For those who wish Radiohead would write more songs with melodies and verses and choruses, Red Bellows‘ EPONE is a record for you. Although it won’t be apparent to you until track two, Phonetic.

That’s because EPONE begins instead with the bluesy rocker, L.S. Blues which rides a swelling guitar tide before shifting into a driving, marching rock song with nods to classic Led Zeppelin.

But as soon as the vocals on kick on Phonetic the Thom Yorke-ish vocals tell the story of this young band. Guitars and keys interplay with one another through the next five tracks that make up the EP. As the record progresses the introduction of glitchy electronic embellishments serve to advance the Radiohead-esque mood of the record.

Album closer, Bookends, gets both and electric and acoustic treatments and, as much as the rest of the record shows lots of indie-rock promise, the acoustic version of Bookends is where Red Bellows’ talents shine. The beautiful harmonies and Beatles-like guitar picking highlight what may become a fantastic long-haul band.

The only worry is, with a sound as immediately recognizable as being so strongly influenced by Radiohead, can they rise above and develop their own identity? I think that they can and I hold out hope that they will prove me right.

–George Dow

Where do I start with a review of Bobb Trimble’s The Crippled Dog Band? Like a thousand reviewers before me, I have to start with Bobb’s vocals. It feels like the easy way out but there really is no other place to begin.

Bobb sounds like the bastard child of the Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra and Rush’s Geddy Lee. Yes, really. Apparently there is such a thing. Oddly, the music itself is something of a hybrid of those two bands, if you can imagine it. On the one hand The Cripple Dog Band is frantic psych-garage played at what sounds like double speed—at times sounding like a 33 1/3 record played at 45 rpm—something like the D.K.’s Winnebago Warrior on speed.

On the other hand, there are tender ballads that switch effortlessly from acoustic to electric and would sound right at home tacked on next to anything on Rush’s 2112. All of this is interspersed with 80s video game soundtracks, bombs and air-raid siren sound-effects and studio chatter.

If everything I’ve described so far sounds weird, that’s because it is. Everything about The Cripple Dog Band is weird—but not in a “get me outta here” way. Instead this is an endearing and engaging listen. It begs to be heard again and again. To be dissected and discovered over a longer period of time than a typical reviewer is willing/able to give to a record.

The Crippled Dog Band hits its stride in the center with three killer garage-rock songs that would feel right at home on a Nuggets compilation—the anti-war psychedelic dirge, Fight Or Fall/Screw It, the aptly titled middle-eastern favor of Camel Song and the driving, ZZ Top-ish rhythm of Undercovers Man all roll together like a finely crafted triptych. As if flaunting his Massachusetts roots, Bobb opens Poker Game Of Life by yelling, “Hey, does anyone wanna play a game of pok-AH?” in the most beautiful of Boston accents.

The Crippled Dog Band is a record out of time. It was recorded in 1984, but sat on a shelf until its release this week on Yoga Records. There is nothing about this record that shouts 1984. The only hint to its vintage is the dated video game samples. Otherwise the record sounds straight out of the late Sixties or early Seventies.

Trust me when I say that this record requires multiple listens and pays dividends for the patience.

Bobb Trimble’s The Crippled Dog Band will have its official CD release show this Thursday, July 28, at Great Scott.

–George Dow

The Lowbred Watts is self-described bluesman, folkster and one-man band Ryan Stapler.  His debut EP, Get Home, is a testament to the DIY aesthetic—recorded in his basement using homemade and patched together gear. It’s a wonder that the music sounds this good.

Get Home combines grimy delta blues and Dylan-esque folk across five songs and never falter for a moment. Whether you’re a blues fan or not (which I’ve never really been) this EP is one to hear. Each track is a heartfelt exploration of one man’s musical passion. It’s impossible not to get sucked into the universe that is Stapler’s basement.

For the complete listening experience picture Stapler, alone. In a cold, damp basement. In the near-pitch-dark. Surrounded by a mad scientist’s inventory of homemade instruments. Singing and playing mostly for himself while recording on an antique cassette player.

–George Dow

The Kristen Ford Band has been working hard lately. They just finished tracking for her third record, which is slated for a fall release and will be supported by a 9-week national tour, her kickoff party is Thursday, September 8 at Middle East Upstairs.

This month will celebrate Tuesday! Lots of indie rock, dancing, country, blues and Michael Jackson covers.

Each Tuesday will feature 4 acts:
Tues. 7/19 features Kristen’s new garage rock project, Tilt-A-Whirl, Flightless Buttress‘ tour-kickoff and Corinna Melanie’s cabaret-pop.

Tues. 7/26 features DJ Phillips touring from Nashville, Goli’s marimba cello duo and Mercedes straight-up soul.

Shadow by kristenford

Precinct Bar
70 Union Square, Somerville
Tickets $7, 21+, 8 pm – 12 am

–Chrissy Prisco

One big FU to the prevailing trend of gazey, synth covered, vocal-distorted indie music, the Verse Chorus Curse EP by The Demographic is rock served raw. In seven songs, most of which clock in under two minutes, the duo from Northampton MA callously gallop through early 80’s hardcore, Pixies-type angular guitar rock, and the kind of over-driven blues-attacks that White Stripes make at their edgiest. Heady band comparisons for sure, but the simplicity and directness of The Demographic really harkens back to landmarks in the post-punk milieu rather than posting incremental progress away from those purest forms. Every song is solid. Even if you don’t identify with punk rock per say, this is one of those local bands to be excited about just for their musical energy alone.

–Alexander Pinto

Providence, RI’s Kid Chocolate is one of the many current bands that cop a 1960’s surf-rock vibe. Like many of their peers in that genre, Kid Chocolate is pretty darn good. They have all the hallmarks down pat: surf guitar, obviously, but of a style that prefers sharp and jangly to soft and fuzzy. All-male vocals that are less surreal than Ariel Pink and less androgynous than Girls, but share that generalized sound, with lots of backing singers chiming in with those old-school melodies. They don’t hesitate to go into full-on “Ventures” mode once and awhile.

At the same time, they shouldn’t be pegged as a retro act. They do lash out of vintage tropes enough to be an unmistakably “now” band. Their song structures often stray from the simple verse-chorus-verse setup that drove the music that inspired them; and their sound itself has its deviant moments, as they occasionally rock out in a way only a post-punk (or even post-grunge) band could. And some songs are not surf-y at all: Better on the Coast is a straight rocker with enough of a catchiness-factor to have “Big Indie Hit” potential, and Silver Tongue sounds quite a bit like aughts-era British rock (remember The Coral?).

It would be difficult to fault Kid Chocolate for much musically. For a first LP from a young band it is fantastic: they are great musicians who have a lot of experience playing together, and they have started to form a sound to call their own, but the operative word there is “started”. On Gold Star Winner there are only glimmers of the kind of emotional foundation that is the key to turning well-crafted sounds into something that transcends—something that is immediately arresting and that stays with the listener for a long time. With the chops they’ve displayed on these songs, Kid Chocolate has the potential to take the stuff that glimmers from this album, and create material that shines from start to finish.

–Alexander Pinto

Salt for Salt the latest full-length from Providence, RI’s Brown Bird is being released October 18th, 2011 on Supply & Demand Music (Dark Dark Dark, Vandaveer).

Recorded live to tape in Pawtucket, RI, Salt for Salt is the first album by Brown Bird to capture the intense energy of the duo’s live show, surging in waves that often swell into high-spirited,
 foot-stomping madness.

Paring down from five musicians on their last album to the duo of David Lamb and MorganEve Swain on Salt For Salt resulted in some necessary instrument changes. Swain, a lifelong violinist, spends most of the album on cello and double bass, instruments she picked up in the past two years. Lamb has a kick drum and woodblock/tambourine rigged to a second pedal in front of him, using his whole body and voice to carry the rhythm and melody simultaneously.

Brown BIrd have released the first single from the album, Fingers to the Bone, which you can listen to below:

Brown Bird – Fingers to the Bone

Brown Bird is playing at the Newport Folk Festival on Sunday, July, 31 at 11:30am on the Harbor Stage.

–Chrissy Prisco

Antiques fourth release, JWNS is a garage-y, lo-fi affair in the best of ways. There’s brilliance beneath the smudge and that’s what makes this recording so rewarding. You have to pay attention. You have to be patient. You have to dust off the crusty veneer that cakes JWNS.

Though much of the record rocks out pretty well with wall of sound, squelching guitars relegating the vocals to the background, some of the best moments are the quieter tracks like Smile At Me and Making Friends which sound like some of Lou Barlow’s best home recordings and work with Folk Implosion.

At its core, Antiques’ JWNS is 11 tracks of fantastic indie-rock (with a bonus eleven-and-a-half minute keyboard drone tacked on at the end for good measure).

–George Dow

How did the band start?

We have always been recording things on 4-tracks or shitty computer programs. Eventually, these things all kind of came together through the cosmos and the internet.

Where did the band name, Sore Eros, come from?

Robert was laying on the floor in his friend Michael Centore’s bedroom and the words sore and eros were written on a little notebook pad and it just kind of stuck…

Click here to read the rest of the interview with Sore Eros.

–Chrissy Prisco

We here at the The Deli are excited to announce a series of Deli Presents shows this summer at P.A.’s Lounge in Somerville.

The first show in the series is happening this Thursday, July 14. The line-up includes Melt, Pack of Morley’s, Tan Vampires and Il Abanico. This is going to be a fun, energetic, show. We hope all of you will come down to PA’s and help kick-off the Deli’s Summer Concert series in style!

The next Deli Presents shows are August 10 & 24, also at P.A.’s Lounge — mark your calendars now, further details on these upcoming shows will be announced shortly.

11:30 — Il Abanico (Boston)
10:30 — Tan Vampires (NH)
9:30 — Pack of Morleys (Boston)
8:30 — Melt (Boston)

Thursday, July 14
Doors @ 8, 21+, $8

See you all there!

–Chrissy Prisco

The Deep Heaven Now IV music compilation is now available for free download. The compilation features tracks by each of the artists slated to play the festival August 5 & 6 in Somerville. The DHN festival, organized by Jinsen Liu (28 Degrees Taurus), is a revival of the Deep Heaven festivals that took place in the 90’s in Boston. DHN showcases the very best of the current ambient, shoegaze and psych rock scenes from all around the country.

In this, the fourth installment, notable acts to watch out for are The December Sound (MA), Herbcraft (ME), Ghost Box Orchestra (MA, pictured above), Gospel Gossip (MN), Kohoutek (PA), and The Vandelles (NY), among many others.

The festival is a two day affair, taking place August 5 & 6 at PA’s Lounge and Precinct Bar in Somerville’s Union Sq. For line-up and further information, check out the event’s facebook page.

Click here to download the free DHN IV compilation.

–Chrissy Prisco