Lemuria – Get Better – Asian Man Records – 2008
Well this album came out a few months ago, but I wasn’t really writing much back then, and I wanted to hit on this at some point, so here we go. I think these guys have released a few other CDs split with other bands and EPs, but I believe this is their first full length CD, and it is a really impressive album. The name is actually kind of funny, it is the name of a hypothetical lost land under the ocean that was introduced in the 19th century to try and explain discontinuities in geography, but has been obviously been rendered moot by modern understanding of plate tectonics. Anyway, for someone like me who grew up listening to the alterna-rock of the 90s (see Throwback Thursday) this album is an incredible throwback to that kind of sound, and really reminds me of something like “that dog” or something along those lines, but with a little bit more of a rock edge and more high energy. They take from the Tokyo Police Club school of song length because every song on the album is really short and sweet, but just like with TPC, that doesn’t detract at all and it works really well. The songs here are all really solid, with some great guitar hooks, some nice fuzzy distortion, and some sweet vocals laying over the rock out. The song construction also kind of reminds me of the frenzy of Superchunk, with a lot of interesting chord progressions and different kinds of tempos thrown at you, keeping the beat going and the rock all over your face. I think this is a really solid album, and every song is catchy, and you can pretty much throw it on and let it go. It is very upbeat and uptempo too so it will get your toes tapping for sure.
They are currently on a punk rock tour opening for the Queers, and will be here in Chicago next Saturday. I’m not really overly familiar with the other bands involved here, but check out the dates here:
May 17 2008 8:00P Mohawk Place Buffalo, New York
May 18 2008 6:00P The Soggy Dog House Lakewood, Ohio
May 19 2008 6:00P Monster House Columbus, Ohio
May 20 2008 8:00P Dayton Dirt Collective Dayton, Ohio
May 21 2008 6:00P The Halloween House Indianapolis, Indiana
May 22 2008 7:00P The Punkhouse Carmi, Illinois
May 23 2008 5:00P Macs Lansing, Michigan
May 24 2008 7:00P Reggie’s Rock Club Chicago, Illinois
May 25 2008 9:00P Mad Planet Milwaukee, Wisconsin
May 26 2008 5:00P Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 27 2008 9:00P Record Bar Kansas City, Missouri
May 28 2008 7:30P Marquis Theatre Denver, Colorado
May 29 2008 7:30P The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, Colorado
May 30 2008 5:30P In the Venue’s Club Sound Salt Lake City, Utah
May 31 2008 7:00P Satyricon Portland, Oregon
Jun 1 2008 7:00P El Corazon Seattle, Washington
Jun 2 2008 9:00P The Bouquet Boise, Idaho
Jun 3 2008 8:00P The Vixen Sparks, Nevada
Jun 4 2008 7:00P Boardwalk Orangevale, California
Jun 5 2008 7:30P Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, California
Jun 6 2008 7:00P Nickel Arcade San Jose, California
Jun 7 2008 8:00P Safari Sam’s Los Angeles, California
Jun 8 2008 7:00P Alex’s Bar Long Beach, California
Jun 9 2008 8:30P Casbah San Diego, California
Jun 10 2008 6:00P Brick House Theater Phoenix, Arizona
Jun 11 2008 7:00P Launchpad Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jun 12 2008 6:00P The Conservatory Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jun 13 2008 7:00P Bluebird St. Louis, Missouri
Jun 14 2008 7:00P Mad Hatter Covington, Kentucky
Jun 15 2008 6:00P Club Echo Huntington, West Virginia
Jun 17 2008 7:00P The Muse Nashville, Tennessee
Jun 18 2008 7:00P Ground Zero Spartanburg, South Carolina
Jun 19 2008 7:00P Soapbox Laundro-Lounge Wilmington, North Carolina
Jun 20 2008 5:00P Rocks Richmond, Virginia
Jun 21 2008 7:00P Cafe Metropolis Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Jun 22 2008 4:30P The Space Hamden, Connecticut
Jun 23 2008 9:00P Great Scott Boston, Massachusetts
Jun 24 2008 6:00P The Knitting Factory New York City, New York
Jun 25 2008 6:00P Chubby’s Red Bank, New Jersey
Jun 26 2008 6:00P TBA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 28 2008 2:00P Sonar (Insubordination Fest) Baltimore, Maryland
Jun 29 2008 6:00P Bobby Fisher Memorial Building Washington, DC, Washington DC
Jul 2 2008 8:00P Asbury Lanes Asbury Park, New Jersey
Aug 17 2008 8:00P Best Friends Day Fest Richmond, Virginia
