Sunday, September 6, 2009

Supersuckers: DEVIL'S FOOD

The last of my recent Supersuckers downloads, Devil's Food is a collection of outtakes and rarities. It touches on what they do best: rock 'n' roll and country music. And this being a compilation, there are plenty of covers, like Outkast's "Hey Ya!", 'The Chips' "Rubber Biscuits" (doo-wop now country-fied!), and "Sail On" from Smokey and the Bandit. There is also the rockin' title track and the kick-ass closer, "End of An Era", with slightly distorted vocals. Yes!

Rating: 4 outta 5 stars

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Triffids: BORN SANDY DEVOTIONAL

When I was vacationing in Australia last December, I picked up The Triffids greatest hits, Australian Melodrama. Great disc! Only one throwaway track. So when I saw eMusic offering Born Sandy Devotional (BSD), I downloaded it quicker than John Cook paved the way for European colonialism. Released in '86, BSD was ironically recorded in the UK, but Aussies embraced it like an INXS album. What's cool about BSD is that all ten tracks are awesome, with "Wide Open Road" (video) being the standout. Sadly, the theme is a bit of a downer -- unrequited love -- though, it's not obvious.

The reissue of BSD includes nine bonus tracks (read: demos). Most of them are for hardcore Trifidi fans only, with singer/songwriter David McComb either reciting poetry or singing while playing an electric guitar. However, two of them are fantastic and feature a full band. "Convent Walls" has a lovely melody and "Born Sandy Devotional" doesn't appear on the actual album, but it rocks, thanks to the drummer banging the hell out of the ride cymbal.

God bless 1980s Australia!!!

Rating: 5 outta 5 stars

Friday, September 4, 2009

Supersuckers: MOTHERFUCKERS BE TRIPPIN'

The phrase "it grows on you" is a hackneyed one, but it's the case of this 2003 release. Musically it sound like a continuation of The Supersuckers' 1999 full-length, Evil Powers of Rock 'n' Roll, but lyrically vocalist Eddie Spaghetti celebrates mostly the decadent bar scene -- drinking, fighting, fucking. On first listen, I only liked two songs, "Rock 'n' Roll Records (Ain't Selling This Year)" and "Pretty Fucked Up". But by the fifth listen, more songs swirled in my gray matter: "Rock Your Ass", "The Fight Song" and "Bubblegum and Beer". Thank you, Satan!

Rating: 3 outta 5 stars

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Japandroids: POST-NOTHING

Oh Christ, what a waste of an eMusic download! These garage rockers love their distortion and playing songs that are w-a-a-a-a-a-y too long. I think other active acts, like No Age and Times New Viking, do the whole garage-rock thang a lot better. But that's just me, who on weekends likes to dress up like a Cylon and quote lines from Rashomon.

Rating: 0 outta 5 stars