From The Archive...

I have a few posts on here that never got published and are labeled as "Drafts". I deleted the ones that will never see the light of the day but this one seems to be worth posting. When I was a DJ at a college radio station, I spent a lot of time (too much time) reviewing CDs for airplay. The reviews were supposed to be short yet informative. These three reviews are ones I did for the radio station back in March of 2009. Here they are, direct from the "archive".

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THE BRAN FLAKES - I Have Hands
Cut-and-paste laptop music created with samples. Audio collage is a very good way to describe this. They're on the same label as Girl Talk (Illegal Art), but they don't use very much mainstream stuff, opting for samples that create somewhat of a child-like experience. Truly, this is music for the ADD generation.

YOUTH GROUP - The Night Is Ours
They're Aussies and this is the band's fourth full-length. This was recorded on a boat that was turned into a recording studio. Soaring indie-pop, like if U2 crossed with Death Cab For Cutie. "What is A Life?" was on the TV show Gossip Girl and they had a song on the now-defunct The O.C., so with that in mind, we can safely assume who their target audience is.

PANSY DIVISION - That's So Gay
Formed in San Francisco in 1991, this is their eighth studio album and first since 2003. This is their second record for the Alternative Tentacles label which is run by Jello Biafra. Biafra contributes vocals to the song "Average Men" on here which is one of the best tracks on the album. If you don't know, Pansy Division plays poppy punk-rock. Most of the songs are dirty and can't be played on the radio though!

PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY - The Good News EP

To start things off, they have a misleading name (apparently it's from a Fiery Furnaces song) since they are actually from Sydney, New South Wales. The band's lineup currently consists of Berkfinger, MC Bad Genius, and Calvin. I'm not making these names up. The sound mixes together pop, rock, punk, soul, indie, garage, and whatever other genres you can think of. These four songs are totally kickass.

Here are some reviews of the individual songs on the EP:
1. "The Good News": Kickass.
2. "Ready To Roll": Kickass.
3. "Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night)": Kickass.
4. "Wet Winter Holiday (Mike FWD Remix)": Kickass.

"The Good News," the title track, is my favorite. Don't take my word for it though, listen to these guys. They are awesome.

www.myspace.com/philadelphiagrandjury
www.philadelphiagrandjury.com

AGAINST ME - I Was A Teenage Anarchist EP

As a prelude to the June 8th release of their latest album, White Crosses, Against Me! give us this four-track EP. Two of the songs, "I Was A Teenage Anarchist" and "Rapid Decompression" are from the album and the other two, "One By One" and "Bitter Divisions", are B-Sides. I love the energy of this band and the grit in Tom Gabel's voice. They play (punk) rock that could fill up an arena, with everyone in attendance yelling the choruses out together with their fists in the air. I dig these guys a lot and am definitely looking forward to the new album. 2010 is shaping up to be a great year in music!

www.myspace.com/againstme
www.againstme.net

THE POSTELLES - White Night EP

This is the best music the Kooks have released since their debut album!

Except, uh, this isn't the Kooks. This is the Postelles. They are a quartet from New York City and two of the songs on this EP were produced by Albert Hammond, Jr. Garage pop meets British Rock. Fantastic stuff. In fact, this is the best new music I've heard in a while and you can thank it for me coming back from my self-imposed hiatus. The only drag is that the EP only consists of three songs. The whole album is set to land on July 27th, keep your eyes and ears peeled for that one!

www.myspace.com/thepostelles
www.thepostelles.com