Album of the Week: The Orwells’ Disgraceland Rock ‘n’ Roll from Chicago What do you get when a group of kids in their late teens and early 20s grab a bunch of instruments, turn the amps up to 11 and join forces with a lead singer who looks like Robert Plant? You get a rip- roaring, brain-melting rock ‘n’ roll band from Chicago called The Orwells. They have their second album, Disgraceland, out this week and it’s a doozy of a record. Each track has the right amount of grit, angst and devil-may-care attitude to give your ears exactly what they need. If Disgraceland doesn’t kick popular music on its ass in 2014, I might actually lose faith in humanity. It’s that good. Despite being so young, this quintet has been making music together since high school. Seven years later, you could consider them music vets even though they can’t legally drink. What impresses me the most about The Orwells’ new album is the perfect combination of production quality and powerful songs. Ranging from tales about innocent teenage love, to dramatic suicide and one night stands, Disgraceland is as rock ‘n’ roll as it gets. After listening to this beauty, I can’t imagine a better album coming out in 2014. Racist owners of sports franchises, angry middle-aged men throwing rocks at Ferraris, neo-Nazi reality TV one-hit-nevers and people talking about how World War III is going to happen by the end of the decade. We live on a pretty crazy, messed-up planet. Take a break from all the madness and ease your mind with the top tracks off of my Album Of The Week. It might not stop the impending apocalypse, but at least it can serve as the perfect soundtrack. Anyways, here goes something: If you have long hair and you don’t plan on cutting it anytime soon, “The Righteous One” is your ideal jam. This is an anthem for youth rebellion that will have you going crazy in an instant; once you hear that hook you won’t be able to stop. Another rocker on the album is “Let It Burn;” the drumming is simply seismic as the backbone for a song about lighting up a cigarette after a one-night stand. I always love the deep tracks of an album and “Gotta Get Down” is an exception. Those dueling guitars electrify the whole song by getting louder and louder with each riff. Disgraceland is a complete masterpiece from front to back. The Orwells will be one of the premier acts to see at Riot Fest in the band’s hometown of Chicago between September 12 and 14, which is a perfect way to finish off your summer music festival season. They’ll be going on tour with New York City punk act Skaters this fall with a stop at Brighton Music Hall in Boston on October 9. Hopefully The Orwells come down to Providence sometime and show us music fanatics what rock ‘n’ roll is all about. Until then, get yourself a copy of Disgraceland. It’ll blow your music taste away to new heights and you’ll never want to come down. The Orwells’ website: theorwells.com Album of the Week: Gord Downie, The Sadies and The Conquering Sun When two musical entities get together to make an album, you never really know what to expect. It could be like that load of crap Metallica & Lou Reed put out a few years ago — and it’s still a shame it’s the last release with Lou’s name on it — or it could be something truly incredible like The Roots’ and John Legend’s Wake Up! that hit record store shelves in 2010. But if you take the unexpectedness of it all, mix in a music legend and a band from Canada, neither of which gained prominence in the states, you get The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie and The Sadies who joined forces to put out a masterpiece of a rock & roll record. Both acts are huge with our neighbors up north, but in my opinion, it’s a great injustice that neither Gord nor The Sadies have tasted the same success in America. Get acquainted with real rock and uncover a diamond to add to your music library. What I love most about this album is that it’s a grand mix of roots, punk and blues, which reminds me a lot of The Hip’s early material from the ’80s. Downie croons like an amalgamation of Iggy Pop and Frank Sinatra while The Sadies let it rip to rhythmic smithereens. It’s an intense album that isn’t afraid to explore; some tracks are simply electrifying while others have a lot of heart and emotion. You can’t help but fall in love with the variety. Whether you like it hard and fast or soft and meaningful, this new album from Gord and The Sadies will put you in a state of bliss. It’s straightforward and wide-ranging at the same time, which is a rarity — most bands stick to one style throughout an entire record. Now for the top tracks off of my Album of the Week. “Crater” is a fuzzy opus that oozes emphatic amplification that you can’t help but blast out of your speakers. The edgy riffs and drums are bound to make your ears cave in, so listen responsibly. One of the best punk tracks I’ve heard in 2014 is “It Didn’t Start To Break My Heart Until This Afternoon.” Downie finds his inner angsty youth and makes you feel as if he’s going to punch you in the face through your headphones. The bluesiness of “One Good Fast Job” has a gangster-eqsue tinge to it. I kind of want to listen to it on repeat while watching Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, but then I’ll feel like one of those dumb wastoids who thinks that Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon is the perfect soundtrack to The Wizard Of Oz. Regardless of your wastoid status, you’re bound to fall in love with Gord Downie & The Sadies’ new album. Gord and The Sadies put on one hell of a show at The Sinclair in Cambridge, Mass., on May 3 and they’ll be playing at Lincoln Hall in Chicago on May 10. Who knows when both acts will be touring together again, but if you get the chance to see Gord perform solo or with The Tragically Hip or if The Sadies roll through your friendly neighborhood music venue, I highly suggest you catch it. Since this column is over and done until next week, there’s only one more task left for you to accomplish. Get your hands on Gord Downie,The Sadies and The Conquering Sun. It’s rock & roll from our neighbors up north that’s just as awesome as putting cheese and gravy on your french fries. Gord Downie: gorddownie.com The Sadies: thesadies.net Album of the Week: PAWS’ Youth Culture Forever I’ve fallen in love with the music that has been coming out of Scotland for the past few years, as odd as it may seem. Sure, you’ve got rock groups like Franz Ferdinand, The Fratellis, The Vaselines and Teenage Fanclub that have been continuously putting out awesome music. Even those identical folk twins in The Proclaimers are still kicking around the can a little bit (and they also have a better version of Kings Of Leon’s “17” that you should check out). An up- and-coming garage punk act from Glasgow in PAWS are coming out with their second full-length, Youth Culture Forever, and it’s a very dynamic album that shows a variety of loud and quiet tones to please the senses. Get with the fuzz and give it a scratch; this record is a must have for any underground music junkie. Like a lot of acts have done, the punk trio camped out in a studio in the woods just outside New York to create something that definitely has a homey vibe. It’s a tad different than PAWS’ debut Cokefloat! that was released in October 2012; a plethora of dimensions have been added to the songs on the new album to give their sound more structure and meaning. I do dig the parts where lead singer and guitarist, Philip Taylor, does his solo routines on nearly every track. It feels like he’s telling you a story and then the rest of the band turns up the volume for the conflict. Youth Culture Forever shows a talented group of rock & rollers not succumbing to the sophomore slump and instead reveling in their sophomore success. It’s that time again, which could mean a lot of things in Providence. It’s the time again for the change in the weather, which means that you’ll probably become deathly ill sooner or later from making out with your significant other or accidentally drinking someone else’s beer at a party. It’s also that time again for my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week, which could either drive you mad or liven up your musical taste. Hopefully it’s exactly what you need. Here goes something: The emphatic rhythms of “Someone New” will make your head rattle like a bobblehead doll; when the riff kicks in it’ll invade your soul. Another track that should make you become your own personal mosh pit is “Give Up.” The drumming is really the glue that holds everything else together for a righteous jam.