Album Review: Various Blonde- Summer High

The disbanding of the Mars Volta and the Deftones' inability to sustain the momentum generated by the wondrous 2010 album Diamond Eyes have left me jonesing for a new dealer of art-metal.  I've searched the world for a adequate replacement but the solution has been right under my nose all along.  Even though a couple of the dudes in the Kansas City band are my Facebook friends and I regularly reference the group in my work as a freelance writer, I had no idea Various Blonde was capable of creating a work as powerful as Summer High.  With the assistance of producer Ikey Owens of the Mars Volta, Various Blonde has devised a potent dose of foreboding psychedelia.


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I reviewed Cake's performance at Crossroads KC.

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The Project H was the subject of my most recent feature on the Local Listen segment of KCUR's Up to Date program.

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Gerald Wilson has died.  (Via BGO.)

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My acquaintance Teddy Dibble discusses rare vinyl by the likes of the Bill Dixon Orchestra and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

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I'm infatuated with Joyce DiDonato's Stella di Napoli.  RIYL: Italy, Renée Fleming, beauty.

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Dom Flemons' Prospect Hill opens with a bang before petering out.  RIYL: Leon Redbone, sepia, the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

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Sims' Field Notes contains two or three strong tracks.  RIYL: Atmosphere, the Twin Cities, P.O.S.

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Il Sogno del Marinaio's Canto Secondo isn't as interesting as the project's first album.  RIYL: Mike Watt, SST Records' jazz/punk releases, the Minutemen.

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Belphegor's Conjuring the Dead is RIYL: exorcisms, Morbid Angel, haunted houses.  I assume the video for the title track is intentionally hilarious.

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Just a reminder- I continue to write about Kansas City's jazz scene at Plastic Sax.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: La Busta Gialla- Il Sogno del Marinaio

Like thousands of dudes in my generation, I love Mike Watt.  Not everything he's done since he played a role in forever altering my perception of the possibilities of rock music has been to my taste, but I've always been eager to keep tabs on him.

I get the impression that not many people still share my enthusiasm.  A cursory search turns up only two reviews of La Busta Gialla, Watt's new album with Il Sogno Del Marinaio.  The trio of Watt and an Italian guitarist and drummer create the sort of jazz-punk-world hybrid that I'm predisposed to like.

One of the two reviews was published at an influential site.  The criticism in Pitchfork's thoughtful analysis is valid.  The album is a bit "rickety" and it does contain "loosely formed grooves."  The site slapped a 5.7 on the project.  I find Il Sogno Del Marinaio's slapdash approach endearing.  That's why There Stands the Glass hails La Busta Gialla as a scientist rock worthy of a rating of 8.3.


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I reviewed Sweet Honey In the Rock's concert at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

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Guitarist Jef Lee Johnson, who performed in Esperanza Spalding's band at Kansas City's Helzberg Hall last October, has died.

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Blues woman Ann Rabson has died.

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Butch Morris has died.

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Joplin rocks.  Check out "Exteriors" by Missouri metal band Remnants.

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You have to check out the 2:03 mark of this fan footage of the Darkness at the Uptown Theater.

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I don't condone a single sentiment contained on Fidlar's self-titled album. But I have to admit that I concur with the critical consensus.  Fidlar is very good.  RIYL: The Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Intervention.

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There's something about Violeta Vil.  The Venezuelan band's Lápidas y Cocoteros streams here.  RIYL: My Bloody Valentine, Oz Mutantes, life.

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Salina's Chad Kassem always kills me. (Don't miss the inane banter by the talking heads at the conclusion of the segment.)

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Maybe the frigid temperatures have addled my mind, but I think the initial Warped Tour band list for 2013 looks great.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)