Sister Loolomie: Signals

When the classic horror film The Blob hit theaters back in 1958, one of the taglines for the movie was “Run, don’t walk, from The Blob!” Now, within the context of The Blob, this line was referring to a globular alien that was eating everything in its path, but the advice applies here as well.

If you ever find yourself in even the general vicinity of anywhere that Sister Loolomie’s album Signals is being played, run away. Fast.

With Signals, I honestly can find nothing positive to say.

From beginning to end, Signals is an absolute disaster. When the first track, “No Final Decision Here,” starts out with a low, almost throbbing noise and proceeds to add in a whining akin to a dulled version of the sound made when a microphone gets too close to a speaker, a feeling of curiosity is elicited. Where is this “song” going? Nowhere good, unfortunately....MORE

Steve Lieberman The Gangsta Rabbi: DiKtatoR 17

Have you ever heard a song on the radio and wondered how that artist managed to get a record contract? That’s the feeling that Steve Lieberman The Gangsta Rabbi’s newest album, DikTatoR 17, leaves the listener with.

Upon seeing an artist who refers to himself as “The Gangsta Rabbi,” one’s first assumption might be that this is someone along the same lines as Matisyahu. After seeing track titles such as “Crank That Kosher Boy,” an obvious play on the song “Crank That Soulja Boy,” one might think they’re in for listening to a Weird Al Yankovich parody-style album. Neither of these is the case.

Instead, what the listener gets with DikTator 17 is a twenty-two-song album that falls flat on every account...MORE

The Complaints: Sunday Morning Radio

It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while I find myself stumbling upon an album where the band sounds like they were just trying too hard. Unfortunately, Sunday Morning Radio, the newest release by The Complaints, is one of those rare albums.

Sunday Morning Radio doesn’t start off too badly—in fact, it made me feel fairly nostalgic. The vibe of the first track, “Man Downtown,” has a sound right out of the mid-90s pop-rock scene.

For a better idea of what the album starts out as, think Bon Jovi meets a mellowed out version of the Gin Blossoms.

This, however, only lasts for the first two songs. After that, Sunday Morning Radio begins to sound more like a band you’d hear playing at the local bar or as the special guest at the city fair. The songs are bland, with a lack of variety in the instrumentals, and mediocre vocals...MORE