"MUSIC FOR HEAVY PETTING SESSIONS"

CD Demo
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Here is another CD I lost and finally found (among a whole batch), so this review is a few months overdue. Anyway, I liked a strange little band from New York transplanted to L.A. called Sisters Grimm. I met them when I was working at that record store on Melrose when they would come in all the time to drop off their flyers. Sisters Grimm were fronted by these glamed out twin girls who rocked out to Ramones style music and left audiences dazed. I don't know what happened to the band over the last couple years (but I've seen "something" about them on the internet), but from what I understand, they are no more. I saw former Sister Grimm Victoria while driving home late last year and she told me that she's got a new project now and here it is. While it has some heavy metal moments, this is actually a nice little demo. It reminds me of a spiritual cousin to Weezer's "Pinkerton". There is a guy that also sings on the album (about half the songs) and he has a nice voice. I wonder if "It Was Fun (But Now We're Done)" is about Victoria's split with her sister from Sisters Grimm. I like the samples of the weird guy calling their answering machine. Get this demo (I'm not sure how you can though) for a long night of club-hopping.

CD
reviewed by Quin
This CD is really short and I just wan't able to get into it. If you know me, you know how much I love Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill and Le Tigre and you get the idea. This CD tries really hard to make it to that level but doesn't end up as interesting or original. I do like the name The Angoras though. And the best song on the CD is easily "Steak Knife", which is wacky silly fun to listen to. Oh and if you purchase this, check out the nice copyright infringement on the inside cover.

CD
reviewed by Mary Bond
I really like this CD. Good stuff. Itžs something a bit different. It's sort of like Electronica/Synth with cool samples/sometimes Industrial/sometimes semi-Noise. It all makes for some very cool sounding layers. Some of it reminds me of very old Depeche Mode- but evolved. It is mainly instrumental- but a few songs have vocals- and the first time you hear them, it's pretty shocking-but in a good way. The first song with vocals, called "Sporty But Sensible Car", reminds me a bit of Nitzer Ebor Hula. The song "Hey Typical" really showcases their Industrial edge. There are some nice, soft female vocals on the song "Offend Your Fan Base" that also has some creepy sounding voice track samples that seem to be playing backwards- sort of like The Tear Garden or Clock DVA. Song number 7, "The Contenders" is really nice- it has a punk vibe vocally and I like their chanting "your Momma don't mind, but your Daddy do". I can imagine all of the songs being played at a dance club- but not Techno or House, more like a Goth/Industrial/Alt. 80's scene. I bet they'žd be cool to see live- and hey, they are playing this month here in LA! Check out the No-fi concert calendar for more details.

CD
reviewed by Mary Bond
Okay, here we go. I am very sorry- but I just canžt get into this. It is heavy rock music with weird guitar hooks and typical rock melodies and boring lyrics. In an attempt to find something positive- the singer does have strong vocal ability- sort of a 4 Non-Blondes wannabe. And she does remind me a lot of Love Club or even a tiny bit of Gitane Demone (those are VERY nice things to say!) The weird thing is- there are glimpses of a Siouxsie sound that turns very bad very fast and they ruin it. I think maybe we are just the wrong magazine to have review this. Try- um, hmm- I don't even know who to recommend. Good luck. Sorry.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
With a polite title like that, you know that this isn't going to be a destructive wall of sound. Kaada's new album is filled with interesting beats and samples culled from love songs and old soul records to make something all new for your ears to listen to. Some songs which you can tell never were meant to go together fit perfectly in these tracks. It's not something you would boom from your car speakers on the highway, but would be a good match for a day at the beach or even make-out music for a mellow night in. Album favorites for me are "Black California" and "Care." They play live shows so it would be interesting to see how it all plays out on stage.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
This is Nora Keyes' (of The Centimeters) new solo album and it is everything I hoped it would be. The best way to describe it would be if you were digging through a crate of old 78s and found a dusty old album in the back covered with earth and leaves with songs by a woman who has probably spent a lot of time alone in a shack before recording her music. The recording itself really does have the feel of a much older recording with vocals that sound like they were recorded at the same studio that did recording for those old black and white Popeye cartoons. I love all the songs on this album, but I think my favorites are "Small Apart" (which I saw her perform at a Centimeters show before with a bunch of her teeth blacked out which added to the effect of her creepy cackling during the song), "Look At You, You're Ugly", and her cover of a Jimmy Rogers yodelling song called "Old Pal" (which I would love to direct a video for...it would be neat to see Nora in a 50s style cowgirl outfit). Other people performing music on this album are Creekbird, Rebecca Lynn, and Ray Day of The Centimeters and Dame Darcy (whose weird episode of Blind Date I finally saw today) on Autoharp and Saw. This is not "normal" music by any means so get this if you are looking from something so different from mainstream music today that it may as well be from outer space. This is good music for taking a bath or doing work in the toolshed. By the way, each CD cover is handmade featuring artwork by Nora herself. She's on tour right now so check your local club listings to see if she's in your town soon.

CD
reviewed by Quin
More silly, fun punk rock music for your listening pleasure. I got this CD a while ago and listened to it like 5 times in a row and thought to myself how much I love it. Then I forgot about it until now. I just listened to it again and I still love it. It's just fun loud music to dance to. I love Lizzy Wood's vocals. She is very british and very sexy. The cover photo brings lots of questions to mind, like did they catch any weird diseases from that green swamp water...yuk. My favorite song on this is "Flash" and I also really like "Worms" '...nobody likes me...everybody hates me...' you know the rest. Buy this one for the next time you play in the dirt.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
This album is so good and different from most music I listen to that it's almost intimidating to review. The album lulls you into what you think is a nice coffee shop band at first until it twists and turns into and outside of itself that it becomes something else entirely...I'm not even sure what that is on 2nd, 3rd, and more listenings. Lead singer Heather has a pretty voice, but it isn't one of those "annoying" pretty voices (you know what I'm talking about). Standout songs (to me) are "Mosquito Girl" (something in between Sonic Youth and Angelo Badalamenti), "Jawbone George", "Handful Of Dust" (spooky vocals with music to match), and the bittersweet and spacy "Lemonade". I also like the album artwork on this CD and everyone who sees it on our table comments on it's revolutionary chinese ballet dancers armed with rifles. Get this one for a walk in the woods at 2 in the morning armed only with a flashlight.

CD Demo
reviewed by Chris Beyond
This is a good 15 song demo (!!!) by the band formerly known as the Lockers, now known as Secret Midnight Rodeo. I was confused when they first contacted me because I first heard them on IUMA.com and had intended on writing them before they beat me to it (I wasn't sure at that point if I had e-mailed them originally or not). Anyway, the point is that I liked it and already knew I would still like it before they even sent me their official demo. With pop-rock songs like "Weapon X", "Kpshhh", "Masturbate", and my favorite at the moment "Please Yell Some More", how can you go wrong? You CAN'T! Admit it!!! You can probably place Secret Midnight Rodeo somewhere in between Weezer (pre-BAD Weezer days), Pavement, and let them all battle it out. Good stuff. Get this for a lazy afternoon by the pool.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
The Konkurrent label in Amsterdam gets touring bands to come in and colaborate with each other for a couple days to record whatever they want. This 9th release finds the bands Sonic Youth, I.C.P. and The Ex in studio together creating 8 tracks of sonic noise from ambient to tribal. If you are a casual Sonic Youth fan, this album isn't for you, but if you are a hardcore fan like me and buy all their SYR releases then you have a better idea of what to expect from this album. Sometimes the tracks actually break into a traditional song structure, but usually is stays dark and murky as if they found an extra murky corner of the fishtank to explore. This would be a good soundtrack to explore a cave by.

CD EP
reviewed by Quin
I like this band a lot and I am not just saying that because I am friends with the lead singer. If I hated it, I would say so. But this CD is damn good. Someone said that they thought The Tarts sounded like L7. Maybe a little. Similar vocals and very hard rockin', but it's more punk than L7...less metal. The CD is very short with only three songs and if you listen to it over and over while driving you will find yourself in a high speed pursuit with the CHP, then you can be on TV. Get this EP for runnin' from the fuzz.

CD Box Set
reviewed by Quin
Six CD's plus a short CD of live recordings as well as clips of live shows that you can see on your computer, that is what we have here. It is truley amazing...all of it. This box set from K Records spans the career of Calvin Johnson and his band. If you haven't heard Beat Happening then, why not?? They are strange and beautiful with their simple little songs that will having you rocking out for a very long time. There is a lot of stuff here so get it and start now, if you want to be done by your 80th birthday.

CD
reviewed by Quin
The first song on this CD is really long and very slow and very very pretty, then the second is faster and shorter and really poppy. I really love this entire album and it's diversity. Every song recalls a different band or sound. There seems to be a pretty consistant David Bowie influence all throughout, vocally at least, from his many different phases. I guess you could also compare this band to Coldplay, but who cares about comparisons, right. It totally stands on it's own. "Way Down East" is wierd quite frequently, throwing in strange samples of kids on the street and applause and heavy machinery, as well as organ and harmonica. It's fun to listen to and it will make you tap your foot and sing along and it will give you goose bumps and bring a tear to your eye.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
I'm confused. Two bands with the word "boxing" in their names? Well, they certainly sound different enough from one-another so I guess people won't be that confused if they saw them in concert. Anyway, this band is all about "dreamy" (to cop a word Mary Bond would use) guitars and serious "let's get into your mind" lyrics. The first two songs flow together, but the 2nd song cuts off just as it seems like the vocals are starting to reach into heavy metal territory (whew!). The third track "Every Bite Tastes The Same" is the standout of the CD and finds itself somewhere in between Sonic Youth and Univac. The weird thing is that it also cuts clean off just when it seems it's coming in for a landing. Weird. It's not really my thing, but I think a lot of people would like it. This is good music to sit in your room and stare at that light coming from under your door watching the shadows as people pass by.

CD
reviewed by Quin
These songs are really dumb, but a lot of fun. The music is somewhere between Fu Manchu and The Cramps. If that's not enough for you then I'm sorry. It's not my fault that you have no sense of adventure. "Candy Floss"?!? and how great is "Flame Thrower Love"? Oh, another thing, you have to buy the CD to see the wierd Chewbaca Rambo pic inside the CD.

CD
reviewed by Mary Bond
Right off this CD sounded awfully familiar to me. Sorta hard, grunge- deep crunchy male vocals. It's one of those bands you hear and you think, "Wait! They sound just like someone else! Who is it? Who is it! Who???" And it drives you nuts trying to figure it out. Yeah, they're like mid 1990Õs MTVish type stuff...um...oh! Oh! I know! Bush! The singer sounds like that Gavin guy from that band Bush. Remember them? They had that song "Everything Zen...everything Zen...I don't think so". Whew, what a relief! Now, as for Full White Drag. Hmmm...yeah...well, they definitely have talent. They just sound pretty KROQ to me. So, if you consider that a good thing- then job well done boys. The songs were a little monotonous for me, but I guess any genre that you donÕt normally listen to can sound that way. It did have some good guitar arrangements and strong drumming. And the singer does that grunge rock sounding vocal thing very well. Oh- and I really liked the sort of spacey, interesting opening sounds on the beginnings of songs #6 "The White Heat" and #8 "Frequent Flyer". I'd like to hear more of that! If you miss MTV's 120 Minutes bands of the mid to semi late 1990's- you should like this.

CD
reviewed by Quin
The word "ambient" unsettles my stomach but, this is some very good instrumental music. It is both noisy and melodic, but not heavy. It is a surprising release from the label that brought us Minor Threat and Fugazi and I guess any other band with Ian MacKaye. I really like the guitar in this stuff. It kind of conjures up thoughts of Sonic Youth. I can imagine that this band is great live. I hope to see them someday, and hear more of thier music in the future.

CD Box Set
reviewed by Quin
How funny that two of my favorite CD's of 2002 were actually box sets. (Hey, that's cheating!) Well, this is one of them. This set spans the first 20 years of the Dischord label from Washington DC. It starts with The Teen Idles and Minor Threat and goes all the way to the year 2000 with The Q and Not U. The first two CDs in the set are just some picks of good stuff from their popular bands from over the years including Youth Brigade, Faith, Rites of Spring, Embrace, The Untouchables, and even Slant 6 and The Make-Up. Wow. That's a lot of good stuff. Then the third CD is all rare and unreleased songs, some of which are live. and there are some mpg movies for you to watch on your computer of punk rock shows that probably happened before you were born. This CD box set is usually very reasonably priced, so there is no excuse for you not having it.

CD
reviewed by Quin
I was contacted by the lead singer of this band very oddly. He emailed me and made no mention of No-Fi, but said that it was cool that I was into Bukowski and that he used to know Bukowski. How the hell did this guy know I read Bukowski? I don't think I have mentioned that anywhere on the site. He also said that he wanted to send me his CD...that's it. I wrote him back, a little confused and directed him to the address of where to send the CD. I received it in like 5 days. Okay, you see the cover. It's kinda strange. I opened it up and the pics of the band members look like a cross between guys who like to go to the rennaisance fair and guys who were in a death metal band in the early 90's. The music is nothing like that. I will be honest...this music is definately not for No-Fi, but it's not bad, it's just nothing I haven't heard before on a classic rock station. They can best be compared to some of the Black Crowes more softer music. If you like this kind of music then I couldn't recommend it more. This guy has a great voice and the musicianship is really good. It's just not what I want to listen to. Now where did I put that Minor Threat CD?

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
It's about time that I finally hear XO (featuring Alin formerly of The Sarcastic Bitch) and it was worth the wait. Sure it's a guy on guitar and vocals and a girl on drums, but they are more likely to smack you in the face rather than wear matching red and white outfits. The CD starts off great with "Katbath" with its climbing guitar riff. "Curses" is a peek back into the early nineties punk scene and in this case it's more than welcome. This is a good CD to blast out loud while you stare at your ex's apartment window from your car on the street. I like the nice nod to David Lynch with the track "Garmonbozia {Pain & Sorrow}" (You "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" fans know what I'm talking about). The whole CD ends nicely with the loud and screamy "Bedwomb". My only critique is that I wish that there were a few more rough edges here and there, but it's a good listen the way it is. I can't wait to see them live, cuz you KNOW it's gonna be good!

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