THE QUIET CORNER: WINTER 2011
By Robert Barry Francos
Living
by the philosophy of “Play That Funky Music
White Boy,” Saskatoon band ABSOFUNKINLUTELY
is a large conglomeration of the usual suspect instruments,
with the addition of horns (gotta have horns to
have this large of a funk sound). Listing only their
first names, there’s (Randy) Woods on vox
and guitar, (Geoff) Assman on keys, (Shaun) Dyck
on electric bass (now, while Assman and Dyck are
funny, the latter is a very common Mennonite name
in their area), and newcomer to the band, Pierce
on drums. “Blues Kid City” (afl.fm),
their latest release, is quite representative of
their big sound: it’s loud, brash, and, well,
funky. When I saw them play at the S’toon
Pride Festival, they played covers, such as the
one at the start of this review, but here, it’s
all originals, beginning with the reggae / ska inflected
title tune, and they don’t lose anything for
it. There are a lot of related genres going through,
from soul to R&B to funk. There is even some
disco, which is where they lose me a bit, but that’s
just me. There’s even some jazzy experimentation,
such as the final free-for-all jam, “Moosejaw
Coleslaw,” which has a bit of everything and
reminds me just a bit of the energy of the ending
of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on Up”
(a song AFL would do quite successfully). They are
a friggin’ tight dance band, there is no getting
around that, and the clear sound of this recording
just makes it that much sweeter.
ATOM
AGE uses a brilliant combination of Iggy
and Jan & Dean for the name of their new release:
“Kill Surf City” (Solidarity Recordings,
c/o myspace.com/theatomage). Their music is both
post-hardcore, and yet an enjoyable bit of a throwback
to the Descendants kind of So-Cali sound (they’re
from Berkeley). Part of what makes them especially
interesting is their use of a sax. A sax in rock’n’roll
can be a tricky thing as some use it for good (Fleshtones),
and some are ruined by it (Chicago, Blood Sweat
and Tears). The songs are fast (as expected, and
should be), and the vocals are straightforward with
some shouting. The meaning of the songs are, well,
who cares, this is a fun release. Definitely buzz
guitar upfront, even with no extended solo. There
is a sense of humor that runs through; for example,
there’s a cut called “Rock’n’Roll
and Why I Preach Against It.” They seem to
pick topics which are not just teen angst writ large
(though there are some cuts like that, such as “One
Minute to Midnight”). There is a lot of good
music here, including (but not exclusively) “Cut
and Dry” and “We Become”…
certainly enough to be worth checking into. The
core of the band is Ryan Perras (current drummer
for The Queers), who proves side bands can also
be successful. Many groups have hyperbolic press
releases, but theirs nails it perfectly: “catchy
melodies, demanding riffs, and hectic sax lines.”
Recommended.
BODECO
don’t rely on I-IV-V as much as they sweat
it from their pores and wallow in it. When I saw
the band play NYC’s Tramps in 1995, they performed
a strong boogie based blues. As their latest EP
“Soul Boost” (myspace.com/guitaremporium)
shows, they’re still going strong. There are
some personnel changes since I saw them, but the
core is still there, banging through these five
numbers. The first two, “I Ain’t Lyin’”
and “Hush Hush Naughty Baby” have that
Ricky Feathers’s growl that has grown deeper
over the years. The other three, “Zobop,”
the title cut, and “Little Joe” are
instrumentals. None of the songs are insanely fast,
but rather they grind like a good smokin’
sound should. Whether one is into blues, roots,
or just wants to hear some good ole music with a
slight dissonance, in beautiful lo-fi, jump the
train to Bodeco land. They’re callin’
all dogs.
LAURA
CHEADLE is one of the more prolific artists
in recent memory. Writing songs, playing guitar
and singing, she is, as always, backed in her recording
by her brother on electric guitar solos and her
dad as producer (he as contributes various other
instruments, including keyboards, mostly in the
form of electric organ). There are a bunch of other
musicians helping out to fill out the sound. Her
newest is “Change (It’s Alright)”
(lauracheadle.com), and it’s a little bit
of a departure from her previous works. Sure, she’s
still in the jazzy R&B mode, which suits her
voice and material well, but there is more. Some
of her earlier material had loose themes, be it
holiday songs or steamy love bit, but this one is
by far (in my opinion) her most mature work with
well rounded sensibilities, great catch phrases,
and her cleanest sound and mix. There’s still
the steam, in the likes of “Hey There Devil”
and the catchy “Sunday Naps,” but there’s
also the R&B title cut raver which Marvin Gaye
might nod at (no pun intended), and so on, like
“Existing on Wishes,” “Blue Sky,”
and “Rainy Day.” The last, unannounced
track, is of a little girl singing, and as there
is no reference, I’m not sure if that’s
Laura as a kid or someone else, but it’s cute.
Congrats, Laura.
This
is some of the best post-Gizmos style of Midwest
proto punk I have heard in a while. It’s hardly
surprising, though, since CRAWLSPACE
is fronted by ex-O. Rex and Gizmo member Eddie Flowers.
Along with Greg Hajic (guitar), Joe Dean (bass)
and Bob Lee (drum), the world is now the recipient
of “Ignorance is Bliss” (gulcher.gemm.com).
What you’ll hear is total lo-fi, hi-noise
rock that is simply glorious in its sheer stripped
down performances and recording (sounds like one
of those early cassette recorders), with the needle
staying in the red. Along with two covers, “First
I Look at the Purse” (by Smokey Robinson)
and “Mark of Death” (by the Mystics,
as played in the ’73 film “Horror Hospital”),
the rest are written by the band in one combination
or another, and all remain true to form. In early-to-mid-‘70s
form, some of the song titles are suspect, such
as “(Here Come) Them Sexy 60s,” “Women
in Cemeteries (Throwin’ Monkeys),” “Vote
Yes on 69,” “The Girl’s Getting’
Lower,” and “Some Shitty Girls.”
Despite that, this is a rollicking good time if
you like the whole style, which I do. I would rather
listen to something as fun as this, than anything
on the “Billboard” Top 10, because there’s
no studio tricks, just plug and play (and occasionally
tune the guitar). If you’re looking for deep
lyrics – hell, if you’re looking for
legible lyrics – you’re in the wrong
place. This is more a howl-fest, and I mean that
with total joy, making it 40 minutes of noise heaven.
I’ve
heard most of the recordings put to disk by DOLORES
DAGENAIS, and haven’t been disappointed
yet. Her latest full lengther, “Big Girl Art”
(Blue Newt Music, c/o doloresdagenais.com), is no
exception. Moving to Nova Scotia from Ontario has
proven to be the right move for Dolores, who has
wrapped herself in music from the area (it’s
relatively close to Cape Breton, after all), and
its influence has only sweetened the pot of her
sound. First of all, she has this absolutely gorgeous
voice that just keeps getting better with each release.
Her material, always strong, has also flourished,
as she covers various Canadiana styles from the
folkie “Weeping Tiles,” to the Celtic
“Big Girl,” to the country “When
I Didn’t Know How to Sing.” She even
rocks a bit with “Where the Wild Things Grow.”
And damn, that’s just the first four cuts.
And I can’t stop without mentioning the bluegrassy
“Present Situation” or the boogie “Talking
to Jack” (Daniels, of course); “Pushing
Flowers,” as is everything else here, is an
original, but it sounds like it could have been
written by Judy Collins or Joan Baez. For the sweet
country ballad “Never Seen the Mountains,”
Dolores shares a vocal with the duo of Postcard
Comets. This isn’t even the whole album, but
there’s not a cut here that won’t astound
you with its beauty. While I’m glad Dolores
is living where her interests lie, but parts of
me wishes someone with some promoting power would
realize what a treasure is hidden in Pictou.
JEFF
DAHL, who has been around the California
scene since the ‘70s, wears his influences
on his – er – guitar. Picture a bit
of MC5 and the Stooges, mixed with the simplicity
of the Ramones, and the sloppy guitar of Johnny
Thunders, topped off with a crisp West Coast voice
and sound, and you’ll have “Back to
Monkey City” (steelcagerecords.com). His songs
reflect his rock’n’roll heart with the
likes of “I Am a Mess” and “I
Ain’t No Rattlesnake,” and a nod to
his influences with “All My Favorite Ramones
are Dead” and “This Ain’t No Funhouse
Baby.” His hardcore background comes out in
the likes of the buzzsaw “Dense Pac,”
which lasts all of 57 seconds. While there is a
heavy rock vibe going on, this is hardly metal.
Dahl’s songs are pretty simple and memorable,
and his voice is quite suited for the material.
Dahl has a long history in the scene, and hopefully
he’ll continue to produce collections like
this one.
A
true love story. The guy who runs Acetate Records
has been a fan of THE FACTORY since
he used to watch them playing around Washington
DC in the early ‘80s. Recently coming across
an old demo cassette by the band from that period,
he got in touch with a member of the group who managed
to lay his hands on the master tapes, which were
never released. After some mixing, he releases their
first ever official self-titled album (acetate.com).
I can see what he likes about them, as they are
pretty much from the pre-hardcore, post-NYC+ scene
period when anything went. The Factory shimmy across
styles, sometimes sounding like the Dolls, others
glossier like the Cars (the sax helps promote this).
The vocalist, Vance Brockis, has a style that was
popular then, modeled a bit on garage bands like
Chocolate Watchband, where there is a hint of slur
with intonations like “fay-vuh” (favor),
“shy-eh” (she), or “guhll”
(girl), but he definitely has some chops. The band
backing him is pretty solid, so that helps as well.
A fun band who mixes ‘50s (rhythms and again,
that horn…), ‘60s (garage) and ‘70s
(the whole CBGB/Max’s/Rat vibe). And you can
dance to it.
“Cry
Tomorrow” (Bellsound, c/o myspace.com/stephaniefinchmusic),
the release by keyboardist STEPHANIE FINCH,
is produced by Chuck Prophet, who used to be in
Green and Red. She plays in his band, so it’s
a very organic process. Stephanie does really well
with jangling powerpop, such as the opening, “Tina
Goodbye,” but she really starts to shine on
the third cut, “Don’t Back Out,”
which is a tasty bit of psyche-garage. This song
is based on dissonant keys with a bit of a Velvets
feel, but its success is all hers. Speaking of the
VU, the cut “Sensitive Boys” has a rhythm
riff that could have been lifted from “Walk
on Wild Side,” though the tune is definitely
different and quite more melodic in a light, jaunty
way. There are actually quite a few good numbers
here, such as “She’s the One,”
spookily backed by the Company Men who sing in concert
rather than harmony. With “In My Book,”
she brings up a more Motown-meets-Brill Building
sounds. “Count the Days 1-2-3-4-5-6-7”
is a really well done “I’m splittin’”
tune in a “These Boots” attitude, but
in a musically subtle way. Ending the CD is “All
is Forgiven,” which is almost a folk pop rock
tune, and a fine way to end. Now, I didn’t
mention every song here, but it’s a collection
that will not disappoint if you’re into the
powerpop-rock-kitchy-‘60s kinda thing, like
me.
It
took me a few songs to warm up to “The Movie
We Are In” “ (petefrancis.com), the
newest release by New York-based PETE FRANCIS,
who used to be in the band Dispatch. While I haven’t
heard any of his solo, self-produced releases, he
experiments a bit here by changing all the elements
surrounding the music, including coast (east to
west), and relying on producer Jeff Trott (Sheryl
Crow’s guitarist) who brought some mainstream
(Beck, NiN, Gnarls Barkley, etc.) studio musicians
to back him up. Pete likes to tell personal landscapes
(thereby the collection title), and he does so successfully
in various forms, tempos, and hues, including singer-songwriter
(mostly). Some of the better cuts include “Light
Years,” “Red Cloud Road,” and
one of my faves here, “Yellowbird.”
His voice is not “American Idol” perfect,
thankfully, and would easily make a good rock sound,
but it works here as well. There is a definite Leonard
Cohen vocal feel going, though not as deep. My only
gripe is Trott’s heavy hand, trying to “modernize”
the sound with programming and synth (such as “Constant
Fire”). Sometimes a full backing enhances
(e.g., Dar Williams), but others, it distracts.
To show you what I mean, here is the listing of
instruments used: acoustic guitar, electric guitar,
lap steel guitar, strings, keyboards, vibraphone,
percussion, celesta, bells, drum programming, strings,
piano, Wurlitzer organ, synthesizer, laptop, tenor
saxophone, baritone saxophone, trombone, trumpet,
and drums. Luckily, the voice is kept pretty upfront
so it doesn’t get lost in all the technology.
Hey,
Jim, what did I ever do to you? Actually, I may
understand why he sent me this to review: the start
of SAGE FRANCIS’s “Li(f)e”
(strangefamous.com) - great title, by the way –
has a sort of singer-songwriter vibe to it. But
Sage busts a major move into rap. The rhythm is
pure rapper mode, but the melody is something else,
using rock and even an occasional country slide,
but as soon as the vocals start, my brain is outta
there. I tried reading the volumous lyrics along
with the songs, but by the fifth cut, I found myself
thinking about lunch (at 10:30 am). I fought my
way back into the moment a few times and made it
through. I will say that the first cut, an interesting
story about a jail break called “Little Houdini,”
is as much a talking blues which kept me riveted
until the rap rears its head. Sage uses lots of
imagery, including a running theme of Christian
descriptors, among the sex and drugs. I appreciate
Sage trying to push the envelope by adding melodies
not usually associated with the genre, but it is
not an envelope I want to lick again.
I
was so glad to get the chance to hear the ORAL
FUENTES REGGAE BAND, when Oral handed me
his “Oral Culture” (oralfuentes.com)
release literally over the back yard fence. He’s
quite the presence here in Saskatoon, not only fronting
(and guitar) the top reggae band in town, but for
creating and being the artistic director for the
Saskatoon Reggae and World Music Festival each summer,
which has acts starting to come from all over the
world after only being in existence for a few short
years. But back to the CD… Hailing from Belize,
Oral’s all-originals flavor of reggae is a
bit different, here presented in a slower, “One
Love” speed (though live he also plays ska
speed). Right from the opening “Sum Lovin’”
the listener can feel the ease and peace (even with
the more political pieces like “Cultural Revolution”)
emanating from the songs. But for me, it especially
picks up at the fourth number, “Rhaburn”
(named after a popular Belize musician), continuing
right into “Utilize (Utalize),” and
then just keeps going until the end cut, appropriately
named “Belize.” I’m hoping Oral
will get the chance, between touring and promoting
both his act and the festival, to release some more,
perhaps this time with some of the quicker paced
pieces. I and I like de guy.
Doesn’t
it seem as though in the ‘80s, every city
had its own rock queen? For example, in Brooklyn,
the queen of the neighborhood was Marge Reynolds’s
Flame. In Buffalo, however, there is no doubt that
it was Actor’s vocalist, JESSIE GALANTE.
After a time in L.A. fronting the band
Fire, Jessie’s come home to upstate New York
and released “Spitfire” (jessiegalante.com).
With an army of powerhouse musicians and producers
from around the world, she and executive producer
Larry Swist honed it all into some fine, rockin’,
metal material. More Guns ‘N Roses than, say,
Brownsville Station, Jessie works her wide vocal
range, showing off her chops from end to end of
this release. Yeah, there’s the buzzsaw guitar
and rhythm section, but no lengthy solos because
the attention is on that voice, and rightfully so.
Much of the material is focused on the high-running
emotions of relationships, with a bit of –
er – spitfire thrown in. Some of the better
songs (and they’re all pretty good) are “Go
on Rain on Me,” “Grown Man Cry,”
and the bluesy “No Fool No More.” However,
the major howling (again, meant complimentary) is
in the ballad closer, “Mama (I Get a Little
Crazy).” While I am interested in hearing
her previous “solo” release of traditional
Italian songs (I am from Bensonhurst, after all),
this is a nice welcome back to form.
The appearance of a MARY GATCHELL
release, such as her newest “Saturn Return”
(marygatchell.com), always makes me happy. I’ve
been a fan since her first, “Indigo Rose,”
and this one proves that I continue to have good
reason. I’ve heard her perform a number of
these pieces, and some of them just remain with
you. There’s not a bad song here, but two
stick out to me right now. First, there’s
“Here’s Where We Are,” which could
easily have been a Motown song in the ‘60s.
The other is the jazzy pop of “Tic Tac Toe.”
Both of them have strong catches which you will
probably find yourself humming, especially the “Ooo
la la la” of the latter. Switching from piano
to guitar, depending on the song, Mary is actually
hard to compartmentalize into a category (other
than a joy), but I would say singer-songwriter with
a jazz and pop undertone. There is a lot of sweetness
here, and Mary’s tone and light help to give
it a romantic, candlelight dinner shine. Backed
by a superb band, including Peter Calo on a couple
of them, helps make the songs ever more solid. While
those two tunes are my current favorites, I know
from experience that as I listen more to this, and
I will, that may change as I get to know the collection
better.
RUTH
GERSON has the pipes that could easily
fit into a harder rock category, but her latest,
“This Can’t Be My Life” (ruthgerson.com),
places her well within the category of contemporary
singer-writer. Released three years after it was
completed, Gerson held it back until she had the
chance to move on from some of the anger present
here, much of it written while in the middle of
a divorce. Yes, the ire is definitely there, right
from the start with “Fresh Air” (“You
and your fresh air should be happy together”),
into the title cut (“”But I quit, our
sick just got so much sicker / even for me”),
followed by “Bulletproof,” all songs
about leaving and good riddance. Further in the
pack there’s the likes of “You Lie”
(with the line, “Dear, he said, you’d
lose your head if it wasn’t screwed on”)
and “Does Your Heart Weep.” Even the
one that’s more traditionally based (e.g.,
“Down By the River,” Down in the Willow
Garden”), “Black Water,” is a
tale of a man murdering a women because she spurned
him. But it’s not all doom-and-gloom, there
are some very sweet tunes as well, such as two for
her daughters, “Hazel” and the closer
“Take it Slow,” as well as the passionate
“Stay With Me” and “Don’t
Go.” This CD would definitely fit into a category
of Chick Lit, but I would not like to see it merely
cubby-holed like that. Gerson is far too talented
a singer, songwriter, and pianist to be stereotyped.
These pieces so obviously come from the heart, and
I look forward to future releases, written and recorded
after her life has gotten back on its feet, as it
apparently has from what I understand. This is not
as much a CD as it is a testament of a period of
her life, and she certainly deserves the respect.
Jazz
can swing, and jazz can be noise. THE HOLLYWOOD
SQUARETET set out to prove the later on
“Testosterone!” (gulcher.gemm.com).
For some reason, I find it more tolerable in jazz
than, say, rock (or No Wave, back when). There are
some hardcore veterans among the group: on vox and
drums is wonderfully monikered ex-stand-up and ‘60s
garage band member Larry Copcar, Todd Homer of the
Angry Samoans and Mooseheart Faith on stand-up bass,
Saccharine Trust’s Joe Baiza on guitar, and
Dan Clucas on trumpet. And they make… well,
I don’t know if I would call it a joyful noise,
but it is solid noise jazz (they even have a song
called “Two Miles Davises Walk Into a Bar”).
Above the fray, Copcar yells out his rants, which
I’m not sure are pre-written or spontaneous.
I get the feeling it’s a mixture of both.
There is definitely a sense of humor about the whole
thing, such as the chorus of “Spahn Ranch”
being “I wish I ate / Sharon Tate.”
There’s a definite anti-Obama sentiment in
“I Ain’t Ascared,” where he screams
out, “He’s a motherfuckin’ jive
turkey.” To me, the funniest lyric, though
is the finale “Free Mandela,” where
he plays with the meaning of the title. Nice piece
of experimentation, but it really is something the
listener needs to be open-minded about.
JAS
presents not as much music as most know it on “Live
at Jerome’s” (gulcher.gemm.com), but
rather they create a soundscape with Jerome Raisin
and Steve Painter playing guitar and effects, and
Anna Koala using a Moog synthesizer. Taped in Raisin’s
apartment in Paris, they play unrehearsed using
inexpensive amps while recording on a mini-disc
player. Raisin and Koala both live in Paris and
play in the band Magnetic Memory, while Painter
flew over from Boston where he plays in boundary
testing groups like Dark Sunny Land. There are four
instrumental pieces over the 50 minute CD, so they
get a good workout with their experimenting. While
it’s not classically melodic, at the same
time it’s not just noise and there is certainly
cohesion to it all. Well, if one is familiar at
all with soundscape theory or ambient music, this
is something that you may truly be interested in
checking out.
Jesse
Marchant, who goes by the initials JBM,
has a definite theme to his folk-twinged singer-songwriter
“Not Even in July” (myspace.com/jessemarchant),
and not that most of the songs take place during
that month. The common theme of the songs go like
this: it was okay before, it’s not great now,
but it may be great again. Sometimes it’s
love (e.g., “Going Back Home,” “In
a Different Time”), others it’s the
death of a loved one (“July on the Sound”),
or the complicated city life of Los Angeles full
of corruption, criminals and ennui (“Ambitions
& War,” which is vocally accompanied by
actress Amanda Seyfried). A classically trained
guitarist since childhood who only recently has
started to write lyrics and sing, he crafts well-written
(albeit sometimes depressing) songs around some
hard life questions that are musically lyrical,
accompanied by strings, keyboards of various types,
bass and drums. His voice is correctly described
in his press kit as “unaffected baritone,”
sung mostly at a Cowboy Junkies speed in near lilting
monotone whisper. It’s something that one
may need to have patience with, but it could be
well worth the while, once into the Zen of the sound
and style.
The KETCH HARBOR WOLVES started
out in, well, Ketch Harbor, Nova Scotia (near Halifax;
closest I’ve been in Duncans Cove), before
moving on to Toronto, and their release is “Anachronisms”
(ketchharborwolves.com). Multi-textured to nearly
being soundscapes, KHW uses a thin sheen of their
native Celtic empirical imprints, and overlays them
with prog-like melodies that have smooth melodies
and vocals (Jonathan Tyrrell), but have shards in
the sounds, especially in the percussion areas,
such as in the very strong “August 12.”
From the lush sounds coming from this fivesome,
it’s obvious that it is less studio trickery
than talent that gives them such a full resonance.
However, the production here actually complements
the output, working well with the balance between
the music and the vocals and harmonies. What should
also be commended is that when one usually listens
to this genre, the songs tend to go on and on, but
KHW’s songs average just over 3 minutes, which
give it enough to be appreciated without being drowned
in it. The lyrics are typically poetic and as such
are somewhat cryptic, but that is common for prog,
even of the Celtic nature. While this has never
been a style that I seek out, I’m definitely
interested in seeing this band. That’s says
a lot.
The
last recording I heard of TENNIE KOMAR
was her “Future Stories” album back
in 1980, when she was a fixture on the Boston scene.
Now she has released “Temptation” (myspace.com/tenniekomar).
Her music then was sort of a blend of new wave,
and though now her sound is a bit more contemporary,
with a mixture of other international flavors, there
is a also a definite ‘80s feel to some of
the material here, such as “Dance with Me”
and “Hunter With Your Eyes.” However,
the opener “Summer of Love” and “Temptation”
shows the maturation of her sound. Tennie has lots
of musical back-up here including horns, and even
a xylophone manned by the one-and-only Buzzy Lindhart.
I have to admit I’d prefer a bit less synth,
which is part what retros this back to the ‘80s;
for example, the song “You Can Do No Wrong”
is the only cut from back then, and it fits in comfortably.
In fact, “And He Says ‘Ah’”
and “Savannah LeMar” is solid New Wave
disco. If you’re into that ‘80s A Flock
of Seagull sound and want to hear something a bit
more up-to-date at the same time, it’s hard
to go wrong with this. My fave cuts here are the
ballad “Light That Would Be,” and the
blues chanteuse solid “Sweet Baby Darlin’.”
I’d love to hear an album filled with the
latter type, as Tennie’s deep, lovely vocals
are ideal for it.
LED TO SEA is Alex Guy, her viola,
and an array of loop pedals. While this has the
potential of be an electronica nightmare, her release
“Into the Darkening Sky” (ElevenRecords.com)
shows that one can still be loopy and musical. In
fact, she has quite the lovely voice, and she employs
the strings in a melodic manner (more often plucked
than bowed), using it to enhance the sound she’s
going for, rather than to mask it. With unusual
timing phrases in the structure of the song (i.e.,
putting spaces in unusual places, or taking an extra
beat between choruses, such as in “Rust”),
she makes the music experimental, but keeps the
integrity of the song. Yes, there are moments of
dark and atmospheric sounds and lyrics, but led
by Alex’s voice, the integrity remains intact;
note it works with the occasional instrumental songs,
as well. The lush parts have more of a floating
underwater feeling of freeness rather than skimming,
and others bouncing on airbags, landing on her voice
and viola with a comfortable thud. There is a lot
of great music here, such as my fave cut, “Is
This the Last Time.” The tunes are recognizable
enough to be comfortable, yet off enough not to
be formulaic, and kudos for that. It’s not
often a viola is the lead instrument in an alternative
setting, and especially when used in such a diverse
way as Alex does. Yeah, it’s worth getting.
I
know APRIL MARTIN has released
“Pennies in a Jar” (Shrimp Toast c/o
aprilmartin.com) in a CD format, but at its heart,
it really is an LP, with two sides; but I get ahead
of myself here… Coming into being as a singer-songwriter
in the form of an artist rather than a consumer
a bit late in life, April shows that some things
are worth the wait. She has a very clear voice,
which is smartly put right up front by producer
Peter Calo (whose previous work with artists such
as Mary Gatchell [see above], along with his own,
show he has sharp ears), resonates in a way that
feels like she is sitting in the living room singing
to the listener, and there is some comfort in that.
Backed by Peter on guitar, along with some other
fine musicians, she is obviously singing from the
heart. The first “side” of this release
focuses in on a slight lack of control in one’s
life, where things are just out of reach, or mysterious.
“Out of My Hands” (“All my schemes
are written in sand”), “Got a Way to
Go” (“Don’t know where there is
/ But I’m heading down the line”), “I
Don’t Know” (“I don’t know
just how much is in our hands / “I don’t
know, is there any sort of plan?”), and “Love’s
Been a Long Time Coming” (“Thought it
would surely be here by now”) bring life’s
experiences of “hunh? wha?” to an emotional
depth that is far from alienating an audience, but
rather touches the heart gently. The tone of the
CD changes with the sexy “When She Says Yes,”
or as I like to call the start of side two. From
here we enter different phases of love from the
aforementioned lust (along with an amusing flapperish
‘20s rag “It Ain’t About the Chassis
Anymore”), affection (“One Kiss in the
Rain” and “Warrior of the Heart”),
and the goodbye (told in both sad mode with “I
Won’t Make That Mistake Again” and the
Lisa Loeb-style empowering “Bye-Bye”).
Not a bad cut here. This may be her first release,
but I’m hoping it won’t be her last,
nor that it will be too long a wait.
JIM
McCARTY was a key player in two major Brit
groups during the ‘60s experimental period,
being the drummer for both the Yardbirds and Renaissance,
as well as being a major songwriter for both. After
a few post-period bands and solo excursions, his
latest is “Sitting on the Top of Time”
(Easy Action c/o jamesmccarty.com). For this release,
he plays drums (as expected), writes all the music
(ditto), and fronts the top-notch musicians called
in to record this collection. The songs definitely
lean more toward Renaissance than Yardbirds, with
a prog tone touched with mellow notes, some excellent
guitar flourishes, and lush melodies. The topics
are about life being impermanent, and accepting
with peace one’s place as time passes. In
“Temporary Life,” he states, “Feeling
all the time go by /Accelerating every day / Letting
go the fear I find / That everything is just slipping
away.” With “Hummingbird” (one
of my fave cuts here), he posits, “Moving
through the air transforming / Into dignity / With
a new found poise that’s really free.”
Rather than dwelling on the short visit on earth
we all get, he joyously feels the peace that one
can find with age. There is also a smattering of
really lovely instrumentals. Now, my one contention
with the set is not Jim’s vocals, which is
well and good, but that he double-tracks them ALL.
Once in a while, the harmony is nice, but throughout
is unnecessary, as he sounds fine. Perhaps it’s
lack of vocal confidence, or experimenting, but
I’m just putting forward that he does not
need that studio heavy-handedness, and he should
be as at peace with his voice as he is with the
rest of the music.
BEN
MILLER / degeneration plays his multiphonic
guitar while it’s still on the stand, with
pick-ups all over it and electronic doohickeys attached,
employing it more as a totally different instrument
than classically called for. On his one-man “Eyelands
Under Eyelid” (gulcher.gemm.com), recorded
in New Jersey, Miller produces sonic soundscapes
that are idiosyncratic and certainly amelodic, but
at the same time keeping it interesting. It’s
definitely more Brian Eno than the static feedback
noise of “Metal Machine Music,” but
it is also not formulaic in any sort of way. As
is common in this kind of experimentation, the pieces
are longer than standard song length, as once a
groove is reached, it’s up to the artist to
figure out where it must go from there. Using an
SK1, electronics, radio, and tape, these pieces
are all improvised and played live in the studio,
without overdubs. While listening, I kept imaging
this as the backdrop to panning images of planets
on something like “Nova.” Very ethereal
and esoteric, this could be good music to get totally
wasted to, but as I don’t imbibe in recreational
hoo-ha, it’s just an assumption.
STUART
MOXHAM first came to light as a member
of Young Marble Giant, and he has had a thriving
career as a solo artist (including as G!st), songwriter,
and producer. He has collected some of his rare
output into a nearly hour-long anthology titled,
“Personal Best” (youngmarblegiants.com).
Moxham has a definite flair for songwriting, on
a low-fi scale. In fact, about half of this I found
kind of uninteresting, honestly, with a plunky keyboard
and rhythm machines, but the half I did find remarkable
was majorly so. Songs like “Warning Signs
2,” “No More Words” and “Cars
in the Grass” show that within the frame he’s
shown, there is huge possibility achieved. The tunes
are catchy without compromising his aesthetics.
Two cuts here that immediately perked up my ears,
were “My First Gun” and “Untitled
#2,” which appeared on Barbara Manning’s
excellent “Barbara Manning Sings With the
Original Artists” in 1993 (an CD that’s
also worth looking up). Now mind you, this is all
my opinion, which doesn’t really account for
much in the real world. Low-fi seems to work better
for me in some genres than others (the ‘80s
garage revival, for example), but considering how
many cuts here I did like, I feel it’s easy
to recommend the whole lot for fans of the genre.
Someone
once told me that they thought Dana Carvey was not
funny on “Saturday Night Live” because
his impressions were so accurate to their subjects
that they were indistinguishable from the reality.
Also, there is a history of songs that became embraced
by the very style they were initially meant to mock,
like Blotto’s “Metalhead,” Rick
Dees’ “Disco Duck,” and “Cooky
Puss,” the first rap by the then-hardcore
Beastie Boys. These two thoughts are the issues
I’m having with AARON PETA and
his release, “I’m Not a Hipster”
(aaronpeta.com). I just didn’t get it at first,
because it sounds too much like what it’s
trying to mock, but at the same time is successful
at it. Peta is pop in a Plastic Bertrand mode, with
a bouncy melody line, a smattering of electronica,
and (for others, I’m sure) infectious rhythms.
They lyrics are wry, such as “You you you
you you you you you / Everywhere we go, everything
we do / It’s always always always always always
about you,” from “You You You”,
or “I got the rock / I got the talk / Can’t
find my keys (aw man) / The door is locked,”
from the title cut. While not my speed (though “Ca
plane pour moi” still gets to me), I can appreciate
what Aaron is aiming to accomplish, and that he
is successful at what he is doing, so well, perhaps
the same kind of Blotto-Dees-Beasties success may
follow. I’ll be with him in spirit and respect,
but I won’t have it on my player.
I
had wanted to hear some of the legendary O.
REX recordings for years, and now thanks
to the 2-CD “My Head’s in ’73!”
(gulcher.gemm.com), I can get my fill. In the early
years of 1973-74 covered in the first hour-long,
18-song disk, the “band” was primarily
Solomon Gruberger and his younger ‘tween bass-master
brother Jay (d. 1993 in an auto accident), who lived
in Brooklyn, and Krazee Kenne Highland (who would
go on to cult fame in bands like the Gizmos, the
Korps, Kenny and the Kasuals, and Kenne Highland
and his Vatican Sex Kittens). Kenne, the king of
I-IV-V, would travel down from the Rochester area
to play with the bros. They were all fans of the
likes of Alice Cooper, Mountain, Black Sabbath,
and other touchstone bands of that period, and along
with occasional others like Kenne’s friend
Bill Rowe (who would later be immortalized in Kenne’s
classic “Jailbait Janet”), they would
record themselves on a very cheap reel-to-reel.
The needle must have been consistently in the red,
because there is high distortion and lo-lo-lo-fidelity.
All of this, of course, makes these tapes of songs
that average about 2-minutes each, legendary, if
occasionally painful (and I say that with a smile).
It is cool to hear them working out their sounds
from the beginning, as each of them trade off instruments
(which they occasionally tune), vocals, and songs.
Right from the start there are some covers, like
the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and
Link Wray’s “Rawhide,” but there
are so many originals, which despite the crappy
sound, one can see the unpolished gems there just
waiting for some polishing (and hopefully, better
recording equipment). For example, there’s
Kenne’s “I Shoot Up” (inspired
by Lou Reed’s “Heroin”) and “That’s
Cool (I Respect You More)” (sung by Jay here,
it would become a Gizmos highlights), and Solomon’s
“When I Get There” and “Schizoid
Girl.” The second hour-long, 24-song disk
covers 1976, in which Eddie Flowers, who was with
Kenne in the Gizmos at this time, and later would
be in Crawlspace (reviewed above), played in this
group. Starting the year with a cover of the Yardbirds’
“Shapes of Things,” most of the first
batch of 8 songs are Solomon’s originals,
influenced by the likes of Blue Oyster Cult and
Brownsville Station. The following group of tunes
was recorded in the fall, which is after the Ramones
influence was introduced to the band, shown in tunes
like Solomon’s “Next Time” (which
is essential “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”).
Their cover of Cream’s “Sunshine of
Your Love” and Solomon’s “My Head’s
in ’73” are also clear examples of possibilities.
The song’s topics are occasionally period
pieces wallowing a bit too much in their rock misogyny
(such as “Crazy Jill,” “Right
Between the Hips,” “Make Her Know She’s
Getting Fucked,” and “Star Girl”),
and even some questionable racist overtones (“Boogying
With the Jubas”), but it was a different time.
I could go on and on about the potential presented
on these disks, but I’ll cut this “short.”
The next stage of this band is when Kenne, Solomon,
and Jay joined with Ken Kaiser and formed the superior
Afrika Korps, who released some truly killer tunes.
The booklet to this set has members of the band
discussing their memories of the songs and their
recording, with both humor and hindsight. Whether
this is a meaningful 2-hours plus depends on the
listener, but I found it worthwhile, if questionably
amateurish.
JACK
PHILLIPS is a singer-piano man, and his
release is “To Whom It May Concern”
(Magnolia Group c/o jackphillipsmusic.com). There
are a smattering of different styles on here, and
most work well for him, especially the Elton John-styled
ones such as the title track, “Alowishus,”
and the gospel-inspired closer, “Bright One.”
His foray into C&W with the traditional style
“Motherlode” succeeds for his voice
as well. The ‘80s sounding “The Trip
Will Make You Well” is a bit retro, but it’s
okay. My biggest complaint about this collection
is the song order. It starts with his weakest cut,
“I Can’t See,” and it isn’t
until halfway through that he starts to pick up
some real steam. While I can understand why the
highly produced (it works here) “Bright One”
is the closer, but I would actually have liked this
more if the rest of the songs were in the reverse
order: start strong and work your way down. As for
the songs themselves, the melodies blend well with
the lyrics, which are occasionally a bit abstract,
especially in the early cuts, but the second half
of the songs tend to be repetitious, especially
lyrically. Entire stanzas and chorus are repeated,
sometimes more than once, sometimes in a different
order, but the point is made, so either add stanzas
or move on (in my opinion). I like Jack and his
songs, despite the issues, and I am hoping future
releases by him are a bit stronger in the songs
themselves, even though the music is pretty solid.
DAVE
RAVE has been associated with some great
rock bands, like Teenage Head and the Dave Rave
Conspiracy. But as the years went on, he bent more
toward his origins, which is more on the pop side.
Oh, I’m not talking about Top 10 radio, I’m
talking Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe ‘60s style
(I remember our first conversation in the 1980s
being about Edmunds). Presently, he’s had
a relatively recent yet lasting work relationship
with jazz aficionado and musician Mark McCarron,
and a partnership with ex-rocker, folker, and more
recently chanteuse Lauren Agnelli, on top of adding
to his pop side with his long-standing relationship
with producer / musician / music historian / fellow
Canadian Gary Pig Gold, his more melodic side is
gaining momentum. In fact, this whole collection
is like old home week with various members of Teenage
Head and Rick Andrew, from Dave’s first group
the Shakers back in Hamilton, Ontario, making some
contribution here. Even Richard X. Heyman and Michael
Mazzarella (of the Rooks) make an appearance. One
would think with all these varied artists chipping
in, it would be a complex mess, but just the opposite
seems to be true, Even with the diverse recording
spaces, such as New Jersey, London, Paris, and various
Ontario studios, it all sounds cohesive. “Live
with What You Know” (bongobeat.com), put out
by ex-Diodes manager / musician / poet (and also
Canadian) Ralph Alfonso, is a culmination of all
those influences into a beautiful package of songs,
starting strong with “Anne-Marie,” and
never letting up. Some other toppers (though the
others are justthisfar from that level) include
“One of a Kind,” the later-Beatles sounding
“One Day Your Sun Will Shine,” the country-twinged
“Silverline” (where Dave gives up the
lead vox to the lovely voiced Kate MacDonald), the
sweet ballad “Rows and Rows,” “All
the Love You Can Handle,” and… well,
I could just go on. Most of Dave’s CDs are
a reason to celebrate, and this one is especially
so.
What pleases me about alt-country THE RUNNING
KIND (named after a Merle Haggard ditty)
is that their sound is just a bit off. On “The
Girl For All the World” (Bossanova Music,
c/o therunningkind.net), the vocals are shared by
real-life Massachusetts-bred couple Leslie Ann Bosson
and Matt Bosson (also on acoustic guitar), and their
sounds are not what one would expect for the genre.
Leslie Ann has a forced operatic (excuse the redundancy)
tone that adds an unusual but effective element;
Matt sounds a bit like he’s straining at times,
especially on the Neil Young cover, “Don’t
Cry No Tears.” When they sing together, it
reminds me a bit of Rank & File – not
in sound, but how two different and non-formulaic
voices can blend and be idiosyncratically interesting.
Along with some really fine originals, such as the
outstanding “Old Girl” and “I
Still Love You (Like I Loved You Before),”
there are a couple of noteworthy covers of Gram
Parson’s classic “Return of the Grievous
Angel” and the George Jones standard, “Life
to Go.” The rest of the band holds Leslie
Ann and Matt up with strong support.
Deciding
to go the single name root, reggae singer Ruth A
Brown is now known simply as RUTH.
While she has a full album in the making, she had
released a self-titled EP, “Ruth” (bran-nu.com),
with five songs. The production is solid, glossy,
and could easily be comfortable in the Top-10. But
I decided to listen to it all the way, anyway. All
five cuts are about love, as in being starry-eyed,
and at full tilt. While the best cut is “Unfamiliar
Feelings” (youtube.com/watch?v=WiYfLpeFOzY),
the absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder “Jamtown”
(slang for Jamaica), comes in an easy second. “I
Love You” is good, if a bit predictable, and
“Chillin’ with my Baby” is mostly
fine, though the repeated title chorus gets a bit
much. But then again, reggae is oft-times based
on a repeated rhythm, so perhaps I am being narrow-minded.
Now, I’m not sure if it’s the singer’s
ego or she has a punk attitude (meant as a compliment,
of course), but having an opening track of that
professes her love for her guy while slamming music
reviewers, “Here Come the Critics,”
is nervy. Good for her. That being said, this isn’t
hardcore reggae but with a definite pop feel to
it, but she does apparently have a better voice
than the limited amount I’ve heard of the
over-produced and auto-tuned Rhianna. Now Ruth just
needs to get a wider market.
KELLI
SCARR has had quite the career, with the
bands Moonraker, and Salt and Samovar, plus an acclaimed
stint writing film soundtracks. Heck, she’s
even toured with Moby (for which I will forgive
her), as both his opening act and in his band (she
co-sang his “Wait for Me” with him on
the 2009 release). On “Piece” (Silence
Breaks, c/o myspace.com/kelliscarr), her style is
slow ballads reminiscent of Julee Cruise (though
not that laconic). Along with some break-up tunes
(“Break Up,” “So Long”),
there is also lots of introspective life reflections,
such as lullabies to her son. Definitely 33 in a
45 world, the tunes are mellow, but hardly dull.
There’s a bit too much self-vocal overdubbing,
but her voice is sweet so it all comes out on the
positive side. The music is a bit electronic keyboard
heavy (her instrument) but not obnoxiously so. In
fact, she wields the instrument incredibly well,
with no rinky-dink plunking, just using the right
amount to highlight the songs. Good second cup of
coffee in the morning music.
Uber German metal flash guitarist Michael Schenker
was in the bands Scorpion and UFO during the mid-
to late-1970s, and, then he formed his MICHAEL
SCHENKER GROUP in 1980. Now there is the
nearly 2-hour, 2-CD “30th Anniversary Concert:
Live in Tokyo” (in-akustik.com), a reunion
of most of his original orchestra taped early in
2010. Schenker is a helluva guitarist, whizzing
up and down the fretboard of his custom flying V
guitar, and there is the occasional solo by other
musicians, such as excellent bassist Neil Murray
(from Whitesnake), drummer Simon Phillips (whose
huge kit include a double bass) and rhythm guitarist
/ keyboardist Wayne Findlay, but this is Schenker’s
show. My biggest problem with the band, though,
is lead vocalist Gary Barden, who has bounced in
and out of the band over the years. He’s a
decent singer, but his style is formulaic for the
genre, and his vocals are, well, certainly not idiosyncratic,
like Joey Ramone, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Bon Scott,
Lemmy, or Donna “She Wolf” Nasr. He
certainly does seem to be having a lot of fun though,
as is the Japanese crowd. However, the first number
that really got my attention was the 10th one, “Into
the Arena,” which I realized most of the way
through was an instrumental. From the short (“Welcome
Howl” comes in under 2 minutes) to the lengthy
(“Rock Bottom” is nearly 13 minutes),
there is a fine range of styles and feel, speed
and tempo. I’m never going to be a metal head,
but I can appreciate what the band is doing, and
they manage it with surgical precision. There is
also a DVD of this concert available from Inakustik.
What
a difference a finger at a console makes. FRED
SHAFER has a new release, “Resistor”
(fredshafer.com), and the possibilities for this
solid rocker are far and wide. His songs are pretty
strong with a firm rock bottom, but... This was
co-produced by Shafer and Jamey Perrenot, the latter
having worked with the likes of Taylor Swift and
LeAnn Rimes. In other words, Perrenot knows all
the tricks of the trade to make this release so
slick that it collapses under its own weight. Yeah,
this can be played on the radio as is now, and that
most likely is the goal, but this is just so slick
that there is no room for it to breathe, all compressed
and balanced to the point of the loss of soul (small
“s”). There have been a number of great
bands that have been damaged by gloss, like Get
Wet, Blondie after the first album, and the Dead
Boys’ second. I would like to hear him live
to see what he actually sounds like. Meanwhile,
there are some decent songs here, like “Mama”
and “Going Blind,” and his vocal has
the right amount of growl in the back of it. It’s
just a bit too mainstream for my taste these days.
Imagine
if Patti Smith had listened to Delta folk rather
than the Rolling Stones before recording “Piss
Factory,” and that could give you some idea
of what PEG SIMONE and crew do
on “Secrets From the Storm” (myspace.com/pegsimone).
Starting off with the epic 22-minute poetry piece
“Levee / 1927,” based on songs by Memphis
Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy, the twangy guitar goes
on for a while before the spoken word verse begins,
telling of a dead body that’s come to the
surface after being buried in mud for a while. After
the poem part, Peg sings the next part. It’s
an interesting and intriguing experiment. The other
four pieces, all originals by Peg (and sometimes
Holly Anderson) average around four minutes, but
are of similar style, with a bluegrassy slide guitar
and bass (and occasional piano and drum), and Peg
either talking, whispering, or singing over it.
It definitely kept my attention throughout. This
is thoughtful and complex, even though it is apparently
based on simple riffs, but its depth is surprisingly
effective, even if the lyrics / poetry is sometimes
cryptic.
THE
SUPERBEES release, “Top of the Rocks”
(acetate.com), sounds like it could have come out
in 1977, or they could have been on a double bill
with the Heartbreakers or Gizmos. They have a raw
and solid post-New York punk sound that will definitely
rock you. Solid musicianship with great songs makes
this too-short 6-songer fly by. “The Lonely
Kind,” backed with extra vocals by Reggie
Kat, just wails. The Superbees sound like they’d
be a riot live by any indication of this release.
I may have to search out their previous full-lengther.
Not a bad song here.
RUSTY WILLOUGHBY was in the bands
Pure Joy and Flop: opposite names with the same
result of career stagnation. Here is his second
solo release, “Cobirds Unite” (Local638records.com),
and while I can’t predict success, I will
say this is a well-thought out collection. Well,
the ‘80s post-psych and ‘90s grunge
were unsuccessful for him, but the neo-country he’s
doing now is definitely a step up. An example of
this success is definitely “Streets of Baltimore”
(where he shares the vox with Rachel Flotard). His
press keeps comparing him to Gram Parsons, which
is ridiculous, but it can give you some idea of
the direction Rusty is going. A question I have
is whether this direction is what he wants to do,
or the direction he thinks will work – two
very different things, though I ask it as rhetorical.
Rusty does seem to be comfortable in this genre
of mixing country with soft rock, mostly leaning
toward the latter, thankfully, since it works better
with his voice, such as on the short opener “Wrecker
of the Heart.” Topic-wise, a lot of it is
wishin’ and hopin’ for love. He has
a good feeling for melody, and sounds good in harmony.
Hopefully, this will be his successful milieu.
I’m
going to assume you have been reading this column
for a while and know where my music heart snuggles.
Here’s some info about Nova Scotia’s
“atmospheric indie” (as they’ve
been called) band WINTERSLEEP:
their last album won a Juno (Canadian equiv of the
Grammy) for Best New Band, and they opened for Pearl
Jam; so where do you think I sit with their fourth
release, “New Inheritors” (wintersleep.com)?
Well, the press release compares them to Pearl Jam,
Band of Horses and Interpol, three bands that have
never meant anything to me. And Pearl Jam always
seemed a bit harder than this. Don’t get me
wrong, these guys play the crap outta their music,
but it’s just a bit slick for me, almost like
neo-prog. I mean, “Blood Collection”
is pretty good, but I’d want to hear them
more stripped down without all the studio overlays.
But then, when dealing with an “atmospheric”
band, that’s just about what a fan of the
genre would WANT to hear, right? I’m torn,
because I can tell this band is certainly talented,
and know their way around their style and instruments,
and also around a studio, but it’s not something
I would ever go out (or stay in) to listen to without
a specific reason. I don’t know, perhaps they’re
more interesting live. Again, this is me talking
about what I get outta the band, not the way they
are performing (which is why this is a review, not
a critique). Okay, rambling aside, if you like the
bands mentioned as comparisons, perhaps check them
out, or hear some of their samples. If this band
touches you in YOUR musical heart, all the better.
KATHY
ZIMMER has such a lovely voice. I find
people who have some operatic training tend to force
their vocals, but not Kathy. The proof is further
expressed in her new 5-song EP, “Opening Band”
(kathyzimmermusic.com). It’s by sheer luck
I ran into Kathy at a Tamara Hey show a couple years
back, but I’m grateful, because now I have
the chance to introduce you to her, once again.
Right from the first song, “Fairytale,”
she lilts and tilts her tunes over and around her
acoustic guitar. Swirling about as well are an electric
guitar, violin and percussion. She continues the
light ballad trend through all the originals here,
giving the listener a warm, cozy feeling. All five
are keepers, so go for it. Oh, lest I forget, my
only complaint about the whole thing is that all
the covers are hand-put-together, so no two are
identical, and being the collector I am, I didn’t
want to break the seal! But I did, and it was worth
it…
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