e.coli
To Drool
(Triple X)
reviewed in issue #108, 5/6/96

Well, when you want to change gears...

John Napier, most recently a guitarist in Nitzer Ebb, and more famously the singer for Ethyl Meatplow, leads this trio through the paces. Of what, well, I'm still not sure.

There are traces of that thing called "emo-core", but honestly, e.coli's sound is too lush for that. And anyway, where much of that stuff appeals to me, this really doesn't. It's not that e.coli sucks. Not at all. The band can play and the songs are competently written.

I just don't find them that interesting. Well, except for the couple of songs that sound just like '79 Buzzcocks. Those were kinda nice. But all the plodding, fuzzy stuff? Napier's voice just clashes with the whole concept.

Not cheesy enough to accuse of cashing in on a trend, e.coli isn't good enough to rise above whatever it is attempting. Merely middling fare.

Ea!
Oripando
(Tinder)
reviewed in issue #154, 3/9/98

The last flamenco album I got from Tinder, Los Activos, focused almost exclusively on the rhythmic center. Ea! takes the different tack, concentrating on the melodic and lyric sides of flamenco. The one connecting point is that both bands bring in many outside influences, from Latin rhythms (come home again) to Arabic melodic styles.

Ea! is much more expressive, working each song as tightly and completely as possible. The devotion is to the song and not the form, and that attention makes each song sing with vibrant power.

The lyrics are presented in Spanish and English, for those who worry about such things. Honestly, the presentation is such that there is an effect much like opera, where the emotion of the songs comes across even if the words don't quite make sense.

A somewhat folkier approach to flamenco than I've heard before. The playing is freer, even while technically precise. An odd contradiction that intensifies the music. Arresting fare.

The Eames Era
Heroes + Sheroes
(self-released)
reviewed in issue #283, March 2007

The sorta vaguely disjointed--yet almost unbearably lush--pop songs that have a way of completely distracting me from the issue at hand. Which is to say that the Eames Era has just ended.

Not the band--at least, I assume not. Rather, I'd like to note the recent passing of Alan Eames, a cool beer scholar. He roamed the earth in search of beer, and he sent back a missal every now and again when he found something. That has nothing to do with these folks, but the name kinda made my mind wander a bit.

But, right, the Eames Era (the band). Pretty songs that break down at what have to be described as utterly cute times. The breaking down thing is intentional; the hooks are always in place. And while often quite involved, those hooks are as sweet as anything out there.

If these folks were a bit more, well, refined, I'd say they were a perfect fit for Minty Fresh, those Chicago-based purveyors of extreme pop. But maybe a slightly more eclectic label like Merge would be better. I dunno. I'd be proud to have them on my roster, if only because I got to hear their new stuff first.

Ear Goggles
Ear Goggles
(demo)
reviewed in issue #178, 3/15/99

Just yer typical band with a sax replacing the vocals. Well, it's a bit more complicated than that (imagine Iceburn playing pop music and you might begin to grasp the sound), but not really. While there is a bit of jazz theory in the compositions, this isn't jazz.

And no one asked it to be. Ear Goggles plays Ear Goggles music. A very fine sort of tuneage, stuff I really dig, even with only three songs to hear and a somewhat low mastering level on the cassette.

Ah, but what would a demo be without demo-quality production? I'm not gonna hold it against the guys. I can hear what they're doing, even if the sound isn't pristine. And what's going on is something else. Simple-sounding, but fairly complex. Just the sort of dichotomy which characterizes good music.

Earmint
Another Early Evening
(EV Records)
reviewed in issue #277, August 2006

Listening to this on the heels of the Dr. Octagon, well, I'm a bit underwhelmed. But only a bit. That's how good Earmint is.

Stellar collage beatwork is the centerpiece here. Folks like Diverse, Murs, Longshot and Psalm One (reviewed in "Also Recommended" in this issue) drop by to add a little flow--good work, too, not just yer usual guest shot crap--but Earmint doesn't let up even when an MC is hanging out.

The sound is more crunchy than smooth. Some of that is the collage technique, but more than that I think Earmint wants to keep an aggressive sound. I like that. Always keep the listener on the defensive.

Not pretty, but quite possibly beautiful. There are sounds here I'd never imagined before. Which is why I listen to music in the first place.

Earth Crisis
Firestorm
(Victory)
reviewed in issue #41, 10/15/93

More of what has become standard: Rollins-style rants and slow, pounding chords. Except that I actually really like these guys's riffs, and things progress at an acceptable speed. Fairly tight, actually.

Four songs with no clunkers. This is brutality that makes me smile. I would not have believed it if I hadn't heard it, but I do like the way these guys put the brakes on hard core. Amazing.

These boys are certainly extremists (the album is dedicated to the "Vegan Straight Edge", not exactly a group Phil Gramm is courting at the moment), but why bitch when the music is this fucking good.

Yes, fucking good is the only appropriate term. Earth Crisis plays hardcore with a small (but shiny) metal inlay, omitting most of the cheese that plagues NYC metalcore acts and leaving the monstrous attack and mean sound.

And the boys manage to play this music without getting dull (a real feat). Each song reels you into the pit, chews you up a bit and then expectorates you back to the bar (juice bar; EC is straightedge, after all).

The strongest heavy hardcore album I've heard this year. Earth Crisis has a great rep, and this album should only advance the cause.

A natural move for the band. Earth Crisis always had a metal sound to the "straight-edge vegan hardcore" it plays, and that sharp edge to the guitars has been increasing over time. Why not move to a label with lots of metalcore bands (more cash and better distribution probably don't hurt either).

And unlike most bands with a doctrinaire message (Christian rock comes to mind first), Earth Crisis pays attention to the music. Yes, the lyrics are extreme, in an unusual way (how many straight-edge vegan hardcore bands have you heard?), but the band keeps everything in a proper balance. Which, by the way, is the message of veganism. At least, that's the theory as the band expresses it.

This album is much more assured and crafted than earlier ones I've reviewed (I haven't heard the last couple). More metal (certainly more anthemic in the lead guitar lines), but with an increased emphasis on the hardcore rhythms. Tight and tasty.

Oh, that was a cheap one. Sorry. Earth Crisis is one of my favorite sinful pleasures. The band just does the shit so well. One sample and you'll know what I'm talking about. Lots of bands try, but they cannot achieve the proper balance. You know, maybe there is something to the whole vegan theory, after all.

Another flavor of the month that didn't quite taste right in Roadrunner's mouth, Earth Crisis returns to the Victory fold, but this is not your father's (well, your older brother's, anyway) Earth Crisis.

The buzzsaw riffage has stepped back a couple notches in favor of an increased focus on the vocals. Vocals which are clearer and often spoken or sung (as opposed to shouted). Some of the singing brings to mind the gothic wail that Fear Factory introduced years back.

In fact, this whole album reminds me a bit too much of Fear Factory. I mean, Earth Crisis defined the extreme for five years. To step this way is to step backward. A long ways back.

You know, it's not even like it does this sound badly. Earth Crisis attacks this style with the same vehemence as before. It's just that I've heard it too many times already. Earth Crisis probably needed to evolve a bit in order to keep the fires burning. But the talent here is too huge to simply become a retread. Please guys, reconsider.

Earth Eighteen
Earth Eighteen
(Futurist)
reviewed in issue #56, 6/15/94

Some old-school punk types decide to cash in and record a commercial record.

Um, well, sort of. If your idea of commercial is early Bowie with a lot of distortion and riffage, then it is. It certainly is a long ways from Void and the Meatmen, at any rate.

Good? It is, in a cheesy sort of way. This isn't anything great or original, but I've always been somewhat attracted to the spacey glam kinda sound (remember, I really dug Star Star, and still do), and this fills a nice craving I've had for that sort of thing. But I'm also the first to admit that Velveeta just might be the perfect food (at certain times, anyway).

Crafted for pleasure, this works.

Earthlings?
Earthlings?
(Crippled Dick Hot Wax!)
reviewed in issue #166, 8/31/98

There's a quote in the enclosed press that describes Earthlings? as Roky Erickson meets Can. And, you know, I can't argue a whole lot with that. For once (well, it has happened a couple times before), the press is right.

Lots of unusual electronic trippages through the basic pop form, with some seriously spooky lyrics. Let's face it. There's a ton of pop albums wandering about today. It is the sound of the year. Not that there's a huge big monster hit to prove it, but the three-chord garage band is all the rage. Earthlings? is plying the same ground, but from a whole different perspective.

From the sky, or even outer space. A grand vision of what pop music can be. The incorporation of wonderful ideas and lots of 'em. Songs which challenge and infuriate and inspire. Music that challenges the concept of the norm.

The sort of thing one might call revolutionary. Superficially, this sounds like any number of pop bands. And then something slowly creeps in from the back. That little something overwhelms your mind in no time flat. And you realize you were looking at the whole thing from the wrong side. You're the one who's inside looking out, not the other way around.

It'll fuck you, it will.

Eater
All of Eater
(Creative Man-Cargo)
reviewed in issue #80, 7/15/95

Brit punk band best known for the youthful nature of its members (though 13-year-old drummer Dee Generate was sacked in favor of Philip Rowlands soon after the band recorded its first 7"), Eater had a short-lived career in the mid-to-late 70s.

This is the most complete collection of one disc ever released. The sound is pretty good, particularly when you consider the small amount of studio time these guys put in.

While contemporaries the Clash and Buzzcocks have (deservedly) garnered more attention and praise, Eater's take on the pop punk sound is still worth checking out, particularly considering the current musical trends. That couldn't have anything to do with the timing of this release. Ya think?

Ebeling Hughes
Transfigured Night
(Zero Hour)
reviewed in issue #167, 9/14/98

The music is certainly trans...fixing. Ebeling Hughes (that's Bob and Chuck, respectively) works through many different moods, from sparsely populated minimalist gems to shimmering, flowing symphonies.

All done with deliberate motion and finely-crafted accumulation. These are not the warblings of some spirited garage band, but the fully-constructed dreams of two guys. Always gorgeous, no matter the particular sound.

There is no adherence to any particular theme. Ebeling Hughes simply wanders wherever the muse might lay, and I'm happy to skip along behind. The lyrics are that rare example of simple words expressing complex ideas.

Simply a wonderful experience. Contemplative and intriguing, the music doesn't let go until the final note sounds. Can't say any more; I want to go back and listen.

Ec8or
World Beaters
(Digital Hardcore)
reviewed in issue #166, 8/31/98

The record label describes the band's sound very well. The band (Equator, get it?) runs heavily distorted beats and bass lines, draping truly whiny (and equally distorted) female vocals over the top. Today's music of angst and alienation.

The beats are actually a bit more accessible than most adherents to this style. In fact, I can detect some serious club potential here. Oh, it's not particularly seductive, but there is a nice subversive undercurrent.

Thoroughly enjoyable, particularly when you consider the potential of hardcore electronic music to fall into generic noise. Ec8or moves nicely between merchant of pain and purveyor of pleasure. A cool set of agro tunes.

Echobrain
Echobrain
(Chophouse/Hollywood)
reviewed in issue #226, February 2002

So, Jason Newsted: You've just been fired from Metallica. What do you do next?

Pull a Foo Fighters, that's what. Newsted has assembled a three-piece band for the purpose of playing 70s-inflected power pop-rock. And it shouldn't surprise anyone that the stuff is really good.

Newsted has always been interested in more than basic loud music. After his annointment as a metal-god-in-training, he convinced Metal Blade records to sign and record Thought Industry, one of the great underappreciated bands of all time. And he brings that ear for the unusual to Echobrain. The songs here stray from the margins most of the time, but they always return home.

Jim Martin (once of Faith No More) and Kirk Hammett (um, you know) guest, but the star of the show here is Echobrain itself. These songs build from basic rock sounds into immediately arresting sonic sculptures. There is a prog influence, but it's so subtle I almost didn't catch it. These songs are so catchy that the band's technical prowess almost goes unnoticed.

More than anything, Echobrain is fun. Yeah, there are some serious ideas and some loud rockers, but these guys enjoy playing with each other. There's no need to prove anything to anyone. And so the guys just get up and play. Echobrain may get some initial pub due to Newsted, but the songs are the stars. They merit all the praise. Merited praise at that.

Michael Eck
Resonator
(Mandala Hand)
reviewed in issue #135, 5/26/97

The clear attraction here is Eck's mastery of the acoustic guitar. He picks with aplomb and abandon. The delivery is smooth, and the sound impressive.

The songwriting, particularly lyrically, is a bit forced. Eck has a style somewhat similar to Richard Thompson's, complete with pop culture references and tossed off vocals. Plenty of spiritual reflection as well.

But when he tries to get deep, Eck too often comes up trite. The guitar work is stunning throughout, and that makes up for many problems, but eventually it's impossible to get past the weaknesses.

Man, I wish Eck could write words the way he plays his music. That would be something else.

Econoline Crush
Affliction
(Nettwerk)
reviewed in issue #109, 5/20/96

If you're an aggro industrial pop act from Vancouver, you really have only one choice of producers. If you're any good, that is.

And so Rhys Fulber of FLA added his considerable booth talents (and a few keys) to the proceedings. Econoline Crush is a bit too enamored of that whole "monster riff" concept, I suppose, but Fulber's hand keeps the songs varied and interesting.

I'm not impressed much by the songwriting, but the band and Fulber have found a reasonably good sound. And I can hear more than a few FLA inferences, which is almost always a good thing.

Without the keys and strong guiding hand, I'm not sure where Econoline Crush would be. But this is a decent album, if nothing spectacular. The guys should get off that reliance on the heavy guitar sound and try and write more diverse stuff. But that's what artistic evolution is all about.

Ed Hall
Motherscratcher
(Trance Syndicate)
reviewed in issue #42, 10/31/93

These poor bastards have been toiling in Austin so long, you wonder what it will take to get wide attention.

Then again, if they got wide attention, they would sound like the Melvins do today, and I wouldn't be able to listen because my heart would be broken.

Ed Hall has not really changed much in the years I've known of its existence. Heavy, groove-laden tracks with almost psychotic viewpoints on society. Everything that makes me smile, really.

Lots of people will tell me things like "This isn't metal, I won't play it." Don't be a shithead. Nirvana and Pearl Jam aren't metal bands either, and I bet a lot of you are playing them. Get off your dumb stance and pick up on the really great heavy music out there. Like Ed Hall.

Eddie the Rat
Eddie the Rat
(self-released)
reviewed in issue #178, 3/15/99

Sonic collages which occasionally make sense. A lot of found sound and other strange recordings pasted together and (sometimes) laid on top of pleasantly mutant electronic fare. Not really soundscapes; there isn't a coherent sonic vision at work. Which simply makes all the quirks that much more interesting.

Intriguing, certainly, and sometimes even astonishing. There's a lot of weirdness here (this from a person who prefers eccentricity, mind you), and it sees to get worse the longer the disc plays on. Best not to try and make sense of it.

Like I said, though, I don't think sense is the point. Eddie the Rat just might be a fairly pure expression of the chaos of our world. Or I might be thinking way too much about stuff like this again.

Ah, hell, that's what I'm (not) paid to do. Highly entertaining, if you like your brain bombarded with all sorts of ideas. I do, and I have to say that Eddie the Rat has one of the more stimulating approaches to sounds I've heard in a while.

Something of an abstract adventure into the spiritual subconscious. Eddie the Rat is a collective of people who play all sorts of instruments and make all manner of rackets. Calling this music abstract is probably accurate, but that doesn't really paint the full picture.

Part of the reason is that Eddie the Rat often uses a coherent line (generally in the bass, but sometimes guitar or percussion or something else) to hold the pieces together. Another reason is that the music is, itself, utterly compelling and instructive.

There are vocals, and sometimes they get in the way of really allowing the ideas to evolve completely. There's a beat sensibility to what lyrics exist (they really crop up on only a couple of songs), and that doesn't excite me. I'd rather hear the music explain what the lyrics can only hint at.

No matter. This journey of spiritual exploration is as breathtaking and exciting as any I've taken in some time. Eddie the Rat is constantly surprising and engaging. The musical avant-garde never sounded so appealing.

Another piece of the ongoing construct, this episode from the file of Eddie the Rat finds Pete Martin and friends in a most convivial mood.

The songs are decidedly noodly for abstract fare. I detect something of an unintentional nod to prog in the way the lines have been drawn in these compositions. These waves left me feeling that there was more substructure to these pieces than really exists.

Because, in actuality, this stuff is surprisingly adrift. That's not a bad thing; I kinda like meandering now and again. And I really like where these pieces wander. Whenever I think an idea has been exhausted, I'm always pleasantly surprised by new insight.

This is the sort of abstract experimental album that might well appeal to a more mainstream crowd. There's enough "normality" (whatever that means) to keep the easily distracted from wigging out. And those of us who like to set our minds free from time to time will set sail on this tidal wave of thought.

The concept of the pieces here is to use the piano as a drummer uses the set. Head Rat Pete Martin put these pieces together as an exercise, but they do work outside of that context. And since the songs themselves wander through all sorts of ideas and moods, the feel is exuberant, not clinical. Another fine outing by Martin and pals.

Pete Martin (Eddie's composer) has been sending me his stuff for a while. I'm glad to see he's hooked up with Edgetone--that's a nice fit for his meticulous work. These songs are somewhat abstract, but there's not a lot of improvisation going on. This set is a bit more stripped-down and restrained than some of the earlier albums, and that seems to suit the songs well. Another solid set.

I've been listening to Pete Martin's Eddie the Rat project for years. He's always been able to find people who can translate his written (if sometimes loosely) music into enthusiastic moderately-improvised works.

Always less improvised than you might think (which is something I'm pretty sure I said about EtR in the past), but with all the anarchic spirit that sort of endeavor inspires.

On the whole, these pieces seem more like songs and less like compositions. A lot of this album feels steeped in the same sort of blues that entranced Captain Beefheart, though without the rigorous wigginess. Each song contains a surfeit of ideas, far too much for the ears to digest in a single listen. Even so, just a few seconds ought to be enough to attract plenty of attention.

In many ways, this is the most conventional EtR album I've heard. It's probably not a coincidence that it's probably my favorite as well. The sort of album I can curl up with next to the fire--or shoot straight into my veins for a pure rush. It's really cool when an album can do so much at once.

Eden
Gateway to the Mysteries
(Third Mind)
reviewed in issue #8, 2/29/92

Oddly enough, the band that this reminds me of most is one called Outback, on Ryko. What's really weird is that those folk are also from Australia. But this isn't really that close. This coheres much more to European folk tunes than anything from the dark continent.

This is some cool music. Sorta like Clannad pared down. Not nearly so much synth or Enya. But with a little more diversity. Oh, why do I keep comparing bands to other bands?

It is the easiest way to describe an act, I suppose. But not very fair. Eden deserves a rep all its own, and this album may very well get that for them. I sure hope so.

Edenbridge
Sunrise in Eden
(Sensory)
reviewed in issue #218, 6/25/01

Just about everything here is controlled by an Austrian named Lanvall. He wrote the songs, played the guitars and keyboards, produced the album and put the band together in the first place. The press notes call this "new age/symphonic" metal. More symphonic than new age, thankfully.

While Lanvall's hands are all over this album, the key to the sound is Sabine Edelsbacher's voice. She's not yer usual metal chick. Her vocals are restrained and almost ethereal. And they fit right in with the concept of the songs. A perfect match.

Lanvall's crafted himself a fine album. The sound is grand, but not excessively so. And he's laid Edelsbacher's vocals into the perfect spot in the mix. She doesn't have to scream to be heard over the music. Creates a unique sound.

You know me. I'm a sucker for this kinda thing. So maybe I'm not the most objective listener. Still, Edenbidge does the Eurometal thing a little differently than I've heard before. I really like it, too.

Manic, melodic Eurometal with soaring female vocals. Edenbridge's sound is very technical and dry, but the wealth of sounds in the mix gives these songs more than enough soul.

And actually, I kinda like hearing the lines this distinctly. Lanvall (songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer) has a knack for crafting some astonishingly beautiful melodies. He's more than willing to slow things down for a quiet ballad and then leap right back into the fray with a speedy rocker.

There's just a hint of the gothic in this symphonic style, but mostly the feel is grand and operatic. Many folks would consider Edenbridge well over the top, but not me. I prefer to call the sound expressive, not excessive.

It's all in the ear of the beholder, I guess. I've liked this style of music since I was a kid, and that love refuses to die. Edenbridge is as classy as they come.

Edge of Sanity
Unorthodox
(Black Mark-Cargo)
reviewed in issue #18, 8/15/92

Some claim death metal bands lose their purity when they bring in outside influences. So they won't touch My Dying Bride or even Tiamat. Poor saps. They don't realize what they're missing.

Soul-wrenching music. And if you happen to be among the legion playing MDB, then by all means find this disc and jam. I've got to stop this "finest death album ever" bullshit, because as soon as I say that, another rivals it. Better than, well, the two albums do approach death from different perspectives. Of course, they are both European...

All my yapping won't do this disc justice. You MUST sit down and listen. And be damn impressed. Pray for the death trade imbalance to slack off sometimes in the future. But be happy with the present.

Something for everyone here. While they still have a lot of the adventurous spirit I really dug on their previous albums, this is a little more straightforward than those.

But even when they play it straight it kicks ass. These are great musicians who can evoke many moods (unusual among death metal bands) beyond mere anger and gloom.

I'm a sucker for quality, and Edge of Sanity come through once again. I could delineate how fine every part of this album is, but they best test is for you just to listen. These guys are head and shoulders above most of their peers, and it's obvious from the first song.

As the liners so accurately point out, these don't particularly sound like recent EOS output. And the new album won't sound like this stuff either. Hmm... so what to do?

Well, enjoy, for starters. This is what Cathedral would sound like if it was cool. But those boys cheezed out long ago, leaving a big void. The three originals are good, and then there is a cover of "Invisible Sun" that is remarkably close to the Police original. It actually sounds really cool, but you'll have to remind yourself that, indeed, this is Edge of Sanity.

I'm all for expanding horizons. And even if Edge of Sanity never passes this way again, I'm glad I got the holiday snaps.

Sometimes you listen to a disc and just gasp: "Now that's a fucking album!"

"Twilight", the first track, is worth the cash for the disc. Seven-plus minutes of beauty and fury. Despite protestations to the contrary, Edge of Sanity has moved more toward melody and other doom conventions, but there is plenty of the old school viciousness to keep the purist fans happy.

Whine if you want about keyboards and such. That will carry no truck with me. If you can listen to this disc and say it sucks, then you live in another musical world than I do. Edge of Sanity has always been one of the more experimental death metal bands around (particularly for one from Sweden), and Purgatory Afterglow keeps that legacy alive. So you can actually hear musical thoughts and compositional progressions. This isn't blind chaos; it's music at its most advanced form.

The songs are all solid. The playing has gotten better, if that's possible, and Edge of Sanity is still out there pushing the boundaries of death metal. It may be loud, heavy and fast, but I get the feeling more than a few in the mainstream will be discovering Edge of Sanity this time out.

Forty minutes. One song. Dan Swano and company are setting themselves up for a big fall...

And this didn't need to be one song. There are numerous spots where song-length interludes break up the general musical theme. This could have easily been banded.

But that's a minor bitch. I mean, when a band pulls such influences as Iron Maiden, Sisters of Mercy, Napalm Death, Judas Priest, Tiamat and, well, all the other stuff Edge of Sanity has ever put out (a nicely diverse lot), then there's no reason to whine. Is it a death metal opera? Well, as close as I've heard. And, of course, Edge of Sanity has sampled opera before...

Not quite a masterwork, but damned close. There are a few seams that folks like me can hear, and those detract just the slightest bit. Much like the last Pan-Thy-Monium (which included EOS members Benny and Dan), you simply don't notice the length. This is a great album, and conversely, a great song.

I'm not sure I'd ever advise such a career move, but Edge of Sanity pulls off the single-song concept album as well as anyone I've every heard. Astonishing work. See also See also Nightingale, Odyssey and Pan-Thy-Monium.

Edge of Sense
Return to Cure EP
(demo)
reviewed in issue #119, 9/23/96

Three songs on a tape that suffers from the worst case of demo-itis that I've heard in some time. Muffled and baffled and almost totally lost.

And the music is not terribly inspired, either. Somewhere in that whole R.E.M.-U2 melodic college pop thing. Better than Toad the Wet Spigot, but that's not saying much. I'm not much for cloying lyrics, myself.

All in all, one of the least interesting demos I've heard in some time. Wish I could be nicer, but even the sound on this is dreadful.

EDL
Moment of Clarity
(Big Deal-KMG)
reviewed in issue #189, 10/11/99

Might as well get this puppy out before the new Rage disc hits stores next month. Oh, I'm sure that didn't have a whole lot to do with the release strategy here (it's silly to worry about what megastars do), but EDL does drop down with a little straightedge metalcore. Somewhere between Earth Crisis and Downset, these guys actually bring some new ideas to the table.

Like some slammin' digital hardcore beats, and plenty of space between the sounds. So instead of merely overwhelming, EDL provides more of a complete emotional impact. Why simply destroy when you can build up? That's the trick here.

There is still a bit too heavy of a reliance on strident riffage, but even there EDL does a pretty good job of integrating more ideas into its moshing moments. Let's just say I didn't get bored listening to this disc, and that happens way too often when I'm listening to many bands like this.

In fact, the more I hear, the more I like. EDL has an easygoing take on this most intense of sounds (that's a relative comment, mind you), and that really takes some of the dreadful pretentiousness out of the mess. Wow. This is something worth a spin or few.

Edsel
The Everlasting Belt Co.
(Grass)
reviewed in issue #61, 8/31/94

This almost came out on Jawbox's DeSoto label, and you can hear a lot of post-punk influence going on here.

Not out of place with such folk as Girls Against Boys and other D.C. noise types, Edsel use creative percussion rhythms and a crashing guitar sound to set the table for nice pop melodies. It takes a while to peel through the sounds and figure out where everything is at, but that's just part of the fun.

This does fit in somewhere among the pop minimalist school, I suppose, but Edsel occupy the creative end of that spectrum. For starters, the songs are not limited to simple meandering. They often completely transcend their origins and cross over into a whole new pop plane. Very spectacular at times.

Jams, jams, jams. This isn't exactly easy music, but is sure is good. Edsel will worm its way into your brain.

Much the same as their album, also reviewed in this issue. Minimalist pop expanded into the universe.

For each song, Edsel finds some little kernel that can be exploited and made great. This is kinda hard to explain without playing the music, so why don't you just throw this thing on the turntable and find out for yourself?

Both tunes are gems; Edsel is truly cool.

Edsel has been making a name for itself as one of the better post-punk pop acts. The a-side here find the guys experimenting with all sorts of odd string sounds (even a violin!). All part of a glorious pop gem.

And how could you expect less? Edsel is one of those bands not to be missed, whether live or recorded. The two songs here are just a further example of the rule.

Oh, the flip? "Bela's Corvair" has that spooky-ooky feel that such a song needs. And, again, the Edsel touch with the songwriting. No lyrics, just a way-cool load of sounds put together in juicy fashion. Sounds oddly like latter-day Fall, actually.

I've said all that needs to be said here. It's Edsel. You should know by now.

Archie Edwards
The Toronto Sessions
(Northern Blues)
reviewed in issue #225, January 2002

Recorded in 1986 while the late Archie Edwards was in Toronto for a concert, this album showcases some of the finest rural blues guitar picking I've heard in a long time.

Edwards hailed from Franklin County, Virginia (just south of Roanoke), and his style of the blues is indicative of that area (and, indeed, the area where I live right now, the Carolina Piedmont). He picked a single line--more expressively than quickly--and sang along in time.

This may sound simple, and in theory I suppose it is. But Edwards and other masters of the sound figured out how to make that basic style sing gloriously. Like many blues artists, Edwards spent most of his life working a day job. After retiring in 1981 he began to tour and teach.

Which is what this album does. The liners are copious and contain Edwards's own descriptions of the origin of the songs he played. Giving neophytes like me the opportunity to do a little musical sleuthing of our own. Quite the gift.

Eighty Mile Beach
Inclement Weather
(Om Records-World Domination)
reviewed in issue #163, 7/20/98

Very much imbued into the ambient side of the trip-hop scene. Funky grooves, sultry vocals and a very nice sense of laid-back style. Not at all serious, but more contemplative and generally genial.

Just a nice to flow to it all. Plenty of nice organic touches (piano, clarinet and a wide array of other cool sounds) all swirled together in a swell natural setting. Yeah, this is highly assembled music, but the band's talent (this disc is self-produced and self-mixed) has crafted a great sound.

If you think you have an idea of what this sounds like, think again. As soon as I started to get a handle on what I was hearing, the folks (Christian Jones and Beth Custer) tossed out another brilliant snippet. That all of these little bits work so well together is simply amazing. I'm just kicking back, appreciating.

Settle in an expect to be wowed. This is an album that most anyone will find utterly amazing. Accessible and yet so textured even the most demanding fan will be won over. Highest praises.

86
True Life Songs and Pictures
(Fresh Corn)
reviewed in issue #206, 10/9/00

"Choke the chicken" country music. Curtains of distortion, a whaleload of punk attitude and astonishingly earnest singing. Reminds me a lot of Enormous Richard, a great St. Louis band back in the late 80s and early 90s.

The lyrics aren't terribly jokey, but they are laid back and often have a pretty lilt to them. The music simply refuses to be serious, though again the novelty factor is about zilch.

No, these songs just lurch forward in a two-step stagger, kinda like some of the Mekons' rootsier moments. The production is fairly crude, but all of the elements (at times the basic line-up is joined by violin, cello, accordion and more) blend well, even if the sonic effect carries with it something of a bludgeon.

Fun, though, and terribly involving. I found it impossible to sit still listening to this. There's just too much energy, joy and intensity to meekly slump in my chair. Nope, I had to get up and jump around the room a bit. Which is always a good sign.

Effigies
Remains Nonviewable
(Touch and Go)
reviewed in issue #89, 10/9/95

A 15-track retrospective (with plenty of testimonial action from punk and alternative luminaries) that presents a good picture of the band.

Obviously, I wasn't around when the Effigies ruled Chicago, but I can hear where the Chicago punk sound (later characterized by Naked Raygun and its progeny) came from.

Like you are gonna find any Effigies stuff in the local used bins. While referring to the band as godlike may be going a bit far, anyone interested in a complete punk education should stop off for a class here.

Effluvia
World Termination
(demo)
reviewed in issue #73, 3/31/95

Punchy old school death metal that keeps creeping up on you. Effluvia changes speeds and moods a bit much for my taste, but the playing is good.

The production really emphasizes the percussion, which leaves an interesting sound, but the guitars and bass are completely left in the muck. Wish I could hear that more.

A little more attention to song flow (and better management of the middle sound ranges) would garner Effluvia much more attention. But in all, this is a good effort.

The Egg
Albumen
(Discovery)
reviewed in issue #130, 3/17/97

Yep, another of them Brit electronic bands. The Egg is a lot more commercial than folks like Stereolab and Chemical Brothers. In fact, the egg would play a nice New Order to those acts Kraftwerk (ignore the time and country shifts, please).

On the other hand, if you want moderately funky, well-textured pop music that's pretty damned near perfect for dancing, the Egg should work just fine. In fact, this is one electronic act with real commercial possibilities. More songs need vocals (and three here with lyrics have an odd Pet Shop Boys feel; not bad, but not as inventive as the rest of the stuff), and probably to have a big single some time will need to get chopped off a song or two.

But hell, this is electronic pop that is just cheesy enough to excite the average mall dweller. The more I listen, the more I hear the Pet Shop Boys (I guess that wasn't an accident).And that's not horrible, I suppose.The Egg isn't anything great, but easy enough to please most mildly adventurous types.

Egon
split 7"
with The Search for Saturnalia
(Has Anyone Ever Told You?)
reviewed in issue #203, 8/7/00

I'll start off with Egon, whose track is punctuated by punchy, almost martial rhythms and just off-pitch vocals and harmonies. "Blowing Trumpets" is actually driven by a meandering lead guitar line, which along with the vocals does lend a vague emo feel to the song. But if I had to, I'd lay this more in the general alt. pop category. Solid, but not a starmaker.

The Search for Saturnalia is at once more poppy and more emo. The guitars are strident and assertive; the song is also much more conventionally constructed. The whole package is a bit better conceived and executed. While this, too, isn't a song to make me stand up and shout, I can hear a lot more in it that makes me curious what else the band might do.

Not the most far-reaching music or even the greatest stuff in the world. But both songs are solid and provide an interesting picture as to the evolution of emo.

I wasn't so knocked out by an early Egon effort on a 7", but that just goes to show you how difficult it is to make a real judgment on a band from just a song or two. Because this Egon I rather like.

The pieces are punctuated by strident, almost martial drumming, but the other side of the band is almost maniacally understated. Remind me of Drunken Boat, and I still love that band.

Egon simply keeps working until the songs finally come together in a near frenzy. Standard old school emo construction there, though Egon gets wacky in a somewhat more loose way. There is an almost omnipresent meditative feel about these songs.

In the end, that contemplative nature is what sets Egon apart. Not only does it make the band sound thoughtful, it provides a welcome depth. An album that seductively invites repeat listens. It's worth that extra time.

El Calefon featuring Coqui Reca
Bon Bon
(CrossCurrents)
reviewed in issue #143, 9/15/97

An Argentinean pop band that incorporates plenty of Latin and South American melodic and rhythmic ideas. And then dumbs them down into stuff palatable for the masses.

As a counterpoint, the Rumba Club (which I reviewed last issue) takes the same ideas and makes something greater than the original. El Calefon wants to sell lots of records, so it strips the rhythms to the bone, taking out most of the nuance (and thus most of the bounce) and then adding in very basic melodies.

Yeah, there are horns and quite a few other nice bits of window dressing. But even horn-thick tunes like "Burbujas de Amor" and "El Burrito" sound a lot like late 70s Chicago (with a psuedo-Latin groove). Sure, it's easy on the ears, but I'm waiting for the challenge.

Uncomplicated, and in the end, unsatisfying pop music. I'd much rather hear the inspiration and not this result.

El Diablo
Texas Rockers 7"
(Sin City-Cold Front)
reviewed in issue #163, 7/20/98

Some relatively well-known musicians (who populate or once passed through Hagfish, the Reverend Horton Heat's band or Mess) decide to get together and play down and dirty stupid music.

Don't get me wrong: I like sleazy punk tunes as much as the next guy. The first song, "Sure As Shit", is about strippers. And the subject matter goes downhill from there.

Not a problem, really, if the music wasn't so derivative. I've heard this sound a thousand times, and so El Diablo comes off as just a cold rehash. Too bad, because if the guys had been a bit more witty this ZZ Top meets 7 Seconds sound would have been alrighty.

High-speed punk rawk. No frills, no extras. Just revved-up riffage and songs which, upon any reflection, have no redeeming social value.

Well, that's not right. They're amusing. Kinda. I'm not knocked out here, but I did have a laugh or two. I just got a whiff of something cheap and rancid. Is that character? Dunno.

The sound is mastered a bit low, and everything isn't as clear as it could be. Yer basic low-rent recording, I guess. Which just might what they guys were going for. You never know.

Middling to bad. Just doesn't excite me in the slightest, and honestly, there aren't any technical merits to applaud. This is an all-or-nothing sorta disc. For me, it's nothing. Happens every once in a while.

Hamza El Din
A Wish
(Sounds True)
reviewed in issue #180, 4/12/99

Sounds True is a label devoted to "traditional" world music artists. Hamza El Din is a master of the oud (an early fretless version of the lute) and the tar (a kind of drum). He's played with a number of western music stars (from Joan Baez to Bob Dylan to the Dead to the Kronos Quartet).

His music isn't exactly traditional. He has merged Nubian music with other Middle Eastern forms, creating his own "authentic" style. The songs on this album feature the oud and the tar, with some coloring from the nay, cello, piano, other percussion and vocals.

El Din's goal on this album is to keep the memory of his homeland, which was washed away behind the Aswan High Dam, alive and living. Thus many of the songs do have a haunted and wistful quality. Some of that, certainly, is just the way the music sounds to Western ears. Some of it, though, is also the emotional impact these songs carry.

His playing is wonderful, and while I'm not a very good judge of how "traditional" this might be, I don't hear many Western influences. El Din is quite skilled at making a huge impact with not very many instruments. This is an album which will easily leave a big impression.

El Duce
Slave to Thy Master
(Ever Rat-Red Light)
reviewed in issue #45, 11/30/93

What can you expect from a disc whose liners list a "studio whore" and from a label (Ever Rat) that is dedicating its latest releases to G.G. Allin.

This effort from the leader of the Mentors is just another chapter in that book. It's kinda funny, but the misogyny gets a little heavy at times.

As for the music, it's oddly exactly what you'd expect for such lyrical content: down and dirty riffage that goes on and on, much like porno soundtracks.

I can honestly say I haven't heard anything like this in a long time. It's pretty hard to disgust me, but this stuff comes close at times. Entertaining as a joke, but I have the feeling these folks are serious.

See also Gardy Loo.

El Flaco
Thub
(Sector 2)
reviewed in issue #71, 2/28/95 The liners note: "We produced ourselves." No shit, guys.

Of course, El Flaco plays a form of noise blues that lends itself to self-production. The real focus is on visceral thrill, not technical prowess. Thub is a natural antidote to those who have jumped on the Jon Spencer bandwagon. Yes, we all remember when...

Now that the Pussy Galore alumni are getting their due (10 years late), we can revel in the glory that bands like El Flaco produce. Waves of distortion and just plain noise, punctuated by an occasional burst of real blues power.

I'd call that cool, my friends. This is one of those "play all summer" discs. And since I'm in Florida and it's 80 degrees out, my summer starts now!

El Greco
Crap-A-Doodle-Doo
(self-released)
reviewed in issue #217, 6/4/01

So I've listened to this album, and I still don't know what to write. El Greco is one guy, and he's got an Adam Sandler-esque way of meandering through the silly music of the last quarter century. Borrowing from a number of styles, including hip-hop, death metal and hipster rock (often in the same song), El Greco doesn't flinch from throwing a batch of crap into the mix.

His concepts seem better (and funnier) than the results. The bio in the press kit (which may or may not have been written by the man himself) is a scream. It's quite apparent that El Greco doesn't take himself or his music particularly seriously. This is a good thing.

Because for all of his efforts, the stuff doesn't sing. It's not terribly funny and I think it would be difficult to characterize any of his musical ramblings as "inspired" or even "particularly intriguing." In short, I got annoyed.

But I was curious enough to listen again, to hear if I missed anything. Couldn't find it if I did. El Greco isn't bad in the normal sense. He seems to be a creative guy with a lot of ideas to express. He's just expressing them in a way that I can't quite grasp. Maybe it's my fault. I always have to admit that possibility. There is, however, the other side of that coin. Maybe El Greco's admittedly far-ranging excursions just don't work so well.

El-P
Stepfather Factory 12"
(Definitive Jux)
reviewed in issue #227, March 2002

A truly clever satirical look at the absence of fathers in too many children's lives. Need a dad for your child? Just go down and buy the latest model.

The chorus is a wonderful collage-style mess of sound. I wish the verse had a bit more of that to it. But then, the thoughts in the rhymes demand to be heard. Always a tough balance.

I love the concept. The rhymes are funny and a little frightening. I wish the beats and backing music could be a little more infectious, but this here's one time I'll let the message take center stage.

El-P, one of the powers behind Def Jux, steps out on this disc and dares anyone to follow. This album is anything but a collection of singles. Rather, it is a complete thought expressed in 16 movements. The songs are self-reflexive, dropping references to each other throughout.

But that's not what's most impressive. What I like is that the music is as innovative as the rhymes. The songs have a serious flow, and El-P never drops out of the groove. He just keeps laying down the thick beats. Wonderfully complex and creative loops, powerful and throbbing or subtly subversive. It's easy to get lost simply within the tunes.

That wouldn't do justice to the rhymes, however. These are clever songs that turn societal conventions on their head. I wrote last month about "Stepfather Factory." That song is one of the more mundane ones here, in terms of concept and execution. I liked that song, but I wouldn't call it stellar. The rest of the album easily outshines the single. There is greatness here.

A frenzy that is concentrated and then allowed to explode from time to time, FantasticDamage is the best hip-hop album I've heard since Azeem's Craft Classics. To be perfectly honest, the creative ferment on this album is probably higher than anything since Fear of a Black Planet. The ideas, both musical and vocal, are packed so tightly into this album that it almost collapses under the weight of its own density. But that's not what happens. Rather, this disc takes that fuel and burns a course to a new star, writing its own legend as it blazes brightly across the sky.

Elan
Firestorm
(Mist Entertainment)
reviewed in issue #69, 1/31/95

Fairly moody prog-rock. I'm not sure if it is intent or just the way things happened, but the production left things just a little muddy, and I like it. It gives the music a human edge that a lot of overly-technical bands don't have.

Highly reminiscent of early Fates Warning or early Rush (I know, a little redundant). Lots of mystical and medieval imagery in the lyrics, and the guitar references some Celtic and Irish lines (along with the more traditional scale runs).

At times Elan overreaches the current level of talent in the band. Two guys performed this entire project, and at times the seams show. Michael McCormick is a good singer, but he tries to get above his range from time to time.

Once the guys manage to play within themselves (and add some more people, to get a more "live" sound), Elan could really have something.

Elcka
Nothing to Lose CD5
(Island)
reviewed in issue #146, 10/27/97

Yet another band trying to be the next Oasis, which was the next Blur, which was the next... you get the idea. Following the current trends well enough, Elcka trips out nicely textured pop anthems. Sounds a lot like Tears for Fears just before everything got out of hand.

And I'm sure that makes for some fans across the ocean. While I have to admit the songs are well-written and perfectly performed, there's something missing. Soul, perhaps? I dunno. I just can't find a personal handle to this stuff.

Three songs is not enough to really get a handle on a band. Elcka certainly has the musical ambition and arrogance required to do great things. Time will tell as to whether or not the guys will make it big.

Elcka uses all the latest technology to create some really inventive songs. Loads of sampling and dubbing, and some songs do seem rather overloaded. Elcka hasn't quite figured out how to incorporate all its ideas in a seamless fashion, but this disc is much better executed than the recent single I reviewed.

Yes, Brit pop in all its fury and glory. Elcka doesn't take the easy road to the hook, though. Most of the songs have tortured melodies, at least until the chorus kicks in. Wild disparity in sound elements is a particular vice (strings floating over dissonance, for example), and that works much better than I might have imagined.

The sort of album that most Yanks find maddening. I mean, a band like Oasis is content to rehash the Beatles and grab the U.S. cash. Elcka utilizes the same studio tricks, but instead whips out a set of unusual songs. No, we're not talking Captain Beefheart or anything, but still.

As much as anything, Elcka sounds like a better-formed version of the early 80s synth-pop bands that we all love so much. The improvement in technology has led to a much fuller sound, but the roots are the same. Tears for Fears, eat your heart out.

Tim Elder
Fashionably Angry
(Sublime Carnage)
reviewed in issue #85, 9/4/95

Subtitled "Angst for Fun and Profit". Elder also includes lots of warnings about stealing his songs and such. This might seem awful pretentious (and it really is, even if the notes are funny), but the music is definitely worth stealing.

Yeah, he has a rather tinny drum machine behind him, but Elder cranks out pop music a la Minneapolis (since he lives there, that makes sense) that has the energy and occasionally the riff concepts of 1984-era Replacements. Much cleaner though (I noted the drum machine earlier).

Really, this is just demo quality stuff production-wise. Of course, the songs are just great. Any punk band out there today could smash through the video wave by covering one of these songs. I like the lean sound and feel of this disc (and since that's kinda trendy anyway, it shouldn't hold Elder back at all), and as noted before, the songs are just amazing. Ten seconds in and you know you're listening to a genius songwriter. Genius don't happen often, my friends.

Electramone
Proud
(Washroom Recordings)
reviewed in issue #208, 11/20/00

So the first sound from this album performed by the band Electramone is an acoustic guitar. What the hell does that say?

It's gonna be a bumpy ride. Electramone plays a really loud version of jangle rock, but that's not even the half of it. There's a mid-60s Stones feel, and plenty of Stooges in there as well. Power chords blasting all the way to hell.

I suppose the best way to describe the sound is post-garage. I mean, Electramode's members can write, play and sing, but they don't necessarily show off all those talents at the same time. This is a rough, ragged album (and the sound reflects that spirit nicely) that leaves little room for conventional niceties.

What there is room for is conventional acclaim. Electramone blasts a huge hole in the world of generic rock. A throbbing, reeling attack on the idea that rock only works when all emotion is stripped out of the sound. Simply blistering.

Electric Frankenstein
Annie's Grave
(Victory)
reviewed in issue #212, 2/19/01

Open-throttle full-bore punk rawk. Electric Frankenstein believes in two things: loud guitars and breakneck speed. Even the idle here would take the roof off yer average pretender.

The guitar sound is utterly heavy and would be ponderous if the songs didn't move at a fair clip. And, in fact, when things move toward a mid-tempo groove, I begin to wonder if the arteries are thickening up a bit too much.

But no, another song about dead people (just about every song here has at least a reference to life's release) comes on down the pike. And I resume the position, compelled to take as much of a beating as Electric Frankenstein is willing to dish out.

This is a bruising effort. These guys understand that you can't tame rock and roll, you can only ride it. This 12-cylinder attack rips off the brakes and just lets the spirit of youth fly free. The rush is, indeed, something else.

Apart from the gimmicky nature of the song subjects ("Dead-on Beauty," "Prey for Me," "Dead by Dawn," etc.), Electric Frankenstein rocks out in the style of the Stooges or early Kiss (with Gene singing, of course).

Rough, ragged and surprisingly tuneful. Once again, I find myself getting lost within the spell cast by the songs, no matter how silly the lyrics are. Some types of music are irresistible.

But that can be ruined in many ways. Electric Frankenstein takes great care to keep the sound fresh and, um, electric. These songs simply broke free from my stereo and have taken up residence in my house. They're kinda makin' a mess of things, of course, but what's life without a monster party every once in a while?

This kinda stuff could get painful quite quickly. Instead, these boys give that early punk sound a real infusion of life and style. Bliss is the result. Turn it up. And play it again. And again.

Cheap, sleazy, fast and loud. Electric Frankenstein is punk music distilled to its hedonistic purity. There's not a lot here, but it sure is an awful lot of fun to hear. Ear candy of the sweetest kind.

Electric Hellfire Club
Satan's Little Helpers
(Cleopatra)
reviewed in issue #66, 11/15/94

Amazingly sparse gothic pop. The usual layer-upon-layer style of production for this sort of thing, but every sound is remarkably distinct, without the de rigeur wall of distortion mucking things up.

It can still be hard to keep track of everything going on (and the lack of speaker hum forces you to locate every track of music), and Electric Hellfire Club doesn't have much of a coherent concept of songwriting.

This is perhaps the first real gothic sound sculpture band I've heard. The emphasis is on concept and art, not melody and bliss. EHC requires a good bit of work to even start to understand.

To sell records, most acts condescend to their audiences. EHC refuses, instead compelling us to search within ourselves and find the resources necessary for our journey. Highly imaginative; highly recommended.

The second outing from the Club is just as silly as the first. If you take any of the imagery or lyrics or anything propagated by this band as serious, then you're missing the joke.

As for the music, it is a pleasant compendium of dance styles, sticking to a generally industrial vein but with a few side glances to techno and other dance sub-genres. Again, this is intended to be fun. And I think it succeeds.

Certainly the stuff is rather danceable, and it's funny to boot. Electric Hellfire Club is not a genius band, but simply one that makes the party much more fun to attend. When these folks are around, people have a good time. So where's your invite?

Not really an album, not really a single. "Unholy Roller" is a new song, and there are plenty of remixes and unreleased tracks as well (bringing the number of tracks on this disc to 10).

And finally, the trends have caught up to EHC. They like to call themselves electronic glam metal. Or something like that. And, guess what? It's finally a coming trend. Too bad this band isn't really that great.

Chock full of cheese, though. There are four remixes of "Prince of Darkness", new takes on "Hellfire", "He Who Holds the Lightning Rod" and "Book of Lies" and two other unreleased tracks, a cover of "Shout at the Devil" and a sample-heavy song called "The Root of All Evil (Bring Me the Head of Bob Larsen)", which digs at a fairly obscure radio preacher.

EHC has plenty of fans. I'm not one of them. How these guys could actually fuck up an amazingly good song like "Shout at the Devil" is beyond my comprehension. I mean, there are three chords, and they're right next to each other. You don't even have to sing well. And still, a horrid mess. Kinda sums up my feelings for the band.

Finding the band at something of a crossroads (the liners promise a heavier, more guitar-driven sound on the next album), this double set brings out some five covers and a new song on the first disc and the previously-released (on a limited-edition 12" and an even more limited-edition promo CD5) "Halloween Medley".

Well, the covers are silly ("Killing an Arab" and "Devil Inside" as Halloween tracks?), but the new songs are heavier, though still processed through the EHC familiar goth-industrial sheen. Actually, I like this stuff much better than just about anything I've heard from the band before. It holds together better, or perhaps more precisely, it has more of a point than the other stuff.

The rest, well, is pretty good Halloween fare, even if the "satanic" content is a bit lacking. I used the "Medley" to great effect a few years back on some little kids in Florida (they ran screaming from the door). I might use it again this year.

I've slagged these folks plenty in the past, but hell, I'll give credit where credit is due. This is a perfectly goofy enterprise, but it gives me a big-ass smile. And that's definitely a good thing.

Electro Group
Ummo
(Omnibus)
reviewed in issue #254, June 2004

Electrified? Surely. Electric? Yep. Electro? Well...

I know, only lame critics rip on band names. And I'm not complaining. But I am curious. These folks blast out some fine late 80s/early 90s vintage distortion-laden pop. As I've noted many times the last year, this stuff is coming back with a vengeance, and this time I don't think it sucks.

It didn't suck then, either, but I was a bit of a philistine in this area and said a few nasty things about said sound. Take a look at some early reviews in the A&A archives and you might see what I'm talking about. In any case, Electro Group has a fine handle on the stuff, loading up delicate melodies with all sorts of extraneous noise. The key is the core of the songs. And these folks know how to write a good song.

Now, I do wish Electro Group had updated the sound just a bit. These songs could have come out of a time warp, down to the indie rock roughness of the basic lines. Still, when the songs are this good, I'm just not going to complain. Not very loudly, anyway.

Electro-Magnetic Trans-Personal Orchestra
Electro-Magnetic Trans-Personal Orchestra
(Pax Recordings)
reviewed in issue #233, September 2002

Four pieces, each titled by its particular key. Aaron Bennett leads this sizable ensemble, the make-up of which is string-heavy. In other words, the orchestra part of the name isn't exactly off-target.

A jazz orchestra, actually. Bennett penned these songs, in a way. He set up a method of organizing improvisation so that the songs flow the way he wanted them to, but which left plenty of room for the many players to make impressive contributions.

In general, the songs meander much the same way as John Coltrane's later work. I suppose it helps that George Cremaschi's bass playing reminds a whole lot of Jimmy Garrison. I dunno. Still, the presence of the strings lends these pieces an otherworldly quality all their own.

Exceptional musicianship is what drives these pieces. I like the structures laid down by Bennett, but by leaving the door open for his collaborators to move around, he ensured greatness.

The Elements
In the Wreckage of the Morning 7"
(Cabal Records)
reviewed in issue #140, 8/4/97

Cool pop music that generally does exactly what isn't expected. The a-side has a chorus that almost echoes the title, though not quite. The b-side combines a wispy ska beat with a bouncy Britpop bass and what sounds like Pianosaurus echoing somewhere in the background.

Too fun to really bitch about (that ska stuff is a tad annoying at first, though it wears well), the utter catchiness of the choruses is too much to get around. Sounds a lot like Squeeze recorded in lo-fi, with a lot of unidentified extraneous noise floating about. Or maybe that's just my needle.

Truly promising.

Elephone
The Camera Behind the Camera Behind the Camera
(Three Ring)
reviewed in issue #279, October 2006

Four guys who play stark, yet supple, rock and roll. At first blush, these songs sound like they were ripped off a sound board from a live set. Then the first hints of studio work bleed through.

Maybe it was just my ears, because the more I listen, the more I hear the fine work done assembling this album. Producing and mixing is an art, even when you're dealing with music that's one step from the garage. The trick is to make it sound good without stripping out all the energy.

Sure worked here. Elephone isn't a balls-out, take-no-prisoners kind of outfit. But the songs are relatively minimalist, and that sort of stuff requires a patient hand.

Hard to make the claim of being basic when you've got as much electronic content bubbling in the background. But Elephone is just that. And this album does a fine job of bringing the sound out into the open.

Elevate
Interior
(Hep-Cat)
reviewed in issue #137, 6/23/97

A lot of noise. Crashing guitars, slogging drumwork and bass lines that would make Geezer Butler cringe. Combined with vocals that have more than a bit of that Rage talk-rap style.

When things calm down (and they do, after a few anxious moments), the music still has one of those "impending doom" feels. Not a bad thing, but the guys don't deliver. The songs stay stuck in a rut all the way through.

Almost as if these guys really don't like this kind of music, but they feel the need to play it because they think that's what sells. I can't be sure about this, but there is such a lack of feel here I have nowhere else to turn.

I read a review of Leaving Las Vegas that called it "an art movie for people who hate art movies". This wasn't a compliment. I'd call Elevate a noise pop band for people who hate noise pop. Except that those folks won't like this, either.

I'm stopping before I get as confused as the music here.

Elevator
A Taste of Complete Perspective
(Teenage USA)
reviewed in issue #206, 10/9/00

The songs are segued together with outdoor ambient sounds (which sometimes also occur in the middle of the songs proper as well). The music itself is sort of a post-modern take on the Doors, an emphasis on poetry and poetic music. You know, I'm not exactly sure what "poetic music" means, either. But I'm sticking with it.

I kinda go the same way with the band. The songs are often mere fragments, thoughts flitting into space. Yes, they're connected by the segues, but perhaps they also connect to each other. Maybe the whole unifies some of the less-complete pieces.

Maybe. I've wended through this a couple of times, and I generally like it. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly able to express why. I think the music and the lyrics connect on more of a subconscious level. That and the kinda glam (you know, like T. Rex) sheen some of the songs take on. That I know I like.

Not so much fun as entrancing. I just have this compulsion to listen. One of these days I'll figure it out, I suppose, but for now I'll just hit repeat once again. Take care of the fix.

The Elevator Drops
People Mover
(Time Bomb)
reviewed in issue #146, 10/27/97

Wonderfully schizophrenic, the Elevator Drops flit about playing whatever sort of song they like. The first three songs are, in order: an Abba-esque groovehound, slash-and-burn garage pop and a moody ballad. To call these folks conceptual is an understatement.

Now, a lot of these tunes are damned close to their inspirations (tell me "Proto" wasn't taken directly from the Sweet), but there's enough variation to keep them safe, both artistically and legally. And the Elevator Drops bounce about stylistically so much it's hard to complain about a similarity here and there.

As would be expected, the sound on this disc is utterly precise. The band has so many ideas, the man behind the board has to be unobtrusive while he brings out the best in the songs. That's what happened.

The biggest surprise is that this is an LA band. Never mind that often enough the lead vocals have a distinct Brit accent or that this sort of sonic mayhem is usually perpetrated by them overseas types. This is a glorious domestic product. One we should be happy to export.

The Elevator Division
Imaginary Days
(Ashland)
reviewed in issue #194, 1/24/00

Guitar-driven atmospheric fare. Somewhat understated grandiose rock. Or something like that. I'm not doing very well describing this, I'm afraid, and that's too bad. It sounds much better than my powers of description are doing.

Alright, imagine if U2 had gotten into emo instead of just about everything else. The U2 reference is to the grandiose parts. The emo mostly describes the lead guitar. The rhythm section is often rolling and tumbling in slow motion. Sorta apocalyptic if you think about it.

Just a bit too arrogant for my taste, but only barely. I was rather captivated by the band's internal interplay, and the way that the vocals dance in the music is pretty damned good. I don't want to say that this is too cultured for my taste; more like the Elevator Division is always leaning toward, rather than away from, convention.

Still and all, this is solid stuff. The album holds together quite well. Now, if the band really wants to grab major attention, it simply has to make a couple more steps toward "regular" music. Or it could stay where it is and shimmer. Just without mass appeal. Nothing wrong with that.

Eleven Eyes
Depth Perception
(New and Improv Music)
reviewed in issue #245, September 2003

A few years back, I happened to catch a performance of a band called Spaceheads, which consists of a jazz trumpeter and a jazz drummer who also man keyboards, drum machines, sequencers and the like during the live show. The result was an entrancing melange of funky grooves, ace jazz licks and cool beats. Eleven Eyes plays around in much the same vein, except that these boys use a number of real players as well as a turntable man.

And geez, is this stuff addictive. I suppose it manages to still qualify as jazz, but this is dance music first and foremost. There's always a fine beat (even if slower than your average club grind) and the rhythm section is rarely out of pocket for more than a few seconds at a time.

A journey to the center of the groove, without compromising anyone's integrity. There's nothing simple or cloying about these slinky moves. This stuff is dirty, damned dirty, just filthy with the funk. George and Bootsy would be proud.

The jazz take simply adds to the enjoyment for those of us who like complicated music. There are so many layers to these songs that even ten or fifteen listens down the line something new will pop up. I'm just breaking out in smiles.

11Land
The Soundtrack to Drowning Missouri
(Orange Entropy)
reviewed in issue #222, 9/24/01

Jangle folk-pop featuring mostly acoustic guitar. With more than a few exceptions. If you hadn't guessed, this isn't really a soundtrack of any sort.

Rather, it's an impressionistic way of telling a story. Using all the tools at the hands of the musical artist. Elevenland (the band spells its name both ways) doesn't settle into a groove, but rather it approaches each song from a slightly different angle.

The songs don't quite stick to a single theme, either, but there are lots of film references--both lyrically and musically. Still, the band wanders down too many side alleys to really make this a concept album.

"Inspired by?" Nah, not even that much. The songs are somewhat crudely recorded, despite some of the special effects. But that is endearing more than anything else. And the songs are more than good enough to make their own impact. I'm not sure this quite accomplishes what the band wanted, but it's pretty good.

Elf Power
The Winter Is Coming
(Sugar Free)
reviewed in issue #206, 10/9/00

You know, when you use the Crimson Tide Drum Ensemble (I'm assuming that would be made up of Alabama band geeks) to help fill out the sound of a quirky fuzz-pop tune (by the name of "Embrace the Crimson Tide"), you're getting out on the edges of rational behavior. Especially when you're based in Athens, home of UGA and the Bulldogs.

Maybe I'm just taking this whole collegiate rivalry thing a bit too far. The songs themselves are quite cool, idiosyncratically unable to sound alike. Nope, each piece jumps off from a completely different promontory and lands in a new, verdant valley. Kinda hard to pin down a band sound that way, I know, but it sure makes for a fine album.

Particularly when the songs themselves work so well. No clunkers. Clunky, some of them, but with enough motion to set the hooks. The production is basic, kinda bass heavy (particularly on the fuzz tunes), but well within accepted parameters.

Britpop, except that these pieces are influences by the likes of Husker Du and Sonic Youth and folks like that (ahem). You know, just another cool Athens band. With a wonderfully wide-ranging musical scope and impressive ability. The sort of ingredients that make for a great disc.

If you've been wondering who stole all yer old T. Rex records, I'd suggest paying Elf Power a visit. These folks play fuzzed out power pop with such a bite as I haven't heard in ages. Where's the time machine, folks?

Not a straight rip, of course. That would be dull. Elf Power adds in some modern touches--the production is sharper, the songwriting is much more diverse and the lyrics are a more clever than poetic--so that it can rightly claim this sound as its own.

Man, this is lovely stuff. I'm a sucker for Bolan and the boys, so this kinda album is always gonna make me smile from the get-go. But as I said, Elf Power isn't content to simply take a fab old sound and replicate it. The newer mutations fit in nicely, helping to create something new.

Something great. This album is engaging from the first note, and Elf Power proves that it has the chops to sustain its ambition throughout the disc. Quite a ride, and not just one through time.

Hey, Elf Power hits the big time! And what do you know? The music is as eclectic and wide-ranging as ever.

And while the stylistic nature of the songs is still radically incoherent, the folks at Ryko made damn sure there's a central theme to the sound. The production keeps this almost anarchic album together. There's a full and rich feel to every song that overcomes any other differences.

All Elf Power is trying to do is channel the history of rock music through a vaguely-60s filter. There are plenty of proggy bits, a few hippie-drippy bits, parts where you'd swear you could hear a sitar (but can't), a dash of americana and some serious big rock boulders as well. All stirred into the aforementioned lush carpet of sound. Very nice.

Sometimes good things happen to good bands. And sometimes a bigger label can convince a band to tone down the eccentricity just enough to make a great album. I think that's what happened here.

Elliot
Calvary Song 7"
(Revelation)
reviewed in issue #196, 3/6/00

Thoreau talked about lives of quiet desperation. Elliot isn't a quiet band, but that's the general feel I get from these songs. Yeah, they can get raucous, but it seems like desperation is driving the chaos.

I think I'm just not making any damned sense. Well, I could also talk about the great sound. The music is wrapped up inside a sonic shell, so that a filmy filter separates the band from the ear. Almost a symphonic sound. It is so grand that a disconnect is required.

This fits the pieces well, particularly "Calvary Song." Some bands just seem to know what they're doing from the beginning. Elliot sounds like one of those. One amazing little slab of vinyl.

So it took me four songs just to begin to get a grasp on this puppy. It seems to me that most emo bands have been heading in a pop direction. Elliot, too, has been honing its craft. But instead of heading into tight three and four-chord territory, we have this.

This is highly technical, grand pop music. The beats are as likely to be from drums, something sampled or a machine. The chords echo with purpose and intent. The lyrics are epochal. This is seriously pretentious music.

So it had better work, right? Well, it sure does. These songs shimmer with true brilliance. At times throttling, at times delicate, the songs slice through pretense. Sometimes, dressing music up is the best way to get to the heart of things.

Sure worked for Elliot here. Very few bands even consider making music like this, and fewer succeed. This is easily one of the best albums of the year. There's no question about it.

Elliot is one of those bands that seems to be incapable of writing a mundane song. The sound is generally understated, but the impact of these pieces is immediate and intense.

Maybe its just me. I've passed around that first CD to a few friends, and all of them were decidedly ambivalent. Perhaps I'm one of those music critics who falls in love with bands no one else understands (or wants to understand, for that matter). Well, hell, I know I'm one of "those" critics, but still. Elliot makes music that sounds rather universal to me.

Okay, maybe the rush isn't quite so immediate on that first album. Maybe you've gotta let the greatness sneak up on you just a bit. Not here. The pieces are midtempo more often than not, but they've got more energy and fire than most extreme bands I hear these days.

Another stellar album. Elliot makes the kind of timeless rock music that few dare attempt these days. Contemplative and yet compelling at once, an exquisite blend of sense and sensibility. Hey, if you listen to this album and aren't blown away at once, there's nothing I can do to help you. Not a damned thing.

Eloine
Short Community
Green Stump
Sagebrush/Deimos
(Digitalis Industries/Unread/Stentorian/Public Eyesore)
reviewed in issue #287, July 2007

Eloine is a quartet led Bryan Day, who is Public Eyesore. Day is heading out on tour soon, and he wants to make sure folks know he has discs out there. He tells me that he's reissuing these discs, but whether or not they have the official PE imprimatur, I'm sure you can get them through him.

And the average Public Eyesore fan (whatever that means) will want to do that. Judging by the variegated PE releases, Day's taste in music is eclectic, but he tends to favor contemplative improvisational fare and really messy Japanese stuff. Eloine is straight out of that first category.

Contemplative, but not dull. Each piece on each of these discs has at least one--and generally many--exceptional ideas. Day's intriguing use of percussion and (occasionally) guitar often sounds like rats scraping at the inside of your brain. And once these pieces get in there, you'll never be able to get them out.

I'm not sure how all this translates live (I love this kind of thing when safely within my house; not so much on stage), but these albums are proof that some folks not only know good music, they know how to make it as well.

Eluvium
When I Live by the Garden and the Sea EP
(Temporary Residence)
reviewed in issue #276, July 2006

Take a cryptically-named band and add cryptic song titles (in addition to the leading name of the title track, the first piece is "I Will Not Forget that I Have Forgotten") and you get folks (or in this case, one folk: Matthew Cooper) who must be trying to be obtuse. Well, yes. And damned if it doesn't work out for him.

Eluvium (my dictionary doesn't have the word, though I'm guessing it has little to do with effluvium) produces soundscapes (that awful word which many of my music critic friends have sworn off using), but that's really beside the point. These are achingly pretty songs, and relatively short ones at that---the title track is the longest, and it clocks in at barely seven minutes. The four pieces here are frighteningly good, enough to make just about anyone cry.

I'm not exaggerating. The press has a couple of reviews that compare Eluvium to Brian Eno. Kinda, except that this stuff has much more soul--not a dig on Eno, but a complement to Cooper. These songs not only paint the landscape, they flesh out the story as well. Wowsers.

Ah yes, abstract electronic music that truly evokes a mood. Confusion in some, I suppose, and dread in others. I go more for wonder. There's an all-encompassing feel to these pieces that seems to peel away my brain layer by layer.

Elysian Fields
Queen of the Meadow
(Jetset)
reviewed in issue #205, 9/18/00

It's always interesting reading press notes that predict large fame and fortune for band, particularly when it doesn't work out. Elysian Fields recorded an EP and an LP for Radioactive in the mid 90s, and critics loved them. A few fans did, too.

Then Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow recorded an album with Steve Albini. Not surprisingly, the label didn't dig it. After some protracted name-calling, Elysian Fields found itself free again, at the cost of the Albini record (which is now owned by whoever holds the Radioactive catalog these days).

Thing is, this disc fulfills the promise. Charles' breathy chanteuse style is more entrancing than ever, and Bloedow's music is amazing in its own right. These songs trip and roll along in a leisurely fashion, not too concerned with how much emotional capital they're spending.

This album is a stunner. Well, duh. I coulda written that without hearing the thing. At least, that was my anticipation. The reality surpasses my high expectations. An album that will be played for a long, long time.

Elza
Elza
(self-released)
reviewed in issue #222, 9/24/01

Insistent, lushly decorated acoustic guitar pop. Elza sounds like a lot of young women who want to "make it big" with their music. Her songwriting is good, no doubt about it. I just wish she hadn't added so many accouterments.

The excessive production (which the liners say she led, so I feel just fine pinning that on her) wipes out any originality the songs themselves had. Every piece is turned into a potential AAA anthem, and the album seems to run in place.

It is too bad, because I think these songs would have worked much better with just her guitar and voice. There are still some flaws, of course, but at least this would have sounded like "Elza" instead of "Elza who sounds a whole lot like a thousand other singers."

There's a fine line to walk between being too original (and thus not getting anyone to listen to you) and too copycat (where lots of people may listen, but they have no idea who you are).Elza erred on the side of the supposed mainstream desire. That may work. Who knows? I just wish I heard more of her.

The Embarrassment
Blister Pop
(My Pal God)
reviewed in issue #214, 4/2/01

The Embarrassment was a band from Wichita. Kansas. Broke up in 1983, briefly reunited in 1990 and then gave up once again. Around the halls of my college radio station at the University of Missouri, folks spoke of the Embarrassment with wistful awe. What should have been.

In terms of hits, that is. In terms of legend. And, well, now that the band has more retrospective releases (including one called Retrospective) than actual albums, maybe there is something of a legend out there.

In any case, this set of songs is intended as a companion to the Bar/None compilation Heyday, which did a pretty good job of packaging the band's "official" output. Studio outtakes, live recordings from radio stations and clubs and the like populate this disc. The recording quality is rarely great and often somewhat below average. What does come across, though, is the weird aura of the band, the thing that has created so many crazily devoted fans.

Anyway, if you've got any questions, just listen to track #2. It's called "Podman," and if that doesn't hook you, forget about it. You're not gonna want to join the cult. The rest of us can laugh at you and practice our secret handshakes. And play the sacred recordings over and over.

Embedded
The Embedded 12"
(self-released)
reviewed in issue #223, 10/15/01

Embedded is producers Ese and Hipsta. The three tracks here (in various forms) feature Vast Aire (from Cannibal Ox and Atoms Family), Zion I and Lodeck. Each of the three tracks ("Building Blocks," "Tippin' Dominoes" and "Hyperventilation") will be on the forthcoming Bedford Files, an underground hip hop collection.

Embedded does have a fine touch on the beats. Not only that, each track matches the creative style of the MC in question. There's definitely some solid collaboration going on.

One 12" that's chock full of goodies. Each of the three tracks is solid, tending toward outstanding. First rate all around.

Emergency Broadcast Network
Behavior Modification/We Will Rock You CD5
(TVT)
reviewed in issue #26, 1/15/93

As industrial dance music goes, this stuff is boring. The beats are moronic and what music exists really doesn't. On the other hand, the idea of sampling the (as you read this) ex-president and new president to say "We Will Rock You" is a bit of political inspiration. As for the other track, "Psychoactive Drugs," everything is a little better.

Emergency String Quintet
On the Corner (Market and Sixth)
(Public Eyesore)
reviewed in issue #236, December 2002

Four pieces, five players, fifty some odd minutes. Unlike most Public Eyesore releases, this puppy doesn't sound improvised. The music is most definitely avant garde, using "noise" (in this case, plucking, thwacking and scraping bows on strings, among other things) as well as traditionally cultivated sounds to illustrate the ideas of the composer.

You either really dig this music, or you sit around and say things like "turn that shit off." I'm in the former group, and my wife is in the latter. We're still happily married; disparate views of what constitutes music isn't a barrier to a good relationship. Still, this isn't the sort of album you toss in the discer for a blind date.

Looks like I'm dancing around here without saying much about this album. Well, I like it. I like the way the five members of the quintet play around with the music and each other. There is a very strong sense of the group in these pieces. That sense, and the composing, is what keeps these pieces woven tightly together.

Music of sonic exploration isn't for everyone. I know that. But if your tastes run to the avant garde (you know, as in classical and such), then this just might pique your interest. There are more than a few ideas here worth hearing once or twice.

Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Then and Now 2xCD
(Eagle Entertainment)
reviewed in issue #173, 12/14/98

A bit more than 40 minutes from the band's performance at the 1974 California Jam, and substantially more from live shows the past couple of years.

The liners point out that the California Jam introduced the band to a wide audience vie the ABC late-night program In Concert. Judging by the quality of sound here, I'm guessing the stuff barely even came across on television, which is hardly the best medium for presenting music.

Anyway, while the Jam performances are typical ELP (virtuosic, self-absorbed and arrogantly lengthy), the sound sucks. The newer live performances sound a lot better, and the members haven't lost a step talent-wise. They're still doing what the audience seems to want: play loud and long, with lots of pyrotechnics.

Many rock critics have laughed at the band's attempts to utilize music from the classical canon. I'm not gonna chunk that brick, but I will say that ELP's take on "21st Century Schizoid Man" (complete with a sloppy interpolation of "America" from West Side Story) is so over the top even Lake's old mates in King Crimson would cringe. ELP, for better and worse, is up to its old tricks.

Emory Swank
Airplane 7"
(Pinkie)
reviewed in issue #74, 4/15/95

Kinda poppy, kinda punky, definitely anthemic stuff with cool ideas for the rhythm guitar (read: riffs).

Toe-tapping and axe-grinding, Emory Swank has a nice feel for writing songs that sound like they're important. But not too important, you know?

Lots of bands try to do this, but Emory Swank has put out a great two-song 7". Two different sounds for the band, and yet enough to get the full idea. Sounds like a winner to me.

Emperor
In the Nightside Eclipse
(Century Black-Century Media)
reviewed in issue #72, 3/15/95

Even as the original concept of black metal sinks slowly into the sunset of (relative) mainstream acceptance, U.S. folks are just getting their first tastes.

This disc sounds a lot like the first Darkthrone record, which I liked. The music is pedantic (pretty much the same riff over and over again) and the vocals are sorta yippy, but as a mess of noise it satisfies reasonably.

Nothing to wet your pants over, but this is about as good a black metal album as I've heard. It's not scary at all, but then again, that's better than being completely silly.

See also Mortiis.

Emperor Penguin
Shatter the Illusion of Integrity, Yeah
(My Pal God)
reviewed in issue #180, 4/12/99

More trips into the world of the "new electronic". Kinda imagine an organic electronic attack fused with a noisy Chicago pop sensibility. Samples and loops all the way, with a good chunk of the "no wave" thrown in for good measure.

Hey, hey! I mean, what a fucking brilliant notion. There are pieces here which follow the dirty hip hop grooves of yer average (which, of course, means way above the mean) Wordsound disc. There are songs which sound a bit like U.S. Maple or Mount Shasta. And there are songs which can only be described as "Emperor Penguin music".

The breadth of the sound and the complexity of the pieces is stunning. It's so easy to get lost in the various mutations and sonic warps. That is the point, certainly. This is hypnotizing far all the way. And, by the way, it's really damned good, too.

Nowhere near the mainstream, but very little good is. Emperor Penguin has put forth a singular vision of the potential and possibilities of electronic music. The form need not be sterile or boring, but can also inspire and amaze. That's what this disc does.

Got a nice note and this slab of vinyl in the mail from the band. I liked the full-length I reviewed not too long ago quite well, and this release seems too be following in a similar way, pop songs created out of usual and unusual sources.

Actually, both of the songs here sound a bit more "normal" than much of the stuff I heard on the album, though the part I liked best, the scratchy electronic undercurrent, remains. Not really an evolution, but just an extension of a couple ideas from that set.

Nothing here to turn me away from the group, and indeed, plenty to cause my praises to be sung even louder. Emperor Penguin has the tools to really make a statement in the long haul.

There isn't any such thing as a "regular" Emperor Penguin track. A few loops, some regular playing and lots and lots of weirdness. I mean, when you kick of an album with two minutes of keyboard noodling called "Phantom of the Gay Opera," absurdity is only a moment away.

Absurd and intriguing. On this disc, the Penguin lays some funky jams over the trippy electronic base, managing to fuse the two sounds in a rather unimaginable way. I mean, this really works. The sound is lush and full, and the fat grooves really spice up the Penguin's inherent goofiness.

In fact, some of this is so wacked it almost ventures into Wordsound (the label, y'know) territory. Yep, that inventive and that visionary. And while this certainly has to be considered much more commercial than anything the band has done before, it's still invigorating.

Emperor Penguin never hits the same spot twice. This disc is just the next step in a continuum of musical experimentation. This particular venture is most rewarding. Great stuff from a band which never ceases to amaze.

Emperor Penguin is a band that rather likes to jump around and take chances. Still, Mysterious Pony finds the folks plying a stream similar to its most recent releases. That's not bad; playfully experimental artists are difficult to find and almost impossible to breed in captivity.

This disc is just plain fun. No two ways about it. The beats are pleasantly shaken and stirred, and the sampled and looped melodic elements have just enough of an organic feel. Comfy music, indeed.

I'm always dead solid ready to hear something new from EP, and if the folks keep dishing out groove-laden efforts like this one, my addiction will only intensify. Hearing stuff like this makes me believe in love at first hearing.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jon loves the Emperor Penguin. Big deal. Well, perhaps not. But if I might, I'd like to give these folks as big a push as possible. Even then, it's not nearly enough.

I think anyone who reads A&A with any regularity now how I feel about Emperor Penguin. To put it succinctly, I'm pretty sure there isn't a more creative and fun band plying the "vaguely electronic" trade these days. The three songs here don't do anything to change my impression.

Knodel is a band from Portland, and one of the reasons it's on this EP is that it has much the same attitude as Emperor Penguin: Anything goes, as long as it works. Knodel's pieces are a bit more technical and not quite so loose as Emperor Penguin, but only by the slightest of margins. Quality-wise, the Portland crew gives the Chicago folks a run for their money.

Which means that this short set will give you a full return on your investment. The unexpected makes more than a few appearances, and that's always a good thing. Play this at your next party and see how many people go, "Hey, that's kinda cool. What is it?"

As in, "Damn, there's only four songs here!" I think my Emperor Penguin jones has been on the table for quite a while. This far-too-short disc does do something important, however. It proves that Emperor Penguin can jam live.

With all the studio tricks and "assembly required" work that goes into the usual Emperor Penguin tuneage, I wasn't sure how the stuff would translate live. Or if the guys could really anything resembling the studio sound in a live setting.

The arrangements are somewhat stripped-down. The funk comes out a lot more, and I don't think that's a bad thing. There's a definite Parliament-Funkadelic feel to a couple of these songs, more than I'm used to from these guys. Indeed, the live shows must be just as incredible as the albums.

And, hell, this disc is impressive in its own right. Probably more for the hardcore fan than casual listener, but that's usually how it is with live sets. My fix is satisfied--but not for long.

Alec Empire
The Destroyer
(Digital Hardcore)
reviewed in issue #167, 9/14/98

The thing I like most about the current electronic trend is that some folks use the technology to do some seriously innovative beat work. For me, the percussion is the key, particularly in electronic music. As he has shown innumerable times, Alec Empire "gets it". He cycles through a number of styles on this disc, though all of them fit the hardcore notion, more or less. And each song presents a wondrous exploration of the furtherance of the groove.

I love dancing to this shit. When created by a master like Empire, beats can be interpreted many ways, at different speeds and different moods by different people. Makes for a chaotic and exciting dance floor. Each track here is something that would draw me right out into the fray.

When he recorded this in 1996, Empire worried it might be too much. Well, it sounds just great today. and that's all I'm gonna worry about.

"For the avoidance of doubt all the music on this record is comprised of sounds originally created by the musicians involved." Well, sure. No one else would claim them. Not is they were sane, anyway.

Which isn't to say Empire and company play for shit. They play fast, loud and mean. But not many folks are willing to pin the needles like this. The distortion levels are freakishly high.

Ah, punk for punk's sake. Fine by me, especially when the songs are as dizzyingly brutal as these. Empire and pals simply never let up off the gas. That sort of approach does wonders for masking inferior songwriting, but in point of fact, these are good songs. They're played past the point of recognition at times, but what serves the quality of the album isn't always best for the song.

Which is to say that this is best listened to as a unit. The individual pieces are wonderful spikes of pain, but the set is simply incendiary. Play it loud. Then play it louder. And let the eardrums bleed.

Emptyhead
Penitence EP
(Palace Records)
reviewed in issue #176, 2/8/99

Electronic, to be sure (Apple Computers are thanked, among others). But Emptyhead (a.k.a. Eric Salazar) doesn't dress his music up with complicated rhythms or other extraneous things. Like, say, vocals.

No, these are extended keyboard explorations (with the occasional drum track). Not ambient, really, because the keys are playing what might be played on a piano. This isn't mellow fare. At once there is a feeling of new wave and classical influences.

And I like that. Pretty cool. These are involved pieces, at least as far as the keys go. Salazar takes advantage of a few technological tricks, but mostly, he simply cranks out his ideas and lets them roam.

Unusual, but certainly intriguing. There's a lot here in a short package.

The latter of the two discs, and something completely different. Well, it starts off that way. "Deodato" is a sample hackfest, a cool funky piece. And even the other, more "traditional" (at least when compared to the first disc) pieces have more outside stuff in them. The beat work is more complex, the keyboards are called on to make noises as well as melodies.

So some of the unique qualities of that first disc are lost here. What I can hear, though, is a guy who is still working out just what it is he wants to play. Where he wants to take his music.

And what can't be denied is the quality of his vision. No matter the production values or execution, this stuff is good. There is a lot lying behind the notes.

Which is what I can say for both discs. I don't know where Eric Salazar is going to take Emptyhead, but I like where he's been.

Enchant
A Blueprint of the World
(Magna Carta)
reviewed in issue #85, 9/11/95

Hyper-clean production emasculates the guitars and drums, transforming what could have been a real Rush rip-off into something else.

The song structure and melodic style are still quite reminiscent of Rush, but everything seems a little more technical and lighter. I'm still not sure I dig it, but the performances are quite decent.

The main difference is the emphasis on the instruments as opposed to the lyrics. Enchant wants you to know that the players are good. Rush has a message it wants you to hear.

Compare and contrast is done. Enchant is good enough to stand on its own merits, even if those prog-rock merits are not among my favorites.

Enchantment
Dance the Marble Naked
(Century Media)
reviewed in issue #54, 5/15/94

Playing the doom/death card to a T, Enchantment bring thoughts of greatness to my mind.

If, perhaps, you found the new My Dying Bride too mellow in spots (for shame!), then this just might be more up your alley. More of the death metal aggression than real musical experimentation, and lots of fun double bass work.

I really hate making a comparison like that, because Enchantment are not trying to rip off anyone. I can say I haven't heard a disc quite like this on before. And Dance the Marble Naked is a great album. Just plain great.

Enclave
Artifical Hell
(self-released)
reviewed in issue #150, 12/29/97

You know, like, if Black Sabbath were, like, an industrial band and, like, if Type O Negative gave up on the cheesy keyboards and just sang, like, nasty songs about how, like, the world is all fucked up. And shit like that.

Reminds me a lot of the old band Dead World. Godflesh-style pile-driving beats combined with epic guitar riffs and dreadfully mean-spritied lyrics. Songs that go on for ages, and yet you don't mind a bit. And then after all hell breaks loose, one of those acoustic metal passages breaks out.

Yes, the sort of thing I craved in high school. And since it seems my general appraisal of life has been regressing, I simply want this more. Pain, anger, frustration and sin, all presented with style and mind-numbing sonic destruction. The mainline to agony can be tapped here.

A full-on rush. Like if you had your very own live power line to chew on for kicks. Mania of the highest order.

End Transmission
1234567890
(Congregation)
reviewed in issue #200, 6/5/00

Another more "traditional" emo band from Congregation. Raucous bashing pitted around more contemplative moments. I told you this was traditional, didn't I?

Despite the rather familiar formula and sound, End Transmission manages to excite. The execution of this fare is simply dead on. At its purest, emo was intended to be a conduit for emotions, and when bands like this let everything loose, well, it's bound to work well.

Better than that, even. These boys have let fly with some serious angst, and it bounces off my walls well. Naw, the guys aren't breaking any new ground, but this is as fine an execution of this sound as I've heard in a while.

Breathtaking, really. End Transmission just doesn't let up. There's a big wad of power in these songs. Tap in and see where you end up when the disc finishes.

Jack Endino
(as Endino's Earthworm)
Endino's Earthworm (advance cassette review)
(Cruz)
reviewed in issue #11, 4/15/92

If Seattle-style grunginess is the monster musical force that it seems destined to become, then it needs a father figure. A godfather. And who better than Jack Endino, who seems to have produced at least one thing or another for every band in the area. And he hasn't let up, even with the royalties he must be scoring of of "Bleach".

This is basically another solo outing for the master of the knobs. And it wanders around just like that album did. Very guitar oriented, but then, should that surprise you? I think not.There is a little more motion in the songs, showing the new-found pop sensibility that is sweeping Seattle. You don't have to pound it into their heads any more, folks!

Jack Endino would have earned a spot int he Seattle Hall of Fame for his work in Skin Yard. And now that he and Shimmy-guru Kramer are THE hot producer properties around (rumors from Guns `N' Roses to U2 to Public Enemy), he has the power and prestige to pick and choose. And he chooses to spend more hours in the booth than I have spent in five years of college classes. Very cool. Listen. And enjoy.

As the guy who did as much as anyone to create the grunge sound, Jack Endino has a right to stick to his guns. And that's what he's done here, create something that sounds a lot like a more refined Skin Yard album. Me, I'm pretty happy with that. You can make the call for yourself.

The Ends
Concrete Disappointment
(Dirtnap)
reviewed in issue #259, November 2004

Good, old-fashioned Britpub punk from the heart of Texas. Ah, well. What matters is how the stuff sounds, not its point of origin.

Not that Austin is such a bad place. But sloppy, slap-happy stuff like this sounds like it belongs in some seedy London club. And yeah, it's good enough to make that comparison valid.

Like most Dirtnap bands, the Ends do not craft their songs. There's no pretense or subterfuge. What you hear is what you get, and what you get is a solid blast of loud, fast, messy music, delivered with panache.

Don't ask me to explain why this stuff is so fun. If you don't have a soft spot in your heart for raggedy riffage and half-hollered vocals, that's cool. I like to feed off the energy in stuff like this. And there's more than enough juice in the wire.

Enemy Mine
The Ice in Me
(Up)
reviewed in issue #208, 11/20/00

At first, I thought Enemy Mine might just be another extreme hardcore band. Well, a pretty good one. But still, nothing unusual like I generally expect from Up. That thought passed when the second song started.

Enemy Mine is an hardcore band, and on the extreme side as well. It also borrows heavily from the emo and noise rock movements, sliding non-linear melodic ideas and other concepts into the powerful riffage. Not unlike Snapcase, one of the great modern hardcore bands.

These guys, however, really stray from the formula. There's nothing "regular" about these songs. Indeed, just anything can happen, though Enemy Mine does a great job of keeping the "groove" (I use that term extremely loosely here) in pocket.

Not quite so technical as Refused, but a comparison can be made there as well. Enemy Mine wields its big stick with awesome authority. Sometimes, absolute power simply produces great music.

Engine Kid
Astronaut 7"
(C/Z)
reviewed in issue #35, 5/31/95

One of those discs that you wonder what the right speed is (at first). I eventually decided on 33 (hope that's right), and discovered the b-side ("Treasure Chest") has about the same structure as "Astronaut".

A weird melding of the pop psychedelia movement and grunge, I really don't get this. I wish I did, because there seems to be some message somewhere. Maybe it's really supposed to be 45. That might explain a few things.

Their seven-inch was the first C/Z release I ever did not like. And the first two tracks from that are on here, so I'll just skip them.

I was the first to rejoice in the apparent slowdown in the pop psychedelia revolution. No new Ride and My Bloody Valentine and Blur (pronounced bleah) for a year or so. Thank God.

This stuff is pretty slow, mostly quiet and kinda interesting. If I were drunk (as it is physically impossible for me to get stoned) and contemplating the universe, perhaps I might dig it more.

They dig out the grunge for a cover a Neil Young's "The Needle." And they even try to sing, something notably absent from the other three tracks.

Um, I still don't like 'em. Life goes on.

Engine Kid walks the fine line between brilliant and pathetic. Any fool can pick out the right three chords and plow them to (fleeting) platinum fame. But it takes real inspiration to do something rather strange, and that's what we have here.

I don't know how to vote, except that with each succeeding release, I seem to be getting these guys a little better.

The obvious radio pick is the bizarre cover of (Rocky) "Mountain High", but again, it would take an innovative soul to delve even deeper. You should. There are a few treasures within.

Finally, Engine Kid writing real songs!

It had to happen someday. While many were enamored of the way Engine Kid could string along a single music idea in near-silence for a couple minutes before just ripping everything to shreds in a sonic fury, I longed for a little structure. Just a little.

The dynamic extremes have been toned down a bit (the absence of Albini probably helps there), and I can hear real evidence of song construction. Amazing.

I'm not sure if this is a step forward or back artistically, but I like Angel Wings a lot better than the tracks on the EP split with Iceburn (and I liked those pretty well). One step in from chaos for Engine Kid leaves the band still firmly in the sea of musical anarchy. But you can see the shore from here.

Engine Kid
Iceburn
split EP
(Revelation)
reviewed in issue #62, 9/15/94

Perhaps the two most creative bands to emerge from the nasty world of grunge music, Iceburn and Engine Kid are so far removed from their sonic starting points that that particular reference may seem obscene.

Engine Kid does its usual take on the pianissimo to fortissimo in two beats school, pleasant and meandering one second, pulverizing the next. I keep heari