Skin and Bones
FOO FIGHTERS
RCA
Why would a band that lives and dies on its frontman's excitable-boy charisma, on its drummer's energetic pummel, and on metric tons of electric-guitar bombast put out an acoustic live album?
Maybe Foo Fighters want to show their softer side in every available medium (there's a more comprehensive live DVD out, also culled from the band's all-acoustic '06 tour). Maybe they want to acknowledge a fan base moving into its mid-30s, and thus possibly out of its youthful awe of The Rock. Hell, maybe they only had a couple of new songs and want to get them out there before settling down to construct their next proper studio effort. Whatever the case, while hardly a crippling misstep, Skin and Bones nonetheless proves that one of the world's most famous rock bands is undeniably at its best when it's at its biggest.
Dave Grohl's songwriting and singing are always fine enough, but nearly everything here — particularly the tunes that were perfect in their original hugeness, like "My Hero" and "Everlong" — comes off as fairly boring. With the exception of the slightly countrified mid-set highlights "Big Me" and "Cold Day in the Sun," all of the special guests and backing musicians in the world can't raise this performance above a certain staid banality.
When Grohl finally lets the passionate howls loose during "Best of You" in the encore, you can't help but wonder where the hell they've been all night. Witnessing your favorite band in an intimate alternative format can be special, but listening to it from a distance saps that novelty from Skin and Bones; the result is a decent, if unimpressive, live document.2.5 stars —Scott Harrell
Pyramids
PIT ER PAT
Thrill Jockey
This guitar-less Chicago trio molds rich textures of syncopated rhythms and spices it with glitchy samples, keyboard layers and restless melodies that fidget midway between post-rock and Euro-pop — think Notwist, and you're not far off. Fay Davis-Jeffers sings a bit like Björk and writes elliptical lyrics about "Brain Monsters" and "Moon Angels." Pit er Pat never venture too far from song structure and melody, keeping their brand of experimentation challenging and accessible. 3 stars —John Schacht
The Blinding EP
BABYSHAMBLES
Capitol
With the crack- and heroin-accelerated collapse of the already-chaotic Brit garage band The Libertines, guitarist and singer Peter Doherty formed Babyshambles as an outlet for his songs. The group released Down in Albion last year and it was harsh: a barbed and intimate account of Doherty's narcotic and legal troubles. The Blinding EP collects five tracks recorded since the group's debut. Little has changed. The title track is a swirling morass of jagged Brit-rock; the closer "Sedative" is a woozy gang-vocal tour of your local pub way past midnight. Most of the material here is winning, but "I Wish" is a misstep, a happy-footed reggae song that is simply out of place amidst the general ennui of the other four tracks. 3 stars —Cooper Levey-Baker
Redneck Jazz Explosion, Vol. 1-2
DANNY GATTON
Flying Deuces
This two-disc live set captures Gatton, the late cult guitar legend, with his Redneck Jazz Explosion quartet rip-snortin' through a set of mostly jazz standards at D.C.'s Cellar Door club in 1978. Gatton always infused his bop with a healthy dose of twang — he's more celebrated as a country guitarist than a jazzer — and that element is further enhanced by the presence of pedal steel wizard Buddy Emmons. The best material is the balls-out uptempo stuff like "Homage to Charlie Christian," where Gatton and Emmons throw solos back and forth like hot potatoes. (contact: hgatton@vt.edu). 3.5 stars —Eric Snider
The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities
SONIC YOUTH
Geffen
With so many deluxe reissues already on shelves, this Sonic Youth comp necessarily covers some random ground. Three tracks are outtakes or B-sides from 2004's Sonic Nurse, while another three are from something called the "Noho Furniture Sessions," back in 2001. Only three songs date from the '90s: a "Bull in the Heather" B-side, a soundtrack cut and a version of "The Diamond Sea" with an alternate ending. If this disc is supposed to be a vault-clearer, why isn't it more thorough? Despite individual tracks of some note, this collection don't make no sense. 3 stars —CLB
Dear and Glorious Physician
DEAR AND GLORIOUS PHYSICIAN
New Granada
Remember when the kids from The Brady Bunch banded together as The Silver Platters to win a TV variety show contest? Well, Gainesville's Dear and Glorious Physician have at least one thing in common with the Plats: The band is an all-sibling group, made up of four brothers and sisters. Physician, thankfully, doesn't share the Bradys' taste for matching jumpsuits and lip-synching, at least as far as I know. Nope, the band focuses instead on atmospheric and brooding post-Pixies alt-rock, with some choice girl-boy back-and-forths. 3 stars —CLB
This article appears in Dec 20-26, 2006.