High Bias aural fixations
August 25, 2002

BLACKSHINE
Soulless & Proud
(Steamhammer/SPV)
Stockholm quartet Blackshine calls what it does on its second album Soulless & Proud "Goth and roll." Fair enough; while the lyrics and imagery definitely wallow in the iconography of pagan idolatry, Anton LeVey philosophy and B-grade slasher flicks, the hard-driving music owes a lot more to Motörhead than to the Scandinavian dark metal scene from which the band lurched. The lyrics of "Choked With Feathers" come straight from the Glenn Danzig handbook ("Angelwitch in rage/With a smiling face/Killing virgin style/Killing with a smile") but the music does the 4/4 power-chord stomp with verve and flair. The title track, "Light the Fuse" and the anthemic "Another Twist" keep their heads down and the pedal to the (heavy) metal, highlighting raging guitar licks and frontman Anders Strokirk's guttural ranting more than bloody poetry or ghoulish atmosphere. Even the vaguely sinister "Servants of the Harvest" lays its cartoonish libretto ("Deliver pain is my game/And when you die I feel no shame") on top of the kind of killer metal riffs that would make Monster Magnet proud. The band's songwriting consistency is impressive; there's not a cut here that won't induce feverish headbanging. Blackshine makes music that'll encourage budding young serial killers to put down the axe in favor of playing air guitar. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Danzig, AFI, Earthride

BOX-O-CAR
In the Future…On Mars!
(Modern)
It's hard to put a finger on exactly what the sound of glam rock is. It's such a visual genre that you can get away with playing most anything as long as you're wearing eyeliner and glitter. But over the years the perception is that it's a combination of pop, hard rock and punk, with the occasional sentimental ballad, as exemplified by the fictional band in the film Hedwig & the Angry Inch. For those of us who wish Hedwig was a real band that made records, we have Box-o-Car's latest EP In the Future…On Mars! Led by guitarists Skid Marks (who also possesses a great rockin' pop voice) and Kenny Sluiter, the Chicago quintet declares "I Wanna Be a Girl" in the explosive opening track and "There's so much ugliness in the world/The only solution/Pretty boys and pretty girls/Will start a revolution" in the bopping "Pretty People Revolution," which begs for in-concert singalongs. The band has more romantic pursuits in mind as well; "Smothered in Kisses" and "Under Your Command," the two other studio tracks, demonstrate the band's utter mastery of the marriage of devastating pop hooks and declarations of love. The last three cuts come from a 2001 live show and prove that the band is just as rocking on stage as it is in the studio. It's also a testament to the group's taste, as it closes the set with a powerhouse take on Brian Eno's "The True Wheel." Ultimately, it doesn't matter if Box-o-car wears fluorescent pink nail polish or not; the band simply rocks, regardless of genre. Michael Toland

For fans of: Superdrag, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, the Bongos

THE DOLEFUL LIONS
Out Like a Lamb
(Parasol)
North Carolina's Doleful Lions have been flying under the radar of pop fans for half a decade now, known only to a select few. But those few cleave tightly to the band's breast, and on the trio's fourth album Out Like a Lamb it's easy to understand why. Leader Jonathan Scott's melodies shimmer, sparkle and shine, riding dreamy grooves and carefully crafted psychedelic pop arrangements; his aching tenor and poetic lyrics ("You wove a coat of rain and snow/To wear when skies were blue/In brilliant blood and hue," he sings in "I Can Take You to the Sun") add an even creamier dimension to the tracks. Longtime followers may note that this description doesn't completely jibe with the sound of the band's other albums, but Scott has never stood still for long. He's moved his band through new wave-garnished power pop, B-grade horror film-obsessed indie rock and extremely lo-fi indie pop; his new take on Lionhood brings a pronounced 60s folk rock vibe to the fore. Tunes like "I Can Take You to the Sun" and the epic "Texas is Beautiful" sound like loving homages to an earlier era, while "1723" (sung by bassist Aynsley Pirtle) and the singalong "Sunshine Spartacus" deliberately dwell on the past. Scott's underrated tunesmithery is well-served by the low-budget but harmony-rich production; tunes like "Dear Lazarus" and the stripped-down "Graveyards of Swallows" sound simply divine. The whole record goes smoothly down like a sweet vanilla shake. The oft-gorgeous Out Like a Lamb balances craft and heart in ways few of the Doleful Lions' peers can muster. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Lilys, Sparklehorse, Pearls Before Swine

EXPLORERS CLUB
Raising the Mammoth
(Magna Carta)
One of the many brainchildren of keyboardist/songwriter Trent Gardner, Explorers Club is sort of a progressive rock sleepover, as Gardner writes and arranges tunes performed by a variety of musicians from the prog and metal worlds. The rhythm section is anchored by virtuoso drummer Terry Bozzio and Dream Theater bassist John Myung, while guitar licks and solos are provided by Kansas' Kerry Livgren, Shadow Gallery's Gary Wehrkamp and Megadeth's Marty Friedman. Keyboards come courtesy of Cairo's Mark Robertson and Gardner himself, with vocals provided by Kansas' Steve Walsh, Dream Theater's James LaBrie and Gardner. The record consists of two long pieces. The nearly 40-minute "Raising the Mammoth 1" concentrates on majestic minor-key synth swells and flashy but not ostentatious six-string licks. The first two segments are powered by Walsh; time has roughed up the edges of his once-mighty voice, but he still does a serviceable job on the epic bombast. The song doesn't really take flight, however, until part 3, subtitled "Vertebrates," when the melody becomes sweeter and Gardner and LaBrie take over the vocals. The ungainly-titled second track, "Raising the Mammoth 2 (AKA Prog-o-matic) 1) Gigantipithicus" dispenses with singing entirely for, as the title wittily suggests, a shifting concept piece that runs various prog styles and melodies (prog pop, prog metal, cinematic prog, fusion, you name it) through the talented fingers of Gardner and his sidemen. It's almost more of a history lesson than a song, but it allows Gardner to show off the keyboard skills he usually holds back on Magellan records and it's fun for fans who want to play spot-the-quote. Non-prog fans are advised to keep away, but genre enthusiasts will find Raising the Mammoth to be reasonably entertaining. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Ayreon, Cairo, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso

DAVID JACOBS-STRAIN
Stuck On the Way Back
(NorthernBlues)
David Jacobs-Strain may be a young, white Canadian who's only 18, but he seems to be channeling the spirits of old, black bluesmen on his debut Stuck On the Way Back. He's a virtuoso acoustic guitarist, fingerpicking and sliding his way to paradise, and he's a fine, expressive singer as well. But there are tons of cracker bluesmen who can play and sing but can't do the blues. What separates Jacobs-Strain from the Jonny Langs of the world is his understanding that the blues is about expression—of love, hate, joy, anger, confidence, sadness—and not a showcase for chops. (He's being mentored by the great Otis Taylor, after all.) When he sings the horrifying tale of a smack-addicted rape victim in "Black and Blue," he's not using shock value to build up to a guitar solo; he's forcing the listener to feel the woman's pain. (Whether or not you find that artful or entertaining is another question, of course.) Other originals like "River Was Green" (an environmental lament) and the title track (a canny examination of a young white man's fascination with old black blues) also indicate a sure feel for the idiom. As if that wasn't enough, his covers—not only traditionals like "Poor Boy" and "Wild Bill Jones" but also takes on Taylor's "Bowlegged Charlie" and R.L. Burnside's "Black Mattie"—show the proper degree of respect without letting it slip into reverence. His equal understanding of melody and drone ensures authenticity, while arrangements that incorporate exotic instruments like kora and mbira demonstrate willingness to experiment. If he's this good at 18, just wait until he's 40. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Otis Taylor, John Hammond, Jr., Harry Manx

TIFT MERRITT
Bramble Rose
(Lost Highway)
The whole new roots rock thing that began in the 90s seems to have stagnated. Sure, the cream of the new crop and/or the veterans (Dave Alvin, Chuck Prophet, Lucinda Williams) continue to create great art on a regular basis, but lately there's been no one new stepping up to the plate with a distinctive vision. Until now, that is: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Tift Merritt. On her debut album Bramble Rose, the young North Carolinian demonstrates not only an easy mastery of various roots music styles but also the intelligence to know how to use them. She freely mixes elements of C&W, folk and rock, taking a steel guitar lick from one style, a rhythm from another, instinctively knowing what will work to best enhance her uncommon tunes. Thus songs like "Virginia, No One Can Warn You" and "Bird of Freedom," which have melodies that could have been overblown anthems, instead become intimate confessions, while tunes like "Trouble Over Me" and "I Know Him Too" become less honkytonk shufflers than stripped-down slices of life. Her poetic lyrics leave more of an impression of her meaning than come out and say it ("Diamond Shoes," "When I Cross Over"), though she's smart enough to know when to abandon mystery for straightforward sentiment ("Supposed to Make You Happy," "Are You Still in Love With Me?"). She tops off her embarrassment of riches with a superb voice, full of character and feeling, and Ethan Johns' sparse, sympathetic production fully exploits Merritt's virtues, making Bramble Rose a gorgeous listen. A fully-loaded triple threat, writer, singer and arranger, Tift Merritt is clearly the next major force in American roots music. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris

TABLA BEAT SCIENCE
Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove
(Axiom/Palm)
Though known as a Bill Laswell project, Tabla Beat Science is about a collective musical consciousness, a melding of sounds and cultures that transcends its individual origins and becomes a new kind of trance music. Or maybe it's just a bunch of musicians buddies farting around. Regardless, Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove consists of two disks of live improvisational trance music, performed by tabla master Zakir Hussain, sarangi wizard Ustad Sultan Khan, vocalist Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw, bassist Laswell, drummer Karsh Kale and a trio of electronicists. Middle Eastern melodies, droning sarangi streams, percolating tabla beats, soaring vocals and funky basslines and scratches swirl and dance around each other playfully. Hip-hop meets raga, East meets West, drone meets trance. "Magnetic Dub" and "Sacred Channel" are the exotic offspring of a seemingly unlikely union. The question isn't so much the quality of the music here, which is high, but the sheer amount of it. Two disks of droning trance music is a lot of absorb for an active listener. Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove is probably best appreciated in the background, or early in the morning after a late night of spurious activity. Drone on with pride. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Asian Dub Foundation, Shakti, Trilok Gurtu

Copyright © 2002 High Bias