Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 8/28/06 - 8/30/06

Adds -

None - Again?!?

Did Not Add -

LAS MALAS AMISTADES: Jardin Interior CD (Psych-O-Path) - Bizarre mix of lo-fi punk, psych, and stoned loner vibe that was cool when it worked, but, unfortunately, didn’t work often enough to really hold this listeners attention. Keep tryin’, maybe next time...

PTARMIGAN: Ptarmigan CD (LION) - Another hyped psych reissue that failed to deliver - what a shock!

I swear the psych reissue game is just like gambling. Everytime I’m about to decide the well has run dry and give up on future “amazing, previously unknown/rare psych reissues”, a truly great one like the Bunalim or the forthcoming Maypole comes out and renews my faith that there’s still something new under the sun, even in this tired, nearly tapped out (sub)genre. That one good hit, will then push me through another batch of mediocre, bottom-feeding, completist bait, right up until I’m about to give up and then, bam, another good one comes along and the cycle, for better or worse, repeats. I’d estimate that I’ve got about five more losers to go before the next winner...uh, great.

SEX MOB: Dime Grind Palace (Ropeadope) - After picking up their latest, the great, “Sexotica” release, I reviewed my library and found that I did not have this Sex Mob title, so I picked it up. Now I remember why I didn’t have it. When it was released I was still deeply involved with KFJC, so I’m sure I was quite aware of this release at the time and had heard it and didn’t care much for it. For the record, it is a well-conceived and unified package, as everything (from the cover art to the music) evokes images of the swinging, sleazy side of the post-WWII entertainment scene (the late nights, the booze, the drugs, the sex!) when Frank and Co, ruled the planet. And that’s imagery that I quite like. Unfortunately, I’m not too into that whole uptown, suit and tie, big, white boy, blues heavy variety of Jazz and, as a result, this release did not make the grade.

ZAKARYA: 413 A CD (Tzadik) - Third release from this French group who make the interesting (at least on paper) attempt to fuse seemingly disparate elements - klezmer, experimental music, metallic free rock, and even a little glitchy electronica. Unfortunately the misses far outnumber the hits, which, while very good, are too far and few between to merit adding this release.


Running Count For The Year

Adds 98/58%

Did Not Add 70/42%

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 8/27/06

Adds -

None


Did Not Add -

FREQUENCY: S/T CD (Thrill Jockey) - Frequency is a new quartet composed of veterans of the Chicago scene. Despite repeated spins this release just didn’t click for me - the more uptempo tracks never really got aggro enough to thrill and the more contemplative tracks were simply too meandering to satisfy.

GHQ: Heavy Elements CD (Three Lobed) - Although I added a release from GHQ earlier this year, their latest batch of drones failed to make the grade. At the risk of sounding superficial, it may simply be the case that a borderline release of mediocre drones that comes on CDR in a cheap paper slip case gets consigned to the Amoeba trade pile, whereas fat vinyl releases in deluxe gimmix packaging (that will become collectables in the future!) get added to my library.


Running Count For The Year

Adds 98/60%

Did Not Add 66/40%

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 8/22/06 - 8/26/06

Adds -

GRAILS: Black Tar Prophecies Vol's 1,2, & 3 CD (Important) - Another dose of dark, building, doom ragas (and a couple of heavier tracks, too!) from Grails. Excellent!

SOUND IN ACTION TRIO: Gate CD (Atavistic) - It’s a soloist’s dream come true - having two percussionists lay down incredible foundations for amazing solo excusions. Vandermark and company run through a nice mix of covers and original compositions. The majority of the tracks are incendiary workouts on tenor and baritone saxophones, with clarinet and bass clarinet being featured on the couple quieter, more subtle pieces. Outstanding!

TITAN: S/T CD (Paradigms) - On their debut release Brooklyn’s Titan delivers their updated take on the 70’s German longform, AKA Krautrock with reasonable success. It would be better if their music ran a little more to the Neu! end of the spectrum than the Ash Ra Tempel side, but hey, it’s OK.


Did Not Add -

HYLOZOISTS: La Fin Du Monde CD (Boompa) - Despite an army of artists, apparently informed by interesting influences and playing an arsenal of instruments (including some unique ones, such as vibes, strings, and so on), this glorious sounding recording of mostly instrumental pop was just too sweet and straight to make the grade for me. Close, but no cigar.

LANE, ADAM FULL THROTTLE ORCHESTRA: New Magical Kingdom (Clean Feed) - Similar to the previous title, this release by Adam Lane’s Full Throttle Orchestra seemed that it would have enough going for it to make the grade. I, unlike many people, often like Big Band Jazz projects and I like (and am even personally acquainted) a lot of the players on this release. Nevertheless, despite repeated spins, this just never really clicked for me. Maybe it was simply a case of this release sounding weak in comparison to several other recent outstanding Jazz releases, such as those by Sex Mob, Bridge 61, and so on, that have dominated my stereos lately.

PAJO: 1968 CD (Drag City - I could relate to the fucked up loner vibe of the lyrics, but I couldn’t dig it musically. So, overall, this release didn’t make the grade and was consigned to the Amoeba trade pile.

V/A: So Much Fire To Roast Human Flesh CD (Bastet) - This collection gathers numerous “big names” in the folk psych scene together for a very worthy cause, but, unfortunately, the misses strongly outweigh the hits. I almost feel guilty panning this release, but it simply does not stand up musically, in my humble opinion.

Running Count For The Year

Adds 98/60%

Did Not Add 64/40%

Monday, August 21, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 8/14/06 - 8/21/06

First off - FUCK KFJC!!!!! GRAWER SUCKS ASS IN HELL!!!!!

Now, back to the really important things, the new music!!!!!

Adds -

SEXMOB: Sexotica CD (Thirsty Ear) - Sex Mob returns with another blast of their patented slamming style of Jazz, informed by Hip-Hop, Electronica, and Film Noir. Excellent, as usual!

WOODEN WAND & THE SKY HIGH BAND: Second Attention CD (Kill Rock Stars) - The Wooden Wand travels to the SF Bay Area and teams up with talented locals (most notably, Glenn Donaldson of the Skygreen Leopards and Thuja) who provide the back-up as the Sky High Band. This is a much more straightforward, tuneful affair than the Wooden Wand’s earlier releases of improvisational freak folk, but still quite enjoyable

Running Count For The Year

Adds 95/61%

Did Not Add 60/39%

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 7/11/06 - 8/13/06

First off - FUCK KFJC!!!!! Wasted way too much time on those fucking losers!!!!!

Now, back to the really important things, the new music!!!!!

Adds -

BRIDGE 61: Journal CD (Atavistic) - An outstanding new project led by Ken Vandermark. The first and last tracks are some of the most slamming modern Jazz I’ve heard in quite some time. The tracks in between, while much more restrained, are equally musicianly and only slightly less enjoyable. Smokin’!

COMETS ON FIRE: Avatar LP (Sub Pop) - The latest blast from local favorites, Comets On Fire, comes in hot with some of their best material ever, but quickly cools to levels of relative mediocrity for the majority of the album. OK, overall, and worth having, but nowhere near the greatness of their previous two releases.

DICKEY, WHIT: Sacred Ground CD (Clean Feed) - I normally don’t favor the somewhat restrained and academic style of free jazz that Dickey (among many others) creates, but strong performances by the primary soloists (top-tier trumpeter, Campbell, and the distinctive and usually interesting saxophonist, Brown) make this CD worth owning.

ONEIDA: Happy New Year LP (Jagjaguwar) - The latest release from Oneida is decidedly their least rocking, but still quite good, as they continue to explore the psychedelic inducing properties of rhythms and repetitions (which, by the way, are not at all the same thing)

V/A: Beyond Istanbul - Underground Grooves Of Turkey CD (Trikont) - Fascinating and very good collection of modern Turkish sounds, from straight up dance floor pop, to dub, hip hop, and everything in between. Some of the material here comes off as being second-rate, straight-up stylistic rip-offs, but most of the material really does fuse traditional Turkish and/or Eastern musical elements with modern Western musical styles quite successfully.

V/A: Ghana Soundz 2xLP (Soundway) - The subtitle of this compilation tells you all you need to know: Afro-Beat, Funk and Fusion in 70's Ghana. If you’re into Fela, King Sunny, the Ethiopiques series, and so on, then you’re probably going to want/enjoy this collection of true rare (i.e., tracks that are not from the small circle of the genre’s known suspects) nuggets.

Did Not Add -

ALUMBRADOS: Generation of Vipers CD (Important) - I lost interest in Bardo Pond a while back, but the description of this BP side project sounded interesting. Unfortunately, this releases’ somewhat noisy drones were not that interesting.

BALIFF, JESSICA: Feels Like Home CD (Kranky) - Baliff’s latest release isn’t that different nor particularly worse than her previous solo outings. I just find her to be only slightly above average, overall, anyway, so I just couldn’t see adding this CD, since I know that if I feel like hearing something by her in the future I would likely pull out one of her earlier, slightly better solo LPs or, better yet, her great Clear Horizon collaboration with FSA’s Dave Pearce.

FAY GROUP, BILL: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, And Tomorrow LP (Drag City) - I’ll admit that this is a glorious sounding recording, but, unfortunately, Fay’s complex pop isn’t really my cup of tea.

LOVE TIMES NOWHERE (TLXN): Into The Fire 12”- EP (Redgummy Records) - This release from locals, TLXN features 4 tracks of very sweet pop that demonstrates a heavy shoegaze influence. Unfortunately, these guys are no My Bloody Valentine. Or even Slowdive.

VETIVER: To Find Me Gone 2xLP (DiChristina Stair Builders) - Despite all the praise/hype surrounding these locals as being folk-psych practitioners on par with Espers (and despite the presence of several well-known guests, including some members of the aforementioned Espers), this is much straighter and more pop oriented than the great Espers’ releases and, as such, failed to impress this listener.

Running Count For The Year

Adds 93/61%

Did Not Add 60/39%

Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention...FUCK GRAWER!!!!! Lying loser and incompetent delivery boy. GRAWER SUCKS!!!!!