NEW RELEASES
Oliver Hacke
Frank Black Francis
Pinback
Ariel Pink
Mats Gustafsson, Sonic Youth & Friends
Nicky Siano's Gallery
Sir Richard Bishop
Prosaics
Sten
Stephan Mathieu
TV On The Radio (CD Single)

Simon Finn
The Marvel of Marvin
Samara Lubelski
The Dears
Mokira
Mos Def
Blood Brothers
Losoul
Moving Units
Richard Buckner

"12:31"

"5:32"

I've been trying to convince anyone within earshot for about a year now that this is the best minimal producer out there. There are generally two kinds: those that make full-lengths and those who make 12-inches. Very rarely does the latter make a successful album, so I was naturally wary when I found this full-length was due to come out. I've seen it too many times. Thankfully, Subject Carrier doesn't disappoint. Oliver Hacke stands out as a producer because he creates songs, not tracks, no filler. There's personality and movement, and there's variance on this full-length. It's not all house or techno or some contrived combination. Sometimes it's crunchy. Sometimes bright. Ambient, or deep, it all draws you in. Previous releases like the "Polar" 12-inch used on Brinkmann's Tour de Traum are here as are some lesser known titles like "Ecoscape" which is now called "5:40," encoded in obscurity like the rest of the titles seemingly named after their respective running time. The new tracks are bangin'. The funk runs rampant and as much as I hate to say it, the second Luomo album was supposed to sound like track eight. This release is accompanied by a Kim Canary video and will be talked about as a classic for years to come. [JD]

"Ed Is Dead"

"Wave of Mutilation"

Frank Black, or Black Francis as we all first knew him during his Pixies fronting days, is hands-down one of the best songwriters in indie rock ever! Yes, I know it is a bold statement but throughout this double disc set these classic songs have been done in many a different style and arrangement, and they still have an impact like no other.

The Frank Black Francis album is a 2-CD set with the first disc being a glimpse into the demo session that Black recorded with Gary Smith the night before the Pixies were to go in and lay to tape their masterpiece, Come On Pilgrim. It is an aural history lesson with Black pounding out these soon-to-be legendary songs on an acoustic guitar and it is an absolute treasure. Just imagine if you could have been a fly on the wall during this session. God what I would pay to be there…and now you can! But that is not all, because the second disc contains re-workings of classic Pixies songs with alternate arrangements by Frank Black and a backing band consisting of Pere Ubu's Andy and Keith. It sounds like a musical wet dream and it damn near comes close. At times the trio's re-interpretations can be hit or miss but they are all interesting nonetheless.

The Pixies are the biggest alternative band in the world right now with their reunion shows selling out more dates and bigger venues than they ever could have in their prime -- eight sold out shows in NYC alone! Their time is now, and this is an essential purchase for any fan. I have said this before but this is TRULY MINDBLOWING! [JS]

PINBACK
Summer in Abaddon
(Touch & Go)

"Syracuse"

"Fortress"

It's impossible for me to grasp how Pinback have managed to be one of those best-kept-secret kind of bands for almost their entire career. They're one of those groups that if you dig one of their songs, there's a 99.9 percent chance that you're going to dig their entire discography, which rightfully explains a very devoted fanbase. A collaboration between Rob Crow of Thingy and Heavy Vegetable fame, and Three Mile Pilot's Armistead Smith, the San Diego duo have been making crisp, intelligent pop for more than five years now; and with their newest album being blessed with a Touch & Go imprint, it's safe to say they're about to become a household name in the "indie" world.

While last year's superb Offcell EP hinted at a brisker direction and the appearance of more electronics, Pinback's third full-length actually steps back to the mid-tempo visceral pop of their first two albums, but not without evolution. Recorded in Crow and Smith's respective homes, Summer in Abaddon's more polished production seems perfectly suited for the band's intricate songs, with the piano having a more prominent role in the arrangements. But at its core the duo's signature elements of circular guitars and interwoven vocal melodies transform fairly complex, almost mathematical playing into catchy pop songs. Pinback's quieter moments remind me a little of Sea and Cake minus the jazzy textures, and melodically, a more restrained Death Cab For Cutie, only replace Ben Gibbard's lyrical drama with something more cryptic.

"Syracuse" is the perfect track to sum up Pinbacks' strengths: melody and dynamics. At its root is a simple repetitious guitar melody, but the song rises and falls amidst the rich layers of voices and instruments. "Fortress" is another standout, mixing organic instrumentation and hand claps over a Casio beat -- the chorus of staccato vocals and stacked harmonies is instantly infectious. While the track selection seems to be sequenced in a way that slowly builds the album, it makes you want to listen from start to finish, and over again. Summer in Abaddon is Pinback's strongest release to date and yes, I think the secret is finally out. [GH]

$13.99 CD



$10.99 CD

ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI 2
The Doldrums
(Paw Tracks)

"Strange Fires"

"Haunted Graffiti"

I feel like Hollywood's Ariel Pink should teach a class or something at this point. I have four albums by him now, and this after becoming aware of his stuff only earlier this year. On New Year's Eve in fact. Anyhow, one of them is good. Another of them is great. Two of them, including this one, The Doldrums on Animal Collective's label Paw Tracks (and quizzically attributed to Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "2"), and the self-released House Arrest are pretty much the greatest things I've ever fucking heard.

There is a dissipated, borderline anemic, recording fidelity to all of them. Bear in mind that it's precisely this underlying grotty tableau though which ends up managing to make the many, many instances of wonderment strike the sensitive listener ever more sharply.

In keeping with how I was introduced to the man's music, I have steadfastly tried to pass the word. This has met with varying degrees of success (not really, usually there are only two degrees involved), but those who have taken to it, along with myself, have shared quite a lot of enjoyable moments of collective dropped jaw at the all-the-more-stunning-by-being-virtually-HIDDEN crystal peals of true and intense songwriting nous on continuous proffer, both here on Doldrums and elsewhere. [DHo]

"Contrabass Sax"

"Processed Voice"

Four years ago, Swedish reedsman Mats Gustafsson enlisted the members of Sonic Youth, along with a few other players including guitarist Loren Mazzacane Connors, to interpret the third installment of his Hidros series. (The Copenhagen Arts Ensemble and the NU-Ensemble performed the other four compositions in this five part series.) Recorded live at its premiere in an art museum in Ystad, Sweden, this incarnation was written for guitar, contrabass, electronics, audiobox, voice, and prepared voice. The performers were placed in various small rooms throughout the building while Jim O'Rourke controlled the overall mix, basically playing the role of conductor for the largely improvised piece. Live, the audience members were able to walk through the different chambers, taking in a completely different and personal interpretation.

Dedicated to Patti Smith, Hidros 3 is essentially one long piece, though it's separated into nine tracks on this CD with what seems to be explanatory titles like "Voice," "Contrabass Sax" and "Processed Voice." But what results is a daunting electro-acoustic exploration with varying degrees of experimental textures and sound sources. Many of the free form guitar blasts will remind SY's oldest fans of their early days performing in Glenn Branca's orchestras. Kim Gordon makes a couple of vocal appearances, her first during track two as her unmistakable beat poet inspired, stretched-syllables are tickled by a light backdrop of guitar slides and squeaks. These quiet moments almost seem lucid when juxtaposed next to the ominous shroud of noise to come, and of course the monster sounds of Gustafsson's deep contrabass.

Perhaps most haunting is the prepared voice of Lindha Kallerdahl. Distorted and processed through various electronics, at one point the static filled manipulations sound as if an evil spirit has taken control of a radio transmission. Not for the faint of heart, at well over an hour Hidros 3 is rich with dynamic electro-acoustic textures that simultaneously rub, grind and disappear, and an adventurous piece for both the young composer and the well-seasoned Youth, who obviously shape its radical outcome. [GH]

"Big John Is My Name" Undisputed Truth

"Law of the Land" The Temptations

How influential was Nicky Siano as a deejay? Well, Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan, Arthur Russell and Kenny Carpenter have all cited Siano as a major influence on their music and deejaying sometime during their lives. He wasn't the first deejay to blend records, but he was the first one who perfected it. He was the first to EQ songs, dramatically dropping the bass or high-end at the climax of the tracks, and he was the first to sustain this trance-like state by sustaining a continuous 4/4 thump on the dancefloor...and he played with three turntables! How influential was the Gallery, the illegal club that he ran with Robin Lord, his girlfriend of the time? Well, it was the Gallery that inspired Steve Rubell to open Studio 54, and the snoopy record execs who flocked to this club to label the music that these street kids danced to for up to 10 hours at a time...Disco!

Now about this compilation. The songs on this record basically give you a template for what modern dance music would become. Remember, there were no 12-inches or record stores that specialized in "dance music." These were records that Siano had to really dig to find. "The Law of the Land" by the Temptations may not be the first record to implement a four-on-the-floor groove, but it was the most influential and copied. (Giorgio Moroder, Cerrone and Tom Moulton are all producers who have cited that record as an influence on their sound, respectively). The primitive beginnings of tribal house can be found in Exuma's novelty tune "Exuma, the Obeah Man." I could go on and on but I won't. I'll end by saying this is an awesome reissue and thank you Soul Jazz and Nicky Siano for giving us another collection of fine music that may have been forever forgotten. [DH]

SIR RICHARD BISHOP
Improvika
(Locust Music)

"Rudra's Feast"

"Mystic Minor 23"

Good ol' Dickey B. is back with more out of control six-string hijinx. The venerable Sir Richard Bishop comes up with some of his best material when he takes a breather from the Sun City G-Unit. I can declare with certainty that I've played his earlier solo album Salvador Kali many times more than I've listened to any of the Sun City Girls' proper releases. Improvika is the first installment in Locust Music's spin-off series of full-length improvisational guitar records by each of the four gentlemen who contributed to the label's acclaimed Wooden Guitar compilation. Bishop's fingerpicked explorations are all over the map, influenced by anything and everything from jazz to bluegrass to blues to folk to any number of ethnic traditions, from John Fahey to Django Reinhardt to the countless unknown players that this man has stumbled across in his musical journeys to Southeast Asia and other far-off corners of the planet. This man is a monster. In my book, this one is tied with Jack Rose for solo acoustic guitar record of the year. Mind boggling, to say the least, and well worth the six-year wait. [RH]

$8.99 CD



$8.99 LP

"Crawling"

Imagine Chris Marker, Paul Pope, and JG Ballard collaborating on a film about Ian Curtis using the oil pipelines of Siberia as a backdrop. Prosaics have attained a warm repose where their only succor would seem to be a path of darkness and despair. Aghast Agape is a document of this often cold and tense precision breaking off into impassioned melodic phrases of pure beauty. Their careful cross-pollinations have given fruit to what has been described as somewhere between Mission of Burma and Joy Division. I would also like to tag and identify Josef K, the Wake, and Comsat Angels as elements somewhere within that amalgam of influences.

Prosaics deliver a propulsive dose of urgent pop that pulls from many of the aforementioned greats, but with passionate songwriting that steers them clear from the glut of '80s revival bands. Andy Comer sings with a rare sincerity and emotion that imbues the detached almost clinical vocabulary of the lyrics with life. The well-placed melodies and fits of aggression provide many of the hooks my guitar-oriented mind latches onto. Drummer William Kuehn has always reminded me of John Lever of the Chameleons... precise, in the pocket, and heavy on the snare. Adopting a mix of tone and structure that can be compared to the likes of Peter Hook, Simon Gallup, and Tracy Pew, Joshua Zucker provides the taut propulsive force that manically drives the band forward. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, and the Rapture have made the world an audience that I am confident Prosaics will capture and Aghast Agape is only the first chapter. [AG]

$16.99 CD

"Eccentric"

"Asami"

I suppose about 200 of you or so might need this simply because it's really Lawrence under a 12-inch moniker. Or maybe that Sten is Peter M. Kersten, who happens to own Dial is enough. And thus …well, you get the picture. It seems in previous months we've detoured into early-'90s influenced textiles (tech-styles), which is just fine with me because most of that stuff has been right on point. But Leaving the Frantic is special because it successfully merges the gap between yesterday and tomorrow, now. It's like if Kerrier District were a hybrid-car and Sten is completely electric; the intention on this is slightly advanced. The programming shifts are brilliant and allow the tracks to evolve and keep your ears interested and entertained. I played the self-titled Lawrence to try and distinguish the difference in style and concluded that Sten is really Lawrence-light. Not in that weak way, but less dark and more upbeat with swing. There are still plenty of eerie spatial strings and panned bells, but this makes you want to leave that Medusa state on the couch and hit the floor. Top 5. [JD]

"On Tape"

With On Tape (recorded on the occasion of a live performance at Fylkingen, Stockholm in Febuary of 2004), Stephan Mathieu could have very easily done a conventional remix of Tape material using the various filtering and processing techniques that he has become so comfortable with over his extensive back catalog. Instead, this release marks a new direction for Mathieu. Sidestepping his usual approach, On Tape sees him concentrating solely on the editing and layering of the source material. Rather then obscuring the origin, Mathieu uses the unprocessed source material supplied by Tape, saxophonist Magnus Granberg, and along with some of his own percussion, to create a slowly evolving mass of sound. It's a deceptively simple and extremely rewarding approach that hones in on each minute detail breaking each sound and event down to its core before bringing it back into the whole.

Over the course of 30-minutes Mathieu transforms the piece from seemingly incidental sounds to almost ephemeral harmonics and back again without ever seeming too complicated or forced. Beginning with a swell of electronics and gradually adding tiny quiet events and layered saxophone and harmonium loops, the piece illustrates itself through such a natural evolution that the listener becomes less concerned with the overall process and simply focuses on the moment. An exceptionally fulfilling release that may take a little while to sink into, but given the time, will reward tenfold. [KH]

"New Health Rock"

TV on the Radio deliver a three-song EP. Featuring two new tracks and "Wrong Way" from their album, the title cut is a loud, rambunctious guitar driven romp. The flip, "Modern Romance" written by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, finds them closer to the blues side of things. Both new songs feature their five-piece live band, making their sound fuller and more of a party than their full-length or previous EP. [DG]

"Wanted You"

You probably wouldn't expect any artist's first recorded output in 34 years to be anywhere near as solid as psychedelic folk singer-songwriter Simon Finn's new Silent City Creep EP. From David Tibet's Durtro imprint (the same label responsible for this year's great reissue of Simon's album Pass The Distance) comes this limited edition CD comprised of five songs written in the early 1970s and put to tape for the very first time in January of 2004. This recording doesn't have any of the oddball accompaniment that his old stuff did, it's just his voice and an acoustic guitar. Those of you who were lucky enough to catch the poorly planned, uncomfortably hot, and extremely difficult-to-hear performance he did at a Mexican restaurant in Williamsburg this summer know that, even under the worst circumstances imaginable, Simon still has the magic. Once these discs are gone, they're gone for good, but we can all look forward to a brand new full-length album from the legend himself sometime in the next year or so. [RH]

"Wherever I Lay My Hat" The Temptations

Not to be out done by Bobbito and Spinna, the influential beat alchemists 4hero put together a compilation highlighting their favorite covers by one of their musical heroes, Marvin Gaye. What I really love about this comp is that the selected songs highlight Marvin's strength as a songwriter. (Gaye co-wrote "Dancing in the Streets"... who knew?) Most of it is compiled of material written pre-What's Going On, and it's very lovely. One listen to the original's longing soul-ballad "Baby I'm For Real" will give you chills, and Fres Wesley and the J.B.'s covering "You Sure Love to Ball"????!!! Fuggedaboutit! This has been in constant rotation in my home all week. It's a banger! [DH]

"The Fleeting Skies"

"Waiting By the Gate"

Samara Lubelski has been knocking around the NYC indie/experimental scene for quite awhile, as a collaborator in Sonora Pine and Hall of Fame, among others. Her solo debut features contributions from down-towners like PG Six and Tim Barnes, but the sound is a sweet and straight-ahead take on acoustic folk-pop, with gently finger-picked guitars, brushed drums, and subdued strings and woodwinds conspiring with Lubelski's hushed vocals and sad poetry to create another chapter in the current folk revival. Lubelski's arrangements and the musicians smooth and subdued playing draw on French pop and Brazilian bossa as well as British and American folk, as she lazily straddles the line between sophisticated chanteuse, psychedelic pixie, and indie-pop princess. [JM]

"Lost in the Plot"

"Never Destroy Us"

Read any piece of press on the Dears, and you're inevitably going to see Morrissey, Blur, Suede and Pulp cited. And quite frankly, Mr. Shankly, as much as I want to write from a different angle, maybe even step back another few decades to Walker, Bowie or Gainsbourg, I'm going to start in the mid-'90s as well. Led by the dramatic, British accented Murray Lightburn, the unknowing would easily assume that he and his band hail from some dreary Northern English town -- Manchester perhaps. Nope, try Montreal. Canada. But this is the rare case where imitation is more than mere flattery for the Dears' second full-length, No Cities Left, is an epic slice of Britpop (Can-pop?), so well done that there are many moments where they almost stand toe-to-toe with their UK forbearers. By the time track two "Who are You, Defenders of the Universe" kicks in, the moody cinematic scope of the arrangement will make you forget, or at least get over Lightburn's Mozz meets Damon Albarn inflections.

The thick wall of fuzz guitars in "Lost in the Plot" reminds me a bit of the Catherine Wheel; it's actually shoegazy but with some nice Mick Ronson-styled licks, (OK, Ronson as channeled through Suede), with a vocal melody that sounds like it could have come from You are the Quarry. Lightburn is a depressed romantic clinging to the last thread of hope. Song titles like "The Death of All Romance" and "Pinned Together, Falling Apart" verify this; meanwhile, the bleak chamber pop arrangements perfectly set the mood. The two part "Expect the Worst/'Cos She's a Tourist" starts off as some sort of dark cabaret complete with a choir of backing voices that whip the first half of the song into a frenzy before the whole bottom falls out. The next six minutes of the track are spent floating in a slow, smoky haze of lush synth strings and trembling Rhodes piano until a brass section and a carefree saxophone solo push the song well past the atmosphere and into deep space.

No Cities Left Behind reaches many of its dramatic heights when Lightburn duets with multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Natalia Yanchak, and there's no denying the Dears' penchant for classic European pop. The rock instrumentation meets sweeping strings and horn arrangements of "Never Destroy Us" pulls from Histoire de Melody Nelson or more recently Pulp's ominous This Is Hardcore. I don't think Montreal is as rainy as London, but the Dears' melodramatic masterpiece certainly confirms that a dark, imported cloud looms over Lightburn's head. [GH]

$16.99 CD

"Tsuki No Kioku"

"Ghost Glider"

No more cliphop. No more clicks and cuts. Andreas Tilliander's Mokira alias is now enrolled full-time in the Fennesz school of minimal electronica. Fft Pop is an appropriately onomatopoetic title for this atmospheric, beat-free release. It's a bit frostier than the comparatively warm Album, which came out near the beginning of the year. Both are lovely and essential additions to this bustling and increasingly popular sub-genre where fractured bubbles of tone and drone are plentiful. One of the highlights of this otherwise instrumental record is "Tsuki No Kioku," a Mum-esque slice of melancholic electro-pop with cut-up guest vocals courtesy of Piana. Highly recommended for fans of Morr Music, Oval, Fourcolor, Mitchell Akiyama, Pop Ambient, and so on. [RH]

"Sunshine"

"War"

There's a current trend in alt-hip-hop where rappers become actors and then begin to embrace black rock music. So it may not be much of a surprise that Mos Def does have a strong dose of that element in his sophomore full-length.

He is no doubt a clever man pairing the production skills of Kayne West, Raphael Saadiq, Psycho Les, Minnesota, and 88 Keys next to the musical talents of Shuggie Otis, Will Calhoun, Doug Winbush and Bernie Worrell. What happens is a rare, past and present blend of live and programmed rapping, singing and crooning based in hip-hop, but also includes rock, blues, and classic soul. The New Danger is at times political, social, danceable, senseless, sexy, smart, historical, personal and endearing, but occasionally off mark.

Set up in three parts, the first features his rock band, Black Jack Johnson; the second moves closer to Mos Def, the inspired rapper that many are more familiar with; and the third is a darker moodier side, utilizing and acknowledging Marvin Gaye. More complex than anything he's done before and very ambitious, at times it works. If you can make it through the first part, you'll find a lot to offer but it's a mixed bag for sure. Recommended for the adventurous -- in the vein of Living Colour, TV on the Radio, Saul Williams, Rage Against the Machine, Andre 3000, and of course, Bad Brains. [DG]

"Trash Flavored Trash"

"Crimes"

This is the Blood Brothers' fourth record. I could stop there and already there will be an air of awe - folks, do bands last through four albums nowadays? This isn't even including an entire slew of rarities, 7"s and EPs. Building progressively on their slight production tangent that Ross Robinson encouraged on their last album, Burn, Piano Island Burn, the Blood Bro's are still seditious, still nasty as they continue to carve their distinct, spazzed-up punky, screamo-rock n roll, but more focused than ever. Having been a Blood Brothers fan for about five years now, I believe Crimes to be the actualization of their terrifically outlandish, fanatical, and uncompromising sound, but with more un-expectations such as several songs cradling a dissonant, Bauhaus-like dirge. Johnny Whitney belts out his falsetto-fantastical lyrics and intermittent larger-than-life ballads, sweetly contrasted with Blilie's wyled-out shrieks and occasional hushes. Nothing short of passionate, intense overdrive and over-the-top freak-outs that conjure the catastrophic splendor of artists like Antioch Arrow, and that also reaches to fans of At the Drive-In and Mars Volta, but sounding like neither, nor. Honestly, this record is deliverance from a really dire, desolate, generic moment in rock and roll. Totally essential listening. [MT]

"You Know"

"Warriors (Rock)"

I was about to get all into how the new Losoul had some solid tracks on it, but ultimately wasn't a great 'album.' I've changed my mind. After repeated listens, I've found that it actually rocks in a bunch of different ways. At times it's a tad brighter than usual and definitely has the Metro Area thing creeping in a bit here and there, which is strange at first for Losoul since he's more known for making snaky, kinda dark, ass bobbing deep German house with that subtle hint of disco. There's plenty of that for sure ("Tango Acido," the slow and bobbing "Soul Down," the straight up Losoul style of "Railrude," "A Blood Sample" and "Insula"), but there are also some bigger, synth disco-y party jams ("Brain of Glass"), and as usual, a "what's this for?" abstract DJ tool track ("Fallout Party"). The "Puttin' on the Ritz" intro of "You Know" is a little shocking at first but it instantly becomes a jam, coming on something like an androgynous darkhouse Superpitcher. (Sick.) Losoul is one of my very first favorites on Playhouse, and this album proves that he's changed with the times, but hasn't lost his edge. About time he came out with another album. Whaddabout Isolee? Recommended. [SM]

"Between Us & Them"

"Going For Adds"

The following first half of the review supports my modest theory of California heads being a couple steps ahead of the game. Look -- Erase Errata, Tower Recordings, Ariel Pink (check him out in this same Update), so many more... even !!! have one foot in the Left Coast. Moving Units have been rocking that punked-up boots 'n' socks beat (that I've wearily depicted ad nauseum) during a time when New York and college campuses everywhere were in the mere beginning stages of delusional obsession with the Strokes -- well before we started doing the Williamsburg Shuffle.*

I snagged a demo while I was in California, exactly three years ago, and at that time the only songs that were recorded were "Between Us and Them," "X and Y," and "I Am" -- three raw tunes that soon appeared on a 12-inch released by Three One G, a familiar home to a few in the band that hold the ex-members-of-hardcore/punk-band designation. I listened to "Between Us and Them" on constant loop driving around Southern Cali... the sunshine, the sleaze, the volume knob at decibel-defying intensity: it was the real feel good hit of the fall (sorry, !!!). Nothing sounded so sugar-sweet and fun, so perfectly pop, while simultaneously exuding all the raunch and sweat you could ever accumulate in any ravaged LA club through simply crafted layers of manic-depressive, sexed up bass-beats fronted with a glam-boredom of sorts alike to Mark E. Smith.

Fortunately, this gem (which is the only jaunt from the EP) made it to the full-length, released leisurely, three years later. Unfortunately. I waited patiently for a song to take my eardrums captive in a similar manner, to no avail -- I just couldn't find that agitated emotional edginess to conjure that feverish turbulence. I'm not that mad, though. There is enough antsy-angular guitar damage, throbbing-bass salacity and vocal-scurrility to bend even the rectilinear of Brooklynites. They brazenly ramble ahead into the dance-punk swamp that 'forgot' to include them well before it began to overflow, as they happily drown themselves in their self-made ironical decadence (see band name and songs such as "Going for Adds"), mock-isms and apathy. Even if they are serious, well. I'm still dancing, cynic-goggles down. [MT]

*The heavy-handed, death disco hi-hat beat indigenous to Bedford Avenue.

"Invitation"

"Straight"

Another lovely album of mellow indie-country from Richard Buckner, who over the course of eight (or so) albums has proven to be a steady and often magical singer-songwriter. His only trick is his husky, melodic and melancholy voice, full of confidence AND restraint, and his intuitive yet surprising melodies. Backed by a rotating lineup here (including the BUTTHOLE SURFER'S KING COFFEY!), the songs ebb and flow naturally with spare acoustic guitar and vocal swelling with drums, piano, organ and pedal steel. What else do you need? Simple, moody and rootsy pop, delivered with confidence and passion. [JM]