Steve Holtje: February 11, 2007

Two new releases and music by my friends on MySpace. Real friends I’ve met in person and hung with outside of musical contexts.

1. Bloc Party – A Weekend in the City (Vice)
   Kele Okerere’s lyrics have reached a depth of emotional evocation rarely equaled in mainstream rock nowadays. It would be a shame if indie fans let the increasing polish of Bloc Party’s music turn them off to such excellent songs. This band had already demonstrated its eclecticness on its debut album; this time out the various styles are developed further. Fortunately the great momentum of their post-punk influences is not sacrificed; even in quieter moments the underlying propulsion is palpable, and quick switches from majestic brooding to energetic explosions are often heard. In the space of a few EPs and two albums, Bloc Party has vaulted from showing promise to being one of the best new British bands around.
2. Amnesty – Free Your Mind: The 700 West Sessions (Now Again)

   Never mind crate digging, the new thing is archive digging, and soul is proving to be especially rewarding territory. These 1973 tracks, most previously unreleased, offer yet another sterling example. Amnesty was an Indianapolis band combining the vocal talents of The Embers and the instrumental skills of The Crimson Tide. Their mix of harmony-vocal soul with deep funk will please P-Funk fans, while occasional traces of Afrobeat recall Osibisa and Mandrill. There’s nothing about the thoroughly enjoyable music here that explains why it wasn’t released at the time, until the bit in the booklet notes that says the Lamp label for which they recorded specialized in rock. The 1970s’ loss is our gain now that this killer album has finally appeared.

3. Kristen Korvette – “Hard Act to Swallow” (Ikonik Audio)

   Woody Allen has said, “Is sex dirty? Only if it’s done right.” After hearing this sonically stained techno-glam nugget, I suspect Kristen Korvette feels the same way…about music.

4. Paul Foglino – “Too Old to Get Drunk”

   This former member of Five Chinese Brothers and I went to college together. We’re old, and this is a reassuring song about that.

5. Ron Sunshine – “Coffee and Reefer”

   I can remember when the only song Ron sang in public was “Got My Mojo Working.” He’s come a long way, baby.

6. Que Verde – “Superimpose”

   I met Christine Back when she came into Sound Fix to ask us to sell her CD on consignment. It quickly became one of my favorite albums.

7. Rebecca Turner – “Be a Man”

   Rebecca and I met when we were both writing for New York Review of Records in the early ‘90s. Her voice and her songwriting are both pure and beautiful.

8. La Otracina – “Soaring Through Time”

   I work with drummer Adam Kriney at Sound Fix. I need to review a lot more of his many albums than I have gotten around to glorifying in print.

9. Katie Elevitch – “Starting Gate”

   Katie throws great parties. She’s a Yoko Ono fan. Her album, Now Is the Destination, is great, but right now I’m smitten with this non-CD track.

10. The Friends Band – “It’s Not Hard It’s…”

    I could put Jesse Ainslie and Jeff Bailey here separately (and Dan Weber, if I find him on MySpace), but why not combine their talents while they’re still together? Last show happens this Thursday 2/15 at The GlassLands.