Dave Chamberlain

Others have done it--sort of--and I'm forced to admit that I always wanted to do it but just never got around to trying.

Naturally I'm referring to the actions behind the Data Destruction Tour 2005, a semi-nationwide tour spearheaded by three of the most unique electronic music artists today. Covox, Nullsleep and Bit Shifter are pioneers in the field of 8-bit music--specifically, all create a form of streamlined IDM using either Nintendo Gameboys or Nintendo Entertainment Systems (NES, the pre-Super Nintendo game console). And if you have a thing for the straight-up bizarre, then you have got to see this.

Though musical purists will undoubtedly roll their eyes with disgust, there's actually something more about the Data Destruction Tour than just remixed versions of the "Mario Brothers" soundtrack. The three make music that's sometimes convulsive, sometimes way too eighties, and sometimes almost abusive. None are anti-melodic, and in fact Covox, a Gameboy player from Sweden, walks a path not musically or stylistically far from the likes of The Thompson Twins or Aha. Is it good? Though I wouldn't go so far as to recommend actually spending money on his debut EP, "Final Mission," before you actually get a taste of the flavor, it's absolutely worth watching. Same goes for Bit Shifter, who released "Life's a Bit Shifter" last year and who seems more intent on overloading sound systems with massive beats than aping Covox's more accessible sound. And, again, the same goes for Nullsleep, whose "sound" more closely resembles the background noise in "Tron."

But what any of the three actually sound like borders on irrelevant. Watching them take the stage with jacked-up Gameboys or a highly altered NES, and then actually coaxing something more than a mind-numbing videogame soundtrack is, well, for lack of a better description, cool. The trio is joined by another Gameboy maestro, Bud Melvin, March 17 at the Bottom Lounge.

Briefs:
Tacked onto the Cryptopsy/Cattle Decapitation show is a band called Devilinside, who named its debut record "Volume One"; if there's some kind of benevolent deity controlling the flow of music, we won't be subjected to "Volume Two." A rigidly boring collection of metal (both nu and old) clichés all wrapped into one record, it's as if Devilinside can't get through one entire song without an homage (read: copying) the spine-crushing e-string crash that was Pantera. Of course, that only comes after extended prologues to every track. If you're headed to see Cattle Decap (and I'd be surprised by any crossover fans here, as CD brings it much harder and with more authenticity) at the House of Blues, March 22, do yourself a favor and get there late.

Though the band hasn't released a full-length record since 2003's "The Strangest Things," NYC hipsters Longwave come to town minus two of the original members and with an apparently finished record on the way. Hope it's good, because last year's "Tidal Wave EP," in retrospect, has no staying power whatsoever. When the record came out, I spoke highly of it in these very pages; most of that praise, however, was born from catching them at the previous year's South by Southwest. On stage, Longwave does have an almost-unique take on modern psychedelic rock--complete with extended tracks and mind-splitting reverb--but after a recent listen to "Tidal Wave" (my first in more than a year), I realize that the band comes off as underwhelming in the studio. They'll likely flex the new stuff, March 19 at the Double Door.

And file Little Brazil under the "I thought we were over this" category. The brainchild of Saddle Creek heavy Landon Hedges (who gained renown with Conor Oberst's offshoot band The Desaparecidos, I guess), Little Brazil's debut full-length, "You and Me," insults the latter by including a pronoun that reflects, bearing the assumption that I want anything to do with it. Full of high-pitched male vocals (Hedges), backed by extensive guitar-rock that could double as wallpaper, and with some gratuitous bad language tossed in, this is the type of record that makes me want to smash my CD players and burn my ears out, just to ensure I never have to hear it again. Yellow-backed and lamer than even the most demure indie-rock, weak-kneed "rock" fans can catch Little Brazil March 23 at the Bottom Lounge.

And something good to say:
Released not long ago on local record label File 13, My Way My Love's "Hypnotic Suggestion: 01" rumbles like a firestorm of hell-bent, psychologically bent Japanese noise rock. Frontman Yukio Murata, formerly of The Juice and The Cimons, directs the band into a realm that's not really just noise, not as convoluted as math-rock, not as formulaic as punk rock and not as, well, hairy as metal. On "Super Fresh!" the band goes from discordant noise to an old-school Sonic Youth blitzkrieg before abruptly ending. "Reykjavik 69" throbs with more drum and bass than a drum `n' bass song, entirely organic, with what sounds like an insane man covering the, er, vocals. But it's almost a crime to parse "Hypnotic" out--the thirteen songs and thirty minutes are best as a continuous whole. Mad props to File 13 for releasing--perhaps, unleashing--this record.

(2005-03-15)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

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As startlingly good a record as I've stumbled across in six months, NYC-based Mommy and Daddy almost defy description
(2005-03-08)

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A Guitar Wolf show is like a blue-chip stock: you know exactly what you're getting and it's still good
(2005-03-01)

Tip of the Week
The idea behind Kasabian was inevitable: youths come hurtling out of the UK Midlands' house, hip-hop and hardcore scene, discover the addictive bounty of the rock `n' roll jangle, then proceed to combine their youthful endeavors with the latter
(2005-02-22)

Raw Material
For years, I've been a supporter of Andrew Bird
(2005-02-22)

Punk Principles
(2005-02-15)

These are the Good Times
(2005-02-08)

Tip of the Week
(2005-02-01)

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Heating up
(2005-01-25)

Tip of the Week
(2005-01-18)

Raw Material
(2005-01-18)

Tip of the Week
(2005-01-11)

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