Slipped Discs - May 2009
Discs you may have missed | by John Noyd
May invades - from the creeping weeds to united workers of the world, from birds returning to a flood of sharp, new music – winter has been vanquished and revolution is in the air. Therefore May’s ruling theme this year is manifest destiny. The following half dozen titles migrate towards ideas of conquest and exploration, exploring concepts from enslaved hearts to empires toppling. So venture forth and assimilate, resistance is futile.
A Camp
ColoniaRecord Label: Nettwerk records
Review published: May 2009
Flushed with lush, vampish nuance and lean, taunting lyrics, “Colonia,” wraps its political sting in leather and lace symphonies, a sage cabaret translated from level-headed, globe-trotting memories. A shimmering coronation of enchanted melodies, glamorous ironies and seductive intimidation; Cardigans singer Nina Persson portrays a post-modern Mata Hari, cool, coy sniping hiding inside her conniving metaphors.
Reader Votes: 0
BrakesBrakesBrakes
TouchdownRecord Label: Fat Cat
Review published: May 2009
Rock solid cynicism burns past corrosive pop-rock and beat-heavy intellect. Rallying around the hoi polloi in invigorating hooks, ironclad chords and an uncanny knack for suspiciously enigmatic phrases, “Touchdown,” pounds out its paranoia with passionate panache. Sparking flames in the face of modern ennui, Brakesbrakesbrakes’ riff-ripe sing-alongs are wise and innocent, brilliantly jaded yet ultimately undefeated.
Reader Votes: 0
Paleface
The Show is on the RoadRecord Label: Ramseur Records
Review published: May 2009
Honky tonk honesty fuels train-yard yarns turning contemporary issues into dustbowl hobo narratives; Paleface’s earth-bound wisdom croons rollicking acoustic tunes, weaving a deeper, understated understanding from everyday aggravations. “Road,” rolls with the punches, unfolding stolen moments over bare-boned anecdotes, uplifting skiffle and friendly encouragement; heartache and hindsight blending into folksy hopefulness.
Reader Votes: 0
Apostle Of Hustle
Eats DarknessRecord Label: Arts & Crafts
Review published: May 2009
Swinging from a labyrinth of kitchen sinks into thrilling trills of tropical thunder, caffeinated cacophony tumbling into apocalyptic rumbas, AoH’s devilish dance dissects opposing slogans, crafty commotions subverting nervous diversions. “Eats,” dines on bouncy grooves, found sounds and overloaded imaginations whose hip-swiveling impulses divulge lunatic snickering, renegade wit and cyber-mambo voodoo.
Reader Votes: 0
Polly Scattergood
Polly ScattergoodRecord Label: Mute Records
Review published: May 2009
Raw and personal, Scattergood’s doe-eyed poetry steps quietly among floating, glowing electronica while phantom beats build towering tempests from breathy confessions. A frank parade combating life’s charades, slithering in whispers and bathed in fluorescence discotheques, Scattergood’s debut revels in intimate revelations; dire diaries recounting adamant adventures through fiery sirens, chamber arrangements and hissing synths.
Reader Votes: 0
Cracker
Sunrise in the Land of Milk and HoneyRecord Label: 429 Records
Review published: May 2009
Audacious anarchists, geeky stoner romantics and sci-fi rockers party and parlay, distilling alcoholic logic into swaggering guitar licks dipped in dirt farmer harmonies. Cracker’s roughshod rodeo diplomacy is administered in blunt, abrupt, wild-eyed, country-fried punk as, “Sunrise,” bashes, bops and berates accepted social ills and civilization’s backwards loopholes.
Reader Votes: 0
Final Thoughts
Despite the longer days – darkness overshadows techno-czars THE CRYSTAL METHOD’s mind-bending, alternative multiverse, “Divided By Night.” Psychotronic sonnets and groovy kraut-funk ballyhoo populate madcap savage craftsmen SUPER FURRY ANIMALS’, “Dark Days/Light Years,” as THE PARLOR MOB’s black-feathered obsession ignites the dark, rawkin’ blues-bomb assault, “And You Were A Crow.” Finally, wiley and woeful electric folk coquette, SAMANTHA CRAIN AND THE MIDNIGHT SHIVERS tear into the heart-wrenching, “Songs in the Night.”
