In the three-year break since Ear Drung, L.A.’s Bizzart has stepped up his game considerably. Still fighting the demons of his abusive upbringing and his father’s murder, Bizzart’s hybrid of spoken word and rap is complimented by impressive guest spots from Awol One, Yarah Bravo, and Dulak Shaman. On Bloodshot Mama, Bizzart expands his sonic spectrum greatly, seating melodic passages next to classic-sounding boom-bap courtesy of Alkalyne and Accident. From the circuit-bent “Stumbling Blocks” to the epically unfolding “Dreams of Sparrows,” Bizzart has unleashed an artful hip-hop record that comes off as totally sincere.
The Mall Emergency at the Everyday
S.F.’s The Mall plays dancey, synth-heavy post-hardcore. Combine that with not-too-hot production, and Emergency at the Everyday might seem destined for failure. Fortunately, their songwriting stands out among the flock of today’s noisy art-punks. Catchy keyboard riffs and memorable dynamics dominate tracks like “Define Migration” and “Friends and Family,” suggesting that the band might be great on stage. While Emergency at the Everyday is not groundbreaking, it contains enough good ideas in its 19:50 playtime to warrant repeated listens and to present The Mall as a band to watch in ’07.
Bounty Killer Nah No Mercy: The Warlord Scrolls
“After changing his name from Bounty Hunter to the more menacing Bounty Killer, Rodney Pryce proceeded to change the direction of Jamaican music, voicing merciless dubplates in his unrelenting baritone. Despite the hardcore subject matter, Bounty was embraced by dancehall audiences in both NY and JA, and this essential 41-track retrospective (featuring classic riddims) shows why. ‘Nuff gun tunes are present-from “”Gun Thirsty”” to “”New Gun””-but there’s also a surprising amount of cultural material (“”Down in the Ghetto,”” “”Smoke the Herb,”” “”Look,”” “”Fed Up,”” and “”Sufferah””) from the poor people’s guv’nah.”
Various Artists M.A.N.D.Y.: At The Controls
Following on from James Holden’s leftfield debut for this series, DJ/production duo and Get Physical co-founders Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung preside over an inspired and engaging At The Controls session that draws upon artists as disparate as Cat Stevens, Matthew Dear, Kenny Larkin, and Marden Hill without seeming strained or affected. M.A.N.D.Y.’s flawless track selection (they reportedly whittled down a possible 1500 contenders to 36 tracks in what they’ve described as a six-week, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-like trip) and adept mixing confirms that, right now, Bodmer and Jung are utterly on the money.
My My Songs for the Gentle
Songs for the Gentle is really, really nice but not in quite the way the prescriptive title and willfully bucolic sleeve (with its fields, trees, and grazing horses) might imply. A collaboration between a member of Hefner (Lee Jones), a DJ (Carsten Klemann), and a former editor at Groove magazine (Nick Hoppner), the Anglo-Germanic, Berlin-based collective creates music somewhere between the arid atmospherica of Lawrence and the twitchy ‘n’ bouncy playfulness of Pantytec. It’s the trio’s skills in juxtaposing such contradictory poles so effectively (less finding a middle ground than giving the former a club-friendly booster shot) that makes their debut long-player-like the “Klatta,” “Serpentine,” and “Swiss on Rye” singles that preceded it-so utterly lovable. Ausgezeichnet!
Subatomic Sound System On All Frequencies
Even the most perfectly captured recording belies the true spirit of dub reggae. Fact is, the improvisational psychedelic nature of the music is best experienced 10 feet from a massive subwoofer, enveloped in clouds of aromatic greenery. NYC’s Subatomic Sound System knows this well, and while they may ply their trade in an assortment of reggae, hip-hop, broken beat, and jungle tracks, each is approached with a maverick, dub-wise sensibility that shouts a clear music-first missive to the masses. The band delivers as advertised, hitting you thoroughly on all frequencies.
Plus Device Puncture
While some of our obsessive colleagues continue to consume themselves with uncovering the secret identity of Plus Device, the rest of us are just too busy high-fiving each other over Puncture to care. Following their debut Body Heat EP from early 2006, Puncture gives the mystery duo ample space to really fuck shit up. “Pupil Measurement” and the original cut of “Body Heat” open the album up with a solid nod to the Bambaata-fied electro-funk styles of the mid-’80s Bronx before sliding into 808-riddled Detroit ghetto-tech bounce (“Sexual Harassment”) and classic Chi-town acid house grit (“Our Pleasure (Realization)”). And thus this lusty, three-city jet set continues, with echoes of Mantronix, Phuture, and Juan Atkins serving as the stimulant behind a phalanx of analog neck-poppers born out of a love for the music rather than some semi-informed fashion statement.
Team Doyobi The Kphanapic Fragments
Produced trans-globally between England and Japan, Fragments is the Team’s third long-player for Skam. Alex Peverett and Chris Gladwin deliver their kaleidoscopic 8-bit style with a new level of melodic cohesion that steps back from the agitated architecture of their previous work. The Kphanapic Fragments, which opens with two gargantuan tracks that run more than 15 minutes each, is a psychotropic mesh of SID-chip acrobatics, hull-pounding beats, and robust digital atmospherics navigating between microcosmic glitch and stadium rock. Fragments is so damn good, you’ll want to listen to it in reverse.
Various Artists Michael Mayer: Immer 2
On Immer 2, Michael Mayer moves thoughtfully through the pulse-strengthening flow of Brooks and Frank West before pivoting on a Crowdpleaser to fully flip the funk switch with Todd Terje’s remix of Lindstrøm’s “Another Station.” His penchant for space and texture translates perfectly as the disc closes with the tribal enchantment of Jesse Somfay’s “Lying in a Bed of Myst,” finishing off with his own stratospheric Supermayer remix of Geiger’s “Good Evening.” Immer 2 is bound to be derided for not breaking new ground like 2002’s Immer, but its impeccable selection and pop-savvy execution are Mayer through and through.
Hi-Tek Hi-Teknology: The Chip
Hi-Tek has expanded his portfolio since creating classics with Talib Kweli and Mos Def. On this sophomore release, he demonstrates why artists as diverse as 50 Cent and Common have enlisted his production skills. Hi-Tek’s beats sound as soulful behind Bun B and Devin the Dude as they do backing Nas and Common. On “Josephine,” Tek gets eclectic, with Ghostface dropping the similes, while his father, mother, and uncle-as the Willie Cottrell Band-play the blues. But it’s when he’s reunited with Kweli, on “Can We Go Back,” that Tek shines by showing listeners he hasn’t forsaken his roots.
