afiend_reviews

Ever get the feeling that music review blogs don't really apply to you?  Is it always something new you don't care about or some genre of music you wouldn't be caught dead listening to?

Well, you won't find modern rap, modern country or weepy emo here.  Occasionally, something really special stands out in popular music and attention is paid to that artist, but that's definitely as a rarity because let's face it -- popular music has stopped offering many of us the entertainment value or the depth that we crave.

Expect visitation of old favorites.

Each entry is tagged by artist, type of artist (solo, band, dj, etc.), decade and usually, genre. 

Sounds like something you're interested in? Come along for the ride.  I welcome comments and feedback but try to keep it drama-free.

It's edgy.  It's chaotic.  It'll make you wanna jump up and down in excitement.  The Brides's "Sofa City Sweetheart" is a mishmash of punk rock, goth, psychedelic rock with electronic elements to boot.  Each song is a little bit different than the track before, but they all have in common that signature organ bobbing Brides fans have come to expect.

This album is bursting at the seams with dark humor, B-movie inspired spookiness and in-your-face hysteria.  "Sofa City..." showcases more of Julia Ghoulia's vocals than previous works.  In fact, the track "Put Me Back to Sleep" is completely hers.  She's got a tambourine, but Bela Lugosi is still dead.  Pay close attention to the details because each piece of this album has its purpose.  In the song "Chances With Girls" the background of the chorus is half gibberish, accenting his lack of ability to talk to girls.  During "Who Cares If You Dance," be sure you listen or you may just miss a great line such as "I can't hear a thing you said. The music's so loud that I just pretend to know." A sound in "Adult Entertainment" had me constantly looking for a ringing cell phone.

It'll  keep you dancing all night long and guessing at every turn.  "Sofa City Sweetheart" is a must-hear if you truly like to be taken by surprise and have a healthy sense of humor.

If you are a fan of psychobilly or even a newcomer to the genre needing something concrete to familiarize you with it, this is the album for you.  This is, in my opinion, one of Nekromantix's best albums and showcases what it is that secures them at the height of psychobilly fame.  It has all the horror and dark humor that psychobilly fans crave with hoppin' bass, haunting guitar riffs and drumming with a drive that keeps you, from start to finish, thirsting for more. 

If you want twisted lyrics, try "Who Killed The Cheerleader" or "Murder For Breakfast."  If you're in the mood for something mellow and guitar driven, go with "Subcultural Girl" or the title track.  "I'm A Hellcat" will make you feel like dancing. There is a little bit of something for everyone, as if creates the perfect bridge between rockabilly and punk rock.  Vocally, expect the signature vibrato and country-flare that Kim Nekroman does so well.  If you're easily offended or take life far too seriously, turn the other way now.  Otherwise, pull up a coffin and take a listen.  You may just fall in love.    

Let me preface by saying that many old school purists held the belief that after The Downward Spiral Nine Inch Nails somehow ceased to exist, not wishing to acknowledge any albums after that era.  After The Fragile, I too failed to keep up with what NIN was doing.  Somehow, my husband got his hands on a copy of With Teeth, which despite some amazing tracks and undeniable dance-ability, was disappointing as a NIN work because it somehow lost what NIN was as it evolved. 

Year Zero, on the other hand, served as a breath of fresh air and revived a whole subset of NIN fans who had lost hope.  The album not only incorperates some of the good qualities of With Teeth such as rhythm and catchiness, but brings back the harsh, dark synthesizers that made them what they were in their early days.  Think back to the days of Pretty Hate Machine, turn up the volume and put a little bit of a modern spin on it.  You can expect some of the old NIN angst, but figure in more thought provoking comments on the human condition and the state of world affairs. It takes you on a ride through pleasure and pain and ends with the eerie and beautiful ballad 'In This Twilight," which ties the entire experience of the album together, leading to catharsis.  

I know what you're thinking, but you have no idea.  Sometimes, something surprising creeps out of the shadows and find it's way into the mainstream.  Such is the case with Lady Gaga's The Fame.  Personally, I haven't been excited about anything new in popular music for about 15 years, but this album surprised me.  Take catchy pop, mix it with dance and infuse it with electronica and 90s bubble gum/ dark pop, and you've got yourself a winning combination. 

If you dislike any of the aforementioned influences, then this isn't the album for you. The hit "Paparazzi" invokes a late 80s early 90s dark pop feel (think early Michael Jackson, Madonna and Paula Abdul). "Summerboy" and "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" take you on a journey to the pop of the early to mid-1990s (think of Merril  Bainbridge's 1994-5 hit "Mouth").  You won't find lyrics that make you think or a deeper level, but that seems to be the artist's intent.  The content ranges from sex to alcohol intoxication to fame to the games played in relationships.  Regardless of your musical orientation (and believe me, I'm generally far away from this), The Fame is likely to get play over and over in your head, becoming almost an addiction that can only be appeased by the replaying of the album.