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Free song download of "Sleepyhead" off the debut EP from Cambridge, MA quintet Passion Pit (out September 16, on Frenchkiss). Opening for everyone from Death Cab for Cutie to Girl Talk, the group has been getting quite a bit of attention lately, and after hearing Chunk of Change we're jumping on the bandwagon. Passion Pit's brand of electronic pop is instantly infectious, kinda like hearing Postal Service but with the beat from a dance club echoing in the distance. Slightly melancholy but always ready for the good times.
Joe Chambers is one of the more under rated jazz drummers who came out of the classic Blue Note-era. Having made his rhythmic way around the compositions and playing of McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson, Eric Dolphy and Andrew Hill, as well as backing Archie Shepp on his Live at Newport recording, Chambers also went on to release a few albums as band leader. Originally released on Finite in 1976, New World showcases the diversity and fluid playing that made him a must have musicians for so many "heavyweights". Across five lengthy tracks, Chambers leads the six additional players (bass, dual percussion, saxophone, electric piano and guitar) into various cross-sections of culture and style. From free jazz to hard bop, avant-garde to soul/spiritual jazz, not to mention a little Latin groove thrown in, they firmly take things out and back with ease. At times the music is a bit reminiscent of some the lofty jazz vamps that were to come during the end of the '70s, mixing improvisation, fusion, and groove with great playing and nice dynamics throughout. Fans of Giles Peterson-styled jazzy selections will definitely enjoy this funky slice of -- at times -- psychedelic jazz. Includes a version of Herbie Hancock's soundtrack classic "Blow Up." -Daniel Givens
I know what you're thinking. Do I really need the soundtrack to this? I guess that's all relative I suppose, but this is a lot less cheesy than you think. The soundtrack to perhaps the most famous porn films of all time is quite accomplished and they apparently spent a decent amount of money on the band. The music is a blend of raw funk, blaxploitation-style wacka-wacka guitar and plenty of fuzz soloing, and the lyrics are suitably lewd and filled with innuendo --like the dirty interpolation of "Love Is Strange." Here's that perfect opportunity to get deep without getting dirty. -Baxter Cardona
Wow! It seems like OM is just chock full of sensual seduction soundtracks this week. First Deep Throat, and now this funky soundtrack to the first major "blax-porn-tation" flick from '74. The movie featured a young Andrea True of "More, More, More" disco fame and a cameo from a legendary drummer performing in a band surrounded by gyrating naked flesh. (Editor's Note: Duane watched the film for "research" purposes.) That drummer was Bernard "Pretty" Purdie and he composed, arranged and played on this soundtrack. Suffice it to say, this is some "nasty" funk. All of the tracks are of that over-the-top "bomm-chica-bomm-bomm" style of playing that you would expect for this type of film, but when it features a legend like Purdie in control, you can expect a bit more "bang for your buck." Highlights include the genuinely sexy female vocal-lead groove of the title track and the instrumental jazz-funk floor burner "Hap'nin." Truth be told, the whole album is a great solid listen from front-to-back, and despite the low-brow nature of the movie itself, this is respectable funk of the highest order. If you've been diggin' on the Eccentric Soul series, Jazzman and the Now-Again reissues, you can remove the brown wrapper and show it off with pride. Recommended! -Duane Harriott
Morgan Geist releases a new single from his forthcoming full-length Double Night Time -- his first solo album in over a decade. An apt title for this dose of crisp techno-electro, the original version of the song feels like a nighttime drive across the Detroit Autobahn with Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan quietly singing in the passenger seat. One of the Motor City's finest, Carl Craig, offers two remixes, each well worth the price of admission.
This is the kind of record that couldn't have come from anywhere but the west coast. The Donkeys' second full-length is so drenched in sunny, laid-back Cali-vibes, it's impossible not to reach the first chorus of the opening track without a contact high. Great mellow harmonies and music that doesn't rock as much as it rolls, fans of Gram Parsons/Burrito Bros, Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, right on up to Beachwood Sparks and Fleet Foxes won't want to miss.
Three years after the breakup of Outhud, former cellist Molly Schnick resurfaces as Jean on Jean with a record of personal pop songs equal parts lush, coy and unnerving. Recorded at home over the course of those last three years, the sound is homespun and warmly amateurish. These types of "years in the making" records are great, especially in cases like this where you can hear the process of an artist's development unfolding and also the idiosyncrasies of someone learning how to use their new recording software. Kick off track "Tonight" is a great example of both, charging meekly from the gates like a John Hughes soundtrack if it were all mid-'90s K Records artists. Far-away sounding instruments come in and out of focus with belted-but-awkward harmonies and tambourine rhythms. An imaginary girl group in ratty twee sweaters materializes at various points out of Schnick's multi-tracked vocals, like a less intense Judee Sill or a happier El Perro Del Mar. Elsewhere, the vibes are just plain spooky, with a cauldron of ghost voices bouncing into layers of menacing cello and the occasional bird call or cut-up sounds of heavy breath. The winning moments of Jean on Jean come with the realization that there's nothing forced or affected going on here. That is to say, the songs are straightforward and beautifully honest, but in that, still legitimately a little cracked and subtly unstable. The tension between these elements makes more noise than the songs themselves. -Fred Thomas
Before punk was invented there was Johnny Moped. Quite a star-studded ensemble (except they didn't know it at the time), the earliest incarnation of the band featured Captain Sensible of the Damned, and later on Chrissie Hynde. The Complete Bootlegs Vol I & II features 26 tracks recorded from 1974-77, including the earliest shambling, but awesome, bedroom recordings where the band sounds like a DIY version of Motorhead or Stackwaddy, to the original Johnny Moped Bootleg cassette that they sold at shows in '76 and '77. By then, their sound was slightly more refined (which is relative, of course), playing a punky, no-holds-barred take on rock n roll. It's easy to imagine someone like Billy Childish studying this pretty meticulously. You like your rock 'n' roll in the red? Look no further. -Andreas Knutsen
Many people know the Daptone label for the gritty, traditional funk releases from Sharon Jones, Budos Band, and for their work on the Amy Winehouse records. So on the surface, it seems like releasing a pure gospel album of acapella performances is a bit of departure from the norm. But as we all know, the foundation of the funk and soul that they champion was built on solid gospel ground. These recordings came about after traveling to teeny Como, Mississippi in 2006, and placing an ad in a local paper asking to record some local acapella groups from the area. The Voices of Panola County, MS collects authentic, world-weary love letters to Christ that Alan Lomax fans will be mighty excited about. -Duane Harriott
Great new (to us Americans, at least) album by Aussie brother and sister duo Bumblebeez, who again straddles the genres ever so ably. Produced by James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco, Prince Umberto & the Sister of Ill is a vivid collage of hip-hop, electro, rock n roll, and Britpop, that always sounds funky-fresh and has insatiable lust for FUN. While they pull off all the different genres, Bumblebeez are at their best when their focus is singularly on the dancefloor; check "Clubb Clubb" in particular. Highly recommended for fans of Simian MD, Justice and electro/rock hybrids.
There are a few obvious points of reference on the debut album from Brooklyn's own Lia Ices, including Regina Spektor, Chan Marshall and Frida Hyvonen. Ices has a dynamic, somewhat mannered and truly beautiful voice, and this album, recorded by Nicolas Vernhes (Fiery Furnaces, Deerhunter, Animal Collective, etc.) and released on his new Rare Book Room Records imprint, is lush with piano, strings other subtle flourishes.
The second Thrill Jockey release from this Canadian songstress is a beautiful set of sun-kissed country songs and lazy vintage pop sounds that draw heavily on the California scene some 30 or 40 years back, or more recent singer-songwriters like Lucinda Williams or NYC's own Megan Reilly. It's not easy to pull off music this simple and true, but Desveaux has the voice and the songwriting to do it. A beautiful album. |
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