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Daniel hales, and the frost heaves. – “Contrariwise: Songs from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland & Through the Looking​-​Glass”

(Photo Credit: bandcamp)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Jabberwocky” “Contrariwise”

“Contrariwise” is, in a very loose term, a companion piece. The album was first performed (in my home state of Massachusetts) during a production of “Alice In Wonderland,” and was later released as an album. All but two of the seventeen tracks on the album are musical versions of Lewis Carroll’s poems found within the Alice works. The other two songs, “Contrariwise” and “(Push Them Into the) Wishing Well” were written by Daniel Hales, and co-exist in Carroll’s world. This album certainly isn’t for a commercial audience – it’s an ambitious and dense work that seeks to add more musicality to Carroll’s writing, and it’s largely successful.

Given that Carroll’s poems are often totally fantastical and even, at least in the case of “Jabberwocky,” total gibberish, you can’t exactly place this album under any one genre of music. At times it’s experimental, other times folksy, other times indie. The album’s one long song, “The White Knight’s Song,” feels like a 60’s folk song where the focus was on storytelling. “Beautiful Soup” is almost a ballad, while “Father William” brings guitars into a noisy ending, and “‘Tis the Voice of the Lobster” is almost a little psychedelic. Carroll’s words are usually reflected through the variety of music, although some songs are more straightforward. “Jabberwocky,” for one, leads off the album with a surprisingly straightforward indie ditty, but it is still one of the best songs on the album.

The band, in this iteration, consists of Hales on vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica and ukelele, James Lowe on bass, Ivan Ussach on drums and Anna Wetherby on viola. Daniel Kasnitz sings back-up vocals, and also credited are “the Looking Glass Creatures,” which happens to include Jeff Steblea. The band is swift throughout the album, often effortlessly switching between genres. The album, in many ways, feels similar to Steblea’s recent Mystics Anonymous, often blending straightforward indie/folk songs with more experimental works.

The band does a standout job at bringing Carroll’s words to life, and a great job expanding beyond their usual indie-folk sound into something more unpredictable. “Contrariwise” is a fun and ambitious album, if you’re looking for something like it. It won’t be something for everyone, but Carroll fans should take notice.

The physical and digital album and tracks are available here, and live videos, dates, merch and more are available here.

If you like this, try: As mentioned, the album loosely resembles the Mystics Anonymous album I recently reviewed, even having Steblea involved.

-By Andrew McNally

Ross Hammond – “Humanity Suite”

Grade: A-

It’s important to think of “Humanity Suite” not as a live piece of music, but as performance art, or even a score. Acclaimed guitarist Ross Hammond was invited to play at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. His performance coincided with an exhibit of the work of Kara Walker, whose honest works were largely known for black and white silhouettes, sometimes even over other artists’ works. Hammond did not know which works would be on display during the performance – so “Humanity Suite” acts as a score to exist alongside Walker’s broader themes. The free-form jazz album does not get as dark as some of Walker’s works, but it is every bit as diverse and frayed.

Unfortunately, I always stream music to review, so I was unable to fully appreciate what the physical LP is like, but I can imagine that it has a reluctant crispness to it. Releasing the Suite on vinyl (and with the cover, pictured above) was a throwback to jazz albums of the 70’s, the best of which had a very loose feel similar to Hammond’s.

The album’s loose feel is very intentional. Hammond scored outlines for six pieces, that were thematically consistent with both each other and Walker’s art. But many of the contributing musicians were not based in Sacramento, so each movement was left with a large amount of room for improvisation. What follows is two pieces, each in the 23 minute range (perfect for an LP), that are grounded in writing but take a new and stronger form through inviting and free improvisation. The beauty of this is that “Humanity Suite” has the right amount of restraint – the improvisation is based off pre-written rhythms, so it never goes off-the-rails, but it doesn’t just stick to a formula, either.

The musicians picked by Hammond are multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia, saxophonist Catherine Sikora, bassist Kerry Kashiwagi, trombonist Clifford Childers, and drummer Dax Compise. They sound fluid together, working off each other during improvisation, not against each other. Sikora gets a nice, extended feature around the nine minute mark of the first side, and everyone is given their moments to shine. Hammond himself isn’t always to be found on the first side, letting the other musicians have their moments. (The second side is more guitar-centric, though, at least at first).

“Humanity Suite” was recorded in front of a live audience, at the Crocker Art Museum. Having an audience present and audible helps the album have a smooth tone. “Humanity Suite” might be based around Walker’s art, but you don’t need her art to appreciate it. It is a standalone album – two winding compositions that know where to start and not where to end. Each side brings the listener through chaos and stability, loud and soft. “Humanity Suite” may have been composed as a companion piece, but it takes on a life of it’s own.

The album will be available on vinyl and as a digital download through Prescott Recordings on May 9th.

-By Andrew McNally

Aram Bajakian – “there were flowers also in hell”

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Texas Cannonball” “Requiem For 5 Pointz”

It’s almost easy to assume nowadays that a solo, instrumental guitarist will specialize in tender and light ballads that, while virtuosic, are usually pretty corny and repetitive. But that’s not what Aram Bajakian is about. Bajakian had been making a name for himself lately as the touring guitarist for the late Lou Reed. “there were flowers also in hell” proves that Bajakian is more than willing to step into fuzzy and noisy areas. The album opens up to a wide range of influences and emotions, often going for a more guttural response instead of a long-winded arc. There’s a lot going on, often switching flawlessly from fun rhythms to haunting melodies.

“Texas Cannonball” (an ode to Freddie King), and “Orbisonian” directly channel rockabilly bands of the past, with a hot guitar rhythm and uptempo bass and drums, provided by Shazhad Ismaily and Jerome Jennings, respectively. Bonus track “Cat Squirrel” is a lot of fun, too, as a lengthy jam. And “The Kids Don’t Want to Sleep” isn’t exactly a bundle of joy, but it’s noisy and has a pre-grunge remembrance to it.

But the album’s friendlier tracks are not the only standouts. “Requiem For 5 Pointz” sounds like a funeral, with a haunting echo and a slight clacking of what resemble bones. The song brings out a viscerally disturbing response, through what’s ultimately a quiet and simple guitar line. Likewise, “Medicaid Lullaby” has a perturbed feel to it, with an extra poetic sense. Elsewhere on the album, there’s ballads, rock songs, and songs on all sides of the emotional spectrum.

“flowers” is an instrumental album, but Bajakian doesn’t need any lyrics to tell his stories. Every one of the thirteen songs is distinctly different from the next. In fact, the only two that are similar are the two rockabilly throwbacks, and they’re both so fun that it doesn’t matter. He blends noise, rock, and jazz and many other elements without even really trying, or at least hiding it well if he is. Bajakian is a unique presence – enough of a solo presence to be expected at blues clubs, while enough of a amp-destroyer to be seen playing with noise-rock artists. “flowers” is a interesting listen for people of any genre, fans of instrumentals or not.

The album will be available on bandcamp on February 1st.

-By Andrew McNally

Obligatory Tediousness in Numerical Form,

Or “Best of 2013” lists. I’ve done an objective list of songs and albums, but I feel like my own blog deserves a more subjective (Kanye-less) list. I’ll save you from the normal “it’s been such an important year” intro and instead say that I am just one man, and I did not quite hit as many albums as I intended to this year. As I type I’m finally giving Pharmakon’s “Abandon” a proper listen. I never got to Eleanor Friedburger, A$ap Ferg, Kings of Leon, Fall Out Boy, or Chance the Rapper (etc). These lists are purely subjective, just the songs and albums I enjoyed the most this past year. Plus, I threw in some other stuff at the bottom.

Top 30 SONGS (album tracks included):

30. Phosphorescent – “Song For Zula”

29. Mwahaha – “Rivers and Their Teeth”

28. Pyyramids – “Don’t Go”

27. Roomrunner – “Wojtek”

26. Arcade Fire – “Normal Person”

25. Cold War Kids – “Lost That Easy”

24. Chippy Nonstop – “Bang Bang”

23. Deafheaven – “Dream House” (the most ferocious song of the year)

22. Lorde – “Team”

21. kitty – “R.R.E.A.M.” (the artist formerly known as Kitty Pryde)

20.  Grouplove – “Shark Attack”

19.  Queens of the Stone Age – “My God is the Sun”

18. A$ap Rocky (feat. Drake, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz) – “Fuckin’ Problems”

17. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Sacrilege”

16. Nine Inch Nails – “Copy of a”

15. FIDLAR – “Wake Bake Skate”

14. The Naked and Famous – “Hearts Like Ours”

13. Chelsea Light Moving – “Alighted”

12. Lorde – “Royals”

11. Waxahatchee – “You’re Damaged” (the saddest song of the year???)

10. Savages – “I Am Here”

9. Foals – “Providence”

8. Janelle Monae – “Dance Apocalyptic”

7. James Blake – “Voyeur”

6. Lakutis – “Too Ill For the Law”

5. The National – “Sea of Love”

4. J Roddy Walston and the Business – “Heavy Bells”

3. Pissed Jeans – “Bathroom Laughter”

2. Parquet Courts – “Stoned and Starving”

1. Savages – “She Will”

For your convenience, I made a Spotify playlist of 28 of these tracks (“R.R.E.A.M.” and “Too Ill For the Law” are not up, Youtube them).

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Top 30 ALBUMS:

30. Frightened Rabbit – “Pedestrian Verse”

29. Body/Head – “Coming Apart”

28. Sky Ferreira – “Night Time, My Time”

27. Franz Ferdinand – “Right Thoughts Right Words Right Actions”

26. Roomrunner – “Ideal Cities”

25. The Flaming Lips – “The Terror”

24. Future of the Left – “How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident”

23. Phoenix – “Bankrupt!”

22. Phosphorescent – “Muchacho”

21. Foals – “Holy Fire”

20. Arcade Fire – “Reflektor” (If I separated them by disc, disc 1 would be top 10, disc 2 wouldn’t crack the top 50)

19. Melt-Banana – “fetch”

18. Parquet Courts – “Light Up Gold + Tally Up All the Things That You Broke”

17. Danny Brown – “Old”

16. David Bowie – “The Next Day”

15. A$ap Rocky – “LONG.LIVE.A$AP”

14. Lorde – “Pure Heroine”

13. Deafheaven – “Sunbather”

12. The National – “Trouble Will Find Me”

11. The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die – “Whenever, If Ever”

10. Vampire Weekend – “Modern Vampires of the City”

9. Daft Punk – “Random Access Memories”

8. Waxahatchee – “Cerulean Salt”

7. Savages – “Silence Yourself”

6. Streetlight Manifesto – “The Hands That Thieve”

5. kitty – “D.A.I.S.Y. rage EP” (an EP, but I can’t resist including it)

4. Chelsea Light Moving – “Chelsea Light Moving”

3. Pissed Jeans – “Honeys”

2. FIDLAR – “FIDLAR”

1. Foxygen – “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic”

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OTHER CRAP:

Best album cover – Deafheaven – “Sunbather”

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Worst album cover – TIE – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Mosquito,” Black Flag – “What The…”

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5 (or 6) Great Songs From Bad Albums-

5. “Twin Size Mattress” – the Front Bottoms

4. “I Wear Black” – Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin

3. “Mind Your Matters” – Pearl Jam

2. “Cut Me Some Slack” and “Your Wife Is Calling” from the Sound City – Real to Reel compilation

1. “Sacrilege”, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

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Best Album Titles:

5. Ty Segall – “Sleeper”

4. Alkaline Trio – “My Shame Is True”

3. Cold War Kids – “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts”

2. David Bowie – “The Next Day”

1. Marnie Stern – “The Chronicles of Marnia”

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5 Most Disappointing Albums:

5. Laura Stevenson – “Wheel” (Her previous two albums were inviting, but I felt an unintentionally cold alienation from this release. Laura, if you see this, I love your music more than anything, keep on goin’ and ignore me)

4. Lady Gaga – “ARTPOP”

3. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Mosquito”

2. The Front Bottoms – “Talon of the Hawk” (Their previous is one of my top 10 all-time favorites; this was almost unlistenable)

1. Jay-Z – “Magna Carta Holy Grail” (Total shit. And Jay-Z has all of my personal information because I was dumb enough to download the app)

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Best still-no-new-album-come-on-guys: Brand New

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10 Great Debut LPs (or are, to the best of my knowledge, debut LPs):

10. I Kill Giants – “I Kill Giants”

9. CHVRCHES – “The Bones of What You Believe”

8. Mwahaha – “Mwahaha”

7. Parquet Courts – “Light Up Gold + Tally All the Things You Broke”

6. A$ap Rocky – “LONG.LIVE.A$AP”

5. Lorde – “Pure Heroine”

4. The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die – “Whenever, If Ever”

3. Chelsea Light Moving – “Chelsea Light Moving”

2. Savages – “Silence Yourself”

1. FIDLAR – “FIDLAR”

I messed up that last list. Whatever, I’m really tired. Here’s to a strong 2014 and so on, and so on.

Beyonce – “Beyonce”

(Photo Credit: thisisrnb)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Mine” “Flawless”

Long live the queen. Beyonce caused an internet explosion the other night by nonchalantly dropping sixteen new songs (and videos) on iTunes, with no promotion or even any announcements. How no one knew it was going to happen is still astounding. Magazines and websites have taken down their year-end lists and re-tooled them accordingly. She is in no way the first to do it, Death Grips did the exact same just a few weeks back (also with video – and there’s was free), but this album is different. Its lack of a title and unannounced release back up the album’s theme of self-confidence and self-realization. At sixteen songs and a few minutes past an hour, it doesn’t always keep the listener interested, but it’s diverse sonically and consistent thematically.

This album is a little tough to classify. It’s pop, it’s R&B, it’s hip-hop. But unlike most genre-mixes like this, “Beyonce” has a mission statement, bringing lessons about mixing fun and family with a feminist touch. Beyonce has been married since ’08, and she sings a message about being independent within a marriage. There’s tracks about partying, tracks about a strong, independent composure and still, on “Drunk On Love,” lines about remedial marriage chores like doing the dishes. “Beyonce” is devoted to teaching feminism as an internal motivator, teaching that it is as much about self-confidence as it is equality. The album’s lyrics don’t always hold up, but when she is upfront (especially in the album’s latter half), they’re very strong.

There’s only five guest spots across sixteen songs on the album, cementing the album as a Beyonce effort – she’s front and center (as if we were unsure of it at all). Frank Ocean’s majestic talent is again wasted in a meaningless role, as it was on John Mayer’s recent album. But Drake shines in the very respectful song “Mine,” where he takes both a rhythmic background and a strong forefront in his verses. The other three guest spots hardly constitute as “guest spots” – Jay-Z gets a verse in “Drunk On Love,” as song about their marriage, Blue Ivy Carter’s voice is mysteriously droned in a finale song about Blue Ivy Carter, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gets sampled reading her poem, “We Should All Be Feminists” on “Flawless.”

So Beyonce establishes herself as the queen we already saw her is. The promotion works, the well-placed guest spots work, and her lyrical narrative is largely strong. Is the music actually good? Yes. Of course it is. Bey raps on “Drunk On Love,” and raps well. She boasts “I sneezed on a beat and the beat got sicker” on “Yonce.” She’s alternately sweet, on “Superpower,” booming on “Rocket,” pained on “No Angel,” and funky on the Pharrell-produced “Blow.” In other words, she’s human. She has a bunch of inconsistent and complementing emotions, that come through in a set of consistent beliefs. She believes in herself; she believes in all of us. “Beyonce” isn’t so much an album as it is a reflection of Beyonce as a person. Which is probably why the nameless album has been dubbed “Beyonce.” In a world filled with celebrity feuds, drama and boasts, Beyonce and Jay-Z have established themselves as the power couple – rich, powerful, respectfully boastful, and talented, while remaining focused on family and marriage. But Jay-Z’s 2013 contribution was a forgettable release, while “Beyonce” is not. It’s doubtful that they’re competing at all, but if they are, then Beyonce is winning.

-By Andrew McNally

Some Quick Reviews – “Other Albums”

Sometimes, I’ll listen to a new release and definitely feel ways about it, but I just can’t quite put them into words. So here’s some quick blast reviews because there’s been a number lately that have been worthy of praise but that I haven’t been able to come up with reviews of:

Swearin’ – “Surfing Strange” – B+:  It’s tough to call this album ‘punk,’ even in an era where the definition of the word differs person to person. It’s pretty, often soft and incredibly different from song to song. What it is, really, is great songwriting. The Crutchfield sisters (Allison, in this band, and Katie, the sole member of Waxahatachee) have yet to put out a remotely subpar album between them. Swearin’ is one of the best bands around today, so take note.

Haim – “Days Are Gone” – B+: As a whole, the album seems really repetitive. Every song sounds pretty similar. But when you listen to it track-by-track, you’ll realize that each song has a lot of time and effort on it, and that this trio of sisters are very talented songwriters and musicians. It almost sounds like music your parents like – and it probably is. But it’s catchy and original, give them your time.

The Naked and Famous – “In Rolling Waves” – B-:  “In Rolling Waves” isn’t a unique album, and it doesn’t try to be. It’s just a collection of largely good, dance songs. The album isn’t very memorable, but it’s easy to enjoy. “Hearts Like Ours” is one of my favorite songs of the year.

CHVRCHES – “The Bones Of What You Believe” – A-:  Much in the vain of the Naked and Famous, every song on this album is synth-driven and it all kind of sounds the same, but it’s an incredibly energetic album for something so catchy. Very great debut.

Tancred – “Tancred” – B-:  “Tancred” is a pretty great blending of emo, punk and folk influences. Everything sounds great on the album – it’s just all over a little too soon.

Best Coast – “Fade Away” – B: Being someone that’s not a big fan of the band, and given that it’s an EP, I couldn’t accurately say why I really enjoyed this release. But it’s just an entertaining listen, a good step for the band. Their songwriting has improved consistently, and they’re feeling comfortable as a weird, garage-rock/dream-pop mix.

Parquet Courts – “Tally All the Things That You Broke” – B+: This follow-up EP to their debut (which also came out this year – one of the best albums of the year) slows things down a bit and gets more detective. Even though it’s unexpected, it all works. Parquet Courts, a throwback garage band out of NYC, are a band I consider to be one of the best in American music today. This EP only bolsters that.

Chumped – “Chumped” – A-: It’s tough to stand out in pop-punk, but Chumped’s energetic and smart music make for a release much better than most of the schlock in the genre. It’s another great debut in an already pretty full year. Also, they’re great people. That always helps.

AFI – “Burials” – B-: I started writing a review for “Burials” the day it came out. It’s a few weeks later, sorry guys. What I had said so far was that AFI, for the first time in their career, sound like they have no barriers to conquer. So they’ve combined their 90’s hardcore punk with their ’00’s emo into what’s a largely entertaining album. It’s arena-rock ambitions are on an awful level similar to Muse and the Killers, but the band doesn’t always go there. When they’re just being themselves, it feels comfortable and zeitgeist-less, and it feels right. They stray away from that comfort zone too frequently, but it’s got all the gloom you expect from an AFI album, with a renewed energy.

Death Grips – “Government Plates”

(Photo Credit: Pitchfork)

Grade: B-

Key Tracks: “You might think he loves you for your money but I know what he really loves you for it’s your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat”  “Birds”

Let me say that I was one of the many people complaining that last year’s album “The Money Store” felt too conventional. Sure, it had some of the best songs the band has recorded, and it still felt like genuine Death Grips, but there was that worry that signing to a major label had influenced the band to gravitate towards more radio-friendly hip-hop. Well, we were proven wrong later that year by “No Love Deep Web,” as the band leaked the album online just to spite EMI (and the famously explicit cover image). Well “Government Plates” is the most experimental album they’ve done yet – but it goes in the other direction. For the first time, MC Ride and Zach Hill take a back seat to Flatlander. The music is the focus on this album, and while it’s still urgent and shocking, it doesn’t exactly feel necessary.

My favorite Death Grips song is “Blood Creepin’,” the last song on their original (and perfect) mixtape “Ex-Military,” pretty much because it’s their loudest song. MC Ride’s scream-rapping over Flatlander’s alternately pretty and distorted synth is just a pure assault on the ears. There’s no assaulting on this album. MC Ride is barely present on some songs. It’s all about the experimentation, and Flatlander does a decent job staying abrasive without ever treading into EDM or anything, but the band could’ve pushed a little farther. The opener, whose title is taken from Bob Dylan’s “Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat” is so drenched in a synth rhythm that it’s impossible not to dance, with your mouth on the floor. But the next song, “Anne Bonny,” just doesn’t live up. For the first time, the album feels centered around a few songs instead of a cohesive effort. The pre-released “Birds” is certainly a stand out, subtle but the most experimental song on the album. And they end strong, with the winding “Whatever I Want (F**k Who’s Watching).” But the songs in between should be better. They’re never bad – they’re just sort of there.

The best example of how different this album is would be the song “Big House.” The song starts with a loopy, 80’s synth rhythm. Despite being under two and a half minutes, MC Ride doesn’t show up until the :52 mark. There’s a lot more music on this album, as the group further continues to question what it means to be a hip-hop band. It was inevitable that they would investigate the other side of the spectrum. MC Ride and Zach Hill being less of a presence on this album feels very intentional, because it’s just as challenging as anything they’ve done before. While it’s not challenging on the ears, it shakes the very foundations of hip-hop by having the frontman often take a backseat, and to have songs drop senses of rhythm for experimentation.

That said, I’m really not on board with the lack of Zach Hill on this album. He’s barely present. He’s easily one of the best drummers working today, and he could’ve done some very original work on this album, but there’s so little percussion.

It has yet to be announced if this is an actual Death Grips album or if this is the soundtrack they’ve allegedly been working on for Zach Hill’s film. Frankly, it could go either way. It almost feels like a soundtrack – it’s got a slight disconnect amongst the songs, with a strong beginning and end – but it’s a good listen no matter which it is. I can’t say Death Grips fans will love it on first listen, and I didn’t. But it might grow after some revisits. It’s just as different as everything they’ve done prior to now – they’re making the same statements. It isn’t quite as enjoyable, but it’s certainly not bad. They’re not songs you’ll be singing to yourself, they’re not songs that EMI would approve of, and they’re head-scratchers. And really, that what Death Grips is striving to be. The album doesn’t play out like it hopes to, and it’s more unmemorable than memorable. It’s still Death Grips, though, and by this point, I don’t think I could live without them.

Future of the Left – “how to stop your brain in an accident”

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Grade: B+

Key Tracks: “bread, cheese, bow and arrow” “donny of the decks”

Some bands take a few albums to really find their groove. FotL’s first two albums – “Curses” and “Travel With Myself and Another” – are great releases, but they seem tame compared to 2012’s “the plot against common sense.” That album, another one of my 10 favorites*, has an unfiltered and relentless energy, sparked by production that’s both rough and loud. Very, very loud. The band’s post-hardcore is very metrical, a meter that sometimes is too fast to function. But this album is different. Their fourth album takes the tempo down, resulting in a more balanced release.

Now, that deserves an explanation. FotL has been one of the angriest bands in all of music. mclusky was an angry band, and when they broke up, some members formed the even angrier Future of the Left. Their music is satirical and politically-charged, taking on everyone from low-level British politicians to the queen herself. 2012’s “failed olympic bid” investigated the consequences of British athletes failing to qualify for their own Olympics. By saying their new album is a little slowed down, I’m not trying to imply they’ve softened. Now that they’re an independent band, they can be as motivated as they went. Their titles alone conjure a Dead Kennedys type shock reaction – “she gets passed around at parties,” “things to say to friendly policemen,” and, fittingly, “how to spot a record company.” The anger, the yelling, the satire, even bits of talking are all included and as strong as they always have been.

They’ve only slowed down musically. Opening track “bread, cheese, bow and arrow” starts off with a rhythm slower than all but one from “plot against.” But it’s a menacing riff, one that calls back to the beginning of “Arming Eritrea.” Slower and longer songs give the band some extra room to flesh out their ideas, which only brings out the anger more. A handful of songs are still blisteringly fast, but it’s more mixed this time around. The final song, “why aren’t i going to hell?” even has – gasp – an acoustic guitar. The synthesizer, oddly enough, has been downplayed (much to the chagrin of mclusky fans), but it is still a more varied listen than what we’ve come to expect.

I’ve had the pleasure to see this band three times (once in ’07, twice in ’12, the second of which was the tour with Andrew Jackson Jihad) and they’ve put on easily three of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I bought a shirt last time, that guitarist Jimmy Watkins accidentally spilled a beer on almost instantly. I’ve never been able to stop emphasizing my love for this band. “how to stop your brain in an accident” isn’t as instantly memorable as their previous album, but it showcases what the band is about just as well. And this batch of fourteen songs are like their old ones – probably best appreciated live. Don’t expect to hear for a few days.

If you like this, try: Maybe because I’ve been listening to it a lot later, but Jay Reatard’s “Blood Visions.” Miss you, Jay.

* – I’ve mentioned about 6 of my 10 favorite albums lately. It’s just coincidence, honestly, I try to keep my “10 favorite” down to 20 and not 100.

Lee Ranaldo and the Dust – “Last Night on Earth”

(Photo Credit: whenyoumotoraway)

Grade: C

Key Tracks: “Lecce, Leaving” “Blackt Out”

I’ve written already about the sad and sudden break-up of one of my favorite bands, Sonic Youth. One thing that isn’t surprising about the break-up is that the members have stayed prevalent in music, all approaching different projects with their own freedom. What is surprising, though, is that Lee Ranaldo was the quickest to release anything. Thurston Moore’s new band Chelsea Light Moving channels a more energetic Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon’s new duo Body/Head lets Gordon dig much deeper into the experimental drones she pushed for before. (Both debuts were near-perfect.) But Lee Ranaldo – Sonic Youths’ “third voice” released a solo album last fall, before either Moore or Gordon had music out. “Between the Times and the Tides” was a largely successful output, predictably combining typical structure with more noisy influences. He’s already got a second album out, with a new backing band.

And with this new, full, backing band (that includes Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley), Ranaldo sticks to more traditional rock structures, at times even resembling a Doobie Brothers type folk-rock. There is less experimentation, but it is definitely intentional. Ranaldo has always been less focused on a specific idea than his Youth bandmates, which can result in albums that vary wildly in both content and quality. “Last Night on Earth” is faulty – his combinations of influences feel a little more awkward and inconsistent.

“Lecce, Leaving,” the opening song, is one of the times where two contrasting ideas really work. It starts as a typical folkish-rock song, but has a long period of hyper-energy guitar build-up, calling back to early 90’s Youth. But otherwise, occasional noise influences and psychedelic bridges don’t really fit into the conventional structures of the song. “The Rising Tide” has a moderately short bit of psychedelia in its middle that fits well, but the multi-minute bookends that surround it (the song is 9+ minutes) make it seem too short. Luckily, the final song, “Blackt Out” (at 12 minutes) seems to completely regain Ranaldo’s experimentation, making a noisy and winding song that’s equal parts fun and fitting for the album’s end.

The main criticism of the album should probably fall on its length. The album is over and hour, at nine songs averaging around 7 minutes. Nearly every song feels a little too long, and when not every idea works, then the album should’ve been slimmed down a little. It’s a long listen, and one that isn’t always engaging.

Ranaldo himself still sounds good. His half-singing fits in the album and he always sounds gleefully comfortable to be fronting his own project. The album is lacking some of his insane guitar, but to hear Ranaldo at the forefront is enough of a pleasure. “Last Night on Earth” isn’t a great album – it suffers from it’s own length, and a full band going with Ranaldo’s noise-folk ideas sounds often sounds unnatural – but it is a decent listen. Devoted fans of the noise side of Sonic Youth might not find much to like, but their not the target audience. Ranaldo, as he always does, is simply doing what he wants to. And although it isn’t his best release, it’s great enough that he’s still recording and getting the chances to just do what he wants.

-By Andrew McNally

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band – “Take Me to the Land of Hell”

(Photo Credit: hasitleaked.com)

Grade: A-

Key Tracks: “Moonbeams,” “7th Floor”

Avant garde has never sounded this groovy. Yoko Ono has never taken too much of a break, musically. But this album is the second in four years for the Plastic Ono Band, whose last proper release before 2009 was in 1973 and featured John Lennon. Ono’s music is tough to predict – it can exist anywhere from feminist poetry, noise recordings with Sonic Youth members, or this album, an unpredictable but catchy record. No, it isn’t radio-proper, but it finds a consistent groove early on and only breaks from it to get some avant garde freakouts.

Opening track “Moonbeams” nears six minutes, and pushes the volume until it is a loud and shrieking track, but one that still finds a little rhythm. The two tracks that follow, “Cheshire Cat Cry” and “Tabetai” calm down and settle into a weird and rhythmic pattern. the follow-up, “Bad Dancer,” is lyrically and musically the most conventional song on the album, with a funky rhythm that doesn’t really stray away. The album keeps up with this weirdly successful combination for a number of tracks, until the haunting piano ballad title track. The album meddles just a little too long in slow songs, but the final, “Shine, Shine” is a frantic and experimental bit that wraps it all up nicely.

“Take Me to the Land of Hell” settles much closer to Nico on the avant garde spectrum – pop with the unsettling dissonance seeping in. Only this album is far more upbeat and diverse than anything on “Chelsea Girl.” Ono’s vocals are right for the album, and her backing band create a perfect avant garde-pop background. Contributions from guests like Lenny Kravitz, Questlove and the two surviving Beastie Boys go unnoticed as part of an ensemble, but what the ensemble presents is a fun, intense performance piece that takes both the rhythms of pop-rock and the experimental nature of poetic avant-garde.

If you like this, try: I mentioned it already, Nico’s legendary 1967 album “Chelsea Girl.”

-By Andrew McNally