Month: March 2019

Review: Gary Wilson – The King of Endicott

Working as both a loving homage to his (in)famous home town of Endicott, New York and as another weird walk through the world of bedroom rock, Gary Wilson’s newest record, The King of Endicott, is another bizarre, romantic, funky, fun piece of work from him.

“Don’t be afraid when I hold your hand,” Wilson sings on the intro of the record as Captain Beefheart-like warped saxophone warbles behind him.  Then “The Town of a Thousand Lights” kicks in with peppy organ and electric drums as Wilson offers to be your tour guide / date for the night in a town he finds as enthralling as Paris.  His vocals are particularly happy throughout it.  It sounds like he’s having a blast.

He’s having a blast on his keyboards on “The Lonely Park,” too, as he sings about taking his girlfriend (Linda?) to a quiet park before it gets too late and before she changes her mind.  The walk continues on “Walking in the Rain Tonight.”  Wilson just wants to hold hands with his girl (Linda?  Karen?) and stroll along as smoothly as his keyboard riffs without a care.  Isn’t that what we all want?

“I Think I’m Falling in Love” has Wilson wondering what’s wrong with his girl (Linda?  Karen?  Debbie?  Sheryl?) as he sees her crying at her own reflection while he declares his love for her (from outside her room, or her house?).  The bouncy beats and keys keep you upbeat despite the sad nature of the tune.  “The king of Endicott is sad tonight,” Wilson sings on the title track.  He’s lonely on another Friday night.  He’s a king without a queen, but he never gives up hope.  Wilson never gives up hope on this or any other record, really.  He’s an eternal optimist, and determined to find love someday.  That’s evidenced on the near-slow jam “I Don’t Want to Be Alone.”

“I Dream of My Secret Girl” could be the title to every one of Wilson’s records, or even his songs, because they all share the theme of unrequited love, being a gentleman despite heartbreak, romance, and thrilling adventure in magical lands – even if that land is as simple as Endicott, New York.  Speaking (again) of Endicott, “Midnight in Endicott” is a recap is a bouncy “part two” of sorts to “I Don’t Want to Be Alone.”

“A Perfect Day in Endicott,” according to Wilson, involves him crying “a million tears” after a friend leaves town, but getting cheered up by his remaining pals after he calls them up on his new telephone and asking if they want to hang out with him (and why wouldn’t you?).  Wilson’s synths on “Mary Walked Away” are positively groove-inducing.  “Another Dimension” is a warped instrumental that borders on dream and nightmare.

“Where did Linda go?” Wilson asks on “It’s Summer Time.”  It’s a question he’s asked for years.  In this instance, Linda has ditched him during a date at the movies.  He tries to remain upbeat with the pleasant weather and all the pretty girls partying at the city pool, but he’s still blue.  The album ends with “Hail to the King” – a pitch-shifting declaration from Endicott’s king that fades out just as Wilson is about to give us a history lesson of the town and probably his heart.  It leaves you with questions, as most of Wilson’s albums do.

Wilson is an odd duck, but he’s a romantic odd duck and that’s why us fans of his love him.  His albums are the soundtracks of loneliness and hope.  He’s the king of not only Endicott, but forlorn lovers everywhere.

Keep your mind open.

[Take a walk over to the subscription box.]

Review: Pink Mexico – Dump

The cover for Pink Mexico‘s new album, Dump, shows a man who appears to be in his 60’s wearing black socks with sandals hitting a long-haired, tattooed young’un in red socks and combat boots with a shovel while standing in front of a locked, graffiti-covered storage shed or garage. I’m not sure what this image is supposed to convey, but I can’t help thinking it’s a tongue-in-cheek poke at Millennials, hipsters, and, yes, people older than them. It’s a mix of “Turn down that racket, you damn hippies!” and “Will you old folks stop bitching about everything?”

Starting with “Thumbsucker,” Pink Mexico (Robert Collum, Ian Everall, and Grady Walker) unload great hooks out of the gate and a wild guitar solo to let you know this is going to be a wild ride. “High Dive” brings to mind early Wavves cuts with its surf touches amidst the fuzz and buzz and lyrics about being so stoned you think you might die. Speaking of such subjects, “Prescription Overdose (P.O.D.)” confronts that subject head-on as the band pleads for friends of theirs to scale back on the pills.

“Dirty & Stupid” is an ode to screwing up a great relationship due to too much partying (“If you need me, I’ll be wasted…How did I get home? Why am I all wet?”). “Sex Happiness” is about a similar theme – trying to remember the afterglow of great sex. The vocal reverb is a great touch to the fuzz and squawks of the guitars. “Girlfriend” keeps the themes of sex and confusion with lyrics like, “Do you know what it means to be happy on your own?” battling with “I think I love you, but this is too new.” The brief fade-in and fade-out of “WSLY” is a bit of a fake jab to the near-doom metal right cross of “Shit River.” The squeaks and squeals of the guitars on “Rattlebrain” might leave you feeling that way.

“I’ve heard it all before.” the band yells on “Fuckhead” – which could be a verbal smackdown to political leaders, bosses, contemporary rock radio, or all of the above. The beats and riffs of “Liberty Kid” will get you jumping and remind of early Nirvana cuts. While we’re on the subject of Nirvana, one can’t help but think the brief “Psycho Juice” is a tribute to Kurt Cobain due to its lyrics about suicide by gunshot.

“Heartfist” begins with throbbing synth-bass and fuzzy vocals and then turns into a heavy psychedelic jam about heartbreak and anger (“She turned my heart into a fist.”). It’s a cool way to end the album – fuzzy psychedelia after so much heavy hitting.

The album’s title is as intriguing as the cover. Does the dump refer to how the lyricist feels inside after so much relationship trouble, the status of a relationship, an actual place, the state of the nation, or the need to dump / vent all of his anger? It’s probably all of them, and all of them get bludgeoned by the raucous energy of this record.

Keep your mind open.

[Dive into the subscription box before you go.]

Review: Warish – self-titled

Coming in at a hot eleven minutes, Warish‘s debut EP contains five wild tracks of grungy punk that their label, RidingEasy Records, describes as a combination of Nirvana and Misfits, and that’s accurate.

Beginning with “Bones,” guitarist / vocalist Riley Hawk sets the stage with buzzsaw riffs that Ty Segall would love. Drummer Bruce McDonnell starts literal and metaphorical mosh pits with his ferocious beats on “Voices.” He and Hawk put out enough energy for a six-piece, let alone a two-man band.

The chant of “Fight for your life!” on “Fight” (not to mention the pedal-to-the-metal drumming) is sure to get your blood pumping. “Human” is the longest track on the EP, and it’s not even three minutes long. It’s probably a good thing it isn’t longer, because I’m not sure the human body or speakers built by humans could withstand the face and wire-melting power of it for more than two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. The EP ends with “Shivers,” a hard-hitting fuzz-fest that leaves you nearly out of breath.

A full-length album by these two will be one of the heaviest records of this generation if their self-titled EP is any indication. Get on the bandwagon now.

Keep your mind open.

[It’s an easy ride over to the subscription box.]