Isaac and the Awkward Situations

G string Orchestra
I do not have a cd review yet for this band, but their new album is very good. I wanted to show you this drawing.
SILVERO

Silvero (Bend, OR)
Spiritual Vamp
Recorded at Olympia, WA at dub narcotic.
engineered by ephraim nagler
mastered by carl saff
Nella D-vocals, James Ryan Adams-guitar, vocals. James Bigknife-drums, Annika Kat-bass

Crashing cymbals, overdriven guitars and a powerful female voice are the three primary sonic elements that punch you in the face on this debut EP from Bend, Oregon’s “Silvero.”

On the opening track, (Longhornz) there is a funky rhythm and cowbell that will make you pump your fist in the air. Perhaps a radio edit could cut the first minute of slow building intro and just rock right out the gates.
Nella D enchants with her confidence and fucked up lyrics. “Normal boys are so mundane… They can’t give me what I want.” She condemns normality and praises insanity and addiction, shouting “We’re addicted to life’s afflictions.”
“Give me what I want to hear, cuz this girl’s got a special ear.”
The first half of Terrebonne Honey; “If I die let me die in the army of the lord” hasn’t got much in the way of lyrics, but evokes mood in spades. Her voice is looped around the hook, each time she sings it, the subtle variations shine through. The second half picks up and chugs along to tremendous crescendo.

The third track is a Randy Newman Cover, “Guilty.” This band seems to own it and renew it. “Bad man” is also a cover, from the Oblivians, should I have heard of them?

“Overturf” contains some sweetness. Vem kan segla in Swedish and the last is the heaviest, most fearsome grunge, yet its a singalong in the style of 50s rock n roll. The album ends with odd reverbed twinkling, which is just the way it began, perhaps it was designed so that it could be played on repeat. Bass player Annika Kat helps out on the vocals on this hypnotic song.

Most of the tracks have lots of space, a minimalism that is refreshing. My only suggestion would be that Nella’s voice could be clearer if the production was more clean. We hear every amp buzzing and Jim’s careful, reserved drumming isn’t lost in a sludge of overdubs. This bare bones approach to blues is part of what made The Black Keys so exciting back in the 2000s.The listener pays more attention to the words Nina says, as she sometimes makes us wait for eternities between lyrics. The band ebbs and flows through slow dragging tempos and powerful upbeat rhythms. These songs are long, with many changes and variations. This album hits on all four cylinders. Its a gem, that accurately reflects the sound of the band playing live.

For fans of The Pack A.D. Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers, The Dead Weather, Janis Joplin

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Silvero/298241350273681

Kill the band (NYC)
Mock Bottom
Recorded and mixed by Jimmy Goodman at Leopard Studio
mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling sound.

KIlly Dwyer infuses each word with inflection and melodrama. The band is consistent and competent whether they are emulating heavy rock, country, lounge, a funk – porn groove or even gospel. Like in their live performace, songs stop abruptly sometimes to have a lounge breakdown or for the band members to indulge themselves or fight.
You can certainly forget that the drum sounds are coming from someones mouth, its Nicholas Fox providing all those percussive sounds. Blair Frowner’s saxophone provides the perfect cheesy ambiance in the second and third tracks.
Fourth track “See Something say something” has that mad glee that Killy is known for. It is a twisted children’s song. The premise is absurd, throwing a cat into the river because you think its a bomb, yet the song’s protagonist must realize it is a cat, as she frequently gives hints that she knows the truth. “I had to stop that bomb from meowing down to zero!” Everyone who rides crowded subways will recognize the situation and the paradox that their catch phrase asks you to report suspicious packages, yet there is no one to report to because budget cuts have removed personnel from many of the subway stations.

On Mock Bottom she makes the joke “On a scale of Lindsay Lohan to Mel Gibsen, I’m a Charlie Sheen.” This is another song about being a tortured, alcoholic artist, or wanting to play that stereotype.
The best track is Ben KIngsley, and sums up the artistic frustration minorities must feel when they are played by actors in films. “No one respects a retard, unless he’s played by Leonardo Dicaprio,” There something so wonderful about humorous, angry lyrics, sung beautifully in harmony; through the sarcasm a touching message shines through.

There was no need to include two versions of “Girl Balls” and “Don’t Attack Me With Your Happiness.” Those are fine recordings, that could be available as downloads for fans on the internet who just can’t get enough Kill the Band. Repetition is tricky when you are doing comedy music, it seems fine live, because some audience members will miss the joke the first time, so a band becomes used to playing their songs with lyrical repetition. If the band had to have two versions, the jokes should be different, the lyrics should have more variation, the variation was all in the mood, and that wasn’t different enough for me.

It is neat to hear the bonus track “I Turned You Gay.” which dates form an earlier era when Killy was always performing solo. She provides the percussion and backing music with her voice into a looping pedal.

This album is fun and weird, and captures well the band’s live set. Something about it certainly encapsulates New York City. Track 5 is a sketch about the frustrations of recording in a studio. Mike Milazzo (guitar) gets to show us his angry voice. There is some of that in “Clone U” as well, with the sound engineer chipping in that he will “fix that in the mix.” Yet, he didn’t. Its a joke, its meta- its postmodern, an album that knows it’s an album.

FCCwarning 1, 5, 7,8 ,11, 12

For fans of ??? Killy Dwyer? Its pretty unique, not much like other humorous rock acts.

http://www.facebook.com/KILLTHEBAND

and just as a bonus, a drawing if Georgia’s Sarah Peacock, who played Fairbanks this August at the Tanana valley State Fair.

Coming soon, drawings of Ukulele Russ, The Sweeteners, Broombox and more. Laters…