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26 September 2004

Joseph Arthur, Our Shadows Will Remain (Vector)
Joseph Arthur will be one of a handful opening acts for R.E.M. later this year and for good reason. This album begins with "In Ohio" that sees the musician channeling Brian Wilson through a Neil Young vocal. But he shifts gears instantly with "Can't Exist", a roots-cum-gospel feel that sounds like a poor man's U2 behind a lovely wall of sound. Fans of Hawksley Workman would cling to the slower and darker "Stumble And Pain" with it orchestral touches but Arthur gets mired too much in the thick hip-hop backbeat near the end. If you could envision a gin-soaked Richard Ashcroft or the Stereophonics' Kelly Jones, you would get the soul-pop gist behind "Devil's Broom". "It's hard to stay alive when you don't know how to live," he sings. The highlight is the somber "Echo Park" that is his best "Unplugged" song this far but "Even Tho" smacks of being a smidgeon too Meat Loaf-ish slick. Another strong tune is The Cure-like "Puppets" that comes off quite sweet. "Failed" has ambient touches and is quite minimal for the usually eclectic musician. Fortunately he gets the album soaring again with a harder, grittier "I Am". It's another quality album from one slowly moving out from under the shadows!
      — Jason MacNeil

Matthew Dear, Backstroke (Aum Fidelity)
Detroit producer Matthew Dear turned a lot of heads on the dance floor last year with his acclaimed Leave Luck to Heaven, his dark baritone voice lending an ominous tone to his signature sound of carefully-carved micro-house beats. His conscious pop ambitions jut from the minimal pulse of the music's rhythmic structure. His songs become updates of the black humored sex anthems of past dirty dancers like Soft Cell and Depeche Mode, only smarter and edgier, sung in husky breaths. In lyrical jaunts like "Tide", "And in the Night", and "I Know Hauser", the mood elevates to a shimmering bliss, punctuated by sprightly funk beats and swirling atmospherics. There isn't much variety here, but the parameters of minimal house music are continually being stretched by folks like Dear, so that isn't the end of the world. It's as if he's a surgeon laying open the coronary artery of house music's rounded, bulging heartbeats, grafting on capillaries of ambient drone, then injecting crackling glitches and deep bass throbs into its circulatory system. Here's hoping his instruments remain clean.
      — Chris Toenes

Army of Me, Fake Ugly (Pop Up)
D.C. indie pop mainstays Army of Me simply reek of niceness. Formerly Cactus Patch, the band released the Fake Ugly EP independently in 2003, but after signing with Pop Up Records, the CD has been re-released, as the band tries to build on their loyal local following. And Fake Ugly does its best to charm listeners, as the quartet, led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Vince Scheuermann, serve up 22 minutes of some earnest, affable guitar pop, which finds a comfortable middle ground between emo and mainstream rock. Trouble is, the disc tries way too hard to win you over, as Scheuermann croons in a highly emotive tenor voice, and the band engages in some of the safest, dare I say, blandest guitar pop to come out recently. Lyrics alternate from decidedly corny ("We sing songs to stay alive/Music lifts the soul about to die") to limp attempts at deeper meanings ("Too bad pretty's just fake ugly/Look beneath, your shiny surface does deceive"). It's all pleasant enough, as "Breathe" is the one song that works best, but the majority of this EP is so devoid of memorable melodies, that it all becomes too tedious, and too forgettable. The music tries to be passionate, but in the end, is hopelessly flaccid.
      — Adrien Begrand

Asura, Lost Eden (TV Matters)
An asura, if memory serves, is the nemesis of the established divine order in Hindu mythology, a sort of personification of entropy. Quite why pianist Christopher Maze and bassist Alex Ackerman record under this moniker I'm not certain, but it gives you an idea of the New Agey influence on the French duo's dub/trance/ambient output, as evidenced by sampled vocals variously African, Turkish and Gypsy, as well as the odd classical choir. Yes, whilst they may claim to be inspired by Moby or Tangerine Dream (are you worried yet?), their compositions most resemble those of Enigma. As such, everything pulses or drifts along in a cod-spiritual manner, remaining slightly pompous without ever really saying anything. Haunting and inspiring for someone tripping out on shrooms, perhaps, but utterly pointless for anyone else.
      — Stefan Braidwood

Poor Luther's Bones, Inside the Outsider (Heavy G)
A certain super-huge music glossary site lists Poor Luther's Bones as rap, perhaps mistaking their label Heavy G with the immortal Heavy D. No matter, Poor Luther's Bones are so far out of the mainstream's ears, I can't imagine too many complaints from rap fans ending up with the Bones' psychedelic folk/pop/country/rock pastiche. But that's also a shame, because then at least someone would hear this record, and people should. This Berks County PA outfit surprised me as without a doubt the best album I've ever reviewed for short-takes (which isn't a lot, but still…). Garth Forsythe reminds me a lot of Jack Logan for his ability to handle multiple genres with easy grace. Songs like "Jagged-Cut Melody" and "Do It For Fun recall the Beatles, Velvets, Big Star, all the biggies, but not the grit-your-teeth forced way many bands of higher stature do. I'm more than pleasantly surprised. I think I'm a new fan.
      — Michael Metivier

Arovane, Lilies (City Centre Offices)
This is only City Centre Office's 20th release, yet already this small German label has assembled a roster of wonderful artists, peddling the finest and sublest of electronica made vibrant by carefully wielded hiphop hydraulics. Arovane made this, his second album for the label, in Berlin before dismantling his miniature studio there and moving out. Whilst the overt slant of the album, with its japanese samples and titles like "Cry Osaka Cry", remains Asian, the pieces here definitely evokes a feeling of observant grace amongst the bustle of urban existence. Like Lost In Translation this draws its strength almost entirely from affecting atmospherics rather than depth, yet Lilies is as gorgeous as it is slight; the voluptuously minimalist bloom on the cover perfectly matching the contents.
      — Stefan Braidwood

Kiss n Ride, Someone Killed My Genaration (Pop Goes the Vinyl)
If the Rapture epitomizes the first wave of recent rockers determined to get hipsters onto the dancefloor, Kiss n Ride represent the second wave. The group's EP Someone Killed My Generation contains a mixture of punk and funk as heavy as anything on the scene right now. In between the groove and the aggression, the band puts down memorable hooks drawn from the '60s garage sound, but they do a better job than most of their peers of claiming these guitar sounds as their own. Starting with "Whose Side R U on Anyway?", the disc sounds like a call to arms; the only confusing part is figuring out what these arms are for. Don't worry about it -- your head will be bobbing too much to think it through anyway.
      — Justin Cober-Lake

Annie Keating, The High Dive (Annie Keating Music)
Playing around the clubs in the Northeast might not be the ideal spot to learn about "alt.country", but Annie Keating's twang is a plus for most of this solid record. "Riddler" is more of a poppy folk effort that brings to mind Victoria Williams and Julie Miller. "Saints and Saviors" goes back to a Southern coffeehouse groove before being a rather safe effort with a pinch of Lucinda Williams. Mandolin player Jonathan Beyer is the proverbial savior on this song that could've gone nowhere fast. More refined is the appealing and Southern "Riverboat". Keating has a tired and yet soothing delivery for the dozen songs, yet few surpass the slower acoustic-oriented "Baby Jane", which gets into a percussion vibe halfway through. When she opens up more, the toe-tapping ensues during "Weekend Getaway" that brings Be Good Tanyas to mind. There is little that can be deemed heavy that Keating tackles, relying on the simple but still rather alluring sounds which bring "The Bearer" to life. When she talks as much as she sings for "Summer Waltz", it has the feeling of Marianne Faithful honing her craft in Austin. By then, the Lilith Fair folk of earlier is a long forgotten memory, because the title track is excellent.
      — Jason MacNeil

Eyes of Fire, Ashes to Embers (Century Media)
Formed by Matt Fisher and Dan Kaufman, former members of late '90s metal band Mindrot, California's Eyes of Fire have every intention of taking heavy music into new, more ambient directions. Coming on the heels of their debut EP Disintegrate, the Orange County five-piece have emerged in 2004 with a very striking debut album, Ashes to Embers. An apt title, really, because unlike most American metal bands, Eyes of Fire opt for the slow burn instead of the fireworks, churning out vast aural soundscapes, featuring broad, sweeping strokes of layered guitars, churning basslines, and downtempo rhythms. Very much like what British band Anathema has done on their most recent album, Ashes to Embers dares to introduce more subtle melodic touches that echo Pink Floyd, but like their California brethren Neurosis, the band throws in heaps of ultra-heavy tones that keeps the music firmly grounded. What really sets Eyes of Fire apart from their peers is the fact that they don't have a frontman; instead, it's the vocal interplay of Kaufman and Fisher that sets the band apart from the rest of the pack, as Fisher's smooth, melodic vocals are offset perfectly by Kaufman's hoarse, guttural howl (the best example on the album being the haunting track "Hopeless"). A CD that requires time to grow on the listener, Ashes to Embers ultimately proves to be a very rewarding metal record, as epic songs like "The End Result of Falling" and "Last Goodbye" mesh with the more urgent tones of "Empty" and "Shelter". Ideally, an album like this deserves much bigger, more grandiose production (the guitars need a less claustrophobic mix, and the drum sound is a bit weak), but as it is, it's a majestic, hypnotic, and in the end, excellent piece of work.
      — Adrien Begrand

Various Artists, The L Word (Tommy Boy)
Neither feminist nor pruriently curious enough to have seen the show, I approached this soundtrack as I would a friend's mix CD and was surprised to find that it creates a musical mood (neo-trad pop with genuine tradition -- Ella Fitzgerald and Connie Francis -- thrown in for good measure) while telling a human story (Part one: meeting, falling, and regretting; part two: returning, make-up sexing, and, ultimately, fond acceptance. Not unlike Purple Rain, no?). Song selection-wise, things taper off after Rufus Wainwright's take on "Hallelujah" (Cohen's. You were expecting Handel?), though not by as much as you'd expect. (Big-name ringers aside, check out Shelley Campbell's "Driving You".) Moreover, though the album starts with the Murmurs' "Genius" (a song I like), its story never becomes the endorsement of eccentricity-as-empowerment that I feared it might. Clearly not just for the show's fans, though I'll stick with Purple Rain. But, again, not by as much as you'd expect.
      — Peter Su

Michelle Anthony, Stand Fall Repeat (Burn and Shiver)
Michelle Anthony's Stand Fall Repeat is her debut. She received assistance from Jay Bennett, which gives her some credibility from the onset. Her sound is an easy-going and world-weary mix of folk and Americana, to judge by the lovely opener "Mourning Song". Anthony is true to the press pitch, and her music also brings to mind Lucinda, Emmylou and Ms. Phair. Nothing is new here, but that's part of the appeal as the first song goes on and on beautifully. The snarling Sheryl Crow-ish "Don't Deny" has oodles of pop punch, although "All This Time" is too cookie-cutter. Some people might see a pinch of Wilco in songs such as "Radio Waves", but that would be a far too easy way to describe it. This song allows Anthony to shine, and she lets herself go a bit more. Perhaps the album's highlight is also its centerpiece, the funky and groovy "Family Tree (The Ballad Of Jack Rice)" which could be mistaken for a track off Crow's Tuesday Night Music Club. From here the album definitely picks up with the rowdy yet tight Hiatt-esque "Ellouise" and the slow building bounce of "Bubble Clock". This record is definitely on par with Crow's The Globe Sessions, which is quite an achievement for a debut!
      — Jason MacNeil

Ming & Ping, MingPing.com (Monotone/Omega Point)
Ming & Ping are shooting for a clever hipster synthpop sound on their debut album MingPing.com, and they achieve their goal. The problem is that they've put too much effort into the "clever" and "hip" part of their show, and not enough into the pop. The duo's look is carefully constructed metrosexuality crossing over into glam ambiguity. I get the feeling that there are levels of irony going on here that end up cancelling each other out. If you'd rather be ironic than cool, that makes you cool, but if you know that makes you cool (and who wouldn't these days), you become neither cool nor ironic, which is pretty much where Ming & Ping are. Their music's not bad -- enjoyable if a bit dull -- but it's definitely about the style more than anything. That would really be fine if the music was better, but as it is, the twosome should put more effort into their sound. Of course, I get the feeling they're more interested in living some sort of performance art. After all, they ask their fans in their liner notes to "please make a copy for your friends." That's my kind of artistry.
      — Justin Cober-Lake

Khonnor, Handwriting (Type)
Connor Kirby-Long likes ambient and industrial effects judging by the fuzzy, static-filled "Man From The Anthill". Coming off like a blend of Depeche Mode if produced or led by Trent Reznor, the song drags along without much substance but oodles of background talk and noise. Heck, even a dance beat would probably help his cause. "Daylight And Delight" fares much better with traces of Beck and The Verve on the track. Equally pleasing is the synthesized "Megans Present" which brings to mind The Cure's "Plainsong" thrice removed. And "Crapstone" is, well, aptly titled. Khonnor is better off on the darker and somber tunes that have little effects but lots of melody, as on the unnerving "Kill2" as well as the minimal approach to "A Little Secret". The obvious problem is the album's inconsistency, as "An Ape Is Loose" pales horribly to the pretty melancholia coloring "Phone Calls From You" and also a tear-jerking "Screen Love, Space, And The Time Man".
      — Jason MacNeil

Lennon, Career Suicide (John Galt Entertainment)
Aside from the name, which evokes images of a cheeky assassinated Beatle member, Lennon Murphy can carry a melody. Whether touring with groups like The Cult or Opeth, the singer took a while to get around to making her second album I Am. Wanting to release two albums on her own terms, Lennon decided to make this album an acoustic affair with basic instruments, namely her voice and a piano. The result is quite stunning, beginning with the tender Jacob with similarities to Tori Amos. The song's ability to go over well worn ground yet still captivate is rare. Her vocal power is shown brilliantly on the strong and building "I Hear". The tenderness is consistent but isn't too slick or polished a la Alicia Keys or other one-name divas. The piano is often considered a sad or downer-like instrument and Lennon uses that to its utmost. But the playing isn't that depressing despite the lyrical content of "What You're Saying". The swinging, sultry and jazzy "Goodbye" is possible the sleeper on the album with its beat and verve. She doesn't veer from the somber Sarah McLachlan at a piano format, but it never falters. Nailing "Main Gravel Road" before a misty-eyed "And You", Lennon sounds like major label talent who'll continue doing the indie or small label thing because, well, she has the chops and pipes to do so. The only exception is the rather bland "Morning". "This is for those who never fall in love/Only living for what had been and never will be again," she writes in the liner notes. Amen, sister!
      — Jason MacNeil

.: posted by Editor 2:25 PM