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06 October 2005

Dimestore Haloes, The Ghosts of Saturday Night (Pelado) Rating: 8
If you're serious about garage/punk/glam, then you've probably got a CD book or computer folder full of albums exactly like The Ghosts of Saturday Night, the fourth and final album from Boston's most beautiful of beautiful losers, the Dimestore Haloes -- but you need to get your hands on a copy, anyways. Recorded four years ago, but only seeing the light of day now (I don't know the specifics, but the band broke up after recording, a move that kept the album in limbo), Ghosts positions the Haloes as somewhere between being the kid brothers to the Replacements or the big brothers to the sorely-missed Exploding Hearts (R.I.P.) -- street-smart drunk fuckups who live by the seat of their pants and who have memorized and internalized every Johnny Thunders riff. And like the Hearts and 'Mats, the Haloes come across as honest and with heart to spare. Lead singer/guitarist/driving force Chaz Williams bleeds out lines like "I don't know what city of bottles I'm living in tonight/ ...I'm on borrowed cash and time" ("City of Bottles") and believes in the redemptive power of music: "I'm depending on the radio to save me" goes the chorus to "Fastest Way Down". And if you're not in the mood to get bitter, drunk and lonely with the lyrics, then just rock out with the tunes and marvel at the band's taste: a little Stiv Bators here ("Frustration"), a little Clash there ("Fastest Way Down" borrows from "Jail Guitar Doors"), and then there's "Hot Pink Stereo", which sounds like the Star Spangles, an NYC outfit succeeding on the scene where the Haloes, by dint of alcohol intake, infighting and instability, were doomed to fail. Sonic similarities to the legends aside, The Ghosts of Saturday Night shows that the Haloes stayed true to their own vision, never compromising on their music in the face of near-constant turmoil, even though such unrest ultimately destroyed the band. They will be missed, but they leave behind a damn fine swan song.
      — Stephen Haag

Kelly Pardekooper, Haymarket Heart (Leisure Time) Rating: 6
Kelly Pardekooper's opening tune "Not to Iowa" has a dark, moody tone to it that is somewhere between Tarbox Ramblers, The Mavericks and Handsome Family. The singer nails the niche format to a tee on the first song with a bit of bolero mixed with accordion. He opts for a rowdier roots rock on the gorgeous "Tell Me (You're the One)" that starts slowly before picking up steam while "Draw the Line" follows a similar framework -- a old-time, dusty country-tinged that features Amy Finders providing sweet Margo Timmins-esque harmonies. When he goes down in tempo, he is better, especially during the honky-tonkin' "Just Shoot Me". However, the Isaak-like effort on "Wild Love" is a twist, but not really a great one. Nor is the softer, polished vibes on "Too Late" although this one is somewhat easier on the ears. Fans of Milton Mapes (relatively unknown but oh my word underrated band) would enjoy "Drinking Alone Again" that is rough and surly around the edges. The sleeper could be the catchy and to-the-point ditty "21st Century Trailer Park" that is a toe-tapper, as is the Blue Rodeo-ish "Down". The highlight is the closing "Take Me 2 My Home" which a pure Americana tune that builds and builds.
      — Jason MacNeil

The Phantom Limbs, Random Hymns (Gold Standard Laboratories) Rating: 3
"Your music makes sense to no one but yourself." So goes the closing line of the thoroughly half-assed attempt at Plunderphonics style cutting and looping on "Jackalope Rising", from the Phantom Limbs art-rock disaster Random Hymns. But no truer line could be spoken about the band's sound. Their music -- such as it is -- is a freakshow of percussive synths, tinny drums, trashed and reverbed guitars, snotty vocals and smutty lyrics that are neither clever, insightful or memorable. It's hard to know what to make of lyrics about "showers of semen" or "dress[ing] each other [in] toilet paper", especially when propped up against such a dull musical backdrop. However, when coupled with a reportedly intense live show, I have no doubt that in a concert setting the Phantom Limbs cook up something truly bizarre, but when captured to disc and stripped of their visual performance, the songs simply cannot stand up on their own. Gazing at the CD booklet picture of the singer on the floor, headfirst inside of a garbage can, singing into a microphone I know I'm missing an essential ingredient to enjoying the Phantom Limbs recipe. But without it, this soufflé deflates into a flat, lifeless, mess.
      — Kevin Jagernauth

Dogme 95, Arcadian Hymns (Mission Label) Rating: 3
This one-man project of Nick Wright is all over the place musically, veering from the hand-clap, let's all join hands feeling of "Summon My Baptist Ways" to the New Order-ish-meets-Depeche Mode or Joy Electric electro-pop of "Kingdom/Garden" and "House/School". Wright has some guest appearance by Ryan Fitzgerald of the Polyphonic Spree, but primarily this is his eclectic musical journey judging by the light and summer sounding "Calm and Tame" that brings Beck's Mutations to mind. The electronic tone is on most of the record, especially "Notes to Traveler" which is basically two, er, three songs in one. Other efforts have a certain Arcade Fire to them but don't pack nearly the same oomph exemplified by "Ocean Floor". Too draggy and too erratic too often, the record bogs down during one coma-inducing track that includes an a cappella snippet of Soul II Soul's "Back II Life". Basically a bedroom recording that, with some exceptions, should have remained as such.
      — Jason MacNeil

.: posted by Editor 8:02 AM