REVEREND DEAD EYE

The Trials and Tribulations of Reverend Deadeye Hazelwood Vinyl Plastics With his modified wok-lid resonator guitar, rigged-up drum kit (which includes a metal washtub for a snare), a rusty Falstaff beer-can microphone and assorted other things, you have to wonder how the hell Brent Burkhart, aka Reverend Deadeye, takes the one-man band concept to a completely different level — and keeps it all going at the same time. With both feet pumping out beats while playing some killer fuzzed-out slide guitar, Burkhart and his commanding vocals churn out a blistering brand of buzzing, sweaty, backwoods-revival blues. His latest effort, The Trials and Tribulations of Reverend Deadeye, manages to capture a good deal of his frenetic stage energy, whether it’s the barn-burning intensity of “Can’t Take It With You,” the medium-tempo chugga-chugga of “Drunk on Jesus” or the slower fingerpicking on “Chased Ol’ Satan.” The ideal soundtrack for fl icking devils off your shoulder, Trials is the next best thing to seeing the man live.

— JON SOLOMON

FIVE 13

Unbreakable Self-released

Five 13 trades in a very distinctive blend of metal, minted in the latter part of the second Reagan administration. If the names Fates Warning, Scorpions, Dokken or Warrant make you scoff or otherwise turn up your nose, you’ll want to steer clear of this album, which sounds like a perfect alloy of those acts. And while these days, a knowing wink seems to be required to appreciate this particular grade of metal, there’s absolutely no irony attached to these songs. Five 13, led by Danny Martinez, a seasoned singer/guitarist with years of experience fronting groups like Caught in the Act and Guild of Ages, plays its songs with with reverence and precision.

Martinez’s vocals give life to strong melodies, themselves bolstered by even crisper harmonies.
For admittedly anachronistic rock, you can’t do much better than this. — DAVE HERRERA

VIA

Untitled Self-released

Daralee Fallin is working with drum machines and synths with effects — familiar elements of electronic music — across this four-song release. From the jump, though, there’s an undeniably organic feel to the music and a warmth that doesn’t just cradle the listener in a sense of comfort and well-being; it conjures images of suggestive horizons shrouded in a morning fog just before the full force of sunlight burns it away. The third track, with its ’80s electro percussion swimming amid a fl ow of drones and melodic swells, sounds like lonely dance music filled with an unresolved yearning. The final song is blissed-out, neo-tribal sonics like something you might — and should — hear in a Ridley Scott film. On this release, Via excels at evoking a sense of mystery and transcendence with a subtle and gentle grace.

— TOM MURPHY

DETH SPA

Saunic Youth Clam Records

Listening to side one of this cassette-only release, you can’t help but think of the scenes from Videodrome where James Woods watches the TV show of the same name and becomes both repulsed and obsessed with the programming. The textured drone is reminiscent of those distorted images, and, while abstract, the background pulse is hypnotic amid a flood of sonic sludge.

Side two is confrontational, with spiraling sounds and abrasive tones like an Indy 500 car on fire and out of control, headed for a wreck in slow motion on a different kind of sadomasochistic television network. The track evolves into what sounds like fi eld recordings of Skynet wiping out the last remnants of humanity. Saunic Youth is often forbiddingly dark, and not for anyone looking for discernible melodies or structure.

— MURPHY