Lisa Knight's Blog, page 38

STEVE GILMORE’S MUSIC REVIEWS: Mosquito Death Squadron – Baby Teeth Live

Having been bitten by these pesky critters before, I now know better than to just go diving into a cloud of them as I did in my first encounter. See, one of the active ingredients of MDS is the viral being most of us know as Pilesar, and that’s always something best taken in moderation. Given its mind warping capabilities, you understand. Earth Sound Revisited (December 2004) was exactly what its title suggests; sounds of Earth given that the Earth is an electronic madhouse and populated with certifiable arual manics (with or without white lab coats). Here is what I wrote to describe that track ‘nothing quite prepared me for the nigh on nine minutes of test tones, random musical slashes, endless audio loops and other assorted weirdnesses that infest this track’

Yeah, you can fekkin gulp but I think we are prepared now…

So the REAL scary part of this sorry tale was that I actually ended up almost liking the damn thing. How weird is that? Nonetheless, I believe it was the active ingredient (Pilesar) wot done it. Almost everything this geezer gets on with is either a) painful, b)uplifting or; c) a combination of both. Pilesar is – of course – only one-quarter of this form of life. There’s also fellow Mandible mate Spencer, along with the cutely named Drob and Corpsefinger. Damn, this gets scarier the more I write doesn’t it? Baby Teeth Live was recorded in Baltimore, MD and for a live recording it ain’t too bad at all. Everything is as clear as a bell, and the power of the performance is not lost which is just as well because the whole draw of this track IS the power of the performance.

For sure, you won’t get much musical sense out of this track, unless you like looking at things upside down and sideways. What you will get is severe whiplash at the speed it attains, a slight ringing in the ears from the aural abuse and a new understanding of why I write the way I do. See, I LIKE this stuff. Really!! Coming from the grand traditions set by Grandmaster Frank (Zappa), bands like Mosquito Death Squadron are a logical offspring so if you like music from the far side, you will love this. If you want to hear a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer kicking seven kinds of crap out of their instruments, look no further. If you want something cute and cuddly, for God’s sake look elsewhere while you still have a brain to see with. Funnily enough Baby Teeth Live completely rocks, ya know what I mean?.

Not for the foolhardy but Recommended for all that…

You can listen to this artist on SOUNDCLICK

Written by Steve Gilmore

MUSIC VIDEO: … AND THEN IT’S GONE BY HOWARD BILLINGTON

Written by Howard Billington

Filmed by Howard Billington & Yuriko Sugaya

You can listen to the album, in full, HERE

STEVE GILMORE’S MUSIC REVIEWS: Federal Bison – Let It Out

Although they are a new band to me, and probably Soundclick too by the looks of their SC page, they are not – I suspect – new to making music, at least judging from what I have found out about them. A five piece rock and roll (yep) outfit from CT, USA the band are: Gabe Silverman (vocals), Brett McQuiggan (guitar), Dan Porri (bass), Jim Cipollini (guitar) and Adam Barker (drums). Moreover, they are ‘ high energy, no gimmick rock n’ roll’ and in my books that raises the stakes immensely because if there is one thing I love it’s a good rock party.

It’s the animal in me, ya see… I can’t he’p it.

So, anyway, to clarify the term rock and roll, I digress a bit. To most of us Europeans the term rock and roll applies to figures such as Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and the like. To Americans rock and roll encompasses a much wider remit and is probably better known to us as heavy rock or even – at a pinch – heavy metal. So it’s probably best not to go combing your quiff just yet. When I think of ‘high energy, no gimmick rock’ I automatically get transported back in time to the first time I witnessed the MC5 in action, and that is the closest comparison I can make to this artist. Guitar heaven if you love that kind of pyro-technicality, as bad as spitting nails if you can’t stand anything with long hair and beautiful groupies. Not that FB have long hair mind, judging by this they WILL have the odd nubile stringing along in their wake.

At least, if there were any justice in the world.

Federal Bison are exactly what they advertise themselves to be, rock well up to its highest standards. A song that is intelligent, well constructed and enough fire and brimstone to satisfy even the hardest purist. I bet these guys kick ass live (they do live gigs in the Connecticut area if you happen to live there) so if you see them, let me know. Let It Out has everything I look for in my rock music, a song that makes sense lyrically, performance of a high standard all encased in a wall shattering, solid, pin-your-ears-back mix that my neighbours just seem to love. Or at least, I imagine that’s what all the shouting is about outside :D Very, very nice track to introduce me to this band and one that has merely served to whet my appetite for more.

Paaaaaaarrrttttttyyyyyy raaaaaawwwwwwwkkkk and kiss ass. Recommended.

You can listen to this artist on SOUNDCLICK

Written by Steve Gilmore