OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS | |
High Llamas,
Osaka,
Western Automatic,
The Posies,
Coleko,
Bow Roethke,
Salsa,
Rebuilthangartheory,
Williwaw,
Docking Sequence: BSI Campaign Vol. 1,
Black Spartacus,
Boxing,
Orquesta Sublime,
Die Form,
Comas,
Triangle Paradise,
I Farm,
The Rough Guide to Cuban Son,
Wow & Flutter,
Angel Anton
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High Llamas / Buzzle Bee / Drag City
(CD)
Freed from the evil clutches of faux-indie label V2, Sean O'Hagan's High
Llamas have ended up in a happier home at Drag City, and
have expanded this EP to nearly-full-album status by way of
celebration. In fact, with a running time of forty minutes,
Buzzle Bee is longer than a lot of albums, though it
lacks a "proper" album's cohesion. The vibraphone melodies, squelchy keyboards
and loungy moods herein are dreamy and sophisticated; the band has
long sounded like a more relaxed version of Stereolab (due
in no small part to the presence of Stereolab personnel),
and Buzzle Bee is no exception. However, the best
songs here attempt to escape from that sound. "Get Into the
Galley Shop" goes for a richer pop sound, including a vocal
segment that'll have you playing Name That Beatles Song.
Disc closer "Bobby's Court" mostly avoids the drowsy vibes
in favor first of a friendly acostic guitar melody, then an
industrious, plinky keyboard melody that repeats 'til the
song ends. As for the rest, it's a bit somnolent...but
satisfying. Here's hoping O'Hagan and co. find happier days
in their new home. -- gz
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Osaka / Kalispera Ohio / Myke Droner (7")
Ready for a bit of droning, organ-infused ambiance? This
French duo pushes
out thick, reverberating guitar notes and long-winded organ
notes into a
swirling mixture of delicate, temperamental beauty
reminiscent of
early Labradford, or Air without the heavy electronics.
"Kalispera
Ohio" lets crafty, well-placed guitar notes take center
stage, as they
slowly whisk by at a calm tempo. The flip side, "Myriad of
Hondas", is more
mysterious, letting the keys and strings take turns
manipulating the
ensuing silence, each charged part coming together into a
crescendo of
jagged instability. Osaka excels in propelling two peaceful
and harmless melodic tracks into
meaningful moments of multifaceted musical manipulation. --
am
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Western Automatic / It's 1995 / Loose Thread (CD)
In a recent Splendid interview, the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle
took a shot at instrumental rock bands
going after "textures" and "polyrhythms", and labelled the trend boring.
Agree with his assertion or not, but it's hard to make claims that the
work of Western Automatic -- peaceful, droney soundscapes (given cute
titles, like "The Gods Hate Kansas", that serve only to differentiate
between the long musical tinklings) centered around the electric piano --
is necessary listening. Despite Matt Christenson and his band having
succeeded at their modest aims to make good background music that "can be
ignored if one chooses", it is very hard not to want or ask for more,
especially since their CD cover is so Sarah Records-like and pleasing. At
the most attentive listening,
when one's ear is right against the speakers, I guess "1995" is like an
Eric Rohmer movie without dialogue. In "A Lady Captain", your
imagination could be stirred enough to glimpse the shadow of a pretty
middle-aged French woman, and I think, in "Soultrain Alaska", you could
even see that woman's knee, this time beside passersby in a busy,
multi-racial district. But when you turn off Western
Automatic to "make a movie" of your own, you'll know damn well what boring
year your work of art won't cover. -- td
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The Posies / In Case You Didn't Feel Like Plugging In / Casa (CD)
From the "Not Dead Yet" category comes this reanimated live set from the Posies. Despite a cult following, the Posies indulged in a two-year hiatus, the end of which is marked by this
CD. The band's guitarists undertook an unplugged set and found they still enjoyed playing together. This release captures the sweet harmonies and sappy songs that ensued.
Peruse fan sites and you'll get more than an earful of passionate praise for these fellows. Those who prefer a little more bite to their coffeehouse folkies should stick with Jackopierce and the
Indigo Girls. -- rg
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Coleko / Staywell Clinic /
Gool Guy (CD)
I like this okay; it's fast and hard and has some nice sounding
guitars in it and the lyrics are earnest and well-screamed. But there's
just not a lot left to say about Fugazi-inspired boy guitar bands. Odd,
angled rhythms here and there, the occasional arresting unison scream
fest, lyrics like "And all accountability is dysfunctional. The marketplace has sales but no repercussions. Placate the situation or be
yourself, pig." When I hear good-but-predictable bands like this I always
wind up fantasizing about what would happen if they channeled some of
their rock and roll energy into banjo playing or studying the gamelan or
something. At this point we know exactly what the rock and roll version
sounds like. So why not give something else a try? Please? --
ib
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There's a slow-burning Bettie Serveert feel to What Was a Scare. It's a
CD of late-night, coffeehouse rock for people with weak pulses -- sometimes you'll
wonder if the band was falling asleep during the recording sessions.
There's a subtle, distinctly-indie vibe throughout, with inoffensive, off-key female
vocals muffling about in tranquilized stasis. It's not going to make you
dance or hum; you probably won't even sway your head (par for the course really
for this vibrating sort of emo). Better production would have helped the band
immensely; a Phil Spector or (cough) Steve Albini sort of svengali might be
able to broaden Bow Roethke's sound to provide more interest for the
listener.
In the meantime, you might play this CD while you're brewing your coffee,
but
never after you've taken that first sip. -- tnd
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This survey of the "Latin dance explosion" was produced by World Music Network,
the same folks who do all the Rough Guide samplers, so you
know it was assembled with loving care and scholarly
devotion. Focusing on Cuba and New York, Salsa
offers a glimpse at the state of the red-hot art, and also gives us
a gander at the Columbian and Panamanian Salsa scenes.
Those hungry for a smattering of classicism should be appeased by
Buena Vista Social Club singer Ibrahim Ferrer, whose
"Qué Bueno Baila Usted" stakes out a bit of turf for
the classic Cuban son style. As with most WMN
releases, the music is varied and interesting, and the liner
notes are educational without being dull or overwhelming.
And as always, a thorough discography provides a starting
point for further exploration. As if this wasn't enough,
for each copy of Salsa sold, WMN gives a little money
to Oxfam. So come on...Salsa is good for you. -- gz
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rebuilthangartheory / Rival of the Cold / Brentwood Estates (CD)
Guitar-driven indie-pop with emo
flavourings a la Unrest and Versus, rebuilthangartheory's first full-length
offers summery, mainly playful pop tracks. Their sound is consistent
throughout the album, which was written as a concept piece exploring
the connection of sea and land and how they shape each other, much like
relationships. The vocals are spare but heavily laden with the imperfectly
articulated, yet obviously deep, feeling that "I will deliver my sense of
strength right through you". The bass is a deep heartbeat pumping blood into
the knotty melodies and chord progressions. Although this album is no
Shangri-La of indie-pop, it's solid in construction and not a bad listen;
it's just never overly fresh. The band's obviously passionate about what
they're recording, though, given the urgency with which the vocals shine
through, which inclines me to find more to like with every successive
hearing. -- js
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Williwaw / Shimmering Coaster of Light / Williwaw
(CD)
While it's difficult to discern, Williwaw is ultimately one man with one
ukulele on a particular mission. This isn't another round of twangy
bluegrass, however, as each track on Shimmering Coaster of Light
layers thickly distorted uke chords on top of one another, generating the
absolute antithesis of what you'd normally picture a ukulele doing. While
the first two tracks lack a distinct direction, the majority remind me
of the bastard child of Skullflower, with an awe-inspiring wall of sound.
Williwaw's textured noise ranges from a dense cloud of glistening notes to
a cacophonous explosion of distorted treble that wiggles uncontrollably,
like a bowing metal saw. So don't assume that the cute li'l uke is here
for petty entertainment, as the disc's grinding improvisational numbers
breaks down the traditional boundaries of this four stringed instrument. -- am
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Various Artists / Docking Sequence: BSI Campaign Vol. 1 / BSI (CD)
Rather than limit this compilation to artists in Portland's BSI
stable, label manager Ezra Erickson throws a kiss to his obsession with
world music by grabbing wonderful world fusion, experimental ambient,
experimental techno, reggae and hip-hop tracks and dubbing them in their
hearts. The rhythms, upon receiving this treatment, become heartbeat-slow,
yet in a swinging, joyful way. Standout tracks include Muslimgauze's
"Untitled", a soundtrack for a harem that's been given a jungle feel with the dub
beat laid over. DJ Spooky, Washington's professor of hip-hop electronica,
has his track turned into house music from outer space, with a bug-zapper-esque electronic
sample mixed in throughout the track.
Deep Dub's aptly titled "Dub Creator" sounds like beats starting
off as bleeps, then growing heavier and heavier until you collapse under them,
while He-Man meets the Rootsman's "Killer" is a bit like Shabba Ranks gone
trance, with sing-say rapping against a background of violins (as
programmed on an electronic keyboard) and a drum machine. What's great
about Docking Sequence is that it introduces the listener to a lot of different
styles, all on the same album, yet in a unified way (thanks to the
dubbing). Since Muslimgauze is now dead, this compilation is
extra special too, as its brilliance will help keep his output, along with that of
DJ Spooky and so many other underappreciated artists, moving and growing. Buy and be
dubbified! -- td
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Black Spartacus / Self-Titled / Self Released (CD)
Experimental noise folk intensity is combined with orchestrated anthems, sound
samples, and synthesized strangeness. The songs mostly sneak up on you
without vocals, but at other times you're hit with almost-cute
storytelling/songwriting escapades, like some Pink Floyd children's book.
I'm thoroughly confused; I feel like the drugs are kicking in, and I think
I like it. Packed with obscure carnival-based ballads and more, this self-titled
disc is sometimes lounge-y, sometimes silly and all around strange. How can you go wrong? -- mf
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Boxing / Dig the Final Time / RBCA (CD)
Here is a pack of raw, lo-fi acoustic pop
tunes that are punk tinged and folk friends. "Good Company" will grab your
attention and might have you thinking of a more rootsy Violent Femmes or at
times a farm friendly Pavement. "Like Chalk" is dripping with trippy
psychedelica and flows nicely into the more jarring "Jaw Drops Out".
Siblings Josh and Seth Kasselman are responsible for this delicate and
antique sounding record, and accomplish this without losing their uniquely
down-home off-kilter feel. -- im
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Orquesta Sublime / Sublime Havana / Bembé
(CD)
Cuba's Orquesta Sublime has been around for over forty
years, making them perhaps the oldest functioning ensemble
Splendid has ever reviewed. Naturally, any ensemble with four
decades under its belt is going to be pretty tight, and
Orquesta Sublime makes playing traditional Cuban jazz sound about as easy
as breathing. Flutes, sax and horns create jaunty melodies
and carnival atmosphere, supported by violin and piano,
while bossa nova percussion keeps the rhythms lively. The
combination flute tone/percussion hit, functioning almost as
a form of punctuation, is in ample supply here. It's a
sound so instantly evocative, so relaxed and natural that I
can almost forget about the sub-zero temperatures outside.
Almost. It's a cheerful sound, though some listeners may notice
a "heard one, heard 'em all" degree of homogeneity between tracks. -- gz
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Die Form / Extremum /
Metropolis
(CD)
Okay, here's my theory: a band like My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult
succeeds at making intense, dynamic and often disturbing music precisely
because they realize that an awful lot of their image and lyrics and
design is really really silly. Once they decide to acknowledge and
exploit that silliness, they no longer have to worry about coming off as
pretentious or self important, and they can go ahead and have fun making
what ever kind of music they like. Unfortunately lots of bands go for
the intense and disturbing part of the equation, but they forget about
the silliness part, and end up just sounding sort of dopey. I mention
MLWTTKK here because Die Form and MLWTTKK seem to share an interest in
things like female bondage, "evil" sounding electronic dance music and
zombies. The difference between the two is that while MLWTTKK jumps
right in and starts bashing you around the dance floor with unfettered
depravity and samples from bad porno films, Die Form is busy worrying
about making "stark, sensual and strikingly beautiful [music], filled
with operatic overtones [and] classical textures..." See the problem
here? Enya + drum machine + distorted samples might seem like a good
idea, but unless you've spent some quality time watching Sprockets
reruns on SNL, it's pretty much just a recipe for uninspired
electro-noodling. After nearly twenty years of doing this sort of thing,
you'd think that Die Form would have more of a sense of humor about it. -- ib
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Comas / A Def Needle In Tomorrow / Yep Roc (CD)
This CD includes a short film, which doesn't want to show itself on my
computer, so I can tell you nothing about it. I just thought it should be
mentioned. The music is soft and melodic, drifting into mountains and
valleys with delicate dynamics. There is an element of psychedelia to the
songs, in that Damon and Naomi way, that touches upon Galaxie 500's occasional busy-ness.
Most of the songs lie low, though, and the drift is
hypnotic. Male and female vocals seduce the listener, and the music fits
right in with the name of the band. "Wicked Elm", the third track, is
probably the most rocking of the bunch, coming in with a raw joy Division
bass sound, but more upbeat. I'd dance, but the first two songs just
mellowed me out a bit too much. -- mf
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Triangle Paradise / Glimpse / Vintage (CD)
Triangle Paradise are the very definition of power-pop. "I Don't Know What
I Want"
has the makings of a lesser Big Star or Cheap Trick song. "What Do You Want
From
Me?" reminds one of Shudder to Think without Shudder's darkness. The lyrics
are
beyond banal, and the guys dabble a bit too often in cliches, but maybe
that's
the intention, as this sort of power-pop relies more on catchiness than
substance. The songs are mostly about love and the problems that love
brings
to one's door. All in all, they sound like a very good bar band, perhaps more accomplished in their playing than their songwriting. The harmonies are all performed properly, but the voices of the two leads don't necessarily complement each other as intended. Ardent fans of Big Star
should be pleased. With slightly fuller production, you might find Triangle
Paradise climbing taller mountains; for now, their music is simply a pleasant
diversion. -- tnd
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I Farm / Sincerely, Robots /Cool Guy (CD)
Die Toten Hosen released a great punk record a year or two back where they
paid homage to all the punk bands that inspired them to play (and to learn
English). While it's not technically doing the same thing, Sincerely, Robots shares the same spirit. The disc burns its way from one punk style to the next, as if the band wants it known they are
indebted to hardcore acts ("Life on Planet Reebok"), skate punk ("Here
Come the Waterworks"), heavy Celtic Frost-like metal ("Route 44"),
anthemic chants ("If Vans Could Run On Cliches") and even emo ("Fighting
is Emo"). Taken as a whole, it is impossible not to be impressed by the
technical virtuosity behind these 17 songs and 27 minutes of fiery
punk. Hardcore is a hard-ass style to play, but the band pulls it off with
ease, and they even make a five second chant, "Go Team (Right)", sound fully
realized and complete. The disc's only real flaw is in the lyrical
department; the rhymes are forced, unnatural ("These things tend to
conscience sever") and never fun in their own right. The interesting
"Your Hand-eye Coordination", a Chomskyian attack on the business
practices of video game industries, is a nice exception to the rule, and
suggests I Farm has some serious punk perfection in their future. Die
Toten Hosen might well be learning English from them soon. -- td
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Various Artists / The Rough Guide to Cuban Son / World Music Network (CD)
The Rough Guide to Cuban Son is a great introduction to traditional
African-Cuban music, highly varied in tempo and style. Nearly all the
varieties of son are sampled here, including guajiras, son montuno,
boleros (which have more affinity with danzón), New York and Habana-style
salsas. A few more inventive variations on the classics are included here as well. The
opening track, "En Guantanamo", is a traditional song for which Ignacio Piñeiro (one of son's
greatest masters) was most famous, and the following
tracks are equally outstanding. Beny Moré, the "Barbarian of Rhythm", is represented
with "Francisco Guayabal"; Los Van Van's "Que Pista" shakes your booty and
Maria Teresa Vera's "Eso No Es Na" sounds a bit like flamenco. Nearly all
of these songs make you want to get up and dance -- my mom listened to this
in the kitchen and started dancing a cumbia -- which sounds obvious, but
isn't. Not only are the songs well chosen and well varied, but the CD is
accompanied by a multimedia version of the Rough Guides which includes a
map, the introduction to the Rough Guide to Cuba, links to Cuban-related
sites and Chapter 2 from The Rough Guide to World Music, which covers all
traditional Cuban styles (son and others). Great value for the money -- and el
ritmo es rico. -- js
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Wow & Flutter / Pounding the Pavement / Jealous Butcher
(CD)
Sometimes being ultimately unclassifiable is the best description you can
give a band. Wow & Flutter are just that -- a peculiar assembly of
mood-altering qualities that's difficult to pinpoint. The band is bold and
daring, striking out at dissimilar genres ranging from introspective
experimental on "Last Flight 8:15" to the more indie rock skewed "Pounding
the Pavement", which broods in toned guitar notes and tape manipulated
effects, producing a thick, multi-textured body of work that can appease
your senses on multiple levels. Whether it's pristine guitar notes
shimmering alone or an opaque assortment of percussion and strings, Wow &
Flutter thrives on producing a whirling musical anomaly that's fruitfully
entertaining and thoroughly unrivaled. -- am
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Angel Anton / Orbital Groove / Tai-Kahn
(CD)
Every music writer has his blind spot. Mine is
blues-funk-jam type music -- stuff that sounds like a
misguided attempt
to modernize Zappa's sound. And unfortunately, that's
exactly
what you'll find on Orbital Groove. This threesome's
playing is solid, if sometimes unimaginative, but everything
else
about their music rubbed me the wrong way, starting with the
album's opening Beatles medley. The jumble of musical
influences seems blatant; I heard a little Santana, some
Blues Traveler, a steaming chunk of Dave Matthews, a decent
amount of Dead, a teeny bit of
Living Color and, as previously mentioned, a heaping helping
of Zappa. The lyrics are another red flag. Often clumsy
and more often banal, they string together platitudes,
cliches and fortune-cookie political sentiment. If this
sort of music floats your boat, I'm happy that it pleases
you...but Orbital Groove left me as cold as outer space. -- gz
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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 | mf - marcel feldmar | im - iain macleod
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