Americana tag team Mia and Jonah may be the musical equivalent of mac and cheese: Just as hearty helpings of the comfort food offer a simple but soothing cure for empty stomachs, the spare, commiserative melodies composing the Oakland duo’s second full-length, Rooms for Adelaide, transpire as the recipe to fill empty souls.

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 2/20/08.

The Federalists, The Federalists. Professional-quality album art suggests this East Bay rock group means business. Indeed, after spending all of 2007 on the record, the four members look forward to extensive touring. The kicker: their grasp on classic pop is strong enough to get them noticed here and everywhere else. (self-released)

Rennick, 611-07-0681. Rennick’s sophomore record features gothic electro-pop done about as well as you’re likely to find. That’s good, because he’s going for broke: the title is his Social Security number. “The most trusting … act that any one person can ever do,” reads a note in the inside sleeve, “is to provide full exposure to all without fear.” (Rennick Music Group)

Spandex Tiger, Dumpster Love. Anyone expecting trash will get it. Late at night, looking for some pussy is the first line singer Rich Filthy growls. Really dumb, mostly fun rock is what you find in songs like “Tijuana Hand Job,” “Hemorrhoid,” and “Cock Vein,” though you’d better be drunk in a dive bar to actually appreciate them. (Hunkerdown Productions)

Xiu Xiu, Women as Lovers. Jamie Stewart’s most accessible batch of songs yet is still pretty freaky. His voice is a whisper, his melodies are ghostly, and his songs are populated with unidentifiable sounds. But by reducing his emotional distance and allowing his songcraft to mature, Stewart found what he probably always wanted: art for all of us. (Kill Rock Stars)

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 11/21/07.

Subtle, Yell&Ice (Lex Records). Remix albums usually suck. But not this collection of alternate takes on tracks from the acclaimed Oakland act’s 2006 release For Hero: For Fool, which oozes creativity from members of Why?, Wolf Parade, TV on the Radio, Hood, and the Notwist.

Company Car, Collars (self-released). Nicely mixed, relatively convincing post-hardcore with strong guitar work and a tolerable emo bent. For better or worse, it just might warrant a shot at a mainstream rock audience.

Six Organs of Admittance, Shelter from the Ash (Drag City). Medieval metal and folk pickin’ fuse via experimental rock on another interesting yet underwhelming release from the mostly-solo project of Comets on Fire’s Ben Chasny.

Citay, Little Kingdom (Deep Oceans Records). Frontman Ezra Feinberg spins instrumental gold on this sophomore Citay disc, which also features Tim Green (San Francisco’s resident post-rock Midas) on guitar, piano, and production. As beautiful as it comes.

Josh Fix, Free at Last (1650 Entertainment). It’s special enough that Fix can nimbly reproduce everything about the bombast and tenderness of Queen and Elton John. But a few bulletproof melodies make it no wonder he’s already more famous than you know.

]]> http://www.nascentmag.com/2007/11/local-licks-112107.html/feed/ 0 http://www.nascentmag.com/2007/10/local-licks-10307.html http://www.nascentmag.com/2007/10/local-licks-10307.html#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:35:00 +0000 admin http://localhost/nascentmag/?p=84 Unified School District, Nyles Lannon, Paper Tiger, Willow Willow, and Desoto Reds

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 10/3/07.

Unified School District, Brokedown Palace (self-released). Emcee Super Ugly’s deep, sharp voice may hit some folks too hard, but at least they can’t say he’s biting someone else’s style. Ecto One’s proficient beats are unusual, too — part retro, part progressive, all choppy — making USD an alluring anomaly on the Oakland scene.

Nyles Lannon, Pressure (Badman Recording Co.). The former Film School guitarist sticks to striking out on his own: With few exceptions, Lannon wrote, performed, and recorded all of his sophomore effort, which nonetheless maintains a full, if overstuffed, plate of experimental folk-rock.

Paper Tiger, Bright Dreams of Cold Revenge EP (self-released). This four-song debut from the fledgling SF group offers a nostalgic take on lightweight alt-rock, with straightforward melodies that linger.

Willow Willow, Willow Willow (Mod Lang). Few will deny the merits of sunny, sweet British folk — but it’s a far cry from being in vogue. As Willow Willow, childhood friends Miranda Zeiger and Jessica Vohs don’t much care, and even wrote what’s likely the world’s first weed ode containing prominent use of the harpsichord.

Desoto Reds, Bernadette and the Hundred Devils (self-released). In a region so blessed with gifted groups maintaining absurdly low profiles, it can be risky to sort the winners from the losers. Still, we’ll place our bets on Oakland’s little-known Desoto Reds, who show heaps of promise through a rare blend of cerebral pop and garage rock.

San Francisco quartet the Dont’s are on the verge of releasing the biggest album of their young career. Must be an exciting feeling. The band is barely four years old, and Inner El Camino, due January 30, is a big step forward from its 2005 debut Misc Radio Leakage. Both have been self-released, but this one streamlines and elaborates upon the experimentalism of the first while proving that the Dont’s ability to distill quirky, old-school indie rock was no fluke.

Inner El Camino is indeed an indie rock fun house. Taking stalwarts like Modest Mouse, the Fall, Can, Tortoise, and Sonic Youth, and boiling them down to their most quintissential and palatable elements, the record is simultaneously off-kilter and embracing — a weird record that’s not hard to listen to. That alone is an accomplishment, but a few moments across the album elevate it to a higher level: wild vocal melodies, sublime guitar parts, jagged rhythms, and unique bass lines that bounce through uneasy indie rock tunes like tumbleweed of pure gold.

A few tracks can be overly derivative, especially the way-too-Fall-to-be-an-accident kick-off number “Blah Blah Blah.” That doesn’t stop it from being one of the record’s high points. And lead singer Jonny Dont’s voice, whether by accident or not, sounds at time a LOT like that of Electric Six frontman Dick Valentine (what a name!). The key to this record is appreciating it for what it is and shutting down the indier-than-thou part of your brain, if you have it. If you don’t, you’re in the clear, for the Dont’s execution is flawless. Songs like “AKA Sob” and sax-laced closer “Motherfather” are all Dont’s, assuring the skeptical listener that this is not a gang of ripoff artists, but four musicians with eight great ears. They know quality music when they hear it, and they sure know how to make some of their own.

THE PLEASE DO’S
-In addition to singer Jonny Don’t, the group includes Joey Don’t on guitars, JJ Don’t on bass, and Ken Don’t on drums. Something tells us they’re not actually brothers.
-Inner El Camino was recorded on analog tape at the Tiny Telephone and SF Soundworks studios in San Francisco.
-The band has retained hundreds of hours of experimental recordings since forming in 2003. This does a lot to explain the band’s more precarious moments — they probably come from improv rather than deliberate songwriting sessions.

Hometown: Santa Rosa
Next local show: 11/10, Bimbo’s 365
Recent release: Cum Laude, 2006

Maybe you’ve heard of the Velvet Teen. On paper, it’s a small and independent band. But its name certainly gets around. Beyond obvious talent, it’s hard to say why. Coulda been the opening night performance at Noise Pop in 2002 that did it. Or maybe the collaboration with Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla on VT’s debut full-length, 2002’s Out of the Fierce Parade. Or possibly just the band’s refusal to sit still stylistically; it’s moved from baroque pop to elegant IDM to messy rock to something that encompasses all three.

The Velvet Teen’s latest, Cum Laude, released this past July, falls squarely into the latter category. It’s the group’s greatest statement thus far, fearlessly toying with math rock and jazz structures as well as the aforementioned genres. The Velvet Teen seem hard-wired to innovate, and the replacement of original drummer Logan Whitehurst, who’s dealing with health issues, by Casey Deitz (of Chico group the Americas) seems only to reinforce that. His carefully spastic drumming pushes the group into almost experimental territory. Yet the Velvet Teen never loses its sense of songcraft, often burying emotional melodies beneath layers of raw noise much like the Promise Ring or early Thursday.

Cum Laude is a fearless effort that won’t make the band an instant success but should contribute significantly to the mysterious buzz surrounding its name. It’ll also certainly be a late-year addition to many best-of-2006 lists.

PRAY FOR MOJO:
-Velvet Teen founding member and local music vet Logan Whitehurst had to leave the band after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Keep him in your thoughts.
-The new lineup includes founding member Judah Nagler (vocals/keyboard/guitar), Josh Staples (bass/vocals), and Deitz (drums/vocals).
-Cum Laude is the group’s third full-length, all of which have been with Portland-based indie Slowdance Records. Maybe this’ll be enough to land the group on a bigger label.