Slipped Discs July 2010
Discs you may have missed | by John Noyd
Stand and be counted. Summer CDs from WAITIKI 7, the cocktail shaker, trail-blazer, hula grooves of, “New Sounds of Exotica”, skate-punk reggae-nauts, AUTHORITY ZERO’s, hyper-active fender-bender, “Stories of Survival,” electro-rockers EIGHTFOURSEVEN’s trance-inducing cruising, Lossless,” and Italian retro-soundtrack masters CALIBRO 35 and their soul-riddled, jazz-pop mash-up, ” Ritomano Quelli Di…” guide July to further discs whose Pythagorean titles cannot be discounted. Take the fifth, but add these next six CDs to your list of calculated beauties.
Stars
The Five GhostsRecord Label: Vagrant
Review published: July 2010
Emotionally-charged spirits waver and disperse, evaporating into heavenly college-rock proclamations as Canada’s musical social archeologists limbo beneath society’s swinging underbelly. “Ghosts,” waltz while angelic chords and hip, sophisticated hooks bounce and rally against unburdened yearnings and tarnished afterlife regrets; tightly-wrapped cabaret squirm in the restrained desires of poignant synthesizers presiding over charmed, chamber-pop novels.
Reader Votes: 0
Wolf Parade
EXPO 86Record Label: SubPop
Review published: July 2010
Shell-shocked alt-rock plops muscular lyricism alongside grinning cynicism. Doomsday soothsayers, Wolf Parade’s rogue commandos hijack embattled ballads, tossing cryptic clues and brisk divisive philosophies into frightful new wave delusions chock full of curt, clench-jawed logic and iron-claw zombie obstinacy. “Expo,” unfolds exponentially, fostering spooky robo-boogie tainted with unresolved subterranean glories and smashing, mad-dash neuroses.
Reader Votes: 0
Ratatat
LP4Record Label: XL Recordings
Review published: July 2010
Studio-lubricated moods cross-pollinating Debussy inside Bo Diddley, “LP4,” tickles traditions switching from zither-inflicted flamenco to twittering harpsichords roasted over jive Vocoder bass. Sinuous minuets and mod leapfrog mosaics spawn yawning automatons and computer-triggered funk, cyber-samba sandwiches stuffed into slack-key electro-calypso, neo-classical accents and Afro-pop Krautrock, swift twists and sinfully nimble patchwork quilts tethering history and culture.
Reader Votes: 0
Lower Dens
Twin Hand MovementRecord Label: Gnomonsong
Review published: July 2010
Clanging basement blues artfully dissolve in understated waves of corrosive compulsions, fevered dreams and ragdoll ballets. LD’s cooing stews of murky psychedelia paint lazy, strung-out lullabies whose ferocious persistence rocks, cradling dank heartaches, creeping bleached half-asleep doldrums. Navigating deliberately drowsy diplomacy, murky melodies ooze and entangle, “Twin,” in earth-shattering shadows and abrasive haze. Jana Hunter and friends play Madison’s Project Lodge August 17th
Reader Votes: 0
Nils Frahm and Anne Mueller
7fingersRecord Label: Hush
Review published: July 2010
Patiently threading ghostly cello among surly chirps, slippery blips and peek-a-boo beats, studio guru Frahm’s effervescent collaboration suggests interstellar pinball coated in sublime intertwining technologies. Shifting indiscriminately, “7fingers,” skims and dips, soars and skips, amassing raspy atmospheres - engineered yet mysteriously romantic and beautifully alien, suspension bridges melting into a hypnotic fog.
Reader Votes: 0
Joemca
Sixteen DevilsRecord Label: One Stone
Review published: July 2010
Sweaty palm dramas arranged in reflective, Spector wall of sound lounge lizard living room confessions, singer-songwriter Joemca’s soul-baring, center stage persuasions convey earnest tourniquets to bleeding hearts and broken spirits, big issues reaping demons, incubating innuendos and remembering forgotten promises. Wrestling devils through heroic harmonies, Joemca negotiates complex confrontations into restlessly resolute pop-rock extravaganzas.
Reader Votes: 0
Final Thoughts
Brave the crowds and hear bands bravely playing new material. Soul-rockers BIG HEAD TODD AND THE MONSTERS bring the hip-swiveling, “Rocksteady,” to Wausau’s Wisconsin Valley Fair, petulant surf-punks FIGHT FAIR expose the feel-good frenzy, “California Kicks,” when Vans Warped Tour hits Milwaukee and relentlessly inventive electro-dance mix-masters DELOREAN stage their sizzling, sun-drenched, “Subiza,” at Chicago’s Pitchfork. Lastly, smug, bedroom pop-stars MINIATURE TIGERS present the sly, swooning, “Fortress,” at Chicago’s Lollapalooza.
