“Apple Chancery” is an elegant font you can download off the internet to spell things like “elegant” and “kingdom” and other things that reflect nobility.
(Above: Apple Chancery font)
Cara Cature’s, Apple Chancery is brilliantly noble. The actual cd has the capability of reflecting light in such a way that it can scare stormclouds away and turn thick oil-based paintings into elegant watercolor.
Singing brilliant narratives of medieval sorts, Kristi Christensen has crafted an album that rivals Joanna Newsom for tenderness and Robin Hood for attitude. For example, on the album’s second track, “Castle Over Me”, Christensen sings:
Mine’s a house of straw sewn one stitch at a time, built to house my own seeming impervious rhyme.
And then a gust blows me away!
A huff and puff from whence you came.
I exclaim… Build a castle over me
The album makes me remember nights when my mom used to sing me to sleep, pitching me closer and closer to dreaming about Candy Land, merry-go-rounds, and knights saving damsels in distress. Christensen’s voice is a sweet caress on my face as my eyes block out the light and send me into a deep, deep sleep.
In addition to the music on this album being completely awesome, the album came with a bonus disc containing a video of “Where the Wild Things Are”, as told by Cara Cature. Pretty amazing stuff!
Clocking in at just less than 100 minutes, the album is anything but a standard rock album. In fact, it is basically what I wish many rock albums would be - all rock, no fluff. Every song on the album is less than 60 seconds, and in a song that lasts as long as a 40-year-old virgin’s first sexual encounter, there is no time for pointless refrains and boring repeating choruses.
100 Under 60 cuts straight to the point and brings me what I want…at the rate of 60 times per hours.
The band is anchored by the creative minds of Nelson and Robert Heise, who also front The Heise Brothers and the now defunct Munkey Juice.
“Onward, Young Menonites!!” is the type of album that makes me smile. It is completely homemade, from the markered-up cd face to the photocopied cd insert. Even the writing on the cd insert is hand written by someone who was trying really hard to write legibly.
Upon seeing a handwritten and photocopied album cover, I usually assume that it was produced by some poor Joe who has not the money to make it nicer. But in this case, the cd cover and elbow grease that produced it, mesh perfectly with the blue-collar feel of the album.
The songs were all recorded in Brian Whitson’s bedrooms – one in California, one in Minnesota.
Some songs, like “Big Woods Death Grip” and “Ramble On” are beautifully crafted and recorded with a chorus of chants, while most of the others are simply Whitson and a guitar. However there is a beautiful, old-school blues piano song entitled, “For the Dead Kids in Lake Bronson”, which should be required listening for all publicly-educated 5th-grade students.
There are moments of pure bliss on this album, particularly on “Ramble On”, and the low-fi 4-track production quality is amazingly refreshing in this era of flawless cds. Overall, I would have liked to hear more group sing-alongs, as they really carry this record.
Whitson’s vocal style is a comforting mix of emotion, sincerity, and intelligence, which more than makes up for his lack of range.
I recommend this album to fans of Larry McMurtry’s novels and people who like cowboys.
The first thing I noticed when I saw the album insert for “Million Dollar Man” was that Aneuretical are youngsters. The guy on the cover of the album looks like he might be more concerned with who he’s asking to the senior prom than whether or not he will be able to make next month’s rent.
But the music on the album is surprisingly mature. The album’s third track, “Fantasia”, is a prog-rock masterpiece worthy of critical success.
On “Diads”, the band continues to impress me lyrically. On the song, lead singer Matthew Sandstedt sings, “I came here to die - the monotone motto goes. I came here alive with a mission in mind. The mission’s been scrapped in order that we survive. Decipher the purpose or just killing time or just killing purpose as long as killing’s alright.”
While I was expecting a soft album full of predictable chord changes from these inexperienced gents, I was surprised to find that the songs are sonically sophisticated with chord changes that make sense on a cerebral level.
My favorite song on the album is definitely “Borrowed”, which features catchy lyrics and a guitar line that gives me goose bumps.
Sandstedt sings with all his heart throughout the album. Although many critics will probably say Sandstedt’s voice is nasally and annoying, I think it communicates bravery and individualism in a way that compliments the instrumental aspects of the album.
Probably the biggest compliment I can give any album is to say that I am going to pass it along to some of my more discerning music-listening friends. And this album will definitely be getting a lot of mileage through the hands of my snotty music friends.
On Superhopper’s CD Baby site, there is talk of eating “$100 worth of White Castle” during the recording of Party Killers. It is clear that the potent energy contained within the devoured White Castle slyders led to an outpouring of energy that starts with the album’s first track and doesn’t let up until the album ends 26 minutes later.
I am certain that what began as a normal recording process was pushed to new heights by the band’s insistence on utilizing the magic contained within America’s tastiest burger to create an exciting and energetic album that sounds like a mix between Foo Fighters and Screaming Trees.
It is also likely that the gargantuan chocolate shakes purchased at White Castle led the band to “think big” with this album. How could they do anything else given the circumstances?
The album’s best track is “It’s Alright, It’s Okay”, a song about self-remorse over losing something, or it might be about how lead singer, Kermit Carter got pissed off when his band ate all of his slyders. On the song Carter sings, “I can’t stand it when you say, ‘Everything will be okay.’ I can’t make it up today. Don’t you smile at me that way.” He isn’t letting that slyder thief off the hook, as is right and proper.
Overall, Party Killers brings the rock in a refreshing way that makes me proud to be involved in the Minneapolis scene. The only thing that could make this listening experience better would be a crave case and some White Castle cheese sticks.
god‧damn
1. to use the word “goddamn”; swear; often followed by “it”. – verb
2. the utterance of “goddamn” in swearing or for emphasis. – noun
3. something of negligible value; damn: not to give a good goddamn. – noun
4. to curse (someone or something) as being contemptible or worthless; damn. - adjective
doo‧wop
a style of small-group vocal harmonizing, commercialized as a type of so-called street singing in the 1950s, in which words and nonsense syllables are chanted in rhythmic harmony to support the stylized melody of the lead singer. - noun
It’s scary what a little sexual revolution mixed with 50’s doo wop mixed with street gangs of the 1980’s can give you.
The God Damn Doo Wop Band consists of some scary mothers! The three chic dolls that make up the vocal portion of the band can be seen on the album cover toting a baseball bat, which I have no reason to believe they won’t use if provoked. Behind the bat are some good-looking legs clad in poodle skirts that say, “Guard dog on duty - Enter at your own risk.”
“Broken Hearts” provides some of the most entertaining and innovative rock I have heard this year.
Rivalling the B-52’s in harmonic power and hand clapping, “Broken Hearts” could easily be the soundtrack to a Happy Days sock hop or any Frankie Avalon movie. Richie Cunningham would be all over this band. In fact, it is likely that Joanie and Scott Baio’s Chachi would have spun this record at their wedding. And who am I to disagree with Richie Cunningham, let alone Joanie and Chachi?
…And on an unrelated matter… Speaking of Frankie Avalon, one of his last movies was Back to the Beach starring Paul Ruebens as Pee-Wee Herman. I learned recently that Pee-Wee is in the process of making a new Pee-Wee Herman movie!! This is exciting news for people like me who regularly quote Globey and other characters from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.
I get about 100 “friend requests” a day on our mySpace.com profile from bands who are looking to be the next big thing. I listen to the music found on each and every one of those bands’ pages, and every now and then I stumble upon something great.
So, thank you to the Charlie Van Stee Trio for making my day by way of posting some inventive and interesting music on mySpace. This Minneapolis-based trio, which consists of the band’s namesake, Nathan Elliot, and Josh Kaplan, has not yet released an album, but they are producing some damn fine demos.
In the world of music blogs, it is a race to be first to find new talent, and every now and then ridiculous bands get annointed as the new buzz band (see Smoosh). The Charlie Van Stee Trio is a band that has been around the block, as members have played in bands such as Living Spoon, Free Grandma, and Jake Rowan. They are good. They play their instruments well. And they will probably be around longer than it takes Smoosh to hit puberty (no offense to Smoosh…).
These guys mean business. They are blending some great melodies, lyrics, and chord changes.
Summary: Check out these guys and watch out for an album some time in the future.
On Wednesday, I took a long lunch and travelled over to the Minnesota State Fair to play some songs at the Farmer’s Union building. Loud Ray opened the show at 10 a.m., and Pocahontas County closed the show with the type of energy you’d expect from a 220 horsepower combine tractor.
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