B. Blush / B. Blush / Wunderblumenmusik (CASS)
Loungey alt.cabaret music, complete with accordian! There's not a
guitar in sight, so you'd better be content with the dark, simple
melodies built of vibraphone, drums and bass. Birgit Staudt's vocals
are restrainedly quirky -- in the nicest possible way, she sounds like a
heavily sedated Bjork (and haven't we all wished for that more
than a few times?), deadpan but distinctly off-center. I'm guessing
that this four-song cassette is merely a preview of the forthcoming
"heartcore" -- indeed, I hope so, as the cassette I received is poorly
recorded, slightly marring an otherwise intriguing listening experience. -- gz
Daver / Two Years of Being Singles / Modern Relic Records
(CD)
If you like XTC you'll like Daver. He puts out the same kind of
meant-to-be catchy, politically aware, slightly folk-tinged pop music.
On Two Years of Being Singles you'll get 17 self-contained
pop-rock ditties, each fully capable of being pressed into seven
inches of vinyl and mailed off en masse to the nation's college radio
stations for consumption. Listen to "The Mighty Icon of Pop" to get an
idea of Daver's style; it's fairly representative of the 16 other tracks. I'm not wild about this disc, but then I've never been a fan of XTC
either! -- nw
No clip due to technical difficulties.
The fact that this is an oddly-shaped CD makes it cool before the jewel
case even gets opened. If you're particularly assertive, you could
probably take this CD with you to a party and use it as a conversation
piece, parlaying it into a pleasant night spent with a CD-loving member
of whichever sex you go for. The fact that the CD doesn't play in some
disc players, as well as the fact that it's 30 tracks of musical
patchwork -- electronic tones and melodies, odd samples and voice
snippets, all of which are enjoyable listening but not as accessible as,
say, a <sarcasm>No Doubt album</sarcasm> -- are issues best left for the following
morning. -- gz
Warious Artists / What's Mine Is Yours: The Emo Diaries / Deep Elm Records
(CD)
Here's the original disc from
Deep Elm (they're now on their second Emo Diaries compilation) that chronicles part of the "emo" scene. For those "un-emo" we
provide a brief defintion: rhythmical, slightly noisy hardcore without
the extreme screaming and hysteria. Perhaps it's a slightly vapid genre
these days, but this CD showcases some moody and melodic tracks from
Samiam, Pave the Rocket, and the scorching "Opener" by Jimmy Eat World.
A necessity for those emo-kids who just can't get enough! -- am
Sister 7 / This The Trip / Arista (CD)
Sister 7 are probably pretty good live. They may well do those
gleefully-sloppy, brimming-with-indie-rock-cred performances that are
the hallmarks of college media darlings. Unfortunately, Danny
Kortchmar's production doesn't stress indie rock cred. It stresses a
big, full, shiny wall of sound punctured, at regular intervals, by drums
that could really, really hurt you. Singer Patrice Pike sounds like an
uppity Melissa Etheridge in her "loud rock" phase...and sometimes, at
odd moments, this the trip sounds like a misbegotten attempt to
revive Heart. But other than being produced all to hell, the music
isn't bad; if you exist in a relative musical vacuum, you'll probably
quite like it. -- gz
Todos Tus Muertos / Dale Aborigen + / Grita! (Enhanced
CD)
Like Ninos Con Bombas, Todos Tus Muertos blends punk/hardcore/latin/ska to
accompany their Spanish lyrics. I like some tracks here more than others.
"Lehenhiziko Bala" I find irresistibly infectious with it's
admittedly-cliched-yet-still-rousing "go! go! go!" chorus, while "Mute"
comes across somewhat haltingly and wouldn't be my choice for the first
track on the disc. In general I endorse the work, and heartily
support any foray into the hitherto commercially unsuccessful domain of
other-than-English popular music. As a bonus Dale Aborigen + is an
enhanced CD, giving you access to all sorts of interesting info (like
translations of their lyrics!). -- nw
Bone Simple / Tastes Like Chicken / RaW Productions (CD)
Pleasantly capable, Bone Simple has a straightforward rock sound,
tempered with a decent-sized dose of bass-slapping funk. Respectable
sax work adds not just the de rigeur Ska sound, but also some r&b and
jazz elements -- not as trendy, but more indicative of the band's broad
range. There are a few rock ballads here, too, as well as fleeting
touches of countrified blues. If there's a fault, it's that the vocals
don't always get quite the same level of production attention, but in
general Tastes Like Chicken is an accomplished effort. -- gz
New Mongrels / Big Cup of Empty / Daemon Records (CD)
A musical institution with over a century of history, the latest New
Mongrels conglomerate includes members of the Indigo Girls, Big Fish
Ensemble and Gherkin. The Mongrels are a loosely organized group that
performs folky, eclectic tunes with a variety of instruments, including
violins, lap steels and banjo. Genres range from "no depression" country to
brooding and gloomy folk. Excellent songwriting, and I'll have to agree
with the band's claim that the album "contains no bad songs." Check it out. -- am
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