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UNDER
AMANDA PALMER
Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under
Independent Release
Amanda Palmer doesn’t give a fuck
what you think. ThL a woman who
fabricated a set of Siamese twins that
she "rescued" from a traveling circus in
order to record a concept album about
them with Frances Bean Cobain, Weird
A! and many more (Evelyn Evelyn).
This is a woman who publicly sang her
request that her label drop her In short,
this is a woman who does what she
wants, and with that MO bared proudly
(along with a good bit else on the sexi
est album cover you'll see all year) she
has offered up Amanda Palmer Goes
Dov,n Under, a self-released, online-
only solo record comprised of songs
written and performed in Australia.
Opening with a slightly tweaked,
live rendition of "Makin' Whoopee"
on solo ukulele. Palmer shows off
a softer, if still sarcastic side to the
pitch-black humor central to her flag
ship project. The Oresden Dolls. Next
is a gorgeous, piano-based torch song
entitled "Australia," in which Palmer
gloomily contemplates escaping
depression in the land down under. In
another giggle-inducing live moment,
she again turns to her magical ukulele
to perform her suggested replacement
for the New Zealand national anthem
(which also makes cutesy reference to
her menstrual cycles and the film The
Piano). The epic, penultimate track
“Formidable Marinade" leatures the
booming baritone of Australian opera
singer Mikelangelo, which, contrasted
with Palmer's cabaret piano, brings
to mind the demented carnival atmo
sphere of Tom Writs' The Black Rider.
Ultimately, there is little here not to like,
an. Palmer’s talent, both musically and
theatrically, is undeniable.
David Fitzgerald
CANBJ & THE
STRANGERS
10th of Always
Independent Release
. Written right after not-shit pro
ducer Erik Wofford (The Black Angels,
Maserati, Voxtrot, The Octopus Project.
Explosions in the Sky) joined the band,
this focused sophomore album by the
potential breakout Austin dream-pop
group is romantically adrift in the zero-
gravity space-age fantasia of the late
'60s and 70s. Coaxing similar vintage
futurism to early Air and Ladytron,
10lh olAlways is all sleek, silvery lines
and twinkling stars. Giving the voyage
some bite and vibe are fuzzed edges
and analog groans
Besides the impeccable propor
tions and irresistible furnishing, its
cosmic effortlessness comes primanly
from the band's tall, polished sense of
melody. As pop songs go. seldom do
you come across a collection so fluid,
consistent and dazzling. Highlights
include the sky-riding jaunt of "Still a
Star." the celestial lullaby of “Femme
Sonique." the ringing triumph of “I Am
Radio," and the soothing mass of the
title track. Vibrating with filmic drama
and cooing charms, these astral con
fections seduce with a supine glide and
a million-light-year gaze
Bao Le-Huu
SURF CITY
Kudos
Fire
With the current swell of high-
quality noise and shoegaze-inspired
bands going right now, like Young
Prisms and The Pains of Being Pure
at Heart, life is good for right-minded
music fans. And your next pet band
should be New Zealand's Surf City,
whose noise-pop is an irresistible con
gress of classic. Iate-’80s, British indie
melodies and astringent sonic washes.
Surf City's core is its sharp pop sen
sibility. and its application of textural
grit is done in a measure that’doesn't
blunt its bright, worthy melodies. More
swirling warm bath than sandstorm •
blast, the band jacks up its jangle just
enough to give it some bite and octane,
but never at the cost of taste or balance
Highlights include the rippling,
majestic cascades of ‘Yakuza Park," the
sweet spaciousness of "Retro" and the
hypnotically circular, Bunnymen-esque
“Icy Lakes." But the album's twin peaks
are the diving stateliness of "Crazy
Rulers of the World" and the slack
Teenage Fanclub mien of “Teachers."
Still, these gems are set in a bed of
gold that generously illustrates that
their consistency is as astonishing as
their precision.
Bao Le-Huu
PONDEROSA
Moonlight Revival
New ’.Vest
Moonlight Revival, the first full-
length LP from the Athens/Atlanta
band Ponderosa. is a solid helping of
raunchy Southern rock sprinkled with
elements of country twang. Although
sometimes drifting a bit too far into
Kings of Leon territory (“Hold on You,"
"Devil on My Shoulder"), Kalen Nash's
gridy drawl perfectly compliments the
band's blues-rock swagger. The pro
duction is top-notch; Joe Chiccarelli
(who produced the White Stripes' Icky
Thump) clearly had a vision for the
band's sound.
And, unfortunately, the sound
Chiccarelli seems to favor can be
summed up in a word: sale Every song
fits nicely into a radio-friendly blues-
rock box. and genre-standard song
structure and embellishments, while
true to form, oftentimes seern con
trived. Yet Ponderosa has a raw energy
that pokes its head up above ground
just enough times on the record that—
when it's smothered beneath over-pro
duction and heavy compression—the
listener feels cheated.
"Revolution," a straightahead
Southern boogie rock number, is
probably the closest Ponderosa gets
to breaking out of studio-induced
sterility. “I ain't even try," Nash growls,
and guitarist Kris Sampson wails with
abandon as if to emphasize that when
the guys in Ponderosa just cut it loose
it's enough to make you want to get
up and dance. Make no mistake, there
are enough truly authentic moments
to make Moonlight Revival worth your
time, even if only to propagate what
certainly will be the album's singular
outstanding impression among listen
ers: "Man, I bet these guys are really
good live."
John Granofsky
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BLUE SKY FOUNDRY
Harbinger ■
Independent Release
On this, Blue Sky Foundry's
seventh album in 17 years, the band
plies its stock in trade of musical
sensibilities that begin circa 1985 and
stop somewhere in the mid-1990s
As usual, the band succeeds is in its
gently breezy jangle-rock numbers
(“What," "Fireside," "Christmas,
Present," "Best Laid Plans’) and
fails awfully with its totally blah oldie
alternative rock jams ("So. This Is It."
“Likewise," "Dahonesdoe") A smatter
ing of stylistic oddities like sub-indigo
Girls pop (“Times New Roman") and
funky bar rock (“Unbecoming") pepper
this record, too.
I'm not really in the business of
besmirching anyone's hobby, but most
people don't submit their hobbies
for review, either. The sad fact is that
there’s no reason anyone should care
about this record beyond the band
itself, maybe the members' families
and perhaps a few friends. Harbinger,
literally, sounds like a lost broadcast of
the old WNNX FM (99X) show "Locals
Only." No one under the age of. say.
35 will (or should) even know what
the hell that means, but it's a decent
descriptor for bland-ish, uninspired
tunes that lack any aspect of rock and
roll’s necessary urgency.
Gordon Lamb
16 FLAGPOLE.COM • FEBRUARY 9,2011
