back for the attack

It's been requested that I hot link some samples of the tunes that I've been reviewing. I've been reluctant to do this because a lot of what I review here has yet to be officially released and I don't need the hassle of anyone getting all legal on my ass. That and I really don't have anywhere to host the tunes (most all these can be found on private torrent trackers, btw). However, I am open to suggestions...

scissor sisters - Ta Dah: What began as sort of a one-hit-wonder with their brilliant disco-y cover of the floyd classic 'brain damage', kind of evolved into their familiar, yet new-ish take on dancey classic rock a la elton john and the bee gees. Funny I should mention that because the aforementioned knight makes a guest appearance on this disc. Lots of songs about dancing and having a good time usually makes for a good time.

eric bachman - To the Races: Solo release from archers of loaf / crooked fingers frontman. The rumour is he's got a new bird here in town, which would explain the frequent area performance over the past few months where this material has been previewd. After catching the three said prerformances, I'll have to say I felt right at home with this upon first listen. Real stripped down to mostly just eric & classical guitar recorded in a north carolina hotel room. Me like.

clinic - visitations: Nothing new here, it's clinic doing the clinic schtick. But if you happen to enjoy that kind of thing, as I find myself doing more often than not, then you'll whole heartedly dig this. Another release filled with pulsing rhythms, mumbled vocals, and of course that unmistakable organ-y sound.

radio dept. - Pet Grief: Be the first on your block to get into these guys before Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette soundtrack thrusts them into the lime light. Cool whispy atmospherical pop.

lemonheads - Lemonheads: Self-titled albums this far into one's career are pretentious by nature. It's as if it signals some kind of bullshit rebirth or focus or insert-played-out-reason here. You may ask why I'm even remotely interested in this since frontman evan dando left us with a clunker of a solo disc a few years back. Well I have a good answer - the descendents. That's right, the milo lovin' punkers of yore, specifically Garth Hudson and Karl Alvarez who make up the backing band. Oh, that and good ol' J mascis makes an appearance. The result is as you'd expect, kind of a Lovey era lemonheads. It's too bad he didn't release this as a follow up to It's a Shame About Ray when people still gave a crap.

pajo - 1968: This was dripping in potential, as dave pajo has played the guitron for such notables as slint, papa m, and zwan. Unfortunatley, this just kind of meanders along even with the inclusion of backing instruments (which his miriad of other solo releases lack). The end result is a bit dry mainly due to trite lyricisms. It bored me to tears as I drove to work this morning.