High Bias aural fixations
March 23, 2003

THE BAD PLUS
These Are the Vistas
(Columbia)
New York trio the Bad Plus is all over the place on its second album These Are the Vistas, but always remains true to its own aesthetic. Pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King add fruits from a variety of gardens—rock, bebop, lounge pop, dance music—but it all comes out jazz in the end. The band makes its connection to more popular musics blatant with flamboyant, cheeky covers of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (on which you can almost feel the smirk) and Blondie's "Heart of Glass" (which works despite itself), not to mention a nod to a pioneer of electronica with a take on Aphex Twin's "Flim." That's all very fine and amusing, but the real reason to keep coming back to Vistas is the trio's original tunes. Iverson's melodic touch on the keys makes songs like "Everywhere You Turn," "1972 Bronze Medalist," "Big Eater" and the magnificent "Everywhere You Turn" flow like water down a cliff side. King pushes the rhythm forward as if he can't wait to get to the other side; Anderson roots each piece like a nail holding a streamer in a strong wind. The band keeps its exuberance under tight control, letting "Keep the Bugs Off Your Glass and the Bears Off Your Ass," the percussive "Boo-Wah" and "Guilty" simmer with heat and suppressed power. Apparently the band is making a name for itself with its deconstructionist cover tunes, but with originals like these, there's no need for the Bad Plus to be hailed for anything else. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Fieldwork, Brad Mehldau, Medeski Martin & Wood

HAYSEED DIXIE
Kiss My Grass: A Hillbilly Tribute to Kiss
(Dualtone)
Them boys from the holler are at it again. On its third album Kiss My Grass, Nashville's bluegrass bottom-feeders in Hayseed Dixie take on the music of pop-metal icon Kiss. If you're at all familiar with the band, you already know the concept: fairly traditional bluegrass takes on 70s rock anthems. While this approach didn't work very well on the band's first album, A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC, it fared far better on A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love, which had the advantage of not being tied down to one artist. Kiss My Grass falls somewhere in between. On the one hand, you have the brain-bludgeoning stupidity of Kiss's lyrics to contend with, in crystal-clear fidelity, with no feedback or booming drums to cover them up. Plus the song selection leans as heavily on the band's ultracrappy late work ("Let's Put the X in Sex," "Heaven's On Fire") as on its classics. On the other hand, Kiss's songs surprisingly adapt well to a bluegrass approach, and bandmembers Barley Scotch and the Younger brothers are skilled musicians (especially banjo monster Talcum Younger) who do what they do with not only competence but even inspiration. Only you know if you really need bluegrass versions of "Christine Sixteen," "I Love It Loud" (which works shockingly well) and "Cold Gin" (done as a ballad!) in your life, but if you do, Hayseed Dixie's got your fresh meat right here. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Split Lip Rayfield, early Bad Livers, the Gourds

DANIEL JOHNSTON
Fear Yourself
(Gammon)
Daniel Johnston presents a particular quandary for critics. After all, his music tends to evoke either sweet love or intense loathing, with no compromise. Either you're charmed by his quirky paeans to love and God or you're repulsed by his off-key singing and the idea that even the most mercenary record company would exploit his well-documented mental illness. (The unflattering back cover photo of the overweight Johnston passed out in an easy chair won't help matters.) Fear Yourself, on which Johnston is produced and backed up by Sparklehorse majordomo Mark Linkous, is probably the most accessible record Johnston's ever created, but it's not going to change the minds of anyone on either side of the fence. Johnston's melodies may be simplistic, but they're usually quite fetching, and Linkous knows how to exploit them with subtle production and airy arrangements. The man's lyrics march to the beat of their own drummer in their imagery, but mostly revolve around the idea of unrequited love, to which anyone can relate. But Johnston's voice, never particularly stellar to begin with, has grown coarser due to years of smoking, and he's abandoned any pretense of following the vocal melody, which makes even the best songs here ("Power of Love," "Syrup of Tears," "Love Not Dead") more trying than they might otherwise be. The songs themselves may be solid constructions, but Johnston's singing inadequacies make them sound like rambling treatises to private obsessions. Linkous's luminous arrangements do nothing to ease the pain, alas. Contrary to his many detractors, Johnston does have genuine talent, but he'd be best served in a background role as composer rather than performer. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Half Japanese, Masters of the Hemisphere, Eggplant

ERIK LARSON
The Resounding
(Small Stone)
One of the guitarists and driving forces behind Virginia's hellbilly metal bulldozer Alabama Thunderpussy, Erik Larson built up such a backlog of songs he had to spill some over onto a solo record. The Resounding is a nicely diverse collection of tunes that shows off the depth and breadth of its auteur's talent, while still retaining the hard rock base of ATP (not to mention the signature sound of Virgil, Larson's Flying V). The guitarist's songs move into more personal arenas than the general slam-bang aggression of the parent band, and he works the dynamics with a maestro's touch, so the loud/soft transitions and his shifts from a rough-hewn croon to a whisky-triggered growl sound completely natural. It helps that he handles drums as well as guitars, allowing for easy manipulation of tempo and volume. From the acoustic folk of "Happy New War" to the raging fury of "I Feel Like Ted Nugent," Larson covers the gamut of the rawk experience. He's at his best during "Mine Never Was," "Hardest Things to Write About" and "I Always End Up Being the Bad Guy," which combine his sensitive and brutal sides in ways not usually heard in the metal arena. Is the world ready for singer/songwriter metal? It better be, since Larson is damned good at it. Hopefully this won't be the first time Alabama Thunderpussy lets Larson and Virgil out to play by themselves. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Spirit Caravan, Backdraft, Nebula's acoustic side

THE LIBERTINES
Up the Bracket
(Rough Trade)
Now this is what the Strokes should sound like. Like New York's most-hyped, England's Libertines rely on simple chord progressions, propulsive rhythms and a late-70s punk/new wave vibe on their debut Up the Bracket (produced by Mick Jones of the Clash/Big Audio Dynamite). But while the Strokes prefer an air of enervated boredom and seem to think one chord progression is all they need per album, the Libertines drop some cheek, variety and, most importantly, a strong dose of real rock & roll energy into their songs. Singers/guitarists Carl Barat and Pete Doherty come across like a couple of adolescents trying to sound worldly and decadent, but they're just too darn excited, slurring words, bumming notes, rushing to the end of lines and singing around and against the melody as much as with it. The band's two guitars/bass/drums loose arrangements sound like they were thrown together a week before the session; they're not half-assed, mind you, merely more predicated on idea than execution. The tunes themselves boast fat hooks and cool melodies that sound like a 70s new wave update of the 50s. The speedy powerhouse "Horrorshow" and the singalong pop tune "Time For Heroes" deliver a smart one-two punch, while melodic rushers like "Death on the Stairs" and the title track split the different to delightful effect. Snotty, sneering rock tunes like "What a Waster" and "Boys in the Band" are guaranteed to induce a grin. Meanwhile the acoustic, no-bullshit ballad "Radio America" proves that the boys have that elusive quality of soul that sets a band apart from the posers. Basically, unlike their more famous Yankee cousins, the Libertines sound positively giddy to be making music, and that exuberance is infectious. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Strokes, Spoon, the Hives

LIMITER
The Aurora Project
(Artificial Music Machine)
A studio project from singer/songwriter/musician Martin McCreadle, Limiter at first blush seems to be about finding the middle ground between electronic textures and acoustic singer/songwriter gloom. But a closer listen to The Aurora Project reveals a more accurate purpose: the expression of the demons lying in McCreadle's burnt amber heart. The instrumental combinations of ambient synths and acoustic guitar strums are merely the medium, not the message. The distorted cadences, pulsing beat and lonely piano of "For Tomorrow" contrasts with the forlorn six-string strums and sighing moan of "Isis Unveiled," but both leave dark hearts on black lace sleeves, aching for the light at the end of the tunnel. Even if that light is an oncoming train, at least it's closure. The danceable groove of the catchy "When I Have Fears" tries valiantly to bring a smile, but it's defeated by ghostly background exhortations and McCreadle's sepulchral croon. "We are living to die and dying to live," note the liners, and that pretty much encapsulates Limiter's worldview. If you feel like drowning yourself in late-night melancholia and you're out of absinthe, The Aurora Project should be your poison. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Lycia, Thanatos, Prick

THE RAVEONETTES
Whip It On
(Columbia)
Denmark's Raveonettes fuse the avant-garde urge of contemporary art with the primitive spirit of the earliest rock & roll on their debut EP Whip It On. Guitarist Sune Rose Wagner and bassist Sharin Foo, aided by a cheap drum machine programmed only to keep the beat and a vacuum cleaner bagful of white noise, deliberately set boundaries on themselves: no more than three chords per song, nothing over three minutes long, all tunes in the key of Bb. (Presumably Wagner's deadpan tenor is a more natural limitation.) Despite the self-imposed straightjacketing, the duo comes up with enough decent variety to make for a strong record. Using only three chords doesn't mean you have to use them all in the same order, after all, and the twosome likes melody as much as fuzz and relentless rhythms. The speeding rush of "Cops On Our Tail" actually compliments the pop sheen of "Do You Believe Her," while the angular noisefest of "My Tornado" contrasts nicely with the adrenaline punch of "Attack of the Ghost Riders." The spooky metal-on-metal shriek of "Bowels of the Beast" shows how far Wagner and Foo will push the envelope, but the hip-shaking twist of the appropriately-titled "Beat City" proves that the band hasn't forgotten rock & roll's roots. Whip It On is a shockingly good slice of neo-noir roots rock as seen through the lens of a modern art movement. Once the Raveonettes move into multiple chords and other keys, watch out. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Cramps, the White Stripes, the Velvet Underground

Copyright © 2003 High Bias