Decibully - City Of Festivals
(Polyvinyl)

It’s hard to get noticed in today’s indie rock scene — even harder still when your band doesn’t do much screaming, posing for photo shoots, or touring with anyone from the Vagrant Records roster. That isn’t a knock against current trends or bands that follow them, it is only to say that while a band like Decibully can write some great songs, I am certain they will be overlooked by many.

Yes, this is a shame, but it is partially to be expected when the music itself is low key and subtle. The band does feature former members of The Promise Ring and current members of Camden, though these connections don’t necessarily help pigeonhole their musical style. In fact, I am somewhat at a loss to describe the sound of their sophomore album, City Of Festivals. The songs are mellow, haunting and lush with a variety of instrumentation — I daresay that comparisons to Beck’s Sea Change aren’t all that farfetched, but that still doesn’t come close to pegging this band’s appeal.

Decibully actually have seven members in the band, which is interesting because none of the many instruments ever feel like they’re competing for the spotlight. From banjo to piano to wurlitzer to trombone to lap steel to chimes, the various layers of sound are delicately intertwined to create some intricate and moody pop songs.

Right from the get go it is apparent that this band is not about gimmicks or frills, the focus is strictly in writing beautiful songs for the listener to lose him or herself in. The record opens with “On The Way To Your Hotel”, a slow, wistful tune that begins ever so quietly and then builds and swirls with layers of organ, banjo and vocal harmonies. “We Belong On Rooftops” is one of the more up-tempo rock selections, while “My Lighter And Strings” has faint echoes of Radiohead in both the vocals and guitar work. “Tables Turn” features an irresistable singalong chorus, “Holy Angel Choir” trades off between catchy guitar and keys, and “Uncle Sam’s Yard” juxtaposes a vocal choir with an unmistakable country flavour.

While none of the tracks really stand out above the rest, the calming melodies have a way of sticking with you — especially after repeated listens. A few of the songs drag a little too long, but there’s still plenty of great music here. The organs and the soaring vocals are what really made this album a keeper for me. Don’t overlook this band… just because they aren’t desperate to win your attention doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it. — Sean

The Aquabats - Serious Awesomeness (DVD)

If you know The Aquabats, then you know that this is one band that was long overdue for a DVD release of some sort. I say this because they are so much more than just a band. Their live performances involve all kinds of theatrical interludes such as skits, on-stage battles, wrestling matches, small-time fireworks and pyrotechnics, video displays, and more. In order to experience The Aquabats fully, you absolutely need the visuals to go with the music. So when I heard that Fearless Records was putting out a double-disc Aquabats DVD I knew this would be a sight to behold.

The main feature on these DVDs is a full live concert recorded earlier this year in Pamona, CA. The show was recorded in digital video from a variety of angles, and while the quality is certainly not at a “professional” level, it puts you on stage with them from a perspective few people have seen. Although it was a recent concert, the 12 song set list for this show covers a lot of their older ska material, as well as some of the new wave/synth driven songs found on their latest 2 records. You do get new songs like Pool Party and Giant Robot Birdhead, but at the same time old school songs like Play Dough and Martian Girl, so it’s a pretty good cross-section of stuff.

The crowd at this show seemed to be a little rambunctious and generally non-attentive to the band. Throughout the performance there was always at least 1 or 2 kids parading around on stage like fools then diving back into the crowd. Although The Aquabats “do it for the kids”, they did seem a little annoyed that even when there was no music playing people were more interested in stage diving than the on-stage theatrics.

For this concert, the main foe that they faced off against was one of the most sinister of all — a slimy record exec who tries to convince them to sign to his record label. Of course, when they don’t agree to his terms a huge fight ensues between The Aquabats and his minions (including the Powdered Milkman, oddly enough). The coolest thing about these battles are the new “commercial breaks” they decided to insert in between the onstage fights. You’ll have to see it to understand what I’m talking about.

The second disc contains “Sweet Clips That Rip”, in other words more live performances from a variety of shows over the years. You get to see the impressive array of costumes they’ve gone through (I think I counted at least 8 different incarnations of their outfits though I’m sure there’s more), and many of the different baddies they’ve defeated, from Dr. Space Mummy to El Demonico to “a tough looking street gang”. The selection of songs here is pretty similar to the concert on the first disc, and while it would have been nice to get a bit more variety there are still some cool surprises like a cover of The Ventures’ surf classic “Journey To The Stars”. Interesting note: in some of these older performances their drummer is none other than Travis of Blink 182 fame. How he could go from The Aquabats to Blink is one of the great mysteries of our time, although the fact that he is too “punk” to wear his mask onstage is the first hint that maybe he didn’t really belong here.

In addition to all of the live footage, you also get the Super Rad music video (an absolute classic), and an older, very DIY-looking video for the song CD Repo Man.

Perhaps the coolest thing on the entire DVD is a featurette of sorts entitled “A Band Called The Aquabats: A Sweaty History Of Rad-Ness”. This consists of more live footage edited together with little skits, interviews and TV appearances from over the years. It is hilarious and fascinating, and at 20 minutes it is just not long enough damnit! I want more, more, more!!! I guess this is my only real complaint about this DVD: I was hoping for a bit more extra stuff aside from the music. Whatever happened to the cool Aquabats TV show demo that is available on their website? I guess maybe someone else owns the rights to that, but it really would have been a stellar addition to this package.

The DVDs have a cool home-made style to them, from the cartoony artwork to the DVD menus, etc. The menu setups are a little sloppy (they don’t always have navigation back to the main menu) and also the video and sound quality are a bit of a mixed bag but overall nothing is glaringly sub par. For a compilation like this it’s all to be expected, and it adds to the charm of the work.

The Aquabats: Serious Awesomeness is simply a must own DVD for fans, and for anyone else it serves as proof that contrary to popular belief, they are not simply a “gimmick” or “joke” band. This 2-disc set is a testament to the overwhelming creative output that this band has put forth. If only every other band on the planet could be as entertaining and downright fun as The Aquabats, we’d all be much better off. Then again, the fact that they are such a rarity in the music world simply gives even more reason to admire these guys. They really are superheroes for our time. — Sean

The Ramblin Ambassadors - Avanti
(Mint)

Apparently Huevos Rancheros broke up a while back and someone forgot to tell me. Now normally I would be disappointed about such news, but Rancheros guitarist Brent Cooper has already saddled up with a new posse called The Ramblin Ambassadors. And you know what? They ain’t half bad.

Their debut album Avanti is out on Mint Records and although it is rather short, it should sound like pretty familiar territory for Huevos Rancheros fans: 9 instrumental surf rock and roll cuts with hints of country and rockabilly and a spicy mexican flavour. Moments like the explosive twang of “Hangin Tree” and the galloping cowboy tune “Hawgtied” can be easily held up alongside much of Cooper’s previous work.

This is in no way a complete musical rehash however.Bassist Scott Nickless plays stand up bass which creates a slightly different dynamic in the rhythm section. The song “Lungbucket” may be more straight ahead rock than anything Huevos Rancheros did, while “Dead Man’s Flats” incorporates some sorrowful trumpet and hammond organ. Then there is “Twenty Original Fembots”, a song penned by Cooper’s pal Brian Connelly that definitely brings to mind his own former band Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet.

The Ramblin Ambassadors are also big fans of spaghetti westerns, which they pay tribute to with a killer cover of Ennio Morricone’s “Sixty Seconds To What?”. The closing song “The Hairless Cat” also sounds like something out of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

The record clocks in at about 25 minutes which may seem short to some, but keep in mind that Huevos Rancheros’ own Get Outta Dodge featured only 7 songs and could arguably be called their finest work. Avanti may not quite be at that level of perfection, but it is still sure to make twang masters like Duane Eddy and Link Wray proud. — Sean

Jedi Academy (PC)
Developed by: Raven Software
Published by: Lucasarts

You can basically put the name Star Wars in front of any thing and you know it will sell like mad. I’m thinking about going into business selling Star Wars birth control pills and Star Wars brand hemorrhoid cream (patent pending). I’d be as rich as Lucas himself… Well… not quite. I mean, if they can crank out movies and games left and right, why can’t I sell my cream? BASTARDS!

Please, ignore the previous paragraph; I must have been drunk or something when I wrote it. But, I bet it kept you interested just because I used that magic word Star Wars about 4 times so far. I know that the very sight of that word will give the most impotent nerd a boner that is worthy of hanging jackets on. So with that in mind, I shall use it as much as I can in this so called review, even if it doesn’t make any sense.

“Star Wars” Jedi Academy continues off from Jedi Knight 2. You play as Jaden the young apprentice of Kyle Katan, (the main character in Jedi Knight 2). The game allows you to “Star Wars” customize how Jaden will look. Make him man, alien, female, give him/her different clothes… you get the point. During your training to become a Jedi, you are thrown into missions to investigate this disturbance in the force “Star Wars” that Luke Skywalker keeps on bitching about. You will even get to fight along side that hairy Robin Williams look-a-like, Chewbacca, on one mission. The only downside to fighting with him, are the erotic noises he makes when he gets shot at — or is it a downside? Other characters include Bounty Hunter Boba Fett. I think every “Star Wars” game should have him in it, just because I said so.

The game also allows you to play in first person or third person views. The weapons are plentiful in the game, but the light saber is by far the only one you’ll want to use. It has the ability to block bullets and slash off limbs using various moves. Basically, just swing it around like a maniac if you want and you’re bound to look cool and kill “Star Wars” something at the same time. In comparison Jedi Academy plays basically like Jedi Knight 2 except this time around you can ride, Won Tons (Those hairy ass, horse, goat creature thingy) and Speeder Bikes. The puzzles are easier and there are very few of them to solve. It’s all worth it for those intense scenes of action packed mayhem. The endings are also different depending on the choices you make further on in the game.

I found that it was slow moving at first but overall it was an enjoyable game. “You will buy this game”. ”You will enjoy it”. “I am your master”. “You will give me a backrub”. I just Jedi mind tricked your ass, now go do your master’s bidding.

“STAR WARS.”

8.5 out of 10 on my ass kick meter. — Chian

The Matrix Revolutions
Written and Directed by: The Wachowski Bros.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Anne-Moss, Hugo Weaving

So I listened to people piss and moan for a few days about how bad Matrix Revolutions is, and while I was in no immediate hurry to see the third and (please let it be) final installment in the Wachowskis’ saga, all the complaining started to get me interested. I will be the first to admit that Reloaded had its share of problems, but I do not think it deserves the bad rap it got. A backlash to the Matrix hype machine was inevitable, particularly with the artsy film snob types, but I was surprised to see it filtering its way down to even the casual movie-goers. With people dismissing Revolutions even more quickly than Reloaded, I could only hope it would be exactly what I wanted. The perfect complement to Reloaded. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Indeed, I really can’t say I was disappointed with Revolutions. In many ways it was a fitting end for the trilogy. The epic battles were appropriate and impressive, and many pressing questions were given answers that at least seemed plausible within the Matrix universe. Just as important though, I think, is the fact that many questions weren’t answered. Not everything had an explanation, and people will have to make up their own mind about whether or not there is deeper significance to what they’ve seen. I think the film’s only failure in this regard is that after Revolutions I’m not sure I care to dig further and look for hidden meanings because I am afraid I might come up empty-handed. I prefer to have the illusion of a meaningful movie rather than spoil that illusion by peeking below the surface. So I guess in a way, I would prefer the blue pill to the red pill. How ironic.

But let’s just look at the surface of this movie for a moment, because it is definitely a beautiful thing in and of itself. Many people said that nothing in this movie tops the “freeway scene” from Reloaded. I beg to differ. Right near the beginning of the movie we witness a super cool gunfight with enemies walking upside down on ceilings, for example. However, one of the strengths of Revolutions is the fact that the majority of the action takes place in the real world. This means we get to see a lot of high tech machines fighting machines, and not a lot of the ho-hum kung fu battles that were feeling pretty formulaic and repetitive by the end of Reloaded. We see humans manning gigantic mechanical suits and firing rocket launchers at neverending swarms of sentinels. Amidst the warfare we also see some of the new characters step forward and come to life, and the Matrix universe feels a little more fleshed out as a result.

Then there is of course the the showdown between Neo and Smith in The Matrix itself. Ridiculous in its scale, and at times cartoony in its execution, I thought it would be disastrous… and yet to my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps it is due to my love for the Dragonball Z anime series and the fact that I will never grow tired of Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith characterizations. After 3 movies of seeing him recite the same lines in the same stuttered monotone delivery, I still laugh at every sinister melodramatic word.

So honestly, what else is there to complain about? Sure the movie has its hokey aspects. The bad ass techno soundtrack has been mostly replaced by and/or melded with equally cheesy orchestrated choir music. And yes, the love theme in the movie did seem very forced, especially when Trinity and Neo still don’t have a good reason for getting together and haven’t had their relationship develop in any way whatsoever. (The Wachowski Bros are certainly no better than George Lucas when it comes to romance.) But I can’t understand people complaining about Morpheus being too preachy. The philosophical speeches seemed toned down more than in the previous two movies, and I still think they add to the movie rather than take away from it. Overall I thought the dialogue was more solid than Reloaded even. As for the “no plot” argument… well, this was primarily an action movie. There were some twists but it was mostly a fast-paced, straightforward story, and since when is that a crime? It seems that people don’t want complexity or depth to the story because it gets too pretentious, but yet they also want a movie chock full of surprises and intrigue or else they get bored.

I think this goes to show precisely what the biggest problem is with the Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions… the so-called fans don’t have a freaking clue what they want to get out of these movies. They don’t want more of the same, but they don’t want anything different either. They just want the best movie they have ever seen in their lives. Well, Matrix Revolutions does not live up to that bill unfortunately. It’s not even close to being one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. But as a Matrix fan, I am satisfied with it.

To put things in perspective, I see the first Matrix movie as a timeless classic, an awesome self-contained movie that stands in a league of its own. By comparison, Reloaded and Revolutions are respectable add-ons, but they do not (and probably could not possibly) feel like a seamless continuation of the first movie. Whereas The Matrix definitely had a bit more substance to it and broke a lot of new ground, the two sequels are simply good pulp science-fiction flicks. So if that’s not your bag, then you may not be impressed. But hey that’s a risk you take every time you plunk down $10 or $15 for a movie. With everything that Matrix Revolutions has to offer, I still don’t think it deserves all the flack it’s getting. — Sean

The Kinison - Mortgage Is Bank
(Fearless)

It’s too bad first impressions aren’t everything. As the first five seconds of The Kinison’s new release hit my ears I smiled. The soft promising melody had me hooked. Of course, then there’s the unfortunate part of the rest of the album. Something about the whining Megadeth-like vocals kicking in, had me ducking for cover. And the repetitive, simple guitar riffs didn’t help. The Kinison just left me feeling empty and confused. They lack the overlayed roaming guitars, and the well-timed soft to heavy transitions that their swedishgaragemetalscreamocore counterparts utilize to give their songs substance.

Style is another problem. It seems to me, they are either trying to throw in a bit of every current trendy sound, or are still searching for an identity of their own. I hope it’s the latter. Being only a five song release, I will reserve judgement. A few catchy spots here and there, such as the oi influenced ending of “hey hey hey” and the classic hardcore break down in “a new way to dance” did keep me from losing complete interest. By far the best song by The Kinison on this release is the last one, leaving me to believe that their future could be promising, should they ever find themselves. — Kube

Mates Of State - Team Boo
(Polyvinyl)

People are slowly coming to the realization that two instruments are all you really need to rock out. If it’s true that a two piece band can be limiting, it’s also true that a two piece band can be very empowering. From The White Stripes to Duotang to Hella to the Inbreds, there’s already plenty of proof out there for those who would seek it.

Mates Of State are another dynamic duo who set themselves apart both in their choice of instruments and in their songwriting style. Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner are a married couple based in San Francisco who have built up a reputation on catchy pop music and sweet duelling vocal melodies. No gimmicks, just great songs that speak for themselves. The interesting thing is that there isn’t a guitar between them: he plays drums and she plays a vintage Yamaha organ, and that’s all they need to keep the listener hooked.

The full out power and creativity of their playing masks the fact that there are only two musicians… in fact, before I read the bio the thought didn’t even cross my mind. It also helps when they throw some extra instrumentation into the recordings, for example the smooth trumpets in Whiner’s Bio, the handclaps in Open Book, not to mention the piano, viola, glockenspiel and other percussion sprinkled elsewhere on the record.

This album will grab you right off the bat with the joyous sing along vocals and youthful energy of “Ha Ha”, setting pace for the punchy rhythms and rapid changes that follow. Some songs seem to flow better than others but somehow the many jumps in tempo and sound make for an exciting “cut and paste” style of songwriting that is rather unique to Mates Of State music.

If the album has a stumbling point it is probably the momentary loss of momentum in the songs “Parachutes (Funeral Song)” and “An Experiment”; their lack of any real hooks and generally aimless feel serve up a bit of filler in the middle of the album’s other pop gems.

While I haven’t heard all of the previous Mates Of State recordings, I can say that Team Boo picks up pretty close to where Our Constant Concern left off. Long time fans will not be disappointed, and newcomers will wonder how they could have ever lived without the Mates for so long. Team Boo comes highly recommended, especially for anyone who has a soft spot for organs and immediately addictive pop songs. — Sean