amBiguous CITY! Records | Landspeedrecord!



WWW.AMBIGUOUSCITY.COM :: BANDS :: LANDSPEEDRECORD!

DISCOGRAPHY:

"Intermission" (CD)
amBiguous CITY! Records / Resin Records
Summer 2004

"Good Housekeeping " (CD)
amBiguous CITY! Records / Resin Records
Summer 2002

"Urban Development Series Vol. 4" (CD)
(Split CD with Prosolar Mechanics)
amBiguous CITY! Records
Winter 2001

"Kitra Vol. 3 Compilation" (CD)
Song: Kilki vs. Kenner
Power Bunny 4x4 Records
Spring 2001

"Road To Flight" (CD)
Resin Records

"The Corporate Secret" (CD)
Resin Records

"Kilki" (CD)
Resin Records

LANDSPEEDRECORD!

Landspeedrecord

BIOGRAPHY

LandSpeedRecord! is not an easy categorization process. Consistently playing together for the past five years has made this band lose their inhibitions to find a distinct niche and fill it. They prefer to fill many different ones. With three full lengths already released on Resin Records, nearly a dozen compilation appearances and plenty of music left over, fans of the Talking Heads, Devo, and Brian Eno take note. LandSpeedRecord! is creatively weird like the Talking Heads and Devo, actively observant like Wire or XTC, and brain teasing and creepy like Phillip K. Dick, David Lynch and JG Ballard all rolled into one.

"I am on a mission from God," shrieks Charley Jamison, in one of Landspeedrecord's most memorable songs. And he may just be right. This Baltimore quartet's career has been a jihad against complacent, predictable indie-rock. The band's sings - fueled by Jamison's bizarrely orginal lyrics, frentic riffs, and a jumpy rock-solid rhythm section - poke and prod the edges of sanity. Insanity has never felt so good. This CD present eight new tracks and another 11 culled from earlier out-of-print LSR albums and EP's and is absolutely recommended as a vital addition to your collection if you're even in the least bit interested in indie rock that dares to veer from the mainstream.
- Jersey Beat, Jim Testa

Lead singer Charles Jamison's audacious lyrics highlight Good Housekeeping. On the apocalypse: We're all gonna die in a fireball of pain, but you shouldn't complain ("Kilki"). On serial killing: I have a collection of sharp objects, ice picks... if it sounds kinda obvious it's because I'm going to use it on your head ("Dead Girlfriend"). On pop references: Shame Spiral! Turn Out the light! That's Gross ("Alicia Silverstone Shame Spiral"). On love in the workplace: I didn't mean to lick your nameplate ("Interoffice Copulation").

Underneath the sarcasm and self-mockery, Landspeedrecord! immerse the listener in a new world and tell a new story with every song. Landspeedrecord! go out in style on the suicide-themed "Road to Flight," a simple "old tyme" vocal with acoustic guitar accompaniment, in which Jamison cries out with all his might, "a hangman's noose is a Hallmark card for the holiday that kills." This is the song on the album worth hearing. For that reason, it is not the Featured Track of this review. Only the one with "I am on a Mission from God" is worthy.

Although a favorite of other DOA writers for some time, this is my first real exposure to Landspeedrecord! and their brand of quirky rock. My first thought is that this Baltimore, Maryland band represents, in all the best ways, everything I loved about the Archers of Loaf without totally copping that band's sound. The music is quirky in structure as well as theme, taking great glorification in songs about Paxil, Alicia Silverstone, interoffice copulation, and other pressing topics. And with singer Charley Jamison's semi-gruff voice, the band at times even sounds similar to old Archers of Loaf, modernized for the new millennium and given a dose of punk-rock sensibility and modern indie-rock instrumentation.

Good Housekeeping is an interesting release, compiling eight "new" songs and 11 other tracks from the band's earlier releases that appear to be tragically out of print. For the uninitiated such as myself, it's the perfect introduction to this highly prolific band even while it will be necessary for the longtime fans, if only for those eight new songs. Those tracks - recorded in part for the band's short full-length album Corporate Secret and an Ambiguous City compilation and finished for this release - are stellar examples of the band's sound, but it's their older songs, dating back to the mid-90s, that are my personal favorites.

Clearly the new ones show a band at the top of their game, playing tighter and with better production, and song titles like "The Paxil Song" and "Robotic Pornographic Queen" are pretty entertaining alone. My favorites, though, are the more entertaining songs. "Accident" is almost irresistibly catchy, with hand-claps and an almost 80s-style vibe that belies the darker tone. And "Alicia Silverstone Shame Spiral," with its uproarious, fast-paced romp of a rhythm, is ridiculously fun.

There's a host of strong material from the band's previous releases as well. The basslines on "Mission From God" are stellar, and the jangly guitar gives me the feel of classic mid-90s alt-rock. "Let the Exorcism Begin" is fun in a dark sort of way, with its combination of keyboards and guitars. "The Bleeding Heart of Cement" is a good example of Jamison's sung/story-telling style of singing with some strong guitarwork and a plodding mood. My favorite songs, though, are some of their older songs. "Dead Girlfriend" is just a riot, with fantastic lyrics and some great guitarwork. "Kilki," too, has a dark, apocalyptic theme, but the thick bass and gruff approach makes this one of my favorite songs.

Landspeedrecord! has clearly been consistent throughout their career, just adding to their ability while retaining their quirky song structures and themes. Their music continues to be up-tempo, aggressive, and catchy. Fans of the band will likely have many of these songs but will require the album for the new tracks, but Good Housekeeping functions best as an introduction to this Baltimore band.
- Delusions of Adequacy, Jeff

The Baltimore-based band Landspeedrecord is one of those groups that seems to have a new release out every time we do a new issue. Their latest Goud Housekeeping, as the title indicates, a clearing out of odds and ends originally found on various compilations and out of print albums. Landpseedrecord are sort of a hard band to pin down, but also rather easy to like. They're somewhat punk-ish, are melodic yet have that post-punk trademark sense of distance to their sound, have a strong funk center, rely on a wry, somewhat cynical sense of humor (as evidenced by song titles like Alicia Silverstone Shame Spiral and Interoffice Copulation) yet also deal with some pretty heavy subjects. With an even greater breadth of styles than most of their releases, Good Housekeeping shows all those sides and then some. Good Housekeeping is a solid overview of a band that stands in its own unique shadow.
- Erasing Clouds.com, Dave Heaton

Landspeedrecord! offers a musical journey from jagged indie rock to emo to art-pop, always smart and emotional. The lyrics offer compact stories of splendor and suffering. Sonorous vocals, the use of synthesizers, and the music's overall dremaily ambient beauty temper their somewhat tense and jarring sound. Lead singer Charley Jamison's voice proves that both anger can be graceful and that beauty can be vehement.
- Miranda Hale, Kitty Magik

Baltimore's LandSpeedrecord are an eclectic mix of strong rhythm guitar and harmonious vocals accented by synthesizers, creating a sound that is both conventional and slightly quirky. The five songs here hum along at a crisp pace, and lyrically, the tracks are a pleasure, particularly "Best Revenge" and "Secret to Win," both of which show off the skills of vocalist Charley Jamison. The band sounds equally cohesive on "Visiting Hours," a typically uptempo anthem that kicks off this split release. The band shows a more experimental side with "Neophobes," a noisy, more off-kilter track that solidifies the split personality of the act.
- Jersey Beat, Rich Quinlan

Split CD by Baltimore's prickly Landspeedrecord! and New Brunswick/ Highland Park's Prosolar Mechanics opens with a scary visit to a friend "resting comfortably" in an asylum. Landspeedrecord! tells quick, complex stories over jangly guitars and dreamy mechanical noise; boiling emotion in an industrial world. Prosolar Mechanics's raging guitars, thunderous drums and Amy's soft voice suggest evil moving through shadows, everyday violence one should've seen coming. Gorgeous, unnerving nightmares and difficult truth throughout.
- altrok.com

This is Vol 4. in a series of splits from AmBiguousCity records Urban Development Series and it's a winner. Landspeed opens up the show with good ole SST, husker du inspired, style rock. Plenty of politcal savy, envy and guitar riff intent to keep music snobs on their toes or be gone with their ability to note a toe tapper when the songs says Go. Denser and darker comes the space music of Prosolar. If you are looking for that next female vocal to win you over Amy has got the most powerful and enchanting voice to take you where few space music travellers have been. All tracks stand out. Just order your copy today and you will thank us.
- Slash and Burn.net

Landspeedrecord! play charged up rock with cracking vocals and a whole lot of charm. They remind me of a mix of Metroschifter and At the Drive In, while remaining completely unique. Prosolar Mechanics are a tight rock machine. Very fitting female vocals. The conservative use of distorted bass is heavenly. Both of these bands are awesome, which makes for a pretty great release.
- Geek America

With their five new tracks, the always prolific and constantly mutating Landspeedrecord! seems to have settled on a homogenous sound. Over its five-year history, LSR!'s sound has evolved from sloppy, sarcastic rock to angular, DC-inspired post-punk. Urban Development Series Vol.4 reveals yet another genre change for LSR!; this time, the band has settled on quirky, keyboard-inspired rockers that bring to mind early XTC, The Talking Heads and Wire. On "Neophobes", Charley Jamison belts out a variety of vocal styles, ranging from intriguing falsetto melodies to monotone storytelling (think Tubeway Army), revealing an artist who has found a comfortable musical niche. "Best Revenge" retains a touch of Hüsker Dü punkdom, but avoids any specific genre classification with the inclusion of Nord modular synths. There's something for everyone on each of these tracks; the band continues to defy classification, yet waves its punk rock flag with freakish delight.

Prosolar Mechanics upholds its part of the split CD bargain with four stellar noise rock tunes that bring to mind a heavy Love and Rockets joining evil forces with The Breeders at their most foul-tempered. Vocalist Amy Jacob has a way with words; her seductively coy vocal melodies mesh well with the grinding guitar lines that drive each tune. "Red Down the Middle" thrives on an undercurrent of tension that never dissipates, leaving you edgy and uncomfortably intrigued. The strongest PMX track is "The Future of Sex", with its ringing harmonic opening and unbelievable drumming -- so tight you'd think it was a drum machine. Rhythm junkies will drool in delight at the perfect beats and dense layers of intense guitar that construct this powerful number. Who is this New Brunswick, NJ band? You'd sure as hell better find out soon, as they'll be taking over the entire New York/New Jersey music scene soon enough.

While none of the names here may sound familiar, you shouldn't even think about passing up this CD. It's hard enough to find nine consistent tracks by one band, but when two entirely different bands can jive together in recorded harmony as well as these two do, you get the best of both worlds. Both bands hint at '80s references, but this split disc is anything but another retro-bore; its strange fusion of punk, sarcastic wit and space rock creates a genre unto itself.
- Andrew Magilow, Spledidzine.com

I think the music world can use more split albums. There's plenty of split EPs and singles, but I love the albums better. They have more depth; they let both artists really show what they're about. ambiguous City! Records, based in Baltimore, has a series of split releases called the "Urban Development Series." While I haven't heard the other releases, Vol. 4 is a dandy, showcasing two unique, hard-to-pin-down bands. Up first is Baltimore's Landspeedrecord!, a trio playing smart, funny, clever, melodic punk rock, with occasional electronic touches and varied vocal styles (chanting, whispering, speaking, singing) from vocalist/guitarist/synthesizer player Charles Jamison. With a slightly cynical perspective, they sharply cut through societal hypocrisy, creating a slightly cynical portrait of life in the 21st century. Their outlook is at times paranoid, at times almost apocalyptic, but also emotional, with a certain sense of altruism and hopefulness. If that all sounds like a contradiction, it isn't really, just an indication of the lyrical depth behind their music. There's 5 tracks from Landspeedrecord!, beginning with the melancholy "Visiting Hours" and proceeding through to the trumpet-inflected "Neophobes." That last track is a big f-you to people who are afraid of something new; those people can stay away from Landspeedrecord!
- dave heaton, www.erasingclouds.com

Baltimore is not known by the nation as a musical town, however it is quite rich with young men making some very textured and interesting rock music. One of the pioneers has been the little known and often over looked Land Speed Record. Through all my years as a music journalist, the only band that has consistently confused and amused and surprised me has been this Baltimore crew. Road to Flight their most promising and realized release to date is no exception.

Yet it comes as no surprised that the direction this band is heading in was not easier listening. While Land Speed Record's music has become more developed it has not become more pop savvy. Instead the chord and riff patterns have become more intense and interesting. The precision in time change, guitar work and breakneck beats should have made Land Speed Record the kings of the short-lived and mostly poor "math-rock" genre. In fact it has always been Land Speed Record that stood out as the only band capable of maintaining soul in such a bland and boring form of musical expression. Unfortunately the band has been overlooked by just about every underground community proving that even in "counterculture" fashion, trends and coolness are all that matter.

The themes of Land Speed Record's songs have always been weird and awkward and humorous. While Road to Flight has many of these qualities on the surface, the lyrics and presentation of them are much more personal. This is where the great amounts of growth come in. The end of "Internet Killer" is a creepy/lonely fade out. It is followed by the sad sounding beginning of "The Best Revenge" which falsely starts and stops with a quirked-out techno beat that finally gives into the Devo-like guitar work supported with a rapid fire techno beat. The title track will perhaps be the legacy that will be most remembered of the band. It is reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and easily as radio accessible. Yet it's delivery of somber suicide lyrics make it a far more intimate and immediate experience. It is unfortunate that the band decided to follow such a beautiful song with a few tracks of off-handed techno experimentation. Perhaps they did not want to end such a wonderful effort on such a downer. But I think that the album would have come to a much more powerful ending with this acoustic track. The personally delivered song is so touching it's hard to imagine that the singer has not given up all hope and done him self in. Let's hope not.

Land Speed Record are caught somewhere between the new-wave cool a la Devo and punk brilliance. With as much contemporary influence to keep the sound modern, Land Speed Record also delivers enough unique style that will inevitably keep them out of the loop of "cool" with all the kids. For the listener, the key is to not overextend hisself or herself with effort to understand the wired sounds escaping the stereo, but instead to embrace them for what they are. Land Speed Record has come a long way, perhaps Road to Flight will take them to the more prosperous spot on the punk rock hill they deserve.
- Pop Matters

The voice at the beginning of LandSpeed Record's Road to Flight gives the band credit for taking a woman out of her body and on a tour of hell. That should tell you a couple things. First, this is a band with a sense of humor. Second, their minds dwell on the darker side of things. This is the balance continually struck by LandSpeedRecord! Using a mixture of hard-edged punk rock, bare-bones rock and roll, pop melody and emotionally exuberant singing, plus a few dips into other styles (techno, folk, new wave), LandSpeedRecord! throw forth a friendly but cynical view of life. Their songs reference exorcisms, an "Internet Killer," celebrity vanity, natural disasters, world wars, depression, domestic violence and suicide. The title track deals with the last subject, as the narrator ponders the best way to hang oneself. Road to Flight is a heavy trip, both musically and content-wise. The band plays with force, as the singer half-screams lines like, "I feel so privileged/8 hours a day I get to push the stone to watch it roll downhill/All work and no play makes me productive, a vital thread in a fabric wove from shit/If I close my eyes it doesn't hurt a bit." Everybody needs some pessimism to bring your head out of the clouds--LandSpeedRecord! give you that dose with more intelligence than a boatload of goth bands, and a tendency for musical variety, which is needed when you're dealing with the harder side of rock (at least as far as I'm concerned).
- Erasing Clouds

There is something about this album. I can't put my finger on it. The more I listen to it, the more it grows on me. The music is a curious mix of electronic music, Jawbox-ish rhythms, and a twisted sensibility that reminds me of… The Dead Milkmen. Consider these bon mots: "I can barely write to someone without being buried alive right in their back yard (from "Internet Killer"). "It's all part of a special plan to make this world a better place; erase the mistakes we've made. Starting with you" (from "FEMA"). "You choked on after-dinner mints. It's like a backhand compliment… This is where you eat your own grenade" (from "The Last Parade"). "A hangman's noose is a hallmark for the holiday that kills" (from "Road To Flight"). I really enjoy that last one. Absurdist and at times downright silly, these songs are truly genius. Sell all you own and buy this album.
- Ink 19

Land Speed Record - Kilki CD Another one of those rare records that actually defies late-'90s rock conventions and offers something completely unexpected. I think of this album as almost like a zine, a full-length testament to the creativity and personal oddities of a bunch of (presumed) geeks, widely varying in style but unified by its members'collective need to get the message out there, whatever it might be. A little rock, a little sampling, a little groove, and some PITCHBLENDE-ish vocalizing3Kilki is interesting enough, and the bandês potential for future greatness so apparent, that Iêll even forgive them for covering one of my favorite ROBYN HITCHCOCK songs, -Uncorrected Personality Traits,” which they do, admirably, make quite their own. Somehow it just makes sense. (RESIN)
- Splendid Zine

Land Speed Record / Kilki / Resin (CD) Sample 30 seconds of "Kilki" A bright burst of staccato rhythms and miffed vocals that cross a glaring case of neurosis with a certain singerês demonstrative personality crisis. The math rock side of your brain will appreciate all that's noisy, calculated and erratic here, as the band's generous bestowal of ruptured chords and twisted vocal chants is devlishly pleasing. Your cautious, unpresuming other half will applaud Land Speed Record's need to wrestle with emotionally charged topics through a tangible medium: scathing lyrical delivery. The between-song skits border on irritatingly forgetful, but the musicês unarguably convincing stuff that's quirky, catchy and intrusively becoming.
- am

Land Speed Record! / The Corporate Secret / Resin (CD) Sample 30 seconds of "Interoffice Copulation" Office politics will probably linger throughout most people's workdays. Land Speed Record! has decided to give your least favorite co-worker the middle finger on your behalf so you don't find yourself stuck in HR, feebly trying to explain yourself. LSR! lets the sarcasm spray all over that certain special person's face, pushing the vocals up and relegating the noisy, whining guitars to secondary status without becoming obtrusively absent. Sometimes expressively nerdy and sometimes utterly disgusting and mean-spirited, the band doles out biting commentary on getting fired and fax machines, all placed squarely over entertaining, syncopated beats of finely fashioned brilliance.
- am

Booking: megan@sidebartavern.com

ambiguous city! records