{"id":4903,"date":"2011-07-10T18:55:42","date_gmt":"2011-07-11T01:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/?p=4903"},"modified":"2011-07-12T14:43:08","modified_gmt":"2011-07-12T21:43:08","slug":"new-music-worth-digging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/07\/10\/new-music-worth-digging\/","title":{"rendered":"New Music worth digging:"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/death-valley-high-pic.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/death-valley-high-pic-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4904\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/death-valley-high-pic.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/death-valley-high-pic.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/death-valley-high-pic.jpg?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"none\" data-via=\"reviewermag\">Tweet<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Death Valley High<br \/>\n<em>Doom in Full Bloom<\/em><br \/>\nMinus Head Records<br \/>\nLabel Contact:  brad@minushead.com<br \/>\nReviewed by Kent Manthie<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>    This slick, dope-metal outfit has Hollywood written all over it:  the shiny veneer, PVC practically showing through the speakers.  It\u2019s got a primal sexual urge to it that only reaches a humanoid catharsis through cocaine or speeeeed.  <em>Dope In Full Bloom<\/em> is a killer rock record &#8211; one that gets you shakin&#8217; all over and ready to gyrate on the dance floor &#8211; dope-style. <\/p>\n<p>    As for some of the songs:  well, #2, \u201cShe Wants to Kill\u201d has a certain mania to it that brings to mind a wired, scared freak running through the backstreets of Hollywood, circa 1986, running, trying to get away from either something real (a pissed off pimp) or something imaginary.  Either way, it\u2019s a fun gig to listen to as we see the action in our mind\u2019s eye.  \u201cMultiply\u201d is kind of a slower, more of a \u201clove song\u201d in their tradition anyway, they lose the maniacal ravings that are present on the first two tracks.  <\/p>\n<p>    <em>Doom In Full Bloom<\/em> is basically a nihilistic romp, Hollywood-style, meaning with lots of make-up, wigs, leather mini-skirts and fishnet stockings and, of course, with the ever present, axe-wielding maniac (real or imagined) -what would a Hollywood slasher flick be without the \u201cman-in-the-mask\u201d chasing after you with a machete or a chainsaw? Right?  And Doom in Full Bloom seems to provide just the right vibe to this kind of action.  <\/p>\n<p>    While they may have a classic \u201cHollywood\u201d style to them, Death Valley High are actually from San Francisco and their members include:  Reyka Osburn, Adam Bannister, Chris Sanders and their new bass player, Huffy Hafera.  <\/p>\n<p>    Kudos to them for not tagging along with a typical \u201cBay Area\u201d sound, and going for what\u2019s in their hearts &amp; minds. While at first glimpse they are going to be labeled as just another \u201cmetal\u201d band, but I\u2019d say they\u2019ve more a bit of pop thrown into that crushing attitude-drive.  But once you get on into the midst of the CD you start getting used to it &#8211; songs like \u201cThe Twist\u201d, \u201cBring it Down\u201d and \u201cThru Hell\u201d all have consistent attitudinal action.   Also, songs like \u201cCursed Mary\u201d, \u201cEVOLution\u201d and \u201cMist &amp; Debris\u201d have a feel that would fit in just perfectly at a dark and dank club, where everyone\u2019s drinking Rolling Rock and Gin &amp; Tonics and alternatively moshing or gyrating to the voices in their heads.<\/p>\n<p>    While you might just hear them on a local show in SF, like the ones they play on Sundays on modern rock stations, don\u2019t expect heavy rotation to be their future, which is a good thing &#8211; for them.  They\u2019re better off with a cult-following and a solid base from which to look for inspiration and to gauge their credibility and success.  <\/p>\n<p>    Lesson number one in an indie band that has no interest in some fat record company\u2019s money:  if you\u2019re hard-core fans tell you that you\u2019ve sold-out, well, then you need to make some changes quickly to avert that notion because in the indie universe there is no worse insult than to be called a \u201csell-out\u201d.  Sure, it\u2019s ok to make money, but not at the expense of your fan base or selling your song rights to make a car commercial or a clothing company.  That\u2019s bottom-feeding at its lowest.<\/p>\n<p>    Stay true and keep that free-thinking, free-associative head-banging ever-fresh and dark-as in driving down the streets of LA in a 1970 GTO with a loud stereo blasting.   <strong>-KM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/TIGGER-CLARKSON-300x300.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/TIGGER-CLARKSON-300x300-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4905\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/TIGGER-CLARKSON-300x300.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/TIGGER-CLARKSON-300x300.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><strong>Tigger Clarkson<br \/>\n<em>Forget You EP<\/em><br \/>\nAutokinetic Records<br \/>\nwww.myspace.com\/tiggerclarkson<br \/>\nReviewed by Kent Manthie<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>    This new Autokinetic-released disc by Tigger Clarkson from Wilmington, North Carolina is a five-cut display of what he\u2019s put together so far and it\u2019s definitely got a certain patina to it.  It&#8217;s called <em>Forget You<\/em> and it is a rather introspective look through some of his personal moments.  <\/p>\n<p>    The first cut, \u201cEmpty Space\u201d is a rockin\u2019 song about, well, what\u2019s left when you take away the phoniness and metaphors and the masks that abound in relationships &#8211; unless you happen to be a match made to be together, there usually ends up just being \u201cempty space\u201d when you shake loose the veneer of the persona we all wear to try and fit in with who we think we need to be this or that in order to win over their love and\/or affection.  <\/p>\n<p>    The title track (\u201cForget You\u201d) is a ditty about one who can\u2019t get over the one that got away but shouldn\u2019t have.  He talks at first about how he brought home some other girl one night but all he could think of was \u201cyou\u201d and goes on to lament the things that led him to let her walk out and keeps on singing how he can\u2019t forget her and wish he could just \u201cforget you\u201d &#8211; but the listener knows that it is only a futile attempt and that the only thing to put things right is to humble himself and get her back since otherwise it will just eat at him and tear him apart.  <\/p>\n<p>    The other songs &#8211; \u201cLong Since\u201d, \u201cBetter Them Than You\u201d and \u201cIf and When\u201d all have a kind of adult AOR sound to them &#8211; and I don\u2019t mean that in a bad way or negatively at all, it shows a maturity of style and that he can switch things up from soul-infused, Ben Harper-style sound, without the political overtones and the sincerity of an Owen or a coffee-shop folk\/jazz crooner.  <\/p>\n<p>    This is one that is hard to put in any box.  You\u2019ll just have to hear it for yourself.  It\u2019s definitely not heavy nor masqueraded with noize and bells &amp; whistles, just a sparse mix of acoustic guitar and his smoky, softly sung vocals.  <strong>-KM<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tweet Death Valley High Doom in Full Bloom Minus Head Records Label Contact: brad@minushead.com Reviewed by Kent Manthie This slick, dope-metal outfit has Hollywood written all over it: the shiny veneer, PVC practically showing through the speakers. It\u2019s got a primal sexual urge to it that only reaches a humanoid catharsis through cocaine or speeeeed. Dope In Full Bloom is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,573],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive","category-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5185,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/08\/26\/the-doctor-is-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":4903,"position":0},"title":"A Gonzo Reply","author":"admin","date":"August 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Hunter S. Thompson's Response to An Unsolicited Freelance SubmissionTweet ROLLING STONE 625 Third Street, San Francisco, California 94107 . Telephone: (415) 362-4730 You worthless, acid-sucking piece of illiterate shit! Don\u2019t ever send this kind of brain-damaged swill in here again. 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The one blurb that caught my attention was one from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/El-Pathos-CD-Pic-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4785,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/05\/29\/two-great-but-divergent-cds-alex-lynch-welcome-to-america\/","url_meta":{"origin":4903,"position":2},"title":"Two great but divergent CDs:  Alex Lynch, welcome to America","author":"Kent","date":"May 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Alex Lynch One Glimpse Away Self-Released, 2010 Tweet Reviewed by Kent Manthie Talk about hitting the jackpot with a DIY project: Alex Lynch, a native Russian who seems to have a pretty damn good grasp of English, has just put out one of two releases he currently has on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/One-Glimpse-Away-pic-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":655,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2006\/04\/12\/32-music-reviews-honey-pig\/","url_meta":{"origin":4903,"position":3},"title":"#32 music reviews, honey pig","author":"admin","date":"April 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Music reviews by Kent Manthie, music authority guy Honey Pig: \u201cExactly As We Are\u201d (Demo) Three lovely ladies who are waiting for their big break to come in the field of acting, Honey Pig are an all-female country trio in the same vein as Dixie Chicks. But to their credit,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":439,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2008\/01\/28\/the-erotic-writings-of-unobtainable-ad\/","url_meta":{"origin":4903,"position":4},"title":"The Erotic Writings of UNOBTAINABLE ad","author":"admin","date":"January 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Erotic Writings of UNOBTAINABLEFind your copy online here: http:\/\/www.AuthorsDen.com\/MarilynCampiz\"Real Sex in Verse.\" What is love? Is love an exchange of the body? Is love the knowing of two souls? Is it the darkness meeting the light? Is it a mortal embrace? The rapture of passion in a dark world\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1236,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2009\/08\/19\/exene-cervenka-profile\/","url_meta":{"origin":4903,"position":5},"title":"Exene Cervenka Today","author":"admin","date":"August 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"[punk pioneer profile]A Shot of Whiskeyin a World of Sugary Sweet Exene Cervenka's new CD, Somewhere Gone, comes out in September on Bloodshot Records. by Vladimir Bloom Exene Cervenka's name should be on the tip of every music lover's tongue. As the front woman for the legendary L.A. punk outfit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;archive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Exene Cervenka, of  famed  punk band X, now living in Missouri.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/l_a3e34bc82db7dc15c51ef2adba6c2408.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4903"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4943,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4903\/revisions\/4943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}