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A highly intermittent entity gestated in the early '90s, the New Jersey duo known as cuppa joe consisting of Doug Larkin and Steve Spatucci dropped a new album last week, their first since 1999.   Tunnel Trees is the title, and just so happened to be my introduction to this not-so-gruesome twosome, who commence this disk with the chiming post-punk inflected, "A Couple Whiles," which smacks of For Against circa their soothing and oft overlooked Shelf Life album.  Yeah, I know that comparison doesn't exactly shed much of a light on things for the bulk of you.  At any rate, I was hoping the remainder of Tunnel Trees would follow suit, but cuppa joe had an alternate brew on tap for this pair of ears. 

The nine numbers succeeding the aforementioned "A Couple Whiles" are comparatively homespun organic guitar pop, occasionally whimsical and brimming with a potpourri of variations of the well-worn genre.   There's a bit of a kiwi vibe infiltrating "Giving Up the Day" and "Some Might Call Us Happy," with both songs hinting at what Chris Knox/Tall Dwarfs were so blithely trying to convey a quarter century or so ago.  "In the Shade of Tunnel Trees" and "Blue Sky Moon" flaunt a more robust sonic palette, while another key album highlight, "Forty" is a brisk, minute and a half burst of campfire pop, packing an infectious harmony.  In short, even though I wasn't treated to the new For Against album I had initially anticipated, I got something just as rewarding, and you just might as well.  cuppa joe have a healthy discography under their belts, just about all of which can be streamed under the "music" header of their webpage.  If you're looking for even more of a shortcut, you can check out two tracks from Tunnel Trees below.  You can obtain a hard copy of the album from Dromedary Records, as well as digital available from your vendor of choice.

https://rapidshare.com/files/3018209925/cuppajoe.rar

Shame for me for being so completely oblivious to Kent, OH's Indian Rope Burn when they were still roaming the land some twenty years ago.  This three-songer is my first, and thus far only encounter with IRB, who were a trio at the time of this release.  Slightly askew, but driving pop/rock, informed by gobs of college radio dispatches circa the late '80s.  The vocals are largely monotone, but then again so were Nico's and we loved her, right?  In addition to this wax there were three IRB cds, and from what little I was able to glean online, they took more of an industrial tack later in the career, but I can't say those inclinations crop up here.  Enjoy (or not). 

A. End of the LLine (XYZ)
B1. Mirrors
B2. Diedre

https://rapidshare.com/files/223891083/indianropeburn7.rar

Upon rediscovering power pop in the mid-90s, The Grip Weeds were a staple on my stereo, particularly their 1998 sophomore platter, The Sound Is In You, which I consider to be their utmost achievement.  Much had been made of the Weeds' psyche-pop proclivities, but unlike their Californian revivalist counterparts from a decade prior, this sublime New Jersey quartet was decked out in all things Merseybeat, not paisley.  If that notion is evident anywhere in their generally excellent catalog, you can bet it's front and center on these three beauties.  It's as if the British Invasion came back with a screaming vengeance on See You Through, which in all honesty derives just as much Ricken-kissed bliss from Roger McGuinn as across-the-pond pioneers the Hollies and Zombies.  When the band's first proper full length House of Vibes was reissued in 2007, this ep would have functioned as perfectly logical bonus track fodder, but a hodgepodge of demos and live material were favored instead.  Fear not, for I have the entire thing digitized for you below, taken straight from an original vinyl copy (though I've borrowed the sleeve scans from The Grip Weeds website).

A. Used to Play
B1. Gone From the Day
B2. Hard to Take

https://rapidshare.com/files/3039760843/gripweeds_seeyouthrough.rar

Given their moniker of choice, I figured The Heartbeats were a no-brainer to tie in with Valentine's Day.  Too bad I don't have much in the way of background details to offer, or for that matter an original copy of the disk.  I've had it on my hard drive for almost three years, but don't have the foggiest idea of where I snatched it from (a defunct blog or Soulseek perhaps)?  This mop-topped trio, ostensibly hailing from the UK, are imbued with traces of Badfinger, The Records, Flamin' Groovies, Eddie & the Hot Rods, not to mention Beatles homage in spades with a singer who often smacks of Paul McCartney.  Plenty of straight-up power pop here, most capably exemplified by "Look at the Eyes" and "Thinking of You"  Pulsator gets even more cracklin' with "Stuck on You," three perfecto minutes of infectious Fab Four inspiration, by way of a Flamin' Groovies-esque delivery system.  Elsewhere, faint but discernible pub rock maneuvers crop up, as does the occasional flashy guitar solo.  I'm stupefied that a record of this caliber has gone so utterly overlooked, given that big swaths of Pulsator exude the type of acumen and timeless aplomb of the lost classic that it's frequently tantamount to.  

01. Don't Leave Me Tonight
02. Don't Do It
03. Well Well Well
04. Look at the Eyes
05. In the Name of Love
06. Mean to Me
07. Stuck On You
08. Into the Night
09. Thinking of You
10. Long Time
11. Out of My Way
12. I'll Be True

https://rapidshare.com/files/1355078230/heartbeats_pulsator.rar

Perhaps I was too hasty in assembling my top albums list for 2011 this past New Years day.  It never ceases to amaze me that I find some of my favorite albums of any given year, the January of February after, and I'm more than happy to have Quebec's Jet Black fill that belated void this time.   The amped-out swath cut out by this co-ed quartet isn't wholly innovative, but is startlingly visceral at times.  

Austere, but not brooding, and slyly angular without alienating, Jet Black's debut Escape Measures packs some serious musculature.  Muscle I might add, that's carefully allocated to mesh with the bittersweet melodicism of the scintillating opener "6 AM" and a little further in "Daydreamer" and "Archives."  Coincidentally or not, much of this album exudes the finer aptitudes and facets of so many of my personal favorite '90s underdogs including Sprinkler, Skiploader, Monsterland and Failure.  In fact, I never thought I'd see the day where I could use even one of the aforementioned as a comparison, let alone all four in one fell swoop, but this is the kind of indulgence Escape Measures delivers, yet Jet Black's aesthetic strikes me as far too advanced to be deemed as a mere throwback. 

Between all the gritty and gauzy guitar grandeur, the record offers some quieter respites in the form of "Engine Up" and "Elevator," but in toto, Escape... is a sparks-flying corker, blistering and beautiful.  Many happy returns.  You can sample "Daydreamer" and "Control" via the link below.  A limited vinyl edition run is available through Jet Black's website, but if you're looking for more instant gratification, iTunes, Emusic and Amazon have you covered. 



https://rapidshare.com/files/2026259796/jetblack_2songs.rar