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DIAMOND NIGHTS
Popsicle
Kemado
Diamond Nights makes music
clearly derived from rift-happy 70s
hard rock (Thin Lizzy, MotOrhead.
etc >—like the Darkness, but not as
grandiose Both bands play serious
music with a giddy, earnest desire
to rock, and thus manage not to take
themselves too seriously. But whereas
the Darkness seized on a strain of hard
rock whose bombast made it easy to
joke about while also maintaining genre
fidelity. Diamond Nights' preferred
sound is one that's always been defined
by stern sparseness, and these limits
tend to tamp down what could other
wise have been an enjoyable outing
Evidence of this promise comes
in two songs in particular. "The
Girl's Attractive’ and 'Destination
Diamonds,* both ol which take their
satisfaction from being well-crafted
songs rather than merely adrenalized
pastiche—when they reach the chorus
they give us something pleasing, in
context, rather than simpfy grafted
on from a historical precedent The
same elements are there as on other
tracks (doubled guitar lines, high male
vocals) but on these two tracks, along
with maybe one or two others, they're
arranged into something that would
work in any genre The other tracks
on Popsicle, unfortunately, are mainly
sound without a point
Still. ’Diamond Nights' is a hell
of a song, full ol unexpected twists
and turns—vocals that don't seem to
match the chugging guitar part ol the
verse but then synch up perfectly when
they hit the out-of-time hook and cho
rus, along with sweetly saucy lyrics.
Diamond Nights' Popsicle rs no pre
cious jewel, sure, but it's good enough
lor a beer blast.
Michael Barthel
Diamond Nights is playing at the
Georgia Theatre on Tuesday. Mar 21
RHABDOPHOBIC
Just Passin’ Through EP
Independent Release
Local band Rhabdophobic is one
ol those weird, obscure bands that are
a treat to find. Much like other local
favorites of mine—Green Bean Go. for
instance, or Bellhouse—the band dis
plays an amateur quality, but makes up
in enthusiasm and charm what it lacks
in skill The songs on Just Passin'
Through are the type of music most at
home when changing hands via home
made cassette tapes and low-budget
indie-pop compilations
Opening with 'Know Your Name.’
a single guitar-siring is plucked rhyth
mically in a standard pop progression
before the drums and bass come in.
Guitarist Doug Aldridge's vocals are
reminiscent of Fred Schneider and
Violent Femmes singer Gordon Gano
The track drops out around three and-
a-half minutes in. ending with a simple
bass progression that works in a very
cool way The track ‘The North And
South' is constructed via a simple
four-chord guitar and casual vocals
that reside slightly behind the beat
'Burger D's (intro)* features an old-
time. almost bluegrass, intro that lays
on top of warbled vocals and space-
sounds That sounds backwards, but
it's not. The song ’Burger D's* itself is
a fuzzy stomp reminiscent of very early
Camper Van Beethoven. That* part of
the whole charm of this record It's un
selfconscious in a purefy honest way
Closing track ’Clap Your Hands’
is a silly and sloppy number whose
instructions are clear from the title I
have no idea how much experience any
ct the members have, but after listening
to Just Passin’ Through. I really want
to think that they've iust picked up
their instruments and this is the first
band for any of them There's iust a
very cool, very sincere feeling present
throughout this EP that generally only
comes from folks that aren't jaded by
the music scene (yet) And hey. there's
a hidden track around 10 minutes after
the EPS end. so listen for it.
Gordon Lamb
Rhabdophobic is playing at the
Caledonia Lounge on Thursday. Mar 16
HOT BUTTERED RUM
Well-Oiled Machine
Harmonized
Hot Buttered Rum is without a
doubt a string band, despite the fact
their name—for the sake of brevity and
all its merit, no longer substantiates
this. Well-Oiled Machine is an album
that will appeal to bluegrass traditional
ists and the genres burgeoning grano
la-grass camps alike Riding the fence
between these two stylistic approaches
is definitely part of the appeal, as there's
something unexpected lurking beyond
each curve ol the mountain road.
Notable points of interest along
the way include the politically charged,
neo-swing song 'Guns or Butter.’
where the ageless question of econom
ics is augmented by baton passing
instrumental solos; from fiddle to man
dolin then guitar, just before the upright
bass runs the anchor leg Eyebrows
elevate on the haunting, not quite 16
Horsepower-esque dirge "Waiting For a
Squall,* where a darkish banjo lead and
vocal quiver, augmented by a sinister
liddle line, deliver something HBR's
jamgrass contemporaries do not.
01 course, there are bones thrown
to the kids that still tie-dye their T-
shirls When the quintet stretches out
and hits the high notes while harmoniz
ing the words ’high times’ on ‘Idaho
Pines’ or when the band asks. 'How
could he leave his Sierra Nevada?* on
‘Sweet Honey Fountain,* we re confi
dent that a certain response is elicited
from heady types, and the majestic
mountain range is buried in the back of
their bloodshot minds.
David Eduardo
Hot Buttered Rum is playing at the
Melting Point on Wednesday Mar 22.
now and again, though, a band will
swirl through the blender and still
end up spinning in my CD player for
quite some time Richmond four-piece
Gregor Samsa is one of the best ex
amples I've come across, since that's
precisely what’s happening with the ,
band's debut full-length 55:12. Here*
the Band Blender recipe. 2 cups Low; 1
K cup Godspeed You! Black Emperor;
1V* cup Sigur R6s; let simmer;
sprinkle with Mogwai and drizzle with
My Bloody Valentine. Delicate boy-girl
vocals, dreamy ambiance, swirling
shoegaze atmospherics... they're all
here. 'Even Numbers* most strongly
recalls the Sparhawks of Low with its
powerfully soft vocals, building up
toward a Godspeed climax. ‘Makeshift
Shelters’ cruises the tundra of Iceland,
weaving icy textures and gorgeous
shimmering guitars, but somehow you
don't wish for Jonsi Birgisson's angel
wailing You'll get nothing truly original
with 55:12, but you’d be hard pressed
to care You'll be loo busy swooning
Michael Wehunt
FUNCTION
The Secret Miracle Fountain
Locust
Australian Matthew Liam
Nicholson is the only constant member
of Function, a rotating cast of musi
cians spanning 10 nations and 10
times that many disciplines He's a lyri
cist of wry wit and rare intellectual cun
ning. a poet who disses his subjects
with a hearty. Zen-flavored circumspec
tion I feel I should point this out. see
ing that, it there's any record fit to draw
its listener's attention as far away from
the lyrics as possible, it's probably The
Secret Miracle Fountain
‘Sprawling’ ain't the word In its
70-plus minutes. The Secret Miracle
Fountain courts brooding guitar rock,
stately Eastern-y psych, science-fair
post-prog, bouncy cartoon music,
smug piano jazz, gocey planetarium
ambiance and shifting combinations
of the above and more But the real
reason ‘sprawling’ ain't Ihe word is
because Function (which recorded the
record on five continents) blends the
tracks so seamlessly that, unless you're
monitoring the digital display, you'd be
hard-pressed to determine where one
begins and another ends It's actually
true here And it makes Fountain a
procrastinator's paradise
Dig in. Get lost (I mean that in the
most polite way) Lord only knows when
Nicholson or anyone else will summon
the wherewithal to complete another
album this ambitious and absorbing.
Emerson Dameron
GREGOR SAMSA
55:12
The Kora
Come on. of course I know the
Band Blender is always the easiest way
to review a record But sometimes it's
pretty much inevitable, and that usu
ally spells doom for an artist Every
Gregor Samsa is playing at the
Caledonia Lounge on Wednesday.
Mar 22
RUN THE
ROAD
VOLUME 21
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Run the Road. Vol. 2
Vice
In which we ask Ihe question do
Americans really want more grime, or
was one volume enough? Both Volume
1 and Volume2came out in 2005, but
Vol 2 isn’t the leftovers—mosl of what
was on Vol. 1 was years old anyway
Vol 2holds the results of Vol. 1—they
are not encouraging
All the hallmarks of grime are here
harsh, up-tempo beats derived from
dance, and vocals to match But every
thing fresh and exhilarating on Vol 1
is now perlunctory, tired and desperate
The beats are samey. too enamored of
orchestra hits, and often lacking the
thunderous bass that earlier grime
tracks reveled in And the vocals, sadly,
are no! ready for the spotlight
The weakest track here is an
acoustic (!) version of Plan Bs ‘Sick 2
Del.’ all vocals and no beats, and so
exposed, he comes off like a less imag
inative Necro or a penny-ante Eminem
The third verse, narrated in reverse, is
good, but it ends up somewhere grime
should avoid reacting indignantly to
condemnations of grime's perceived
violent streak Martyrdom is never
interesting, and seems artificially exag
gerated here
Grime is relentlessly not cool, and
while that's a big part of its appeal,
being constantly in-your-face and ag
gressive seems like a Mountain Dew
commercial, not music.
The best track here. Sway's ‘Up
Your Speed.* isn't even straight grime,
but Brit-rap. There are other good
tracks (JME's ‘Serious,’ Crazy Titchls
"World is Crazy,’ and Mizz Beats 'Saw
It Cornin’), but all would have been
also-rans on Vol 1.
Michael Barthel
24 FLAGPOLE.COM • MARCH 15.2006