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