The Okmoniks

Now that one of One2ten's favorite bands has gone the way of the dodo, we have to find a new punk rock girl singer good times party machine. Ask and ye shall receive... The Okmoniks.

While BYOP was chanelling the punk rock ethos of everything from the Circle Jerks to Sonic Youth, The Okmoniks are mining more pop treasure troves. But don't let that make you think these kids are bound for Avril territory. By pop, I am talking more Tuscadero and the Hi-Fives and the Donnas (when they were good). They wail on the Hammond organ in a Jonathan Fire*eater way but turn it to "super fast" from the get-go. It's music that begs you to clap along and shake and shimmy. It evokes girls I call "hairdos," wearing great shoes, vintage dresses and carrying a box of vintage rock and roll 45s. And to me they, just like the Okmoniks, define a good time. Throw this on, on Friday at 5pm and let the party begin. The Okmoniks Party Fever!!! gets a 10. Yep, a 10.

The Okmoniks- Teenage Timebomb
The Okmoniks- It's Not You


And go here for some more Okmoniks downloads: RCRDLBL.

Thanks Carbomb.

The Duke Spirit

Usually the first time I see a band's live show will indelibly mark my opinion of them. Thereafter, even if people tell me otherwise, I find that my initial opinion was spot on. This was not the case with The Duke Spirit. I saw them at a SXSW about 4 years ago (at the behest of friends) and was soundly unimpressed. I hadn't heard much about them of late, and just randomly heard that there was a new record coming out at the beginning of the year. I was on a concert roll at the time so I bought tickets, expecting to be soundly unimpressed again.

But lo and behold was I ever wrong. The first time I saw them this year (in February) I was beyond impressed. Leila Moss, DS's lead vocalist, was completely different. She had grown to own the stage and had a great deal of rock and roll attitude that had before been sorely lacking. But as easy as it might be to pin all of the new found awesome on her, the boys in the band were different as well. It was as if they had finally come to grips with what it means to be in a rock band. There was no fear and a palpable sense of confidence from the guitars and drums, and it seemed like they were having fun with each other, the songs, and the idea of rocking.

I just saw them again with Supergrass last week, and it reminded me that I had been planning on posting about them for months. Mainly because they were again superb. The size of the venue did not hamper the performance at all, and in fact, proved to me that they could really fill an even bigger stage with the appropriate rockness if need be. With a great new record and some great touring experience under their belts, I am hoping that the Duke Spirit continue to impress.

Their new record, Neptune, gets an 8.5. Their live performances get a 9 and the songs below get 9s a well.

The Duke Spirit- You Really Wake Up the Love in Me
The Duke Spirit- Into The Fold

The Black Ghosts

Time for another linked review. Follow the link below for my review of the debut LP by the UK's Black Ghosts.

The Black Ghosts at the Tripwire.

All in all it's an enjoyable ride, but probably about a 6.5 on the one2ten scale.

Try the Damon Albarn guest track for starters...

The Black Ghosts- The Repetition Kills You

Then go for the Olivia Newton-John cover...
The Black Ghosts- Physical