Liquid [Hip]

Divine Fits Unchains A Double-Sided

2013-06-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Most people know that the formation of the Divine Fits can be traced back to Britt Daniel (Spoon) attending a Handsome Furs show and approaching Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs) just to tell Boeckner he had one of the best rock voices he'd ever heard.

Then Boeckner told Daniel that he used to order Spoon singles through the mail back in high school. More than that, Spoon had convinced Boeckner to give up on the Metallica cover band of his youth and set out on a path that would eventually lead to Wolf Parade.

The exchange was enough for them to keep in touch, which turned out to be a good thing. The Handsome Furs was about to end; a thing called the Divine Fits was about to begin.

Chained To Love keeps the Divine Fits fresh.

Almost nobody gave much attention to the double-sided single when it was first released, but then the co-frontmen turned up on Conan to cram the two songs into a four-minute melody that still has people nodding in agreement. The Divine Fits are more than a super group with Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks) and Alex Fischel. They are super performers, who can swap guitars mid-show and give their live performances life on sheer charisma alone.

The two singles are slated to appear on a brand new 12" that will be released this summer, but the singles are good enough that waiting for the album release seems pointless. Here's an upload of the television performance as a preview of things to come.

Conan wasn't the only place that the Divine Fits was making an impression. On June 17, the band set out to lay down a live record at Third Man Records in Nashville. To make it right, they wanted a live audience to give them additional energy. For $10, anybody could join them.

Thy also recorded a crazy outtake of four songs over at Daytrotter a few weeks ago. It's not something most people know about beyond hardcore fans. One track in particular, Neopolitans, is an especially nervy song that pulls you as taut as the uneasy music. Check it out after the double-sided singles.

The singles themselves are everything you might imagine from Divine Fits. Chained To Love has an indie pop song feel with Boeckner delivering terse vocals against tight playing that will immediately remind anyone of a throwback beat several decades ago, with a strong bass line contrasting with the vocals.

If one thing sounds different from their debut it's that the band is clearly not content unless it's experimenting. The song doesn't have the same meat and grit that Shivers or some of the other picks off A Thing Called The Divine Fits, but it doesn't necessarily have to be cool.

Ain't That The Way isn't that different either, with Daniel taking over the vocals and delivering a little Spoon to the overall sound. It's mostly more polished like Chained To Love, except with a much more roots rock underbelly driving the verse.

Some people might point out that parts of both songs feel like vintage Spoon or Wolf Parade. But that is part of the magic in the exchange that Daniel and Boeckner have been working out. Boeckner in particular has said that he likes revisiting sound and image-driven phrases, hoping to perfect them with every pass. I can only assume that Daniel is on board with this thinking, working to evolve favorites.

Chained To Love Unchains 7.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Listening to the singles really shows some progression as a group, especially in that Fischel doesn't distract but rather brings his talent to the table. If anything, in comparing the album to what might be coming up next, Divine Fits has found a sound worth the snapshot, leaning more pop rock and not so much electronic while celebrating the successes of their co-frontmen.

Chained To Love/Ain't That The Way are available for download on iTunes. You can also find the two singles on Amazon. Both tracks are expected to make the album. For show information, check the band out on Facebook. The band is busy, with Daniel being even busier with both Spoon and the start of another band soon.

Bryce Canyon Is Memorable Earth Art

2013-06-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

Although the Grand Canyon in Arizona is the best known canyon in the world, it's Bryce Canyon in Utah that has some of the most striking rock formations in the United States. While hoodoos can be found on every continent, no other rock spires truly compare to the size, scope, and color of Bryce Canyon.

The spires take on a grand shape and scale at the Bryce Amphitheater, which is the most visited section of the park. It's one of a series of breaks eroded into the eastern slope of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, a major plateau that rises to an elevation of 7,000 to 9,300 feet in southwestern Utah.

The plateau was created 10-20 million years ago by an uplift on the larger Colorado Plateau. After the uplift, erosion carved soft rock areas away and left harder areas that have since been whittled down by wind, rain and snow. The most durable hoodoos are capped with a magnesium-rich limestone that dissolves at a slower rate and protects the softer limestone underneath.

Four vista points to take in the dramatic beauty of earth art.

There are more than 13 different viewpoints within Bryce Canyon, with all of them accessible from spur roads that run between the cliffs and Highway 63, which runs parallel to the cliffs. The four best vantage points include Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration, and Bryce Point.

The first two, Sunrise and Sunset, were named after the two best times to take photographs. At these two times of day, the park features explode and the colors become even more pronounced. Almost all of the most famous photos taken in the park were taken at these two times, one of the reasons that day trips to the park never truly capture the magnitude of the canyon.

Each of these two viewpoints are best known for their immediate rock formations, with Sunrise Point capturing the towering Boat Mesa and Sunset Point including Thor's Hammer, a formation that resides just below the overlook on the northern edge. Conversely, Bryce Point is probably the best place to take in the entire amphitheater and Inspiration Point offers several varied perspectives.

All of them highlight the lower pink formations that are made up of sand, silt, and iron and the upper white members are a purer limestone. On a clear day from the bristlecone pine-dotted plateau, it's easy to see more than 100 miles beyond the amphitheater and into the lowlands beyond.

Things to do in and around Bryce Canyon.

After taking in the amphitheater from various vistas, hiking is one of the most common activities. There are more than 50 miles of trails and hiking paths, including the the Rim Trail, which follows the edge of the amphitheater for approximately 5.5 miles. Other trails give visitors the opportunity to descend into into the amphitheater, ranging from the the Queens Garden Trail at Sunrise Point (a 320-foot decent) to the Navajo Loop Trail that passes through the narrow slot of "Wall Street" and a closer look at Thor's Hammer (a 580-foot decent).

There are many other trails, with Swamp Canyon being one of the least traveled but most interesting as it is bounded on two sides by "fin" formations and gravity-defying hoodoos. Because it connects to the Under-The-Rim Trail, hikers can follow a loop and return to the Rim Trail rather than backtracking.

In addition to hiking, Bryce Canyon hosts various events throughout the year. They include guided tours to prairie dog colonies, astronomy events, moonlit night tours, ranger programs and area horseback riding. In the winter, there are even snowshoe hikes that take visitors out in the solitude.

Although not included in the review, non-campers might consider staying at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, which is a National Landmark that was built throughout the 1920s. It is the last of the original lodges designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood. All of the lodges, hotels, and motels in the area are outside the park. While they aren't lavish enough to earn 4- or 5-star ratings, the staff make up for it. Reserve a cabin or the second floor as space is available.

Bryce Canyon Breaks The Landscape At 9.7 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Bryce Canyon is open 24 hours a day, with the visitor center open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. between May and September. Hours vary between October and April. The visitor center includes a small museum with geology, wildlife, star gazing, and history. Wildlife abounds in the park, ranging from chipmunks to mule dear. The park itself is ideal for art and photography. Summers tend to be more crowded.

For a complete overview of travel accommodations in and around Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park, compare top travel deals at Expedia.com. For more information about the Lodge Bryce Canyon, you can also visit the site. The best part about staying overnight is that the park is one of only three International Dark Skies parks in the United States.

Dear Thief Is Dark, Heavy And Heady

2013-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

There are two ways to take Dear Thief, an impossibly eclectic art rock band out of London. They are either one of the most original bands you've ever heard or a swirling thump and buzz of barely listenable rhythm and noise.

Sometime you might even wonder if they want to be known as the trio channels equal energy into other projects. Vocalist-guitarist Yusuf B’layachi also fronts his new band B’layachi and sometimes plays with Vic Godard (Subway Sect). Drummer Tim Greany is equally busy, lending his sticks to B’layachi as well as other gigs as they come along.

Bassist Emma Bennett is almost better known as an artist. Her latest work, for example, follows the band's recent release, Oh Yeah. She painted the album cover, an exercise in attempting to make ephemerality permanent.

But she does something else too. Rather than approach the work like historic photographer Roger Fenton or contemporary photographer Wolfgang Tillmans, Bennett gravitates to the dark side. Her canvas captures loss, holding onto this last moment, i.e., a rabbit lying still by seasonal flowers, with any beauty just beginning to wilt and decay.

Dear Thief captures several dark and drawn-out moments with Oh Yeah.

Whether the art inspired the album or the album inspired the art hardly matters; the direction is woven together. The collection of eight tracks explores something darker, heavier and much less accessible than their debut. And yet, Oh Yeah feels more poignant too.

Most of the tracks rely on hard-grooving, rhythmical directness that repeats with regularity and is only broken by an occasional instrumental flair. Another consistency, from one side of the album to the other, are deep rhythms that bury the distant echo of B’layachi's nearly spoken vocals.

B’layachi seems to prefer it that way. Even with his new band, he drops back and otherwise diminishes his vocals. In this case, it almost makes Oh Yeah sound like it was recorded in two different rooms: the band was in the studio and their frontman was in a closest.

Some of this works. Some of it doesn't. But the only reason it doesn't is because B’layachi often forces you to tune out the groove if you want to hear the lyrics. Only when you do can you get that Hotel smacks of angry insomnia, an endless chug and throb before their welcomed transitions.

One of the best tracks on the album is the two-minute tight Big Arse Rabbit. Lee McFadden caught the track live when Godard asked Dear Thief to play a last-minute support set at the St. Aloysius Club in London. The studio track sounds much fuller, but this is one of the few previews put out.

Although heavier, this is the sound that captured some attention a few years ago with Under Archway. What makes this band so interesting is how they oscillate between post punk and impulsive nervous noise. At times, it's almost hard to get a handle on the sound. Sample at least one full track a few times.

Elephant tells a hypnotic tale of how someone lives on the dark side of the street, contrasting his ugly here and now with a hint of where he comes from. Move picks up the pace, conveying a desire to get somewhere despite being trapped in place. And Ground Swell carries a haunting resignation backed by more heavy and melodic riffs. After Big Arse Rabbit, any of those are good places to start.

All in all, there is plenty to like about the Dear Thief for anyone who has an open ear and wants to listen to some loud and insistent arrangements with unapologetic lyrics. It's all about snapshots and ruts, especially those ugly enough that they aren't meant to be permanent.

Oh Yeah By Dear Thief Bangs Out 6.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Interestingly enough, the band recorded the album with two different approaches this time out with John Hannon. Some tracks were well crafted before being laid down. Others where improvised in the studio. The effect is both memorable and ephemeral as intended, even if the album seems likely to slip by unnoticed. Maybe that is all the more reason to preserve it.

You can pick up the heavily idiosyncratic album Oh Yeah by Dear Thief on Amazon. You can also find Oh Yeah on iTunes. Follow the band on Facebook if you want to catch them live. While the band won't be for everyone, Dear Thief makes for some great original art.

Joe Hill Rolls NOS4A2 Down The Road

2013-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Charles Talent Manx has a gift. He can travel roads that almost nobody knows like The Night Road, Gumdrop Lane, and St. Nicholas Parkway. He can find the dreamlike destinations Lovecraft Keyhole, Pennywise Circus, and Christmasland. And as long as he keeps his pristine 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith gassed up on misery and in mint condition, he can save children from futures filled with abuse and malcontent.

For better than 100 years, he has done exactly that. He peruses their futures, discerns their fates, and conspires to snatch them up before any additional harm might happen. He is a savior and eternal benefactor, hellbent to return and preserve their innocence forever — about ten kids with every run.

It's a tough job, but Manx finds the rewards well worth it. His children, those he saves, are treated to cocoa every day and presents every morning — a never-ending Christmas Day with costumes, games, and amusements. It's a place so miraculous that the price of admission hardly seems to matter.

Charles Manx owns a vanity plate. It reads NOSA42.

Manx isn't the only person with the talent. Small town librarian Maggie Leigh can see into the hidden spaces any time she plays Scrabble. Victoria McQueen can shortcut her way across the countryside on a Raleigh bicycle. And even Bing Partridge, who doesn't possess any supernatural ability, performs his own brand of magic with a gas mask and gingerbread smoke.

It's these special talents that draw them all together. Partridge makes the perfect elf for Manx, although he prefers to see himself like a solider with a chest full of medals. Leigh makes a less-than-perfect seer for McQueen, who uses her bicycles to find anything and everything from lost bracelets to child abductors.

It's the latter talent, in fact, that sets Manx and McQueen on a collision course. After a fight with her mother, McQueen wants to find some trouble and the shorter way bridge doesn't steer her wrong. It opens the way to Sleigh House, a halfway house of sorts for Manx and his wayward children.

The Sleigh House was a cottage, surrounded by pines and decorated year round for Christmas. The music playing on the radio was always the same, Burl Ives with Holly Jolly Christmas or something similar. The always-present aroma of turkey dinner wafted in air. And the boy she spied in the backseat of the Wraith seemed pleasantly content until McQueen leaned in a little closer.

He didn't look like any boy she had seen before. His face was lunar in the its paleness. His eyes were hollow. His veins were black and seemed to crawl beneath his skin. His hair was the color of frost. And although he warned McQueen away when she first approached him, he turned gleeful as soon as he could hurt her and call for his abductor. Manx was almost merry to learn someone wanted to find him.

A couple of graphs about author Joe Hill and his supernatural story.

Joe Hill finds a new voice with NOS4A2, taking on a tone that is much simpler than his earlier work and, at times, sounds like it is written for a young reader audience despite the adult content. It's part of the mechanism that makes the novel creepy in between bursts of fast-paced suspenseful prose.

Everything about NOS4A2 balances sickly sweet and terrifyingly abrupt, a feat few authors could reach. Hill also does his best to take the romance out of vampirism, which is good, and hurls some of his own feelings about what he calls the over-commericialism of Christmas by bending Manx's idealization of it and innocence around full circle into a dark and horrific place with painted on smiles.

Although most people know he is the son of Stephen King, he originally chose the pen name Joe Hill (shortened from Joe Hillstorm King) to succeed on his own merit. His early successes include comics and short stories. His first novel was Heart-Shaped Box, published in 2007.

NOS4A2 By Joe Hill Rides 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

While not as strong as his debut, Heart-Shaped Box, but better received than his underrated novel Horns, NOS4A2 is an epic-length novel without an epic story. At the same time, it doesn't really matter because the story is enjoyable all the same, mostly because Hill has mastered the art of constructing scenes that people care about. You almost can't help but to want one more.

NOS4A2: A Novel By Joe Hill is available from Amazon or you can order the book from Barnes & Noble. It can be downloaded for iBooks and the audiobook is brilliantly read by Kate Mulgrew. Hill handpicked her to read the audio edition, which could be the best narration casting decision of the year. Mulgrew gives McQueen a pained likability, an extra dose of dimwittedness to Partridge, and a near Charles Burns-like sound to Manx.

The Almost Finds Fear Inside Of Bones

2013-06-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Aaron Gillespie and The Almost did something few rock bands do. They holed themselves up in a small room at Omni Studios in Nashville for five days and played 11 songs front to back until they had an album. The resulting live studio album, Fear Inside Our Bones, is a foray into thunderous and sometimes gritty rock.

"It's something none of us have ever done and with the time crunch, we were surprised how tight of a live band we've finally become," said Gillespie. "Thematically, we bounced the entire record off using anxiety as our backboard."

The sound on Fear Inside Our Bones is more urgent and rock-driven than their sometimes popish sophomore album, Monster Monster. It recaptures the freshness The Almost possessed when they released Southern Weather in 2007 while showcasing how the band has matured at the same time. They definitely feed off each other's energy when they play live, even in a studio. You can feel it.

The song Ghost is an addictive album opener, with its heavy refrains and unbridled bluesy base. Gillespie uses all of it to his advantage, giving his vocals some lift in order to soar above it. The lyrics have depth, splitting the chorus and verse into present and past.

The hardship theme of it, someone with nothing to lose but barely hanging on, rolls over into the third track too. Although more radio friendly with straightforward and repetitive lyrics, it's the Southern rock roots vibe that holds the song together like dirty rice. Overall, I'm Down makes for a great pick-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps rock song.

The title track, Fear Inside Our Bones, is bookended between those openers. It opens with one of the softer rock moments on the album before revealing some bristle one minute into the song. The band alternates between pop and rock throughout it. The best element is the chorus, even if it promises that the song will play dirtier than it ever does.

The balance of Fear Inside Our Bones has highs and lows.

Never Be Like You and Come On cut two ways, depending on your point of view. Fans will hear two tracks that suggest the band comes into its own on the album, settling into a groove that sounds like the band. Others will hear something else. Although both songs have their moments, there is a sense that they're only going through motions — taking a break between better tracks.

The Almost gets back on track with The Florida Sun. The underrated ballad might revolve around the Sunshine State, but it proves more accessible in that it can reach anyone reminiscing about whatever place they consider home. It's one of Gillespie's most personal and intimate tracks.

As the sixth track, The Florida Sun marks the halfway point of the album. Fight Song, Won't Let Go, and So What revive the never-give-up attitude of Fear Inside Our Bones. Each gives The Almost a slightly different rock vibe: urgent, brooding, and tight. Love Is Coming is the most obvious Christian rock song in the mix and Lonely Boy breaks ranks as the weakest closer in memory. Seriously, skip it.

Overall, Fear Inside Our Bones is Gillespie's best work to date as a singer-songwriter. It also demonstrates how far the band has progressed with Dusty Redmon (guitar), Jay Vilardi (rhythm guitar), Joe Musten (drums), and Jon Thompson (bass). While there is obviously more room for maturity, there isn't any question that recording straight to tape was the right call.

Fear Inside Our Bones By The Almost Picks Up 4.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Fear Inside Our Bones promises to pick up some of its earliest supporters, especially those who thought the last album was a little too polished. This time out, there is an ever-present honesty in every song that works. And while it is too bad that not every song works, some tracks are clearly winners.

Fear Inside Our Bones by The Almost is available on Amazon. You can also download it from iTunes or pick it up from Barnes & Noble. The Almost is currently touring on the West Coast, with plans to head south in July. You can find the band's touring schedule on Facebook.

Warhammer Quest Takes A Game Turn

2013-06-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

While Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition left some people wondering why anyone would ever create a classic turn-based role playing tabletop game without overcomplicating everything, along comes Warhammer Quest. It delivers Dungeons & Dragons style play better than any app before it.

Although role playing is naturally limited — making the game more akin to a turn-based dungeon crawl (a.k.a. hack-and-slash campaign) — Warhammer Quest does exactly what it sets out to do. It allows you to lead a party of four pre-generated characters on a series of loosely-tied dungeon adventures.

Warhammer Quest works as an interactive story, with you playing every player.

The party consists of the proverbial troupe made famous by Lord Of The Rings: marauder (fighter), elf (archer), dwarf (fighter), and wizard. There are three additional characters that can be purchased, including classic Warhammer-like characters such as a troll slayer dwarf, warrior priest, and archmage elf. Although the additional character packs are steep, the game is tooled for future character packs too.

The important thing to know here is that while a large party can travel from town to town together, only four find themselves on a quest or adventure at a time. So unless you plan to ignore one of the original four outright, characters will have to be rotated into alternating quests in order to keep them relatively close in level, something that is challenging even if they journey together.

While the characters do place treasure, artifacts, weapons, and armor in a community pool (unless they possess the item), experience is tallied on individual merit with an unfair advantage of last hit being awarded the kill. The point is that every character needs to get their hands dirty to progress.

A quick overview of a turn-based, semi-strategy game.

The game is mostly broken into three play areas: towns, dungeons and the map. Towns (and cities) are where the party can sell and purchase goods, level up, pray to their patron, and find quests that are tied to a larger overarching story of sorts. Dungeons (and quests) are located around the city, usually consisting of missions (rescues and assassinations), quests (find specific treasure), and arch stories.

The map is how the party navigates between the other two play areas. If they are starting in a town or city, for example, every quest marker within their immediate proximity will be available. Sometimes something might happen on the road, but those stories are mostly scripted content and not real action.

The skirmish elements take place in dungeons and on quests (which are also dungeons with different goals). Much like the board game that Rodeo Games ported into an app, the battle area is a dungeon grid. Characters move to engage monsters, use items or cast spells. Spell casting can be a mixed blessing. Characters within the spell radius can and will be injured by friendly fire. Wild swings can cause damage too. And some characters don't fight well in a crowd, occasionally becoming pinned.

Once you kill all the monsters (orcs, goblins, trolls, etc.), the party collects any loot or artifacts before moving on to the next encounter. It's surprisingly fun, even if turn based means a slower paced game.

What Warhammer Quest currently lacks are any point-and-click search points in the richly rendered landscapes. As far as anyone can tell to date, there are no secret doors or non-combatant encounters.

A little bit about the development team at Rodeo Games.

The basic game play concept not only comes from Warhammer Quest, but also the perfection of a platform designed for a different franchise. Rodeo Games developed a space story franchise called Hunters and Hunters 2. Hunters 2 has a similar play style as well as some fun customization. The attention to detail is apparent in all their work.

The development team came together specifically to make iOS games in their Guildford, Surrey studio, which is located in the United Kingdom. The developers have worked for a few large-scale projects, ranging from Criterion Games and Lionhead Studios to EA Games and BodyCount.

Warhammer Quest By Rodeo Games Grinds 8.5 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Rodeo Games has been known to work diligently at producing additional content for the games it creates, which keeps everything fresh for nominal support. The game already has an expansion pack.

Overall, Rodeo Games has set a new bar. And after talking it over with my editor, there isn't too much that can be improved. A few long-term suggestions might include modest customization for characters (especially names), findable loot (as opposed to automatic awards), secret doors, traps and locks for thieves, etc. And, of course, if they are ever able to port characters or play parties made up of multiple iPad players (especially those entering lightly custom dungeons), they might have a serious run on paper games too.

Warhammer Quest is only available from the iTunes App Store. The initial game is $4.99 and well worth it. While there are in-game purchases and warrior packs, the initial game is immersive, offering plenty of play time. Visit Rodeo Games for more intel.

Queens Of The Stone Age Skip Death

2013-06-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Josh Homme was talking about a sixth Queens Of The Stone Age (a.k.a. QOTSA or Queens) album well before starting Them Crooked Vultures with John Paul Jones and Dave Grohl. Even so, most people assumed that Queens would take a back seat as this new band earned ample acclaim.

But before Vultures could set a date for their second album, Queens released its remastered debut and Homme lent his talents to The Mark Lanegan Band, a session that foreshadowed things to come. Grohl, Alain Johannes, Elton John, Mark Lanegan, James Lavelle, Nick Oliveri, Trent Reznor, Jake Shears, Alex Turner, and others contribute to the new album Like Clockwork, setting the stage for what some think of as a cyclical nature of music. The Homme sun dial is pointing at Queens for now.

Along with those guests (and Joey Castillo before he left), the new Queens lineup includes Troy Van Leeuwen (guitars), Dean Fertita (keys), Michael Shuman (bass), and Jon Theodore (drums). If you imagine that all these names might make Like Clockwork sound eclectic, you would be right. It's manic, with most of its inspiration drawn from a near-death experience.

Like Clockwork rolls in like a daze and out like a fog.

There is an ever-present black hearted edge to everything, but mostly Like Clockwork is an exercise in Homme becoming a better songwriter. The opener, Keep Your Eyes Peeled, couldn't make it more obvious and Homme second guesses reality. You could plant a tombstone next to his perspective.

The second riff-ripe track, I Sat By The Ocean, is all about heartbreak. It might even be a well-deserved heartbreak but Homme makes the case we can feel for him anyway. Another more creative take on the song is that the lover is death, with a lament in that it didn't take him. It left him embarrassed instead, trying to find what was important in life even though most people assumed he already knew.

If that sounds bleak, then consider The Vampyre Of Time And Memory. It was the first song Homme wrote in a little shack that he had converted into a home studio after his wife told him to go write whatever he wanted. He didn't even like the song at first pass. She told him not to care.

It's songs like Vampyre and the title track, Like Clockwork, that channel what he was feeling after the experience and into recovery. He is sort of a lost soul in some ways, attempting to assign it some meaning and yet struggling to find it. The refrain is unforgettable.

This is easily the dreariest album ever put together by Homme, but there a few familiarities to Queens as well as vintage rock arrangements. Part of that is by design. Much as he felt like starting over on uncertain footing, music has restarts too. Homme is pretty good at catching the front end of them.

Although all the melody and moodiness is great, the album kicks everything up a notch with My God Is The Sun. The track is faster with a quicker tempo. Kalopsia is another show stopper with its lullaby opening and big bristling transition. The song hints at what happened. Things are prettier than they appear.

The epic Fairweather Friends, the derail in Smooth Sailing, and the unexpected climax in I Appear Missing are all variants of harshly unsettling alternative rock. Each of them lends something more exciting to the overall experience. Things began to move again for Homme after he came to terms with the idea that most of what he thought was important wasn't so anymore.

Like Clockwork By QOTSA Skip 8.4 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

There really isn't too much out there like this album. Sure, some of the arrangements are familiar and everyone who contributed blends in like their tracks, mixed with a blur tool. In doing so, Homme gets the album he needed to make and everyone else gets props for helping him make it. When you really take the time to listen in, it's the lyrics and vocals that will turn your world around like it did his.

...Like Clockwork by Queens Of The Stone Age can be found on Amazon. You can also download the album from iTunes or order Like Clockwork from Barnes & Noble. QOTSA has been dropping large sets of tour dates on Facebook, sometimes as many as 12 at a time. It's a big tour. Watch for it. The iTunes edition, by the way, was mastered for the format.

The Battery Recasts The Zombie Movie

2013-06-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

While World War Z is shooting for catastrophic action horror with its $200 million budget, The Battery shot for cathartic dark comedy with a budget of only $6,000. Somehow, the deliberate and plodding indie flick carries a cultish charm that slowly settles in on a not-so-subtle zombie paradox.

Undead body counts are fun, but so are psychological portraits. In The Battery, writer-director-actor Jeremy Gardner settles on mostly two former baseball players — Ben (Gardner) and Mickey (Adam Cronheim) — who find isolation more dangerous than zombies as they wander the New England countryside. And fortunately (or unfortunately), they find more of the former and less the latter.

The Battery is a bit of the odd couple.

Although Ben and Mickey were teammates, they were never friends nor ran in the same circles. It becomes increasingly apparent that as bad of a match they seem to be in the worst of times, they would have been a bad match in the best of times too. Much like Ben describes it, they are a battery, implying positive and negative charges.

Ben embraces the new world with a nomadic lifestyle in the wilderness; Mickey can only find solitude in attempting to shut the worst of it out with denial and his headphones. Ben immediately kills any shambling zombies they find on sight; Mickey recoils from them with a whimper. Ben wants to keep moving; Mickey wants to settle for a comfortable bed and boarded windows.

If not for his own cowardice and inability to survive, Mickey would break off on his own or stay behind at the next available shelter. Ben, on the other hand, is more pragmatic. He knows Mickey relies on him for survival, but is also hopeful that his new friend-by-fate will eventually pull his own weight. Like it or not, they only have each other.

This isn't a film for jump scare fans. It bears more resemblance to the original George Romero film that defined the modern-day zombies as opposed to any action-packed remakes. Gardner seems much more interested in the psychological acceptance, adoption and emptiness that accompanies being a survivor.

He accomplishes much of it in the atmosphere he creates with drawn shots of the mundane, sharply written dialogue, and the caustic relationship between two people who coexist together out of necessity. They might have spent several months together, but it's clear there isn't a stitch of bonding.

The lack of camaraderie is eventually what invites conflict into the story. After dropping batteries into two walkie talkies taken from Mickey's dead girlfriend's house, the duo pick up some channel banter between other survivors. The survivors seem organized, secure, and structured. They also make it clear newcomers are not welcome. Ben accepts the warning. Mickey cannot leave it alone.

Three people that stand out in this indie success.

Florida-native writer-director-actor Jeremy Gardner originally wrote the screenplay based on an audition tape he made for a horror film casting contest. After two more years of rewrites, he asked ten friends to finance the film for $600 each. He does remarkably well in all three roles — writer, director and actor.

As a writer, he is especially sharp at dialogue and atmosphere. Although difficult to gauge how he might perform in other roles, his portrayal of Ben is near perfect as a wilderness drifter. His principal co-star is also mesmerizing to watch as a city-boy turned sad sack survivor.

While New York-born Adam Cronheim has a long resume of short films, voiceovers, and stage, The Battery is his first feature film. He and Gardner are friends in real life and, according to film biographies, Cronheim was responsible for all the licensing and distribution.

Although there are additional cast members and extras worth mentioning, the third primary player was never seen on camera. Photographer Christian Stella jumped in to handle the camerawork, design, color grading, and mixing the score despite not having any experience in cinematography. Everything is sun-soaked, with Stella using the same camera he uses for photography.

The Battery By Jeremy Gardner Charges 8.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The entire film was shot in 16 days and, with the exception of the zombies, the entire cast consisted of seven players (unless you count a worm that Gardner granted a film credit). The score has several gems too. The only thing this movie "isn't" is scary. But it was never intended to be anyway. It's a zombie movie with brains. No, really.

The Battery never panders to come across like a big budget picture nor does it ever descend into the schlock of amateur found footage films. Instead, everything about the film hits an indie sweet spot without ever becoming pretentious, predictable,or boring. If The Battery finds cerebral middle ground fans who have grown weary of special effects and thrill rides, it could easily become a cult classic.

The Battery is currently available to rent or purchase via iTunes. The Battery can also be streamed from Amazon. The film is currently available to rent in other formats too. Links will be added to retailers when it is eventually released on disc formats too. We look forward to more from all parties.

Rogue Wave Lays Nightingale Floors

2013-06-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Oakland, California, indie rock band headed by Zach Rogue (a.k.a. Zach Schwartz), Rogue Wave, has just put out its most underrated album. While some will still lament the band's departure from the low-key lo-fi that once characterized it or the changes heaped upon the band with ample pain, Nightingale Floors is a triumph as Rogue and company come to terms with everything they've gone through.

Written and recorded in the wake of his father's death, Rogue has composed a riveting full length with a full 14 tracks included on the deluxe edition. Parting with his father isn't the only the bit of anguish that he attempts to distinguish. Life, death, love, loss, and individual mortality move the album.

Nightingale Floors lays down a few tracks about life and death, most with a peaceful resolution.

Perhaps what catches people completely off guard is that Rogue delivers much of it with what some might mistake as stoicism. Instead, listen a little closer, and Rogue seems have found peaceful acceptance in all the hardships he and his band have had to endure. He is at peace, come what may.

He's not alone either. The lineup for Nightingale Floors include a full dance card. Along with the cranky but apologetic Rogue is Pat Spurgeon (drums), Dan Iead (guitar), Masanori Christianson (bass), and Rob Easson (synth, guitar). Newcomers Easson and Iead fit right in with original members Rogue and Spurgeon. (Christianson has been on and off, lately on, with the band before).

The two most visible songs since the release include College and Siren's Song. College is one of the few songs with pop energy behind it. The lyrics hint at another story, however, comparing and contrasting knowledge and wisdom. Siren's Song is a perfect example of how the layered compositions make Rogue Wave impossibly addictive.

Interestingly enough, Rogue is always quick to point out in interviews that he has been doing pretty good for the last couple of years. The only pain left in his life is related to his slipped discs. That ailment is forever, but he has no intention of slowing things down.

The only thing he didn't know, in fact, is whether he and Spurgeon would click after all this time apart. That doubt lasted for about two minutes. It immediately felt right, like the break had never happened.

Although No Magnatone opens the album like a prologue, it actually plays better if you listen to it as an epilogue. There isn't much to it compared to College, Siren's Song, or even the Rogue Wave lite track Figured It Out. The Closer I Get would have played better in third position. It's throwback tender.

Other tracks worth a listen are my personal favorite, Everyone Want To Be You, a long eight-plus minute opus that has a big ambiance and an even bigger presence by Rogue. It closes out the album perfectly, except that it actually serves as a segue for four bonus tracks that change the dynamic.

Nearly Lost You, Body Breaks, Operated, and When You Walk Away collectively make what might have been a good album great. The irony is that after several dozen reviewers dismissed the album as forgettable, the bonus four make it unforgettable in that the band proves a needed depth and diversity.

That's not to say other tracks ought to be ignored. The largely overlooked Used To It and the sparsely acoustic Without Pain are both listenable. But in looking at the two wholes, the 10-track release does feel hit and miss with the addition of four more bonus track cousins.

Nightingale Floors By Rogue Wave Leaves A 5.8 Wake On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

It might be important to note that the rating is attached to Nightingale Floors (deluxe version) as opposed to the original release, which delivered equal parts hits and almost misses. The additional four tracks make up the some of the best alongside College, Siren's Song and Everyone Wants To Be You. Some of the other tracks play okay too, but not to the caliber of the balance.

Nightingale Floors (deluxe version) by Rogue Wave is up on Amazon. You can also download the deluxe version from iTunes. Barnes & Noble carries the original CD release. The band is currently working its way east before heading west via the Midwest again. Tour schedules are posted on Facebook.

Out Of The Easy Is A Spring Sleeper

2013-06-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Out Of The Easy gives more than a lift to Josie Moraine, the protagonist of a deceptively straightforward and wildly engrossing historical fiction set in the 1950s. It gives readers a lift too as an amiable heroine attempts to break the chains of circumstance in New Orleans.

Although Moraine is a little rough around the edges after being raised in the seediest side of the French Quarter, she is smart and resourceful. She holds down two jobs as she approaches her eighteenth birthday — one at an author-owned bookstore and another at the brothel where her mother works.

It's in these two different environments that Moraine often foreshadows her future. She sees her life unfolding with an education like author Charlie Marlowe or without one like her mother, who entertains gentlemen at a house owned by madame Willie Woodley. It would all make perfect sense, except neither path is precisely as it seems to be nor necessarily exclusive of one another.

“Sometimes we set off down a road thinkin' we're goin' one place and we end up another. But that's okay. The important thing is to start.” — from Out Of The Easy

Josie Moraine sees her chance clearly enough. She has her sights set on school in New England, a college that is less likely to discriminate against or discourage degrees with a domestic bent. But to make it happen, there are plenty of roadblocks for Moraine to overcome.

The first and most obvious is that being accepted in proper circles is difficult without the right pedigree. As Woodley once laid out: Salted peanuts don't mix with petits fours. And Moraine is salted peanuts.

Not only was Moraine's mother a prostitute, but she was also named after the most successful madame that her mother had ever met. The reason didn't help either. Her mother wished that life on Moraine too.

If that wasn't enough, Moraine has other challenges. She doesn't really know anyone who could write her letters of recommendation. She never had time to partake in extracurricular activities. She had no idea how to finance her education.

But even if she could remedy these two problems, another problem surfaces. A gentleman visits the bookstore on New Year’s Eve and purchases a volume of Keats for his wife and another copy of David Copperfield by Dickens for himself. Their friendly conversation sends Moraine’s head spinning with possibilities, enough so that she makes an exception and accepts a check instead of cash.

It would be the last check the man would ever write. He coincidentally turns up dead on the same day that Moraine's mother and a thug named Cincinnati decide to make their break for Hollywood. Caught in the middle of the investigation, Moraine finds herself unsure of whom to trust, including herself. Maybe she is, Moraine decides, nothing better than salted peanuts.

A few graphs about author Ruta Sepetys.

Born in Michigan, Ruta Sepetys was the youngest of three in a family of artists, readers and music lovers. When she went to college, she intended to study opera but had a change of heart. She became an international finance major, which gave her an opportunity to live abroad.

It was while she was in Paris that she decided to return to her musical roots. She moved to Los Angeles and then Tennessee where she found "a beautiful boy" and got married. The slower pace did wonders, giving her time to transform some of her adventures into stories. It was her husband who encouraged her to write a novel. Out Of The Easy is her second.

Out Of The Easy By Ruta Sepetys Hustles Up 9.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The brilliance in the book is how effortlessly Sepetys tells her story through the eyes of Josie Moraine. Moraine is a fully realized young girl who is coming of age in a very different New Orleans than the one people know today — one where the heroes and villains could not always be told by the cut of their cloth. The French Quarter, in particular, had been mostly given up to organized crime and illegal entertainment.

Out of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys can be found on Amazon. You can also download the book for iBooks or order the novel from Barnes & Noble. The audiobook is narrated by Lauren Fortgang. She reads it with a passion fitting for the story but with a much more pronounced accent than the print implies. Sepetys, by the way, maintains a very active and entertaining Facebook page.

Houndmouth Howls From Hills Below

2013-06-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Back in April, Mayor Greg Fischer decreed it "Houndmouth Day" in Louisville, Kentucky. The proclamation coincided with the four-piece folk-rock band opening the concert season there.

It was a pretty big deal for Louisville, taking some ownership of a band that often describes its origins as being from "the lowland plains and farmlands of Indiana and Kentucky." And it was a pretty big deal for Houndmouth. Their first album debuted yesterday, released by Rough Trade Records.

The band itself is somewhat of an accidental afterthought. It all came together when a folk duo consisting of Katie Toupin (vocals, keyboard) and Matt Myers (guitar, vocals) joined up with Shane Cody (drums, vocals) and Zak Appleby (bass, vocals). But where they come from hardly seems to matter anymore.

From The Hills Below The City lights up Houndmouth.

While some people see Houndmouth as a bit of a mismatch with the label, Rough Trade is keen on the caustic nature of alternative. Much of what most people called alternative has entered the mainstream, opening up some room for roots rock to land there.

That's not to say everything that Houndmouth howls about is exclusively Americana. Their sound continues to be hard for some folks to categorize because it is colossally electric. They play most of it constrained to a half-time beat but aren't afraid to punch it up with some guitar solos. When combined with Toupin's organ, most of the music they produce feels like it's moving in two directions at once, forward and backward at the same time.

The lyrics on the other hand are a bit different. Although poetic musings sound like they play to the past, Houndmouth is lively and surprisingly contemporary. This isn't old school farmland folk. It's about real people with contemporary troubles.

Although played at a slower pace than some of the tracks on From The Hills Below The City, Penitentiary carries a bit of a confessional punch that hints at the reverse exodus as people move away from some big cities and head south where the law might be a bit tougher than they imagined.

The track, like several swatches from this album, is imbued with a benevolence toward loners (and sometimes losers). The band, it seems, can relate. Even the first track, On The Road, makes loss somehow admirable and understandable because Houndmouth lays it out cold.

That's not to say every track off From The Hills Below The City are brooding or bluesy. There is resolution in the more livelier tracks like Come On, Illinois and Krumpus. The road might be hard, but the band doesn't abandon hope outright. There is an understood acceptance that bad things happen when being bad is the choice you make — much like the man they crow about in Halfway to Hardinsburg.

All of it makes a pretty convincing case to be a country blues vagabond without glorifying any of it. The real beauty of the music is that everyone feels like an outsider at one time or another. And when a band brings the right stories together with a remarkable roots rock precision, there isn't much more to do than nod along and encourage them to preach it.

From The Hills Below The City Rustles Up 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The beaten-down-but-still-here hardship songs revive and modernize some of the sentiment felt in the depressed-laced 30s. But perhaps what is different is the non-judgmental seductiveness of music that makes so much sense. Even if it isn't a style that makes you sit back and listen, run the playlist and listen for the exception. Before you know it, you might find yourself adding another track or two until you own it all.

From The Hills Below The City by Houndmouth can be found on Amazon. You can also order the album from Barnes & Noble or download it from iTunes. Houndmouth is currently touring with a sporadic criss-cross across the United States planned. For upcoming dates and places, find them on Facebook.

The Art League Is A Good Will Pick

2013-06-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

"By nurturing the artist, we enrich the community." — The Art League in Alexandria, Virginia

It's a statement that has been one of the guiding principles of The Art League, which has served the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area since 1954. The league is a dynamic nonprofit organization, one that meets its mission through its gallery, fine arts school, art supply store, and arts outreach program.

Although recognized as one the best small charities in the greater Washington D. C. area, The Art League is much more. It is a model arts program, one of the best in the country. For more than 60 years, it has been responsible for providing a supportive arts environment where thousands of people have discovered, developed, and contributed to fine arts.

The Arts League has almost 60 years behind it.

Originally founded by six female art students as The Art League of Northern Virginia, the group worked to foster art and art appreciation, sponsor lectures, encourage study, and hold exhibitions. As the organization grew, it eventually incorporated as a nonprofit and expanded to include the Washington D.C. area in 1967, shortly before playing a critical role in adapting the historic Torpedo Factory Art Center into artist studios owned by the City of Alexandria. Today, it is home to six galleries.

One of those galleries is managed and curated by The Art League, which provides a fellowship for more than 1,000 artists. Every month, member artists participate in juried exhibits that showcase original art by artists throughout Washington D.C. and the surrounding mid-Atlantic region.

As amazing as it is, the gallery is only the beginning. Its school and outreach give artists an opportunity to write their own stories. Here is a visual sampling of those stories from artists and enthusiasts alike.

As the video illustrates, much of what makes The Art League unique is that it has grown to maintain a non-accredited arts school, open to all, providing instruction to nearly 7,000 students every year. The classes are taught by some of the most talented and well-known artists and instructors in the country.

The school also provides exhaustive outreach programs. The school hosts special skills-training programs for youth, hosts sponsored summer art camps for at-risk children, offers special IMPART programs for wounded warriors, and operates the award-winning SOHO (a Space of Her Own) art mentoring program that serves low-income preteen girls in Alexandria.

A little more about the breakthrough SOHO program.

SOHO, which was developed in collaboration with The Art League and the Alexandria Court Service Unit, provides a 16-week arts and life-skills program, concluding with the redecoration of the girls' bedrooms. It's there that these girls find a safe, stable environment to rediscover creativity and develop meaningful relationships.

Girls are each matched with a female adult volunteer mentor from the community and they meet weekly to participate in team-building activities, learn life skills lessons, eat a healthy dinner, and participate in an art lesson taught by a professional Art League artist. The curricula covers significant ground, which includes self-esteem, relationship building, and other life skills that might not develop anywhere else.

SOHO is offered completely free to its participants, and all mentors serve on a volunteer basis. The program depends entirely on the generosity of the individuals, foundations and companies that provide financial support to fund art lessons and projects, and the mentors and other volunteers who generously give their time, energy and skills to the program.

The Art League Is A Liquid Hip Good Will Pick.

At least once a month, Liquid Hip highlights good will efforts undertaken by people with big hearts. We don't score them. That belongs to you.

We chose The Art League because it provides a successful blueprint for nonprofit art organizations with dozens of elements that could be duplicated by other communities. It addresses art on every level, ranging from at-risk youth to working novice and professional artists in the area.

You can learn more about The Art League and its various programs by visiting its site. There are also a number of ways to help the program with a donation. The Art League also held a Razoo campaign that coincided with a community-wide, 24-hour fundraising program hosted by Act for Alexandria. Programs that raise the most money within 24 hours in April are awarded additional funds and grants.

Alice In Chains Dusts Off A Dinosaur

2013-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Alice In Chains has always been a favorite among the hard luck success stories that broke out of my hometown in the late 80s and early 90s. Looking back now, it doesn't even seem possible that they could catapult themselves so far on the back of three albums.

It seems equally impossible that the band would find its second wind some 17 years after the release of Dirt (1992). Black Gives Way To Blue (2009) was a big chance with William DuVall as the vocalist/guitarist to complete the quartet, filling a spot left vacant by the late Layne Staley.

But it was also a needed and necessary chance for Jerry Cantrell (guitar/vocals), his long-time friend Sean Kinney (drums), and Mike Inez (bass) who had truly earned his place after almost a decade. Black Gives Way To Blue was a make it or break it album that would dictate whether the reunited band could stay intact. It did, but in some ways only barely because the band was still recovering from the loss.

The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is the earned next chapter everyone wanted.

Although shaken by the death of original bassist Mike Starr shortly after Cantrell had announced that there would be a fifth album (as well as Cantrell being plagued by injuries to his back and shoulders), Alice In Chains managed to create an album with a newfound confidence. The past, it seems, is finally in the past.

Opening with a heavier, plodding, and more sinister sound, Hollow sets the tone for the entire album. This is their heaviest release, providing a progression and new confidence to be their own band.

Stone also proves that although the band has put the past behind them, they haven't forgotten it. The song is a slow burner while weaving in tonal elements no one else could make with the same conviction. Even slowed down, the lyrics snake back and forth between hallucination and hard fact.

Stone works because it commits, even if the song is about making no commitments. They've made no commitments on The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here either. The sludgy guitars and haunting melodies are alive and well, but there is a freshness to the album after the openers, including the throwback arrangements in Pretty Done.

Voices adds in much a more lush and varied sound, bringing to mind some of their acoustic-driven songs of old. What makes the track stand out is how perfectly Cantrell and DuVall harmonize. It's easily one of my favorite tracks on the album, keeping with the aesthetic without the constant need to be ominous.

The title track, however, proves the opposite is equally true. It's an aggressively lumbering sarcastic stab at religion, especially sentiments that don't make much sense. The argument that the devil buried dinosaur bones is one of them. The challenge of reconciling homophobia is another. The criticism is refreshed with the reminder that Cantrell was always at the center of Alice In Chains creativity.

Other knockouts include Lab Monkey for its thick bass and great guitar work, Low Ceiling for its self-assured and claustrophobic lyrics, and Choke for bringing back equal parts acoustic air and melancholy. While those are among the best, expect plenty of people to criticize the almost 70-minute long album for lagging at points (namely Hung On A Hook).

Maybe that sounds true at times, but I suspect both Scalpel and Breath On A Window will eventually stand the test of the time. They are largely underrated, mostly because of how they compare to other standout tracks. On their own, both songs are as good as anything else Cantrell has composed, even if they are less accessible.

The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here Kicks Up 8.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The best part of the fifth studio album released by Alice In Chains is how comfortable the band has become with each other and the sense of confidence they instill in anybody listening. What once sounded impossible — that Alice In Chains would be back with new material — no longer seems improbable. It's almost like welcoming an old friend home. It isn't as good as vintage, but it is still something to look forward to hearing refreshed every few years.

The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here by Alice In Chains can be found on Amazon. You can also download it from iTunes or order the album from Barnes & Noble. As expected, the band is already lining up a heavy tour schedule for the summer and beyond. Check it out on Facebook.

David Freed Strikes With Fangs Out

2013-05-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Cordell Logan isn't a typical flight instructor. He is a retired black ops specialist and reluctant private investigator — reluctant because he isn't a professional. Trouble tends to find and force itself on him.

He was forced into solving his first mystery when Arlo Echevarria, his former boss who stole his wife away, was murdered by a Domino's Pizza guy in Flat Spin. He is pushed into it again in Fangs Out, but this time for nothing as noble as winning over the affections of his ex-wife. He needs the money.

Fangs Out is a sequel with a little less action and a little more mystery.

There are other reasons to accept the assignment from famed Vietnam War hero pilot Hub Walker in La Jolla. The job is unusual but sounds like a slam dunk. The way Logan sizes the job up, he'll have some extra time to rekindle a romance with his widowed ex-wife.

She lives in the area, which makes the title fit all the more. Logan is hot for a dog fight, one that leaves him just enough time to win over the woman he still pines away for. What he doesn't know is that the dog fight will come someplace else — unknown adversaries who intend to keep him from any prize.

The mystery itself starts just moments before Dorian Munz, the killer of Walker's daughter, implicates a prominent U.S. defense contractor instead. The press have a field day with the revelation. Munz gives them a motive. And the accused, Greg Castle, is Walker's best friend and his daughter's employer.

Walker wants his best friend's name cleared. If Logan can do it, the pending payday is $10,000. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Someone doesn't want the truth to come out. And shortly after Logan lands his beloved Cessna, the Ruptured Duck, in San Diego, he becomes a target too.

Cordell Logan is an enigma, a sarcastic contradiction.

When Logan gave up his career as a contract killer for the military, he vowed to become a peaceful player. He now works as a civilian flight instructor with a single student. He follows Buddhism to the best of his ability. He rents a garage room from an 88-year-old landlady. And he owns a weight-challenged cat that pretends not to love him. It's not much, but he survives.

There is something else about Logan you need to know long before you pick up the book. He never met a cliche that he didn't like and frequently spouts out one liners, even in the face of mortal danger. It's almost like an addiction and is patently distracting when tied to action, which there is much less of in this more cerebral and slow-burning cat-and-mouse mystery.

There is no question that author David Freed cranks up the wit and chronic sarcasm in an attempt to make his comedic mechanism intentional. Plenty of people will appreciate it but some not so much. The difference between Logan and other comedic characters is that nothing terribly funny is happening in the story. Logan merely makes insider jokes about everything and only he and the reader are privy.

Sometimes it works and sometimes it falls flat, making Logan one part humorous and two parts annoying. Not all of his annoying traits are caused by quips alone. He is a chronic whiner, which might even explain why so many people like him but nobody really respects him, not even his cat.

David Freed is fine storyteller who shares a passion for flight.

Even with the aforementioned shortcomings, Freed is an author that you want to cheer on. He is immediately likable, approachable and appreciates what it takes to build out a mystery cut from a film noir cloth. Never mind that the characters lean a little toward being cutouts. You can't guess at the end.

You also can't call every character a cutout. As impossible as it seems at times, the smugness isn't exclusive to imagination. Before becoming a novelist, Freed had worked as an investigative reporter, embedded journalist and with the U.S. intelligence community. Much like flying, being abuzz in sarcasm is likely a trait the character and his creator share.

Fangs Out By David Freed Flies By 5.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Fangs Out is an entertaining who-done-it noir mystery with a little less action than the Cordell Logan debut. Freed keeps it fresh and moving even as his reluctant modern day private investigator is grounded throughout much of the book. There is an evolution here and it will be interesting to see where it might head next.

Fangs Out by David Freed can be ordered from Barnes & Noble or you can find Fangs Out (Cordell Logan Mystery) on Amazon. You can also download the audiobook from iTunes. The book, read by Keith Szarabajka, recasts Logan with a more gravelly and less lively narration. While Szarabajka is fine, Ray Porter made the better Logan. Stick to print this time and keep an eye out for appearances by the author.

Uncle Acid Returns With Mind Control

2013-05-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

When Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats set out to make a drug-drenched horrific sophomore album, they headed to a dilapidated barn. There, three members produced something as sensational as was it was sinister in Blood Lust, a solid second outing from a psychedelic doom metal band.

With the help of Metal Blade Records, the band has since devolved into "street creeps, burnouts and draft dodgers," making the music more mainstream and expected. They skipped the barn and headed into Chapel Studios to have the full benefit of electrical technology. And it all starts to make you wonder.

Uncle Acid adds another member to produce Mind Control.

Although rumor has it that the third outing for Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats was big crime horror inspired, it doesn't always feel that way on Mind Control. Despite starting with the cult-cut imagery of brainwashers like Charles Manson and Jim Jones, the album is never scary or much of a novelty.

Many of the songs work, with Poison Apple kicking off the album a few months ago as a single. The track comes across as laid back and fuzzed out hippie music until the lyrics are deciphered from the vocals pushed down under the instruments. Poison Apple is a first person perspective of temptation.

The song is a seduction, with some heavy hooks and and mind-bending melody. The guitar work later wakes the composition up when the song needs it. But the only spooky moment is the chill inspired poetry whispered at the end of the garbage dump video put up by the band.

The whisper isn't on the album, but makes clear the other inspiration for the song. The lyrics are inspired by Manson, the whispered lines were uttered during an interview. His answer is said to imply he was a mind control slave. Uncle Acid isn't the first to allude to Monarch programming in music.

Although the album is a big change in direction, with less bite and more drone, it still has a story at the center of it. This time out, the grisly tale told by Uncle Acid is about a man who has murdered members of his cult and fled to find more weak-minded disciples. The story begins with the opener Mt. Abraxas.

The second half is hard to reconcile after Blood Lust.

The downside is that the change in sound sends Uncle Acid further away from what caught everyone's attention last year and more toward the retro-metal acts that don't quite measure up to the few finest. In fact, the album becomes increasingly timid as it progresses. The mellow nature is meant to be mind numbing with Devil's Work closing the album on a note of lamenting awareness after some lulls.

Part of that lament for some listeners will be that the band drifted too far away from the hardness that made Blood Lust so powerful. Despite several decent tracks on top, Mind Control doesn't have the power or the energy to sustain itself as a standalone. The best bet is to stick with the opening tracks after Mt. Abraxas and cherry pick the album after Evil Love. Follow The Leader is a contender.

The only motivation to purchase the album would be to try on the band's intent. They wanted to create an atmosphere that recreates the half-aware head of a marionette. (Death Valley Blues isn't about the pop it plays like.) But mostly, it seems, the band would have been better off keeping any strings taut in action as opposed to trying to find the mindset.

Mind Control By Uncle Acid Whispers 4.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Although not on the album, Under The Spell, is also a keeper. It appeared as the B-side to the single Poison Apple and best represents the sound that works best for Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats. As for the album, some of the drone has its moments but the band asks for too much to make it all work. Who knows? Maybe they felt the same way in the studio as everything was over-produced for a barn band.

You can find Mind Control by Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats on Amazon. You can also download the album from iTunes or order the vinyl from Barnes & Noble. Otherwise, if this serves as your introduction to the band, consider Blood Lust first. Or make plans to see them live.

Chan Luu Puts The Bracelet In Wraps

2013-05-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Vietnam-born Chan Luu and her parents had very different opinions of what she would do when she grew up. Even at a very young age, she showed a strong artistic side and was naturally attracted to form, shape and color. But her parents had other plans.

They were successful business owners in Saigon, and expected their daughter to become a merchant or maybe a doctor. They also wanted to get her out of Vietnam. Although the war didn't always reach them in the coastal city of Nha Trang, they took a rare opportunity to send her out of the country — from Hong Kong to Honolulu to Boston, where Luu eventually enrolled in Boston University.

In 1972, Luu graduated with a degree in business administration from Boston University, but her heart was still tied to art and fashion design. So she moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and studied at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Upon graduation, she opened a European clothing boutique in Rolling Hills Estates, but her own designs were put on hold until 1996.

Chan Luu creates some extraordinary and exciting wrap bracelets.

Although the designs look simple at a glance, the intricacies become apparent on closer inspection. Something happens when Luu matches semi-precious stones, sterling silver, gold vermeil, and custom dyed leathers to make her wraps. They are both contemporary and bohemian, making them striking in casual or formal settings, all depending on the stones and what they accent.

The quality of every piece is equally important. The leather is hand dyed. The stones are hand cut. The combinations are carefully planned combinations: gold vermeil and pearls, rose gold nuggets and rose quartz, amazonite and silver nuggets.

Sometimes the stones are all the same color or same size. Other times they become progressively larger and smaller in waves or are laid out in a burst of diversity and contrast. But regardless of the shapes, sizes, there is always something artful and unique about each piece.

Some people tie these qualities to the designer's connection to nature. Many of her designs are inspired by world cultures and the looks they create within semi-precious stones in their direct vicinity. It makes sense, but few people seem to be able to combine them in such a way that Luu does.

A few more graphs about designer Chan Luu.

It wasn't always easy for Luu. In fact, there were many years it was hard. She had very little money, and split her time between work and school. And when the time came, she had to decide whether to retain her security (a sandwich shop that supported her at school) or the chance to enter the world of fashion with a tiny boutique measuring no more than 400 square feet. She stuck to her dreams.

Her own designs might have never happened but after being confined to bed because of a freak skiing accident, Luu started putting some beads together and making some fun jewelry. When she put the spontaneous designs into her boutique, they immediately sold. A few years later, a random idea to use hand-painted mother of pearl as a component led to a momentum that hasn't slowed since.

Wrap Bracelets By Chan Luu Tie Up 8.2 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

One of the best aspects of Chan Luu is the story behind the brand. If you ask her the secret to making jewelry stand out among other accessories, she won't hesitate to answer — every piece is fashioned with happiness. When she isn't happy, she stays as far away from designing as possible.

You can find a full collection of Chan Luu jewelry at Creative Contrast, a small team of creative visionaries and trend watchers who have made it their vision to bring the best of the designer world together in one place. In addition to their online store, Creative Contrast is based in Burlington, Vermont, and owns a boutique in San Diego.

As an alternative, Bloomingdales carries some select wrap bracelets from Chan Luu too. While the selection isn't as expansive, sometimes the store carries designs that can't be found elsewhere. In addition to some of the designs above, Chan Luu also makes a line of jewelry better suited for men.

The National Finds Some More Trouble

2013-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

There is no question that Trouble Will Find Me by The National is downbeat and subdued when compared to the 2010 release of High Violet. But the tempo hardly matters when listening the distinctive deep baritone of singer-songwriter Matt Berninger.

Formed in 1999 by a bunch of Ohio natives playing in Brooklyn, The National spent almost three years compiling material for their self-titled debut in 2001. What made the debut even more extraordinary was that Berninger, Aaron Dessner (guitar, bass, keys), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott Devendorf (bass, guitar), and Bryan Devendorf (drums) had never even played a single live show before releasing it.

The three-year investment, recorded with the help of engineer Nick Lloyd and and released on the Brassland label founded by Alec Bemis, paid off and the debut earned its place among the alternative underground. While the debut was a landmark beginning, it was only a beginning. The world-weary sound of Berninger and The National is light years ahead from where they started.

Trouble Will Find Me is an artistic collection of visceral tunes.

Written almost immediately after the band had returned from a two-year tour in support of High Violet, the tone of the album was mostly set by guitarist Aaron Dessner, who would sneak into the studio with extreme sleep deprivation caused in part by his newborn daughter. He sent along dozens of musical fragments to Berninger for a listen.

“He’d be so tired while he was playing his guitar and working on ideas that he wouldn’t intellectualize anything," said Berninger, who says it's rare for either Dessner to send him anything unfinished. "This time around, they sent me sketch after sketch that immediately got me on a visceral level.”

The early work changed everything. The band hadn't even planned to record anything for a year or two, but quickly found a new motivation. Instead of feeling tense, everything fell into place and created a cohesion that takes the band someplace they never anticipated.

Although not the strongest song on the album (but close), Sea Of Love does capture the sentiment. All throughout Trouble Will Find Me are self-lacerating glimpses of indecision when big things in life happen. Love, life, birth, death, separation, depression can make you wonder how you ended up somewhere.

Don't Swallow The Cap touches on the same self-reflective theme and there isn't a better track on the album. That's not to say other tracks don't measure up. On the contrary, there is much to love about this shadowy series of self-destructive, addictive glimmers of uncertainty with everything one loves on the table.

Perhaps the most haunting thing about the album is best conveyed on Demons, which hits the hardest parts of the album. The lyrics reveal a depression-induced urban ennui. None of what is felt here is caused by a lack of friends or necessities, love or possibilities. It's self-induced loneliness, a paralyzing and unexplained emotion that takes hold.

Other magnificent and brooding tracks include the piano-laced Pink Rabbits, the escapism of This Is The Last Time, and the most uptempo tune, Graceless. But aside from these songs, suffice to say that the album plays best with all 13 tracks to complete it. It's also the only way to catch a few carefully planted nods to great artists and some tongue-in-cheek lyric lines that will make a few people smile in the sorrow of it all.

Trouble Will Find Me Abandons 9.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

One aspect I've always appreciated about The National is their honesty without being pretentious. They know who they are and that the troubles they sing about are reserved for people who don't have real troubles. The power of this band is their poetic and heart-wrenching images, along with an ability to emote it all through Berninger's vocals and the balance of the band's instruments.

Trouble Will Find Me by The National is available from Amazon. You can also find the album on Barnes & Noble and download it from iTunes. Although the band never intended to be touring again so soon, they have a huge tour starting up in June. Check for play dates on Facebook.

Contour ROAM 2 Makes For Video Fun

2013-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

While some people are still looking for Google Glass to be the revolutionary hands-free video camera, the innovation already exists. It's much more durable and versatile too because you don't need glasses.

While there is already a more advanced version on the market, the Contour ROAM 2 I own captures crystal clear high definition video footage and 5 MP still photos. The battery specs are impressive, with about 3.5 hours of battery life and an instant-on record switch to maximize it.

So why haven't more people embraced the Contour camera? It mostly has to do with the way it is marketed. It originated as an adventure and extreme sports helmet mount video camera, but has become much more versatile as an everyday cam as long as you don't mind waiting to see the shot.

If you want to see the shot, you have to upgrade to Contour +2, something I don't own but have seen in action. The viewfinder relies on Bluetooth connectivity to a smart phone, which is still a bit hit and miss. It's something I'll circle back around to cover later in the review. The focus here is on what I own.

Designed for action enthusiasts, but fun for anyone with a little creativity.

Although the Contour ROAM 2 bills itself as a hands-free camera, which it is, it can also be turned into a held held by attaching a hand grip (a.k.a.pistol grip) to the the tripod mount. With a little practice, it's easy enough to learn how to frame up your shots without a viewfinder (or use the laser alignment).

Most people, of course, don't buy the Contour ROAM 2 for handheld functionality. Most are interested in the mounts, specifically helmet mounts. Once the mount is attached, usually with adhesive tape, the camera slides right into place. It also pays to add a tether in case the mount comes off.

Helmets aren't the only place to add the camera. They can be added to almost anything, including surfboards, which is why I picked one up. While I wouldn't keep it submerged for any length of time, the camera is waterproof up to one meter without an additional casing. Waterproof housing will extend that depth to 60 meters. One of the more creative promo videos adds in some fun.

Contour collects hundreds of videos with vignettes of what's possible with the camera. And although I know many people attempt to compare the Contour and GoPro, they really are two different kinds of cameras, with the Contour's minimalistic bullet shape giving it a slight edge despite the slightly better vid quality most associate with the GoPro.

For example, although it's not the most comfortable shooting solution, Contour even makes a headband that you can use as a camera mount. And the headband doesn't even come close to the extent of mounting solutions that the bullet shape offers. It's also the tougher construction, in my opinion. I've seen one dragged from behind a motorcycle that survived with relatively little road rash.

There are plenty of places Contour can improve its offerings.

The most frustrating aspect of the Contour ROAM 2 was learning that it isn't Bluetooth ready, which makes the Connect app released for the iPhone and Android useless. You need to invest twice as much for the Contour+ 2 to pick up what seems increasingly important to plenty of people.

As mentioned earlier, it's not the viewfinder that makes people want the Connect app to work better than it does, it's the ability to change settings. Once you set the Contour ROAM 2, you're stuck with the setting until you connect to your computer again. It's inconvenient, but not as bad as some people make it out to be.

The Contour ROAM 2 Snaps 6.5 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The biggest thing I can say about hands-free and viewer-less cameras is that you stay connected to the action instead of the screen. Sometimes getting the perfect shot gets in the way of real life. The Contour, whether you have a ROAM 2 or invest in a Contour +2, makes video fun again because you don't have to think about it. Go. Do. Record. And play it back later. If you don't like the shot, go do it again.

You can find the Contour ROAM2 Waterproof Video Camera and Contour +2 on Amazon. The Contour ROAM 2 also comes in black, red, green, and blue. For more tech specs, visit the site. Visit the iTunes App store for Connect if you already own Contour +2. Check the requirements and for the latest update information; the app is free.

Palma Violets Circle Half Around 180

2013-05-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

The musical partnership between frontmen Samuel Thomas Fryer and Alexander "Chilli" Jesson will be long remembered as one of the best beginnings of this decade. Along with keyboardist Jeffrey Mayhew and drummer William Martin Doyle, Palma Violets is a contender for releasing what will become recognized as one of the better debuts this year.

The smart and smarmy LP 180 does a brilliant job balancing the somber and sensational, mournful and mesmerizing. It's nearly impossible to stop listening to the 11-track album on one pass, especially as the tone, tempo and vocals are so richly varied that the grooves of any vinyl LP will be worn away before the sound ever gets tired.

Palma Violets set the bar as an alternative rock band to watch.

Although the four-peice from London formed in 2010, the band originally struggled to get a solid start. That all changed last year when they secured a residency at Studio 180, a cheap repurposed house in Lambeth that also inspired the name of the album. Surrounded by like-minded creatives helped as did a steady stream of fans who set out to share their indie discovery online.

Although easily cast as an indie rock band with some psychedelic tendencies, there are just enough pop sensible songs to make them a sharply drawn alternative band in the vein of the Velvet Underground and Vaccines without sounding like either. They rarely sound like anyone, except when the melody is so intended it's almost awkward, like the opening of Step Up For The Cool Cats.

It's intentional, of course. The majority of the lyrics woven together in that track are a testament to Neil Diamond (not the Monkees as some people try to suggest). They've added several inside jokes in plain sight inside the album and most of them work, even if the hidden track Brand New Song plays more like a show closer than anything precisely serious.

Although Step Up For The Cool Cats was this year's album teaser and Best Of Friends opens the album, the best tracks to listen to first are unceremoniously positioned as track 4 and track 9. Rattlesnake Highway is a grimy, upbeat rackety summer sound with plenty of fuzz and We Found Love drives the Velvet Underground comparisons home (considering one of the riffs feels like Sweet Jane) while the song breaks away from the verse-chorus trappings that pop always wants to tie itself to.

That's not to say Best Of Friends doesn't measure up as the lead in on the album. It only means that there are plenty more to hear beyond track one, which was clearly crafted to give their generation a convincing aging into adulthood theme song. On its own, Best Of Friend is great, given it contains equal parts right now and remembrance.

Ironically, the most interesting instrumental and vocal arrangements pop up in unexpected places. While Chicken Dippers isn't introduction material, it's one of several songs where Mayhew proves to be a bit of a hero alongside those deeply penetrating vocals. Tom The Drum is also an equally compelling number, somehow blending crooner sarcasm with Jim Morrison influences.

Last Of The Summer Wine is another confessional that takes on a much broodier tone than most of the album. If you download singles as opposed to the full album, include it among the immediate favorites like Rattlesnake Highway. Mostly though, 180 is worth an album download given the diversity, with Three Stars on one extreme as a mellow storyteller and the party favor Johnny Bagga Donuts on the other.

180 By Palma Violets Spins Around Half Circle For 8.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

All in all, 180 is a tough album to pin down in that the labels some reviewers have heaped upon them were a bit premature, but the down rating by other reviewers to compensate was deftly asinine. Without any pretense, 180 is a timelessly fun album that borrows a bit too much from the past to truly be a breakthrough album but clearly introduces a band that can convincingly play a range of alternative rock songs, with varied tones and tempos, that still sound cohesive.

You can find 180 from Palma Violets on Amazon. The album can also be ordered from Barnes & Noble or you can download it from iTunes. The band is currently kicking off its world tour, with plans to play a few shows stateside in August. You can check out their sporadic schedule on Facebook.

Soderberg Conjures Up A Crime Affair

2013-05-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sophie Brinkmann was an unassuming single mother, almost lost within an uneventful life after being widowed. Except for her job and her son, there wasn't much left to tie her to the increasingly unfamiliar surroundings of Stockholm.

Even her home was beginning to look out of place amongst better kept suburban houses. All that would change quickly enough when she meets Hector Guzman. He has a certain charm about him and the pair make an immediate connection. But Brinkmann isn't the only one taking an interest.

Hector Guzman is the head of an international crime syndicate.

Although his operation extends across Europe and into South America, the syndicate's territory is under siege. Guzman is under surveillance by a rogue division of the Swedish police. Another syndicate is working to lay claim to what the Guzman family had built over the years. And as the book moves forward, Brinkmann's old boyfriend takes an interest in him too.

It doesn't take long before a parade of malcontent characters quickly spiral out of control and become almost daunting, with everyone looking to twist their fingers around the newest mark. Brinkmann's son, most agree, would make the perfect pawn if she could be won away from Guzman. And if she can't be won away, then perhaps she and her son might make the right better target.

While it would be easy to say that this makes for a big and bold story out of Stockholm, the truth is that is takes some work to lock down the expansive cast and characters and layered plots threads. At times, the more appropriate descriptor slips from complex to convoluted, leaving behind a collection of beautifully penciled scenes with memorable characters.

Part of it has to do with the way Alexander Söderberg backs into every character introduction, sometimes making it difficult to discern which one will play a bit role and which one is important. Söderberg tends to give them all equal weight and prods an urge to race ahead to find those characters who are more readily familiar — especially Brinkmann who is caught in the middle of it.

When this technique is added to the tight, often terse writing, it becomes clear that Söderberg sometimes plants so many details from multiple points of view that any sense of mystery materializes out of technique and not the story. It might even be that as memorable as many vignettes make The Andalucian Friend, it's almost impossible to grasp the big picture early on in the novel.

Söderberg does make up for it is in his portrayal of physically wounded, psychologically pressed, and morally deficient people. The volume of them all has a purpose too. Söderberg obviously plans from the beginning to close out his debut with a body count and the epic network of conflicting empires all crash down around each other.

A few graphs about Alexander Söderberg as a new voice for thrillers.

Although Söderberg was being propelled a bit by the recent successes of other Scandinavian authors, most comparisons that have been made along the way aren't necessarily valid. Söderberg has his own voice, especially in way it sometimes drifts with stream-of-consciousness details that resemble shot lists.

It makes sense that he would write this way. Söderberg worked as a television screenwriter for years before trying his hand at a novel. Interestingly enough, he never saw himself becoming a writer. Writing was just something he did for personal reasons, sometimes spending an entire evening at it.

After Publisher’s Weekly dubbed it the "book of the fair" at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair, foreign rights to the book and the forthcoming trilogy sparked a frenzied auction. The event marked a real boon for Söderberg, but one wonders whether the real win here will be some future screenplays.

The Andalucian Friend By Alexander Söderberg Hits 4.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Expect The Andalucian Friend to be a mixed affair for many readers, with the story better than the telling, the characters better than the composition, and shot lists sharper than the structure. But make no mistake, the book really shines when it shines. The Andalucian Friend is emotionally dazzling at times and deliciously grisly at others, even if some parts are stronger than the sum of it.

The Andalucian Friend: A Novel by Alexander Söderberg is available on Amazon. You can also find The Andalucian Friend at Barnes & Noble or download it for iBooks. The audiobook, narrated by Gildart Jackson, can be a bit of a challenge compared to the printed word. While Jackson reads the novel clearly enough, he doesn't have enough diversity in his pitch or tone to carry so many characters.

Kadavar Comes Back With Abra Magic

2013-05-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

There is something unmistakably warm and authentic about the sophomore album from Kadavar, the follow up to their eponymous debut last year. Although some of the deep textures that heralded a return to the riff-driven, doom-like appeal of psychedelic rock are different, Abra Kadavar has a handmade feel.

Even the word handmade sounds right. The album was cut over the short course of two weeks around mid-December, with everything except the vocals and a handful of guitar solos laid down live by the trio from Berlin. So expect a few forgivable rough edges that will improve during live performances.

"We've tried to capture more of our live energy, which is why we've recorded almost everything together in one room with the amps turned up to the max," says Ted "Tiger" Tinski. "The songs are more diversified, the ideas feel more spontaneous."

Abra Kadavar almost plays like two EPs stitched together.

The top half of the album plays like most people would expect from Kadavar, except with a crispness that the band says is closer to their stage sound. The effect leaves off a little meatiness but is no less addictive as Come Back Life eases everyone into the album.

Although written months before the video, Come Back Life foreshadowed the band's ill-fated adventures across the United States in March. Their baggage was lost, there was no room in Austin when they arrived for SXSW, and the '64 Ford Galaxie they bought to get around blew up.

The laid back road track fits while giving up the first glimpse of how psychedelic rock can sound. Christoph "Lupus" (formally 'Wolf') Lindemann effortlessly lands the vocals, unencumbered by any distractions since he had already recorded his guitar work and bassist Javier Mammut is right on the mark in giving Kadavar its signature sound.

The second track, Doomsday Machine, kicks up the tempo with a tenacious and straightforward rocker. It's one of the best tracks on the album, not for breaking any new ground but for remaining grounded in a classic groove. Even the concepts are classic. It was inspired by Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.

The next two tracks progress in a similar fashion, tripping along into the bristling Eye Of The Storm and bluesy Black Snake before the album takes a progressive turn. Dust and Fire are deceptively straightforward as the band transitions to psychedelic space rock with Liquid Dream introducing the organ.

Rhythm For Endless Minds keeps the organ swirls and the band drops in some distorts on Lindemann's vocals, to an otherworldly effect. While the album feels finished on the magical Abra Kadavar, The Man I Shot provides an epilogue of sorts with a stripped back and readily raw composition. The tenth track also carries a seven-minute plus time stamp, which is more than enough time to get lost inside it.
Abra Kadavar By Kadavar Casts A Spell At 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.
Kadavar does one better than retro rock by making progressive rock thrive with a vintage vibe. While there are some obvious nods to the era, the Berlin trio never feel like they are trying to recreate something as much as they are just making music. What's even more promising is the album feels like Kadavar is just getting started.
You can find Abra Kadavar on Amazon. The vinyl LP can be ordered from Barnes & Noble or download the digital album from iTunes. The tenth track is only available with the purchase of an entire album, but that is how Kadavar plays best anyway — with every track stacked back to back. Better yet, see them live.

The Girl Effect Is A Good Will Pick

2013-05-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

There are two ways you can think about the 250 million adolescent girls who live in poverty on our planet. You can see them as statistics, victims who need us to provide for their well being day in and day out. Or you can see them for who they are — the most powerful force for change on the planet.

The gap between these two perspectives is profound, with one vision providing a path of dependence and another empowering individuals to awaken with a new sense of self-esteem. The rewards are different too.

If you can look past their present circumstances and see their potential, the outcome eventually becomes unforgettable — the day you know these individuals don't need your help anymore is the day they become too busy helping themselves, their families, and their communities instead. The only question that remains is how many can be reached today in order to transform the world tomorrow.

The Girl Effect is a bold idea to empower girls to improve their communities.

Five years ago, the Nike Foundation in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and Coalition For Adolescent Girls joined a handful of organizations that give young women a chance to make change. They even go a step further. They directly help lift these girls out of poverty and encourage more nonprofit organizations to develop more programs for girls and make other programs inclusive.

The goals are straightforward. When girls receive education, health care and economic investments, they have a better chance to break intergenerational cycles of poverty. But delivering on this idea isn't always easy. By the time more girls who live in poverty turn 12, their futures are beyond their control.

In some areas of the world, a 12-year-old girl is likely to face marriage by the time she is 14. She is likely to be pregnant by 15. And if she survives childbirth, she may turn to prostitution to feed her family and acquire AIDS/HIV in the process. And for some, as unimaginable as it sounds, it could be worse.

The Girl Effect aims to change that by ensuring a 12-year-old girl will see a doctor regularly by the age of 14. She stays in school at 15 instead of dropping out to raise a family. And by the time she is 18, she can use her education to become self-reliant and make choices for herself.

But in order to make something like this possible you have to see these individual girls differently.

While there are many ways The Girl Effect has influenced organizations, some of the work they do is direct through The Girl Hub. This collaboration between the United Kingdom's Department For International Development (DFID) and the Nike Foundation bring their voices to the forefront of policy, develop tools to inspire them and influence decision makers to implement better programs.

Such efforts are then concentrated in countries like Rwanda, Nigeria and Ethiopia, where girls receive family planning information, health care and education and safe places for support and inspiration. The differences even the smallest changes can make are profound. The change is real.

"Changing their aspirations and those of their communities, building their confidence and giving them access to information and networks, is critical," said Lindi Hlanze, an economic advisor for DFID. "We need to look at all of these things throughout the life cycle of a girl — it's too late to wait until they're adults."

And interestingly enough, it's not just about them. It's about our world. Closing the joblessness gap between boys and girls can increase a country's GDP by 1.2 percent in a single year. Increasing the number of girls completing secondary education can grow a country's economy by 3 percent. Providing women with the same access to resources could increase agricultural output in developing countries by 4 percent, reducing the number of hungry people by 100 million.

At the same time, the cost of dependence is eliminated. To help put this into perspective, the lifetime cost for girls who drop out of school is estimated at $704 million in the United Kingdom and $29.6 billion in the United States, annually. In some impoverished countries, the costs are proportionately more and nearly impossible to reverse.

The Girl Effect By The Nike Foundation Is A Liquid Hip Good Will Pick.

At least once a month, Liquid Hip highlights good will efforts undertaken by people with big hearts. We don't score them. That belongs to you.

We chose The Girl Effect because it makes sense. If the cycle of poverty can be broken early enough with eduction and resources, countries can immediately reduce the cost of dependency and empower millions of young women who will make contributions to their families, communities and countries for generations to come. Simply put, it gives them the chance to turn victims into heroes.

There are two ways to give. You can provide for The Girl Effect Fund or any number of specific projects that have been developed by the initiative. All the funding is collected by Global Giving. Specific projects include programs in Cambodia, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar, Sudan, Thailand, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Hanni El Khatib Digs Deep In The Dirt

2013-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a few years since the Hanni El Khatib had cobbled together enough tracks to put out an album. With the help of producer Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), he rolled up his sleeves and finally did it. Head In The Dirt punks up Americana with a little more fullness, smoothness, and variety.

While some reviewers think of his material as a bit of schtick, it's only because they haven't seen the sometimes guileless but genuine musician lay down some chords in person. Khatib isn't an act. The San Francisco-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has an obsession with Americana, circa 50s and 60s.

Head In The Dirt digs deep into punked up and stripped down rock.

As the former creative director for a skateboard fashion line, Khatib has thrown himself all into his music. And sometimes that confuses people, who think the stories he sings about are necessarily about him.

Maybe that's even more true of Head In The Dirt compared to other outings. The sophomore album is clearly crafted as opposed to someone with his head firmly planted in the past. For me, that's perfectly fine. If there was one thing that was holding Khatib back from a broader audience, it was the singularity of his original sound.

On Head In The Dirt, Khatib breaks out of the rut that dominated his performances and tries on a smoother cool in between his usual grit and wildness. Family makes the case well enough. The video is a whacked out Japanese motorcycle fantasy that shows off how much Khatib thinks he missed by being born a couple of decades too late.

The campy naivety and reckless abandon of the track illustrates how Khatib isn't trying to make himself a character as much as he wants to sing about characters from a glorified and glamorized cinematic perception of two very cool decades. He blends in some real life experiences too, making it a mystery.

All along, Khatib has said he isn't interested in creating concept music as much as he likes to create a mood or a feeling. Sometimes it's wild. Other times it's exciting. But all the time it's simple and classic.

The title track, Head In The Dirt, leads off with all the expectant fuzz and funk you might expect. But by the time you break into the third track, Skinny Little Girl, it becomes much more clear that Khatib wants to expand his repertoire. The track is a more relaxed attempt at storytelling.

He used a similarly relaxed harmonic on Penny, which not only shows that Khatib can lay down solid lyrics but also how much influence The Black Keys have been since they've toured together. Khatib is clearly the kind of opener they want, even if we lean toward his more fiery work.

On Head In The Dirt, those type of powerful and primal step tracks are far and few between. Even the few that exist are tamer then pervious outings. Check out Save Me, Sinking In The Sand, and Nobody Move. House Of Fire is more restrained too, but Khatib comes across as if it takes a real effort to keep the lid on it.

Head In The Dirt By Khatib Hurts 5.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

The first time I covered Khatib a few years ago, I made a note of mentioning that he is an artist by nature. Head In The Dirt proves Khatib still is, even if Auerbach seems to be whispering in his ear the whole time. On the plus side, the 11-track album breaks up Khatib's previous singular pace even if it might not be as raw as some fans have come to expect. It still rocks.

Head in the Dirt by Hanni El Khatib is available on Amazon. You can also order the album from Barnes & Noble or download it from iTunes. Khatib has a full touring schedule through the summer. For show listings and upcoming concerts, visit his Facebook page.

Robinson Comes Ashore For Island 731

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

There wasn't a unit in the Imperial Japanese Army more frightening than 731. During the second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, this was the same unit that undertook ruthless and lethal experimentation on civilians and prisoners of war to advance chemical and biological warfare.

While the main camp was located in Pingfang District of Harbin, China, there were dozens of sites scattered across the empire's expansive wartime territory. And it is from this historical evidence that author Jeremy Robinson has conjured up a remote island in the Pacific to ask one terrifying question.

What if one site was never found in the aftermath of World War II?

By setting Island 731 within the direct vicinity of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Robinson creates a story out of those incidents when Japanese soldiers left on small islands would survive two and three decades, never knowing that the war was over. Island 731 plays this out on a grand scale.

Shortly after discovering a floating refuse collection that spans 30 miles, the research vessel Magellan is caught in a raging storm and is almost lost as its systems malfunction. As the sun rises the following morning, the surviving researchers and crew members find themselves anchored in a lagoon on an uncharted tropical island.

Their sense of security and relief is quickly shattered, however, as some crew members begin to disappear. The remaining survivors turn to Mark Hawkins, a former park ranger and expert tracker, to put his primary skills to good use. He leads a small expedition into the densely forested interior.

Island 731 transforms a cautionary tale of vivisection by H.G. Wells into a freak show adventure thriller.

Please don't misunderstand me. Any comparison to the classic Island of Dr. Moreau is merely cursory and expedient. Whereas H.G. Wells had a noble intent in wanting to curb the degeneration and vivisection of animals at the turn of the century, Robinson mostly wants to entertain.

And that said, it ought to be no surprise that elements of mystery and morality are largely absent in this briskly paced action thriller. That isn't necessarily bad, but it does mean that sticking to the horrific and re-imagining nightmares at the hands of war criminals some 50 years after Wells has less depth.

Sure, Robinson does strum a few chords about taking responsibility for the actions of others at the beginning and at the end. But at the same time, one never truly gains any sense of linkage between the pollution problem and revived war criminal science. The story is too straightforward to make the case.

Suffice to say that first victims that Hawkins and his colleagues encounter are animals, creatures that have been genetically fused to manufacture something more lethal. Many seem to have their roots in mythology, mixing and matching hybrids like the legendary manticore. The deeper inside the island they go, the more grotesque the discoveries, deadly the adversaries and questionable the plot twists.

A few graphs about author Jeremy Robinson and his latest story.

After growing up in the seacoast town of Beverly, Massachusetts, Robinson began a successful career as an illustrator. It wasn't until years later that he realized creating new worlds might be more fulfilling than illustrating worlds invented by other people.

The transition didn't happen over night. Like many authors, Robinson self-published his first book, The Didymus Contingency. It was republished a year later by Bard Publishing, which was the same year his second novel, Raising The Past, was published by Breakneck Books. Since, he has published dozens of books while continually trying to help would-be authors along the way.

Island 731 By Jeremy Robinson Cuts 4.8 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

As a straightforward action story with a near flawless hero to help others along, Island 731 mostly works. What doesn't work is the thin and unconvincing romance that develops as the characters are cast into an endless loop of discovering and escaping one monster after the next, each progressively harder to beat. In this case, the concept is cooler than the telling but the book won't put you to sleep either.

Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson can be found on Amazon. You can also find the book at Barnes & Noble or download it for iBooks. The audiobook is narrated by R.C. Bray, who does a fine job even when it amplifies how unaffected Hawkins seems by what he sees. Robinson is surprisingly accessible on Facebook and Twitter.

Deap Vally Goes Out Ferociously Deap

2013-05-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

With their debut album Sistrionix already slated for release in June by the San Fernando duo Deap Vally, Get Deap! is much ado about priming the cult following that Lindsey Troy (guitar/vocals) and Julie Edwards (drums) have earned. For the better part of a year, the girls have set live performances on fire by singing blues, playing rock and styling themselves after Thelma & Lousie.

The duo opened for bands like Muse and the Vaccines, getting a taste for bigger stages and demanding audiences. They did better than deliver. They made believers with their hyper-amped approach to rock and roll.

Get Deap! carries a bluesy groove back by amped up rock: rebel, release, reload.

With duo performances becoming increasingly commonplace in the space left vacant by the White Stripes, Deap Vally plays it straight. The music they make is all about pounding out guitar chords and crashing down on the drums. They beat their music to life as much as they make it.

Opening with the bluesy and brooding rocker Lies, Deap Vally sets the pace of the EP as ferociously primitive. It's so primal, it almost seems impossible that the two women met each other at a crochet class. Edwards was teaching it. Troy wanted to learn. It wasn't long after when one set of hooks was traded in for another.

Lies admittedly lands a little short on lyrical intent, but it almost doesn't matter the way Troy and Edwards deliver it. The theme of the song isn't hard to figure out. It's about retribution and punishment.

The second track follows with another number off the upcoming album. Gonna Make My Own Money, which was also released as a debut single, chugs back and forth as it casts its hypnotic spell over anyone looking for two badass women.

Both songs will also appear the upcoming album along with Baby I Call Hell, which will be due out as a single prior to the full length. The tracks, like everything they've released to date, were produced by Lars Stalfors (The Mars Volta, Cold War Kids). He has done a find job keeping the rawness real.

The bottom half of Get Deap! features exclusive EP tracks.

While the top half of the EP is slated for the album, the bottom two tracks aren't listed on the upcoming album. End Of The World attempts to draw in the audience with commands. It's mostly about channeling the ever-present angst the girls put into their chords and drums into love and peace.

Sure, it sounds like a contradiction against the aggressive arrangements, but their anti-hate rhetoric feels right. Ain't Fair dishes out more of the same. With a little more crunch in the guitar and relaxation on the drums, the song mostly runs the EP out like a three-minute cool down after a 10-minute workout.

Prior to meeting each other, the two musicians were actively involved in other music projects. After listening to their respective CDs, they agreed to laid down a few tracks that revolved around the rebellious nature of rock and roll, pounding out every note as an addictively delicious release.

Get Deap! By Deap Vally Gets Down At 6.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

There really isn't much mystery as to why Deap Vally has earned some buzz in anticipation of the upcoming album. Likewise, there won't be much surprise if, like the EP, there isn't much deviation from what some people have accurately described as a valley girl ripoff of the White Stripes.

Get Deap by Deap Vally is available from Amazon. You can also pick up the EP from iTunes. The CD is available from Barnes & Noble. The band is currently on tour in the United Kingdom. Visit them on Facebook for more event updates.

Liquid [Hip]

Divine Fits Unchains A Double-Sided

Related Stories

Bryce Canyon Is Memorable Earth Art

Related Stories

Dear Thief Is Dark, Heavy And Heady

Related Stories

Joe Hill Rolls NOS4A2 Down The Road

Related Stories

The Almost Finds Fear Inside Of Bones

Related Stories

Warhammer Quest Takes A Game Turn

Related Stories

Queens Of The Stone Age Skip Death

Related Stories

The Battery Recasts The Zombie Movie

Related Stories

Rogue Wave Lays Nightingale Floors

Related Stories

Out Of The Easy Is A Spring Sleeper

Related Stories

Houndmouth Howls From Hills Below

Related Stories

The Art League Is A Good Will Pick

Related Stories

Alice In Chains Dusts Off A Dinosaur

Related Stories

David Freed Strikes With Fangs Out

Related Stories

Uncle Acid Returns With Mind Control

Related Stories

Chan Luu Puts The Bracelet In Wraps

Related Stories

The National Finds Some More Trouble

Related Stories

Contour ROAM 2 Makes For Video Fun

Related Stories

Palma Violets Circle Half Around 180

Related Stories

Soderberg Conjures Up A Crime Affair

Related Stories

Kadavar Comes Back With Abra Magic

Related Stories

The Girl Effect Is A Good Will Pick

Related Stories

Hanni El Khatib Digs Deep In The Dirt

Related Stories

Robinson Comes Ashore For Island 731

Deap Vally Goes Out Ferociously Deap