.jpg)
Brighton, MA, refers to the birthplace of Matthew Kerstein, and in his own words represents the sense of “going home again.” An air of nostalgia certainly wafts through the five songs on their self-titled debut EP, out next week. On “Ballad for Coolhand” Kerstein re-visits a younger, naive look towards the future, “How you planned to live free and simple/VW bus for the ride/and you chased your hopes on Down Street/live by the beach and get high.” There’s a hint of Irishness in Kerstein’s delivery and coupled with soaring instrumentation it prompts occasional flashes of U2. This sound is most prevalent on “Bet You Never Thought,” a track originally recorded when Kerstein, Devon Bryant and Sam Koentopp played with the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, but re-worked for this EP. Kerstein’s earnest singing cuts through a dense swirl of guitars. As the song progresses more guitars rush in and the Edge gives way to Kevin Shields. I suspect their folk-gazing anthems will easily win fans as the band works its way into the national consciousness.
Savath & Savalas
The ever prolific musical shape-shifter that is Scott Herren (Prefuse 73, Piano Overlord, Delarosa and Asora) returns under his Savath & Savalas moniker. Herren sheds the digital complexity of Prefuse 73 for a more organic simplicity. That’s not all he’s shed. Unlike recent S & S releases, Herren has likewise proceeded without his collaborator Eva Puyuelo and is releasing this album on a new label: Anti. While Golden Pollen (out June 19th) appears to be focused on his own song-crafting he joins with José González and Mia Doi Todd for a couple tracks. “Ya Verdad” features Herren himself on vocals. He plays a variety of guitars from Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Cuba on the album as well as various Latin percussion instruments. This one should stop you in your tracks, slow down your day and cause a sorely needed moment of introspection and reflection. A keen dose of homeopathic Ritalin. It certainly mellowed my ADHD for the afternoon…
Coltrane Motion MP3s, Album + Tour
Transformantra
Today, thanks to the folks at Canadian net-label Decibel Palace, we rediscover a rare electronic quartet with a taste for techno, funk, and 80s synth-sounds. The resulting output resembles Mr. Scruff circa year 2099, a playful, futuristic-nostalgia. Toronto’s answer to Kraftwerk? Unfortunately the band disbanded eight years ago after releasing an initial 12″ (with “Liquor Mart” as the a-side) and a 10-track debut featuring a remix by Freaky Chakra. Dave Allen (Gang of Four, Shriekback) planned on releasing their sophomore effort on his World Domination label. When his domination attempt failed the album was shelved and the band went on their separate ways. Live, Transformantra employed live instrumentation and improvisational re-mixing and set King Svenie (a veteran rave dancer/illustrator) loose on the stage, dancing around, costumed like the cosmos. Here’s hoping for a Transformantra reunion show in the Gobi tent at Coachella!
Free MP3 Comp from Adult Swim
JakobÃnarÃna
I can imagine a relay race where Mark E. Smith runs the first leg. He makes his way around the track and when it comes time to pass the baton he doesn’t want to give it up. He thinks the race is 4×1600, when it’s really 4×100. See, just when I think there can’t be another Fall record: there’s another Fall record. That’s not a bad thing, but other bands are ready to take their baton and run with it. Iceland’s JakobÃnarÃna (their debut album hits this fall) seem ready to go the distance. Their music is crisp and full of youthful energy while vocalist Gunnar Ragnarsson sings with a mature timbre similar to Mark E. Smith, despite the fact that he’s probably young enough to be Smith’s grandson. Thematically, compare and contrast the pogo-core of JakobÃnarÃna’s “Sleeping in Seattle” with Minor Threat’s hardcore “Out of Step.” I wish more of America’s youth were as out of step with pop-culture.
3hive Fives
Oliver North Boy Choir
I always get a kick out of bands who appropriate and regurgitate a public figure’s name into something great and weird. And while Oliver North Boy Choir can’t compete with the handle The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza they school them in terms of melody and listenability (in the opinion of this old man. I’m sure the kids go ape for TTDTDE). “Shell for the Mourning” has the schizophrenic energy of a Cornelius track. Bursts of fuzzed-out guitars intercut with lulling electronics while a frenetic beat keeps everything going along at a brisk clip until the bridge where the singer carries on a call and response with a Speak & Spell. The singer’s calm, cool delivery, she sounds as if she could be Laetitia Sadier’s younger sister, stands in contrast with the rest of the track, with the exception of the few lyrics I caught in the chorus, “another rope for your neck” and “another wound from a bullet.” They just add to the sweetly subversive texture of the rest of the song. An important postscript: “Shell for the Mourning” is the next output from this Danish trio who exclusively release singles digitally. They’ve accepted and embraced the much-prophisied demise of the album as an art form without sacrificing the stereo-life of their music.
Alias
How about a hefty dose from Alias! Today we feature a broad sampling from Alias’s discography, beginning with remixes from his brand-spanking new remix collection, coincidentally titled Collected Remixes. Alias is anything but generic when it comes to producing his music. He adds so much more to his remix projects than a throwaway beat. He makes each song his own with his signature atmospherics and keyboard work—from reworking indie stalwart John Vanderslice to dropping the low end on Lali Puna’s björk-core to goblet-shattering levels.
Alias stands head and shoulders above most hip-hop producers because rather than relying on sampling Alias implements live and electronic instrumentation. He still taps the past for inspiration as evidenced by the Black Celebration era riff of “Cobblestone Waltz,” a track recorded with his brother Ehren for their collaborative instrumental album, Lillian. And don’t miss his work with Rona “Tarsier” Rapadas. It’s anything but a sidenote. His colorful production gently lifts her already lush and soaring vocals. There’s plenty here to digest, but just a few songs in you’ll hear how Alias, like several of his fellow Bay Area beat-heads, has single-handedly broadened the boundaries of hip-hop, revealing its rich possibilities.
Santa Maria
This one’s gonna be quick because I gotta take care of the mothers in my life today! Maria Eriksson from The Concretes pulled together some of Sweden’s finest players to back her up on her solo album. The first selection, “Cuckoo” is the most Concretes-like: playful, bouncy pop, while “Dogs” is slightly more introspective and somber. Ericksson and company get downright proggy on “Make Up.” A little something for everyone. Enjoy the music. Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to call your mother!