Being thankful for an earful.
Brand new music by Marie Davidson, Niecy Blues (feat. Joy Guidry), CEL, Marisa Anderson and Luke Schneider, Stina Stjern, Carmen Villain, Murcof, A Lily, and Far Golden Pavilions, with music from the vaults by Tomaga, Ozzobia, Jan Jelinek.
Sushi photo by Lindsay.
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Elliott Sharp shouldn't need much of an introduction, but just in casehe does, just think of him as this bald headed big-nosedcyberpunk-obsessed improvising bassist with a mountain of recordingsand collaborations behind him. He's a mainstay of the New York KnittingFactory scene and one of those musicians whose activities have alwaysbeen on the periphery of my record collection. I've probably heardquite a lot of tracks from him here and there but before getting holdof this I only had one Carbon CD, which I found in a highly unlikelydusty old secondhand shop. This duet recording with the almost equallyprolific drummer Bobby Previte is perhaps slightly more exciting and alittle more freeform than Carbon, and mostly it's hard to believe thatit's just two people playing. They've played together a lot in the pastbut this is their first duo recording and it's obvious they couldprobably kick out deconstructed funky jams like this at the drop of ahat. Their chops are dense yet fluid, and whenever it seems they'reabout to hit a predictable groove, they pull out some new rhythmicthrust that shifts the dynamic. This can occasionally work to thealbum's detriment. For instance: at the end of one track they lock ontoa really cool Can-style hypnosis, only to curtail it prematurely.However, this is only a small niggle as it's quite a breathtakingdisplay of virtuosity that keeps up a high level of momentum and flux,as Sharp fingerhops all over the neck of his eight string guitarbass,plucks a little pedal steel and even blows a bit of bass clarinet.Unless they are overdubbing or more likely laying on delay pedaltricks, it seems he can play clarinet and bass at the same time.Although people who've heard a lot more of Sharp's recordings mighthave become jaded by now, to these ears this sounds fresh and fun. 
When you see a song title like "Trebling/Freezing," you have a prettygood idea of what kind of a listening experience you're in for. 'TheEvening Drag' is a sullen exercise that doesn't reach for much more.The album begins with "The Girls Will Haunt You," starting off strongas Kim Torrez debuts her plaintive voice amidst the band's simple, yetdeep-sounding arrangement. It's a strong hook, and yet frustratingly,the track begins to fade out unresolved, without expanding ordeveloping on its initial expression. A majority of 'The Evening Drag'mines the same territory, competent songs of quiet despair that rarelydisplay any flair or personality to set it apart from any other song onthe album. At times, it seems they tried to compensate by addingspecial effects, but more often than not, they feel out of place ordownright goofy. By the time you reach "A New Despair," an inexplicableinstrumental track that has you waiting for something, anything tohappen and then again fades out, the album's formula has begun to wearout its welcome. Torrez is capable of showing some dynamics, whichmakes the sameness of the middle of the album so disheartening. On"After the Carnival," they create an atmosphere that's positivelyblissful, as Kim croons "spin me around / spin me, make me dizzy." Theemotion is conveyed excellently, a warm memory replayed the next daythat still manages to make you smile. The final two tracks, "The Flame"and "All on Fire" also deviate from the standard sorrowful drone, thelatter beginning as a lullaby with dreamy vocals that make you glad youdidn't hit stop. 'The Evening Drag' is uneven, but with a few brightspots that make it hard to count this band out. 
In an age where the sophomore slump is more commonplace than a bandname that starts with "The," it's a pleasure to hear an album that doesnot show any chinks in a band's armor. Sonna's lovely secondfull-length effort is not a departure for the band in any way, and whata lovely treat that is. The band continues to craft fluid instrumentalguitar music without redefining the genre, but still in a unique enoughway not to draw comparisons, and varied enough not to bog the listenerdown. The first track, "Frone Taj," opens with fervor and energy, anddoesn't let up for its duration. Chiming, dueling guitar lines startthe track off, and when the drums kick in the song just soars. Thickbut sparse bass notes underlie the proceedings, and the bright andseemingly dischordant guitar line mixed with a very pretty noteprogression on the second guitar meld better than you'd expect. Then,the band slows things down considerably for the hypnotic "Open Ended,"which features a similar melody to the end of "The Opener" on Sonna'sdebut. It just grooves along, steady faded drums and muted bass joinedby that same chime and guitar bend. Elsewhere, Sonna drones out on "OneMost Memorable," and returns to their frenetic side on "The Right Age,"but only briefly. The tempo slows mid-song, turning the song into apleasant slow dance for lovers only. The final two tracks flow intoeach other, completing a sentence together, title-wise. "Smile" is adown-tempo mix of bass, echoed guitar, and droned swells with whatsounds a lot like a harmonica joining towards the end for a beautifulclimax while "And the World Smiles With You" finishes the record offmuch like it started, with crisp drumming, intertwined guitars, andpurposeful bass. It all quiets down towards the end with harmonics andpiano for a whole "in like a lion, out like a lamb" vibe that's justmagic. Sonna's not breaking any molds, but they're certainly growinginto their own space. 
Country music is a genre marred by the Nashville Network-popularizedimages of ten-gallon hats, Shania Twain, and the "Achy Breaky Heart."Its history has been buried by line dancers and crossover hits, andthis mainstream face is often enough to make your average rock musicfan plug their ears and refuse to even entertain the thought oflistening to country music. But just as the crème de la crème of rockand electronica won't be found with a spin of the radio dial, a closerlook must be taken at artists like Neko Case who make meaningful musicthat acknowledges the rich past of country music and Americana. Nekotakes a much subtler turn on her third full-length album than on herprevious efforts. Eschewing the bright, twangy sound of 2000's superb'Furnace Room Lullaby,' 'Blacklisted' feels like a smoke-filled room,dark and foggy, but with a definite sting. The hushed, plucked acousticguitar of "Things That Scare Me" sets the late night mood of the albumwhile racing along at a gallop. Banjos, strings, and vibraphones playsupporting roles throughout the album, but the true star of'Blacklisted' is Neko's voice. She manages to lend a delicacy to herlyrics while singing with such force and emotion on tracks like"Runnin' Out of Fools" and "Deep Red Bells" that you'll fall out ofyour chair. Songs like "I Wish I Were The Moon" lament loneliness,while on "Look For Me (I'll Be Around)," Case is dangerously close toresembling a stalker. Heartache, longing, loneliness, and obsession arecommon subject matters, but the passion in her voice conveys asincerity and honesty that makes 'Blacklisted' a truly powerful album.It's the soundtrack to a sleepless night, lying in the dark, listeningto the rain where you can't stop thinking about that one person and howyou don't know where they are, or who they're with. Forget about thebaggage that country music has been tagged with. To allow preconceptionand prejudice to stand between you and this work would be a seriousmistake.
Nearly one year after his debut EP, Massimo returns with his first full-length album. For 38 minutes, this Sicilian never fails to entertain with an intense soundstream that is both twisted and distorted. Like the noisemakers of the late 1970's and early 1980's, he explores a pure lust for noise, using and abusing every possible effect to achieve amazing results. Additionally, any playback unit used becomes yet another distortion device as the LED display remains in the red zone constantly.
'Hello Dirty' is like a cyberpunk album jumping out of the future. The sounds are reminiscent of data streams in annoying bitrates while the moods switch from melancholy, lonesome production lines to sheer information overload. Imagine the hell of an overcrowded, advertisement-saturated shopping mall combined with the emotional landscape of modern societies' lost dreams and possibilities. To achieve the full effect, this recording needs to be played loud. No noise addict should miss out on this one, as it's fun to listen to, neatly packed, and one of the finest electronic splatter works in a long time. 
I can safely say I haven't been this excited about a Sea and Cake albumsince 1997's 'The Fawn.' After a 2+ year hiatus, the quartet of SamPrekop, Archer Prewitt, John McEntire and Eric Claridge enter theirtenth year of releasing music together with what could easily be theyear's first masterpiece. By 2000, I honestly felt their sound wasbecoming flat, predictable and tired, both from the 'Oui' album andafter seeing a concert where every song sounded almost exactly alike.'One Bedroom' isn't a distant departure from their springy, tropicosound which resounds with a fondness of summertime, warm weather andpalm trees—but is a distinguishable evolution—incorporating only enoughmore instrumentation and variety to keep it natural sounding whilemaintaining an undeniable attractiveness that is truly intoxicating. Itopens with a perfect introduction: the fast-paced, "Four Corners" comesequipped with a three-minute instrumental lead, and from there thegroup springboards into the pleasant "Left Side Clouded," and the nerdypost-electro-funk "Hotel Tell." Punchy mid-tempo electronic jams like"Le Baron," and "Shoulder Length," can easily stop anybody whereverthey are and move uncontrollably to the rhythm while the rimshot-heavytitle track is smooth like a Piña Colada on an unpopulated sunny beach.To me, this album sounds like the time spent away has made the quartetmore fond of playing and making music together. They sound like they'rehaving fun and that this album isn't obligatory in any way. Even thealbum's closer, their tasteful cover of Bowie's "Sound and Vision" is aperfect clue that this group isn't the stuffy lot of artsy jazz fansfrom Chicago that indie record store snobs might have you believe. 
The debut solo release from Berlin-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Masha Qrella (Contriva, Mina) is a collection of relaxed pop songwriting, based mostly around the acoustic guitar and vocals approach. Once layered with drum loops, keys, synth patches, punchy bass and the odd electric guitar, the disc's eleven tunes tend to flourish nicely while maintaining their straight-ahead direction, showcasing the compositions.
The debut solo release from Berlin-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Masha Qrella (Contriva, Mina) is a collection of relaxed pop songwriting, based mostly around the acoustic guitar and vocals approach. Once layered with drum loops, keys, synth patches, punchy bass and the odd electric guitar, the disc's eleven tunes tend to flourish nicely while maintaining their straight-ahead direction, showcasing the compositions.
Recorded mostly in secret at her home throughout 2001-02, Qrella's delicate, breathy vocals and guitar are augmented with her own instrumental overdubs, some of which employ sounds from a recording session with her band Contriva. The most obvious being a couple of very basic two-bar drum loops that form the root of the rhythm section for the bulk of the disc becomes monotonous at times. The catchy "I Want You to Know" sings of the conclusions from a past relationship, leading off with a looping guitar that builds into an arrangement of poppy progressions and subtle, clever hooks and sparingly used stop and start rhythms. The laid back "I Don't Like Her" revolves mostly around a simple, yet tense two-chord progression of heavy-handed guitars in which some interesting leaps in vocal melodies and phrases are played off. The 6+ minute "Hypersomnia" opens with a jangly acoustic guitar progression that quickly turns dark and draws in a slow drum machine and sub bass layered with synth strings while stating "Don't wake me up/Not yet/I've got at least one hour left" as an almost slumber mantra. Most of these songs are quite enjoyable. The main reason that I found this disc to be uneasy at times was the lack of variety in the rhythm section and the use of too many stops and starts which interrupt the flow of some sincere musical ideas. A full band on some tracks could have expanded the dimensions of this disc from good to great.
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"It's coming fast, it's a Komet!" Damned if I haven't put the wrong CDin the digipack again, I raved about that Wire EP ages ago... "It'sKoming up your arse!" Look you bastards, you aren't supposed to takethese unscientific Brain polls so seriously. I can hardly move here forWhitehouse mix tapes and it's hard to find all the CDs I didn't getround to reviewing last year. One of these was the two way electrofuckof Komet and Bovine Life. Berliner Frank Bretschneider does to hypnoticechochamber pulsebeat what opiated dubs would do to your brain if onlyyou had one. This he calls Komet and you can too if you want people toknow what you're on about when you name drop in the record shop. Hemight move in a straight line but it's a very nice and relaxing line,not lacking in momentum yet immersive. There I go thinking about Wirelike I always do. If you had a room Frank would paint it white. But hisnetmate Chris Dooks (an Edinburgh man himself) would probably splashgravity rainbows of multicoloured chaos all over it, and roll aboutlike a happy pig. That's what happens when the Komet collides with theBovine. In less esoteric and more boring but perhaps moreunderstandable terms, Komet takes a mouse and keypad to Bovine Life andclicks him up in clunky chunky robofunk. Then Bovine Life does the sameto Komet's "Flex" and they call it "Flux," as more scraped and jaggedmeltdown spasms strain to step over and throttle the accelerated beat.Then Komet steps up to roll off four deep groove tricks of precisionthrob chromkomohmsog. This is the best part of the CD and is as good asI've heard from Komet, who is firing on all cylinders here. Nextsequence is four collaborations, Komet hitting Bovine twice and viceversa. The first of these makes it difficult to finish the reviewwithout using that word 'bleep' that irritates Jon Whitney so much.Luckily Komet's angular reply is deeper (godamnit where's mythesaurus?). You could nod out to this Komet shit but a sloppy sevenstrong suite of Bovine Life's babbling brooktronix closes the disc,nudging out into further rhythmic dimensions and stutteringdistraction. Imagine the consequences for Space Invaders escaping froma Japanese keyring toy and left gasping for air in an alien atmosphere.Ok, don't then, it really doesn't matter to me. Although in somerespects they come from almost opposite ends of the beat spectrum,their collaboration works and flows well. Just in case the music isn'tenough, there are extensive notes in the booklet to help you understandwhere their heads were at when they knocked 'em together. And they'vestuck your granny's bathroom wallpaper on the cover.
It was probably around 1979 when I first heard the KC's "Earthbound," alive album featuring the 1971-2 incarnation of the band. That editionof KC was a good band. The rhythm section was relentless, monsterousand unforgiving, Fripp's chops had got to the point that he could holdhis own and then there was the horn blower Mel Collins Ð like ahyper-caffineated hybrid of Coltraine and Hendrix, he had the strength,creativity and stamina to step out as sax front man for this alreadyhigly dynamic band. So I'm delighted to have a new double CD of livematerial from that band's European and US tours. "Earthbound" isspecial for me in large measure because of the solos on 21st CentuarySchizoid Man. Collins' and Fripp just rip it up on that cut Ð it isunspeakably exciting. Listening to it, I often wind up doing a full-onair-sax solo in the middle of my living room. Now here's the reallygreat part: CD 2 of "Ladies of the Road" is a medly of 21stCSM solos!It opens with the song's melody but after that it's a dozen or so editsof blazing guitar and sax solos with varied sound quality, crudelyspliced together. That's a whole unrelenting hour of air-guitar andair-sax action for the energetic listener Ð quite a work-out! So,depending on your take of the 21stCSM on Earthbound, this CD will beeither a godsend or tortuous. But back to CD1, it has basically eightcuts including Pictures of a City, Formentera, Sailors Tale, Groon,Bearings and a complete 21stCSM, all of wich have good sound qualityand really good solos. Boz Burrell isn't history's greatest singer buthis contribution is somehow enchantingly dated and English (as was hissucessor John Wetton, strangely enough). Extravagant extemporisation isso much to the fore here that it almost has that jazz aspect of thetunes only being there to lead into and out of the solos. Fripp hasoften said that while KC's studio albums from 69 through 74 may beworthy in their own way, they do not at all reflect what the band waslike live. Given evidence such as this I can only agree. While thestudio albums were composed and disciplined the live bands were wildand furious, borderline out of control at times. The 4 CD set "Epitah"demonstrated the difference for the 69 band, then the "Nightwatch"double CD did so for the 73-4 band, a better document than USA, and now"Ladies of the Road" completes the task for the 71-2 band, similarlyeclipsing "Earthbound." DGM's KC Collectors' Club has released a greatdeal of live material from the 69-74 period, some of which is reallyonly for the devoted fan, but, like "Epitah" and "Nightwatch," "Ladiesof the Road" is an essential item for anyone who likes KC. 
