High Bias aural fixations
May 26, 2002

AUDRA
Going to the Theatre
(Projekt)
Arizona isn't a place you'd think would be a hotbed of Gothic rock, and perhaps you'd be right. But that doesn't stop the Phoenix duo called Audra from making some of the finest Goth-rocking pop in the country on its second album Going to the Theatre. Brothers Bret and Bart Helm traffic in the usual resigned gloom of Goths everywhere, but invest in it both a sense of dynamic melodicism and a strain of real emotional drama missing from the dancelectronica of most modern darkwave. Plus Bret's expressive baritone was made to sing this music. While the band certainly knows its way around the depths of misery, it's not particularly interested in wallowing there. A song like "Fearless 'Peaches'" pays tribute to the eccentric drag queen that is its star, rather than telling a tragic tale about the perils of walking to the beat of one's own drum. The seemingly morose "All Ghosts Spend Their Time Alone" ends with the line "You gave me hope," while "Don't End This Time" boldly proclaims "Just call for me/And it'll be okay." The band also shows a satirical sense of humor with the title track, gently poking fun at teenage Goth culture. Even when the Helms paint it all black, the imminent singability of their melodies lets in a bit of light. The centerpiece trio "In a Dark Room...," "Face Go Red" and "A Walk in the Woods" puts images of depression, murder and suicide in the service of irresistibly catchy hooks. Audra certainly doesn't bring anything revolutionary to this black-clothed table, but it does what it does so well it doesn't matter. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Peter Murphy, the Jesus & Mary Chain, Joy Division

CARY HUDSON
The Phoenix
(Black Dog)
Blue Mountain may have disintegrated, but leader Cary Hudson stays the country rock course on his first solo album The Phoenix. Hudson returns to the simple but effective sound of the first couple of BM records here: lush, folkie ballads ("Butterfly," "Lovin' Touch," "By Your Side"), finger-flipping cock-rockers ("Mad, Bad and Dangerous," "Bend to the Wind"), good time pop songs ("High Heel Sneakers"), acoustic string band blues ("August Afternoon") and a country blues cover (Blind Willie Johnson's "God Don't Never Change," given an electric slide-powered workout that beats the hell out of anything from the North Mississippi All-Stars). Hudson's meaty guitar work takes the center stage more often than not, though the man is too tasteful a player to abuse spotlight privileges, and his aching good-ol-boy vocals invest meaning in even the most clichéd lyrics. The record's dry, no-frills production keeps the focus squarely on what's most important: the songs. While this batch isn't quite as consistent as on Blue Mountain masterpieces Dog Days and Homegrown, it's still a fine collection of unpretentious roots rock that makes fast friends with just a few listens. The Phoenix doesn't require careful study or a leap of artistic faith; it's effortlessly enjoyable. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Neal Casal, Whiskeytown, Neil Young

BIG JACK JOHNSON WITH KIM WILSON AND PINETOP PERKINS
The Memphis Barbecue Sessions
(MC)
The Memphis Barbecue Sessions is a loose set of 13 songs as done by Big Jack Johnson and Kim Wilson, with legendary blues pianist Pinetop Perkins sitting in here and there. This mostly acoustic CD pairs Johnson, one of the most well-rounded blues men of our era, with Wilson, who remains underrated despite being arguably the best blues harmonica player alive. They knock out a bucketful full of standards, with five Johnson compositions mixed in.

Fueled by copious amounts of barbecue, Johnson and Wilson have a ball on the original material. "Lonesome Road" and "Humming Blues," to which Perkins lends his still-nimble fingers, blend seamlessly with covers by the likes of Howlin' Wolf ("Smokestack Lightnin'") and John Lee Hooker ("Blue Bird"). "Oh Baby" shuffles that line between Muddy Waters and the Wolf, courtesy of Johnson's voice and lyrics. Little Walter's "Don't Care Nothing" finds Johnson playing mandolin, and though it's refreshing to hear something other than guitar, Big Jack's big fingers may be the reason the solo is muffed. His mandolin picking is much more fluid on the traditional "Get Along Little Cindy."

The Memphis Barbecue Sessions won't set the world on fire, but it's certainly a joyful souvenir from a couple of days when some of the blues' finest sat down for some impromptu fun. As spring turns to summer, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon than enjoying some barbecue with Big Jack Johnson and Kim Wilson. Brian Briscoe [buy it]

For fans of: Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Robert Belfour

THE MEDUSA CYCLONE
Tangier
(Small Stone)
Tangier is composer Keir McDonald's third album under the name of the Medusa Cyclone. Multi-instrumentalist McDonald apparently likes the sensation of floating in space, ladies and gentlemen, and he tries his damnedest to make the listener feel that sensation. That's not to say his music is static, simple sitting in the air without movement. Quite the contrary—you never know when the stillness might be disturbed by a passing comet, asteroid or even a homeward-bound spacecraft. Thus the Cyclone can move from the ethereal ambiance of "Spirit Transfer" to the jangling pulse of "Cardboard Angel," the Southwestern dust of "El Mar Caribe" to the shimmering drama of "Pulsar." With an addictive repetition and a skittering electronic percussion track, the title tune punches all the right buttons, being perfect background music or mesmerizing foreground sound, depending on your mood. McDonald is one of the least fussy guitar pickers alive; he simply gets his melodic ideas across with little in the way of flash and filigree. It's quite refreshing to hear a player who remembers that a guitar is a device for making music rather showing off technique. If one of your favorite pastimes is sitting on a hill waiting for a meteor shower, Tangiers should be humming in your boombox. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Scenic, Cul De Sac, the Mermen

PORTER HALL TENNESSEE
Welcome to Porter Hall Tennessee
(Slewfoot)
Porter Hall, Tennessee is a place that exists only in the imaginations of singer/songwriters Gary Roadarmel and Molly Conley. A good thing, too—it seems to be mainly populated by alcoholics, philanderers and dysfunctional couples. In other words, it's the perfect place to be if you're a honky-tonk country band like Porter Hall Tennessee (who actually hail from Murfreesboro). Conley and Roadarmel take the Porter Hall denizens on a walk through their dark places, singing songs about the "Drunkard and the Angel," "Crosses to Hang" and an "Angel Without Wings" with golden tenors and jaundiced peepers. Guitars, mandolin, fiddle and two-part harmonies bolster tales of heartaches and headaches, leavening the manic-depressive aftertaste with sweet spots on the tongue. "Whiskey, whores and overtime have taken her place now that she's gone," moans Roadarmel in "Golden Chain of Hate," the record's catchiest track. "I know that she hates now/And pray that she'd die." Don't enter these city limits expecting the red carpet treatment; Porter Hall Tennessee isn't a place to find punches pulled. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Derailers, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, Dwight Yoakam

ADRIAN SHAW
Look Out
(Woronzow)
For over 30 years, British musician Adrian Shaw has been second (or even third) banana in a lot of cult rock bands, from The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Hawkwind to Magic Muscle and his current position as bassist for the Bevis Frond. In the past decade, though, he's released a series of solo albums that draw on his considerable experience in psychedelic and progressive rock. Look Out is his fourth and best record yet. After all the time spent around some of British underground rock's most iconoclastic personalities, Shaw is easily able to conjure a dreamy, mildly trippy atmosphere, with guitars, keyboards, a non-intrusive drum machine and his trademark rock-solid basslines gently but firmly nudging the groove along. While he won't win any best male vocalist awards, his mellow singing is more than pleasant enough to carry these tunes. But the most important element in Shaw's music is the same as with any songwriter worth his salt: melody. Look Out practically overflows with good tunes; if you aren't enticed by "Rhododendron Drive," "Cool Blue Reminder" and "Father's Day," your ears need a tune-up. Best of all is the nearly nine-minute opener "I Don't Think So," a psych/pop epic in the grand tradition with six-string assistance from his son Aaron, his Frond mate Nick Saloman and High Tide leader Tony Hill. While there's nothing particularly groundbreaking about this release, it's still an excellent example of playing to one's strengths. Melody + taste = pure listening satisfaction. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Pink Floyd, Mercury Rev, the Bevis Frond

PAUL WESTERBERG
Stereo
(Vagrant)
The companion piece to the Grandpa Boy album Mono, songwriter Paul Westerberg's latest album Stereo was created in much the same way. Songs were written quickly, sometimes improvised on the spot, and recorded in a quick and dirty manner in the artist's home studio. Needless to say, those expecting the polish and craft of his first two solo records will be greatly disappointed here. The raw performances and barely-finished songs sound more like a collection of demos than a completed album. A couple of tunes ("Don't Want Never," "Got You Down") even get cut off before the song is done, as if the tape ran out. But there's a sense of immediacy to these tracks that Westerberg hasn't achieved since his days in the Replacements. The vibe is that of hanging out at the man's home, just talking and probably drinking, and by 3 a.m., after he's got a few beers in him, he breaks out a guitar and casually slurs, "Here's some tunes I've been workin' on." With no aspirations to hit singles or "important" work, Westerberg simply goes about the business of laying down songs; intimate performances of melodic gems like "The Only Lie Worth Telling," "Let the Bad Times Roll" and "Baby Learns to Crawl" validate the approach, bum notes and all. (Indeed, the songs themselves do a much better job of justification than the self-aggrandizing liner notes, which haughtily proclaim "Unprofessional? Perhaps. Real? Unquestionably.") He quits trying so hard, he makes one of his most satisfying albums—imagine that. There's a lesson in this for Westerberg: sometimes you just need to let it be. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Robert Pollard, Paul K, Simon Joyner

Copyright © 2002 High Bias