As seen on FOX News in 2010 for a live performance, BR1GHT PR1MATE are one of many artists riding the 8-bit nostalgia wave with their dance-y chiptune style. The Boston duo, made up of singer Lydia Marsala and video gamer James Therrien, currently has a smattering of EPs, covers, video game soundtracks, and other odds and ends, including The Reality Chipmusic Love Industry [REMIXES], the August, 2011 release.

In April 2011 BR1GHT PR1MATE released The Reality Chipmusic Love Industry, a six-song album about “hope, death, sci-fi, businessmen, cooking and reality television,” according to the band. And in response to reaching 300,000 downloads of their music, BR1GHT PR1MATE initiated a remix album featuring electronic artists Decktonic, Smiletron, I am [noun], and Misfitchris. Each of the four tracks on the remix album is a reworking of the original– BR1GHT PR1MATE’s chiptune and vocal samples are weaved in along with the unique sounds provided by each of the collaborators.

The remixes are restructured versions of the originals with a lot more layering, bringing them away from BR1GHT PR1MATE’s basement party style and making them more dance club ready. Two of the artists put a different spin on Fanfare: Misfitchris of Connecticut gives the song a more full, entrancing sound while New York’s Decktonic plays up the chiptune parts. Providence duo I am [noun] throw some dubstep on Please Me and throw in a totally sweet, out-there electro breakdown at the end. Chiptune artist Smiletron experimented with Reach, taking out the original vocals entirely and adding more clubby elements.–Sarah Ruggiero

BR1GHT PR1MATE will be playing Monday, Feb. 13 at Great Scott.

No need to worry about bland, generic tunes here. If the Darth Vader-esque monologue at the beginning of Raw Milk doen’t grab your attention, hopefully the funky riffs do. If not, check your pulse.

With its colorful album cover displaying exactly what the title says, The Gang of Thieves’ Dinosaur Sandwich Party appears to be the kind of party to end all other social gatherings. The Burlington, VT band came together in early 2009, and currently the band boasts a 50 percent chance of dreadlocks.

Dinosaur Sandwich Party is their second full-length album and was released in August, 2011. The album expertly pens the jam session vibe, full of sweet bass and a mood that sways between upbeat and laid-back. The Gang’s funky rock and roll sound is both bouncy and smooth, but they can also pull off that dirty, old-school rock style, most notably in Necromantic Judo, whatever that song title means. Dharma Dojo hints at Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose vibe pokes its head throughout other points in the album, along with Rage Against The Machine, whose magnetizing riffs obviously reflect back to Gang of Thieves’s style.

The gold star for this album goes to guitarist Nick Wood, whose riffs and solo work glide seamlessly on their own and carry the songs forward on a wave. Wood’s guitar work also weaves well with Michael Reit’s vocals.

Okay, so the lyrics might encroach a bit on cheesiness at times, but the songs never stop being fun. Reit’s fiddle-playing featured in The Bunny Song makes for a pleasantly surprising addition to the track as they close out the album.

The Gang of Thieves, if it was apparent enough in the title track, just want to kick it, and it’s likely they put on the type of live show at which even the most adamantly stand-still-with-arms-crossed folks in the crowd won’t be able to resist some sort of rhythmic movement.–Sarah Ruggiero

Boston-based rock quartet A Do knows how to rock—hard. Their self-titled album features plenty of hard-hitting rock songs with dark undertones. After listening to the entire album, it became quite clear to me that the band must listen to a lot of Queens of the Stone Age. No – the third track off the album – is a prime example of this dark, QOTSA-inspired sound. Lead singer Adrienne Bel provides her own backing vocals on this song, taking a page right out of Josh Homme’s playbook. Guitarist Derek LeDoux’s performance on this track is quite excellent as well, adding various licks and unison bends throughout the song.

Bel’s vocal performance is the highlight of this record. Her voice is powerful but not too harsh, a trait that is hard to come by in the realm of hard-rock/grunge singers. Her strong voice is enhanced by high-energy guitar riffs and a rhythm section that knows how to hold down a song.

A Do is currently in the process of preparing a new album that is set to drop this year.–Daniel McMahon

A Do — No

Newton, Massachusetts– a suburb of Boston– has repeatedly ranked as one of the nation’s safest and wealthiest cities of its size. It also happens to be the spawning place of one of the most hilariously diabolical bands in the nation, or even the world, although that ranking may be harder to prove statistically. The village pride of West Newton, Anal Cunt was led by the late vocalist Seth Putnam from 1998 until 2011, with an ever-changing lineup and a hiatus or two along the way. In June, 2011, Putnam died of a heart attack at the age of 43, but toward the end of his life, he put together what would be Anal Cunt’s lattermost, fully authorized set of recordings.

The Old Testament is a collection of the noisy grindcore band’s most archaic material along with rare and live recordings, released by Relapse Records in November, 2011. Released as a two-disc set, the collection includes their very first demo, which was recorded in April of 1988 but went unreleased until now. Also included are the 47 Song Demo (1988), 88 Song EP (1989), 5,643 Song EP (1989), Another EP (1991), Unplugged EP (1991), and Live EP (1991). Live recordings include shows in Germany and Indiana, and there is also material from several of their 7” splits as well as from The Masters of Noise compilation album. The set also features original liner notes by Putnam.

Anal Cunt are not family friendly, and they’re in your face about being politically incorrect, but in a way that is equal parts metal, awesome, and chuckle-worthy. They grabbed attention with their offensive song titles and lyrics, but these traits mostly appeared in their works after what is included in The Old Testament. Songs included in their early EPs are untitled and lack lyrics entirely, but the band still fit the humor into: Sporadically throughout TOT recordings, Putnam will shriek “Eeenie meenie minie moe,” which also happens to be some of the only decipherable words uttered during a song. And at the beginning of their Schwäbisch Hall, Germany live set, Putnam calmly announces “We’re The Beatles,” before launching into the first noise orgy. Also, listen for an incredibly brief MC Hammer cover in their 7” split with Psycho.

The many albums featured in this set are filled with songs that come as very brief, assaulting blasts with little semblance of form or rhythm. Songs often begin with some heavy, slow chords, and soon after explode into hellish chaos accompanied by Putnam’s varied guttural noises. This may last for around thirty seconds, and then they’ll launch into another one that’s basically indistinguishable from the last. But that’s the point: to make songs that are anti-everything that would typically constitute a song. If there were ever a sudden-death match between a dinosaur and Satan himself, the 5,643 EP might be what that sounds like. Anal Cunt’s early-day material is the most turbulent and cacophonous of their already extreme catalog, whereas later on the band began to incorporate more structure, riffs, and lyrics into their songs. While it is definitely an acquired taste sort of band in general, The Old Testament provides an extensive display of the infamous band’ most deviant and raw works– you know, before they got all soft in later years.–Sarah Ruggiero

Tonight kicks off Lilia Halpern’s Monday night residency at PA’s Lounge this month. A veteran of the Boston music scene and founder of the band Incinerator, Halpern sat down with me last week for an interview.

Click here to read the deli’s interview with Lilia Halpern-Smith.

Stay tuned to the deli each Monday in January for a preview of each show.

January residency dates and line-up:
(All shows begin at 8pm and are 21+)

January 9, 2012
Lilia Halpern
Evelyn Pope
Babes in Boyland (members of 28 Degrees Taurus and Night Fruit)

January 16, 2012
28 degrees Taurus
Incinerator
Ladybust
Seamstress

January 23, 2012
Lilia Halpern
Saraswathi Jones
Collin Oberndorf
Lauren Flaherty

January 30, 2012
Chick Granning and Joyce Raskin
Chris Colbourn
Lilia Halpern
Brendan Little

–Chrissy Prisco

Boston’s By The Throat’s four-song EP Riders of Boards provides standard fare for the mischievous skate punk. While they are self-advertised as hardcore punk, they can’t quite be categorized under the same umbrella as other current hardcore punk bands. Rather, their style is defined more by hardcore punk roots of the seventies and eighties– they cite Minor Threat, Black Flag, and early Replacements among their musical influences.

But without getting too wrapped up in genre-labeling, rowdiness outweighs heaviness on Riders of Boards. The title track could very well be the theme song to a cross between Rocket Power and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with its rampant, testosterone-pumping urgency and skate manifesto lyrics like “And if there’s a bowl we’re gonna carve it / And if I get air I gotta method.”

Besides shredding, their songs go into subject matter such as beer, challenging the status quo, and getting even. Indian Summer Revenge takes advantage of catchy guitar fills, but when the band members shout “We want revenge!” in unison, it doesn’t sound as viciously convincing as it could.

The biggest strength of these four tracks is in the band’s straightforward punk aggression, but there’s still room for them to go louder, harder, more distinct. While the lyrics seem a bit generic and under-developed, the three-chord energy works for them. The band members– who go under the names of Biff, The Muscle, Brat, and Dimwit– convened in 2010, bringing with them experience from various other punk outfits including The Dimwits, The Acro-Brats, Buried in Leather, and Blood Vessels. Riders of Boards is the follow-up to their self-produced EP One Good Night.–Sarah Ruggiero

How did Waves Crashing on Face start?

The band started off as a Ben Garrett solo record. I hired Scott initially to produce the record and play guitars. We needed session musicians, so I recruited some friends. These were folks who I’d played with in various groups in college or after college, plus our original drummer Tony who was Scott’s friend from another group. it was basically an all-star line up brought together for a one-off recording project. That project eventually resulted in Waves Crashing on Face the album. But it took a while, and somewhere in the middle of the process we got bored and decided to play a few live shows for a change of pace. We also did some stints as a Marley cover band and an ‘80/’90s cover band just for kicks, because we were waiting on one thing or another for the record. Somehow, over like a year or so, Waves became something of a live act phenomenon in the Boston area, packing small and midsize clubs, keeping the flurry of cover songs in the repertoire to the delight of local hipsters and popsters alike. We also cater to nerds, as I’m a scientist, and nerds rule. We’re currently working on our second album, to be ironically named later.

Click here to read the rest of the Q&A with Waves Crashing on Face.

Empty Phrases‘ new single Groundhog Day is jam-packed with enough rockin’ riffs to get any indie-rocker up and dancing. The two songs included on the single, Groundhog Day and Captain, are part of a new record the band plans to be releasing this spring.

After listening to both songs, it is quite clear where the band gets many of its influences. Groundhog Day is reminiscent of Minus the Bear with its spacey effects and intricate guitar lines. One can hear a bit of Radiohead thrown into the mix as well. This is a track that can certainly get people up and moving on the dance floor.

The infectious lead guitar on Captain, accompanied by a pounding rhythm section, begs a comparison to Incubus, with lead singer Ben Raymond’s powerful voice blending well with the instrumentation.

Overall, this single was very impressive. If these two songs are any indication, Empty Phrases’ new album will be well-worth hearing.–Daniel McMahon

Surrounded By Holidays’ latest release, Sun Thief EP, takes traditional ideas about pop-punk and garage rock and transforms them into its own unique sound. The opening track, Cerulean Skies, reminds me of Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, with its heavily effected instruments and reverb-soaked vocal melody.  However, that sound is not kept for long, as the second track, Backflips, bursts to life with a surge of energy. The driving force behind the track is an unlikely source for a traditional pop-punk style song: the synth. Catchy synth lines are peppered throughout the EP, adding a refreshing layer to the music.

The EP takes another sharp turn during Don’t Fall Again, starting off with a finger-tapping bass riff, then emerging into a Dinosaur Jr.-esque rock song.

Overall, I enjoyed Surrounded By Holidays’ new material.  My one major critique would be that the production and mixing seemed unbalanced at times, but for the most part this was a solid set of songs.  Not many bands are open-minded enough to experiment within a genre (or multiple genres) and I think this is a band that understands the importance of drawing on a multitude of styles to achieve a good sound.  The entire EP is available for download on their bandcamp site, so be sure to head on over and give it a listen.

Also, try to catch them tomorrow, Sat. Jan 7, at 3065 Live in East Wareham, MA. The show starts at 5, it’s all ages and there are a bunch of other bands playing. For more details click here.–Daniel McMahon

If the week’s monotony has you feeling delirious, it would be a good idea to start the weekend off with an eclectic night of music in Somerville. PA’s Lounge will be host to three Boston-area artists for a show this Friday, January 6th. On the bill are The Doctors Fox (pictured above), School For Robots, and Daniel Harris.

Opening act Daniel Harris — who also provides glockenspiel, guitar, and vocals for The Doctors Fox– plays experimental anti-folk and aims to create ambient soundscapes. Following Harris is School For Robots, a band that has been putting out material since the early 2000s. School For Robots play an experimental mix of upbeat, alternative rock with funk influences as well as occasional electro-mariachi tendencies.

Playing last are The Doctors Fox, a smorgasbord of bluegrass, rock, pop, klezmer, reggae, funk, and general whimsy. Expect violins and new material in addition to songs from their 2009 album, Plural Non-Possessive.

Both School For Robots and The Doctors Fox will be debuting new band members at the show.

PA’s Lounge
Union Square, Somerville MA
9:00 p.m. (doors at 8:30), 21+, $10

–Sarah Ruggiero

Strange Day, the EP by Jared Mann’s project The Great Western States, contains five songs of emotionally-charged, angst-ridden lo-fi. The collection of demos (all songs that Mann had created within the last year) was released by Providence label Blanketfort Records on December 7, 2011.

Mann’s vocals on Strange Day demonstrate bipolarity throughout, as he jumps back and forth between tense, whispery singing and outright screaming. But these extremes come together to form a sound that is vulnerable and honest. Mann ropes the listener in with his sweet, gloomy lyricism as he takes a forlorn look at the tolls of love and loneliness and combines a lo-fi style with experimental, ambient, and indie rock.

Coming Home sets up the EP’s moody vibe with overtones of regret, and Mother (pride) begins quietly, simply, and with tenderness, full of swelling emotions and just enough ambiguity. Gravitational Diseases opens with acoustic strumming and glowing background noise which leads into lofty, echoing voices. The song soon picks up pace, adding drums and more ambience, followed by Mann wailing “Where the hell am I going? Where the hell am I going?”

The changing beat patterns and breaks make Physical stand out, along with lyrics like, “There’s only so much I can do for you physically / Tomorrow when you wake, this will wash away.” On this track, Mann’s vocals go from muffled lo-fi to clean just in time for him to straightforwardly outline his misery. Finally, with its slow piano and murky vocals, Resignation times out at just over a minute, closing the set with just as much disconsolation as it started with.

It seems that part of Mann’s pain comes from the pain of those around him, and not being able to completely heal anybody, including himself. Strange Day explores these complex feelings without wallowing and without feeling contrived. Mann’s efforts as The Great Western States are perfect for a Debbie Downer mood, but Strange Day also makes hints at finding hope somewhere along the way.–Sarah Ruggiero