By Ellen Eldridge

Full gallery after the jump.

By Ken Lackner (www.kenlacknerphotography.com)

Full gallery after the jump.

Sleepy Vikings:

Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun:

Review by Stephanie Roman (http://www.stephanieroman.com); photo by: William Buckley

Attention System reminded us that it has been three years since they last appeared at the Star Bar. Since releasing the critically acclaimed debut album Wait for My Signal, the band has quickly become known for putting on the best electro-rock dance show in town. They haven’t performed live in Atlanta since November, and their fans were hungry!

Whether playing out to five hundred people or only five, the band holds nothing back. Attention System’s high-energy live performance includes synchronized lasers, which scan the crowd and cut rhythmic pulses across the stage. As they launched into their third song, a laser and amp overload temporarily paralyzed the Star Bar’s sound system. At any given show, Attention System’s overall wattage consumption would likely overwhelm Nikola Tesla.

They teased the crowd, “We only have 172 more songs to go!” And with the inclination of every band member to give every drop of energy at every show — I almost believed it.

Attention System writes about the end of the world and living like each day is your last. While that may sound depressing, attending a show will remind you how much you love your friends and love rock music. They make it easy to get caught up in their positive energy — whether you’re dancing at the front of the room, or smiling and singing along with the fans. A highly recommended experience.

Joshua Broughton (vocals, guitar) of Attention System takes a moment to answer a few questions for AMG:

Which band or artist would you love to perform with at your dream gig?

I’d absolutely love to play a show with David Bowie. In my mind, that guy did more for the idea of the rock and roll concert experience than anyone else. The other guys in the band would answer the question differently. Brian is a fan of The Paper Chase and their amazing ability to engage an audience; Jonathan might pick Steve Earle or the Rolling Stones; Jason would go synth-pop with Ladytron; and Chris would probably choose a sludge metal great like Neurosis.

Each of you seems to give 100 percent of your energy at each performance. How do you recover the next day?

My remedy for post-concert recovery is very simple and very effective, but not very exciting, I’m afraid. Get some sleep, take a shower, have a quick limber-up-and-push-some-weight style workout, and try not to move for the rest of the day. Like at all. Even typing hurts.

If it really were the end of the world, where would you like to play your last show?

That’s a tough question! I’d like to think that we’d pull the grand ole’ Titanic scene, only with more leather and big belt buckles and shiny things. You know, the earth is splitting apart from the tidal force of an incoming black hole, the ground breaking into shards of rock—and there we are, yelling “YOU BEST DANCE, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!!” to all the folks who’ve supported us over the years.

So yeah: Atlanta. If we’re lucky enough to have a few friends that want to spend their last moments with our buzz saws in their ears, we’d be honored to do it.

Attention System plays The Drunken Unicorn on March 30.

Cloud Nothings
Attack on Memory
Carpark

By Al Kaufman

Almost every band for the past five years has made the lead of song for their album, if not their best one, at least one that reaches out and grabs, that pulls the listener in. Dylan Baldi, the man behind Cleveland, Ohio’s Cloud Nothings, does just the opposite. “No Future/No Past” is a long, bass-driven droning number that seems to go on for much longer than its four-and-a-half minutes. But that’s sort of the point. On this Steve Albini-produced sophomore record, Baldi wants you to forget all about the Cloud Nothings more simplistic past. This is a new band with a new sound, even if that sound is Weezer on Quaaludes.

But that sound changes, for the better, on track two. “Wasted Days” gives out more of a garage vibe, until the hypnotic instrumental that ends the song kicks in. Again, unnecessary and overlong, but more bearable here. “Fall In” is a sort of alt-country/punk, like an Uncle Tupelo/Green Day mash-up that somehow works. And by song four, “Stay Useless,” the band has found its straight-ahead garage sound. “No Sentiment” gets a bit Gothy, but the CD ends with “Cut You,” a no-holds barred rocker that the Strokes would be proud to call their own. It is the best song on the album, and also the last. The Cloud Nothings do things backwards here, but for those who put in the effort, the end result is worth the wait.

Cloud Nothings play The EARL with A Classic Education and Gold Bears on February 17.

Ben Kweller
Go Fly a Kite
Noise

By Al Kaufman

If Nick Lowe was the Jesus of cool of the 20th century, then Ben Kweller appears ready to take over the role for the new millennium. Kweller writes pure pop for now people. It’s tight and crisp without being trite. Every song on here sounds like a radio hit, but not one that you would grow sick of quickly.

Kweller opens Go Fly a Kite with “Mean To Me,” which immediately draws the Lowe comparisons. It’s great pop with smart lyrics and a touch of punk attitude. “Out the Door” begins sounding like an early Dylan rocker before morphing into some gorgeous Jayhawk harmonies. “Jealous Girl” has a certain Phil Spector wall of sound to it, complete with “whoa-oh-oh-oh” choruses.

If the album only contained those first three songs it would be worth the cost, but Kweller never lets up. “Full Circle” has more of an Americana sound that made up most of Kweller’s last album, Changing Horses. “Time Will Save the Day” offers up a garage rock style, while closer, “You Can Count On Me” is a jangly, upbeat ditty, even though it starts with the dark, “It’s a sad day ’cause all my old friends have changed.” He then assures his friend that he has not changed and will always be there for her.

With lots of piano and guitars, Kweller has created a fluid sound even while dabbling in so many genres. But the greatest thing about Go Fly a Kite is the packaging itself. Kweller appreciates people who go out and buy the concrete item. The album cover can be turned into a diorama of a pleasant outdoor scene, which includes bands playing, mothers nursing, and skeletons throwing strawberries. In addition, Kweller not only encloses the lyrics, but the chords and keys of each song, so that people may play along at home. He understands that music is for the people. He’s a cool guy, who also happens to be one hell of a songwriter.

By Ken Lackner (www.kenlacknerphotography.com)

Full gallery after the jump.

Testament:

Anthrax:

By Michael Koenig (http://vacantmoon.viewbook.com/)

Full gallery after the jump.

Jacuzzi Boys:

King Khan & the Shrines:

Red Wanting Blue
From the Vanishing Point
Fanatic Records

By Al Kaufman

Red Wanting Blue plays slick, mainstream pop-rock songs. That could be the whole review right there, but it would leave the layout for this review wanting. It’s like Train or Hootie and the Blowfish, or, to a lesser extent, Counting Crows. It’s that kind of stuff that you know would sound good live, but loses something within the sterile confines of a recording studio.

Scott Terry writes of hoping, surviving, loving, moving on and loving life; all kinds of nice big anthem-like stuff. And he occasionally sings it in a slightly poppier version of Eddie Vedder’s mumbling grumble, most notably on “Stay On the Bright Side” and “Ballad of Nobodies.” He and the band can even get a little harder edged on songs such as “Dinosaur,” which recalls Stone Temple Pilots in their heyday. But too often they fall into that slick pop that clogs up the airwaves. The lyrics “I’ll be there for you” need never be heard in another pop song, but Red Wanting Blue makes them the chorus in the generic “Audition,” which, naturally, is the album’s first single.

But there is some promise here. “Playlist” has a nice ’70s funk-pop groove, and they throw a change-up with the folksy “Walking Shoes,” in which Terry gets to show off his ukulele skills. And it’s really hard not to like a country-tinged love song titled “Cocaine.” “You’re like cocaine. I take you in ’til I go numb,” sings Terry. What girl would not swoon at getting compared to the white powder?

After a few self-releases, From the Vanishing Point is the band’s first album for a label, so maybe they can be forgiven for turning a few too many knobs in the studio. These are talented musicians who love their work and can play a good pop-rock song. Maybe on their next release they’ll be able to do more.

Red Wanting Blue plays Smith’s Olde Bar on February 27.

Amy LaVere
Stranger Me
Archer Records

By Al Kaufman

Turbulent times often leads to great art. Such is the case with Amy LaVere. While preparing to make her third album three years ago, her producer and mentor, Jim Dickenson, died of complications from triple bypass surgery. Then her guitarist, Steve Selvidge, left to join The Hold Steady. But what really made things sticky was when she broke up with longtime boyfriend and drummer, Paul Taylor. She missed his studio presence and he ended up agreeing to drum on the album, creating that delicious tension that is evident in other groups with broken relationships, such as Fleetwood Mac and Eurythmics. LaVere also recruited Craig Silvey (who mixed Arcade Fire’s Suburbs) to produce, and multi-weird-instrumentalist Rick Steff (who plays the mellotron, theramin, Buddha box, Vibrachime, and various pianos), left of center guitarist David Cousar, and a slew of horn instrumentalists to create her most richly textured album to date.

Stranger Me is swampy, country, and bluesy. While LaVere still demonstrates her powerful skills on the stand-up bass, what she and Silvey have created is a musical showcase. LaVere has a voice that spits venom as effortlessly as it conveys vulnerability. “Damn Love Song,” which opens the album, showcases her richer, more sonic sound. The song has a sort of psychedelic quality to it, like Jefferson Airplane. The biting lyrics are from a woman whose boyfriend wanted her to write him a love song, which she finally does after they break up. In the smokey “Red Banks,” she happily watches the river swallow up her ex, who had threatened to throw her in earlier. She slyly protects herself by saying, “No, I didn’t push him in/Lord, he’d a killed me if I did.” Even her straight ahead pop songs, such as “You Can’t Keep Me,” have a certain darkness to them. It is a song Jenny Lewis would be proud to call her own. It’s bouncy, tough, and includes a majestic trumpet.

LaVere showcases all her talents on Stranger Me. She plays a ’60s chanteuse on “Tricky Heart,” country girl on the Bobby Charles cover, “Let Yourself Go (Come On),” and jazz mama on “A Great Divide” (which includes a nice sax solo by Clint Maedgen). She even manages to convey the erotic mysticism of the original on her cover of Captain Beefheart’s “Candle Mambo” (with the aid of Steff’s Casio SK-1).

It would be easy to throw LaVere into the group of throwback artists such as Amy Winehouse and Adele. LaVere does not have their powerful vocals (although she comes damn close), but she more adventurous musically. She has the southern drawl of Melissa Swingle of Trailer Bride and the Moaners, and the beauty of Neko Case. Her songs have a freshness that come courtesy of Silvey’s indie pop background. This is good, meaty stuff that only becomes more satisfying with each listen.

Amy LaVere plays Smith’s Olde Bar on March 2 with Rich Robinson.

By Lisa Keel

Full gallery after the jump.

The Brian Collins Band:

Blackberry Smoke: