Canadian Audiophile’s Reviews and News

November 25, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures

Filed under: 2009, alternative rock, hard rock, music, rock — Tags: , , , — Jordan Richardson @ 11:20 am

With the collective powers of Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones, the majesty and magic of Them Crooked Vultures is unfuckwithable.

The band was first mentioned, perhaps in passing, by Grohl during a 2005 interview. Since then TCV took on a life and legend of its own, spreading to the ultimate performance at Chicago’s Metro in 2009. Now, with the release of their self-titled debut, these monsters of rock are ready, willing and able to blow your speakers apart with their brand of slick, natural, lazy rock and roll.

Homme handles vocals and guitars, lending his stoner rock flair to the project with all the desert dryness of his earlier work with Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age. Grohl hammers the drums like only he can, fuelling the band from the skins with the energy and skill of an eager ten-year-old playing with his best friends. And Zeppelin’s Jones adds grain to TCV, delivering bass and keyboards with style and haunting bravado.

The supergroup can be an interesting concept. Most of them are generally dominated by one of the players and the sound emerges from that starting point rather than from one of holistic musicianship. In the case of Them Crooked Vultures, however, each musician brings his craft to the table and brings it hard.

Their debut record, out now, successfully uncorks the stifling desert rock of Homme and piles Grohl’s forceful playing on top before adding Jones’ fondness for adding various colours and textures. The result is an album that allows the players to build off of one another, to wrangle with one another.

“New Fang,” the record’s first single, emerges with Grohl’s drumming and builds into a slow-moving, gliding rocker. The cut guts it through a firm low-end guitar boogie, letting Homme’s vocals coast over the arrangement.

Classic rock makes plenty of appearances on the record, of course, and TCV never ceases to wear its influences on its gravy-drenched sleeves. Check out the homage to The Doors on “Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up” or the Ledded “Reptiles” for more.

The homage heaven continues on “Mind Eraser, No Chaser,” a riff-heavy barnburner that finds Homme proving he can blast out some solos if he has to. He reaches teasingly into his upper vocal registry, too, furthering the classic rock vibe over Jones’ keyboard solos. It’s all so totally fucking fun, isn’t it?

As a record, this works beautifully because it does what it sets out to do. As they call up the demons of classic rock immensity, Them Crooked Vultures circle the carcass of musical awesomeness waiting for the final drops to spill. Thanks to a unique, playful, respectful approach to some of classic rock’s finest, there’s going to be plenty for these three to feed on.

November 20, 2009

Leona Lewis – Echo

Filed under: 2009, music, pop — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 9:35 am

With Echo, Leona Lewis is a woman on a mission. While Spirit was designed to introduce the winner of the third season of The X Factor to the world, her follow-up record has loftier goals. Constructed to solidify the 24-year-old popster as a legitimate talent, the record soars with a nice combination of dance floor cuts and classic ballads.

“Nice” is the name of the game for Lewis, who gracefully manages to sidestep the trappings of diva-ness with every note on Echo. Nothing is strained or snooty and she manages to come across as a humane, natural vocalist with amazing pipes.

Part of what works for Lewis is part of what may work against her, however, as she threatens to tumble into adult contemporary territory with her clean, unfussy technique and the straightforward likability of her songs. Lacking an edge, she must prove that she can get by on talent and delivery alone.

Thankfully the talent and delivery are present in spades all over Echo. Lewis worked with some industry heavyweights like Justin Timberlake, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and Max Martin in putting her sophomore record together, too, and that gives the music a touch more panache.

But it’s Lewis’ voice that once again puts the songs over, as her ability to nail damn-near-impossible notes remains as sound as ever. Hers is a voice that is pleasant and warm, even when she floats into the upper registry to attempt what other singers only dream of. Lewis has a purity to her sound, sending a clear message of courage in a time where studio magic augments every half-assed vocalist into “perfection.”

There are different versions of Echo for different markets, with a U.K. version shifting the song order around a touch and including the singer’s take on Oasis’ “Stop Crying Your Heart Out.”

“Happy” kicks things off well, leaning on the architecture of Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” to build to a strong crescendo. The drum distortion is a nice touch, giving the track weight and swagger without overdoing it.

Lewis’ mezzo-soprano range is on full display all over the place, but what’s truly remarkable is how she drops to some of the lower notes. “My Hands” features this challenge as Lewis sings over a soothing organ and floats through the scope of her range all the way to her towering falsetto before the beat kicks in.

“Fly Here Now” lets Lewis out of the ballad box a little bit, giving her plenty of room to coast over a silky disco beat and sliding, sparkling synth. “I want your body here with me,” she sings without sounding out of place.

OneRepublic joins Lewis on “Lost Then Found,” putting down a solid performance that ascends as an anthemic, emotional ballad. And “Don’t Let Me Down” digs deep using a tight studio beat and strings.

Echo effectively builds on Lewis’ Spirit by expanding the texture and technique of the vocalist without pressing too many extra buttons. The songs are sturdy and enjoyable, allowing the vocals to take centre-stage and leaving the ridiculous theatrics and pretension to other lesser pop singers.

November 18, 2009

Cloak/Dagger – Lost Art

Filed under: 2009, garage punk, garage rock, music, punk rock, rock — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 5:32 pm

Earthy, mucky and entirely satisfying, Cloak/Dagger’s Lost Art revs with garage punk vigour and beer-soaked filth. It is an ugly van of a record, pulsating with a sort of sick satisfaction and creepy, dirty glee.

Cloak/Dagger formed in October of 2006 and slapped together a demo within one month. Since then, the band has two seven-inches and a debut LP called We Are to call their own. With their second full-length, Lost Art, the quartet jams through their brand of fast, unsightly, insanely sincere music with the vast energy of a half dozen midget prostitutes on crack, blindly obliterating everything in their path with thoughtless delight.

It is that blind attention to destruction that makes Lost Art such a fun record to blow through.

The songs come quickly and energetically, leaving no punk/garage rock stone unturned. Boasting an adamant quality that is reminiscent of that uncomfortable but astonishingly, fucking cool kid from school that always ran around in sleeveless T-shirts smelling of scotch at ten in the morning, Lost Art is 13 tracks of shit that’ll piss off the ‘rents.

Led by Jason Mazzola unpolished vocals, Cloak/Dagger have locked up the faded, raw sense of things. Guitarist Colin Barth is downright venomous in his delivery, cranking out riffs that draw memories of John Reis and Black Flag’s Greg Ginn. Bassist Matthew Michel and drummer Colin Kimble round out Cloak/Dagger with their modest, unstable rhythmic attack.

Lost Art unpacks a series of energetic, hyperactive songs that work due to their utter plainness. There’s no studio magic and no lame overproduced puff at all; Cloak/Dagger approach things with an honesty and ache that’s hard to beat.

“Dead Idols” cranks with Mazzola’s chaotic vocals. “My heroes aren’t my heroes anymore and I’m ashamed they ever were,” he shouts over the band’s punching pace. And Barth lays out a swift riff on “Deathbed Rebels,” injecting the track with a fearless foundation while Mazzola staggers and spits.

“Eyes on the Wall” and the record’s title track emerge as some of the band’s more coated cuts, but they never lose their inborn turbulence despite deepening and expanding their sound.

Lost Art is a gem of a punk/hardcore/garage rock record. It stands as a piece of grubby, righteously crude collection of quick-hitters and instils just the right quantity of punkish wrath and dangerous, window-smashing fun into every single track. Thanks to their unbending attitude and hollering swagger, Cloak/Dagger has fittingly pieced together another grimy, fucking glorious mess of a record.

November 16, 2009

Pyramids with Nadja

Filed under: 2009, ambient, dark ambient, drone, music, noise rock, post-rock, shoegaze — Tags: — Jordan Richardson @ 2:48 pm

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In putting together their split record, Toronto’s drone/shoegaze act Nadja and Denton’s noise/post-rock Pyramids have constructed a beautifully oblique, lingering piece of work that proves both challenging and absolutely pleasing.

Collaborations like this can be tricky to orchestrate, but the melding of styles here is marvellous and there’s plenty of beautiful noise to be heard across these four tracks.

Along with all members of both Nadja and Pyramids, the split record features a horde of additional players. Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil) lends his bass to a pair of tracks, Albin Julius (Der Blutharsch) performs vocals on the fourth number, and Mineral’s Chris Simpson adds his own vocals on the second track.

Produced by James Plotkin (Khanate, Phantomsmasher), the Pyramids/Nadja split makes great use of the concepts of resonance and space. This isn’t a record that features players obsessed with piling as much noise as possible into the clear spaces; it is, instead, an extremely careful experiment with the subtleties and abruptness of sound and volume.

The balance between bands is apparent right from the monumental drone of “Into the Silent Waves.” With dark bass tones and a spooky, ethereal atmosphere, the piece feels like observing a massive creature moving across the tundra. It is deliberate and there’s an underlying current of immensity that moves things to the song’s supple plunge.

Shifts in space and time govern the lovely “Another War.” Simpson’s vocals take over suddenly after about four minutes of spacious tone, with impulsive blasts of percussion adding precariousness and sharpness to the layers.

The pressure builds on the third and fourth cuts, with the steep drone and wraithlike wailing of the “Sound of Ice and Grass” leading organically in to the unrelenting, triumphant “An Angel Was Heard To Cry Over the City of Rome.”

A musical expedition that builds on each note eloquently and enthusiastically, the collaboration between the Pyramids and Nadja is terrific stuff. Constructed on the concept of sound and distance, it is a meaningful experiment that organically expands and contracts with beauty, eloquence, aggression, and scale.

November 12, 2009

Omar Rodríguez-López – Xenophanes

Filed under: 2009, alternative rock, avant-garde, experimental, experimental rock, jazz, music — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 11:04 am

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The insanely prolific Omar Rodríguez-López blasts his peculiarity all over his thirteenth solo record in five years. He’s played on half a dozen albums this year alone, including The Mars Volta’s Octahedron and El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez’s Cryptomnesia.

What sets Xenophanes apart from the rest is that this record features his own vocals at the forefront. Rodríguez-López uses his pipes like another instrument, infusing each note with heavy effects and tonal manipulation. He shares singing duties with the marvellous Ximena Sariñana and their similar styles give the record a peculiar, haunting quality.

Bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña (Racer X, The Mars Volta), drummer Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta), and multi-instrumentalist Marcellus Rodríguez-López, Omar’s younger brother, flesh out Rodríguez-López’s backing band for the record.

It’s Rodríguez-López’s blazing guitar and vocals that take centre-stage, however. This is a record of force, urgency and sonic violence. It is also, surprisingly, an exercise in scarcity and neatness. For the most part, he shies away from the long, overlapping guitar soloing and experimentation that many have come to know and instead sticks to songs with sharp structure and concision.

That’s not to say that Rodríguez-López has hung up his odd tendencies, of course, as Xenophanes is full of outrageous segments of sound.

“Ojo al Cristo de Plata,” which translates to “Beware of the Silver Christ,” is a beautiful, melodic track that makes excellent use of assorted bending and stretching effects. Pridgen’s drums drive and clatter in the wavering background and the piece feels like it’s floating in the middle of the ocean somewhere. Rodríguez-López and Sariñana connect superbly, too, mastering the song’s tempo shifts flawlessly.

The voices take the reigns once again on the funky, shifting “Asco Que Conmueve los Puntos Erógenos.” Rodríguez-López and Sariñana climb walls with their singing, increasing the tension over a hedge of sound propelled by Pridgen’s unrelenting playing and Rodríguez-López storming guitar.

Marcellus Rodríguez-López hits the keys on the jazzy “Mundo de Ciegos,” giving weight to one of the record’s catchiest pieces.

Xenophanes carries on with Rodríguez-López’s themes of religion and offers a sense of openness and melody throughout its 11 tracks. The strange beauty and luxury of strangeness is still present, of course, and all of the energy and fearlessness that makes him one of today’s most interesting and prolific musicians permeates every note.

Graham Dechter – Right on Time

Filed under: 2009, jazz, music — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 6:53 am

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At just 23 years of age, Graham Dechter possesses a skill set on guitar that many would envy. With his debut recording, Right on Time, he proves that he’s got the right amount of moxie and restraint to carry an outfit through some truly bluesy, funky pieces.

Dechter brings along bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton and pianist Tamir Hendelman, building on the natural fusion of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra of which all are members.

Right on Time serves to shed light on Dechter’s maturity as an artist. He shines as he allows his personal, passionate playing to articulate beautifully vibrant emotions and he excels adding texture and richness to his solos. He is a complete guitarist, working all the angles with equal parts control and adventurousness.

The Los Angeles native began to study music at the age of 5, taking violin lessons and composing his own orchestral pieces. The early education more than served him well, enabling him the opportunity to discover guitar at Idyllwild Arts Academy. At the age of 19, Dechter became the youngest member of the acclaimed Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra after studying at the Eastman School of Music.

There’s really no questioning Dechter’s pedigree as a musician, but what’s truly remarkable about Right on Time is how he subtly approaches the album’s more emotional moments. Endlessly engaging, his guitar doesn’t just play through the music; it blasts, sings, cries, listens.

Album opener “Low Down” swings with the band’s foundation, allowing Dechter’s highlight notes to pierce the funky vibe just enough to make an impact. He never overdoes it, plucking and playing with nuance and poise.

The complicated “Suatty Roo,” rarely played by Johnny Hodges, gives Dechter the chance to play with the formation of entire ideas. His guitar moves through the track’s difficult tempo, thrusting into open spaces with a blast of purposeful notes that give rather than take. Pay careful attention to Hendelman’s solo, too, as he matches Dechter pace for pace throughout the tune.

The record’s title track, written by Dechter’s father in 1979, is a beautiful and complex piece of music. Dechter fully delivers on the piece, originally titled “Db Tune,” into a lovely, heartfelt performance.

As one of jazz’s most gifted young guitarists, Graham Dechter certainly sets the bar high with Right on Time. A complex, beautiful, clever debut for any musician, this is a record with poise, style and sway. With this album proving his intelligence and curiosity for the art and his instrument, Dechter is one to watch in the jazz community.

Komeda Project – Requiem

Filed under: 2009, jazz, music — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 6:50 am

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With a primary focus to bring new light to the music of Krzysztof Komeda, the Komeda Project’s Requiem picks up where Crazy Girl left off and pushes the music of the legendary Polish composer into new territory.

Led by pianist/composer/arranger Andrzej Winnicki and saxophonist Krzysztof Medyna, Komeda Project first made waves with their debut Crazy Girl. Requiem involves trumpeter Russ Johnson again, but brings along a few new components for the ride. Drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Scott Colley are in on it, filling out the sound with their open-ended playing.

The “risk” in utilizing Colley and Waits lies in the simple fact that neither skilled musician was all that familiar with the work of Komeda. More than comfortable with such a “risk,” Medyna and Winnicki have created arrangements that allow free-flowing passages and improvisational surprises in to the structure of Komeda.

Beginning with the three part epic of “Night-time, Daytime Requiem,” the record surges forward with all the power of Komeda. Written after the Polish composer heard of John Coltrane’s death, the opening number is a deeply emotional homage that plays with tone and mood. Winnicki’s reworking is masterful, allowing each participant a moment in the spotlight.

Medyna’s wandering, piercing sax is all over the thrilling “Astigmatic, lending the song a breakneck, unpredictable tone. And the dark “Prayer and Question” plods ahead with guidance from Colley and Waits and an absolutely stunning burst of piano from Winnicki.

Krzysztof Komeda, who died just months shy of his 38th birthday in 1969, was one of Poland’s most famous modern composers. He was probably best known for his scores to the films of Roman Polanski, including 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby and 1967’s The Fearless Vampire Killers.

Tinges of eeriness infuse each piece with that natural Komeda style, but there’s also a tremendous amount of life and celebration to the music.

Based firmly on Winnicki and Medyna’s 30+ year partnership and the vibe of freshness brought by Colley and Waits, Requiem does well to bring the music of Komeda to new audiences without abandoning the passion and beauty Polish fans have known for decades.

November 5, 2009

Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young

Filed under: 2009, alternative rock, baroque pop, dance, garage rock, indie, music, pop, synthpop — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 11:35 am

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What happens when you take the distinctive skinny-jeans-and-cigarettes vibe of The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas and dump it into a room filled with 70s synthesizers and computers? You get Phrazes of the Young, a deliciously melodic and alarmingly pleasant debut from the New York City singer/songwriter.

Casablancas’ debut is the latest of the Strokes’ side projects, with Albert Hammond Jr. releasing a pair of solo records and Fabrizio Moretti’s Little Joy popping out a self-titled record in 2008. Phrazes of the Young, however, completely diverts from the other Strokes offshoots in that it steps out of that minimalistic garage rock simplicity to capture some truly unique moments of musical revelation.

The most interesting aspect of Phrazes is how flat-out anthemic and joyful (?) it is, with mounting melodies capturing Casablancas’ ambitions with feeling. The record is a measly eight songs long, but it manages to feel immense with terrific new wave bits and a whole lot of glossy guitar glimmer packed in with that ditzy pop-and-fizz 70s synth funk.

As if to tease us regulars, Phrazes for the Young opens with a Strokes-ish roundup on “Out of the Blue.” Casablancas takes the low road vocally, allowing the music to all but drown him out as the chugging track progresses to the spectacularly beautiful chorus.

Recorded in New York, Los Angeles, and Nebraska, Phrazes really does feel like a record stretched out over the bizarreness and magnificence of the United States. It’s almost akin to a road trip record, pulling different pieces from various regions and plopping them together with lush and loose synthesizer goodness.

The incredible New Order-esque “11th Dimension” is a seriously danceable, fun, Studio 54-style track that gives Casablancas occasion to strut his stuff with lyrics like “Why I got music come outta my hands and feet and kisses, whoo.” Just try not to get completely wrapped up in the ridiculously catchy melody.

Other cuts allow Casablancas the chance to move a bit further lyrically. He is emotionally present everywhere on the record, but some pieces really do offer more than many might be used to.

Allowing the really diverse to emerge, “Ludlow St.” is a charming, moving, fucking amazing song that uses a mesh of Asian influences, country and brass to talk about the past. Casablancas moves through the moods of a piddling barroom drunk meandering through the haze of regret, putting in a turn that is half characterization and half deeply personal.

Phrazes for the Young is a remarkable showcase for Julian Casablancas, proving that he is an artist of ideas and risks. With The Strokes (apparently) ready to put out another record anytime now, it’s safe to say that they’re in good creative hands and will remain one of New York’s best bands for quite some time.

November 2, 2009

Mean Creek – The Sky (or the Underground)

Filed under: 2009, alternative rock, folk, indie, indie rock, music, pop, rock — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 7:50 am

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Boston’s Mean Creek sits right in the middle of that meaty Boston music curve, settling somewhere in the territory inhabited by the likes of Buffalo Tom and Throwing Muses. Playing a brand of tender, accessible folk meshed with chunky, guitar-kissed rock, the quartet has shared stages with acts like Black Lips, Mew, Margot & the Nuclear So & So’s, and Black Confederate.

With their second album, the aptly-titled The Sky (or the Underground), Mean Creek gleefully explores the emotional boundaries of rock, folk and fuzzy alternative while binding together as one consistent, unique unit. Led by singers/guitarists Chris Keene and Aurore Ounjian—who originally began as a folk duo—and rounded out by ex-Tulsa members Mikey Holland and Erik Wormwood, these Bostonians are the perfect amalgamation of diverse musical tastes and talents.

Mean Creek makes great use out of dazzling male/female harmonies. Keene and Ounjian are intoxicating in their approach to each track, beautifully placing notes right where they belong and never fearing the riskier stuff.

That riskier stuff is all over The Sky (or the Underground), creating an album of consequential, immense lyricism and moving, expressive musical arrangements. The path explored by Mean Creek is not an easy one, but it is damn sure rewarding in the end and, luckily enough, the musical backdrop is simply stunning in its magnificence and reach.

Starting the record off, the title track introduces Keene as a vocalist with impeccable elocution and poise. The way he rounds off words and adds sparkle to the little segments while Ounjian fleshes out the environment with spacious, ethereal quality is amazing.

The dazzling “Light Into Dark” is a great example of how Mean Creek rocks the harmonies and the driving guitar sound to their full advantage. Its sparse, twinkling edges collide elegantly with a chunky lower end, creating a sound that is half ’90s grunge and half modern space rock. Add Ounjian and Keene’s delectable harmonies to the mix and “Light Into Dark” is a spectacular piece of work.

Other songs stretch the band’s sound out further, covering soft, personal folk (“Strange Man”) and charging roots rock (“The Patient”) without missing a beat.

Mean Creek is stacking up the accolades and attention and, with the release of The Sky (or the Underground), it’s apparent as to why. This is a band on the rise, creating fresh sounds that combine genres while forging ahead confident in their musical sense of adventure.

Skeletonwitch – Breathing the Fire

Filed under: 2009, death metal, music, thrash metal — Tags: , — Jordan Richardson @ 7:45 am

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Ohio’s Skeletonwitch pushes their full-speed thrash assault on to their third record, Breathing the Fire, and largely succeeds in constructing an album that lacks pretension and feels completely natural. Some thrash bands go the course of the throwback act, choosing to excavate the best of ’80s thrash rather than bringing things to a modern context.

With Skeletonwitch, however, things are different and it shows throughout this record’s 12 tracks. The riffs are crisp, melodies are razor-sharp and the vocals are both ominous and piercing.

As the follow-up to 2007’s Beyond the Permafrost, Breathing the Fire has a hell of a legacy to live up to for fans of this quintet. Fitting in with the new brand of thrash alongside acts like Municipal Waste and Warbringer might seem intimidating, but Skeletonwitch proves that they’re more than up for it with every chunky, clean slice of bludgeoned guitar.

Right out of the gate, Breathing the Fire introduces Skeletonwitch as an act with a huge guitar sound. Guitarists Nate “N8 Feet Under” Garnette and Scott “Scunty D” Hedrick prove dangerous with matching riffs and slashes of noise. Every cut is rounded out with urgency, with Nate and Scott’s brisk playing piling on top of Evan “Loosh” Linger’s bass and Derrick “Mullet Chad” Nau’s drums.

It’s vocalist Chance Garnette, Nate’s brother, that really sets Skeletonwitch apart from the others, though. Delivering a vocal performance that seamlessly meshes dark guttural tones with a screeching, hellish pitch, Chance is every bit the fire-breathing skeleton that adorns the record’s cover.

The band drills the gas and never lets up, hauling through a remorseless salvo of songs that seize, scrape, sneer and scowl like a crazed fiend from beyond the grave.

Album opener “Submit to the Suffering” blamelessly sets the pitch, knocking out a sample of nonsensically swift riffs to match Chance’s frantic shouts and screams.

Nau’s drums hammer through the lower end of “Longing for Domination,” giving the cut a maddening sense of urgency and anguish. And “Gorge Upon My Soul” makes the best out of a killer riff by piling it on top of a nice set of tempo changes and setting fire to the whole fucking thing.

Offering a feast of bloody good thrash for the kids, Skeletonwitch’s Breathing the Fire is a lethal set of deafening aggression. While there isn’t much room to breathe on the album and not much by way of sonic diversity, there’s no questioning Skeletonwitch as a force to be reckoned with in the world of unyielding, devastating thrash metal.

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