May 26, 2021 at 8:41 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project: Kites and Strings
Jazz composer, arranger, and musician Ben Rosenblum alternates between piano and accordion, so that alone is enough to make me interested in checking out his music. Opener “Cedar Place” fluidly switches between lead instruments and styles, from hard bop to Latin and French accents, without sharply contrasting, and keeping up a joyous spirit. “Kites and Strings” is cooler and more vibraphone-centric, with accordion and trumpet providing warm hugs. “Halfway to Wonderland” gradually starts to work into some sort of hypnotic Philip Glass-type patterns right before it ends suddenly. “Motif from Brahms (op. 98)” is as close to a lullaby as you might expect, but then “Fight or Flight” is a fun klezmer-tango jam to invent a weird, wonky dance to. A rendition of the
West Side Story standard “Somewhere” starts out soft and classy before taking off with trumpet and bass clarinet solos. Following two ballads which gradually swell up, including a cover of Neil Young’s “Philadelphia”, “Laughing on the Inside” is a more upbeat tune with trumpet which does seem to be laughing, as well as knotty accordion and bass clarinet riffs. Finally, the version of the Bulgarian traditional song “Izpoved” that closes the album is its most solemn, direct moment.
May 25, 2021 at 7:03 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Birthday Ass: Head of the Household
Brooklyn’s
Birthday Ass play horn-heavy no wave which reminds me of Scissor Now! and Palberta, but with an expanded 6-person lineup. Priya Carlberg (the group’s leader, composer, and director) has an acrobatic vocal style, wailing and blurting out nonsense syllables as often as she sings more recognizable lyrics, and the band matches her style with angular arrangements, sometimes speeding up into a chaotic rush (“Jello”) or turning into atonal klezmer-sludge (“Spiced Twice”). “Buckle My Shoe” is a deconstructed nursery rhyme; it’s even interrupted by construction noises. “Malai, My Guy” is sort of close to hobbled dance-punk, and it continues to get progressively more rambunctious. “Broccoli Face” is manic scrunch-punk which gets pummelled with beats at the end. Finally, “K Helap” is a dramatic epic in which Priya gets swept away yowling that she can’t stand to be alive, then questioning if her life is a dream.
May 24, 2021 at 9:58 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Gryphon Rue & Merche Blasco: North of the Future
employ a bevy of rare, vintage synths as well as singing saw and harmonium to create a bunch of pieces which all move in entirely different directions. From the beginning, I thought I was in for a super pleasant new age synth zone-out. Then I was totally surprised to hear that the next track, “Moving Veins of Flamingos”, is sparse, fizzing wires interrupted by sudden thrashes and tripped-out delay, later illuminated by bright but hazy flickering tones. “Frogsayings” is a web of static noise which flashes for a bit and then dissolves into nothingness. The longer tracks are more drone-based rather than noise, obviously, but “Beautiful Evidence” matches some lovely harmonium with some frequencies that kind of groan out. Then “40.65ºN – 73.96ºW” is a duet for saws recorded under an archway in Brooklyn, surrounded by crickets and puzzled passersby. The final title track is a more compact burst of chattering vibrations and ghostly, swooping saw.
May 23, 2021 at 2:28 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
James Francies: Purest Form
Pianist and composer James Francies has a kaleidoscopic vision that reaches throughout the galaxy. His second album is a sprawling 56-minute expedition that doesn’t always seem like it’s traveling on the same path, but when it connects, there’s little else like it. After a nebulous introduction with narration that’s pretty much beyond comprehension, the mind-blowing “Levitate” is knotty prog-jazz that demonstrates Francies’ skills at making complex arrangements radiate with energy. “Transfiguration” is similar but slightly cooled off, leaving room for a spiky Immanuel Wilkins sax solo. The gorgeous “Blown Away” is a hazy slow jam featuring recent Stones Throw signee Peyton, and Elliott Skinner guests on the even more ethereal “Rose Water”. “My Favorite Things” might seem like a super obvious cover choice, but this 7-minute version is perhaps the most fragmented, deconstructed rendition I’ve ever heard, taking the familiar melody and dropping it down the stairs until it’s bent out of shape, then letting Wilkins and master vibist Joel Ross run with it. After the brief orchestral interlude “Stratus”, “713” is more of a showcase for Francies’ piano playing over laid back but still alert hip-hop beats. Then “Melting” is submerged-in-a-sewer lo-fi R&B that struggles to be heard and understood; the detachment, the “you’re not hearing me” effect is what resonates. Then we’re back to fractured ultra-prog-jazz with “Where We Stand”. After all this far-outness, “Freedmen’s Town” has an unexpectedly direct, personal, and moving narrative from Francies’ father, who talks about growing up in Houston in a poor area which has since been gentrified, then reflecting on how much the world has changed (and stayed the same) during his lifetime. Neo-soul visioniary Bilal guests on “Eyes Wide Shut”, an abrasive alt-rock song which basically sounds like a harder, more claustrophobic Radiohead. “Still Here”, another string quartet interlude, features a cameo from Francies’ mother, and the album ends with “Oasis”, another spacey ballad with obscured, underwater-sounding vocals.
May 22, 2021 at 4:18 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Pixelord: 99%
Russian artist Pixelord has been underrated for way too damn long. He was making dramatic Burial-esque garage and wonky bass a decade ago, and he’s moved closer to deconstructed club and hard vapour in recent years.
99% is his latest opus, and it’s like if NFTs existed in the late ’90s. Lots of rave stabs and jittery trance arpeggios, but with a level of hyper-energy which was barely being hinted at as more producers began composing with laptops. This whole thing crunches together so nicely. The beat programming is super punchy and constantly takes new forms, and even the few mellower moments feel like they’re glimpsing into another dimension. I can do without the autotune rap of “Guitarnaya” but otherwise this is an incredibly inventive, awesome release.
May 21, 2021 at 8:35 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
v/a: LT-GLOBE-XX2
Neo-jungle crew Globex Corp returns to Lobster Theremin with
another set of tracks to splash us into summer. Dwarde & Tim Reaper start it off with “Hydraulics”, which is refreshing like a trip down a tall waterslide, but with a kick like eating a spicy meal at a picnic while you’re taking a break from outdoor activities. DJ Sports’ remix of a Dwarde/Reaper track brings the smashy breaks and kinda grimy bass. Richard Harrow’s “Aftermath” is a nine-minute trek which takes its time to build up sludgy breaks, very slowly applying shimmering atmospheres and traces of vocals. There’s very subtle changes to the breaks and other sounds, but they make an impact. And then Merph & Mantissa’s “Whip” just slaps plain and simple. The breaks roll along, only slightly cracked to the point of absurdity, but then it just becomes a full-on deluge, until it just stops dead at the end.
May 20, 2021 at 9:02 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Barker: BARKER002
Barker’s
first release since the landmark full-length
Utility is an even more fleshed-out vision of neo-trance euphoria that still holds back from heading into a full-on rush. “E7-E5” is shining and ever-rising, then “Bent” is a darker and more difficult piece that unexpectedly slips some breakbeats in between its flowing synth cadences and fragmented laser beams. “Polytely” is riddled with icicle-thin, jittery arpeggios which delicately hint at a storm of feelings which are hard to process and logically express, yet they’re rendered with a very distinct sort of clarity. Nothing less than masterful.
May 19, 2021 at 8:57 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Racquel Jones: IgnoRANT
Jamaican emcee Racquel Jones comes hard with her first album, an epic set of brash, unfiltered, and ambitious songs about tough subjects. Clearly not trying to copy the latest trends or make something safe and palatable for mainstream radio, Jones writes volatile, unpredictable songs which often have several tempo changes. On opener “Invocation”, she acknowledges all of her contradictions, serving as a brief warning that this won’t be a straightforward, clear-cut journey. “Anger” has some of the album’s most stunning production and aggressive lyrics. Other tracks unflinchingly address religion (“Sacrilege”), sexuality (“Daddy Issues”), beauty standards (“Ugly”), and fetishization of Black culture (“Jungle”). “Manic” starts out with introspective spoken word and ethereal balladry before suddenly switching to vicious trap for a brief moment. On “Arrogant”, she boasts “I am the scientist, you the experiment”. “Heartless” alternates between not giving a fuck what anyone thinks and yearning for love and acceptance (“I’m human for real, oh how I wish you could see this”). “Hurt” is similarly emotional and introspective, but the disco-tinged “Queen” is bursting with self-confidence, with Jones claiming to be Eartha Kitt, Lauryn Hill, and Cleopatra at once.
May 17, 2021 at 9:35 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment
Sentinel 793: Brukwerk
The
first release from this Bristolian producer is a set of smoothly flowing tracks with liquid synths and broken beats. The opening track has precise, angular rhythms which are super easy to follow, and the bassier “Wormholes” follows suit. This doesn’t feel quite as jazz or funk-oriented to really classify it as part of the broken beat scene, there’s something a bit loopier about it, but it could fit. A Drumskull remix pushes the sound a little closer to ambient footwork, and Haze City’s mix of “Wormholes” retains the broken beat energy but also tips its hat to jungle a bit.
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