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The Bug in Your Ear

4 stars

Box Elders
Alice and Friends
Goner Records

Everyone knows that the state of rock ‘n’ roll is one of constant stumbling and daily disasters. Sure, there are the copycat hard-charging metal torchbearers, limp punk imitations and retro-ized vomit rock bands that come across our dials and pass through our ears almost immediately. Yet, the act of developing an intoxicating melody through the scant formation of guitar, bass, drums and plugging straight into an amp seems to be somewhat of a lost art. It’s hard to point to a band that excels at kicking out perfect jam after perfect jam. That is until one discovers the music on the Box Elders stunning debut long player, Alice and Friends.

Replete with clean-yet-gritty pop guitar tones, organ playing that is strikingly remarkable and picture-perfect songwriting, brothers Clayton and Jeremiah McIntyre plus friend Dave Goldberg have found a formula that is impressive as can be. Based out of Omaha, Nebraska, the trio wanted to add a fourth member to the group to play organ, but instead forced drummer Goldberg to play organ while simultaneously playing his kit. In an act that must be filed under “have to see to believe,” Goldberg keeps sharp time and adds a completely different dimension to this band’s R&B, garage and punk based sound.

On album opener “Jackie Wood,” the Box Elders start Alice and Friends at a stunning pop pace with carousel organ sounds and follow closely with the title track showcasing the group’s duo vocal styling. “Stay” is a remarkable piece of pop music that shows how this band can twist the standard song structures of ‘50s and ‘60s soul and R&B tracks and completely make them into their own. You can only hear so many new bands use a standard chord progression like the C-A-F-G pattern (listen to Johnny Cash’s “Understand Your Man,” Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs’ “May I” or any other song of the same era to understand what I mean) before you want to vomit. On Alice and Friends, the Box Elders deliver some of these standard chord progressions that have become milquetoast over the years and made them interesting.  

Perhaps it comes as no surprise to anyone who has heard the Box Elders before that the strongest song on Alice and Friends comes in the form of the track entitled “Hole in my Head.” Released last January on a seven-inch through Grotto Records, “Hole in my Head” is a song that makes a perfect calling card for the group. With echoed out vocals, Goldberg’s intense combo of drums and organ and a simple riff that will not leave your brain for days, the song has that innate ability of wrapping around your brain and making itself comfortable.

I feel like there are a lot of bands similar to the Box Elders right now that can quickly get a song into the general rock conscious. In a fashion close to the era of the Nuggets box sets, these bands have put all their efforts into crafting perfect singles instead of on making an impactful full-length record. Yet, the Box Elders have been able to create 14 tracks of their interesting and twisted organ rock that will be inescapable in the days after listening. — Eric ALLEN

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Now You Know

4 stars

Oblisk
Weather Patterns       
Candy Colored Dragon

Just one minute into Weather Patterns, local quartet Oblisk effectively set you into an ethereal headspace, with ornately pictorial lyrics of being on top of the world with crashing waves. Their second full-length is a heavier, moody listen, but highlights breadth of songwriting, dips into more theatric atmospheric soundscapes and pensive lyrical territories on the inter-connectedness between man and nature. Dark, fuzzy, churning, it’s facilitated by their adroit conjuring of feedback-fueled mysticism. Drums trudge through muddy jungles only to explode and accelerate out onto winding freeways. Guitars crunch and stomp and slide in head-swimming sways.

“On Radar” and “Epicenter” show penchants for rough textures; those subtly shrieking guitars underneath Nick Baran’s more iridescent, pedal stepped tones. The latter song also exemplifies the crux of Oblisk’s song formation — propulsion. Roy Elturk’s peppered, driving rhythms are enhanced by the soulful bend of bassist Dave Cheal. At its heart, Oblisk second record, Weather Patterns, is meditative and exhilarating rock, treading near an undeniable dreamlike inflection — exploring both the temperaments of Earth’s seasons and man’s subconscious. — Jeff MiLo

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4½ stars

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Fontana
Fontana
X! Records

There was the old math problem of the two trains speeding to meet at the same point. Fontana is the answer to that question and what happens when the two trains collide. An explosion of spastic guitar, drums and bass that results in a brutal mix of hardcore-meets-metal (not the cheesy kind most hardcore bands turn to). With brilliant lyricism, cunning wits abound and musicianship for days, Fontana has once again struck gold on newer songs like “When She’s Not Wearing Black,” and classic deep cuts like “Rumor of War.” This material is still raw and visceral despite being around for years now. — ERIC ALLEN

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4 stars

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The Summer Pledge
You Are You
Woodbridge Records

Songs range from quiet and introspective to driving and dressy — foggy feedback swirls in pensive meditations (“Who Are You?”) or all cylinders are firing, with vocals howled out with vigor (“Lost in the Business World”). The beautiful guitar wizardry and dreamy reverb sheen recall the experimentalism of post-rock, with a bit of atmospheric space rock. A strong debut; strong in the sense of well-constructed and well-presented, but also strong in its ability to disarm you like the punch of a dark roasted coffee with three shots of espresso...it’s a journey. — JEFF MILO

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in my ear
Johnny Ill Band

From the mean streets of Ypsi and now Woodbridge, Johnny Ill and his band create poppy punk that could also be misconstrued with Wire-esque punk. The group has recently released a seven-inch on Kaboodle Records and will be playing August 27 at The Belmont. Check out what they’ve been listening to below:

Captain Beefheart
Trout Mask Replica
TAD
God's Balls
Michigan and Smiley
Downpression
Paper Mice
Paint it Pink
Laughing Hyenas
Merry Go Round
Pretty Things
S.F. Sorrow
Intelligence
Fake Surfers
The Seeds
The Seeds
Delta 5
Singles and Sessions
Lita Ford
"Kiss Me Deadly" Cassingle

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