This double disc various artists collection from U.K. label, Fruits de Mer Records, is a marathon of classic psychedelic covers.  The carefully crafted gatefold cover houses two discs of green colored vinyl (in two shades no less).  The artwork throughout is intentionally tongue in cheek (in that special British way) and evocative of the 60s psychedelic style.

But really this review is about the music and as mentioned above there is a lot of it here. First, let’s explain what it is. Although it is a record of covers, all of them have been specially selected to recreate the mood of a free form radio session of the late 1960s. The titans of psychedelia are covered here like Jefferson Airplane, John’s Children (Marc Bolan), and Nazz (Todd Rundgren) but selections from artists better known for their pop ventures represent their psychedelic side here too – The Beatles, The Byrds, and Pink Floyd. Assembled in one collection the selections offer a variety of familiarity and discovery.

Many of the performing artists are not necessarily names you might know unless you are a devotee of revivalist psychelia, but that does not mean that there are not some stand out performances. We’re long-time fans of Atlanta’s own Seventh Ring of Saturn and their rendition of “Ten Thousand Words in a Cardboard Box” by the Aquarian Age is a standout. Bandleader Ted Selke has a special gift with his ability to deliver gentle vocal lines with a crispness and clarity that doesn’t get lost in the swirling mix. The flip side of disc one introduced us to the bands Gemini and The Godz as ably performed by Zombies of the Stratosphere and Hills Have Riffs.

The highlight of the double record set is side four. A thumping reworking of Jefferson Airplane’s legendary “White Rabbit” leads the side that includes the best music offered here. Again, the crossroads of familiarity and discovery are in full effect here. Tomorrow’s big hit “Revolution” is treated gently but with plenty of reverb by Sky Picnic. I might not be entirely sold on Langor’s cover of “Rain” it is nice to hear somebody take on this personal favorite from the Lennon/McCarney cannon. The record ends with a delightfully wistful version of Traffic’s “Utterly Simple” which only begs the question why Dave Mason didn’t just stop writing songs when he was ahead.

All in all, Keep Off the Grass is a solid journey through the past by a number of contemporary artists who are intent on keeping this influential form alive.

Ten Thousand Words in a Cardboard Box – The Seventh Ring of Saturn

By Alex Brenner

How many punk bands can say they are from Scranton, PA? Two A-Listers here can tell you not many. Although this band has been around since 2006, I really only heard their name while checking last year’s Gaslight Anthem album American Slang. Their last release 2010′s Chamberlain Waits was really a great introduction to the Menzinger’s strong songwriting and ferocious energy. That album has been on a constant rotation for the last six months. So what is it about this band that sets them apart from every other pop punk band? Well that’s pretty simple, these guys can channel the Replacements and Jawbreaker within one song. Their songwriting is so focused and tight. The combination of the dual vocals of Greg Barnett and Tom May really adds texture and of course I’m a sucker for gang vocals.

On the Impossible Past is the band’s first release on Epitaph Records. Like the Replacements before them, this record moves a little bit away from the punk and more towards a more personal songwriting style like the Westerberg shift from Stink to Let it Be. Fear not this album will still rock your face off. The one two punch of “Good Things” and Burn after Writing” is a great set up for the more mid-tempo numbers that follow. Any band that ends a song screaming “Walk home single seeing double” gets my vote any day. This band is really worth checking out. I’ve even gone back and bought their amazing 2009 E.P. Hold on Dodge. For those of you that are tired of this anti-rock trend that seems to dominate most of today’s music scene (Bon Iver, Lana Del Rey, Beach House) you need to get this record and put an end to this madness!

By Alex Brenner

Cute Boots – Born and Raised EP

I’m probably a bit biased when it comes to this band; probably one of my favorite Atlanta bands out at the moment. I’m not sure if I was really drunk one night at 529 but I swore during sound check they did a pretty sweet version of Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” On that alone I was pretty excited to get a hold of their new EP, Born and Raised.

For some reason Cute Boots reminds me of The Band – incredible songwriting and just a huge sound. Driven by piano, boy/girl vocals and big gang sing-along choruses, every song on this record is so well done. Americana is so hard to pull off without sounding too singer/songwriter or just basically like every other alt-country band out there. Cute Boots does not have that problem. They have carved their own niche. In a town that seems to have no shortage of metal bands and indie rock hipsters with Casios, it’s great to see a band actually writing great songs and also being able to play them. I f the opening track “The Fire” doesn’t get you, than you probably need to go get your pulse checked.

Cute Boots play the Star Bar tonight, March 7. $5.

By Alex Brenner

Although I must say 2012 has been pretty good musically so far, I always find myself digging up some older records. When I say older I’m talking about late 90′s and up, not the classics. Talking with fellow A-Lister Rube, the other night we did a little reminiscing and it got me thinking about some great records of the past. The ones where you say “Oh man, I have not heard that in forever!” I do listen to tons of new music too, however, these are some you may have forgotten about or never really checked out. This is my first installment of what I hope may be a new column highlighting some of what I consider to be the new classics.

The Rentals – Return of the Rentals

When bassist Matt Sharp left Weezer in the mid-90′s I was curious as to what his next move would be. In 1995, he really topped Weezer in my opinion with this record. Talk about one of the most ripped off records: poppy melodies, girl boy vocals, fuzzed out bass and Moog driven melodies. If you want to know where the indie synth bands of today are getting most of their material check this record out. Stand out tracks “Friends of P” (which I’m sure you’ll all remember) and the pummeling opener “The Love I’m Searching For”. You can hear his influence on Tegan and Sara’s So Jealous and The Con (and he played on both). File under hidden treasure.

Refused – The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombation In 12 Bursts

Refused made an announcement they would be reforming to play several shows this year. The press release read as such:

We never did The Shape of Punk To Come justice back when it came out, too tangled up in petty internal bickering to really focus on the job. And suddenly there’s this possibility to do it like it was intended. We wanna do it over, do it right. For the people who’ve kept the music alive through the years, but also for our own sakes… See you in the pit.

For those of you not familiar with this Swedish hardcore outfit, this band has been influential to many of today’s punk acts. In 1998 they released The Shape and sadly it would be their last. Nothing sums up this record better than the song “New Noise”; a song that challenged existing punk sounds with new ideas and aesthetics. Punk could no longer be just about the revolution. They experimented with drum and bass and added elements of jazz and math-rock. This was miles away from the current bands of the time, like Blink 182 and Green Day. Bottom line, this record kicks really hard. I have dents in my steering wheel from drumming to this record in my car.

Pedro the Lion – Control

Some of you may be fans of David Bazan but never really got into his previous project Pedro the Lion. I’ve been a super fan of this band since 1998′s It’s Hard to Find a Friend, but 2002′s Control really hit me. I’m not usually a fan of concept albums, and honestly you can’t really tell it is unless you listen to it closely, but this record is such a strong commentary on “The American Dream”. Bazan has such as talent for writing about tragedy which is possibly why he is one of my favorites. Control is basically the story of a successful business man who cheats on his wife and in the end she stabs him to death. It’s also a fantastic look into the American values such as greed, vengeance, death and how we raise our children. Only Bazan could sing brilliant lines like “The experts say you ought to start them young. That way they’ll naturally love the taste of corporate cum.” This probably my favorite Pedro record, it’s nothing short of amazing. The indie rock equivalent of Radiohead’s OK Computer.

HUM – You’d Prefer An Astronaut

Where do I even start on this record? In 1995 HUM really came out of nowhere (even though this was their third release) and delivered this hard driving album. It was the first time I really noticed the heavily detuned guitars which would later be a huge trend amongst post-hardcore and metal bands. This is really one of those classic records I remember having on cassette – great songs mixed with sludgy Sabbath-like riffs and soaring melodies. Check out the pounding drums in “The Pod” or the killer riffage in the middle break of “Stars”. This record is spectacular.

The Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits

This record just came out in 2010 but it reminds me of everything that was good about real punk rock. I listen to this record just about everyday in its entirety which is rare for any record. There is screaming, gang choruses and enough chunky chords and thrashing to give you a black eye. What I think sets this band apart is that they are such great songwriters as well. Sort of that mix between Fugazi and Jawbreaker. If you like your music sung from the heart, this one will certainly do the trick.

[just as I was dozing off, Alex woke me up to bug me about this review he needed to write so here it is. back to sleep for me -Rube]

By Alex Brenner

I’m a big fan of bedroom bands. A year or so ago I started reading about this boy wonder, 18-year-old Dylan Baldi who had just released a collection of lo-fi pop that bloggers could not get enough of. As you know, I’m never buying into the big indie hype machine but I could not resist checking this stuff out. It was pretty decent. Not amazing, but it showed a lot of promise. Earlier this month the first single from Attack on Memory premiered – a catchy pummeling rock number called “Stay Useless”. It blew my mind.

Now a full band, Baldi and Co. have made probably one of the best rock records I’ve heard in a long time. I’m not sure when rock music became so unpopular and all this indie folk garbage came in but thank god for this record. The production (recorded at Steve Albini’s studio) is raw and everything is loud. Not only are the songs great but the band itself is downright amazing. Sonically this totally reminds me of 90′s early indie/emo such as Silkworm, Seam, Braid and Promise Ring. My only complaint is that this record is short, only about 8 or so songs. This is another one already slated to hit my best of 2012 list. A must listen for those of you who want to rock.

By Alex Brenner

I must admit when I first heard Kathleen Edwards’ new record was being produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon I was a bit worried. That’s me, the indie snob, but then I heard his work on Land of Talk’s stellar Some Are Lakes and my worrying subsided.

What you get with Voyageur is much more adventurous and focused sound that is bound to break her out of the Americana mold. It’s not so out of left field, it’s just not so singer songwriter and more akin to David Bazan or Feist. Believe me, I love all her records but Americana (in my opinion) can be limiting and I always thought she had that extra something; Voyageur is that something. She still is one hell of a songwriter with a great sense for melody, and sometimes humor and wit, as found in “Cheapest Key” from her last album: “A is for all the times I bit my tongue, B is for bullshit and you fed me some. That preceded by “F is my favorite letter as you know”. Edwards also knows how to pick some great guests on her records. Last time it was members of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and this time it’s Norah Jones and the Long Winter’s John Roderick.

So the songs are still fairly acoustic driven but it’s the bubbling synths and the broken cable noise in the album’s strongest track, “Side Car”, that add so much. The production is done very well, not too polished and not too indie to make her sound like something totally different. It’s not like she is trying to go out of her way to be different. It’s just good solid songwriting and her voice is downright amazing. What really makes Kathleen Edwards such a great artist is that she is always consistent. All her records are great all the way through; this record probably the most.

I don’t want to focus on the fact that this is supposed to be her “divorce record.” Honestly, it does not add anything to the record to think of it that way. It’s an amazing record. I’ve had it heavy rotation in the car for a week or two and it will be on my top of 2012 for sure. Maybe you are not too familiar with her previous work or maybe like me you’ve been a fan since Failer broke your heart. If anything Voyageur should get Kathleen Edwards the mainstream (not top 40 Katy Perry Mainstream) success she deserves.