories with a superb soundtrack. It may seem like they don’t give a shit, the playing is energetic and seemingly effortless. But the band does give a shit, wanting to put teeth back in music, demanding that an audience listen, dance and participate.
This is the type of band that would get airplay on SNL back in the day, a band with something to say, a little reckless. Now all you get is Avril Lavigne. Take this to heart from lead singer Alex Levine:

“I live amongst the apathetic generation. We think that we're something special, when in fact we are all beautifully mediocre. Incredibly so-so. We stand for nothing, care about nothing, talk a lot, and do nothing. Apocalyptic beings waiting for the end, and exploiting what’s left while we are still here. Making sure we look good as the world crumbles in devastation. I am as dim as the lights from the city, a fucking SO SO GLO. Just like you. Change Something.”

-Brian Tucker

myspace.com/sosoglos

ISSUE 22 -CD REVIEW - POWDERCAKE

Pure, raw sugar and ferocity describes their sound. The all girl trio from Raleigh, N.C. pound out old school punk chords with catchy hooks, L7 crossed with Veruca Salt. ‘Meant to Fit’ mixes a straightforward guitar riff and a catchy chorus, mixing up grinding guitar with nasally sweet vocals.
‘Past Life’ is the opposite, acoustic strumming and fuzzed out guitar with deeper vocals. A drawer full of memories/Pictures of a younger me smiles masking strife/Pictures of another us/Evidence of a past life. A slower track that comprises a moody and reflective narrative of time lost and people removed, Take your time/stay within the lines…it always hurts now you’re gone. The song is later complimented by low key electric guitar.



‘Inside Out’ is a shotgun ride out of town, a repeating guitar riff and sometimes snarling vocals, Inside out and broken bones/Inside and shattered hope/Now I know I’m never coming home. Then there’s the realization of ‘Only One,’ of being yourself in a relationship.
The band seems intent in making old school rock mixed with pop flourishes. The music is straight up and slightly tongue-in-cheek, vocals that contradict the music’s raw power or the band’s name with umlauts above and below the letter O and C like Shout at the Devil era Motley Crue.

- Brian Tucker

Myspace.com/powdercakeband

ISSUE 22 - CD REVIEW - PIEBALD

Piebald “Accidental Gentleman”
Side One Dummy Records, 2007

Piebald was much maligned after 2004’s All Ears, All Eyes, All the Time for its introspective lyrics and piano ballads. They were castigated for having a normal life, for growing up, for thinking about different things in 2000 than in 2004. Fans wanted the hooks of ‘We Are the Only Friends We Have’ and the spontaneous liveliness of the double-disc Barely Legal/All Ages.
From the latter perspective, Piebald may be trying a retreat. ‘Accidental Gentleman’ has more of their post-hardcore fusion than the last, with vibrant goodness in ‘A Friend of Mine’ and ‘Oh, The Congestion.’ ‘Getting Mugged and Loved It’ continues Piebald’s penchant for the sardonic; this song is their response to a mugging against them. ‘Shark Attack’ is a concoction of dirty punk rock chords and desperate vocals that re-establishes Piebald’s punk relevance.
‘Roll On’ is a horrible joke track that describes lead singer Travis Shettel’s love of biking. To the uninitiated, it would sound like a poorly recorded jingle for a children’s album. The piano is too repetitive, the melody too simple. ‘Strangers’ is the same way, and it has a cheesy friendship chorus that sounds like a Billy Joel ripoff. Shettel’s voice is horrible and disingenuous. And maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be. Shettel’s voice is oddly atonal, and it only fits with the music he creates. Therefore, there is a wry sarcastic quality to it, and also an everyman quality to it, that embodies the spirit of punk rock.
Accidental Gentleman is better Piebald than their previous, and the Massachusetts’ boys seem to still have some life in them after ten years of punk rock frantic madness. The songs that are supposed to rock do, those that are supposed to be jokes may be lost on new listeners. But punk rock without an insider’s club would be pop, so Piebald keeps Accidental Gentleman in line with their fans - those that want Piebald to never grow up, and to never go pop.
-Josh Spilker

ISSUE 22 - CD - LIPBONE REDDING

Lipbone is the past and a whole new breed of musical performer all at once. Now, Doug E. Fresh and the Fat Boys may have made music using their mouths, beat boxing in the mid-eighties, but Lipbone uses his to makes more distinct music. The sounds he makes are those of a trombone or trumpet. If you didn’t know before, you wouldn’t know while listening. All the horn sounds on Hop The Fence is made by Lipbone’s voice and lips.
Magnificent musical uniqueness aside, the songs on Hop The Fence are a striking combination of music from the past and present; Cab Callaway, Dr. John, Paul Simon and Fats Waller.
It has the feel of world music, New Orleans jazz and Delta soul. The album was recorded live (and in three days) and the feel is loose, yet electric. All those years playing and traveling the world probably helped since it’s evident in the music’s swagger. To be blunt, the album is just cool.
‘Closing Time’ is a funky number where Lipbone sings in a raspy, laid back vocalization. The title is adequate, the energy loose and fleeting. ‘Dogs of Santiago’ recalls Paul Simon, smooth vocals with a funky world music feel. ‘Sixteen Tons’ shows his musical heritage where ‘Hollywood An’ Vine’ is a delight, capturing the essence of a casual slow dance song. The vocals are talkative at first, like a subtle Gil-Scott Heron and then sweetly passionate like Fats Waller. It is laced with elegant guitar and percussion, strutting along like a couple fresh in love.
‘Old Flame’ is a country ride done right, crooning like Ross Bon from The Mighty Blue Kings but without the bass in his voice. It is a tender song ripe for a Saturday afternoon stroll.
Lipbone and his fellow musicians bring our parents and grandparents music into the present while offering it up fresh and new. Hop The Fence isn’t trapped in a particular genre in the way that pigeonholed groups such as Squirrel Nut Zippers or Big Bad Voodoo Daddy in the mid nineties. The album displays not just excellent musicianship but the ability to craft songs that are catchy and timeless.

- Brian Tucker

ISSUE 22 - CD REVIEW - 910 NOISE

Art arrives, thankfully, in all substances. So why not noise? What is easily described as a collection of music based on noise is more than the sum of its parts on of 910 Noise Volume One. Combining noises found within the 910 area code and ambiance, the collection serves up something between the realms of otherworldly, manic and seductive.
These sounds are toyed with, manipulated to create music. Perhaps what could be dismissed as background or incidental scoring in a film soundtrack, the artists have molded the common into something strange and elusive.
Barefoot Machete’s ‘Hello Halloween’, works like a concoction of techno beats and computer infiltrated voices, layered with scratchy sub textual sounds and reverberation. Barefoot Machete’s ‘Thrown’ stomps and commands, mixing analogous high tones of Portishead with the strange orchestrations of the 1950’s Forbidden Planet soundtrack. Double Suicide’s ‘This Is How I Want You to Remember Me’ is dreamy, think UNKLE’s ‘Bloodstain’ without the beats and vocals while adding Title Ceremony’s strumming tension. Puke on Mike’s ‘Puke Wars’ is electrical energy out of control, Ministry without using wild guitars. The spurts of energy pause briefly and electronic voices choke in the background, sounding like HAL-9000 drowning.
There is undefined energy to the composing and certain tracks carry a hidden sexuality to them. That could be one person’s interpretation. Perhaps each composition simply lends its own moods, producing an emotion or story. Some tracks are just eccentric but nonetheless intriguing.
The disc is an experiment for sure, but it’s well worth the spin if you are interested in a different musical voyage. It is ethereal and at times moody and hypnotic.

- Brian Tucker

For more information contact:Myspace.com/910noise or
e-mail Obscuraproductions@yahoo.com

ISSUE 22 - BOOK REVIEW

The art of storytelling through comic books is generally overlooked and dismissed as the realm of cute fuzzy animals and superheroes. Comics are also generally associated with kids. This is a common misconception, especially in the case of Blacksad.
In this film noir Philip Marlowe inspired story, John Blacksad is a detective in New York trying to solve the murder of an actress, an actress he used to work for as a bodyguard and was involved with romantically. The closeness gets the detective removed from the case but he continues anyway, no matter where the manhunt for the killer takes him.
Yes, this type of story has been done before, in book, film and comic book form. It is also told through flashbacks and first person narration. However, what makes this creation new is its brilliant artwork and that the characters are not portrayed by people but upright walking animals.
Each character’s personality and traits reflect the animal the creators selected. The police chief is a German shepherd, a blackmailer is a lizard, a boxer is a gorilla, a sleazy bartender is a pig, a thug is rhino, and Blacksad is a panther. You get the idea. It may seem odd, but it works.
The artwork is a hybrid of The Secret of NIMH and Heavy Metal. The colors are washed-out, story panels are visually cinematic and characters emotions are illustrated as being completely human. The use of light and shadow in the novel also heighten emotion, adding a mysterious element. It’s a gritty, stylistic, new take on an old standard.





Juan Diaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido created the graphic novel and both worked for the Disney Animation studios in France during the nineties. Their experience with animation is reflected in the novel’s cinematic approach. The artwork is so good, so convincing, that they make it seem easy to do. The story may not be new but the artwork’s approach certainly is. It has drawn raves from Will Eisner, Stan Lee and Joe Kubert.
The second volume deals with racism and a missing child. While these booms have been out for quite some, they are worth taking a look at. You won’t be disappointed.
Check them out at a comic book store in town.

- Brian Tucker

ISSUE 22 - BOOK REVIEW

The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and The Invention of Murder
By Daniel Stashower

The title of this book is a bit of a misnomer—it is not about the invention of murder, because Cain and Abel do not make an appearance. A murder however, does occur. The setting is 1840’s New York city, and its bounds were fillings it rudimentary seams. Immigrants were filling in not just from overseas, but from across the country.
Enter Mary Rogers. She comes from Connecticut with her wealthy widowed mother looking for a fresh start after the death of their primary breadwinner. Mary’s mother opens a boardinghouse and Mary finds employment at John Anderson’s Tobacco Emporium. She is the counter clerk, eye candy to complement the sweet cigars.
Mary becomes a recognized figure because she is the only woman ever in the cigar shop, and Anderson’s becomes the hangout for politicos and newspaper people. There are even a few odes to her printed in a few of the many papers of NYC, before she achieves her most famous and revered status as a dead woman that winds up on the shores of Hoboken.
Sensationalist journalism is also examined, and Stashower uses the record of the newspapers to both reconstruct the elements of the Mary Rogers murder, but also to examine its own being and effect. Stashower describes an atmosphere that is vaguely reminiscent of journalism in our current Internet age---ethic standards were lax, so the newspapers featured prominent rumors or gossip. Copyright laws were non-existent and newspapers routinely reprinted stories from Europe or other newspapers with no attribution.
But beyond this story, and in the same vein as Erik Larson’s modern genre-standard “Devil in the White City,” Stashower introduces another fascinating personality to complement the pretty girl tragedy: Edgar Allan Poe, the master of dark fictional trauma.
The startling thing about Poe is how little respected he was in his own lifetime, and especially his American literary contemporaries. It took European masters such as Dickens and Lord Tennyson to convince Americans about the wonderment of Poe’s works, after his death of course. Poe’s biographical story is filled with his own missed opportunities and blown chances. He was orphaned at a young age, then adopted into a wealthy family, but then wasted his privilege, which is a reoccurring part of Poe’s personal and professional life. Poe did write several stories that received some acclaim, but he died before the age of 50, barely having enough money to pay his bills.
Poe intersects with Rogers’ story, because he constructs a narrative to solve the bizarre case around his fictional French detective hero, Auguste Dupin. Poe’s answer to the mystery does not lead to the actual solution in the case, but brings light to previously ignored reasoning.
Stashower’s story compels because of the contrast in modern day perceptions of the stories of Rogers and Poe. Rogers, at the time was a fixture that added to the character of a local neighborhood who blossomed into sensational mystery and then faded into history. Poe was perceived as a normal, overly obsessive hack with no apparent value that went from ignored to admired after his death.
Stashower mentions at least three other high-profile murders in addition to the Rogers case. It’s a reminder that voyeuristic interest in glitzy death is nothing new in modernity, that it’s always been an ingrained function of our humanity, or at least our American humanity. Also, the case of Poe proves again that artists are more appreciated after their death, even for someone whose work was widely known and accessible. But beyond the under appreciation of Poe in his own time, is that his own death is still unsolved, a fact that Stashower chooses to ignore, but would connect Poe and Rogers even more intricately. Poe’s mysterious death is given its own fictional detective in Matthew Pearl’s “The Poe Shadow.”
Stashower’s book dives deep into the seedier side of the American myth; our fascination with the macabre, our abuse but continual support of the free marketplace of ideas, and the artistic underdog will always be simultaneously mocked and adored. “The Beautiful Cigar Girl” shows the reflection of a forever young America—every time it looks in its past it realizes it is still in the same, sad shape.

-Josh Spilker