Side F/X plays with ‘Contradictions’ on seductively rocking new album

Written by Kit Burns

Side F/X can never be called predictable. On their new album, Contradictions, the band effortlessly shifts gears, from Motels-styled early ’80s New Wave (“Scattered”) to blues rock (“Her Escape”) to country (“Life’s Mystery”). Through it all lead singer Kim Cameron, who also wrote these songs, seduces us with her soulful tones. Contradictions doesn’t sound like an independent release at all. It’s a polished, professionally executed affair with top-flight guitar work, especially the searing riffs on “Won’t Break Down,” and hypnotically throbbing bass lines, as on the funky “My Hero.”

Kit Burns: Side F/X’s eclectic genre-shifting is not something I usually hear from rock groups coming out of Washington, D.C. How has the reception been in D.C. thus far?

Kim Cameron: D.C. is a confluence of different nationalities, cultures, and therefore, music. My co-writer and I have taken advantage of those diversifications and styles into our approach. So far, we have been lucky.  Everyone has taken a liking to the variety – especially women.  That was the general approach of the album, to make sure the listener did not get bored.  Our general philosophy was [that] people like a lot of different sounds, genres – so why not produce something with a little magic in each song?

Burns: There are too few women on rock radio these days. What challenges do you feel you face as a woman leading a rock group?

Cameron: The biggest challenge I have come across is appearance.  When you tell people you are a part of a rock band, they expect to hear a raspy/screeching voice on the mic. People are always trying to box women into a hardcore look or sound in the rock world – but to me, you can be feminine and sound feminine without losing the rock spirit. I believe it is important get the industry to take notice of music that has something to say, not necessarily who, or which, gender says it. It is in this spirit that we created Contradictions.

Burns: Is there a hidden meaning behind the album title Contradictions?

Cameron: Absolutely!  Actually, the entire album has many hidden meanings. Contradictions represents a clash between sounds and lyrical content. “Never Forget” is a song about a cancer victim that I know personally and was impacted by, but the vibe in the song is actually quite cheerful. To me, we all face challenges each day, but it’s up to us to see the positive to keep our spirit alive, hence the ‘contradiction.’ If you look at the album cover, you will notice vines wrapping around myself and my lead guitar player.  As you unfold the cover, you will see two birds.  While the birds start off together, as you unfold the cover, the birds fly away, and one of the birds carries away with it a broken heart. Similar to the album artwork, Contradictions also represents my personal growth – growth as a person, growth as a songwriter, growth as a woman, growth as a singer. The true contradiction, is, what you see is not always what you get. Inside all of us are some hidden talents that are often overlooked.

Burns: You co-wrote the lyrics on Contradictions. How do you find the process of a songwriting collaboration? Is it easier, or harder, than penning the words on your own.

Cameron: Having a journalism degree, I am not only accustomed to being edited, but find the process invaluable. Anytime you can place two people, and sometimes three on a project, you will always gain a better experience and song in the process.  Since these songs are all about personal life experiences, I would be lying if I said the editing process was not challenging because it can feel like someone is taking apart your soul, but in the end, if you can explain your story in a way that makes sense to others, that is really the objective.

Burns: How long have Side F/X been around? What is the story behind the group?

Cameron: Side F/X started out as a basement concept with two of my very close friends, who happen to be brothers. One ended up as a co-writer on over half of the songs. We would get together; play music for their extremely large family gatherings for a couple of years until last year, when we decided to make ourselves ‘official.’ Part of the decision was based on the creation of the original works (Contradictions), which began on April 2007. It took us several months, but I think we are right where we should be, a very diverse mix of musicians from two Iranian transplants to a D.C. native who has fought hard to rise above a very poor and drug-infested neighborhood to an information technology professional. What I have found is the more eclectic the backgrounds, the more inspirational the sound. All musicians bring their background to the sound; they cannot help it. 

http://www.sidefxband.net

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The punk-pop of Waxapples highlighted by male-female vocal interplay

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Waxapples/Glitter & Grime

Just when you think you have Waxapples pegged, they surprise you.

Glitter & Grime is an apt title for a record that is both dirty and beautiful. Guitars crunch and roar in trademark post-grunge style but are then boxed in delicious pop candy that shouldn’t mesh with the racket surrounding it. Somehow the rock and the pop live in peace; in fact, they have wonderful chemistry together. “Forget You” is a pointed break-up song that sounds like Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots fronting the Foo Fighters. “Over Again” is power pop with a serrated edge. And, after that, you think that you have predicted where Waxapples would venture from there.

Not so fast.

“Cheap” echoes the New Wave thrills of vintage Blondie (or, for a more recent comparison, try No Doubt) while “Hollywood” and especially “Jackson” recall the liquor-laced L.A. punk rock of X. Towards the end of the record, Waxapples are trying on all sorts of shoes, from the spare folk of “Look Out” to the ’80s spandex metal riffing of “Tush.” It’s all quite delightful, especially the vocal interplay of Brian and Jamie Sims Coakley.

http://www.waxapples.com

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The Strokes revive New York’s late ’70s New Wave heyday with ‘First Impressions of Earth’

Reviewed by Mondo Castro

The Strokes/First Impressions of Earth

The thing is, the Strokes were never an ‘original’ band. But like that immortal salesman once said, “it’s all in the packaging.” And the Strokes packaged that NYC New Wave (when bands like Television and Blondie were kicking butt and taking names) sound quite well and effortlessly made it their own. Their mainstream conquest in 2001, with the release of Is This It, was as refreshing as when Television and the rest of the flock ignited New York’s renaissance in the late ’70s. Much like what happened then, the Strokes blew the lid off the underground which led to the exquisite New Wave renaissance.

Made up of rich fashion victims, the Strokes had a cache of great pop songs disguised in the post-punk, visceral guitar riffs festooned with the coldness of the rhythm section and anchored on dodgy half-singing. Becoming superstars wasn’t hard for these boys, backed by boy-band good looks, a bevy of gritty singles such as “Hard To Explain” and “Last Nite,” and feeding loads of money into their promotions and publicity war machine. Although critically-acclaimed and packed with talent, the band’s affluent rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle was often considered to be bogus.

First Impressions of Earth is filled to the rafters with great songs, better singles than those from the first album. The line-up reads like a greatest hits album; there’s “12:51,” “The Way it Is,” “Under Control,” and the best song in their arsenal: “Reptilia”. It goes without saying that the so-called “sophomore jinx” was conquered while bolstering their status as one of the best bands on the planet. The Strokes have become a tighter unit; there are less glaring ‘mistakes’ and more of the swagger that comes with their current status. On songs like the devastatingly guttural “Juicebox,” the tautness jumps out of the speakers and holds you by the neck. On the other hand, the guitar work on the Barry Manilow-esque (yes, Manilow, specifically the “Mandy” song) “Razorblade” and “Electricityscape” is stunning. The album not only confines itself to the illustrious NYC New Wave [or No Wave] scene of the late ’70s, it flashes odd moments from ’80s brashness and glam-rock insolence, and the band makes it work.

First Impressions of Earth is the sound of a band at the height of its career, pushing things to the limit and not caring about the fall-out.

http://www.thestrokes.com

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Canada’s Shelby Nelson reaches for Britpop goodness on ‘Stars to Sail By’

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Shelby Nelson/Stars to Sail By

Miss Britpop? You probably do. After all, the mid-’90s invasion of U.K. retro rockers (Oasis, Blur, etc) didn’t last long stateside as many Americans seem to have forgotten how appealing those English accents and Beatlesque melodies were, eventually overshadowed by the icky likes of rap-metal, Nickelback, and emo. Well, for those who have a taste for the Brits will certainly embrace Canada-based Shelby Nelson, who wears his affection for John Lennon, Pink Floyd, and Oasis on his sleeves.

Thankfully, while Nelson’s influences are easily apparent to the educated ear, he isn’t copping anybody’s licks here unlike Oasis which proudly confessed their Fab Four theft (but they were so good at it we didn’t give a damn). “Intro” is spacey Pink Floyd-ish prog rock; it seemed oddly out of place at first but then I realized it does establish Nelson’s preference towards a bigger rock sound. “The Parasite and the Ghost” is powered by thunderously huge drums and stadium-sized guitar riffs while “In For the Night” is illuminated by shimmering, radiant hooks. “When You’re Feeling Better” echoes Pink Floyd’s distinctly English sensibilities but with more a emotionally accessible approach. Probably the biggest shocker here is “Caught in a Sweet Vibration” which aims for the wiggly synths and robotic cool vocals of the Cars’ late ’70s New Wave.

http://www.shelbynelson.ca

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Rivercity Seven delivers wildly unpredictable genre hopping

Reviewed by Kit Burns

Rivercity Seven/Sidewinder Stitches Time

Rivercity Seven changes with the weather. At one point, the group is tripping us with mad flashbacks of the Peter Gabriel-lead Genesis (for those of you too young to remember, Phil Collins was not always the vocalist for Genesis) and then flipping the switch to the herky-jerky synth pops of Devo. That’s quite a leap! But it’s that wild eclecticism which makes Sidewinder Stitches Time such a blast to listen to. You never know what direction these guys are taking, and the familiarity from repeated spins still doesn’t erode that sense of rollercoaster unpredictability.

Hailing from the alternative hotbed of Austin, Texas, Rivercity Seven are an alternative to the alternative. The band’s stylistic shifts are downright bizarre yet it’s exhilarating to hear music again that actually challenges the listener. On the spiteful “Roll Out Yer Bones,” the twisted ’80s New Wave dance rock of Oingo Boingo collides with the arty pretensions of Gabriel; if you thought that punk and prog would make unnatural bedmates, you’ll be shocked as to how exciting this is. Demented bliss, I say. The question is, are you prepared to make the leap from that to the Steely Dan-esque white funk of “Save Yourself”? If you are, by all means do not hesitate to jump on board.  

http://www.myspace.com/rivercityseven

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Club Retro: Reviews of Alternative Past – Vol. 1

 

Reviewed by Mondo Castro

Longwave/The Strangest Things

I always believed that Toad the Wet Sprocket had strong New Wave roots. You can hear it in their songs especially on the album Fear that housed that massive hit “All I Want”. Now, that conviction is bizarrely “justified” in New York band Longwave. This four-piece is made from the same cloth as Toad The Wet Sprocket enhanced and polished with the Railway Children and the Ocean Blue’s shimmering guitars. Front man Steve Schiltz, who played on Theo Eastwind’s brilliant One album, even sings like Toad singer Glen Phillips. I’ll jump from a ten-storey building if Longwave didn’t pattern their music after Toad. I’ll slit my throat and eat ten miles of shit if I’m proven wrong. But, hey, like I always say—it’s not a bad thing to ‘borrow’ from somebody else just as long as you make it better than it was when you stumbled upon it. And ‘made it better’ Longwave did. I’ve fallen in love with “Everywhere You Turn,” “I Know It’s Coming Someday,” and “Tidal Wave” — classics all. Gorgeous works of art— makes me want to maim these boys. Longwave have finally taken Toad out of the New Wave closet and added a little more glitter, a bit more sheen — vastly improving on the archetype.

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