Ikara Colt - Chat and Business - 12-song CD (Epitaph Records) HHHH
Produced by Loucas Antoniades, Engineered by Gareth Parton at Fortress Studios
Oh they rock! It’s this fun, upbeat indie deal with nice vocals (yay!). The singer resembles The Strokes in a weird way. I dig it. These guys are where music should be going; it’s clean sounding, interesting and well produced. I also love the CD artwork… all different random photos compiled nicely into a little album. Superb songs include “One Note,” “Pop Group,” “Here We Go Again,” “At the Lodge,” and “May B 1 Day”. They remind me of Bis (any one remember them? Scottish pop-techno-punky band). They were so cute and reminded me of a cartoon score. This CD totally just makes you happy on the inside… buy it! Contact: www.ikaracolt.com
- *Samantha*

Rachel Gaudry - Learning Traces - 10-song CD (Virt Records) HHHH
Produced by Chad Wackerman; Mixed by Guy Dickerson at Air Motion Studios, Sydney; Recorded by Guy Dickerson and Chad Wackerman at Megaphon Studios and Air Motion Studios, Sydney; Mastered by Rick O’Neil at Turtleneck Studios
I was expecting poppy and girly, I got folky meets Natalie Merchant. Still very nice; just not what I was anticipating. Rachel’s voice is pretty; she has a tiny hint of an Australian accent too, which makes her voice sound adorable. “Don’t Push Me In” reminds me of Vanessa Carlton. It’s a great song - “I’m on the outside/And it’s got me feeling so damn tired/On the outside/And I really don’t want to be alone/On the outside/And it’s got me feeling so damn wicked…”. I really like “Love is What I Need,” it sounds like this great Luscious Jackson chick rock type melody. “Loose Inside My Head” is another great track, about love (or the absence of), which I relate to “Don’t pretend you’re in love with me, don’t make out you’re sad, ‘cause as soon as you drive your car away tonight, you’re gonna be 10,000 miles away and glad.” “And don’t you say, don’t you say, don’t you say it’s not that simple. That perhaps it was just circumstance, that it ruined our chances in the perfect romance”. Man I wish I could dedicate that to someone… Rachel Gaudry read my mind, and rocked out at the same time. A+
- *Samantha*

Avant God - Self-titled - 6-song CD H1/2
Produced by Scott Smith; Recorded at SAS Studios, Franklin, MA
Leave it to a couple of New Englanders to come up with a name like Avant God. While the Franklin, MA duo’s self-described ”heavy modern FM rock” music is neither avant garde nor overtly spiritual, it sure is balls-in-the-mashed-potatoes-fun to say the name. To explain: At any given time of the day, a New Englander might say the words “avant” and “garde” together as a hyphenated phrase to describe something that is new or experimental, such as a Jean-Luc Godard film, interpretive dance about watching the Charlie Rose program, or the Chicken Teriyaki Sub from Subway. At that time, the New Englander in question may magically lose the “R” on the way to proper diction, creating free word-of-mouth subliminal advertising for the band Avant God. Ha. For the band though, recording a six-song EP of originals may have seemed avant-garde. Brothers Scott and Ben Smith have allegedly been playing together for over two decades in various cover bands. Now they are using their influences to make their own riffs and lyrics. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath may be claimed as inspiration, but clearly STP (“White Bread”), Alice In Chains (“Blood Sound Heart”), and Bananarama are the most influential. Oh yes, Bananarama: The verse from “Cruel Summer” is nicked note for note in a bridge for “Supernova.” The cleaner picking sound of “Brand New Day” stings through the sludgy self-production and emerges derivative-free. While Avant God may be unwilling to let go of their past, perhaps in the future they’ll inspire some other New Englander to name their band Wicked Are Some. Contact: ssmith@marshtech.net
- JR Walsh

Inside Out - Take Care - 12-song CD (Flagship Music) HH
Produced by Giorgio “Joe” Mongelli and Oliver C. Keane; Mastered by Tony Kirby and Oliver C. Keane at Satellite Studios, Cork, Ireland
Boston’s Berklee College of Music finally has an International Supergroup. Italian guitarist Joe Mongelli, Irish-born pianist Oliver C. Keane, and vocalist Therese LaGamma from Italy via West Africa spanned the globe recording their debut project, Take Care under the moniker Inside Out. Recorded in Italy and the U.S. and mastered in Ireland, “Take Care” resembles the work of other supergroups, complete with wayward style-jumping and distinct contributions from strong-willed individuals. It’s a folk-rock, show tune, ‘70s TV melodrama, soft jazz spelunk through musical diversity more disquieting than CSNY’s 2001 letdown but perhaps less divergent than the multi-platinum combination of Captain, Tennille, J-Lo, and Waits. When angel-voiced LaGamma is leading the charge toward Soothingville, an organic folksy backdrop often scores points with the ponytail set. “Deeper I Go” and the title track are reminiscent of the airy sincerity of early 10,000 Maniacs. With music multi-cultural enough to sell in The Discovery Channel Store, Mongelli crafts intricate guitar work on “Prohibited Dance.” However, he also brings an electric guitar into the Soothingville Saloon during the last minute of “Take Care,” resulting in a showdown at the cop-a-squat hoedown. When Keane takes the mic, he sings along with Muzak. His “To Dream” is a heavily-programmed synth ballad destined to help the aged while at the dentist office, and with just piano and vocal Keane’s “Faraway” sounds like a song cut from Elton John’s next Broadway show. Alas, it’s the lack of cohesion that typifies a supergroup, even a technically gifted one from Berklee. Contact: flagship_productions@angelfire.com
- JR Walsh

Harpoontang - I Gotta Bang Her - 9-song CD (Tequila Dave Productions) HHH1/2
Recorded and mixed at Tin Pan Alley Recording Studios NYC by Giovani Fusco
In the year twenty ought two, the myth and the mystery of Harpoontang is upon us. A dirty white boy blues-rock band that could render the commercial soundtrack garage-band outdated (looking at you, Mooney Suzuki), Harpoontang drops their debut CD, I Gotta Bang Her. Much like the Dread Pirate Roberts, the Harpoontang that you hear now are not the original Harpoontang. At least according to them. That job was done by a vocalist named Tequila Dave and his cohort miscreants: Noodles O’Roogan, Melvin “Spunky” Spunkwell, and the late, great Fluffy Fitzgerald Cohen. Due to deaths and incarcerations, the original lineup, which formed in 1983, has given way to younger upstarts with boring names but with the unhealthy fire in the loins necessary to both rock and go directly to the drug store for some topical ointment. Rich Rivers and Alan Levine handle the duelling guitar offensive. Brendan Keefe (bass) and Bone (drums) handle the rhythm section deftly and Steve Broderick sleazes his way into rock immortality as the voice of such future hits, “You Should See a Doctor,” “Do-able Mommies” (an ode to the MILF), and “Cumming on You” (an ode to purchasing visual arousal materials and the self-love that accompanies such activities). From ”G-L-O-R-I-A” to “R-O-C-K in the U-S-A,” all great rock bands know how to spell. Harpoontang joins the spelling bee of rock with ”She’s a Pig.” As James Lipton might say, “Broderick’s P-I-G is simply manna from the heavens. Harpoontang are transcendent.” This writer would say how long before “Cumming on You” is the theme to a Kodak commercial? Contact: tequiladave2001@hotmail.com
- JR Walsh

Mary Lou Lord - LIVE City Sounds (Rubric) HHH
Produced by Mary Lou Lord; Recorded LIVE in Park Street Station and Harvard Square
On our next “Behind the Music” - She started out on the streets, hit the big time, hit bottom and is back on the road again. Such is the would-be story of Mary Lou Lord, one of Boston’s best kept semi-secrets. Having gotten her start on the sidewalks and subway platforms of Boston, Lord enjoyed (?) a short stint as Boston’s last musical hope and “it” girl before the foibles of the industry sent her reeling.
Now a mother and a fighter, Lord is back on the streets giving all she can for the devoted fans who helped her up the first time. With an angel-thin voice that has been scratched by cigarettes and screaming over oncoming trains, Lord lilts through an extended set of busker blockbusters. From Dylan (“You’re Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go”) to Bragg (“Ontario, Quebec and Me”) and Colvin (“Ricochet in Time”), Lord refers to the entire catalog of contemporary singer/songwriters, giving more weight to her covers than her own creations. Even so, the weight she gives to compositions like a make you cry “Thunder Road” and a polar pair of Richard Thompson gems - “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” and “Bee’s Wing” - is significant and affecting. And, of course, her version of “Speeding Motorcycle” is right on Target.
- Matthew S. Robinson

Kiss - The Very Best of Kiss (Mercury / UTV) HH1/2
Produced by Bill Levenson
For nearly 30 years, the true rock pioneers of Kiss have been blazing trails with flaming swords and other pyrotechnic techniques. Spawned in Glam, these four originals fathered nearly every hair band that followed, for better or worse. Quite an ambitious task, then, to retrospect this rock juggernaut in one album. Though this collection gives a valiant effort, the more knowledgeable fan may be left unsatisfied. For though this compilation runs from timeless chestnuts like “Strutter,” “Deuce,” and the unavoidable anthem “Rock and Roll All Nite” (sic) to newer (which may be the best that can be said of them) songs like “Lick It Up” and “God Gave Rock & Roll To You II” (hello, Gary Glitter?), there are some steps in the middle that slid under the band’s high heels. For example, while the album contains the Michael Bolton (de)composition “Forever” (unfortunately one of the band’s biggest hits), it lacks the more authentic guitar balladry of “She.” And when it comes to the oft-disputed solo albums, the only example is the tiresome hand-clapper “New York Groove.” So if your tongue was wagging when you first saw the beautifully-packaged and long overdue Kiss box set a few months back keep lickin’ it up, for while it does take fans through most of the band’s storied history, there is not much here that a double dose of Double Platinum couldn’t fix.
- Matthew S. Robinson

The Forgotten - Control Me (BYO Records) HH1/2
This is really well done anthemic punk rock. The production is fantastic. Very well written. One problem: there’s nothing new here. If you’ve listened to other anthemic punk rock albums that are fantastically produced (like Rancid) then you know what’s up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. However this just doesn’t really grab me, punch me in the face, then buy me a beer.
- Duncan Wilder Johnson

Incantation - Blasphemy (Necropolis Records) HHH
Produced by Bill Korecky an Incantation; Engineered by Bill Korecky; Mastered at West West Side Studio
What you have here is very well produced death metal with all the classic death metal hooks and musicianship. Super fast in some areas. Really dirgy in other areas. I prefer the dirgier sound. The cover art has classic religious “revelations-esc” connotations. The whole thing is very brutal and any die-hard fan of death metal will be pleased. My only issue is with the cookie monster vocals. I like cookie monster vocals, just not all the time. Death metal puts so many restrictions on itself that it’s hard to branch out from it.
- Duncan Wilder Johnson

The Jupiter Project - I Can Make You Try - 6-Song CD HHH
Produced by Ad Frank and The Jupiter Project; Recorded and Mixed by Dave Westner at Woolly Mammouth Sound, Boston, MA.
The Jupiter Project is a duo, Jonny Pape, vocals and guitar, Sue Boyer, on bass, vocals, and technology. The band had some trouble filling the drummer’s spot given their unique style. It isn’t always evident, though, that it’s a drum machine behind them. The Jupiter Project’s sound is dark, and foreboding. They use minor keys to an extent that I haven’t heard since “The Velvet Underground”. I found the second cut, “Gooseflesh” the most memorable, but all six songs have the same brooding feel. I was pretty sure that I didn’t like this band…then I started to write the review, then threw it out and started over again…I couldn’t put my finger on why I felt I didn’t like this band…I listened again, then again. I realized that isn’t that I don’t like the band, their music puts me on edge! The combination of voices, minor keys and their unique style really seemed to get under my skin. Techno can be strange, but this is the first time I’ve had this kind of reaction. It’s almost like I’ve had too much caffeine. If you’re a fan of dark Techno with a palpable vibe, then you’ll probably like this band. Both are excellent musicians, with a real chemistry between them that comes across in their singing and writing. Contact: (617) 240-7832, hugo@thejupiterproject.com, www.thejupiterproject.com
- Mike Walsh

Ghost 24 - Hover - 6-song CD HHH
Produced by Ghost 24, Mixed, Mastered, and Engineered by Mike Caglianone and 2nd Engineer Ioana Pieleanu at 7AWEST.
Now to start things off on a blunty honest note, a little background: Bands with numbers in their names usually annoy me. It’s not the bands or their music that annoy me, just the names- i.e. Project 86, Farrenheit 451, Primer 55, and so forth. A lot of times though, aside from these that I dig, I’ve found that most (not all) “number bands” suck. Thus, I was bracing myself for the horrific before I knocked the beer cans off my crap-ass CD player, and gave this one a listen, but ya know what... I really, really dig what these guys are doing. It may not be 100% unique in delivery, but it’s a keeper for the ole Deekula collection. Very dark, haunting, cerebral, and a rockin’, while still encapsulating (listen to me - gettin’ all fancy-like!) some very nicely written melody into the mix. Six songs-to the point-no frills, bells, and/or whistles-well crafted rock-period. The recordings sound great and their singer has some decent range ala old school “My Sister’s Machine” goods (not that anyone remembers that band) - nice n’ gritty! No real complaints here - and I’ve been diggin’! These guys aren’t my favorite band ever (that would be Lawnmower Deth! kidding) but I’m definitely intrigued by what I’ve heard from these Boston-area blokes and they should do well if they keep this up. Contact: www.Ghost24.com
- Deek McDeekula III

Dashboard Jesus - 15-song CD HHH
Recorded at Fleetwood Studios
Pretty damn impressed with this latest release from Massachusetts’s own purveyors of “kick-an-innocent-bystander-in-the-choad-core.” Actually, the “core” description is off target, although these guys, I must admit, can deftly jump from the brutal (a la Hatebreed/Despair in brief moments!) to the sublime in the blink of a lash. Fifteen tracks too! All of them really listenable too. I’m sick of picking up three-song EPs that leave me at half mast. As for a comparisons since it’s what all we “music critics” like to do, I’d honestly say that these guys have been quite hard to pigeonhole, which is a real f’n good thing! Track 9, ”Into the Empty” carries a haunting Alice In Chains “Down in a Hole” feel at times, their track “Dead and Gone” has a nice fist-pumpin’ PM5k-ish vibe goin’ on, and (it’s not a diss guys, but a tribute to your depth) I also catch a few moments that make “Depeche Mode-on-steroids” come to mind- seriously. Give these guys a listen - still haven’t seen them live, but it oughta’ happen soon. As for complaints: dig the CD a hell of a lot, but the overall visual package is really lacking; it’s very plain and home-print job looking. That’s not something that everyone will care about, but I think it makes a difference. Snare drum could be punchier too, but now I’m getting real f’n nerdy. Keep an eye out for these guys! Hernia-inducing-heavy. Oh yeah, some of the guitar solos on here rock ridiculously hard! Contact: www.dashboardjesus.com
- Deek McDeekula III

Impaled - Mondo Medicale - 10-song CD (Necropolis Records) HHH
This CD reminds me of a Freddy Krueger movie. I first hear the typical speed metal and then wait, Death Speed Metal from the second track, “Dead Inside.” I’m still waiting for some depth. Ok, here’s the depth on the third track, “Raise the Stakes.” I listened to it twice and swore it was Slipknot meets underground Metallica. I‘m having a great time with Impaled’s Mondo Medicale. The young speed freaks are going to love it! Track 7, “The Worms Crawl In,” begins with the sounds of worms crawling, GROSS! The last few tracks freak me out, it turned into Slipknot meets early Megadeth. Also track 10 is the slowest song I heard on the CD. Not friggin bad. Contact www.deathvomit.com
- The Metal Wench

Saifa - Dislocate - 7-Song CD HH 1/2
Recorded, Engineered and Mixed and Mastered by John Ellis at Prism Sound
Hey nice press kit, even has a sheet telling me all about the stories behind their songs. Saifa is a four-piece progressive hardrock band. The cover art has the vibe of a high tech Japanese cartoon illustration. I was expecting it to lean more torwards the techo vein, but that was not the case. Their CD consists of songs titles like “Myles,” “Dislocate,” “Autumn,” “Dr. Who.” I listened to the CD a few times and found that the music grew on me a little, but it seemed to lack direction. The lyrics were a little cliche’ and really confused me. “I got lost in the chaos, I forgot to leave a string, random collisions and the choices made,” HUH? The performances of all the musicians involved are credible and show they have some talent. They tell me in the bio about how they switch timings on some of the songs. A 4/4 to 5/4 and their very own 7/4 all laid down smoothly ‘cause I heard nothing really too weird in the timing. Anyway, the songs have some decent dynamics and it’s a good overall effort. There are some really good grooves, but no hooks for me to hum. It seems they have trouble trying to pick between the style of an ‘80s metal band and a ‘90s nu-metal band. The music is there, but they need some better lyrics with vocal expression that will stick with you. I can’t hum a goove. Be true to your passion and it will all fall into place. Contact: (508) 405-0427
- Baker

Ari Vais - WinterWonderLand - 17-song CD HHH
Recorded in various places, Zing Studio Westfield MA, Right Track Recording and Stratosphere in New York, Mastered by Zeke Fiddler
With songs like “Long Distance Relationship” (Is a Four Letter Word) boy is that true, and “Strangel” this CD brings some power pop vibe into the fold. Although at times the vocals seem to be lost, the musicianship of the band has staked its claim. Winter Wonder Land overall is a solid release with some up and downs. There is plenty of melody throughout the project with some crazy chaotic moments of passion along with some dull laid back lounge music. I have listened to this CD a few times and could not hear a screaming cat as they state in the bio. The song “Heroic Audio Display” gives me the feeling like I’m floating down a gondola in Venice, how relaxing and peaceful. Then right into a much more upbeat “Struck.” From power pop to easy listening there is a whole array of emotions on this disc. I can’t place them by pointing out who they sound like, and nomally I don’t like to do that anyways, but the CD does have it’s own distinctive artistic value. The vocals are O.K. and at times can be drone, but it all works well with the music and songwriting. The guitar work is clean and well performed. The horn work is exceptional and really lays down the mood on track 9 “Beautiful Lesbian.” Man! don’t we all want one of them. “Burnout” is just a banged-up dirty ditty. It doesn’t seem to belong on the CD because there is no other song like it so it takes some flow away. There is plenty more to digest on this disc, but not enough space to print it all. But my favorite is “Siamese Twin” it has the most commercial flavor to it and with little more production could be the one. Contact: www.arivais.com
- Baker

Hollowpoint - Barrel of My Gun - 4-song EP H
Hmmm… I swear I have heard of these guys before. I was anticipating it until I actually heard the first track “American Pride.” If this were our national anthem… I’d move to London. It’s heavy/distorted/rappish rock. Think Kid Rock background music with garage heavy-deep-vocal-almost-metal over it. The drums sound awful on the second track… was this recorded in a living room with a microphone attached to the couch or what? I have no idea what he’s saying…. except when he swears - that comes across loud and clear. “Barrel of my Gun” has an intro that one could take a short nap through while waiting for some vocals to magically appear or the bullets. The drums improved… he’s loud and clear now. Uh-oh… vocals are back… booo. He is just not a vocalist. His voice is mundane and has no edge, nothing unique about it. Plus it is poorly mixed and hard to always hear what he’s yapping about. All in all… thumbs down. Oh and by the way, next time you attempt to record guys, watch your levels, I had to jack up my volume just to hear it! Contact: www.hollowpointusa.com
- *Samantha*

Must - Androgynous Jesus - 11-song CD (Wind-up Records) H
Produced, Recorded and Mixed by Nick Launay
I heard from a friend of mine that these guys were great, totally my kind of band. Man was he wrong. They sound terrible. This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to move to a cave and toss my Discman in the ocean. His voice is annoying. I think he must be a fan of Alice in Chains and Creed at one point or another, but that does not mean he has to try to imitate them. The lyrics are just plain unintelligent, something about bubblegum and a girl and some stupid “Dum dum dum dum dummmm” (The Crash Test Dummies weren’t cool - neither are you). “Very Wicked” is just lame - “You float like a butterfly, you sting like a bee, you’re very very wicked.” Veto! The next song is about a one-night stand; which I highly doubt ever occurred by the looks of these guys… although they have nice vocabulary; profusely, tether, catapults… oh I could go on and on. My conclusion is their name came from the following conversation “So do they suck?” “MUST.” Contact: mustband.com
- *Samantha*

Quick 900 – Bittersweet – 3-song CD H
Recorded at Long Hill Studios
Quick 900 hails from the Blink 182 punk rock academy. Prerequisites include: nasally surfer-dude vocals, bass breakdowns and the ever-so important teenage heartbreak theme. This four-piece from Naugatuck, CT, gives you exactly what you would expect from a band citing Blink, MXPX, Lit and Good Charlotte as their influences. With members in their early twenties you would think the juvenile pranks would have worn off by now. Their enclosed press sheet calls their good looks, catchy songs and wild stage antics (orgasm contests and odes to ‘80s rock) a must see. Lyrical highlights include “Sometimes I forget my keys, screw up and wind up on my knees… screw up and I do it all again and now we're just friends.” The recording quality and packaging push me over the edge. The songs sound as if they were recorded in a bathtub and the purple printout CD cover doesn’t help. On the plus side, track three has some rather tight melodies. For extra credit these guys even threw in a dance instrumental as a hidden track. It sounds like they’ll be repeating grades. Contact: www.quick900.cjb.net
- Brendan McCarthy

Overkill - Wrecking Everything Live (Spitfire Records) HHHH
Produced by Overkill; Mixed by Andy Katz and Overkill at Sonalyst Studio; Location Engineer Frank Moscowitz for Nervessa Productions; Mastered by Roger Lian at Masterdisk, NYC
Holy shit I love this! Personally I’m into the first half more than the second. The recording kicks ass. The songs are awesome. The best two parts: between song banter - “Hello New mutha-fuckin’ Jersey!” and “Tim says this song is gay!” God what truths! This is some classic thrash-esc metal. Get it. It’s totally worth it!
- Duncan Wilder Johnson

Dishwalla - Opaline - 11-song CD (Immergent) HH1/2
Produced by Gregg Wattenberg; Recorded and Mixed by Brian Scheuble; Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering & DVD
Dishwalla have written their make-out record. The California five-piece guitar band with the already post-grunge, chick-friendly melodies raises the (ahem) bar to become the soundtrack to an endless summer of musty, damp basement couches, missed movie endings, and sore jaws. Their third record, Opaline, is a sonic landscape of echoey bliss led by J.R. Richards textured falsetto. It’s recorded with songs of longing and desire for the lover in you but recorded in 5.1 digital for the geek in you. That’s six channels of sexiness. And pioneering DVD-audio ain’t easy; Dishwalla crams a whole lotta sound into their title-track opener with an extravagant intro worthy of the next Stone Roses record just to prove it. After the initial ooh-ahh of technology, some songs emerge but most blur together. “Angels or Devils” sounds stolen from the Manics but cuts like a knife, and “Somewhere in the Middle,” with its Edge-y U2 guitar and its catchy blew-through chorus, is their best bid for a hit. If at this point in their career Our Lady Peace can get a song onto Clear Channel (the word radio is obsolete), why can’t Dishwalla? You’d think they were Canadian or something. Oh wait... Our Lady Peace is Canadian. Maybe that’s it. Is Canada slowly buying out the one remaining American station to enslave our minds through our ears? Is this Aural Terrorism? It’s so complicated... Hey, Avril Lavigne is Canadian, too. What’s next, a capital B - Bryan Adams comeback? Celine singing “God Bless America?” The Canadian takeover has already begun. If only Dishwalla could relocate, maybe they’ll have a chance. And if Corey Hart wants to join them for “Counting Blue Cars 2K2,” let him. Contact: www.dishwalla.com
- JR Walsh

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