Staff Picks for November 2012
November 30, 2012
In 1981, Zamla Mammas Manna's Lars Hollmer and Eino Haapala, joined by Denis Brely and Jan Garret from Albert Marcoeur's band, recorded rhythmic and melodic Euro-folk-inspired avant-prog rock into an eight-channel TEAC. Adventurous, accessible, fun, and still utterly unique over 30 years later.
November 29, 2012
Most of the highlights from this edition of the Sheffield group's 1980 album, led by the heavy science fiction of "The Black Hit of Space," are the contemporaneous bonus tracks: the adroit "Marianne," the blinding "Dancevision," and the slick "I Don't Depend on You," the last of which is a disco-funk tune credited to the Men.
November 27, 2012
Various Artists
This set collects some two-dozen Otis Blackwell songs done by artists ranging from Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley to Mahalia Jackson, Solomon Burke, Little Willie John, Gene Pitney, and more, and the wonderful R&B crackle of these versions simply underscores Blackwell's songwriting genius.
November 26, 2012
Kicking off with the urgent, pissy free-bop of "Blues Connotation," this 1961 landmark feels like a defiant response to uptight critics of his sound. Looking, sounding every bit the besuited proto-punk ancestors of Nation of Ulysses and Bad Brains, Coleman's quartet delivered an album of raw, transcendent and lyrical madness.
November 25, 2012
Holidaydream: Sounds of the Holidays, Vol. 1 The Polyphonic Spree During this time of the year, holiday music is an unavoidable fact of life, but The Polyphonic Spree are here to let you take your musical destiny into your own hands with an album of psychedelic Christmas songs that'll satisfy your prerequisites for cheesy holiday standards while being freaked out enough that you'll hardly notice that you're listening to "Let it Snow" for the millionth time.
November 24, 2012
An overlooked noise-pop classic, KaitO's debut nods to early Blonde Redhead and late-period Elastica, but its hyperactive charms -- which capture the times when you're feeling so much that there's nothing left to do but scream -- are entirely the band's own.
November 23, 2012
How do you follow up the greatest kiddie rap album ever (Totally Krossed Out)? First you turn your pants around, then you get hard. Luckily, the Jermaine Dupree production is still awesome and the guys sound cute even when they are cussing it up.
November 22, 2012
Walkin' in the Shadows of Life finds the Neville Brothers reaching back into their distant past to extend a universal message of peace and hope while developing this fully realized album in the process.
November 21, 2012
The churning wall-of-shoegaze produced by Bleach made their proper debut LP one of the better from British alternative acts of the early '90s, a sure winner for any fan of Lush or Ride or Curve.
November 20, 2012
Primarily remembered for his virtuoso talents alongside drummer Max Roach, trumpeter Clifford Brown was also a superb vocal accompanist. This essential anthology compiles all of his recordings with Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Helen Merrill and features some of Brown's most thrilling solo work.
November 19, 2012
The most vital album that came from West London's broken beat scene, Creating Patterns is highlighted by the chamber folk-soul masterpiece "The Day of the Greys," which features the late Terry Callier. It's as moving as any other widescreen Callier song, from 1973's "Dancing Girl" to 1998's "Lazarus Man."
November 18, 2012
Starting with the side-long, near 20 minute suite, "Close to the Edge: The Solid Time of Change/Total Mass Retain/I Get Up," Yes's 1972 album finds them taking their technical wizardry to the outer limits. A three song prog rock masterpiece.
November 17, 2012
Alasdair of the Clientele and Lupe of Pipas got together to make an absolutely enchanting indie album that combines the warmth of Brazilian pop and the gentle peacefulness of autumnal English folk, while sounding like a perfect blend of the two groups.
November 15, 2012
The most ridiculous and truly epic of the broadsword-wielding, "True Metal" prophets' 80's offerings, Manowar's second major label outing does for Conan the Destroyer what Dark Side of the Moon did for The Wizard of Oz.
November 14, 2012
Various Artists
Midnight at the Barrelhouse contains 125 sides, nearly 6 hours spread out over 5 discs, of vintage West Coast R & B. These remastered tracks from the 40's and 50's are some of the best in that genre.
November 13, 2012
A solid set of borrowed material and the combined talents of a stellar cast -- Hancock, Carter, Hubert Laws, Gary Bartz -- made Stoned Soul Picnic one of the best early sets from jazz music's classic groove merchant.
November 12, 2012
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra trumpeter Ryan Kisor's first album of all-original material is an evocative, angular post-bop work featuring the adventurous Hammond organ playing of Sam Yahel. The moody tension of the Bossa-funk title track is a particularly engaging listen.
November 11, 2012
Joshua Eustis and the late Charlie Cooper incorporated elements of contemporary R&B -- and didn't make a big deal about it -- years before it was considered a novel approach in indie electronic music. The duo's other two albums are very different, but this is their most emotive work.
November 10, 2012
With all of MF Doom's side projects, fans of the masked MC may have overlooked this one. Too bad, because it's one of his best. Like the excellent Mm...Food, the beats are on point, Dumile's rhymes are superb, and Fantastic Four snippets pull the concept together.
November 9, 2012
This collection of singles and B-sides released early in their career shows the duo at their most concisely poppy and includes one of the great indie rock singles of all time in "Tropical Ice-Land."
November 8, 2012
Brought to you by some of the folks behind the stellar Tame Impala, Pond helps to make a pretty strong argument for Australia being the center of the modern psych-rock universe with their second album, Beard, Wives, Denim.
November 7, 2012
The Captain's most absurd, engaging and likeable outing, this typically gonzo conceptual album pairs impeccable pop craftsmanship, aliens, hot licks, and BBC actors reciting Martin Newell-penned news reports on the impending apocalypse.
November 6, 2012
After lovers rock group Brown Sugar, numerous background sessions, and mainstream success with Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler released her solo debut in 1990. It's highlighted by the Afrika Baby Bam-produced "Livin' in the Light," one of that year's biggest and best club-R&B singles.
November 5, 2012
Rotterdam-based drummer/composer Arend Niks' quartet doesn't waste a note and utterly avoids empty pyrotechnical displays on this beautiful album rooted in electric fusion rather than the acoustic avant jazz many listeners equate with the Dutch improvised music scene. And who needs a bassist, anyway?
November 4, 2012
Xela's shadowy, whispery electronic music took a folky turn on The Dead Sea, a concept album about a sea voyage overtaken by zombies. As lovely as it is eerie, this �could be the perfect soundtrack to the most sophisticated Halloween parties.
November 3, 2012
Various Artists
A collection of early blues sides by black blind musicians is an odd way to approach a blues anthology, but it works very well for this two-disc, 50-track set, which not only delivers classic blues takes, but also illustrates how the early blues was a truly commercial music.
November 2, 2012
This 1975 classic is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of the blue-eyed soul duo's work, and smooth jams like "Sara Smile" and "Alone too Long" do more than enough to offset the confusing feelings stirred up by the glammed-out album cover.
November 1, 2012
This 1997 swan song marked both the end of and the strongest work from this under-rated East Coast post-hardcore collective. Chris Leo's spoken-shouted lyrics conveyed everything from critiques on Marxism to absurdist looks at society as they floated atop sharply composed instrumental backdrops of chiming guitars and airy atmospheres.