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September 2020 = |
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Jeff Kelly |
Ruffled Feathers |
Pugwash |
Head South By
Weaving and Alison O'Donnell |
Jonathan Hultén |
Dr
Space's Alien Planet Trip |
Ray Russell
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Dodson & Fogg
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Asteroid
No. 4
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Big
Blood |
Ondara |
Movies
roundup |
Nick
Perri & the Underground Thieves |
Korb |
Barringtone |
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JEFF
KELLY – BENEATH THE STARS, ABOVE THE RIVER
(Sugarbush
Records)
Green
Pajamas multi-instrumentalist front man Jeff
Kelly returns with what sounds very much like a
concept album, a Galacian journey full of songs
which highlight the Iberian peninsula of
Portugal and Spain, inspired by fado, flamenco
and femme fatales.
‘The
Initial Kiss’ utilizes Spanish guitar and
accordion. ‘The River Rain Part 1’, is a brief
instrumental interlude of drifting accordion and
piano which segues into ‘If Only’, a slow waltz
of a song, full of foreboding and heavy with
portent and longing. The mouthful of a title
that is ‘Juliana Of The One - Man - Scanner
Station’, is great, where desire is just an
x-ray away. ‘Senor, Senor’, ups the rock
quotient, plenty of terrific controlled lead
guitar stabs and not a million miles away from
Tom Petty. ‘Todo Por La Gitana’, rounds off the
first side and takes us back to acoustic Jeff,
reminiscent of the kind of stuff put out by
Calexico, it’s an excellent lilting story song,
very cinematic in nature which also finds room
for some more of Jeff’s fine lead guitar lines.
Side
two kicks off with ‘Moon Over Granada’, a
mid-tempo song which highlights that awful,
sinking feeling you feel, when you know that you
have to leave but you really want to stay. ‘The
Lisbon Vampires’, packs a lot into its three
minutes, it’s a slow waltz, all high heels on
tiled streets and a beckoning spider tempting
you into her lair. ‘My Lily’, is delicate and
classy, decorated with Spanish guitar, rinky
dink piano, supple sinewy bass lines and light
percussion. ‘Douro River Wind’, a paean to
Portugal’s largest river and home to the rich
port houses works well; it’s another song full
of longing, a wishing to return. ‘Kiss The Moon
Hello’, is just glorious, a swaying beauty of a
song, let’s kiss the sun goodbye, and say hello
to the moon. Another brief interlude in ‘The
River Rain Part 2’, then it’s into the final
song ‘Alleys Of Madrid’. An album highlight,
adorned with lonesome mariachi trumpet and a
shuffling rhythm, and so the album ends and we
leave our hearts in the alleys of Madrid.
(Andrew Young)
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RUFFLED
FEATHERS - RUFFLED FEATHERS
(self-released
CDR)
Collaborations are usually
interesting beasts. "Ruffled Feathers" is a
privately released album in a limited edition in
which Alan Davidson of Kitchen Cynics and our
very own Simon Lewis (Phoenix Cube, The Golden
Cake Company) combine their talents to create a
rather marvellous album of what I suppose would
best be described a psych folk.
The opener 'Rock Pool' is
written by the former, a ghostly guitar, synth
and vocal cut with a beautiful vibe, as is the
second track, 'Twa Corbies,' in which Peter
Lagan is the vocalist. This cut is trad folk,
but re-envisioned. Simon Lewis provides the next
two tracks, the first a spoken word whimsy set
in a garden and (possibly) allotment - this one
reminded me of Sproatly Smith - the second being
a song of missed opportunities. Strange sounds
and heavily flanged guitar underlie Davidson's
vocals on the next track.
'Old Woodland In The Rain' is
an instrumental created by Simon Lewis -
psychedelic, analogue and ambient - with synths
a-plenty, while 'Climbing' features clawhammer
guitar and a really lovely melody. This song has
a spring-like vibe to it. Next up is Simon
Lewis' mix of 'Twa Corbies,' then it's another
engaging piece of birdsong-haunted ambience from
Mr Lewis. The album concludes with a flute and
backwards-effect cut from Mr Davidson, enlivened
here and there by vocals.
I liked this a lot. The tracks
are all roughly in the same vein, yet there's
more than enough variety within that to maintain
interest, and as a whole it works very well.
Fans of British psych-folk should certainly
check this one out. It comes in
ecologically-friendly packaging (hand made), and
is available via the two musicians themselves.
(Steve
Palmer)
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PUGWASH
– THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE PUGLY
(Sugarbush
Records)
A
new album from Pugwash has just been released.
It’s a collection of all sorts of outtakes,
demos, unplugged and acoustic versions of some
of their classic songs, from a growing back
catalogue.
A
fine version of ‘Apples’, opens the proceedings,
a song which was originally on the Almanac
album, a quirky melodic pop song shot through
with mellotron. ‘Two Wrongs’, from their debut
also has some ‘tron, it is a swooning, classy
pop song, ostensibly a commentary on the games
people play. ‘Always Be’, from the same album
appears here as an acoustic demo. A couple of
demos recorded in a shed appear next; they both
date from 1992 ‘Biggles Dictates A Letter’, and
‘Kings And Queens Of The Land’. Biggles sounds
very much like mid period XTC, I don’t believe
either have been released before. The first side
ends with a lovely alternate version of ‘Sunrise
Sunset’.
Side
two starts with ‘Lucy, Oh Lucy,’ a skewed pop
song from 2004 which is swiftly followed by the
achingly gorgeous ‘Fall Down’, an acoustic demo
from 2010 and originally on The Olympus Sound
album. ‘It’s Nice To Be Nice’, the opening song
from Jollity has strings and keyboards added to
it, it’s almost like he handed the song to Sean
O’Hagan, who gave it the High Llamas treatment.
‘You’re Like Manchester’, is a melodic pop gem
from the pen of Jilted John AKA John
Shuttleworth. ‘All Day’, is another shed demo.
The album ends with a terrific ‘Fire In My
Belly’, which was the b-side from the Apples
single. So with this new album I found the good,
I didn’t find any bad, but it’s definitely all
pugly! (Andrew Young)
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HEAD
SOUTH BY WEAVING &
ALISON O'DONNELL -
FIVE FORESTS
(https://alisonodonnell.bandcamp.com/
)
Recorded
in
spare moments between 2014/18, this album is a
delightful collection of almost traditional Folk
Rock, the collection glued together by Alison's
delightful voice and some wonderful melodies,
the playing bringing the best from each tune.
Telling a traditional tale, “A Penny
For The Wrenboys” has shades of Steeleye Span in
it's jangly guitar and vocal arrangements, a
great start easily matched by the jaunty romp of
“Captain Swing And The Twopenny Trash” a song to
get you moving around the room with its
infectious beat and sweet groove.
Opening in a melancholy mood, notes
tumbling between the sad lyrics, “Waltzing In
The Attic” draws you in with its storytelling,
the music enhancing the lyrics allowing the
listener to lose themselves in the words, like
finding a dusty book of fairy tales, the second
half of the track creating a dreamy waltz for
your imagination to feed of.
Taking the Rock part of Folk Rock,
“Little Sandie” whisks us back to 1967 with its
whimsical psych -pop sheen, although the song
has a rough edge due to the hypnotic bass and
guitar riff that drive it along. In complete
contrast, “By The Banks Of The Itchen” is a
wonderful slice of folk beauty, haunting
melodies drifting like silk with Alison's voice
giving a masterclass in control, the song
stretching out like
the promise of a summers meadow, the rippling
guitar only adding to the beauty.
With a more contemporary feel, echoing
Alison's work with United Bible Studies,
“Where
Once
Grew Five Forests” has some great percussion
work and a more jagged feel, the song layered
and textured in a different way from what has
gone before, an excellent contrast keeping the
album fresh and interesting.
I kind knew there had to be some drone
somewhere on the collection and it finally
appears on “Dressed Stone on Stone” , the
droning undertones proving the perfect
foundation for another fine vocal performance
this time entwined with excellent guitar work
from Graeme Lockett, the song having an ancient
mystical ambience, blends seamlessly into “The
Whims Of Queen Matilda” another folk tale that
shines brightly.
Opening with some dirty feedback guitar
noise, “The Whitwell Dilemma” takes the album in
another direction again, a dark and stormy piece
that fits into the overall feel of the album
whilst simultaneously sounding like it is a
completely different band, layered vocals adding
drama to the mainly instrumental tune. Rounding
off the album, the electric guitar becomes
sunnier as we return to the psych pop folk of
“The Dancing Ledge” another delightful
tune to get you dancing, leading you back into
the real world like the Cheshire Cat dressed as
the Pied Piper.
This is a rather fabulous album with
plenty of variety hidden amongst its grooves, in
a perfect world it would be released on vinyl
with a great gatefold sleeve, maybe someone
could make that happen, I would buy one. (Simon
Lewis)
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JONATHAN
HULTÉN
- CHANTS FROM ANOTHER PLACE
(KScope Records)
My first CD purchase after
lockdown was done on the strength of the cover
art and the word "chants" in the album title.
Unknown to me when I bought
this debut album, Jonathan Hultén turns out to
be a remarkably talented man: singer,
instrumentalist and artist. This fabulous album
comes in a beautiful package, adorned with
woodcuts by the man himself, all of them
evocative of strange deities and lonely forests.
But what of the music? Well,
it's somewhere between folk and psych-folk, with
a bit of Scandinavian melancholy thrown in.
Hultén's voice is reminiscent of Opeth's Mikael
Akerfeldt on the "Damnation" and "Heritage"
albums. The opening track 'A Dance In The Road'
sets the scene - acoustic guitar, multi-tracked
harmony vocals, and a strong melody. This is a
man who can write melody as well as a good
lyric. 'The Mountain' is more of a soft lament,
featuring more terrific harmonised vocals. 'Next
Big Day' was maybe designated the single; a more
urgent, soulful vocal here, though the
arrangement is still acoustic. And 'Wasteland'
is another vocal masterpiece with a gorgeous
melody.
The first of a pair of
instrumentals follows: a full band cut, then a ¾
vocal workout without lyrics. 'Where Devils
Weep' is another fine sung melody, before the
second pair of instrumentals arrive. 'The Roses'
features subtle synths, while album closer 'Deep
Night' sounds big, with some deep voices but
more of a baritone pitch on the main vocal. A
great conclusion!
This is a really fine album
that I've returned to a lot in recent weeks.
Beautifully sung and arranged, it deserves your
listening time. (Steve
Palmer)
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DR
SPACE'S ALIEN PLANET TRIP
- VOL 4 - SPACE WITH BASS
(LP/CD http://spacerockproductions.com/
)
Recorded
in
2019/2020, this sprawling double LP is heavily
influenced by the electronic end of the German
Kosmiche Rock sound, inspiration coming from
Tangerine Dream in particular. Originally Hasse
Horrigmoe (Tangled Edge) was invited to add
guitar to the already recorded electronics but
this proved difficult so Hasse switched to Bass
(hence the title), creating deep and
otherworldly drones and pulses that act as the
perfect foil for the electronic sounds created
by Dr Space.
Filling the whole of side one, the
nineteen minute “Vermis Ex-Deus Primero” creeps
and rumbles from the speakers a distorted,
hypnotic bass surrounded by whispering,
chattering electronics, bringing to mind the
slow motion beauty of “Zeit”, music that needs
listening to in order to bring out its textural
qualities and subtle nuances.
With a harsh electronic sequence
running through it, “Bemushroomed” is a slightly
more challenging listen, the stark alien
ambience needing the listener to re-tune their
ears before diving in at which point you
discover an inner playfulness to the music
especially towards the end when a whole basket
of sequences and sounds gets emptied into the
mix, creating a little squall of electronic
chaos. Sticking with the theme, “Third Eye Into
The 4th Dimension” is another deep
space bleep fest, sounds tumbling over each, the
piece slowly changing as different sounds come
and go in a vaguely disorientating way, people
who are prone to motion sickness shold approach
with caution.
Only available on the vinyl addition,
“Rolling Quark Secretion” reminds me of the deep
space ramblings of My Cat Is An Alien, the bass
again a distorted glue (possibly a secretion)
that hold it all together, the electronics
dripping and oozing through the gaps, creating a
dense, claustrophobic sound that is slowly
lightened as brighter pulses and sequences push
through like cosmic seedling rising from
primordial ooze.
Dark and pulsing, “Blackcloud”, is
another dense cloud of noise, although way in
the distance there are traces of rising melody
that cut through the gloom, a cosmic sludge that
has a ominous quality to it, unsure of where all
this might lead until hints of light are created
with bright pulses of rhythm and sequence, maybe
there is hope after all.
It's been a long journey but we have
finally reached Side D, which kicks off with
“Bass
Karma”
a slice of lysergic dance music, possibly, Bass
and sequencers entwined together as they climb
towards the stars. Halfway there however this
cosmic union begins to break apart, the sounds
and tones change the music coming to rest on a
faraway star to enjoy the views of Earthrise and
a herbal cigarette.
Finally “Lament For The Wicked” sounds
like The Orb had they been German and 18 in
1973, all it needs is a few samples of chickens
and Minnie Riperton.
Lovers of seventies electronic music
will find much to enjoy in this album, such
sounds are always subjective and you often have
to be in the mood, or have the time, to enjoy
them but when you are then this one is a tasty
box of kosmiche chocolates, dive in. (Simon
Lewis)
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THE
RAY
RUSSELL QUARTET –
SPONTANEOUS EVENT – LIVE VOL. 1:
1967-69
(LP/Digital
on Jazz
in
Britain)
RAY
RUSSELL’S
ROCK WORKSHOP – STREET WAR:
LIVE 1970 (Single)
(Digital
on Jazz
in Britain)
Guitarist
par
excellence Ray Russell has had a long and
storied career, including session man, film and
television soundtracks, and his own many music
projects and collaborations.
He’s employed a wide stylistic range,
though much of his work has centered on pushing
the outer boundaries of jazz guitar past the
limits. Early
in his career he joined the John Barry Seven,
taking the chair abandoned by Vic Flick (the
Vick Flick, who played the iconic James Bond
theme guitar part), winning the audition by
wowing with his chops while faking that he could
read music (he would later learn).
Decades filled with great music later,
the man is a legend.
Sadly, he’s not known nearly as well in
the States as in Britain, which is a pity, and
hopefully that will change.
Jazz
in Britain has released the cracking Spontaneous
Event – Live Vol. 1: 1967-69, credited to The
Ray Russell Quartet.
The short-lived aggregation also included
on piano Roy Fry for the bulk of the
performances and Pete Lemer on one track, the
great Dave Holland on bass for about half the
tracks, and Ron Mathewson for the remainder, and
Alan Rushton on drums.
Culled from broadcasts and taken largely
from Ray’s archives, the sound quality is good,
though slightly less than audiophile level, but
this is splitting hairs, because this is truly a
treasure trove of great stuff.
Many
of the tracks also turn up on the Quartet’s fine
studio recordings Turn Circle (1968) and Dragon
Hill (1969), but these cuts really thrive in the
live environment.
The style is trad jazz - guitar jazz that
is - made for a smoky nightclub.
While Ray dutifully stays within the
borders of the button-down format – barely - he
is clearly straining at the reins to go
exploring, that genre-bending which would mark
the subsequent phases of his career.
His playing is virtuosic, expansive,
fluid, melodic, and occasionally mind-blowing,
such as on cuts like “Peruvian Triangle” and
“Dragon Hill.” He
manages somehow to be astonishingly brilliant,
but not a show-off.
I
can’t say enough good things about pianist Roy
Fry either. His
playing perfectly complements Russell, and his
solos swing with a flamboyant groove, such as on
the ten-minute title track.
His playing reminds me at times of more
famous contemporaries Dave Brubeck and Vince
Guaraldi.
Spontaneous
Event is a wonderful time capsule, capturing an
enduring legend live near the beginning of his
career, kind of like those images that glimpse
early galaxies formed after the Big Bang.
Now,
advance forward only a short time later, to
1970. Jazz
in Britain has also released the single “Street
War: Live
1970” by Ray Russell’s Rock Workshop.
The Quartet was in the past, and the
restless Russell formed another briefly-lived
band, Rock Workshop.
If ‘Spontaneous Event’ was all
smoke-filled night club trad jazz, with Ray
getting his Wes Montgomery on in an edgy sort of
way, “Street War” couldn’t be further distant.
Instead of Wes Montgomery, this is more
Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” and Russell is
Eddie Hazel, shredding from the depths of his
soul.
The
large band is somewhat similar to the “big horn
section with guitar” bands that thrived at the
time, such as the aforementioned Funkadelic,
Chicago, Electric Flag, Blood, Sweat and Tears,
Keef Hartley, etc.
I hear a bit of Frank Zappa in “Street
War” as well.
Recorded
live in London (no audience is heard), “Street
War” is a six-minute blazing inferno ignited by
rock, jazz and funk.
First the powerful five-piece horn
section wails away.
A little over two minutes in, Russell
enters, and if your only exposure to this giant
was in his previous guise above, this will knock
your socks off.
All loud fuzz, distortion and impossible
by the laws of physics shredding mayhem, let me
just put it this way:
the guy sure knows how to make an
entrance. “Street
War” would be cut in the studio for the Rock
Workshop’s 1971 album The Very Last Time,
stretched from six to nine minutes, with Russell
having even more time for his explosive soloing.
Jazz
in Britain has teasingly released only the
“Street War” single, not telling us whether
there’s a full length live 1970 LP from Ray
Russell’s Rock Workshop in store.
If “Street War” is any indication, prayer
rugs are in order.
Russell
has indicated there’s plenty more in the vaults
(and Spontaneous Event is labeled Vol. 1 as if
to emphasize the point).
And at 73, he shows no signs of slowing
down either. He
has a new album, Fluid Architecture, due out in
just a few weeks.
Here’s to Ray.
(Mark
Feingold)
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DODSON
AND FOGG – CHANCE MEETING
EP
(CD on Wisdom Twin)
Chris Wade made constructive use of his
lockdown time by recording two releases, a full
length and this six track mini album, wherein he
leads his pseudonymous Dickensian duo through an
engaging mix of reflective, relaxing acoustic
ballads and propulsive, rocking toe tappers.
Wade’s
cover
painting of a section of Palma de Mallorca’s
vibrant Passeig Des Born and titles like ‘Come
Outside And See It All’ and ‘On This Sweet Night
So Clear’ lend a conceptual vibe to the work
that is enhanced with Spanish-flavoured guitar
flourishes (on tracks like ‘Gone Away’)
reminiscent of recent releases by Green Pajamas
frontman Jeff Kelly, who explored a similar
cultural milieu on his Iberian-inspired When
The World Was Younger
and Beneath
The Stars, Under The River.
Wade
is equally at home ripping off paint-peeling
electric solos (‘Come Outside And See It’) and
strumming along to lazy-afternoon, cloud-staring
dreamaways (‘No Difference’, ‘Do You Know What’s
Happening Here?), reining in excessive
flourishes while softly tugging at our
heartstrings for another round of memorable
tunes to help us while away our self-imposed
exiles awaiting better days ahead.
(Jeff Penczak)
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ASTEROID
No4 – NORTHERN SONGS
(LP
from
https://cful.bandcamp.com/
and https://littlecloudrecords.com/)
One of the more seasoned names on Cardinal Fuzz’s fluid roster, Asteroid
No4 can now number their releases in double
digits. Yet it is to their credit that they’ve
managed to keep their sound fresh and
invigorating, clearly a band that still enjoy
their craft. Maybe they should bottle it or else
find a way of mailing it over The Pond (we could
use a good news story from over there).
To the chase, then. The Asteroids have crafted a distinctly Anglophile
sound celebrating indie/psychedelia from a
bygone age predating Britpop. Northern
Songs alternates between the winsomely
radio friendly (if your station of choice
happens to be Radio 6 Music) and the more
dangerous reverb saturated under belly of psych
revivalism. The approvingly titled ‘Paint It
Green’ exemplifies the lighter and more
commercial offerings, as Ocean
Rain era Echo and The Bunnymen re-imagine
‘Heroes’ for the benefit of listeners marinated
in Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Just Like Honey’.
Elsewhere on the same continuum there are
palpable attempts at teleporting us back to some
point in the early-80s (‘All Mixed Up’ is the
Teardrops’ lost classic stab at New
Romanticism), while the jingle-jangle of
‘Northern Song’ and ‘Stardust’ is the dose of
aural vitamin D that not even the most
curmudgeonly of Terrascopic scribes could
possibly quibble with (and as usual I tried my
best)
All fair enough, but as is so often the case it’s the dark side that
exerts the more irresistible gravitational pull.
‘Hand Grenade’ for instance will delight fans of
The Cult of Dom Keller as the Asteroids mine the
dark, dank recesses of reconditioned garage
psych. ‘Juniper’ manages to find the middle
ground with Nowhere-era
Ride coupling with the Brian Jonestown Massacre
in all their zonked pomp, with soaring guitar
and vocal harmonies. However the star in this
particular firmament is ‘Swiss Army Myth’, which
billows forth a wall of sound shoegaze and
blasted, almost can’t be arsed melodies which
have been done a thousand times but still manage
to floor me with the sucker punch no matter how
often I see it coming. Verdict? A decent B+ kind
of effort and don’t let no Ofqual algorithm
devil tell you otherwise.
(Ian
Fraser)
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BIG
BLOOD – DARK COUNTRY
MAGIC
(LP
from
https://cful.bandcamp.com/
and https://feedingtuberecords.com/)
It’s a rule of thumb that if you come across a release jointly badged by
Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records then grab
it with both hands. Dark
Country Magic proves hands down that the
thumb rules.
They both like life/music partner acts too judging from recent
collaborative output and while Portland, Maine’s
Collette Kinsella and Caleb Mulkerin (with
assistance from their young daughter, here
making her intentional debut) at first seem
poles apart from “label mates” The Left
Outsides, there are parallels, not least a
similar lifespan (both acts formed around the
mid noughties), distinct nods towards
traditional music and a soft spot for the drone.
Thereafter the similarity becomes hazy, as in
Big Blood’s case what we have is a low tech
cottage industry manufacturing sometimes uneasy
yet strangely compelling combination of skewed
country, American Gothic and psychedelic
moonshine. Wheezy rather than breezy, their
sound possesses a heady bewitching quality that
brings to mind hedge row hairdos and, if not
exactly horsehair then homespun garments and a
larder that screams “homemade produce”.
From the outset (or get go, if you must) the public address-voiced ‘Oh My
Child’ with its short wave feedback is
appealingly disconcerting and the slightly
spooked out ambience is ramped up a notch by the
queasy ‘Creepy Crazy Time’ (the anguished sound
of some irregular folk getting 16
Horse-powered), and on the ominous and see
sawing ‘Ringer In The Fold’, a ghostly campfire
incantation that may well Find The Cost of
Freedom yet sounds so disconsolate that it’ll
probably end up ruing the day it does. The most
striking feature in all of this, though, is
Kinsella’s expressive and compelling voice, no
better showcased than on the stunning ‘Coming
Home Pt III’ the delivery crystal clear and
beseeching, coaxed by acoustic guitar and
otherwise typically understated (almost to the
point of indistinct) instrumentation. Add to
this the atypically rousing ‘Song For Ro He Ge’
(a centre for experimental music in Maine, or so
my scant research would suggest); some quirky
little vignettes in the style of a backwoods
Bongwater, and daughter Quinissa’s peculiar
spoken word ‘Moo Hoo’ and really what is there
not to like?.
Dark
Country Magic? It certainly delivers what it promises. Much as we’d probably all like
for this year to be done and dusted already it’s
way too premature for end of year lists. Time
will tell whether this one will find its way
into some of the more discerning “best of”
round-ups. Well without wishing to undermine
what I sense may be a cherished outsider status
I’m going to throw my 175 lbs behind an early
“vote yes” campaign. All you need do is part
with £16 of yours.
(Ian
Fraser)
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ONDARA
–
FOLK N’ ROLL VOL. 1:
TALES OF ISOLATION
(LP/CD/Digital
on Verve Forecast)
Ondara,
also known as J.S. Ondara, is a Nairobi,
Kenya-born singer-songwriter now living and
working in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He may be young, but he’s an old-school
acoustic guitar and harmonica troubadour.
With Bob Dylan as his hero, and inspired
by a copy of ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’ while
still in Nairobi, he took up the Bard’s early
style and even moved to Minnesota to pursue his
musical dream. His
2019 debut album Tales of America and its
follow-up expanded edition won him many
admirers, a Grammy nomination, and opening spots
with the likes of Neil Young and The Lumineers.
Ondara’s
second release, Folk n’ Roll Vol. 1:
Tales of Isolation, is [another] work
born of the pandemic.
What makes his album unique in that
growing artistic pantheon is its lyrical
descriptiveness and its focus on the human toll
of body, mind and spirit.
Whereas some other works are artistically
vague, touching on loneliness and despair,
Ondara is literal, and takes on the
point-of-view of a variety of people who could
be you or your next-door neighbor, all affected
by the scourge in different ways.
It’s very much in the musical style of
the early Dylan albums, but His Bobness would’ve
never made a topical concept album like this; in
that way, it’s more like Bruce Springsteen’s
Nebraska, Phil Ochs’ All the News That’s Fit to
Sing, or John Prine’s numerous touching tributes
to everymen everywhere, before, ironically, the
pandemic that this album’s about took him from
us too soon.
Opener
“Pulled Out of the Market” is about ordinary
people losing their livelihoods to COVID-19.
Restaurant workers, factory workers,
retail workers – they’ve all suffered, and
Ondara laments at the end “oh, I’m not an
essential worker.”
Ondara
is very handy with the turn of a phrase, and
“Mr. Landlord” is full of clever (but
depressing) lyrics:
“If I sing you a tune/On the screen, on
the Zoom/Will you give me at least until June?”
or “Well I’m good with my hands/I can till your
lands/Oh I’ve got no other way to heed your
demands,” and finally “You can give me a task/To
knit you a face mask/Oh I’ve got no other means
for the next few months.”
“Lockdown
on Date Night Tuesday” is another bittersweet,
tragicomic tale of domestic heartbreak:
“I’m gonna put my grey suit on/If you
will put your red dress on/I’m gonna meet you at
the dining table.”
The emotionally devastating “From Six
Feet Away” is from two points-of-view, an
emergency room worker named Rita Lu, who tends
to COVID patients and sometimes sees them die,
and her lover back home who laments “I’ve
already seen Tiger King three times through.”
They want to love each other and comfort
the other’s soul, but must be content to do it
“from six feet away.”
“Isolation
Anonymous” is about an alcoholic’s spiraling
descent. “Shower
Song” is another tragicomic personal
examination. The
a capella track sounds like it was literally
recorded in the shower, running water and all.
The character coming apart at the seams
observes, “Oh, I’m so tired of being inside/Only
friends allowed are cigarettes and rye/I think
I’ve lost touch with what is, what was, what has
been, and what’s going to be.”
“Pyramid Justice” uses a once sharp, but
fading suit as a metaphor for one’s unraveling
ideals of right and wrong as the lockdown wears
on.
Speaking
of writing the album, Ondara says “It just
evolved over a couple of weeks.
I found myself in this mental rut because
of the isolation.
I woke up one morning and basically
started vomiting songs compulsively for three
days. That’s
really how it felt.
I didn’t have any control over what was
coming out. I
wasn’t trying to make a record, but just trying
to get through the situation.”
My only nick against Folk n’ Roll Vol. 1
is that it needs editing.
At one hour’s length, it tends to repeat
itself by about three-quarters in.
Three consecutive tracks in the back half
totaling over 18 minutes saying I’m bored and
depressed isn’t a way to entice listeners.
And final track, the ten and a half
minute “Ballad of Nana Doline” about a good
person who succumbs to the virus, is Ondara
trying to do an extended Dylan “Visions of
Johanna” type opus in which he loses his grip on
the listener.
Still,
Folk n’ Roll Vol. 1:
Tales of Isolation will be a
long-standing reference both now and years from
now when people want to understand the
expressions of art and the human toll of this
pandemic. As
Ondara says, “blame it on the pathogen.”
(Mark
Feingold)
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MOVIE
ROUNDUP
Running
out of movies and TV shows to watch, and love
music? I’d
presume at least the latter or you wouldn’t be
reading this. Well,
the good news is that the various TV streaming
services have been stepping up their game and
serving up plenty of fine music content if you
know where to look.
Here’s a roundup of some of the best ones
out there that’ve come out this year.
Once
Were
Brothers: Robbie
Robertson and The Band
is a fine documentary, lovingly made, based on
Robbie’s autobiography.
Laurel
Canyon: A
Place in Time
revisits an oft-filmed subject, but does the
best job yet showcasing the artists who were
there and made the Canyon so special.
Miles
Davis: Birth
of the Cool
came out in the months before all life as we
know it changed, but is an engrossing
documentary about this complicated, brilliant
man.
Gordon
Lightfoot: If
You Could Read My Mind
is an endearing look at one of the most
wonderful, yet underrated singer-songwriters of
our time.
Creem:
America’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll Magazine
peers at an interesting time capsule in rock
journalism. I
haven’t yet seen the adjacent rock magazine doc
Melody
Makers: The
Bible of Rock ‘n Roll, but it’s out there
too, and I can’t wait to fire it up.
Vinyl
Nation
is about the vinyl revival.
The depiction of the gargantuan annual
Austin Record Convention was news to me, and I’m
afraid is going to become a rather costly
pilgrimage when all this nonsense is done.
And blood-filled albums, anyone?
John
Was
Trying to Contact Aliens is a 16-minute Netflix documentary
about a unique, but totally beautiful person who
beamed awesome music into outer space for aliens
to hear.
The
Library
Music Film
is from 2018, but, like most of these movies,
the wonderful doc will make you fall in love
with its subjects and want to buy every album
they made, an especially costly endeavor in this
case.
Long
Strange
Trip
is from 2017, but the six-part Grateful Dead
documentary really struck a chord with me, and
made me love these icons and their music even
more.
Jazz
on
a Summer’s Day.
This one is my favorite of the bunch.
The 1959 film about a day at the 1958
Newport Jazz Festival, was conceived as more of
an impressionistic tone poem than a documentary.
The stunning 4K restoration blossoms with
several immortal legends from Louis Armstrong to
Mahalia Jackson to Chuck Berry (imagine a
pristine 1958 performance of “Sweet Little
Sixteen,” and with a clarinet solo from one of
the jazz players onstage!).
The shots of crowd members lazily taking
it all in in the fashions of the day reminded me
lovingly of my family’s old home movies.
(Mark
Feingold)
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NICK
PERRI & THE UNDERGROUND THIEVES – SUN VIA
(LP/CD
self-released on nickperrimusic.com)
Sun
Via takes you back to a part of the 70s when
pop-rock artists ruling the radio airwaves were
often also guitar gunslingers (or bands who had
one), like Rick Derringer on “Rock and Roll
Hoochie Coo,” as well as T. Rex, Cheap Trick,
Bachman Turner Overdrive, Dwight Twilley and
countless others.
Philadelphia-based rock journeyman Nick
Perri has been making music for nigh on twenty
years, in bands and playing in artists’ touring
bands, such as that of Jane’s Addiction’s Perry
Farrell. His
latest project, Nick Perri & The Underground
Thieves, has Nick firmly in control of his own
destiny for the first time, and it’s a
celebration of feel-good rock.
Perri
is in somewhat similar musical territory as
Michael Rault, those bouncy 70s powerpop songs.
However, where Rault has embraced
Macca-like tunefulness with clever lyrics, Perri
goes after toe-tapping guitar struts.
Nowhere is that more evident than lead
single “Feeling Good.”
It’s a funky, good-time rock anthem with
some fine guitar work by Perri.
In fact, Perri plays splendid rock solos
on just about every song on Sun Via, earning
praise from no less than the Gibson guitar
company! “Feeling
Good” also has some nice squiggly synths and
Hammond organ by Underground Thief Justin
DiFebbo. And
as for the party-like sentiment of “Feeling
Good,” Perri says he wrote it at a time when he
was decidedly not
feeling food, when he was going through some
tough times, as a sort of pep talk to himself
and anyone else who could use one.
The
Underground Thieves, all old Philly friends of
Perri, are one tight backing band, and give Nick
the support he needs.
Besides the aforementioned keyboardsman
Justin DiFebbo, Anthony and Michael Montesano
provide great backing vocals throughout, and
there are some sharp multi-part harmonies on Sun
Via.
Other
standout tracks include “Everybody Wants One,”
which combines a stomping rocker seemingly with
the backing chorus from Wilson Pickett’s “Land
of 1000 Dances,” crowned by Perri’s scorching
guitar. Also,
the album’s one “serious” track, “Daughters and
Sons” is a plea for civility in these hurtful
times. “5.0.1”
is a live instrumental, and showcases Perri’s
fierce fret fingerwork, and the solid backing of
The Underground Thieves.
Closer “White Noise” could’ve been the
love child of Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie and
Donnie Iris’s “Ah! Leah!”
No
deep thinking is required to take in Sun Via.
It’s not that kind of record – just put
it on and have some fun.
On the subject of releasing a light,
upbeat collection like Sun Via in the middle of
a pandemic and other unpleasantness, Perri says
“I’m well aware of the heaviness of the
situation we’re in.
I’m aware of the trying times that people
all over the world are going through.
I’m living through it with everyone.
It’s okay to simultaneously be conscious
of what is going on in the world while allowing
yourself even five minutes a day to take a walk
or do something with a family member.
Just allow yourself to feel good.”
Sun
Via is easily enjoyable, ultra-catchy pop-rock
from an outstanding musician.
Nick Perri has paid a lot of dues, and
will hopefully reap some benefits from a world
that could use some “Feeling Good.”
(Mark
Feingold)
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KORB
– II (LP
on Weird
Beard Records)
As
might be
gleaned from the title, this is Korb’s second
release following their debut in
2018 on their own Dreamlord Recordings label.
Jonathan Parkes and Alec Wood
originally began their musical association in a
jazz quartet but a shared love
of Krautrock and experimenting with vintage
instruments led them to collaborate
on a number of projects of which Korb is one.
The
record kicks
off with ‘Dirty Robots’, a widescreen dark and
brooding space rocker with a
heavy shuffling groove and waves of electric
noise all glued together by an
eastern tinged riff. ‘Hollow Earth’ takes a more
kosmische direction with a
solid motorik beat at its heart and a trance
like haze of cosmic electrogroove
goodness that takes time to catch its breath but
never loses its dancing shoes.
‘Megastructure’ raises the dance factor a notch
with an infectious electro pop
beat from which some fine spacey adventures in
cosmic guitar and synth
interplay jump out to test the listeners ability
to dance and listen at the
same time. ‘Korbs Next Android’ again hits the
spot with a quirky off kilter rock
and roll inspired motorik beat and an urgent
Kraftwerk caught on speed camera feel
to the synthesised layers above. ‘Tape to Tape’
has an almost Zeppelinesque
rhythm and momentum but with the energetic
synths and fuzzy guitar taking the
sound into a cosmic prog world of foot tapping
and head nodding pleasure. ‘The
Beyond’ has a deep and brooding kosmische sound
with a touch of widescreen epic
and indeed an elegant quality that has big
screen sci-fi or arthouse thriller written
all over it. ‘Hidden Temple’ takes the sound
back down from the heights to make
more use of interwoven minimal melodies, drones
and rhythms in a cleverly
layered and complex piece that slowly builds its
own drama and intensity with
strong post rock leanings albeit with space rock
and kosmische colours. ‘Night
Vision’ completes this fine record and has a
rich, dark sound with a subtle
touch of laid back funk in the drums and bass.
The swelling synths have a
gothic elegance that isn’t unlike the sweeping
sounds of Sigur Ros or The Cure
at their most cinematic and orchestral.
This
is a
wonderful record that travels the spaceways
between space rock, prog and post
rock whilst calling in to pick up a touch of
electro pop groove on the way to
create an enthralling soundscape that can be
lush and epic one minute and
intricate and minimal the next. It wears its
influences well and the
experimental nature and indeed jazz grounding of
Korb brings a lot to the table
in terms of pushing sound boundaries whilst
keeping a focus on rhythm and
melody. It’s a very visual and evocative sound
and tailor made for soundtracks
to movies and television programmes that have
yet to be made. In the meantime I
can recommend you pick up this record and sit
back, dream up your own visuals whilst
nodding your head and tapping your feet at the
same time. Remember, multitasking
can be fun.
(Francis Comyn)
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BARRINGTONE
– BONANZA PLAN (LP/CD/DL
on Onomatopeoia
Records)
Bonanza
Plan is
the debut release from London based Barringtone
whose previous incarnation was
post-punk electro pop band ‘Clor’. They released
a well received album back in
2005 that adventurously straddled genres
including electro pop and angular post
punk with an experimental edge to their sound
and members of the band have
played in a range of diverse settings since.
Barringtone
take
that spirit of adventure and diversity forward
on Bonanza Plan which certainly
doesn’t sit still long enough for anyone to
pigeonhole it. ‘Foxes &
Brimstone’ has a touch of math rock and prog
complexity allied to an early XTC
frantic melodicism which works really well as a
statement of intent and also an
energetic and captivating opening shot. ‘Gold
Medal Vision’ follows with an
urgent stop/start riff and a post-punk infused
prog feel in its jerky but strangely
melodic instrumental gymnastics. ‘Dream Boys’
takes the energy levels down a
little, but only a little and has a crisp almost
jazz fusion quality with a
touch of post rock off kilter melody in the
quirky choral vocals. I was at times
reminded of bands like Jaga Jazzist who move
between and bring together
influences very successfully. ‘Into The Woods’
has a jaunty electronic melody
which lives in the space between math rock and
Krautrock. ‘The New New’ is
another instrumental workout that once again
features a driving backbeat with a
slightly more metallic and punchy progressive
melodicism before returning to a
quirky vocal piece with ‘Emily Smallhands’ where
eccentric melodies and vocal
arrangements and punchy psychedelic guitar pop
come together nicely.
‘Feverhead’ most overtly presses the electro pop
buttons but again incorporates
interesting guitar colours giving it a rockier
edge. ‘Technollipop’ takes
inspiration from the more experimental end of
jerky post-punk pop and once more
the early XTC sound comes to mind but in the
context of a math rock
instrumental canvas. To finish ‘Pet Gazelles’ in
a sense brings together much
of the eclecticism of the album in one short
burst of energetic rhythm and
riffing that incorporates snatches of frantic
vocals, dance beats and sharp
time changes but all the while keeping a melodic
core however much the tune
twists and turns.
I
like this record
for its eclecticism and ambition which in lesser
hands would just be a jumble
of ideas and a confused listening experience.
Barringtone have a wide range of
influences and clear instrumental ability and
they have used their experience wisely
to make the album hang together and work really
well. It’s a record full of
hooks, sharp bends and handbrake turns and none
lead us up a dead end. If you
think post punk power pop, math rock and proggy
fusion have no place in the
same song then think again as Barringtone have
made it fun.
(Francis Comyn)
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