Run Run
Interstates
(THE RECORD MACHINE)
After Louisville instrumental band Of Asaph called it quits (or did they?), Alex ONan and Kyle Noltemeyer probably discovered they had entirely too much talent and creativity to stop playing altogether. This week they reboot under their new project, Interstates, for the release of Run Run, 50 minutes of mind-bending, electro-inspired instrumental rock.
The influences vary on many of the songs, but most of the tracks start off with a stripped-down, slower melody that eventually builds into an explosive jam. Open Your Ears feels like a primer for the rest of the album, but doesnt hinge too much on the electronic backbeats of many of the other songs. Sudan is ambient and earthy, with a euphoric, harmonious climax.
Hip Hop On My Mind, a standout, seamlessly blends all of Interstates influences into a five-and-a-half-minute flurry of synthesizers, melodic guitars and funk-inspired bass. The closer, Dress Looks Nice, starts small and slow but transforms into a beast of radiant synths and atmospheric effects.
One hiccup: Alas, featuring trumpeter Greg Leppert, tries to combine too many genres and ends up like something Broken Social Scene wouldve left on the cutting-room floor. All told, though, a great first hit. Aaron Frank
Mixtape 2.5 The Prelude
1Life
(SELF-RELEASED)
Cincinnati, Ohio is hardly known as a center of hip-hop. Outside of the mid-90s group Mood, which gave birth to producer Hi-Tek (later to partner with Talib Kweli and Dr. Dre), its easy to bypass the Queen City completely.
The Prelude is an attempt by rappers Varquis and Dris to change that. As siblings who spent most of their lives rapping, theyve been releasing mixtapes and singles throughout the city for much of the last decade, and are ready to take their show on the road.
This is a mixture of original tracks and new lyrics over popular tracks from Kanye, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes and 50 Cent. By the second listen, its difficult to imagine these cuts belonging to anyone else but 1Life.
Varquis and Dris have found that rare balance of street-level imagery with blue-collar living and thoughtful reflection only found in the upper echelon of todays emcees. Theres a lyric here for everyone. You dont have to be a hip-hop head to feel the hunger and desire dripping from this disc. If this is the prelude, Im looking forward to the real thing. Damien McPherson
Sonidos Gold
Grupo Fantasma
(HIGH WIRE)
Grupo Fantasma is the best unknown band in the States. The best going now, too. They have the sophistication and arrangements of a classic Latin orchestra, with energy reminiscent of James Browns raunchiest funk. Theyve backed Prince, Talib Kweli and Marc Anthony all in the same show, and Brown Out, Grupos horn section and one of the great side projects in music today, would rip Tower of Power horns on any given night.
Its all brilliantly showcased on Sonidos Gold. The band operates seemingly independently of trends or fads, steered by the traditions of cumbia, salsa, funk and, on the new release, dub and psychedelia (El Desconocido). Without a doubt, theyve forged a new standard of excellence in Latin music. Special guests include legendary saxophonist Maceo Parker, Fania All-Stars pianist and arranger Larry Harlow and trombonist Greg Boyer (Prince, Parliament Funkadelic). ¡Despierte! Dont sea un seguidor y descubre que la mejor venda de los Estados Unidos incluso su mamá gorda tendrá gusto de ellos! Mark R. Bacon
O
Tilly and the Wall
(TEAM LOVE)
Tilly and the Walls new album, O, is forcing me to revisit my prohibition on all things overtly adorable. Replete with references to ice cream, layered female vocals and tap-dance percussion and cute-like-a-baby otter fighting cotton candy, their third effort will melt the heart of even the most hardened listener. All the precious add-ons should be irritating, but somehow arent.
Lead singer Kianna Alarid makes her lists of lady-centric slurs and elaborate plans to ruin parties endearing and aww-inducing. The do-do-do-do refrains of multiple songs make you want to bop your head rather than change the disc. The intricate dance routines executed by tapper-not-drummer Jamie Pressnall somehow make you want to dance. Tilly and the Walls gimmicks would be corny and stupid if someone else tried them, but are somehow just right in this context. They have mastered the sweet-to-salty ratio that makes O a nice treat rather than a stomachache. Kirsten Schofield
Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
The Silver Jews
(DRAG CITY)
This is just terrible, just inexcusable. This is not good as indie rock, alt-country or even as an ironic Ween kinda tribute (and Ween did their suck-city/isnt-Nashville-hilarious record years ago and look at them now).
Band-leading lyricist David Berman (I wont say who writes the music; I dont want to be too insulting) fancies himself some sort of a poet, apparently, and his character study lyrics about people who are big losers are Carver-esque in a college sophomore way. Sarcastic hair and candy jail arent entertaining or relevant. Maybe at Bonnaroo
Even worse, though, are the vocals: His are flatter than Joe Don Bakers movie career, and the ladies backing vocals are sub-middle-school talent show. Its not the early 70s anymore, youre not an outlaw, youre not Bob Dylan, and youre not ironically funny, so please stop making horrible records. Peter Berkowitz
The Devil, You + Me
The Notwist
(DOMINO)
On the one hand, theres Sleep: a beguiling and bittersweet love song about not leaving when you should (thus the sinking ship of a relationship goes on and on and on, like the chorus suggests).
On the other hand, theres On Planet Off, which trades luminosity for a dirty, slinking bass line that clearly has some kind of salacious agenda. Such is the light-dark duplicity of The Notwist, a Bavarian foursome who once dabbled in metal but switched to electronic-oriented musings for 2002s Neon Golden and never looked back.
Six years in the making, the new album is worth the risk. Their specialty of aching, electronic minor chord melodies is, at times, somnambulistic. Not to be nailed down to one strategy, The Notwist often interrupt the meditation with a blast of strings, as they do in the contemplative Hands on Us or a full orchestra in the manically unpredictable, yet darkly seductive Where in this World.
All this simplicity (bass, beat, melody, droning lyrical poetry) should be easily dismissible, but its not. There are clever hooks in those compositions that climb into the ear and stay. Shawn Telford