A Double-Dip of Ipecac, featuring Mutation and Melvins

Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings have a reputation for releasing some of best, most bizarre albums known to man. They are responsible for the proliferation of Beak, Hella, Messer Chups, The Locust and that's not even touching Patton's own work. Over the past month they have added two more freakish concoctions to the record books. First is the debut album from monstrous supergroup Mutation, Error 500. And then there is Tres Cabrones by the ever-entertaining Melvins, and their second of 2013. Ah, its good to be a freak!

Mutation – Error 500

Mutation is the insane, messy, and vile brainchild of some of music's most eccentric outsiders. The core of the band consists of Shane Emery (Napalm Death), Ginger Wildheart (The Wildhearts), and Jon Poole (Cardiacs). While none of these men may be household names their legacies are told of in hushed tones in dive bars and basements the world over. Error 500 is their official debut and it is a slap in the face to anybody who tries to affix the word “super-group” to their work. Aside from the central trio the album features appearances by punk icon Mark E Smith (The Fall) and Japanese electro-noise savant Merzbow. Each of these names carries with it a sense of expectation and the album on which they all come together sets about confounding each and every one of them.

Taking cues from punishing industrial, grindcore, krautrock, and the uglier end of the prog rock spectrum Mutation are a thing of nightmares. This is not one for the faint of heart. Every track is packed full of Molten piles of jackhammer riffs and self-sabotaging grooves – just when they get doing something come along to thrown them completely out the window.. This is the very embodiment of sonic chaos. This makes the perverse sense of pop orthodoxy on 'Utopia Syndrome' even more unnerving. At first you gravitate towards the coherency among the noise. “I'm so happy” sounds like a funny thing to scream over and over again alongside a vicious glaze of static. Naturally even that relative calm doesn't last and soon you are tossed back in the mire.

This album maintains an exhausting pace from start to finish. After the whole 36 minutes you might feel beaten into submission and a little more unhinged than you were before you pushed play. My one piece of advice for anybody listening to Error 500 is simply don't expect it to make much sense. Expect it to be loud, crass, aggressive, even frightening.

Rating: B-

Recommended tracks: Utopia Syndrome, Computer This is Not What I ...

Melvins - Tres Cabrones

With most band's who have a near-thirty year career you can pin-point that one moment where they have given up and, fuck it, just done what they feel like. In that regard Melvins have the unfair advantage: that's where they started their career from. Tres Cabrones sees the eternal pranksters going back to their roots and collaborating with their original drummer Mike Dillard for the first time since 1984. This shifts Dale Crover into the ever-rotating role of Melvins' bass player. Crover is a legend behind the drum kit for a reason but Dillard does an admirable job of playing like him so, what the hey! King Buzzo's beautifully ugly riff and voice combo are an ornery as ever. The man seriously sounds like a barbarian high on soda and porn.

For those of you keeping track, Tres Cabrones is the second Melvins record of 2013 and it plays as the strange cousin to Everybody Loves Sausages. Instead of covering other people, the Buzzo & Crover circus cover themselves. A number of these tracks have existed in varying forms, some dating way back to Mangled Demos from 1983. The bulk of these tracks are little-to-no-nonsense rockers. 'Dr Mule' is a dead-ringer for Tomahawk and the treacle-paced punk rock of 'American Cow' is designed to be experienced at bong-rattling volumes.

And what would a Melvins record be without the occasional explosion of goofiness? After three solid rocking tracks at the beginning the wheels start to fall off in the worst/best possible way. Tres Cabrones includes three joke tracks spread throughout the set-list such as unhinged renditions of '99 Bottles of Beer' and 'You're in the Army Now' (“you'll never get rich, you son of a bitch, you're in the army now!”). Yes, that sounds like a horrible idea but you forget that Melvins made a career out of making horrible ideas sound badass. I dare you to not smile when 'Tie My Pecker to a Tree' comes on.

Melvins' sense of humour is frequently misunderstood. Just because their last few albums have been moody, percussive overdoses doesn't mean their isn't a gag at the heart of it all. With Tres Cabrones they have taken the much easier route and are making it really obvious that they are having fun at your expense. We wouldn't want them any other way.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Dr Mule, American Cow

Album Review: Midlake - Antiphon

This wistful band of Texans trade in the American gothic for a solid helping of psychedelics. Newly promoted singer Eric Pulido takes the reigns and leads Midlake down a new, twisting path on Antiphon. Hold on to your lava lamps!

If you had asked former Midlake vocalist/guitarist Tim Smith who the band's greatest influence was he would have said Jethro Tull. If you ask a fan the same question, especially a fan of their earlier work, they would probably say Radiohead. Despite the fact that the band hail from Texas it appears as though Midlake have a taste for eccentric British rock music, and who can blame them? Antiphon, a new album with a new line-up in tow, is an earnest attempt to create something that doesn't emulate the band's idols but rather make a true Midlake record.

Antiphon finds Midlake in a classicist prog mood. This is not like many other acts to shameless ape their forebears considering that nostalgia is a huge market nowadays. This is genuine worship, tribute, and synthesis that forges a new identity from the bones of those who came before. On tracks like 'Vale' and 'Provider' you can all but see the flowing sleeves and smell the pungent smoke. The album is packed with wistful, mid-tempo wanderers the type that were so popular in the mid 70s. That is certainly not to say that the album is bland but it certainly rides its own kind of strange momentum. Paul Alexander's loping basslines adds the right amount of shake and rattle to their natural roll whenever the pace threatens to dip too low.

'This Weight' sounds like a latter day Zeppelin, when they had traded their iconoclastic blues-rock for introspective jams. Even the guitar and keyboard effects are decidedly vintage. The gentle flutes that float through the arrangement of album closer 'Provider Reprise' are actually more akin to early King Crimson than Tull. As a part of that aforementioned line-up change around, guitarist Eric Pulido has taken the center stage from Smith and he does a fine job as the lead vocalist. His voice is not as fragile as Smith's was, and perhaps even more detached sounding, but it fits the tone of the album well.

This is certainly no good times record but it could well be a wellspring of good memories to an audiophiles ears. You might not spin it with some buddies and beers over a barbeque in the summer sun but it might just become your best friend at two in the morning with a half-emptied bottle of scotch at your side. It doesn't reach the brittle, dark majesty of 2010's The Courage of Others (the album that made many, myself included, fall in love with the band) but Antiphon is a fine collection of songs that ably points the way forward for this promising act.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Vale, Provider Reprise

Album Review Wrap-Up: Featuring Cage the Elephant, Red Fang, Paul McCartney, and Sepultura

October has been a fine and dandy month for new releases. It almost pains me that I haven't been able to write a review for every single album that I have been enjoying lately but I'm just going to have to learn to live with it. On the upside here are four reviews from different corners of the musical universe. Kentucky's Cage the Elephant continue their scrappy climb to fame and fortune with Melophobia. Portland rockers Red Fang unleash their inner sasquatch on Whale and Leeches. Paul McCartney gives us a timely reminder that you can never count a Beatle out (as long as they aren't named Ringo) on his fantastic album New. And finally, metal pioneers Sepultura may finally have run out of steam on the tepid The Mediator Between the Head and Hands Must Be the Heart. What a mouthful!

1. Cage the Elephant - Melophobia

Kentucky's Cage the Elephant have spent the last few years proving their credentials as proponents of scrappy, acidic rock and roll. Their new album Melophobia sees the band sounding more focused than ever but still leaving plenty of room for their flights of fancy. Melophobia is the fear of music and you can hear strains of that panic, terror, and paranoia spun into convincing yarns. But by the end of the record you have to wonder if music shouldn't be afraid of Cage the Elephant.

Things start with the lead single 'Spiderhead'; chock full of goofy classicist swing, complete with with hammering piano riff. Cage the Elephant have never been afraid to play it a little on the abrasive side and it doesn't take long for the poison to sink in. There might not be anything as manical as say 'Sabretooth Tiger' but they sure try. 'It's Just Forever' featuring Allison Mosshart (The Kills, Dead Weather) is a strange little journey crammed into just three and a half lean minutes – from raucuous duet, to sneering blues howler, to abstract piano jazz. It really has to be heard to be believed. That lurking sense of paranoia raises its head again on the batshit crazy rambling of 'Teeth'. It's a song that makes your face ache; all scratchy chords, unhinged babbling, and a dubby outro that sounds like it was recorded inside the depths of Matthew Schultz's brain.

Razor-bladed indie pop is alive and well in 2013. The Nielson brothers (the family responsible for The Mint Chicks and Unknown mortal Orchestra) are leading the charge, and MGMT's recent effort reaffirms that their dalliances into electro-pop were a fluke. Cage the Elephant have always existed in the spectrum between “heart on your sleeve” and “blood on the frets” - it's just a matter of which one you get on any particular track and how long it is until they change the game out from under you. Music should be very, very afraid of Cage the Elephant.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Teeth, It's Just Forever

2. Red Fang - Whales and Leeches

Red Fang have come for your beer and your daughters! This hard rocking quartet hail from Portland, Oregon although you would be forgiven for pegging them as Georgians. Yes, they hail from further north than their Relapse label mates Black Tusk and Baroness but their modus operandi is rather similar: rock out, kick ass, exit.

Whales and Leeches (album number three for those of you who are counting) is a rollicking good time for those who love their rock music thick, bass-y, and unrelenting. 'Blood Like Cream', a track that earns its place as the album's lead single, is what Foo Fighters would sound like if Dave Grohl was replaced by a feral Sasquatch. It rides a heavy groove while still being catchy and melodic and it boasts a shout along chorus to die for. While Red Fang are obviously on a quest to define their own legacy they know what their fans want from them. It is for this reason that on tracks like 'No Hope' and 'Crows in Swine' find Bryan Giles doing his best Troy Sanders impersonation. Hey, if the people like Mastodon is it such a crime to sound a bit like them?

On a different tangent, 'Dawn Rising' leans heavily on the band's stoner rock tendencies. The pace is slowed, the intensity is upped, and the guest appearance from Yob vocalist Mike Scheidt further solidifies their bong-rattling credentials. That seismic momentum flows right into the Sabbath-ian 'Failure' as it slow-burns its way through to the crescendo. Do you like your rock music brutish, brackish, and speaker-bustingly loud? If so I think Whales and Leeches might just be for you.

Rating: B

Recommended tracks: Blood Like Cream, Dawn Rising

3. Paul McCartney - New

When you get a new Paul McCartney album in your hands you are never 100% sure which Paul McCartney it is going to be. Will it be full of shmaltzy ballads, perhaps age-defying rockers, or even furtive electronic experiments. Nothing can properly prepare you for what you will find in New. It is a genuine modern pop record from the man who helped define the genre fifty years ago.In accordance to contemporary pop standards Macca has roped in a cadre of producers to help him construct the record. These include Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse, Adele), Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon), Paul Epworth (Florence and the Machine), and Giles Martin (son of George) and they each bring their A-game to the table.

Of course there will still be plenty of cheese to be hard. 'On My Way to Work' flirts with some ridiculous phrases (“On my way to work / I bought a magazine / Inside a pretty girl / Who liked to water-ski”) but it is delivered so earnestly that you just go along with it. And then on the flip-side you have 'Early Days' which further mythologizes the Beatles beginnings while at the same time refusing to be apologetic or nostalgic. It walks a difficult line between contemplation and rancor. Comparisons to Beatles records are inevitable but McCartney is hardly trying to avoid drawing the parallels. 'Queenie Eye' is so Sgt Peppers it will cause many a double take – all wit and pomp. The incredibly hooky 'Save Us' manages to out-Kaiser Chiefs the Kaiser Chiefs which is quite an achievement in itself.

The album is fifteen tracks long and it rides some incredible highs and lows throughout. Just when you thought you had a handle on New something comes out of left field to not only prove you wrong but leave you smiling about how foolish you were. Most importantly of all, it appears that the revered Sir Paul McCartney had a lot of fun making New. If that is indeed the case, and if this is the result of him enjoying himself, then long may it continue.

Rating: B

Recommended tracks: Save Us, Queenie Eye

4. Sepultura – The Mediator Between the Head and Hands Must Be the Heart

Chaos AD was a long time ago (twenty years to be exact) and Sepultura have done everything in their power to move on even if some of their fans refuse(/resist) to do so. The Mediator Between the Head and Hands Must Be the Heart is their seventh album with singer Derrick Green, which officially puts him at the wheel longer than Max Cavalera. This is an album about the dehumanizing nature of the modern world. Between metropolitan overcrowding and our over-reliance on technology we are less human and more robotic than ever. This disaffection is like fuel to the fire of the heavy metal genre and it burns at the heart of every song on the record.

Try as both bands might, Sepultura and Soulfly will forever be compared to one another as long as they both shall live. Naturally it is a coincidence that they have both released new albums so close together (Soulfly's Savages came out earlier this month) but you have to admit it is one hell of a coincidence. While Savages cast its gaze wide and worked hard to draw in its myriad of influences,The Mediator narrows its focus to a fault. If it isn't hardcore thrash then these guys don't want to know about it. This unfortunately makes for a very workaday metal record despite the concept and sky-high potential of all involved.

Special mention must be made of their new drummer Eloy Casagrande who more than holds his own. I admit that after a few spins of the album I found myself listening to his dextrous fills and tribal breakdowns more than anything else. Guitarist Andreas Kisser is one of the great unheralded riffers and he is generally a delight to listen to . But you know something isn't quite right when by the third or fourth track you are already getting bored of how straight-forward everything feels. There is little in the way of subtly and nuance to the performances. By now everyone knows about Sepultura's nihilistic agenda which makes songs like 'The Vatican' (complete with angelic choir before the sledgehammer assault strikes) a bit on the nose. Some might consider this criticism a little unfair given that this is a metal album but haven't most of us moved on from 1983 yet? For the genre to advance we need the respected elders (including Sepultura) to lead the way forward.

Rating: C

Recommended track: Manipulation of Tragedy

Album Review: Soulfly - Savages

Brazilian metal hero Max Cavalera unleashes his ninth album with Soulfly. Some things change over the years but Soulfly's dedication to big, bold, groovy metal is not one of them. Time to become Savages.

With sixteen years and eight albums under their belt Max Cavalera's Soulfly have become one of the most consistent and reliable properties in modern metal. Sure, some of those early records suffered from some strange decisions (3's world metal tendencies still raise eyebrows) but since 2005's Dark Ages the band have been riding an almighty wave of momentum all the way through to album number nine, Savages. Whereas Dark Ages resurrected thrash, Conquer evoked doom, Omen worshiped hardcore, and Enslaved was yoked to death metal, Savages tries to distill all of these influences into a signature sound.

A new Soulfly album generally means two things; a change in the line-up and a new group of special guest vocalists. Savages delivers on both of these. Borknagar drummer David Kinkade is out and Max's son Zyon Cavalera is in. His drum solo breakdown on 'Master of Savagery' is worth the price of admission alone and heralds the arrival of a new generation of this storied clan to the metal-verse. In the second regard the album features appearances from Jamie Hanks (I Declare War), Mitch Harris (Napalm Death) and Neil Fallon (Clutch), each turning out show-stealing performances on their respective tracks. The latter of these, 'The Ayatollah of Rock 'N' Rolla', is particularly enthralling. Fallon has a great turn with the spoken word passages, recalling classic White Zombie more than Sepultura, and then again with his righteous bellows.

Opening track 'Bloodshed' runs the gamut from old school riffing to tribal chants to industrial blood-letting without ever losing sight of being a honest-to-goodness Soulfly tune. Max is at his throat-shredding best – no-one can incite a most-pit quite like he can with his rabid dog vocal style. It would be a grave error to overlook the rock-solid input of bass player Tony Campos and guitarist Mark Rizzo. Rizzo may well be one of the most reliable and underrated axe men and he proves his worth at every given opportunity. He has a knack for riffs that are tailor made to make a crowd bounce and his solos can be played as either sublime and fluid or downright feral with equal poise.

On a slightly less positive note the album suffers from some pacing issues. The last few tracks drag and suffer from a case of “more of the same”. This is far from a fatal error but you definitely feel as though most of the effort went into the first half of the record and the second half just has to fend for itself. As the pace of the metal world steadily increases, it becomes harder and harder for veteran acts to stay visible and remain relevant. The reason that Soufly have stayed so vital is due to the constant shift in personnel and a willingness to experiment with their core sound. With their web of influences cast wide, and with the revered Nuclear Blast label behind them, Cavalera and company have another riveting record to add to their canon. Metal fans, it's time to become Savages.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Bloodshed, The Ayatollah of Rock 'N' Rolla

Album Review: Mark Lanegan - Imitations

Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Gutter Twins, Queens of the Stone Age) applies his iconic voice to some crooning classics in this new covers album. Mixing new artists with oldies yields mixed results.

 

Former Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan can be many things to many people. Some see him as an underrated grunge survivor, some a noir-blues pioneer, and others still a gruff modern troubadour. It is that last persona that Langean leans heavily on for Imitations, his second album for 2013. Whereas Black Pudding tried its hand at minimalist nocturnal rock this is a showcase for the gentler side of his nature. As the title may suggest, Imitations is a covers album and it features tunes from Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, and John Cale. These are songs that are near and dear to the singer's heart and he tackles them with the right amounts of shmaltz and gusto.

The stripped back arrangements put the focus almost entirely on Lanegan's famously haggard voice. It is a supple instrument and applies itself well to the task. Frank Sinatra's 'Pretty Colors', given a light psychedelic treatment, is played back to back with his daughter's famous Bond theme 'You Only Live Twice' in a nice bit of synergy. The decision to take some older, classic crooners and mix them with some young blood (Chelsea Wolfe, The Twilight Singers, Nick Cave) gives the album a timeless feeling. While some of the song choices are inspired the approach taken in the renditions raise some pertinent questions. When you take Bobby Darin's 'Mack the Knife', one of the most vicious and best pop songs of the 20^th century, and pare it down to an acoustic lullaby you are bound to get a mixed reaction. Its a good performance but it makes you wonder how much better it could have worked as a sleazy big band revue.

Your appreciation of this album will hinge on how much you enjoy Lanegan as an easy listening revivalist. He is well up to the task as his trio of records with Isobel Campbell from 2006 and 2010 can attest. If you are after a gentle, pretty listening experience then this album might just be for you; it has enough cred to be cool while being friendly enough to play to your grandmother. If you are looking for the next Gutter Twins album or Dust volume 2, then Imitations will leave you sorely disappointed.

Rating: B-

Recommended tracks: Pretty Colors, Mack the Knife (I still love this song despite the lackluster arrangement)

Album Review: Korn - The Paradigm Shift

Nu-metal originals Korn return with a renewed sense of focus on The Paradigm Shift. After a nine year / four album break, guitarist Brian “Head” Welch has returned and the enthusiasm with which they tackle album number eleven is infectious.

In 2013 Korn are emerging from a tumultuous decade. In the last ten years they lost two of their founding members and tried their hands at heavy pop, dubstep crossovers, side projects, and unplugged concerts. Each of these undertakings had their own merits and degrees of success but they are no substitute for an honest-to-goodness Korn record, the kind people took for granted in the 90s. With original guitarist Brian “Head” Welch returning to the fold for the first time since 2003 the stage is all set for The Paradigm Shift.

Korn have always married filthy down-tuned guitar riffs to powerful melodies and this album is laced with them both That perfect balance of heaviness and hookiness shines on tracks like 'Love & Meth' and 'Prey for Me'. When all of these elements combine seamlessly Korn are truly at their finest. A song like 'Never Never' has a chorus that is both vicious and sweet. It's the sort you will find yourself singing to yourself for days on end in spite of the harsh electro freakouts and EDM heartbeat. It is hard to deny that Head brings an extra edge to the band's sound that has been missing as of late. Even in their shiniest moments he adds a layer of menace that the music sorely needs.

If you close your eyes you can find yourself transported to the heady days of Follow the Leader and Life Is Peachy. This might aim to be a throwback style album but there are still some concessions to modernity. 'Spike in my Veins' is a reminder of 2011's dubstep collaboration The Path of Totality, even bringing Noisia along for production duties. Again, this doesn't dominate proceedings but rather adds another string to their already impressive bow. All of these juggled elements might not hit you at once but over multiple listens they gently worm their way into your mind.

Singer Jonathan Davis remains a divisive figure - you either love him or hate him. Fortunately he has long outgrown his teenage angst schtick. Instead he weaves tales of dysfunction, anxiety, and redemption together into a compelling narrative. Even when he lays it on a bit too thick ('Lullaby for a Sadist' is a prominent culprit) he is still one hell of a front man and commands your attention. The fact that much of this album lyrical content comes as a result of Davis' recent rehab visit makes it a more humanized listening experience in a genre that often fetishizes fantasy over reality.

The Paradigm Shift is a definitive statement from a band that have been written of by people since they first came to prominence. It says “This is who we were and what we can now be”. Korn will always have their detractors (“That old nu-metal band? Yuck!”) but they remain as creatively fearless as ever. Simply put, the Korn of 2013 is brighter and bolder than ever before.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Love & Meth, Never Never

Album Review: Vista Chino - Peace

Vista Chino - You may not be familiar with the name but you will be aware of their music. Their origins go back to 1987 when they operated under the name Katzenjammer and later Sons of Kyuss. The “Sons of” was dropped in 1990 and they went on to be one of the most respected rock bands of the 1990s. After four killer albums they disbanded in 1995 and passed into the annals of history. Fast forward to 2010 and the unthinkable happened: a Kyuss reunion. After a raft of legal disputes and line-up changes they briefly became known as Kyuss Lives before landing on Vista Chino. A good number of years have passed since their heyday and the members have shuffled around a bit but make no mistake, Vista Chino ARE Kyuss and their new album Peace comfortably sits alongside their very best work to date.

The core of Vista Chino is made up from mainstays John Garcia (vocals), Nick Oliveri (bass) and Brant Bjork (drums). Guitarist Bruno Fevery is the only newcomer but he more than holds his own. The elephant in the room is the exclusion of former member Joshua Homme but, truthfully, not only does he not need Vista Chino (you can hardly say that his day job with Queens of the Stone Age has been a failure) but they don't really need him either. It wasn't Homme's personality that really shone through in Kyuss but rather the almighty tone of his guitar and Fevery replicates it admirably while still adding his own flourishes. And that is the overall impression that the album leaves; it is recognizable while kicking at its own margins. Production duties were handled by Brant Bjork, severing the band's long-standing ties with desert rock visionary Chris Goss. It is to Bjork's credit that it will probably require you to look at the liner notes to notice anything has changed behind the mixing board.

The first few tracks on the album are absolutely killer even if they are starting to sound a wee bit familiar. That is not a knock on the band's material at all (the fuzzed out 'Dargona Dragona' could easily be an outtake from Blues for the Red Sun) but rather a reminder of their legacy. How many times has the name 'Kyuss' been used as a byword for hard-hitting stoner rock? There is no need to dwell on any of this because this album is more than up to the task of taking your mind off such concerns and sending it on a journey. John Garcia still sings like Ozzy Osbourne's trailer park dwelling cousin and he hams it up at every given opportunity. The rhythm section of Bjork and Oliveri are as impressive as always, creating a powerful bedrock for the album to rest upon. It is when all four men synch up that the sparks really fly. 'Planets 1 & 2' takes Sabbath-ian guitar riff, fuzzes it out, and rides it into the sunset. Songs like this are like a challenge to the listener, daring you to say that this doesn't live up to classic Kyuss. Just try it yourself and see how hard it is. The album closes out with its most unhinged track, 'Acidize? The Gambling Moose'. Something tells me there is a story behind the title but it never becomes clear over its meandering 13 minute duration.

What made Kyuss so engaging from the get-go was their redefinition of what this thing called “heavy metal” was and could be. Metal started in the basements and garages of 1960s England and by the 80s had flourished into a full-blown cultural revolution in America that packed out stadiums across the world. Kyuss pushed away from this metropolitan grind and took their music to the open expanses of the California desert. Their dedication to groove, riff, and feeling over masturbatory solos and reckless machismo spoke to a generation of those disillusioned with the genre's mainstream exposure. Vista Chino have not forgotten that point of difference and, if anything, lean on it even more heavily. There is unlikely to be a conventional single from this album as taking even a segment of Peace away from the context of the whole record could dispel some of the magic. The name on the label might be different but Kyuss lives!

Rating: A-

Recommended tracks: Dargona Dragona, Planets 1 & 2, Adara

Album Review: Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady

Janelle Monae – fashionista, visionary, iconoclast – has finally unleashed her second album, parts four and five of her Metropolis concept series entitled The Electric Lady. The title of the new record may not be as arcanely impressive as The ArchAndroid but it successfully piggybacks off the mystique of Hendrix's legendary opus, Electric Ladyland. Monae does not do things by halves – she is all in or all out – and her agenda of choice is to push R&B to weird, scary new heights. In that regard, and many others besides, The Electric Lady is an unmitigated success. The first real song on the album carries the loaded title of 'Givin Em What They Love' and it features a genuine figure of misfit-funk royalty: the one and only Prince. When you can pull somebody as ornery and reclusive as the Purple One on your record that in itself is enough turn heads, but she is not content to stop there. With the veterans such as Prince, Erykah Badu, (executive producer) P Diddy on one hand and newcomers Miguel, Solange Knowles, Esperanza Spalding on the other Monae is straddling across many generations of innovators at once.

It is impossible to separate Janelle Monae from her larger-than-life persona. Through interviews, photo shoots, music videos, and the albums themselves you simply cannot tell where the woman ends and the character begins. She is playing everyone like a well-tuned fiddle – the fans, the press, the critics, everyone. And musically she is a revelation at every turn. One minute she is stirring the infectious femme funk of 'Q.U.E.E.N', the next she is crooning like a songbird Sinatra ('Primetime'). Her transition between all of these modes is not only seamless but her dedication to the material is never less that fierce. Even at her most commercially friendly this is still powerfully uncompromising music. Her new single is the dance-floor baiting 'Dance Apocalyptic', the spiritual successor to Outkast's 'Hey Ya'. This tune is guaranteed to takes asses off of chairs and send bodies jiving with reckless abandon. “I really really wanna thank you for dancing to the end” is not only a delicious double entendre given the song's title but also the best party-going call to arms in years.

The gooey middle of the album trades in the rolling punches of momentum for a chance to sprawl outwards and seduce the listener even further into this world. 'Ghetto Woman' makes for a gaudy electro-pop diversion and the dreamy 'Look Into My Eyes' is a dead-ringer for a 1960s theme sci-fi theme song. Then on 'Sally Ride' Monae once again adopts her best Andre 3000 singer/songwriter hybrid (think The Love Below's 'Prototype' meets Tina Turner). The set rounds out with two songs that are so well constructed they have “classic timeless appeal” stamped all over them. I dare you to listen to 'Dorothy Dandrige Eyes' and 'I Want an Experience' back-to-back without wondering if you have heard them before. It's not because they are generic, far from it, but rather that they speak to eternal soul of … well, soul music with an unshakable authenticity. They could have emerged from some lost smooth jazz from the 70s or 80s rather than an ambitious 27 year old savant recording in 2013.

Even excluding the three skit interludes and the two instrumental 'Suite Electric Overtures' (which you absolutely should not overlook) the album still boasts fifteen proper songs. That is a long time to sit and absorb music, even when it is this good. And what of those interludes? Rather than the stoned comedy that hip hop albums have made us come to expect, Monae allows these non-music tracks to further the album's story and flesh out the universe she is creating. They take the form of radio pieces espousing the virtues of android love, preaching non-violence against robo-haters, and advertising a host of mechanical fun and games. If a few tracks were cut it certainly would make The Electric Lady a more streamlined listening experience. Still, Monae does whatever the hell Monae wants to do and it is one of her best qualities. This is an album that packs in highs, lows, and a roller-coaster thrill ride covering everything between the two.

Rating: A-

Recommended tracks: Q.U.E.E.N, Dance Apocalyptic, Givin Em What They Love

Album Review Wrap-up: Featuring Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Kendra Morris, King Krule, & John Frusciante

1. Arctic Monkeys - AM

It has been a long time since Arctic Monkeys set the world on fire with their coy, impish debut album. Since then they have set about the important tasks of growing older, more serious, and hanging out with Queens of the Stone Age. If albums like AM are the result of these changes in focus and attitude then they are definitely for the best. In the course of just under a decade they have progressed from being the soundtrack to a thousand sweaty teenage parties to the frosty walk home afterward. Opener 'Do I Wanna Know?' swings and stomps with impossible quantities of swagger. You can practically hear the spurs jangling as boots are stamped against the ground in time with the lumbering beat. This is light years away from 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor' and other such claptrap. Arctic Monkeys have the nocturnal mood pegged – some of these tracks feels like they should be wrapped in a blanket and accompanied by a night light. Fortunately, regardless of the step-up in quality, these boys remain quintessentially British. The high-camp of 'One For The Road' touches nicely upon the oft-ignored classic rock tendencies from their fabled homeland: touches of David Bowie, Queen, Thin Lizzy are all present and accounted for. AM is a solid rock and roll album from a band who move in leaps and bounds and have the potential for an infinitely bright future. They are all set, poised, and ready to take the music world by storm once more.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Do I Wanna Know?, One For The Road

2. Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action

Album number four appears to be quite a tricky proposition. Most bands tend to follow a clear trajectory over their initial trio of records: the ground-breaking debut, the lukewarm follow-up, and the game-changing number three. But what happens at four? That is exactly the question that Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand are attempting to answer on their new album Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action. This album is heavily front-weighted with three tremendously catchy, single-worthy tracks. The wave of momentum created by 'Right Action', 'Evil Eye', and 'Love Illumination' is formidable and is bound to grab your attention. Unfortunately that is where things peter out. We are treated to half-bake yawners and limp 80s pastiches and the fun is sucked right out of the room. Things pick up again with some clever song ('The Universe Expanded' and 'Goodbye Lovers and Friends' come to mind) at the back end of the tracklist. Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action may not be the strongest entry in their discography but it is a fun wee jaunt while it lasts. This album is a valiant, if uneven, stab at maintaining relevance in an increasing fast-paced music world. Things get hyped up, churned out, and cast away at such a rate these days it is impressive that a song like 'Take Me Out' is remembered at all let alone as popular as it is nearly a decade down the line.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Evil Eye, Love Illumination

3. Kendra Morris - Mockingbird 

Kendra Morris is a charming soul singer from New York City whose 2012 album Banshee earned her a great deal of critical and commercial success. Rather than tease us with customary silence she has released a collection of cover songs to whet our appetite called Mockingbird. She has set out to put her own spin on “the classics”; be they classic rock (Bowie, Reed), easy listening (Bacharach), or alternative radio mainstays (Radiohead, Soundgarden). Cover albums live and die on the strength of the artist's song selections and in that regard Mockingbird is mostly successful. You get the feeling that these are tracks that Morris has been singing for years. For every unremarkable number there are two or three outstanding ones. She is chiefly a soul singer but with producer/guitarist Jeremy Page (That Handsome Devil) she has allowed herself to stretch and blur the lines. When you hear the throwback funk of Rolling Stones 'Miss You' it is just as authentic as the gospelized gravitas of 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond'. The boldest reinvention of the set is Morris' treatment of Metallica's 'Ride the Lightning', showcasing her psychedelic balladeer persona and bringing focus to the oft-overlooked lyrics. Page's fellow Handsome Devil comrade Godforbid shows up to duet on The Proclaimers' '500 Miles' to startlingly powerful effect and the two singers revel in the quiet desperation of the song. If nothing else, Mockingbird is a wonderful showcase for Kendra Morris' own record collection – a glimpse into the art that inspires the artist.

Rating: A-

Recommended tracks: 500 Miles, Ride the Lightning, Shine on You Crazy Diamond

4. King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath the Moon

You may have heard of King Krule (that's Archy Marshall to his folks), his name has been lighting up the internet for the past couple of years. You may have heard him too. That distinction is important because the character he portrays hinges largely on his unhinged vocal stylings. 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is his ramshackle debut album and it is an eyebrow-raising affait. You will find so many ideas crammed into this record that it is hard to keep track of the sounds and influences; indie rock, hip hop, jazz, dub, folk, noise – the list goes on. Some of these tracks feel only partially formed, sketches not used to their full potential. Still, it is hard to criticize an album for being raw when that rawness is its most endearing quality. When you hit a taut groover in stride, where gypsy jazz might be re-imagined as a kissing cousin of drum and bass ('A Lizard State'). If you can overlook lines about fucking fat bitches you can find plenty to enjoy here. The jump from there to the chilled out tones of 'Will I Come' is jarring, but that seems to be the whole point. Just a few tracks earlier the clattering, dubbiness of 'Ceiling' floated aimlessly in the abyss. These ideas are piled haphazardly upon one another. No single one of them stands out among the others and it creates a swirling mass of the fractured concepts that work against all odds. The voice of King Krule is always center stage and it is the improbable combination of Tom Waits and Joe Strummer. One minute he is smash-mouthed and violent, the next slurring and charming. It is one hell of a performance to be sure. 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is the best album about the disaffected youth of Britain since Tricky's Maxinquaye, an album released when Marshall was scarcely one year old.

Rating: B-

Recommended tracks: A Lizard State, Border Line

5. John Frusciante - Outsides EP

On Outsides, guitarist / general nutter John Frusciante continues his journey through the self-inflicted madness of his post-RHCP career. It is a double edged sword. Firstly the freedom that he now enjoys allows him to mine into stranger sonic territory than ever before (see last year's puzzling PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone for a salient example of experimentation gone too far). The downside is that fewer people are likely to hear about it; doomed to inhabit the fringes of cult following status. This EP is essentially a series of three related but distinct compositions. The centerpiece is the ten-minute-plus 'Same' in which he embraces his inner Robert Fripp more than ever before. Unlike some of his earlier, 'Maggot Brain'-aping, tracks 'Same' is an upbeat journey that follows this demented muse to its ultimate conclusion. Traces of that bizarre previous album still linger in the electro-style production on the track but, sonic weirdness aside, the guitar is the focus of the piece. The other two pieces do not fare so well. 'Breathiac' writhes uncomfortably over the tortured beat. 'Shelf' is only a little better really – slightly more coherent and saved largely by the sparse vocals that creep in at the end. It is inescapable that without 'Same' Outsides would never have seen the light of day. With every release that passes, it seems less and less likely that John Frusciante will ever return to Earth. Will he come back to us or must we, the fans, be constantly chasing him down these rabbit holes?

Rating: C

Recommended track: Same 

Album Review: BlackTusk - Tend No Wounds EP

The American South has one fine legacy of music; from country, to outlaw rock'n'roll, to swampy metal. This last entry has its origins in the wasteland of post-thrash metal and spawned legendary names in the genre such as Eyehategod and Crowbar. They have left an indelible legacy and have helped to pave the ways for bands like BlackTusk from 21^st century metal hotspot Savannah, Georgia. This impressive trio come armed with a crunching sonic assault and the breathless percussive energy that gives sludge its indomitable edge. Their new Tend No Wounds EP is the follow-up to 2011's Set the Dial and looks to carry forward on that rush of momentum. All the parts are in place for BlackTusk to make their mark.

While many of the original Georgia sludge proponents have left the swamp, BlackTusk are one of the ones that have stayed behind and kept the home fires blazing. They may not have the same name recognition among the metalverse that their contemporaries Mastodon, Baroness, or Kylesa have but they sure know how to kick ass. After the warm-up introduction track 'A Cold Embrace', the EP starts in earnest with the thrashing 'Enemy of Reason'. This track has classic Georgia sludge written all over it – the lurching riffs, the torrent of slimy basslines, the tandem of raw-throated voices, and the pummeling breakdowns. This is the stuff that gave sludge/stoner metal its good name in the first place.

Tend No Wounds finds the band having fun with their core sound and reputation. This can be found in the fake-out opening to the outstanding 'The Weak and the Wise' where the violins give way to pure vitriolic hardcore. It can be heard on the howling guitar chords that herald the arrival of 'Internal / Eternal' before going locking into a neck-snapping groove. It is in the Sepultura-esque tribal beat of 'Truth Untold'. The lean track list and no-frills production values of the EP suit BlackTusk perfectly even if the whole affair leaves little to the imagination. They may not be the ones to kick-start the revolution, but they are as rock solid as they come and know how to play to their strengths.

Rating: B-

Recommended tracks: The Weak and the Wise, Truth Untold

Album Review: Gogol Bordello - Pura Vida Conspiracy

The Ukraine's Gogol Bordello are the original gypsy punks and they continue their manic party agenda across the world. Their last album tapped into a dance-y international vibe with stunning results. Not only does this show a vital restlessness that characterizes a group like Gogol Bordello when they are starting out but it is actually necessary for their survival. On Pura Vida Conspiracy, album number six for this globe-trotting crew, the band draw in even greater influence from other cultures and it allows them to spin an even deeper tale of existential displacement. Underneath all of the bluster and beer-soaked bravado this band is about finding your place in the world as an outsider.

Trans Continental Hustle leaned away from the punk side of their sound and further into the gypsy side and this album certainly continues that trend. It is still thoroughly Gogol throughout, there are just more campy campfire singalongs than sweat stained ragers. It was inevitable as the band progress forwards through their career that the songs would have to become the focus over their endearing disorderliness. As the band ages the music remains strong even as the blistering euro-punk warps into swaggering pirate anthems. Try and listening to the opening combo of 'We Rise Again' and 'Dig Deep Enough' without picturing shipwrecked buccaneers with a crate of grog and ill gotten booty.

After there you get a taste of the acoustic side of their enormous personalities on 'Malandrino'. It used to be that when Gogol Bordello did “ballads” they stood entirely separate from the incendiary rabble-rousers. Nowadays they choose to graft parts of one onto the other; acoustic passages transplanted into party mode and chunks of energetic rave lurking in the love songs, which might explain the odd ramblings in 'Malandrino' about “crash crash crash and make-up sex”. The album closes out with the impossibly gentle 'We Shall Sail', an honest-to-goodness torch song from the heart. Just make sure you hang around for the hidden bonus track, the faux-metal 'Jealous Sister' complete with shrieking violins, thrash style guitar riffs, and doomy organs. Just when you think you know a band they pull a move like this!

All of these ideas are carried effortlessly by frontman Eugene Hutz's charm. He is a singular musical entity, practically a force of disheveled nature by this point, and he rightly dominates every song on Pura Vida Conspiracy with slurred affectations. This really highlights the potential weakness of Gogol Bordello – if you don't adore the unhinged vocal stylings of Hutz then you are never going to like the band. They live and die by the audience's acceptance of his character as their narrator. Unfortunately the returns are threatening to diminish for Hutz and the gang. Is it all starting to feel a little too familiar? Is there a way for gypsy punk to evolve? This is still a very fun record – a pleasant knees up for when you are feeling merry and shitfaced. They have been peddling their rock / klemzer / rockabilly hybrid for quite some time now and while it may not feel as dazzling and new as it once did there is still plenty of gas left in the tank. The tempos have dropped a little but the fires still burn. The passion of the entire group and their dedication to their musical craft is beyond question.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: We Rise Again, Dig Deep Enough

Album Review: Baroness - Live at Maida Vale

2012 was a year of staggering highs and painful lows for Baroness. The likable American metal quartet had released their critically acclaimed third album, Yellow & Green, and were living the high life on tour in the UK. On August 15 the band's tour bus left the road and dropped 30 feet off a viaduct. Fortunately all involved in the crash survived but this certainly put a dampener on their year. That line-up of the band never toured again, with Allen Blickle (drums) and Matt Maggioni (bass guitar) leaving the group in March 2013. The accident put what should have been a triumphant world tour on permanent hiatus.

The material from the Live at Maida Vale EP was made mere weeks before the crash. These four songs, all from the Yellow & Green album, were recorded at the legendary BBC studio and represent Baroness at their best. Those out there that decided to complain about Yellow & Green cited a lack of ferocity in the material, as if their guitar slinging metal icons had somehow gone soft. This was far from the truth, naturally, and the album allowed an established act to show off a new facet to their personality. Well, Live at Maida Vale realigns that ethos once again to that of a hungry live band. Each and every one of these tracks, given the professionally recorded live-in-studio treatment, had an added layer of punch and rumble that the original cuts arguably lacked.

This proceed with the one-two combo of Yellow's 'Take My Bones Away' and 'March to the Sea'. John Baizley's viking howl is nearly entirely swallowed up by the shameless amplifier worship of him and his band. These songs are freaking loud and kick like a mule. While those two tracks were always designed to shatter ear drums, the devious 'Cocainium' was made to seduce the listener. Some may not have bought into it initially but wait until they hear this punishing, bass-heavy rendition. The set closes out with 'The Line Between' and it roars with rock and roll thunder. Just check out the monstrous guitar solo from Peter Adams if you should find yourself doubting their credentials. Simply put these four men rock hard and don't give a crap who knows about it.

Live at Maida Vale turns four excellent Baroness tracks into bite-sized heavy metal thrillers. The EP is a window into a band playing around with and actively re-tooling their arsenal to suit their environs. If it weren't for the interruption inflicted upon them by the unfortunate bus accident in Bath this energy could easily have segued into album four. As it stands we will just have to patiently wait to see what happens next.

Rating: A-

A trio of Aussie Reviews

I know it seems like its been a quiet month here at the Eclectik Electrik but that is far from true. I've been working on some stunning articles that will hopefully see the light of day at some point and looking to expand the focus of this blog. 

July has been fairly decent for new releases. In the line-up for this month I noticed that there were three high-profile new album released by Australian artists. What are the chances? Rather than bungle them in with a larger monthly wrap-up (which is coming by the way) I decided that my neighbours across the Tasman Sea deserved their own segment. Let's hear it for Kirin J Callinan, Ash Grunwald, and Karnivool!

- Prof Ric.

Kirin J Callinan – Embracism

Kirin J Callinan is a young Australian auteur who occupies the lunatic fringe of their music scene. He comes armed with his bizarre debut album, Embracism, and it is one of 2013's most challenging listening experiences so far. From front to back this is an album about confounding expectations. You are immediately struck by Callinan's unusual vocal style on 'Halo'; like an industrialized Bowie cyborg circling the Downwards Spiral. This nightmarish manifesto of dissonance and wounded machismo carries on through the confrontational title track and 'Come On USA' (which I suspect is a double entendre). If the opening trio of songs were so placed to introduce you to Callinan's primal scream. Then the next set will make you lower your defenses as you veer from the abrasive to the uplifting and romantic. These tracks are laced with pop and melody in the same way that Socrates' last call was laced with hemlock. The clarity of rock traditionalism pierces 'Chardonnay Sean' like a volley of arrows just before it gives way to visceral howlers like 'Way II War'. If by the end of Embracism you feel lost, isolated, and confused then I doubt you are alone - Callinan has made one hell of a debut album, one that defies all categorization and conventional logic. But having listened to it a few time now, if I was being perfectly honest, I'm still not sure whether I liked it or not. Must need a few more spins then, eh?

Rating: B

Recommended tracks: Way II War, Come On USA (although I would strongly recommend against listening to any of these songs out of context)

Ash Grunwald – Gargantua

One of the strongest retro revival genres in the South Pacific these days is that of dirty old blues rock. New Zealand and Australia are riddled with throwback guitar slingers with gruff voices and a Stevie Ray Vaughan complex. Ash Grunwald of Melbourne, Australia is one of the more prominent voices in this style and for a good reason. Over the past decade he has released no less than ten albums and has shown no signs of slowing down. His latest record goes by the weighty title of Gargantua and he has brought a couple of kindred spirits along for the ride. His usual rhythm section has been usurped by fellow Aussies Scott Owen (upright bass) and Andy Strachan (drums) from psychobilly act The Living End. The rock is chunky and gnarled and downright nastier than many who try their hand at it. Grunwald even has a go at outdoing himself by re-recording his own 2010 single 'Walking'. Amidst the set are some poignant covers including Gnarls Barkley's ever-popular 'Crazy'. These guys might not bring much new to the song but it feels like the sort of number that they have busted out in pubs for years at the crowd's request. This album is lean, mean, and focused as can be as the songs pile up thick and fast. Gargantua is an easy recommendation for fans of Clutch and The Black Keys.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: The Last Stand, Crazy

Karnivool – Asymmetry

Karnivool are a successful heavy metal band from Perth, Australia. They have supported major music acts both at home and overseas and have developed an intense following on the back of their small handful of albums and their numerous live performances. One interesting faculties of these songs is how disjointed they are. Practically nothing on Asymmetry follows a chorus/verse structure as rock albums have made us come to expect. Instead the tracks ramble restlessly from one idea to the next, a sonic fingerprint of their prog rock proclivities. It is disorienting but in a good way and it gives the album a relentless sense of momentum. After the intro track things start in earnest with the beat-tastic 'Nachash'. This segues and slithers into bull-in-the-china-shop rockers ('AM War'), notes of throat-shredding hardcore ('The Refusal'), and twinkling balladry ('Float') with no difficulty. Unfortunately I found that around the track-ten mark a kind of fatigue sets in. Asymmetry might have a good number of tricks up its sleeve but it barrels through them at such a rate that they lose much of their shock value and luster too early. This is still energetic and engaging music it is just lacking a little in the originality department. The record could perhaps have used a little more editing. This album, more so than their previous ones, is an earnest attempt to establish a formidable identity of their own. While I appreciate the effort made to stand out, singer Ian Kenny still sounds undeniably like Tool's Maynard James Keenan which hampers that effort somewhat. Karnivool clearly have passion to spare and they are on the cusp of greater things with Asymmetry.

Rating: B

Recommended tracks: AM War, Alpha Omega

Which Handsome Devil?: A love letter to my favourite band

“I don't mind the sun in my eyes
The smell of the sweat / The buzz of the flies
Death comes alive / Death coming to life”

- Tree Food

Back in 2006 I, like many others, was enamored with a little game called Guitar Hero. As many of my friends and flatmates of that time can probably attest it got played a lot in my flat. As a lifelong music fan who never learned to play a real guitar it was the perfect game for me. I was never foolish enough to believe that being good at a Playstation game was a substitute for the real thing but I saw it as a new way of enjoying music. It forced you to listen to songs you might otherwise avoid and it helped you get more familiar with songs you already liked. All was well and good with the world. When Guitar Hero 2 came out I was no less infatuated with the franchise. This game boasted more tracks from a more diverse array of artists. One particular track stood out to me and left a lasting impression. It was called 'Elephant Bones' by a band I had never heard of, a That Handsome Devil from Boston. Perhaps they only made it in by being from the same city as Harmonix who made Guitar Hero. At any rate there was little to no information about this band so I continued with my life.

Fast forward to 2009 and I got my grubby mitts on Rock Band 2, a later iteration of the genre. This game also featured That Handsome Devil with a fun wee song called 'Rob the Prez-o-dent'. I spotted it on the track list and a bolt of realization struck me. “I know that band name” I thought. I jumped onto iTunes and to my delight they had an album and an EP available for purchase and I was all too happy to oblige (seriously, I bought them). That album was A City Dressed In Dynamite. Not only has it become one of the most played albums in my home but it helped elevate That Handsome Devil to being one of my favourite bands. Since then it became my personal goal to push the music of THD onto anybody who would listen to me. I've always had the reputation for being an over-enthusiastic music nut but this was different: I felt that it was my duty to spread the good word. My enthusiasm was bolstered by the release of another album and two more EPs since then and I have consumed each of the ravenously. One of those EPs was a free release and features covers of songs from Disney's The Jungle Book. Weird huh?

So what is it about THD that does it for me? Evasive as it might sound, its not just one thing. Being a fan of Faith No More, Primus, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Gorillaz, Reverend Horton Heat, and alternative hip hop certainly helped as these are all musical touchstones for the band. They bounce from rock, to rap, to blues, to funk, to jazz, to rockabilly so quick your head will spin. What is better though is that THD make unabashed party music. It is just plain fun to listen to at your local house party, family reunion, or church sermon. Godforbid, singer and chief raconteur, has a brilliant and intangible quality to his vocals and a cynicism to his lyrics that really strikes a chord with me. The world is not a kind and friendly place. It is filled with egotists, warmongers, liars, and assholes at the top and the rest of us – from whores and drug addicts to those simply down on their luck and needing a break – get crammed in down the bottom of the pile. So when I hear a lyric that proclaims “I always thought that I'd die young / Make some money, be someone / They all love you when you're gone / But who knew life would be so long?” it feels as though my own world view was being validated. One of my mottos is that we all have dirt on us, it just takes a special kind of person to act like it. In That Handsome Devil we finally have a band who not only acts like it, they thrive on it.

As much as I can blather on about this band's merits (and there are plenty of those, trust me) the sad truth of the matter is that they are not a globe trotting world famous act. They all work regular jobs like you and I and tour around their corner of the US when they can manage it. This band has had a such a profound effect on my life in the last few years it is downright depressing to think that they will probably never be able to afford to play in my home country of New Zealand. Even still I will continue to bang a drum on their behalf on the other side of the world and eagerly await a new album.

Wake the fuck up people! That Handsome Devil are out there somewhere, sleazing away in a dive bar somewhere for spare change and beer money. The least you could do is buy all their albums and share their brilliance with a like-minded friend or two. Try here for starters.

Essential albums: That Handsome Devil EP, A City Dressed in Dynamite, Enlightenment's for Suckers EP, The Heart Goes to Heaven the Head Goes to Hell, The Jungle Book EP … just get fucking all of it!

From the Professor's Page: Halftime musings

Would you believe it, the first half of 2013 has already passed us by! At such a mid-way point I think it pays to reflect on all of the musical gifts we have been given thus far. We have had ripping new albums from veterans (Nick Cave, Black Sabbath, Tricky) and newcomers (Palms, Pillowfight) alike. It is at this juncture that Eclectik Electrik would like to highlight some of the best new songs we have had to gorge ourselves upon in no particular order. Click the title of any track to link through to the video/audio for your enjoyment. - Prof Ric.

Tricky – Parenthesis (from False Idols)

Tricky branded his latest album, False Idols, as a return to his roots. The track Parenthesis embodies that notion more than any others off his his record. The contrast between Tricky's own lackadaisical delivery and the aching falsetto from Peter Silberman of The Antlers would not be at all out of place on Maxinquaye. The funny part? It was their song first, Tricky just co-opted it for his album.

Tomahawk – South Paw (from Oddfellows)

Even though 'Stone Letter' was the early, radio-baiting release from Oddfellows 'South Paw' blows it out of the water at its own game. Infectious melodies, manic energy, and lyrics about some shit hanging off someone's lip. Tailor made to whip a crowd into a sweaty frenzy and throw their limbs around wildly. Gloriously daft and catchier than hyperherpes.

Rob Zombie – Ging Gang Gong De DoGong De Laga Raga (from Venemous Rat Regeneration Vendor)

You could never accuse Mister Zombie of being too deep or intellectual for most metal fans to understand. Rather than rehash more stories about sexy monsters and evil sexy monsters Rob has embraced the nonsense on 'Ging Gang Gong …'. Channeling the holy ghost of Butthole Surfers he even bails on his own song with an off-hand “Ah fuck it”.

Iron & Wine – Low Light Buddy ofMine (from Ghost On Ghost)

Sam Beam has been accused of being many things over the years – bleeding heart folkie, troubadour, anachronism – but late-night jazz groover has never been one of them. Well, 'Low Light Buddy of Mine' from Ghost On Ghost sure makes a good argument for yet another label. The track is dark and impossibly cool with a subtle funk coaxed out from the shadows.

Pillowfight – Lonely City (from Pillowfight)

Dan 'The Automator' Nakamura struck gold with singer Emily Wells and their Pillowfight collaboration is one of the most enjoyable records of the year so far. Among all the future-retro-soul you will find 'Lonely City', the blushing heart of the album. Wells delivers the right level of intensity with her breathy drawl and the buy into the sense of abandonment that she is singing about.

Jamie Lidell – Why_Ya_Why (from Jamie Lidell)

Make no mistake - this is a silly song. The big squelching beat, the seasick piano, the ramshackle horns, and Lidell doing his best Andre 3000 impersonation. Ok, so this song won't be to everybody's taste but I have always preferred Lidell when he pushes the envelope of good taste and allows himself to act a bit goofy.

Foals – Inhaler (from Holy Fires)

Full disclosure; when I heard this song on the radio one day, my first thought was “Since when did Deftones sound like this?”. Imagine my surprise when I found it was from critically acclaimed indie rockers Foals. Listening to the song it is clear that singer Yannis Philippakis has been studying his copy of White Pony very closely. This track positively soars and is one of the highlights of 2013 even though the single was technically released last year.

Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood – ColdMolly (from Black Pudding)

I'm a Lanegan nut. No two ways around it, I'll give anything he does a go a probably enjoy it. He is one of my favourite musos and I would follow him to the ends of the Earth. What makes Black Pudding such an interesting listen is that it is a vanity project for Lanegan - he gets to work with one of his favourite musos, Duke Garwood. 'Cold Molly' harkens back to the skeletal funk workouts of 2004's Bubblegum.

Sound City Players – Centipede (from Sound City: Real to Reel)

Dave Grohl's Sound City documentary (and by extension the soundtrack) is a star-studded affair which makes it hard to pinpoint a highlight. Still it is always a treat to hear Homme work with Chris Goss of Masters of Reality, their two voices trade lines effortlessly. 'Centipede' starts out mysterious and acoustic until the heavy metal overtures explode all over the place.

Blood Ceremony – Witchwood (from The Eldritch Dark)

70s style throwback rock has become quite the fad as of late but few do it as well as Canada's Blood Ceremony. They offer up a thick brew consisting of Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, and Jefferson Airplane that smacks of authenticity and genuine homage to the genre's greats. Their secret weapon is the commanding presence of singer / flautist / organist Alia O'Brien who bewitches all over the opening track from The Eldritch Dark.

Black Sabbath – Loner (from 13)

For their monumental comeback album, the current incarnation of Black Sabbath have done everything to remind the people what has made them so important to the heavy metal genre. This unfortunately means many long, drawn out tracks that lack energy. 'Loner' is not one of them. It is driven by a Tony Iommi instant classic riff and bears more than a passing resemblance to 'NIB'. I can see this one being permanently added to their setlists in the future.

Melvins – Black Betty (from Everybody Loves Sausages)

When a band like Melvins decide to do a covers album what the hell can you expect? They have made a career out of their unpredictability and sense of humour so when they decide to bust out a relatively faithful rendition of blues standard 'Black Betty' its hard to know how to react. Luckily the song kicks ass so I guess we should just enjoy it for what it is.

Mad Season – Slip Away (from Above: Deluxe Edition)

Ok, so this one is a bit of a cheat. Mad Season broke up in 1999 after releasing their only album, Above. 2013 saw the release of the expanded edition which included, among other things, this delicious wee song. 'Slip Away' was written for the second record that never came to pass but sees the light of day anyway. Mark Lanegan (the only possible replacement in the group for Layne Staley) brings his infinite gravitas and Mike McCready does his best David Gilmour tribute.

Queens of the Stone Age – If I Had aTail (from …Like Clockwork)

Taking a look a the track list to …Like Clockwork I found it very unlikely that a song called 'If I Had a Tail' would become a fast favourite of mine. Luckily I was proven wrong. The slinky groove carries the extended food chain metaphor and drives it home making it one hell of a ride and one of this year's best. That's what I get for judging a book by its cover.

Portugal. The Man – Purple Yellow Redand Blue (from Evil Friends)

With the help of producer Danger Mouse, Alaska's Portugal. The Man are poised for big things. The entire Evil Friends album is screaming for wider attention and the song 'Purple Yellow Red and Blue' flat out demands attention. A cynic might call it the best MGMT song that MGMT never wrote but none of that changes the fact it is downright fun. “I just wanna be evil” is destined to be a crowd favourite singalong.

Jim James – State of the Art (from Regions of Light and Sound of God)

My Morning Jacket front man finally took his first proper foray into solo territory this year with Regions of Light and Sound of God. Inspired by the novel God's Man, this album sees James playing around with a few ideas that would never fly with The Jacket such as new wave and throwback soul. This track seems to lay out his manifesto for making music and sets the tone for the record.

Puscifer – Breathe (from Donkey Punch The Night EP)

Maynard James Keenan's Puscifer project just keeps going from strength to strength. This EP follows on from 2011's Conditions of My Parole and keeps us fans hungry for more music. Of the two original tracks on Donkey Punch The Night, 'Breathe' has the grander sound to it. This tracks seem to be tailor made for wigging out crowds at one of Puscifer's legendary and clandestine live shows. 

As fantastic as this year has been to us so far we would be foolish to not consider what is still to come. If the idea of new music from Nine Inch Nails, Franz Ferdinand, Cedric Bixler-Zavala (AKA Zavalaz), Janelle Monae, Deltron 3030, Gogol Bordello, MGMT, and Arctic Monkeys (just to name a few) doesn't get your pulse racing then you should check you are still alive.- Prof Ric.