Slipped Discs - March 2010
Discs you may have missed | by John Noyd
Nothing against, WAKEY! WAKEY!’s elegant epic, “Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You,” but March gets straight to the point. From East European indie-rockers LONGITAL’s quietly eclectic, “Gloria,” to THE SNEAKY THIEVES’ dynamic, cultivated art-folk panoramas, “Brotherly,” it’s short and sweet, title-wise. Consider feet-friendly SAMBADA’s tropical funk-fest, “Gente!,” and saucy Aussie KATE MILLER-HEIDKE’s grand, pop-perfect, “ Curiouser,” and a word to the wise seems sufficient.
Freelance Whales
WeathervanesRecord Label: Frenchkiss Records
Review published: March 2010
Giddy, twittering glockenspiels and grinning, banjo-picking pirouettes surround whimsical melodies populated by grown-up words. FW’s dreamy waltzes and coy, wide-eyed sentiments overflow in palatable magic - painting smiles on songs about funerals, psychic connections and alternative power sources. Snug, syncopated synthesizers dance among breezy harmonies and child-like choirs as the sunny “Weathervanes,” comforts and chides.
Reader Votes: 0
Shout It Out Louds
WorkRecord Label: Merge Records
Review published: March 2010
A deceptively effortless atmosphere hangs over the suave and unassuming, “Work.” Swift, deliberate beats motor inside sweet, charismatic pop doused in determined waves of bristling hooks and insistent riffs drilling deep into the brain. Wrestling nervous restraint into patient self-examination, SOL pits keen observation against ominous uncertainty; swollen momentum carried with sadly placid efficiency.
Reader Votes: 0
Archie Bronson Outfit
CoconutRecord Label: Domino Records
Review published: March 2010
Cathartic rock and roll raptures careen around deranged psycho-zombie grooves as, “Coconut,” provides an insatiable frenzy of Jamaican bass, slippery guitar and jungle drums whose reverberating assaults seize and bleed into invigorating delirium. ABO’s hyperactive mastery of rabid stabs, jolting pokes, and pummeling rumbles funnel an inexhaustible squalor of gripping rhythms and dub-crazed hobgoblins.
Reader Votes: 0
Little Boots
HandsRecord Label: Atlantic Records
Review published: March 2010
Unabashed yet subtle, upfront but elaborate, “Hands,” is a perfectly delicious guilty pleasure. Commanding an army of musical machinery, Victoria Hesketh’s frothy wink, slither and thrust eroticism tempts and teases, unfurling come-hither fictions and sharp, empowered bravado. Dolled-up disco meets electro-pop fairy tales in a heart-pumping collision of techno-baroque tangos and strutting electric drum majorettes.
Reader Votes: 0
These New Puritans
HiddenRecord Label: Domino Records
Review published: March 2010
A bewitching inquisition, “Hidden,” deftly blends the symphonic with the synthetic, yielding sensual sounds that jar the senses and fires the imagination. Combining the soothing alongside the savage, TNP’s bold and evocative vision molds malevolent drums and majestic orchestras into an intriguing schizophrenia of eye-opening opuses, artfully manipulating a breathless spectrum of sonic possibilities.
Reader Votes: 0
One For The Team
GhostsRecord Label: Afternoon Records
Review published: March 2010
Conquering, co-ed vocals doubling the already high emotional output - OFTT stacks pile-driving ire into sweaty testaments to romantic vengeance and its restorative powers. A lively, insolent energy crackles throughout the unrelenting, “Ghosts,” fueled by jilted lovers, re-hatched hopes and unleashed demons. Promising an exciting vibe, OFTT play Milwaukee’s Miramar March 25th.
Reader Votes: 0
Final Thoughts
The list of recently arrived, one word titled CDs continues; from the sublime electronic pools of processed trumpet in GABRIEL JOHNSON’s eerily iridescent, “Fra_Ctured,” to literate singer/songwriter KELLY RYAN’s quick-witted, custom-fitted, sensitive and sensible, “Twist.” Between restless experimenters LIARS’ moody and unruly, “Sisterworld,” PIXIES frontman and salacious renegade BLACK FRANCIS’ hot and bothered, “Nonstoperotik,” and consummate alt-pop rockers ROGUE WAVE’s radiant, “Permalight,” it’s hard to get a word in edge-wise.
