Concert Review: Male Bonding & Best Coast @ Lee's Palace "Fury & Complexity"

Two of the biggest buzz bands right now, UK’s Male Bonding & California’s Best Coast roared through Toronto on Saturday night, playing to a packed and rambunctious crowd at Lee’s Palace. Both acts are currently touring North America in support of their magnificent debut albums: Male Bonding’s Nothing Hurts & Best Coast’s Crazy For You


The modest Englishmen took the stage first, to many people who came out early to see the evenings opening act. Male Bonding ripped through their opener, “All Things This Way,” furiously – without letting anyone catch their breath and then quickly went into their recent single, “Weird Feelings.” Male Bonding, who’ve been on tour since May, have become a solid and tight unit. John Arthur Webb (on guitar) is composed yet shy, often thanking the crowd in between songs. But his distorted surf chords were played with precision. Kevin Hendricks (on bass) is a key component to the band’s rhythm section and was uniquely dancing throughout the band’s set – you would be able to spot those weird slide steps from anywhere. When a young lady asked to shake his hand and tried to pull him into the crowd, he pushed back, fighting to keep his footing. The band might not be comfortable with, or used to, all the recent attention. “Stop fraternizing with us, you’re making us screw up!” Webb joked with the crowd.


Through all the “You Rock!” shout outs, the band remained highly focused, playing the majority of Nothing Hurts. The exceptional, stand out drumming from Robin Christian is maybe the best in scene today, pounding with such fury and complexity on tracks such as“Crooked Scene,” “T.U.F.F.” & “Pumpkin.” However, what really excited the crowd was when the band played their first single, “Year’s Not Long.” In a small venue that holds roughly 250 people, the sound reverberated so perfectly that the bartenders stopped selling drinks for that one. The band finished on a high note with a sped up version of new song, “Can’t Dream,” which the band recorded for their Daytrotter session this summer. Best Coast drummer and former Vivian Girl, Ali Koehler came on stage to supply back up vocals (which she and her former band supplied on the recording). The band may be shy, but that may be because all the focus is on the music. It is easy to lose yourself during a Male Bonding show, that or either start smashing beer bottles and throwing chairs – their sound translates flawlessly in a live setting.


Best Coast front woman, Bethany Cosentino apologized to the crowd for being ill before picking up her guitar when she walked on stage, but being as her band from Los Angeles is the ‘it’ act at the moment, the crowd didn’t seem to care. As Best Coast broke into their first song, you couldn’t tell Cosentino was sick besides from occasionally horking into the back corner and guzzling water. Best Coast showcased many tracks from Crazy For You, including “Boyfriend,” “I Want To” and “Our Deal,” which were completely commended for by the crowd. You would think, with everyone gripping so closely to Crazy For You, it would be difficult to play your back catalog, but they did, courageously, and at times, no one moved because the songs were unfamiliar. Best Coast’s early EPs and out-of-print 7 inches cost a pretty penny these days.


As Bethany struggled with her cold, she delivered, rocking out in heels and floral pants, she took a second in between songs to hit a joint someone from the audience passed to her. “You’re all getting sick, y’know,” she coughed. Guitar player, Bobb Bruno, also hit the joint and thanked the crowd. Bruno supplies the 60′s surf and R&B elements to Best Coat’s sound and is one of the reasons that “Honey” was the climax of the night. Before they encored, Bobb sentimentally thanked Toronto and the band played “Something In The Way.” Plagued by illness and fighting vomit most of the show, Cosentino fought on lifted by the positive vibes from the crowd. Best Coast showed they are one of the premiere indie bands of the moment and since their success has come overnight, we may not be lucky enough to see them in such a small venue for long.

Published by A Heart Is A Spade

Album Review: Crocodiles' Sleep Forever

When Crocodiles made their debut last year with the release of Summer of Hate, amid praise from other critics and bloggers, Rolling Stone called the album, "scuzzily addictive punk pop." And it was, or is. However, at times, Crocodiles' sound is hard to pinpoint; dabbling in krautrock and electronica, new wave and no wave, punk, shoegaze and even industrial aspects had them sounding a little like No Age, albeit with more drum machines.

Crocodiles second LP, Sleep Forever, is an extension of the sound and energy behind the praise and confusion earned via the band's first album. Members Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez have described it as, "more krauty, more dub." Says Rowell, "The album's still gritty and punk, but it's also really big and loud and psychedelic. It's just a lot more organic."

The signature Crocs sound that draws you in for awhile begins with the first track, "Mirrors." The song takes roughly two minutes before reaching full tempo and is soaked in shoegazer mysticism; the lyrics echo over a soft synth harmony. Many of the songs are presented in this manner -- a crunchy guitar riff with synth overtones and distant vocals; this is the sound of contemporary art punk. But for the Crocs, it's much darker than anything by contemporaries such as The Soft Pack, who also call San Diego home.

The title track is the definite standout track on the album, ranking up there with the best the Crocodiles have ever written, utilizing a highly melodic chorus reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain or The Stone Roses. The Crocs also dabble in Oasis-esque surf rock ("Billy Speed") and signature post pop punk riffage with, "Hearts of Love," also an impressive progression from Summer of Hate.

Crocodiles have put together a solid and interesting album on Sleep Forever. It is eclectic in the sense that it dabbles in many genres: German techno, electronica, shoegaze, dream pop and well, punk. One should be careful when using the 'punk' nomenclature, however. To say it is punk, one could just as easily lump the band into a category with Fucked Up or The Buzzcocks or Pennywise, none of whom sound much alike. However, The Crocodiles have an impressive sound that borrows from both post- and proto-punk, much more steeped in the realm of bands like Devo than the Clash, which pushes the boundaries of contemporary art punk.

Published by Treble Magazine

Album Review: Edom's Hope and Destruction

When assembling your band, you naturally hash it out until you develop a sound. Finding that sound can take any amount of time and can incorporate a plethora of different genres and influences. When Eyal Maoz, a New York composer and guitarist, assembled Edom, it would be difficult for most people to try and be as open-minded as Maoz was during the ensemble’s infancy. Fusing nu-metal, electronica, jazz, unorthodox chord progressions and Middle Eastern harmonies, Edom is an interesting eclectic mix of influences and musical output.
Maoz, a guitar wizard in his own right, is joined by Brain Marsella, a master of the Hammond B3 organ and synthesizers, Shanir Blumenkranz (who has been on over fifteen Tzadik Records recordings) on bass, and Yuval Lion, who thunders away on drums with the bands Pink Noise and Pharaoh’s Daughter. Moaz, too, is part of a self-titled duo with Asaf Sirkis and is a guest guitarist with John Zorn’s Cobra.

Edom recently released the new record Hope and Destruction on Tzadik Records, an album that pushes musical bounds to new and interesting levels. The album touches on many musical forms beginning with the atonal elegy, “Somewhere.” “Rocks” is one of the more emotional songs on the album; it begins with with an epic synth solo over a rather slow tempo, picking up slowly, and sounding much like an Elliot Smith song before Maoz’s distorted and complex instrumentation takes over. Tracks such as “Shuki” and “Two” highlight the album’s overall approach to experimentation while the often distressed, toneless sounds of “Skies” may not be an avid Jazz lover’s cup of tea, but more along the lines of Serj Tankian’s solo endeavours. Since Hope and Destruction explores so much new ground, it should be commended for its emotional range. The album juxtaposes a slow, rageful sound with an upbeat and dance-worthy combo.

Maoz and crew have put together an interesting record with loads of creativity and cutting edge musicianship. Pushing against what popular music tries to accomplish, Edom would rather have you think and feel – a truly noble, musical intent.

Published by this Zine

Album Review: The Oh Sees' Warm Slime

Being that San Francisco is the birthplace of psychedelia, one may come to expect that a considerable plurality of bands that come from there still has traces of LSD running through their veins. The ones daring enough to start bands ultimately have a knack for spaced out, flower jams in their blood. Thee Oh Sees channel that historic sound, but also blues, garage rock and elements of punk rock, honing a very honest and well crafted interpretation of these archetypal genres. Yet the sound The Oh Sees broadcast is very much their own.

Thee Oh Sees' latest effort, Warm Slime, which follows their last In The Red release, Help, shows the band embracing the same type of hard rock and pushing themselves to the edge musically. The album takes off like a rocket, beginning with the title track, which clocks in around 13-and-a-half minutes. The song is a high tempo, raw mess of epic proportions - in the vein of rawer My Bloody Valentine or Lou Reed's songs with the Velvet Underground.

The Fogerty-inspired "I Was Denied" is a rocking take on old blue's riffage, while "Everything Went Black" touches on Stiff Little Fingers-esque punk rock. Thee Oh Sees continuously refresh familiarities from all aspects of rock and roll, flirting with The Cramps' rugged glam rock sound ("Castiatic Tackle") or creating their own version of "Heroin" ("Flash Bats").

After The Oh Sees resurrect The Saints for their closing track, "MT Work," one cannot help but feel satisfied. Thee Oh Sees have incorporated an abundance of the greatest rock and roll yet only to spew it out into a rough and rugged party album - I can't help but have fun. Don't let this one be a 'ghost in the trees.'

Published by Treble Magazine

Album Review: Not Cool's Rugged Raw

There is something about Not Cool that makes them more than just a typical hipster band. Sure, the sound is there, the "wooos" harmonizing in between lyrics, and the warm, fuzzy guitars, but the musical output is dynamic and multifaceted. On their first release, Rugged Raw, which is either a long running EP (eat your heart out Sufjan Stevens) or a short running LP, no two songs sound the same. Touching on influences like Fugazi, The Replacements, Blur, and Pavement, as well as a pretty ironic and blunt name and 'gutter pop' self proclamation, Not Cool are born of a strong indie rock pedigree.

The London based band got together in the winter of 2008 after two seemingly no name UK acts, Lost Penguin and The Violets, disbanded, their debut album arriving after the band released and sold out of a slew of split 7-inches this year with the likes of Male Bonding, as well as playing the UK festival circuit and touring with Crocodiles. The album begins with the first introduction to the Not Cool lo-fi guitar sound; a captivatingly warm guitar fuzz that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. The next track is the undeniably Fugazi influenced, if perhaps ironically titled, "SST" - ballsy.

"Perfect Hair Forever," is the catchiest song on the album, hands down. The jangly guitar riff is in the realm of newer acts like Male Bonding and the Crocodiles. "Retired to Stud," begins with a simple bass line before the charming lyric, "I can take you anywhere," by Matthew J Gilbert, and an interesting guitar solo emulating Pavement-esque chord progressions, circa Wowee Zowee.

The most raw track, "Queens," resurrects more '90s lo-fi. Touches of Guided by Voices and even Love Battery, Sub Pop's most underrated band, shine throughout, particularly in the drum work of Andrew Moran. The album ends with "Hideous Men," an amusing, personal portrayal of singer, Gilbert: "I can't fit/ But I eat well." Bassist William Riley, keeps a stellar rhythm section, as he does throughout the album.

Not Cool deliver something unique in a very homogeneous time in music. Their music is beyond the beach and a perfect outlook for fall. The album packs a punch, and if you're into hooky lo-fi and warm fuzzy guitars, his album should easily capture your attention. Play this one loud.

Published by Treble Magazine

Album Review: Screaming Females - "Castle Talk"

At first listen, it's easy to overlook that the thunderous sound of Screaming Females is made by not only a three-piece, but one with a female leader - not in a sexist way, of course, but because their music has bigger balls than most. The lady in question is Marissa Paternoster; a high-energy lightning rod with a voice in the range of Siouxsie Sioux or Jemina Pearl (with some Bessie Smith in there for good measure). Her awesome pipes are matched with a '90s guitar sound that's at times as dreamy as James Iha and others as off-the-wall as J Mascis.

Paternoster and her male counterparts, Jarrett Dougherty on drums and Michael Abbate on bass, carved their way through the rural New Jersey basement circuit releasing two DIY mini-albums, 2006's, Baby Teeth followed by 2007's, What If Someone Is Watching Their TV? (which has since been reissued). But, it wasn't until they signed with local label Don Giovanni Records and released their first proper studio LP, Power Move, that the band finally gained some outside-New Jersey recognition. With their thrash-heavy hooks and high energy permeating from furious live performances, Paternoster, at times, seems to be channeling the late, Mia Zapata.

Castle Talk has the signature Paternoster guitar sound; the album's opener, "Laura and Marty" begins with a few chords of pure distortion. But as the song plays out the listener is introduced to a cleaner and more mature sound, structurally. Paternoster's impressive talents are to be expected after two excellent releases, though her playing and songwriting has taken a step forward. Instead of the howling choruses we've seen in earlier releases, she takes a more melodic singing approach this time around, as on "I Don't Mind It" and the ultra hooky "Normal."

The rest of the band have taken cues from Paternoster's progression and equally stepped up their own games - Abbate's rhythm section is repetitive and hooky, much attuned to that of Krist Noveselic, while Dougherty's knack for timing is most noticeable in "Nothing At All." "Sheep" is Paternoster going acoustic, which works - and is a pleasant change of pace before the building climax, "Ghost Solo," in which Paternoster puts her guitar wisdom to the test, and for that matter, succeeds.

With their new sense of maturity and a cleaner sound, the album doesn't detract from their DIY, garage rock roots. The album is sure to put the band back into the indie spotlight; with so much blog-talk surrounding Power Move, Castle Talk is the Females 'make or break' album. Based on the talent on hand, the levees should hold.

Published by Treble Magazine