OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS | |
Kil Howlie Day,
The Peepshows,
The Knit Separates,
Robert Marcel Lepage,
Eturivi,
Oranger,
National Skyline,
Lucy Loves Schroeder,
Jamie Lidell,
Blinder,
Christmas Songs,
Avey Tare and Panda Bear,
Frigate,
The Limes,
Lazy Dog,
The Scholars,
Astropop 3,
Film School,
Dakota Suite,
Antaeus
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Kil Howlie Day / One Finger Ad-lib / Sox We Overran (CD)
Charles Allison will no longer aid and abet the production of swill by other musicians -- or at least that's what he says in the liner notes of One Finger Ad-lib, his first solo CD.
Tired of wasting his efforts on musicians who "lacked vision", he kicked it DIY style to create this funky mix of danceable beats, found voices and Speak and Spell call outs. By
corralling catchy samples and invigorating them with his own heartfelt lyrics and contagious rhythms, Allison gives us a true charmer of a CD. Here's hoping he steers clear of other
musicians and continues pumping out his own tunes. -- rg
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The Peepshows / Meet the Peepshows / Glazed (7")
Close your eyes -- here comes another blast from overseas, as
Sweden’s Peepshows shower you with four unnerving rockers. Led by a
thick 'n' meaty guitar attack, this fearsome foursome lets every ounce
of
testosterone-laden rocket-fuel out of its bloodstream with a fierce
intensity. It’s revved-up rock, Scandinavian style, just as
potent
on vinyl as I’m sure it is live on stage. The only drawback is that
these
guys bear a striking resemblance to The Hellacopters as they power
through each one of these heavy-duty monsters. However, if you're out
looking for a high-energy, low brain-cell involvement good time, and
already have several Jagermeister shots under your belt, The Peepshows
will
finish you off and leave you with a hangover to remember. -- am
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The Knit Separates / Love’s True Cross (A Vinyl Dramatization) /
Three Acre Floor (LP)
With the release of Love’s True Cross (A Vinyl Dramatization), The Knit
Separates have officially become the gothic Guided by Voices. An odd
combination of Robert Pollard’s warped lyrical vision and Robert Smith’s
diluted melodic fury, this vinyl-only release finds the San Francisco
group churning out one dust-encrusted pop nugget after another. From
the opening strains of "We Had Love" to the final bars of "Wolfblumchen",
the album spirals along on a downward path of disillusion and fear,
punctuated by moments of awkward realization and pure blind terror.
Particularly potent is the sullen "Camp of Saints", which slowly floats
out to sea on a raft of chiming guitars and devastating vocal
interplay. Love’s True Cross could prove to be a savior to all you
listeners out there weeping about the demise of the Cure, and depressed
at the realization that there won’t be a new GBV record until next
Spring. -- jj
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Robert Marcel Lepage / Full Blast (Original
Soundtrack) / Ambiences Magnetiques (CD)
You're not imagining things -- this is one of Ambiances
Magnetiques' rare forays into rock material, and it's also
a film soundtrack. Apparently
Robert Marcel Lepage (often mentioned in tandem with Martin
Tétreault, also part of the ensemble here) possesses
some killer rock chops. I haven't seen Full Blast,
but apparently it's "a stunning exploration of a trash rock
group on the slide", which sounds pretty interesting to me.
Musically, the faux group is pretty compelling,
spinning a mixture of punk rock, blues and country, with
vocalist Marie-Jo Thério displaying serious punk
bipolarity. Imagine the Waco Brothers jamming with Six
Finger Satellite, fronted by Atari Teenage Riot's Hanin
Elias, and you'll get the picture. Songs stop abruptly and
change personality without warning (see "Beautiful Baby"'s
punk-to-blues mood swing), and long, moody silences
punctuate the music, enhancing the album's art-damaged cred.
Damn, I really want to see this film. -- gz
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Eturivi / S/T /
Verdura (7")
Did you ever see that movie Liquid Sky? It's usually in the cult
section at the video store. When I was in high school my friend and I
(yeah, only one) considered it a good Saturday night if we defaced some
public property, polished off a bag of Doritos each and managed to watch
all of Liquid Sky without falling asleep. You won't fall asleep
whilst listening to this Finnish Supergroup, but you might be reminded of
the slightly goofy but totally enthralling (to a high school dork anyway)
1980s futuristic disco club scenes from Liquid Sky. Which isn't at
all to say that this sounds like 1980s music -- rather, I guess I'm trying
to say that Liquid Sky got it right after all, assuming that what
they were shooting for was the very strange, repetitive, beat-oriented,
spoken-word (in Finnish), sort of blurpy organic-techno music that would
come out of Pori (a small town in western Finland) in the early 21st
century. If you, being a connoisseur of Finnish experimental music,
already know all about the music scene in Pori, then maybe you don't need
this 7". Otherwise, it's certainly worth the five bucks! And check out
Liquid Sky while you're at it. Guess who that is doing the beatbox
routine... --
ib
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Oranger / The Quiet Vibration Land / Amazing Grease (CD)
Almost immediately I'm thinking of the Beatles. Maybe this is
intentional, as the first track is titled "Sorry Paul", and psychedelic Britpop overtones
are falling through the speakers. I remember hearing something by
Oranger before, and finding it more on the high energy side, but these
songs seem to be more laid back and straightforward pop. It makes me happy.
Then suddenly I'm hit by the seventh song, "Texas Snow", and the band
pulls out their rock moves, getting out of the cuteness and into some
Cheap Trick-inspired guitar riffs. The choruses are still almost Beach
Boys-esque, but the guitar wails. Then the song is over, and they spin and
spiral back into that early '60s pop thing again, but it starts getting
stranger -- Olivia Tremor Control kind of strange. Sometimes, as in this case,
strange is good. -- mf
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National Skyline / Exit Now / File 13
(CD)
This is a curious amalgam of independent music by Jeff Garber (Castor) and
Jeff Dimpsey (Hum). The first track, "October", is a competent bit of
indie-pop, while "Identity Crisis" twists a hook reminiscent of Beck's "New
Solution" into a groovy dance number. As its name implies, "Ghosts" is a
dreamy, ethereal song filled with gentle keyboards and placid tones. The
show-stopper, however, is the twelve-plus minute "Korolina II". From an
electronic genesis, the song ebbs and flows through beauty and noise in a
manner that would make Radiohead jealous. There are several nice moments
on this EP, but given the disparity of sounds, it never really gels
into a whole, making Exit Now tantalizing but somewhat
unsatisfying. -- rd
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Lucy Loves Schroeder / Seven Inch Jellyfish / Grade 9 (7")
There's a bit of sexual tension that lays the foundation for this Dallas
based trio. Of
course, any time a cute girl straps on a guitar and croons at the
microphone while two guys zip
through a solid backing rhythm, I start feelin' all itchy inside. Kinky?
Maybe. Talk to my
lawyer. Musically speaking, Lucy Loves Schroeder subscribes to the familiar
sounds of pop
tinged punk. The band stands out in this medium by providing four crafty
songs that are each
extremely well recorded. This isn’t another 4-track 7" recorded in your
Mom’s basement broom
closet. Sara Radle’s vocals are what push this trio over the top, as she
boldly belts out
melodic lines and charming choruses, reminding you that good pop music
can dramatically
alter your mood. "Big Drag" is my favorite here; it's a tale
of romance gone wrong, accentuated by lush backing vocals. Radle’s charged delivery alternates between convivial
harmonies and
brief bursts of screeching indictment, reminding me of Kim Shattuck of The
Muffs. -- am
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Jamie Lidell / Muddlin Gear / Warp (CD)
Imagine you're watching a sci-fi film. A spaceship, hovering over Bristol,
opens its doors. Inside, hundreds of aliens, all with the general
appearance
of Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson), open their arms. They proclaim, "Jamie
Lidell, while you haven't yet mastered my craft, you are free to enter."
With that image
in of your head, you should know that Jamie Lidell is doing his best
Squarepusher
impersonation on Muddlin Gear. The sci-fi imagery is apt, because Lidell has decided to simply tack an ambient film-score
noodling exercise
("Daddy No Lie") onto the end of the CD. Before those closing moments, Muddlin Gear is
quite good, extremely annoying, tacky, mildly scary and unbearable -- and in many
instances, all of these adjectives at once. When he sings on a couple of
the songs, you have to think "Now he's trying to be Massive
Attack, and it's not really working." Call it experimental click 'n' bass,
call is Squarepusher-lite, or call it derivative. No matter what you call
it, just be sure to explore Squarepusher's catalog before you put
these muddlin gears into motion. -- tnd
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Blinder / Calamity a Foot Behind / Solarmanite
(CD)
Calamity a Foot Behind is delicate and thoughtful. Megan Wendell's voice is strong, supple, melodic and sure. It's a pleasure
to listen to her sing in a way that most indie pop artists cannot; that is to say, I could easily imagine her singing more vocally demanding music
than pop. It's a shame, therefore, that Blinder seems so focused on making such dischordant music; Wendell should be singing
something as lovely as her voice. The album's pleasant enough; the guitar is innovative, and the synth melds well with it. The
percussion is never memorable, but it accents the music perfectly. It could be a lovely
pop album, which is what I'd think Blinder would want to make (because then, they'd make oodles of money). Instead, the unfortunately-yet-aptly-named Calamity unleashes rock that's too poppy to be arty and too arty to be pop. There aren't any proper melodies per se, and some of the
percussion and guitar work reminds me of Pop Canon's d'art, termed "deconstructionist pop" by another reviewer. If Blinder would sit down and make some beautiful paens to soldering glass or fields of butterflies, I'd be happy to listen. But the phrases of dazed
confusion that pepper their lyrics ("I am still breathing / I am still breathing" in "Is It Just Me?) only serve to disappoint. -- js
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Various Artists / Christmas Songs / Nettwerk
(CD)
Just in time to grab adult album alternative radio by the mistletoe,
here's Sarah McLachlan and the
Barenaked Ladies taking a whack at "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Yes,
it's folksy and full of
acoustic guitar strumming. No, it's not as bad as it could be. It's
actually about four years old,
so this is more a case of "let's capitalize on this track from the
archives" than "Let's pair these two popular
acts and have 'em take on a holiday favorite." The rest of the disc is
uneven. Tara MacLean and the very of-the-moment Dido make a respectable
showing, while Delerium, Mediaeval Baebes and others are shoehorned
into the Christmas theme. The long-lost Meryn Cadell scores with the
surprisingly moving (if undeniably
apocryphal) "Cat Carol". However, the real hit of the disc is CBC
Radio's Stuart McLean, whose twenty-plus minute
narrative "Polly Anderson's Christmas Party" is drop dead hysterical,
but reveals just what a Frankenstein
monster of a disc this is. Still, it's a lot better than that first
track suggests it'll be. -- gz
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Avey Tare and Panda Bear / Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve
Vanished / Animal (CD)
This is, bar none, one of the most fucked up albums ever made. I’m not
exactly sure who Avey Tare and Panda Bear are, but it seems as though
their goal is to make an album that's simultaneously as abrasive as Metal
Machine Music and as cuddly as anything Donovan ever committed to tape.
Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished begins with three tracks of
excruciating electronic noise, punctuated by random bouts of static
and Perry Farrell-styled vocal histrionics. From there the duo explores every point on the musical map, from pure avant guard weirdness
to the blissfully pretty. "Everyone Whistling" is a deranged slice of
mutated space pop, "Bat You’ll Fly" is filled with creaky breaks and
interstellar electro drones and "Alvin Row"'s goofy piano and backwards
looping effects would make it the perfect soundtrack to an alien love
scene. And all of this comes before you reach the untitled tenth track,
which basically amounts to nothing more than 13 minutes of random
percussion, aquatic effects and scratchy vocals. It's all quite strange
and slightly disturbing. This one’s certainly not for the faint of
heart. -- jj
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Frigate / Blow Me Down / Spinning (CD)
This band, I think, lies somewhere between the Ramones and X. Dueling and
dueting male/female vocals sing and wail over nonstop guitar mayhem. Some
of that roots rock creeps in, but it gets thrown against brick walls and
stomped upon by some excellent hardcore twists and turns. There are a
couple of riffs that would not be out of place on the first couple of X
albums, and that alone makes me swoon. Guitarist vocalist Tim Gillis and bassist/vocalist Scurvyann Bean hold the band together. The drums keep everything heartbeat steady while the second
guitar moves in and around the melodies like a hungry animal. Sometimes
Scurvyann's voice reminds me of Fetchin' Bones, but this is harder and
sharper. There's definitely a tie here to that whole Silver Lake scene, and
I'm picturing this band speeding down some California highway with empty
bottles and a tattoo frenzy shining in their eyes... but I think they
hail from Boston. There's a raging cover of "My Baby Lied", and the intro
to "Cantina" made me laugh: "Uno. Dos. Suzi. Quatro." Yeah, this is
rock 'n' roll, and it's full of passion and life. What more do you want? --
mf
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The Limes / Turn Your Lights Off / Deluxe (CD)
The Limes explode immediately into head shaking, hip swaying, hook laden
pop rock of the big grin kind. You can't help but smile (and coincidentally,
the Limes' first release was called Smile). These Dallas boys shift
effortlessly through a few styles of rock, but the common thread is
intensity and solidity, with a straight-ahead drive that keeps the
songs moving. There are a few slower grooves, but the strength of the
guitar, the grit of the bass and the heart of the drums keep the dynamics
flowing. I think "London" is actually a Smiths cover, but here it sounds
perfectly in place with the rest of this band's repertoire; rockin' out
anything by Morrissey is a good thing, I think. There are some beautiful
New Wave moments, crossing wires with old school punk aesthetics, like on
"The Metal Zone Song", but the first song is the one I keep going back to.
It's a perfect beginning. -- mf
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Various Artists / Lazy Dog / Astralwerks
(2xCD)
You've probably heard of Ben Watt, the non-female member of Everything
But the Girl. Jay Hannan is a UK-based
DJ and record-store dance music buyer. Together, they host a club
night, "Lazy Dog", at which they bring the finest in deep house to West
London. They also spent the latter half of November touring the US, so
perhaps that'll help ring a bell. Set-wise, Jay's disc is stronger;
it's a funky, sensual mix of uptempo R&B and Brazilian-styled tracks.
Watt's mix capitalizes on his day job by taking for its centerpiece a
combination of Sandy Rivera feat. LT Brown's "Come into My Room" and the
a capella vocal mix of EBTG's "Wrong". It's pretty striking, but
the rest of the mix seems fairly cold and lifeless, sort of like the
stuff that a club plays between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m., when they'd like you
to think about leaving fairly soon. Both discs spotlight superb, seamless mixing;
you'll just get more mileage out of Hannan's disc, unless you like that
"last call" feeling. -- gz
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The Scholars / Hello Dolly /
LandFall
(CD)
I'm not usually prone to suggesting more polish as an option for an
unknown band to explore, but here goes. Mind you, I'm not talking about
the type of polish that involves better haircuts and more reverb. Rather,
what The Scholars need is a bit more selectivity and a nice slab of
attention to detail. That's the kind of polish that I think could
make this a really good band. The sixteen tracks on Hello Dolly are
all over the place, from rocky blues numbers to alterna-rock mopefests to
slow, organ-driven country dirges. That's fine, but the quality of the
tunes is all over the place too; cutting about half of the tracks and
focusing on the really good ones would have been a smart move.
Sound-quality-wise, there are a bunch of pops and clicks and sudden level
changes in the audio. I understand recording on a limited budget and not
being able to go back and correct every little thing, but leaving a big
old pop or dropout in the middle of a song is just dopey. Same story with
the CD booklet: the covers are quite nice, but inside the layout is really
bad, which is a shame, since some of the lyrics are terrific. Why am I
being so nitpicky about this CD? Because I like it. I think that there are
some really good songs and ideas here. But they're presented in such a way
that it's hard to enjoy them fully. Hopefully The Scholars
will get some support for their next release, and will have a chance to
give their songs the polish they deserve. -- ib
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Astropop 3 / Light Years Away / Asian Man (CD)
This, unfortunately, is just two songs. I'm sure it's also available
on exquisite vinyl, but right here right now it's a CD. Two songs -- and
from the first note I know I want more. There are beautiful female vocals of the
"I've got a crush on that girl" variety, sing-songing along with main
man Dan Villauneva. The first song, "Light Years Away", is a pop-out indie
rocket to the stars, caught in a beach party on Mars. This is pop -- sugar
filled, but not too sweet. It's music that makes you just want to play, conjuring
images of that slow motion scene, running through the park and into the arms of the one
you love. Light Years Away is the music for your favorite crush. -- mf
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Film School / Film School / Me Too
(7")
For your vinyl-buying dollar/pound/whatever, Film School provides three
tunes. "Below" begins as a fairly
straightforward indie rock sprawl, but it gains a rock-solid foundation
in the lush, deep, almost sludgy guitar chords that enhance its chorus.
Similarly, B-side "700 Club" is a mid-tempo tune a la Dinosaur
Jr., but beneath the usual trappings you'll find a subtly insidious
keyboard drone which creates a modest, low-rent My Bloody Valentine
effect. "Song for Your Big Day on the Green" plays in a far smaller
ball park than the tracks
that bookend it; it's solid, but the only thing memorable about it is
the title. -- gz
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Dakota Suite / Signal Hill / Badman (CD)
Not digging Radiohead’s new direction? Give Dakota
Suite a listen. This British quintet evokes the same kind
of gloomy-yet-heartfelt imagery that made those five other lads from
Oxford such a smashing success. From the word go, lead
singer/songwriter Chris Hooson pulls you headlong into his dark and
private world of dreary disabandon and contemplative solitude. Around his fragile persona the rest of the band crafts lush and
dreamy music that often times borders on brilliance.
Standouts like "Morning Heavy" and "Clean Linen Sheets" build slowly,
stacking layers of miniscule instrumentation atop their skeletal frameworks.
Others, like the glowing "I Turned
Away So That I Might Not See", utilize harmoniums, tape effects and
majestic strings to emphasize their points. Troubadours in the grand
tradition, Dakota Suite look set to take over the world. -- jj
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Antaeus / Cut Your Flesh and Worship Satan / Necropolis
(CD)
Thank God some people can still be sincere...though in Antaeus’
case, I’m not sure God is the right guy to thank. The aptly titled Cut
Your Flesh and Worship Satan is obviously not a soundtrack for
strolling through the park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with yer gal.
Anateus is actually barely able to contain itself -- tracks like "Seventh
Ceremony" and "Bleeding Blasphemy" are so incredibly fast that they blur by
in a hazy, deadening sound that's often virtually incomprehensible.
Those of you looking for meaty metal hooks may find these French extremists to be a bit too much to handle. As a matter of fact, listening to this
CD in one sitting will leave you foaming at the mouth, bleeding from
your ears or hysterically reaching for something holy to protect yourself.
Satan -- he's the real deal, and Antaeus may have some sort of genealogical
connection, but we probably shouldn't explore that topic much further.
Gulp. -- am
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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 | rg - rodney gibbs | mf - marcel feldmar | tnd - tim digravina
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