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Quick Hits
(Email to a Friend)
Because we love our devoted brigade
of PR flaks with all our hearts (and any other parts of our bodies that
they'll let us expose) - and because they send us so much free shizit now
that it has become virtually impossible to review and interview every band -
we've fallen back on the character trait that landed us at this third-rate
publishing house to begin with: laziness.
Each month, Quick Hits will
give you several bits of data to help your all-important purchase decision:
a photo of the band or album cover to stoke your fantasies; a spot review -- so we feel like
we actually did something; a thumbs up or thumbs down buying guide -- so we
can exert our mighty market power, and an MP3 or WMA sample -- so you can tell us to
go screw and decide if you like the bands yourself.
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The Muggs |
The Muggs |
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Times Beach |
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If you grew up in the 80s, you killed at
least one afternoon after school hiding in a friend's basement and
listening to his older brother's stoner rock while coughing your way
through a joint.
The Muggs are the chronological hiccup to take you back, bringing
guitar-driven rock in the vein of Jet without the pop hooks. Their
self-titled debut is hit and miss, and gems include "Rollin' B-Side
Blues" and "Said and Done" |
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Rollin' B-Side Blues |
July 17th |
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Fine China |
The Jaws of Life |
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Common Wall Media |
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If you weren't smoking dope in your buddy's
basement in the 80s, you were probably hanging out in the woods behind
the high school ruminating about why your parents hated you, or why the
girl in home room hated you, or why the people you were hanging out with
hated you.
Fine China's The Jaws of Life evokes the soundtrack to those
melancholy days, with hints of The Smiths, New Order and The Cure -- and
it may be the first band in a long time that deserves to be classified
with such. |
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The Cells Divide |
Sept. 6th |
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Regina Spektor |
Soviet Kitsch |
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Sire Records |
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Words like anti-folk
scare the hell out of us, but that's how Paper and Elle describe piano player and pop star of the moment, Regina Spektor. The Russian-born songstress has been in the Bronx since the age
9, when her
family left Moscow.
Soviet Kitsch, produced by Gordon Raphael
(The Strokes, duh), woos audiences with haunted, piano-driven melodies
and doe-eyed naiveté. Spektor may be the top-secret biological product
of Bjork, Tori Amos and Nikolai Gogol after a long night of Campari,
orange juice and closed doors. -- (J. Daniel) |
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Us |
Pick this up! |
Want more free music and
reviews? Check last month's Quick Hits
here! |
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