Notable Newer Releases #1

The Cheebacabra - The Annunciation - Exile in the Woods (Mackrosoft 2006)


Thee More Shallows - Freshman Remix by Odd Nosdam and Why? - Monkey vs Shark (Turn 2006)


Takagi Masakatsu - J.F.P. - Journal for People (Carpark 2006)


The Cheebacabra – Exile in the Woods / Mackrosoft

Holy shit is this a skeletal funk-fusion gem, tight drum grooves, synthesizers… um synthesizing from every angle, boisterous bass and the occasional trumpet/sax/clavinet/melodica solo, future-funk finally has it’s bandleader. Who is this funky man of mystery? I have no idea, but he calls himself Cheeba and he has his credentials. Drafted into the Dust Brothers (Beck, Santana, Madonna, etc) production team at 18, Mr. Cheeba honed his skills before departing on his own which was followed with the soundtrack to ‘Fight Club,’ his label Mackrosoft started with his brother Aja West and a critically acclaimed 2003 debut album under the Cheebacabra moniker. This follow-up doesn’t come close to disappointing either; songs range from stripped down Curtis Mayfield on 'The Annunciation to Blaxploitation meets the Mario Bros. on 'Chatter' to voiceless Barry White on 'The Treehouse.' Madlib’s Yesterday’s New Quintet finally has the touring mate he always dreamed of, not to mention competition.


Thee More Shallows – Monkey vs Shark / Turn

San Francisco’s Thee More Shallows are a band on the rise. Three years in the making, their last full length, More Deep Cuts (Turn Records), gained critical acclaim and is still gaining momentum. This EP was recorded in much less time, but the perfectionist character remains, highlighting Dee Kesler’s songwriting and the trio’s brooding indie-rock. Thee More Shallows create dark, serene rock echoing back to My Bloody Valentine and the Velvet Underground but also still contains the youthful ambition of a band on the up-and-up. The highlight of the EP is their stark, unpredictable cover of Al Green’s (originally performed by The Temptations) ‘I Can’t Get Next to You.’ Gone is the soulful yearning and in it’s place a spooky, eerie almost stalkerish tale of obsession. It’s definitely one of the best cover songs I have come across in a long time, and makes the entire EP relevant if only for that one song. The other 6 songs don’t let down though, coupling the epic indie-rock with chamber and post-rock and just a touch of goth and electronica and also features a remix by Anticon’s Odd Nosdam with Why? This is definitely a band to keep a watchful eye on.


Takagi Masakatsu – Journal for People / Carpark

In my opinion the aural and visual worlds are very closely connected. Especially in our current ipod/headphone dominated society, properly soundtracking every waking moment has become a daily obsession for most of us music lovers. Modern music needs to not only stimulate our ears and minds, it needs to affect our visual surroundings, it needs to skew the subjective view of our current environment. Kyoto, Japan’s Takagi Masakatsu understands this more than most, especially thanks to his multimedia background, and his music sublimely reflects it. A classically trained pianist, multimedia documentarian and art-gallery exhibiter, Masakatsu creates visually stimulating compositions of finely manipulated melodies and fluttering ambient soundscapes. Released on Todd Hyman’s always amazing Carpark label, ‘Journal for People’ is an hour-long compilation of soft piano cadences, minutely diced instrumentation and oddly timed layering that owes as much to Alice Coltrane as it does to Aphex Twin. If you get a chance, you should really sample the accompanying DVD at http://www.takagimasakatsu.com/ to really get the gist of Masakatsu’s frame of mind. I highly recommend this album to anyone into ambient music, minute glitch or even more atmospheric jazz.