April 29, 2008 • 11:51 pm
at the risk of angering much of their fan base, the black keys’ newest release deviates significantly from the band’s self-imposed reliance on drums, guitar and vocals as they attempt to expand their sound. here producer danger mouse provides a bevy of ideas and instruments that help the keys trump the notion that they are one trick pony. their previous albums have been very insular affairs, with both members doing all of the writing, performing, recording and producing themselves; however, as solid as a foundation that is, 2006’s magic potion was a sign that perhaps they needed a change. the songs of attack and release build on that trusted foundation and attempt to augment it with other textures, making danger mouse’s presence noticeable but still subtle. a flute acting as a counterpoint to auerbach’s guitar is what keeps “same old thing” from being exactly what its title suggests. there are moments though, where their approach seems superficial, as though the keys haven’t committed themselves to change and instead opt for large doses of reverb to hide it. while attack and release isn’t everything that it promises, it delivers something new and unexpected from the band and demonstrates their willingness to experiment, perhaps a sign of what’s to come from these blues-fanatics.
Filed under: Album Review , 2008, attack & release, danger mouse, the black keys
April 28, 2008 • 11:58 am
buck 65 & cadence weapon, april 23 2008, hamilton, ontario
(image courtesy of emerging design & photography)
buck 65/cadence weapon/skratch bastid/??? @ call the office, april 26 2008
cadence weapon’s performance this past saturday at london’s call the office made for an excellent show, despite the audience’s general disinterest in anything that wasn’t buck65. alaina and i arrived a little late, so we didn’t hear much of the first set, nor did we manage to catch the name of the performers, though they were pretty good from what we heard. skratch bastid was on next and his set was loud and energetic– consisting mostly of funk tracks and heavy beats– while his turntabling skills set the bar high for the performances that would follow.
shortly after, cadence weapon and the coonskin-cap-wearing DJ weez l took the stage and opened the set with a rousing version of “real estate,” a song from the newly released afterparty babies. much of the set-list featured songs from that album (“in search of the youth crew,” “house music,” “messages matter,” “unsuccessful club night” and “we move away”), and the duo delivered them with spot-on accuracy, looking and sounding comfortable in their surroundings. although the music’s lack of volume was off-putting at first, cadence made up for it with his boisterous stage-presence and faultless exchange with weez l. mr. weapon directed most of his attention to getting the crowd moving, since they seemed hesitant to actually dance to his music. jumping in and out of the audience as he rhymed and encouraged people to let loose and go nuts, helped to get his enthusiasm to slowly catch on, showing that there’s a passion driving him along with his wry wit and intelligence.
Filed under: Concert Review , 2008, cadence weapon, concerts, london ontario, skratch bastid
there’s something about feedback that has always been off-putting– it’s unexpected, unpredictable, and discomforting. the first song on 13 blues begins after 12 short tracks of such feedback, or what brian howe of pitchfork calls “high-pitched, modulating drones.” howe seems to be disturbed by the album beginning in such a way, as he uses a silver mt. zion’s (or thee silver mount zion orchestra and tra-la-la band, for you purists) “conceit” of starting on the 13th track as his entry point to discuss the album and it’s faults. according to an interview that efrim menuk (vocals, guitar) did with drowned in sound, howe’s reaction was the exact reasoning behind 13 blues starting with feedback/drones; smz wanted to put the listener off, or at least fuck with their ipod. that’s quite the statement to be making in an age where all signs are pointing to digital music, and is definitely a unique way of making that statement. such an unwillingness to conform echoes throughout the rest of the album, as it maintains the discomfort of those 12 short tracks by putting the listener in a vulnerable space that they will never be able to fully recover from; each song is a relentless barrage of violins, searing guitars and weighty drums that help to deliver menuck’s so-bad-they’re-good vocals, and the result of which is a record that is unabashedly earnest in it’s approach and sound.
Filed under: Album Review , 13 blues for thirteen moons, 2008, a silver mt. zion, drowned in sound, pitchfork
April 15, 2008 • 11:15 pm
comprised of snippets and rough sketches of songs that came about during the year zero recording process, ghosts is another interesting addition to the NIN catalogue. since with teeth, trent reznor has made countless attempts to rethink and shift the way in which his music is marketed, presented and interpreted. ghosts continues that tradition, as the record marks reznor’s first release since his departure from interscope, and is also his first album to be released completely under creative commons licencing, meaning that anyone, anywhere, can do what they wish with the songs and do it legally. on the actual release date, trent personally uploaded the torrent file that many fans would use to download the album for free.
although it represents a “fuck you” to the record industry, the music from ghosts does not really echo the same sentiment. while you might argue that a collection of 36 instrumental songs that each last from 1-2 minutes in length and are simply titled “(track number) ghosts,” defies the conventional understanding of what an album is, the collection is still marketed and sold as an album. it functions, however, more as a source for music that people can draw from freely, not something one would listen to in it’s entirety. listening to ghosts start to finish is a monotonous and boring experience that is occasionally highlighted by some interesting moments (like when trent uses a banjo!), but overall, it is really not much of a departure from other nine inch nails material. in short, i’m torn. yes, it makes a shitty album, and a shitty listening experience, but i’m not sure it is an album or is even meant to be listened to in such a way.
Filed under: Album Review , 2008, creative commons, ghosts i-iv, NIN, nine inch nails, trent reznor
midnight boom begins more subdued than it’s title suggests, as “u.r.a. fever” shuffles and stomps, alternating dial tones with hand claps, while its bass-line rumbles along, supporting the call and response dialogue between mosshart and hince as they repeat the song’s accusatory title. the song builds, and the bass-line develops, getting dirtier, collecting all the grit and grime in it’s path, as the central lyric then shifts inwards, to “i’m a fever” and “we are a fever,” making the song less of an indictment and more of a celebration. from that point on, the album revels in its dark, sexy, dirty, fun rendition of the blues, sounding like like a terry richardson photograph put to tape. only occasionally do they falter, as the electro/peaches schtick on “cheap and cheerful” wears a bit thin, but the volatile nature of the band shines through on the rest of the record.
Filed under: Album Review , 2008, midnight boom, the kills
a much more musically diverse record than their first release as they seem to be more comfortable with experimentation. clearly, black mountain are working with a larger palette of sounds here, with the most noticeable changes being the more involved roles of vocalist amber webber and keyboardist jeremy schmidt. webber invokes siouxsie sioux throughout the album, particularly on “bright lights” as she howls and haunts her way through the song, while the rest of the band does their best to rock harder than led zeppelin and blue cheer. when a band wears their influences on their sleeves it can be at times a very dangerous move, but on in the future black mountain do it confidently and manage to make this music their own. their songs still have a sleepy, druggy quality to them that occupied most of their self-titled release, but they don’t suffer from the same kind of monotony that similar bands like dead meadow do, as black mountain appropriately couple such moments with driving, powerful, hard rock.
Filed under: Album Review , 2008, black mountain, in the future
it’s always a shame when art suffers at the expense of morality. while BYOP may not be the first band you think of in terms of “art,” their latest album has been the victim of some pretty mindless censorship. the bigwigs at universal, the band’s (who are on thurston moore’s ecstatic peace label) distribution company, decided 3 out of the 15 tracks intended for get awkward were “too violent,” offering american and canadian audiences an incomplete album, while the UK gets the full 15. the resulting album cut is a bit sanitized, as the tracks that were cut are also some of the album’s best. a lot of the “violent” moments are rooted in humour, and are actually very funny– “becky” starts out as a sweet number about falling out with a friend in high school, which at first seems played out if not completely juvenile, but quickly escalates to the point where the narrator is waiting for becky outside of class with knives. it’s the almost 180 degree turn from sweet, bubblegum punk to a kind of black bubblegum that works quite well. jemina pearl picks up on the clichéd attitude of songs like avril lavigne’s “girlfriend” and goes beyond just saying “i don’t like your girlfriend” to “i don’t like your girlfriend so i’m going to take her out back and light her on fire.” by taking such matters so seriously, the song pokes fun at the kind of juvenalia that this album is revelling in, hence, get awkward. overall, pearl delivers her lyrics with a fierceness that demands attention, backed by a band who somehow manage to sound just as chaotic as they sound tight and focused.
Filed under: Album Review , 2008, be your own pet, BYOP, get awkward
