Welcome to A&A. There are 41 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 #197 reviews (3/27/2000)
Anthropile Take (self-released) Kind of a retro industrial sound. Bryan Tewell Hughes is the man behind Anthropile, and he's collected a large, um, pile of samples and assembled them over a crunchy pseudo-German engineered bunch of techno guitar riffage. It's a bit thin-sounding, but that is the style. I dunno. I really like this grand, almost operatic take on the industrial feel. Hughes has a lot to say, and he says it quite well. Plus, this is a gas to hear. Sure, you have to have your ears in the same space as me, but that's not a small group of folks. Hughes did a great job of splicing this project together. It sounds seamless. Alright, perhaps this isn't the most commercially-appealing sound. I don't think Hughes cares. He's put together a solid set of songs, stuff that really works. That's good enough for me.
Aurora Plastics Company Low Noise (self-released) Aurora Plastics Company operates in the realm of vibration. Well, hell, you say, so does every band. I mean, that's what sound waves are, right? Right. But anyway, this duo whips out some seriously wonderful improvisations. Mostly accomplished through the use of electronics or unusual electronic instruments (say, a theremin) or amplifiers. Etc. The pieces are long and rather unfocused. Just the sort of guide I prefer when traveling this direction. 'Cause, see, when Anne Heller of APC talks about vibration in the liners, it's not really about the physical mechanics of sound. It's about the psychic mechanics of the mind. What makes your mind vibrate. What makes you think in unexpected directions. That sorta thing. And, well, this is exactly the sort of disc that facilitates that kinda journey. Lots of strange byways to explore, lots of ideas you've never encountered before. Lots and lots, with no repeats. Pretty damned cool that way.
Brain Transplant/Panicsville split 7" (Nihilist) If you've read the reviews of these two acts in the archives, you know that there is nothing expected. Not one thing. I drop the needle on Panicsville or Brain Transplant and I have no idea what will come out. The Panicsville songs are fairly restrained, well-assembled collages of clicks and squeals. Nothing that will torch your speakers or anything, just some cool sounds. The Brain Transplant songs are a bit more melodic, but just as experimental. The notes say the pieces were performed on demo software, which is pretty impressive (I've messed with some of that stuff and I haven't come up with anything nearly this cool). Just a journey to the edges of electronic experimental music. The only expectation is a sense of wonder. This small slab comes through with that and more.
Calibos Calibos (Arlingtone) Vaguely loopy emo. In the modern style, which means there are a few melodic enhancers, particularly in the lead guitar. The pieces sound kinda light in the pocket at first, but there is an underlying depth. It's not in the vocals or lyrics, though. Those are fine, mind you, but not earthshattering. Nope, Calibos just gets cooking every once in a while. It's the band thing. Where the three pieces get together and simply transcend the basic emo trio sound. The disc sounds good, too. A dully sharp sound (how's that for a moronic oxymoron?) that blends the instruments just enough to create the illusion of a larger band. Part of that is also the interaction, of course. But the knob guy deserves a hand. What seemed slight at first really blossomed into something cool. Calibos just bounds. That's all. Bounding around and about. Like a sunny day in an isolated meadow.
Cash Audio Green Bullet (Touch and Go) Adding a full-time harmonica player and changing the name (something about a lawsuit from the Cash Money record label), the rechristened Cash Audio lurches back on the scene. The blues are still ragged, but David Passow's wailing on the harmonica lends a totally new direction to the chaos. I like that, myself. These guys are loose. Real damned loose. That's not to say they can't play; that would be a lie. But the focus is on making the music make sense, no matter how anarchic it might get. That's really the trick, see, to get off-track just enough to convey some emotion while still making music that's recognizable to the average folks. Cash Audio gets way off track (and nicely so), and doesn't quite get back. I figure that's okay by these guys. (Warning: Racial stereotyping ahead!) Most white guy blues bands are too focused on either power or technical prowess. Cash Audio certainly doesn't shy away from either, but the most attention is paid to the music itself. Yeah, here it's down and dirty (grimy, really), but hell, where else would you want the guys to be?
Cinnamon Vertigo (March Records) My wife got the first Cinnamon album at her newspaper. I thought about reviewing it, but I didn't like it. In fact, I thought it was one of the worst albums I've ever heard. So... I get this thing. But since I don't remember what I didn't like about that first album, I think I can be objective. Mostly. Here's what I can tell you: Cinnamon wants to be Stereolab. Real bad. But it's not. The faux-Bacharachian tunes (replete with strings and horns) aren't horrible, but they aren't particular interesting, either. The arrangements are nice, but not inspiring. Frieda Diesen's voice is okay as well, but while she does wispy alright, there's not much supporting that. Not the worst album I've ever heard. By a long shot. Perhaps I misjudged that first effort. But this isn't worthy of legions of cult fans, either. It's merely alright.
Clambake The Kouch Kronicles (self-released) Just some guys trying to do the whole 70s funk/r&b/roots rock thing. Dominated by a keyboard, which probably isn't the way to go. The songs themselves are fine, but generally undistinguished. Part of that is in the recording and/or mix, which pretty much left the guitar (or the bass) out in the cold on a few songs. It's strange; on the songs the guitar dominates the bass just drops out, while the keyboards are all over the place when the guitar take a break.. And while a piano sound worked real well on "Primitive Man," a song that also benefited from guitar presence, the keyboard sound seems kinda alien to the songs. The band also needs to find a spark in the studio, translate live success to tape. This is a bit too sterile for the sorta music Clambake is playing. I'd run a lot closer to the guitar and base the songs even more around that. And make sure you can hear the thing.
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