Staff Picks for March 2012
March 31, 2012
Women & Work is the sound of a mature, confident band fully embracing Memphis's town's full musical legacy -- from soul to rockabilly, from blues to country --and wrapping it inside their own heady brand of barroom boogie.
March 30, 2012
The throbbing electronic pulse on "Green," the opening cut on Paul Weller's dense, colorful Sonik Kicks illustrates how lively and adventurous this surprising record is.
March 29, 2012
I Got Wild was recorded in St. Louis and Chicago between February 1958 and July 1961. The 16 tracks combine original and traditional material along with a short interview that captures Big Joe’s gregarious nature.
March 28, 2012
Detroit soul shouter Nathaniel Mayer, who made a splash in the '60s with some sides for Fortune Records, paired up in 2004 with garage rockers the Shanks to introduce a new generation of listeners to his gritty, greasy vocal stylings.
March 27, 2012
You kids with your "It's March and it's so hot out", you don't know! Back in 1974, Kiss heated up November with this one. "Got to Choose" is funky Paul, "Parasite" is wicked Ace, and "Goin' Blind" is straight-lace Gene making proto-stoner rock. In your best Paris voice: "That's hot!'.
March 26, 2012
Winston is still the opera-trained and cherubic indie-rock Kate Bush that she was on her 2011 ep Sister Wife. On 2012's King Con, Winston's fairy siren-of-a-voice is framed by gargantuanly melodic, sparkling productions (via The Knocks) rife with bells and keyboards, shimmering guitar bits and veritable marching bands of rhythm.
March 25, 2012
This 1996 release was actually an extended collage of FSA samples remixed by UK experimental sound sculptor Tele:Funken. Inspired by the long drones of early synth noodlers like Klaus Schulze or Ash Ra Temple, this darkly ambient record dealt in feedback, long glowing tones and the occasional submerged beat.
March 24, 2012
Trombone wielding band geeks + fat ex-punk bassists + pretty girl singers = thrift store 9T's ska. Save Ferris aren't the best but they aren['t the worst. Worth checking out for the ridiculous cover of "Come On Eileen."
March 22, 2012
In a more just world, David Fincher would have chosen the creepy, electro/industrial-folk of "Dolkaren" over Trent and Karen O's "Immigrant Song" for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trailer.
March 21, 2012
Pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, drummer Paul Motian, and bassist Thomas Morgan, engage in a freely improvised suite based on the rubato ballad. The approach is mysterious, intuitive, and purposely unsystematic. Key changes and slight tempo variations occur suddenly, and then vanish, only to return at a later time -- or not.
March 20, 2012
Many tried in the '90s, but only a few captured the feeling of hustling street corners as well as Mobb Deep did on this underrated East Coast Gangsta rap classic. Instead of glorifying thug life, Havoc and Prodigy make it sound genuine and uninviting over bleak, cinematic beats. "Shook Ones Pt. II" should be required listening for fans of The Wire.
March 19, 2012
He may not be quite as exploratory and out there as his reputation holds, but Merrell Fankhauser is still never less than quirky and interesting. His career is concisely sampled and surveyed here.
March 18, 2012
Stereo Total’s charming, transcontinental electro-indie-pop really started taking shape with 1997’s Monokini. A mix of bright synth-pop like the Serge Gainsbourg-meets-Pulp “Supergirl,” stomping rock such as “Lunatique” and winsome retro moments such as “Dillindam,” it’s an utterly winning album.
March 17, 2012
The producers of This is Your Night don't miss a single mid-90s Euro Dance Pop trick (or cliché) but what could have been strictly cookie-cutter sounds fresh and fun thanks to Amber's bubbly vocal delivery and some seriously hooky songs like the title track.
March 16, 2012
Uncompromising political powerhouse (Dead Prez) meets 2Pac protégés (Outlawz) on this underappreciated collabo. Can't Sell Dope Forever preaches self-reliance as hard as Atlas Shrugged, although with completely different motivation and a Layzie Bone guest spot.
March 15, 2012
Written in the same style of hard-bitten but sensitive songwriter vein as Fred Neil and Skip Spence, F.J. McMahon's only album is an understated gem of late-'60s folk-rock.
March 14, 2012
Nostalgic indie popsters the Clientele refresh their lush Velvet Underground-meets Galaxie 500 sound with a poetic collection of songs related to their native London, set against a musical backdrop that adds strings and lowers the reverb.
March 13, 2012
Drivin' & Cryin' frontman Kevn Kinney and Anton Fier's Golden Palominos team to record a totally inspired country-rock album. Fier's production, which melds acoustic and electric instruments seamlessly, makes Good Country Miles sound timeless in its rock classicism. Standout tracks include "Bird," "Wild Dog Moon Part 2," and "Challenge."
March 12, 2012
Mia Pharoah is full of just the kind of toe-tapping, hippy dippy, dance club sing-a-longs that used to be the bread and butter of music shows like Musikladen and Top of the Pops. Tracks like "Female Doctor" and "Boomerang" are disco-on-the-cheap numbers that sound a bit like forgotten Eurovision contest entries.
March 11, 2012
Captured live over two evenings in late June 2007 at Chicago's Green Mill, saxophonist Ari Brown continues to illuminate the AACM style of experimental jazz he's been exploring since the early-'70s.
March 10, 2012
An incredible lost ark of gentle acid folk from Michigan recluse and one-time Motown session player. Broken into two spheres, layered harmonies and fingerpicked guitar make up traditionally formed folk songs on side one, including the self-explanatory "It Is So Nice To Get Stoned". Side two has three longer raga-esque instrumental heavy zone-outs.
March 9, 2012
Theses twelve hypnotic, ambient love letters to Brian Eno's "An Ending (Ascent)" will lull you into a false sense of Teletubbies-inspired bliss, and then break your heart into a million pieces.
March 8, 2012
This album could have been "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" and ten tracks of a dialtone and it still would have been one of the best R&B records of the last 20 years. That the rest of the songs are so good is a happy bonus.
March 7, 2012
This seventh volume in a series collects sides that weren’t included on any of the Dave Clark Five LPs, mostly A and B sides from singles, including a couple of fairly big hits, 1965’s “Over and Over” being the most notable, making for an interesting alternative history of the band.
March 5, 2012
Congolese ensemble Konono No. 1 moved from the streets of Kinsasha to the world stage with their full-length debut, a collection of hypnotic Central African rhythms driven by their homemade electrified kalimbas.
March 4, 2012
The Hold Steady front man makes his solo debut on Clear Heart Full Eyes, an album that finds the singer exploring a sadder, more contemplative country sound while maintaining his penchant for storytelling.
March 3, 2012
On this 1963 date, Hancock runs through extremely fluid and meditative explorations on Latin-inflected bop. His third album as band leader, Hancock guides a stripped-down quartet featuring notable contributions from percussionist Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez.
March 2, 2012
This warm sounding set collects the Maytones' Alvin Ranglin-produced album Madness from 1976 and adds in Ranglin-produced singles from the same era to make a perfect introduction to a vintage Jamaican harmony duo.
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March 1, 2012
Recorded in the early 40's, each of these fifteen tracks is a timeless classic, and perfect for gamers looking to replicate the ambience of Fallout 3 without the nuisance of exploding body parts and radioactive boxes of cereal.