Kevin
Mathews:
January,
2006

So Much Music…So Little Time

Ten Albums That Got Away In 2005

Happy New Year!

True to the spirit of this column, I have on my table more than 50 albums released in 2005 that I have not had the time to listen to, never mind review. So I guess this is as good as a time to highlight ten albums that deserve a mention or two before we forge ahead with 2006.

James Guffee So Much for Secrets (Self-released)
I loved the Tories, especially their final album. As one ex-Torie (Steve Bertrand) made a successful transition into a new career with Avion, another ex-Torie (James Guffee) releases music that compensates for the band's demise. Not quite as slick as Avion's eponymous debut, So Much for Secrets is a warmer sounding record but still contains enough hooks to sate fans of melodic pop-rock. Not only that, but with lyrical themes that deal with everyday living - death of a loved one ("Eighty-Eight"), marriage ("I Do"), perseverance during adversity ("The Hardest Part") and conviction ("Here I Stand") - one gets the best of both words and music. www.jamesguffee.com

The Go! Team Thunder, Lightning, Strike (Memphis Industries)
Original released in 2004 and re-released in 2005 with extra tracks, Thunder, Lightning, Strike is a sonic maelstrom that takes every 'cool' genre of the past 50 years and mixes it up into an exhilarating collage. So be prepared to enjoy funk, R&B, country, folk, pop and hip-hop styles running together seamlessly and naturally. There is a strong dance vibe throughout (even if the cheerleaders chants do get a little tired after awhile) and the sense of joy and reckless abandon can be quite infectious. You might say that this is the clubbing equivalent of the widescreen rock of the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and Grandaddy. Yup, that good! www.thegoteam.co.uk

Joe Mannix A Town By The Sea (BongoBeat)
I have been following Joe's solo music career with much interest since the Mannix debut Pretty Strange - after all, anyone that can meld pop smarts and country-folk's rustic integrity is always alright in my book. With his previous album - White Flag - Mannix elected to emphasize country over rock which has brought Mannix into territory frequently occupied by Neil Young, Steve Earle and Bruce Springsteen. His latest effort continues in this rootsy vein and in fact finds Mannix in more reflective mood, with the austere recording environment complimenting perfectly. So the guitars are acoustic in the main, with the ivories tinkling in the background and the themes typically revolving around the virtues of home and hearth. With songs that veer both ends of the country spectrum (i.e. from traditional to neo), country-rock fans will find much to admire about A Town By The Sea. www.mannixrock.com

Pilotdrift Water Sphere (Good)
Now this is just weird. If Widescreen Rock is about cinematic string passages, vaudeville quotations, cheesy 70s TV show themes & psychedelic futurist spaced-out pop, then Pilotdrift must be your bag. I mean, there is just so much going on in this ambitious album that there is every danger of a casual listener tuning out after being overwhelmed by its sheer scope. But songs like "Bubblecraft" with its strange collision between Burt Bacharach and the Charlie's Angels theme, "Late Night in a Wax Museum" with its King Crimson performing Gilbert & Sullivan vibe and "Jekyll and Hyde Suite" with its fragile progressive rock posturing make all the patience and effort worthwhile. www.pilotdrift.com

David Crowder Band A Collision (sixsteps/Sparrow)
I count DCB's Illuminate as a bit of a step down after the absolute high that was Can You Hear Us so with a little trepidation, I approached A Collision. What do you know, a 21-track concept album based on the statement, "when our depravity meets His divinity it is a beautiful collision" which presumably is what happens in worship. Yes, my friends, it is a much better effort than Illuminate but as a concept album, it lacks the clarity of say, Neal Morse's ?. That said, it is definitely not your conventional CCR worship release with a couple of sublime tracks like "Here Is Our King," "Foreverandever Etc…" and "A Beautiful Collision" that fans of U2 and Coldplay would no doubt enjoy. And for that I hope that A Collision is not dismissed out of hand by the unconverted. www.davidcrowderband.com

The Saints Nothing Is Straight In My House (UFOMusic)
It begins with the frenetic, savage "Porno Movies" and never lets up for (most of) the rest of its 50 odd minutes. Yes, boys and girls, I'm talking about the new Saints album which by all accounts tries its level best to live up to its punk legacy forged almost thirty years ago. Thus with the notable exceptions of the folky "Digging A Hole," the slow bluesy "I Couldn't Help Myself" and the Neil Young-inspired "Garden Dark," most of *Nothing Is Straight* is straight ahead rawk! Tight rock numbers like "Bang On," "Paint the Town Electric" and the title track finds singer Chris Bailey and (Church) guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper in fine fettle. Which is good news for all the rockers out there. www.saintsmusic.com

Magnus Portable Sun (Self released)
Some critics have labelled Chicago's Magnus as 'post-rock'. No such thing! If reference points are required, I would say the British rock scene of the early 80s - yeah, more like 'post-punk'! Heh. One caveat though, whilst one will certainly discern the influence of Echo & the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, the Chameleons in tracks like "At the Edge of the Sea," "Pilot," "Go" to name but few, there is less emphasis on psychedelic guitar effects and pyrotechnics and perhaps more 'trad' indie-pop atonality in tracks like "Ivy" and "Feudalist." Either way, Portable Sun is a solid follow-up to the excellent Sleepwalker and is an essential release for fans of well-crafted eclectic pop-rock. www.magnusmusic.net

P:ano Brigadoon (Mint)
Canada's very own Decemberists? Could it be the slight theatricality, the old-world charm, the clever lyrics or the boy-girl mix? Well, *Brigadoon* is P:ano's third album already (so copycats they sure aren't) and the maturity displayed in the 22 tracks (most of which do not hit the three minute mark) here are self-evident. Songwriter Nick Krgovich shares common ground with Colin Meloy in their song craft and attention to detail. Listen to the charming horns on "The Snow," the accordian on "You the Widow" and the timpanis on "Georgey Honey" and you can't deny the touch of Brian Wilson in the proceedings. Gorgeous melodies, heavenly harmonies and constant instrumental surprise throughout - highly recommended. www.mintrecs.com

Matisyahu Live at Stubb's (Or)
How does a Deadhead named Matthew Miller transform into a Hasidic Jew toasting Jewish spiritual lyrics over drop dead dub-reggae music? Beats me. Will wonders ever cease. This live album (a novelty in itself nowadays) is a strange way to follow the debut *Shake Off the Dust… Arise" but I suppose artists need to work harder to be different. Musically, there's nothing here that truly moves reggae ahead (not that that is ever the point with reggae), but it is rather unique when one clues in to what Matisyahu is singing about. Take "King Without A Crown" - 'You're all that I have and you're all that I need/Each and every day I pray to get to know you please' and you get what I mean. Detractors will probably decry the novelty value of Matisyahu and the fact that you could probably replace 'Jah' with 'Jehovah' and not spot much difference. All these criticisms aside, I believe that there is enough uniqueness in Matisyahu's work to warrant closer inspection. www.hasidicreggae.com

Deep Purple*Rapture of the Deep(Eagle)
Not an album I would have expected to take any notice of. After all, Deep Purple has been to Singapore to perform few times now and their status as has-been golden oldies seemed to have been cast in um rock. Even more so, when you consider that the main musical elements (i.e. guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and organist Jon Lord) were long gone. With three of the classic line remaining i.e. Ian Gillan, Ian Paice and Roger Glover, at least it had a semblance of authenticity about this latest incarnation of the beloved hard rock legends. Ultimately, what sold me was not any attempt to duplicate the glory days of "Smoke on the Water" or "Child in Time" but genuine efforts to simply deliver good rock songs for the here and now. By and large, *Rapture of the Deep* achieves that with a healthy dollop of pop melodicism thrown in as well. Steve Morse (guitars) and Don Airey (keyboards) do a bang-up job to fill in the gaps and tracks like "Wrong Man," "Money Talks," "Clearly Quite Absurd" and the title track (bizarrely, a rewrite of "Got To Get You Into My Life" stand up on their own merits. Nothing earth-shaking but maybe that's no required anymore. Rock on. www.deep-purple.com

For the curious out there, here's my top twenty albums for 2005: -

1. Neal Morse ? (Radiant)
2. Sufjan Stevens Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
3. The Decemberists Picareqsue(Kill Rock Stars)
4. Spoon Gimme Fiction (Matador)
5. B.C. Camplight Hide, Run Away (One Little Indian)
6. Echo & The Bunnymen Siberia(Cooking Vinyl)
7. The Go-Betweens Oceans Apart (Yep Roc)
8. Kevin Tihista Home Demons Vol. 1 (Parasol)
9. The Crimea Tragedy Rocks (Warners)
10. Maximo Park A Certain Trigger (Warp)
11. Weezer Make Believe (Geffen)
12. The Dammitheads The Heart Of The Matador (Hey!Low Sound)
13. Brendon Benson Alternative To Love (V2)
14. Kimberley Rew Essex Hideaway(Bongo Beat)
15. Elbow Leaders Of The Free World (V2)
16. Mercury Rev The Secret Migration(V2)
17. Idlewild Warnings/Promises (Parlophone)
18. Colin Herring The Other Side Of Kindness(Self-Released)
19. Pernice Brothers Discover A Lovelier You(Ashmont)
20. Supergrass Road To Rouen (EMI)

It's gonna be another great year of great music… Stick around!

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