Obscure Sound
8/26/2010
link
"We all know that guy. The one who wakes up still drunk, refuses to
spend more than ten dollars for a t-shirt, and reads the works of Hunter
S. Thompson like a to-do list. Luke and Mitch Meseke both are probably
“that guy” and, fortunately for us, they form the all-elusive Woozy
Viper. Without even so much as a bio, their ’60s-inspired rock emits a
form of authenticity that makes it feel as if we already know and love
them.
At first listen many may draw comparisons to the Black Lips and
rightly so, but I think just pairing them alongside their coevals would
not be doing Woozy Viper justice. The NYC-based duo have successfully
taken the great pop sensibilities of the Mod era and interwoven
post-modern nuances to form a refreshing aberration. Tracks like “Dirty
Rat” and “King Kong” are reminiscent of The Monks in subversive catchy
goodness, yet are original enough to not be imitative. The trademark
vocals soar in their range and versatility, drawing comparisons to Brian
Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe ability to shine over lo-fi
rawness. This debut album is comparable to a cart spiraling out of
control on broken elevated tracks in a rustic mine. Just as you start
getting used to a steady vibe of Kinks-inspired throwback rock, Woozy
Viper time-warp us back to the days of Jerry Lee Lewis with the song
“Woah Baby”. Yet, the very next track swelters Jim Morrison-esque
croons. Then the proverbial “lever” is pulled and we are still in that
old rustic mine, descending at a mind-whirling velocity from soulful
cowboy ballads to spastic ditties that, at times, have the off-kilter
whisper-shout stylings that take a surprising nod to such acts as
Suicide and The Pixies.
While I was painstakingly cutting out the shoulder pads of a new
sweater, I felt comfort in knowing that although some fads need to die a
horrible sordid death, there remain some styles that are classic and
need to be revisited in order to be preserved. The latter is such the
case with this gem of an album, which by the way is free (though you can
also support the band by buying it here)! The MC5 would be proud that
their spirit of kicking out the jams still lives on through this Kansas
duo. Now feel free to download their completely free album here. If you
like it, you should be happy to know that their sophomore album, Rock
& Roll, is on the way.
RIYL: Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols, The Kinks, The
Monks, The Warlocks, Spacemen 3, The Black Angels, Darker My Love, Dead
Meadow, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Spiritualized, 13th Floor
Elevators, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Wooden Shjips The Velvet
Underground, Comets on Fire, Galaxie 500, Deerhunter"
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
No Genre Mid-Year Report - Best Songs #29 Woozy Viper
No Genre
7/7/2010
link
"MID-YEAR REPORT // BEST SONGS
#29. “It’s All Over” Woozy Viper // When I first heard this back in February, I compared it to Lou Reed’s work on Loaded. And while that might seem a tad overblown, I stand behind my statement. This is simple without being oversimplified, emotionally direct without being cruel."
7/7/2010
link
"MID-YEAR REPORT // BEST SONGS
#29. “It’s All Over” Woozy Viper // When I first heard this back in February, I compared it to Lou Reed’s work on Loaded. And while that might seem a tad overblown, I stand behind my statement. This is simple without being oversimplified, emotionally direct without being cruel."
Friday, April 9, 2010
Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good review
Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good
4/9/2010
link
"Woozy Viper play a no-budget, no-frills version of rock & roll, the kind you find in legion halls all across the country. Maybe that’s why I love “Look Out!” so much, it reminds me of those bands I would see every weekend playing music just like this simply because it’s fun. The drums sound like they were recorded in the next room and the vocals are mixed too high, but a perfect recording was never the point of this kind of music. The wiry guitar, handclaps, and ghostly backing vocals turn the song into some macabre beach party, complete with references to graveyards and coyotes. You can grab Woozy Viper’s album over at their website for free, so you should go do that."
4/9/2010
link
"Woozy Viper play a no-budget, no-frills version of rock & roll, the kind you find in legion halls all across the country. Maybe that’s why I love “Look Out!” so much, it reminds me of those bands I would see every weekend playing music just like this simply because it’s fun. The drums sound like they were recorded in the next room and the vocals are mixed too high, but a perfect recording was never the point of this kind of music. The wiry guitar, handclaps, and ghostly backing vocals turn the song into some macabre beach party, complete with references to graveyards and coyotes. You can grab Woozy Viper’s album over at their website for free, so you should go do that."
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
No Genre review
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"
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"
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
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