Electric Six
Heartbeats & Brainwaves
Metropolis Records
8/10

With Electric Six’s Heartbeats & Brainwaves—the disco-punk-metal’s eighth album in nine years—the Detroit-based sextet may not break any new ground, but therein lays their charm. Arguably the most prolific band in existence right now, singer Dick Valentine and his five cohorts are content to crank out their brand of earnest inanity, and they aren’t all that interested in changing up their formula for broader appeal; one gets the impression their flirtation with the mainstream at the outset of their career was enough for them. They’re something …

Tom Waits
Bad As Me
Anti- Records

It would be a misnomer to say Tom Waits is aging like a fine wine. Yeah, he gets better with age and other such platitudes, but likening his continuing evolution to the maturation of a barrel of whiskey is more apt—warm, rich, and full of earthy undertones that leave the imbiber reeling. Bad As Me, his first album of original material since 2004, exemplifies the analogy.
At age 61, the maestro of conjuring melody from junkyard clatter, sideshow soundscapes, and barstool serenades has released his most concise …

Star Fucking Hipsters
From The Dumpster To The Grave
Fat Wreck Chords
2/10
Oh, shut up. “From the Dumpster To The Grave?” REALLY? You would think that after a few decades, the socially-conscious arm of the punk movement would have something new to offer. But, I guess we’re stuck with the same contrived, cliche bullshit that does nothing to forward any kind of change towards the system that SFH loves to bitch about. Yes, yes, “the system,” “the Vietnam War,” “bitching about Christianity,” I GET IT. At least the riffs are decent, so if …

Since the first album I ever bought with my own money was “Weird Al” Yankovic’s The Food Album, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve always enjoyed a good accordion line. See what happen’s when Portland’s Jack Heart Jackie invade a San Francisco piano store.

Tidelands
If…
Self-released
7/10
Goddamn, reviewing depressing music is depressing, even if it IS really good. Tidelands’ If… is really good. With Gabriel Leis’ droning baritone and a barrage of orchestration, Tidelands weaves tales that are full, if not a bit melancholy, and at times, fairly chaotic. How they got all that to work together is beyond me, but I’m not going to ask too many questions. I WAS gonna try to clean my room while listening to it, but it lends itself to reading a book far more than it does to being …

Devo
with The English Beat and Tom Tom Club
San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino
August 4th, 2011
As a child of the 80s, I was pretty fucking stoked to see The English Beat and Devo. Together. With The Tom Tom Club clogging up valuable stage time in between. I was even a bit more excited to see that the show was at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, which is all of 8 minutes away from me. Then I discover that the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino has …

Sublime With Rome
Yours Truly
Fueled By Ramen
8/10
So, the first new Sublime album since Brad Nowell’s untimely death is… fucking good. While I hate, HATE, that it’s called “Sublime with Rome” versus, you know, a new fucking name, I can’t stop myself from humming along to this shit. Seriously. It’s not “Journey with that Filipino dude,” or “Guns N Roses W/O Slash.” I know that they were hampered by a lawsuit involving the name, but pick something new, guys. While obviously lacking any references to Louie Dog, Sublime with …

So, some of you may be familiar with our Haiku Reviews, which are meant simply to help us catch up on the back log of records we’re supposed to review. Well, this is a group of records I also wanted to get covered, but I had a bit more to say about them. Now, with a variety of beers, Iron Chef on mute and some drunk texting, I present: The Racket Teenage Poetry Review Corner.
City And Colour
Little Hell
Vagrant Records
9/10
He is sad.
I am sad.
He makes me sad.
I am happy …

Jim Bianco
LOUDMOUTH
10/10
Bars across America need a new anthem, and Jim Bianco’s first track off of LOUDMOUTH is the solution.  With lyrics about the fun life you led and no matter the outcome, classic rock style drums, and just enough mandolin to bring out the Irish drunk in everyone, “Sinners” is sure to have everyone, sinner or not, singing.  Jim Bianco is full of wit, heartbreak, lust, comedy, and fun, but all with a great amount of honesty.  “But I Still Want You” tells the truth of something we’ve all been …

Tommy Simms
Then The Archers Bowed and Broke Their Bows
8/10
Man, someone REALLY enjoyed their parents’ record collection, didn’t they? That someone was Tommy Simms, vocalist for Win Win Winter and the scruffier of the Simms siblings involved in Automatic Loveletter. His solo release separates himself from the Warped Tour crowd and finds himself much more at home at Woodstock. The original one, you know, the one with the metric tons of marijuana, topless hippies and free love. Not the one with fucking Metallica, riots and rapes.
I’ve been sitting at my computer, …

Corinne Bailey Rae
The Love EP
Capitol Records
6.5/10
While I’m not usually a fan of cover songs (let alone cover albums…painful), Corinne Bailey Rae’s The Love EP isn’t too bad.  The singer-songwriter takes a stab at putting her own twist on some famous love songs from the past.
The EP opened rather weak with “I Wanna Be Your Lover” originally recorded by Prince.  A synth took over a lot of the instruments of the original, which made the song more cheesy and not really much of a cover at all, as it sounded very …

Charles Manson
Air
Magic Bullet Records
4.5/10
Air is the first of a four part series (ATWA – Air, Trees, Water, Animals) that is currently being released by Charles Manson on Magic Bullet Recordings.  Talk about lo-fi recordings; this is the lowest of lo-fi. It sounds like he was given a $10 tape recorder, took it to his prison cell, and went at it with his guitar (and although I couldn’t find a definite answer, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was how it was recorded).
Musically, the sitting-on-a-porch blues of an acoustic guitar and …

The Heat Tape
Raccoon Valley Recordings
10/10
Raccoon Valley Recordings is the debut album from The Heat Tape, and man do they get the adrenaline going!  When I took a first run through of the album I thought, “What kind of cheap wannabe punk shit is this!?” In all reality, just the way it was recorded was unexpected.  With how easy home recording can be and the advances in it as well, I expect a half way decent sound out of anything I listen to. But after a second listen I fell in …

Let England Shake
PJ Harvey
Vagrant Records
8/10
PJ Harvey released Let England Shake, her latest in a long line of records.  Admittedly, this is my introduction to PJ. Yes I know, I’m a bad person.  I was impressed to say the least.  Her otherworldly croon recalled a tighter Blonde Redhead.  Blonde Redhead, but not PJ? What a n00b.  Yeah, I KNOW.  I KNOW okay?  Her earnest songwriting and interesting melodies won my heart.  And she’s forty? I said a gat damn.  Not as much of a drastic change in sound as her previous …

The Measure (SA)
Notes
            The Measure (SA)’s new album Notes has easily been one of my most anticipated releases of 2010 and quite honestly it was everything I expected it to be. A fun, energetic punk album fueled by sincere and powerful lyrics.
            Lauren has easily become one of my favorite lyricists over the past few years and on Notes she doesn’t disappoint. Present is her brand of powerfully descriptive lyrics that place the listener in her own shoes to the point you can almost feel the social awkwardness first hand. …

Crawl Babies
Crawl Babies EP
5/10
I’m pretty much 50/50 with my liking of Crawl Babies.  They’re good but their style of music is just over done and been around for a long time now (slow indie rock with overuse of concert hall reverb).  One small thing I did like were the guitar licks that had a surf rock influence sound to them, as heard in the EP’s opener “Ginger’s Gone.” Unfortunately, other than that, there isn’t much to this band.  Again, they’re good and I like it, but there isn’t anything that …