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Most of the 7 or so membersappear identical, dressed in black with shaved heads and blue headpaint. For those not fortumate to see them in NY, Boston, Chicago orLas Vegas, you might recognize them from one of their numerousappearances on the Tonight Show. "Audio" is their debut cd with nearlyan hour of 5.1 surround sound mixed, instrumental future 'tribal-rock'music featuring their own instrument inventions (which are pictured anddescribed in the insert). Percussion is the driving force on mosttracks as the group utilizes a wall of drummers with traditional setsas well as their own PVC tubing and metal instruments, plus 'airpoles', Chapman Stick and various guitars. The tracks range from 2 to 8minutes and are often dramatic and cinematic with alternating mellowand busy sections. Unfortunately, there's nothing too terriblyspectacular about the music itself. There are plenty of great soundswithin the tracks but the group chooses to keep them within astructured and often unimaginative rock song context rather than fullyexploring a more experimental path. The guitar in particular detractsfrom the unique and wonderful PVC tube thumpings, air pole whooshes anddulcimer strikes. And even the rhythms get tiresome by the end due to alack of variety. While the music of The Blue Man Group certainly isn'tbad, it's too conventional and a huge waste of potential. It'sultimately much more interesting to watch and listen to the Blue ManGroup than it is to just listen to them. I suggest they put out a liveperformance DVD next time rather than another audio cd ...samples:
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It's nice to see that inKid's ripe old age of 20 he has no plans of slowing down. This is thefirst full-lengther from electronica's most obnoxious little brother tosurface this year (there are now rumors floating around about a fulllengther from Warp and one for Mute in the upcoming months). "Down withthe Scene" has been released through Mike Patton's new Ipecac label andit is not a light effort. The 18 second opener, "Chart Topping RadioHit" is just an indication of some of the surprises about to come, youplop the CD in, turn it up and the shock of the blast can easily wreckyour speakers. What follows is nearly an hour's worth of mayhem andsample madness, drum and bass nightmare, kitch and creativity, soul andsin, ending up with the classic crowd pleaser, Hrvatski's remix of "MyKitten" (which appeared on 606 and Friends Vol. 1 earlier this year).samples:
- Luke Vibert Can Kiss My Indie-Punk Whiteboy Ass
- Juvenile Hall Roll Call
- Catstep/My Kitten/Catnap Vatstep - Hrvatski remix
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Discovered at a South By Southwest shmooze fest, they have released their debut in the UK on Bella to a warm response in the UK. While I've got mixed feelings about SXSW, I don't have any about this CD. It's sweet and endearing, a pop record which will have a tough time cracking any pop charts over here due to its almost naked no-frills production and honesty. Vocal melodies, appropriate harmonies and a rich sound are created by this basic group of guitars, bass and organic drums. Vibes play on various tracks that are well-equipped for serene college radio programs. The more I listen to this disc, I hear influences of (excuse the music critic cliches) Nick Drake and Tim Buckley, but through the eyes of kids raised in good Southern homes. Folks who like a little twang accompanying their Low, or finde the idea of John Denver crossed with Stephin Merritt appealing would probably find something enjoyable in the Czars.samples:
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Perhaps it's because I saw Zipperspy playing with him, twiddling knobs on the most recent Boston show, perhaps his hearing impairment has forced him to use different sounds and techniques. Regardless, it's a fine offering, hypnotic and enjoyable, blonky and blippy in parts, with more high pitches and stabs than clumsy warbling bass frequencies. This results in the bulk of the album having a generally quirky and happy feel. Music to smile along with is nice. The album is almost entirely electronic with very little usage of samples that remain close to their original sound. The only slight hints of unoriginality come in on the album's closer, a cover of the Tammy Wynette tune, "Stand By Your Man," and I only say this because it's a cover tune. Dave Wright's choices on the tune were quite original and entertaining. Don't let the Invisible Records stigma hold you back, Wright's a true American electronic gem.samples:
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"Bad Times" is a groovalicious spacey jam with Margaret talking all about the dangers of what the Bad Times virus will do to you. It's entertaining and the music is produced with that signature Laika rhythmic feel. Laika don't wander too far from what they do but they do it well enough that you can trust every release from them (until you get bored of the sound of course!) The other two tracks are perfect examples. "He Knows" and "Longwave" might have been left off the album but in no way are they inferior tunes. Much like the first single, "Uneasy," the cover's a semi-reflective job so this accompanying scan doesn't do it much justice. A full review of "Good Looking Blues" will be posted here sooner to the US release date. For now, enjoy the singles while you can still get them.samples:
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Arovane, aka 35-year-old German Uwe Zahn, has in the past few years produced a split 7", several 12"s, an EP, remix work (Various Artists "8,8.5,9 remixes" - Arovane's 'amx' is one of my personal favorites) and now, two full length albums: the debut "Atol Scrap" on Din and "Tides" on the new City Centre Offices label.
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"Atol Scrap" is 64 + minutes of blissful electronic ebb and flow that finds a balance somewhere between the mellow IDM of the early '90s (think Aphex Twin "Selected Ambient Works 85-92"), the quirky rhythms of more recent IDM (think Autechre) and the repetition and attention to detail of the Chain Reaction minimalists. The key to most every track is dreamy synth pad and bass melodies, accentuated by mostly gentle, abstract rhythmic sounds and fuzzy atmospheres. The mid to latter section of the album has a few tracks where the percussion is much more pronounced and abrasive, which is somewhat of a disappointment as the melodies are no longer the obvious focal point. But, he's rather good at that style of track too and it helps create a good variety throughout the album.
With only 1 album under his belt, Zahn has apparently already decided to change direction. "Tides" is 40 minutes in length and although it's recognizable as Zahn's work it's also very different from "Atol Scrap". As the title suggests, the album is inspired by visits to the sea and the memories of waves wash ashore in several tracks. Here Zahn utilizes some slow motion hip hop styled beats for his cloudy/fluid melodies and atmospheres, adding various samples (water, bits of voice, chirping crickets, sea gulls, bell tones, etc.) and clean electric guitar played by fellow Berliner Christian Kleine on 4 of the 9 tracks. The 3 and 1/2 minute guitar and wash loop that is "Seaside" captures the entire feel of this album and just might receive my 'most beautiful track of the year' award. All of Zahn's music is a bit sullen and relaxing in a subtle and beautiful way, no matter how he produces it. It's hard to believe that these are his first 2 albums as they are quite impressive. He's another electronic artist to definitely keep track of in the years to come ...samples:
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This week's present is a full-length follow up to this year's half-length CD from the same band. Rollerball is a collective of four musicians around the Northwestern USA who use more organic than electronic instruments in the execution of their beautiful and harsh mishmosh wall of sound. Influences can be heard from free form jazz, pretty pop and industrial noise genres but the disc can't be pigeonholed to any of those genres itself. It's organized chaos, maximalistic, almost structured free-form, full of contradictions, captivating melodies and loops with a colorful array of instrumentation and sound effects thrown in. Piano melodies and beat gems are both hauntingly delicate while screetching and uneasy in parts. Beat-less and beat-heavy instrumental and vocal tunes litter this fine 42 1/2 minute CD. Not for one moment do you have time to lose interest. My only complaint is the flimsy package!samples:
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He embraces the painful matter of his father's death with a poignant gentleness, without ever turning away from his own grief and sadness, without once denying the apparent meaninglessness of human suffering, and yet, almost miraculously, without ever surrendering his quiet hope that there may be some peace in death, some small beauty in this world, and some hidden final meaning behind unbearable loss. In following an inner vision towards a goal which is quite far from concern with entertainment or image, he has managed to create an album which is both accessible and entertaining (although hauntingly so). Unflinching attention to the particular and the personal has here accomplished the great art of transmuting a private meditation into a universal elegy, capable of containing, illuminating, and assuaging our own private griefs, both small and large. For me this album serves as a rare reminder of the transformative power and purpose of music, and an affirmation that, while words often abandon us to isolation when we are most in need of them, a true poet is capable of the most exquisitely precise communication. "What drives us on?" Sleep offers refreshing balm to those who didn't even know they needed it. It is never preachy, loud or pushy, but with quiet insistence this masterful work drives us to look into blackness, and to see through it into light.samples:
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- Brian Bieniowski
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I have always felt that Marty Willson-Piper's solo albums to be a bitweaker than his Church bandmate Steve Kilbey's stuff. Something for theChurch collector in me, between proper Church albums. After pickingthis CD up, I am happy to say all of my previous reservations weretotally blown away. This stuff is a welcome change to the work done onrecent Church albums, and certainly Willson-Piper's strongest albumsince "In Reflection". The tracks run from slow atmospheric to upbeatChurch-like rock from the "Heyday" era.I've never feltWillson-Piper's lyrics to be his strong point. However, most of thewords on the songs here are clever and charming without any pretense(which I certainly can't say about Steve Kilbey's solo stuff). And hisguitar work is as stunning and beautiful as it has always been. I'm noteven going to get into the harmonies on some of the tracks like"Sanctuary"...I'll just get gushy which is really rather disgusting. Ireally can't recommend this CD enough to people who just want somemusic to bliss out to on a rainy afternoon with a lover.
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Walker has been busy the past year with "Only Myself to Blame" on thelatest Bond movie soundtrack, two songs for the latest Ute Lemper album"Punishing Kiss" and curator of this year's Meltdown Festival at theRoyal Festival Hall in London, as well as a 'Dance Project' score forsaid event. And now this soundtrack, the first major new release fromWalker since 1995's rather difficult masterpiece "Tilt". "Pola X" is aFrench film (with English subtitles) based upon the Herman Melvillenovel "Pierre", directed and co-written by Leos Carax. The basic storyis a young author meets his long lost sister and they begin anincestuous relationship. The soundtrack is composed and produced byWalker, a serious cinemaphile, with 5 tracks by others, and is pepperedwith dialogue and sounds from the film. Of Walker's 11 tracks, 34minutes total, about half feature the Paris Philharmonic asorchestrated by longtime Walker keyboardist / arranger Brian Gascoigne.Most of these are brief string compositions, beautiful and foreboding.The remaining Walker tracks are short sound effects / dialogue / samplecollages (Walker even samples his own "The Cockfighter" in the openingtrack) or similar to those found on "Tilt": bizarre barrages of guitarand percussion. "The Church of the Apostles" in particular builds afrenzied attack for nearly six minutes. "Never Again" is a minute ofswirling noise slabs interspersed with a heavy duty beat and ragga rap... possibly the oddest thing Walker has ever done. This materialreally whets the appetite for the always on the horizon, new 'album inprogress' by Walker. And now for the rest of the disc. "Extra Blues" bySMOG is just plain tedious with inane lyrics and dreadful half spoken /half-sung vocals. "Iza Kana Zanbi" by Fairuz is nearly 9 minutes ofswooping strings, hand percussion, chanting and female / male wailingall with a bit of a gypsy vibe, very cinematic and entertaining. Tracks8 and 9 are throwaway bits of Vietnamese karaoke. "Blink" by SonicYouth is a wonderful surprise as I'm not normally a SY fan. Kimspeak-sings seductively over an ambient mix of drone, light percussionand guitar taps and pluckings. Unfortunately, I'm unable to experiencethis soundtrack within the intended context of the film as I've neverseen it (and probably never will) but overall most of it does hold upwell on it's own. Though, the $24 import price will likely keep mostaway, save for Walker and Sonic Youth fanatics. Walker is currently atMeltdown through July 2nd and the film is due out in the fall ... samples:
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