Disc Reviews
by Max Ink Staff Writers
Cribshitter - Acapulco
Cribshitter
Album title: Acapulco
By John Noyd
Posted: Sep 2015
Label: self-release
(2246) Page Views
Four years extracting musical shape-shifting madness, Madison’s quick-change artists Cribshitter unveil a thematic mish-mash splashed in devilish wackiness carved from sun-kissed mosh-pits and delirious fearlessness supported by subversive mirth. Schizophrenic decadence playing made-in-the-shade charades deconstructing time-share affairs atop consumer bamboozling, “Acapulco,” stacks wisecracking sass into lewd interludes born from ultra-groovy confusion; daffy distractions packing seamless farce into giddy kidding. Artfully parting beach-resort partying into smirk-filled ironies, the band’s lounge-lizard wizardry mixes psycho-funky monkey-business into sex-starved drum-machine telenovas. A clever tight-rope walk between the sleazy and the cheesy, the slap-happy toe-tappers goof on disco-musak rappers, tattletale tourists and midnight-cruising perusers with accomplished gonzo gusto. See for yourself October 10th when the band along with pop-rockers Heavy Looks plays a free release show at Madison’s Mickey’s Tavern.
The Oh Hellos - Dear Wormwood
The Oh Hellos
Album title: Dear Wormwood
By John Noyd
Posted: Sep 2015
Label: Elektra
(2092) Page Views
A collection of songs inspired in part by C.S. Lewis’, “The Screwtape Letters,” “Wormwood,” snakes its way through enchanted semantics; nimble fictions whose gossamer waltzes raise haunted romps beside thorny moonlit crossroads as baptism and revelry hiss and twist in whispered folk-rock ripples mounting Celtic helter-skelter inside restless bedtime fables and majestic flatland chanteys. While the nucleus of the group consists of siblings Maggie and Tyler Heath, TOH gathers orbiting supporters catapulting the album into communal jubilation. From buckskin minstrels presenting side-saddle madrigals to maypole-cajoling nymphs hovering over solo banjo, the Texan’s sophomore foray effortlessly escalates into barn-storming carnivals lit by rousing finish-line cheers for neighborhood labors. The story-telling folk-ensemble assembles Oct 24th at Madison’s Majestic Theater along with Family & Friends and Cereus Bright
Chad Valley - Entirely New Blue
Chad Valley
Album title: Entirely New Blue
By John Noyd
Posted: Sep 2015
Label: Cascine
(2193) Page Views
Futuristic bliss finds transistorized sighs, rerouted pouts and earworm yearning via hard-wired church choirs dancing to spray-tan jams from auto-tuned angels; the rainbow-colored, “Blue,” cruises and smooches, a svelte conveyor-belt streaming seamless bleeps and skipping blips beneath carousel-dwelling melodies trounced with pastel-melted bounce. A rallying gala, Chad Valley’s deep-shag lover’s gallery whips carefree sequined sequences dolled-up in push-button lust into seductive fluff stuffed into solid-state heartache. Elevating boudoir shamanism from vacuum-sealed appeals to sublime micro-designed assignments, Jonquil’s Hugo Manuel captures the fantastic by turning his canyon-spanning voice into a syncopated pastry for sour-grape banquets, feasting easily with leisurely weightless grace, skating over shiny space-age templates and bubble-pumping first-dates. The cyber-piloted dreamboat plays Madison’s The Frequency October 4th with special guests Stranger Cat and Midas Bison.
Shopping - Why Choose
Shopping
Album title: Why Choose
By John Noyd
Posted: Sep 2015
Label: FatCat Records
(1769) Page Views
Tight, biting no-wave surf-rock rides whiplash-active rapids in coiled cool while, “Why,” applies irony-free treats teetering between jungle-tunneled skeleton-rasta and abrupt thrusts on disruptive cusps from brittle-riddled toe-tappers. Dodge-ball assaults turn hypnotic gestalt from ace double-dutch busking pumping tasty socio-political tub-thumping to fever-burning dervishes serving percussive justice while affirming soul-stirring skirmishes. Leaning into each furious ska-blessed arpeggio, Shopping’s anti-pomp manifesto scratches pogo polemics into feisty decisiveness, tossing elastic punk-powered raps in confidently combative drafts as the wicked British ricochet babies play sling-shot hop-scotch with street-wise nose-dives and acrobatic high-fives. Frantic, manic sound-scoundrels splattering mouse-trap staccato with bare-knuckled love from wiry warriors, the lean trio hits Madison’s The Frequency October 27th alongside retro-groovy tour-mates Shannon and the Clams plus area rabble-rousers The Pukes and Orange Iguanas.
Albatross - Desperate Times Best Forgotten
Albatross
Album title: Desperate Times Best Forgotten
By John Noyd
Posted: Aug 2015
Label: The Word of Mouth Project
(2934) Page Views
Embroidered stories washed in the polished hospitality and modest apologies of cantering country, waltzing folk and soothing bluegrass cruising through electric blues and crackling jazz, Albatross’ restless melancholy unfold soulful emotions living in the hopeful crossroads between gentle lullabies, sad good-byes and friendly salutations. Three years in the making, “Desperate,” presents a stirring merciful journey ripe in life’s highs and lows casually rolled into intricate strolls outstretched in reflective contrapuntal contemplations. An Englishman who relocated to Nashville, Albatross appears to have made side trips to Memphis and the Appalachia to create a pleasant sentimental chemistry where nothing is out of place and no compatible musical idea is unwelcome. Intriguing scenery carved from road-tested hearts, “Desperate,” dresses its thoughtful messages in skilled thrills and sturdy courtesies.
The Orb - Moonbuilding 2073 AD
The Orb
Album title: Moonbuilding 2073 AD
By John Noyd
Posted: Aug 2015
Label: Kompakt
(2480) Page Views
The prodigious English duo Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty return to German record label Kompakt with all-original material for a gorgeous four-part suite fusing sly humor into translucent krautrock grooves, tampered lava-lamp ambiance and paranormal dance-floor trances. The latest auditory hallucinations from these misbegotten cosmonauts sequesters polyester vibes inside glow-stick vertigo for a slick, unpredictable ride where chill vacuum-sealed appeals hunt down hip submarine scenes in slow-drip blips, dub-scrubbed shifts and strobe-lit drifts. Working extra hard to appear ultra-casual, “Moonbuilding,” is a fly exercise in calculated laziness, pumping bubbly thumps through rubber-room flumes; a foggy cacophony of sleek beats and privileged sizzle. Do not miss the party when The Orb lands in Madison’s Majestic Theater September 24th along with Mike Carlson, Wyatt Agard and Umi.
Robert Forster - Songs To Play
Robert Forster
Album title: Songs To Play
By John Noyd
Posted: Aug 2015
Label: Tapete Records
(2515) Page Views
Seven years since Forster’s last album but a short nine month since the release of his iconic band’s comprehensive box set, “G Stands For Go-Betweens: Volume 1, 1978-1984,” the Aussie singer-songwriter’s unfathomable talent elevates everyday fate into stoic blows infused with cool rebukes. Quietly rumbling in choice words, acidic attitude and a rich, but understated sound, “Songs,” casts guitar-propelled spells colored in organ, trumpet and violin to evoke gentle, sensible pathos from smoldering doldrums hiding inflamed disdain while delicate disclosure imposes restless longing onto poetic pondering, drawing playful statements inside punctual jangle and dreamy preening beneath fleeting indie-pop. Brandishing literate skittishness wound around a wealth of prickly wit and soft-spoken coping, Forster continues to stand tall, navigating pedestrian quests with matador grace and impeccable taste.
Will It Burn - In Other Circumstances
Will It Burn
Album title: In Other Circumstances
By Geert Driver
Posted: Aug 2015
Label: Self Released
(2917) Page Views
Milwaukee has never strayed from the musical map. The city has always given birth to talent. But it has always been a working-class talent. The flashiness of Hollywood has rarely caught up with Brew City. Every ounce of talent has been earned in Milwaukee—and with good cause. This is the case with Milwaukee duo Will It Burn.
Despite seeing a very limited digital release, the duo’s 2011 EP Low Dial Almanac possessed a number of high notes (both literal and figurative). And also despite more or less shelving the EP, the duo—comprised of lyricist songstress EmAliyah and beatmaker, producer and DJ extraordinaire EightZero—got right to work on what would be its first full-length record, In Other Circumstances, seeing light on digital and physical formats.
In Other Circumstances is complex though. It might as well be two halves making a whole. By design, EightZero’s beats are strung together to make an opus similar to instrumentation. But the surprise comes when it’s learned that there isn’t even a single instrument played throughout. Pulling from the obscure and forgotten, EightZero weaves in and out of mainstream and lends on the power of hip-hop to create something original. Complemented by haunting vocals and lyrics that run the gamut of love, social commentary and even politics, EmAliyah sews intricate stories around EightZero’s woven “rhythm section.”
The result is a cohesive record of otherworldly vocal stylings set to throwback production, creating intellectual music begging listeners to dig deeper and skip the aforementioned flashiness of Hollywood and finally get back to the music at hand.
Christopher Paul Stelling - Labor Against Waste
Christopher Paul Stelling
Album title: Labor Against Waste
By John Noyd
Posted: Jul 2015
Label: ANTI-
(2995) Page Views
Rootin’ tootin’ finger pickin’ trickery tickles trickling trills and jaw-dropping fills as six-string slinger Stelling stuns in thundering mumbly-peg educations. Teaching and preaching hard-boiled allegories describing Pentecostal possibilities with zealous melodies, the swift, gifted vagabond laureate’s rambling preambles storm and warn in breathless progressions stirring tidal-wave revivals cast upon rocky shores lined in foot-stomping promises and redemptive runaway sentences. Nitty-gritty kinship circles blazing chamber-folk soliloquies while, “Labor,” works patchwork parables from boxcar pulpits into down-home honky-tonk gospel where dirt-floor metaphors restore feverish meaning to soul-stirring pleadings reaping backwoods wisdom inside tight-wrapped bluegrass rhapsodies. Arranging sage claims through free-wheeling auctioneers offering heaven-sent repentance from hard-won reverence, the profound earth-bound evangelist plays Madison’s High Noon Saloon August 21st along with Christopher Plowman and the Josh Harty Band.
Kat Reinhert - Spark
Kat Reinhert
Album title: Spark
By John Noyd
Posted: Jul 2015
Label: Exergue Music
(2323) Page Views
Exceptionally elegant ambrosia brimming in limber melodies, the fluid musings from New York City’s Kat Reinhert flow like smoke over skyline twilights as champagne sunsets chase velvet shadows through sophisticated plays swooping and swooning in rich thoughtful jazz. Delicate sentiments topped in cosmopolitan solace, lyrical poise and an upbeat demeanor, “Spark,” smolders in incandescent enchantments; shedding fears and sharing joys alongside cool, smooth grooves laced with embraceable improvisation. Originally from Milton, WI, the Lawrence University alumni’s lively dives and arching larks float in sharp, cultivated confidence, balancing the album’s casual dazzle against helplessly svelte abandon. A team effort featuring vivacious solos from her ace back-up, Reinhert’s potent emotions pour the jazz singer’s original compositions into voluptuous cups of finely tuned moods sparkling in glamorous banter.
Dawes - All Your Favorite Bands
Dawes
Album title: All Your Favorite Bands
By John Noyd
Posted: May 2015
Label: HUB Records
(3844) Page Views
With an inexhaustible capacity to turn youthful flaws into battle-scarred badges where accidental detours become fateful escapes, Dawes’ armor-plated aches strengthen in contented repentance weathered in desperate acceptance and rendered with sincerity. Roots-rock novelists integrating folk-pop’s unconditional surrender; the L.A. quartet converts struggle into muscle and hard-earned hindsight into casually melodic insight, balancing hope and drama inside metaphors and rhyme while tenderness and faith emerge from scorching solos and forlorn harmony. Sweet, deep and rumbling in complications, “Favorite,” paves universal feelings with candle-lit sympathies, patient salvation and tender melancholy, a tuneful communion fastened by compulsive compassion. Despair never sounded so eloquent or forceful and triumph never so satisfying. Feel the love when Dawes along with alt-country rabble-rouser Langhorne Slim play Madison’s Capitol Theater June 20th.
Beauty Pill - Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are
Beauty Pill
Album title: Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are
By John Noyd
Posted: May 2015
Label: Butterscotch Records
(3019) Page Views
Eleven years and several medical crises later, Beauty Pill’s multi-instrumentalist Chad Clark reunites the band including long-time musical associate Jean Cook to release a beautifully moody stew of socio-political pop-theater pitting wily survivor’s vengeance against cosmic lotteries clogged in pre-ordained change. A fractured masterpiece featuring chunky electro-dunked funk rifling through addled battle-ballads to Escher-blessed treasures, “Describe,” allies devious gizmo-rock heaving seizures of sublime genius between cock-eyed creeps seeping into ironic conga-lines and feral synth-pop sambas squirming in twisted riffs. Employing discarded collage representing fractured pasts, B.P.‘s steam-punk burlesque hurtles curious turns into woozy gloom birthing patchwork firsts while screwball overhauls square off in distorted orchestras and oblique peeks into strange games. Beauty Pill lands in Madison’s The Frequency June 21st along with Milwaukee spitfires Tigernite.
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