Eclectic Vibes

by Andrew Frey

Reviews From: National
EOTO - Fire The Lazers!

EOTO - Fire The Lazers!

EOTO
Fire The Lazers!
Label: Sci Fidelity Recordings

Immediately engulfing the listener in a womb of intensely perplexing otherworldly sounds “Fire The Lazers!” drinks from a dazzling selection of galaxy shaking electronic riffs and drum kit dips. The robust bass spectrum sounds rub and tickle your ears and body with a special nonchalant fervor. Michael Travis and Jason Hann (both String Cheese Incident alumnist’s) have birthed another quirky recorded masterpiece while maintaining their improvisational live performances.

EOTO WebsiteEOTO Wiki

Heavy Trash - Midnight Soul Serenade

Heavy Trash - Midnight Soul Serenade

Heavy Trash
Midnight Soul Serenade
Label: Big Legal Mess Records

Surfing through clever escapades into bluesy vintage rock as well as smirking garage punk sojourns. These creative juices again stratified by musical comrades Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray reek of dark mirth and flavorful kitsch.

Heavy Trash WebsiteHeavy Trash Wiki

Passafire - Everyone On Everynight

Passafire - Everyone On Everynight

Passafire
Everyone On Everynight
Label: Law Records

A refreshingly colorful approach to utilizing the reggae vibe and riffs while expanding the overall flavor with jam, funk, prog and hard rock. Hooks that slide into your mind and sincere lyrics that pacify or antagonize as needed.

Passafire Website

Slavic Soul Party - Taketron

Slavic Soul Party - Taketron

Slavic Soul Party
Taketron
Label: Barbes Records

Meet the horny side of New York’s Balkan musical revolution which also includes Gogol Bordello and Balkan Beat Box. Brandishing a barrage of briskly driven Balkan rhythms the songs are funneled through their impressive 9 piece horn section formulating highly danceable jazz, funk and folk exercises.

Slavic Soul Party Website

Suit Of Lights - Bacteria

Suit Of Lights - Bacteria

Suit Of Lights
Bacteria
Label: Visiting Hours Music

I don’t get this. Good quality (well paid?) musicians (including Trevor Dunn) playing the most flaccid, poorly produced alt-pop crap you can imagine. As a bonus, the album cover is forgettable, blaze and unreadable. Wow does this suck!

Suit Of Lights WebsiteSuit Of Lights Wiki

Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment

Adam Lambert - For Your Entertainment

Adam Lambert
For Your Entertainment
Label: Octjay Records

Without a doubt, one of the most amazing singers and performers to burst upon the musical scene in a long time, Adam rocked the boat and keeps it rocking. Utilizing, but not smothered by industry greats, we are given a great spectrum of Adam’s styles ranging from banging dance to soundtrack to ballads

Adam Lambert Website

Bob Blank - The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985

Bob Blank - The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985

Bob Blank
The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985
Label: Strut Records

From Sun Ra to Gladys Knight To Lydia Lunch, this retrospective encapsulates Bob Blank’s time at the legendary Blank Tape studios. 13 disco, funk, jazz and soul fueled tracks glimpse at the scope and range of what he fostered in his heyday in NYC.

Bob Blank Website

High Ceiling - Illusions

High Ceiling - Illusions

High Ceiling
Illusions
Label: Self Released

Easy flowing reggae escapades that ascend into effervescent jams and rootsy rock anthems. Fundamentally joyful this Washington act lyrically takes time to delve into socio/political topics of relevance while also managing to organize their own festival - Skok Valley Music Rally.

High Ceiling Website

Spy From Cairo - Secretly Famous

Spy From Cairo - Secretly Famous

Spy From Cairo
Secretly Famous
Label: Wonderwheel Records

This Spy (aka Moreno Visini aka Zeb) is a prolific musician and producer with hundreds of songs and over 10 albums to his credit. Here, each song is smartly woven with a specific and concentrated Middle Eastern groove to represent the many facets of this wonderful musical panorama while being diffused through a danceable contemporary dub electronica template.


U-Melt - Perfect World

U-Melt - Perfect World

U-Melt
Perfect World
Label: Harmonized Records

Invigorating the tricky elements of a wide progressive rock and jam landscape that allows the musical fauna to each be finessed into servitude combining so many diversities. In the end these livened elements becomes a wildly bountiful harvest of musical plenty, displaying unbridled textures, spectral dynamics, existential lyrics and bold song structures which are quite compelling and memorable.

U-Melt WebsiteU-Melt Wiki

Cobblestone Jazz - The Modern Deep Left Quartet

Cobblestone Jazz - The Modern Deep Left Quartet

Cobblestone Jazz
The Modern Deep Left Quartet
Label: !K7 Records

Anchored by lackadaisical and typically repetitive throbbing house beats that glides through smooth free flowing extra minimalistic waves of jazz, funk and fusion spun electronica may be enticing to some, but this ultimately finds me unattached and ejecting in favor of something with more substance, flavor and zest.

Cobblestone Jazz Website

Disco Biscuits - Planet Anthem

Disco Biscuits - Planet Anthem

Disco Biscuits
Planet Anthem
Label: SCI Fidelity/Diamond Riggs

Too many avenues of experimentation and guest musicians water down the overall appeal of this release for me. Their usual amazing jamtronica thrust still feeds familiar aspects but their revisioning here also splinters the output into other frontiers of varying success. Doubtlessly still a great live show though.

Disco Biscuits WebsiteDisco Biscuits Wiki

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