The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Armed Love (2004)

The rock hasn't stopped!  And neither has the pop by the sounds of it.  The (International) Noise Conspiracy continue to produce catchy rock tunes on their fourth album.  Tunes like "Like A Landslide" and "Let's Make History" keep their politics close to home as we know they like to show.  The talented Billy Preston makes an appearance on the album (mostly due to the departure of former organist Sara Almgren).  The most stunning change to the sound is the choice of producer.  Famed production master Rick Rubin steps up to the plate on this album and makes it a bass-driven, drum filled album.  Another awesome album from The (International) Noise Conspiracy.

www.myspace.com/internationalnoiseconspiracy

The (International) Noise Conspiracy - A New Morning, Changing Weather (2001)

And now for the turnaround.  The guys in Noise Conspiracy have altered their sound.  Pop has reached the group.  They begin adding extra instruments including organ and horns to the mix.  In this album, they sound strikingly like The Hives.  They stand firm on their anti-capitalist stance a per usual though.  The album is not so poppy that their sound is completely altered.  They still retain a garage-rock sound but the melodies are stronger and yet they can still turn out blazing tracks like "Born Into A Mess".  This is an interesting turn for the band which will carry over onto their next album Armed Love.

www.myspace.com/internationalnoiseconspiracy

The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Survival Sickness (2000)

The follow-up to The First Conspiracy as I said finds these lads in better form and much more comfortable in their place.  The garage rock with the punk influences continue here.  This album also resumes the left-wing political stance the band has always taken.  This is the simplest garage rock can get and it's catchy as hell.  There is a very British 60's rock invasion to this music.  The music these guys create is formulaic.  They keep it simple and yet not monotonous, there isn't much more to it than that!

www.myspace.com/internationalnoiseconspiracy

The (International) Noise Conspiracy - The First Conspiracy (1999)

The (International) Noise Conspiracy are a Swedish garage rock band.  What would garner them the most attention is the simple fact that this is Dennis Lyxzen's band after the break-up of Refused.  For Lyxzen, this is a subdued form of rock n' roll than he's used to playing.  Refused played hardcore punk with tinges of metal.  The majority of Lyxzen's vocals were screamed at a high pitch.  This is a complete 180 degree turn for him.  (International) Noise conspiracy play a mix of rock and punk and sing about girls, love and politics (affirming their left-wing stance).  Lyxzen no longer screams as many of his vocals are clean.  It was strange to hear the first time around.  All in all, this wasn't a bad first album from these guys; things only got better as they progressed and became more comfortable in their sound.  More (I)NC to follow!

www.myspace.com/internationalnoiseconspiracy

Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now (2010)

Jenny and Johnny are a fun indie pop group.  Jenny and Johnny are also boyfriend and girlfriend.  Jenny is Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and Johnny is singer/songwriter Johnathan Rice.  Jenny Lewis' vocals on here are very bright and her range is fantastic.  This musical duo remind me greatly of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel's project She & Him (you knew the comparison would come up), mostly for its retro feel though I find Jenny and Johnny much more poppy, upbeat and practically garage rock with their fuzzed-out tones.  This album was extremely catchy and I have had it on repeat a couple of times now.  I highly recommend it as an end of summer kind of album.

www.myspace.com/jennyandjohnny

U.S. Christmas - Run Thick In The Night (2010)

This is in no way a holiday album!  Don't let the name fool you.  U.S. Christmas are a blues/stoner/hard rock band from the Appalachians.  The artwork is simply awesome; I looked it up and it's by a guy named Hush.  If you're interested, you can check out more of his work at www.myspace.com/hushillustration.  This album has some slow builders on it.  The opening track lasts 13 minutes and doesn't let up on sludgy riffs.  There are times when the band borders on playing metal but then can switch things up and break out the acoustic guitars and become quite folky.  If you enjoy bands like Sleep or Baroness, then this album is for you!

www.myspace.com/uschristmas

Ra Ra Riot - The Orchard (2010)

This is the second album by Syracuse's Ra Ra Riot.  They seem to have a large circle of friends in the indie rock music scene.  Just for instance, Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie mixed 9 of the 10 tracks on this album while the sole other track was mixed by Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend.  Batmanglij and Wes Miles (Ra Ra Riot's vocalist) have a side project together called Discovery which had a fun self-titled summer album last year.  I'm not entirely sure how this album stacks up against their first album The Rhumb Line as I have yet to listen but The Orchard is a fun mix of pop/rock while incorporating strings.  They are somewhat Arcade Fire-sounding (but to less effect) if I had to pick something near their sound.  I felt the first part of the album was good; it included current single "Boy" which has a steady if not distracting bass line.  After the first half of the album, I felt there was a lot of filler.  An interesting listen which I believe warrants a listen to their first album.  I have no doubt it will pop up on here at some point.

www.myspace.com/rarariot

Japanische Kampfhörspiele - Luxusvernichtung (2009)

I heard about these guys through some German courses I took at Ottawa University.  I have previously heard their album Rauchen Und Yoga ("Smoking And Yoga").  The band's name roughly translates as "Japanese Combat Radio Plays".  This was the weirdest/heaviest thing I've listened to in a long time.  These boys from Krefeld, Germany play a mix of death/grind/thrash metal.  The band themselves call it "grindpunk".  The riffs are pretty standard but the drumming is very precise and fast.  Even if you speak German, the vocalist spits the words out at such a rate that you wouldn't understand anyway.  To top it off, all the tracks are super short (the shortest being 4 seconds and the longest, 1 minute 23 seconds in length) and there are 54 of them!  When you reach the final 55th track of the album, you get a 20 minute instrumental full of blast beats and wailing guitars.  This was so heavy, strange and obscure but that's what I loved about it.  It was awesome!

 http://www.japanischekampfhoerspiele.de/

Soundgarden - Down On The Upside (1996)

At long last we come to the platinum-selling Down On The Upside, the final chapter in the Soundgarden catalogue.  There was much turmoil amongst the band due to creative direction and differing opinions between Thayil and Cornell.  Cornell wished to stray from the heaviness Soundgarden was known for to explore more sounds.  This is clear on this album as it's a very different/softer sounding album for Soundgarden.  The grunge is for the most part gone and now we have things like mandolins incorporated into some songs.  More unorthodox guitar tunings were used, including C-G-C-G-G-E for songs "Pretty Noose" and "Burden In My Hand".  Further tension was created as Cornell was married to Soundgarden/Alice In Chains manager, Susan Silver.  This would be enough for the band to announce it would be splitting up, but not all hope was lost as it has recently been announced that the original Soundgarden lineup has returned after 12 years to tour (they headlined Lollapalooza 2010).  As it stands now, Soundgarden will release a retrospective album entitled Telephantasm on September 28th.  It will contain one new unreleased track entitled "Black Rain", and let me tell you, it is bad ass!  Returning to Down On The Upside, while it did not match the sales of Superunknown, it still remains a classic and a must-have for any Soundgarden fan.

http://www.soundgardenworld.com/

Soundgarden - Superunknown (1994)

The fourth studio album by Soundgarden finds them going in newer directions.  The heaviness of previous efforts is still there but melody seemed to be a much more important factor now; one could almost say it was "radio-friendly".  Further radio and MTV hits would surface with singles like "Fell On Black Days", "Black Hole Sun", "Spoonman", and "The Day I Tried To Live" all gaining significant airplay.  There isn't much more to say here other than this is an awesome album and should also be owned by fans of alternative, grunge, even metal.  It was another milestone in the band's short-lived career.

http://www.soundgardenworld.com/ 

Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (1991)

Well folks, I sort of strayed from the Soundgarden for a bit there.  I promised Badmotorfinger would be up next... it wasn't but here we go now anyways!  What more is there to say other than this was the epitome of grunge.  This was the big one for Soundgarden.  Tracks like "Rusty Cage", "Outshined" and "Jesus Christ Pose" were all the rage and you couldn't not hear them played on the radio or the videos on MTV 24/7.  These were heavy tracks.  Kim Thayil perfected the Drop-D guitar tuning after learning from Buzz Osborne of The Melvins.  Thayil would go on to use several other unorthodox guitar tunings and the band would use several time signatures in their songs including 7/4, 6/4 and 9/8.  There is not much more to say.  This is a classic album and a must have for fans of this period and genre of music.  More Soundgarden is on the way!

http://www.soundgardenworld.com/

Serj Tankian - Imperfect Harmonies (2010)

When Serj Tankian stated in an interview that his next album would be less metal-based, I kind of scoffed and thought there was no way he could veer from that.  Then when I heard Elect The Dead Symphony whereas Tankian played tracks from his debut album Elect The Dead while backed by a symphony orchestra I started believing it a bit more.  After listening to Imperfect Harmonies I'm quite underwhelmed.  Serj Tankian was the singer for metal band System Of A Down before they went on hiatus in 2006.  As I'm still waiting for the day for the band to return I eagerly anticipate every release/side-project that any of the former band members unveil (i.e. Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan's band Scars On Broadway).  When I saw the album had finally made its way to the internet, I jumped on it.  All I can say is, I don't really know what Serj was thinking.  Some of this is fairly difficult to listen to.  There are times where his already nasally voice was rough but he sings notes on this album that pierce your eardrums and at such a pitch that it is irritating.  Worst of all I doubt very much he can hit any of those notes live.  The album barely features any guitar and a lot more piano than normal (seeing as Serj is a piano player himself).  I think the live album he released with the symphony gave him a new direction to head on in order to really stray from the System Of A Down sound.  The closest thing we get to even sounding like System Of A Down or even remotely sounding like something from Serj's first album is in the form of the piano-driven song "Gate 21".  While the three other members of System enjoy getting together from time to time to play, Serj seems content to distance himself from any kind of a reunion.  This album lacks direction as it jumps from sound to sound and genre to genre; Serj can't seem to pick just one!  System Of A Down is long overdue for a reunion and new material.  They were better songwriters as a band.  Let's get it back together fellas so we can get some better music out of you!

www.myspace.com/serjtankian

Brandon Flowers - Flamingo (Deluxe Edition) (2010)

This is the return Brandon Flowers deserves.  You may know him better as the lead singer for The Killers.  With his band on hold before another album gets underway, Flowers found the time to record his own solo record.  After The Killers released Hot Fuss, I felt Flowers voice wained due to the fact that he doesn't have a particularly great singing voice.  There are many notes he tries to hit with The Killers that he can't.  Even live, if you listen carefully, Flowers can't hit every single note.  Jeff Saltzman did one hell of a production job making The Killers sounds good on their debut album.  The band, Alan Moulder and the Flood would produce the next two albums (Sam's Town and B-Sides/Rarities album Sawdust) which is where I thought the Killers began to go downhill.  Stuart Price took over production on their last outing, Day & Age and things seem to be turning around again.  Don't get me wrong, The Killers are capable of writing insanely catchy pop songs.  Returning to the solo album though, Stuart Price would return to produce along with help from Daniel Lanois, Brendan O'Brien (famed for producing Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against The Machine, The Offspring and most recently Bruce Springsteen) and Flowers himself.  Brandon Flowers hasn't sounded this good since Hot Fuss.  If you know what The Killers sound like, don't expect anything to change here with Flowers as he has his and his band's sound down to a formula.  You won't find quite as many uptempo songs on this one (i.e. "Mr. Brightside" or "Somebody Told Me") but you get quite a plethora of sounds.  On a couple of tracks Flowers wanders into almost folk territory.  There are some ballads as well but if you seem unsure all you need to do is give current single "Crossfire" a listen and I'm sure you'll be convinced.  The deluxe edition of the album contains 4 bonus tracks entitled "The Clock Was Tickin'", "Jacksonville", "I Came Here To Get Over You" and "Right Behind You" which are every bit as good as the rest of the album.

 www.myspace.com/brandonflowers

Soundgarden - Screaming Life/Fopp (1990)

This compilation album brings together the bands first two EPs: 1987's Screaming Life and 1988's Fopp.  These would be the band's only releases for the Sub Pop label (the same label Nirvana got their start with).  This album is strictly for completists.  Those seeking the Soundgarden sound they know and love probably won't find it here as this truly reveals the band's origins.  It can be considered more of a historical recording as this was Soundgarden getting their foot in the door.  While still enjoyable as a fan of Soundgarden, the band from this point in time had a long way to go to achieve the greatness they earned.  Badmotorfinger is up next!

http://www.soundgardenworld.com/

Soundgarden - Louder Than Love (1989)

This is the next step in the Soundgarden discography.  The band sounds a little bit more in their element with a little bit more experience and more know-how for the recording process.  They would start to settle a little more into the Soundgarden sound we know with songs like "Get On The Snake".  Rolling Stone's J.D. Considine stated: "Chris Cornell has the sort of soaring, muscular voice Ian Astbury can only dream of, while guitarist Kim Thayil comes across like The Edge with an attitude." Considine did not consider Cornell's lyrics to be overly thoughtful though, stating that "much of what the band has to say is clichéd, confused or generally incomprehensible." Cornell seemingly redeems himself to Considine though as the writer later claimed that "even when his lyrics are as dumb as rocks...Cornell delivers them with such full-throated intensity that they actually sound impressive."  Upon release of the album, it would be the first time Soundgarden would catch hell, specifically for some lyrics deemed inappropriate (i.e. "Hands All Over" and "Big Dumb Sex").  Despite this the album would be their first to chart on the Billboard 200.

 http://www.soundgardenworld.com/

Soundgarden - Ultramega OK (1988)

This has been a long time coming.  Having only really heard the major singles Soundgarden has released and with a brand new single released this year ("Black Rain"), I felt it was time to go back and listen to their origins.  Ultramega OK is their debut album for the SST label.  It is pretty standard for them as the album contains heavy riffs of psychedelic rock and metal.  Chris Cornell, in his early years sounds phenomenal; his vocals soar and sound clearer than ever.  It was interesting to hear where they came from.  Those expecting an album like Superunknown may be surprised as there is no clear single in this series of songs.  A good debut and a blast from the past for those looking to delve into some early grunge!

http://www.soundgardenworld.com/

Various Artists - Mojo Presents 'Let It Be' Revisited (2010)

This is another chapter in Mojo's collection of free albums available upon purchase of their current magazine.  It's been 40 years since The Beatles released Let It Be and now Mojo has brought together different current artists covering the songs from the album.  As usual, the collection is sub-par.  Nobody can really compare to the Beatles.  Missing on this collection are the great guitar solos and the 3-part harmonies (the signature sound of The Beatles).  This collection is not a complete waste of time though, there are certain standout covers.  The Besnard Lakes have done a great job of covering "I've Got A Feeling", John Grant starts the whole album off with a great solo acoustic performance of "Two Of Us", also enjoyable is Phosphorescent's cover of "Across The Universe" as it doesn't stray too far from the original.  Dennis Locorriere's cover of "Dig A Pony" is decent but he completely leaves out the opening and closing guitar riff (which in the original seemed like it was part of a different song) and in my opinion, that's what made the song in the first place.  You knew exactly what song it was from that opening guitar riff.  This version is too watered down.  Pete Molinari's version of "For You Blue" captures the spirit of the original.  Throwaway tracks include James Apollo's cover of "One After 909" and The Jim Jones Revue's cover of "Get Back" which completely massacres the original with some screamy vocals and an over the top wailing guitar trying to outdo some fancy piano playing.  All in all this is not the worst Beatles covers album I've heard.  For those interested in a better Beatles tribute album experience, I recommend you check out This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute To The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul'.

http://www.mojo4music.com/
http://www.thisbirdhasflown.com/

Dangermouse & Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul (2010)

For those unfamiliar with Dangermouse or Sparklehorse, Dangermouse, a.k.a. Brian Burton, is one half of Gnarls Barkley and is known for having released The Grey Album which is his mashup of Jay-Z's The Black Album and The Beatles' White Album.  He has produced albums for bands such as Beck, Gorillaz and most recently The Black Keys.  Sparklehorse were an American alternative rock band from Richmond, Virginia.  They would release 4 albums and would contribute to this album before lead singer Mark Linkous would take his life on March 6th, 2010.  Linkous had a history of problems with drugs and alcohol.  This would be one of Linkous' last contributions to the world.  As a team Dangermouse and Sparklehorse make some fairly interesting and beautiful music.  There is a combination of guitars and beats.  Do not expect too much in the way of upbeat music though; the album goes through it's joyful moments but can be gloomy at the same time.  Multiple guest vocalists is what keeps things interesting.  Guesting vocalists include Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, director David Lynch, Frank Black of The Pixies, Iggy Pop, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, The Flaming Lips and James Mercer of The Shins (who Dangermouse has been collaborating with most recently under the name of Broken Bells).  If you've heard the Broken Bells album, then you should somewhat know what to expect from this album.  I was glad to see this finally get a proper release.  When it was first announced that this album would be released, EMI was not allowing the album to be released due to legal disputes (likely due to some of their artists appearing on a different label).  As a result a version of the album was released in a special edition box set which included artwork/pictures from director David Lynch which served as an accompaniment to the album as well as a blank CD-R.  Inside the box set, each CD was labelled "For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will."  Obviously Dangermouse and EMI set aside their differences and the album is now available in full.  Highly recommended for a unique listening experience!

www.dnots.com/

Danzig - Deth Red Sabaoth (2010)

It's been a little while since Glenn Danzig has released an official studio album (i.e. 2004's Circle Of Snakes).  The former Misfits singer, now at the age of 55 (and still sounding amazing vocally), returns with his latest release Deth Red Sabaoth.  In a recent interview with http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ Danzig stated: "I gotta have a heavy guitar; that’s one thing that differentiates the way I produce [as opposed to the way] Rick [Rubin] produces which was very clean, kind of AC/DC-ish guitars and very flat. I like big, loud guitars; heavy guitars."  There is no doubt that that is what Danzig has accomplished with this record.  Deth Red Sabaoth incorporates some of the most saturated distortion I've heard on a guitar in a while along with some blazing guitar riffs, pick squeals, harmonics and ear-splitting solos. While the riffs are not particularly difficult, as a guitar player I appreciate what Tommy Victor has done on this album. Glenn himself plays the bass on this album. It is a great mix of gloom metal songs which the band has been able to perfect over the last 20 years.  Danzig is back and has returned with a fantastic album this year!

www.myspace.com/danzig

Anberlin - Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place (2010)

I've had people tell me how much they like Anberlin and how I should listen to them because they are so good and I finally caved when they released New Surrender in 2008.  I must admit, I enjoyed what I heard on that album so when I heard they would have a new album out this year I was intrigued yet again.  The new album started out rocking with tracks like "We Owe This To Ourselves" and "Impossible".  As the CD progressed, it became clear to me that this album was their push towards hitting true mainstream success and having their songs played heavily on the radio.  I wasn't a huge fan of that factor.  The album comes packed with some acoustic ballads that teeter on the edge of emo.  My goal now is to go through the band's back catalogue as they had 3 other albums before New Surrender in the hopes of better understanding their progression.  Upon reading some other reviews, the general consensus seems to be that the album requires a second listening in order to truly appreciate the music.  Perhaps upon a second listening some of these songs will grow on me a bit more.

www.myspace.com/anberlin