Forget post-punk with all its synthesizers and dance beats. That is so last year. This year, good old-fashioned punk rock is back, and it’s better than ever. “Bang Bang Rock & Roll,” the debut album from England’s Art Brut, crashed into the British music scene last year and is finally being released in the U.S. Only two songs on the album clock in at more than three minutes in length because they all get straight to the point. The songs are simple and witty yet foolish. The album was one of the best selling imports of last year and now that it is available at a reasonable price, everyone can share the sharp and fun spontaneity.
“Is that Led Zeppelin you are listening to?” No, it’s Wolfmother.” Wait, what’d you say about my mom?” The hottest album out right now is the self-titled debut from the Australian classic rock revivalists Wolfmother. The band sounds like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and King Crimson combined, with songs that necessitate head-banging and hip-jiving from the first shriek of the album to the last croon. Everyone from indie-hipsters to Kiss fans will enjoy rocking out to this album. Just practice air guitar before giving it a listen. Any records by the inferior Australian garage-revival act The Vines may need to be thrown away as well.
The day of redemption is finally at hand for those anticipating screamo heavyweight Thursday’s latest album. “A City by the Light Divided” hit stores Tuesday and is rife with all the elements that make the band one of the most cherished groups of its genre. It features breakneck tempo changes, searing guitar riffs and singer Geoff Rickly’s signature style of anguished vocals which alternate between melodic and abrasive at the drop of a hat. The only noticeable difference from this group’s other albums is a greater emphasis on synth-driven ambience. This might disappoint fans of the band’s previous album “Full Collapse,” which barely gave the listener a chance to breathe between songs. It’s a sign of Thursday trying to evolve from the sound that’s now being aped by hundreds of bands (mostly from the New Jersey/Long Island area) which Thursday made wildly popular towards the beginning of the decade.
If this new approach is appealing, we highly recommend also checking out “Enter,” the debut album from Russian Circles available May 16. They are an instrumental math-rock group from Chicago which combines Thursday’s shifty intensity with the complexity of Don Cabellero and Minus the Bear. West-coast space rockers Grandaddy spent the better part of the last decade crafting lush, computer-driven Cali-rock songs about quirky concepts such as stray dogs in outer space and depressed robots. Listeners are bound to be depressed with “Just Like the Fambly Cat,” as it is the band’s final album.
Due out May 9, Grandaddy’s final offering is along the same lines of each of its previous albums. It features acoustic melodies over warm electronic soundscapes with a variety of glitchy noise quite similar to the older work of The Flaming Lips. Unlike The Lips, Grandaddy’s music generally doesn’t require the use of inhalants to get the full effect of what the songs have to offer.
Orange County pop-punkers Yellowcard will be fiddling around (get it – they have a fiddle!) at The Schottenstein Center Saturday, and The Underground is here with the hook-up on free tickets. Just listen to the Top 30 show each night at 7 p.m. for the chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, along with the chance to meet the band.
We’ve also got tickets to see They Might Be Giants at Newport Music Hall Tuesday, a show that certainly should not be missed – especially if it’s free! Remember “Particle Man” and “Istanbul?” Yet another perfect reason to check out The Underground at underground.fm.
