The First and Last of...

A few weeks ago i was talking to Alex Brenneman, good friend of mine ( who is an exemplary writer) , we decided to do a little segment on this blog. The concept was simple--i would send him music, and he was give me his extremely well written first impressions, i would then comment further on music, giving a more rounded opinion of the music. So here we go the first installment of the first and last of!

1.Slavic Soul Party!

Alex:

Did you ever wonder what the world sounds like to the Pink Panther? Slavic Soul Party seems to be a band that pulled their inspiration straight from the head of that mischievous kitty. The quick and playful horns of this band practically beg you to get up to some light hearted wrong doing. It’s as though my speakers are spewing an intoxicating vapor of fun and freedom. So crank some Slavic Soul Party, pull some pranks, get into trouble, and do it while dancing with the grin of Loki’s own grandchild on your face.

Me:

Slavic soul party though very bright in their horn sound, sometimes loses the attention of the audience...at least on record. Not because the music is not spectacular, but because songs like Taketron are so gosh darn inspired, that other, slower paced tunes like "Get it how you live" pale in comparison. It is as if you went trick-or-treating at halloween, and grabbed a bunch of candy, and when you looked at your pile, you saw a twix on top but then you lifted the twix to see nothing but candy corn underneath it. The point is this--the candy corn would be much more enjoyable if there wasn't that twix around for comparison.

Songs like the aforementioned "Taketron" and "Missy Sasa" are truly inspired, while Opa Cupa sounds like it could be the alternate soundtrack to the Borat movie. All the music is good, but some songs definately jump out at you more than others.

Two things that i really really enjoy about this band:

1.Good Accordian: There is some seriously great Accordian on all of their recordings.

2.Style: They do not adhere to a strict brass band format even though that is what they technically are. Their style is much more reminiscent of a marching band than a brass band and they manage to create a sound that is much bigger than they actually are.

http://www.myspace.com/slavicsoulparty

2. Shrine Builder: Pyramid of the Moon

Alex:

I feel like I should be on top of a mountain, sitting on a granite throne and contemplating the fate of the world while I listen to these guys. There is some epic quality to this

band that goes beyond the heavy metal sound, something that makes me feel that by listening

to them I have transformed into a deep and thoughtful man. I could be deciding whether or not to have a banana with my dinner, and if these guys were on I wouldn’t be able to avoid contemplating the grave and direconsequences that would stem from my choice. Eerie and cool.

Me:

Shrinebuilder was a band hotly anticipated by anyone even remotely into stoner metal.

With Dale Crover( The Melvins), Scott Kelly( Neurosis), Al Cisneros(Sleep, Om) and Wino( St. Vitus, Every other awesome band), this line up was sure to be one to impress. And they sure do impress!

Their album is appropriately heavy and dirge-y and at times makes you feel like you are being rolled over a by a steamroller that is on fire. Imagine funeral music played by Orcs..well this is better than that. At least as good as funeral music played by electric Trolls.

For anyone who likes fast music, this album is not for you. It is long and slow, psychedelic and sludgey, and extremly, extremely heavy. But if you dig that...take a listen, chug some molasses, and be buried alive(sonically) by Shrinebuilder!

http://www.myspace.com/shrinebuildergroup

3 Yavuz Cetin: Cherokee

Alex:

It seems to me (and this is my very unexpert opinion) that Turkish must be a really hard language to make rock and roll lyrics with. That being said I can only speculate on Yavuz’s style, but here’s my hypothesis: I imagine he rides a dune buggy with razor wheels and a tinted

windshield through the Turkish desert, only at night and with his favorite pair of sunglasses on, while hunting demons dinosaurs from a different dimension. The evidence that I have for this is that a guy that rocks the guitar like Yavuz does has got to be at least this bad-ass. In fact he probably opened the dimensional portal himself by tearing through our universal fabric with righteous guitar Rockings!!

Me: Alex is right...the music is dead on, but turkish is a strange language to sing rock and roll in. Dont be fooled though. The funkyness of this song can not go unnoticed. Cetin is a very gifted guitar player and if he had Jamiroquai singing for him, he'd be taking over the world right now.

http://www.myspace.com/yavuzcetin1