Audioholic Media

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 04.27.11
by Joshua Krage

Big soundscapes abound on the list this week but no really big names to be found. Instead we get tasty surprises from the fringe at every turn, which is a welcome change on a week when there’s enough space on the field to pay attention to it. Read on and grab some knowledge:

The Airborne Toxic Event, All At Once – it seems like this epic SoCal band is still building their buzz even two albums in, but they’re also expanding on their sound, constructing stadium-sized chant-along choruses and stomp/clap rave-ups like they’re riding a bicycle. Frontman Mikel Jollett gets softer and more reflective in some places, but it’s in the tension and release that this band really shines, setting a scene with a whisper then feeding and building it until it steamrolls the senses in glorious aural bliss.

An Horse
Augustana
Tab Benoit
Boris
David Bowie – live ‘97
Bowling for Soup
BT
Bootsy Collins
Derek & the Dominoes – super deluxe four-CD edition. Wow.
Dirty Vegas
Steve Earle

Explosions in the Sky, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care – the absolute dominators of instrumental epicness take their Friday Night Lights fame and pretty much do what they did before, which is make sprawling songscapes that fit snugly between soundtrack music and atmospheric rock. This release is especially notable for the presence of a track which runs less than four minutes, a commendable show of restraint for these expansive post-rockers.

Bill Frisell
Holly Golightly
Grampall Jookabox
Emmylou Harris

Karsh Kale, Cinema – rhythmically adept at a wide array of world and electronic music styles, this release finds the Indian-pedigreed NY tabla master adapting his soundtrack and film scoring work into his command of dance textures, resulting in more ambient and cinematic landscapes. Lightning-quick dynamic shifts and intricate breakbeats abound but share equal sonic space with lush piano and keyboard layers, guitar harmonics, surprising minimalist production flourishes, and of course a top-shelf roster of guest vocalists and instrumentalists adding exotic sounds unlike anything you’ll find in mainstream music. A diverse rhythmic feast, and a very colorful landscape.

The Limousines, Get Sharp – add this duo to the roster of high-quality synth-flavored indie rock which is launching this decade. Fuzzy, room-sized ambience, slick keyboards and dance floor beats form a firm foundation, with singer Eric Victorino’s post-bender yowl serving up smart, semi-cynical self-awareness in a style akin to MGMT or The Naked and Famous. Decent debut, lots of layers on lots of levels.

Cass McCombs
Mindless Self Indulgence
Oh Darling
Of Montreal
Roy Orbison – Monument singles
OST – Prom
Otep
Poly Styrene
Prefuse 73
Rachel Platten
Joshua Redman
Rolling Stones – complete singles
Silverstein

Thao and Mirah, Thao and Mirah – both of these singer/songwriters already have quite the established presence, but even having heard their previous work I couldn’t have imagined their collaboration being this intensely interesting. Give credit to tUnE-yArDs’ Merrill Garbus for her deft production touches, taking what could’ve been a flat acoustic duet session and chopping, splicing, and super-gluing the sonic textures into majestic, acousmatic soundscapes atop which ace singers Thao Nguyen and Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlin weave both traditional songs and more experimental tone poems. Small surprises, like horn breaks and percussive handclaps on the fringes, pop up all around these tracks and disappear just as abruptly, framing these two rather capable voices and their interplay with fascinating hues at every turn. Probably the best collaboration by established artists I’ve heard in many, many years.

Tia Carrera (the band, not the actress)
Times New Viking
Tindersticks – film scores

Next week has serious contenders, including new ball-busting beats from the Beastie Boys, the long-awaited second Fleet Foxes LP, and silken-voiced siren Priscilla Ahn helping you work through your resistance to growing up. That’s next week; this week go find yourself something huge and rock the fuck out.

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