CD Reviews

The In Out | The Venal Column

Sell You (2011)

By JONATHAN DONALDSON | July 26, 2011

3.0 Stars

The In Out are one of Boston's true underground rock bands. The elemental approach they bring to their records (evident on the psycho-stomp of "Pearson Custom Raincoat") pisses in the face of all of the bland self-promoting chutzpah that has become common these days. What they do with their time, simply, is play and make records. The Venal Column is like a desert flower — their songs, in all their scorched beauty, feel born out of some kind of arid rain. Recorded in analog and pressed only onto LP, the 13 cuts (no theme! no concept!) maintain their taxing sludge throughout. On the Mark E. Smith–derived "Archive This," In Out frontman Todd Nudelman's guitar sounds annoyed with its own crackly distortion. Meanwhile, longtime cohort Nick Blakey's bass revels in the alienation of the track's wide-open spaces. As much as the In Out suggest comparisons to the Fall, they couldn't possibly be less British (they're just bored with the USA). Tracks like "Pretty Grim" and the shout-along "Head Sandwich" crack open the warm beer can of the Motor City sound. Reinventing the wheel is just too much damn work, so grab some ass — "Pretty Grim" gropes King Crimson, and word on the street is that Crimson like it.

Pepper Rabbit | Red Velvet Snow Ball
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St. Vincent | Strange Mercy
The pretty/ugly dichotomy at the heart of Annie Clark's St. Vincent moniker is in full tug-of-war on her third and most challenging full-length.
The timely pop return of Emergency Music
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Trans Am | What Day Is It Tonight? Trans Am Live, 1993 - 2008
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Various Artists | Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966–1970
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Various Artists | Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010
The notion that regional musical flavors exist independently in American cities is quickly becoming an archaic truism, seeing as how the world really is a stage these days, at least in the digital sense.
Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps
There's a distinct absence of wildlife or astronauts on Lowell electronica quartet Bearstronaut's latest release.
Avi Buffalo | Avi Buffalo
Look, I get it: the last thing we need right now is yet another band who can be described as “sun-baked,” “reverb-soaked,” or even just “psychedelic.” But Avi Buffalo (I know! An animal name to boot!) are worth your attention for a few reasons.
Photos: Organ Beats at T.T. the Bear's
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Review: Brandon Flowers | Flamingo
Brandon Flowers has gone on record saying he brought the songs on Flamingo to his fellow bandmates for the next Killers album and was given the brush-off.
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Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Boston rock, CD reviews, More

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