New Music: The Evens, Plague Songs, Terry Manning, Lithops

So I've switched to Blogger Beta, hence the new look, but I am having problems with connecting to Audioblogger, the site that I use to publish my mp3s. As events unfolded, I was able to get all but the Clinic and The Evens mp3s ready. I have contacted Audioblogger and hope to be up and running smoothly again shortly. On the plus side, I finally got interweb in my apt.





The Evens - Cut from the Cloth - Get Evens (Dischord 2006)



The Evens – Get Evens / Dischord

You can take away the external amplification from Ian MacKaye, but no matter the medium, be damn sure that he is going to bring amplified emotions and attitude. MacKaye’s latter-day collaboration with like-minded Amy Farina of The Warmers, The Evens strips away all of the feedback, blaring guitars and pounding rhythms of Fugazi, Minor Threat and Embrace but absolutely none of the drive or political commitment. Even a bit rawer than their first, more finely produced record, the DC duo opt for a sound more akin to their amazing, intimate live shows, which greatly enhances the album to no end. With MacKaye on baritone guitar and Farina on drums, their agt-pop is played with minimal accompaniment, but the underlying urgency of the bold protest lyrics and immediate vocals makes Get Evens incredibly aggressive even in it’s stripped back state. Farina and MacKaye’s incessant touring schedule no doubt strengthened their already rock solid chemistry which adds even more to the organic, natural sound of the record. I quite enjoyed their first album, but it actually loses some of its appeal after hearing the perfected vibe that surrounds this one.





Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt - Flies - Plague Songs (4AD 2006)


Various Artists – Plague Songs / 4AD

Commissioned by the British arts organization Artangel and soundtracking a modern recreation of the Israelites’ flight from Egypt (reference a Bible for further explanation) captured on film for a possible 2007 release, this album compiles ten exclusive, original recordings from a diverse selection of artists re-tooling the 10 plagues of the book of Exodus. Kicking off with a streetwise rendition of the plague of blood from British rapper Klashnekoff, the comp quickly displays its genreless boundaries by following it with the shimmering harmonies of Scottish folkie King Creosote. Stephin Merritt merrily follows with a bouncy, lo-fi disco beat laced with tales of lice while Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine) concoct an ambient, drone-leaning sea of fly buzzing. Laurie Anderson keeps things sparse with barely audible organ, strings and her quivering voice, Cody ChesnuTT returns to form with his left-of-center soul ballast, The Tiger Lillies ride the androgynous chirrup of singer Martyn Jacques and Imogen Heap turn the plague of locusts into a glittery electro-pop dance-party. Keeping with his reputation, Scott Walker turns his plague of darkness into a disturbing a cappella backed with a consistently yelping choir, and rounding out the unpredictable disc is the soft-voiced Rufus Wainwright and his moving ode to the tragic death of his cousin, a first-born. This is a great idea with pretty good results, mostly featuring the inventive songwriting skills of the artists involved.




Terry Manning - One After 909 - Home Sweet Home (Sunbeam 2006)



Terry Manning – Home Sweet Home / Sunbeam

Originally released in 1970, Home Sweet Home began as a joke with multi-instrumentalist Terry Manning covering Eddie Hinton’s Choo Choo Train in a dirty, psychedelic, rock and roll tantrum, but the obvious potential resulted in Stax producer Al Bell requesting a full-length of such covers. Surrounded by the amazing Memphis soul sound, Manning doused his rock & soul with fuzz guitars, emphatic vocals and funky rhythms possibly inventing glam as he handled just about all the instruments recorded. In most notable addition, Big Star’s Chris Bell makes his recording debut with a slew of guitar solos and Robert Moog supplies his keyboarding skills and synthesizer to the amazing 10-minute rendition of George Harrison’s Savoy Truffle which kicks the album off with a large bang. After being released by Stax imprint Enterprise, Manning went on to become the co-owner, engineer and producer of Ardent Records and Studios, which went on to release the Big Star albums. To garnish the re-release, three bonus tracks have been added including a cover of The Music Machine’s Talk Talk, a version of Lennon/McCartney’s One After 909 which was actually recorded before the Beatles finalized their version (!!!) and a amazing live cut of Manning covering I Can’t Stand the Rain in 1991.





Lithops - Cephalopod - Mound Magnet (Thrill Jockey 2006)


Lithops – Mound Magnet / Thrill Jockey

As if Jan St. Werner weren’t busy enough shaping the unpredictable distorted electro-funk of Mouse on Mars with Andi Toma or embracing his more ambient, but no less surprising, side in his Microstoria collaboration with Oval’s Markus Popp, he also releases solo material under the Lithops moniker which finds a necessary middle ground between the two. Like actual lithops, a genus of succulent plants native to Africa that disguise themselves with a stone appearance (thank you Wikipedia), Werner masks his off-kilter melodies with a camouflage of rustling white noise and skittering, almost unidentifiable rhythms. Probably unappealing to those not accustomed to avant-electronic music, Mound Magnet is a distorted factory of grinding electronics held loosely together by tattered bass lines and splotches of splattered melody. The Lithops brand of electronica is a challenging, unconventional and cluttered array of sounds, but definitely engaging in its attempt to mesh the worlds of random noise and structured music.