Showing posts with label Negative Approach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Negative Approach. Show all posts

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Moore and Sons - "Holdouts" CD Review



Moore and Sons - 'Holdouts' CD Review
Moore & Sons is the current project of Negative Approach drummer Chris “Opie” Moore and Moore released his eighth solo disc, Holdouts, earlier this year. The songs on this eleven track disc are predominately roots-rock/Americana numbers that are closer in spirit to Moore’s previous band Crossed Wire and bands like the Meat Puppets rather than the hardcore furry of Negative Approach. With the Sons, Moore plays guitars and sings and the Sons (which include Gary Langol, Adam Gold, Tom Gavin and Dennis Cronin) are all multi-instrumentalists and play a range of instruments that includes the expected pedal and lap steel, banjo and double bass along with the unexpected vibraphonette and brass.

Despite its Americana core, this isn’t a ‘typical’ singer/songwriter disc as the songs have twist and turn, both within and across the different songs, and the music has a noticeable edge. The nuances within the music are complemented by stellar production which gives the music an organic and live feel and brings out Moore’s lyrics and deadpan vocals.

(This is an older track but gives a good indication of what Moore's music sounds like)


“Concessions” starts off the disc and wraps moody and winding guitar lines that would make Tom Verlaine proud around a full band sound. These long sustained guitar notes build to a pinnacle which fall to an acoustic strum as the song winds down. “This Here's The Place” shifts gears completely and is frenetic and quirky – sort of like an offbeat version of The Pixies. “Trailin' Off” shifts gears yet again with ringing guitars and an 80’s college-rock vibe that falls somewhere between The Waterboys and the Meat Puppets. The next couple tracks fall more squarely into “Meat Puppets territory” with driving alt-country roots-rock with a bit of an edge to it. “Your Turn Now” & "Broken Spell" are hazy, 60’s pop-psychedelia numbers and later track brings in some minimalist horns. “Priority Mail” is an instrumental with prominent honky-tonk guitars which serves as the bridge to shift back into the disc’s core alt-country sound. “Pass on By” crosses ringing guitars with understated harmonies and a driving beat that reminds me of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”. “Count on Us” is an alt-rock number with jagged rhythms and slapped drums. The disc comes full circle on its final track, “Ideal Hideaway”, which starts slow but, on the back half of the song, builds up a wall of ringing guitars that come crashing down at the end.

Links:
Moore & Sons

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Punk Island - Live Photos from Governor's Island, NYC 6-20-10

Earlier today, Punk Island held its third festival on Governor's Island. As I hadn't made it out to any of the prior Punk Island shows, I was somewhat mentally expecting the chaos of the 'Rock Against Reagan' shows from the 80's but was pleasantly surprised. The festival was very well run and had a relaxed vibe. Even the pile-on/shout-along moments of Negative Approach's set didn't have the violent overtones that seemed to be part of the scene in the 80's.



The only off-putting moment to the day was a guy on the ferry over to Governor's Island who was openly playing with a big 'pig-sticker' knife. When people started looking at him, he put on blackout glasses and pulled a bandana over the lower part of his face. At this point, I was planning on jumping over the side of the boat if the guy was a psycho. The ferry operators came over, the knife was put away and the cops grabbed the guy when the boat docked.

I probably only saw only half of the 18 stages as they were scattered across all points of the island. It was a real DIY style performance where all the bands were playing through PAs in locations that ranged from the porch of a house (until the Parks people asked them to move to the front of the house), in various parking lots, in front of the old movie theater and in the middle of a field.



Links:
Punk Island

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

H20 & Negative Approach Added to Superbowl of Hardcore at Studio B on May 19th

The Superbowl of Hardcore is going to be a big show as H20 and Negative Approach were just added to the lineup. Below is the list of bands that have been announced thus far:

NEGATIVE APPROACH (first NYC appearance since the 80s)
H20
COLD AS LIFE
ONE 4 ONE
DARKSIDE NYC
ALL OUT WAR
COLDFRONT
FULL BLOWN CHAOS
BILLY CLUB SANDWICH
H8 INC
SAVANNAH

The show is at Studio B in Brooklyn. Doors are 2PM and tickets are $25.