New Music: Extra Golden, Cursive, Lee Baby Simms

Extra Golden - Ok-Oyot System - Ok-Oyot System (Thrill Jockey 2006)


Cursive - Dorothy Dreams of Tornados - Happy Hollow (Saddle Creek 2006)


Lee Baby Simms - Swimmer - Mystery Loves Company (Family Business 2006)



Extra Golden – Ok-Oyot System / Thrill Jockey

Quality cross-cultural collaborative endeavors like the one contained in the microscopic grooves of this CD are few and far between, so when an unassuming but immensely intriguing product like this one surfaces, you need to take notice. The four-piece band dubbed Extra Golden is made up of two pairs of musicians separated by 7000 miles of earth, water and culture, but when brought together in a musical context sound as if they grew up jamming in a garage with each other. Ian Eaglson (DC’s Golden), Alex Minoff (Golden, Weird War), Otieno Jagwasi and Onyango Wuod Omari (both of Kenya’s Orchestra Extra Solar Africa) team American boogie blues with Kenya’s popular guitar-heavy dance music, benga, for a groove-heavy album of amazingly toned, interweaving guitars dancing over a traditional benga beat and life-worn lyrics (Ok-oyot translates to “it’s not easy”) sung in both English and Luo. Recorded mostly in one afternoon in a crudely constructed Kenyan club, Ok-Oyot System is an once-in-a-lifetime album, especially singe Jagwasi passed away in May 2005.



Cursive – Happy Hollow / Saddle Creek

I’ll be honest, it’s hard to get used to Cursive minus cellist Gretta Cohn again… maybe because it now reminds me more of The Good Life, or that ‘The Ugly Organ’ was such a strong artistic expression that it really summed up what Cursive had been striving for since their inception in 1995 (which is no knock on the excellent ‘Domestica’). Whether you can accept it or not, the forgettable emo scene’s best product returns to their original line-up but with a whole trunkload of new musical toys. With Happy Hollow, the Omaha 4-piece sound like The Good Life with a more abrasive attitude fleshed out with plenty of horns and nods toward gospel and mutated blues. Kashner seems to have finally gotten over his relationship woes and now concentrates on bigger life concerns like religion and the unattainable American dreams. Like every Cursive album since Storms of Early Summer, this one sounds completely different but awkwardly familiar from the previous outings. It’s not immediately striking, but a quality album and seems a bit better with every listen.



Lee Baby Simms – Mystery Loves Company / Family Business

The one-man-studio-band known as Lee Baby Simms builds on his debut album of mysterious soundtracks to non-existent films with ‘Mystery Loves Company.’ Simms, who wrote, performed and recorded the entire album on his own (including all instrumentation) once again steamrolls down the path of shimmering instrumental tracks the would make the perfect background music to the closing minutes your next hazy loft party. Ambitious, but never overbearing, Simms finds influences in the great soundtrack composers like John Barry and Lalo Schifrin as well as artists like Ry Cooder and Calexico who have penchants for Latin and southwestern leanings. Most of the tracks are built around reverb-soaked electric guitar, sweltering keyboards and light drum loops, and he really excels during the more laid-back tracks. Simms is definitely on his way to being a solid composer; at the helm of an actual film, he could turn out to be the next Jon Brion.