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Einstürzende Neubauten
Alles Wieder Offen
Self-released
http://www.neubauten.org/
Twenty-seven years since their founding, Einstürzende Neubauten eschews a record label in favor of self-releasing their latest full-length, Alles Wieder Offen. A fine addition to its catalog, one hopes that fans and newcomers alike will find their way to this release.
Playing in an unmistakable style that is equal parts kraut rock and downtown experimentalism, the collective specializes in the employment of homemade instruments. Their creations sound as if Harry Partch was put to work supplying a cyborg marching band. The thematic content tackled in their songs is equally postmodern; vocalist Blixa Bargeld crafts substantive lyrics, rife with allusion and capable of biting wit.
Particularly affecting is the elegantly constructed “Von Wegen,” which transforms several motives throughout, eventually piling them on top of each other in a jubilant polyphonic chorus. “Ich hatte ein Wort” marries a poignant vocal with a motoric, ostinato-laden accompaniment. Despite the seriousness of its lyrics, “Weil Weil Weil” is catchy as all get out – avant-funk driven by clangorous metallic percussion and chanted vocals. The title cut is another instance of weighty subject matter juxtaposed against a stirring chorus hook.
Elsewhere, the group avoids blurring the edges between accessibility and experiment. “Ich Warte” is minimalist-inspired and evocative; Bargeld’s vocals are accompanied by pitched percussion, playing repeated patterns, and savage electronic interruptions; the latter gradually take over the work and guide it to a gale force climax. Alles Wieder Offen is that elusive mix of formidable yet eminently memorable music-making.
Matthew Shipp
Piano Vortex
Thirsty Ear
http://www.thirstyear.com/
Matthew Shipp’s latest for Thirsty Ear Records’ Blue Series is a piano trio outing. Joined by bassist Joe Morris and drummer Whit Dickey, Shipp creates a polystylistic jazz environment that deftly negotiates neotraditional idioms with touches of avant jazz exploration. While Shipp has done some stalwart work integrating electronics into some of his Blue Series recordings, he shines as an acoustic pianist, and compositions such as “Key Swing” and “To Vitalize” demonstrate some of his most elegant playing in a straight ahead vein to date.
Morris continues to impress in his relatively new role as a bass player — most will no doubt be more familiar with his incendiary guitar-playing. He incorporates a zesty dose of extended techniques into his solo turn on the stirring out composition “The New Circumstance.” Dickey is one of the most sensitive accompanists around, making his presence felt without ever overwhelming even the most delicate of Shipp’s playing. Especially memorable are the title composition, for its fine hued textures and piquant harmonies, and the rousing and vivacious “Quivering with Speed.”
Melani Skybell
Just a Chase Away
Self-released
http://www.skybell.com/
Jazz pianist and singer Melani Skybell has a crisp vocal delivery and a stylishly straight ahead approach to the keyboard. On Just a Chase Away, her fourth full length CD, she interprets a mixture of lounge-influenced originals and standards. Skybell’s breezy songs fit well alongside tunes such as “It Could Happen to You” and “I’m Just a Lucky So and So,” creating a pleasing program. Guitarist Sam Walker, saxophonist Pete Brewer, and flugel horn player Steve Browne contribute smoothly rendered solos while bassist Kyp Green and percussionists Roy Snodgrass and Jorge Ginorio provide subtle rhythmic support. Particularly fetching inclusions are the original ballad “The First Time I Saw You” and mid-tempo love song “The Stars in Your Eyes.” Get this lady a recording contract!

 

‘Tis the season – to be stumped while shopping! If you’re looking for music that’s off the beaten path, alternative in approach, and popular in appeal, consider the following recent releases.

Steel Train

Trampoline

Drive Thru Records

At their best, New Jersey’s Steel Train shares several of the qualities of fellow Garden State ensembles. Songs such as “I Feel Weird” and “Diamonds in the Sky” capture the buoyant grooves and high-octane performance energy of the E Street Band. “Kill Monsters in the Rain” and “Dakota” examine a similarly quirky indie rock approach to that of Fountains of Wayne.

Occasionally, the band goes overboard; for instance, “Alone on the Sea” takes the group’s penchant for stadium-sized riffs over the line into bombast. That said, Steel Train demonstrates considerable potential here.

Thao Nguyen

We Brave Bee Stings and All

Kill Rock Stars

DC indie pop songstress Thao Nguyen’s sophomore album We Brave Bee Stings and All features both polished production values and persuasive songs. Her usual backing band, the Get Down Stay Down, is supported by cameos from such stalwarts Laura Veirs and organist Wayne Horvitz. Nguyen allows an air of mystery in her lyrics; but songs such as “Fear and Convenience” and the breezily quirky “Bag of Hammers,” with their funk-inflected rhythms and artful horn charts, provide her enigmatic compositions lush adornment. “Big Kid Table” and “Geography” identify with childhood anxieties while never seeming overly sentimental. We Brave Bee Stings and All is simultaneously sensitive, accessible, and musically engaging – a rare treat.

Coheed and Cambria

No World for Tomorrow

Columbia Records

The final portion of a multi-album storyline, No World for Tomorrow is the most ambitious effort yet by prog metal band Coheed and Cambria. Make no mistake; this is a band that’s not shy about demonstrating its influences. Claudio Sanchez channels Geddy Lee in his ebullient vocal histrionics and the rest of the band references everything from hair metal to Marillion. In today’s pop marketplace, many bands avoid assaying anything “epic” – never mind prog or metal – but there’s no denying C&C’s earnest intentions and impressive musicality.

“Feathers” is an excellent power ballad, while the title track pits machine gun riffs against dramatic vocals and mathy syncopations. What could serve as a more fitting climax to the CD than a five-movement suite, “The End Complete,” which features leitmotifs from the entire recorded saga. The listener doesn’t need to be aware of the complex of musical relationships, but they should be ready to revel in head-banging done up right.

Labradford

Prazision LP

Kranky Records

Kranky’s inaugural 1993 release, Labradford’s Prazision LP, has just been reissued with bonus tracks. Labradford, the duo of Carter Brown and Mark Nelson, remained a force to be reckoned with on the avant electronica scene until just after the turn of the century, and it’s fascinating to hear their first collaborations.

Most often, Labradford’s works evolve slowly, with a tip of the hat to minimal and drone-based music. Unlike some avant-garde artists, their sound world has often tended towards the lush and lovely, with sepulchral bass textures and luxuriant, slowcore influenced structures. Prazision shows these tendencies in full flowering even at the group’s inception; but it also balances aural loveliness with a bit of bite on tracks such as “Sliding Glass” and “Experience the Gated Oscillator.” Other artifacts such as vocoder harmonies and blats of noise muddy the waters, creating an ominous yet compelling atmosphere far too complex to be considered merely ambient listening.

In recent memory, it seems that the Grammys have seldom gotten it right, overlooking deserving performers in favor of industry standbys, naming established performers as “Best New Artist,” and increasingly marginalizing concert music and jazz. This year, the Grammy misadventures continue; for instance, Corrine Bailey Rae’s CD wasn’t even released this year, yet she’s a nominee!

It’s pleasing, however, to see an adventurous dark horse receive a Grammy nomination, albeit in a relatively minor category; People Take Warning: Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, 1913-1938 has been nominated for Best Historical Album. A 3 CD boxed set released by Tompkins Square, People Take Warning is a compilation highlighting the tragic strain in American “Roots Music.” Somberness is understandably quite prevalent in Depression-era songs, but the boxed set points out that horrifying tales and underlying fears have been an integral part of American folksong from the dawn of the recorded era. The three discs each have a different overarching theme.

Disc one is entitled “Man V. Machine;” the sinking of the Titanic and various train wrecks feature prominently. Disc two, “Man V. Nature,” tackles floods, pestilence (blasted Boll Weevils!), cyclones, and earthquakes. Disc three rounds things out with 22 murder ballads: “Man V. Man (and Woman, Too).” Recordings by big names, such as Charlie Patton and Son House, and more obscure artists alike are treated to loving restoration and fastidious liner note annotations by Christopher King and Henry Sapoznik.

In his Introduction, Tom Waits (yes, that Tom Waits), points out that these recordings were often put together in quick fashion, sometimes with new and topical lyrics cobbled together with an old tune. He likens disaster songs to contemporary pulp journalism. While Waits doesn’t deny the rough hewn character of these pieces, he points out that they capture the poignancy of another time’s sense of community and its mournful elegies. Sapoznik, on the other hand, doesn’t shy away from the darker societal aspects of disaster music. While Waits accentuates the way that the songs brought communities together in grieving, Sapoznik points out who they excluded along the way. There is a strain of paranoia, xenophobia, and sometimes even racism in disaster songs. Occasionally, murder ballads rushed to judgment and accused the wrong party, someone who may have been unjustly convicted, or even lynched. It’s to the producers’ credit that they provide a balanced portrait of the material contained in People Take Warning.

While one may be justifiably troubled by these issues, there are many compelling performances of pieces with more universal appeal. “When the Levee Breaks,” with its incendiary guitar work from Memphis Minnie, is worth the price of the box. Charlie Patton’s two sides of “High Water Everywhere” are classic cuts that take on additional cultural resonance today, given the recent tragic struggles with flooding in the Deep South. Gruesome as its tale was, “The Murder of the Lawson Family” is angelically sung by the Carolina Buddies. “Wreck of the Old 97,” performed here by the Skillet Lickers (!) is a roots music staple; they also give a rousing rendition of “Casey Jones,” complete with train horn. It might be awkward to put this in someone’s stocking without an explanatory card (“The cover’s scary, but the music’s really good – honest Mom!”), but this excellently presented collection maintains the relevance of the boxed set in the digital recording era.

More Historic Recordings (from throughout the World) on Dust-to-Digital is another label that has proven a treasure trove for historic recording enthusiasts. Like Tompkins Square, they don’t skimp on the packaging, providing excellent annotations and liner notes essays that educate as well as inform. Black Mirror: Reflections in Global Musics (1918-1955) is a wide-ranging one-disc survey of ethnic music recordings from the collection of Baltimore record shop owner Ian Nagoski. Nagoski claims he paid only $150 for the recordings presented here, and never had to drive more than a half hour from his home to collect them. Yet Black Mirror contains an astounding variety of material. Syrian violinist Naim Karakandi uses his instrument to imitate the zamr hornpipe on the beguiling “Kamanagah.” Northumbrian Pipe Major Forsyth gives a stirring reading of “Mallorca.” Neriman Altindag’s rendition of “Soyledi Yok Yok” embodies the undulating, melismatic style of Turkish Erzurum-styled folksong, strongly influenced by Eastern European music. “Nam Nhi-tu,” performed by M. Nguyen Van Minh-Con on a dan bau – a kind of monochord fitted with a whammy bar – is filled with sultry glissandi and quasi-vocal inflections. Black Mirror is amazing not only as a sound-artifact collection, but also as an object lesson: what a hoard of treasure dedicated vinyl digging can yield!Overtone singing may be more familiar to Westerners than it once was, but the sound of traditional Tuvan folk music is still a striking phenomenon. Melodii Tuvi: Throat Songs and Folk Tunes from Tuva captures the various styles of traditional Tuvan overtone singing in performances by some of their most prominent mid-century exponents. The sixteen recordings presented here were originally released in 1969 by the Soviet Union. They include the work of Oojak Hunashtaar-ool (1932-93), possibly the best known Tuvan overtone singer. Hunashtaar-ool is heard here singing in three different styles. Khoomei features a bass drone with soft, arpeggiated flute tone harmonices above it. Sygyt has a more piercing, melodically elaborate flute tone, while Kargyraa features sepulchral bass drones.Other singers and instrumentalists on the recording include Kara-sal Ak-ool, Sat Mantsakay, M. Dakpay, and Kara-sal Ak-ool. These are mind-blowing recordings that will make one reevaluate the vast potentialities of the singing voice.