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Welcome to A&A. There are 12 full reviews in this issue. Click on an artist to jump to the review, or simply scroll through the list. If you want information on any particular release, check out the Label info page. All reviews are written by Jon Worley unless otherwise noted. If you have any problems, criticisms or suggestions, drop me a line.
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A&A #284 reviews April 2007
 The
Atari StarAniseed (Johann's Face) Yet another line in the proof that shows Chicago is, without question, the center of the musical universe. The Wind City has more musicians playing just about every sort of music under the sun. I'd move there in a second except that my wife thinks that DC's winters are too cold--that and Bell's just pulled out because of some beer distributor dispute. And while I'm not sure that the Atari Star is yet a member of the estimable Chicago pantheon, it boasts a single songwriter and a cast of eight...lots of different sounds blending into raucously catchy tunes. One of the members specializes in handclaps, which ought to tell you all you need to know. All the disparate elements flow together almost seamlessly, borne along by the nearly ecstatic energy flow. These songs don't rush, but they never flag, either. Even the more contemplative of the bunch have an insistent internal clock. There's a lot going on here, and that lends a welcome complexity to these songs. It took me a few minutes to really get into what I was hearing, but once there I didn't want to leave.
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 Chuckanut DriveThe Crooked Mile Home (self-released) A few guys from Washington state who play nicely punchy country songs. More country than Americana--if you're familiar with Blue Earth-era Jayhawks, these guys are in the same ballpark. Well, kinda, anyway. I'm not trying to qualify that, really, except to say that these boys have a real nice feel for what they're doing, and there's no reason to tar them with a "sounds like" tag. They are themselves. These songs are more than strong enough to stand alone. Good singing and stellar guitar work. The rest is very nice, but those two elements really sell the stuff for me. There's a fine back porch feel to the arrangements and production, though the sound is sharp enough to shift focus when necessary. That's a sweet combination. And the writing is top notch. These songs tell a raft of great stories through the eyes of some compelling characters. This disc will stay in my car all summer, and probably for a good deal longer after that. Contact:
Je Suis FranceAfrikan Majik (Antenna Farm) Prog jam rockers who (sometimes barely) refine their excessive tendencies into something resembling songs. I'm not sure I'd want to see a show, as I have very little patience with the whole jam concept (in my twisted world, recorded improvisations are great, but live ones are tedious), but this disc is interesting. As a case in point, take the second song on the album, "Virtual Heck." It opens with a grandiose Krautrock feel, vamps through some even more pompous riffage and then fistfucks into something that sounds like an early Uncle Tupelo song (the closest song I can put it to is "If That's Alright," though that's by no means a perfect match). This sort of adventurous songwriting is interesting, though I suppose it ceases to be refreshing when you realize that almost anything might be coming down the pike. What saves these folks is that, by and large, the genre bending and reducto ad absurdum approach to structure serve a greater master. In short, the pieces work. It helps to have an appreciation for good old fashioned space music, of course, in addition to familiarity with most of the sounds of the last 30 years (or so). Patience is a virtue. And if you let this album do its work, you just might leave smiling.
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George KoreinToo Many Days (Galvatraz) Speaking of acquired tastes...Jesus Cristo! Imagine a technologically-advanced Daniel Johnston, with a regular voice. The music and ideas, though, they're out in that same insane part of the universe. Korein seems to write songs he hopes will annoy people. How else to explain titles like "Writhe Sally Writhe" (which is, in fact, something of a fractured homage to "Long Tall Sally"), "Love Is for Pansies" and "Vagina Dentata Assembly Kit"? The songs themselves are wild mishmashes of sound and ideas, many of which don't exactly match up. Korein likes to throw lots of noise elements into the palette of his assembled sounds, and most of the time those work quite well with his incisive, if minimalist, guitar work. I dunno. I thought it was fun. I'm not sure I came across any deep meaning, but the noise (and I use that term advisedly) made my ears happy. Ear candy for deconstructionists, I suppose.
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 LodenValeen Hope (Mush) The usual sort of cut-and-paste electronic stuff I hear from Mush. The usual high quality, as well. Loden actually focuses on fairly conventional song construction, and the result is something like Air on steroids. Air with serious beatwork, too, I suppose. But Loden does traffic in that sound of the ether on its melodic side. There's an awful lot going on in the rhythm section (whether "real" or assembled), though, and that takes these songs to a different corner of the universe. I kept hearing distinct stories in these songs, which is what you might expect from folks who adhere fairly closely to regular songwriting conventions. Don't expect lyrics, of course (though there are voices here and there), but let the music, um, do the talking. Insistent and elegiac at the same time. That's a bitch of a combination, but it works quite well here. An album that works for both the amygdala and the frontal lobes.
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Magic BulletsA Child But in Life Yet a Doctor in Love (Words on Music) I'm not even going to try and figure out what the title of the album means. But it is somewhat indicative of the music within. Magic Bullets play very involved pop music, stuff that throws layer upon layer (even while sounding exceedingly simple) in an apparent desire to mask any and all core meaning. Well, maybe not quite all that, but this stuff is awfully pretty and equally confusing. I've never been a lyrics guy (I think I mention them every third or fourth review at most), but with this style lyrics are key. And I don't get these. But the music is so pretty. And even with all of its complexity, I can hear the meaning in it. The problem for me is that lyrics don't seem to match up with the story told by the song itself. The question is how much of a problem that really is. Not a killer. For starters, people who value lyrics may be able to figure out what's going on here. And people who like well-constructed pop music will simply bliss out. There's no reason those two groups of people ever need meet. And maybe after another hundred listens or so (a very attractive prospect to my ears) I'll figure this out. That's cool with me.
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 QuaForgetabout Painting Monsters on Clouds (Mush) Known to his friends as Cornel Wilczek, Qua released Forgetabout in 2001 and Painting Monsters on Clouds in 2004--in Australia. Mush is doing the right thing and bringing these fine works to the rest of the world. Minimalist, loopy (in every sense of the word) electronic stuff that marries melody, noise and an interesting sort of bonhomie. Not goofy, but somewhat sprightly and well-intentioned. That makes these songs, which might otherwise be described as chilly, rather warm and inviting. Forgetabout is the sparer of the two. There's a lot of space between the different elements, and oftentimes there's even a sense of dead air. Painting Monsters utilizes much more beatwork and rhythm in general. The tracks on the later album are much more songlike...there's even a fair amount of guitar work involved. What doesn't change between the albums is the quality within. Both are solid and inventive, inviting the listener to stop and have a think. They may be late in coming, but I'm just happy these albums are finally here.
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 Rope,
Inc.Songs of Love and War (Second Shimmy) There really is a Kramer sound. It's not so much a particular way of twisting the knobs as it is marrying a feel to the songs involved. Kramer has always managed to mutate his style to fit his subjects, and the results become even more interesting when he joins up with the outfit in question. And so Matt Menovcik writes the songs, plays the keyboards and sings, while Kramer produces, plays guitar and whatever else is necessary. Though often enough these songs do pretty well with just voice, keyboard implement, beats and guitar. The sound is vaguely dreary, I suppose, but nonetheless possessing a sort of untouchable beauty. There's a real ache to the sound on this album. It really brings out the quiet desperation of Menovcik's songs. The more I hear from Rope, Inc., the more I like what I hear. There's just not enough room here for me to give all the reasons why.
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 The
ShakeKick It (self-released) Located somewhere between 70s party rock, 80s indie rock and 90s nugarage rock (or, perhaps more accurately, amongst said sounds), the Shake cranks out midtempo rockers that, um, rock. There's not much more to say about these guys. This is three chords and a wink kinda stuff, basic riffola bashed out with almost as much power as attitude. The Shake never gets too heavy, but this stuff is pleasantly loud. In fact, despite the somewhat forced angst of the lyrics, this is one hell of a pleasant album. Sunny stuff for the impending summer. Even the breakup songs (such as they are) are pretty damned bright. I dunno. Sometimes it's nice to simply listen to music and not worry so much about it. And if yer gonna do that, the Shake will do nicely. Not much past the surface, I suppose, but we're talking perfect skin here.
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 Tin Cup ProphetteLiar and the Thief (self-released) Being, for the most part, Amanda Kapousouz, with help from Daniel Rickard and a host of friends on drums and cello, Tincup Prophette lurches through a surprisingly vast array of sounds and ideas. Surprising because most of these songs plod along at a funereal pace (thus the "dirge" reference in the press notes). You'd think this stuff would be dreary. Some of it is, of course, but many of these songs have fun little pieces that pop out of the speakers to shake listeners out of their black coats. Kapousouz is an obvious fan of Brian Eno and early Peter Gabriel--and if she's not, she fakes it very well. These songs are meticulously arranged and produced with an often ethereal sparseness. Often, they seem to belong to another world. And, who knows, they might. Doesn't much matter to me, as long as I can hear them. Quite solid and creative work in an area that could get repetitive and dull in a heartbeat. Well done.
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Two Cow Garage Three (Suburban Home) So what might happen if you melded some seriously rockin' roots music with seriously whiskey-soaked vocals? Like as if Faces-era Rod Stewart were to hook up with Armchair Martian? Something like this. Or something, anyway. The tunes themselves are, well, quite tuneful. As tuneful as the vocals are raspy and often nearly atonal. But this sort of dichotomy has often worked well, and it does so here. The music provides the hook and the vocals the soul. And it's produced with just enough insouciance and recklessness to keep these songs infectious as hell. It sounds like the band was throwing a party as it was recording this album...come to think of it, that's not a bad idea at all. The sort of album that sets its hooks early and never lets up. Good, old-fashioned bootkickin' tunes. Stock up on the beer, and don't let it get too cold.
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Utah CarolRodeo Queen (Stomping Ground) What I said about Chicago in the first review of the month goes double for here. It's hard to tell exactly what Grant Birkenbeuel and JinJa Davis are going for, exactly, but I can say that it works astonishingly well. There's a definite nod to 70s soft rock, but always tied to rootsy underpinnings. But this isn't Poco by any stretch of the imagination. Think more Bacharachian pop with a bit more oopmh. Very mannered stuff, though with a looseness and hint of twang--especially in the guitar. The production is almost jazzy, very smooth and lush. Which is why I can't say exactly where I think these folks are headed. Not that I'm particularly worried, of course. These songs sound great. Wonderful stuff, the sort of vaguely genre-bending fare that tends to land lightly on my ears. Let the joy infuse your soul.
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Also recommended:
Atomic Brother See Me Comin' (self-released)
Bixler Bixler EP (self-released)
Coma Ornamental Urban Shrubbery (Edgetone)
Linda Draper Keepsake (Planting Seeds)
Fisk Industries EPs and Rarities 2xCD (Mush)
Gudrun Gut I Put a Record On (Monika Enterprise)
Emily Hay Brad Dutz Wayne Peet Emily Hay Brad Dutz Wayne Peet
(pfMENTUM)
Hotpipes Hotpipes (self-released)
The (International) Noise Conspiracy featuring Jonas Kullhammar & Sven-Eric
Dahlberg Live at Oslo Jazz Festival (Alternative Tentacles)
Lacona President's Day CD5/ 35/Half of 70 CD5
(self-released)
Louis Freak Show Revenge EP (Superphonic)
Billy Martin/John Medeski Mago (Amulet)
Tom Nunn Identity (Edgetone)
Shiner Making Love EP re-issue (Anodyne)
David Shultz and the Skyline Sinner's Gold (Triple Stamp)
Slaraffenland Private Cinema (Hometapes)
Matt Weston Rashaya CD3/Resistance Cruisers CD3 (7272
Music)
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