04
Apr
2006
· Flashbacks to the decadent, swaggering 1970s burst forth from the boogie juggernaut of the Eagles of Death Metal in the group's sophomore album, Death by Sexy, due next week. Getting sweaty with the grind of Blues Explosion, T.
Rex, and Some Girls-era Rolling Stones, and electrified into a manic swirl with the vogue theatrics of the boldly mustachioed Jesse Hughes, this is eight-track-cassette heaven for anyone in a rusty orange Chevy van with teardrop windows, blaring some vintage Jensen six-by-nines in a drive-by past the old folks' home. Produced by partner in crime Josh Homme (of Queens of the Stone Age), this is Downtown Records' debut release, and features guests Brody Dalle of The Distillers and Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees. Wrapping up a tour with The Strokes later this week, the band's video for the single "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)" features Jack Black and Dave Grohl.
· London's Hux Records has just released another CD in its series of BBC sessions, this time highlighting mid- to late-1990s encounters with the grand oracle of pensive pop psychedelica, Robyn Hitchcock. The 14 solo and group performances on This Is the BBC run the gamut from "Man with a Women's Shadow" and "Madonna of the Wasps" to "The Cheese Alarm" and "Where Do You Go When You Die?" One cool cover rarity makes the list: Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry." The CD's booklet contains a new poem in honor of the UK public-radio institution, all song lyrics, and a peek inside Hitchcock's family tree, placing a painting of his father's from 1954 on the cover and a wartime family photo on the back.
· The multitalented Harry Shearer adds a second CD to his résumé with Dropping Anchors, taking comedic aim at the talking heads that deliver the network television news each night. Released last month by his very own Courgette Records imprint (French for zucchini - do you remember his foil-wrapped faux manhood in This Is Spinal Tap?), the silly and cerebral scenarios poke fun all around, and get musical with "Songs in the Key of L," featuring his Tom Brokaw impersonation riffing through a medley of Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely," and Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay."
· While fans continue to bicker over what versions of the Beatles' albums are more aesthetically correct, with slightly different song listings on the British Parlophone and American Capitol issues, the stateside faction of that argument will find satisfaction in next week's release of The Capitol Albums Volume 2. The four-CD box set showcases a terrific year for Capitol in 1965, when the label released four Beatles albums domestically: The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, the Help! soundtrack, and Rubber Soul. The set features both the mono and stereo mixes of all four albums over a total of 92 tracks, and a 60-page booklet promises rare photography.
· Celebrating 25 years of gleeful, hyper Japanese joy, this coming Tuesday Glue Factory Records releases an all-new album of punky pop from Shonen Knife in Genki Shock! I have no idea what they're singing about in their native language, but the nervous Ramones-romp beat that whips the go-go-girl trio through songs entitled "Giant Kitty" and "Broccoli Man" has me in a full, blissful twitch. Highlights include "The Queen of Darkness," dripping in hard-rock riffs à la Kiss and Black Sabbath, and the super catchy "Jeans' Blue." One boy breaks into the all-girls club, with Dean Wareham of Luna lending backing vocals on "Under My Pillow."
Television Alert:
The Late Show with David Letterman says Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Kris Kristofferson on Thursday overnight, Fiona Apple on Friday overnight, and blushing bride Pink on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson hosts the return of UB40 on Thursday overnight; Last Call with Carson Daly revs up Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on Thursday overnight; Austin City Limits presents Trey Anastasio this weekend; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Mary J. Blige.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, April 11:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
Aloha - Some Echoes (Polyvinyl) playful prog-ish pop in the vein of early Genesis and Pink Floyd, utilizing vintage instruments such as old-school Casios and the vibraphone
Robert Bradley - What About That: New Year's in Bloomington (Kufala) two-CD set featuring his cover of Joe South's "Games People Play," and an acoustic sound-check rendition of "Once Upon a Time"
Buckcherry - Fifteen (Eleven Seven Music)
Built to Spill - You in Reverse (Warner Bros) with guest Sam Coomes of Quasi
Calexico - Garden Ruin (Touch & Go)
Brigitte Demeyer - Something After All (33rd Street) featuring guests Daniel Lanois, Steve Earle, and Emily Saliers, and a lush, aching cover of Over the Rhine's "Latter Days"
Euphoria - Precious Time (Rounder) with guest vocalists Tina Dico of Zero 7 and Tracy Bonham
Feathers - Feathers (Gnomonsong Records) this harmonious eight-piece Vermont collective is my pick of the week, carrying the candle of The Incredible String Band on a woodsy walk, and debuting on the new boutique label run by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic
Fightstar - They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (Deep Elm) touring last year with Taking Back Sunday and Armor for Sleep
Franz Ferdinand - Remixes (Domino) four-track 12-inch maxi-single
Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy" (Downtown/Atlantic) new single from the partnership of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo
Lambchop - The Decline of Country & Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years (Merge) the band's second collection of seven-inch-single tracks and out-of-print EPs from 1994 through 1999
Albert Lee - Road Runner (Sugar Hill) featuring covers of John Hiatt's "Rock of Your Love," Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day" and Leo Kottke's "Julie's House"
Lothario Gunther - Pleasureman (Rhino) domestic issue of this Swedish dance hit from last year, featuring a duet with Samantha Fox
Madison Park - "I'm Listening" (Basic Lux) new dance-floor single featuring a "piano mix"
Mr. Anonymous - Mr. Anonymous (KAB America) with guests Sly & Robbie, Cutty Ranks, Michael Rose of Black Uhuru, and Dave Wakeling of the English Beat, this new project is the passion of former Samples drummer Jeep MacNichol, who traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, to produce this soulful, funky, laid-back backyard jam
nearLY - Reminder (Kufala) new from Nine Inch Nails' Jerome Dillion, with violins courtesy of Petra Haden and guest vocalist Greg Dulli of The Twilight Singers, featuring a hauntingly intimate cover of The Afghan Whigs' "Step Into the Light"
Norfolk & Western - A Gilded Age (Hush) CD EP
Christopher O'Riley - Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute (World Village) as he recently did with Radiohead, more unusual selections deftly reinterpreted for piano
Paul Oakenfold - A Lively Mind (Maverick) with guests Pharrell Williams and Grandmaster Flash
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital (Matador)
Scissorfight - Juggernaut (Tortuga)
Imaad Wasif - Imaad Wasif (Kill Rock Stars) solo debut from the former member of New Folk Implosion and Alaska!
Wilderness - Vessel States (Jagjaguwar)
Wire - Pink Flag and Chairs Missing (Pink Flag) remastered reissues in Digipak replicas of the original vinyl releases from 1977 and 1978
Tom Ze - Estuandao O Pagode (Luaka Bop/V2)
various artists - MTV2 Headbangers Ball: The Revenge (Roadrunner) two-CD set featuring exclusive tracks from Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, and Slipknot
· London's Hux Records has just released another CD in its series of BBC sessions, this time highlighting mid- to late-1990s encounters with the grand oracle of pensive pop psychedelica, Robyn Hitchcock. The 14 solo and group performances on This Is the BBC run the gamut from "Man with a Women's Shadow" and "Madonna of the Wasps" to "The Cheese Alarm" and "Where Do You Go When You Die?" One cool cover rarity makes the list: Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry." The CD's booklet contains a new poem in honor of the UK public-radio institution, all song lyrics, and a peek inside Hitchcock's family tree, placing a painting of his father's from 1954 on the cover and a wartime family photo on the back.
· The multitalented Harry Shearer adds a second CD to his résumé with Dropping Anchors, taking comedic aim at the talking heads that deliver the network television news each night. Released last month by his very own Courgette Records imprint (French for zucchini - do you remember his foil-wrapped faux manhood in This Is Spinal Tap?), the silly and cerebral scenarios poke fun all around, and get musical with "Songs in the Key of L," featuring his Tom Brokaw impersonation riffing through a medley of Derek & the Dominos' "Layla," Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely," and Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay."
· While fans continue to bicker over what versions of the Beatles' albums are more aesthetically correct, with slightly different song listings on the British Parlophone and American Capitol issues, the stateside faction of that argument will find satisfaction in next week's release of The Capitol Albums Volume 2. The four-CD box set showcases a terrific year for Capitol in 1965, when the label released four Beatles albums domestically: The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, the Help! soundtrack, and Rubber Soul. The set features both the mono and stereo mixes of all four albums over a total of 92 tracks, and a 60-page booklet promises rare photography.
· Celebrating 25 years of gleeful, hyper Japanese joy, this coming Tuesday Glue Factory Records releases an all-new album of punky pop from Shonen Knife in Genki Shock! I have no idea what they're singing about in their native language, but the nervous Ramones-romp beat that whips the go-go-girl trio through songs entitled "Giant Kitty" and "Broccoli Man" has me in a full, blissful twitch. Highlights include "The Queen of Darkness," dripping in hard-rock riffs à la Kiss and Black Sabbath, and the super catchy "Jeans' Blue." One boy breaks into the all-girls club, with Dean Wareham of Luna lending backing vocals on "Under My Pillow."
Television Alert:
The Late Show with David Letterman says Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Kris Kristofferson on Thursday overnight, Fiona Apple on Friday overnight, and blushing bride Pink on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson hosts the return of UB40 on Thursday overnight; Last Call with Carson Daly revs up Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on Thursday overnight; Austin City Limits presents Trey Anastasio this weekend; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Mary J. Blige.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, April 11:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
Aloha - Some Echoes (Polyvinyl) playful prog-ish pop in the vein of early Genesis and Pink Floyd, utilizing vintage instruments such as old-school Casios and the vibraphone
Robert Bradley - What About That: New Year's in Bloomington (Kufala) two-CD set featuring his cover of Joe South's "Games People Play," and an acoustic sound-check rendition of "Once Upon a Time"
Buckcherry - Fifteen (Eleven Seven Music)
Built to Spill - You in Reverse (Warner Bros) with guest Sam Coomes of Quasi
Calexico - Garden Ruin (Touch & Go)
Brigitte Demeyer - Something After All (33rd Street) featuring guests Daniel Lanois, Steve Earle, and Emily Saliers, and a lush, aching cover of Over the Rhine's "Latter Days"
Euphoria - Precious Time (Rounder) with guest vocalists Tina Dico of Zero 7 and Tracy Bonham
Feathers - Feathers (Gnomonsong Records) this harmonious eight-piece Vermont collective is my pick of the week, carrying the candle of The Incredible String Band on a woodsy walk, and debuting on the new boutique label run by Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic
Fightstar - They Liked You Better When You Were Dead (Deep Elm) touring last year with Taking Back Sunday and Armor for Sleep
Franz Ferdinand - Remixes (Domino) four-track 12-inch maxi-single
Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy" (Downtown/Atlantic) new single from the partnership of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo
Lambchop - The Decline of Country & Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years (Merge) the band's second collection of seven-inch-single tracks and out-of-print EPs from 1994 through 1999
Albert Lee - Road Runner (Sugar Hill) featuring covers of John Hiatt's "Rock of Your Love," Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day" and Leo Kottke's "Julie's House"
Lothario Gunther - Pleasureman (Rhino) domestic issue of this Swedish dance hit from last year, featuring a duet with Samantha Fox
Madison Park - "I'm Listening" (Basic Lux) new dance-floor single featuring a "piano mix"
Mr. Anonymous - Mr. Anonymous (KAB America) with guests Sly & Robbie, Cutty Ranks, Michael Rose of Black Uhuru, and Dave Wakeling of the English Beat, this new project is the passion of former Samples drummer Jeep MacNichol, who traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, to produce this soulful, funky, laid-back backyard jam
nearLY - Reminder (Kufala) new from Nine Inch Nails' Jerome Dillion, with violins courtesy of Petra Haden and guest vocalist Greg Dulli of The Twilight Singers, featuring a hauntingly intimate cover of The Afghan Whigs' "Step Into the Light"
Norfolk & Western - A Gilded Age (Hush) CD EP
Christopher O'Riley - Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute (World Village) as he recently did with Radiohead, more unusual selections deftly reinterpreted for piano
Paul Oakenfold - A Lively Mind (Maverick) with guests Pharrell Williams and Grandmaster Flash
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital (Matador)
Scissorfight - Juggernaut (Tortuga)
Imaad Wasif - Imaad Wasif (Kill Rock Stars) solo debut from the former member of New Folk Implosion and Alaska!
Wilderness - Vessel States (Jagjaguwar)
Wire - Pink Flag and Chairs Missing (Pink Flag) remastered reissues in Digipak replicas of the original vinyl releases from 1977 and 1978
Tom Ze - Estuandao O Pagode (Luaka Bop/V2)
various artists - MTV2 Headbangers Ball: The Revenge (Roadrunner) two-CD set featuring exclusive tracks from Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, and Slipknot
