I'm Back

I’m finally back after spending some time in San Francisco, Miami, and most recently Las Vegas - apologies to those waiting my review of A HOUSE. I first want to throw out a few 80’s bands that I think are worth listening to. I was sitting in TRYST at the Wynn on Saturday night and the DJ was spinning some great 80’s stuff. It reminded me to not strictly focus on some of the great new stuff coming out, but to also remind everyone about some great old stuff you might not be that familiar with or maybe just forgot about. So here is my list of 5 80’s bands that I think are a must- when we talk Delorean 80’s

1. The Men Without Hats
2. Erasure
3. Lightning Seeds
4. XTC
5. New Order

Hit these up once the weather gets a little warmer.

A HOUSE- I am the Greatest- Is in my opinion, the most underappreciated album I can think of. The album as whole is dark, funny, and sprinkled with greatness. I am afraid, is an incredible acoustic ballad, where Dave Couse keeps it simple- “I am afraid to lose control, I am afraid of growing old, I am afraid to die, but it’s something I must do.” Take it easy, has a more friendly rock style, while still maintaining the purity of Couse’s lyrics. Listen to Endless Art just to make sure you know people you should. Check this album out- it is one of my favorites- and one that I hope people will much belatedly throw their arms around.

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen

"The Good, The Bad, & The Queen" is a very interesting, very British album created by a souped-up rock collective including the bass player from The Clash, the guitarist from The Verve, the singer from Blur and the drummer from Fela Kuti's The Africa 70 . . . AND if that isn't enough, the record is produced by Danger Mouse, who has worked with Gnarls Barkley & Gorillaz.

There is a spooky quality to the music, and each song blends beautifully into the next as the topics range from London to Iraq. If the listener is familiar with the previous work of the artists individually, you will certainly be able to hear each one's stamp on the record. But the group must work well together because while the astute listener may find it fascinating to pick out each musician's contribution, the album is astonishingly cohesive. Astonishing because while I didn't do the research, I would wager that nine times out of ten groups made up of musicians who are already successful, "supergroups" if you will, are a mess.

'History Song,' a sad, acoustic guitar driven piece, and 'Kingdom of Doom,' a hypnotic piece in which a piano is used as percussion are my favorite tracks off the album, but every one is decent. This record really has that British rock sound all over it, and it is fantastic.

Luminescent Orchestrii

Check out this tremendous performance of a song called "Pecto Rubuli" by Luminescent Orchestrii, a Romanian-gypsy-punk band out of NYC that has been playing this fantastic music since 2002. And unfortunatley, schlub that I am, I was only introduced to their music THIS YEAR! I will keep this short since you can see it for yourself in the clip below, which will also lead you to other videos if you want more.

This group has everything that makes this author a happy camper: energetic performances, talented musicians, and lots of funkiness. Let me know if you agree.

Mason Jennings: If You Need A Reason

Many artists release EP's with B sides that are of little interest to anyone but uber-fans who want to know everything about the artist, but Mason Jennings has given us 5 solid songs on this recording.

In my opinion the title track probably should have been put on Jennings' last album, 'Boneclouds.' With its catchy melody and chorus it is better than quite a few of the songs that made the cut. The tracks 'Sacred Place' and 'To You' are also very strong, and will please anyone who is already a Mason Jennings fan. The remaining two songs, 'Fighter Girl' and 'Boneclouds' are not horrible, but do seem like early sketches of the ideas Jennings developed for the full album.

For the low cost this EP is definitely worth it, for those unfamiliar with Jennings' work and old fans alike.

Si*Se: More Shine

'More Shine,' a 2005 release by New York based Si*Se is a chilled out Latin-Jazz-electronica record that does just enough to keep the listener interested. On the band's website, www.sisenyc.com, the group emphasizes the fact that they are a part of the underground NYC scene, which is fine, as that is certainly a pedigree to be proud of. Coming from the NYC underground, however, does not excuse releasing a record that could clearly be much better.

Do not get me wrong, this is a decent album, and some of the songs are off-the-charts good, but this listener believes that Si*Se failed to grasp that the underground NYC sound is difficult to transfer out of the lounge and onto a disc. It can be done, and from the good parts of this record I think this band may have the potential to do it, but this album falls short of that goal.

What I mean is that while there is a certain depth to the compositions, and Carol C's voice is strong and seductive, the album fails to retain the mood that I think the band was aiming for. During a live performance, this consistency is easier because a group can play off the audience and the synergetic result makes the show. I have not seen Si*Se live, but I would daresay that this something they are very good at. But this is difficult to do in a studio and like so many other bands Si*Se cannot quite reach that highest level of recording.

Independent of one another, all the songs are pretty strong, but playing the record all the way through, the hooks, and vocals, and tracks generally started to sound like one big, redundant song. For me, this overpowered the many good segments that I discovered along the way.

Now, this is not to say that the record is not salvageable. Despite the negative tone of this review thus far I think this is an album worth buying. In fact, the track "Mariposa en Havana" makes the record worth the money hands down, and is a good example of what Si*Se can produce. In the end, I hope that this band stays around for a long time, as they are doing some interesting things in a genre of music that has a lot of potential.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

I recently discovered Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ("CYHSY") and cannot believe that this record has been out since the Fall of 2005. Also, apparently they have just released a new record that I am looking forward to hearing once I can take their first self-titled album off repeat.

This record is filled with interesting arrangements, strong melodies, and a voice that is often compared to David Byrne, which is right on, but I would add a dash of Thom Yorke because the vocals have that hypnotically-erie quality to them. This is especially evident in the track "Is This Love?" which might be my favorite on what is a very strong album.

Naysayers will smugly point out that they have heard this sound before, and they are probably right. That takes nothing away from the album, however, as CYHSY mixes the familiar ingredients with such skill that the songs are unquestionably their own.

What Made Milwaukee Famous: Trying to Never Catch Up

What Made Milwaukee Famous ('WMMF'), a band from Austin, Texas has made a record that sounds like rock should. 'Trying to Never Catch Up' is full of catchy melodies, interesting arrangements and good studio performances, all topped off by solid vocals with great range. The band even makes an effort by penning interesting, albeit often dark, lyrics. WMMF has achieved something that few bands can do these days: composed an album of consistently good songs. In my opinion, there is not a run away single on this record, which is nice because that helps the album work as a whole. It is very difficult to listen to just one random song on the album--I think I have listened to it all the way through almost everytime I have played it.

WMMF mixes pop, rock, and punk effortlessly and the result is what I think is one of the best rock albums to come out last year. "Sweet Lady," and "Hellodrama" are probably my favorite tracks, but as I have said, there really is not a sour note on the album. In fact, my only concern is that this is a rerelease of a 2004 album by their new label, by which I mean that either 1) the group may already be heading a different direction artistically, or 2) they may have tapped themselves out of good / original ideas. When bands emerge with such a strong debut album I wonder if they can ever live up to the high expectations they have created for their next release . . . and WMMF has set the bar high.

But hey, let's not worry about the band's future and just enjoy the music while it's fresh.