Odds and Ends

Each week I use this space to post some mini-reviews, cool tracks, random thoughts, neat news, or whatever else I damn well please.

MiniReview
Afterlife Parade “Death” [EP] – A bit of a throwback to the post-Radiohead bands, gentle pop rockers Afterlife Parade are focused on writing reflective lyrics set to atmospheric sonic textures. As one can surmise from the title, the theme of their debut EP centers on endings – the ending of an era, a life, an idea, and even the world. To counterbalance this happy topic, a follow-up EP will be entitled “Rebirth”. Afterlife Parade is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Quinn Erwin, who has a Thom Yorke quality in his voice, with hints of Mike Peters (The Alarm). The title track, “Death”, is not a harsh or even haunting tune, but quite light and radiant with an expertly picked acoustic guitar riff carrying the verses forward to a rewarding chorus. “Nothing But Love Can Stay” sounds like a Springsteen penned tune performed by Coldplay – quite beautiful, but not the most melodic ballad. “Arrows Fly” may be the strongest cut lyrically, but failed to engage me at a musical level. My favorite track on the EP is the closer named after the project itself, “Afterlife Parade”. This song actually gets past 50 beats per minute and the upbeat pace is refreshing, as are the wonderful harmonies in the chorus. Considered with “Death”, the song “Afterlife Parade” gives me hope that Erwin can better surround his terrific lyrical ideas with catchier melodies. Recommended for fans of Palo Alto, Arcade Fire, and Travis. More on the band can be found here.

Surprise of the week
Lady Gaga is not the only one to give Weird Al Yankovic a hard time about doing a parody of their songs. Paul McCartney actually refused Weird Al’s request to parody “Live and Let Die” as “Chicken Pot Pie”. Sounds like it would have been pretty funny to me, but Paul didn’t want to promote the eating of animals. More on the story here.

News
Finally some new Soul Asylum on the way to follow-up the excellent “Silver Lining” release from 2006. New record is tentatively entitled “Rough Air” and features guests from Prince and Replacements alumni. Check out the story here.

Noel Gallagher (Oasis) is ready to release his solo album, and according to him it is brilliant. Read about it here.

You call this a reunion? Bush is said to be back together to release a new album, “The Sea of Memories” in September – their first since 2001. The “reunion” only consists of Gavin Rossdale and drummer Robin Goodridge. More on the story here.

Iconic rock n roll magazine “CREEM” is coming back! Check it out.

Random iPOD song of the week
“Him” was the follow-up to Rupert Holmes’ smash hit “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)”. I think I like “Him” better.

Review: Soul Asylum "Silver Lining"

Is that a cool album cover or what? This CD was put out about one year ago after an extended hiatus. The break served them well, and while this release did not put them back at the top of the charts, it is one of their best and I hope their future work is in the same vein.

All things good about Soul Asylum shine through on this CD...but best of all, Dave Pirner brought some great songs to the table. The past decade has seen Soul Asylum migrating more and more towards melodic rock, which one might think would have helped them survive the post-grunge/alternative era. It is a shame they have become the Rodney Dangerfields of rock.

Age has done little to change Dave's characteristic voice, and well-placed harmonies abound on most of the tracks here. The first half of the CD is nearly flawless, with more emphasis on upbeat stuff than the last Soul Asylum effort, the uneven "Candy From A Stranger" (1998). While lyrically trite, "Stand Up and Be Strong" is very addictive and sets the tone for a comeback record. Actually, most of the lyrics on this record are a bit simplistic ("Crazy Mixed Up World" (video); this is a good thing given that Pirner has an affinity to write some really goofy stuff (e.g., "String of Pearls" from Let Your Dim Light Shine). They explore similar themes from world politics to politics of love, but what really does it for me is the infectious energy in most of tunes this time out.

Soul Asylum on myspace and their web site.

iPOD-worthy: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12