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STACY
EARLE & MARK STUART
NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO
(GEARLE / EVOLVER)
Stacey Earle has one of those old-timey
voices, as if she just descended from
a jam session with the Carter Family on
an Appalachian mountain peak. There's
a lot of country in it, not unlike Iris
DeMent, sweet yet with enough bluesy drive
to avoid overt sentimentality. But while
DeMent's writing evokes a tangible time
(back in the day) and place (rural), Earle's
artistry is a bit more slippery. Sure,
the folk/country touchstones are there,
and Mark Stuart provides fine accompaniment
throughout (kinda David Rawlings to Earle's
Gillian Welch), but there's a restlessness
inherent in songs like "Cry Night
After Night" and the jazzy strut
of "Fishbowl" that marks Earle
as one more preoccupied with dreams and
the abstract. Earle's countrybilly sound
usually takes a bit of getting used to,
but one track here literally grabs you
by the collar: "Our World,"
with its grand hooks, a nice guitar/organ
groove, and a confident vocal, is a pop
classic waiting to be discovered.
TIM EASTON
Ammunition
New West
“Next To You” has a breathy
resonance that suits the ‘peace-and-love’
vibe Tim Easton effortlessly summons up,
at least when politics aren’t simmering.
The song ends with carefree whistling, but
elsewhere Easton sounds more alienated,
if not actually pissed off, like on “Before
The Revolution” with its earthy fingerpicking
and a mantra about how he never “had
a dream.” After all this time, singer-songwriters
still worship at the Robert Zimmerman altar,
as Easton does on “News Blackout”
with his clipped singing about the president
(“I know he’s lyin’ ‘cause
his lips are still moving”), and “C-Dub,”
a lighthearted but rockin’ blues punctuated
by tambourine and harmonica just like back
on Highway 61. Interesting then, that his
concluding blues take on “Sitting
On Top Of The World” is so different
from all that came before, and that he can
also channel Howlin’ Wolf so authoritatively.
Recorded in places as disparate as Joshua
Tree, Alaska, and Minneapolis, Ammunition doesn’t feel patched together in the
least. Harmonies from
Tift Merritt and Lucinda Williams (her guitarist
Doug Pettibone also lends musical muscle)
are subdued, blending into the overall feel
of Easton’s fourth release. Taking
a cue from the religious right, “J.P.M.F.Y.F.”
is as cleverly righteous as what the title
represents (Jesus
Protect Me… From Your Followers).
If not Dylan, one can imagine Steve
Earle smiling broadly while listening to
that hard bit of Ammunition. –
David Pyndus
8-BIT PORNO
DIGITAL COLONIC
(8-BIT PORNO)
8-bit Porno is a noise band.
Not noise-rock like Boredoms
or noise-pop like Sonic Youth.
8-bit Porno is pure, unadulterated
noise. What does lend some
stylistic structure to the
sounds on this six-cut EP
is the use of distorted voices
one slogs through the opening
sonic assault of "Bronchial."
Packaged with a fetish-like
interest in personal computer
technology (BASIC, 8-bit graphics),
this disc is right up there
(down there?) with the sounds
of bones breaking and babies
crying. I find the aural emanations
particularly useful to motivate
recalcitrant guests toward
the door. When it's too late
and they are too comfortable,
I do not protest overtly,
I just spin this aluminum
disc and nod appreciatively
with a Zen look on my face
and then turn to explain in
a quiet tone, "8-Bit Porno,
man." But, by then, I'm speaking
to an empty room. (Tom "Tearaway"
Schulte)
THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF MAY
The Eighteenth Day of May
Hannibal/Rykodisc
This British sextet resurrects the classic English folk/rock sound on their debut, leaning a bit to the traditional side of the equation, but also conjuring great early Fairport Convention at times. Best is "Sir Casey Jones," a rollicking thing that would've sounded great in San Francisco circa 1966, and the irresistible chime of the traditional tune "Lady Margaret," given a crystalline vocal by singer Allison Brice, and which chugs along for almost seven glorious minutes. Some of this ends up sounding a bit samey, but it's nice to know UK folk/rock is alive and kicking. --Luke Torn
THE 88
Over and Over (Mootron)
The 88 is an LA quintet that
have made their bones in recent
years by reviving both the
power and the pop in power
pop. With their matching-suit-and-tie
stage presence, bouncy grooves,
infectious hooks, and seriously
tongue-in-cheek humor, frontman
Keith Slettedahl and his 88
compatriots (guitarist Brandon
Jay, keyboardist Adam Merrin,
bassist Carlos Torres, drummer
Mark Vasapolli) could be rechristened
as the Knack for the 21st
Century. And that’s
no slam. On the 88’s
sophomore effort, Over and
Over, they return to the delirious
pop fun of their debut, Kind
of Light, coming off like
Weezer as pathologically influenced
by the Beatles with latent
Motown/Kinks tendencies and
Steve Nieve on keys. Even
when Slettedahl dials back
the joy and concentrates on
offering a more somber tone,
he can’t help but drift
back toward head-bobbing,
ass-shaking, fist-pumping
pop. The 88 is the kind of
manic pop band that fanclubs
spontaneously erupt around
and rightfully so. (Brian
Baker)
Kathleen Edwards
Back To Me (Zoe)
Damn. I certainly dismissed
her as Lucinda-lite upon the
release of her acclaimed debut
Failer (even the cover art
was too reminiscent of Lu’s
1989 Rough Trade gem). And
the first spin of Back To
Me didn’t really change
my mind, though it did bring
Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers
to mind quite vividly. A bad
boyfriend-in-prison song (egad!)
opens her sophomore release,
and while “In State”
is pleasant enough musically,
it’s hard to fathom
how/why she was trying to
forgive this badass dude.
Deep into the album, though,
things click, as on “Somewhere
Else,” where it all
comes together in spite of
the Southern Accents-production
touches (particularly the
synthesized-sounding horns)
that cannot ruin a great song.
Along with the also wonderful
“Copied Keys”
and “Good Things,”
it’s enough to make
you forgive the silly joke
of an album cover. –
David Pyndus
EISLEY
MARVELOUS THINGS (REPRISE)
Eisley made their big splash in 2003 at SXSW, after being plucked from
their hometown of Tyler, Texas, to open a Coldplay tour. To date,
they've released only two four-song EPs, and both are very good indeed.
The band consists of three teenaged sisters, their brother on drums,
and his best friend on bass. They're remarkably poised and talented,
having forged their music together more or less in isolation on a
little farm in the country. Main singer and songwriter Sherri DuPree is
all of 18 now, I think, and has a very distinctive vocal style that
reminds me of Kate Bush (without the range), and harmonizes in the way
that only siblings can with sister Chauntelle. "Marvelous Things" is a
great single, this is a very strong EP, and I'm really looking forward
to the full-length album due this fall. (Kent H. Benjamin)
ELBOW
Leaders of the Free World
(V2)
Have you ever wondered what
might have happened if Peter
Gabriel hadn’t forsaken
his prog past when he embarked
on his pop career and chose
to synthesize the two instead
of choosing one over the other?
The answer, of course, is
no; the only people who think
about things like that are
overly cerebral rock critics
and obsessed, cross-eyed fans.
Which means Britpoppers Elbow
haven’t thought about
it either, but damned if they
don’t come out sounding
a bit like that on their third
stellar go 'round, Leaders
of the Free World. Gus Garvey
and his earnest group have
endured comparisons to Radiohead
and Coldplay in the past,
and if it helps sell Elbow
into those bands’ stratospheric
chart numbers, let the Thom
Yorke/Chris Martin references
fly, but the tough romanticism
of Julian Cope and Mark Hollis
may be closer to the bone.
Garvey’s songs are simultaneously
haunting and blustery, relying
on quiet melodicism one moment
and a maelstrom of guitar
currents and explosive rhythm
components the next, making
Elbow infinitely more complex
and interesting than Coldplay
and more immediate than the
often impenetrable Radiohead.
Elbow is a band that clearly
deserves a broader audience,
and they’ve bloody well
done their part. --Brian Baker
THE
ELECTED
ME FIRST (SUB POP)
Unlikely that LA would spawn such light
indie rock sincerity, but
this offshoot (consisting
in part of one former child
actor and the bass player
refugee from a band accused
by some of being a Weezer
rip-off) deliver a very credible
minor masterpiece. Conceived
as a side project showcase
of rotating talent, with members
of Rilo Kiley and Ozma on
board, Me First was made possible
by the generosity (in the
form of well utilized studio
time) by the late Elliot Smith.
It pays to have cool friends.
Lush, heavily layered multi-instrumental
(slide guitar, horns…
Is that a farsifa? A mandolin?),
mellow-to-the-extreme rock
which slips into post Wilco
alt-country/ psychedelia,
with breathy subdued vocals
that recall Smith’s
style and character. I had
never heard of the dramatis
personae before (God bless
Google) and was impressed
by this surprisingly strong
offering. Only complaint:
Me First is unbalanced, with
the first half containing
the strongest songs, after
which it peters out and the
pace never alters significantly…a
minor quibble, really for
an oddity worth seeking. (Jason
Trent)
elena
Rivers of the Soul (self-released)
elena is a folksinger in the
traditional, protest songwriting,
acoustic guitar strumming,
coffee house/union hall type
of way, except that instead
of being a 60's college dropout,
she is a native New Zealander
currently based on Magnetic
Island, located in the middle
of Australia's Great Barrier
Reef. On her debut CD, elena
covers a number of weighty
topics (i.e. environmental
devastation and women's empowerment),
as well as more autobiographical
material, with disarmingly
direct observations and honesty.
Vocally she sings in a warm
but forthright alto voice
with plenty of power and conviction.
This is a pretty bare bones
sounding recording, but it
puts elena front and center,
which is where she deserves
to be. She has recently been
touring and earning acclaim
in Canada and hopefully will
make a full American tour
soon. Protest singing is certainly
not passé in this day
and age. (Andy Smith)
ELLIOTT
SONGS IN THE AIR (REVELATION)
Third time's a charm; well,
at least for Elliott! The
lament-heavy Songs in the
Air is the band's third full-length
album, and by far their best.
In toning down their aggression,
the band decided to clean
up guitar lines, add some
synthesizers, and bring in
a string quartet, assembled
by Christian Fredrickson of
The Rachel's. Adding a string
quartet is a nice touch, and
very smart, as the added texture
accents the atmospherics already
present. Songs in the Air
is full of ripe layering,
big drumbeats, and dizzy guitars.
With similarities to Radiohead's
OK Computer (though nowhere
near as good as that landmark),
the album's tone is one of
somberness, yearning, and
qualms. (Brandace Chatman)
EMERSON DRIVE
WHAT IF?
(DREAMWORKS)
Blech! Is this what passes
for emotionally connected
pop on the charts these days?
From its overblown, 80s-style
drum tracks to singer Brad
Mates’ bloated overwrought
vocals, to, of course, rhyming
pain and rain right off the
bat (with vocal cracks in
all the right place), this
is one of the saddest records
I’ve laid ears to in
quite awhile. (Luke Torn)
VAL EMMICH
SLOW DOWN KID (CHILDLIKE RECORDS)
It's hard to say for sure
whether Val is a more together
Evan Dando from Jersey or
if he's an Indie Metrosexual
(my first use of a new word
in a review!) boy singer waiting
to be the next John Mayer.
He's got some decent songs,
knows his way around a pop
hook or two, and even says
"fuck" here and there, just
to liven things up a bit.
He storms through "Unstable"
like he means it, but somebody
yelling out " I've become
so unstable" while anchoring
it to a killer pop interlude
probably isn't really that
unstable. Especially not when
he follows it up with a polished
mid-tempo track like "Selfish
Blues," a song that begs to
be pasted onto a made-for-teens
drama on the WB. Elsewhere,
"Black It Out" is a slow druggie
melodrama that would sound
great next to Elliott Smith
on Good Will Hunting 2: Still
Young, Smart & Angry!
(2003 being the summer of
bad sequels). Val's 23, and
I remember how important it
was to seem fucked up and
outside of it all when I was
that age. What I also learned,
through classics like Lou's
Berlin and Neil's On the Beach,
was that it was more authentic
if you sang about it without
having to spell it out. There's
time--Emmich will learn, or
else turn out to be a major-label
robot with a four-page fashion
spread in GQ. (d.n.l)
STACE ENGLAND
Greetings From Cairo (KNASHVILLE
SOUNDS RECORDS)
Stace England's concept album
about his Illinois hometown,
Greetings from Cairo, represents,
along with similar efforts
by Sufjan Stevens, a new twist--the
geopolitical concept album.
England, who formerly led
outfits like House Afire and
Tecumseh, gets to the heart
of the civil war and other
horrors, and darned if his
"Grant Slept Here,"
a profile of the war hero-cum-president,
doesn't rock the rafters.
"War was hell, but good
for business," England
sings. Others, like "Equal
Opportunity Lynch Mob,"
shine plenty of light on graft
and racism's blight, while
"Jesse's Comin' to Town,"
about Rev. Jackson's Cairo
1969 visit in support of blacks'
boycott of downtown business'
racist hiring practices, drags
the story into modern times.
Jason Ringenberg pitches in
on a stomping, storming Guthrie-esque
rocker, "Prosperity Train"
(as in "the prosperity
train ain't stopping here
anymore"). All in all,
think Johnny Horton's 1959
classic Johnny Horton Makes
History, gussied up for postmodern
times, and retooled for the
21st century. --Luke Torn
Erasure
Nightbird (Mute)
It seems to me that Erasure
has always been around, but
in reality it's only been
twenty years now. It's just
one of those assumed things
that Erasure will put out
another album every now and
then, and when they do, enough
people will be excited about
it to make it worthwhile for
Mute to release it. What is
evident in Nightbird is that
not much has changed over
the years with this duo. The
music is a little more mature
with Vince Clarke updating
his electronic arsenal with
the latest tech gadgets, but
the words and melodies are
still much the same as they've
always been. The lyrical content,
outwardly of a personal nature
yet benignly innocuous in
reality, hasn't progressed
beyond the romantically inane
territory they occupied twenty
years ago. Thus it is that
"Because Our LOVE Is Real"
is followed by "Don't Say
You LOVE Me," which is followed
by "All This Time Still Falling
Out of LOVE." Sorry was I
snoring just then? Granted,
they'll always be what they
are, and the people who really
loved them long ago will still
love them now. Still, what
is the point of album number
whatever of the same stuff
if the last time they did
something vaguely interesting
was over a decade ago when
they released an EP of ABBA
covers? Will somebody please
wake me up before we go-go?
(d.n.l.)
ET RET
Gasworks
western vinyl
Sticking to a minimal number of instruments (guitar, violin, loops, bass, keyboards) this one-person band combines the above into a selection of songs that are nice, serene, and, sometimes compelling. Often approaching the Dirty Three aesthetic of guitar and violin over drums, Et Ret often goes for pastoral where the Three would go for impassioned. The result, whether the chosen route or not, is music that sounds like the background of a story rather than the story itself. There are pristine moments of reminiscent of Popol Vuh, yet even they were more dynamically robust than this. Perhaps the aim is for a more ambient sound, but with titles such as “the Need for Work,” “Run On a Head,” “Won by Walking,” and “Letting Go of the Balloon,” there is a suggestion of action that never seems to occur. Lovely without being coyly suggestive, it’s music made, seemingly, to be played behind an art exhibit, an afterthought much like the wine and cheese. --d.n.l
EVERMORE
Dreams
EastWest/Warner Music Australia
This record has had me a bit stumped. After
listening to it all the way through and
not being particularly taken by it, I went
back for a second listen in order to write
a substantive review and took a shine to
its brooding but dynamic, piano driven pop,
which comes off as a sort of rough-hewn,
less grandiose Coldplay. Then after going
back a third time, a sort of sameness about
the songs became apparent, which dampened
the record as a whole but did not lessen
the strong impression that individual songs
like "It's Too Late" and "The
Unavoidable Thing Between Us" made. --Andy Smith
THE EVERYOTHERS
Pink Sticky Lies
Kill Rock Stars
Even if this EP sucked, Pink Sticky
Lies has got to be one of the best
album titles in recent memory. Thankfully
the record is worthy of its name. Owen McCarthy
must have gotten his ticket punched at Iggy
School, but I mean that as a compliment.
(At least that sounds better than Bowie
aping INXS, which sounds better than it
looks in print.) His songs blend catchy,
straight ahead rock with toned-down glam
sheen, resulting in infectious, memorable
songs. He's also smart enough to be a playful
and variant vocalist, like the way he jacks
up the vocal cadence on the chorus of "Something
Wrong." It's an impressive and irresistible
theatrical effect that could slide right
onto the soundtrack of Hedwig and the Angry
Inch. The Everyothers quietly released a
solid record in 2003 that got many spins
on my player, and like so many other good
bands, I feared they were one-and-done.
This five-track teaser is more than reassuring,
but I need more and I need it fast. Give
me the record I can shut The Strokes up
with, please! --Bill
Holmes
!!!/OUT HUD
LABEL REMIX SERIES VOL. 2 SPLIT EP
(ZUM/GOLD STANDARD LABORATORIES)
The world might be a much more pleasant place today if New Order and
Gang of Four had released a split remix EP back in their day. !!! and
Out Hud do their best to re-create that fictional moment. Now to
compare !!! and Out Hud to the masters of their respective genres is
not fair to anyone (even myself, who would probably be accused of lazy
journalism). Out Hud's instrumental interpretations of a single track
repeated several times definitely doesn't break any new ground, other
than the new and exciting ways it bores its audience. The !!! (oh, how
I loathe their name) track is vaguely more interesting, yet it finds
itself stuck in the very same quagmire that most remixes do, way too
much of the same (good?) thing for way, way, way too long. The first
four or five minutes are worth a listen, at which time I recommend
mixing it into a Gang of Four track (maybe a track from Solid Gold, any
of which would be far superior) with a matching BPM. (Don Simpson)
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