Highlight Tracks: "It Didn't Happen" and "Crisp Day"
For More Info: Visit http://www.erictjohnson.net
Artist: THE LIKE YOUNG
Album: Art Contest
The Scoop: I know, I know, you're right to worry; a surname-sharin' guy-gal duo (guy on guitar and lead vocal, gal on drums and occasional vocal) that wears their influences proudly on their sleeves. But fear not, friend, The Like Young ain't nothing like The White Stripes, aside from a very general parallel of good time rock and roll deliverance (and a common reaction of "wow, all that noise is coming from just two people?"). Joe and Amanda Ziemba (married in 2002) draw from the sugar and high energy of Sloan and Weezer, while Amanda's summery oooh-oooh harmonies are the sort you can imagine Wolfman Jack spinning. Art Contest lacks a real home run song, but all 11 of its songs are crunchy and infectious, smartly written and tightly played, blurring by in under 25 minutes. It's an extremely listenable affair from top to bottom.Highlight Tracks: "Expensive Tastes" and "Snobs and Slobs"
For More Info: Jump to http://www.thelikeyoung.com or http://www.parasol.com
Artist: JENN LINDSAY
Album: Fired!
The Scoop: It's a strange, ironic, hierarchical and oft-horrible thing, this indie music business. The cold truth of being an indie music reviewer is that about 95 times out of 100 the package from Matador or Merge or Barsuk or Saddle Creek is going to be better (on every level) than that hand-written package from the 87th dude this month who dropped you an e-mail about getting his stuff reviewed. Folks like Jenn Lindsay, then, provide reason (and reminder) to keep returning the e-mails and giving honest listens to every damned disc that comes in the mail. Because you never know. A true DIY renegade, Lindsay's Fired! is one of 2003's least commercial albums; a six-song album (EP?) that is a concept album about mundane jobs and unemployment. Fired! revolves around the sort of strummy, uber-aware folk that people talk about fondly but rarely request from the radio station. Included is the hip-hop Mother Goose of "Tick Tock," an experiment that even cheeky self-awareness can't save from the skip button. The rest of the album is a success; simple melodically but lifted by Lindsay's compassionately incisive lyrics and her vaguely Joni-esque voice. She is a credit to the NYC music scene. Unfortunately, the Big Apple-forever brimming with the jobless and the indignant-will give Ms. Lindsay fodder for songs as long as she cares to keep her sympathetic eyes open.
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The copyright of the article Choice Cuts: June 2003 - Page 4 in Indie Music is owned by . Permission to republish Choice Cuts: June 2003 - Page 4 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
