Pontiak – Sun on Sun

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Rock

In the summer of 2008, Pontiak had signed to their then new label Thrill Jockey, and shortly thereafter, they released their first album with them. It was a 12 inch record entitled “Kale” split with a band called Arbouretum. Before signing to Thrill Jockey, the band had put out a few self released CD’s that I had a hard time finding any concrete information on. As far as I know, the band had two releases before signing to Thrill Jockey, one being an EP and another release titled “Valley of Cats”. The best I could find on these releases comes from a record label based out of London – check it out here. Unfortunately you can’t even buy either of these CD’s on that website, but if you’ll settle for mp3’s, somebody kindly uploaded all of “Valley of Cats” onto Last.fm for free download. You can check that out right here. If it wasn’t for that I don’t know where else you would find those tracks.

But moving on. Pontiak, comprised of three brothers named Van, Jennings, and Lain Carney, all put out new material like it’s their job…which technically, I guess you could say it is their job. They’re currently in the making of their latest album “Living”, which should be out sometime in 2010. In 2009 they put out two more releases, one being titled “Sea Voids” and the other titled “Maker”. A year earlier in 2008, they put out their first full length called “Sun on Sun”, which is why I’m here today. This was the first record I had heard from Pontiak, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The record starts out with the slow and eerie “Shell Skull” which sounds like it could be the soundtrack for a scene in a movie where a bad dude is creeping up on a good dude with intentions to kill! The face melting guitar solos are the scenes where the two dudes are duke-ing it out in efforts to save their lives!! Aw!! The second track “Swell” is an echo-y, ambient track that also brings words like creepy and eerie to mind again. Skipping ahead to the track “White Mice”, this may be the first point on the album that doesn’t potentially creep you out. About half way through they decide to draw back on the creepy (for once!) and put forth the groovy. The steady tap on the cymbal leads them into this slow, dirge-y jam that doesn’t take long until it’s heavy and all up in your face, with lead singer Van Carney howling as if he were a wolf fixated on the moon. The following track, the album titled “Sun on Sun”, is without a doubt the suite of this record, clocking in at just over 9 minutes long. As usual, things start off a bit on the mysterious side, while slowly but surely the hum of the keyboard rises to the top, followed by some laid-back guitar playing that changes the vibe from mysterious to a much more welcoming sound. Within the final two minutes, guitarist Van Carney brings the heat with some intense sliding on the guitar that can originally be heard in the beginning of the song, only to lead into some yet again face-peeling guitar work before bringing the song to a close. The next track “Tell Me About” starts off like many of these Pontiak tracks before leading into an unexpected keyboard solo topped off by screaming vocals and once again some in-yr-face guitar. The final track “The Brush Burned Fast” is a bit different from everything else on the album. It’s only an acoustic guitar and the singer (probably Van Carney) with some ambiance in the background that is strikingly similar to the ambient track “Swell”. I’m almost positive it’s the same thing. But once again, thanks for reading, and check back again real soon!!!

White Mice

Sun on Sun: Tracklist
1.) Shell Skull
2.) Swell
3.) White Hands
4.) White Mice
5.) Sun on Sun
6.) Tell Me About
7.) The Brush Burned Fast

Pontiak’s Official Website
Pontiak on Myspace
Sun on Sun – BUY! from Thrill Jockey

Library of Congress – Selected Writings on the Human Condition

The Library of Congress are no longer a band anymore, but they once hailed from the wonderful town of Glen Rock, New Jersey. Before bands like Titus Andronicus, Real Estate, and Ducktails (all from NJ), the Library of Congress had formed while all the band members of those bands were still enjoying their days in high school together. The line-up for the Library of Congress consisted of Andrew Cedermark on guitar and lead vocals, Kyle Cedermark on drums, Martin Courtney IV on bass guitar and vocals, Patrick Stickles on guitar and vocals, Sarim Al-Rawi on guitar, and Matt Miller on keyboards. Some of these names might be strikingly familiar to you, mainly because they’re the members of the bands that have been getting all the attention lately. Martin Courtney IV is now the lead singer and guitarist of Real Estate, while Patrick Stickles is the lead singer and guitarist of Titus Andronicus. Andrew Cedermark also spent some time playing in Titus Andronicus, and he also releases solo material on the Underwater Peoples label, check him out here.

As far as this release from the Library of Congress goes, I don’t really have any information on it. ~~I’m not even sure if the name of the album is “Pure White Love”, I’m just using that for blog-writing purposes.~~ [ EDIT: I have been informed that the name of this album is “Selected Writings on the Human Condition”. Thought you might like to know that. ] The most I can tell you is that their name was once “Seizing Elian”, and throughout their time as a band, Andrew Cedermark was the lead singer. I don’t know what year the album was released, what label put it out, or where you can buy it, but I can tell you that it is worth your time, especially if you’re even the slightest fan of any of those bands I listed earlier. It gives you insight to their earlier days of music before they’re bigger, more popular bands emerged, and it shows you how each band went in their own, unique direction. Real Estate took the more polished poppy psychedelic route while Titus Andronicus took the rugged dirt path to ramshackle punk rock. If there is anything worth telling you readers, it’s the fact that there is a song on this album called “Albert Camus” which is an earlier version of Titus Andronicus’ album closer from “The Airing of Grievances”. Exciting!

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Indie Rock, Alternative, Rock
Selected Writings on the Human Condition: Tracklist
1.) Pure White Love
2.) Internal Citations
3.) Doctor Faustus
4.) Fire Extinguisher
5.) Lustful Monk
6.) Second Quarter Transcript
7.) Snow
8.) Albert Camus
9.) Latin for All Occasions, Pt. 1
10.) Have a Nice Summer

The Library of Congress on Myspace
Selected Writings on the Human Condition: TRY (download link)
A compilation album featuring a song from the Library of Congress: BUY
Stuff by Andrew Cedermark and Underwater Peoples: BUY

Volcano Suns – The Bright Orange Years

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Post-Punk, Alternative, Rock

The 1980’s were a fun time, with musical outfits such as U2, R.E.M., David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and Madonna dominating the scene. Alongside of that, the 1980’s were also heavily influenced with the emergence of synthpop and electronic music, with songs like this one right here. This was one of the best selling songs at the time, and it played a huge role in the constantly growing genre of electronic music during the 80’s. Now while all of this was going on, three dudes from Boston, Massachusetts decided to completely ditch the synthesizers and go with a style of music that was certainly not as popular as all the emerging synthpop, and I must commend them for this.

The Volcano Suns initially formed in 1984 after the break up of Mission of Burma in their already mentioned hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. For most of their early years, the band was a three piece consisting of Peter Prescott on drums, Jeff Weigand on bass guitar, and Jon Williams on guitar, with Prescott being the only member to remain in the band until it’s break up in 1991. This original three piece line-up would play together for the first two releases of the Volcano Suns discography – their debut in 1985, “The Bright Orange Years”, and 1986’s “All Night Lotus Party”.

Today I have their debut LP for you to listen and love, and love it you shall. The album is bursting with raw energy, with just about every song forcing you to somehow tap along and keep the beat, and at times while listening, I actually recall similarities to the band White Denim. The recording quality of the music also does wonders for their sound; that being said, I don’t think I would favor them as much if it was overproduced. If you have never heard these guys, please do yourself a favor and HEAR THEM. I was going to go through and name which songs stand out before the rest, but then I noticed I was just listing the tracklist from the album. Be sure to be on the lookout for more Volcano Suns in the near future.

The Bright Orange Years: Tracklist
1.) Jak
2.) Descent into Hell
3.) Truth is Stranger than Fishing
4.) Balancing Act
5.) Promise Me
6.) (I’m Gonna) Make You Mine
7.) Cover
8.) The Mouth that Roared
9.) Cornfield
10.) Animals
11.) It’s Stewtime
12.) Silvertone

Volcano Suns on Myspace
The Bright Orange Years (and more): BUY

Spider Bags – A Celebration of Hunger

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Acoustic, Country, Rock

Well hello! I sort of missed a few days this week and didn’t post anything. You could blame that on the new Spring Semester that started this past Tuesday. So I apologize for that, and to make up for it, I brought with me today quite a special album. It’s called “A Celebration of Hunger” and it’s by the Spider Bags. This album came out back in May 2007 on Birdman Records, and it contains 14 fantastic tracks. This was the Spider Bags debut release, and since then, they have put out another full length titled “Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World”, and a 7″ single called “Hey Delinquents” on Daggerman Records. “A Celebration of Hunger” is one of those albums that I can turn on and not interfere with for the entire duration, because each track is just as good as the next. The opener “Bad Complexion” with it’s twangy guitars slowly builds up to a welcoming break down that certainly leaves you thinking that this album has a whole lot more in store for you. I could probably go on about every track from this album, but I just wouldn’t have the time. While I did say all the tracks are exceptional, some still stand out above the rest. These would be “Waking Up Drunk” which you’ll find is a great track to chant along with. Others include “Blood for You”, “It’s You”, “Alphabet City Blues”, “So Long a Rope”, “The Bottle”, “Bleed for You”, and “I am Sorry I”. Seriously, they’re all good though. If you don’t have the time for the whole album, at least listen to “Bad Complexion”, “Waking Up Drunk”, and “The Bottle”. You’ll get the idea with those three tracks. Enjoy.

A Celebration of Hunger: Tracklist
1.) Bad Complexion
2.) Waking Up Drunk
3.) Blood for You
4.) It’s You
5.) Alphabet City Blues
6.) So Long a Rope
7.) Summer’s Waltz
8.) The Bottle
9.) Bleed for You
10.) I am Sorry I
11.) Wide Open
12.) Darkness in my Heart
13.) Devil When I Go
14.) My Oh My

Spider Bags Official Myspace
A Celebration of Hunger: BUY

Soul Coughing – Ruby Vroom

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Alternative, Jazz, Rock

Soul Coughing formed in New York City back in 1992, and they remained active until 2000 when they broke up over disputes about songwriting credits and things of that matter. It’s a shame when a band dies off due to arguments, but hey, that’s how the cookie crumbles. Before breaking up in 2000, the band released three different studio albums, and they managed to gain moderate mainstream success. Their first album “Ruby Vroom” was released back in 1994, and it is the album I have here with me today. A lot of the songs found on the album are dominated by heavy, jazzy bass lines and lead singer Mike Doughtys crazy “stream-of-consciousness” poetry, which many times leaves you thinking, “What did he just say?” If you’re listening carefully enough, you will also notice that he is constantly making references to things in his lyrics. The song that first comes to mind would be the opening track “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago”. It’s almost like it’s his goal to name as many places as he can while he sings, because he mentions Chicago, Saskatoon, Palmyra, New York, Washington, Pyongyang, and Cairo. There is probably even a few I missed, or possibly some I’m not even aware of. Either way, you should make an effort to check out the funky goodness that is Soul Coughing. Be sure to check out songs like “Sugar Free Jazz” with it’s beachy sound effects, “Casiotone Nation” which is chock-full of more references, “Blueeyed Devil”, “Supra Genious” and “Screenwriter’s Blues”. Enjoy!

Ruby Vroom: Tracklist
1.) Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago
2.) Sugar Free Jazz
3.) Casiotone Nation
4.) Blueeyed Devil
5.) Bus to Beelzebub
6.) True Dreams of Wichita
7.) Screenwriter’s Blues
8.) Moonsammy
9.) Supra Genius
10.) City of Motors
11.) Uh, Zoom Zip
12.) Down to This
13.) Mr. Bitterness
14.) Janine

Unofficial Website – Soul Coughing
Ruby Vroom: BUY