March 2004
Starsailor
Silence Is Easy
Capitol
Like The Verve, Starsailor is from Wigan, which is very northern. It's a cold
and bleak place. Starsailor hasn't really made an impact in America yet. They
are lesser known that Coldplay, Travis, and Doves. Now there are a bunch of
American bands jumping on the earnest rock bandwagon. The field is crowded.
Starsailor stands out still because of great songs like "Fidelity" and "Silence
Is Easy." But the rest of the album doesn't make a strong impression. James
Walsh is a talented singer and songwriter. This time out they even got Phil
Spector to help out. His bad mullet and all. While The Beatles are busy releasing
records without the handiwork of the Wall of Sound man, Starsailor are
brining himself back to pop music. Spector must have been affected by the
experience. He killed some bartender at House of Blues soon after. Maybe he could have
stayed on for the whole record. Easy listening was popular during the 1970s
too. Jackson Browne and Fleetwood Mac were very popular for some reason. Songs
like "White Dove" are not bad, but I am sure that Starsailor hasn't made their
great record yet. It may be a collector item in the future because it will
possibly be the last record Phil Spector did.
The Coral
Magic and Medicine
Columbia
Before Franz Ferdinand came along, it seemed like The Coral may the next big
band from England. This is their second album in a very short time. Most of
their sound seems derived from early 1970s bands like Moody Blues and 1960s
garage bands. The Coral have defined their sound and their influences over the
past three years. They are very funky and musical. They are like good time rock
and roll. The organ sound dominates in a lot of their songs. Much of their
songs you can see working in a Guy Ritchie film. Whereas their first album seemed
like a rush job, this second effort seems more like a complete album. There is
a jazz and blues vibe on most of the tracks that seems like The Band or
Canned Heat. There are a lot of British bands that meander for years and make
people happy throughout. Maybe they can jump on the jam band bandwagon like Gomez.
Then they could tour American colleges for years with Phish and Widespread
Panic.
Beans
Now Soon Someday
Warp Records
Beans is having a renaissance. His recent tour with The Unicorns has forced
many people to check him out. Not just the people that are into weird indie
hiphop either. This is the second disk in a year from Beans. He was in Anti Pop
Consortium for a while. This record is more of a remix record with El-P and
Prefuse 73. Some tracks return from the previous thing, Tomorrow Right Now. Much
of the music sounds like Throbbing Gristle or Suicide, with Beans rapping over
it. It's probably closer in spirit to Schooly D and Kool Keith. It grows on
you. It is getting better every day. Beans will be in your town soon enough.
All Night Radio
Spirit Stores Frequency
Sub Pop
These guys were part of Beachwood Sparks for many years. Now they are
channeling the spirit of Cat Stevens and all psychedelic ghosts of the past. This is
because when you take LSD you die. Sometimes a phoenix is born. Sometimes you
just become some doofus pumping gas on DeLongpre and Highland, dreaming about
buying a cottage in Spain. Drugs rearrange all learned patterns. All school is
only in three dimensions. I am talking about the onement, which Terence
McKenna has referred to in his writings. There is only so much reality the brain
can comprehend. Music opens the door to those altered states. It's only at
certain hours, when secret radio signals broadcast this new dimension. The ghosts
of the past (Cat Stevens, Gram Parsons, Tiny Tim) make an appearance. All Night
Radio creeps up on you like bad dreams and strong acid. It's burns into your
soul. The lessons are don't grow old. All rebellion is against a fiction
"them" which is supposed to be society. But society is mostly trying to avoid the
temptation of the latest reality show. Anything with "radio" in the title is
a good idea.
The One AM Radio
A Name Writ In Water
Level Plane
I never have heard of this before. I was listening to it expecting nothing.
It is a semi-folk record. It is mostly a one-man band. That man is named
Hrishikesh Hirway. It is sometimes a very intimate record. Songs like "Under Thunder
and Gale" and "Drowsy Haze" set the mood of the album, which is very
sadcore. Some other songs use more electronic elements. It's much more at times like
Xiu Xiu or Arab Strap. Most of album is composed of songs about uncomfortable
states. The One AM Radio is all about saying things without saying them. It is
worthwhile but understated. They are touring a lot this year and it's
interesting to see what they will be like.
Denali
The Instinct
Jade Tree
Denali is pretty remarkable for having a cool looking chick and three other
dudes who don't get in the way. Coming from Jade Tree, you expect some sad
sounding shit from the Midwest. But Denali is fun and rocking. Maura Davis is what
you want for a lead singer. Never since Debbie Harry crossed a stage has
there been such a captivating presence. This Virginia band has even got the
attention of the great Mark Linkous. If he is into it, I am into it too. I would
give it a ten. The songs are a mix between Blonde Redhead and My Bloody
Valentine. This a haunting and difficult record. Denali are due for great things in the
future. This is a band to look out for. Every song satisfies the musical
palate. Denali may the most important band this year.
Probot
Probot
Southern Lord
Before Dave Grohl was in Nirvana he was dedicated to fast metal music. Bands
like Motorhead and Venom took over his dreams. You would never know much about
it from all his grunge days as Cobain's sidekick and his MTV days as Foo
Fighters. Playing with Queens of The Stone Age maybe tipped the hat to a world
without wimps. So Grohl has a lot of free time on his hands. I saw him recently
at a Verbena gig in Hollywood. He must be recording and producing non-stop.
Probot started out as some homemade metal. Soon Grohl started calling up his
heroes like Lemmy, Cronos, and King Diamond. Some added vocals to these already
done songs. Some added their own playing. Grohl even hired Kim Thayll of
Soundgarden to play a blistering solo on "Sweet Dreams." This is eventually a wet
dream for people who have been reading Kerrang for a few decades. This sort of
hard rock has not been in fashion for a while. Even the recent Metallica record
was sort of a disappointment. The only problem with Probot is that we will
never see this on stage. Heavy Metal is all about live performance. This band is
a mythic fantasy: it's our field of dreams.
Aveo
Battery
Barsuk Records
This is a band from Seattle. This is their second record. They mix melodic
rock with dark moods. They are often compared to The Jam and Talk Talk. Aveo is
actually much closer in spirit to the New York band Natural History. Aveo
deals with the subject of science and the weather. In songs like "Newton and
Galileo" and "The Idiot On The Bike" much of this fascination with serious themes
is displayed. Their invention in realm of melody and music is fairly fresh and
new. They don't just sound like the generic indie bands out there that often
copy a style. It is not really a grunge thing. It is a surprising record that
abounds in invention. They are much like some punk-punk bands from twenty
years ago who often dropped through the cracks. There is hope and eagerness in
their mood. It is refreshing. It is like a record you would listen to in the
morning on weekends. Maybe they are worth checking out live, to see if they add a
further dimension.
Starflyer 59
I Am The Portuguese Blues
Tooth & Nail Records
This is a cool record from a cool group. It has that cool swagger that is in
bands like Girls vs. Boys. Apparently Starflyer 59 has been around for over
five years and have released many albums. Most of this album was written in
1998. The band went into a different direction on the second album. Now they are
back to their roots. This is a guitar heavy, slow rock, record that combines
indie rock sounds with love for music from the 1970s. "Unlucky" recalls the
sound of T-Rex. "Destiny" is like an update of Blue Oyster Cult. Starflyer 59
might seem like a good band to play with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. They
probably are matched with some punk groups or heavy metal outfits. Hopefully good
music gets out to the people.
Sigur Ros
Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do
Geffen Records
This is a recording of music that Sigur Ros did for the Merce Cunningham
Dance Company and was performed in New York City in October 2003. Radiohead was
also involved in this performance. It's twenty minutes of music. There are three
instrumental songs. This is probably the most abstract music Sigur Ros has
done. The music is very ambient and evocative. It's mostly bell sounds, music
boxes, and percussion. It's a chill out record most definitely. I was listening
to it on a long drive to Northern California with my friend from France. It
was very striking and very much a mood maker, while seeing the mountains near
San Jose. The use of music boxes makes it almost like music about childhood.
Sigur Ros is always interesting.
Deerhoof
Milk Man
5 Rue Christine
This is the sixth album from Deerhoof. The artpunk crowd loves them. Apple O'
was a weird record but one that everyone talked about. Deerhoof often writes
about fucking and drugs, but this time Milk Man is a concept album. No track
sounds the same. "Milk Man" is wild prog rock. "Giga Dance" is drum and organ
horror music. They lay out their expansive sound that more pop oriented.
Satomi Matsuzaki's vocals are distinctive. Much of the subject of the album seems
to be inspired by the childlike drawings that are the cover art. Satomi even
sings in Spanish on one song. This album is much like a journey as valid as The
Point by Harry Nilsson. There is intensity to their more instrumental tracks
that sound like car chases and something serious going on. "Milking" is a
great song. It's all an odyssey for the character of the Milk Man. Deerhoof has
fans in Beck, Karen O, and Har Mar Superstar. They give you something to think
about. The Milk Man is all of us. They are for real. It's a fantastic journey.
Ambulance Ltd.
TVT Records
Ambulance Ltd. is the latest New York band that I have seen that has some
promise. I saw them in their early days, and they have become a greater band over
time. They are also one of the best looking bands I have seen. They had to
kick one member out because he wasn't cutting the mustard. They take all their
hard rock influences and make this new hybrid of music. They came out with an
EP a while ago. This showed that they had some good songs. After tours with
Placebo and Suede, Ambulance Ltd. have improved to become a major league band.
They are already well known in Europe. Their instrumental that begins the album
"Yoga Means Union" goes in five different directions at once. "Primitive" is
a soft rock song that builds and builds into a big chorus. "Anecdote" and
"Heavy Lifting" are more folky and jazzy. The voice of Marcus Congleton sounds
especially unique. They do a cover of "Ocean" by The Velvet Underground, which
is appropriate. "Sugar Pill" is overall the best song. It's a smooth and
quiet funk vibe. For a New York band they sound the opposite of some slick garage
rock band. Ambulance Ltd. are the sound of the sophisticated music of the
future. Some bands are trying to be different so they stand out, and they are
trying too hard. I feel that Ambulance Ltd. is being themselves entirely. They are
more "right now" then any band.
Zero 7
When It Falls
Palm Pictures
Before 9/11 there was all this chill out/make out music being made like
Supreme Beings of Leisure, Morcheeba, and even Saint Etienne. Zero 7 were among the
ranks. Before Norah Jones and Dido there was music for middle age spinsters
and pot smokers that was not interested in pushing the envelope (i.e. The
Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up"). It was soft sounds for relaxing after all that money
being made on Wall Street. I guess Air's Moon Safari was the key album of the
movement if there ever was one. Zero 7 had some cool videos and animation
(this was before 1 Giant Step too). Female vocals oozed out of the speakers like
they had just been fucked for the past few days and they were all right with
it. Zero 7 played a lot of live dates. That influenced the new record, which
expands then sound, and have more steady builds. This is almost like bossanova
jazz. Wasn't Bebel Gilberto involved here? We have heard these moods before.
It's three years later and people still need to unwind, take E, and relaxed with
adult music. It's time to make children. No matter that the country's
bankrupt and the environment is depleted. Let's all sit back and let Bin Laden rule
the planet for a while.
Worm Is Green
Automagic
Arena Rock Recordings
Iceland was the hip place to go back in 2001. This is another Iceland band
that is on the same label as Mum and The Funerals. It is mostly an electronic
album with female vocals made in the bedroom of Arni Asgeirsson. Being on Arena
Rock it is also much like On!Air!Library! and early Calla. It is electronic
and much like a film score. There is even a quirky version of "Love Will Tear Us
Apart." It is a serious record. It is reminiscent of old records on the 4AD
label. Icelandic bands are hit or miss. This is one to check out.
Now It's Overhead
Fall Back Open
Saddle Creek
Andy LeMaster is one of the most overlooked musicians on the Saddle Creek
label. He is a great songwriter and lyricist. It is a surprise that more people
don't know about him. He has been busy over the years being an engineer in his
studio in Athens, Georgia. He has also been a member of Bright Eyes and Azure
Ray. This second album he takes more chances and develops his art. This band
seems inspired by a lot of early 1980s new wave music, but they take it over
from there. Even Conor Oberst and Michael Stipe make appearances. LeMaster is
beyond creating a This Mortal Coil scenario. Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink from
Azure Ray play on this record but seem invisible. It's hardly an Azure Ray side
project. They probably drank a lot while making this record. Maria Taylor is
known as one of the heaviest drinkers in rock right now. It's sad music but
it's all-good.
+/-
You Are Here
Teenbeat Records
Dear music fan, this is another one of those bands whose name you can never
pronounce just right. This is one of those reviews that doesn't really seem
like a review but just some quick notes written on a napkin in a bar in
Hollywood. Maybe the thoughts also came to me in Brooklyn too. I don't want to bring my
parents into this review. They would kill me if they knew I was writing about
them. This is a New York band that has been around for a few years. They
released one record, which was mostly created by James Baluyut. As the years
passed other members joined and they played more shows. They create moody urban
music for people in between relationships. It is a combination of electronic
music and rock. It has a cool attitude. One could imagine people listening to this
music wearing berets and smoking French cigarettes.
Troy Gregory
Laura
Fall of Rome
Troy Gregory is one of the pillars of Detroit rock and roll. He has played in
several bands including The Witches, The Dirtbombs, and Electric Six. Gregory
has been talking about a concept album that combines fiction and non-fiction
and exceeds all musical genres. Something that combines rock and roll, heavy
drug use, hard boiled detective novels and soul music. "Laura" is that album.
The first song "Dracula Has Risen From The Pond" is Gregory's homage a load
of Hammer films. It's a scary song. "Whatever Possessed U" is more straight
ahead rock and roll (much like The Witches). Gregory played most of the
instruments on this album. There is the occasional appearance of Jim Diamond and Mick
Collins. There is a lethal combination of heavy rock and folk on this record.
Every song is good. This record is like a novel based on the character Laura.
We see many sides of her and she is still elusive. Laura is still remains a
mystery. Troy Gregory is a musical genius.
The Good Life
Lovers Need Lawyers
Saddle Creek
The Good Life is another side project from Saddle Creek. There is not much to
do in Omaha. Maria Taylor has a cornered market on all the wine. Tim Kasher
from Cursive has joined up with some unemployed people hanging around at a gig.
The Good Life ends up sounding more like Ted Leo. Tim Kasher's lyrics tend to
be more self-aware of every thinking process. It's often like jacking off and
then watching yourself do this from an outside window. "Entertainer" makes
fun of the whole creative process (an obsession with Kasher). Some of the other
songs have clever titles and sound really smart. In Omaha they spend a lot of
time drinking (with Maria Taylor) and they start forming bands. They wake up
in the morning with a tape of songs. Only six songs? Keeping the tape running.
Conor Oberst has just started his own label so he can bring out more of these
types of bands and give music away free. Rock and roll will never die. I
think in a few years, everyone on the planet will have released an album too.
Jason Anderson
New England
K Records
Another open form folk record from K Records. Jason Anderson is painfully
bare and confessional. There is quite a few of these records now that I am
reminded of the early 1990s when we had Mark Eitzel/Kozelek in San Francisco. It was
a bleak vision. It was fiercely not a sell-out. But back then we didn't free
downloads by every college student in the land. I am not sure if this record
is about New England or the Pacific Northwest. They are both depression places.
Kids living in Scotland in some shit town could probably relate. Are records
like this one and The Microphones trying to compete with the new prolific
Omaha scene? It will be a long battle. I am also coming out with my own box set
soon.
Explosions In The Sky
The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
The Temporary Residence
I jumped on the bandwagon with this band late in the year so I ended up
missing their live show. They came out with their first album around 9/11 and so
like Trail of Dead and I Am The World Trade Center, they had a hard time that
year. Most records that came out around then had a difficult time being heard.
This record is much like the instrumental music of Trail of Dead and Mogwai.
They are slow and they are long. It is meditative music. This record is five
songs. This is the sound of Austin, Texas. It's probably the closest American
band to Sigur Ros. Their songs have more parts than most.
Inouk
Search For The Bees
Say Hey Records
Inouk is a new band from New York. They may be the next big thing. They
already have fans in the likes of On!Air!Library! They are very diverse. "Sailor
Song" sounds like early Wire. "James Bond" sounds like Captain Beefheart.
"Search For The Bees" sounds like Neil Young. "Cheery Orchard" is like Nick
Drake. There is no plan. Four songs that really sound like no one. It's is exciting
music. I look forward to an album.
Nervous Cop
Nervous Cop
5 Rue Christine
It seems like Deerhoof and Hella have been coming out with a record every six
months. This record is far more experimental than what they have done. It's
noisy and raw. For some reason Joanna Newsom also plays on this record. This is
a result of a bunch of frustrated classical musicians who are in touch with
the avant-garde traditions. John Lennon once said "Avant-Garde is French for
bullshit." We'll see if this catches on. It's a difficult record to listen all
the way through, but fine in places. Maybe that was what Nervous Cop was meant
to be?
Madonna
Remixed & Revisted
Maverick/Warner Bros
American Life was a disappointing album. It had a few hits but no life. Where
before Madonna succeeded working with William Orbit and Mirwais, on American
Life, she just got back together with the dried up Mirwais and I think he used
up all his good music by then. Maybe she should have gone with a more
inspired producer, because Madonna doesn't even sound as fresh as Kylie and
Goldfrapp. Already she comes out with this Remix album: for those who didn't bother to
buy American Life? She utilizes the ability of Mount Sims and Headcleanr, a
few up and comers. Also tacked on are the "Like A Virgin" medley she did with
Britney and Christina, which is limp without the visual aspect. Also in the mix
is the song from the Gap commercial Madonna did with Missy Elliot, another
has been. Hopefully this record will lead to something greater and better in the
future? Or maybe Madonna will just do children's books for a while? At least
she hasn't failed at that.
Xiu Xiu
Fabulous Muscles
5 Rue Christine
Xiu Xiu has always been one of those unclassifiable bands. One can never tell
what exactly is going on. Xiu Xiu has always been a group but it's also sort
of like a solo project by Jamie Stewart. Many of the band members refuse to
play in the live show. Some of the early audiences must have been really upset
and shocked. Some of the previous albums have been really strange too. Some of
the emotional states have been naked and raw. It's like watching someone
crumble before your eyes. Even though Fabulous Muscles brings together some of the
strangest stories on record, it is also their most accessible album. "Crank
Heart" and "I Love The Valley" have the most pop oriented sound. The song
"Fabulous Muscles" was probably the most effective live song on their recent tour.
It's sort of inspired by the band's secret Tracy Chapman influence. "Support
Our Troops" is the most wild, spoken word piece, describing human brutality.
"Clown Town" catalogues life's shortcomings. This is a wonderful album that
means something.
-Alexander Laurence
