JUSTICE

 

What can I say about Justice. Hailing from France, the capital city of electronic house music, Justice is signed on to Ed Banger Records, headed by none other than Busy P, one of the most consistently intellectual producers in the business. One of my more recent favorite musicians, Justice's work is pure genius on so many levels. They have currently released only one studio album, and one live album, but there is so much more to talk about surrounding the greatness that is -- Justice.



†  (2007)

My personal album for the year 2007, and maybe best newcomer album of the decade, "Cross" is a fantastic mash of heavy metal electro and synthetic beats. The albums most popular song D.A.N.C.E is not only an amazing jam in itself, but it also has, what I consider to be, one of the best music videos to accompany a song ever:



Directed by SO-ME, this video has been a direct inspiration to me ever since it came out. There are no words to describe this other than "pure fun". It fits with the songs style and mashes the lyrics into modern moving art (literally).

However, this does not even begin to get to my favorite Justice song, by far -- Waters of Nazereth. This song has an explosive beginning and then dives into pure funk goodness for the remainder of the song. I feel like this song represents all that Justice stands for. It's got a heavy funk sound, with harsh electro influences, and beautiful keyboard synth.
I actually used Waters of Nazereth as an alarm clock for a short amount of time because I was so in love with the beginning. And it surprisingly worked well, considering I have a terrible time waking up in the morning.
I would recommend specific songs from the album, but in all honestly, the entire album is so damn good. So check out the entire thing if you haven't.

Also worth recommendation, is their live album titled A Cross the Universe (2008). If you can get past the fact that it's a live album, it features some wonderful remixes and mash-ups of the songs featured in cross. Of note especially is "Phantom Pt. 2" which takes the original Phantom II, a song that was about 2 or 3 minutes long, and stretches it into an 11 minute remix of pure orgasmic electronic beauty. I have recommended this album countless times to people I know, and even ones that hate live albums have gone up to me and told me "this album is the best thing I have ever listened to". It's amazing, check it out.

RATING: 5/5

NOBUNNY

 

Something for all you punks out there. Nobunny is a special kind of cool, and by special, I mean really special. His shows are completely crazy and full of energy. Tucson Weekly best described him as a "horny, drunken muppet". It's one of those few bands that are fun to listen to in general, but it's also something you need to experience live. Like the Aquabats, or GWAR.

Nobunny sounds like early 70s punk, with a little bit of folk and bubblegum pop thrown in sometimes. Vocally he reminds me of a young Mick Jagger occasionally, or even Joey Ramone. He's got A LOT of albums and cassettes out (of which I'm lucky to own one), so I'm not going to review each of them personally, but that's not the point of this blog post. Really the point of this blog post is to bring to light a lesser known artist. Something that I will do occasionally here and there.

There are a lot of different songs I can recommend, but personally I would check out "Blow Dumb" from his recent album. Which is a fun song that reminds me a lot of Lou Reed's solo career and other bands from that era of music. Also check out my personal favorite album of his "Raw Romance". It's a great introductory of his sound, and music.

But if you can't find that, look into his latest release titled "First Blood".

 

Horrorpops

One of the genres of music I've always been fascinated with is Psychobilly. The scene, the lyrics, the imagery is always something inspiring. It's like if the 50s was under constant zombie invasion. And the women are always beautiful

 

  -- oh yessss. The problem I have with this genre of music is that it all sounds the same. If you've heard one psychobilly band, you've basically heard them all. It's very hard to find psychobilly bands with their own style. The Horrorpops are a band that immediately sticks out to me when I think of psychobilly, not just because of the gruesome female vocals, but also the hard rock style they present themselves with.



 Hell Yeah! (2004)

The very first Horrorpops album. With amazing vocal work by Patricia Day, and great guitar pieces by Kim Nekroman, this is an explosive first album. Day knows how to slap a double bass like a son of a gun.. I usually listen to their stuff every year around Halloween time, and it's got that perfect mixture of a cheesy Horror film. I liken this album to classic monster movies. This is something Boris Karloff would jam out to -- if he were still alive.

RATING: 3/5



Bring it On! (2005)

By far my favorite Horrorpops album. First one I physically bought too. Fantastic energetic songs that make you want to rise out of your grave and kick some 50s teeny-bopper ass. The first time I heard Patricia Day's vocals in "Walk Like a Zombie" I was IN LOVE. She has all the presence of a ghoulish ghost queen and so much more. Other fantastic songs of mention are: "Crawl Straight Home", "You vs. Me" and "Freaks in Uniform".
This is the defining album of their sound, and something I instantly recommend for anyone wanting to get into this band.

RATING: 4/5



Kiss Kiss Kill Kill (2008)

Something a little more subdued and not as explosive, this is a slight departure from their more punk fueled roots. It's definitely got a slower feel too it, and it's almost a little more classy sounding than the previous two albums. If the first album was an ode to classic horror films, this is more of an ode to romantic horror stories. A few songs worth checking out from this album are: "Highway 55", "Hitchcock Street", and "Thelma and Louise".
Fantastic album overall, and it gets a positive reaction for having a new direction and working with it.

RATING: 4/5

Modest Mouse

Something I've been regularly obsessed with for a long long time, and even more so recently, is a fantastic band by the name of Modest Mouse. I got into them from a friend of a friend way back when they had just released their third album The Moon & Antarctica. That was the very first taste I had of Modest Mouse and it was something I greatly enjoyed. I went through the rest of their discography, grabbing any of their music that I could. The sweet, yet salty tinge of their guitar work, and Issac Brock's guttural vocals took me back, and made me fall in love with their songs. So as a great honor to a fantastic band, I am going to review their entire discography. From This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About to We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.

 

This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About (1996)


This album is very special to me for a number of reasons. Generally when I get into different bands, I tend to always appreciate the first album no matter if it's bad or good. Everyone has their roots, we all gotta start somewhere -- y'know? And something I both compliment and critique Modest Mouse on is they started exactly where they are now. The songs from their first release sound almost no different from their songs of today. That's not to say there isn't a noticeable difference stylistically and technically, but if you were to play a song from this album, and their newest album to a casual fan, or even someone who's never heard of Modest Mouse; they would most likely think it's from the same album. However, more recently, having listened through all of their albums again, Issac Brock definitely sounds very young in this album; further proving I apparently have no idea what I'm talking about.
This album holds my favorite Modest Mouse song of all time: Dramamine. Nothing describes Modest Mouses floaty guitar work and dark imagery better than this song, and when I introduce this band to people who have never heard of them, I play this song first.


RATING: 4/5




The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

A slight departure from their first album, the tone of this is far more angry and less floaty and calm. Listening to the two side by side, I would say Modest Mouse is one of the few bands capable of definitely capturing a mood when it comes to full on albums or even songs. I feel like when I listen to each album, a single emotion comes to mind. When I listened to This is a Long Drive, my thoughts drifted towards "confused"; this album brought up thoughts of "frustration".
Specifically evident of the range Issac Brock can produce is my favorite song off the album "Shit Luck". The raw energy produce by this song never fails to pump me up. I love blasting this song in my car and just headbanging the fuck out of my brains, for lack of better words. However not many songs on here are worth mentioning. And thus, the album, as a whole, kind of lacks in entertainment.

RATING: 3/5

 

The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

As a whole, this entire album is my favorite of the Modest Mouse discography. Not just because of nostalgic value, but also because it's just great as an album. It combines the tone of the previous two albums into a piece in which I personally feel that Modest Mouse finds their place in. Songs like "3rd Planet" or "Dark Center of the Universe" showcase that raw, angry emotion that Issac can portray, while songs like "Cities Made of Ashes" provide that calming, dark landscape that Modest Mouse can often paint.
This album is not perfect by any means, but when I think of Modest Mouse, I tend to think of this album. It definitely defines their sound.

RATING: 4/5

 

Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)

The most popular of their albums, and what gained them a large amount of mainstream fame, is Good News for People Who Love Bad News. As a forewarning, I am not regularly one of those people who claim that "mainstream" albums ruin bands, or "destroy" their "sound" by any means. I save that for rare occasions that it's true...such as "Against Me!"...but that's another review for another time.
However, I definitely think that Modest Mouse gained a lot from their rise in popularity. Not only was it good for the band itself, but also for their production values. This album sounds damn fantastic. There are so many songs on here that I have love for.
Songs I'd like to mention that are some of my personal favorites are "Bukowski", "Satin in a Coffin", "Black Cadillacs" and "Ocean Breaths Salty".
Another fantastic song on this album, is of course the lead single "Float On". I'm one of those people that cannot listen to a song if it has had too many air plays or commercial uses, and "Float On" fits that category for me, but I won't deny the beauty of that song, and the music video that accompanied it.

RATING: 4/5



We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007)

The most recent Modest Mouse release. I can remember foaming with anticipation back in 2007, when I was waiting and waiting for this to be released. Looking back now, I can see that, while there are a few notable songs on this album, overall I would say it's Modest Mouse's worst work out of their discography. I don't mean this in a bad way, I just don't see the appeal to this album. The only song I can legitimately remember most of the time is "Spitting Venom" and that's because for years I apparently made a parody song called the "Whiskey Song" based upon this song. Other than that, I appreciate the effort, but not the album.

RATING: 2/5

Let's Review Music!

This is Commander Cool, your guru, your master, your personal guide to what's funky and what's fine -- and I'm here to review some of the albums I personally enjoy and anything new that trickles out of the pipe we call the music industry. So keep your eyes open, your ears intact, and your nose to the ground (whatever that means). Cause I'm sending you the freshest, the funkiest, the illest reviews you can find. Right here -- on CHANNEL COOOOOOOL.

Keep your ears open darlings.