The Guild League – Jet-Set. . .Go EP

The Guild League features Tali White of The Lucksmiths in a poppy acoustic venture for Matinee Records. The album is a indie-pop star-studded affair with appearances also by members of Soda Stream, Red Raku, and Art of Fighting. With this much ammo, The Guild League is more than set to create a snappy single.
“Jet-Set . . . Go” is the catchy title track with a sort of 60s mod sound, including lots of strummy guitars, noisy percussion, and even hand-clapping. This is definite winner and provokes an automatic interest in the band and the rest of the album. The next two tracks are demos of other songs that will appear on the full-length. “A Faraway Place” is a short and sweet acapella track, which is reminiscent of a barber-shop quartet. The record finishes with the simple but unremarkable acoustic number “Cornflakes.” It is pretty much your typical sad love-lost song.
This is a good taste of what is to come for The Guild League but, unless you are a Lucksmiths completeist or not willing to spring the few extra bucks, I’d suggest just snagging the full-length, Private Transportation, that came out last December. All of the songs are there and you’ll have something to listen to for longer than five minutes.

Loose Fur – S/T

The artistic marriage of Jim O’Rourke (Gastr Del Sol/Sonic Youth) and Jeff Tweedy (Uncle Tupelo/Wilco) has been one of the most unlikely – but fruitful – unions of recent years. On one side of the isle we had an avuncular post-rocker gone pop-art provocateur (O’Rourke), and on the other we had a frustrated folk-rocker (Tweedy), both of them anxious to break free from their respective musical family units. The marriage vows were exchanged on O’Rourke’s Insignificance (2001), wherein Tweedy was invited to scrawl hoary-old harmonica and Southern-fried rock riffs over an album cut to deliberately alarm those expecting a formulaic follow-up to Eureka (O’Rourke’s delicious post-pop masterpiece from 1999). The consummation of the coupling came with Wilco’s much-debated (and much delayed) avant-rock milestone Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (belatedly released in 2002), where O’Rourke’s studio virtuosity was deployed to delve through mountains of mix tapes, to bring a cohesive closure to Tweedy and co.’s ambitious recording marathon. But how, you might wonder, did this marriage of immense convenience come to be? This album should provide all the answers you need.
Consider this record if you will, as the Tweedy/O’Rourke engagement party. Having first met during a collaborative project at Chicago’s Noise Pop festival in May 2000, the pair were soon smitten enough to abscond for a quickie studio session. With versatile percussionist Glenn Kotche on board (then on loan from O’Rourke’s backing band, but now a regular Wilco member), the trio were quick to lay down this spontaneous – but rather special – six-track album under the moniker of Loose Fur. Six extended entanglements that capture the spirit of willful experimentation and magnetic pull of melody.
From the beginning, like most fledging relationships, one of the partners proves to be the dominant force. In the first instance, it’s Jim who leads the pop way, but not as we know it. When Tweedy opens the album with the first of his three vocal songs – the brilliantly named “Laminated Cat” – he sounds nervous and subdued, preferring the route be planned out by O’Rourke on bass and electronics, who in turn guides Kotche’s tribal drums into some raw and rubbery Tortoise-tinged electro-dub. With O’Rourke in the vocal-booth, the self-descriptive “Elegant Transaction” nonchalantly strolls down the same glorious roads roamed on his own Halfway to a Threeway EP (1999). Pleasantly distracting us with succulent harmonies and layered Nick Drake-ish guitars (interspersed with Tweedy’s dustbowl banjo picking), O’Rourke even slips a typically sly lyric under the radar.
Things go astray a little on the next track, “So Long” (the other O’Rourke lead vocal), as the two lovers tussle for the trouser-ownership about the house. Tweedy’s twitching discordant guitars are egged-on by Kotche’s random drum splatters into undermining O’Rourke’s vocal for the first two or three minutes. Who wins this domestic wrangle? Jim of course, with a radiate and rippling Brian Wilson-esque outro. Tweedy takes control of the household for the more confident and succinct Sonic Youth-beats-up-Bacharach slow-burner “You Were Wrong,” before mucking in with the others for the rustic-rag-meets-atonal-riffage of the instrumental “Liquidation Totale.” Things settle down comfortably for the closing “Chinese Apple,” as the two genre-crossed lovers finally seem resolved to complementing each other’s strengths; so Tweedy starts-off the finale with a mellow monologue before O’Rourke drenches everyone with opulent acoustic string-picking and silky keyboard shimmering.
This loose ‘n’ furry (and expertly dug) excavation shows us that the ongoing Jim ‘n’ Jeff love affair has been built on schizophrenic but solid foundations. Let’s hope that a few years down the line, the twosome can revisit these raggedly wonderful roots for another equally sublime fuzzy pop collaboration.

Jessica Bailiff – S/T

Those who are easily depressed, beware: Jessica Bailiff’s self-titled third album may not be your cup of tea. For those who enjoy wallowing in the occasional pit of despair, however, this disc may be the perfect soundtrack. Not since Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star fame pasted together gems like So Tonight That I Might See and Among My Swan has dark, gloomy sadness sounded so good.
Album opener “Swallowed” is a reprise of an older, previously recorded track, and it sets the mood for the remainder of the album. Sparse acoustic guitar is accompanied by Bailiff’s haunting, half-whispered vocals. Snippets of words and phrases only occasionally rise about the background music before fading back into obscurity. While most of the tracks are guitar based, Bailiff is no stranger to sonic experimentation. A haunting sitar fills the spaces between Bailiff’s singing on “The Hiding Place.” Looping, staccato violin provides a hypnotic backdrop for “Big Hill,” an enchanting (though somewhat repetitive) ballad reminiscent of Dead Can Dance’s “I am Stretched on Your Grave.” The slow-motion tambourine and reverberating guitar feedback on “Disappear” will no doubt have Hope Sandoval contacting her lawyers shortly.
All nine songs on this album are very similar, and there is no break in Bailiff’s somber mood. In my opinion, that’s a good thing: when I want to wallow, I don’t want my thoughts interrupted by a rogue cheery ditty. On the other hand, the unrelenting sadness and intensity of this disc may very well drive some listeners to tear up from frustration, not sadness. Only those who appreciate the strange comfort that can be found in sad music will love this album.

Golden Shoulders – Let My Burden Be

To put it simply, Let My Burden Be is filled with the sort of indie-pop tunes that feel absolutely timeless. It is complicated and genius, but in a simple and easily accessible sort of way, and it is filled to the brim with the sort of songs that will burrow their way into your brain whether you like it or not. Frontman Adam Kline is joined by Jason Graham of his former band, the Gears, as well as Rich Good and drummer Todd Roper, of Cake and Deathray fame. Greg Brown, also of Cake, and Rusty Miller of Jackpot lead a host of guest musicians that drop by to contribute everything from vocals to piano to handclaps. The end result is nostalgic yet remarkably fresh, and while some people compared the Gears’ sound to that of early Beatles, this Golden Shoulders album could be compared to later Beatles.
The opening “Do You Know Who You Are?” is nothing short of irresistible, and it really doesn’t get much worse from there, all the way down to the folky politics of “The Honey, the Power, the Light.” Lyrics range from witty and thought-provoking to simple choruses of “lah lah lah,” and the same goes for the music in general. You get a little taste of everything, with one song transporting you to a summer country fair, while another will have you cradled in a rocking chair on the back porch. One minute you’ll be bouncing around like a kid with too much sugar in his system, and the next you will be slowly dancing with a loved one. From rock, to pop, to folk, there is a little bit of everything, and it all works together beautifully, with modern production styling meshing with traditional rock songwriting to create something truly wonderful.
If Phil Ochs were writing pop songs today, and collaborated with George Harrison or John Lennon, it might sound something like this. Yet this is not simply a rehashing of the classic pop songbook but rather a new and sophisticated page entirely. If you are any fan of thoughtful, diverse, and entertaining pop-rock, this one is certainly worth checking out.

The Blinding Light – Glass Bullet EP

Fans of the death metal scene from the 80s and early 90s will likely have fond memories of those times. These were the days when metal (with the exception of the poser hair rockers) was in its last vestiges of evil purity. Since then, the industrial scene, modern rock, and, most importantly, hardcore have become more the focus for fans of heavy music. Even though there have been plenty of bands trying their hand at the headbanging genre since, something has been missing. Whether it was energy, passion, or ability, a piece of the magic disappeared, at least for a few years.
Luckily, for the fans, death metal bands have started to come back into the fold. Though this style has had somewhat of a comeback, much of it can be attributed to the crossover of hardcore into metal. Bands like Dillinger Escape Plan, Race Traitor, and Hatebreed combined the passionate energy of hardcore with the more complicated riffage of metal and have, therefore, brought a new edge to “extreme” music. Metal bands have taken note. Even the evil gods themselves, Slayer, have taken Hatebreed out on the road with them. The give and take between both genres has allowed for the imaginary lines to become blurred – leaving room for a whole new pack of groups ready to push music forward.
Though this is only their first major EP, The Blinding Light have the potential to become one of the aforementioned genre giants. They play a tough, tenacious brand of music that owes more to straight up death metal than hardcore. This is best exemplified in the intros and verses of their songs. Though their guitars have hardcore’s style of intensity, the technical tricks and complicated rhythms that the band has produced move their sound closer towards the depths of tech/death metal. With that said, one still gets a sense of the group’s hardcore roots with their pulsating, chugging choruses that add a powerful exclamation point to the group’s virtuosity.
The best tracks on the EP, “Blowing Smoke” and “Violator,” display the band at their ripping best. The songs tend to start off with powerful, technical openings that push forth the tempo at a medium pace. Quickly, though, the band shifts gears and blasts back and forth from ultra-fast to gloomy and sluggish. The variety on their plate of music is enough to satisfy most fans of either hardcore or metal.
Deathwish, Inc., a top-notch label featuring many great up-and-coming hardcore/metal acts, made a wise investment by releasing this EP. Metal and hardcore fans looking for something new should give these guys a chance. After all, if fans want to keep their favorite genre fresh they need to support those giving the music a shot in the arm. Though they are not quite trendsetters, The Blinding Light have the potential to at least be syringes into the vessels of their brand of music.

The Badger King – The Tongue and Tooth EP

The Badger King is a pop duo consisting of M.Ritchey (Dear Nora, Wolf Colonel) on vocals, and Jona (Wolf Colonel) providing the accompaniment. TBK is a rather stripped-down approach to what is often called the K (Records) sound: blips, stops, ruminations on candy, slightly off-key singing – in short, a Calvin Johnson wet-dream. What makes TBK stand out on their self-released tour EP is actually good. Dreamy lyrics about crows, water, flying,and walking through the woods play perfectly against computer generated dance tracks.With only five tracks, TBK makes you stop, listen, and wonder what a “vision in green fishnets” would actually look like. The duo also integrate an Anne Sexton poem into the mix on “Sermon of the 12 Acknowledgements,” while the last track, “Buck and I,” could easily be the number one hit in a indie/hipster disco, playing along side Beat Happening’s “Don’t Touch My Bikini.” You’ll want to put the disc on repeat and dance the night away.
Trying to explain what TBK sounds like is hard; I have never heard another group like them. In a perfect world, TBK would rule the pop charts and generously give N’SYNC cameos in their music videos. TBK is disco/pop without the “wacky” hair and flashy clothes. They are the Neptunes beats without Beyonce shakin’ her “jelly.” If you like having fun and choreographing dances for your friends, this is the perfect soundtrack. If you like sitting in your basement apartment leafing through poetry and sipping herbal tea, you will enjoy the rhyme and meter found througout The Tongue and Tooth. In short, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like The Badger King.
The Badger King are from Portland, Or. A lot of my favorite things are from Portland: my Grandpa and Grandma, Pavement, and Courtney Taylor-Taylors leather pants. Well, actually, I just found out that Granny and Pops are moving to Arizona, so that leaves a nicely vacated space for the latest addition to my (ever changing) “Top Three Things About Portland” list: The Badger King.

Tobin Sprout – Lost Planet & Phantom Voices

I have always admired the work of Tobin Sprout in his many endeavours. Sprout has been very busy as a musician and using his artistic skills for other uses as well for many years now. This is the newest full-length solo release from Sprout in a couple of years now after his various projects like Airport 5, Eyesinweasel, and others. Sprout has always had a special way with melodies that rise to the surface, and he is a throwback to old-school pure pop songsters. This release has Sprout working by himself as well as with a band and contains a pair of songs he has leant to a film project.
“Indian Ink” is a lo-fi humming little ditty with Sprout’s melodic voice rising above the buzz of the production. This song has some very nice rhythmic guitar playing along with a plain set drum programming that creates a pleasant feeling. “Doctor #8″ is one of the strongest pieces here with it’s perfected brand of psych-pop. Songs like this are what makes Sprout a master of his craft; it is just truly incredible. The instrumentation used is very nice with a good harmonica break as well as lively drumming from Mark Price. “All Those Things We’ve Done” is a bouncy little love number with chiming guitars and good vocals.
“Courage the Tack” is the center piece for this record with its beautiful multi-tracked vocals and chugging guitar. Sprout shows his knack for melody with the bright and layered vocals that give the song a wonderful flow. “As Lovely As You” has a great herky-jerky new-wave rhythm that would fit perctly with some of the higer class material from that genre. Sprout’s vocals make this song with the repetitive guitar edging him along. “Shirley the Rainbow” finds Sprout heading back to psych-pop territory wither he is extremely comfortable after doing it for so long. It has some very nice wordplay combining the lyrics: “Surly as Shirley does / It’s always Shirley’s love” is a wonderful warbly voice conveying his emotions.
It’s always great to hear something from Sprout because you are almost always guaranteed of at least two great songs, even on an off day. Sprout adds another notch to his belt with this record, even some of the lesser songs are just slightly below incredible. This is a CD that has grown on me everytime I hear it, and that is always a good thing; it won’t blow you away the first time, but it eventually will. Sprout has a way of making his songs come to life, and there are a number of gems he has done that with here. This disc isn’t perfect, as a few enjoyable songs may not be up to par with the rest, but that shouldn’t matter with the quality around them. It is worth constant repeated listenings and is a grower because of its beauty. Magnificent.

Michael J. Sheehy – No Longer My Concern

This is the third solo disc from former Death City Film Club frontman Michael J. Sheehy, and he continues to play gloomy recordings. Sheehy has always been one to create a seedy, morbid tale, but they also have a slight subtle playful humor as well. On this album, Sheehy works with Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde on a couple of tunes, and the disc is full of the airy atmospheric work in that veign. Sheehy keeps a lot of these tales sparse and lets his voice lead you further along, creating a creepy comfortness. This is very similar to the glory days of bands on 4AD and Nick Cave while in the Birthday Party; it has a very blues sense to it.
“Distracting Yourself from the Doom” opens the disc with a quiet brooding piece led by Sheehy’s slightly plucked guitar and Raymonde’s eerie piano work. Sheehy sounds very sweet with his message of trying not to pay attention to the constant pain of life and then the departure of death. “Donkey Ride Straight to Hell” has a seedy blues feel with a hissing production and shuffle feel. The swirling organ is a nice touch, giving the song a late-night-in-the-alley groove. This is a new take of an old song by Willie Dixon, and Sheehy as updated it with new lyrics. “Ballad of the Pissed Apostle” has an old-time blues feel with the footstomps and handclaps while Sheehy throws out bluesy licks on the guitar. The atmosphere of this song is incredible with its spooky scarcity and haunting tones.
“Pigboy” carries the same haunting slow blues feel, but this time with a cello providing ghostly moans and croaks. Sheehy keeps the feel nicely with mumbled vocals and rhythmic guitar patterns. “Modest Beauty” is the most up-beat song on this disc in a uplifitngly twisted sort of way. Sheehy stays with the creepy persona in this downtrodden tale that has a little promise for the narrator. “Twisted Little Man” is the last tracked song on the disc and is taken at a ballad pace that is done well. The song has an R&B feel with the fingersnaps and crooning vocals.
This disc rarely leaves the haunting dirty blues sounds throughout, and Sheehy’s voice fits very nicely with that approach. There is a very dark tone here that is at times hard to listen to, but since it’s done so well you can’t help but enjoy it. Sheehy has really found a great way to get his dark sense of humor across in a very eerie productive manner. The disc has an authentic feel and sound to it that makes it all the more impressive, which isn’t an easy thing to pull off. Dark, brooding, spooky music that will make all the fans of the 4AD heyday screaming for more, this is a great disc to pick up for those with an open mind to seediness.

Various Artists – Mass Transit: A Compilation of Northwest Musicians

Woodson Lateral Record’s website boasts that they’re proud of the Mass Transit compilation, and they should be. Beyond the fact that they coordinated an album with 15 different bands contributing and beyond the very cool fact that this comp is promoting a region (all of these bands are Pacific Northwest residents) as well as the record label, lies this: the album flat rocks. And none of these bands sound alike.
This is a congregation of similar-minded indie artists expressing themselves with completely different sounds. The songs represent some of the best from their respective genres: indie, electronica, math rock, drum ‘n’ bass, post rock, synth-pop, americana… it’s all here. Maybe every band involved saved their absolute best stuff for this project, but I doubt it. Without examining the output of every group, it’s hard to judge that fact. Every single track, though, is interesting and cool. And in today’s world of bandwagon-jumpers and play-by-numbers punk-pop it’s a sweet, soothing sound to sore ears.
The other incredible thing about this compilation is the fact that it plays so seamlessly from song to song. Most samplers don’t have much continuity, but this one does. Which is probably why it reminds me of listening to really great independent rock radio (think WOXY/97X or KROQ/106.7).
And every track is great. Inevitably, some of these songs, for various reasons, stick out more than others: “Voice of Space” by Trucker of the Sea is phenomenal, so is The Getter Flash’s “Days Of Living Velvet.” Recidivist turned in a track titled “May.03.2001″ that’s superb, The Trail vs Russia track is awesome, too. But this is almost like splitting hairs simply because the entire collection is so, so good. Other bands included are: The Sweet Science, Wimbledon, Sysex, Lover/Adapter, Mines, Hello From Waveland, Deception Pass, The Building Press, The Dutchflat, Exbestfriends, and Lamplighter.
Basically, just blindfold yourself and hit play, you won’t be disappointed.

Half Visconte – Was it Fear?

Half Visconte’s first full-length album is a wonder. While more and more musicians are putting choke-holds on their creative output by writing, recording, and producing their albums all by themselves, Half Visconte is reminding us all of the magic that happens when a handful of disparate musicians apply themselves to a common vision. The result of their attempts, Was It Fear?, is an absolutely stunning entry into the modern music underground.
No tricks, no gimmicks here, just fantastic compositions that rely heavily on improvisation, swirling electronic ambiance, and great musicianship. The music is sometimes jarring, sometimes soothing, and always challenging as it swings from angular to atmospheric with ease. It’s a testament to the skill of the band that these songs sound so complete and the improvised sections are so fluid and transcendent. The musicians in question are singer/guitarist Richard Minardi, drummer Dan Sylvester, multi-instrumentalist Ben Taylor, and singer/guitarist Scott Tennent. All members were originally located in Phoenix, AZ before deciding to make it really hard on one another by spreading themselves across three time zones (Sylvester and Taylor in Chicago and Tennent in NYC). They got together to record this album in just three days during July of 2000 at Livinghead Studios in Phoenix.
The songs vary in length, from 00:21 (“I Wear Fast”) to 13:35 (“Name”), and in complexity. There’s the relatively straight-ahead “Racked & Martyred,” to the noisy breakdown of “His Song,” the soaring interplay of “11,” and the so-simple-but-brilliant-I-could-weep “O The Lyin’ Papa.”
These tracks all use real musical dynamics to remain interesting and captivating, and that’s not the loud-fast, slow-quiet stuff that we’ve all heard a million times. These are the dynamics that are created when musicians interact with one another in casting their collective dream onto magnetic tape. It’s a recording of a musical happening. This is also the ground where Half Visconte excels, with extended instrumentals that sometimes ride on the strength of just a few notes or collide and gel under each instruments’ influence on the foray. There are snippets of improvised sections on this album (“His Song,” “I Wear Fast”) that make you desperately want to hear the parts they left off.
Some of the standout tracks include “Money Shot,” “11,” A Walking Tour of Trinidad, CO,” “O The Lyin’ Papa,” and “His Song.” There’s also a beautiful hidden track on this album, “Blue-eyed Baldwin.”
Half Visconte intentionally push themselves and their songs to go farther: beyond the fences, past the tiny orange surveying flags, and deeper into the looking glass. The stuff they brought back is phenomenal.

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