Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Fahrenheit 451 [US]


Fahrenheit 451 - The Gothic Years & After - CD 2000 (Cleopatra)

Named after the famous Ray Bradbury novel, Fahrenheit 451 was an East Coast goth rock band whose influences ranged from the Doors and the Stranglers to the seminal Bauhaus (which was to goth what Charlie Parker was to bebop and James Brown was to funk). Fahrenheit, formed in New Jersey in 1984, never became as well-known as Bauhaus or Sisters of Mercy, although it enjoyed a small cult following (mostly around the Northeastern Corridor). During its three-year run, Fahrenheit went through various personnel changes; some of its key members included lead singer Athan Maroulis, guitarist Shell Stewart, bassist Pete Lisa, keyboardist Nick Ferro, and drummer Ed Enzyme. In 1986, Fahrenheit's debut EP, House of Morals, came out on the Active label. The band also recorded a follow-up EP titled A Fire in the Garden, but its contents went unreleased until 2000, when Cleopatra assembled a Fahrenheit-dominated compilation titled The Gothic Years and After. Fahrenheit broke up in 1987, although its members went on to join other bands. Enzyme joined the Undead, while Lisa joined the Cycle Sluts From Hell, and Stewart joined the Lucifer Scale. Maroulis has kept especially busy, singing lead for the Philadelphia-based Executive Slacks from 1987-1991 and the obscure Tubalcain from 1992-1994. He was still a member of Tubalcain when, in 1992, he also joined the better known Spahn Ranch, which was still going strong in 2001. It was in 2000 that Maroulis formed the Blue Dahlia, whose romantic, '40s-minded jazz-pop was a radical departure from anything he had done previously. Those who knew Maroulis for goth, industrial, and darkwave were pleasantly surprised to hear that he was equally effective as a suave, sophisticated crooner with a strong appreciation of Frank Sinatra and Billy Eckstine. Maroulis and Stewart were briefly reunited in the studio in 1996, when they recorded some Mission and Bauhaus covers and briefly resurrected the name Fahrenheit 451. Fahrenheit's 1984-1987 and 1996 output is available on the Cleopatra release The Gothic Years and After.

Laughing House [UK]


Laughing HOUSE. 3/8/88 Sir Colin Campbell /Live Review/ S. A. Lane

This Impressive trio oozed mountains of competence in a tight and aggressive twelve-song set, playing music that incorporates trademarks of the Clash, occasional touches of Killing Joke and the vaguest bow towards U2 in some of the guitar lines. many of the songs are accusing and political, such as "Taken For Fools" in which a statement is made about Aborigines being kicked in the teeth by 'their' government.

Musically, Laughing House are professional, playing well-structured songs which, when lacking in melody, are adequately compensated for with rhythmic stops and kick-starts and raw punch. In my opinion, their only downfall is a tendency to over-indulge in the thuggish 'oh-oh-oh' backing vocals. If these were reduced in favour of more lyric harmonies (those used worked well), the finishing touch would be put to otherwise perfect material.

My favourite songs were the 'Lesson', with It's excellent melody, harmonies and the use of interweaving vocal lines, and their last number ' Do Your Worst' which erupted with an earthquake of an intro, ploughed a mean furrow and exited with a fortress of noise headed by a howling guitar which left your senses reeling. Apart from aggression, one of the band's main strengths lies in their attention-grabbing intro's. In 'Joking' ("a song about door-to-door salesmen"!), the guitar weaves an interesting mesh of picked notes over a walking drum beat and on 'See It In Your Eyes', a song with a good melodic hook of a chorus, the intro is best described as frantic!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Pinoreks [Ger]


Pinoreks - There Is Hope - 2005


Dorcel [Fra]

Dorcel - Sins - CD 2008

Dorcel is a “pop-wave” band based in France. They’ve been described sounding like “And Also The Trees” or “The Cure” by the french magazin Elegy.

http://www.myspace.com/dorcel

http://www.dorcelmusic.com

The Transisters [Ita]


The Transistors were founded in 2005 and spent the last three years in touring all over Italy. Enrico, Meson, Alberto and Matteo opened many live-shows of such greats as Kaiser Chiefs, the Raveonttes, White Rose Movement, X-wife, Disco Drive, Vincent Vincent and the Villains, One Dimensional Man, The Alps and many more.
During all that they even found the time to record two EPs in collaboration with Geoff Turner (New Wet Kojak, Girls against Boys), which were released in July 2005 and September 2007. As influences the four are naming bands as the renowned Joy Division, P.I.L., The Fall, Elvis - what results in their Electromagnetic(New)Wave, as the band call it.
On 28th of July 2008 their first longplayer 'Under Control' was released by the german netlabel afmusic.


Monday, September 8, 2008

Psychosurgery [US]


New band.

Steve Rotter- Backup Vocals, Bass and Guitar
Stephen Morte- Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard, and Trombone...
Micah Rotter- Drums

The Strandge Hours [US]


The Strange Hours, in their current incarnation, came together in mid-2008. The band consists of Phaedrus (composition, programming, guitars), James Mandible (vocals and lyrics), and Alan Roberge (synthesizers and loops). The band play a subversive, resonant form of experimental pop, informed by classic post-punk, industrial, goth pop, ambience, and noise.