Crap PR From Publicists

Worst student write-up in a while

This Friday’s Free At Noon will be rocking to the blended sound of that ’80s underground legend, Meat Puppets. One of those golden  progenitors of American indie rock, Meat Puppets was formed in 1980 under guitarist brothers Curt and Cris Kirkwood with their friend, drummer Derrick Bostrom. Holding a solid punk core, the trio grabbed the attention of listeners and SST execs early on for their dedication to the hard, fast, and unrehearsed. They signed onto the label, and in 1982 their eponymous debut carved the band a loud, furious niche in punk history. Their second release, Meat Puppets II, was a never-before-heard fusion of acid country and solid rock, but of course more punk than anything else. The American underground music scene would never be the same.

With releases like the smoothed out Mirage and the heavy rock Huevos, Meat Puppets built their reputation for avant garde, punk-based music. Overlying it with rock, country, and even psychedlic folk, the trio had soon gained quite a following. Their decision to go major was bolstered by Kurt Cobain’s invitation to perform a few of the Meat Puppets songs together in New York, and the band pushed into mainstream success during the ’90s, but broke up soon after.

In 2006, Curt asked fans if they would like to see the original line up back together, and the response was overwhelmingly yes. Despite Bostrom’s reluctance, the Kirkwood brothers decided to bring back this staple American punk act for a new full-length album, Rise to Your Knees. Adding Primus drummer Tim Alexander, Meat Puppets is as loud and fast as ever. Their latest album, recorded during the winter of 2008, is tight, whimsical, and rocking. Released this May, Sewn Together still has that ever-present taste of punk that makes it undeniably Meat Puppets—and will make this one undeniably good Free At Noon.

Gomez with typos

The acclaimed British rock band with blues elements, Gomez brings his sound to WXPN and World Cafe Live.  A five-piece consisting of Ben Ottewell (vocals, guitar), Tom Gray (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Paul Blackburn (bass, guitar), Olly Peacock (drums), and Ian Ball (vocals, guitar, harmonica). Combining hefty rock beats with pop choruses and even hints of country, folk, and blues, Gomez has over a decade’s worth of acclaimed, ever-evolving music. They’ve had tracks featured on several TV shows, toured with the Dave Matthew’s Band, Cake, and Ben Kweller, and climbed charts with every release. Their latest album, A New Tide, is out this month. It just could be their best yet.

A New Tide, a return to the band’s roots, to their most free-wheeling and psychedelic sound. The songs range from solid rock to cool rhythmic exchanges to bluesy melodies. Imaginative and eclectic, Gomez’ music is not to be missed.


Gomez is also playing full shows at The Chameleon Club in Lancaster on March 27,
and the TLA in Philly on March 28.

It’s The Soundtrack To A Past That’s Already Over.

Obsolete: this is the title that designer and electronic artist Robert Krums has chosen for his latest project under the alias Grauwelt. He chose this title because after completing the album, he realized that the genre it belonged to no longer existed. Krums, who also records hip-hop under the name Earmint, came of age at a time when his native Chicago was churning out exciting industrial and electronic music at an alarming rate. As a teenager, Krums saturated himself with the music of Wax Trax recording artists like KMFDM and Ministry, as well as earlier electronic groups like Cabaret Voltaire and Depeche Mode. While he later found himself gravitating toward the emerging culture of hip-hop, these early influences have never left him. “This is the album I would have made back then if I could have,” he asserts.

To label Obsolete as merely an industrial album, however, would be to ignore a myriad of other sources that the album pulls inspiration from. Elements of hip-hop, early techno, and even drum and bass can be heard occasionally emerging from the cacophony of muffled kick drums, fuzzed-out guitars and violent snares that comprise Grauwelt’s primary palette. One early listener described the song, “The Long Way” as, “DJ Shadow meets Nine Inch Nails,” while the jittery dance-punk of “Evacuation” recalls early Devo before the stabbing synths and anxious hi-hats render all comparisons (ahem) obsolete. Other standouts include the big beat of “An Accident,” the driving guitars of “Warfare,” (MP3) and the chattering synths of “Brutality,” (MP3) which features vocals from Bryan Black, front man of the band Motor and mastermind behind the critically acclaimed Haloblack.

To create the album, Krums was wary of using any modern techniques, as he wanted to maintain what he calls the “rawness and harshness” of a purely analog sound. In the end, he used a decade old computer program to sequence his compositions, but relied on strictly analog methods for his instrumentation, utilizing vintage drum machines and synthesizers layered over stacks of mutilated samples.

Dark, aggressive and haunting, Grauwelt’s songs exist in a place where the last 20 years of electronic music are happening all at once…or maybe they never happened at all, and the global tastemakers all still have their ears glued to the exciting industrial electro sounds pumping out of warehouse parties in Chicago and Berlin. It’s the soundtrack to a future that hasn’t happened…yet.

Angel Taylor

[Note: If you think this is bad you should have seen what we were sent originally…]

The innocence and enthusiasm of 20-year-old singer/songwriter Angel Taylor is palpable and infectious. It feels good to be enveloped in her tender lyrics and gentle melodies. And success is coming quickly to the soft-spoken California native. Barely out of her teens and only a few years evolved from novice poet and musician, in quick order she arrived in the New York for the first time, auditioned for producer Mikal Blue (Colbie Caillat, Brendan James) and signed with Aware/Columbia. Heady stuff for sure, but Taylor is far from jaded. Her appeal is derived from an authentic sweetness and sensitivity. The resonance of her fractured lyrical fairy tales transports listeners back to their own first awkward misadventures in romance. To enjoy her debut release Love Travels is to be engulfed in relatable insecurities, disappointments and ultimately youthful hope for the surprises that lay ahead. Her true talent as a songwriter is taking what is universal, the often mundane basis of pop music, and make it seems fresh and alive. “Anyone who has ever wanted to be loved very deeply by someone, but hasn’t, will totally be able to grab hold of these songs,” says Taylor. “That’s what this album is about – wanting it so bad, not having it, and wondering why… It’s a lot of questions.”

Opening track “Chai Tea Latte” dissects a multi-cultural love that never was and echoes John Mayer – her favorite musician and now label mate on Columbia. Taylor never wanted a recording contract, but happenstance is making her, like Mayer, a standout voice in the din of pop culture excesses. Pursuing nothing more than a way to record her songs as a family Christmas gift, an email to Mikal Blue yielded an impromptu audition and label attention. What happens now will be driven the lust for life and charisma captured on Love Travels.

There Is No Such Thing As A “Retro” Peter, Bjorn and John.

Thought you might like the new [REDACTED] video by New York band [REDACTED]. Kind of like a retro “Peter Bjorn and John” vibe. Just saw that they posted it and wanted to help spread the word. I have MP3s of their stuff if you want to post them.