Mon - October 6, 2003

3 for 3


CDs from Sloan, The Weakerthans, and The Flaming Sideburns.

So I took a chance yesterday and bought 3 CDs that I've only heard one or two songs on: Sloan - Action Pact, The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site, and The Flaming Sideburns - Save Rock 'n' Roll. I've been burned by this before, but this time I was 3 for 3.


Sloan's new album, Action Pact, is aptly named. I personally found their last effort, Pretty Together, dull. It had a few excellent tracks, but most tracks get skipped over here when they come up in iTunes. Thankfully, Action Pact is back to their fun, catchy songs. This wasn't really a risky purchase since I'm such a big Sloan fan, but I was a bit concerned since I wasn't a fan of the last album. I wasn't disappointed. However, there isn't really anything new here, so don't expect anything groundbreaking. Just enjoy this for what it is; a good Sloan rock album.


The next purchase, Reconstruction Site, was probably the biggest gamble. I heard one song on "The Punk Show" and bought it on a whim. That one song, Our Retired Explorer, is excellent, though. Despite being on "The Punk Show" and me finding the CD in the punk section, this is nowhere near punk. Well, except that The Weakerthans are lead by John K. Samson of Propagandhi fame -- which I discovered after the fact. I see that previous Weakerthans albums are put in the "punk revival" category, but I haven't heard them. Anyway, the album turns out to be pretty good. A little on the mellow side, but still good. The funny thing is that my friend Steve told me about them before when he was playing this CD in his car, but I completely forgot (like always) until I heard the song that was playing in his car.


I saved the best for last... The Flaming Sideburns. I first heard them on "The Wedge" and was impressed right away. I downloaded a couple more of their songs and loved their blistering rock sound. Kind of like another one of my favs, Tricky Woo, but with more of a old rock sound and more "friendly" vocals. The screaming vocals in Tricky Woo's songs seem to scare off a lot of people, but The Flaming Sideburns' "Save Rock 'n' Roll" should be easier to handle. This is the perfect album to listen to on your way to watching the "The School of Rock" -- and on the way back. Okay, an AC/DC album might be more perfect, but you get the gist. While most of the tracks are pure rock, there are a couple surprises, like the slower, Velvet Underground sounding "Flowers". So go out and buy this album. Hey, it has the Spezowka Seal of Approval™! Note that this is basically a US release of their previous album released overseas with a couple song swaps. They have a newer album, Sky Pilots, which came out in May, but I haven't heard anything from it yet.

Posted at 08:58 PM    

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