Powered by Google
Home
Listings
Editors' Picks
News
Music
Movies
Food
Life
Arts + Books
Rec Room
Moonsigns
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Personals
Adult Personals
Classifieds
Adult Classifieds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
stuff@night
FNX Radio
Band Guide
MassWeb Printing
- - - - - - - - - - - -
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Work For Us
Newsletter
RSS Feeds
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Webmaster
Archives



sponsored links
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
PassionShop.com
Sex Toys - Adult  DVDs - Sexy  Lingerie


   
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend

Victory laps
Love for Downbeat 5 and Kimone; Lamont and Clickers call it quits
BY CHRIS RUCKER

JJ Rassler has been playing in Boston bands since 1965, and I consider him one of the true rock-and-roll pioneers. He helped define punk rock in the late ’70s with DMZ, and he did it again with the Queers in the ’90s, co-writing what might be their best album, Don’t Back Down. And though I’m way too young to speak on what was happening 40 years ago, I do know that JJ was a motherfucker. Rassler now works days at Rounder Records, one of the nation’s largest and most respected indie labels, and he swings the ax for the Downbeat 5. Yeah, I might be shouting the dude out a little late, since the DB5 have already dropped their second album, Victory Motel (Abbey Lounge). But it’s an outstanding disc that hints at the past but also measures up to modern standards, fusing R&B, garage, and ’60s pop, and Rassler’s ex-wife, Jen D’Angora, also of the Dents, plays Tina to his Ike. (We’re talking music, dudes: don’t take that the other way.) If more brats listened to Victory Motel instead of soulless acts like the Strokes, the world would be a much better place.

It’s been two and a half years since the Boston-based Kimone released their debut, Meres of Twilight, which became the debut release on Silverthree Sound Recordings, an indie label owned by former Burning Airlines bassist Mike Harbin. Back in 2003, that disc got raves in CMJ Music Monthly and the Big Takeover and made them Tower Records’ Artists of the Month. But a couple of years of constant touring took its toll, and the band decided to scale back. Then they spent six months writing new material, only to throw everything away and start over. A year ago, they finally settled on 11 tracks they were happy with — but the album, The Mill, is just now getting release. (It’s out this Tuesday.) " What it represents, to us, is two years of uncertainty, frustration, creative difficulties, and how we were able to (barely) put it to sound, " writes frontman Tim Den. " Performance-wise, sonically, everything is 110 percent better than Meres of Twilight. " The Mill is a much more aggressive-sounding record, something that shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s seen the band live. On the opening " The Author Surrenders, " the band translates IDM-style rhythms into a rock-song format, and the sinister wall of guitars on " Its Grace Will Wash over Our Wounds " doesn’t exactly conjure up memories of Meres of Twilight’s calm soundscapes.

These days, with Den residing in Chicago and running his own on-line publication, Transform Online, Kimone haven’t been playing out as much as they used to. But that’s not a bad thing, according to Den. " Quality over quantity is our rule. We’ll play when there are good opportunities. Not to mention everyone has their own ‘adult’ lives now: people are married or getting married, obtaining master’s degrees, starting businesses. If we’re happy living our lives, the music stuff will follow. "

R.I.P.: I will miss Lamont. The long-running Allston trio have decided to hang up their collective trucker cap, having toured extensively and seen their song " Hot Wire " used in a high-profile ad campaign for the video game " Tony Hawk’s Underground. " But anyone who digs high-octane rock is advised to grab their full-lengths, Thunderboogie (Traktor7) and Population 3 (Curve of the Earth), before they disappear. And as we were going to press, Clickers announced their imminent break-up — before their first official release, a split with Night Rally on Honeypump Records, even hits the streets. Details at damnthatclickersmusic.org.

Chris Rucker is the host of New England Product, which airs Sundays from 9 to 10 p.m. on WFNX 101.7 FM.


Issue Date: May 6 - 12, 2005
Back to the Music table of contents
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend
 









about the phoenix |  advertising info |  Webmaster |  work for us
Copyright © 2005 Phoenix Media/Communications Group