OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS | |
Mortal Loom,
The White Octave,
The Bevis Frond,
Factory 81,
Dreams of Damnation,
Jim Fix,
Orbiter,
Sad Rockets,
Icon of Coil,
Nneji Kalu,
Midway Still,
Blacklight Braille,
El Septeto Nacional De Ignacio Piñeiro,
Fear of Commitment,
Repeat,
Celesteville,
The Vigilantes,
Happy2bHardcore Chapter 5,
Kennedy,
Eric Weber
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Mortal Loom / Alchemy Through Dreams / The Gate (CD)
The first thing you need to understand is that the name of this band in no
way describes their music. This is not a mortal loom at all; it's more of a
water loom. The name Mortal Loom immediately brings to mind bands like Dead
Can Dance, This Mortal Coil and maybe Christian Death. You're not going to
find any neo-Gothic-folk on Alchemy Through Dreams. Instead, you'll
find soothing, somewhat generic synth soundscapes, not unlike Tangerine
Dream or Eric Serra's scores for Luc Besson films. Everything is watery and
bubbly here; it definitely belongs in the New Age section of the music
store. I'm not trying to be mean when I write that this music puts me to
sleep. It's that kind of electronic music. And I do mean "electronic
music". Virtually all sounds seem to come from electronics, though guitars
and drums are listed in the liner notes. It's a distinctly inorganic sound,
where everything is whitewashed so as not to offend, as none of the songs
seem to want to upset the listener or cause any emotional reaction. Song
titles such as "Into the Night" and "Soundscape Voices" give the right idea
about what the music sounds like. On a couple of the songs, it's apparent
that Mortal Loom think they are making dance music. On "Shadow Puppets",
there's a female voice saying something like "dance into the night". Please
don't take her advice -- if you dance to this music, and you're not in a
French nursing home, you'll being doing the saddest, dorkiest dance of your
life. One point deduction for the deceptive band name. Two point
deduction for the execrable cover of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" which
closes the CD. -- tnd
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The White Octave / Style No. 6312 / Deep Elm (CD)
Don't let all the pretty pictures of suave, sophisticated females fool you.
Stephen Pederson, former guitarist from Cursive, is not trying to make his
new band another Blueboy. Instead, he's developing his vocal chops with The
White Octave to create a powerhouse guitar group that screams with the best
of them. Yes, Rye Coalition and Zulu as Kono: here is your noisier neighbor.
While I admit sheer loudness does not earn kudos by itself, The White Octave
do a great job at making their intricate, Jawbox-like songs penetrate not
only your ear but your brain matter. There are enough melodic thrusts in
"Adult Entertainment" to keep even the honeymooners in the upstairs room
contented, while the group's lyrics, when you can make them out, more than
equal the dual guitar attack when it comes to pounding across a point ("If I
could split my heart in two/I'd give the beating half to you"). While a few
simpler and more direct melodies might have added a nice change of pace to
Style No. 6312, it's impossible not to give this a listen without
being impressed by the manic intensity that erupts whenever the White Octave
takes their music into territories where no man can hum along. -- td
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The Bevis Frond / Valedictory Songs / Rubric
(CD)
If Mary Lou Lord taught us one thing (other than "don't give
a major label record deal to a street-corner
busker just because she looks kind of hot", and "you have to
pay your record label back all that money
if your album doesn't sell"), it's that the Bevis Frond's
Nick Saloman is a far better songwriter than
most of the world suspected. Valedictory Songs
supports that claim, unleashing another faintly
funky set of psychedelic pop-rock near-classics. While dozy
tracks like "Early Riser" show Saloman still
tinkering with old-school country-rock convention, "Let Them
Beautify You", replete with driving bassline,
twiddly guitar solo details and overtly British-accented
vocals, could dominate rock radio tomorrow -- if only
the vocals had received a bit more production attention.
Saloman's voice sounds muddy and untreated, and
as such fails to fully engage the listener. I fully appreciate
the indie ethic, but a judicious bit of polish here would do a world of good. Perhaps that's why
it took Lord to bring Saloman's talents to light in the
first place. -- gz
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Factory 81 / Mankind / Mojo (CD)
Detroit's Factory 81 is the latest incarnation of angry funk metal bands. The
fury of Mankind is visceral. From the opening time bomb, "Nanu", to the
closing hip hop remix of the band's single, "Peace Officer", the tracks on this
record are relentlessly agressive. "Beligerence" is the most confrontational,
with lyrics like "It's not that you're ugly with your shaved head, it's just I
can't stand you and your racist friends." Musically, the song
consists of heavy
waves of guitar breaking on furious, funky beats, with a vocal delivery that can
only be described as feral. Oh, I know there's no shortage of pissed young
hip-hop-aware metalheads out there these days, but somehow the genre
continues to
entertain. On the viability curve of such acts, Factory 81 is
somewhere above the middle. Fred Durst, watch your back! -- nw
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Dreams of Damnation / Let the Violence Begin / Necropolis
(CD)
Former Dark Angel member Jim Durkin applies another round of choppy metal
riffs, with lackluster results. While Durkin’s latest metal front is certainly reminiscent of the traditional thrash/death metal that I grew up listening to, it doesn't enough biting riffs and brutalizing low-end bass to satisfy my cravings as it tapers along at a relatively
composed pace. Durkin instead puts his guitar into metal overdrive,
discharging a range of bludgeoning riffs that varies from atonal to vaguely
captivating. Let the Violence Begin has all of the necessary
ingredients and musicianship to make the grade, but the band needs to make
a decision whether it should crank up the speed or send forth some truly
crushing riffs that will damage both eardrums and woofer speakers alike. -- am
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Jim Fix / Jim Fix / Self-released
(Cassette)
When "Six Weeks", the opening track on this demo tape, kicked in, I had
high hopes. A galloping rhythm section and big fat guitars made me think
that I had found Indiana's answer to Iron Maiden. While the
instrumentation is indeed quite beefy, I cannot help but feel somewhat
let down by the vocals. On "Six Weeks", the earnest, J Mascis-influenced
singing suffices, but on slower tracks such as "January" they feel too thin
and flimsy. Unfortunately, this shortcoming drags down what would
otherwise be a decent demo. While I don't expect (and frankly don't want)
everyone to wail like Bruce Dickinson, the vocals here need more work. -- rd
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Orbiter / Mini LP /Loveless(CD)
If you want to imagine how Orbiter sounds, think of a funky Elysian Fields, or
maybe a whitebread version of the Meters with glam rock guitars and an
almost constant looping drum beat. Composed of a guy (Harris Thurmond) and
a gal (Fiia McGann) from Seattle, the grooves are slow, drunken
blaxploitation soul that their vocals give a damn about matching. The three
with Fiia on vocals make her sound like Fiona Apple, while Harris' tracks
(including my favorite, the endlessly playable "Paper Tigers") remind one of
a Lou Barlow/Donovan hybrid. This contrast between vocals and music provides a memorable kind of tension, giving the songs a stronger
dimension than the two may even have hoped for.
Bookended between their cuts is the instrumental "3 A.M." (and its reprise),
a keyboard-heavy number that captures those last moments when a person and
his city are awake. I think Orbiter's goal may have been to recreate Isaac
Hayes, but they have ended up as nothing but themselves -- a duo you can easily
imagine playing to a packed house at the Ramada Inn lounge, then burning the mother
down. -- td
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Sad Rockets / Transition / Matador (CD)
Transition trips through a jazzy soundscape of ambient
noise like a horse through a field of wildflowers. It sounds a bit like
Laika's later stuff, sans vocals, or Boards of Canada. The good humour
is apparent throughout the album, starting with the opening track, "Senio
Junior", which burbles and bleeps over a happy percussion line. The melodies
are steady and built with moog, vibraphone, reverb Hammond or a combination
of all three, as in "Lachmachum Spezial", which creates a disco dancer's
delight from six notes repeated on the organ while the moog melody loops.
"Boogie Electric" features the only voice heard on the entire album; it's a
man's deep voice, solemnly stating, "So many of y'all have been plugged in to
so many electronics/ If you don't watch out, you'll have electronic things
running through ya/ you'll have to electronic organs/ you'll have to plug in
to make love". The song, which is actually more lounge than boogie, takes
over with a melodic line from the vibraphone. "Winter's Over" slows down so
much and adds a twangy guitar line that you'd swear it was country, and
"Twenty-Seven" adds serene violins to some skiffle to make peaceful music
that would perfectly accompany an episode of i>The Saint or I
Spy. This is a must-have for insomniacs, nocturnal animals and fans of
trip-hop. -- js
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Icon of Coil / Serenity is the Devil / Metropolis (CD)
This one grew on me. Though initially sounding like a much
younger spin on latter-era Front 242,
Icon of Coil take their music a lot further. While
anchoring themselves in the oppressive,
downbeat rhythms and post-apocalyptic lyrical conceits that
have anchored industrial dance music
since the dawn of time, the group isn't afraid to make its
music...pretty. Big, thick synth-pop
chords flesh out lush melodies, while twinkling electronic
details add bursts of ecstatic dance-floor-friendly
energy to refrains. When I imagine a jam-packed, heaving
nightclub floor, this is the sort of music my mind provides.
The lyrics are a bit silly, but the sound is fabulous. -- gz
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Nneji Kalu / Not What's Expected / Self-released (CD)
Nneji Kalu has a pretty voice, and she doesn't seem to hit any
wrong
notes. There's a problem, though. Actually, there are two problems. First,
her musical accompaniment is poorly written and arranged.
Second,
the lyrics are awkward and distracting. Overproduction abounds as Kalu
tries
her hardest to sing her heart out. Everything comes off 100% Disney. This
isthe album Mulan or Pocahontas might make after a couple failed
relationships. The music, again, is an afterthought, plodding and synthing around the land
of Blah. Kalu seems to know that the keyboards and guitar-junk-screeching are
annoying to the listener, because she seems to never take a breath; many songs have a
rushed, motor-mouth feel to them. You want goofy lyrics? Try "Back Off,"
in which Kalu angrily sings ad infinitum, "Back off, leave me alone, get it through
your head...I don't love you, I never loved you, you will never be my dear." It's a
shame that Kalu's fine voice has to struggle through this maudlin mess of sounds.
With a proper collaborator and some improved lyrics, Kalu would most likely
shine. Roni Size, where are you? -- tnd
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Midway Still / Fuck You / Antipop (CD)
It looks as if these early '90s UK punk bombardiers have reformed, with a
new strain of rage
seeping from each member's veins. From the looks of the photos on the
inside of this four
song EP, everyone's gotten a well needed haircut, but the opening track,
"Fuck You,"
undeniably reminds us of the band's rebellious spirit and reckless,
hell-bent attitude, oozing punk rockdom from every available facet. Also notable is a
terrific cover of Rainbow's "Since You've Been Gone" that does justice to
the classic
rocker. The other two tracks include bongos, which rounds out
the band's
unpredictability. Honestly, it's worth grabbing this item just for the
first two tracks
alone, as it's glaringly obvious that Midway Still shouldn't have
broken up the first
time around -- there's plenty of bloody brilliant music left in them. -- am
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Blacklight Braille / Car Ochren /
Vetco (CD)
It sounds like the 18 musicians who play on Car Ochren had a good
time making these recordings. Almost everyone plays a number of
different instruments, and often the playing feels very spontaneous,
maybe even improvised. There's a nice casual energy on many of the
pieces, which leads me to believe that they were pretty fun to play.
That said, I'm still having a hard time getting into this music (see
my review
of The Castle of the Northern Crown). There's something of a drum
circle vibe about much of it, meaning lots of earnest percussion that
doesn't really go anywhere, and grooves that are probably fun to play but
aren't that much fun to listen to, at least not for too long. The male
spoken vocals are another problem; I can't decide if they're supposed to
be Zappa-wacky or if they're just bad, but either way I find that they
really distract me from the often interesting pads that are wandering
around in the background. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that
Blacklight Braille has a rabid fanbase somewhere in Germany or Sweden or
Japan. This is definitely music that you have to acquire a taste for,
and as of yet I've not quite acquired it. --
ib
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El Septeto Nacional De Ignacio Piñeiro / Soneros de Cuba / Real Rhythm (CD)
Soneros de Cuba isn't a bad introduction to traditional African-Cuban
music; it's just that you could probably do better by choosing one of el
Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro's earlier discs, which may be more
varied in tempo and style. The album is loaded with tracks that use slower
rhythms; there are three boleros, one guajira and one son montuno. For the
uninitiated, boleros are soppier love songs delivered in a very languid,
sentimental style; if you are familiar with Luis Miguel -- well, he'd be the
modern pop version of traditional boleros. Guajiras and son montunos are
even slower, country and western versions of son, which is already as
fast-moving as a visitor to Cuba during siesta. The songs are
well chosen from the standpoint of tradition: guajiras and son were both
born in Oriente, the eastern portion of Cuba from which Ignacio Piñeiro hailed,
and the septet does not venture into related yet distant styles. Indeed, the
opening track is a traditional song for which Piñeiro was most famous among
son masters -- "En Guantanamo". If you don't mind a very much
by-the-numbers, traditional take on son, or if that is what you are seeking,
rush to buy Soneros de Cuba. Even if you were hoping for something more varied,
you'll enjoy it. After listening to this CD, I was feeling so
sentimental -- the point, surely, of most boleros -- that I longed for an Angel
de Cristal to cry into (although it's a Mexican drink). -- js
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Fear of Commitment / Paper Dolls and Paper Plates /
Dren (CD)
Something about this record's cover layout told me to expect
jangly, slightly twee girl-fronted
pop, and that's what I found. To their credit, Fear of Commitment are not
sugar-sweet; there's a hint of
Galaxie 500, or something similarly moody, in the
songwriting, and it helps to make some of the
more familiar pop riffs palatable. Vocalist/guitarist Sarah
Knab avoids sickeningly
coy excesses, but can't always stay on key. This seems most
prominent on the first few songs --
perhaps that's a sequencing thing, or perhaps I just got
used to her vocal eccentricities. When guitarist Niall Hood
takes the mic for the brief, countrified "Angel", sharing
vocals with Knab, it's the album's most interesting
moment. The band just needs a bit more oomph. They prove
they have it, off and on; now they need
to deliver it more consistently. -- gz
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Repeat / Select Dialect /Cut(CD)
This is the very interesting pairing of multi-instrumentalist Jason Kahn
(ex-drummer for SST's Leaving Trains and Universal Congress Of) and
Toshimaru Nakmamu. The latter, a leader in Tokyo's new music scene, used
to be in Paragon for Beauty, and I think it's his past work in minimalist
electronics that this music best resembles. In a slow, quiet way, these
spare, futuristic songs sound like nothing I've ever heard.
It's all very high-tech, and yet the drums, bells,
metals -- yes, there's plumbing work of some sort done on track three -- and
live electronics are used so slowly that a brooding melancholy hovers over
the world Repeat is creating. The structure of the tracks -- partly
improvised, I imagine -- is impressive too, because you find yourself caring
about everything unexpected that comes around the corner...as opposed to much
exploratory or avant-garde music, wherein the only mystery you want to solve
is how to fling its sounds completely from your memory. Select
Dialect is, in many ways, the same sort of long instrumental experiment
once championed by Pink Floyd. It's a lot more interesting, though, and could possibly even teach Brian Eno a few new tricks. -- td
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Celesteville / Invisible Tape / Unread
(CASS)
Jacob Anderson, who also goes by the more mundane monikers Celesteville and
the Yak Brigade, has put together this rather impressive eight song
noise-fest. Most of the songs, such as the dischordantly grand "A Tableau",
have a simple sequencer pattern at their heart, but this heart gets buried
under layer upon layer of sound. Interestingly, this oversaturation works.
By using the technical limits of his recording medium, Anderson fills
every inch of the speakers with sound, creating a sensation of facing an
overwhelming obstacle. Combining this sense of vulnerability with shy
vocals makes for impressive, if uncomfortable, music. Once the tape ends
and the ringing leaves your ears, you'll be left with a disconcerting
feeling that things are quiet...too quiet. Whether this was Anderson's
goal or not, it works nicely. -- rd
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The Vigilantes / No Destiny / TKO (CD)
Part of me wants to brush off The Vigilantes as another round of
the same chorus-ridden punk that's been done (and heard) many a time before.
The other part of me is strangely drawn to the band's low-sung lyrics and
anthem-like, foot-stomping punk rock songs. The Vigilantes are classic pub
punk with a grisly attitude and a penchant for beefy choruses. These derive a
bit of personality via frontman Jasper McGandy, whose vocals are a peculiar
cross between 33 1/3 and 45 RPM speeds. From the thundering bass line at
the opening of "We Will Outlive You" to the hidden track at the end, this
Boston quartet ultimately prevails with its brand of straightforward punk.
It may not be a burst of innovation, but it sure is fun as hell crank up
the volume and let this cross of skinhead, Oi! and ’77 punk sneer its way
to your heart. -- am
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Various Artists / Happy2bHardcore Chapter 5 / Moonshine
(CD)
For the last few weeks I've had a hankering for some good
"old-fashioned" techno -- the bouncy, blissful,
keyboard-heavy stuff that was popular back in the early
nineties, when raves were still big news. Happy2bHardcore
Chapter 5 fills that niche nicely -- it's a continuous mix
of 15 boisterous, thumping, high-BPM tracks in the classic
style. When you're in a good mood and have a surplus of
energy, nothing's better than happy hardcore. The balance
of energy is just right, the upbeat melodies bring
smiles and none of the tracks go over the edge into
overmodulated gabber territory (which is a good thing,
especially if you got your energy out of a Red Bull can).
Of course, most of these tracks are pretty anonymous and
shallow, but as the Tom Tom Club once said, "Who needs to think when your
feet just go?" -- gz
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You certainly cannot knock the aspirations on
Unicorn, where
singer/songwriter Kennedy (no, not the one from MTV) attempts to make his own
Village Green
Society. In this concept album, which describes his year exploring a
California life from
a van, Kennedy peoples the songs with his surroundings, giving them
the same vibe that the Kinks brought to their historic
record. His faithful
cover of Ray Davies' "Picture Book" might beg a critic to
make that
comparison, but the whole structure and tone of the record
earns it, and his
gift for melody seems to be at its peak whenever the songs dance
about like direct
descendents of British music hall music. The tunes themselves hang
together more
than the lyrics, most of which are cruder than Kinks fare
("Red Hot and
Flacid"; "Pink Afros"). Still, Kennedy can paint a good
picture of the world
around him. He uses cool
samples that enter the songs without a trace of subtlety,
reminding me of
Big Audio Dynamite. In addition, there are moments when his mixing and
production work
("I Love Me") would make Brian Wilson proud. -- td
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Eric Weber / Dandelions / Saucer Music (CD)
Is this the doppelganger of Shawn Mullins (that "Lullaby" guy)? It sure
sounds like
it. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I guess it's a matter of opinion,
but understand
that no song here approaches the nagging nuisance of "Lullaby". At the
very least, Weber approaches the far edges of an Elliott Smith level of
quality.
On "Never Changing Blues", Weber brings to mind the post-Cardinal work of
Eric
Matthews. Dandelions is a peaceful, inoffensive listen. The music
and arrangements are never less than pleasant. Weber has a talent for breathy,
emotional
ballads, and his lyrics paint pretty pictures, when he's not trying too hard to
rhyme.
On "Darkened Heart", Weber tells his companion, "If I were an artist, I'd
paint your
darkened heart a very pale pink." Similarly cumbersome, dark lyrics and
Weber's
sometimes strained singing do become overbearing in large doses. If he
lightened his
tone and threw a couple of lighter-themed curveballs, Dandelions would be more
successful
as a whole. Eric Weber is a talented songwriter, and there are most likely
sensitive
souls out there who will swoon for these songs. Don't let the Shawn Mullins
comparison
drive you away..."everything's gonna be alright" when Eric Weber simply
lightens up. -- tnd
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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 | tnd - tim digravina
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