CD Releases: Dresden Dolls, Secret Machines, The Lovely Feathers And More!
Tuesday April 18, 2006 @ 03:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

THE ALARM MMVI Under Attack (EMI)
The Alarm's first two albums, released more than 20 years ago, were called Declaration and Strength. Those two titles are major themes of Under Attack now that band frontman Mike Peters is waging a successful battle against leukemia. The singer shows his strength in the face of adversity and declares that he won't let the disease defeat him on "Without A Fight," "It's Alright/It's OK" and "Cease And Desist." "My Town," meanwhile, refers to last summer's terrorist bombings in London, England. There are some aggressive guitars and vintage punk spirit and sounds scattered throughout these 13 tracks. The Alarm may not have lived up to their early promise, but it's good to see Peters still fighting the good fight all these years later. Steve McLean

ELLEN ALLIEN & APPARAT Orchestra Of Bubbles (Bpitch Control)
The combined talents of Berlin-based electronic glitch-masters Ellen Allien and Apparat (a.k.a. Sascha Ring) yield predictably strange results on Orchestra Of Bubbles. Too quirky to drive club nights and too propulsive to be confined to stoned-out listening sessions, this record carves out its own niche between the two extremes. Tracks such as "Turbo Dreams" and "Jet" start from burbling ambient origins and work steady four-four beats in with such subtlety that you won't notice your foot tapping. Allien and Apparat manage to transcend dance music conventions by applying some striking songcraft and a sense of spaciousness that make the final product warmer than its cool techno ingredients would suggest. Matt Semansky

RICHARD BUTLER S/T (KOCH)
Butler was the frontman for the Psychedelic Furs, one of the more successful British post-punk bands of the '80s. His '90s group, Love Spit Love, while lacking in commercial success, still had some venom. Now that he's middle-aged, Butler has released his first solo album. The material is gentler than his past efforts and he displays a surprisingly sweet voice. And that's the problem: those are two things that fans of Butler's previous work aren't looking for and there's nothing sappy or generically poppy enough here to make him into an adult contemporary crooning star. Butler and collaborator Jon Carin (who played all of the instruments and produced the album) do nice enough work, but they don't generate any excitement. Steve McLean

BUZZCOCKS Flat-Pack Philosophy (Cooking Vinyl/True North/Universal)
It's hard to believe that this year marks the Buzzcocks' 30th anniversary, considering that they show more energy on this eighth studio LP and in their live shows than most bands half their age. The British quartet could probably live comfortably off royalties from the Fine Young Cannibals or Pete Yorn (Shrek 2) covers of "Ever Fallen In Love," but instead, they're still creating vibrant early punk and new wave songs filled with pop hooks. Pete Shelley wrote and sang nine tracks, while Steve Diggle did the same for the remaining five. Everything flies by in just 36 minutes. "Wish I Never Loved You" is the first single, but almost all of these songs are worthy of further exposure. Steve McLean

GRAHAM COXON Love Travels At Illegal Speeds (Parlophone/Capitol/EMI)
Graham Coxon has always used his solo albums to explore genres beyond the sound of his ex-day job in Blur. Love Travels, however, sees him back doing what he does best: '90s-style Brit-pop with plenty of nods to The Jam and The Kinks. The new record is buoyant and brash, with Coxon sounding suitably snotty with his working class accent and his guitar clanging away with abandon. The problem is, while this music was exciting 10 years ago, for Coxon it's a return to his safety zone. That, coupled with some rather downtrodden (and very cliched) lyrics, makes for a record that sounds fun on the surface but is ultimately kind of sad. Elizabeth Chorney-Booth

THE DOERS Whatcha Doin'? (Red Cat)
The Doers are a curious four-piece from Vancouver who play fast-paced hipster-friendly dance rock, only they do it all on acoustic instruments. In addition, the songs are driven by the acoustic bass, while the guitar plays a secondary role. The Doers strum and sing at a frenzied pace. In fact, the album rarely takes a breather from its breakneck speed, with 19 songs clocking in at 41 minutes. The relentless shrieking of "Gimme That We Want It Back" and a few other tunes grate on the nerves, but songs like the gem "Crimes Of Miss Disorder" and the excellent musical arrangement on "When & Why" show The Doers are more than a shambolic indie-rock novelty. Shannon Whibbs

THE DRESDEN DOLLS Yes, Virginia (Roadrunner/Universal)
The liner notes in the advance for Yes, Virginia recount the Dolls' remarkable 2005, when they opened for NIN and played every prestigious festival from California to Japan. It's a surprise that they found time to make this record, and it's an even bigger surprise that it's so much better than their self-titled debut. Drummer Brian Viglione said last year that he and singer Amanda Palmer were aiming to make a rock record without guitars, and they've definitely succeeded in that mission. As always, it's hard to listen to the Dolls all the time, but when you're in the mood for goth cabaret, you can't go wrong with the bombastic "Modern Moonlight" or the melodic "Dirty Business." If Tori Amos still has fans after this LP comes out, there's no justice. Noah Love

KILL CHEERLEADER All Hail (Spinerazor)
Let's get it straight right now: Kill Cheerleader don't like you. They don't like anyone. Hell, they probably don't even like each other. And this is precisely why you should like them: They sound ready to implode at any minute and their thrash-metal energy is infectious. "Deathboy" has a hook that's made for fist-pumping and it's hard not to grin at a song titled "Don't Call Me 'Baby', Baby." Even power ballad "Go Away" has a fun, snotty tone. While it sadly doesn't come close to Kill Cheerleader's destructive live shows, All Hail still ought to be the soundtrack to your next bar fight. Caitlin Hotchkiss

THE LOVELY FEATHERS Hind Hind Legs (Equator/EMI)
With all the new indie bands in the world taking cues from either Interpol or Arcade Fire, it's nice to see one band following in the footsteps of The Shins and The Unicorns (it's not a surprise that they ended up on the label created for ex-Unicorns project, Islands). The Lovely Feathers' debut could hardly live up to their live show, which got them booked as complete unknowns on a nationwide tour with Metric, but it's hardly a disappointment. "Pope John Paul" and "The Only Appalachian Cornfield" are two standout pop tracks in an extremely solid collection, while the haunting "E-Man's Sorrow" and "Wrong Choice" both ring of the best of early Weezer. I don't know if it will stand the test of time, but it sure sounds great right this second. Noah Love

RUSSIAN CIRCLES Enter (Flameshovel)
A band would have to be nuts to combine ambient noise, industrial rock, heavy metal and pop all on one disc, but the Russian Circles run through all these genres on one song. Although they mash pop and industrial together on "New Macabre," the band mostly stick to brooding, moody and often angry noise rock. Enter's diversity makes for an interesting listen, especially when calming clean riffs seamlessly transform into a violent, distorted mess. However, the songs are far too long, clocking in between five and nine minutes. On the eight-minute "You Already Did," we get the point halfway through. The Russian Circles are on to something, but they need to learn how to self-edit before they can take the next step. Bryan Borzykowski

SECRET MACHINES Ten Silver Drops (Reprise/Warner)
Somewhere out there, a bunch of sensitive, arty hipster kids are loving this shit. Sure, Secret Machines have moved past the eight-minute-long epics of synth and guitar noodling, but one suspects that's because their label wanted something more accessible. As such, we have Ten Silver Drops, where the group continue along their trajectory to become the world's most eclectically styled indie rock band. A good example of their range is the excellently titled "Alone, Jealous And Stoned," which manages to be grandiose and moody without becoming boring. "All At Once (It's Not Important)" evokes the Arcade Fire, while the electronica-tinged "Daddy's In The Doldrums" is the closest thing you'll get to synth-blues. It's not so much a departure from their earlier work as it is an evolution, and a surprisingly welcome one at that. There's little doubt that while Secret Machines are maturing as a unit, they're also going to maintain their core fanbase, if not add to it convert by convert. Caitlin Hotchkiss

PRIYA THOMAS You And Me Against The World Baby (Boiling Pt/Fontana North)
The biggest problem with this album is that it's just too damn loud. While that's usually a good thing, in this case it's not. For example, on "Motherfucking West" and "Anything I Want I Can Get Me Some," Thomas' vocals are almost completely drowned out by her band's noise. Other than the chorus on "She Said (Why Were We Born)," she's pretty much unintelligible. In the end, the title track is the album's saving grace. With its rough-sounding riffs and Thomas' subtle yet vulnerable vocals, it makes you wonder why the rest of the album isn't like this. Thomas definitely has an original sound, she just needs to polish things up a bit. Cheryl Thompson

TOKYO POLICE CLUB A Lesson In Crime (Paper Bag/Universal)
Tokyo Police Club sound like a bunch of bands that I'm not going to name because it's not really fair to how good they are. What makes me kind of sick is that they're also really young and I'm sort of jealous. But that's not going to stop me from proclaiming the band one of the breakout stars of 2006. Couple these seven awesome tracks — highlighted by an appearance by Magneta Lane's Lexi Valentine on "Nature Of The Experiment" — with a bombastic live show and you've got a recipe for success. If they can keep up with the ridiculous expectations they've set for themselves here, we could be hearing from TPC for a long time to come. Noah Love

WINDOWS '78 The Window Seat (Submerged)
Droning melodies, layered guitars and leisurely chord changes litter Windows '78's debut record, making it, on the surface, pretty typical space rock. However, there are a number of poppy moments that help this disc transcend the pack. "A Couple Of Lines" is ripe with "ba-ba-bas" and beguiling vocals, and the slow starter "Roll Your Eyes" features loud, feedback-fueled verses. Despite those memorable flourishes, this record still feels like a first-time effort. If the Vancouver act follow this up with stronger songs and, specifically, more daring guitar work, Windows '78 could become Canada's premier space act. Bryan Borzykowski

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