One of the things that the Pope and I have really dug as we've been digging into this world of music (hmmm, seems like I need some sort of shovel analogy here . . . ) has been our introductions not just to some great bands but also to some great labels. People who're still thrilled with the thoughts of new and amazing sounds and passionate enough to bare the brutal music industry and get those sounds out there. We've had the thrill of being turned onto the pummeling metal of Pulverized, the technical mayhem of Prosthetic, and the eclectic pop madness of Polyvinyl. Now, here to keep our letter "P" alliteration alive and well, is a small sampling from the wild and wacky world of all things rock and roll that grows in the fertile soil underneath the Poison Tree. Poison Tree Records, that is. Bringing on the rock and roll torment in many different guises, Poison Tree ain't afraid to search under any international rock they can find, just to see what musical treasure may be lying in wait. Their roster includes artists form Sweden, Finland, UK, Norway, Portugal, Greece, and just about any other country that has electricity and electric guitars. And then, the folks got the kind sense to share it all with us in the form of a free (yes, that's right, free) periodic compilation disc they lovingly call the Fine Specimen series. Check them out over at www.myspace.com/poisontreerecords or www.poisontreerecords.com but in the meantime, let's pull up a Ripple chair, a frosty frothy one, a slice of left over pizza, and sit on down in the shade of the Poison Tree and see what sweet fruits drops off the branches and lands in our laps.
Feuerzeug - Drive Fast and CrashI don't know exactly what Feurerzeug means in the band's native Switzerland, but over here it roughly translates to the pulverizing pounding made by a herd of a thousand brontosaurs rampaging around in your living room. Such is the brutal brand of stoner metal these impeccably talented Swiss men lay down. Borne from the loins of father Kyuss and suckled at the bosom of mother Monster Magnet, Feueerzeug's debut album, Drive Fast and Crash is a mini-revelation proving to all the doubters once and for all, stoner rock is not dead.
When I played this for Pope for the first time his words were (spoken through a jaw-opened, slack-eyed expression) "Wow!" Yeah, wow. Adding a touch of Sci-fi'd out tones to their guitars, most notably on the absolute scrotum melting rocker "Go Liar," Feurerzeug build on the vast platform of the genre's masters, suck down a lung full of pure nitro exhaust, then explode into their own flaming orbit. All it takes is one listen to the lead off track, "Should I Be Your Enemy," to know you're dealing with some serious interplanetary assaults. Beginning with a riff that pounds so hard it could drive nails into dry wall, the bottom drops out to a maximally fuzzed out/effect laden charging riff, crushing everything to dust underneath the vocals. This is the herd of brontosaurs I wrote of earlier, they're in your house and they're pissed. The vocal assault is perfect for the sound, gruff enough to have layers of texture, yet smooth and clean enough to be easy on the ear. And most impressive of all, the boys haven't forgotten the importance of melody in their mad rampage, in fact, it's the strength of the melody that holds the song together and drives it deep into your cerebellum. As strong a lead-off track as I've heard in a while.
And there's no letting up from there. "Drop By Drop," is a damn fine celestial event of android-fuzzed guitar tones, buzzing at you with the velocity of a Star Federation Fighter buzzing the enemy. Another fucking great melody keeps this attack together through some riffing intense enough to cause several small stars to go supernova. "She Loses Her Wings," by all rights should be stoner metal's first hit single. It doesn't take much imagination to foresee how killer the video would be. The previously mentioned "Go Liar," twists guitar sounds to new extremes with it's whining "weeee," and "wooo," tones, before launching hellbent into one mother fucking great riff. Again, the vocals work exquisitely to bring out the tone of the song as the boys drop the tempo down for the verses. This is a raise your hands in the air, scream the lyrics out at the top of your lungs tour de force. With "Nebula V" the boys finally manage to actually achieve lift off velocity, all rocket engines roaring like some bizarre speed metal/stoner/thrash mutant.
Not an album for the timid, and not one for worshipers of the genre to miss. I haven't been kicked this hard in the nuts since the first time I heard Motorhead's "Tear Ya Down." I love it!
Madleaf - SinnersShifting across the continent, we land in Greece, the home of these earnest post-grunge neo-prog rockers, Madleaf. Imagine if you dare the perfect bastard offspring of Pearl Jam and early Opiate-era Tool, add a touch of Days of the New and you'll begin to get the picture. Grungy rock, flavored with prog spices and musicians talented enough to pull the whole thing off. This is a sound we've been hearing more of lately around the Ripple office, most notably in similarly clad rockers, Hurt's last album, and Madleaf do it remarkably well. Sparkling guitars interlaced with passages of savage heaviness, moments of obscure beauty all marred and covered in layers of infinite darkness. That's what awaits you inside Madleaf's twisted world.
"Sinners," lays down this blueprint beautifully. Gorgeously toned acoustics begin, sparkling in their hushed tones. The vocals are remarkably effective, think Eddie Vedder's throat ripped out and thrust into Travis Meek's vocals chords. A perfect blend, capable of rousing the heights of passion and carrying the emotion through the heaviest passages. And let me tell you, those heavy passages come on, quick and hard, like a full on roundhouse kick against your temple. Then, just as your starting to bleed profusely from your newly acquired sonic wounds, the violence disappears, the clouds part, and heavenly bursts of sunlight streak through the breaking skies. Acoustics rain down like manna from above. But don't worry, the darkened storm clouds still lurk nearby.
"Wave Girl," takes this format and adds another layer of depth and emotion, both in the execution and songwriting. Following a similar slower-paced beginning, the craft here is exquisite, moving through a very Tool-esque passage to the chorus which literally elevates right off the CD, liberating itself from the speakers to swirl around the room like some newborn cry for freedom. Terrific stuff. "The Age of Reason," rides a tortured guitar tone into the deep, bubbling Pearl Jam-esque groove, and then just takes off from there. The chord progression at the end of each vocal verse may be simple on paper, but to my ears it's like a rousing gift. "Feed Me," is another standout among many excellent tracks, a pure, unadulterated Tool-esque grunge rocker. Bringing in tones of Soundgarden, this one simply rocks.
Take a piece of coal, apply enough pressure and time and it becomes a diamond, and this is one diamond of an album. As multifaceted and intricate as that gem suggests and still hard enough to cut through fucking glass.
Peter Parker - When I'm With YouNow, while we dig the steadfast singular vision of a label that dedicates itself to plowing one genre, another thing that turns us on is a label that can throw us a curve ball with each release, yet still get the ball right over the plate and smack you right in the face. Dead Beat Records, a fine purveyor of garage punk tossed us one of those pitches with their phenomenal new singer/songwriter release, Cory Case, and, as if on cue, Poison Tree shocked the starch out of my socks with the delectable bubblegum pop confections of Peter Parker. In no way did I expect this from the label that just destroyed my living room and reinvented Pearl Jam.
But there it is, perfectly created, sixties-infused, sunshine pop of the sort that would even make the Raspberries blush. The lead cut off this 3-song set "When I'm With You," is so fucking beautifully conceived it's nearly impossible to believe that this song hadn't already been written. It just sounds so effortlessly like a classic song that's always been there for us. Brandishing a melody as sticky sweet as cotton candy and a male and female duet vocal, think the Grass Roots, think Eric Carmen, think your favorite bubblegum pop from the sixties and this song just replaced it. Sparkling guitar chords drive the song through it's Beatle-esque "la, la, la, la's," sunny-faced innocent mid song spoken passage, and most importantly into that choral vocal hook that will forever stick to your ears like taffy. "There Goes Love," maintains pace, hearkening back to the glory days of long-lost power pop virgins, the Rubinoos. "She's So Shy," rounds out this perfect pop platter without missing a bubblegum beat. If classic pop songwriting is your thing, you really must check this baby out.
--Racer
www.poisontreerecords.com
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Cheers!!