Left of the Dial Radio Playlist - 4/13/12

Apologies for not posting this yesterday. I got caught up in writing the review of that excellent new LP from The Act Of Estimating As Worthless and then had to go to band practice. Anyway, I hope those of you who tuned in to my show on Friday (the thirteenth!) had a good time. Here’s the playlist below, along with a link to stream each song.

• 1. The Get Up Kids - “Holiday”
• 2. Elvis Costello - “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes”
• 3. Into It. Over It. - “Discretion & Depressing People”
• 4. Beach House - “Myth”
• 5. Destroyer - “Suicide Demo For Kara Walker”
• 6. Grandaddy - “The Go In The Go-For-It”
• 7. fun. - “All Alone”
• 8. Suns - “I Could’ve Made Time”
• 9. Iceage - “White Rune”
• 10. Refused - “The Deadly Rhythm”
• 11. Titus Andronicus - “Upon Viewing Breughel’s “Landscape With The Fall of Icarus”
• 12. The Arrogant Sons Of Bitches - “Disappointment At The Taco Bell”
• 13. Defiance, Ohio - “Oh, Susquehanna!”
• 14. Laura Stevenson and the Cans - “The Healthy One”
• 15. By Surprise - “Realometer”
• 16. Dikembe - “Scottie Spliffen”
• 17. Jimmy Eat World - “A Praise Chorus”
• 18. Pavement - “The Killing Moon” (Echo & The Bunnymen cover)
• 19. Cloud Nothings - “Stay Useless”
• 20. The Act Of Estimating As Worthless - “My Left Thumb”
• 21. Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s - “Skeleton Key”
• 22. Elliott Smith - “Bled White”
• 23. Local Natives - “Who Knows Who Cares”
• 24. First Aid Kit - “Emmylou”
• 25. Bright Eyes - “On My Way To Work”
• 26. Andrew Jackson Jihad - “Love In The Time Of Human Papilloma Virus”
• 27. Low - “Done”
• 28. The Mountain Goats - “The Mess Inside”

I won’t be doing my show next week because I’ll be going to WQAQ’s Festapalooza (with Titus Andronicus, Bomb The Music Industry!, The Front Bottoms and more!). Find more information about that day long Connecticut festival HERE. 

Suns - The Engine Room (2012)

In the realm of local music, there are two kinds of bands: those that will always be local bands until they break up or dissolve, and those that will somehow transcend the limitations of the local scene and become something more. The Connecticut punk scene has had its fair share of both, and has produced numerous groups from the latter camp in recent years. Some, like The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, have made the leap through rigorous touring schedules and extensive self-promotion. Others, like Hostage Calm, have done so thanks to a singular, definitive release that established them as a musical force to be reckoned with. With their new LP The Engine Room, the Fairfield County four-piece Suns now have the potential to reach the same level of recognition and influence as those bands and others. They’re in the right place to do so, but does this record properly realize the opportunity that their position has granted them?

To answer such a question, one needs to look at the band’s roots, and examine how they’ve progressed since those formative days. Suns began as a trio in 2008, and released a 3 song demo (fittingly called Three Songs) two years later. Their EP Be Good Boy, released last year, was the first high profile release for the band, and although I criticized it in my original review for bearing too much similarity to the trio’s parent band Midi & The Modern Dance, I recognized their talent and songcrafting ability. 

At face value, The Engine Room is not exactly a logical stylistic progression from the EP, but the differences in song structure and aesthetic between this and Be Good Boy are understandable in context. Since the release of the EP, the three Wills (Rutledge, Ponturo, and Indelicato) of Suns have added a new guitarist to their fold, the fleet-fingered math rock wizard Peter Katz, whose former band Fugue crafted a distinctive blend of rhythmically complex instrumental post-rock before disbanding last year. Katz’ influence permeates nearly every musical aspect of The Engine Room, from the jarring, occasionally dissonant bursts of guitar noise on “I Could Have Made Time” to the spindly riffs that underpin tracks like “Happy Sounds” and “Whippoorwill Lane.” More than any other singular instrumental moment, the lightning-fast downstroke’d riff that appears about 30 seconds into the aggressive “Lover, Lover” is a particular highlight. Throughout The Engine Room, Katz’ lead guitar playing and knack for curious rhythms are undoubtedly what set this LP apart from Suns’ earlier, more basic punk rock material. 

Even though the addition of a supremely talented new guitar player is the most immediate difference between The Engine Room and the older material, it’s not the only thing that’s changed. Although it’s fairly safe to say that Katz’ math rock background was the primary influence on The Engine Room’s more complicated musical foundations, frontman Will Rutledge has clearly made strides as a songwriter on this record. Instead of relying on literal declarations of self-hate and angrily chastising former girlfriends, Rutledge displays a more refined and eloquent lyrical pen here. He’s still bitter as hell and clearly upset about the same things, but it’s a lot easier to get through this record without wincing at awkward lyrical jumbles than on the EP. Furthermore, his lack of reliance on cheap, repetitive lyrical crescendos demonstrates a more mature songwriting ability and allows for more interesting songs overall. 

The combination of Rutledge’s improved songwriting and the reinforced instrumental backing yields some pretty wonderful results on The Engine Room, particularly in the form of the single “Crocodile” and the closing title track. With its soothing, mulitracked vocals and arpeggiated guitar riffs, “Crocodile” builds up to a warning call chorus that intensifies with each post-verse repetition. By the time the song reaches its final minute, it explodes into a rage-filled surprise of razor-sharp guitars and screamed vocals evoking the early work of Tim Kasher in Cursive. The Cursive influence appears again in the bitter chorus of the title track, and throughout “I Could Have Made Time,” which plays out like a 3 minute version of “Crocodile’s” brief ending. Unfortunately, like much of Cursive’s early material, The Engine Room occasionally suffers from the band getting lost in their blind aggression and forgetting to make distinguishable, memorable songs. Thankfully, they balance that rage with some relatively subdued tracks such as the Pedro The Lion-influenced opener and the lovely acoustic piece “Machine Steam.”

So to finally answer that question that I posed at the beginning of this review, I can only definitively say that this record should give Suns the necessary gravitas to transcend local band status. If The Engine Room itself doesn’t, then I genuinely hope that at some point soon this band manages to do that through some other means. This is a band that  deserves to be heard outside of Connecticut and its affiliated scene, and hopefully this record will make that possible.

7/10

Key Tracks: “Crocodile”, “The Engine Room”

_______________________

The Engine Room is available to download for whatever you want to pay on Suns’ bandcamp page. Stream the embedded album in full below.

Left of the Dial Radio Playlist - 4/6/12

Thanks to everybody who tuned in to last night’s live broadcast of Left of the Dial on WNHU. The full playlist is below along with links to stream each of the songs. Tune in next Friday for another broadcast.

• 1. Teenage Fanclub - “The Concept”
• 2. Girls - “Honey Bunny”
• 3. Sebadoh - “Magnet’s Coil”
• 4. Joyce Manor - “Beach Community”
• 5. Japandroids - “The House That Heaven Built”
• 6. The Strokes - “Hard To Explain”
• 7. The Hold Steady - “Party Pit”
• 8. Midi & The Modern Dance - “Everything I Touch (Just Falls Apart)”
• 9. Suns - “Crocodile”
• 10. Martin Luther King - “Boneflower”
• 11. Stay Ahead Of The Weather - “Get Old Or Die Tryin’”
• 12. LVL UP - “ROMAN CANDLE”
• 13. Screaming Females - “Expire”
• 14. Jaill - “Waste A Lot Of Things”
• 15. The Act Of Estimating As Worthless - “The Things We Remember”
• 16. Scott Walker - “Mathilde”
• 17. Jaques Brel - “La Chanson De Jacky”
• 18. Broadcaster - “All Your Friends”
• 19. WHY? - “Good Friday”
• 20. Serengeti - “Long Ears” (feat. Yoni Wolf and Becky Wolf)
• 21. Astronautalis - “Meet Me Here Later”
• 22. The Cure - “Close To Me”
• 23. The Unicorns - “Ghost Mountain”
• 24. Lower Dens - “Brains”
• 25. Beach House - “Myth”
• 26. Dirty Projectors - “Useful Chamber”
• 27. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie - “Death To Everyone”
• 28. Poliça - “Amongster”
• 29. Craig Finn - “Honolulu Blues”
• 30. Red House Painters - “Brown Eyes”

Left of the Dial Radio Playlist - 1/20/12

Here’s the playlist from last night’s broadcast of Left of the Dial on WNHU. I tried to play some positive music to counteract my general unhappiness and I guess it worked, at least for the two hours during the show. Notable songs included Sharon Van Etten’s beautiful “Kevin’s,” from her new album Tramp, which I reviewed earlier today HERE. I also played a track from the new One Hundred Year Ocean EP Poison Smoak, and the new Bruce Springsteen single. I hope those of you who tuned in enjoyed what I had to play. 

• 1. The Hold Steady - “Positive Jam”
• 2. Hallelujah The Hills - “It’s All Been Downhill Since The Talkies Started To Sing”
• 3. The Shins - “Simple Song”
• 4. Free Energy - “I’m Going Down” (Bruce Springsteen cover)
• 5. Girls - “Heartbreaker”
• 6. Chestpiece - “Cassius Clay”
• 7. The Flaming Lips - “Do You Realize??”
• 8. Grandaddy - “Hewlett’s Daughter”
• 9. Sharon Van Etten - “Kevin’s”
• 10. Belle and Sebastian - “Seeing Other People”
• 11. The Microphones - “The Moon”
• 12. Laura Stevenson and the Cans - “Master Of Art”
• 13. Spraynard - “We’re Pretty Nice Guys”
• 14. Suns - “Machine”
• 15. Rivers Cuomo - “There Is No Other One”
• 16. Hour of the Star - “Steeplechase”
• 17. One Hundred Year Ocean - “1576”
• 18. Sinforiano Diaz - “Congregation”
• 19. Bruce Springsteen - “We Take Care Of Our Own”
• 20. Okkervil River - “Black”
• 21. of Montreal - “Dour Percentage”
• 22. Cloud Nothings - “Wasted Days”
• 23. The Music Tapes - “The Minister of Longitude”
• 24. Neutral Milk Hotel - “A Baby For Pree/Glow Into You”
• 25. Neutral Milk Hotel - “Little Birds (studio)”
• 26. Neutral Milk Hotel - “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea”

Tune in next Friday for another broadcast on WNHU.

Left of the Dial Radio Playlist - 9/23/11

Last night’s Left of the Dial radio show on WNHU was tons of fun. I kicked things off with a couple tracks from my recent Fall 2010 Nostalgia Mix, which can be streamed in full HERE, and tacked on the new single from Diarrhea Planet’s forthcoming debut LP Loose Jewels for good measure. I also played music from three of the bands that are playing at Hostage Calm’s LP anniversary show at The Space tonight, including tracks from the new Suns EP Be Good Boy and the new The World Is… split 12” Are Here To Help You.

Afterwards, I played some of my favorite Andrew Jackson Jihad songs and then aired my interview with the band, which I recorded on Tuesday at the Heirloom Arts Theater in Danbury. That interview can be read/streamed in full HERE for those of you who didn’t get to tune in last night.

The rest of the night’s set included new stuff from Girls and The Rapture, as well as a cut from the new Into It. Over It. LP Proper, which I reviewed HERE. Finally, I closed the show with two tracks from the recently disbanded R.E.M., including one cut from their latest album Collapse Into Now. It was a busy week, and last night was a busy show. Here’s the playlist below, with links to stream each song, when available.

• 1. Bedroom Eyes - “Dancing Under Influence”
• 2. Jenny and Johnny - “Big Wave”
• 3. Diarrhea Planet - “Warm Ridin’”
• 4. Suns - “Be Good Boy”
• 5. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - “I Will Be Okay. Everything”
• 6. Hostage Calm - “A Mistrust Earned”
• 7. Andrew Jackson Jihad - “Heartilation”
• 8. Andrew Jackson Jihad - “Zombie By The Cranberries By Andrew Jackson Jihad”
• 9. Andrew Jackson Jihad - “Darkest Heart”
• 10. Andrew Jackson Jihad - “People”
• 11. Andrew Jackson Jihad - “Truckers Are The Blood”
• 12. Lewis and his Blog Interview with Andrew Jackson Jihad (9/20/11)
• 13. Defiance, Ohio - “Condition 11:11”
• 14. Girls - “Alex”
• 15. Cymbals Eat Guitars - “Definite Darkness”
• 16. Into It. Over It. - “Connecticut Steps”
• 17. Desaparecidos - “Man and Wife, The Former (Financial Planning)”
• 18. The Fall - “No Xmas for John Quays”
• 19. Violent Femmes - “Kiss Off”
• 20. Bomb The Music Industry! - “Why, Oh Why, Oh Why (Oh Oh Oh Oh)”
• 21. Vacation - “Big Scary Dudes”
• 22. The Rapture - “Children”
• 23. R.E.M. - “Fall On Me”
• 24. R.E.M. - “ÜBerlin”

Anyway, I’m off to see that Hostage Calm show with The World Is…, Suns, and Heavy Breath. Tune in to WNHU next Friday at 6 PM to listen to another live broadcast of Left of the Dial!

Left of the Dial Radio Playlist - 9/16/11

Below is the playlist from Friday night’s Left of the Dial radio show, which aired from 6 to 8 PM Eastern time on WNHU. Next Friday I’m going to be playing a show at my school, which means that I won’t be doing my radio show. Remember to tune in the week after that though.

• 1. The Antlers - “Kettering”
• 2. Midi & The Modern Dance - “Ghost”
• 3. Bright Eyes - “The Calendar Hung Itself”
• 4. Suns - “Casual”
• 5. WHY? - “Light Leaves”
• 6. Giles Corey - “Blackest Bile”
• 7. Carissa’s Wierd - “September Come Take This Heart Away”
• 8. Modest Mouse - “Cowboy Dan”
• 9. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - “Mega Steve”
• 10. Slint - “Nosferatu Man”
• 11. Liturgy - “Returner”
• 12. Cymbals Eat Guitars - “Plainclothes”
• 13. Snowing - “KJ Jammin”
• 14. Ovlov - “I Got Well”
• 15. Rites of Spring - “Nudes”
• 16. The Replacements - “We’re Comin’ Out”
• 17. Hostage Calm - “War On A Feeling”
• 18. Girls - “Saying I Love You”
• 19. The War On Drugs - “Come To The City”
• 20. Sigur Ros - “Untitled #4”
• 21. Idaho - “You Were A Dick”
• 22. Morrissey - “I’m Not Sorry”
• 23. Andrew Jackson Jihad - “Big Bird”
• 24. Neutral Milk Hotel - “Ferris Wheel On Fire”
• 25. Sharon Van Etten - “Love More”
• 26. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - “To The Janitor, To The King”
• 27. The Smiths - “Oscillate Wildly”

Suns - Be Good Boy (2011)

If you’re into Connecticut music, you’re probably aware of Midi & The Modern Dance, the Connecticut based group whose anthemic indie pop sound has the potential to resonate far beyond this state. If you’re into Midi & The Modern Dance, you’re probably at least aware of Suns. The trio just put out their new album, an EP entitled Be Good Boy, on their bandcamp page. 

Suns is comprised of three members of Midi & The Modern Dance, including singer/songwriter Will Rutledge, who fronts Suns while playing guitar for Midi. While callings Suns a “Midi & The Modern Dance spin-off group” might be a little excessive, the ties between the two bands are undeniable. 

Suns seems to have spawned from the creative frustration that being in Midi led to. With a roster of up to nine people, none of whom could seemingly contribute to the band full-time, being in Midi must be creatively stifling at times. Understanding this helps contextualize the music on Be Good Boy more easily. Of course, seeing a review of their album in which the writer can’t help but mention Midi & The Modern Dance must be similarly frustrating. I’m sure that Suns would like their EP to be viewed out of the context of that band, but the connections between them are too significant to be ignored here. Aside from the previously stated member sharing, the music on Be Good Boy does not differ very much in style and form from Midi’s most recent work. 

Musically, Suns employ a more rough hewn garage rock edge than their indie pop-focused progenitors, with some filtered vocals and distorted electric guitar. As a trio, the band has a relatively stripped down sound, which they compensate for with high volume and lo-fi sentimentality.

With the exception of the eerie one minute mood piece “Cold Steel”, the songs on Be Good Boy are all fairly catchy indie rock anthems detailing personal, often bitingly literal experiences with sadness, depression, self identity, and of course girls, because what else would angry punk boys complain about if not for girls? Some of the songs, such as the title track, remain the same in tone and pace throughout while others, including “This Can’t Be Me”, start quietly and build on themselves until they reach a full blown crescendo. “Be Good Boy” is fast and to the point while the closer “A Hallucinated Ending” is slow and heavy all the way through.

Clearly unafraid to raise his voice to a shout, Rutledge finds himself exploring Conor Oberst territory throughout the EP. But while his expressive vocal mannerisms are akin to Oberst’s, the melodies of his songs (and even, at times, the lyrics) call to mind Midi & The Modern Dance’s music almost immediately. This is not to say that Suns are ripping Midi off with these songs, but rather that I could picture Midi & The Modern Dance frontman Omeed Goodarzi singing all of these songs in the same way. Maybe this is the most obvious connection.

For the sake of comparison, take “Fuck Me While I’m Down”, the salaciously titled third track from the new Suns EP. It’s a great song, with really harsh and relatable lyrics and a catchy melody to deliver them. But I can’t get past the fact that every time I hear those brutally hateful and literal lines “You’re a coward, I hate you, you should be dead”, I think of Midi’s “Reprise”, on which Goodarzi sings, perhaps more eloquently but no less brutally, “I want to rip you to shreds and tear you apart.” At the end of the day, “Reprise” is the better song, and I’m forced to wonder where that leaves the rest of the EP. 

Perhaps the internal politics of a band is not a reviewer’s business, but if I were to hazard a guess about this EP, I would say that the members of Suns were not just creatively frustrated, but personally frustrated as well when working on this record. This is no more evident anywhere on Be Good Boy than in the title track’s closing lines — “There’s nothing that makes me feel light or nice / So I’ll sing these songs I don’t like or write.” He’s not talking about his own work, but I don’t think that I like the songs he does write as much.

6/10

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