Originally released on Killer Instinct, Ed Case‘s “Blazin” gets a new fire lit under it with the smoking vocals from Kinane getting the new-school garage re-rub. one Dar martian works his vocals science on the 4×4 tip and Dezz Jones drops a stepper that harkens back to garage‘s heyday. Guaranteed to burn down the disco.
Tonya Morgan Sunlighting
If nothing else, rap trio Tonya Morgan accomplishes a seemingly impossible feat on their Sunlighting mixtape-making you like ‘90s hit “Rico Suave” again, or maybe for the first time. Rapping over “Rico Suave” and the beats of B.G.‘s “Bling Bling” and House of Pain‘s “Jump Around,” Tonya Morgan owns the music with a refreshing mix of romance, reflection, bravado, and good ole‘ fashion mackin.‘ The disc‘s highlight, “She Moved Out of Cincy,” is the tale of an ill-fated romance between a young man willing to settle down and a girl with a few skeletons in her closet. Sunlighting,/i> is available for free download at www.loudminoritymusic.com.
A Frames Black Forest
Dear A Frames, what‘s up with you guys being the best droning rock band since Teenage Jesus and The Jerks? Is it the monster chug of the bass and drums (“Galena,” “Black Forest II”)? Is it the minimalist, jagged guitar lines strategically ripping open the delicately placed bright melodies mid-song (“Memoranda” “U-Boat”)? Is it the bizarre lyrics delivered like lost communications from the Postmodern Emotional Mind-Fuck Intelligence Agency (“Quantum Mechanic”)? Whatever it is, the years you‘ve spent crafting it have paid off. Black Forest is a symphony of dissonance, a tribute to noise…and a brilliant one at that. Sincerely.
Supersystem Always Never Again
Formerly known as El Guapo, this outfit has experimented its way from free jazz to dance jams, but maybe the name change means they‘ve achieved a fusion that incorporates all their tinctures. Always Never Again melds frantic tempos into samba beats shaped by angular riffs, and takes herky-jerky bass bumper beats and weaves them with treble-heavy Middle Eastern guitar lines. The mix up is fun but the sound gets so bogged down with the mash-up of elements (synthetic spaz rock, dancehall, pop punk) that its textures start sounding contrived. A fun record, just one that‘s a little too self-conscious.
Mount Sims Wild Light
Mount Sims has unearthed the classic New Wave dirge and given it an entirely new life. Sims pairs the melancholy, synth sound that made old school goth so mesmerizing (Bauhaus‘ David J lends a hand to the LP) with the resonant rhythms of electronica, dub‘s tripping tempos, and the meandering melodies of ambient to create a synthesis that, like the work of his musical predecessors, is as romantic and reminiscent as it is futuristic. The only thing that makes Wild Light a throwback is that it‘s equal parts style and substance.
Out Hud Let Us Never Speak of It Again
You gotta love this whole “making over disco via a post-punk spit shine” thing, and Out Hud are old pros. Since their first release in 1998, the band has streamlined and tweaked out their sound one track at a time, finally settling on a solid groove with their second LP. Grounded in the amped-up pulse of the high-hat and the split lead female vocals, the album‘s best tracks (“Old Nude,” “How Long”) are dreamy, irresistible dance pop numbers with enough substance (yes, that is a cello) to keep even the avant garde wallflowers interested in the beats.
Various Artists Fabric 19: Andrew Weatherall
Weatherall goes light on the bass and gets, well, acidic, on the Fabric series‘ latest bouncy techno venture, a quirky but strong zinc rope of a set that links the snotty, lustful electro of Sexual Harassment‘s “I Need a Freak” to tweakier tech depths, and then brings things back to the surface with Steve Bug‘s “That Kid,” a track that rocks back and forth on its heels. Weatherall zips from record to record with a swift and admirable economy, and what you end up with is a mix that‘s a fleet-footed, dizzy game of hopscotch.
Likwit Junkies The L.J.‘s
No MC is truly complete without a trusty DJ minding his back. On The L.J.‘s, the Likwit Crew‘s Defari and Beat Junkie and Dilated Peoples member DJ Babu mingle their specialties: pointed lyricism and nattily constructed beats, respectively. Defari‘s intellectually leaning verses are bolstered by Babu‘s varied beats, from the fuzzy key tickles of LJ‘s “Anthem” to the bebop chops of “Brother.” A hefty 17 full tracks might intimidate some, but Defari keeps things interesting by diversifying his topics; Cali gets bigged up on “Salute,” cautionary tales are kicked on “Change,” and crooked cops are scorned on “One Time.” The occasional instrumentals Babu tacks onto the tail end of tracks are a nice touch. Like the LA river, the LJ‘s are deep, broad, and flow ruggedly through an urban landscape.
DJ Grinch Solido Vol. 1 EP
Out on one of Japan‘s more promising new imprints, SF-to-Tokyo transplant DJ Grinch reworks two Latin jazz classics, the Dee Felice Trio‘s “Nightingale” and Cal Tjader‘s “Cubano Chant” (recently heard on De La Soul‘s unwatched-for “Watch Out”). Both songs get a more straight-up hip-hop feel, with “Nightingale” getting an additional house remix on the flip. This record is my friend.
Goapele First Love
Oakland‘s flyest touches back down on Earth to claim her throne as the modern voice of protest soul with the “Change it All” project. Along the way, though, she drops this nostalgic love bomb so we got a choice: the ballad or the bullet. Heavenly.
