From the opening acoustic strums of Shoulders of Giants's self-titled debut (2010 – self released), listeners get a good sense of what they're in for throughout the entirety of the album.  The introductory song “Code of a Madman” spirals in with a few layers of acoustic guitar, equally acoustic bass and skittering mid-tempo rock drumming.  Much of what is to follow adheres to a similar form, each track taking on slight stylistic touches to set them apart from falling into inherent sameness.  Overall, the ever present acoustic guitar and the particular style of David Wilke's drum fills makes much of the album seem burdened with a Dave Matthews Band overtone which could be off-putting to those not predisposed to that particular take on rock. 

Brad Hammond, one half of the NYC based violin and guitar duo Brazz Tree as well the songwriter behind Shoulders of Giants, is certainly skilled at what he does.  The deft guitar work serving as the spine of “Above The Crowd” is certainly something played by a man who, as Brad seems to be from his reputation, someone who understands the complexity of the guitar.  Overall the album stays pretty relaxed; even with “Alive,” one of the more aggressive songs on Shoulders of Giants, the pinnacle is only fueled by a brief, electric guitar squawl accompanying a later chorus. As the album never really gets the blood rising for too long, it seems the goal of Shoulders of Giants is to keep it mellow.  The finer moments on the album embrace that calm fully and incorporate a delicate swell of cello, provided by Marika Hughes.  This affords the music a beneficial depth, particularly with the somber “Through It All.”  The added warmth that the instrument brings helps fend the album's acoustic domination.

For what shortcomings the album has, it is smartly produced.  Each new element added to the base stew of drums, guitar and vocals is treated well, as with the subtle keyboards in “Pain is our Measure” and the aforementioned cello.  Shoulders of Giants fall close in tone to indie rock successes The Dodos, but the difference lies in where each band finds their influences.  The shortfall of this band is that it feels like they're pulling from less unconventional references, with Tom Crowley's sometimes plainted vocals and the straightforward drumming.  There are definitely people that this will appeal to, as the aesthetic at work speaks to an era of acoustic guitar rock that rests in the past.

Shoulders of Giants finds enough variations on the midtempo acoustic form to keep from getting stale over the course of its 28 minute runtime.  Those who gravitate to their sound with little effort will find a smartly produced record that will sate their needs for acoustic jams to accompany their contemplative moments, but it might be a harder sell for those seeking something different. 

Girls in Trouble, an acoustic folk act with some vague religious references in their lyrics, describe themselves as “post biblical art pop.” They’re a four-piece led by singer/songwriter Alicia Jo Rabins (who also plays violin in the klezmer punk band Golem) with two acoustic guitars, upright bass, drums, and accordion, and I saw them at Café Orwell in Bushwick. Musically they have a variety of influences, on the surface basically sounding like a mainstream alt-rock act, although the accordion and upright bass provided for something of a klezmer/middle eastern feel and melodies, especially on songs like “I Was A Desert,” which has a very spacious feel and opens with an epic drum intro. Lyrically the band has religious undertones, with most of the songs being told from the perspective of women in the bible, though most aren’t overtly obvious. Rabins originally started the band as part of a college thesis, and she has said in an interview with Canadian newspaper The National Post that she was attracted to many of the biblical themes more from a literary perspective than anything, and ended up incorporating them into her music. The variety of sounds in their music created a unique feel that made the performance quit engaging, and the lyrical content worked well for dramatic and aesthetic purposes.

Every once in a blue moon, for some inexplicable reason, the Gods christen a nerdy white boy a talented MC, blessing him with tremendous skills on the mic and unparalleled showmanship.  It’s a universal phenomenon that can’t be explained, but we don’t bother to question it because usually it’s just too much damn fun to watch.  Such is the case with Jack Brown and the remaining members of Sophistafunk, a Syracuse band “where old school meets the new school.”

But don’t be hesitant; there is plenty of validity to that aforementioned statement.  MC Jack, keyboardist extraordinaire Adam Gold, and natural born drummer Emanuel Washington know their history – blending 1960s fusion with 70s funk and 80s hip-hop into something that is irrefutably cool without the need for words like retro or nostalgia.  On top of their instrumental duties, which are the lifeblood of this group, Gold and Washington also provide backing vocals, creating a dialogue between themselves and Brown that settles nicely over their tasty grooves.  And, when coupled with the stage presence of all three members, Sophistafunk becomes a true performance band.        

The band recently graced the stage at Mexicali Blues, giving the crowd an experience that won’t soon be forgotten.  Gold and Washington set the mood with a pitch-perfect fusion-influenced instrumental before Brown, clad in a red sports coat and fedora, made his way onto the stage for a funked-up version of Rage Against The Machine’s “Renegades of Funk.”  The trio never looked back from there as they blazed through tracks from their previously-released EP – “Livin’ To Rock,” “Colors (Remix),” and “Big Bad Bouts” to name a few – as well as cuts from their forthcoming album – “Wild Out,” “Lyrical Guide,” and “Hard Enough.”  They also paid homage to their funk-hop forefathers in OutKast with a medley that featured Gold on the vocoder.         
As the set progressed, the population on the dance floor grew in size and in life.  By the end of the night, it became apparent that onlookers both familiar and unfamiliar were mesmerized by the rhythms and lyrical flow of Sophistafunk.  Brown said after the show, “I make the kind of music that I want to hear that no one else is making.”  Thankfully, the music that he wants to hear is very good, and, thankfully, he is sharing it with all of us.  I do believe the Gods are smiling. 

I once described the sound of NOOE – the former NeveroddoreveN – to a new listener as “feel good music that doesn’t insult your intelligence.”  Well, with no offense intended to my former self, that slogan is both verbose and, a year later, outdated.  This band once specialized in a very distinctive breed of rock that was as heady as it was edgy and where the individual talents of the musicians were highlighted.  But since then, it has become apparent they are no longer that same band.  Having matured beyond their attempts to write the most grandiose songs possible and transformed into a collective being that creates some of the most inventive rock songs not being heard by the masses, NOOE will now be referred to by this reviewer as a great rock band that is constantly getting better.

NOOE has spent the better part of the past year flying under the radar of the mainstream and growing into veterans of the northern New Jersey underground.  They have brought their pummeling brand of funky blues/rock to venues such as New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom, the Stone Pony and New York’s Sullivan Hall.  They have also developed a knack for turning heads and perking up ears wherever they go.  The reason for this is simple – NOOE doesn’t have off nights.  Even when they are playing to a crowd of one or just rehearsing, this band seems incapable of phoning it in.  Singer/guitarist Jared Wohl, lead guitarist Joe Bonasorte, bassist Justin Rudolph and drummer Kyle Gagliardi are almost constantly locked in, both individually and cohesively.    

Their latest date at the famed Mexicali Blues in Teaneck, NJ was proof of just that.  The band pulled out songs from either end of their catalogue – including old favorite “Heaviest Lights” and the show-stopping “Crimson” – as well as a classic track from someone else’s collection, a blistering cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.”  Their newest track, the yet-to-be-recorded “Next In Line,” might very well be their best performance to date.  Described by lead guitarist Joe Bonasorte as “more straightforward rock,” “Line” found the band pushing themselves within their comfort zone, as opposed to beyond it, and it has resulted in a song that left the crowd screaming and applauding for several minutes after.    

Even a mechanical mishap like a broken string during “Crimson” didn’t derail the set, as Bonasorte capably soloed right on through it and finished the song and the set.  Even with a diminutive turnout due to being booked on the eve of a long holiday weekend, NOOE still played a raucous set and looked like they were having a grand time doing it.  But NOOE, one of New Jersey’s best kept secrets, can only be kept secret for so long, and it seems like only a matter of time before they play one their arena-sized sets to an arena-sized crowd.  No matter how one might define them, that much seems certain.

While the straight world was comfortably snuggled into their easy chairs watching Sandra Bullock win her Oscar, there was something else going on at Glasslands Gallery, something a wee bit more strange and mesmerizing. In small print, the poster read “Dancers! Freaks! Insanity!” But I didn’t read that part. I didn’t think twice about the word Vaudeville, just figured it was another cheap gimmick. Didn’t quite understand the 7 layers part either, but after watching a five-piece band with an electric fiddle played by a man in a top hat, after a few burlesque dancers swiveled around on stage and a few painters dashed paint around, all while several photographers blasted their flashes off like strobe lights, I began to realize the night was not going to be your typical rock show… unless you hung out with Oscar Wilde or maybe some bootleggers in the 20s. Sandra Bullock might have lost her britches or gotten an aneurism. 

The scene was something out of Woody Guthrie’s “House of the Rising Sun,” but more consciously artistic and a lot more psychedelic. It seemed that if I were to go back to Glasslands tomorrow night, the same gang would still be there, still getting wild on the vibes of an artist movement. Because that’s really what this event was: an invitation for freaks and artists and dancers alike to get wild, to paint with an audience, to perform to performers.

I asked Neil Matharoo, leader for The Vanguard Villains and architect of the night, what the deal was with this dancer who had started flailing around and half stripping during his set. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled: “I have no idea. I don’t even know who that was. The idea behind this night was to create our own scene, our own thing.” With projected dates for the summer in Washington Square Park and some more nights at Glasslands, it is certainly its own trip.

The highlight of the night happened when Kites of Saturn, an electric folk jam band, was deep into a rising climax, a painter, to the left of the stage in front of a four foot canvas, was painting, surprisingly quite well, and a gorgeous burlesque dancer was easing into a more comfortable, more titillating outfit (pictured above). Don’t worry, mother, her nipples were covered with some tassels. Where the line between classy, lewd, trashy and art was drawn might be tough for some uptight lads to handle, but no one was surprised when it happened. It was all part of the night. She had enough fancy fathers and vintage clothing to make it artistic.

The bill included music by Detrimental Semantics, a Bannaroo-ey type jam band, The Vanguard Villans, a poppy, guitar heavy indie band, Kites of Saturn (pictured left), a jammy folk outfit led by the electric fiddle, and a heavier, almost metal indie band Losing You to Tattoos. For more info, check out The Vanguard Villains website.

In a packed, reverberating Santo’s Party House, people all around raised hands slowly, every clap in unison, heads lulled into bobbing back and forth. Some drifted into the ecstasy of synths and drums, others just had a friggin great time. Body Language, by name alone, brings to mind the effect they produce with their techno-pop-rock hybrid: dancing (and also flirting). Their great success is to move butts, both to their gigs, and of course at their gigs. They are like a loud electric lullaby, not rocking you to sleep obviously, but inducing a state that destroys the will to stand still. On top of all that they have the personality of being quirkily timid, sexual, fun, and nonsensical.

The sound is electronic: Matthew Young on pronounced sound through the vocoder, Grant Wheeler on vocals keyboard/synth/talkbox, Angelica Bass on sly vocals and glockenspiel, and Ian Chang as the human drum machine (and vocals). All members are quite serious about their music, in that they play their instruments really well, put on a fantastically energetic show, and friggin love what they’re doing. The audience can feel it as they shout into keyboards, bounce off glockenspiels, clap their hands, and sing all four in unison. The bright feel brings everything a sense of partying, of a night that has just begun, in the right way, and just a little sexual energy. There’s a lot of negative crap out there, but Body Language is on a whole other level. They just might brighten up the day.

They took the stage, the duo, be-flanneled and hairy, singer and guitarist Omer Leibovitz’s worn features circling, bird-like, in front of the microphone, while Layton Weedeman saddled up next to him, nestled by a drumset. Mercury Lounge’s audience filtered in punctually.  Though cold as shit and rainy outside, inside was warm and cozy with fans and friends savoring the raw flavor of blues-burnt rock.

You know them, you love them, because The Courtesy Tier are seasoned performers and musicians, and play together like a no-frills dynamic duo, neither member pushing for the prominent role. Pretty much constant playing is required by both for their rocking symbiosis — Omar provides the thrashy guitars and punk-blues vocals, and Layton the clicking, splashing foundation of drums and vocal harmonies. The vibe was all the more welcoming as the Courtesy Tier sounds pretty mature, because they don’t treat the audience like idiots. They are comfortable presenting their own thing, fine with being themselves onstage, not relying on patronizing shock value or cutesy bullshit.

The set was songs on the short side, lyrics as honest and forthright as their instrumental playing: “I need a friend… I need a friend… I need a friend to show me how to live again.” They capture simple, serious, important feelings that none of us pay particular attention to, and preserve them in concise songs that just get the point across. But they’re not downers either, as each song has a Hendrix-like heaviness and an old school blues influence (often with unison guitar and vocal lines), played with smashing precision. They’re playing at Don Pedros on Feb. 6^th in Brooklyn, recommended!

On a blustery evening at Park Slope’s Tea Lounge, Zevious broke out the videogame metal/jazz with nightmarish intensity. The thorny trio is a brainchild of Mike Eber, Jeff Eber, and John Deblase, but while conceiving of music that is difficult, dissonant, and dense may sound easy, the actual performance is a different beast. And Zevious is beastly — they executed every odd measure, polyrhythm, and wild polytonality masterfully. Audience members peered in wonder over their laptops as Zevious melted faces with creative grooves.

It would be wrong to say that they are in any particular genre — with apparent jazz and metal influences they straddle two complex realms and point out the similarities. Mike Eber’s stifled electric guitar led the controlled mayhem, occasionally introducing his improvisational voice in fleeting, claustrophobic melodies. The originality of his playing can hardly be done justice here — compositions and improvisations seem to express the witty, devious, and eccentric elements of his personality. He has found a perfect match in his cousin Jeff, who can do absolutely anything to the drums. And the electric bass playing of John Deblase adds an ebullient, dangerous storm of heaviness. 

Zevious has explored the dark side with tremendous results, providing turbulent songs with quirky names (“Coma Cluster,” “Mostly Skulls,” “That Ticket Exploded”) to seduce everyone’s inner demons. Zevious is capable of some heinous shit and unbelievable complexity, but thankfully you don’t have to understand it to be in awe of it.

Brooklyn three-piece Beloved Rogue finds beauty in the simple things.  Last Wednesday at Matchless as part of Jezebel's Resonance, the band showcased their ability to compose minimal yet engaging songs.  Contrasting raw vocal harmonies with experimental guitar solos that sometimes wandered through shoegaze and other times wailed in a psychedelic way, Beloved Rogue added an edge to their chilled-out pop tunes.

Splitting the vocals between guitarist Sean Finnegan’s higher-range and guitarist Alex Koch’s tenor voice served the band well.  Oftentimes singing together but also switching lead, the dual voices offered a change of pace from other indie trios.  Michael Petrucelly provided consistency with his drum lines, sometimes playing a sort of call-and-response with the vocals, but Finnegan’s solos are what carried the set.  His tasteful use of echoes, delays and phase effects brought together various styles and influences, adding a dreamy quality to his guitar riffs.

However, by the end of the set, the tempo swayed and a few harmonies were missed.  It would have been nice to see them go out with a bang, but as they practice more and further develop their style, Beloved Rogue will stake their claim in the Brooklyn scene.

Watch their new video below and check out their website for a free download of their new EP, Polaurora.  Catch them live again next year on February 22nd at Cake Shop.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

One telling thing about the Copenhagen-based duo was the diversity of their crowd. Like their songs and style, the crowd was a mélange of disco betties, hippie flower children (one guy wore a matador shirt with a sunflower tucked behind his ear), and chic ravers with a few hip hop enthusiasts thrown in. Basically, The Asteroids Galaxy Tour has something for everyone. There was a song with jingle bells, one with shakers, several with Lindberg’s sultry voice favoring croons over lyrics. Their slower songs let their jazz roots show while most of their numbers couldn’t be classified as anything but dance tunes. At one point, the band invited hip hopper Vexedlo onto the stage to flow, adding another layer to an already stylistically diverse show. Lindberg shared her mic and Vexedlo leaned into her; it’s during this number she allowed a small smile, the only one during a song, betraying her Indie nonchalance. It was clear they were having a good time. In their last song, “The Golden Age,” the chorus repeated “sing it out loud / let yourself free.” There wasn’t any doubt that the band has followed its own advice.

The best part of seeing The Galaxy Tour live was the shocking quality of Lindberg’s voice. In some of their recordings she sounds tinny, almost whiney, but live, her voice cut through in happy contrast to the muddy mix. There were sound issues at the onset, but she (and the rest of the band) managed to adapt to this and pull it off overall. It was unclear after seeing them live why they wouldn’t go ahead and absorb the musicians into The Galaxy Tour full time because, despite Lindberg’s dynamic stage presence and powerful lyrical styling, it was the accompaniment that really fueled the band’s greatness. They’re not one to be missed next time they’re in the City.