Panic! At The Disco "Vices & Virtues"

Absolutely loved their album "Pretty. Odd." from 2008, and so did America, pushing it to #2 on the Billboard Top 200.  It was on the strength of that record that I purchased "Vices & Virtues" without hesitation.  What I got was about half of what I'd hoped for.  Hell, if I had known that I was only getting half the band that made "Pretty Odd" (I'm really over the various punctuation marks...give it a rest, kids), I wouldn't have been so quick to add the new record to my cart.  The half I did receive was the adventurous Beatlesque elements that made "PO" so wonderful, but they were only used to draw me in, and then the predictable power pop crap that's strewn all over radio today finished up.  Where I anticipated an enlightened improvement, I got a watered down blend of albums one and two. 

Ah, I guess it's not that bad.  I like blends when it comes to my wine, but one hardly ever WOWS.  Same goes for "V&V."  It has enough hooks to make you la la la into acceptance, but I don't want another bottle, either.  It does finish well (ooh, another wine term) as the final two tracks are the albums highlights, showing the maturity and variety I had expected. 

Soooooooo, I guess I'll keep it, but I won't jump so fast on the next release. 

East River Pipe "We Live in Rented Rooms"

I discovered this guy several years ago playing required new music on my heralded WPRK morning drive show "PM in the AM."  And it really is just one man with that tortured artist history of alcohol, drugs, depression, living in a train station, etc..  Enter lovely woman who hears his songs and rescues him, sobering him up and making a TASCAM his drug of choice.  Well, all I know is that the 2003 album "Garbageheads on Endless Stun" was a hypnotic effort unlike most everything else at the time and I was hooked, enough so that I purchased the next recording in 2006, though I was completely out of the music biz.  And here it is another five years later and ERP has maybe his finest effort yet.  So what was he doing in those five years?  Touring?  Making videos?  Nope.  How about raising a daughter and working at Home Depot?  Ding ding ding!  Correct answer!  Hard to believe, but true, music for the music's sake, not fame and fortune.  Apparently, he's afraid of touring, fearing an urge to relapse into previous hells.  Subsequently, a web search for East River Pipe videos won't get much at all, but here is a link to the album cover while one of my favorites from the record plays. 

Though I never heard it in his music, ERP is a David Byrne fan, and visa-versa, as Mr. Byrne has covered ERP songs.  It's the one-man band set up like Toney Carey/Planet P.  The treated vocals remind me of an early Beck recording.  The lyrics have a David Lowery/Cracker intelligence without the humor...quite the opposite.  The overall main comparison I would make would be Karl Wallinger/World Party on Quaaludes.  "...Rented Rooms" is best absorbed with a nice, relaxed buzz. 

This record is well worth the $9 -$14 you'll spend on it, depending on format.  I'll make it easy for you...here's the link to Merge Records.  There's also a Facebook page that he is actually active on.  Look it up.  Finally, I'll share this from the record label's site.  I couldn't have put it any better...
East River Pipe's music has been described by the New York Times as "gentle, smart, and unspeakably sad." Rolling Stone characterized him as "one of our generation's great eccentric songwriters." Sometimes harrowing, occasionally scathing, and often heartbreakingly beautiful...

The Juke Joints "Going to Chicago!"

Simply put, this is one of the best ensemble blues recordings I've heard in quite some time, and the band is from Holland!  This is album #11 from a history beginning in 1985.  As much as I search for International releases, I am surprised they have eluded my ears until now.  And it was only because I liked the name Juke Joints for a blues band that made me point my mouse to "Sample." 

First track in, I'm thinking Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.  Next track, John Mayall.  Catch the theme yet?  Correct!  Harmonica, and lots of it.  Excellent guitar, too.  And a singing drummer, for crying out loud....from Holland?!  Shitwow...  There's a Memphis/Stax tribute song and, of course, Chicago blues, as evidenced by the "special guests" stamped on the front, Eddy Clearwater and Ronnie Baker Brooks, and the record was produced in the Windy City by Mr. Brooks.  The other name, Ana Popovic, is a Serbian blues guitarist whom you will say you heard about her first through the Mad Rocker.  Let's see...other names that sprang to mind while listening to this CD were Doyle Bramhall II and British blues band The Hoax.  That's mighty high praise indeed, as I consider The Hoax one of the 90's best bands, period. 

There isn't much on the web video wise, and this is the best one I could find.  From it, I get a slight Foghat vibe I didn't get from this album, but that's not a bad thing.  You'll see they are a four-piece band, but "Going to Chicago" has a liberal sprinkling of Hammond B-3 throughout.  I can't say for sure, but probably a Chicago session player, but a welcome addition, nonetheless.  There's a trait in the vocals that's stirred some of the tiny demons in my mind, but after repeated spins, I still can't quite pin down who it's reminiscent of.  Ah, it'll come to me eventually...

There are five of the eleven Juke Joint releases available in the US, and this may be one of the RARE occasions where I actually go backwards and buy a catalogue selection.  If you are like me and wonder why the Blues make you feel so good, then spend the $10 and get this record.  You will be smilin' right along with me...

Noah & the Whale "Last Night on Earth"

The name of the band stuck in my mind.  Ah, heck, let's buy the third album.  Heard it was British folk music.  My mind generated a Mumford wife.  It turned out to be the Cars playing Tom Petty and Bob Seger songs.  Maybe a distant Suburbs relative.  Wait, was that Robyn Hitchcock?

What I've learned is that this is an electronic departure from their first two releases.  Plenty of acoustics, but apparently not as many as before.  Wonder how many original fans hated this(...to be continued...)?  Their biggest seller yet.  Top 10 UK charts and worldwide sales highest ever.  This was the first single.  Damn, as I play it, I get a Bob Geldof/Boomtown Rats vibe. 

Released in March, it's only $8 (for 33 minutes).  Hey, that's pretty current for YeOldeMadRocker (not for nothin' but I already have Blondie's new record that comes out stateside three weeks from now...). 

Hey, I've done my job.  I've given you half-a-dozen RIYL's.  Just in case you're wondering, I didn't keep a damn song...



Chapel Club "Palace"

This is a new band from London that I saw on the UK charts several weeks ago.  It's a major label release, so it should have some marketing money behind it.  I can't quite put it in the Shoegaze category as others have, but I understand their reasoning.  Here is a video of one of the best tracks of the record, so you can decide for yourself.  I just watched it, too, and for once I actually think the video adds a positive aspect to the music.  I get the Smiths comparisons for the monotone voice, but I was never a Morrissey fan, so yep, that sameness does not endear this record to me as a whole.  A track or two at a time, OK.  I did hear the New Order influence the bands lists, but my experience takes me back further in years than the members', and I believe they are a dead ringer for Chameleons UK crossed with a generous dose of Big Country. 

"Palace" has had some moderate success in Europe and Asia.  It's only $8 here in the States, so if you are a fan of this style, help 'em chart, will ya?

Railroad Earth

When I saw this band name on my favorite music site's page, a tiny little demon in the dark recesses of my brain cried out for attention.  "Click it, click it, click it...but don't ask me why 'cause I'll never tell," was the message I was receiving.  Ah, heck, why not?  Well, the little voice was right, this album has been very difficult to remove from the changer.  Dare I say, another top release for this year.

OK, so it came out last October.  When I do my "Best Of" lists, I always include 4th quarter releases from the previous year.  I just don't understand the justice of one quick spin to write a review for the day of release.  It's not fair to the artist to judge in an hour what may be months of work and passion.  I've been playing this for over two months, but it's time to clear the slot for something else, and there are plenty of promising releases on my "Investigate" list.  So let's see what I discovered about the band...

Well, well, well...Railroad Earth rose from the ashes of a band in the 90's that RCA pushed hard to our music chain, From Good Homes.  They had a country-ish vibe that didn't fit with their state of origin, New Jersey, and their music was fondly deemed "hick-pop."  I absolutely loved the two studio albums but they didn't sell as well as other acts of the day, like Hootie's Blowfish and Stoned Matthews Band, so RCA cast them aside.  The band fell apart shortly thereafter and I lost track of the splinters.  Obviously, Railroad Earth was the next vehicle for FGH bandleader Todd Sheaffer, and they began recording ten years ago.  I know I read about this band somewhere (probably the demon voice reminding me), but I doubt the FGH connection was ever made or I would have jumped on them sooner.  So I only have this self-titled release to go by and I hear plenty of FGH in it.  In my notes I called them a bluegrass-rock jam band with the occasional Celtic streak.  Yeah, I know, what the heck is that?  So here is a video of the first single for an example, though it doesn't do complete justice to my description.  That's a job for the full record.  There is an eleven minute instrumental that's got to be phenomenal in a live setting, and for those of you lucky readers with Bonnaroo tickets, don't miss them as they open the Sunday slate next weekend.  As I listened to the CD, I heard Wilco, Ryan Adams, Pat Simmons-fronted Doobie Bros., String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon.  And for those of you who finally jumped on the Mumford & Sons bandwagon, you MUST hitch a ride on the Railroad Earth train.