The Church has a new album entitled magician among the spirits. Apparently the rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.
Perhaps you don't quite remember The Church ... does 1988 and under "Under the Milky Way" ring any bells? How about "Metropolis"? Well, that's The Church, the Australian band who is also one of the most talented and most consistent bands that nobody really knows. In fact, magican among the spirits is their tenth release in fifteen years.
The new CD was released early this summer and has gotten little press. Nevertheless, it's brilliant. Rich and lush are a few other apt adjectives.
The magician in the title is Harry Houdini; the CD cover contains two photographs of him, one a negative portrait and the other of him chained.
The CD achieves that orchestral feel that is so deliciously The Church and it achieves it with only drums, bass, guitars and a violin. Former member Peter Koppes once again graces The Church with his Pre-Raphaelite guitar riffs (or rather filigrees) on the songs "Grandiose" and "Romany Caravan." Steve Kilbey's lyrics range from the wonderfully eloquent ("The hand of god sprinkles jewels inside a velvet ceiling") to the wry ("You wanna live forever, but you don't want to age").
This album hearkens back their earlier albums. It has more of the guitar-oriented sound and the pop structure of their 1981 release Of Skins and Heart than the two past albums. "Ladyboy" illustrates this pop element precisely, with its glib riffs and catchy chorus. Yet, the atmospheric, cohesive element of the CD is definitely the fruit of previous projects like priest=aura. One of the more impressive songs is "It Could Be Anyone" -- it's absolutely terrifying. This album also introduces a new element of theatricality to the music that I haven't heard on previous albums. Oddly enough, there are three instrumentals on this CD, a strange occurence for a band with such a dominating lyrical genius as Kilbey.
The Church has produced many wonderful albums, and this one is especially tremendous. Powerful and diverse, intelligent and spiritual -- I could go on with my praises but suffice to say, overall, it's perfect, a CD that's well worth the fifteen or so bucks.
I don't know if it's the ironic juxtaposition of lead singer Christopher Hall's sweet little face with his twisted, obsessive lyrics or the perfect blend of electronica and searing guitar, but I adore Stabbing Westward. To me, they're an unmitigated soundtrack for any natural disaster of the soul ... self loathing with a vengeance, taking the edge off metal and taking anger into a sexy, spiraling insanity. I love to roll around in their grimy testosterone mire that's oddly uplifting with its intensity of emotion.
Their new CD is as wonderfully sick, as hard hitting, and as good as their previous two albums. A little different, naturally. Darkest Days is a little slower than Ungod, slower in a seething sort of way. The boys have added a gothic tinge, an ephemeral black quality that make the songs creepy as well as razor-sharp. I also found a lot of the songs danceable and not just in a fist-punching way. I've always thought their music was hot but the whole album is downright slinky.
A couple of songs, "How Can I Hold On?" and "Torn Apart" are reminiscent of classic Soundgarden (circa "Rusty Cage"). Sweet Christopher belts out quite a few, beautiful Rock God yells. "Drugstore" is so evil is sounds like a pterodactyl descending upon its prey. Some quintessential Stabbing Westward lines: "my life had been a nightmare/ my soul is fractured to the bone" and " I can't resist with your tongue inside my head."
Don't get me wrong �- one does not need to be in a bad mood to appreciate Stabbing Westward. It's good music and therefore enjoyable whenever, but I still think they'd be a hell of a travel companion for those days when you're pissed and you've got nothing but open road for miles.
Chris Whitley -- a musician's musician. Translation: nobody knows him but everybody should. With a voice hotter than a Southern summer and music that is sheer sex, what's not to like? In fact, sex is the word to describe his latest album, Terra Incognita. It's sexy, it's sexual, it's absolutely sex-ridden. It reeks of sex, and that's a beautiful thing.
There's nothing repressed about this album. Whitley's combination of a blues sensibility with a rock jangle and a twang from unknown origins creates a powerfully sultry sound, similiar to a warm, sticky breeze off the bayou. The guitar is earthy, just a little grimy; the beat's basically a grind, something only hips understand -- and all of it communicating directly with the groin. Lyrics thinly veil sexual references, "Sheets of golden velvet rain/ Lubricate my naked steel again." Then there are the not so thinly veiled sexual references, "I could get crippled child just laying in your bed."
Terra Incognita is also the perfect album for the uninitiated. It's quintessentially Chris, yet readily accessible. There's enough rock to make it go down easy but it's the blues flavor that sinks the hook. Again, the sex metaphor works well here -- when you get it good, you want more. One listen will lead to a second and a third until you have the CD player on perpetual repeat. And that is a beautiful thing.
Chris purists shouldn't fear this accessibility. There's nothing watered down about this venture. Whitley's wry sense of humor is still apparent --"Got no blood to waste on foreplay...Automatic love is all I want" (Amen, brother ). And yes, Virginia, he still blurs the lines between sex and religion with lines like "Lonelier than god/ Fallen from above/ Weightless as a child/ Helpless to your love".
What more can anyone ask for? Good music with sex and a nice, healthy afterglow -- and that is most certainly a beautiful thing.
Rejoice gothers! The dark duo that brought you This Mortal Coil (Ivo Watts-Russell and John Fryer) brings you a new project, The Hope Blister and a new album, ...smile's ok.
The Hope Blister is a sort of sequel to This Mortal Coil but unlike TMC which owed its consistency in band members to the sole fact they were all 4AD artists, Hope Blister uses only one set of performers. The leading vocals will sound familiar to TMC fans ... they're Louise Rutkowski's, who did a few songs on Blood. Another interesting thing about ...smile's ok is that it's all cover songs, from the likes of Brian Eno, Slowdive, David Sylvian and The Cranes. The Hope Blister takes these songs into a luxurious realm of orchestral sound, echoing with a deep sentimentality.
The album itself is gorgeous, thick with layers and layers of instruments, vocals and samples. The first song, "Dagger" begins with a thunderstorm; "Outer Skin" ends with cricket sounds. As a result, both songs feel massive and ominous. The use of feedback in "Spider and I" is practically devastating and the saxophone on "Sweet Unknown" is eerily voluptuous. The strings vibrate with poignancy, and Rutkowski's voice emotes deliciously with an odd emotional pensiveness; backing vocals border on angelic. Several of the songs ache with a bittersweet throb, especially on "Let the Happiness In." This CD brims with ethereal darkness without getting mired in moodiness. ...smile's ok is quite simply ravishing, both to the ear and to the soul.
Admittedly, I like techno. Sure, there's lots of fancy kinds out there ... trance, drum and bass, house, jungle and all kinds of hypenated in-betweens but it's all filed under "electronica." However, I'm always dubious about new or at least unfamiliar techno bands. After all, I've been burned before ... DJs who couldn't kick it, bands who just couldn't take me to that next level. Recently, I went out on a limb for a CD and it paid off -- perfume tree's feeler.
There are so many nuances for perfume tree's sound, I don't even know where to begin. They have definite gossamer feel about them, the vocal tracks are breathy and very airy. Yet on most their songs, they don't solely rely upon this as their schtick. The first track, "can't you?", is slow but slinky. "too early, too late" starts fast and bouncy switching to a very tribal rhythm and ending with an acoustic guitar epitaph. In fact, many of the songs on this CD shift gears at least once in the duration of the piece. "flooded" is the best example of this. It starts out ethereal and echoing. Subtly, they add quick break beats while still keeping the spacy background. perfume tree manages to utilize several flavors from the realm of electronic dance music, even some drum and bass which is featured on "been there."
It shouldn't be too amazing that this album is so fantastic since this is perfume tree's third release (though it's their first American release). What is really interesting that perfurme tree recorded all of feeler in their home studio. Obviously, production is just another facet of their talent.
feeler is amazingly diversified yet uniquely flowing album. It has a lot of texture and a lot of energy. There's not a dull moment on it. It's a must have.
Thus far, 1999 has been a prime time for classic goth. First, the release of the sequel to This Mortal Coil, The Hope Blister and now the release of the new The Creatures CD.
In case you don't remember, The Creatures are Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie from Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees fame. The Creatures have been around since 1981 and this will be their fourth full length album. The Creatures were dark like the Banshee angle but always had a more percussive angle which added to their very primal feel in the midst of all their Gothic Splendor.
This new album follows true to form. It's very eerie, very danceable and very percussive. In addition to the generic "drums and percussion" listing (which entails everything plus the kitchen sink), The Creatures also site a toy piano, aqua-marimba, singing bowls and koto-zither among their other percussive instruments.
Siouxsie certainly has stayed true to her spooky angle of lyrics. One song is about meeting up with her doppelganger while "Prettiest Thing" has these lyrics: "While she was sleeping/Razors' edge sliding in/ Razors' edge/ Wanna feel my fingers dipping in."
The album is great. Quite frankly, one of the best things about it is that it's so familiar that it's comforting. Sure, they have a running liet motif of heavy percussion and moody music but that reduces the caliber none; it simply reaffirms The Creatures mastery of their art form.
No two ways about it -- this CD is outstanding. From the first moment I put it in the player to the millionth time I listened to it, Shades of Technology rocked my world.
The dance rhythms of this compilation CD are damn near infectious. It's rare that I dance around in my own living room, but this CD makes it impossible not to hop around to the million beats going on in the underbrush of the music.
Secondly, this compilation is an excellent drum and bass starter CD (aside from just an excellent CD in general). With seventeen songs and with twenty-some artists, the CD not only illustrates the basic earmarks that are inherent within the drum and bass framework but also shows the infinite possibilities that exists within the drum and bass equation.
The best thing about Shades of Technology is that's aptly named ... it really is a drum and bass journey. dj db opens with a "traditional" angle to the genre, but then opens up a new avenue that the next song explores. Each song adds to the one before it, and dj db takes you further and further into the depths of drum and bass until you come out on the other side (a Rob and Goldie song) realizing just how far you've gone into the heart of drum and bass. It's like taking a trip without living your house or even your seat ... just let the music guide you.
Chris Whitley has a new album out. It seems all my favorite have a new one out ... Jeff Buckley, The Church, Tricky, PJ Harvey. But Chris, he's my babe. He's a musician's musician, which is why no one knows him. This new CD of his everything I love about Chris in a perfect distilled form. He is the only musician on the album. He does vocals, guitar, banjo and foot stomp. Normally, I'm not into that "man and his guitar" thing (and definitely not a man and his banjo) but when Chris does it, it's just out and out hot. No images of bad MTV Unplugged performances, no Hee-Haw flashbacks. It's just sexy.
There is something incredibly essential about his sound. Something that invokes images of the earth and the feel of warm breezes on naked skin, and this very back-to-basics album only amplifies this earthy feel.
In spite of the fact that this is a one man show CD, the sound is full and very thick. It really shows off his talented musicianship since there are no distractions from his playing. During the slower songs, his guitar playing will about break your heart especially his banjo playing on "Ball Peen Hammer."
The album is graced with his typically sensual and somehow very raw lyrics i.e. "I can sense the memories on her skin." He has a quote in the liner notes, "Revolution of the innocents -- On the dirt floor 'neath the facade of the future I undress my lover laughing naked where history has never existed." This embodies everything I love about his lyrics ... very sexual and so deep as to give one pause.
There is only one downside to the CD. It's a bit on the short side. I can't help it. I'm greedy -- I want more of Chris. However, I give it three thumbs up.
Upon listening to the new Church CD, I am reminded of a review in The Rolling Stone written a decade ago about Starfish.The review said something about The Church achieving a full and rich orchestral sound using only the four band members. Now, this album doesn't have that particular sound of Starfish (though it does have the most pop rock elements than any of their albums since Gold Afternoon Fix), but it does feel fuller, more complete, like everything is fully aligned again.
Don't get me wrong ... I adored Sometime, Anywhere and magician among the spirits. But I did miss Peter Koppes' influence and I think so did the music. And, now on this album, The Church's triumverant reunite to create an album that, to me, signifies a new era in their recordings. I've noticed, over the years, The Church CDs go in cycle and I think this marks a new one.
This album also reminds me of Starfish because instead of linear notes, The Church as included a cryptic poem-type thing about Baal, Lazarus and Zeus, with loose references to the songs of the album.
The songs on the CD are, quite naturally, excellent. "Louisiana" captures the essence of the South and the humidity of that particular state, all of it going down like a lullaby. "Great Machine" is good and scary, something I'd play at a Halloween party. Glimmers of Heyday shine in their song "No Certainty Attached." "Tranquillity" is inundated with Koppes' angel sounds. Marty and his Rickenbacker saturate this CD's sound, proving their collective rock god stature. The new drummer, Tim Powley, is great (and even better live). Kilbey's lyrics are still inscrutable and his bass still gives me the chills.
Many Church fans may have some doubts about the quality of this album but don�t lose faith. To me, it's also very subtle, channeling all of their previous album's lessons and sounds without sounding rehashed or too obscure.
One more thing, I think the cover has that face of Mars on it. Or at least a close facsimile of it. My question is, would that be the hologram of Baal? That's what I love about The Church, they always leave you guessing.
Yes, I know ... swing is in. Along with swing go martinis, zoot suits, and phrases like "cool cat." On another plane, aliens are hip. Oddly enough, I located a band to satisfy not only one's desire to be a hip swingster but also one's fixation with aliens, Alien Fashion Show.
The band's album by the same name is quite the swing journey. The horn section is rather saucy which the rhythm sections matches in sass. At points, both get kind of raunchy. The lyrics are smooth to the point of unguency with better lines than a zoot suit ... "There's nothing like sunrise on skin."
All the songs are original with the exception of free form (free to the point of free association) version of The Police's "Roxanne." Alien Fashion Show retains the essential swing format but adds some 90s flash, be it the running theme of liaisons with female aliens or the musical reference to the Bond theme song in "Secret Pill."
True, Alien Fashion Show doesn't exactly break new ground. And it is ultra hip. But all that doesn't mean this album isn't a good time. Alien Fashion Show is a good, solid swing band with a 90s sense of humor, guaranteed to get you groovy in "hep cat" fashion.
The Creatures, Anima Animus
Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie of Banshee fame are back again as The Creatures. This is The Creatures fourth feature length album since 1981 and their first product in a long while, at least for the States.
There isn't much new ground broken on Anima Animus, but if you're Siouxsie you don't have to prove your salt by doing new tricks. The Creatures stay true to the dark pop aspect that Siouxsie and the Banshees are known. Yet The Creatures had and still have a distinctively percussive bend which gives The Creatures a very primal flair. In fact, most of the instruments for this album belong in the percussion section: koto-zither, toy piano, aqua-marimba, singing bowls to name a few. Some of the other instruments remain true to a more traditionally gothic-sounding line-up like synthetiques and suicide-hoover-drone. The combination is very distinctive, as it's been since the early eighties, and very beguiling.
Siouxsie Sioux still has her creepy voice and is still writing those ominous lyrics. With lines like, "While she was sleeping/Razor's edge sliding in/ Razor's edge/ Wanna feel my fingers dipping in," it's little wonder that Siouxsie has such a dark reputation. The Creatures are indeliably The Creatures but this familiarity shouldn't breed contempt -- a Picasso is obviously Picasso but it's still considered a masterpiece.
Grade A
This CD has short story selections from Steven Millhauser, Jeffrey Eugenides, Junot D�az, Mark Twain, Jack Kerouac, and Annie Proulx. The first three are read by the authors and the latter three read by Chuck D, Viggo Mortensen, and Suzy Amis, respectively.
My favorite is Chuck D's reading of a selection from Twain's Huckleberry Finn. The story is great and the reading is dynamic. Chuck D stays true to the dialect without going overboard or resorting to "stereotypes." I also greatly enjoyed D�az's short story "How to Date a Brown Girl," both the actual story as well as the reading.
Millhauser and Eugenides did good jobs in reading their respective stories. They didn't overemphasize or over-emote as many authors do with their own works. However, their stories weren't completely compelling; I didn't get caught up in the action.
Mortensen did a wonderful job capturing the Beatnik spirit of Kerouac's writings but unfortunately Kerouac is harder to follow when hearing him than he is on paper. The least satisfying was Amis's reading of "Brokeback Mountain." I like the story at first, with its questions of the nature of love and friendship, but my interest waned as the story drug on for a full 55 minutes. I also found Amis too enthusiastic about the dialects.
Overall, it's a good little CD if you like having books read out loud.
Grade: B
Imagine this: a face like Uma Thurman, a voice like Eartha Kitt and music that draws inspiration from jazz, 70s funk, 80s dance, more varieties of electronica than strains of flu and a touch of soul for good measure. The summation of this crazy concoction would be M�a and her CD Universal.
Admittedly, I was confused at first. M�a really does look like Uma Thurman but her voice was earthy in an oddly angelic way and sort of how I remembered Eartha's Cat Woman. Add the music and I was thrown completely for a loop. All songs have a definite pop sensibility but some added a drum and bass flair, while others had a lithe jazz appeal; there were even trace amounts of house and break beat influences and more than a hint of funk. "Raining in my Heart" was vintage 80 dance, circa Madonna's "Lucky Star."
My first listen through the CD was quizzical. I liked it but I wasn't expecting. All those different schools of music with that sultry, weird voice was a lot to process in one sitting. With my second listen, I had a growing respect for M�a, as I appreciated the music masterful mixture of influences. By third listen, I was completely held in thrall -- Universal has universal appeal.
Grade: A
dj dbShades of Technology, A Drum and Bass Journey
As far as compilations go, this CD is flawless. Its title, Shades of Technology, A Drum and Bass Journey couldn't be more aptly selected. dj db leads you seamlessly from one song into the next, leading you on a guided tour through the lush world of drum and bass.
Each selection on this CD exemplifies the solid earmarks of good drum and bass ... the plethora of rhythms and acres of layers of sound. Most of these songs have a minimum of three rhythm lines. Add infinite layers of other sounds to the rhythm underbrush, and you've got the kaleidoscopic appeal that is drum and bass.
Though each song illustrates all that is irrevocably drum and bass, the selections also highlight the wide range variety that can be found in the drum and bass formula. Cosmic to dirty jumping to meditative, it's all here on this CD, one song leading into the next.
This CD really is set-up like a tour of sorts. The first song, "Demon Seed," begins on the familiar dance-raver side of drum and bass. Each additional song by each additional artist opens up to new vistas of music until you're brought to the other side of drum and bass, a more skeletal form, with "The Shadow" by Rob and Goldie. This album is golden.
Grade: A+
I'm not sure why this band's CD is called Metasexual. The name would imply the album would be all-inclusive of sex or transcending sex. It's not. It's just another rock album.
The lead chick, Tara Slone, has a pretty voice. The drummer has good rhythm while the bass and guitar drive the songs sturdily forward. The lyrics of the songs aren't too overwrought. Overall, there's nothing reprehensible about Joydrop's Metasexual, just as there's nothing spectacular either.
Slone's voice tries to portray so much passion with her Tori Amos-esque vocal squeaks. The lyrics try to be so deep dealing with "serious" issues like the right to suicide and the end of relationships. The band even threw in some long rambling, free-associative lyrics for an added surreal factor. All the songs try desperately to be original ... try being the operative word since all of these attempts get about half way there. I wanted to dig the CD but it just doesn't have the "je ne se paj" that have made all the memorable rock of the ages.
Two songs, "Spiders" and "Dream Today" really gave me hope. They both had funky little sounds and twists to the rhythm. In fact, "Dream Today," is almost dancy ... to a point. Inevitably, Joydrop tries too hard to be sincere, to be real, and the end result is mediocrity. But at least they're on the high side of normal.
Grade: C
Ivo Watts-Russell and John Fryer are back with a sort of sequel to This Mortal Coil -- Hope Blister. Unlike TMC, Hope Blister has a set cast of musicians, with the lead vocals performed by Louise Rutkowski, who appeared on TMC's "Blood."
As the name and pedigree might indicate, the band is on the Gothic side and their album, ...smile's ok is sublime in its dark delicacy. The richly eerie string arrangements coupled with 4AD trademark synth-sounds create velvet ribbons of music. Rutkowski's voice is at once celestial and human, the tones airy in beauty yet racked with earthly poignancy.
All of these songs are covers, yet none sound borrowed. Hope Blister re-invents the songs for this album, thereby possessing them wholly. Take for example, the cover of David Sylvian's "Let the Happiness In." Sylvian's version is brooding and ponderous. Hope Blister transforms it into a bittersweet and ephmereal melody. On many of the songs, they add an intriguing sensual element to the Gothic genre, "Sweet Unknown" and its visceral saxophone line being a prime example.
What is most impressive about this album is that Hope Blister never crosses over into the realm of mawkish sentimentality. ...smile's ok possesses a definite pathos but it's not overwrought, not "tragic"; rather, the pathos is expressed with a refined and restrained orchestral grace.
Grade: A
Odd, odd, odd ... that's one word that reverberates through my brain when I listen to In Between Blue. The another word that comes to mind is innovative. Wait, there's more ... wonderfully refreshing, warped, dynamic. I think you get the point. I can't decide if they are the audio interpretation of a Duchamp painting or a Toulouse-Lautrec one. This band is honestly like no other I've ever heard.
Yeah, I can hear all kinds of bands and sounds that surely must have inspired In Between Blue. Amos's bass is strong enough to be Primus-blessed. Holiday's voice is insane enough to compare to Tom Waites. The music could be described as the end result putting glam rock, goth rock, alternative rock and industrial into a blender. I can hear the band X in their songs as easily as I can hear early Bowie. However, In Between Blue is anything but derivative.
It's rare that a band can take so many links to music and come up with something coherent as well as original. Many is the band that was strange but fewer that were of high quality.
The best thing about In Between Blue is that the weird factor doesn't alienate the listener. It's a simple thing to gawk at the freaks but very difficult to appreciate them or connect with them. Their oddity actually works to draw you further into their dark sideshow vision of music.
Grade: A
Expansion Union, World Wide Funk
Expansion Union's album World Wide Funk is refreshing ... they've chosen to use that spiritus mundi of the 70s we call "funk" as their groove inspiration while using techniques from funk's irreverent daughter, early rap.
What is especially cool about World Wide Funk is that this hybrid doesn't sound forced or artificial. It doesn't sound like a gimmick either. In fact, World Wide Funk sounds like the natural form that funk would take in our pre-millennium times.
Expansion Union also reveals a healthy sense of humor in World Wide Funk. Example: the first song, "gets mines," has a sample a woman giving a very serious speech, which fades out into a reverberating "yak,yak,yak,yak,yak."
World Wide Funk is sly and slick. It's production is very hip and very retro simultaneously. It switches the dance emphasis from hopping and jumping feet to hip thrusts and swivels. This album grooves and slides, it scratches and "breaks it down" without leaving the rave kids out in the cold.
Grade: A
Nice little album this. It's a collaboration of DJ Badmarsh's turntables and samples and Shri's eclectic collection of instruments, modern and traditional. The sound combines the ambiance of London's clubs with a heavy Indian spice.
In spite of the heavy percussive element, the album is very melodic; the drums are as much singing as they are dancing. The tablas, flutes and sitar add a nice flavor to the dance drive resulting in a mellow dance drive. The songs conjure images of bindis, saffron and snake charmers. The song, "The Air I Breathe" not only manages to balance dance rhythms and the eastern flair but also adds a seductive element with the lyrics and vocals of Tina Grace.
One small word of warning: sometimes the beats and rhythms blend too well, making the album, at times, sound like it's looping back over itself. Dancing Drums is definitely a mood album. However, when you're in the mood, it's really hits the spot.
Grade: B+
One thing is for certain, we are living in swing's renaissance, what with swing nights a dime a dozen and swing tune make-overs even more cheap. It's also certain that Alien Fashion Show is riding the marketability of swing, just as they are cashing in on the alien hip factor with their name and the martini-ized femme alien on the cover. However, the obvious bandwagon timing for Alien Fashion Show's CD detracts none from the work as a whole.
The album is very ... uh, swing -- high energy to the point of bouncy with a almost virally contagaious groove that has a definite slink factor. All the songs, save a very free form remake of The Police's "Roxanne," are original. They retain that essential swing element of orchestration and rhythm but the lyrics are 90s to the core. The horn section is sweet, the rhythm section, sassy, and the vocals are smooth. End result: Alien Fashion Show goes down like any good martini, easy but with a jolt that will keep you jumping for the rest of the night.
Grade: B+
AK1200, Lock & Roll
AK1200's CD Lock & Roll is self-proclaimed as "A Supersonic Soundscape of Drum & Bass mixed by AK1200." Let's deconstruct this phrase, shall we?
1.) Drum & Bass is a form of electronica also known as jungle that is noted for is variety of rhythms especially for its trademark fluttery backbeat. Check ... the album's got that.
2.) The word "soundscape" compounded with the term "mix" would indicate that the songs flow together presenting consistent "feel" for the entire album. Check. One song flows seamlessly into the next.
3.) "mixed by AK1200" -- Check. It has his signature sound.
4.) The "sonic" aspect of the word "supersonic" indicates it is an audible experience and the word also has connotations of something futuristic and technologically advanced. Check. It's definitely an ear-full and definitely "techno."
5.) The prefix "super" in conjunction with sonic means "moving five times the speed of sound" which leads me to believe this is meant figuratively, that this experience is suppose to be "super" or "superior. Well ... not exactly.
See, it's a good CD, utilizing songs from all sorts of people like A Tribe Called Quest, Aphrodite, Praying Mantis, and Kazimir and these songs are mixed wonderfully. Perhaps too well. There is not quite enough distinction between songs. Continuity is one thing but this almost brings one to the point of jungle hypnotism (n. -- a state brought on by drum and bass redundancy). Luckily, the beat does drive steadily forward so one only gets mired briefly. Four out have five ain't bad.
Grade: B
The name Barry Adamson may not be familiar but his pedigree should be and so should his sound. Adamson is the former bassist for the Manchester pop-punk band Magazine, an erst-while member of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds and, most recently, the creator of the score for David Lynch film Lost Highway.
The Murky World of Barry Adamson serves as a sampler platter for his rather eclectic sound. Drawing from his former albums, Moss Side Story, Soul Murder, The Negro Inside Me, Oedipus Schmoedipus and As Above, So Below, Murky World illustrates how vast Adamson's musical frame of reference is. His influences range from jazz and trip hop to drum 'n bass and 60s pop.
Adamson maintains a soundtrack atmosphere, with all the songs leading you through the musical equivalent of a smoky dive bar. Compound this musical ambiance with his gritty beat-nik style voice and you really are transported to another world. Murky World is as complete and as innovative a soundscape as Charlie Parker's "Birdland" was back in the day.
Grade: A
Summer seems to have dedicated her CD to the fa�rie and it's place in our urban world -- a hip and nearly spiritual sentiment. She also has songs about lost love, estrogen bonding, interracial relationships, masturbation and menstruation. Ostensibly, she's a black feminist speaking her mind and exerting her independence musically. Then why does her music sound so much like Lenny Kravitz? Oh, yeah, she's his prot�g� and he is on EVERY SINGLE SONG. This summer apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
This album doesn't suck, per se, but it is extremely disappointing. Summer has a good voice, sweet, scratchy and pure all at once but she doesn't do much with it. The concepts behind her lyrics are decent enough but the phrasing is too repetitive and in many cases trite. The music and choruses are just shy of catchy but the repetitive element is over done. There's also little differentiation between the individual songs of the album; the melodies just seem to be variations on a theme. Summer is trying hard but it's just not working -- road to mediocrity is paved with good intentions.
Grade: D
"A big beat & nu skool breaks DJ mix" ... at least that's what the covers states. Pretty much it translates into a journey into the world of break beats in their varied splendor. DJ Omar Santana mixes fluidly songs from the likes of Wizard of Oh, Hard Hop Heath and Tipper.
Battle for Planet of the Breaks is definitely beat filled. The rhythms are driving and intense; in fact, the word pounding comes to mind. This is the kind of music that impels you jump, bounce, shuffle or slide, the kind of rhythms that are generally only spotlighted in songs and not the main focus.
This album also has very apocalyptic feel. Perhaps it's the cover art which shows the Statue of Liberty sinking (a direct Planet of the Apes reference). Or perhaps it's the harsh samples and nearly slave driving beats. Regardless of the wherefore, this seems like the sound of post Y2K.
I must admit I was tuckered out by the end of the CD. There is, after all, only so much pounding ears and a body can take. Nonetheless, Battle for Planet of the Breaks is certainly a CD to get a party going and keep it going.
Grade: B
The Hunger, cinematic superthug
Metal with a message. I thought that died with Stryper, but here is, The Hunger preaching their simplistic views on drugs, TV, violence, sex and god ... excuse me, God ... on their album cinematic superthug.
At first glance, one hopes their lyrics and their sound is done with tongue firmly in cheek. Unfornately, their painful earnestness is glaringly obvious. If their sincerity wasn't reason enough to retch, there is always the banal lyrics with their simplistic rhyming scheme and rhythm, their derivative sound and their less than mediocre muscianship -- not to mention, they sound like Winger meets Alice in Chains.
Grade: F
I had high hopes when I began listening to Sugar Plant. First off, the package included not just one, but two CDs -- happy and trance mellow. Secondly, judging by the brightly trippy CD cover and noting that the band was Japan-based, I thought I was in for some happy rave music, something like Pizzicato Five meets early Tricky. Yet, the further I got into the CDs, the more I realized what I got was more like a Japanese Mazzy Star/electronica bastard.
I began my expedition with happy. The first song, the title track, began with vocals, words and music as sweet at cotton candy. As the song wore on with the same electronic beat and noise and with the cute backing ooo's looping over in infinity, the sweetness soured. That's how all of happy drug past ... the same basic draggy backbeat, the same high, sacchrine half-whispered vocals, and only mild variations on one type of electronica noise. Oh, the monotony!
I moved on to trance mellow, trying to keep my chin up, praying the title indicating some blithe ambiance. Instead, the tedium continued, only with even more heroine-induced beats and some added lethargic guitar riffs. The last song, "meadow" was redundant to the point of comatose, all twenty (!) minutes of it.
What's so sad is that the albums aren't wholly evil. The songs are cute but entirely too long and without enough variation. On the positive side, Sugar Plant has found a cure for insomnia.
Grade: D
Reading the back of The Sound of 2AM, you will note it is a compilation, with names like Dutch Liquid, White Label, The Advent, and North & South. You will also note that The Sound of 2AM is described as capturing "the passion and fury of that pinnacle point in the evening the dance floor is a stormy sea and the DJ is merely controlling the tide." So in essence, this CD is designed to capture the spirit of the club when everybody is peaking. It does ... but this is a two-edged swords
All of the songs on this album are danceable; they all have a beat that impels you to move. However, like in many clubs, especially when it's packed, the beats are redundant.
The album is pegged as a DJ mix. I'll agree with that ... the songs flow but there are points that you wish you could come up for air in the music, points where you'd like a different gimmick noise.
If you are in the mood for about an hour's worth of one badgering beat, then it should suit you fine. It'll be like being at a club without the cover charge and without the risk beer getting spilled on you. However, if you looking for a bit more variety, you'd probably do better going to a club ... at least then you have the hope of sliding in a request to the DJ.
Grade: C
Anabolic Frolic Happy, 2B Hardcore, Chapter Three
On this compilation, Anabolic Frolic mixes songs from folk like Trixxy, Bang!, DJ Slam and Hyperactive. Frolic keeps the pace at a mere 140 beats per minute, which might clue you into why his name is Anabolic Frolic. The beautiful thing about this cd is that even though the rhythms are nearly manic, you never tire of the beats. The songs have enough inner plurality to keep it interesting.
The other thing I dig about this CD are the lyrics. They remind me of many a night at after-hours clubs dancing to songs that were always about love (ironic subject matter in my mind) . Or back in the day when I'd dance myself into a frenzy to poignant voiced tunes like "Missing" that had an irresistible dance beat. Almost all the songs on Happy 2b Hardcore are "love songs" with declarations like "I want to be with you at least until the break of dawn" or "I'm going to fly just to be with you tonight." Okay, so maybe it's the X or maybe simple lust talking not love and maybe the velveeta factor is off the scale but they're captivating nonetheless. The songs compel you to dance, grinning the whole time as you sing along.
Grade: A
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I think Mankind Liberation Front had a vision about the world, a cynical view induced by too much heroin and cocaine, an nihilist apocalypse in which aliens take over the world and humans forsake one another. I think that this group had a theory of operation for their music, folksy rhythms with drum machines and electronica backloops. Unfortunately, for me, as the reviewer and you as the potential listener, these visions fall flat. Why? Lack of talent is my best guess.
The CD is musically one of the most insipid I have ever heard. The instrumentation is utterly lacking inspiration. It's as if the guys of the band used "Dial a Song" to get their alleged tunes. The vocals are not sung but are so unsyncopated, so arhythmatic that it can't be classified as "rapping" either. Atonal ramblings and mumblings are more accurate descriptions.
The lyrics are out-and-out silly. Either the songs are concerned with doing so many drugs one loses hope or about aliens dominating the world so there is no use for hope. They read like lines taken out of a the diary of alien-obsessed, drug-addicted seventeen year old high school drop out. No two ways about it -- this album sucks.
Grade: F-
If I had to choose one word to describe perfume tree's feeler, it would be heavenly. It wouldn't be just because Jane Tilley's voice is like that of an angel or because the album has a definite ambient feel to it. These are all contributing factors but feeler is also paradise because the music denies all categorization.
Granted, all the songs have a spacey element to them but none of them stop there. Each time I thought I had a song pegged, perfume tree changed the pace on me and switched up the beats. For example, the first song is slinky and funky, the second, reminiscent of the early days of "techno," the third begins with an ethereal throb and then slowly slips into some breakbeats..
One would think that, with all this variety, the shifts of genre would be jarring and the album itself choppy. Not so ... the changes are as fluid as breath and the album is incredibly cohesive. What's even more impressive is that the Canadian trio recorded the entire album in their home studio. With the range of musical textures and the quality of the songs, feeler is, quite frankly, one of the best albums I have ever heard. It's also one of the most refreshing, since neither it nor perfume tree rest upon the laurels of one single angle; the view is kept fresh and the music remains invigorating in its beauty and high caliber.
Grade: A+
We all have our moments when we want some background music but we don't want anything necessarily distracting ... you know, nothing with a catchy tune or lyrics you just have to sing along with.
The Nocturnal Emissions's CD Ompahlos! is perfect for such a task. Mainly, electronically produced, it reminds me of music I would hear on the Public Radio Station's, "Music from the Hearts of Space."
Mind you, this isn't a sweet, soothing soundtrack. It's actually kind of eerie sounding, with lots of dark undertones. Some of the song titles clue you into that aspect, like "Golgotha" and "Devil's Mill." Two songs, "Arbor Low" and "Omphalos!" bust into some break beats that seem more appropriate to a techno CD thereby breaking up some of the "lulling" ambient feel. However, this incungruient mix works.
With song titles such as "Yggdrasil" and "Shaman's Flight," it appears that the CD has at least some spiritual aspirations. Honestly speaking, this CD is best reserved for such activities as meditation and vision questing.
Grade: B-
Amber Asylum, Songs of Sex and Death
I admit it ... I thought I was prejudiced to like this CD from the beginning. The press release said something about it being ethereal. One of the songs from the CD is entitled "vampire." Hell, the CD title is Songs of Sex and Death. What more could a good little Goth chick want? I popped in the CD ready to immerse myself in some gorgeous gothness.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. I found the CD tiresome, draggy and too, too "tragi-goth." The first song took forever to finish (though, I guess, 6 minutes and 23 seconds isn't technically eternity). Then, I couldn't actually tell that a second song had started. That was the case for most of the CD. It flowed like a soundtrack ... for a rainy day that you're contemplating some bodily harm to yourself in a very apathetic and moody manner.
I will not fault anyone's musicianship on Songs of Sex and Death, though I wasn't overly impressed with Kris Force's vocals. Realistcally, the use of the cello, the violin, and random other orchestral elements was quite nice. Phrasing was good, dynamics were good. Obviously, Amber Asylum has some fine musicians; it's just as music writing that's unimaginative.
Now, if you want something that reeks of melancholy, dripping in ethereal despair, Amber Asylum's got your CD ... noire chamber music if you will. For my money, I'll stick to my Chopin; it's a lot more versatile.
Grade: C-
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