Month: August 2014

Paolo MizernaPaolo Mizerna

Euston - An Overnight Low

Euston is the first in a three-part series of albums from Maine’s An Overnight Low, each release to be named after U.K train stations (Piccadilly and Waverley are forthcoming), and inspired by main songwriter Chad Walls’ experiences living and traveling throughout the United Kingdom while completing his Doctorate at the University of Manchester. You can hear a mélange of rich influences here (perhaps most notably R.E.M in the opener, ‘The Artist in the Wrong World’), but the skillful folk-pop sensibilities of Walls and his talented group of fellow musicians (including Jonathan Wyman, Mac Coldwell, Chris White and Holly Nunan) are…

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Paolo MizernaPaolo Mizerna

Beck - Morning Phase

By the own artist’s admission, Morning Phase is very much a ‘companion piece’ to Beck’s stirring 2002 LP Sea Change. True enough, much of the same band returned for this recording, his first in six years- notably Beck’s own father David Campbell, whose string arrangements feature prominently. The album will please fans of Sea Change. This is mellow, slow tempo music tinged with sadness (as on ‘Blue Moon’, where Beck asks, ‘cut me down to size so I can fit inside’). Yet this is more melodic and not nearly as mournful as Sea Change, and Beck’s return to his singer-songwriter…

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Paolo MizernaPaolo Mizerna

The War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream

Adam Granduciel and his bandmates haven’t just hit a home run with Lost In The Dream, they’ve undoubtedly released one of the best albums of the year. Produced over a two-year period and inspired by Granduciel’s own battles with depression, there is undoubtedly a slight sense of uneasiness that lingers here, but the refashioning of classic and, in particular, 80’s rock, is inspired. No doubt some of the album owes a debt to a certain gent by the name of Bruce Springsteen (‘Burning’ would slot into the track listing of Born in the U.S.A with ease), but you can also…

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Paolo MizernaPaolo Mizerna

White Lung - Deep Fantasy

Vancouver’s White Lung are back with their third release, Deep Fantasy, a ferocious and frenetic punk rock race that effectively captures the energy of the band’s live work. There’s zero let-up from start to finish as the album sprints in with ten tracks in less than twenty-five minutes, but this is more than frontwoman Mish Way screaming her head off to three cord compositions. White Lung know a catchy hook when they find one (consider the addictive grunt of ‘Just For You’), and aren’t afraid of playing with melody (‘Down It Goes’). The closer, ‘In Your Home’, perhaps hints at…

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Paolo MizernaPaolo Mizerna

St. Vincent - St. Vincent

On a roll from two previous albums that already garnered rave reviews (2011’s Strange Mercy and her 2012 collaboration with David Byrne, Love This Giant) Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, now returns with what is undoubtedly her best effort yet. This is confident, ambitious work, drawing the listener in with a distinct blend of what one could almost describe as ‘prog pop.' Clark’s considerable guitar skills play a prominent role throughout, but she has brought together a broad variety of instruments with a dash of electronica to craft her at times quite complex arrangements. But despite her experimental nature, from…

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Evan KanarakisEvan Kanarakis

The Gascan Interview: Ashley Thomson of The Kelpies

It lasted for just under a year and a half but, from March 1981 to August 1982, the Kelpies emerged as one of the most frenetic--and notorious--bands to hit the punk scene in Sydney, Australia. Evan Kanarakis The band consisted of James Gelding on vocals, Mark Easton and Brian Conolly on guitars, Con Murphy on bass, and drummer Ashley Thomson. Given so many of the band’s membership had already earned their stripes in a multitude of earlier acts (including the Bedhogs, Suicide Squad, Swankers, Aftermath, Vic Vomit and the Varicose Veins and Black Runner), this put them in good stead…

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Evan KanarakisEvan Kanarakis

Tornados, Crazy Fans and More Tornados

Three Tales from The Kelpies The following are are taken from Evan Kanarakis’ 2003 book, ‘Sex, Drugs & Mum In The Front Row’ (Allen & Unwin). Evan Kanarakis THE RANDOMLY GENERATED FAN TORNADO Punk rockers, the Kelpies, quite literally rampaged through Sydney in the early 1980s, albeit for a brief but frenetic run. Their first show was a taste of the mayhem to come, however the random nature of the punk scene at the time and whatever else it was that seemed to be hanging in the air that particular night⎯perhaps a full moon⎯prompted developments well beyond the band’s control.…

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