June Reviews

E – Eels have always been hit and miss with me.  Hadn’t heard this one before, but it’s a winner.  Excellent songwriting, poignant lyrics and simple, easy-going pop tunes.  Zune pegged this as a 1992 release, but it doesn’t sound dated at all.   E at his best is able to blend his melancholy side with a streak of optimism both musically and lyrically, and he’s at his best here.  4 stars

Royal Southern Brotherhood – I was in Memphis last month.  Walking on Beale Street, I heard a different band that sounded exactly like this one about every 100 feet.  When you’re outside on a pleasant spring night with a cold beer in your hands, that’s not a bad thing.  When you’re in a cubicle on a Monday afternoon, it’s a different story.  This band has a nice pedigree and good chops but not much originality.  Competent, but ultimately unfulfilling blues-tinged rock.  2.5 stars

Best Coast – Maybe it’s the longer days and the warmer weather, but this slice of girly-pop connected with me.  Simple pop music that reminded me of Liz Phair’s better qualities at times.  One thing I liked is that although they’re a two-piece, they don’t rely on electronica, using real drums and real guitars throughout the disc.  It doesn’t hit a bulls-eye consistently, but when it does, it fills a void vacated by the Go-Gos long ago. 3.5 stars

Peter Gabriel –  Look, I like and respect Peter Gabriel.  I pegged “Scratch My Back” as a one-off oddball choice by a notoriously eccentric artist. This 6 hour long live set featuring every song from said lp in the exact same format was damn near coma-inducing.  The re-arrangements of some of his best songs didn’t help, as not one of them was remotely close in quality to the original versions.  1 star

TSAR –  Almost sure Fearless Leader sent me this years ago.  Not much I can say about it other than it rocks.  Hooks are huge, guitar work is good, harmonies are great.  Why haven’t they released another album since?  4 stars

Discussion Question – Should have done 10, cut-down to 5 was brutal. In no particular order…

1) “Before They Make Me Run” – Rolling Stones (Keef) ok, that one is in order….
2) “Texarkana” – REM (Mike Mills)
3) “My Wife” – The Who (John Entwistle)
4) “Tempted” – Squeeze (Paul Carrack)
5) “Decoration Day” – Drive By Truckers (Jason Isbell)