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28 February 2006

Panther, Yourself (Fryk Beat) Rating: 6
Panther likes to sing in a falsetto, like his real name isn't Charlie Salas-Hunter but Prince Rogers Nelson. He likes to sing like that over a moving walkway of beats, one which heads off in several directions at once: stripped-down hip-hop, electro-funk that's been cut-up and lovingly screwed with, the psychedelic haunted-house mood inside a goth stoner's brain, an out-of-nowhere sliver of a piano concerto. He cries about being a jilted lover, utters almost unitelligible but nevertheless convincing boasts, offers phony religious chants to some imagined god, and offers us his account of discovering that his lover's been cheating when she gives birth to a black baby. It's uncompromisingly strange music, brilliant nonsense that's not quite enough of either to be outstanding, but just enough of both to keep your interest constantly piqued. — Dave Heaton [Insound]
"Nails Done": [MP3]

Tony Gilkyson, Goodbye Guitar (Rolling Sea) Rating: 6
Tony Gilkyson has played guitar for years but throughout most of that time he's been accompanying other people, either as a member of the Californian punk band X or as a session musician. Goodbye Guitar is only his second solo album. It's a nicely varied set of twangy country songs, ranging from rock-country ("Since the Well Ran Dry") to slow-country. ("My Eyes", which borrows playfully from "Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory".) The first song, "Mojave High", is narrated by a young man who feels so strongly about his small town that he doesn't think he'll ever leave it, even though "living here is like living on the moon," while the next one comes from a poor man who sleeps under a bridge. Here, and in the rest of the songs, the characters are searching for a stable point in their lives in the form of a home, or of someone who loves them. Goodbye Guitar flirts with nostalgia and in "Gypsies in my Backyard" it almost tilts over the edge into floss, but the song is saved by the appealing creak in Gilkyson's voice and the lyrics that, in the end, manage to be just sweet enough rather than too sweet to bear. The whole album is well balanced between sensitivity and robust bounce-and-release country rhythm. Not an essential purchase but a good'n nonetheless. — Deanne Sole [Insound]
"Gypsies in My Backyard": [MP3]

Rene Lopez, One Man's Year (Liberation Label) Rating: 7
On the first song here, well-connected NYC singer-songwriter Lopez asks us, if there is room in our hearts, to save a spot for him. This isn't very difficult to do, as his indie power-pop is adorable and hooky and fun and about as deep as it can get and still remain, y'know, indie power-pop. When he's getting gritty on "Into My World," he sounds like he means it; when he's doing pastiche work like the budget neo-doo-wop "Dirty Roses," he still sounds like he means it. And having some semi-famous friends help out -- Leona Naess does a haunting backing vocal on "Walk Through Walls" -- doesn't hurt. If there's not a place in your heart for him, reconsider your heart. — Matt Cibula [Insound]
One Man's Year: [stream album]

Minus the Bear / City on Film, "This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" b/w "Pony's Last Trick" [7-inch single] (Polyvinyl) Rating: 6
This split EP does double duty, promoting not just two bands, but also two remixers. IQU has a take at Minus the Bear's "This Ain't a Surfin' Movie" while Notebook takes on City on Film's "Pony's Last Trick". Notebook takes this Robert Nanna songwriter number and turns it into an old folkie dancefloor number. Rather than cancelling out the effects of the two styles, as you might expect, this combination yields a third, unique sound. The Minus the Bear remix results in a less unusual but more complicated piece. The guitar hooks give way to electronic expansion. IQU blends the rock center with a bit of dance percussion and an atmospheric spread. The resulting song works okay, but lacks the punch necessary to carry it if it isn't going to escape fully into the club, leaving a feeling that veers away from indeterminate and into indecisiveness. — Justin Cober-Lake [Insound]

.: posted by Editor 7:55 AM