Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 9/26/07.

Rogue Wave Asleep at Heaven’s Gate (Brushfire Records). The indie-pop pride of Oakland, which recently left Sub Pop for Jack Johnson’s small and surf-friendly Brushfire Records, issues an excellent, dramatic third album about the mysterious joys of hardship.

Mavrik About Face (Skoman Productions). A local microcosm of the major-label rap release: guest appearances (Mistah F.A.B., Jennifer Johns, Gift of Gab), high production values, spoken word interludes, and interwoven elements from the urban spectrum (turntablism, R&B, funk). A paint-by-numbers success.

Talking Wood Talking Wood (Jizo Records). Multi-instrumentalist Keenan Webster and Oakland African roots ensemble Balafo form Talking Wood, whose improvisational style centers on prominent playing of the balafon — an ancient wooden xylophone from West Africa with a warm, bright sound — over percussion, string, and wind accompaniment.

The Drift Ceiling Sky (Temporary Residence Ltd.). Instrumental rock and progressive jazz collude quietly in this hour-long collection of rare tracks and remixes from San Francisco quartet the Drift. Don’t stare too hard, or you just might miss it.

The Action Design Into a Sound EP (Pop Smear Records). Remember Tsunami Bomb? That tenacious pop-punk band blanketing Bay Area clubs around 2000? The one with the cute-chick lead singer? Her name is Agent M, and she’s back with a new band and a more mature, occasionally rousing sound

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 9/26/07.

Rogue Wave Asleep at Heaven’s Gate (Brushfire Records). The indie-pop pride of Oakland, which recently left Sub Pop for Jack Johnson’s small and surf-friendly Brushfire Records, issues an excellent, dramatic third album about the mysterious joys of hardship.

Mavrik About Face (Skoman Productions). A local microcosm of the major-label rap release: guest appearances (Mistah F.A.B., Jennifer Johns, Gift of Gab), high production values, spoken word interludes, and interwoven elements from the urban spectrum (turntablism, R&B, funk). A paint-by-numbers success.

Talking Wood Talking Wood (Jizo Records). Multi-instrumentalist Keenan Webster and Oakland African roots ensemble Balafo form Talking Wood, whose improvisational style centers on prominent playing of the balafon — an ancient wooden xylophone from West Africa with a warm, bright sound — over percussion, string, and wind accompaniment.

The Drift Ceiling Sky (Temporary Residence Ltd.). Instrumental rock and progressive jazz collude quietly in this hour-long collection of rare tracks and remixes from San Francisco quartet the Drift. Don’t stare too hard, or you just might miss it.

The Action Design Into a Sound EP (Pop Smear Records). Remember Tsunami Bomb? That tenacious pop-punk band blanketing Bay Area clubs around 2000? The one with the cute-chick lead singer? Her name is Agent M, and she’s back with a new band and a more mature, occasionally rousing sound

Thee More Shallows is a band NASCENT’s been wanting to cover for quite some time; we were just waiting for the right moment. With the quirky San Francisco indie-pop group’s third album — and anticon Records debut — out last week, now is definitely the time.

anticon fans will recognize whisps of Why? in the new record, particularly in Dee Kesler’s vocals. There are also overtones of Grandaddy, the Flaming Lips, and even a little Bowie. Anyone familiar with these four artists’ catalogs knows they are fine company, yet Thee More Shallows’ proximity seems to be more organic than calculated, as if TMS stumbled upon the realization themselves only after finishing the album: “Hey, this sounds a bit like the Lips!” The six-year-old band seems to have absorbed many of the same influences and impulses as its labelmate and big brothers — krautrock, neo-psychedelia, instrumental and experimental rock, art-pop — and arrived at basically the same place.

Thee More Shallows’ liason with Oakland-based artists’ collective anticon evolved just as naturally: when Kesler learned that anticon artist Odd Nosdam was a neighbor of his, the two realized they shared common musical interests and began to collaborate on projects such as a remix (with Why?) on TMS’ 2006 EP Monkey vs. Shark, a Boards of Canada remix, and joint contributions to both Nosdam’s 2005 release Burner and Why?’s 2005 LP Elephant Eyelash. Multi-instrumentalists Chavo Fraser and Jason Gonzales round off the TMS palette, and on Book of Bad Breaks the trio sounds right at home at the esteemed, yet perpetually underground anticon. Perhaps that’ll change a bit with Bad Breaks; besides being Thee More Shallows’ finest moment yet and a stab at the sound the band seems to have been approaching all along, it also rivals the best releases in the label’s nine-year history.

WHAT’S IN A NAME:
-Thee More Shallows are known — by us, at least — for using very creative names on their records.
-The band’s nicely named releases include A History of Sport Fishing, More Deep Cuts, Monkey Vs. Shark, and Book of Bad Breaks.
-Thee More Shallows actually began as Thee Shallows, but changed after receiving a cease and desist order from another local artist using a similar name. Around the time they printed the inserts for their first CD, the group heard from a San Francisco musician named Brian Gregory, who was already performing as The Shallows (with one ‘e’). The group was at first reluctant to change the name, but they were hardly invested in it (beyond a grand or so spent on the inserts), and a legal order from Gregory convinced them to find a new name. After auditioning a few possibilities (Thee Original Shallows, Shallows Jr., etc.), they settled on Thee More Shallows.

DOWNLOAD CENTER:

Download “Night At the Knight School” (mp3)
from “Book of Bad Breaks”
by Thee More Shallows
anticon

More On This Album

Hometown: Oakland
Next local show: 10/21, The Fillmore
Recent release: Elephant Eyelash, 2005

It’s true: Why? can rap. We’re talking lo-fi white-boy rap, but rap nonetheless — marked by rhymes; an accelerated, tumbling delivery; and subtle beats. Not that this is anything strange for the otherwise indie-pop-minded musician. Yoni Wolf (recording as Why? for the past six years) is an integral part of San Francisco label Anticon, home to all sorts of local oddities including plenty of white-boy indie hip-hop.

For anyone who’s only heard Why?’s latest LP, 2005’s Elephant Eyelash, it’s hard to imagine Wolf doing anything other than slightly twee lo-fi pop with a psychedelic slant. That’s what he does best, especially on songs like “Rubber Traits” and “Sanddollars.” His voice is high and thin enough, his better songs so unwilling to settle in one place, that rapping seems out of the question. Then again, Beck has made a career out of a similarly disjointed, almost aloof pop-rap, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see Why? continue to explore this territory on future albums. In fact, “Pick Fights” and “Decieved,” both on Why?’s 2006 single for “Rubber Traits,” feature the same sort of stream-of-counsciousness slow-rap that Beck scatters across his new album The Information.

But enough about that. More importantly, you need to know that Why? is touring with Yo La Tengo. And that both bands are coming to The Fillmore on Oct. 21. Fantastic. While Yo La Tengo is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the indie-rock world, Why?’s tendancy to cherry-pick from multiple genres without calling attention to it should please Yo La Tengo fans. Both acts pay little mind to the confines of genre, and both proudly embrace the indie aesthetic. It’s a great pairing, and this local stop should amount to one of Why?’s biggest moments.

WHY NOT?
-Why? has released one 7″ (2006), one single (2006), one split EP (2001), two EPs (2003 and 2005), and two LPs (2003 and 2005). Get your Why? in any size!
-Yoni Wolf has also recorded as/participated in Greenthink, cLOUDDEAD, and Reaching Quiet.
-Although the first three Why? records were completely solo, Wolf has a penchant for collaboration and has worked with Hood, Fog, DJ Krush, Boom Bip, Sole, Dept. of Eagles, and 13+ God.