Album Reviews

TONY HILL
Inexactness
(Woronzow)
Tony Hill was the leader of a late 60s psychedelic/progressive rock band called High Tide. Their sadly obscure Sea Shanties is considered a lost classic in psych circles. Though he's kept a low profile for the past couple of decades, the guitarist wasn't forgotten—certainly not by Woronzow's Nick Saloman and Adrian Shaw, who put Hill in the studio for the first time in many moons for Inexactness. Backed by the Bevis Frond (Saloman, Shaw and drummer Andy Ward), fiddler Matt Kelly and, on three tracks, original High Tide bassist Pete Pavli, Hill picks up where the late 60s left off, writing and playing his bluesy acid rockers with an uncommon amount of taste. Layering his skilled riffage and artless but adequate voice over simple, appealing melodies, Hill serves up thick slabs of bittersweet psychedelic chocolate that strike a perfect balance between concise songcraft and instrumental self-indulgence. While this music is all about Hill putting his fuzzfried licks on prominent display, the performances are less about showing off his technique than they are about leading listeners down the roads his six-string paves. There are plenty of hot spots along the way; the tough but tuneful "By Degrees," "Right Now Forever" and the title track are smooth rides indeed. Even on a long epic like "Of Foundries, Ships and Steeples" there's more than mere wankery going on. Inexactness is exactly satisfying. Michael Toland

For fans of: the Falcon Project, the Bevis Frond, the Heads

MELLOW
Another Mellow Spring
(CyberOctave)
Mellow leader Patrick Woodcock is a former schoolmate and associate of Air's Nicolas Godin, but while the two bands share a certain analog aesthetic, they're conceptually quite different. This French trio is less inclined than their brethren toward pure sonic architecture and more geared toward song structure. Their melodic psychedelic pop songs come tinged with electronic spots and stripes, but the base is still guitar and rhythm. The dominant keyboard sound is the Mellotron, especially the flute setting, allowing Another Mellow Spring to avoid the oft-chilly distance with which many electropop records are afflicted. Everything here sounds intimate, from the lovely "Violet" and the sprightly "Paris Sous La Neige" to the unabashedly trippy "Sun Dance" and "Shinda Shima." Smartly written and expertly produced, Another Mellow Spring is bedroom pop of the first order. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Air, Porcupine Tree, Olivia Tremor Control

MINT
American Style
(Mint)
Brooklyn's boisterous Mint revel in the sound of the power pop trio on their second album American Style. Nestling snugly in the band's bag of tricks you'll find loud, blaring guitars, pounding percussion, in-your-face hooks and vocals with more enthusiasm than skill. They show plenty of huevos as well—not many bands would have the cheek to open an album with a power trio version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra." Unfortunately, the same special effects and bratty star power can also be found in the budgets of hundreds of likeminded acts all over the universe, and Mint just doesn't have what it takes to rise above the pack. Their melodies are serviceable, but hardly exemplary, and singer/guitarist John Nickles' rowdy but wavering voice becomes an annoyance over the span of a couple of songs. The cover of Madonna's "Into the Groove" is clumsy more than clever. You can't fault Mint for enthusiasm—these boys obviously love what they do. But in the end it's just not enough to distinguish them. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Green Day, Weezer, All

THE PEE WEE FIST
Flying
(Kimchee)
Let's talk about band names, shall we? Picking a good name is extremely difficult. You want it to be memorable, but you also want it to be representative, not necessarily of the music, but of the sensibility behind it. If you pick a goofy name that sounds like it was made up for a Monty Python skit, you're gonna have a hard time getting listeners to take any heartfelt self-expression seriously. (Witness Miles Dethmuffen.) Which brings us to the Pee Wee Fist. While the source of the moniker is unassailable (a Hong Kong martial arts film), it's still a pretty goddamned stupid name for a band. The knee-jerk reaction of a lot of intelligent music fans may very well be to dismiss the record due to the name. That would be a shame, as the music herein is definitely worth closer attention. There's a fairly sizable ensemble at work here, with accordion, horns and theramin joining the usual rock instruments, but the sound never becomes cluttered. Leader Peter Fitzpatrick directs the group to subtle performances that support his emotionally fragile pop songs, rather than overwhelm them. Fitzpatrick knows exactly how to use dynamics, and his guidance gives the songs a cinematic flow few bands attain. Whether performing plaintive ballads ("Full Stride," "Chinese Star in Metal Shop"), bright pop songs ("Pedicure," "Mnemonic Hordes") or full-on epics ("Hi, Hi," the three-part "The Seeds of the Day"), the Pee Wee Fist makes music strong enough to make the issue of nomenclature (nearly) irrelevant. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin, Neutral Milk Hotel, Lambchop

ROSA CHANCE WELL
Rosa Chance Well
(Kimchee)
The duo that comprises Rosa Chance Well made six years' worth of music in its figurative bedroom before finally allowing the public a listen-hear. Singer/guitar Vanessa Downing (a Boston indie music vet) and multi-instrumentalist Dean Taormina make music for themselves first and foremost, but that doesn't mean they wallow in off-putting self indulgence. RCW brings a veritable army of influences to the battlefield, but it would much rather get the soldiers telling stories around the campfire than pit them against each other. Melodies and tones may induce a nagging familiarity, but they work so well together in context you'll never put your finger on it. A wash of feedback may hum politely behind a gentle folk melody, or a steady rhythm section may gradually prod a melancholy pop song into high gear, but no one element ever calls attention to itself. A good thing, too—with arrangements built around Downing's hushed vocals, the songs don't have enough space for fooling around. The point is to get Downing's conversational poetics across with minimal fuss, and at that RCW undeniably succeeds. Highlights: the lovely "Parasol, Kites and Embers," the dramatic "The Kingdom" and an imaginative recasting of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" as spooky mope rock. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Spinanes, Come, the Velvet Underground's third album