OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS | |
Phil Niblock,
Vincent Clarke and Martyn Ware,
Sweet Emotion: Songs of Aerosmith,
MC Double M and the Yup Yup Crew,
Reynolds,
Graham,
The Silence in My Heart: The Emo Diaries, Chapter Six,
Sixer,
Sound Spirit Fury Fire Sampler No. 3,
Second Left,
The Autumns,
Marcel,
Faith and the Muse,
Kate Simpkins,
The Charlie West Temporary A.M. Band,
Ben Davis,
Nicky Love,
Psychoactive Systems,
Das Ich,
The Rough Guide to Merengue and Bachata,
Wolfie,
Wolf Eyes,
Bedbug,
Heather Shayne Blakeslee,
Skunk D.F.,
The Twin Atlas,
The Ivory Coast,
Rick Rose Rude,
The Bionaut,
Kristian, Shalabi, St-Onge,
Philip Corner,
The Other 99,
Hundred Hands,
Mel Graves
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Phil Niblock / Music by Phil Niblock / XI (CD)
The music by Phil Niblock, as contained here, consists of two chamber works.
The first is the 25-minute "Five More String Quartets", and the second is "Early
Winter", which calls for string quartet, flute, bass flute and electronics.
To the cretin, Mr. Niblock's music is a mixture of Penderecki and Glass. This
is the most obvious description, as the composer embraces both microtonal
clustering of string tones and an idea of musical development that is
conceptually simple as well as incremental. "Five More String Quartets"
starts as a thick cloud of dissonance, which persists through the piece
while slowly morphing into a big unison. The pace is almost maddeningly
snail-like; whereas the rhythmic, diatonic melodies of Philip Glass are
intriguing enough to listen to for half an hour, the screeching of
microtonal string harmonies begins to wear out its welcome far sooner. "Early Winter"
is, alas, even longer (45 minutes)! Its premise is similar, however: groups
of instruments phase back and forth from consonance to dissonance in a
constant drone. It takes a dedicated ear to approach pieces as austere as
these. I think a concert setting is the best place for them; in a
dark, cool auditorium, with no distractions, there's a good chance they'd
enchant rather than annoy. -- nw
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Vincent Clarke & Martyn Ware / Spectrum Pursuit
Vehicle / Mute (CD)
Vincent (nee Vince) Clarke was in Depeche Mode, Yaz
and Erasure. Martyn Ware was in Heaven 17. Before you go
all eighties-crazy, STOP -- this isn't what you
think. Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle demonstrates once
again that ambient music and new age music aren't merely
neighbours; there's no fence between their back gardens and
their cats enjoy regular conjugal visits. Over the disc's seventy-four minutes, you get six tracks --
actually, five tracks and a reprise -- of floating,
enveloping, relaxing ambience, each piece associated with a
specific color: "White" suggests heaven, "Yellow" conjures a
beach, "Red" recalls the womb, "Blue" takes you underwater
and "Green" describes a forest. There's no "Beige (You are in a
dentist's waiting room)", but there should be. While each
track succeeds in conjuring the desired images (which isn't
all that hard when the track titles tell you what to
imagine), the music isn't "weird" enough to satisfy the
average ambient fan. Most of the pieces are too repetitive,
friendly and relaxing to compete with Eno, the Orb et
al, and some of the environmental effects have been
applied with far too heavy a hand. The spatialization,
however, is brilliant. Listen with headphones or a
surround-sound rig and you'll be floored, but be prepared to
endure your friends' wisecracks about Yanni and meditation
if you play Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle for company. --
gz
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Various Artists / Sweet Emotion: Songs of Aerosmith / Heavy Hip Mama (CD)
Ah... the tribute album. A strange breed indeed. On Sweet Emotion...,
the songs of Aerosmith are worked over in blues fashion, resulting in some
moments of brilliance and a few other moments that sound more awkward than inspiring.
Otis Clay, though an accomplished singer, sounds completely
uncomfortable singing "Cryin'" -- every lyric seems forced and lacks the
passion of the original. I'd have thought that if there was one style of music you could
count on to infuse anything it touches with passion, it's the blues...but apparently
even the blues has its limits. Clay's performance is but the
first of several disappointments on this disc -- but thankfully, the
low points are balanced by some inspired renditions, like Donald
Kinsey's "Sweet Emotion", and more notably, Kim McFarland's gospel/blues
"Dream On". Perhaps the most impressive piece is David "Honeyboy" Edwards' soulful
"Train Kept A Rollin'", which easily makes up for the other
mediocre moments. It's blues at its finest. -- al
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MC Double M & The Yup Yup Crew / Horn If You're Honky /
Dunket (CD)
This is really really really bad. Bad. Not good. Four backwards-baseball-cap-wearing Brooklynites rap over lame beats, cheesy keyboard pads and half-assed guitar noodling. All of that would actually be okay if these guys were earnest but not very talented wannabe rap stars.
Nothing wrong with that. But MC Double M and crew also want to be
funny. And oh wow, there's nothing worse than not-funny "funny"
rap. So. There's a picture of a bull ramming his horn up a matador's
arse on the cover. Get it? Oh, okay, I feel bad ripping them like this;
I'm sure they're nice guys and all. They may even have a decent song
or two in them. But please, MC Double M, next time shoot for something a
little more ambitious than tepid, juvenile rap. --
ib
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Reynolds / Field Recordings / Gringo (CD)
"This Flat Land" is an epic, with whispering vocals and some spoken word in
the background, reminiscent of a pissed Mark E. Smith. The song's heart is the slowly swirling guitars, which had the same effect on me as La Monte Young's "Well Tuned Piano"; my first reaction was, "Nothing much is happening", but my mind obsessed over each sound that reached it. I like to pretend that the next song, "Humble Pie", is a tribute to the band of that name, but it's
punk along the lines of Squirrel Bait. While the vocals, surprisingly, rise
above the instruments, the lyrics are indecipherable. Perhaps
it's a dirty song, and not a tribute; the band lets you make the call. For the next six songs, the guitars are back to a slow groove, and the singer is once again audible only to those animals with hearing so good that they're always jumpy. "Friday Bridge to March" is a lesser, but welcome
return to punk territory, while "Airplane" is restful and only that.
Happily, there's an untitled instrumental bonus track that reaches the
same very high note on which the disc began. As with "This Flat Land", it's as
minimalist and as beautiful as any field recording Allan Lomax unearthed. -- td
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Graham / Never, and Maybe not Even Then / Dreamy (CD)
Glaswegian pop wunderkind Graham
Darnell has gone a long way toward proving that Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian
are no longer that city’s only viable musical exports. His impressive
debut -- an early contender for album title of the year -- is chock full of
Carnaby Street-style pop whimsy. With a voice vaguely reminiscent
of Morrissey, Darnell’s sonorous croon drives charming ditties like
"Remember it Good" and "Last Christmas". He lets his imagination run
wild on the dreamy title track, while the gorgeously multi-layered
"Skywriter" is a summertime anthem just waiting to happen. But it’s not
all sunshine and happiness round Darnell’s way, as the jaunty yet maudlin
"Thirteen Times Alone" so beautifully illustrates. If he's able to
keep churning out albums like Never, and Maybe not Even Then Graham
Darnell may soon find himself at the head of a full-on pop uprising that
even Stuart Murdoch & Co. would be proud of. -- jj
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Various Artists / The Silence in My Heart: The Emo Diaries, Chapter Six / Deep Elm (CD)
"If you feel like giving me a lifetime of devotion/I second that emotion", the old song goes. Things have changed, and the current wave of emotionally sensitive rock (yes, emo) tends more toward the heartbreaking end of the spectrum. Deep Elm's long-running compilation series, spotlighting young bands from around the world, culls the best from a genre too often trapped in its own conventions -- soft/loud dynamics, yearning lyricism, heart-on-sleeve delivery -- without venturing too far into territory that might alienate current fans. The bands on Silence range widely in geography, from Vancouver's Honeysuckle Serontina and England's Southpaw to Tokyo's Naht; Italy, Sweden, Germany, and a smattering of American cities (including Dallas, Portland, and Berkeley) are also represented. All of the songs are sung in English, although it's occasionally a creative version of the language. Aesthetically, most of the work here follows a familiar pattern. Minor chords spiral tensely, songs build and decay on melody lines that shine through fuzzy guitars. Barcode contribute one of the best songs, "Kent" -- a declaration of faith in a path always slipping out of reach ("You are the way/Floating away") that ends with a lovely, meditative coda. Strong selections also come from the grungy Hangin' On a Thread ("Flavour") and Naht, in the violin-driven "Way Not Stand Against You". Nothing on Silence will surprise you if you've heard any of the bands coming from the emo-identified Deep Elm or Jade Tree labels, but nearly every track is solid, and some even meet their goal of emotional fulfillment. -- rt
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Sixer / Saving Grace / TKO (CD)
Leer Baker's husky vocals bring to mind images of sweaty,
swaying crowds littered with fist-pumping teenagers. There's a distinctly
anthemic quality to Baker's voice, and when it's coupled with
hand claps and bumping bass lines, tunes like "Tear It Down" and "Ground
Zero" gain an alluring tang of grandeur. This tight Richmond, VA quartet
combines Social Distortion, the Swingin' Utters and The Clash,
creating coarse, meaty tunes that rock straightforwardly, but retain a
punk feel in their melodies. It's pretty easy to get lost in any number of
these songs, as the suave combination of countrified riffs and disorganized
chaos on Saving Grace makes for an impressive assembly of songs.
Sure, you've probably heard this punk and rock formula before, but Sixer is
easily at the top of the talent pool, making their CD a must have. -- am
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Various Artists / Sound Spirit Fury Fire Sampler No. 3 / Deep Elm (CD)
Post-punk label Deep Elm probably issued Sound Spirit Fury Fire Sampler No. 3 to deafening disbelief: if this is post-punk, then pop rock is post-punk. Not that this music is
bad -- catchy melodies are scattered throughout the album. Shimmering, slight guitar solos are layered over softened, echoing percussion and equally quiet, ruminative bass. The
fastest, most energetic tracks would be Brandtson's "Leaving Ohio" and Planes Mistaken for Stars' "Leaning the Room", played at punkishly breakneck two-minute-song speed and
deafening volume. The rest of the album, on the other hand, could safely be played in the presence of your grandparents. You can almost hear the musicians, heads bent over their instruments, plucking the strings
and letting their sticks fall aimlessly; almost every single track sounds lazy and tired. It's the kind of music you'd want to hear after work while nursing a beer and staring at the stranger
in the bar mirror; pretty, not disturbing, but lipsticky. -- js
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Second Left / Fruitful Abyss / Silica (CD)
Funky, jammy, whatever you want to call it, this is right up the alley of
anyone who’s ever been a Phish or Grateful Dead fan. Second Left combines
elements of funk, reggae, blues and jazz -— the perfect AAA (Adult Album
Alternative) radio cocktail. At one point during "Creatures" I
think I even heard someone sing "Jah, Jah" in the background, but in a
decidedly non-Bad Brains way. "Pigs Without Ears", a song about two dogs
and a bag of pig ears, tickled my funny bone, as it reminded me of my
voracious pig-ear-eating dog. Fruitful Abyss is a solid jam
band-esque album for those of you out there who like that kind of stuff. -- az
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Mmmmmm, pretty. And no, I'm not just talking about the girl
on the cover. The Autumns' all-covers entry in Absalom's 3"
CD subscription series scored them points for quirkiness,
but told us little about their own songwriting ability.
Here, they've remedied that omission with four originals,
all of them rooted in the syrupy sound of slowdance-friendly
sixties pop, as refined by Brian Wilson. "Quite" downplays
the gauzy junior prom ambiance in favor of more modern sound
and speedier tempo, but the other three tunes are smooth and
nostalgic, perfectly suited to darkened gymnasiums, mirror
ball stars and holding your honey close. Vocalist Matthew
Kelly overworks his falsetto but avoids the off-key
atrocities that keep so much indie pop from rising above its
DIY means. If you like the woozy retro-pop elevator sound of Ladybug
Transistor, there's a good chance you'll love Le
Carillon -- and because it runs just over twelve
minutes, you can listen to it five times an hour if you want to. --
gz
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Marcel / Spice: The Alternative Hip-Hop
Experience / Bombay Recording Company (CD)
Hip-hop may not be my musical forté, but I
can spot a Prince influence from a mile away. With
Marcel, the task wasn't particularly difficult, as his
high-pitched, sexually suggestive falsetto is a
perfect match for Minnesota's home-town hero. That's not
to say that Spice is derivative; rather, it
matches the established R&B sensuality with a
contemporary hip-hop slant that incorporates
futuristic digital beats and confident production. The disc is far from perfect -- at
times the lyrics approach comedically absurd levels of lurid eroticism -- but the music
itself is amply enjoyable. --jw
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Faith and the Muse / Elyria / Metropolis
(CD)
Filled with rich, velvety melodies and a grand sense of drama, this reissue
demonstrates the skill that William Faith and Monica Richards put into
their craft. Nearly eight years after its initial release, the music on
Elyria remains remarkably fresh. This vitality is due in part to
the centuries-old roots upon which goth music draws; after all, if some of
your lyrics are drawn from seventeenth-century texts, how much difference
can eight years make? The rest of the freshness can be credited to the duo's talent
for penning moving melodies and engaging songs, sidestepping clichés that
would date the material. Because of this effort, this disc is an
enthralling listen, and will remain vibrant for some time to
come. -- rd
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Kate Simpkins / Station / Self-Released (CD)
I have fond memories of growing up with Kate Simpkins, though we weren’t exactly great friends. While I was off jumping in mud, Kate was off with the older girls talking about books and life and stuff. When junior high came around, I tried to play her my new Huey Lewis and the News cassette, but she would have none of it, instead preferring Sarah McLachlan, The Cranes and Portishead. We parted ways after she left for college and I had to redo my senior year. Six years later I’m a pathetic rock critic who makes a living trading in my piles of reviewed CDs for money, while Kate went on to self-release this pretty, ultra-mature solo album. I can’t help but be a little jealous of her deep, sensual-yet-intelligent voice and her adult yet still kinda indie sound. Her voice is nicely complimented by the slow, orchestrated, melancholy music, produced with both real and synthesized instruments. I find it endlessly ironic that we meet again in this way. Me, the critic; Kate, the artist. I guess some people just grow up too fast, while others never change. Kate, if you ever want to meet up again, I have a big puddle of mud just waiting to be enjoyed. (Editor's Note: Readers who'd like to see Ed mudwrestle Ms. Simpkins before her next Chicago-area performance should drop us a line. We'll try to arrange it.) -- ea
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The Charlie West Temporary A.M. Band / Self-Titled / Moss Music (CD)
The lyrics for Charlie West's solo project, mostly sung over acoustic
guitars, often seem to dip into too many different genres. "Think" repeats the line "I want to be in love and talk about it," in a very Southern, country-esque way. The next
track, "Stop Sign", sounds almost like a Radiohead throwaway, with an
emotionless female voice repeating "Never have I aspired to achieve greatness
/ Nor attempted mediocrity." "Brilliant", which starts with the line,
"Drinking, so I'll write drinking till I die," reminds me of Elliott Smith.
It's West's guitar skills that make these songs uniquely his; alternating between northern
folk and southern country, his style is entirely
his own. Electric guitar adds a tinge of rock and roll to his raw, bluesy sound, making this
the sort of album that becomes a jukebox favorite in off-the-beaten-trail bars. -- jk
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Ben Davis / The Hushed Patterns of Relief / Lovitt (CD)
An album of lush chamber-pop is just about the last thing you’d expect
to hear from a former member of Sleepytime Trio/Milemarker, but that’s
exactly what Ben Davis gives us here. On
this relatively low-key debut, Davis forsakes the fury of his former
groups in favor of a more refined but no less affecting approach. He
lets his inner singer/songwriter come to the fore on the somber "Black
and White Parade", while the buoyant "Poised and Determined" has a
distinct cabaret-style verve that even Brian Ferry would envy.
Elsewhere, Davis digs deep into his psyche for the sullen sway of
"Conclude This Movement" and displays his love of creamy '70s pop with
the sumptuous "Your Terms are now Mine". Though it's hardly what you’d expect from
a man with his pedigree, The Hushed Pattern of Relief proves that Davis is as comfortable fronting a group as he was being a member of one. -- jj
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Nicky Love / Honey Vision /
Dreamworks (CD)
Take some rock and roll guitaring, put it to some beat-heavy,
techno/hip-hop music, add a female voice that's
dramatic but not too complicated, and you have your basic formula for a pop
sensation. In this case, it's Nicky Love. In magazine
articles, Love claims that she doesn't want to be just "a fluff in a dress" --
but in the accompanying photos, that's just what she is. That's the sort of
duality that brought Eminem to the top of the charts. Admittedly, the music isn't all boring radio junk; the arrangements (by famed producer Mario
de Vries) change the songs nicely, while often retaining a high-quality
electric sound. Love, as the talent/product/eye candy du jour, channels the overly simplistic, radio-friendly lyrics, from the teenie angst of "Choke" to the post-break-up-bitterness of "Because of You". I defy you to care. -- jk
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Psychoactive Systems / Break Dark Thunder / Self-Released (CD)
This unusual combination teams ambient electronic beats with simmering hip-hop rhymes, which is kind of like shooting DJ Spooky and
Kool Keith out your local space station airlock with a set of turntables
and a microphone. Electronically speaking, Psychoactive Systems' beats are
tight, relying on a distinct minimalism that creates the mood, but doesn't
interfere with the lyrical and programming elements. Ambient keyboards and
swirling effects zoom in and out of the forefront as three MCs take turns
unleashing abstract rhymes that mesh well with the airy beats behind them.
There's a definite and immediate disposition created by Psychoactive
Systems -- one that lets your subconscious play a part in the analysis and
digestion of the band's music. Prepare to misplace your consciousness as
tracks like "Locusthead" and "Seismic Anomaly" wander off into unsettled
territories deep within your brain, leaving you with a total loss of time
and a cloudy confusion as to your whereabouts. You may be
witnessing the birth of space-hop...or perhaps you've just been the victim of
an alien abduction... -- am
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Das Ich / Re_Laborat / Metropolis (CD)
If Re_Laborat sounds oddly pre-millennial, there's a
reason: Das Ich actually issued this remix album slash
retrospective in 1999, and this domestic reissue adds
only one new track. Das Ich's sound didn't change very much
in the ten years covered by Re_Laborat; indeed, most
of their advances can be credited to improvements in
technology rather than major shifts in their operational
dynamic. However, if you enjoyed the dense, compressed
German industrial sound of the late eighties, its flat
vocals and burbling keyboards unsullied by nu-beat and
techno influences, you should be pretty happy with these
fifteen tracks. The remixes, by the likes of Wumpscut, VNV
Nation, Laboratory X and Atrocity, add a slightly more
modern sheen to the music, but the cold industrial-gothic
anger endures. -- gz
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Various Artists / The Rough Guide to Merengue and Bachata /
World Music Network (CD)
I put this disc on and turned my attention elsewhere, only to find that this
compilation of merengue music had melted its way into my subconscious; my thoughts
were going as fast as the beat, making me uncomfortably giddy and frantic,
pushing me closer and closer to a heart attack. Originating in the streets
of the Dominican Republic, merengue combines fast, high-pitched melodies
(which bring back memories of 1980s computer sound effects) with a big-band
sound. The result is fast-paced dance that, influenced by modern tastes,
might incorporate Spanish-style hip-hop, and often includes strong sexual innuendo
in its lyrics. Some people find fast, popular dance music to be
impersonal, and they'll probably get the same result here -- but to those who like body-moving
grooves, this Rough Guide presents a parallel world that can be just as enjoyable as a nightclub dance floor. And to both crowds, the disc's extensive liner notes offer a neat
learning experience. -- jk |
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Wolfie / Tall Dark Hill / March (CD)
Wolfie don't take long to declare their by-the-bootstraps statement of purpose. The third album from this young Champaign, IL band (all of the members are under 23) opens with "What I Want From the World"'s exclamation, "After years of struggling/I finally believe in myself". All of the songs on Tall Dark Hill, in fact, deal explicitly with "making things better and becoming a better person." An admirable goal, especially in the dark, whiny days of Staind et al, but one that would wear thin quickly if these lessons in self-improvement weren't couched in short, crackling power pop settings. Produced by Poster Children's Rick Valentin, Wolfie craft straightforward songs without being simplistic; two singers, Joe and Amanda, alternate vocal lines as well as harmonizing sweetly, and an array of keyboards fill delicate space between the guitars. Wolfie can recall a younger version of the Fastbacks, walking the fine line between power and pop quite effectively. The closing "Happy State of Mr. Bubbins" rambles on for nine minutes, but in its structural shifts could just as easily be broken into three three-minute tracks. It's a puzzling misstep for an album that's memorable if not groundbreaking. Given a chance, Tall Dark Hill might even make you feel better about yourself. -- rt
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Wolf Eyes / Self-Titled / Bulb (CD)
People who love experimental music and experimental drugs will still probably
find much on Wolf Eyes to annoy them. "Give It Up" -- a noisefest
of random keyboard assaults, irritated vocals and guttermouth guitar --
induces headaches each time I think about it, let alone hear it, and
"Imagine Yourself As Me" is more like imagining yourself in hell. I'd hate
to have such music flowing within me. Needless to say, then, if you spot this
handsomely designed CD on a record shop visit, be aware that "Heartbeat
City" is not a Cars cover. The closest description I can provide for the band's sound
is Sonic Youth's very unseasoned Sonic Death, crossed with some
street denizen whacked out on PCP. However, while I'm less than receptive to the pleasures that the
band's music may offer, I'm impressed that their music is so unique and
distinctive. Made on a shoestring budget, and generally within a basement,
Wolf Eyes' music will hurt you more than any bite Lon Chaney could
inflict -- and that's something neither Jane's Addiction or Nine Inch Nails
could ever claim. -- td
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Bedbug / Happiest of Hours / Tight Spot
(CD)
Bedbug's approach to pop music owes much to bands like
Guided by Voices, Pavement and The Promise Ring. The Austin-based group's music is well
put together -- constructed on firm, creative basslines, punchy drums and
jangly guitars. Lyrics are as sufficiently enigmatic as the vocal delivery is
low-key. In the universal scheme of things, I suppose bands like this trace their
lineage back to the Velvet Underground, perhaps by way of Sonic Youth. I
like Happiest of Hours well enough; despite the banal subject matter of
the opening track, "Misadventures of an Orange Daisy Towel", the music is
catchy, upbeat and hummable. "Captain America is Coming" is just a cool
title, even if it may not have anything to do with the Marvel Comics
character of the same name. As with the album's opener, this track is
proficient and enjoyable -- a bit slow and deliberate, but emotive and
sincere nonetheless. Indie pop lovers, here's a nice new bee for your bonnet. -- nw
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Heather Shayne Blakeslee / Bones / Little Red (CD)
Heather Shayne Blakeslee’s music melds contemporary folk rock with darker themes and the smell of Autumn. While most of the songs are centered around her acoustic guitar and luxurious voice, the album benefits from its minimal instrumental accompaniment and its crystal clear production. The songs, while obviously deeply personal, never read like a bad diary entry; instead, Blakeslee melds her experiences into more abstract and poetic verses. The warm sounds of the acoustic guitars and dobros slyly contrast the album’s deeply troubled subject matter; in fact, two of the first three songs mention the big H. Blakeslee has created an album that is soft, dark, feminine and mature. -- ea
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Skunk D.F. / Dentro / Snapper (CD)
I suppose that I should be impressed that Spain is capable of producing
their own Korn or Marilyn Manson, of sorts. Skunk D.F. is apparently the
"nu-metal" hope of the Costa Del Sol, but as far as metal goes,
Dentro isn’t nearly loud, fast or aggressive enough to engage my
interest. Melody totally supplants rhythm throughout the album -- I had to
strain to make out the drums most of the time, and superhuman
precision drumming is the key to good metal, nu or not. And jeez, the
singer’s actually singing! On the bright side, "Plaza Suarez" is a definite exception to the
album's rule; its insistent drumming, growled vocals and
all-around forcefulness make it almost as good as Sepultura or
Soulfly! -- az
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The Twin Atlas / Kitchen U.S.A. / Tappersize (CD)
Hot on the heels of last year’s unjustly ignored The Philadelphia
Parking Authority Must Die, Sean Byrne and Lucas Zaleski are back with another collection of shimmering lo-fi gems. Over the course of Kitchen U.S.A.'s 22 tracks, you'll be taken on an aural journey that sounds like all your favorite artists, past and present, coming together for one big jam. You’ll find
lovely Beatles-esque pop ("Chemical Divide"), aching, country-tinged
ballads ("Random Homes"), peculiar Badly Drawn Boy-isms ("When the
Dawn Survives") and clever pseudo-covers ("Where the Feet Have no
Name"). The band's love of the Elephant 6 collective is apparent on the
Elf Power-inspired fuzz-fest "What We Wear", while the gauzy acoustic
stride of "Tell the Stories" hints that the duo has heard a Neutral
Milk Hotel record or two in their day. Once again, Byrne and Zaleski
deliver the goods as only they can, which is exactly why Kitchen
U.S.A. deserves a spot between In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
and Revolver in your record collection. -- jj
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The Ivory Coast / Clouds / Polyvinyl (CD)
Though its popularity is clearly waning and the genre is nosediving
rapidly into self-parody, emo still inspires legions of pale, emaciated young men to pick up guitars and try to put their feelings of loneliness to music. The Ivory Coast exemplify the result of such actions. Lead singer Jay Cox sings in a nasal, high-pitched voice that's just a
little off key. The guitars are jangly and detuned ever so
slightly. The lyrics speak of loneliness, breaking up and
all the other themes of which shoegazing emo kids are so fond.
Being groundbreaking or innovative is obviously
not on the agenda. Making high quality emo-pop is on the books, however --
a fact which reveals itself more and more with each
successive listen to Clouds. Emo might have inspired a lot of third-rate hacks, but
The Ivory Coast aren't among them. -- mp
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Rick Rose Rude / Lullaby's For the Damned (sic) / Bleeding Rose
(CD)
There's something about egregious rock 'n' roll boasting that makes sense
to me, and consequently, so does stud-in-the-making Rick Rose Rude. Despite
his low-budget CD package, Rude includes an autograph on the back of the
liner notes, tacking "Rock & Roll Star" onto the end of his name as if it
was a college degree. Rude dismembers several tunes with slightly
sloppy acoustic guitar work and boozy vocals, adding some amusing character
to the disc. Sure, it sounds heinous, but Rude somehow pulls off the bad
boy attitude; numbers like "Drunk Like Me" and "Head First" stick to self
deprecation, while "Model Girlfriend" discusses the merits of Rude's
beauty-queen mate...yah, right. Add Dylan and Westerberg covers and
Lullaby's For the Damned (Oh, Christ... Another crime against the apostrophe. - Ed.) ends up striking an off-key chord of amusement, as Rude, the rock
star in making, showcases his wares. Let's face facts: rock 'n' roll is all
about attitude, and there's plenty of attitude steaming from this puerile platter!
Bring on the rock! -- am
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The Bionaut / Lubricate Your Living Room / Matador (CD)
Lubricate Your Living Room is as trippy and urbane as it sounds; from the opening track, "Electric Campfire (in a neo-Ackerman style)", the listener knows she is in for a
strange ride. Similar in style to the Orchids' "A Living Ken and Barbie", "Electric Campfire" is a monologue by a mysterious male, talking explicitly about his girlfriend's lurid
romance novel reading habits, overlaid with a loop of a woman singing the title. Synthesizer is the primary instrument here, creating sculptured soundscapes, rounded and
syrupy, paired with almost tribal drum machine rhythms. Every track slips neatly into the next, the whole work sounding like a set piece experiment rather than pieces constructed
individually in separate moods. Fans of Mouse on Mars would be completely comfortable with the Bionaut's chiming electronic experiments. Unlike some experimental electronica, this
sound is almost poppy, and never overly energetic. Lubricate Your Living Room is the perfect accompaniment to a bottle of Grey Goose at your next cocktail party. -- js
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Kristian, Shalabi, St-Onge / Self-Titled / Alien8 (CD)
File under Ambient Textural Explorations. While Sam Shalabi
might be the most recognizable name for
the average Splendid reader -- he lent his name to The
Shalabi Effect and is often linked to Godspeed You Black
Emperor, usually in order to sell more Shalabi Effect stuff
-- composer David Kristian is the driving force here. In
this improvised session, Shalabi and cohort Alexandre
St-Onge contributed the organic-sounding instrumentation
(oud, guitar and the wonderful texture of St-Onge's upright
bass) while Kristian worked his magic with an EMS VCS-3
synthesizer. Most of the pieces here share the creepily
spartan aesthetic of low-budget horror and sci-fi films --
perhaps not surprisingly, given Kristian's work in that
area. It's a clean, clinical sound built of random blips,
warbling tones and quasi-mechanical oscillations, shot
through with a disturbing undercurrent of malaise to create
the feeling that something somewhere isn't quite right.
It's often the traditional instrumentation that'll really
make your skin crawl, as "Tinkle Reptile" ably demonstrates,
though the low-end rumble Kristian creates for
"Radiatorheart" will have you rethinking that new
subwoofer. Simply put, although (or perhaps because) its
ability to turn auditory stimulus into visceral reaction is
impressive, this isn't a disc to listen to when you're alone
in the house at night. -- gz
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Philip Corner / 40 Years and One: Philip Corner Plays the Piano / XI (CD)
Philip Corner was/is one of the avant-garde tricksters in the Fluxus
group, and as such he was involved in just about as much of the Twentieth
Century's weirdness as any one human could be. This disc finds him
playing some of the many piano works he's written over the last four
decades. Many of the pieces have conceptual or graphical scores, which
makes these realizations by Corner all the more interesting, as he's
really the only one who knows what he was thinking when he created the
pieces. For instance, the score for "C Major Chord" says: "You can do
anything you like provided it is a C Major Chord." His playing is often
delicate and playful, but it can also be deeply serious and seriously
gorgeous. This isn't the piano music you learned from the old lady down
the street when you were a kid. But here's hoping that with the help of
CDs like this one, the many strange and wonderful forms that music took
in the 20th Century will be as familiar to 21st Century music students
as the music of the 19th Century is today. --
ib
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The Other 99 / At the Eleventh Hour / Cropduster (CD)
Produced by inveterate engineer and all-around cool
guy Gene Holder of New Wave Hot-dog fame, The Other 99
display a knack for the infectious -- jangle-pop
rhythms straight out of Bee Thousand atop
airy-yet-dynamic lyrics that display an upbeat wit.
With the
assistance of Cracker keyboardist Kenny Margolis, songs
such as the irreverently playful "Better View" are juxtaposed
with the mandolin-charged Americana of
"Smokescreen" and the minimalist pop of "Last
Juliet" -- a bass-heavy number with a little more La and
a lot less Yo than a certain New Jersey counterpart.
The combination of guitars and striking originality has become
anything but abundant, and you won't find it here either. Still, At the Eleventh Hour
is an enjoyable collection of intelligent pop, and should
satisfy anyone who's still awaiting the second coming of
the Lemonheads. -- jw
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Hundred Hands / Little Eyes / Deep Elm (CD)
There’s no denying that Little Eyes' major selling point is that two of the three members of Hundred Hands also happen to be in a little band called The Appleseed Cast. Unfortunately, the
spirit and energy that Aaron Pillar and Christopher Crisci bring to
their other outfit is completely lost on Hundred Hands. While that may
be the point entirely, there's no escaping the fact that the majority
of Little Eyes trawls along on all-too-familiar guitar lines and
monotonous drumming (courtesy of producer-of-the-moment Ed Rose).
Pillar’s vocals on songs like "Washed Away" and "Farewell" sound as
though they were recorded in a dumpster, their resonant thump detracting
from the supposed poignancy of the lyrics. While it is wholly
unfair to compare Little Eyes to the watershed accomplishment of
Mare Vitalis, anyone who has ever heard that record knows damn well that
Crisci and Pillar are capable of much more than they've given us here. -- jj
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Mel Graves / Day of Love / Mutable
(CD)
This release combines two sets of compositions by the legendary Graves.
The first, which features Graves on bass, is intended as a love note for
his wife. Given the music's odd time signatures, dissonant melodies and downright
terrifying tension, one can only wonder what sort of home life Graves has.
The second set, "Global Village", was originally commissioned by the Kronos
Quartet. Here, the lesser-known quartet ETHYL does the music justice by
infusing the difficult material with just as much passion as their peers.
Put simply, this is classical music to go insane by. Not for the faint of
heart, these challenging performances display why Graves is an acknowledged
master at infusing music theory with music fury. -- rd
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gz - george zahora | nw - noah wane | am - andrew magilow | ib - irving bellemead | jj - jason jackowiak | td - theodore defosse
rd - ron davies | js - jenn sikes | rt - ryan tranquilla | al - amy leach | jw - john wolfe
az - alex zorn | ea - ed anderson | jk - josh kazman | mp - matthew pollesel
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