This long-awaited CD compiles four previously released singles from The Bug and adds six new ones. The MCs are impeccable; some big names (Cutty Ranks, Daddy Freddy), some Bug favorites (He-Man, Warrior Queen), and some powerful and new all make appearances. It‘s the massive head-fuck of a record The Bug was hoping to make, drawing from his dancehall, industrial, techno, and dub roots, with waves of joyous distortion mashed up and filtered through gruff-throated politics. The whole thing is topped off with a second CD of versions that drops most vocals and piles on an extra layer of warp and clatter. Mind-melting.
Soothsayers Tangled Roots
Soothsayers is a London-based collective that blends the pulsating rhythms of Afrobeat with the sonic adventurousness of dub and urban jazz; Tangled Roots references the divergent elements of this complex hybrid. This is deeply satisfying music, in which African rhythms are filtered through the prism of dub, complemented by inspiring guest spots from Maxi Jazz of Faithless, Roots Manuva‘s reggae vocalist Rikki Rankin, “blu funk” pioneer Keziah Jones, veteran South African guitarist Lucky Ranku, and Adesose Wallace of AfroCelt Sound System. Due to the band‘s accomplished musicianship and overall originality, the result is highly compelling.
Little Roy Children of the Most High
Little Roy recorded several reggae classics during the ‘60s and ‘70s, re-surfacing in London in the mid-1990s to cut the Longtime album with Adrian Sherwood and More From a Little with the lesser-known Lion outfit. His latest effort comes from Pharos, a label rekindling London‘s live reggae scene. The strongest numbers are those that are least familiar: the censorious “Membership Card,” “Bomazee,” and “False Talk” are all delivered in Roy‘s distinctive style, and, although the few cover tunes that round out the set pale by comparison, the album is suitably competent overall.
P.O.S. Audition
Give him dap, because he‘s got ambition. P.O.S. has not only indirectly taken on the nickname of De La Soul‘s Posdnuous, but also revises the legend‘s entire “I Am I Be” for his own “De La Souls,” which features the ironic chant “No one will ever be like me” from the Bouncing Souls‘ Greg Attonito. How‘s that for postmodern layering? Sure, the cat has balls and cameos, including appearances by Slug and The Hold Steady‘s Craig Finn; he‘s also got noise, on “Half-Cocked Concepts” and the self-explanatory “Stand Up (Let‘s Get Murdered).” So call it square and give the new jack‘s piece a chance.
The Gossip Standing in the Way of Control
On this dance-punk trio‘s fascinating previous effort Movement, vocalist Beth Ditto sang like a banshee clawing the inside of her tortured soul clean. But throw Fugazi legend Guy Piciotto behind the mixing desk and all of sudden Ditto turns into a disco chanteuse, repressing her cathartic screams to let her inner sultry diva take charge of the dancefloor. No matter; Ditto and company still remain some of Kill Rock Stars‘ finest noisemakers, and thumpers like “Jealous Girls,” “Keeping You Alive,” and “Listen Up!” coolly keep The Gossip‘s vibe alive and kicking.
Modill Midnight Green
Racecar, one-half of Chicago hip-hop duo Modill, ain‘t shy about smoking on “Send Me to Bliss.” For him, torching up is all about achieving clarity, illumination, and restoration-all qualities imparted by Midnight Green, Modill‘s magnificent debut album. Producer K-Kruz lays down seamless tracks that transform like some type of mutant Prefuse 73 gene, bouncing between rich, smoky funk workouts, sly, Native Tongue-style smoothness, and shifty beats that hiccup like a Madlib joint. Racecar displays a similar wandering genius, threading dozens of different, dense lines through his partner-in-crime‘s production. Like Racecar‘s favorite herb, this disc should be sampled and passed between friends.
Various Artists Roy Davis Jr.: Get Large Vol. 1
On his first mix CD in six years, Chicago house don Roy Davis Jr. starts out squarely aiming for listeners‘ headphones instead of their hips. The BPMs still pump like pistons but Davis has distilled the occasionally harsh edges of four-on-the-floor funk into something as effervescent and fine as champagne. Drawing lines between retro-acid anthems (Kerri Chandler‘s “Return 2 Acid”) and warm synths that recall the more streamlined, spiritual side of Detroit techno, Davis has created a subtle but flavorful set of songs. Though it lacks the bite of a stiff shot of amped-up house, Get Large is an audio cocktail that works well as a late-night chaser.
Various Artists Death From Above 1979: Romance Bloody Romance
In the ‘70s, Steve Miller laid down some laudable mutant-disco boogie, and everyone from The Clash to KISS tried their hand at winning over DJs. Since those exceptions to the rule, dancefloor-aimed edits have become necessary to any indie combo‘s edifice. Bloc Party‘s Silent Alarm Remixed is a prime example: post-punk‘s descendents transitioned into a gang of 4/4. Now, mangled, nigh-misogynistic Canadian duo DFA79 presents remixes that inject their songs with personable, if insistent, lockstep personalities. However, emotionally frenzied does not always translate well into robo-funk. Justice and Phones-the format‘s de facto figureheads-illustrate remixing‘s shortcoming: riding riffs to the point of over-saturation conversely dilutes them. Thankfully, reworks by Erol Alkan and Sammy Danger retain appropriate ratios of DFA79‘s unhinged blistering, while Alan Braxe, Fred Falke, and Marczech Makuziak buff their versions with Italo-electro optimism.
Caural Remembering Today
A collection of unreleased material recorded after 2002‘s full-length Stars on My Ceiling (Chocolate Industries), Remembering Today provides a glimpse into the tonal meiosis of Chicago-bred, New York-based producer Zachary Mastoon (a.k.a. Caural). Caural‘s latest is an anthology of fuzzy memories though not fuzzy logic-these 13 session outtakes are both nebulous and distinctly contemplative. The bleary, corner-of-the-eye pirouette of these shambolic, sepia-toned memoirs places Caural as a kitsch-free contemporary of LA anachronist Daedelus, while the record‘s dovetailing, soft-focus snaps are akin to those of Prefuse 73. But Caural‘s willowy, huddled, dream-pop/mope-hop exudes its own signature sway, as refracted rustles and wispy melodies flicker atop blunted stutter. Remembering Today‘s stereotropic vignettes taper off more than resolve, but there‘s cumulative warmth in the embossed ridges and static-strewn hollows of Caural‘s pastel-dappled haze.
Psyche Origami The Standard
It‘s not difficult to deduce what fuels Psyche Origami‘s latest: the Atlanta MC/double-DJ indie combo‘s sophomore full-length loosely centers on filling-station imagery. If the framework was explicitly extrapolated, oil could offer a vehicle for viciously, viscously pointed observations. Except, using a car metaphor, this ride‘s almost too glossy. Cerebral but without cortical crags, the knotty-yet-noddin‘ verses hug Native Tongues-meets-Main Source-style buoyant funk almost too harmoniously, blending and breezing by. Psyche Origami is definitely heading towards something, when they could be more aggressively driving at it.
