New Music: of Montreal, Deerhoof, TG Mauss

Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl 2007)

of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? / Polyvinyl

My introduction to of Montreal was 2004's Satanic Panic in the Attic. Frankly, I went apeshit. I have since ventured in to the backlogs of the Athens, GA band for the early releases and stuck with them on their continuing sugar rush adventures up to today. The level of apeshittery that Satanic Panic infused upon my ears was not equaled by any of their prior albums or 2005's Sunlandic Twins, the latter of which left me slightly disappointed. Twins was not necessarily bad, but I just got lost among the unrelenting multi-colored sounds of their post-disco electro-pop circus-opera; as the number of hyphens might apply, it was just too much. Kevin Barnes and company triumphantly return to compact disc after what seems like two years of nonstop touring with a new ridiculous album name, more glorious packaging and twelve new songs that find a happy middle ground between Sunlandic and Satanic. Remarkably their tenth full-length, Hissing Fauna doesn't completely disown the entire rambunctious mutant disco of the last album, but tones it down and separates the two established styles. Barnes, as always, is front-and-center with his unparalleled pop songwriting, Barry Gibb-ripped vocal chops and roundabout melodies, but depending on which of the prior two albums you were into will affect which side of this record you'll dig the most. The first half reflects more of the Satanic keyboard-centric indie-pop (with 'Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse', 'Gronlandic Edit' and 'A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger' being the strongest continuous string of songs since the opening three of Satanic) while the second half sticks to the new disco-ball sporting style ('Labyrinthian Pomp' somewhat brilliantly melts the line between Justin Timberlake and Dark Side of the Moon). Splitting the not-so-distant polar sides is the 12-minute 'The Past is a Grotesque Animal', a revealing slow-burner (relative to of Montreal) that features a somewhat tormented Barnes. So really, what's not to like about Hissing Faunas? You get a little Satanic, a little Sunlandic and even a completely new state of Barnes panic; I guess the only people left out of the party are stubborn diehards of The Gay Parade.






Deerhoof - Choco Fight - Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars 2007)

Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity / Kill Rock Stars

So before getting started, I guess it's important to know that I have not spent much time with Deerhoof during their decade-plus career. It's not that I dislike their music or were unaware of their existence, I just never got around to significantly exploring their colorful discography; it falls under the "can't listen to everything" clause of music nerdery. So given the opportunity to review the ninth full-length record of their impressive and strikingly improbable discography, I obviously did my research but the past-album references are going to be lacking. Think of it as fresh ears with no prior connotations to the music. Now with that out of the way, Deerhoof's new album, Friend Opportunity, is a little piece of avant-pop dynamite. With the departure of Chris Cohen (who is concentrating on his Curtains offshoot), the band returns to the three person core responsible for the much-heralded Reveille album from 2002. Their music sounds very realized, obviously the result of a long discography, as it hop scotches between guitar-, noise-, indie-, art- and j-pop with explorations in no wave, avant-garde and groove-based genres. The very latter is what surprises me the most; the stellar first half of the album finds many irresistible grooves through guitar and percussion interplay that I would venture to say could make killer samples. Greg Saunier sounds like he's having a lot of fun behind the kit getting very inventive with his percussive noises on many occasions. Satomi Matsuzaki coos her own language somewhere between Japanese, English and onomatopoeia while Rob Fisk comes up with one simple, catchy guitar riff after another. The second half of the album is much more mellow though no less melodious and everything concludes with an awkward ten-minute ballad of avant-garde guitar explorations before finding a shimmering melody to close out the last 30 seconds of the song. As a whole, Friend Opportunity lives up to the excellence and eclectic variety that I assume (see opening lines) long-time Deerhoof fans expect. From my research, it seems to encompass all of the many shades of eccentric pop they have explored in past albums, but refined and compacted into one recording. And honestly, I think it is about time I immersed myself into the vibrant world of Deerhoof.






TG Mauss - Heavyweighted - Gravity Will Keep Us Together (Quartermass 2006)

TG Mauss – Gravity Will Keep Us Together / Quartermass

I’m not sure if there is an actual name for it yet, but there is no doubt a gaggle of people out there that spend the majority of their time scanning audioblogs and aggregators in search of that unfamiliar dancefloor nugget that’ll turn heads at their next DJ’d party. TG Mauss’s ‘Heavyweighted', the seventh song off his sophomore solo effort Gravity Will Keep Us All Together, is the kind of gem that digital diggers crave. It’s unassuming with a steady snare beat, simple funk-lite guitar strum and pinging synths, but it is absolutely perfect for the closing minutes of a dark dancefloor, when the only people left dancing are more interested in their significantly found others than pumping up the jam. The rest of Gravity follows along the same line: simple, steady and effective. The Dusseldorf via New York musician crafts a brand of synth-pop that relies heavily on endearing Britpop melodies and just enough cleverness to dismiss the mundane tag. The production here is crystal clear and the arrangements well thought-out, typically involving a drum machine, electric guitar, Mauss’s Damon Albarn copping vocals and synths while influences range from 80s new wave to industrial to techno to the aforementioned Britpop. Gravity is not a classic or groundbreaking album by any means, but it is certainly enjoyable and can be a coveted find for the new generation of diggers.

New Music: Beirut, Hella, The Good The Bad & The Queen, Reynold

Beirut - Elephant Gun - Lon Gisland EP (Ba Da Bing 2007)

Beirut – Lon Gisland EP / Ba Da Bing

I think it's pretty safe to proclaim Beirut the unforeseen indie phenomenon of 2006, not to mention the quickly spreading Eastern European flair following suit. For instance, at my rent-paying corporate office job (if only independent radio could provide full financial support, sigh), we can browse anyone's Itunes library that is connected to the server. One unknown body huddled inside the sea of cubicles, which goes by the sexy name u0075792, supported this claim completely when I glanced her playlist the other week. Scattered throughout the 500 songs or so were full albums from recent spoon-fed artists like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and All-American Rejects, but what really caught my attention was nestled between Avril Lavigne and Ben Kweller, Beirut's 'Postcards from Italy' off his debut long-player Gulag Orkestar. Whether she caught wind of the song by word of mouth, a mag, some website or whatever I'll never know, but the fact that even kids just treading the surface of independent music are familiar with the talented upstart is pretty unbelievable. Keeping the fans hungry in early 07, Zach Condon, the young music prodigy responsible for the Beirut hysteria, unleashes a new EP further improving his indie-gypsy-folk stylings. Having relocated to Brooklyn from Albuquerque, Condon is now sporting his own full band (neither Jeremy Barnes nor Heather Trost of A Hawk and a Hacksaw, who helped flesh out Barnes debut recordings, are credited), and took a step back from being responsible for 90% of the instrumentation to concentrating on the vocals, ukulele, piano and trumpet. With the help of the 8-piece Beirut orchestra, the DeVotchKa meets A Hawk and A Hacksaw meets Rufus Wainwright sound moves a bit away from the list of worldly influences into his own sound. Part lush indie-pop, part Eastern European folk, part gypsy party music, part Southwestern sundown, Lon Gisland is only going to keep the fans coming. The opening track, 'Elephant Gun,' is exactly what the indie-poppers are craving and it's followed by an upbeat instrumental number that should please listeners with more eclectic taste. 'Scenic World (Version)' features a more stripped down arrangement and leans more to the Wainwright side with his multi-tracked voice while 'Carousels' is a good mix of matured songwriting and instrumental prowess. I wouldn't expect the Beirut name to wane anytime soon, and I'd prep for some serious attention paid to his new full-length due out fall 07.






Hella - Hand That Rocks the Cradle - There's No 666 in Outer Space (IPECAC 2007)

Hella – There's No 666 in Outer Space / IPECAC

It's a little known fact that Hella, the curiously catchy Sacramento noise-rock duo, was originally a quartet but only stripped down to a twosome because the songs that would become their debut album, Hold Your Horse Is, gained momentum before they had a chance to find the right players to fill out their full band; and then things got rolling, people started paying attention and before they knew it, Hella as a duo was a concrete entity (though I'm saying this like I've been in the know since the beginning, it's actually documented quite nicely by Zach Hill himself in this interview). So now that the core of Hella, unearthly guitarist Spencer Seim and 16-armed drummer Zach Hill, have the opportunity to finally manifest their original vision as well as keep the band from sounding stagnant, they have enlisted the talent's of Zach's cousin Josh Hill on guitar, Carson McWhirter on bass and keys, and the unyielding yelps of Aaron Ross (J. Hill and McWhirter were intended to be original members). So does There's No 666 in Outer Space sound like Hella? Well yes and no; obviously, it's not going to sound exactly like the stripped-down guitar and drum hysteria you have come to know and love, but that core sound is still very much represented in Hella 2.0. The music herks you to the left, jerks to the right, jabs you in the face a couple dozen times in a quick, successive manner and skitters into a somehow familiar noisily melodic theme through precise musicianship. Again, stating the absolute obvious, the vocals are the biggest difference maker of the expanded line-up. Aaron Ross's high-pitched howl is a cross between Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Chris Cornell and Mike Patton, which I know sounds appalling, but works well with this sound. The fact alone that he can find room to sing over the Hella core should be proof enough of his talent, but really the only way he could blend into the epic, shredded melody aesthetic of the band is to sound as outlandish and biting. So new Hella is not old Hella; and yes, I agree that sucks, but that is no reason to dismiss the new version. I actually quite enjoy the craziness of this record and the ridiculous multi-directional head-banging that is required with each listen. While I don't really know at this time of any backlash to the expanded line-up, but I can't help but wonder what if they had dubbed it with a different moniker? Would the response be different? Would you analyze it differently just because of a new alias? Probably something to consider while listening. Also, expect a lot from the multi-dimensional Zach Hill in 07 including a new project with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of the Mars Volta, new Flossin record (hooray), an album from Marnie Stern he produced and played drums on and I'm guessing much more.






The Good, The Bad & The Queen - Three Changes - The Good, The Bad & The Queen (Virgin 2007)

The Good, The Bad & The Queen – The Good, The Bad & The Queen / Virgin

What began as a recording experiment between Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen in Lagos with local Nigerian musicians has some how evolved into something very unAfrican, instead The Good, The Bad & The Queen is something distinctly British. Let's go ahead and discuss the musical minds involved since they are all very well established and the biggest mystery about the project is what sound these distinctly different backgrounds might sound like as a band. The initial core was Damon Albarn, most notably of Blur and Gorillaz fame, Simon Tong, guitarist for popular 90s Britpop group The Verve, and master percussionist Tony Allen who spent many a year keeping rhythm with the Africa 70 backing Fela Kuti. Producer extraordinaire and frequent Albarn collaborator (ahem Gorillaz) Danger Mouse egged the project on after hearing the initial recordings and Clash bassist Paul Simonon was brought on as the final piece of the puzzle. The main reference point from all of these diverging backgrounds has to be The Verve; TGTBTQ shares the same oceanic atmosphere and shoegazer aesthetic of the band, though in smaller doses. On the opposite side of the spectrum, nowhere near this project are the dance floor ready styles of Allen's afrobeat or even the Gorillaz higher bpm tracks, which I think many people were expecting. Their debut album is more an ode to London really, more specifically West London where both Albarn and Simonon reside. The vibe is considerably rainy throughout relying on lush melodic subtlety of sparse, well-played instrumentation to create a backdrop of gloom for Albarn to mumble serenely over. On more than one occasion (which happen to be my favorites), there are distinct dub references, no doubt thanks to Simonon's background and throbbing bass. What's most surprising is the restraint of Tony Allen, whose infinite talents rarely jump out at you instead keeping deceptively simple backbeats. Honestly, I was initially disappointed with the disc, but it has grown on me with each repeated listen and I am quickly coming to understand the project as it is rather than what my expectations were. The Good, The Bad & The Queen is not a new Gorillaz album, it's not a new Blur album, it's a completely new entity; yes, headed by Albarn, but in a mellow direction with quality production, outstanding musicianship and a distinct vibe all it's own.






Reynold - Emotionally Disturbed - My Favorite Film (Persona 2006)

Reynold – My Favorite Film / Persona

Looking at Sam Rouanet’s background, there is no question how his sound developed. The son of a jazz musician, Rouanet started training in violin and classical guitar at the ridiculous young age at 6. He grew up with jazz, soul and later independent rock before gaining an interest in the beat-oriented sounds of hip-hop and house. His time spent in Chicago, during the post-rock explosion of the 90s, gained ties to local musicians like Tortoise and Isotope 217; and finally he move to London and was immersed in the burgeoning iconoclastic electronica scene. His latest album as Reynold, My Favorite Film, seems to take bits and pieces from all these varying influences, settling in on a sound that beats with self-sampled instrumentation in a moody, post-rock vibe. Fitting in nicely with the Stewart Walker mode, Rouanet set out to create an idiosyncratic soundtrack influenced by all of the films he has seen in the last 20 years and his own epic of a life. Snippets of moody backtracks from Bernard Herrmann (Taxi Driver, Citizen Kane, Psycho) seem as important to this sound as Brian Eno’s minimal pseudo-soundtrack synth albums. My Favorite Film is more background music than anything, but I think that’s the idea. Soundtracks were never meant to take away from the visuals, just enhance the mood with audio stimulus, and Rouanet does just that, it encourages your emotions instead of causing them.

Radio Show Playlist 1/17

6a:
1. The Velvet Underground - Beginning to See the Light - Live 1969 with Lou Reed Volume 1 (Mercury 1974)
2. Earl Greyhound - Monkey - Soft Targets (Some 2006)
3. Benoit Pioulard - Palimend - Pecis (Kranky 2006)
4. Sam Prekop - C + F - Who's Your New Professor (Thrill Jockey 2005)
5. Grizzly Bear - Don't Ask - Horn of Plenty (Kanine 2004)
6. Six Parts Seven - Stolen Moments - Casually Smashed to Pieces (Suicide Squeeze 2007)
7. Dosh - This is When Things Were Looking Up - Pure Trash (Anticon 2004)
8. Rainstick Orchestra - Waltz for a Little Bird - The Floating Glass Key in the Sky (Ninja Tune 2005)
9. Alice Coletrane - Journey in Satchidananda - Journey in Satchidananda (Impulse! 1970)

7a:
1. Chicago Underground Duo - Falling Awake - In Praise of Shadows (Thrill Jockey 2006)
2. Roy Montgomery - On the Road 2 - Inroads: New and Collected Works (Rebis 2007)
3. Rob Crow - Up - Living Well (Temporary Residence 2007)
4. Pit Er Pat - Bog Man - Emergency (Overcoat 2004)
5. Rafter - Tragedy - Music for Total Chickens (Asthmatic Kitty 2007)
6. Catherine Howe - On a Misty Morning - What a Beautiful Places (Numero Group 2007, originally 1971)
7. The National Gallery - Long Hair Soulful - Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings of Paul Klee (Fallout 2007, originally 1968)
8. John Lennon - Jealous Guy - Imagine (Capitol 1971)
9. Deerhunter - Spring Hall Convert - Cryptograms (Kranky 2007)
10. Bracken - Heathens - We Know About the Need (Anticon 2007)
11. Califone - 3Legged Animals - Roots & Crowns (Thrill Jockey 2006)

New Music: Bracken, The National Gallery, Fred Thomas

Bracken - Fight or Flight - We Know About the Need (Anticon 2007)

Bracken – We Know About the Need / Anticon

It would be nice to give you a clever description full of pinpoint analogies and jaw-dropping metaphors for Bracken's debut LP, We Know About the Need, but the fact of the matter is that the best description is the obvious: Hood filtered through the Anticon aesthetic. Chris Adam's first solo project since separating from Leeds' psychedelic stalwarts Hood, Bracken utilizes the pastoral shoegaze-folk that has become his most notable association, but stripped of its clearly definable rock instrumentation and replaced with a barrage of samplers, analog machinery and tape manipulations. Not to say it is devoid of any traditional instrumentation, quite the contrary, but everything is routed through an array of archaic synthesizers and processors that only an audiophile could love. Obviously, atmosphere is the key component, a wonderful side-product of such perfectly imperfect machinery, and the final output is a myriad of both familiar and indistinct sounds melting, molding and interweaving with each other while Adams, the ghostly troubadour, narrates over their weary tone. We Know About the Need is brimming with gorgeous melodies and clever musicianship but doused with heavy reverb, strung through crackling electronics, bent and stretched with Abbey Road tape effects and bubbling with organic chemistry. It's like Hood displaced in a city sewer, like Anticon shacked up in a rural cabin, some eerie midpoint between melodic ethereality and errant machinery.






The National Gallery - Long Hair Soulful - Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings of Paul Klee (Fallout, originally 1968)

The National Gallery - Boy with Toys - Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings of Paul Klee (Fallout, originally 1968)

The National Gallery – Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings of Paul Klee / Fallout

Nothing is strikingly out-of-the-ordinary about the first two tracks of this long-winded album title given the time period it was recorded in and the soft-psyche pop being played, but the opening lines of 'Boy with Toys' is an instant attention grabber. The smooth-voiced male exclaims over a light psychedelic pop groove: "Boy with toys / playing in fantasy / killing his teddy bear / thinking of his father." Wait wait wait! Come again now. He continues: "Boy with toys / alone in the attic / choking his hobby horse / thinking of his mother." What the fuck! It immediately sends you careening back to the beginning of the disc to really listen to the lyrics. This 1968 album experiment was brought about as an attempt to transmit visual arts into an audible medium with absolutely no commercial success (surprise), but in retrospect, a good deal of aesthetic success. The brainchild of Cleveland producer Roger Karshner, The Nationally Gallery is a pseudo-band of studio musicians arranged by jazz musician Chuck Mangione, fresh off his stint in Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, and pre-pop-jazz goofball (though his later years do represent some of my favorite album covers ever). Karshner's goal was to create 'electronic paintings' based on the works of abstract painter Paul Klee, one of the original masters of modern art whose style is hard to nail down but featured dream-like images with wit and imagination. Utilizing the popular style of time, The National Gallery represented a melodic psychedelic pop group with hints of folk and jazz and their music, much like the Klee paintings used as inspiration, was colorful, moody, satirical and unconventional. The first single, Long Hair Soulful (which was initially credited to the moniker Bhagavad-Gita), is an excellent piece of chilly psych-pop that shamefully was completely ignored. The album was released despite the low interest and did even worse commercially. Listening to it now, I can't say I'm completely surprised due to the oddball and progressive subjects of some the songs (read: not love), but at least the project was completed in its entirety. This is a must have, and a great album to be turning heads at a shindig, for all fans of psyche-pop and late 60s music in general.







Fred Thomas - Holland Tunnel - Sink Like a Symphony (Corleone 2006)

Fred Thomas – Sink Like a Symphony / Corleone

Fred Thomas’s years of service establishing the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti/Detroit indie-music scene has not gone unrewarded. For his second proper full-length, the talented friends/collaborators are aplenty, Nomo honcho Elliot Bergman, His Name is Alive’s Warn (Warren) Defever and Little Hands Records exec and ex-Cornish in a Turtleneck Juan Garcia are just a few of the names contributing their skills to backing the emotive folk singer. Thomas helped establish the scene over the last decade with his many projects including the retro-bubblegum pop outfit Saturday Looks Good to Me, the minimal folk band Flashpapr and the punk-oriented Lovesick, all of whose influences seep into his solo sound. Along with his ubiquitous strummed acoustic, the singer/songwriter’s fragile, warbling croon is forefront, which will suck in some listeners for good but as easily send others cringing, and his solid songwriting is the result of boxes and boxes of densely scribbled notebooks. The backing band mostly consists of rural folk-rock and, no doubt thanks to the aforementioned contributors, it sounds obsessively rehearsed and masterfully played. Personally my favorite moments are when Thomas strays into bedroom psychedelia ala the second half of Apples on the Floor or the more aggressive songs akin to Holland Tunnel. Again, I’m going to reiterate that Thomas’s voice will be the make or break factor for most listeners; so if you are a fan of his previous projects, especially Flashpapr, do yourself a favor and pick up this disc.

R.I.P. Alice Coltrane 1937-2007

Alice Coltrane - Stopover Bombay (mp3) - Journey in Satchidananda (Impulse 1970)

Alice Coltrane - Blue Nile (mp3) - Ptah, the El Daoud (Impulse 1970)

Alice Coltrane - Oh Allah - Universal Consciousness (Impulse 1971)

Alice Coltrane - Walk With Me - Translinear Light (Impulse/Verve 2004)

So I just learned that Alice Coltrane passed away. This absolutely sends me into a deep state of sighing because she is easily one of my favorite artists ever and discovering her music was one of the defining moments in shaping my musical taste. She died at 69 on Friday in California from respiratory failure, an irony since she breathed so much life into the music she so masterfully made.

Most renown as the wife of John Coltrane, Alice McLeod was an amazing pianist, harpist, organist, songwriter, arranger and defining character in her own right. In her early twenties she was playing piano in local Detroit bebop bands with future luminaries like Yusef Lateef and Kenny Burrell before leaving for Paris to study with Bud Powell at 22. She didn’t meet John until around 62, married him in 65, joined his band (replacing the formidable McCoy Tyner) in 66 and was by his side when he died in 67. No doubt being an incredibly strong influence in his waning years, in which he drifted towards free jazz, Alice was an incredibly important force in the spiritual-oriented and earthly jazz class that included many players from her own band including Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Rashied Ali and Joe Henderson among others. Her Impulse albums like Journey in Satchidananda and Universal Consciousness bent towards Eastern religious influences and were renown for their deep textural sound that can easily hypnotize the listener into a meditative tunnel. She easily balanced earthy drones with glittering percussion and free-spirited sax, piano and drum solos combining the will of free jazz with beautiful sounds. She left music for a period in the late 70s and 80s, but returned to performing live with her son Ravi in the late 90s. Her last proper full-length (she was apparently working on a new album before her death) after a 26-year hiatus was the amazing Translinear Light in 2004 for Verve which just further solidified her as an aesthetically pleasing musician, composer and life-force.

I truly hope she gains the legendary status that her husband has been rightfully garnished with, because she absolutely deserves it. Jazz and music in general lost one of their most important contemporary innovators in Ms. Coltrane, but at least we’ll always have her amazing records to be able to appreciate her genius and influence our own lives.

Used-Bin Bargains: The Shape of Jazz to Come, Confusion/Gentleman

I've been wanting to do this for a little while, so now that we've successfully (for the most part) moved domains and back updating regularly, I figured it's the best time. This will be a weekly post (most likely Sundays) that highlights classic or essential albums that are worth your attention. I feel strongly that you cannot really appreciate new music without having some kind of notion of where they stem from; plus it will make some nice additions to your party shuffles. You should probably realize that most of my interests come from the jazz/funk/soul/African music side of music, so expect most of the albums to come from that direction. Happy listening and go bears!

(if you dig hip-hop, do yourself a favor and check out Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme, the clip of Biggie freestyling at 17 is absolutely unbelievable)





Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman (mp3) - The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic 1959)

Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come / Atlantic

1959 was a hell of year for jazz; Miles Davis introduced modal improvisations with Kind of Blue, Coltrane found his sound with Giant Steps, Dave Brubeck infused worldly rhythms with Time Out and Mingus brought spirituality to the genre with Mingus Ah Um. But maybe the most important contribution was from Ornette Coleman with this album significantly changing the direction of jazz and taking the biggest leap of technique from Bop to Free Jazz since Swing stemmed Bop. Teamed with Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, Coleman broke every established rule with his sax; he completely refused any chord structure and played simply by feeling. Coleman and Cherry croon, wail and neigh in whichever direction their heart desired while Haden galloped up and down his bass and Higgins laid down a mutated swing beat. This album marks the beginning of free and avant-garde jazz though it is very accessible by today’s standards, but in 1959 it caused quite a fussy stir and once and for all transformed jazz from the dance floor to the cerebral, much to most critics dismay. An absolute masterpiece.







Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa 70 - Fefe Naa Efe (mp3) - Gentleman (MCA 2000, originally 1973)

Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa 70 – Confusion/Gentleman / MCA

Fela Kuti is without a doubt one of the most important figures in the globalization of modern music in the 20th century. The Nigerian born artist gained his reputation by combining jazz with traditional African music to create Afro-beat, a fierce almost communal blend of danceable African rhythms, complex arrangements and technically proficient instrumental solos, but went on to legend status with his unparalleled personality (which was in a continual seesaw of ethical dualities) and sociopolitical voice. Rereleased by MCA in 2000, Confusion/Gentleman paired two of Fela’s most prolific albums recorded with his band, Africa 70, at their creative high. 1975’s Confusion is one 25-minute song that begins with spacey, free jazz interplay between Fela on organ and drummer extraordinaire Tony Allen before exploding into an Afro-funk epic with three dialects explaining the general post-colonial confusion of Nigeria. 1973’s Gentleman featured Fela’s matured musicianship and the first fantastic production from the Africa 70. The title track is a stab at his fellow Africans who would wear thick traditional clothing in the African heat (Fela notoriously wore little to no clothing) followed by two equally enjoyable numbers, one a loose jazzy feel and the other a hot call-and-response percussion-oriented piece.

New Music: Dustin Kensrue, Frank Turner, Gallows

Man do I look bad. Some Audiversitarian I've turned out to be, right? One post compared to Michael's 85 or something? I guess that's kind of close. It's so exhausting being creative sometimes, though. Sometimes you just want to sit in your room and strum away on an unplugged six-string while the whisky sits at your side and you dream of The Good Life (not the band), all the while lamenting your day job. Kid, you are not alone.













Dustin Kensrue - I Knew You Before - Equal Vision (2007)

Dustin Kensrue - I Knew You Before / Equal Vision

...Because while you're sitting in your room idling as life passes you by, Dustin Kensrue is out there growing that requisite scruff and singing all the songs you wish you'd thought of first. Kensrue, Kensrue... Norwegian, right? Where have you heard that name before? And then it dawns on you: This guy sang lead vocals for Thrice. Now Thrice doesn't have much cred with a certain breed of "matured" elitist, but for the younger post-hardcore pups out there Thrice is kind of a big deal. As good as they occasionally were, that band sounded nothing like this. That's part of the joy and the surprise in Dustin's solo debut, "Please Come Home." Blues riffs, harmonica solos, southern-rock strumming, Letterman on February 2nd and a day-job to fall back on. It's tough living the dream. More SoCo for you?













Frank Turner - Once We Were Anarchists - Sleep is for the Week (2007)

Frank Turner - Sleep is for the Week / Xtra Mile

Actually, come to think of it, Kensrue's path is not a new one: Post-hardcore types tend to go soft with age if they don't break up first (excepting Fugazi, who have found a glitch in The Matrix and will be loud long after we're all dead and gone). Million Dead's Frank Turner is the transatlantic version of Kensrue, being the other prominent example of loud-gone-downhome-soft from the last year. Like Kensrue, Frank has revealed himself gradually as a bit of a folkie now that he doesn't have to namedrop Fukuyama or meddle with the legacy of the failed Budapest revolt of '56. The difference is that the straight-faced Americana Kensrue has shown himself to be competent at doesn't translate in the same way with Turner: With an extensive background in Black Flag and Refused (from which Million Dead took their name), Turner's still all about talking to the kids who have that youthful idealism in them. The difference is, he's talking to them with experience in fighting the good fight and flipping off The Man. Johnny Cash in ethos but Billy Bragg in process, Turner will be bringing his brand of Brit-folk to the US in the spring with Jonah Matranga aka the guy from a million bands including Onelinedrawing and Gratitude. Look for him on the Left Coast.

But wait. If all the kids are growing up and growing out, who will guide the young and restless?













Gallows - Come Friendly Bombs - Orchestra of Wolves (2006)

Gallows - Orchestra of Wolves / In at the Deep End

Meet Gallows. They spit fire, crush skulls and mutilate eardrums. Remember when Watford meant art school and Wire? No? Good, because even if it did, post-punk patron saint of the pen Simon Reynolds himself couldn't write enough to reclaim the restrained and refined aura that surrounded this London suburb before these cracking young lads came to town. Gallows have pretty much torn the lid off punk and ravaged through it like a rabid raccoon (or, more appropriately, ripped it up and started again like a wolf?), emerging with the rewards of a combustible concoction latter-day heroes like The Bronx, Orchid or JR Ewing would be proud of. Except... Fuck, two of those three are broken up, aren't they? C'est la vie.

Panthers' "The Trick" comes out in March and is already "in the can" as the old timey record producers would say, but that doesn't sound anything like a casual drive down the lonesome roads of the American midwest, does it... JR Ewing, where is your post-hardcore folk hero? I smell a Sondre Lerche in the making. Make it happen.

New Music: Menomena, Rafter, Catherine Howe

Menomena - Wet and Rusting (mp3) - Friend and Foe (Barsuk 2007)


Menomena - Friend and Foe / Barsuk

Portland-based trio Menomena snagged me with a gimmick; hook, line and sinker. Their 2003 debut album was packaged with a large flipbook depicting in motion not only the members playing their instruments, but the actual rearranging of the letters from the album title ‘I Am the Fun Blame Monster!’ to it’s anagram ‘the first Menomena album!’ I mean c’mon, you can’t just ignore something like that… and I didn’t… and the album was stuck on repeat for a good while after initially popped it in. Now two and a half years and a dance performance accompaniment/concept album later comes their second proper full-length, Friend and Foe. The obtuse song structures (created in a computer program and recreated live by the players) that separated IATFBM from its peers remain but in a more fluid, fleshed-out form. It is pretty blatant that Justin Harris, Brent Knopf and Danny Seim matured in their songwriting and musicianship thanks to the numerous shows since their first outing. The biggest difference with Friend or Foe is that it builds more in a vertical direction with layers rather than the jerky horizontal motion of loops that progressed IATFBM. The instrumental core of chunky bass, simple drum patterns and short piano melodies as well as accentuating baritone sax bellows remain intact, but added are a good number synth, percussion and sound effect doodles that help brighten the sound considerably. Vocal harmonizing is another pleasing added attraction, though they veer off into slightly over-dramatic flares now and again. With what I am assuming is a stronger financial backing, Friend or Foe benefits from the extended studio time and abilities, but I have to admit that it loses some of the endearing quality that came with the self-pieced IATFBM. It’s still a very solid album though, and will only rightfully enhance the fan base and praise for the band. And of course, the artwork is excellent, this time featuring the schizophrenic cartoons of Craig Thompson.







Rafter - Tragedy (mp3) - Music for Total Chickens (Asthmatic Kitty 2007)


Rafter - Music for Total Chickens / Asthmatic Kitty

I was quite a big fan of my first introduction to the awkward musical world of Rafter Roberts this past year with the re-release of his self-recorded 1998 album, Ten Songs. The multi-faceted recording and mastering engineer, who has manned the boards for everyone from Kill Me Tomorrow to Fiery Furnaces to Hot Snakes to any other off-center quality indie-minded band in the last 5 years, has a wonderful penchant for two seemingly polar musical opposites, indie-pop sweetness and avant-garde mania. A key member of the artsy San Diego community called the Go-Homes (also a starting point for Pinback among others), Rafter’s first official full-length for Asthmatic Kitty is a product a mind riddled with eclectic influences. The patchwork avant-pop of Music for Total Chickens will keep your ears guessing (and slightly fretting) where he’ll go next. For instance, Your War ends with a crescendo of soft harmonizing vocals and bright guitar strumming that you hear regularly on Sufjan recordings (yet another artist Rafter has engineered for), but it’s followed quickly by a spitting, Lightning Bolt-like electric guitar solo that connects a chorus of chunky drums, triangle pings and his Rob Crow-like singing voice that actually opens up into a triumphant, horn-clad conclusion. You can almost think of it as an accessible introduction to Anthony Braxton’s experimental sound structures for indie-poppers. Music for Total Chickens is an enjoyable and challenging (within its genre) record of sonic contrasts and crazy-quilt pop that deserves your attention as a much needed break from the norm.






Catherine Howe - On a Misty Morning (mp3) - What a Beautiful Place (Numero Group 2007)

Catherine Howe - What a Beautiful Place / Numero Group

For a label renown for releasing compiled discs of long-lost funky gospel tunes, electro-samba cuts and mashed Caribbean genres of all kinds, it seems almost anticlimactic that they’d be releasing an album of pretty straight-forward orchestrated folk. But this is Numero Group we’re talking about, and nothing sports the triple digit emblem without deserving the recognition that callously swept by it the first go-around. For their first release of 07, the Chicago crate-diggers clean-up and repackage a gorgeous folk-pop album by Catherine Howe, who at the time of recording was barely out of her teens. The much talented British singer/songwriter gained the most recognition for her sophomore album, Harry, which was released in 1975, but her true apex of creativity and songwriting came with her first attempt at the music business. Recorded in 1970 with multi-instrumental jazz artist and producer Bobby Scott and the help of the London Symphony Orchestra, What a Beautiful Place is a lush, poignant folk album that acts as an almost eerie sister recording to Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter. Recorded in the same year (WaBP wasn’t released till 1971 though due to label problems), both albums enlist a quiet passion through sultry vocals and observational lyrics while being garnished with gorgeous orchestrated accompaniment that swim with jazzy undertones. The only significant difference between the two is that Howe composes with a piano and Drake is guitar-oriented, but that really is neither here nor there. Like most excellent obscure albums, What a Beautiful Place never really had a chance (though it did get significant attention from the BBC’s Radio One) thanks to idiotic label heads, this time at CBS. Tiny UK imprint Reflection Records did release the album in ’71, but with little distribution mostly limited to solely the media releases. Catherine Howe has returned to the music industry in 2005 after a 25 year absence with a full-length of new material on Proper Access, which seems appropriate since artists like Beth Orton and Norah Jones are somewhat mimicking her sound (though probably unknowingly). What a Beautiful Place is a must have for fans of folk-pop, soft-psyche and those desperately looking for a Nick Drake accompany.

New Music: Clinic, Deerhunter, Roy Montgomery

Still having trouble with getting the www.audiversity.com address to work. Any interweb savvy people out there up to helping out? Also, I moved all old Music-versity posts over to Audiversity so all old links have been broken; not good really, but we're kinda starting anew, so fuck it. Lots of good music this week, still much more to come. Enjoy.





Clinic - Tusk (mp3) - Visitations (Domino 2007)

Clinic – Visitations / Domino

So I was meandering through the vast farmlands of Illinois the other night when the clouds slowly separated, the sky blinked a burgundy hue and a silvery spacecraft etched a bright bolt across the horizon stopping directly in front of me. As lower exhaust fumes bent the crops below into mysterious circles, I took a much-needed step back staring dumbly at the eerie saucer elegantly landing on four spindly legs. Before I could strategize the best way from where I was standing to wherever a spacecraft was not, haze spout from the underside of the ship and a large square platform began to lower itself. The air around was instantly filled with a sound not unlike rock music but distinctly alien; angular guitar riffs danced around plodding drums, menacing keyboards lit up over an elastic bass, and a high-pitched, warbling drawl hissed through clenched-teeth from the forefront of these figures. As I stared wide-eyed at the surgical mask-clad extraterrestrial band (perhaps their alien lungs can't take the Earth's polluted atmosphere) a large, flashing sign lit up from behind the stage just as the climax hit during their 3-minute rock outburst; it read, in blinking caps, CLINIC. The song ended, the platform elevated and the ship ascended back into the empty sky. Before the spacecraft disappeared, I caught a glimpse of a Liverpool license plate and was immediately smacked in the face by a furiously falling copy of their new, self-recorded album, Visitations. The following weeks were spent obsessively scanning the night sky and keeping the mysterious disc on repeat. Each spin reminisced of The Velvet Underground, Can and Suicide but as heard through otherworldly radio waves and reproduced in an urgent, surgically clean manner with recording technology far beyond our meager studios. I've spent every night since the aural abduction contemplating this strange but familiar grit-rock and endlessly dreaming of their faraway home planet, Liverpool.








Deerhunter - Spring Hall Convert (mp3) - Cryptograms (Kranky 2007)

Deerhunter – Cryptograms / Kranky

The tumultuous quintet that is Deerhunter could very much be focusing their sound into something truly hype-worthy. Check the bass line from Octet, primped and poised for mashing and smashing indie dance floors everywhere. Peak the layered vocal harmonies of Hazel St. and tell me that they don’t rival the post-Beach Boys psych Grizzly Bear is capitalizing on. Ease into the glistening minimal ambience of Red Ink and prove to me that they couldn’t be signed to Kranky… oh, they are signed to Kranky, never mind that part. Instead of deciding on one marketable sound, the weathered boys of Deerhunter infuse all of their influences, from 80s post-punk to 60s psyche-pop to the ambient explorations of all eras, and dump it into a bucket of feedback and tape hiss… and you will be absolutely thanking them for it. Their sophomore album and Kranky debut, ordered chronologically from two separate days of recording (the split being after Red Ink), is an adventurous trip through unsettling ambiance and epiphanic songwriting literally mapping the psychological ride of bringing the album to life. You stream along somewhat aimlessly but not all unpleasantly throughout the first half of the album through bogs of feedback and thick atmosphere, stopping for two darker underground club numbers in the title track and Octet. Beginning with Spring Hall Convert, the band is strikingly more optimistic in their songwriting, melodies and tone. In fact, wrap up tracks 8 through 12 as an EP and you would be dealing with some substantial stirring in the current post-psyche scene. Cryptograms as a whole is an excellent array of sounds and moods compiled in an album that reads somewhat voyeuristically and somewhat sheer mystery. All and all, an excellent, challenging record worth your time. And if you get a chance, read the concert testimonials on their MySpace, utterly hilarious; who actually goes out of their way to write stuff like that?







(couldn't find album pic)

Roy Montgomery - On the Road 2 (mp3) - Inroads: New and Collected Works (Rebis 2007)

Roy Montgomery – Inroads: New and Collected Works / Rebis

I'm fully convinced that at the tips of Roy Montgomery's fingers are some kind of synapse or nerve that let's the him actually feel the vibrations being created with each pluck of his guitar and stay in control of these feelings as they later leave his amp as cluttered soundwaves. The experimental guitar player from New Zealand was brought up on the electric through garage rock and post-punk in the 70s and early 80s with stints in Pin Group and the Shallows, where he honed an interest in the drone aesthetic, before leaving the music scene. He reappeared in the 90s with dirge rock group Dadamah and continued his space-psyche sound in collaborations with Flying Saucer Attack and Bardo Pond. But this 2-disc compilation, culled from comp tracks and 7 inches, focuses in on the matured sound of Montgomery whose solo releases on Kranky, Drunken Fish and VHF gained him recognition and a cult following as an otherworldly guitar player and artist. The first disc of Inroads concentrates on the more ambient and melancholy side of Montgomery. His hypnotic guitar solos are not the product of perfected tone or technique, but the manipulation of his instrument to produce sounds alien to traditional method. Recorded mostly on simple Tascam 4-tracks, Montgomery eases his guitar to tape letting each vibration fully developed and degrade with care, which make songs like On the Road 2 so mesmerizing with the knowledge that it's all coming from a single instrument. On more than one occasion, it resembles a mystic, timeless form of raga. The second disc, on the other hand, features Montgomery's more emphatic and noisier side. Tracks like Sister Clean sound like Sandy Bull strapped with an electric and tour-worn amp covering a looping piece from Reich; he utilizes the reverberated overtones as much as the original soundwaves to create one throbbing creature of sound. During the following track, Last Days of Mankind, rays of higher frequencies find your ears through a typhoon of feedback adding extra stabs of awe to the already unbelievable sound. Montgomery has an undeniable understanding of the evolution of sound after it leaves the instrument and the foresight to control the reverberations well before they start to weave themselves into the already vibrating tapestry of frequencies, not as much a wall of sound but a living, breathing entity in its own. He finds a much-needed niche between the acid-induced psychedelic guitar rock of yesteryear and the drone experiments so popular today.

New Music, New Writer: Akala, Mother Vulpine, Ghost

And I guess I should start out explaining a little about why I'm here doing what I'm doing. Like the millions of other blogs out there, it's tough to find a distinguishing trait between them. Michael's done a fine job just being himself here at Audiversity; that natural flair has translated so well that, like, he was totally on Largeheartedboy. Totally.

So the question becomes, what can I offer alongside a guy who's already well-rounded enough to be considered a bona fide audiophile?

Akala - Shakespeare (mp3) - It's Not a Rumour (Illa State 2006)

Akala - It's Not a Rumour / Illa State

That's where Kingslee "Akala" Daley enters to help me out. To be frank, this isn't really new music; "Shakespeare" was the single from last year's "It's Not a Rumour," which no one in the US saw the light of even though the man has opened for Jay-Z on his "Kingdom Come" tour and for Christina Aguilera and DJ Shadow at the end of auld lang syne. Too bad the dude (brother of Ms. Dynamite, by the by) hasn't gotten a deal here in the US yet: "Shakespeare" is just a bit sample of what both "It's Not a Rumour" and his mix-'06 mixtape "A Bit Darker," both well worth the price of entry. When you slow down Tomcraft's "Loneliness" to half-speed fuzztastic lurching, everyone listening is going to win. "Yeah Yeah Yeah" and "Cold" aren't far off; all tracks possess this tinny kind of grunge guitar sampling that's sure to be a hit with the rockists and hip-hoppers alike. Is that what wins Mobo awards nowadays? It's about time. Mega, as the kids say.


But that's not enough. I mean, Michael's got some time to kill. If he wanted to, he could seek out Akala on his own. It's not like it's hard to find him in the latest Fader. He opened for Christina Aguilera, for chrissakes. So what kind of work have I been doing on my own time?

Mother Vulpine - We'll Be Detectives for the Day (Demo) (mp3) (2006)

Cue Mother Vulpine. A few entries back, Michael assessed the new Bloc Party single "A Prayer" and he and I both agree it's a bit... lacking. "A Weekend in the City" isn't a bad album by any means, but if you miss the Bloc Party of old (and by that I mean rough-around-the-edges pre-"Silent Alarm"), fresh-faced youngsters Mother Vulpine might be your answer. The Leeds quartet don't, ah, actually have any releases yet... But if this demo version of "We'll Be Detectives for the Day" and the accompanying rough cuts to be found on their MySpace are anything to go by, '07 might yet have found another UK post-punk indie-dance "new rave" savio(u)r. The best part: They've been known to play with actual wolf masks. Stay tuned. PS. Please don't say you read that Mother Vulpine were new rave here first. You saw it in NME. Only them and Spin make egregious mistakes like that anymore.

Ghost - Gareki No Toshi (mp3) - In Stormy Nights (Drag City, 2007)

Ghost - In Stormy Nights / Drag City

Ultimately though, Michael and I aren't so different. Being an independent radio music director takes time because you have responsiblities, like listening to albums that people send you and not just reading XLR8R or wandering MySpace searching for diamonds in the rough all day. That's how I came to know Ghost. Who are they? Psychedelic overlords... From Tokyo. Gasp! Guffaw! At last, something not British! The second coming of Les Rallizes Denudes? Well, not quite. Even still, don't be fooled by the six marked tracks: What lies beneath is 62 minutes of pure, unadulterated psych-noise. Think more Acid Mothers Temple or Psychic Paramount and less Solar Anus or Boris. Stuffed full of tribal chants, wayward piano lines, vocal-as-instrument ambiance, pseudo-jazz breakdowns, and warped noise following the pendulum of a hypnotist, "Hemicyclic Anthelion" pretty much encapsulates the album at a mind-bending 28 minutes. For a pill slightly easier to swallow: "Gareki No Toshi" translates as something like "garage no Toshi," and since I'm no Japanese expert I'll make no promises that my translation is even remotely correct. What's important about this song is how you can feel the incessant percussion, the minimalist piano line, the distant and distorted vocals... Yessir, "Gareki No Toshi" is, like "In Stormy Nights," as engaging or as thoughtless as you want to make it. As for me, I'll have the former. Check please, good riddance and onward, ho! Next week awaits, after all.

New Music: The Berg Sans Nipple, Rob Crow, Six Parts Seven

The Berg Sans Nipple - Mystic Song (mp3) - Along the Quai (Team Love 2006)

The Berg Sans Nipple – Along the Quai / Team Love

I guess I should start out by saying how impressed I am with Team Love for the heads-up with releasing this album and snatching a multi-faceted artist like The Berg Sans Nipple to diversify their roster. No doubt that Shane Aspegren, one-half of the duo, being from Nebraska has something to do with that and the fact that between the two of them, they have worked with the likes of Bright Eyes, Songs: Ohia, Purr and other artists of that Omaha-sound nature. But go ahead and forget any previous connotations you may have with that scene, because Along the Quai isn’t going to fit in that category. Rounded out with Parisian Lori Sean Berg, The Berg Sans Nipple in essence creates a very distorted rendition of electro-pop, but the percussionists involved appear to have a worldly knowledge of rhythm and melodies. Take the Junior Boys, toss them into The Octopus Project’s garage of strategically broken instruments and let them jam with a couple of the Konono Nº1 boys and you start to get an idea of the sound we’re dealing with here. The biggest difference-maker between TBSN and the rest of the electro-poppers is their ability to step away from the computers for a moment and jam on some live instrumentation. Glockenspiel twinkling over fuzzy electric pianos, junkyard steel pans jamming with plodding floor drums, synthesizers dueling thumb pianos, something called a Moroccan assdrum, it’s all here and playfully interacting. I’m a bit partial to the vocal-less tracks, but Aspergren’s muffled Ben Gibbard croon could definitely be worse; I just question their necessity. Along the Quai has the structure of an electro-pop album, but it sends the genre in a much-needed wayfaring direction. Being on Team Love, I’m not sure who will actually be the demographic seeking this out, but just maybe, it will widen the tastes of a few kids still engrossed solely in the Omaha-sound.







Rob Crow - Up (mp3) - Living Well (Temporary Residence 2007)

Rob Crow – Living Well / Temporary Residence

Rob Crow has been noodling around the independent music scene for about 15 years now, and all the while pushing the boundaries of pop and rock music by forming numerous genre-defying bands, each of which with wonderfully ridiculous names (Thingy, Goblin Cock, Optiganally Yours, etc). His most recent projects include the wide-spread catchiness of Pinback and his noise-pop outbursts with Zach Hill as The Ladies, both of which are quickly defining Crow's matured sound. Needing a bit of a break from the constant demand of his many bands, Crow decided to take a hiatus… oh wait, actually he recorded another album. Living Well, his third full-length solo album, seems the result of a hearty step back to slow down and breath in the full realization of getting married, having a child and, at it's most basic level, growing up, all of which seemingly took the prolific musician by storm in the last year. Utilizing a stripped down Pinback sound, Crow coos his trademark humming alto over the bright, canonic guitar patterns that makes his music so catchy in quick, almost-off-the-cuff 3-minute songs. In an interesting what-the-fuck moment, during the album's hilariously named single (I know it’s the single because the CD also includes an extended single mix), 'I Hate You, Rob Crow', his voice drifts into Chris Cornell territory, which is a bit terrifying in itself, but also because it sends me into flashbacks to my high school days in the mid 90s. Certainly his most restrained outing to-date, Living Well will probably not appeal to fans solely of his more eccentric projects, but will no doubt hook starved Pinback fans for good. Personally, I'm a bit torn; I drift more towards his unconventional music, but I can appreciate the man realizing and embracing his sound, and current-state-of-life in the process.






Six Parts Seven - Stolen Moments (mp3) - Casually Smashed to Pieces (Suicide Squeeze 2007)

Six Parts Seven – Casually Smashed to Pieces / Suicide Squeeze

Kent, Ohio's favorite pastoral post-rock band has turned a new leaf, just check out the massive Viking stalking the album cover. that's right, Six Parts Seven have gone doom metal! Okay okay, maybe not, but just the possibility of some kid looking for a new Dio album and grabbing this instead sends me into a wonderful fit of giggles. Now stripped back to a quartet, the Karpinski brothers and friends have stirred up a new set of unobtrusive meandering post-rock tunes featuring their now trademark array of heart-melting melodies. The twangy undercurrent and horn garnishing that was hinted on their last few releases continues to find an increased role on this album along with tinges of banjo, lap-steel, clarinet and the always-fun whistling. The musicianship as usual is outstanding and the instrumental interplay is a thing of beauty, guitars smoothly weave, the bass pads caringly, the drums accentuate with nuance and everything else adds a welcomed shade of color. Like all Six Part Seven records to date, Casually Smashed to Pieces is not overtly exciting or unpredictable; instead, it's a comfortable enveloping atmosphere, a warm textural haze that is meant to droop gently on to your ears and provide a momentary escape from the regular chaotic noises of the world.

Welcome to Audiversity.com

Welcome to Audiversity!

After much pondering, I have decided to redub, move and take the site to a whole new level. Music-versity is no more and I welcome you to Audiversity.com. Make sure you update all bookmarks and other links involved.

I also have the pleasure of introducing Patrick Masterson, the music director at WUSC-FM Columbia, as our second writer. We have been friends and colleagues for a good number of years and I look forward to him contributing to the site. Of course, this means more posts, more mp3s and more new discoveries for your lucky self.




Audiversity: The Radio Show will be broadcasting from 6-8a (cst) on WLUW-FM Chicago starting 1/17/07; so if you live in Chicago, you will be able to discover new music as you are waking up, getting ready for the day or driving to work. I am much looking forward to the prime time spot and continuing to improve my radio skills. All non-Chicago readers can hit up the WLUW webstream to listen as well.

Radio Show Playlist 01/08/07

Sorry that this is a bit delayed, but here is the tracklisting from my radio show on Monday afternoon (11a-2p (cst)). Note that I am having a little trouble transition from the old blogspot address to audiversity.com, but will hopefully have everything running smoothly by the end of the week. Expect new reviews nonetheless.


Hour 1:
1. Echo & the Bunnymen - Stars are Stars - Crocodiles (Sire 1980)
2. Githead - My LCA (Little Box of Magic) - Profile (Swim 2005)
3. The Black Watch - Her Jet Black Hair - Tatterdemalion (Stonegarden 2006)
4. Testbild! - Inapoor - Imagine a House (Friendly Noise 2006)
5. Pedro - These Pixels Weave a Person - Pedro (Mush 2004)
6. Scientific American - The Seas are the Skies - Strong for the Future (Mush 2004)
7. Tortoise - Ten Day Interval - TNT (Thrill Jockey 1998)
8. Andrew Douglas Rothbard - Emrald Tendrils - Abandoned Meander (Smooch 2006)
9. Triosk - Intensives Leben - The Headlight Serenade (Leaf 2006)
10. Leaves - Ash Wendesday - Live at The Ice Factory (FP 2006)
11. Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic 1959)

Hour 2:
1. The Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burrito #2 - The Guilded Palace of Sin (Edsel 1969)
2. The Byrds - Boston ver. II - The Preflyte Sessions (Sundazed 2001, originally 1969)
3. Jim Noir - Turbulant Weather - Tower of Love (Barsuk 2006)
4. Sparrow House - Blindfold Waltz - Falls EP (self-released 2006)
5. Geoff Farina - Already Told You - Already Told You EP (Southern 2005)
6. Black Mountain - Voices - Slaying Since 1996 (Suicide Squeeze 2006)
7. Songs: Ohia - Hot Black Silk - Axxess or Ace (Secretly Canadian 1999)
8. Gojogo - Puppets - All is Fair (Galaxia 2006)
9. Girma Hadgu - Ene Alantchi Alnorem - Ethiopiques 4 (Buda Musique 1998)
10. Fridge - Harmonics - Happiness (Temporary Residence 2001)
11. MV & EE with the Bummer Road - East Mountain Joint - Green Blues (Ecstatic Peace 2006)
12. Dead Meadow - Lady - Dead Meadow (Xemu 2006, orginally Tolotta 1999)

Hour 3:
1. Stereolab - Miss Modular - Dots and Loops (Elektra 1997)
2. Mouse on Mars - Catching Butterflies with Hands - Idiology (Thrill Jockey 2001)
3. The Eternals - Billions of People - High Anxiety EP (Aesthetics 2006)
4. Jean-Claude Vannier - Danse des L'Enfant Et Du Roi Des Mouches - L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches (Finders Keepers/B-Music 2006, originally 1972)
5. Moussa Doumbia - Kelaya - World Psychedelic Classics 3 (Luaka Bop 2005)
6. The Octopus Project & Black Moth Super Rainbow - Elq Milq - The House of Apples and Eyeballs (Graveface 2006)
7. Prefuse 73/The Books - Pagina Cinco - Prefuse 73 Reads The Books (WARP 2005)
8. Subtle - Return of the Vein - For Hero: For Fool (Lex 2006)
9. Macromantics - Scorch - Moments in Movement (Kill Rock Stars 2007)
10. Clipse - Wamp Wamp ft Slim Thug - Hell Hath No Fury (Re-Up Gang 2006)
11. Edan - Promised Land - Beauty and the Beat (Lewis 2005)
12. Dangermouse & Jemini - Omega Supreme - Ghetto Pop Life (Lex 2003)

An Observation and Critique on the Clipse Hysteria

Which is Clipse album is better, 2006's Hell Hath No Fury or 2002's Lord Willin'? Why has Clipse caused such a stir in the indie world? And what does this mean to future patterns in music blogging in regards to genre, quality and exposure?


VS.

Clipse - Wamp Wamp ft Slim Thug (mp3) - Hell Hath No Fury (Re-Up Gang/Zomba 2006)

Clipse - Ain't Cha ft The Re-Up Gang (mp3) - Hell Hath No Fury (Re-Up Gang/Zomba 2006)

Clipse - Young Boy (mp3) - Lord Willin' (Star Trak/Arista 2002)

Clipse - Cot Damn ft AB-Liva & Roscoe P. Coldchain (mp3) - Lord Willin' (Star Trak/Arista 2002)

The widespread success of Clipse’s Hell Hath No Fury is pretty remarkable, though maybe not so much in these days of fickle, genre-ignoring fan bases (a good thing of course). The Thorton brothers, Pusha T and Malice, completely dominated year-end lists and blog posts everywhere (sitting somewhat uncomfortably by Destroyer, PB&J, etc) with their long-delayed (3 yrs) sophomore effort. Clipse has been teaming with The Neptunes since the early 90s, when both acts were absolute unknowns, and was the first group signed to The Nep’s Star Trak label, so it’s no surprise that loyalty remains and Pharrell and Chad were saving their best beats for this record. Sparse, metallic and colder than the ice around their necks, The Neptunes lace each track with tinny, pinging synth pops over stern, skeletal drum patterns that do their very best, with a large degree of success, to match the dialectic essence of the emcees’ lyrics, poetic cold-heartedness. Pusha T and Malice do not have a jaw-dropping flow per se, but their crystal clear, flat-voiced drawl actually make them not only instantly recognizable but unsettling in their almost passive recollections of harsh, emotional circumstances. The subject matter is nearly solely about drugs, but less about condoning the use as much as the consequences of being in the game, for better or worse. What’s most impressive is their continuous stream of wit and cleverness within their lyrics; each verse is a seamless strand of one-liners that almost works against them since you occasionally miss a clever reference or analogy because the next line is stinging before you get a chance to fully feel the prior one. Joining the Thorton brothers is their posse The Re-Up Gang, featuring full-throated Philly emcees AB-liva and Sandman, as well as Slim Thug (who contributes an excellent chorus to Wamp Wamp), Roscoe P. Coldchain and Bilal. The guests work well across the board, typically adding a baritone undercut to Clipse’s higher pitched jab. The end result is a very good album of unrelenting minds at a creative high soundtracking the harsh world they live in and completely deserving the amazing amount of praise circulating, but I’m having a little trouble understanding their crossover success (certainly not discouraging it by any means though).

The biggest mystery is why Hell Hath No Fury is having so much more success than Clipse’s debut full-length Lord Willin’ released in 2002. While I would give HHNF four and half stars out of five, I’d quickly reward Lord Willin’ the perfect score. I strongly believe that Clipse and The Neptunes’ first effort was their strongest whether comparing the lyrics, beats, singles and even the artwork (LW’s hand drawn album cover of Pusha and Malice cruising Virginia Beach with Black Jesus is classic). I don’t think I can say the Thorton brothers were any hungrier than they are now while recording LW because passion has never, and I doubt will ever, be a problem; but the fact that this very well could have been and very nearly was their only chance to impact the music industry is an important aspect to consider. I can certainly say the urgency was to a higher degree on LW with a clear conscious though. Lyrically, there are more memorable moments on the first album when either emcee ends a verse or drops a one-liner and you cannot help but say out loud, ‘goddamn’ (hell, they even made Jermaine Dupri and Fabolous sound good). I also feel The Neptunes were in better form for this first outing, especially Pharrell. I have read repeatedly that Chad Hugo was probably more to thank for the dark sparseness of HHNF since he has a history of those kind of tracks; and if that’s true, than you can easily call LW Pharrell’s album. It’s brighter, more upbeat and to put it simply, more fun. Pharrell also sounds a lot more into his singing parts. Compare his emotive croon on Cot Damn from LW with his half-ass chorus from Hello New World on HHNF and tell me what you think. The beats on LW are much more reminiscent of the mutated 80s synth-funk of the N*E*R*D releases which has now been left for dead since the success of Drop It Like Its Hot, which is the style that lines HHNF. I also feel that Grindin’ was a much better single than Mr. Me Too is; it’s no doubt more radio friendly and more creative, even if it does wear on you a bit faster. There is certainly a theme exposing itself here and that’s one of being fun. Perhaps I just prefer more vibrant albums, but it’s as probable that Pusha T, Malice and The Neptunes were just having more fun in 2002, prior to the label madness and entering their 30s. The lyric content is practically the same on both albums, but it seems like the drug game is wearing a bit on the Thorton brothers; the realness and consequences of their lifestyle may be getting harsher by the day. These are conclusions that I will obviously never be able to prove myself, but the reasoning behind the sound of the albums is not what I am as concerned with as is the hysteria surrounding HHNF.

There are a couple reasons that I have been able to come up with to explain this. Firstly, I think it’s obvious that Clipse were ahead of their time with Lord Willin’ no matter what audience you want to refer to. The big rap singles from 2002 were in line with the party/club-oriented theme of Grindin’ like Nelly’s Hot in Herre, Cam’ron’s Oh Boy, and Busta Rhymes’ Pass the Courvoisier, but the albums these singles stem from do not compare to the lyrical and thematic potency of LW. Hip-hop heads during this time were more likely into the increasingly generic rap of MTV, the bubbling underground indie-hop scene or even the first appearances of crunk. The indie world that has embraced HHNF as well was even further from the rap crowd. The same kids who are ranting about Clipse now were going ape-shit for emo (Bright Eyes), electroclash (The Rapture) and NYC garage rock (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) when LW dropped. Why? Simply put, that is what the indie media was spoon-feeding us. This brings me to my much important second reason for the success of HHNF: blogging. In 2002, blogging was in its infancy; in fact, it did not really hit it’s adulthood until this year. The blogs are just about solely responsible for HHNF’s explosion in the indie world, who have somewhat followed in the footsteps of wide-read establishments like Pitchfork’s embrace of mainstream hip-hop (certainly not a knock of any kind, just an observation; I don’t believe Pitchfork even reviewed LW). So the only way Clipse could have even reached these crowds would be through word-of-mouth, MTV/BET or mainstream rap radio, two of the three indie crowds typically ignore completely. So it appears that it’s not an issue of quality but exposure; the indie crowd didn’t embrace LW simply because they weren’t aware of it, or so it seems.

So what the fuck is the point of all of this? Mostly, to give me peace of mind, but also to expose people to the excellence of Clipse’s debut Lord Willin’ and especially, to remind people to never pigeonhole your listening choices. Expose yourself to everything because more than likely you are missing something excellent. The blog world, though hated on by a lot of people, is helping with this exponentially and I believe the music world as a whole will be better for it. One interesting question is: a few decades from now, will there be crate-digging blogs (or more probably, whatever entity music blogs eventually evolve into with progressing technology) looking back at so much overlooked music like we have now? Everything these days has the ability to be exposed regardless of the financial restraints that plagued young artists in the past. Is the long-lost, overlooked gem now a thing of the past?

Oh. And go buy Lord Willin, you absolutely won’t regret it.