Junkie Jones

Before the review starts, I need to write a note for all the American listeners who think Europop or Eurodance music is superficial and soulless. Who Made Who is a trio from Denmark and they brazenly admit to making “DISCO” music. But what they use to shape their so-called disco are sounds most often heard in funk, surf, folk and numerous other odd influences.

The band also sticks with a male vocalist - who would never be be mistaken for a diva - for about half the songs and the other half are instrumentals. The lyrics are for the most part intelligent and creative.

Now then, I still can only give this band a 50/50. Half the time they had me funking and rocking, noting the funkadelic bass lines of “Rose” and “Johnny Lucky,” the surf rolling in with “Space for Rent” and the cool spaghetti western undertones of “Small Wonders.” The other half of the time I was waiting for the next song and hoping it would be an improvement to the last.

“Cigar” is my favorite - a Ventures-like guitar is bouyed by a heavy dance beat and synth sounds the surf boys never imagined. The lyrics almost run counter to the music, but I like the slight contradiction.

The only song I had to stop - it stretched Eurodance into an unbearable parody of itself - was “Satisfaction,” and it was the “bonus track.” Ugh. The song is on Gomma Gang 3’s mix CD and the mix is a much better fit for that CD. Its cliched music and distant (read snotty) vocals are what give the whole Euro-sound a bad name here in the slightly less snotty states.

The CD as whole seemed to decline in quality toward the end. I don’t know if it was due to listener overload, similarity in songs, or just a matter of the band putting the best at the top. If they hoped to overcome that downhill slide with “Satisfaction,” it was a bad, bad idea.

“Who Made Who” is worth a listen. I’ll always encourage listening to music from outside your geographic comfort zone. As my old Japanese grandmother used to say, “Every time you try something new, you live a little longer.” (At last count, she was 98.) Increase your lifespan at www.cduniverse.com. Search “Who Made Who.”

Music can be hard to visualize. Not so with Shellshock’s “Injected.” Just imagine drum n bass on a hot, hot date with heavy metal and neither brought protection … fast-forward nine months and you have Shellshock.

This U.K. band has cleverly mixed elements of metal, hiphop, techno and dnb along with raging vocals to create a unique mix that may make you think of System Of A Down or Slipknot, but the thoughts are fleeting. This stuff stands out and stands on its own.

The first song, “Ultimate Solution,” is the most metal of the bunch. Heavy metal singers with those death-metal, bottomless-throat vocals always freak me out some. I’m afraid I’m going to read the liner notes that say: “And that was the last note he ever sang.” But Shellshock wisely mixes it up enough to get me past my squeamishness, adding in pure melodic vocals and some respectable rapping. The lyrics are wise - and this carries through all the tunes - and the music is nice and dense.

As we go along, the dnb elements get more exposure. I’m a dnb idiot and was a bit skeptical when I read the release for this CD. I had to hear it, but I never dreamed this matchup would have me hopping and head banging at the same time. Yes. It’s good.

In my opinion, best of the tunes goes to “Association With the Times” - because of my dnb leanings. “Parallel Reality” actually has the most impressive mixing of genres on the CD. It’s all worth a listen, even if you tell yourself you’re only trying it for curiosity’s sake. Expect originality.

Visit Shellshock’s Web site at www.shellshock.tv or their home at www.myspace.com/shellshockuk.

Thanks to the high-decibel exposure I’ve been getting from local bands, harder and harder rock is appealing to me more and more. So The Sammus Theory came to the top of the stack at just the right time. Great sounds riding the edge of metal and lyrics riding the edge of insanity.

I almost didn’t get past the fourth track on the CD because the 2, 3 and 4 tracks were so compelling and brain-frying I kept putting them on a loop. “Lead Foot” is the best tortured romantic love song I’ve heard in eons - and believe me, I know eons. Here’s a taste:

“You try to drag me but I’m weighted
with my lead foot.
A ball and chain around my legs slows me down,
I cannot seem to move.
Drop me up from so high into water …
Watch me drown; you’re my lead foot.”

Beautiful, I know (sniff). Sammus, responsible for both lyrics and manic vocals, has a unique twist to his words that speaks to a deeper part of my brain. And I’m not so strange. I think your brains must have those dark little holes you crawl into sometimes and hey, here’s the background music for that space.

“Hole In the Wall” is a perfect example of speaking volumes with few words.

“Your last breath cried out loud.
It was a bullet hole in the wall.
No one really understood
What pulled the trigger …”

Although the first half of “Man Without Eyes” is much stronger and memorable than the second half, my greatest whining complaint is that I was sent the radio-edited, clean version of the lyrics. Should an independent CD even have a clean version? Did they send the sanitized version because I’m a chick? Did I come off as a prude in my past reviews? I must look into this while you look into The Sammus Theory at www.thesammustheory.com.

If you remember the first time you heard the raw guitars and nakedly emotional vocals of Joan Jett or Suzi Quattro - and liked the experience - you’ll love The Joys.

The band (formerly POPJOY) recorded this nine-song CD in an atmosphere as close to a live set as one can get in a studio. Marathon sessions with two takes at the most and no overdubbing give the songs that great live show feel.

Though definitely retro, The Joys sound fresh and spanking new. Vocalist and guitarist Sarah Smith delivers her lines with honesty, deftly alternating between toughness and vulnerability. While some of the lyrics best express teen angst, the rest can be surprisingly insightful and hit close to the heart.

“Why” is a great “we won’t be fooled again” song with some original touches in the lyrics:

Kissed on the lips,
by the frog of events
My life is a cliff,
I’m on the very edge of it …
I’m gonna jump

… and naturally, we get fooled again.

“Not Original” is a very original tune with an impressive interplay between instruments and vocals. Tight lead guitar. Great harmony on the chorus. This is just a top-notch performance, one that I’d love to see live.

I could go on and on (surprising with such a stingy number of songs), but I prefer you take the time to listen to The Joys at www.thejoys.ca and then buy the CD. Yeah, I said buy the CD. You’re not getting mine.

I totally got some wrong impressions at the Q on Saturday night … and I’ll let you take that as many ways as you want.

What was really great though was the band. Hot hot! My favorite chica drummer and three really good-looking guys have made the GJ music scene better, faster and louder. Wrong Impressions made a great impression on the belly-to-back, jam-packed crowd as well.

Danny, Bill, Johnny G and Bridgett have created a nicely dense, tight, alt-rock sound that I need to hear more of - it’s sweet to find a relatively new band whose originals sound even better than their covers. It’s rare and I love that. And Bill, that punk rock harmonica … well, I can’t say in a family blog just how hot that was. More, please.

Beyond the music, the group has a vibe that’s very crowd friendly. The Q’s a perfect venue for them because they seem to thrive on the face-to-face energy and then put out an even more intense sound from it. Great job, guys. I won’t willingly miss another one of your shows.

OK, one last thing, and you all need to hear this - just because the band is friendly and lovin’ your lovin’ DOES NOT mean you should get up on the mic to jam with them. When your name is on the poster, do your thing. Otherwise, let the band do theirs. If not, I am so going to come in to the next Wrong Impressions show with my trumpet and get into the mix. So what I only know how to hit a high C, I’m sure they play a C note every now and then.

But none of us want that. Trust me. Just give us more Wrong Impressions.

Dear music fans,

I’m ashamed to say that I have failed in bringing you all the “obscure east European ’70s rock” that you so richly deserve. Thankfully, my quickly-becoming-favorite friends at Rooftop Records have sent in Leroy Hanghofer’s “White Trash.”

This CD is totally fun and funky. The European rock samples twisted into the songs work great. The CD is UP - lots of boogie, suave disco from the continent and a nice touch of punk. Honestly - except for one song - it is pure fun and I keep finding myself plugging it back in the CD player instead of moving on to my next review.

And you know how great your voice sounds when you’re singing in the bathroom? How, if she could only hear you, Aretha would be giving the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. you deserve? Well, this group of DJs record almost all their music in the bathroom of Gomma studio and better yet, they invite some fabulous female singers in to add vocals that range from hilarious to inspired. Did I mention they were usually drunk? And sometimes forget they’re supposed to be singing in English?

My favorite song of the jane-genre is “Bathroomboogie.” Next is a tune with the vocals sped up until they sound like a child’s voice using some decidedly unchildlike expletives. It made me laugh out loud.

The song “H-Boy” is a tragic ode to the heroin lifestyle and the singer’s boyfriend’s death, dismissed as just another loser OD’d. This is the one song I mentioned that wasn’t fun. It’s haunting and sad and you know it happens repeatedly, every day, the world over.

I can’t leave “White Trash” on a down. It’s so funky and fun, I recommend it to anyone who likes their music collection to include flashback disco/flashforward funky techno that can make them laugh. Who wouldn’t want that?

Find “White Trash” at www.amazon.com by searching Leroy Hanghofer.

The beautifully haunting tone established on the first track “Earthone” lingers throughout most of “From The Top” even if it’s an acoustic instrumental or Remo singing about drab Mondays.

I had no idea when I was listening to Remo that I was hearing a one-man band. Although it’s much more frequent these days, I’m still amazed when one person can fill all the silences and nuances of a 12-track CD. The music and lyrics certainly don’t suffer. Remo’s words are compelling and even prophetic.

“Suspect Package,” recorded before the recent London subway terror attacks, paints a society already living under a shadow. “Terror, fear, paranoia; it’s here/So many times so many years/It’s nothing new to these eyes and ears/It’s all part of the status quo/ You can’t always go where you want to go.”

I couldn’t get my head around “Sleepy Jungle.” It makes me think of Neil Young vs. The Doors. And not in a good way.

So, it comes down to the fact that this is not a CD to dance to, but I still like it. Who would have thought? I think the song “Earthone” itself is worth the price of admission. Go to www.earinnow.com/pages/1/index.htm to hear a sample and buy the CD.

I always cringe when I get a CD from British boy singers (even when they’re actually American). I never think I’m going to break open the next Beatles or Rolling Stones, instead, I’m terrified of another Oasis. You remember them - the pseudo-alternative, pseudo-intelligent, pseudo-fill-in-the-blanks band that ruined radio for seven months or so.

Obligatory British Villains is not Oasis. For one thing, there’s a woman in there, though her presence is hardly felt. For another, O.B.E. is light on pretentiousness. What’s left? Hooky, smooth, made-to-be-pop music.

The misspelled “Alright” opens the gig and sets the tone for the entire CD. The music is lush, every instrument is layered somehow to make it sound like it’s the lead. That’s hard to pull off without creating the cacophony of say, dueling lead guitars, but it happens and it works. Anywhere I feel a touch of electronica I feel warm and happy. But my happiness doesn’t last.

Robin Locksley writes and sings the songs. All the songs. All in the same tone. The freshness of the music, which is really wicked left alone, gets bogged down in his unrelenting comfort zone.

Still, some of these tunes are unforgivably catchy. I don’t really care for the lackluster vocals of “Garden,” yet this is the song I find myself humming hours later. And I hate it.

“I’ve gotta strange feeling/I’ve been here before …” opens the song “Remember,” and at this point in the CD, we’re all feeling that. By now Locksley’s voice is the monotonous drone of the obsessive/compulsive neighbor’s vacuum cleaner and I want to get one of those karaoke vocal extractors so I can listen to only the music.

The rest of the CD passes on, creating an annoyingl aural itch impossible to scratch. It’s sad. Oasis had no talent to waste, so who cared. Obligatory British Villains’ music is incredible and so I care.

But if you like a certain amount of predictability in your music, you might find this perfect. I’d recommend any of the songs, taken as a single dose. The full CD is an OD waiting to happen. Pick and choose at www.cdbaby.com/cd/obv or www.robinlocksley.com.