Welcome to A&A. There are 24 reviews in this issue. Click on an artist to jump to the review, or simply scroll through the list. If you want information on any particular release, check out the Label info page. All reviews are written by Jon Worley unless otherwise noted.

If you have any problems, criticisms or suggestions, drop me a line.


A&A #176 reviews
(2/8/1999)

  • American Power American Power (Nihilist)
  • Beyond-O-Matic Your Body (Jamaelot)
  • Deviate Darkened World (I Scream-NRG)
  • Emptyhead Penitence EP (Palace Records)
  • Emptyhead Voluptuous EP (Palace Records)
  • Fever Too Bad But True (Digital Hardcore)
  • Grief Society How We Used to Live (self-released)
  • Inspecter 7 Banished to Bogeyland (Radical)
  • j Hypnotronic Groovaphonic (self-released)
  • Kaleidepy Snapcracklepop (demo)
  • Kid Silver Dead City Sunbeams (Jetset)
  • Mankind Liberation Front Mankind Liberation Front (Sol 3)
  • Metabolics M-Virus (Wordsound)
  • Phut Hot Carl 7" (Nihilist)
  • Radio Free America Killjulie (31337 Records)
  • Rubydiver Superremote (Turftone)
  • Osei Tutu Awakening (Tinder)
  • Various Artists Departure (Wright Music Group)
  • Various Artists Departure Gate 2 (Wright Music Group)
  • Various Artists The Moment of Truth--The Emo Diaries Chapter Three (Deep Elm)
  • Various Artists Musicians for Children (Pines Bridge Records)
  • Various Artists What Is Eternal? (Middle Pillar)
  • Venerealectic Venerealectric (Nihilist)
  • Bill Wyman & the Rhythm Kings Anyway the "Wind Blows" (Velvel-BMG)


    American Power
    American Power
    (Nihilist)

    An interesting concept. Collages of stolen spoken word recordings (with some original material slipped in) with lots of electronic squalls and disturbances over the mess.

    Some of my old KCOU buds must be in on this somehow, as the first track is taken from a 7-inch that was released back in the late 60s called "Letter to My Teenage Son." I don't remember who the person speaking was, but I'll always remember the classic line "Your mother will always love you, because she is a woman." That thing got loads of airplay at the M.U. radio station in 1991 and 1992, and it's not too much to think that it might have migrated two hours away to St. Louis somehow. It's retitled "Draft Card" here. You gotta hear it. What a howler.

    The general production value is pretty low, and some of the pieces don't cohere very well. Some of that is intended, no doubt. There are plenty of bizarro moments from recent American history which don't stand up so well when replayed to modern ears. Though unless you're some sort of masochist, you probably won't want to play "Squawk Box" more than once.

    It ain't pretty, and it's not supposed to be. I like the concept, and even most of the execution. Unsophisticated and crude, which fits the subject matter just fine.


    Beyond-O-Matic
    Your Body
    (Jamaelot)

    The third disc I've gotten from these folks. They still rely on the "recorded jam" sound, but with overdubs. Perhaps they decided to buckle down and really craft some songs. Still spacey, still with a hint of mellow prog, but fully fleshed out ideas. An improvement.

    Who knows? Maybe the live show is still highly improvised. But these generally quiet and introspective tunes (dominated by a variety of keyboard sounds and drum machines) demonstrate how hard the folks have worked. This sounds like a coherent album. Actually, it just sounds great.

    Not what I was expecting at all. Wonderfully challenging sounds, creative and entrancing. The best of the improvisational and crafted worlds. Kinda like enhancing a brainstorm, y'know?

    Just keeps getting better. This is a wonderful disc. If you're at all into the pop side of space music, then search out Beyondomatic at all costs.


    Deviate
    Darkened World
    (I Scream-NRG)

    A compilation of songs from the Belgian hardcore band. They don't sound Belgian, whatever that statement might mean. They sound American, whatever that statement might mean.

    Not particularly distinctive, though the boys do have a nice sense of rhythm. Yeah, they're pissed, and yeah, they've got the near-mosh swirl all set to shred, but there's nothing particularly new about the approach.

    Yes, I know, these songs were recorded between 1992-1996. Yes, I know these guys are very well known in Europe and have played with a lot of top bands. Hey, the sound is professional and sharp. The songs aren't clunky, they're just boring.

    I demand a bit more, some flash of originality. Hardcore hardcore fans, as it were, would probably eat this up with a stick. I just don't fit there. That's how it is.


    Emptyhead
    Penitence EP
    (Palace Records)

    Electronic, to be sure (Apple Computers are thanked, among others). But Emptyhead (a.k.a. Eric Salazar) doesn't dress his music up with complicated rhythms or other extraneous things. Like, say, vocals.

    No, these are extended keyboard explorations (with the occasional drum track). Not ambient, really, because the keys are playing what might be played on a piano. This isn't mellow fare. At once there is a feeling of new wave and classical influences.

    And I like that. Pretty cool. These are involved pieces, at least as far as the keys go. Salazar takes advantage of a few technological tricks, but mostly, he simply cranks out his ideas and lets them roam.

    Unusual, but certainly intriguing. There's a lot here in a short package.


    Emptyhead
    Voluptuous EP
    (Palace Records)

    The latter of the two discs, and something completely different. Well, it starts off that way. "Deodato" is a sample hackfest, a cool funky piece. And even the other, more "traditional" (at least when compared to the first disc) pieces have more outside stuff in them. The beat work is more complex, the keyboards are called on to make noises as well as melodies.

    So some of the unique qualities of that first disc are lost here. What I can hear, though, is a guy who is still working out just what it is he wants to play. Where he wants to take his music.

    And what can't be denied is the quality of his vision. No matter the production values or execution, this stuff is good. There is a lot lying behind the notes.

    Which is what I can say for both discs. I don't know where Eric Salazar is going to take Emptyhead, but I like where he's been.


    Fever
    Too Bad But True
    (Digital Hardcore)

    Pretty cool fuzzy dub beats and some dancehall vocals on top. Lots manipulation. Yer generally intriguing little electronic project.

    Goofy, too, much of the time. Kind of a strange dichotomy, the heavy, throbbing beats and the loony bits, but not unlike Spectre, it works just fine. With stuff like this, you gotta laugh and enjoy yerself.

    And dig into the true creativity of the project, the beat work. Yeah, it's electronic, but with lots of skips and hesitation. Unexpectedly so at times. Like the best hip-hop productions.

    Really, this is just an strange offshoot of hip-hop. Somewhere in that world, anyway. Though most folks would crinkle their noses at me if I said that while this was playing. No matter. Quality always wills out.


    Grief Society
    How We Used to Live
    (self-released)

    These guys are in England? That must be what the little something I can't identify might be. See, this is basic American roots rock, with that, um, piece extra. Soul? Yeah, but even more than that. A little bit different sensibility. The odd heavy guitar? Strange rhythms in the vocals? All that.

    And it works, too. The slightly different pop music tradition across the way has left a vaguely off inflection upon these tunes. Something new in a form I've been hearing a bit too much of lately.

    Definitely cool songs. Easygoing, but with enough of an occasional bite to keep you on your toes. Some fine guitar work in there, stuff which works equally well in the slower and more uptempo pieces.

    A fine bit of work. I'm not entirely sure what sound Grief Society is aiming for (I still feel a bit knocked off), but I like what I hear here. Good stuff.


    Inspecter 7
    Banished to Bogeyland
    (Radical)

    Trying somewhat to bridge the gap between two-tone and traditional ska, Inpecter 7 absolutely doesn't get poppy or punky. This is ska, pure and simple. Reasonably energetic, reasonably inventive.

    Loose, in the way all good ska bands are. Inspecter 7 is just standing up and playing. Yeah, there's a lot more two-tone than Studio One, to be sure, but it works. And there's no theft involved.

    Nice production sound, too, with just enough echo. Ska can't be recorded clean; it loses its heart. The stuff is good and grimy here.

    Basic, but still creative enough to get me moving. A good disc for the fan who likes to mainline, but accessible enough for neophytes as well.


    j
    Hypnotronic Groovaphonic
    (self-released)

    The lines between the rap music of the late 80s and today's electronic movement have always been blurred. The former has influenced the latter in innumerable ways. Of late, I've been hearing more and more projects which celebrate this link. J goes more the way of Operation Beatbox, taking pieces of recent and more "classic" hip-hop and fusing them into electronic presentations.

    And he's not above digging into the disco and techno camps, when he feels like it. So what he ends up with is a music form which makes most people uncomfortable. In these days of musical divide, j insists on playing the polymath. Hey, I can dig.

    And in fact, I've never heard anyone able to so smoothly slip from one sound to another while retaining a personal touch. Getting into the second half of the disc (instrumentals), the common bonds are easier to hear, even if the music is more complex.

    I'm simply knocked out. J has vision, and he executes impeccably. This is one of those discs I can't put away. A feast for the music gourmet.


    Kaleidepy
    Snapcracklepop
    (demo)

    Comprised of members from various southwestern Florida bands (including Ben Glover from Guchlrug), Kaleidepy (you know hard it is to type that name?) runs along the lines I expected: Obtuse and weird.

    I'm not complaining, mind you. The sound is minimalist, and the songs are not complicated, either. Everything is stripped down and laid bare, waiting for the listener to use a little imagination.

    I was hoping for a bit more looniness in the songs; musical flights of fancy which left me breathless. This just kinda amused me. Which isn't bad. Still, kind of a comedown from Guchlrug. Not quite the same fire.

    For what it does, though, Kaleidepy does well. I do wish the sound was a bit sharper (this is extremely lo-fi, and when the main instruments are drum machines, keyboards and guitars, well, that's odd), but I'll take this and hope for better next time out.


    Kid Silver
    Dead City Sunbeams
    (Jetset)

    I can remember back in 1986 (87?) when that first World Party single, "Ship of Fools", hit the airwaves. It was one of the first dark visions of Beatles-y pop I'd heard. I know, the Brits kinda specialize in that, but that was my first induction.

    I get that same feeling listening to Kid Silver. Not in style, really, but just the slightly off-kilter (sometimes a bit more than slightly) take on pop. Drum machines, vaguely out-of-tune vocals and chords which don't quite change when I expect. I hear a hint of the Magnetic Fields, with a dash of the Carpenters. Now you might begin to understand where my unease is coming from.

    Oh, but this is utterly gorgeous stuff. The arrangements are astonishing, perfectly set up for maximum dramatic effect, all while keeping a darkly effervescent pop feel. One bite and I need ten more.

    Holy shit. That's how I felt when "Ship of Fools" lurched into the chorus for the first time. And that's what I've got going now. Some truly amazing, beautiful songs. Never what you expect, always what you need. Expect to be dazzled.


    Mankind Liberation Front
    Mankind Liberation Front
    (Sol 3)

    Somewhere between Devo and Kraftwerk, with all the accouterments of the new electronic movement (breakbeats, dub, etc.). Mankind Liberation Front sounds like warm German pop music. Warm for being German, that is.

    Though this was recorded in Hollywood. So I'm not going to take a guess as to where the folks behind MLF are from. Just noting the influences. The vocals are your standard techno rap, with a heavy emphasis on standard rhythms. Kinda droning, but in a pleasant way.

    Bouncy, in a way you might not expect. Easy to fall into, though how deep the hole is is up for question. I dig though, no matter.

    Enough unusual elements to lift MLF above the pack. Yeah, it'll work in the clubs, but that doesn't mean it's mindless.


    Metabolics
    The M-Virus
    (Wordsound)

    It's always true: Innovative music recalls the past as much as the future. Metabolics take bits and pieces of the last 20 years of hip-hop, assembling them into a mesmerizing whole.

    Somewhere between Cypress Hill and Run-DMC, with the lean production of some of today's top artists. The focus is on the rhymes, though the music satisfies just as well.

    Gotta like rap that says something, and Metabolics spin ideas as well as they spin grooves. Stories? Some, but more of these songs espouse a philosophy of surviving. Period. Have a good time while you're around, but take care of business. Sounds good to me.

    Serious and silly, with some wonderfully constructed beats. Some old, some new, I've used the word some a lot. A cool melange of styles and ideas. An album which simply continues to groove on and on.


    Phut
    Hot Carl 7"
    (Nihilist)

    The first single I've need a wrench to open (those things that look like bolts on the sleeve? They're bolts). Simply more from the St. Louis scene which spawned Dazzling Killmen, etc. (Tim Garrigan is nice enough to provide that link for me).

    Two instrumental pieces which I think ought to be played at 33 (though they sound pretty cool at 45 as well). There's no note; you can go figure on yer own. Drums, guitar, bass. That's it. Noodlings of the highest order, as would be expected.

    I'm quite glad I wrenched open the cover. Well, anything which has a promo sticker reading "Ex-Dazzling Killmen Ex-You Fantastic! Ex-Pound of Flesh Exciting!" really does demand some attention. Or a lot, if you're like me.

    That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Nothing more to say, except you better start digging in your tool chest.


    Radio Free America
    Killjulie
    (31337 Records)

    Plenty of the techno-industrial complex, but with a serious new wave jones (as evidenced by a Duran Duran cover). For someone like me, who grew up on music that sounded vaguely like this, the sound is utterly addictive.

    That's not to say all is peaches and cream. The guitars are a bit sloppy (or maybe just overfuzzed) at times. And more than a few of the songs could use some editing (pop songs don't need to be 10 minutes long, y'know?). But really, I'm quibbling here over style points. In general, I'm a big fan.

    Particularly when the band gets in a groove, the guitars cutting through the beats, and that oh-so-familiar vocal style sending me back 15 years. Really, a thoroughly modern take on a classic sound. Exactly how an influence is supposed to be honored.

    There's a lot here to love, particularly for us rapidly-aging Gen Xers (remember, that's being born from 1964-1972, so we're not confused here). Immersion only provides more pleasure.


    Rubydiver
    Superremote
    (Turftone)

    I recently was a judge in the IDN 1998 contest. This was my favorite album of the bunch (I had previously reviewed a couple of the other good ones, and the Radio Free America is another good one). Pulling the sword from the Family Stone, Rubydiver kicks out funky, soulful jams. And like the Sly man, each groove undulates into another. Bass into snare into bass drum into cymbal into guitar into bass...

    This is how you do it. Topping off the fine music is Miss Paula Helekunuhi Duke, whose vocals are easily some of the finest I've heard. Period. She can go from slinky to brick in two seconds, and you'd swear she never changed. The trippy, highly stylized lyrics fit right into the concept. The total package.

    The songs just roll off like candy. I mean, these folks have figured out how to make the funk really funky. They made sure there was plenty of soul to go along with the syncopated snare. If it was as easy as it sounds here, there wouldn't be so many dreadful funk bands.

    Rubydiver is a gem. This is one of the few bands I would really like to see live. I have to see the spectacle. A truly energizing album.


    Osei Tutu
    Awakening
    (Tinder)

    Taking some of the bounce of township jive and running it through a wide variety of filters, Osei Tutu has crafted a sort of music which is part African, part European and part American. Just another piece of the polyglot.

    Very pop, no matter what the groovy percussion might be doing. There are moments when the drum licks, the choir-like backing vocals and the guitar come together to forge a really wonderful sound (try on the tile track), but as often, the influences are watered down so much as to really lose their flavor.

    Then the songs are more stale Europop. Now, this isn't the case with most of the disc, but it's enough to bug me. I know, some folks like that sort of thing, but I really don't. I wish Tutu's music bounded more than shuffled. That's all.

    Often enchanting, there are still too many moments here which don't really work for me. Too bland? That's harsh, and not really accurate, either. Just a bit too much rounding of the edges, I guess. It happens.


    Various Artists
    Departure
    (Wright Music Group)

    Eight bands, two songs each. Most of the bands are from Connecticut, but a couple are from New York and one is from all the way south in Virginia Beach. Fairly commercial fare. One band says (I hope as a joke) that it is the best thing to come out of Connecticut since Michael Bolton.

    There is a nice variety of styles, though like I said, all of this sounds like it is aimed at a fairly mainstream audience. Most of the songs were at least listenable, though nothing really knocked me out. Some solid work.

    For those who like to hear what the great unwashed unsigned are doing. There is a second collection (reviewed below). And if you want to be on a future set, write the label. Simple as that.


    Various Artists
    Departure Gate 2
    (Wright Music Group)

    Six more relatively unknown bands, two tracks each. Some of the bands here have sent me discs for review, with Green & Checkers' rating as the best of the bunch. Lunar Plexus is also interesting, and the rest are decent representations of different sorts of music, though nothing spectacular.

    I like the concept behind these discs, even if the music isn't always inspiring. Unsigned bands need space to grow, and this is as good a place as any.

    Again, if you're a band looking for exposure, send your tapes in to the label (address in my label info section). Good luck.


    Various Artists
    The Moment of Truth--The Emo Diaries Chapter Three
    (Deep Elm)

    Perhaps the best continuing compilation around. First, because instead of being a hard-liner on the question of the emo sound, John at Deep Elm prefers instead to simply let the music determine its own course. Quality is the question, not blind obedience to some arbitrary rules.

    But choosing 14 songs from the multitudes submitted isn't easy. On each of these discs, the songs have been among the best representations of emo, whatever that might actually mean.

    There are a couple of bands here I've heard before (Sweep the Leg Johnny and Cross My Heart) and a couple I wish I had (Starmarket and the Saddest Girl Story). Well, all of the songs are great. Those two just made the biggest immediate impact.

    Crank and Deep Elm have taken a bi-coastal approach to propagating the emo sound, and both do it oh-so-well. This is just one more point in the east coast corner. A compilation to be snapped up with all due haste.


    Various Artists
    Musicians for Children
    (Pines Bridge Records)

    A benefit disc that evolved out of a benefit concert for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. The hospital, of course, is located in Memphis, but the show was at South Street Seaport at the bottom of Manhattan.

    The bands: The Flying Penguins, The Hush, Green & Checkers, Valve 18, Live Perl and Diesel Powered Poet. Three songs each, all scattered throughout the disc in no particular order.

    The six bands are as eclectic as those found on the Departure series (Pines Bridge is associated with Wright Music Group), and strangely, the recording sound really varies from band to band as well. At times, the sound is sharp and dead-on, other times there are tons of crackles and instruments fading in and out. The joy of live, I guess.

    Once again, a trove for those who like to dig around and hear new stuff. And it's hard to ignore the good cause, as well. Despite the blemishes, this is a worthwhile set.


    Various Artists
    What Is Eternal?
    (Middle Pillar)

    A collection of stuff which (I think) is available through Middle Pillar distribution. There's artists from Suffering Clown, Sacrum Torch and others. Oh, yeah, this is the really kinky side of dark music. You know, the stuff without the dance beats that scares the shit out of little kids.

    And, really, an incredibly solid set. Jarboe, 4th Sign of the Apocalypse, Dream into Dust, Loretta's Doll and more. And lest my description frightens you off with the young ones, let me assure you that there is a wide variety of intensely dark music to be heard here.

    Gorgeous and mind-crushing all at once. I recently got an e-mail from a reader who wanted some guidance on following the dark music path. This is a great disc to use as a compass. Contact info for each artist (most of them have web sites), more than enough to get started.

    Quite well presented. A first-class compilation, indeed.


    Venerealectric
    Venerealectric
    (Nihilist)

    Dreadfully lo-fi electronic beats and loony lyrics and samples. Some of the material sounds dire, but I think the intent is to amuse more than scare. I mean, this is so goofy, I can hardly sit down.

    But it's cool like that. Not at all pretentious, but just light and loopy fare. A pleasant aperitif after a heavy day. Sure, there's lots of electronic disturbances bouncing about, but in a mostly benign fashion.

    Something to wrap a sodden mind around for refreshment. I really do wish I could come up with something to describe the music, but I mean, it's noise, beats, samples and the odd lyric. The sound fuzzed and dulled out to the extreme.

    And so attractive I can't tell you. Goofy can be good sometimes, you know.


    Bill Wyman & the Rhythm Kings
    Anyway the Wind Blows
    (Velvel-BMG)

    Wyman is the conductor of a large groups of friends (Paul Carrack, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton and Chris Rea are among the folks you probably would recognize) whipping through blues, r&b, jazz and back again through the rock and roll.

    Smoothly executed, almost too smoothly for my taste. The playing and singing is quite expressive, though, and it saves the day. The band swings lightly here on the disc, though I figure live shows might be a bit more animated.

    Which is my only real caveat here. Wyman and friends work and re-work a number of chestnuts, and Wyman's own songs fit in quite nicely. This is not rabble-rousing rock and roll, but it's still a nice trip through some great music. You gotta settle down, and as long as you don't settle for boring music, I'll say okay.

    Plenty of fun and not at all stuck up. This is just a celebration of music, and a fun one at that. Sedate? Sometimes. But a good time, nonetheless.


  • return to A&A home page