Album Review: Sidewise- Made of Matches

I lost track of the number of paying jobs I've had when the number passed 25.  Maybe the bots at Social Security or the IRS will sort it all out for me someday.  I've disliked a lot of those jobs, but I'm proud of almost all of them. 

Factories, warehouses, upscale office complexes, and yes, record stores, are among my former workplaces.  I've worn steel-toe boots and fancy ties.  The wide range of settings has erased many of my biases. 

That's why I have little patience for people who feel compelled to go out of their way to bash bands like Nickelback.  Not only do I not dislike Nickelback, I sincerely like Puddle of Mudd.  Many of the band's original fans have been my co-workers.  I've also worked alongside guys who consider Rockfest the highlight of their social calendars.

I have nothing but admiration for Sidewise's new album Made of Matches.  Sure, the Kansas City band is simply rearranging pieces of songs by the likes of Saliva, Five Finger Death Punch and Seether, but the recording rings true. 

Sidewise doesn't pretend to be innovative.  And there are times when I simply want to unwind to loud and unchallenging music.  I just spent a couple hours in the heat hacking at poison ivy.  Made of Matches sounds perfect right now.


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My thoughts about Saturday's tribute to the Jazz at Massey Hall concert are posted at Plastic Sax.

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Tim Finn reports that the Beautiful Bodies recently signed to Epitaph Records.

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Cowboy Indian Bear has released the 7-song EP Vandeventer.

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"Fix" is a new track by Reach.

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Teddy Dibble talks about records again.

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Tech N9ne released a video for "Hard".

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Jerry Vale has died.

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Da Cruz's Disco e Progresso is enthralling.  Here's a video for the opening track.  RIYL: Jorge Ben, Brasil, Chic.

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Pigeon John's Encino Man is RIYL: Kid Cudi, wild parties hosted by smart nerds, the B52s.

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The ECM player for Driftwood, guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel's collaboration with Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade, has my name written all over it.

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Curtis Harding's Soul Power is RIYL: Hanni El Khatib, American music, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears.

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Holy moly!  Down's Down IV – Part II is excellent.  RIYL: Black Sabbath, sludge, Masters of Reality.

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Marie et Marion, the latest release by Anonymous 4, rubs me the wrong way.  RIYL: incense, Chanticleer, church pews.

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Everyday Robots, the wistful and ramshackle new album by Damon Albarn, is RIYL: Paul Weller, merrie olde England, Thom Yorke.

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Sérgio Dias of Os Mutantes includes an album by the Swingle Singers (!) on his list of influential albums.

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I hadn't missed Dipset.  Here's Cam'ron's comeback song "Dipsh*ts".

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I began prepping for doomsday immediately after watching Die Antwoord's video for "Pitbull".  (Via S.S.)

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Skating Polly- Fuzz Steilacoom

Unlike many of my colleagues, I did nothing to observe the twentieth anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain last month.  I'd rather focus on what's happening now than ruminate on the past.  Besides, Cobain lives in the music of Skating Polly.  The stepsisters from Oklahoma pay tribute to Cobain in the best way possible- by rocking in the unkept tradition of the icon.  It's no accident that the new album Fuzz Steilacoom sounds like a classic recording from the vaults of K Records.  The project was overseen by the label's Calvin Johnson.  The lead track "Alabama Movies" contains a few of the album's many undiluted moments of greatness.


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I reviewed Fitz and the Tantrums's concert on Saturday.

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Ensemble Ibérica, Beau Blesoe's new performance group, has announced its 2014 season.

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Cowboy Indian Bear made a video for "Ruffian".

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I have real problems with Tech N9ne's "Over It".  Strangeulation was released today.

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Don't believe the hype. Ratking makes hip-hop for people who like the idea of the music more than actually listening to it.  So It Goes probably sounds great in 30-second preview clips, but it's a rough slog when consumed in its entirety.  RIYL: the worst Terror Squad album, hype, the worst Wu-Tang Clan album.

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I'm amused to see that Macroscope, the new release by the Nels Cline Singers, is being embraced by people who would never consider listening to a John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Arto Lindsay or Marc Ribot album.  The entertaining recording combines elements of all four guitarists.  What's next- a Barney Kessel revival among Wilco fans?

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Coltsblood's Into The Unfathomable Abyss sounds as if it was made by the stoner kids next door.  And the amateurish quality is precisely why I love it the new album by the British sludge metal band.  

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What if Pat Metheny kept making the same music he made in 1978?  Mark Egan, the bassist on those early Pat Metheny Group albums, recreates that sound on his new album About Now.

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Given the participants' track records, Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band's Landmark merits repeated listening, but I'll admit to being totally underwhelmed.

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Iggy Azalea's The New Classic isn't.  Gwen Stefani, photogenic people, Nikki Minaj.

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Add me to the long list of metal fans who are losing their minds over Lord Mantis' Death Mask.  RIYL: new depths of heaviness, Wormrot, doomsday.

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Of the artists performing at this month's Soundset festival that I haven't seen in the past 12 months, Nas and EarlWolf are the biggest attractions.

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Stanton Moore's Conversations is a straight-ahead jazz trio album.  RIYL: Ellis Marsalis, versatility, Karriem Riggins.  (Tip via J.F.)

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Whoop whoop!  Murs has gone full… well, you know.

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Harvey Mason, the drummer of Headhunters and Fourplay, revisits '70s instrumental funk on Chameleon.

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Anyone familiar with the work of jazz/jam guitarist Charlie Hunter won't be surprised that he and Scott Amendola recorded an EP of five covers of songs by The Cars.

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"They Come In Gold" is a track from the forthcoming album by Shabazz Palaces.  I don't think the duo played the song at the Middle of Map fest in April.

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Here's an analysis of the music produced by L. Ron Hubbard.  (Via J.F.)

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I had high hopes for Dust Moth's Dragon Mouth. It sounds great but the songwriting is lacking.  RIYL: Deftones, the intersection of metal and shoe gaze, My Bloody Valentine.

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It's great to see that Bun B has it together in his interview with Nardwuar.

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Here's the trailer for the documentary: B.B. King: The Life of Riley.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Top Ten Kansas City Music Videos of 2013

The Grisly Hand's "Country Singles" joins Making Movies' "Tormenta" (2010), Hidden Pictures' "Anne Apparently" (2011) and SSION's "Earthquake" (2012) as the obvious choice for There Stands the Glass' top video of the year by a Kansas City-area artist.  I added current YouTube view counts to provide a bit of context regarding the relative popularity of each act.

1. The Grisly Hand- "Country Singles" (481 views)

2. Tiny Horse- "Ride" (877 views)

3. Tech N9ne- "Straight Out the Gate" (3,986,084 views)

4. Josh Berwanger- "Time Traveler" (1,414 views)

5. Krizz Kaliko- "Why Me" (276,203 views)

6. Cowboy Indian Bear- "Let It Down" (98 views)

7. Gee Watts- "Nasty" (45,963 views)

8. Minden- "What's More Than Appropriate?" (1,250 views)

9. The ACBs- "Television" (4,372 views)

10. Rich the Factor- "I'm Hustlin'" (121,029 views)

I conducted similar exercises in 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Concert Review: Ron Gutierrez at KC Live!

Ron Gutierrez's reputation as the Latin Luther received an enormous boost at the KC Live! stage in the Power & Light district on Sunday.  A woman standing next to me lost her composure during Gutierrez's spot-on rendition of Luther Vandross' "A House Is Not a Home." 

"He's reincarnated!" she screamed.

Backed by a six-piece band, Gutierrez's versions of songs associated with Marvin Gaye, Al Green, the Spinners and the Commodores showcased his incredible voice.  By the time he closed his hour-long set with McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," many in the audience of over 1,500 had forgotten that they had been waiting to hear Bryson.  

I've had the good fortune to hear Gutierrez perform in a variety of contexts.  He appears at jazz clubs, has worked with ensembles led by the late Kerry Strayer including the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra and has become a go-to artist for National Anthem duties at professional sporting events.  He never fails to awe his audience.  Gutierrez isn't merely soulful.  His lustrous voice is impossibly pure.

After Sunday's star-making performance opening for Bryson, the Latin Luther may also come to be known as the Maxwell of the Midwest and Kansas City's Nat King Cole.


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Philip Chevron of the Pogues has died.

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Doug Ramsey reports that Oscar Castro-Neves has died.

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I reviewed the 18th & Vine Jazz and Blues Festival. 

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"Thank God" is Krizz Kaliko's latest video.

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Cowboy Indian Bear's new video for "Let It Down" is lovely.

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Here's a video recap of Dancefestopia. 

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Approach made an 11-minute documentary about the making of his new album.

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Hidden Pictures has released a new 3-song EP.

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Marc Myers offers an inside peek at his interview with Ginger Baker.

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I recently discovered a remarkable "music video" Jimmy Martin made for "20/20 Vision."

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I suppose I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate Matana Roberts' Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile.  RIYL: John Zorn, advanced degrees, AACM.

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Ponder the Mystery, William Shatner's new prog-rock album, is a hoot.

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I cosign OFWGKTA's "Look".

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Gary Numan is an interesting cat.

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Riff Raff remains my favorite troll.

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A new box set containing material Woody Guthrie recorded for the Feds is titled American Radical Patriot.

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"Am I getting to deep here for you?"- Sonny Rollins.

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Leron Thomas' new album Whatever is good but not great.  RIYL: Christian Scott, Sean Jones, Harish Raghavan.

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A coffee table book about Houston's hip hop scene?  That's ridiculous.  But I want it.

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There Stands the Glass reader BGO encouraged me to share this NPR-sponsored performance by saxophonist Melissa Aldana.  The kid has great ideas.  RIYL: Lee Konitz, Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre. 

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Jill Scott is featured in a video from the Robert Glasper Experiment's forthcoming album.

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I'm entranced by The City Under the City, the new release by L'Orange & Stik Figa.  Also released today: Anberlin. Jon Batiste, Mary J. Blige, Brandy Clark, Cults, Death Angel, Devin the Dude, Dismemberment Plan, Tim Hecker, Will Hoge, Boldy James, Glenn Lewis, Lucius, Paul McCartney, Morcheeba, Willie Nelson, Gary Numan, Aaron Parks, Pelican, Quadriga Consort, Red Fang, Ralph Towner, Trivium and Young Dro.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Dessa- Parts of Speech

I pondered the fleeting nature of fame as I watched Paula Cole perform three weeks ago.  Cole won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998.  So how did she end up playing a free concert at a suburban shopping mall for a few hundred curiosity seekers 15 years later?  Cole hasn't lost any of her talent or good looks.

Part of every popular artist's challenge is fending off the relentless waves of fresh talent.  One significant “new” contender is Dessa.  Part of the prodigiously gifted Doomtree crew from the Twin Cities, Dessa updates the confessional singer-songwriter rock associated with Cole and other Lilith Fair-style musicians on her latest solo album. 

Because that sensibility isn’t my thing, I most appreciate the tracks on Parts of Speech that hew most closely to hip-hop.  ”Warsaw” is my favorite song while ”Call Off Your Ghost” does nothing for me.  A sparkling interpretation of Bruce Springsteen’s “I'm Going Down,” not surprisingly, delights me.

It's a strong effort, but there’s probably not a “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?”-size hit on Parts of Speech.  Those coveted shopping mall gigs are going to have to wait. 


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A triple bill of Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys and Alejandro Escovedo exceeded my expectations.  Here’s my review of Saturday's concert at Knuckleheads.

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The three free new songs by Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7 are RIYL: “Suit & Tie,” Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lou Donaldson. 

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The Abnorm’s new mixtape is titled The Soular Powered Project.

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I’ve met several members of Bloodstone and I’ve had extensive dealings with a one-time manager of the Kansas City-based band.  But until a few days ago, I never knew that Bloodstone starred in a movie.  Here’s the  trailer for “Train Ride to Hollywood.”

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Telarc Records will issue Trampled Under Foot’s new album this month.  Here’s an excellent  EPK.

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The video for Cowboy Indian Bear’s “I Want a Stranger’s Heart” is effective.

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Here’s a nice video recap of the 2013 edition of the Middle of the Map festival.

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Here’s murky footage of Mayor Sly James singing “It’s Not My Cross to Bear.”

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Steve Paul filmed a portion of “a mid-afternoon show of santeria/conga/rumba music” on a recent trip to Cuba.

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Sunday’s BET Awards was the most entertaining music-themed award show I’ve watched in years.  The segments featuring Charlie Wilson and R. Kelly were excellent.  I loved the performances by Janelle Monae, Robin Thicke, Tamela Mann and Kendrick Lamar. 

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I’m not too proud to admit my affection for In a Warzone, the entirely derivative new album by the Transplants.  RIYL: Rancid, Blink-182, Slightly Stoopid. 

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I have absolutely no reservations about sharing my enthusiasm for Otis Clay’s new album Truth Is.  It’s first-rate soul-blues.  ”All That’s Missing Is You” is my jam.  RIYL: Sharon Jones, Tyrone Davis, Jerry Butler.

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This week’s most compelling new releases include albums by Akkilles, Deap Vally, The Fall, the Joe Farrell Quartet and Joe.  The latest from John Scofield is at the top of my list.

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Kansas City Click: Diarrhea Planet is on Tuesday’s bill at the Riot Room.

The Bottle Rockets perform at Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

Matt Stillwell appears on the KC Live! stage on the Fourth of July.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Selena Gomez!

I stood behind a couple of bros during a portion of Limp Bizkit's concert Sunday at the Granada.  (Here's my review.)  Not only did they know every word to every song, the ecstatic dudes appeared to associate specific memories from high school with hits like "My Way."  Limp Bizkit was obviously their favorite band- then, now and always. 

I envy that sort of single-minded dedication.  My love of most everything makes obsessing on just one thing impossible.

That's why I was delighted when I encountered the handiwork of a kid in my neighborhood.  I can't remember the last time I scrawled a musician's name on a driveway in pink chalk.


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Mac Lethal is an author.

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Making Movies made a video for "Cuna De Vida".

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"The Loon" is a new name-your-own-price track by The Jinxed.  RIYL: Ben Folds Five, Pablo Cruise, Ha Ha Tonka.

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I'm digging Made To Break's Provoke.  RIYL:  Ken Vandermark, Matthew Shipp, skronk. 

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Maybe I'm not taking the right drugs, but I'm not hearing what everybody else is hearing in Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.  While I enjoy the acclaimed album, it's just an homage to the dance music of 1976.

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Remember Urge Overkill?  The band's free concert at a suburban shopping mall last weekend was superb.

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The week's new releases of the most interest to me come from David Binney, Camera Obscura, Future Bible Heroes, the Giovanni Guidi Trio, Megadeth, Luis Perdomo, Queens of the Stone Age, Quercus (June Tabor, Iain Ballamy and Huw Warren) and Third Reel.  I'll get to those albums after I tire of my sordid little fling with Gretchen Wilson's new album of cover songs.

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Kansas City Click: The XX appear at the Uptown Theater on Tuesday.

The Bryant Carter Band perform before The Royals' game on Wednesday.

Richard Thompson may perform the bleakest song ever written at the Folly Theater on Thursday.

Cowboy Indian Bear headline the free Crossroads Block Party on Friday.

(Original images by There Stands the Glass.)

The 20 Best Kansas City-Related Albums of 2013 (so far)

Much of the Kansas City music community is rightfully engaged in self-congratulatory praise inspired by the notably strong showing of new releases in 2013.  A comment made by Matt of Jeopardy of Contentment at this site last week compelled me to join the chorus.  Here's a list of my twenty favorite Kansas City-related new releases of the past four months.  I created a Spotify playlist that includes all but five of my selections.


1. Mark Lowrey- Tangos For 18th Street (review at Plastic Sax)
2. The Grisly Hand- Country Singles
3. Pat Metheny- The Orchestrion Project
4. Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle- The Freedom of Expression (review at Plastic Sax)
5. Cherokee Rock Rifle- Ta-Li (review at There Stands the Glass)
6. Alaturka- Yalniz (review at Plastic Sax)
7. Dutch Newman- Schorre's Son
8. Cowboy Indian Bear- Live Old, Die Young
9. Reach- Live at the RecordBar (review at There Stands the Glass)
10. Ces Cru- Constant Energy Struggles (review at There Stands the Glass)
11. The Eldar Djangirov Trio- Breakthrough
12. Kutt Calhoun- Black Gold
13. The BD Trio- Live (review at Plastic Sax)
14. Appleseed Cast- Illumination Ritual
15. Heartfelt Anarchy- Heartfelt Anarchy
16. The Matt Kane Trio- Suit Up! (review at Plastic Sax)
17. Beau Bledsoe/Victoria Botero- Un Ramo de Voz
18. The Great Vehicle- The People's Cathedral of Wavelengths
19. Tate Stevens- Tate Stevens
20. Soft Reeds- Blank City


My list is not comprehensive.  I haven't heard a lot of stuff.  And there's plenty of music that simply doesn't appeal to me.  I encourage readers to investigate the sites linked to the right for additional commentary about the music being created in Kansas City.  The Mailbox features several new releases in today's podcast.  And The Mills Record Company Blog has been on fire lately. 

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Cherokee Rock Rifle- Ta-Li

Cherokee Rock Rifle enjoys an enviable status among the cool kids in Kansas City.  In addition to being a good guy, vocalist Dutch Humphrey works as a bartender at one of the town's most fashionable music venues.  His band, consequently, is a compulsory member of the in-crowd. 

That sort of reasoning has never swayed me.  I regularly rip the music made by my friends and associates.  I'm a jerk that way.

Thankfully, I love Ta-Li, Cherokee Rock Rifle's new six-song EP, on its own merits.  It compares favorably to the output of like-minded bands including Clutch, Valient Thorr and Black Lips.  The quintet's antecedents include Nazareth, Humble Pie and Accept.  In other words, Cherokee Rock Rifle makes snarling blues-based rock designed to accompany illicit activity. 

Because I've been ailing, it's been a long, lonely time since I cut loose.  The hell-raising Ta-Li will be my companion the next time I'm in a proper mindset to f*** s*** up.   


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The least expensive tickets at the door of T.I.'s concert at the Sprint Saturday last Saturday were $60.  The headliner phoned it in.  Here's my review of the lackluster performance by one of my favorite rappers.

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I caught wholesome heartthrob Tate Stevens' second show at the Midland.  Here's my review.

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Chrissie Amphlett of the Divinyls,  Richie Havens and Artie "Blues Boy" White have died.

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Music-oriented movies at the forthcoming Middle of the Map Film Fest include A Band Called Death and The Frames: In a Deep Shade.

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"This Grey Goose tastes like water."  Brett Gretsky promotes its new release.

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I insist that Tyga supervise the soundtrack to the hypothetical sequel of Idiocracy.  After listening to the entirety of the young star's Molly-centric Hotel California album, I question America's sustainability.

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Christian McBride played the National Anthem at an NBA game last week.

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I loathe TV comedians, but I have to admit that I laughed at Jimmy Kimmel's Coachella-related stunt.

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I can't wait to hear this week's new albums by JD Allen, the Appleseed Cast, Brass Bed, Fantasia, Har Mar Superstar, Wallace Roney, Edward Simon, Snoop Lion, Thee Oh Sees, Craig Taborn, Frank Turner, Carlos Vives and Rob Zombie.  Cowboy Indian Bear's Live Old, Die Young  is at the top of my list.

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Kansas City Click: Black Mountain perform at the RecordBar on Tuesday.

Early Graves play the Czar Bar on Wednesday.

Davey's hosts Cowboy Indian Bear on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Bentcousin- Everybody's Got One

Everybody's Got One, the new six-song EP by Bentcousin, is a mess.  And I love it.  The bum notes and questionable production values make the British duo's ramshackle project all the more charming.

On the opening track "Bentpaperboy," Amelia Innit gently croons lines like "I never met a Catholic that I didn't like."  The ingratiating acoustic piece recalls the dry wit of Belle and Sebastian.  Amelia's twin brother Pat admires a girl named "Susan" and "my favorite LP" on the chaotic rocker "Slade."  "I Quit You" is a feisty duet in which a modern-day Eliza Doolittle asserts her independence.  "You went out drinking when she had the flu!" Amelia sneers on the delightful "I Think I Like Your Girlfriend More Than You".

The modest Everybody's Got One is precisely the type of hidden gem that replenishes my faith in the giddy power of popular music.  I recommend it to aficionados of Billy Bragg's love songs, the lighthearted side of the Mekons and the enthusiasm of Frank Turner.  Everybody's Got One will be released in February.


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Cowboy Indian Bear's new four-song single is very impressive.

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"I'm Hustin'" is the latest video from Rich the Factor.  (Tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

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B-Sides And Confessions Vol. 2, the new album by former Kansas Citian Jeff Black, was released on January 15.

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Here's a tease from Kanrocksas.

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My friend K.S. turned me on to Wichita's The Travel Guide.  RIYL: Indie kids bashing away in a basement.

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Jimi in Salina.

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Steve Pick's insightful review of Jimbo Mathus' White Buffalo suggests that the album resembles an inferior version of Exile On Main Street.  It reminds me of a Joe Grushecky album.  That's a good thing.

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I first heard the Eddie Fisher Quintet's The Third Cup this week.  RIYL: Wes, Grant and George.  (Via Euclid Records.)

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ASAP Rocky's LoveLiveA$AP is the most immediately sonically rewarding album I've heard in a while.  It's a fun listen but I'm not convinced that I'll still be enamored of it come December.

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I've been riding shotgun on the Emily Armstrong bandwagon for about a year.  Hear what she does with "Gone Away".

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Big Jay McNeely is alive!

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Yes, I'm a hypocrite.  I'm offended by this promotional video for Jazz Fest.  It seems wrong to use a brass band's music to pitch the likes of Billy Joel, Fleetood Mac, DMB and Maroon 5.

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Forget Dirty Projectors- Bahamas is where it's at.  This stunning live performance is RIYL Alan Jackson, Dirty Projectors, Bruce Springsteen.

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Here's the sonic representation of my Facebook news feed.  (Not that I didn't sign up for it…)

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)