Yagya – Rigning

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been waiting for a dubstep album to finally hit me the right way. I think I must be one of the few that wasn’t bowled over by either of Burial’s albums and I certainly had an even harder time with Kode9 and Spaceape. It isn’t because I didn’t like the music. It’s because for some reason I still can’t  get into the kind of toasting vocals normally employed by Jamaican dancehall MCs that have been employed on a number of cuts in works by the aforementioned artists and others in the genre. Yagya’s Rigning is exactly what I was looking for in a dubstep album and maybe it’s what you’ve been waiting for as well. Rigning is musically similar to artists like Burial and Boxcutter but there are elements of electronic music similar to artists such as Pole and GAS at work here too.

Rigning is Icelandic for “raining” and each track on the album is prefaced with the word, making for titles like “Rigning Sex” and “Rigning Tvö.” Every track here works extremely well because the beats and quesy keyboard tones complement each other perfectly. Space is utilized  to accentuate each melody while the rhythmic aspects are slow and deliberate. The album is completely vocal free so if you also can’t get down with toasting but are interested in dubstep then this might be a very good place to start. Rigning is also easily solid enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with either of Burial’s albums but honestly this isn’t a contest to pit Yagya against leading lights of the genre. The point I want to convey here is that the album is gorgeous in a non-derivative way and absolutely excellent.

Previous Yagya albums Will I Dream During the Process? and the excellent and unfortunately out-of-print Rhythm of Snow were released by legendary electronic label Force Inc. Thanks to Sending Orbs, this should be the most widely available Yagya recording to date. I think Yagya’s Aðalsteinn Guðmundsson might finally be ready for his close up and it’s time to pay attention.

Adam Balbo – Big Kid Now EP

Adam Balbo is definitely a likable guy.  His songs are cute and the performances are loose and fun.  This isn’t enough to make him important, but at a time in musical history where every asshole with a guitar is writing the same hackneyed trash, Balbo, at the very least, has personality.

The title track is literally a song about a kid who’s getting a little older.  He’s learning the importance of religion (debatable, but whatever), noticing girls, and knows how to use chopsticks.  The EP continues with this kind of stuff.  “The Snakeman” contains multiple He-Man references. Balbo “cordially invite(s) you to get some food” on “16-Bar Blues Love Song.”  It’s definitely endearing, even if it wades a bit into anti-folk nonsense occasionally.

I don’t know if any of this makes Balbo good, but it does make him interesting, and in 2009, interesting is in short supply.  Even most of the better bands are slowing down, and American music is in a horrible place.  A guy like Balbo could at least catch your attention these days, so good for him.  He seems to deserve at least a little of the attention the less subtle Kimya Dawson gets, and I hope he does.

M Ward – Hold Time

So busy with his extracurricular commitments these days – notably as the male half of She & Him and as a production aide for the likes of Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis – Matt Ward’s own solo career almost feels like it’s the side-project, not the day-job.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing however; as it has allowed Ward to both develop his muse piecemeal without over-exposure and to call in favours from his higher-profile collaborators.  It’s a modus operandi that Ward builds on strongly, if somewhat awkwardly, for this sixth album.

Picking-up things aesthetically where 2006′s justifiably-praised Post-War left-off, Hold Time is certainly the biggest and widest sounding release in Ward’s repertoire to date.  From the bucolic strum of “For Beginners” inwards, he strides in confidently with a buoyant briskness and fulsome production values that sustain most of the LP’s hearty first-half.  Thus, in the starter piece’s afterglow we have the delightful Zooey Deschanel-assisted “Never Had Nobody Like You” driven by an early-T-Rex glam-boogie stomp; the soaring strings-gilded glide of “Jailbird”; the momentarily-pausing slow-mo title-track; a swooning harmony-saturated reconstruction of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On”; and the terrific turbo-charged Beach Boys-homage of “To Save Me.”

Wisely recognising the slightly-overwhelming density of the opening six selections, with “One Hundred Million Years” Ward strips things right back to his cherishable lo-fi acoustic core.  But having rammed on the brakes rather abruptly, the second part of the album is noticeably deprived of momentum and rigorous cohesiveness.  Hence, “Stars of Leo” is the charming side of crescendo-stirring, as is the Sun Records-style rockabilly flexing of “Fisher of Men,” but a sparsely-constructed cover of Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me” is rendered inert by husky ill-matched duetting vocals from Lucinda Williams.  The ensuing “Epistemology” then meanders into over-cluttered studio layers whilst the thinned-out “Blake’s View” just feels a little unfinished.  Thankfully, the unplugged wispiness of “Shangri-La” and the wordless John Barry-via-Ennio Morricone re-make of the Frank Sinatra standard “I’m A Fool To Want You” help to reach the rolling of the end credits with redemptive calmness and gravitas.

Ultimately, Hold Time could have undoubtedly benefitted from some more stringent self-editing, not-so top-heavy sequencing and greater deliberations over the guest list, to make it stand-up as tall as its more meticulously-framed predecessors.  Nevertheless, this is still another reliably robust M Ward record with much to recommend itself, especially to the previously-converted.

(Territorial Release Note: Hold Time is available on Merge in the US and via 4AD for the UK & Europe.)

Hi Red Center – Assemble

It’s easy to review an album when you love it, and it’s nearly as easy when you hate it. When you’re unsure, however, even after repeated listens, you’re bound to start a review discussing how hard it is to write. Hi Red Center is tough to categorize, their music tough do describe. And Assemble is an album that can be tough to listen to.

That’s not saying that it’s a bad album by any means. What strikes me is how interesting this album is. Not a single listen passed without me noting the songs, even if I was using it as background music, and that says a lot because I listen to music while doing everything. And what strikes me as a profoundly good song on one listen may be my least favorite track the next time I play the album through. There’s something to be said for a band that provokes that kind of reaction.

The band cites musical influences as varied as Captain Beefheart and Lionel Richie, and comparisons have been made to Deerhoof and Pattern is Movement. I come back to Don Caballero because of the oddly disjointed rhythms and creative song structures, but you’ll likely make your own comparisons. Instrumentation includes xylophone and oddly tuned guitars, keyboards and jazzy, math-rock style percussion. Vocals are often sung over top of each other, gang-style, yet sometimes they sound surprisingly pretty. Songs start and stop, at times tough to follow and other times riding a pop-like hook that comes out of nowhere.

“Toothless Beau” features pretty vocals and lovely xylophone that contrasts with the pounding, almost relentless guitars and drums. The new-wavey “Littlest Giant” is perhaps my most consistent favorite track, following a simple mix of keyboards and xylophone but featuring the vocals that are a feature here but detract from other songs like “Symmetry Chameleon,” where they’re just all over the place, like the rhythm. “Nowheresville” is a virtual unlistenable mess of singing up and down various scales while guitars and drums blare at you atonally, but then “Lullaby” is an oddly calm take on a car driving away, nearly pretty despite the jazzy rhythm and unusual background songs. Again, in order, “Chicken Gorlet” is a chaotic, frenzied mess of sounds and rhythms, but it’s followed by the cohesive “Trees in a Row,” a kind of pleasant if unusual track. If more songs were like the closing “Pipe Dream,” which has a kind of Elf Power-esque pop feel to its more consistent flow, I’d probably like the entire album.

To say Hi Red Center is all over the place is an understatement. At times quiet, at times loud and abrasive, it follows no set pattern. It’s not pop or jazz or punk or plain old noise but an amalgamation of them all, resulting in an album at times appealing, at times appalling, but always interesting. You will have an opinion about this band; it just might change every time you listen to the album.

Barr – Skogsbo Is The Place EP

If you are a fan of Brendan Fowler, the man behind BARR, you’re in the wrong place.  BARR is from LA.  Barr is from Sweden.  BARR sounds delightfully ironic in their delivery of dry beats and sing-speaking.  Barr plays soft folk music.  That BARR is interesting and unique.  This Barr is boring as hell.

You might think this comparison is just a cheap way to start a review, but it’s actually the perfect comparison.  BARR gets by completely on charm.  There is nothing musically proficient or important about it, but the minimalist delivery only accentuates your enjoyment of Fowler’s vocals and ridiculous lyrics.  Barr, on the other hand, can layer all the guitars and strings they want, but they have no charm at all.

I guess it’s not their fault.  They write decent songs, but our collective ears have heard so much folk music, especially lately, that it takes something really special to stand out.  The songs on this EP don’t really have anything “about” them.  It’s got the typical guitars and soft vocals, with some strings and other frills here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary or even interesting.

Barr fails to make an impact, even after repeated listens.  Everything here is pretty and nice, but pretty and nice is passe in folk.  This whole thing just needs some bite somewhere.  The talent is there, but the execution just fails to make any sort of connection.

b°tong – Structures

The story unfolds like this: an experimental electronica musician is overwhelmed by the experience of visiting, in summer no less, a hyperborean ice palace in the far northern recesses of Sweden. Said musician also developed a soft spot for early industrial textures and pioneering ambient soundscapes over the past 10 years while cutting his teeth in the ambient/drone scene of another frosty European locale (Switzerland). Where does the tale go from here? You might be able to surmise the anticlimactic ending without any further detail, but here it is nonetheless: this mysterious and shadowy figure ends up assembling an album of such chilling creepiness that it makes Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 sound like a collection of sugar-coated lullabies. To be exact, the result is Structures, and if your imagination is as vivid as mine, you might also find yourself thinking it was recorded on the Planet Hoth while the galaxy’s aqueous reptiles and imperial droids converge on the first rave to be held inside Jabba the Hutt’s new winter estate. Believe me, I wish I was kidding too.

Chris Sigdell is to blame for this nightmareish hallucination. The Basel, Switzerland musician goes by the name of b°tong, which frankly only adds another layer of iciness to the proceedings. How chilling would Boba Fett have been in Star Wars if we had found out his real name was Mike?

Despite its 7 tracks, Structures is really best listened to as one long work; with no discernible changes or alterations in mood from beginning to end (other than subtle variations between grim and hopeless), it feels a lot like an agonizingly slow crawl through a dark tunnel where the dim light at the other end never gets closer. Throw in some Shining-era Kubric camera work, and you get a pretty clear idea just how bleak and unsettling this set of “songs” really is.

To kick off this desolate cycle, we have “Hands Up: Who Wants To Die?” The track fades in with a drone reminiscent of a digeridoo before blending with some bass-heavy keyboard tones that sound like a Star Destroyer is passing just overhead. The ebb and flow of static takes over, leaving you wondering if the abrasive pummeling you just put your stereo through did some damage to the speakers; the grittiness is so real that a technical malfunction is not impossible. Just to kick things up a notch, we hear a heavily processed human scream at the end, followed by an FX-treated voice reciting the title of the track three times in succession. Mood music, indeed.

Few changes are in store when we arrive at “Tu Me Degoute,” other than the sounds of chirping crickets and a sampled female voice that seems to be speaking French. As the tides of dissonant synths roll in and out, the cavernous textures really grow dull. Finally in “Fahrenheit…What Fahrenheit?” we hear single (albeit extraordinarily discordant) synth bass notes that could be a melody were it not for them being plucked with the randomness of a wind chime. But I suppose that’s the point. And so the journey down the dark and chilly tunnel continues.

The only song that really resonates (ironically, without the help of reverb) is “Stalker.” It’s nothing that Richard James didn’t do 1,000 times better in Aphex Twin, but now that the headache-inducing echo is gone, the dreariness is almost satisfying as the warmth of the droning keyboards envelopes you. The final three tracks offer only slight deviations from what has come before: computerized vocals and plenty more noise (check out the tidal wave of static on “Motherlode” if you’re really bored) that you could probably generate on your own if you blared a bunch of low-signal AM radio stations through an 800 watt amplifier in an empty church sanctuary. But who has the time for that?

The Soundscapes – Freestyle Family

The Soundscapes — two brothers in New York City via Brazil — released Freestyle Family at the tail end of 2008 during the wintertime holiday frenzy. If you missed its arrival and you’re a fan of heartfelt (but not sappy) indie-rock music, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It’s a gem.

The CD at first listen might earn a shoegaze tag because of its lush guitar and ethereal vocals. But that would be a limiting description that shortchanges what the band has crafted here. Its strong rock elements place it somewhere in the range of Swervedriver’s first album Raise: it’s pretty when it needs to be but packs a punch when it decides to rock. “High Noon in the Nuclear Era” starts like Durutti Column but roundhouses like Mike Tyson halfway through. By the end guitarist Rodrigo Carvalho has worked in some Sonic Youth references on top of brother Raphael’s propulsive drumming. What they’ve managed to do is combine musical forms in a most organic way. On “Nothing Too Late” it’s an adrenaline rush whose rhythmic pace never slackens but whose mood changes from manic to restrained and back again so organically that you hardly even notice it happening.

Being a duo, you might imagine that The Soundscapes wouldn’t be able to sustain a full sound or keep things interesting enough from track to track without repeating themselves. Neither is the case here, and credit goes to the brothers’ musicianship. Where other drummers might’ve fallen into basic, predictable beats, Raphael keeps a steady (sometimes dance-y) hand but injects tom runs or offbeat snare hits often enough to keep things varied. The more inventive drumming (as on “Back To Life” and the start of “High Noon”) further breaks things up.

And then there’s Rodrigo’s note choices, chord choices, string bending, and effects. Even when dropping in a couple of power chords, as on the radio-ready “Here’s When,” there’s a quick switch back to chords you can’t quite place and may never have heard before. The echoing delay (“Star Stuff”), the phased/flanged chorus, and other tone effects add to rather than get in the way of the sound. They’re applied and removed from passage to passage within the songs where other bands would need two guitarists to pull off the same thing.

Despite the often minor-key tone of the music, lyrically the songs evince an optimism without sentimentality or naivete. And part of the album’s immediate appeal derives from the quality and tone of the vocals, to be sure, even when at odds with the mood of the music — a juxtaposition with a history to back it up (Lush, Ride). What do you make of “She’s Gone,” where the gentle plaintive vocals singing “She’s gone forever” sound as positive as they do negative? “You Are Alone” walks the same line. It’s that kind of complexity that makes Freestyle Family‘s gestalt more than the two band members involved in its creation.

Beirut – March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland EP

At the very young age of 23, Zach Condon’s Beirut is an impressive band. What first started as a safe-haven for Condon to record music under, Beirut has released two excellent albums with 2006’s Gulag Orkestar and 2007’s The Flying Club Cup. But what one doesn’t realize is just what an impressive musician Condon is. His ear for melody is something else and his multi-instrumentalist skills are dazzling for someone of that age. It’s fitting that with the release of a new double-EP, March of the Zapotec and Realpeople Holland, these skills are showcased in impeccable style.

These are two distinctively different sounding EPs but they are successfully united by Condon’s never-failing trademarks: wonderful vocal lines, linear melodic patterns and that soothing voice. The second half is an electronically-charged release that was recorded under one of Condon’s pre-Beirut monikers, Realpeople. But these aren’t outlandish, synthesized productions. Rather, they feature Condon with a few keyboards and with a much more polished production than his live recordings.

Holland’s centerpiece is the accordion-dancing, “The Concubine.” With a modest mix of keyboard flurries, Condon joins in with his trumpet to create a balanced set of flourishing sounds. And it’s these methodical, subtle changes that makes this an enjoyable experience. With “No Dice,” everything reaches a proportioned stability of twinkling synths and dancefloor-ready melodies. The only difference is that instead of being carried out by horns or strings, they are delivered through finely tuned electronics.

But the main attraction is the new material Condon recorded in Oaxaca, Mexico with The Jimenez Band, March of the Zapotec. These six songs (five, if you exclude the beginning instrumental warm-up, “El Zocalo”) are brilliantly arranged and composed. Condon goes above and beyond to provide many of the music’s instruments—everything from percussion to horns—and still has the presence to compose everything in a rousing manner.

Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear shows up to produce a few songs including the deep and gorgeously coated, “On a Bayonet.” It’s an instrumental that burns with robust saxes, simmering tubas and trombones and shines with an extra splash of trumpet gleam. It all sounds entirely magical while still maintaining an equally dashing demeanor. Then there is the thumping and magnificently composed, “La Llorona.” Named after a famous scary Mexican fable, the music is supported with lavish trumpets and clarinets. They flutter in and out with a paired melody and the tubas lay down a resounding pulse, while Condon sings in full gusto. The highlight is after the first chorus and verse where a clarinet solo jumps in and steals the show with a swelling figure.

Side by side, they are two dissimilar EPs because of their overall sounds but played as one, unifying theme, it all makes sense. The Holland EP is unquestionably the accompanying piece (as it can even be noted by the small print on the packaging) and March of the Zapotec is a bountiful beauty but both are absolutely terrific. These are resonating moments for Condon because everything he is touching is turning into gold. In addition to the full-lengths, the Lon Gisland EP was a great release and the song he contributed to the Dark Was the Night compilation was awesome as well and now, with this new release, Condon has proven his worth, yet again.

Various Artists – Dark Was the Night

Cementing their 20th anniversary of raising AIDS awareness, the Red Hot Organization enlisted the help of The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner to curate and craft their 20th compilation, Dark Was the Night. Named after the Blind Willie Johnson song and featuring an all-star cast of some of the best and finest musicians currently making music, this is a STACKED affair.

Everything from covers to originals is featured on here and it’s hard deciding on a place to start because this is all high-quality music. There are folk touches abound and they all sound affectingly personal. Bryce Dessner lends his acoustic guitar to Antony as he sings Bob Dylan’s “I Was Young When I Left Home” in his own, unique style. The next song finds Aaron Dessner teaming up with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver to deliver Vernon’s fantastic, “Big Red Machine.” Back to back, they feature two of music world’s supreme voices in superb fashion.

This set can be found on either two-disc CD set or three-LP record format. Lucky enough to own the vinyl version, I prefer that sequencing where everything is neatly fitted onto six sides of brilliant music. But the CD version is comparable in how cohesive everything is layered; and the folk doesn’t stop with The Decemberists’ eight-minute, “Sleepless,” which may or may not be a bit self-indulgent. And both versions begin with David Byrne (an important supporter of the Red Hot Organization) and Dirty Projectors’ “Knotty Pine,” a song that is so equally melodic and joyful that it feels like the two have been making music for years and years now.

The charity organization has done a commendable job towards a great cause, through the help of pop culture. This particular collection of music is no different in that they enlist the help of musical giants, varied and similar, to deliver a strong effort. The Dessners certainly did their fair share as it was something they had been working on for the past three years and they flex their phonebook with the help of outstanding artists and bands.

Grizzly Bear appear twice with impressive contributions. Once with Leslie Feist on the spectral, eerie and emotive, “Service Bell.” Feist shares her gorgeous voice but the music is all Grizzly Bear’s with those timely and atmospheric touches. Daniel Rossen also performs his quiet “Deep Blue Sea” which can also be found on the Friend EP. And Samuel Beam shows up for the too short, “Stolen Houses (Die).”

But there are also some ingenious covers that sound as if they are the artists’ own music. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings cover of Shuggie Otis’ “Inspiration Information” is a terrific rendition and one of the album’s highlights. Jones’ voice is sublime and those horns are precise, jazzy and absolutely spectacular. Speaking of jazz, there is also My Brightest Diamond’s performance of “Feeling Good” which, succinctly, blows that Michael Bublé one right out of the water. There is also The Books and José González’ electronic take on Nick Drake’s “Cello Song,” Andrew Bird’s rousing version of The Handsome Family’s “The Giant of Illinois”—with enough violins and strings to wake your soul—the Kronos Quartet’s instrumental of the title track and Cat Power’s affecting performance of the traditional song, “Amazing Grace.”

But the best cover, easily, goes to the one by Sufjan Stevens. Spanning over ten minutes long, Stevens magically transforms The Castanets’ “You are the Blood” into a synthetic, piano-drenched, horn-infused, beast of a song. Stevens showcases his composition skills and pours his heart and soul into the song. Later on, or right after if you own the vinyl version, Buck 65 covers that version with Serengeti. They borrow the same idea and keep it sincere but as the album’s only true rapping, it’s magnificent.

The truth is, practically everything on Dark Was the Night is exceptionally well done. Even when they aren’t covering but contributing original recordings, everyone brings their A-game. The National expertly gift the string-laden, “So Far Around the Bend,” Spoon arrive with a flashy new song, “Well-Alright,” which is followed by Arcade Fire’s shuffling, “Lenin,” and My Morning Jacket’s swooning, laid-back, “El Caporal,” which are all skillful offerings from indie-rock’s heavyweights.

Although the music is definitely a joy to hear, one mustn’t forget what it was made for. By the time you get to Conor Oberst and Gillian Welch’s duet of Bright Eyes’ “Lua,” the somber feelings hit home. And while The Red Hot Organization has done their share in raising awareness for a horrible disease with an amazing collection of songs, everyone else has to go out and buy this album. It’s such a worthy and honorable cause and with music as good as this, you have nothing to lose.

The Long Lost – The Long Lost

Alfred and Laura Darlington have been producing music together in various forms for around fifteen years now, whether as the electronic based Daedelus and Flying Lotus projects, or as the lo-fi acoustic Sa-Ra, or indeed as The Long Lost. This fourteen track album isn’t their first release under this name, and as fifteen years is quite a measure of time in any field of creativity it’s apparent that the Darlingtons and their associates feel they’ve plenty worth sharing with the listening public.  If this was mathematics, the equation might read something like :  Experience + Enthusiasm X Actual Talent -Too Much Electronica = A Highly Original And Captivating Piece Of Work … right or wrong?

First track “The Art Of Kissing” establishes the mood of the album within its opening verse. Plucked acoustic guitar, jazzy brush drums and Laura’s delicate yet forceful vocal. Listen closely and there are some gently modulated keyboards in the background  and what actually sounds like a double bass, although it’s probably an electroacoustic four string.  Second track “Amiss” takes us further down the route marked “Loungecore”, but keep listening and it’s obvious that The Long Lost are more comfortable in the slightly less frenetic folk stylings of  ”Substance”, and the playing styles merge as the album progresses, with some surprisingly convoluted results. Laura’s voice is shown to quite some effect when double-tracked, as on songs such as “Overmuch”, while the instrumentation is frankly mesmeric. Those fifteen years haven’t been wasted.

Over the rest of the album there are numerous moments to savour. The cello and flute that introduce “Siren Song”, the equally surprising and effective xylophone and oboe of “Awash”. Then there’s the quirky storytelling style of “Colors” which has the Darlington’s drawing a richness of imagery from what are relatively simplistic lyrics. These are very skilled performers and they aren’t bashful about playing the odd trick or two on their audience, which is the real strength of this release. The instrumentation is never overbearing and continually inventive, which while it suggests that this project has been several years in the mixing stage, is also what  kept my listening attention throughout.  Ideas that might seem twee or mildly strange are given a musical impetus that doesn’t slacken, and I unreservedly pronounce The Long Lost the first great lo-fi orchestral psychedelic artcore jazz album of 2009. That I’ve heard yet anyway.

« Previous Page — Next Page »