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20 Music Reviews

Jamie Barnes, Honey From the Ribcage (Silber)

Jamie Barnes' second album is haunted by darker thoughts than the gentle, comforting folk-pop surfaces might suggest to casual listeners. The first track, "Second Guess My Own", is a gorgeous seeking of support during times of self-doubt. As the album continues, depression and past tragedies are the ghosts that run underneath Barnes' careful, pretty songs, which are as sublime as those on his debut The Fallen Acrobat, yet musically more diverse and lyrically even more complicated. Honey... seems thoroughly haunted by violence, by religion, by lies and sadness and confusion and betrayal. But underneath is also a bitter yet still living hope for better things, for a human connection that might ease the pain. "I hope that you can hear me now / and all the things that are difficult to utter," Barnes sings. Honey From the Ribcage takes on difficult subjects in a brave way, making the already well-crafted and pretty songs all the more meaningful. - dave heaton

Blockhead, Downtown Science (Ninja Tune)

Downtown Science, the follow-up to Music By Cavelight, to the debut album by Blockhead, also known as Tony Simon, is a tribute to downtown Manhattan,where he grew up and he has lived up to now. The record mirrors an urban environment, with its hip-hop nuances, but it is also enriched by lyrical atmospheres. Indeed, opening track "Expiration Date" is a sort of soulful mix of jazzy, funky and trip-hop music with lyrics sung by a warm voice; "Roll Out The Red Carpet" is an epic and cinematic track; "Quiet Storm" is a beautifully orchestrated soundscape and "The First Snowfall" is a dark ode completed by an emotional sax. The CD release also includes a DVD featuring the winners of a film-making competition by Ninja Tune for Music By Cavelight, so you can enjoy Blockhead musically and visually. - anna battista

Coldcut, Everything Is Under Control (Ninja Tune)

First single taken from forthcoming album Sound Mirrors, from the most dynamic duo of the global music scene. Matt Black and Jonathan More AKA Coldcut have indeed been going for years, yet they still retain the freshest and most original approach to music. " Everything Is Under Control" is a typical cut'n'paste hit a la Coldcut enriched by two special guests, Jon Spencer (from the Blues Explosion) and iconoclastic hip-hop figure Mike Ladd. The single is made up of raw vocals and rock'n'roll guitars, plus a pure explosion of angry hip-hop beats. This EP also contains five mixes by DJ Kentaro, Trevor Jackson, Solid Groove, Coldcut themselves and The Qemists, who give the tack a heavy d'n'b flavour. It's good to know that everything is really under control in Coldcut's life, after all they're still the unrivalled kings of cut'n'paste music. - anna battista

Elliott the Letter Ostrich, Blood Cape (Asaurus)

The singer sounds like a fresh-faced kid, but he's issuing a dark warning: "I'm gonna be your big Dracula / riding on a big old horse / and raising the undead". Bats are swooping in the background, as he's promising to put hell-hounds on our trail. But then there's also the jumpy synthesizers, very 1980s and not especially scary, but a lot of fun. Welcome to the cheeky gothic world of Blood Cape. It's the perfect album for October 31, cause it's got that horror-movie mood but is also as hilarious as the most ill-fitting and ridiculous Halloween costume. Take that first song, still: "They say I'm no good for you / that I'm in it for the blood / but they're just player hatin'". "Shake It in the Uh Huh Huh" is the "Monster Mash" party jam for Halloween 05, complete with Frankenstein Elvis voice and everything. There's some great vampire love songs, some honestly melancholy synth-pop moments from the victims' perspectives, a rockabilly enticement to join in the blood-sucking fun, and the nicely titled "Eat Yourself So You Can Be Invisible" - it's all here. All in all, a rollicking, blood-soaked good time will be had by all. - dave heaton

Cameron Ember, Good Things Happen...to Bad People (self-released)

The opening track on California singer/songwriter Cameron Ember's latest EP is called "Dear America", and with a melancholy tone and lyrics confessing to bad deeds and pleading for help, it comes off more like a requiem for a broken America than a new national anthem. Ember's singing voice is riveting here and on the other three tracks. Though some have more memorable melodies than others, each is enticing in its own way; for example, "Seattle" has me captured less by hooks than with lyrics like "boyfriends can teach you / all about check fraud." "Dear Captain" steps slowly through an enticingly moody fog of hurt feelings, crushed dreams, and dashed expectations, in a small town that on the surface stands for good ("a church on every corner / a flag on every porch"). Ember's stories from Americana always end in hurt, in tears, in emptiness. Her songs display a sensitivity to human suffering, and a knack for conveying it in song. - dave heaton

Fax, Collaborations & Remixes (Static Discos)

Fax has his own style of electronic music: rhythmic and minimalist, sleek and stylish, cool yet not cold. Collaborations & Remixes is exactly what its title indicates. Here Fax is working with an international batch of other talented electronic musicians, in a way that makes it impossible to tell where one artist's efforts end and another's begins. Yet each work is riveting, full of atmosphere and feeling. The Mike Shannon remix "Et Cetera" bounces into a danceable groove, repeating tones resonating in a playful yet firm way. Label-mates Pepito join Fax for the blissful echo chamber pop song "Rocket". The Ultra-Red remix "Cerca del Otro Lado (F-15)" plays around with sticks in a riveting way, while counting down to a street party. Actually, the whole album has the feeling of a party, one based on celebrating connections and conversations among cutting-edge electronic musicians. - dave heaton

Milo Jones, Lifeline (self-released)

Milo Jones croons his little country songs in this sideways manner, sort of romantic, sound of crazy, sort of haggard. It's like if Townes Van Zandt, Nick Drake, and some sleazy European playboy morphed into one person and then that person became a character in a hard-boiled detective novel. In other words, on Lifeline he covers Lee Hazelwood, Serge Gainsbourg, and Randy Newman right in a row, and his own songs feel like they might side with any of them (or more likely, all of them at once). Which is all just to say that Jones is unique, that his music sounds both of the gutter and of the plains. It's romantic and airy, but also very gritty, very real. The music on Lifeline is timeless, meaning both that it soulds old and new at once and that the album stretches out in front of you in a way that's so easy to get lost in. - dave heaton

Larsen, Play (Important Records)

Om Play, Italian enigma Larsen has formed its sound into something more cohesive and smooth, than on their enticingly scattered Young God debut Rever. Cohesive and smooth, but still exciting, for the mysterious and all-encompassing mood they create, the beautiful stillness they can generate, and the occasional powerful shifts forward in intensity. Play is an unused film soundtrack by Morricone devotees, or a 'post-rock' album by hermits who weren't aware of current rock trends anyhow, or a work by some slightly twisted souls who got booted from a classical orchestra for too much experimenting, or the dreams that mad artists dream when they need a rest and are gently tripping off of paint fumes. - dave heaton

Lotek Hi-Fi, Mixed Blessings and Mixtape Blessings (Ninja Tune)

Lotek Hi-Fi is basically a sort of music-crazed Cerberus, a three-headed monster, the result of three enlightened musical minds: long-time Roots Manuva collaborator Wayne 'Lotek' Bennett, Wayne Paul and Aurelius. Their mix of ideas and inspirations has now generated an album that can be considered as a series of blessings, which is also how Lotek Hi-Fi consider the history of Black music. Mixed Blessings is definitely inspired by a wide range of influences, from classic hip-hop (as "How It Go" featuring Sandra Melody proves), to classic reggae with a touch of jazz (check out "Sticks & Stones"), from classical music ("Showdown") to ragga-disco ("Move Ya Ting" featuring Roots Manuva). Though the three artists that form this combo are unique in their own ways, their distinctive elements and features combine perfectly in this release. For those who can't have enough of Lotek Hi-Fi there's also Mixtape Blessings, a collection featuring Roots Manuva, Shadowless, Shlomo and many more, mixed by Dee J A La Fu & Lotek, an explosion of samples, pumping basslines, pure reggae and hip-hop. - anna battista

The Montgolfier Brothers, Journey's End (Vespertine & Son)

The first new material since 2002's The World Is Flat (Poptones) by The Montgolfier Brothers (AKA Roger Quigley and Mark Tranmer) is a 4-track CD featuring two bonus videos. Opening with the quiet and soothing, yet beautifully nostalgic "Journey's End" (there won't be many listeners who will be able to contain themselves and not cry while The Montgolfiers sing "Sky-lines change, memories still remain/Some friends stay, some make their escape…"), this single also contains the instrumental "Bridestones Revisited", and the poetic tracks "Koffee Pot Blues" and "Koffee Pot Brass", the latter featuring a languid guitar that sounds like water rippling on the calm surface of a lake. To listen to when night falls on everything outside your window and you're still wandering around the streets of your town, perhaps feeling a bit nostalgic, possibly while in a state of drunken stupor. A new thrilling musical journey by The Montgolfier Brothers. - anna battista

The Montgolfier Brothers, All My Bad Thoughts (Vespertine & Son)

Follow-up to Seventeen Stars (Vespertine, 1999) and The World Is Flat (Poptones, 2002), All My Bad Thoughts shows that time might have passed, but The Montgolfier Brothers still preserve their good inspirations and talent, though the mood of the songs has shifted. Indeed, there might still be laments for failed relationships in this album, but there is more attention to places and in particular to a place, The Montgolfiers' Manchester: it's through the 10 songs featured in this album that Quigley and Tranmer watch their world change with eyes full of nostalgia. Quigley and Tranmer also introduce in this release Dave Campion, who in "Quite An Adventure" tells the story of an early '50s Manchester. Honourable mention goes to the sweet "The First Rumours of Spring", the single "Journey's End" and the doomed "It's Over, It's Ended, It's Finished, It's Done". Introspective and nostalgic All My Bad Thoughts is the perfect release for this autumn. - anna battista

New Estate, Considering... (Kittridge Records)

Do you like hearing a catchy, pretty pop melody peek its way through a cloud of fuzz created by loud rock n' roll instruments? I sure do. New Estate's debut kicks off with some great moments like this: ragged glory. Songs like "Open" have a great f-you edge to them, but also pure pop sweetness, and I love that combination. "Free Sherry" slows things down, but with a thick wall of guitars still that toughens up Mia Schoen's impassioned singing. They don't hide behind a big sound, though, either - as the album proceeds the sound often gets leaner and cleaner, and the songs are still melodic and full of passion and grit. And they're still played wildly, like we like it. - dave heaton

NMS , Imperial Letters of Protection (Ninja Tune)

NMS stands for "Nephlim Modulation Sessions", sessions recorded by former Company Flow member Bigg Jus and Californian avant-rap legend Orko Elohiem. Influenced by contemporary events such as the war in Iraq and the ever-present image of capitalistic and demented icons of powers such as George W. Bush, the duo recorded the first instalment of their sessions, entitled Wore To Thee O Land Whose King Is A Child, in 2003. The second instalment is now out: entitled Imperial Letters of Protection, this release by NMS has a strong political message and examines the concept of freedom and liberty, with apocalyptic tracks such as "Chess With The Galaxies", "Evacuate The White House" and "Get Him Signed". Classic hip-hop meets angry and energetic beats in this album which is definitely one of the best political and most radical records around. If Chomsky would write songs, this is what he would write about. - anna battista

Novillero, Aim Right for the Holes in Their Lives (Mint Records)

"The laissez-faire system is not quite working out..." Right from the first words of Novillero's latest album you can tell that they've got the problems of the world on their mind, that they're on a mission, with corporate fatcats and greedy politicians and war-mongers in their sights. Their ammunition, as on their fine debut The Brindleford Follies, is punchy, muscular, '70s-influenced power-pop, with horns and piano helping form a big, big sound. Their music sounds like a party, but it's also a party with a purpose. They're rebels with intent, but they're also not lecturing, just rocking the house up and down while making some thoughtful points about changing the world along the way. - dave heaton

One Self, Paranoid (Ninja Tune)

One Self is London-raised, St Petersburg-born DJ Vadim, MCs Blu Rum13, a New York native who's spent time in Canada, and Yarah Bravo, whose mother came from Chile, father from Brazil, and was born and raised in Sweden. The three came together while Vadim was touring under the experimental banner of The Russian Percussion, while both Blu Rum13 and Yarah Bravo were collaborating with artists such as TTC, Canibus, Luke Vibert and Kid Koala. " Paranoid" is their latest single taken from their smashing debut album Children of Possibility. The three versions of the single featured on this release are all different from the original one: there is a 12" version, a psychedelic dub version by J Star, probably the most apt for parties and dance nights, and the instrumental version of the single. There is also a new track here, "Come Along", another cool song that confirms that One Self are among the most daring sonic explorers around. - anna battista

Roots Manuva, Awfully De/Ep EP (Ninja Tune)

Roderick Manuva returns with an EP partially inspired by the magnificent Awfully Deep album. Opening with the brand new track, 'Seat Yourself' featuring Ricky Ranking, the EP also includes a remix of the same track courtesy of Diplo - who recently produced work for Kano and M.I.A. and remixed Gwen Stefani; 'Awfully Deep (Lambeth Blues)', a studio live re-work of the title track of the LP that also features Damon Albarn playing the piano (Manuva and Albarn met when the former appeared on the Gorillaz album) and the Metronomy remix of the same track courtesy of ex-rock drummer Joseph Mount. A very raw, yet emotional release. - anna battista

Secret Annexe, What Is It About This Place? (Ocelot Records)

Kicking off with a nice road song called "Directions to Tomorrow", the Baton Rouge-based band Secret Annexe's debut album is from start to finish a really solid pop-rock album. Nothing innovative, nothing that's going to make heads turn, but enjoyable and consistent. There's a rustic American feeling to these songs, which on the whole are about moving from place to place, trying to find somewhere that feels like home. There's a road on the cover for a reason, plus songs with titles like "Weekend Trips" and "Song About Leaving" (parts one and two). The occasional high-drama flourishes, like on "The Fatal Glory of Steamboat Racing", feel less successful than when the band's just rolling along with another melodic and sensitive pop-rock number, for the road. - dave heaton

Skalpel, Konfusion (Ninja Tune)

Second album on Ninja Tune for this extremely original Polish duo. Skalpel aim with Konfusion to introduce the listener to the roots of Eastern European '60s-'70s jazz and they do it with tons of style and class, reinventing it and presenting it in deeper and darker tones. If 'Shivers' is a subtly sensual, sophisticated jazz and lounge fantasy, 'Flying Officer' is a sexy jazz tune spiced up by a beautiful sax; the funky 'Test Drive' could be the soundtrack for a spy film while 'Split' is experimental jazz at its best. Skalpel's new release radiates a gamut of feelings, a sort of eerie introspection mixed with emotionally potent tracks. Konfusion also contains a bonus disc featuring remixes of Skalpel's tracks by Quantic, Dr Rubberfunk and Amalgamation of Soundz. Skalpel's latest album is undoubtedly the most original and funky release of the year. Compelling. - anna battista

Skeletons & the Girl-Faced Boys, "Git" (Ghostly International)

A sci-fi jam band seemingly inspired by P-Funk, Afrobeat, and Kraftwerk, Skeletons & the Girl-Faced Boys are trying to start some kind of global street party. Their synth-and-guitar music moves forward with a lopsided sort of force, as voices float, twist, mutate, bounce from sincerity to obscurity and back. Sometimes they'll conjure up a weird storm cloud of sound, and then twist it into either a funk jam or a fairly straightforward and sweet pop song. Alternately they seem weirder than you expect and more normal than they appear. And occasionally they stumble onto a kitchen-sink future-funk sound that's real exciting. - dave heaton

The Young Untold, self-titled ep (Yellow Mica Recordings)

Indie-pop nerds will recognize The Young Untold by the band members' first names, as listed in the liner notes: Ara, Jen and Stew. Yep, The Young Untold's frontman Ara Hacopian, sometimes Boyracer member, and for this record its other two members are also from that illustrious DIY punk-pop group. The Young Untold's self-titled EP taps into that same energy, with 5 great rough-and-tumble pop songs, played quick, fast and with heart. Breaking up Ara's originals is a fantastic cover of Television Personalities' moving "Someone to Share My Life With." But the originals are great too, starting with the power-packed opener "Chicken in a Basket," with a great bass-line melody, and continuing on through to the closing pick-up song, "Persistence". - dave heaton


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