“Throw Me Out A Line”, from a single released on Bus Top Records.

“My Dentist” and “Finger-Painted Cat” from Sand Box.

A big thanks to Erik Voeks for letting us do this, and for making such great music. Cheers!

Rockville 1993

In 1993, Erik Voeks released an album called Sand Box. (Read my review of it here.) It’s one of those many great records that slipped through the cracks over the years, but has remained championed by a small and fortunate few. Fortunate enough to hear it, that is. Voeks recorded the album in St. Louis, the city in which he used to live, and it features some stellar guitar work from the late, legendary Jay Bennett (Wilco, Titanic Love Affair).

Since then, Voeks has relocated to Kansas City. In addition to a variety of projects that include a meticulously faithful Guided by Voices tribute band, he also started his own band, Miss America. My friend Randy Paske turned me on to Sand Box, and I was like “Who IS this guy?”, and Randy told me the story, while also throwing in the fact that Voeks is an appreciator of my band, The Dead Girls. Right away, I started thinking, “Man, some of those Sand Box tunes would be really fun to play live…”

Now, in partial thanks to Randy, Jesse Kates of the Sexy Accident and Indie Pop Alliance, and Voeks himself, this little party is coming to fruition tomorrow night at the Brick for the next Indie Pop Alliance show. Along with Atlantic Fadeout, Making Movies, and the Sexy Accident, Erik Voeks will perform songs from Sand Box with The Dead Girls as his backing band. Voeks will also be performing solo as well.

If you haven’t been fortunate enough to hear Voeks yet, I am doing you all a favor—here is a download of Sand Box. Please, listen to it, love it, and come out tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 4) to hear some of these songs live, Voeks/Dead Girls style!

Secretly Canadian 2010

Every now and then I get into this mood where the “extended hook” is very pleasing to me. That’s one reason Teenage Fanclub gets me—they like to do this thing where they have one repeating chord progression at the end of a song that lasts for two minutes or more. This could be spawned out of pure laziness, but I couldn’t care less. Sometimes, it’s just what I need—one solidly repeating thing that sounds so cool, it could go on forever. This seems to be the modus operandi of Brooklyn’s dream pop darlings Here We Go Magic, and though they haven’t mastered it, they could be well on their way. Read the rest of this entry >>

Barsuk 2010

In 2007, this Syracuse band put out one of that year’s most revered records, “The Rhumb Line”. I was an avid listener of that album, but only for a few of its songs—their “hit” “Dying Is Fine”, the anxious lament “Can You Tell”, the fiery opener “Ghost Under Rocks”, and the should-have-been dance hit “Too Too Too Fast”. I could never get myself into the rest of the album. The other songs don’t reach the bar set by these four stellar tunes, and that Kate Bush cover of “Suspended In Gaffa” just reeked of filler.

But, it seems the rest of the world creamed over Ra Ra Riot’s first album, which is fine—more power to a band who at least KIND of knows what they’re doing, I thought. However, I smelled trouble with the sophomore effort, “The Orchard”. Read the rest of this entry >>

TBD Records 2010

There are a lot of bands around right now diving head first into the carefree, fist-pumping pool of classic rock, usually while dressed in T-shirts of their favorite punk bands. But while most would simply tread water after such an endeavor, The Henry Clay People thrash around stubbornly, like ducks fighting over soggy bread crumbs.

If it’s difficult to discern whether this is an insult or a compliment, maybe that’s because I’m not sure either. Read the rest of this entry >>

Grandfather "Why I'd Try"

A really cool band from Brooklyn called Grandfather just finished recording their debut full-length, titled “Why I’d Try”, at Electrical Audio with none other than the man himself, Steve Albini.

Actually, I had him at #4 on my list of The Top Ten Record Makers of Today, but once you get into the top four, everyone is so close in skill and brainpower they can all contend with each other. One thing is for sure–Albini remains unmatched in his ability to transfer the sound of a band in a room to tape with hardly any disturbance whatsoever.

Knowing this about Albini, and that Grandfather’s lead vocalist is also their drummer, I’m really excited about possibly getting to see them perform one day. They have that progressive style that Albini champions and boast huge, dissonant guitars and a pummeling rhythm section. But, Grandfather also seem to know the meaning of a pop hook.

The band has self-released “Why I’d Try” on CD and limited edition vinyl. Fortunately, they are offering the entire album as a free download as well (with artwork and everything–classy!). All of this can be found right here at their website. Any fan of Albini, or just good rock music, should check it out immediately.

Shakey indeed...

Neil Young has released nearly 50 albums in his 50+ year career. So obviously, he has to have a good amount of crap in his catalog. Last week, I counted down what are, in my humble opinion, The Top Ten Best Neil Young Albums. This week, I’ll have a little fun with one of my favorite songwriters and poke a little at some of his biggest missteps. Read the rest of this entry >>

The Man himself

Neil Young is one of my three favorite songwriters of all time. He represents a lot of different moods and mental states in my opinion, but the one overall quality I love about Young is his stubbornness–no, obsessiveness–to be nothing but himself and what he wants to be at that given moment. Granted, this can make for horrible as well as amazing moments. For now, I’m focusing on the amazing ones–here are the Top 10 Best Neil Young Albums. Read the rest of this entry >>

Merge 2010

Canada’s Arcade Fire—one of the world’s most beloved modern rock bands—put out their new album “The Suburbs” today on Merge Records. After a few strategically released mp3 downloads to stir the pot a bit, the band’s third album—the follow-up to two of the most talked –about releases of last decade—should be able to accomplish what “Neon Bible” just missed, and debut comfortably at no. 1 on the Billboard 200. Read the rest of this entry >>

Caldo Verde 2010

It seems Mark Kozelek wants us to believe he just breathes all of his songs—that they are effortless, sporadic chunks of creative masturbation he can toss off whenever he so pleases. This may explain the stitched-together nature of Sun Kil Moon’s fourth album, “Admiral Fell Promises”, and the stone-eyed, monotone delivery of its weighty themes. It could also have something to do with the fact that every song is stripped down to the key ingredients of Kozelek’s work—his voice and guitar.