Fixx

Earlier this week I bought ticket to see them this summer in Atlantic City. My old cassette of Reach the Beach was busted, so I bought the LP used, and I uploaded their followup, Phantoms -- good goddamn, the lyrics! I gotta say, they're an awesome band!!! I was a passive fan back in the day. I can't wait to see them! What sold me was watching some clips of them live on You Tube.

Sebastien Grainger: SEBASTIEN GRAINGER AND THE MOUNTAINS

I caught this cat a few weeks ago opening for Metric. It just may be the first time I got an album by an opening act (kudos, Metric, for bookng a warm-upper whose sound is similar to your own!). Unfortunately, Sebastien Grainger And The Mountains isn't as great his live show -- maybe it had something to do with his backing band, especially the bassist who specialized in background vocals. On the plus side, Mr. Grainger is one talented mofo. He doesn't sound like anything else out there, past or present. Basically, it's rock'n'roll with a slight New Wave edge. You can't hate that, right?

Rating: 4 outta 5 stars

American Names

Metric: FANTASIES

This album was well worth the wait -- four years after the lovely Live It Out. Fantasies features 10 solid songs with no filler. What's cool about Metric is they do slightly different versions of their songs live, which I found out when I saw them here in Philly at the Trocadero on June 19. Anyway, Fantasies kicks off with a perfect pop song, "Help I'm Alive"; I love how singer Emily Haines reaches near the top of her vocal range for the refrain. The superb songwriting continues with "Sick Muse". Other soon-to-be classics include "Twilight Galaxy", "Gimme Shelter", "Blindness" and "Stadium Love". Such a great, upbeat album. See, kids, you can be New Wave without being too retro. It just takes a tight rhythm section (thanks Joules Scott-Key and and Josh Winstead!) and properly placed modern-rock guitar, courtesy of Jimmie Shaw. All right, I'm off to Toronto to get this quartet inducted in the Canadian Hall of Fame.

Rating: 5 outta 5 stars

"Help I'm Alive"

Yaz: "Midnight" (1982)

I didn't hear about this duo until I around '89, about five years after they broke up. This CD is a great example of New Wave.
Midnight

Datarock: "Bulldozer" (2005)

These two guys are out Norway, heavily influenced by Devo. What I like about their album Datarock Datarock is how eclectic it is. Their main shtick is New Wave-ish retro tunes (as evident by such songs as "Computer Love"), but they also do dance ditties like "Sex You Up", R&B like "I Will Always Remember", and indie rock like this song.
"Bulldozer"

Cars: "Hello Again" (1984)

The Cars are one of the the few American bands I still dig. They did a nice job of mixing New Wave with good ol' rock'n'roll. I'm still amazed today's MP3, "Hello Again", wasn't included in their first Greatest Hits package, which came out in the 80s. Fortunately, Rhino Records corrected that mistake with their 2002 comp, as well as they should have. Come on, "Hello Again" was a Top 40 hit!
"Hello Again"