Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

O Pioneers!!! - Neon Creeps

Here it is, the first great album of 2009. O Pioneers!!! is a pair of guys from Houston, TX, who have released a bunch of EPs and split 7″s with various bands (including the previously-mentioned split 7″ with Asian Man Records’ Mike Park). This is their second 12″, following their self-titled album. They play minimalist, muscular, gritty pop-punk. This record is their latest, and is out on Asian Man Records.

The band seems to specialize in midtempo rockers. There’s not a whole lot of blistering, lightspeed guitarwork here, instead they focus on driving rhythms to back up the throaty “singing.” The vocals remind me strongly of early Hot Water Music (Chuck, not Chris), particularly on opener “Saved By the Bell Was a Super Good Show.” Yeah, the titles of the songs are- keeping with modern trends- kind of ridiculous.

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Under the Influence vol. 3

Unusual entry today. Instead of an album, I’m going to talk about two 7″ records that came out this year.

First up, is volume 3 of Suburban Home’s Under the Influence series. The UTI series features notable artists covering songs they find to be influential to them. Volume 3 finds Mustard Plug covering the Fugazi classic “Waiting Room,” and Bomb the Music Industry! taking on Pavement’s “Gold Soundz.”

Fugazi is a pretty beloved band. Even if you don’t know their catalog, you have probably had a friend press “Waiting Room” on you. The song is an absolute classic. Mustard Plug, as is their way, throw a bit of ska on it. It doesn’t necessarily improve the song, but it doesn’t hurt it. The vocals hit it pretty spot-on, and the addition of the horns makes for a fun addition. Overall, the song doesn’t out-do the original (naturally), but it’s not a bad cover by any means.

I have to say, I was wary when I heard Bomb the Music Industry! was covering Pavement. Mostly because, despite my most valiant efforts, I cannot get into Pavement. Much like similarly-hyped band Neutral Milk Hotel, I think they are absurdly overhyped. But, as Jeff Rosenstock writes in the notes for their cover, he figured a straight-up ska version of a hipster classic would really drive the indie rockers up a wall. Odds are it will, but it makes the song a lot better than the original. In my own biased opinion, of course. At any rate, it’s a damn fine ska number.

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