3 days ago
Burns Like Fire
Year of the Rat EP
Party Hat
With members including Josh Smith (guitar, vocals) and Parker Bradshaw (drums) of Celerity as well as Web Couch (guitar, vocals) of Karbomb, Burns Like Fire has undoubtedly already begun making its way into the hearts of local pop-punk supporters. As a derivative of punk bands such as Hot Water Music, Strike Anywhere and Alkaline Trio, Burns Like Fire’s first EP, Year of the Rat, preserves the speedy pop-punk abrasiveness of its influences but can’t avoid retaining a polished commercial sheen as well. Regardless, the band's sound is sure to resonate with those of us nostalgic about late-'90s pop-punk.
Year of the Rat begins with a crooning intro about the abandonment of a professional life daydream brought by the inevitable moment of optimistically, if not recklessly, choosing to accept and embrace the left-hand path of a presumably alternative lifestyle. As the first full track, “Bringing the Haymaker,” forcefully crunches its way through steady chords and raspy heartfelt words. “We Aren’t the Kids We Used to Be” utilizes varying vocals, starting out with penetrative high-pitched singing gradually fleshed out with a series of whoah-ohs to keep the momentum sustained. The EP’s closer, “Moziltoph Cocktail,” best exemplifies the band’s capacity for pop-punk melody construction through an effective three-part vocal harmony and a full-bodied fervor of a driving bass line, racing guitars and unrelenting drums.
3 days ago
Drive-By Truckers
The Big To-Do
ATO Records
With the success of 2008’s Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (New West), the Drive-By Truckers showed that they had weathered a turbulent few years and come out a smarter and more mature band. Singer/guitarist Patterson Hood had found a balance between the rock and roll rave ups and country feeling acoustic ballads, while Mike Cooley showed that he was one of the more criminally underappreciated songwriters around, and bassist Shonna Tucker proved that the big bad DBT wasn’t just a boys' club with her solid songwriting contributions. The only real question was: What would the band do for a follow-up?
The Big To-Do is the Truckers’ answer to that question—a big, loud record that is a departure from the more intimate feeling Creation’s Dark. Whether that’s a sign of a band that has a solid lineup for the first time in five years or of the previous album being merely a sidestep remains to be seen, but the fact of the matter is that The Big To-Do is a loud, electric album full of noisy guitars, fist-pumping drum beats and sing-along choruses. Guitarist John Neff shines on the album, as does new keyboardist Jay Gonzalez.
Highlights include “The Fourth Night of My Drinking,” “The Wig He Made Her Wear” (a great Patterson Hood-penned tale of murder set atop a stuttering beat) and Shonna Tucker’s “You Got Another,” which might be the best Stevie Nicks ballad that Stevie Nicks never wrote.
The Big To-Do is full of sour notes, big guitar solos, Southern twang and a dash of murderous intent. In short, it’s a great Drive-By Truckers album; and 10 albums into their career, that’s a hell of an achievement.
3 days ago
Betsy Franck & The Bareknuckle Band
Still Waiting
Independent Release
Locals Betsy Franck and the Bareknuckle Band straddle the line between barroom blues and alt-country on Still Waiting, the group’s sophomore release. The centerpiece of the group is frontwoman Franck’s soulful Southern vocals, which are on par with those of veterans like two-fisted country femme Shelby Lynne and former Little Feat vocalist Shaun Murphy. With her guitar slug across her shoulder, Franck is a powerhouse singer whose rough-edged, but nonetheless comforting, singing conveys the multitude of emotions rumbling ‘round in songs like the forlorn “City of Gold” and the swooning “Low Down,” a doo-wop influenced cut backed by the guest horn section of saxman Randall Bramblett, jazz trombonist Kevin Hyde, and J.R. Beckwith of the Athens Symphony Orchestra.
But this is a band, not a solo project, after all, and each member of Franck’s Bareknuckle crew is given plenty of room to shine on the album, as well. Keyboard man Lefty Hathaway keeps the group’s soul influence in check with his meaty organ fills, while the rhythm section of drummer Mike Strickland and bassist Clint Swords are side by side with Franck in switching from shuffling jazz to hip-shaking R&B to modern country styles. The band shows it can jam, too, but keeps things tight as it wisely avoids lengthy, extended solos and other repetitive time-fillers. Still Waiting is a brief but strong, proudly “unfancy” outing by a group capable of playing the blues and exerting positive energy within the same three-to-four-minute block.
Betsy Franck and the Bareknuckle Band are playing with the Athens Music Collective at the 40 Watt Club on Friday, Mar. 19.
3 days ago
Athens
Athens EP
Independent Release
In a place known for its music scene and the opportunity to be discovered, it only seems fitting that at least one band should be named after this wonderful city. However, the guys in Athens probably aren’t what you would expect. The bandmembers aren’t even old enough to vote or buy a pack of smokes.
Lead singer Chase Brown, 14, and guitarist Beau “Monkey” Anderson, 11, have been friends for about eight years, often jamming together when in the spring of 2008, they joined up with Zak Smith, 15, on drums and Walt Sorrow, 15, on bass, and the band Athens was born. Since then they have been playing numerous festivals, venues and parties in town.
Their recently released EP features good old-fashioned rock and roll in the vein of AC/DC, one of their stated influences. They have great guitar riffs, especially on the track, “She Don’t Even Know.” Athens has frequently captured the attention of musicians and fans alike, including Carl Jah of Dread Zeppelin who wrote the song “Roll On.”
The five tracks prove that these are obviously tremendously talented teenagers, but you can hear the youth in them as well. It will be interesting to hear the band in five or 10 years when their styles (and voices) have matured. However, these fledgling musicians are off to a great start.
Athens will play an all-ages show Saturday, Mar. 20 at Nuçi’s Space.
3 days ago
Johnny Cash
American VI: Ain’t No Grave
American
Besides being a true American great, perhaps no other modern artist has lived through his music as much as Cash. And the ship-righting, Rick Rubin-helmed American Recordings series has been visionary in its ability to render this legacy with such poignant realism. The final album from the sessions that defined the last mile of Cash’s life, American VI is filled with rare will and searing pathos. His ability to sing with such naked candor while God’s breath is on his eyelash is a testament to his power as both artist and man. His voice tells the whole story—its enormous presence, the deep patina of mileage and the taxing force of age, all locked in a wrenching dance. Each time his voice breaks, so goes the heart.
Like the series’ best moments, the fine-tuned VI uses simplicity to allow an infinity of meaning and perspective to emanate. Tenderness pours from numbers like “Can’t Help but Wonder Where I’m Bound,” “For the Good Times,” “I Corinthians 15:55” and parting song “Aloha Oe.” The monuments are the title track’s haunting chain-gang blues and the gospel majesty of “Redemption Day,” whose chorus threatens to burst your chest on its rise toward heaven.
Fitting, bittersweet and landmark, VI is a solemnly stunning final word on a one-of-a-kind career. Most importantly, it’s something that’s so preciously rare in life: a proper goodbye.
3 days ago
The Whigs
In the Dark
ATO
With In the Dark, The Whigs' third full-length release, our hometown heroes have finally graduated into the big leagues. Mission Control got the band half-way there, showcasing more mature songwriting and a more polished aesthetic, but this album is The Whigs' true potential finally reached.
You want a hit single? Close your eyes and pick a track. Seriously. From the bass-heavy groove of "Hundred/Million" to the bouncy melody of "Automatic" to the rousing chorus of "Someone's Daughter," this is an instantly memorable, hook heavy record. Songs like "So Lonely" and "Kill Me Carolyne" are the most propulsive, with a guitar-driven attack that is very reminiscent of the Foo Fighters' early catalog.
Front man Parker Gispert has grown as a songwriter as well, exploring new, diverse lyrical themes. The socially minded "I Am for Real," for example, offers a somewhat political slant, with its chorus of "I don't need to kill anyone to let them know I am for real/I don't need to walk in your backyard, to let you just where I stand."
What's most impressive though, is that despite this record's anthemic qualities, it's full of intricacies and surprises, too. This is the moodiest Whigs record to date, and it offers previously unexplored dark twists and tones. Even Gispert's signature rasp is cloaked at times in reverb or echo, like in the haunting, almost tribal sounding track "Dying." There's a slightly psychedelic, '60s vibe there which returns on the extended intro to album closer "Naked." After a minute of noise, The Whigs gently lead into their sexiest song yet, with its seductive, breathy verses erupting into a climactic chorus.
In the Dark exposes a more vibrant, versatile Whigs than we have seen before, and it confirms their status as a quintessential power trio.
10 days ago
Pierced Arrows
Descending Shadows
Vice
I was absolutely stunned to find out that this group included Dead Moon members Fred and Toody Cole. Dead Moon is one of the high points of punk; these guys know their stuff. So, how in the world did they come out with this?! Sure, there’s a lot of passionate screaming on Descending Shadows, and you can’t doubt the enthusiasm the Mooners share with drummer Kelly Halliburton, but what happened?
“This Is the Day” is a painful intro with half-shouted vocals and completely awful harmonies. It honestly sounds like a walrus’ dying screams while it’s being ripped apart by a tone-deaf coyote. Despite the ear-bleeding intro, the following track “Buried Alive” provides a little glimmer of hope. The raw emotion behind the scorching guitars and tortured vocals are what I'd expected from this punk/metal/grunge group. Things start to look up. But the second “On Our Way,” the third song, comes on, I start desperately looking for any hint of this being an “ironically” bad record.
Now to be fair, there are a few good tunes here. “Paranoia” is a dark and creepy groove, held together by a thumping bass, thrashed drums and a screaming guitar. The tempo switches are particularly brutal and are probably really something to see live. But even the bright bits on this dismal record are painfully average at best. “On the Move” has a hint of White Stripes playing around the edges and would actually make a good instrumental piece. Shame that it’s not. “This Time Around” flirts with good vocals and a slower pace. Though it warbles in places, it’s the best song on the record.
Do yourself a favor and pick up a Dead Moon record instead. I’d go for Echoes of the Past, myself—anything to try and redeem my belief in these guys as musicians. As for Descending Shadows, it needs to go right back to whatever dark place it came from.
10 days ago
The K-Macks
Tobacco and Firearms
Independent Release
In Flagpole's review of The K-Macks' previous full-length release, we lamented the group’s lack of musical focus, but on the new EP, Tobacco and Firearms, The K-Macks finally exhibit an identifiable sound. The chosen genre is an interesting mixture of folk and punk rock, with elements of pop liberally sprinkled throughout to soften the edges. Many of the songs on the EP are reminiscent of bands like Uncle Tupelo, The Pogues and even The Dubliners. And like these bands, The K-Macks perform their music enthusiastically. Perhaps the group’s biggest strength is the power of its vocals. The members share vocal duties, and their voices complement each other and, more importantly, the up-tempo nature of the music.
But while the songs on Tobacco and Firearms are unified musically, they were not all created equally. Some showcase a grasp of dynamics with sophisticated song structures. In particular, “Threw It All Away” and “Oh Madeline” are gems, with the latter coming across with faint familiarity, like an updated version of an old folk ballad might. The album does lose some focus in its second half, with the sappy-but-ultimately-satisfying "Romantically" departing fairly dramatically from the timbre of the rest of the album. The raucous (and interestingly titled) "Cock Song" functions nicely as a sing-along-able closer. All things considered, the progress The K-Macks have made bodes well for such a young band. Where many local bands sound, well, local, The K-Macks' at times insightful lyrics and musicianship set them apart.
The K-Macks celebrate their CD release at Go Bar on Friday, Mar. 12.
Record Reviews RSS Feed
Share This Page 
View the Paper in PDF
Past Issues
