(Update: We are redirecting back to the WordPress URL while we work on the new site this weekend. Thanks for the patience.)

Can you feel the rhythm in your bones? That particular lyric from With Hatchet, Pike & Gun’s “The Truth About Love & Hate” speaks to the overall power of the band’s debut EP, The Greater Good. There is a bubbling up beneath the surface of With Hatchet, Pike & Gun’s music. The band is reminiscent of The Colour Revolt in many ways. Thematically and lyrically the two bands mirror each other. However, WP&G offer a more unpolished take on this forceful brand of rock. The opening refrain of opener “The Hands” sets the tone. Set up your idols/polish them off/get on your knees/idolotry is okay with me/just as long as I am making my money! Dark religious and societal themes give The Greater Good a heavy burden but one the band is able to carry. WHP&G are also able to dial it down for a few songs. “Maternal Instincts” echoes the somber grace and bitterness of some of the best David Bazan/Pedro The Lion material. Two other bands that come to mind are Shiner and perhaps a less mathy version of the great Roadside Monument. Needless to say, WHP&G keep good company. Album closers “Slither” and “We Disagree” combine both facets of the band’s musical prowess perfectly. These tracks showcase a remarkable progression and what this band is capable of when at their best. The Greater Good shines a light on the dirtiness of the world. It may not always be pretty but life rarely is.

Genre: Indie/Rock

RIYL: The Colour Revolt, Pedro The Lion, Roadside Monument

Slither

www.myspace.com/hatchetpikeandgun

7pm Doors

$6 Over 21 / $8 Under 21
All Ages

Benefit Show for Children’s Miracle Network Benefit:

Look Mexico

The Valkyrie
The Black Sheep
Zach Fowler and The Essentials

Foals “Antidotes” (Sub Pop)

Lesson #1 when trying to gather hype for a band. Release as much stuff as you can before you release a debut full-length. Cause when you release that debut full-length you simply can not hide behind only 1 or 2 songs anymore. Lesson #2 sign to a big indie label like Merge, Matador or maybe even Sub Pop. Lesson #3 make sure you hire a high-profile indie producer for that debut-full length so he can mask all your deficiencies. Perhaps you can even find one who is already in a hip indie band like David Sitek from TV On The Radio. Lesson #4 let him produce the record but reject his final mix for the album. It creates intrigue and controversy. It is all about stirring the pot! Lesson #5 include those hit singles that got you where you are as bonus tracks on the album. I mean, they haven’t been heard enough already, right?

Perhaps I am being a bit too harsh with my assessment. The point is that I can definitely see why people might be hating on Foals. The ingredients are certainly present. But, as much as I wanted to dislike Foals’ debut full-length album, Antidotes, it just never happened. With every listen, the band won me over more and more. Foals do more with less than any band I can recall. The band has only two speeds yet, the tracking of the album is so on point that the listener hardly notices the band’s lack of tempo shifts. David Sitek should be commended as his organic production adds a great deal of depth to the band’s brand of jittery pop. The instrumental additions of horns and organ give ample weight to the band’s often monochromatic sounds. Foals are able to wrap their songs with a unique repetition that hypnotizes the listener. Before you know it, 14 songs and nearly an hour of music has gone by. No matter what style, tempo or angle Foals choose to attack from, they are successful more times than not. So, ignore the naysayers, Foals do indeed have the antidote for boring indie rock.

Genre: Indie/Dance/Punk

RIYL: Bloc Party, The Futureheads, Gang Of Four

Balloons

www.myspace.com/foals

Until the new site is ready to go, it will be SLOW around SAL.

I apologize ahead of time if the site experiences any down time…it is bound to happen.

I have four contributors lined up…still looking for one or two more. Email me (will@soundaslanguage.com) if you are interested.

Dynamite Arrows

Good Luck

Red And Blue (members of Get Bent!)

The State Lottery (ex-Gibbons!)

Traffic & Weather (ex-Gibbons!)

Transit

Young Hearts (ex-Dear Tonight)

For people who have followed Face To Face over the years, it sure is wonderful to hear the familiar vocals of Trever Keith once again. As the blitzkrieg of opening track “Cross Your Heart And Hope To Die” blasts from the stereo it feels like a warm embrace from a long lost friend. Melancholics Anonymous is Keith’s unfortunately titled solo debut. Thankfully, the album sheds the singer/songwriter tag, instead going for a full band approach the majority of the time.

It becomes apparent half-way through Melancholics Anonymous that the album owes a great deal to Face To Face’s most controversial release. The ill-received 1999 album, Ignorance Is Bliss, was the band’s attempt to move out of from under the melodic pop/punk constraints. The album was seen as a failure at the time by many fans. So much so that the band let the fans pick the songs for the next record which was sarcastically titled, Reactionary. Through the subsequent years though, Ignorance Is Bliss has won quite a few Face To Face fans over, including myself. And fans of that album and Face To Face in general should find a lot to love in finally hearing Keith again on Melancholics Anonymous.

If you study Face To Face’s excellent covers album, 2001′s Standards & Practices, you can really see where the band’s influences were birthed. On that album, the band covered artists as diverse as Jawbreaker and Fugazi to The Smiths and The Psychedelic Furs. On Melancholics Anonymous those influences become even more apparent. The hints of British pop are coated all over Keith’s solo debut. Perhaps the most telling cover of Standards & Practices is Sugar’s “Helpless.” Bob Mould who had previously fronted melodic punk band Hüsker Dü moved into more accessible waters with Sugar’s finely coated pop rock. Keith emulates that movement here as he settles into a successful groove of pop bombast mixed with brit-pop tenderness. It results in an album chock full of alt-rock nuggets.

Despite Face To Face’s recent reunion shows, Melancholics Anonymous prove that Trever Keith will be just fine when he finally decides to leave Face To Face completely in his past. Granted, if you never liked Face To Face then you might want to move on before you start. But, if you ever had a soft spot for the band then you should at least give Keith’s Melancholics Anonymous a try. It might just surprise you.

Genre: Indie/Alternative/Rock

RIYL: Face To Face, Bob Mould, Samiam

Cross Your Heart And Hope To Die

Half Asleep

Annuals “Sore”

Glass And Ashes “Seconds Before The Floor Drops Out”

13ghosts “The Lonely Death of Space Avenger”

The Tim Version “W.H.A.”

Ghost Buffalo “The Latest Wonder”

I Love Math “Josephine Street”

Jr. Juggernaut “Another Two Weeks”

An Horse “Company”

Mt. Wilson Repeater “All Night Every Day”