Review policy: Reviews on the Full Sweep Distro website are conducted by a third party who does not directly benefit from sales at Full Sweep Distro. In order for reviews to be fair and accurate, they cannot be tied to sales in any way. This creates a conflict of interest. Rest assured that words are this page are not simply sales pitches disguised as "reviews."
Furthermore
"She & I"
[ Tooth & Nail Records ]
www.furthermore.com
I don't remember if I discovered midi-music or the internet first. But somewhere around the time I leaped from my friend's local BBS
to the internet, I was also exposed to his midi-music compilations. Random noises and sound clips arranged into something that loosely
resembled music. It was, for example, less sophisticated than the Mario Brothers' soundtrack.
A quick internet search comes up with Furthermore described as "experimental music and sound art," (I like that label) but my iTunes
lists Furthermore's latest album She & I as a "Hip Hop/Rap" album. I can handle the rap label, but we'll come back to that in a moment.
As far as the music behind these vocals... well, hip-hop is a tragic misnomer. Personally, I keep coming back to these ancient midi
arrangements in my head. While I would never accuse Furthermore of being as artistically bankrupt as my friends and I circa 8th grade,
"She & I" employs all of the goofy, simplistic, and unsophisticated sounds that I associate with our midi arrangements--oddball noise
clips, radically artificial keyboard work, blipping and bleeping along. At worst it leaves you with visions of 8-bit Donkey Kong in
your head. At best it could stand confidently alongside with Moby's work.
Now back to the descriptor "rap." In the end, I have to go for it. I mean, he's not singing. But drive images of ghettos, G's, gats,
and demon killas (the true mark of Gospel Rap) from your head. Obviously rap-rock is right out. You can even cross off World Wide
Message Tribe's English "Cookie Monster rap" of the list. No, the genre of rap that we are talking about is the rap employed by
ten-year-olds making public service announcements for PBS. The genre of rap used when our white D.A.R.E. police officer wrote raps
for my entirely white 5th grade class to perform for our entirely white parents, celebrating our rejection of narcotics. "No! No! No
drugs for me! I'm gonna be free! Boomsha boomsha! No drugs for me!"
But again I have to separate style from skill. It may sound like 1989 video game music, but I'm not accusing it of being 1989 video
game quality. He may rap with the same style of rap that your 5th grade teacher played to help you remember your multiplication facts.
But he is clearly the world master of this particular genre of rap (on the other hand, there isn't much competition in this arena).
If I've lost you with my description of the music, I'm not sure where to begin with the lyrics. "If you can clone just my arms and velcro
them to the wall next to your bed and have them to hold you" is a good start. Actually, this lyric makes sense in the context of the song
it's in, but the confused smile you're left with reading it alone is how I'm left feeling at the end of this album.
My good friend Jenny White ended her summer romantic tension with Justin Gifford when she "couldn't tell if he was talking about [their]
relationship, or his new coloring book." I find myself equally lost amidst the sea of Furthermore's observations. He actually recycles
huge portions of his "Are you the Walrus?" lyrics into "Thanks for Nothing". Not due to writer's block, I'm sure. But due to what? I'll
let you know as soon as I figure it out.
I don't doubt that there is tremendous effort, artistic thought, and skill poured into this project. Several tracks are truly magical
pop experiences ("Letter to Myself"). But like a Salvador Dali painting, this project is hard to swallow, and much easier to brush off
as "plain crazy" than to truly wrestle with. Recommended for those who enjoy extremely high maintenance music.
- Tucker Fitzgerald
Two Week Notice - Turn On Me
[ independent ]
I love album art. I have The Supertones Strike Back on vinyl, that I keep around just for inspiration. It's the most beautiful album
cover ever. And the huge record jacket is so great, larger than life. I don't even have a record player. I have written the designer
of that album cover fan mail. Seriously.
And on that note, Atlanta's Two Week Notice has tracked down an excellent artist for the jacket of their 4 song EP, Turn on Me.
Exceptional for the indie market in particular. Unfortunately, it may be the best thing going for the album.
Two Week Notice's hot pink punkish pop sound is credited (by them) to such exciting sources as Blondie and Jimmy Eat World, but this band
is going to have to put in some more time before those influences move from inspiring them to actually coming out in their music. What
I am hearing is the dated pop-rock sounds of Miss Angie, Flight 180, or the more memorable Dakota Motor Co.
While the female fronted theory is usually a selling point with me, lead singer Loryn seems like she's selling her voice for about half of
what it's worth. Her vocals too often come off sounding like a Mattel commercial jingle for Barbie (She's fun! She's pink! She's skinny!
She's Barbie!), when there are hints (The end of track 4) that she could be could be capable of a far greater emotional range.
Indecisive plainness haunts this project in most other areas as well. The same tempo is worn out by the end of the four tracks.
The same emotional intensity colors each song. Equally unsure God/relationships lyrics push on blindly. After several listen-throughs,
I'm still not sure what any song in particular is about.
On the positive side Two Week Notice is crafting solid songs, in spite of the plainness of them. The production is tight for an
independent album. Everyone seems to be in full control of their respective instruments. The lyrics---in spite of their
vagueness--aren't cheesy or awkward. The machinery appears to be in place for a three dimensional band to be happening here,
but these four are going to need a surge of boldness in one direction or another before they're putting out music that stands out of the
crowd.
Pick it up if Miss Angie and Flight 180 light up your life, or if you've seen these guys live (you can't afford NOT to by a $6 EP from a
local band at a show).
- Tucker Fitzgerald
Calibretto 13 - Adventures In Tokyo
[ Tooth & Nail Records ]
www.calibretto.com
Calibretto 13's Adventures in Tokyo is easily the most refreshing and
original pick of the crop of recent CDs to be played in my I-Mac Superdrive. This is a virtual tour of everything great in American
music from 1930 to now, although admittedly with a punk tour guide. Calibretto shifts gears fearlessly, boldly bringing the best
sounds of many a genre to the table, unapologetic for the unusual arrangement of influences they draw from.
The band was first described to me as "acoustic punk." In light of Adventures, this is about as vivid as summing up Picasso as a
"funny painter." Missing in that brief summary is the rockabilly joy, the swing hall celebrations, the Dylanesque harmonica (and
vocals at times). Nobody mentioned the golden-oldies harmonies and guitar work. Not a word about the folk influence. But, yes, they
were right about punk, and while not exactly acoustic, it certainly is an incredibly distortion-free album for any band lumped into
the punk category.
While a great deal of their lyrics dwell on AdBuster's anti-consumer, anti-superficial, anti-CNN, anti-Nike rhetoric, they wander into
a variety of wonderfully authentic subjects. Songs like "I'll show the World" boldly showcase obscenely explicit Christian lyrics within
legitimate art. Here, Calibretto is neither bowing to the pressure to cloak their meaning in vagueness (ala Lifehouse), nor bowing to the
pressure to reduce their ideas to bumper sticker length slogans (ala DC Talk). In all fairness, the reader should note that I enjoy both
of the above-referenced bands when I'm alone and nobody is watching.
Not since Dirt's "A War to Restore" have I come across such a nice marriage of art and boldly Christian lyrics, which is not to say that
Calibretto is limiting their thoughts. As already mentioned, their favorite topic is the brainwashed-consumer status of American youth.
In addition to that cheery topic, Calibretto takes on extramarital sex, hypocritical Christians, the secularization of America and Satan
himself ("To hell with you!") in the twelve tracks that make up Adventures in Tokyo.
If the music industry would only adopt the film industry's habit of printing brief, out-of-context quotes from critics on the cover of
movies (albums in our case), this one would have "...a rollicking good time!" plastered across the cover. While the production is as weak
as most other low-selling Tooth and Nail albums tend to be, the music more than makes up for this one setback. Bold, evangelical
Christianity with a sense of humor, sitting amidst some seriously beautiful and relevant art without the shallow propaganda. A strikingly
creative and fresh sound that easily pieces wonderfully diverse sounds into a beautiful quilt. What more could one ask for?
This record is a must for those whose love of punk is shared with their love of rockabilly, folk, bluegrass, or even gospel. However, it
is probably a big stretch for those anxious about multiple personality albums.
- Tucker Fitzgerald
Side Walk Slam - Give Back
[ Tooth & Nail Records ]
I have to admit that I heard about Side Walk Slam by word of mouth before I came across press or advertising. That's always a good sign
in my book--when a band shows up on my radar courtesy of my friends, someone's shirt at a show, or via bumper sticker in the parking lot.
However, unlike some other bands that have shown up on my doorstep with unbelievable recommendations (I can't tell you how many
Luti-Kriss/Norma Jean patches I stared at on backpacks on campus before I finally asked someone "who are these guys?"), I only remember
someone telling me that Side Walk Slam was A) a punk band and B) pretty good. And so long as Relient K, Blink 182, or Dogwood comes to
your mind when someone says punk, that description may be a sufficient description of Slam. However, for those of you who think Headnoise,
or still have images of CBGB's dancing in your heads, I suppose I should point out that we mean pop-punk--Converse shoes and baseball hats,
not bloody-spikes-and-mohawks punk.
Give Back would be a solid effort for a freshman Tooth and Nail band. The problem is that Slam already has 2 albums out by now, 1 for
T&N and 1 for the indie Boot to Head. There are some signs of strong writing potential to be found in songs such as "Your Eyes" and
"All I have", but for the most part, Give Back has fourteen pretty generic songs, showing none of the sonic originality that hits like
"Teenage Politics" and "Chick Magnet" had for MxPx. That kind of creativity is needed to rise to the surface of the inundated pop-punk
world. There are hints of a mature, if not unique, sound to be found, especially at the end of "Night After Night". But lacking in elements
like the pop-culture humor of Relient K, or the musical complexity of Dogwood, it's easy to be left wondering exactly what niche Slam is
trying to fill. With the exception of the worshipful "All I have", and the tour imagery of "Night After Night", the songs on Give Back
are almost entirely reminiscing on difficult relationships, frustrated romance, and failed friendships.
At best, it reminds me of some of the serious letters I wrote friends during the drama of college. At worst, it comes off as what my
father would call "sixth grade poetry." None of it being bright, clear, and familiar enough to paint a clear picture in your head
(MxPx's Christalena), or make a good radio hit (Avril Lavigne's Sk8er Boi), which is fine, if your lyrics are beautifully poetic
(Stavesacre), or manage to create powerful sensations apart from a concrete idea (Waterdeep), but here Slam just leaves us with ho-hum,
not-sure-what-the-point-of-this-song-is lyrics. It's clear that the writing came out of meaningful personal experiences, but more often
than not, I found myself not sure what that personal experience was, or how it related to me as the listener. Recommended if you have an
insatiable appetite for pop-punk, and need to have 14 more tracks in your disc-changer. On the other hand, if your modern punk budget is
limited, you might want to check back in on their next album.
- Tucker Fitzgerald