Gina Morresi is a friend of mine. I’ll make no attempts at disguising that I’m reviewing an album by one of my high school buddies. To be fair, I’ve only spoke to Gina a few times since that first Summer I was in college, but I’ve always considered Gina good people. Now, with my bias all laid out… I will promise you, my readers, that I am making every effort to set this bias aside.
Besides what I thought of Gina personally, I always was impressed by her talent. Gina was always cast as the lead in our school musicals… her vocals and her acting were always a highlight of the productions at our suburban North Jersey high school. After losing touch outside of an occasional Facebook note, I found out recently that Gina has been putting her talents into new and different avenues. After catching up with her, she sent me her latest endeavor entitled Secret Diaries of the Virgin Whore, an album she recorded in 2009 and performs in NYC clubs with her band, Gina Morresi and the Bella Coola Sound.
The album opens with an upbeat pop rock track called “No Plans” that rocks like what Sheryl Crow would sound like if she didn’t suck. The opener sets the pace, setting the stage for an album of contemplative pop rock that can be a bit brash at times, fun at others, and most often introspective. The tone varies from upbeat tracks like the opener to slower ones like “Three Little Words” or the closing track. There are some elements of classic singer-songwriters and an evident country influence as the albums progresses, culminating in a very radio friendly pop sound that isn’t afraid to be catchy. Whether the song is a rocker or a ballad, what shines through in each one is Gina’s vocals. It is obvious that the songs were written specifically for Gina’s vocals.
The music is quite simple. Simple, however, is not necessarily a bad thing. Simplicity in songwriting, especially from the musical standpoint, allows vocals and lyrics to be the focal point. Thus, what the music lacks in intricacies, it makes up for in painting a perfect backdrop. What is also evident about the music is how well it is produced. In fact, for a self-released album, the production value is top notch. Unafraid of how the NoHo hipster crowd may dismiss Secret Diaries of the Virgin Whore, Gina and the band fully embrace their pop sensibilities. There is nothing here to pick apart, which usually means that there is a mass appeal, in this case it’s just waiting to be found.
Overall, it’s fair to say that I always figured Gina would be on stage somewhere. This isn’t exactly the stage I expected, but it surely suits her. Intelligent lyrics about love and life sung with sweetness and sincerity highlighted by a well-constructed backdrop of pop music is what Secret Diaries of the Virgin Whore is all about. While this isn’t the style I’d usually go out of my way to check out, I’m glad Gina sent this CD my way. Her talent oozes out of every note. Check it out for yourself, especially if you’ve ever wondered what Sheryl Crow might sound like if she didn’t suck.
1. Divide the Sea performs “In Knowing, Triumph” from their album Man on Blood & Ink Records. This is the leadoff track because a March mix must come in like a lion, and I assure you that Divide the Sea does just that.
2. Lee Abramson performs “The Rose is Gone” . Lee is an unsigned artist whose ambient music is inspired by the poetry of 13th century mystic poet, Rumi. Check out a bunch more free songs at rumimusic.com… you may even be lucky enough to have a poem written especially for you, as Lee did for me:
Watching his owner teach inmates
Strummer can do everyday tricks
He’ll do whatever he dictates
With his head out the Toyota Matrix
3. Jason Mundok performs “Good Coffee Blues” from his upcoming album due out in April. Since meeting Jason at Lancaster Art Walk last year, I’ve tried to keep up with his endeavors. A great musician who also lends his talents to the Irish folk duo Fire in the Glen. Look for a review of their latest next week.
4. Kiki Pau performs “An Old Song” from White Mountain. This track was featured as a free download two weeks ago, but I felt the need to promote it again… download it and find out why.
5. Weekend Stars performs “Obvious” , the closing track from their self-released album Tambourine Girl. This cool indie band has great pop sensibilities and reminds me of two bands I have enjoyed through the years, one big name and one you haven’t heard of: Train (yeah, the “Drops of Jupiter” guys) and Jerk Records’ staple act of yesteryear, Million Time Winner.
6. A Common Year performs “Solstice” from their debut album Between Cities. Casey, guitarist and vocalist, said to me:
I can’t claim to know who we sound like, but a few of our main influences are Jimmy Eat World, Brand New, Acceptance, blink-182 and TBS.
Find out for yourself…
7. Andrew and Kristi’s Toast performs “Alone in My Principles” . This track, off of It’s Raining, It’s Roaring is but a small taste of their original and unique sound. Check back Monday for another free track from this great indie act.
8. Sail by the Stars performs “I Wish I May, I Wish I Might” from the upcoming The Night Owl EP. Josh is a one man band and seems to have quite the Interweb following. This track is the lead track for the EP, due to drop in April.
9. Cook & UNO have become a TPM staple. Here they perform “Throwback“, a hot track from The Overflow. This track is hosted on a great site you should check out, Sphere of Hip Hop, and then go check out the new Cook & UNO music video below…
10. Dala performs “Hockey Sweater” . A cool track by these lovely Canadian women, it is featured on their 2007 release Who Do You Think You Are. Their newest album, Everyone is Someone, will be featured on TPM soon. For now, enjoy this track and check out their new video on YouTube.
Kiki Pau, a Finnish quartet whose newest album White Mountain channels Velvet Underground and T. Rex, certainly has no problem wearing their influences on their sleeves. When they originally emailed me, asking that I include their track, “An Old Song” as a free download on the site, they described their sound in no uncertain terms, citing the same influences that I mentioned above. I listened, enjoyed quite a bit, I posted the track, and I immediately agreed with their assertion.
I know very little about Finland, especially in regards to its music scene. However, I do know that listening to Kiki Pau’s new album present the picture of a musical landscape that I would be certain to enjoy… a timewarp transporting me back to a time nearly a decade before my birth, listening to Mott the Hoople while driving to a Bowie show in NYC and debating the significance of Lou Reed’s post-VU output in comparison to their 1967 debut with Nico. While listening to this album, I have a vivid image in my head of a time where I was not even present… now that’s music.
There isn’t a lot of music that I hear today that sounds anything like this. To a certain extent, I hear moments that remind me of Pete Doherty’s throwback type of sound, but the other 70’s throwbacks that have hit it big in the past few years (The Strokes come to mind most immediately) really don’t channel the spirit of the glam-era the way Kiki Pau does. There are moments where I feel some mod influence, specifically with a feel similar to The Kinks’s sound. Overall, though, Kiki Pau takes this back-in-the-day-of-glam feel and makes it something that sounds fresh.
Great guitar work, catchy hooks, and an overwhelming desire to get out of my seat and dance… that’s the best way I can describe White Mountain.
One quick question, is everyone in Finland multi-lingual? English lyrics, with a spattering of Spanish from a band whose national languages are neither… impressive yet again.
Standout tracks: “An Old Song”, “Just Real”, and “Daniel Fulano” (my personal favorite, I think)
Kiki Pau is a Finnish rock quartet with a new album due out in March. Listen to the track and hear for yourself, as they channel the sounds and influences of T. Rex, Velvet Underground, and rock of days gone by.
Brad and Brad are The Glass Gentlemen. Their new, self-released EP is entitled Listen Carefully and is available for download now. Featuring a few songs that you may have heard on previous monthly mixtapes (“Night Sleep Maybe” and “Ocean Stars”), the 8 song EP plays as equals parts The Anniversary, The Get Up Kids, Arcade Fire, and Brand New. With a seemingly steady diet of 90’s emo/indie rock and alternative Internet radio, the Brads exceed at one thing in particular… demonstrating promising musicianship and a knack for songwriting. While, I think it would be a fair assessment to say that these guys aren’t quite there yet, it seems fairly certain that they are well on their way to becoming a commercially viable alternative rock band that could easily be spoken in the same breath as bands like Taking Back Sunday.
As noted, what stands out most here is the band’s potential. Listening to what the band could do with little to no production value, it’s exciting to think of what they could sound like with a bit more of a budget. Their sound borrows a little bit from some scene influences, but is something it’s own. They demonstrate their rock chops on “Loudest Western Front” while showing a softer side on “Ocean Stars”. Each track has a feel it’s own, but there is continuity in their sound throughout.
The music is mature, both in content and songwriting. The music is well written, with some varied song structures and elements that make the sound completely non-generic. The lyrical content is not juvenile or overly angstful, as the genre tends to fall prey to. It’s obvious that despite being an unsigned, independent band, The Glass Gentlemen are not a couple of high school kids that just started playing.
That said, there are a few things that the duo will need to work on to fulfill their aforementioned potential. Vocally, there are definitely moments where notes are flat and/or forced. Perhaps this is more an issue of production quality and perhaps it could be addressed by reassessing the vocal range of the singers when writing the vocal parts. They strained vocals, ala Chris Carraba, employed in many of the musical peaks of the songs on this EP are solid, what sometimes falls short are the harmonies and soft, higher pitched vocals both in the forefront and background. There is an overall good sound to the vocally, but it can be better.
The band seems to have found their sound. It needs to continue to be refined, but it’s there. Couple this with a little more production value and some vocal tweaks and I find it quite likely that The Glass Gentlemen is a band that could catch the attention of the labels. For this band, it’s all about taking this solid effort and building on it. Tap into the obvious potential that’s there. These two guys named Brad should have a bright musical future and this EP is a solid starting point.
As I sit here, snowed in, for the second time in a week, I am watching Independence Day on VHS. Since today is a cold day, where I need something to warm me up, I decided to start off with a bit of the sound of the surf to open this one up. The closer: (Pictured on the right) Michael Signorelli’s winning entry for the ReverseRemixThis! Contest in which entrants were asked to prepare lyrics and vocals for a great instrumental track by the VBM band, Map. In between, new track from Cook & UNO, killer hardcore from Twin Killing and Debtor, and a whole lot more. ENJOY!
4. Cook & UNO’s “Where Ya Been All My Life?” (Featuring Pigeon John) is off of C&U Music Factory, the newest release from the duo formerly known as “The Eternals”. Throw in my favorite MC and it’s a trio to swoon over. Expect a review of the album within the next week.
5. The Glass Gentlemen’s “Ocean Stars” is another example of this indie band’s talent and ability. Brad and Brad continue to crank out viable, relevant music, even if most of the world has no idea who they are.
10. TechnoBears’s “Night of the Brainless Date” is another breath of fresh air. TechnoBears has entered several of the TPM remix contests and I’ve always enjoyed his contributions. This is no different. Enjoy.
Shael Riley, Beefy, and a bunch of other cool cats have this group called The Grammar Club. Here’s a great older track of that they put up on their site for free: Download “Underbeard” here. These are the nerds that created the kickass backing music to Zangief’s stage in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, which is also available for download on their website.
Heard the new AC/DC yet? It’s called Worldshaker… and apparently, the band has changed their name to Main Line Riders.
Ok, so Main Line Riders are not actually AC/DC, but their throwback rock sound owes a lot to the blues rock stylings of Angus and Malcolm’s Aussie cock rock outfit, so much so in fact that the tagline for the album on cdbaby is:
A Salute to Those About to Rock. Heavily influenced by classic AC/DC and early Def Leppard.
You may recognize some names from Christian punk stalwarts and obsessive Ramones fans, The Huntingtons (who are working on a new album due out in 2010 actually), in particular, Cliff Powell (aka Cliffy Huntington aka Cliffy Stiv aka…). And, such as in his Huntingtons days, Cliffy wears his influences on his sleeve; though, while I often found the music of the Huntingtons (especially early stuff) to be a near carbon copy of The Ramones, I find the love of AC/DC to not be all encompassing to that degree. In fact, other influences are certainly evident on Worldshaker, as well.
You’ll hear the love of Bon Scott-era AC/DC along side the obvious appreciation of 80’s metal, ala LA Guns, Guns N’ Roses, and probably a few other bands with the word “guns” somewhere in their name. There is the token hair metal ballad track, “Comin’ Home”. “Worldshaker” involves some gang vocals in the chorus. “Chrome & Steel” showcases great musicianship with a heavy, groove laden, blues feel. “We are the Ready Ones” screams Riki Rachtman and Headbangers Ball more than anything I’ve heard in years.
I have to be honest here, I’ve never been a huge fan of Cliff’s previous endeavors, but this album rocks. Straight ahead rock and/or roll that just makes me want to get up and dance. As I wrap up this review, I’m relistening to one of my favorite tracks, “It’s a Revolution”, and I simply can’t stop bouncing my leg and bobbing my head. In fact, once I’m done typing, there’s a good chance that I take a few minutes of my day to get up and dance. There really is nothing else to say except that this is a great album… combine all of the best elements of early AC/DC, hair bands like Twisted Sister, and sleaze metal ala Skid Row; throw in some of that Huntingtons/Ramones vibe; crank the amps to 11; and blaring from your JBLs you’ll have the sound of Main Line Riders’ Wordshaker. Even Lemmy would be proud of this onslaught of rock.
Here’s the first mixtape of the year. Expect one each month (usually the first or second week each month). Unlike 2009, 2010 mixes will feature 12 tracks rather than 10 and will be released on Wednesday because Mondays are rough! So, here it is… enjoy.
1. “Lucky Cat” by Map is a track that was featured once before as a bonus track. I am featuring it here again to wet your whistles for an upcoming contest.
2. “Getaway” by MC Dub is a track by the talented laptop musician known to the non-music world as Mark Walker. MC Dub’s remix of CookBook’s “Solid Gold” was described by Cook as a “completely original take on the song“.
3. “Winnie Cooper” by Kwalified Emcee is a track from his new EP. Listen to this track, then go download the whole EP, then be on the lookout for a review in the upcoming days. HOLLA!
4. “Gimme What You Got by Slo-Mo Featuring Mic Wrecka is a HOT track from this HOT act based in my favorite city in the world, Illadelphia. Like other Illdelphia crews before them, Slo-Mo and Mic Wrecka infuse hip hop, rock, and blues to create a truly unique sound that can only be described as a taste of Brotherly Love.
5. “The End of Loneliness by All City Affairs is a track of this Lujo Records act’s album Identity Theft. Like all acts on Lujo, it is unique and well done. Enjoy this track and then go to Lujo and buy the album.
6. “The Descent by Firs is another track from a killer Lujo act. Off of their album Man in Space, this track is featured on the Lujo front page… and now, also on TPM.
7. “VR Bikeride” by Second Reality is the first original track by Second Reality that I’ve heard. Also featured on a previous mixtape, Second Reality won RemixThis! Ditka Style and has since continued working with the85bears on new material. See! Not only does TPM give you good music, but it also connects people!
8. “Hustle Beach” by Baby Teeth is a great example of why the Chicago three-piece has been praised by many outlets including the uber-trendy Pitchfork and the mentioned-in-High Fidelity Chicago Reader.
9. “Kin Weather by Cassowaries is another in a long line of wierdness from my favorite weirdos. Featured on this site a few other times, Cassowaries has all the talent and obscurity of Sigur Ros without the pretentious fanbase.
10. “Zebra by Bone Gunn is a track that was sent to me as a thank you for covering Bone Gunn’s Flies EP. Into music that can’t be described by genres? This is for you!
11. “Bring Out Your Dead” by Bluebrain is another rad track from a Lujo band. Seems like we’re chock full of ‘em this month… if you enjoy them, you can thank Eric. He’s a good dude… but enough about him, let’s talk Bluebrain. Bluebrain is the Holladay brothers doing their thing. Before this project, these talented guys worked with artists like Spank Rock, Ra Ra Riot, and Violent Femmes.
12. “A Shortness of Breath” by Young Livers is a great punk track from a great punk band on a great punk label. No Idea Records, the Florida indie punk powerhouse, is still putting out great tunes a solid decade after I first picked up release from Less Than Jake and Atom and His Package when I was in high school. Sorry, El Destructo, but this is how you SHOULD make good punk rock. But then again, I’m just a poser.
