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Ten Story Love / Ten Story Love / Ten
Story Love (CD)
It's rock 'n' roll the good ol' fashioned way, as Ten Story Love employs
the seemingly timeless electric guitar as its primary weapon and uses
classic rock as a stalwart reference point. With an emphasis on lyrical
astuteness, tunes like "Human Torch" and "Stuck" focus on the complex
emotions that mold our everyday lives. Thoughtful and personal yet not
overly draining, the majority of tunes here provide for a carefree, affable
listening experience. -- am
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Various Artists / The Book of Life / Echostatic (CD)
The soundtrack to Hal Hartley's latest opus reads like a
veritable Who's Who of Unclassifiable Musicians, with
contributions from Takako Minekawa, P.J. Harvey, Phylr,
Yo La Tengo, David Byrne, Miss Crabtree, Le Mystere Des
Voix Bulgares and other worthies. The majority of the songs
are existing material licensed by Hartley, but they've been selected and combined surprisingly well, creating an atmosphere that's half nervous,
brooding ambience and half understated optimism. The two
choral pieces by the Osnabrucker Jugend Choro, which frame
the soundtrack, are particularly striking. Buy this for the
pervasive mood it creates, even if you never see the film. -- gz
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Deathray / My Lunatic Friends / Poprockit (CD)
Only two tunes on this CD, but they're good ones. Ex-Cake people Greg Brown (guitar, vocals) and Victor Damiani (bass) hook up with Dana Gumbiner (vocals, synth) and James Neil (drums) for some guitar-pop fun, throwing in a bit of synth noodling and some close harmonies to mix things up a little. The first track, "My Lunatic Friends" has been stuck in my head for about a week now; it's a pretty straight-ahead guitar/bass/drums affair, but with some great little hooks. "Now That I Am Blind" is mellower and a bit more complex, with some nice little details that make for enjoyable repeat listening. Look for a full-length album on Capricorn Records sometime this summer. -- ib
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Various Artists / Pop Goes the World / RPM USA (CD)
There are no prizes for guessing that Pop Goes the World is
a collection of national and international pop songs. Duh. If we had
any prizes, we'd give them to RPM USA for assembling one of the
tastiest, chunkiest, most hook-laden pop song compilations we've heard
in ages. The twenty-four pop songs here include shining moments of
guitar jangle from four continents! Admittedly, it's hard to tell
a lot of these bands apart, but as they all sound great their similarity
isn't the liability it might otherwise have been. -- gz
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Even Keel / New & Improved: Status Quo / Even Keel
(CD)
Kerry and Perry Zaremba are the two brothers who make up Even Keel. They
sing folk music and harmonize together, and they cover a bunch of songs, including the Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine", Marvin Gaye's "Mercy/What's Going On?" and the Beatles'
"If I Fell". Even Keel does a nice job on these, although intonation isn't
always perfect. There are also a slew of original tracks, written by Kerry -- nice folk-type songs performed with obvious zeal. "Nice" doesn't always cut it though, and what's lacking on New & Improved: Status Quo is originality and inspiration. -- nw
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Various Artists (But Different Ones Than Last Time) / Fuzzy Logic / RPM USA (CD)
If RPM USA's Pop Goes the World compilation seems a bit
too "friendly" for your tastes, Fuzzy Logic should fit the bill
nicely. Your music-buying Euro nabs you a whopping twenty-six cuts
of feedback-drenched mayhem -- everything from proto-punk to
psychedelic stomp to pseudo-surf rock. Given the loosened genre
restrictions, you'll probably find Fuzzy Logic to be a bit more
varied than its Pop sidekick. If you're looking for the ideal
soundtrack to your next Defiant Act, your search is over. -- gz
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Shaker Day / No Way Out /
Shaker Day (CD)
Reminiscent of a harder-sounding REM and a smoother, folksier Blues Traveler,
Atlanta's Shaker Day offers introspective lyrics and melody-intensive songs.
No Way Out's tunes are backed with sophisticated musical
arrangements that are apt complements to Haysí outstanding vocals, yet do
not infringe on the bandís primary mission of crafting well-rounded tunes.
While presumably aimed towards a more Adult Alternative crowd, thereís
enough variety here to interest fans of all ages. Many bands try to do it,
but Shaker Day is one of the few who actually succeed in whipping together
a fine collection of edgy, intriguing songs. -- am
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Skipjack / Love and Hate / Antiphon (CDR)
I really tried hard to like Skipjack. Very hard. In particular, I went
to the trouble of attempting to play the Love & Hate CD-R in no
fewer than 7 CD players and CD-ROM drives of varying sophistication.
Sadly, only one of them managed to come up with anything at all. From
the intermittently audible material I heard, Skipjack play a
bluesy variety of psychedelic rock that's heavy on the MIDI -- but I could be
wrong, since I can't honestly claim to have heard (or to have had the
opportunity to hear) an entire Skipjack song. Such are the pitfalls of
CD-R distribution. Skipjack, if you're reading this, send me another
disc, or a cassette copy, and I'll try to do your music justice! -- gz
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