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Consumable Online Issue 052
==== ISSUE 52 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [September 5, 1995]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
Sr. Contributors: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Al Crawford,
Dan Enright, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi,
David Landgren, Tim Mohr, Joe Silva, John Walker
Other Contributors: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Tim
Hulsizer, Daniel Kane, Stephen Lin, Sean Eric McGill,
P. Nina Ramos, Jamie Roberts, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair,
Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner,
Scott Williams, Britain Woodman
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak,
Jason Williams
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this
document must be obtained from the editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
SNEAK PEEK REVIEW: Dream Theater, _A Change Of Seasons_ - Dan Birchall
INTERVIEW: Kate Jacobs - Courtney Muir Wallner
REVIEW: Joy Division, _Permanent_ - Lee Graham Bridges
REVIEW: Pretty & Twisted, _Pretty & Twisted_ - Reto Koradi
REVIEW: Medicine, _Her Highness_ - Jiji Johnson
REVIEW: Beggars, _Beggars_ - Reto Koradi
REVIEW: Jane Siberry, _Maria_ - Jamie Roberts
REVIEW: Minus 5 _Old Liquidator_ - Scott Byron
REVIEW: Popol Vuh, _City Raga_ - Sean Eric McGill
REVIEW: Banco de Gaia, _Last Train to Lhasa_ - David Landgren
REVIEW: Milf, _antidope_ -Tim Mohr
REVIEW: David Yazbek - _The Laughing Man_ - Joe Silva
REVIEW: Richard H. Kirk - The Number of Magic - Jamie Roberts
REVIEW: Liquorice, _Listening Cap_ - Lee Graham Bridges
NEWS: Elvis Presley, More on Skinny Puppy, Victoria Williams
TOUR DATES: Better Than Ezra, Buckwheat Zydeco, Cravin' Melon, Down, Juliana
Hatfield, Hum, Medicine, Megadog Tour (incl. Banco de Gaia, Eat Static),
Pram, Rev. Horton Heat / Hagfish, Noah Stone, Tricky/Laika
THE READERS WRITE BACK! (Pet Shop Boys)
Back Issues of Consumable
---
SNEAK PEEK REVIEW: Dream Theater, _A Change Of Seasons_ (East West)
- Dan Birchall
Most bands write, record and release songs in short order.
Even groups prone to taking lengthy breaks between albums work
quickly once the creative juices start flowing. Dream Theater
didn't intend to buck the trend when they wrote their epic suite
"A Change Of Seasons" in 1989, but the track was left off their
1992 album _Images and Words_, which bore its sister song,
"Metropolis - Pt. 1." Since then, the suite has been performed
live only twice, and fans have patiently made do with bootlegs.
On September 19th, the waiting will be over. A massive fan
campaign organized through the Internet flooded the band's record
label with requests for a studio recording of "A Change Of Seasons."
The band has responded with a compilation EP containing a reworked
version, along with a set of cover songs performed at Dream Theater's
"Uncovered" concert in London this January. Like its title track,
the EP is unusually long, with nearly an hour of music.
The band reunited with David Prater, Doug Oberkirchner, and
Bear Tracks Studio, the production team behind _Images and Words_,
with clean, precise results. The musical similarity between
"A Change Of Seasons" and "Metropolis - Pt. 1" is evident, but for
all its length, the suite has few slow spots, and is more diverse
and moving than "Metropolis." The EP's second side is also diverse,
full of covers and medleys of songs by several bands which
influenced Dream Theater. The selection ranges from Elton John's
1973 "Funeral for a Friend" and "Love Lies Bleeding" to Deep
Purple's 1984 "Perfect Strangers." Between these chronological
extremes fall the "Led Zeppelin Medley" and "The Big Medley,"
featuring songs by Pink Floyd, Kansas, Queen, Journey, Dixie Dreggs,
and Genesis.
The unusual track list will make _A Change Of Seasons_
a must-have for Dream Theater fans interested in the first
official release of previously unavailable songs. The title
track will also appeal strongly to fans of progressive rock
and metal, and the covers offer a fresh treatment of seventies
songs many fans grew up with. Those who buy this EP only for
the title track, or only for the covers, should be pleasantly
surprised by what they find on the flip side.
---
INTERVIEW: Kate Jacobs
- Courtney Muir Wallner
I had the opportunity of meeting with Kate Jacobs. Kate
had just returned to Hoboken, New Jersey after a brief tour
of the west coast in support of her latest release on Bar/None Records,
_(What About Regret)_. She is a muti-talented singer, songwriter,
musician and dancer who studied fine arts at Oberlin College (Ohio),
where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts. She is currently
embarking on a European tour and is working on several fiction
projects, as well as her songwriting. And without further ado, here's
a few words with an absolutely engaging performer, Kate Jacobs.
Consumable: What drew you to music? How did you get started?
Kate Jacobs: I was originally a dancer and I was into ballet
when I was growing up. I was a ballerina student, and then I came
to New York and I was doing a lot of modern dance and choreography
performance-work kind of stuff. Then in about 1987, I finally
decided to...I'd been sort of making songs up in my head more than
actually writing songs. I had melodies and words and I just sang
them in my head as I walked around, especially in New York. And then I
decided, well, maybe I could actually learn how to play an instrument, play
guitar, and tape these songs and put them down so I found someone to help me
and he just taught me the three chords that you need to know, because I was
writing in a really country vein in the beginning, and started there.
C: What were your influences as a child?
KJ: I had grown up in a family that sang. My Dad knew millions of
songs, and I have two sisters and we sang all the time - a lot of old,
American folk songs, which was basically what we grew up with and also a
lot of music that was part of the civil-rights movement of the sixties. We
were living in Washington and we were involved in all the marches in
Washington and various movements. And there was great music, a lot of it was
gospel, country, you know... Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger, and those
people. Much later, in college, I started listening to country music for a
friend of mine. She just played me a Loretta Lynn record one day and I was
just so thrilled that it, this stuff was so wonderfully simple and great.
C: How did you meet the people that you worked with on _(What
About Regret_)?
KJ: Well, I've had the same band for about three and a half years
now who perform on both my albums; my first one was _The Calm Comes After_
It's really through being in Hoboken; it's funny, because I
was living here all the years that there was the big hoopla about
'Hoboken sound'. I think it was sort of the early eighties
new wave kind-of pop movement that was associated with Hoboken, but
I was not (involved with it), I didn't have a clue. I was just
dancing and living here. But later, I really benefitted from the type of
resources that was available here, Hoboken has these little essential things
that are very helpful. So James Macmillan, my bass player was
working at Water Music, a studio where I did some recording and I
knew him and Dave Schramm also lives down the street, so
we were sort of neighbors, and knowing people in common and Charlie
Shaw, our drummer, is our Brooklynite. He just wandered into a bar I was
playing one night and asked if he could sit in, with his tambourine. I have
been incredibly lucky and it has been very easy with the band aspect.
C: Did you write all the music yourself or were there collaborations?
KJ: Well, I write the songs using a melody and I come up with the
basic chord structure and then bring it into the band; they go far from
there. There is a lot of collaborative work that is done in the arrangement.
C: Do you have a particular 'ritual' when writing a song that you go
through?
KJ: It really depends. Some songs come out all of a piece, and some
of them, they'll be a chorus or just a line that seems like it's a hook-line
or something. Most often it comes from a story as they are very narrative
songs. So usually it comes out of just finding a story that seems interesting
and if I have a (musical) hook, then I have the makings of a song.
And then from there, you go through such changes, just in telling the
story, finding the details that tell the story and finding the
sparse, concise thing that just really tell what it is. Sometimes
I'm telling all these concise stories but then you figure maybe
you're neglecting something else. The other day I was on the radio and a
guy said to me,"So Kate, I really like your ideas but your songs are too
short!" "Oh come on! That's all there is, you know!" I think one of
the reasons song writing has been so appealing to me is that I can
say things very quickly, I don't have anything to say after I have
written three verses, you know. There is not a lot more to it. I like
three minute pop songs I am still telling stories in my new songs!
C: The thing that I found really intriguing about your lyrics was
that they were so complete. There was a start, a finish and something
actually happened in the middle. You didn't have to spell everything out,
the lyrics give something to think about. In "George Says" I
wrote "Jacobs' speaks of spiritual growth, death and morning..."
Was I close? Were you writing about something totally different?
KJ: No, No, certainly spiritual growth and it's a more mundane
level of suffering. It's funny how those things sort of criss-
cross. There are two songs on this record where I sing about love
and death that get mixed up a little bit. One that is
actually about getting over a heartache, it's a real traditional
beginning which is just some words of solace from a friend who
seems to have some other point of view or some spiritual dimension that I
don't have and so it's just taking that...something that they have learned.
C: I read in one of the (press) clips that you should go on
Letterman and perform the song "Indiana"?
KJ: (laughing) Yeah...that I feel is my only really straight
forward love song. I feel like it was the only time I was able to
just sit down and write. It is an old song; something that is really sincere
about being in love, and so I am fond of it for that reason. Everything seems
to get lost in other stories.
C: Did you choose Bar/None because you knew people there? Or
because they were in Hoboken?
KJ: Well, my first CD I released by myself, I just put it out and
invented my own label. And they were here and I sort of knew them,
and they knew me and offered to help me distribute it. That went pretty
well and they decided to re-press it and add three tracks and they re-
released it as a Bar/None Record and so then it became an official
record deal but it started out that they would just help me.
C: Were you nervous when you started performing?
KJ: No - I have always done a lot of performing, ever since I was
little. They say that as an artist you want to communicate something and
the most obvious, strongest way to do that is through language. When I was
downtown, dancing, I was becoming more and more theatrical. Much more speech
and song was involved in it because the idea of communicating through
something abstract was not for me; my ideas are too specific. Now, of course,
I am writing these incredibly literal songs. When I started getting up and
singing what I had written and also just talking or just standing up in front
of a microphone addressing people, I found it in a way relaxing. It just
seemed like there were no barriers; very direct.
C: That's an interesting way of looking at it.
KJ: There is a tension with dancing, that is set up between you and
the audience because dances require a particular audience member; someone who
loves it, someone who gets it, someone who looks for certain things in it and
so there is always that feeling that you are connected to the audience. I just
thought, "Why am I doing hand signals to communicate here when I
could just speak?" So, it was a huge relief to me.
C: Where have you enjoyed playing?
KJ: We went to Italy when this band first came together about three
years ago. We went and played in Venice for two weeks at the Carnival,
and it was really fun. That had nothing to do with having a record - we didn't
have one. This is the first time I have had a record released in Europe;
it came out in Germany at the end of July. Supposedly, you can make money
over there and I am hoping that happens. At least you get to go over there
and tour. Everyone comes back from there and says the people treat you really
well, and you go to clubs and they are glad to see you, they don't
pretend, you don't have to feel guilty for being the band, which
can really happen here.
C: Do you have any other interests or hobbies that you spend your
time doing?
KJ: I still do ballet. I took class today before I met you,
(laughing) so I am kind-of raggedy looking. Yeah, and I take tap,
I love dancing. As you get older your hobbies change, I recently
planted a garden for the first time, a sure sign your getting old!
I have been finding music to be a full-time occupation, especially at
this independent level. I have to do almost everything myself so it's a lot
of work making phone calls, making sure everything is OK. Bar/None is really
good; they are wonderful people! I should spend all day, on the phone trying
to promote my record but it gets a little tiresome! (laughing)
C: Are you planning on making a video?
KJ: Well, I am very interested in promoting my record, I'd love to
get it out to people who will like it. The problem with videos is
that I don't like them. I find them almost always boring and
basically distracting and detracting from the song. You don't hear it
in the same way. You don't listen. And also I'm just not willing to
spend the money on a video. I think when you have limited funds,
you think about what you actually want to spend your money on and
you want to spend it on making music, not on making videos. But I
do have a friend who is working on, possibly, a video of "Indiana."
We shot a lot of great black and white (film) and she shot some really
beautiful stuff so if she can edit it together in some nice way...it's just
very pastural and calm and pretty and nice and if we could put something
together that we could use, promotionally, it might be worth it. I said i'm
not willing to make a video if it cost more than a few hundred bucks, because
they are just outrageous. People can spend on one video more than what I
spent on my whole record, recording it, so there is something out of whack.
---
REVIEW: Joy Division, _Permanent_ (Qwest/Warner Bros.)
- Lee Graham Bridges
Although the band broke up in 1980, there is something about Joy
Division that will not allow it to die. Whether it is the suicide of
front-man Ian Curtis, the gruesome lyrics in JD songs, or the band's
reincarnation, New Order, Joy Division is still very much alive today.
Their story begins in the fall of 1976, when Bernard Sumner (aka
Bernard Albrecht, guitar), Peter Hook (bass), and Terry Mason (drums) would
form Stiff Kittens in Manchester, England. In early December, Ian Curtis
joined up with the band as lead vocalist. The band never recorded or played
live with this name--it was changed to "Warsaw" in May 1977, after Terry Mason
opted to be the band's manager. Warsaw did some shows and recorded a demo,
but had problems with holding onto drummers, going through two others before
settling on Stephen Morris.
With this line-up, the band changed its name again in January
1978--this time to "Joy Division". The name was inspired by the book "The
House of Dolls" by Karol Cetinsky, which details how young female prisoners
were forced into "joy divisions", lines of small huts where the girls were
made to prostitute themselves to Nazi officers. With this explanation, the
name "Joy Division" almost seems to shroud the band and much of its music
with feelings of great disturbance, suffering, pain, and misery--feelings
which are conveyed by Joy Division's lyrics with agonizing precision.
_Permanent_ is part of a sudden outburst of interest in the band,
including an upcoming tribute album (_Means To An End_) and
a book (_Touching From A Distance_) written about Ian by his widow, Deborah,
which has just been released in the UK. _Permanent_ is a decent
cross-section of Joy Division's work.
Unfortunately, it is little more than a compilation of previously
released tracks. The only new track is the Permanent Mix of "Love Will Tear
Us Apart" (done by Don Gehman), which isn't too far removed from the
_Substance_ version of this classic. Some tracks on _Permanent_ are also on
the first Joy Division "greatest hits" and rarities album, _Substance_. Yet
unlike _Substance_, it contains no rare tracks.
Yet, this was not a thoughtless compilation; the songs presented are
fantastic. "Shadow Play" is a splendid example of the lyrical surrealism
and hopelessness in many of JD's songs. "She's Lost Control" is a song
about epilepsy, which afflicted Ian. "Twenty Four Hours", one of the best
tracks, details one man's lost but sorrowfully unforgotten love.
"Atmosphere" is a musical sliver of beauty within chaos present on the
album, bringing about sensations of desolation and longing for home through
its words. "Love Will Tear Us Apart", once called "the greatest song ever
written" by Kurt Cobain and, of course, many fans, is included as well.
Although the best way to sample Joy Division's great lyrical talent
is by listening to the four essential JD albums, _Unknown Pleasures_,
_Closer_, _Still_, and _Substance_, newcomers will find _Permanent_ a good
place to start, even if _Substance_ is a much better one.
TRACK LISTING: Love Will Tear Us Apart, Transmission, She's Lost Control,
Shadow Play, Day of the Lords, Isolation, Passover, Heart and Soul, Twenty
Four Hours, These Days, Novelty, Dead Souls, The Only Mistake, Something
Must Break, Atmosphere, Love Will Tear Us Apart (Permanent Mix).
---
REVIEW: Pretty & Twisted, _Pretty & Twisted_ (Warner)
- Reto Koradi
Pretty & Twisted is a new name on the music scene, but they are not
at all newcomers. On the cover, there's Johnette Napolitano of Concrete
Blonde fame. And under the cover we find Marc Moreland, founding member and
long time guitarist of Wall Of Voodoo. Drummer Danny Montgomery completes
this interesting combination. Besides the vocals, Johnette also plays bass,
percussions, keyboards and occasionally guitar. To add even more, she also
wrote most of the songs, and did the (very fine) production.
After Concrete Blonde split up, Johnette took some time (wandering
around and drinking wine in Paris) to think about her life and her
music. And she really found inspiration. Granted, there are a few tracks
like "Ride!" or "Dear Marlon Brando" that could just as well be by Concrete
Blonde, and with the catchy melodies they might well be the singles. But at
the soul of the album, there's something quite different. Slow, intense
songs, Johnette's non-melodic vocals are underlaid mainly by drums and
percussions, Marc's guitars are soaring in the background. The flair for
this sparse, but all the more effective, sound might well be something that
Marc brought over from his new wave days. The opening track "The Highs Are
Too High", "Train Song" or "Don't Take Me Down" are great examples for this
unique, atmospheric sound.
The strongest track on the album is "Souvenir". The first part is
characterized by a slow bass groove and percussions, leading to a melodic
chorus; then drums and distored guitars pick up, the song gains energy,
and Johnette's vocals emerge to nearly screaming intensity. On most of the
other tracks, like the wonderful version of the Bryan Ferry song "Mother Of
Pearls", both music and vocals are much more laid back. But it never gets
the least bit boring, the song writing is excellent; the percussive feel and
the beautiful vocals give it an almost hypnotic effect. _Pretty & Twisted_
is an impressive album, and very different from most things we get to hear.
---
REVIEW: Medicine, _Her Highness_ (American Recordings)
- Jiji Johnson
Medicine creates its own imaginary geography of sound in your central
nervous system, and leaves you the better for it. For the uninitiated, in
previous LPs _The Buried Life_ and _Shot Forth Self Living_, Medicine has
gradually progressed from pure noise blur-a-delia layered over confectionery
pop songs to, well, vice-versa. Medicine's poignant babble/free verse
lyrics, however, haven't changed, though they've gone progressively more and
more introspective, a practice at which Brad Laner, Medicine's It Boy
(noisebliss guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer/arranger/God) used to
guffaw. This has both delighted and frustrated Medicine's diehards, to which
Laner emotes--more to himself and bandmates Beth Thompson/Jim Goodall than
others--"The band is not about our gear."
This, from an L.A.-based band whose 1991 debut, ironically borne at
stalwart U.K. shoegazer label Creation Records, was so noisy yet sweet, Laner
branded the stuff "sonic terrorism," which fits right in to his current side
project, the avant garde, knitting factory-esque The Electric Company, and
his early noise rock roots. Still, the band resents being pinned down, and
_Her Highness'_ paring down's definitely unexpected. Its title boasts an
unwitting double entendre. This enveloping, royal endorphin rush induces
'highs' in the worst (best?) way.
"Give it to me/I want it bittersweet," goes the indelible "Candy
Candy", the first single from the album (and rightly so). Here, vocalist Beth
Thompson walks us through the glorious shards of temptation and exploration
on which we'll gladly, willingly, and repeatedly cut ourselves, and within
the span of the 4 or 5 main mezzo soprano notes she warbles, Thompson charms
us into wanting whatever she wants, bitter, sweet, or otherwise, as does the
tome "All Good Things," "Candy Candy"'s sonic cousin.
Ever-mentioned Medicine admirees include the Cocteau Twins' Robin
Guthrie and Billy Corgan, both of whom remixed tracks on the band's 1994 EP
_Sounds of Medicine: Stripped and Reformed Sounds_, which included an
unexpected surprise gift for the band, the Cocteaus' Liz Frazer's vocals
overlain in unison with Beth on one track.
Snippets of comparisons to the Cocteau Twins are inevitable when
Thompson hits a high note or two, or a certain oceanic keyboard chord warms
the soul just right, yet Medicine very much captures and maintains its own
vibe. When Beth and Brad sing "I Feel Nothing At All," bright, jangly major
chords and all, we still believe it, and the eponymous song's a college radio
hit, hands down. Lyrically, Medicine's comparable and hauntingly wondrous
side effects hit home more like those of the Cocteau Twins. Though Medicine
never makes up their own "language" as does Liz Frazer, at times, their
lyrics are near nonsensical unless given a second or third look. Also, each
song's mix is so blissfully busy, it's easy to dream up they're singing any
word or series of words you'd like, and they'll slip inside each song
perfectly, even if they turn out to be the wrong one(s).
"Farther Dub," the band's most experimental effort here, is what it
sounds like: a one-minute dub version of their song "Farther Down," an
ultra-hip tune with a 60s flavor, also on _Her Highness_, in which Brad's
hiccup, trip-up vocals and underwater rumblings stumble and slide into the
next track with a strange grace.
Moody, pensive, discordant, ugly, noisy, this album and this band are
all this and more. _Her Highness_ seems to have been created by otherworldly
creatures while the band wasn't looking. Medicine, along with a revolving
door ensemble (this time out: clarinetist, violinist/viola player, and
cellist) only complement the slew of toys and household appliances
undoubtedly enmeshed underneath the layers of the mix, which in the past have
included the amplified sounds of Bic lighters and shortwave radios, for
starters. Surface noise has just taken a back seat this time 'round and let
the pretty stuff in between breathe, that's all.
These songs of ambivalence, going through the motions, loves, friends
and selves lost, truthtelling and confusion (see the sparse, sad "Wash Me
Out," or "Seen The Light Alone") most definitely beg repeat encounters,
during some of which you're bound to fall asleep and dream stellar dreams.
Medicine can be reached at: milkalive@aol.com
---
REVIEW: Beggars, _Beggars_ (Island)
- Reto Koradi
It's interesting how easy it often is to guess music style from
song titles. This young (average 21) band sings songs like "Silver And
Gold", "Dance With Someone", "Coming Back" and "I Want You". Right, this
can't be death metal, not even punk. It's just plain pop music.
The Beggars seem to gather influences from everywhere. Harmonies
that sometimes remind of a much more famous B band almost 30 years back.
Some folk here, some psychedelic sounds there. The weak side of the band
is that they don't seem to have a clear identity. The songs flow along
almost too smoothly, and tend to sound a bit alike. The strong side is that
they're simply good. They're well written and never miss a catchy chorus.
Eli Braden has a nice voice, and the playing is solid all through, with a
good mixture of acoustic and electric guitars.
As a reviewer and music freak you're always looking out to find
novel, exciting bands. Beggars don't fill this bill. But we shouldn't
forget that most people prefer beautiful, entertaining music, and all
those will be very happy with the Beggars. And in the end we all have a
weakness for pure, good pop music occasionally, don't we? Here's a chance
to live it out, and it's better than most.
---
REVIEW: Jane Siberry, _Maria_ (Reprise Records)
- Jamie Roberts
Not some of the more inventive lyrics I have ever heard (when I could
understand them) on this CD. Jane Siberry has a lovely voice, though. She
has this kind of Torchy Cabaret Singer thing going on.
_Maria_ is kind of reminescent of a Cabaret act, as a matter of fact.
Siberry's smoky vocals, and the keyboard-laden instrumental conjure up a
show at a hotel in Manhattan on a rainy night. She vamps her way through
most of the tracks. All the while one can imagine her pouting her lips and
emoting on a track like "Honey Bee".
Forget the K-Tel Romantic Moments CDs they have on Cable TV
at 3am! Get this one for those candle lit dinners. It might prove amusing.
After that date, your parents might like it!
---
REVIEW: Minus 5 _Old Liquidator_ (East Side Digital)
- Scott Byron
The Minus 5 is one of those groups that's not really a group, and
not really a vanity or solo project. It's a loose collective of friends
who (for the most part) are based in Seattle, centering around Scott
McCaughey, best known as the leader of the unjustifiably relatively
unknown indie-pop group The Young Fresh Fellows. McCaughey is also one of
the extra musicians that R.E.M. has taken out on the road this year.
Not so coincidentally, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck is one of the principal
musicians here, along with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies.
Think of a well-blended combination of those three groups represented, and
you'll have some idea what you'll find on _Old Liquidator_, the band's
first full album. The musicians' collective influences hover over much of
the album, too; don't be surprised if a guitar strum makes you think of
the Byrds, a harmony recalls the Beatles, a texture evokes the Velvet
Underground, or an organ line brings the Beach Boys to mind. It's all
very loose and natural and even fun.
That said, don't expect all pop smarts and sweetness. McCaughey's
songs are an odd little bunch, indeed full of hooks by the dozen, but also
laced with strange undercurrents and outright unpleasantries running
through the lyrics.
Possibly what's most refreshing about this album is that it seems
so uncalculated. In a time when the marketing and imaging of
"alternative" has become a science, being this real and loose has an
extra appeal. It's definitely worth checking out.
---
REVIEW: Popol Vuh, _City Raga_ (Milan)
- Sean Eric McGill
Popol Vuh are pioneers of "new age" music. Not that John Tesh
kind of "new age," but music that moves the soul...instead of making you
want to move out of earshot. Lead by Floorian Fricke, Popol Vuh's new
release, _City Raga_, is an eclectic mix of styles and instrumentation,
once again seperating it from most of the "new age" pack, who tend to
rely totally on synthesizers for their music.
Fricke, along with Maya Rose (voice), Daniel Fichelscher
(acoustic guitar), and Guido Hieronymus (keyboards, engineering &
electric guitar) are certainly originals in a genre that falls into one
of two categories: too simplistic (some - but certainly not all - Phillip
Glass) or too gaudy (Tesh, Yanni).
In all honesty, though, I must admit that before this album
arrived on my doorstep, I had never even heard of Popol Vuh. I had heard
their work before, in the 1978 Walter Herzog adaptation of _Nosferatu_.
And after hearing _City Raga_, I was a bit ashamed of the fact that while
I didn't know who they were, I liked their work, and never bothered to
find out more.
The Denver Post said that Popol Vuh "combine European classicism
and Gregorian chants with acoustic-oriented sounds inspired by indigenous
peoples' music." And although you can certainly hear the "indigenous
peoples' music" part, this album has more in common with Deep Forest than
it does with Enigma or a group of monks. The vocals of Rose, which seem
to rise from your speakers effortlessly, are some of the most compelling
in some time. In many ways, she's the "anti-diva." Her vocals don't make
you stand back and say "Damn! That girl can sing!" as much as they bring
you further into the music itself.
And like the work of Tangerine Dream, who come from the same
German avant-garde scene as Popol Vuh, the tracks on this album can be
best described as "cinematic." Tracks like "Last Village" and "Running
Deep" seem perfect for film, and it's a wonder that someone outside of
Germany hasn't picked up on Popol Vuh to do more film work.
If there is any other album I can compare this work to, it would
have to be Tangerine Dream's _Canyon Dreams_ album from a few years back.
The album was a soundtrack for a video they scored which feature the
beauty of The Grand Canyon. Likewise, _City Raga_ could be a soundtrack
for a video on...say, a rain forest or something of that nature. The
music expresses an understanding for the majesty of nature that Tesh (and
I know I'm guilty of Tesh-bashing, but so what) and others can't
convey...no matter if they played at Red Rocks or not.
---
REVIEW: Banco de Gaia, _Last Train to Lhasa_ (Planet Dog/Mammoth)
- David Landgren
I had high hopes for this album. Judge the idealogically sound
manifesto inside the cover for yourself. And I quote:
"In 1950 China invaded Tibet, a country the size of Western Europe.
The Tibetans have calculated that 1.2 million died as a result of the
Chinese take-over. In 1959 the Dalai Lama was forced to flee his home and
now travels the world gathering support for his people. The biggest threat
to Tibet today is the hundreds of thousands of Chinese moving in and
squeezing the Tibetans out. In 1994 the Chinese government announced that
it intends to build a railway across Tibet to ease the way for even more
settlers. The Tibetans believe in a non-violent struggle for freedom; they
deserve all the help they can get. Contact Tibet Support for details of how
you can help. email: tibetsupport@gn.apc.org, post: 9 Islington Green,
London, N1 2XH, United Kingdom."
And then I wondered if the album (held on 2 CDs) wasn't going to be
a flagrant example of one more Westerner armed with a DAT, ready to pilfer
neat tunes from other cultures. Sanitize it and stitch it together with a
groovy disco beat and watch the royalties flow in, Deep Forest being one of
the worst offenders in this regard.
Well, that's not what Toby Marks and Andy Guthrie are about. There's
precious little `true Tibetan sound' here. To paraphrase the liner notes on
fellow travellers' FSOL _ISDN_, "people who are looking for a political
message are missing the point". If anything, the samples on "Eagle",
pinched from the Apollo missions, remind me more of The Orb's _Adventures
Beyond the Ultraworld_. The techno pulse running through _Maya_, their
previous album, is still present, and underscores the all of the tracks on
the first CD, however, it's not as intrusive, and the second CD it bows out
to a more ambient sound. "Amber", a slowish piece, is probably the track
with the most pronounced Mayan heritage, so to speak.
The title track opens up the first CD. A rollicking dance track
built up on top of a puffing steam locomotive, and samples of a man and a
woman singing in a haunting duo. Is it Tibetan? As a melody, it's
effective: it lodged in my head and I found myself humming the tune for a
long time afterwards.
Following that, "Kuos" is slightly disappointing; the track comes
close to crossing the dreaded ethnic-samples-on-a-disco-beat line. It's not
that bad, but when the rest of the material is so good, it jars a bit.
Interestly enough, the "gnomes" remix that opens up the second CD is much
better, due to the different percussion track employed. Best bet, if you
have multi-CD playing capacity, is to drop the original, and program the
remix in its place.
"China (clouds not mountains)" is a dreamy piece, starting with a
long rambling speech sample, and chiming semi-harp/semi-sitar patches,
carried along with a perrcussion track. Bubbling along nicely.
"Kincajou" is another track that while the original is interesting,
the remix on CD 2 is far better. Underneath the original is the hint of an
slower theme, almost entirely eclisped by a fast dance beat. On the "duck!
asteroid" remix on the second CD, this dance layer is stripped off, leaving
a slow-paced, mesmerizing synth-loop, overlaid with long aural and vocal
washes. At over half an hour's duration, it's literally a different song.
For comparison, one might look at Morris (Irresistible Force) Mixmaster's
_Global Chillage_ or Solar Quest's _Orgship_.
The only real dud on the album is "White Paint", which is a bit too
dull. Slow, choral and attempting to be grandiose, it's more boring than
anything else. Its one grace is that it provides a counterpoint the most
excellent tracks on either side.
The second CD ends with the subdued "Eagle (small steppa mix)". As
in Eagle to Tranquility, and the Apollo missions. Sampling mission control
dialogues is fast becoming an ambient cliche, however, the use here is
subtle enough to slip past without annoyance. The end of the first CD
culminates in the breath-taking "887 (structure)", a quiet piece that
builds into a pulsing electronic loop, upon which different aural pulses
and patches blossom and fade. Despite the upbeat rhythm, it is a profoundly
melancholic track which seemingly loses color and turns to black and white.
Recommended for amplifiers that go up to 11, this is the track that
multi-CDers will want to program to close the album.
---
REVIEW: Milf, _antidope_ (Big Deal)
-Tim Mohr
Milf hail from Buffalo, NY, and seem to combine the impenetrable
melody of English shoe-gazing acts, most notably My Bloody Valentine, with
the off-kilter guitars of the Dischord catalogue. Eschewing the tight song-
writing of English bands like Ride or the Jesus & Mary Chain, Milf is rather
more obtuse, free-form, sprawling.
As a result, what you think of _antidope_ will probably depend on
your patience. If you can wait through several minutes of droning for the
Fugazi-esque nugget at the end of "georgia tucker," you'll have found a good
addition to your collection. The Fugazi reference is not gratuitous, as
_antidope_ is certainly harder and more grating than aforementioned shoe-
gazing acts. The vocal harmonies, too, sound much closer to Ian MacKaye and
company than to the Boo Radleys.
---
REVIEW: David Yazbek - _The Laughing Man_ (Humbug -UK)
- Joe Silva
Currently an import only release from NYC musician David Yazbek, this
album caught some interest on the XTC list (largely because of the
appearance of pop genius/principal XTC tune weaver Andy Partridge on
the album) and warrants up a look see for those who not cast too far
down into the greasy hair gloom pits that Seattle spawned. Yazbek can
bang on a clavinette and recite stream of conciousness sound bites or piece
together gentle little vingettes over the soft gushings of a mellotron and
ahve you not notice either because of all the charm and honest melody in
his voice.
Yazbek, who's nabbed an Emmy penning jokes for Lettermen fresh out of
college, is principally a keyboard player who grew up listening to Monk
and at one time had a deal with Capitol until it was abruptly scotched by
the mega-label. Humbug, also home to British popster Martin Newell)
adopted him and have put out _The Laughing Man_ earlier this year. While
a US label search continues, Yazbek is also the guiding light behind an
XTC tribute disc that will house such opposing musical entities as the
Crash Test Dummies and salsa lord Ruben Blades.
Bearing a resemblence to a less fussy Howard Jones, Yazbek's tunes,
from the ones on which he's the sole resident to the tracks where he fitted
into an ensemble, range from ditties that heavy layers of pop sugary synth
work upon them to straightfoward rock bits like _Pinnochio's Nose_.
While Yazbek is able to sway betwixt the two forums assuredly, it's the
unabashed and uptempo sentiments that grasp the attention. Harmonies
drive and uphold the positive vibe throughout and there are some nuances
that glow across the track listing musically as well. Little bits like the
faux-horn solo on _Tommorow_ or the pleasant, rubbery bass line that's
wrapped around _The Wind_. Worth tracking down in case the
conglomerates are still only seeking out things steeped in angst and
distortion.
Humbug Records can be reached at PO Box 2903
London N13 NE England.
---
REVIEW: Richard H. Kirk - The Number of Magic (TVT Records)
- Jamie Roberts
Who is Richard H. Kirk, you might ask? This Cabaret Voltaire veteran
is the not-to-be-disputed master who is creating the trance that defines
Trance and the trippiness that defines Trip Hop. _The Number of Magic_, is
his solo foray into the darkest recesses of our minds, hearts and souls.
The ambience on this 9-track CD is almost mind-numbing at times. From
the aural sway of "Indole Ring", to the tribal feel of "Atomic", Richard H.
Kirk runs the gamut of electronic-based textured sound. This is no theme
album, not by a longshot! "Poets Saints Revolutionaries" almost kicks you
out of your daze, then "Monochrome Dream" reveals Kirk's jazz muse.
Every song on this CD is a keeper. The twists and turns the music
takes within the 'confines' of this non-restrictive CD make for the most
thorough listening experience one can have with an instrumental work.
---
REVIEW: Liquorice, _Listening Cap_ (4AD/Simple Machines)
- Lee Graham Bridges
Liquorice, fronted by Jenny Toomey (Tsunami) and Dan Littleton
(Hated, Ida), borrowed heavily from the resources of fellow 4AD artists His
Name Is Alive to record _Listening Cap_. Jenny and Dan got HNIA drummer
Trey Many to do percussion, HNIA guitarist and producer Warren Defever to
produce the album, and used Warren's basement as a studio in which to record
the new album. However, for all the (much needed) help they got in
finishing _Listening Cap_, none of it seems to detract from the overall
boring, tedious nature of the album.
Only four of the ten tracks on the album are worth a listen, two of
which are covers. Liquorice's cover of Franklin Bruno's "Keeping the
Weekend Free" is a rare jewel, and also the song where Toomey's vocals shine
brightest (there is something infinitely heartbreaking in the way she sings
"keeping myself locked up/lettin' the weekend go/waitin' for my parole").
The other cover is of the Roche's "Jill Of All Trades"--a pleasant piano
tune conveying hardship and woe. "Breaking the Ice" is the best Liquorice
original, featuring Littleton on lead vocals. "Blew It", with its cute
synth buzz and unpretentiousness, succeeds in being an upbeat, fun song as
much as the other original tracks fail at being witty or meaningful.
The rest of the album comes up short in the vocal department (Toomey
too often sounds like a sour, whiny Edie Brickell), in lyrics that either
resemble 14-year-old overkill poetry ("yeah your talk is so terribly tired
that it's verbal chloroform/in this casual police state in this public
forum/where the meat of our desire is the milquetoast of decorum") or drag
along and wander around slowly ("my trouble with you/yeah honey I got a
trouble with you/and it isn't what you are it's what you do"), and in music
that is simply annoying. It's no wonder Liquorice was previously known as
Slack.
---
NEWS: > Elvis Presley will have probably the most complete
box set of his 1970's works issued on September 26. _Walk A Mile
In My Shoes - The Essential 70's Masters_ contains
120 tracks including every A and B side he released during the
1970's. Famed rock critic Dave Marsh has contributed liner notes
for this collection.
> A continuation of last week's news of Skinny Puppy...
Dwayne Goettel of Skinny Puppy was found dead Aug. 23 at the home of
his parents in Edmonton of an apparent heroin overdose. Dwayne and
bandmate cEvin Key had been working on the upcoming Skinny Puppy record
as well as other side projects.
Skinny Puppy vocalist, Ogre, who had surreptitiously left the band
several months ago due to extreme internal band problems, had this statement:
"I am completely devestated by the loss of Dwayne. The loneliness and
separation that comes when faced with the unbearable realization of
addiction can sometimes prove too much. I am truly sorry for Dwayne's
family, and hope he is remembered as being extremely sensitive and a
beautiful, gifted person/artist whose talent and offerings were cut
short by drugs. He was the little-known genius behind the curtain of
Skinny Puppy."
> The upcoming Victoria Williams album due out in October,
_Live In Toronto_, tentatively is scheduled to include 15 songs.
---
TOUR DATES
Better Than Ezra
Sept. 16 Charlotte, NC Backfield (UNC)
Sept. 18 Athens, GA 40 Watt
Buckwheat Zydeco
Sept. 16 New York, NY Tramps
Sept. 17 Newport, PA Little Buffalo State Park
Sept. 23 Huntsville, AL Big Spring Jam
Cravin' Melon
Sept. 16 Raleigh, NC Delta Sig Lawn Party
Sept. 21 Spartanburg, SC Magnolias
Sept. 22 Charleston, SC Music Farm
Sept. 23 Raleigh, NC Lake Boone
Down
Sept. 20 New Orleans, LA Rendon Inn
Sept. 21 Dallas, TX Deep Ellum
Sept. 24 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
Juliana Hatfield
Sept. 16 Buffalo, NY SUNY-Buffalo
Sept. 19 Burlington, VT Club Toast
Sept. 23 Winsor, ONT Univ. of Winsor
Hum
Sept. 17-19 Los Angeles, CA Mayan Theatre
Sept. 23 Dallas, TX Bomb Factory
Sept. 24 Austin, TX Music Hall
Medicine
Sept. 11 Tempe, AZ Electric Ballroom
Sept. 12 Albuquerque, NM Golden West Saloon
Sept. 15 Dallas, TX Galaxy Club
Sept. 16 Austin, TX Electric Lounge
Sept. 17 Houston, TX Urban Art Bar
Sept. 19 Birmingham, AL The Nick
Sept. 20 Atlanta, GA Cotton Club
Sept. 21 Raleigh, NC Players Nightclub
Sept. 23 Philadelphia, PA Khyber Pass
Megadog Tour (Includes Banco de Gaia, Eat Static,
and other techno/trance artists for a "techorganic" experience.
All dates are *very* tentative)
Oct. 13 Orlando, FL TBA
Oct. 14 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Oct. 16 Washington, DC Capital Ballroom
Oct. 17 New York, NY Limelight
Oct. 18 Toronto, ON TBA
Oct. 19 Detroit, MI St. Andrews
Oct. 21 Chicago, IL Metro
Oct. 23 Dallas, TX Bomb Factory
Oct. 25 Phoenix, AZ TBA
Oct. 27 Los Angeles, CA Palladium
Oct. 28 San Francisco, CA Warfield
Oct. 30 Seattle, WA DV8
Oct. 31 Vancouver, BC Graceland
Pram
Sept. 5 Washington, DC 930 Club
Sept. 6 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
Sept. 7 New York, NY Wetlands (also Laika, Long Fin Killir)
Sept. 8 Cambridge, MA Middle East
Sept. 9 Philadelphia, PA Upstairs At Nick's
Sept. 11 Chicago, IL Lounge Ax
Sept. 13 Hollywood, CA Luna Park
Rev. Horton Heat / Hagfish
Sept. 2 Portland, OR La Luna
Sept. 6 Palo Alto, CA The Edge
Sept. 7 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
Sept. 9 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
Sept. 14 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Sept. 15 Chicago, IL Double Door
Noah Stone
Sept. 16 Eugene, OR John Henry's
Sept. 19 Chico, CA Juanita's
Sept. 20 San Francisco, CA Paradise Lounge
Sept. 21 San Jose, CA FX
Sept. 22 San Francisco, CA Brainwash (Acoustic Show)
Tricky/Laika
Sept. 9 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Sept. 15 Montreal, QC Metropolis
Sept. 16 Toronto, ON Opera House
Sept. 18 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's
Sept. 19 Chicago, IL Double Door
Sept. 20 Minneapolis, MN Entry
Sept. 23 Vancouver, BC Starfish
---
THE READERS WRITE BACK!
Lazlo N. writes in to note that the "official" release of the
Pet Shop Boys _Alternative_ lacks six tracks which were included
on our advance: "Can You Forgive Her? (Swing Version)",
"Decadence (Unplugged Mix)", "Don Juan (Demo)", "Domino Dancing"
"How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? (Classical)" and
"Overture to 'Performance'". However, the Japanese version of this
double CD contains a live version of Blur's "Boys and Girls", which
is also available as a B-side to the "Paninaro '95" single.
---
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===
