While I love Aquarius Records for their wonderful staff recommendations, I tend to glaze over whenever they ramble on about some Norwegian death metal band or one of their other bizarre sub-sub-sub-genre obsessions. One such act I’d been sleeping on is Boris — filed under “sludge / psych / doom / dirge / drone metal” by the heads at Aquarius. What a fool was I… Sure, they live up to “Japan’s answer to the Melvins” (another Aquarius line) just fine, but stashed between the rabid, big bully numbers sounds are careful, almost vulnerable, epics that build on the legacy of Flying Saucer Attack or even My Bloody Valentine. These two tracks are perfect examples (if you came looking for the headbanger bits, you’ll have to buy the albums). At times, Boris are not at all what you’d expect from a record label whose website features flames as the mouseover animation for its navigation. Then again, a “pink album” doesn’t really fit the genre either — so?
Alice Smith
This angel of Brooklyn has more vocal range than any one woman should be allowed. Just check the difference between these tracks — one straight sheet schmoovin’ and one straight blues beltin’ (and one remix for good measure). Plus, she’s got that “I don’t really know how sexy I am” sexiness to her. Her debut is set to drop September 5, 2006 in hard copy form but can be downloaded in full at eMusic NOW. Be still my heart.
Brian Eno + David Byrne
Today we’re going back twenty-five years to 1981 (would someone check my math on that?). Brian Eno and David Byrne collaborated to produce the album My Life in a Bush of Ghosts. The album highlights the pair’s mutual love for African pop and rhythms. The track offered here, “Regiment,” is obviously influenced by such music. Its rhythms and percussion are also reminiscent of another album released in ’81, Japan’s Tin Drum. Eno + Byrne’s album set the template for later works of world and electronic music. My Life in a Bush of Ghosts was re-mastered and re-issued this year and the complete multi-tracks to two of the songs are available for download on Bush-Of-Ghosts.com. Producers are encouraged to use the tracks in their own work, or remix the songs and upload them back to the site. The site also features archival press coverage, essays, photos from the recording sessions, a video and polaroids by David Byrne himself. A worthwhile way to spend your day procrastinating.
Manual
I promise this will be the last plug I give a Darla artist this week (gotcha…it’s Saturday!). Manual is Danish prodigy Jonas Munk. At age 22, he’s already got over a dozen releases to his name(s), many of them an epic 10+ minues in length. I always thought it was weird when music critics would use the term “big” to describe a sound. But that’s about the best way I can think of to describe Manual. Big and warm and familiar. In fact, Darla’s press release says: “In Jonas’ world there’s no line between dream pop and stadium rock…” So here I am, lighter held up high.
Bing Ji Ling
Let’s start the weekend off right with two fine examples of this new Bay Area Soul that’s been brewing up North for sometime. First, it’s Bing Ji Ling. Loosely translated it means “ice cream” in Chinese. Not many east Asian influences in his music, but sweet and creamy grooves abound. His record, Doodle Loot Doot Doodle A Doo, has been out a couple years now and he’s been busy in the meantime. He’s remixed the likes of Quannum’s Curumin and Blackalicious and has collaborated with Darondo and Tommy Guerrero. Bing Ji Ling is 100% party music and he’ll get you going like it’s 2099. Watch for a new album this year, and catch him live to enjoy tasty ice-cream treats courtesy of his hot-bodied entourage.
Nino Moschella
Next up, Nino Moschella. More low-key than Bing Ji Ling, but all up in your groove nonetheless. Moschella offers up a smooth blend of electronic and acoustic elements while channeling the raw, gritty funkmasters of the ’60s. He keeps the instrumentation minimal which leaves more room for the soul, baby. The Fix, his debut album, is out next week on Ubiquity.
The Silver Hearts
We’ve done some orchestral pop here recently, with posts on Architecture in Helsinki and The Heavy Blinkers. The Silver Hearts — an Ontario ten-piece band — use a lot of the same instruments, but really without the pop part. Think a hundred years ago and you’re headed in the right direction. Think Tom Waits vaudville and you’re even closer to home. In fact, available from The Silver Hearts is their own song-by-song interpretation of Waits’s 1985 classic Rain Dogs (click here if you’re curious). Their “beer and brothel orchestra” sound is probably a pretty good fit.
Beirut
Zach Condon is an A-student from Albuquerque who bummed around Europe for a few months and came back with a head full of Balkan harmonies just begging for a pop reawakening. With the help of Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeremy Barnes, who lends lovely layers of percussion, they’ve gotten just that. Condon’s melancholic, lazy-tongued crooning owes more than a little to the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, as does his ability to turn the oddest mix of melodies into an aural box of chocolates. From a hodgepodge of musical traditions, and without a single traditional pop rhythm, Beirut creates little gems that will stick in your mind as much more than just quaint novelties from faraway locales.
The Heavy Blinkers
People seemed to like the orchestral pop of Australia’s Architecture in Helsinki the other day, so I thought I’d pitch a Canadian take on the same genre to you. Hailing from Halifax, The Heavy Blinkers have some serious ’70s pop sensibilities — I mean, there’s even a smooth trombone solo in “Try Telling That To My Baby,” title song of the newest Blinkers’ album. With all the strings, horns and soft backing vocals, you practically have an ELO record. Not that I remember ELO, but my dad did have one of their 8-tracks, which would probably be the ultimate medium for The Heavy Blinkers.
Sub Dub
First DJ Wally, now another from my mid-’90s rotation… Not just a clever moniker, Sub Dub is fairly descriptive of the musical niche that Raz “Badawi” Mesinai and John “J-Dub” Ward carved out for themselves. Though laced with dub’s signature buoyancy, their sound is inspired by the grit and murk of urban life — as opposed to the cosmic influence of some of their neo-dub contemporaries. And speaking of Wally, there’s a possible thread here: the strange caterwaul sample that emerges with about 1:00 left in “Dawa Zangpo” sounds uncannily similar to the one found in DJ Wally’s “Outta My Head.” I could be wrong though, as I don’t have the latter track with me as I write this. I’ll get out my forensics kit and get back to you…unless, of course, someone out there beats me to it.