“Superhero” by Candye Kane
3 out of 5 stars
With one boisterous belt from deep within her thick pipes, lead vocalist Candye Kane blasts into listener’s ears and refuses to leave. Big, bluesy and burlesque, “Superhero” is a diverse and eclectic mélange of southern blues tradition induced with both French-Creole spice and Los Angeles attitude and swank. The steel blues guitar mixed with grand piano, soft drums and the sultry crooning of Kane can at once feel 1920s-Gatsby-jazz and homage to the short days of Janis/Jimi collaborations. While her voice is both powerful and seductive, Kane does occasionally lose her lyrics to predictability, particularly on tracks such as “I Like ’em Stacked Like That” and “Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed.” Overall, the feel is authentic, un-recycled and worth a listen for anyone interested in the blues milieu. The album is centered around the great love and the quest for it, and to fall into it with Ms. Kane may not be impossible by any means. —Ben Kohn
“Zero Defex” by Zero Defex
4 out of 5 stars
There seems to be something prophetic about Zero Defex’s return to music with a self-titled album. Maybe it’s a commentary about the withering attention span of the average American, hence the 22 songs in just under 24 minutes. Maybe it’s a nihilistic pondering of the forthcoming apocalypse, leading to song titles like “This Means War,” “Lost Hope” and “Death is Fatal.” But most likely, “Zero Defex” is the product of an old-school hardcore band strapping on the axes once again to see if they can still stir up a grimy, slam-dance punchfest in the pit. The problem is that of the few songs that are long enough to develop into anything more than a vignette, like “Zombies Don’t Thrast,” they never develop into the fist-pumping anthems like the blazingly short songs threaten. But with balls-to-the-wall hardcore, maybe that’s the point. —Tim Webb
“Tentacles” by Crystal Antlers
4 out of 5 stars
On their first full-length album, “Tentacles,” Long Beach, California’s Crystal Antlers infuse crisp East Coast guitar feedback and throbbing West Coast organ crescendos with singer/bassist Johnny Bell’s Cobain-like yelp to create a vibrant, stained-glass sonic landscape. The result reminiscent of mid-60s era Doors/The Animals wedded with frenzied, psychedelic garage rock ala The Strokes or Syd Barrett era Floyd, the album opens with “Painless Sleep,” and ethereal instrumental which amplifies the contrast between Victor Rodriguez’s swirling organ iterations and Bell’s robust shriek — a throat hemorrhaging blast that unexpectedly hits you like a bag of nails on the follow up track “Dust.” The anthemic chanting oh “Time Erased” and waltzing guitars of “Andrew” complement the band’s rhythm section, pulled tight by daring drummer Kevin Stuart and percussionist Damian Edwards. With a production that sounds raw, live and commanding, the band conspicuously shifts from Strange Days organ bliss (“Memorized,” “Dust”) to suspended Kid A atmospherics (“Vapor Trail,” “Several Tongues”) and fiery 90s punk on the title track “Tentacles” in the vein of Nirvana’s “In Utero.” Predisposed Lennon/McCartney melody seekers may wince upon first listen, but peel back the layers of distortion and you will find a young, focused Crystal Antlers capable of rendering the same melody and power as their decades-old counterparts with massive potential and time on their side. —Rick White
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