Devendra Banhart
Rejoicing in the Hands
( Young God ) 2004

" It's like finding home, in an old folk song that you've never ever heard, still you know every word and fo' sure can sing along"

Having seen his face in way too many places, and read a few bittersweet reviews, I was prepared to pass up on Devendra Banhart. That said, since I began to allow his collection of song titled 'Rejoicing in the Hands' to enter the mind, it has owned me. Sixteen tracks of mesmerizing guitar plucking, much in the learned style of the late John Fahey (see: "Tit Smoking In the Temple of Artisan Mimicry", an instrumental that is part dedicated to the man himself) or as of recent M. Ward. As for the vocals - just when you had thought Jack White had mastered the warble of Blind Willie McTell, circa "Broke Down Engine Blues", it looks as if Devendra has a one-up on the peppermint kid ("There Was Sun").

The songs are certainly part that of a madman's doing, but they are full of charm and imagination. Captured by the bizarre imagery this album possesses is like staring into the sun, entranced by it's beauty yet unable to turn away. A keeper like "This Beard Is For Siobhan" plays like a vinyl gem rescued from any decade pre-1940, and is also one of the only "full band" tracks on the album, complete with percussion.

With all the talk of Marc Bolan-this & Nick Drake-that - I don't hear the transition. Not to pass this up due to wrongful association - the Syd Barret references still hold true (see: "Insect Eyes"). If after all the hype and press you still aren't listening - Rejoicing awaits.

kaleb :: (07.02.04)

Devendra Banhart
Cripple Crow
( XL Recordings ) 2005

After releasing two of 2004's most surprisingly enjoyable albums - the charmingly freakish and highly praised Rejoicing in the Hands and Nino Rojo - Devendra Banhart continues his prolific run as "freak folk's" premiere warbling, nature sprite-like troubadour. However, this time he's out to prove he's more in touch with reality than we all suspected, even if that comes at the risk of sounding as if he's isn't grounded in anything more than the wispy wings of the dragonflies he sings about.

While Banhart's lyrics have always been preoccupied with the majestically natural and even surreal, they have never been so contemporarily contextualized as they are on Cripple Crow. While there are the requisite lines about lazy butterflies and queen bees, they seem to have deeper allegorical implications. When he sings about "riding on a cat" the jaunty, nursery rhyme-esque, "Some People Ride the Wave", the line is followed by "some people write the books that bastardize our claims.. .some day I'll understand." Somehow this guy makes playing with domestic animals seem relevant to religious dogma and unjust wars. Then there is the overtly political "Heard Somebody Say". With its anti-war chant of "We don't wanna kill", very few artists could get away with it without sounding like hokey idealists, yet Banhart pulls it off effortless authenticity. What's all the more remarkable is that with the risk of being timely, the album still maintains the timeless intimacy that made Rejoicing so unique. You can still hear candid giggles in the background, as well as reactions of onlookers in the studio, all of which adds a sense of comforting, homespun familiarity.

The instrumentals are also familiar sounding; Devendra's simple acoustic plucking is just as gentle as you remember it. However, the production this time around is much lusher, complete with swelling strings, rollicking piano and even - gasp - electric guitar as featured on "Long Haired Child". The melodies are a bit more subtle and somber, take the melancholy coming-of-age story opener "Now That I Know" for instance. But the songs are just as sage ("Little Boys") and just as evocative. "I Do Dig a Certain Girl", with its lilting harmonies and sincere is perhaps one of his finest love songs.

The worst one can say about Cripple Crow is that at over 75 minutes it could have benefited from some judicious editing. But despite the occasional Spanish rambling or creepy lyric ("Chinese Children" any one?), Cripple Crow still manages to showcase Banhart as a mature singer-songwriter, not just freaky hippy. Disregard the missteps and there are many reasons to rejoice.

Jessica Gentile 08.26.05

Bobby Bare
The Moon Was Blue
( Dualtone ) 2004

Before he was known as Bobby Bare, Jr.'s father, Bobby Bare was known as a damn fine country singer, chart hits and all. With a career spanning the early 1960s through the 80s, Bare wrapped his assured, velvety baritone around a variety of material that stretched at the boundaries (recording folk material, f'r instance, and many Shel Silverstein songs) of the Nashville sound long before there was an "outlaw" or "alt-country" scene to identify with. After a hiatus from recording, The Moon Was Blue is his Jr.-produced "comeback," but there're no overt attempts to meet the latest young upstarts on their own turf. Moon is a beautiful, lushly produced collection of pop and country standards ("Love Letters in the Sand," Everybody's Talkin'") sung with the easy, unaffected confidence of a veteran with nothing to prove. Not that Bare is going all "crooner" on us - he's still refining his distinctive amalgam of country, folk, and pop, aware of contemporary innovations while ignoring shallow, ephemeral trends. The Moon Was Blue is what people back when called "a class act," and it's wonderful music to chill to.

Mark Keresman 11.09.05

Lou Barlow
EMOH
( MERGE ) 2005

"Rusted halo use your wings"

Sebadoh, Sentridoh, Lou Barlow, Dinosaur Junior... no. Well, Folk Implosion doesn't flow with the "oh" either, but I was trying to make the same point Lou Barlow made to Magnet magazine just recently. He decided to put his very own name on EMOH so that his following wouldn't be led astray by yet another alias. For the fans who have been with Lou Barlow and his many aspects, from SubPop (Sebadoh) to Interscope (as The Folk Implosion) to his home cassettes and albums as Sentridoh on the lovely Shrimper label - EMOH should come as a very warm welcome and a huge accomplishment from one of the finest songcrafters of the past 2 full decades. This man sneezes and hits come out (totally borrowed, totally fitting).

"Caterpillar Girl" and "Legendary", just the icebreakers on EMOH's 14 total tracks, compliment each other back-to-back with an enormous amount of pop sensibility. From the near-perfect percussion & guitar compositions on "Caterpillar Girl", a total radio-takeover track in this kids head - to Lou, his acoustic and some stray backbeats on "Legendary" - these 2 songs set the mood for EMOH and it's glorious unraveling. "Puzzle" and it's slight chord resemblance to the Beatles "Here Comes The Sun" is Lou B doing what he likely does better than you, him or any other fella with an acoustic (and here a faint string arrangement) - kick out the jams.

Joined on EMOH by past partners such as Jason Lowenstein, J. Mascis and Russ Polard - this is easily (really, none of that maybe bullshit) one of the best albums 2005 will see. Too early to call? Hear "Legendary" or "Mary" (silly, misled Christians take note, this is the "oldest story never told"!) and tell me different - I'm always up for a good, nerdy music argument.

Lou Barlow, be it your first time hearing the name (hey - it's possible) or the seventy-eight album you've bought (Dino Jr. bootlegs not counting!), is undeniably one of the most gifted and influential songwriters of our times and he's still making albums that prove just that.

We need Lou, and Lou has you.

kaleb :: 01.25.05

Bats'i Son
Music of the Highlands of Chiapas
( latitude ) 2005

When Richard Alderson, a member of the production teams responsible for recording such disparate acts as Ornette Coleman and The Fugs moved to Chiapas, he found himself, once again, surrounded by music that was alien and challenging. This time however, the alienation he felt was not
deliberate – or if it was, only in the way one culture alienates those of another simply through the process of expressing itself. Fortunately, he was ready with some excellent stereophonic recording gear, giving the United States it's first taste of Mexican aboriginal music.

Bats'i Son will take you from charmed to irritated and back to charmed in about as much time as it takes a stranger to offer to buy you a drink. First, people down Chiapas way are clearly too busy with their carnivals, festivals and funerals to bother tuning their instruments. This tends to lend the whole CD a childlike, almost accidental genius. There are only a few instances where tuning and tempo issues take the music to an elementary school band place - those of you who have ever listened in horror as a room full of nine-year-olds gave their impression of Hayden will be only too aware of what this means. The rest of the tracks, with their laughing, talking, crying and exploding fireworks give the best impression of an uncontainable kind of joy in music in its most basic form: as the thread that binds together all the day-to-day rites and rituals and creates in the process, culture - a word which, it turns out, is supposed to be synonymous with play.

Denis Desharnais 08.04.05

The Beach Boys
Sunflower
Brother / Reprise, 1970

"Music - is in my soul"

Just look at the cover for this album: The Beach Boys and their chidren. No, look closer - do you see Mike Love forging the path for Will Oldhams beard being so highly acceptable in our degenerative age? (on the inside, Love is sporting a full-on toga-robe garment with his heavily flower-powered children). This is the 1969/1970 gap kids, and for the most part the Beach Boys didn't surf much in the first place, but now they're truly a few heavy steps away from the sea. Sunflower was the first Beach Boys release on the 'Brother Records' label they created and inked to Reprise, and it houses some of the finest music they as a group cranked out. Yes, we've all heard Pet Sounds and dearly recognize it as the perfect album that it is, but that isn't where the brilliant songcraft ended. This is The Beach Boys under the heavy influence of Elvis Presley if he had fronted Cream - no way. Yeah, Got to Know The Woman - shit you could stump an entire room of kids if you put that one on and they had never heard it, it's just damn silly great. But back one track, Add Some Music to Your Day is my official anthem for 2004: "Your doctor knows it keeps you calm / Your preacher adds it to his song" - The Polyphonic Spree may have heard Sunflower at some point I am thinking. At My Window should keep simple-minded ornitholgists smiling for some time - "the poeple must look like minature toys". History tells that the Boys had a tough time selling the "majors" on this album (some things are constant in life, huh?) for the corporates felt it was "too weak for a debut under the new [Brother Records] imprint". After they cut & pasted the album to fit the "charts", which meant deleting half of the original material and adding the new (Got To Know The Woman for example), it was finally released in 1970. Just to think that most of the final Sunflower material were extra selections from 1969's 20/20 is reason enough to coat the Beach Boys finish with another coat of Platinum - these guys were genius.

kaleb :: (02.06.04)

Beck
Sea Change
[ Geffen / Interscope ] 2002

Today I shall review Beck's Sea Change. There are 12 tracks on the album. There are 13 tracks if you have the Japanese import. Now a review for you people. The CD begins with soothing sounds of "The Golden Age", This is a very strong song both vocally and beat wise. Beck really sings in this song and whoever is playing acoustic guitar is excellent, also the drum beat is good this song is put together wonderfully 2nd you have Paper Tiger, this songs has good string arrangements, the way the song sounds it probably be popular an Egypt cause it sounds like the music for a pharaoh. 3rd you have Guess I'm Doing fine this is the best song on the album very excellent, if it were up to me this song would be the first single released. The vocals are very good and the easy going beat helps you to get a mental picture of paradise. 4th Lonesome Tears is connected to Guess I'm Doing Fine. This song is a song that has a running in slow motion good beat and vocals 5th Lost Cause- this song he sounds like Van Morrison and the guitar playing is just like one Jim Croce very good job 6th End of the Day- sounds like a mellow version of Pink Floyd's Fearless, and has very good organ playing. 7th It's All in Your Mind- this song sucks it is terrible the col. no like this one 8th Round the Bend- This song sounds Gordon Lightfootish, it also sounds like a fairytale. 9th Already Dead- Sounds like Shannon Hoon and sound like a slowed down version of No Rain 10th Sunday Sun- This one is good cause I like songs where the musician purposely plays instruments out of tune and then has good vocals to correct it. However Beck could have left out the background vocals. 11th Little One- This is good cause it sounds like a lullabye for a small child very good drum beat and guitar playing 12th Side of the Road- This is the closer on the Beck cd's. This songs sound very bluesish, kind of like the sitting on the porch blues effect Now for you people who bought the Japanese Import album. Final song is Ship in a Bottle- Great song and Great Chorus perfect for the folk album. The only thing I didn't like about the album was the fact beck released three different cover versions without any track difference what so ever.
Col.Tom Wally and the Goat Farm give this album a 7.5 a must own for beck fans.

Col.Tom Wally and The Goat Farm :: (12.17.02)

Beep Beep
Business Casual
( Saddle-Creek ) 2004

"you can't cover yr face it's pixels on a screen"

From the synced up opening and casual strums of 'I Am the Secretary', you kinda get the feeling this isn't your normal Bright Eyes / Son Ambulance Saddle-Creek release. Then you get your first taste of Chris Hughes' nervy vocals, and the deal is sealed - Beep Beep are doing just what they were delivered to do: fuck the scene up a bit. The fact that Hughes and Faint bass commander Joel Peterson (who adds his hand on the final track, 'the threat of nature') used to be flatmates back in the day could explain the mild similarity in Beep Beep's sound and the Faint's - but I doubt that's all there is to it. Saddle-Creek have unveiled the second most angsty record from the Lumberjack files since Cursive dealt Domestica in 2000.

The 'cool' kids are going to attempt to tell you that Beep Beep (named after the sound you make with your mouth when you need to get through a crowded room) is another in the long line of 80's rehash bullshit a-la The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand, etc. Beep Beep, however, are not entirely plucking influences out of just one hat. There's dark synth akin to labelmates the Faint (see: 'giggle giggle'), and certainly reference to sexual situations (on: 'Electronic Wolves'), the later with sample lyrics "you've got yr legs spread, your crotch is laid open like a coin purse waiting for the money shot". Yeah, that halftime show at 'that' superbowl has nothing on the situational saga this band is bringing forth. I'm talking The Jesus and Mary Chain's 'Teenage Lust' busting boundaries on serious doses of Trucker's Fuel. A few tracks come off as musicians who may have recorded each individual track in separate locations (see: Oh No!), and tracked them all together in a Lincoln studio - but the footnote is that it all works so incredibly well.

When this pathetic year finally comes to a halt, many will undoubtedly wish they had released an album as hypersexual as 'Business Casual'. Prepare for the next something-wave from Omaha - laughter is the official sixth instrument.

kaleb :: (08.06.04)

the belles
idle acres
( Second-Nature ) 2004

"I don't want what's been going 'round here"

the belles have delivered the album wheat should have given us with 'per second, per second...'. What they have honestly released is a fine follow-up, though much more relaxed, to 2002's Omerta (Lakeshore). 'Never Said Anything' was one of the best songs to have emerged from that year, and it belongs to an album that still deserves it's full recognition.

Now nestled under the guided wing of Kansas City's Second-Nature - 'idle acres' is among us. The duo of Christopher Tolle and Jake Cardwell, with additional talents woven throughout 'idle acres', make tunes that should have any fan of delicate, attention-detailed albums such as early wheat ('Hope and Adams') wanting to hear more. The tender tone of 'star witness' showcases the full ability these young men have to craft timeless songs, with subtle tone changes and additional instrumentation such as the rhodes organ. It's also the choice moments when Tolle is left to himself, such as the amazing cicada-backing of 'don't write, don't call [just leave me out of it]' that you realize what incredible force this one guy has alone. Another moment is his one-man take on Neil Young's 'Birds' (from 1970's epic 'After The Gold Rush'), which reminds the listener of the mellow influences the belles are pulling from.

At just over 28 minutes, the album sneaks by - but not before leaving another favorable impression in the memory (surely see the lush title track, 'idles acres'). Hopefully these guys won't - as 'don't write, don't call.. ' states - slip away unnoticed.

kaleb :: (07.16.04)

Belle & Sebastian
Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Rough Trade/Sanctuary

Is youth, as a wise guy once observed, wasted on the young? I could be wrong, but that might not apply to this lot, and I qualify that with "might" because I'm not sure how young the members of Belle & Sebastian are, but they're younger than me, I'll wager. Their collective memory seems to encompass nearly every soft-pop, baroque-pop and pop-soul recording from 1965-1975, how do they do it? If this were the 1960s, B&S would have to appear on the Verve label in the US of A, and Shadow Morton would've contributed some arrangements. Like the semi-iconic sounds of Verve pop-rock (Cowsills, Janis Ian, etc.), this album has an ambiance that's both bright and dark, like the sunny sounds come from (or to) a darkened roomful of moping. B&S employ some Vox (or is that Farfisa?) organ on the mini-epic "Stay Loose," which, with its killer Brit-Invasion chorus (& wee tinge of dub), sounds like it could've been an outtake from Elvis Costello's Armed Forces. The vocals have the precious delicacy and very-British enunciation of Donovan, late-period Herman's Hermits (whose later stuff, like their album Blaze, reminds me of B&S somewhat) and Village Green-era Kinks. But wait, there's more! Strummed guitars, sighing string sections, mellow 'n' plaintive horns (think Burt Bacharach productions for Dionne W) and a whistle wail echoing the one in Dylan's "Highway 61." "If She Wants Me" has an irresistible hook and melodic sense inspired by such suave early 70s pop-soul as the Honey Comb, Friends of Distinction and Cornelius Bros. & Sister Rose, cheery-funk guitar, sweet strings 'n' all. Best of all, what keeps this from being another round of Critics Spot The Influence is the singular quality of B&S' songwriting -- there's the right balance of urbane sarcasm and pensive melancholia, put across with hook-laden, sincere music-geek glee. Imagine if Nick Drake had joined the Association (or the Free Design) and were produced by Burt B, or if John Cale's under-recognized classic Vintage Violence had come out in '67 instead of 1970.

I dare you NOT to play it at least twice in one sitting.

Mark Keresman :: (05.05.04)

Bellini
Small Stones
( Temporary Residence ) 2005

"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is the mantra of Bellini and their latest release, Small Stones. Having endured a lifetime's worth of band drama in the span of one album and tour, the band breaches the gate with a lusciously loose array of jangly guitars and driving drums that can only be the product of the master engineer Steve Albini.

Two tracks in, the band tightens its groove and the listener is treated to a catchy riffing groove not entirely unlike Sonic Youth, Thinking Fellers Union, and not without a nod to PJ Harvey. It's gravelly, it's engaging, and certainly more thought-out than many contemporaries. Giovanna Cacciola delivers her vocals in manifold styles, and while she's quite capable of belting out felicitous lines for aggressive parts, she really shines when the music quiets and her sultry, expansive talents as a singer are exposed.

Six tracks in ("chaser"), and one is hooked. This driving groove is infectious, the perfect song for that long haul on empty highways where the only light is from one's own headlights. We're led to a rickety stop-start spectacle with palpable apprehension and spirited discord - not entirely unlike a Big Black album.

All said, this sophomore release from Bellini is one for the collection for fans of the afrementioned bands, but anyone with a penchant for clashingly raw riffs coupled with keen tempo intricacies and time signatures outside the norm would find Small Stones a welcome listen.

Dr. Dulcet 08.04.05

Brendan Benson
Lapalco
( Startime ) 2002

"You're wasting your breath on life after death / Coz I’m almost sure / if Hell does exist than the Devil's a scientist / finding a cure".

I indeed like Brendan Benson. Never met him, most likely never will. For some odd reason, the Virgin Records suit types didn't care too much for him. So maybe now he won't be rubbing shoulders with the same cool kids who have wiped the Rolling Stones asses for 30 years, he much better fits the pattern Brooklyn-indie Startime (French Kicks, the Walkmen) has created anyway.

The earlier 1996 Virgin effort One Mississippi was quite the well written, radio-accessible album in many ways (I would love to hear 'Emma J' over the Strokes 'Someday' any day), as is most of this album, and maybe with the current release will see the true credit it deserves. Fans of John Vanderslice & fun-times-a-havin' Supergrass ('Life in the D') should check Lapalco out.

kaleb :: (12.14.02)

Between The Buried And Me
Self-Titled
Lifeforce, 2002

ray ::(1/24/03)

Between The Buried And Me
The Silent Circus
Victory, 2003

"thank you for the best part of my life" After I picked my bloody,bruised & beaten self up off of the floor, I realized I had asked for this. I actually paid hard-earned money to catch a whippin'. I think I was knocked out for at least 2 days. What day is it? The last thing I remember hearing is some guy screaming "I ain't no goddamned wo-man". I think dude called me a moron too. These guys last (self-titled - see above) album left a similar beating on my small frame, but I had absolutely NO FUCKING IDEA  that 'the silent circus' would lay a throwdown on my body as it has. And where is the silence in this circus? Must be the few minute pause between the final track and the "bonus massacre", because all 3 rings this cd offers are completely chaotic & ungaurded massacres, with the sword-thrower leading each one. The terror started off somewhat sane, then immediately caught me off guard and didn't let up from it's assault for at least 15 long minutes (of truly non-stop, beautiful chaos), when 'Mordecai' finally slows and sweetly whispers "Living dreams / loving dreams / awakening to what I've always dreamt of". The final part of 'Mordecai' is quite reminiscent of, no shit, the heavier SDRE you wish they still made. It leads the way for the slower half-way point of "The Silent Circus" with 'Reaction' & the acoustic led 'Shevanel Part 2' that allow the guys to regain their strength. Don't get fooled though, 'cause then, just as abrupt as it had let me fall to the floor, the havoc began again at least 3 times heavier than the initial trouncing (so, if a songs consists of 3 or 4 brilliant simultaneous breakdowns, what do you call it? BTBAM). I was picked up by my testicles and tossed around like a little british boy, How did I not die? From a distance, Tommy Rogers may seem like a normal guy, but with the mic in his hand and his boys beside him - this guy is a fucking demon. I mean "growls not heard since you witnessed your family be consumed by wild bears" demonic - this stuff is fierce. Yeah, so you're going to hear the 'Red Chord' comparison a few too many times, but 'The Red Chord' are in the same genre of music, and 'The Red Chord' are really good at what they do too - so deal with it. Not to mention the 2 bands have toured together (and likely will again). Hands down, 'Between the Buried and Me' are the best at what they do - serve up beatings to the kids who know they want it. With drumming that would make Vinnie Paul drop his sticks, and guitars from the dirtiest depths of hells beauty - I dare "The Silent Circus" to not put you flat on the floor. This shit is priceless - play on BTBAM, play on. Next - SEE THEM LIVE!!

k a l e b ::(11/15/03).

beulah
yoko
(Velocette); 2003

"My love is alot like yours / it's been crippled by the wars". Chris Martin is gonna have to pick a new name for the next Gwenyth/Coldplay album - beulah snatched that little fucker right up. You know I skipped right over the last album beulah released, 'The Coast is Never Clear' after I wasn't truly impressed with the Elephant 6-via-Calexico's trumpet section of 'When Your Heartstrings Break' [ what the hell was up with the opener and it's "pooh bear / winnie the pooh bear" undertone? ]. In front of us now is a massively impressive album entitled 'yoko' - and this is very, very good - really. This is 'Being There' good. A current diw (Issue 5.3) interview with the band found vocalist Miles Kurosky admitting that his favorite singer of all time ("obviously", he admits) is John Lennon - a genius of a penman that is apparent in every corner of the circular 'yoko' - hell, the debut album "Handsome Western States" even featured a track entitled 'I [Love] John, She [Love]s Paul' - hmm. Another current influence I am guessing is Jeff Tweedy, for the rhythms of 'AM' and beauty of 'Being There' are hidden under much of this splendid album (see "Landslide Baby" and it's carefully placed piano hits). Recording with John Vanderslice surely can't hurt things - and touring with him is even better. Since listening to this album, I have given 'Heartstrings' a third chance and can now see the beauty that has been working up to this release (see "Emma Blowgun's Last Stand"). With this release, beulah seem to have found a path of less-polished pop music and discovered a very comfortable 'white album' cloud to ride upon. There has been talks of "hanging it up" over the past 2-3 years amongst the band - but here's to the truth that change is good. This is reinstated faith good. God bless beulah.

kaleb. 10.12.03

L i n k s :beulah with a lowercase b

Excerpt from the diw interview: _________________________reprinted without permission______________

diw: Name your new favorite up-and-coming band and please describe what they sound like and why you like them.

Miles Kurosky: "I really wish everyone would check out the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, The Hives, The White Stripes, The Strokes. It's really hard to explain their sound, but they're really edgy and it's kind of like garage-meets-punk, but still totally catchy."

Blood Brothers
C R I M E S
( V2 ) 2004

"Scarecrow, you ruined me."

Blood Brothers have a grand way of masking ridiculously insatiable lyrics through the hyperbashing of modern music... . right?

I would never have imagined the opener, 'feed me to the forest', would commence with such a patterned pace - but it only takes seconds before one of the frontmen crashes trough the mellow wall - "we can learn to love misery". Past '.. forest', and into 'trash flavored trash', the halls of modern medicine couldn't prescribe the right set of pills for what it is (the) Blood Brothers create - recorded pandemonium scented with spoils of chaos. Then along comes 'love ryhmes with hideous car wreck', a ballad paying homage to (name a few) the Devil, fake porno tits and love.. . lots and lots of love. The cock-sucking beast known as corporate FM radio would have it on 6 times and hour had the later half not slipped into the pattern that defines (the) Blood's winning sound - spastic communtation from the hole of all things uncategorizable.

"Any final words for your loving audience?" says the man with the dazzling sapphire cape.

Yes, as 'crimes' exclaims - "Is anybody listening?". They should be - starting with 'rats and rats and rats for candy'. Anyone who attempts to prove that there isn't one of the finest hooks buried in a sea of rodent invasion deserves a hole chewed through the nipple.

kaleb :: 000[10]000[25]000[04]

Blood Brothers
Burn Piano Island, Burn
( Artist Direct ) 2003

" I packaged my heart and FedEx'd it to the octopus queen "

the muthafuckin' blood brothers have gone and done it. Fuck. Cave In did it, the Locust are doing it - even underground hardcore stalwarts Posion the Well signed to the majors. It really doesn't make a bit of shit as long as you bring the goods the way the angry kids in the crowd know you can, and always knew you could. Case in point - the blood brothers obviously utilized their couple of weeks in the studio with Uncle Ross to an extreme advantage. Much more polished than previous efforts (argument starter number one), and filled to the brim with studio wizardry, 'Burn Piano Island, Burn' is a major leap for a band well on their way to something really fucking huge. It's spastic, off-time & unlike anything you will hear on your FM radio or your favorite music television channel - hey, "the kid's are gonna love this brilliant mess". You say, "but I can't understand what those 2 angry singer dudes are sayin'!?!". What they're saying is "Cocunt pupils never shut? Burn Piano Island, Burn!", but that doesn't mean shit because its the band as a whole that will make a retard out of your attention span. If 'Disco Volante' was a bit too anti-rock, and 'Done with Mirrors' a touch too homosexual, 'Burn Piano Island, Burn' should be just the recipe to get that fire started in your pitiful sold-out heart. Longtime fans will tell you that "you have to see them LIVE to fuckin' believe it", and you get a small glance at that fiasco on the enhanced portion of the disc with live concert footage of 'Guitarmy' & 'Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon' as well as 70+ pictures. Somewhere in these pitiful states we call home, Mike Patton is crying the blood dust as a colorful legion of soon to be Blood Brother fans danse their asses off to "Fucking's Greatest Hits". Hey man, if you don't listen, the jokes on you - now you're the bitch!

God bless the Blood Brothers.

Extra Credit : Now, loyal ones, go and find their coked-up whore version of the Queen classic 'Under Pressure' on three one G's "Dynamite with a Laserbeam" comp.

kaleb (by-way of thomas dean for his introduction to the blood bros. in the first place).

L i n k s :hardcore lyrics[get all the lyrics to Blood Bros.] // blood brothers

Caleb Boddicker
Self Released, 2004

"What I would give to know just half of what yr knowing".

Influences can be a bitch. Some people try so damn hard to avoid being labeled or to state where they may have found inspiration or the spark just to create songs. Caleb doesn't try to cover his tracks by any means, just one look at the list he has posted here will leave many unknowing listeners searching to hear it all for weeks. The immediate and appreciative hint I got on the first listen to this 18 song, self-released cd was a quiverring voice trapped somewhere in a Wayne Coyne / Isaac Brock whirlwind. Modest Mouse is one of my top 5's of all time, and I do find that I like most bands / singers that share resemblance to Isaac's off-kilter ramblings, but Caleb not only shares this voice but an impressive way with words & imagery as well. And the instruments, layers of guitars & other stringed instruments (or the occasional piano, accordian?) all serve as a near-perfect backdrop to Boddicker's vocals that call for your undivided attention. With track titles such as "Your Skin", "Your Voice" & "Perfect Skin", it's quite obvious that there is a certain somebody who is the primary source of songwriting here - most likely a girl I wouldn't mind dreaming of. This album has it's fair amount of "unconventional" moments too - Califone / Flaming Lips-style background quirks that aren't anywhere near overdone or layed on too heavy. One particular track, Feel, even incorporates some vocal effects that aren't far displaced from the likes of Air-by way of-Red Red Meat, if you can imagine such a mixture. True, this batch of songs may not be for everyone, but I must admit the potential is all here. Let there be more. To put it another way, if I heard this guy as an opening act at a show I attended - I would gladly pay $10 to take his cd home to enjoy. Find this.

kaleb :: (01.29.04)

(the other) Caleb: bodds@bellsouth.net

BOTCH
we are the romans
( trustkill )

"Patience Is A Girl I've Been Trying To Forget About"

Well, here's another one. Another band I came across and adored only to find out they've been broken up long since my discovery of them. It somewhat takes the fun out of it, knowing I will never get to witness them live. Even so, Botch has left us with [among others releases] a brilliant piece of hardcore mastery. These Tacoma, WA natives play metallic hardcore with enough heavy grooves and awkward time signatures to give you vertigo [think a heavier Drowningman].

"We Are The Romans" is an album anyone of aggressive music [metal, hardcore, punk, etc.] should own. It's awe-inspiring; the lyrics, the guitar-work, the bass lines, the drumming. It all comes together, executed perfectly to create a sound many others have tried to mimic, but failed miserably. Although members of Botch can still be found today in Minus The Bear and These Arms Are Snakes [which are NOT hardcore, mind you, but, equally as amazing], it's a shame they're not still around today to give the current "Next Big Things" a run for their money.

NM :: (02.29.04)

Boy Omega
I Name You Isolation
( Villa Recordings ) 2004

"I'm still chasing demons they're stuck in my forehead"

There is an eerie feeling I get each time I listen to I Name You Isolation, the debut full-length by Martin Gustafsson - recording as Boy Omega. Eerie as in a wonderful, chill-bumped "oh my - this guy is good" alertness. When I tell you this album has been in very heavy rotation in my car, computer and every other player I own - there are hours of emphasis on "heavy". What you can expect to blind you beautifully on 'I Name You Isolation' is a grand display of Martin's acoustic strumming, at some points aided by the occasional distant accordion & drum kit (see: "clinging on for dear life"), xylophone ("east") or piano ("we might not be real", "doctor's orders"). But the nature of this game is woven "fist-clinched tight" by Martin's voice - a stark shadow of the late Elliott Smith. Lyrics hang in the air like it's their only chance for survival and recognition, while the delicate chorus of mixed instrumentation serve as the perfect companion. You may just find yourself unable to stop repeating a perfect track like "doctor's orders" - it's waltz-inspired snare taps and a piano that will haunt your dreams. Why you are sleeping and not hearing this remarkable album is a sin in itself.

To think a fair amount of '.. .Isolation' was recorded in a pair of Swedish apartment's by a young man who, by accident, chose music over sports should be enough for you to give thanks for your sense of hearing. That and the fact that, in a short list of 20 important albums, Martin lists Elliott Smith's breakthrough 'Either/Or' and Will Oldham's 'Arise Therefore' (the latter of which he covered "A Sucker's Evening" on Tract's tribute to Oldham) - he's obviously imported the right records.

Undoubtedly one of the Top Five albums of the Year - and it's not number 4 or 5.

Perfect.

kaleb :: (09.22.04)

Brakes
Give Blood
( Rough Trade ) 2005

You see what happens when you give already proper bands (British Sea Power, ESP) too much room for creativity? They go out and make cleverly fantastic albums like Give Blood. Freaks and geeks, cripples and the injured - I present to you: Brakes. No 'the', simply Brakes.

Taking a listen to the sweaty swagger stomp of "NY Pie", you'd think these guys were trying to pin some judgment on Ryan Adams - but deep down they're likely spitting on 'Americana' in general. You'll blow through the first half of Give Blood in a swift 15 minutes and wonder what the fuck just happened? "I got hit by so much swank I think I need a shower in my own piss", may say you - the blindsided.

"Heard About Your Band" and the mid-80's chord progressions over lines like "whatever, dude!" beg to be placed side-by-side to the best days of the Violent Femmes. Then all 10.35 seconds (of which 3 seconds are silence) of "Cheney" pass by and you get a warm chill that sets you back to the days of Frank Black fronting the Pixies.. . it's all so perfectly crass. The crew do take a few breather breaks to kick out the mid-tempo sweetness, as on "You're So Pretty" - a dedication to beautiful days and fast women, and the acoustic closer (and not a White Stripes cover) "Fell In Love With A Girl".

Word is, Brakes came to be over a set of drinks after a show - and I think I can smell the stale draft crawling right out of these very speakers through each of Give Blood's 16 songs. Is it a "side project", is it "for real"? It, my valiant skipper, is out of control passion that only beasts eastward of the United States can create with a straight face. It was recorded live in a "Zeppelin-esque" 5 days - this is fact (says vocalist+ Eamon Hamilton "It was a self-challenge").

Give Blood is CLINIC replacing their prized church organs with axes and amps. Return to rock!

Shock Zulu 08.26.05

BRAZIL
a hostage and the meaning of life
( Fearless ) 2004

"are you real or are you a vain imagination?"

a hostage and the meaning of life, the twelve track offering by Indiana's Brazil was produced and engineered by Alex Newport - who has led the way for At The Drive In as well as spinoff The Mars Volta. Brazil used their studio time with Newport very wisely, as they have crafted an album that has just enough ATDi / Sparta footnotes while injecting this major realese [Fearless / BMG] with an substantial dose of originality.

One look at the albums credits reveal the inclusion of the Korg X5 as well as a MOOG - bring these instruments into the already impressive sound this band is creating and you get a powerhouse of songs looking for radio airplay (specifically the experimental 'a hostage' and the "walls of noise" serge of 'the iconoclast'). The 6+ minute 'Metropol', one of the album's truly genre-exploring offerings, complete with a wailing horn section, piano and vocals (via frontman Jonathon Newby) that bring to mind past influentials like Styx or Rush is a defining example of a band that isn't afraid to try something progressive. Something progressive that works very well in a time of mass produced hardcore bands.

If your favorite ATDi songs are 'hourglass' or '300 MHz', or you simply long for the day that a Diary-era Sunny Day will actually resurface (again) - BRAZIL are holding your card. Prepare to embrace a new face of major label acceptance - Sugarcult aside.

kaleb :: (04.18.04)

The Breakup Society
James at 35
( Get Hip Recordings ) 2004

Be honest, now: When was the last time you played an album all the way through, THEN played it again in its entirety??? When I was younger, it happened a bit more often, but let's not cry o'er spilt Youth, shall we? Maybe it's me, maybe it's the music, the times, wot-ever -- BUT when it DOES happen, occasionally, it's indeed a special thing still.

One of the last few "rock"-type albums to inspire this action on my part was James At 35, the dynamic debut from Pittsburgh PA's Breakup Society. The Breakup Society's lookout is the misunderstood, sometimes maligned genre (or sub-genre, depending on how one looks at Rock & Roll History) known as Power Pop -- you know, select historynurd critics and fanboys/fangurls love it, the general population doesn't even know what it is, except they like on the rare occasions they do HEAR it. I'm not gonna go into a history of PP, as its history (and, alas, its failings) has been well documented in print & online. Suffice it to say, the 2004 release (better late than never, I say) James At 35 (a nod to a late 70s teen-angst TV show, sort-of the "My So-Called Life" of its day) is the album Cheap Trick could've made had Robin Zander suppressed his inner urgings to emulate Rod Stewart (one in the late 70s/early 80s was quite enough, thank you) and the band as a whole jettisoned their Arena Rock tendencies (listened to their "Gonna Raise Hell" lately? thought not), or if the Records had punctuated their lovely jangly guitar sound with some urgent, Badfinger/Raspberries/Kinks power chords and some Costello/Hiatt-type piss 'n' vinegar, but less bitter and more bemused, a la the melancholic sarcasm (sarcastic melancholy?) of Teenage Fanclub and Big Star-era Alex Chilton. Yes, James.. . has got the Byrds-y chiming guitars, bubblegum-hit-catchy melodic hooks, and gurlz--gurlz-gurlz! angst-laden lyrics, but singer/songcrafter/guitarist Ed Masley & co. remember to rock in a sustained and heated manner, retaining that hungry-for-those-good-things-baby fervor.

Don't wait for the Breakup Society's age-19-nervous-breakdown, clever rattle & roll to turn up on some future Rhino anthology, get in on the ground floor, purchase & listen often -- not only is it fun, but it can add life to your years.

Mark Keresman 01.25.05

Bright Eyes
Take It Easy (Love Nothing)
( Saddle-Creek ) 2004

"Now I do as I please and I lie through my teeth"

Tis' the season (January 2005) for a new Bright Eyes album - make that 2 new Bright Eyes albums! To yield the way for what will be a new year of double joy, the Oberst camp have released 2 extended players that will undoubtedly wet the palate of any Bright Eyes fan old or new.

One of these two EP's, Take It Easy (Love Nothing), hosts 3* new songs from Sir Conor - one cover (Simon Joyner's "Burn Rubber"), one experimental ("Cremation") and the title track lifted from one of the upcoming LP's. Take It Easy (Love Nothing) returns to the lyrical content that 2000's Fever and Mirrors showcased (themes of ghosts, vanishing) while moving ever-so swiftly from the acoustic-underbase that encompassed 'Fevers' and extending on the complex textures (also see: "Cremation") that The Story is in the Soil brought forth last year. With Jimmy Tamborello credited for his drum programming on "Take It Easy", this track alone should be of interest to those not normally a Bright Eyes supporter (what is wrong with you people?).

Oberst's take on Simon Joyner's Burn Rubber (from Why You All So Thief? on Sing Eunuchs, 1994) does the Nebraskan (by way of New Orleans) due justice. Having been a past tourmate and stated influence on Bright Eyes, fans should recognize the talent that is Joyner and hopefully admire the ravishing twist Conor has put upon Joyner's original tune. Instrumental closer "Cremation" opens up an entirely new path that Bright Eyes has decided to travel - at the least, this listener can state "atmospheric", in the realm of Substance-era New Order.. . underwater. Who would have thought it, not I said the sctas.

Bring on the new year.

* (the vinyl versions to be released at a later date will reportedly have bonus tracks).

+ kaleb 11.10.04

Bright Eyes
Digital Ash in a Digital Urn | I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
( Saddle-Creek ) 2005

The last full-length album put out by Bright Eyes, 2002's excellent Lifted, Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground, was a careening, cinematic affair, combining grandiose statements and intimate portraits of universal love and loss, with insight far beyond the years of songwriter Conor Oberst, only 22 at the time. Oberst's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful release to date, Lifted... left behind the well-instrumented but personal sound of 2000's Fevers and Mirrors, catapulting Oberst and his songs about being young, drunk, and lost into the public eye. And for good reason: Lifted... was an ambitious statement that had a reach far beyond almost every contemporary of the young songwriter.

Where does that leave Oberst in 2005? After three years of extensive (and oppressive) press, side projects (Desaparecidos), numerous splits and collaborations (the best being his 2004 collaboration with Neva Dinova), it seems like Lifted... came from a boy a long time ago, an artist still relatively sheltered from the consuming public. Now with high expectations and a larger audience than ever, Oberst and his motley musical crew (now featuring Nick Zinner, Jim James, Emmylou Harris, members of Now It's Overhead and the Faint, and the ubiquitous Mike Mogis,) are releasing not one, but two new Bright Eyes albums, each with a distinct feel. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning warmly embraces some of Oberst's best songs with sparse mandolin, pedal steel, and acoustic guitar, recalling Lifted's "Make War", with irony replaced by grit and earnestness. Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, however, isn't a simplification like I'm Wide Awake, instead reaching for new sounds at every turn, featuring electronics and white-noise guitar.

Where Lifted... made Oberst sound like he was making grand statements as small as a secret and as big as a mountain, Digital Ash finds Oberst buried up to his neck in skittering instrumentation, playing with the electronics that were hinted at on his 2001 Sub Pop release, I Will Be Grateful For This Day. Beginning with "Time Code", Oberst's first vocal appearance is a recording of panting, desperate breaths, starting the record like New Order having a panic attack. Digital Ash opens like a bad dream, and rarely lets up on the fear and desperation from the first track, the beats and the sounds now providing an instrumental equivalent to the paranoia and desperation in Oberst's lyrics, tracks like "Ship In A Bottle" giving his words a fitting, if broken, home. His lyrics have seemed to also reached a new level of alienation on Digital Ash, his youthful hopes turned to modern fears, referring to "refrigerators full of blood" on closing track "Easy/Lucky/Free", and comparisons of hearts with houses of cards. "Down A Rabbit Hole", the album's highlight, is a perfect distillation of Digital Ash, with guest star Nick Zinner's guitars screaming and aching behind the story-lyrics about a girl who has run away from him into the digital world he fears so much. The gothic drum textures and heart-wrenching strings recall Radiohead at their peak on OK Computer, "Crawling Up The Walls", where it doesn't matter what Oberst is saying; the sounds are so deathly that you have no choice but to get chills.

The first single from Digital Ash, "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" is easily the most successful combination of electronic experiments with Oberst's words meeting Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel)'s skittering, energetic beats, guitars and keyboards running across the speakers. The instrumentation all over the album carries this funhouse aesthetic: horns, strings, and found-noise pieces pop up in unusual contexts at every turn, rarely settling for cliche arrangements. In fact, Digital Ash only falters when it becomes less ambitious, settling for Fevers and Mirrors-isms that don't push the record forward, like the straight-ahead second track, "I Believe In Symmetry". Although still an excellent track, compared to the midnight melodrama of "Devil in the Details", it falls flat. But on the highlights of the album, Bright Eyes turns in songs that are masterpieces of modern life and the alienation created by armies of busy signals and soulless city streets.

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning dispenses with Digital Ash's ambitious arrangements, settling for a down-home combination of folk, bluegrass and country. The record recalls the careening drunk Oberst played in "Lover I Don't Have To Love", singing songs the morning after a long night out. Oberst has never seemed upbeat, but this is the first time on record that Oberst seems not merely weary of love, but weary of the world, tired from too much wine, women, and song. The biggest surprise on I'm Wide Awake isn't the instrumentation, but the subject matter: between Lifted... and these records before us, Oberst moved to New York, and the lyrical influence is immediately apparent. On "Train Underwater", he states: "I was a postcard, I was a record, I was a camera, until I went blind...and now I am riding all over this island looking for something to open my eyes." And on the single "Lua", Oberst sings about walking New York streets in the late night, with taxis turning their lights off and actors throwing parties on the West Side.

The record switches track-to-track from one-man ballads ("Lua", "First Day of My Life",) to full-band country blusters ("Road To Joy", "Another Travellin' Song",) but is held together by it's warm, morning-after aesthetic, mandolins and pedal steels always recalling a midday sun and hazy memories. "Landlocked Blues", a gin-soaked re-recording of "One Foot In Front of The Other", featured on the Saddle Creek 50 compilation of last year, is a track full of the hazy horns and mid-tempo marching that characterize the arrangements of I'm Wide Awake, reminiscent of loud laughter on a quiet morning.

Each record, standing on its own merits, does not take the listener through a journey as Fevers and Mirrors or Lifted... did previously, acting more as excercises in a mood. However, listening to the two records side by side provide a compelling challenge to the listener never prompted before: Oberst has not only made records of two different styles, but two different mindsets. Digital Ash is the fearful record: images of stabbing, sleep, and blood filling the lyrics, with the apocalyptic guitar work of Nick Zinner as well as the canned, harsh drums sound conjure up equally violent imagery. I'm Wide Awake is the hopeful antithesis of Digital Ash, the record filled with hopeful messages such as "and in the ear of every anarchist that sleeps but doesn't dream, we must sing...". But by separating these two themes, hope and loss, the listener is left to decide Oberst's message: are these two albums celebrating hope over overwhelming alienation, or are they showing an inevitable defeat of human emotion by modern society?

Perhaps there's another interpretation: opening I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Oberst tells a story of a man singing a birthday song while a plane crashes, telling the woman sitting next to him "We're going to a party. We're going to a birthday party. It's your birthday, happy birthday, darlin'...we all love you very very very very much." Maybe Oberst is this man, singing us all one last song before our plane hits the ground, a last hurrah before our lives end, with these two albums as celebrations of life on the glorious ride down.

Tyler 01.14.05

Bright Eyes
There Is No Beginning To The Story (Vinyl EP + 2)
Saddle Creek, 2002

"The Sun is coming up - the day has just begun & you're already bored". It only took me 4 months to finally put this album on my turntable, and boy howdy was I happy! Hell, I even converted it to the 21st century CD-format media. The 3 new songs follow in the same format as the songs on "The story is in the soil...", almost like the two albums are meant to be mixed together [the 90+ seconds that follow 'Loose Leaves' has what sounds like the end of the car ride that begins the full-length, as well as 'We are Free Men' with it's tape recorded speech-reversal that begins 'From A Balance Beam']. Buy this, "Amy in the white coat" is quite possibly the best song I have ever heard, and you know you need to complete your collection anyway.
kaleb :: (12.17.02)

Track Listing:
1. from a balance beam
2. messenger bird's song
3. we are all free men
4. loose leaves
+5. amy in the white coat
+6. out on the weekend (live)

The Brother Egg
thebrotheregg (second edition limited ep #476/500)
(self-released)

"computers make me wet between the legs, because I was attacked by a gizmo once".

Most bands release full-length album after full-length trying to achieve what Portland's thebrotheregg can conquer in just one song: attention grabbing depth. With just 3 songs at just over 10 minutes, thebrotheregg rock in a "most Califone / sin ropas" kinda way. All 3 of the songs here have recently resurfaced on the new full-length 'Snowflake and Fingerprint Machine' available on Rubric Records. Music band-described on thebrotheregg website as "having a moodiness to it, and a psychoactive groove", this is by far texture that modern music is deprived of. God bless thebrotheregg.

Track Listing :: 1/billy barty's brains 2/dark workmanship 3/dormant podling

Links : rubric records / the brother egg

kaleb.

the brother egg
Aortica Mor
( bingo lady ) 2004 [ -or - early 2005]

"rusting can be depleting if we are destined to keep repeating the same old song"

The one and only time I made it out west, I went to breathtaking Portland, Oregon for 2 concerts - this was a year called 2001. While in Portland, I made myself welcome at the many great record shops they had waiting for me - and one of these stores offered the brother egg hand-crafted EP I reviewed some time ago. Still to this day, the brother egg are my sound of Portland - a quirky collection of slighltly off-beat anthems I can always retreat to and know I'm going to be satisfied.

Somehow, a label all the way over in Montana (bingo lady) had the sense to release this current full-length from the egg's (and their battalion of faithful servants), Aortica Mor ( Snowflake and the fingerprint machine, another solid A, was further east on Rubric ). This is a band that spits demon rice directly into the face of common song, and fear not placing a guitar / mandolin / clarinet solo smack dab in the middle, opening [or any spot for the matter] of a track. Take "Evening" as a footnote, though not nearly as odd as this text makes it seem - the 3 minutes that consume the track aren't your common creation.. . and that's just why we adore the brother egg. They make albums that satisfy them and the willing audience they reach.

There's plenty on here that's safe to get your mother into as well, such as the delightful cello & brushed drum rhythm of "Mercury Retrogrande" and her accompanying "so off kilter will your clockwork be / or else the floor must be slanted". Lyrically, the brother egg (and/or Adam Goldman) is a marvel to say the slightest.

More of a useful work of modern man that your standard bland record, the brother egg are the neon jesus set high in a sky of dim stars. "Persanity Insonified" - c'mon, what is NOT to love here?

kaleb 08.26.05

BlackMothSuperRainbow
Falling Through A Field
(graveface, 2003)

Soy Lecithin is an Emulsifier. Black Moth Super Rainbow is a miracle. Facts mean nothing without proof.

But back to this Black Moth Super Rainbow. If your dreams were available for rent on Beta, there is no doubt that BMSR would be the backing soundtrack. There you are, fetching gold coins with several half-naked Leprechauns as "Vietcaterpillar" backs the scene. That dream that doesn't come around often enough where you, as a child, reach the bottom step on Christmas morning only to find yourself completely capable of flying towards your beautiful gifts. Now, as if the presents mean nothing, you have the one wish to be just like the birds you so adore - "Dandelion Graves" fills the air around you. On those evenings that you think you haven't dreamt - you are wrong. It's all for rent at that strange little video spot you never quite had the nerve to stop at, and the soundtrack(s) are just as good as the visuals.

What is talent? "Boxphones" is talent, with its static-fed warbles of devils, butterflies & love.

Every so often, that evil face of darkness appears in your sleepy state as well - some call these "nightmares". The Black Moths have themes for those events as well - but they buried those sounds far below the deepest sea, which is exactly why you'll never have to worry about your nightmares coming true or being rented. Unless, of course, your demon is a wicked beast who wields an axe & has a tree for a head - then you're screwed.

kaleb [[][03.04.04] ]] ]

black moth super rainbow
Start A People
graveface / 70's gymnastics

One thing is given about black moth super rainbow: unless you own the XM radio that picks up pirate radio being broadcast from Uteged or either of it's twin stars ( chances: slim to zero ) - there is nothing you can entirely compare bmsr's sound(s) to. No - not even them.

I was a product of the mid seventies, raised on the wholesomeness that was the Children's Television Workshop. My main fascination with this era (1971 - 1981), other than my childhood lost, was one particular program called The Electric Company. Something about my parents bulky television set, the low-budget production of the show and the youthfulness of the many songs the program offered left a longing in my mind for those days.

The envisioning sounds you will find on start a people, the latest installment in the ongoing black moth super rainbow series, bring to mind these days of youth and freedom. As if the cheers of the children on 'Snail Garden's' introduction didn't expose the secret - start a people is a brilliant homage to life ('seeeds'), the sun and all things beautiful ('1 2 3 of me'). Delivered, in adored bmsr fashion, as if tracked through a series of 8-bit Commodore 64 Ryo Kawasaki programs - black moth have built a genre that they alone dream & create in. Reworked versions of 'Vietcaterpillar' and 'I think it's beautiful that you are 256 colors too' (both from earlier releases; see: Falling Through A Field) find the vocals now buried amidst a single wave of synth recognition - comparison would be inadequate, but any would also be quite a task to figure.

"the sun came up late - tomorrow never came"

kaleb :: (04.26.04)

David Byrne
Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Music from the film " Young Adam "
(thrill jockey); 2003

kaleb. 10.26.03
L i n k s : paste