The Strange Boys 'Live Music' album review (for kevchino.com)

If indeed you can, imagine if The Strokes grew up in Texas… The results may have sounded a lot like Austin band The Strange Boys. With an ever-present country twang, quirky crooning vocals, surly guitar riffs and a side of harmonica all rooted solidly in old blues and R'n'B the band offers up an eclectic range of tunes on their latest effort 'Live Music'.

Opening with a cute piano-based pop ditty entitled 'Me and You' the album is off to a promising start. Tracks such as 'Punk Pyjamas', 'Omnia Boa', 'Mama Shelter' and 'My Life Beats Me' follow through with an upbeat country feel and great blues guitar riffs which show that not all country/blues artists' baby's have left them, nor are they down and out - at least not all of the time. And 'Omnia Boa' has a fantastic locomotive drum beat that makes you feel you've just hopped a freight train heading straight to the Mississippi delta.

Other tracks like 'Walking Two By Two', 'Saddest' and 'Over The River & Through The Woulds' follow a true slow surly country style, and the vocals on 'Right Before' are reminiscent of a lowly hound dog howling his blues at the moon.

I've never been averse to a bit of country and The Strange Boys certainly breathe some much needed new life into the genre. It may take a few listens, but 'Live Music' is a good little album bringing the old school to the new school with it's mix of blues piano, gritty country tones and subtle indie twists.

Lana Del Ray 'Video Games' review (for kevchino.com)

The new 2 track EP 'Video Games' from New York local Lana Del Ray (aka Elizabeth Grant) is short and sweet. And thank god for that.

Her voice is amazing, husky, sexy and has great depth. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for her songwriting. While the music itself is unique and inventive and there are some great samples and beats used throughout 'Blue Jeans', the eternally overdone lyrical storyline of a woman being jilted by a man is enough to bore you to tears. No matter how beautifully heartfelt you sing it everyone gets dumped at some stage or another so let's move on.

The emotional climax that is 'Video Games' does not stray much further. The crooning chorus of 'It's you it's you it's all for you' almost mirrors the previous tracks chorus of 'I will love you till the end of time', and once again Del Ray seems to base her entire existence on whether or not a man wants her needs her can't do without her. The only thing that truly inspires on this track is the amazing string section backing her up.

There is great passion, there is great heart. But here's hoping Del Ray can come up with some more creative, less depressing tunes once she decides to look past the subject of love as a crux for her songwriting. I'm sure this will come with time and in the end what we will end up with is a great songstress. Fingers crossed…

Unknown Mortal Orchestra 'Unknown Mortal Orchestra' review (for kevchino.com)

One of my most favorite acts when living at home in Sydney was a band from across the waters called The Mint Chicks, hailing from New Zealand. They came, they repeatedly kicked ass, then sadly they seemed to disappear into the musical ether and I always wondered what became of them. Until now…

Mint Chicks front man Ruban Nielson has unleashed yet more of his amazing creative talent upon us in the form of Unknown Mortal Orchestra - a psychedelic plethora of funky, groovy, kitschy 60's sounds fused with epic 60's rock'n'roll and blues riffs, and some of the most get-up-and-dance drum beats I've ever heard. Their latest self titled album is what Austin Powers would have listened to if he'd taken all the right drugs.

Tracks such as 'Ffunny Ffriends' and 'Strangers Are Strange' are definitely the most modern sounding of the album, leaning towards an MGMT sound at times but still utilizing the old school crackle and turntable effects. 'Bicycle' and 'Thought Ballune' really kick back to the old 60's rock'n'roll guitar riffs, coupling them with trippy lyrics and oh so funky drums. 'Jello and the Juggernauts' and 'Little Blue House' go even more trippy with some warped and spaced out effects not unlike that of Donovan's 'Hurdy Gurdy Man'. But stand out track is definitely 'Nerve Damage' with it's dirty gritty old school punk feel producing a really raw sounding killer rock track.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra have brought back the 60's without rehashing old formulas, and they've done it extremely well. The album is unique, original, modern and pays homage to their old school influences without getting buried in the past. An amazing listen from an amazing band.

'Stop The Virgens' performance review (for kevchino.com)

The cool night air flowed through the dark Brooklyn warehouse, packed to it's fully exposed rafters as the blonde wigged troupe of virgens took their places - be it on stage or amongst the audience - and let loose a divine chorus of lamenting love ballads and 60's rock'n'roll dance numbers complete with formation dance moves and multi-nippled costumes.

The numerous virgens - appearing not unlike the children in 'Village of the Damned' - seemed to be under the spell of 2 nun/witch type figures reminiscent of the Princess Mombi of 'Return to Oz', donned with large black oval shaped head gear and equally as evil make up and glaring scowls. And amidst all of this rose the cobweb covered viking horn/microphone wielding Karen O, eventually being tousled and torn about by said virgens to reveal a beautiful long-robed goddess-like figure, resembling a more elaborately dressed Tripitaka from Monkey Magic.

Unfortunately that's pretty much the end of my storyline review, as after that I had basically no idea what was going on. At a guess it seemed Karen-O and the 2 nun witches seemed to be in an eternal battle for the virgens souls, and surprise surprise it was Karen O who won out in the end as the virgen slaves fell at her feet spurting blood from their mouths and all down their pretty white frocks, to then be resurrected by song and cleaned of their evil sins. Or something.

All this aside it was a production of immense quality and creativity 7 years in the making, with lavish and wonderfully eccentric costumes (courtesy of Karen O's long time costume designer Christiane Hultquist, aka Christian Joy), haunting and inspiring audio visuals and production, and an epic soundtrack that has to be heard to be believed. I must say this was the stand out for me - the music was uniquely original, emotional, fun, daring and perfectly paired with the goings on on stage. And with musical performers such as Nick Zinner, Money Mark and Brian Chase in the wings you can't really go wrong can you.

Plus, rather then heading to your usual live music haunt on Manhattan to spend a fortune on drinks and watch your latest obsession churn out their greatest hits, it was a refreshing change to journey to a warehouse beneath the Brooklyn Bridge to see a show I could never imagine and may never see the likes of again. Lest it inspire us, as it should do, to throw off the work-a-day shackles and release our creative urges as they flow…

Apteka 'Gargoyle Days' review (for porkandmead.com)

Apteka have listed some of their 'likes' as "…large kick drums, amplification and face melting…" and these are certainly prevalent on their newest release 'Gargoyle Days'.

The Chicago 4 piece have produced a solid indie rock album with some nice heavy overtones, creating a sound not unlike that of Stone Temple Pilots or Janes Addiction (the latter who they have also previously opened for). Fuzzy droney riffs and almost tribal drum beats on tracks such as 'Gargoyle Days' and 'We Know Time' certainly do melt the face as intended, and softer tracks such as ''In Clouds' and 'This Time' have a more melodic feel with some truly special instrumental breaks thrown in. Stand out tracks are 'Striking Violet' with it's swing style drum beat coupled with a nice punk sound, and 'Where Days Go' which could pass as the modern day soundtrack to a good old Mexican stand off.

Their at times old school rock sound laden with overtones of early 90's grunge and heavy riffs makes for a heady album full of good riffs, great loops and samples and stimulating vocals. Well worth a listen.

Jens Lekman 'Having An Argument With Myself' EP review (for kevchino.com)

See the original article HERE!

Popular Swede Jens Lekman's new release, a 5 track EP entitled 'An Argument With Myself', seems to be exactly that. A short and sweet work with heavy 80s reggae influences the EP is lyrically laden with witty, descriptive personal descriptions of Lekman's life.

Title track 'Having An Argument With Myself' follows his train of thought as he stumbles home after a night out on the town through drunken backpackers on the city streets, lamenting over issues with his partner. 'Waiting On Kirsten' appears to be an ode to an unrequited love as well as to the city of Göteborg, describing a city that has come into itself and changed for the better - "And the VIP lines are not for the clubs, but for healthcare, apartments and jobs" - but unfortunately the relationship with Kirsten does not follow suit. 'A Promise' is a more funky sounding yet still 80s influenced track with an almost easy listening feel, as is with following track 'New Directions'. Ending with 'So This Guy At My Office' Lekman sinks into pure and simple reggae and depicts a conversation at the end of the day between two loved one's - "The day starts when you get here, and ends when you leave". 

And there you have it - a basic, descriptive, blow by blow account of the latest Jens Lekman EP, which seems to be the basic ethos of this whole offering. While the lyrics are interesting and cleverly written it does feel as though Lekman has simply sat down with a Casio keyboard, hit the Reggae setting and blurted out whatever was on his mind at the time. The songs have a sweet storytelling quality about them, but overall come across as quite uneventful and trivial. While I'm sure there is feeling and passion there the songs are delivered in such a way they could almost be classed in the Easy Listening/Elevator Musak genre.

The Rapture 'In The Grace of Your Love' album review (for kevchino.com)

See the original article posted HERE!

With dissension in the ranks and the eventual loss of a member it's no surprise The Rapture's latest offering 'In The Grace of Your Love' was turned out a good 5 years after their previous critically acclaimed release 'Pieces of the People We Love'. Frontman Luke Jenner took time out from the band in 2009 due to personal issues - many of which themes are present on the album - and rumored creative differences with bassist Mattie Safer who eventually left the band altogether. But we all know tumultuous times often produce the most inspired works, and with the help of Phoenix producer/Cassius member Phillipe Zdar The Rapture have turned their respective frowns upside down.

The album plays host to an astounding cross section of genres - from their usual electro-pop sound to indie rock to 80's disco (no doubt stemming from Zdar) to gospel, reggae and afro-beat. This is an obvious testament to the talents of the band and is put across with a good line of continuity. There is an ever-present dark and moody underlay throughout which may stem from the loss of Jenner's Mother to suicide in 2009 as well as the loss of a band member, but coupled with the at first slightly odd but eventually obviously essential 80's-esque dance and disco overtones, the album generates an impressive bass-laden, all-encompassing sound.

Each song is an epic musical exploration within itself but there are some true stand out tracks. 'Come Back To Me' is a fantastically simple dance number that turns from a jaunty island romp reminiscent of Boney M into a deep dark house track without skipping a beat. Title track 'In the Grace of Your Love' transports us back to the 80's with it's classic synth backdrop but keeps us at the modern forefront with it's brooding bass line, indie rock riffs and cymbal smashing drum fills. 'How Deep Is Your Love' hooks with it's dramatic piano from the get go and keeps you going with it's fantastic fuzz baseline and funky, almost tribal percussion effects. Closing out with 'It Takes Time to be A Man' ends the album on a definite high note with it's sexy bluesy tone and slow smooth tempo.

A fine piece of work from a fine NYC outfit. It's very clear that, even with familial loves lost and creative ties severed, this band will never have anywhere to go but up.