PopMatters Music Short Takes

Various Artists, Secret Love 4 (Sonar Kollektiv)

Sonar Kollektiv intends its Secret Love series to be a multi-faceted exploration of the possibilities of folk music, but really it’s just a collection of damn good songs, perfect for night time driving or isolated longing. Though Paul Weller’s political intonations at the end of “The Loved” feel a bit out of place and Andrew Bird’s “Imitosis” feels curiously poppy given its somewhat morose surroundings, overall we’re treated to track after track of fantastic indie folk-pop: Midlake’s “Roscoe” is given a highly effective keyboard remix, Roebeck’s “Atlantic” pleasantly reminds you of Zero 7’s earlier works, Little Dragon’s “Twice” is lush piano balladry in the same vein as Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song” and Eva Be’s “She Walks Alone” doesn’t as much grab your attention as it does demand it with its upfront acoustic pickings and effectively plainspoken vocals. It’s not going to top any critical year-end poll, but if you’re in the right kind of mood, Secret Love 4 is the kind of secret that you can’t help but passionately love. [Amazon]

Annuals, Wet Zoo (Ace Fu)

As good as Be He Me is, it doesn’t quite do justice to the pure size of Annuals sound. But on the Wet Zoo EP, the production is much brighter and more polished, and the band doesn’t lose any energy in the sheen. “Sore” shows their ability to build a song in degrees from small acoustic number to giant arena-sized rock song. “Around Your Neck” is a foot-stomping number, maybe the fastest they’re recorded yet, and it sets up nicely the muted sounds of “Just Stay In”. Particularly striking is how singer Adam Baker emerges as more of a band leader on the EP. His vocals are high in the mix, and he has all the built-in charm of a front man. Annuals sound less like a collective here, and more like Baker’s band. In three songs, the band puts all their strengths on display and shows that, in spite of indie aesthetics, bigger and brighter production is sometimes the answer. Sunfold is the band’s side project, which just shuffles the line-up around and puts guitarist Kenny Florence in the lead singer/songwriter spot. Their two songs are solid, but more straightforward power than the Annuals stuff. The elements are catchy, but a little simple. The Sunfold sound is nice, but they sound like a project that is still figuring itself out. Taken as a whole, the EP is a well-executed but a slight release. If it is meant to stand on its own, it falls a bit short of the mark. But if it is meant to build some buzz for the next Annuals full-length, then Wet Zoo is a total success. [Amazon]

Moreland & Arbuckle, 1861 (Northern Blues)

“This record is dedicated to the great state of Kansas,” the blues trio Moreland & Arbuckle declare in the liner notes to 1861, an album named after the year Kansas became a state. “We have cultivated a strong love for our home state,” they state, “We hope that love is reflected in our music.” The shame is that, when it comes down to it, there’s nothing uniquely Kansan about their music. I’m not sure what a specifically Kansan version of the blues would sound like, so I’m fascinated by the notion. Instead, this is your basic electric blues, albeit played by musicians steeped in the traditions of the music, and certainly accomplished at playing their instruments. Strict genre fans, listeners who love well-played blues, will eat this up and be more than satisfied. But I’m stuck on the promise of regional variation, on the way musicians devoted to a home state not associated with this genre can bring the unique qualities of that state into their music, forging something new. I’m stuck on a dream they aren’t trying to fulfill. [Amazon]

Kaka, Kaka (Despotz)

Kaka (aka Richard Karlsson), has very interesting musical tastes, judging by this record, which spans a wide array of genres. Whether it’s the terribly sweet “What a Frame”, the opening “Forward” that sounds like the Raconteurs doing a Beatles cover, or the equally happy and whistling-inducing “It’s a Longshot”, which resembles Peter, Bjorn and John, Kaka knows what he’s doing and he does it extremely well. Formerly of the Melody Club (an appropriate name given how sweet and infectious this record is), Kaka goes a bit retro during “Ball and Chain, Darling” which could have been a great Duran Duran hit in their ‘80s prime. Even when Kaka goes light and airy, as is the case with “Can You Recall It”, he has all the sensibilities of highbrow pop maestros like XTC’s Andy Partridge and others. No track truly comes to the fore, as it’s a series of continually stellar efforts, especially “The Hotspurs (The Less We Know the Faster We Go)”. Even when he opts for the light, almost aquatic ambience of “Burn the Bridges”, Kaka comes up shining. [Amazon]

Moe Poe & Headnodic, Megaphone (NatAural High)

It has become apparent over the past few years that underground hip-hop has become a parody. Just go to any hip-hop show where the opening act is an unknown local emcee or group. Before the set even starts, you could more than likely touch on each song topic, which will either be women, the emcee’s “dopeness”, a shitty job, hip-hop’s decline, or “taking this shit back to the golden age.”

Fortunately for Moe Pope & Headnodic, they don’t fill their debut Megaphone with too many of the aforementioned clichés. Sure, you have some bravado being flaunted on lead single “Danger Danger”, which features an insane guest spot from Gift of Gab. For the majority of the album, Boston rapper Moe Pope impresses with his effortless rhyming as heard on “Grit” and the album’s intro. Although it’s a bit of a stretch, something about his flow is reminiscent of Nas, just without the grime and undeniable appeal.

Producer and Wisconsin/New Jersey native Headnodic is no slouch either. His boom-bap, sample-based beats shine just as brightly as his emcee counterpart. “Air” is perfection with its gorgeous electric guitar licks looping throughout. Headnodic’s only weakness, and though it’s not entirely his fault, is that much of his production sounds recycled. It’s clear that he and Moe Pope are going for an old-school-meets-new-school feel, so many of the songs will remind you of past underground hits.

Megaphone is a certainly a solid debut, flaws and all. Like a lot of underground hip-hop albums, the hooks and choruses just leave too much to be desired. Much of them either sound forced or are just plain weak. Even “Grit”, which is otherwise spectacular, stumbles with its lackluster hook. The same goes for “That-A-That”. Moe’s buddies from Project Move, Anonymous and Raheem Jamal, shine on their guest verses, but the chorus is played-out and tired. [Amazon]

Norman Kelsey, A Talent for Loving (Self-released)

Norman Kelsey’s A Talent for Loving is a non-stop, dusk ‘til dawn party. From the opening beat of the title track, which is both boastful and believable, to the closing command of “Love Someone”, Kelsey takes you from the bar to the dance floor to the bedroom and back again several sweat-soaked times. He’s a soulful R&B powerhouse vocalist, and he’s somehow managed to combine perfectly some of the best elements of ‘60s-era soul and Motown with a sense of style and command not seen since Prince was at his funkiest. Tracks like “Done Lost My Mind” highlight Kelsey’s slow, seductive, soul skills, while songs such as “Fall Out” will, as the chorus says, “Rock you so hard / We falling out of your bed.” No worries if you’re all alone, either. A Talent for Loving will have you dancing your ass off all night, flying on a rhythm-induced endorphin high. [Amazon]

Various Artists, The Rough Guide to Klezmer Revival (World Music Network)

The trouble with The Rough Guide to Klezmer Revival isn’t so much the 18 vivacious tunes packed onto the CD—it’s the packaging itself, which, typical for a Rough Guide press mailer, comes in a flimsy sleeve bereft of liner notes, substantive background information, critical analysis, or any kind of “guide” to help the uninitiated fathom this carnival of Jewish orchestral kitsch.  How to contextualize its making?  What to listen for? Of what subject matter do these carolers sing, and would it break the World Music Network bank to include a lyric sheet?  The proverbs tell us that music is a universal language, but Klezmer Revival proves that, at the very least, it sometimes comes in a heavy Yiddish accent, weighed down by exotic modes and uncommon arrangements, all signifying little to the unseasoned palette. 

Luckily, yours truly has a spectacular set of Rough Guide books on his bed stand, and a habit of joyriding on Lexis Nexis, where this kind of background info likes to hang out.  Turns out that the Klezmer Revival is all about Eastern-European-American Jews modernizing the secular standards of their ancestral past, when convivial troubadours would perform these celebratory tunes at weddings—mazltov!—and other such occasions.  With its free-wheeling and high-spirited mix of jovial woodwinds, and somersaulting piano trills, it sure beats the “The Funky Chicken”, a totalitarian form of group exercise that contributes to 25% of all divorces.  Betcha there’s all kinds of suffering encoded in the mix too: in those trembling strings on “Flatbush Waltz”, in the Gregorian-like chant on “T’hay Yeshua Zoys”, even in the shenanigans of those kooky clarinets that bounce through inexplicably tragic modes on “Tsu Der Khupe”.  “Ode to Favouritism & Corruption” is an unusual choice for a wedding reception, and a hootenanny of rapid-fire call-and-response strains.  Fun, fast, seemingly flippant.  What could it mean?  Alas. Without that lyric sheet, the world may never know. [Amazon]

Ming & Ping, Causeway Army (Bao Vo)

A lot of modern attempts at synth-pop fly across the PopMatters desk, an awful lot of which is marked by performers who want you to think of them as ironic and cute and oh-so-retro. The truth is, however, that while many of these would-be synth-poppers are a lot of fun, none of what they produce would ever be confused for something that you might hear on pop radio, or what you might have heard on pop radio in the mid-’80s. Whether a matter of the music being too primitive, or too mechanical, or too hyperkinetic, there’s usually something off-putting about modern synthpop that makes it quite obviously and intentionally a genre for “outsiders”. Ming & Ping, identical twins from Hong Kong, eschew this skewed approach on their latest album Causeway Army in favor of a beautiful, stylish approach to the genre that features songs that actually sound like songs and electronics that weave in and out of the mix with a rare sort of grace. They can be upbeat and aggressive, as on the incredible “Legends of Nothing”, or they can be sad and depressing, as on “Wintersong”. If there’s a complaint to be levelled at Causeway Army, it would be at the vocals which, while always in tune and on key, simply don’t vary in style all that much from song to song. By the end of an hour of them, they start to sound a touch predictable. Even so, finding a synthpop CD with this much polish and straight-up style feels like an utter breath of fresh air. [Amazon]