December 2002
BIG DADDY
(U.K. magazine)
Big Daddy is a well-written, entertaining, top-notch magazine that specializes
in funk, hip-hop, jazz and DJ culture. Here Harold B. Rhodes' electric
piano, Biz Markie and David Axelrod all find equal ink. A panel of experts
(in Issue eight, known as "The Nottingham Bronx Jury") review hip-hop
12-inches as they listen to them. No less than 15 funk 45's find review.
There's even room for experimental/post-punk/electronic reviews these
days! The real clincher, though, are the issues that include free sampler
CDs. The samplers are a rock-solid survey of some of the most danceable
and exciting grooves to be committed to disc. I am keeping my eyes peeled
for future issues! PO'D
File next to: Get your read on.
AARON
BOOTH
Transparent (BoonBox)
The first impression of Transparent, delicate pop songsmith Aaron Booth's
first release since transplanting from Calgary to the T-dot, is that it
is crushed under the weight of its own politeness, that contrary to its
title, what might be great songs are obscured by overly precious, far-too-careful
arrangements. Yet, thankfully -- since I hate to give a guy I love a bad
review -- repeated listens see the cloudiness turn to translucence and
the songs reveal their inner goodness. Though there's no tune as immediately
likable as "Ramblin' Train" (from '99's Tune Up), nor any moment as jaw-dropping
as the layered, Brian Wilson-style vocal harmonies on AB's 2000 Demos,
there is a wealth of understated gems here, that turn out to benefit from
the simplicity of the presentation, whether it be a two-part harmony,
a lone, hall-reverbed piano, or a guitar part arpeggiated just so. And
what Canadian couldn't relate to the sentiment, "I love New York/ And
I've never been there before"? JD
File next to: Savouring a coffee on a quiet afternoon with someone you
love, not trying to be a smartass all the time.
Aaron Booth plays WL 142 on Dec. 1 at 11pm.
BOYGINA
s/t (independent)
It sort of takes the fun out of it when your first exposure to sex is
watching your gym teacher use a piece of chalk to draw a tampon inside
an image of a woman's anatomy. But the thing is, like the hidden track
on Boygina's self-titled album says, "I keep thinking about the sex."
All the time. Even when I don't think, I'm thinking about it. Every time
I see a Colgate ad on TV, I know that experts have been flown in to the
Proctor & Gamble headquarters in Hades, Hell, to "jizz up" the whole toothbrush-mouth
thing. Boygina's lyrics are all about sex, the sort of goofy lyrics that
you'd write after sex-ed class: "I would do anal, I would do oral, I know
it's immoral, but I would do floral." "Circus Trix" hints at the ghost
of Pixies-era Frank Black, while their most satisfying song on the album,
"Tight Pants," reminds me a lot of XTC. The beatboxing in "In 2 U" is
a hoot. I wonder how these songs would hold up if the words weren't 100%
about sex? Once the groan factor wears off and there's nothing left but
the stark songs lying naked in the CD tray, how would this album feel?
Probably not as supple and lithe, but we'll never know. DP
File next to: Edible undies.
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
You Forgot It In People (Arts & Crafts/Paper
Bag)
OK, so this disc is basically unreviewable at this point -- at least in
Toronto. You've heard it all: five-star reviews in both local weeklies,
top seller at Soundscapes, so far out of print at this point the band
has to burn copies for themselves. So what else can I tell you? You already
know it's "supposed to be awesome," and will find out for yourself one
way or another. But I resign from my eternal contrarian stance and say
this: it is an awesome achievement. What's most impressive about BSS is
how the beast evolved from one guy's solo keyboard noodlings (flashback
to Dec. 2000: Kevin Drew at Wavelength, performing as "John Tesh Jr. &
the Broken Social Scene") into a truly collective enterprise. YFIIP may
be wildly inconsistent, veering from lush ambience to direct bites of
Dino Jr.'s "The Wagon," but cohesion is attained by a consistent sense
of love, of melody and of friends. What should not be forgotten is that
such achievements aren't isolated incidents, especially in a city as creatively
vibrant as this one. Judging by the list on page 12, Drew, Canning & co.
know where they're comin' from -- even as it inevitably launches them far,
far away. JD
File next to:
Guys hugging, getting everyone you know drunk on the A&R dude's tab.
CANDIES
"Sad Neon Lights" (7", Ee:lettro)
Once again, Italians school North Americans on the whole math-rock/hardcore
thing. Fast, freaked out and disjointed. Jesus fuck, these guys have heart...
plus it's so not hooky, it's like listening to the songs for the first
time, every time. Hey, that means I don't have to listen to any more new
records! EVER! See you suckers later! Free! I'm free! BP
File next to: Did you ever hear Crain? Fuck I liked Crain. These guys
remind me of Crain.
PETER CAREY
True History of The Kelly Gang (Faber and Faber, 2000)
It's always been interesting to me that writers get characterized by their
country of birth, as if geography has some intrinsic influence over the
way the words form pictures on a page. In the case of Peter Carey, an
Australian living in New York, his homeland is rendered lovingly with
respectful consideration for a country so fraught with contradictions
and hardships. In True History, Carey recreates the life of bushranger
Ned Kelly, who was the Aussie Jessie James. A folk hero who struggled
against the poverty, oppression and brutality of the colonial British,
providing a poignant figurehead for the working poor. Carey combines historical
record with fiction to recreate a life of a man in his own hand, journal
style, rendered so stylistically authentic that we empathize completely
with the struggle that was this man's life. The gang's final shootout
with the authorities decked out in home-made armour is the stuff of legend
and you can understand why one man could make a government quake in fear.
"I am the bloody Monitor, my boys." NC
File next to: Louis Riel, Jessie James.
8 MILE
(wide release, try the Paramount or some shit)
Yo... Eminem... Check this out... Your film debut was wack, you and Basinger
can't act and you padded out your script with a stack of weak raps. Sure,
Brittany was hot, but that sex scene? Not -- and where in the name of Big
Daddy Kane was the fuckin' plot? Try and be down with gays? I've seen
better high school plays and your crappy movie takes second place to Purple
Rain. Fusheezee. Asshole. BP
File next to: Will the real Slim Shady please stand down?
JAY-Z
The Blueprint 2 (Roc-A-Fella)
OK, for starters, bullet is going on with that "Bonnie and Clyde" shit?
Can someone please... Forget it, I'll move on. This guy is worse than
Ja Rule or something now, only instead of being all "I love my fuggin'
chiiiildrennnn," he's like "I still need all your moooneeeeeey". I hate
Jay-Z now. "H to the Izzo" and "Girlz Girlz Girlz" were tight, and I liked
that Annie shit from like two years ago and "All I Need", but this whole
new album is fucking racist. Dick to the loser, only preppies'll bump
this sorry shit. It's like the Pinto of hip-hop records. You might as
well just go buy a Canibus record and be all like, "I happen to like rap
music, except for gangsta rap." Hey, where's my irony?!? BP File next
to: Teen Wolf 2, NellyvilleÉ fuck, listening to a high school choir sing
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" every year for five years is better than
this.
THE
LOLO PROJECT
Here Comes The Lolo Project! (independent)
Roll out the beach blanket, shake up that martini, and, uh, boot up that
hard drive, 'cuz there ain't no party like a home-burned party. Goofily
strung together with instructional-record vocal snippets (including a
choice Reveen cameo) and easy-listening loops both sampled and home-played
or -sequenced, Peter Project's dance-night-of-one is as blissfully lost
in '90s retro-retro space as Jaymz Bee coming on to Cornelius while Lady
Miss Kier struts past and pouts "Ooh la la, la la-la-la-la-la!" All this
is graciously reined in periodically, though, by some truly funny skits,
whether impromptu dictaphone notes-to-self, taped phone conversations,
or practice-space dickarounds, which give the album a sense of intimacy
and irreverence that helps push the Project past mere novelty wackiness.
CFD
File next to: Fatboy Slim, Pizzicato Five, smart playing silly.
LORELEI
Our Minds Have Been Electrified (Ice-Made)
Pittsburgh's best kept secret! Lorelei provide the link between Blonde
Redhead and the nastiest bass interplay this side of... any band with
two bass players and no guitars. These songs leap out and go straight
for the jugular. Every space is hook-filled, creating songs that are infectious,
propulsive, and addictive. Lead singer Susannah Mira nonchalantly drops
lyrics like "when the night falls/ it comes down on you," while the instruments
menace, collide and twist their way along to a conclusion. This disc can
even be forgiven for the fact that all 10 songs start to sound the same
by the end of the disc. PO'D
File next to: The aforementioned Blonde Redhead citation.
LOW
Trust (Kranky)
Duluth, Minnesota's Low have always understood the quality of a slow and
haunting noise. Indeed, their idea for forming a band came from a desire
to play autumnal songs at an ultra-slow pace and see if they could still
hold interest. Many albums later they live on as one of slowcore's most
important heroes. But the song can't always remain the same, and Low have
realized it, somewhat. Here there are some heavier, more full-sounding
and upbeat tracks like "Canada" in reponse to that desire for change.
As well it seems that more of the creative accidents and found sounds
hinted at on previous works remain. Not to be outdone with new tinkerings,
there remain some classic tracks like "The Lamb", "John Prine" and "Candy
Girl," that all pare their sound down to the barest of essentials yet.
SV
File next to: Galaxie 500, Labradford, Zen and the Art of Indie-Rock Gospels.
LULLABYE
ARKESTRA
Bzaster (independent)
The rhythm section is the driving force behind the Arkestra, in more ways
than one. Dr. J and Lady Taylor fuel this lovers' rock duo (which also
expands to a sextet with horns, keys, and additional vocal chaos). What
you hear on this hand-made, self-distributed disc is a fuzzed-out, hopped-up,
scream-filled ride through soul, punk and the rawest rock'n'roll. It's
no mistake that Nation Of Ulysses and George Gershwin are covered on the
same disc. New to the Lullabye Arkestra's recorded output on Bzaster is
a track called "Slaps Yo Ass (St. Sinna Remix)" -- which is
in the running for most annoying remix of 2002. Don't miss it! PO'D
File next to: James Brown's grunge years.
QUINIMINE
Filaments EP (Grey Flat)
Montreal quintet Quinimine are part of a new breed of bands that use the
accoutrements of country and folk music to create something entirely different.
This music conveys a sense of spaciousness so wide that it's really "country"
in the literal sense. "Filaments" is the perfect soundtrack to a midnight
drive down a gravel road far north of the city, just as the air starts
to change at the end of August, and you lean out the passenger side window
and you can see the stars burning bright. "Median States," meanwhile,
is lazy-day-with-nothing-to-do music in its purest form -- here we find
the joy in being "mired in the torpor." What's the secret here? Sustained
organ drones, for one, upon which the tastefully twangy guitars and banjo
find a comfy resting place, but also Gary Jansz and Alice Cantine's gorgeous
dual vocals, which, lacking in affect, simply point the way your heart
should go. JD
File next: Sackville, Papa M, slo-mo snapshots of summertime.
Quinimine play WL 145 on Dec. 29 at 10pm.
AMON
TOBIN
Out From Out Where (Ninja Tune)
Album #4 for Ninja Tune's master sample surgeon comes on very strong yet
again, but with a distinctly darker and more aggressive tone this time
around. Still present are the noirish dense layers of finely cut digital
samples that must take months to create, making you scratch your head
in awe. But new to the mix is a Middle Eastern influence on some of the
tracks. Listening to his work is quite a workout for the ears, as you
peel back these many layers and discover hidden treasures within. While
not the most interesting album in his discography, this is still a wonderful
piece of audio art and his most comprehensive to date. Definitely worth
checking out. SV
File next to: Coldcut, Aphex Twin, Playstation overtures with a side of
brontosaurus beats.
WERBO
Welcome To Japan (Simply An Unconscious Production)
Werbo like to spiel. Talkers. "Leave the fucked-up indie-rock to experts,
like the Grifters," Michael Krugman and Jason Cohen write in the liner
notes. They're talkers, too. I suspect it's an inside job. Nevertheless,
it's quite the spiel, right up there with One Sock Missing's, in fact.
Oh, right, the album. You're still into rolling your eyes and clenching
your fist at the same time, right? Good. (Not blowing, rasps, and hairies,
not blowing raspberries.) CFD
File next to: Archers of Loaf, Wayne Omaha, silly playing smart.
Reviewed
by: Nora Charles (NC),
Jonny Dovercourt (JD),
Craig Fraid Dunsmuir
(CFD), Paddy O'Donnell (PO'D),
Doc Pickles (DP), Buddy
of the Pines (BP), Steven Venn (SV).
Send
material for review to: Wavelength, 868 Dovercourt Rd. Toronto ON M6H
2X5, attn: Nora Charles.
Please do our planet a favour and keep press clippings, glossy promotional
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Interested in writing reviews for Wavelength? Contact review editrix Nora Charles.