Other Music New Release Update
June 6, 2001


In This Week's Update:

Summer Hymns
Pernice Brothers
"Rebore Volume 0 " remixed by EYE
Nam June Paik reissue
Starship Beer
Zoot Woman
Orange Twin Fieldwork Vol. 1
Bablicon
Radiohead
Slag Boom Van Loon remixed
William Parker & Hamid Drake
Rufus Wainwright
Freddy Fresh mix
William Burroughs reissue
Between or Beyond the Iron Curtain comp.
Bengt Berger & Don Cherry reissue
Pleasure Forever
Tindersticks
Mark Eitzel
Isan
Bonny Billy
"G Killers and Closers: Crue-L Classic Remixes"
Lush reissue
Badmarsh & Shri

Featured New Releases:

SUMMER HYMNS "A Celebratory Arm Gesture" (Misra) CD $12.99
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Sometimes the better a pop record gets the harder it is to
describe: especially those that work their melodies into you
gently and casually (rather than bludgeoning you with the Big
Hook). Summer Hymns' second is such a record. It's got a beauty
that is in no way masked by the ethereal -- it's rather earthly, in
fact, as if constructed by notes and chords dropped or abandoned
over the years by Galaxie 500, the Lilys, Neutral Milk Hotel,
Calexico. Their approach is catholic; seemingly incongruous
sounds and riffs work their way into the songs, like a Philip Glass
or Terry Riley instrumental loop, lovely swaths of pedal steel,
fierce organ. Other songs might start as pop and erupt into a
puddle of chaos, yet not posturingly, more as if yielding to a
strong entropic force. I can't recommend this highly enough --
to  everyone, to anyone who's still a fan of any shred of
indie-pop. [RE]
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PERNICE BROTHERS "The World Won't End" (Ashmont) CD $13.99
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With this album, the second by the Pernice Brothers, it is quite
clear that Joe Pernice is a great American singer-songwriter, who
belongs in a pantheon inhabited by Neil Young, Gene Clark,
Phoebe Snow, and Hank Williams. The new record is undoubtedly
the poppiest Pernice-related project to date and Thom Monahan's
expert production is brighter than one might expect. But the pop
song form works in perfect counterpoint to Pernice's recurrent
motifs of heartbreak, self-medication, and worlds in which lives
aren't even half lived. The characters in his narrative songwriting
inhabit a current that runs close too the fallen world. On 'Working
Girls (Sunlight Shines),' the vocal harmonies are offset by lyrics
such as "'I was here' she scribbles in a restroom proves she was
alive". The deceptively titled 'Bryte Side,' is about how the bright
side leaves the protagonist blinded, and Pernice sings "I hope I
never love anybody, the way you never really tried". It would
seem that themes of complete lack of redemption and hope and
the occasional sad, trembling, vindictive lyric are not going to win
a popularity contest in a country that loves happy endings. But
Pernice Brothers bring those themes into concert with restrained,
gorgeous pop instrumentation and production, making "The World
Won't End" an epochal record in U.S. pop history. [TH]
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BOREDOMS "Rebore Vol. 0: Vision Re-Creation New Sound by Eye" (Warner, Japan) CD $31.99
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The Rebore series folds in on itself with Yamataka himself at the
controls. While the other volumes of the "Rebore" series cover
the group's 10+ year history, Eye tackles only their last
album, "Vision Creation New Sun", cutting and mashing it into
pieces that coalesce into long tribal jams, digitally vibrating
and crashing all the while. With trebly, bell-like sounds running
through, a large chunk of "Rebore 0" sounds like the top octaves
of a computer-controlled gamelan amok, supplemented by
electronic bird and cricket choruses and forcefully underlined all
the way through by stumbling drum patterns. A rare moment of
calm occurs with (seemingly) acoustic guitar samples arranged
delicately, while yowling and mewling plays in the background.
Altogether an absolutely brilliant take, with large portions of
"Vision Creation New Sun" still recognizable, but placed in an
entirely different setting. A self-portrait in a shattered mirror.
[RE]
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NAM JUNE PAIK "Works: 1958-1979" (Sub Rosa) CD $14.99
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Nam June Paik has done more pioneering work in more media
than would seem possible for one person, most famous for his
prescient video and installation work, which runs the spectrum
from altered television sets to spectacular global simulcasts.
Though a polymath, his work as a composer began in Germany
where he studied under Stockhausen before rejecting what he
saw as his teacher's imperialistic/exclusionary attitudes towards
music. Falling in with the artists that would form the Fluxus
movement, Paik performed violent, absurdist compositions. His
treatment of the piano in these recordings is analogous to his
reworking of the television in his visual work. Paik seems to
regard both as iconic objects, representing cultural capital. Paik
totally deconstructs the piano and rebuilds it in a foreign image.
Always one to revel in contradictions, Paik evinces his affection for
classical piano literature, incorporating fragments of Chopin and
Stravinsky into either his own playing or directly into the tape
pieces. The first track on the CD has a spacious, tone-float quality,
resembling early David Behrmann compositions and work by later
exponents such as Microstoria. There is never the threat of gravity
taking over here, as Paik can be heard cracking up at point in the
background. His playful and childlike spirit is in evidence as he
brutally cuts and collides fragments of classical music, screaming,
city sounds and radio, coming on like Yamantaka Eye's grandfather
the whole time. This CD is like a series of ghost transmissions,
broadcast from a lost era, with only a hint of the danger and
primal and cultural affront the original experience contained. In
the liner notes, Cage recalls a performance where Paik threw
himself upon the innards of a destroyed piano, slashed up Cage's
shirt with scissors and poured shampoo on David Tudor's head --
with an unexpected punchline you'll have to read for yourself! The
packaging of the CD includes illustrations by Paik, text by sound
artist and Paik assistant Stephen Vitiello and photographs by
Fluxus documentarian Peter Moore. This CD is the only document
available of Paik's music, and it's a totally essential piece in
the puzzle that is the American Avant-Garde. [DHi]
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STARSHIP BEER "Nut Music: As Free As The Squirrels" (Atavistic Unheard Music Series) CD $13.99
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Okay. I've listened to this CD every day for the past week
(sometimes twice!) each time telling myself I'm gonna write a
review for our update. Frankly, I'm stymied. This 79-minute silver
behemoth contains their sole LP as originally released in 1979,
plus an additional albums worth of material recorded between
1976 and 1988. And, yeah, I already love this disc like crazy, but
on every listen I hear a different band. Jagged improvs, long-
winded jams, blowhard stream-of-consciousness ranting a la the
Nihilist Spasm Band. Was this merely a trio of upstate New York
loons who bravely strode the aesthetic bridge between Captain
Beefheart and Sun City Girls? Elsewhere, I hear stabs at Sun Ra,
hints of The Residents, a dash of The Gizmos and very possibly a
pinch (sorry!) of Anal Magic & The Reverend Dwight Frizzell. Did
d. boon (Minutemen) own a copy of the original? And, good God,
what's up with that CB radio song ('10-4 Big Buddy')? I've since
discovered that indeed Starship Beer (est. 1972) included well-
known artist Pat O'Brien (whose work graces the reissue), and
music journalist Kevin Whitehead, the jazz authority on NPR's
"Fresh Air". And upon reading Whitehead's liner notes, the CB
song was initially intended for a nationwide Radio Shack song
contest in 1976! Sick, twisted stuff. Highest recommendation! [JG]
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ZOOT WOMAN "Living in a Magazine" (Wall of Sound, UK) CD $17.99
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Brothers Johnny and Adam Blake joined Stuart Price (aka Jacques
Lu Cont/Les Rythmes Digitales) to become Zoot Woman, whose
single 'It's Automatic' has been bouncing around on various
compilations for a year or so. And building 'buzz' in the process:
"Living in a Magazine" seems to come along at the top of the
curl of the wave of '80s nostalgia, fueled by those too young
to remember anything but what they heard on the kindergarten
bus radio: which definitely would have included new wave
balladeers Howard Jones and Rick Astley. Yet Zoot Woman are
pure pop, offset by synths galore but not resorting to cheap and
easy retro touches like vocoder or samples of the era. Instead,
they roll out in earnest white soul suits, backing up to the
production style of solo Lionel Ritchie or the electronic phase
of Hall and Oates. Airbrushed to the nines, the trio's music
diverges from Les Rythmes by kicking out the house and techno
in favor of pop song after pop song dolled up in themes like
mediated romance, living moment to moment, and the plethora
of romantic possibilities travel offers. Includes a cover of
Kraftwerk's 'The Model' infused with emotion. Like a mainstream
extension of Ladytron, only all masculinity in make-up. Hard to
forget, too. [RE]
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ORANGE TWIN FIELD WORK "Vol. 1" (Orange Twin) CD $12.99
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Are you anxiously awaiting the next Neutral Milk Hotel album?
"Orange Twin Fieldwork Vol. 1" might be the closest thing for
a ong time. Last summer Jeff Mangum (NMH principal songwriter)
traveled to Bulgaria, with a field recorder in hand, and
documented hours of music from the Koprivshtitsa festival.
Mangum then edited this music into one collage-like track,
creating a gorgeous wash of primitive sound that fits neatly
between "Ho! Roady Music from Vietnam", the "Secret Music of
Mankind" series and Sun City Girls ethno-folk explorations.
Touching on an array of Bulgarian folk sounds, the selections
chosen here covers include almost vaudevillian "pop", skewed
choral works, frantic percussion and much more. This may actually
sound nothing like Neutral Milk Hotel, but in the same way that
Mangum's songs explore a surreal world, these recordings
transplant the listener to another place, namely the far-off
mountains of the Bulgarian countryside. [PW]
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BABLICON "A Flat Inside a Fog; A Cat that was a Dog" (Misra) CD  $12.99
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For their third album, "A Flat; A Cat" is a highly ambitious record
without the stamp of influence, one that supercedes genre.
Which is sort of the action that Tortoise tried to pull off a
number of years ago (that became the inception of 'post rock'),
only Bablicon move in an entirely different direction with many of
the same tools. Where Tortoise seemed a group obsessed with
textures (and cramming a lot of them into an album), Bablicon's
newest sheds any reliance on 'sound' for a fix on 'placement'
instead. And they make a record like a movie -- with moods and
changes, it draws you through time. It starts with shades of
Broadway melodies (displayed on piano and clarinet), the closest
comparison I can possibly make would be some of Robert Wyatt's
interestingly stilted vocal jazz (hung on an irregular frame).
Just when you get used to this, they edge out of that into a
rougher form of jazz (a la improvisation, only I have the feeling
this is composed), coming back to a more familiar coherence for
the last few tracks. The band that succeeds here in this form is
primarily a three-piece, yet one that plays around 20 instruments.
Somehow Bablicon, the closest I can even come to translating
their sound for you, are a fusion of Canterbury folk and ESP-style
jazz, with a careful eye on notes and rhythms throughout,
influenced by Weill, Cowell, Sondheim, even. Still a band to
watch and even more a band to listen to! [RE]
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RADIOHEAD "Amnesiac" (Capitol) CD $13.99
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I am starting to understand that part of being a Radiohead fan is
being lost with them and within them. Their recent songs are less
catchy, more reticent and simply exist -- a tilted musical realm in
which fans can lose themselves, trusting their ears to a more and
more detached group of English men. "Amnesiac", as its title
suggests, is floating in its own in musical space, such an amalgam
of influences and new-found techniques as to be reminiscent of
nothing but itself. Recorded at the same time as "Kid A," these 11
tracks are even more formless, more gnarled in modernity, and
even more chicane. There is little in the way of songform, and
little in the way of direction. In plainer terms, if "Kid A" didn't
befuddle Brit-pop fans, "Amnesiac" surely will. In its armory of
confusion they have: the warped, backmask of 'Like Spinning
Plates,' the distorted, drop-edit beats of 'Pulk/Pull Revolving
Doors,' and the death-knell chimes of 'Morning Bell/Amnesiac'
wherein Yorke sings "Where'd you park the car?" 'Knives Out'
is a stand-out as such, because it sounds like a damn-good
Radiohead song. But, as Thom Yorke ominously sings in the
refrain, "I want you to know / It's not comin' back." An album
such as this is different from anything they've done, and without
"Kid A," it would be dangerously alone, completely and stubbornly
bizarre. Honestly, it's hard to form a complete review of an album
that is so enchanted and outlandish. It's enough to say that
Radiohead has come through with another confounding sound-
scape that thousands will gladly be dunked into once more. Quite
unlike an amnesiac, they have done it again. [DD]
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SLAG BOOM VAN LOON "So Soon" (Planet Mu, UK) CD $15.99
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In 1998, two unlikely allies, Mike Paradinas (aka Mu-Ziq) and
Jochem Paap (aka Speedy J) recorded a self-titled record under
the name Slag Boom Van Loon. This phrase was not exactly
loaded with meaning, but the album contained some highly
unorthodox analog sounds, from the sitar-heavy 'Light of India'
to the slippery, 3/4 tempo of 'Broccoli'. Three years later,
Paradinas unearthed the source material and invited a range
of electronic underground celebrities to re-work the album from
top to bottom. And the group has done his bidding. Many "IDM"
operatives will visit this CD merely for the fact that it contains two
remixes by Boards of Canada. The CD opens with the BOC mix of
"Poppy Seed," which sees the aforementioned Warp artists
applying their pastoral effects: slow, bubbling basslines and
the bucolic sounds of the British countryside. Planet Mu artist
Leafcutter John does an expert job hacking up the originally
peaceful 'Broccoli'. In fact, he mimics the sound of a dozen chefs
chopping vegetables and feeding them into the Cuisinart. Kieran
Hebden, better known as Four Tet (whose new album is due this
week) applies his crisp, live drumming sounds to the otherwise
calm 'Sutedja,' which becomes more dynamic and melodic in his
able hands. The most unsettling, and satisfying piece, here is
Coil's retooling of the nine-minute 'Fallen Angels Entering
Pandemonium.' A tiny, repeating chord sequence which anchors
the track to the earth's surface while Coil scrape sheets of
aluminum over the surface of the mix and drive high frequency
settings to the level of a dog whistle. A circular bassline begins
to emerge halfway through, but it's contained by Coil's nearly
human shrieks. This is quite simply a piece of music you
cannot ignore. [TH]
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WILLIAM PARKER & HAMID DRAKE "Piercing the Veil" (Aum Fidelity) CD  $13.99
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William Parker and Hamid Drake pretty much redefine the notion
of a powerhouse free jazz rhythm section. They lay down a
funk-fueled and abstract dialogue in even the most 'out' groups,
contributing bass and drums in ensembles with monster players
like Fred Anderson and Peter Brotzmann. Here, on "Piercing the
Veil", Parker and Drake go it as a duo, exploring the outer
reaches of what a drummer and bassist can do together. At
times the two are just downright funky, hitting interstellar
grooves that spill out in a joyous explosion of powerful sound.
They also dig into a more primitive musical language here,
when Parker picks up the dumbek or shakuhachi, their beautiful
reed/percussion duets cover a similar territory to the legendary
"MU" sessions recorded by Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell.
Displaying a full spectrum of sound, "Piercing the Veil" is a
magical recording of two of the most soulful and spiritual
voices in avant-garde jazz. This album is nothing short of
essential. [PW]
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RUFUS WAINWRIGHT "Poses" (Dreamworks) CD $17.99
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An artificial aphrodisiac, Rufus Wainwright's second effort,
"Poses," reveals desires and guilty pleasures in decadent
layers of operatic pop, updated cabaret and a fusion of timeless
balladry and Broadway pageantry. As on his debut, Wainwright
recruited numerous musicians, including Alex Gifford (of
Propellerheads) who lends over the top, pulsating beats to
'Tower of Learning.' Wainwright ruminates on NYC, L.A., Paris,
the 'ruined minds' of the ill-fated jet set, (his self included)
while horns sneak in and out amidst scattered electronic effects.
Many of the tracks are suspended within a (at times thunderous)
storm of multitracked vocals and strings, with Wainwright's piano
at the driving center. His more-nasal-than-velvet croon
insistently swells and echoes as it graduates from clever pop
vocals and plaintive wailing to soaring hypnotic and gothic (as on
the epic 'Evil Angel', a mini opera in itself). 'A Greek Song', a
whimsical journey that evokes Nilsson circa "The Point" is
gorgeously orchestrated (Is that a sarangi??). Included is an
acoustic sing-along version of dad Loudon Wainwright's 'One
Man Guy', rendered like a hymn with harmonies and even cricket
chirps! Though at times very stylized and and period-driven,
Rufus conveys a realness that defies pretension. His penchant
for dramatic flair and wicked sense of humor are infectious.
This album is a metropolitan carousel ride. Delightful! [NL]
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[V/A] "Freddy Fresh Presents Abstract Funk Theory" (Obsessive) CD/LP $16.99/$18.99
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As series go, the UK-based "Abstract Funk Theory" is the music
king, with past compilers of Colin Dale and Ross Allen. The fifth
volume, culled by the mysteriously overlooked Freddy Fresh (a
man whose work ranks nearly up there w/ that of Fatboy Slim),
may be the most interesting of the bunch. Mr. Fresh (nee Frederick
Schmidt), has been a techno maven for years, running multiple
labels and pressing killer 12"s from his home in, of all places,
Minneapolis. Culled from his two-decade collection, Fresh burrows
into the wax mounds and comes up with some wonders. He then
lines them up into a continuous, albeit eclectic, mix of ambient
beats, techno grooves and compu-funk. Via the wacky liner
notes, the listener is taken from the Tangerine Dream-meets-
Boards-Of-Canada sequenced dream-beats of Cherry Bomb's
'Matrix,' a C.O.D. track from a 1983 mixtape (!), to Cleveland's
own Dan Curtin. From there, we get very early Detroit, the
funk-tech fusion of Russ Gabriel and a supremely obscure track
from Canada's Wicked Lester, combining Latin horns, calming
acoustic guitar and leftfield lounge. Whoa. Finally, Mr. Fresh
treats us to a rare Cat Stevens disco track: no vox, but a clear
melody in large-scale electrosynth. Freddy Fresh only supports
my love for these compilations, where tastemakers and headz
give us a glimpse at the collections scattered throughout their
basements and their minds. [DD]
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WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS "Break Through In Grey Room"(Sub Rosa) CD  $14.99
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As the Sub Rosa label continues to reissue their classic material,
we are treated to records such as this one, a Burroughs record
which demonstrates once and for all that this visionary cannot
simply be lumped in with a movement that came to be known as
"The Beats". Certainly Ginsberg, Kerouac, Bukowski, and others
had elective affinities, as Goethe would have put it. But the piece
'K-9 Was in Combat with the Alien Mind-Screens' makes clear that
Burroughs was closer to Jean Genet, with whom he spent time,
than his American colleagues. His life consisted of a working out
of an aesthetics of degradation and vice which flew in the face of
U.S. morality then and now. As a poet, he was magnificent, and
there are other records that capture his live, spoken word
performances. This is not one of them. On 'Origin and Theory of
the Tape Cut-Ups,' he delineates his reason and method for hand
tape cutting which he likens to cutting paper and re-arranging it,
the way Burroughs often wrote books and poems. There is also
a strong science fiction motif running through "Break Through in
Grey Room," from the opening track through the dislocated
'Present Time Exercises'. As if this were not enough to recommend
this album, there is a brief but haunting track, 'Joujouka,' culled
from a tape made by Burroughs at a Joujouka Festival in Morocco
with Ornette Coleman in 1973. Would that this segment be
longer. This is an essential record. [TH]
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[V/A] "Between or Beyond the Iron Curtain" (Crippled Dick, Germany) CD/LP $14.99/$16.99
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Informally the third volume in the "Between or Beyond" series of
funky jazz of the '70s, this time venturing east to Poland,
Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Which was not a terribly fertile
time nor place for this type of music, yet they've sifted and
sifted for a few nuggets. The only artist I imagine you may be
familiar with here so far would be the Novi Singers, who have by
now been honorably reissued, but most other musicians here
might need a little introduction, even the ones who worked with
Krzysztof Komeda. Though most of these seem quite influenced
by Miles Davis, they diffused their work a number of years later
(most of these are 1976-78) and brought in samba, big-band
jazz along with the more expected sinuous flute solos, wordless
vocals, and electric piano riffs. Stars? The rock fusion of Mahagon,
the blatting afro horns with soundtrack funk of Big Band Katovice,
bouncy Herbie Hancockish funk of the Namyslowski Quartet, space
jazz (a la a slick Sun Ra) of the Grupa Organowa. Plus many more.
For restrictive political systems that ultimately sent many
innovators into exile, somehow a number remained, occasionally
even thriving on the state-run Supraphon and Polskie Nagrania
labels. Liner notes include cover shots of the rare records these
tracks were taken from, many delightfully awkward '70s designs
that make my graphic design side drool. 73 minutes. [RE]
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BENGT BERGER & DON CHERRY "Bitter Funeral Beer" (ECM, Germany) CD  $19.99
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An optimal swirl of free-jazz, psychedelia, and the spirits of
funeral music from Ghana! In 1981, Sweden's legendary Archimedes
Badkar (see NWW listage) led by Bengt Berger met up with the ever
adventurous Don Cherry and members of the Stockholm based
collective Ett Minne For Livet (Iskra) to conjure up an insane
blend of lysergic trance, tribal rhythms, and ecstatic skronk.
Bury me happy! [JG]
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PLEASURE FOREVER "s/t" (Sub Pop) CD $13.99
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Whether a stage for a cruel theatre of erotism or a display of raw
hedonistic excess, Pleasure Forever saunter though plague-stricken
streets that illustrate the books they've read. A cabaret strut of
piano, guitar and drums that put them in league with Get Hustle
and Tarot Bolero, inscribed with The Doors and, in short step,
rock gods -- Guns & Roses. Formerly known as Slaves, and prior to
that, VSS, they have continued to evolve and mature. A subversion
of the mind that will repeatedly hypnotize you with each
encounter. [AG]
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TINDERSTICKS "Can Our Love." (Beggar's Banquet, UK) CD $21.99
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After receding from the critical spotlight for five years, the
Tindersticks' brooding, barfly music makes a full return on "Can
Our Love.", their fifth official full-length. After ten years, the
group has become a "collective" of arrangers, maestros and
virtuosos, all turning on the resounding vibrato of Stuart
Staples, who is one part Nick Cave, one part Leonard Cohen, and,
sometimes, for effect, one part Curtis Mayfield. On the first
track, Staples' deep, winsome baritone sings "This dying slowly/
It seemed better than shooting myself" as the collective drops
strings, horns and other lushness behind his delicate vocals.
Staples does not entirely resign himself to melancholy, as on the
epic 'Sweet Release,' which pairs dynamic, David Axelrod-esque
strings with Hammond harmonics. When he does dig into hopeful,
major-key lines (as in 'Don't Ever Get Tired'), the listener's
heart goes with him. There's the requisite Staples duet, this time
with another man, on 'People Keep Comin' Around,' which could
very well be a Steely Dan homage. (If you've never heard the
Tindersticks, there's no harm in buying the first self-titled
album, the one with the Senorita on the cover; a certain chamber-
pop masterpiece.) As they take a full orchestra to Turkey and
Russia this fall, one can only hope they make a return to the
States; because in a smoky venue, there are few things that
sound better than this assemblage of talented blokes. [DD]
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MARK EITZEL "The Invisible Man" (Matador) CD $13.99
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There is little doubt that Mark Eitzel is one of America's best
songwriters. His distinctive, emotive voice only serves to
accentuate his misanthropic worldview (only Stephin Merritt has a
voice more in tune with that lyrical sentiment). Each of his seven
albums with American Music Club, although spottled with a few
forgettable indulgences, brims over with extraordinary songs.
Eitzel has always done this (to a frustrating degree), while he
constantly tempers the extremes of self-flagellation with an
euphoric self-release. To be sure, there is that same pluralism,
and also a few of those extraordinary songs on "The Invisible
Man." Like on 'Without You,' where he croons: "I owe more than I
could ever pay / I know much less than I say / I throw all my
chances away / Without you / I sink more than I fly / I drink more
than I cry / I blink far away in the sky / Without you." His
fourth solo album is also distinguished by an adventurous self-
production. At times, we get uptempo drum machines, dense
strings and oscillators. These effects are fused with Eitzel's ever-
present, signature echo-chamber effect that only further distances
his already-isolated voice. I'm not sure what chain of events will
eventually cement Eitzel's place in the American songwriter
pantheon, but "The Invisible Man" is another stable step in the
career of this country's most conflicted troubadour. [DD]
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ISAN "Lucky Cat" (Morr Music, Germany) CD $13.99
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Antony Ryan and Robin Saville's music takes a sharp turn from
their quite recent EP with "Lucky Cat". Simple verging on basic,
they anchor the pieces with drawn-out melodies, long and slow.
There's very little of: skipping sounds, glitchy bits, elusive
choppiness. Instead: solemn ramps of synth tone, sounds as
pendulous as a tolling bell but less organic. It's their most
somber, serious work, veering ever closer to Hearts of Space-type
musings but speckled with electronic dribbles that morph into
minimal morse-code transfers. It's peaceful, atmospheric, but not
lightweight, dry yet teeming with miniscule buzzes, squeaks and
pings. All tracks are mixed together into a seamless whole. [RE]
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BONNY BILLY "More Revery" (Temporary Residence) CD EP $8.99
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15 minutes from Will Oldham. Backed by a four-piece band, Oldham
renders songs from reggae artist John Holt (a strange version with
vocal flights and echoes, nary a syncopation, either), NZ country-
rocksters the Renderers (an especially bitter and wistful song),
PJ Harvey, John Phillips, Bill Withers, and a earthy, lovely
version of Tim McGraw's 'Just to See You Smile', which brings
it to wavery country roots. [RE]
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[VA] "G Killers and Closers: Crue-L Classic Remixes Vol. 1" (Crue-L, Japan)  2xCD $31.99
A two-CD set (nicely packaged like a DVD) from Japanese indie
stalwart Crue-L, the label best known for launching the career
of Kahimi Karie. Crue-L classics from Karie, the Grand Crue-L
Orchestra, Museum of Plate, Love Tambourines and many others
get the full-on remix treatment from the likes of Keigo Oyamada
(aka Cornelius), Towa Tei, Buffalo Daughter and more. On disc 2,
Crue-L chief Kenji Takimi works 14 tracks from his ecclectic catalog
into a 68-minute, non-stop turntable mix. [TC]
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LUSH "Ciao! The Best of Lush" (4AD) CD $15.99
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A collection from possibly the second-most memorable band to
come out of the early '90s shoegazing genre. While they didn't
have the teeth of the now-nearly immortal My Bloody Valentine,
Lush's sugar-coated pop, with guitars spun into frizzy clouds and
cupid-high girly vox, not only climbed the musical scale but
aesthetically soared over their contemporaries (like Curve and
Swervedriver, etc.). With lots of moderate hits (at least in
England!), the 72-minute collection includes 18 songs, and,
unusually, works backwards chronologically. My only beef is
that it doesn't include my favorite, their cover of the '70s
bubblegum hit, 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' -- but that occurred
on an obscure benefit comp anyway. These tracks are all from
their own albums and singles. Other than that you couldn't ask
for a better collection. [RE]
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BADMARSH & SHRI "Signs" (Outcaste, UK) CD/2xLP $24.99/$24.99
More vocals, and gentler sounding than their last, "Dancing
Drums", but a similar collection of breakbeats, world sounds
(tabla, anyone?), with palms out to the dancefloor. Going
towards trip-hop, they bring in guest vocalists Kathryn Williams
and Sanchita Farruque, plus the reggae-inflected voice of UK
Apache. Mellower, but with a few edges: esp. the bopping
'Swarm', a sort of slice of deconstructed funk. [RE]
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This week's reviews provided by: Tom Capodanno [TC], David
Day [DD], Robin Edgerton [RE], Jeff Gibson [JG], Andrew Giles
[AG], Tim Haslett [TH], Dan Hirsch [DHi], Nicole Lang [NL], Phil
Waldorf [PW].


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