This seven-track, sophomore disc from the politically minded NYC purveyors of Afrobeat finds their sound being a lot fuller than last years remarkable Ninja Tune debut. This would be due to the crisper studio production, a few more horns this time around, and the plain fact that these guys can write and perform some heavy lead arrangements that gel nicely with a tightly-knit rhythm section.
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Once someone said something like, "Talking about music is like dancingabout architecture." It was a snappy quote that has been oft repeatedbut not by Matt Wand. Over in Salford, which for those who don't knowis north of Manchester city centre, there are churches that have beenknown to make people break out in spontaneous jigging. These churchesare made from bricks which were fashioned from small rocks. These arenot the same Small Rocks that can be found in electronic beat jugglingformations of silly nihil-reggae on this disc.
If I could have one wish this week, it would be that I could be morevocal about things I really, really love. Truth be said, the first twoalbums from this Toronto-based ensemble didn't do a whole lot for me.While they were pleasant, they weren't all that attention-demanding.From the first minute, this third album is exceptionally morecaptivating.
This was an album whose press release suckered me into purchasing itand later made me want to kill whoever wrote it. "Distorted breakbeatslaid upon orchestral passages," they say. Yeah. Yeah, right. Let's getthis straight - if you're hoping for something likeTchaikovsky-breakcore (hey, it might be blasphemy, but it might begood, too), look elsewhere.
Here's a retrospective (of sorts) from this duo comprised of MartinHaidinger (Gimmik) and Chris Cunningham (reportedly NOT the one whodirects Autechre and Aphex Twin videos ... but who knows?) thatcompiles their 7" and 10" on Toytronic as well as their 7" on ExpandingRecords, while adding only two additional tracks. So for those of youwho haven't heard this project before, here's a good start.
Joshua Abrams is a double bassist who lives in Chicago and is probablybest known as a member of Town and Country. These solo recordings arereleased as part of Lucky Kitchen's Sparkling Composers series in anice brown card envelope with silver patterns printed on it.
If I would have been able to book the band at my high school prom, itwould have been The Clientele. Much to the delight of those of us whofell under the spell of their 'Suburban Light' compilation, the bandhas returned with a new five-song EP. Released by Madrid's AcuarelaRecords and "loosely based around the poetics of the hangover", 'LostWeekend' retains the same hazy, oneiric nostalgia that is manifested intheir previous work.
Clinic, here with their second proper album release on Domino, are oneof those bands everyone should hear. Why, you say? Because uponlistening, one can easily hear their influences and how they'veextrapolated them to their absolute extremes, but also what influencethey've had on other bands of recent memory. Their music is a flavorfulblend of instruments, live and synthetic, as well as programmed beatsand samples.
Finally, more DJ Scud available on CD. On this release he teams up withour favorite newly-skinny ambiguously gay rock star drum'n'bassproducer Matthias Mootz, also known as Panacea, Squaremeter, Kate Mosh,and here, Rich Kid. After Panacea started producing what can only beaffectionately referred to as "soft" drum'n'bass, a far cry from hisoriginal release 'Low Profile Darkness.' All is not lost for the fansof his early sound, however, since it is very much present here on thisalbum.