Wonder Bar Edition

Holiday Friday

Another summer and another vacation come to an end this weekend.  I'll be getting right back after it with a business trip on Tuesday.

Until then, I plan on enjoying myself.  That will be a lot easier with Built to Spill coming to Wonder Bar in Asbury Park on Saturday night.

Sebadoh.  Built to Spill.  All I need now is for Dinosaur Jr. to add that NY/NJ date.

Come on down to Asbury Park tomorrow night.  I'll buy you a beer and we can toast the autumn.

Finally Heard Silver Age

Stream Bob Mould at Rolling Stone

On Monday, Rolling Stone began streaming Bob Mould's Silver Age a week ahead of its release.  It's a return for Mould to the sound of late-period Hüsker Dü with a bit of Sugar's pop thrown in for a nice mix.

If you're a fan of the rock version of Bob Mould like me, you won't be disappointed.

Silver Age comes out on Merge on September 4th.

The Ugly Club, You Belong to the Minutes, 2012

Sunday Run Album Review

I take vacation twice in the summer.  Once at the beginning, around Fourth of July, usually just me.  Then, again as the summer winds down and CoolDaughters 1 & 2 are on their two-week break from camp before school starts.  This week we're staying around the lovely Jersey Shore to take advantage of all the stuff we've been too busy to do all summer.  It'll be a week of beach, theme parks, and the end of summer Fair Haven Firemen's Fair.

Since this is going to be a New Jersey-themed week, I thought I'd take a New Jersey band with me to the beach on Saturday and for my run last evening.  The Ugly Club are a five-piece based out of Union County, NJ.  I'd been hearing a lot about their debut, You Belong to the Minutes, so I decided to give it a try.

Album opener and lead single, "David Foster Wallace," with its arrangement and Ryan Egan's vocals, immediately evokes some of the more soulful numbers from Spoon.  And, of course, I find its title immediately appealing.  From there, the band moves through a variety of sounds.  Taylor Mandel's keyboards and piano usually feature prominently.  There's the polished, epic Coldplay-like pop of "Under the Great Wave."  The Spoon influence is present again on "Loosen Up," but then that track closes with a funk jam that wouldn't seem out of place at a live show in a small club.  The first half of "Let's Sleep Around" features Egan doing an impressive falsetto and moves into the most straight-ahead pop rock on the album in its second half.  The title track closes the album with six minutes of an almost motorik beat (think Wilco's "Spiders (Kidsmoke)") and some distorted guitar jamming.

For me, the word that kept popping into my head as I listened to You Belong to the Minutes was "polish."  The Ugly Club have a distinctive sound that combines mindie-pop, funk, and jazz in a very well put together package.  If you've read this blog for any length of time, then you probably know that I enjoy a little more edge or roughness.  That edge is on You Belong to the Minutes in several spots like "David Foster Wallace," "Loosen Up," and the last minute or so of "Unraveling You."  Those are the parts of the record that really work best for me.  That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the rest of the album.  The musicianship and the songwriting on You Belong to the Minutes make the whole record a worthwhile listen.

I can see The Ugly Club's sound taking them very far.  Their sound combines a wide-ranging appeal with an intelligence that big-time popular music could really use right now.  I may be sticking around New Jersey for a little while, but I don't think The Ugly Club will be hanging around just New Jersey for too much longer.

You Belong to the Minutes came out in July and is available as a $1+ download from The Ugly Club's Bandcamp site.

One More Call Until Vacation Edition

Friday Afternoon

Gotta do one more call, and then it's time for end-of-summer vacation.

Bob Mould's new video for his great, new single "The Descent" seems appropriate for the occasion.

Hope your summer was everything you'd hoped.

Rock on...

New Flock of Dimes Single

"Curtain"

Wye Oak singer / guitarist Jenn Wasner also performs solo as Flock of Dimes.  She'll be releasing her latest single "Curtain" b/w "Apparition" on 9/25 via Merge.

Wye Oak's Civilian was one of my favorite records from 2011.  One of the reasons for that was Wasner's beautifully haunting voice.  "Curtain" is a definite departure from Wye Oak's 90's indie rock sound, but it's a pleasure to listen to Wasner in any style.  The more upbeat of the two songs on the single according to Merge's website, "Curtain" features a soaring, swirling melody to complement Wasner's vocals.



Oh, and for me, no mention of Jenn Wasner or Wye Oak would be complete without a link to the band's excellent cover of Danzig's "Mother" over at A.V. Undercover.


Wye Oak covers Danzig

There Are No Sebadoh Songs

Sebadoh at The Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, August 22nd, 2012

"There are Pavement songs.  There are Guided By Voices songs.  But there are no Sebadoh songs."  That was Lou Barlow, responding to an audience member's shouted comment that a new song didn't "sound like a Sebadoh song."

It was funny.  I'd said just about the same thing to the guy standing next to me in the crowd at Bowery Ballroom before the show even started.  My new friend was about the same age as I am, but neither of us had ever seen Sebadoh live before.  I told him that I'd seen Lou Barlow with Dinosaur Jr. the last time the reunited version of that band came through the area.  He told me that he'd been listening to Sebadoh since his early twenties.  Then I told him how I thought it was interesting that Dinosaur Jr. do pretty much one thing and have honed that thing to perfection over the last twenty-five or so years.  Sebadoh, on the other hand, have relied on multiple songwriters and have produced a catalog that covers almost every style of guitar-based indie rock, from acoustic singer-songwriter to fuzzed out noise.  I'm not sure if Lou Barlow feels this way, but in retrospect, getting kicked out of Dinosaur Jr. in 1989 may not have been a bad thing for him.  It definitely gave us a slew of great and varied songs.

I came to be at last night's show because CoolMom worried over the weekend about what I'd do with myself after she took the girls up to visit with their aunt at the end of this week.  She looked through the week's offerings and found out that Sebadoh were playing the Bowery Ballroom last night and encouraged me to go.  It was a great idea.

The show was all-ages.  There were folks my age and older.  There were also kids, basically.  Some appeared to be the children of some of those older fans from the 1990's; while others were (almost) on their own, like a young woman in the front row who, embarrassed, tried to shove her mother away as the older woman tried to solidify plans for how they'd reunite when the show was done.  There was also Underage Drunk Idiot, but that's the last mention I'll make of him.

Sebadoh, who last night consisted of Lou Barlow and Jason Loewenstein tag-teaming on guitar and bass along with Bob D'Amico on drums, split up into their constituent parts and served as their own opening acts.

First up were Circle of Buzzards -- Loewenstein and D'Amico -- they played a short set of heavy, face-melting rock.  Loewenstein, disguised in hoodie and sunglasses, graciously thanked us several times for "standing in the circle."

Next, Lou Barlow came out and did a set of acoustic songs, many from his pre-Sebadoh Sentridoh home recording project.  The songs from Weed Forestin' like "Temporary Dream," "Jealous of Jesus," and "I Can't See," written when Barlow was still in his teens, got wonderful reactions from the crowd around me.  My new friend commented on how he'd gotten over losing his first love with these songs, and a twenty-something girl standing near us threw her head back and clutched her temples in delight with the opening chords of almost every song.  Barlow also did a new song about feeling like a failure every time he saw the other parents picking up their children at his daughter's tony, public LA elementary school.  "Trust me.  Some of you in the audience will be able to identify with this."

Finally, at around 10:30, Sebadoh came out for their full band set.  Barlow and Loewenstein traded off on guitar and bass doing songs like "Careful," "Skull," "Ocean," "License to Confuse," and "Beauty of the Ride,"  They also did several new songs, at least one of which is available on their new, five-song, Secret EP.

Unlike certain other bands that are ruled by a single personality, Sebadoh look a lot more like a democracy.  I'd come to see Barlow really, but every time Loewenstein took over lead guitar and vocal duties the band became his.  And I've always loved watching Barlow play bass.  He's the opposite of the typical, straight-standing, stoic bass player.  He's all loose-limbs and shambling movements.  At one point, though, Barlow swung the bass -- a twenty-plus year old Squier that Loewenstein had purchased to be able to play in the band back in the day -- and broke one of the tuning machines.  Loewenstein, who didn't love the "be our own openers" idea as much as Barlow, mentioned that this would have been a nice time to have had an opening act with a bass.

They soldiered through the equipment malfunction, though, and Barlow announced, "This is our encore," just before the last song.  It was the last night of the tour, just about midnight, and they were all tired.  I could identify.  Barlow mentioned that Sebadoh have a new record coming out and invited us all to come see them again.  I, for one, can't wait.

As the lights came up and I headed out, I grabbed one of the tour-only Secret EP CD's.  Songwriting duties on the EP are, unsurprisingly, split between Barlow and Loewenstein.  It's a little taste that makes me look forward to the new Sebadoh record, which I'm sure will be full of songs that aren't Sebadoh songs.

"Watch The Corners" Video

Dinosaur Jr. Fandom at a Fever Pitch

Dinosaur Jr. have premiered the video for I Bet On Sky single, "Watch the Corners," over at Funny or Die.

Add this to the fact that I'm taking advantage of some alone time tomorrow to go see Dino bassist, Lou Barlow, and his band Sebadoh, and I've pretty much worked myself up into a fanboy frenzy waiting for this record.

I Bet On Sky comes out on JagJaguwar on September 18th.

Watch the Corners from Dinosaur Jr      

PS I Love You, Death Dreams, 2012

Sunday Run Album Review

I buy a lot of albums.  Digital, vinyl, even the occasional CD.  Sometimes, what happens is that I buy something, love it, then get wrapped up in other stuff and kind of forget about it.  That's happened with several records this year.

Given that not many of the newer releases have been grabbing me lately, I was kind of stuck this weekend about what I should review.  I do plan on getting around to talking in detail about the great, new albums from Spook Houses and Sleepies; but I wanted to curb some of my obsessive tendencies and break the posts up a bit this week.  Then I remembered PS I Love You.  I decided to go back to their release from all the way back in May of 2012, Death Dreams, and I took it out for a run with me this weekend.

I came across Death Dreams right about the time that Japandroids released Celebration Rock.  Another guitar / drum duo from Canada, PS I Love You are Paul Saulnier (guitar / bass / vocals) and Ben Nelson (drums).  Coming to Death Dreams after hearing Celebration Rock made for an interesting opportunity to contrast the album by Vancouver's Japandroids, and all of its youthful exuberance, with the Ontario duo's collection of songs inspired, according to the Paper Bag Records write-up about the band, by Saulnier's dreams about his own mortality while on tour.  I really like both albums, but something about Death Dreams appeals to my darker side.

And it isn't just the album's origin story that gives it its edge.  Much of the sound is rooted in eighties and nineties alternative guitar rock.  There's even a big, seventies almost glam rock sound on "Sentimental Dishes." "Don't Go" features a chiming, melodic riff over heavier, distorted rhythms.  "Future Dontcare" and "How Do You" achieve that kind of mid-eighties wall of sound.  There's more straight-up punk on "Toronto" and "Princess Tower."  "Saskatoon" moseys along on a slackery, almost Pavement-like vibe.  And the Mascis-esque guitar on "Red Quarter" is one of the album's highlights for me (there's my obsessive fanboyism again).

It would be silly to underestimate the contribution of Nelson's drumming to a band that consists of just two members.  Nelson does an excellent job providing the foundation for PS I Love You's sound, but it's Saulnier's guitar, and the varying ways he puts it to use, along with his yelp of a voice that really stand out on Death Dreams.

I've really loved several of 2012's "noisier" albums:  Japandroids' Celebration Rock, Cloud Nothings' Attack on Memory, Screaming Females' Ugly, and The Men's Open Your Heart.  Death Dreams belongs right up there with them, and I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle.  I'm glad I went back to it, and I don't think I'll forget about it again.

New A.C. Newman Track

"I'm Not Talking"

If you start with the New Pornographers, then A.C. Newman has been churning out expertly crafted pop songs for over a decade.  Songs like "Letter from an Occupant," "The Laws Have Changed," "Loose Translation," "All for Swinging You Around," "Use It," "Sing Me Spanish Techno," "Stacked Crooked," "Mutiny, I Promise You," "Crash Years," and so many more from the New Pornographers' catalog are almost-perfect pop gems.  And Newman has produced several gems as a solo artist as well, like "Miracle Drug," and "Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer."

Many of Newman's best songs benefit from some beautiful vocals from the likes of Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, and Nicole Atkins.  "I'm Not Talking," the first song from Newman's upcoming Shut Down the Streets, is more mellow than much of the New Pornographers' or Newman's own more power-poppy work; but the clever lyrics and the lovely backing vocals are all there.  One of the decade's best songwriters is still in fine form.

Shut Down the Streets arrives on October 9th via Matador.

You can download "I'm Not Talking" for the price of a Facebook "like," or stream it via YouTube.

Who's Going? Edition

Friday in the RB

I've already written about how much I love Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger by Toms River's River City Extension.

Well, tonight the band are playing a show in Red Bank, NJ's Riverside Gardens Park for the low price of FREE.

If you make it out tonight, come find me and you'll get to meet CoolMom and CoolDaughters 1 & 2.

Wherever you end up,

Rock on...

More New New Jersey Music

Spook Houses Release The Trying LP

The latest album by Ridgewood's Spook Houses, The Trying LP, is available today as a "name your price" digital download from the band's Bandcamp site.

New Jersey has been producing some excellent music recently, and you can add this one to the list.  With a sound reminiscent of quirky, slacker-y indie rock like Modest Mouse or Pavement, The Trying LP should appeal to lots of folks, like me, who have more than a few years on the members of this New Jersey four-piece.

The Trying LP is also available on vinyl via Evil Weevil Records.

Sleepies, Weird Wild World, 2012

Quick First Impression

Over at Noisey, they've got the full album stream of Sleepies, Weird Wild World.  I've been waiting for this one since being introduced to the "Evil Radio Edit" of single "Seriously."

Produced by The Men's Ben Greenberg, Weird Wild World is smart, funny, slightly off-kilter punk.  Songs like "Cool Boy," "Strange Feelings," and "Waste Water" show a level of creativity and an attention to songcraft that make you think that maybe this isn't a typical punk band.  Thomas Seely's guitar and, especially, vocals are front and center, but the virtuoso rhythm section of John Intrator (bass) and Max Tremblay (drums) -- particularly on songs like "Got a Way" and "Terra Firma" -- is a huge part of Sleepies' unique sound.

And the instrumental break in the unedited, album version of "Seriously" does a good job of summing up the personality of Sleepies in about a minute and fifteen seconds.

Weird Wild World will be available next Tuesday via GODMODE and on vinyl from 16oh.

Eternal Summers, Correct Behavior, 2012

Saturday Run / Sunday Cocktail Hour Album Review

I'm not good with Augusts or with Sundays.  I enjoy the summer and the weekend too much relative to the rest of the year or the rest of the week, and I always get a little depressed as either comes to an end.  As my friend MomVee points out over at Watering Place, August does have a lot going for it.  We usually take a family vacation right before Labor Day.  Sundays, too, are usually nice days.  CoolMom and I took a nice, long bike ride, and we went swimming with the kids.  I just can't get over that feeling that something good is ending.

One of the really nice things about August, though, is that CoolDaughter #1 has a month off from competitive swimming.  This means that I've got a little more freedom on Saturdays than I do the rest of the year.  I thought a band called Eternal Summers may be the perfect antidote for my August melancholy, so I took the latest from the Roanoke trio, Correct Behavior, out for a Saturday run.  I also played it for CoolMom while we enjoyed some pre-dinner margaritas on Sunday night.

Eternal Summers are Nicole Yun, Daniel Cundiff, and Jonathan Woods.  In a general sense, I guess the band would fall into the dream pop category.  Their sound has much more of an edge to it, though, than  than the music of the genre's standard-bearer, Beach House.

The record opens with the bell-like guitar tones of "Millions."  That's a sound that can always pull me right in, and, paired with Yun's vocals, it makes for a strong beginning.  "You Kill" features some big, 1990's guitar riffs, and "Girls in the City," this time with Cundiff doing a spoken-word vocal, goes for a  post-punk, shoegaze sound.  "Good As You" is a beautiful song that sounds like a lost Sundays track.

Correct Behavior comes in at just over thirty minutes, so it was perfect for my just over three-mile run.  As I got home, the last track, appropriately titled "Summerset," was just ending.  I was a little sad.  I'd really enjoyed the album and wished it were longer.  I didn't realize that I had my player set on repeat, so I was pleasantly surprised when that guitar from "Millions" kicked right in again.

Summer's ending.  The weekend is over.  They'll be back, though.  In the meantime, I'll have records like Correct Behavior to remind me of them for a short time while I wait.

Oh, and CoolMom loved it.

Titus Andronicus Announce Third LP

Local Business

So while I suffered through my late morning conference call, New Jersey's Titus Andronicus took to their Tumblr to announce the upcoming release of their third full-length, Local Business.  The album comes out on October 23rd via XL Recordings, to be followed by a "nationwide tour."

In the announcement, the band promises that this time around, the record will even include "moments of pure positivity, brief respites from the usual doom and gloom."

Titus Andronicus will always occupy a special place in the history of this blog.  Not only are they from New Jersey and proud of it; not only is The Monitor one of my favorite records of the last several years; not only did I stop Patrick Stickles on the street in Asbury Park, right before the Jeff Mangum show, to give him a hearty handshake and to tell him just how much I loved his album; but Titus Andronicus were also the subject of this blog's first-ever post.

That post was a review of the first show of their "Screaming on Planet Titus" tour at the Stone Pony during which they performed a few of the songs that will appear on Local Business.  Those songs sounded great then, which bodes very well for the new album.

Here are the boys performing Local Business track, "Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus," during that Stone Pony show.

BrooklynVegan Premieres a Track from NJ's The Everymen

"Coney Island High"

Over at BrooklynVegan, they've got a new track from Jersey Shore (Tuckerton, according to the band's Facebook page) band, The Everymen, available to stream and download.

It's the first track off of The Everymen's upcoming New Jersey Hardcore, which is due out in October on Killing Horse Records.

A few days ago, I happened upon The Everymen's Bandcamp page and really liked what I heard.

"Coney Island High" is Jersey Shore punk with a sax.  What more do you need?

Your Rock Alternative

FM106.3 WHTG, Eatontown

In the mid-1980's, I worked at the snack bar for Sea Girt, NJ's public beach.  Sea Girt sits about 20 miles south of the town where I grew up, so I spent a good deal of time driving my silver Toyota Tercel in the summers.  As I drove down Route 18 each day, on my way to cook hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwiches for Bill Parcells and for beachgoers recovering from a night at The Parker House, I listened to a local radio station called FM106.3, "Your Rock Alternative." The bumper of that Toyota sported the station's black, vinyl "FM106.3 -WHTG-" sticker until I junked it in about 1993.

Loretta Windas, Bart Cross-Tierney, Rich Robinson, Mike Marrone, and Matt Pinfield (who, of course, found national fame as an alternative/indie music expert and MTV host) were with me in the car, at the snack bar, and, usually, wherever I was for the evening.  They played The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, Violent Femmes, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Church, Psychedelic Furs, The Replacements, The Pixies, Camper Van Beethoven, R.E.M., U2, local-ish acts like Dramarama, and on, and on.  You could not hear most of this music anywhere else on commercial radio in the New York area in 1987.  I listen to the music I do today because of that station and those DJ's.

I feel like the station peaked from about 1986-1988.  Maybe I missed some good years while I was in college, but as the 1990's dawned, and "alternative" became just another category for music-industry marketers, WHTG started to sound like a lot of other stations.

Tonight, I took CoolDaughter #2 out for a taco as we waited for her sister to come home from her summer camp field trip.  I saw a poster advertising a WHTG reunion coming up later this month and featuring Dramarama and good, old Matt Pinfield.  The show will take place down in Ortley Beach, NJ.  There must have been several advertisers on WHTG from Ortley Beach back in the day, because I can't hear the name of the place and not think of the radio station.  Appropriate, then, that they'd have their reunion there, I guess.

Maybe CoolMom and I will take the minivan down to Ortley Beach, and I can go crazy when the current incarnation of Dramarama breaks into "Anything, Anything."  Maybe Loretta, Bart, Rich, or Mike will also be there, and I can pair faces with voices.

I wonder if they'll have any of those stickers.

Button Pushed

Beach Day, "Beach Day"

This blog has made me pay closer attention to the ways in which I discover music.  I'm finding that it happens in some interesting ways.

After coming across Eternal Summers on Tumblr, I headed over to their label, Kanine Records, to buy some of their music.  Turns out Kanine is home to some other excellent artists like Chairlift and Surfer Blood.

Kanine is also cool in that they stuff some little extras in with their shipments.  The Dawn of Eternal Summers vinyl came with a 7" single called "Dreaming" by The Izzys and three, little buttons: one with the company logo, one for Eternal Summers, and another that said, simply, "Beach Day."  I had to investigate.

Beach Day, it turns out, are a Hollywood, FL trio whose first, self-titled 7" came out on July 17th.  "Beach Day," the song, is two-and-a-half minutes of old-school... well... beach music:  drums, reverb, twangy guitars, and female vocal harmonies with just enough Dum Dum Girls-style darkness to keep things interesting.  In other words, exactly my thing.

That little button, which CoolDaughter #1 has already claimed for her book bag this fall, now has me wondering when I'll get to hear some more from this Florida band.

YES! YES! YES! New Bob Mould!

"The Descent"

Bob Mould gives us the first taste of his upcoming Silver Age, due on September 4th via Merge.

And it's just... it's just... Freaking fantastic is all!

I'm gonna need a minute...

Passion Pit, Gossamer, 2012

Sunday Run Album Review

I feel like I've been getting away from the "mainstream indie" part of this blog's original mission.  Local music, Asbury Park, the saga of my broken mobile phone:  all stuff that's been on my mind lately, but I think I've gotten a little off-topic.

I resolved, therefore, this weekend to take a look at one of the big releases from the last few weeks.  Passion Pit are one of those synth-heavy bands that fall outside the boundaries of my normal listening. After thinking about it, though, I was reminded that I absolutely loved "The Reeling," "Sleepyhead," and "Little Secrets" from their debut album, 2009's Manners.  I decided I'd take Gossamer out on a hot, hot run on both Saturday and Sunday.

From the church-like synths that open the album and lead into "Take a Walk"'s march of immigrant hardship, Gossamer moves through the sounds of 80's synth pop on "Carried Away," slow grooving R&B -- perfect for a hot day on the pavement -- on "Constant Conversations," and Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips on "Love Is Greed."  The overall effect is cinematic, almost like a soundtrack.

The plot of the story revolves around frontman, Michael Angelakos, beating himself up over his failings.  "You should go if you want to," he sings to his partner on "I'll Be Alright;"  "This madness is my fault alone," on "On My Way;" "Hurting her is too maddening," on "Hideaway."  All of this is bathed in soaring, sometimes extremely upbeat-sounding, synths and Passion Pit's trademark high-pitched and distorted vocals.

Only on album-closer "Where We Belong" does Angelakos get a little slack.  "All the things you can't control should never destroy your love or hopes...  I found a place where we belong."  Sounds like she's staying after all.

I'm a little surprised at how much I like this record.  It's full of a lot more emotion than I'd usually expect from music that relies so heavily on electronics and vocal effects.  The record, though, is dense with warmth and feeling.  It also sounds just great.

Jersey Fresh

Nicole Atkins and The Black Sea at The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, August 4th 2012

As CoolMom and I walked by The Stone Pony on our way to a pre-show dinner with friends last night, I heard someone behind us say, "The Stone Pony?  What is this place?  What do they do here?"  My heart hurt a little.

I soon got over it, though.  We enjoyed a great outdoor meal on the boardwalk on a surprisingly comfortable, early-August evening.  A couple of weeks ago, I'd won free tickets to see Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea at their annual homecoming show in Asbury Park, and right after our dinner we made our way over to the venue.

Turned out that my name wasn't on the list, but I told the woman in the box office my story and she waved CoolMom and me through.  We arrived just as opener James Wells was packing up his set.  The place was virtually empty at this point, and our friends had never been to the place before; so we took a few moments to check out the guitars and posters lining the walls.

Luke Rathborne and his band were up next.  They also played to a relatively empty house, but the folks who came late really missed something.  Even with the small crowd, Rathborne played a high-energy set of power pop that CoolMom and I really enjoyed.

Nicole Atkins and her band, The Black Sea, took the stage right after 10 p.m.  By this time, the crowd had grown.  Atkins went right into "Maybe Tonight" from her excellent debut album, Neptune City.  She followed that with "Brooklyn's On Fire!" a nice audience singalong number from the same record.  Throughout the evening, Atkins acknowledged several familiar faces in the audience, and it was obvious that she was comfortable being back on her home turf.  "Where's my family?" she asked at one point, followed by, "There's one.  There's one..."  She obviously had some loyal fans in the audience.  Several people, ranging in age from tweens to folks much older than I am, danced and sang almost every lyric all night.

Atkins also premiered several new songs from an upcoming record, saying that this was the first time she'd ever played them with a full band.  I'm not sure if it was the setting, because this can be said of the whole performance, but most of the new songs had a much rockier feel than her past work.  Among the new stuff, the one that stands out for me is one I think is called "It's Only Chemistry."

Nicole Atkins has a beautiful, loud, powerful, rangy voice that she used to full effect last night.  In contrast to someone like Neko Case who rears back, feet planted on the stage, and blows you away with the sheer physicality of her voice, Atkins is constant motion, using her eyes and her hands to add layers of emotion to each song.  On "The Way It Is" and on Mondo Amore track, "The Tower," Atkins took full advantage of the chance to show the whole place what she's capable of live.

I think I saw an interview somewhere in which Atkins, a Neptune City native, said that she's been playing The Stone Pony since the age of around 14.  In this piece from the Star Ledger's Jersey Impact blog, Atkins says, “I guess if you’re somebody that could travel anywhere in the world to see me play, you should come see me play here.”  She owned the place last night.

What do they do at The Stone Pony?  Probably a lot of things.  But on a night like last night, anyway, they give you a chance to see that the Jersey Shore is still producing some great music.

Sugar, Copper Blue, 1992

Flashback Mini Review

Bob Mould signed to Merge Records earlier this year.  His next album, Silver Age, is due on September 4th.  Merge describes the record as "an intense and concise ten song blast far more reminiscent of Bob’s latter-day Hüsker Dü output."  I've already placed my pre-order.

After Hüsker Dü and a couple of excellent solo albums, Mould channeled his energies into the power trio, Sugar.  Merge just reissued Sugar's two full-lengths, so I figured I'd do a mini review of one of my favorite albums of all time, Sugar's 1992 Copper Blue.

Copper Blue finds Bob Mould honing the noisy pop of Hüsker Dü's "Makes No Sense at All."  On the album, Mould takes a look at the genre he helped create and distills it into ten almost-perfect tracks.  Like all classics, Copper Blue sounds great today even though it is such a product of its own time.

From the power chords that open the album on "The Act We Act," to the opening riff on "A Good Idea" that pays homage to fellow alt-rock pioneers The Pixies, to the Brian Wilson-passed-through-the-grunge-filter of "Helpless," "Hoover Dam," and "Man on the Moon," to the beautiful jangle pop of "If I Can't Change Your Mind," there isn't a weak song in the bunch.

If you don't own Copper Blue yet, go to your favorite retailer and get yourself a copy.  Better yet, whether you own the record or not, purchase the re-issue set from Merge and get the much harder-edged Beaster and Sugar's second album, File Under:  Easy Listening, in the bargain.

Jersey Stand Up Edition

Friday Night

Rebecca Soni, Plainsboro (via Freehold) -- Silver in the 100 Breast, Gold and TWO world records in the 200 Breast

Cullen Jones, Irvington -- Silver in the 50 Free, Silver in the 100 Free Relay, heavily favored for Gold in the Medley Relay

Connor Jaeger, Fair Haven (and Central Jersey Aquatic Club, CoolDaughter #1's team) -- Qualified for tomorrow's final in the 1500 Free

We enjoy the sport of swimming here in CoolHousehold.

In honor of the achievements of these fine New Jersey athletes, here's some Jersey Fresh music.  If you're around Asbury Park tomorrow night, come and see Nicole Atkins on her home turf at The Stone Pony.

Rock on...

Back to Basics

"Sugarcube"

Made a few abortive attempts at blogging about some not that interesting to me things today.  Maybe I'm feeling a little down as the end of summer approaches and the fall business travel schedules of CoolMom and me begin to fill, but nothing's been grabbing me lately.

One of the things I've found as I've tried to learn to play the guitar over the last year-plus is that, when you're in a rut, sometimes it's good to get back to basics and to start from the beginning.  With that in mind, here's, probably, my favorite music video of all time.  Even without the video, hearing this song brings back memories of the years CoolMom and I spent together in Seattle during the 1990's.  There's something funny and predictable about the fact that the song that never fails to take me back to the only time in my life I've spent outside the New York Metropolitan Area is by a band from New Jersey.