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Mike
Bennett
Capsule
Reviews:
May,
2004
Scroll down for capsule reviews of releases by Various
Artists -- Greasy Kid Stuff 2, Various Artists -- Live
On WLUW 88.7 FM Chicago, IL, M. Hederos M Hellberg --
M Hederos M Hellberg, Chris Von Sneidern -- Headful
Of Words, Last Night's TV -- Daylight Between The Blades,
Arthur Yoria -- I'll Be Here Awake, Remake/Remodel
-- 12345 Accelerate, Iron & Wine -- Our Endless
Numbered Days, Hamfatter -- Fireworks, The Eagles
Of Death Metal -- Peace Love Death Metal, The Spectacular
Fantastic -- Vortex Of Vacancy and Andre Ethier --
Andre Ethier
Various Artists -- Greasy
Kid Stuff 2 (Confidential): We
really are living in a golden age of children's music. Cool
rock artists are doing great covers and nifty originals that
grown ups can dig too. This is the sequel to 2002's compilation
of tracks played on Inside the Radio, a popular children's
show on the legendary public radio station WFMU. I gave a
good review to the first collection, but I don't remember
it being as good as this one. This is a great, great record
that I will play many times. First and foremost, it leads
off with a song from the final album by the late, great cub.
Short of former cub guitarist (and current member of I Am
Spoonbender) Robynn Iwata moving to Chicago and becoming my
soulmate (among other things), nothing could be better than
hearing "Magic 8 Ball", a strummy cuddlecore wonder.
It is a portent of smiles to come. First, there are punk-pop
delights galore. The Mr. T. Experience does right by the Schoolhouse
Rock classic "Unpack Your Adjectives", The Kabalas
go over the top on a splendid version of the theme from "Underdog",
and Muckaferguson unleash a peppy paean to the "Dictionary".
You also get They Might Be Giants tapping into the classic
Space Songs record (from whence they discovered concert
staple "Why Does the Sun Shine?") to explain "What
is a Shooting Star?" They should just do the whole album
so I can get my niece a swell birthday gift. There are not
one, but two awesome ditties about mechanical creatures. Bent
Bolt & the Nuts essay the tale of "The Mechanical
Man", with appropo robotic vocals, and Olvia Olson &
Eban Schletter (the musical director for Mr. Show)
team up for the goofy "Mouser Mecha-Catbot". Kenn
Kweder can teach your kids a bit about rockabilly with handclapping
on "Two Little Dogs". And what kids album would
be complete without an appearance by R. Stevie Moore? Whatever
the answer to that question is, the D.I.Y. poster dude has
a great contribution, "Horse in Striped Pajamas",
which features cool-silly lyrics and nifty guitar work. Play
it loud -- unless it's naptime. confidentialrecordings.com
Various Artists -- Live
On WLUW 88.7 FM Chicago, IL (self-released):
This two CDs for the price of one set compiles highlights
from two years of live performances that were broadcast by
this community radio station that has become a major player
in the Chicago indie-rock scene. The first disc is comprised
of songs performed on Backstage Pass (and its predecessor,
Radio Free Chicago), which fits squarely within the
edgy parameters of modern college radio rock. So there is
strong biting rock in the Dischord tradition from bands like
Rollo Tomasi ("Working Class Promise") and Black
Print ("Consumed"), along with contemporary post-punk
from Lying In States, who fall somewhere in the territory
of Echo and the Bunnymen and The Cure on their fine "Tackle
Me, I'm on Fire". The popper side of indie is showcased
too. Head Of Femur (featuring a member of Bright Eyes) comes
off like the popper side of Pere Ubu mixed with Pavement on
"Elliot Gould Is In California Split", Troubled
Hubble stretches out in a jangly manner on "I Love My
Canoe", which reminds me (just a bit) of Sean Na Na,
and The Detholz! go retro-synth on "Artificial Intelligence
Agency". There are prime performances from Chicago stalwarts
like Duvall, Haymarket Riot and Oh My God, along with intriguing
numbers like the jazzy (in a Minutemen sort of way) "Hamburger
Help Us" by Dakota/Dakota and The Industry taking a Girls
Against Boys approach on "The Rock and the Hard Place".
The second disc comes from Nick Tristano's show, and he shows
off the more accessible side of WLUW (and it's the mix of
the edgy and accessible that makes it such a great station).
Familiar faces (voices?) include Steve and Liam of Frisbie,
Steve and Diane of Dolly Varden, Sparkle * Jets U.K. and The
Lackloves (who turn in a great, low key version of "Emily").
There's also an excellent performance by R D Roth (with Jerry
King) on "Ear to the Ground" from his latest album.
The best song on the whole set is Andrew Bird's brilliant
"Trimmed and Burning". The master violinist weaves
a hypnotic spell to open this track before flowing from lovely
territory into a delicate and enrapturing take on pure blues.
Other highlights include some great new female voices such
as the one leading Suffrajet ("Sorrow") and Stolie
(she sounds somewhat like Eddie (Fairground Attraction) Reader
on "Satire-Laden Melodies"),The Read Letter's variation
on a classic (the countrified "Can the Circle Be Unbroken?")
and an inspired acoustic emo-meets-Oasis performance by Corey
Hance of The Cells on "A Little More You". While
very few folks will like every track on the two discs, the
high quality of the performances throughout is indisputable.
This is a wonderful sampler of a good slice of current Chicago
music from different scenes, and the proceeds help fund further
programming of this quality. wluw.org
M. Hederos M Hellberg --
M Hederos M Hellberg (Hidden
Agenda): Reissue of 2000 collaboration between Hederos, the
keyboardist for The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, and Hellberg,
who used to play guitar in The Hellacopters. The duo is in
mellow mode, performing a nice selection of covers. The artist
whose influence pervades the entire disc is Randy Newman --
they do his song "Guilty", and do a great job. Hellberg
has an expressive voice that strains ever so slightly. This
creates an empathy and/or vulnerability that adds texture
to the wonderful and smooth piano playing of Hederos. The
duo also manages to wring every drop of poignancy out of songs
such as Love's "Signed D.C.", Arthur Lee's tragic
story of drug addiction and Tom Waits' "Soldier's Things",
a song all too timely in 2004. In this context, the opening
version of the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes"
is relatively jaunty, and this rendition really shows how
a pianist can, with creative arranging and superior technical
skills, put a stamp on a song. Here, Hederos plays a repeating
rhythmic figure that underpins the verses, and then ends the
chorus, giving the song a nifty musical unity. This is a fresh
take on an oft-covered classic. This eight song disc is an
effective mood piece, best enjoyed with your favorite brand
of whiskey. parasol.com
Chris Von Sneidern -- Headful
Of Words (Innerstate): As it states
on the cover, this is a best of (with three unreleased tracks),
covering Sneidern's work from 1990 through 1997. With Sneidern's
recent work showing him expanding his musical pallette, now
is a good time to look at his praiseworthy past. This shows
off Sneidern's mastery of acoustic pop that fits in with the
quieter moments of Big Star, Badfinger and Marshall Crenshaw.
Hardcore CvS fans may have some quibbles with the selections,
but I think that the man did a great job of identifying his
best songs (though he notes in his swell liner notes "apparently
I hate my best songs!"). I don't have to say representative
songs, since one of the hallmarks of Sneidern's early work
was the effortless consistency he displayed. Yet amongst all
this quality, songs like "Open Wide" (which was
my first exposure to Sneidern's magic, via a Yellow Pills
compilation), "Annalisa", "Sight & Sound"
and "Here I Go" just stand a little taller, so it's
great to have them all on one disc. Moreover, they reveal
another hallmark of his entire career: songs that have a strong
emotional core, so they aren't just vehicles for hooks --
they are resonant and affecting. Those hardcore fans I spoke
of earlier, have three unreleased songs to chew on. "Somedays
(Alternate Version)" mixes the patented Sneidern blend
of plaintive vocals, strumming acoustics and precise lead
guitar figures over a memorable chorus that would have sounded
equally at home abutting a Rod Argent organ line during the
heyday of The Zombies. "Without a Prayer", which
was originally a shorter a cappella number, is now a full-length
song with violin accompaniment and lush backing vocals. And
it's better than the released version, in my opinion. "On
the Ground" is the ringer, recorded last year. I'd surmise
that this was a great song that Sneidern didn't think fit
in with his last album -- this song reminds me a bit of some
of John Lennon's solo material, though just a bit. If you've
been wanting to check out Sneidern's music, there's no excuse
not to pick this up. innerstate.com
Last Night's TV -- Daylight
Between The Blades (self-released):
Maybe it's all the rain, but there are a lot of British artists
who specialize in music for the forlorn. Rather than rage
over bad relationships, frontman Spencer Bayles sublimates
his anger by turning over in his mind everything that went
wrong, every unanswered (and perhaps unanswerable) question
with more acuity than a Senate commission. The low key acoustic
pop offered on most of this disc is fairly reminiscent of
Trembling Blue Stars with a dash of Nick Drake thrown into
the mix. Bayles is a lacerating lyricist -- examples include
the opening line to "Parting Ways" ("One of
us is lying/my instinct says it's you.") and this gem
from "I Can't Think of Everything" ("Got nothing
against God/just some of the people he left behind.").
This black humor doesn't so much cut through the mournful
tones as it makes the lamenting a lot easier to tolerate.
LNTVweb.co.uk
Arthur Yoria -- I'll Be
Here Awake (12 Records): In 1998,
Texan David Garza put out the wonderful This Euphoria,
a great contemporary pop-rock album that was full of melodic
hooks and wonderful guitar noises. He then followed it up
with a much moodier, bluesier disc, Overdub. So how
is this relevant to Arthur Yoria (a Chicagoan is now based
in Texas)? And this record could be passed off as the true
follow up to This Euphoria. Whether Garza has directly
or indirectly influenced Yoria, I cannot say. However, Yoria
shares all of the virtues of Garza at his most pop wonderful.
He has an expressive tenor voice, with great phrasing. And
he attacks his songs insistently -- the guitar riffs on the
back-to-back winners that open the album, "I'll Be Here
Awake" and "Permanent", are played with plenty
of infectuous gusto. But it's not just sheer energy -- the
songs also sport smart arrangements that give the songs little
twists that make them enjoyable throughout. Yoria shows both
a knowledge of the song structures of McCartney and Squeeze
and a sly sense of humor on "P.S.A.", which is piano-based
tribute to masturbation. On "I'll Pretend", Yoria
writes the sequel to Mr. Garza's "Disco Ball World".
With his tender singing, he's a natural on the slower stuff,
though "Here to Stay" is the sole misstep on the
disc, as it's just too obvious. Better are songs like "Sevilla",
which builds up to maelstrom of guitar passion. This is a
modern power pop record that isn't slavishly indebted to the
‘60s and ‘70s practitioners of the genre, but has
the melodies, hooks and crunch that embody the genre. Yoria
is amazingly talented and just needs to continue to challenge
himself as a writer while honing his identity. arthuryoria.com
Remake/Remodel -- 12345
Accelerate (Popboomerang): Accelerate
indeed. This Aussie quartet does not lack for energy on this
crisp EP. The best track of the bunch is the slinky "Thanx
4 Nothing", which mixes a bit of doomy surf rock vibe
(kinda like early Midnight Oil or Slant 6), great harmony
vocals, and a passionate vocal from Jes Coggers to build a
memorable groove. There is no straightforward chorus, but
the hooks come from the memorable instrumental figures. Even
better is how the song builds and builds to a thrilling and
exhilerating conclusion. Lead track "Accelerate"
is more pop-friendly, fueled by Sarah Blaby's lead guitar
work. This song has a more traditional chorus -- this sounds
like The Go-Go's with balls. The song "Jellybean"
takes up the final two slots. In its first incarnation, it's
a light mid-tempo number -- that's a relative term, as there
is still some nice dirty guitar in spots. The song is then
remixed on "Jellybean Remodel", with a different
backbeat, a more funk-like guitar part, which reveals the
brilliance of Melissa Lock's bassline. This EP reveals a band
that could open for Franz Ferdinand, could play with all the
garage bands in Detroit and even make friends with post-punkers
in NYC and D.C. They have a ridiculously high ceiling. popboomerang.com.
Iron & Wine -- Our
Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop):
The second Iron & Wine album is a full studio affair,
the first being a studio demo that Sub Pop liked enough to
release. Main man Sam Beam's singing is whispery and plaintive.
He constructs delicate melodic music with a rootsy touch that
may appeal to some fans of the late Elliot Smith and Pernice
Brothers (and maybe even The Lilac Time). Despite the full
sonic trappings, this is a very spare production, with the
gentle lead vocals and soft guitar cutting through the silence.
This approach reveals the essence of what makes this such
an appealing record -- Beam sings his songs as if you were
a confidant. This record is intimate, though never somber,
albeit, at times a little sad. This sadness is tempered by
the soothing nature of the music. This record sounds so warm
and comforting, that although there are a quite a few superior
songs throughout, they work so well together as a unit. Which
isn't to say that Beam can't sound foreboding -- the back
porch blues "Teeth in the Grass" is menace wrapped
in velvet. But the essence of Beam's artistry is established
on the first two songs. The opener "On Your Wings"
is also blues based, with a guitar playing a percussive part,
Beam whispering this plaintive request: "God, give us
love in the time we have." Beam compliments the plucked
rhythm with gently yearning lead guitar playing, that magnifies
the dignity and urgency of this musical prayer. Then Beam
follows this with the perfect "Naked As We Came",
which sounds a bit like prime Lindsay Buckingham during the
halcyon days of Fleetwood Mac. It is a song of eternal love,
literally. A man and woman vowing that they will be together
when one has to leave this mortal coil: "She says, "If
I leave before you, darling/don't you waste me in the ground."/I
lay smiling, like our sleeping children/one of us will die
inside these arms." Again, Beam's wonderfully spare guitar
playing and the affirmative melody coalesce with these lyrics
-- this is a song about two true soul mates. Beam revisits
a related theme, in a somewhat similar musical context, on
"Each Coming Night". Clearly, death for Beam is
merely a passage to a higher calling: "Will you say to
me/when I'm gone/your face has faded/but lingers on/cause
light strikes a deal/with the coming night." Beam sees
a world that is full of pain, but is clothed in beautiful
truths. That he can make this shine through in his music is
what makes this powerful and essential. subpop.com
Hamfatter -- Fireworks
(Pink Hedgehog): With a name like Hamfatter, you know it has
to be good. Well, maybe the name isn't enough. Thankfully,
the disc offers plenty of proof. This album mixes witty numbers
like the opener, "Fireworks" (which sounds like
a variation on the Bo Diddley beat with veddy English vocals
a la Viv Stanshall) with some pretty pastoral pop-rock. On
songs like "Bluesy Grooves", a mid-tempo piano piece
accented by pretty lead guitar work, Eoin's vocals and the
overall song structure are reminiscent of the first Badly
Drawn Boy album. The band takes a similar motif into old (olde?)
British folk territory on the chorus of "This Is Entertainment"
with back up singer Emilie hitting some real high notes. The
best song on the album might be the jaunty "John Peel
(On My Phone)", which begins with the couplet "John
Peel on my phone/I will never wash my phone again no more"
and after botching the opportunity to be on his show, the
track ends with the rustic mantra "Oh lord don't let
me be poor/sweet lord don't let me be poor." Or the best
track might be the floating, atmospheric "Another Young
Brave", which swirls while moving like a waltz slowed
down. I'd like to emphasize that Badly Drawn Boy comparison
again, because this disc is high quality music in a similar
vein. Very nice. pinkhedgehog.com
The Eagles Of Death Metal
-- Peace Love Death Metal (AntAcidAudio):
Take the basic blues rock duo approach of The White Stripes
and The Black Keys. But apply it to songs that are more like
the blues-based rockers that traveled in caravans across the
stadiums of America and Europe in the ‘70s. What you
get is The Eagles Of Death Metal and a record that offers
a spare swingin' variation in music that is based on the almighty
riff. The drummer/producer is Carlo Von Sexron a/k/a Queens
Of The Stone Age front man Joshua Homme. The guitarist/vocalist/songwriter
is J. Devil Huge a/k/a J. Everett Hughes. The goal is clearly
taking a piss out of classic rock whilst celebrating, all
in good fun. The goal is met. Whether it's "San Berdoo
Sunburn", which seems to have been cribbed from the Joe
Walsh songbook, the chugging Free-meets-Prince "So Easy",
the back porch ambience of "Midnight Creeper", which
melds the delta blues with slasher movie ethos, or the bashed
out cover of Stealer's Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With
You" (winkingly re-titled "Stuck in the Metal"),
you could spend days charting the reference points, or you
could just go to the volume knob and turn it clockwise. The
latter option makes more sense. Homme is a solid but unspectacular
drummer – he gets the job done. On a few songs, I can
spot some little touches that have a Queens Of The Stone Age
feel. This is just a matter of technique and shared sensibility.
So some fans of the band will simply not get this. However,
if you're in the mood for a straight basic rock and roll record
that is tongue-in-cheek (but not at expense of the rock).
I highly recommend this. eaglesofdeathmetal.net
The Spectacular Fantastic -- Vortex
Of Vacancy (Ionik): A very well done one-man band
production, courtesy of the talented Mike Detmer. His primary
motif is melodic rock that falls between power pop and Elephant
6 style tunes a la Apples In Stereo. There are also a few
songs that will have a great deal of appeal to Shins fans.
The prime moment on the disc is "Orbit". Here, Detmer
successfully channels Village Green-era Kinks for a
lilting ditty perfect for afternoon tea. This track may be
a bit too derivative for some, but he nails it so well, and
we can't have enough great Kinks tunes, even if they aren't
written or performed by The Kinks, right? But Detmer is not
stuck in the past, as evidenced by the dour and captivating
"Freedom", a reggaefied dirge with a drawn out melody
and cool production tricks that enhance the atmosphere. Not
that he needs the tricks -- on the short and sweet "Obsession",
with just a guitar and light percussion he crafts a Dylany
nugget with a vocal reminiscent of Peter Holsapple. Mixing
with these creative high points are fine examples of punchy
guitar pop, like "Just My Luck" (in the vein of
the late Possibilities and Young Fresh Fellows at their least
sloppy), and nice mid-tempo charmers like "Lullaby",
which is highlighted by very strong lead guitar work. It should
also be noted that this record simply sounds great -- the
right balance between high fidelity and immediacy is struck.
ionikrecords.com
Andre Ethier -- Andre
Ethier (Sonic Unyon): Pretty solid
Dylanesque singer-songwriter. With the help of Christopher
Sandes (piano, lead guitar, backing vocals) and Pickles and
Price (bass, drums, backing vocals -- and I presume that's
two people, though credited together), this is a sufficiently
inspired take on the talking folk blues genre from someone
who has earned a degree in Blonde On Blonde. What makes
this record work is that everyone is attacking the fine songs
with enthusiasm. It also helps that Ethier has a sturdy, confident
voice to go along with a sturdy, confident lyrical stance.
Listen to the rollicking "Sinners", with Sandes's
barroom piano and Ethier in a playful-cum-malevolent mood,
describing, for example, how he and a friend destroyed a large
wasp's nest -- apparently a crime worthy of perdition. Another
great song is "Requiem for Man And Family", which
is a simple chronicle of a man who gets dumped after the death
of a newborn. Ethier relishes his role as a story teller --
it's a strange juxtaposition of pathos and perkiness that
entertains me for some sick reason. If the Violent Femmes
had a been a wee bit more traditional, they would have sounded
like this. sonicunyon.com.
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