September 2008 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

REVIEWSMUSIC
THE REVIVALISTS
THE REVIVALISTS
(INDEPENDENT)
The Revivalists formed in
the perfect New Orleans
way—as strangers brought
together by music. Singer
David Shaw was playing
guitar on his porch when guitarist Zack Feinberg road by
on his bike, and the fast friends decided to start a band.
Add a classmate, a prodigy and a friend from the Tipitina’s
Sunday Morning Workshop and the Revivalists were born.
Judging them by their self-titled EP, the Revivalists can
play JazzFest and the crowd would love them: the audience
would get funky and sing along to “Common Cents;”
They’d sway to the song “Soulflight;” they’d love them, no
doubt. They blend soul, reggae, blues and funk, and they
do it well. The main obstacle that the Revivalists face is the
New Orleans music scene, that little pond filled with big
fish, and it’s easy for any band to drown. The Revivalists are
good, but they aren’t as funky as the Meters or Soul Rebels
and can’t compete with the force that is Galactic. However,
with a strong EP (as this one is) and some heavy touring,
the Revivalists might have a chance. There are audiences
across the country that are starved for soulful and funky
music, and we’re so spoiled that we’ve been presented with
yet another option. —Caroline DeBruhl
The Revivalists release their self-titled EP on September 19th
at the Howlin’ Wolf. For more info, go to myspace.com/
revivalists.
THE TOMATOES
DIVISIONISM
(REVOLUTION BLUES)
The New Orleans-based
Tomatoes don’t really
need to take shit from
anybody. Judging by their
last album, Trendy, they are
doing just fine. Hints of ’90s greats like Soul Asylum, a rock
and roll wonder like Tom Petty and the Boss can be heard
throughout their sound, and they know how to construct
a good song. Divisionism’s “Harvest,” for example, is a
stripped down song that deals with soul crushing loneliness.
Though the subject matter could lend itself to a boring
song, “Harvest” doesn’t lack substance at all. There’s a
perfect balance of sound and silence, which lets the song get
under your skin and let you feel the loneliness. However,
towards the end it picks up with a heavy riff and allows the
release of pent up emotion. They can also construct a damn
good rock song as well. “When the Walls Come Down”
and “Vendetta” both have enough snarl to be reminiscent
of classic punk, but they don’t overpower. Everything is
balanced and they aren’t afraid to experiment with style
either. “Feeling Right,” a song about the rat race that can
be daily life, is monotonous and pounds into your head,
much like the typical work day. They also sing songs about
giving yourself up to machinery (“The Futurist”) and about
how swell paranoia can be (“Death Ray Days”). One of
the beautiful things about the Tomatoes is the consistency
of their music. You can’t listen to them and pick out single
things that sound great, such as “well, the guitarist really
shines in this song,” or “the lyrics are really sophisticated
in this one.” The members feed off each other and create
a packaged sound. That would be terrible if the Tomatoes
were a mediocre band but luckily they aren’t. They’re solid
on all fronts and Divisionism is another addition to their
solid discography. —Caroline DeBruhl
The Tomatoes release Divisionism on September 18th
at Southport Hall. For more info go to myspace.com/
thetomatoes.
COIN OPERA
WHAT WENT WRONG
WITH THE RIGHT
(UMBRELLA ETIQUETTE)
I
’ve checked the year on Coin
Opera’s new album, What
Went Wrong With the Right,
several times. I can’t help
but worry that there’s been some mix up—that this album
is over ten years old. But each time it says “2008.” What
Went Wrong is an alternative album that would’ve snuggly
fit in music history between the Smashing Pumpkins’ Melon
Collie and the Infinite Sadness and right Elliot Smith’s Either/
Or, probably fondly remembered by adults who’d recall
listening to P. Blue Zusman’s melancholy songs when they
were feeling glum, which in high school should have been
every damn day. However, this album is not twelve years old
and Mr. P. Blue Zusman is alive and well. He was, however,
in the lo-fi band Okiread, which split up in the late ’90s, and
that might explain a thing or two. What Went Wrong seems
to be a “best of the ’90s” compilation, as it nods to all the
alternative greats from the past decade. “The Kids Are Not
Alright” has a noise concerto in the middle of it, a la Sonic
youth. Both “The Prettiest Delay” and “Nobody Street” give
homage to Elliot Smith, the latter with a more bare bones
acoustic sound; “Insignificant Like Ss” and “To Break Your
Heart To” are a hybrid of the lost souls of Billy Corgan.
Coin Opera may sound dated, but that isn’t necessarily a
bad thing. If you’re really into ’90s alternative rock, then
you’ll probably like What Went Wrong With the Right. Just be
warned that Coin Opera isn’t as sophisticated as any of the
bands mentioned. —Caroline DeBruhl
SONIC YOUTH
SYR8: ANDRE SIDER
AF SONIC YOUTH
(SYR)
D
aydream Nation sure was
a great album. Hell,
almost all of Sonic Youth’s
records are good. They write
such beautifully simple songs and then take them to such
strange places. Did you also know that Sonic Youth likes to
make weird, experimental music as well? They sure do, and
thus SYR was born: a label created by the band to release
their more esoteric projects. The eighth in the series is a live
recording of the band’s Roskilde Festival performance with
Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and Japanese noise
God Merzbow. First things first: you will find no catchy
riffs in this monstrosity, no anthemic choruses. Don’t be
fooled by the slight and subdued jangly intro—the piece
only evolves from there into a free-form, avant-jazz freak
out. Sonic Youth provides the skeleton for the music.
Beneath every section they can be found, guitars moaning
or screaming as needed, drums jazzy at times, crashing at
others. Gustafsson’s sax provides the lead, piercing through
the murky pandemonium like a ghostly noir soundtrack.
Then there’s Masami Akita, who uses his deadly bank of
machinery to wrap everything together in a warm cocoon of
squalls, digital thuds or outright, screeching madness. Like
any good hour-long jam there are tonal shifts throughout—
sections shuffle, bend back and repeat themselves in some
fashion. The music can go from quiet and slightly melancholy
to brash and powerful in only a few time changes and like
any long-winded jam it can sometimes border on tedious.
It’s to the credit of each performer that it rarely does feel
tiresome. The entire performance comes to a blistering head
as Gustafsson’s playing screeches wildly over a cauldron
of synthesized madness. Be forewarned yet again, this is
no follow up to Rather Ripped, it’s a meeting of the minds
between avant-garde musical peers, so if you’re the type to
appreciate lengthy improv and experimental psych-outs,
then dive right in. —Mike Rodgers
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