Elbow "The Take Off And Landing Of Everything"

Not much else I can add at this point to earlier posts ("...Rocket..." "Dead...") on the band except this album finally gave them the #1 that had eluded them previously.  Also provided their highest chart position here in the States at #83 but I believe it disappeared a week later.  If you've ever thought yourself to be a Peter Gabriel disciple, buy this album today.  Layered, melancholy, dream-pop of which half the record's ten tracks log in at > 6 minutes.



Can't put this album on to liven up a soiree but share a party favour with a friend or three and sit down to digest this as a whole.  It's a crafted slice of magic...

Future Islands "Singles"

I had such high hopes for this when I read about it on a critic's page and saw legendary label 4AD in charge.  New Wave/80's synth-heavy with a flash of electric guitar here and there, but it was the voice at the forefront.  Initially it made me think of Martin Fry of ABC fame but repeated play morphed it into Men Without Hats territory........you know, one-hit-wonder. 

Believe me when I tell you I did zero research on this before going through the requisite three spins.  Each time I started it I liked the opening track but grew more and more weary of this guy's over-the-top vocal theatrics.  My mind's eye pictured an outrageous front man with the band silhouetted in the shadows playing their instruments ably and stoically.  Boy, I hit that one on the head....



There are nearly 2.2 MILLION views of this clip.  Think the guy knows Jack Black?  Dave looked genuinely entertained by the antics.  This is the only keeper as far as I'm concerned and the studio version reaps benefits from one of those power chord guitar inserts I mentioned earlier.  Along with all the keyboards are some real strings and horns, not synthesized faux ones, but they don't help.  Here is another live performance but it's in a radio studio and one of the more down tempo tracks...



There, there, now...wasn't that nice?  I hope you catch the sarcasm...

What I missed was my supposition of an English band based on the 4AD connection.  Wayyyyyyyyyyy wrong.........they were art students from North Carolina!  So I'm not shocked to see the record has had its best showing in the UK and Ireland with a combined dozen weeks on the charts.  It debuted domestically at #40 on the Top 200 and two weeks later was gone.

Didn't I mention "one-hit wonder?"  

Yellow Ostrich "Cosmos"

 

Decided to give this a sampling after reading a glowing review of the NYC-based band's third full-length.  Hmmmm, an American band with two previous records unbeknownst to me?  That's an 0-2 count right there.  Still, I put the first couple of tracks through a 90-second examination and was pleasantly surprised.  What I eventually wound up with is my "Discovery Of The Year"...so far.




When you watch the video, notice where the band is playing.  That's their Brooklyn practice space where the singer/guitarist (the band was originally his solo project) holed up for nine months before working on this album.  No windows!  He synthetically adjusted the room's lighting to simulate day and night and studied the galaxy and distinguished astronomers' work (Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" became the album's title).  Ironic, huh?  The band's drummer had a related experience as he sailed for a month from Mexico to Hawaii.  Closed up in a room versus out in the open?  Inspiration strikes in many ways and these extremes have led to 36 minutes of brilliance.  Mostly recorded in that same tiny practice space, you bring in knob-spinners who've worked with Death Cab For Cutie, Sparklehorse, Radiohead and the Pixies and you get a sonic gem for the ears.  The notes I made said, "This is what Beck would be like if he had a pulse again" and "my expectations for the Gotye album finally arrived in this recording."



Trust me, I'm keeping an eye out for a live date close by and I eagerly await the next release.

Steven Wilson "Cover Version"

I wasn't going to bother with this because it's a compilation of CD singles he released whilst still in Porcupine Tree but BKP sent it over, so I will add it to the hard drive.  All of the singles themselves were limited editions and this is the first time they have been made available to the masses.  These are solo performances with minimal additions, mostly restrained and reflective, not at all what he was doing with PT or his more recent ventures.  The choice of covers are what interested me.  For a few years now I've marveled at his eclectic taste, semi-regularly visiting his website to follow his playlists.  In June, his selections included Tears For Fears, Andy Partridge, Wire, Townes Van Zandt, Swans & Thin Lizzy.  Go back through earlier months and you'll find Roy Harper, Budgie, John Barry, Ian Anderson, Sigur Ros, Love, The The, Al Stewart, Underworld, The Strawbs, Durutti Column, The Waterboys, Cocteau Twins, The Jam, Butthole Surfers and a shitload of names I didn't recognize.  So let's see what he choose to do in that span of years between '01 - '10;
Alanis Morissette's "Thank You," a Cure single from their second album, a centuries-old English folk ballad and a little-known Donovan composition from an album that failed to chart after the previous dozen had done so.  My favorite of the lot was his version of Prince's "Sign O' The Times."  It really fuzzes out about the 3:00 mark.  And finally, after believing this was a brilliant original song by Blancmange from thirty years ago...



...I noticed the writing credits and damn near threw up.  Did you see the hint in the video?  I honestly had no clue this was one of the last ABBA singles ever (worldwide, that is, it wasn't released domestically).  I've since gone back and listened to their version......awful.  Guess it really was a signal of the end for them.  Anyway, Wilson's version is slightly shorter, simpler and more haunting. 

If you are a ravenous fan of any of the cover songs, they are worthy of a $1.  The collection as a whole is for long-time fans.............................like moi.

Casey Crescenzo "Amour & Attrition"

This was my first venture into crowdfunding.  I was so blown away by The Dear Hunter's last album I was roused enough to go backwards into the band's catalog (a very rare occurrence, indeed) and discover a phenomenal rock opera released over 9 EPs that I took the bait on band leader Casey Crescenzo's project "to write and record a Symphony with a full orchestra...consisting of  4 movements...".  $35 got me a digital download and a high quality double LP.  I didn't pay much attention to the occasional updates until the one announcing the project's completion and due date of my download....which had a glitch on my first attempt that yielded nothing.  Maybe I should have taken that as an omen.  Once said snafu was corrected, I began my initial play through the computer.  By God, he literally meant symphony.  My bad that I anticipated some sort of rock orchestration, not an Elfman soundtrack.  I don't mean that in a derogatory way.  Danny Boingo has made quite the bankroll doing non-confrontational scores since shutting down the band.  Crescenzo is now heir apparent.  This is 36 minutes of acceptable classical music.  I was exposed to classical as a child since my maternal grandmother played it around her house along with Big Bands and the Crooners.  I developed an appreciation of it in college at WPRK as classical was the only programming students got paid to play.  My blog's header picture is from a classical show circa 1978.  Mostly it was vinyl but some of the operas were played on the reel to reel players behind me.  You see the binder on one of them.  That was a pronunciation guide to assure the names were announced properly.  Nothing worse than a call from one of the hoity-toity shop owners on Park Ave without enough customers to occupy themselves, bitching about a kid saying "Richard" instead of "Ree-kard" Strauss or "Wagner" in lieu of "Vahg-ner."  Just like my taste in contemporary music, I mostly enjoyed the lesser known works, not the classic Classics.  Mrs. Rocker was surprised that I was playing A & A in my vehicle but unapologetic at requesting a genre shift.  "Makes me want to see a movie," she said...


It's worth going to YouTube to see a couple of the comments on this.  "Learn some music theory and then perhaps you should attempt to write a symphony...," says one dude.  "So how about instead of critiquing his music because he doesn't abide by the laws you learn in an introductory theory course, go on and actually learn more about music and its development," is another's reply.  Classical Sniping...I love it! 

All in all, Amour & Attrition is a pleasant listen.  Would I have donated 35 bills had I known this was what I was getting? 

Uh-uh...

Fanfarlo "Let's Go Extinct"

 

Back in the early going of this music blog for old farts I briefly touched on this band's debut (it was coupled with Phish "Joy" and I have their new one in queue, too) and noted that I would keep an ear out for their next recording......which I did......and passed on.  Gave this one a brief sample and was immediately bewildered.  I didn't recall either of the previous albums sounding quite like it.....and I clicked the "download" button.  Mighty happy I did because third time's the charm.



This is a British band that had an art-folk début (trying to be Decemberists UK?) that didn't work and a sophomore effort that switched to New Wave with similar results.  Why this one works is a wonder to me but it does. Very 80's with this nagging similarity to............. ah, damn it, it just wouldn't rise through the catacombs of my cobwebbed brain.  Spin #2 actually produced one song that I noted sounded like Wings!  Hardly New Wave/80's but excellent, nonetheless.   "Oh, man, who does this sound like?"  About a third of the way through the third spin I blurted out, "China Crisis!!!!!"  Yeah, I heard the moans from 98% of you, "Who???" 



The band had four tremendous (and one so-so) albums in the 80's, only two charting briefly in the States, and I like to think I had a hand in those as I pushed and pushed and pushed them on anyone remotely interested in that sound back then.  Well, I don't have the means to push today (not that it made any difference back then, either) but "Let's Go Extinct" is an enjoyable listen with the 80's keys supplemented with horns and strings and the female violinist's accompanying vocals nicely augmenting the male lead.  I've read comparisons to Arcade Fire (not even close), Talking Heads (a stretch, but closer) and Cloud Cult (that's more like it). The album barely scratched the Heatseekers chart here and I couldn't find any overseas showing at all, which is sad because there are plenty of old cats like me who dug the New Wave movement and love the fact that it's now the sound du jour for many young bands across the globe. 



You can get a physical copy for under $9.  It's worth every penny...

Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition "Dark Night Of The Soul"

I caught most of you saying,"Who?!"  Let's try Squirrel Nut Zippers.  Ahhh, now I hear all those collective bells ringing...  The Zippers were one of those rare niche bands that happened to sell more than just one hit.  Mathus has traipsed across the South doing different things since the Zips folded around the turn of the century.  He engineered an album for one of those great bands from North Carolina that no one ever hears about outside the state lines, Hobex.  He played with Buddy Guy, befriended Luther Dickinson of the N. Miss. Allstars, worked with/in bands which all of you know and love like South Filthy, The Jelly Roll All-Stars, Jack Oblivian & The Tennessee Tearjerkers, The Hill Country Revue, and everybody's favorite, The South Memphis String Band.  Sarcasm aside, my point is he makes music for the music's sake, not for the commercial aspect of it.  He's immersed himself in all genres and has become quite the historian.  I bought this in early May based on his pedigree, no sampling.  It's not as if I own all those previously mentioned monster bands or any of his other self-titled work, either.  I don't truly know when the damn thing came out.  I've seen February and March dates for release and one site said it came out in 2013.  It really doesn't matter because not enough humans will ever hear this and it's a shame.  I'll admit that the first spin through it offered little hope for a keeper and the second replay yielded only a slightly improved outlook, but if you can make it a third time through the lineup......well, let me toss out some of the names that bubbled up through the mire:  Jimmy Hall, The Band, a little of the Zippers, a lot of John Hiatt, JC Mellencamp, Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones have a case for plagiarism on one track deep in the queue (I would have sworn he was covering "Angie"), and another invoked that great Atlanta band, The Swimming Pool Q's (that's no shit...I loved that band!).



That has the Hiatt all over it.  This one does, too...



I'm just short of calling him a southern Les Claypool but I'm not far off, am I?

Two New Losers

What year is this?  Do we really need another Night Ranger album?  Their last decent album was the third one in 1985.  This is #11.  If you believe that good music died with the 80's then this is right up your alley.  If you haven't heard anything respectable in the past thirty years then get off my blog and go back to your cassette player and Rubik's cube.  Three passable tracks...................if it was 1984.

Even worse that the Night Ranger album is this from the other Black Crowe.  Proof why brother Chris sings.  This is awful.  At least Chris has a song or two worth keeping every record, this scores a zero.  The songs, supposedly a strength, don't have the backbone to support a decent vocalist much less a "humble" one.  "Humble" isn't my adjective.  I'd use one substantially more vile.  I passed on it originally but BKP sent me a copy.  I owed it a listen....couldn't play some of the tracks past the 2:00 mark.  Waste of my time.  Point of reference:  the Black Crowes first two albums were the only ones worth having.  Doesn't say much for their past two decades, does it?

Joel DaSilva & The Midnight Howl "Durty Howlin' Blues"

Had not heard of this guy until I saw him listed on the bill playing before Ana Popovic at the Mt. Dora Blues~n~Groove a few Saturdays ago.  It said something about winning the 2013 Central FL Blues Challenge (?!?!).  The site had a video that proved promising so I made sure I got there early enough to catch his set.

That's right, early enough as still daylight and thankfully not yet central-Florida-hot so the guys in the suits weren't melting.  I'll tell ya, the man was impressive enough for the ol' jaded Mad Rocker to plop down $15 for the CD after the set.  I haven't paid that much for a disc in over a decade!  Since it was a 2014 release he played most of it during his show but I was afraid I'd be disappointed with the studio versions.  Nope.  My fear of being "environmentally" impressed was needless as this material is very well written and structured.  DaSilva hails from Chicago and has been a fixture in south Florida for a while, the sax man is from Philly and the bassist said he was a "recovering New Yorker."   They put on a good show with only a few premeditated moves.  Here is a 20-minute set from last year's International Blues Challenge in Memphis that featured tracks from this album...

 

The man can sing, the man can play, the man can write.....I'll go see him again when provided the opportunity.  This is the second Midnight Howl record and he's had a couple of other bands before so there's plenty of material to hear.  One of the covers he played at Mt. Dora was so hot I texted BKP and wrote, "this has to be making Mr. Cash smile wherever he is..."



This was the closest version I could find that skirted the intensity of the performance I witnessed.  Too bad I didn't film it myself. 

The only comparison made on my notes was to Colin James but there are certainly others summoned by different tunes.  Ten winner tracks out of eleven makes for a solid album.  If you want a physical CD like mine, you can order one from his website for $17 which includes shipping.  I honestly believe mine was really ten bucks but I could have had it signed for the extra fiver if I had waited for him to get to the merch tent.  Believe me, the hard copy isn't worth the extra cash.  Go to Amazon and get the MP3 for $9.  I wish I had...