09/12 – 09/16:

Sims & Laserbeak, Wildlife EP Wildlife is a collection of leftovers from Sims & Laserbeak’s fine album Bad Time Zoo, and a case of the cast offs being just as engaging as the songs that made the album. It features two songs pre-order customers got back then (It pays to support indie artists) and 3 others. “Here I Stand,” I was surprised to learn, recycles the beat from “Do Not Stay” by POS on Doomtree’s False Hopes XV release, but the vocals & lyrics are all-new. It’s a great listen, and best of all it’s free! Sims & Laserbeark, “The Lighthouse” Tom Waits, Mule Variations Pound for pound, I think my favorite Tom Waits album. It’s really hard to choose, and I think Waits may be another rare artist for me where songs outweigh albums, but yes. It has some of his strangest songs, some of his most beautiful songs, some of his best ideas. Whether he’s stomping out a song like “Big In Japan” or “Filipino Box Spring Hog,” breaking your heart with “The House Where Nobody Lives” or “Georgie Lee,” or building yo back up with “Hold On” or “Come On Up To The House,” or just being really, really weird on “Eyeball Kid” or “What’s He Building In There,” this album has some of the finest examples of everything you want from post-Swordfishtrombones-era Waits. Probably not a good starting point for the uninitiated, but probably soon to be a favorite once they get to it. Tom Waits, “Big In Japan” Mike Doughty, Yes and Also Yes Half the fun of a new Mike Doughty album is just seeing what it will sound like. Sometimes, he applies a big, clean production with many instruments to his compositions, other times he strips it down to the bare essentials. While his basic approach to songwriting may not change drastically from album to album, you never know what those songs will actually sound like. Previous album Sad Man Happy Man was a very basic affair, but Yes And Also Yes finds him swinging in the other direction again. Not super-slick, AC Top 40 production like his sort-of-solo-debut Haughty Melodic, but a fuller sound with some interesting percussion and clear, crisp production. This album seems a little more melancholy than usual, but no less enjoyable as a result. Not outright sad, but a somber mood certainly seems to power songs likes the gentle “Russell,” the lovely duet with Rosanne Cash, “Holiday (What Do You Want?),” and even upbeat numbers like “Na Na Nothing” and “Strike The Motion.” The overall effect is a very cohesive set of songs and a fine listen. Mike Doughty with Rosanne Cash, “Holiday (What Do You Want?)” Kittie, I’ve Failed You Kittie has had an interesting career trajectory. When they hit the scene at the height of the nu metal craze, I think their gender and age propelled them to greater infamy than they otherwise would’ve had. A quartet of teenage girls playing heavy music? Whether they wanted to be or not, they were a novelty act. And the music, with its simple nu metal riffs, basic drumming and rather humorous “growling” vocals... “quaint” is a word. So it was pretty shocking when their second album was a ferocious death metal-esque assault. Morgan’s vocals were suddenly vicious and reminiscent of Zao, the musicianship was markedly improved, their songs were dark and brutal... it was like a totally different group. As the nu metal thing faded away, Kittie pressed on, refining their sound, trying new things, seeming to change members every year or two. By their 4th album, they were adding a sort of classicist metal sound, with really catchy riffs and solos and Morgan singing clean vocals much more often, but still retaining the extreme metal sound they’d become known for. But 5th album In The Black seemed like they weren’t sure what to be anymore. The classicist element was still present, but they seemed less excited by it, it and the record still seesawed between that approach and the more brutal sound, and the whole affair just felt lost. Album number six finds them evolving yet again. Some unique new guitar sounds are accompanied by Morgan not just returning to more shouted vocals, but sounding harsher than ever. Easily their most aggressive album to date, it’s also their most cohesive album in years and their most ambitious, with more complex songwriting, more personal lyrical content, and a two-part mini-epic in the middle. Once again, they’ve taken me by surprise, and I’m pretty happy about it. Kittie, “We Are The Lamb” Yup. --D