05/07 – 05/11:

End of the line, folks. With the conclusion of Comics From Space! comes the conclusion of this blog. I guess. I’d like to find another use for it, but it definitely won’t be a soundtrack anymore. Knowing this was coming, I decided to put on some of my favorites to close things down in style. And since this last week has extra-huge comics, well... it’s a long list. Let’s get to it.

Ramones, Ramones

There are works of art out there that depend on context. You have to put yourself in the mindset of the contemporary audience to fully appreciate its impact and cultural relevance and stuff. And then there’s work that just connects. Ramones might seem a little basic compared to the long, increasingly repetitive punk tradition it inspired, but all the elements that made it exciting in the 70s make it exciting today: High energy, fast pace, bizarre, humorous lyrics, and an inexplicable mix of positive attitude and aggressive music, of some pretty crazy imagery and catchy tunes. Its simple appeal hasn’t changed a bit.

Ramones, “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement”

Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Trust

After a whirlwind of experimentation in his early career, Elvis Costello’s Trust almost feels like a career retrospective that happens to be made up of new songs. It’s got fast songs, slow songs, political songs, love songs, rock songs, pop songs, r&b songs and country songs. It’s got the whip-smart lyricism, inventive drumming and toe-tapping rhythms that are a hallmark of the early Elvis Costello & The Attractions albums. It’s got a little bit of everything. As a result, it’s the Costello album I revisit the most.

Elvis Costello & The Attractions, “Club Land”

Clutch, Clutch

It’s kind of weird to think this was the Clutch album for a long time. Their 2nd album and 4th release overall, it’s where their sound really seemed to coalesce, where the band that used to play metal with a surprisingly funky rhythm section really became that sound that is unmistakably Clutch. It was where Neil really established himself as a top-notch storyteller, where JP’s drumming and Dan’s bass and Tim’s guitar heroics fully meshed into a sound as likely to inspire dancing as a mosh pit. I hate the term “stoner rock,” but this was where they truly began to fit into that sort of subgenre... as much as they’ve ever fit in anywhere... making the groovy-but-heavy music that would become their trademark. It’s got classic after classic, indispensable entries in their catalog. And yet... I think the renaissance they experienced in the mid-2000s has become the real hallmark of their work. Robot Hive/Exodus is probably the defining Clutch album in the 21st century, the point at which the long-hinted-at blues influence came to the fore and brought a whole new energy to the band. But back in the 90s and even the earliest years of the 2000s, Clutch was unbeatable.

Clutch, “I Have The Body of John Wilkes Booth”

Opeth, Watershed

It's a very different band playing on this album than previous album Ghost Reveries. Line-up changes had been somewhat common in the beginning of the band's fifteen-or-so year history, but from 1997 to 2005 the line-up had been pretty solid. Singer/guitarist/songwriter Mikael Akerfeldt and guitarist Peter Lindgren had been there since the beginning, joined by bassist Martin Mendez and drummer Martin Lopez beginning with their 3rd album, My Arms, Your Hearse. But in 2006, Lopez had to abruptly leave the band for medical reasons, and new drummer Martin Axenrot (who swooped in to save the day on the tour Lopez was forced to abandon) had barely been accepted as a full-time member when Lindgren decided to leave. Adding recently down-sized Arch Enemy guitarist Fredrik Akesson to the line-up with long-time bassist Martin Mendez and keyboard player Per Weiberg (who joined then band in 2005), Akerfeldt found himself fronting a remarkably different group all of a sudden when he began writing for Watershed, the band's 9th album, a defining moment for the band.

Akerfeldt knew the strengths of his new players from being a fan of their previous work, and wrote to suit them, including incredible soaring guitar solos and songs in which the drumming could reach even more frenetic and intense heights than ever before. But he also took Watershed as an opportunity to work more musical styles and textures he loves into the Opeth repertoire. Opeth's albums have traditionally been intriguing mixes of traditional death metal and a kind of baroque classical composition, often blended together in the same song, but here, those styles are joined by everything from jazz fusion to blues to piano ballads, and even Mikael's unabashed love of the Scorpions in the form of some pretty ludicrous guitar work here and there. This is the sound of a band that's made a career out of pushing themselves in new directions pushing harder than ever. And what you get from that is a flawless, engrossing album.

Opeth, “The Lotus Eater”

Prince, Purple Rain

This album has almost become cliche, really. I associate it with so many other things, at this point. But if you give it your full attention, it will remind you of why it’s so common that it’s almost a punchline. Especially for a guy like Prince, who hasn’t exactly been known for his restraint of over the years, it’s a quick, near-perfect blast of good times. Even the hyper-serious, melodramatic stuff like “When Doves Cry” and the title song... whether that’s experience rather than the song again or not, it’s just fun to listen to. And the songs that were obviously meant to be fun are (to use another word you associate with Prince) positively delirious. From that ridiculous intro to the last notes of that guitar solo that was a rare reminder for the time that Prince is a lot more than a hypnotic voice and flamboyant costume, it’s just tough to beat.

Prince, “Purple Rain”

Electric Six, Fire

E6 has come to be one of my all-time favorite bands. Funny music is, I think, not as tricky as people make it out to be. It’s just that people don’t approach it properly. A gimmick or novelty song is only as good as the joke is fresh. You got maybe 5 listens before it loses its appeal. Electric Six are one of the rare entities that combine funny lyrics with songs that are actually great, and that is the key to giving the songs a long shelf life. You could take so many of Electric Six’s songs, give them serious new lyrics and make less-silly people love them. Sure, the ludicrous lyrics of “Naked Pictures of Your Mother” or “I’m The Bomb” will never be as funny as they were the first time you heard them, but the songs themselves still groove like mad.

Fire is the entry point for me (and most fans not in the Detroit area, I assume). I was completely unprepared for “Gay Bar” and “Danger! High Voltage.” I heard the former in a silly animation in the early days of internet memes, not too long after the album had been released, and within moments I’d investigated who those guys were and what they sounded like and where I could get more. And like I said, it may not make me laugh out loud anymore, but it’s still a great time to listen to.

Electric Six, “Naked Pictures (Of Your Mother)”

Ballzack, Yeah Indeed

Speaking of funny music that isn’t a joke, here’s Ballzack. Ballzack is a New Orleans rapper and former comedian who has been making funny rap music that’s actually good for years. While his first album had a sort of “alternative rap” feel and his 2nd was really out there and experimental, on this, his 3rd album, he combines his humor with his love of New Orleans’ own hip hop subgenre, bounce. The intentional goofiness of songs about his friend Eric calling a ferret a “Limousine mouse” or building a robot is fused to the handclap samples, call and response segments and chants of bounce to make a record to satisfy comedy fans and bounce fans alike. Like I said with Electric Six, the jokes may not have the punch they had in 2008, but they’re as fun to listen to as ever.

Ballzack, “A Rainbow In Marrero”

Andrew WK, Close Calls With Brick Walls

And I guess that gives Mr. Andrew Wilkes-Krier the dubious honor of being the last guy I talk about in one of these posts. Who really knows what’s going on with Andrew WK? His only DVD release to date is even called Who Knows? Is he a dead serious party metal ambassador of good times and believing in yourself? Is he the fictional character some truly bizarre internet conspiracy theories would have you believe? Is he, along with Lady Gaga, a living brainwashing machine deployed by the Illuminati to distract you from their master plan that even weirder conspiracy theories claim? (The internet, everybody!) I dunno. I know that this album was an amazing left turn, though. After the breakneck party metal goofiness of I Get Wet and the slightly more grandiose music and self-help-style lyrics of The Wolf, WK blasted off into a dozen new directions at once with CCWBW. Initially released in Japan and South Korea only, this album finds him experimenting with a new style of music on almost every track. The raspy shout of the previous two albums is replaced with actual singing. The songs are more ludicrous than ever, but the spirit of adventure found in them is powerful. Friends of mine who couldn’t stand Andrew WK before this were forced to admit this stuff was pretty fun upon hearing it. Only one song, “Not Going to Bed,” bears any strong resemblance to the speed metal dance offs of the past. Instead, CCWBW features nutty ballads (“I Came For You,” “Hand On The Place”), a scuzzed up weird-a-thon about the dangers of drug dealing (“Pushing Drugs”), a fizzy rave up dedicated to Las Vegas, a baffling instrumental interlude (“Dr. Dumond”), a slow burning directionless meditation on... something... (“Mark My Grace”), songs that defy any kind of category (“Close Calls With Bal Harbour,” “Golden-Eyed Dog”), and one song admonishing you never to call him “Andy” or even “Ann,” among others. It’s a tour de force, with a new surprise around every corner. It’s utterly insane and I love it.

Andrew WK, “Pushing Drugs”

And with that, dear friends, we’ve reached the end of our journey. Maybe I’ll find that new use for this blog, I dunno. Stay tuned!

There ya go.

--D

04/30 – 05/04:

Electric Six, Heartbeats & Brainwaves

The release of a new Electric Six album is cause for celebration. It is, in fact, the soundtrack to its own celebration. Heartbeats & Brainwaves is a more synth-driven album, taking the dance rock we’ve come to depend on and turning down the “rock” part a little. The result is more akin to 2nd album Senior Smoke than most of their catalog: glorious, bombastic, even catchier than usual. And lyrically, Dick Valentine really brought it this time, delivering some of the Six’s more absurd, delightful songs to date in songs like “Gridlock!,” “It Gets Hot,” and “Food Dog.” Electric Six songs that get really excited about mundane events tend to be homeruns, and “Free Samples” is no exception. It’s about getting free samples. Even moody opener “Psychic Visions” offers plenty of fun. The whole album is a great time from start to finish. The first three Electric Six albums are far and away the best, and a big part of that for me is they all sound different. The first is really rock oriented, the second more dance-based, and the third stretched out and tried some new genres. After that, until last year’s Zodiac, they’d mostly settled into a reliable, Fire-esque, dance rock sound. But Zodiac began and Heartbeats & Brainwaves continues a new era of experimentation, and I am all for it. Electric Six are on top of their game right now.

Electric Six, “It Gets Hot”

Screaming Females, Ugly

Screaming Females are an interesting band. Album after album, they don’t do much to change their style, but they seem to refine and get closer to the heart of that style every time. Each album features tighter playing, more guitar solos, a more confident and elastic vocal approach, and just plain better songs than the last. Their catalog just gets exponentially better as you listen through it, and it starts out pretty strong in the first place. Ugly mostly keeps up the trend, although there are a couple of spots with the most experimentation we’ve heard from the band, most obviously closing ballad “It’s Nice.” That song’s fragile strings and focus on the calmer, more vulnernable end of singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster’s wonderfully pliable voice is definitely new territory for the band. But for the most part, it’s the no frills, super-fun rock’n’roll you’ve come to expect, only even better than you remember it. Whether light speed attacks like “Tell Me No” or quasi-title track “Something Ugly,” the poppier approach of “Rotten Apple,” the more subdued menace of “Red Hand” or the booming swagger of “Expire” and the oddly hypnotic 7:30 minute epic “Doom 84,” it’s everything you love about the band, but it still manages to sound fresh and exciting. That’s quite a tightrope, but they pull it off every time.

Screaming Females, “Expire”

Big Baby Gandhi, No 1 2 Look Up 2 mixtape

Big Baby Gandhi is the protege of Das Racist’s Heems, and I think he was the first person signed to Heems’ Greedhead label. Gandhi had provided beats and guest verses for DR, and this is his 2nd mixtape on his own. Already he’s showing some growth. His last tape had great production, and his lyricism could be clever, but his delivery was basically just an album-length shrill yell. Gandhi still gets pretty heated most of the time when he’s rapping, but his voice doesn’t get so high, and that might not sound like a big change, but it is. He sounds a lot more controlled and focused here. The production is wide-ranging and versatile. Most of it is provided by others, which is surprising since Gandhi is a talented beatmaker. Guest appearances from the usual suspects of the Greedhead umbrella are present (With Lakutis in particular coming in with a memorable moment). It’s a solid showing, but I think Gandhi’s best material is still ahead of him. You can download the record here.

Big Baby Gandhi with Das Racist, “Blue Magic”

First Serve, First Serve

First Serve is a concept album. Pretty rare in hip hop. It’s more than that, really, it’s like a rapped musical. It’s been compared to Prince Paul’s A Prince Among Thieves in that respect. De La Soul’s Plug One And Plug Two, Posdnous and Dave, play two young rappers on their way to success, and we witness what happens when they find it, and what it does to their friendship. It’s a lively story, maybe not the most original plot line, but well realized. And most importantly, though the record does a great job of telling a story, the songs never suffer from being a part of a larger piece. Very few guest stars provide voices along the way. It’s mostly just Pos & Dave, rapping over production by French DJs Chokolate & Khalid. It’s a fun listen.

First Serve, “Must B The Music”

Lushlife, Plateau Vision

I listen to a lot of music, you may have noticed. And I have this thing... it doesn’t happen too often, but once in awhile... I will listen to a record I’ve had for some time and realize I like it a lot more than I thought I did. It’s hard to articulate, but there comes a moment where I think, “Man, this is really great!” even after many listens. A grower, I guess. Such was the case with Lushlife’s 2011 mixtape, No More Golden Days. It might’ve taken awhile to to go from “good” to “great” in my head, but once it did, I was very impatient for the release of his first proper album, Plateau Vision.

Now it’s here, and... I have mixed feelings. Its 11-track running time features 3 songs I haven’t heard in some form already. Three other tracks are transported as-is from the mixtape. And the remaining 5 songs are all either a beat from the mixtape with new vocals, or vocals from the mixtape with new production, or some other reconfiguration. Even Heems’ guest verse, the appearance of which is what put No More Golden Days on my radar to begin with, is reused (in a truncated form). One song from the mixtape actually appears on Plateau Vision twice, in 2 different configurations. In spite of the release schedule, he material here seems to have come first. Except when it obviously didn’t. “Still I Hear The Word Progress,” for example, features a guest verse from Styles P, but the remixed version featured on last year’s mixtape had a recurring vocal sample that turns out to have come from Styles P’s verse. This is most definitely the “real” version, but when you hear it months and months after the remix... which one is the real version to you? And, on the other hand, there’s the Heems verse. On the mixtape, he appeared on “Adult Goth,” a song based on samples of the Gang Gang Dance song of the same name, something Heems notes in his first line. Here, he’s on a song called “Halle-Bopp Was the Bedouins,” with the reference to Gang Gang Dance excised, and a Lushlife verse from a different song on the mixtape added. The history of these songs seems pretty confusing.

It’s hard for me to render judgement on this thing. The new songs are great. The new production is top-notch. But... the old production and old lyrics and old vocals are good, too, and I know them all-too well. It’s hard to get excited about an album with so few surprises on it. But... it’s a really good album. It’s sort of like this: If you’ve never heard No More Golden Days, you’d love this album. If you have heard No More Golden Days, you will... appreciate this. I don’t regret buying it or anything... No More Golden Days is amazing and it was free, I’d gladly pay for this even if I didn’t like it just out of gratitude, and this does have some new stuff... but ironically, this feels more like a collection of remixes & outtakes, which is what the mixtape was meant to be. Frustrating. Or really good. It depends on you.

Lushlife, “Magnolia”

There you go.

--D

04/23 – 04/27:

Meshuggah, Koloss

Since last we heard from Meshuggah, a whole thing has sprung up trying to turn them into a genre called “djent.” It’s really dumb. The perfectly synced stop-start guitars & drums and palm mutes that Meshuggah favors these days sound cool, sure, but it’s hardly enough to build a genre out of. And, on the other hand, most of the bands don’t actually sound like Meshuggah, they just have songs with parts that sound like Meshuggah, which makes the whole thing even flimsier.

But Meshuggah have changed a lot over the years, themselves, and the band that currently sounds like a factory designed to produce flawless heavy metal is back, making it clear that there’s only one band in their genre. Koloss is definitely of a piece with previous album obZen, maintaining its unrelenting assault, but adding a surprising amount of groove. It doesn’t have anything as fast as “Combustion” or “Bleed” from that album (Though “The Demon’s Name Is Surveillance” and “The Hurt That Finds you First” will still get your blood pumping), but I think it has a greater coherence from front to back. Like obZen, Koloss might seem simpler than past efforts at first, but while the increasingly weird experimentation of their 2000s work is mostly gone, it’s replaced with songs where the trick isn’t necessarily inventing a new way to play so much as making more familiar song forms fit that strange Meshuggah sound. The jagged guitar parts and odd pattern of the drums on “Marrow,” “Break Those Bones Whose Sinew Gave It Motion” or “Swarm” recall the Meshuggah of the 90s, but never simply return to the style they played at the time. The aforementioned new focus on groove is an interesting experiment itself. “Do Not Look Down” has a groove bordering on funky, even, yet still sounds like Meshuggah. The 6-minute “Demiurge” adds spooky atmospherics to the mix, while instrumental closer “The Last Vigil” lives up to its name, a surprisingly quiet, reflective piece more about atmosphere than song. There are so many new sounds to take in. The band continues to find new ways to expand on their sound, to find new layers and paths within it, without ever really changing it. It’s a difficult balancing act, but they pull it off. Accept no substitutes.

Meshuggah, “Do Not Look Down”

Paul Weller, Sonik Kicks

In recent years, Paul Weller has alternated between more straightforward rock records and more experimental albums. Previous offering Wake Up The Nation was a rocking call to action, but its predecessor, 22 Dreams, was almost a different style of music for every track, and it was preceded by his first rock album in several years, As Is Now. so that puts Sonik Kicks on track to be a bit more loose and experimental, and lo, it is. While it has straight up rockers like “Kling I Klang!,” and”Around The Lake,” most of its running time is made up of tracks with a little bit more spirit of adventure. Electronics find their way into his music for the first time of significance since the latter days of The Style Council, he experiments with dance rock and dub, there’s a Middle Eastern flavor to “Driftiers,” and there are a few ballads in a classic Weller mode. But while the stylistic variety of 22 Dreams gave it an unwieldy sprawl that was hard to appreciate all together, Sonik Kicks is remarkably focused for all its flights of fancy. This complete feeling is helped along by some songs that flow into each other or odd little interludes. It doesn’t take much, but it makes a big difference, as the album is so much more fluid and a really enjoyable listen from start to finish. Weller has experienced something of a Renaissance in the 2000s (the 3rd?... 4th?... of his career, even), and Sonik Kicks may be the best album of this period.

Paul Weller, “Drifters”

Sharon Van Etten, Tramp

Sharon Van Etten’s apparently been doing it for years, but I am just getting on the bandwagon here. Seems like a pretty good place to climb aboard. This album’s thoughtful, vulnerable tone is almost hypnotic, reeling you in deeper with each subsequent song. It reminds me in places of PJ Harvey, post-new wave 80s “alternative,” folksy singer-songwriter fare and more as it unwinds its running time, but it manages to shift very subtly from song to song and sound to sound, creating a true album experience in a music world where that’s becoming a lost art. The introspective, forlorn “Give Out” makes way for the album’s only real rocker in “Serpents,” which is in turn followed by the stripped down ballad “Kevin’s,” but it all feels of a piece and unified. It’s a great record.

Sharon Van Etten, “Give Out”

There you go.

--D

04/16 – 04/20:

Boy Crisis, Tulipomania

Once upon a time, the future Kool AD of Das Racist almost made his way into the mainstream music biz as the singer for a dance-rock band called Boy Crisis. Founded at the same art college where he met his Das Racist co-conspirator Heems, Boy Crisis has the sound of a band like, say, Franz Ferdinand, but even then, Victor’s lyrics were humorous and unique, and really make the group stand out. Their record deal never quite worked out, and Victor ended up being a rapper, but for awhile there, things were looking very different for him.

Boy Crisis, “The Fountain of Youth”

The Dead Weather, Horehound

This album sounds like a bunch of friends playing music for fun. In the best way possible. That those friends happen to be from  lot of famous bands isn’t really the important thing, though it was certainly what got the band its hype. Its sloppy, fuzzed out, swaggering, blues-drenched romps hit me right between the eyes. It’s not revolutionary, it’s not cutting edge, it’s just a great time. It’s got more attitude and visceral appeal than any of the bands its members hail from, frankly. I never noticed... never even considered... how risque Bob Dylan’s “New Pony” was until I heard Allison Mossheart sing it. It’s one of the most fun albums I’ve heard in years.

The Dead Weather, “Treat Me Like Your Mother”

Mastodon, Leviathan

Mastodon’s second album is, I gather, many fans’ favorite. But for whatever reason, it’s never been mine. Opener “Blood & Thunder” is undeniably one of the very best Mastodon songs ever made. It’s on the strength of that song that I always put it on. “That song is awesome, surely I’ll want to hear this.” But somewhere in its running time, my attention always seems to wander off. Even the instrumental noodling that tended to crop up on their proper debut, Remission, never failed to keep me engaged. I can’t really explain it. I offer no defense, Mastodon fans, feel free to hate on me. I like it ok, but it’s just not as visceral as Remission or as experimental as Blood Mountain.

Mastodon, “Blood & Thunder”

God Forbid, Equilibrium

God Forbid’s 6th album is sort of a new start for the band. Founder Dallas Coyle left, replaced by Matt Wicklund from Himsa. Matt brings some new ideas to the group, and the result is an album that still sounds very much like God Forbid, but tries some new things, too. Fickle people cried foul, and worse “djent,” over album opener “Don’t Tell Me What To Dream.” Claims to “djentness” are exaggerated, but it does represent the first of many new approaches on the album. Dallas taking his half of the clean vocal harmonies he created with his brother, Doc, out of the mix is noted, but not only does Doc still provide clean vocals, traditionally growling frontman Byron Davis adds some clean vocals to his repertoire, as well. He hasn’t abandoned his more aggressive style, just switched it up some, and the results are a big success. The most striking departure on the album, which seems to have gotten oddly little press, is its overwhelming positivity and spirituality. Far from being Christian metal or anything, Equilibrium nevertheless does add some words of encouragement and references to a higher power that may surprise people. God Forbid has never sounded stale, has never made an album that wasn’t worthy of their legacy, but even so, they sound revitalized on Equilibrium.

God Forbid, “Where We Come From”

There you go.

--D

04/09 – 04/13:

Veil of Maya, Eclipse

I wasn’t too keen on the last album by this band, [id]. It mostly seemed like a retread of 2nd album The Common Man’s Collapse. The songs sounded really same-y and familiar, and while it had a few nice moments, I was worried that I was done with this group. Eclipse, then, is a welcome surprise, expanding on their strengths, showing positive growth, and really destroying everything in its path. It’s an all-out assault on the senses for 28 brief minutes, but that’s not all it is. These songs find the band really upping their songwriting game, exploring more coherent compositions without compromising anything that made their sound their own. They’ve infused their work with a little more melody this time out, especially in the instrumental title track, but the unbelievable guitar pyrotechnics and seemingly impossible drumming are still in full effect. The most amusing moment comes near the end of “Punisher,” where a sample of a youtube user making fun of Periphery’s guitar sound is answered by Veil of Maya playing his impression of them. With Periphery’s Misha Mansoor at the boards producing, that’s even more humorous. Eclipse was a welcome surprise, and has become one of my most-listened albums in the intervening weeks.

Veil of Maya, “Punisher”

Every Time I Die, Ex-Lives

In the realm of aggressive music, it’s pretty well understood that most bands are either going to call it quits or mellow out, often pretty fast. I don’t blame them, either. Playing intense, crazy music to people going completely insane every night, the singer screaming himself hoarse... that just can’t go on forever (Unless you’re Slayer). So Every Time I Die is an interesting anomaly, indeed, as they seem to be getting only more extreme with age. A few years ago, 4th album The Big Dirty seemed to hint at a blueprint for the band’s mellowing future: leaning more heavily on the more Southern Rock aspects of their sound, with singer Keith Buckley relying more on clean vocals. It would’ve been a natural transition to continue making good, but different music.

Instead, 2009’s New Junk Aesthetic found them roaring back with renewed intensity, and now Ex-Lives takes them to dizzying new heights of speed and aggression. Ex-Lives is the most uncompromising explosion of aggression they’ve ever issued by far. New drummer Legs Leger’s first time recording with the band is a revelation, and seems to have energized the band completely, and the return of longtime bassist Steve Miccichie to join stalwart guitarists Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams is welcome.

A signature element of ETID’s popularity has been Keith’s unique, literate, often hilarious lyrics. The lyric sheet for this record are an honest, personal response to feelings of isolation and sadness while on tour with his side project, supergroup The Damned Things. As a result, there’s not a whole lot of laughs this time, and the darkened feel of the lyrics compliments the brutal music. But it’s not all just an abusive wall of sound. One of the album’s darkest hours comes in the relatively radio friendly “Revival Sickness.” A lively banjo lead creates a memorable moment, and closer “Indian Giver” has an atmospheric approach that is new territory for the band. Ratcheting up the intensity hasn’t stopped them from finding new ways to play. And the results are maybe the best album Every Time I Die has ever made.

Every Time I Die, “Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space”

Ava Luna, Ice Level

A few months ago I talked about Ava Luna’s disappointing 2nd EP and said I hoped this album would right their course. Oh boy, did it. The more seductive, groovy sound of their first EP returns, but tempered with some of the complexity they were trying for on 3rd Avenue Island. Ice Level gives the female vocalists more of the spotlight while combining some pretty undeniable, complicated drum patterns, a little more noise and a lot of soul into an album that flies by and fairly cries out for a replay. For my money, the back-to-back power of the slow burning “Stages,” the super funky “Wrenning Day,” and the infinitely catchy “Sequential Holdings” make up the albums backbone, but there’s not a bad song on the all-too-brief set.

Ava Luna, “Wrenning Day”

 

Skatalites, Ball of Fire

Skatalites may not be a household name, but they should be. With a membership made of many musicians who had been influential in Jamaica separately, The Skatalites were one of the earliest ska groups in the late 50s and early 60s, and played on records that helped popularize reggae outside of Jamaica. Their reach is substantial, but somehow fame never came with it. A big part of this is they often weren’t billed as a group, but simply served as the backing band for a single performer, often one of their own ranks. As The Skatalites, they released comparatively little material, making collecting their early work pretty challening. But famous or not, their influence has endured, and the rather inexplicable ska/punk revival of the 90s brought them attention from a whole new generation. Mine, as it turns out. For some one who really got into “ska” with the 3rd wave, which amounts to little more than punk rock bands with horns, being introduced to The Skatalites was a real eye opener. I fell in love instantly, and it was this record that did the job. By the time of its recording, most original members (Or even 2nd generation members) had retired or died, but the band just kept recruiting top musicians and recording and touring.

Ball of Fire finds the band reworking many of their early classics (And the James Bond theme) into the instrumental, improvisational style that has become their trademark, so it serves as a sort of greatest hits, but not. Some of the songs are altered so considerably that the work really stands on its own. It’s impossible to ignore. The music will get you moving whether you like it or not. And I like it a lot.

Skatalites, “Latin Goes Ska”

Sharon Van Etten, Tramp

Sharon Van Etten’s apparently been doing it for years, but I am just getting on the bandwagon here. Seems like a pretty good place to climb aboard. This album’s thoughtful, vulnerable tone is almost hypnotic, reeling you in deeper with each subsequent song. It reminds me in places of PJ Harvey, post-new wave 80s “alternative,” folksy singer-songwriter fare and more as it unwinds its running time, but it manages to shift very subtly from song to song and sound to sound, creating a true album experience in a music world where that’s becoming a lost art. The introspective, forlorn “Give Out” makes way for the album’s only real rocker in “Serpents,” which is in turn followed by the stripped down ballad “Kevin’s,” but it all feels of a piece and unified. It’s a great record.

Sharon Van Etten, “Give Out”

There you go.

--D

04/02 – 04/06:

Every Time I Die, Ex-Lives

In the realm of aggressive music, it’s pretty well understood that most bands are either going to call it quits or mellow out, often pretty fast. I don’t blame them, either. Playing intense, crazy music to people going completely insane every night, the singer screaming himself hoarse... that just can’t go on forever (Unless you’re Slayer). So Every Time I Die is an interesting anomaly, indeed, as they seem to be getting only more extreme with age. A few years ago, 4th album The Big Dirty seemed to hint at a blueprint for the band’s mellowing future: leaning more heavily on the more Southern Rock aspects of their sound, with singer Keith Buckley relying more on clean vocals. It would’ve been a natural transition to continue making good, but different music.

Instead, 2009’s New Junk Aesthetic found them roaring back with renewed intensity, and now Ex-Lives takes them to dizzying new heights of speed and aggression. Ex-Lives is the most uncompromising explosion of aggression they’ve ever issued by far. New drummer Legs Leger’s first time recording with the band is a revelation, and seems to have energized the band completely, and the return of longtime bassist Steve Miccichie to join stalwart guitarists Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams is welcome.

A signature element of ETID’s popularity has been Keith’s unique, literate, often hilarious lyrics. The lyric sheet for this record are an honest, personal response to feelings of isolation and sadness while on tour with his side project, supergroup The Damned Things. As a result, there’s not a whole lot of laughs this time, and the darkened feel of the lyrics compliments the brutal music. But it’s not all just an abusive wall of sound. One of the album’s darkest hours comes in the relatively radio friendly “Revival Sickness.” A lively banjo lead creates a memorable moment, and closer “Indian Giver” has an atmospheric approach that is new territory for the band. Ratcheting up the intensity hasn’t stopped them from finding new ways to play. And the results are maybe the best album Every Time I Die has ever made.

Every Time I Die, “Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space”

Ava Luna, Ice Level

A few months ago I talked about Ava Luna’s disappointing 2nd EP and said I hoped this album would right their course. Oh boy, did it. The more seductive, groovy sound of their first EP returns, but tempered with some of the complexity they were trying for on 3rd Avenue Island. Ice Level gives the female vocalists more of the spotlight while combining some pretty undeniable, complicated drum patterns, a little more noise and a lot of soul into an album that flies by and fairly cries out for a replay. For my money, the back-to-back power of the slow burning “Stages,” the super funky “Wrenning Day,” and the infinitely catchy “Sequential Holdings” make up the albums backbone, but there’s not a bad song on the all-too-brief set.

Ava Luna, “Wrenning Day”

Now, Now, Threads

It’s been awhile since Now, Now Every Children’s first full-length, Cars. Since then, they’ve had record label woes, dropped half their band name, gotten signed by Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla, and released a tantalizing EP called Neighbors. And Threads makes good on the promises of that EP. The band’s sound is fuller now than before the name change, more polished and refined, but the dream-like atmosphere and ambiguous lyrics that allow you to get lost in their songs, coupled with occasional exhilarating bursts of speed, the factors that made me a fan, are still firmly in place. Now, Now has really stepped up their game in the last couple of years, and I’m really pleased to hear the results.

Now, Now, “Thread”

Big KRIT, 4evaNaday mixtape

Prolific, difficult-to-categorize Mississippi rapper Big KRIT’s latest free mixtape is, as usual, filled with the kind of high quality material other rappers would save for a retail album. KRIT presents a level of diversity in terms of sound and subject matter pretty much rivaled by no one, especially in the South. The album begins with a few somber, introspective songs about struggle and loss before transitioning into more upbeat fare. There’s something for everyone here. You want real emotion in your hip hop? Done. You want just fun, high energy songs you can play at a party? Done. You want old school songs? Done. You want songs that revel in the now? Done. You want conscious rap? Done. You want sex rap? Done. And all of this for free. You really can’t go wrong. Get it here.

Big KRIT, “1986”

There you go.

--D

03/26 – 03/30:

Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Area 52

At first, I was going to skip this. It doesn’t have any new songs on it. But then I listened to samples on Amazon, and wow, did my opinion change. Herein we find mind-blowing guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela teamed up with a 13-piece Cuban orchestra, reworking songs from their previous albums to take advantage of the expanded sound, and the results are spectacular. Some songs retain their original sound and flavor, just enhanced with horns, keys, and percussion. Others are so dramatically different they might as well be new compositions. Rodrigo’s impossible soloing goes electric here, which is exciting. If I have a complaint, it’s that Gabriela’s percussive technique is rendered unnecessary by the expanded group. Her deft use of the guitar’s body for percussion as much as the strings gives their usual work much of its character, but here her rapping on the guitar is replaced by drums, congas, all sorts of percussion options. Nevertheless, the intricate guitar work of both players is still center stage in these new takes, and they are a wonder to behold.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela with CUBA, “Tamacun”

Now, Now, Threads

It’s been awhile since Now, Now Every Children’s first full-length, Cars. Since then, they’ve had record label woes, dropped half their band name, gotten signed by Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla, and released a tantalizing EP called Neighbors. And Threads makes good on the promises of that EP. The band’s sound is fuller now than before the name change, more polished and refined, but the dream-like atmosphere and ambiguous lyrics that allow you to get lost in their songs, coupled with occasional exhilarating bursts of speed, the factors that made me a fan, are still firmly in place. Now, Now has really stepped up their game in the last couple of years, and I’m really pleased to hear the results.

Now, Now, “Thread”

Every Time I Die, Ex-Lives

In the realm of aggressive music, it’s pretty well understood that most bands are either going to call it quits or mellow out, often pretty fast. I don’t blame them, either. Playing intense, crazy music to people going completely insane every night, the singer screaming himself hoarse... that just can’t go on forever (Unless you’re Slayer). So Every Time I Die is an interesting anomaly, indeed, as they seem to be getting only more extreme with age. A few years ago, 4th album The Big Dirty seemed to hint at a blueprint for the band’s mellowing future: leaning more heavily on the more Southern Rock aspects of their sound, with singer Keith Buckley relying more on clean vocals. It would’ve been a natural transition to continue making good, but different music.

Instead, 2009’s New Junk Aesthetic found them roaring back with renewed intensity, and now Ex-Lives takes them to dizzying new heights of speed and aggression. Ex-Lives is the most uncompromising explosion of aggression they’ve ever issued by far. New drummer Legs Leger’s first time recording with the band is a revelation, and seems to have energized the band completely, and the return of longtime bassist Steve Miccichie to join stalwart guitarists Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams is welcome.

A signature element of ETID’s popularity has been Keith’s unique, literate, often hilarious lyrics. The lyric sheet for this record are an honest, personal response to feelings of isolation and sadness while on tour with his side project, supergroup The Damned Things. As a result, there’s not a whole lot of laughs this time, and the darkened feel of the lyrics compliments the brutal music. But it’s not all just an abusive wall of sound. One of the album’s darkest hours comes in the relatively radio friendly “Revival Sickness.” A lively banjo lead creates a memorable moment, and closer “Indian Giver” has an atmospheric approach that is new territory for the band. Ratcheting up the intensity hasn’t stopped them from finding new ways to play. And the results are maybe the best album Every Time I Die has ever made.

Every Time I Die, “Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space”

Veil of Maya, Eclipse

I wasn’t too keen on the last album by this band, [id]. It mostly seemed like a retread of 2nd album The Common Man’s Collapse. The songs sounded really same-y and familiar, and while it had a few nice moments, I was worried that I was done with this group. Eclipse, then, is a welcome surprise, expanding on their strengths, showing positive growth, and really destroying everything in its path. It’s an all-out assault on the senses for 28 brief minutes, but that’s not all it is. These songs find the band really upping their songwriting game, exploring more coherent compositions without compromising anything that made their sound their own. They’ve infused their work with a little more melody this time out, especially in the instrumental title track, but the unbelievable guitar pyrotechnics and seemingly impossible drumming are still in full effect. The most amusing moment comes near the end of “Punisher,” where a sample of a youtube user making fun of Periphery’s guitar sound is answered by Veil of Maya playing his impression of them. With Periphery’s Misha Mansoor at the boards producing, that’s even more humorous.  Eclipse was a welcome surprise, and has become one of my most-listened albums in the intervening weeks.

Veil of Maya, “Punisher”

There you go.

--D

03/19 – 03/23:

UNKLE, Psyence Fiction

Once upon a time, Mo’ Wax Records boos James Lavelle recruited DJ Shadow into his project, UNKLE, to rejuvenate it and finally put a record out. The two put together a great, moody album, akin to Shadow’s solo work at the time but a little different, and featuring a line-up of guest vocalists including Thom Yorke, Kool G. Rap, Mike D, Richard Ashcroft and more. Shadow was only in for the record, and after some touring, he was gone, and while Lavelle kept bringing the group back over the years, it was clear who the driving force on this record was. Bottom line, Psyence Fiction is a great album. Its moody soundscapes are definitely of their time, but I think it holds up just fine today. A dark, expansive piece of work, peppered with Shadow’s genius for samples and trademark flourishes, it maintains an atmosphere from one track to another, even though the songs themselves can be pretty diverse. I dust it off and take it for a spin every few months.

UNKLE, “Main Title Theme”

The National, The Virginia EP

In the wake of their finest album, Boxer, The National released this collection in conjunction with a documentary about them. The film, frankly, was a disappointment. I watched it for a movie about a band, not seemingly endless black and white footage out the window of a moving bus. But The Virginia EP, an album-length collection of outtakes, demos and live material in spite of its name, didn’t disappoint at all, and actually provided a more interesting look into the band’s songwriting process than the movie. Outtakes “You’ve Done It Again, Virginia” and “Blank Slate” are worthy additions to the band’s catalog, while the demos show a fascinating path to Boxer. Songs from that album began with familiar lyrics but dramatically different music. The “Slow Show” demo is particularly interesting, as it features both lyrics from the final song and lyrics from what became “Blank Slate.” There’s a live version of Springsteen’s “The Mansion On The Hill,” as well as a great rendition of Boxer’s “Fake Empire” and a revelatory take on their older song “About Today.” It doesn’t have the coherence of a proper album, of course, but The Virginia EP is a really strong collection of work.

The National, “Blank Slate”

Brother Ali, The Bite Marked Heart EP

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Brother Ali released this short, free collection of songs with a romantic theme. Not autobiographical (I’m assuming. The singer does get killed one of the songs, so at least not in that one), but highly engaging, these songs about going to great lengths to talk to a lovely lady, the pitfalls of fame and infatuation, and the sadness of infidelity, among other things, really cement Ali’s turn toward storytelling in his lyrics begun on Us. He really knows how to draw you in and keep you ‘til his story plays out. This free appetizer precedes a full album later this year, and I can’t wait.

Brother Ali with Aby Wolf, “Years”

Mastodon, Crack the Skye

The intensely personal, weird, unpredictable 4th album from Mastodon was a pretty polarizing moments for fans. Predecessor Blood Mountain turned their most fickle so-called fans away by being ever-so-slightly less heavy/more progressive than their older material, but this was really the breaking point. Either you were ready to follow Mastodon into a future where they focus more and more on progressive experimentation, 70s-style groove and searing guitar solos rather than pummeling you into submission, or you weren’t. I was, as it turns out. Crack The Skye completes their cycle of albums based on the elements, but it goes way beyond that. The band’s first true concept album, it details the dizzying tail of a wheelchair bound kid who learns astral projection, gets lost in time, meets a secret society, and can only be returned to his body by the sacrifice of Rasputin, the famous Russian mystic. All of which is a sort of allegory for the death of drummer Brann Dailor’s sister. It is at once absurd and touching, silly and serious. The music rises to the occasion. It may not be as heavy as previous Mastodon albums, but it provides one of their tightest singles to date in opener “Oblivion,” some truly engrossing musical soundscapes, a great guest appearance by Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, and the stunning epic “The Last Baron.” It’s a great listen.

Mastodon, “The Last Baron”

There you go.

--D

03/12 – 03/16:

White Gold, The Best I Can Give Is 2%

Once upon a time, in the far-off year of 2007, The California Milk Processor Board was looking for a new spin on the “Got Milk?” Campaign, and decided to try to create an off-beat viral sensation. So begins the tale of White Gold, a fictional rock star who was given a milk-filled guitar, his ability to rock, and his spectacular hair by “a crazy angel.” The Best I Can Give Is 2% is a 2008 EP of songs by “White Gold,” actually written and performed by Electric Six’s Dick Valentine and The Colonel. some of them were adapted into TV spots and music videos with an LA actor & musician playing the role of White Gold, but lip synching to Valentine’s vocal recordings. The songs are hilarious, some of the best material in recent Electric Six history, made even funnier because they stay on message throughout. Whether spinning wild tales about how milk can help you get women, have better hair, fall asleep and even help women with PMS, the songs are as laugh-out-loud funny as they are informative. It’s a weird, weird project, worth listening to.

White Gold, “Tame the Tiger”

Shock Cinema, Our Way Is Revenge

Shock Cinema’s full-length, Hell & Highwater, came to my attention by chance via yet another night of browsing new releases on eMusic back in 2008. It was spooky and moody and really engaging, and a quick search found their website, which featured this bio:

“Autry Fulbright, Destiny Montague, and Miyuki Furtado met at a midnight meeting of the “Universal Order of the Cinematic Mind,” a movement started in Hollywood in the 1930’s. A group of filmmakers began meeting together to discuss the immortality of film. They believed that creating motion pictures would grant them immortality in the minds of others. There are still groups that meet in various cities across the world to discuss the teachings of this organization.

After meeting at one of these events, Destiny and Autry struck up a conversation that included the German Kraut Rock group CAN, the director David Lynch, and how they influenced the coming of the end of the world in 2012. Miyuki, overhearing, agreed that they along with composer Ennio Morricone and Sergio Leone would play a large a role in the coming Apocalypse. Having recently spent time in the band The Rogers Sisters, Miyuki suggested that they apply what they had learned from those midnight meetings, along with their ideas and influences and start creating music.

The group was performing live on a fishing boat they were swallowed by a gigantic whale. But they claimed they were unafraid, as this experience was foretold by the Universal Order. They quickly began fashioning instruments from the detritus in the belly of the whale: bones became drums, sinew became guitar strings, and skulls became microphones. After playing for months in the belly of the beast, the creature spewed them out onto the shore of the East River. Their songs retell the stories of their experiences together.”

I bought it immediately. But later I went back to the EP that preceded it, Our Way Is Revenge, and have ended up liking it even more. It’s got plenty of atmosphere and style, but it’s a lot more kinetic and upbeat, and as you may have noticed, that’s my sweet spot.

The band seems to have disappeared not long after Hell & Highwater came out. That makes me sad. The downside to finding cool, lesser known bands on eMusic has been watching them disappear...

So, there’s not studio songs on youtube, so I’m going with Spotify here. I don’t like to resort to something you have to sign up for, but what can you do?

Shock Cinema, Our Way Is Revenge

Spacehog, Resident Alien

When I was in high school, “In The Meantime” was a big radio hit. I bough the record and loved it. I was the only one. All my friends hated Spacehog but one, and I didn’t find out he was into them until awhile later (Shout out to Matt!). I distinctly remember an evening, waiting for some stupid after hours school function to start, sitting in my car with Matt, listening to this album and talking about how everyone else was crazy for not liking it. Its appearance in Rock Band 3 (Where I hit it up a lot after getting the keyboard controller last year) had it on my mind, so I put it on for the first time in quite awhile. If I find myself in the mood for this band, I generally reach for the 2nd album, because it is insane. But this holds up alright. It’s a little all over the place stylistically, but in the mid-90s, most bands were. It was an odd period in music, in that respect. It’s not been often in the history of pop music that bands who were just throwing everything at the wall also had mainstream hits. Honestly, I can’t say how much of the record is good and how much of it is just fond memories, but I still like it. and my hatin’ little brother came around eventually, so that’s got to count for something (Shout out to Daniel!).

Spacehog, “In The Meantime”

Bob Dylan, Love & Theft

This one, I have a real soft spot for. It’s a rollicking good time, and the beginning of a new phase in Dylan’s career, the first one I was present for. I’d only become an obsessive Dylan fan (As mentioned in a previous entry) around the release of Time Out of Mind. This was the first album released since I was a fully-fledged follower. And it kicked off the new troubadour persona for Bob, dusting off all manner of old blues and folk songs, rearranging, rewriting and updating them, and audibly having as much fun as he’s ever had in his career. It was a shock to hear “Mississippi” for the first time, having heard the Sheryl Crow version repeatedly working in a record store several years prior. “Is... is Bob Dylan covering Sheryl Crow?” Nope, he just gave her the song and I had no idea (Years, later, 3 separate demos of “Mississippi” by Dylan from earlier recording sessions would be released on The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8). Love & Theft is a rollicking good time, full of danceable rockers and subdued ballads, brimming throughout with a playful sense of humor not really heard in his music in decades. It’s one of the greats.

I always forget it’s impossible to find Dylan stuff on youtube, too. Drat.

Bob Dylan, Love And Theft

Heems, Nerhu Jackets

Every one in Das Racist promised new mixtapes this year, and Heems is the 2nd one out of the gate with Nehru Jackets. The whole thing is produced by longtime friend Mike Finito, and was released in association with New York non-profit SEVA, whose members appear on the album rapping and singing in Punjabi. There’s also guest appearances from the usual suspects like Kool AD, Lakutis, Danny Brown, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Despot, Fat Tony, and Big Baby Ghandi. But it’s still Heems’ show, and while it might sound like he could get lost in the tide of guest stars and participants, he certainly doesn’t. He brings the ethos that has made Das Racist one of the most interesting forces in hip hop to bear here. That is, he has completely ridiculous songs like “Jason Bourne” (it’s about Jason Bourne) and “Computers” (It’s about liking computers) at one extreme, and then he has songs that are anything but ridiculous like “NYC Cops,” basically just a powerful list of atrocities committed by that police department, and “Juveniles Detained in Guantanamo Bay,” which is about what it says it is, at the other. He’s smart and silly in equal measure, and it makes for a lively listen.

Nehru Jackets is as much a showcase for Mike Finito as it is for Heems. His productions are fantastic throughout, and can be traditional boom bap or draw from some pretty surprising sources (Hip hop beats made from PJ Harvey and Kate Bush songs? Yes, please). Together, they created easily the most entertaining album I’ve heard so far this year, and they didn’t even charge for it. You can get it here.

http://sevany.com/

Heems, “Jason Bourne”

There you go.

--D

03/05 – 03/09:

Evil Cowards, Covered In Gas

Evil Cowards is a side project of Mr. Dick Valentine, singer/mastermind for Electric Six. Released in early 2008, it was better, funnier, and more engaging than the last couple Electric Six albums, and preceded their fine return to form on Zodiac by only about six months. Evil Cowards isn’t all that different from E6. More of a focus on electronic music and production, but the guitars are still there, and most importantly, the hilarious lyrics and deadpan delivery are still there. But several of these songs allow Valentine to get really weird in ways he doesn’t in his day job, and the results are fantastic. “Classon Ave. Robots” is one of my favorite songs from any project Valentine has ever been a part of, alongside “I’m Not Scared of Flying Saucers,” “You Really Like Me,” and “Love Pigs.” There’s allegedly a new Evil Cowards album coming soon, and I can’t wait.

Evil Cowards, “I’m Not Scared of Flying Saucers”

Many clips from this live show, in which they lip sync the album while doing ridiculous dance routines, are on youtube. You should watch them.

Tom Waits, Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is something of a transitional record for Tom Waits. It comes a few years before the watershed of Swordfishtrombones, the moment when the old barfly spinning gin-soaked tales in smokey backrooms gave way to the mysterious, adventurous sage and soothsayer that is modern Waits. Tonally, Blue Valentine is more of a piece with his early material, but the intrumentation has changed, and Waits’ voice is well on its way from his old, more traditional way of singing to the unmistakable, love it or hate it voice we associate with him. The record kicks off with a singular take on West Side Story’s “Somewhere” before diving into a series of richly detailed, engrossing story songs from many points of view. Especially for a collection of songs clearly between paradigms, it’s remarkable that it’s a smooth, coherent listen, not awkward at all. Just a great record.

Tom Waits, “A Sweet Little Bullet From A Pretty Blue Gun”

Doogie, Yeahbrahcadabra

Somewhere in the West Bank of New Orleans, there lives a puppet named Doogie. He’s the creation of local rappers Ballzack & Odoms, voiced by Odoms. He starred in some successful internet videos and released an EP of music, but this was his debut album. It is steeped in New Orleans hip hop traditions, with the local bounce sound dominating the production (Which is sharper than ever for a Ballzack or Odoms production), giving Doogie a lively atmosphere over which to brag about his grades in school, brag about his rap skills, tell the ladies who they need to get with, and tell a story about body-switching with his Dad. you’d never expect a record by a puppet to be this entertaining.

Doogie, “Yeahbrahcadabra”

Faith No More, Introduce Yourself

Sometimes I wonder what it was like to be a Faith No More fan when Mike Patton came aboard. There’s no argument that Patton is a far more exciting and accomplished vocalist than the departing Chuck Mosley, but at the same time, he was what Faith No More vocals were supposed to sound like for two whole records. Like a lot of people, I guess, I’d heard “We Care A Lot” and thought it was funny, but didn’t really pay much attention to the band until “Epic.” But I bet there’s people out there that really resent the addition of Patton. Maybe swore off the band over it. And that’s hilarious. Nevertheless, Introduce Yourself is a pretty great record. Chuck Mosely doesn’t exactly have a a lot of range, but he’s an entertaining front man, and this, the 2nd Faith No More album (Mosley’s last) has the sound and production quality fully in place for the coming of the band’s more lasting legacy. A superior version of “We Care A Lot” is here, but there’s plenty of other songs that are worthy parts of the overall Faith No More legacy, too. I am a big fan of the title track.

Faith No More, “Introduce Yourself”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgAB7Gd0ENg

There you go.

--D

02/27 – 03/02:

02/27 – 03/02:

Desk Ark, Don't Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker!

A very interesting record. A study in contrast and contradiction. Emotionally gripping. Pretty much tailor made for my ears. Des Ark put funny titles on serious music. They play fragile, haunting melodies that give way to raucous rock music and then recede again, like a wave. The vocals seem intentionally obscured much of the time, delivering extremely personal stories in a hushed whisper or buried in the mix, which only make the frequent huge choruses and chants that more powerful, while making the listener turn it up and play the record again immediately. The whole album must be taken together, with recurring themes both musical and lyrical and the end of one song blurring into the beginning of another. This is a record that really engages you.

Des Ark, “Bonne Chance, Asshole”

De La Soul, De La Soul Is Dead

De La Soul’s second album was an odd choice on their part. Also, one of the finest hip hop albums of the era. But on this record, they seemed to mock and refute the “Daisy Age” peace and love mentality they turned into a brief phenomenon with their debut, 3 Feet High & Rising. This album is framed by a series of skits where some kids find the album itself in the trash, and then some bullies make them play it, hating it. The cover of the album is a knocked over flower pot full of daisies. It would seem a shocking about face for any group. The songs themselves seem to take the stance that everything they were talking about on the first album is played out, maybe overreacting to criticism of its sort of neo hippie mentality. But the album they replaced the Daisy Age with is at least as engaging, a sprawling, experimental record with some of the silliest songs they would ever record, some of the most serious songs they would ever record, and everything in between. Prince Paul keeps the production as diverse and unpredictable as the group’s ambitions, and they get in one of the last great sampled hip hop albums before the law caught up with the genre. From serious topics like sexual abuse and drug addiction to ridiculous nonsense dissing house music and overeager up and comers to a weird little play about relationships set in a Burger King to straight up party songs (Including one of my all-time favorite songs by anybody, “A Rollerskating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’”), there’s nothing they wouldn’t try here. It’s the De La album I revisit the most, for sure.

De La Soul, “Keepin’ The Faith”

Elvis Costello & The Attractions, This Year's Model

My favorite Elvis Costello record, hands down. His 2nd, and his most punk-influenced for sure, This Year’s Model is a pure burst of energy from start to finish. Elvis at his most vicious and sarcastic, excellent performances, some of his most memorable songs... it’s just a can’t miss package.

Elvis Costello, “No Action”

Public Enemy, Yo! Bum Rush The Show

It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back is held up as the PE classic, and for good reason. It’s the best expression of their politics, the best example of the Bomb Squad’s wall of noise, it deserves its place as a classic. But in all honesty, I think I might personally prefer their debut. There’s a lot less political content. I mean, obviously, the politics are as integral to Public Enemy as anything, but it’s fun and almost refreshing to hear Chuck D just talking about his car, in a way. It’s just a consistent, fun album from a group that would go on to be a lot more. And there’s still a lot of social and political content, it’s just not presented with that all-consuming focus that would come later. It’s a unique album in their catalog.

Public Enemy, “You’re Gonna Get Yours”

At The Drive-In, Acrobatic Tenement

This album’s always kind of amused me. It sounds like they recorded a whole record without realizing they forgot to hit their distortion pedals. It’s got all the signature elements of ATDI, the screaming and the manic energy mixed with more tender moments that still manage to sound kind of ragged, the album would fit right in with their catalog... except for the clean guitars throughout. I’m not really sure what they were going for. If it happened live, I’d assume it was a mistake, but... here it is. I actually like this album a lot, weird or not. Here’s hoping the band’s long-hoped-for reunion is more than just a concert or two.

At the Drive-In, “Initiation”

Outkast, ATLiens

My introduction to Outkast was “Elevators (Me And You).” I won’t pretend I was on board from the beginning, dear reader, I was but a high school student in a podunk town. But “Elevators” made it to my local hip hop station, and that was all the incentive I needed to check this group out. I’ve been on board ever since. And, yeah, Outkast has come to be known for their ambition and their “weirdness,” I guess, which wouldn’t really being until the next record, but there’s still plenty to love on their first two albums. ATLiens is wall-to-wall great songs, virtuosos rapping and crowd-pleasing choruses. I still love it.

Outkast, “Elevators (Me & You)”

Al Green, Call Me

It doesn’t get much better than classic-era Al Green. With long time producer Willie Mitchell, he made some of the finest soul songs ever made by anybody. Those rolling drums, those perfectly-timed horn hits, and Green’s undeniable voice tying it all together. The most insane thing is the vast majority of his famous songs were recording between 1971 and 1975, a period when he produced seven albums(!). Prolific is an understatement. Call Me comes right in the middle of that flurry of activity. It features the essential hits “You Oughta Be With Me,” “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)”, and the title track, but it has a lot more to offer beyond the hits. Green displays his range with masterful conversions of two classic country songs into R&B numbers (“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Funny How Time Slips Away”). Album cuts “Have You Been Making Out OK” and “Stand Up” could easily have been hits in their own right. The sheer amount of quality material Green & Mitchell turned out in their golden era is staggering.

Al Green, “Have You Been Making Out OK?”

Cecil Otter, False Hopes 7

False Hopes is an on-going series of material from Doomtree. Alone or as a collective, they self-release these records. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to “count,” as opposed to records with their own name, but they should, because a ton of great stuff has been released under the False Hopes banner, and this is no exception. People who know Cecil from recent Doomtree material or his excellent Rebel Yellow album are in for a surprise from the stylistic difference on display here. His delivery is a lot more brash and sarcastic, more exuberant. More alone the lines of POS or Sims, in fact. This difference is most striking on “Matchbook Diaries,” a far more somber version of which appeared on Rebel Yellow. But different isn’t a bad thing, and there’s a lot to love in the more fiery Cecil Otter of old. In all honesty, I tend to go for this one more often, just because it’s not as heavy a listen.

Cecil Otter, “Lake Shore Drifter”

There you go.

--D

02/20 - 02/24.

Batman Forever soundtrack

I have a weird fascination with this record. It functions as a remarkably inclusive snapshot of music in 1995. Really! Consider the track list:

U2, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"

PJ Harvey, "One Time Too Many"

Brandy, "Where Are You Now?"

Seal, "Kiss from a Rose"

Massive Attack with Tracy Thorn, "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"

Eddie Reader, "Nobody Lives Without Love"

Mazzy Star, "Tell Me Now"

The Offspring, "Smash It Up"

Nick Cave, "There Is a Light"

Method Man, "The Riddler"

Michael Hutchence, "The Passenger"

The Devlins, "Crossing the River"

Sunny Day Real Estate, "8"

The Flaming Lips, "Bad Days"

So, you got U2, enjoying the beginning of their renaissance at the time, whose song from this record was a big hit. You have Seal contributing one of the most successful pop songs of the year (maybe the decade). You have then very popular Brandy singing a song written and played on by then very popular Lenny Kravitz. 1995’s radio is well represented.

Digging a little deeper, Offspring’s cover of The Damned represent the mid-90s punk revival. Massive Attack’s Smokey Robinson cover represents the flourishing trip hop scene, with guest vocalist Tracey Thorn, whose main gig, Everything But The Girl, had one of the biggest “alternative” hits of the year. Speaking of alternative music, Mazzy Star is another big name from the era, joined by relative newcomers The Flaming Lips and stalwarts PJ Harvey and Nick Cave. Hip hop is underrepresented with just a Method Man song, but in 1995, Method Man was the breakout star of the relatively new Wu-Tang Clan, and rapidly becoming one of the biggest rappers in the country. Even Sunny Day Real Estate is in there, representing the nascent emocore movement. Who would possibly expect Sunny Day Real Estate to appear on the soundtrack to a Batman movie?

If you had to make a time capsule of the musical landscape of 1995, your work is done immediately. Just make a copy of this.

U2, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"

Aesop Rock, Bazooka Tooth

Aesop Rock’s 2nd album for Def Jux really upped the ante. Behind that weird cover by the fantastic illustrator Tomer Hanuka (I love it when people I like work together) are some of the densest, most dizzying productions Ace has ever been associated with, and lyrics that rise to the occasion. Coming off the decidedly less chaotic (but no less great) sounds of the sample heavy Labor Days and the more minimal Float, this thing was the sonic equivalent of an explosion. It was so weird and offkilter that it apparently caused some tension between Aesop and then-labelmate Vast Aire, even. Aesop backed off of the schizophrenic sound and pacing of this album on subsequent material, but controversies aside, it’s a truly engaging record that demands many listens to get its full measure.

Aesop Rock, “No Jumper Cables”

Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend

I think the people have turned on these guys. But when this album came out, it was a bright spot in a bland period for music that year. Not much going on, and along comes this bright, catchy thing. It wasn’t the most exciting, the most innovative, the most meaningful record, and I coulda done with a lot less lyrical content specific to going to college in Boston, but it was fun to listen to. Sometimes, that’s enough.

Vampire Weekend, “M79”

Craig Finn, Clear Heart Full Eyes

Speaking of fun to listen to... not so much, this. It’s actually much more different from The Hold Steady, Finn’s regular gig, than I expected. The instrumentation and arrangements of the songs are far removed from the... I sort of want to say “classicist rock” sound of their albums. Stripped down, with doses of country and folk styling and a much more spare production feel, it also features a different lyrical content than The Hold Steady. Finn’s stories obsessed with drug and alcohol abuse, initially a hold over from his previous group, Lifter Puller, have given way to a lyrical focus more on a nostalgic devotion to rock music itself on recent records, but none of that is really present on Clear Heart Full Eyes. The material presented here feels at once more personal and autobiographical but also abstracted. For example, religious imagery has been a staple of his work, and an obsession with Jesus winds through the songs, but in a way that makes it hard to tell if Finn even believes in Jesus in the first place. It's the lyrics that prove the album's undoing for me. There is a lot of repetition in the 11 track running time, and while repetition isn't bad in and of itself, in this case it makes the album feel kind of slight. The repeated themes and phrases from song to song don't help this feeling of running in circles. All in all, a frustrating listen.

Craig Finn, “No Future”

Dirty Projectors + Bjork, Mount Wittenberg Orca

This wacky team-up is based on a live performance by the two entities of a set of music written by Dirty Projectors mastermind David Longstreth in 2009. If you know much about The Dirty Projectors and Bjork, it's basically everything you expect. They can't resist adding Bjork's voice to the exquisite chorus that has become The Dirty Projectors' most powerful weapon a few times, and the results are delightful. But, of course, she also steps forward for lead vocals often, and in that role she operates much like she always does. Longstreth also handles leads vocals a few times, while at other times the chorus of Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle take center stage. The things they can do together remain spectacular. Certainly less accessible than The Dirty Projectors' last album, but probably more accessible than recent material from Bjork, Mount Wittenberg Orca is an exciting experiment.

Dirty Projectors + Bjork, “On And Ever Onward”

There you go.

--D

02/13 – 02/17:

Glass Rock, Baby Baby Baby

Glass Rock is a band I found purely at random one time on eMusic. Glass Rock emerged from two other bands, Tall Firs and Soft Location, combining forces. This is their 2nd album. On their first, they had a real talent for creating mood and atmosphere, but the actual songs didn’t stand out as much as they could. Here, they’ve kept all that mysterious feeling and applied it to songs with a little more unique personality, and it’s a fine upgrade. The album’s highlight, a song in two parts called “Documentary,” begins as a sparse, intimate tune before leaping into a full-band, full-sound take that is the best song they’ve recorded so far. Glass Rock is music for after hours, winding down after a crazy night.

Glass Rock, “Runaway”

Himanshu, Nehru Jackets

Every one in Das Racist promised new mixtapes this year, and Heems is the 2nd one out of the gate with Nehru Jackets. The whole thing is produced by longtime friend Mike Finito, and was released in association with New York non-profit SEVA, whose members appear on the album rapping and singing in Punjabi. There’s also guest appearances from the usual suspects like Kool AD, Lakutis, Danny Brown, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Despot, Fat Tony, and Big Baby Ghandi. But it’s still Heems’ show, and while it might sound like he could get lost in the tide of guest stars and participants, he certainly doesn’t. He brings the ethos that has made Das Racist one of the most interesting forces in hip hop to bear here. That is, he has completely ridiculous songs like “Jason Bourne” (it’s about Jason Bourne) and “Computers” (It’s about liking computers) at one extreme, and then he has songs that are anything but ridiculous like “NYC Cops,” basically just a powerful list of atrocities committed by that police department, and “Juveniles Detained in Guantanamo Bay,” which is about what it says it is, at the other. He’s smart and silly in equal measure, and it makes for a lively listen.

Nehru Jackets is as much a showcase for Mike Finito as it is for Heems. His productions are fantastic throughout, and can be traditional boom bap or draw from some pretty surprising sources (Hip hop beats made from PJ Harvey and Kate Bush songs? Yes, please). Together, they created easily the most entertaining album I’ve heard so far this year, and they didn’t even charge for it. You can get it here.

Heems, “Jason Bourne”

Ani Difranco, Which Side Are You On?

I feel weird to suggest that having a baby had a profound effect on Ani Difranco's music, but it really seems like the case. I certainly understand how having a child would change your attitudes or priorities, but I would expect that to manifest in the lyrics, in new things to sing about. But the change in her music isn't just what she sings, it's how she sings, how she composes, how she thinks of her albums.

She's only released 2 records since becoming a mom, and just like Red Letter Year, this one is a scattershot effort, dipping into a new musical genre on every track, generally happy and hopeful instead of your traditional Ani moody and worried and angry. Her post-baby music isn't afraid to have big production values and over-the-top arrangements, to carene from sound to sound in a way that pre-baby Ani never would've done. Her music could be very different from album to album, but not from song to song. Every album was a pretty unified musical statement. Post-baby Ani seems to be going with every impulse that comes her way. It makes for enjoyable songs, and surprising, but not necessarily great, albums. Which Side Are You On? isn't quite as bubbly and happy as Red Letter Year, but... the difference is pretty negligible. The title track feels a bit like a rehash of a political song on her final pre-baby album, the mostly soul crushing, heartbroken Reprieve... only polished up and made less depressing. Even when she's singing a song about politics, women's roles in society, subjects that have always been close to her heart, she just seems so much less... worried about it. It's a weird transformation, indeed. She's released music as a young woman and a mature woman, in straight and homosexual relationships, married and divorced, under Presidents she liked and Presidents she hated, but nothing seems to have had the impact on her entire way of thinking and working that her child has.

Maybe it just boils down to the opening lyrics of the swinging, horn-and-fuzzed-out-guitar-driven "If Yr Not:" "If you're not getting happy as you get older, you're fuckin' up."

Ani Difranco, “Which Side Are You On?”

Protest The Hero, Kezia

Protest the Hero’s first album was ambitious, invigorating, and spectacular. Mixing metal, prog, punk and even folk influences, presenting a surprisingly effective concept album, and showing off serious musical chops, it’s as strong a debut as you could ask for from a band. In later releases, they would pare down the stylistic mishmash and get to really exploring a prog-metal sound, but here it seems that no idea is out of bounds, and that kind of reckless abandon is infectious.

Protest The Hero, “Heretics & Killers”

D'Angelo, Voodoo

As I write this (Faaaar in the paaaast), I just saw footage from D’Angelo playing in Paris, and it sure is nice to hope he’s finally worked out all his stuff and decided to get back to making music. This album was one of the strongest in the sea of amazing Soulquarians-related releases in the late 90s and early 2000s. Packed with layers, nuances and surprises, with intentionally vague vocals that demand a replay, this album was a puzzle waiting to be put together, and it was rewarding to do so. I guess a lot of peoples’ experience with it begins and ends with the “Untitled” video (Which caused a co-worker of mine at the time to begin excitedly referring to D’Angelo as “The buck-naked-est man!!”), but that’s just scratching the surface of what this album had to offer. Questlove seems pretty confident that it will finally get a follow up this year. I can’t wait.

D’Angelo, “Devil’s Pie”

Lazerbeak, Lava Bangers

Lazerbeak, one of the producers of the mighty Doomtree collective, releases his first beat tape. This package apparently brings together a variety of work that never quite made it onto past Doomtree releases, which have been turned into a continuous mix by DJ Plain Ol’ Bill. Beak’s productions come in a dizzying variety when working with his Doomtree compatriots, from somber, spare tunes to songs that can tear the house down, but here he mostly focuses on keeping the party going. I love instrumental hip hop (All hail DJ Shadow’s early work in that area, and Doomtree member Paper Tiger, too), beat tapes usually don’t get much play from me. Because, as good as the music may be, it tends to sound like what it is, what it was designed for: background music for vocals that never come. Much credit to Lazerbeak, then, for making these 20 tracks as entertaining and exciting on their own as they would be with vocals. I can’t even imagine them with vocals, in fact, so well do they work as presented. Doomtree wins again.

Lazerbeak, “Walk It Out”

Rancid, Rancid 2000

Rancid chose to follow their most experimental album with their most hardcore, taking a large portion of their fanbase by surprise and making me the happiest clam. Rancid 2000 found them operating at blistering speed, producing their most frenetic and intense music to date. But even in that arena, they were able to bring plenty of variety (something aided by having 3 very different singers in the band). From vicious assaults to nigh-on pop tunes that just happen to be really fast, there’s all kinds of material whipping past you in this record’s brief running time, and it is glorious. My favorite of their albums, no question.

Rancid, “Don Giovanni/Disgruntled/Loki”

There you go.

--D

02/06 – 02/10:

Mehuggah, Obzen

Art is subjective, and descriptions of art are even worse, and descriptions of the notoriously sub-sub-sub-sub-genred heavy metal world, even moreso. The labyrinth of what you’re supposed to call heavy metal bands, how you’re supposed to describe them, is so ridiculous that I’ve never even felt qualified to talk about it. I would say that Obzen is one of the heaviest albums I’ve ever heard. Maybe some one with a higher heavy metal acumen would find that laughable, I don’t know. It’s just all relative. Obzen isn’t the most “evil” or the darkest metal album, but its power lies in its relentless, factory-like precision. Not a moment’s respite is offered from their assault until the very last song. Whether you’re listening to black metal, death metal, hardcore or metalcore, or even previous Meshuggah albums, there’s usually a reprieve. A change in tone or attitude, a soaring guitar solo, a spooky atmosphereic part, some kind of interlude, some kind of brief moments surfacing before plunging back into the ocean, but not here. Obzen just starts pummeling you and doesn’t stop until several minutes into closer “Dancers To A Discordant System.” It’s really something. And it’s not to say that there’s no variety on it. Opener “Combustion” lives up to its name, delivering the fastest song they’ve recorded in years. “Bleed” is almost 8 minutes of spectacular, robot-like precision. There’s many different approaches on display. But none of them let up for even a second.

Meshuggah, “Combustion”

Trap Them, Darker Handcraft

Trap Them’s 3rd full-length was produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou. I can’t imagine that’s the only reason it sounds a lot more like Converge than past Trap Them albums, but I’m sure it contributed. Darker Handcraft continues the theoretical plot that has woven through every Trap Them album and EP (and even a 7” split), but just as they’ve remained dedicated to their concept, they’ve remained pretty dedicated to not really explaining it. Every song on every release is named with a day (Track one of the new album is “Day 46: Damage Prose”), but starting with their 2nd album, the days aren’t even in order. It doesn’t really matter. It’s enough to just get your adrenaline pumping with their super-fast, super-aggressive mix of punk and metal and enjoy the ride, and Darker Handcraft certainly delivers on that front. Also, the chorus to “The Facts” seems like an answer to the chorus of the classic Misfits song “Where Eagles Dare.” Who knows why, but that’s pretty awesome.

Trap Them, “The Facts”

Opeth, Heritage

Mikael has often joked that, going in to record the first Opeth album in 1995, he thought he was going to be a minstrel, playing a lute and singing ridiculously pretentious songs. Heritage, shockingly enough, seems to be as close as he’s gotten to getting his wish.

Opeth has quietly stopped being a metal band.

It still sounds like Opeth. The unique sound they’ve cultivated over the years is still identifiable. But in the prog rock influences, in some of the acoustic passages, and in the guitar solos. There’s no metal anything to be heard. I’ve listened to this over and over and I’m still not sure what I think of it, exactly. I’ve come to the decision the production bugs me more than the lack of metal, especially when it comes to drums. The bass drum sounds muffled and is actually hard to hear sometimes, and the rest of the drums sound pretty flat. But, beyond the production, there’s a sort of... over the top feeling to a lot of it. Almost like they’re trying too hard. I’m not sure what I’m even trying to say. It’s just so proggy and so noodly sometimes. Sometimes it’s not. They were wise to make “The Devil’s Orchard” the lead single, as it’s the most “Opeth sounding” song on the album. For the most part, I think I have favorite moments instead of songs. It’s a hard thing to adjust to.

Mikael Akerfeldt has been doing this for 20 years. No one can be metal forver. You either evolve into something else or become an embarrassing cartoon of yourself like Ozzy.  In the DVD accompanying this release, Mikael said he thought that going in this direction would mean he “still had something to offer.” He also said he wasn’t ruling out metal elements in the future, and that he hoped not to repeat Heritage on the next album. Who knows, their next one may win me right back over. Their 11th album is the first one that didn’t completely enthrall me. That’s still a pretty spectacular track record. And I’m going to keep listening... trying to figure it out...

Opeth, “The Devil’s Orchard”

St. Vincent, Actor

It’s weird listening to this album in the wake of Strange Mercy. Actor captivated me. The complex layers and layers, the atmosphere and emotion (both extremely emotional and extremely reserved, from song to song, moment to moment, but always to dramatic effect), and of course Annie Clark’s phenomenal voice lilting over it all. It was a lot to take in, and a delight to revisit often. But I have to say, Strange Mercy basically blew it out of the water. I became sort of obsessed with it, listening to it all the time. Strange Mercy took everything I liked about Actor, amped it up and added a new focus on Clark’s jagged, funky guitar playing. This was the first time I’d listened to Actor since Strange Mercy came out, and it just didn’t seem to pack the punch of old. Maybe that’ll change as I gain distance from the new record.

St. Vincent, “Marrow”

There you go.

--D

01/30 – 02/03:

Giant Drag, Hearts & Unicorns

I don’t know much about Giant Drag. I know they made a really fun record of the kind you know they’ll never duplicate. Some albums are very much a snapshot of a band at the time it was made. Furthermore, some are a snapshot of a young, sloppy, devil-may-care band making music for themselves, and the results of that can be magical... but you also know that they’ll mature, they’ll become better musicians, they’ll have bad times, and they will never make anything like that record again. Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Deftones spring to mind as examples. It’s not that their ensuing work was bad, it’s just that there was a particular kind of energy and an excitement in the beginning that simply cannot be sustained. Hearts & Unicorns is that kind of album. Unapologetically wacky, but also serious. It’s a good time.

Giant Drag, “Kevin Is Gay”

Idle Warship, Habits of the Heart

Habits of the Heart is the first official album by Idle Warship. Talib Kweli and Res have been Idle Warship for many years, touring, releasing a song here and there online, but never managing to release an album. In 2009 they got a full mixtape out, and in 2011, finally, a proper album. A lot of hip hop team-ups these days just sound like the artists heard the music, wrote some lyrics, and some one put their vocals over the music. So true collaborations like this, where the players interact, riff off each other, play characters together in the songs, and basically justify their pairing is rare and rewarding. The production is varied and adventurous. A handful of friends stop by to contribute (Including the always delightful Jean Grae). And Talib & Res do what they do best, together. It’s a great listen.

Idle Warship, “Laser Beams”

Mos Def, The Ecstatic

The Mighty Mos Def lived up to that name on The Ecstatic, an energized, engaging collection of songs. After the spectacular Blackstar album with Talib Kweli and the very good solo debut Black On Both Sides, Mos seemed to lose interest in rap. His second album was the billionth experiment in rap-rock that didn’t really pay off in the early 2000s. His 3rd album was a complete mess that neither he nor his record label supported. And during all that, he got much more into acting. I more or less thought it was over. So then The Ecstatic comes around and bowls me over. Mos sounds really passionate again, the mumbling delivery he adopted on his recent work disappeared. He was clearly fired up and ready to work again. The spirit (and voice and music) of Fela Kuti is all over this album, especially the undeniable groove of “Quiet Dog.” But for me, the highlight is the stunning “Casa Bey,” wherein Mos lets fly with some extremely complex lyrical timing over long samples of Banda Black Rio’s lively “Casa Forte.” Mos apparently liked the song a lot, too, having since taken the new stage name Yasiin Bey. This record completely restored my faith in Yasiin, and I cannot wait to hear the new Black Star album.

Mos Def, “Casa Bey”

Sleater-Kinney, Sleater-Kinney

The first Sleater-Kinney album and the last one have very little in common. Most bands that started out in some version of the hardcore movement (For S-K, the “Riot Grrrrl” branch) and managed to stay together for more than a couple of years underwent a pretty dramatic change. A lot of them went metal (and even hair metal). Black Flag infamously started making music intentionally trying to upset their fans. Sleater-Kinney slowly transformed into a fine sort of power pop band. I think most people with a passing familiarity with them wouldn’t even associate them with the kind of jagged, raw aggression on their self-titled album. But yo, it’s pretty great if you’re into that sort of thing. I am a fan of all the phases of the band’s career, but the pure energy and sloppy can-do attitude of this album is right up my alley.

Sleater-Kinney, “The Day I Went Away”

Surfer Blood, Tarot Classics EP

This one caught me off guard. I liked Surfer Blood’s debut album well enough. In this weird lo fi, surf rock kind of thing going on, they were least likely to ruin it with a bunch of fake lo fi distortion and nonsense. But this? This little EP just bowled me over. Super catchy, perfect songs, great playing, everything clicks. Left me wishing it was longer. It’s not revolutionary or life changing or any such lofty thing, it’s just really enjoyable music. That’s more than enough for me.

Surfer Blood, “Miranda”

There you go.

--D

01/23 – 01/27:

Ava Luna, Services/3rd Avenue Island

In 2010, Ava Luna released a 4-track EP called Services that I fell in love with. In 2011, Services got combined with 8 new songs and released as this. It’s a frustrating experience. I expect a band to grow and change. I have no interest in seeing a group do the same song over and over like Nickelback. And Ava Luna did seem to be wearing their influences on their sleeve on Services, instantly bringing to mind thoughts of The Dirty Projectors and TV On the Radio, among others. But the material on 3rd Avenue Island is such a stark contrast to the older songs that putting them together seems like a disservice to both. The transition from the dreamy, romantic material of Services to the more harsh, avant garde-sounding 3rd Avenue Island is awkward, to say the least. The stylistic progression would still be jarring regardless, but to try to make the two very different bodies of work a single statement was a mistake.

The 3rd Avenue Island material is indeed a huge shift in tone. It’s more dissonant, more ambiguous. It begins with what could only be called an outburst of sound, really in “We Were Young,” and goes on to try out all sorts of new sounds that leave the simple, seductive Services in the past. The biggest problem with the new material is the number thing. Services ended with a playful little song called “Eight Nine (Won’t You Be Mine?).” The song sounded almost like a playground rhyme invented for jumprope. It was fun and cute. 3rd Avenue Island turns that into a motif, adding “Six Seven (I Want To Hide Away),” "Four Five (I Will Survive),” and “(Do Me No Wrong) While I Am Gone” (which doesn’t have 1-2-3 in the title, but features them prominently in the lyrics) in that order. And the concept, whatever it is, doesn’t seem to connect the songs in any way except repeating the numbers in question, and seems to become more labored with each track.The non-stop repetition of “four-five, four-five” in that track’s backing vocals makes it hands down the least enjoyable track on the record, in fact. But more than that, it’s not even a rhyme scheme in the other songs like it was in the original, and most of the new songs in the set are pretty discordant and dark they have nothing to do with the first one. This gimmick went a long way to hurting my enjoyment of the record on repeat listens. I hate to come down so hard on it. I do like the new songs in spots, even the number songs. Ava Luna has a new album coming soon, and its lead single is wonderful, and I hope it will be more satisfying.

Ava Luna, “Clips”

Kool AD, The Palm Wine Drinkard mixtape

Oh, man, two downer reviews in a row. I’m pretty good at picking albums I’ll like before I buy/download/whatever them, and I’m pretty good at just not listening to the few things I don’t end up liking. But this was on while I worked... It’s your boy, Kool AD from Das Racist, and he’s back with a mixtape of... weird... spare stuff, apparently. Victor seems the more gifted rapper in Das Racist, and has some truly great verses to prove it. But you wouldn’t know it from listening to The Palm Wine Drinkard, a random assortment of weird mash-ups, repeated mantras and intrumentals that borrows its name from an acclaimed Nigerian novel. There’s not an actual verse of new lyrics on the whole thing. It begins with the intrumental to Outkast’s “Spottiottidopalicious” with various movie clips played over it before moving into songs where he just repeats a catcphrase or two over and over, prototypical early versions of Das Racist songs “Booty In The Air” and “You Can Sell Anything” with all the verses (And Heems) missing, two random cuts from his previous project, Boy Crisis, and some instrumentals he made. Nonsense is a big part of Das Racist’s appeal. That they can be completely absurd and smart at the same time. The smart part doesn’t really show up on this, though. It’s not entirely without merit. The Boy Crisis songs are both good, and “Fun” and “Flyin Through The Air Inna Air Plane” are pretty funny, if still very slight. But when you consider all his great music over the last few years, and that less than a week after this came out, Vic released a completely insane, nearly 10-minute tour de force called “Dum Diary” on youtube... you really have to wonder what he was thinking with this. I'd provide you a link to download it, but it was on Megaupload, and the Feds hamfistedly brought them down last week, so I can't. Meanwhile, I’m just going to link “Dum Diary,” because it’s awesome.

Kool AD, “Dum Diary”

Raekwon, Unexpected Victory

Released on January 1 just like The Palm Wine Drinkard, Rae gets the new year started off right. Unexpected Victory kicks off with some huge, dramatic production, but it meanders through more traditional Wu-style darkness, some stripped down raw beats, and a variety of other approaches as Rae and a list of guest stars do what they do best. Rae seems to be using this tape as a vehicle to promote Toronto rapper JD Era, recently signed to Rae’s Ice H20 label, as Era gets plenty of time on 5 tracks. He also shines a spotlight on newcomer Altrina Renae, and shares songs with stalwarts like CL Smooth, Styles P, and Busta Rhymes, among others. Raekwon himself is in fine form, consistently delivering the gritty storytelling fans demand of him. Raekwon mixtapes can sometimes be much more casual affairs than his official albums, but this one’s epic feel goes against that trend.Grab it here and check it out!

Raekwon with JD Era, “Just A Toast”

Amon Amarth, Surtur Rising

The latest fine offering of Norse myth-infused metal from the Norwegian heavyweights. This album is a natural progression from previous record Twilight Of the Thunder God in both style and subject matter. To my ear, they've been becoming more accessible recently, or as accessible as you can be in the mythological death metal biz, anyway, but unlike some people, I wouldn't call that a bad thing.

Amon Amarth, “War Of The Gods”

There you go.

--D