7/30-Redman here. The summer is almost over and I decided it is time to list my favorite 2002 releases so far.
5.The Mars Volta/Tremulant EP-This is a short yet great EP from Cedric Bixler Zavalas and Omar Rodriguez (two members of former emo powerhouse At the Drive In) and their six piece band. The three songs all have great energy to them and lead singer Cedric is without a doubt one of the best frontmen in the music biz today. Hopefully they will put out a full length CD soon.
4.The Vines/Highly Evolved-These whippersnappers from Oz are trying to justify all the hype. The truth is after one listen to Get Free, Highly Evolved, or GetoutoftheWay you'll know this is one of the most exciting acts to come along in a while. The band flawlessly mixes in British influences like Blur and the Beatles to grunge influences like Nirvana and Alice in Chains. Also kudos to Best Buy and many others for having this Cd priced at the dirt cheap price of $5.99 in the first week.
3.Weezer/Maladroit-Weezer's latest release proves that these loveable nerds are one of the elite acts today. Maladroit gets off to a bang with American Gigolo then kicks into hyperdrive with Dope Nose. Add in songs like Keep Fishin and Slave and Weezer has a winner on their hands. Also it looks like lead singer Rivers Coumo is having fun, evidenced by the Keep Fishin video filled with muppets.
2.Mooney Suzuki/Electric Sweat-With the recent surge in popularity of garage rock (the Strokes, the Hives, and the White Stripes), it is easy to see how a great band like the Mooney Suzuki could slip through the cracks without getting noticed. The Mooney Suzuki though are probably the best out of the bunch mixing influences like the New York Dolls and Television to Motown greats. With one album (People Get Ready) under their collective belts, Sammy James Jr. and crew burn it up on their sophomore effort. From the first few seconds of title and opening track Electric Sweat to the end of Electrocuted Blues you are in for one heck of a ride. An interesting note about this foursome,who recorded this album at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit, is that two members of the Strokes tried out for the band and didn't make this band. This is a great album that anyone into garage rock should defintely pick up.
1.And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead/Source Tags & Codes-These guys that hail from the Lone Star State have a reputation of putting on one fierce live show. Breaking guitars after performances is just one part of their reportoire. Along with putting on great live shows they put out pretty good studio recorded albums as well. More like great actually. Their first two releases titled AYWKUBTTOD and Madonna were great but they have topped those with Source Tags & Codes. On their third album, they sound like a musical mix of Sonic Youth, At The Drive In, and a touch of Mogwai. Every song is great but songs like Another Morning Stoner, Monsoon, and Relative Ways take it a notch higher. The final song on the disc, Source Tags & Codes, perfectly completes this awesome release. If you like music that sounds good and is not the watered down crap played today on mainstream rock radio this is a definite must have.
These are my five favorite releases so far. Two releases that make my honorable mention are Sparta's EP Austere and the Hives fantastic Veni Vedi Vicious(*note-this CD was originally released in 2000 but it has only been discovered this year). Well there you have it those are my favorite releases so far. Hopefully the second half of the year will have more good releases. God bless