Staff Picks for February 2014
February 28, 2014
Fires of Rome's 2009 debut showcased the NYC band's arch, yet soul-infused take on '80s post-punk and electronic dance music. Primarily however, it gave further outlet to the careening, resonant, supernatural vocals of singer Andrew Wyatt, better known for his work with Miike Snow.
February 27, 2014
Issued in 1981, when the remix release was barely even a thing, Party Mix grabs three tracks each off the first two B-52s albums and then sequences into two party-starting mixes. All of it is worth shaking some action to, but the boss of this set is the seven-minute "Give Me Back My Man," the only heartbreak number I know of that mentions Carvel Ice Cream.
February 26, 2014
This brilliant set is sometimes overlooked because it followed the acclaimed Mountain Soul -- but it shouldn't. These tunes written by Marty Stuart, Paul Kennerly Jim Lauderdale, Buddy and Julie Miller, Rodney Crowell, Matraca Berg, Al Anderson and more, offer the singer delivering an all killer, no filler mix of driving honky tonk, swinging rockabilly, wrenching ballads Celtic-tinged waltzes and much more.
February 25, 2014
The beautifully moody 1984 debut by this Glaswegian trio is a blend of hi-fi orchestration, delicate synth-pop and the elegiac vocals of singer Paul Buchanan. Originally bankrolled as an elaborate demo for Linn Electronics' new mixing console, the haunting album eventually took on a life of its own, growing in mystique as the band refused to tour and took another five years to deliver its successor.
February 24, 2014
Eight discs is a whole lot of Hank Thompson, especially as it covers 1966-1986 -- years where he changed with the time, sweetening his sound while whittling down the Brazos Valley Boys. The pleasure of the set is hearing him weather the changes, proving the wisdom behind his latter-day hit "The Older the Violin, The Sweeter the Music."
February 23, 2014
Annonymous dubstep producer Burial followed up a brilliant debut with the even more dense and shadowy Untrue. The vocal fragments, warped rhythms and blurry ambience all culminate in one of the most beautifully loney and searching albums to ever fall under the dubstep heading.
February 22, 2014
A pillar of Dutch jazz, inimitable pianist/composer/improviser Misha Mengelberg is a force unto himself, but his influences are clear, and on this 2001 quartet date -- also featuring trumpeter Dave Douglas, bassist Brad Jones, and longtime collaborator Han Bennink on drums -- the strong connection between Mengelberg and Monk is on full display, with off-kilter yet often tuneful results.
February 21, 2014
Perhaps the most purely entertaining concept album of the '60s, The Battle of the Bands finds the Turtles impersonating eleven different groups, from surf mavens the Crossfires and addled hippies the Atomic Enchilada to broken hearted country boys the Quad City Ramblers and hungry stoners the Bigg Brothers. Featuring top-shelf production, canny arrangements, and great tunes, '60s pop doesn't get better or funnier than this, and the vocals from Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan are peerless.
February 20, 2014
With a mix of frenetic, fractured beats and beautful synth lines, Aphex Twin's Richard D. James Album feels like a manic merger of ambient electronic and jungle, and is really a rather lovely album despite having a cover that will defintiely haunt your dreams.
February 19, 2014
One of the many great things about Nelson George's freshly-made Finding the Funk documentary is the attention paid to Dayton, Ohio's abundant funk scene, which included this top-tier band. Their 1977 debut and 1981's Show Time are essential albums of the style. This one, which sports the classic title track, cannot be denied, either.
February 18, 2014
Look back at Scientist's earlier album titles and you'll see that before taking on Namco's little yellow fellow he had already rid the world of vampires, beat the Space Invaders, and released The Best Dub Album In The World. All of those are excellent, but this one has the most bleeps and bloops, so if you dig joysticks and dub albums, prepare for the utmost.
February 17, 2014
This 2004 EP from the Pentangle/Wicker Man-loving, Philly-based anglophiles offers up a set of seven evocative cuts that include takes on traditional folk songs like "Rosemary Lane" and "Black is the Color," creepy covers of tunes from Durutti Column and Blue Oyster Cult, and a lovely original in "Dead King," the latter of which sounds like it arrived via a Transatlantic Records time capsule.
February 16, 2014
A great set from a great group, including the first two albums from Philadelphia's best, wittiest, and most exciting new wave slash power pop band.
February 15, 2014
There's a warm, wistful, melancholia to the fourth Egyptians album that wasn't as present on the band's previous releases. Songs like the beautiful "One Long Pair of Eyes" and the gently obscure "Veins of the Queen" hint at the type of material Robyn Hitchcock would deliver a year later on his classic 1990 acoustic solo effort Eye. With Queen Elvis, the band was at their classiest and Hitchcock's excellent songs were well-served by Andy Metcalfe's tasteful fretless bass parts and Morris Windsor's artful drumming.
February 14, 2014
Taking a break from St. Etienne to record her first solo album, Sarah shocked her fans by taking a detour into ambient death metal! Or....she made an album that upped the pop breeziness and sunny charm of her day job with none of their rampant pop culture references and nostalgia. A minor pleasure, but still something to turn to when you're in the mood for something warm and bright that won't tax your aching brain.
February 13, 2014
The members of this Canterbury supergroup -- hailing from Caravan, Egg, Matching Mole, and Gong -- didn't merely rest on their laurels on this debut disc from 1974 and, with plenty of help from the likes of Robert Wyatt, Henry Cow's Geoff Leigh, and the lovely Northettes, they turned a new page in the Canterbury story.
February 12, 2014
This all star version of the Lounge Lizards included the John and Evan Lurie, Steven Bernstein, Michael Blake, David Tronzo, G.Calvin Weston and Ben Perowsky. Perfectly illustrating John's "non-jazz" approach, it is an album filled with hypnotic tunes based on circular rhythms and a near magical lyricism.
February 11, 2014
"Mark Kozelek's second long player under the Red House Painters pseudonym is a masterpiece of misery that deftly balances life affirming melodies with lyrics like ""There's my favorite rollercoaster/next to the blue water/the one only sissies ride"". The perfect companion to a warm summer's day spent indoors due to allergies, injury, or crippling agoraphobia."
February 10, 2014
Forever stamped as "the band Jason Newsted quit Metallica for," Echobrain nonetheless put out a surprisingly well-crafted debut for two relative nobodies and a superstar bass player. Newsted is actually rarely present in the mix, leaving singer and guitarist Dylan Donkin to shoulder the bulk of the band's ambitious explorations into pop psychedelia and propulsive melodic rock, particularly on "Suckerpunch," which features a ripping guitar solo from Metallica's Kirk Hammett.
February 9, 2014
It's the cascading, tinny pianos and woozy, blurry beat of "Country Song" that sets the tone for Bummed, probably the sleaziest, nastiest late record that could be imagined. Menace lurks around the edges of every song on Bummed, even the purportedly positive tunes, and listen to it enough, it'll surely seep into your subconscious and twist your melon, man.
February 8, 2014
With a more electronic vibe on their second full length, Detroit's Godzuki give their dreamy science rock a new wave perspective. Vintage synths, Erika Hoffmann's distinctive vocals, and Warren Defever's production present cohesive listening from start to finish. The album art, designed by Mark Robinson of Unrest and TeenBeat Records fame, visually completes Your Future's retro-future vision.
February 7, 2014
Trumpeter Roy Hargrove made his name playing swinging '50s and '60s influenced hard bop. However, he has also scored for D'Angelo, and Common and toured with his own funk-influenced project RH Factor. While many of his contemporaries have delved into jazz-fusion and hip-hop, few have done it with as much believability and originality as Hargrove did on his 2006 album, Distractions. Mixing electric and acoustic instruments, here Hargrove builds upon '90s new jack swing and '70s soul-jazz in a wholly innovative way.
February 6, 2014
It's a shame this super group (Dawn Robinson from En Vogue, Raphael Saadiq from Tony! Toni! Tone! and A Tribe Called Quest's Ali Shaheed Muhammad) couldn't stick together beyond this one promising album that blends New Jack beats, very powerful vocals, slinky Neo Soul textures and some really nice songs, especially the bubbling "Dance Tonight."
February 5, 2014
Various Artists
One of Trunk Records' most appealing comps, this set of psychedelic children's folk songs from the '60s and '70s feels both of its time and charmingly fresh.
February 4, 2014
The 2004 follow-up to Mike Skinner's heralded debut Original Pirate Material expanded on his personal saga and built his legend with a strangely gripping concept album about money and friendships lost, betrayal, blame and redemption. Love him or hate him, A Grand Don't Come For Free is a truly original work and is easily Skinner's best Streets album.
February 3, 2014
There are a whole bunch of bands these days borrowing the jumpy, hyper catchy guitar pop scruff of the Clean and their fellow Flying Nun label mates from the early/mid-'80s. Totally not a bad thing, good even, but if you want to go back to the source this is the compilation you need to hunt down.
February 2, 2014
This singles collection finds Pavement at their wildest and wooliest, but standouts like "Forklift" and "Debris Slide" hint at the surefire pop that surfaced once Malkmus and company scraped off some of their recorder grot.
February 1, 2014
Usually when I revisit the Black Crowes' 2009 masterwork Before The Frost... it's to hear the terrific "Good Morning Captain," but in the early days of this new year I'm hooked on "I Ain't Hiding," a bit of disco-rock that rivals the Stones in its intense black-light sleaziness