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Black Fiction
Ghost Ride
[Howells Transmitter; 2006; Psych-Pop / Folk]
So Devendra and Andy might prefer to call their music “naturalisimo” or some shit like that instead of freak-folk. Okay. And after hearing Black Fiction’s new record, I have to agree that they (along with Akron/Family) are more deserving of the freak tag than Banhart and Vetiver ever were. But unlike the raucous side of Akron/Family, Black Fiction swerves like a Microbus barreling from San Fran to Burning Man, picking up hitch-hikers of old school hip-hop, sunny 60s SoCal beach pop, vintage psychedelia and even some dub along the way.
There’s no easy comparison to be made of “sounds like ______” when no two songs sound alike on a record*. Which is a good thing, and that’s exactly what Black Fiction is good at. One minutes it’s a jangly, tamborine-shaking sing-a-long built around hand claps and a bassy dub groove and the next it’s swaying acoustic guitar picking, finger snapping and percussion that sounds like it’s in the next room. Not many bands can make a record that is this disjointed and this listenable. The only indescretion I see is the vocals on “I Spread The Disease”. Sounds like Jimmy Fallon singing that damn “Idiot Boyfriend” song he did.
If The Raconteurs record is “The Rustbelt’s Nevermind” (don’t know who said that, but somebody did), I’ll just go ahead and call this the new Pet Sounds.
Motor City’s SSM - singer/keyboardist John Szymanski (The Hentchmen), drummer Dave Shettler (The Sights) and singer/guitarist Marty Morris (The Cyril Lords) - makes everything from gritty, howling bar rockers to synthed-out electro-trash anthems, all the while disguising it as Detroit garage. However, as the wall of noise/sound check/intro gives way to the inebriated swagger of opener “Exit Strategy” and it’s ripping analog keyboard climax, it’s obvious that there are influences here that reach beyond Detroit. As far, in fact, as 60s Swedish garage rockers The Backdoor Men. There are hints of many things along the dizzying ride of this debut full length - from The Rolling Stones to the Frank Black-ish belting vocals of highlight track, “Put Me In” and all the way to space-rocked-out jams that The Flaming Lips could join in on.
Aside from the energy, attitude, fuzzed out guitars, heavy drums and sleazy sex appeal in their sound, there are two main elements that come together to define the SSM sound. Shettler’s use of both organic and programmed beats throughout gives the record a modern spin while Szymanski’s vintage analog keyboards keep it old school and authentic sounding. So if it’s not futuristic and it’s not a throwback… this must be the sound of now. Future vintage garage rock.
Get these 3 final editions of the Dr. Octagon Decipher Remixes to complete the 8 week series leading up to the release date of The Return Of Dr. Octagon…
The Theater Fire
Everybody Has A Dark Side
[Undeniable Records; 2006; Pop/Alt-Country]
While DJ Jester was representing for San Antonio, the Undeniable crew is still holding it down for us here in the DFW and Denton area with the release of The Theater Fire’s new record. And it’s also strange that I would pick this up to listen to yesterday considering we had one helluva theater fire in Dallas the night before when the landmark Arcadia Theater went up in flames. The theater, built in 1927, had seen everything from vaudeville theater to The Cramps, operas to variety shows and even police raids over the screening of Deep Throat in 1973. So I’m sure from now on when Dallas heads hear “the theater fire”, they’ll think of the Arcadia instead of these guys, but no need to change your name fellas… just look at The Ruby Room and Lee Harvey’s.
Anyway, all hometown pride aside, these guys bring influences to their music that are as far reaching as bluegrass (and maybe even a little jug band), zydeco, mariachi, country, folk and rock. Their alt-country-ish sound lends a much needed variety (and a forlorn feeling) to modern pop music - not entirely unlike Lylas’ record that we talked about recently. It’s neither lo-fi nor glossy, but lands somewhere in the middle. Like a high quality live recording of campfire sing-a-longs that defy genres, or define them. Maybe post-country? Southern chamber pop? Nu-Americana? Regardless of what you call it, these tales of wanderers, lovers, soldiers and pals hold a restrained beauty full of horns, pedal steel, violin, accordion, mandolin, xylophone and banjo and should appeal to fans of everyone from Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen to The Decemberists* and Architecture In Helsinki*.
I need to get out and see these guys and if you’re around Dallas, I suggest you do the same.
tonight (6.26.06) at Sons of Hermann Hall for a Kinky Friedman benefit
6.25.06 - Fort Worth - at the Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards
6.29.06 - Dallas - at the DoubleWide with Peter and The Wolf
6.30.06 - Denton - at Dan’s Silverleaf with Peter and the Wolf
SubtractiveLAD
Bitcrush
Loess
Black Fiction
SSM
The Theater Fire