Natalie
Portman's Shaved Head - Glistening Pleasure
(Team Swan)
First off, the band gets a gazillion points
(they're redeemable just like Raleigh cigarettes
used to be) for a one-of-a-kind name. And
don't even try to abbreviate - NPSH doesn't
do them justice. It's gotta be Natalie Portman's
Shaved Head, period!
The music they create on "Glistening
Pleasure" is for fans of Dead or Alive,
Depeche Mode, Mindless Self Indulgence, and
would be right at home as background music
when you play Super Mario Brothers. This disc
would go over great at a frat party, a cool
eclectic club like Asbury Lanes, and Natalie
Portman's Shaved Head should be on this year's
Wapred Tour.
This is the type of relentless, feel-good,
synth/bass/drums/vocals kind of tongue-in-cheek
teen angst dance music that will get you out
on the dance floor shakin' your tail feathers!
Formed a few years ago in Seattle by high
school friends (they're between 18 & 20),
Luke Smith- vocals/guitar/bass/keys, Shaun
Libman- vocals/percussion,
Claire England- vocals/key bass/keys, and
David Price- vocals/keys/ guitar, bring this
album to life with their post-high-school,
energetic, youthful innocence, with just a
trace of fuck-the-world cynicism. When you
go to one of their shows be sure to bring
an extra shirt or two, you're gonna work up
a mighty powerful sweat!
Sometimes, if we open one of our cynical eyes
just a crack, we may just find something refreshing
and unique, like Natalie Portman's Shaved
Head! - Phil Rainone
The Dirty Hearts - Pigs (Socyermomrecords.com)
Ok, before you play this disc, turn the volume
up to eleven, throw open your
windows, and grab the gal next door for full
metal musical jacket assault on
your ears and your imagination! "Record
Store" kicks out the jams as the opening
cut for what becomes a full-blown, garagey,
punk rock record. Anarchy has always been
a fascinating notion for punk rockers and
greasy garage gearheads, and The Dirty Hearts
sound like they're about to break the genre's
status quo. This Santa Fe, New Mexico-based
duo of Frankie Medina and Calida create coolly
unnerving and chaotic songs like "Alone,"
"Pigs," or "T-Bone," that
more often sound like a rejuvenated X.
Just two musicians (with a little help from
a couple of friends), are behind all this
damn good sound, making this evocative album
that much more impressive. "Pigs"
is a roaring flood of feedback-ridden guitars,
distorted drums, and echoing vocals that collide
from the very first seconds and only provide
a few minutes of quiet, on the horn-driven
"Cold Feet," which is a Nirvana-meets-Morphine
mid-tempo rocker. This album is definitely
a "Barrage from the garage."- Thank
you Lenny Lounge!
- Phil Rainone
CD Reviews 
