Classical
Bad Religion
“We’re animals with golden rules/Who can’t be moved by rational views/Welcome to the new dark ages.” Iraq’s a mess, our civil liberties are eroding and Scooter Libby was basically pardoned. Leave it to six years of an oppressive Republican regime to light a fire under Bad Religion’s ass. Anyone who’s heard a Bad Religion song, much less an entire album, knows what to expect from New Maps of Hell: hyper-intelligent lyrics, dramatically gorgeous vocal harmonies and punk riffs that spawned legions of imitators who took more time explaining what their songs were about than actually playing them. But to criticize Bad Religion for not evolving over the years would be a futile exercise; one may as well complain that AC/DC has recorded the same album 18 times. While other bands would be accused of having run out of ideas, New Maps of Hell feels more like re-visiting a favorite book, if that book were Dude, Where’s My Country? Ironically, as solid as the formula tracks are, it’s when the band changes things up a bit that we find the standout cuts – notably the single “Honest Goodbye,” which uses a thundering mid-tempo verse to anchor a sugar-coated hook. Closing track “Fields of Mars” does the same thing using piano while fantasizing about a time when we can get off this rock, away from the Neanderthals running the show. But how fun woul these guys be if they were happy? If you’re not already a Bad Religion fan, you could pick a worse starting point than this. After all, it’s important for us Americans to familiarize ourselves with our most venerable institutions. VS
Aug 1st, 2007 by DJ Hostettler
Smashing Pumpkins
This might not be the Smashing Pumpkins you remember from seven years ago—or, as seems more likely, from around 1995, when leader Billy Corgan symbolized the meld of artistic and commercial ambitions of alternative-rock as it went mainstream. Back then, the Pumpkins were really his baby, and Zeitgeist discards any pretense of a “band:” the credits state, “JIMMY CHAMBERLIN: DRUMS/BILLY CORGAN: ALL THE REST.” Chamberlin, once as famous for his addictions as for his drumming, remains Corgan’s reliably virtuosic ace of controlled frenzy. And Corgan remains one of rock & roll’s most grandiloquent noisemakers, layering tracks of guitars atop each other and trying to sing through it all in a voice that makes him sound as though he’s releasing an inner child driven to desperation by the captivity. Zeitgeist finds the child trapped in America—perhaps the biggest, most elusive subject possible for any native. Corgan pursues it in ways both oblique (the fiercely buzzing “Doomsday Clock” ) and direct (the black-metallic “United States” ), although his lyrics (“apocalyptic screams/mean nothing to the dead” ) are as cryptic as ever. When Corgan gets more personal, the lyrics and music get less remote: “That’s the Way (My Love Is)” drifts into tenderness and “Pomp and Circumstances” revives the earnest, synthesized lushness of 1980s ballads. Yet Zeitgeist fails to capture America, or indeed anything resembling its own title. Instead, it offers a mélange of distant memories of what used to be the Smashing Pumpkins. VS
Aug 1st, 2007 by Jon Gilbertson
Jim Ford
Odds are you have never heard of Jim Ford. But Ford, as they say, is the man. Don’t take my word for it. Those who cite him as an influence or collaborator include Nick Lowe and Bobbie Gentry. It is a short list of musicians who qualify as Deluxe Cracker: white guys brimming with such soulfulness that their music transcends race and easy shorthand musical genres. The Band, Tony Joe White, Joe South, Delaney Bramlett and Eddie Hinton are a few of that exclusive club, and among them Ford’s recorded output remains the most meager. A single album, Harlan County, and a few 45s scattered among small record labels back in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s is all there is in Ford’s name. Leave it to German label Bear Family to revive the Gospel According to Jim Ford. The Sounds of Our Time compiles Harlan County with scattered singles and previously unreleased tracks. And the story the liner notes tell of tracking down Ford could be a movie for its twists and turns. Yet it is Ford’s music that draws the listener in. Reflecting on his hardscrabble upbringing in Kentucky where he trekked over to neighbor Loretta Lynn’s house to listen to the radio, to a stretch living rough in New Orleans where that city’s sound got under his skin, to ending up in Hollywood where he tried his hand at the music biz to largely deaf ears, The Sounds of Our Time takes the listener on an epic journey. The crossroads of country and R&B is Ford’s home turf. While some of the songs seem autobiographical (“Harlan County,” “Working My Way to L.A.” ), Ford also invests himself fully in tunes that point to a social conscience without ever dipping into the maudlin. Ford’s original “36 Inches High” – later covered by Nick Lowe – is here, but what we don’t get is equally intriguing. Lowe’s old group, Brinsley Schwarz, recorded Ford’s epic “I’ll Be Ahead If I Can Quit While I’m Behind” and Ford is also the uncredited author of Bobbie Gentry’s Southern-noir classic “Ode to Billie Joe.” Neither of these gems are included. But the liner notes allude to boxes of unreleased material by Ford at his trailer park home in rural northern California. Let’s hope for a second volume. VS
Aug 1st, 2007 by Blaine Schultz
August 2007
August 7th Peter Case Let us Now Praise Sleepy John Yep Roc Kat DeLuna 9 Lives Epic Drowning Pool Full Circle Eleven Seven Music Fuel Angels and Devils Epic June Make it Blur Victory Grace Potter and The Nocturnals This is Somewhere Hollywood The Pretty Things Balboa Island Zoho Music August 14th Peter Cincotti East of Angel Town Warner Collective Soul AfterwOrds El Music Group Junior Senior Hey Hey My My Yo Yo Rykodisc Mae Singularity Capitol Lori McKenna Unglamorous Warner Bros. Matt Nathanson Some Mad Hope Vanguard The Seldom Scene Scenechrnized Sugar Hill Linda Thompson Versatile Heart Rounder Turbonegro Retox Cooking Vinyl Paul van Dyk In Between Mute August 21st Adema Kill the Headlights Partnership/Immortal Architecture in Helsinki Because I Love It Columbia Peter Buffett Staring at the Sun BeSide Earlimart Mentor Tormentor Majordomo/Shout! Foreign Born On the Wing Now Dim Mak Idiot Pilot Wolves Reprise Minus the Bear Planet of Ice Suicide Squeeze The New Pornographers Challengers Matador Rilo Kiley Under the Blacklight Brute/Beaute/Warner Nikki Sixx The Heroin Diaries Eleven Seven Music August 28th Atreyu Lead Sails Paper Anchor Hollywood Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals Lifeline Virgin Kula Shaker StrangeFolk Sony Music Liars Liars Mute Lyle Lovett and His Large Band It’s Not Big It’s Large Lost Highway Meshell Ndegeocello The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams Decca Northern State Can I Keep This Pen? Ipecac
Aug 1st, 2007 by Erin Wolf
Kelly Willis
While an American Idol monopolizes the dial with a hit about mutilating a cheater’s automobile, Kelly Willis returns some integrity to crossover-country. This mother of four who took a five-year sabbatical since her last release to raise her children is proof that hip is possible without the need to be trashy or pseudo-political – a misconception common for her gender in the genre recently. More “gingham aprons and bad blood” than restraining order, each song as a slice of the Translated From Love pie is fully baked and plentifully spiced. The light, flaky “The More That I’m Around You” and “Sweet Surrender” are prime candidates for any romantic comedy soundtrack. “Too Much To Lose” brings a taste of Willis’s priorities to the plate: do not take love or life for granted. Lyrics cover everything expected – Texas towns, cheap thrills, head-over-heels affection. Unexpected is Willis’ offset of the nine originals (some co-written with her husband) with three surprising covers including Adam Green’s “Teddy Boys” and Iggy Pop’s “Success.” These tracks muddle up the album’s cohesiveness, but are amusing when heard in Willis’ made-for-country voice. Nevertheless, creating for the public is ideally the result of having something significant to say, and however sweet the melodies and able the supporting musicians, urgency is missing from this recipe. Much like the frustration shared in “Nobody Wants to Go to the Moon Anymore,” it’s a disposable, been-there-done-that world. Translated From Love has little material worth a double take, and as a whole pie, probably won’t do more than cool on the windowsill. VS
Jul 1st, 2007 by Amber Herzog
The Gourds
Here’s the setting: You’re outside on a warm summer day; there’s a nice breeze and some good conversation flowing and you have a tasty beverage in hand. You hear some music and decide to stroll under the tent to check it out. It ain’t earth-shifting, life-affirmation stuff, but it’s well-played and gets your fingers tapping – in all, pleasant. The same setting could be metaphorically applied to the new Gourds album, Noble Creatures. There’s nothing here that will change your world, but it is a great soundtrack by which to pass some time. Noble Creatures does add another dimension to the band’s considerable recorded history with “Promenade” and “Steeple Full of Swallows.” Both are ballads of particular interest, as they keep with The Gourds’ well-honed songcraft of hitting the mark intellectually and emotionally. The production has a very live “soundboard” feel, which unfortunately undermines the actual quality of the songs. In fact, it disables the disc from ever getting out of the tent, hopelessly miring Noble Creatures under the canvas of a much-narrowed band of appreciative listeners. Even so, artists should always be commended for stepping off the familiar path and creating something new…in that sense, this effort truly is noble. VS
Jul 1st, 2007 by Troy Butero
Crowded House
Fourteen years since their last album, 11 since their last show and yet it feels almost effortless the way Crowded House pick up where they left off. Admittedly, Time on Earth represents an incomplete reunion – original drummer Mark Hester died in 2005, and keyboardist Mark Hart wasn’t part of the initial lineup – but lead singer and songwriter Tim Finn papers the cracks. It’s not too remarkable that Finn remains a lively creative presence; after Crowded House broke up, he continued to write with his brother Neil, carried on a solo career and collaborated with artists like the Dixie Chicks. (That specific collaboration, “Silent House,” was on their album Taking the Long Way and shows up here as well.) You could say Time on Earth puts Finn back where he belongs, or at least where he’s most comfortable. From the opening track, the lucent and lovely “Nobody Wants To,” Finn and Crowded House don’t seem to have been away. In their absence, no one else really emerged to make mid-tempo pop-rock seem so simultaneously effortless and brilliant. And, at times, a little facile. With his smooth voice and acute ear for accessible melodies and smart lyrics, Finn is like a cousin to Paul McCartney, all prettiness and no edge. But the descending melancholy of “Pour Le Monde,” the sleek romantic hope of “Don’t Stop Now,” and the hushed glimmering of “A Sigh” cannot be denied. Time on Earth spends its own minutes well. VS
Jul 1st, 2007 by Jon Gilbertson
The limitless as limitation
Creativity has no limits. The freedom to express, within any given medium, is a liberating process and brothers John and David Jenson not only understand this process but are taking it a step further. What started as an idea in 2005, or rather a bouncing of ideas, later grew into what is now Soar Studios, an art-studio space that allows the freedom of expression to transcend across various mediums. Soar Studios encourages people from all walks of life to collaborate in the creative process while utilizing such diverse tools as screen-printing, digital media, sound, photography, illustration, carpentry – really anything that you can get your hands on. Their philosophy is kinetic, collective and maximizes freedom through exploring without limitation. With collaborations from such local studios as Lucky Star and Donebestdone, John and David’s idea for Soar is piloting the sky. So, ladies and gentleman, fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a hell of a ride. John and David were born in Edgerton, WI. After a few short years their father, Hugh, relocated the family to Eau Claire where he found work as an insurance agent. It was around 1976 when the family decided to move back to Central Wisconsin, first to Mukwonago then finally settling in Oconomowoc. Their mother, Kathleen, became the proprietor of a vintage clothing store and from the back-stock of all her threads was able to fashion purses and other garments to sell at local farmers markets. Undoubtedly, her creative endeavors were the first exposure the young brothers had to the creative mind. After graduating UW-Madison with a degree in industrial engineering, David improbably found work in New York as a proofreader/editor translating Russian text for scientific journals. Back home, brother John was freelancing as a designer and doing commercial art. The brothers kept in touch, bouncing creative ideas off each other that eventually hatched a plan. “Hey, why don’t we go into business together? We’re brothers,” John recollects asking David one day after a particularly lively exchange. So David moved back to Wisconsin and the two landed work for GMR Marketing, a local company that handles design work for such companies as Nintendo, MGD and Airwalk Shoes. “It was a team effort for GMR,” David says. “We collaborated on flyers and marketing tools for promotion.” Shortly after, the experience with GMR segued into graphic design work in the publications industry. However, disenchanted with commercial art and the various filters it goes through, the two brothers grew a craving for a broader form of artistic expression. So they branched off on their own and started the design team, Designaholix. Designaholix was really the fodder for what would later become Soar Studios. With the initial start up, Designaholix generated enough income through freelance projects to purchase new equipment and prepare for the launch of Soar Studios. The intended purpose was to allow a space for collective creativity to evolve where each step influences the next and opens doors to fresh artistic outlooks and experiences. The artistic […]
Jul 1st, 2007 by Blaine Schultz
Various Artists
By Nikki Butgereit Anchored In Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash is the musical counterpart to John Carter’s biography of his mother. Clearly, this album was a labor of love, not just for the grieving son, but for the artists and relatives who came together to celebrate Carter Cash’s musical legacy. The album opens with Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson’s duet of “If I Were a Carpenter.” The song evokes June’s relationship with Johnny Cash, and the contrast between the older and younger artists throughout reinforces the tone of the album – today’s country music principals honoring the music of the past. To that end, Brad Paisley sheds all traces of modern country on his cover of “Keep On The Sunny Side.” The plucky banjo and lilting vocals of The Peasall Sisters and Billy Bob Thornton’s husky spoken word on “Road to Kaintuck” form just the right juxtaposition to elicit memories of an old-time radio show. But the album’s standout track is Elvis Costello’s slowed-down version of “Ring of Fire,” which removes all of the gritty urgency of Johnny Cash’s version and turns the song back into a true ballad. The inclusion of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” reinforces the strong impact that June Carter Cash and her family had on folk and country music. The songs are classic, and the lyrics and melodies as quaint as they are strong, much like the woman herself. The Carter family’s footprint on the landscape of modern country is large and deep, and Anchored In Love is a fitting tribute to an influential voice. VS
Jun 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Black Strobe
By Ally Berndt Norwegian death metal. Gothic French electro. ‘80s electronic body music. Something totally different. Any or all of the above can be ways used to describe Black Strobe. Burn Your Own Church – “Brenn Di Ega Kjerke” in Norwegian – is Black Strobe’s latest album, and while all 11 tracks reflect the group’s Depeche Mode and ‘80s rock influences, most also represent a darker, trance-like mood. The sound is good, but probably best appreciated if you’re hopped up at a Euro rave. “Blood Shot Eyes” is a quirky song that’s mixed well and puts the synthesizer to great use, yet sounds oddly reminiscent of the Super Mario Brothers theme if set against Norwegian metal. Included on the album is a cover of Bo Diddly’s “I’m a Man.” It’s bluesy but more hyped up – a little bit out there, but enjoyable nonetheless. And if Rammstein put together an ‘80s house mix, I’m pretty sure it would sound very much like “Not What I Need,” with its deep half-spoken lyrics in Euro-metal drag. The last two tracks – “Last Club on Earth” and “Crave for Speed” – are by far the best, featuring not only the strongest vocals, but also some great piano work. It’s a welcome switch from synth and showcases Black Strobe’s low-key side. Burn Your Own Church is a decent album with a lot of great production work; the mixes are actually the best part. There could’ve been a little more guitar and a little less of the often over-powering keyboards and synthesizers, but overall Black Strobe has put together a well-rounded record that pulls elements from many styles of music and then lays them over acid-infused beats. Americans should definitely check it out, if only for the fact that it’s just not your everyday electro mix. VS
Jun 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
The Sea and Cake
Since their debut in 1993, Chicago’s The Sea and Cake have quietly grown into hometown favorites alongside Tortoise, creating pop that’s one part ambient, one part jazz, one part rock and all parts pure. This unique sound, anchored by guitarist Sam Prekop’s trademark wispy-as-clouds vocals, has evolved from notional indie pop into this consistently eclectic mixture since their first electronic dabblings on the 1997 album, The Fawn. Flash forward to the new millennium. 2003’s One Bedroom, which perfected jazzy indie-tronica, was adored by fans who were left to hang thereafter with a band hiatus. Thus, their newest, Everybody, is not only welcomed personally by fans who have longed to hold another Sea and Cake concoction in their hands, but also in general, because the band is showing their ability to grow without completely abandoning their sound circa 1997-2003. With Everybody, the band builds on past musical success by boomeranging back to their roots and catching some of the fundamental aspects that first garnered it attention. Perhaps this was possible due to the help of producer Brian Paulson (Slint, Wilco) who took the reins so the band could concentrate fully in the studio (drummer John McEntire previously did all the band’s production work). Outlining the songs with the organic elements of a true rock outfit such as fuzzed-out guitars ( “Crossing Line” ), clean beat-keeping drums ( “Middlenight” ), filling in the lines with the pretty-as-bells guitars of Prekop and Archer Prewitt and then mixing it up with subtle syncopation and glossing it over with Prekop’s melody-challenged but soothing voice, The Sea and Cake take us back to their beginning. McEntire and Erik Claridge (bass) still manage to add the signature noodling ( “Exact to Me, “Left On” ) that makes this band sound so much like…well… themselves. Everybody hits that gratifying sweet spot. It’s got enough ‘oomph’ not to wimp out yet retains the subtle jazzy elements that will make this album one of the most delicious slices of pop baked goods to satisfy fans in years. VS
Jun 1st, 2007 by Erin Wolf
Great Lakes Myth Society
“Girlfriends are leaving/new girls arrive/you open the circle/to be blinded by light.” This lyric from “Heydays,” the opening track to Compass Rose Bouquet, the sophomore offering from Michigan “northern rock” music “collective” Great Lakes Myth Society, perfectly summarizes the thesis being defended throughout – melancholy is meaningless unless it’s tempered by good spirits in the heart and in hand. When guitarist Timothy Monger sings “Uncertain the future/nostalgic the past/unable to recognize/moments that last,” there’s more sun in his voice than rain. That springtime disposition carries into all aspects, from production to songwriting. The tunes crackle with energy and spark, from the cavernous drums to the silvery trumpets on the psychedelic-via-”Crimson-and-Clover” tune “Raindrops and Roses.” The band isn’t afraid to explore the myriad folk influences available to their collective, either; “Queen of the Barley Fool” and “Debutante” incorporate Irish pub choruses without slipping into affectation. “Debutante” even throws indie-rock distortion into the guitars, giving the up-tempo jig some teeth. They accompany accordion-driven waltz “The Gales of 1838,” which closes the record with a slow, six-minute build that sways like the bow of a wind-blown pirate ship complete with refrains proclaiming that we’ll have “wine, wine, wine, more wine tonight.” This is Americana anyone can get behind. Great Lakes Myth Society takes the folk-infused sound with which we’ve all become intimately familiar and polish it with a pop sheen, producing earthy, heartfelt waltzes and jigs that manage to be introspective and fun at the same time. Pass the Jameson; who wouldn’t drink to that?
Jun 1st, 2007 by DJ Hostettler
