Album a Day: Cylab - Cut & Coil

It's hard to believe that Cut & Coil is only the third album from the transcontinental Cylab (though fourth release if you factor in the remix album Disseminate). Each release from this band shows more and more solidification of sound and style and no doubt this brand new album is their most mature work to date. Cylab, first conceived in 1999 by New York City's Percy Trayanov, began to grow to with the addition of vocals by one of my favorite vocalists Severina Sol, who of course you know as a former member of Diva Destruction and more recently as one half of my favorite new band, The Break Up, in addition to her contributions to Fockewolf and early-Atomica. Unfortunately, Cylab's first album, 2004's Unparallel Universe missed most radars, but the band began to gain notoriety for their remixes of Christ Analogue, Agonised By Love, and Collide and finally topping things off with their 2006 self-released sophomore album, Satellites and companion remix album, the subsequent and aforementioned Disseminate. Are we all caught up now? Good, because as good as any previous Cylab material is, Cut & Coil blows it out of the water. There are a number of things I love about this album but what really stands out the most to me is that I think Trayanov and Sol (with contributions from drummer Dre Robinson, who joined the band after his own work on the brilliant Skinny Puppy album Greater Wrong of The Right and just around the time of Satellites) have finally established what exactly the Cylab sound is. Though the post-apocalyptic trip-hop-induced-industrial was evident on previous albums, that sound here feels like an all-out attack, a declaration of war that will not stop until it has skull-fucked everyone in sight. Believe me when I say that Cylab ain't fuckin' around and every listener should enlist in the Cylab army while they're still recruiting. Ok, enough with the war metaphors because in addition to being a hard-hitting album it is also full of heart, mystery, and is sexy as hell, though none of this should could as a surprise as the potential was always there, it's just that the result is finally here kicking down the door (I guess that could be another war metaphor but I swear its my last). A large part of that confidence is displayed in the diversity of the album with elements of industrial, trip-hop, EBM throughout, and then individual songs each having their own thing going on that allows the album to hold consistency while giving each track the ability to stand alone. A great example of this would be a track like, "Trigger" which feels like the rest of the album, has a very punk-rock feel to it that isn't really present anywhere else, but doesn't seem out of place, rather just another movement in the album. I also love that Trayanov demonstrates his classical-piano background on "Cocoon". His piano talents are as beautiful as Sol's vocals and I would love to see the two of them either infuse more of this into the Cylab work or even pursue a side-project that shows off different interests of the same members like Estampie for Qntal or Tanzwut for Corvus Corax. Once again Sol's vocals here are as haunting as ever and Sol's stock is quickly rising with strong showings this year in both Cylab and The Break Up. Severina has really demonstrated her own ability to retain her style and essence while being able to lend her vocals to a range of different sounds. This puts her in the great position where hopefully more bands will begin to contact her for guest vocal work, something she has not been a stranger to in the past with more recent contributions to Hatesex, Caustic, and Embodi. I would love to her Sol work other talented vocalists like Iris' Reagan Jones, Seabound's Frank Spinath, or even similarly-styled Collide/The Secret Meeting vocalist kaRIN. Content-wise I think Cylab also continues to stay strong as the songs here mix science fiction with universal themes of spirituality and rebirth. The band looks forward with new sounds like the previously mentioned "Trigger" and "Dragonfly Dream" while referencing the great work they did on their previous album with the track "Spheres". All of this in addition to really cool album-artwork that really pops, slick production, and hard-work will only help Cylab push the boundaries of what is possible for this band, which I think as hard as it may be to believe given how good this album is, only can go up in my opinion. Favorite Tracks: Skin, Dragonfly Dream, Shifting Time, Red Blood Clay and Dust, and Trigger

Album a Day: !!! - Strange Weather, Isn't It?

When I think of the Sacramento-native !!! (this is the place in a review where they normally tell you how to pronounce the band's name) my mind immediately goes to "dance epic". Now this can be taken a number of ways: on the one hand you can take this words in tandem to mean that the music of !!! is a "dance epic" in the same vein as a "rock opera" but much more like"Thriller" or Xanadu. On the other hand we can simply break down that the music is epic and you happen to be able to dance to it. The former referring more to a planned act of something conceptual and the latter being a series of descriptive yet seemingly unrelated adjectives. To this analysis I say that all of the above is true and exemplified so well in this brand-new album, Strange Weather, Isn't It? from the dance-punk nightmare of !!!. First formed in 1996 from an amalgamation of other local Sacramento bands such as Black Liquorice, Popesmashers, and hardcore-act Yah Mos, !!! would eventually release four albums between 2000 and 2010 starting with a self-titled album and inevitably winding up here with what I would say is perhaps their most mature work to date. The band has continued strongly with their signature blend of funk and electro-pop fused with elements of punk and hardcore (its ok to tell me that those two genres are the same but others may punch you in the solar plexus for that statement). What I'd say is different between this album and previous ones is that I think !!! continues to just own it more. That is say that while previous albums may feel like a track playing in a club, I would equate this album much more to the down-the-street-strut of Tony Manero. To me Strange Weather, Isn't It? elicits a very visceral reaction that not only makes me want to dance but rather boogie with the cosmos or simply melt away into a montage of the Big Bang (I can't help if my visceral reactions mostly have to do with space). I love this album and the continued quirkiness of the band. I love that there's a very poetic quality to !!! but less W.H. Auden and more Jack Kerouac. Sonically the eight-piece ensemble is able to create an album that is very layered as is demonstrated on the uplifting "Steady As The Sidewalk Cracks" but comes off as very bare and minimalist as exemplified on the more down-tempo "Hollow" that allows the listener to crawl somewhere between the cracks of the music like having a cave amongst the layers. "Hollow" is one of my favorite tracks as the song, like many of the songs on the album, not only takes from a place of those great decades of funk but also has a very 90's sensibility to it not only with the sampling but the pace of the music as well. The other previously mentioned track "Steady As The Sidewalk Cracks" also has that sensibility, reminiscent of the Sting's "Shape of My Heart" but jazzed up and mixed with a bit of Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher". My favorite track on the CD may be the much more disco-flavored "Even Judas Gave Jesus a Kiss" not only for its obvious tongue-in-cheek blasphemy, which I'm always a fan of, but to look beyond that silliness you see a genuine song questioning aspects of Christanity, history, and how that relates to much more modern concepts. !!! has the ability to make you smile and think all while sticking their tongues out in a playful yet punk kind of way, which is why they have continued to be successful with one of the more intense dance albums I've heard in quite a while. Favorite Tracks: Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass, Hollow, Even Judas Gave Jesus a Kiss, Steady As The Sidewalk Cracks, and AM/FM

Album a Day (EP Edition): Ascension of The Watchers - Iconoclast

I first heard Ascension of The Watchers back in 2005 with the release of this first EP, Iconoclast, and was completely taken aback by this beautiful melodic debut collaboration from two of the music scene's icons of metal/industrial, Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory, G/Z/R) and John Bechdel (Prong, Fear Factory, Ministry, Killing Joke, Murder Inc., False Icons). Ascension of The Watchers first started in 2002 during a Fear Factory sabbatical when Fear Factory leader Burton C. Bell left the craziness of Los Angeles to visit touring-mate and friend John Bechdel at his home in rural Pennsylvania. Bechdel and Bell and discussed collaborating on something together but Bechdel was under the impression that Bell would be bringing full songs ready to go. Instead Burton showed up with a guitar, some basic ideas, and a desire for a true collaboration between the two. The end result is this fascinating 2005 EP that genre-wise is somewhat hard to categorize but mixes elements of goth, shoe-gaze and ethereal with just good old fashioned singer/songwriting. The EP is a very spiritual journey and has a breathtakingly peaceful quality that can best be attributed to the band's surroundings in the aforementioned rural Pennsylvania. I grew up in Western Massachusetts and spent my undergrad days in upstate New York so I can attest to the serenity that one feels, especially in comparison to the mental fog that can get created when you're in an area like LA for too long in addition to the constant touring that both men have participated in for so long. I've been a Fear Factory fan for a long time but this side of Bell really shows off some of his other talents including passionate, beautiful vocals that compliment very understated lyrics. The lyrical content of this release is very poetic but is configured in to the music as an element rather than the focal point which to me helps showcase the intoxicating arrangements. The album name Iconoclast traditionally refers to the deliberate destruction of a particular religion within a society by the society itself, usually to make way for new modes of belief. I think that are probably a few things the band may be referring to here but to me I get this sense that is symbolizes the tearing down of the type of music and way of life that Bell had become accustomed to and even a symbol for to make way for this EP which I think reads as a rebirth for Bell. For a man that certainly was burnt out from Fear Factory at the time, you certainly wouldn't know it from this mini-album which is just full of passion and in Bell and Bechdel's own words is very heartfelt. I love that all of the songs tend to lean on the long side as they really have time to develop and fester, especially the last track, "Quintessence" at just over ten minutes and without vocals. This song reminds me a lot of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and shows a very experimental side of the band that contrasts nicely with a more folk-pop song like "Moonshine" (my favorite song the album). All of the songs would be slightly redone, extended, remastered, recorded, etc. for the bands much more wide-spread full-length 2008 release Numinosum but I love the raw nature of the recordings on this release. The newer versions are good but I have a certain affinity towards these early recordings like being in on Bell and Bechdel's process. This self-released EP comes in a beautiful foldout digipak adorned with really haunting yet serene photography by Burton C. Bell and also features an interactive program that has the bands bio, a short interview and a music video for "On The River". The music video is fairly simple with one sustained scene of Bell and Bechdel in a boat on a river presumably near Bechdel's home with the camera in between the two just spinning around and catching both men contemplating and Bell singing along. This isn't an amazing video but serves the song well in creating a dizzying quality like spinning around in circles until collapsing on the ground with the giggles. The short interview is a highlight of this release as Bell and Bechdel discuss the origins of the band while signing AOTW posters (which are great and have the band's killer icon). There's a very casual element to the interview that matches the colloquial quality to the album. This EP is a rare find but if you spot it then I highly suggest adding it to your collection. Favorite Tracks: On The River, Moonshine, and Quintessence

Album a Day: The Break Up - The Break Up

The Break Up is easily one of the most exciting bands I've heard in a long time. Formed officially in 2007 ,the duo of Shane Allen Hall (who many in the NYC and Seattle club scenes may know as either Blix Krieg or Terra Hymen) and Severina Sol (Cylab, Fockewolf, Diva Destruction, Atomica) began playing live shows in 2009 before the official release of any album. Though it took about three years to release The Break Up one could argue it took about a decade with Hall and Sol first jamming together in the earlier part of the 2000's. Perhaps this is the formula all bands should take as this self-titled debut release is really amazing. At just under and hour this album feels like a journey that is much longer (though never boring). Hall does a great job of mixing elements of darkwave, synthpop, and electro-industrial to create a very unique sound that really transcends any particular style while still retaining something that sound very familiar. Of course all of this is complimented so well with Severina's vocals which are really so diverse that they have worked well for a number of styles. As much as I love Sol's other projects, I feel that The Break Up really flexes her vocal muscles while allowing her to experiment with a variety of emotions. This might be the most impressed I've been with Severina's vocal range both technically and stylistically. Throughout all of that Severina's voice always retains a very haunting quality that stays with you long after the music has ended. I think a lot of this can also be contributed to Sol lyrical talents. I first met Severina around the time of the first Cylab release and can tell you that she is a very spiritual person with an affinity for mystical (one of the things I adore about her the most). I think that side of her really shows on this album especially on a song like "Trapeze". My favorite line from the song has to be "I dream in galaxies and dance amongst the stars". The beautiful imagery here is so poetic. If Sol were to ever write a book of poetry I would be the first in line to read it. I had never heard any work by Shane Allen Hall up until this album but with this release he has propelled himself to the top of my list of favorite song writers. You can tell that there's just a lot of effort and attention to detail that he puts in to his work. I sometimes understand the point that critics make when discussing the lazier points of electronic music because it is fairly easy to create a few beats and just sort of let them go but no one can make that argument about Hall. His music has great movement to it, nice little moments in the synths that create personality, and there's both appeal for the clubs or just sitting at home and bobbing your head (something I did constantly while listening to this album). Critics have pointed to The Break Up as having a very retro sound, which I would somewhat agree with but adding in the caveat that Hall and Sol not only embrace a sound that never should have gone away in the first place, but add something very cutting edge to it. I would never accuse this band of looking back as I think they have nowhere to go but up and forward. Certainly the band's sound is reminiscent of 80's band like Berlin, early De/Vision, and Rational Youth but I think you'll find elements of The Dreamside, The Crüxshadows, Grendel and IAMX as well. It should come as no surprise that the production on this album is really tight as the duties were handled expertly by fellow Seattle musician Jasyn Bangert (God Module). The album flows really nicely with a great range of sound from the more subdued tracks like "Black Ocean" and "Tread Softly" to clubbier singles like the intoxicating "Who's Crying Now" or the militaristic "Guillotine". You also just really have to appreciate the pageantry that Hall and Sol put in to their visual style with a mix of new romantic, victorian goth, and just plain class. I wish more bands would take the time to look as incredibly sexy as both Severina Sol and Shane Allen Hall do as it not only sends the message that we care about our live shows, we care about our fans, but we have musical skills to back it the fuck up. I highly recommend you pick up this disc and keep an eye on where this project is going so if nothing else you can be elitist and say you heard them way back when. Favorite Tracks: Who's Crying Now, Addict, Trapeze, Tread Softly, Guillotine, and Requieum

Album a Day: Within Temptation - The Silent Force

In 2004 Dutch symphonic band Within Temptation released this junior album, The Silent Force. According to lead singer Sharon den Adel the title was taken from a book by Dutch poet/novelist Louis Couperus and the majority of the album takes from said book. Though I do love the most recent work of Within Temptation, I think that this album still stands as my favorite. I had heard Within Temptation sitting in my buddy Kilean's place listening to albums and watching PAL DVDs that he managed to get a region-free DVD player for, but this album was the first one of their that I owned and really took the time to make my way through. There's so much heart on this album that this is a perfect album to share with someone you love for all the emotions involved. Sharon den Adel's vocals are so passionate but not just one note. In fact the entire band really knows when to play up the heavier guitar moments and throw in an entire orchestra and when to sit back and just let the vocals and a piano (or keyboard anyway) do their job. Really there are no bands doing exactly what Within Temptation does, though there are plenty that try. One of my favorite aspects about this album is not only in the hooks of the songs but also the positive message on a song like "Stand My Ground". Its interesting that when you see Within Temptation play live you get the sense that this is somehow a fantasy metal band like so many that are out there but I think this album is very much grounded in reality making it all that more accessible. The album has solid production that lends itself well to a myriad of sound that at times can include the six regular musicians in the band and an orchestra. In fact the addition of an orchestra is really amazing. A number of bands such as Metallica and Wolfsheim have used orchestras before but usually when performing a special version of an existing song, here Within Temptation finds particular moments to deploy the Ego Works Session Orchestra to enhance songs rather than take focus away from the music. Within Temptation is generally good about finding a balance between spectacle and substance. My only complaint about this album is that there a variety of different versions with different bonus tracks and so its difficult to hear all of them without spending a fortune to buy each different one (especially when most of them are imports. My version is the UK version which includes the bonus tracks, "Destroyed (Demo Version) and "Jane Doe". "Jane Doe" (written by Guus Eikens of Orphanage) feels much more like a classic Within Temptation song which is to say more of a metal edge and the addition of more distorted vocals that the band used to employ. Its fascinating how many singles are on this album and really how many of the songs have become staples of Within Temptation's live show with various versions appearing on other releases including the band's live CD Black Symphony and later acoustic session An Acoustic Night At The Theatre. I think this really speaks not only to Sharon den Adel and Robert Westerholt's lyrics, or the music that backs it, but also the bands connection with the fans that make the songs so popular. If you watch the live DVD from the tour to support this album you can see so many people singing along to songs that hadn't been out for that long but as if they had been for years. I also love the artwork on this album as there's something minimalist but very powerful about it. This is a great album and a must have if you are a Within Temptation fan or fans of similar music. Favorite Tracks: See Who I Am, Jillian (I'd Give My Heart), Stand My Ground, Angels, Memories, and Jane Doe

Album a Day (DVD Edition): Einstürzende Neubauten - Palast Der Republik

Einstürzende Neubauten loves their fans. I mean truly its difficult for any band to stay together three decades and retain such control over their music so Neubauten turns to the fans for support and in turn reward them. One such reward would include a 2004 "supporter-only" concert (in reference to the band's initiative to put out work without a label but rather the financial backing of their fan-base via donations) at Berlin's Palast Der Republik, an iconic building that housed, amongst other things, the East German Parliament, though this rather be a skeleton of the former building which was in the process of being torn down (a beautiful reference to Neubauten's name which literally means Collapsing Buildings). A video of the show was recorded and released as an exclusive supporter's only DVD and would not be released to the public until 2006. It's a good thing too because this is a great DVD for an Einstürzende Neubauten fan. If you haven't seen a Neubauten show then you are missing out. The band is widely recognized for their unique use of industrial machinery, products, waste, etc. in their music making and all of that is on display here with garbage cans, power tools, sheet metal, PVC pipes, and even the building itself. As the show goes on the usage only becomes more creative with highlights including a moment where a series of beer can boxes filled with who knows what and tied together by string is dragged around the building by one of the band members as part of one of the sequences of "Grudstueck". My personal favorite moment is when the band uses an air compressor with a mobile made of bottles, a device that was explored in depth on the album Perpetuum Mobile. The song selections are really solid with a mix of iconic older tracks such as "Haus Der Luege", "Armenia", and "Sabrina", newer songs like "Youme & Meyou" and the epic "Perpetuum Mobile" and then the highlight has to be the middle of the performance which includes "Grudstueck" movement from the 2nd supporter-only album. Another innovation and show of love towards their fan-base is featured on several songs where the band is supported by a 100-piece chorus made of their supporters enlisted directly from their website. One of the things I love about Neubauten has been their ability to take experimental music and make it accessible. That whole idea translates very well to this DVD because you get a mixture of concert and performance, like watching Stomp. Its easy to watch this DVD over and over again to notice all the different ways in which the band is creating sound. In fact a DVD like this should be mandatory for any kind of college sound program, especially for foley artists and experimental musicians. But even if you're not super in to experimental music this is a fun show to watch, chill out to, and just enjoy the pioneers of industrial music dressed up in nice suits showing you don't have to be rich to make music. The DVD also includes two bonus tracks that are part of the concert but for some reason omitted as part of the main DVD movie ("Die Befindlichkeit Des Landes" and "Redukt"). The video of the show could be slightly better but the sound recording is phenomenal. Favorite Tracks: Haus Der Luege, Armenia, Youme & Meyou, Perpetuum Mobile, Grundstueck, Was Ist Ist, Sabrina, and Redukt

Album a Day (Concert Edition): Rasputina w/Larkin Grimm at The Troubadour (West Hollywood, CA 8/14/10)

Yes! I actually went out to a show last night. This doesn't seem that amazing because I used to go to concerts on a weekly basis when I was an undergrad at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY and back then I didn't even have any money. I would ask my parents for 80 dollars and I would live off of that for upwards of six months. I mean we had a cafeteria, I rarely needed to drive my car, and I was going to concerts for free doing interviews for my radio show. But now I have a job, I have artwork to make, and I live in Los Angeles where concerts are expensive (though hopefully I will now be returning to my free show ways between this blog and writing for a Magazine! Keeping my fingers crossed for Gary Numan in the Fall). But regardless of all that, last night's show was really spectacular as both bands had a great energy but the style of music was something that you could just relax and absorb. Up first was an act I had not heard of up until this point by the name of Larkin Grimm. We all know opening acts can be a crap-shoot but I thought Larkin Grimm was great. She was funny, talented, interacted well with the crowd. She came out with her three-piece band (Larkin on guitar and a harp that she was able to strap on like a guitar, a girl on bass, and guy that was an entire percussion section unto himself) all adorned in feathers which I'm not sure if that was their particular style or more in-line with Rasputina but I thought they were a nice compliment to everything. Larkin Grimm combines a nice mix of folk, indie and soul that results in sometimes beautiful, sometimes maddening music. I think she played to the maddening just a bit because of the Rasputina crowd (which she pointed out how different a reaction she got from Rasputina fans when mentioning that one song was a little gorier of a tale than others). I loved the job the drummer did as he not only played the drums with various different kinds of sticks to create different sounds but also, like a good percussionist should, had an array of other tools of sound. It was also really interesting to notice Larkin Grimm's affinity for the West as permeates in the style but comes to the forefront in the song "Ride That Cyclone" from her 2008 album Parplar (an album I certainly hope to be reviewing in the near future). The Yale graduate actually grew up in the south born in Memphis, TN and eventually relocating as a youth with her hippie parents to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia (not quite the west but you get the idea). I thought Larkin Grimm's music and personality were both incredibly charming and I became a fan. Rasputina was equally amazing. I've been a fan of Rasputina for a long-time now but this was my first time actually seeing them in concert. The first thing I wrote down while taking notes about this show was "real musicians have afghans" referring to 2nd chair and first male cellist the band has had, Daniel DeJesus' afghan he sat on during the show. Of course all three band members (1st chair cellist, founder, and banjoist Melora Creager, the aforementioned Daniel DeJesus, and percussionist/punk-rocker Catie D'Amica) were sitting during the performance which I thought couple with The Troubador set-up added for a really intimate show. Even though I have lived in Los Angeles for three years this was actually my first time to The Troubador. My compatriot, Brian, and I came early, found free street parking, and enjoyed a nice West Hollywood dinner at a Brazilian Restaurant by the name of Bossa Nova. I thought the food was excellent with generous portions for decent prices. The Troubador (or Doug Weston's Troubador if you're a dick) is a great little venue with hardly a bad spot in the house (though I wish the stage was just a big higher so I didn't have annoying obsessive fans starting to sit on the stage in front of me towards the end of the show. Seriously, this one girl was on her knees, on the edge of the stage right by DeJesus taking pictures to her phone. DeJesus looked over at her at one point to make sure he didn't accidentally hit her with his bow. But on a side note she fell down off a curb after the show so all is right with the world). The Troubador has a nice upstairs section you can also watch the show at (I think its for advance ticket buyers but I could be wrong about that) which I did not venture to but seemed cool if you like sitting. Back to the show itself, Rasputina played a variety of songs from a variety of albums which my friend Brian (a slightly more dedicated Rasputina fan than me) pointed out seemed largely in couples. I loved all of Melora Creager's banter between songs including that in the band's free time they are statisticians for fun, they have found ways to combine their work and pleasure, and that 92% of Rasputina songs are true. Melora also had a great line about how she lives in a very homeopathic community and when she was pregnant everyone pressured her to have a home birth. Well she had compromised by having a home Caesarean section. I also enjoy how smart her quips were including a line about the next song being accepted recently as the theme song for a new sitcom about Emily Dickinson. The crowd was a very dedicated fan-base, yelling out request after request in spite of Creager stating that this was not the time for requests but that it would come later until she finally submitted and played "Watch T.V." from How We Quit The Forest. The musical highlights for me were "Rats" from Cabin Fever!, "Watch T.V.", the covers (which of course Rasputina is famous for) of The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks", Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", and CCR's "Bad Moon Rising". In addition I also loved all of the encore songs which featured "Bad Moon Rising" from The Lost and Found (2nd Edition), "Hunter's Kiss" from Cabin Fever!, "Wicked Dickie" and "Possum of The Grotto" from Frustration Plantation, "Diamond Mind" from How We Quit The Forest, and finally finished off so well with "The New Zero" also off of How We Quit The Forest. Overall a great show and I was home by 1:30 (if you like sleeping, which I do).

Album a Day: Hollywood, Mon Amour - Hollywood, Mon Amour

If I were a religious man I would make Marc Collin my personal lord and saviour. But I'm an atheist so I'll have to settle for a lot of admiration. First Marc Collin brings the world his bossa nova-style punk/post-punk/goth/modern rock/new wave cover band Nouvelle Vague featuring some of the most talented female vocalists France has to offer. Not good enough for you? (Wow, selfish much?). From Marc Collin's genius mind we also get Hollywood, Mon Amour, which much like Nouvelle Vague is a nod to the French New Wave (Nouvelle Vague translating from French to mean New Wave) with the name being a play on my favorite French New Wave film, Alain Resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour. The music style is very much the same but the aim of this project is more geared towards reworkings of movie theme songs. As both a lover of the Nouvelle Vague-style and a filmmaker I adore this 2008 self-titled release for its emotion-melting abilities and wise song choices. In league with Marc Collin's tastes displayed with the Nouvelle Vague-project, all the film's are from that decade I was born in to called the 80's. I really like this collection because Collin doesn't always have to go for the most popular songs (though there are plenty of those there as well) and so I think the album doesn't necessarily just play like a compilation but rather allows Hollywood, Mon Amour to explore a variety of styles and put together a cohesive album. Collin's arrangements are so beautiful and I think this release has a particularly calming effect that allows the listener to occupy a space inside the album for sixty or so minutes of the album. However Collin is not alone here once again aided by many of his Nouvelle Vague compatriots and a bevy of talented femme fatal vocalists including Skye, Katrina Ottosen, Nadeah, Dea Li, Yael Naim, Cibelle, Nancy Danino, Leelou, Inga, Bianca Calandra, and the incomparable Juliette Lewis. Though I wish this release could have included my favorite Collin-co-conspirator, Melanie Pain, it was refreshing to see a mostly new line-up of women from the aforementioned sister project Nouvelle Vague. I feel like I could write entire entries about each track but the story of the album is a lot of sexiness in a slue of great song choices. Collin really takes the time to reinterpret these songs and so a track like Survivor's "Eye of The Tiger" (from the film Rocky III) traditionally elicits that image of a montage of preparation where Hollywood, Mon Amour's version feels more like a retrospective tale told by the campfire. Another great example would be the theme from the Bond film For Your Eyes Only (one of two Bond songs on the album with the other being the infamous Duran Duran-penned "A View To A Kill"), which one would traditionally think of with deception, secrecy, etc. but here the band creates this amazing sense of intimacy. The real soft spots in this album for me have to be "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do" and "When Doves Cry". Collin's sense of emotion is so well complimented by songs that are fairly emotionally epic on their own. The limited edition version of the album also contains three great tracks including Berlin's "Take My Breath Away", the theme from Electric Dreams, and the theme from Butterfly. This is a beautiful record and there's a lot of appeal here whether you're a fan of Nouvelle Vague, Marc Collin, any of the singers, any of the films, etc. so I highly recommend picking this up and here's hoping that this project is not just a one and done. Favorite Tracks: Call Me, Eye of The Tiger, When Doves Cry, A View To A Kill, Flashdance...What a Feeling, Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do), For Your Eyes Only, and Don't You (Forget About Me)

Album a Day (EP Edition): Combichrist - Frost EP: Sent To Destroy

I would say I pretty much always enjoy the work of Andy LaPlegua whether it be Icon of Coil, Panzer AG, Scandy, or in this case Combichrist. Of his projects Combichrist is my least favorite but not because it's less than good but rather because I just love the other projects so much. However, as good as those bands are I think Combichrist+remix=gold. Whether its Combichrist remixing or getting remixed I'm generally satisfied with the result. I think the quality result comes from two factors. The first is that Combichrist is without a doubt the most popular of LaPlegua's projects, I think even surpassing Icon of Coil which is certainly a feat so that is going to attract a lot of wanting to remix his music. The second reason is that a lot of credit has to be given to LaPlegua for his choices on who to work when it comes in terms of who to remix and who to be remixed by, often seemingly trading a remix for a remix. This isn't to say that all the remixes are great as the 2008 Frost EP: Sent To Destroy (yin to the yang of the later released Heat EP) demonstrates both good and ok remixes (thankfully none are bad, some are just neither here nor there). The EP is essentially divided in to three parts beginning with two original tracks, "Sent To Destroy" and "Prince of E-Ville" sandwiching an instrumental version of "The Kill", followed by three remixes of "Sent To Destroy" by Rotersand, Northborne (which features former Icon of Coil bandmate Christian Lund), and Suicide Commando, and three remixes of "Prince of E-Ville" by Babyland, Accessory, and Caustic. The three original tracks here are great. "Sent To Destroy" is a pretty standard industrial club anthem about war, nukes, post-apocalyptic scenarios. I do particularly like the chorus "Your God sent us to destroy". I was actually a little less impressed with the remixes of this song, especially the Rotersand Rework (although I do always love that Rotersand calls their remixes "reworks) as Germany's Rotersand usually puts out really interesting remixes that can take songs in entirely different directions. Its not bad, its just not all that different from the original version, same thing with the Northborne remix. The only remix I really enjoyed of this song was the version by Suicide Commando. Suicide Commando is a band that pretty much usually just makes other songs sound like Suicide Commando songs but its consistent and good. I normally don't like instrumentals as I'm big on vocals but I though the instrumental version of "The Kill" was very catchy and since Combichrist vocals are often just used as another instrument in a song I didn't miss the vocals. If anything the lack of vocals probably helped break up the EP just a little. As good as the title track of this EP is I thought the real standout here was "Prince of E-Ville" is a really funny track poking fun at members of the Goth/Industrial scene. I especially love the line about smoking Cloves and the sample from the film The Convent. I don't think Combichrist is lyrically breaking any ground or anything T.S. Eliot would be proud of, which is probably the reason Combichrist is my least favorite as LaPlegua has shown more thought and talent with Panzer AG but that's not the point of Combichrist. Combichrist is fun and "Prince of E-Ville" takes that fun to a higher level, like if Voltaire made aggrotech (maybe someday). The remixes here are much better with Los Angeles' Babyland probably putting in the greatest effort on the disc if nothing else but for taking the song and making it sound like something different but still catchy and adding guitars. The Accessory remix is pretty standard fair but solid and the other standout of the CD is probably the Caustic remix. I actually can't even say what Caustic's Matt Fanale changed about the song but there's something just tighter about it that really works. Overall this is a solid release for people that like remixes with slick production and slick artwork. One thing you can't say about Andy LaPlegua is that he skimps on releases with this forty-six and half minute EP. Favorite Tracks: Sent To Destroy, The Kill (Instru:Mental Version), Prince of E-Ville, Sent To Destroy (Sacrifice Remix by Suicide Commando), Prince of E-Ville (Princess Mix by Babyland), and Prince of E-Ville (Caustic Remix)

Album a Day: Berlin - 4Play

Legendary 80's new wave band Berlin probably never REALLY got their just due. Sure, there was the popular hit "Take My Breath Away" but instead of that becoming their breakthrough song the band somewhat faded into obscurity and were plagued by problems ultimately leading to their breakup, disputes over rights to the band name (which was eventually won by Terri Nunn), lineup changes, etc. that never really helped the legacy of the band. So it was nice to see Nunn's recent incarnation of the band at least artistically rebound with 2005's 4Play. This album (which at just over half an hour and mostly filled with covers and live tracks should be called an EP) is the first really solid release of newly recorded material in several years (also depending on whether or not you liked 2002's Voyeur). The album features two new songs with the heartfelt "Scream" and club-worthy "Down and Dirty". I really like both of these songs and they show off Berlin's ability to grow and progress being able to hang with more modern electropop bands likes Ladytron, Robots In Diguise, and Goldfrapp, but I think the "Scream" is the real standout of the two. The song is emotional, has great structure to it, really nice synth work by Mitchell Sigman (though all band members are credited on the writing of the song). The vast majority of the album are covers including less surprising covers of Peter Gabriel's "Big Time", Prince and The Revolution's "Erotic City", and David Bowie's "Fashion" with "Erotic City" really being the best of these more expected covers of other 80's artists. "Erotic City" is already a great song and perhaps one of the more underrated Prince and The Revolution songs. Berlin has this great ability with covers to stay true to the nature of the song while really owning it and changing something perhaps just by being themselves which I think helps draw in fans of the original songs while pleasing old Berlin fans and creating new ones. This is probably best displayed on another track on this album which is a cover of Marilyn Manson's "The Dope Show". I first heard this song when it was released on a Marilyn Manson tribute album titled Anonymous Messiah. I played this song for years in the Goth/Industrial club scene and there's just something so pleasing about this cover and I actually had another DJ turn to me and say, "Who's covering this?" When I mentioned it was Berlin the DJ did a double take with a smile growing on his face. Terri Nunn also has a solo cover of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" that I think is good but doesn't really do Nunn any favors for building a new audience. The other cover on the album is a live version of Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again" which is one of two live tracks on the album with the other being the classic Berlin song "No More Words" with the original line-up of the band from VH1's Bands Reunited. This is really great and anyone that is familiar with VH1 live tracks knows that the recording is great because you get a great mix of studio professional recording while still retaining a live feel that people want from a live track. The iTunes version of the album omits the "For What It's Worth" cover but includes an acoustic version of my favorite Berlin track, "The Metro". I really wish this had been included on the album as I can never get enough versions of "The Metro". The production on this album is really tight and I think 4Play is successful in offering something for the old fans and something to build new ones that I hope will eventually result in at least one more studio album. Favorite Tracks: Scream, Erotic City, The Dope Show, Down and Dirty, No More Words (Acoustic from VH1's Bands Reunited), and The Metro (Acoustic iTunes version)

Album a Day: The Trinity Project - The Subtle Movements of The Entropy Engine

I am one hundred percent in favor of side-projects because its very easy to say, "Well, this is the main thing I want to be known for and here are my other interests so I should explore those as well." As an experimental filmmaker I often branch out into writing (short story, poetry, and these meditations on other artists' works), DJing, and someday I'll probably get back into narrative film where I started (just as a side thing), so I totally get the idea of side-projects. Unfortunately we don't see this often enough in music and so either bands can become parodies of themselves and the music is just the same thing over and over or the band alienates their fans by doing things that are perhaps far too out of the realm of that particular project. Ego Likeness' real-life married couple Steve Archer and Donna Lynch completely understand this as both are not only musicians but they also paint, draw, write and who knows what else goes on in their creative world. So one of the results is Steve and Donna's 2002 release The Subtle Movements of The Entropy Engine under the name The Trinity Project. The album shows off Archer and Lynch's more experimental side that pushes the musical imagination. The album starts off with the complex 20 minute title track. Archer mentions in the liner notes that he had the name for the song/album about two years before doing anything with it and then recording the whole thing in about two weeks with intentions to later make the work into a film (eight years later we haven't seen the film pop up, but lets not blame the band as Ego Likeness' popularity has only gone up. But if you see them then ask when we're getting that). The title track has great movement to it and could certainly be put in the same class with a Godspeed You! Black Emperor. All the songs are good on here and you can tell what other kind of artistic modes that Archer and Lynch work in because many of the songs have a very non-linear quality to them. This non-linear mode is very interesting in relationship to the title which would see to refer to a slowing of the passage of time and observing those small gestures that can be made. My personal favorite tracks on the album are those with Donna Lynch's spoken word. I love Lynch's poetry (if you haven't read it then you are really missing out and should rectify this immediately) and so having the ability to hear it spoken aloud with noise and music only amplifies the experience. I hope some day that Lynch releases an album of just spoken word tracks with or without musical accompaniment. There are three of the spoken word tracks and my favorite of those is "50 Degrees Longitude 85 Degrees Latitude" (the other two are "If I'm Not Careful I'll Start To Get Scared of The Walls" and "Tornado") in which she recounts as a child developing a skin disorder that began to resemble a map. Lynch is very honest in her poetry (which at least on this album is always real stories) and so there's a very playful quality in things that are otherwise emotionally painful. Let's not forget that Steve Archer also is able to show off his numerous skills throughout the album not only musically but the album booklet also include some examples of his photography and artwork that are just so dense. And if that wasn't enough the booklet also includes little artist statements by both Lynch and Archer about several of the individual tracks giving you insight about the work each contributed and their thought process going in (yet another reason I personally prefer physical over digital). This album is up and down beautiful and I hope that someday we see another release from The Trinity Project. Favorite Tracks: The Subtle Movements of The Entropy Engine, 50 Degrees Longitude 85 Degrees Latitude, Love Gesture, If I'm Not Careful I'll Start To Get Scared of The Walls, The Flock of 1000 Sparrows, Votive, and Tornado

Album a Day (Digital Edition): Emergency Pizza Party - Shine Avenue

As a general rule I'm very particular when it comes to nerdcore because Nerdcore usually means comedy and comedy in music is often just bad. Its not that music can't be funny its just that its either lazy or if you looked at a Venn diagram of musicians and comedians you would not find a lot of crossover (now who's nerdy?). By the way, if the term nerdcore is confusing then let's have a short lesson: Nerdcore is a sub-genre of hip-hop about self-proclaimed "nerd" topics (if you don't know what those include then there's a revenge movie from the 80's I can highly recommend). What's particularly interesting about these solo artists and groups is that, just like the earlier days of hip hop, everything is pretty much DIY and the vast majority of the music comes from sampling. In theory all of this sounds great but in my experience a lot of Nerdcore bands just lack any sort of real talent so please don't take it lightly when I say that Emergency Pizza Party is a great fucking group and this Junior release from the Orlando-natives proves it. I first saw Emergency Pizza Party several years ago when my friends Zombies! Organize!! took me along for a convention both bands played at in the greater Fort Lauderdale area. I though EPP did a great job and an even better one while playing a show with Z!O!! not long after at the legendary Respectable Street (or Respecs for any South Floridian) in West Palm Beach. To me though, Shine Avenue is their most musically mature album really covering a variety of hip hop styles and showcasing the different talents of the band. I think what sets EPP aside from many of the other acts and puts them in the elite of their genre (amongst those like MC Lars and MC Chris) is the level of seriousness they put in to the music. This isn't to say they take themselves too seriously as a lot of fun is had on this album, but rather there's a certain level of thought put in. This comes across the in great flow of the album with a really cool intro track like "Now Hiring" featuring Kabuto The Python, ending the music part of the album (there's a sort of joke track at the end) with a smooth track like "The Easy Way" and paying homage to some of the great hip hop albums by having a cool little comedy track in the middle where all the group members are trying to one up another on disses while one guy just doesn't get it. My favorite parts of the album tend to come from MC Wreckshin who also has some great solo work that is worth checking out as I would equate to the Method Man of the group and Betty Rebel who probably has the tightest rhymes and is featured on my favorite track of the album, "Kiss Kaboom". There's some nice guest appearances on here from Kabuto The Python, Rappy McRapperson, Chaotic Logic, KZA, and one of the more notable Nerdcore Rappers in the form of ZeaLouS1. My only complain with the album is that I could do without the homophobic moments, though if Nerdcore is really a hip hop sub-genre then perhaps its somewhat fitting but I really wouldn't miss it if it was gone. But this is really a small complaint as this is overall a really tight album from a band to watch out for as they may be one of the ones to break through the Nerdcore-genre if they keep this up. Favorite Tracks: Now Hiring (feat. Kabuto The Python), Reppin, Punch-Out!!!, Kiss Kaboom, Never Make The Airwaves (feat. KZA), and The Easy Way

Album a Day: Spider Lilies - Cyclogenesis

Stacey Campbell's Spider Lilies project first began in 1999 with a single track produced and put on the internet by Rogue of The Cruxshadows before Campbell was ultimately asked to join Rogue band and Spider Lilies was put on hold until 2003. After about two years the band really got rolling with their 2005 three-track EP (a release I was fortunate enough to hear) and 2006 debut album, In The Light (the same year the band added guitarist/co-songwriter William Smith, also) . Though the early material was really solid with a great tone and atmosphere, this 2009 sophomore album is for sure the band's strongest release yet. Cyclogenesis marks the band's move towards more "club-friendly" music but without sacrificing any artistic credibility as the songs retain a great poetic quality to them with interesting subject matter that combines that great epic imagery of the aforementioned Cruxshadows with a real strong sense of spirituality. In getting towards that danceable atmosphere it seems like Campbell and Smith really tapped an 80's sensibility with elements of Animotion, Siouxsie & The Banshees, and Dead Can Dance. Its also nice to see Campbell and Smith show off their musical talents covering the vast majority of the performing on the album with contributions on the track "Mirror In The Dark" (perhaps the most touching song on the album) by live keyboardist Connor Clay and violin work by former Cruxshadows band-mate Rachel McDonnell. One of my favorite things about the album is the strong presence of guitars throughout (something that shouldn't be surprising given that both Campbell and Smith are accomplished guitarists), that has been sorely lacking on a lot of electronic-based bands in the last ten years. This album was clearly put together with such care and thought that listeners should make the same effort when playing this album. Favorite Tracks: Pay, Surgery, Metaphor, Mirror In The Dark, and Soft Green Eyes

Album a Day: Mélanie Pain - My Name

Born in Caen, France, Mélanie Pain first came to the attention of American audiences for her work in the musical collective known as Nouvelle Vague (known for their bossa nova-style covers of punk, post-punk, modern rock, new wave, and goth songs) as a featured vocalists on some of my favorite songs like Echo & The Bunnymen's "Killing Moon", the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love", and Lords of The New Church's "Dance With Me" amongst others. Mélanie Pain is probably my favorite vocalist in Nouvelle Vague (and there are so many talents to choose from) with her sweet, coy style that like the woman you want to marry is sexy because its beautiful, something that can be heavily seen when Pain plays live with the rest of the lineup. All of this alluring charm is put center-stage in her 2009 debut solo album My Name and highlighted by this collection of original songs. The eleven to fourteen tracks (depending on which release you get) put together by a few people including music largely by Benoît De Villeneuve with contributions by 1973 and Nouvelle Vague-contributor Phoebe Killdeer, lyrics by Pain and Pap Deziel, guest vocals by Norwegian sensation Thomas Dybdahl and Julien Doré, executive producing by Marc Collin (one of the geniuses behind Nouvelle Vague), and a slew of musicians playing various instruments throughout the album. As complex as all that sounds there's a very simple nature to the album that can really steer the whole things by its emotions which really allows the listener to get lost in the music. I think it was a smart choice for Pain to sing in both English and French as people expect the french given her background but an American audience obviously identifies much closer with songs in English so there are plenty of chances for radio friendly singles like "Everything I Know" and the cover of Harry Nilsson's "Little Cowboy". In keeping with Pain's Nouvelle Vague roots (Pain being one of the singers that was little known before her Nouvelle Vague days) Little Cowboy isn't the only cover as the extended version of the album also contains a really great cover of Blur's "Girls and Boys". For me a lot of the songs evoke thoughts of various film styles like the obvious French New Wave but also a song like "Helsinki" almost makes me think of a Spaghetti Western. There are a few odd discrepancies between releases as one version of the album only contains eleven tracks while other releases (including the itunes version) list thirteen or fourteen with the additions of "Girls and Boys", "Sans L'Ombre De Toi", a really cool demo track titled "Prendre Le Jour" and the song "Adieu Mon Amour" is titled on later releases as "L'Espace D'Un Instant". Translated the original title is Goodbye My Love whereas the 2nd title means The Space of a Moment, which I just think is a better name for a song anyway. Despite any confusion, I love this release because there's a great mix of indie-pop, folk, neo-classical, and a bit of 60's French Pop. The album supplies a range of emotions, Pain's vocals are beautiful, the version I have of the CD comes in a really nice thing digipak with a beautiful drawing of Pain as the cover art (the later releases feature an ok head-shot-esque picture of Pain), good covers, great originals, catchy hooks, basically everything you could want from a debut. Favorite Tracks: My Name, Celle De Vingt Ans, Everything I Know, Helsinki, La Cigarette, Adieu Mon Amour (or L'Espace D'Un Instant if you prefer), Girls And Boys, and Prendre le jour (Démo)

Album a Day: Endanger - Motion

The late 90's/early 2000's were sort of a game changer for the role of synthpop in the American Goth/Industrial scene as things started to turn from the popular industrial rock from just a few years prior and many of the European synthpop bands that had been popular for years began to pop up on more DJ's playlists. One of the top albums in the lead of that charge was the 1999 debut release Motion from Germany's Endager. This is a really great album that seems heavily Depeche Mode inspired in that there are strong elements of darkwave and industrial worked into fairly straight-forward synthpop. Just a few years later there would be a slew of bands leaning more on the trance side of synthpop and so its great to look back and find something a little darker and a little edgier while still maintaining a fun quality. A lot of this can be contributed to the strong collaboration between progammer Marc Pollman and vocalist Rouven Walterowicz who both worked on the writing and producing of the album and whose individual contributions compliment one another very well. Pollman's synth-work has a really nice pace to it and while a vast majority of the time there is a dance quality that never comes across as the objective of the music but rather a bi-product. Pollman also does a great job of using the popular device of movie/television samples in a sparing but effective way as is displayed in the songs Erotic (where there's a great sample that sounds like its from a 1950's instructional film repeating the phrase "For the erotic pleasures of women") and Floating Higher which happens to use the same sample as Fictional's Your Dream from the album Fictitious which was also released in 1999. The construction of the songs are really enhanced by Walterowicz's vocals which I wouldn't say are the best vocals I've ever heard but are generally engaging in an odd sort of way. The lyrical content is surprisingly strong considering how many German bands that sing in English often fail in this department (as is pointed out by one of my favorite Gothsicles songs entitled "English License") but with Endanger there's a complexity to even simple love songs that I really appreciate and then to top things off the band gives one song in German towards the end that reminds me of Melotron (a contemporary of Endanger that first found success around the same time). I particularly love the songs Integrity and the aforementioned Erotic, both of which are great club tracks and very catchy. My favorite thing about this album is that even though it's just over a decade since its initial release there's nothing dated about it. Overall this is a really solid album and worth checking out if you missed it the first time. Favorite Tracks: Inside, Erotic, Story Of, Integrity, Silkskin, Tempture Me, and Die Quelle Meiner Kraft