PopMatters home | short takes home | archives

03 March 2006

Vervein, The Weather Inside (Scenery) Rating: 7
This all-lady band creates rich rock sounds with harmonies from Jess Congdon and Esther Reyes that are near divine. The opening "Code Orange" is downplayed but still brings to mind Mazzy Star after listening to some harder rock bands and riffs from Congdon and Reyes that are buried in the mix. The Cure also seems to be a logical comparison with a darker, murky "Walkie Talkie" that rides the bass groove from the onset before the chorus reaches a fantastic crescendo. And it just continues to build off that. Brilliant! Unfortunately, the drop off comes with "Overlook", an okay song that you could probably overlook if not for the swaying melody. The first great tune is the whispered, eerie but slow building "Conquer" with Reyes on cello and playing off Emily Marsh on drums. The album is very cohesive, playing off the different soft and hard moments effortlessly, particularly with the dreamy "Bully" that again has strings running through it while "Ghost Outside" turns into this wall of guitar halfway through. Vervein also manages to shine on "Nothing" despite the lyrics and arrangement being nothing special. The group kicks things up a notch for the poppy closer "I Will Say", making the album end on a high point. While there's a light, airy thread, there is a lot of verve in this record. — Jason MacNeil [Insound]
"Code Orange": [MP3]
"Walkie Talkie": [MP3]
"Bully": [MP3]
"Nothing": [MP3]
multiple tracks: [Myspace]

Wanda Jackson, I Remember Elvis (Goldenlane) Rating: 6
One of the grande dames of rockabilly (there aren't many in that macho world), the "first lady of rock and roll" Wanda Jackson left the music in 1971 to play gospel music with her husband. In the past decade, though, she has crossed back over the sacred-secular line thanks to the alt-country revival. On this album, she celebrates her connection to Elvis Presley, who she met on the concert circuit of the mid-1950s, dated for a brief spell, and continued to be in touch with until his death. The music is solid, with Danny Harvey's rockabilly-guitar trills, rolls, and riffs circling over the well-primed rhythm section. But it's Jackson's voice that makes the record a thrill. No amount of singing for the lord has quite taken the tinge of naughtiness out of her phrasing. Songs such as "Baby, Let's Play House," "Trying To Get to You," and "Give Me the Right" growl and purr with carnal urges just barely covered up by the sepia-toned veneer of nostalgia. The old and new photographs reprinted in the CD booklet tell a similar story. The old ones, in black-and-white, explode with the energy of young lovers: Elvis playing guitar, his hair slicked back and make-up around his eyes, with Jackson looking on lovingly, hands-folded in front of her plain dress; Elvis in cowboy hat, cuddling with Jackson by a car; Elvis in sailor's cap and Jackson excitedly looking at posters for their concert with Webb Pierce. Then there is one of the new photographs, in color yet steeped in the past. It's a close-up of the ring that Elvis gave Jackson, from his finger to hers, now a momento mori that she includes for an album that itself is a kind of ring: bringing Wanda Jackson full circle to the start of her career, at once dazzling and earthly in the glow of her rockabilly past. — Michael Kramer [Insound]

Valina, Epode (54-40 Or Fight) Rating: 4
First impressions are a tricky thing. Epode is Austrian band Valina's first North American release. Signed on the strength of two prior full-lengths and a touring stint in Europe with the almighty Shellac, these ears were primed for some taut, wire balancing art-rock. Unfortunately, the five songs on the group's EP head out in a dozen different directions, none of them compelling. To be sure, the first two songs, "Entel Echo" and "Eriny" deliver some moderately complex jams, but have the fun sucked out of them by lead singer / guitarist Anatol Bogendorfer's monotonous drone of a singing voice. The acoustic guitar and contrabass driven "81 Men Without Memory" switches gears entirely (and borders on "More Than Words" style Extreme hilarity), while "Escort Of Soda" mixes European folk traditions, free jazz and math rock in an unconvincing stew. Epode is a varied menu that simply fails to come together into any kind of unifying statement. — Kevin Jagernauth [Insound]
MP3s from Vagabond (Trost/Conspiracy, 2003)
"Dance Your Job": [MP3]
"Ship to Escape": [MP3]
"The Akrobat": [MP3]

Struck Down, Revolution (Indianola) Rating: 5
This Erie, Pennsylvania band is a group composed of former members of hardcore bands like Blood On The Martyr and Restoration. And the lead singer sounds as if he's had one too many Red Bulls judging by the opening hysterics of "Education." With thick slabs of guitar, singer Gabriel Poland softens up his image briefly, but it's generally the sort of tune that's been done to death. "Action" is better with more of a rapidfire, punk-ish feel pushing it around in the same way that fat bald guy routinely does the smaller people in the mosh pit. And speaking of which, "Moshpit" is the ensuing song that resembles Metallica to some extent with its short, crisp but powerful guitars. As the album goes along, Struck Down don't seem happy playing metal for long nor are they happy with punk, so they blend the two for some rather ordinary tracks, especially "Tom Welch Is the Living Dead" and tedious "Your Disease" despite some fine playing from drummer Raymond Morton. And when the hell did you hear a Dylan like harmonica used during such music, but Struck Down do it here with "Purity". The band says in their press kit they want people to think about their music. Maybe people will be asking what Struck Down was thinking when they made some of these tracks. — Jason MacNeil [Insound]
multiple tracks: [Myspace]

Birdman, Club Mix (Universal) Rating: 6
Birdman a.k.a. Baby, the former Hot Boys member and other half of the Big Tymers, has never been the standout of the Cash Money clique, but he made a name with the street drama excess of his solo record Baby a.k.a. #1 Stunna. The pay-off has been healthy, as evidenced in his 2005 follow-up Fast Money. With a clear headspace and a free spirit, the record indulges in yesteryear's street drama selectively, as opposed to being overwhelmed by it. Club Mix, a selection of cuts from this record, summarizes this newfound sensibility. Fantasy abounds on "Smoke Out", where Baby and the gang laundry list exotic herbals while on an island getaway. "Out the Ghetto" and "Get It All Together" revive familiar hood tales of solidarity, but bounce more than mug. Coupled with the dependable presence of Cash Money brethren like Lil' Wayne (delivering service, "Like a Russian I roulette the bullet / Yeah, straight to your head / Give a nigga a mullet"), Birdman earns his way back into the club for another round. Rounded out by "Solid Chick" and "Cash Money Niggaz." — Dan Nishimoto [Insound]

.: posted by Editor 9:54 AM