Not An Airplane: I Never Wanted To Believe In Ghosts

In the tradition of mysterious musicians hiding behind alter-egos with anomalous names, singer-songwriter Nick Shattell has released I Never Wanted to Believe in Ghosts under the head-scratching pseudonym Not an Airplane.

Geared towards the 30-something crowd trying to find love and peace and their own minds amongst the crowd of children and marriage and togetherness, I Never Wanted to Believe in Ghosts from this Northern Californian musician would be the ideal soundtrack for any coming-of-age movie featuring an emotionless drifter who accidentally finds love. In other words, suitable for any Zach Braff project (just listen to “Different,” “Less Heavy,” and “Somehow” to know what I mean). And while others may see this as a bad thing, it’s not. There is a certain alluring quality about Not an Airplane – Shattell’s voice is strangely comforting with the gentle plucks of his guitar strings amplifying the quiet irresistibility (just check out the track “Honestly.”) An album that embodies the loneliness of a big city – where there are street lights and corner stores and 24-hour ATMs but your head is stuck in a small town place (“The City That Sleeps”), I Never Wanted to Believe in Ghosts is 11 tracks of acoustic charm.

Lunch Records: Four By Four Compilation

Opening the four bands/sixteen songs compilation Four by Four: Volume 1, out on Lunch Records, is the Boston quintet Taxpayer, who build on a satire of idiom with a tower of solid kicks and jock-rock mixed with fuming Indie-rock. They’re at their best on “Bugs in Amber” and “Medic,” two whipping rock anthems that burst with pretentious intelligence and electro-dance regularities. Following suit is the Fever Monument, a band comfortable with their creamy pop that resembles a mix of Irish punk with early Social Distortion. They draw together an innovative style within their imitation on “I’ve Benn Wrong” and “Rumor Mill,” tracks that group running riffs with rockabilly bass lines. There are also some missteps on Four by Four by Easthampton, MA outfit Red Door Exchange, who, through their tracks, tend to blend awkward guitars rhythms, aggressively silent drums, and crackling vocals.

But the highlight of the album lays in tracks nine to 12, all by the Boston-born/New York bred Indie-rock troupe Morning Theft. “Keep it Like a Secret” harmonizes and mesmerizes with soft bellows and silky condensed currents, while the direct and edgy “You’ve Failed Me as a Friend” has vocalist Rob Holmes screaming his heart out and guitarist Peter Kim shredding in equal umbrage.

All in all, Four by Four is an eclectic hum collection of four distinct bands with much to offer and much to give.

Jean Hates John: Jean Hates John

On their self-titled album, Jean Hates John, a quintet from Long Island, NY, brings together the grit of ‘80s hair metal and marries it with the glam of New York City in the early ‘70s, best heard on “Jet Set,” “Shine,” and the opening track, which is the finest of the record, “I Want You Alive.” Vocalist April Jimenez sings like a young Pat Benatar with the couldn’t-care-less attitude of Lita Ford, while “soloist extraordinaire” Nero, as he is described, attacks the listener’s ears with a slaughter of excellent riffage. It’s pure adrenaline – nasty rock ‘n’ roll that’s pump-your-fists catchy and indisputably entertaining. If they continue to play it as right and as awesome as they have been, they may be able to resurrect the hair metal of yore – a second coming to look forward to.