Rock
At Swim Two Birds
By Michael Seidel “I stare of your face and I don’t know the first word to say.” With uncertainty — that’s how At Swim Two Birds’ record Quigley’s Point starts off. And that initial utterance sets the mood for the entire record. At Swim Two Birds is Roger Quigley, the vocal half of English cult figures The Montolfier Brothers. In 1998, Quigley — letting his surname stand in place of a proper “band” name — released, via France’s Acetone label, a record of semi-muffled brilliance called 1969 Till God Knows When. After that, he fell silent, presumably to focus on writing, recording and touring with The Montgolfier Brothers. Now Quigley’s back, with a new moniker nabbed from a classic of Irish literature, picking up more or less where he left off. But it’s hard to ignore the fact that the structure and fidelity of his songs have been greatly influenced and improved by his affiliation with The Montgolfier Brothers. The songs, like TMB songs, are stark and unflinchingly honest. Instrumental parts repeat almost into hypnosis, but before they teeter over the brink, they’re lurched back into cerebral groundedness by the lyrics. Oh God, the lyrics! “All I want / all I need is the sun that warms the air I breathe / I am missing you / I’ll get over you.” Whenever anything is so simple, realistic and aching, poetry is can’t help but ooze from it. Despite all the uncertainty that continually pokes the surface of the songs, Quigley’s Point can’t help but convey a mood of optimism because, after all, if the glass is half empty, the only reasonable thing to do is fill it up again.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Buzzcocks
By Jeremy Saperstein Most often, career resumptions are bad. They’re vents to quicken the rise of “I can’t believe I used to like these guys” bile in the back of your throat, full of lackluster performances and tired songwriting as a bunch of can’t-grow-up dudes hit the state fair circuit in search of one more payday. Yeah, that’s usually the case, all right. But someone forgot to explain that to punk-rock legends The Buzzcocks. The only thing lacking here is the youthful bravado/ignorance present on records like Singles Going Steady (released — get ready — nigh unto three decades ago), an absence that is more than made up with increased volume, crunchier chops and smoother production. Songwriting is, as ever, split between original members Pete Shelley’s erudite wordsmithery and Steve Diggle’s anthems. Original ‘Cock Howard Devoto (most recently seen in 24 Hour Party People even assists Shelley with a song or two. It’s hopeful that most of Pearl Jam’s fan base will realize the debt they owe to the Buzzcocks when they open for Seattle’s other grunge band at Alpine Valley on June 21st, but if you don’t feel like finding out, the ‘Cocks play a free gig as headliners in Madison on the 18th, and at Chicago’s Metro on the 20th.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Evan Dando
By Jeremy Saperstein Me, I always thought the idea of Evan Dando was a great one — a pretty-boy pop singer with the right influences, impeccable taste in covers and a band that friends were always telling me I should check out. I did, and aside from some truly great moments (the ramshackle video for the Lemonheads’ cover of “Mrs. Robinson” where Evan is wearing a Gram Parsons t-shirt, or the heart-rending cover of “Frank Mills”), his career left me feeling like I had feasted on a mouthful of cotton candy. Now, after a long stretch in which he seemed bent on following the same self-destructive path so many other talents — lesser and greater — had blazed before him, he releases a full-on solo album (although I had never thought of the latter-day Lemonheads releases as anything but) which shows him to be all that and a bag of chips. The solo setting seems to give Dando room to be a little laid back and rough’n’ready, lightly experimenting with alternative instrumentation & sounds throughout, most notably on the syncopated “Waking Up”. Simple pop gems abound as well: “Hard Drive” (co-written with Australian pop wunderkind Ben Lee) and “In The Grass All Wine Colored,” which sounds lyrically as if it was a first line from Walt Whitman’s Leaves Of Grass. All in all, this CD has been in my car player for most of the first nice days this summer — and it’s been a perfect soundtrack for them.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Molly Johnson
By Brian Barney Those familiar with Molly Johnson’s past remember her as the founder of the art-rock band Alta Moda from the early 80’s and as the lead singer for The Infidels in the early 90’s. Following the footsteps of fate has led her to what is most likely her true calling as one of the premier jazz singers of today. Her latest release, Another Day, is a collection of sultry, smoky jazz interpretations where her Billie Holiday-meets-Janis Joplin voice shines through with a captivating style that gives fresh meaning to vocalizing. Stand out tracks "Sleep in Late" and "He’s Got My Heart" display a sweet eroticism that could serve as ambience to any occasion; while the title track picks things up with enough punch to keep things more than interesting. While the record’s flow veers between lush and layered to almost jumpy, the continuity remains true where jazz, blues and soul enjoy a happy union. Johnson’s accomplishments extend beyond the world of music — her Kubaya Foundation’s efforts have raised over one million dollars to date for the care of people living with HIV and AIDS. Her move from alternative rock to jazz has been a successful one, and this latest release is proof positive of a career that should be long and prosperous.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Whirlwind Heat
By Brian Barney The first big thing to come from Jack White’s (of The White Stripes) new label is a hot little art-rock trio called Whirlwind Heat. At first glance, Do Rabbits Wonder? looks pretentious with mod Warholesque art work and songs entitled by color: "Black," "Tan," "White," etc. After a spin or two though, the infectious Devo-meets-Iggy Pop approach shows an irresistible flavor that takes raw intensity and style well into the area of accessibility. The beats have a straight-ahead, nearly house feel with vocals that, while sometimes brash and a little bit scary, are interesting and definitely in the pocket. The overall mood and motivating element, however, is David Swansons’ Moog synth. Undulating, innovative and overbearing, the highly recognizable sound of the 70s dinosaur of keyboards is brought back to life with a subtle aggression giving the disc a flowing theme from beginning to end. Although Jack White’s influence may not be that discernable musically, it is comforting to know that he seems intent on searching out talent that is truly alternative.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Lucinda Williams
By John Hughes The brilliant Ms. Williams, 50 year old alt-country chanteuse, angst goddess, poet and daredevil, has added nine great new songs to her legacy as one of the most underrated songwriters in a generation. World Without Tears was recorded live, and the results are incandescent. Never before has Lucinda sounded so raw and exposed. Her singing is ringed with fire. Never before has her band sounded so hot and free. For nine songs, she rocks, rages, mourns the world’s pains, declares her love, flirts, yearns, and tells the hidden truth. It’s exhilarating, gorgeous music ‘n message. Of course, there are more than nine songs on this album. There are thirteen, and the four lesser ones are ballast, which weighs the ship down a little. Her anger at the preachers she was subjected to during her Nashville years, expressed in “Atonement,” and her grief over life here, emoted in “American Dream,” are not served by songs worthy of Lucinda Williams. But even in these, the musicianship behind her and the intelligent lyrics she’s written manage to limit the damage. Much is being made of the concept that with this record she’s leaving her Americana roots behind. It’s true, you can hear more of Keith Richards, Paul Westerberg and Patti Smith between the grooves than you can of Loretta Lynn. But Lucinda Williams has, for several years, been a musician beyond category, playing what moves her at the time, with all the greats imbedded in her soul. She’ll never not be alt-country. She’s just that and a whole lot more. This is a marvelous CD.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Fatal Flying Guiloteens
By Jeremy Saperstein I’ve discovered the lost link between Captain Beefheart and Raw Power-era Iggy. They tell me these boys put on hellaciously fierce live shows, and I don’t doubt that, based on this record. Listening to it on headphones in a roomful of innocent fellow humans, I’m tempted to either go into a catatonic state or a frothing seizure. Maybe both. Not for everyone.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
MC Honky
By Jeremy Saperstein "Sonnet No. 3 (Like A Duck)" has an irrepressible beat that combines physical fitness records, orchestral stabs and Shakespeare, while "Soft Velvety ‘Fer" seamlessly melds a very disturbing series of telephone answering machine messages with a backing track that recalls the Beatles’ "Flying"; while "3 Turntables & 2 Microphones" could be a rejoinder to Beck written and performed by his own bad self.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
White Stripes
By Jeremy Saperstein A college chum and I used to earnestly discuss how Guns’N’Roses were most certainly the future of rock. Paul Westerberg of the Replacements once said something like “Most bands stand outside and throw stones at the house; I think we have a chance to throw ‘em out from the inside”. I remember being blissfully happy, then slightly addled, then feeling angry and usurped when advance copies of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” played on the stereo in every record store I visited, back in that day. Does the new White Stripes record sound like any of these artists? Is that why I’m bringing them up? Well, no. The feeling of new discovery is really the thing here. Odds are you’re at least passing familiar with the Stripes’ schtick by now: boy & girl/guitar & drums duo, playing the hell out of some well-written and unique originals, not straying too far from roots in basements and garages all over the world. Elephant is all of that, for sure, but more. Indeed, it’s the record on which the Stripes begin delivering on all of the potential & hype they’ve been saddled with. “There’s No Home For You Here” with it’s fist-pumping 60s vocals and taut playing (including electric piano filigrees!) is my early favorite, but “Seven Nation Army” (the first single) and “Well It’s True That We Love One Another” (which features guest vocals by Holly Golightly) are climbing in my view as well. This ‘un is a good ‘un, to paraphrase Otis Rush.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Xerophonics
By Jeremy Saperstein There’s a definite warm solace to be found in the fluorescent hell of work. Once you’ve arrived for another eight-hour sentence, the rhythm of the workplace begins to nudge you like a tide, making action and reaction easy as you work through the day. Coffee at eight and ten, lunch at noon, candy bar at three. Without the routine, most of us would go insane. Xerophonics, a new ‘genre’ assembled entirely from the sounds of office appliances by one Dr. Stefan Helmreich is simultaneously the next great idea of industrial music and its denouement. Largely built on the repetitious patterns of noise that high-speed copiers emit (and named things like “Toshiba 2060” and “Xerox 5425 (Bookmark 35)”) Copying Machine Music is that great rarity in popular culture – a catchy prank – and exactly what you might expect to find on Negativland’s Seeland imprint. The unending rhythms of the copiers relax and capture me, taking me back to the countless copier rooms and desks I’ve occupied as a worker drone in America. From now on, I hope to hear more of the music that always plays around me.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Various Artists
By Jeremy Saperstein Man, there’s no reason I should like this as much as I do. OK, sure, it’s a tribute album not to a band, but to the (relatively) obscure 70s film Two-Lane Blacktop, and that’s a movie I have a strange place in my heart for. That conceit alone makes the work of Filippo Salvadori in compiling this disc something special. But the music, unlike tribute albums, which have an unfortunate lack of width and breadth to them evokes the odd, existential feeling of the film wonderfully – from the opening banjo stomp of Sandy Bull’s “Little Maggie” to the closing drum-machine and fuzz-guitar freakout of Roy Montgomery’s “2LB”. The music surprisingly takes you on a little journey, with bits of the monotony and featurelessness of a long cross-country drive (Sonic Youth’s “Loop Cat”, which evokes distant memories of Kraftwerk’s masterwork “Autobahn”) and brief bright spots that arrive to break things up (Cat Power’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, itself an odd echo of the movie’s female lead Laurie Bird off-handedly singing the song). There are plenty of reasons to own this: current faves Wilco, Mark Eitzel, Calexico and Giant Sand all contribute songs, with the trophy going to Will Oldham, who offers a song (with Alan Licht) that combines all of James Taylor’s movie dialogue with an interpolation of Evita’s “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” in an ear-friendly nugget.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Various Artists
By Jeremy Saperstein It’s perverse to review this: there’s no identification on it (beyond label name), no titles or artists, and it’s rumored to have been removed from distribution for copyright reasons. It’s nigh impossible to find a copy (I got mine on the Internet at Turntable Lab – turntablelab.com/index1.html). Perverse, yes. So why review it? Aside from displaying how cool I am to own a copy, I want to share the news about this release for the handful of others who are sure to enjoy a digital copy of some truly funky old 45s. The CD is a nonstop death-ride of white-knuckle funk, through-and-through, played with the sort of garage-rock enthusiasm found in collectors-only ‘Pebbles’LPs. If you ever wondered if a funk revolution was being spawned by those initial groundbreaking releases by George Clinton, this is the proof that all around, the youth were getting restless and working to emulate Uncle George – and even top him. If all of that sounds tasty to you, I recommend this with no reservation. If you can’t find a copy, drop me a line and we can arrange a listening party with some malt liquor and cheese-whiz refreshments.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
