The Album Of The Week is "Nuevo Orden dela Libertad" by Los Natas.
Reviews:
Argentinian stoner rock trio Los Natas (formerly just Natas, but a rap group grabbed that name away from them) has been pumping out albums since the late 1990s; they started out on Man's Ruin, but Nuevo Orden de la Libertad is their third release for the Detroit-based label Small Stone. Their music is heavy and psychedelic, with occasional bursts of punky speed and -- perhaps more impressively -- side trips into trancelike rhythms, desert guitar tones and spacy keyboards. The acoustic bridge on "Ganar-Perder" ("To Want-To Lose") creates an evocative mood of spiritual desolation that makes the return of the song's primary riff, not to mention Gonzalo Villagra's throbbing, relentless bassline, that much more effective. Similarly, "El Pastizal" features an almost flamenco-like intro that leads into a thundering, almost Melvins-esque stomp. On the other hand, "Resistiendo al Dolor" ("Resisting Sadness") features a riff blatantly jacked from High On Fire, so points off for that. In its second half, the album starts to feel a little padded, with the one-riff instrumental "David y Goliath" followed by the 90-second acoustic guitar bit "Bienvenidos," but "10,000" takes things in a pretty rockin' direction, and would have been a better than decent ending to things. Los Natas have one more trick up their sleeves, though -- the decidedly weird instrumental "Two Horses," which mixes spaghetti Western guitar plucking with reverbed piano to hypnotic, hallucinatory effect. If Alejandro Jodorowsky ever films the long-rumored sequel to his 1970 cult Western El Topo, this track should be its theme music. (Phil Freeman, All Mucic Guide)
Los Natas is one of those acts that’s respected by nearly everybody in its chosen sphere, but largely unknown outside of it. Too bad – when it comes to stoner rock, it’s hard to beat this Argentine power trio. Too many bands of this milieu glory in the thud and crunch and forget the psychedelic subtleties that are as much a part of heavy rock as riffs. Not Los Natas – Sergio CH and his crew incorporate any trippy thing that comes into their heads on Nuevo Orden De La Libertad, while still remaining heavy at the core. Thus you get the theremin-like noises strewn throughout the otherwise bruising David & Goliath, the Steve Howe-does-spaghetti-western-soundtracks coda of Ganar=Perder or the marching piano of Dos Horses. There’s still plenty of meat for carnivorous headbangers – El Nuevo Orden… and the appropriately titled Hombre de Metal pound like a seething cave troll, while 10,000 thrashes like Sauron clearing the field of elves. Los Natas is the best kind of heavy rock band – always evolving while trumpeting the original virtues. (Michael Toland, Sleazegrinder)
More reviews...
Track Listing:
01. Las Campanadas
02. El Nuevo Orden De La Libertad
03. Resistiendo Al Dolor
04. Hombre De Metal
05. Ganar-Perder
06. Noviembre
07. David Y Goliath
08. Bienvenidos
09. 10.000
10. Dos Horses
Video: "EL NUEVO ORDEN DE LA LIBERTAD"
Official Website
MySpace
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If you are looking for new Stoner Rock, Doom, Heavy Psych or Sludge Metal bands, then you have come to the right place.
Heavy Planet has been providing free promotion to independent and unsigned bands since 2008. Find your next favorite band at Heavy Planet.
Thanks for stopping by!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Such Hawks, Such Hounds Stoner Rock Documentary
For those of you that have not heard there is an awesome Stoner Rock documentary that has been released. It is called "Such Hawks Such Hounds: Scenes From the American Hard Rock Underground" and features ACID KING, ACROSS THE RIVER, THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX, BARDO POND, BRANT BJORK, COMETS ON FIRE, DEAD MEADOW, EARTHLESS, FATSO JETSON, HIGH ON FIRE, KYUSS, MAMMATUS, NEBULA, THE OBSESSED, OM, PEARLS AND BRASS, PENTAGRAM, SAINT VITUS, SLEEP, SUNN O))), THRONES.
"For every music fan who says rock 'n' roll ain't what it used to be; for every pundit who concurs with Hunter S. Thompson's assessment of the music business as "a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free;" there are an equal number who will say that the business of creating and releasing innovative and satisfying music is as healthy as ever... it's just done on a smaller scale.
SUCH HAWKS SUCH HOUNDS is a testament to the vitality of rock music. Relying only marginally on nostalgia, it says that at any point in history, the music being made is as worthy of attention as that of times past. It's an introduction to a vibrant but underheralded subgenre and a realization of its cinematic possibilities.
SUCH HAWKS tells a story that needs to be told. Since the Alternative Revolution of the early 1990s, there has been a heightened interest in music with roots in the underground, hence such excellent genre studies as HYPE!, SCRATCH and AMERICAN HARDCORE. While a similar celebration of sounds held dear, Such Hawks captures a moment as it is happening.
SUCH HAWKS explores the music and musicians of the American hard rock underground circa 1970-2007, focusing on the psychedelic and '70s proto-metal-derived styles that have in recent years formed a rich body of unclassifiable sounds."
Here are some reviews:
"...what makes this documentary work is that it was born from within the scene." - HARP
"...this ain't no chin-scratching academic text; it's raw live footage..." - SF Weekly
"The best documentation of our music ever done." - Scott "Wino" Weinrich (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, et. al.)
"The first time anyone's gotten the Sleep story right." - Al Cisneros (Sleep, Om)
Preview clip:
You can purchase your very own copy from Heavy Planet. BUY NOW!
"For every music fan who says rock 'n' roll ain't what it used to be; for every pundit who concurs with Hunter S. Thompson's assessment of the music business as "a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free;" there are an equal number who will say that the business of creating and releasing innovative and satisfying music is as healthy as ever... it's just done on a smaller scale.
SUCH HAWKS SUCH HOUNDS is a testament to the vitality of rock music. Relying only marginally on nostalgia, it says that at any point in history, the music being made is as worthy of attention as that of times past. It's an introduction to a vibrant but underheralded subgenre and a realization of its cinematic possibilities.
SUCH HAWKS tells a story that needs to be told. Since the Alternative Revolution of the early 1990s, there has been a heightened interest in music with roots in the underground, hence such excellent genre studies as HYPE!, SCRATCH and AMERICAN HARDCORE. While a similar celebration of sounds held dear, Such Hawks captures a moment as it is happening.
SUCH HAWKS explores the music and musicians of the American hard rock underground circa 1970-2007, focusing on the psychedelic and '70s proto-metal-derived styles that have in recent years formed a rich body of unclassifiable sounds."
Here are some reviews:
"...what makes this documentary work is that it was born from within the scene." - HARP
"...this ain't no chin-scratching academic text; it's raw live footage..." - SF Weekly
"The best documentation of our music ever done." - Scott "Wino" Weinrich (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, et. al.)
"The first time anyone's gotten the Sleep story right." - Al Cisneros (Sleep, Om)
Preview clip:
You can purchase your very own copy from Heavy Planet. BUY NOW!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
New Band To Burn One To-Bronze
Today's "New Band To Burn One To" is Bronze from Denver, Colorado. Bronze create a unique blend of classic rock/metal with influences ranging from Alice Cooper to The Sword.
The band has kindly given the readers of Heavy Planet permission to download their debut album for free. You can do so by clicking here.
For more information on the band check out their MySpace page.
Labels:
Bronze,
Classic Rock,
Denver,
metal
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sorry For The Lack Of Updates
Hey guys! I'm sorry for the lack of updates lately. I have had a lot of stuff going on and have not had much time to post. To all the bands that have e-mailed me with their info., I will post as soon as I can. I know that some of you have been waiting for a few months now, and I am very sorry. To the last two bands (Marbles and Flatbed Orange) that I named as "New Bands To Burn One To" a simple "thank you" would have been nice. To all that have stuck with me, thanks for your continued support. All right guys, take care and doom on!! You will be hearing from me again very soon.
Here is a very tentative schedule of what to expect.
Sunday/Monday-"Album Of The Week"
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday-"New Band To Burn One To"
Saturday-Different other cool shit
Here is a very tentative schedule of what to expect.
Sunday/Monday-"Album Of The Week"
Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday-"New Band To Burn One To"
Saturday-Different other cool shit
Labels:
Heavy Planet,
updates
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Free Album Download-Electric Magic Samplers Vol. 1-5
Here are a few free album downloads for you guys to enjoy! These samplers feature bands such as Radio Moscow, Grifter, Iguana, Good Day To Die, Toner Low, Umor, Highway Child, The Machine, Cojones, The Flying Eyes and Zaphire Oktalogue and many more.
Electric Magic - vol. 5
(June 2009, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Radio Moscow - Broke Down (from "Brain Cycles")
02. Grifter - Slow Boy (from "The High Unholy Mighty... EP")
03. Iguana - Broken Halleluja (from "B|L|U|E|S")
04. Good Day To Die - Crush The Skies (from "Hazing Through...")
05. Toner Low - Two (from "II")
06. Umor - Uncouthly Thought (from "s/t" EP)
07. Highway Child - Love For Sale (from "On The Old Kings...")
08. The Machine - Jam No. Phi (from "Solar Corona")
09. Cojones - Clearing Potion (von "Sunrise")
10. The Flying Eyes - Lay With Me (from "The Bad Blood EP")
11. Zaphire Oktalogue - Carrion Fly (from "s/t")
Download
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 4
(December 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Dreaming - The Other (from "II")
02. The Chuck Norris Experiment - Move... (from "The Return...")
03. Reino Ermitano - El Despertar (from "Rituales Interiores")
04. Otis Optic & The Option People - Saints Of Sound (from "s/t")
05. Buffalo Killers - If I Get Myself Anywhere (from "Let It Ride")
06. Enojado - Mammoth City (from "Till The Distance Is Complete")
07. Starchild - Earthless (from "Born Into Eternity")
08. The Devil's Blood - The Heavens Cry Out... (from "Come, Reap")
09. Heavy Water Experiments - Solitude (from "s/t")
10. Lost Youth - Hypnotized Elephant (from "Medusas Jukebox")
11. Truckfighters - Traffic (from "Phi")
12. World Below - Monsters In The Closet (from "Repulsion")
13. Stonebride - To Follow (from "Inner Seasons")
14. Doomraiser - Doomraiser (from "Lords of Mercy")
Download
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 3
(June 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Siena Root - Waiting For The Sun (from "Far From The Sun")
02. Leather Nun - The Process (from "Tools Of The New Church")
03. Blowback - Insanity (from "Morning Wood")
04. Beehoover - Spirit & Crown (from "Heavy Zooo")
05. Zed - 13th Floor (from "s/t")
06. Hollywood Conspiracy... - Central Point (from "Beware...")
07. Ostinato - Antiaircraft (from "Chasing The Form")
08. Hypnopilot - Into The Sun (from "Evergreen")
09. End Of Level Boss - Instinktivitus (from "Inside...")
10. Jet Jaguar - Eyes Of The Sphinx (from "3rd Millennium Power Drive")
11. Voodooshock - Marie´s Sister´s Garden (from "Marie´s...")
12. Stinking Lizaveta - Scream Of The Iron Iconoclast (from "Scream...")
13. P.W. Long - Worst Baby (from "God Bless The Drunkard´s Dog")
14. The Subcandies - Dirty Names (from "Out Of The Blue")
Download
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 2
(April 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Black Pyramid - Visions Of Gehenna (from "s/t")
02. Duster 69 - Upcoming (from "Angel King")
03. Danava - Where Beauty And Terror Dance (from "Unonou")
04. Josiah - Looking At The Mountain (from "No Time")
05. Burning Saviours - Out Of Sight (from "Hundus")
06. Imogene - Wormwood Raindrops (from "s/t")
07. Magnified Eye - Marooned (from "Transition")
08. HORE - Stoners Halleluja (from "Cheap Luxury Bomb")
09. Eternal Elysium - Shadowed Flower (from "s/t")
10. Jex Thoth - The Banishment (from "s/t")
11. House Of Aquarius - Nuclear Child (from "The World Through...")
12. Hypnos 69 - The Eclectic Measure (from "The Eclectic Measure")
13. Earth Flight - A Romance Of Souls (from "s/t")
14. Terraplane - Into The Unknown (from "Into The Unknown")
Download
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 1
(March 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Cortez - The High Life (from "Thunder In A Forgotten Town")
02. Kaross - Shovel (from "Molossus")
03. The Setting Son - In A Certain Way (from "The Setting Son")
04. SEID - Swamp Doom (from "Creatures Of The Underworld")
05. Fuzz Manta - On The Edge (from "On The Edge")
06. Ahkmed - T=0 (from "In Your Neck Of The Dying Woods")
07. Graveyard - Evil Ways (from "s/t")
08. Mojo Jazz Mob - Plasma Junge (from "Pacific Daybreak...")
09. Skywise - Magic Lantern (from "Give The Devil His Brew")
10. The Magnificent Brotherhood - Cracker (from "s/t")
11. Pater Nembrot - E´Permesso? (from "Mandria")
12. 1000mods - Boor (from "Blank Reality")
13. Astrid Pröll - Pröll 2 (from "s/t")
14. Deville - Come Heavy Sleep (from "Come Heavy Sleep")
Download
Electric Magic - vol. 5
(June 2009, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Radio Moscow - Broke Down (from "Brain Cycles")
02. Grifter - Slow Boy (from "The High Unholy Mighty... EP")
03. Iguana - Broken Halleluja (from "B|L|U|E|S")
04. Good Day To Die - Crush The Skies (from "Hazing Through...")
05. Toner Low - Two (from "II")
06. Umor - Uncouthly Thought (from "s/t" EP)
07. Highway Child - Love For Sale (from "On The Old Kings...")
08. The Machine - Jam No. Phi (from "Solar Corona")
09. Cojones - Clearing Potion (von "Sunrise")
10. The Flying Eyes - Lay With Me (from "The Bad Blood EP")
11. Zaphire Oktalogue - Carrion Fly (from "s/t")
Download
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 4
(December 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Dreaming - The Other (from "II")
02. The Chuck Norris Experiment - Move... (from "The Return...")
03. Reino Ermitano - El Despertar (from "Rituales Interiores")
04. Otis Optic & The Option People - Saints Of Sound (from "s/t")
05. Buffalo Killers - If I Get Myself Anywhere (from "Let It Ride")
06. Enojado - Mammoth City (from "Till The Distance Is Complete")
07. Starchild - Earthless (from "Born Into Eternity")
08. The Devil's Blood - The Heavens Cry Out... (from "Come, Reap")
09. Heavy Water Experiments - Solitude (from "s/t")
10. Lost Youth - Hypnotized Elephant (from "Medusas Jukebox")
11. Truckfighters - Traffic (from "Phi")
12. World Below - Monsters In The Closet (from "Repulsion")
13. Stonebride - To Follow (from "Inner Seasons")
14. Doomraiser - Doomraiser (from "Lords of Mercy")
Download
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 3
(June 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Siena Root - Waiting For The Sun (from "Far From The Sun")
02. Leather Nun - The Process (from "Tools Of The New Church")
03. Blowback - Insanity (from "Morning Wood")
04. Beehoover - Spirit & Crown (from "Heavy Zooo")
05. Zed - 13th Floor (from "s/t")
06. Hollywood Conspiracy... - Central Point (from "Beware...")
07. Ostinato - Antiaircraft (from "Chasing The Form")
08. Hypnopilot - Into The Sun (from "Evergreen")
09. End Of Level Boss - Instinktivitus (from "Inside...")
10. Jet Jaguar - Eyes Of The Sphinx (from "3rd Millennium Power Drive")
11. Voodooshock - Marie´s Sister´s Garden (from "Marie´s...")
12. Stinking Lizaveta - Scream Of The Iron Iconoclast (from "Scream...")
13. P.W. Long - Worst Baby (from "God Bless The Drunkard´s Dog")
14. The Subcandies - Dirty Names (from "Out Of The Blue")
Download
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 2
(April 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Black Pyramid - Visions Of Gehenna (from "s/t")
02. Duster 69 - Upcoming (from "Angel King")
03. Danava - Where Beauty And Terror Dance (from "Unonou")
04. Josiah - Looking At The Mountain (from "No Time")
05. Burning Saviours - Out Of Sight (from "Hundus")
06. Imogene - Wormwood Raindrops (from "s/t")
07. Magnified Eye - Marooned (from "Transition")
08. HORE - Stoners Halleluja (from "Cheap Luxury Bomb")
09. Eternal Elysium - Shadowed Flower (from "s/t")
10. Jex Thoth - The Banishment (from "s/t")
11. House Of Aquarius - Nuclear Child (from "The World Through...")
12. Hypnos 69 - The Eclectic Measure (from "The Eclectic Measure")
13. Earth Flight - A Romance Of Souls (from "s/t")
14. Terraplane - Into The Unknown (from "Into The Unknown")
Download
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Magic - vol. 1
(March 2008, MP3-Promo-Sampler)
01. Cortez - The High Life (from "Thunder In A Forgotten Town")
02. Kaross - Shovel (from "Molossus")
03. The Setting Son - In A Certain Way (from "The Setting Son")
04. SEID - Swamp Doom (from "Creatures Of The Underworld")
05. Fuzz Manta - On The Edge (from "On The Edge")
06. Ahkmed - T=0 (from "In Your Neck Of The Dying Woods")
07. Graveyard - Evil Ways (from "s/t")
08. Mojo Jazz Mob - Plasma Junge (from "Pacific Daybreak...")
09. Skywise - Magic Lantern (from "Give The Devil His Brew")
10. The Magnificent Brotherhood - Cracker (from "s/t")
11. Pater Nembrot - E´Permesso? (from "Mandria")
12. 1000mods - Boor (from "Blank Reality")
13. Astrid Pröll - Pröll 2 (from "s/t")
14. Deville - Come Heavy Sleep (from "Come Heavy Sleep")
Download
Labels:
album,
Download,
Electric Magic,
free
Saturday, June 6, 2009
New Band To Burn One To-Flatbed Orange
The "New Band To Burn One To" is Flatbed Orange.
Flatbed Orange formed in Chicago in early 2008 without concern for specified genres or assigned modes of song writing. With organic guitar driven hooks, head nodding rhythms and soulful no frills vocals, the band hopes to break down the barriers of current conventional rock music and add to the buzz already created by the energetic shows it has played in some of Chicago's most well known bars and clubs.
MySpace
Flatbed Orange formed in Chicago in early 2008 without concern for specified genres or assigned modes of song writing. With organic guitar driven hooks, head nodding rhythms and soulful no frills vocals, the band hopes to break down the barriers of current conventional rock music and add to the buzz already created by the energetic shows it has played in some of Chicago's most well known bars and clubs.
MySpace
Labels:
Chicago,
Flatbed Orange
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
New Band To Burn One To-Marbles
The "New Band To Burn One To" today comes to you from Portugal.
"The MARBLES were born August 1995, in the city of Montijo, suburbs of Lisbon. At first, this project was thought to be a sequence of a before project called Mushroom Revolution. In 1996 the first demo was recorded and entitled "Sleepy Time". This demo expressed the pop side of the band. Still in 1996 a compilation of garage bands entitled "Teenagers From Outer Space", was put out and included a track from Marbles called "Quite The Same". 1997 was the time to go into the studio again to record a new demo entitled "Plenty". In 1999 the track "Face You With a Smile" was included in another compilation (Scanning) by 7Eleven, label from Azores. In 2000 the "Apollo 9" demo was recorded, and in 2004 Marbles recorded the demo entitled "Slow Desert Punk". In 2007 two of the old members left, and now the band has only 3 elements. They have recorded a pre-demo (untitled) as a CD/EP preparation to be released this year. In the last 12 years, Marbles have truly evolved, as it could be clearly noticed by the demos. Marbles sounds like a psychedelic stoner rock power tunes."
The current line-up of this awesome Stoner Rock power trio consists of Hugo (Drums/Lead Vocal) Flavio (Guitar/Vocal) & Ricardo (Bass/Vocal). Enjoy!
MySpace
"The MARBLES were born August 1995, in the city of Montijo, suburbs of Lisbon. At first, this project was thought to be a sequence of a before project called Mushroom Revolution. In 1996 the first demo was recorded and entitled "Sleepy Time". This demo expressed the pop side of the band. Still in 1996 a compilation of garage bands entitled "Teenagers From Outer Space", was put out and included a track from Marbles called "Quite The Same". 1997 was the time to go into the studio again to record a new demo entitled "Plenty". In 1999 the track "Face You With a Smile" was included in another compilation (Scanning) by 7Eleven, label from Azores. In 2000 the "Apollo 9" demo was recorded, and in 2004 Marbles recorded the demo entitled "Slow Desert Punk". In 2007 two of the old members left, and now the band has only 3 elements. They have recorded a pre-demo (untitled) as a CD/EP preparation to be released this year. In the last 12 years, Marbles have truly evolved, as it could be clearly noticed by the demos. Marbles sounds like a psychedelic stoner rock power tunes."
The current line-up of this awesome Stoner Rock power trio consists of Hugo (Drums/Lead Vocal) Flavio (Guitar/Vocal) & Ricardo (Bass/Vocal). Enjoy!
MySpace
Labels:
Marbles,
Portugal,
Stoner Rock
Monday, June 1, 2009
Album Of The Week-Big Business-"Mind The Drift" (2009)
The Album Of The Week is "Mind the Drift" by Big Business.
Review:
When a band writes a phenomenal album, all the fans want is a repeat for the followup. When Here Come the Waterworks came out in 2007, it had everything that Head for the Shallow was missing. The riffs were bigger, the bass was louder, the drums were heavier, the songs were smarter, faster, etc. It seemed like there was no more room to grow.
And there wasn't. At least not in the current lineup. See: 2008. Jared and Coady, deciding that they weren't in any mood to try and work out a sequel on their own, recruited guitarist and knob-turner Toshi. And though both previous albums had Jared laying down the random guitar track here or there, the band now had a dedicated instrument player with 33 percent more room for growth, expansion, and creative input.
And I can't figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Most bands, when they add a member, exhibit traces of their influence. Big Business, however, re-organized their entire songwriting structures. Jared's bass is recorded low, and Toshi's guitar is turned way high in the mix, but his playing revolves around classical melodies and atmospheric dissonance more than adding weight to the band. Coady's playing isn't, well, restrained, but it's definitely planned out and less fluid. But maybe after two snarling records of riffs, biffs, and absurdest lyrics, the band was ready to tone it down anyway.
It's not an album to introduce people to the band with, that's for sure. Maybe hanging out with the Melvins helped them get a little freakier.
Old fans will rejoice in "Found Art," "Gold and Final," "The Drift" and "Cold Lunch." All four songs stumble around the room like a drunk elephant (who suddenly learned how to sing in harmony as well), taking the best of the old elements of the band and mixing them with the band's new dedication to melody, harmony, and song structure. "I Got It Online," however, is a grating, driving riff with random shouted statements over it from one of the non-Jared band members. "Cats, Mice," is a strange waltz and "Ayes Have It" is a synth-powered sailor's dirge. The album is capped with the slow-building "Theme from Big Business II," an over-long song that shows off the band's newfound songwriting skills that frankly lets the album die with a whimper instead of a roar.
Repeated listens shows the layers behind each song and the time spent putting everything together. But it's hard not to feel like this album might be a betrayal of the band's spirit. Growth and change are hard to stomach from time to time, and let's not forget that at one time Bob Dylan plugged in. In the end, however, it feels like Mind the Drift is experiencing growing pains, and is a step back to the less-polished Head for the Shallow. If that's true, however, then hopefully we've got another Here Come the Waterworks in our future.
That's not to say that Mind the Drift is a bad album at all. It's like complaining about steak because you thought you were getting lobster. And while it might be easy to gripe about the album feeling disjointed and strange, there's no denying that each song is great in its own right. (Jesse, Punknews.org)
MySpace
Listen
Other suggested listening by the band: "Here Come the Waterworks"
If you like this , you will like this: Melvins, Torche, Harvey Milk, Cathedral
Big Business Live @ The Crocodile/Live Eye Tv
Review:
When a band writes a phenomenal album, all the fans want is a repeat for the followup. When Here Come the Waterworks came out in 2007, it had everything that Head for the Shallow was missing. The riffs were bigger, the bass was louder, the drums were heavier, the songs were smarter, faster, etc. It seemed like there was no more room to grow.
And there wasn't. At least not in the current lineup. See: 2008. Jared and Coady, deciding that they weren't in any mood to try and work out a sequel on their own, recruited guitarist and knob-turner Toshi. And though both previous albums had Jared laying down the random guitar track here or there, the band now had a dedicated instrument player with 33 percent more room for growth, expansion, and creative input.
And I can't figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Most bands, when they add a member, exhibit traces of their influence. Big Business, however, re-organized their entire songwriting structures. Jared's bass is recorded low, and Toshi's guitar is turned way high in the mix, but his playing revolves around classical melodies and atmospheric dissonance more than adding weight to the band. Coady's playing isn't, well, restrained, but it's definitely planned out and less fluid. But maybe after two snarling records of riffs, biffs, and absurdest lyrics, the band was ready to tone it down anyway.
It's not an album to introduce people to the band with, that's for sure. Maybe hanging out with the Melvins helped them get a little freakier.
Old fans will rejoice in "Found Art," "Gold and Final," "The Drift" and "Cold Lunch." All four songs stumble around the room like a drunk elephant (who suddenly learned how to sing in harmony as well), taking the best of the old elements of the band and mixing them with the band's new dedication to melody, harmony, and song structure. "I Got It Online," however, is a grating, driving riff with random shouted statements over it from one of the non-Jared band members. "Cats, Mice," is a strange waltz and "Ayes Have It" is a synth-powered sailor's dirge. The album is capped with the slow-building "Theme from Big Business II," an over-long song that shows off the band's newfound songwriting skills that frankly lets the album die with a whimper instead of a roar.
Repeated listens shows the layers behind each song and the time spent putting everything together. But it's hard not to feel like this album might be a betrayal of the band's spirit. Growth and change are hard to stomach from time to time, and let's not forget that at one time Bob Dylan plugged in. In the end, however, it feels like Mind the Drift is experiencing growing pains, and is a step back to the less-polished Head for the Shallow. If that's true, however, then hopefully we've got another Here Come the Waterworks in our future.
That's not to say that Mind the Drift is a bad album at all. It's like complaining about steak because you thought you were getting lobster. And while it might be easy to gripe about the album feeling disjointed and strange, there's no denying that each song is great in its own right. (Jesse, Punknews.org)
MySpace
Listen
Other suggested listening by the band: "Here Come the Waterworks"
If you like this , you will like this: Melvins, Torche, Harvey Milk, Cathedral
Big Business Live @ The Crocodile/Live Eye Tv
Labels:
Big Business,
Mind The Drift,
review
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