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07 March 2006

Christian Kiefer & Sharron Kraus, The Black Dove (Tompkins Square) Rating: 8
This dark, twisted song cycle has the minor-key mournfulness of a lost Appalachian field recording, spiked with stately rhythms of banjo and sweetened with violin and piano. But however authentic the songs may sound -- from the pennywhistle lament of "Prelude" to the archaic sparseness of all-banjo "Heaven and Hell" -- no one should confuse Christian Kiefer and Sharron Kraus with barefoot rustics. Kiefer is working on a Ph.D. in American literature at UC Davis, while British-born Kraus has, at times, tutored Oxford students in philosophy and ethics. Both hover in the shadowy corners of experimental folk, paring minor chord melodies to their purest, most elemental forms. Of the two, Kraus has the more transparently old-time-y voice, hitting stark, simple notes with the slightest flourish of vibrato, as on the luminous "On the Chase". Kiefer's voice, heard on "Cold Blue Room", is more of a contemporary murmur, winding up through the piano notes like blue smoke cooling and curling toward the ceiling. Highlight cuts combine the pair's love of tradition with a hint of modern dissonance, as in the ravaging violin tones of "White Shroud." Here high, tonally varied drums keep a ritual tempo, as strings scrape and abrade in funereal agony. The cut is followed by The Black Doves's most accessible moment, "Dearest", where banjos flicker in the corners of a triumphant pop melody, along the lines of Shearwater or Okkervil River. [Insound]
      — Jennifer Kelly
"On the Chase": [MP3]
"White Shroud": [MP3]
"Dearest": [MP3]

Various Artists, To: Elliott From: Portland (Expunged) Rating: 4
The late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith's adopted hometown pays tribute to him on this collection of infrequently inspired covers. Most of the performances (including the Decemberists' painfully slow prairie hymn reading of "Clementine", the Helio Sequence's faithful but lifeless interpretation of "Satellite", and Crosstide's wayward Postal Service mangling of Smith's arguably greatest composition "Angeles") render Smith's songs as deathly, bloodless dirges, perhaps some subconscious perpetuation of the depressive romantic myth. Smith's genius is rarely hinted at by the somber traipses through his back catalog; instead, it sounds like the performers all want to put it to rest. Only Eric Matthews and Sean Croghan, on "Needle in the Hay" and the previously unreleased "High Times", respectively, offer convincing studies of the source material. Matthews plots out intricate arrangements while Croghan bottles up and explodes -- two disparate yet fitting ways to bid another fond farewell. — Zeth Lundy [Insound]

Kill Cheerleader, All Hail (Spinerazor) Rating: 6
Doing the whole retro-hair-metal thing these days is like fishing in a bucket, but Kill Cheerleader at least took the time to sharpen their hooks. And they bring the bait: "Your sister's not a virgin anymore," begins their press sheet; "She hangs out with boys in Kill Cheerleader." The Darkness may plunder the Def Leppard vaults, but Kill Cheerleader aims distinctly lower: think the bottom-feeder 80s metal bands from The Decline of Western Civilization II. It's a glorious trashiness, though; opening track "Sell Your Soul" is packed tight with bright leads, arena-ready riffs, and a killer "na na" chorus, and the album maintains its aural thrusts with consistency. Tracks like "Lady of the Night" and "Want Action" convey the band's coked-up splendor, and only rarely do they misstep into the realm of the overly obvious ("Don't Call Me 'Baby,' Baby" sounds like something the Donnas wrote in tenth grade, while "No Lullabies" sounds like something Guns 'n' Roses wrote in the late 1980s-"Patience," to be precise). On "Go Away" the band achieves power-ballad bliss, and on their album cover they look like the sleaziest bundle of vomit stains, track marks, and VD since, oh, Pretty Boy Floyd or Faster Pussycat. Is it all a joke? Quite possibly, but it seriously rocks. — Whitney Strub [Insound]
All Hail: [multiple songs]

Pheava, "Motorcycle" [12-inch single] (Universal) Rating: 4
Damn, son, why is Wikipedia your only spot on the web? Newbie rapper Pheava (pronounced, "Feva'") rolls up with his debut single, but a suspect amount of backing -- no surprise that his boosters include Blackground Entertainment, an organization that has been laden with difficulties since the passing of its starlet Aaliyah. Nevertheless, "Motorcycle" is a decent, if occasionally lazy, stab at club burn. The production courtesy of Vudu (who helmed Ludacris' "Georgia") may not catch on quick with the pop audience, but buzzes with enough bass to make for a danceable 16 at a party. Cruising in at a "Grillz" tempo, the bass-heavy cut then makes for a worthy thematic transition from thumping machismo to nasty bedroom etiquette. Too bad the Cassidy-lite rapper can't stay on topic long enough to explore this extended metaphor. In all fairness though, how many ways can you explain how to really ride it? — Dan Nishimoto [Insound]

.: posted by Editor 7:34 AM