earpollution album reviews [page 2] - issue 1.12, december 1999

Aquabats - The Aquabats vs. The Floating Eye of Death
Arrogant Worms - Dirt!
Avulsed - Stabwound Orgasm
Blo-torch - Blo-Torch
D'Angelo - "Left and Right"
DJ Skribble - Traffic Jams 2000
Gooseflesh - Chemical Garden
Guitar Wolf - Jet Generation
Kismet - North Atlantic Balkan Express
Kovenant - Animatronic
Kreator - Endorama
Man or Astro-man? - Eeviac

Method Man & Redman - Blackout!
Misfits - Famous Monsters
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Dirty Little Secrets
Nebula - To the Center
November 17 - Defy Everything
Phylr - Halflife
platEAU - spacEcakE
Proem - Burn Plate No. 1
Shivaree - I Oughtta Give You a Shot in the Head...
Varathane - Ruddy Brown Primer

Method Man & Redman Blackout! Def Jam		Boys and girls, the title of this album just doesn't work for me. There, I said it, I can move on, only problem is the feeling stays the same. Method Man and Redman have chemistry. We all knew that from the first time we heard them together on "How High." Problem is, they never quite live up to it, lyrically or musically. Sit down! I'm not through, I see you out there hyperventilating, waving your hands and flailing about like someone just told you Vanilla Ice was the greatest rapper of all time! But this isn't rap heresy I'm committing here, just a simple telling of the facts. Think for a second. There's no dark driving anthem on Blackout! to rival Method Man's "Bring the Pain." The album as a whole can't compare to the chitlin gunk found on Redman's Whut? Thee Album. And what's with this damn title? You mean to tell me these two held a contest asking the general public to come up with a name for their album and Blackout! was the best idea they got!?! That right there should have served as a warning of what was to come. As for their obvious chemistry on the mic, I don't think they'll be kickin' in the door to Run's house anytime soon. Blackout! is entertaining but so was Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Neither one, though, will live up to the hype. *-Cecil Beatty-Yasutake* [ top of page ]
Misfits Famous Monsters Roadrunner Records Links: Misfits		The Misfits are back with another take on their horror evil show that they call driving metal/punk. I will give the Misfits a lot of credit for putting in one hell of an effort. They supposedly wrote about 40 songs in three months! Famous Monsters has 18 brand new tracks, but the vocals are way too far in front in the mix. The music seems to be taking a back seat to Michale Graves sweet tuneful voice. Sure, people say no one will replace the mighty Danzig, but Michale isn't that bad. I don't know--the music is good, yet not all songs would be called Misfits classics, but are well written new Misfits cuts. All the usual elements are there, but the damn singer is trying too hard to sound like ghosts of past vocalists. He seems to want that Misfits sound. Fuck, the Misfits have such a huge following that it shouldn't matter if they sound like their past self or not. I will say this new release is better than the American Psycho album. The best and most similar to Earth A.D. material is the song "Pumpkin Head." This could fit up there with "Green Hell!" with an over the top kick in the face, Misfits style. The Misfits are also trying out some different musical formulas like on "Saturday Night," incorporating '50s doo-wop mania and the Rockabilly-infused "Scarecrow Man." This CD is worth checking out. *-Steve Weatherholt* [ top of page ]
Mos Def Black on Both Sides Rawkus Records		All across the land the faint whisper of last rites can be heard for today's rap music, but just when the priest begins to make the gesture of Father, Son, Spirit and Holy Ghost, someone comes along like Mos Def and slams a mighty fist down on the chest of hip hop. The patient's heartbeat steadies and the glimmer that is hope returns. You want proof, try "Hip Hop." If rap had a Hall of Fame, this entry from Mr. Def alone would get him nominated for a bust. Living room boroughs from East to West and everywhere in between will need new rugs thanks to the dance-groove infectious "Ms. Fat Booty." For dessert, there's the delicious DJ Premier-produced "Math-Ematics." Someone please explain to me how these two talents got together and managed only to put out this one gem? Personally, I don't get it. In the meantime, consider it 1999's best teaser. Heads on the street will be rewinding this track a few times as Mos Def drops more knowledge than a two-hour sermon. Premier's turntable skills are the stuff of legends and he doesn't disapoint on this track, teasing you with hands that scratch with illusory quickness. Production-wise Premier trades his famous underground beats for some finger-lickin' good guitar work, and clever vocal samplin' that's straight on point. Mos Def better brace himself because I think the elevator is about to take his underground flavor above ground. *-Cecil Beatty-Yasutake* [ top of page ]
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult Dirty Little Secrets: Music to Strip By Rykodisc Links: My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult		Who ever would like to arm-wrestle regarding Thrill Kill Kult's status as America's most fun band, let me know. I personally have never been to a disco, a strip club, or been involved with any S&M or Satan fetishes, but living vicariously through TKK makes me feel complete on all counts. Groovie Man and Buzz McCoy have yet to release anything that doesn't make my loins gyrate with a downright lusty, sinister excitement. And this latest offering of campy, discothèque pills and chics cabaret doesn't stray from the regular formulas. A collection of remixes and unreleased tracks makes this a gem for any Kult fan. It is a deeply nasty, "lets get this party started," sordid affair. Spanning the albums from 1990's Sexplosion to 97's A Crime for All Seasons, the remixes--although fun--don't sound like anything new. For my buck, the new songs are where it's at. And it's a pretty fair ratio considering that out of 18 songs, 8 are new. The new songs are exactly what you would expect from the dynamic duo. With songs titled "Hard, Fast & Beautiful," "Operation Sex Trip" and "Eight of Space," the subject matter doesn't stray much and thank god, because I cant imagine TKK and the girlz not strutting the usual stuff. This is straightforward TKK and if you like 'em, you should have this. Unfortunately this is not as bump-and-grind as the remix CD you could buy on the last tour aptly titled "Some Have to Dance, Some Have to Kill." As remixes go, that CD is killer. Secrets comes a little short of that. But there isn't a Thrill Kill Kult not worth having. Dirty Little Secrets is viscously slick. *-Jeff Ashley* [ top of page ]
Nebula To the Center Sub Pop Links: Nebula		Bring out the bong, load a bowl of good ol' Colombian Gold and torch it up. Go out and find some window pane, sit back, drop out and get lost in the traveling waves that are blaring out of your speakers. I'm not saying these guys are on this, but just trying to give you a feeling of where the music is from. Nebula are part of the new "Stoner Rock." Old rock that is reconnecting lost synapses in our heads, bringing back the days of straight-up fuzzed-out hard rock. We as people like to have categories to put things in for easy accessibility. Well, Nebula would fall into the place between Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath. I'm not saying that they sound like either band, but we need a reference point to come from. Musically, Nebula pin their ears back while repeatedly kicking you in the crotch with their power and psychedelic assault. Guitars churn and swirl your brain into apoptotic overload. Their bass lines are thick and stomach churning. No bass picks are needed, just the flying fingers. Drumbeats are hard and crisp, but also carry the subtleties that bring the group up through them. Along with this cosmic black hole, Nebula is not afraid to stray from the hard rock path by incorporating sitars, Moog synthesizers and guest vocals--Mark Arm of Mudhoney covers the vocals on the Stooges cover "I Need Somebody." If this hard groovy psychedelic rock is to your liking, then check out Nebula! *-Steve Weatherholt* [ top of page ]
November 17 Defy Everything Slipdisc/Millenium Links: November 17		Is this the terrorist group or a band? I can't tell because both have similarities that create fear and chaos. Imagine that a black canvassed truck pulls up outside your door and men step out with their assault rifles and rocket launchers...errrrr...guitars and amps cranked up loud! This is N17 coming to welcome you to their frenetic industrial metal. N17 are not to be taken lightly: they comprise ultra-heavy fierce industrial the likes of Ministry (The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste), Skrew, and Fueled. Trevor, the singer, seems like he's ready to rip your head off and remove your spine. N17 slams you with this aggressively dark throbbing brutality that is unrelenting until the song has ended. Then, you get a brief three- to four-second break to pick yourself up off the floor only to be pinned by your throat to the wall again. This happens repeatedly until the disc is over. At this point you have to take a shower to remove the sweat from your body and let your heart slow down. Then, if you're able, you hit play again on your CD player to start the meth-induced frenzy again. I could imagine that, to the meek, N17 would give them nightmares about postal workers or crazed kids coming armed into your school. It is too bad they haven't played around here! *-Steve Weatherholt* [ top of page ]
Phylr Halflife Invisible Records		It's really annoying to write a review and then go back to an earlier album by the same artist and discover exactly how much smoke was pouring out of your ass. The upside is rediscovering a disc lost in your collection. I was going to say: "Phylr's new release is more beat-oriented than the first, Contra La Puerta." I was going to say: "Halflife wasn't as strong as the first album." I was going to look foolish. They're both excellent albums; both rich with strong, moody soundtracks to lost moments of film, evoking images of dusty Midwestern towns, aching open highways that bisect miles of neglected grain fields, and crumbling street corners where the sounds of industry and old trains pulsate behind you. They are both rife with break-beats and the scattering shot of drum 'n' bass rhythms. However, of the two, Halflife is much more vocally textured. Halflife follows Jim Coleman's stint in Here [click here to read the review --ed.] and can very easily be seen as a logical procession of that album. Among the warmer tones and the sharper breaks on this disc there are several tracks cut by the dry rasp of his voice. The vocals, for the most part, add to the sonic tapestries that Coleman is creating. (With the exception of "Blowhole" which is terribly marred by a spoken word story about a geological anomaly. But hey! that's why Sony has the Delete Bank feature on their CD players.) My first reaction on hearing this disc was to question why he was ruining the good thing he had started with Contra La Puerta by adding vocals to an already tight instrumental project. It's only after a few listens that I've come to realize the problem was in my head. Phylr started great and has gotten better. I just had to catch up. *-Mark Teppo* [ top of page ]
platEAU spacEcakE Metropolis Proem Burn Plate No. 1 Hydrant Links: cEvin Key		Just like every other art that started as an idea to challenge the accepted forms, electronic music is becoming homogenized to the point of absolute meaninglessness. Everybody from Ricky Martin to Billy Corgan place heavy investments on their samplers and sequencers. What are Smashing Pumpkins doing using electronics anyway? Well, don't throw up just yet--way out in the electro universe, just past the alpha quadrant, lie two gems that continue to challenge our preconceptions about what this still evolving art form is. First up is platEAU with a splendid herky-jerky slice of atmosphere called spacEcakE. If you have listened to any of cEvin Key's post-Puppy projects, you know that his attention span is about as long as a pencil eraser. He is not known for the most structured compositions, but this is where platEAU really gets set apart. cEvin and Phil Western don't hesitate to work the listener's sense of rhythm by making you dig deep for the continuity in the songs, but this mostly instrumental album has a strong sense of rhythm (as opposed to say...Music for Cats). Forgoing the minimalist ideals set forth on the initial platEAU release Music for Grass Bars, spacEcakE is complex and rich with both layer and texture and is a much more engaging listen, even employing female vocals. Defining exactly what type of electronic music platEAU is, is impossible; the styles range from jackhammer drum 'n' bass to dreamy ambience. All done, of course, with the Key signature. For those of you who are pining for a new Download release, this should hold you off for a while. And then there is Proem. I don't know who it is, where he, she or they come from, or anything about them. But if there was a University of Autechre, Proem would be an upper-level course requiring a thorough understanding of the more complex forms and structures of tone, dissonance, melody, tension and counter tempo. This album is definitely for the more experimental-minded. Proem is industrial electronics at the most basic level. Take the tonal sensibilities of Kraftwerk, the electro-gymnastics of Download, a drum patch from AE, and a beautiful penchant for melody--Burn Plate No.1 is what you get. This is a gorgeous recording filled with playful ideas--take for instance the song titles: "Gum & Eggs," "Drool Master," "Pees in Olive Juice"--and a sense of timelessness that is rare in such a futuristic endeavor. The latter half of the album recalls Kraftwerk, Devo and early instrumental Skinny Puppy in a way that is so endearing, it's hard to believe you're listening to a new record. Anyway...order this; you will not regret a second of it. *-Jeff Ashley* [ top of page ]
Shivaree I Oughtta Give You a Shot In the Head for Making Me Live In This Dump Odeon Records		Winning the "Second Longest Title" Award for this year, Ambrosia Parsley graces us with a round dozen songs with a bewitching nature that belies the disgruntled revelation of the title. The little girl flavor of her voice plays counterpoint to the world-weary lyrics and the damaged lilt of the organ and slide guitar. It's neo-country, your little girl has all grown up and discovered and discarded boys as the cads they are, bleak carnival ride pop. Instead of incredulously harping on Ambrosia's name, I'll play the nomenologist and take the tack that names--given or taken--are reflective of one's nature. If she wants to plant the idea of the honeyed nectar of the Gods in our minds, let her. Her voice can carry that boast and her ability to string words together makes one think of the summer shade of the old apple tree, though with a patch of stinging nettles right under your left foot. Just enough to make you sit up and itch. Take "Lunch." A woman plaintively waiting for her date and, as you listen, you start to think that maybe waiting for a guy with a satchel full of broken Barbie dolls and disassembled dreams isn't one that she should be waiting for. And it gets worse from there; all the while her voice and the slow beat of the music bring to mind the slow russet sunset of this girl's dreams as her friend is carted back across the state line in chains. Sad little songs. Buoyed by her expressive voice and excellent instrumentation--a melange of pedal steel, resonant organ tones, beat box noises, and the disaffected echoes of old carnival rides--these dozen songs quietly elate as they burn. Makes you wonder if this is how ambrosia tasted to mere mortals. *-Mark Teppo* [ top of page ]
Varathane Ruddy Brown Primer Hydrant Records		I am visually driven. I'll put MTV on and let it run for hours in the background while I wander around the house, listening to something else entirely on the stereo. Because of interesting cover art, I discover a lot of great music I would otherwise miss. (Anything Russell Mills contributes to gets an automatic listen, which is another strike against NIN's The Fragile.) Which is why discs that have no visual tale piss me off. It's not as much an issue in this age of Internet shopping when nearly every disc that can be purchased online comes with a wee bit of attached descriptive text. I'll tell you this, though; if I had been in a store, I never would have picked up Varathane's Ruddy Brown Primer. Which would have been a shame, 'cause it is a bubbly slice of skittery beats and damaged melodies. This seems to sum up Hydrant Record's secret little plan: into everyone's life a little Aphex Twin and Autechre must fall. Ruddy Brown Primer is 11 tracks that swirl and pop and bleep and chatter and otherwise defy standard musical convention. Ostensibly IDM, Varathane's music will appeal to fans of the double A's mentioned above as well as those who like a little melody with their bleep and bloop. (Yeah, you Boards of Canada and Bola fans know who you are.) Varathane's music is much like their cover design: faceless and mathematically precise, but lacking a little in personality. The Hydrant label is definitely crafting some tight IDM with their stable of mysterious artists. Maybe in a release or two, some rips may develop in the shroud and a little warmth and identity will seep out. Until then, releases like Ruddy Brown Primer will have to appease us. And as a tasty snack, it certainly does. *-Mark Teppo* [ top of page ]

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