Noisepaper EXCLUSIVE Track: Formal Infection - Silverfish

All rights reserved by FORMAL INFECTION  -  Absalom Munoz, Anthony Dombrowski, and Matt Dippong
Recorded at MADISON MEDIA INSTITUTE  - Madison, Wisconsin


Formal Infection is the latest incarnation of a band formed near Madison, Wisconsin in the mid-2000s.  Originally beginning as an angsty punk band, their sound evolved over time; mixing influences from various genres and eventually reaching the peak of creativity and energy that they display on this track.  

More than anything, Silverfish is the sound of a band just doing their thing, having let go and at some point ceased to give a shit.  The DIY recording is satisfyingly raw, yet impressively clear.  The band breaks into catharsis at the final verse, which it carries to a memorable guitar solo, improvised vocals and crashing drums, and rides the momentum throughout the remainder of the track.  This vibe is supported by the minimalist lyrics, which do their part to convey the nature of the band with a stream-of-consciousness narrative focusing on good times and good vibes.  

**Keep an eye out for the Noisepaper exclusive release of Formal Infection's upcoming The Swan EP**

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Classic Album: Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight

Cheap Trick is most definitely one of the bands the forged an entirely new approach to no holds barred, take it for what it is rock and roll.  They came about in the transitional period of the late-70s, which in hindsight manages to work in their advantage.  As a band they never fit into the "rock god"/"guitar hero" type of thing, but they were too clean to really be punk and too edgy to really be pop.  Even though they were misfits in the music world, through their passion and authenticity towards what they did they turned that into their very identity.  Combining elements of each aforementioned genre with a classic British style and a knack for absurd, tongue-in-cheek humor, Cheap Trick epitomized, if not invented, the sub-grenre of power-pop.  1978's Heaven Tonight is where it all came together for this Rockford, Illinois group.  

Surrender hits with a definitive moment right away in the band's signature song, marrying pop songcraft with the attitude and sonic assault of punk rock to create a fist-in-the-air anthem that holds up just as well today.  From there the album takes you on a roller coaster tour of rock and roll.  There are party-ready rockers (On Top of the World, California Man), retro British Invasion style hooks (On the Radio, How Are You), proto pop-punk (Stiff Competition, Auf Wiedersehen) and the near R&B of High Roller and Takin' Me Back.  The effectiveness of the album as a whole is that each song stealthily incorporates elements of the others into a collection of genre-bending, powerful, timeless rock.  

Around the midway point of the album are two absolute high points, Auf Wiedersehen and Heaven Tonight.  The title track is a slice of dreamy psychedelia that lyrically (and musically) sees the band explore the dark side of drug use.  The taunting almost-whispered vocals weave a tale of pushing the limits for the sake of a high.  It is a brooding, ominous, and at times downright scary track that is undeniably hypnotic.  On the opposite side of their spectrum, Auf Wiedersehen is the closest they've ever come to a punk song; and for a pop band in 1978 it was pretty damn close.  The laughable, darkly clever lyrics are sung sneeringly with a growling cockney accent, and gain threatening momentum as the guitars grind and stutter their way through each verse.  The crooning, preachy chorus fits right in with a wink and a nod.

On the whole, this album is just a ridiculously enjoyable demonstration of the amalgomic nature of Cheap Trick.  The media friendly pop stars (Robin Zander and Tom Petersson)  combine with the geeked out music nerds (Rick Nielson and Bun E. Carlos) to create a brilliant encapsulation of rock music in general, and its turbulent nature at the time, ingeniously wrapped up into a nice tidy package.

True to the timeless nature of their music, Cheap Trick continues to go strong as somewhat of a cult favorite, backed by a fiercely loyal legion of fans.  They've continued to release studio albums throughout the 2000s and can always be counted on to support their local Rockford community and the Chicago area music scene.

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Track of the Day: Dumbo Gets Mad - Bam Bam

As you may have gathered from my previous post on Dumbo Gets Mad, their new record is one that I am highly anticipating.  I cannot tell a lie; it is the "weirdness" of Dumbo Gets Mad above all that drives my interest in this band.  Of course, weirdness alone does not a great record/band/song make…something that DGM seems to realize, at least at some level of consciousness.  Thus, they have continued to find ways to integrate their sound of modern experimentation and psychedelia into accessible pop/indie mentalities.  Personally, I don't know if this approach can be more effective than what they do on their new track "Bam Bam".

The song opens with a basis of thumping psychedelic abidance and dreamy vocals.  As the song goes on however, it builds in noisy melodicism until it finally reaches its point of no return;  where the noisy synths and surreal song structure converge into a haze of unpredictable freak-folk melodies and trippy discoesque beats.  This represents a surreal moment in time where a psych band reaches its pinnacle of melodicism, or perhaps where a melodic band reaches its peak of psychedelia.  Whatever the case, it is a great display of merging hybrid genres into universally enjoyable music.  

EVIL DEAD release pushed forward a week!

Bruce Campbell broke the news earlier today via twitter that by popular demand, the highly anticipated Evil Dead remake will be hitting theaters one week early than scheduled.

The world cannot wait. The Evil Dead remake launches one week earlier! 4/5/13. You demanded it - you got it! twitter.com/GroovyBruce/st…
— Bruce Campbell (@GroovyBruce) January 30, 2013

The new release date is April 5, 2013.  All glory be to GroovyBruce!!

Artist Profile: Elin Ruth

Elin Ruth (AKA Elin Sigvardsson) is a Swedish singer-songwriter.  She grew up surrounded by American folk music, and the influences of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Joni Mitchell, etc are all apparent in her own material.  Over the mid-2000s Elin become a household name in Sweden through constant touring of Europe and a series of highly praised albums.  Her debut release Saturday Light Naive earned her a Swedish Grammy nomination in 2003 for Best New Artist.  She relocated to Queens, New York in 2010, and is currently introducing herself to the US by releasing her first ever LP in America, self-titled Elin Ruth.  

She recently made a ten song "sampler" of her material available for free download via NoiseTrade.  The sampler consists of all four songs from her Bang EP, as well as about half of the new songs from her upcoming album and two highlights from her previous discography.

Most of Ruth's material is rooted in radiant, soulful gospel that could have come right out of Otis Redding's playbook, with celebratory background vocals complimenting Elin's smoky voice.  The beauty of her music though is her incorporation of all kinds of inspirations.  Whether it is country, pop, or soul, she is definitely in love with American music.  Love, with it's warm, thumping chorus and flowing vocals is incredibly reminiscent of Sheryl Crow.  Other songs have a bluegrass thump that would not be out of place on Led Zeppelin III.  A few songs from her new album have the bounce and quirky sparkle of Regina Spektor, and others have a Jason Mraz-esque reggae groove.  What is impressive is the way all of these elements are integrated together to create a new spin on the singer-songwriter sound that is all her own. 

The major influence on Elin Ruth though as far as her overall approach and delivery goes, is alt-country legend Neko Case.  The reason it works so well for her is because she definitely has the voice to pull it off.  She displays her poetic, narrative lyrics with a calm, soothing, and overall beautiful voice, yet has the ability to get down and edgy when the songs call for it.  The musical accompaniment is minimal and purely complimentary, mixed in a light and spacious manner to showcase the vocal tracks layered over the top.  Of course just when you feel this method growing tired she throws a curve ball, as songs like Hymn About a Tree and the dreamy, sprawling Little Man transition into noisy atmospheric bridge sections that are almost reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine with swirling synths and piano as her breathy vocals fade into the background.

Overall this is just very passionate, positive music that is purely heartfelt and authentic.  It radiates light and love and a message of longing, forgiveness, and hope.  

DOWNLOAD THE NOISETRADE SAMPLER  -  FREE

ELINRUTH.COM

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Album Review: Bass Drum of Death - GB City

As described by its label, Fat Possom, GB City sounds like "the soundtrack playing in your head when you're fucked up and walking home in the middle of the night".  Reminiscent of the under appreciated early 60s "frat rock" scene of the Pacific Northwest,  this is an absolutely vintage, blown-out garage rock record dripping with surfy delivery and subconscious hints of twisted psychedelia.  The album was written and recorded entirely by singer/guitarist John Barrett in his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, using minimal equipment and even less bullshit.  

The album is especially strong during its first half.  Nerve Jamming opens with pounding, lightening-fast drums and jagged angular power chords, wasting little time before cracking open into a headbanging scream-along chorus about wasting time (ironically) and blowing minds.  The pace doesn't let up at all as BDoD thrashes their way through the title track and into highlight third track Get Found.  The tune is driven by a grinding, muscular, guitar riff as the only constant as rest of the band jolts to brief stops for the sake of jumping back in and exploding into cathartic ferocity during the final minute.  Velvet Itch rounds things off with a comparatively slower pace as the guitar and drums bang along in unison to create a groovy, earth-shaking rumble while John screeches about talking to Elvis in his sleep.

Over the course of the second side of the album things slow down somewhat, literally in the case of standout track Spare Room.  It starts with the familiar Phil Spector drumbeat, slowed to the point of desperation by a sea of guitar grime and ominously trippy five-note bassline.  The energy returns with Young Pros, a bouncy, upbeat song that in some screwy alternate universe could have been huge in the 60s. Sunny guitar hooks and serenading verses are bracketed by a sky-opening chorus featuring doo-wop backing vocals and gleeful drum fills behind John's warped croon.

While the greatest appeal of this album undoubtedly lies in its raw, primitive musicianship and garagey recklessness, the vocals do more than their part to complete the package.  John bashes his way through the songs with a droning howl, dripping with reverb and overdriven from sheer volume.  He goes on about religious girls, demonic possession, drugs, depression, paranoia, and destruction while punctuating his phrasing with absolutely brilliant moments where he erupts into screeching cracks and yelps of excitement that sound like Little Richard on acid.

I had the opportunity to see Bass Drum of Death at the 7th St Entry shortly after this album dropped, and they did not disappoint.  John lead the charge behind an untamed mop of hair obscuring his entire face, which he couldn't be arsed to brush aside at any point.  It was oddly fitting though as the faceless ball of hair spat songs in much to passionate of a way to be entirely human.  They closed the show with a manic rendition of Nirvana's Territorial Pissings, and just about left the building and everyone inside in ashes.  While nothing could convey the chaos of this band in a live setting, the album does an admirable job of replicating the vibe.

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Track of the Day: Wavves - Demon to Lean On

San Diego's Nathan Williams, AKA Wavves, has been an interesting artist to follow over the years.  The project was conceived in 2008, when Williams self-recorded his first album using Garage Band and a 1980's cassette recorder, and began sharing the songs online.  Chock full of irreverent lyrics and buzzing (literally) with the unintentional distortion if clipped inputs, his debut and its followup were carried to prominence by widespread praise within the blogosphere.  In a strange way, the proudly amateur quality of the recordings complimented his summery melodies and snotty, self-deprecating sense of humor very well, and thus his signature aesthetic was born.  In 2010 Wavves brought this aesthetic into an actual recording studio for the first time,  and came out with his best album yet- the Fat Possum release and instant summer classic collection of slacker anthems known as King of the Beach.

Almost exactly two years later, Wavves is poised to strike once again with another step forward.  Earlier this week Williams released details on his upcoming album Afraid of Heights, due out March 26 on Mom + Pop Music.  He suggests that the album will move away from the sunburnt psychedelia of his previous work, instead turning his irreverence inward with darker and much more "real" musical and lyrical themes.  The noise and snotty delivery is still there, but the past couple years has clearly brought his cockiness down to earth somewhat, despite his obvious growth as a songwriter.  This is on high display on the brand new track Demon to Lean On, which embraces a a more straight-forward grungey sound and great pop sensibility.  

"The general theme of the record is depression and anxiety, being death-obsessed and paranoid of impending doom.  I feel like the narration is almost schizophrenic if you listen front to back; every word is important, even the constant contradictions and lack of self-worth.  That's all a part of this record- questioning everything not because I'm curious, but because I'm paranoid."  (Nathan Williams)

http://wavves.net/

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