Short Attention Span Record Reviews Sep 2017 - Back To School Edition Pt. II

THE HARDER STUFF

BALL – Ball
Superfuzzed heavy psych-rock from a bunch of Swedes who won’t reveal their identities, so it’s either someone we know or someone trying to pull a Ghost. In any case, this rocks. Hard. (8)

DALEK – Endangered Philosophies
Dalek was Death Grips before Death Grips. Dalek is better than Death Grips. Dalek is back. (8)

FOO FIGHTERS – Concrete & Gold
In one ear, out the other. (6)

HOT WATER MUSIC – Light It Up
Melodic, anthemic punk rock with choruses that beg to be screamed out loud while hugging your best mate. I’m 49 and this stuff still moves me to tears. (8)

MARILYN MANSON – Heaven Upside Down
“The Pale Emperor” was great and very different from anything MM had ever done before. This year’s follow-up is more like a throwback to the “Antichrist Superstar”/“Mechanical Animals” sound of 20 years ago. (7)

MASTODON – Cold Dark Place EP
4 unreleased tracks, 3 from the “Once More ‘Round The Sun” sessions and 1 from the “Emperor Of Sand” sessions, more laid back but totally awesome in their epic epicness. Seriously, this stuff is better than both albums, or perhaps easier to digest since the EP’s only 22 minutes long. (9)

MATT CAMERON – Cavedweller
Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer Cameron pulls a Brant Bjork and releases poppier solo album. Good stuff, fans of his bands will love it. (7)

THE BRONX – V
They call themselves “The Greatest Punk Rock Band In The World”. They’re not, but they certainly play like they believe it. (8)

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares
A bunch of proto-metal bands from the late 60’s/early 70’s that I’ve never heard of (Xarhanga, Novaks Kapelle, Whistlers Mother, Brass Alley…) doing bad drugs and turning the fuzz up to 11. Pure gold. (9)

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM – Thrice Woven
A very welcome return to their black metal roots after the unfortunate ambient/faux-Tangerine Dream experiment of “Celestite”, this is one of the best metal albums you’ll hear this year. Great guests (Anna Von Hausswolff, Neurosis’ Steve Von Till) add an extra dimension. (8)


THE OTHER STUFF

AMADOU & MARIAM – La Confusion
New album from Malian husband & wife Afro-blues duo. Too many keyboards and electronics on this one, losing some of the immediacy that had made 2005’s Manu Chao-produced “Dimanche A Bamako” such a great album. (7)

ANTIBALAS - Where The Gods Are In Peace
Brooklyn-based Afrobeat 12-piece collective that has supplied the likes of Arcade Fire, The Roots, Mark Ronson and The Black Keys with session players returns with funky new album. Sounds very African and very New York at the same time. (7)

BEDOUINE – Bedouine
Promising debut album from young Syrian singer-songwriter living and working in L.A., featuring an impressive list of collaborators who have previously worked with Beck, Norah Jones and Devendra Banhart. Fans of Natalie Prass should check her out. (7)

DAN REED – Confessions
Not having heard a single note from Reed since 1991 I was still sort of hoping I’d get some funky hard rock when I decided to give this a spin, but instead I got 10 sugary ballads which is 9 sugary ballads more than I can take in one sitting. (5)

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR – Luciferian Towers
Canadian post-rock nine-piece continue their apocalyptic-sounding quest to eliminate the evils of capitalism. (8)

HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER – Hallelujah Anyhow
Similar in style to last year’s “Heart Like A Levee”, this is good country rock with soul overtones a-la Van Morrison. (7)

KRONOS QUARTET & TRIO DA KALI – Ladilikan
Classical string quartet joins forces with traditional Malian musicians for an exquisite, soulful set. This is a better Westernized reinterpretation of Mali’s rich musical tradition than the Amadou & Mariam album. (8)

TEXAS GENTLEMEN – TX Jelly
Ace Texan backing band steps out on its own after playing with everyone in country and rock from Kris Kristofferson to Leon Bridges to Nikki Lane. (7)

TOM RUSSELL – Folk Hotel
It’s hard for the father of Americana to top 2015’s “The Rose Of Roscrae”, his masterpiece, but Russell takes a shot at it and comes pretty damn close. (8)

WILLIE WATSON – Folksinger Vol.2
Former Old Crow Medicine Show member releases second solo folk/blues/gospel/country album playing well-worn standards with sparse acoustic instrumentation – his version of “Gallows Pole” is particularly strong. (7)

Short Attention Span Record Reviews Sep 2017 - Back To School Edition Pt. I

THE HARDER STUFF

CHELSEA WOLFE – Hiss Spun
Californian gothic/doom/folk songstress incorporates even more metal and industrial elements into her sound which you’ll love if you’re 17, depressed, wear only black and use lots of mascara. (7)

GOGOL BORDELLO – Seekers And Finders
Half the band is new but with Hutz and violinist Ryabtsev leading the way it still sounds like a crazy party. I’m pretty sure however that without Oren Kaplan they’ll never even get close to making another “Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike” again. (7)

LIVING COLOUR – Shade
Lower East Side “funk metal” the way it’s supposed to be and the way you remember it from back in the day. A fantastic blues-tinged album full of Reid’s guitar pyrotechnics and Glover’s soulful vocals backed by what sounds like the best rhythm section on the planet. (8)

LYKANTROPI – Lykantropi
Vintage, 60’s-influenced psychedelic rock sounds from yet another young band from Sweden, one of the better ones – female vocals, flute flourishes, warm analog production, the works. (7)

MYRKUR – Mareridt
The Robert De Niro to Chelsea Wolfe’s Al Pacino. (7)

PROPHETS OF RAGE – Prophets Of Rage
Rap metal leftists release their anti-establishment manifesto. Some of the sloganeering is too childish to take seriously, but some of the grooves are killer. (7)

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – Villains
Oh shut up, it’s fine. (7)

SEPTICFLESH – Codex Omega
A symphony orchestra playing along to brutal metal is really not my cup of tea and I tend to think that older SF albums like “Revolution DNA” were more, well, revolutionary. Still, a solid effort. (7)

SISTERS OF MERCY – Some Girls Wander By Mistake (Expanded Edition)
1992 compilation reissued (this time with 5 extra tracks), collecting the band’s pre-major label limited-edition vinyl format singles, the “Reptile House” EP, extended versions, re-recordings, covers of the Stooges and the Stones, remixes etc. A must for anyone even remotely interested in goth music & culture. (10)

TUESDAY THE SKY – Drift
Solo project by Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) who ventures deep into post-rock territory: Despite contributions by Kevin Moore (Dream Theater), this should appeal more to fans of Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor or God Is An Astronaut (whose drummer collaborates here) rather than to metalheads. (7)


THE OTHER STUFF

DREAM SYNDICATE – How Did I Find Myself Here
Not a lot of people know of The Dream Syndicate but those who do love them deeply. Their first post-reunion album after the 1989 breakup is very welcome, a jangly, noisy, dreamy, psychedelic set of songs that sound like no other Dream Syndicate record but is still very distinctly a Dream Syndicate record. (8)

FLEETWOOD MAC – Greatest Hits
Reissue of a 1988 compilation with misleading title since it only covers the band’s “yacht rock” period from 1975 to 1987, ignoring the Peter Green era. Still, some great tunes in here. (8)

GRIZZLY BEAR – Painted Ruins
Maybe if I moved to Brooklyn, became a Pitchfork reader, grew my goatee into a full beard, I’d like this stuff more? (6)

IRON & WINE – Beast Epic
Subtle, touching piece of work by veteran indie folkie. (7)

JOLIE HOLLAND & SAMANTHA PARTON – Wildflower Blues
Former partners in Canadian outsider folk group The Be Good Tanyas, Holland and Parton reunite for an album that sounds like an encyclopedia of North American music with elements of country, blues, rock and even a hint of jazz. Features originals plus a few covers (Townes Van Zandt, Dylan etc.). (8)

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – American Dream
Post-rock, art-rock, disco. You can dance to it but it’s dark, much darker than his previous albums. The ghosts of David Bowie and Alan Vega are all over the place and so is the shadow of Giorgio Moroder. Lyrics that will wow you. This could be the album of the year. (9)

LEE RANALDO – Electric Trim
Sonic Youth guitarist sidelines the noise and explores his pop side with “traditional” songs for a change. This is actually very good and features an all-star cast including Sharon Van Etten, members of Sonic Youth, Wilco and Oneida, and lyrical contributions by novelist Jonathan Lethem (you should read this book now. And this one.) (7)

TED LEO – The Hanged Man
Underrated indie rocker who has previously written the best song of all time returns with crowdsourcing-funded solo album. Solid songwriting, punchy rockers, and more ballads than usual – but they’re good ones. (8)

TEEBEE – Archives 2
Second part of Norwegian drum ‘n’ bass artist’s work from the early 00’s remastered and released in digital format for the first time. This is great, intense stuff, even if you’re not much into electronica. (8)

WAR ON DRUGS – A Deeper Understanding
If Chris Rea, Dire Straits or Don Henley had released “A Deeper Understanding” music critics would have slaughtered them, and yet The War On Drugs can get away with this sub-par soft rock crap because they’re “indie”. (5)