Rock
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
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
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
ADULT.
By Haven Langhout ADULT. is the real-life couple Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller and a variety of undisclosed electronic music gear. Anxiety Always is their second full-length EP, their first being 2001’s Resuscitation. Like its predecessor, Anxiety Always features more songs about alienation and anxiety, but this album has a more human touch to it. Perhaps it’s the addition of a bass guitar played by Adam Lee Miller. It’s not strictly computers and gear anymore. Or maybe it’s because Nicola Kuperus’ vocal style isn’t as deadpan and flat as in the past. She actually has an inflection when her voice isn’t being fed through some processor. In “Kick in the Shin” she sounds a bit wounded delivering the lines “kick in the shin, is that how you say I love you?” – a definite departure from her previously emotionless delivery on other ADULT. releases. ADULT. has a sense of humor. I’d like to think so with the lyrics on “Turn Your Back” where Kuperus taunts us “Could’ve been me, could’ve been you – neh neh neh, neh neh neh.” Or on the track “Shake Your Head” where Kuperus admonishes us to “ask your mother, the end of guessing games.” The stand-out track on this album is “Glue Your Eyelids Together”, a catchy tune with a nice dirty bass line and the chorus “glue your eyelids together!” There’s almost a manic punkish energy to it. I prefer Resuscitation because of its sparse, clinical quality, and it took me awhile to warm up to this album. Perhaps it’s because it gets a bit too “busy” in some tracks and Kuperus can sound shrill at times. But if you like this sort of music and keep in mind that ADULT. is being tongue in cheek, you’ll definitely enjoy this album, and it would make a fine addition to your collection.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
All Girl Summer Fun Band
By Greg Sampson For a time I thought it unfortunate for the girls of All Girl Summer Fun Band that I remembered their 2002 self-titled release mostly for its lukewarm reception by many critics. I remember hearing the album myself, and while I found their music catchy and even pleasant, my overall reaction could not be characterized as much more than, well, underwhelmed. It wasn’t long before I moved on to other bands who I thought were doing something more interesting and meaningful, whose music had more depth than the giggly, bubblegum punk that AGSFB were turning out. Remembering the arrogant conclusion I jumped to last year, AGSFB’s latest release, 2, really sounds like a straight-out ‘screw you’ to all the self-righteous critics who dismissed them as being too girly, too high-school, and their music too thin. In this album they’re still singing about the same crushes and make out sessions, and have even added some celebrity worship into the mix (get this: they wrote a song called – you know it – “Jason Lee.”). But in this album they sound surer of themselves, more like they know that yes, this is in fact the music they want to be making, and these are the things they want to be singing about. They don’t care what I, or any other critic for that matter, thinks. Good for them. The subtle bad attitude they exude seems to work for AGSFB on this album, and it makes 2 compelling and listenable. Only the truly heartless wouldn’t find a song like “Samantha Secret Agent” so catchy that it didn’t merit a second listening. By staying on the same road on which they started with their first album, they seem to have created a sense of progression with this release, which is a good thing. But now that they’ve shown they aren’t going to change for the critics, the big question is whether AGSFB will change for themselves. As we all know, the novelty of a band and the catchiness of its music is a fleeting thing, and audiences are notoriously fickle when that’s all there is to hang on to. So they will have to change, or they will disappear. The good news? All Girl Summer Fun Band is more than attitude, catchiness, and late-teens/early-twenties romanticism. Something might be happening in 2, just below the rigid adherence to their undergraduate ways. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some real growth in their music in the future.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Marc Broussard
By Brian Barney Marc Broussard first hit the stage at age five, joining his father, Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard to belt out “Johnnie B. Goode.” Fifteen years later, he has become one of the brightest young talents to ever cause a record company bidding war. His legacy goes back to his grandfather, Albert, and influences within his family (most of whom are musicians) include primo Motown and classic jazz fusion. His debut release, Momentary Setback, is an eight-song collection of introspective, soulful songs that belie his young years. Broussard is the male answer to Nora Jones. His music is where Otis Redding meets Leo Kottke in a style that, with its depth, and the nature of his over-the-top songwriting and vocal prowess, is hard to pigeonhole. The opening track, “The Wanderer,” sets the tone with rich vocal lines that flirt with pop sensibilities bordering on mainstream. A Stevie Wonder funkiness resides in “Blue Jeans”, and the closing number, “Jeremiah’s Prayer,” steals the show with a happy/sad melancholy. Throughout the disc, stunning musicianship shines with drummer Mike Birch’s mastery of dynamics, David Ransons’ fluid bass lines, perfect placement by Shawn Carter on piano, and the drenching Hammond B3 organ of David Egan. The only problem with the disc is that it’s too short. Hopefully, due recognition will take place, and a major deal will see to it that Broussard’s vision doesn’t fade.
May 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
