Moving In Stereo: Volume 20

as heard by Darren Paltrowitz

Since Moving In Stereo: Volume 19 hit browsers, shelves, and tables around the world, a lot of worthwhile and attention-worthy releases have reached the office CD player, including:

Sarcasm “How To Lose Your Mind (Sarcasm-Music.com)
Yoko Utsumi “Yoko Utsumi” (Asian Man)
The Casanovas “The Casanovas” (Rubber)
The Gibson Brothers “Red Letter Day” (Sugar Hill)
TNT “All The Way To The Sun” (Mayhem)

…From The Stage

Traveling halfway around the world to be part of the annual M.E.A.N.Y. Fest, Italy’s own Nomoredolls found themselves part of a bill at The Continental that also included Brides Of Destruction. Led by outspoken, one-named frontwoman Cecilia, the quartet received an extra-warm reception to its domestic hit “Electric Sheep.” The music video for the aforementioned track can be viewed through the band’s MySpace site …Supporting the critically-acclaimed “The Weight Is A Gift,” New York trio Nada Surf – as complemented by keyboardist Louie Lino and guest appearances by Loser’s Lounge’s Joe McGinty and Harvey Danger’s Sean Nelson – headlined two sold-out nights at Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom. Playing more than 90 minutes at the second show, Matthew Caws and company also performed tracks from “The Proximity Effect” and “Let Go” in their set, beyond an obscure selection from a recent benefit children’s album. Whether in concert or in recorded form, this is one band to believe the hype on…Arguably the most successful music-oriented comedian out there today, Stephen Lynch has proven many skeptics wrong with the high-charting success of albums like “A Little Bit Special” and “The Craig Machine.” The sort of performer who utilizes the call-outs of a rowdy audience to keep things interesting, this show at The North Fork Theatre at Westbury was as unique as can be. Bringing out long-time friend Rod Cone to sing background vocals and play “straight man” to off-the-cuff banter, beyond making you laugh hysterically at off-color topics, a Stephen Lynch show ought to wow you with the singer-songwriter’s underrated musicianship. And oddly enough, the coming months will see Lynch playing the Adam Sandler role in the Broadway adaptation of “The Wedding Singer”…Although heroes in their native Australia and praised by NME, Offcutts are not yet known by the masses of the United States. Or even New York. While this writer was one of a handful of people that the quartet played to at Scenic, those in attendance were blown away by the group’s genre-alternating setlist. Generally switching off between garage-rock, punk, blues, and soul, Offcutts are the sort of band that keep you guessing; some songs aim to make you pump your fist, others to sway in place, others to dance. However, judging from A&R presence at the preceding night’s show across town, this is one act music fans should be expecting to hear more about soon.

…From The Screen

Currently making headlines for their decision to tour in a vegetable oil-powered van, Piebald features four 20-somethings, yet has now been around for 12 years. “Killa Bros And Killa Bees,” the Boston-bred folks’ first home-video release, is a two-disc set – one for your DVD player and one for the stereo – featuring 17 live performances and 17 previously unreleased studio recordings. In addition to audio and visual components, there are handwritten liner notes from Travis Shettel and crew discussing the past and present, in addition to songs contained. This one isn’t only for the die-hards…The first volume of a compilation series from Grey Two-Eleven Productions, Assemblage v1.0 features 20 music videos, as conceived by Jason Russum. Including the work of big-name artists like Thursday, Poison The Well, Rainer Maria, and The Dismemberment Plan, the DVD keeps cohesiveness in showing music videos that are high on concepts and low on clichés. Tech-savvy consumers also have a bonus with Assemblage, as the DVD-ROM includes MP3’s from Concisebloc. and False Mover…Another interesting title from Shout Factory, “Good To See You Again” shows the original Alice Cooper band live and in peak form during their 1973 “Billion Dollar Babies” tour. Adding special features including Audio Commentary, Outtakes, 5.1 Surround Sound, and a Poster Gallery to the original theatrical film, this release combines concert footage with – what’s been called – “an outrageous story.” But those wishing for less talk and more rock are fortunate to have option of watching the concert on its own.

If you have news to report for the next edition of Moving In Stereo, press releases and all other correspondence should be sent to darren.paltrowitz@gmail.com.

Moving In Stereo: Volume 20 Contest Giveaways

The following albums will be given away to readers of Moving In Stereo:

Jettie “Heading For Mornings” (Astro Magnetics)
Bullet Train To Vegas “We Put Scissors Where Our Mouths Are” (Nitro)
Tangiers “The Family Myth” (Frenchkiss)

To enter into the drawing, visit http://www.cityzen.tv/content/missubscribe.php. Three winners – one CD per person – will be selected at random and notified.