20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Homesleep
Over more than a decade of splurging fast guitar strumming and melodicsynchronised shouting, Trumans Water have proved themselves to be aforce for the ridiculous side of rock music. Yet again they crashmeteorites for troglodytes and yammer silly of the joys of resistance.Original guitarist Glen Galloway has rejoined mainstays the Branstetterbrothers Kirk and Kevin for recording and writing but doesn't tour withthem because he wants to stay home with his family. (Kevin now lives inParis.) Some of this album shows them at their most straight ahead anduncomplicated, kicking out the jams on tracks like the hotwired-heartopening salvo "Rock of Gibralter," "Some Things Feel Rough," and acover of the Flesheaters "Pony Dress" that'll have old fans bouncingaround and wondering how they lost track of the band. It seems to be acommon problem for them, mostly because almost every album comes out ona different label but it doesn't help that their website is a littleout of date. Maybe they were just too busy flooding the roads ofEurope. "Rock of Gibralter" is one of their catchiest tunes and unlikeNick Cave's unrelated MOR ballad of the same name it probably isn'tabout to get requested by servants of government. More likely it'llremind Thurston Moore not to sleepwalk to disconnection. "Say Hi to theLie Machine" is another fairly straight ahead rocker, propelled by drumclatter but pulled left by tunings that make people who work in guitarshops turn blue. The verse of "Airs Smudgy Blanket" even recalls "IFall" by The Damned, and Trumans Water manage to capture the spark ofsuch early punk bands but avoid cliche and retrogression by crankingthe weirdness levels and ditching corny rawk speak in favour of theirown tower of babbling tongue. This is the band that introduced ageneration of indie rock fans to Faust with their cover of "SadSkinhead," and the almost epic "When Diet and Exercise Fail" has asimilar momentum of magic roundabouts spinning absurdly out of control.Is that a theremin wailing above? They get out the sax to meander andobliterate a telephone recording of a woman ranting on the last track,but as speed flags here, interest wavers. There's certainly enough ofthe old Trumans Water magnetic energy to keep things moving and thisalbum is as good a starting point for the curious to step into theirtrip as any. There are still the more chaotic moments, like the openingof "Pulverizer Bear," which also ranks high in the celebratory dementedsynchronized shouting stakes. Dramatic lurching spells are neithercreated nor destroyed, but dangerous stunts for "Trapeze Sharks" arefun to hear. Trumans Water might be some kind of antidote for an ailingspirit, most represented by a stomach covered by airs smudgy blanketwhen diet and exercise have failed.
Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Darla
Maquiladora are the modern equivalent to The Band, recording slower,soulful rock music with an all-encompassing country influence. Theyswitch vocalists, vary between dense and sparse compositions, andthroughout each release, they plunge deeper and deeper headlong intoterritory that both soothes and expands the reaches of humanconsciousness. This music doesn't so much play through the speakers butswirl and mist out like a vaporous mist that the ears inhale. There areawkward moments like vocal stumbling and strained falsetto, but inlistening to the record as a whole they hardly matter. On Dreaming,they found quite a cast of characters to assist in their endeavors.From Blackheart Procession member Phil Jenkins, to a few of the AcidMothers Temple roster, the guests add interesting flourishes. With thecore members' strong songwriting, it makes for the most cohesive andexpansive record Maquiladora have mustered yet. "Sudden Life" opens therecord with an almost "Money for Nothing" approach: minimal sounds arejoined by tom drumming and, eventually, guitars and eerily treatedvocals. It's honestly enough to make me rise off the ground, soaringtowards the sky. As the album progresses, the lyrics paint a delicatepicture of loss, hope, and the world around us all. The trio of shamansthat are Maquiladora sound in tune with the elements, and it informsthe sounds their instruments and voices make. They describe themselvesas desert music, but on What the Day Was Dreaming, they provethat setting too barren for music as full of life as this. Dreams willbe haunted, and the day will be colored with shades of this music,making it a just little warmer and brighter.

samples:

• Sudden Life
• Heartbroken
• Seaweed

Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Fat Cat
Fat Cat have compiled two discs that show them to be one of the mostdiverse and eclectic labels in the UK. I'd be surprised if you can'tfind at least a few tracks here to enjoy. The bait of a previouslyunreleased and fairly low key slice of Sigur Ros ambience opening thesecond disc is probably strategically placed to lure in their fans.Soon they'll be smacked about the ears by Xinlisupreme's anthemic synthsoaring "Murder License" which does distortion battle with Black Diceto see who can be the fattest cat. The Japanese duo win on brute force,but Black Dice know "Things Will Never Be the Same" for post-Boredomspsyche-stews after the "Murder License" has ben revoked. Mum's "GreenGrass of Tunnel" still retains its child like wonder and beauty afterso many plays and Party of One's bratty "Shotgun Funeral" is by fartheir best song and the only one I really need from them. Other albumexcerpts that ought to intrigue are the perky opener from David Grubbs'Rickets and Scurvy and one of the more concise and engaging tracks from Set Fire to Flames' low key desolate Telegraphs in Negative.Fennesz is always welcome round here and his "Badminton Girl" is awistful, exhausted summer evening memory fading, representing the FatCat split 12" series. Matmos, Duplo Remote, Kid 606 and Com.A also havea track each lifted from their splits, each shimmying on with fractureddancefloor moves. This does however beg the question of why they don'tcompile the split 12" singles onto CD albums once the singles are outof print. The label's weakest tendency is a penchant for middle roadquasi-avant pop and I could happily live without the sugar coatedtedium of Bjork and Funkstorung, the Emiliani Torrini remixes from TeamDoyobi and Process, and the gag-inducing Grain track. Mice Parade,Transient Waves, Him (misnomered as Seen) and the Dylan Group all coastby pleasantly making little impression. Giddy Motors stick out like ahammered thumb on the other hand, rockin' hard with the flipside of asingle that hasn't been on CD before. Almost everyone should find acouple of surprise tracks from someone they've never heard before thatimpresses. Stromba and Programme were the new finds for me. Strombatake a grooving Tortoise turn and Programme hit hard with a robustFrench rap meets Big Black drum machine onslaught. Sylvain Chauveau'shaunting piano isolation is a beautiful comedown to end the collection.

samples:

• Duplo Remote - Cusp
• Seen - Slow Slow Slow
• Crescent - Spring

Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Hit Thing
Dual lives, fraud, Nice, satanic ritual, artistic theft, mightyWurlitzers and trade unions—this CD has got them all. The captivatingstory behind this reissue on CD of George Montalba's first two LPs istoo long and complex to get into here but is well documented in thesleeve notes for the curious. The background adds a certain aspect offun to this disk that is much like the Simpson's, that is, it can beenjoyed on several different levels. There's the 18's exoticainstrumental aspect with its pang of goofiness that I, for one, find isalways a plus. There's the material being played: stomping rhythms andstrong melodies that have you singing along in no time, mostlyarrangements of very familiar material from Saint-Saëns,Rimsky-Korsakov, Falla, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Sousa, to namea few. Much more than all that is Montalba's (actually his name was BobHunter) brilliant arrangements for organ and two percussionists. Hisplaying on the genuinely fabulous, mighty and majestic Wurlitzer pipeorgan is a delight and it's all captured expertly and lovingly in hi-fimono. The music is enormous in every way: dynamics, richness andvariety of tone color, opulent expansiveness and dazzling showmanshipin borderline bad-taste. It has an intensity (there's enough organtremolo here to supply half a dozen or more 50s horror flicks) thatwill make some cringe, others smile, and most weary if not taken inappropriate doses. My advice is to pause the CD at half-time, take anap, a shower and a cup of coffee (in that order), and then resume.Putting the smug perspective of hindsight aside, Bob Hunter's versionsof these tunes really are spectacular—his mastery of different styles,playful combinations of familiar and exotic, restraint and lack thereofadd up to some genuinely fascinating listening in the manner of, say,Quincy Jones. For a listening recommendation, perhaps what it comesdown to is how you enjoy cheese—if you like your cheese rich, funky,exotic, made with artesian perfectionism and well aged then GeorgesMontalba's Mighty Wurlitzer is what you crave.

samples:

• In A Persian Market
• Anitra's Dance
• Washington Post March

Read More

20 July 2003

Michael Patrick Brady

Albums and Singles

Thirsty Ear
This entry in Thirsty Ear's ambitious Blue Series finds the series'headmaster stepping out once again to explore the realms of both thefamiliar and the unfamiliar. Shipp's reputation as a complex composerin avant and free jazz make him a prime choice to lead the Blue Seriesendeavor, and not content to simply orchestrate the undertaking, he hasseen fit to step up to the plate with his own solo and guest spots. On Equilibrium,he touches on traditional jazz structures as well as free-jazzexplorations, often augmented with accents of the urban and electronicmodern. "Vamp to Vibe" does just as it says, with Khan Jamal's vibestrickling over Shipp's vamping, seesaw chords with a confidence andfluidity that is astonishing. Jamal is given free reign to work hiswonders all over Equilibrium and his addition to Shipp'scoterie of distinguished and talented musicians is a masterstroke."Nebula Theory" is a free jazz excursion with the band members slowlydrifting apart, tenuously held together by strands of notes that breakand reform lending the track an amorphous quality that uses silence aseffectively as sound. "Cohesion," like "Vamp to Vibe," relies heavilyon a deep groove provided by Shipp's left hand and bassist WilliamParker. The ensemble digs deeply here, and the funky feel of the piecebenefits from the contributions of the programmed breakbeats ofelectronic producer FLAM. His additions are subtle, never seeking tosteal the spotlight from the ensemble, but they give the pieces adistinct energy, flirting with urban and club beats that breathe newsoul into the already lively jazz compositions. He and livepercussionist Gerald Cleaver work to act as a propulsive force, neverletting the potential for conflict or excess disappoint the potential.Shipp leaves his mark all over "The Root," with FLAM sitting out onthis more spacious piece. It is a virtuoso moment on Equilibriumwith Shipp conjuring a flowing melody from his piano that captures theattention, unbound yet never meandering. "The Key" bounces, lettingParker's bass, Jamal's vibes, and FLAM's synths and breaks all shineout, each of them seizing a portion of the piece and making them oozewith ingenuity and makes this a particular highlight on the disc. Thefinal track, "Nu Matrix," is another composition of sound and silence;patience and satisfaction. It stretches the ensembles interplay, eachcomponent loosely bonded and nearly independent. Equilibriumfinds strength throughout its duration, effectively trying its hand ata variety of sounds and ideas, and convincingly making them feelnatural together. The mix of traditional, free avant, modern, andexperimental fusion results in a remarkably compelling whole that won'tfrighten off new listeners, but rather draw them deeper into the idealsthat have come to comprise the Blue Series.

samples:

• Nebula Theory
• Cohesion
• The Key

Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

City Centre Offices
As soon as Dictaphone's debut album starts, I'm immediately put into anew world where I am a private detective in a modern neo-noir film. Thestreets are unfriendly in these times, and I am one of those whoprotects the innocent, taking cases for low prices or for freesometimes, just keeping the peace. Every good detective has his crossto bear, and Dictaphone is a perfect backbone to the life of a lonerwho walks a fine line between the light and the dark. M.=Addictionis full of tracks that ooze modern cool, with electronic and livepercussion, guitar, keyboards, and live horns. The beats and groovesare jazz flavored, and the music does lean more towards that genre thanany other, but to call this music jazz would be to rob it of itsmulti-dimensional character. Each track is a different person, adifferent canvas, a different case to be solved. "Tempelhof" is thescorned lover, needy only of answers, walking the lonely streetswondering why the night has cursed her so. The title track is the shotfired in the night, striking an innocent person. Who fired the gun? Whodid they intend to hit? The awkward and sudden silence in the middle ofthe song asks a million questions in one second. It's as though thecompositions call out for justice, for the answers to these questionsthat haunt them. Few tracks have vocals, but those that do carry alittle more mystery, a little more depth, that makes the air theytravel throuh palpable. Oliver Doerell and Roger Döring have creatednot just music, but a storybook of emotions and characters that can beaccessed just by pressing play on the CD player. It is a fascinatinglisten, and I look forward to more cases to solve very soon. 

samples:

• M.=addiction
• Tempelhof
• La Piscine

Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Synaesthesia
What starts off as a seemingly random collection of noise gels into anamazing conglomerate of unique sounds and atmospheres. Each unnamedtrack seems to have a consistent theme running beneath the random bellsand whistles that holds everything together. If it weren't for thiskind of consistency, Diasporawould sound totally random and become too difficult to focus on. Partof what makes a record of sounds and noises successful is the qualityof the sounds themselves: those used must be interesting and compellingor brutal and confrontational. Diaspora succeeds on this levelby employing some unusual sounds and effects. Futuristic computers, rayguns, drones of impending doom, aquatic fans, solar explosions, andalien bells are all peppered over the duration of the album. In someinstances, like the sixth and ninth tracks, these sounds are arrangedin an intriguing way, as the tracks are both heavily atmosphericglimpses into a world of nuclear winter and heavy-metal killingmachines. I find myself returning to particular songs and then becomingextremely engaged in everything that follows. As I listen to the firstfew tracks now, I realize that I am really attracted to almost everysound used. Hints of melody and coherency do emerge here and there andthe short duration of every song helps things move along nicely. Délirehas molded an album of eleven distinct tracks that belong together.Though the songs are indexed, Diaspora sounds like one longarrangement broken down into its elements. The videos included are abit less interesting than the album itself. The sounds I hear justdon't fit together with the videos in any way and it ends up makingboth the video and the music just a bit monotonous. I think of Diasporaas a collection of interesting sounds more than anything. There'snothing particularly amazing about the arrangements nor the album ingeneral, but the sounds are just so captivating that I keep wanting togo back for more. 

samples:

• Track One
• Track Three
• Track Eleven

Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

No Label
Anyone who has seen the turntablism documentary Scratchwill remember the scene featuring Josh Charles, AKA DJ Shadow. He stoodin the secret basement of his favorite record store (locationundisclosed, of course) amid huge stacks of dusty, obscure vinyl,explaining the philosophy and allure of "crate digging". Hisinexhaustible energy for searching out rare groove, forgotten soul, andhopelessly esoteric breakbeats has given his albums a dark, shadowyatmosphere wholly appropriate to his moniker. While most of Shadow'searly mixes were characterized by clever constructions of breakbeatsfrom rare jazz and funk instrumentals from the likes of David Axelrodand Cannonball Adderly, his recent work (with the exception of most ofhis disappointing major label album) has taken him to the farthestreaches of psychedelia and European progressive rock. Being somewhat ofa rare psych and prog enthusiast, I admire this new direction and amdownright envious of the incredibly bizarre tracks he has managed todig up for this 120-minute live BBC mix. Diminishing Returns isa new, independently released 2-CD set that comprises the entiretwo-hour BBC mix as well as a brand new bonus track. The first hour ofthe mix focuses on underground, old school and leftfield hip-hoptracks. Many of these funny, clever and/or weird raps are matched withalternate breakbeats from another source. There is no tracklisting orsample credits to be found in the nonexistent liner notes, so most ofthese artists remain completely enigmatic to me. Someone more cleverthan I should try to name all of the artists and songs used here, but Iam hopeless at blindly identifying tracks. This first part of thesession is a dynamic hour of rarely-heard hip-hop gems, but it cannothold a candle to the genius of the final 40 minutes. For this last halfof the mix, Shadow creates a seamless adventure through all thingsdusty, strange and rare, focusing on obscure psychedelic rock andstrange progressive. Some of these songs are truly off-kilter andhallucinogenic, featuring trippy, introspective vocals, effects-ladenguitar noodling and mesmerizing beats. This is an impressive assemblageof esoterica that you are guaranteed never to hear anywhere else. Ialmost expected Arcesia, the acid-addled big band leader featured on Songs in the Key of Zto come into the mix singing "Butterfly Mind." At a staggering twohours, the mix still feels tight and engaging, which is an impressivefeat. The bonus track on the disc is an average re-hash of the kind ofhip-hop/rock instrumental constructs that dominated The Private Press. Diminishing Returns is a satisfying DJ mix, right up there with gems like Coldcut's 70 Minutes of Madness.If DJ Shadow wants to retain his credibility, he needs to stay awayfrom the feeble and average material evidenced on his major labelalbum, and stick to the kind of musical integrity he displays on mixeslike this one. 

samples:

• excerpt 1
• excerpt 2
• excerpt 3

Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Load
The guitarist dressed in silly pink stocking apparel that masked hisidentity. The drummer dressed much the same but in brown. If they gaveinterviews, I guess its fairly unlikely they got asked, "So why did youcall the band Pink and Brown?" Imagine Oxes stripped down to a lowerdensity screechier hollerin' clobberin' combo and you'd have a fairlygood idea of where these two light-hearted heavy-handed San Franciscoscene stalwarts were coming from. Actually you'd probably have a bandwho sound so much like Arab On Radar that they could be the same sillypost-punkers, albeit with the vocals mixed lower or not at all. As forwhere they're going to, who knows? Brown plays in Young People whosounded like Cat Power might if she got some interesting noises intoher guitar and wrote better songs on the one song I heard. Pink playsin a bunch of other bands I've never heard. But I have heard this CDand can say that compiling everything they released before giving upthis fancy dress gig was a pretty good idea and if you've ever groovedto the kind of jagged rock storms that the Skin Graft label served upin abundance, you'll probably have a pretty good time at the Pink andBrown party. Its itchy, scratchy nerd rock as opposed to math rock,because these are the kids who burnt their homework and ran through thestreets squealing with socks pulled over their heads. The vinyl versionof this album only features the five new songs they recorded on NewYears day 2003 so unless you were a completist Pink and Brown fan, theCD seems a better bet, as there are 22 tracks on that. But how doesthis rate on my Loadometer? Not as madcap noisefried as Lightning Boltor Sightings, but a lot more fun than Neon Hunk. Don't even think aboutgetting this until you have that stompin' Noxagt album on Load which Ireviewed a few weeks back

samples:

• coming soon

Read More

20 July 2003

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Soul Jazz
There are altogether too many various artist compilations currently outin the market that presume to document a particular musical scene or,worse, claim to serve as a kind of audio history lesson. All of thesereleases seem to be suggesting that they are the "final word" on aparticular genre or scene. Most fall far short of this goal. Recently,Rough Trade released a "post punk" primer, which included a few greatrarities from the original era like Liquid Liquid and World DominationEnterprises, together with a bunch of head-scratchingly inappropriateinclusions from newer artists. Very little thought seems to be given totrack sequencing in most cases, making for an uneven listen that ismore annoying that it is educational. Many of these compilations alsorecycle the same tracks that have appeared on numerous other releases.I can count on one hand the number of compilations that I have found tobe valuable, and among them is Soul Jazz's In The Beginning, There Was Rhythmfrom 2001. True, some of the tracks included were widely available onCD already, but the selection and sequencing of tracks was trulyinspired. So, I had high hopes for the newest Soul Jazz "music history"comp, New York Noise: Dance Music From the New York Underground1978-1982. The compilers have attempted to marry the disparate genresof post-punk dance, underground disco, no-wave and hip-hop under onebig NYC banner. With a few exceptions, they succeed. Liquid Liquid's"Optimo" is a great starting point, combining African rhythms and punkurgency into a tense, funky groove. Filling out the "mutant disco"quotient are rare selections from Konk, The Dance and The Bloods. BillLaswell's Material are included, with a dialogue-sampling disco-housemeltdown that sounds way ahead of its time. NYC underground avant-discoprodigy Arthur Russell is here under his Dinosaur L guise, with thetypically brilliant "Clean on Your Bean #1". It's nice to hear thiscrisply remastered song without having to shell out $700 for theoriginal 12" on Sleeping Bag. ESG and The Bush Tetras represent for theladies with a couple estrogen-fueled funk tracks. Defunkt's "Defunkt"seems a little out of place; it's nice, but a rather typical late-70'sdisco-funk number. Rahmelzee vs. K. Rob's long-winded "Beat Bop" standsalong with Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines" as a masterpiece of thefirst era of NYC hip-hop. I'm not sure what the compilers were thinkingby the inclusion of DNA, MARS and The Contortions. Sure, these bandswere included on the epochal 1978 No New York LP which defined theno-wave aesthetic, but does this qualify as dance music? Only anepileptic on ecstasy would try to dance to these noisy, herky-jerkyrhythms. Ditto Glenn Branca's eight-minute, multiple-guitar fantasia"Lesson No.1." These tracks are all quite good, but they stick out likea sore thumb on a so-called "dance music" compilation. These are minorquibbles, however, as the music is brilliant, and MARS' "HelenFordsdale" has always been my favorite track from the No New Yorkcompilation. Words are insufficient to describe the drama and intensityof this two-and-a-half minute explosion of rock n' roll chaos. All inall, New York Noise is a valuable compilation for those of us who don'tmind pedantic compilers giving us a lesson in musical history.

samples:

• Liquid Liquid - Optimo
• Dinosaur L - Clean on Your Bean #1
• MARS - Helen Fordsdale

Read More