Modest Mouse -Strangers To Ourselves

It’s been some eight years since Isaac Brock and company released We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.  So it goes without saying the anticipation for Strangers To Ourselves was very high.  In no way does it disappoint.  Whether you are a fan from their indie days in the nineties or “Float On” set you adrift to Modest Mouse, there is something for everyone.  Kicking things off is “Strangers To Ourselves” with it’s very slow and moody rhythm highlighted by some beautiful string arrangements.  The lyrics seem to narrate the tale of space travelers awaking form a long slumber, lucky to have forgotten the past so they can look to the future.  Metaphor for the lengthy time between releases or the adventure the listener is about to take?  Either way, it’s a great way to start off the album.  The lead single, “Lampshades On Fire” picks up the mood very quickly.  Very similar in the vein of “Float On,” this is the perfect song to let everyone know Modest Mouse is back and they brought some new tricks with them.  Catchy sing along harmonies accompany the choruses, it’s easy to see why listeners are eating this song up.  One of my favorites, “Shit In Your Cut” harkens back to The Lonesome Crowded West. Peppered with experimental sounds, Brock is at his storytelling best while the rhythm is very deliberately apologetic as the words.  Then things get strange, even for Modest Mouse.  “Pistol” utilizes some distorted vocals, a common theme at times on Strangers, and almost feels like a potshot aimed toward current hip-hop.  The pistol needing unloaded is easily a euphemism for a dick.  Musically, the song is fun and catchy with it’s heavy emphasis on bass, but the distorted vocals takes something away from the song.   “Ansel” has a very Good News For People Who Love Bad News era sound.  Deep philosophical lyrics “you can’t know well you won’t ever know, would you really want to know” get entangled with quasi-reggae percussion.  It isn’t a standout track, but it’s one that is hard to forget.  Another one of my favorites, “The Ground Walks, With Time In A Box” has hints of “Spitting Venom” with it’s length and beat.  The lyrics are fast, but the music oscillates back and forth never letting the listener disengage from the song.  I’ve probably listened to this song the most and every time I hear something new.  “Coyotes” sounds like The Moon & Antarctica has been refreshed for the new millennium.  The words paint humans as monsters, but the music is so beautiful it’s hard to believe the words ring true.  Another solid piece, “Pups To Dust” keeps the same vibe as “Ansel” and “Coyotes;” enjoyable and peaceful.  I would be shocked if “Sugar Boats” doesn’t wind up the biggest single with it’s nautical meets cabaret sounds and occasional horns.  Think “Dashboard” meets “Float On” in a very fun sort of mash up.  “Wicked Campaign” adds to the experimentation with it’s synth driven sound.  The words sound political from the common man’s perspective, but with hints of dogmatic brainwashing.  Juxtaposed with “Be Brave,” you have conformity against rebellion.  “Be Brave” leaves the synth sound behind in favor of heavy guitars and chanting lyrics to lead the rebellion.  “God Is An Indian And You’re An Asshole” completely changes the sound with it’s banjo-country-comical lyrics “God is an Indian and you’re an asshole get on your horse and ride” repeated over and over.  Another album highlight, “The Tortoise And The Tourist” is Modest Mouse at it’s guitar driven best.  Soft vocals with screaming vocals telling the story of ghosts and tortoises, you feel like this is the reaction of the space travelers from the opener realizing that they aren’t travelers but ghosts seeing the world anew.  Playing those two tracks together feels like they were meant to be one song.  Following that up is another great song in “The Best Room.”  Mellow choruses with heavy verses, lots of tempo changes and more adventure telling lyrics.  This is the kind of song you play to someone who has never heard Modest Mouse to show them what they are all about.  Being the perfect story teller that Brock is, “Of Course We Know” closes out the album perfectly with it’s near lullaby sound chanting “lord lay down your only soul” before a piano solo fades out to end Strangers To Ourselves.  While it took eight years to get this album, it was well worth the wait. And good news for people who like good news, the back of the album reads “The Golden Casket Vol 1,” indicating that this is hopefully only the beginning!

Red Hot Chili Peppers -One Hot Minute

Sometimes considered the bastard child of all Chili Peppers albums, 1995’s One Hot Minute deserves a lot more love than what it usually receives.  This was the follow up to their career defining Blood Sugar Sex Magik release, sans guitarist John Frusciante.  As the story goes, success changed Frusciante in ways that made it unable for him to stay in the Peppers.  Around the same time Jane’s Addiction had broken up leaving guitarist Dave Navarro available.  On the surface, this sounded like the perfect marriage of musicians. Long story short, it wasn’t.  But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t produce some enjoyable  music together. Falling back into a Chili Pepper groove, as I am apt to do, I found myself gravitating toward heavier Peppers.  That is where One Hot Minute stands above the rest.  Pepper albums have a tendency to highlight different members of the band.  For One Hot Minute bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith, not Will Ferrell, showcase just how in sync their craft is together.  “Warped” opens the album hitting hard and fast, unlike any Pepper album before it.  The sound feels a bit like Navarro playing a Jane’s Addiction song with a funkier bass line.  Even Anthony Kiedis’s lyrics and vocals are darker, a common theme throughout.  The outro takes you down easy after the intense merry go round with a very mellow rhythmic finish.  Next up is one of my all time favorite Pepper songs; “Aeroplane.”  This song shows all the potential these four musicians had if they would have been able to make it work consistently together.  Beautiful lyrics, the bass and guitar playing off each other, and funky drums makes “Aeroplane” a must hear track for any casual music fan.  One of the more disjoint songs, “Deep Kick” has a spoken opening telling the story of Kiedis and Flea’s youth that slowly melts into a crunching Navarro solo.  Lyrically, the story continues behind the backdrop of Smith and Navarro absolutely turning out one of the Peppers’ heaviest stretches of music before the ending changes tempo and singers.  Flea finishes the lyrics to their autobiographical musical adventure.  The mostly acoustic “My Friends” provides some of the saddest lyrics Kiedis has offered tied to his drug lapse.  While it received lots of radio play, it feels like an example of the four not quite meshing.  “Coffee Shop” feels more punk than funk like a tribute to Iggy and the Stooges, ironically with a the chorus referencing Iggy Pop himself.  Another Pepper first, “Pea” is written and performed by Flea as a “fuck you” to all the hateful people of the world, whose message still rings true today.  Next comes one of the longest songs in the Peppers catalog, “One Big Mob.”  Lyrically, it is all over the place but musically it feels very Navarro influenced.  Lots of heavy to mellow tempo changes, this is one of the rare Pepper songs that fades out as opposed to ending.  In fact, the B-side “Stretch” is the continuation of the song, together spanning nearly thirteen minutes.  For the critics who said Navarro couldn’t play funk only need to listen to “Walkabout.”  Easily the funkiest song to be found on the album, this is the first time you truly hear a similar sound to their previous releases.  The death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 affected the entire musical world, “Tearjerker” was Kiedis’s way of expressing his grief.  A very similar vibe to “My Friends,” except this time it works.  After the musical love letter to Cobain, heavy sounding Peppers are back on “One Hot Minute.”  Another lyrically strange song, Navarro, Flea, and Smith provide a sonic assault that keeps the listen disorientated with it’s out of time rhythms.  Of all the songs Navarro wrote as a Pepper, “Falling Into Grace” sounds like it could have been on Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual De Lo Habitual with it’s Zen-like vibe, except you hear Anthony’s voice instead of Perry’s.  Definitely a song that requires multiple listens to hear all the layers.  If you take “Power Of Equality” and add Rage Against The Machine angst, you get “Shallow Be Thy Game,” another favorite of mine.  Peppers with attitude, this song is another example of what did go right with Navarro in the band.  Finishing this unique Pepper experience is another hard hitting number, “Transcending.”  Starting mellow and very bass guitar driven, each verse adds heavier layers building slowly to an intense “in a loving stream” repeated finale.  Is One Hot Minute the greatest Peppers album?  No, but it isn’t the worst either.  Many younger listeners know very little of this album due to the band not playing any of the songs live after Frusciante rejoined the band back in 1999.  If you read my review of one of Frusciante’s albums, you know my love of all things John, especially in the Peppers.  However, Navarro did bring a different flavor to the Peppers and if you can listen to it as a separate entity, there is plenty of enjoyable Pepper to be found with Dave Navarro on One Hot Minute.

Rob Zombie -Spookshow International Live

Rob Zombie, the busiest man in all industries, just released his second live album, Spookshow International Live. While working on finishing another new album due out later this year, a new film and touring, Zombie and company gives us a taste as to what his fans should be looking forward to in 2015.  So what makes this live album better than Zombie Live?  Having been surrounded by some extremely talented musicians in guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D and drummer Ginger Fish, Rob Zombie has become less the individual and more the band.  That connection is on full display with this release.  Nineteen tracks ranging his entire career, there are some real highlights for Zombie fans.  Kicking off the set with an intense version of “Teenage Nosferatu Pussy,” the stage is set for a rock horror classic.  In recent years, Zombie has toned down the stage act a bit and focused more on the sound.  This is most noticeable in the sound to some of his earlier solo work.  “Superbeast,” “Meet The Creeper,” “Never Gonna Stop,” and “Dragula” sound refreshingly new with Fish keeping time and 5 bringing to life the sounds from the studio versions. “Demonoid Phenomenon” might be the pulse-pounding highlight of his earlier work on this set.  The only downer for me was “Living Dead Girl.”  This version sounded like it was missing something, like it was stripped down, but not in a good way.  “Dead City Radio” sounds even better here than it does on Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, and it already sounded pretty damn good there.  While I have never been a fan of the original, Zombie makes me care with his cover of “We’re An American Band.”  Both White Zombie songs here, “More Human Than Human” and “Thunderkiss ’65,” sound like they are still fun to play live even though they are twenty some years old.  Especially “Thunderkiss ’65.”  Easily my favorite White Zombie song, this live version has the heart-pounding rush that makes you want to start the mosh pit along with a little extra right before the final verse.  John 5 has a senses shattering shredding guitar solo, which sounds like one of his solo pieces, that the listener gets completely absorbed into.  Then, just when you forgot that this all started with “Thunderkiss,” they go right back into it with a big finish. Perfectly execute and electric, this is how Zombie was meant to sound!  They close out this intense show with “Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga,” one of my favorites from Vendor.  Overall, if you are a Rob Zombie, you probably already have it, but if you are looking for a great live album to get your heart racing, get Spookshow International Live!