BEST LOCAL MUSIC COVERAGE IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>>
The Weekly Volcano never sleeps. It's true ... or very close to true. We average only a few hours of shut-eye a night, be it because it's hard to sleep when you're so busy searching for videos of squirrels riding dogs horseback-style on the Internet (Matt Driscoll), or simply because there's just so much to do.
Included in all this doing? As always, another shining installment of the Weekly Volcano music section. This week the Volcano looks at the Variety Hour's new record, Tacoma hip-hopper Logics, Daniel Blue's return to the 253 and much more.
It's just further proof that the Weekly Volcano music section is your every-Thursday chance at the best in local music coverage anywhere in the South Sound.
Here's a look at the sonic goodness coming at you in print and online in this week's Volcano ...
As I noted back in those early, heady days of 2010, the Variety Hour is largely indebted to the sounds of shoegaze and Britpop. Bands like Swervedriver and Teenage Fanclub live in the Variety Hour's blood. Listening to Transmissive, though, it's clear the Variety Hour has doubled down its focus and drive, creating a much more direct and even record. While some of the variety, so to speak, of the band's first EP might be missed, Variety Hour's latest release has a verve and clarity of intent that leads to a more rewarding listen, top to bottom (as opposed to the picking and choosing that might have gone on in the listening of the first album). ... -- Rev. Adam McKinney
HIP-HOP: LOGICS, ABOM THE KID AND MORE ...
One of the breakout artists of 2011 was Abom the Kid. Abom is a solo MC who rides with Gonzo and Blue Nose. He's one of the more lyrically serious MCs of the two crews, and his stage performance is also energetic and intense. If I had to make a formal selection, I'd choose Abom as 2011's "Rookie of the Year." He dropped four mixtapes last year, each one more buzz-worthy than the previous. Abom's last mixtape, which he dropped Dec. 31, 2011, is titled 4 Kornerz, and it represents his most advanced, mature and introspective work to date. The album is available on abomkid.bandcamp.com. It is well worth paying $5 for, considering it comes stacked with 21 tracks and packing guest verses from Cam the Viking, Illizm, Awall A.K.A 2-Piece, Lost Soul the Emo-Kat, Mae Dali, Nuvo The1 and me. Lately, I've been making my rounds throughout the scene and nearly everyone I bump into asks me if I've heard 4 Kornerz. It ended up being one of the biggest local releases of 2011. ... -- Josh Rizeberg
Santee makes scratchy, lovesick, indie folk-pop. The band has a way of tentatively coming around to these walloping choruses and emotionally resonant refrains. Over the years, what began as the bedroom folk duo of Heather Loepp and Josh Vega has grown and developed into a larger, fuller band with a richer sound to match. -- Rev. AM
Jarrod Bramson and his pop-rock band, Solvents, come from Port Townsend. And, aided heavily by the violin-work of bandmate Emily Madden, the band, often compared to Big Star, even sounds a little like the little postcard town at the end of the road they call home. Exterior beauty, boatyard grit, small-town honesty: the Solvents brim with all of it. ... -- Weekly Volcano
For the record, pimpin' ain't dead. It ain't even close to dead, in fact. We know this because legendary Bay Area rapper, Too $hort, returns to Olympia Saturday, bringing his official "Pimpin' Ain't Dead" tour with him. Joined on the bill by Dubbleoo, Steady the Boss and Free Whiskey, Too $hort's stop in Oly promises to be nothing short of epic, a show adding itself to the growing list of major hip-hop happenings to have recently rocked our state capital. ... -- WV
WE RECOMMEND: CHERRY POPPIN' DADDIES
It's best not to think too much about the possible connotations behind the Cherry Poppin Daddies' name. We tried, on accident, and it kind of made us squeamish. Instead, we'd focus on the rambunctious mix of pomp and nostalgia that powers the Cherry Poppin Daddies' swinging ways. We'd focus on the ska, skank and swing rather than the creepy, Matthew-McConaughey-in-Dazed-and-Confused innuendo. Friday, the Cherry Poppin Daddies return to Tacoma and Jazzbones, a venue, and likely crowd, with which the band is already familiar. ... -- WV
