Denny Denny Breakfast "Glass in Everyone's Tongue"

Listen to/download Glass in Everyone's Tongue

Speaking of music that's nearly impossible to describe...may I present to you Denny Denny Breakfast. Here are the 3 things I know about this guy: his real name is Bob Ladue, he resides in Oakland, and his music is nothing short of mind-blowing.

DDB's newest sonic offering, Glass in Everyone's Tongue, spans so many different genres over the course of even just one song that it makes for a pleasantly disorienting listening experience. Synth basses squelch, programmed drums skitter between headphone channels, and acoustic guitars sparkle through the relative chaos like sunbeams from behind storm clouds.

The most accurate classification I can conjure is "experimental electronic progressive pop", with an emphasis on "progressive". No, not progressive like "prog rock", though there are plenty of twists and turns to be found here. This is progressive in that...well, I've never heard anything like it before. Nothing. Ever.

This is an album that doesn't sit still for more than a minute, yet somehow has a patience and cohesiveness that is usually unheard of in this sort of approach. This album WILL throw you for a loop. Several loops. It is impossible to predict where the music will go next, unless you've listened to the entire thing several times through. Even then, not so much...I'm on my fourth or fifth listen, and I'm still frequently surprised when I hear a short passage I'd completely forgotten about. And unlike many other "indie" bands, where the sum is often far more impressive than the individual parts, it's fairly obvious that Denny/Bob is a very accomplished guitarist and singer...and composer...and producer...and, and, and...

Glass in Everyone's Tongue is certainly a DENSE album, but never feels crowded or claustrophobic. It's a wonder Denny Denny Breakfast is able to pull off so many musical contradictions so well, and that should be a testimony to his brilliant songwriting and arranging.

I really can't recommend this album enough. This is easily one of my favorite albums I've heard in 2010. It's a wonder this guy isn't more well known that he is. This is Album of the Year good, folks. It's only a matter of time before this guy is on the front page of Pitchfork.com (I'd say Rolling Stone, but really, who reads magazines anymore? LOLZERZ). Did I mention this album is FREE? That is both a blessing and an absolute shame.

My ONE complaint about this spectacular album is that I can never again listen to it for the first time. YOU, however, still have the opportunity. Don't squander it. -Matt

The Myonics "Digits"

Buy or listen to Digits

I've been away from this blog for a while. Writing about music is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a fucking liar who probably just wants to get into your pants. It's easy to be suckered in by a fancy writer, I admit. My undergarments have been breached many a time by the alluring words of music journalists. But how do you write about music, really? Analogies and metaphors get thrown around, but it's damn near impossible to accurately describe MUSIC (or most art, really) on a basic, straightforward level that any human can appreciate.

So here's Digits, the newest EP from our Bay Area buddies The Myonics. How the hell do you describe them? What do you call this music anyway? Words fail. You just want to shut your brain off and enjoy it.

Here are a few words that DO spring to mind: Rocking. Fun. Weird. Catchy. Unique. Genuinely-interesting-and-well-written-songs-played-with-ferocity-and-conviction. OK, so that last word might be a bit much to digest. But read it again and again, until you're curious enough to visit The Myonics' Bandcamp page and pay the $1 (mandatory) donation for this 13-minute masterwork. Or, if you're a starving artist/cheapskate/horrible person like me, you can just stream the damned thing for free. Shhh!

The Myonics (at least the members I've met) are all stand up people with the best of intentions who only want to play some awesome music...for you! Why won't you just shut up and listen? WHY, DAMN IT, WHY?!?!? If the $1 fee turns you off, remember that these people are all human beings too, and they all have their own needs. Singer/guitarist/songwriter Jasper Leach desperately needs to raise funds for a bone marrow transplant. Quonnie Kim needs new special shoes for her amputated stump legs. Tom Meagher's grandmother is being held hostage for ransom. Drummer Brian Davy needs a life-saving haircut. Please, your donation CAN make a difference!

In short, Digits is an adventurous, eclectic little EP that deserves your full attention...RIGHT NOW! -Matt

Julian Buttersweets "Nasty's Fort"

Download Nasty's Fort

Sacramento's Julian Buttersweets is a sick and sad individual. And so it only follows that his music is both as sweet as is frightening. Nasty's Fort definitely falls more into the frightening side of the spectrum.

While listening to "The Throat Slicer", it's not hard to envision a maniacal blade-wielding demon singing the words, as fat bass, bongos and harmonium bounce from one speaker to the next, and that's just the beginning. What continues is a series of songs so childish and terrifying its safe to say that Julian Buttersweets has finally lost his mind.

The song "Nasty's Fort" comes next and spreads itself across the listener's psyche, evoking a clearing in the woods, with a Residents-esque voice narrating the sad and alarming life of Nasty and his lonely fort. According to the lyric sheet, "nobody visits Nasty's Fort no more" and it's quite clear why this is the case.

"1-2-3-4" is kind of a children's rhyme punctuated by the canned exclamation of "1, 2, 3, 4" being chanted via Casiotone. It's a brief track that segues into the equally disconcerting "Dear Dr. Juice", a mad carnival of a song. Buttersweets, you bastard, when will your mad nightmare end??

From a slim paragraph of album notes comes the instructions, "Listen to it in complete darkness if at all possible." I couldn't agree more! -Adam

Listen to "The Throat Slicer"

The Myonics "O Africa, Brave Africa!"

Download The Myonics - O Africa, Brave Africa!

When listening to The Myonics on my laptop one evening, I was overcome with the urge to write to songwriter/bandleader Jasper Leach (also formerly of Symbolick Jews) and ask "Have I ever told you how much your voice sounds like John Linnell?" Annoyed, I can only assume, he said "Yeah, you've mentioned that a couple times before".

However, the comparisons between Oakland's The Myonics and Brooklyn's They Might Be Giants end here. Perhaps it's something about familiarity? O Africa, Brave Africa! is, at once, one of the most familiar albums you'll hear this year, as well as one of the freshest.

Musically, The Myonics are a bit scatterbrained here...but in this case, it works really well! The album begins with a slow, growling prelude of sorts with "Cloud Is Lifted", featuring a beautiful melody over minimalist instrumentation (in this case, a lone guitar and viola). "Sweatshop" is a fun, rollicking number that reminds me a bit of Gibby Haynes' solo stuff. "Visibly Wasted" is loud, violent and reckless...the kind of song I'm always hoping doesn't come up next on my iPod playlist when I'm trying to go to sleep.

Then we get to "Matter", which is one of my favorite songs anybody has ever written. Here, Leach's songwriting creeps eerily close to Linnell's, particularly in the song's bridge. This song encapsulates everything that was cool about 90's alternative riff-rock. "Public Death", one of the later tracks, is another great one. It starts with driving guitars and fist-pumping chants from the band...and then everything falls apart in perfect unison, like an old truck falling apart as it drives down the highway. Highly effective musical imagery, whether it was intentional or not.

The Myonics are apparently starting to get some good press, and they put on a really fun show, so don't miss a chance to see them (when I saw them they had two great drummers). Definitely a band to keep an eye on these next couple years...but don't take my word for it. (Apologies to LeVar Burton.) -Matt

Listen to "Matter"