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TABLA
BEAT SCIENCE
LIVE
IN SAN FRANCISCO (AXIOM/PALM PICTURES)
A mesmerizing two-disc live album
from Bill Laswell's most recent multi-ethnical
musical congregation. This one collects
mostly Middle Eastern musicians and
styles and mixes them in with Talvin
Singh-style rhythms and beats. Building
on layers and layers of tabla driven
rhythms and beats, Laswell's role
is merely as part of the sound built
around them, allowing the tabla to
drive the songs. "Sacred Channel"
is like Can's "Chain Reaction" played
with a Middle Eastern flavor instead
of a German one. Other tracks resemble
live versions of Bitches Brew-era
Miles Davis, with layers of instruments
weaving together a dense blanket of
sound. The difference is that there
often isn't a lead instrument over
the top. Occasionally there are two
vocalists, both male and female, but
no flashy solos, it's a true group
effort. It's interesting to hear how
easy it is to mesh such seemingly
disparate elements as turntables,
synthesizers, and traditional Indian
and African voices and instruments.
Not that it hasn't been done before
(even among Laswell's previous projects),
just that it is something that works
so well here, making the passing of
nearly two hours time seem nearly
effortless. (d.n.l)
Rachid Taha
Tekitoi (Wrasse)
For people who think that the term
"world music" is synonymous
with mellow, non-confrontational styles
meet the fiery,a ggressive Rachid
Taha. An Algerian based in France,
Taha pulls no punches in his subject
matter or delivery. Tekitoi marks
another of Taha's collaborations with
former 70's prog-rock guitarist turned
ambient music producer Steve Hillage,
and the pair create a tapestry that
merges western electric guitars and
rock beats with North African rhythms
and Arabic sounds. The album's title
means "Who Are You?" and
Taha challenges his audience to self-examine,
with some of his most potent commentary
directed at his fellow Arabs whom
he sees as too passively accepting
of what they are told by their governments,
religious leaders, and media. There
is also a wicked reworking of the
Clash's "Rock the Casbah,"
retitled here as "Rock el Casbah,"
which takes the original into places
it never went before. (Andy Smith)
TARWATER
DWELLERS ON THE THRESHOLD (MUTE)
The semi-organic synthetic sound
of Ronald Lippok (who is also a member
of to roccoco rot) and Bernd Jastram
is an interesting exception to the
norm when it comes to electronica
duos from Berlin. They enjoy interacting
with both electronic and acoustic
instruments, and are as apt to weave
both into a three-minute sound collage
as they are to create a nifty little
pop tune from them. On "1985" they
begin with what at first sounds like
the acoustic guitar part from Jethro
Tull's "Thick as a Brick" and slowly
build on top of it layers of voices
and electronic sounds. As they've
shown us before on their groundbreaking
Silur album, they are more than comfortable
putting things electronic into the
context of natural beauty. "Be Late"
resembles the work of Cluster, a duo
who was adept at doing just that back
in the 70s (with and without Brian
Eno). Now that I've slipped Brian
Eno through the back door, it occurs
to me that he once did similiar work
on both Another Green World and Before
and After Science. So, if Eno was
doing music like this 25 years ago,
what do Tarwater do differently with
it now? Not really anything new, aside
from updating technology, but that
doesn't stop them from sounding new
and exciting in their own low-key
way. (d.n.l)
Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez
Red Dog Tracks (train wreck records)
Chip Taylor has traveled so far, both
literally and musically, since writing
“Wild Thing” it’s
understandable that we sometimes might
forget he’s responsible for
one of the great stadium anthems of
all time. The song’s a rock
classic, and it seemed for years that
it would be Taylor’s lasting
mark. Alas, maybe not. His recent
incarnation with Carrie Rodriguez
suggests otherwise. In 2002, the duo
made a strong debut with Let’s
Leave This Town, then followed it
with the brilliant The Trouble With
Humans, one of the best of 2003. Can
they get any better? Unbelievably,
yes. Seamlessly written, Red Dog Tracks
achieves an astounding purity seldom
heard. Like “Memphis, Texas”
on the previous album, here “Big
Moon Shinin’” proves a
point Guy Clark made with “Dublin
Blues”: sometimes it’s
the notes that aren’t played
that make a song great. All the rest
here are in the same league. So, then,
what’s a phenomenal songwriter
like Taylor doing putting two covers
on Red Dog Tracks? Showing that these
two, even as interpreters, can do
no wrong. --Brian T. Atkinson
India Taylor
Mosaic (Self-Released)
Mosaic is the debut album for singer/songwriter
India Taylor. It is a varied introduction
to her work with styles ranging from
country to rock to finger-snapping
jazz. Contributing musicians Lloyd
Maines and John Inmon create a rich
guitar sound which loans a touch of
the Texas blues to the album. India's
vocals are impressive throughout,
and her honest lyrics range from the
whimsical to the sentimental. The
influence of Heart is heard both in
the music and vocal style on such
tracks as "Emerald Eye Cat" and "A
Little Closer," but it's the playful
"Frogs in Princes' Clothing" and sexy
vocals on "Thief in the Night" that
really showcase the musical sophistication
of which India is capable. http://www.indiataylor.com.
(Tera Avila)
WILL TAYLOR AND STRINGS ATTACHED
(WITH VARIOUS ARTISTS)
Collaborations (HEART MUSIC)
The wedding of singer-songwriters
and a brassy string section of violin,
viola and cello is a natural. These
one-time collaborations between songwriting
luminaries and an eight-man band could
be The Texas Trinity Sessions, and
has become something of an almost-monthly
celebration in Austin, where this
collection from Will Taylor and his
band Strings Attached (even though
it includes trumpet and tabla) was
recorded at various locales. Eliza
Gilkyson opens up with the brawny
“Easy Rider” and follow-up
songs by Shawn Colvin and Patrice
Pike vary in tempo and temperament,
but you might not realize you’re
hearing three different women until
Ian Moore’s wavering baritone
begins “Cinnamon,” accompanied
by Steve Zirkel’s muted trumpet.
Other highlights include Ruthie Foster’s
spiritual “Ocean of Tears”
and Sara Hickman’s surprisingly
soaring “It’s Alright.”
Though there are no missteps here,
an overall similarity in presentation
(despite a jazzy Taylor original two-thirds
in) makes you feel somewhat stuck
in church. The overlapping string
arrangements suit the material but
render a lack of emotional arc for
a full-length release with this many
various performers. Still, Collaborations
is for fans of any of the 11 songwriters
presented here who had the foresight
and courage to try something different.
– David Pyndus
TEMPLETON
It's A Beautiful Lie (HUMBLE FEATURES)
Templeton is the kind of band that
every over-the-hill music critic aspires
to discover: a truly great unsigned
and under-known local band that is
there for the championing. They've
been around Columbus for a while,
having recorded an album previously
(1999's Trash to Treasure), before
main-man Christian Hurd's touring
and recording outings with Howlin'
Maggie (on Sony/CBS). After re-committing
to Templeton, and assembling a new
line-up of this band, they've played
increasingly well-attended gigs and
recorded this great set of songs that
goes way beyond any other Columbus
band I've heard. Combining the kind
of care that Sloan put into their
power-pop with the kind of pure power
the Replacements were famous for,
Hurd the alchemist infuses the presentation
with well-crafted lyrics that really
mean something and sound good at the
same time. Topical without being preachy,
Hurd points out that his song "Hail
to the Fucking Chief" isn't about
Bush (Jr. or Sr.) so much as it is
FOR all of us who put "Question Authority"
bumper stickers on our cars. He claims
the album is about "sex, politics,
sociology, conspiracy and romance"
and that makes me realize that, from
XTC to Neil Young, most truly great
art has at least a few of these topics
in common. Take it from this over-the-hill
critic…Templeton is well worth
seeking out! (d.n.l)
TEN
GRAND
THIS IS THE WAY TO RULE (SOUTHERN)
As good as it has been for the venting
of the figurative indie-rock soul,
the genre of emo has been responsible
for more over-emoting, stereotypically
hackneyed high school diary posing,
and flatly redundant guitar rock than
any other genre in memory. The good
news, then, is that Ten Grand are
certainly not an emo band, although
they don't completely avoid some of
the trappings of the genre either.
More in the conceptual vein of bands
like Nation of Ulysses or the Blood
Brothers, this Milwaukee foursome
kicks up a sincere racket with ferociously
cracking voices, churning staccato
guitars, and frantic drum patters
on This Is the Way to Rule. Closer
to the ragged edges of hardcore and
DC punk than the manicured angst of
most emo bands, the simmering sonic
avalanche of "Get Out of My Dojo"
and the near mechanistic vitriol of
"I Will Seriously Pay You to Shut
Up" are as believable as they are
intense. Ultimately, even though their
arrangements are complex enough for
many songs to have multiple passages,
the band doesn't do subtlety nearly
as well as aggression, as displayed
by their unfortunate foray into a
slightly milder approach on the first
half of "This Isn't Heaven, This Sucks."
Of course, the unrelenting pace and
unmitigated volume can grow a bit
exhausting, but if you're going to
be bludgeoned by excessive force,
it's good to know that your perpetrator
probably means it. (Matt Fink)
TENKI
RED BABY (FUTURE APPLE)
Tenki is from Chicago; you can tell
by the use of horns, perhaps an homage
to the old band Chicago, and the origami-influenced
packaging (the city does have a Japanese
influence). So that's cool. We've
got clarinets here, a trumpet. This
is music for a movie in the scene
where a guy is riding on a train and
realizes he loves someone, or maybe
could have been used for a driving
scene in "The Ring." The mellower
parts reminded me of bad George Harrison,
or maybe Seals and Crofts without
the squeaky vocals. Alan Parsons Project
with horns? Alas, not as interesting
as that might sound. (Tiina Lombard)
TEN
YEARS AFTER
THE ANTHOLOGY (1967-1971) (HIP-O)
When looking for archetypes for the
Spinal Tap model, it might be tempting
to lump British blues juggernaut Ten
Years After into the stable alongside
Status Quo and Deep Purple. After
all, they started like so many others,
as an R&B cover band, before--largely
on the deft fretwork of one Alvin
Lee--evolving into the kind of dynamo
fit to give John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
and Eric Clapton's Cream a run for
their boogie blues money. But, the
effort would be misguided: Spinal
Tap went through too many stages,
while Ten Years After has remained
a blues purist's dream; no wimpy faux
psych here (and, consequently, not
much of a songwriting presense, either).
Of course, the band's zenith came
with Lee's tour de force, the 12-minute
Woodstock version of "I'm Going Home"
(included here) which essayed 50s
rock 'n' roll hits within the stretched
out hippie blues/rock ethos. Better
is the sad, acoustic "I'd Love to
Change the World," (a top 40 hit in
1971) which more effectively caught
the disillusion of the times. Hip-O
does a nice job here of anthologizing
the band's output, with fine notes
from Dave Thompson, and a song selection
that includes most of the high points.
Whether you need two hours of guitar
hero blues rock, though, is up for
you to decide. (Luke Torn)
THEM
KEENER BOYS
THEM KEENER BOYS (SELF-RELEASED)
Sounding like a group
that could come from a Southern maritime
state like one of the Carolinas and
reincarnate hot jazz in a spirited
rendition, Them Keener Boys actually
hail from New York. Maybe this is
why their circumspect humor causes
them to create such howlers about
Lower East Side performance art ("That's
My Kind of Show"), martinis for Prometheus'
regenerating liver ("Martin"), prostitution
("My Booty Cost a Dollah"), and "Christmas
in Brooklyn." Voted Manhattan's Best
Local Comedians by New York Press
in 1999, this outrageous duo also
creates hilarious Flash movies that,
combined with their stage performances,
earned them recognition from Comedy
Central. On this disc they augment
their own instrumentation (mostly
guitar, piano, and vocals) with several
guests, who add plenty of texture
to Them Keener Boys. (TTS)
31
KNOTS
A WORD IS ALSO A PICTURE OF A
WORD (54/40 OR FIGHT!)
I'm not a fan of the
term "math rock" but I'll use it here.
For those unfamiliar with the genre,
think herky-jerky music with lots
of weird time signatures. If that
doesn't help, maybe the styles of
bands like Don Caballero, Breadwinner,
and, hell, even Rush, will give you
a clear picture. Not that I'm pigeonholing
31 Knots as math rock, heavens no.
Traces of Karate, Fulani, even a little
Shellac are audible. The vocals are
delivered in a dramatic shout/sing
style (think Tool or even Sunny Day
Real Estate) with a few harmonies
to boot. A rock-solid rhythm section
propels the scraping guitar sounds
on "Buy High Sell Low." "Breathe To
Please Them" sounds the most Karate-inspired,
with it's laid-back, jazzy feel. "Flight
of the Moron" is an acrobatic acoustic
guitar workout that could easily fit
on Yes's 1972 prog masterpiece, Fragile.
There is a sense of urgency or despair
on most of these tracks that is unresolved,
giving the album a tense feeling.
A Word... is a solid release that
you can't tap your foot to. (Ian Piirtola
TEDDY THOMPSON
Separate Ways
Verve Forecast/Universal
The scion of the storied musical marriage
of Richard and Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson
certainly has an impressive musical pedigree.
On Separate Ways, he displays his own immense
talent as a songwriter and especially as
a singer. Thompson has a simply gorgeous
voice for the twangy, rootsy material he
plays, and on songs like "I Should
Get Up," "Altered State,"
and "I Wish It Was Over," he shows
the potential to become one of the leading
voices in what radio programmers call "adult-alternative"
music. The only drawback to Separate Ways
is that it is a terribly lovelorn, heartbroken
and sometimes vicious record, and after
seven or eight songs that vie with each
other to see how brooding and bitter they
can be, you might need to listen to the
Archies or Shonen Knife to lighten the mood.
But if you have just been through a nasty
break-up, this is the record you want to
sit and seethe to. --Andy Smith
THE
THORNS
THE THORNS (AWARE/SONY)
Call them a postmodern
CSN if you wish. The Thorns, in case
you haven't heard, are Matthew Sweet,
Shawn Mullins, and Peter Droge. In
mid-2003, radio was onto "I Can't
Remember" in a big way for a week
or so, and I remember thinking it
was the best CSN song I'd heard in
decades. That song is the most magical
one here, a mid-tempo track with beautiful
harmonies and economic, yet warm,
musical accompaniment. If that track
is the centerpiece of the album, there's
still plenty else of note as well.
Their rendition of the Jayhawks' "Blue"
(from Tomorrow the Green Grass) is
great (even if it is a dead-on copy
of the original), and "Thorns" is
an admirable attempt at bringing the
energy level up a bit. The majority
of material here is reminiscent of
some of Tom Petty's folkier work.
The songs are democratically credited
to all three (who are backed by a
band featuring Jim Keltner and producer
Brendan O'Brien), but it's sometimes
obvious which tracks are Sweet's (the
rockers) and which ones aren't. Though
it's all a bit too safe, too MOR,
this is still first-rate stuff. But,
as with the original CSN, you might
find yourself longing for a "and Young"
character to provide that sand in
the Vaseline quality that made them
more vital when ol' Neil was involved.
(d.n.l)
3 Balls of Fire
Chrome & Water (Deep Eddy)
Burnin' Mike Vernon and his band 3
Balls of Fire have been fixtures on
Austin's surf/instrumental scene for
well over a decade. On their latest
record, Chrome and Water, Vernon and
his rhythm section expand beyond the
boundaries of "surf" music.
There really isn't a true "surf"
song on the record as 3 Balls of Fire
instead explores territory certainly
inspired by the Ventures but also
with shades of jazz, classic Buck
Owens' style country, and the sort
of Spaghetti Western soundtrack/Dick
Dale style. If you have to put it
in surfing terms, this is more for
the soul-surfin' longboarders than
the young shredders. (Andy Smith)
TIGER SAW
Sing! (KIMCHEE)
A communal experience if there ever
was one, Tiger Saw's Dylan Metrano
and his core group are aided and abetted
by a dozen other souls. The title
track begins the album, part sing-along,
part mission statement, the various
voices, both male and female, working
together to create a kind of indie
lullaby. It’s really the only
song that sounds as though a lot of
people are on it. The other tracks
are well understated, profiting from
contributions only when they are needed:
a cello here, some banjo there, more
voices. If their earlier work hinted
at another strain of slowcore, well,
they haven’t gotten much faster,
but slowcore this ain’t. In
some way the availability of a dozen
singers and players hints at what
Broken Social Scene does, but on a
smaller scale, with a tighter reign
held by bandleader Metrano. “The
Sun” is a beautiful shimmer
in Boston harbor, a love song with
its ending chorus of “over and
over and over and over,” like
watching a wave close up as it works
its way out onto the horizon. Other
songs, such as “O Dylan,”
“For Adrian,” and “For
Molly” are so insular, it’s
almost like observing a group of friends
reading someone else’s blog,
sort of. Meanwhile, “the Sea”
closes the album (which, at 34 minutes,
seems a tad short) on a lovely generality,
that feeling of mortal insignificance
one gets when confronted with the
enormity of the sea. --d.n.l
Tigerella
s/t (Shmat)
Tigerella is a very engaging five-piece
band from Alhambra, California, which
(Phil Spector's castle of death excluded)
is a relatively quiet, multi-cultural,
mostly middle-class suburb just east
of downtown Los Angeles. Tigerella
plays a loose, melodic style full
of adventuresome compositions with
Yvonne Ng's sprightly, buoyant vocals
on top, sort of like Camera Obscura
or Belle and Sebastian (when Isobel
Campbell sang) in advanced placement
math class (the album closer is called
"Calculus of Love"). Lyrically,
everything is pretty abstract, and
at times rather goofy, but certainly
never trite. Some individual songs
really stand out including the disarming
opener "Filet" and the ambitious
seven and a half-minute "The
Curse of the Matador" which features
some great guitar work from Brian
Yoshida and Gil Chinn. This is a very
intriguing record. (Andy Smith)
SETH TIVEN
Solitude
sethtiven.com
The once and current Dumptruck leader Seth Tiven has assembled an amazing band for this solo opus, from pedal steel wizard Gary Newcomb to Miracle Legionnaire Mark Mulcahy to Faces perennial Ian McLagen to Dumptruck soulmate Kirk Swan, giving him plenty of sonic colors and textures to work with. Which, combined with Tiven's wearily melodic, gorgeously introspective songs, traversing all manner of existential thought, paint Solitude as a sleeper candidate for record of the year. From the creamy psych of "Bought and Sold," a timely song if there ever was one, to the wistful "One of These Days," a lullaby to trust and honesty for our dark ages, Tiven's compositional skills are in full flight. A tremendous record from a frightfully under-the-radar artist. --Luke Torn
The Tossers
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
(Victory Records)
Chicago's Tossers play a fairly straightforward
take on the raucous Irish drinking
music in the style of the Pogues.
Led by genuine Irishman Tony Duggins,
the septet is certainly the genuine
article and The Valley of the Shadow
of Death is full of frantic tempos
and traditional instruments to cut
straight to the heart of a whiskey
soaked night. Duggins lacks Shane
MacGowan poetic lyrics and the band's
ballads don't achieve the wistful
grace they initially promise (although
"Drinking in the Day" gets
close), but if you just need some
riotous, heartfelt music to accompany
a St. Patrick's Day bender, this will
do just fine. You can probably expect
that the Tossers make a great live
band as well. (Andy Smith)
Towers of London
On A Noose/I Lose It (TVT)
The English music press hype strikes
again! Towers of London is a sledge
hammering rock band comprised of five
snarling, strutting dudes with Sex
Pistols attitude and Hanoi Rocks hairdos.
They have spit and scrapped their
way into UK press headlines with their
loutish behavior and convinced TVT
Records to sign them based on the
hype. So what does their first single
have to offer? How about two loud,
boorish rock songs with loads of attitude
and loud guitars that will inspire
their fans to jump up and down and
act like cretins. This is not always
a bad thing, but here's the problem,
the whole act has been done so many
times before by bands who were far
more talented and interesting than
these five guys. They may have the
right poses and a bad reputation,
but they also don't seem to play or
write terribly well unless they are
saving some grand musical revelations
for later on, which hardly seems likely.
Testosterone, alcohol, and speed (both
rhythmic and pharmaceutical) can only
get you so far before actual talent
is needed. (Andy Smith)
Towers of London
Fuck It Up/Down In the Streets
(TVT)
Here comes the second single from
Towers of London, and as expected,
it's another pair of club-footed,
rudimentary stompers; did you expect
something different? But that's the
whole point isn't it? If you love
big, dumb rock, Towers of London play
some of the biggest and dumbest hard
chunky guitar rock to come along in
a while, so this is might be your
band. Otherwise, AVOID! (Andy Smith)
TOWERS OF LONDON
Blood, Sweat, and Towers
tvt
I would like to officially petition TVT Records to give me the minutes of my life that I had to spend listening to Blood, Sweat, and Towers,the debut from UK bad-boy rockers Towers of London. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt but ended up realizing that it was incapable of even becoming a guilty pleasure. Now, I dearly love the big, loud guitar rock bands that these guys are obviously modeled after (Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, Judas Priest; you could say Hanoi Rocks, but that would be giving these posers too much credit), but this crap should be avoided. Here are the four key pieces of evidence: Exhibit A- The songs are derivative, ham-fistedly played, and are just plain shitty. Plus, compared to bands like Hellacopters or Fu Manchu or Turbonegro or even the harder Soundtrack of Our Lives material, the music isn't even heavy. It's like comparing Motorhead to Warrant. Exhibit B- Dimwitted, drunk, macho poser rock stars don't shock anyone anymore (except members of the Christian Right and/or kids under age 12). This is especially true if said rockers are English. Ever hear the old Bill Hicks routine about the gang fight between the British hooligans and the Bloods? Let's see Donnie and The Rev try to pull their YouTube-fight video stunt in any tough American neighborhood. Exhibit C- The two brothers taking Tourette as their tough guy stage surnames doesn’t make them tough, it makes them moronic assholes. Was "epilectic" too hard to spell? "Down's Syndrome" too long? Exhibit D- Referencing Thin Lizzy in your press bio is an egregious and unforgivable error in judgment when your music shows none of the qualities that Philo and company so beloved and influential, and as punishment, Danko Jones will be sent by the Gods of Rock to impale their five pale, spotty heads on the neck of his guitar. --Andy Smith
PETE
TOWNSHEND
SCOOPED (EEL PIE RECORDINGS/RED
LINE)
Pete Townshend's two
fine compilations of home demos, Who
demos, and unreleased experimental
recordings--Scoop and Another Scoop--have
been out of print for a number of
years, and are rather difficult to
find used. The third volume, Scoop
3, is a two-disc collection (like
the first pair) issued commercially
only on www.petetownshend.com. This
new commercial release collects most
of the truly essential Townshend demos
onto one two-disc set, compiled by
Townshend's friend Helen Wilkins and
annotated by Townshend. The cuts selected
from volumes one and two include all
but one song ("Popular") that I would've
picked myself, and everything from
volume three that I most wanted to
hear. Townshend, of course, basically
invented DIY home recording, perfecting
it years before others, like Paul
McCartney, Todd Rundgren, and Emitt
Rhodes, popularized it, and cheap
home computer recording setups in
the 90s put the technology in the
hands of everyone who cared to try.
Included are many of Townshend's best-loved
Who songs, in versions that range
from simple acoustic demos to elaborate
productions that rival (or better)
the released Who versions. Also included
are some unique and fascinating little
piano and synthesizer experiments.
Among the best numbers from Scoop
3 that few of you will have heard
is a brilliant finished solo version
of "How Can You Do It Alone" that
leaves the Who's version in the dust,
"I Like It The Way It Is" (the sole
outtake from The Who By Numbers, it
is one of Townshend's most gorgeous
songs; this version is a masterful
string-drenched production that betters
its Rough Mix cousin, "Street in the
City"), the original demo "Tough Boys"--all
snarling, buzzing guitars with notably
different lyrics--and "Lonely Words,"
a finished but unreleased track that
could and should have been one of
the best songs from the Chinese Eyes
era. A pretty essential release, this,
especially if you don't already have
all the Scoop volumes on CD. (Kent
H. Benjamin)
Trans-Global Underground
Impossible Broadcasting (Triloka/Artemis)
The musical collective known as Trans-Global
Underground seems like an almost amorphous
blob that oozes over the globe absorbing
disparate styles and incorporating
them into a wildly divergent musical
stew united by dance beats. Impossible
Broadcasting sounds like the soundtrack
for a gathering of a splendid global
nightclub audience. "Khaleegi
Stomp" pairs Indian sitar with
a hip-hop sample, gospel vocals, over
an insistent rhythm pattern. "Stoyane/Male-Le"
and "Isis K" both feature
the Trio Bulgarka and has a traditional
Eastern European meets techno sound.
"The Sikhman and the Rasta"
is a ragamuffin salute to the mixing
of Sikh and Jamaican cultures in London's
Southall neighborhood. "Cikan-
Le Message" features the Malian
rap group Tata Pound who deliver their
caustic thoughts on African corruption
in French. The last four tracks are
more ambient and akin to the music
of a film you might turn on in a hotel
room in some foreign capital. It is
quite a task to bring all of these
styles together into a cohesive unit
and not all of this works seamlessly,
but Trans-Global Underground's efforts
to show unity through music is laudable.
After all, the wild variety of sounds
and styles on this record is recreated
in the disparate melting pot found
in so many of the globe's major cities
and learning to dig each other's music
is a road to better cultural tolerance.
(Andy Smith)
TRES CHICAS
Bloom, Red & the Ordinary Girl
Yep Roc
Remember how jazzed media watchers were last summer when the Dixie Chicks latest (after the Bush brouhaha) ascended up the Billboard chart like a long-range missile, despite super-slick production that robbed the songs of any musical grit? Enter Tres Chicas, an organic Dix Chix of sorts, centered around a trio of alt-country women from Raleigh, North Carolina, whose sophomore album not only sounds more grounded than the Fleetwood Chix, but oozes soul from a molten center. A dozen sweet songs, most with a Muscle Shoals feel (even though they recorded in London), from the reverberating Hammond sound on “Sway” (also featuring Nick Lowe on bass) to the Aretha-like piano on “Shade Trees in Bloom.” Tres Chicas – an assemblage of Caitlin Cary, Tonya Lamm, and Lynn Blakey (don’t ask me which one’s the Ordinary Girl ‘cause they’re all special) – may not be as feisty as Natalie Maines on an anti-war tirade, but they sure harmonize like female Byrds on a beautiful starry night. – David Pyndus
Turing Machine
Zwei (French Kiss)
With its lack of vocals and songs
that routinely clock in at over seven
minutes, Zwei, the second record from
Brooklyn-based Turing Machine, has
the potential to be a mind-numbing
exercise in instrumental prog-rock
over-indulgence. But like their more
explosive West Coast counterparts
in Comets On Fire, they achieve the
tricky task of keeping their dense
compositions interesting, even when
they gallop past the ten minute mark.
Guitarist Justin Chearno and bassist
Scott DeSimon have a musical rapport
that powers the band through a series
of songs that rarely become tiring
or overbearing. Comparisons to the
great German 70's prog bands like
Neu! and Faust are appropriate both
in terms of approach and accessibility,
although Turing Machine create a sound
that is as visceral as it is cerebral.
(Andy Smith)
TWOTHIRTYEIGHT
YOU SHOULD BE LIVING (TOOTH &
NAIL)
Canton, Ohio: home turf for Marilyn
Manson, Danny Whitten, and Mark Kozelek.
While these polemical personalities
achieved varying degrees of fame elsewhere,
they have shown that the blight of
rust-belt towns can crank out interesting
variations on the Midwest stereotype.
Twothirtyeight aren't all that divergent,
as far as melodic punk bands go. But
when they sing "God, if you can hear,
as the sun is creeping down, could
you kindly point me right out of town?"
on "Modern Day Prayer" I know exactly
what they mean! As someone who is
usually driving about 65 mph every
time through Canton (and its constantly-under-construction
tangle of highways), I agree that
it's a good town to get behind me.
Kids, all I can say is two words:
Interstate 77! Twothirtyeight get
some interesting things going on here
and there. I wasn't crazy about the
vocals at first, since they do that
shit to them that makes them sound
like every other band with a number
in their name, but they are instrumentally
endowed enough, and diversified stylistically
enough to compensate for the things
that make them samey. For crying out
loud, though, Canton's a dump: at
least move to Massillon! (d.n.l)
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