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So, Paul Westerberg releases his first new album in 3 years—on indie Vagrant Records where he knows very few of his labelmates—and embarks on a small in-store tour to support it. Unfortunately, at the San Francisco show, a malicious heckler decided to spoil the fun by making loud comments throughout the set and throwing jibes at the stage whenever he could. Those who were in the audience grew increasingly impatient, and Westerberg eventually lost it, reportedly entering the crowd, grabbing the heckler, and smacking him across the mouth to teach him a lesson.He took it personally, but he still kept that punk spirit in check, not decking the man who tried to get the best of him. And that's exactly what Westerberg finally does on "Stereo": he redeems himself from the hell the music industry put him through in the most subdued way possible. Make no mistake: this is the best Paul Westerberg solo record yet. The songs are, for the most part, stripped down to Paul with his guitar, and the subject matter is perfect dark, though still with that Westerberg lyrical sneering sense of humor. It's a decidedly mellow affair for the man that fronted the Replacements (though Grandpaboy's rocking "Mono" CD is also included with "Stereo"), but what does anyone expect? He's by himself now. No big shot labels, no bandmates, just an older, wiser bar band leader who had a kid and wrote rock and roll in his basement for three years, then found a label who wanted to release it. Does he need more? Nope. Sure, it would be nice to have the Replacements reunite, or to have Paul tour with a full band, and either might happen. But the songs that have drums and bass on the record didn't need anyone but Paul, so I'd say he's doing just fine by himself, having the most fun he's ever had. Just as with the Grandpaboy record, he lets the tape run out, or guitars go flat, and the result is the same. After 'Don't Want Never' fades out, another song fades in, unlisted on the liner notes: "I say my words, I play my notes/I swear to God he learned to stand/Pray to God strike down the band." It never becomes a song, simply fading out after a repeat of the line, but it's the moment you realize Westerberg is playing for keeps. And that's all he can ask of himself, or that his fans can ask of him now.
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When a band loses a member or two, and the band decides to soldier onwithout them, sometimes the results can be catastrophic. There alwaysseems to be something missing, even in the smallest way, that affectsthe soundscape. In the case of Kilowatthours, who craft pop songwonders of the expansive variety, paring down the members hasn't costthem anything in the sound department. In fact, it's improved it. "TheBright Side" is Kilowatthours' second full-length, after 2000's "Strainof Positive Thinking," which the band recorded at Trevor Kampmann's(hollAnd) studio in Washington, DC. And compared to their earlier work,"Side" is just as sure, sparser than before, but wholly a step in theright direction. Vocals are more of a center piece, not blended asmuch, and there isn't an overwhelming urge for the band to loudenthings up like there seemed to be in the past. Kilowatthours still showthe propensity for "rocking out," though, as they do on several placeson the album, most notably "Last Thursday" and "Almost Airtight." Therealso seemed to be more effects on this record, which is a worthwhileaddition, and makes for some interesting backing noise. And, as always,the use of varying types of electric piano is a fantastic base forthese songs. This is just straightforward, catchy, hooky, with the headslightly cocked to the side pop. The addition of a few guests (formerband member Ryan Compton and Sonna's Jeremy deVine) creates some trulypretty moments ("The Only Good Thing About Pollution," "A How-toBook"), and the longer numbers don't disappoint, as they often can withthis genre. A great release, and a great continuation of their sound.Try it on.
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A long awaited reissue attempt of Frieder Butzmann's first album from1981 is now due for release in May. Sadly, however, it's taking theform of a vinyl edition, limited to 333 copies only, whichmathematically would make it rarer than the original issue. Butzmann, aself proclaimed "spokesman of the people," more specifically of theBerlin underground, published his debut album after the famous"Waschsalon" 7" (not included here) at a time when electronic music wastaking over punk, dada and new wave replacing teenage angst. While DerPlan made fun of Düsseldorf and DAF cultivated their homoerotic machomilitary style from their London exile, Butzmann's work threw longerand more disturbing shades out of the Berlin behind the wall—not unlikeDie tödliche Doris or Minus Delta T.
Caring less for technical finesse, a raw and sometimes disturbing quality emerges here. Whilea dadaistic influence shines through in the semi-naive use ofelectronics, piano, vocals and undefined sound sources, the basic ideais always more important then the perfect realization. This approachmight explain the then-surprising guest appeareance by ex-TG memberGenesis P. Orridge in the closing track "Just Drifting / Tales OfDeath". At least this one made it recently to CD on the self-titled'90% Wasser' label compilation issued late autumn last year—a good buyon it's own actually with a wide selection of current electronica,spoken words etc.
The diversity on 'Vertrauensmann des Volkes,' is comprised mostly ofshort songs until the album reaches its dominating 9 minute piece,"Zivilisation." It's an uncomfortable amount of pressure built-up whileButzmann stands up against moral weakness and mental decay due tocomfort and ignorance. Butzmann's lyrics are well crafted and used inunconventional ways to reach intense results. "Competition and sadism /that is the German mechanism" ("Sadismus und Konkurrenz") sung withAngelika Maisch sounds like an old French tune of the golden twentiesamidts odd sounds, while the opening track "Gefluester" deals withcommunication and the passing of digital signs and numbers.The whole album should be treasured as a cornerstone of the Germanexperimental and electronic scene. I hope it will get a CD reissue(along with the preceeding single) to be enjoyed not only bycollectors.
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Travelogue is Jon Sonnenberg, yet another young man who uses only analogue synths and equipment in making his simple melodic songs (and lists the specific instruments on the liner notes, of course). Travelogue's minimal tracks are amazingly well-crafted, though, and deeply rooted in Gary Numan, Fad Gadget and Kraftwerk without succumbing to the syrupy pop trap of other new synth-artists whose music shares more in common with OMD, New Order and the like.Sonnenberg doesn't have the strongest singing voice, but he does well with what he can, and sings each song very softly and intently on pitch. The eight songs are pretty varied, from the upbeat retro-tech-step of "Rust and Reason" to the dark and experimental (for synth-pop at least) seven-minute epic "Conversation" to the crystalline waltz "Overcome." "Your Car" is the obvious hit, but almost all the songs are catchy enough to get stuck in your head, without being too annoying. The drumbeats that Sonnenberg creates are subdued and tasteful and he never lets them get the better of the melody. The only real problem song is the closer, "Cactus," an ersatz cowboy number that doesn't fit in with the feel of the rest of the album. The album is on Plastiq Musiq, the label run by Joy Electric's Ronnie Martin, and yes, the lyrics do have Christian undertones. But the lyrics never border on being preachy, and in fact are fairly cryptic; in some cases it's hard to tell if Sonnenberg is singing a love song to a girl or to God. You probably wouldn't even notice the religious themes unless you read the lyric sheet (but maybe that's the intent). If the Christian aspect of Travelogue scares you away from the album, you're a fool, because musically it's one of the most enjoyable and original albums in the retro-synth vein that's come out in recent months.
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The longer it goes on, the weirder it gets, and then it tames itself.You see, this is not the Cerberus Shoal you're used to. It has some ofthe same elements, that's true, such as the horns and jazz structureswith moments of ambient drone and beauty. But this is a bit different.Scratch that. A lotdifferent. This time around, Cerberus Shoal have gone the moreimprovisational route, abandoning structure as it is commonly known fora bit wilder, more chaotic, jumbled noise of a sound. Yes, it does spantwo CDs. Yes, it is genuine. Yes, it is meant to be this way. And yes,it is good. But I miss the more tame Cerberus Shoal. Don't mistake: therecord does have structure in places—'Nataraja,' though a bitmonotonous around the middle, is a highlight—and the two separate discsare different thematically; which is why, though the release could fiton one CD, they are separated. It just sounds like Cerberus Shoalstarted with basic layers, and then let their minds and instruments gowild, and pulling out the stops between their influences. The resultsare mixed. It's certainly more experimental than anything they'vereleased before, and it's good for the band to escape their usualconfines and stretch. But most moments on the first disc do more topush away than invite. The annoying repition that opens 'Stumblin'Block' is not forgiven by that tracks middle or end; the chimingbeginning and vocalized middle of 'Camel Bell' are blown away by theinstrumentation of the track; and the struggling Middle Eastern vocalstylings of 'Tongue Drongue' go on far two long before its climaxredeems it. The first disc feels like Cerberus Shoal meets Fantomas.That's why the second disc is here to save the first's bacon. That'sright, the second disc of "Mr. Boy Dog" is fantastic. From the firstminute of 'Unmarked Boxes,' you recognize the sound. This is moretraditional Cerberus Shoal with gentle experimentation and interestingsamples. And that's where it comes together nicely. Rhythmically,melodically, and vocally superior, these tracks are truly moving intheir beauty. There is a nice separation between the two discs.Ultimately, I prefer the second, but I'm glad the band tries as they doon the first. I'm sure that's part of what makes the second soappealing.
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The three post-goth Bowie-obsessed acid-dropping ex-Bauhaus hippies known as Love and Rockets released a couple of my favorite albums of the 1980s. Now that the back catalogue has fallen out of RCA's clutches and back into the hands of Beggars Banquet, the first few albums have been remastered and reissued in expanded forms with bonus tracks and more complete booklets. Unlike the original CD releases, the original running order of the LPs have been restored with bonus tracks tagged on at the end as opposed to interspersed among the album tracks.
'Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven' came out only two years after the release of the final Bauhaus record, following side projects like Sinister Ducks (with David J) and Tones on Tail (with Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins) and showcased a trio of seasoned musicians, with two strong singer/songwriters, heavily influenced by psychedelia, with a stunningly professional execution and original approaches to production. In its original form, the album consisted of seven tracks, opening with the hypnotic drum machine-enhanced single "If There's a Heaven Above", followed by a dark, acoustic, psychedelic world with classics like the heavily distorted "Dog End of a Day Gone By," "Haunted when the Minutes Drag," which was used in that 'She's Having a Baby' film with Kevin Bacon, and ending on the glorious instrumental acoustic gem, "Saudade," which could easily be one of my favorite Love and Rockets tracks ever. While this Bonus tracks on this edition is impeccably complete, with the inclusion of "Ball of Confusion" and "Insde the Outside," and an alternate version of "Haunted," it includes way too many versions of "If There's A Heaven Above."
'Express' saw the group move into more vigorous territories, opening with the two multi-part tracks "It Could be Sunshine," and "Khundalini Express." This LP was their first US breakthrough, with the rock radio-friendly minor hit "All in My Mind" and the barrelling "Yin and Yang (the flowerpot man)," which probably was the biggest crowd-pleaser for years at Love and Rockets concerts. Bonus tracks include songs that were originally on singles and the original CD release like "Angels and Devils," "Holiday on the Moon," and a version of "Ball of Confusion" which was on the original US LP edition along with a couple pointless 1+ minute tunes titled "B Side #1 & #2." The trio may have experienced bigger international hits on later albums but they never experienced such a flood of saucy, creative, original ideas as they did on 'Express.'
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When a band loses a member or two, and the band decides to soldier onwithout them, sometimes the results can be catastrophic. There alwaysseems to be something missing, even in the smallest way, that affectsthe soundscape. In the case of Kilowatthours, who craft pop songwonders of the expansive variety, paring down the members hasn't costthem anything in the sound department. In fact, it's improved it. "TheBright Side" is Kilowatthours' second full-length, after 2000's "Strainof Positive Thinking," which the band recorded at Trevor Kampmann's(hollAnd) studio in Washington, DC. And compared to their earlier work,"Side" is just as sure, sparser than before, but wholly a step in theright direction. Vocals are more of a center piece, not blended asmuch, and there isn't an overwhelming urge for the band to loudenthings up like there seemed to be in the past. Kilowatthours still showthe propensity for "rocking out," though, as they do on several placeson the album, most notably "Last Thursday" and "Almost Airtight." Therealso seemed to be more effects on this record, which is a worthwhileaddition, and makes for some interesting backing noise. And, as always,the use of varying types of electric piano is a fantastic base forthese songs. This is just straightforward, catchy, hooky, with the headslightly cocked to the side pop. The addition of a few guests (formerband member Ryan Compton and Sonna's Jeremy deVine) creates some trulypretty moments ("The Only Good Thing About Pollution," "A How-toBook"), and the longer numbers don't disappoint, as they often can withthis genre. A great release, and a great continuation of their sound.Try it on.
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Fromthe box of freebies often comes the most interesting and challengingsurprises. This one is particularly enigmatic: no artist info, no titleand no track titles (some e-sleuthing revealed three: 'Juunigatsu','Koutetsukan', 'Makugine'). Just a four track, 16 minute CD-R with b/winsert photo of a rocky stream. Ah, but the music is far from tranquil.It's more befitting of an industrial wasteland. Molten masses ofoverdriven sound are forged to cantankerous rhythmic clangor andglitches. It's blistering and menacing alright but also near melodicand even ambient at times. Hitohana has meticulously placed and shapedthe debris into noisy songs. The third track offers the first and lastrespite by abruptly flipping the on/off switch on the din, deceivingthough as discharges continue to erupt and the noise ultimately returnsfor its revenge. Powerful stuff.
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Following the "12 Times You" 7", on which Colin Newman remixed liverecordings of Wire playing that little old number "12XU" infast'n'furious cut'n'paste fashion, our swimmers found the stroke fortheir third length. This six song EP marks the first fruits of a newkind of R'n'B, but joking aside Wire sound like they're splitting theirsides over the "Everybody Loves a History" idea, smashing their historyto bits and glueing it back together in new shapes. Or maybe theyreally had to hark right back to the simplest forms because they'dalmost forgotten how to play guitars and so here and there it soundslike they're reincarnating their debut album 'Pink Flag' in a precisecomputer studio cut up frenzy. Imagine various cuts from 'Pink Flag'given the manic makeover the way they gave "Our Swimmer" a "SecondLength" and you'll begin to make out the shapes emerging here.Lyrically a lot of this could be read as Wire commenting on their musicand existation, especially the superbly titled opening salvo "In theArt of Stopping" which could be seen as a manifesto of sorts, after allWire have stopped a couple of times before. After a snare tap Colinslurs the verse, "Trust me, believe me" (which could hail from any oldpiece of pappy pop - but hang on, maybe he's actually singing "Tryspeed") and then rises to a stop as he hollers, "It's all in the art ofstopping" (you'd be hard pushed to find any other band with a lyriclike that). His delivery is vaguely reminiscent of "Once is Enough" butseems sillier, especially when he starts braying like a disgruntledmule, and the track also appropriatelt recalls the jabbering "CheekingTongues." Meanwhile spindley Gilbert guitars spit harsh circles andsome comical morphed backing vocals really lift the track off thetracks. The whole thing gets crunched down into an infinitessimalshrunken hard chip blurt before the whole caboodle rushes back, poweredalong by the relentless mono rhythmic crack of Robert's reawakenedsnare that went to bed. Rock bluster is dissolved into techno tricks,and even tiny shards of glitch have been worked so subtley into the mixyou hardly notice at first. The incredibly uplifting rush of energyfrom "Germ Ship" is even more exciting. It sounds like a bastardisationof "Pink Flag" and "The Commercial" but given a high octane refueling,and the guitars ignite. This tune was debuted at their Edinburgh gigthat saw off the twentieth century, with Newman and Lewis bothobstreperously hollering their fatal attractions, but here Lewis hasgone quiet and Colin is hushed to a whisper until the end when heshouts out the title to end it in 21st century digipunk style. Thesetwo tracks have ensured constant rotation. Whilst the rest of the EP isgood fun musically, I'm not so convinced that it's going to add up tomuch more than good fun, but its early days and Wire recordings veryoften reveal hidden depths with later plays. The "Surgeon's Girl"ending for "1st Fast," the "Comet" chorus about the chorus going "Ba baba bang," and that track's very retro 'Pink Flag' album feel seemedalmost smugly self referential at first, but the detail and humour havewon out in the end. Maybe the most mashed future-past meltdown is "IDon't Understand" which reinvents "Ally In Exile" with "An Advantage inHeight" via two chord "Lowdown" funk with the great opening couplet"Over the edge / Under an illusion." Lewis steps up to the mic for thelast track "Agfers of Kodack" and sounds as if he's just swum all theway from Sweden to sing it, or maybe he's been torching the sand in hisjoints. It sounds oddly as if it could be a drastic reworking orforerunner of "In The Art of Stopping," and is probably as close toheavy metal as Wire have ever stepped. With this EP Wire have in asense cast aside progression in favour of temporal corruption. Like theFall and Sonic Youth, they seem to be moving outside of linear time andzapping back and forth throughout their own universe. Perhaps whenprogressive rock bands amass a certain musical critical mass theycollapse like suns into black holes that turn time into space. If soWire are creating intense gravitational pull and inspiring their mostpretentious reviews yet. - samples:
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It's hard to know what to make of these two CDs. Both individuallybejewel-cased CDs have the same name and track titles. The cover art isalso identical except that one is the photographic negative of theother. Let's call the one + and the other -. I came to this releasewith no prior experience of V/Vm except for the curiously dismal littleAphex Twin CDs last year. I gave it my best positivist shot, avoidinginterpretation to see where it takes me. Not very far, as it turnedout. + is collection of lo-fi, vaguely dreamy soundscapes. It's almostlike an exercise in the various styles of early 90s ambient electronica-- drones, soft looping techno bleepery, some airy beats, plenty ofswooshes, all with a slathering of reverb and echo. But the variety isonly from track to track -- each piece is a static presentation of oneidea, which would be fine if it were a good one. None of them reallyhave anything to enjoy. The effect when listing through the album isthat ones hopes rise as each new track begins, perhaps because a changeis as good as a break, but then fall again, ever deeper, as you realizethat each one of them is a dreary, unimaginative regurgitation ofalready over-worked ideas, neither taking the respective genre forwardsnor a competent stylistic statement. Soon the pattern becomes apparentand one learns to temper the little lifts that each new track brings.The other disk, -, is in fact exactly the same in every respect exceptgenre. - is an exercise in 90s electronic noise. Noise is about sonicdiscovery and confrontation and demands entirely different skills fromthe electronica of +. The lift in hope as a track starts a bit biggerthan on +, and is occasionally even exciting for a moment but this iscompensated by a much faster decline. The overall trajectory as the CDprogresses is severe. The paucity of imagination is blatant. Is thatthe point? I wonder. I decided finally to allow interpretation ofintent into the equation; the packaging, after all, seems to demand it.V/Vm's Queen Mother tribute announcement shown on the Brain recentlyprovided a handy reference point. It seems that V/Vm is a bit of aprankster but everything I found shows the same lack of imagination,skill or entertainment value as the music. I developed the impressionthat what we have here is a no-talent faker embittered with resentmentof the achievements of others trying to work up an ultra-pomo mythologyto shroud the bad art. I went back to the CDs and, yes, that fits too.A one word summary? Wank. samples:
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Music should never be judged purely. It should be judged on how 'wrong'or how 'right' it feels in the ears of them who listen. This may not bea reason why V/Vm have taken the trouble to simultaneously release twovery different selections of 'good things' which they claim areactually the same. Both discs have twelve tracks with the same titles.Previous plunderous releases enabled by the VVMCPS laws such as 'SickLove' might be aptly described as corny, but make no mistake it's wheaton the cover of these two. This is pure germ of V/Vm - remember theearliest V/Vm 12" releases or the Fat Cat split with Third EyeFoundation and that'll give you some idea of what to expect from the CDwith the regular yellow wheat. If I wanted to be cheeky I could tellyou that this is what it would sound like if V/Vm helped Aphex Twinwithout doing any hacking, but I know Jim's sickly traumatised by thedeath of the racist granny robot so I'll try not to mention AFX and hisinfluence again. Whatever, this is the sound of V/Vm distilled to pureessence of wheat beer hoedown direct from the mythical school thatplays records with wooden styli. The inverted blue wheat disc is likethe imagined brick bashing your head the next day in hangover city. Myguess was that it's the same tracks but crunched up through distortionand ring modulation and all that fun stuff, but someone in the knowsays this is not so, and the two CD's are not exactly the same lengtheither. In fact there's so much of that digital processing on the blueone that even though its massive robot noise approaches all consumingnuclear meltdown the sound seems to run a bit thin at times. Obviouslythe blue one is the one for noise heads to hear, just don't mentionMerzbow. A lot of it actually sounds like it could be mashed uprecordings of explosions. "The View Below Me Was Always the Same" isthe deceptively titled intro to each CD. Yellow is Caretaker type organswells. Blue is a discordant ring modulator sweep punctuated byexplosions. "The Truth is Dead" is the conclusion they reach before theunderwater Aphex beat excursion "Some Things Look Better Baby." Sorry Iforgot I said I wouldn't mention that Twin again. This far into theblue disc and it's deafening machine grind all the way until completelyfucked relentless deaf disco splatters brains. The idea is probablythat the yellow one is right in that its more conventionally tuneful,but wrong in that this kind of thing is not expected of V/Vm; blue iswrong in that it's a big noise but right in that it confirms V/Vm'sreputation for making big cacophony. But how did it make me feel? Theblue one made me feel like a daffodil in a rainstorm but the yellow onemade me feel like a witch in beat. With all this hack lack and wheatygoodness V/Vm will be claiming they're serious artists next. But ofcourse they always were? samples:
