The Grouchy Gaijin's Thoughts on Music and Such

Late Model Humans emailed me a while back asking if I'd give a listen to their music.  Band member Mike Power described their music .  "As far as genre goes we're a mix of alternative rock and Americana with some songs leaning toward Clash/Ramones and others toward Hank Williams."

The Late Model Humans are out of New York.  They have a website at http://www.latemodelhumans.com/ and also a My Space page. The latest album is 2009's Fallen Angels.

I like these guys.  I hear the Clash influence, at times their music sounds like something Joe Strummer might have done with the Mescaleros. (Isn't that a killer name?)  I can hear the Hank influence - the music is at times raw and emotional.  Most of the songs I've heard are pretty mellow, but good.

I like the guitar and his voice has an interesting whine to it on the song The Little Things You Do.  Whisky Love starts out with a melodic pop guitar then the whiney voice begins the story of a girl called Whisky Love. (Hmmm sounds like a stripper's name.)  This track reminds me a lot of Hanoi Rocks, albeit a lot softer.  Its a good song.

The Dogs and Apes and Tomcat Strays has Joe Strummer all over it.  Its just such an infectious rhythm; there are a couple of bits where his voice sounds like its about to go out Don't want to go tonight, to club paradise.  Don't want to watch the angles fall. Then Joe is back and the song sounds good again.  I dig this tune too.

Cowgirl Suicide is a country jam.  I like the song, but for some reason his voice bugs me on this track.  At time it sounds good and at times it doesn't sounds quite right.  The OOO refrain is a bit much.  The spoken word solo is pretty cool. Said she died suddenly from complications.  Is that what they call it in the big city? In any case, I actually enjoy this song.

I Won't Love You Anymore - a nod to old 50s style crooner rock (or the Eagles doing a sensitive ballad.)  The music is nice and the guitar keeps my attention just when I start to nod off.  Kill the falsetto at the end, dude.

The next track Your Broken Heart is a skip.

Pick Up the Gun is a good song about  partying too hard while playing with firearms and revenge .  The music and in particular the drums are good.

All in all I like parts of this album a lot.  Its worth a listen.  I imagine that their live shows are a lot of fun.

Grouch rating 3 scowls - not the best I've heard and far from the worst I've heard.  These guys are a good party band.

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