"Bad Music For Bad People!"

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Good stuff here, but part of me has mixed feelings about the music here too on this instrumental CD. The first track on this CD, Fatherwound, starts off like that big hard driven section of THE DOORS' "The End" and just goes with it. The second track, "Feelings As Messengers" is good, but sounds like an extended solo from the song "Whole Lotta Love" by LED ZEPPLIN, but with some cool sampling and sound effects at the end. "Sangree Compression Therapy" is the first track that doesn't remind me of any other song, but does recall some of the sound work done by CORNELIOUS on his album "Point". The final track is short but sweet and takes you back into their world right before they drop you off the edge at the end of this CD. So don't get me wrong. I LIKE this CD and can actually imagine throwing it on in the background. While the influences are there, I don't feel like I'm listening to a bunch of burnt out hippies or metal dudes. I guess I just wish this were a full length album so I can get a stronger grasp as to what they are all about. As bite sized samples go, this one tastes really good, but I want more to feel fully satisfied.

DEMO CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Wow, this is a wee CD. Seriously, it looks like a Gamecube disc. I wonder if it would work in my Gamecube? There is no way that I would stick this into my car stereo. Even if I got it in there, I'd worry that the stereo would reject it and shoot it out at me like a dull ninja star. In fact this particular CD's folded up packaging caused a minor CD disaster when I stupidly had it resting in between a bunch of regularly packaged CDs and EVERY CD on top of it slid off and crashed to the sidewalk as I was getting my keys out. Not only did most of the cases break, but some of the CDs got scratched too. Still...actually I DO like the idea of little CD singles...as long as the listener knows better than to stick it where it doesn't belong. Anyway, the music contained on this tiny CD kinda reminds me of DEPECHE MODE in their early days and they cut these songs as a demo. I'm not really getting into it, but I imagine some people would. There is some talent here, but I think I'd like it more if the sound was more textured and full.

DEMO CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
This is the latest project from long time No-Fi "Magazine" favorite James Sinclair, formerly of GIRLSCOUTS ON A SWING and THE PAJAMAS. This new demo CD shows just how much his talent has grown since I last saw him. Styles shift all over the place on this EP, but the music is always good and you know that they would be an interesting band to see live. What makes them interesting I think comes from James' no-fi roots, improvising with different styles and tones which stemmed from his having to learn to work with what little his former bands had to work with. The drums on one track in particular are some of the best drums I've heard from a band in a LONG time. If you want to know what No-Fi really is, THIS is a great band to check out. I can't wait to her more from them and you KNOW I'm going to be playing this on No-Fi "Radio".

CD
reviewed by Sabrina Cognata
Run Run Run produces a cool remnant of what winter should be like and what winter is in Los Angeles. The songs gentle melodies play particularly well to a soft rock crowd. It’s the kinda CD that gets played on loop late into the night during an after party. Run Run Run’s cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” is well done and easily distinguished from the haunting sullenness of the song’s prior shell. Without the use of magic or dragons, or perhaps with, the band drags the song into the 21st Century with a beat warranted for dancing. Their other songs “Wait Up For You”, “2am” and “Drizzle” remind me of the illegitimate love child of mid 90s bands “Third Eye Blind” and “Live”. It is the kinda poppy puke that people love and radios overplay. It could be hit or miss depending on what stimulates your frontal lobe, but it didn’t make me want to decapitate myself. I guess that is always a plus.

CD
reviewed by Sabrina Cognata
Every time I listen to Totally Radd!! I keep wondering to myself, “Sabrina, exactly how much mescaline did you consume today?” Luckily it was none, because my doctor is getting fed up with having me put in lockdown because I am fighting the Brontosaurus next door, which is actually my neighbor’s car. Totally Radd!! takes you on a journey into your really nerdy childhood.

Remember, back in the 80s when you’d spend all goddamn day playing Nintendo and their wicked Japanese theme songs would get stuck in your head until you finished the game, your head melted, or your mother beat you with a wooden spoon for not doing anything but play Nintendo? Me too. This album really takes me back to that time. Totally Radd!! uses the 8-bit music from those games and twists it’s proverbial titties until they scream for mercy. What you end up with is a totally punkified delight. “Dressed up,” definitely the best song on the album is about a cross dresser. Not only is the song’s music completely fucking awesome, but how can you beat lyrics like, “I will die if I can’t wear your spandex pants--when I dance.” They also have a pretty sweet cover of “Runaway Train.” It was originally done by Soul Asylum. All I have been able to associate with that song is the fact that some kid I went to grade school with is in it. Now that I have heard this cover hopefully that terrible memory will be erased from my mind, FOREVER. Seriously, if you can do something better, do it and I will cut off my vagina and wear it as a suave sailor hat. Right. I want to marry these guys so goddamn bad and have a legion of their illegitimate children. Beat that.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Having worked in a used record store, you quickly learn even the very color combinations of CDs that will end up the the 99 or even 25 cents bin. So the colors used together on this cover and generic artwork scream out to me that this album will one day be seen in your local record store being sold at sub-basement prices, if they haven't already been shipped to the same landfill where all those Atari 2600 E.T. games were sent. In fact I could name off every font used in this album (but being a designer, I guess that isn't too hard). This album is one of those boy band "punk" albums not unlike BLINK 182. You know that kind of "punk" where there is extra care given to the many layers of harmony on top of perfectly clean distortion. So I think the generic packaging fits the band inside who are so punk that they dare to never try anything newer than what you've already heard. The title "Beg, Borrow, Steal" is perfect for this band which rips off everything it knows from the worst things to happen to punk ever. And these are probably good musicians too, but you wouldn't know it, because every little note and beat is so perfectly crafted that it was possibly all run through a computer to clean up anything possibly interesting from the songs. Bad CD! No candy for you! You're too full of sugar already.

CD DEMO
reviewed by Chris Beyond
I was a little leary of putting this cd demo in my cd player as the cd itself feels rough due to it being spraypainted on (as it seems). Cool idea though...just feels a little rough. the music contained within is good, but maybe not my kind of good. Perhaps I just don't see anything new here. Capable lead singer with accoustic guitar backed up by a mellow bar band. The songs are a little whiney...which is a lot coming from me because I whine about everything. With song titles like "Hello This Is Goodbye," "Hate Being Lonely," "I'm Sorry," and "I Don't Miss You,".... Yeah, it's THAT kind of whiney. And the cover shows him applying make-up like some lost soul left over from the hey-day of the hair metal sunset strip. There is definitely a wide audience for this, but I have trouble falling for the boy who seems like he's singing to the wide eyed girls in the audience rather than the whole crowd. Get this CD as a gift for that girl you know who just doesn't understand your "weird" music.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Ok, what happened? I like THE COLOR GUARD. This album feels like a misstep to me. There is singing when it feels like there should have been screaming. "Your Kiss Is My Command" is a good example of this. Those lyrics would have mean't much more to me if they were shouted out rather than having every word easily understood with odd renaissance fair musical elements underneath. It made the difference between a song I would have liked a lot and the one you hear on this CD. It gets a little better as the CD ges on, but first impressions are everything. Had I not heard their last album I would have turned it off by that track. And speaking of first impressions, I have to say that that cover is not very flattering. I love the use of silver and the font, but the photo isn't saying anything to me. Oh wait, it IS saying something... "Dark Pop." What the heck is that? That's like Elliot Smith putting an album out called "Emo." I kinda wish that the artwork on the CD itself was the cover artwork. Oh, and for all you Christopher Walken fans out there, this album DOES have some cowbell. I actually did find myself saying, "This song is nice, but I gotta have more cowbell!" I'm being a little hard on them but only because their last album sucked me in. This album has latin prayers.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
THE VOLTA SOUND take you back to the early seventies instantly with their first song on this CD called "There Is No Question" and you go willingly because while that decade was full of a lot of bad, there was a lot of good that fell through the cracks. A good example is the second track "I Love You" which could have easily been a BRADY BUNCH KIDS cover. Admit it, you liked a lot of those Brady Bunch songs. The way that song builds, you almost see the singers being raised on day-glo platforms with tamborines materializing matrix-like in their hands. And what do you expect from an album that could have come right out of a 70s time warp? That's right...a full on 10 minute jam session...and this time it's not annoying! Seriously, this band treds on areas that I would very easily strike critically in lesser hands, but this band takes their influences and makes them their own much like how DIOS MALOS does. You know the influences are there, but you don't care because they do what they do so well. I highly recommend this one for garage rock collectors out there. I can also imagine fans of BLUR, STONE ROSES, and THE HAPPY MONDAYS getting into this. Get this CD for your next psychedelic free love party sans actual hippies. Good CD design too. I would love to see that same design applied to a vinyl version of this album.

CD-R
reviewed by Chris Beyond
I recieved a few Owen CDs in a short time and each has hi and low points to them. There are a few gems hidden in each and thus we played a couple on No-Fi "Radio". Since I wasn't able to get to the last two, here is the latest CD I've gotten from Owen. Spread among 24 tracks are little lo-fi recordings, most short, featuring little more than a guitar, vocals, and keyboard or harmonica. The vocals on the first track need work, but get better on following tracks. I especially like the VELVET UNDERGROUND meets early Beck-esque track "Dream". This is a pretty mellow album. Much of this CD could be good hanging out in the bedroom with the black light on kind of music. It's definitely much better than the last 2 CDs sent to me. I think Owen are finding their sound and may be much closer now with this CD (although some songs do need some vocal work). I also like many of the mini orchestral soundscapes that would fit well as background for certain somber films. It's hard to go wrong with short songs. I guess you could, but even a bad song is better when it's short. This certainly isn't a bad album though and I think a lot of people who like a more mellow sound will find something they like about it.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Ah, another year, another Rusty Santos album. Don'tcha love it when good bands are reliable like that? This is a good album as are the last two that were sent to us (which we've played on No-Fi "Radio" as well). Rusty's music always make me want to give him a good hug. He doesn't go out of his way to explain what the songs are about (although I think that there is a religious theme behind it all with it being called "The Heavens" and a song called "Alms"). He does so many cool little simple things on this album, it reminds you that you don't have to have layers upon layers upon layers of sound to make a good album (ARMY OF FRESHMEN I'm looking at you and YES, I'm still mad). Rusty Santos has an open invitation to visit No-Fi "Magazine" and "Radio" any time he wants. It would be a good thing to add this album to your collection. Whether it's listening while taking a long bath in a dimly lit room, or playing it on your boombox while walking on the beach at 2am, this is a good album. Get this album for somebody you like a lot.

CD DEMO
reviewed by Chris Beyond
This three song demo from THE TRANSMISSIONS is nice, but I don't know if they exactly get my own motor runnng with just this taste of their sound. The three songs are very similar to each other and textured with many layers underneath that seem like they would be presented better as part of a bigger work rather than as a demo. Maybe if the songs were a little more varied, that wouldn't be a problem. For the songs themselves. think a tamer, more bluesy FUGAZI meets MODEST MOUSE with a little bit of AMPS ON TEN thrown in for good measure. Perhaps their next full length will tell a grander tale.

CD
reviewed by Chris Beyond
Something tells me that I've seen a few variations of this cover and album name before. But there is no denying that the music contained within is really good. From the first attacking notes of "Intro For Real" you know the rest is going to be good. Sometimes you "know" that and are disappointed, but this album stays great all throughout. The vocals that come in with the the second track "Loaves" only sweeten the deal falling somewhere between THE MAKE-UP and MUDHONEY but not really sounding inspired by either. THIS is the kind of band I love to promote the most in No-Fi "Magazine" or play on No-Fi "Radio". The kind of band that really needs to be heard despite what the record industry allows you to hear. I guess a simple way of putting it is to say that this band is punk rock new wave. You want to scream along with the singer and jump around to the music, perhaps waving your arms around recklessly knocking off all the drinks from the bar. The oddest track is the hidden track at the end featuring a computer voice explaining how Paul McCartney ripped off THE WEEGS shortly before this album was censored and the band died in a mysterious car accident. There is no background music...and the computer voice drones on for about 7 minutes. I love it!

Generally, we like to receive 2 copies of everything (1 for review and one for possible airplay on No-Fi "Radio"). Please do not send original masters, nor any payola (we do like stickers and any other promotional materials though). DO NOT send us MP3s via e-mail. We would accept them on CD or zip disc, but our e-mail accounts can not handle the size of MP3s at this time.