Fans of Atlanta’s discordant pop foursome Deerhunter will delight in the hectic, multi-colored lightshow that is the video for “Strange Lights,” a track from the band’s second full-length (and first on the Kranky imprint), Cryptograms. This video is clearly where all that emotional, physical, and financial strain discussed on the album plays itself out. See it now at XLR8R’s Video Section.
With 2005’s Such Triumph living up to its name, Chicago’s Jesse Woghin, Sam Axelrod, and James Barron, collectively known as The Narrator, prep their sophomore effort, All That to the Wall. Delve past the album’s title and you’ll find set of blessedly unpretentious, lo-fi tracks that see the guys getting emotional on the vocals and making a distinct break from their previous release.
Maybe it’s that they’re from the humble Midwest, or that fact that the trio isn’t afraid to take a sharp left turn on the musical highway just when the world was pigeonholing them as post-punk, but some gut feeling inside us says this is one of those indie rock acts you might actually want to take note of. All That… steers clear of the glossy finish preferred by the Bloc Partys and Futureheads of the world, opting for a raw, slightly imperfect feel that’s more reminiscent of Mom and Dad’s garage than a giant arena, which is what the genre is supposed to be about anyway.
All That to the Wall is out May 15, 2007 on Flameshovel.
Tracklisting
1. Son of the Son of the Kiss of Death
2. August 32nd
3. Speeding Up the Gang
4. Surf Jew
5. Panic at Puppy Beach
6. All the Tired Horses
7. Start Parking
8. Papal Airways
9. Breaking the Turtle
10. A Decade in Kentucky
11. Chocolate Windchimes
Blonde Redhead’s sharp, blustery noise rock used to get compared to early Sonic Youth, but it would require mental gymnastics to make that leap with the band’s latest, 23, a collection of baroque, atmospheric rock songs that even boasts a Beatles-esque French horn solo. Continuing the metamorphosis of Misery Is a Butterfly, Kazu and the Pace twins add shoegaze-y lushness to their dark ambiance, incorporating more soaring vocals and churning guitar. Admirable, but too often the drums lock into a rhythm and the songs slip into placid grooves that cry out for some punk adrenaline.
Osaka’s cult icons Boredoms take so many artistic freedoms that they belong in their own animal kingdom. And the newly reissued Super Roots series only reinforces that fact. These singles, studio experiments, and remixes all document the band’s evolution from kabuki punks to barefooted hippie astronauts. On Super Roots 8, the cascades of flanged guitar on “Jungle Taitei” float above the Earth only to be welcomed home with a caffeinated, tribal drum circle. Yann Tomita’s remix of “Jungle” has a sharp, fractal-funk groove that rivals Can, while frontman Yamantaka Eye’s “Uh, what does this button do?” drum machine remix makes for great comedy. Super Roots 5 is the group’s most spiritual moment. “GO!!!” is a hypnotizing, hour-long masterwork drenched in blooming guitar drones, molten bass tones, and roiling cymbals. Eye shouts, “Go” to kick off the noise, and it’s the only lyric the track needs.
Starting with acid beats in 1993, Iaka‘s sound soon evolved into leftfield breakbeat tracks, and it’s such versatility and willingness to grow that keeps him one of the Hamburg’s most popular DJs and producers.
Travis Stewart (a.k.a. Machinedrum) makes fractured, mutated hip-hop that hasn’t quite escaped the influence of IDM, but hold off on those Prefuse 73 comparisons. This multi-instrumentalist rewards the careful listener subtle tempo shifts and unexpected sounds that make him an artist in his own right.
Chicago-based trio The Eternals wield their own specific brand of tropical, dubby funk that reveals the Wind City’s dark underbelly. Having previously recorded with John McEntire and Casey Rice, Heavy International is the group’s first self-produced album.
An accomplished turntablist, Mike Relm marries his skills on the decks with his mastery of numerous instruments and forms of media in his work. The fact that ‘Body Rock’ includes appearances from Gift of Gab & Myron Glasper, as well as Michael Belfer, is just icing on this delicious cake.
Although electro pop is usually the label slapped on these two, Portland’s Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt (a.k.a. The Blow) have reissued their shiny, not-for-the radio Poor Aim: Love Songs, an album that defies all genre.
