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