Go Periscope – Self Titled

A year and a half after production began, Go Periscope has officially released their first, self-titled album! Hooray!

This album seems to begin with the songs that they’ve been pushing for months on all of their sites (see: previous blog) including “Crush Me”, “Breathe Deception”, “No Chaser” and Emily”, but dives into some totally new tracks. At least for the masses.

Even since I first covered them in November, the Seattle duo has spread like the herpes virus, popping up on Top Spot USA‘s list of breaking artists, MTV’s The Real World, and Oxygen’s The Bad Girls Club, all the while still rocking radio stations like Fusion Radio Chicago and C89.5 Seattle. Keep in mind that all this action is occurring around their first, self-released album. Imagine what’s going to happen when these guys get signed. It’s bands like Go Periscope that make me appreciate the fact that I don’t listen to the radio. I don’t want to get sick of them, and they’re an incredibly marketable band. Look at Owl City. I would hate Owl City if I listened to the radio. David Guetta, too! I don’t blame the artists, I blame the radio stations for not playing more than four tracks on a regular basis.

Anyway, back to the album. This is a solid freshman effort, especially for being self-released. It sounds spectacular. The only qualm I have about it is the song order. They put the majority of songs that they’ve pre-released at the beginning, leaving the new tracks at the end. What’s going to happen is that everyone who has been listening to them for the past few months are going to listen to the first few tracks, then begin the album over again. If you hadn’t listened to them in advance, this probably wouldn’t happen. I’m just hoping people listen to this album all the way through because it’s really quite good.

It’s got all the pumps, thumps, and grunts needed on the dance floor, infectious beats, just enough sex appeal without being raunchy, not to mention two adorable guys. These guys have really just…got it. I love this wave of new electronic and electronically inspired artists coming out these days! Go Periscope is on the forefront of something huge, so check ‘em out! You can find their album on Amazon and iTunes right now! B!

The Soft Pack – Self Titled

Oooooooh, I know what I’ll be singing into my hairbrush and dancing like Molly Ringwald to later…The Soft Pack’s new, self-titled album released earlier this month. Formerly “The Muslims”, looks like the boys of The Soft Pack finally grew up enough to know that controversy isn’t all that grand. Thankfully, their music hasn’t changed. It’s still that gritty “I don’t give a fuck” punk with a little bit of SoCo surfer and just a sprinkling of garage rock.

Formerly of San Diego, the Los Angeles residents seem to finally be making it to the main scene and I think the new name really helps. Post 9/11, you get a lot of ignorant assholes out there. According to the band, when they formed, the name meant “nothing to them”. Well, it certainly means something to everyone else now.

Anyway, this album’s awesome. This album reeks of cassette tapes and cigarettes and hair glue. It’s delicious. It’s got it’s poppier numbers such as the opener, “C’mon”, vaguely reminiscent of The Strokes. What ever happened to those guys, anyway? On the other side, it’s got grittier, garage rock tracks like “Answer to Yourself”.

It’s excellently…simple. It takes rock and roll to a stripped down level of just the very best parts. With basic guitars and too-cool-to-care vocals, you really don’t need much else to make a good punk album.

The quartet is currently touring over in Europe, but I’d love to catch them live. This albums seems like it would translate into a great, energetic show. The kind that makes life-long fans, even if you’ve never heard of The Muslims. Check ‘em out! B

The Soft Pack’s Site

Elvis Perkins in Dearland…and abandoned zoos…

Another gem found on Current TV (hey, I’ve been snowed in, okay!?), Elvis Perkins in Dearland. There is some serious folk-y goodness going on here. Along with your standard guitar, bass, and drums, you get saxophones, clarinets, organs, harmoniums, and trombones!

This guy also has an incredibly interesting history. Being the son of Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates in Psycho) and Berry Berenson, the youngest daughter of an American shipping executive, who died on September 11, 2001 on American Airlines flight 11, this guy is a musical journalist’s dream. Sometimes the truth really is better than fiction.

Anyway, he’s awesome. I love the whole band actually. Check ‘em out over at their site.

Honeycut – The Day I Turned To Glass

Excuse me, I love them. And once again, I love Current TV for telling me about them. Three pieces with a full sound are a serious weak point for me. Also, Honeycut’s got it. What is “it” you ask? Well, it is THE FUNK.

Part of Quannum Projects, the San Franciscans are intertwined with such awesome people including Blackalicious, Chief XCel, and DJ Shadow. Unfortunately, since their first album, The Day I Turned To Glass was released in 2006, they haven’t released a full length album.

Dear Honeycut, I WANT MOOOOOOORE!

This album has a lot of the elements I wanted to hear in the new Sade album, Soldier of Love. It’s got some groovalicious tracks to make sweet love down by the fire to, total chill out, to tracks like “The Day I Turned to Glass”, very Blackalicious mixed with Gorillaz. Then, there’s “Aluminum City”. CANNOT get enough of this track! Or the strings in this track. Luscious! This album is downright sexy. It’s what Jamiroquai would be making now, had he not gone all creepy on us. It’s amazing how versatile this album is. The downtempo tracks are so chill and the upbeat tracks are so catchy and there’s just such a nice blend between the two.

From what I remember from that show on Current, they came together on a connection to soul and you can really tell. They go straight up bossa nova a few times. It makes me sad that more people don’t know who they are. Like Go Periscope, these guys are gonna be HUUUUGE. Make more music, Honeycut. Please. A!

Check them out over on their site.

Sade – Soldier of Love

Yesterday marked the release of Sade’s first album in ten years, Soldiers of Love. This album is…terrible. It’s just SO BORING. It’s painful. This album is good for two things: 1.) Sappy love scenes in really bad movies and 2.) Elevators. I can see this being played in a lot of elevators. Slinky saxophone, simple beats, and Sade’s smooth vocals take me right back to 1984, and that’s never a good thing. “Smooth Operator”. The entire album sounds like “Smooth Operator”.

And seriously, there is a track on here called “Babyfather”. No joke there, folks. Is this a more classy way of saying “Babydaddy”? Is that a bad rap song yet? You think for only releasing six albums in almost thirty years…it would be better. It would be different. It should have evolved by now.

On the plus side, they’re still making music after thirty years. None of them have been in the news for sex addiction or a heroin problem. And, it’s remarkably well produced. Well, by all means, they should’ve gotten their practice by now. Also, I think this album has…mix-ability. I could see some sort of trip-hop collab goin’ on there. Someone, please remix this album. It could be nothing but an improvement.
If you like Sade, you might like this album. Probably because it sounds like EVERY OTHER ALBUM she’s ever done. Six albums of the same songs. Ugh. D

Sade’s Site