The band that has wowedcollectors and critics alike has compiled their first 7" singlereleases onto one charming compact disc. The disc collects theirrecordings which stem back to about 1998 but omits the tracks whichappeared on this year's earlier CD EP release, "A Fading Summer." Italso adds a couple new, previously unreleased songs. The Clientele isone of my favorite new groups to emerge in the last couple years. Theirmusic has a heavy feel of 60s indie-pop. The sound is melodic with abasic usage of drums, guitar and bass. Primitive home studio electronicgear gives a sort of charm that translates well to their original vinylreleases. Subject matters revolving around rain, darkness and love,clearly displaying the group can only be English, almost dreaming of aday when they could have easily filled the opening slot on a mid-60s UKtour of Gerry and the Pacemakers. With songs as sugar sweet as "(I WantYou) More Than Ever" and "Saturday," prolonged listens may result indental work. The instrumental competancy of the group is something thatis witnessable in their live performances, while the members can beobserved with playing unobtrusive melodies using the entire fretboardsof the stringed instruments. Bass lines are melodic and gentle, asJames isn't copping out by playing root notes of chords while thedrummer has an undeniably talented balance of control and subtledelicacy. Charming ballads and blissful love songs are not a bad thingif they're done with sincerity, and I think the group are doing a finejob of mastering the art.

samples:

• (I Want You) More Than Ever
• Saturday
• Reflections After Jane (All the Dust and Glass)

The latest release fromStaalplaat's prolific Mort aux Vaches series comes to us from theGerman drone outfit Troum. Much like their previous incarnation MaerorTri, Troum are masters of the slow progression, be it in terms ofintensity, volume, style, or all three, as in the case of this release.Sen, which consists of one hour-long track, begins quietly withdelicate reverberations and soft metallic ringing: sonic architectureso subtle that one might not even notice the gradual accumulation ofthe duo's trademark sound. Troum's skill as artists in field of dronestruly lies in their ability to craft them with such beauty. All toofrequently are we besieged with power electronics artists who employthis technique in ways that are either overwhelming or boring. Bylayering dones with wistful electronic spirals, Troum lends them anundeniable prettiness. It isn't until twenty-five minutes into Sen thatthese almost gossamer soundscapes give way to the throb of atranslucent beat, which in turn melts into rhythmic patches ofdistortion as the album takes on creepier, harsher textures. Thesetwists and turns are, however, not ungraceful in the slightest, butdissolve into one another with fluid ease. Finally, stripping down to asolitary, nearly inaudible echo, Sen fades to an end just as gently asit began.

samples:

• Excerpt 1: 24:33-25:37
• Excerpt 2: 41:49-42:53
• Excerpt 3: 57:45-58:45

The transition has indeed been made from the hip yet relatively obsure Chain Reaction label in Germany to the international powerhouse known as Matador for this, the third full-lengther from Andrew Pekler, a.k.a. Sad Rockets. While the output may be labeled as a medium-paced modern dub hybrid, the inputs are almost completely organic, reminiscent more of the older school masters than many electronic contemporaries.

Jan St. Werner (of Mouse On Mars) and Markus Popp (of Oval) have cooked up a third offering of glitchy, cryptic ambience for us, this time without all the rhetoric about music as software and digital revolutions in musical composition.

 

Richard Dorfmeisterteamed up with Rupert Huber for a fine selection of loungey trip-hopworthy of prancing around with bell-bottoms in. Sure, something likethis can sit very well along with Kruder & Dorfmeister projectslike Peace Orchestra, but the difference in this one is more emphasison a deeper soul. Female vocals are introduced in the form of samplesto give it a little more human and less mechanical spirituality thanthe typical white German electro dubtacular sound. If it were 1992,this would be labelled as "chill out room music." Serene andgalactical, this would provide a great soundtrack to lying in your roomwith your friend or lover, staring up at the glowing stars stuck to theceiling. Illegal substances optional of course.

samples:

• Orozco
• Doris Dub
• Ocean Beat

For two nights in a row, loads of folks made their journeys, some near and some far, through the blistering cold temperatures to witness Stephin Merritt and company perform all 69 Love Songs. Both nights sold out long ago at the classical-style Somerville Theater in the Boston area. On stage in addition to the four core musicians were the three guest singers who appear on the albums. For the first night I witnessed something rather unexpected.

I think I can finally put my finger on the characteristic of godspeed you black emperor's music which pulls at the emotions of so many people across the musical taste spectrum. Music listeners will have songs they're very fond of, and instrumentation can strike up an intense emotional response with a strong recurring refrain or chord progression. Something grand and beautiful will always be that one part of a song you just wish would go on longer. The Godspeed folks have taken that idea, the thought of a musical phrase itself and extended it, nurturing the sound. The sound becomes one on its own and has its own living and breathing life. They draw the sound out, let it build, color it with the numerous tools (2 bass guitars, 2 percussionists, 3 guitarits and 2 string players sure help) and let it run its natural course, letting it die perfectly without that sound—the riff or hook—becoming too redundant or repetitious. After all is done, an album of two to three tracks comes to a close, you feel satisfied, satiated and happy. The concert opened up with a performance by what was billed as Bonnie Prince Billy and the Marquid de Tren, the lineup was Will Oldham singing and playing guitar, Jim White (from Palace and other projects) on the drums, a bass guitarist and Mick Turner on guitars, loops, harmonica and melodica. The set was quiet yet gut wrenching. The addition of Mick Turner's layered guitar works on top of Oldham's bluesy heartfelt voice was a fantastic match, the bass took the role of providing the low pulse and the jazz-like improvisational drumwork from Jim pulled everything together quite magically. Luckily fans of the set could walk away with their album along with the two similar and fantastic Molasses discs at the merchandise counter. Godspeed's set was marked by a few stellar new tunes which haven't graced an official album yet along with popular favorites from all their commercial releases. The set lasted over two hours and ended with a beautiful encore with band spokesman Efrim playing the xylophone while drummers Bruce and Aidan walked through the audience playing percussives. The show was held in a rather large movie theater with a seated audience, and was sold out before the day of the show, which leads me to wonder where they'll play next time around. This setting was seemingly perfect, where everybody present could enjoy every single note while being close enough to view everything happening onstage. Any more would be less intimate, any less would be too packed.