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OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS
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Band-Kits,
Grey Area,
Shaker,
Bela,
Go-rin-no-sho,
Funktelligence,
Spitfires,
Cadallaca,
Sand on Stars,
Virginia Coalition,
Little Darla Has a Treat for You, Vol. 14,
Zoothead,
Virgin Suicides soundtrack,
The Rough Guide to World Roots,
Magic Pill,
Hotwheels Jr.,
T. Griffin,
Valve
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Various Artists / Band-Kits: Denton, Texas Music ca. 2000 /
Quality Park (CD)
Like any compilation, Band-Kits, a compilation of music from Denton, TX, is a mixed bag. Some tracks I quite like. The opener, The Falcon Project's "The Hypno-Fiction", is a hazy, trance-like affair sung in whispers. It's the highlight of the disc. Its pulsing bass-line propels it gently along and represents the "Hypno-" in the title. Other nice tracks include The Baptist Generals' "Wrath You" and Coals to Newcastle's "Beautiful Now". The disc's low point is Lo-Fi Chorus and its embarrassing fit of wallowing, "Marching Band". Essentially, the song's point is, "In high school I was a marching band outcast, but now I'm on my way to rock stardom and the football players who used to spurn me are bums on the street with V.D." Please! If a modicum of humor were present in this diatribe I might have enjoyed it as dark comedy, but alas there is none! The weirdest track here is the Nerf Herder-meets-Flock of Seagulls "Denton Girls". You'll have to hear it to understand. -- nw
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Grey Area / Fanbelt Algebra / Victory
(CD)
Grey Area are my absolute favorite Victory band. Their sound is
an unmistakable homage to Naked Raygun -- driving, melodic
punk-anthems loaded with chugging riffs and "whoa-oh-oh"
vocals. It's not a dead-on ripoff, though -- the melodies are
more nineties-style punk, and the Grey Area guys are neither as
angry nor as sarcastic as Raygun, but Fanbelt Algebra
delivers the goods. I kept it on "repeat" during a couple of
grim days at the office, and it took the sting out of working
for the Man. You can't ask more than that. -- gz
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Shaker / Progress Ave / Pennydog (CD)
"Slow Groovy Ride", "On Her Own", and "These Words" are the first three
songs on Progress Ave; they are, in addition, so pleasing
that it's silly to care whether Shaker is more influenced by radio than personal
experience. Through their driving melodies and energetic delivery, these
songs do nothing less than reaffirm why people like Bruce Springsteen, Shaker's
apparent idol, still has the trace of songs heard on New Jersey boardwalks
in his eyes. While the remainder of the album does not sustain such a high peak,
Shaker remain a very enjoyable band -- even when wearing their
influences too tightly around their lyrical sleeves. I don't think it serves
them well to write about generic New Jersey girls, or truckers named
Southside Johnny, but maybe such is needed to make audiences connect the
great band onstage with their heroes, whose songs keep memories of their
youth on fire. -- td
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Bela / 'Til Summer Ends / Mother West (CD)
'Til Summer Ends pretty much went in one ear and out the other. Several songs were quite listenable and elicited some toe tapping, but on first impression the 15 separate tracks sounded like one long song broken into 15 parts. Out of fairness, I gave the album a second play the next day and found myself liking it a bit more. I still have reservations about the "sameness" of the songs, both lyrically and musically, but each song stood more on its own when heard a second time. Imagine if the crew from Adventures in Stereo were feeling a little glum one day, but still managed to record a fairly poppy/surfish album: no real frills, but a theremin or a police siren might make an appearance from time to time. Rather than having the standard quartet with a lead guitarist, Bela is a drummer, bassist and rhythm guitarist playing very steady backings to a lead cellist, who twirls out lines beside the subdued lead vocal of Jeff Hogan, who is expressive without being powerful. Despite Hogan's low-key delivery and sad guy lyrics, I believe Bela was aiming for a sunny-sounding release. Unfortunately, it's not that sunny a day. -- jkb
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Go-rin-no-sho / Inner Light / Troupe
(CD)
On his debut release, Go-rin-no-sho, a.k.a. Strategy, has put
together a nice piece of East Coast hip-hop. The spare beats
and minimal music are reminiscent of fellow New Yorker the
Notorious B.I.G. and are packed with soulful female backing
vocals. Strategy's voice is a strong baritone and he rhymes
with a smooth and easy flow. Political without being domineering,
his lyrics are solid if not especially innovative. The true treat
here is that halfway through the disc you realize that there
hasn't been a swear word anywhere and that the album's dedication
to God isn't the standard salute common to so many gangsta personas.
Even though the Christianity is up front, Strategy doesn't shy away
from the streets and gets gritty with the dirtiest G's. While his
tracks will keep most rumps shaking, it is his truly positive message
that sets Inner Light apart from the standard fare. -- rd
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Funktelligence / ...Until Now / World
Class (CD)
The cynical side of me wants to write off Funktelligence as
middle-class jazz-funk-fusion-rap -- a sort of toned-down
version of the Infectious Grooves, even. They are, however, a
pretty tight ensemble and the rapping's a lot better than it
needs to be. I can't write them off because I found myself
enjoying their music more and more as time passed, even though
they've got a residual frat party vibe going on. Worst case,
they're down, but not dirty enough. -- gz
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The Spitfires / The Spitfires / Unreleased Demo (CASS)
Patrick DiPuccio, Mark McCormick and Jay Nowak make some of the tightest
roots rock melodies around, with their work in the Spitfires
strongly indicating the talents behind their work. Now playing under the
Condors moniker, the trio's songs indicate a sheer love of music as they
mingle the grit of Dion with the passion of a Joe Grushecky or Scott
Kempner. The raving "Wake Up" is the type of song a beer with lips would ask
for, while "Lucky Guy" and all their work as the present-day Condors show a
band with the sincerity of the Skeletons and a little more edge. While I
have not owned these songs for long, the Spitfires' as-yet-distributed demos
strongly suggest there's some great American music getting played in bars -- music that few will ever hear. Call this, and wonderful covers like "Vagabond
Moon", some of the best reasons I know to always defend a trip to the bars. -- td
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Corin Tucker and Sarah Dougher team up with Sts for another Cadallaca release. This 4 song EP is for die-hard Sleater-Kinney/Northwest girl rock fans only; it's all decent, but not as outstanding as some of the songs that these girls have written for their "day job" bands. The highlight of the EP is "The Trouble with Public Places," which features a catchy organ line and chorus of all three voices that actually sounds very cool. -- ha-n
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Sand on Stars / Songs from Silt / Twist Top
(CD)
This is a good one. Crafting sugary-sweet ethereal pop with a
bit of analog drone built in, Sand on Stars wunderkind Jeff
McLeod isn't afraid to pull surprises out of his bag. For every
gentle, glittering melody, there's a sudden staccato vocal to
snap you out of your happy little trance. Think of a more
analog version of Lush, with a few extra members culled from
punk rock bands. Songs from Silt is a cheery album, full
of good-natured keyboard burbling, but it's also unpredictable
-- none of the sixteen tunes here goes quite where you'd expect,
prefering to be as random as your dreams. -- gz
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Virginia Coalition / Townburg / Self-released
(CD)
Somewhere out there is an episode of Friends waiting
for this album to make it complete. Virginia Coalition, a
five-piece out of Virginia (naturally), play the sort of
country-fried rock that almost made the BoDeans a household
name. Unfortunately, like Friends, most of the material
here is a bit too restrained and perfect to really make much of
an impact. It isn't until near the album's end that things start
to get a little weird. I imagine this ordering is due to the
band's constant live shows, where more experimental material
gets saved until the audience is a little drunk and is willing
to let go. There are some nice moments to be found here, but
until Virginia Coalition captures a looser feel on tape, their
music is probably best suited for soundtracks. -- rd
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Various Artists / Little Darla Has a Treat for You, Vol.
14 / Darla
(CD)
You really can't go wrong with any of the Little Darla Has a
Treat for You compilations. They're cheap, they're good
(assuming you like the blend of international pop, electronica
and blissout tunes typically found therein) and they're packed
with music. Vol. 14 is no exception, featuring great
tunes from Sweet Trip, Princess Kaiulani, Barcelona, Köhn
and a bunch of others, not to mention My Morning Jacket's
perplexingly faithful take on Pink Floyd's "Mother". When you
realize that a Little Darla disc costs no more than what
you'd pay for a couple of 7" singles, it's not hard to see the
wisdom of getting 17 tracks for the price of six or seven; even if you
hate half the music, it's still a good deal. -- gz
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Zoothead / Songs For Gray Areas / DeepReverb (CD)
These days, very few CDs seem short enough to fit on a single record, and
Zoothead's Songs For Gray Areas is no exception. Its nearly-an-hour
running time seems like a great deal of material for a band just starting out. It's to
Zoothead's credit that they never completely falter, highlighting their
accurately titled album with moments both light ("Halo"), mood-heavy ("One
For Beijing") and hard (the closing "Fourth of July"). While the four
untitled instrumental pieces (five, if you include a bonus track) seem more
like fragments than fully realized pieces, the overall record is very
effective, with playing that will please any who were into Galaxie 500 or My
Bloody Valentine. The brothers Featherstone have nice voices too,
making Songs for Gray Areas a nice disc to own when the gray areas of your life come
rolling in. Along with Bald Rapunzel, Zoothead are making the University of
Maryland seem like the college for budding scholars of loud rock. -- td
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Various Artists / The Virgin Suicides (original soundtrack) / Emperor Norton (CD)
Consistently overshadowed by Air’s original score, the Virgin Suicides soundtrack proves to be a rather hip happening in its own right. Though perhaps not as swank as the score, it's the perfect mix of languid grooves and vintage 80’s rock. Where else would you find Air’s “Playground Love” side-by-side with Styx’s “Come Sail Away”? Or the timeless funk of Al Green rubbing shoulders with Sloan’s fiendish blasts of power-pop? Yes, this eclectic collection gives you all that plus two songs each by eternal favorites Heart and Todd Rundgren. Less creepy, but no less entertaining than the original score, the Virgin Suicides soundtrack proves it has just as much to offer as the two French guys and all their keyboards. -- jj
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Various Artists / The Rough Guide to World Roots / World Music Network (CD)
You want to know more about world music, but don't know where to start? Sure, you could reach for any of the artists on Peter Gabriel's Real World label -- or you could get yourself a competent escort. The Rough Guide folks present The Rough Guide to World Roots, an expressive compilation which culls some of the most well-respected artists from Latin American, Eastern European and African stylistic traditions. Natacha Atlas, who's collaborated with Jah Wobble and Transglobal Underground, carries on stretching boundaries as well as her elegant vocal chords on the North African influenced "Marifnaash". "Man Atkeya Beparwath De Naal", a simple percussion-based song, is an introduction to the sonorous complexities of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I could tell you in detail about the infectious sensual Cuban swing of the Afro-Cuban All Stars ("Amor Verdadero") or the heavenly "Teremtes" by Hungarian vocalist Marta Sebestyen. But for space reasons, I won't. The Rough Guide to World Roots is as well executed as the bound paperback volumes from which this CD is spawned. -- dd
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You've probably been in this situation: you're listening to a proggish album
that's actually pretty decent, and then suddenly the vocalist mentions Hobbits and everything goes to hell. Based on the band's name and the cover art, I was steeling
myself for an album of...well, hippie shit. Man, it's nice to be wrong. Magic Pill are basically a first-rate bar band -- the sort of band you initially go to see only because it's your
friend's brother's band or something along those lines, but then they
wind up being surprisingly good and before you know it you're driving 30 miles to their gigs. Working a solid hybrid of
funk/metal/r&b, Magic Pill have managed to dodge most of the
genre's cliches and come up with a surprisingly listenable disc,
not to mention one that retains a healthy dose of live-show
energy. Recommended for all who listen with beer in hand. -- gz
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Hotwheels Jr. / Head Driver / Rudy (CD)
Hotwheels Jr. is a three-piece from Austin, Texas consisting of two guys and one girl. No press information came with this record so I can't tell you who plays what, but I can tell you that they're the usual drum/guitar/bass combo. You'll find lots of crazy screaming guitars, crashing cymbals and muffled vocals in which only select words in the chorus can be made out. They're nothing special, but they seem like one of those bands that gets added to lots of local bills, and no one really seems to mind because their live show is amazing (or at least sounds like it would be). If you can, check them out live first before getting the CD. -- ha-n
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T. Griffin / Tortuga / Shiny Little (CD)
It's quite amazing what T. Griffin accomplished with just a 4-track and a
power mac in his bedroom. The songs on Tortuga sound so clean and polished that lines about girls in "Fuck You" t-shirts seem present just for juxtaposition. Whatever their intent, profanities have
rarely seemed so jarring in a record that also contains "Heart In a Hard
Place" and other songs Tom Petty would be glad to call his own.
Occasionally, as on "Sid" and the aforementioned "T-Shirt Blues", the music
sometimes makes you think Greg Cohen (of Tom Waits' band) is on board. For
me, this doesn't work as well as Griffin's softer moments, like "If You Were Here"
and "Summer Dress" (where he pleads to a girl not to "get Pennsylvania Dutch
on me"), but maybe that is personal taste. Featuring occasional support from
Celise Kalke, Kerith Shapiro and Brooklyn Horses, this is a fine effort
exemplified by some beautiful moments about a "dishwasher with shivering
eyes," and stories about folks like you and me. -- td
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Valve / Parallel You / Mood Food
(CD)
Valve have been bouncing around for quite a few years now,
somehow dodging the sort of mainstream acceptance that could
make them big. Parallel You offers competent alterna-pop
with occasional hard edges, and several of the songs are include
strings, heightening the dreamy mood. I can see this doing well
on the sort of commercial alt-rock stations that aim for the
coveted female 18-35 demo. However, when the Awards for
Originality are handed out, don't expect to see the Valve guys
loaded down with trophies. While not as bland as the likes of
Matchbox 20 and the Goo Goo Dolls, Parallel You won't
upset your parents, either. -- gz
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gz - george zahora | nw - noah wane | am - andrew magilow | ib - irving bellemead | jj - jason jackowiak
ha-n - heidi anne-noel | dd - deirdre devers | td - theodore defosse | rd - ron davies | jkb - jason broccardo
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