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Occasionally that CD comes along that is almost bizarrely unique, practically defying description due to its out-of-the-ordinary construction and hard to quantify affect on you. The Epidemic is certainly not a band that belongs on decidedly punk Ache Records, but that seems to be the point. The solo side project for Andy Dixon of d.b.s., and he's chosen a peculiar sonic path. "I Am Compltely Oprationa l" is a quirky debut release, combining an indie rock sensibility with vague electronic flashes and jilting experimentation with arrangements.Ache
Tracks start in one direction, abandon it and its tempo, and evolve into something else, usually better, only to flutter and fade over time from that structure to begin a new track. It's very engrossing, slightly confusing, and, ultimately, utterly creative. Vocal harmonies are delicate and slight, but beautiful; guitar lines blend together, playfully, then dissapear; electronic pulses, beeps, whistles, and howls come in, go out, feedback, and otherwise convolute, but never in a distracting way. Dixon's voice sounds like a combination of Blair Shehan (The Jealous Sound, Knapsack) and Ben Folds. It works well for this music, and for these lyrics: 'The West Coast As A Robot,' while featuring the robot-voiced sample that gives the album its title, also features the lines "Vancouver lifts like a cancer recovery" and "You don't have to make a hospital bed/cut her dosage in half." Someone had a horrible time in British Columbia. But still, the music is very sweet in a slightly disturbing way, full of gorgeous melodies and steady rhythms. This is the logical extension of emo: add some electronics, still make the kids sway at the shows, and punish them with lyrics of fury that are understated. Even the playful poke at the band's moniker how it relates to another well known band whose title is the anithesis of theirs, 'Robert Smith Vs. Crosstown Music,' is extremely tongue and cheek with a killer guitar line and synthesizer horns (plus the line "I'd listen to Disintregration if I owned it on vinyl, but the record store never seems to have it in"). It really is quite lovely, even if a bit short, and I look forward to hearing more from The Epidemic.
 
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EMI buys Mute? Robert Rental, Michael Karoli and Frank Tovey die. Didthey fall or were they pushed? Are EMI hitmen knocking off the lesslucrative Mute artists so that back catalog can be hastily deleted withlittle complaint? Did anyone notice when they kidnapped Jon Spencer,entrapped him behind the Green Door and replaced him with Shakin'Stevens, that top 80s Welsh Elvis impersonator? There is some shakin'rock'n'roll going on tonight in this ole house, but these ears are justhearing a lot of mouldy old dough. The fang has little bite but chewson anyway in plastic denim clad daddy-o sideburn style. The only partcomparable in excitement to former Blues Explosion fun is the momentwhen opening track "Sweet 'N' Sour" crunches to a stop and fires upagain. I wish Shaky luck in this new found career and hope he will letJon free without too much brainwashing. No sound files on this one. Letthe corporate-u-lent fill up their own webspace. Genesis P. Orridgewatch your back!
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764 Hero, I feel, have never really received the acclaim and noticesthey deserve. And why? Their contemporaries in Built to Spill andModest Mouse, who 764 Hero even did a split EP with, have gone on fromUp Records to great acclaim and larger audiences. True, they signed tomajor labels to do so. And maybe that's what separated 764 Hero. Theyaren't willing to make sacrifices to move ahead. This, their fourthfull-length on Tiger Style Records, is a breath of fresh air for theband, and it sounds like they had the time of their lives making it. Aslight change of line-up - bass player James Bertram left the band,replacing him is Robin P, who, coincidentally, plays bass for ModestMouse on tour - means a slight change in the name, too, apparently, asthis is the first 764 Hero record without a hyphen in the band's name.It's the little things that count. With Phil Ek at the boards onceagain, the band has a great straightforward rock sound, showcasingtheir strengths in spades, even when they are slowing down the pace abit. John Atkins has always sounded a bit like Doug Martsch from Builtto Spill with his delivery, and on this record he embraces it withgusto, belting out each track as though it were his last attempt, andit's clearer in the mix than ever before. The band is tighter thanever, the songs are more confident and catchy. Atkins' lyrics arequirky, as always, providing fluent descriptions of change. This is thealbum that will get this band the individual notice they deserve. Let'shope so, at least.
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Jesus, Brick Layer Cake is a strange "band." Todd Trainer's (Shellac,Rifle Sport) one-man project that allows him to step out in front ofthe kit occasionally, hasn't released a record since "Tragedy Tragedy"in 1994. Trainer took the occasion of hs moving to Chicago to recordwith Steve Albini, and he plays every note, every beat, and sings everyline on "Whatchamacallit." And it's just getting weirder, folks. Again,it's the same formula: simple song stuctures, slower tempos, and alldriven by low register growl of contempt. Hell, it's even the same typeof cover photo as the last record. And the only thing that has changedis that apparently Trainer's contempt for most things around him. It'sincreased exponentially. From the first track, 'Stars,' Trainer isshredding people and situations apart. This is the harshest song withthat title EVER. Sample lyric: "One who fucked straight to the fuckingtop and didn't fucking stop fucking/blows everyone off." The musicitself leaves a lot to be desired, as it's often a bit cacaphonous withone crunchy guitar and one wailing guitar clashing. When it comestogether, though, it's pretty good. 'Softie,' for instance is justplain sinister, and would work very well if BLC played a haunted house.The problem is that since Marilyn Manson and others have used Trainer'svocal delivery style in the past few years, it's become very stale. Itdoesn't have the same affect, in fact on repeated listens I skip mosttracks. It all sounds incredibly juvenile, particularly because of thelyrics, specifically the use of the "fuck" word. If you liked BLCbefore, you'll probably like this one. I'm gonna say it was pretty goodthe first listen, pretty boring on repeated ones, and definitely listenbefore you buy.
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I cannot shake the image of Tom Waits, sprawled on a pile of trash in afilthy New Orleans alleyway with a half-finished bottle of bourbon inhis hand, looking like a bemused corpse as a passing foreign touristexclaims in broken English: "Life is a-strange and beautiful!" Thisscene from Jim Jarmusch's great film "Down By Law" starring Waits as anescaped convict and former disc jockey, perfectly encapsulates thehaunting dichotomy of Waits' thematic content: losers and fools,cynically yet romantically viewing the beautiful and filthy panorama ofthe human comedy with sinister bemusement and sad resignation. Eversince we were introduced to Waits' gallery of thieves, drunks,jailbirds, addicts and losers in 1973's "Closing Time", listeners whowere paying attention have witnessed one of the most successfulevolutions of a popular artist in the history of recorded music.Beginning as a kind of world-weary, lowlife version of Leonard Cohen,Tom Waits gradually honed his lyrics and songwriting skills throughoutthe 70's and 80's. However, it was not until 1983's"Swordfishtrombones" that we were introduced to a compositionalsoundworld that finally matched Waits' disturbing and profoundnarrative world. This sound was perfected with "Rain Dogs", a perfectmeeting of Waits' amazing songwriting skills and outstandinglyleftfield compositional genius. Since then, Waits' output has justgotten stranger and stranger, with atonal, arrhythmic and grotesquealbums such as "Bone Machine" and "Mule Variations", amazingexperiments that somehow fall short in the content department - Waits'trademark black humor and poetic lyricism are overwhelmed by thebombastic and distracting production. It seemed we would never again betreated to the masterful balance that characterized "Rain Dogs."
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While the two albums do not drastically differ, "Alice" is generallymore surreal, dreamy and subdued; while "Blood Money" is lot morecynical and drenched with noisy blues. The lyrical content of "Alice"is jaw-droppingly poetic, especially on "Everything You Can Think,"where Waits wheezes and gasps the amazing lyric "We're fighting our wayup dreamland's spine/With red flamingoes and expensive wine/Everythingyou can think of is true." The strings, horns and syncopated percussionfit perfectly with the dark and bizarre melancholy narratives thatWaits spins. A spine tingling moment comes in "Watch Her Disappear" asWaits'voice gradually fades into the oblivion of the lovely organ,cello and violin melody. A lovely album. If you were only going topurchase one of the two, I would have to recommend "Alice", but youshould really just get both of them, as "Blood Money" is nearly asamazing.
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Tom Waits is a constantly evolving artist who has developed anoriginal, idiosyncratic universe that is instantly recognizable andalways intriguing. "Alice" and "Blood Money" represent his mostperfected expression of his universe in more than a decade.
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