Seasick Steve

Man From Another Time

(Warner Bros; US: import; UK: 19 Oct 2009; Canada Release Date: 17 Nov 2009)

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I don’t know Steve’s age. If I had to guess, I would say he is 135 years old. Granted, Man From Another Time is only his third album, but judging from his voice and his sound, this record was likely recorded by Alan Lomax. Actually, the album was produced, written, recorded, and engineered by Steve himself, exclusively using valve amps, ribbon mics, and an arsenal of stringed instruments either found by the side of the road or built from parts found on the side of the road. Darling of the UK festival circuit, Oakland born Steven Gene Wold utilizes all the twang of Ry Cooder, Howlin’ Wolf, and Bo Diddley and a voice that sounds like decades passing in the night to create authentic back porch blues. The guy is happy to have a job, drive his tractor all day long, and play a two-by-four with a string nailed to it. He is as American as apple pie and as crotchety as Grampa Simpson. You will not find anyone in the music business today who is more real than Seasick Steve.

—Alan Ranta

Lawrence

Until Then, Goodbye

(Mule Electronic; US: 15 Sep 2009; UK: 31 Aug 2009)

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Until Then, Goodbye was put out by Mule Electronic, but the hand-drawn cover art sitting between chicken scratches and brilliance suggests Smallville Records, which specializes in the mercurial minimal techno that Lawrence (a.k.a. Peter Kersten) helped kick-start. The German producer has released material on Smallville and about a zillion other labels, and Until Then, Goodbye comes at a point when Lawrence has a lot of music to his name, though it’s still been hotly anticipated in certain circles. Less moody than simply clouded over, the hour-long album contains little of the creeped-out sorcery at which he’s something of a virtuoso. Instead, the best moments of Until Then, Goodbye are tender, as when the high-pitched pads arrive midway through “Jill” and the luminous synths of “Sleep and Suffer” become turgid with heartache. “A New Day” is one of Lawrence’s most pleasant right turns, a treated piece for solo piano sitting at the crossroads where jazz, electronic, and modern classical meet. That it seems to wink at the defunct and sorely missed Triosk adds to its poignancy. The traditional techno, however—that is to say, most of Until Then, Goodbye—feels only halfway there, jammed in a rut where sharpness and warmth consume each other.

—Mike Newmark

La Strada EP

(Ernest Jennings; US: 24 Feb 2009; UK: 24 Feb 2009)

It should come as no surprise to anyone who hears La Strada’s self-titled debut EP that the band has toured eastern Canada extensively. A majestic sense of craft found on the EP seems to use the vast-and-grand Maritime-leaning sound of traditional Canadian folk. Combining sweeping strings with mystic-sounding indie folk, La Strada perfects the sound of the road. “Flying” flies with a sense of wanderlust. Hints of jangle-pop can found on “Loved You All Along”. “Mama” seems simple enough, but the way the band combines a sort of classical aesthetic with touching lyrical matter provides ample room to rise. La Strada creates a bridge between speakers and landscapes, somehow allowing for a mere six songs to sound grand. The sky is the limit for these folksters.

—Joshua Kloke

Elizabeth Fraser

Moses EP

(Rough Trade; US: 15 Dec 2009; UK: 27 Nov 2009)

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Former Cocteau Twins siren Elizabeth Fraser has been silent both on the musical front and in the press in recent years, so her new three-track EP on Rough Trade is quite a pleasant surprise. The title cut, an old recording of indeterminate age created with her partner Damon Reece (Massive Attack) and friend Jake-Drake Brockman, now sees the light of day as a tribute to Brockman, who died in a September 2009 motorcycle accident. Instantly, “Moses” conjures images of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ 1988 hit “Peek-a-Boo” with its hip-hop beat, jazzy phrasings, and dashes of accordion—except it sounds so much better, due to its subtle-and-deft hand. Fraser’s trademark vocals (an ethereal wash with dabs of pixie-ish melody where formless sounds are just as important as words) are always a treat for the ears, and the combination of her voice and the accompaniment is a mesmerizing match. The Indian-tinged Thighpaulsandra remix doesn’t prove compelling, but the Spaceland remix quite possibly improves on the original take, making the song waft in and out with a beautiful delicacy. There’s not much material here, but it’s a delightful peak at what Fraser has been up to as we wait for her long-gestating solo album to finally see the light of day.

—AJ Ramirez

Coolzey

The Honey

(Public School; US: 29 Jan 2010; UK: N/A)

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Someone should throw Coolzey a free dime-sack for having the balls to become an MC. Why? Well, he hails from Iowa City, IA. In case you haven’t noticed, small-town vanilla rap isn’t exactly thriving. Of course, Coolzey isn’t really thriving either. Actually, he’s what you might expect. White hipster MC with a chip on his shoulder? Check. Cocky lyrics mixed with self-deprecating goofiness? Check. Tries to earn street-cred by backing up his semi-thoughtful and shit-talking self with tales of drug-use? Check.

Yeah, we’ve heard it before. Coolzey still doesn’t know whether he’s a parody of those “sucka MC’s” he disses or a parody of himself. Fortunately, his DIY beats matched by his solid, if ordinary flow coupled with his knowledge of hip-hop history is enough to keep us listening. This guy is still a work in progress, but he indicates promising things. We wait in very, very mild anticipation.

—Saxon Baird

In many ways, Strung Out is the archetypical Fat Wreck Chords band. Mixing elements of metal with underground sounds and ultra-layered vocals, the Simi Valley fivesome makes music that is textbook California punk. Drummer Jordan Burns has ties to the motocross world that predate his 17 years on the label, and that crossover has kept Strung Out as the soundtrack to a host of broken bones and emergency-room visits. Vocalist Jason Cruz has a set of pipes, and the band seems to get tighter with every record. Though there not a lot of new ground gets broken on Agents of the Underground, that is hardly the point. Seven records in, Strung Out fails to fix what isn’t broken. While vanity seems to be the best amalgamation of its harmonized metal leads and punk throwdown, you’d be hard-pressed to find a bad track on Agents of the Underground.

—Rob Browning

Rameses III

I Could Not Love You More

(Type; US: 29 Sep 2009; UK: 23 Nov 2009)

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I Could Not Love You More may be the most mesmerizing recording yet from the U.K. ambient/improv group Rameses III. The cover art and title present a substantial front: thoughts of landscapes, of the past. This is not the typical face of ambient instrumental music, which sometimes seems like an intellectual exercise. Rameses III remind us of the way music like this can be emotional, can conjure up deep feelings in unexpected ways. These songs circle, dabble, and float. They create warm blankets of sound that don’t just cover but move us in many ways internally. The titles project hope—“We Shall Never Sing of Sorrow”, “All Shall Be Well”—and landscapes of clouds and water. It’s perhaps a look back to childhood places of memory (one title: “Across the Lake Is Where My Heart Shines”), but the music is not simple nostalgia. It pierces deep inside through pretty surfing over gently probing melodies. A synth sheen will emulate place, and then a guitar plays a single melody underneath, taking us—somewhere.

—Dave Heaton

Thee American Revolution

Buddha Electrostorm

(Garden Gate; US: 10 Nov 2009; UK: Import)

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Robert Schneider of the Apples in Stereo follows his indie-rock muse wherever it may lead, be it multiple side projects, producing, or even children’s music. Never content to just be in one band, Schneider has always got a pot on every burner and a butane tank that never empties. Such an overachiever could not have ingested as many chemicals as suggested by the tripped-out sounds of his latest effort, Thee American Revolution’s Buddha Electrostorm. It has guitars fuzzier than a basketful of kiwi and lyrics about windowpanes, planets, and blowing your mind (and not just on the track “Blow My Mind”). As always, Schneider keeps one foot firmly planted in the ‘60s, but this time he dips a toe into early ‘70s dirthead-isms as well. This psych isn’t all that heavy, and there’s not a world of difference between Thee American Revolution and the Apples in Stereo. But Buddha Electrostorm provides for a fun listen when you prefer your apples with a bit more crunch.

—Jennifer Cooke