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Welcome to A&A. There are 12 full 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 #281 reviews December 2006
 The American PlagueGod Bless the American Plague (Long Live Crime) Some boys from Knoxville who process much the same material as Urge Overkill did nearly 20 years ago...music chock full of riffs, attitude and, most importantly, loudness. Unlike UO, though, these guys really don't let up off the pedal. And the production has a nice cheesy sheen to it. Fits the material, so I like it. This is music for action, not thinking. Blood pumping, fist shaking, penetration kinda music. No missteps here. Just rock hard riff 'n' roll laid over a blistering rhythm section. Uncomplicated, in other words. Sometimes it's good to just sit back and let the music take control. The American Plague will seep into your veins in no time.
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 ArgoAttack of the Firebots (Fish the Cat) It's all math. Sometimes it's more electronic, sometimes more navel-gazing. Sometimes it's just out there. It's always (I guess) Argo. I like the more electronic songs. They're a lot more fun, and they point out a connection between new wave and indie rock that isn't always obvious. Plus, y'know, I'm a sucker for keyboards done well. Meaning used as an instrument and not a means to obfuscation. In addition, the songs with stronger keyboard parts simply sound better. They lend an edge to the sound that's missing on the more standard "rock" songs. They also infuse these often wayward pieces with a bit of personality. Fun and interesting. Argo likes to travel in many directions, and most of them are well worth the trip. Contact:
 The HanksYour New Attraction (Cobra Music) It's been a while since I've gotten some first-class melodic emo. The sound that was played to death a few years back still yields the occasional sprightly disc. And actually, this disc is a lot more anthemic than light on its feet. But the hooks are sweet and the power chords are like butter. The Hanks aren't reinventing the wheel, but they've found one slick prototype. The production is shiny, but not metallic. There's an indie feel here, even though its more than apparent these boys want to move so much farther down the road. The sound is a nice frame for this picture of a band on the move. Of course, this isn't exactly the most commercial sound these days. Okay by me. I just call good music when I hear it and let the industrialists fight over profits. Don't ask for the moon and this one will surprise nicely.
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 JRKJRK (Wide Hive) The usual polygenre effort from the Wide Hive crew. JRK plays happily in the fields of blues, rock, jazz, acid jazz, hip hop, bossa nova and whatever else happens to slither down the street. With Greg(ory) Howe's hands on the knobs, you know the result is going to sound exceptional. Indeed. This is very much a studio-created project (five of the six "band" members are credited as vocalists only, and the sixth apparently plays trumpet), and so there's no need to speculate on live performances. In fact, the spectacular nature of music rules out any such worries. Who cares if this could ever be replicated live as long as it's on this disc? The mix is busy, as ideas flow freely from one to the other just about every second. Beats comes and go, sly sample cuts bounce around like popcorn and every other element simply spins in time. The one striking thing about this album is how immediately engaging it is. Most Wide Hive releases are a step or two away from the mainstream. There's no reason the average music lover wouldn't pick this one up and shriek with instant pleasure. Drop the needle anywhere--this vein is a monster!
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Calvin KeysVertical Clearance (Wide Hive) Calvin Keys plays guitar, and he invites an astonishingly long list of friends to stop by and help out. Gregory Howe produces (this is a Wide Hive release, of course), and the resulting sound is as vibrant as any jazz guitar album I've ever heard. And as might be expected with such a wide variety of guests, the songs themselves don't stick to any one sound. There are plenty of echoes of early fusion (Phil Ranelin's trombone sounds some welcome notes), but these pieces are a lot busier than yer average fusion. I can hear plenty of nods to the likes of Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock and the gamut of 60s jazz, but again, this is more modern (that's cemented by Headnodic's contributions). No, in the end this is simply a good jazz album, one that defies further categorization. The sound is warm and inviting, and Keys's expressive and generous playing always leaves a good vibe. Not happy jazz by any means, though. There are serious (and seriously good) ideas at work here. One of those albums I enjoyed from start to finish. Now I know what it feels like to lounge in a smoking jacket.
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The Life and TimesThe Magician EP (Stiff Slack) Stiff Slack is a Japanese label, so I don't know how available this one will be. Then again, if I'm getting it other folks in the U.S. ought to be able to as well. In any case, the Life and Time bashes out five distortion-laden pieces here, and they're all pretty much transcendent. Loud, sprawling and surprisingly melodic, this stuff pricks up the ears immediately. Yes, it's a bit ponderous at times, and yes, the accumulation of ideas can at times seem pretentious. But all that is just fine if the songs themselves justify the majestic sweep. And boy, do they. Guitar inspired, guitar written (I assume) and certainly guitar driven, these songs are proof that folks simply have not kissed Les Paul's ass nearly enough. The Life and Times plays rock and roll at its most ambitious, and they do it awfully well.
Blake MillerTogether with Cats (Exit Stencil) There are eccentric solo projects, and then there's this. Blake Miller seems to want to play just about every type of music that's been even vaguely popular in the last century or so, and even more astonishingly, he does it pretty well. That description is something of an exaggeration. The mode here is pop, though it gets awfully wiggy much of the time. The opening track, "Sinners," is as baleful a rural blues wail as you could want to find. The songs that follow take a minimalist approach to everything from shimmer pop to, well, stuff even I couldn't quite identify. The key to this sort of obsessive endeavor is to stay focused. It sounds to me like Miller recorded this himself, dubbing his own vocals and whatever extra noises he deemed necessary. The sound, then, is increasingly spooky or creepy, depending on your feeling toward this sort of thing. I felt both, and I liked that. The obvious touchstones are Daniel Johnston or Jad Fair or Simon Joyner or any of the other obsessive minimalists of the last couple decades or so. Miller does seem to want to be a bit more mainstream than those, and he's also got better chops, but in the end, this project is for those who appreciate the unappreciated genius. For the record, Blake Miller is my kinda guy.
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 Outrageous CherryStay Happy (Rainbow Quartz) T. Rex without the savage genius of Bolan. Or perhaps Big Star without the drugs. I dunno. You make the call. This is one of those albums that is astoundingly derivative, but of a sound rather than any particular artist. The songs themselves seem to materialize out of the mists of time. Not only would this have been big in England in 1973 (or maybe 1974), it would have been hailed as the newest representation of the current trend. So yes, there are handclaps, shimmery guitars, loose and light harmonies and that certain backbeat that could only come from one moment in time. The production sound is a bit weak, actually. I'd have given this a bit more muscle in the mix--in some ways this is more Tyrannosaurus Rex, if you know what I mean. Ah, well, whatever. A very cheap pleasure, but one that hits too close to the bone for me to ignore it. I love this kinda stuff, and Outrageous Cherry does it quite well.
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 Andrea
PerryRivers of Stars (self-released) I liked the last thing Andrea Perry sent me, and I think I like this one even more. Perry distinguishes herself from the singer-songwriter horde in so many ways, I'm afraid I'd have to write ten reviews to get through them all. For starters, she's genuinely funny--in a non-jokey, wry way. She writes lyrics that are touching, but not cloying. She works hard to make her thoughts understood. And most importantly, she pays as much attention to the music as she does to her lyrics. Her melodies are wonderful, sometimes lissome and other times muscular. She takes care to give her songs full-formed arrangements and she isn't afraid of bringing in somewhat unusual instrumentation if it will make a song better. In other words, Andrea Perry knows what she's doing, and she does it damned well. Not unlike David Singer, Perry sings of love, loss and life. And in much the same way, she leaves listeners feeling fulfilled. Wonderful in every sense of the word.
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 PleasurecraftThis Is a Blackout (self-released) One of my (extremely) long-term projects is scanning the ol' music collection into my computer. By the time I'm done, I'll have to do it all over again to match up with whatever format is in vogue then. The reason I mentioned this is that I scanned in Pleasurecraft's Lost Patterns about an hour before I started this review. It's a meaningless fact, I know, but a fun coincidence anyway. So obviously I like Pleasurecraft's notion of electronic dance rock. This stuff is more Kraftwerk meets INXS than, say, KMFDM meets the Cure. The clinically-clean sound probably will put a few people off. I maintain, however, that it allows the band's stellar sense of melody to shine through. And that's all this is, really, melody laid over the most basic of rhythm tracks. As I noted earlier, plenty of folks would have been tempted to punch this stuff up in any number of ways. Pleasurecraft doesn't, and in so doing it has created a truly unique sound. I suppose it's fair to say these folks aren't really doing anything "new," per se. They're just making cool music that goes down easy on the brain. I'll ride these slinky melodies as far as my memory hole will let me.
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 The SlipEisenhower (Bar/None) More of that electronic math thing that seems to be cropping up more and more. Unlike the Argo reviewed above, these folks sound better when they're relying on the guitars. I don't know if it's a matter of confidence or writing (probably both), but the songs are much stronger when they're rocking out. The Slip tends to use orchestrations and electronics as a means to an end, which is something I usually applaud. For some reason, though, here it sounds like a cop out or perhaps an overreach. These songs don't need the extras--even the ubiquitous guitar noodling can be a bit much--they just need to be played. Which they are. Because the production is so sharp and pointed, I feel confident in making these pronouncements. I can hear everything (or so it seems), and so I can guess at what this might sound like if it was just a bit stripped down. And again, it's the overall strength of this album that makes it easier for me to voice these quibbles. I doubt many people would bother with my minor whines, preferring to simply revel in what's here. That's cool. Know what? I can do that, too.
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Triclops!Cafeteria Brutalia EP (Sickroom) A long time ago, I got a lot of stuff from Cargo Records and Touch and Go. A fair portion of that was master basher material, music that gives the ol' adrenaline a fine workout. Jesus Lizard, Rocket from the Crypt, Kepone, Olivelawn...lots of great stuff. This is right down that alley. The title is most apt, even if it "Brutalia" isn't exactly a word. These songs throb and flow, and three of the four are nicely long to boot. I wrenched my neck listening to this. Haven't done that in years. Feels great. Now I need a beer. Or two. Who said loud music is bad for you?
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Also recommended:
Ellen Cherry Years (self-released)
Dale Collins Songs for Lake City (self-released)
Aaron Comess Catskills Cry (self-released)
Cosmic Starfish Cosmic Starfish (self-released)
Denelian False:Positive EP (self-released)
Floater Stone by Stone (Elemental)
Chris Garver e4/e5 (Pilcrow)
Alexis Gideon Welcome Song (Sickroom)
Gregorio Howe y Compadres Salsa Blanco (Wide Hive)
Lo Moda Gospel Store Front (Creative Capitalism)
Mittens Fools on a Holiday (self-released)
Nippara Tokyo (Jabrec Art Music)
Pacific UV Pacific UV EP (Warm)
Ponytail Kamehameha (Creative Capitalism)
Shedding What God Doesn't Bless, You Won't Love; What You Won't Love,
the Child Won't Know (Hometapes)
The Summer Wardrobe The Summer Wardrobe (Rainbow Quartz) | |
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