Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
These two winners from the review slush pile will feel quite familiar to fans of music from the '90s. The first is the latest project from a pioneer and hero of the Riot Grrl and twee scenes, and comes out on February 15. The second is a lo-fi aftershock from the Year Punk Broke, and comes out a week later. Brave Irene – S/T EP Tiger Trap, Go Sailor, The Softies–now you can add Brave Irene to the stellar list of Rose Melberg-fronted pop bands. And while the five-member lineup is a bit larger than her previous groups, its sound is anything but bloated. The peach-fuzzy guitars and warm keyboards perfectly complement the sweet vocal harmonies without adding an iota of excess, while the crisp drumming just manages to keep the Vancouver group's songs from floating away into the ether. And as the band's songs are deceptively simple and straightforward, only the purist of ideas (“Bank Holiday,” “Hit the Grass Running,” “River to the Sea”) seem to provide the basis for lyrics. At times, the band's hyper-sweet brand of post-twee leans toward psychedelic and garage rock with its keyboard raveups, but it never strays far from pop purity. [Slumberland] Brave Irene – No Fun by Slumberland Records Yuck – S/T EP Heavily informed by bands like Dinosaur Jr., Teenage Fanclub, and maybe even the Lemonheads, this U.K. group with connections to Israel, Japan, and the U.S. hoards its influences and approaches which take turns shining in different songs. Maybe the coolest sound recalls the lesser-known band from France, Les Thugs, with expertly crafted fuzz and a ton of distortion somewhat masking the impossibly catchy pop structures of “Holing Out” and “Rubber”–each with awesome, amazing, and inspired NSFW videos (including the one below). “Suicide Policeman” is another interesting song, with its comfortable indie strumming suddenly becoming usurped by reverb and lounge. Playing “What does this song sound like?” can be distracting, but the band is enjoyably on its way to carving out its own sound and racking up earholes. [Fat Possum]
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This issues features Eric's long interview with cover artist Luke Chueh. You know his painterly art with gory bunnies and bears, but do you know how to pronounce his name? Also ...
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I grew up in Orange County and even worked at Disneyland as a Jungle Cruise guy when I was in college, so I've spent a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom. And while one can appreciate the World's Largest People Trap Built by a Mouse despite knowing its ins and outs–as my brother says, it's like enjoying Christmas even though you know Santa Claus is fake–I have to admit that the park had lost some of its lustre for me. Cost, crowds, and newer, lesser attractions and reboots will do that. But when a friend mentioned that he just became a member of Club 33 and could get me in, I was all over it. In case you're not familiar with Club 33, it's an exclusive club and high-end restaurant at Disneyland located a few doors down from the Pirates of the Carribbean exit on the other side of the Blue Bayou. I used to think the latter was the raddest place to eat at the park with its permament dusk, fake fireflies, and boats returning from Davy Jones' Locker drifting by, but anyone can get a reservation there. To get into Club 33 you have to be a member or know a member. It's also famously the only place at Disneyland where you can drink alcohol. (No, beers in the caverns on Tom Sawyer's Island don't count.)
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Empire State A Love Story (or not) When does a graphic novel beat out a video game that's as anticipated at Marvel vs Capcom 3? Maybe this time? Empire State is an impressive hard cover mini epic that's unlike many of the Shiga books in the past. Not filled with brain teasing math, or Choose Your Own Adventure page turning fun, this is a straight story about a guy named Jimmy who works at a library and has a Jewish female friend, Sara. There are some rewind flash back scenes that explain what's going on, but overall, this is a conventional work, that does have a love story element. Will there be that sappy ending, will it be open ended? Drawn cleanly with great color work, by our friend John Pham, this is a fun story that captures a bit of the Shiga mind (what do some of those vocab words mean, anyway?) and a lot of his heart.
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Eric Nakamura talks about huge companies that have put ads in his GR Magazine, and how he feels that this is an honor. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi commodo, metus quis lobortis tincidunt, felis sem suscipit mauris, in eleifend orci sapien a dui. Sed tincidunt erat vel diam porttitor sollicitudin. Proin pulvinar, neque sit amet laoreet commodo, magna magna eleifend purus, ut ornare lectus augue aliquam arcu. Sed iaculis sapien non tortor malesuada in tincidunt tortor euismod. In pulvinar blandit libero sed mattis. Proin sit amet nulla mauris. Aliquam vulputate tempus urna, in volutpat massa vestibulum vitae. Vestibulum semper placerat dui, sed rhoncus est egestas in. Praesent porta suscipit arcu, posuere rutrum ante venenatis et. Donec et urna in erat varius lobortis. Mauris ac facilisis neque.
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