RIP Blossom Dearie

Album Review: Monumental Sonic Architecutre - Monumental Sonic Architecture / Music to Rob Banks To

So apparently there's this band called Monumental Sonic Architecture. Or at least, I think they're (they?) a band, because the back of their self-titled EP credits lyrics to The Evil Genius and music to Topper 3000 respectively. No other aliases are given. Bets are on as to who these people are. Madmen? Criminals? Amateurs? Professionals? In addition to this album, MSA also sent The Blaze a separate EP called Music to Rob Banks To--no credits at all were listed in the liner notes. Possibly even more mysterious is the object being smoked by the unspecified man on the cover of Banks. Is it a joint? A cigarette?

My bet is that it's a cigarette, because MSA doesn't strike me as stoner electronica. They start Music to Rob Banks To with the title track, a short, punchy, grit-sprinkled number that without the lyrics (which are outlaw themed, I should add) might just be suitable for a CSI soundtrack. At least one member of MSA knows how to play the guitar, as this is demonstrated throughout the four-song EP, providing the otherwise cosmic background with some seriously crunchy rhythms alongside some smooth synths. It's almost like electrorock, but MSA plays 70% electronic and only 30% rock. The guitar-playing, though not virtuosic, carries the EP with just the right texture, the jagged edge of a peanut butter face.

If I have a problem with MSA, it's that the vocals don't do anything for the band. I don't want to say that the singer sounds nerdy--because that's not exactly right. I get it--you and a friend wanted to make some ass-kickin' electrorock. You probably took a poll and asked, "Which of us has sweeter pipes?" but it turns out neither of you can sing. Sure, the vocals are passable, but I don't exactly hear you channeling Freddie Mercury, and I wouldn't expect to get famous with a style like that. Singer dude, you kinda remind me of Colin Newman from the band Wire, but not really in a good way. You're like the bastard child of him and Michael Stipe, but you have no range. You really don't. Please understand that before you embarrass yourself in a larger venue.

Moving on to the other release, I understand why MSA chose to roll their songs into two different EPs, rather than one very short album: the Monumental Sonic Architecture EP does not have the same sound as Music to Rob Banks To. To begin with, the mixing and mastering are audibly better on the former release. Everything sounds clearer and crisper (although Banks did not feature lo-fi or amateurish audio quality). Even The Evil Genius sounds better--but only slightly. Another major difference is that the self-titled EP sounds considerably more electronically orientated. Instead of grinding fuzzy rock against offbeat vocals like Banks does, MSA surrounds The Evil Genius with reverb-laden drums, glockenspiels, saw synths, orchestras ans choirs, and beepy-boopy arpeggios. Oh, the guitar riffs still take their place among the madness, but the arrangements are lusher and more spacious.

I have several problems with the saelf-titled EP; among them is short track lengths. There are four songs on the disc, but their total run time is 14.4 minutes. As soon as I being the settle into one song,another takes its place. Also annoying are the vocals--again. They feel restrained, and when I hear a good performance, it always happens on tracks that can't be played on the radio for explicit content. I'm looking at you, "The Diffuser" and "The Bishop." I actually counted the number of euphemisms for excrement uttered in the latter--the count reached 10 in the space of three minutes and twenty-four seconds. That may sound like a paltry figure, but when you're an unknown band with zero radio play, you have no reason to remove yourself from the playing field unless you have a good reason.

Unfortunately, in the case of Monumental Sonic Architecture, I couldn't find one. There's really nothing incredibly special here. Monumental Sonic Architecture is the poor man's alt rock equivalent of The Postal Service, knocked down several notches. Some unknown bands stay unknown for a reason.

Monumental Sonic Architecture and Music to Rob Banks To were releasedi n December of 2008 and can be bought through Amazon and Amie Street.

PB&J tease hungry listeners

Check out a clip from their new music video here. Sounds like fans who dug the last record won't have anything to worry about!

Tempe Music Fest actually a National Guard ad

I wish this were a joke post. Alas, it's not.

One of the Valley's handful of music fests, Tempe Music Fest will blast the birds out of Tempe Beach Park on April 3rd and 4th. And headlining two of the days that could be awesome we have THE Kid Rock, Cowboy Mouth, Roger Clyne, Three Doors Down (srsly? why?) and All-American Rejects.

Who knew the peeps who did those awful movie theater music vids would get so creative with their recruiting tactics? You can torment yourself with them here and here.

Here are some Blazers' top picks for Tempe Music Fest '09 headliners:

The Foo Fighters
MIA
The Strokes
Jimmy Eat World
Feist
Radiohead
N.E.R.D.
Santogold

Imagine for just a sec how awesome even just one of those would be. You imagining it? Kay. Now dash those absurd dreams from your stupid, wishful-thinking, idealistic head.

Whole lotta Lefsetz Insightz

Bob Lefsetz, writer of the famed, sometimes infamous, Lefsetz Letter, recently sent out an update to subscribers with his thoughts on Live Nation's potential merger with Ticketmaster. Here's what from now on I'll call our Lefsetz Insightz of the day:

And the fan is screwed. Consolidation has not helped the fan one bit. Label consolidation reduced the variety of music. Promoter consolidation drove the price of concert tickets sky high. Music itself may be free, but going to the show is a once a year event. And after you've seen the dinosaurs, do you really need to go every year?

Album Review: Owl - Owl

Leave it to the new guy to review the band nobody's ever heard of. While the COTMA regulars get to chew on AC Newman and Los Campesinos, I must, whimpering and shivering for want of food and clothes, accept the self-titled release of Los Angeles band Owl. Then I cry myself to sleep, dreaming of revenge.

I kid, I kid.

Some of the most unexpected joys can be found in listening to a band that neither your nor anyone else on Earth has heard of but still kicks ass. I should know. During my junior and senior years at high school, I reviewed 100 CDs for community radio station KXCI down in Tucson, and some of my favorite artists I discovered in that time. So I'm used to it. That is, I'm used to the beatings and whippings.

Again, I kid.

The first time I listened through Owl, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It was only after subsequent listens that I decided this one thing: Owl refuses to cement its music in one category. While this trio uses hard rock as their base of operations, ignoring the other components of their artistry would do them a disservice, as the band does their best to show off their versatility. From the opening bars of "Charmed," I can hear Owl's roots in Black Sabbath, but the verses give way to a chorus that would sound more at home in a Staind song than a tune by Alice in Chains. Owl muddles in new wave vocals and trials the kind of bratty guitar tones that fill pop-punk refrains in songs like "Alive" and "More on Drugs." The rhythm guitar line that rounds the verses "No Light" recalls Horrorpops on top of the lite metal filler. I'm honestly a bit puzzled by Owl's intentions. Are they trying to push the bar, or merely trying to introduce themselves to the rock world?

What's clear is that Owl tries hard to rock, although I never felt the urge to throw up the horns at any time. (Note: I usually never do.)The press release that came in the mail with the CD did its best to embellish Owl's musical style, because I can tell you that Owl is very certainly not "progressive alternative rockers" as the mailer claims. If Owl is prog rock (pardon me, "alt prog") then Korn is also prog rock and Enon are shoegaze. Nearly every song on the record follows a verse-chorus structure ad infinitum with solos and bridges and whatnot smashed between. Owl just doesn't do any of the theatrics or unusual instrumentation that Yes or Jethro Tull toyed with. Maybe I just don't get this "progressive alternative" rock, but the only thing that seems prog about it are the static swirls and feedback sprinkled sparingly around only a few of the tracks. Owl could be described as Goo Goo Dolls gone Ozzy Osbourne after taking a songwriting class taught by Kaiser Chiefs.

Chris Wyse is the man behind this band. He's a bassist who's established himself by working with The Cult, playing alongside Ozzy Osbourne, and auditioning for Metallica. He wrote almost all of the songs. Sometimes, this album works. Other times, it just annoys me with its self-indulgent "alternative" style. The strings heard on "Alive" just don't fit in with the rest of the CD, and the nonsensical lyrics that run through "More on Drugs" just don't help a song that only rocks half the time and the other half merely acts tough. Honestly, the distorted guitars are the most metal thing about Owl. Wyse's voice, which could be described as Robby Takac's sans nasal passages, or Liam Gallagher with a cigarette habit.

If you love grunge, then Owl will alienate you for half the record. Alt rock fans will feel vaguely uncomfortable for the other half. Indie kids will run away. If you like solid, hard rock then I can recommend this record with extreme caution. It's a good effort by musicians with talent, skill, and experience in the music industry. Unfortunately, Owl makes too many concessions to sound accessible to a greater audience, so they never really flesh out their style. The closest Owl ever gets to hardcore is on the last song, "Waves," when flashes of miscreant tension flirt with primal screams and an alternating pattern of whiny guitar blares and deep guitar grinds. But Owl just can't stay with it, ultimately watering down their debut, making it unpalatable to fans of all the genres they try to bring together. It's unfortunate--this CD could have been a real pleasure if the songwriting had just gone all the way in one direction.

Owl will be released on February 10 by Overit Records.

Coachella Tickets On Sale... Now!

Tickets for Indio, CA's primary source of non-agricultural income went on sale in 5 minutes ago as of this writing. Check out the weirdly unbalanced lineup - why the super stacked day 3? Maybe it's a typo and the people at Goldenvoice understand that MY BLOODY VALENTINE is a little bit better of a headliner than, um, the Killers. I mean, the Killers are at the top of the Bill, but Morrissey is 2nd? I'm thinking the Sunday passes are going to go fast.

Oh yeah, and local heroes Dear and The Headlights are playing on day 1! Go DATH!

Check out live local music on The Basement

Every week I bring in an Arizona band to do an interview and live in-studio performance on my radio show, The Basement. I've got most of my lineup for this semester solidified, and below are the awesome acts I'll have on super soon.

Feb. 8: Kinch, Trains At Night
Feb. 15: Somersault
Feb. 22: Wizards of Time
Mar. 1: Stephen Steinbrink (Formerly French Quarter)
Mar. 22: Stellaluna
Mar. 29: Mostly Bears
Apr. 5: TBA
Apr. 12: TBA
Apr. 19: What Laura Says
Apr. 26: J.D. Stooks
May 3: TBA

The Basement is on The Blaze 1260 AM Sunday nights from 8-10 p.m., with special guests on for the first hour. The second hour consists of all sorts of local music your ears should be hearing.

Mini Tigers will paint you for top friendship

I swear to God, I'm not trying to be an obnoxious loser. BUT. Miniature Tigers have a contest going on currently, and if you win first place, drummer and resident album cover painter Rick Schaier will paint your likeness. How to participate? Follow the following directions:

1. Make Miniature Tigers your top friend on Myspace
2. Place Miniature Tigers (at bottom of blog I've linked in step four) banner in your "About Me" section
3. Add Cannibal Queen as your main profile song
4. After you have completed each step please leave a comment on this blog letting the Minis know

Winners, and de facto losers, will be selected on Feb. 17, the same day that Tell It To The Volcano is set for record store release. If you come in first, you get the aforementioned portrait as interpreted by Schaier and a 12'' copy of Tell It To The Volcano autographed by the band.

Three runners up will be rewarded with signed copies of Tell It To The Volcano on CD.

Mini Tigers announce tour with Ben Folds

Arizona's own Miniature Tigers announced today that they'll embark on an east coast tour with the Ben Folds from February 11 through March 1.

According to Modern Art's Ben Collins, also of Phoenix-based Chronic Future, Folds handpicked the Minis after listening to and apparently liking their music.

How insanely awesome is this?!

Also, in case you are a complete lame-o and you don't already own Tell It To The Volcano, you will officially be able to pick it up at your local friendly record store Feb. 17. Stop resisting and give in.