Company of Thieves - "Oscar Wilde" (video)

Chicago indie rockers Company of Thieves released a video earlier this year for their breakout single "Oscar Wilde" and it's a bit of a treat for any of the Wes Anderson fans out there, particularly of Rushmore (my favorite). I wasn't sure if I just dug this song because of the quirky tribute video or the fact that Oscar Wilde is one of my favorite writers, but the music is raw and shows lots of promise. And I detect a hint of attitude. Lead singer Genevieve Schatz's voice shares a little of the sweet raspiness of Heartless Bastards' Erika Wennerstrom, while the jagged guitar work is edgy without ever sounding overly produced. This music video should have been mine! Plus, Company of Thieves reminds me of the style of tunes my imaginary band would make, if we ever got around to recording.

Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1 (2008)

I started listening to Chicago based Nachtmystium with the release of their album Demise in 2004. Black metal in the US has been lacking to say the least, but in the last 5 years, it truly has developed its own style, and is starting to really kick ass. Assassins is a new invention of what can be called black metal, and I love it. Nachtmystium has (without subtlety) created an album that mimes Pink Floyd's, Meddle. The opening track, "One of these nights" is a grim take on the classic Meddle opener, "One of these days". With the start of the album, I get galloping guitars that lead into the 8 minute 2nd track, "Assassins" which is a thrashy black metal song that strays away from the norm with sparse riffs. The track ends with marching boots and sound effects that belong on Sabbath's Vol.4. From there, the album brings me up and down with solid black metal songs, but so many experimental full blown psychedelic jams that leave me wanting more. The first half of the album really has a good deal of black metal in it, hidden in tracks that pulse with a fluid forward motion. The second half of the album gets really psychedelic, with only one 'true' black metal track, "Omnivore" that is by far and wide the most brutal track on the album. The album ends with an epic three part opus, "Seasick". The entire three part track feels like I am floating in water, and defiantly gives my neighbors something to laugh at, as i play air guitar and headbang in front of my window for a solid 11 minutes. Throughout the entire album the same lyrics are sung over and over again that give me a very complete/fluid feel to the album. The songwriting of the band, the drums of Tony Laureano, and the brutal vocals of Blake Judd get me so stoked on listening to upcoming releases. If you take nothing else from this review take these 3 things:

In a genre of music founded upon satanism, suicide, murder, cannibalism, corpse paint, and church burning; we have this album..... which has a fucking saxophone solo, and I'm into it.

If you are into black metal, this album will open your eyes to the endless possibilities of the genre, and expand your perception of metal.

If you aren't into black metal, buy this album. Sit down. Listen to it in its entirety, uninterrupted, and be prepared to have a serious black metal problem in the future. If hardcore black metal is heroin, this is your weed that'll inevitably make you a drug addict.

Los Lonely Boys - Forgiven (2008)

PBS music documentaries absolutely rule. I don't care if you think I'm a square, cause’ they do. With that said, late night channel surfing, I stopped on a documentary featuring Texas Rock bands. Most of it was on my rock hero Stevie Ray Vaughan, which initially stopped my surfing, but it was the band of three brothers from South Texas, Los Lonely Boys, that made me stay. Henry, JoJo, and Ringo are the three sons of a share cropper/part time cotton picker and apparently, the voice of the Chicano rock scene right now. Their newest release, "Forgiven" is an absolute gem. The brothers worked with producer Steve Jordan who has worked with John Mayer and Herbie Hancock previous, which I feel really helped to solidify all the tracks and make a solid record as a whole. They have chill, laid back, melodic vocals that pick up just at the right time, with heavy bluesy guitar riffs, and man can Henry play. They aren't the most super innovative, in fact, they have a very 12- Bar, traditional, 70s style rock feel, but they are fucking good at it. It's hard to explain, but I got a similar sense of satisfaction witnessing Barry Bonds spit on fastball a 1/4" off the plate, then hit a rod to the opposite field gap on the very next pitch. There's just nothing quite like watching a master craftsman doing what they do best. Wow, what's my word count, I think I am giving Mona a run for her money (j/k), anywho, the title tracks are awesome "Lovin You Always" and "Superman". I was also very excited to see they had done a remake of Chicago's "I'm A Man" because first, I love that song, second because I thought they sounded very similar when I first saw them on T.V. My personal favorites are, "You Can't See the Light" and "Heart Won't Tell a Lie". This may be premature, but "Forgiven" gets my vote for album of the year, and by now, I am sure my neighbors all know the lyrics by heart* as you cannot play this shit loud enough.


*No complaints as of yet, which is a hallmark sign of a kick ass band