CD Reviews

Tiga | Ciao!

Last Gang (2009)

By MIKAEL WOOD | June 15, 2009

3.0 Stars

This Montreal-based electro-house dude made his name with slyly straight-faced covers of Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night," and on his second studio disc, he doesn't appear hugely concerned that his original material should sound all that original. Anyone up to date on the current dance-punk scene would have little trouble taking most of these 11 songs as outtakes from recent albums by such higher-profile acts as Soulwax, LCD Soundsystem, and Simian Mobile Disco. (In fact, Soulwax co-produced the majority of Ciao!, and LCD's James Murphy contributed to a handful of cuts.)

Fortunately, when it comes to dance-punk records, originality matters about as much as sophisticated lyrical content — which is to say, not at all. Far more important are killer bass lines, body-rocking drum beats, and synth riffs that sound imported from an eight-bit video game — key components that Tiga offers in abundance in the likes of "Sex O'Clock" and "Shoes." The latter features an argument between our headliner and a ladyfriend over whether she should let him comb her hair. How will they ever decide!?

Review: Ciao
The set-up in Yen Tan's most gentle and civil of gay films is that Dallas twentysomething Mark dies in a car accident just as his year-long Italian e-mail flirtation, Andrea (Alessandro Calza), is due to visit him from Genoa.
Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps
There's a distinct absence of wildlife or astronauts on Lowell electronica quartet Bearstronaut's latest release.
After the oil spill, an aging punk rocker takes the stage
It's a Thursday around noon, and I'm sitting in the Hi-Ho Lounge, a dimly-lit dive bar on St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans.
Abe Vigoda | Crush
Over the past three years, Abe Vigoda have made some serious progress, going from California kids making cryptic but pretense-free DIY clatter to the sole opening band on one of Vampire Weekend's national tours.
Suuns | Zeroes QC
Secretly Canadian (2010)
No Age | Everything In Between
What are a couple of LA noise rats like No Age trying to say with a stargazing track like "Katerpiller" smack in the middle of their new album?
Dead Kennedys walking
"Every artist is a business." If you're a fan of the legendary and incendiary punk band Dead Kennedys, you'd probably be dismayed to hear those words exit the lips of guitarist and band co-founder Ray Pepperell, a/k/a East Bay Ray.
Screaming Females at SPACE Gallery, September 27
Screaming Females have played Portland regularly as their blog-fueled star has risen; the buzz behind them is of a time-honored punk tradition (their albums are fine, but they are essential live viewing), but their punk itself is not.
Henry Rollins is a icon worthy of the Brattle
Clocking more than 100 shows per year for multiple decades now, Henry Rollins is a clean-living, world-traveling, rapid fireball of neurosis. At 50, the former Black Flag frontman has become less of a punk-rock pundit and more of a genuinely funny orator at large.
Killing Joke reclaim their inventions
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Photos: Social Distortion at the House of Blues
Social Distortion play live at House of Blues on November 1, 2010.
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