SemiConscious Dot Org

Well, kids, it’s been a long time since I posted any music reviews. This is mostly due to a regrettable lack of funds; quite simply, fixing up an old house ain’t cheap. However, the arrival of my tax refund check, coupled with the onset of advanced New Music Withdrawal symptoms, led me to the record store for an orgy of wanton spending. And thus I can inform all of you what new tunes you need to own in order to be hep. You’re welcome.

The Black Keys – Attack & Release
After four albums of basic guitar-drums blues crunch, they expand their sound with everything from bass and keyboards to horns, banjos, strings, and the occasional backup singer. It all works. Early contender for Album of the Year.

Flogging Molly – Float
They’ve noticeably mixed down the punk in their Celtic-punk mix, sounding more like a traditional Irish band – albeit one on steroids. The songwriting is better, as is the singing. As a diehard Dropkick Murphys fan, it pains me to admit this, but this cd blows the Dropkicks’ latest out of the water.

The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely
Jack White’s other band releases its sophomore album. This one is significantly grittier and more raucous than their debut, Broken Boy Soldiers. In fact, parts of it sound suspiciously like the Stripes would sound if they had a second guitarist, bassist, and professional drummer.

Black Mountain – In the Future
Another band whose second album stomps their debut like a grape. Indie rock meets acid rock, gets injected with a healthy dose of Pink Floyd, and then is blown up stadium-size with lots of crunchy power chords.

The Sword - Gods of the Earth
And continuing the “what sophomore jinx?” trend, these guys transcend the unapologetic Black Sabbath worship of their debut by markedly upping the tempos and mixing a thrash element into the bongwater. (Bonus points awarded for “Fire Lances of the Hyperzephrians,” the year’s most awesome song title.) It’s crushingly heavy.

But not as heavy as:

Meshuggah – Obzen
This might be the heaviest band on planet Earth. All the tortured bellowing, bludgeoning riffage, and neck-snapping rhythmic shifts of their Swedish compatriots Opeth, with none of Opeth’s silly mellow acoustic prog rock interludes. Sheer brutality from end to end.

Drive-By Truckers – Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
It’s official: by replacing departed third guitarist Jason Isbell with a steel guitar player and noticeably raising the percentage of slow songs in the mix, the Drive-By Truckers have morphed from Southern Rock into Country. Not that this is necessarily bad – it’s a dark, grim, melancholy kind of country, light years away from the slick, overproduced shit churned out by Nashville – but it’s not really my thing. And, quite frankly, there’s too much of it. At 45 minutes, this would’ve been a masterpiece; at 75 minutes, it drags.

Rustic Overtones – Light at the End
If you live outside New England, you’ve probably never heard of these guys, which is entirely your loss. The pride of Portland, Maine hit hard luck when the major label that had just released what was to be their breakthrough album went belly-up. They broke up shortly thereafter. Now they’re back, sounding like they never left. You ain’t got shit if you ain’t funk…