28 July 2002

Abe Forman-Greenwald

Albums and Singles

This second full-length album from New York City's J-Live showcases an increasingly popular brand of hip-hop music: competent, decidedly independent and exciting like a standardized test. I picked up this album because it was touted as an Independent (with a capital "I") parallel to early De La Soul albums and I had heard some of his early tracks which were enjoyable and promising.Coup d'Etat

I tried, unsuccessfully, to listen to this album on my car trip back from Pennsylvania this weekend with my sister and my girlfriend. We were so disinterested in the album that we popped it out before it was finished and didn't even return to it when we were stuck in a 45-minute traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge. That's never a good sign. All three of us are De La Soul fans so we decided to listen to the real thing and put in "Buhloone Mind State" instead, which reinforced the reasons why "All of the Above" fails the test. J-Live's voice sounds a lot like Dove from De La Soul, but without De La's combination of singular beats and abstract, singsong vocals, the effect falls flat.

I feel bad trashing him because I appreciate what he's trying to do: return the spirit, creativity and jazz-inflected beats of the early nineties to current hip-hop. Unfortunately, each song comes off like a labored, calculated effort to do just that. He keeps reminding us that he is the great independent hope, the savior of "true" hip-hop but doesn't exhibit the inventiveness of Mos Def, The Roots, or even recent De La Soul (who he shouts out here as a guiding influence). The main failure of the album is that he spends so much time instructing the listener on the sorry state of modern hip-hop that he makes no contribution to reenergizing it. There are some bright spots on the album though, including the song "Travelling Music" with its sweetly nostalgic lyrics and instrumental combo of live vibes, bass and organic cymbals. He also has some clever lyrical turns, as on the "The 4th 3rd" in which he rhymes:

 

"Running from a paradox/
living like a pair of ducks/
but with different flocks/
with different destinations/
our ships remain docked"

More often though, his blatant attempts to highlight his superior lyrical content shows through in choruses like, "It's just that consciousness comes through on nights like this." On another chorus, he makes a reviewer's job way too easy by asking, "Are you satisfied? I'm not satisfied." I wish I was J, but I'm not either.

samples:

• Travelling Music

 

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28 July 2002

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Beta-Lactam Rings
Sometimes I wonder when this market overflow of LPD and EKS materialwill lighten up and allow for the fans to catch up. Unfortunately whenthere's scarecely limited releases that spring up terribly often, thisis becoming an increasingly difficult task. Does the words "economicrecession" mean anything to psychotic record pimps like Chris McBeth?Limited to 600 copies, this super-thick LP is described as continuingwhat was introduced on the CD issued last year on World Serpent byKa-Spel, 'Cast O'Grey Skreens.' While the LP is broken up into oneside-long track on side A and two on side B, I personally feel themusic echoes an older style of solo EKS recordings, with whimsicalcalliope-esque music, loops and gorgeous drones, rather than thesomewhat recent trend: a hodgepodge of almost sketchwork-like songsstrewn together as one super-lengthy track. "An Ill Wind" opens with adull roar, builds, then quiets down to a tinkling piano melody, prettyenough to can give any old-school fan goose-bumps. What followsincludes more shimmery instruments swaying along with Edward's vocalpleadings for a miracle. Then comes the unavoidable build-up and returnto the quiet melody again, this time with more haunting coloration andblurring. Side B begins with the 11+ minute "O'Reilly's Comet," with adriving looped pulse which has almost become a signature rhythm for themore experimental loops the Dots are prone to. There are a few momentswhere it picks up to an excited pace, but the 4/4 clanging onpercussive sound effects becomes somewhat monotonous for the duration.Almost predictably, the monotony is overtaken by sheer beauty in the11+ minute closer, "Safer than the Open," where drones of reverberatedvoices are layered with arrhythmic sound effects which give way to athundering few beats, a drop, and a fantastic return with some trulystunning string sounds. If form is more important than function, actquick on this release, as the deluxe package includes loads of goodies,but it might be worthwhile to wait for a forthcoming CD release whichwill hopefully include the tracks from the limited accompanying 7"record and that 10" out last year. Come on, Chris, didn't your mom everteach you to share?

 

samples:

• An Ill Wind
• O'Reilly's Comet
• Safer than the Open

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28 July 2002

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Albums and Singles

Strange Attractors Audio House
For all intents and purposes, this should have been a horrible mess.The liner notes, written by Cul De Sac muli-instrumentalist GlennJones, outline the tragedy that should have been quite clearly: theband shows up to do a live radio performance at Brandeis University andsuffer circumstances of Spinal Tap-ian proportions. There was verylittle space for the band to perform, they would not be able to see orhear the DJ during the production, and they had little time to soundcheck and would not be able to test their levels before the actualbroadcast began. Again, this should have guaranteed a horriblerecording. Instead, listening to it later, the band realized it was oneof their best live performances, and certainly worthy of release to afanbase rabid for new material. Having never heard Cul De Sac live, buthaving heard their records, it's also one of their best commitments totape. Sure it's sloppy in areas, as live performance can be, andseveral of the tracks go on much too long; but the band plays outadmirably, vibrantly, and without compromise. After all, they thoughtthis would be horrible from the outset. So they pull out the stops andlet loose with a series of tracks that suck you in and drone you out.There are moments of pure melodic beauty on 'Frozen in Fury on the Roofof the World,' dischordant beeps and steady rhythms meeting on thetitle track, the near-hypnotic shuffle of 'Flying Music from Faust,'and slow, deliberate marches to close the disc on 'Blue in E.' The bandruns the gamut, and they're better having survived it. Ultimately, withtwo albums in the works—a soundtrack and a studio album of original newmaterial - these recordings show promise for the direction Cul De Sacis headed towards, as well as serving as the best representation, bytheir own admission, of what the band is about. Sometimes it's prettysurprising what glory can be gained out of utter despair.

 

samples:

• Immortality Lessons
• Frozen in Fury on the Roof of the World
• Flying Music From Faust

 

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28 July 2002

Bill Ryubin

Albums and Singles

LTM
Part of the late 70s Manchester scene made popularly acceptable by the'24 Hour Party People' film, Ludus are now given the re-issuecompilation treatment. It's long overdue really, as the majority oftheir material was never given a full CD issue. With digitallyremastered material and over 70 minutes of music, this claims to be the'definitive Ludus compilation'. The truly inventive mix of free-jazz,feminist lyrics, experimentalism and playfulness is a littledisconcerting at first, but the sheer funkiness and playful energystick out a mile. The complex jazz structures and sax skronking add tothe fun, and to top it all, Linder Sterling's stunning, commandingvoice. All the tracks are propelled along with this weird awkwardenergy, jumping between ideas, catching you off guard. Some are justminute long blasts of sax and drums, some could have been pop classics,in the right hands. The only complaint is the decision to put on somelive recordings from a Hacienda performance when studio versions exist,but they are well-recorded and capture some of the audience's awe andnervous fright (Linder has been known to perform in clothes made out ofraw meat..) Most of the tracks, like the highlight 'I Can't Swim I HaveNightmares' have enough hooks and twists for a whole album, and jumparound from groove to groove so fast, that trying to dance to themwould be a safety hazard. Endlessly clever, funky, scary andindividual, this is one of the gems of the Manchester scene.

 

samples:

• I Can't Swim, I Have Nightmares
• The Escape Artist
• What a Falling Off Was There

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28 July 2002

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Albums and Singles

Matador
Mary Timony's second solo effort finds her exploring similar themeswith slightly different sonic partners. Last time it was John McEntireand Bob Weston adding elements here and there, but this time it'sgeniuses of the moment Alan Weatherhead and Mark Linkous ofSparklehorse fame. New textures aside, it's still primarily Timony andChristina Files, though, with the power behind this music, and that'sall it really needs. The themes are very much the same as last time,the lyrics just as affecting. Timony's songs are very occupied with thespirits of the earth, animals, and love and wanting. But they're likemusical fables, with vivid characters in different costumes, like theworks of Edgar Allan Poe set to music. It's all pageantry of sorts, andit's very well executed on "The Golden Dove", more so than in the past.'Dr. Cat' is playful in the beginning and haunting in it's dyingmoments, 'The Owl's Escape' makes the hairs on your neck stand on end,and 'Ant's Dance' is all power and drive, with fantastic sounds andnoises emanating from the speakers (the horns are just plain lovely!).Ultimately, the image of the dove is important as the love that lefther for California, but also as the center image of 'Magic Power': "heyho, how do you go?/how do you get through forty blows?/hey ho, how doyou love/how do you love a dead dove?' The last two tracks leftsomething to be desired, as they served to annoy with the trite imageryon 'Dryad and the Mule' accompanying whistling and handclaps, and thesometimes dischordant mess of 'Ash and Alice' ultimately serving littlepurpose. The 'hidden' track - listed in the liner notes, butapproximately 2 minutes 'Ash and Alice' fades - is a lovely rendition,apparently, of a poem by Henry Lawes and Dr. Henry Hughes. It's afitting end to this album's worth of emotional outpouring, as Timonyseems to ask for requital of her love. An effort like this is certainlyworthy of at least a little praise.

 

samples:

• Blood Tree
• Dr. Cat
• Ant's Dance

 

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28 July 2002

Ty Hodson

Albums and Singles

Planet µ
I bought this because I loved the "Shitfuckers!" EP (which I admittedlybought just for the name), and also because the description on theSoleilmoon website convinced me that I could not go wrong. They wereright: once you've been hooked by Aaron Funk's madness, there's nogoing back. From the opening kitschy vibe this album just makes youlaugh. And how could you not, with a Julie Andrews-type crooning in"Dance Like You're Selling Nails" over Funk's freakshow drum'n'bassdemolition? Or the high-speed jazzy meanderings in "Banana Seat Girl"that sounds like a cross between Squarepusher and repeatedlyfast-forwarding and rewinding a DAT tape while it's in play mode? Youknow, where you hear clear bits of the music on the tape, but whicheludes you before it whizzes by. One of the highlights of the album iscertainly "Make Ronnie Rocket", which starts modestly enough withinterspersed dubby MC samples over Funk's characteristic bombasticdrum'n'bass beats. But a minute or so into the track, all hell breaksloose as you're given a spoonful of C4 and forced to watch from theinside while your head explodes. This is not music to tap your foot to,or shake your ass to while you try to pick up chicks at the club. It'snot exactly arrhythmic. It's not exactly asymmetrical. It's not exactlymath-geek music. If you just sit and listen to it, preferably withheadphones or loudly in the car while driving down the freeway, it'sperfectly acceptable to just try to follow the grooves and beats withyour mind. More than likely you'll just find yourself chuckling as Mr.Funk throws another curve. Some of the changes are just plainridiculous. Take "Deadman DJ" for example. Once again the dub MCreturns, his one-liner minced and butchered along with the freneticbeats. Midway through the song, it sounds like it's over, but it picksback up with the MC repeating "Deadman DJ" while a sound like theannoying high-pitched whistle sound that you hear in a lot ofmodern-day slow "rap" music whirs in the background. You know what I'mtalking about. So now you've got a rasta MC backed by cheesy rap noisesand absolutely breakneck d-n-b. How can you not laugh out loud? Youmight not even notice it if you weren't listening attentively. I findthat half the fun is trying to figure out what Funk's sound sourceswere, and just what the fuck he was thinking (I like to imagine that helaughs out loud a lot while he composes). Or better yet, try thinkingas you listen about how you would make this music if it were up to you?The beautiful thing about Venetian Snares is that this is truly musicfor the moment.

 

samples:

• Dance Like You're Selling Nails
• Deadman DJ
• Dismantling Five Years

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28 July 2002

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Albums and Singles

Warp
It would be rather difficult to review a Nightmares On Wax releasewithout giving in to the temptation of referencing mastermind GeorgeEvelyn's affinity for marijuana, so let's just get that out of the wayhere. Good. Now we can move on. On this first 12" single preceding theupcoming full length 'Mind Elevation', Evelyn presents a radio-friendlytrack full of soulful sounds that outdoes a certain bald-headed NewYorker enjoying more success through sampling and working with popicons than making happy rave anthems. Here we are treated to threeversions: the vocal original, an instrumental version, and a remix onthe AA side. Upon hearing the first 10 seconds of the original, I wasprone to some uncontrollable bouts of serious head nodding and toetapping. While the lyrics don't appear to have any real substance,that's pretty irrelevant and beside the point. DJs who spin abstracthip hop or downtempo will appreciate the instrumental more than theaverage listener, though the Mark Pritchard remix fails to do anythingtoo interesting with the original, and is easily forgettable. Havingalready heard the upcoming album, it is doubtful that any old N.O.W.fans will be disappointed with either release. Besides, they'llprobably too high to complain. OK I'm sorry... I broke my promise. Sowho's gonna get up and order the pizza? Not me. I'm in the comfy chair,man.

 

samples:

• Know My Name
• instrumental
• Mark Pritchard remix

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28 July 2002

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Albums and Singles

Mitek
Bornelli's instrumental electronic debut is a cross breading of technodub and clicks with added splinters of glitch and a slight groove. Itcomes to us from the relatively new Mitek, a label which attempts tospecialize in electronic hybrids (see Hakan Lidbo in last week's issue)- music difficult to classify (or between the chairs as the coversuggests). The cross-breeding of styles works very well on the tentracks here. "Feminist" and "Vaneigem" even remind me of the classyBasic Channel 12" series with their heavy basslines, clear sounds, anddistinct atmosphere. In addition, present are tactful nods towardsvarious modern styles. Even in "Milieu," for example, subtle echoes ofhouse music chords appear. The last few tracks, especially "Avenue,"are the most daring, with cut-up sounds of voices and a trumpet andprominent distortions in the foreground. These 55 minutes of cultivatedmellow sounds would pass as an easy listening album for most modernelectronica connoisseurs, which is quite an interesting result, but Idoubt it was the artists intention.

 

samples:

• Feminist
• Vaneigem
• Milieu

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28 July 2002

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Albums and Singles

The Darla Bliss Out series, designed to allow ambient pop stars to spread their message and love to the world on a monthly basis, continues with this, it's 19th entry, from Japancakes of Athens, GA. Japancakes have released two full-lengths and an EP on Kindercore, and have drawn comparisons to bands like Macha and Air with their instrumental-with-electronics music. It's cohesive, full-sounding, grooved-out, and, yes, ambient, but also very innocent.Darla

Eric Berg started Japancakes as a simple ensemble to create music out of very simple chord progressions, but allowing for moments of genuine improvisation in the studio by having the members never practice the melodies together until it was time to record. As a result, most tracks start off with one or two instruments and sounds, then build and add more as they progress. What's interesting about this music is its clarity. There are no sounds here that distract or muddle the art - everything feels "just so," like it was meant to be that way from the beginning. While it is repititious by design, it is not at all unchallenging or boring listening material. On "Belmondo", Japancakes is again the core group that recorded last year's "The Sleepy Strange", once more with Andy Baker at the console. And it really is a fantastic listen. The album's key track, the sixteen-minute-plus 'Handguns & Firearms', is one of the best compositions I've heard all year, and elsewhere the band evokes truly spine-tingling moments with an interesting mix of drone, strings, keyboards, and even lap steel. It's a brave combination of styles that wouldn't necessarily work with other bands, but Japancakes pull it off with no serious injuries. A great addition to Darla's series and to Japancakes discography.

samples:

• Handguns & Firearms
• Theme for a Film
• Another

 

 

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28 July 2002

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Let me be honest here. I grew up in Queens, so I like my rap to sound a certain way. While I can appreciate the insanity of groups like Outkast and southern production geniuses like Timbaland and the Neptunes, I'd rather be listening to Cam'Ron, Nas, Jay-Z, Cormega, or the Wu-Tang Clan.Warp

Now what I can't stand is that trendy niche cleverly branded as "rap for backpackers" (think El-P, Cannibal Ox, Talib Kweli). Give me tracks about cash, ho's, and guns— I'm a happy clam. Show me something with a Definitive Jux label on it or a rapper who sounds like he wrote with a thesaurus next to his notepad and I'm out. So then Antipop Consortium, even with the Warp endorsement, has always been a blip on that side of the screen I don't fuck with. Personally, I think this is one of those acts that brings the label down. Needless to say, the original version of "Ghostlawns," the latest single from their recent 'Arrhythmia' CD, didn't move me. I mean sure, their flow is pretty tight, but if you're rapping about granola and tofu... does it really matter? The flipside redeemed this 12" somewhat, with more coherant remixes of "Ghostlawns" done by Mike Ladd and the legendary LFO. Ladd's remix actually gives the music a good kick in the ass with a steady electro beat you can both follow and rock out to. What makes this mix even better is it extends the track for a few extra minutes with the sampled female vocals and computer voice from the original, making it far more DJ friendly than the original. LFO (now Mark Bell, sans co-founder Gez "G-Man" Varley) seems to have his ear closer to the sound of Dirty South on the cheekily titled "Rik Waller remix" (Rik Waller was a contestant on the UK version of FOX's "American Idol"). And yet, there are elements of dub and the traditional Warp experimentation to be found among the chicken and grits grooves. Backpackers already own this (shit, they probably copped the promo 12" the moment they saw it), but unless you're a fan of Antipop Consortium, I wouldn't bother with this record.

 

samples:

• Ghostlawns
• LFO remix
• Mike Ladd remix

 

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