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| Band of Skulls - Baby Doll Face Darling Honey Posted: 15 May 2009 09:50 AM PDT I don't know if I believe in G-d, but I do believe in Led Zeppelin. I believe they existed from 1968 to 1980. I do not believe they were omnipotent or holy, though I'm aware that there are those who hold views to the contrary. I do believe, however, that their followers should not attempt to replicate or imitate them, for there can only be one Zeppelin and the Zeppelin is one. Some have learned everything they know from them, borrowing their sound and representing it as their own as The Black Keys, Wolfmother and thousands of others have done with great success for decades - but only to a point. And Band Of Skulls are pushing it. To be fair to the Southhampton, UK trio of Russell Marsden, Emma Richardson and Matthew Hayward, Band Of Skulls are not a Zeppelin carbon copy, considering they also take a lot of their cues from 70's Southern Rock, and even a bit of freak-folk. But its clear that the Zeppelin is strong with Band Of Skulls. Marsden's blues riffs in "Light Of The Morning" and "Patterns" are shameless Page-rips in both style and tone and, in "Death By Diamonds and Pearls" and "Bomb" in particular, the rhythm section of Richardson and Hayward should be teaching "How To Sound Exactly Like Bonham and Jones" seminars. And yeah, the singing's got that Plant-patented white-boy-blues cocksure smoothness all over it. At times though, it can be tough to be so hard on Band Of Skulls. The snaky, Kings Of Leon-esque groover "I Know What I Am" sports a mean chorus and a surprisingly amusing back-and-forth toss between vocalists Marsden and Richardson during the verses. "Fires" is a dirty, slow-burning blues epic. And after its initial Zeppelin-y intro, "Patterns" warps into a gothic, dance rave-up that comes crashing down in a roaring tumult. At other times, its not: closers "Dull Gold Heart" and "Cold Fame" are all crawling tempos, ineffective hooks and overwrought vocals. Band Of Skulls' is for the most part made up of too many borrowed parts and stolen goods. They redeem themselves somewhat by often using well what doesn't belong to them, but its just not enough to bring to life what's been long dead. Baby Doll Face Darling Honey is available now on Shangri-La Music. Tracklisting: Band of Skulls: website | myspace  Related Posts |
| Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications Posted: 15 May 2009 06:45 AM PDT Jarvis Cocker, an English native who is best known for being the frontman of Pulp, will be releasing his second album Further Complications on May 19th. This man’s indie-punk-rock music strikes the music industry flat-square in the face with his coming this new release. Single “Angela”seems to be heavily inspired by such early British bands like that of the early works of The Who, with their small choir of back up singers chanting Angela’s name throughout the song. The song itself is always open for interpretation, but from what I gather, Angela makes $4.50 an hour for complimentary showers and performing certain sexual acts. That may not be the most attractive song subject, but once you hear the song, it sounds oh so sweet. In “Fuckingsong”, Cocker opens with a brief solo made by what sounds like a chainsaw and then leads into the opening lyrics which start off with a hint of stalker in them, but is then compensated with badassness! The driving guitar riff only adds to the rage that he seems to gain towards the subject of the song. Also, smack-dab in the middle of the song, they bust out a solo of random sounds that somehow fits in to the song perfectly. On Further Complications, Cocker tries his hand in a slow love song titled “Hold Still” and, unfortunately, it is not the success that I was hoping for. However, the following track, “Homewrecker”, brings it on home. On this cut, Cocker does what he does best: rock out with a little added flavor, and in this song that flavor would be the saxophone. This album is decent just because of the handful of songs on the album that he really jams out for, like “Homewrecker”. So check it out! Further Complications is available May 19th. Tracklisting: Jarvis Cocker: website | myspace  Related Posts |
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