PRINT IS DEAF

2009-03-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT
MOTION TO REJOIN
(MATADOR)

Nathan Shineywater, self-sustained vegetarian, campaigner for legal cannabis and student of constellations, sums up his outlook concisely: “Wilderness first, music second.” Along with Rachel Hughes, he is Brightblack Morning Light, a fuzzed-out psychedelic duo from Alabama. Motion To Rejoin, their second album, slows the already languid pace down to a blissful drone of vintage keys, delayed guitars and breathy incantations. To describe the album as narcotic would be lazy, but necessary, as the tracks begin to blur into one another and a tranquillised lethargy envelops your whole body.
At times the spaciness of Pink Floyd seeps through, but with a gospel tinge. In fact, Motion To Rejoin feels like something of religious experience, not as gloomy as Low, just a steady spiritual uplift grounded in the pagan delights of sun and earth. The album was recorded using only solar power in the wilderness of New Mexico, and the sludgy vintage sound of the recording is a part homage to the earth – not the planet, just actual earth.
Highlights include When Beads Spell Power Leaf and Summer Hoof, but the album works as a full listen rather than dipping in and out. The sound might be like swimming through treacle, but in a good way – where were you going anyway?
Tom Reid

2009-03-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

BOB LOG III
MY SHIT IS PERFECT
(BIRDMAN)

The myth of one-man blues band Bob Log III has finally gotten more interesting than the music. He’s the jumpsuit wearing ladies man from Arizona who conceals his face with a painted silver motorcycle helmet, and it’s been said he’s actually Tom Waits, a Stroke or (dead) comedian Andy Kaufman. More likely he’s the former frontman of blues rock duo Doo Rag, Bob Log. Still, it’s a back-story that makes Seasick Steve’s seem conventional.
Waits called Log “the loudest, strangest stuff” he’d ever heard, but on My Shit Is Perfect Log isn’t loud enough. Sometimes the production’s so lo-fi it’s like he’s playing an elastic band round a shoebox rather than slide guitar, other times it’s akin to the Dust Brothers’ fuzzy patchwork on Odelay by Beck, but with fewer pieces. The repetitive blues riffs on ‘Mr Sis Boom Bah’, ‘Bumper Car’ and ‘Bucktooth Potato’ eventually become indistinguishable.
When he gets funky on both parts of ‘Goddam Sounds Good’ or shreds over a clapped-out drum machine like on ‘Shinkansen Teh!’, Log is as entertaining as the rumour that he’s got monkey paws not hands. But mostly he’s using tricks that can’t be sustained over one album, let alone four.
Stephen Eddie

2009-03-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

THE MONKS
BLACK MONK TIME

The Monks used to be called the Torquays. They used to play surf music, cover Chuck Berry songs and serve as American GIs in Germany.
Then something happened; an epiphany of sorts. They left the army; ditched the pseudo-British name with its connotations of beat music, shaved their heads into monks’ tonsures and started playing the most rhythm-heavy progressive rock that had ever been heard.
Forty-three years after its original release, their only album Black Monk Time is being reissued and it has never sounded more current.
Roger Johnston’s fast percussion and the cynical, pithy rhetoric of Gary Burger’s lyrical is an obvious precursor to bands like Black-Flag, Dead Kennedy’s and The Descendents; punk landmarks.
“Monk Time” opens the album and spits out controversial polemic like, “Why do you kill all those kids out there in Vietnam? Mad Vietcong.” It is not just their ex-military history that makes the song stunning but its’ modern scuzzy arrangements; anarchic keyboard, unrelenting beat and raspy screams. They are political without standing on the soapbox.
Then comes a song like “I Hate You” which is painfully lamenting and so far ahead of its’ time, preceding shoegaze like My Bloody Valentine.
Every track could be lifted out of the album and worshipped for its’ enormous sound. It is emotional but no frills.
The most inexorably engaging record I’ve ever heard. Where the donald duck has this been all my life?
Shelley Jones

2009-03-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

IT HUGS BACK
INSIDE YOUR GUITAR
(4AD)

Inside Your Guitar is the dreamy debut album from Kent based indie-pop band It Hugs Back. These four boys, friends from their school days, have managed to create a surprisingly mellow record, despite creating it amongst the chaos of our capital. Each song is a fusion of twanging guitar rifts, a hypnotising organ and soft melodies, sung at almost a whisper. The opening track has a hymn like tone until the soft vocals of lead singer Matthew Simms emerge from the haze and transform it into a more modern and enchanting sound. In the middle of the record is a diamond of a track called Remember; a soothing song which radiates a feeling of melancholy. The album does contain a few more up tempo tracks such as Now + Again, a jangling guitar which is again softened by Simms’ calming voice. Inside Your Guitar is a record to listen to when you want to chill out, and could be a fantastic summer album, as nothing could cool you down better than these eleven serene tracks. This album is a grower and with every listen you notice a lyric or a jingle which is yet another thread on this musical patchwork quilt. A year in the making, this album has been well worth the wait. It has been so carefully put together, and this can be heard in the delicately constructed melodies and thoughtful lyrics.
Rosie Khdir

2009-03-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

BLK JKS
MYSTERY
(SECRETLY CANADIAN)

This four-track debut EP from South African BLK JKS will delight any musical masochist that thrives on meticulous dissection and analysis of music.
BLK JKS describe themselves as art-rock, but the category seems too narrow to accommodate all the influences and styles that clamour for attention on Mystery. Produced by Brandon Curtis of the Secret Machines, it is so full of separate sounds that it takes several listens just to get a first taste of the music. Instruments are used to their full effect – the guitar moves from shredding to sweeping, from quick paced to slowly melodic while the rhythm section covers fast percussion and pounding drums – all of it interrupted by screeches, whistles, bells and chanting in Zulu.
Instantly reminiscent of TV on the Radio, BLK JKS come into their own in quickly paced songs where sharp whistles and shrieks blend with seamless and smooth melody (Lakeside, Summertime), but are too fractured and disconnected in their slower songs where the vocals of Linda Buthelezi leave much to be desired (It’s in everything you see).
Mystery has the unidentifiable adhesive that makes it all work though, and once it gets enough attention, a full-length should be greatly anticipated.
Kaj Dabrowski

2009-03-24T10:02:00.002-07:00

THE MYSTERY GIRLS
INCONTINOPIA
(IN THE RED)

If a question mark hangs over the Mystery Girls it’s because this Wisconsin quintet of wiry white (non-effeminate) boys has yet to come out of the garage. Since 2002 they have released two LPs and a handful of singles, yet a Google search on them produces only two relevant results and no recognition from Wikipedia. Perhaps their closeted status hinges on them smelling like a hackneyed bluesy garage rock band destined to play the pub and college circuit forever. Their head-banging, abandoned guitar-riffing, hi-hat-abusing pedestrian angst certainly screams for little else. So does the adolescence of lead singer Casey Grajek’s scratchy threadbare yowls. But their third effort INCONTINOPIA starts off well enough. It is opened by an anodyne ice-cream-truck intro, which scratches into “Oh! Apollo”, a pleasant piece of jangle pop that sounds like it’s been baked under the Californian sun with the Byrds standing watch. Grajek’s reverb-tinged register is then put to good use in “The Magic Is Gone” as he wails and quivers listlessly over a bed of bluesy organ riffs. Unfortunately this middling mash-up of retro rock descends into an aimless smash-up-your-guitar orgy, a sonic rump of what could only be an alcoholic binge. Perhaps the garage is where the Girls belong after all.
Estella Hung

2009-03-24T10:02:00.001-07:00

CONDO FUCKS
FUCKBOOK
(MATADOR)

Underground collage rock band Yo La Tengo performed at Magnetic Fields in Manhattan under the pseudonym Condo Fucks. As Condo Fucks, they are releasing an album Fuckbook with Matador. Although the band’s official bio states them to be the “legendary New London, CT trio,” the group actually consists of the members of Yo La Tengo, married couple Georgia and kid Condo and good friend James Mcnew. The alt rock threesome known for their diversity of styles, have gone back to good old-fashioned rock and roll with this 11-track side project. With short songs such as ‘Shut Down’, using stripped down instrumentation and a hard-edged style. The first number on this lo –fi album ‘What’cha Gonna Do About It’ epitomises post punk music, loud and fun using, solid electric guitars, drum, and base with a prominent vocal melody. A reflective album with songs such as ‘Gudbye To Jane’ and ‘This Is Where I Belong’ gives the band an emotional incline that is rare among shoegazing musicians. Fuckbook is a clear acknowledgment of Yo la Tengo’s rather passive, yet remarkably sound cover album Fakebook. Even for someone who is not a self-proclaimed rock fan this is defiantly worth a listen. A sought after trio and with good reason.
Darsha Patel

2009-03-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

THE JUAN MACLEAN
THE FUTURE WILL COME
(DFA)

The Juan Maclean (DFA Records)

John Maclean, a.k.a The Juan Maclean has given his latest baby a very decent and germane name.

“The future will come” seems an apt summing up of the second LP from a band that’s roots lay heavily with DFA records.

Maclean was a key player in the conception of DFA; the label that went back to the future with their resurgence of late 70s New York electronica; and his second full-length tries to impregnate a more chilled dance-punk into the scene.

The synths and beats trend of the cool kids’ dance parties still hasn’t died and ‘The Future Will Come’ tries to offer a more subversive and 80s interpretation.

Nancy Whang’s vocals on album opener and single ‘The Simple Life; echo that of the Human League; stripped back and deadpan.

The remaining standout tracks are ‘Tonight’ the literal and non-literal centre of the album and final track and single ‘Happy House’.

All which play with building blocks of synthetic drum beats and undulating vocals until they decide to knock them down and eventually craft a sound so matured from its origins that it sounds like its grown legs.

The Juan Maclean’s second album isn’t trying to outdo its big label brothers; the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip, or get swallowed up by them either, it’s just saying: “Hey, we’re here too and we’re just as good as they are.”
Danielle Wootton

2009-03-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

THUNDERHEIST

Thunderheist are vocalist Isis and electro-wizard Grahm Zilla, and this is their debut album, full of big, simple promise. The Toronto duo mix Hot Chip-style jangly samples, luxurious electro basslines and drily understated vocals on tracks such as “Nothing 2 Step 2” and “Do The Right Thing” to make some enticing tunes for the coolest party in town.

Other high points include the (possibly) tongue-in-cheek “The Party After”, a funky ode to continuing the good times, and the smooth-as-Snoop Dogg “Red Whine”.

Isis’ vocals are the most distinctive thing about Thunderheist’s music – verging on monotone, they can be amazingly hypnotic. But sometimes, for example on “LBG (Little Booty Girl)” they are so engulfed by the swashing tide of bass fuzz that they become a little bit nagging and distant, like people talking in the next room.

The album suffers from a lack of contrast: after five or six tracks you long for a little variation from the thick, indistinctly pulsing electro treacle of a bassline. Thunderheist reach some enthusiastic highs and are worthy of attention, but have work to do before they fulfil their stated aim of ‘throwing a wrench into static hip-hop conventions’.
Chris Hall

2009-03-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

DIPLO
DECENT WORK FOR DECENT PAY
(BIG DADA)

Philadelphia-based DJ Wesley “Diplo” Pentz’s new release, Decent Work for Decent Pay, is a bold attempt at convincing people of Pentz’s worthiness of being Grammy nominated for producing M.I.A’s “Paperplanes.” The song, which is featured on DWFDP, can stand on its own without any retouching, but is reduced to providing a back track while Bun B and Rich Boy flex their rapping muscles over the beat.

Overall, there is no cohesiveness to Diplo’s second album release, which hurts the record from ever making any kind of statement. Although, his remixed versions of Peter Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks” and “Let’s Make Love” by CSS have irresistible dance beats, the disc really doesn’t display the magnitude of Diplo’s talent and producing skills.

Though Pentz uses some original “Diplo” material interspersed with the other tracks, it is obvious that aside from a house party or club atmosphere that this record does not bring any certain kind of message. And while the beats are strong they lose their way amidst the too loud vocals.
Britni Salazar

2009-03-24T09:57:00.001-07:00

KARIMA FRANCIS
THE AUTHOR

It’s not just Karima Francis’ unusual appearance, with her mass of dark curly hair and androgynous Patti Smith-esque attire, which distinguishes her from her many contemporaries. The Manchester-based 21-year-old has a breathtakingly powerful voice that puts the likes of tuneless Brit magnet Duffy and mockney Bacardi Breezer-chugging Adele to shame. On the occasions when her debut album showcases this gift at its most effective, it feels as if Francis is on the verge of something truly special. Her gorgeous, swooping vocal on the beautifully stripped-down title track is reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s Blue, while the melancholic ‘Hold You’ and plaintive ‘Morse Code’ show her voice has emotional depth as well as power.

Sadly, however brightly The Author shines at times, a smattering of dull and bland songs derails its momentum. The insipid pop-lite of tracks such as ‘Again’ and ‘Chasing The Morning Light’ achieve the seemingly impossible by making Francis’ spellbinding voice sound instantly forgettable. The combination of uninspired musicianship and drab production drags her down from the perch of magical troubadour to identikit female singer destined to fill the airwaves on Radio 2 in the afternoon. The Author offers a brief but tantalising glimpse of a special talent, and although it’s far from perfect, has enough potential to suggest that Francis could mature into a remarkable artist.
Ben Hewitt

2009-03-24T09:55:00.000-07:00

BLACK LIPS
200 MILLION THOUSAND
(VICE)

Black Lips, who are notoriously famous for their outrageous onstage antics of nudity, stage invasions and beer bottle smashing, are releasing their fifth album. 200 MILLION THOUSAND is their second album release whilst being signed to Vice Records and will be released on March 16th.
The band from Atlanta is formed of, guitarist Cole Alexander, bassist Jared Swilley, drummer and vocalist Joe Bradley. Original member Ben Eberbaugh was killed in a car crash in 2002 and replaced by Jack Hines, a friend of the band members, and they recorded their second studio album. He was then quickly replaced by current guitarist, Ian Saint Pé, in 2004.
200 MILLION THOUSAND sounds as if the band has been on a week long drug and alcohol binge, filled with a jittery, ramshackle rock-and-roll base before becoming smudged with hazy psychedelic. Proven by songs like ‘Starting over’, consisting of chiming jangling guitars paired with bleated and mumbled lead vocals, ending oddly with a single chime of a triangle.
‘Drugs’ has somewhat of a surf-rock feel and has the odd use of combining a song about drugs and prostitutes with upbeat handclaps.
Despite the psychedelic feel there is some meaning behind some of the music seen in ‘I’ll be with you’ where Jared refers to Bobby Ubangi from his other band, The Gaye Blades, who was diagnosed with small cell lung and brain cancer.
The album is filled with effects-laden vocals and guitars, sludgy bass lines, droning harmonies and wild sound effects, including a swooshing keyboard on ‘Short Fuse’. 200 MILLION THOUSAND sounds as if it was created by a buzzed band writing songs whilst still intoxicated.
Mandy Biles

2009-03-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

SHONTELLE

SHONTELLIGENCE
(SRC RECORDS / MOTOWN RECORDS)

SHONTELLIGENCE has been an unqualified disaster. Three months after its November release, it had only sold a paultry 21,000 copies, forcing parent label Universal to rerelease it in March with a new duet with stablemate Akon ‘Stuck With Each Other’ – which couldn’t be more apt.

Essentially Rihanna-lite, Shontelle’s music is an ungainly mix of reggaeton, dancehall, R&B, soul and Bangra. This, her debut album, reeks of label interference, with her one successful single ‘T-Shirt’ being penned by the same songwriting team as Natasha Bedingfield and Michelle Williams. She’s admitted it herself, saying: “It’s a bit mushy, nothing like the songs I write myself.”

The songs she does write herself are primarily dancehall, reflecting her Barbadian roots – but the first four tracks of the album are bland, trite pop errors, full of lacklustre lyrics and achingly weak rhymes. Her duet with Beenie Man ‘Naughty’ seems based entirely around the fact that “naughty” and “party” almost rhyme when sung in a Barbadian accent.

This 12-track hodgepodge feels clumsy and graceless, lacking the pop/dancehall balance Rihanna hit on so perfectly, instead lurching from one music style to another. Rapping in Cajan dialect in ‘Focus Pon Me’ doesn’t help her mainstream sales either, but her semi-naked antics in her video for ‘T-shirt’ definitely will, racking up over five million plays on YouTube. And with no other song standing out, it’s the only thing carrying this otherwise gawky and lumbering album.
Alastair Plumb