Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Too Much Connection - Cadaver Dogs - Too Much

Life is a fun and funny thing. Just last Friday, I watched my amazing friends in Kick open for the ever amazing Foxy Shazam. Both of whom have albums I reviewed right on this very site: Away From The World and Gonzo respectively.

While at this show, a fine gent next to me in the crowd happened to recognize Foxy Shazam's stage tech as a member of another band, Cadaver Dogs. Tonight, as I was sifting through band camp for a new album I knew nothing about, I came across the album Too Much by Cadaver Dogs. It took me a minute to connect why the name sounded so familiar, but once I did, I knew this was my album to listen to.

Not sure if this is an official cover, but it is officially badass.

So armed with Wild Onion Brewing's Hop Slayer (Two beers in, oh yeah!), I am diving head first into what can only be an album brought to me by fate. On to the review!

Album:

Alcohol:

"Black Out Blues" opens us up with a pumping rock riff before dropping to drums and voice. There is something charmingly ugly to the vocals, and It's wonderful. The farty distortion alongside the bouncing keys is a beautiful contrast. Simple, and yet regal in such a gritty way. It's such a dirty groove and great opener. Even the higher end guitar parts are just fuzzy ugly awesome. Awesome.

Gunshot leads right into a nice grooving riff to open "Get Out!" and as the song drops into the verse. There is this cool tension built by the guitar and vocals, and the song grows throughout to the chorus. And the chorus is almost a pop rock feel, but retaining all the grit one could hope for. The guitar tones are the kind that make you feel like you need a shower yet never want to take one again. It's awesome. Ooo... Killer breakdown here... I'm not sure if that's fuzz bass, or guitar, but it's lovely for damn sure. Drops down after that, and kicks back into the chorus. Nice. And hitting hard heading to the end... Nope, back to that opening riff... End...

"Feel The Heat" comes in with a super fast groove, and settles into a funk feel in the verse. Moves into a nice rock chorus, and back into that killer opening riff. The vocal cadences are fun, and I love the subtle variations thus far... I mean, everything is dirty and groovy, but it's not all the same... If there ever was an album that needed a beer and a cigarette...

"It's A Hunger" opens hitting hard, and again drops into the verse, but builds and falls a couple of times before building into the chorus. Hard hitting here, and such awesome rawness, yet the production is right where it needs to be. Great builds all over. They definitely aren't doing anything awe inspiring, but they are doing so much that is over-the-top bad ass... Breaking down... Drums leading the build... And kicking in. Lovely. Such a growth into the ending. Killer.

Wood block to take us into "Buzzards" Clean guitar gives way to distorted guitar on a fun riff that leads us into a fast yet subtle verse that moves along nicely. And back to the anything but subtle opening riff for the chorus. Cool movement into a march feeling breakdown. Vocals touched falsetto there, and it was nice. Dropping down.. Stop... Kick into chorus... Nice. Drops out, and trumpet ends the tune... Awesome.

"Leaner, Meaner" opens slowly, and with a nice fuzzy groove. Vocie and vocals move the verse with guitar tags. Driving into a chorus? I think... Whatever it is, I'm loving the falsetto. Cool tune.

Fuzz y bass takes us into "Confessional" a slow groove here... And the vocals are coming through very clean and funk esque. And driving now... Smooth transition. Drop to voice and clean guitar... Build... And back to the verse jam... Okay... If you took a Black Keys record, put out a half dozen cigarettes on the vinyl, threw up on it after a night of consuming nothing but whiskey, and took the awesome level up by a factor of 13, you would have too much... Also, this song is skull fucking amazing.

"Don't Tell Me I can't" opens in a very bluesy feel. moving along very nicely, and growing after the first part of the verse... Stop go blues riffing. And opening up nicely. A killer take on a formula blues tune. When the band has a full feel, there is this haunting tone happening... I'm not sure if it's shore structuring, or the bells that just sound creepy, but whatever it it, it MAKES this tune. Strange guitar solo-ish thing, that is awesomely fitting. Bad. Ass. Tune. Except... Fade out ending... FAIL.

Acoustic opens "Exquiste Corpse" and I'm liking they have a tune sharing a name with a Hedwig Song. And the lyrical content here is making me smile. Chugging guitar comes in nicely... Nice and aggressively bluesl=y. Solo rips right in... Oh yes, you are welcome here guitar solo. Make yourself at home... Faking out the drop to acoustic and right back to the bad asserey. Love it. Oh, hey solo guitar, glad you're still hanging out in the background there... Amazing.

"Too Many People" begins our end with a weir dish pop fuck isn feel... Not bad. Cool things happening. Maybe less funk, and more reggae, but it's cool. Guitar cuts in... Grows... And jamming the fuck out. Nice. Ooo... Bouncy. "There Aint no changing who you is... And that's a good thing, Cadaver Dogs.... Don't change... Ever.

Final Thoughts:
Too Much is just enough... And by that I mean... Give me more! Excess is the name of the game here at Albums and Alcohol, and I is drunk ladies and gents. Too Much is everything I needed, and I will be diving deeper into Cadaver Dogs' discography.

-Badhorse

Like what you've read? Then "Like" the blog for "real" on Facebook! Want to tell me how shitty my review was (it wasn't)? Pollute my Twitter! In a band with an album on the horizon, or know of an album you think I'd like/hate? Let's chat! If you are looking for a review with a little more coherency, I also write for EMURG.com.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Give Me Cheap Beer (Again), Or Give Me Death (I mean Better Beer?) - Fartbarf - Dirty Power

"Give us knobs, or give us death!"

This is the slogan of Fartbarf. A--and I'm not sure if this is the right adjective, but this is the first practical use I've found for it--retro-modern (Yay, oxymorons!) electronic three-piece out of somewhere in Cali (Four beers already makes me lax in my research).

I've heard knobs used as a euphemism for breasts, so this cover art is a wonderful clarification to the afore mentioned slogan.


I will be honest. I'm buzzing good because I bought too much cheap shitty beer (Yes, the same Miller High Life I was drinking last week), and I started an hour before starting this. I know very little about this band other than I like the name, and while I'm not really a fan of electronic music, something about a retro approach has me endlessly intrigued. Therefore, let's keep this intro short and sweet, so I can end my intrigue (And not get too drunk before the ablume starts). On to the review!

Album:
Fartbarf - Dirty Power

Alcohol:
Miller High Life (Again. The Champ-Agne... Of Motherfucking BEERS)

"Homeless In Heathrow" opens with a nice farty line, and a dancey beat. The vocals come in with heavy vocoding. I can dig it, but not understand it. That's probably okay. As the chorus opens up it's rather fun. Settles back into the verse... This has got a a feeling  of an early 90s computer recreating Devo. And that's good for me. The bass synth line has an almost epic feel to it. And in the bridge the whirling sounding thing is really cool. Excellent break down. I think what may help this out most for me is the real drums, and the fact that they are played really well. As wee move into a musical break, I'm pretty sold on this... It's out there, but a lot of fun. But yeah, still not understanding any words...

Coming in with more epic feeling sythn is "Panopticon", and the first understandable words: Coors Light. And suddenly I'm feeling less guilty about droning cheap shitty beer. Again, the higher register synths creating some cool sounds and even fun melodies over nice bass lines. The 8 bit feel is just amazing here. Ooo... Break down... Like... In the style of metal core, but through a super nintendo filter. The only way metal core should be heard. The rhythms are super groovy, and I'm thinking I've found the electronic music for me. =)

Driving bass tones take us into "Your Sky is Falling". The tune opens into a very poppy feeling tune. It's cool how they are emulating different styles all in the same gritty electronic nature. And the melodies are great. I'm getting more used to the vocoder, but still having trouble hearing actual words. There is even nice growth and tension moving into the chorus... Like, this is better song writing than quite a few of the albums I've done on here... Kudos. Haha. Laser sounds.... Just realized that's only funny to me and any one else who had Radio I at Waldorf College with Professor Newcom... Well, yeah... Cool Tune.

8 bit studdering opens "Mission at Hand". Drums join in, and the bass fleshes us out into a heavy groove. This is like if Daft Punk was good. Great melodies... And the style changes are helping to make the sounds not feel overdone... At least thus far. Nice fall aport ending!

"Play The Game" opens in an almost dance ballad feel. Picking up a little when the vocals come in. The little tags and attention to composition are beyond anything I thought I'd be hearing on this, and I'm serious--oh shit... Little interlude part was fucking rad! This is cool.. I'm kind of speechless... Just vibing... Cool end.

"All Systems Go" comes in as a nice power anthem with vocals to match. Really cool feel. Slightly subtle in it's approach, but some nice subtle growth. I love the high end tags and how they match up with the vocals. I'm pretty sure this is the best thing I've heard with out some sort of stringed instrument. God, the movement from part to part is great... I'm loving the fact that the diction is terrible everywhere wight he vocoder, but "EverybuTy" comes through just as I typed it... Awesome.

Hi-hat takes us into "Serviece Merchandiser". And as the song moves... It gets weird... But in, like, and amazing way... It's got an almost eerie vibe... But... it's still fun... This is so far outside of my nomad realms of listening, but still everywhere I want to be... I'm catching some of the lyrics and they seem appropriately weird, but I will be honest, I almost prefer not understanding... There is so much vibe potential to this. Abrupt end... I dig.

"Hero of Time" comes in with an epic feel. Like the hero theme to an 80's video game with live drums. ten times the badassery of mega man. I love it. Great melodies... Although, this is the first point I'm feeling a sense of recycled song ideas... It's still good, but i don't know if it's the booze, or if some of these melodies appeared already... Whatev's It's still fun smexy awesome... Amazing breakdown thingy... The drums are melting the shit out of my ass... Hmm... That sounded considerably more diarrhea-y than I indented... it's probably ring...

"Warp Whistle" moves from epic theme tune to dancy dirty... And I welcome the return of the vocoder. I can't understand a word, but somehow it makes everything better... Great build into the chorus... Ooo... I love the low end vocals. By the way... My girlfriend is watching impractical jokers, and seeing the randomness there wight he music in my headphones is incredible... Just day in' Awesome overload wight hat whole breakdown interlude... God, this shit rocks my face clear into next Tuesday! Fading? Wait... FADING? Fade out ending?! Poor form!

Closing us out is "Electric Groove" and true to it's name... It's grooving... Electronically! =P A nice grooving tune... Can I say any form of Groove more? Probably. Becaouse this fucking album is GROOOVETASTIC! On the real... Letas talk about this break down... I was gonna say drums(they're amazing), but then there was the crazy high end sythn... Killer. There's some more of it... Bordering on annoying, but fitting wight he movement of the song, so I'll allow it. The shit has been blow out me ASS.

Final Thoughts:
Quick! Take all the music you own, throw it in a blender. Pour a bunch of liquor in, blend on high for two full days, take a heaping table spoon of FUCK YEAH, and shove it all in your NES. YES an original, not one of those fucking modern produced remake shits. And plug that shit into an 80's console TV hooked up to a tube amp running to two stereo speakers and push the volume as far as it will go... That's Fartbarf... Your welcome.

-Badhorse

Like what you've read? Then "Like" the blog for "real" on Facebook! Want to tell me how shitty my review was (it wasn't)? Pollute my Twitter! In a band with an album on the horizon, or know of an album you think I'd like/hate? Let's chat! If you are looking for a review with a little more coherency, I also write for EMURG.com.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

High Life, Low Budget - Harakiri - Harakiri (Self-Titled)

Well, my friends, it is time for me to dust off my typing fingers (as opposed to my non-typing fingers?) and clean out the cob-webs between them. I've taken a few weeks off to visit family, and well, my liver was in protest a little as well, but now, it's back to music!

And tonight, I have yet another exciting local (to Minneapolis) release! Harakiri is a band I first saw at a Rawkzilla Battle of the Bands show. I had a few drinks, but I knew I liked what I heard. Initially, I miss heard the name of the group as Heart of Fury (this may have been a result of afore mentioned drinks), and I thought that was a rather lame-ish name, but after searching for their mercy booth, I discovered they were indeed Harakiri. Now, I don't know what the name is from or refers to, and quite frankly, I don't care (maybe I care a little, and I will probably ask them at their CD release show); I do know that these guys are a kick ass live group, and I'm hoping that translates to the album.

Now, there has been traveling to see family, and hosting family happening in the past couple of weeks, so as I am low on cash, I nabbed a twelve pack of Miller High Life from the liquor store down the street. I always hope for something better, but alas, money eludes me for now. I had a few with dinner already, and I'm feeling good and primed to kick back in from my hiatus. Thus, on with the review!

Album:
Harakiri (Self-Titled)

Alcohol:
Miller High Life (The motherfucking Champagne of Beers bitches!)

"C'est La Vie" opens the disc up with naked guitar before kicking into a nice groove compete with ooohs that give a very slow funk feel. As everything comes together into the verse, there is a nice tossing around of focus keeping everything drawing me in. The verse moves into a more unified feeling before picking up really nicely, and the drop back into guitar is nice. The movement throughouot the first half of this tune was killer, and it just keeps going. I'm loving the vocal interplay. The drop to a clean guitar after the second verse is nice, and the line feels like a spiral. If that make sense? I don't know. It's a really cool feel. And I really dig--oh, look there was a mention of a spiral. And the unison part is really cool there swell. Moving into a nice solo. I could almost use more musical intensity. Like a high dynamic? It's nice and intense, but I want more. Cool tune.

We move on to "Danger Will Robinson", and the tune opens slow, and ballady. I really like the voicing here as well,a nd those backing vocals are still ever present. And this is a tune I definitely recognize from the show as the chorus comes in. Simple, but catchy and nice. interesting interludy part here.The music really plays nicely with what the vocals are doing, and it gives this an almost musical theatre quality. Again here however, I want... More... More something... I think it may be a production fault, but it needs something.

"The Borgia" comes in as another ballad feeling song, and then launches into a killer, but not-too-long guitar solo. Drops down again, and god, I love all of the vocal and music interplay. It's a continuing theme, and it keeps you hanging on and waiting for the next twist. More music needs to have this feel. And may I say that the guitars, while very subtle are awesome, and beautifully tasteful. And the change up from pretty appeggios to punchy guitar? Awseome. And moving into a more flowing feel. So much happening and changing and moving right before me... My poor fingers are struggling to keep up.

"Through The Gates" comes in with a very similar feel to it's predecessors, but a neat feel in it's own right. Some of the melodies give this... I'm not sure... Hauntingly catchy? feel. And I like it. I also love how there are beautiful ins and outs of that and pure modern funky rock. This group may not be pushing the envelope on high energy, but they certainly keep you in it and engaged. Another solo in this tune. This one a little more lyrical, and longer too.Beautiful really. A nice way to close.

"Rumspringa" gives us our first taste of real aggression with a pushing guitar line that settles into a groove. Even if this doesn't take off, it certainly retains a sense of aggression. It's nice and well done with a lower dynamic. Again some beautiful music and vocal interplay capped off by a slow vocal part that builds through a flowing lyric line and some excellent guitar, and into a driving and awesome guitar line. Beautiful! The composition and flowing nature is almost too much for my buzzing brain to comprehend. I fear what happens if I reach "Shit-Faced bastard" status.

Opening quietly with mostly voice and low guitar, "To My Old Man" brings in a really cool stop and go groove in the verses and the vocals continue to show off a nice range and blend. And that musical theatre-esque vibe definitely carries on here. I haveint mentioned it yet, but the bass has been more than busy through this whole album as well. Really the rhythm selection moves beautifully along with everything and with all the changes and ins and outs, I can be nothing but impressed. I'm actually blown away by how catchy, and accessible this manages to be with all of its movement and intricacies. It's an excellent feat.

Coming in with a dancy feel, "Lorelei" borders on disco, but when it kicks in there is so much more there. Here, I'm getting that missing drive and heavier dynamic I was hoping for earlier. I le the vocals here too. Lovely falsetto! This tune is the closest to formulaic I've felt on the albums thus far, and it's hardly at that point. The bridge makes lovely use of guitar delay as it builds into a lovely vocal release and cool musical interlude. Back into the opening... And kick in to the chorus. Nice.

"I Love Lucy" comes in with an almost overly cliche ballad feel, but I can dig it... Ooo... Elevator style groove. I can respect. moves along nicely and very pretty. Nice build, and opens up nicely. Female vocals are nice and powerful here. I dig them a lot. The male vocals are up now, and I swear it's like listening to a musical soundtrack, and I do love musicals.

"Epilogue" comes in at a rather in appropriate time as there is one song after it, but it has a nice and pretty feel nevertheless. That guitar tone is lovely, and the growth happening is awesome. With what I've said before in regards to dynamics. Let that not be a shot at how they are used on this disc, because, they are used beautifully, believe me. This song has some lovely example of that. Ooo. Farty bass! I also love the emotion evoked even without lyrics with in the vocals. There are so many wordless tags and melodies that create beautiful depth with the mucis. Killer build! And nice nasty kick in. Love it! Lovwly.

"Apples From A Tree" starts the close of the disc with more groove. The whole disc does have a bit of a static feel in that... Every tune takes you all over the place... And here we go taking off again. It can be somewhat exhausting, but in an entirely awesome way. Again, there is a definite accessibility retained; however, it is a bit much listening front to back. But again, just when they have you lulled into that sense of slow and pretty they hint at growth, and then bitch slap you back into awesome. And oh, so aweomse. There is such a retro-modern (god, that's a cliche term) feel to it. It's a real--oh shit.. Is that... Sax? Yes, I think so. Hot. So goddamned hot. Just shat myself. figuratively. But on the real. Holy shit, this is a cool track. Or... You know... hot track? And nice flourish to close out the disc.

Final Thoughts:
I'm not quite going to call this mind blowing, because that's not the way Harakiri approaches it mental destruction on this album. It's much more a sense of mind melting until your brain leaks out your ears and pools around you leaving you in pure liquid-lobotomized bliss. Yeah... that's accurate.

-Badhorse

Like what you've read? Then "Like" the blog for "real" on Facebook! Want to tell me how shitty my review was (it wasn't)? Pollute my Twitter! In a band with an album on the horizon, or know of an album you think I'd like/hate? Let's chat! If you are looking for a review with a little more coherency, I also write for EMURG.com.