FEATURED NEW RELEASES
Flying Lotus
Bola
The Hold Steady
Lekan Babalola
Akron/Family
The Dears
Chamellows
Risto
Es
Chrome Children (Various)
Bad Brains DVD
Pernice Brothers
Nina Nastasia
Noel Ellis
Sparklehorse
Nurse with Wound
Air (Late Night Tales)
Beck
Ian Svenonius (The Psychic Soviet Book)

Eddie Hazel
Pere Ubu
Mixel Pixel
The Devil & Daniel Johnston DVD
The Pretenders (first two albums)

ALSO AVAILABLE
The Decemberists
Friends of Old Time Music (Various)
Steve Reich
The Kooks
F.S. Blumm
J. Dilla (The Shining Instrumentals)
P.G. Six
Clark


COMPLETE LIST OF THIS WEEK'S NEW ARRIVALS

FLYING LOTUS
1983
(Plug Research)

"Orbit Brazil"

"Unexpected Delight"

I had the privilege of seeing this dude perform live in San Francisco about a month ago with Cherrystones, Andy Votel, Prefuse 73 and Koushik, and was pretty effin' impressed by his space age boom-bap performance. After I saw every single one of the aforementioned names ask him for a copy of his album to play for others, I knew this was an artist that I needed to check out when I got back to NYC, and was pleased to come across this surprisingly solid and self-assured debut. Tapping into the same musical vein of influences as J. Dilla (electrofunk, '90s boom-bap, Brazilian soul & jazz fusion), Flying Lotus injects a decidedly more icy melodic quality to most of the tracks, a la Prefuse 73. But Lotus' production isn't as regimented and cut-up as Dilla and Prefuse can be. There's definitely a minimalist approach here and it's a lot more lucid and spacier than his contemporaries. The slightly claustrophobic urban grittiness of the aforementioned artists is gone, creating an open space for all the squishy basslines to wash over you like waves, and the melodies hit you like warm flashes of sunlight shining through tree branches. This is the kind of stuff I wanna hear Andre 3000 rhyme over. All of those fiendin' for some of that Slum Village Trinity-esque electro funk thump, step right up, and for anybody who just wants to hear a good beat, these are some of the flyest I've heard all year. You need to check this out y'all! [DH]

BOLA
Shapes
(Skam)

"Star"

"Rasor"

Hot on the heels of Soup comes...wait a minute, that was almost 10 years ago! Anyway, Shapes is the limited, barely seen follow-up to Bola's album, Soup, that was only available directly through Skam. Like its predecessor, Shapes explores moving, melodic/active-ambient beatscapes in an updated Amber-era Autechre style. Warm atmosphere (like a minimal Orb) and slightly more natural sounding beats that still have the soft metallic crunch of Tri Repetae make up the majority of this album. It can almost be described as Autechre veering towards Boards of Canada, but without the math or the naivete, and definitely ranking in the caliber of one of their peers, as opposed to one of their followers. [SM]

THE HOLD STEADY
Boys & Girls in America
(Vagrant)

"Stuck Between Stations"

"Chips Ahoy!"

First, let me speak to the fans; buy this record. If you've already been sold on the Hold Steady's brand of alcohol-fueled, darkly poetic barroom classic rock, don't hesitate on this one. Perhaps a few of you whose identity is wrapped up a bit too tightly in keeping it real will criticize John Agnello's (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Bob Dylan, Alice Cooper, etc.) production as making the band sound too powerful, just too good, but I think there is little doubt that this is the Hold Steady's best album to date. Agnello coaxed out the beauty in Craig Finn's ranting vocals, and focused this loose but surprisingly talented bunch of players on Finn's best batch of songs. On the other hand, if you are unsure why you should care about this pale, doughy, re-hashed bar band, let's explore.

There are a few hurdles the unconverted need to cross before we can embrace the Hold Steady. The first is regarding their classic rock, bar band aspirations; is it possible for a group of indie rockers in 2006 to try this hard to sound like mid-'70s Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and not end up sounding like Eddie and the Cruisers? I'm still not sure, but I can say with confidence that if anyone can pull it off, it's these guys. Vocalist Craig Finn gets all the press in this band, but this is far from a one-man show; the rhythm section is loose and exhilarating, Tad Kubler's riffing, soaring guitars and Franz Nicolay's swinging piano and swelling Hammond organ are often thrilling, and John Agnello's deft production crafts unabashedly epic, soaring rock and roll.

And what of Finn's much-heralded street-urchin poetry? As with his heroes Springsteen and Tom Petty, Finn paints broad portraits of the everyman by focusing on minute details of everyday life, and he compellingly tells tales of lost, aimless youth running wild (and desperate) on the dead end streets of unglamorous suburbs and gray cities (namely Minneapolis, where Finn is from). On Boys and Girls in America, the sad and wasted cast of characters are just past their prime and vainly trying to hang onto their past glory days -- days of pills, pot, and copious amounts of alcohol, looking for a fix and a kiss and just starting to realize that neither are quite as exhilarating or liberating as they once were. Finn has a sharp eye for the details of desperation. "Sucking on each other at the demonstrations, making sure their makeup's straight, crushing one another with colossal expectations, dependent, undisciplined, sleeping late" he shouts over the churning guitars in "Stuck Between Stations," or on the single "Chips Ahoy!" the anti-hero laments "I love this girl but I can't tell when she's having a good time." And the chorus soars "How am I supposed to know that you're high if you won't let me touch you? How am I supposed to know that you're high if you won't even dance?"

The questions are prescient, but the characters are pathetic, and it's hard to know how to feel about their pain; even the most sympathetic are really just trying to cadge a free ride and a higher high, and Finn's songs try to make heroes of decadent college dropouts. In his radio staple "Thunder Road," Bruce Springsteen sings, "So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore. Show a little faith, there's magic in the night, you ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright, oh and that's alright with me." On the Hold Steady's "Southtown Girls," Finn sings, "Southtown girls won't blow you away, but you know that they'll stay." The difference is painfully clear, as Finn emulates Springsteen's sound and attitude, but not his compassion or hope…his characters are also small-time losers, but their aspirations don't extend much beyond blacking out in the arms of anyone, and there is not a lot of beauty, more likely disdain.

Regardless, the Hold Steady are one of the more compelling rock bands out there today, and Finn's storytelling is smart, fun and telling, reveling in the sharp details of modern life like the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner or Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, and despite the shortcomings, or maybe because of them (as with his characters and their gigantic flaws), Finn and the Hold Steady have delivered a remarkably human, triumphant rock and roll record. [JM]

LEKAN BABALOLA
Songs of Icon
(Mr. Bongo)

"Kabioye"

"Restless Soul" Phil Asher Remix

Percussionist Lekan Babalola may not be a name that many are familiar with, but for anybody who has danced to an Afro-house record by Joe Clausell or Bugz in the Attic, chances are Babalola played on it. This Nigeria-born son of a Yoruba minister got his start playing percussion in his father's church when he was only five. After moving to London in the early-'80s, he has played live and done session work with artists ranging from Roy Ayers and Ginger Baker to Terrence Trent D'Arby and Amazulu. With this solo release, Babalola has created a masterful album. Drawing inspiration from his Yoruba roots, the album is very jazz-inspired and sounds a lot more like Hugh Masekela than Fela Kuti, yet it's still incredibly vibrant and upbeat. The playing is first rate, of course, and would appeal to all fans of modern African rhythms and jazz. The album also features a bonus disc of remixes from UK Afrosoul producers IG Culture, Phil Asher, Afronaught, and a stomper from French house superstar Bob Sinclair. [DH]

AKRON/FAMILY
Meek Warrior
(Young God)

"Blessing Force"

"The Lightning Bolt of Compassion"

Experimentation isn't supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be exasperating. Michael Gira's lovebirds, Akron/Family, must realize this idea, if only because they are one of only a few bands that can simultaneously be both self-consciously brain-breaking and awe-inspiring lovely. Their self-titled debut came at the height of the freak-folk craze, and yet no matter how many of the band members had shaggy ass beards, or how hard the Young God press kit tried to lump them in as folksters, Akron/Family were and still are pure genre-crazed, sound experimentalists at heart. The band's newest effort, Meek Warrior, only solidifies my stance. Sure, it's got a fair share of back-porch laden, acoustic guitar frosted sing-a-longs, but it also has wild, tweeker-fucked free jazz saxophone spazz-outs, and majestic chunky electric guitar riffage, bong(o)-laced netherworld introspection, and the consummate off key/on key helium-tracked vocal harmonies that everybody jacks from the Beach Boys. It's a beautiful, if too brief trip with more than a handful of memorable moments (the a cappella closer, "Love and Space" for one), and guest turns from the likes of free jazz drummer Hamid Drake and members of Broken Social Scene and Do Make Say Think. However, I can't help but think what a little more structure and actual song-writing might do for these guys. Y'know, sometimes writing a pop song can be the most progressive move in the world, while there are few things more jarringly predictable than a cacophony of noise that stretches on ad infinitum. [HG]

THE DEARS
Gang of Losers
(Arts & Crafts)

"Ticket to Immortality"

"I Fell Deep"

You know how every local music scene on this side of the Atlantic has at least one band who tries so hard to be British, from the faux accents and floppy hair to old English spellings of words like colour or favourite? (Full disclosure: Years ago, my first group was one of "those" bands, playing the Florida indie/alt circuit, ironically enough, under the name of Catherine Wheel until we received a cease-and-desist from a new British band with the same name on the eve of their debut album's release.) Something tells me that Montreal's Dears started out as one of "those" bands too. But unlike other Anglo-fetishizing groups who never got much further than being able to pack their local bar's Brit-pop night and landing an opening slot for, say, Menswear, the Dears have more than just a love for whatever the NME is hyping at any given time, with great songs and a passionate singer named Murray Lightburn. The band's sophomore album, No Cities Left, proved just that, an epic, orchestrated opus that aimed for the melodramatic scope of Scott Walker, enshrouded in walls of guitar with sweeping strings and horns that were enough to make both Suede and Suedehead Morrissey green with envy.

One would expect that the Dears would try to up the ante with their follow-up, perhaps commissioning a duet with Sandie Shaw and hiring the London Philharmonic Orchestra to ensure that every record review contained the descriptor "cinematic" at least three times. Instead, the band opts for a less-polished approach, tempering the string swells and overall grandiosity for a collection of songs that's more direct than past efforts. In this setting, Lightburn's emotional delivery can't be mistaken as only being dramatic for the sake of being dramatic; when he pleas "I swear, I swear, I swear it to you!" at the end of "Ticket to Immortality," there's no questioning his sincerity. And while rock critics and fans have compared his voice to Morrissey and Damon Albarn countless times, Lightburn also reaches new soulful heights in songs like the melancholic "Fear Made the World Go 'Round." Now don't get me wrong, the Dears haven't traded in their crescendoing builds and orchestrated arrangements for primitive, three-chord rock songs. They've simply added a small dose of restraint to their complex pop mix and subsequently, their music has never had this much of an emotional wallop. [GH]

CHAMELLOWS
Rat Hearts
(Fonal)

"Siggun"

"Week-end"

RISTO
Aurinko aurinko plaa plaa plaa
(Fonal)

"Lamppu Ja Lamppu"

"Pupu Tupuna"

ES
A Love Cycle
(Fonal)

"Twenty-five Twenty-five"

"Suuri Hoyhen "

With its lo-fi production, eclectic instrumentation and landscape of found sounds, Chamellows' (a/k/a Sleeping Bags) Rat Hearts floats between clanky distortion and gauzy, melodic spirals with an organic ease that lends the 16 tracks their hypnotic and often cinematic appeal. Compiled from rare tracks and seven-inches recorded between 1997 and 2001, the enigmatic, reigning queen of Finnish folk music, Laura Naukkarinen (Lau Nau), and collaborator Mikko Kuorinki have compiled an anthology that transports the listener to a place that is simultaneously foreign and familiar.

The songs on Risto's chameleon-like Aurinko aurinko plaa plaa plaa glide between punk and dark pop sensibility to introspective, piano heavy ballads, to disco/funk infused numbers with such gusto that each transition practically gives the finger to the face of genre and definition. Risto doesn't want you to categorize them nor should you try. So sit back and enjoy their fine-crafted sonic shape-shifting.

Last of the Fonal bunch is a reissue of Es' (a/k/a Sami Sänpäkkilä, Fonal headman and also a member of Kiila) A Love Cycle. The music on this disc is entirely made up of the sounds emanating from three flea market turntables, coupled with a minimal amount of effects like synths and beats. The looped records create a beautiful and crackling web of sound that is as hypnotizing as it is melancholic. A radical departure from his previous guitar record, A Love Cycle inhabits similar musical territories to those of innovative sound sculptors Philip Jeck, Terry Riley, and, perhaps primarily in theory, Christian Marclay. Comes with an extra track. [CA]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Chrome Children
(Stones Throw)

"Monkey Suite" Madvillain

"Raw Heat" Percee P & Quasimoto

Following the release of Dangerdoom, Adult Swim continues their excursions into hip-hop with a collaboration with Stones Throw Records. Chrome Children is a collection of (99%) new material handpicked by label head, Peanut Butter Wolf. Nearly the whole roaster is represented here, including Koushik, Gary Wilson, Georgia Anne Muldrow, J-Dilla, Dudley Perkins, Aloe Blacc, Percee P, and a few of Madlib's various projects (Jaylib, Quasimoto, Madvillain), along with a few newcomers like James Pants, Pure Essence, and Young Jazz Rebels (the new Madlib project). This two-disc set also comes with a DVD featuring interviews with Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf, and a live show at South by Southwest featuring many of the aforementioned artists. If you liked the Stones Throw 101 set, this is actually better thanks to all the new material. Who knew that cartoons and hip-hop went so well together? [DG]

BAD BRAINS
Live at CBGB 1982
(MVD)

If anyone out there saw the recent documentary, American Hardcore (and I imagine if you are reading this review that might be a few of you), there is an interview with the menacing yet lovable Harley Flanagan of the Cro-Mags, where he is talking about the build up of Bad Brains' "Big Take Over." He describes the intensity of waiting through the duh-duh-duh-duh-duhs and for the band to just explode in a collective "BOOM," HR leading the frenzy with his legendary screech. The DVD, in fact, opens with "Big Take Over," and if you weren't there at CBGBs in '82 and already know what Harley is speaking about, then you better brace yourself. We are talking serious detonation here. This footage culls one hour from the three shows the band played at CBs between December 24th and the 26th. I have never seen anything like this before. A DC HC veteran recently told me that Bad Brains was not only the best hardcore band he had ever seen, but possibly the best band he had ever seen. Well, even with muffled sound, roughly two cameras taping, and a shit ton of punkers (whom over the three nights you begin to recognize) flying across the screen, it is very clear that Bad Brains were untouchable. The group's energy alone -- never mind their obvious prowess over their instruments ('throat" included) -- easily earns them such accolades.

I am imagining that these are the best moments from these shows, and there are some great ones. The kids in the pit are just flipping out and when Bad Brains slow down for "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth," somehow the mayhem subsides into respectful swaying and then BLAM!, the band goes right into "Riot Squad" and all hell breaks loose again. And Again. It's riveting to watch each member attacking those reggae tracks with the same (controlled) ferocity that dominates the rest of the show. For a hardcore scene known for its violence, there are few such incidents save one bloodied-up guy, a set of lost keys, oh, and an annoying Dead Kennedys fan who HR shoves off the stage for just standing around too long! It's difficult to wrench your eyes from Dr. Know; he is on fire, particularly during tracks like "Attitude," "I," "Supertouch/Shitfit" and "Banned in DC." Then there is HR…you don't become a legend for no reason. If you have never seen footage of Bad Brains you owe it to yourself to pick this up; the man is a human string of firecrackers. Bombastic. I really have nothing else to compare him to. This is some incredible footage of a relevant part of American music and it's thrilling to watch. Highly Recommended. [NL]

PERNICE BROTHERS
Live a Little
(Ashmont)

"Automaton"

"B.S. Johnson"

I keep expecting Joe Pernice and his "brothers" to kick their beautiful, melancholy, churning pop music up a few notches with lush string orchestration, soaring choral background vocals, maybe a French horn or timpani. But thankfully, Pernice seems to recognize that what makes his records work so well, beyond his wonderful poetry and hauntingly beautiful singing, is their restraint. And on Live a Little, despite the (perhaps ironic) title, the band strips it down to the basics: strummed guitar, unadorned rhythms, and great songs. Pernice is a sad-sack par excellence, a hater even, and he uses the platform of warm '60s pop sounds to rally against pretense and hypocrisy, but even at their most basic it's all too easy to lose yourself in the strum of his guitar and the lilt of his voice. Another great chapter in the book of Pernice. [JM]

NINA NASTASIA
On Leaving
(Fat Cat)

"Why Don't You Stay Home"

"One Old Woman"

On Leaving. It's an album title that sounds exactly like any of Susan Sontag's famous dissertations on photography, morality, living in the modern world, etc. It's serious, serious like "confessional singer-songwriters" rarely get taken for or deserve to get taken for. It's an album title that's "writer serious." Literary. The big issues will be discussed. Truths will be told. And as far as poetic truth tellers go, Nina Nastasia is in a league of her own. On Leaving is Nastasia's fourth album, and her debut for Fat Cat. Much like the best of Leonard Cohen's work, or dare I say the new Mountain Goats record, On Leaving's instrumentation is sparse to the point of being baroque -- a finger-picked guitar here, a piano note there, brush drums -- all hovering, nay highlighting Nastasia's paralyzingly sad vocals. When Nastasia utters a line like "I keep you in me where the breath had been" (from "Counting Up Your Bones"), it's not a come on, or a threat, but plain resignation. She's turned the scream inward and, dare I say, at the heart of this beautifully meek record is an anger waiting to quake at any moment. Steve Albini did produce it after all. And with a running time of just over a half hour, one gets the feeling there's a lifetime of wisdom this record can share with us all. [HG]

NOEL ELLIS
Noel Ellis
(Light in the Attic)

"To Hail Salassie"

"Memories"

This re-release of Noel Ellis' self-titled album from 1983 is the newest installment in Light in the Attic's series showcasing the Kingston-Toronto connection. During his early childhood, reggae legend Alton Ellis brought his son Noel from Kingston to Canada, with hopes of expanding his audience and trying out a new environment. Though the city didn't work out for papa Ellis (London would serve as a better place), Noel stayed in Canada and began working with a few other ex-islanders in the then young and growing scene. Under the guidance of Jackie Mittoo, Ellis Jr. began voicing over tracks originally created for Willie Williams. Penning and recording the songs away from Jamaica also seemed to give the music a sound that was all at once familiar, yet unlike traditional reggae. The rockers style is there, the extended dubs are tight, but something about the combination of percussion, echo, synth and Noel's voice lends the music a unique feel -- I can't exactly put my finger on it, but it is refreshing to hear a different take on the genre. Like reggae from the UK, Africa, South America or the US, Canada was building its legacy as well, expanding upon the blueprint. Not that this is a kind of reggae fusion, it is true to the form but the overall feel and sound is new. It may be hard to describe, but the end result is super easy on the ears. One of the best and freshest sounding reggae reissues I've heard in awhile and that's not an easy task to accomplish. Includes excellent liner notes. [DG]

SPARKLEHORSE
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
(Astralwerks/EMI)

"Don't Take My Sunshine Away"

"Some Sweet Day"

My first raised eyebrow towards Sparklehorse in 2006 came a few months ago, when Mr. Sparkle Mark Linkous e-mailed the