"Music To Line Your Panties With!"

OTIK RECORDS PRESENTS..."The South Bay Compilation" CD
reviewed by Quin
I would like to officially declare that the next big musical explosion is going to happen in the South Bay of Southern California. Not since Black Flag have bands this good been coming out of the area. And you can hear all of the best ones on a new compilation from Otik Records called The South Bay Compilation. This CD is 26 tracks of goodness. Some of the standouts are the fast and loud Rock Goggle Fantasy, the brit pop sound of the Pacific, the complete mental retardation of Bride of Ashcroft...and I mean that in a good way. Their song "You were the Fliest Girl on the Block Until Your Face Went Through the Windshield" is one of my favorite songs of the year. The now unfortunately disbanded From. is on here, as is the Masque Opera. You can hear a song by those crazy kids from the Banana Explosive. Two of my favorite bands have songs on the comp, the first one being Eartha Kitt U.K. and the other being the Rolling Blackouts. If you haven't heard of either of these bands yet, you will. I promise. There's also a band on here that dons one of the best band names I've heard in awhile and that's London's New Crime Wave. This comp has music for everyone. Musically it is all over the map. So, go ahead and check it out. I'm sure you'll like something on it. But, you will more than Likely enjoy all of it.
Otik Records, P.O. Box 2806 #932 Torrance, CA 90509
THE 88 "Kind Of Light" CD
reviewed by Mary Bond
This is just straight up, no-fooling, genuinely darn good music. There are definite 1960's melody and harmony influences, and for that I personally could not be happier. They remind me ever so slightly of Badly Drawn Boy, The Green And Yellow TV, Dios, and The Kinks, and dare I use the "B" word? Nah, never mind- almost every band from the 1960's and on is influenced by the "B" word in some way or another, if you ask me. And so, as if that were not enough, they even toss in occasional Ska, Classic Rock, and Blue Grass influences. I love the slide guitar work as well as the special touches via the organ and Wurlitzer. But it is seriously all good. They sound polished, seasoned, crisp, sharp (sorry, sounds like I'm describing an apple, huh?) and it's all just very refreshing. AND they wear suits (that's just plain sexy and a very smart image to project indeed.) Based on right-off-the-bat first impressions, stand out songs for me were "Afterlife", "I'm A Man", and "All The Same", but I honestly quickly grew to love each and every one of the 13 songs for individual reasons. I kept thinking, "Oh, I should add this one and that one as one of my favorites too", but the list just grew longer and longer until I was naming nearly ever song, so I decided to just stick with my very first impressions.
EMK Records, 4872 Topanga Cyn. Blvd. #302, Woodland Hills, CA 91364
REVIEWS FROM AUGUST 2003...
AMPS ON TEN "3 Songs" CD Single
reviewed by Chris Beyond
From the first beats on this all-too-short CD, you know that it is gonna be good. The melody first track "Maybe I'm Wrong" sounds like a slowed down version of The Cure's "Grinding Halt" with a hint of VLA-esque vocals and guitars on top. (I have a feeling that Amps On Ten would have liked VLA if they ever would've see them. The 2nd track (one more to go according to the name of this CD) "Keep On" gives you a warm feeling in your tummy...which makes you freak out like, "What's wrong with my tummy?!?", until you realize that it just fills you with good feelings. "26 Letters" would be a nice closer for the CD with it's rich guitars and building intesity until you realize that Amps On Ten are filthy liars and threw a whole other (4th!!!) song at the end of th CD. Oh, sure it's a nice sweet song and I'm glad they did it, but can I really trust Amps On Ten now? Next time I see them, I'm not going to see the excellent practically unknown (at this point) band from Southern California...I'm going to see the excellent practically unknown band from Southern California who totally lied to us when they titled this CD "3 Songs" when there are actually FOUR (count'em FOUR!) songs! Anyway, this is a great band and still a good cd even though it's not an honest CD. Now when are they going to get a record deal so we can hear a full length album?
Amps On Ten, http://www.ampsonten.com
DIOS "Dios" CD Single
reviewed by Chris Beyond
When I saw this in Quin's room, I confiscated it from him because he always gets the good Dios stuff and all I get is sass from him about how great the CDs are. Well this CD is no different and it's their first self produced single (as it seems like they won't be releasing their debut album just yet having dropped their label). The first song on the single is a great new recording of "All Said And Done" which makes you want to take a walk on the pier alone at sunset. The next song "You'll Get Yours" packs a heavy Beatles meets ELO-esque punch, but Dios do it so well, you don't even care. "Bust Out The Candy" merges lead singer Joel's sweet voice with dope beats with Jimmy's keyboards tweaking it all in a whole other direction. The last track starts off with a David Lynch-like voiceover which leads to my current favorite Dios song at the moment "Everyday" which is great to listen to with big 70s headphones next to a pile of old records. It'll take you away from all your care and worries until it ends and drops you back down to earth. Get this CD for a night of walking alone on a dimly lit street.
Dios, http://www.wearedios.com
Robbie D "Borderline Deformity" CD
reviewed by Mary Bond
This guy has truly diverse talents: various voice ranges, writes lyrics and music, plays piano, guitar, synth, etc., etc. A lot of the CD sounds similar to the vocal stylings of Peter Murphy and the music a bit like Dead Can Dance and Black Tape For A Blue Girl. The acoustic guitar remake of the Mormon anthem song "I Am A Child Of God" is creepy and pretty at the same time. I'm sure he is receiving plenty of angry mail for that one. The whole CD is filled with lovely guitar melodies and a large array of different genre styles. Stand out songs are: "Keasy" and "Sparkle" and "I Like Ice Cream" and I also like song number seven, "Prison Blues," which has a bit of a Nick Cave feel. The artwork and pictures inside and on the back of the CD are entertaining all on their own.
Trophy Child Records, http://www.robbied.com
ERASE ERRATA "Dancing Machine: Erase Errata Remix Record" CD Single
reviewed by Chris Beyond
I love Erase Errata. We even recorded them for No-Fi "Radio" (although it didn't come out at all due to soundboard problems at The Smell). When I saw this CD at Ameoba Records I was excited and snatched it up right away...then I put it in my car stareo... To quote the film A Mighty Wind, "Wha' Happened?!?" First I didn't even read the title of the album which indicated that it was a remix album. Not that it would have prevented me from buying the album, but it would have made me think twice. The remixes are all pretty generic on this 4 song CD (which cost me 11 bucks too...for a single!!!!). The only song that sort of stands out is the remix of "Other Animals" by Matmos that starts off with the infamous Dictionaraoke talking dictionary effect (where this talking computer dictionary reads the song's lyrics). The third track "Marathon" remixed by Adult would be fine in some cheesey club, but it just doesn't work for me. The final track "rat race" remixed by Kevin Blechdom is probably the most imaginative, but it just isn't truely Erase Errata and in effect not that interesting. They just sound like a bunch of remixes that could have been done in the early 90s. Get this one if you find it in the 50 cent bin. (11 bucks for this? I wouldn't complain if Erase Errata weren't so good, but they are and this was just disappointing. Luckily their new album will be out next month! Yay!)
Troubleman Unlimited, http://www.troublemanunlimited.com
Holly Golightly "Truly There Is None Other" CD
reviewed by Claire Donner
The 12th release from former Headcoatee Holly Golightly (why yes, that is her real name), Truly She is None Other, offers another breezy fourty-some minutes of rusty strumming, boozy crooning and dancing through cotton candy. But is it anything new?

Seems like a funny question to ask in evaluating the throwback r'n'b and antiquated sugarpop rock'n'roll with which Ms. Golightly has been delighting her listeners for 8 years. By turns coarse and raucous, and naively sassy, the songstress cooks up refreshingly unironic timewarp blues and honky tonk in her own kitchen and other distinctly DIY locales. The down-and-dirty results harken back to an ambiguous but certainly primal cultural moment when men were men and women were apple-proffering snakes. Despite Holly's British origins, her sound will read to many listeners as pure archaic Americana, taking its most obvious cues from sources falling between Carl Perkins and Lady Day, but not stopping there. This temporal ambiguity manifests itself in forms as diverse as groovy 60s psyche-pop, a sort of Patsy Cline drag routine, and genuine punk rawk. True to this genre-bending spirit, what really distinguishes Holly Golightly from other all-woman singer/songwriter seductresses of her ilk is the even split between archetypal roles taken on from track to track. One lends an ear to Holly the wiser-than-her-years schoolmarm, Holly the sociopathic maneater, Holly the brokenhearted bobbysoxer raining tears on her turntable ­ a broad tonal palette not often enjoyed by, say, near-exclusive woman-scorned mouthpiece PJ Harvey. Femme or fatale, fast or lazy, each infectious twist-inducing cut is carried by raw matter-of-fact A-string statements and Ms. Golightly's low, eversteady vox, easy as stirring a highball with her little finger.

Appealing as that is, this latest entry could be, in fact, too easy. The aforementioned genre-bending musical variations which hold so much charm for the long-time listener dissolve here like sugarcubes in Holly's cold coffee. Kicking it off with a classically sullen easy rider like Walk A Mile, Holly comes out swinging the hammer steady, but it's a ball peen not a sledge, and too steady will rock the baby to sleep. Facile and natural as it plays, Ms. Golightly spreads the beat too thin for too many tracks, calling too much attention to the greater levels of stimulus provided by the selection of covers offered on any self-respecting rockabilly recording. Now there's nothing specifically wrong with the soda-jerked pop ballad that typifies most of the material on the album; between the cherry-on-top apology of "It's All Me" and the more-than-friends appeal of "She Said", one might be hard pressed to site a real crime. However, the listener who has known the wonder of such aural miracles as Golightly's previous Serial Girlfriend (1998) or her untellably wonderful rustic duet with Headcoat and Headcoatee collaborator Dan Melchior ("Desperate Little Town", 2001) will feel a bit slighted by the excess of sugar and relative dearth of spice present in most of thirteen tracks.

This is not to say that the album is entirely devoid of the creeping come-hither provocation with which the songwriter usually succeeds. The fourth song in, a sparkling original given the curious title of "One Neck" (as in "If they only had one neck/I'd tie my rope around it"), obliquely describes a poisoned relationship with the aid of Specialsesque Ghost Town-era backing vocals and slow southern gothic echoes. Another fresh Golightly production, the resigned farewell "This Ship", lulls the listener into submission with its maritime beat and easy but ominous concertina accompaniment. There are also the aforementioned skillfully reanimated soul and folk covers; Ray Davies' Spanish promenade "Tell Me Now So I Know" and the deceptively-lilting suicide note that is "Jessie Mae Robinson's Black Night" are not to be missed.

Truly She Is None Other offers more of the arsenic iced tea for your overripe summer night upon which the seasoned listener has come to rely, but that same listener may feel too familiar with it to make it an all-nighter. Whether the album is best suited to pajama party padding, or is perhaps just a lullaby that starts too long before bedtime, will be up to the individual inclination.
Damaged Goods, http://www.damagedgoods.co.uk/hollygolightly/
JER BER JONES "Are You There God? It's Me, Jer Ber" CD
reviewed by Mary Bond
Superfreak! She's a superfreak! Eeoooowww! Um, yeah. This CD is pretty interesting, in that John Waters campy way. The music is sort of like late 70's/early 80's and very synth based. The lyrics are funny, weird, twisted, and often very inappropriate. The cover of Air Supply's "All Out Of Love" is strangely really pretty. The overall mood makes me think that this is what Madonna might sound like if she were a gay boy drag queen doing karaoke/performance art. The echoey vocals on "Ms. Led" remind me a bit of the Twin Peaks theme song "Falling". And the remake of "Call Me" is like Nico doing disco. And the song "Tubetop vs. Tubesocks" is so weird and funny, I canšt even think about it without giggling like crazy. "Pretend Get Off" featuring Mr. Rogers is creepy. If you are not easily entertained and nothing really shocks you anymore because you are so bitter and jaded, this should put a smile on your face.
Jer Ber Jones, http://robbied.com/jerber
MAKTWAIN "Maktwain" CD Demo
reviewed by Mary Bond
Here is some more instrumental music for ya, kiddies! It's not exactly my taste, but I do like the slight shoegazer influenced melodies that can be picked out here and there.

They are actually not really the typical electro/trance music though- it's more mellow and almost loungey with some airy guitar work tossed in. And hey- I do like the pictures in the CD of the redhead (anything involving redheads is good) holding various fruit. That would be worth the price of admission alone. Now, stop right there! Don't get the wrong idea you nasty boys! They are just the hands, neck, and chin of the girl holding the various fruits.
Maktwain, http://www.maktwain.com
MINIKON "Minikon" CD
reviewed by Mary Bond
This CD is more of that Electronica/Electro-pop stuff. I do love the picture on the cover- it should definitely be a new Sanrio character. And their website is pretty cute to look at as well. Now as for the music- yeah, it's catchy, fun, upbeat. It sort of makes me feel like there is a big game of ping pong going on in my brain and then Snow White comes in and starts dancing around with all of her little bird friends and butterflies and Ren and Stimpy join in to do the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" dance and- well, you get the idea! It would be great music for video games. Hey- does Hello Kitty have a video game? If not, they should definitely get this band to make the music for it. Or a Hello Kitty movie perhaps?
Kira Kira Disc, http://www.kirakiradisc.com
THE MORMONS "The Mormons" CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Having just seen The Mormons play live last night opening for The Centimeters and Deerhoof, I was excited to listen to this CD. Huzzah! The CD is just as good as their live show (which was really really good)! Starting with the strange cover art on some nice cover-paper to the songs, this is a good over-all CD. Their sound falls somewhere in between Devo and The Kinks. My only problem with this CD is that at about track 6 the songs start blending in to one another. I guess my only complaint with that is that I wish they threw in some different instruments or something every once in a while,...but still, this is a really good album. Their manager told me that they are already working on a new one and I already can't wait. (But I will because I have to.) My favorites on the CD so far are "Kareoke Death Machine", "Tom Watson", and "Johann Obvious And The Clones". Good song titles too, huh. Get this CD for thrashing around violently while listening to it on the job.
Ninja Star Records, http://www.ninjastarrecords.com

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