ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Album: The Moan (EP)
The Scoop: Ladies and gentlemen, meet the real deal. The garage rock renaissance (redux) has reinstated some semblance of grunge and booze and blues to the mainstream, but while bands like Jet are bringing matchbooks to the party, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney come carrying blowtorches. Their core sound is imitative, of course (it's too late to invent the blues), but there doesn't seem to be an inauthentic bone in their body of work. There is nothing "careful" about their unkemptness, nothing pandering about their presentation, nothing forced about their affection for Junior Kimbrough or Iggy Pop. This EP gives a pretty good indication of what to expect from their proper albums ("Heavy Soul" appears on The Big Come Up and "Have Love Will Travel" appeared on last year's thickfreakness), and newcomers would probably be best advised to start with one of the full-lengths. For the growing number of converts, though, The Moan is an essential addition. The title track sports everything that makes the band's sound work: aggressive riffs, ragged vocals, walloping drums, and fuzziness and rawness taken to the edge of distortion. Their stomping take on The Stooges' "No Fun" gives further proof that Auerbach and Carney are passionate, inventive and ultimately faithful interpreters (Kimbrough's "Everywhere I Go" was one of the highlights of thickfreakness).Highlight Track: The title track
For More Info: Hop over to http://www.theblackkeys.com or http://www.alive-totalenergy.com/black_k...
Artist: THE CAPILLARIES
Album: Overnight Lows and Daylight Savings
The Scoop: There are inescapably undesirable elements attached to a life in Los Angeles, granted. Its music scene takes a lot of oft-earned shots both internally and from afar-usually from expatriates-but it repeatedly serves as an indispensable farm system that allows music makers and music lovers alike to flutter around, take some knocks and get their s**t together before moving to Seattle, Portland, Austin or even NYC to reinvent themselves and produce their best work. So it seems to be for Matthew Southworth, who traded L.A. for Seattle, traded his old bandmates for new ones, and made an album of immaculate, melodious indie rock (mastered by Jon Auer of Posies renown). California hasn't completely left the bloodstream, either in name or spirit (the Pet Sounds-influenced "Mail to California"). Southworth best describes his songwriting himself; on the band's website, his bio says he "writes little stories about how things aren't working out so great." This is a common goal between the trite and the talented. Fortunately, Southworth is firmly encamped in the latter group (the website's "Misc" section gives evidence that he is an able storyteller even without music). The Capillaries are welcome addition to the roster of poppy chroniclers of the bittersweet, joining bands like the Posies and Smart Brown Handbag.
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