The Brains - Self Titled

Artist: The Brains

Album: Self Titled

Label: Stomp Records

Read the review at thepunksite.com

Dead Vampires - A Day After Halloween

Artist: Dead Vampires

Album: The Day After Halloween

Label: Robot Monster

Over the course of a year or two, Robot Monster records sprung up and signed a handful of the most consistent underground horror punk bands around.  From up and coming horror greats The Epidemic to the firmly established American Werewolves, Robot Monster is fast becoming a name for quality in the horror punk community.  Their latest signing, Seattle's Dead Vampires, fits naturally in their growing catalogue.  Back in 2007 the band released a rather unremarkable debut, We Are the Dead Vampires.  While the strong bass and interesting use of electronic sounds showed promise, they were clearly still finding their sound.  But with their Robot Monster debut, The Day After Halloween, the Dead Vampires have unearthed a winning formula.

While horror punk binds each song together, The Day After Halloween finds the band also drawing upon cleanly executed garage rock for new inspiration.  Vocalist, "DOC," uses a strong, throaty projection immediately comparable to Son of Sam's Ian Thorne.  DOC's voice varies between songs, and he tactfully lets his band's 50's horror inspiration seep into his vocal delivery.  For example, in "Dead End Drive-In" and "Dead and Blue" DOC uses a distinct rockabilly croon commonly found in psychobilly acts.  The effect feels natural because of the faint rockabilly rhythms permeating each track.  In many ways Dead Vampires are not particularly original, but like I've said many times, innovation in horror punk does not necessarily determine quality.  Every band can't invent horror punk like The Misfits.  Rather, a band's ability to harness and balance horror themes with a sound musical foundation seems like a fairer benchmark.  On these accounts Dead Vampires meet and exceed expectations.  One way the band captures this essence is through the addition of a synthesizer and theremin.  The effect makes the band comparable to California's Order Of The Fly since both instruments help maintain an erie album continuity.

Lyrically the band fits in with their peers, with vampires, zombies, and blood defining every track.  But Dead Vampires have a welcome lyrical playfulness that separate them from the pack.  For example, in "Coffin Rocket," a song about hitting the road after dark, DOC sings "I feel a change, I feel it deep inside my veins/I'll turn my blood to gas, bring it out in flames."  And in "Abra Cadaver" he humorously sings about Armageddon from a child's perspective: "Oh daddy, I'm going batty, there's a dead man in the windowsill/oh mommy, I'm getting crabby, don't you have some kind of pill?"  So while the content remains familiar, smart, subtle quirks produce memorable songs and lively content.

With The Day After Halloween, Dead Vampires have proven themselves more than capable of creating well balanced horror punk.  Through their quick wit and a little help from a moody synthesizer, Dead Vampires have set a high bar for horror punk in 2009.

Joel Plaskett - Three

Artist: Joel Plaskett

Album: Three

Label: Maple Music Recordings

After releasing the ambitious indie narrative Ashtray Rock in 2007, Canadian indie-folk favourite Joel Plaskett returns in 2009 with an even more ambitious project. His new album, or should I say albums, is a triple disc release appropriately titled “Three.” Not unexpectedly three is the reoccurring theme that binds the album together. Song names, lyrics, and even track numbers all somehow relate back to multiples of “three.” Some song names, like “Wait, Wait, Wait” and “Shine On, Shine On, Shine, On” involve words or phrases repeated three times, while songs themselves reference common concepts like how “good things come in threes,” or references to turning thirty-three years old. Taking it further, each disc intentionally consists of nine songs.  It’s an interesting theme with an unclear, yet intriguing purpose.

But the most pressing question for a release of this magnitude is one of quality vs quantity. How much Plaskett can one man take?  And how much originality can Plaskett muster into 27 songs?  As I soon found out, quite a bit on both accounts. Each disc has its own distinct personality, and because the first two discs barely push thirty minutes, the distinctions provide just enough variety for keeping things fresh.

The first disc has an undeniably classic Plaskett sound. Like in his other solo outings, such as La De Da and Truthfully Truthfully, Plaskett lets his folk roots guide him. For the first disc he sounds like a folkier version of pre-Changing Horses era Ben Kweller, but with his usual Neutral Milk Hotel-esque vocals. Plaskett draws upon a variety of instruments and influences as well. Sing along acoustic tracks like “Through & Through & Through” and “Pine, Pine, Pine” feature catchy instrumental flourishes, including short horn bursts and thoughtful violin strokes respectively. But even with the instrumental variety, the first disc defines itself with an ever-present country twang. It’s not overpowering, but the country overtone unquestionably determines the disc’s overall effect, and likely one’s appreciation of Three’s first component.

For the next disc, Plaskett slows things down. The songs have a calm reserved nature, and that country twang has been replaced by a sleepy smoothness. While many of the same instruments stick around for disc two, most notably the violin, they now hold different purposes. The once jovial violin now produces long sorrow-filled strokes, and Plaskett now strums his guitar with reserve. New instruments like the piccolo surface early in the disc, producing a multidimensional, low-key atmosphere. There is also an overarching east coast maritime feel to the disc. Specifically, “Sailor’s Eyes” has a Nova Scotian feel that wouldn’t sound out or place in an album by the region's Tom Fun Orchestra. As a whole, the second disc provides just enough inter-album variation to help listeners through part two.

Just when I was starting tiring of the slow, reserved Plaskett, the third disc began, which through an extended intro, reintroduces the listener to that up-beat, folky twang. In terms of tempo, the third disc strikes a nice balance between the first disc’s poppy delivery, and the second disc’s thoughtful pace. However, the third disk also feels like the least remarkable of the trio, which probably has more to do with its first track starting 18 tracks into this marathon release than a true decline in musicianship. Plaskett concludes the disc with the twelve-minute marathon, “On and On and On,” which in keeping with Three’s theme, has three distinct parts. Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of this song. On the one hand, the song is quite competent, and for all its repetition never really gets old. But at the same time Plaskett really tests his audience – and it’s borderline insulting, and certainly self-indulgent, that Plaskett assumes his audience will sit through a three minute loop of him singing “it goes on and on, on and on, on and on.”

Lyrically, there aren’t any clear themes outside of integrating “three” into every conceivable context. Generally though, the lyrics on the first disc match its jovial, upbeat tempo, and the lyrical content of the second disc correspond with the sorrow-filled atmosphere. Because emotions are tied to the first two discs' moody styles, the integration of the two for the third disc makes it feel like a reconciliation piece.  It's simple and effective, and works because of its subtle execution.

Overall, Plaskett has crafted one of the few triple disc releases that pleases from start to finish.  Even the rather trying twelve minute conclusion fails to detract from enjoying the thematic ninety minute journey that is Three.

Franz Nicolay - Major General

Artist: Franz Nicolay

Album: Major General

Label: Fistolo Records LLC

If I hadn't been told that Franz Nicolay was the backing keyboardist in two of my favourite bands, The Hold Steady and The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Major General would have simply passed me by.  I remember thinking, "well he's just the keyboardist with the oddly kempt mustache, not the brains behind either band, how good could this be?"  Well, as it turns out, quite good.  In fact, after listening to the poetic tales of Major General's lively characters, I'm convinced that Nicolay is an essential players in each of his other bands endeavors.

Many reviewers have compared Major General's song structure to The Hold Steady, and from a face value there's a lot of truth to this.  Songs like "Quiet Where I Lie" and "Confessions of an Ineffective Casanova" find Nicolay speed talking his way through a complex story amidst a backdrop of rock guitars and his signature keyboard.  Nicolay's voice however, couldn't be more different from The Hold Steady's Craig Finn.  Where Finn channels a sloppy, near-drunkenness, Nicolay croons his way through the tracks with a punk intensity and tone reminicent of cabaret punk group The World/Inferno Friendship Society's Jack Terricloth.  In fact, Nicolay's The World/Inferno Friendship Society persona shapes Major General just as much as his Hold Steady self.  Pariticularly, this influence shines through on slower tracks.  For example, Nicolay uses unconventional instruments like a banjo on "Hey Dad!" and recorder/clarinet on "Do We Not Live in Dreams?"  Even the piano on "Dead Sailors" creates a moody cabaret atmosphere instantly comparable to The World/Inferno Friendship Society.  

As for the lyrics, I'm not going to pretend to understand half of the things Nicolay says.  Don't get me wrong, his songs each have a brilliant over arching thematic logic, but many of his references are very personal or specific.  For example, The album's opener, "Jeff Penalty (featuring Demander)," gives apologetic nod to the Dead Kennedys' 2003-2008 lead vocalist after his falling out with the band.  But unless you know the history of and the politics surrounding Jeff Penalty, the song's intension is not clear.  That being said, I still found the song quite deep, even without initial knowledge about Penalty - which is a testament to the strength of Nicolay's narratives.  Nicolay also has a few interesting introspective pieces, including "Confessions of an Ineffective Casanova," where he places his own first name in the song's first line.  The song details a deeply personal experience, as well as provides a survey of various influential characters in his personal life, assumedly including a nod to the colourful crew making up The World/Inferno Friendship Society.  Because of the poetic delivery and great honesty in his songs, Nicolay comes across as sincere, rather than self indulgent.

Major General seamlessly mixes Nicolay's influences, combining the cabaret influences of The World/Inferno Friendship Society with The Hold Steady's old fashioned rock sound.  In other words, both styles compliment each other by providing a full spectrum of instruments and tempos.  Combined with lyrics and themes that will take most listeners countless listens to unpack, Major General has given me a deep respect for that "keyboardsist with the oddly kempt mustache."