Reviews in Brief

by Jeff Terich

11.23.2009





You may have noticed that Treble took an extended vacation for a couple weeks this month. While it was great to have that extra time to sleep in and go yachting, it did leave us a bit backlogged when we got back to business. We're back to work, of course, but we did feel like we needed to make up for some of that lost time. So, like we did a few months back, we've lined up some notable releases that deserve at least 100 words each. Not that we don't love Christopher Weingarten's 140 character method, but we figured we might as well give a little bit more info for those curious souls.

Most of these albums are good. Some are a little bizarre. Some are a bit off-putting. And a few of them were so good, we kind of feel bad we didn't get around to slotting them into a daily review. But there's only so much time to go around, and some of us have turkeys to roast. Regardless, all ten of these releases are worth exploring, even if some of them might not ultimately be your cup of tea.


2562 - Unbalance (Tectonic)

So the experts tell me, dubstep is a U.K. thing, but Dutch producer Dave Huismans, better known as 2562, more than holds his own as a force in the genre on his second album Unbalance. Less eerie than contemporaries like Burial (the closest thing to a star in the genre), and more sensual, 2562 creates an alluring sound that's at once hypnotic and danceable. A track like "Flashback" has a sexy cocktail vibe about it, while "Lost" is slower and trippier, and melodically compelling. And "Like A Dream" manages to sound furious and coolly laid back at the same time. I don't know what Huismans' secret is, but his sonic alchemy very frequently seems like a kind of magic.

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Beat Circus - Boy From Black Mountain (Cuneiform)

In the photo emblazoned upon the rear side of Boy From Black Mountain's inner sleeve, Boston septet Beat Circus look like they should be backing Paul Dano's preacher character from There Will Be Blood. But rather than playing classic American gothic folk, Beat Circus spins a beautiful chamber pop sound on their third release. With a rich tapestry of accordion, strings and horns, leadoff track "The Subway Train" is a prime example of the lush instrumentation that the band brings to each lovely track. Even more exciting is second track "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," a fiery rocker with country twang, driven by harmonica, tuba and vocalist Brian Carpenter's rich voice, brimming with character. And on simpler folk tunes, like the title track, the band sounds equally at home, though this selection, as well, becomes bolstered by a gorgeously large arrangement. Bigger isn't always better, but with Beat Circus, that's most certainly the case.

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Arrington de Dionyso - Malaikat Dan Singa (K)

When a record's press release includes "what the fuck?" as a sort of reactionary statement toward the music, then chances are something is seriously bizarre about it. Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikat Dan Singa certainly fits that description, a confusing curiosity of a record that's sometimes enjoyable but almost always head scratching. A member of Old Time Relijun, de Dionyso carries his avant garde garage rock style over to this solo effort, albeit with lyrics sung in Indonesian, some of which include excerpts from William Blake poems. Yeah, it's strange. Certainly, there are some cool sounds and melodies throughout, but be warned: sitting through the whole thing is a daunting task to say the least.

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Hawnay Troof - Daggers At the Moon (Retard Disco)

If you choose to listen to Hawnay Troof's new album Daggers at the Moon on CD rather than, say, on your iPod, you may initially get the impression that the album is scratched. "This Is How" maintains a steady repetition that approximates a skipping CD, but the steady rhythm slowly gives way to a hypnotic pop tune that, while initially off putting, actually sounds pretty cool when things get going. From there, eccentric performer Vice Cooler expands into weird electro hip-hop cheerleading ("Body Armageddon"), throbbing disco ("And I"), boy/girl call and response shouting ("Daggers at the Moon") and clangy beat poetry ("U Can Just Ask"). While Daggers at the Moon frequently borders on sensory overload, Cooler knows how to rock a party jam, and when he truly gets going, you may find yourself compelled to writhe and flail along.

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Ill Mondo/Neal Rames! - Ill Mondo/Neal Rames! (Ill Mondo)

With a cover image that pays tribute to Joe Jackson's Look Sharp! and comparisons to the Beastie Boys' Check Your Head, there's definitely something different about Ill Mondo and Neal Rames' debut collaboration. Rames' confident flows come from an old school approach, while Ill Mondo drops some outrageously funky production. In fact, more often than not, Mondo steals the show with his organic, crackly, bass-heavy beats. Percee P drops by on the heavy grooving "2 Fold," which is pure, polyester bliss, and leadoff track "The Jump Off" even features Mike Rinta of Tower of Power. This is, quite simply, one of the funkiest things I've heard all year, and that makes it pretty fantastic.

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Simon Joyner - Out Into the Snow (Team Love)

With 12 albums under his belt, Simon Joyner has a considerably sprawling body of work to his name. But more impressive than how much material he's released in the past decade and a half is how good most of it is, and his latest, Out Into the Snow, certainly follows suit. A twangy and heartfelt set of eight Dylanesque yarns, Out Into the Snow opens with the sprawling, nine-minute "Drunken Boat," a pretty, melodic gem that captures the attention of the listener so immediately, it moves quicker than most tracks of its girth. Contrastingly, "The Arsonist" is only two minutes and 41 seconds long, but takes its time getting where it's going. Yet "Ambulances" splits the difference with five minutes of Leonard Cohen-like chamber-folk glory.

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Mr. Gnome - Heave Yer Skeleton (El Marko)

"Spain," the atmospheric first track from Mr. Gnome's second album Heave Yer Skeleton, begins softly and subtly, with a swirling waltz of trippy guitars and pixie-like vocals. But it's not too long until the song gets louder and more explosive, revealing the more beastly side of the duo's curious M.O. Having been compared to the likes of Cat Power, Queens of the Stone Age, Portishead and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the group is definitely a unique one. Vocalist Nicole Barile coos with a breathy ethereality, but she also wields a vicious axe that cuts through the atmosphere with pure muscle, bolstered by partner Sam Meister's drums. The result is something that, seemingly against the odds, works amazingly well. Heave Yer Skeleton is an awfully pretty record, but it's a pretty kickass one as well.

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MV & EE - Barn Nova (Ecstatic Peace)

Matt Valentine and Erika Elder have spent much of the last decade releasing some wonderfully weird and earthy indie folk with a heavy dose of psychedelia. After a brief stint on DiCristina Stair Builders earlier this year, the duo has returned to Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace with their fourth full-length Barn Nova, a catchy, jam heavy record that's even bigger on melody than it is on trippy riffs. "Feelin' Fine" is as apt a name for a song as they come, a fun leadoff gem that segues into the funky, loose-flowing stomp "Get Right Church." "Snapperhead," meanwhile, is softer and shimmering with weeping electric leads, and "Summer Magic" lays down a crunch worthy of some of the nastier Crazy Horse rockers. Blissful and raw, Barn Nova doesn't disappoint.

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Or, The Whale - Or, The Whale (Seany)

Earlier this year, my brother described Or, The Whale's debut record Light Poles and Pines as seeming "too good to be true." Having given a listen to the group's second, self-titled album, I can safely say he was on to something. The seven-piece, San Francisco-based outfit plays some impeccably crafted Americana, musically tight and melodically stunning. With just a touch of Fleetwood Mac, their folksy alt-country style is a wondrous sound, from transcendent opener "No Love Blues," to the Ryan Adams-like "Datura," to the gorgeously intricate "Never Coming Out." I could probably name any song from this set as a standout and it wouldn't be far from the truth. This album is just that good.

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Summer Cats - Songs for Tuesdays (Slumberland)

Having caught the mother of all second winds in the past few years, Slumberland Records has been on a ridiculous winning streak of late, having released great new albums by the likes of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Crystal Stilts. And further bolstering the label's reputation as the go-to imprint for fuzzy twee and C-86 post-punk-pop is Summer Cats, an Australian quintet as buoyant as they are fuzzy. The group's debut record Songs For Tuesdays is a B-12 shot of bright and bubbly jangle pop through a heavily distorted filter. It's wonderful stuff, easy to love, and a quick burst of energy when a Red Bull just won't do.

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