New Music: Minus the Bear, Bleubird, Fulton Lights

Minus the Bear - 53rd & Memphis (Fog remix) (Suicide Squeeze 2007)

Minus the Bear - Interpretaciones del Oso - Suicide Squeeze

I know what you're thinking already: "Christ, you guys were doing so well there for awhile. Minus the Bear? Seriously?" or maybe "A remix album? Why?" or even "I thought they fired this guy. Blogs fire people, right?" But hear me out on this one, because for me it's not that it's Minus the Bear; in fact, as Three Imaginary Girls quite accurately described, some of the songs "interpreted" here are so far gone from the source material that they are "almost unrecognizable to their original state." For diehard Minus the Bear fans, that'll be a pity to hear; for the rest of us, it will come with cautious relief. Stella ripped on the Battles and J. Clark remixes, which are too bad because those are some of the better ones on the album. The best song on here, subjectively speaking, is probably Fog's remix of "53rd & Memphis." It strides the line between making the source opaque and still managing to sound listenable. Fog's remixes are always really good (Cities, an incredibly boring band who released the thematically similar Variations last year, are another example of Fog turning tepid tunes into gold) and distinguishable because they crack with so much buzz it would make Honey Maid's farms jealous. Why did they do a remix album? That I can't answer, but I'll be honest: I'm glad they did. Without it, I might never have had a reason to listen to Minus the Bear in my life. Ever. Joke's on you, Fog... But the drinks are on me.













Bleubird - Hell Country (Endemik 2007)

Bleubird - RIP USA / Endemik

If you're sick of slackjawed rap and are looking for something a little sailor-mouthed from the underground, Montreal's Bleubird is right up your alley. This is an excellent album for a variety of reasons, the lyrics (thankfully) heading the list. One listen to "Hell Country" and you'll understand why: Flying through the song with an acerbic sense of humor and production from Alias, the man blows minds as he leans political and still manages to wrap up with the couplet, "Wake up, to break up alone, I save your messages because they keep me going." A bitter end to a beautiful song. But it's not all moping and moaning. In fact, this is a pretty poor representation of the album, which namedrops faster than James Murphy on a good night. Point is, this is the best hip-hop album of the year so far. It's not just Bleubird's work, though. Check the list of personnel gracing both the boards and the mic of this 18-song behemoth: Skyrider, Scott Da Ros, Subtitle, Sole, Nuccini!, Jim Wurster, David Pastorious... I mean, this is a fucking incredible line-up and that's not even a complete list, either. The production is all over the place in a good way, the artwork is coherent, the lyrics are all right there in the booklet so you don't have to guess what he just said about Fugazi or how the hell he managed to squeeze Tom Waits and Phil Collins in the same verse... All while making fun of the music industry, hip-hop and, as all great postmodern hipsters do, himself. Here's to losing your edge, my man.













Fulton Lights - Thank God for the Evening News (Catbird 2007)

Fulton Lights - Fulton Lights / Catbird

I made a vow I wouldn't mention Grizzly Bear in this review, but why not? Did anyone hate Yellow House last year? Fucking good record, right? Well Fulton Lights aka Andrew Spencer Goldman has, in a way, emulated his fellow Brooklynites by producing the kind of ambient folk album (probably the wrong terminology, sorry mom) that has staying power in a totally fluid industry. Spencer's got a side-project as all prolific people do in Maestro Echoplex, but Fulton Lights remains, for now, the primary gig. And with good reason: Thanks to some assistance from lads in the much-admired Dälek (Oktopus, who also remixed the opening track of Interpretaciones del Oso, and ex-Dälek DJ Still appear), the first half of Fulton Lights is a tad stronger than the second half, but it's all good; "Thank God for the Evening News" was, in fact, one of the songs co-produced by Oktopus. An extraordinarily pretty song with just the right sampling and just the right textural flow to keep you meandering down the lazy rivers that guide this Catbird release (Remember when they were just a blog?), "Thank God for the Evening News" is a portend of things to come for the remainder of the album. Nothing quite so heavy as "Colorado," but close enough: For Spencer, this should do just right. PS. Act now and you can fetch a limited-edition bonus remix disc. Oh yes, there's nothing we like more in this post than big-name remixers on big-time albums. But where art thou, Explosions in the Sky? Ah well, maybe next time.