Rainer Maria "Catastrophe Keeps Us Together" (Grunion) Sounds like: Sunny Day Real Estate for a new generation. Grade: B-
Rainer Maria's capabilities became evident after the release of their breakthrough second album, "Look Now Look Again." In their latest record, "Catastrophe Keeps Us Together," the band continues down the road of punk and emo-influenced indie-pop.
This new album gives us a collection of thoughtful and energetic rock songs played and sung with conviction.
Since earlier albums, the band has simplified their sound. Previous work by the vocal duo of Caithlin DeMarrais and Kyle Fischer has been reduced to strictly DeMarrais at the helm. The good news is that she is more than capable of fronting the band on her own, but the bad news is that she tends to sound like a mixture of Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson singing indie-rock tunes.
One will find that Rainer Maria tries to take their music all around the musical spectrum. The band's opening piece "Catastrophe," the inspiration for the album, shows signs of a catchy, well-written record right from the start. This upbeat rocker leads into the second track, "Life of Leisure," where pounding drums and punchy guitar keep the album in motion. A number of the tracks after these change the mood of the album entirely. "Cities Above," for instance, takes a turn down Jazzy Avenue and shows the band's eclectic tastes.
The album, however, becomes a bit predictable, with a good number of the songs structured around vry simple guitar chord changes. Regardless, "Catastrophe Keeps Us Together" is a strong effort from Rainer Maria, who aim to please with their new direction.
-ROB NATALE
BrotherManDude "BrotherManDude" (Adrenaline) Sounds like: Your lame uncle's top album of 2006. Grade: D
Get ready, AU, for another British invasion. No, it's not a new album from The Streets or Blur; it's BrotherManDude. With gems such as "Slicksville," "Manakin" and "Angelsphere," it won't be a surprise when their self-titled album flies off the shelves of the nearest Wal-Mart.
For fans of bread and butter, plain T-shirts and vanilla, BrotherManDude is a godsend. Their music can be safely classified as fairly mellow "general rock," with no easily identifiable strains of anything else more unique or specific. From the very beginning of the first song, "Moving On," listeners will be captivated by the sweet tones of singer/songwriter Shake's voice, as he sings about "feelin' cosmically beautiful" and wanting to spread his wings. It's evident that Shake has poured every last ounce of his heart into his lyrics as he tackles issues such as loveless relationships, ex-girlfriends and heart attacks.
Another great quality of the album is how remarkably well it flows together. Many bands struggle with creating unity in an album; BrotherManDude has overcome this barrier by making all of the songs sound the same. Listeners will probably not even notice the lull between songs because they blend so well into one another. Ever the revolutionary, BrotherManDude will serve as an unchanging anchor in the world of rock music.
There is no doubt that BrotherManDude will (eventually) take the world - or, at the very least, the United States - by storm. Or, you know, not.
-ABIGAIL DeROBERTS
Peter Walker "Young Gravity" (Dangerbird) Sounds Like: A slightly less down on his luck and less stoned Ryan Adams. Grade: B
Peter Walker is a singer backed by an enthusiastic rock band with a straightforward 11-track rock album. No surprises here, for better or for worse. It's all very sincere, but some of Walker's tracks are more exciting than others. Walker is a man who knows how to wear his heart on his sleeve.
So the man's got feelings? That's nice. If that were all there was to it, this CD would be a C-. But tracks like "What Do I Know" and "Preacher," especially the latter, have a weird crooning that, unfortunately, is expressed nowhere else on the album. This rocking, schlocky style, with comical lines like "at least I got my alcohol," are much more interesting and provide a coarse style not unlike some Flaming Lips tracks. Most of the other tracks are OK, but some of the slow ballads like "Don't Think Twice" get tiring.
Only about five minutes out of the 38 on this album stand out, but nothing's bad and the flow from track to track is good. One sincerely hopes that Peter Walker can come out of his shell a little more for his next album, because he's well on his way to being very interesting.
-JOSH KRAMER
The Grates "Gravity Won't Get You High" (Dew Process/Universal) Sounds like: An odd mix of the Concretes with a dash of suck. Grade: C
The long-awaited (though not much hyped) release of the Grates debut album, "Gravity Won't Get You High," came in late summer of this year. After building a legion of fans through an extensive tour schedule in the last few years, the Australian rockers were hyped as the next big thing in the indie-post-punk music market.
In essence, the album isn't bad. It tries very hard to imitate many of punk and post-punk's most successful acts, like the Ramones and everyone's favorite indie rock machines, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
"Gravity Won't Get You High" is just not a listenable album. What has occurred in this debut is mostly annoying. This album is full of attempts by lead singer Patience Hodgson to sound like Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It is chock-full of mediocre writing and average creativity.
It's all really a matter of taste, but the writing leaves something to be desired. The song "Trampoline" is mainly a tribute to jumping higher. Hodgson screeches for nearly two minutes before the agony of it all ends. Her backup from childhood friends John Patterson and Alana Skyring is mostly unremarkable and proves the old Beatles adage wrong that sometimes one can't get by with the help of their friends.
The indie rock market has become increasingly crowded in recent years and has made success that much harder. The Grates are largely mediocre at what they do, and with stiff competition, mediocrity does not cut it. Perhaps a deviation from the norm would do them some good. Or if this album is any indication, maybe they should just go back to touring.
-ANDREW GARDNER
