St. James Hall
Vancouver, BC
January 28th, 2007

Lisa Germano is one of those rare artists who has established a certain amount of critical acclaim, but remains unknown to most social hipsters and indie rock enthusiasts. She has been releasing her own records since 1991 and has also recorded as a guest musician with legendary artists such as Iggy Pop and David Bowie in addition to appearing on records by Sheryl Crow and John Cougar (Jack and Diane, Life Goes On, and a whole lot of other awful shit) Mellencamp. Don’t let the latter two names force you towards instant dismissal because she has produced a back catalog of fantastic records and she is privy to a style that is entirely her own. Her songs are fragile and melancholy, but they are sometimes psychedelic and at other times carnivalesque. Imagine if The Doors were led by a demure, soft-spoken female instead of the towering presence of someone like Jim Morrison and you will be getting somewhere close to Germano’s strange world.

Continue reading →

DAMP has been out for over a month now, which has given me ample time to listen to it thoroughly and digest it. It is only available through the Foetus Shoppe at foetus.org, so this isn’t something that you’re going to find stocked at your local store or Itunes (and if you actually were considering just downloading it direct to your Ipod, you’re missing out on the artwork… Foetus cover artwork is equally as import as its contents! Also, what kind of fan are you if you download?) You’re also not going to find this floating around on a desk at the typical music rag headquarters… you will actually have to buy it if you want it! JG Thirlwell is offering a more intimate offering into his world, so if you like his works… keep reading and don’t be a cheapskate!

Continue reading →

Rating: 7.75

A scant eight months after releasing Fishscale to near-unanimous acclaim and widespread internet fervor, Ghostface Killah made another addition to an already impressive discography with the aptly titled follow-up, More Fish. Ghostface has carved out a compelling niche for himself, exuding charismatic eccentricity over histrionic soul loops, and this latest release holds up alongside his best work by catering to his known strengths.

Continue reading →

Rating: 7.25

Had the usounds editors thrown this disc into a mac, fucked around with garageband, and sent me the burned disc along with a note explaining that the record was originally released in 1968, they would have had me for the first few songs. And it seems like that’s the effect Pajo is going for.

Continue reading →

Rating: 7.5

Acoustic rock is often a dubious territory. It’s a fluid gray area encompassing everything from bright and dirty folk melodies harking back to Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel to chukka-chukka punk crossovers into kinder/gentler land. In any case, you generally want Dreadnought rockers to be doing it as a “fuck this electric shit” statement rather than as an avenue to squish saccharine lullabies about girls into a more condensed commodity.

Continue reading →