Diversifying its already wildly eclectic roster, Type now unleashes a breezy indie band. It sounds like radio-lovin’ Chicago, but When the Air is actually the work of Hamburg-based Henning Wandoff and his like-minded collaborators. With 10 songs in 37 minutes, this is a near-perfect realization of skewed indie pop, with deftly placed, aurally engaging instrumentation and Henning’s voice, which glides from gruffness to sweetness, intermittently buttressed by that of a breathy girl. The air is warm, and Mountaineer shines brightly.
Various Kaos & Sal P: Collectors Series Pt.2-Danse, Gravité Zéro
Just when the unending tide of DJ-mixed albums was really starting to get you down, a Berlin DJ/producer and a Liquid Liquid legend team up to bring you this masterpiece. Aiming to emulate the eclectic, rhythmically avant-garde mixes of late-‘70s cosmic disco, they match the genre’s inventiveness with a perfectly realized mix, one that even features a dubbed-up intro by Sal P. With 25 tracks-mostly obscure mind-blowing ones-Kaos and Sal P have upped the ante, big time.
Sybarite Cut Out Shape
Four years after his triumphant Nonument for 4AD, Xian Hawkins returns to Temporary Residence to take his home-field advantage. Worth every bit of the wait, Cut Out Shape sees an extensive diversification of Hawkins’ array of rampantly unique sounds. Teaming up with Psapp, “Runaway” sees Sybarite showing up Stereolab while “Halfmoon Rockstruck” achieves more emotive heft in two minutes than most bands chase for an eternity. This is the Shape of things to come for Sybarite.
Beenie Man Undisputed
Like many dancehall albums, Beenie Man’s Undisputed tries too hard to please everyone. There’s the Akon-aided pop/R&B crossover of “Girls,” Scott Storch’s hip-hop production on “Dutty Wine Girl,” and a reggaeton track entitled “Fire.” It‘s over dancehall riddims, however, that Beenie Man shines, and deviations from this formula serve only to clog his product with distracting, unnecessary filler. The clever self-editing of “Hmm Hmm” makes for a great lead single but other than “Heart Attack” (on the splendid Global riddim) and the new wave-y “Beenie Man,” there’s little substance to make this release stand out among countless others.
CL Smooth American Me
While it doesn’t deliver on the promise of advance singles “Bars of Fury” and “Smoke In The Air,” CL Smooth’s solo debut is more than an efficient comeback album for the Mecca Don. With beats from mostly un-hyped producers (Rsonist, Kaygee, and Tramp) and no guest appearances, the 11-song effort pulls no punches but, unfortunately, does little to pull in listeners who aren’t already entrenched in the Pete Rock and CL Smooth legacy. Whether it‘s post-9/11 America, praising Momma, or playing the don, CL doesn‘t deviate from the flow of his mid-‘90s heyday, delivering lines like an old friend.
Dosh The Lost Take
Dosh stitches together music-box melodies, nimble beats, and acoustic guitar riffs that smile at the morning sunshine with 10 cups of coffee in the belly. “Um, Circles and Squares” conjures up a toy store image with Fisher Price synth sounds. “Fireball” has Dosh playing a synth-pop jaunt with a sample of a teacher giving a peculiar lesson about empires, while “Unemployed Blues” grooves to a rhythm that snaps like a brick of firecrackers. The record’s sweetness risks giving listeners cavities at times, but the musicianship is admirable enough to warrant repeat spins.
Various Bip-Hop Generation: Vol. 8
Eight volumes into its Generation series and Bip-Hop still manages to find international artists mining the glitch. Most perform fine excursions in ambient drones, fractal-funk rhythms, and post-Fennesz guitar treatments. TU M'”s “Under the Sea” brilliantly illustrates a rising sun, heard in their shimmering guitar echoes and distant trumpet calls. Murcof’s “Constelacion” delivers a better planetarium-show soundtrack than the usual Pink Floyd schlock, while Tennis’ “Open Sesame” is a gospel hymn sung by a robot. Keep the faith, Bip-Hop.
Vert Some Beans & an Octopus
This CD should be programmed to only play between 2 and 4 a.m. on weekend nights. That’s when listeners are likely to still be awake from an evening of swilling booze–and can laugh at anything. Adam Butler sharply departs from post-techno and indulges in mutant ragtime. And he won’t shut up. Our man jabbers away in an annoyingly dry and detached tone. He delivers some dandy piano jaunts and pots ‘n’ pans rhythms on “Paper Wraps Stone” and “…Said the Signal to the Noise,” but his poetry slams interrupt the momentum.
Animal Collective Hollinndagain
This reissued live record captures Animal Collective in their most undomesticated form. The band jumps between murmured chants and percussive assaults that could break every bone in the body. It’s equal parts slapstick and outright horror. They yelp faux-Indian chants and thwack tribal rhythms on “Pride and Fight”, then toy with splotchy white noise and ribbits on “There’s an Arrow” and “Lablakely Dress.” Be warned: Hollinndagain is strictly for cult fans and anthropologists.
Bibio Hand Cranked
Stephen “Bibio” Wilkinson can make any acoustic guitar sound mystical and enchanted just by recording it on a broken tape deck. On Fi, his poorly magnetized recordings of pastoral folk melodies were oddly beautiful in their frailty. Hand Cranked continues with that no-fi studio method, but this time he fleshes out his songs. “Cherry Go Round” is a dizzying play of guitar loops, while the foggy, shoegazer harmonies of “Black Country Blue” are brilliantly evanescent. Several songs wouldn’t be memorable if it weren’t for their ancient sound quality. But in our age of bloodless pop productions, Wilkinson is still welcome.
