At the urgings of my youngest brother (not the one who writes the site about Pittsburgh Sports and Miniature Ponies) I decided to give one of his band suggestions a listen. All opinions below do not make me think any less of him or his musical tastes. I get my opinions, he gets his. He is a super talented vocalist and dancer, and I can't wait until he turns 21 in less than 2 months so he can come here and have a dance battle royale with me.


I'd heard of Semi-Precious Weapons before, but never intended on listening to them in any great length. I'm not sure if it's because I popped their songs on at about 4:30am today or what, but it was a bit much for me to handle. Not in the shocking sense. I knew they were kind of out of this world glam rockers, which I'm totally cool with and hey, to each his own. But strictly from a musical standpoint, it's not particularly my cup of tea. I don't even really like tea.

On a positive note, yes, they are gifted musicians and lead singer Justin Tranter has pipes for days when the screeching is minimal. I also love that under their musical influences they list both Courtney Love and Trina. (bonus points for SPW!)

But ultimately...sorry bro.

If anyone is interested, Semi-Precious Weapons are playing The Mercury Lounge on July 28 in Manhattan and then at Europa in Greenpoint on July 31. I'm half-tempted to go to either show to see if a live performance can't sway my opinions.

mp3: Semi-Precious Weapons - Semi-Precious Weapons

UPDATE: The more I play it, the more I'm appreciating it. Little brother may have schooled me. For once.