When it rains it pours, and this month has been a veritable flood. There are more new, great albums than I know what to do with. I need about 15 extra hours each day to listen to them all. Chances are you will, too. HERE WE GO.
Continue reading ‘New This Week: Sleigh Bells, Frankie Rose & More’
I thought it wasn’t a big release day, but then it totally was! True story. Let’s get started:
New records from the Field, Speech Debelle, Bonobo, and more, right after the jump. **Note: The Shearwater and Tennis records are set to go live on the site TOMORROW.** Let’s go!
Continue reading ‘NA in the UK: Field Music, Speech Debelle’
OK! Are you guys ready to get bummed out? Because it’s the week before Valentine’s Day and, man, do we have some sad records for you. I mean, sad even for indie rock, which has sad basically branded into its DNA. So if you’re ready to be heartbroken, let’s get going.
Sharon Van Etten, Tramp: Basically, the only record you need today. A great leap forward from her previous, folky outings, Tramp finds Van Etten falling closer in sound to the eerie, magikal records made by people Throwing Muses and Cat Power, pre-The Greatest. Her voice howls through a latticework of guitar like the winter wind through bare tree branches. Christina Lee talked to Sharon about this HIGHLY RECOMMENDED record, and you can read their converstion here. In the meantime, here’s what Lindsay Zoladz had to say about Tramp:
Tramp may be an unflinching chronicle of a relationship gone sour (check out the exceptionally poignant “Give Out”: “It’s not because I always give up/It might be I always give out”), but it’s at its most powerful when it’s about more than just getting burned; Van Etten also sings about gathering the courage to build something new on charred ground. “Time is what I would need,” she tells a new lover on “Leonard,” while the lively mandolin strums spring up like sprouts after a long winter.
The Twilight Sad, No One Can Ever Know: You can’t get much sadder than a band that has ‘sad’ in their name, and these Scots prove they know what it means to get lonesome. For this one, which is RECOMMENDED they’ve teamed with famed UK producer Andrew Weatherall (beloved forever and all time for giving us Primal Scream’s “Loaded”). This is not the Saddoes’ dance record though (thank god). Instead, Weatherall smudges their rolling guitars and blots the blank spaces with organ to make this feel more mournful and turbulent. Which is saying something! You know who else is saying something? Marc Hogan:
Working with famed U.K. producer-remixer Andy Weatherall, who’s credited as having “anti-produced” the album, lead moaner James Graham and the lads delve deeper into the recesses of their own unfathomable personal darkness, and emerge with a compelling new sound salvaged from the scrap metal of a previous recession’s industrial blight. Mechanical beats and icy synths spar with stormy guitar and Graham’s ever-richer Scottish burr in a jagged, lonesome space that updates the band’s forebears in foreboding.
of Montreal, Paralytic Stalks: If Barry Walters‘ interview is to be believed, Kevin Barnes is pretty bummed these days, too. (His first answer begins, “I’m fucked up and have a lot of emotional issues.”) The latest from of Montreal is apparently their attempt to incorporate free jazz into their sound, which actually bums me out. Barry remains optimistic. He says:
of Montreal’s 11th album makes few attempts to play nice; there are no diva cameos, fewer hooks, and the fractured rhythms from drummers Matt Chamberlain and Clayton Rychlik rarely stay steady for more than a minute. Instead, Paralytic Stalks‘ abrupt stylistic switch-ups, dissonant harmonies and alternately garish/strident string and horn arrangements evoke the wildness of free jazz and the adventurousness of avant-garde classical composers.
Van Halen, A Different Kind of Truth: After all that bumming out, you’re going to need something to cheer you up and, sorry if this is sacrilege, but the new record from the sorta-reunited Van Halen might be the thing. Look: i don’t think any of us really expected this to be good, so the fact that it’s not only passable but actually has a handful of bona fide arena jams on it is a nice surprise. If you ever had any affection for VH, you’re probably going to be happy with what you’re hearing. I was always a bit of an agnostic, but color me impressed with this. We had Lenny Kaye assess the group’s legacy a few weeks back — you can read that here. If the new record, Chuck Eddy says:
Given the utter mediocrity of all participants’ output over the previous quarter-century, there was no reason to expect that A Different Kind Of Truth — the first Van Halen album with David Lee Roth singing since 1984 (albeit with young Wolfgang Van Halen now playing bass) — would be remotely enjoyable. That it holds its own in the context of the band’s late ’70s/early ’80s heritage, and might even be a better long-player than, oh, Diver Down in terms of muscle, idiosyncratic song construction, and pure-assed entertainment value, is downright shocking.
Air, Le Voyage Dans La Lune: So, weirdly, none of us — not the editorial staff, nor the writer to whom this was assigned, could get a promo of the Air record before street. The review will be coming a little later in the week. In the meantime, I’ll just make up what I think this sounds like: The new Air record finds the Frenchmen dabbling with everything from Krautrock to funeral doom to minimalist “clown techno” to varying results. Stay tuned past the final track for a surprising Bob Seger cover.
Various Artists, We Are the Works in Progress: Get on this ASAP. Curated by Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Works in Progress is a benefit album for the victims of the Japanese earthquake, and it showcases Makino’s decidedly avant-garde sensibilities with contributions from people like Terry Riley (!), Broadcast, Deerhunter and more. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The Choir, Chase the Kangaroo: 1988 psych-pop record from LA group the Choir dresses up pretty pop melodies in ethereal haze. Vocalist Derri Daugherty was Ben Gibbard before there was Ben Gibbard, and the songs on here are shoulda-been college rock classics. Not as good as hallucinogenic psych opus Circle Slide, but still some solid jams.
Bahamas, Barchords: Bahamas is the project of one Afie Jurvanen. The music here lands on the smokier side of singer/songwriter — more shush than strum, guitar chords tiptoe past Jurvanen’s whispery vocals, making for the kind of record you play while someone is sleeping in the next room. Plus, look at that cover. If that doesn’t fit into today’s overarching bummer theme, I don’t know what does.
Robert Deeble, Heart Like Feathers: Robert Deeble also writes quiet folk music, but he owes a bit more to The National and Leonard Cohen. This is Deeble’s first release in years, but it finds him back in fine form — his voice is low and creaky and the songs feel brittle as driftwood. Deeble is the kind of lyricist who can cut to the quick with just a few expertly-placed phrases. And — SURPRISE — this album is super sad. It’s also RECOMMENDED. Dan MacIntosh breaks it down for you:
Given the sparse percussion, empathetic and harmonic female backing vocals and mournful, gypsy-like violin fills, the pained and yearning Deeble comes off like a worthy descendent and disciple of Leonard Cohen. He’s also unafraid to stretch his compositions beyond the familiar alternating verse-chorus structure; Eastern-influenced semi-jam “The Colors of Dying,” showcases guitarist Ric Hordinski (formerly of Over The Rhine), who contributes the track’s distinctive Byrds-y, psychedelic tones.
Chuck Prophet, Temple Beautiful: New record from a guy I keep meaning to get into but never quite do. Sounds a lot like the kind of durable indie rock records that were being put out by B-Teamers like Creeper Lagoon in the early ’00s. Remember Creeper Lagoon? I liked that first record a lot. Anyway. Here’s Wayne Robins with a few words on Chuck:
Like Springsteen and Paul Simon, Prophet is drawn to early rock motifs. “White Night, Big City” has a compelling doo-wop call-and-response section that may remind you of Shangri-Las “Give Him A Great Big Kiss,” despite the fact that the song tells the dark tale of the riots that reverberated after homophobic city councilman Dan White was acquitted for assassinating the iconic gay politician Harvey Milk.
Elvis Depressedly, Cutters Only, The Ontological Anarchy of Elvis Depressedly: And clearly right here is where we bottom out with the sadness. How can it get much darker than a record called “Cutters Only”? Elvis Depressedly frontman Mat Cothran used to be in a band called Coma Cinema. A couple of the tracks here have the same kind of wobbly-vocal thing going on as Blank Dogs. Super chintzy lo-fi instrumentation — some keys, some guitars and tons of scuzz.
Royal Baths, Better Luck Next Life: Some real spooky stuff here — sounds kind of like if the Birthday Party decided to play more polite and were fronted by a sleazy nightclub tux pomade cigarette holder type guy instead of by a screaming he-beast from hell. Or if Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan suddenly lost his shit and turned into a total womanizer. What say ye, Ashley Melzer?:
There’s the bend of slack-keyed guitar, a rumbling bass line, a steady beat on the toms and then it’s “hate at first sight” and “a shrug and a kiss,” in a psychedelic swoon called “Darling Divine.” The track is a proper opener for Royal Baths’ sophomore effort, an album of both black humor and brooding grooves. Jeremy Cox and Jigmaer Baer, the core of the band, have gone from Bay Area garage-kids to Brooklyn-based sulkers. The band’s sound, a bluesy, Velvet Underground-esque snarl, is anchored by leering vocal melodies.
Death By Chocolate, Bric A Brac: This is the first Death By Chocolate record in a really long time! I don’t really know what else to say here! Jolly, sunny, ye-ye style kitsch pop that was really popular once upon a time. Maybe if you’re a very popular 3rd grader and you’re looking to throw a Mad Men-themed party using day-glo Fisher-Price flatware and milktini glasses, this is the kind of thing you’d play.
Sean Born, Behind the Scale: Excellent hip-hop label Mello Music gets in on the Cuban Links game with this first-person drug narrative. eMusic’s Nate Patrin says:
The debut from Maryland’s Sean Born mixes frustration of being caught in the trap with a matter-of-fact pride over finding the mental and spiritual resources to survive it. There’s no glitz in the powder-caked fingers and zombified customers that populate his day-to-day lyrics. And as he singles out listeners who don’t remember the golden age (“Queen Anne/’90s”) and fleetingly laments the death of the ’90s through the POV of a man who spent those years in prison (“Go Hard”), the sandpaper-coarse, Stax-stitching beats – mostly provided by producer Kev Brown – reinforce the stylistic debts he owes to that era.
Dr. Dog, The Void: Oh, hey, a new Dr. Dog record. Dr. Dog are like the hippie of Montreal. Unless of Montreal are the hippie of Montreal. This is making my brain hurt. I’m going to let Dan Hyman do the rest:
For their sixth and most impressive turn to-date, the Brotherly Love oddballs — now recording on their own and with two new bandmembers, drummer Eric Slick and multi-instrumentalist Dimitri Manos — blast back to their bread-and-butter: raw riffs, sing-song harmonies and sonic experimentation filtered through ’60s-pop-tinted shades.
Radar Eyes, Radar Eyes: HoZac Records is basically a guaranteed seal of quality, and this full-length from Radar Eyes doesn’t damage their winning streak. Like a Jesus & Mary Chain that can’t be bothered to get out of bed or a garage band that only operates at half speed, this blends huge hooks with buckets of scuzz. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Austin L. Ray says:
On Radar Eyes’ self-titled debut LP, the Chicago foursome offers a pop-centric affair, all layered, fuzzy guitars and hook-laden vocals. The driving, forward momentum of “Accident” and the shit-kicking guitars of “Summer Chills” front like these Windy City residents wanna fight, but it’s their pretty melodic sensibilities that encourage repeated listens.
Jenny Owen Youngs, An Unwavering Band of Light: This is way poppier than what I was expecting. Maybe if you’re the kind of person who likes Feist but wishes she would occasionally give in and write a few more uptempo radio gems, this is probably the record for you. I think “Pirates” would sound great in some ’80s movie montage of people working out.
Paul McCartney, Kisses on the Bottom: I can’t. I just can’t.
–> Jazz Picks, by Dave Sumner
Well, this last week didn’t offer much in the way of volume for new jazz releases, but there’s still some gems to be found in what’s there. Let’s begin…
Bridges Trio, Mans: A trio of guitar, bass, and drums that, for this album, becomes a quartet with the addition of an extra guitar player. Thrilling stuff. They totally have the Bill Frisell ECM sound going, though some of the looping and effects recall Frisell’s period with Nonesuch albums like Ghost Town and The Willies. Now, granted, I’m a huge Frisell fan, so any musician who adopts that sound, I’m gonna be enamored with, but that said, this is beautiful music, and my Find of the Week.
Josh Arcoleo, Beginnings: Strong debut album from tenor saxophonist Josh Arcoleo. Rounding out his quartet with piano, drums and bass, he presents a confident set of tunes. Compositions deliciously balance fire of sax with bright elegance of piano, while drums and bass fill all the spaces in between, resulting in rich album with plenty of depth. Arcoleo has lots of punch on tenor, but thankfully doesn’t turn this into a blowing session. Ivo Neame, on piano, really shines, creates an environment for Arcoleo to thrive in. Hard to believe this a debut album. Pick of the Week
Artvark Saxonphone Quartet, Sly Meets Callas: A nifty pairing of the avant-garde saxophone quartet and classical soprano Claron McFadden for an intriguing mix of compositions ranging from traditional jazz, skewed blues, and chamber music. A very nice reminder that just because something gets categorized as avant-garde, doesn’t mean it can’t be catchy as hell. Recommended.
Dieter Ilg, Rainer Bohm, Patrice Heral,
Okay, so apparently someone decided it was gonna be Solo Piano week on emusic and didn’t tell me. Let’s talk about three:
Julian Joseph, Live at the Vortex in London: A solo piano outing from shamefully under-recognized pianist Julian Joseph. Extremely talented, and possesses a flair for bringing elements of other genres to him in Jazz without having to leave jazz territory to get them. On Live at the Vortex, Joseph keeps things on familiar ground with a solo live performance that sees him stretching out with his classical background. If you’re into solo piano, this makes a nice selection. For something more traditional from Joseph, check out his excellent The Language of Truth, which I still listen to regularly 15 years after first picking it up.
Keith Jarrett, Rio: Keith Jarrett’s 2011 live solo piano three day concert just hit the site. Personally, I’ve always preferred Jarrett’s brilliance with his American Quartet back in the 70s, and find most of Jarrett’s solo ECM stuff unpleasantly distant. But this one, I dunno, seems more soulful, and really connects with me. Even his odd guttural vocalizations during tunes seems to fit right in just fine. The fact that tunes keep mostly to the five minute mark probably also works in their favor. Nice stuff. Compositions like Rio Part XV are pure bliss.
Kevin Hays, Variations: Pianist Kevin Hays would make an excellent tour guide on his instrument. He’s spent his career discovering all the hidden spots in between the notes that typically attract the tourists. Leaving his typical trio format for this recording, his exploratory nature shines through. A delicate sound throughout, and compositions that wander classical territory more than jazz, it’s an impressive addition to his already impressive discography.
And let’s wrap up with my weekly “Cool Album Misfiled Under Jazz” pick….
Wymond Miles, Earth Has Doors: Sacred Bones is one of the best labels going right now, so I listen to everything they put out on general principle. And so, the solo debut from Wymond Miles, guitarist for the Fresh & Onlys. This is some hazy, psychy stuff, not too far off from the Choir record I shouted out above. Dave Raposa says:
This one-man effort (some drums, strings and backing vocals aside) is decidedly more overcast and purposeful. Even if you didn’t know that these tracks dealt with “the existential crisis of our current epoch,” even a cursory listen to tracks like the neo-folk flavored “Temples of Magick” or the viola-and-feedback driven instrumental “As The Orchard Is With Rain” intimate that Miles has something weighty on his mind.
That Ghost Rosaling: MORE PSYCH FOLK. Good God, you guys. Thank god reverb isn’t a natural resource, or we’d be fucked. Ryan Schmale, the guiding force behind That Ghost, is all of 18 years-old, and this EP imagines Devandra Banhart in the middle of a particularly unsettling nightmare. Strange and spooky.
Deer Tick, Tim: Couple songs from everyone’s favorite whiskey cowboys.
A Place to Bury Strangers, Onward to the Wall: MORE REVERB! Wow. New EP from JAMC-loving NYC group brings a whole lot of boom and bash. Phil Freeman sums this up a lot more eloquently than I just did:
This five-song, 17-minute EP’s blown-out sound definitely recalls Psychocandy, mixing simple garage-rock riffs, primitive, almost mechanical drumming and deadpan vocals, but APTBS adds a huge bass sound the J&MC rarely bothered with. The opener, “I Lost You,” adds a lovelorn lyric to the mix, while the EP’s title track brings in vocalist Alanna Nualla for a moody, post-punk dialogue that makes a better soundtrack to the drawing on the cover of Sonic Youth’s Goo than that album did.
The Band in Heaven EP: MORE HOZAC. God, I love this label. This is a bit more boisterous than Radar Eyes — imagine Black Rebel Motorcycle Club if it were fronted by mathletes and you’re on the right track. Pinwheeling psych-haze, organs and dead-eyed vocals make this another grand tower of bong from the Hozzers.
Bare Mutants, Without You: Two-song single from — you guessed it — a HoZac band kind of sounds like Crystal Stilts played at the wrong speed. Morose baritone, wheezing organs and driving, droning guitars.
Christian Cosmos, Unmaking: A pair of staticky drone pieces from noise label Hospital, the second side being slightly more apocalyptic than the first. Steady, insistent rhythms surrounded by exhaust-fume static.
Davila 666, Por Que Vives: Three-song EP from Puerto Rican band Davila 666 swings from marauding garage to deliberately-shitty tape-deck folk songs. More noise than song, which is alright by me.
Amanda Palmer & the Grand Theft Orchestra, “Polly”: Tiny little cover of the Nirvana song consists of almost nothing beyond Palmer’s voice and what sounds like a few wind chimes. Spooky!
Gracie, Treehouse: Philly artist imagines what might happen if an art school student who was really into Merzbow tried to make an R&B record.
Santigold, “Big Mouth”: When Santigold put out her great first record, everyone kept comparing her to MIA and I was like, “That’s pretty racist, considering the record sounds nothing like MIA.” And now, here’s her new single, and it pretty much sounds like MIA. Drag.
Hey everyone! Some great ones that I know we’ve been waiting for are here, starting with the best emo record of the past five years (ED Note/Fact Checkers’ Dept: I don’t listen to emo) with Cloud Nothings’ Attack on Memory. Let’s start there, shall we? No matter how weird it gets, don’t stop holding my hand.
Simone Dinnerstein sold out Miller Theatre on Thursday, and everyone I saw filing into the hall had that anticipatory glint in their eye when they’ve prepared themselves for Something Special. No one looked bored, or there out of obligation, or distracted. Everyone looked oddly expectant. The woman behind me noted, with fondness in her voice, that the concert had sold out. “As well it should,” she said. By the sound of it, she might have been Simone’s aunt (I’m pretty she wasn’t.) These are not the sorts of sentiments one normally hears at classical concerts, sold-out or no.
Hey, have you guys heard anything about this Lana Del Rey person? I feel like no one’s talking about her. What I wouldn’t give to find out any information on her. Seems real mysterious. Well, whoever she is, we have her record and a whole lot of others today. Let’s go!
Leonard Cohen, Old Ideas: Seriously, I think we all just need to take a pause and revel in the fact that there is a new Leonard Cohen record out today. Don’t take this for granted! As bleak or cynical as you might feel about some aspects of pop music, we still live in an age where we get treated to 10 new Leonard Cohen songs! That is a very good thing! It’s also RECOMMENDED. eMusic’s Amanda Petrusich agrees:
Cohen is still an unmatchable lyrical wit, pithily articulating things (“I had to go crazy to love you”) we’ve all thought at one time or another, and his insights are well-matched by frugal instrumentation (he’s finally eschewing the goofy synthesizers that muddled his most recent records). While his delivery can be deadpan or even purposefully a-melodic, it’s impossible to get through Old Ideas without a few moments of catharsis.
Lana Del Rey, Born To Die: AT LAST. One-woman internet lightning rod finally releases her massively buzzed-about solo debut. We’ll let you decide for yourself. We’ve got a Six Degrees as penned by Michaelangelo Matos that we’ll be rolling out over the next few days. In the meantime, here’s Dan Hyman with a review:
Thanks to producer Emile Haynie (Kid Cudi), everything here has a trip-hop wooziness — orchestral elegance pinned down by hip-hop grit. But it’s when Del Rey speaks up (“Diet Mountain Dew”) over constructed static that a pristine vocal snarl emerges. Going for forthright pop (“Dark Paradise”) suits her well. And while the storyline rarely wavers — “Off to the Races” and “National Anthem” feel like peppy, campier anecdotes to the lusty, confused female personas of standouts “Blue Jeans” and “Born To Die” — audible nuance generally takes precedent over developed narrative.
Lilacs & Champagne, Lilacs & Champagne: THIS IS FANTASTIC. Eerie, ghostlike instrumentals that are creepy and unsettling; like some of the stuff that was happening near the end of trip-hop, when Tricky finally went off the deep end into borderline horrorcore. Play this at night, then try to get to sleep. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED eMusic’s Ian Cohen says:
Alex Hall and Emil Amos are the personalities behind Grails, a Portland instrumental rock collective that’s happily traversed so much sonic terrain over the past decade and a half that they’d seemingly make side projects unnecessary. But where Grails absorbs and perverts genres, Hall and Amos’s self-titled debut as Lilacs & Champagne is an act of deconstruction and rebuilding: The duo were inspired by Madlib’s dank crate-digging and sample-stitching technique, and they also share a love for similar source material. Unquestionably stoned in demeanor, L&C leans heavy on underground hip-hop, Krautrock, ’70s psych and even an occasion Jayne Mansfield recording to create ambient music for the kind of people who find the idea of ambient music boring.
Howlin’ Wolf, Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951 – 1959: OH HELL YES. Wow. Wow. First things first, this one is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. This is basically every major Howlin’ Wolf track recorded for Chess Records ever. This is serious. Wolf’s groggy tar-in-the-throat delivery has echoed over decades in people like Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart, and his rough-and-tumble approach to the blues is still without equal. Wanna stare down the devil? Start here. Have I mentioned how great this is?
Buxton, Nothing Here Seems Strange: Rugged little country album not totally unlike the Band — Sergio Trevino has an oaky voice, and they occasionally work up to some nice, dissonant swells of sound. eMusic’s Ashley Melzer says:
Nothing Here is swelling with boy/girl harmonies, sweeping strings and a shortwave radio texture that swaths lead singer Sergio Trevino’s voice to moody effect. Flare for ambience isn’t the band’s only trick, though. For every finger-picked guitar or lilting melody, there’s a counter balance: a wailing lead riff (“Down in the Valley”), a shuffling beat (“Lynchburg Ferry”), a breakout jam session (“Broke from Bread”).
Simone Dinnerstein, Something Almost Being Said: Music of Bach and Schubert: Latest from breakout superstar piano player Dinnerstein that I know well enough I shouldn’t attempt to write about. I leave it in the hands of the pros, like Seth Colter Walls, who says:
If you thought she’d be looking to hedge or hide some of her interpretive tendencies in Romantic repertoire, you’d be wrong. From the opening of No. 1 in C Minor, she instantly features her instinctual, radical recourse to rubato. It’s a doubling down. At nearly 12 minutes, her take is well over a minute longer than standard-bearer recordings by Schiff and Perahia (not to mention last year’s entry from Paul Lewis). It’s a daring approach, and persuasive in no small measure due to the engineering on this recording: By catching the piano’s low end, it gives the enterprise a grounded sense even when Dinnerstein engages in her wait-for-it style of teasing.
Jealous Sound, A Gentle Reminder: EMO. Emo is BACK. Trust me. This is gonna be the year emo returns. Just listen to that Cloud Nothings record! EMO. And don’t be mad about it! It’s good music! And some of its pioneers, as it turned out, never left! The Jealous Sound is Blair from Knapsack and Padro from Sunday’s Best, and the music they write is earnest, tuneful guitar rock that, at times, recalls the last few David Bazan solo records.
Union, Analogotronics: This is pretty great. Lots of analog-synthy production and blip-beats with rhymes by Talib Kweli, MF DOOM, Roc Marciano and more. I’m into it! It’s the kind of thing that would be playing in some chill-out lounge on a club in Venus. eMusic’s Nate Patrin agrees. He says:
Parisian producers OJ and Gold are driven by a shared aesthetic, one in which the more bohemian and blunted corners of North American independent hip-hop have been steeped for more than a decade. It’s an intersection of ’70s/’80s vintage synths and clipped, sawed-off drum breaks, an approach that’s spanned 21st-century music from the Soulquarians to Dam-Funk. Analogtronics does its best to prove its creators’ love for that sound with a roster of indie-rap MCs that work well over it. The reliable juxtaposition of fat, squelching basslines and airy, glimmering melodies over digital-organic Dilla-style snares provides a comfortable backdrop for [the crew of MCs]
Liechtenstein, Fast Forward: I really liked the record this band made for Slumberland last year (or so) but it kind of came and went. Their spirit is not crushed, though! This is more jouyous female-fronted post-punky type stuff, maybe like if the Raincoats were better rehearsed or Huggy Bear were quieter.
Ringo Starr, Ringo 2012: I love that this is called Ringo 2012. I don’t have a ton to say here. This is the latest Ringo record that features collaborators like the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, Joe Walsh and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. I can say with full confidence that there are songs on this record.
Errors, Have Some Faith in Magic: I really love this album title. The album doesn’t sound bad, either: nice, blippy 8-bit-ish electronic music, slow and meditative. Like the soundtrack for an ’80s video game. eMusic’s Andrew Mueller says pretty much the same thing! He and I both think this one’s RECOMMENDED:
Errors’ third album, is an almost exclusively instrumental affair; when human vocals appear, as on “Earthscore” and “Holus-Bolus,” they’re spectral and translucent, ghosts in the machine. For the most part, Errors deal in vast, ornate sculptures of electronic sound. “The Knock” builds into something which, in its climactic movement, is reminiscent of Slovenian situationists Laibach, which is to say it suggests a totalitarian anthem constructed from the bleeps and pops of ’80s video games.
Pepe Deluxe, Queen of the Wave: Pepe Deluxe have been making records forever, man! This is the latest, bringing their cut-n-paste hyperactive sugar-spiked lounge core to the next level.
The Doozer, Keep it Together: This is some glassy-eyed psychy-type UK-inspired folk music. The obvious jumping off point is Syd Barrett, but I can even hear a tiny bit of Nikki Sudden or some of the more pastoral Kinks songs here. Pretty good! eMusic’s Evan Minsker agrees. He says:
On Keep It Together, [The Doozer's] first album on Woodsist, he sets up shop in his local village hall with 11 other musicians. The result is a much warmer album than his previous work, with the first acoustic major chord strums of “Burning Bright” leading into some rococo string arrangements. His lyrics only perpetuate the pastoral feel of the album — “There’s a beautiful girl in a fold-up chair/ Sitting around without a care.” And every song on Keep It Together has that same carefree attitude. It helps that his vocals are flanked by a handful of other lovely things — beautiful flourishes of strings, a choogling acoustic guitar, a second vocalist singing harmony, and a lilting piano.
The Blue Rhythm Combo, BRC’s Groove: WOO-HOO! Crackling, funky beats from Barbadian band in the ’70s. This is great — hazy horn charts, rubbery bass, lots of tight grooves and soulful vocals. Guess what? HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Araabmuzik, Instrumental University: This guy! Beatmaster returns with another batch of chilling instrumentals. The thing that stands out to me about Araab’s stuff is how threatening it sounds — there are always these icicle synth stabs or freaked-out orchestral hits — it’s like you’re caught in the second of a horror film where the killer leaps out of the bushes, knife drawn.
One Model Nation, Totalwerks Vol. 1 [1969 - 1977]: Don’t be fooled by the name. This is Courtney Taylor-Taylor from the Dandy Warhols making primitive industrial music to accompany a comic book of the same name.
Farmer Sea, A Safe Place: Earnest, touching jangle-pop that could have been on college radio in the ’80s. Probably in the south. Return of the Paisley Underground?
Barry Adamson, I Will Set You Free: New solo outing from long-running Brit alt dude with an excellent resume (Magazine, the Bad Seeds, etc) is pretty dashing supper club rock not too far off from solo Bryan Ferry. Pretty good and elegant, good for sipping cocktails in an expensive suit at home.
–>Jazz Picks, by Dave Sumner
Well, the new release season is definitely underway for Jazz. So much great music this week, I pretty much could’ve written “Highly Recommended” after everything I included and the handful I didn’t have time for. Let’s begin…
Alexandra Lehmler, No Blah Blah: Wow, nice start to my day. Quintet of sax, piano, bass, drums, and percussion. Lehmler handles the business on sax, definitely with two feet in the straight-ahead European jazz scene. Lehmler has got a lively sound on sax, gives each song a palpable vibrancy, plenty of soaring, but not to where it begins sounding like an ECM album or a lite-jazz recording. Mixes up the tempos; extra person on percussion adds some welcome texture to the rhythm section. Just beautiful. Pick of the Week
Simone Guiducci Gramelot Ensemble, That’s All Folks:Simone Guiducci fuses jazz with the music of Italian folklore, and that might be as close as I come to classifying this wonderful music. Featuring Ralph Alessi on trumpet and Guiducci on guitar, other instruments include clarinet, bass clarinet, accordion, double bass, drums, various percussion, and piano. Rhythms with plenty of depth whether they’re sprinting or ambling, trumpet and clarinet intertwine while darting up and down, the sound of the rustic countryside brought into a boisterous jazz club… you get all of that here. Outstanding. Find of the Week.
Benjamin Koppel, Quartre Trois Deux Un: Always exciting to see a new release from the Danish saxophonist and composer, this time with a quartet date with Jacob Anderskov on piano, Thommy Andersson on bass, and Daniel Humair on drums, it’s a set of compositions that features Koppel’s unique voice, bringing classical elements to the European jazz sound. The result is a series of introspective tunes that are as likely to clamor as meditate. Koppel is one of the true under-the-radar treasures. To my ears, no one synthesizes the comfort and mystery of dreams quite like him. Definitely Recommended, as is his album Adventures of a Polar Expedition, which was my top choice for 2010 album of the year. Recommended.
Fabrice Sotton, L’envol: Pianist Fabrice Sotton kinda does his own thing, switching effortlessly between piano and electric keyboard (sometimes within the same tune), moving from a standard jazz composition to a classical one to a world jazz fusion in the span of three songs, and adding whatever electronic effect or field recordings will get him the desired sound for whatever song is right in front of him at that very moment… album cohesion be damned. If you like to wake slowly to the day, his music will fit right in, though some of his compositions do have a caffeinated punch. I like L’envol well enough, glad he recorded it, and recommend buying it; that said, I’d recommend the excellent Terre Inconnue first, followed by L’attente next. If you’re into modern quiet piano recordings, check this guy out.
Frank Hewitt, Salience: It looks like Smalls Records has released another posthumous Frank Hewitt recording. For those who don’t know, Hewitt was one of the criminally under-recognized boppers back in the day, played with many of the greats, and never really had anything released under his own name (at least, not representative of his contribution to jazz). Hewitt passed away about 10 years ago, and it’s great that Smalls has been putting Hewitt’s music out. This recording has Hewitt on piano, Jimmy Lovelace on drums, and Ari Roland on bass. I’ve been looking around, and it’s possible that several of these tracks may have been released previously on the Hewitt album We Loved You; for most of you, this duplication won’t be an issue, and for those of you who already have that recording, the duplication isn’t likely going to be an obstacle to purchasing this one.
Martin Hoper, The Bride: Another nice selection from the European scene. Bassist Martin Hoper rounds out the quartet with sax, piano, and drums for an understated straight-ahead affair. Plenty of spritely tunes to bounce the head along with. Hoper has a very nice moments bowing, and just generally shows a professional touch leading his quartet. On the Hoob label, who have displayed a knack at finding under-the-radar talent and released an extremely diverse set of recordings. Beautiful stuff here.
Bill Dixon, Envoi: Trumpeter and composer Bill Dixon was one of the preeminent innovators on the free jazz scene. Recorded live in 2010 just before his passing, Envoi assembles an all-star cast of master improvisors (including Taylor Ho Bynum and Rob Mazurek) and unleashes emotional cross-currents of brass instruments, vibes, percussion, contrabass clarinet, and cello. Highly Recommended. A bit longer album review on eMusic here.
Jeremy Pelt, Soul: Virtuoso trumpet player Jeremy Pelt assembles an all-star line-up of J. D. Allen on tenor sax, Danny Grissett on piano, Dwayne Burno on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums, and gives a performance that really honors the quintet, sharing the spotlight with everybody. Pelt has been on an impressive roll, putting out an album a year for about the last six. No matter what ensemble he plays with, his sound is distinctively cerebral, even when he’s blowing flames out of his instrument. This is great straight-ahead jazz from some of the best musicians on the scene.
Amy Cervini, Digging Me Digging You: Excellent jazz vocal album by the talented singer backed by a ridiculously impressive cast that includes Bruce Barth (piano), Jesse Lewis (guitar), Matt Aronoff (bass), James Shipp (perc & vibes), Matt Wilson (drums), Anat Cohen (clarinet), Jeremy Udden (alto sax), Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Josh Sinton (bari sax), and Jennifer Wharton (bass trombone). Lots of swinging tunes that match well with Cervini’s bounce and ballads that match with Cervini’s warmth. The kind of jazz vocals album that will appeal to people who say, “I’m not really into jazz vocals albums”. Very fun. Released on the Anzic label, who couldn’t put out a bad album if they tried.
Arturo Sandoval, Mambo Nights: Oh man, this is nice. Trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval and the WDR Big Band for a series of bebop and Afro-Cuban compositions that just soar soar soar. Nothing but sonic happiness here; even the cover of “Oye Como Va” (which, on most albums, pretty much makes me cringe at this point) delivers plenty of life and good cheer. This album is aces. Highly Recommended
Enrico Rava Quintet, Tribe: Well, it appears that eMusic is getting caught up on its 2011 ECM releases. This one from trumpet player Enrico Rava. Honestly, I just don’t connect with his sound, which to me is like audio quicksand, but people definitely like his stuff; Rava is perpetually up there on Best Of lists from year to year. So I figured I’d mention this one. He’s got the nifty trombonist Gianluca Petrella on this recording, which is nice. Hey, give the samples a shot; maybe it’s your kind of thing.
Julie Lamontagne; Opus Jazz: Former classical pianist and composer, now jazz pianist and composer, gives us a solo recording that attempts to fuse both. Seems to lean a bit more to the classical side, but whatever, I’m liking this on my first pass of the album. The Trilogie Coloree is just beautiful. Released on the Justin Time label, which can always be counted on for making some tasteful choices in which albums they release.
Okay, this is neat. There are three albums listed under the Solos Series, which captures innovative jazz musicians in a solo setting while interviewing them and having them share their thoughts (occasionally) about their creative process. There’s one for piano genius Matthew Shipp, as well as for sax man Mark Taylor and guitarist Charlie Hunter. That Shipp album is totally floating my boat.
–>Metal Box
Liberteer, Better to Die on Your Feet Than Live on Your Knees: THIS IS EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. Hyperactive symphonic grindcore (!!) somehow finds room for Sousa-like horns and Wagnerian strings in the middle of breakneck tempos and heart-attack guitars. This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. eMusic’s Phil Freeman says:
It’s the music that separates Liberteer from the pack. Widener has made a symphonic grindcore album, with triumphant horn fanfares and majestic surges from an orchestra bolstering the savage, 90-second tracks. A few songs are also adorned with delicately plucked banjo, giving them a backwoods ominousness that’s more threatening than any blast beat could ever be.
Bleeding Through, The Great Fire: 12 years on and Bleeding Through sounds as angry as ever. This is serious: cycloning metal shot through with eerie synths and the occasional, doomy sung chorus. Splits the difference between melody and madness.
Azaghal, Nemesis: NINTH (!) studio album from Finnish black metallers Azaghal is as punishing as you might expect. The songs race forward at around 100,000 mph, clawing guitars and man-on-fire vocals. Not exactly reinventing the black metal wheel, as it were, but they certainly do give the ol’ pentagram a nice polish.
Enslaved, Yggdrasill: Whoah! 1992 demo from Enslaved (dig the Xerox cover art) is super primitive and, therefore, super creepy. This is some crazy shit, man — evil minor-key synths and buzz buzz buzz guitars plus the uber lo-fi production values make this sound like a missive from a murderer’s lair.
Hello all! Welcome back to NA in the UK. New Portico quartet, live Wire, crunching hardcore from the Veils, bleak folk from Petra Jean Phillippson, and more, after the jump!
If indie rock has patron saints, Steve Lamacq’s one of them. His radio show on BBC is the source for countless hopeful indie bands — a cosign from Lamacq is a step up the ladder to a wider audience, who have been conditioned to trust Lamacq’s keen ears and gimlet eye without hesitation. He wrote for New Musical Express during its halcyon days. He signed Elastica. He’s, simply put, a legend — the heir to John Peel in the figurative and the literal sense — Peel was fond enough of Lamacq to have given him the nickname “The Cat,” a reference to Lamacq’s potent goalie powers.
So I’m thrilled to announce that this man has agreed to curate a week’s worth of eMusic editorial for the UK site. The reviews of the day are his choices, and his reviews, in his pithy, incisive words. In our extended interview, he mused thoughtfully on the state of indie in 2012 and what it’s like to be a career tastemaker. Come back every day to see more of what Lamacq gave us, but start here, today, with his eMusic Q&A. As an added bonus, he also walked us through twelve of his all-time favorite Desert-Island Discs. It’s a fascinating tour. Start now.
The first HUGE new release day of 2012, so strap in and get ready for a pretty comprehensive rundown! Dave Sumner‘s got your jazz picks, and I’ve got the rest. Here we go!
Continue reading ‘New This Week: Cloud Nothings, Craig Finn and More’
Hey all, we’ve got some fine new releases on the UK store this week, so let’s get into it, shall we? Craig Finn, Leila, First Aid Kit, Pulled Apart By Horses, Nada Surf, Liz Green, and more, after the jump.
Continue reading ‘NA In the UK: Craig Finn, Pulled Apart By Horses’
Hello! Welcome! It starts with a trickle, but always ends in a deluge: there are new records to talk about this week: Kathleen Edwards, Cate Le Bon, Chick Corea, Matthew Dear, Ani DiFranco, new Sleigh Bells, and much, much more after the jump.
Continue reading ‘New Arrivals: Kathleen Edwards Cate Le Bon, Chick Corea’
HELLO! Welcome back! 2012! Here we are! Doing it in the 0-1-2! This will be the last relatively quiet week we’ll be having here for a while, I think. A handful of new titles and some really worthwhile catalog stuff, along with Dave’s usual, fantastic jazz roundup. Here we go!
Keepaway, Black Flute: New Yorkers return with groovy record on Das Racist’s Greedhead label. You get squiggly grooves, thick organs, drowsy, far-off vocals — the kind of stuff that kicks in at the dance party around 3:30 a.m. when everyone is good and boozy. eMusic’s Marc Hogan says:
The official video for first track “Cake” shows Keepaway in three-part split-screen, goofing around in front of a tree. Sounds about right. Avoiding a single focal point, Mike Burakoff (samplers), Frank Lyon (drums) and Nick Nauman (guitar) all share vocal duties, and while there’s definitely a sylvan quality to Black Flutes‘ hollow beats and campfire harmonies, these are no stone-faced shamans. “Hologram” ventures into grinding-ready dubstep bass wobble; synthy, Afropop-nodding reverie “Bomb Track” ends with what appears to be assurance that women can’t measure men’s size as well as they think; and the chorus on the FlyLo-warped “Vital,” includes the wildly apropos line, “I forget my manners.”
Snow Patrol, Fallen Empires: Irish band returns with more deeply-felt pop music — do Irish bands write any other kind? There’s a lot of yearning, but also a lot of racing, and the band spikes their usual concoction of glimmering guitars and searching vocals with the odd layer of keyboard or throbbing dance beat.
Megadeth, Peace Sells, But Who’s Buying? (25th Anniversary Addition): Anniversary reissue of blistering, classic Megadeth record finds it sounding just as nasty and uncompromising as ever. Seriously heavy!
Syd Barrett, The Madcap Laughs: Timeless psych-folk record from the inventor of the genre. This is Syd spacing out, woozy melodies and woozier arrangements. Animal Collective still ain’t got nothing on this.
Heavy Feather, You’re the Lotion on Darkness’ Knuckles as it Punches Light in the Face: This is the greatest album title I’ve seen in quite a while. The album is small and soft and pretty, lots of whispery melodies and gentle arrangements. Tender little snowfall indie rock.
The Little Willies, For the Good Times: Norah Jones’ country band (which also features vet Jim Campilongo on guitar) returns with a batch of smoky, note-perfect covers of classic way-out-west tunes.
Caspian, Live at the Old South Church: Live album from instrumental/post-rock/mood-core band on the great Mylene Sheath label. Fans of everyone from Rachel’s to Explosions in the Sky, this one’s for you.
–>Jazz Picks, by Dave Sumner
Iro Haarla Quintet, Vespers: Another late 2011 arrival to eMusic , and another standout from last year. Haarla brings a masterful touch to this collection of soaring tunes and serene atmospherics. Switching between piano and harp, Haarla is the driving force behind the long plaintive calls of Matias Eick on trumpet and Trygye Seim on sax (both stars of the Euro jazz scene in their own right). Enchanting tunes that’ll fit in just fine with those quiet moments when all you want to do is sit back and relax. Beautiful stuff. Pick of the Week.
Marc Perrenoud Trio, Two Lost Churches: High octane piano trio that doesn’t forget the melody. Swiss pianist and composer Perrenoud, historically, has kept the personnel on his albums to three or less, and his ability on this album to build a sense of more out of less is evidence of his comfort level with the small combo setting. Modern piano trio, but keeps things grounded in the jazz tradition. Nice stuff.
Strasax, Strasax Live:This quintet of four saxes and a set of drums invites excellent pianist Benjamin Moussay to sit in for a live set of modern jazz. Sax collectives tend to take to approaches to a performance: everyone storming off in their own direction with a powerful cumulative effect when their paths cross or take-turns-soloing blowing sessions approach. On Live, Strasax seems to straddle both those extremes. A fair amount of dissonance and skronk, but Moussay’s work on piano and electric keyboards brings a groove to the set that nicely counterbalances the saxes and attracts them back to the center of the tunes.
Jazoo, Are You Still There?: This quintet from Slovenia is a neat little find. Instruments comprising sax, piano, drums, bass, accordion, flute, and electronics. They have a fresh modern sound abounding with celebratory cheer and respect for the melody. Woodwinds that sway happily to and fro, rhythms like a race through the driving rain, squiggly electronics blended with the teddy bear warmth of accordion. Absolutely love this. Find of the Week.
Joachim Kuhn Trio & HR Big Band, Out of the Desert: Pianist Joachim Kuhn does some amazing stuff with the trio format, but he just can’t help himself when it comes to the large ensembles. Much like the guy who foils his friends attempts to have a quiet night at home with a beer by dragging everyone out to the tavern, Kuhn brings his trio, once again, out into the crowd. This time it’s with the HR Big Band in a live performance. Kuhn’s a vet of the scene, and even though his compositions sound very much of Today, his roots of jazz past clearly inform his current releases. If you like your big band to sound a little different, this is a good choice. And if you prefer something more symphonic with your piano trio, then Kuhn’s excellent Europeana with the Radio Philharmonie Hannover will float your boat, too. Both albums on the ACT Music label, a great source of under the radar modern jazz.
Blue Cranes, Cantus Firmus: This Portland quintet seem to straddle the line between jazz and post-rock, but where much post-rock sounds meticulously thought out, it’s the heart of jazz that shines through when improvised music is the guiding principle. The Blue Cranes clearly take to improvisation. Featuring a core of tenor & alto sax, keyboards, drums, and bass, they seem more than happy to toss a bunch of strings into the mix. Strangely, it pushes their music further away from post-rock and closer to an avant-chamber jazz sound. Cantus Firmus is an EP, but they also have a proper album from 2010 on eMusic called Lift Music! Flown Music! from 2007, and it’s just as cool as the EP. Intoxicating tunes with plenty of force from sax and melancholy from strings, rhythms that don’t so much keep the time as spray paint the walls wherever the melody wanders. Highly Recommended.
Blake Lyman, Anthology For Now: This Portland saxophonist’s debut album has him sounding way more comfortable standing in his own reeds than should be expected when using the word ‘debut’. A trio outing, I was ready for a competent but unspectacular blowing session. Instead, what I got was a confident set of evocative tunes. Lyman takes a speak softly and carry a big sax approach to this album, letting his instrument give the impression of force without ever letting the volume get loud enough so that the neighbor’s call the police. Very impressive album. Nice straight-ahead music. Lyman clearly has his own voice; it doesn’t ever sound like he’s trying to channel his sax idols. Recommended.
Elio Villafranca & Arturo Stable, Dos Y Mas: The Cuban born pianist and percussionist seamlessly fuse jazz and world musics, particularly Cuban, for a sublime duo recording. It’s a spirited affair. Villafranca is something of a virtuoso on the keys, though it maybe Stable’s varied percussive instruments and polyrhythmic approach that lend the most intriguing elements to this recording. Tough to say for sure; they both demand my attention with the quality of their play. This is the kind of album that I slowly become addicted to and might begin raving about on the forums in a couple months. Released on the Motema label, who is on quite a roll these days. Highly Recommended.
Charlie Haden & Hank Jones, Come Sunday: I was waiting for this to hit the site. Jazz masters Charlie Haden (bass) and Hank Jones (piano) come together to record another set of spirituals. Fifteen years ago, they recorded Steal Away, a remarkable recording also based on spirituals of their childhood. Come Sunday is no less sublime. Throwing their legendary experience behind simple tunes, it gives the album a weight belied by their light touch. It’s obvious they didn’t record on auto-pilot and there’s no throw-away tunes here. Just beautiful stuff, though with the sad passing of Hank Jones not long after they finished recording, it leaves for a pull on the emotions even greater than the visceral reaction to the sound.
Fernando Huergo, Suite En Celeste Y Blanco: Veteran jazz bassist leads a quintet in an excellent set of Argentinean-influenced jazz. Quintet comprised of sax, flute, bass, drums, and piano. Warm tunes with long flowing lines and some delicious sharp curves. A solid recording that’s sure to cheer up the saddest of winter gloom. Some moments of thrilling beauty.
Jessica Pyrdsa, Whistler’s Daughter: Okay, this caught my attention. Pianist-vocalist has a real nice sound on both instruments. Jazzy in the sense of early Tom Waits. Gotta say, I’m finding myself addicted to quite a few of these tunes. Nothing that blows me away, but the music sounds pretty damn sincere, and I wanted to get a quick word in the article about it. Nice stuff.
And a heads-up about six box sets new to the site. They’re all listed under the Verve label. Artists include Oliver Nelson, Woody Herman, Oscar Peterson Trio, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, and Quincy Jones.
–> Singles & EPs
The Shins, “Simple Song”: Well, if you were anywhere near a computer yesterday, I’m going to assume you heard this? New one from the Shins 2.0 features a lot of yearning James Mercer vocals and a typically resplendent backing arrangement. For some reason, he was sounding a lot like Brian Wilson to me when I listened to this yesterday. Weird, I know.
Dry the River, Weights & Measures EP: You heard it here first: keep an eye on this band. Keening country harmonies, trembling vocals and sparse arrangements characterize this brief EP from soon-to-be-buzz band. This EP doesn’t do a great job of capturing the power of their live show, but it’s a good introduction before a full-length delivers the goods.
The Babies, Cry Along with the Babies: New 6-song EP from the Babies, aka Kevin from Woods and Cassie from Vivian Girls, is made up mostly of lo-fi folky stuff recorded on what sounds like a 4-track, a nice nod to the sound of indie past.
Nite Jewel, “One Second of Love”: Nite Jewel used to be hushed and tentative and proudly chintzy, but this debut single for Dead Oceans finds her ramping up the cool Italo Disco influence. A good pump-primer for the forthcoming full-length.
Air, “Seven Stars”: Single from forthcoming Air record. I haven’t paid attention to Air in a really long time. This sounds nice, though – a lot more organic than their previous stuff.
The last week before the holidays, and we are down to a trickle as far as new arrivals. This will be the last New This Week roundup of 2011. Where does the time go? Not into some kind of bottle, I can tell you that much. And now, one last run through the stacks before we reconvene in 2012.
Common, The Dreamer, The Believer: The first track on this record features Maya Angelou. The second features Nas. Honestly, I feel like that says it all when it comes to Common: despite what Bill O’Reilly may say, he’s one of hip-hop’s most progressive figures, as much a poet as a rapper, more interested in storytelling than battle rapping. This one finds him returning to the kind of dusty, old-soul beats that characterized his earliest outings. Which is just fine by me.
Radiohead, “The Daily Mail”/”Staircase”: Studio versions of two songs left off the last Radiohead record. Suspecting you’ve heard these already.
Young Jeezy, TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition: JEEZY. I loved the first Young Jeezy record, was a little cool on the second, skipped the third, but am ready to get back on board if Jeezy is ready to have me. What I love about Jeezy’s delivery is the sense of menace in his voice — the way it scrapes across the ice-cold synths is the stuff of horror movies. LET’S GET IT.
The Internet, Purple Naked Ladies: Chillwavey project from Odd Future’s Syd the Kid. Some chintzy synths, soulful vocals and guest appearances from some of the Odd Future crew. Remember Cody ChestnuTT? If he made a chillwave record, this is what I think it would sound like. Also, chillwave.
The Lost Sounds, Lost Sounds: Synthpunk outing from the late Jay Reatard, with Alicja Trout. One of Jay’s earliest releases. Scuzzy and nasty with buckets of shitty-sounding synths.
Tegan and Sara, The Con: Demos: Truth in advertising! Demo versions of the songs from the last Tegan & Sara record. The songs sound great in this more minimal, stripped-back format, highlighting the Quinn sisters’ trembling voices. RECOMMENDED
Meg & Dia, Be Careful, I Love You, Stay in Touch: EP of sweet, plaintive songs consisting mostly of rolling piano and reaching, emotive vocals.
–> Jazz Picks
By Dave Sumner
For the quantity of releases as sparse at they were these last seven days, looking over my list, I’m pretty happy with what was offered in terms of quality. As always, some conventional music, some odd music, and some stuff in between.
Miguel Zenon, Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook: Turning classic Puerto Rican songs into jazz compositions, apparently, wasn’t enough of a challenge for alto-saxophonist Miguel Zenon, so he adds a ten-piece wind ensemble to the mix. The result is a richly textured series of tunes with a modern approach but steeping in the nostalgic songbooks of Long Ago. Sharp searching sax lines interspersed with lush ballads endow this album with a storybook feel. By the way, the wind ensemble is conducted by the excellent pianist-composer Guillermo Klein. If you’re not familiar with his discography, then get started right here, with Filtros, arguably 2008’s album of the year. Highly recommended.
Miguel Zenon, Awake: Altoist Zenon, known predominately for delving into Puerto Rican songbooks and compositions resulting in some very exciting recordings, threatens to record a straight-ahead affair with Awake. I said “threatens”. Adding Fender Rhodes and a string ensemble to album tunes keeps things euphorically different, and his playing on alto sax is just phenomenal. A virtuoso display of his lyricism without it coming off as forced. Pushy lead instruments just grate on my nerves; it’s so unnecessary to force an instrument to do the work that it’s absolutely capable of doing on its own. On Awake, Zenon lets his sax sing. Highly recommended.
Branford Marsalis, Eternal: A Marsalis brothers album that I keep coming back to. Eternal is a laid-back quartet date, featuring Joey Calderazzo on piano, Eric Revis on bass, and “Tain” Watts on drums. Marsalis really just lets his sax sing and features it through the beautiful sound rather than through a fussy display of technique. Watts’ drum work on this album is outstanding, and Marsalis’s sax wails over the top evoke a sense of the spiritual. Recommended.
Roberto Negro Trio, Downtown Sorry:
Interesting piano trio album. Negro gives the impression on the first track that it’ll be a standard piano-bass-drums recording with some pretty flourishes and a little bit of nuanced melancholia thrown in for good measure. But then his piano runs begin to scatter, the bass and drums follow at a discrete distance, and sax and electronics reveal their face at surprising moments. Each subsequent tune gets a little more interesting than its predecessor. Pretty neat, and Recommended.
Olivier Mugot, Distance(s): French guitarist Olivier Mugot has put himself together a nifty avant-garde world jazz album. With herky-jerky compositions played out on guitar, bandoneon, harmonica, percussion, bass, Distance(s) is faintly reminiscent of old-school ECM without sacrificing any of the album’s sense of Now. Plenty of cerebral moments to keep the listener engaged. Pretty cool.
Oh Yeah Orchestra, Freedom of Movement: Comprised of ten of the top jazzers on the Swedish scene, it’s a nice mix of orchestral and avant-garde jazz. Odd dissonance woven into luxurious threads of large ensemble orchestration results in an enchanting set of tunes. I love it when experimentalism is applied to an album, and yet the overall result is an exhilaratingly pure jazz recording. Soprano & tenor sax, trumpet, trombone, tuba, cello, bass, Berimbau, percussion, hang & sizzleboard drums, and some vocal accompaniment are the ingredients to this excellent album. Highly recommended.
Mike Lorenz, Of the Woods: I often like to refer to Brian Blade’s epic Season of Changes as the vanguard example of what nu-jazz has come to be… non-repetitive melodies more akin to storytelling than formulaic poetry and indie rock conventions in a modern jazz framework. But there are others that have adopted that sound, many to impressive effect. Enter guitarist Mike Lorenz’s Of the Woods, a nice series of tunes with understated tension built over machine gun rhythms. A quintet of guitar, sax, piano, bass, and drums, it’s a solid effort that’s quite an enjoyable listen. Definitely worth a look into if you’re into Brian Blade’s thing.
Dino Saluzzi, Navidad De Los Andes: Another ECM dropped today, this one matching up the trio of composer and bandoneon musician Dino Saluzzi, with cellist Anja Lechner, and saxophonist Felix Saluzzi. Not jazz, per se, more world-classical… I guess… or something like that. Cripes, ECM just has its own sound when it comes to these things; they might as well be their own genre at this point. Some people go crazy for this stuff, some not so much. If you like sorrowful harmonization amongst a trio of concerto instruments, then just hit the download button and don’t look back.
Alfredo Naranjo, Mexico Music Fest: Vibraphonist, composer, and arranger Alfredo Naranjo brings together a quartet that includes guitar, bass, and percussion for a nice live set recorded live in April 2011. With Naranjo’s vibes out front, it’s a warm display of technique and voice, with Juan Angel Esquivel’s guitar the perfect accompaniment. I’m very much of the opinion that vibes and guitar should always be at the hip on a jazz album; something so complementary in the instrument’s respective sounds that it’s a lonelier affair when one is excluded from the other. Thankfully, on this fine live performance, we get to hear them in action together.
Angelo Valori & the M. Edit Ensemble, Il Caffe Dalle Americhe: An intoxicating album of jazz fused with Mediterranean folk music. Piano, strings, vocals, saxophones, guitars, and an accordion that sounds like a string section when it sticks to the background. Plenty of serene moments fluttering over rustic compositions. It gets a bit light & fusion-y at times, but that’s part of its charm. I almost passed this album over, but something about it kept me coming back. Now I’m getting hooked. My patience was rewarded, maybe yours, too. Highly recommended.
Okay, this last one, I’m not sure what to make of it and everything I find on the internet about it is in French and no convenient translation page to help me out, but this is just too cool not to mention…
Jazz Combo Box, Scratcho’Band: A mix of hot jazz, hip hop, and a little bit of 70s soul. As far as I can tell, this outfit got together a jazz outfit, including tuba and either and maybe a banjo, scratch records along with it and sample others. There are a lot of failed hip hop jazz fusion attempts out there… a lot. I find most of them unlistenable. This album, though, it’s so damn infectious, leaves me smiling with each track. I’d hate to find out that they’re actually doing their thing over old vinyl jazz records, but really, what little I could find and translate, I think these guys are doing their own thing. So fun.
And real quickly, I think it’s been awhile since 1201 Music dropped an album from the Black Lion Vault series, but there’s a nice Charles Tolliver (Paper Man) which dropped, and an even better Human Arts Ensemble (Under the Sun).
See you next year.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. By which I mean: there’s hardly anything coming out. Let’s dive into the few treasures under the tree this week.
Continue reading ‘new arrivals: anthony hamilton, charlotte ganisbourg & more’
twitterview: Breathe Carolina
You asked; they answered. Below the jump, the Twitter Q&A with the Denver, CO duo Breathe Carolina.
Even though the new release cycle continues to slow down, we’ve still got a few banner new releases today, alongside some hidden gems. Let’s dive in.
new: smashing pumpkins & more
Hello! As some of you may have noticed, there was no New Arrivals roundup last week — largely because there were only a handful of records that came out on Tuesday, and short weeks have a habit of being relatively uneventful. But we’re making up for it today, with a batch of new albums to help round out your 2011, including a batch of Smashing Pumpkins reissues and the new single from Sharon Van Etten. So, without further ado:
The Unthanks cover Robert Wyatt and Antony Hegarty, Hospital Records celebrate their 15th anniversary, Vladislav Delay returns, and more, after the jump.
Continue reading ‘NA in the UK: The Unthanks, Hospital Records’
We’re getting ready to close the gate on another year and, as such, the New Arrivals onslaught is slowing to a trickle. However! We’ve still got a smattering of new albums from trusted favorites — along with a few below-the-radar gems — to keep things interesting until we all hit the holiday madness. So! Here we go!
