Revisited: Sub.bionic - You I Lov/// (2002)

Revisited: Sub.bionic - You I Lov/// (2002)
(I mentioned this band in Friday's feature and decided I'd share this old story of how I discovered this album)

Growing up in Cincinnati, I would often listen to WOXY on 97.9 FM before it went off the air and became a popular internet radio station (which sadly folded for good in the fall of 2006). Seeing as I had only just discovered the radio station in the year 2001 when I got my first car, I didn't realize how lucky I was to have such a resource for independent music right in my own town. It was a nice escape from the horrors of Clear Channel radio stations, where Nickelback and P.O.D. dominated the airwaves that year. I was able to listen to bands I had never heard of, none of which ever got overplayed.

WOXY got me into more bands than I feel like listing here, but one of them, as you may have guessed, was Sub.Bionic. I heard the song "Reply (Without Recourse)" one day while driving home from work and knew immediately that I had to have the album. The only problem was that it was impossible to find. I was just getting into independent music at the time, so I wasn't quite sure how to go about finding CD's that Best Buy didn't carry. No one on WinMX (one of the post-Napster clones) had their songs available to download. Even the internet provided very little information on the band. And I never heard the song played on WOXY again. To this day, I've yet to come across a website or even a MySpace page that documents the band in detail.

I finally did find an independent record store that was able to order the album for me, several months later. Thankfully, after all that time searching, the album didn't disappoint. It was mostly typical of the indie rock sound of the day, which I enjoyed back then but have since grown tired of. But even listening to it these days, be it because of nostalgia or whatever, there's a lot to like. The album starts nicely with "The Last Song on Earth", which totally wasn't the last song on earth, but shows the bands knack for embellished, over-produced soft rock. The band obviously knows a lot of studio tricks and/or plays a lot of instruments. Though there are only five musicians, you'd swear there were at least double that amount on each song, with the exception of the excellent, acoustic marvel "God In Neutral". The simple guitar riff is repeated throughout and backed occasionally, and effectively, by piano keys and keyboard effects. The singer desperately delivers powerful lines ("...for you don't know shit like you're daddy does!") before launching into the cryptic, nerd-tastic chorus ("You're just two bytes of RAM size numb on a hard drive"). The song is probably some statement on society or something, but hell if I know. I never studied the lyrics sheet and tried to get to the bottom of the meaning. Tough. Good song though.

"Reply (Without Recourse)" was as good as I remembered, with it's lazy yet memorable, effects-laden riff carrying the chorus as the singer croons something about multiplying and amplifying his love, his voice maintaining a delicate balance between Matthew Belamy (Muse) and Matt Berninger (The National) in it's own way. The song trickles on quietly before reaching this emotional chorus with a subtle, almost glacial feel, and trickles out the same way, acting as sort of the calm before and after the storm. "Phonophobic" is the only outright indie pop song on the album, and as far as my research went, the only proper single that spawned a video. The song ditches most of the extra instruments and tricks in favor of the traditional guitars, bass, and drums. It's catchy for sure, but almost too easy and dumbed down for their talent. The only real sour point on the album comes, conveniently, on the last track, "Nuclear Bomb Parade". I say "conveniently" because it's easy to just turn the CD off before the song comes on. The song attempts to be heavy with fuzzed guitar, distorted drums and vocals, and a faster pace. While not a totally terrible song, it sticks out like a sore thumb on this album much in the same way "Dog Door" did on Sparklehorse's It's A Wonderful Life album. Putting this song on an album where there's nothing but soft, orchestrated rock makes it seem out of place and tacked on.

Overall it's a nice listen. I'd like to hear more from this band, but it seems that they will continue to exist in relative obscurity and have probably disbanded. Which would be a shame, since this album showed some real potential.



"Reply (Without Recourse)"

Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound - When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009)

Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound
When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009)
Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound exude a certain air in their music that I can only describe, perhaps badly, as a "California cool". Fitting, I suppose, being they're from San Francisco and all, but still not descriptive enough to properly get across their hazy, lethargic space rock sound. I suppose I mean that their sound brings to mind vivid images of sunsets, beaches, relaxation, and maybe even recreational drug use. They're good at creating ambiance, as if their music opens a door to a room and welcomes you into it's warmth. Some would say Assemble Head are a poor man's Comets On Fire. More accurately, I'd argue that they're like Comets On Fire's shy little brother: not as in your face, comfortable living in the shadow, and all the while displaying plenty of their own unique qualities if you actually take the time to get to know them.

Ekranoplan, their 2007 sophomore effort, was the kind of album you didn't realize was awesome until you found yourself wanting to listen to it again. With When Sweet Sleep Returned, they go for the same effect, but with a few immediately noticeable changes. The addition of two new members (Anderson Lanbridge on synth and theramin; multi-instrumentalist Camilla Saufley) helps expand their sound a bit. The use of violin, for instance, adds a nice compliment to songs like "By the Rippling Green". They've even developed somewhat of an alt-country twang to their sound, as is the case with "Two Birds". "Drunken Leaves", with it's distorted guitars and surf rock-style rhythm, is the sole hard-rock track in the same vein as Ekranoplan. The rest is just as laid-back as they've ever been.

While When Sweet Sleep Returned is in many ways similar to Ekranoplan, it's not quite as good. Assemble Head have not gotten worse, nor do they display any particular growing pains. In fact, they incorporate the new elements to their sound fairly well. But at the end of the day, the songs aren't quite as inspired and memorable. Still an overall solid listen, but more than anything it makes me want to dust off Ekranoplan again for a few spins. I think I'll do that, actually.


Score: 7/10


"Drunken Leaves"


"By The Rippling Green"

Nomo - Ghost Rock (2008)

Nomo
Ghost Rock (2008)

What lying bastards! There's nothing even remotely paranormal about this music! My research found that everyone involved in this record was alive while recording it. Furthermore, they're still alive now! Preparing for a Spring tour no less!

And just listen to the music; it's full of life! Not at all ghostly in my opinion. Well, the electric buzzing that opens the album on "Brainwave" maybe sounds a little creepy in the right setting, but it certainly didn't scare me! After that, the album just gets more and more upbeat, like a dance album actually; and how many ghosts do you know who dance!? Ridiculous. Just listen to that percussion on songs like "All the Stars" or "My Dear". Ohhhh scaaaarrrry...NOT! How can I be scared when the music just makes me want to bob my head to the beat? Poorly executed, I say. Or how about all those enormously catchy brass parts like on "Rings" and "Three Shades"? They aren't haunting at all, they're infectious. They make me want to bust a move, not piss my pants!

As if the "ghost" part of the title wasn't suspect enough, how about the "rock" part? I mean, maybe jazz-rock or afro-rock at best, but certainly not rock rock. This sounds nothing like Black Sabbath! Now there's a ghostly rock band for you. That cover for their self-titled album gave me the creeps! Plus Ozzy Osbourne dresses in all black and like, ate a bird or some shit. And he usually at least looks kinda dead. I'm sure he wouldn't approve of this Nomo band going around talking about "ghost rock" at all. Not one bit.

I don't know who you're trying to fool with your deceptive album titles, Nomo, but I've got you figured out. I'm onto your game!


Score: 8.5/10


"Round the Way"


"Three Shades"