L INDEX
labradford laibach lake of dracula land mines land of dirt the last leaving trains lifetime like wow the loons los marauders love 666 lucidnation lull lungfish lush mansions lustre king	Labradford Julius/ Columna de la Independencia 7" Merge Two guys, one guitar, one synth (yes, no rock) laying down some haunting textures and soundscapes. Almost depressing, but not. There's something going on and you'll enjoy it. This music definitely works better on an LP format, since with the 7" format it's over before you want it to be. Kinda hurried. If you doubt, however, give it a try. -DK (#11) Labradford s/t CD Kranky Beautiful music. Although it can come off as really sullen and depressing, Labradford’s music is so dexterous and soothing that it just can’t be called simple boo-hoo music. More “ambient” (a word that gets cheaper every day) than their first two albums, this self-titled gem asserts where Labradford is heading and it is in the right way.-DK (#14) Labradford Mi media naranja CD kranky Labradford's work before this album, as a great majority of reviewers attest, has always carried a slightly "cinematic" feel to them. This album uses a cinematic feel as a starting point, inversing the dreamy rock that held the core of their songwriting in earlier releases. Vocals have all but disappeared into the murky, drawn-out ring, whispering beneath washes of air. Quite easy to not pay attention to as it often drops to near silence and rarely carries a tempo, but with headphones it's completely absorbing and even more detached from the world than their other releases. -DK (#15) Laibach Jesus Christ Superstars CD; M.B. December 21, 1984 Live CD Mute You always feel kinda guilty to make some statements, even when they’re totally true. For instance, some bands can’t make good music when they’re not on drugs. So when some rock star makes some miraculous recovery from a “battle” with their own self-indulgences, you are happy that they’re happy and clean, but shit, now they can’t write a fuckin’ decent song. Same goes for Laibach, with communism instead of drugs, illustrated by the seminal live performance on M.B. December 21, 1984. It’s a mean and wigged out (there’s some horns!) Laibach circa 1984, when they couldn’t even appear in public under their own name. Then compare it to their last disc Jesus Christ Superstars. See what I mean? Glad that they’re living in more democratic times now, but shit, hang up the coveted Laibach name if you aren’t the same thing. -MC (#14) Lake of Dracula s/t CD Skin Graft It takes a special group of people to make music as genuinely fucked as this. To the normal NO DOUBT fan, this would come off as unquestionably retarded. Those in the know however, will find song after song of skillfully deconstructed spazzrock music. Weasel Walter (FLYING LUTTENBACHER drummer extraordinaire) proves himself an innovative guitar torturer while SCISSOR GIRL Heather M steadily chops up tempos. Then, some character named Marlon Magas does some of your obligatory (yet always satisfying) Chicago-drunk rambling vocals. Plus, it’s FUN! -DK (#14) The Land Mines Kurt-on-Call/ H4 Deadly Games 7” Familyman Records Rock solid UK punker rock with heys, ois, and all that shit. “Kurt-on-Call” is a driving 3-chord wonder with Sweeny’s authentic vocal snarl. “H-4: Deadly Games” has a catchy song structure that gets more intense as it ends with a backup chorus and speedier pace. On rockin’ red 45 vinyl from your neighborhood familyman.-DK (#14) Land of Dirt 21 band Feedlot Music Co-op compilation Feedlot Music Co-op After living in Iowa City for 3 years, I’m happy to have something to take with me to remind me of friends and the great music scene there. It is great. At $5, it’s a dirt cheap way to sample some of IC’s healthy scene in one nicely put together disc. Includes 21 bands with: BEWARE OF CLEVO, the BENT SCEPTERS, STUFF, the GARGOYLES, AMBUSH #5, BIXBY, EYEMAKER, SCRID, ED GRAY, and LITTLE ONE, plus stand-out tracks from ¡BOTTLEDOG!, CARRIE ELEMENTARY, MATCHBOOK SHANNON, ROUGHHOUSERS, PAISLEY BIBLE, RED COAT CHARMERS, MR. BLANDING’S DREAMHOUSE, EARL HOWITZER, the KINGPINS, THEE DUMA, and CARMINE. Covers the gamut of underground from experimental, punk, metal, surf, lo-fi, and beyond. Proof that IC rocks.-DK (#14) The Last Gin & Innuendoes CD SST A bit bland during the ballad-like lovey-dovey acoustic songs, definitely something a mom would call schmaltzy. Other than these songs, which unfortunately pepper this CD, The Last have a fabulous ability to create moody rock music with Joe Nolte’s neurotic ZIGGY STARDUST vocals and dreamily coercive instrumentation. I almost gave up on this disc after the first song (boring and scha-maltzy!) but there was no way to dismiss this disc after the second song “Sleep” with its perfect mix of rockabilly and upbeat melodic rock, and the incredible, desperate sound of “Don’t Make No Sound”, which sinks in with repeated echo-effect vocals. Like Iowa City water, this is OK after some heavy filtration.-DK (#14) The Leaving Trains Smoke Follows Beauty CD SST Contrary to most potheads, Falling James doesn’t smoke a fatty to chill, watch TV and eat Fritos™. Instead, he and the Trains get worked up enough to punch out some blaring snot rock that’s rooted in classic ‘77 style punk and frayed by a couple decades for a ‘90s edginess. Lyrics like “Too many cops, not enough crime” from the song “Go On Strike” give you the angle they’re coming from; other titles like “Smoke A Fatty” (one of three songs titled in reference to pot), “Bash In Your Face”, and “Party Sluts Hang Out” elaborate Train sentiments further. Puff, daddy. -DK (#14) Lifetime Hello Bastards CD Jade Tree Hide your early Revelation 7's, because these guys are seriously attached to that NYC hardcore sound. Although, I should definitely give them credit for melding a contemporary poppunk influence into their speedy thrash attack, giving them a less crunchy GORILLA BISCUITS/YOUTH OF TODAY/BOLD sound with more melodic DAG-NASTY/ALL/late GOVERNMENT ISSUE sound. -DK (#13) Lifetime The Boy’s No Good/Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey 7” Jade Tree Cool sleeve by John Yates, two standard Lifetime fast punk tunes. “An outstanding recording achievement”? Well, more like two standard Lifetime fast punk tunes and a cool sleeve by John Yates. -DK (#14) Like Wow - see Bliss Blood The Loons Paradise/I Drain the Dregs 7” Time Bomb Recordings I use the word “cool” so often that I dilute it’s meaning so much that when I say this is a cool record, you’ll probably think I mean that it’s cool, like as in hip, designer jeans, peer pressure, etc. But really, I mean that it’s cool. A timeless cool, like a loner on the highway, or laidback glassy-eyed music with vibraphones, i.e.; “I Drain the Dregs”. Or cool like a hoppin’ red-eyed rock song with CLASH-like guitars and some snap, ie; “Paradise’. My only complaint are the vocals, which lie a notch or two below the coolness of the music. With the right crooner mixed a bit lower, this would be an absolute example of coolness. Vocals are a touchy thing ya know.-MC (#14) Los Marauders Every Song We Fuckin’ Know!! CD Teenbeat I asked for a vinyl copy of this at the store, but they didn’t have one so I got the CD instead–even though I new it was morally wrong. I was punished. But I couldn’t wait! I’ve been looking forward to this for sooo long and it was in my hand and I just bought the friggin thing already. Well, moral of the story: GET THE VINYL VERSION. Impatient chumps like me will find that the vinyl version – which Iowa City’s raw rockabilly legends will sound best on anyway– not only includes one of their infamously banned flyers, but also a bonus single! The disc still rules but I feel like a fool. In fact, it’s so good that I’ll probably order a vinyl copy too. The CD will just have to tide me over until it comes though, cause I ain’t given it up now that I have it as part of my daily diet. Anyone call dibs on the CD? -MC (#14) Love 666 XTC/AR-15 7" Amrep I can just see the cringing faces of GuitarWorld readers, you know, the ones who learn every hot new "lick" on their "ax", squiggling little solos everywhere, making sure that every note and tone is perfectly under control. Love 666 use guitars in all their feedbacking glory, rarely hinting at actual notes or chords. Stark minimal drumming at a MELVIN's pace holds together two drifting and squealing guitars, while narcotic dual vocals do the same. There's even keyboards somewhere, but I only found out when I saw it listed on the cover. I think the sound could be called "harmfully intoxicating". -DK (#12) Love 666 Please Kill Yourself So I Can Rock CD Amphetamine Reptile Doesn’t quite live up to the promise of their excellent XTC/AR-15 7” or American Revolution album, but worth checking out if you’re a fan. Some tracks live up to the narcotic synth/guitar feedback fest, but a few carry a brighter sound with simplistic chords, losing the detached and amazing noise meandering of their earlier stuff. This is one band that shouldn’t get polished with age.-DK (#14) Lucidnation Amercian Stonehenge CD Brainfloss Records Perhaps punkrock can still be done right? I think yes, even in Southern California, the New Home of Shitty Punk. Actually, with some research I could find a helluva lot more but that's a waste of time and my point is that most SoCal bands are overrated and offer nothing to the dicerning midwesterner (a rare breed indeed) who truly understands what punk should be about, i.e; more than fashion and no rockstar attitudes in the pathetic manner of, say, Social Distortion. My point being that while Lucidnation's background is questionable, their ability to make some catchy punk songs with a healthy dose of slop and snarl make this disc a anomoly in the age of poppunk crapola, dude. Whereas Offspring/Bad Religion/etc bands are jock-approved and as formula-driven as a major-label bankrole, this indie-released disc has more of what we call feeling, punk. How Could Hell Be Any Worse-era Bad Religion choruses, Bikini Kill saavy, and some Seattle-style funk (the loud, stinky kind) compromise the angles these Anglelinos are taking, making for a nice Saturday-what-the-fuck-are-we-doin-today type of record. It's not perfect or exceptional by any means, and I could do without the hippyesque band shots on the beach, but what the fuck. At least they're not sponsored by clothing/shoe/sunglass companies. Thank you. -MC (Web) Lull Moments CD Release This ambient project by Mick Harris (Napalm Death, Painkiller, Scorn, etc) presents another exciting forray into the beatless abyss of Lull. Played straight through, this 67 minute drift is a continuous journey through dark spaces, both soothing and sinister. Moments is essentially one track comprised of 99 sections, offering the listener a unique opportunity to listen to this disc in a number of different ways using the random function on most CD players. Although this is an interesting idea, you do lose the fluid nature of the disc's natural order, as sections cut out and you suddenly find yourself in a completely different environment (this does enhance the disc in a way, because if it sounds like it's all the same, you can quickly skip to another section and see how vastly different it really is). If you're at all curious about Lull or even dark ambient music in general, this would be a great place to start. -DK (#15) Lungfish Artificial Horizon CD Dischord Lungfish is now up to album number six and are still a virtually unknown and unheralded band in any circle. Perhaps it's the lack of cool hairdos and a genre-specific identity, or maybe earnest, moving music just isn't enough to afford this amazing band the recognition it deserves. Fuck, get some flashy leather jackets and crank out another 60s garage "rave-up" and watch the almighty Hep Pocketbook open right up. Play something utterly more substantial and clear out clubs while watching the used bins fill up with jewels in jewel cases. Oh well, more for the fans of music. While I've unsuccessfully pushed this band onto everyone I care about since their stellar Necklace of Heads EP, it's been a pretty lonely, yet rewarding exsistance as a Lungfish fan. This album further demonstrates Lungfish's ability to pull more out of two notes than most can from an entire album. Starkly arranged with a methodical, trance-steady tempo through every song, allows those who listen carefully to savor every note and Daniel Higgs' peerless vocal and lyrical style. Its repetitive nature causes many listeners to find Lungfish to be dull, but it's simply their straightforward approach–even I found myself wondering about this disc until about the 3rd time I'd heard it and it started to sink in. This disc won't sweep you off your feet, but it will move you, and unlike most discs, it will continue to move you. -DK (#15) The Lush Mansions Again! cassette Semi-Roar Moments of noisy brilliance are dulled by exceptionally weak songs. Start this tape at any point and you may think "hmm, very interesting", but after a couple minutes tediously roll by you'd be better off to just eject it because it won't stay interesting very long. -DK (#15) Lustre King She’s a Bomb/Horsebinder 7” Actionboy 300 In the fine DON CABELLERO tradition of tight instro rock, Lustre King kick out the mangled jams in the finest way. They drift from theme to theme, keeping it interesting and avoiding any slop or guitar noodling and kicking it with mechanical precision. Yet they aren’t trying to be a machine–there’s some warmth and expression and it’s simply played to perfection. I especially appreciated the raw and plodding bass lines which kept everything moving. More of that please. -DK (#14) ©1999 Dirty Hand Media