What Made Milwaukee Famous "Trying Never to Catch Up" Self-released record Sounds Like: Spoon covering Staind C-
The spotlight on the debut LP from What Made Milwaukee Famous points towards Lars Goransson and Michael Kincaid. Both of them aren't actually part of the band. Kincaid gets producing credit for "Trying to Never Catch Up" with keyboardist/vocalist/guitarist Drew Patrizi, while Goransson is credited as a co-producer and mixer. Truth be told, the team involved doesn't do anything particularly innovative or even subtle. Instead, they go about mending the flaws of a band that has co-opted the trademark light experimental brand of rock that Texas has earned a patent on. Many of the sins committed by the fast rising group are unforgivable.
There are some pretty awful lyrics on display here, and it's not pretentious indie musing, either. Some of these lines looked like they could have been culled from the weakest stages of Warped Tour, or even Junior Varsity Ozzfest hopefuls with mall-metal names like "Someday You'll Die Too." The clearer each line comes through, the more you wish it hadn't. The album gets marginally better when the narrative shifts from vocals to tight, uninspired guitar and bass lines, making the least ambitious tracks the most effective ones.
On the second half though, a borderline amazing comeback is staged. Still, it's never a very good record for more than 45 seconds at a time. The lead vocals of Michael Kincaid sound like something between Spoon without swagger and Q and Not U with the excess brainpower all but gone. All this goes on while Partrizi's synths struggle to sound challenging, falling into video game territory every so often. He manages to settle into a Pet Shop Boys groove while reaching for something more substantial.
The production team has a surer and smarter hand in the later tracks, and given the homegrown nature of "Never Trying to Catch Up" there's something more than a little endearing about that observation. It's important not be too harsh on newer bands sometimes, especially ones who are making their bones in Austin, Texas, one of the most elite rock scenes of the past 20 years. Standing tall with your contemporaries may be daunting, but the real work comes beforehand in developing a coherent personality as a group. What Made Milwaukee Famous has yet to do much of either.
-NEAL FERSKO
Boom Bap Project "Reprogram" Rhymesayers/Under the Needle Records Sounds Like: A split between Dilated Peoples and Dead Prez, mixed by Immortal Technique. B +
The young men of Boom Bap have a message to their mainstream contemporaries: "Stand up for something, or you'll fall for anything."
In a world where hip-hop celebrities are so consumed with materialism and wealth, this warning is refreshing to hear on an album. The Boom Bap Project, out of Seattle, is proud of its underground status. This is evident on their album, where more than half the songs are a critique of mainstream rap music and a celebration of how legit Boom Bap is. Pride is great and everything, but it gets grating when almost every song on this album sounds like an intro track.
However, about halfway through the eighth track, "Rock the Spot," the lyrics awkwardly shift from the standard self-inflating rhymes to critiques of the government, Masonic conspiracies and other revolutionary topics. This sets a precedent for the remainder of the album, and the lyrics become noticeably more intelligent. Whereas before there was a more ego-centric and collectively pompous voice, the three emcees that make up Boom Bap begin to concentrate on more universal subjects than before, and more accessible to an audience unfamiliar with Boom Bap's lyrical styling.
One of the best aspects of this album is the beats. They're so under-produced, so simple. There are only two tracks that make up the background throughout most of the album. The biggest problem with mainstream hip-hop is how overproduced it is, so much so that lyricism takes a backseat to the skills of the producer at the mixing board and how many gunshots you can cram into a song. This is where Boom Bap stands tall above the successful artists they mock in "Reprogram."
The album features rappers from Blackaliscious, Dilated Peoples and Grayskul, who add another layer to the already formidable rhymes. For fans of underground hip-hop, "Reprogram" is worth checking out. That they will gain any commercial success or get picked up by a major as a result of "Reprogram" is doubtful, but listening to the album, one gets the distinct impression that that isn't what they're in the game for, anyway. In their own words, they "do it for the love, while you all do it for the profit."
-JEFF LAMBERT
Get Him Eat Him "Geography Cones" Absolutely Kosher Records Sounds like: A brighter Bear vs. Shark with the percussion of Ted Leo/ Pharmacists and a keyboard. A-
Out of Providence, R.I., Get Him Eat Him comes forward with a strong debut release from Absolutely Kosher that is fun, interesting and original indie rock.
The album begins with the mellow "the Celebration," then accelerates with the tracks "Not Not Nervous" and "Mumble Mumble" and mellows out again before making a radical departure in the dark, electronic "Bad Thoughts;" then returns to the mellowness heard earlier in the album with "Posture." The record finishes strongly with the gentle and emotional "Early Scarlet Globes." Their songs are slightly generic emotional indie rock songs (with such themes as romantic relationships, etc.), but they are fun, catchy and creative with lyrics like "Mumble Mumble, my confidence just crumbles/When sickness speaks and sweetness is secondary." Stand out tracks on the album are "Mumble Mumble" and "Not Not Nervous," however, this is an album that you can most definitely listen through without skipping a track. The track listing on the album is very well done as the songs flow perfectly together while still sounding unique. This album also has very interesting instrumentation with light guitar intertwined with much defined percussion and laced with keyboard.
Guitarist/frontman Matt LeMay's voice helps make this album by being soft and haunting or shooting up to a pleasantly jarring falsetto. This vocal versatility is especially visible in the song "Shirt Like a Couch." While parts of various songs are reminiscent of other bands, Get Him Eat Him has put their own unique mark on indie rock.
The album art is just as fun as the record with colorful construction paper creations that decorate one side of the liner notes; the other is dotted by doodles that very well could have come from a high schooler's notebook. The art, created by the band's drummer and keyboardist, is enjoyable and fitting of the sound of the album. Check this album out for a fun listen and don't forget those dancing shoes.
-ANDREW MERRILL
Music Notes appear every Monday.
