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Karl Blau
Nature’s Got Away
(K Records)
-------------------
Welcome to the land that production forgot. On Nature’s Got Away, his second releas
e for K Records, the prolific Karl Blau uncovers a wilderness of odd delight and surprising tenderness. Along with contributions from members of LAKE and Sun O))), Blau allows his fuzzy folk songs to have a life of their own, as he navigates the peripheries of his studio space. Throughout Nature’s Got Away, lush backdrops and fertile guitar lines occasionally filter through Blau’s lo-fi aesthetic, whether he’s channeling the clumsy sweetness of Yo La Tengo on “2 Becomes 1,” or keeping things rudimentary on the hook-laden “Mocking Bird Diet.” True to its name, Nature’s Got Away will grow on you like a pesky fungus.
Nature’s Got Away
(K Records)
-------------------
Welcome to the land that production forgot. On Nature’s Got Away, his second releas
e for K Records, the prolific Karl Blau uncovers a wilderness of odd delight and surprising tenderness. Along with contributions from members of LAKE and Sun O))), Blau allows his fuzzy folk songs to have a life of their own, as he navigates the peripheries of his studio space. Throughout Nature’s Got Away, lush backdrops and fertile guitar lines occasionally filter through Blau’s lo-fi aesthetic, whether he’s channeling the clumsy sweetness of Yo La Tengo on “2 Becomes 1,” or keeping things rudimentary on the hook-laden “Mocking Bird Diet.” True to its name, Nature’s Got Away will grow on you like a pesky fungus.----------------
Blitzen Trapper
Furr
(Sub Pop)
----------------
Furr, Blitzen Trapper’s eclectic follow up to 2007’s self-released Wild Mountain Nation, is a hi
gh on energy and heavy on nostalgia. In other words, it's hard to talk about it without mentioning a slew of other artists. It’s the kind of dizzying swagger Americana band’s like Wilco and My Morning Jacket have occasionally stumbled into. If Black Mountain awoke the beast of 70s psychadelia, then Blitzen Trapper took the mutt for a walk and let it run loose in the wild. On “Black River Killer” and “Not Your Lover,” Earley catches you with a hook before reeling you in with endearing tales of murder and heartbreak, exhibiting a ease of songwriting reminiscent of Neil Young. Blitzen Trapper are nothing if not eclectic and parodic. And it suits them just fine.
----------------
Furr, Blitzen Trapper’s eclectic follow up to 2007’s self-released Wild Mountain Nation, is a hi
gh on energy and heavy on nostalgia. In other words, it's hard to talk about it without mentioning a slew of other artists. It’s the kind of dizzying swagger Americana band’s like Wilco and My Morning Jacket have occasionally stumbled into. If Black Mountain awoke the beast of 70s psychadelia, then Blitzen Trapper took the mutt for a walk and let it run loose in the wild. On “Black River Killer” and “Not Your Lover,” Earley catches you with a hook before reeling you in with endearing tales of murder and heartbreak, exhibiting a ease of songwriting reminiscent of Neil Young. Blitzen Trapper are nothing if not eclectic and parodic. And it suits them just fine. -----------------
I Heart Lung
Interoceans
(Asthmatic Kitty)
-----------------
With Chris Schlarb and Tom Steck at the helm, I Heart Lung is a drum and guitar duo from
Southern California interested in natural soundscapes and droning jazz. Interoceans is an ambient, open-ended experiment that toys with the conceptual possibilities of water in four mirrored movements: “Upwelling,” “Overturning,” “Undercurrent” and “Outspreading.” The album opens with a swell of distortion and acoustic percussion that eventually fades into the sound of breaking waves. Schlarb and Steck navigate between thin minimalism and overwhelming frenzies of strings, horns and percussion. Given time, Interoceans achieves an organic, almost seamless feel, with some surprising textures and playful detours. The spacious “Undercurrent” makes use of an ambient sitar that dances across vanishing bass lines and pedal steel guitar. Each track brings out something new, something sensory and elusive.
Southern California interested in natural soundscapes and droning jazz. Interoceans is an ambient, open-ended experiment that toys with the conceptual possibilities of water in four mirrored movements: “Upwelling,” “Overturning,” “Undercurrent” and “Outspreading.” The album opens with a swell of distortion and acoustic percussion that eventually fades into the sound of breaking waves. Schlarb and Steck navigate between thin minimalism and overwhelming frenzies of strings, horns and percussion. Given time, Interoceans achieves an organic, almost seamless feel, with some surprising textures and playful detours. The spacious “Undercurrent” makes use of an ambient sitar that dances across vanishing bass lines and pedal steel guitar. Each track brings out something new, something sensory and elusive.--------------------
Grampall Jookabox
Ropechain
(Asthmatic Kitty)
--------------------
After the seemingly spontaneous cancellation of a handful of shows, David Adamson (aka Grampall Jookabox) composed and recorded Ropechain, his second album, over just on
e week, essentially pulling semi-formed songs out of his ass and messing around with them. As you might expect, it’s a cluttered mess of ideas that don’t have much tying them together, besides the Adamson’s Beck-like knack for genre experimentation. But Ropechain is brimming with intelligence, attractive melodies and oddball humour. “Black Girls” and “The Girl Ain’t Preggers” blend choral layers with quick wordplay and grinding baselines, weaving together folk, hip-hop and electronica. What’s so refreshing about Adamson’s work is that he doesn’t temper his ideas, stylistically or otherwise. But it can also work against him. Ropechain reconciles the sacred and the profane with creativity and a schizophrenic impulse to hold nothing back.
Ropechain
(Asthmatic Kitty)
--------------------
After the seemingly spontaneous cancellation of a handful of shows, David Adamson (aka Grampall Jookabox) composed and recorded Ropechain, his second album, over just on
e week, essentially pulling semi-formed songs out of his ass and messing around with them. As you might expect, it’s a cluttered mess of ideas that don’t have much tying them together, besides the Adamson’s Beck-like knack for genre experimentation. But Ropechain is brimming with intelligence, attractive melodies and oddball humour. “Black Girls” and “The Girl Ain’t Preggers” blend choral layers with quick wordplay and grinding baselines, weaving together folk, hip-hop and electronica. What’s so refreshing about Adamson’s work is that he doesn’t temper his ideas, stylistically or otherwise. But it can also work against him. Ropechain reconciles the sacred and the profane with creativity and a schizophrenic impulse to hold nothing back.---------------------------------
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Sunday at Devil Dirt
(V2 Records)
(V2 Records)
---------------------------------
While nearly every other relic from the grunge era is out embarrassing himself with half-assed reunion tours and Timbaland collaborations, Mark Lanegan (formerly of the 
Screaming Trees) has invested himself in stripped down solo projects and collaborations with Queens of the Stone Age and, more recently, Belle & Sebastian’s Isabel Campbell. Their unlikely pairing for 2006’s Ballad of the Broken Seas brought them critical acclaim and commercial success. And unsurprisingly, Sunday at Devil Dirt mines the same trampled paths for inspiration. But this time around, Campell is more present in her gritty production work and bluesy songwriting than in her actual vocals, while Lanegan, sounding battered and bruised beyond his years, does his best to channel Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. It’s a considerably darker record than the last. At times the angel/devil formula wears thin, but the slow burn of “Come On Over (Turn Me On)” and the spiritual sweetness of “Keep Me In Mind, Sweetheart” are compelling enough sidestep the added novelty that collaborations like this often exploit.
Screaming Trees) has invested himself in stripped down solo projects and collaborations with Queens of the Stone Age and, more recently, Belle & Sebastian’s Isabel Campbell. Their unlikely pairing for 2006’s Ballad of the Broken Seas brought them critical acclaim and commercial success. And unsurprisingly, Sunday at Devil Dirt mines the same trampled paths for inspiration. But this time around, Campell is more present in her gritty production work and bluesy songwriting than in her actual vocals, while Lanegan, sounding battered and bruised beyond his years, does his best to channel Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. It’s a considerably darker record than the last. At times the angel/devil formula wears thin, but the slow burn of “Come On Over (Turn Me On)” and the spiritual sweetness of “Keep Me In Mind, Sweetheart” are compelling enough sidestep the added novelty that collaborations like this often exploit.----------------
Delta Spirit
Ode to Sunshine
(Rounder)
(Rounder)
----------------
Like all good rowdy folk albums, Delta Spirit’s Ode To Sunshine sounds like it was a
lot of fun to record. Delta Spirit dive straight into an eclectic mixture of electric folk jams and well-worn Americana. How it’s been overlooked since its August release is a mystery to me. For the San Diego five-piece, group chants and hand-claps on songs like “People C’mon” aren’t simply frills thrown in for effect; they sound like a necessary moment at a party when everyone comes together for another round of drinks. The latter half of the album, particularly the sobering “Children,” suggests that a more mature, sonically sophisticated Delta Spirit lurks beneath all the fun. If there was any justice in popular music, “Trashcan” would be a staple on radio stations throughout the country. Lucky for us, it’s just one of the many fine songs that make up this compelling tribute to boozing and basking in the glow of neon lights.
lot of fun to record. Delta Spirit dive straight into an eclectic mixture of electric folk jams and well-worn Americana. How it’s been overlooked since its August release is a mystery to me. For the San Diego five-piece, group chants and hand-claps on songs like “People C’mon” aren’t simply frills thrown in for effect; they sound like a necessary moment at a party when everyone comes together for another round of drinks. The latter half of the album, particularly the sobering “Children,” suggests that a more mature, sonically sophisticated Delta Spirit lurks beneath all the fun. If there was any justice in popular music, “Trashcan” would be a staple on radio stations throughout the country. Lucky for us, it’s just one of the many fine songs that make up this compelling tribute to boozing and basking in the glow of neon lights.-------------------
Point Juncture, WA
Heart to Elk
(Mt. Fuji Records)
(Mt. Fuji Records)
-------------------
Technically, this album comes out in February 2009. Let's call it my "transition" album. The last thing the indie-pop landscape needs is another soft-rock collective, whose paint-by
-numbers compositions revolve around teenage melodrama. It’s getting old –or maybe I am. Yeah, I think that's it. If you share in my cynicism, don’t let it stop you from dismissing Point Juncture, WA or their brilliant new release, Heart to Elk. This well-crafted collection has the power to reinvigorate the most jaded pop-music voyeurs. Point Juncture, WA’s matured arrangements blend shoegaze feedback, kraut-rock and an ambitious horn section that would make veterans like Broken Social Scene jealous. Amanda Spring (who also handles percussion) and Victor Nash (on keys) trade vocal duties seamlessly over dizzy guitars and vibrant horns that hardly remain in the background. This is the third self-release for a band that began by playing house parties and has slowly lodged itself into the hearts and minds of Portland, Oregon’s underground music scene. Heart to Elk is the sound of a band that loves what they’re doing, and it will charm your pants off. An early favourite for 2009.
Technically, this album comes out in February 2009. Let's call it my "transition" album. The last thing the indie-pop landscape needs is another soft-rock collective, whose paint-by
-numbers compositions revolve around teenage melodrama. It’s getting old –or maybe I am. Yeah, I think that's it. If you share in my cynicism, don’t let it stop you from dismissing Point Juncture, WA or their brilliant new release, Heart to Elk. This well-crafted collection has the power to reinvigorate the most jaded pop-music voyeurs. Point Juncture, WA’s matured arrangements blend shoegaze feedback, kraut-rock and an ambitious horn section that would make veterans like Broken Social Scene jealous. Amanda Spring (who also handles percussion) and Victor Nash (on keys) trade vocal duties seamlessly over dizzy guitars and vibrant horns that hardly remain in the background. This is the third self-release for a band that began by playing house parties and has slowly lodged itself into the hearts and minds of Portland, Oregon’s underground music scene. Heart to Elk is the sound of a band that loves what they’re doing, and it will charm your pants off. An early favourite for 2009.You can stream it here: http://www.pointjuncturewa.com/music.html
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