Dave Chamberlain

The "good things come in threes" axiom won't die.

In the next couple weeks, a trio of strong rock records from local bands will be released into the wild. First off, an EP by Regress (featuring former members of Life Sentence), "Look Who's Pulling the Strings," takes a proactive stance against modern punk rock (or kid punk rock, depending on your point of view). Instead of sappy happy melodies that are one teardrop away from emo, Regress plummets through eight songs at two-hundred mph, a true throwback to borderline hardcore/punk that defines the three-chords and a cloud of dust idea, referencing everything from Dirty Rotten Imbeciles to Jodie Foster's Army to Poison Idea. Though I only have a burned demo, and am without song titles, the ten minutes or so are a refreshing blast of angry air. Expect the same when the band opens for Strike Anywhere and Challenger May 1 at the Fireside Bowl, though methinks that'll be just enough for the Jade Tree crowd likely to be present.

Also on tap for release, the debut from local trio Vee Dee, "Further." Now five years ago, I might have raved about such a dingy, sloppy and seedy rock record such as this; and any fan of the Devil Dogs sound (minus the misogyny) will likely love this record. As it is, what with the complete saturation of the rowdy garage-rock sound, the record just has a stale feeling to it. It does have its moments, though: "Kaleidoscope Death Ray" has a great, dark attack that jabs and weaves with an aggressive slant, as does "Tet Midwest," which sounds more like the type of garage-punk that was coming through Chicago in the days when Horizontal Action was young. And I'm sorry to say that after Vee Dee's performance at the Chitcago Showcase, I was disappointed. The type of songs on the record, I figured, would absolutely fly off the stage when performed live. Not so much. Regardless, these guys have a solid fan base, which will no doubt be out in force for their record-release party May 7 at The Subterranean.

And though the band has been around for what seems like a long time, The Audreys have finally gotten around to actually releasing a record, "#13," the piece of evidence that will--here's a guarantee for you--earn them attention along the lines of another local band, The Ponys. Like that band, The Audreys draw on thirty years of rock `n' roll for inspiration; that differs from their earlier work a bit, in that they used to really lean on the Velvet Underground. No more.

Tracks like the opener "I Can't Believe It" and the title track reference everything from the Yardbirds to the VU to the various post-punk bands of the late seventies, all filtered through the lens of plain old bloody rock. The songs are more than just catchy--they're actually exciting. You'll have two chances to catch the Audreys: April 30 at the Empty Bottle (opening up for the goodtime Bang! Bang!) and again, next week, opening up for the aforementioned Vee Dee.

IDM redux:

It was brought to my attention last week that a term I throw around all too loosely, IDM (intelligent dance music), is all too inaccurate. The main point being, that if intelligent dance music is to be accepted as a genre term, then by its very definition, it means that the rest of the genre is unintelligent dance music. Clearly, that is not the case.

The term IDM does serve a function in that it does describe what it's meant to describe. Last week I used it in connection with Slicker and Telefon Tel Aviv, and I stand by the connection. During Slicker's DJ set last week at Sonotheque, he flexed a collection of songs that were hardly four-on-the-floor; beats were often scattered, if not simply broken, and the requisite rhythmic scraping and sliding was present. There were not, however, people dancing. In fact, outside of one rare groove track from the seventies, there was little in the set to promote busting a move. Hence, although it was intelligent, it was hardly for dancing.

So with that in mind, until I hear something better (suggestions?), IDM, to me, will become NDDM: non-dance dance music. That doesn't quite have the ring to it that IDM does, which is why I'm looking for suggestions. Feel free to email them at chamberlain@newcitynet.com.

News/notes

A few lucky drum `n' bass heads were treated to a special after-day-of-show set by LTJ Bukem at Sonotheque, the Sunday after he played a packed Metro show...Anyone looking forward to seeing throwback soul queen Sharon Jones, May 20 at the Double Door, shouldn't get their hopes up--most of the dates on her current tour were cancelled after a band member (one of the Daptones) hurt himself during a performance...Local head-splitting metal act Bible of the Devil recently had its last record, "Tight Empire," re-released by Dead Teenager Records, which also released "Lick `Em and Leave `Em," from another local metal band, The Last Vegas.

(2004-04-27)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

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(2004-04-22)

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Tip of the Week
It's become quite clear that the French duo that composes Air, Jean Benoit-Dunckel and Nicholas Godin, won't likely surpass the dreamy sweetness of their 1998 debut, "Moon Safari"
(2004-04-14)

Raw Material
Set to release its third full-length record, atombombpocketknife outdoes itself on "Lack and Pattern"
(2004-04-14)

Tip of the Week
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Raw Material
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Hustler soundtrack
(2004-03-31)

Tip of the Week
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Music 45
(2004-03-25)

Tip of the Week
(2004-03-18)

Muy Buenos (Aires)
(2004-03-18)

Raw Material
(2004-03-18)

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