Holy Trinity River Album Reviews

Holy Trinity River - Let It Die

The debut four song EP from Luke Strickland and the boys of HTR is the soundtrack to a visit to the bar. If you strolled into a place with a strong desire for more than just a couple beers and these fellas were diving into “The Shaker” you’d know you were at the right place. Acoustic and relatively plain this is no frills rock and roll with a twist of country here and there. Followed up by “Magnolia” you’d likely be on your second beer as the boys rock a little bit more of a jam style (think early early O.A.R) and it’d be easy enough to relax and maybe start looking around the room checkin’ out who there might be to chat it up with.

By "C.O.C.K" you’d be on your third beer and feeling pretty damn good. You got a lady that you are talking to and the beers going down smooth but then you realize that the intro is misleading and the song itself sounds disconnected and the lyrics not only sound off tune but sound off kilter for the rest of the release. And so you turn around to see what the hell is going on and then the girl is gone. You order another beer.

This one tastes skunked as HTR busts into “3rd Rail”, a downer of a song which completely makes you forget just how psyched you were when you first walked in. And unfortunately it’s their last song - how will you remember them?

Holy Trinity River - Cause Solution

From the first notes on the sophomore album of HTR you know immediately that they acquired a better producer with better studio equiptment and it doesn’t take long for you to realize that they also changed their style a bit as well. That country feel is gone and it sounds more like a straight up rock band. Starting with “Can or Otherwise” and “Pushing Grey” they manage to to slide under the radar - this is more background music than a soundtrack to anything. A pleasant enough soundtrack but certainly not the main attraction.

It’s the odd third song “MC Injun” that really stops you and unfortunately it’s more like stopping for a car wreck than say a family of ducks on the road. References to John Wesley Harding meeting the devil - maybe I just don’t know my serial killer lives but I do know that this is not at all pleasant to listen to - lyrically or musically.

Thankfully though HTR starts to get comfortable with themselves and “Natural Flavor” really shows potential. The music is just rock and roll, again with little to no frills, but there is that little bit of country coming back that they do so well. Again though singer Luke Strickland doesn’t really write lyrics amazing enough to forgo the lack of emotion, confidence, and range his voice has to offer. It all too often comes off as a high schooler trying too hard to sound emotional and unfortunately doesn’t work all that often.

The hightlight of the album is the rockin’ “Rolled Over” which although is no mind blower is the sort of rock that would do well opening for another band - consistent, upbeat enough, foot tappingly good. A consistently average sophomore album from a band that really sounds like they have a great deal of potential, they just need to figure out how to tap that potential so I don’t just tap my feet for a few songs.

Jaguar Love's "Take Me To The Sea" Album Review (by Matt Dickson)

I’ve listened to Jaguar Love’s latest work, “Take Me To The Sea” a couple of times and I’ve been stuck with the same question after each listening, “Why is the lead singer making screeching baby noises?” Seriously, what is the point behind this musical inspiration? There were points in the music that I found myself getting annoyed rather then focusing on listening to what was actually happening. I may not be Hunter S. Thompson, but I am pretty sure that the point of music is not to annoy the audience. Jaguar Love does possess some very interesting qualities and I figure that people would rather have me focus on that since this is a review and not a rant about musical choices.

One of the most shocking sounds that came out of this band was the incredibly concise rhythm section that seemed to control the destiny of the songs. There were songs where the lead vocals took over (The Man with the Plastic Suns) that I was not terribly fond of; then there were songs like Georgia, Bats Over the Pacific, and Highways of Gold that had a great musical feel to them thanks to fantastic rhythm arrangements. There were times when it felt like this was some sort of crazy Frankenstein baby that turned into music. The mash up in styles was bizarre to say the least. Musically there were many highlights, the primary being that they played like hardcore southern rockers. Jaguar Love made me listen to some King’s of Leon and remember how much I enjoy their early stuff. On the other hand there were traces of Coheed and Cambria in the vocals. These two styles seemed to have a difficult time coexisting. My favorite part of the vocals were the sections when there was harmonizing, probably not a good sign.

While Jaguar Love is not a band that I would listen to frequently I truly respect the avenues they traveled down on “Take Me To The Sea.” There were many unexpected twists and turns, and that left me with an actual experience rather then a carbon copy for each song. These guys have creativity on their side, which left me waiting for the next song to begin. This is a band that is waiting for listener’s who are ready to experiment with them; because these guys seem to be having fun with what they are doing. If you decide to check them out, listen a few times all the way through, it’s an interesting ride.

Jaguar Love, one simple request, could you try dropping it an octave?

A Hello, A Thank You, An Invitation and A Gift.

Hey folks - just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who is coming to the site and checking it out. There are literally hundreds of people coming every month from all over Massachusetts (hi Byfield, Raynham, Hyde Park, et. al.), New England (hello up there in Maine), the entire United States (New Mexico represent), and as far away as Germany and Portugal (and I wish I knew who was in Iran looking at the site!) I am trying my hardest to keep new things up on the site for you to check out and will happily entertain any requests for what you would like to see (a band interviewed, a restaurant or movie reviewed, a rant about something you are passionate about - just let me know!) I have some new writers (Beth and Matt) both of whom I love to read so I hope you do too. I have a number of interviews set up in the next few days / weeks (Flogging Molly, Serena Ryder, Sofia Talvik and more) and they should be up relatively soon as well as some more CD and book reviews that I'm working on.

As a thank you I have two tickets to Lollapalooza that I would like to give away (it's this weekend in Chicago mind you). Please e-mail me if you would like that pair as I only have one it must be first come first serve - sorry I can't get all of you tickets.

I am also going to be starting a weekly e-mail list where I will write a little something special and also notify you of new postings on the site. I encourage you all to e-mail me at onehundredyears@gmail.com to get added to the list - introduce yourselves too!

And finally, if you fashion yourself a writer, do get in touch as I am in the market for one or two more (excellent) writers to join the team. Perks? Free CD's, movie tickets, concert tickets, that sorta stuff - not too shabby! Just send a review of something (a CD, book, this website, whatever).

Thanks again for reading and I look forward to hearing from you~!

Don't Mess With the Zohan Review

I pride myself on not watching the drivel that is award shows so it was sort of weird that I happened to be in a hotel room bed after having taken a shower and happened to turn the TV on and happened to flip to MTV and happened to see Tom Cruise extolling the virtues of the “Sandman”. Cruise is a nut and so I left it on to see if the “Sandman” was some religious thing I was as of yet unfamiliar with - alas it was not. Somehow Tom Cruise had been roped into talking nice about Adam Sandler. Not just saying nice things about him but saying he was one of the most important actors alive. I will admit “I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry” was comic genius, as was “Happy Gilmore”, and “Mr. Deeds” and “Big Daddy” were both pretty hilarious. Adam Sandler is a funny guy - no doubt about it. Is he an important actor? As important as an actor can be. Is he making the world a better place? A few laughs and decent messges at a time I would say yes. Tom Cruise though was as up on his jock as it seems humanly possible to be which seems a bit much if you ask me....which you didn’t so I’ll get on with it.

Chances are you do not need to read a review of “Don’t Mess with the Zohan” to know it blows. The ads alone were embarassing to watch. An Israeli super counter terrorist wants to become a hairdresser - you just need to see that ad to know there will definitely be two things;

1. Some sort of heartfelt message about either accepting peoples religious differences or choices they make in life and
2. Jokes about hairdressing being gay

And yes, both were there in abundance.

Sandler teamed up with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s mastermind Robert Smigel and (normally) genius Judd Apatow (we’re talking Anchorman AND Freaks and Geeks here) to write this abomination and either they were high the entire process or maybe they just are human and not always funny (Apatow WAS responsible for Walk Hard and Kicking and Screaming - two movies with actors so funny it should have been impossible to ruin them...but he managed).

The end result though is a embarassing, slow, unintelligent move with a bunch of terrible cameos. Rob Schnieder as a Palestinian terrorist (you look ignorant), Mariah Carey as herself (and not even doing a good job at that), Kevin Nealon as a feeble community watchman (he was NEVER funny), and shame on you Chris Rock for the wackest cameo of all - a Jamaican taxi driver (what's worse is you USED to be hilarious).

Maybe every once in a while Hollywood decides it’s alright to put out an inside joke (ahem, Club Dread) and to hell with a movie going audience and whether or not they actually enjoy it. If that isn’t the explanation for how this movie came to fruition there better be a damn good other one because this movie straight up sucked. From simplifying and idiotizing (that is officially a word) the Israeli-Palenstinian conflict to jokes about dude's junk and more there is absolutely no good reason to ever see this movie (or Littly Nicky while we're at it...)

Ha Ha Tonka "Buckle in the Bible Belt" CD Review

It no longer seems all that necessary to have a label if you are a good enough band - just get yourself on myspace, play some kick ass shows, and then release an album. Sure, you may not become a millionaire but don’t most musicians make albums for the glory of the music and not the money anyhow....right? Ha Ha Tonka is no exception. In 2006 they self-released “Buckle in the Bible Belt” and got some good opening slots and a little love but it ended up with them getting a deal with Bloodshot Records in 2007 which has brought them to a point where they have landed a spot at this years Lollapalooza. No trucks of money or critical acclaim yet but now they will have an audience large enough that they can’t be ignored.

As for Buckle, it’s a mix of many different styles of rock basically - no need for the tiny little labels which folks these days absolutely adore. It’s rock music. Sure, “Up Nights” is more piano and organ infused and “Hangman” is more Graceland than garage rock. “Caney Mountain” is more alt-country and “Cure for the Common Cold” is more Pixies than punk rock. They mix it up though - never so much so that you aren’t sure it is Ha Ha Tonka as singer Brian Roberts has a pretty distinct voice.

Although it is customary to compare potential up and comers to established bands there is a bit of a stretch made in their bio which compares them to REM, the Band, and even Bruce Springsteen. Sure, they have a little politicin’ in their music, they certainly aren’t the sort of innovative that any of those bands were though.

The album though is beautiful at times, especially the absolutely adorable “Falling In” (also very Pixies-ish in vocals and guitar riffs) and it showcases their natural tendency to make smart thoughful music much more so than their first ‘single’ from the album “St. Nick on the Fourth in a Frenzy” which starts out all sorts of chant-a-long badassy / southern country rock and morphs into four minutes of indecision style wise. A good song no doubt - it just doesn’t sound as natural as some of the rest of the album.

Quite possibly a band that could make the rounds at all the big festivals if they were so inclined, Ha Ha Tonka seems a little bit more like a band you just wouldn’t want to miss in a dingy club that the Boss might have played thirty five years ago.

Creative Kinetics by Rodney Frost (Review by Beth Bathory)

Sterling Publishing, April 2008

Somewhere along the line, in the development of current American culture, education evolved from integral, integrated life experience into an industry (see implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for ghastly evidence of this trend). Learning is Serious Business, and instructional book publishing is an important aspect of this market.

For those of us with existential ineptitude and disposable income, the “...For Dummies” series offers valuable instruction on topics such as “Acne for Dummies,” “Beekeeping for Dummies,” and “Breastfeeding for Dummies.” I am not kidding, ladies and gentleman—these titles, and hundreds like them, are available for purchase upon request. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide…” collection provides similar illuminations, including “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Catholicism,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Verbal Self-Defense,” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Middle East Conflict.” I’ll let you make your own jokes about those titles—if you’re not naturally funny, I’m sure there are plenty of books to teach you how.

“Creative Kinetics: Making Mechanical Marvels in Wood” by Rodney Frost is another how-to manual, but the most unfortunate thing about the book is the title. If you consider yourself adept at mechanics and woodcraft and are hoping to learn exactly how to make the fascinatingly intricate and mildly macabre contraptions depicted on the cover and elsewhere in the publication by reading the book, you will need to either reconsider your ideas about learning and art or buy additional lessons from somewhere else. Frost does offer the basic tools and concepts for building moving sculptures, but he then directs readers to make mechanical marvels using their own minds and hands via inspiration rather than instruction.

This is not to imply that “Creative Kinetics” sends off without a sturdy foundation. The book includes detailed explanation and instruction on the use and integration of simple mechanical elements such as cams, cranks, flywheels, and pulleys. The text is sprinkled with bits of useful, elementary wisdom on tools, materials, and techniques, such as the difference between wood and metal drill bits and left- and right-handed scissors, how to clean a file or remedy a slipping pulley belt, and where to find inexpensive materials (garage sales). Lessons in other creations such as jumping jacks and mobiles (and their immobile cousins, stabiles) are also included.

Frost’s philosophy of art actually makes the exclusion of more sophisticated step-by-step instruction an asset to aspiring artists. Frost is drawn to kinetic art due to its capacity for discovery and metaphor—eyebrows wiggle when a handle is pulled or a rusty carousel of soldiers becomes a symbol for our entrenchment in self-destructive behavior—and he suggests that a sense of childlike wonder be the guiding force in project formation and execution. As such, much creative direction is put back onto the reader. (“How will I know how much detail to put into my figure to make it look like a person?” “Start making the figure, and when it begins to look like a figure instead of a piece of wood, stop.”) You will find this either delightful or entirely maddening to read.

This book is the next best thing to having a wacky artist friend to help you personally with your projects, and by “artist” I do not mean someone who uses that title to justify their unpalatable choices and behavior, but, rather, one of those rare individuals whose values, aesthetics, and actions impeccably align. The art in “Creative Kinetics” is interesting, both mechanically and conceptually, and Frost’s elucidation of his own creative process is quite helpful. The mechanical instruction in “Creative Kinetics” is tailored for beginners. However, be forewarned that the ideas will not likely be accessible to dummies or complete idiots.

A five day poetry conference vs. a ten day vacation in Hawai'i

Sure to most folks this seems like a no brainer. It would be like Hulk Hogan in his hey day fighting Urkel prior to his invention of the Urkel-bot. The winner would be chosen before the brawl; beautiful, sunny, laid back Islands in the first round, poetry weeping sensitively in a corner after one punch. Maybe then I'm just not most folks.

The Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching

Upon arriving at the Frost Place Conference on Poetry and Teaching I immediately feared that I had made a terrible decision. I look less like a teacher than most folks and the extent of my in depth knowledge of poetry from reading it is the collected works of Shel Silverstein and my own hilarious poems which are (usually) no more talented than those of Mr. Deeds. Everyone who was showing up seemed to fit the stereotype I had (unfortunately) been conjuring in my head for the weeks leading up to the conference. You can picture them, sensitive looking, shy yet enthusiastic, not my age at all...

It would have been fairly simple to call it a loss and leave (and believe you me I did think about doing that) for some reason though I figured it was worth a shot - if it was terrible I could always leave the second day having hopefully at least gotten some good material for my website. That never happened though.

The four full days that I attended the conference flew by. Morning sessions from teachers (some who certainly did fit the stereotypical mold I'd concocted and many more who did not) sharing successful methods of teaching poetry in their classrooms were followed up by daily special guests (Shara McCallum, J.D. Scrimegeour, et. al) and then afternoon sessions with the absolutely terrific Maine poet Dawn Potter. All the while being MC'ed by one of the most down to earth poet/comedians I have ever met, Baron Wormser (do I even need to compliment the name?)

Located at Frost's old homestead up in Franconia the weather was flawless for our time spent in the barn and remained beautiful for afternoon swimming jaunts and opportunities for some terrific conversations over dinners. All in all it was the most relaxing and unpretentious conference I have ever attended (which blew my mind since it was, in fact, about poetry - something that is wrought with pretense and obnoxi).

Oahu and Maui, Hawaiian Islands

Islands are one of my favorite places to go in life. There is something inherently cool about being tucked away from society and civilization and living out on an island. Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks so as the once sparsely populated island of Oahu is now filled to the brim with folks who must have loved the idea of traveling to an island. As such, the initial desire to 'escape' to an island has lost its meaning when it comes to Hawai'i.

Alas, this does not make Hawai'i a total loss - that would be just foolish to say. Upon arrival I spent time exploring Waikiki and Honolulu before heading off to the Windward side of the island (that's the right side, ya know, to the East) to do some kayaking. Sure, it was not remote by any means, even in the middle of the sea on a kayak there were still folks all up in my grill (or at least within a hundred yards of said grill) and it made sense - it was an absolutely gorgeous place. Aqua colored 75-degree water, the sun shining through cotton candy clouds, giant sea turtles, you can't really go wrong.

The trip also brought me to the island of Maui (kicks Oahu's ass by the way - especially the country radio station) where I got the Hawaiian experience I expected (deserted (and private) beaches), hikes to waterfalls, old fishing towns, fancy lad resort restaurants). And although there is something to be said about having an opportunity at (literally) every turn to go swimming there happen to be other places one could do that (say the White Mountains....at least this time of year).

And so although I was in what many considered a paradise I must say I would have traded five of those Hawaiian days and nights for one more full day and night at a conference where I feel I learned something valuable around people whose opinions I value (I'm sorry Johnny American-WaikikiVisitor - I just do not care what you think!)

I thought that maybe I should come here and extol the virtues of choosing the former over the latter yet I found myself not wanting to because I'm alright with not going to Hawai'i again - I would like to be able to attend a poetry conference in the future without a couple hundred drunk frat boy and girl types mussin' things up. Luckily for us (and unfortunately for them) I don't foresee them attending ANY conferences anytime soon, especially not on poetry.

Who knows though, maybe someday we'll live in a world where folks line up not to take shots at a bar but to ask questions of a bard - probably not in my lifetime though.

Interview with Holy Trinity River

Deciding to dedicate your life to music can be harrowing as there are no guarantees, how did you all decide that it was time to focus solely on music and give up your other careers?

Luke: I have been putting off a career that I went to college for, for a while now. The prospect of working in an office as a 9 to 5’er was daunting to me when we started playing together as a band. It was an easy decision to do something that I found completely fulfilling and worthwhile instead. Plus for better or worse, I think I am pretty much an underachiever.

Brendyn: We (Luke and I) started playing around with music mostly as a hobby while I was in college, but by the time I graduated, Nick Melde (our former guitar player) had joined the band and it had gotten a lot more serious. The evolution of playing and sounding better, coupled with the fact that there was no "regular job" that sounded the least bit appealing, led us to pursue music, and eventually land in New York.

You emigrated to New York (as many bands do at some point in their career) for potentially greener pastures, how has that been going for you?

Luke: New York is a meat grinder. It makes you tougher in a lot of ways. When we play other cities you can really feel the difference in what it takes to get a crowd going. I am glad we chose to come up here. The music scene in Dallas when we left was pretty good when you account for Denton as well, but now it’s terrible. If we didn’t come up here we wouldn’t have had the same opportunities. For instance, working with Richard has completely opened our (or at least my) eyes in terms of the band dynamic and the construction and execution of songs and all that stuff.

Brendyn: New York is good in that it makes you put all your cards on the table. You either get good or go home, this city is too expensive to half ass it and have one foot in music and another in something else, like a career. You could probably ask Nick about that.

Your four song ep and eight songer are pretty different. The first being more country and punk and the latter being a bigger mix of country and dare I say pop? I'm not sure that is the right word for the mix but there is a difference. Was that intentional? How have you evolved over the years?

Aaron: It wasn't intentional. More like a gradual evolution. We worked with Richard Lloyd, who helped put our great ideas into a more enjoyable listening format versus our prior CD. We also wanted to make something that was heartfelt and not sound like most other bands.

Luke: The first recording was real-time with a somewhat apathetic engineer. All the songs were tracked in one day and for a lot of it he was just letting the tape run. Don’t get me wrong, he was knowledgeable and skilled at pro tools, but overall it was kinda like a recorded rehearsal with some overdubs. Also, at that time our friend Nick Melde was playing guitar with us. The second ep was done with Richard, so he used his production methods (trickery). It’s funny you bring up the pop element of it, b/c Richard told us one time that he loves the construction of pop songs. He brought up the fact that they are satisfying to people on a subconscious level. Before we actually recorded the album, we (Brendyn, Aaron, and I) thought the songs going on it were somewhat meandering. We started paring things down and it made the songs more rigid. Over the years I think we have learned to listen to each other more and trust each other’s opinion. I think we work harder to get what we want out of the songs now. We tend not to settle on songs unless all three of us are happy, it takes a lot more work and focus, but it’s always worth it.

Brendyn: On "Let it Die" the songs were informing the structure, whereas on our first album it was vice versa. When we wrote that first batch of songs, Luke, Nick and I were listening to a lot of Uncle Tupelo and that style of slow verse fast chorus was very influential on us. By the time we started recording with Richard, we were changing song structures based on the needs of the song. Rather than focus on this part of the song and how it relates to that part, the three of us focused on the whole of each song and how each part served the whole. But as far as the punk sound being replaced by a pop sound, that was a function of the particular songs we chose for the E.P. The songs we are demoing for the next recording with Richard have more punk and hard rock sounds to them, as well as a splash of reggae here, a waltz tempo there. It will definitely be different than the previous two recordings.

What would you tell a band who wants to do what you did, move to NY and make music their full time gig? Advice, etc.

Luke: I would tell any band that is going to move here to make a go of it that:

a. It takes a while to get things going unless you are the second coming of the Beatles

b. You have to promote yourselves all the time. For example, when you go to shows to see other bands, you need to be promoting yourselves.

c. It’s expensive as hell to live here.

Brendyn: A couple of years ago, shortly after we moved up here and Nick was getting ready to leave the band, I had a discussion with one of my good friends who was playing guitar in a couple of bands in San Diego-but nothing serious--about moving to New York and playing guitar in our band. He said that he thought we were doing it all wrong, moving to New York and then establishing ourselves. He said we should have stayed in Texas, got real good, built up a fan base and some hype, and then if we still wanted to, move to NYC. So he stayed in San Diego, started a band called The Muslims, got really tight with the band, built up a great following with a lot of hype, and just finished a two week stand here in NYC playing to mostly sold out crowds. My advice would be to follow The Muslims business model to a "T." It helps if you have really good, catchy songs.

What are the current/future plans for HTR?

Aaron: We would like to start touring the East coast and eventually the West coast. We would like to work on evolving our sound more, but keep the fundamental roots of our music.

Luke: I want to start playing in other cities such as Philly and Baltimore, maybe put a tour together. We are going to record another EP with Richard in the next month or two. I want to make a couple videos for our songs on the last ep. I am going to buy another guitar when I get my long-awaited bonus check. I am going to drug Brendyn and Aaron, brand my name on them and take some racy photos of them together. Sorry it ended on that.

Brendyn: I want one of our songs to be put on "The Hills" soundtrack so that a horde of seventeen year old girls will start frequenting our shows and hanging out afterwards. Once we have the 17 year old girls start hanging out, we'll have the whole world in our hands, because apparently 17 year old girls dictate the marketplace. And a tour would be a good idea.

Ratatat 'LP3' Album Review (by Beth Bathory)

It is difficult to make it through a listening of Ratatat’s adroitly titled third album, LP3, without involving the rest your senses. The creepy keyboard choir of “Flynn” aside, LP3 is entirely wordless, and songs like the clubby “Shempi” and sunny “Bruleé [sic]” pull for the addition of rhymes and choruses. Many tracks are similarly visual: the pulsing synth, staccato percussion, and Spanish guitar of “Mi Viejo” evoke the apparition of ancestral skeletons tap dancing across a worn, wooden porch. Several pieces also provoke movement, though more often a subtle toe-tapping or self-conscious, hipster twitching than full-on rocking out.

About a third of the way into LP3, though, it begins to feel like it’s time to up the multitasking—there’s always laundry to be done and the car could probably use a washing. The ambient electronic collaborations of guitarist Mike Stroud and programmer/producer Evan Mast fit best in a few places where you may have already encountered them or something similar: video games, movie montages, and ultramodern car commercials. These are also good sounds to frame weekend housework or late-night highway driving in rainstorms, and your level of satisfaction with LP3 may well be related to what you expect to do with it.

This album represents Ratatat’s attempt to diversify, and diversity to Ratatat means amassing mounds of disparate instruments, elements, samples, and styles, and seamlessly reassembling them to make songs that sound like they could have been created in a more organic manner. Examined up close, the patchwork is impressive, thoughtful, and textured. From across the room, LP3’s melodic collections of beeps, beats, riffs, and whirs function more effectively as backdrops than focal points.

Occasionally, a song will re-command attention, such as “Mumtaz Khan,” which effectively advances its menacing motif with live rhythm and an arena rock guitar solo. But in general, while the EQ and execution on most tracks are fairly flawless, it is difficult not to wish that Ratatat would more often push the dynamics of the composition or err on the side of analog imperfection, as in the engaging but aimlessly urgent gallop of “Gipsy Threat,” which opts to loop and fade rather than build, resolve, or collapse. Midrange selections such as “Bird Priest,” “Dura,” and “Black Heroes” also circulate on autopilot, sounding a little too much like the remixed products of a meticulous college student with a Casio and a computer.

With the majority of tracks in the two- to three-minute range, LP3 does avoid trancing out or belaboring its points, and criticizing the album for being background music and cell phone ringtones might be a bit like complaining that tea doesn’t taste like whiskey. Ratatat appears too talented in its crafting for the diffuse atmosphere of its latest release to be less than deliberate, and it falls instead upon the listener to add the missing ingredients: lyrics, images, dance moves, or perhaps just this afternoon’s grocery list. As a soundtrack to such things, LP3 flows through its playlist with little effort and fewer faults.

Be Your Own Pet - Get Damaged EP Review (by Matt Dickson)

Holy Shit! I just had one of the more enjoyable 6 minutes alone that I have ever spent. I finished listening to Be Your Own Pet’s EP “Get Damaged” and it was sweet. This group clearly was influenced by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs! And there is nothing wrong with that. For 6 minutes I found myself smiling in my cubicle, and really enjoying what I was listening to.

The first song on this EP, “Becky” is one of the best songs I have heard this year. Bold statement, but you really need to listen to this song. It covers genres and tells a hilariously awful story. Starting with an old 1960’s style surf riff I really had no idea what was going to come out when the song began. Then I was treated to lyrics that could probably be heard at any high school on any given day. I have been singing this song to myself since I first listened to it, one line in particular stood out. “Now give me back all the clothes you borrowed / Don’t give me bullshit bring them to school tomorrow.” Pure genius. This is the twisted story of a high school friendship that ends in murder and being locked up. Great lyrics, incredible music, just an overall fantastic song. If you have heard this song and don’t like it, good luck in life.

There is clearly a let down from “Becky” to the next two songs, but both of them hold merit. The first, “Black Hole” sounds like early No Doubt but with a much more bad-ass attitude. The lyrics are simple but entertaining, one line, “Eating pizza is really great / so is destroying everything you hate,” seems to sum things up for this song. There is an absolute entertainment value, and given the opportunity I would love to see what kind of concert Be Your Own Pet could put on. The final song, “Blow Yr Mind” is your standard garage punk three chord progression played fast and loud. It was interesting to see the variety in the three songs that Be Your Own Pet chose, so I can see why “Blow Yr Mind” was included.

Seriously, find a way to listen to “Becky” and take it in. It is such great storytelling lyrically and the music only improves the overall feel. Take 6 minutes, tune into this EP, and be prepared to spend some extra time afterwards. You will want to listen to it again.