The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features

Local rock plows ahead

Winter offerings you won’t have to shovel
By MICHAEL BRODEUR  |  December 26, 2007

071228_cellars_main
ENERGETIC: It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world digs in to Hooray for Earth.

Not every local rocker is hibernating or joining Bang Camaro this winter. Some of them are actually being productive — laying down tracks that you and yours will be rocking out to well into next year’s thaw.

This past year was a stellar one for 28 DEGREES TAURUS. They toured their æthereal little butts off, released a few new tracks, prepared a pair of new releases, and, most important, landed their coyly pop-tinted blend of Sonic Youth, Slowdive, and Blonde Redhead at the center of the local rock radar. Jinsen’s wash of guitars soaked in chorus and static make a sort of Cocteau Triplet out of Karina Dacosta’s voice, which has a knack for streaking by like a comet. They’ll release the long-promised Underwater Love Sequences EP at Great Scott on January 3, playing along with ACTION CAMP, OKAY THURSDAY, and BROKEN RIVER PROPHET. Then they’ll vamoose on a winter-defying East Coast tour and return to bestow their proper full-length (Something To Feel) at T.T. the Bear’s on February 7.

HALLELUJAH THE HILLS released their Collective Psychosis Begone on Misra this past year to nationwide smiles, and justly so. Each song is a perfect marriage of reckless abandon and, well, recklesser abandon. On January 4, the boys will perform the entire CD front-to-back (first time evah) at the Middle East upstairs, on a bill with FACES ON FILM and REPORTS. Perhaps by then there’ll be some dispatchable information on singer Ryan Walsh’s next endeavor, the DEWEY DEATH METAL SYSTEM.

After six years and 129 shows (eight of which were out of town), the beloved popsters of SCAMPER will cease scampering, as well as synchronized-jumping. It’s difficult to be sad over a band who make everybody so damn happy, but I’ll try. It’s extra hard because their farewell show on Groundhog Day at the Middle East downstairs is a solid bill featuring ALOUD, HARRIS, and BAKER.

One of the biggest surprises of the past year has been Allston’s THIS CAR UP. In their short existence, they’ve made quite a rep for themselves, thanks to exuberant live shows bolstered by big horn sections, smooth Casiotones, ample on-stage antics, and the sort of hyper-genuine indie pop that might be boring if it weren’t played with such clear-eyed conviction. A smattering of new songs from the as-yet-untitled album (freshly recorded in DC by T.J. Lipple of Aloha) is posted to their MySpace page, but for the full effect, check out their release show at Great Scott on February 9 with the SHILLS, MEAN CREEK, and A HERO NEXT DOOR.

In case you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to destroy your own face with blasts of molten rock, you should mark your calendar for NEPTUNE at Great Scott on February 16. The line-up is impressive enough, with HELMS, ANIMAL HOSPITAL, and a floral installation by Andrew Plummer all promising to do you right, but the important part is that once the show is over, Neptune’s new full-length Gong Lake will be a part of our world — and what a different world that will be. A sneak preview hurt my brains in the best possible way. Following that, the group will take a tour down to Texas for a Radium/Table of the Elements showcase at SxSW.

1  |  2  |   next >
  Topics: Music Features , Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music,  More more >
| More
Add Comment
HTML Prohibited

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 04/24 ]   Anime Boston  @ Hynes Convention Center
[ 04/24 ]   Julian Lage  @ Club Passim
[ 04/24 ]   "Platform 5: Paul Bartow and Richard Metzgar"  @ DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
ARTICLES BY MICHAEL BRODEUR
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   FOLK ACT  |  June 26, 2010
    Vikesh Kapoor
  •   BOSTON PRIDE WEEK: OFF THE MAP  |  June 07, 2010
    We may seem a little cranky, but us local gayfolk just love a parade, and we’re actually heartened by this annual influx of brothers and sisters from every state of New England and every letter of our ever-expanding acronym.  
  •   THE NEW GAY BARS  |  June 02, 2010
    If I may channel the late, great Estelle Getty for a moment: picture it, Provincetown, 2009, a dashing young man with no discernible tan and an iffy T-Mobile signal languishes bored upon the sprawling patio of the Boatslip Resort.
  •   ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI | BEFORE TODAY  |  June 01, 2010
    If the gradual polishing of Ariel Pink’s sound — and it’s not all that much more polished — puts his loyalists at odds with his albums, I count that as good news.
  •   MORE THAN HUMAN  |  May 26, 2010
    It’s hard to talk about Janelle Monáe when your jaw’s fallen off.

 See all articles by: MICHAEL BRODEUR

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group