Torche - Songs for Singles

Released as an EP, it's still 8 songs long. And I call that a motherfucking album. I saw these guys in a small bar last year and look forward to the jams this cold icy afternoon.

And Torche really brings it. They have two other full length albums and are a great example of uniqueness. They've got a stoner rock sensibility in their deep fuzz tones, but they play fast with ~1:30 length songs (not a lot of droning). Plus, singer Steve Brooks has a knack for catching a good hook and singing it well. He's not pop, mind you. His voice is reminiscent of Helmet's Page Hamilton. But within that range is a great pop smidge.

This collection is that kind of good. Fast blasts of greatness fill up your first half. "UFO"; "Hideaway"; "Arrowhead". You won't go wrong. Drummer Rick Smith comes from a Keith-Moon-via-Dave-Grohl school; which is meant to be a total compliment.



"Shine On My Old Ways" reminds me somehow of a pop-metal Priest song, "Solar Angels". I can't really explain it past that. "Face The Wall" is the one that does drone on a little bit. A bit too far on the side of tedium. The closer "Out Again" is nearly fantastic, with the biggest chorus, but rides the riff out for six minutes when it doesn't need to.

I'm nitpicking though. Break this out at your next backyard beer & bbq. Before the bonghits. (4 of 5 stars)

Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song

Being late in my blog updates, I do get the benefit of knowing a reputation of some late-year releases that already have a good reputation. And this is going to be one of the rare country albums in this blog forever. So...

Come track 5 of disc one and nothing has blown me away yet. Nothing's offensive. I certainly appreciate a well-played minor chord in "Cover Your Eyes". Everything's generally smart and Jamey's vocals are true. He's a baritone, but it would be awesome if he were more gruff. But none of these songs on the "black" disc are really that dark. He misses his daughter, he drinks and dances to the classics and L.A. is a fake city. Whoopittee-doo.

A few more tracks and I still see the juxstaposition of a guy who uses phrases like: "You can take my word but you can't cash my checks" (good line) next to "the rooster crowin' reminds me I need to fee him" (dumb line). And I don't know what "Heartache" is. Kind of like that god-awful "Lullabye" song.

At the end of the day, I think everyone got so excited at an anti-Hollywood Nashville singer that they considered him the second coming. I was hoping for as much. What I got was just a mostly well-written country record. But... it's still country. (2.5 of 5 stars)

Fabienne Delsol - On My Mind

Retro-sounding '60s psychedelic pop, like Tommy James with a chick singer. Or take any one of your British pop songstresses from the 1060s: Lulu, Lesley Gore, what have you. Now, obviously Fabienne is French, but sings mostly in English. Her voice is sweet and fun, but doesn't jump around the scales too much. Not a requirement for this kind of music- just sayin'.

Listeners to this are going to fall in one of two camps. People who love this style in its entirety. They will see no wrong with any of it and will probably be girls. They'll even stick around for the ballad that really could have been skipped in this collection.

Others of us will see some pleasantness here. We'll put a song or two in our iPods, especially the French-language songs, play it at parties. Our friends will be impressed. Especially once Wes Anderson puts a song or two in a movie (he simply has to)- proving we're ahead of the game. But we will also know that overall, the style of each song doesn't change too much and not a lot to differentiate one song to the next.

Or maybe you're a full on rocker, who isn't into sweet pop. Check out "I Feel So Blue" for some jammin' surf guitar riffs. Fun will be had. (3 of 5 stars)

Film School - Fission

It's been a while since I heard something new that was also a Pitchfork darling. I've been turned off of the "scene" for a while which is why you're seeing reviews of Zakk Wylde, über-popular Arcade Fire and one of my faves, Eels. Film School I know only by reputation and anyway, not much else of interest was released this week.

And when the opening chords started to play, I rolled my eyes and prepared for another boring upbeat chipper-guitar indie pop-rock collection and songs about nothing. But then the first verse kicked in on "Heart Full Of Pentagons" and I saw a change. Just a kicked over tempo, but it seemed to breathe some eccentricity to the proceedings.

Film School certainly has Jesus And Mary Chain leanings and the distorted wall of sound makes that most apparent. It's not all guitar and it's not all rock. Plenty of synthesized chords and drum machines. And all of this is executed well. Hell, "Meet Around 10" is a fucking jam on par with Radiohead's "National Anthem".

Where you're going to lose this writer, and I can assume many of this writing's readers, is the undercut, undermixed and underwhelming vocals. Krayg Burton seems to be channelling alternative and new wave singers of yore with his melodies; but is not stepping up to bat in the performance level. All of those guys like Gahan and Robert Smith and Morrissey still had some effervescent delivery. The closest he gets out of his closet is on "Distant Life"- maybe because he thought it was a cover of "American Girl". And when the chick sings, it's no better.

So if you like your background music to have jangly guitars and nicely toned dance beats, this is for you. (2.5 of 5 stars)