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

Music Review - Elevator Music

FULL DISCLOSURE: THIS IS NOT ACTUALLY MUSIC YOU ARE LIKELY TO HEAR IN AN ELEVATOR!

That said, Elevator Music is a great indie-pop group hailing from the winter worn land of Calgary, Alberta. My first impression, listening to "When We Were Nocturnal" was that these guys could use a little more polish. The instrumentation itself is done well, but the low-fi attitude of it caught me by surprise. Then it began to grow on me. By the end of the self-titled EP, I was loving it. It was a nice throwback to a time when everything wasn't so clean and digitally scrubbed.

There is beauty in simplicity here. The music isn't pointlessly complicated, and, along with the vocals, make for a nostalgic innocence. These songs aren't immature, but they do give that sense of your last summer before college and tall the possibilities that were ahead, and all the pitfalls too (note, this may be heavily influenced by the track "Treason in the Season of Summer").

This EP is highly enjoyable, and a great escape from winter doldrums. Many bonus points for the French version of "Mirabelle".

Where to find them:

• BandCamp


• MySpace


• Facebook

RIYL: The Shins, Phoenix, PlayRadioPlay!

Music Review - Aaron Stoquert

Aaron Stoquert is a musician looking to make a name as a singer/songwriter. A musician of understatement, some might say as they listen to his first EP, Run For Your Life.

While it seems Stoquert is referring to love and lose and the way things take their course in life, I can't help wondering if he's referring to a zombie apocalypse. I know the sample on the opening track, "Bunker Hill" might make it obvious, but I couldn't let myself think such a concept could be so well done, and with such a subtle delivery too.

The delivery is the focus here. Stoquert is a talented musician, technically proficient and creative to not just play the notes. This is really brought out in his voice. I hate to use a cliche term for it, but his voice is soaringly haunting. On each song, I feel transported to the desolate air of the South in the 1930's. He gives a sense of desperation without passion, as if you know everything is lost, and you would love to get it back, but you know the odds...so you won't do a thing. This is especially clear on the track "Pass Me By".

This being his first, I think we can only expect great things from Aaron Stoquert as time passes.

Where to find him:

• the album is downloadable on BandCamp where you can name your price

RIYL: Leonard Cohen, Cursive, Afghan Whigs

Music Review - Kids Icarus

People have talked for a long time about whether or not the genre of emo (or emo-punk to be even more specific) is dead. Well, Kids Icarus vote no. I vote no with them.

Their self-titled EP brings me back to basement parties circa mid-90's, a time before rocking hard and singing great lyrics made you emo, not wearing tight jeans and shopping at Hot Topic (once upon a time, kiddies, emo wasn't a bad word).

In it's simplest terms, Kids Icarus is a 5-piece, made of crushing percussion, amazing vocals, bright and soaring harmonies, tight basslines, and guitars that will rip your damn face-off. The band kicks it off fast with the no-holds-barred "It's on Me". Probably the simplest song in the group of four on this EP, but a great anthemic start to get the listener interested. The real shiner, though, is "Monster". Great lyrics, hard dissonant beat structures and crushing guitars. That's what this game is about.

The only short coming here...it's only four songs long. C'mon, Kids Icarus...give us more...soon!

Where to find them:

• BandCamp


• Twitter


• Apparently in Connecticut...a state I can't say correctly


• Facebook

Note - Special thanks go out to Athletics for tweeting about this and bringing it to my attention.

RIYL - Kill Creek, Samiam, Gameface

Music Review - Sledding with Tigers

It seems a lot of people can make songs quickly these days. With the advent of sites like SoundCloud, Media Fire, Reverb Nation, and the more obscure YouTube (not sure if you've heard of it), some people seem to think they can just write a quick song and make it available and therefore they are musicians. Let me start by saying this...no, most people are not. But Sledding with Tigers is a bit different.

This week, Sledding with Tigers released The Hill Sheep, a collection of 8 folk-punk songs. If nothing else, SWT writes and releases a lot of songs. But these aren't some basement jams with shitty drum loops and some dude who was told he could sing in Junior High and thinks he still can. These 8 songs are something a lot of those quick-release basement singers are missing: honest.

It seems the biggest part of this massive honesty is the lead singer's ability to almost laugh at himself when he realizes what he's talking about is something everyone goes through yet is a ridiculous situation we should all be able to overcome. But no one can, everyone has been there, and it isn't going to change.

The Hill Sheep breaks a bit from the previous release No Randy No in that there is some new instrumentation (a violin, or fiddle for you hipsters out there, for one thing), some more subtle tonality changes, and a more dynamic vocal range. What hasn't changed are the great group vocalizations that make you want to start singing along...even before you've learned the words. It seems "sick & tired/sick & tired" is the best examples of this, with a chorus sung behind the main chorus...utterly brilliant when you consider this is mostly one vocal with an acoustic guitar.

This a great album to usher in the end of the year and welcome the new one. With an upbeat feel even in the songs with awkward moments ("5432 Fun"), the only negative I can find is it only being 8 songs long. Luckily, with this continued free-distribution paradigm moving forward, we won't wait too long for more good tunes from Sledding with Tigers.

Where to find them:

• Media Fire


• a few tracks from The Hill Sheep and other albums are on YouTube


• Shows and new songs and releases are always announced on the Sledding With Tigers Twitter Feed

RIYL: Matt Pond PA, Bright Eyes, Sinners Repent!