The Not-Pop Jukebox

Today we have a rare coming together of a great song name and a great band name that produced a song actually worth hearing. I've been giving The Atomic Bitchwax a good listen for the last couple of days and I'm here to report that stoner metal is a stupid genre name. Oh, and they rock.

Last of the V8 Interceptors starts out with a digitized voice, ostensibly that of our new, insectile, alien overlords. Then they all shut up and get on with jamming. I did enjoy a few of the tracks on which they sang but, for the most part, the instrumentals hold up far better.

You can definitely hear the influence of the 70s on The Atomic Bitchwax, but it sounds like they've been listening to some quality, hardcore rock for decades. If you like Last of the V8 Interceptors, have a listen to Crazed Fandango and Cast Aside Your Masks.

I'm back in town, finally, after essentially six days without music. To celebrate my return, let's have the ever-adorable and talented Tristan Clopet tell us a story about his experiences out of town in Summer in Sussex. Okay, I don't know that this is autobiographical. It is, however, a wonderful song with much cheer about returning home. I promise something a bit meatier tomorrow, text-wise, but at least Mr. Clopet will give you something into which you can sink your aural teeth in the meantime.

It just so happens that a great post-punk garage band came to my attention just as I'm preparing to leave town for a few days. In the spirit of travel, enjoy the high-energy rollick of The Worsties and Let's Go. I've got the song in my head as I'm flailing about trying to finish packing and ready to get this show on the road.

Next week sometime perhaps I'll post the song that Ted Kelly brought to my attention on Google + but that's a brand-new video and you know I like to delve. Besides, I'm too hyper to right a proper review.

Do a little head banging a little jumping up and down, and generally get your rock on in the meantime. This player will give you the whole playlist even though it only shows Let's Go, by the way. I'll come back with a burning desire to post and a backlog of blather, so be prepared.

As a fan of great big rock, and great big bands, I didn't expect to love Sirsy. Yet here I am, with a little-bitty two-person band. That's because Sirsy sounds more like five people than a duo.

They're a sneaky pair, is Sirsy. Each of them plays two things at a time (well, if you count vocal as "playing") and every once in a while Melanie Krahmer pulls out her flute and jams a bit. Listening to a recording might leave you thinking they've been paired with studio musicians to round out their sound so I've included a video for you.

Of course, the reason Sirsy came to my attention was the new album they have coming out March 5th. You'll just have to wait on that one, as I couldn't find any of the songs to share. For now, have a little Revolution and find out the sound to which you should be looking forward when I finally get my digital hands on a song to add.

Damn Glad has a new album out, their third, titled "It's Always Something". I've been giving it a good listen and was struck by a few things.

First, this is some good, quality rock in the late-70s tradition. Even the voice of Matt Kurzban hearkens back to good ol' stadium rock of yesteryear. The trio knows how they want to sound and they seem to achieve it pretty consistently.

Second, Force Quit is followed by Make It So. Now, in listening to the former you discover that they're referring to forcing a program closed with the task manager. The latter has absolutely nothing to do with Star Trek, as far as I can tell. And yet the combination of force (as in The Force) and Captain Picard's signature phrase make me believe that these are geeks of the deepest stripe.


For all I know, Damn Glad has never watched The Empire Strikes Back nor would they know Data from Wesley Crusher. But in my mind they're hard-rockin', sci-fi fans which endears them to me as much as their retro sound. If these two don't interest you, I'll direct your attention to Please, Louise, which will have you tapping your toes, bopping your head, and trying to place exactly who Mr. Kurzban sounds like. And then you'll realize it's a song about a shotgun wedding, essentially. Talk about retro!