Lach
Today (Fortified)

Lach is so out of time it's hard to know what to make of Today. The goofy NYC trio has the kind of new wave anti-folk beat that really rocks, yet somehow sounds as if it belongs in vaudeville. Since it's curiously noted that "no electric guitars were used on the making of this record," Lach actually could be a vaudeville troupe instead of a lone mastermind who seems partially inspired by Hamell on Trial sans anger. Considering the band makes plenty of punchy power pop (you'd swear they use electricity!) it's quite impressive, but the songs are cartoonish to the point of distraction. Maybe that's just the lyrics talking, like these from "Secrets Theme II": "You're OK! Let's Go! Now! Zap! Pow! Yeah!" Actually, there's plenty of actual songwriting here, the kind of stuff that could even make Stephin Merritt smile. Grand jittery fun from a band not taking itself too seriously, at least until compared to the Moldy Peaches. (David Pyndus)

LAKE TROUT
Another One Lost (RX RECORDS)

A tight-knit indie band influenced by the raw rhythmic power of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher and the moody, cosmic explorations of Radiohead. The result is Another One Lost, 13 tracks alternating forward-leaning rockers with contemplative odes to the Great Unknown. This reissue of their independently-released 2002 opus includes a “hotlink” to tour info, live tracks, and remixes on laketrout.com. An exciting band whose musical evolution appeals to anyone hungry for artfully crafted music. (John Stoehr)

LAMBCHOP
IS A WOMAN (MERGE)

Merge Records calls Lambchop "Nashville's most fucked up country band." Given such a label, and the fact that the band used to release cassettes with titles like I'm Fucking Your Daughter (in their early incarnation as Poster Child), it seems implausible that such a seemingly ragtag bunch could release such an aggressively mature record. These 11 slow-tempo, acoustic guitar and piano-driven compositions are so adult contemporary, so smooth jazz that it sounds like Lambchop switched labels from Merge to Wyndham Hill. Even Kurt Wagner's pleasing, whisky-tinged voice isn't enough to keep things interesting. The record is filled with well-crafted lyrics, but it's laced with occasional clunkers (such as "The link between profound and pain/Covers you like Sherwin Williams," on "The New Cobweb Summer"). Most of these songs, which lean toward jazz influences, don't stray too far from the low-key piano formula established on the album's opener, "The Daily Growl," save for the slightly more uptempo "Caterpillar," which has a lackadaisical groove that wouldn't sound out of place on a Phish album (not a plus). And "The Old Matchbook Trick" starts off slow before breaking out into a reggae-tinged beat (also not a plus). The musicianship is top-notch and the vocals are appealing, but the record is so low-key it may well leave listeners indifferent. (Amanda Cantrell)

NOMY LAMM
EFFIGY (YOYO RECORDINGS)

Nomy Lamm, a self-described "badass fatass jew dyke amputee, performance artist, writer, and activist" is also a frequent lecturer at feminist conferences and other events at college campuses around the country. Her body-positive writings have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, and she was named one of Ms. Magazine's women of the year in 1997. With such an impressive list of accomplishments, it's difficult to find any fault with the work of an artist as intelligent, prolific, bold, sensitive, and socially-aware as Lamm. However, I still find myself slightly dissatisfied with Effigy. Lamm incorporates accordion, violin, and bells with synths and electronic beats in a sometimes interesting fashion, which is further punctuated by her often gospel-ly sounding vocals; yet it seems to me as if something is missing, or that some of her experiments don't quite work. Still, there is much to enjoy (and ponder) throughout the album's 13 tracks (including a beautiful cover of Sinead O'Connor's "Just Like U Said It Would B"). On the title track, Lamm is at her pop-diva best, singing "that's ergonomic specificity/we know our past we keep our history/you free your mind you free your effigy." On "I'm Not a Girl" she proclaims, "I'm not a girl the way you want a girl/I was made for my own pleasure/ I was made a free man/hell I'm a free agent, I'm an agent of change." Lamm's forthright attitude and clever songwriting are her strengths, and for these reasons, fans of the artist will not be disappointed. (Guiseppina Cambareri)

Langhorne Slim
When the Sun's Gone Down (Narnack)

With a fresh, energetically wacky take on folk and traditional styles, Pennsylvania native Langhorne Slim infuses a tired genre with a reckless sense of the absurd and the unpredictable. With his reedy voice, like a backwoods Freedy Johnston crossed with the Waterboys' Mike Scott, Slim spins out modern-day back-porch storytelling and tales of unrequited love accompanied by kinetically frisky guitar and banjo. I suspect Slim's schtick is more effective on stage, but as a blueprint of a fine new take on folkie traditionalism, this'll do nicely. --Luke Torn

LAST DAYS OF APRIL
ASCEND TO THE STARS (CRANK)

This Swedish quartet is produced by Hives' mixman Pelle Gunnerfeldt, for whatever that's worth. Which isn't much, as it turns out. There's some oh-so-modern lo-fi drum sounds here that are, well, interesting, but they support endlessly-repeating, pedestrian three-note melodies, supremely colorless musicianship, and underwater emo vocalizing of the worst kind. Maybe it's an accent thing, but the singer here - nobody gets credit on the package, understandably - is truly, deeply annoying in a barking-dog sort of way. He's one of those guys who takes the words "to me" and gargles them into something resembling "teeee-oww me-ay." That is to say, so overly-mannered as to make Stipe sound like Sinatra. I challenge anyone to listen to four songs in a row without rolling his or her eyes and/or pulling the old eject-and-toss. There are elements of Spirit of Eden-era Talk Talk and, maybe, Sigur Ros, along with some more energetic late-80s nu-wave flavors, but any such aspirations are dead-ended by the gimmicky production and a voice only a narcotics user could love. You know who you are. (Jeff Calvin)

JOHN LATARTARA & KHRISTIAN WEEKS
WITH FOR INTONED (SACHIMAY RECORDS)

Sharing compositional duties, Latartara and pianist Weeks realize sparse, minimalist works on With for Intoned. The five-selection album starts with "Layers of Manipulation." For piano and tape manipulation, this spacious piece is an introduction to the sole interaction of the duo. After this, "False People," composed by Latartara, is an attenuate sequence of elongated notes performed by a string quintet. Each share in the composition of "Interactions." In this piece, Latartara and two other pianists lead a wind instrument ensemble diametric to Weeks' piano-led string ensemble. This is a mix of two concert installations that presents the listener with a bi- directional diptych in a single piece. Latartara's "Concentric 11" for flute, viola, guitar, and Tibetan single bowl focuses on the bowl with the other instruments orbiting it. The closing piece is Weeks' "Visceral Music." Like the name implies, there is an earthy, direct nature to this piece for electric bass and tape manipulation. Like the initial cuts, this is one of Weeks' representations of music in a continuum. We encounter it, in progress as it were, and then while the musicians cease we feel the sounds themselves go on. (TTS)

THE LAWNMOWERS
FEARLESS (GOOD INK)

Smart-ass rock is alive and well! The Lawnmowers lineage descends from smart-aleck new wave like the Fabulous Poodles (RIP), skewering indie rock convention and going for the big guffaws whenever possible. It's a mixed bag, though, with some things spiraling into generic rockist juvenilia ("College Dropout"). Other cuts show genuine flash with a ravishing melody and pristine harmonies ("Fairuza Balk"). "Feel this Great" buzzes with power poppy effervescence and a clanging, ricochet guitar buzz, while closer "Fader" toys with a darker sound. Fearless is nice, middle-of-the-pack indie
pop, but nothing more than that.

LEAVES
Breathe (DREAMWORKS)

Until now I'd never met an Icelandic band that I didn't like. It's not that Leaves are that bad, it's just that they manage to extract everything uniquely Icelandic about them. Sure, I don't expect them to sing in Hopelandic, but, a few atmospherics aside, they resonate in the overtly earnest goo of second rate Coldplay wannabes (Starsailor, et. al.). That a band could come from such an inspiring place filled with inspiring bands and sound so incredibly uninspired has got to be some kind of crime. Tailoring their sound to fit into that dull little corner populated by the likes of the Calling and Train, they assign any hints of sonic brilliance to momentary flashes of light on a few of the songs…as well as to the tail end of "Favour," the final track on the album. I would've missed that if I hadn't wasted an hour or so of my life that I can never get back just waiting for this excruciatingly mundane album to reveal the greatness I assumed would be there, based upon their geographic legacy. Instead I get something that makes Lifehouse sound exciting. Einar Orn (the annoying twit who ruined the Sugarcubes by blubbering nonsense through every otherwise perfect song) please come home…all is forgiven! (d.n.l)

NATALIE ROSE LEBRECHT
Imaging Weather (UNLABLED)
I have absolutely no idea what to say or write about this bizarre, other-worldly performance by LeBrecht. Imaging Weather is the aural equivalent of a car crash, painful and disturbing yet such an absurd curiosity. --Don Simpson

NATALIE ROSE LEBRECHT
Imaging Weather
 www.natalieroselebrecht.com
I have absolutely no idea what to say or write about this bizarre, other-worldly performance by LeBrecht. Imaging Weather is the aural equivalent of a car crash, painful and disturbing yet such an absurd curiosity.   --Don Simpson

Julie Lee
Stillhouse Road (Compadre Records)

The title track kicks off Stillhouse Road with a steel-toed boot to the pants, an alt-country outlaw’s romp that serves as this uneven album’s peak right off the bat. Immediately thereafter, the album’s chief contradiction surfaces. Instead of establishing the expected thread of grainy roots, the following track, “Another You,” is slicker than Music Row. It’d be easy to blame Vince Gill for adding too much saccharine, but he sings on both of the opening cuts, and “Stillhouse Road” is better for it. Instead, question Compadre Records. True, the label should be commended for launching Hayes Carll when people still thought his first and last names were flip-flopped. But the label that sets out to define roots music should be re-examined for sacrificing its integrity in this stretch toward commercial viability. Bottom line: Stillhouse Road suffers because of the label’s identity crisis. That said, there are a handful of real winners here, most notably the gentle “Your Love,” jaunty “Soapbox,” and the dreamy closer “Till the Cows Come Home.” Next time out, though, Lee, and the label, should focus more intently on one goal. (Brian T. Atkinson)

DON LENNON
Routine
Secretly Canadian
Part indie-pop balladeer, part comedic observer, Don Lennon walks a dangerously thin line between Jonathan Richman-like sincerity and outright novelty. Structured around the idea of a comedian’s standup repertoire, the aptly titled Routine (Lennon’s fourth release) is loaded with Lennon’s unique brand of self-effacing and punch line heavy pop. Unfortunately, given the topical bent of the material, many of the pop culture references are already dated. John Ritter died over three years ago, Jimmy Fallon left Saturday Night Live in 2004, and Carrot Top stopped being a valid object of derision long ago, but all of them end of being lyrical crutches for his songwriting. Such indulgences would be damning if Lennon weren’t so clever, as his references are used as metaphors and he rarely uses them for easy laughs. To his credit, Lennon knows his away around a decent melody, as well, and his charmingly geeky persona will make him immediately loved by awkward kindred spirits. For the most part, though, Lennon’s writing is far more memorable than his hooks, which aside from a few melodic quirks and his general shrugging performances, are fairly undistinguished in their Stephin Merritt-meets-Jonathan Richman straightforwardness. Still, punch lines only have so much staying power, and the tinny synths and ringing electric guitars indicate that Lennon could benefit from spending more time on his arrangements and less on his jokes.  – Matt Fink

JOHN LENNON
Some Time in New York City (CAPITOL)
Walls and Bridges (CAPITOL)
Some Time... has quite rightly always been known at the low point of Lennon's career. Recorded in a period of great upheaval and confusion, in the midst of Yoko's daughter being kidnapped by her dad, John's green card problems, too many drugs, and too many demanding leftie politicos, it's a snapshot of a particular era, a dark time in America. For all that, the songs still hold up fairly well, and there's two unqualified classics -- "Woman is the Nigger of the World" and "The Luck of the Irish." Also included are the 'live jams' from the original vinyl's second disc, or at least part of them - 3 titles from the original vinyl are gone. "Cold Turkey" from the London Lyceum Oct. 1969 w/Clapton, Harrison, et al., is pretty great. Then there's a thankfully short edit of the famed Lennon/Mothers of Invention Fillmore East show from June 1971. This edition has two bonus tracks, a 2005 remaster of his Christmas single and its b-side, and fine packaging. Walls and Bridges was seen as a major return to form on its release in the fall of 1974. Recorded near the end of John's so-called 'Lost Weekend' during his May Pang years, it's newly remixed and remastered, sounds terrific (but perhaps a bit over EQ'd), and is packaged very lovingly with lots of John's childhood paintings, lyrics, etc. It remains one of the most essential Lennon albums, with highlights like "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night," "#9 Dream," and "Steel and Glass." Bonus tracks include the live at MSG "Whatever..." with Elton John's band, two previously unissued alternate takes, and an interview. -- Kent H. Benjamin

LES SAVY FAV
3/5
Frenchkiss 
Déjà vu haunted me until I consulted Allmusic.com and realized that I really have heard this all before. I never owned a Les Savy Fav album, but a certain friend (who let's just say is a big fan) played their songs for me many a time; let alone the nine or a billion times that I've seen them live (highly recommended, by the way). These songs are all so familiar because this is a re-release of their 1999 Self Starter Foundation debut. Damn French, they're all swarmy little tricksters. Watch out for the bald ones because they'll headbutt you and totally blow their World Cup chances. I digress. Les Savy Fav are even trickier than the French, because…Voila! They are not the French at all! Oh, l'horreur! Why the French moniker, the spoken word intro en francais, and the occasional French lyric or two? Oui oui. It's a master plan for world domination! Never trust anyone who parle le français! Tim Harrington may yell some magnifique yarns over some of the finest angular monster rock this side of Jawbox and Fugazi, mais prendre garde I have no freagin' doubt that he will burn a boombox every night. C'est la vie et au revior les enfants.     --Don Simpson

THE LIBERTY SHIP
NORTHERN ANGEL EP (MATINEE RECORDINGS)

This one's got a godawful ugly cover that may or may not have something to do with the Northern Angel of the title song. But don't let the cover put you off, cause what you'll find inside are four fine pop songs that capture all the jangle and chime of 80s indie favorites like the Pastels and the Go-Betweens. The Liberty Ship features both male and female vocals and though neither is particularly strong by itself, they compliment each other and the material nicely. It's refreshing, in these days of bands masking their inability to write memorable songs with slick production and an overload of guitar effects, to hear a band like the Liberty Ship crafting fine ,carefully arranged guitar pop that stands up on its own merits. The Liberty Ship also understand the importance of brevity in pop music, as the EP format allows these four songs to really sink into your consciousness. The charm of the Northern Angel EP seems to grow proportionately with each listening. Fans of 80s indie-pop and its modern day proponents should love the Liberty Ship. Now if they could only get some nice cover art. (William Crain)

Lights Out in Asia
Garmonia (Sun Sea Sky)

This Midwestern trio creates a sound that can only be made by spending a lot of time indoors, which Midwestern winters are good for. Their music is, at times, equally claustrophobic. Texturally perfect, the trio is based around Chris Schafer and Mike Ystad's studio prowess and ability to layer sounds into songs that can only exist indoors. Think Duritti Column; think about Bill Nelson's thirty-odd solo albums or David Sylvian's body of work. Not only does LOA have a musical common ground with these artists, they also share the attention to detail and the ability to stay in a room fiddling around with guitars, keyboards and drum machines until things are just right. Vocals are kind of a sore spot, as they seem to find themselves with little more to sing than a few "ohhh-ooohs," and then when there are more lyrics, as on "Chapters of a Red Sky," you realize they don't have much to sing about anyway. On "Promontory/Cemetery," it's almost painfully Mister Mister with the phrase "I'll be there holding on" floating awkwardly over the otherwise pristine sound. They work best as an instrumental band, and the album is enjoyably long. By the time it gets to what you think is the end of the album you're almost glad that, minutes later, the song cranks back to life again. (d.n.l.)



TREVOR LISSAUER
TRANSIT PLAZA (HAPPY FROWN)

Yet another actor turned musician. Or maybe it's the other way around. Trevor Lissauer may be better known as Miles on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but, whatever, his alter-ego is on display here. Though hardly groundbreaking, Transit Plaza does have its share of modest charms. Lissauer's earnest brand of folk/pop is more akin to 70s-singer/songwriterisms (Cat Stevens, anyone?), with lots of first-person exploration into affairs of the heart. Lissauer's breathy vocals occasionally spill out into a falsetto, while lyrically, he's on a melancholy search for, if not truth, well some pathway out of the shadows. It's all a bit self-important, but with its fragile, near baroque melodic sense, not altogether dismissible.

LIVERPOOL FANTASY
THUNDER'S MOUTH PRESS (A NOVEL)
BY LARRY KIRWAN

In real life, after a modest hit with their self-penned debut single, the Beatles cut a cover version, "How Do You Do It" (later a #1 by Gerry and the Pacemakers), but convinced George Martin and Brian Epstein to release the original composition "Please Please Me," and were rewarded with a #1 hit of their own making. In the alternate reality of Liverpool Fantasy, Martin and Epstein rejected "Please Please Me" in favor of the music hall standard "Til There Was You," [a McCartney-sung staple of their real-life sets] prompting an outraged John Lennon to walk out of the band on the spot, followed -- more as a show of support for their leader than an idealistic stance -- by Harrison and Starr. It then followed that McCartney, not the Beatles, became one of the world's top-selling pop artists, releasing a long string of chart-topping MOR ballads. Without the Beatles changing pop music and drastically altering international culture, Britain was overrun by the neo-Nazi National Front. Some 25 years later, after marriages to Nancy Sinatra and Cher, McCartney's Wayne Newton-esque career is winding down. His weekly TV series is about to be cancelled. And after all these years, he's never stopped pining for his soul-mate and foil, John Lennon, and never stopped wondering ‘what if.'

Meanwhile, Lennon has become an angry alchoholic, living on the dole, ridiculed around Liverpool as ‘Loony Lennon.' Without McCartney to smooth his rough edges and keep his mouth in line, success had eluded him. Starr is a humble househusband, afraid to offend his wife Maureen, who owns the city's most successful beauty parlour, and pays all the bills. He plays regularly with Lennon, backing old rival Gerry Marsden in the Pacemakers. Harrison fell victim to a complete nervous breakdown in the ‘60s--a crisis of faith--and became a Jesuit priest. He hasn't been seen by anyone in decades. And into Liverpool, where gangs of neo-Nazis own the nighttime streets in shades of A Clockwork Orange, comes McCartney, showbiz hustler manager, and Vegas floozy girlfriend in tow, riding in a huge stretch limo, to try and convince ‘the lads' to go for the ‘topmost of the poppermost' one more time.

Author Kirwan is a musician, poet, and playwright, and has penned a captivating, thought-provoking, and hilarious fictional extrapolation based on one of the most famous of all rock legends. It's a highly entertaining read, pretty much essential for hardcore Beatles nuts, but one that above all feels real. His Scouse dialects feel a bit over the top in spots, but the novel is really hard to put down, and the characters are completely believable. Have you ever imagined what modern life would be like if the Beatles hadn't changed the world? Imagine a world with no Beatles, with no 60s youth rebellion, without the resulting fashion, political, and cultural change they brought about. Liverpool Fantasy reads for all the world like a rock ‘n' roll It's A Wonderful Life, and I found it just as moving. This is the best piece of rock fiction since Lewis Shiner's Glimpses (itself a must-read). (Kent H. Benjamin)

LO FIDELITY ALLSTARS
DON'T BE AFRAID OF LOVE (COLUMBIA)

It's been four years since the Lo Fidelity Allstars released their last proper album, the stunning debut How to Operate with a Blown Mind --a record epitomizing the notion that Big Beat was dumbed-down (yet totally infectious) dance music for rock fans. Although the Lo Fidelity Allstars didn't use live guitars, they aligned themselves as much with rock as with dance and, in the absence of guitars, even engaged in such brilliantly clichéd rock gestures as setting their turntables on fire at the end of gigs.

Thanks to the single "Battle Flag" (and its noir video) they achieved considerable success in the U.S. and the future looked bright, until vocalist and resident nutter Dave "The Wrekked Train" Randall quit in 1999. The Liam Gallagher of Big Beat, Randall injected punk attitude into the band's electro-funk sound. Few groups survive the departure of such a frontman--even if it's one who didn't write any of the music--but Don't Be Afraid of Love shows that the Lo Fidelity Allstars are managing fine. Instead of attempting to record another Blown Mind, they've wisely chosen to change direction. The rock component has been scaled back and the emphasis is on a more eclectic range of dance grooves. In addition to relying on their own largely vocodered efforts, the band has enlisted a clutch of guest vocalists. The strongest tracks feature the better known visitors. Jamie Lidell sings on the P-Funky "Deep Ellum ... Hold On," Bootsy himself drawls his way through the ultra mellow, horn-washed "On the Pier," and Greg Dulli appears on the deep and funky "Somebody Needs You"--a number whose keyboard groove evokes the best material from Blown Mind. More familiarly catchy are the summery "Feel What I Feel," which has an early-70s, Jackson 5 sound, and the appropriately Balearic "Lo Fi's in Ibiza." Some might say the band has lost its edge without Randall. It's probably more accurate to say that their sound has simply become more subtle and doesn't bash you over the head as it did before. (Wilson Neate)

THE LONG WINTERS
Ultimatum EP (BARSUK)
I wish this entire EP could all be like the title track. The structure, lyrics and production all perfectly complement John Roderick’s vocals. The other three studio tracks do not live up to the generous comparisons which the Long Winters have endured; for which, yes I know, the band should not be faulted. Considering my other favorite track by The Long Winters is “Samaritan” from The Worst You Can… my bias is clearly revealed for their folkie side. --Don Simpson

LONGWAVE
The Strangest Things (RCA)
Dreamy and mosaic, this debut recalls Echo & the Bunnymen and the Cure. Playful teasing is offset by the moody and contemplative guitar lines of frontman Steve Schiltz and lead guitarist Shannon Ferguson. An atmospheric hum set to a mid-tempo beat; a big, tidal whoosh punctuated by crunch and blanketed with thick haze. This 12-song set highlights upbeat guitar pop tunes (see “Pool Sing”) to make it tight and noteworthy, perfect for twilight driving. (John Stoehr)

MARY LORSON & BILLY COTÉ
PIANO CREEPS (THE FIRST TIME RECORDS)

Piano Creeps is the most recent effort by this celebrated songwriting duo, and represents a considerable stylistic departure. First recognized in the 1990s as the savvy introspects behind now-defunct NYC indie pop darlings, Madder Rose, Lorson and Coté have continued to work together, supporting one another in their respective (and increasingly eclectic) solo projects, Saint Low and Jazz Cannon. Piano Creeps is an experiment deliberately undertaken to further free them from the stylistic confines of the pop roadmap. Its 12 tracks are largely instrumental, opting for a soundtrack-like aura that expands upon elements of their recent film-scoring experience. There's little question that, as a collection of songs, Piano Creeps manages to consistently capture a mood. The ability of that mood to create any sort of lasting emotional impact upon the listener, however, is up for speculation. To be sure, Piano Creeps is ethereal and lushly textured, employing not just piano, but a wide array of organic and electronic instrumentation, including strings, synth, and organ, and a mixture of loops, drums, and percussion. It's sometimes haunting, sometimes oddly pretty, but more often, simply dreary and monotonous, as the deliberate avoidance of structural constraints keeps things mired in a melancholic limbo. Discernible changes to tempo, dynamics, and mood seem largely absent, and therefore--even if taken as film soundtrack--any allusion toward plot development, climax, and/or resolution seems conspicuously lacking. Certain songs do manage to charm, especially in spots where violinist Joe Myer and drummer Matt Saccuccinorano step in. They help things along in the drama department, as does--ironically--the addition of Lorson's voice for the three tracks on which she sings ("Dig A Hole," "See The Stars," and "Americana #1). "Dig A Hole" is particularly notable, contrasting baroque strings with trippy loops and fuzzy vocal refrains, and "World's Fair" fuses mechanical beats with luxuriant acoustic guitars, thus managing to successfully muster imagery that's both industrial and pastoral. The crux of the problem is that, taken as a whole, Piano Creeps rarely transcends the atmospherics to offer much poignancy. In this sense, it's reminiscent of a Lithium-induced, comfortable numbness that keeps one from experiencing too much of either extreme. And although that might be a safe place in which to exist, it tends to strip away the stuff of which greater inspiration is made. (J.J. Benson)

MARY LORSON & SAINT LOW
TRICKS FOR DAWN (SPINART)

Saint Low is one of several projects Mary Lorson (also of Madder Rose) is currently juggling, but unfortunately, this album brings her no closer to any kind of artistic breakthrough. Tricks for Dawn is comparable, at its best moments, to sterile folk-pop songwriters Jewel or Lisa Loeb. This is Saint Low's second full-length album, but it has an over-ambitious newcomers' sound as the band tries out tired production tricks and increasingly sentimental lyrics with each track. A particularly unfortunate song, "Your Lament," features the jarringly familiar lyric " ... you throw me away, but I keep coming back." The high point here is the disjointed but dreamy "Long Way Down," featuring Evan Dando. The song unnecessarily clocks in at over six minutes, but I was glad for the relatively bouncy respite from the rest of the plodding tracks on this album. Tricks for Dawn strikes me as particularly painful because it sounds exactly like the result of any awkward and sensitive pre-teenager's record-deal fantasies come true. Mary Lorson has a pretty voice, and there are a handful of interesting musical moments here, but neither are extraordinary enough to carry this record. (Summer Burton)MAKTUB KHRONOS (OSSIA) Seattle-based soul brothers Maktub (pronounced "mock-tube") deal in deep grooves, smoking vocals, and a pinch of psychedelia to round it all out. Their new album may have a few flaws, but you'll be hard-pressed not to love it because when things go right they are dead on target. "You Can't Hide" is as rootsy and funky a song you'll hear, and showcases vocalist Reggie Watts' range and Daniel Spils' soft touch on the keys. The band slides into a more forceful guitar sound with "Give Me Some Time," and the raw energy of the chorus helps pick up the softer passages, which are a touch out of place. Another highlight is the smooth crooning "Baby Can't Wait," which owes as much to Chic as to Marvin Gaye and here the band lays a Hammond organ and sitar break in with great results. The only real misstep is Maktub's psychedelic-laced cover of Led Zeppelin's "No Cover"; it's a solid choice and their take is undeniably unique, but at times the slashing guitars don't quite match the reverb-soaked keys and for a moment it produces an odd sense of vertigo. It's a minor complaint that's easily forgiven, though, when the rest of the album is so solid. (Boon Sheridan)

LOS KUNG-FU MONKEYS
REBUILDING THE WORLD (ONE SHOT RECORDS)

This is a Tijuana ska outfit that varies from classic English 2-Tone styles to the more Americanized ska-core. Rebuilding is mostly energetic, upbeat rocking ska, rather than appealing to more melodic approaches. Included is a spirited cover of "Boys Don't Cry" (The Cure). Fans of The Specials, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Operation Ivy, and Rancid will find something to like here. (Tom "Tearaway" Schulte)

THE LOVE EXPERTS
Cuba Street EP
Undertow
St. Louis' Love Experts play what many people think of as the perfect sound of "power pop." It's jangly and tuneful with lots of chiming guitars (probably Rickenbackers), harmonies, and enough edge to keep it from getting too drippy. The opening title track is the prime example of this, a two minute shining nugget of a song. The other standout on this six-song EP is the sped up "Reveille." A couple of the songs are a bit too far on the annoyingly catchy side of things, but you can't fault the Love Experts for writing songs that stick in your ears. --Andy Smith

THE LOVED ONES
Keep Your Heart (FAT WRECK CHORDS)
Melodic punk bands are a dime dozen. Typically they’re three-piece bands that create simple catchy little songs about relationships or an the occasional political rant. When you listen to Fat Wreck’s newest band, the Loved Ones, you will be able to say to yourself, that you have heard all these songs before. However the Philadelphia trio pull it off extremely well as they rip through 13 tracks of hook-filled punk, somehow managing to rise above the pack. Guitarist/vocalist, Dave Hause has a voice reminiscent of Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker and can write just as infectious songs, such as “100k,” and “Breathe In.” Overall this is a strong debut, and will be pleasing to those who like fun songs to jump around to. –Alex Murphy

LOVESPIRALS
WINDBLOWN KISS (PROJEKT)

Windblown Kiss marks a change in direction for duo Anji Bee and Love Spirals Downwards architect Ryan Lum. The pair leaves behind the shoegazer dream-pop formula for a more vocal approach. Anji Bee is not quite up to the jazz-vocal delivery, yet, but some of the less ambitious material is solid, for example "You Girl," which is a very effective cover of an obscure song by America. The two join in a few duets and Ryan shows himself to really be a crooner ("You are the Gun"). A bonus, unlisted track is a fun, vintage-sounding number with Anji providing kazoo accompaniment. Anji calls this song "Old Kazoo Blues" and the songs Led Zeppelin produced from rural blues influences inspire it. This song notwithstanding, such musical guests as Sean Bowley (Eden) on acoustic guitar and vocals and Doron Orenstein (of Frescoe) on sax join the pair throughout Windblown Kiss. Though it's probably a one-time concept album paying homage to nostalgic music styles, this album, with its jazz-folk touched by flamenco and soul, will long gleam as a special gem in the Lovespirals discography. (TTS)

The Lovetones
Meditations (TeePee Records)

The Lovetones are an Australian psychedelic outfit, and yes, they have a formal connection to the Brian Joenstown Massacre in the form of lead singer Matthew Tow, (who wrote "Starcleaner" from BJM's And This Is Our Music). The Lovetones are also BJM labelmates on TeePee, but the comparisons between the two bands really should end there. If there are different schools of psychedelic music, BJM is more from the Velvet Underground and Love schools, and the Lovetones are from the Beatles school. Meditations unveils the Lovetones' poppier sound that seems to be more of an extension of the Aussie psych tradition than a part of the newer west coast scene. Tow's voice bears a strong resemblance to John Lennon (especially on "Stars" and "Inside a Dream"), but it is inaccurate to think of the Lovetones as too derivative. The whole record is unfailingly tuneful and even at times, (i.e."Pictures") shimmering, but the songs do not leave an indelible impression. (Andy Smith)

Low
In Europe (Plexifilm)

Following Low around Europe, from Berlin to London, on their winter 2002 tour in support of Trust, filmmaker Sebastian Schrade dryly captures the tedium and detachment of touring, mixing it with interviews with bandmembers and live footage from several of the shows. In terms of style, the film makes more evident that their jump from quiet and slow to loud and slightly faster wasn't as sudden as some suggest. Trust was certainly a transitional album, finding the band ready to test the waters with several leaps of faith. The interviews are insightful, if a bit stiff, and in focusing on one small tour this effort pales in comparison to Marc Gartman's excellent documentary that came in last year's Low boxed set. The best moments here are fleeting, like the views of Europe from the confines of their touring van (with singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk lamenting the fact that there is all of this beautiful scenery being missed). The black and white of the travel footage represents a sort of dream-state, while the color of the concert and interview footage becomes reality. The band's sense of humor never really comes across well here, with only a Spinal Tap-ish crossing of paths with Napalm Death in a German radio station to provide any kind of comic relief. The performances are pristine, though, and well filmed, even if some of my own favorites from this period are absent. The extras are hardly that, with only some stray travel footage with the entire radio program as its soundtrack. Well intentioned as it is, I can't imagine anyone who isn't already a fan of the band finding much excitement here. --d.n.l

THE LUCKSMITHS
A Hiccup In Your Happiness
matinee
They just don’t make them like this anymore. Well, in the first place, this is a CD single – a rarity in itself – but musically, Melbourne’s Lucksmiths lock into an era that is ripe for re-discovery. Sure, you might say that the Lucksmiths are kindred spirits with Belle & Sebastian, the Shins, and the Decemberists, especially with the impressive use of horns underpinning their twee pop leanings. But whilst all the ‘hip’ bands have tapped into the zeitgeist of the Big Music movement viz. Echo & the Bunnymen, (early) Waterboys, Big Country, and of course, U2, the Lucksmiths evoke the earthier aspects of '80s music viz. Elvis Costello, the Smiths, Crowded House, REM. The Pale Fountains, and the Go-Betweens. So, this four-track disc is a wonderfully succinct Polaroid of all that was beautiful in the early '80s – melancholy, wistful, sophisticated and intelligent music. This Aussie trio deserves a bigger stage but who is gonna give it to them….?    --Kevin Mathews

LYCIA
Estrella (SILBER)
Darkwave is a made-up name for music that falls between the cracks of goth, ambient, and shoegazer. Don’t know who coined it, but it sounds more like a brand of goth hair-gel than it does a musical genre. Lycia is possibly the longest running, most prolific group associated with the movement, with its Arizona roots and early rumblings of a more industrial nature. In these recordings, the band's line-up is distilled to its core, husband and wife team Mike VanPortfleet and vocalist Tara Vanflower. First recorded between 1996-98, and released on Projeckt, VanPortfleet has revisited the album for its reissue through their new label, Silber. The band seems to want to provoke comparisons with the Cocteau Twins, and while that’s not way off base, I’d have to say that they are to the Twins what the A-Teens are to ABBA. It’s pretty, airy, proficient and well intentioned, but ultimately comes off as being somewhat soulless and completely without humor or irony. The Twins were full of soul and had a wicked sense of humor (“sugar hiccups for cheerios” anyone!), but, like the A-Teens, there is a dryness that seems to imply they take it all too seriously. It’s lovely as background music, but never completely satisfying in any other capacity. When I want music like this I’m much more likely to reach for Treasure. That’s the real deal. --d.n.l

LYING IN STATES
Wildfire On the Lake
Flameshovel
If various website postings are accurate, by the time you read this, Lying In States will have played its last show and will have to be referred to in the past tense. Wildfire On the Lake will then serve as this Chicago band's swansong, and that is a shame. Finding an interesting point between the post-rock sound and a more hook-filled rock approach, Wildfire On the Lake has plenty of really engaging and intriguing moments. The highlights are the excellent two-minute blast of "Qg" and the title track which closes the record on a quiet but beguiling note. --Andy Smith

SHELBY LYNNE
Identity Crisis (CAPITOL)
Shelby Lynne's been around for ages as a country singer, but beginning with 2000's I Am Shelby Lynne she crossed over into the pop mainstream. A stunningly beautiful, tortured artist with a great voice, her childhood, love life and all the drama and mystery around this hard-drinking lass should've made her more nearly tabloid fodder than a great artist. But a great artist is what she's become, against all odds. Generally viewed as a return to form after 2001's underwhelming Love, Shelby, Identity Crisis finds Lynne straddling so many musical genres that it will take listeners with very catholic tastes to follow along. "Telephone" is a solid, catchy pop song. "10 Rocks" is an excellent modern gospel-rock cut with hints of swing. "Gotta Be Better" is a terrific rocker tailor-made for, say, Dave Edmunds to turn a stunning Elvis-style rendition. "Lonesome" is country, the way Hank sang it (and everyone else still should). "Evil Man" is naturally enough a modern blues song. "I'm Alive" is probably as close to a true expression of her enigmatic feelings as we're likely to get. It's easy to look at the face or the history of big-hair country Nashville-style albums in Lynne's past, and write her off as just another country-turned-pop confection. But the reality is that if she had been blessed with more average looks, this album would be hailed as brilliant. Bottom line, if you like recent works by Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, or Chrissie Hynde, you might just find that Shelby Lynne is right down your alley as well. (Kent H. Benjamin)

back to top