It's All I Know: Cameron Keiber On Eldridge Rodriguez's New Noise-Pop Monument, The Castrati Menace

Seasoned Boston rock fans need no introduction to the work of Cameron Keiber, indie label tycoon, the principal songwriter of rock act Eldridge Rodriguez, and co-fronter of the city's legendary The Beatings. In a way his own musical history mirrors that of the modern Commonwealth: he was playing shows while studying at UMass during Western Mass.'s early '90s heyday, he toured the U.S. with the aforementioned Beatings in the aughts, and he has haunted rock clubs on both sides of the Charles River for the better part of two decades. The Beatings' extended hiatus continues unabated, making Eldridge Rodriguez Mr. Keiber's de facto primary vehicle for secular rockulidge. Since its last LP was released in 2011, that band has reformulated its lineup and its sonics, and its forthcoming long-player The Castrati Menace -- to released by Midriff Records Friday -- sees the band fully shedding its early, gritty and more menacing sound and achieving a stylistic pinnacle. This is in no small part due to an adventurous pursuit of a noisy melodicism the band began exploring in the studio a few years ago, recording a cover of a shoegaze classic for this very blog. Indeed, The Castrati Menace is characterized by a colorful cacophony that feels reverent to a classic style but also contemporary. And the blogosphere outside the Boston bubble is (finally) taking note (Exh. A; Exh. B). With the album release just days away (and a successful New York release show already under his belt), we thought it was high time to check in with Keiber about the band's new sound, his drive to create and the album title's pointed meaning. Read our full exchange below, and stick around for the details about Friday night's Boston release show at the foot of the piece.

Clicky Clicky: This will be way inside baseball for all but our hardcore Boston readers, but is The Castrati Menace a concept record about your "personal manager?" The title echoes that of what is now considered to be the first "Star Wars" movie, and one of the record's best songs is called "Social Graces Vigilante," so maybe you can see why we're wondering? Given the epicly funny shit-talking between you and said manager during your old podcast days, maybe this record is just an incredibly next-level shot at him?

Cameron Keiber: That's a total coincidence. I was reading an article about castrato and the parallels to what was happening then and how pop stars are groomed and positioned now, and it struck me how nothing changes. I wanted to name the album The Menace in reference to that, but then remembered there was an Elastica album with that name. So adding on the Castrati part was an easy fix and made my point more [precisely]. I never made the Lucas connection until a few weeks ago. I like "Star Wars," sure, but not enough to directly reference it, but I can see where you'd get that. But its not. "Social Graces..." was a song I've had kicking around through several projects, but it never really worked until this line up of the band. But its not without precedent that we've gone with a manager reference, namely [with] The Beatings' Italiano! album. But its not consciously in this case, certainly could be subconscious but what do I know? But I like where you are going with this, and if it makes Bouchard's day, then let's just say, between you and me, that [the record] is about him.

CC: Sticking with the inside baseball angle a bit, we recall that when you were recording your covers of "Vapour Trail" (this, that) a few years back for our compilation that you remarked on the social media that you were exhilarated by the fact that it was the noisiest thing you'd done to date. We feel like that vibe really carried through to the new record. Was there something about how you approached recording "Vapour Trail" that sort of unlocked how you went about the tracking of The Castrati Menace?

CK: That cover was the first thing we did with this line up and production team. It was kind of an experiment in what has become our regular recording process. Mike Quinn (Moontower Studios), who mixed both the Ride cover and the new album, killed it. He just nailed the noise ebbs and flows and so when we heard it we knew that this was the way the next album would go. The band will record the track and then tack on 10 or so noise and idea tracks and Mike and Dave (Grabowski) kind of have to sit down and figure out where its gonna all sit in the mix with my only notes being "I want to hear everything at some point." Its not easy. And they both get what we are all going for. But yeah, that Ride cover fleshed out how we'd approach this album.

CC: What was it about the noise that appealed to you at this stage of the game? The sound of the record is dense, not quite claustrophobic, but dense, and it reminds us of an extreme take on Psychedelic Furs and its efforts at a wall of sound.

CK: I'm a huge fan of noise and experimental stuff. I don't think you get anywhere creatively without experimenting. That said, I write the way I write, usually in a basic song structure that can be played on guitar, piano, whatever. But I've always tried to shoehorn a noise element into my work. But I'm not a big jam guy. I don't particularly enjoy improvising an idea and getting there in the way some noise bands do. I like writing a song beginning to end, and then pig-piling noise and experimental ideas on top, throughout and in between those parts. But this isn't a new idea. Bands like The Fall, Magnetic Fields, Pavement... they all do a similar thing, I imagine. I'm also a huge Psychedelic Furs fan. They are one of those great rock bands that got that idea of seamlessly stitching darkness and discord with pop. I love that. Also having Den(nis Grabowski, drummer for E.R. and brother of the aforementioned Dave) on this project adds a lot to it, because its a lot of similar stuff to what we were doing in The Beatings. So that's a nice security blanket to have.

CC: Is "Giving Myself Over To Boston" kind of the bizarro world version of, or maybe the inverse of your old cut "Stillborn In New Jersey?" We feel like they set up an interesting contrast, something about the home you are given or born into, versus the home that you make for yourself.

CK: "Stillborn in New Jersey" was about a very specific person and time in my life long after I had left home, and me working out my feelings about it all, albeit unfairly. "Giving Myself Over to Boston" is a much more general, playful take. I've always felt like an outsider in this city, and there was a very fleeting time when I felt like the city was opening itself up to me and then just as quickly it shut the door and I really wanted to lash out at it in a tongue-in-cheek way. But I realize none of that probably happened and it's a matter of flawed perception on my part. I also realize I have my own problems socially, mentally, not keeping my mouth shut and that I'm sure that many of the problems that may actually exist were created by me and that I do it to myself. Regardless, I wrote [the song] at a time of pettiness and spitefulness, but with a healthy sense of humor. In all fairness the snark in that song doesn't come close to what others have written about this town, so I'm not too precious about it.

CC: At the same time, those two songs represent opposite ends of a spectrum, we think, with snark on one end and sincerity on the other. Could a younger E.R. have written "Giving Myself Over To Boston?" It feels to us like not only a great songwriting achievement, but dare we say, an achievement of maturity.

CK: I don't think I could have written it when I was younger. I was so angry for so long that the playful teasing, snark and misdirection in the lyrics would have just come out as venom and piss. It's a clever song and maybe my least favorite on the album, because it reminds me that regardless of any strides made that that petty little directionless shitty punk kid is still fighting to lash out when shown a modicum of inclusion or when hurt, and no one wants to be reminded of their failures.

CC: The final lyric of "Big Dead Heart" is a real spine-tingler -- we listen to the song again and again just to feel that final crashing wave again and again. We can see you coming up with that first and then writing the whole song around it. Did you?

CK: Yeah, thanks. That last verse certainly wraps up everything that happens before it. How the mistakes and embarrassments made in youth mean nothing because we eventually all die, and how quickly life moves the older you get. I think I had the title first. I liked it because it reminded me of a Raymond Chandler title. That last verse kind of came out of something a friend who is much older than me said. It was late and we were tired and he said something like "Life just moves like a stream down a continuously narrowing chute and the more it narrows the faster the stream moves until it leaves the chute and death," or something like that. The idea of dignity in aging always felt fake to me. There is no dignity in getting old. There may be knowledge and experience and know-how but there is no inherent dignity in it. You can have dignity in dealing with your death, sure. There is dignity in the bravery of facing the unknown. You can hold yourself in a dignified fashion, but then it's just a prop. Old people are the same people they were when they were 16, and should behave as such. Some do, and I think it's great. There are many dumb, stupid, boring, misguided old people and they don't get a pass because they are old. Getting old is scary and should be handled according to whatever policy you used that got you to that point, with compassion for others and with grace. But there is no inherent dignity is getting old.

CC: We think this record is the first you've made since your brother Clayton signed on. So the question: is that experience a necessary evil, or terrific filial bonding that you relish every second?

CK: Clayton is great and a much better guitarist than I'll ever be. He and I work on label stuff daily, so him coming on board was natural. We get along well and bicker and fight sometimes, but its a very good, stable relationship. We've always gotten along, and he's always supported me, so there really wasn't any big emotional transition when he came on. In many ways, I couldn't do any of this without him.

CC: Music is so aggravating now. Not the music itself, but everything that surrounds music. We know you've got other shit to do -- why do you still put so much of your heart into this after close to two decades of this nonsense?

CK: I don't even want to dignify this question with a response, but I'm compelled to say this. Its really a compulsion that I can't trace to anything. What else would I do? It's all I know how to do well. I still enjoy the process. I consider recording and playing and writing an art form, and not solely as a process that produces a product for commercial consumption. And we've always done things DIY and on our own terms, so all that nonsense doesn't really effect me creatively. I enjoy the art of it, from the beginning idea to end. I've been doing this since I was 15 or 16. Its not something that I'm ever without. What else would I do? Get into sports? Distract myself from these ideas and feelings and thoughts that consume and influence my emotions and thought every second of every day with a fantasy football league. Give me a fucking break.

CC: So, ultimately, what is the titular Castrati Menace? Can it be eradicated in our time?

CK: Its an unhealthy and unseemly cultural obsession with the awful aspects of youth culture and pop, and time eradicates everything.

CC: Thanks Cam.

Eldridge Rodriguez fête the release of The Castrati Menace Friday night in Boston at Allston Rock City's Wonderbar. The bill includes support from notable experimentalist/s Skyjelly and an act called Party Bois, and more fullsome details can be scrutinized at this Facebook event page. Midriff releases The Castrati Menace Friday, but it is already available for pre-order via ITunes right here. Eldridge Rodriguez's previous full-length, You Are Released, was issued by Midriff Records in early 2011.





Prior Eldridge Rodriguez Coverage:
Today's Hotness: Eldridge Rodriguez
Clicky Clicky Music Presents... N O F U C K I N G W H E R E : 11 Boston Bands Perform Ride's Classic 1990 Album
Midriff Records Night with Eldridge Rodriguez
Out Now: Eldridge Rodriguez | Christmas On The Allston-Brighton Line EP
That Was The Show That Was: Get Help with E.R. and Soccer Mom
Eldridge Rodriguez Record Release Show | O'Brien's Pub | 1 April
Be Prepared: Eldridge Rodriguez | You Are Released | 22 March
Behold! The Eldridge Rodriguez Residency!
That Was The Show That Was: E.R., The Mitchells | PA's Lounge
Review: E.R. | This Conspiracy Against Us

Review: Ted Billings | American Bedrooms

It's safe to assume that no one is more relieved by the release of American Bedrooms than Ted Billings himself. Not only is the amazing and potent new collection being issued little more than a year after the most recent long-player from Mr. Billings' mothballed rock outfit (this is no small victory, as Age Rings' Black Honey -- one of Clicky Clicky's favorite records of 2011 -- somewhat infamously took four years to complete). But also the release of American Bedrooms likely serves at least in some small part as an exorcism of the feelings related to the events described therein. Most everyone has a story about where they were when the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 occurred; Mr. Billings' American Bedrooms jumps off from that horrific day ("I was starting school when the planes hit," he sings in the opener "Freedom") to explore the songwriter's struggle toward peace of mind in the decade that followed.

While a substantial part of the ambitious, Townshendian narrative is fiction -- particularly the record's climax, "Rotten World" -- it's pretty heavy. Still, it doesn't weigh down the proceedings in the least: American Bedrooms is first and foremost a great rock and roll record whose eight anthemic songs comprise a concise psychodrama punctuated by brilliant, punchy power-pop. Perhaps because of its relatively short gestation period, perhaps not, American Bedrooms is a leaner, more lucid set of tunes than those on Black Honey. Where the prior record was rife with tunes marked by the surrealism of fever dreams, American Bedrooms feels refreshingly straightforward, almost literal. Musically, the record rides high on an undercurrent of vital punk mania; fuzzed guitars rule the day. The set's narrative arc spans both a slow-boiling, post-millennial confusion and disillusionment and a dark twist on conventional salvation (love, here not quite requited and complicated by a hostage situation...) that culminates in the dark ballad that closes the record.

The aforementioned "Freedom" is a tight, buoyant composition commencing with a choppy guitar riff touting Telekinesis-styled fuzz. The fuzz deepens and seeps into the vocal on "House On Fire," a tune that broadens the scope of the record to implicate the collapse of the domestic housing market ("I live in a house on fire, a foreclosure the price was right, we all choose how we're gonna die..."). The guitar part in the title track's verse echoes a bit of Bryan Adams' "Run To You." Thumping, relentless quarter notes from the drum kit anchor the slithering six-string part, but pointedly evaporate at the spine-tingling first chorus, which is ushered in over a solemn, ecclesiastical organ lick. The beat returns, as does the narrator's simple prayer for a facsimile of the American dream ("...all I want to do is to share an American bedroom with you..."). The narrator's misguided hopes of ameliorating his disillusionment and frustration via a romantic conquest, well, that doesn't go as planned ("... I thought you'd learn..."), but it certainly makes for a beautiful finale for American Bedrooms; the stunned admission "didn't see that coming" in "Rotten World" -- delivered amid a pretty cascade of synths -- is terrifically poignant.

Billings self-releases American Bedrooms digitally tomorrow; it is already available for streaming and purchase via the Bandcamp embed below. It is certainly among the best records released this year, although given its late entry it likely won't be recognized as such, sadly. The record will be feted tomorrow evening at The Middle East Rock Club in Cambridge with a record release show featuring a stellar bill. Not only will Mr. Billings and band perform, but also Midriff Records' flagship act, Boston post-punk titans The Beatings, will play, as will the acclaimed Dear Leader and Marconi.

Ted Billings: Internet | Facebook | Bandcamp

Midriff Residency Night X: Home for Little Wanders Benefit With Soccer Mom, Eldridge Rodriguez, Ex-Planets, Relations

We're grateful. You're grateful. It's Thanksgiving. Let's keep that feeling (sans the awful stomach pain we have right now) alive for a few days, long enough for you to drag your weary, overstuffed frame to Radio Saturday night for the latest installment of Midriff Records' year-long residency. This particular event is the 10th of its kind, but it is a special kind of special in that it serves both as a memorial of sorts for a friend dear to the Midriff camp who recently died, as well as a benefit for a cause close to that friend's heart, Boston's Home For Little Wanderers. Allow us to crib from The Home's web site for a moment: "The Home for Little Wanderers provides a seamless continuum of vital programs and services for every stage of child and family development. For more than 200 years, we’ve earned a reputation for doing whatever it takes to strengthen vulnerable families and keep children safe in their own communities, even when they don’t have family support. Serving children and youth from birth to 21, The Home makes a positive impact on over 7,000 lives each year through a network of services including behavioral health, therapeutic residential and special education, adoption and foster care. In addition, a number of innovative programs provide specialized assistance to youth transitioning to adulthood from state systems of care."

That's real shit. Important shit. Those things alone should be enough of an inducement to guarantee your patronage Saturday, but on top of it being a benefit for a good cause in honor of a righteous dude, you will also be rocked by Clicky Clicky faves Soccer Mom and Eldridge Rodriguez along with Ex-Planets and The 'Mom's 100m Records labelmates Relations. E.R. will be performing hits from his repertoire of The Beatings, Eldridge Rodriguez and No Love songs accompanied on the piano by Mel Lederman, also of the No Love cohort and formerly of Victory At Sea.

These Midriff residency nights have been, as our friend BRD has been known to say, something other than else. If you missed the Halloween show last month (as admittedly we did), you missed E.R. and friends including The Beatings' Erin Dalbec and Soccer Mom's William Scales doing a cracking set of Pavement covers. Fortunately, some enterprising individual recorded the set, and you can hear the entire thing via the Soundcloud embed below. We're also posting streams of Soccer Mom's recent cataclysmic single "A Canoe Shy" b/w "Brides," which is 31 flavors of awesome and which can be purchased via 100m Records right here. So chew on that along with your leftover turkey for the next 44 hours or so. Then get yourself to Radio Saturday night. Here's the Facebook event page, too, wherein you can pledge your allegiance.

And Then This Happened: The Beatings Perform Italiano! | 10th Anniversary Show | Radio, Somerville | 23 March

Fucking legendary.

The Beatings Perform Italiano! 10th Anniversary Show With Relations, Louder My Dear | Radio | 23 March

This Friday Boston's post-punk institution The Beatings celebrate 10 years-ish of finely crafted rock and roll music by performing its fire-breathing, first full-length Italiano! in its entirety at Radio in Somerville. This is not to be missed. The hour-long collection -- which, if memory serves, was named for a particularly colorful manager the band retained in its early days -- was issued in February 2002 as release Midriff-001 on the band's then-fledgling Midriff Records, a label concern that is itself now a pillar of the Boston rock scene. In the months that ensued Italiano! was heralded in the local, national and even international press. Not too many years later, The Beatings were featured in the thrilling Mission of Burma documentary "Not A Photograph" and the implication was clear: The Beatings, more than any other band besides, of course, the reincarnated Burma itself, were among Boston's elite contemporary standard bearers for noise pop. The younger band's succession of gripping full-lengths from Italiano! on is testament to that.

And while a decade of history has plunged from the upper chamber of the hourglass, neither The Beatings nor its label are simply maintaining the high with the resin of nostalgia: indeed, a strong argument can be made that -- based on the releases of the last 18 months -- the golden era of The Beatings and Midriff is right now. See the band burn it down yet one more time at Radio this Friday. Facebook event page. For the remainder of the month of March Italiano! and the rest of the Midriff catalogue is 50% off at the band's web storefront right here. The band was cool enough to permit us to offer the Italiano! standout "Twins" below, so hear it again for the first time.



Selected Beatings Coverage:
That Was The Show That Was: The Beatings, Hands And Knees
Review: The Beatings | Late Season Kids
That Was The Show That Was: The Beatings | TT The Bear's
Review: The Beatings | Holding On To Hand Grenades [Junkmedia]

Be Prepared: Louder My Dear | What's The Matter With You, Rock? | 10 June

There is a shape-shifting, new wave heart beating (ahem, loudly) within the Midriff Records camp, within a new band that is as comfortable trading in raunchy guitar is it is with fluid electronics. Louder My Dear is the vehicle of Dave Grabowski, who previously helmed Midriff act Scuba. In addition to steering the nine-month old Louder My Dear, Mr. Grabowski is currently part of a unit (along with his brother, The Beatings' drummer Dennis Grabowski, who also plays guitar with LMD), that aids and abets E.R. Louder My Dear's forthcoming collection remarkably expands the aforementioned label's sonic aesthetic by drawing upon sounds as disparate as those made by Echo & The Bunnymen ("Just Kids") or the lesser known German synth pop concern Camouflage ("Angels & Eurotrash").

But viewing the quartet's work solely within the context of the label likely unfairly constrains listeners' ability to appreciate everthing that What's The Matter With You, Rock? can be. For all of its myriad, interesting aural textures, it is the relatively straightforward ballad "Little Boat," which closes the album, that steals the entire show. Basic acoustic guitar, a poignant set of lyrics and tasteful synth appointments and backing ahhhhhs together result in a weighty and beautiful sadness that demands rapt attention. It's the sort of song Michael Stipe could use to finance complete private school educations for all of his non-existent children. If there is one shortcoming of What's The Matter With You, Rock?, it is that the band's dazzling, dazzling cover of Slowdive's "Alison" is left off the record. Midriff releases the collection June 10; it's only a matter of time before you can purchase the record for yourself right here. In the meantime, channel "Alison" and Louder My Dear's own "Clamshack" below.

Louder My Dear's "Alison" (Slowdive Cover)

Louder My Dear's "Clamshack"

Louder My Dear: Internerds | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud

And Then This Happened: The Beatings | RSL Summer Par-Tay | 3 June

The Beatings, live at Foundry 24, Charlestown, Massachusetts.

That Was The Show That Was: Get Help with E.R. and Soccermom

Thursday night at PA's in Somerville, Mass., three of Boston's best -- we're fudging New York/New Jersey-based Get Help's geographical bona fides here on purpose because of history, man -- brought their A game for an evening packed cheek to jowl with rock that howled. Beatings co-fronter Eldridge Rodriguez stuck the landing on a gripping and occasionally curious set that drew heavily from his superlative 2011 solo long-player You Are Released. The collection grafts onto Rodriquez's characteristically intense guitar shouters electronic beats and samples, and it was interesting to see drummer Dennis Grabowski, who also detonates the cans for The Beatings, play to electronics triggered live by a guy that we assume was Ray Jeffery, co-producer and recording engineer for You Are Released (among other E.R. recordings) brother Dave Grabowski (formerly of Scuba, now of Midriff Records' own Louder My Dear, which features Dennis Grabowski on guitar). Those electronics also writhed in the breaks between songs like a dimly lit pit of snakes, limning the already dark tunes with an ethereal, unsettling dimension. The set was highlighted by Mr. Rodriguez, resplendent in a white suit, delivering a scalding iteration of "Run MF Run;" the live rendition was augmented with a new bell sample and the explosive choruses were gratifying.

Gracious hosts for the evening Get Help obliged listeners with a set almost solely drawn from the quartet's wonderful sophomore record The Good Green Earth, although said set closed memorably with the undeniable, pogoing title track to its 2008 debut The End Of The New Country. Unsurprisingly, the highlights of the set otherwise were our favorite tracks from The Good Green Earth: closer "Crooked Streets" -- rendered here without the sadly beautiful organ backing -- and the strident strummer "You Should Be Home By Now." We'd like to see these guys play more often.

You Should Be Home By Now by Get Help

Jamaica Plain-based Soccermom brought the evening to a kaleidoscopic close with a dazzling set forged from dense guitars and desperate vocals. The quartet, fronted by longtime scenemaker Dan Parlin, was simply brilliant, regularly bending over-driven chords and slide guitar around a decisive rhythmic attack. New drummer Justin Kehoe, he formerly of The Migration Trap, was remarkably fluid and understated behind the drum kit, and seems to be a perfect complement to the extant Soccermom alchemy. We heard new material in the set and it gives us high hopes that the band will garner the recognition it deserves very soon -- if only from the legions of music fans out there waiting for a contemporary take on early Lilys or early Polvo. Soccermom intends to issue later this year a 10" EP titled You Are Not Going To Heaven, and we've heard some of the recordings and they are terrific. If you haven't heard the band's debut single, here's one of the tunes.

Soccermom's "High On Dad"

E.R. and Get Help fans can catch Mssrs. Rodriguez and Skalicky in their natural habitat fronting The Beatings this Friday -- while R.S.V.P.s last -- in Charlestown at an event being helmed by the RSL Blog. So get with that. Soccermom returns to the stage Saturday night at The Beachcomber in Quincy, and again July 16 at Precinct in Somerville, Massachusetts for the Guillermo Sexo record release party.

Be Prepared: Get Help | The Good Green Earth | 10 May

Midriff Records will release next month the sophomore set from this, the other Beatings side project, Get Help. Fast on the heels of Beatings ying Eldridge Rodriguez' recent solo effort You Are Released, Beatings yang Tony Skalicky (along with compadres including Mike Ingenthron) readies The Good Green Earth for delivery to the masses May 10. The 11-song set is a wholly satisfying amalgamation of all your favorite fruit. "A Brittle World" piggybacks on a melody from Pixies' timeless and delightful "La La Love You;" affecting closer "Crooked Streets" charts a soulful march into a two-dimensional wooden sunset with the same wry resignation as They Might Be Giants' "Road Movie To Berlin" (organ and all). The final lyric of "Crooked Streets" -- a dense, barroom holler, "There's too much background noise as the saints come driving through" -- is just icing on top of icing.

Perhaps the highlight of an album filled with highlights is curiously sequenced at track 8, the desperate strummer "You Should Be Home By Now." Dig the stream below. Get Help has just announced a Boston record release show, which will transpire at PA's Lounge May 26 [details]. Additional acts on the bill include the aforementioned Eldridge Rodriguez and Clicky Clicky faves Soccermom. That's a hot show. We reviewed Get Help's full-length debut The End Of The New Country here in 2008.

You Should Be Home By Now by Get Help

Be Prepared: Eldridge Rodriguez | You Are Released | 22 March

Boston noise-rock stalwart Eldridge Rodriguez' fourth solo effort, separate and apart from his work with local titans The Beatings. This full-length was written during and around the sessions for The Beatings' superlative 2009 effort Late Season Kids, and as such You Are Released evidences what seems to have been an incredibly fertile songwriting period for Mr. Rodriguez. But while his songs on Late Season Kids sound contemporary, there is something in the production on You Are Released's more aggressive numbers that imbues the guitar squall with a throw-back flannel dysphoria. Highlights include the annunciatory thriller "The Big Windup" and the melodic, mid-tempo, slide guitar-slung "Fragile Things," during which Rodriguez deploys an uncharacteristic murmur over a pulsing mirage of guitars, confessing "Dear Lord I shot my mouth off again." Midriff Records will issue You Are Released March 22.

Selected Previous E.R. Coverage:
Review: E.R. | This Conspiracy Against Us
That Was The Show That Was: E.R. | PA's Lounge
That Was The Show That Was: E.R. | TT The Bear's

YouTube Rodeo: The Beatings' "All The Things You've Been Missing"

Standout track from the band's stellar 2009 full-length Late Season Kids, which we lauded here. Back then we said of the tune, "[t]he redemptive caterwaul of co-fronter E.R. drives the album highlight "All The Things You've Been Missing" repeatedly into a chorus built on a scalding baptism of blaring, reverbed guitars. At the break-down he spits lines that recall Lloyd Dobbler dialogue, before spinning the song on its side like a bottle cap into a jabbing, acerbic coda." This new video was filmed in late 2010, and local denizens will recognize the stately environs of O'Brien's Pub as one of the settings. The clip is pretty straightforward in an early '80s MTV kinda vein, but the camera work gets more exciting as the song whips itself through terraced crescendos; in a way the best thing the cinematographer can do (and does) is get out of the way while The Beatings tear open a can of musical whomp-ass. Buy Late Season Kids from Midriff Records right here.

Be Prepared: Greg Lyon | Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie | 4 Dec.

We can't cite you chapter and verse everything that multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and Boston scene stalwart Greg Lyon has done in the last five years or so that we've been aware of his work. But we can tell you that his forthcoming solo set Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie -- whose songs are characterized in promotional materials as stuff that wasn't a good fit for the many, many bands he's played with -- is terrific, from the Grandaddy-esque title track to the stripped strut of the trebly rocker "Trainwreck." The 11-song record, largely recorded in a practice space with whichever cohorts were on hand, will be released by the mighty Boston and New York label concern Midriff Records on Dec. 4. A record release show is slated for the same night at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville, MA, with support from rising noise rock foursome Soccermom.

The December release date likely means Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie will be passed over as a contender for many year-end lists. Which is a shame, because the depth and breadth of the often sadly beautiful (particularly the ballad "The Best Of Times"), always carefully appointed indie rock Mr. Lyon collects here is worthy of more attention than we fear it will get. The songs eschew the literal and figurative heaviness of Lyon's work with Pending Disappointment, and are more tightly focused and tuneful than what we recollect from his work with other Midriff bands including Spanish Armada. You can stream all of Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie right here, and we recommend you do. These days we think Lyon is most often seen on area stages in his latest role as fifth man with Boston noise rock heros The Beatings, who perform this Friday at the Middle East supporting the completely wonderful Bottomless Pit.

Today's Hotness: Pastel Group, The Answering Machine, E.R.

>> We don't know much about Boston's Pastel Group beyond its music (well, and that Nick Pastel restores furniture, which is actually tres awesome), but it is a very strong calling card indeed. The brilliant, new-ish act -- which incorporates a certain New Romantic patience with a gently fractured pop sensibility -- was apparently commissioned in 2009 as a trio. However, a personnel listing at Pastel Group's MySpace wigwam now contains five names; Facebook, of course, lists three people, so who knows; we sent an exploratory email to the band via its MySpace and eagerly await a response. The apparent quintet released earlier this summer the free Jamaica Plain EP, so named because that is the section of Boston from which Pastel Group hails. A second, related EP is slated for release sometime this coming fall. Jamaica Plain is available for free download at this link; in an innovation we've never encountered before, Pastel Group has somehow made it so the EP downloads from Google Docs. The EP's four songs are "Midwestern Sun," "Mistreated," "On This Night" and "Opinions And Thoughts," and they are all winners. To whet your appetite, here's an embed of that last track, a relatively guitar-oriented bleeper that shines brightly.

Pastel Group's "Opinions And Thoughts"

>> According to this post to the band's MySpace blog, the first single from The Answering Machine's forthcoming sophomore set Lifeline will be for the song "Animals." The Manchester, England-based quartet will promote "Animals" with a short slate of late October tour dates in its home town, London and Glasgow; the dates are posted at The Answering Machine's recently refreshed web site right here. We reported here last month that The Answering Machine plan to release the self-produced Lifeline worldwide in January.

>> Elsewhere in Boston: word is that Eldridge Rodriguez' long awaited You Are Released is, errrr.... a little closer to being released. The full-length, the second from the co-fronter of Boston's incendiary indie titans The Beatings, is currently being mastered and E.R. foresees a spring 2011 launch around the time of the annual SXSW confabulation. E.R.'s recent EP There's No Gray Area, No Middle Ground... You Are a Thief is now available through most if not all of your favorite digital music storefronts. Speaking of awesome, have you checked out the free 2009 Midriff Records sampler? It features tunes from most if not all of the cohort, including such fire-breathing classics as The Beatings' "All The Things You've Been Missing" and Eldridge Rodriguez' "Why I Fear The Ocean." But we'll just cut to the chase and say the reason you should download this RIGHT NOW is for The Beatings' cover of Beat Happening's "Indian Summer." Download the .zip file here. And we'll post "Indian Summer" below. The Beatings play House Of Blues, Boston's Front Room for free this Saturday, Aug. 14; E.R. plays Friday Aug. 20 at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville. Get with that.

The Beatings -- "Indian Summer" -- 2009 Midriff Records Sampler
[right click and save as]
[buy music from Midriff here, it will make them happy]

Today's Hotness: Grown Ups, She Sir, E.R.

>> [PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Bach] You don't need us to tell you one of the biggest stories in the musical underground this summer is the Cap'n Jazz reunion shows. But it is worth reminding indie rock fans that the seminal second-wave emo band's exuberant and angular style of indie rock has been embraced by many contemporary disciples. One such act is Chicago/Indiana-based emo superlatives Grown Ups, whose new full length More Songs is the maiden U.S. release of the rock-solid, U.K.-based label Big Scary Monsters. More Songs, which Big Scary Monsters released May 18, contains newly recorded versions of four songs from the band's 2009 Songs EP, alongside six brand new anthems. One of the new tracks, "Pears," began streaming a couple months ahead of the release of the new record, and the band's publicist has given us the exclusive go-ahead to post the track here. "Pears" surfaces from harsh feedback and sinewy, tangled guitar lines and blossoms into a composition that cycles through jitters and crescendos. It's a fist-pounding, crowd shouter. It's the summers of your youth in convenient pill form; if you are living through your youth now, well, turn this up.

Grown Ups' "Pears"
[buy More Songs from Big Scary Monsters right here]

>> Austin-based shoegaze geniuses She Sir disclosed here early this month that tracks from its jaw-dropping full-length debut Who Can't Say Yes and from its recently released Yens EP are being collected on a forthcoming set titled Ev'ry Thing In Paris. The material from She Sir's Who Can't Say Yes has been remastered, and Ev'ry Thing in Paris also contains a re-recorded version of the 2006 tune "You Can't Change A Thing." Sadly, the collection will initially be available only in Japan and Asia on Happy Prince Records, which releases the record July 14. A European release is in the works, and a limited number of copies of Ev'ry Thing In Paris will be set aside for sale to American fans, presumably through the Internerds. Japanese fans or those brave enough to try to buy something through a web site written mostly in Japanese will be able to buy the record from Nature Bliss right here. If you find that too daunting, don't despair: the entire thing has been posted for streaming at Last.FM right here. Make sure to click here to look at the sweet packaging.

>> Beatings co-fronter and solo rocker Eldridge Rodriguez returns this month with a new EP titled There's No Gray Area, No Middle Ground... You Are a Thief. The four-song release was recorded between sessions for The Beatings' triumphant sixth full-length Late Season Kids and the forthcoming E.R. full-length You Are Released. We've only listened to the EP a couple times so far, but fans are going to be very pleased. It's hard not to dub "They Do It In Spite Of Us" the hit of the EP, what with the lyrics concerning monkeys throwing feces, and the giddy piano and (we presume, faux) maniacal strings. Great stuff. Midriff Records releases There's No Gray Area, No Middle Ground... You Are a Thief June 29.

Behold! The Eldridge Rodriguez Residency!

[Poster by Ian "EEE" Adams]

Clicky Clicky's Top Albums Of 2009

So that was 2009, huh? Besides all the day-job stuff, we'd be happy for another year just like it, musically and personally. We loathe when people say "this year wasn't very good for music" or crap like that, because, frankly, if you're saying that you weren't trying hard enough. There's always more music, and there is always great music. But enough of that rant. We're pleased with the array of artists we spotlight below; we hope you'll find some things here that had escaped your attention heretofore, and that you derive as much enjoyment from listening to them as we do. For those who are curious, here are links to some of our prior annual lists [2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2002]. Thanks for reading Clicky Clicky in 2009, and special thanks to Michael Piantigini, Jay Kumar, D.P. Dean, The Good Doctor and anyone else whose writing made these electronic pages better during the last 12 months. We're grateful for their help, and we're grateful to our readers. See you in 2010.

1. Johnny Foreigner -- Grace And The Bigger Picture -- Best Before

Unsurprisingly, Johnny Foreigner's wonderful, epic sophomore effort Grace And The Bigger Picture tops our list of best records of the last 12 months. We already named the Birmingham, England-based noise pop trio's 2009 release one of the best records of the decade in October, and the band's prior releases topped our list last year and was runner-up in 2006. Grace And The Bigger Picture was exactly the record we were hoping the band would deliver as a follow-up to it stellar debut: loud, brash, aggressive, tuneful and articulate. There are some surprising turns on the set, such as the beautiful, piano-led ballad "More Heart, Less Tongue," and an abundance of awesome anthems. The ambitious three continues to impress, and we're eager to hear what comes next.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Feels Like Summer"]

2. Projekt A-ko -- Yoyodyne -- Milk Pie

As far as surprises went in 2009, this was the biggest and the best. The apparently still-warm embers of Urusei Yatsura here are reignited under the moniker Projekt A-ko, a trio led by Fergus Lawrie. The trio not only put out the second-best record of the year, but frankly they arguably put out the best Dinosaur Jr. record of 2009, as well (we're huge Dinosaur fans, so this is saying a lot). Yoyodyne is graceful and cacaphonous, literate and blunt. The band cobbled the set together in free time with no budget, and released it on their own label with almost nil publicity, which means too few know that this gem is out there. Which we suppose is one argument for being affiliated with a reputable record label. But that is a discussion for another day. Yoyodyne is filled with incredible songs, a treat from end to end.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Ichiro On Third (Demo)"]

3. Nosferatu D2 -- We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise -- Audio Antihero

We had no idea this record was at long last getting its official release in 2009, although we were quite familiar with the stunning music it contains. While his earlier trio Tempertwig is quite respectable, it is with Nosferatu D2 that fronter Ben Parker established his legacy. Let's quote ourselves, shall we? "Here is England's greatest contemporary lyricist, Ben Parker, coupling his words and fairly singular guitar playing with the punishing drumming of his brother Adam to create perhaps the greatest unheard record of the decade. The contents of defunct duo Nosferatu D2's We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise -- recorded years ago but only now available in stores -- seethe and brood with startling intensity, as Mr. Parker's narrators botch relationships, asphyxiate under the weighty, numbing press of an increasingly homogenized consumer culture, and second-guess their way into oblivion." It's a brilliant effort, it's important music, and the record's release hopefully in some way affirms to a broader audience that Mr. Parker is one of the best songwriters in England today.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Springsteen"]

4. The Beatings -- Late Season Kids -- Midriff

A tour de force of American indie rock. To quote ourselves: "The title to Boston-slash-New York rockers The Beatings' sixth full-length evokes the surging success of a pro sports franchise making all the right moves perhaps when least expected. Nearly a decade into the band's career (and well into certain members' thirties, marriages and parenthood) is an unlikely time to have created its best, most confident record -- and yet here it is. Late Season Kids is a triumph crafted by a quintet whose tenure is longer than many -- if not most -- big-leaguers and rock acts alike." Local fans should note the quintet returns to the stage Jan. 23 at Great Scott in Boston.

[review] [listen] [buy] [MP3: "Bury You"]

5. Dananananaykroyd -- Hey Everyone! -- Best Before

The most overtly awesome band in the UK, there is just no denying Dananananaykroyd, no debating the potency of its masterful songwriting, brilliant chops, spectacularly boundless energy. We've got a soft spot for bands whose first word on their record is their own band name, and Dananananaykroyd earns points for that here, too. Hey Everyone! is a blitzkrieg of positive-vibes and surprisingly jangly post-hardcore/screamo. It's somewhat surprising that this is a formula that few if any other combos have hit on. As a sidenote -- we're sure this is among the worst times to invest money in breaking your UK-based band in America (presuming you stand to gain financially from doing so), but Best Before Records, home to both Dananananaykroyd and Johnny Foreigner, needs to figure out how to get these bands into America. Because America has been deprived for too long.

[review] [listen] [buy]

6. Calories -- Adventuring -- SmallTown America

Ten sing-alongable punk anthems from another stellar Birmingham-based trio, all killer and no filler. In the time it takes you to read this Top 10 list you could have listened to most of Adventuring, with time left over to make a delicious cake ("Jesus was waaay coool"). Calories' melodic, agressive approach gives the appearance of being simplistic, but in fact between changes in tempo and dynamics there is a lot going on here. There is cleverness in not appearing over-clever, and Calories will hopefully begin to garner a much deserved reputation as one of the smartest indie punk bands working. Look for the band's sophomore full-length Habitations to street in England in March, as we reported here last month.

[review] [listen] [buy]

7. Cold Cave -- Love Comes Close -- Matador

This is the most recently released record that made its way onto our list, and only last week did we throw a record off the list to make room for Love Comes Close, which so persistently had us reaching for the IPod lately that we had to include it. Although not as graceful and understated as The xx, Philadelphia-based synthpop concern Cold Cave's music has a similar way of sinking deep into your conciousness, getting comfortable and residing there. The tracks on Love Comes Close at turns recall darkwave-era Depeche Mode or early New Order, with a little more grit and a little less sophistication. So it is kind of surprising that Cold Cave's primary songwriter, Wesley Eisold, once fronted hardcore acts and has songwriting credits on a Fallout Boy record. We don't recommend people try listening to the quartet, we challenge them to STOP listening. And we have a feeling that if we had spent more time with their record before making our year-end list it would have ranked even higher.

[review] [listen] [buy]

8. The Answering Machine -- Another City, Another Sorry -- Heist Or Hit

The long-awaited full-length from this scrappy Mancunian quartet did not disappoint. In fact, during the wait that started with the release of the band's third single "Silent Hotels" way back in 2007 the band added significant dimension to their guitar-pop foundation with the addition of a flesh-and-blood drummer and sharp focus on songcraft. Sure, we were disappointed that the Tony Hoffer-produced demo "Romantic And Square" did not make its way onto Another City, Another Sorry, but that just means the band has one more amazing track in its back pocket to use for a single or the next album. And speaking of next albums, an email from a publicist earlier this month indicated that a 2010 release from The Answering Machine was TBD, which we'll take as a positive sign that the young band is fired up and ready for album no. 2.

[review] [listen] [buy]

9. Morrissey -- Years Of Refusal -- Universal

We're not the sort of Morrissey fan that glad-hands every successive release of the former Smiths fronter. In fact, we're of the opinion that the fans and critics that annointed 2004's You Are The Quarry as Morrissey's great come-back were premature, even wrong. Instead, it is Ringleader Of The Tormenters that truely displayed Morrissey once more at the peak of his powers, which powers, in our opinion, markedly waned not long after the dawn of the '90s. 2009 brought us Years Of Refusal, and it is a barn-burner. It certainly would have been improved by Visconti's production, but nonetheless the record is aggressive ("Something Is Squeezing My Skull"), smart-alecky ("It's Not Your Birthday Anymore"), dour ("I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris") and brilliant all at once.

[review] [listen] [buy]

10. Fleeting Joys -- Occult Radiance -- Only Forever

A masterpiece of sculpted guitar and angelic vocals. Sure, you've heard this sort of thing before, but we don't think you've heard it done as well or as recently as Fleeting Joys' 2009 stunner Occult Radiance. Tidal waves of guitar, nods to contemporary gothy psyche/space rock, but mostly it is incredible song writing that makes this one of the best of the year. The Northern California-based duo make only rare live appearances, making this record all the more important as a document of the greatness of Fleeting Joys.

[review] [listen] [buy]

Clicky Clicky's Top Songs Of 2009

Here it is, our annual salute to the greatest of the (contemporary) greatest: our most-listened-to tracks of 2009. The usual rules apply: each band only gets one song, so despite the fact that most of our Top 10 most-listened-to 2009 tracks in ITunes are from Johnny Foreigner's superlative Grace And The Bigger Picture, only the most-played track gets a slot on our list below. The main reason for doing this list is to spotlight great songs that might not have been on an album that warrants best-of-the-best status for the year. The inclusion of George Washington Brown's "End Of The..." is a perfect example, as the tune was released on a Slumberland split single, not the sort of thing that ever makes a year-end albums list. Even so, our Top Songs list does shed light on certain albums that will be on our year-end list. That said, if you've regularly read along this year, you probably already have a good idea of what the albums list will bring. You'll know for sure a week from today. But for today, here they are: Clicky Clicky's Top Songs Of 2009.

1. Johnny Foreigner -- "The Coast Was Always Clear" -- Grace And The Bigger Picture

We'd call this the anthem to end all anthems, except that given the band's track record we expect there will be a song equally as good if not better released by Johnny Foreigner in the future: the act is among the most consistently excellent combos in indie rock today. In 2009, despite intense competition from itself and the rest of the acts on this list, the number one anthem is "The Coast Was Always Clear." We long harbored fears that the album version of this track could not possibly compare to the YouTube version with Dananananaykroyd or the New Slang 2008 bootleg version we played to death last year. Those fears were unfounded. The layered lines in the coda ("He's half asleep for you" and "I'm not done holding hope in my hands") are among the most beautiful musical sentiments of the year. And sure, the tune structurally is similar to the final track on the band's first full-length, that doesn't detract in the least from the series of spine-tingling moments in "The Coast Was Always Clear," which seems to somehow have about four different choruses. That's just how Johnny Foreigner rolls, and we look forward to new music from the Birmingham, England-based noise-pop titans in the new year.

2. The Beatings -- "All The Things You've Been Missing" -- Late Season Kids
Download MP3 (with thanks to the band)

This is a classic E.R.-led screamer from the storied Boston quintet, and it is filled with visceral moments that make you feel like you are shedding your skin. And then, when the chorus hits and the guitars cascade around you through curtains of reverb, you are born again. We're not sure why this track is wedged in the middle of Late Season Kids, but then again, it's not like the rest of the album sucked. As we said in our review of the set earlier this year, The Beatings really have no business being this good this late into the game. "All The Things You've Been Missing" sets the new high water mark.

3. Projekt A-ko -- "Hey Palooka!" -- Yoyodyne

Deciding which track is best on Projekt A-ko's shockingly good debut is like deciding which nine fingers to cut off. Every track touts its own revelations delivered via squawling guitars and brilliant disjointed lyrics. So although for months we believed that we'd select "Here Comes New Challenger!" for our year-end list, it is Yoyodyne opener "Hey Palooka!" to which we ultimately give the nod, primarily because we've been unable to get these lines from the second verse out of our heads since March: "and all the stars are out, they kiss you on the mouth, they kiss you on the." Full stop. It's a sweet sentiment. And as we'll always tie the release of Yoyodyne to their birth of our daughter, that sweet sentiment carries a lot of weight. It also helps that the slow build of the song's opening is an homage of sorts to the opening cut on Drop Nineteens' earthshaking 1990 debut Delaware.

4. Favours For Sailors -- "I Dreamt That I Dreamt That You Loved Me In Your Dreams" -- Furious Sons

2009's shooting stars flamed out and lodged themselves in the soil long before the end of the year rolled around. One of a crop of contemporary English bands indebted to some of Pavement's more tuneful moments, Favours For Sailors released the Furious Sons EP on Tough Love Records in March, but by July the London-based quartet had called it quits. This tune is a melodic, uptempo guitar anthem with clever lyrics that beg to be stumbled over in the chorus. The real pay-off is in the final moments, when singer JRC drops in the last kick "...but you don't." It's fitting emotional punctuation that parallels the dashing of fan hopes by the announcement of the band's dissolution. Let's see, what else: nice harmonies, there's some kick-ass tambourine work... uh... we think the lead singer looks a little like Greg Kihn. And Favours For Sailors were not afraid to bring the chorus back over and over, because they knew they had a killer on their hands.

5. Dananananaykroyd -- "Black Wax" -- Hey Everyone!

This is one of those tracks that is so good it doesn't matter that you can't tell what the hell the singer is saying. Sure, Dananananaykroyd's dual fronters tout Glaswegian accents, but they are also excitedly hollering, and even when the words take shape in your mind ("write your name in cellophane strips something something blah blah blah"), it is hard to figure out what they are on about. But with Dananananaykroyd none of that really matters, as the band's singular mix of maximalist hardcore energy and wonderfully saccharine hooks makes the end product undeniably arresting. The sextet also made a killer video for this track, incidentally. As we get older we are finely tuned into things we perceived as redemptive or transformative, and the crescendo two-and-a-half minutes into this track certainly qualifies as the latter if not the former. But even that is secondary to the overall electrifying vibe and delicious guitars that make this track one of the best of the year.

6. The xx -- "Basic Space" -- xx

Twenty-five years ago this song would have been perfect for use in a television show that was trying to depict music of the future. It's sort of space age, but it is minimal to the point of being almost transparent. Between the electronic beats, diaphanous house keys, understated bass playing, reverbed guitar and murmured vocals, the London trio (a quartet for most of the year until the departure of keyboardist and singer Baria Qureshi) somehow crafts one of the most gripping, darksexy tracks of the year. We had the pleasure of taking in The xx's sold-out Boston show at the beginning of December and report with pleasure that the band is even more of a sensation live. Not because of the somewhat affectless performances, of course, but because all of the elements of the record were powerfully underpinned by the electronics being blasted, bass-heavy and at gut-level, through the house sound system. The embiggened beats and tones provided an added dimension of shadowy aggression to the music which was exciting. It also made our insides wiggle, and we liked it.

7. Fleeting Joys -- "You Are The Darkness" -- Occult Radiance

Another year goes by in which we wonder when Fleeting Joys will finally get wide recognition they deserve. Certainly if "You Are The Darkness" can not break the Northern California-based duo into the broader underground, then we don't know what will, because this track is as fine a shoegaze anthem as has been written. It's up there with Ride's "Taste" or Lilys' "Claire Hates Me" (well, nothing is as good as "Claire Hates Me," but it's in the ballpark). Sculpted guitar guitar, breathy vocals with perfectly layered harmonies: it doesn't get better than this.

8. The Answering Machine -- "Another City, Another Sorry" -- Another City, Another Sorry
Download MP3 (with thanks to the band)

While this Manchester, England-based quartet is generally wired for writing pop-leaning tracks, the title tune to its long awaited 2009 full-length debut is an outright scorcher, and the most exciting two-and-a-half minutes from a very good album. "Another City, Another Sorry" also shows the band's acquisition of an actual drummer (early on it relied on a drum machine) paying huge dividends -- it's the sort of track that swings and bashes along in a way that only a live drummer can pull off. The manner in which the accompaniment drops off and spaces out during the last pre-chorus launches the anthem into a final driving salvo that defies you not to sing along. If The Answering Machine did nothing more than release this track in 2009 they could still call the year a huge success.

9. Morrissey -- "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" -- Years Of Refusal

There is actually something very heartening about a misfit misanthrope that continues to persevere into middle age. It suggests that one need not capitulate to the square world, that one can live life on one's own terms for as long as they choose to. And so when Morrissey sings "I know by now you think I should have straightened myself out,thank you, drop dead," it just feels good. Thanks Moz. Sure, the latter half of the track is a litany of drugs and problems, but hey, we didn't say the guy was *thriving*, we said he was giving life what for. Years Of Refusal may be the most straightforwardly rocking set Morrissey has ever released (although fear not, it still has many interesting dimensions), and this lead track is its best calling card.

10. George Washington Brown -- "End Of The..." -- Searching For The Now 6
Download MP3 (courtesy of Slumberland)

Eighty-eight seconds of fuzzed-out glory with brilliant lo-fi production. Despite the entire proceedings being rendered as a tinny mess, this song is brilliantly realized. We love the slap-back on the voice, the crazy space key-chain noises, the Boyracer-esque vocals. A masterpiece, and perhaps the best track Slumberland issued in 2009, which is saying something, since the label is kicking several different kinds of ass lately.