Slipped Discs - August 2009

Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd

Erika Jayne

Erika Jayne

Initial Thoughts

Danger! Danger! From WAR TAPE’s “Continental Divide,” to BROKEN RECORDS’, “Until the Earth Begins to Part,” worlds collide and crumble this hot and sticky season. From disco-princess ERIKA JAYNE’s dance-floor fluffer-nutter, “Pretty Mess,” to melodic-rockers THE UPWELLING’s powerhouse sing-alongs, “American Stranger,” evil threatens infection. Be advised to disconnect from the discontent, for beneath these doomsday titles lie summer magic - just another reason to let the music do the talking.


Disc Reviews


Fiery Furnaces - I’m Going Away

Fiery Furnaces - I’m Going Away

Fiery Furnaces

Album title: I’m Going Away
Record Label: Thrill Jockey Records

Less erratic, but no less didactic, alt-pop innovators FF jitterbug scat within cantilevered cacophony on the friendly but fidgety, “Going.”  As the unsurpassed iconoclasts challenge and unravel, entire songs go unfractured, bubbling avalanches among crunchy bundles of cool - lurching circuses from the sibling’s bebop locomotion, engaged in play inside inspired jazz eruptions.

(3174) Page Views

The Fiery Furnaces online:
WebsiteWiki


Purchase I’m Going Away on Amazon



Josh Mease - Wilderness

Josh Mease - Wilderness

Josh Mease

Album title: Wilderness
Record Label: Frog Stand Records

Electrified daydreams wrapped around soft-spoken thoughts, “Wilderness,” cozies up and captivates - surreal serenades in snappy packaging, simmering bedroom symphonies floating atop boppy Bacharach ballads. Vaguely hazy porch swing parables, gently whispered waltzes and placid rhapsodies inhabit Mease’s multi-tracking mind, steeped in sleepy choirs and graced with tasteful tangents, basking accents and intelligent design.

(3598) Page Views

Josh Mease online:
Website

Download Wilderness from Amazon
Purchase Wilderness on Amazon



Timber Timbre - Timber Timbre

Timber Timbre - Timber Timbre

Timber Timbre

Album title: Timber Timbre
Record Label: Arts & Crafts Records

Molding dustbowl folk, jailhouse gypsy and gallows soul into boney omens from murky imaginations, Timber Timbre’s laconic lyrics are infused with plodding honesty and surrounded by warbling Wurlitzers, plinking piano and lonesome violins. TT’s beautifully despondent delivery cooks mesmerizing melancholy and eerie, unerring graveyard elegies over slow-boiled beats cloaked in ghostly echoes.

(3184) Page Views

Timber Timbre online:
Website

Download Timber Timbre from Amazon
Purchase Timber Timbre on Amazon



Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist

Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist

Portugal. The Man

Album title: The Satanic Satanist
Record Label: Equal Vision Records

A tight unit twisted in exquisite knots, P.tM’s stomping, sunshine shamans bask in bombast, casting catharsis in irresistibly intricate webs and driving, fleet-footed dynamics. Deep-seated grooves slithering in funky rock evangelism, “Satanic,” builds sprawling, inspired psychedelia chiseled in soulful hope and supported by dervish skirmishes, spinning rhythms and breath-taking roller coaster approaches.

(6844) Page Views

Portugal. The Man online:
WebsiteWiki

Download The Satanic Satanist from Amazon
Purchase The Satanic Satanist on Amazon



Mindy Smith - Stupid Love

Mindy Smith - Stupid Love

Mindy Smith

Album title: Stupid Love
Record Label: Vanguard Records

Gossamer offerings melt Mindy’s sugar-glazed country into heart-felt velvet whose refreshingly romantic songs soar as they sympathize, gracefully vulnerable, casually intimate. Backed by angelic harmonies and doused in breathless wonder, “Stupid,” plays it smart balancing sumptuous comforts and cautious observations, emotionally invested with high returns and polished backing. Mindy plays Madison’s Majestic August 20th.

(3457) Page Views

Mindy Smith online:
WebsiteWiki


Purchase Stupid Love on Amazon



Baby Teeth - Hustle Beach

Baby Teeth - Hustle Beach

Baby Teeth

Album title: Hustle Beach
Record Label: Lujo Records

A contagious array of classic rock, seventies garage and old school new wave makes, “Hustle,” fun, muscular good times.  Energetic hooks, gung-ho vocals and lean, mean arrangements spiced with vintage synth sounds, BT’s blue collar fodder bounces and blasts, assailing the senses and revving memory’s motors in desperate elegance and no holds barred bravado.

(3031) Page Views

Baby Teeth online:
Website

Download Hustle Beach from Amazon
Purchase Hustle Beach on Amazon



Mark Mallman - Invincible Criminal

Mark Mallman - Invincible Criminal

Mark Mallman

Album title: Invincible Criminal
Record Label: Badman Records

Mixing pithy patter and smug double entendres into glam, rock arena fantasies, Mallman’s sleek, cheeky power-pop pandemonium razzes and dazzles through mock melodramas, splattered cabaret and bite-size epics. Subtlety and cynicism create edgy yet earnest innuendos as, Criminal,” unfurl snide asides inside catchy tunes, crafting masterful jabberwocky, designer taunts and stream-lined three shell games.

(3873) Page Views

Mark Mallman online:
WebsiteWiki

Download Invincible Criminal from Amazon
Purchase Invincible Criminal on Amazon



Final Thoughts

Fight the futility on several fronts. Help the world with the benefit album “Global Linga,” from PROJECT AHIMSA a fusion of rap, world beats and children promoting hope and world-wide education. Help yourself with life-affirming frequencies courtesy Afro-pop master CHIECK HAMALA DIABATE’s, “Take it Slow (Ake Doni Doni).” Then, reach out to one another and enjoy folk-poet CATIE CURTIS’ “Hello, Stranger,” or pop-rock archivist BRENDAN BENSON’s, “My Old, Familiar Friends.”