Aural Fixations

MAUDLIN OF THE WELL
Bath
Leaving Your Body Map
(Dark Symphonies)
Massachusetts nonet maudlin of the Well is a great example of the kind of eclecticism that works. While technically under the extreme metal umbrella, there's a lot more to this band than that. The lineup includes keyboards, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, trumpet, various types of exotic percussion, double bass, saxophone and samples augmenting the usual core of bass, drums and louder-than-Thor electric guitars, while the vocals run from plaintive croon to hellborn roar and back again. MotW is conversant not just with death metal but also acoustic folk, psychedelia, instrumental post rock, shoegazing dream pop, prog and Gothic pop. Dubbing its particular brand of noise "astral metal," the band is careful with its catholic skills; they're smart enough not to pit a clarinet against a wall of power chords and inhuman growling. But the different sections of a song may take on individual musical characteristics, flowing into one another like tributaries into a mighty river. If some of those elements are compatible enough to work with, rather than against, each other, so much the better. (more)

Refreshed

VELVET CRUSH
In the Presence of Greatness
A Single Odessey
(Action Musik)
Illinois-to-Rhode Island's intrepid trio Velvet Crush has for at least a decade consistently kept the power pop faith in the face of failed record deals and commercial indifference. Jangly guitars, lush harmonies, sugared-up rhythms, touches of psychedelia and country rock, smart lyrics and, of course, bags o' hooks—these are things bandleaders Ric Menck and Paul Chastain champion with passion and craft in equal measure. All the elements that make the band great have been present since the beginning, as this remastered reissue of their debut album In the Presence of Greatness (on the group's own Action Musik imprint) clearly reveals. Aided by producer Matthew Sweet on lead guitar (the first of several unofficial fourth members in that slot—other notables that have had the post include Tommy Keene, Mitch Easter and the Gigolo Aunts' David Gibbs), bassist/singer Chastain, drummer Menck and guitarist Jeffrey Underhill (né Borchart) prove their love for energetic melody (or is it melodic energy?) over and over again. "Drive Me Down," "Ash and Earth," "Window to the World" and "White Soul" are dictionary-perfect examples of power pop, not because they're formulaic, but because they represent everything good about the genre (see list above). The title of this remarkable debut proved prophetic. This edition includes a trio of bonus tracks taken from singles: the giddy but lovely "Circling the Sun" and faithful renditions of Teenage Fanclub's "Everything Flows" and Jonathan Richman's "She Cracked." (more)