AciD, Tales of Contempt, 2015

Album Review

There was a time -- it seems like the distant past now -- when rock music was a little bit more in your face. I don't mean in your face like fast or loud or noisy. I mean in your face like rebellious and uncomfortable and not necessarily "nice." There are pockets of that now still, obviously; but I think it's become rare to find a 3-minute pop song that captures that grit and well... ...contempt... of rock music from another time.

On their second LP, Tales of Contempt, Long Branch / Asbury Park band AciD serve up plenty of contempt and sneering sarcasm in the form of infectious, bite-sized chunks of well-crafted rock music. Principal songwriter, Bobby Kennedy, has a sharp wit that he turns both inward and outward throughout the record.

Over jagged guitars and a drum beat reminiscent of The Stone Roses, Kennedy sings about a relationship that's gone south. "I always do it wrong... ...You always do it right." It drips with sarcasm, and then he finally brings it around to, "Be yourself and all I ask of you is you do it somewhere else."

Things start out happy on the somewhere between punk and post-punk "Sea Hag." Kennedy's baby, though, just can't seem to live up to the standard set by his own self-perceived greatness; so he's gotta cut her loose.

"Rock & Roll Genocide" makes some pretty astute observations about the lack of originality in rock music with the band even calling themselves out, "I don't even like this song. It's already way too long." AciD have so much contempt for rock music that they can't even stand themselves.

AciD reveal some of their influences with an excellent cover of Love and Rockets' "Motorcycle." It rocks a little harder, and the production is a little cleaner, than the original which makes the song slot in nicely with the originals.

The hard-driving "Dance!" calls out the "keep at least 10 feet away from the stage, and stand with your hands in your pockets or sit on the floor" culture that permeates most modern rock shows. "Solitaire" and "Crushing My Heart" both begin with great intro hooks and both deal with the futility of love: "This 'together forever' thing is going nowhere" on "Solitaire" and, well, the title of "Crushing My Heart."

Tales of Contempt takes a lot of what used to be great about rock music -- singable songs with lots of musical edge, cutting lyrics that question a lot of the things in life that we just accept and take for granted -- and combines it in a tight 10-song package that's one of the best, old-school rock records you'll hear in a while. Kennedy is a virtuoso of the 3-minute rock and roll song, and the rest of the band -- Johnny Firestone, Joey Chyb, and Benjamin Clapp -- give the songs all the serrated edges they need to bring them to life.

AciD release Tales of Contempt tonight with a show at Eatontown's Cabaret. They'll be joined by The Ribeye Brothers. Doors for "Album Release Party-A-Go-Go" open at 8pm and just $5 lets you stand -- and Dance! -- under the contemptuous gaze of the band.

ACID "Motorcycle" from SurfReaper Films on Vimeo.
ACID Video for the song "Motorcycle"
Director: Shane M. Green

Primal Scream Played The Stone Pony with Acid, 5/22/15 (PHOTOS)

Get Your Rocks Off

"Do you mind if I stand here?" she asked me in her Scottish burr. "I'm visiting from Glasgow, and I can't believe Primal Scream are playing in a venue this size. I'll move if you need to take pictures."

"Don't worry about it. I'll shoot around you."

I let her slide in at just about center stage, and she and her friend went absolutely bananas throughout the entire set by Scottish psych-rockers Primal Scream. It gave me kind of a warm feeling inside to see people so overcome by the idea that they were literally close enough to touch one of their musical idols. More on all that in a minute.

There was lots of competition on a busy weekend for last night's show at The Stone Pony. Those that did make it out to the venue, though, got two performances that, together, shaped up as one of the best nights of the year for me so far.

Acid, who I'd just seen last Wednesday at The Saint, opened. They always come with attitude and just some really great songs -- "Dead," "Rock 'n Roll Genocide" -- and last night was no different. When he wasn't playing, Bobby "Special K" Kennedy deadpanned his way through the set. "Here's our big hit single that you've never heard before. Lucky you." If you haven't yet heard the band's gritty, glammy, "The Jesus and Mary Chain meets Cheap Trick" vibe, do yourself a favor and pick up either the band's self-titled debut or their recently released (Is it actually released yet? I don't know. They were selling it last night.) Tales of Contempt.

As the place got ready to welcome Primal Scream, the crowd tightened up in front of the stage. The lights went down; and, as Bobby Gillespie, Simone Butler, Andrew Innes, Martin Duffy, and Darrin Mooney took the stage, my Sottish friends went into a frenzy that would last the rest of the evening and then some. The band opened with "2013" (now "2015"), "Can't Go Back," and "Jailbird." That last one had the whole place bouncing and singing along.

Throughout the set, frontman Bobby Gillespie came to the edge of the stage right over us to shake maracas, jingle a tambourine, or exhort the crowd to clap and sing along. I looked to my left; and, when her hands weren't covering her mouth in disbelief, my friend was waving her arms above her head and smiling. I looked a little further down to my left and saw Amy from Little Dickman tossing her hair around as Innes solo'd right in front of her. Acid guitarist Johnny Firestone was a whirlwind in the crowd.

The band closed the main set with, by far, their biggest hit, "Movin' On Up," from their stone classic Screamadelica. The group sing along of "...my light shines on!" was almost religious.

Primal Scream came back for a three-song encore comprised of "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have," the fantastic "Loaded," and another crazy communal sing along for "Rocks." They closed the final song with one of those extended noise drones that I always love. As they left the stage, bassist Simone Butler handed me one of her picks. I handed it to my Glaswegian friend just as she finished tearing Gillespie's set list from the stage.

When the show was done, Asbury Lanes hosted an after-party. Several of us made our way over there, and I spotted my friends from the audience dancing in front of the stage. After a little while, Gillespie and the rest of the band came in. My friends got to take pictures with him, and he gave them both big hugs and spent time chatting. I got that warm feeling again. Here was a guy that just concluded a long tour in a foreign country taking the time to hang and to acknowledge his fans at 1 AM in an old bowling alley on the Jersey Shore.

I can't think of a better way to kick off what feels like it just might be an amazing summer of music and fun and joy here in our little home by the sea.

Here are some highlights from both of last night's sets. The rest are in the galleries.

Photo Highlights of Grooms, Acid, Paper Streets, and Have A Good Season from Asbury Lanes, 8/24/14

Grooms are currently touring with Cymbals Eat Guitars.

Finally

OK. So there were four other bands on last night's bill with Cymbals Eat Guitars.

First up were Eatontown's Have A Good Season. I think I may have caught like the last 30 seconds of their set as part of the Corrina, Corrina record release show a few months ago, but I haven't seen them since. During their set last night, I kept thinking to myself, "These guys really like Dinosaur Jr." And wouldn't you know it, they brought out the Dino cover, performing "The Lung" as one of their final songs. I wasn't complaining.

Next were a significantly tightened up Paper Streets. Getting back to playing has served the band well, and their classic 90s indie rock style was a good fit for the night. They played a few new songs, and I'm looking forward to hearing them in their recorded versions.

Acid from Long Branch broke from the indie rock template and delivered a set of their Lower East Side rock and roll. Frontman Bobby Kennedy sneers his way through songs about things like hating rock and roll and jumping in front of a train at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. It's all wrapped in some combination of grit, glam, pop, and punk.

Brooklyn's Grooms are touring with Cymbals Eat Guitars and sound like they draw from the same set of influences as Paper Streets. There's a definite Northwest vibe to the band's sound, and I couldn't help thinking of Doug Martsch and Isaac Brock during their set.

Anyway, I took pictures of all the bands. Go to Flickr to see them all. Here are some highlights.

More Happy Monday Photo Highlights: Doug Zambon, The Mischief Kids, Acid, 7/14/14

...As Promised

Here are some photo highlights from the other bands on last night's Happy Mondays bill. Doug Zambon of The Vansaders performed a few songs to get things started. The Mischief Kids did a rowdy set of hardcore hip hop. And Long Branch's Acid impressed with their garage / glam / punk. I mean really impressed as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, here are some shots of all three bands. More at Flickr, blah, blah...