CD Releases: May - June 2003 updated:10/12/2003
CONRAY mefasolate CD
(Turbine Records)
TURBINE002
Varied, yet cohesive.
Adventurous, yet soothing.
A profoundly pleasurable album to sink into, much like a nice warm bath. Dale Cotton, the producer/engineer behind HDU, Dimmer, The Subliminals, Cloudboy, Sola Rosa and others has offered up his own project in the form Conray. About bloody time too we might add!In his role of producer/engineer Dale has made something like 40 records, a healthy portion of which are critically acclaimed as some of the best to come out of New Zealand. As well as the ears, Dale is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter - his touches appear anonymously on most the records he works on - (you'd be surprised at some of the hooks he's responsible for). He straddles all musical forms, (for example, later this year will see the release of two hip-hop albums he's written and mixed for - WWC and MC Lucia).
His credits to date include the popular and acclaimed Dimmer and Sola Rosa, and of course, his ground breaking work with the group HDU. It's a discography that includes anyone from Mink and Cloudboy to Mestar and The Subliminals. All of which have earned him critical accolades from the press, and the likes of super-producer Steve Albini. Add recording gigs spanning from a sheep shed up North, to a world class studio in Chicago; a couple of B-net Producer of the Year Awards, and a mighty list of "way too many" shows as live engineer for countless acts - and you'll still only get part of the picture. Dale just likes making music, and over the past six months, he finally sat down and made his own album, drawing on anything Dale's into from house and jazz to hip hop and dub, the result is a truly stunning debut album.
MISSING TEETH The Disaster EP CDEP
(1157)
File Under: Punk
1157009
Missing Teeth. never heard of these 4 fine, upstanding young individuals? That's probably because they don't want you to, but make no mistake if you're anywhere near one of their shows you'll be able to smell or hear something god-awful, which you may find yourself drawn too like so many rats who pack out venues across the country time and time again. Heroes of the underground? Quite possibly, but more likely just 4 mates making fast music. Why? Well what else is there to do between drinking, gambling and football? This seven track CDEP follows on from last years debut self titled album (Cat #: 1157007) which was voted Best NZ Release of last year by local web site www.punkas.com. Similar in style as their debut, with if anything this being louder and faster. Damn fine then!
FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY One For The Team! CDEP
(Below Par Records)
File Under: Punk
PAR08
For Amusement Only banded together in the winter of ’99 in their hometown of Melbourne, Victoria. Still young, the boys were already wise to the wonders and heartbreaks of being a kid in the world today and dedicated themselves to creating music the only way they knew how. 4 years on the boys have pushed boundaries and definitions of musical genres and developed a form of ‘punk rock’ that they can truly call their own. May 2003 holds the much anticiapted release of the next independent release from FAO; One For The Team! and here we see the FAO songwriting mature to a new and exciting level! Pushing the bounderies of their "genre" FAO has written and recorded with the help of Kalju Tonuma (28 Days Bodyjar, Superhiest), 6 new and energetic tunes. One For the Team once again while filled with annoyingly infectious melodies and riffs, also captures the cry of a generation with so many questions, but who would rather go out and have fun, with buddies, girls and beer than hear the answers they are looking for.
SPOON Stay Don’t Go CDEP
(Spunk)
File Under: Rock
URA098
Spoon drop an Australasian only CD single with three killer b-sides. Stay Don't Go is beatbox for the post-Pavement generation, and another stand out track on last year's Kill The Moonlight (URA065). The second track, The Fitted Shirt, from Girls Can Tell, was recorded in Sydney on their recent Oz tour. The last two tracks are shimmering beauties, ostensibly closing tracks for Kill The Moonlight that didn't quite squeeze on to the record.
THE CLEAN Syds pink Wiring System CD
(Cleano Records)
File Under: The Clean!!!!
TBC
"If you drew a tree of New Zealand rock, The Clean would in all likelihood be the trunk. Resting on the roots of legendary Kiwi punks Enemy, The Clean debuted in 1978, and were instantly something of an oddity in their homeland, where the rock scene was dominated by bands covering American and British music. The Clean played only their own songs, and helped nurture a Kiwi scene that's accrued probably the best per capita ratio of great bands of any country in the world." Pitchforkmedia.com
Live album from this legendary band who just flew out to embark on tour with Yo La Tengo in the States.
FOUR TET Rounds CD
(Domino / Spunk)
File Under: Post Rock / Electronica
URA095
"What gives this record its internal order, and makes it stand out over previous laptop explorations of immense record collections, is the simplicity of the other genres that he dabbles and draws upon to flesh out the beat." 8.5/10 Pitchfork Media
A sample-based solo outlet for the labyrinthine aural concerns of Kieran Hebden, Four Tet stakes claims on musical territory that even his main squeeze, the famously exploratory three-piece Fridge had yet to map. First released on Trevor Jackson’s (Playgroup) Output label, Hebden’s first solo album Dialogue brought to light the hidden connections between the ephemeral worlds of krautrock and afrobeat, juju and jazz. Adopting an intuitive approach to cyborg sound, Hebden secured the mood-miners and the beat diggers Holy Grail: an authentically organic mix. In formulating his Domino debut Pause, Hebden offered a rustic response to the sampladelic voodoo, a root and branch revision of past work that pursued the natural in unanticipated ways. This new path took a green way through electronica, alternately sun dappled and autumn crisp, a lovingly crafted lattice of sparkling acoustic guitars, fleeting field recordings and faltering, fitful street level beats that chimed with the refreshed interest in folk and delighted jaded ears. The new sounds struck a nerve; Four Tet has become one of the most respected producers in the UK, having remixed countless contemporary stars, including Beth Orton, Badly Drawn Boy, David Holmes, Notwist, Cinematic Orchestra and many more. Along with Manitoba, Four Tet leads the charge in the newest hybrid of instrumental electronica with a sunny folk twist and a hip hop attitude. Rounds sees Hebden shucking off the juvenile tendency to artfully reinterpret one's, in his case, admittedly mindboggling, depth of influences. Rounds is the album where he beautifully, uniquely comes into his own. Beautiful and unconventional, and Herbert-like in its production values. Recommended.
CLUE TO KALO Come Here When You Sleepwalk CD
(Mush Records)
File Under: Electronica
MH213
"Like Slowdive jamming with Boards Of Canada. Records like this give us cause to sing" URB
Discreet indietronica mixing up guitar loops, twitching beats and genteel vocal angst" Uncut
"Emotive, touching… essential for those who enjoy electronic music with a little human interference" Breaking Point
Combining equally strong elements of laptop production, heartfelt vocals, and non-traditional songwriting, Come Here When You Sleepwalk is the extraordinary new release from Australian musician Clue to Kalo (Mark Mitchell). Featuring both down and uptempo tracks, the release's strengths are its ever-morphing melodies, keyboard lines, and drum machines, and understated vocals that never use more words or volume than necessary to set their mood. At first glance, the lyrics seem simple, yet they cut to the heart of their topic with precision. Damaged personalities, wounded relationships and underlying hope saturate tracks on a release that should establish Clue to Kalo as one of the finest songwriters and producers working in electronic music today.
SPILL Entresol CD
(Bug Records)
File Under: Dance
CDA0303
After a long wait since the Bug Detected’ compilation, Sydney based electronic label Bug Records returns with a new electronic masterpiece Entresol. Recorded over three years from 2000-2003, this debut album for Spill (aka John Green) is filled with subtle details, found sounds and an aesthetic smoothness that requires close listening. The beauty of this album lies in intricate structures of rhythm and melody that work their way through synthetic soundscapes. Inspired by German and US electronic music producers such as Decomposed Subsonic, Swayzak, Lords Of Svek and Sun Electric, Spill’s debut work is masterfully delivered
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Electric Version CD
(Matador)
File Under:
OLE5512
Spin magazine called them "a reason to greet the day," and sure enough, Electric Version is the most important meal of the day. Shaking our jaded asses from their slacker haze, the New Pornographers have had the same effect on the Matador offices as when Dolly Parton hijacked the company in 9 to 5. With impossibly huge hooks and an innate understanding of every pop trick in the book, this follow up to 2000’s breakthrough Mass Romantic is the most exciting pop record we’ve heard in a long while, and the best summer record since Surfer Rosa. The New Pornographers formed in Vancouver in 1997 as Carl Newman’s big idea, recruiting his favourite local talents to realise his grand vision. With Electric Version, rather than recording in pieces here & there and working songs out in the studio, the Pornographers went in with an arsenal of new songs, many of them already live favourites, and having been playing as a band for years. The result is much fuller and more confident than Mass Romantic, absolutely classic power pop on par with the best of the genre. Carl Newman is probably the shrewdest songwriter working today, with a surreal edge and tricky wit. Some say he is a tyrant, but he is merely self-assured. Dan Bejar, who also enjoys a career as Merge recording artist Destroyer, flies into a lesbian rage on Chump Change, and also offers Testament To Youth In Verse and Ballad Of A Comeback Kid. On the first single, "The Laws Have Changed," Neko gleefully introduces "for the first time, Pharaoh on the microphone" and elsewhere
THIS NIGHT CREEPS This Night Creeps CDEP
(1157)
File Under: Punk
1157008
Voted Best New Band of 2002 by followers of local Punk/Hardcore website www.punkas.com. This Night Creeps release their debut self titled 7 track CDEP. The Hamilton based post hardcore band rose from the remnants of My Two Cents, then spent six months in the practice room before setting foot on stage. Known for their energetic live performance, This Night Creeps have toured extensively through the North Island and nailed support slots for the likes of (Epitaph Records) Hot Water Music and the Dropkick Murphys. This Night Creeps will be on Tour Nationally through May/June.
YELLOWCARD The Underdog EP CDEP
(Below Par Records)
File Under: Punk
PAR07
Formed as high school kids in Jacksonville, Florida and named after their favorite drinking game, dynamic power-punkers Yellowcard soon outgrew their hometown and spread their wings for Southern California, where they've already staked their claim on a new coast and are now setting their sites on the rest of the world. Yellowcard, who meld numerous and sometimes surprising styles - hardcore, melodic, at times acoustic -- cut their teeth on the 2002 Warped Tour, where they were undoubtedly the only punk band with a violinist.
ARAB STRAP Monday at the Hug and Pint CD
(Chemikal Underground / Spunk)
File Under: Arab Strap / rock
URA092
We need bands like Arab Strap. In these times of production line pop stars and cognate, corporate clones, Aidan and Malcolm’s music remains unique, observant and callously honest. Listening to their material can be both uncomfortably voyeuristic and engagingly provocative in a way that so few of their contemporaries can even hope to approximate. Monday at the Hug & Pint finds Aidan and Malcolm returning to Arab Strap after their respective sabbaticals with Lucky Pierre and Malcolm’s solo album. Bolstered by the full time involvement of Stacey Sievwright and Jenny Reeve on violin and cello the album navigates a journey which many of us have travelled: there are highs and lows; dark nights and false dawns; an album of love, loss, depression and hope; more musically diverse and schizophrenic than anything they had done before. As with many albums though, the real bastard was finding a title and if the tales contained within the album were to be given an appropriate context it might as well be a pub. The Hug & Pint. The best pubs, as you all know, are populated with all manner of life: the loud-mouthed optimist and the silent brooder; scrums of friends and pockets of loners; the buoyant and the deflated; the worldly-wise and the wide-eyed innocents. Joined in the pub by Conor and Mike from Bright Eyes, Bill Wells from the Bill Wells Trio, Barry Burns from Mogwai, and Jenny and Stacey, Arab Strap steer us through club disco, piano ballads, pitch-black, spiteful guitars, wistful Scottish folk and glassy-eyed bar-room sing-a-longs in a seamless 46 minutes, full of musical quirks and shot through with an individuality that is truly unique. For those of us who have lived any kind of life with all its attendant regrets, joys and embarrassments, Monday at the Hug & Pint is a companion to be cherished. Proof that you are not alone and that we all share the same inadequacies and hopes for the future. If the Hug & Pint does exist, I’ll bet the toilets stink but the beer’s fantastic and it’s only £1.50 a pint.
MANITOBA Up In Flames CD
(Leaf)
File Under: Electronica
BAY26CD
Album Of The Month – Jockey Slut, Loaded
"a Thing of beauty and wonder" 4/5 Muzik Mag
"..with his second full-length Up in Flames, he's chucked the laptop, dug the analog gear out of the dumpster, and recorded a 60s-worshiping indie rock record, complete with sun-kissed harmonies, layered acoustic guitars, Farfisa organ drones and glockenspiel. You have to admire the chutzpah. Seriously, I can't remember hearing this stark a contrast between consecutive albums in a long time, maybe ever…. Up in Flames is such a good record, we win either way." 8.6/10 Pitchforkmedia
Dan Snaith needs no introduction, the debut Manitoba album Start Breaking My Heart was a 21st century zeitgeist release, spinning the term electronica on its head and shaping it into something warm, personable and alive. You’ll quickly realise there has been a massive step onwards from his 2001 debut, Start Breaking My Heart, and as such, Manitoba will no longer perform as a solo laptop entity but as a three piece band featuring two drummers, glockenspiel, guitar, theremin and vocals. Start Breaking My Heart, turned Dan Snaith into an overnight sensation. He won "Electronica Album Of The Year" in the 2002 Canadian Independent Music Awards, and in the UK was Muzik Magazine’s No. 14 Album Of 2001 declaring him the Pick of the bunch when it came to the new wave of leftfield producers, a sentiment echoed by many in his bulging press file. He’s since toured on five continents taking in fifteen countries, including NZ. Rather than playing a demure electronica set, Manitoba set to with a bumpin’ hip hop bag of tricks intermingled with his own soaring melodies and cunning beats. His remixes of Seelenluft’s Manila, Four Tet, The Notwist and most recently Mr Scruff have only increased his notoriety. Manitoba’s second album is set to turn heads, not only is the the sound now drawn out widescreen, the addition of vocals courtesy of both Snaith and Koushik achieves a psychedelic lyricism more associated with Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev or The Byrds than any of Manitoba’s Powerbook peers, or in Snaith’s own words: "Some next level Brian Wilson/Timbaland type shit". An unclassifiable but highly accessible masterpiece.
DYNAMO PRODUCTIONS Analogue CD/LP
(Invada Records)
File Under: Funk / hip hop / dance
INVCD012/VINVLP011
Dynamo Productions is Andy Smith and Scott Hendy, whose shared love of funk and hip-hop is what first brought them together and saw Andy DJing at Scott's club night Home Cooking. Growing up in Portishead, Andy met Geoff Barrow who was later to head the band that put the place on the map. Andy became Portishead's Tour DJ where his eclectic style was perfectly showcased on the band's 1995 and 1998 world tours and he's been in constant demand in clubs across the globe ever since. Andy's much talked about radio appearances on the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix and Boston radio station WFNX, secured him a deal to release his own DJ mix album in 1998 called The Document (Go Beat/London). It mirrored Andy's club sets, blending hip-hop, soundtracks and funky rock and sold more than 100,000 copies. Volume II of The Document is due out on Illicit Records this year. While Andy's career went from strength to strength, Scott too had been busy touring with Bristol band Purple Penguin, DJing with John Stapleton (Dope on Plastic), producing much talked about mix CDs on Cup of Tea Records, as well as tracks on Hombre Records and Superslick Stereo Sounds as Boca 45. Scott went on to support Andy on tours around the world, securing their DJ partnership as Dynamo Productions. Their success resulted in tracks being licensed to Deadly Avenger's Fabric Live CD, The Battle of The Year LP (DefJam Europe), Unique Club Culture LP (Unique) and Freddy Fresh's label Howlin' Records. A monthly residency at Fabric Live and an Australian tour taking in the Vibes On A Summers Day festival where they supported Groove Armada, are among the highlights of this year. With all that going on you’d wonder just how they managed to finish this their debut album, Analogue, a striking album that never loses the listener along the multitude of paths it takes. Rotate the disk for the pre-party round up, mid-week sessions or post-party gather down and you’ll be pleasantly surprised where it takes you.
SCENE CREAMERS I Suck On That Emotion CD
(Darg City / Spunk)
File Under: Rock
URA083
The Scene Creamers features Ian Svenonius (ex-Make-Up, Nation of Ulysses, Weird War), Michelle Mae (ex-Make Up), Alex Minoff (Golden, Make-Up), and Blake Brunner. Based in Washington DC, The Scene Creamers are a streamlined version of the sexy, ironic rock the duo forged as part of the legendary Make-Up. I Suck On That Emotion offers up a near-perfect blend of underground cool and pop polish that rival the Make-Up's finest singles. Known far and wide already for their electrifying, sexy and hilarious live shows (Svenonius is a legendary front-man) the Scene Creamers mix funk and soul, punk and psychedelia AND folk music into a steamy brew. Suck On That Emotion, a collection of sexy, stylish rock that features psychedelic and blues influences. But its main inspiration is quirky, if not experimental sounds, not unlike that of the Make Up, binding it all together with a sense of lavish pop, allowing the songs to get stuck in your head and make you sing along. It's danceable, it makes you smile, and there is plenty of fun to be had. Visible and Viable, the Scene Creamers are fronting for young America! Don’t miss out.
ADAM COLE & THE POLLEN CHOIR Red Sky Morning CD
(Love & Mercy / Level Two Music)
BRIAR003
Adam Cole's graceful and radiant second album is the follow up to his widely praised 2000 debut Like Endora. Coming from the ashes of his former band Arrosa, Like Endora stamped Cole as a songwriter of coastal gentleness; the songs written from his home town of Kiama on the NSW south coast. The Pollen Choir: Christian Bennett (guitar), Tony Cornish (bass), Simon Muller (dobro, lap steel, banjo, mandolin) and Anthony Petrucci (drums) are augmented by guests: Kiernan Box (Blackeyed Susans/Augie March) on keyboards and accordion, Brett Poliness (Silver Ray, Chris Chapple Ensemble) on percussion and vocals, Andy Papadopoulous (Registered Nurse) on double bass, Chris Richards (The Beautiful Few) on guitar and backing vocals and Glenn Richards (Augie March) on backing vocals. It could be crowded but Red Sky Morning is as much about what not to put in as what to add. Atop a simple straight beat, sparkling piano and a melancholy vocal lament for the ugly housing developments around Kiama, House on the Hill is just one striking example of this less is more approach. To Find Safety Then to Sink is like a sea breeze after too long on a busy highway while Paper Boat is perhaps the album's most delicate pop moment, a guitar line and chorus that returns to you constantly throughout the day. Cole's devotion to song writing is a striking balance between landscapes of the imagination and the view from his bedroom window. It's what makes Red Sky Morning so seductive; an album that takes you on a daydream journey few songwriters would ever be brave enough to travel.
M WARD The Transfiguration Of Vincent CD
(M Ward / Spunk)
URA090
M. Ward is a Portland based songwriter whose music seems to occupy a place that is uniquely out of time. A place that bridges the gaps between the roots of various American musical traditions - folk, country, blues and rock. Armed with a guitar, harmonica, sparse percussion and a tin-pan alley-esque piano, Ward spins timeless classics that seem to flow effortlessly; simple yet eloquent tales alive with metaphor and imagery, told in a raspy, sepia-toned croon. Listening to an M. Ward record is like thumbing through and old family photo album, full of black and white photographs that are fading around the edges; an imperfection that only adds to the clarity of their memories. Transfiguration of Vincent is the third solo album from M Ward, who cut his musical teeth in the San Luis Obispo based trio Rodriguez. In composition and style his music has been compared to such luminaries as Tom Waits, Granddaddy, Sparklehorse and Howe Gelb (the Giant Sand front man has been one of Ward’s strongest champions, releasing the young songwriter’s debut CD, Duet For Guitars #2, on his own Ow Om label). Ward’s seemingly effortless finger picking guitar conjures the elegance of the late John Fahey. The seeds have been sown for Transfiguration of Vincent to be the breakout release for one of America’s most enigmatic songwriters. We welcome you to come along for the ride.
in music releases are available at all good record stores nation-wide