Fifteen, Part 1

I had high hopes for this record. When I first heard a couple tracks, I thought it sounded like this Gang of Four/Talking Heads on meth/Magazine kinda sound that's been popular for a couple years. And that's what it is, but too much so.

Forward Russia sound like a carbon copy of Bloc Party. Add a little bit of The Editors in there whilie you're at it. What if Bloc Party sounded just a little bit edgier? They'd sound like Forward Russia. And that's all they have going for them. I tried listening to it a few times in it's entirety, thinking it would grow on me, but it hasn't. This last time I couldn't wait until it was done.

The album "Give Me A Wall" from Forward Russia is not recommended by me. But if you want to check it out for yourself, hit up their MySpage page right here and see what you think.

Good Mourning

Through a totally chance occurance, a friend of mine posted a bulletin on MySpace a few days ago about something I can't believe I didn't know. Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio has a new project. It's called Heavens. His roommate Josiah Steinbrick (also of Thieves Like Us) has recorded some solo music and they were listening to it one day and decided to make something out of it. The result is the album "Patent Pending," which is due out next Tuesday (9/12).

After following Alkaline Trio for so long now, through six albums, I think it's become clear that Skiba has more than a passing interest in the darker side of life. It's in his lyrics and his music and the graphic design chosen for all of the band's merchandise. With Heavens, he has chance to truly explore that dark side. In a blurb Heavens' MySpace page, he actually says he drew on Sisters of Mercy as an influence. And that's what I'm talking about. That dark goth sound of the '80s like Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Echo & the Bunnymen (on occasion), and Joy Division.

Right now you can go to the band's MySpace page and stream the whole album. If you're an Alkaline Trio fan, or have an interest in those other bands I just mentioned, I highly recommend you go here and check it out.

Well Thought Out Twinkles

It seems that normally, it takes twenty years for a previous decade to come back into style. And music typically follows that cultural pattern. Things have been getting screwy lately, though.

I don't want to say who started it because honestly I don't know. But it feels like we might be coming up on the end of the Gang Of Four/Joy Division/Magazine wannabe phase. In other words, bands like Interpol, The Editors, The Killers, et al.

We're starting to see something different. It's still '80s, without a doubt, but the '90s are creeping up on us, too.

Remember how Smashing Pumpkins were really good at the psychedelic folk-ish gentle sounds mixed with psychedelic freakout sounds? There's a lot more of that coming up lately. First off, we have Dirty on Purpose. Go here to their MySpace page and check them out. The Brooklyn band's new album is called "Hallejulah Sirens." The sound is folky, and then majestic. In fact, it's remeniscent of the recently dead and gone band Grandaddy. But all of that comes back to Smashing Pumpkins and even Slowdive ('80s shoegazer). A more modern touchpoint could be Mojave 3, but that band was the later edition of Slowdive, so we're back to the '80s again.

Just slightly similar to Dirty On Purpose is Mew. I gotta tell you, I've been obsessively listening to this since I got it on Monday. Memories of My Bloody Valentine and the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr and even the Pet Shop Boys all come together in their new album "And the Glass Handed Kites." Their site is pretty cool, you can check that out here. Last week I was at Record Time, and I was looking at all of the featured new releases. I saw Mew's new record, and I kind of liked the cover art, so I was intrigued, but I didn't know what they were about. Then the album showed up on my doorstep and has rarely left the CD player since. It's a space-pop kind of thing, for sure. The vocal harmonies are amazing, the songwriting is tight, and the melodies are sugary, but not annoyingly so. Oh, and they're Danish, and everyone knows that Scandinavians know what the fuck they're doing when it comes to good music. Mew mew mew.

A few days ago (or was it last week?), I posted a link to a track from this LA band Silversun Pickups. If there were ever a modern Smashing Pumpkins-esque band, it would be these guys. But, fear not, for they do it well. Their new record is called "Carnavas," which may or may not mean something in Spanish. Swirling guitars, ups, downs, psychedelia, it's all there. Their site featuring the amazing Carnavas cover art is here, and their MySpace page is here. With all of this Smashing Pumpkins worship going on, I should note that I'm referring to the Gish era, and not the bald idiot with ZERO on his t-shirt era.

Your past is coming back to haunt you, are you ready for it?

Le Disko

Okay, so I know there are plenty of these bands to go around lately, but I think you should check out this LA band Shiny Toy Guns. Yes, their promo pic makes them look like you'd want to beat them up, but seriously, if you're a fan of The Faint, Depeche Mode, The Rapture, or The Killers, you would probably be into this. And if you like those bands, then you probably don't think the promo pic is all that bad. I'm not going to post that here, by the way, you'll have to check out their MySpace page yourself.

From there, you can check out some tracks from their upcoming album We Are Pilots out 10/3 on Universal. Here's one that I recommend:

• Le Disko

On tour right now in Alaska. Why Alaska? I have no idea.