palm trees and power lines

Any sort of playful intrigue about the name "Sugarcult" just melts away when you bite the bullet and go to find out. Apparently it was the name of a group of lesbians that lived across the road from Tim Pagnotta when he was young.

Now that is out of the way, Palm Trees and Power Lines is from ye olde early days of my music journey. To me, it is remembered for easy to listen, catchy blocks of 3-4 minutes that always reminded me of Van Wilder. Which is a good thing.

Seeing them live in 2008 reaffirmed why I liked them so much, the energy and profound spunkiness that radiated from their recordings did so in real life too. After having a brief chat with Kenny Livingstone (who does his own soundchecks) at the signing tent and finally - finally - being able to tell Tim that he is a sexy, sexy man, I started to listen to Palm Trees and Power Lines even more than what I used to.

Their set opened with 'Memory' which is coincidentally one of my favourites. In fact, the first 5 songs are all tops. With a critical eye, it really doesn't scream out anything new or different, but that's nothing to cry foul over. I really enjoyed this album and won't hesitate to recommend it.

enemy of the enemy

Encapsulating.

Not since being caught up with Rage Against the Machine have I been so politically motivated or angered by a group. That's a steep comparison to derive, but most politically motivated artists these days fail miserably at trying to emulate RATM. To me, Asian Dub Foundation aren't really trying to be like them - they manage to carve their own identity.

Might be the whole 'Rage Against The (European/South American) Machine' thing.

Now then. Enemy of the Enemy was a release that I bought for a steal, and was very proud of. I had been aware of Fortress Europe for a while beforehand through some videogame (and even sourced it in a university paper on globalisation no less) and knew of other tracks as well. Listening to them on CD quality was really rewarding.

It goes pretty fast in the track, but the lyrics make you want to get out of the house waving placards.

2022 - A new European order
Robot guards patrolling the border
Cybernetic dogs are getting closer and closer
Armoured cars and immigration officers
A burning village in Kosovo
You bombed it out now you're telling us go home
Machine guns strut on the cliffs of Dover
Heads down people look out! we're going over
Burnin' up! can we survive re-entry
Past the mines and the cybernetic sentries
Safe European homes built on wars
You don't like the effect don't produce the cause
The chip is in your head not on my shoulder
Total control just around the corner
Open up the floodgates Time's nearly up
Keep bangin on the walls of Fortress Europe

(lw)

Sure, it's a worst case scenario, but it is shocking to make you stop and consider what can happen in the future.

Other gripping standouts are La Haine, 19 Rebellions (where the South American flavour comes from), and 1000 Mirrors with Sinéad O'Connor.

Solid release. Solid direction. Solid message. Solid satisfaction.

(Official Site | Wikipedia)