A << HOME C D E # Z Y W V U G I J K M F S R Q P O N L H X T B


CAN TO Yacht
/\/\EGA
( marriage ) 2005

Musicians are normal people too, Hank. It just so happens that this Jona B. (pron: It's half of Jonathan. Most people say Jonah, like the biblical man-n-whale story guy.. but that's totally not it) Yacht music isn't "normal" by your outdated industry standard, but he is a musician. I mean, if you like your beats edgy and can take a jump from 61bpm to 500bpm in under 3 seconds - it's normal. Don't further confuse yourself, hot dog. Hot dog?

Jona makes delightfully click-and-drop electronic music in the vein of a red "wah" panda, and he's also in all the other bands you love - you likely just didn't know it (yet). Mega is his ultra-release from PDX-infinite Marriage Records - a combo package that you can invest in any of the three-way split including a DVD (sorry - don't own that, it's on the wishlist), the 10" and/or the pink/purple pleasure horserider compact disc.

Fifteen tracks to choose from, 2 of these being "field recordings" covering such varied topics as insects in DC ("DC November 2003") and a take on trucks with snazzy design ("Why Do Trucks? etc."). On the electroid tip, Yacht has a swift vase of amazing goodies - do hear "I Love A Computer (Anacortes Version)", it can be found here and on a Marriage comp. somewhere that is certainly not this place.

Included in the celebration is also a (version) of friend, roomate, clever pal indeed Thanksgiving's "Now It's All Over Like The Birds", that gets the Mega treatment anyone with proper etiquette should enjoy. Set your fancy alarm-radio-cd player to buzz "Roar (oops version)" every morning and you'll likely rise pre-caffeinated and bouncing like a soldier. A swift bass drum & springs of Squarepusher-ish sonic gristle should do the trick every time.

From time to thee time, his blazing site has nifty handcrafted items for sale - often in limited batches of one. Sleep is for the tired, Hank - you shut those eyes simply only a brief moment.. . then you've already lost.

my name is kaleb - oh yeah? YOU'RE A JOKE 06.20.05 << info >>

 

Art. Adrienne Young & Little Sadie
The Art of Virtue
( Addiebelle Music ) 2005

I gotta admit it: this disc sat 'round my crummy little piece of God's gray earth, partly because I got an "impression" from the rather ornate artwork of The Art of Virtue. The "look" (sorta late-period Ben Franklin) and "feel" of the CD seems to shout, "We ARE serious & traditional, dammit!"

Don't you believe it/me! Artwork aside, this is a SUPER-fine neo-trad bluegrass disc, with some judicious undertones of folk, country, and (subliminally) rock. I used "neo-trad" because we critics are expected to
write that way - E-Z-labels, that's the ticket. (Ahem.) In this case, "neo-trad" as Ms. Young for the most part uses the usual bluegrass instrumentation (guitar, banjo, dobro, fiddle, bass), her (lovely, spirited) vocal approach is comparable to that of Rhonda Vincent and Alison Krauss (dignified, even-tempered but tender, wistful) without being imitative, and those close, old-time harmonies. Like the aforementioned ladies, she doesn't treat bluegrass as a museum piece or try to sound like she's playing from a 1953 (or 1963) time-warp, as if nothing happened since. To keep things fresh, Young folds sounds into the mix that're anathema to hardcore purists: drums (albeit softly played), accordion, pedal steel guitar, and a very soulful cover of the Grateful Dead's "Brokedown Palace." What's more, she knows how to "pace" an album, as this has a healthy balance of uptempo tunes and sad ballads. Yes, the artwork on the inside of the disc is a lot to absorb, too - it still speaks of "serious historical-ness." But at the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding, not the pudding's packaging, and Ms. Young's Virtuously Crafted Bluegrass Pudding is so tasty indeed.

Mark Keresman 07.27.05 << info >> << home >>