January 2013 - Gascan Magazine

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Steel Panther - Balls Out

Back with their second album under the name of ‘Steel Panther’, the L.A quartet divide time between parody of 80’s glam rock and out-and-out tribute. What could tire quickly as a one-trick gag in the vein of Spinal Tap or those spectacular Australian parody-rockers Bigphallica actually works here because, thankfully, the band possess the musicianship to back it up. These are frenetic, high-energy rock songs with gratuitously over-the-top lyrics that aren’t out to compete with anyone for profundity (to point: “Get on your knees and help me please because it won’t suck itself”). It’s certainly not for everyone, but there’s…

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Paolo Mizerna

Betty Wright and The Roots - Betty Wright: The Movie

This is Wright’s first album in a decade, and if you’re looking for music with the sass, funk and soul that she was best known for in the 70’s, then you’ll find it here, but there are also modern flourishes on offer as well. This isn’t just because Wright has the benefit of The Roots as her backing band, or because of drummer Questlove’s deft hand co-producing the album, though both certainly help. She shares the stage on ‘Real Woman’ with Snoop Dogg, and on ‘Grapes On A Vine’ with Lil' Wayne, but it is perhaps ‘Whisper In The Wind’…

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Paolo Mizerna

Noel Gallagher - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Regardless of your feelings about the former Oasis band-member – whether tired of the seemingly endless public spats with his brother, perturbed by the apparent hefty ‘borrowings’ from other’s music or put-off by yet another egotistical pronouncement- you’ve always had to concede, whether begrudgingly or not, that Noel Gallagher knows how to pen a bloody good rock and roll song. True enough, Gallagher’s first solo effort represents some of his finest work since ‘Definitely, Maybe’ and ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’ There’s a lighter, looser feel to the music here than the last albums we heard from Oasis (consider the…

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Paolo Mizerna

Kasabian - Velociraptor!

Judging by a look at online message boards regarding Kasabian, there’s little doubt that many folks seem to wish they’d just shut up and stop telling us how bloody awesome they think they are. Or at the very least shut up long enough to let us judge their music for ourselves. Regardless of what you think of their braggadocio, on Velociraptor! the lads from Leicestershire clearly display their inescapable talents in what is a fun, loud, Brit-rock album. But there are quieter moments, too. Neon Noon is a slow burn yet perhaps the best track of the record, exhibiting a…

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Paolo Mizerna

Primus - Green Naugahyde

The return of drummer Jay Lane to the fold makes this naturally feel like something of a ‘vintage’ Primus album, an outcome that several critics have inexplicably decried. Sure, those averse to Les Claypool’s wonderfully weird, creepy voice (Moron TV feels like the auditory version of a Cronenberg movie) or the house of horrors vibe that permeates through tracks like Eternal Consumption Engine won’t care for Green Naugahyde. But if that’s the case, why are you listening to a Primus album in the first place? Set the LP aside for those of us that embrace this time-tested, quirky rock freak…

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Paolo Mizerna

Liam Finn - Fomo

There’s no denying that a follow-up to his impressive 2007 solo debut I’ll Be Lightning was a big ask, but Finn has put together a confident, hook-heavy album that offers an effective balance between dreamy, kaleidoscopic tunes (Chase The Seasons) and out-and-out melodic pop (Cold Feet). There’s bundles of talent here that’ll one day prompt many to ponder, “His father was Neil who?”

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Paolo Mizerna

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Minor Traffic

If looking for a Pavement rehash then you’re unlikely to find it on the Beck-produced Minor Traffic, but there’s plenty of familiar Malkmus alchemy and eccentricity at work here nonetheless. Moments of chaos and noise blur still gel together enough that you’re left marvelling in wonder at the sheer wizardry that has gone into making it all so effectively entertaining (Brain Gallop is a bluesy highlight that feels like it should be dismissed as overlong and self-indulgent - if it wasn’t just so much damn fun to listen to). This is incredibly varied, masterful stuff.

January 31, 2013February 2, 2013

Paolo Mizerna

Frenzal Rhomb - Smoko At The Pet Food Factory

It’s been five years since Frenzal Rhomb’s last album and we’ve all been the lesser for it. This is fast, frenetic stuff cut with Frenzal’s familiar melodic harmonies and brazen sense of humor (consider the manic Just Because It’s Soap Doesn’t Mean It’s Clean) that make for an incredibly satisfying half hour of Aussie punk rock. With Descendents drummer Bill Stevenson at the production helm (and work with such bands as Black Flag and NOFX behind him), the Sydneysiders were in safe hands for this long-overdue return. Get to it.