Album of the Month

The Living Legends - The Gathering

Recorded and mixed by Rob “Monsignor” Montes at Encore Studios in Burbank, CA | Mastered by Mike Lazer at Paramount Mastering in Hollywood, CA | Production by Eligh, The Grouch and Bicass

Somehow, some way, the Golden State underground’s most recognizable characters managed to squeeze all eight of their crazy selves onto one 32-minute EP, The Gathering. That’s four minutes to every ego. Who else but the beloved Living Legends could pull off such a balancing act between “all for one and one for all” versus quality over quantity?

Recorded at Encore Studios (The Chronic 2001 and The Marshall Mathers LP), The Gathering is just that, as The Living Legends assembled to crank out seven bangers tackling topics from current affairs on “War & Peace” to groupie love on “She Wants Me.” Far and away, “After Hours,” the extended Euromix, is the hottest track on the EP, romanticizing their escapades on tour abroad.

Solidifying their stake as the inventors of fun, The Living Legends invite fans to celebrate along with the eclectic collection of emcees. The Gathering’s only shortcoming, however, is its brevity. A little over a sitcom in length, some fans may feel a tad teased by this touch-and-go effort.

Averaging nearly an album a year as a group since 2003, this EP serves as an appetizer to satiate The Living Legends’ public until their full-length album drops in late ‘08. With solo efforts from Sunspot Jonz (Never Surrender), The Grouch (Show You the World), Bicasso (Rebel Musiq EP) and the highly-anticipated new album from Murs (Murs for President), The Gathering becomes that much more amazing when you consider the amount of talent crammed into one tight body of work.

From the underground to the international stage, the Cali alliance of West Coast emcees continues to shine, and judging by the sound of things, this looks to be the year of The Living Legends. (Legendary Music)

www.myspace.com/livinglegends

-Franklin Grimes

Buddy - Alterations and Repairs

Recorded at Da Schtud in Los Angeles, CA

Mixed by Bryan Cook at Elgin Park | Mastered by Roger Siebel at SAE Mastering | Produced by Will Golden

It’s no surprise that Alterations and Repairs is getting a lot of radio attention (KCRW’s top tune pick) and television airplay (Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Smallville and Road Rules). Los Angeles’ Buddy created an album which makes an excellent soundtrack for life. Falling somewhere between Death Cab for Cutie and Sparklehorse, it takes minimal pop gems and lines them with electronic pulses and juxtaposed accents to invigorate uncommonly beguiling interest from such refined, understated pop.

The secret to Alterations and Repairs is its attention to detail. It’s an album that validates the philosophy of making a lot out of a little. Standard drum pacing and quintessential circling guitar notes add familiarity to the album, but keyboards, sci-fi moogs and singer Buddy ’s Ben Gibbard-like innocent tone sweeten the deal. His cadence has that quality where, in getting louder, it only gets sweeter, not edgier.

Buddy’s lyrics pine, hurt and adore. The great opening single, “Say a Lot,” sets the tone for the rest of the album. Buddy’s gentle voice murmurs, “Wish I was who you wished I was / Never really takes a lot to lose you / I don’t have to say a lot to lose you / You don’t have to leave a light on.” Although the vocal technique can teeter into emo, any tackiness conveyed by the gushy poetry is put to rest by the soothing electronic rhythm and warm acoustic guitar strokes. The irresistible feel-good melodies, like songs by New Order, have an alluring, dark moodiness woven into their joyful instrumental patchwork.

Alterations and Repairs is a fantastic record with the mellowest of delivery. Rather than being the kind of album that needs attention, it comfortably creates a rich, soft and mood-driven environment. The strings ebb, the rhythms flow and Buddy’s subtle vocals soothe like a modern-day nursery rhyme. (My Name is Bloody Music/ Stove Punchin’ Records)

www.iamyourbuddy.com

-Christopher Petro

James Combs - To Know You Is To Save You

Produced by James Combs | Mixed by Bryan Cook at Juice Monster Studios and Steve Kaye at Sunking Studios | Mastered by Roger Seibel at SAE Mastering

James Combs’ progression from Bloomfield, Ind. boy to Southern California folk-poet has been a long time coming. Over the span of two decades, three solo albums and at least four side projects, the artist has beaten a path similar to the likes of Midwest-to-SoCal transplant Elliott Smith (and even sounds a bit like him, too). On Combs’ most recent effort, To Know You is to Save You, smoky trumpets and simple yet appropriate chord switches further dress him up as the wandering troubadour he’s always been.

“Oh Me” opens the album with Combs as a contemporary version of Rome’s Emperor Nero, melodically waxing over a distant lover as Los Angeles goes up in flames around him: “Oh fright / the city’s alight / and all I wanna do is get to you / Okay / the city’s ablaze / and all I care about is talkin’ to you.” Complete with soft-shaken tambourine and underlying cello, the pace and tone for the record are wonderfully set.

Longtime collaborator Erin Shawn Hawkins is a true album highlight (and a dead ringer for an Isobel Campbell sound-alike), lending her voice to half the tracks on the release, most notably in the three-minute exclamatory dirge, “Barely Contained.”

With all of his talent, Combs’ veritable ace in the hole shines in his post-production assistance. Bryan Cook — whose engineering work with Aimee Mann and The Eels pairs perfectly with the sound achieved on this record — mixes with a learned ear, careful not to let too much of the ambient experimental instrumentation overshadow Combs’ stripped-down, guitar-and-microphone roots.

And it’s those same Indiana roots that keep this Midwestern transplant fully grounded in his original slant on folk pop, no matter how far west he ends up. (Self-released)

www.jamescombs.com

-Mike Isaac

Day of Lions - Come Down from the Mountain

Recorded by Aaron Sheppard at The Artistry in Portland | Mixed by Aaron Sheppard, Gena Gastaldi and Charlie Hester | Mastered by Zach Schrock | Produced by Aaron Sheppard and Day of Lions

Come Down from the Mountain wouldn’t have come about had it not been for a separation of fiancées (one in Portland, the other in L.A.). The emotions harvested from that distance provide the inspiration for this brooding, affected album.

While it would do Day of Lions a disservice to pigeonhole them with comparisons to Maria Taylor, Amy Millan and early Mirah, it also wouldn’t be fair to dismiss the likeness, as it is appealingly visible. Sung in the nature of Taylor and Millan and resting on subtle femininity, the vocals on Come Down are breathy and steer from the boisterous country twangs and hollers of Neko Case and Jenny Lewis to a highly charming effect.

This may be the result of vocal limitation for singer Gena Gastaldi (whose fiancée bunked with L.A.’s psyche-folk sweethearts The Parson Red Heads), but — octave ranges aside — Gastaldi has a lovely affectation akin to any of the above-mentioned artists. Come Down meanders gently and paces from gentle to gently brisk. Gastaldi’s tone plays up the summery attitude as she sings, “God is awake / the angels shake / we are all on a string / but that’s okay” from the swishy tambourine frenetic “Omaha.”

In terms of instrumentation, Come Down reserves plenty of intimate listener/singer moments for solo acoustic guitar escorted by Gastaldi’s sweet voice. Weedy percussion, hip-smacking tambourine, swelling bass and plenty of acoustic picking set the tone behind the voice. Song arrangements are similarly constructed — never rushing to end and wafting a no-worries attitude.

Characteristically contained vocal delivery and songs performed like echoes of each other gloss the album with a distinct structure: acoustic plucking/strumming and vapor-like vocals singing earthy, heart-and-soul lyrics. It’s a structure that regrettably prevents any one song from standing above the rest, but doesn’t really detract from the overall appeal of this warm, intimate release. (Yukon Records)

www.myspace.com/dayoflions

-Christopher Petro

The Mission Orange - Seasick

Written, recorded, mixed and mastered by The Mission Orange | Recorded at Murder Mountain Studios in Bellingham, WA

Grunge may be dead in the Pacific Northwest but it sounds like teen angst is still kicking. On The Mission Orange’s debut full length, Seasick, for burgeoning Bellingham label Murder Mountain, the Mount Vernon teenage garage duo declares that the best way to battle confusion, loneliness and indecision is with explosive distortion, cathartic shouts and the volume knob cranked to 20.

It’s easy to see how vocalist/guitarist Marcus Nevitt and drummer Sam Hutchens could draw devout legions of early-Nirvana fans. They construct ear-catching towers of melodious noise coated in pop hooks but cemented on a punk base. The fade-in opening title track serves up the duo’s best representative: as distant and unrelenting guitar crunches loom closer, Hutchens striking a fury of cymbals behind, Nevitt coos reassuringly, “I feel fine,” before unleashing a corrosive Cobain wail and deciding, “I can’t make up my mind.” Combining sweet melodies with sour rock dissonance yields a delectably hypnotic dichotomy.

Feedback and fuzz steer much of Seasick, and though loud-fast does rule, it isn’t The Mission Orange’s only M.O. The twisted folk ballad “Sister” adopts lingering acoustic strums and Jeff Mangum harmonies, while sheer joy saturates the playground romance on “I’m a Germ, You’re a Germ” (“I saw you swinging on the swingset / swinging with your feet all covered in mud”) until its inexplicably disastrous end where Nevitt exclaims, “I’m losing my desire!” This shows a few lyrical loose ends need tying, along with occasionally repetitive riffs craving more evolution.

They have the right components — ample melodic sensibility, compelling energy and an album as cohesive as it is endearing. On the closer, “Homesick,” which plays like a continuation of the opener, Nevitt bellows, “I am alone!” With records like Seasick, The Mission Orange should find plenty of friends to keep them company. (Murder Mountain)

www.myspace.com/themissionorange

-Julia Cooper

Rachel Taylor Brown - Half Hours with the Lower Creatures

Recorded and mixed by Jeff Stuart Saltzman at The Magic Closet and Mysterious Beard | Mastered by Jeff Lipton

A marine biology textbook from the early 20th century inspired Portland singer/songwriter Rachel Taylor Brown to pen her latest breathtaking offering for the Cutthroat Pop imprint. A fanatic of the works of Vonnegut and Lynda Barry, Half Hours with the Lower Creatures finds Brown at odds with the world within her own element — the storyteller — yet in the end, she manages to paint a stark and brutally honest portrayal of taboo themes such as consumerism, murder, isolation and religion with unflinching valiancy.

“Hemocult/I Care About You” is the perfect album opener — awash with ethereal hymns, orchestral swoons and toy piano, the production quality alone sounds like something straight from heaven’s door. A frank assessment of the nation’s fragility after 9/11, the song coasts at a glacial pace, yet the tension surrounding the protagonist cuts like a knife. A recorded voice crackles with anxiety, phones ring off the hook and

someone laughs in the backdrop. Suddenly, the steadfast tapping of piano and snare drum extinguishes any placidity with the hasty “You’re Alright Sorla One.” With a vocal delivery on par with the fiery barks of Kate Bush and soft lilts of Eleanor Friedberger, Brown chants, “You’re alright / This will only hurt a bit / You’re alright / Nothing you can do for it.”

The one spirit that Brown channels throughout the album’s breath is Paul McCartney’s — especially from his years fronting Wings. During the rocking “Abraham and Isaac,” one can almost hear McCartney’s warble slice through the roar of the guitar solo, or the twosome sitting side-by-side at the piano during “Another Dead Solider in Fallujah.” However, unlike the Englishman, Brown is unafraid to saturate her pop songs in gloom-and-doom, defying the belief that a sad pop song can’t be a catchy one. (Cutthroat Pop Records)

www.racheltaylorbrown.com

-Chris Sabbath

Joe Bagale - Joe Bagale

Produced and mixed by Joe Bagale

Joe Bagale is a one-man band. Not only did he write and produce his own self-titled album, he also played keyboards, drums, aux. percussion, guitars, bass, synths, samples and sang lead and backup vocals. Bagale’s vocals are a powerful combination of Lenny Kravitz’s soulful rock, Stevie Wonder’s nuanced funk and Nikka Costa’s attitude, which he layers over polyrhythm and warm instrumentals. One might not expect to hear contemplative avant-garde electronic songs tucked into an album packed with hearty, funked-out old school R&B and extroverted jazz — but Bagale has done it and it works

The intro track crackles with retro synths warping in and out like a Black Moth Super Rainbow song played in reverse on a record player. This gentle entrance gives way to a few hits of the drum stick in the following track, “I Need You,” before breaking into a funkier rhythm with horns reminiscent of UB4O. “Call On Me” begins like something straight out of the 1970s, with bluesy bass and gospel-style singers as accompaniment. Eventually, a dirty brass section comes roaring in over the sliding harmonies of the back-up vocals. The song seems to play around with conventions of funk and jazz as Andre 3000 has been known to do.

“Getting Over” shimmers into being with some Pat Metheny-esque synths that give way to a spongy trip-hop beat. Bagale chants faintly behind the ornately layered instrumentals. The song finally fades out with a single sustained piano note. “Astronomical Unit” follows along the same line, floating into space on horns and rolling ambient sound like a Zero 7 synth jam.

Whether dabbling with electronica or diving headlong into traditional funk, Joe Bagale creates a satisfying, rich blend of music to get lost in. (1beatProductions)

www.joebagale.com

-Lulu McAllister

The Brokenmusicbox - Waking the Sound

Recorded at The Annex Recording Studios in Menlo Park, CA | Mixed by Dan Long at Red Rockets Glare | Mastered by Rainer Gembalczyk at The Annex

San Francisco-based outfit The Brokenmusicbox is indeed a fine example of content description by band name, replacing the tinny-sounding lullabies of a more familiar music box with an admirable assortment of down-tempo elegies.

More of a proclamation than a title, freshman opus Waking the Sound plays like a middle of the night, stumble-filled search for a glass of water — a “waking” trip down unlit sonic hallways of chugging pump organs and hushed guitars beckoned by lead singer Kimberly Contreras’ siren-like vocals.

This isn’t to say the atmosphere is incidental. An obvious labor of love, The Brokenmusicbox began in early 2003 as a product of Contreras’ years of solo experimentation with only her secondhand four-track and bolt-necked guitar as back up. After a lengthy period of sporadic collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Tony Wentzel, the duo cemented over a chance session with a shared keyboardist friend and eventually produced demos for what would become Waking the Sound.

While Contreras and Wentzel are primarily responsible for the album — along with sharing lead vocals and a smorgasbord of instrumentation, the two are credited with all of the album’s songwriting, arranging and production — a San Francisco local or two folds into the mix. Jason Ruck of mod-shoegaze outfit Film School, for instance, sprinkles the hymn-like sounds of a Fender Rhodes over the dizzying “Undercover” and the more nostalgic lament “The Way Things Go.”

The result is impressive. Listeners are left stunned, sleepy and wanting more after album closer “Goodbye Roses,” and curious to know what wistful direction the next LP will take them. (Brokenmusicboxmusic)

www.thebrokenmusicbox.com

-Mike Isaac

Candle - Miles and Miles and Miles

Recorded at Real Love Studios in Paso Robles, CA by Paul Frankel | Mixed by Jon Wilson and Nolan Perry | Mastered by Jon Wilson

Miles and Miles and Miles borrows from the territory trod by K Records: easy-going lo-fi momentums, over- punctuated vocals and a rich blend of off-kilter instruments working through a traditional pop verse-chorus framework. It’s an inspired album; adventurous and liberal in its exploration of folk and country roots. It’s a wonder Portland’s folk hero producer Adam Selzer isn’t involved.

There are too many instruments to list, but some standouts are the plucky banjos, brushy drums, languid cello and violins, and a shy, understated trumpet. In the bouncy, up-tempo song “Pretty Please,” the San Luis Obispo five-piece features the “Like a Rollin’ Stone” Dylan-influenced surging Wurlitzer organ which fills the background like a wildfire of vibrant, smoldering notes.

Singer Kevin Coons has an earnest voice. Often backed by a Southern-fried female and a hollering male, Coons’ vocals cut through the instrumental texturing like a faint recall to Pavement-era Malkmus. Lyrics touch on traditional Americana folk themes: rambling across the country, love and loss. In the slow-tempo, soulful burner “Hotel Eyes,” a willful Coons sings, “So I met a girl / With hotel eyes / said you can’t call me home / but you can stay for the night / And I turned in my keys / With bags at my side / I left her at this / I’ll see you sometime.”

Candle’s listenability may be attributed to its familiarity — a listener of K or Bar/None Records should feel at home with the band’s understated alt-country release, and a folk fan needn’t worry about long stretches of inconsistent, meandering nonsense. Miles and Miles and Miles is tight, even considering the bulky textures and melodic tinkering. It’s an album fierce on maintaining interest and not overstaying its welcome. (Real Love Records)

www.myspace.com/candlemusic

-Christopher Petro

Tears Run Rings - Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never

Recorded and mixed by Tears Run Rings at Shelflife Studios | Mastered by Jon Chalkin at Nonstop Sound

The intersection between shoegazer and indie pop has been established for almost as long as they have co-existed (and was cemented by Sarah Records band Secret Shine, whom Tears Run Rings toured with this spring). For fans in the significant overlap between the two genres, Tears Run Rings’ pedigree alone is cause for excitement.

The members of Tears Run Rings span the West Coast, from Los Angeles to Seattle, and include indie-pop veterans Laura Watling and other former members of Autocollants, including Ed Mazzucco and Matthew Bice, both heads of estimable indie-pop label Shelflife Records. Here they have traded twee pop for a heavy-lidded attack of gauzy production and droning, echo-saturated guitars, but they have not sacrificed melody: the songs feature the lovely kind of boy-girl vocal harmonies common to countless indie-pop bands and signature shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.

The album, bookended by “Happiness Part One” and “Happiness Part Two,” reveals a range of moods. There’s a note of foreboding in “How Will the Others Survive?” “Fall Into Light” shimmers like sunlight on water, and “Waiting for the End,” with lead vocals by Watling, is dreamy and melancholy. Album highlight, “World Upside Down,” brings a bit of jangle and nods back to the early ‘90s with a hit of the good old Manchester beat. “Run Run Run” is appropriately propulsive, with plangent baritone vocals and hints of New Order in the guitars.

Tears Run Rings completed the album long distance Postal Service-style, exchanging digital files via mail and the internet, but the seamlessly layered songs betray no sonic evidence of physical or psychic disconnection. This rewarding and heartfelt album was worth the extra effort, handily living up to the promise of its pedigree. (Clairecords)

www.tearsrunrings.com

-Mike Baehr

Hot Challenge - Hot Challenge EP

Recorded and mixed by John Flores and Roland Curtis at Snoppy Quop Studios | Produced by Hot Challenge, John Flores and Roland Curtis | Mastered by Mike Wells at Mike Wells Mastering

The four guys in San Francisco-based Hot Challenge were smart to appropriate the dance grooves of bands like The Killers and She Wants Revenge. Danceable rock music has proven a sure bet in all its permutations over the years. While the music on Hot Challenge’s debut EP is not entirely original, the grooves and musicianship — coupled with solid pop songwriting — carry it forward.

With Evan Lane sticking to drums alone, brothers JP, Dave and Joe Rose (guitars, keyboards and bass, respectively) share vocal duties, which is one key element separating Hot Challenge from its contemporaries. The brothers’ two-part harmonies are a stand-out feature throughout “Wine,” with its distinctive dance club-ready synth riff, as well as in the choruses of the EP’s other songs. These harmonies especially elevate the chorus of another single-worthy entry, “Self-Treatment,” while they merely add texture to the relatively hook-less “Freedom.”

The album’s lone ballad, “Silver Stars,” is the one awkward spot on the disc. Opening with light, airy, ‘80s synth beats, the rhythm often dances around like it cannot decide whether it wants to swing. Halfway through, analog drums save the day, though the lack of contrast in the drum volume robs the song of dynamics.

More typical of the disc, however, is a balance between rock and dance elements, culminating in the brilliantly constructed “End of the World,” which plays like a hit waiting to happen with its chiming, U2-inspired guitars and engaging four-on-the-floor chorus accented by an off-snare beat.

At eight full songs, the disc is longer than the average EP, and probably could have passed for a full album in the early ‘80s. As it is, the economy of the disc serves it well in this promising start for a young new band.

www.myspace.com/hotchallenge

-Michael Fortes

The Hands - The Hands

Recorded and produced by Brandon Eggleston and The Hands at Jackpot! Studios in Portland, OR | Mixed by Brandon Eggleston at Avast! in Seattle, WA

The self-titled debut full length from Seattle’s The Hands opens with a tiny querulous wail like the traditional folk song “O Death,” but the big ol’ drums stomp right down on it to make way for punk vocals with a shot of bluesy arrogance. “I Don’t Want to Turn You On” takes this in a fun Jack White direction (the title says it all) and throws in trumpets for extra roundhouse-kicking action. That’s not the only fun title: there is the Springsteen-spirited anthem “Dry County” and the fan favorite “Praying Hands Will Make Fists (Or Be Chopped Off).” The album has a few spaced-out vamping moments, but these don’t last long before the guitars rev back up, sometimes in shredding solo form. Group vocals add a barroom feel to lines like “I don’t wanna die” on “Hearts Abandoned Will Rust” — and a weird Queen quote, which incidentally is followed by a Kerouac quote. It’s not fair that Blur cornered the market on all good healthy “woo-hoos” 10 years ago, but they did — sorry, Hands. Still, despite their lack of consistent originality, The Hands are a good time. They don’t have to worry about going on tour: like any good bar band, they’re sure to find themselves an audience whether they’re in the Tri-Cities, the Twin Cities, or Kansas City. They proved this recently in Seattle at a show with the irresistible poster tagline “Wild Bros at the Wild Rose.” The Hands and The Whore Moans playing a lesbian bar: who could resist? (Selector Sound/Basement Empire)

www.myspace.com/handshandshands

-Kjersti Egerdahl

Colorstore - Bonefish: The Legend of Mahogany Cass

Produced, engineered and mixed by Mike Hissong and David Nichols | Mastered by Roger Siebel

When the 24-track machine came to a halt on the sessions for Colorstore’s second full length, Bonefish: The Legend of Mahogany Cass, the result was boisterous, sweet, goofy and tuneful. This is a band with a lot of ideas. Within the context of excitingly dynamic pop songs, the arrangements feature diverse instrumentation manipulated with impeccable taste, while frontman Mark Erickson’s easeful vocal style is the duct tape that keeps it all together.

Standout “Treasure Sticks the Mammal (and other situations)” evokes Jon Brion’s work in the pop music realm, as the rhythm section gallops through a gauntlet of screaming guitar lines and overdriven keys. Even the loose, double-tracked guitar squalls are placed with a relaxed proficiency that demonstrates the players’ well-honed poise. This interplay between accomplished songwriting acumen and a pleasantly imperfect production aesthetic suits Colorstore well. To this end, there are beautifully orchestrated lo-fi keyboard sounds all over “my name is B,” layers of hummed vocals forming the backdrop for “Milk,” and beat-boxing sections on the triumphant closer, “Kahitchigo Wins the World.” This penchant for the slightly unconventional and the band’s embrace of the human element keep the record from sounding overly polished, despite the relative slickness of its compositions.

The album’s only real missteps are the transitional tracks “Death of Mr. Cass” and “Supper at the Cass Residence.” The former is a collage of drum and vocal tracks being sped up, slowed down and reversed, and the latter is a mumbled exchange between a pair of apparent yokels. While interesting and/or amusing enough for one listen, it’s difficult to imagine either of these recordings having significant replay value. The nine songs that make up the rest of the album are a different story, as a tapestry of subtle detail unravels with each subsequent listen. (Self-released)

www.colorstore.net

-William Cremin

Aaron Bowen - Supreme Macaroni Co. Ltd.

Recorded and produced by Aaron Bowen

Aaron Bowen is a study in self-underestimation. One of the most talented finger-style guitarists around, the San Diego-based artist claims not to be a singer, yet his melodies continue to move audiences ranging from pop-predisposed youth to seasoned folk veterans. A fine-tuned lyricist — never one to shy away from deeper meanings — Bowen somehow finds a way to still give his songs universal appeal while maintaining a distinct uniqueness his fans have grown to love. On his latest release, Supreme Macaroni Co. Ltd., Bowen gives us 13 charming songs that represent a mix of Paul Simon’s delicate delivery with Alexi Murdoch’s gratifying rhythm and vibe.

As Bowen fills this album with his beautiful guitar playing, sweeping melodies and creative instrumentation, his lyrics may not always get the credit they deserve. Lines like “I only want to stare into your angel eyes” will make any listener stop and smile. In “Mr. A,” Bowen tells a classic love story between “Mr. A” and “Madame O.,” complete with the sounds of creaking wood and the elegant imagery of the old saloon where the story is set.

Yet Bowen writes such gorgeous melodies that even without his carefully-crafted lyrics, the songs could hold up as instrumentals. The result of years of performing, the diversity of his instrumentation truly shows. Producing the album entirely on his own, Bowen incorporates a banjo in several tracks and a wonderful chorus of voices that supports almost every song on the album.

Showcasing his talents as a producer, engineer, master guitarist and singer, Bowen superbly combines these skills in a warm, cozy album that will delight, inspire and certainly impress everyone who listens. (Self-released)

www.aaronbowenmusic.com

-Dave Boodakian

Love is Chemicals - Song of the Summer Youth Brigade

Produced by Christian Hanlon and Love is Chemicals

Listening to the latest offering from San Francisco-based quartet Love is Chemicals, it becomes evident that the band still possesses hope that love entails more than just chemically-charged pheromones and unemotional biological processes. With meandering, soft-spoken guitar and lyrics that are at once vulnerable and emblematic, Love is Chemicals capture the gradual unfolding of a romance in bloom on their new album, Song of the Summer Youth Brigade.

Comprised of Nate Grover (guitar/vocals), Nick Mirov (guitar), Courtney Grover (bass/vocals) and Steven Galbraith (drums), Love is Chemicals offers an atmospheric album brimming with soft harmonics and delicate lyricism. At various points, Nate’s steady vocals are accompanied by those of his wife, Courtney, producing an effect that is both complimentary and dreamlike.

In standout track “Let Me Come Down,” the lyrics imbue the song with a discernibly comfortable, domestic vibe: “You’ve been nice, your room is like a paradise /... I could stay here for a long, long time, and you could be my valentine.” As the track progresses and the chorus reaches its crescendo, Nate and Courtney’s voices become intertwined and the guitar becomes more fervent, augmenting the emotional intensity of the lyrics. The album takes a slightly anthemic turn with “Meet Me on the Tarmac,” but still manages to hold on to the vulnerability established in prior tracks (“Find, with the stars in our eyes / the music I turned on that took us by surprise”).

While Song of the Summer Youth Brigade often switches between wistfully atmospheric and guitar-driven, faster-paced tunes, it possesses enough overall charm and lyrical sensitivity to keep listeners enamored for a long time. (Near Earth Objects)

www.loveischemicals.net

-Zoe Carpou

Oh My! Michael Scott Parker - Naked

Produced, mixed and engineered by Michael Scott Parker and John Standish at Pink Elephant Studios in San Francisco, CA and City Tracks Studios in Colorado Springs, CO | Additional production by Barry Wedgle | Mastered by John Standish

Michael Scott Parker must have toddled around the house sans clothes just a bit more often than the average child. Everything about her latest album, Naked, from soul-exposing lyrics to emotive melodies, reveals a free spirit unafraid to strip for artistic expression.

Recently relocated to liberal bastion San Francisco — but seemingly risen from the sea — Parker, AKA Oh My!, proves a new goddess is in town, poised to join the female singer/songwriter elite. Vocally, Parker evokes both Tori Amos’ sultry-smooth rasp and angelic moan, as on the stark chamber ballad “Toy Piano,” and Albini-era PJ Harvey on the title track and “Mi Ute,” where she wields not much more than an electric guitar and a spitting banshee shriek.

Lyrically, Parker comes off as a bona fide muse set to plant the seed of self-expression into all of Earth’s creatures. “Let’s make crazy / it’s time to play,” she beckons enticingly on the rollicking album opener, “Let’s Make Crazy,” luring listeners to join in the fun of breaking loose from life’s cages. Overt feminism permeates other tracks, most notably on the resolute acoustic star “Natural to Me” as Parker asserts, “I’m gonna be the woman to change everyone’s mind ... I’m not sure if they’re ready for women like us.”

Parker’s renaissance tendencies — she wrote, performed, produced and designed much of Naked — mostly get the job done. But the handful of guest musicians dropping in with sax, violin or synth, among other instruments, occasionally fail to meld with the staple guitars, creating a disjointed effect. And with such fervent honesty and genre-hopping, from alt-country to folk pop to raw rock, Parker could have trouble tracking down her audience.

But listener beware: though no lions or tigers or bears pop up on Oh My!’s Naked, her charismatic wizardry can grow scary-infectious to even the most unsuspecting ears. (Self-released)

www.creaturerock.com

-Julia Cooper

Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands - Cody’s Dream

Recorded, produced and mixed by Steve Fisk at Philosophy of the World Recording in Seattle, WA

What do you get when you take a talented musician, put him in a car with no radio and send him driving across America? The dusty old American dream that is Mark Pickerel’s latest, Cody’s Dream. With a classic voice that sets the personal tone of the album, Pickerel tells the story of the lovers and dreamers he muses about as he drives in what one can only assume is a beautiful classic car, probably restored with his own hands. Falling somewhere between Elvis Presley and Chris Isaak, Pickerel’s voice is instantly likeable and gives life to his beautiful lyrics.

It should come as no surprise that Pickerel knows his way around a studio, having recorded with everyone from Nirvana to Neko Case. Produced by Steve Fisk, who worked with Pickerel during his days as a drummer for Screaming Trees, Cody’s Dream is the result of their mutual years of experience. Bringing even more skill to the table, Johnny Sangster plays lead electric guitar on all the tracks, expertly mimicking Pickerel’s vocals with a quality vintage sound. “One More Cup of Coffee” truly showcases Sangster’s talent for finding that lonely heartbreak tone on the guitar.

Although the production and vocals are strong, the lyrics are the main focus. In “Let Me Down Easy” Pickerel sings, “Let me down easy / explain it from the start / We’ve got all night / for you to break my heart.” Pickerel touches on the loneliness theme several times and even refers to his own lyrics as “lyrics of the lonely” in the biographical track, “Leaving with the Swamptones.”

With 13 songs that won’t let you down but just might break your heart, Cody’s Dream is an album well produced and rich with the soul of a talented singer and accomplished songwriter. (Bloodshot Records)

www.markpickerel.com

-Dave Boodakian

The Federalists - The Federalists

Produced by Dustin Smith and Luke Franks | Engineered, mixed and mastered by Dustin Smith

“The indies told us we were too mainstream; the majors told us we were too indie,” The Federalists say, “This is exactly the line we’d like to walk, being accessible while maintaining artistic integrity.” A noble goal, no doubt, yet upon first listen, The Federalists’ self-titled sophomore album may seem superficial and pat, a pastiche rather than an original artistic endeavor. However, the smooth and at times bland exterior belies some exceptional songwriting that emerges in fits and starts.

The album seems to ride primarily on peppy, inoffensive ditties. “Italian Robot” is fun and danceable, almost (as the title would suggest) robotic. “City Girl” evokes the neat country pop of Counting Crows with its appropriately nasal vocals and upbeat tone; it wavers between a hand-clapping, foot-tapping melody and an electronic-infused bridge. “Bang” sustains a devil-may-care attitude with its sauntering melody and somewhat obtuse lyrics (“If somebody died / at least they did it beautifully / If somebody died / at least they went out with a bang”). Yet there are select moments of innovation and brilliance in The Federalists. “Explode” combines lo-fi vocals reminiscent of The Strokes with a few measures of rhythmic mastery worthy of Keith Moon and Pete Townshend. “Impossible,” perhaps the most complex and exceptional song of the album, slides seamlessly from bluesy sax and a doo-wop beat into an urgent, whisper-soft yet manically fast-paced drum beat in the bridge. The appropriation of cheery retro is evocative of Rilo Kiley’s More Adventurous.

It’s clear that The Federalists have a strong grip on both the accessible and the innovative; if they can now just effectively integrate the two, they’ll have it made. (Self-released)

www.the-federalists.com

-Caitlin Berka