Songs to praise or pummel

A round-up of the latest local releases

by John O'Neill

Yep, it's once again that special time when we reach deep into the Phoenix mail sack for another round of Russian roulette, local-music style. As always, we're happy to toss our two cents' worth of

praise on local releases, and just as obligated to take the wrecking ball to all perceived musical disasters. And, while we don't necessarily take glee in stomping someone's grapes, we've gotten enough feedback to realize that you get a kick out of reveling in others' failure. Vicious bastards. Okay, helmets on.

Milk -- Six Shitty Songs

(Self-release) Six-song CD

There's nothing more satisfying than having your doors blown off when you least expect it, especially when it's by a band you've never heard of. And with their six anything-but-shitty songs, Milk are this year's winner for New Band To Root For. Opening with "Jimmy Brownsalad," featuring the plucky and simple "You will get over this now/You will get over this right now/You will get over this right about now" chorus, Milk excel at sing-song pop punk that borrows heavily from the Local H-, Foo Fighters-school of writing. "Happy" is a Nirvana Nevermind rip-off, but it doesn't matter cuz it's done in such an abrasive and catchy way that you're still gonna tap your toe and smile along. It's all aggressive, hook-filled, and cranked-up fun. The closing number, "Pen Pal," with indie-pop-guitar licks and mid-tempo punk roar, is one of the finer pop tunes by a local outfit in quite some time.

Shortfuse -- Fused Shut

(E.C.A.E.) Eight-song CD

Shortfuse have been kicking around town for the better part of four years, bashing out a mix of new-school hardcore and good, old-fashioned Metallica-style thrash. While not a bad thing, it's also like walking that same road home after school. Once in a while you need to take a little side trip to keep things fresh. Their debut disc, Fused Shut, is exactly what you'd expect -- big, rippling power chords, pissed-off vocals, a low-end so heavy you could squish most canned produce with it, and pain, pain, pain. "Mind Games" vents the ol' don't-mess-with-me stuff that's fodder for a thousand albums (most of which we've had to personally endure). And "Alcohol" is fine Pantera-muscle-meets-Supersucker's-style articulation on getting waffled. All things considered, a solid effort that's well-played and decently produced. Fans of pummel-metal will absolutely pump their fist to this, everyone else will be bored silly.

Roger Anderson -- Homemade Songs

(Quester) 15-song CD

Local music-store owner Anderson (Music Quest) gives us quite a vanity project here with 15 songs spanning his considerable 20-year semi-career. It ranges from the quasi-garage grunge of "Here I Go" to countrified-pop of "I Need Somebody To Love" to straight-up folk with "Searching." You can hear the influence of the Grateful Dead, Dylan, and the Moody Blues running through his numbers, and, while "Desert Tears" sounds like something that fell off a George Hamilton album, the majority of this stuff isn't that shabby -- and would fit on the coffeehouse circuit.

White Knuckle Sobriety --

Fat End First

(E.C.A.E.) 13-song CD

From the ashes of the popular, and ultimately forgettable Missionaries come the unforgettable White Knuckle Sobriety. This trio write about the important things in life -- Schaefer beer in the appropriately titled "Schaefer" (stirring fond memories of the "when you're having more then one" jingle, as well as one of the two worst hangovers of my entire life. It was from the keg . . .), taking (literal) dumps on people on "Special Chair," pissing (figuratively) on women-fronted bands in the classic "Chick Singers (The Lilith Syndrome)," and driving around town loaded on "Hammer Head." Part punk bluster, part experimental mental, foot-in-mouth, head-up-ass and dedicated to anti-PC good-timing, the Sobriety boys are still more than a joke band. Through a combo of great lyrics, sonic muscle, and twisted vision, these freaks have succeeded in putting out one of the strongest and enjoyable rock-and-roll albums of the year.

Mark Fisher -- Scratch Board

(White Noise) 12-song CD

The third release from Gardner's singer/songwriter Fisher, Scratch Board is an eloquent blend of folk, Celtic, blues, country, and Americana. Beginning with the sunny, dobro-tinged "Ophelia," Fisher takes us on a range of field trips, both in terms of geography and emotion, with a vivid eye for detail, with heartfelt emotion, and with a whimsical sense of humor. Heartbreak, longing, wishes, dreams, regrets, fantasies, and paying the price -- one way or another -- Fisher's characters wear their humanity proudly, if not so dignified; and the tunes cover a lot of turf. "Ready Made" is a great tongue-in-cheek, mid-tempo rocker about staying the same, no matter how big of a creep you are; and "Sixteen Septembers" is a graceful ballad of loss that would turn out quite maudlin in a lesser-performer's hands. Scratch Board is a rich and varied winner, and Fisher another local gem who deserves far more attention.

Martin Daniels Mercenaries -- Salvation

(Self-release) Five-song CD

Hoo boy, where to begin? Getting a Berklee student and a studio musician together and trying to teach them to play bar rock, is like is like trying to teach the cat to pee in the toilet. Yeah, both are capable of doing it with enough practice, but their hearts will never be in it. And that's the tip of the iceberg with this misguided festival of pain. MDM refer to themselves as "gritty" and "passionate," we're gonna opt for "pale, tepid, Black Crows clone." We love bar bands, honest we do. (We own all four Del Fuego albums!) But these guys sound so forced that if someone told us they recorded this alleged "album" at gun point, we'd believe. We've coughed-up better examples of art. The only real salvation here is it all mercifully ends after five songs. On the plus side -- they do have the whole "look" down.

Blue Horizon Jazz Band --

I Remember When

(self-released) 14-song CD

Longtime jazz great Stan McDonald returns with another fistful of New Orleans-influenced jazz standards. McDonald, always a major disciple of reed man Sidney Bechet, leads a searing ensemble cast that, while relying heavily on Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, and Bechet, is able to improvise with a verve and soulfulness that renders comparison to the masters pointless. (Great) traditional jazz, like blues, will always be a recasting of the same story, and Blue Horizon tell the story as good as anyone around. It's an infectious and classy disc.