It’s always fun when people you know put out new music. The other day I heard a song by a friends band that has a really cool bluesy and alternative rock sound. It’s actually quite refreshing to hear a song, especially these days, that has these elements in it and be done so well. Allow me to introduce you to Tredici. This soulful bluesy rock band is quite the trip! The lush textures found throughout the song add interesting and dynamic levels while the vocals soar in a way that is almost cinematic. There is a lot more to come from Tredici and I’m getting quite excited about it! They make their stage debut on July 10 at The Mint in Los Angeles!
A while back a band reached out to me asking me to check out their music. If you send me something, I will always listen. What I heard from the band that sent me their album is a group that has harnessed the 90’s sound in a couple ways mixing alternative rock and what would become post-hardcore. Allow me to introduce you to Lived-In. Armed with guitars, drums, bass and vocals and a good dose of melody, Lived-In are on the right track. Their new album, Everything Is Just Money Away is an aggressive yet catchy record with a melodic tinge. One of the things I really enjoyed most about their album is the intensity that propels the record. Musically there’s a diversity of heaviness, quiet to loud and a great use of atmosphere to make the songs sound huge. If you are a fan of bands like Jawbox, Failure, and Handsome, you’ll dig Lived-In. You can catch Lived-In live at Corbin Bowl on Saturday September 23, 2023 as part of The Cobalt Presents monthly showcase!
I was recently introduced to a band that really has me intrigued. They have a sound that is experimental while at the same time very hard charging. The “noise-rock” genre has been really exploding more and more lately and this band should be on your radar. Allow me to introduce you to Tunic. Hailing from Winnipeg, Canada, Tunic is armed with a sound that features an assault of pummeling drums, distorted bass, discordant guitar, and wild-eyed vocals. After listening to this band, I get a bit of an early Helmet vibe from the Strap It On era mixed with a little bit of Fugazi. So if you are into those two bands, this is right up your alley. The bands new single “Whispering” is chock full of bits of all the things that make this sub-genre what it is. The way they take experimental parts and add interesting melodies and thought provoking lyrics makes Tunic a must listen. Their new album Wrong Dream will be out on April 28 via Artoffact Records. I have to say, it’s really nice and refreshing to hear bands like Tunic try new things and get deeper into the sounds, inspirations and realness of what rock music is all about.
I remember the first time I heard the term shoegaze. It was around the time that The Smashing Pumpkins released Siamese Dream and all these reviews I read and interviews kept referring to this new sub-genre called “shoegaze.” I thought what a strange term for a genre of music. Then it was explained to me (keep in mind I was only 7 or 8 when Siamese came out) and it made sense. Then later on I was exposed to the great My Bloody Valentine album, Loveless, and that’s when I truly found my deep fondness for shoegaze. Over the years the sub-genre has grown to include other elements from different genre’s making it quite a trip to listen to. There is one band that has combined shoegaze with dream pop, indie rock and a tinge of 90’s alternative rock that has captivated me. Allow me to introduce you to Powder Pink and Sweet. The band was formed in 2016 by the eclectic Cris Verso. And through the years since, Powder Pink and Sweet have carefully crafted a batch of hypnotic, dreamy and lush songs. Their upcoming EP, Little Stories, captures all the above and then some. The first single “Slightly Hopefull” is a dreamy and contemplative tune that provides quite the escape from the harsh realities of the COVID lockdown. Little Stories will be released Friday November 4th.
Back in 1998 while I was waiting for a new Nine Inch Nails record, an album was released by Stabbing Westward that would hold my attention for years to come. Darkest Days is the album I’m talking about. Stabbing Westward took their industrial influences a few steps further on this album without sacrificing their knack for writing catchy melodic songs. Singer Chris Hall’s anguish, pain and suffering all show through in his vocal performance. Something I found interesting about the album is that it’s actually a concept record. It’s made up of 4 parts, with each depicting a different emotional phase after a break up. The Tracks 1-4 is about sabotaging the relationship. Tracks 5-9 is about lust, hope, and longing. Tracks 10-12 is about hitting rock bottom after it’s all over. The final part is about recovery and self-respect. When I found that out a few years back, the album made a lot more sense to me. I’m sure most of you will remember the song “Save Yourself,” as it was the first single released for the album. But there is way more to the album than just that song. Songs like ” Everything I Touch,” “Drugstore,” “You Complete Me,” “Haunting Me,” “When I’m Dead,” “Torn Apart,” and “On Your Way Down” are absolute standouts. That’s not to say that the other songs aren’t as good, these ones just always seemed to have a lasting effect on me.
Stabbing Westward called it quits in the early 2000’s. Chris Hall went on to start the band The Dreaming. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them a few times over the years, and he is still one hell of a singer and frontman. During the early years of The Dreaming it wouldn’t be shocking to hear them play a couple Stabbing Westward songs live. It was announced recently that Stabbing Westward will be reuniting for a show to celebrate their 30th anniversary, but in Chicago. Let’s hope it goes well, so we can get a full on reunion tour!!!
The year is 1995 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to release their follow up to Blood Sugar Sex Magik. John Frusciante left the band and was replaced by Dave Navarro. By adding Dave Navarro, the Chili Peppers sound changed rather drastically. The lyrics grew darker, exploring the perils of drug use, depression, grief and many other themes along those lines. Navarro also added a heavier approach with his style of guitar playing. Granted this album was a bit of a detour from what the band had put out with Blood Sugar, One Hot Minute has become an album that with age, has become a true unsung masterpiece in the bands catalog. The history of the making of One Hot Minute is quite the story. Anthony Kiedis had relapsed, thus causing a slow down in the writing and recording of the album. But the end result was something special. Songs like “Warped,” “Aeroplane,” “My Friends,” “Tearjerker,” “One Hot Minute,” and “Transcending” are stellar compliments to a very underrated album.
One thing I’ve noticed over the years listening to the album is that Dave Navarro really brought something special and different to the band. He brought a different style to the band than what John Frusciante did, leaving a signature mark on the one album he did with the band. Interestingly, One Hot Minute isn’t an album that the Chili Peppers visit often. In fact they have even come out to say that “We don’t really feel that connected to that record anymore. No special reason, not to say we would never play those songs but we don’t feel that emotionally connected to that music right now.” Which is quite sad, considering how good the album really is. Hopefully there will be a time again that they revisit some of these songs.
The process of following up a career defining album is a very serious task. The amount of pressure that is put on a band to follow that up with a great deal of success is overwhelming. The Smashing Pumpkins follow up to Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness, Adore is one of the most daring and intriguing albums in the bands discography. Recorded following the death of Billy Corgan’s mother and his divorce, this was a significant change of style from the bands guitar driven albums. Adore saw the band venture into more electronic territory. This was in part to drummer Jimmy Chamberlain being fired from the band before the recording process. Instead the drums on the album were cut from drum machines and the assistance of drummer Matt Walker who toured with the band following Chamberlains release. During this time as well, the bands image shifted toward a more darker gothic sensibility.
Adore is the type of album that when you first listen to it, you are taken aback by it. There is a purity and solemnness to it, that delves even deeper than the bands previous works. Songs like “To Sheila,” “Crestfallen,””For Martha,” exhibit this notion. The more electronic driven songs like “Ava Adore” and “Perfect” show some similarities to classic Pumpkins material. Then there are songs like “Tear,” “Appels & Oranjes,””Pug,” “Behold! The Night Mare,” that show an added maturity to Billy Corgan’s writing.
Adore was obviously not the album that fans of the band wanted, but it was necessary to reinvigorate the band to come to terms with their issues. Over time, Adore has been one of those albums that with time and age has truly become a wonderful album. It really has a sense that if you’ve lived life and been through hell to an extent, then this album will really hit the mark. Take it for another listen, and you’ll see what I mean.
When Audioslave broke on to the music scene they were met with very high expectations. Their debut album was a really great album, full of great songs and a renewed sense of energy for each other the members. Their second album was hit and miss. There were some really good songs but as a whole it just didn’t come across as well. When Audioslave released their third album Revelations, they finally hit the mark and found their sound. This would be their final album sadly. Rather than working with Rick Rubin on this album the band chose Brendan O’Brien, with whom both Rage Against The Machine and Soundgarden have worked with in the past. Brendan was able to really capture the essence of what this band is and was. There are more influences on this album as well delving into funk and soul. This was also the first album which Chris Cornell was sober during the making of. Audioslave did not tour on this album, instead they broke up.
Revelations though as their swan song is brilliant. The first song “Revelations” really sets the tone for the album. It’s such a great song. The songs “Wide Awake” and “Shape of Things to Come” were prominently featured in Michael Mann’s horrible film adaption of Miami Vice. Both of these songs are tremendous. “Wide Awake,” evokes some political angst as well. The song is about Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. “Until We Fall,” is another song that really shows the progression of Audioslave. The closing song “Moth” is a bit of foreshadowing for what was about to happen to the band. The song is powerful and one of the most inspiring songs on the album. Chris Cornell’s voice really shines on this song (along with “Wide Awake”).
The entire band was clicking on all cylinders one this album. It’s shame they couldn’t last longer. Thankfully there have been news reports as of late that both Tom Morello and Chris Cornell said they would be open to working together again. Let’s hope so. I would love to see Audioslave return.
There are quite a few bands that really work to create a piece of work that is special. They don’t compromise their artistic integrity just to sell their albums. Instead they grind it out in hope that people will listen and grasp just what they are doing. One of those bands is Dredg. Never one to follow a trend or sacrifice their art for a buck, the guys in Dredg stand by their vision and don’t disappoint. Their third album Catch Without Arms just passed the ten year mark, and it still rocks just as much as when it came out. Catch Without Arms was released on June 21, 2005. This album showed a change to a simpler, and more straightforward musical style for the band but still had a bit of the etherial tinge that El Cielo had. The album was produced by Terry Date (Deftones, Pantera, Soundgarden) and had some additional help from Queensryche guitarist Chris DeGarmo.
Catch Without Arms features great songs such as “Ode To The Sun,” “Bug Eyes,” “Not That Simple,” “The Tanbark Is Hot Lava,” “Sang Real,” and “Jamais Vu.” These songs show the forward movement of the band and it’s members ability to write individual songs. Catch Without Arms is a concept album about opposites, mainly focused on positives and negatives. Each member brings something different to the table. Singer/guitarist Gavin Hayes has a very intriguing voice that makes his lyrics come to life. Drummer Dino Campanella is one of the most underrated drummers in music. His ability is astounding, not to mention his ability to play drums and piano at the same time. This is truly something awesome to watch. Mark Engles has a guitar tone that is his own. It’s melodic and clean that fits perfectly with the nature of each song. Bassist Drew Roulette grooves right along with Dino’s drums, and his bass lines add another element to each song.
Dredg is one of the most underrated bands to come out since 2000. They really know themselves and what they are capable of. Their ability to push the boundaries of their art is uncompromising and satisfying. Give this album another listen and you’ll see why it is an unsung masterpiece
Let’s travel back to April 1995 and taking what we all know now, we get to experience Hum’s You’d Prefer An Astronaut for all it’s glory when it came out. Hum was formed in 1989 and released two albums before reaching mainstream exposure with You’d Prefer An Astronaut. The bands 1993 album Electra 2000, was produced by Brad Wood who would soon go on to produce Sunny Day Real Estate’s album Diary. You’d Prefer An Astronaut is Hum’s major label debut album and has gone on to sell over 250,000 copies. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but just as I have said about Failure’s Fantastic Planet, pretty much anyone that picked up this album went on to start a band and become strongly influenced by Hum. Chino Moreno of Deftones has even gone on to say that this album is a big influence in terms of the tones they used. The album is full of atmosphere, depth, and great riffs. There are moments in the song “Why I Like The Robins,” that if you listen to some At the Drive In songs you can really hear Hum’s influence in them. Matt Talbott as a vocalist really knows how to project to get his lyrics across in the right way. Bryan St. Pere is one of hell of an underrated drummer. His knack for the right cymbal accents is quite astonishing. Guitarist Tim Lash blend his playing perfectly well with Talbott’s. And the bass of Jeff Dimpsey is crunchy and full of grit bit also played with the right amount of precision.
Hum have reunited a few times over the years, leaving many fans to wonder if they will come out with a new album. In June 2015, it was announced that Hum would partake in two brief tours. In August 2015, Hum will open for Failure on the east coast of the United States. After that, Hum will embark on a co-headlining tour with the band Mineral on the west coast. Sadly, after the tour was announced, drummer Bryan St. Pere parted ways with the band, but Jason Gerken of Shiner will fill in for him.
Thankfully Hum are back, and along with Failure, will continue to be a huge influence on musicians for years to come. Here’s to hoping that Hum get back in the studio and make a great new album.
