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04 October 2005

[a]pendics.shuffle, Helicopter Hearts (Orac) Rating: 7
Forget desiccated Teutonic kicks and chin-stroking dub mechanics -- over the past year, Seattle-based Orac Records has been quietly releasing minimal techno records that actually induce dancing. Kenneth Gibson, aka [a]pendics.shuffle, has been a big part of this, infusing the requisite clipped sounds and micro-samples with graceful, sinuous funk. Helicopter Hearts is his first full-length, and it's more a collection of dancefloor singles than a proper album. Still, it's as enjoyable for the head as it is for the feet. "Cemento" has seductive female vocal stabs, "Saw Saw Soup" has an irresistible bassline, and "Baneful Lather" manages to be both dreamy and perky. The highlight here is "Garbanzo Love", which begins as a schaffel track, but switches fluidly to a bouncy, quirky 4/4 groove, with a brief detour back to schaffel. The changeups will keep listeners on their toes, a rare feat for a genre often afraid to go below the belt.
      — Cosmo Lee

Jay Sad, High (Film House Recordings) Rating: 7
Toronto musician Jay Sad has nothing to cry over with this album -- it's short, smart and haunting all at once. Whether it's the melancholic and somber "Intro" instrumental that paves the way for acoustic nuggets like the fuzzed-out, hushed "In the Basement", the latter a cross between the Jesus and Mary Chain and Singapore Sling. It has a great flow and builds perfectly. It's bare bones at its best, especially with the almost hymnal "Lisa" that has Sad singing as if that lump in his throat about to form. Meanwhile, "June" is a purely electro-pop tune that brings Eno to mind. Sad's sullen voice fits alongside the late Elliott Smith judging by the Good Will Hunting flavor on "My Mensa Friend" and the aptly autumnal "October". The only drawback might be how some of these songs leave you a tad unfulfilled. Nonetheless, it's a very good album that won't make you happy-go-lucky. "Bass" is quite creepy also, but in a very good creepy sort of way.
      — Jason MacNeil

Dredg, Catch Without Arms (Interscope) Rating: 5
It seems on every Dredg album, there are moments that leave you wondering why this Los Gatos, California band isn't one of the biggest rock bands in America, but then comes a stretch of several songs that meander lazily, and you're left thinking, okay, that's why. This band is a rare breed in modern rock, one always bursting with ideas, progressive tendencies, and gorgeous melodies, but with three albums under their belts, Dredg are continuing to struggle putting together that important breakthrough album. While 2002's El Cielo was at times a spellbinding concept album that blended the heavy strains of Tool and the Deftones with the intense harmonics of At the Drive-In, Catch Without Arms sets its sights on the middle of the mainstream rock road, attempting more of a combination of Incubus and U2. With the help of former Queensryche member Chris DeGarmo, the album does hit the right note from time to time, especially on "Bug Eyes", "Catch Without Arms", and the especially lovely "Spitshine", but too often the CD is bogged down by moments of flaky tedium, as songs like "Jamais Vu", "Zebraskin", and "The Tanbark is Hot Lava" bring the momentum to a dead halt. Unlike the decent El Cielo, it's an album without an identity, as Dredg try on different sounds (most blatantly, the Edge style chords on "Matroshka (The Ornament)"), only to find very few of the experiments stick. You want to like these guys, as they're capable of delivering moments of true power, but more and more, they're starting to resemble chronic underachievers instead.
      — Adrien Begrand

Secret Lives of the Freemasons, This Was Built to Make You Dance (Astro Magnetics) Rating: 5
What's the difference between melodic post-hardcore and emo? Not much, really, with some sliding scale of propensity for metal power chords and shouted, growling vocals being the most distinctive elements. For North Carolina band Secret Lives of the Freemasons, the difference is negligible, though this may work in their favor by making them an easy bridge between both fan-bases. At times there are combined elements of both scenes that offer an interesting contrast, but mostly it's just the throat-shredding "evil voice" vocals that you notice. Songs like "To the Barricades" and "Less Tude, More Dude" could be anyone's emo compilation fodder, but the title track manages to work as a central anthem, displaying a distinct range, and songs like "And Then a Hurricane" will give the hardcore retreads something to think about. But even the band's semi-straightedge anti-sex themes seem a bit clichéd in terms of genre boundaries. There's a lot of skill, but not anything particularly new to hear here, and this disc will probably only be of serious interest if post-hardcore is already your thing.
      — Patrick Schabe

.: posted by Editor 8:22 AM