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OUR WEEKLY COLLECTION OF SHORTER REVIEWS
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The For Carnation,
Pop's Not Dead: Songs from Sacramento,
Uncle Tom,
All Transistor,
UnAmerican,
Girlfrendo,
Speedy J,
On the Floor at the Boutique,
Pollen,
The Alkaline Trio,
Edge City Collective,
Mixmaster Mike,
Unsound Vol. 2: Guitars!,
The Euro Boys,
The Maggies,
Elliott Smith,
Hefner,
Ernesto Diaz-Infante,
SFB,
Penelopes
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The For Carnation / The For Carnation / Touch and Go (CD)
The For Carnation are the musical equivalent to a book of Edgar Allan Poe tales. Both are gruesome and morose, yet heart-stoppingly beautiful and serene. On this long awaited follow-up to their critically lauded Fight Songs and Marshmallows, Brian McMahan (he of the mighty Slint and Squirrel Bait) and co. deliver the goods with six winding and hauntingly melodic long-form musical passages. Each song comes across like an orchestrated page ripped from the diary of a madman, with McMahan’s slow, methodical vocal delivery providing narration for the doom-laden musical imagery. A potent pairing of McMahan and Breeders leader Kim Deal proves to be the album’s otherworldly highlight, in which Deal’s echo-plexed voice leads you by the hand into a dark percussive void oozing with hypnotic ambience and foreboding rhythms -- only for you to encounter McMahan’s paranoid croon waiting inside. If ever there were a record that could make you soil yourself one minute, then comfort you the next, this is it. -- jj
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Various Artists / Pop's Not Dead: Songs from Sacramento / Self-released
(CD)
When I think of musical hotbeds, Sacramento doesn't come to mind -- but
perhaps it should. This collection gathers several bands from the
area and makes me jealous that I don't live anywhere nearby. As
the title suggests, the music here is a myriad of variations on pop.
Jacuzzi shows off some jazz influences, while Sean Bollinger brings Robyn
Hitchcock to mind. The oddest track is "Sounds of the Studio", on which
Dana Gumbiner shows off some twisted knob-twiddling. A particular delight
is Little Tin Frog, whose "You Know Everything" recalls the Dance Hall
Crashers. All in all, Sacramento seems pretty cool with a varied and
vibrant music scene. Who would've known? -- rd
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Uncle Tom / Uncle Tom /
Fuse (CD)
If you're after sophomoric hijinks without any of the slyness of the Sex Pistols, Uncle Tom is for you. I was turned off by this disc from the moment its opening track, "I'm In Love With My Gun", cued up. Maybe you can take lines like "Brought home a gun that I bought today, spent all my bank [what?!] but I couldn't wait" but I can't! And this particular couplet isn't an aberration; each song sports two or three such atrocities. The music doesn't drum up enthusiasm any better. It's run-of-the-mill guitar rock. Though there are moments when Uncle Tom strives for the Sex Pistols sound, they never get there, nor, if they did, would it help much. Actually too often I'm reminded of some bad '80s hair band. Perhaps I just don't "get" these guys. But somehow the picture that greets you when you pull the CD out of its case tells me I've pegged them just right! It's of a bare-bottomed guitar player with long hair (presumably someone from the band) wandering down some country road with his axe strapped around his neck, like some sort of rock 'n' roll street person. I guess if it's your bag, who am I to judge! -- nw
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All Transistor / Parts / Ojet (CD)
First off, my apologies to All Transistor -- Parts has
been lurking deep in my briefcase for several weeks and
should've been reviewed sooner. Luckily, it was worth the
wait. On the basis of the liner notes, All Transistor is either
a huge band or has had a lot of members over the three years it
took to record Parts. Songwriter Thane Matcek's work
alternates between simple, cheery tunes like the
sing-along-friendly "Steam Ahead" and indie-rock jolts like
"Phil Hartman", making Parts an apt title; abrupt changes
in style and tempo make for an energizing hodge-podge of a listening
experience, rife with satisfying payoffs like the driving
refrain of "Thirty-Nine Sharks". Every song has multiple
layers, which makes listening to Parts rather like
peeling an onion, only more interesting and with a lot less
crying. -- gz
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UnAmerican’s cutesy press kit makes a big hoo-ha about how they are “UnEnglish” (true, they do sound more like an American-born triple A band than four English guys) and “UnFashionable” (meaning they play classic rock rather than jumping the indie rock bandwagon), not to mention “UnBelievable” and “UnMissable.” I’m a not-so-closeted classic rock fan, but UnAmerican’s songs sound like spiritless imitations of people many of us would rather forget. Singer/guitarist Steve McEwen does rather impressively manage to sound like Rod Stewart (on the undeniably catchy “Tonight’s the First Night”), Phil Collins (“If This is the End”) and Chris Robinson (“Make Up Your Mind”) in the space of only a few songs. UnFortunately, however, this CD is UnInspiring. -- bl
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Girlfrendo / Vivid Confusion / Bambini (CDEP)
I bought the first Girlfrendo album (Surprise, Surprise...) out of
love for their cute website, and happily, I loved it. J Frendo's
Swedish "Cockney" accent was not for all tastes, I guess, but I adored her
every phrasing and the band's exuberant playing through songs about "Make
Up" and "Cat Heaven". Their new CD shows the band maturing at
such a rate that it's hard to even consider this a Girlfrendo record. "Vivid
Confusion" is a nice, somewhat somber duet with Nicholas, and good in
itself, but their cover of "Walking With Jesus" is rather sleepy too. It also seems J Frendo is trying to rid herself of the accent which made them
that extra bit special. As the only other track, "Level 5", is a bloody
instrumental, I can't recommend buying Vivid Confusion at the price
of one dollar a minute. I'll still get their upcoming album, but sense the
import price will seem far too expensive for the new kind of mellow that
Girlfrendo is doling out. -- td
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Speedy J / A Shocking Hobby / Mute (CD)
Some cool packaging encases this sometimes ambient, sometimes enterprising techno monster. Speedy J, known as Jochem Paap to his
Moms and Pops, enjoys gouging you in the mouth with a barbed and meaty hook, but instead of quickly swinging you out of the water
and into the fish bucket, he likes to drag you around underneath the surface for a bit. Only after this tranquil torment has caused
significant internal trauma does Speedy J unleash pulsating, purposely distorted beats, causing physical as well as psychological
damage to your already lifeless body. The constant browbeating may be a bit much to endure in one fatal sitting, but Speedy J's
musical rumblings are anything but derivative, pushing this (D)J to the forefront of exhilarating electronica. -- am
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Various Artists / On the Floor at the Boutique -- Mixed
by Fatboy Slim / Astralwerks (CD)
This more-than-a-year-old Fatboy Slim mix album has been pulled
from import obscurity by Astralwerks, who've used it as an
"attention maintenance product" while Norman Cook readies his
next "real" Fatboy Slim album. If you've ever seen Cook spin,
you know he's big on rhythm-intensive R&B and old-school hip-hop
fused with big-ass beats, resulting in a set that's a big heavier on personality and quirkiness than other DJs' work. For that matter, if you've ever heard Cook spin, you'll
recognize a lot of his staple tunes in this classic Big Beat
Boutique set. While Cook's methods eventually start to seem
rather formulaic, his ability to please a crowd is undeniable. -- gz
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Am I allowed to say that Pollen sometimes sounds like Green Day doing
REM songs? I'm an adult, damn it, and I can say whatever I want! Sort of
punky,
sort of poppy, fast, loud guitars and drums. Interesting lyrics, the
occassional Stipey vocal nuance. Fun song titles like "Girls Love
Robots." It's not all SoCal punk, though. "50 MPH" gives a nod to the
midwestern guys with long hair axis (GooGoo Dolls, Soul Asylum). "Life
of
Crap" is 100% alterna-radioready. It's nothing that'll make your grandma's
teeth fall out, but pretty good hi-energy pop-punk with more depth
(musical and lyrical) than you might at first expect. -- ib
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Alkaline Trio / Alkaline Trio (EPs Collection) / Asian Man (CD)
Things like this always happen to me. I scour the face of the Earth to find limited run singles, EPs, promos, etc., finally finding them at some hole-in-the-wall record store in the middle of god knows where. Then, a month later, the record company puts out a neat little compilation of all those limited-run albums -- plus extra stuff you didn’t even know existed, and I have to buy that, too. Such is the case with this self-titled collection by Chicago pop-punk poster boys the Alkaline Trio. Obviously, Asian Man realized their need to strike while the iron is hot with this bunch, so they quickly gathered together all the material from their out-of-print EPs I Lied My Face Off and For Your Lungs Only and the Sundials 7", as well as various other tough-to-find early compilation appearances. So now it’s all there in one nicely-packaged little bundle -- their confessional lyrics, sharp melodic hooks and hyperactive rhythms. This collection is worth the price of admission if only for the Trio’s ripping cover of the Cure’s “Exploding Boy”, as well as the dynamite “My Friend Peter”, which was their contribution to the Magnetic Curses compilation. Hopefully you readers were not as impatient as I was with this material, and will be able to enjoy this collection without wanting to cry. -- jj
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Edge City Collective / Guitarrasalto / Edge City Music (CD)
This collection of guitar improvisations by a largely academic crowd is,
surprisingly, all about emotion. At times reminiscent of Paulinho Noguira
and other great Brazilian jazz artists, the group also commands their way
through the same sort of music Mark O'Connor made during his Nashville days.
Personal taste makes me favor the slower, more acoustic-oriented pieces; of
these, "Upekuzi" is as pretty as anything Henry Kaiser and Donald Lindley
have discovered on their journeys through Mozambique. When their pieces
become harsher and more experimental, as in the title track and "Fanatango
Primo" (which includes brilliant flute work by Jon Thompson), the pleasures
are less immediate, but once again strongly rewarding. Those who love every
aspect of the guitar will love this best, as the Collective's focus (while
guitar-centered) is very broad and diverse, appealing to fans of guitar work
as understated as Guy Clark or as complex as Steve Reich. -- td
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MixMaster Mike / Eye of the Cyclops / Asphodel
(CD)
After far too long an absence, Mixmaster Mike is back with four
(or eleven) new tracks of turntablistic action. Rather than
rapping, Mike fashions his cuts from the other "traditional"
elements of hip-hop: loops, breakbeats, samples and lots of
top-quality turntable scratching. The disc lists four tracks
but actually boasts eleven -- each of the four cuts is broken
down into two or three pieces. As a showcase for Mike's
turntable action, Eye of the Cyclops is actually pretty
mellow, with few opportunities for real grandstanding, though if
you've seen him headlining or touring with the Beastie Boys, you
know he's got, ahem, mad skillz. If you like Public Enemy even
when no-one's rapping, you'll like this. -- gz
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Various Artists / Unsound Volume 2: Guitars! / To M'Lou Music
(CD)
The Unsound Series collects home recordings from unknown artist and makes
available what most of us would never encounter on our own. This is a
noble task and on this second collection yields a number of outstanding
finds. Although the title might lead you to expect guitar-god wankery, the
songs all lean towards either pop or folk and many delightfully invoke the
sunny pop harmonies of the 70's. Kicking off with a charming ukulele ditty
by Ian Whitcomb, the tempo then picks up with a early-Beatles styled track
by Kurt Reil. Ranging from the swinging "She Wants Money" by John McMullan
to the shimmering pedal steel in Tennessee Tuxedo's "Man of Simple Taste"
to the hilarious "Dead Cat Song" by Ken Burke, the treasures here seem
never ending. In fact, the best way to give you a complete listing of the
gems is to simply list all the tracks. This is a collection sure to
introduce a bevy of new artists to a very grateful audience.
-- rd
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The Euro Boys / Long Day's Flight 'till Tomorrow / Man's Ruin (CD)
The Euro Boys definitely have that European sound down pat -- maybe the fact
that they're from Norway helps. Remember the band Ivy? Track #7,
"Invisible Horse", has that same light and airy French pop feel; it's groovy and
funky at the same time, and when the guitars kick in it's able to rock with best of
the modern day pop stars. The mainly-instrumental CD sounds like a
soundtrack to some Eurotrash film from the 60's. I can see the buxom
beehived girl on screen now: every shake of the tambourine and puff into
the flute helps to better visualize her knee high boots. The slap of the
bass and pluck of the sitar solidify the image of a go-go girl shakin'
her moneymaker to the retro tune of the Euro Boys. -- jp
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The Maggies / Cryptic Valentine / Chickenman (CD)
With Adrian O'Carolan now adding to the harmonies, Phillip Price and his New
England popsters make an album which reaps the same sort of joys that you
can find in records by the Nields. The lyrics are smart yet poppy, and all
the songs tend to start off smashingly (in particular "Sara J" and "Back in
Time"). When it comes to their choruses the Maggies sputter a bit (except in
"B.M.G.", which also features a great Chris Stamey-like guitar solo); I think
the choruses are the only thing preventing Cryptic Valentine from
being a major breakout smash. Still, the album offers a
whole lot of pleasures, and should be welcomed by anyone looking for pop
that's as happy, breezy, and enjoyable as the Mamas and Papas were in the
sixties. -- td
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Elliott Smith / Division Day EP / Suicide Squeeze (CD)
Elliott Smith could pretty much fart into a four-track, burn it to a CD, slap him name on it, release it and I would buy it. Thankfully this is not what Mr. Smith has done on the brief-yet-spectacular Division Day EP. Originally released only on 7”, this EP has been lovingly re-formatted by the folks at Suicide Squeeze so that turntable-less Elliott fans everywhere can also enjoy these songs. And grateful those masses should be, for the title track is an impossibly beautiful and shimmering piano-led nugget of blissful pop. As you might expect, all of the trademark Smith elements are present -- the gorgeous vocal swells, understated rhythms and twisted melodies. B-side-cum-second-song “No Name # 6” couples Elliott’s sweet croon with dueling layers of acoustic and electric guitars that slide effortlessly in and out of the mix. A full-blown blessing for those of you without turntables, the Division Day EP offers more of the pure pop goodness you love and less of the annoying pops and clicks you don’t. -- jj
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This is a collection of "rare and unreleased" songs, presumably
rushed to market to capitalize on Hefner's current popularity
before the UK music press decides they've turned crap. No real
surprises here -- vocalist Darren Hayman bares his aching soul
over gently-jangling pop riffs, voicing romantic frustration in
his trademark Pete Shelleyish croak. This isn't top-shelf
Hefner by any means, but Hayman's gift of speaking to his
audience's romantic frustrations is strongly in evidence. This
isn't the best introduction to Hefner, but it'll show you what
you've been missing. -- gz
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Ernesto Diaz-Infante / Solus / Pax (CD)
You never know what to expect from Ernesto Diaz-Infante. This time around, the enigmatic composer mans the piano, without
accompaniment, for what has to be his best work to date. While most of his previous releases have tended to bounce around in an
experimental airlock, the thirteen pieces on Solus are dramatic works of free jazz, filtering through the air with a beautiful
dissonance. Diaz-Infante takes his cues from a strange amalgamation of Thelonious Monk and Matthew Shipp as he fluidly pounds
out note after note, while retaining a certain air of composure that's strikingly composed, yet subtly mischievous. This
virtuoso isn't out to play a few relaxing ballads to soothe your soul; he wants to challenge not only himself, but the listening audience, with tricky chord changes and rambunctious runs across the ivory keys. With jaw dropping intensity and an exceptionally tasty
and creative style, Diaz-Infante may have just released the CD that'll blow your mind -- ka-blaam! -- am
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SFB / The Last Dance / MBI (CD)
Sometimes one comes across CDs that are like a pair of new 501's -- they fit, but need repeat wearings before the relationship between jeans and wearer reach perfection. Then there's another kind of CD which provides instant gratification from the first note to the last. Last Dance falls into the latter
category. The uncaged energy a la the Henry Rollins Band and Ministry rages whilst synth atmospherics play a crucial supporting role. Galen Kline's
vocals switch effortlessly from menacing growl to pained whisper. Each track shines just as brightly as the one before, forcing the listener to pick from
several favorites. Good things can come from sibling rivalry, as is proved on "Nothingland", in which the Stasiowski brothers (Dave on guitar and Paul on
Bass) hurl beefy riffs and basslines at each other throughout the song's duration. Winslow Kelley's brutal bashing of the drum skins never abates, even on mellower tracks
like "Fall" or the superbly eerie "When the Pain Stops". Many others have dabbled successfully in amalgamations of thrash, electronica and industrial strength Goth, but SFB's wall-shaking approach -- and their wicked take on the Inspector Gadget theme, pushes the envelope that much more. -- dd
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Penelopes / Inner Light / Vaudeville Park (CD)
Japanese pop artist Tatsuhiko Watanabe offers pleasures quite different than
Kahimi Karie, Shonen Knife, Lolita 18, Archaic Smile or the few other
Japanese groups I'm familiar with. Where others have been quite kitschy (or
just overrated and bad, as with Archaic Smile), Watanabe makes songs that
you appreciate in the same way as you would a Beach Boys or ELO song. He's
got a great voice, sets it to a wonderful melody, and his lyrics -- well,
who cares as long as they're catchy? Were a handsome import price to accompany
this disc, then its similarities to American and British groups might make
the Penelopes less attractive; hopefully, though, March or some other label
will give the Penelopes a well-deserving domestic deal. Should this happen,
expect a lot of people to forget about Graham Smith or Fountains of Wayne,
and record tracks like "Your White Sketchbook" over and over again on comp
tapes. While it's always hard for me to understand the reasoning behind a
double-album of disposable pop, there are few I have heard where the gems
come so frequent that you forget how tiring it eventually becomes to spend
over an hour immersed in total fluff. -- td
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gz - george zahora | nw - noah wane | am - andrew magilow | ib - irving bellemead | jj - jason jackowiak | ha-n - heidi anne-noel
dd - deirdre devers | td - theodore defosse | rd - ron davies | bl - beth lucht | jp - jennifer perkins
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