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our brief reviews of new releases
9 November 2006
 Some bands must put an immense amount of pressure on themselves to be different, because it’s difficult to see too many other reasons for the style and direction in which Zea has chosen to go on its third full-length album, Insert Parallel Universe. Of course, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, given that the uniqueness of the sound, with its fast-paced programmed drums, copious synth work, guitars that go from jangly to strummy on a moment’s notice, and vocals that chant as much as they sing makes for quite the interesting listen. Zea’s sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either—there’s a 26-second track here called “Song for SUV’s” that’s actually just a little bit of guitar noodling, the type of instrumental that no one in their right mind could call provocative unless they looked at the title. And songs like opener “My Bed is a Monument of Hate Against My Job” (which features some hilariously pointless profanity) and “Conformity Sneeze” (aw hell, I just like the title) give the impression that while the Zea folks may take their music plenty seriously, they don’t take themselves all that seriously. This is a rare quality in musicians, and while it may not necessarily lead to good music, it at least makes the listener want to root for them. Insert Parallel Universe is a cute little curiosity, worth seeking out if your only real criteria in the search is for something, yes, different.
[Amazon ]
—Mike Schiller 9:00 pm
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9 November 2006
Aussie artist Bryan Estepa sounds like he’s grown up on a healthy dose of The Jayhawks and Uncle Tupelo if “By the Window” is a benchmark. Country-rock is his bread and butter, which nails the opener and the John Mellencamp-meets-Paul Westerberg roots rock flavored “Your Best Night” perfectly. Estepa also has that summery, California pop in his blood on “Western Tale”, sounding like Weezer-lite or The Rembrandts before it takes a soulful, doo-wop dip. Perhaps the first real heart-tugging nugget is the softer, Ryan Adams-ish “Come Around” that Estepa shines on. The same can be said for “Sunshine” that has equal parts Beatles and Travis. Not everything he touches turns to gold however, especially on the rather mundane, sullen “Cards & A.M. Radio”. He makes up for it with the sweet mid-tempo, highbrow pop tune “Open Letter” and also with the ambling toe-tapper “Falling Through”.
[Amazon]
—Jason MacNeil 7:00 pm
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9 November 2006
Many people claim that the members of Dark Globe created the first breakbeat album when they released Mondo Scurro, but on their latest record, Nostalgia for the Future, the pioneering musicians show no allegiance to any musical subgenre. Steering between downtempo, house, ambient, and breakbeat styles, Dark Globe has created a masterpiece of dark electronic pop. Guest vocalists like Boy George, Imogen Andrews and Television’s Tom Verlaine contribute memorable melodies and words, but the true stars on the record are Pete Diggens and Matt Frost, the two songwriter/producers who comprise Dark Globe. In between excellent songs like “Break My World”, they deliver soundscapes which are often sonically minimalistic yet richly atmospheric. Some listeners might have trouble swallowing Nostalgia‘s bleak take on the future, but fans of electronic music will find the album to be a tasty treat.
[Amazon]
—Neal Hayes 3:00 am
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9 November 2006
 Which genre does this belong to? Naif-noise? Inquiet is a Melbourne man who sings bad teen poetry lyrics deliberately off-key while hammering on a keyboard. It’s deliberately (and I’m saying ‘deliberately’ twice because it’s worth emphasising that this is obviously deliberate, and that he’s not simply an awful musician) skewed away from any ordinary definition of good music. It’s not an intelligent sound, you’d be embarrassed to sing along to it, and the beat is lousy. Even if you put it alongside the work of other musicians who make songs that are bundles of deliberate awkwardness and simplistic singing (Scando freakfolkers, for example) it still sounds crude by comparison. There are two responses to this. Either you dismiss it straight away as unlistenable rubbish or else you hang around and the persistence of the man grows on you until you start to like it. Or, if like seems too strong, at least you’re fascinated by it, or willing to tolerate it, or it amuses you, or you admire his willingness to sound as if he’s taking the mickey (or you just shrug at this mickey-taking and say, “Typical teen-twentysomething boy"), or you begin to think that he’s making an interesting experiment and treading in the footsteps of other interesting experimentalists who have come before him and that going your own crude way like this is very, very rock.
[Amazon]
—Deanne Sole 1:00 am
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8 November 2006
No Wait Wait, About You (Chairkickers)Marc Gartman has made some powerful, stark, folk-ish music, under his own name and with Pale Horse and Rider. No Wait Wait is more of a rock band—with hooks, chords, and a punch—but within that scope they still leave room for the other style, thankfully, and for an eerie, shadowy sense of space. The dark About You is at its best when it mixes fragile country-rock in with the bigger pop-rock sound, which at is straightest can seem rather generic in their hands. The sullen-pop mode of the mid-album trio of “For What”, “Knight in Shining Armor”, and “How to Fake It” is the album’s most haunting section, and where its dominant lyrical theme is expressed most vividly. That theme is bitter heartbreak: this is a break-up album filled with fear, anger, sadness. It’s a tale of survival, a melancholy and angry one that keeps even murder around as an option. “I haven’t had a moment in days when I wasn’t in a rage,” Gartman sings at one point, in a pure-pop way that makes it all the more affecting—not theater but confession.
[Amazon]
—Dave Heaton 11:00 pm
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8 November 2006
Two songs here, nothing more and nothing less from this Glasgow pop/art/rock band which starts off with the title track. It’s a rather lo-fi pop number that sounds like a leaner, mainstream Dogs Die in Hot Cars without the art or angular accents. It’s at best a decent song but doesn’t really grab or get one’s goad. From there, the closing “In Her Day” is actually a remix, but has a bit more edge than the first track. It’s extremely difficult to get a handle on a band with only two numbers offered, but they are nonetheless decent tunes.
[Amazon]
—Jason MacNeil 9:00 pm
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8 November 2006
Do not write these guys off just because they are a world music jam-band from Las Vegas; they are actually really good, quite ambitious, and very strongly supported in many Western cities. Tim Snyder’s vocals and wailing violin are pretty impressive, but the real focus of the group is Milton Merlos’ flamenco-styled guitar; these two high school friends know how to interact without stepping all over each other. Some tracks here sound like jazz—“Free Fallin’”, featuring a great fusion sax solo from Jonathan Phillips—and others verge into stranger territory, like the almost 10-minute closer “Spanish Punk”, which fuses free jazz, Gaelic music, and good rock-feel drums from Cody Remaklus. Recommended to non-snobs everywhere.
[Amazon]
—Matt Cibula 7:00 pm
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8 November 2006
 Unless you’ve happened across the music of Joe Thompson, or the Old Hat compilation Violin, Sing the Blues for Me: African-American Fiddlers: 1926-1949, you might not be familiar with the long history of African-American stringband music. But this 2006 release by the Carolina Chocolate Drops proves that old-time music surpasses both race and time. The trio is dedicated to carrying on the traditions of the African-American fiddle and banjo music that hails, as they do, from the piedmont of North Carolina. Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind isn’t a museum piece, however: it is, above all else, infectiously fun. “Ol’ Corn Likker” is named after booze and features dance-call vocals—not surprising, since this type of music is social music, made to be played with people, for people. Album highlights “Old Cat Died” and “Sally Ann” both feature a loose, collective feel, and benefit from the addition of harmonica to the fiddle-banjo template. “Little Margaret” acknowledges the a cappella tradition of this genre and showcases Rhiannon Gidden’s vocal strength, while “Dixie” reveals the sheer power of a lone fiddle. The Carolina Chocolate Drops is a young band, but the passion of its performance is a testament to the band members’ respect, understanding, and love of these old songs. Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind is worth further exploration for those intrigued by the rich history of African-American fiddle and banjo music, or for those simply in search of quality old-time music. Moreover, your purchase benefits a good cause. The Music Maker Relief Foundation-- the label for this album—is a non-profit dedicated to “helping the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern musical traditions gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs.”
[Amazon]
—Mark W. Adams 3:00 am
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