Music Review - The Dead Milkmen - The King in Yellow

It has been 16 years since we've had something new from The Dead Milkmen. That changed recently, with the digital only release of The King in Yellow. To say this is an exciting release would be an understatement, but it begs the question, are we excited about the nostalgic possibilities, or the music?

The first thing I noticed when listening to through the songs was the production quality. I listened to some old Dead Milkmen afterward and got the impression they were four dudes with 3 microphones in an attic recording. It didn't diminish the music, but it is what I expected to hear again. The songs on King are more polished, the drums come through clearly without that classic twang on the snare, the other instruments are nicely balanced and the vocals are clear and easy to hear. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does take away from the nostalgia. The songs themselves, however, will bring it back.

While not every song is going to bring back visions of cruising in the back of your friend's Ford Tempo on the way to Ocean City, NJ in the summer of your 19th year, some of them will. There is still some intelligently veiled social commentary - especially on songs like "Fauxhemia" that takes issue with pop music and "Meaningless Upbeat Happy Song" which takes more issue with the "culture of fear", and some general Dead Milkmen wackiness can be found on "Melora Says", it's pretty clear these guys have gotten a little older. The album is fun to listen to, if a little slower on most tracks tan expected of the Dead Milkmen.

When all is said and done, it's worth the download. It brings back some memories and reminds us all that this world is full of people who look a lot like Gavin MacLeod.

Where to find them:

• The Dead Milkmen Website is currently the only place to get it


• Their back catalog is available on iTunes

RIYL: Ween, The Descendants, They Might be Giants

Music Review - Childish Gambino - Self-titled EP

Hip-hop is not dead. It just took a television star to remind us that it could be good again.

Most people know Childish Gambino as Troy from Community. And it can't be denied that Donald Glover is a brilliant comedic actor. So I wasn't sure what to think when I heard he was dropping a hip-hop album. I mean, Chris Rock had a hip-hop album once, but it was all comedy. Not so with Childish Gambino.

This self-titled EP is ridiculously thick with some of the best lyrical combinations unleashed by any rapper in recent years (I had to pause "Freaks and Geeks" and rewind just hear him say "In the back of the bush/Like Gavin Rossdale's drummer" on more time). The talent isn't just in the ability to rhyme and deliver either.

If Childish Gambino wanted to release an R&B album with just singing, no rhyming, he would still be successful. This album is funny, without being strictly comedic (some parts are funny, but that doesn't seem to be the intent overall), emotionally open without being soft, and tight as a hip-hop record can be. Makes you wonder, is there anything this guy can't do well?

Sadly, only 5 songs though. Hopefully we'll get more tunes soon.

Where to find him:

• MediaFire


• Donald Glover's website

RIYL: Jay-Z, Das EFX, Eminem

Retro Review - Kill Creek - St. Valentine's Garage

For a change of pace, I thought it might be enjoyable to review an album that isn't quite as recent as many review sites. Kill Creek's St. Valentine's Garage is an album my friends and I discovered in the warm summer of 1995. The album itself was released, independently on a tiny label called Mammoth and crept to the east coast between it's release in 1994 and when we stumbled upon it. Then everything changed.

This album is a pre-cursor to nearly everything called emo that came from the midwest in the years afterwards. Searing guitars, driving drums, solid bass work, and vocals able to drive you made with the passion coming through (every song is realatable). With songs of loss ("Kelly's Dead", "Funeral") to songs of relationships failing and the desperation in trying ("Fruit Pie", "Gett On"), this album incorporates the post-teenage/not-quite-adult mindset in a way that makes the songs still relevant today.

Produced by the now legendary Ed Rose, St. Valentine's Garage is still a great listen to this day. Powerful and evocative but sadly, obscure and somewhat left behind. If bands had the intensity, integrity, and naive honesty presented here, music would be in a much better state today.

Where to find them:

• their homespun web site


• iTunes

RIYL: The GetUp Kids, Cursive, At the Drive-In