Alt-Nation: New Discs, a Peelander Z Show and Saying Goodbye to Dave

As we celebrate readers’ selections for the 2014 Motif Music Awards, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with a few words on the sad news of Brown Bird’s Dave Lamb’s recent passing. It was just a year ago that I did an interview with Dave on the eve of the release of Brown Bird’s Fits of Reason. Brown Bird was about to play what would be a packed CD release show at The Met to be followed by a nationwide tour that would keep the band on the road for several months. Lamb was excited to share his new music and get back out in front of his audience. The tour barely lasted a week when Brown Bird had to cancel their tour due to Lamb’s illness, which was later discovered to be leukemia. Lamb fought valiantly against the illness, but after a brief remission it aggressively returned and his body shut down. It makes me shudder to think how quickly things declined in a year, seemingly out of nowhere. None of us know how much time we have, so make the best of it while you can to love, laugh and enjoy the moment. We lost a bright star in the passing of Dave Lamb, but his spirit will live on forever in both his music and all the lives he touched. My condolences to MorganEve Swain, the Lamb family, and everyone Dave touched.

Roz and The Rice Cakes – Need To Feed
After releasing an EP and 7 inch, Roz and The Rice Cakes have released their much anticipated second full-length album, Need To Feed, recorded at the Columbus Theatre in Providence. Considering that The Rice Cakes are one of the most dynamic live bands in the area, Need To Feed doesn’t exactly come out of the gate swinging with the ethereal Kate Bush meets Sonic Youth by way of keyboard drone on “Birds.” The otherwise forgettable track does serve to set the table for the indie funk of “Castle,” but it’s not really till the title track that The Rice Cakes start to hit their stride with a song that has almost a power ballad feel. “Follow Suit” is another winner here that has the warmth of an intimate folk ballad. “Demonlike” is an indie pop song with a definite jazz feel in the rhythm. The Rice Cakes pick things up with “Missing,” which has a lo-fi indie dance number feel complete with what sounds like church bells going off in the background. “Hay Fever” has a palm muted rhythm that works in some of the always reliable soft to loud magic to great effect.  The Rice Cakes even get a little trip hop happening with “Simile Like Me,” although it doesn’t do much for me other than set the table for the big time piano ballad “Floor Boards.” Need to Feed closes strong with “Push and Pull,” which showcases the band’s strength as far as taking a jazz infused indie pop and building gradually up to drive it all home with a killer chorus. On the whole, while Need To Feed may not hit every turn on the road, it makes for an enjoyable journey, capturing The Rice Cakes in their prime.

Smith&Weeden – Self Titled
On their debut album, Smith&Weeden come out swinging with the twang-infused rock on “Aim To Please,” which reverberates echoes of country and southern rock. The guitar work on “Drinking Through Issues” reminds me of the country-infused parts of the Stones catalog. Smith&Weeden turn down the rock and amp up the country blues on “Wondering” and “Sunshine.” The rock side of Smith&Weeden comes out on the riff happy “Boys in Band,” which falls somewhere between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Thin Lizzy. Smith&Weeden bust out some old time rock & roll on “Creeper Blues,” complete with a Bo Diddley beat on the verse.  “Stuck Out Here” has an old time spaghetti western feel that the boys manage to pull off without coming across as cheesy. The album ends with a rollicking barnburner in “Playing A Part,” where they come off as a loud rock band playing the hell out of a country song. Like The Rice Cakes, Smith&Weeden recorded their album at the Columbus Theatre. I’ve always been suspicious of New Englanders playing country and southern rock, but damn, Smith&Weeden do one hell of a job at it! Check them out at AS220!
Smith&Weeden’s CD release show will be at AS220 on May 3 with Ravi Shavi and The Sun Parade.

Peelander Z
I don’t often recommend bands if I can’t picture myself sitting down and listening to their music. Peelander Z are the exception to rule. I caught them a couple of years ago at Firehouse 13 and I still ask myself if incidents from that show really happened or were one crazy dream. Among the things that happened was the guitarist literally walked out over the crowd, placing his boots from palm to palm to his eventual destination, which in this case was hanging upside down from a pipe along the ceiling, all the while playing along with the song. There was another point when the band went into the crowd and set up a bunch of toy bowling pins and used their female member as a human bowling ball. Japanese bands can be different, but Peelander Z is weird and I mean that in the best sense. As for music, one song would be metal, another would be punk, there might be an ’80s cover played on a Casio keyboard, and maybe a children’s song. They were touring with another Japanese band, Electric Eel Shock, who also had a flair for the theatric and were better musically, and Peelander Z still stole the show. This will be a show like no other and as added bonus, Math The Band’s electro party rock is pretty damn good, too!
Peelander Z and Math The Band will be at Fete on May 14.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com