(Touch and Go Records)
Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss once again establish themselves as the king and queen of the Roxichord on their newest album, . The album opens with a short instrumental inclu-ding keyboard and simplistic drumbeats. The 13 remaining tracks consist of complex, melodic variety using everything from guitar and bass to keyboard and saxophone, and of course the overpowering Roxichord. Coomes stretches his vocal stylings across a broad range of genres, at times sounding like a hybrid of Matthew Sweet, The Pixies, and a '50s rocker. If that description is too hard to imagine, then just think lots of reverb and pitch changes.
Weiss expands both her vocal and drumming expertise, straying from her riot grrrrl rock ways with Sleater Kinney and displaying her ability to harmonize and play a softer, toned-down, jazz-infused beat.
Each track on the album displays a different instrumentation style and driving force. Songs like 'Seal the Deal,' 'The Sword of God' and 'Rock & Roll Can Never Die' are fueled by punk rock; muddy, distorted guitar; and keyboard, as well as in your face drumming. On the contrary, songs like 'Fuck Hollywood' and 'It's Raining' have a more blues-and-jazz feel, emphasizing steady, clean piano layered with consistent high-hat/cymbal hits and smooth, sultry lyrics.
as a whole can be seen as somewhat of a basement jam session between two very talented and experienced musicians. This feeling comes across in the experimental use of several different instruments and the wide variety of sounds produced. The final product is an ever-changing musical montage, and after it's absorbed the listener will feel lucky to have been a fly on Sam and Janet's basement wall.
(Columbia)
Earlier this year, Bob Dylan turned 60. He was lauded in glowing newspaper articles, celebrated in a New York concert and Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to him. Accompanying all this veneration, however, was the intimation that Dylan was an artist with little left to say. With his new album, , though, Bob Dylan comes roaring back into the ring of relevance with a hoarse voice and surprising potency.
Produced by Dylan under the pseudonym Jack Frost, is much warmer than his previous effort, . On , Dylan seemed content to stand firmly inside a wall of production, heaving dismal declarations over a pile of atmospheric guitars and organs. During , however, Dylan focuses on the interplay of his voice and the backing instrumentalists.
The result is a lush musical exhibition that focuses more on melodies and evokes several genres of music. 'Summer Days' is almost rockabilly, while the banjo-driven 'High Water (For Charley Patton)' would not be out of place on the bluegrass-laden 'O Brother Where Art Thou' soundtrack. Several songs are blues based, such as 'Honest With Me,' while others rock more than any Dylan work since his 1966 tour.
One disappointing aspect of the instrumentals, though, is the lack of harmonica, which Dylan formerly used to churn up kinetic, emotive solos, adding depth to his songs. Many instruments try to fill this void, including an accordion and a violin, but the harmonica is still missed.
However, as with any Dylan album, the lyrics are the focus of attention, although they are less so on this effort than on his others due to the level of musicianship.
He furthers the writing style that emerged on , for the most part eschewing a strict narrative in favor of declaratory couplets, sometimes seemingly unrelated. This is a randy, feisty Dylan: He ends 'Lonesome Day Blues' by declaring 'You're gonna need my help, sweetheart, you can't make love by yourself.' Despite conjuring up an unpleasant image of the 60-year-old Dylan, it exemplifies the lively attitude that he seems to have picked up somewhere between and now. Dylan always has been funny, except during his Fundamentalist Christian phase, but on , he seems slyer and more bemused than usual. With lines like, 'I'm sitting on a watch so I can be on time,' it's not apparent whether Dylan is amusing himself or his grandkids, but whatever it is, we should be glad we're along for the ride.
This is not to say that Dylan doesn't occasionally drop lines of great poignancy. Dylan speaks of love and love lost with his usual eloquence and insight. Lines like 'I need something strong to distract my mind/I'm going to stare at you until my eyes go blind' and 'You went years without me, might as well keep going now' cover different ends of the emotional spectrum but illustrate Dylan's knack for evoking powerful, consequential images. He still hasn't moved on completely from the melancholy that dominated Mind, but there is now variety and warmth to the songs that didn't exist before.
All things considered, doesn't disappoint; it's the best Dylan has released since . It fits firmly in the second tier of his albums, nestled in with and , but Dylan says it best in this album's finest track. 'You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way,' he mutters on 'Mississippi,' and he's right. is no or , but it is an exceptional, essential release from the greatest songwriter in rock and roll history.
(Polyvinyl Records)
Originality in indie rock is something that's becoming harder and harder to stumble upon as of late, but Polyvinyl Records always seems to be at least one step ahead of its small-label competition. Ranging from straight emo to post-rock experimentalism, the label's dozen bands run the gamut of independent music. A perfect example of Polyvinyl's varied styles comes in the form of Boston's The Ivory Coast, in its second release, .
begins with 'Lake Placid 1996,' with electronically distorted drums and a soft synth melody before breaking into a Cap'n Jazz-esque melody (or anti-melody), accompanied by Jay Cox's off-key singing and cryptic lyrics. Throughout the song, soft, simple synthesizer melodies are used, which cast an interesting backdrop. This goes for the rest of the album as well, but rarely does The Coast repeat styles.
' second song is 'Five Little Graves,' which showcases a much quieter, emo quintet at work. However, in its wake is 'Swope,' a gritty, fast-paced piece of rock that sounds like a more electronic version of At the Drive-In. Likewise, the album closes with 'There Will Be Clouds,' a 14-minute barrage of slow-core and improvisation.
Perhaps inevitably, 'boops' and 'beeps' are inserted throughout the entire album. As clich?? as this may sound in 2001, The Coasts' electronic elements are always subtle; much like the ones on Radiohead's . They're never exploited, and they don't come off as fake or cheesy. Ironically, all things considered, ' finest moment is the song 'Daily Routine,' a one-minute forty-five second acoustic tune with accompanying trumpets.
In the course of one year and two albums (the first of which found itself unreleased for nearly two years), The Ivory Coast has proven to be one of the most original and varied indie rock groups of the new decade.
