Dr.Panties

Top'o'the'mornin'to ye!

Before today's prescription, here is a little haiku. Just for you! (You know who you are!)

It begins:

"Haiku's are quite strange
and sometimes they don't make sense
refrigerator"

Yes, let's just block that from our collective memories, shall we? I'm a doctor, not a Japanese poet, for butt's sake! (No offence, Japan. You are a fine country. Much better than America.)

Oh, and yes:

Band: Sugar Army
Album: The Parallels Amongst Ourselves
Descriptors: Disregard the somewhat 'wanky' name of this album (and their equally 'wanky' band photos, should you have the misfortune to wake up next to them one morning). These guys can play, and play well.

This album is a strong, yet not classic, debut. Whilst I would still classify it as alternative pop/rock, certain areas veer noticeably towards the...*gasp*...mainstream. This is best exemplified by tracks such as, "No need for lovers", and the two bland ballads that mar this otherwise decent listen.

What really makes this worth prescribing are the moments when they really hit the mark in darker, punchier melodic territory. Tracks "Tongues in cheeks" and "Acute" are catchy, frenetic numbers that feature stop/start riff-age and precise, driving percussion. Also worthy of mention is the vocal refrain "we are all the same, we are" employed in "Acute". Very...nice.

Indeed, Sugar Army are at their best when they venture into more syncopated, complex territory ("Maybe the boy who cried wolf was just paranoid"). Sadly, a few tracks on this album are not up to the same standard as the aforementioned three. It's a shame- what could have been a "classic" is relegated to "well worthy of your ears". Hopefully, they can address this in their next release.

Regardless, I remain pleased to be able to prescribe this to you, dear patient. Inject it directly into your ears, trim the superfluous tracks, and you may find that you have added a great, albeit edited, mini-album to your musical pharmacopeia.

Tally-ho!

__________________
Trust me, I'm a doctor!

proto-punk

you are a very very interesting doctor. i would be quite uncomfortable having you as a doctor but absouletly welcome to have you as a friend haha

Dr.Panties

I need all the friends I can get right now, believe me...for the upcoming class action lawsuit.

Sigh.

So, friend/s, cool kids, and the insecure, at long last I have managed to return to this lovely little forum.

"But...but, where hast thou beeneth, Dr.Panties!?" I hear you collectively and anachronistically yelp.

Well, let's just say that a failed experiment (involving several vibrators and an old x-ray machine) effectively vaporised the portion of my brain reserved for storing internet forum passwords. It did, however, feel quite nice at the time.

Additionally, I have developed "Tourette's Finger".
Phucky-shucky-belch-batch.

Ahem...and that's not the worst of this condition, believe you me. Waking up with my index finger inside Sarah Palin is no laughing matter.

Sigh.

Yes, kind people, times have been tough for the..."good"...doctor, but I still retain my license, and am therefore still able to proffer prescriptions for thine ears.

Let me begin with:
The Crooked Fiddle Band
Eps: Self-titled
"Rise"

A wonderful Australian band who delight in playing, and I quote: "chainsaw gypsy punk music". Almost entirely instrumental, this fiddle, bass, drums and guitar combo push folk punk into the realms of folk metal. Very frantic and contagious (in a good way, not like herpes, for instance). Buy and support! Cheap! Very cheap!

Next we have:
The Futureheads

Albums: Self-titled
"News and Tributes"

Incredibly well-crafted alternative power pop. These guys have more hooks than a red light district in Amsterdam, of which I would know absolutely nothing. Frantic, melodic and downright catchy, their grasp of structure and melodic harmonies really deserves a place inside your ears. Listen! aND LOVE!
cAPS lOCK!

Sigh.

On a final note, what on earth has happened to all of the decent April Fool's jokes? I recently received a memo from Nurse Felch, detailing her one night stand with a...ahem...prominent member of Hootie and the Blowfish. Can you guess on which date the following prank was executed?

"It's ok, Nurse Felch, I'm wearing a condom...unnngh-aaaaaaApril Fool's!"

Reprehensible behaviour, Hootie. Reprehensible, I say!

__________________
Trust me, I'm a doctor!