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Welcome to A&A. There are 15 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 #286 reviews June 2007
Bottom of the Hudson Fantastic Hawk (Absolutely Kosher) This reminded me enough of the Wrens (who have been nicely ensconced at AK for some time now) that I wanted to make sure it wasn't, in fact, some sort of side project or something. In short: No. But these guys do make stellar, wide-ranging pop music as well. As well as? Well, now, that would be close to blasphemy. Bottom of the Hudson is, in fact, somewhat more subdued than the Wrens (there's an R.E.M. influence here that the boys from New Jersey don't have), but the commitment to whatever means necessary is still in full effect. It's tricky throwing in everything and the kitchen sink. You always run the risk of extraneous parts. But not here. This stuff is tightly-crafted, but played with such verve that you wouldn't know. Don't try to guess where the next song is coming from. Just listen and stand entranced. It's the safest thing to do.
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 Cat-A-TacPast Lies and Former Lives (Needlepoint) If there were such a thing as rock-steady pop, this would be it. Cat-A-Tac rips off one tuneful, rhythmic midtempo popster after another. They're all different. And they're all pretty good. Reminds me a bit of that Canadian band Pluto, who put out a great album on Mint in 1995 and a so-so major label effort a year later. Some friends compared those folks to Everclear. I didn't hear it then, and I don't hear that comparison here. But I put that in there just for full disclosure. There's a nice buzz to the guitars and some fine work in the hooks. Vaguely atonal, but that hint of drone just makes these song that much more hypnotic. My head was bobbing from the first beat. And, yeah, that made all the difference. The sound isn't the most sophisticated in the world, but these folks have a knack for making the ordinary extraordinarily catchy. Pretty isn't the right word. Addictive might be.
 Gerald CollierHow Can There Be Another Day?: Demos and B-Sides (In Music We Trust) This stuff was recorded about ten years ago, around the time when Collier was recording his album for Revolution. Self-titled, that album still ranks as one of my all-time favorites. The wry and bitter lyrics are some of the most searing ever put to tape. Which is probably one reason why very few people picked up on it. Nonetheless, a cult of Collier (so to speak) has sprung up around his sporadic recordings (and even more sporadic distribution). With good reason. The man has a gift for expressing the darkest sides of the human condition. You can't hear his songs without getting a bit of a lift. After all, your life doesn't suck as much as his (or, at least, those of his characters). These songs are looser (in every way) than what appeared on Gerald Collier. Even the demos of songs that made the album are much more laid back. There's a bit more of his natural country (or, really, alt.country) bent here, and it works well. There's a bit more "fuckit" and a bit less gloom and doom. But the writing and singing is just as fierce. I'm a full-fledged member of the cult, so I'm the first to admit my words are somewhat tainted. But Jesus, if music this good can't sell, then humanity is truly doomed.
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 Driver of the YearWill Destroy You (Future Appletree) Eight tracks here...I'll call it a short album. Feels like an album, like a complete thought. But maybe I'm thinking too much and not enjoying the tremendous visceral appeal of this album. Operating in hazy sneer throughout most of the album, these boys snarl their way to some vaguely-defined (but acutely-felt) pleasure center of my brain. There's plenty of noise, but what really works here is the sly bits of rhythm that kick each song down the road. Not exactly slinky, but really, really dirty. And plenty of attitude to back that up. This is some solid rock and roll, old school style. Well, early 90s rock and roll, anyway. That sort of post-modern, distortion-laden hipster groove kinda school, anyway. If that makes sense to you. So, yes, Girls Against Boys, Love and Rockets (80s, I know...sue me), that kinda thing. Updated for the oughts, of course, but still that sort of grind. And it's a lovely grind at that. Slides down oh so easy. Contact:
 The Great
DepressionPreaching to the Fire (Fire) Lush. Almost subversively apocalyptic. Each song here sounds like it ought to be the last one sung before the Earth is consumed by a nova or Vogons or whatever. You kinda wish they were around a hundred years ago so these songs could have been sung on the Titanic. Which puts these folks in the fine company of other Brit bands like Black Box Recorder. Though I'd say the Great Depression has taken quite a bit of instruction at the feet of such post-rock masters as Tortoise and Calexico. The cool grooves are jazzy more than funky, though not in any sort of cloying way. Indeed, this entire album could have been an exercise in drivel. I've heard countless folks ply this vein and end up sounding merely bored. These folks keep up the intensity even as they spin their gauzy lines. Mood music, but not for relaxing. Rather, these songs should almost immediately put your brain into an attentive alpha state. From there you can solve all the problems of the world...or simply get lost. You make the call.
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 Kurt HagardornTen Singles (Bladen County Records) Ten singles...as opposed to ten songs that would constitute a coherent album. I've been digitizing my old 7"s (it'll probably take me another three or four months to finish), and I've been struck by how many bands--even not particularly good ones--seem to work harder for the singles. I don't know if Hagardorn worked harder, but the singles ethic does seem to be in force here. The sound is modern Americana--loosely-played roots stuff with organ and other appropriate accouterments. Hagardorn, who has played with Thad Cockrell and Caitlin Cary (among others), tends to sing more about the internal than the external, which makes some of these songs a bit difficult to enter. Though the music is decidedly inviting. These songs were recorded over six years, so I don't know if these really are ten singles. I don't think they were, but it is a cool title, and it does set up the structure of the album. Deceptively simple songs that impress in a backward sorta way. Recognition comes at the end of the songs, not the start. So stick with this one and you'll be most pleased.
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Hunger AnthemHunger Anthem (self-released) The token obsessive one-man pop spectacular of this issue. Brendan J. Vaganek (and his engineer) may not a master of the knobs (I haven't heard a case of "demo sound" like this in ages), but he makes up for any sonic deficiencies with impossibly boundless energy. These crunchy rockers are kinda like caramel corn. Once you pop a kernel in your mouth, there's just no way to put down the bowl. Vaganek writes some really catchy, if minimalist songs. And then he plays the hell out of them. That "demo sound" leaves the tracks tinny and a bit too distorted. It's vaguely annoying, but at least it fits the style alright. Turning this into a lush mushbowl would have been much worse. I have a feeling the average listener will either love or hate this immediately. There's really no middle ground for stuff like this. I latched on from the first hint of noise. Try it for yourself.
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Jena CampaignA Panda for Amanda (Nobody's Favorite) Moody pop songs placed in a rootsy setting, with lyrics that pretty much range all over the map of human experience. Not so much mindblowing as free-thinking, these songs do wander though places that most folks generally try to avoid. I like that. I also like that, when necessary, these folks put away the nice acoustic instruments and make a hell of a lot of noise. That's a good impulse, and it shows that these folks are as inventive with their music as their lyrics. Probably too serious for most people (I'm a big Eleventh Dream Day fan, too, and I still hear about that from some of my friends), the Jena Campaign has a knack for analysis that is most impressive. Yes, the songs are logical, but they sound great, too. There's no way to get bored listening to this. Around every corner is a new idea waiting to assault you. That's a very good thing in my book.
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 Casey
NeillBrooklyn Bridge (In Music We Trust) Neill's last effort was a striking minimalist (yet modern) folk album. He sang songs about the down and out, and he painted pictures of the west and south (though not exclusively). As the title of this album indicates, he's gone in a slightly different direction. The songs are still about the down and out, but the focus is more global. There is a lot more electric guitar, but even more striking is the extended instrumentation (not to mention background vocals). Working with an expanded sound palette works well for Neill. He doesn't overreach or try to make his songs more important. He just allows for a bit more shading in the corners. It may soften the sound, but not his approach. Memory Against Forgetting has become one of my favorite albums. My sons love it, too. I'm thinking they're gonna like this one a lot, too. Neill is really coming into his own, and that's most exciting to hear.
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 Retina.itSemeion (Hefty) A collection of odds and ends from this Italian outfit. Most of the tracks here appeared on earlier EPs or digital-only albums, so this is their first "wide" availability. The sound is strikingly minimalist electronic fare, with an emphasis on playful rhythms. Austere, to be sure, but somehow still warm to the ear. If there's a way for this kinda stuff to sound jaunty, this does. If you're still trying to place the sound, think somewhere between 70s krautronica (Like that? I'm not sure I do) and late 80s techno. Never overbearing...hell, this stuff is so unassuming that it could serve as background music. Of course, if you didn't actually listen to it, you'd be missing everything. And there is a lot to hear. Given the genesis of the tracks, this isn't really a particularly cohesive album. But the songs within are as intriguing as anything you'll hear this year.
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SchoonerHold on Too Tight (54-40 or Fight) I was hooked with the first song (second track), "Carrboro," and its first lines: "You moved to Carrboro so you could find/Places to go that were not so unkind." You kinda have to know the whole Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area for that to make sense, but I thought it was funny. The opener for the next one, though, convinced me this is a great album: "You said tonight/That God was on our side/So I prayed for you to die." Damn. Wish I'd thought of that one. Schooner reminds me a lot of Magnetic Fields, but with more of an eclectic indie rock musical base. Indeed, the songs themselves cycle through most of rock history ("Pray for You to Die" is something of a 50s ballad, and it works really well that way), even as the lyrics wax post-modern (and blackly witty) all the way. You gotta listen to this one, but as the examples I threw in should tell you, it's worth the effort. Albums this cutting come along seldom. Albums that make you smile while eviscerating the human race are absolutely devastating.
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John P. StrohmEveryday Life (Superphonic) This is Strohm's first solo album in eight years. He hasn't strayed too far from what made his first two records so much fun to hear. Chunky guitar chords, plenty of twang in the lead and a stellar sense for the dramatic. Americana on steroids, I guess. With some killer hooks. But then, folks who know where Strohm has been (Blake Babies, Lemonheads, etc.) already know that. This is wonderfully-produced album. Major label quality, but without the bombast and overblown edges that would come with such an enterprise. There's plenty of power straight down the middle, and a slight tapering away on the extremes. Just makes you want to pour a glass of bourbon and set a while. The songs themselves aren't exactly easygoing, but they sure put a mind at ease. This is the kinda stuff that made some people think the indie rock revolution would last. Strohm took all the best from his past and has made a thoroughly enjoyable modern record. One of those that just screams "repeat."
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 TerreneThe Indifferent Universe (Wax Orchard) Fans of the New Pornographers and the Shins will recognize some similarities. For that matter, fans of Straightjacket Fits will cock their heads when they hear this. Dreamy, excessive pop is all the rage these days, and it seems I get fifty of these albums every month. Few do it as well as Terrene, however. It's one thing to promise dramatics and then peter out at the hooks--I can't tell you how many people seem to have been sleeping in English class, or they would have a clue as how to sustain suspense through a song (or story). Terrene's writing builds from both the music and lyrics. Sometimes unevenly, which actually makes the tension that much more intense. Phil Ek produced, which is either a stamp of approval or simply proof that some folks are working too hard. I can't speak to the latter, but this stuff should impress anyone who hears it. I wish Ek and the band tried a little harder to craft a more distinct Terrene sound, but that's a quibble. The music is more than inspiring. So many bands like this simply create an unholy mess. Terrene manages the chaos and brings each song to its proper conclusion. These boys were paying attention when their teacher was discussing dramatic tension. Good for them.
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TigerWe Moved Like Ghosts (Deep Elm) And on the other side of obsessive pop music...Track a Tiger. These folks are more from the Brian Jonestown Massacre school, steeping themselves in a variety of pop forms--but always returning to the 60s. Maybe that Fender Rhodes has a little something to do with it. The 60s by way of Stereolab, though. Track a Tiger crafts its songs immaculately, and often enough it simply gets weird. In that laid-back, "we're not really trying to be too cool" sorta way. These folks are master of flow. The shimmery production helps a lot. These songs rarely get bogged down musically, but when that possibility looms, there's just enough reverb to keep the song going. It's a technique rather than a cheap trick--these songs ride the edge, and you need to keep them in check now and again. Reading back over this, you might think I'm disparaging these folks. On the contrary. The best music rides the edge of disaster. It just stays on the high side. Track a Tiger keeps both wheels on the ground, if only barely. Fine thrills.
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The Unseen GuestOut There (Tuition) Recorded in India, mixed and mastered in Ireland and finished up in Hamburg. That kinda gets you ready for this sound. To my ear, this is traditional pop construction combined with traditional Indian melodies--in the music, mostly--and proffered up as jaunty acoustic rockers. It's not at all showy or pretentious, just vaguely otherworldly. The sound is full, but not overly lush. All of the instruments, from acoustic guitar to veena, come through nicely. Declan Murray and Amith Narayan have a wonderful touch on their harmonies, and the songs themselves sound seamless and complete. This isn't "western music with Indian influence" or some other such thing. It's music, with musical influence. The pieces may seem disparate, but Unseen Guest makes them all fit together as if that were the most natural thing in the world. You know, maybe it is.
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Also recommended:
American Catastrophe Excerpts from the Broken Bone Choir
(Oxblood)
Capital Moment of Silence EP (self-released)
Cobretti Violation Guaranteed (Wondertaker)
Evolve Happy Hour in the Gene Pool (self-released)
1888 Honey, I'd Kill... (Clay Garden)
Enders Room Hotel Alba (Tuition)
The Hanslick Rebellion The Deli of Life EP (Eschatone)
Bobby Hebb That's All I Wanna Know (Tuition)
The Johnbenders The Johnbenders EP (self-released)
Steuart Leibig/Minim Sulfur (pfMENTUM)
Limbs Stages (self-released)
The Measure [SA] Historical Fiction (Team Science)
Mochipet Girls (heart) Breakcore (Daly City)
Ohn Revolutionary Revolution (Ill Dough)
Andrew Pask/Jonathan Besser Griffith Park (pfMENTUM)
Patient Patient Professionals and Convicts (self-released)
Tenderhooks Vidalia (Rock Snob)
The Ugly Beats Take a Stand with the Ugly Beats (Get Hip)
Vulture Whale Vulture Whale (self-released)
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