Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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This week: releases by Comets on Fire, Fiery Furnaces and C.AARME BY JORDAN REDMOND THE GAMECOCK COMETS ON FIRE - BLUE CATHEDRAL (SUB POP) “Blue Cathedral" is an apt title of the Subpop debut for Santa Cruz, Calif.’s intrepid psychedel ic explorers Comets On Fire. The sounds on display create a virtu al cathedral and give praise to a canon of psych rock ‘n’ roll saints such as Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and the Velvet Underground. Psychedelic music and spiritual ity have always been married by mind-expanding drugs, and Comets On Fire is here to guide listeners to the promised land. The mu sic alone is enough to propel someone into an altered state of being: Guitars create a swirling purple haze with warbling fuzz and bluesy slabs of riffing. Raucous saxophone, in sightful piano and ethe real organ marry with a traditional rock set-up to create a highly per meating sound. Frontman Ethan Miller spews maniacal vocals filled with fire and brimstone and snake-handling theatrics much like an Ozark mountain preacher. Comets On Fire has created a blis tering record that will surely con vert many to the Church of Rock ‘n’ Roll. THE FIERY FURNACES - BLUEBERRY BOAT (ROUGH TRADE) The extended synthesizer sal vo that opens “Quay Cur,” the al bum’s first track, is the sound of being sucked through the burlap fabric of the universe into the vi brant world masterfully crafted by the Fiery Furnaces on their sophomore offering. The 76 minute entirety of “Blueberry Boat” pulsates with the childlike genius of Matthew and Eleanor Freidberger, the New York City based brother/sister duo respon sible for this staggeringly in ventive album. Matthew handles most of the song writing, his love for bouncy piano lines and bluesy yet-prog guitars contributing to the throwback feel of the album. Eleanor provides the majority of the vocals. Her singing style is half-sung and half-spoken, and her voice is wel coming and playful. The real high light of the album is the imagina tive lyrics that read like Lewis Carroll, each song sounding like an artsy children’s book. “Blueberry Boat” is a rare gem — a highly ambitious record that ac tually accomplishes its lofty am bitions. C AAR ME — SELF-TI TLED (EPITAPH/BURNING HEART) American music fans have been reac quainted with Sweden in recent years. The rock ‘n’ roll bombast of the Hives, Sahara Hotnights and (International) Noise Conspiracy has helped lay to rest the glittery disco ot Abba and mindless dance pop of Ace of Base. Who would have guessed such a harsh, wintry cli mate would yield aggressive mu sic? C.Aarme (pronounced sea-era may) is more than a little agitat ed. Half the songs are sung in Swedish, but rage and discontent come through loud and clear no matter what the dialect. This band marries the revolutionary rheto ric of legendary Swedish hardcore band the Refused, the sleazy rock ‘n’ roll guitars of Black Flag and the jittery post-punk of Wire. C. Aarme’s debut full-length album exudes a palpable energy sure to incite circle pits at live shows and bedrooms alike. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu THEPIERYFURNACES8LUEBERRYBOAT Goin’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 wheel: a little hotheaded with a lead foot. But as soon as I crossed the state line, Satan himself must have turned a giant faucet some where in Hell that said, “Hideously bad driving.” Californians are the worst drivers I’ve ever seen. They add at least 20 to every speed limit and zip around like hummingbirds on speed. My hands kept a death grip on the steering wheel as I careened through the desert, just trying to stay alive until I got to San Bernardino. I now know what Bon Scott was singing about in “Highway to Hell”: He was singing about 1-40 in California, where 90 year-old women shoot out the tires of anyone not breaking the sound barrier. ^Things got even uglier as I en tered San Bernardino Valley. When I saw the surrounding road lunacy continue through sharp, twisting mountain roads, my mind turned to mush. The only consolation was the sunset view, and I gratefully pulled off to a hustling gas station at the bottom of the valley to snap a picture of the last rays of sun interjecting be tween the mountains. Corona sat just outside of San Bernardino. I spent a good three hours getting lost and circling a five-mile radius looking for one lousy hotel. At a cool 11 p.m., I fi nally found one. I opened the car door, fell to my knees and cursed eyery Californian to ever get a dri ver’s license. I had made it. Next week: Fender and a famil iar way home Maria CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 Fischer and Kuehn are content with letting her take the lead. “I’m just trying to play the guitar really well, and that’s it” Fischer said. “Caithlin kind of has it covered.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecochfeatures@gwm.sc.edu Garnet & Black Magazine is looking for a sales representative seeking experience in magazine advertising sales. Garnet & Black Magazine is published twice a semester - giving you a chance to boost your portfolio ana resume. This job is perfect for Marketing & Advertising majors. Call 777-5064 for more info.