Some of these were suppose to be the ROTWs for September and October, but I combined into one article.

DAGG NABBIT STUBBS - HOT GARBAGE (50/30/30 Records)

Click the above album image to buy the CD from the band's website.

Deep south ignorance, when done as shtick, can be quite charming. The Dagg Nabbit Stubbs are quite the charmers,enough so that local indie rockers dismiss comparisons to Hell Yeah or Clutch while packing any venue that the Stubbs dare flaunt their bare-in-overalls garb. This supergroup in disguise have been pulling folk's legs here in Phoenix for almost 2 years. I myself was even fooled when I thought the band was actually from Swampwater,GA when I had first saw them perform. Putting aside both the musicianship and sense of humor these boys have, their most overlooked talent is singer Sweetwater Jones' ability to tell a story through lyrics and adlib banter. It successfully brings the listener into the swampy world of Dagg Nabbit Stubbs and, even if that journey only lasts a few minutes into each song, it's a skill that 99% of artists (outside of folk genres) cannot claim.  Nothing else I can say will do this six song CD justice other than to wiki-quote a few of the songs while leaving some of the best lines for you to discover on your own.

"Devlin' Under The Influence"

"get in the car...strap in the baby...and my sweet cousin Ronnie, because he's got special needs"

"we're going faster than a specter of death...or a golden cheetah on some crystal meth"

"Ronnie, fetch us another Bartles & James from the cooler in the back, would you? Whooo! Mmmm, this good, what is this? Is this Pina Colada? Goddammit Ronnie you know I like blackberry... now go fetch it!"

"The Devil's Dance Party"

"This is the crappiest prom I've ever been to...and I've been to none"

"Bullocks! I don't know what the hell that means. I saw it in a British movie once".

"You, Me, and the Devil Makes Four"

"my ouija board gives me pick up lines"

"I'm the king of the fairgrounds. You're the queen of the trailer"

"These Pancakes Are Made With The Devil's Bisquick"

"Munching on a Dorita sandwich..."

EARTHMEN AND STRANGERS - EARTHMEN AND STRANGERS (FDH Music/Discos Cagados)

Click the above album image to buy the LP from FDH website (CD version Out-Of-Print).

If you hadn't heard the name Earthmen and Strangers and I played a few select tracks from this album telling you only that the band was from Phoenix, you might swear I stumbled across a lost record from Greg Sage and the Wipers. However, Mr. Sage is not involved here, but Ryan "Wong" Rosseau is.  Always eager to record, Rousseau and his new band went into the studio only a few short months after playing their first show in the summer of '08. The result is a new style for Rousseau that still depends on the adrenaline rush from his manically rhythmic guitar attack while allowing his vocals to relax and breathe a little. Recently, Rousseau has taken a liking to guitar-driven pop-oriented post-punk, referencing The Psychedelic Furs, The Vapors, and The Church in interviews. Personally, I hear traces of Adam & the Ants, Wire, and the less experimental side of Sonic Youth -  as well as some Aussie proto-punk influences (Radio Birdman, Saints). The album in it's rawest vision is solid and focused, while attempts towards a neo-psych vibe doesn't fully translate quite yet. And while this is Rousseau's best vocal performance to date, he still lacks the commercialized tonality to present this record as anything remotely power-pop. However, Rousseau's track record speaks for itself (Wongs, Destruction Unit, Tokyo Electron, Reatards, Yuma Country Territorial Prison Guards), so whatever it is that he is trying to accomplish with Earthmen and Strangers, he will get there. In the meantime, enjoy the catchy "My Bartender", the Wiper-esque "Naked To The Stars", or the hypnotizing "Gonna Wake The Dead".  Or if anything I have described hasn't captivated your musical imagination, wait a few weeks until FDH releases the new Tokyo Electron album.

GREEN LADY KILLERS- JUST FINE (self released)

Click the above album image to buy the CD from CDBABY.

It still hasn't been accepted here in the desert that girls can rock as well as the boys. All female acts are, unfortunately, still considered a novelty in these parts. My pal Sarah Deathriage of the bands DeSade and Adam's Evil just wrote about this very subject on her Facebook page recently. However, no band in Phoenix discredits this poisonous pre-cognition about women rockers more often than The Green Lady Killers. This all-female trio never really associated themselves in the same punk rock circles as many of their contemporaries. They came out of nowhere and many longtime underground promoters in town still have not a clue of the talent, showmanship, and drawing power that GLK have. Since 2004, singer/guitarist Lady Van Buren and drummer Cherry Bomb have set up shop in any venue that would take them while performing with any band that would share a stage. Exposure to the diversity from rubbing shoulders within many different small circles of the local music scene has ultimately help GLK create their own world around them. Perhaps there was something suspicious when, a few years ago, Lady Van Buren and Cherry Bomb hired Louis Lashes to replace their original bass player while adding a fourth member in Pete "Dusty Jimenez" Grosso  on lead guitar. There was definitely an improvement in the new gender balanced group, as shown on their self titled EP released in 2007. However, in the middle of 2008, the two original Lady Killers sought a change back towards the original makeup of the band, thus dumping the boys and moving towards making their band a trio once again.

Just Fine documents the latest GLK chapter immediately after the acquisition of Chicago transplant Annie Venom (who lends her Dinah Cancer style vocals on the horror-rock anthem "Zombified"). If you can imagine a world where Joan Jett and Lita Ford kept The Runaways alive through the 80s and 90s, then you will understand why I've been caught saying "...with rock as this good as GLK, the world doesn't need The Donnas" over the last year. Songs like "My 45", "Linger On", and "Dance Floor" are primed to be rock radio hits. Close your eyes and listen to the high energy cut "Time Bomb" and you'll wonder how long it will take for a music supervisor to license this for the next blockbuster movie or MTV-reality series soundtrack. Producer Jamison Weddle did a great job on, not only Lady Van Buren's lead vocals, but the polished back harmonies of all three members that help make the GLK songs sound "big". Listening to Just Fine you'll realize that, regardless of any pre-conceived novelties, this all female rock band are taking themselves very seriously. Yes, there is a strong pop-rock element heard in GLK's music although it never risks sounding Disneyed-out like, let's say, The Dollyrots. Loaded with psychobilly riffs, punk rage, and pop-metal sensibilities, GLK take their songs to places most so-called "bad girl" bands wouldn't dare.

LETDOWNRIGHT- THE WORKERS AND THE WALKERS (self released)

Click the above album image to visit the band's myspace page to learn how to purchase the CD

Letdownright is a Phoenix supergroup featuring former and current members of Trunk Federation, Half String, and Moody Fishermen.  The quintet is led by Jim Andreas who has always had an amazing voice. I first heard Jim sing in 1989 when auditioning for Bootbeast - a band he originally started years earlier as Bootbeast Carnival during Phoenix's less-heralded post-Mad Gardens punk scene. Much like Sun City Girls, Mighty Sphincter, and Victory Acres, Bootbeast were one of the more art damaged punk bands that would occasionally piss the hardcore kids off. Years after Bootbeast, Andreas formed Trunk Federation, which received critical praise from almost every regional publication between California and Texas that covered indie rock. Where Andreas has been since the demise of Trunk Federation is not important (although rumors insist that he has been working on this current project for well over five years). What is important is the fact that this talented singer/songwriter is back with the help of a few friends, including drummer-turned-guitarist Chris Kennedy (also from Trunk Federation) and the spokeswoman for all things indie in Phoenix, Kimber Lanning. Letdownright is far more pop-oriented than I remember Trunk Federation ever being. The experimental traits that Andreas and Kennedy were once known for are now merely building blocks to comprehensive compositions. Such blocks include odd, yet catchy keyboard melodies, tightly liberated drum patterns, and Fripp-inspired guitar riffs that simply take a backseat to Andreas' sweet pop logic. From the first few songs on The Workers and The Walkers, Letdownright sound heavily influenced by David Bowie, Lou Reed, Cockney Rebels, Roxy Music and T-Rex. Deeper in, I can hear touches of Ben Folds and Joe Jackson in their electric piano-driven pop cuts like "The Rake's Progress" and "Everybody Loves You". The nostalgic ambiance is not overbearing thanks to Andreas' retro-balanced songwriting which, on a song like "Do You Hate Me Now?", resembles equal parts Andy Partridge (XTC) and Britt Daniel (Spoon). The whole album is a reminder on how well an artist can sound if the proper time and preparation is applied. Yet, I am not sure I am want to wait five years for Andreas to write another album this good.

SISTER CITIES - ILUMINACION ESPIRITUAL (self released)

Click the above album image to buy the CD from CDBABY

Sister Cities have evolved from a folky lo-fi White Stripes/Black Lips novelty duo to an aurally abundant quartet by adding a pianist Ana Barraza a year or so after adding bass player Spike Brendle. Iluminacion Espiritual features re-mastered versions from their 4-song promo CD-R they were handing out in the summer of 2008 carefully place as the even number tracks. The odd numbers are the five new songs, including the well constructed "The Other Boys" which brings to mind both their long standing love for the Cold War Kids and the contagious, but well hidden, Death Cab For Cutie bug that most indie rock bands suffer from. Singer Brett Davis has a skilled, yet verdant soulful voice that spits melodies which retain raw folkness rather than achieve pop deception. Although I appreciate all elements involved, including Davis' guitar playing, his vocals and curiously post-adolescent lyrics are definitely the x-factor on what makes Sister Cities special. Besides the effort of one originating member, what is truly captured is the fun that their audience has when experiencing the band live. Courtney Robinson's getty-up drum patterns really wake up the senses in prep for goosebump-induced vocal and piano passages.  If you have followed the band from their earliest carnation (2006?), then this album is a true mark of maturation and should easily abet some hometown pride. Credit, but don't over-credit, producer Bob Hoag. His engineering and audio shaping skills help make this CD achieve the warmth and depth of your favorite vinyl records. Although I have covered Sister Cities before by posting mp3s, promoting their events, heralding their greatness, etc., I truly feared that reviewing their first full length CD this late in the game would truly set me up as a band wagoner.  With a few exceptions (BatteryInYourLeg's Sean Ryan immediately heeded my advice and reviewed "The Other Boys" single back in October), the local indie rock journalism world has yet to catch on. So while I vote Iluminacion Espiritual the best Phoenix, AZ album of the year, I also claim Sister Cities a band most desperately need of a professional manager, someone to help get their music out to more ears. Until then I do not mind at all being one of the only folks in Arizona to write about them periodically.

Free Download "The Other Boys" from Sister Cities new album Iluminacion Espiritual

Disclaimers: Sister Cities and Green Lady Killers gave me a copy of their new CD.  Jim Andreas from Letdownright asked Ross from Hollywood Alley if he think I would like a CD not knowing I had my own music blog and Ross said  "definitely, Will loves free CDs from bands". I found the Dagg Nabbit Stubbs CD on a table at Hollywood Alley after the bar had closed. It was probably paid for after the band's set but someone left it behind and it was unclaimed. Ryan never gave me a Earthmen and Strangers CD and they eventually all sold out quick, but I found a used copy at Eastside for $5.99