No Genre
2/24/2010
link
"Lou Reed comes in many different flavors. There's the proto-twee
bedsitter who wrote "Sunday Morning" and "Pale Blue Eyes." Then, there's
garage rock god who tore it all down with "Sister Ray." There's the
baroque poet-cum-lounge-singer who recorded Berlin. Of course, there's
the coked-out chronicler of glam sleaze in Street Hassle and
Transformer. And, then there's the guy who recorded Metal Machine Music.
But Reed's greatest iteration was the man who showed up for the Loaded
recording sessions. This is the man who wrote "Sweet Jane" and "Oh Sweet
Nuthin'" and "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" and "New Age." This is the man
whose life was saved by rock'n'roll.
Woozy Viper are not Lou Reed, but I don't think they aspire to be him
either. But the duo from NYC sound remarkably like Reed at his peak,
circa Loaded. On their debut album, which you can grab for free here,
the band present a dozen gloriously uncomplicated songs that sound
refreshingly like rock'n'roll. No studio wizardry. No electronics. No
arch irony. No authenticity claims. No volcanic guitar solos. No leather
jackets. No nothing but rock'n'roll.
I'm tempted to say that the songs are deceptively simple. But that's
not right. These are simple songs. But what was ever wrong with simple?
The Ramones were simple. The Dead Milkmen were simple. Most of the best
of Loud Reed was simple. Simple never steered anyone wrong. Simple is
refreshing these days. Check out "Rent," a cow-bell driven jam about,
um, how much it sucks to pay rent. Then there's "King Kong," an ode of
sorts to, um, King Kong. Sample lyric: "He tried to steal the girl even
though he couldn't fit it in the girl." And guess what "Love Scented
Candles" is about. This album is so free of bullshit that it completely
disarms you.
Woozy Viper trust their songwriting enough to leave everything
dangerously unadorned. And most of the songs pay big dividends. "The
Switchblade Swing" is a wry cinema verite tour through the hell that is
modern hipsterdom ("Who you trying to be?/I'm just trying to teach you
the motherfucking switchblade swing."). But it's the music that's the
big draw here: it's loose and ragged with its acoustic guitars and
tambourines and effective rock scatting ("That's right, that was a scat,
[it] makes me feel good"). The album closes with the its highlight,
"It's All Over." Our singer is breaking up with his girl, and he
couldn't sound happier. It's not interested in lobbing accusations; he's
not going to drag the past out to dissect. He's just telling her that
it's all over. Simple as that. And what could be fucking greater than
that?
Rating: 7.5/10"
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Needle Drop review
The Needle Drop
2/24/2010
link
"Introducing Woozy Viper
Woozy Viper is a Brooklyn/Queens duo with a menacing garage rock sound. And, of course, they're kinda lo-fi, too. Just imagine if you could throw The King Khan & BBQ Show into a melting pot with The Velvet Underground. Woozy is calm, laid back, somewhat druggy; but they've got their upbeat, eccentricities too."
2/24/2010
link
"Introducing Woozy Viper
Woozy Viper is a Brooklyn/Queens duo with a menacing garage rock sound. And, of course, they're kinda lo-fi, too. Just imagine if you could throw The King Khan & BBQ Show into a melting pot with The Velvet Underground. Woozy is calm, laid back, somewhat druggy; but they've got their upbeat, eccentricities too."
Monday, February 22, 2010
Electric Comic Book review
Electric Comic Book
2/22/2010
link
"Album Review: Woozy Viper’s self-released, eponymous, myterious album.
The Brothers Meseke make up Woozy Viper.
Finding a rare album by a long-lost gem of a band would fill any rock aficionado’s dark little heart with the kind of joy and mirth only reserved for a sunny day. Finding a band that you know you’re going to wind up saying “I knew them when. . .” may be even better, though heartbreaking. Then, there’s of course, just finding your favorite new live act, who blows their minds, eyes, and ears of anyone within fifty feet of a small stage in Brooklyn (namely, at the Union Pool or Don Pedro’s.
Woozy Viper is none of these. At all.
Woozy Viper is composed of two Kansas expatriate brothers who’ve relocated in Brooklyn. Other than their names, Luke and Mitch Meseke, or that Mitch is an illustrator who makes his love of rock and roll into beautiful masterworks, nothing is known. Their MySpace shows their album over (the image above), and provides a link to their website where you can download their entire album for free. They have no shows planned, it’s unknown if these guys ever played a show, and yet, they are still creating a buzz among the serious rock and roll blogs. The album was supposedly posted sometime in December, and I’ve only found their business card at the Brooklyn standard two weeks ago during that miserable snowstorm — the card is just their “Munsters”-influenced logo and the URL to their website. Who knows which brother plays what, but if I can make a guess: they both play acoustic guitars, and Luke is gently tapping at the skins, and for all I know, they use a Boss BR-532 digital 4-tracker to record, resulting in the clean-yet-lo-fi aesthetic of the album. This is music for people who get wrapped up in the legends of recluses like J.D. Salinger and Jendek.
Enough about the fucking story! How’s the album itself? In short: It’s pretty damned good.
The only track with any kind of fire to it is the opener, the surf-blues fusion of “Look Out!” wherein the opening line is the ballsy “I got graveyard dirt in my mouth,” in a moan reminiscent of the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. The rest of the eleven tracks reflect their name perfectly: woozy, boozy, swaying acoustic-based garage blues, with some of the finest lyrics that sting. These are guys who take their rock and roll to heart, and know that deep down it’s supposed to be goofy and fun with allusions abound. “Come Over” sounds like a slowed down version of the Rolling Stones’ “Down Home Girl” (complete with the sliding guitar fill), but with each verse starting “Japanese violin player,” you can’t help but think of something Rivers Cuomo wrote a few years ago. The longest track “The Switchblade Swing” is a six-minute folk-jam, wherein Mitch (or Luke?) sing lyrics about hipsters looking like Polaroid pictures, and ask who they’re trying to be, before moving on to a scat singing before admitting that stuff’s not popular anymore. Or, take “King Kong,” which includes a line mentioning the big ape’s ah, . . . intentions not coming to fruition, to put it gently. All of it fun, very simple, and catchy at points. However, at the album’s center, however, is the fast-paced and silly “Speaking in Tongues,” where between decrying the death of the ghost of rock and roll, the singer stumbles over the line ‘Lookin’ out my window, waitin’ for the devil to come / Ohh watch-out-now-ohh-watch-out-now!” It certainly makes the case.
Grade: B-. It’s a short, twelve-song collection of cool acoustic-based blues tunes that are shrouded in ridiculous mystery. Put that aside, and it’s a loving addition to the realm of great garage bands: here for a moment, gone the next, only to thrive in the energy and excitement of rock and roll. Yet, it could benefit from more up-tempo numbers like “Look Out!”, and if it were maybe even a little dirtier aesthetically, to go with the subdued percussion in the background. All in all, watch their sites closely, as I feel big things are going to come their way if they ever want to make a go at it and play live."
2/22/2010
link
"Album Review: Woozy Viper’s self-released, eponymous, myterious album.
The Brothers Meseke make up Woozy Viper.
Finding a rare album by a long-lost gem of a band would fill any rock aficionado’s dark little heart with the kind of joy and mirth only reserved for a sunny day. Finding a band that you know you’re going to wind up saying “I knew them when. . .” may be even better, though heartbreaking. Then, there’s of course, just finding your favorite new live act, who blows their minds, eyes, and ears of anyone within fifty feet of a small stage in Brooklyn (namely, at the Union Pool or Don Pedro’s.
Woozy Viper is none of these. At all.
Woozy Viper is composed of two Kansas expatriate brothers who’ve relocated in Brooklyn. Other than their names, Luke and Mitch Meseke, or that Mitch is an illustrator who makes his love of rock and roll into beautiful masterworks, nothing is known. Their MySpace shows their album over (the image above), and provides a link to their website where you can download their entire album for free. They have no shows planned, it’s unknown if these guys ever played a show, and yet, they are still creating a buzz among the serious rock and roll blogs. The album was supposedly posted sometime in December, and I’ve only found their business card at the Brooklyn standard two weeks ago during that miserable snowstorm — the card is just their “Munsters”-influenced logo and the URL to their website. Who knows which brother plays what, but if I can make a guess: they both play acoustic guitars, and Luke is gently tapping at the skins, and for all I know, they use a Boss BR-532 digital 4-tracker to record, resulting in the clean-yet-lo-fi aesthetic of the album. This is music for people who get wrapped up in the legends of recluses like J.D. Salinger and Jendek.
Enough about the fucking story! How’s the album itself? In short: It’s pretty damned good.
The only track with any kind of fire to it is the opener, the surf-blues fusion of “Look Out!” wherein the opening line is the ballsy “I got graveyard dirt in my mouth,” in a moan reminiscent of the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. The rest of the eleven tracks reflect their name perfectly: woozy, boozy, swaying acoustic-based garage blues, with some of the finest lyrics that sting. These are guys who take their rock and roll to heart, and know that deep down it’s supposed to be goofy and fun with allusions abound. “Come Over” sounds like a slowed down version of the Rolling Stones’ “Down Home Girl” (complete with the sliding guitar fill), but with each verse starting “Japanese violin player,” you can’t help but think of something Rivers Cuomo wrote a few years ago. The longest track “The Switchblade Swing” is a six-minute folk-jam, wherein Mitch (or Luke?) sing lyrics about hipsters looking like Polaroid pictures, and ask who they’re trying to be, before moving on to a scat singing before admitting that stuff’s not popular anymore. Or, take “King Kong,” which includes a line mentioning the big ape’s ah, . . . intentions not coming to fruition, to put it gently. All of it fun, very simple, and catchy at points. However, at the album’s center, however, is the fast-paced and silly “Speaking in Tongues,” where between decrying the death of the ghost of rock and roll, the singer stumbles over the line ‘Lookin’ out my window, waitin’ for the devil to come / Ohh watch-out-now-ohh-watch-out-now!” It certainly makes the case.
Grade: B-. It’s a short, twelve-song collection of cool acoustic-based blues tunes that are shrouded in ridiculous mystery. Put that aside, and it’s a loving addition to the realm of great garage bands: here for a moment, gone the next, only to thrive in the energy and excitement of rock and roll. Yet, it could benefit from more up-tempo numbers like “Look Out!”, and if it were maybe even a little dirtier aesthetically, to go with the subdued percussion in the background. All in all, watch their sites closely, as I feel big things are going to come their way if they ever want to make a go at it and play live."
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Your Third Ear review
Your Third Ear
2/12/2010
link
"This Brooklyn band reminisces on the beach days of the 60's and 70's on their self-titled debut. This album which they are giving away for free is comprised of a few catchy tunes but at the same time quite a few boring and repetitious. The semi-lo-fi sound is unique because it isn't the almost grunge-like scratchiness of Wavvves but it is a sound all their own. It feels like it was thrown together a little quickly just to get some material out there and when it comes to free music, you can't always expect the best. But I'd say it is worth a listen, certainly if you think the cover is interesting, they sound very much like you would expect.
Cocktail: The Black Keys meets Ezra Furman and the Harpoons meets Japandroids"
2/12/2010
link
"This Brooklyn band reminisces on the beach days of the 60's and 70's on their self-titled debut. This album which they are giving away for free is comprised of a few catchy tunes but at the same time quite a few boring and repetitious. The semi-lo-fi sound is unique because it isn't the almost grunge-like scratchiness of Wavvves but it is a sound all their own. It feels like it was thrown together a little quickly just to get some material out there and when it comes to free music, you can't always expect the best. But I'd say it is worth a listen, certainly if you think the cover is interesting, they sound very much like you would expect.
Cocktail: The Black Keys meets Ezra Furman and the Harpoons meets Japandroids"
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Pitch's Wayward Blog review
The Pitch's Wayward Blog
2/10/2010
link
"Why Goner or Hozac haen't signed Brookyn's Woozy Vipers yet is surprising. Their brand of lo-fi, two-man bluesy garage rock seems like it would fit into those labels' rosters like a hand in glove. However, you don't have to worry about waiting for a label to release Luke and Mitch Meseke's self-titled release, as it's available for free download.
The Meseke boys are former locals, having moved to Brooklyn from Junction City. Mitch's artwork has been seen on posters around Lawrence (he did one for Tommy Ferrari last October). He's also a noted storyboardist. You can see his work at his website."
2/10/2010
link
"Why Goner or Hozac haen't signed Brookyn's Woozy Vipers yet is surprising. Their brand of lo-fi, two-man bluesy garage rock seems like it would fit into those labels' rosters like a hand in glove. However, you don't have to worry about waiting for a label to release Luke and Mitch Meseke's self-titled release, as it's available for free download.
The Meseke boys are former locals, having moved to Brooklyn from Junction City. Mitch's artwork has been seen on posters around Lawrence (he did one for Tommy Ferrari last October). He's also a noted storyboardist. You can see his work at his website."
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