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New (or New-ish) releases
This list compiles some stuff that’s either just come out or will come out soon. I’ve meant to write about some of these for a while now, but just haven’t gotten around to it until now.
I’m a big fan of THE BIRTHDAY PARTY but much less familiar with NICK CAVE’s later work with THE BAD SEEDS as well as his solo albums, so when I heard that he recorded an off-the-cuff, noisy, rock and roll record with Bad Seeds JIM SCLAVUNOS and MARTYN P. CASEY that was often compared to The Birthday Party because of its raw power, I had to hear it. It’s a great record, but don’t let the comparisons to The Birthday Party throw you off. Sure it’s more upbeat than much of Cave’s recent work and sure songs like “No Pussy Blues” and “Get It On” have a fiery energy he hasn’t harnessed in a while, much of this album is much more temperate than that. Perhaps a more fitting comparison is Nick’s early work with The Bad Seeds, but nevertheless, if you’re looking for raw, primal, bluesy, post-punk, this is great stuff.
Another year brings another great new record from Brooklyn’s Fiery Furnaces. Even in 2005, when they released the almost universally-reviled (a bit unfairly in my opinion) Rehearsing My Choir, the release of the singles collection EP tempered fans’ overreaction a bit. Last year they released the excellent Bitter Tea and this album (their debut for adventurous Chicago label Thrill Jockey, a good fit for them) follows that record’s template, expertly mixing their poppy and experimental sides. At this point, this band isn’t the next big thing they like were around the time of Blueberry Boat when they were Pitchfork’s darlings, so this record will probably be ignored by most like Bitter Tea was. That’s a shame, though, as they’re quietly building one of the best discographies of any band this decade.
This is one of the best neo-shoegazer records I’ve heard yet and a huge step up from their OK first EP Only If…. You can hear some of their songs on their MySpace page and you can purchase this EP here.
While not a virtual re-write of their last album Antics, Interpol’s major-label debut certainly doesn’t stray much from their previous records. There’s less of an emphasis on individual songs (like on their first album (_Turn on the Bright Lights_) and more on mood and texture, though the single “The Heinrich Maneuver” can certainly rank with their best work. Musically, they’re still mining the sound of ‘80s post-punk artists like THE CHAMELEONS and similar early ‘90s bands like KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION and though they still leave a bit to be desired lyrically, that’s not really the reason most people listen to them.
After the back-to-back albums Want One and Want Two, both released within a year of each other in 2003 and 2004 respectively, Rufus Wainwright returns with his first new album in three years. Although it doesn’t reach the majestic highs of the brilliant Want One, I don’t find it as tedious as Want Two, either. Though it’s a nice listen, ultimately the album suffers a bit from the lack of pop hooks that Wainwright so deftly employed in his earlier work.
Originally released in 2005 and reissued earlier this year with a bonus track, this album combines this Los Angeles outfit’s love for the Cambodian psychedelic rock of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s with a newfound interest in the Ethiopian music of the same time period. Led by CHLOM NIMOL, who sings in both Khmer and English and sometimes both within the same song, at times the overall effect can even sound a bit like STEREOLAB to the listener not familiar with these forms. My favorite song on here is the absolutely gorgeous “Hummingbird”.
I don’t know how new this is, but I did just pick it up a few weeks ago at their show opening for TORTOISE at World Cafe Live. It’s an excellent (and surprisingly well-recorded) live set recorded in July of 2005 at Murph’s Other Bar in York, PA. It features mostly older songs initially recorded during their original incarnation in 1977-1981 along with the newly recorded “Airport”. There’s also a 2-song CD featuring that song as well as “Exit” (both studio versions) that I highly recommend as well. I’m not sure how to acquire either aside from going to one of their shows, but you can check out their MySpace page here.
Following hot on the heels of the success of their fellow Brazilian baile-funksters CANSEI DE SER SEXY (CSS), this is Bonde do Role’s American debut. Although I think CSS are OK, I find this band to be much more interesting. There’s an inherent irreverence to their mish-mash of styles that’s possibly a result of vocalist MARIA VELLO’s background listening to female-fronted punk bands before she got turned on to dance music. Regardless, this band’s mix of electro, ‘80s metal riffs and punk attitude proves to be an infectious mix. The best song here is “Gasolina”, though I can barely understand a word of it since most of it (along with the other songs) is sung in Portuguese. From what I understand, most of the lyrics are supposed to be filthy and graphic, which makes me like it that much more, adding to the irreverence of the proceedings here.
Boy has the UK been letting me down lately. This, even more so than recent releases by BLOC PARTY, KAISER CHIEFS and THE FUTUREHEADS, is a textbook example of a sophomore slump. Forgoing the energy and the chiming guitar hooks of their first album The Back Room, on their second album Editors go for a more mid-tempo, atmospheric sound, falling flat in the process.
They’d talked about conquering America in interviews, citing how they weren’t afraid of sounding “big”. This made me worry that they would trying to emulate, say, COLDPLAY or U2 as opposed to Interpol, on this album. Unfortunately, my fears were right. The best thing I can say about this is that it’s listenable, but boy, what a massive disappointment compared to the catchiness of first album tracks like “Munich,” “Lights” and “Bullets”.
For a record originally conceived as a concept album about a character named Venus (hence its title), this record is surprisingly succint and direct. At 11 songs clocking in at 36 minutes, it reigns in a lot of the excesses of the last two albums and that’s generally a good thing. I was quite excited that this is a more upbeat album than 2005’s mellow Love Kraft, though none of the songs here hit the peaks of excellent earlier records like Rings Around the World and Phantom Power.
