36 Crazyfists Resurface with Collisions and Castaways

By Craig Lindberg

It’s been a tumultuous few years for the members of 36CF. Dropped by Roadrunner Records after selling only 2000 copies US in the first week of the release of 2005’s Rest Inside the Flames, 36 Crazyfists found a new home with Ferret Music, who released the band’s 5th studio effort The Tide and Its Takers in 2008 ~ along with the live DVD Underneath a Northern Sky, recorded in their hometown of Anchorage, Alaska.

36 Crazyfists’ latest effort on Ferret, Collisions and Castaways, is a collection of 11 songs that might be the heaviest the guys in 36CF have sounded in their 10-year career.

Don’t let the acoustic beginning of “In The Midnights” fool you, the light, melodic harmonies are quickly peeled back by blistering riffs, relentless double bass and finally, the façade is completely eroded with a single, guttural call of “I ran with the dead!” completing the transformation.

Collisions and Castaways also features a more hook-laden sound for 36CF. Songs like the aforementioned “In The Midnights,” “Death Renames The Light,” “Reviver,” and “Caving In Spirals” offer a catchier chorus which should appeal to a wider audience while still remaining true to the original 36CF sound.

The mellow instrumental sound of “Long Road To The Late Nights” rounds out the diversity that is the strength of Collisions and Castaways.

In short, 36 Crazyfists have written the record they have wanted to write for 10 years. Collisions and Castaways is not just Metalcore/Post-Hardcore; this release shows maturity, musicianship and is a testament to the tenacity of a band that could have thrown in the towel many times but refused to do so.

www.myspace.com/36crazyfists

Street Sweeper Social Club The Ghetto Blaster EP

By Bruce Sullivan

It is true that some things in life simply go well together. For inexplicable reasons, peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, and Pauly D and The Situation just seem to make good partnerships. The consensus is not as clear for rap rock fusion, a genre that was launched nearly 25 years ago by Run DMC and Aerosmith, but has failed to consistently maintain its orbit due to its often unnatural and forced pairings, a little like painting a tattoo on the Mona Lisa.

However, Street Sweeper Social Club has returned with The Ghetto Blaster EP, a rap rock mini-monster which will have fans of the genre giddier than the day Snooki discovered the push-up bra. Tom Morello, outspoken guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, once again teams with rapper Boots Riley of The Coup for the follow-up to the band’s 2009 self titled debut, and the pair deliver an organic blend of atomic riffs and razor sharp lyrics.

The EP’s lead single is a surprising cover of the M.I.A. guilty pleasure hit “Paper Planes” that is no guilt and all pleasure. The track, featuring Morello’s trademark outer space guitar effects and Riley’s rugged, no-sh*it vocals, was introduced during last year’s Nine Inch Nails tour. “We needed a hot cover tune to lay to waste the Goth hordes that were awaiting us,” explains Morello.

Other highlights include “The New F*ck You” a biting, intelligent socio-political Riley commentary over a repeating Morello hook. In it, Boots takes shots at health care, the war in the Middle East, fashion, drug abuse, the legal system, street violence, and poverty. “Scars” is a humorous exploration of low budget city living, complete with “welfare checks, food stamps, collection notice, broken amps” and Morello’s hard rock riffery. The EP closes with “Promenade (Guitar Fury Remix)” featuring new Morello laser-powered guitar solo, and more funk than Shaq’s gym shorts after a three hour practice in July.

For more information on Street Sweeper Social Club, tour dates, or The Ghetto Blaster EP, visit the band at streetsweepersocialclub.com or at
myspace.com/streetsweepersocialclub.

V.V. Brown’s Travelling Through the Light

By Paul Maher Jr.

Miss V.V. Brown is a shining multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter from England. She shines all the brighter in an industry tragically beset by corporate Barbie Dolls who’ll sing the song you want to hear if you just pull that string. Is she that “For a dolla’ you can me hear me holla’” prototype that seems to have become the new emblem of mediocrity and soullessness unleashed on us by the business-suits and briefcases of Wall Street?

Nope, V.V. is the real deal, a Londoner as genuine as she is talented: “I can’t remember a time when music was not a part of me,” she says. “When I was five, I remember writing my first song on the piano. I played the same notes over and over again and from that moment I just knew that music would be a huge part of my life.” She was raised on gospel, but also suckled on the musical teat of Aretha (if you try picturing that literally, well, just don’t), the Rolling Stones, Queen, Elvis Presley and Ruth Brown. She’s a mixed bag that works, not a jumble of musical contradictions, but a well-seasoned stew of influences that have found themselves through a musical evolution.

The songs are aural gems; “Crying Blood” was originally penned on a one-string guitar, the only instrument she could afford when money got tight. On the surface, it’s an upbeat, melodious whirlwind, but it’s disguising a cloud of absolute despair. Every song on this CD is three minutes or less; it shows how well music can transform your life when crafted with economy and discipline, much like the Beatles used to be able to do.

V.V. Brown is a 24 year old feast for the eyes, ears and heart. She’ll make your bad days turn to good, like a caring lover can. She has attitude and confidence, an earnest will to celebrate life like no other with her funk-on-the-one missives or, in her words, “musical mashed potatoes.” She is a heads-up to the pretenders to the throne. She is out to make others feel good no matter what kind of sh*t goes down. V.V. Brown doesn’t want to take the throne, she just wants to put others there with her music. What she wants is refreshing, void of the pretenses of fame and disillusioned entitlement. She isn’t looking to trade her humble unassuming roots for an obligatory jaunt through the City of Angels: “I can’t see myself moving any time soon,” V.V. says. “Why should I change? I just want a simple life, with extraordinary music in it.”

Try V.V. Brown on for size, you won’t wanna take her off when she’s through with you.

Catch V.V. this summer on tour with Maroon 5 and check out
www.vvbrownus.com for more info.

The Black Raspberries’ Us Against the World

By Tine Roycroft

Need a new CD to blast as you’re readying yourself for Friday night debauchery? Try the album Us Against the World by Worcester’s own The Black Raspberries and suddenly you’ll have an unbeatable soundtrack for making plans, looking your finest, and sampling a little bit of adult beverage.

Blasting into your ears with their glammed-up pop-metal, The Black Raspberries bring a huge amount of energy and a distinct taste of the 80s. Matt Sivazlian impresses on the guitar, Mike Guadette plays a wicked drum, and Victor Freitas owns the necessary backbone known as the bass. Then there’s Giuliano D’Orazio on vocals ~ and there’s no stopping this guy. Clean, crisp notes and a huge vocal range add even more glam to the band’s creations.

Their song “No Tomorrow” starts the album off with a fiery force and might just grow to be your next pub anthem with lyrics like, “Take my money and move to Reno and drink until I’m gone.” The Berry boys drip their hearts and souls into their work and it really is apparent in this totally self-produced album.

The Black Raspberries have been performing as a group since 2007, when they released their self-titled debut album. In 2009, they released Room 237 and during the summer of 2009, they recorded Us Against the World, released it in May 2010, and there is no sign of rest in sight.

Another crowd favorite is their song “Sexy People” ~ it’s truly a vision of sonic metal funk. “We’re all sexy people,” D’Orazio sings and he tells it like it is ~ he (or perhaps The Black Raspberries as a whole) loves sexy people. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that truth ~ especially when it’s told with crazy guitar licks. For you 80s babies, think Poison, plus modern glam, minus big hair.

Feel free to love Us Against the World, but check out these Worcester boys live. Their shows are crazy energetic with The Black Raspberries refusing to stop until everyone is dancing. They cover only the most rhythmic hits in between their original compositions ~ from classic rock hits to Kings of Leon to Lady Gaga. There’s something for everyone when you pick The Black Raspberries.

Check out The Black Raspberries at
www.myspace.com/theblackraspberries or find them on Facebook.