Ruinednation

Recently I’ve been looking to add a Firewire audio interface to my studio, so that I can make the transition to Mac at some point and also because I would like an interface with built-in preamps. Historically I have always gone with M-Audio but after a little digging around it seems to me that after they were acquired by Avid the quality of a lot of their products have been less than stellar. That’s when I came across T.C. Electronic’s Konnect 8 (the smaller brother of their Konnect 24D interface) and read a lot of good things about it. SoundOnSound gave a pretty decent review and there were many forum postings along the same lines. So while I was looking at both the M-Audio Firewire 410 and the Konnect 8 (both priced the same) at my local music shop , the staff member I was talking to quickly pointed to Konnect 8 and said the preamps were unbelievable and I would not reget it.
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History is brought to life in Jucifer’s new release L’Autrichienne. Instead sticking to same sound and concepts of their past two releases If Thine Enemy Hunger and I Name You Destroyer, Jucifer unveils their interpretation of the fall of Marie Antoinette. On top of this concept album, the duo Amber Valentine and Edgar Livengood also employ playing more instruments than their basic drum and guitar setup. In what would be enough instruments for 12 piece band to play, Guitarist/Bassist/Singer Valentine is credited with playing timpani, piano, Hammond, violin, cello, mellotron, and knife sharpener. While Drummer Livengood also played piano, trumpet, trombone, and flute. This also marks a release where instead of recording and sequencing with Pro Tools, they instead record drums, bass, guitar, banjo, and vocals live to 2″ tape. The result of this does seem to add a bit more spontaneity and warmth to the music. Finally in a brilliant move, in place of the lyrics Jucifer opts to describe the historical context about what each song is about.

L’Autrichienne tells the story of Marie Antoinette in first person interpretation and opens with “Gunpowder,” an strong indie rocker about the King and Queen’s attempt to escape capture and begins the Queen’s descent that would ultimately lead her to the guillotine. Genre-wise Jucifer is like no other band in defying the genre that’s always been labeled to them. Without effort they go from indie (Gunpowder, Behind Every Great Man, Window – Where the Sea Falls Forever), bone crushing sludge metal and hardcore (Deficit, The Mountain, Procession a la Guillotine, Traitors, Armada) to ballads of betrayal and innocence (To the End, L’Autrichienne, Noyade).

Performance wise this is probably Jucifer’s most brilliant record yet in their career dating back to 1994. Amber Valentine once again shows total command of the guitar and renews my belief that she is her own peer (I absolutely think there’s no contest that she is a much better player than the one trick pony guitar playing of Jack White). Vocally, Valentine’s ability to transform from the sweet, sugary innocence of a young girl who happens to be a Queen and not fully understanding her current surroundings to the angry, bitter and spiteful mob that in the end calls for her head is just as seamless as the music, to make these interpretation even more poignant a handful of these songs are sung in French. Edgar Livengood is I believe the live embodiment of John Bonham as I have not heard or seen any one hit the drums as hard as Bonham does until I got I Name You Destroyer and saw them later on that tour. Also I enjoy listening to the rhythm of Livengood’s drums as specifically on the slower song it reminds me of the classic Swans albums Cop/Young God and Greed/Holy Money.

The only downside to this record is the hardcore influenced songs and this really just my one over problem with their albums in general. I have never like Valentine’s voice when playing hardcore as it just seems like a little too forced to go that deep and also Livengood’s drums are so heavy that they tend to dominate the mix and it gives the illusion that the two are out of sync. But other that this absolutely the most original work they’ve done yet and also that I’ve listen to in years. It reminds of when I was in high school, I had to do a presentation on Samuel Taylor Coolridge and chose Rush’s Xanadu based off the same poem. So if your kid needs a presentation aid just get this CD and they’ll have both a great CD and something useful for history class. Now my interested in how they translate this to live performance as if you have not seen them live, you have not really seen Jucifer.

What do you get when you have a psychobilly band of Danes with a penchant of Misfits-like macabre, a dash of crime noir and a lot of hate for Brett Michaels…

Rockabilly and it cousin psychobilly (a mix of punk and rockabilly) has been a lull over past couple of years. Few bands have been able to put consistent good output with the exception of The Reverend Horton Heat, Southern Culture on the Skids, and The Legendary Shack Shakers. Of late though, there does seem to be a couple of new bands ready to bring the scene back from the dead and this time they are led by women. One band is Devil Doll, led by Colleen Duffy, which crossovers rockabilly and swing, has been gaining momentum over the years in critical acclaim and a strong growing fan base. And the other and the focus of this review is Horrorpops, led by Patricia Day, who has taken psychobilly scene by storm and just released their third album, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill.

Formed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1998, Horropops combined elements of The Misfits, The Cramps, the classic rockabilly sounds of the 50’s and 60’s, and made it something uniquely their own. The core members of the group consist of bassist/vocalist Patricia Day, whose prowess on the upright bass I believe rivals that of Horton Heat’s Jimbo Wallace and strong female-oriented lyrics and vocals remind me of Blondie and The Pretenders. Day’s co-founder and guitarist Kim Nekroman is no stranger to the rockabilly scene himself with his own band Nekromantix (founded in 1989 and put out a new record in 2007, Life is a Grave & I Dig It), and his guitar style harkens back to the orginal rockabilly guitarists of Carl Perkins, Bill Haley, and Link Wray. Finally drummer Niedermeier rounds out as the final core member of band and seamlessly plays off of Day’s riff’s where that at times the rhythm section reminds of again the classic Horton Heat line up of Wallace and Taz Bentley. On their first two records Hell Yeah and Bring It On!, they added a second guitarist (different one each release) and as result the band’s sound was firmly planted in the punk side of psychobilly.

However, with Kiss Kiss Kill Kill we see the Horrorpops down to it’s original trio and as result there is a sense of maturity to their song writing and exploring themes that they only flirted with on their previous releases. While they still bring their punk influences to the mix and lack of the wall of guitar actually adds more to their sound as it allows room for Nekroman to lay down catchy leads and twangs, Day’s riffs and triplets, and surprising additions such as string and horn arrangements. Kiss Kiss Kill Kill’s high points though make this probably their strongest album yet with tracks as the ska-influenced “MissFit”, Day’s shout out to women that it’s worth being a female and having an opinion:

I don’t always tread, dont always tread careful \ Yeah \ Most of the time I’m quite annoying \ I don’t \ Watch my mouth \ Don’t find an out in a fight! \ I can scream and shout and be a loud mouth! \ And I, I’m from the wrong side of the town \ Now proud \ On top of that I’m female! \ Nothing, nothing I say is adequate \ According to you I’m a MissFit! \ What made you my judge and juror?

“Thelma and Louise” opens the album with Nekroman’s catchy guitar riff and Day’s undertoned vocals about how life should be lived just like the movie it’s named after. Which also introduces one of strongest elements of the album, the maturity of the lyrics and the infusion of crime noir themes such as “Highway 55″, “Kiss Kiss Kill Kill” and the aptly titled “Hitchcock Starlet.” You get the sense that they spent six months reading and watching crime noir stories to get the mood and the sense of danger lurking around every corner. And while as they it put themselves on the cover Kiss Kiss Kill Kill is “Twelve Tales About Love and Murder,” they still have fun as in the excellent track “Heading for the Disco” it’s light-hearted, the lyrics full of seething sarcasm, and something everyone can relate to as that we all have that one friend who still thinks 80’s cock rock still lives forever.

However this new stripped down sound does have its skippable moments such as “Boot2Boot”, which is back to pure punk fury but it seems rather flat and generic, and also “Everything Everything”, a ballad but one that never really develops into anything. The last couple tracks on the record are pretty much middle of road they don’t bring anything new to the table but they are catchy.

This is overall an outstanding record and it is easy to see they are clearly looking ahead and adding more to their already full sonic palette. I would recommend buying the CD over downloading as the cover artwork is a fantastic compliment to the theme of record itself. And trust me you’ll be buying Hell Yeah! and Bring It On! soon after getting this one.

Hopefully they be coming back to DC soon as I missed them they last time they came through with Horton Heat (I know, I know but hey I like them a lot too). Patricia Day VS Jimbo Wallace upright bass showdown – that would be well worth the price of admission.