PopMatters Music Short Takes

Beaujolais, Love At Thirty (Parasol)

On Friday, July 13, 2007, J.A. Ziemba caught his wife Amanda cheating on him with another man. While the couple had previously recorded together as The Like Young, Love At Thirty is J.A. Ziemba’s musical interpretation of the events leading up to and resulting from that day. As such, it’s by definition a bit self-absorbed. Written and recorded chronologically, Love At Thirty takes you through the betrayal and its fallout with sometimes excruciating humility. You’ll hear about the birthday card that tipped Ziemba off, the discovery, the confrontation and breakup, the suicidal thoughts, the eventual recovery.

The very nature of the situation means that cliches are in no short supply. But Ziemba’s thoughtful, levelheaded approach saves the album from turning into a bitter, musical blog post. That and the music itself. Released on “twee-pop” flagship Parasol, Love At Thirty is full of rich, well-crafted indie pop that draws heavily on the Beach Boys and the Beatles as well as next-generation melodicists like Neil Finn and Squeeze. Yeah, there are some self-indulgent dirges, with baroque strings and muisque concrète touches. But sharp, peppy numbers like “Confidants”, “Birthday Card”, and “When One Is Together” provide more than enough relief. It’s still a bit too delicate, but Love At Thirty is therapy for the artist and the listener. [Amazon]

Portugal. The Man, Censored Colors (Equal Vision)

Portland, Oregon’s foursome of psych-rockers, also known as Portugal. The Man, have gone even deeper into left field than during the course of their first two full-lengths. And on Censored Colors, their third effort in three years, they further tackle bridging the gap between experimental soul and classic rock, mixing the two genres for one hell of a fun, albeit repetitive, listen.

The 15 tracks, many of which break down into three-song epics, are thrown together with gorgeous vocals, warbled guitars, explosive percussion, and blitzing, sometimes wavering keyboards. The blending of “Lay Me Back Down” into “Colors” and then “And I” is the kind of thing album-lovers’ dreams are made of. And you would be hard pressed to find a better series of transitions than those heard between the moving and jazzy “New Orleans”, the surging “Never Pleased”, and the all-out punk-jam “Sit Back and Dream”. 

But some problems arise during tracks that seem out of place or simply dull, like “Salt” and “1989”. Also, good luck understanding what frontman John Baldwin Gourley is singing about most of the time. Some lyrics comes across as straightforward emotion, but many of them are cryptic and vague. This wouldn’t be a particularly important downside if it did not seem like these guys were trying to get a message across. Those issues aside, though, Censored Colors is a solid album that should cement Portugal. The Man as a group that is no longer up and coming but one of indie-rock’s finest. [Amazon]

Ying Yang Twins, The Official Work (TVT)

Kaine and D-Roc, better known as the Atlanta-based duo Ying Yang Twins are back with yet another cadre of crunkified stripper anthems on The Official Work. This time around the frequent Lil Jon collaborators deliver, at the risk of sounding like a political ad, more of the same.

“Don’t Trip” and “Ochee” (the latter, quite possibly spelled incorrectly, for those of you playing along at home and referencing Nas and QB Finest) are unquestionably catchy, albeit chock full of references to a gynecologist’s money-maker. However, like many of the offerings on The Official Work, they cull from the same bag of sonic tricks and cop lyrics from the Ghosts of Hip-Hop Past. For all their faults, these songs fare better than others on the mixtape. “Juaah” is an unintelligible, unimaginative stripper anthem made painful to listen to by the recurring sample of a man screaming like someone dropped a case of Crunk Juice on his foot. “Whoop Ass” employs similar theatrics but substitutes aggression for libido.  Same old, same old. Then again, when Ying Yang step outside of their comfort zone of up-beat booty-shakers, the results are disastrous. While “Cheech & Chong,” an ode to everyone’s favorite smokers fares better than “The Wind,” these songs slow down the party mood and close the disc on a downer of a note

While every artist has their hallmarks, The Official Work is rife with what sounds like the same, uninspired samples that have been passed around more times than a crumpled dollar bill at a strip club. Having Lil Jon scream “Yeaa-aah!” between every other verse was novel, even catchy, back in 2002. Now it’s just another tired cliché, the type of thing that makes hip-hop fans cringe and is turning the genre into a parody of itself. [Amazon]

New Duncan Imperials, End of Phase One (Pravda)

The New Duncan Imperials went back to the studio after an eight year hiatus and continued creating its weird rock and roll ways with loud, crunchy guitar riffs, straight ahead drumming, and half-drunken vocals. New Duncan Imperials always sounds like they’re having a good time, even when lamenting the end of parties’ past. This new record walks that fine line behind the classic indie sound of The Replacements (check out the song “Nothin’ to Do”) and the classic rock of Tom Petty (“I’m Invisible”) and goes on various inebriated sidetracks in between. There’s a kitchen sink approach to the lyrics, which mostly fall on the side of funny but sometimes just sound out there. The fact that NDI doesn’t take itself too seriously works in its favor. Rock is supposed to be fun, and this disc offers lots of entertainment value. Even the one self-consciously country tune, “What do People Like”, cries its tears in its beer for amusement purposes. [Amazon]

Amy Kuney, Bird’s Eye View (Spin Move)

With Amy Winehouse spending more time in tabloid pages than in the studio or onstage, the western world is ripe for a soul singing chanteuse to take her place. There may be candidates with more soul in their voices but Amy Kuney’s combination of songwriting chops, professionalism and vocal strength may make her a leading candidate.

Kuney’s latest release, Bird’s Eye View, is filled from top to bottom with the acoustic Lillth Fair-vibe that she has become known for while releasing an EP and performing a hundred live dates a year. What it also has, that may come as a surprise, is a lot of soul. Kuney sings with hints and flavors of Motown that only reveal what may be hiding behind her other recordings. In the track “Angel Tangled in the Telephone Lines” it sounds as if her voice is seconds away from breaking through the more generic singer songwriter category she often is left in to fill the vacancy of Winehouse’s collapse and Joss Stones safe jazz vocal choices. “Would You Miss Me” picks up the pace but still conveys a soul chanteuse looking to break out.  [Amazon]

Klangwart, Stadtlandfluss (Staubgold)

Determining the quality of an ambient release is a tricky proposition, because the verdict so often comes down to the intersection of expectation and realization; if you want a piece for background listening and the disc delivers background listening, it’s golden. On the other hand, if you want some kind of narrative flow and you get background listening, well, the same disc that was magically so wonderful in the first scenario becomes trash.

Klangwart’s new release, the first in nine years for Markus Detmer and Timo Reuber, will please those who are looking for a narrative. Stadtlandfluss is a beautifully executed piece of ambience, broken up into seven parts on the CD but never delineating itself in any kind of audible way. It spends almost its entire duration in a state of slow build, starting with silence, building through radio static and drones into an almost Autechre-esque pastiche of rhythmic distortion, eventually culminating in a terribly abrasive spiked wall of static before falling off a cliff and completely fading to silence again. As such, it could be a metaphor for a coming hurricane, or a day in the life of a working stiff, or creation—it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that Stadtlandfuss maintains its focus and stays interesting for its entire 35 minutes, making it an utterly engaging success. Just don’t relegate it to the background. [Amazon]

Shed, Shedding the Past (Ostgut)

Shedding the Past is a collection of eleven Detroit-style techno tunes by German techno engineer Shed. It is a record in the mold of Aphex Twin with a powerful skipping beat that is the trademark of this German hotshot. At times it is intense, monotonous, technically complicated but never dull. From the ambient-tinged “The Lower Upside Down” to the Kevin Sanderson styled (and humorously titled) “Another Wedged Chicken”, one really needs a dark Berlin club in an office block to really appreciate the euphoric highs and beats that wind you. However, even out of that setting Shedding the Past stands up on its own. Detroit techno’s originators may have hailed from Bellville, Michigan but the techno sound was inspired by any number of German electronic musicians, most notably Kraftwerk. Therefore it is fitting that a German engineer should pick up the ball first punted by the Bellville Three and run with it to score a try of his own.  [Amazon]

King Syze, The Labor Union (Babygrande)

Since the crew’s formation in 1998, Army of the Pharaohs has become one of the go-to posses for hardcore rap. Like their contemporaries in the Boot Camp Clik, affiliates of Army of the Pharaohs fill their records with sometimes clever tough-guy battle raps over orchestral, epic beats. And, like Boot Camp Clik certain emcees are in another league while others simply fill space or provide brief moments of brilliance. That is where King Syze comes in.

On The Labor Union, the follow-up to his 2006 debut Syzemology, he declares that the 13 tracks within represent his rebirth, his comeback. He carries that message throughout the album, spitting with his Fat Joe/Big Pun-esque flow that he cannot and will not lose. And although he doesn’t technically take the L on here, it would be inaccurate to say that King Syze wins. His delivery, which is surprisingly smooth and not as abrasive as his fellow Pharaohs, is solid, but it doesn’t demand your attention. Even on stellar tracks like “Play Ya Part (P.Y.P)”, “Labor Union”, and “Cement Work”, the King can sometimes lose you. It’s only on the fantastic “That’s How You Rap” that he flexes his lyrical muscles and unique wordplay.

But there are far too many dull and less inspiring cuts like “Creep Show” and “Pain” that become snoozers during a repeated listen. And those tracks are what weigh down an otherwise decent album. Even though AotP lovers will certainly pick this up without hesitation, any newcomers should sample King Syze first. [Amazon]