14 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MUSIC
THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2003
Long Knives Drawn Rainer Maria
Considering the specter of mainstream female vocalists in the past five years, the talent pool of such acts has become shamefully shallow.
The obvious examples here include Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
Even somewhat promising newer acts such as Avril
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Lavigne and Michelle Branch, who hit the scene promising to bust the sex-must-sell reality of mainstream pop, have now succumbed to the same formula for easy, unsubstantial success.
Thankfully, there exists a formidable audience for female vocalists that thrive off acts such as Rainer Maria and its recent fourth album Long Knives Drawn.
Formed in the late '90s at the University of Wisconsin, Rainer Maria gained national underground acclaim with 2000's A Better Version of Me. The passionate and unique vocals of Caithlin De Marrais make this recent release another quality recording.
Although nothing in its instrumentation is particularly intriguing or substantial, De Marrais' vocals serve as the vehicle that make each of Rainer Maria's albums, particularly Long Knives Drawn, worth looking in to.
Where some of her harmonies may fall short, the urgency and passion in her
vocals substitute any shortcomings in the music.
Solid songwriting is present throughout the album, especially in tracks "Ears Ring" and "The Double Life."
Taking into account the current state of mainstream music, Rainer Maria serves as a much-needed break from the limited talents of today's acts.
Rainer Maria's new album is a welcome addition for those seeking underground rock music without much edge but nine solid pieces of songwriting.
GRADE: B+
— Steve Vockrodt svockrodt@kansan.com
Black City Division of Laura Lee
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America was invaded by Swedish rock bands in 2002. Division of Laura Lee, a four-piece band from Goteberg, Sweden, was among those washed up on shore. Division of Laura Lee effortlessly runs the gamut of its influences on its new record Black City.
Black City provides glimpses into the past with songs reminiscent of The Rolling Stones,The Stooges, Echo and the Bunnymen. Similarities to contemporaries like Interpol and The (International) Noise Conspiracy are also evident.
With songs ranging from the up-tempo "Second Rule Is", to the barely awake sound of "I Walk on Broken Glass," the band has created a record that is initially diverse but wears thin on repeated listens.
Throughout the record, vocalist Per Stalberg sounds bored. Rock 'n' roll is
meant to be urgent and to excite the listener either through the message or the delivery. Stalberg occasionally falls into a
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monotone, dull vocal style that leaves songs feeling flat.
With a few more years and albums under their belt, Division of Laura Lee has the potential to become a great rock band. Standout tracks like the laid-back "I Guess I'm Healed" show how the band can be creative within their relatively derivative sound. With more songs like these and a more cohesive feel for its records, the band could create something truly memorable.
Division of Laura Lee will be at the Bottleneck with Burning Brides on Jan. 26.
— Nate Harold
nharold@kansan.com
GRADE: C
The In Sound from Way Out The Yards
So obscure are regional independent instrumental band The Yards that virtually no information exists about it on the Internet. Furthermore, someone forgot to tell The Yards a British band is alive and well and operating under the same name.
Falling somewhere between the Beastie Boys' collection of various instrumental tracks and Phish's nonvocal tracks, The Yards rather effectively combine elements
of rock, blues and jazz to form a competent instrumental album. It's recent self-titled release, recorded here in Lawrence, features 11 tracks. Tunes are carried mostly by Bradford Hoopes' work at the Hammond organ, which functions as the lead instrument on most of the tracks on the album.
Another component effectively adding quality to the rough nature of the album is producer Tom Johnson's "live" recording of the album. Instead of using overdubs, each member of the band records a song in unison. This technique was often used by major record producer, Steve Albini, on such albums as Nirvana's In Utero. The recording sounds considerably more raw than conventional recordings.
No individual track particularly sticks out in this album. "Sunday Night" features a toned down, sentimental feel, but otherwise, an upbeat
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sound dominates the album.
Its purpose might be stated as one to create a mood or atmosphere rather than one to sit down and to listen to.
The Yards does not fail musically nor does it particularly succeed, but the album will surely please enthusiasts of the mid-1990s genre of jam bands similar to Phish.
GRADE: B
— Steve Vockrodt
svockrodt@kansan.com
Rollins assaults culture,encourages crowd
With a bottle of water and some notes, a older-looking and smiling Henry Rollins greeted a sold out-Liberty Hall Sunday.
From the moment he walked on-stage, Rollins grabbed the attention of the audience and refused to let go. For nearly three hours, Rollins spewed his one-of-a-kind brand of rhetoric on topics ranging from dating, a New Year's Eve party with the Osbournes, Winona Ryder, Iraq and everything in between.
Now in his 40s, Rollins shows no signs of slowing down. Aside from his graying hair, he looks and acts more energetic than most people half his age. Dressed in black from head to toe, Rollins relentlessly assaulted anyone and anything he disapproved of in such a way that kept the audience laughing.
REVIEW
Nate Harold
nharold@kansan.com
For example, he touched on the increasing amount of people dying of smoking-related illness. He said the tobacco industry was the only industry that killed its fans.
He then went on to say shooting two fans per night would be his equivalent to the statistics of how many smokers who die.
These kinds of analogies make Henry
Henry Rollins Spoken Word Tour GRADE: A
Rollins an effective and enrapturing speaker. He can make a serious and valid point in a way that entertains the audience and keeps them interested, rather than coming off as a preacher.
One of the recurring themes of the night was that of culture in America.
While he disagreed with a pop-culture environment saturated with Creed and J. Lo, Rollins asserted that American culture was alive and kicking.
"Pop culture is fine," he said, "if you don't get it from the strip mall."
He encouraged the audience to seek out
good culture, whether it be independent films, underground music, books, art or anything outside the norm.
Rollins also gave those in attendance a Do-It-Yourself message of hope for the country.
"We can have one of the greatest countries, but it is up to the people," he said. "People have to change their mind to make the country better."
With his take-charge attitude, animated-speaking style and entertaining banter, Henry Rollins gave a spectacular performance. The three hours seemed to fly by and left me wanting more.
Harold is a Weskan senior in communication studies.