The Severed Cortex

It's been awhile since I've even had some time to write ... or felt the inspiration ... and I'm horribly out of practice. Plus, I just switched to Sanka. So have a heart. These are not in any particular order.

Venus on Earth by Dengue Fever

It will be clear two minutes into the first song whether you're going to like this or not. Dengue Fever is a collective of LA musicians fronted by Cambodian born pop singer Chhom Nimol, who pretty much sings the entire album in her native tongue of Khmer. I just lost you right there, didn't I? Yeah. You either love it or you don't. Personally, I find it kind of intriguing. Most of the time anyway. It wears a little thin at times. The real question is, would it lose you quicker if it weren't for the musicianship, which is fantastic. If you block out the lyrics and concentrate on the music itself, you'll find tons of late 60's psycho lounge, pop hooks, all with a SE Asian flair. And all very well executed. A perfect example of this is Oceans of Venus. For songs in English try Tiger Phone Card or Sober Driver. For a Khmer song, I like the lead track Seeing Hands and the final track Mr. Orange.

Neptune by The Duke Spirit

I really liked the first full length from The Duke Spirit titled Cuts Across the Land. So much so that I couldn't pass it up when I spied the discounted price on it at Vintage Vinyl. I don't know why I think of the DiVinyls when I listen to these guys, but I still do even on this second full length. Odd, since other than lead singer voice similarities they really aren't very much like at all. This one isn't quite as good as The Duke Spirit's first full length though. For the most part it is more of the same from their first one, but the material on this one just isn't as strong. The songs are all solid and enjoyable, but none of them just grab you, which is always what I'm looking for. From that standpoint I'd just say Lassoo is the best of the bunch, however don't be afraid to buy the whole thing and have it playing in the background.

Get It Together by Supersuckers

I didn't have to buy this one. It was given to me by my friend Nancy. Be that as it may, I would have bought it and had I spent that money I would not have been disappointed. The first full length release of new material from Eddie Spaghetti and the crew in three plus years is yet another raucous 45 minutes of fun. What else would you expect from the band who brought you such gems as Pretty F*ck*d Up and Born With A Tail. I guess I should say mostly new material. Some of this was on the Paid EP from a couple of years ago. Either way, this is a real rock and roll album and there are some gems on this one too. I'm going to say that this may not be their best batch of material, but it is definitely their most polished release. You can count that as a negative if you want, and under most circumstances I would too, but I'm not going to in this case. I just like the Supersuckers that much. In fact, I recommend you buy the whole thing and then go see the band live. Wear ear protection. If you simply insist on buying one song get I'm a F*ck*ing Genius. It's a real crowd pleaser done the way that only the Supersuckers can do it. (Warning: contains pottymouthing.)

The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines by (of course) King Khan and the Shrines

Remember how much I love campy music? Remember how much I like garage rock? Remember how much I like when you put both of those things together? Man, do I love it and man does King Khan and the Shrines deliver it. From what I gather, King Khan is a showman of the highest order. That kind of stuff rarely translates to a studio record, but let me tell you it does on this one. You know from listening to this one time that you have to see this crazy bastard live. That's all great but what hooks me is the garage band, Stax-era sound. Very soulful and very much a wall of sound like I likes it. Took My Lady to Dinner is both a rollercoaster of fun and a damn funny song. Hey, I love a good homage to plump women. As Joe Tex once said, Shutup fool. I don't want no woman with no skinny legs. On top of the great music you'll find on this release, it's also the best value. You get sixteen original songs. C'mon. You can't beat that. Even K-Tel can't do you right like that.