CD Review: The Candy Strypers - ¡contenidos caliente!

Manchester-based musician Paul Hughes, performing under the name The Candy Strypers, creates 1960s style music with ringing guitars and infectious melodies. He’s collected 11 songs for a digital album titled ¡contenidos caliente!, which is available for free download on SoundCloud. The title, which translates to hot contents, is a bit misleading, since Hughes generally opts for mid-tempo arrangements and an easy-going vibe. A better description can be found on his SoundCloud page: “Sunny powerpop from a rainy city.”

Manchester’s damp climate may have inspired the light and romantic “In The Rain,” while the gorgeous vocals on “Hymn The Girl” call to mind another Mancunian band, The Hollies. It’s not uncommon for one-man power pop bands to get carried away while overdubbing vocals, but Hughes’s deft approach to the effect, on songs like “Callin’ Sarah” and The Beach Boys’ homage, “Malibu (More Than Anyone)” keeps ¡contenidos caliente! from becoming muy tedious.

Plus, The Candy Strypers switch gears with the wry, acoustic “Your Town,” which lampoons small town residents, and the harder-edged “Problem No. 6.” “Quesadilla Song” recalls The Posies, another band that obviously draws inspirations from the 1960s. Hughes says that he doesn’t really play the club circuit, but it sure would be interesting to hear these songs performed in a live setting.

Demo-Listen Derby

Photo from Deal’s Gone Bad Facebook page.

Note: These reviews originally appeared in the Around Hears section of the Illinois Entertainer.

Battlestations serves up new wave arrangements topped with the consistently quirky vocals of lead singer-guitarist D Sullivan and his harmonizing band mates on the nine-song CD, The Unicorn. At times the gimmick wears thin, but other tracks, like the rapid-fire “No Gold In The Crown” and atmospheric “Cancer Vader,” prove to be worthwhile adventures.

It has been a few years since Deal’s Gone Bad released new material but the ska band is in top form on its new “Far From Home”/“These Arms Of Mine” 7” single. The A-side seamlessly swings from easy-going ska rhythms to Motown exuberance as lead vocalist Todd Hembrook sings about life’s ups and downs. On the flip side, the band brings a tropical element to Otis Redding’s “These Arms Of Mine.” Both songs are also available in digital format.

Sunny Shadows, a duo comprised of musicians Pierogi and Circadian Bliss, offer eight epics brimming with ethereal vocals and lush keyboards on its debut, Coupled Lux Influx. A few tracks leave listeners drifting in space and the finale, “So So Mt. Fuji,” is dull and repetitive. The CD works best on songs like “Outlaw,” “On All Our Clouds,” and “Break In, Break Out,” where the synth beats are darker and more inventive.

Slumgullion #108

Photo from the Dot Dash Facebook page.

Damn Right I Got The Pastel Colors. SOPRO is presenting its 25th Annual Easter Parade All-Star Blues Revue tomorrow night at Phil McKracken’s Live in Worth, IL. The critically acclaimed jazz band The Chicago Horns will be there, along with vocalist Deb Seitz, who’ll be marking 10 years of appearing at the event. Guitarist-vocalist Smiley Tillmon is listed as a very special guest. Showtime is 9:15 PM, and there will be prizes, champagne, and autographed photos from the storied SOPRO archives. Phil McKracken’s Live is located at 6602 W. 111th Street.

Another Great Reason To Visit Ireland. Georgina Flood is a Dublin-based artist who specializes in amazingly lifelike portraits of The Beatles, as well as celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Johnny Depp. She recently had a Facebook post about the Temple Bar Beatles Festival, which is taking place in Ireland on the weekend of July 13th -15th. Original Fab Four drummer Pete Best tops the guest list, which also includes John Lennon’s half-sister Julia Baird, author of the book Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon; former Apple Records CEO Tony Bramwell; and former Wings guitarist Henry McCullough. Several local bands are on tap, and there will be comedy and an art show.

Laugh Around The Clock. The Jokes 4 Miles Joke-a-Thon will kick off at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, April 24th at the Laugh Factory in Chicago and run non-stop through 9:00 PM on Wednesday. Jokes 4 Miles is a project run by veteran stand-up comedian Len Austrevich, who has set out to collect 5,000 videotaped jokes for his son. Miles Austrevich has brain cancer, and gets a huge emotional boost from watching the clips.

Len Austrevich could use some volunteers to help with the event. It would be especially cool to get a number of people from Chicago’s vibrant theatre, comedy, and music scene to take part since they would no doubt inspire others to join in. This is an opportunity for everyone to be a star, and to take part in a worthwhile cause. So come by the Laugh Factory, at 3175 N. Broadway, during the marathon and share a joke with Miles. Another Joke-a-Thon will be held at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles.

Back To dell' 80s. Chicago dell’Arte Theater is holding an 80s Night on April 14th at The Den Theatre to raise funds for Comm-80s-a, the first show of its 2012 season. There will be games, a costume contest, and two live bands. Tickets are $10, $8 for people who come in costumes. The Den Theatre is located at 1333 N. Milwaukee Avenue. The fun starts at 8:00 PM.

Dial M For Fiction. Local writer M. Molly Backes will hold the launch of her first novel, The Princess Of Iowa at StoryStudio in Chicago on April 18th, from 7:00 to 10:00 PM. Scheduled guests include local writers, improvisers, and filmakers. Backes is the Assistant Director at the center for writing and related arts, which is located at 4043 N. Ravenswood, #222. She promises this will be the biggest party at StoryStudio in years.

Dot Dash & Fly. Dot Dash, the Washington, DC-based band whose energetic, guitar-driven music recalls the days of The Clash and The Jam, has created a cool performance video for its song, “Learn How To Fly.” Dot Dash has upcoming gigs at The Black Cat in Washington, DC on April 21st, and on May 20th at the NYC Pop Fest in Brooklyn.

Up Close And Scary. The Ex-Girlfriends Club’s http://www.theexgirlfriendsclub.com/ video for its cover of The Sonics’ “The Witch” takes viewers onstage as the garage rockers careen through the song in a bar. The song is from The Ex-Girlfriends debut effort, Boo Hoo Hoo.

Jammin' With JIP. JIP, a Chicago rock trio featuring singer-guitarist Jim Gwynn, has a gig coming up at The Elbo Room on Lincoln Avenue on Sunday, April 15th. My review of JIP’s latest release, Year X, is in the current issue of the Illinois Entertainer.

A Wolf And A Princess Emerge From The Forest

It’s not unusual to find Carla Hayden and James Moeller in the midst of a creative event. As founding members of Black Forest Theatre, these amiable free spirits have staged their original productions at venues around Chicago’s north side and in Evanston. Like my former comedy group, Famous In The Future, they’re veterans of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre’s annual Abbie Fest. That’s where I first discovered the off-kilter charm of Black Forest Theatre.

Hayden and Moeller’s single-word-named band, Whitewolfsonicprincess seemed to flow naturally from their theatrical vision, and exudes a similar avant garde aesthetic. They released their first CD, This Car Available in 2008. Back then, I described it as offering, “consistently fun and imaginative word play, usually set to slinky, sparse arrangements” in a review for Broken Hearted Toy. Hayden and Moeller have taken the scenic route to a follow-up disc, experimenting with new members, playing out more often, and inviting other musicians to join them in tribute shows to icons like John Lennon and Bob Dylan.

Whitewolfsonicprincess hosted a 10 + 1 CD release party at the Redline Tap this past Sunday afternoon. Despite the unusual time slot, the event drew a good-sized crowd that was treated to free pizza and a cake decorated with the 10 + 1 cover. It was fun seeing some of my old mates from Famous In The Future, Frank Carr, Desiree Burcum, and Michael Hora. Carr and Burcum have a musical side project, dubbed The Rut, that has performed at some of WWSP’s tribute shows.

After a short set by Chris Bock, who sang an engaging mix of indie rock originals and cover versions while strumming an electric guitar, the core of WWSP - - vocalist Hayden, guitarist Moeller, bassist Tim O’Brien, and drummer Rich Meher - - took the stage. Moeller explained that 10 + 1 is best appreciated when all 11 tracks are heard straight through.

The quartet played a few of those songs before being joined at separate times by guitarist Victor Sanders and saxophone player Nick Anaya. They added texture and power to WWSP songs like “Lady In The Sand” and “Fallen,” respectively. Hayden handled most of the lead vocals while Moeller and O’Brien provided back-up vocals. Moeller sang lead on the mysterious “Inner Light.”

I haven’t had a chance to fully digest 10 + 1 yet, but already it seems more full-bodied and ambitious than This Car Available. Whitewolfsonicprincess is no longer a Black Forest Theatre side project; it’s a thriving, separate entity. 10 + 1 is available at Vintage Vinyl in Evanston and Chicago’s three Reckless Records stores. I'm hoping to post a review in the near future.

CD Review: Starlight Girls - Self-titled

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

Listening to the self-titled debut from Starlight Girls, it’s easy to imagine these four musicians only come out after the sun has gone down. Singer-keyboards player and chief songwriter Christina B’s playful vocals are equal parts jazz and new wave while her farsifa organ playing adds a dark but consistently fun element. The five song EP, which is available as a digital download as well as on vinyl, conjures images of carnivals, espionage, go-go dancing, and Saturday morning cartoon shows.

“Flutterby,” with its bump and grind percussion and alluring melody, could have easily sprung from the musical, Cabaret. The farsifa is most prominently featured on the energetic and very 1960’s-oriented “Gossip,” while Starlight Girls aim for the club scene with the pulsating techno beats of “Wasteland.” With “The Hunch” mixing a guitar-driven arrangement with Christina B’s fluid piano playing, it seems Starlight Girls just might have created a genre unto themselves.

CD Review: Kaiser Chiefs - Start The Revolution Without Me

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

A closer look at the cover of Start The Revolution Without Me reveals that the horseback rider participating in a fox hunt is actually a fox. It’s a fitting image for a band that relishes poking fun at its fellow English countrymen. This latest release from Kaiser Chiefs continues the steady flow of satire, while dabbling in more techno-oriented arrangements than the band has used in the past.

“On The Run” casts a suspicious eye toward the media, using rapid fire lyrics and energetic keyboards. “Cousin In The Bronx” takes a swipe at know-it-all Americans, while the acidic “Things Change” borrows heavily from David Bowie’s “Fame.” The band’s only misstep is “Heard It Break,” with its corny lyrics about a sprained heart and cheesy synthesized Caribbean rhythms. By contrast, “Kinda Girl You Are” sets a guy’s infatuation to a high speed pop arrangement. The punchy “Problem Solved” offers some biting sarcasm as lead vocalist Ricky Wilson notes, “An empty head is not something I would aspire to/That being said, it must be nice to be oblivious.”

I Was There (April) First

It’s a kidding thing. The new ELO tribute hour was orchestrated for laughs.

Electric Light Orchestra fans have a friend in Chicago radio personality Johnny Mars. At least for an hour this past Sunday they did.

There were a few moments when I first read an item on the WXRT website that Mars was set to host an exciting new weekly program starting on Sunday that I actually believed it. Then I noted the date, and realized it had to be this year’s entry in the FM rocker’s long history of April Fool’s Day jokes.

I mentioned Mars’s new show in last Friday’s Slumgullion column, although I didn’t yet know the name WXRT had come up with for its ruse. I toyed with the idea of somehow letting on that I knew it was a joke, but then decided not to risk spoiling the fun. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that I discovered the scam show was called The Electric Light Brunch. Breakfast With The Beatles host Terri Hemmert was a good sport, excitedly hyping the new show she said would now be following hers every Sunday morning.

Mars, for his part, played it perfectly straight, explaining that each week, Electric Light Brunch would be devoted to the classically inclined rock band Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne founded in 1971. He even offered Electric Light Orchestra trivia between songs. Judging from the variety of comments on WXRT’s website, some people thought Electric Light Brunch was legit, while others thought it was too easy to see through this year’s trick.

Nothing against Mars, but considering the station’s April Fools Day tradition, Electric Light Brunch was, well , pretty light. Years ago, WXRT claimed its Regular Guy film critic had just opened a new restaurant (with a name something like Get In Here And Eat) in the heart of downtown. Other years, the station claimed to have changed formats, and even invited dee jays from its competitors to make guest appearances.

Another year, WXRT enraged a lot of loyal followers who should have known better by announcing that Wendy Rice’s popular Saturday Morning Flashback had been canned. But the best trick came the last time April 1st fell on a Sunday. Weekday morning dee jay Lin Brehmer and news anchor Mary Dixon came in and did their entire show as if it was Monday. Imagine all the hung over listeners who tuned it and thought they had slept through an entire day.

Mars actually was not the first person to spoof the Breakfast With The Beatles format. I created three short video clips called Hanging With The Hollies for the Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff internet show. Part of the joke was checking to see where all the Hollies tribute bands would be playing that week (as Hemmert does for Beatles tribute bands) and finding out there weren’t any Hollies tribute bands. Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff is on hiatus now, but if any Hollies news breaks out, I’ll be ready.