Kylesa

Kylesa
Static Tensions

I can't lie to you, it took me seeing them in a live setting to fully appreciate and enjoy the music of Kylesa. I took a chance and decided to see a live show and was hooked instantaneously with their massive sound and high energy, both of which I felt were missing from their records. Not that their first three releases were bad, I just never could quite grasp what they were trying to do. I liked what I was hearing, but it never floored me and I always thought that it could easily be so much better with just a little tweaking. With their fourth and newest album, Static Tensions, this Savannah, Georgia five piece have remedied this, evoking the gods of thunder with one of the best releases for 2009 thus far and is right on par with what they deliver live.

As with their previous material, it is extremely difficult to pinpoint what kind of music Kylesa can be categorized as. Part experimental, part sludge, part psychedelic stoner metal; they are big, loud, and full of piss and vinegar. It is heavy music at its finest, with massive amounts of percussion(having two, yes two stellar drummers), heavy guitar work, and brutal vocals from two very distinct vocalists. The album gets things started out just right with "Scapegoat", with a thunderous groove established by drummers, Carl McGinley and Eric Hernandez. Now is a great time to praise to these hitters of the skins, who provide the driving force behind the entire album, with effective poly-rhythmic play and tribal unison sessions which makes this album one of the best by far in terms of percussive work. Guitarist/vocalist and founder Phillip Cope lay down a heavy pallet of fuzzy guitar noise and chunky riffage that thickens the stew and adds more to the overall power of the album itself. Guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants puts most men in the metal world to shame with her guitar work, perfect tone choices, and lead lines that pour out of her Les Paul GoldTop and snake through the thick, meaty wall of heaviness that is barreling out of control, full-throttle for the majority of the album. Laura's vocals range from full-on growls to clean tonal vocals that are treated almost like another instrument in the mix. Cope's vocals are a bit more one dimensional and gruff, providing a great contrast with the others on the record. Like a lot of great heavy albums, all of the tracks bleed into one another and listens better as a whole than broken up into parts. Highlights include "Said and Done" and "Unknown Awareness" with a lead guitar line that will worm its way through your ear and ring in your head for days after.

If you like heavy music, you will like this record. Something for everyone, from speed freaks to lovers of psychedelic post rock. Kylesa has truly found itself with Static Tensions, therefore things are looking great for their future. -Andrew Bryant

you can purchase the album here

SUPERDRAG!

We have the new album for sale today plus swing by this afternoon from 6-7 for a meet & great with the band.

Zombi-Spirit Animal

Zombi
Spirit Animal
Album Review
purchase it here

I am not going to beat around the bush, Zombi is weird and I would not prefer them any other way. Fueled to by two creative minds from Pittsburgh, influenced by the music of Goblin and the horror movie soundtracks from John Carpenter films, Zombi brings forth some of the greatest neo-progressive, cinematic space rock that continues to mesmerize metal heads, movie geeks, and music lovers from all across the spectrum and bring them back thirsty for more. Zombi was always a guilty pleasure for me, but lately I have met so many individuals who are literally mad about this music, loving every minute of its synth soundscapes and poly-rhythmic percussive work. What I love most about Zombi, is they love what they do and are consistent in the music they make. With their third full length, Spirit Animal, they bring music that is intense, beautiful, and could easy be used for a suspense/horror film circa 1981.

With Spirit Animal, Zombi is both bombastic and intricate, exhibiting obvious influences far beyond the Goblin/John Carpenter dichotomy, ranging from Tangerine Dream, Yes, and even a hint or two of early Gabriel-era Genesis. Compared to the rest of their catalogue, Spirit Animal sprinkles a bit more space/prog rock into the mix, still remaining true to the overall cinematic effect of the music itself. This album mixes together the perfect goulash of atmospheric swell and dramatic contrasts, progressive rhythms and dark cheesiness that would tickle the fancy of any prog/metal head, horror movie buff, and stereotypical music weirdo like myself. The opening track, which also serves as the title track is very large and almost regal sounding, as if it were announcing the arrival of something gargantuan, for instance the large, stampeding bull elephant as depicted on the front panel of the album. The record moves on to tracks that are much more progressive, some sounding close to the accompaniment to a long-lost video game of the 1980's. Most of all, what Zombi and Spirit Animal are is a breath of fresh air; something new and different in a day where most music sounds the same and a reminder of how things once were in the worlds of music and horror cinema.

-Andrew Bryant

The Urges Review

The Urges
Psych Ward
Review

Throwback rock and roll seems to be pretty popular these days. Like most folks who enjoy rock and roll the way it used to be, I am sucker for a good band that sounds as though they could have been around back in the 1960's and 70's. In the case of The Urges, I am still trying to figure out if they really are a modern band, and not some long-lost Nugget from the 60's garage era. Both the band's look, sound, and production quality looks and sounds absolutely nothing like anything that has been around in the past 40 years. Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, The Urges are Little Steven Van Zant's newest endorsement and are very deserving of his praise.

The Urges' Psych Ward is what it is: a great rock and roll record in its purest form. These young Dubliners aren't trying to be ground-breaking and innovative with this release and thus makes it an even stronger album. With twelve tracks, Psych Ward clocks in at 35 minutes, with most songs under the three and four minute marks. The one exception is "The 13th Floor", a slower, more psychedelic song that tips the hat to the 13th Floor Elevators, which almost reaches five minutes. The album opens up with with a bonus track, a raucous version of "Jenny Jenny" which would make the Sonics mighty proud. Another highlight is "The Urges Theme", which adds some surf-rock to the mix.

For those who want a great, consistent garage rock album that could have easily been released in the mid-sixties, The Urges are a safe bet. Loud and rowdy garage punk at its finest. -AB

Black Diamond Heavies Review

Black Diamond Heavies

A Touch of Someone Else's Class

Review

There is something about the Black Diamond Heavies that commands attention. This two-piece monster, hailing from Chattanooga, TN/Louisville, KY, brings with it one of the biggest sounds out there, mixing together a concoction that is equal-parts blues, soul, punk, gospel, and gritty rock and roll. Together, John Myers and Van Campbell as the Heavies meld their musical influences into something that sounds like Tom Waits and Middy Waters presiding over a junkyard revival with a communion of corn liquor and razor blades. Their second album, A Touch of Someone Else's Class, tones things down just a smidgen bringing a more "Memphis meets Detroit" record. The music will still make your heart pound and the sweat pour, but will make the ass shake a bit more than their previous album. Not taking anything away from either, both are very unique and offer a different side of the Heavies, yet still maintaining their highly distinctive sound.

Released on Alive Records and produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, A Touch of Someone Else's Class, finds the Black Diamond Heavies embracing the soul end of the spectrum, with an album that grooves more and is not as bombastic as the previous. However, as with all of the Heavies' material, the sound is loud and overdriven and the music seems like it could break loose and get out-of-control at any moment. With the opening track, a rawkus version of Tina Turner's "Nutbush City", kicks the album into high gear. The Heavies also pay homage to several of their other influences with covers of T-Model Ford's "Take a Ride" and Nina Simone's "Oh, Sinnerman" which is one of the strongest points of the album, a very sparse track with an infectious eighth-note pulsation from John's keys. His voice is as gritty as ever on this album and his keyboard work includes more B-3 and upright piano along with his trusty old Fender Rhodes. Campbell's drums sound huge and thunderous as always and provide the perfect grooves and pallets for the songs to build upon. Other highlights include "Bidin' My Time", a slower reminiscent song in which Myers' voice melds into that of a heart-felt crooner and "Happy Hour", a piano-bar boogie that is the perfect end to the album that makes you want to raise your glass, hoot, and holler.

Alive records and the Black Diamond Heavies have done it again with some of the best material to date in 2008. The music is raw and the sound is bigger than most bands with twice as members as the Heavies. Anyone who is in awe of two-piece bands such as The White Stripes and The Black Keys need to give a listen to anything the Black Diamond Heavies have to offer.-Andrew Bryant

Top 10 CDs for the week

of 2-16-2009
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Kings of Leon Only By the Night
Morrissey Years of Refusal
Young Jeezy Recession
Red Innocence & Instinct
Beirut March of the Zapotec
Hollywood Undead Swan Songs
Redistilled 25 Years of Knoxville
Fray Fray
Dark Was The Night (Red Hot Compilation)

Crickettes!

we've got them back in stock sour cream & onion, bacon & salt 'n vinegar flavors