Pacific Northwest Music News & Events
Remember that raspy growl of a voice Vigil used to such good effect on 7 Year Bitch records? It’s present and accounted for here; just listen to the way she pounds out the word “medi-ca-tion” on “Down in Flames,” then goes on to end the song with a full-on wildcat scream.
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The film’s wealth of footage lets you track the band’s progress every step of the way. Rare performances; vintage interviews; home movies — it’s a terrific record of what exactly a band goes through, as seen from the inside: how you live on the road, how you work in the studio, and why it’s so hard to make any money.
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An era was over. But this lovingly compiled collection (credit executive producer Jack Endino with painstakingly pulling it all together) is a fitting tribute to a band that can truly be described as “legendary.”
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For a band that didn’t get the breaks they deserved while they were together, Gruntruck is a fitting tribute to what they did manage to accomplish. Fans of the band won’t be disappointed.
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Which brings us to what seems to be the album’s central themes: depression and disappointment. It’s an album of gloom and doom, without a single uplifting sentiment, which would seem to make it the perfect record to listen to as the greenery of the world goes into hibernation and we head into the sterile chill of winter.
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You don’t have to know Lanegan’s songs to appreciate his lyrics (though if you do know them, you’ll undoubtedly want to dig out his records to listen to while reading this). You don’t even have to read them in order, necessarily; simply flip open to any page, and let the raw emotion sweep over you.
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Sides turns in a terrific performance as Devi, who believes she’s been hired by Arkoff to star in a new opera but quickly finds herself dealing with his hidden agenda, not to mention learning to control her supercharged voice.
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Hype! is a lively and engaging look at the period when Seattle was the center of the rock universe. And what a time we had.
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The Singing Earth is Barrett Martin’s love letter to music. There’s an emphasis on drumming, of course; it’s Martin’s primary instrument. But he makes it clear that he’s excited by many other different types of music as well — and he has no hesitation in traveling around the world in his search to discover new sounds.
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Filthy Friends is a mash-up between R.E.M. (Peter Buck) and Sleater-Kinney (Corin Tucker), along with part of R.E.M.’s touring lineup (Scott McCaughey, Bill Rieflin), and some Fastbacks (Kurt Bloch) on the side, plus a dash of Nirvana (Krist Novoselic). The result is an eclectic release that has the band exploring a number of musical styles with ease; this is a group that likes to mix it up.
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To paraphrase a quote from a certain film that heavily sanitized modern American history, the Melvins’ catalogue is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.
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This is a record with a lot of musical twists and turns on it, making it great fun to listen to — it’s a ride that delights in the unexpected.
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But it’s the darkness that’s most evident throughout, and it must be said that’s what gives the album its edge. The evocatively titled “Flesh and Bones” grimly imagines said objects “on the floor/nothing more/nothing more.”
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Next Exit eventually morphed into Variant Cause around 1985-ish. But that’s not all we’ll be hearing from Next Exit; a new collection is promised for the fall, hopefully with more live stuff. It’s a look back at a time when the Seattle music scene was finding its own distinct identity.
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The synth-based Science of Deduction have a decided literary bent themselves, with a name taken from Sherlock Holmes’ modus operandi, and songs like “The Modern Prometheus” (inspired by “Frankenstein”), and, of course, “James Joyce is Going Blind.” The synths provide a nice cushion for Cathy Sorbo’s crystal clear voice, as she makes her way through a section of Part 2, Chapter 3; it’s the most rhythmic delivery .
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