PerformerMag : West Coast Performer : Recorded Reviews : February 2008

CD OF THE MONTH

Jason Webley - The Cost of Living
Produced by Jason Webley and Jherek Bischoff
Mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering

In 1998, Jason Webley quit his day job and took to the streets of Seattle with accordion in hand, intending to play as a street musician until his money ran out. The rest, as they say, is history. Releasing four albums since then, the title of Jason Webley’s newest venture (and the first to be distributed by his own label Eleven Records) is a tribute to the writings of Arundhati Roy; and the passionate, introspective tone of the album certainly does the subject justice. Eclectic, meandering and filled with nuggets of musical and lyrical epiphany, The Cost of Living plays out like an extended meditation.

The poetry is apparent; “Ways to Love” ponders the depth of human emotion: “We learned new games under the covers / How to laugh and how to grieve / We learned to trust, we learned to leave / We found this water’s deeper than we / Guessed we had learned enough ways to love,” while “They Just Want” sheds light on our deepest desires: “They will tell you they’re thirsty for God / They are combing the earth for the notes to a song ... No, they just want someone, they just want someone to hold tonight.”

Yet The Cost of Living‘s major accomplishment is its diversity. “Raise Them Higher” has Dave Matthews-esque bittersweet lyricism, a violin-driven beat and mumbling vocals, and is followed by the sultry, tango-inspired “Meet Your Bride.” The rapid-fire, drum-heavy syncopation of “Little Sister” gives way to the gentle, acoustic soaring of “Back to You Again.” Webley’s masterful vocals, while not pleasant or refined in any traditional sense, are still remarkably versatile and capable of striking any note - from the breathy lilting of “Still” to the deep, dark, Leonard Cohen-circa-I’m Your Man growl of “They Just Want” to the Dead Kennedys-style bleating staccato of “There’s Not a Step We Can Take That Does Not Bring Us Closer.”

The Cost of Living is truly artful, a tribute to fine musicianship and skilled songwriting. (Eleven Records)

Dengue Fever - Venus on Earth
Produced by Paul Dreux Smith and Dengue Fever
Recorded by Jim Putnam at Phase Four and by Paul Dreux Smith at Pan 3 in Los Angeles, CA

To understand Dengue Fever, reach back as far as the Vietnam War when American Forces Radio leaked across the border into Cambodia, insinuating Jimi Hendrix and The Ventures into local music. Fast forward to 1997, when Ethan Holtzman first heard the local psychedelic-pop oldies on a trip to Cambodia, and took all the tapes he could find back to L.A. with him. He started a band with his brother Zac and convinced Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol to sing with them instead of at restaurants and weddings around Long Beach.

Now six members strong, Dengue Fever’s blend of strangeness and familiarity make them instantly appealing: traces of surf guitar and dance beats mixed with oddly hot saxophone, pop-goddess vocals not only in a foreign language but with Asian techniques and trills thrown in. Their sound over three albums has spiraled out into a slinky, dreamy, undeniably sexy trip. Shows transport audiences to some dim, steamy nightclub in a globetrotting Bond film, while Nimol effortlessly charms the whole room.

Their newest album, Venus on Earth, takes Dengue Fever the furthest they’ve been from the Cambodian greats they covered on their debut, and the results are a little uneven. Whole songs use English for the first time; Nimol never said much more than “Hold me close to you tonight” before this. It’s a healthy move — they aren’t resting on their novelty appeal or praise for their past albums — but the English songs are pretty literal. “Sober Driver” transcends the pedestrian verse lyrics with a strong melody and chorus, but “Tooth and Nail” sinks into more common pop ballad structures. Moments like this keep the album from expanding on the mysterious poetic rhythms of their previous album Escape from Dragon House. All criticism aside though, nothing is going to slow down their live shows and it’ll be fascinating to see where their next album goes. (M80 Music)

Barton Carroll - The Lost One
Recorded at Jupiter Studios in Seattle, WA
Produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Martin Feveyear

It’s all about the song titles on Barton Carroll’s new solo album The Lost One. Beginning with the doomsday “Pretty Girl’s Going To Ruin My Life Again,” hitting “Brooklyn Girl, You’re Going To Be My Bride” and ending on “Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still,” the tracklist reads — accurately — like a chapter listing in a teen novel.

Carroll’s strongest suit is his gift for storytelling, so it’s only natural for his titles to play their role. Strangely, the most touching story is the one that doesn’t seem to fit the overall scheme. “Small Thing,” a heartbreaking tale of a German girl in wartime, rises above all other songs both in content and range; it stops you in your tracks with lyrics like “War sleeps deep in a man / Long after guns are gone / He loses care for small things / And I, I was a small thing.”

There is also a moment of perfection on The Lost One. It arrives in the midst of an otherwise uninteresting seduction song, “Burning Red and Blue” a sparse electric guitar rhythm spins a dull haze until a split second of silence flips a switch into a delicious minor chord on lap steel. The song picks up at this point and continues in an eerie fashion of its former self.

With compelling confidence and a rich lower range to his voice, Carroll has a powerful and unique presence. He has toured extensively with Crooked Fingers and Azure Ray, and here’s hoping he finds his way to a nearby stage to share this solo material soon too. (Skybucket Records)

Feral Children - Second to the Last Frontier
Recorded and produced by Scott Colburn at Gravelvoice
Mastered by Ed Brooks at RFI

Feral Children is a five piece originally from rural Washington and now based in Seattle. With the help of producer Scott Colburn (Animal Collective, Arcade Fire), the band has crafted a standout full-length debut of experimental, turbid, slightly-unhinged indie rock with Second to the Last Frontier.

There’s a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’ from bassist/vocalist Jim Cotton and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jeff Keenan, and their lyrics are wordy and surreal. Keenan and Josh Gamble’s guitar sounds are all over the map, from Pixies-esque post-surf to early-U2 atmospheric pings to effects-damaged skronk (in full bloom on the multi-layered, throbbing, buzzing instrumental “Space Face”); heavy echo is a common denominator throughout. A few songs are partly piano driven, like “Billionaires vs. Millionaires,” and keyboards from Sergey Posrednikov add further flavoring. Bill Cole’s drumming ranges appropriately from rudimentary beat-keeping to fancier rhythms.

The album’s best song, and the one receiving local radio airplay on KEXP, is its weirdest: “Jaundice Giraffe” is haunting and inscrutable, driven by shivery drone and tribal chanting and punctuated by primal yelping and weird electronic noises. It’s followed by the fuzzy, danceable “Ex-Blindman,” one of the album’s more accessible songs, though the lyrics remain as strange as ever centered on this nonsensical narrative: “It was almost love at first sight but then some blind man stole your eyes and gave them to his ex-wife for a birthday surprise.”

Feral Children have a knack for memorable song titles — “Baby Joseph Stalin” has some silly lyrics as might be expected and “Cannibal Prison,” with its faint echoes of new wave and even Billy Joel, is another album highlight. The seven-minute-plus “Lost in the Woods” lives up to its title with some lengthy meandering and contains the amusing line “The Bible Belt held up your pants.”

An interesting tension pervades this album, between whimsical and menacing, primal and complex, brambly and celestial. It’s a debut worth noticing. (Buffalo Shoe Recordings)

Xiu Xiu - Women as Lovers
Produced by The Fallings Out Brose
Recorded at Math Lab Studio and Jamie Stewart’s apartment
Engineered by Shawn Porter and Jamie Stewart
Mixed by Greg Saunier

The press release for Xiu Xiu’s sixth album is bookended by two quotes from the Nobel Prize-winning Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek’s book of the same name, Women as Lovers. All the thudding violence and wince-inducing savagery found in Jelinek’s story, about two teenage girls who work in a sewing factory making ladies underwear, can be found in Jamie Stewart’s musical transmutation.

Some holdover lyricism from 2006’s The Air Force reverberates on tracks dealing with sexual deviance, suicide and distorted feminine tales. There is a pervasive sense of doom on the horizon in every histrionic bell and saxophone on opener “I Do What I Want When I Want.” This is the perfect music for Stewart’s pinwheeling surrealism.

The Xiu Xiu leader referred to Women As Lovers as “more approachable or communicative on a basic human level.” He may be right. Stewart and Michael Gira (Angels of Light, Swans) dress up their redraft of the Queen and David Bowie classic “Under Pressure” with idiosyncratic bombast. Stewart’s trademark warble is brilliantly off-kilter as he dances over scattershot sax and hemorrhaging triangle. He’s made for this cover, even if its arrival on the album is slightly off the beaten track from his usual sexually tortured milieu. Some of the songs on the second half of the disc are geared towards slower chamber music, starting with the chiming “Dark Keyboard.” The spiraling “Child at Arms” is filled with click-clack percussion, electrical zaps, whistling and dark banjo.

The album features what is now the official live lineup of the group, with Stewart and Caralee McElroy joined by Ches Smith on drums and Devin Hoff on bass. Thus Stewart’s bizarre soundscapes sound even fuller. Gone are the days when he would cry endlessly into the microphone; instead, Xiu Xiu’s demented art rock maximalism pulls Stewart’s voice like a puppet. (Kill Rock Stars)

Grand Archives - The Grand Archives
Produced by Ben Kersten
Recorded at Four Sticks Studio in Seattle, Mysterious Red X Studio in Seattle, and Paradise Sound in Index, WA
Mixed at Orbit Audio in Seattle
Mastered by Greg Calbi for Sterling Sound

One of the beautiful things about Seattle’s Sub Pop label is its ability to stay absolutely timely with the artists it signs. The most recent example of this is Grand Archives, the new project from former Carissa’s Weird and Band of Horses artist Mat Brooke. Utilizing the varied instrumentation but eschewing the moodiness of his previous two bands, Brooke and his cohorts - Jeff Montano (bass), Curtis Hall (drums), Ron Lewis (guitar/keys) and Thomas Wright (guitar) - have crafted a fine example of laidback ‘60s-inspired pop on their debut, almost self-titled album The Grand Archives.

For fans of Brooke’s prior work, this album may strike with surprise. “Torn Blue Foam Couch” opens with harp notes in a — gasp — major key and is quickly driven into a huge melodic dance with supporting keys, guitar, charging drums, and bursts of horns and cymbal crashes. The rest of the album mellows out a bit from there, lushly coated with multi-part vocal harmonies, harmonica solos and acoustic guitar; banjo, melodica and xylophone also make an appearance on the instrumental “Breezy No Breezy.”

Musically it seems happy in spite of itself, as lyrically Brooke is obsessed with the burden of time. This is evident in the summery “Miniature Birds” where he repeats just how “long, long, such a long way to go” he has, and in “Swan Matches” which starts with the line, “I remember hours stripped away like a little blue paint off the walls / It could take forever.” It is this combination that makes for an intriguing album: the pull between Brooke’s fixation on the cumbersome temporal and his desire to create something nice to listen to. The effect just isn’t as strong when the musical and lyrical tones match, such as in “George Kaminski.”

Brooke seems to know his strengths though, as most of The Grand Archives walks boldly down this line to create a consistent, thoughtful listen; he’s recognized yet distanced himself from his past and continues to move forward down that long, long road. (Sub Pop)

Spear of the Nation - Spearitalk
Produced by Aristotle the Great, Fko and Pedro Bass

On his solo debut Spearitalk, the Oakland-based, Lunar Heights emcee Spear of the Nation pairs sociopolitical awareness with banging beats and demonstrates that meaningful hip-hop can still move a crowd. He stands defiant in the face of the refried rap that continues to dominate the airwaves, delivering positive messages to uplift and empower — and shake your ass to — without being overly political. Spearitalk isn’t a revolutionary call to arms, but rather an examination of his community.

An elementary school teacher and founder of the Spearitwurx Academy School of Science and Culture, Spear of the Nation quickly establishes his subtle political leanings on the opening track “Black Love?” over a funky backdrop. He raps, “More prisons and less schools, you know how it go / Last year they shut down 13 in the O / This year they gon’ shut down 13 mo.”

Producers Aristotle the Great, Fko and Pedro Bass lace the tracks, creating a variety of soundscapes for Spear to rhyme over. Lyrically, his flow is basic and rarely does he flex much dexterity. Conceptually however, he’s got something for everyone - from the bouncy “Clap” to the Rastafarian romp “Hahtah Fiyah” to the slow, steamy“Rememberin.’”

That’s not to say the album is flawless. The unoriginal mid-tempo dance track “Private Dancer” sounds as if it were inspired by 50 Cent and producer Scott Storch’s “Candy Shop,” with a similar Middle Eastern tinge. Then the hidden track, with its chopped horn samples and piercing drums, is a treasure guaranteed to make necks snap, unfortunately buried at the bottom of the disc.

With so many artists in the genre, it’s easy to draw comparisons to other conscious emcees. But Spear of the Nation brings forth a solid debut effort, proving that thoughtful hip-hop doesn’t have to be boring. For those looking for something to move their body and mind, Spearitalk is it. (NatAural High Records)

The Eye The Ear and The Arm - Paths
Produced by The Eye The Ear and The Arm, Alex Newportand Mike Russell
Recorded and engineered by Alex Newport and Mike Russell at Metropolitan Sound & The Blue Room
Mixed by Alex Newport at Metropolitan Sound
Mastered by John Greenham at John Greenham Mastering

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke: an accountant, a camera specialist and a biologist get together and start a band. In reality, the L.A.-based The Eye The Ear and The Arm are anything but laughable; their debut album Paths is a masterful melding of rock genres, from progressive to alternative and back again. A “guitar band free of guitar band clichés,” this trio prides itself on its rich and varied sources of influence, ranging from Yes to David Bowie to Interpol to Arctic Monkeys.

Paths begins in the venerable tradition of booming, fast-paced alt-rock. “All Claws and Teeth” and “Sell This” ring with a guitar-as-battering-ram intensity suggestive of Queens of the Stone Age. “The One with the Gold Tongue” is chock-full of repetitive strumming and woozy guitar riffs worthy of The Strokes, and singer/bassist Derek Coburn’s fuzzed-up vocals on “King of Thieves” recall those of Julian Casablancas. Yet as the album progresses, the style evolves too. “Playing the Martyr” alternates between fast, complicated prog-rock licks and a laidback, syncopated, reggae-tinged rhythm courtesy of drummer J.D. Knotts. “Dialect of an Angry Man” combines a sophisticated beat with an increasingly frenetic and hysterical guitar line, almost evocative of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man.” Then the thoughtful and poetic “Paths” relies on subdued bass and gentle, supportive percussion to highlight exceptional bursts from guitarist Darin Green and the powerful lyrics, “And there’s a path to be ran / Right out of this place / The cold coffin confines / I bury my faith."

A rather remarkable first effort, Paths is an intelligent album that requires a lot of careful listening. (Portia Records)

www.myspace.com/theyetheearandthearm

The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
Produced and mixed by The Helio Sequence
Mastered by Greg Calbi

In The Helio Sequence’s Performer cover story last fall, guitarist/vocalist Brandon Summers spoke of how he and his bandmate, drummer Benjamin Weikel, had recently become re-obsessed with The Beatles and their recorded work. To listen to the band’s new album Keep Your Eyes Ahead, that influence does not come through musically, but Summers’ vocals, while still carrying the melodic bite of previous efforts, sound a little more lilting, a little rounder, and a little like he’s trying to approximate the well-known sound of John Lennon’s singing voice.

It is a welcome addition to an album that, for the most part, sounds pretty much like every other Helio Sequence album — the crystalline shimmer of keyboards and programmed sounds bumping up against live drums and the shoegazer pulse of Summers’ guitar lines.

Holding to what could become a band “sound” works quite well on the opening tracks of this well-anticipated follow up to 2004’s Love and Distance. The first two songs —“Lately” and “Can’t Say No” — are especially good examples of the duo’s knack for crafting sublimely catchy songs, the strong chorus hooks and melodies of each giving Ahead a great sense of liftoff. But by the meandering, Leonard Cohen-like “Shed Your Love,” the whole album starts to sound like a retread, almost fearful of adding any new elements or rhythms, and its songs begin to melt into the background, creating washes of color that are easy to ignore.

The Helio Sequence is, in that sense, probably one of the most consistent bands on the indie scene these days, sticking to what they know how to do best for good or for ill.
The quality that their fans have come to expect is there, but it will most likely be chased with a sense that, with their pure talent, they should be moving forward a lot faster. (Sub Pop)

Good City Lie Still - Good City Lie Still
Recorded by Adam Myatt at Sharkbite StudiosMixed and mastered by Derek King

Much like the Bay Area where this five-member indie rock band hails, Good City Lie Still’s sound is ambient most times, thunderous at appropriate times, and highly eclectic at all times. The band touches on a similar echoey vocal reverb of fellow Santa Rosans The Velvet Teen, though doing without the electro infusions to produce a more natural and spacious sound. Their self-titled album keeps it melodically graceful with piano-laden ballads and sonic evolutions. And with expansive instrumentals and buildups throughout that coat closed eyes with vivid reverie, it’s as visual as it is auditory.

The record approaches with “The City Rests Its Dying Soul” where Ross Giffen’s tender vocals dance delicately with his keys, then strengthen and grow just as drummer Terrance Fleming picks up speed. Throughout the album, Giffen’s voice ebbs and flows with a haunting elegance that ascribes the band’s sound with a signature mood.

“The Bay’ll Getcha” starts slow and steady then unveils a rocking force. Significant to this track is the warning “Look out” that begins and closes it. The lyric dresses the cut with an artistic flair as the “k” of each “look” is exaggerated with a heavily pronounced click that serves as a rhythmic heartbeat to the song.

As the album’s most vast and varied tune, “Sonar” is a well-chosen final track. It floods with driving guitars and trembling vocal ranges, leaving a lingering trance long after it fades away. (Self-released)

Produced by James Glaves and Jeremy Wagner
Mixed by James Glaves, M. Nadeau and Jeremy Wagner
Mastered by Garrett Haines at Treelady Studios

"Short and sweet” is probably the most appropriate way to describe The Wagner Logic’s new album Easiest to Grab. The Alaskan band, self-professed creator of the new genre “basementia,” has created an album full of musical Jujubes — sticky little gobs that require quite a bit of digestion. But like Jujubes, these songs are ultimately unsatisfying; while interesting and fun to listen to on the whole, they don’t seem to lead anywhere.

The album begins pensively, embarking upon a meditative journey in the title track: “I’ll sit here and stair [sic] at a dead end / And while they’re late / You’ll pretend you weren’t there waiting / Sometimes what goes around / Is the easiest to grab.” Then it’s on to the jaunty, pop-infused “Ambulance,” which is as fun as it is danceable. The strong beat of “Conflicting Sound” flows into the succinct, head-bobbing “Up a River.” “Arizona” alternates between tuneless screams and Sprechstimme and is followed by the noisy, interference-laced “Scratch Our Throats.” “The Bird Song” is the most tuneful track with feather-light vocals and a sustained melody; it is also the least self-conscious and makes the most musical sense, combining an oft-syncopated drum beat with a keening guitar and well-chosen use of synth at the end. “So Hard” comes off as intentionally whiny (“It’s so hard to heal / It’s so hard / Of all the things you steal / It’s the pain that’s real”), bolstered by shrill guitars and a rambling dissonant melody. And finally, the plaintive and cynical “What Began to Splinter,” with its wailing vocals to match the disillusioned lyrics, “Look out the car window / There’s no help beside the road / Drive your fastest / Avoid all glances.”

Easiest to Grab is an album that doesn’t entirely live up to its potential. There are some interesting songs and fine feats of musicianship, but it lacks the cohesion that could truly make it pop. (Wilderhood Records)

Go Slowpoke - All My Friends Are Good People
Engineered and mixed by Tim Brown

Go Slowpoke’s debut album All My Friends Are Good People is an indie classic in the making. Every song is a new conflict of quirky characters bubbling over from Slowpoke mastermind Peter Woiwod’s memory, or an overexposed lyrical self-portrait of his eccentric bleeding heart. In “Be Less Embarrassing,“ Woiwod is the awkward kid wearing “velcro shoes with his finger up his nose” whose hopes of becoming a more likable adult are shattered. It is this self-deprecating humor and peculiar view on life that reveals painful truths in an entertaining way.

The Bellingham, Washington-based band is deserving of all the comparisons to Bright Eyes and Elliott Smith as it not only showcases clever writing but also a similarly-crafted sound. There is a strong focus on guitar melodies with a hint of organ or bass, and some songs like “...You Can’t Stay” almost channel Smith. Woiwod’s shaky vocals may not be as sleek as other leads, but the intense emotion behind every word fits perfectly with the struggles of the song.

Unlike these other somber artists, Go Slowpoke sings of hardship with a wink and a smile, and many a kazoo solo. In “I Completely Understand” Woiwod happily gets walked all over by a girl, while in “Melissa” his sweetly pathetic love song is “I don’t want my sons to be anything like me / but I’d love my daughters to be like you.”

The laughter through the goodbyes in “Last Year Hurts” and the optimism hidden in current depression in “I Used to Give a Shit” possess the kind of coming of age quintessence that leaves one deep in thought and wishing to know more about this circle of musical friends. (Self-released)

Excuses for Skipping - Out of Work Early
Produced by Linda Moody and Tammy Fortin
Recorded at SF Soundworks in San Francisco, CA
Mastered by Gregg Marks

On their full-length debut Out of Work Early, San Francisco all-girl quartet Excuses for Skipping have crafted a work of shimmering alternative rock with pop sensibilities. While the band has ties to other San Francisco natives like Boyskout, Stratford 4 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and yields comparisons to bands of the not-so-distant past, its rich post-punk sound reflects its members’ unique collaboration. Linda Moody leads the vocal harmonies, which are alternately playful and powerful and always back off just in time to allow complementary guitar work from Tammy Fortin and bassist Wendy Brents to shine alongside Allison Duke’s shrewd percussion.

Opening track “Gravity” is like an amplified version of The Sundays mixed with the rich ambient guitar of The Cure — more rock than folk. “Out of Work Early” patiently constructs multi-layered guitar, steady drums and borderline-chanting vocals that break into cheerfully harmonized doot-doots — a sweet antidote to the decidedly atonal vocals that follow. This kind of harmony is present throughout the album.

Reminiscent of The Smiths and The Stone Roses, “Decision to Be Normal” builds gradually with a straightforward melody and subdued vocals tucked into its throbbing guitar riffs. “Rule One” is a beautifully crafted song with tight guitar work that thoughtfully unfolds like that of Kaki King. Soft, strangely-harmonized Stereolab-like vocals climb carefully through notes while restrained drums add depth to the song without breaking apart the gentle atmosphere it creates.

There’s definitely something retro about Excuses For Skipping’s sound — the effect is not quite as funky as Luscious Jackson nor as punky as Elastica — but the album combines a longing for the past and a solid grip on the present. (Self-released)

Last American Buffalo - Marquis for the Debutante
Produced by Last American Buffalo
Recorded and engineered by Cameron Akrami at Akrami Studios in Glendora, CA, except for “Breaking Up Mine” recorded at Conway Studios and Westlake Audio in Hollywood, CA
Mixed by Andy Carpenter and Jon St. James at St. James
Studios in Fullerton, CA

A name like Last American Buffalo may at first conjure a country ensemble rather than an alternative radio hit machine. But on this solid full-length debut, Marquis for the Debutante, the Los Angeles four-piece proves a knack for crafting the same catchy melodies that propelled Coldplay to the top of the charts while at times channeling the melancholy soul of Wilco.

The band sticks to a formula, but it’s a good one. A buoyant keyboard launches robust opener “Breaking Up Mine” into an anger-infused tale of broken love, a recurring theme on the record. The springy guitar flourishes in the chorus of “Dance Class for a Madame” hearken back to the aforementioned British group; and by the catchy third track “Pistol,” whose alt-country guitar twang brings to mind a Badly Drawn Boy gone cowboy, Last American Buffalo’s savvy for straightforward song structures becomes evident.

With understated bass, drums, guitar and keyboard, spotlighted vocals become susceptible to the occasionally cliché lyrics. For example, as dueling keyboard and drums drive the Americana waltz of “For London Again,” Kevin Compton’s endearing voice just barely saves the tired chorus: “You stole the key to my heart / You’ve broken and shattered my every thought.” The glossy production also wears thin at times and the recording pleads for more rawness to beef up its intensity.

Saving the best for last, the band hits its high note on the somber closer “Sunshine.” Above a wistful church organ begging for forgiveness, perfectly stark acoustic guitar and the regret-filled flurry of a harmonica, Compton strikes a powerful chord as he confesses “I am looking to die / I am looking to lie.” In moments like this, Last American Buffalo reveals an honesty often missing from the airwaves. (Self-released)

Diego’s Umbrella - Viva La Juerga
Produced by Diego’s Umbrella
Recorded at Prairie Sun Studios, San Pablo Recorders and Awesometown
Tracks 2, 3, 9, 11 engineered by Bond Bergland
Mastered by Michael Romanowski

Diego’s Umbrella is yet another example of the great variety of music coming out of the San Francisco Bay Area right now, and also a sign that there really is no longer a “San Francisco Sound.” The “Spanish surf” groove for which this band has become known is as strong as ever on its latest release, Viva La Juerga.

Even a cursory listen to the classical guitar and violin-laden instrumental “Theme of the Glowing Amigo” will conjure images of wandering sombrero-topped musicians performing in Mexican restaurants on Mission Street. And yet as “Here As I Lay” begins, the vocals and electric guitar are outright American pop rock. The reggae-like beat and accordion further place the song in its own world pop universe, and with its memorable “Do you like me now that I’m gone?” chorus, “Here As I Lay” plays like a potential hit single for those who like the idea of a Latin-tinged Sublime.

The most extreme example of genre jumbling is “The Fiberoptic Elflord.” The title says all one needs to know about the fantastical silliness running through the lyrics. However, it says nothing about the sound. Starting with a vaguely Brazilian beat underneath a scratchy record effect, adding a ska-inflected verse, throwing in some dub reggae flourishes in the chorus, and with some polka madness stirred in as well, the end result is uncategorizable except to say that whacked prankster side of Mr. Bungle lives on in spirit here.

With Viva La Juerga, Diego’s Umbrella has created a worldwide smorgasbord of fun music that ultimately plays like a cultured clown’s party mix. There’s no grand, sweeping theme tying together all of the disparate elements, but this may result in an album that sounds more like just a collection of songs than a solid whole, it suits the tone of the material just fine. (Barndoor Records)

gabfest - The Refinement
Produced and mixed by Fil “Proph” Angelov
Recorded at Lil’ Shanghai in Los Angeles and Silent Sounds Recording Studios in Hollywood
Mastered by Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering in Burbank

The off-beat savvy of L.A.’s gabfest is comprised of wordsmith The Stunt and composer Proph — hip-hop’s very own Ralph Cramden and Ed Norton. Proph has worked behind the boards for noteworthy entities such as Daz Dillinger, DJ Quik and Kool Keith — who oddly enough, manages to lend some coherence to the slang-laden poetics of gabfest on the industry knocker “Face the Truth.” Aside from that one cameo, The Refinement is 60 unadulterated minutes of borderline cipher rhyming, like “5994 divided by 9 / Speak of the devil what you get right there is the sign / Now divide that by 333 and you’ll see it’s true / That’s how many Bushes are coming after you,” on “Shelter.”

Conspiracy theories aside, gabfest is by no means a lyrical beast spitting fiery bars. But for what it lacks in word wizardry, gabfest more than makes up with unabashed enthusiasm for the hip-hop culture. Aside from Kool Keith, there is no one else in the game that lays claim to fathering this spazzed-out, happy-go-lucky rhyme style that The Stunt and Proph have championed.

Production throughout The Refinement is stellar and often refreshingly daring (“Ode to Fake Gangstas”), though on “Feel Good Music,” the most fundamentally sound song on the album, it’s just a simple kick/snare arrangement.

gabfest gives balance to the spectrum of rap in that it offers a sound that does not take itself too seriously. The key elements of expression and fun reign supreme on The Refinement. Gabfizzy! (Slam Identity Records)

Wayward Sway - On a Broken Machine
Recorded by Scott Pettersen at Summer Basement Studio and by Jason Quever at Pan American Recording Studio in San Francisco

The title of Wayward Sway’s new album brings to mind an old record player stuck skipping on a song. On the contrary, On a Broken Machine is far from repetitive and its 12 tracks play through fluidly.

The album kicks off with a slow, introspective, banjo-driven tune called “Western Slough.” With vocals hushed à la Iron and Wine and understated ambient instrumentation reminiscent of Pink Floyd, Wayward Sway leans into its work. Next up is the romping banjo and fiddle tune “Well Lit Places.” There’s something amiss in the mixing on this track that seems to come and go throughout the disc. Regardless of the technical difficulties, the song itself is one of the strongest on the album, particularly due to the Pogues-like group vocals on the refrain and the sorrowful fiddle solo that follows.

“Kara” is a sweet unrequited love song that pines, “I can talk forever and barely make you smile ... Kara, you know it’s far too late.” In the fiddle section, one can almost detect a nod to “Girl from Ipanema,” which may or may not have been intentional. Either way, it’s an appreciated, appropriate melodic quote.

Another strong moment on the album is the especially melodious “Harbor,” which also reveals a bit of a Pogues influence. It’s unfortunate that the instruments aren’t more balanced in the mix, but the song is strong enough to stand up against that recurring issue. In fact, it’s the extensive instrumental breaks that make the song so haunting. So the only instance of repetition turns out to be where Wayward Sway’s best skills lie: in its instrumental solos and highly infectious energy. (Self-released)

The Bruises - Connected
Engineered by Scott Tusa at Take Root Recording in San Francisco, CA
Mixed by Reto Peter at the Tea House in Oakland, CA
Mastered by Mike Wells at Mike Wells Mastering in San Francisco, CA
Produced by Scott Tusa and The Bruises

“Hott Damn!” cries the final track on The Bruises’ latest album, and it’s a pretty accurate exclamation. Connected sees the San Francisco pop/rock band (led by vocalists/guitarists and aptly-named Jenni Black and Aja Blue) perfect its jump from acoustic to electric with a pointier, edge-sharp energy that lines right up with their raved-about live performances.

For the most part, the tunes on the album are pepped and high-spirited. A coat of jumpy beats dilutes the dark lyrics in “Black and Blue,” and “Dancing is Dangerous,” Connected‘s standout staple, features rippling synth, melodic curves and a catchy chorus. Yet there are some spots where The Bruises become more sensitive, like on “Hold Me Down.” “Handful of Tears” has a tender feel as well, with lyrics crying out, “‘Cause I know what it’s like to run against the rain / Running out of breath and running the wrong way / I don’t even know if I can say it / But I’m wrong all the time / This heart of mine is not steel plated / And now there’s nowhere left to hide.”

Often likened to Sleater-Kinney, though with poppier pushes and vintage female harmonies, The Bruises do achieve a sense of fiery rawness. Rhythmic drums by Derrick Hostetter and bass by Dan Carr and Noah Heldfond back the 12 tracks on the album with feverish throbs that further hold the tones up and keep them ablaze.

Most impressively, though, The Bruises demonstrate that they know how to effectively dip into different tastes, from punk to indie to pop, and blend each genre with a fist full of dynamism. The result is a power-driven full-length effort that’s an electrifying force all the way through. (Self-released)

There’s not much airy or light about Swallow’s new EP Cloud Machines. Em Brownlowe’s jagged, chorus-drenched guitar loops, her blunt, riot grrl-trained singing, and Jon Miller’s tom-heavy, tribal drumming all reinforce the album’s subterranean vibe. At ts most potent, Cloud Machines rips with palpable angst, though the expression of that sentiment is sloppy and unrefined. The album’s tendency toward weak lyrics and indie rock clichés, however, softens the edge of the band’s underground sound until it’s as benign as a weekday basement jam.

When double-tracked vocals spout nautical-themed lyrics over a dance beat on the very first song (“Anchors”), it should prepare the listener for a slew of familiar motifs. The two-chord rip “When You’re in Love” shouts with a kind of privileged bratty glee: “When you’re in love you skip your classes,” and follows shortly with a well-trodden sentiment: “We’re never gonna break up until we’re dead / ‘Cause when you’re in love, it never ends.”

The highlight of this EP might be the mixing by Kipp Crawford. Brownlowe recorded the vocal tracks for Cloud Machines separately from the music, but Crawford’s mix flawlessly unifies the album.

To their credit, each song on the EP takes Swallows’ sound in a slightly different direction. “Anchors” and “When You’re in Love” rock harder than the Eastern-flavored “Twilight’s Last Hour” or the soft staccato and trippy vocals of “Language is Restless.” But after a strong debut like 2006’s Me With Trees Towering, Cloud Machines is a sojourn that boasts more nagging familiarity than wild abandon. (Church of Girl)

Gumar and His Magical Midi Band - Gumar and His Magical Midi Band
Recorded by The Magical Midi Band at The Creation Station

In addition to developing and fostering progressive-minded musicians and supporting honest expression of art, The Olympia, Washington-based label Crunks Not Dead can put out some great albums. But this ain’t one of them. Kitschy, repetitive electro-pop songs have a Sesame Street-for-grownups quality, and instead of coming off as fun and playful, Gumar and His Magical Midi Band (basically a couple of guys and a midi) sound merely amateurish. It doesn’t help that the recording quality isn’t great either. Lo-fi production values are fine when there’s some raw talent there, but not when irony, camp and general silliness are asked to stand in instead. Genuinely funny tracks like “Oh Yeah” might have worked if they’d managed to put together more skillful productions, and the same goes for the synth-heavy, ProCon-style track “The Momentum,” where the differences between the slick sounds of that group and the deeply unslick sounds of this one are the most glaring.

This doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything worthwhile about Gumar and His Magic Midi Band though. There’s definitely a lot of freewheeling creativity and a suggestion of a songwriters’ gift for pop hookiness on tracks like “Do You Want Some More.” Plus, a quick perusal through YouTube also reveals that they can get at least small crowds going at their live shows. Unfortunately that charisma just didn’t translate onto this recording. Maybe a little less camp and a little more attention to detail in the studio next time around could lead to a more persuasive pop sound, à la Hey Willpower. After all, there’s nothing wrong with being light-hearted. But this album is merely lightweight. (Crunks Not Dead)