Audioholic Media

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 05.11.10
by Joshua Krage

Whole lotta head-scratching to be done this week, with the strange concoctions from the likes of Cocorosie and Gayngs to established acts like Keane and U.N.K.L.E. changing up their winning formulas for art’s sake and beyond. You’ll see what I mean…

As I Lay Dying

Marco Benevento, Between the Needles and Nightfall – hadn’t heard of this whimsical avant-jazz ivory-tinkler but along with a choice restrained rhythm section, he’s evidently released two albums of colorful genre-mashing before this work, which is quite a genre collage of its own. Amazing instrument choices and stunning dynamic shifts dot every track with unique landmarks, and the crazy, hazy textures hanging in the background create a mood that’s part art-house, part fun-house. Severely interesting, in a low-key sort of way, and the best instrumental jazz I’ve heard this month.

Bon Jovi – needless “Tour Edition” reissues
Jackson Browne / David Lindley
Jonathan Butler
Capitol Steps
Carney
Cattle Decapitation
Clutch – live

Cocorosie, Grey Oceans – there is an endless array of adjectives which could be used to describe the music of these oddly ethereal sisters, but no matter how expansive the list, it wouldn’t be enough–a quality which is both intriguing and frustrating listening to this new album. Their demure, quivering elven vocals float uncertainly over scores of strange, barely-stable instrumentation, from ambient keys and despairing strings to chopped-up pianos and breakbeats. Odd as it sounds to say, this really is the kind of music one would make in a cauldron in some enchanted forest, which fits their personality well and, upon reflection, sounds very deliberate, however perplexing.

Crash Test Dummies

The Dead Weather, Sea of Cowards – new LP less than a year after their first? Yes, please! Don’t quite know how they pulled it off, but album #2 doubles down on their blues-hound sound, taking the rough-edged sound of debut album Horehound and pushing it further and rawer, if that’s a word. New tricks added here include some space-age keyboards and a strange album-closing dirge by Jack White reinterpreting a traditional Catholic liturgy, but the rest of the album is pretty much a continuation of their debut, which is a good thing for everyone but those expecting something new and different.

Celine Dion – live

Everest, On Approach – second album from great new L.A. country/rock act just finding its quirky, roots music legs. Having three multi-instrumentalists/vocalists in the band definitely gives these guys an advantage in the arrangement department, and frontman Russ Pollard’s winsome, unsteady tenor sets the perfect pitch for these tales of searching and settling in. They sound like they’d be killer to see live.

4troops

Gayngs, Relayted – an eclectic and puzzling sort of indie dance collective, a bit like Broken Social Scene going chillwave in Minneapolis with a downtempo beat. Shadowy atmospherics and wistful drones are the overcurrents, but the foundations are all groove music, and these guys get pretty crazy with the random instrumental flourishes on some tracks. Guest spots includes members of Bon Iver and Megafaun and the whole guest list is pretty long, but if that’s how many people it takes to get us dancing in hipster fashion, then that’s what it takes.

Buddy Guy – yes, a new one

Holy Fuck, Latin – wow, didn’t expect the excellent ambient layers in this indie IDM collective’s third proper album. These guys are always incredibly inventive, but up to this point it’s been mostly with beats and blips; this time around they really bring the keyboard swells and synth genius in top form, making even more danceable and some bonus relaxable fare.

Hoodoo Gurus
IAMX – remixes & “reworkings”
Japandroids – “No Singles” early works comp

John 5, The Art of Malice – ever since wisely departing from Marilyn Manson’s band, this face-painted fret wizard has been schooling the entire instrumental shred community with each release, latest work included. In addition to the grip of face-melting shred sprints (including a Van Halen send-up featuring bassmaster Billy Sheehan), J5 throws in some classical fingerstyle, some chicken-pickin’, and some surprisingly subtle downtempo slide. This guy has nothing left to prove, being more than a match for any axeman from country/bluegrass all the way up to the highest histrionics of heavy metal, and he’s only getting better.

Karma to Burn

Keane, Night Train EP – a mini-album which is half continuation of their last LP and half leap forward into dance/pop production mastery. Inventive collaborations with Japanese singer Tigarah and Somali rapper K’Naan are deliberate departures from anything they’ve done up to this point, and their songs in general have quite a bit of layering and dynamics, but if you’ve heard them on either of their last two LPs, you’ve most likely discovered their greatness, which is only reinforced here.

Jennifer Knapp, Letting Go – if you haven’t heard the controversy surrounding this CCM songstress’ return to music after a lengthy “hiatus,” you can find it on your own; the story on this comeback album is the music. Knapp’s deeply cathartic voice and acoustic style were strong cornerstones of the Lilith Fair sound but what set her apart both then and now is the depth and poeticism of her confessional lyrics. I’ve heard no other artist who can express a soul torn against itself with such devastating beauty, both in written and sung verse as well as Jennifer Knapp, and she brings seven years’ worth of pent-up pathos to the table here. She starts off sounding a bit like Melissa Etheridge, but while her voice has found a bit more of a gravelly edge, she fully retains the wounded seeker she personifies so well throughout all these tracks, making for a stellar return, regardless of how the controversy will affect its receiving in the CCM and popular music community.

Kris Kristofferson – early demos
Male Bonding
Meat Loaf

The National, High Violet – to call the National “gloomy” is to describe a windowless room as “poorly lit,” but anyone who has heard Matt Berninger’s despairingly subdued baritone knows this and by now most of us have gotten past it. Rampant depression and paranoia aside (and with songs like “Afraid of Everyone,” “Sorrow” and “Terrible Love,” they’re hard to miss), this LP has some great ambient production, subtle strings, upbeat dynamics and vocal layering which, while not fully lifting the tracks above their inherent murk and mire, at least buoy them above the water level to the point where you feel like it’s a train ride on an overcast day rather than a solitary afternoon at the rained-out pier.

Placebo, Covers – for any of you unlucky enough to have not purchased the special edition of their 2003 Sleeping With Ghosts album, now you can finally snag what made that edition so special: a 10-song bonus disc of the androgynous ones covering a variety of new wave classics, ranging from Kate Bush to the Smiths to T. Rex, all brilliantly plied and played. Their version of the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” even features Black Francis for bonus cred.

Portugal. the Man, American Ghetto – this indie rock band has far surpassed their original schtick. Birthed in the era of Fall Out Boy and overly-snarky song titles, the post-punk pogo-ism of their early electro leanings has given way to full-on ambientronic rock productions. Strange studio wizardy from producer Anthony Saffery steers these tracks into some trippy territory, and frontman John Gourley’s voice is like hazy LSD all over the album. A more downtempo work, but continuing the inventive trends of their last LP in grand mellow fashion.

Sage Francis
Carly Simon – live
Sing It Loud

Sleigh Bells, Treats – primary producer (and N.E.E.T. label owner) M.I.A.’s fingerprints are all over this band’s debut album. The Brooklyn duo not only delivers a hard-hitting pop/rock album, but hits it outta the park with their sometimes pop/sometimes punk lyrics blanketed in lots of gritty, subversive guitar sounds, plenty of synths and undeniably danceable beats. The quiet moments are still loud and angsty in a way that would’ve pissed your mom off when you were in high school. Absolutely look for this one on all of the Best Of 2010 lists, including ours.

Stereophonics
Taproot
Otis Taylor

U.N.K.L.E., Where Did the Night Fall – didn’t expect this at all. James Lavelle’s beat-heavy trip-hop dalliance stops tripping and goes straight electro dancepop, scoring guest vox from the likes of Mark Lanegan, Autolux and the Black Angels. Less patchy and experimental, less like a side-project and more a focused, deliberate statement, but not a statement that much of their earlier work suggested at all.

VA – American Idol season nine
Wax Fang

We Are the Fallen, Tear the World Down – a winning goth-rock formula of former Evanescence axeman Ben Moody and former AmIdol contestant (and Evanescence fan-girl) Carly Smithson, this album plays pretty much like Evanescence would have sounded if Amy Lee weren’t so control crazy, which is either a strength or a weakness depending on how much of their sorrow you may have enjoyed. Needless to say, there’s lots of big, ominous guitar crunch and brooding, layered vocals, and if you fell on the side of wishing Amy Lee would stop crying and start rocking, Tear the World Down is the album which will let your wrists heal up and start throwing the rawkfist.

Interesting, eh? That’s enough variety for a whole month, but this month has lots of great surprises to come, and next week sees albums dropping from Band of Horses, The Black Keys, and LCD Soundsystem, to name a few. See you then, see you there.

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