High Bias aural fixations
April 6, 2003

JONAS HELLBORG
Icon
(Bardo)
Calling bassist Jonas Hellborg a fusion artist brings to mind visions of mindless soloing over a 4/4 rhythm bed of vaguely jazzy rock. Hellborg has certainly been involved in that sort of thing, but for him fusion means something broader: a blend of pretty much every kind of music that appeals to him. In the case of Icon, he takes elements of jazz, funk, rock and Indian music and fashions an appealing hybrid of Far East and east coast. Joined by guitarist Shawn Lane, percussionists V Selvaganesh and V Umashankar and vocalist V. Umamahesh, Hellborg explores a variety of textures and moods in the four pieces, from furious improv to more composed atmospherics. Everyone gets a chance to solo, and while Western ears may not be attuned to the joys of two konokol players having at it for several minutes, Hellborg's rubbery grooves and Lane's compressed fire raise eyebrows and perk ears. From the dreamy "Vehicle" to the bouncy "Anchor" and the all-over-the-map "Mirror" (which, at 23:20, better make several stops along the diversity highway) Icon diligently explores the gray area where Western and Eastern musics mix and match. Needless to say, this isn't for everyone, but anyone looking for a challenge and a bit of horizon expansion should check this out. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Tabla Beat Science, Shakti, Trilok Gurtu

LEGION WITHIN
Ayumi
(Tragick)
Seattle's Legion Within evokes the overcast skies of its Pacific Northwest locale in an unusual way on its latest release Ayumi. The sextet seemingly revels in Gothic atmospheres and dark melodies; tunes with titles like "Broken Dreams," "Treachery" and "I Feel Nothing" frame the mindset at work here. Frontman William Wilson has the deep Goth baritone thing down, and his bandmates give him the perfect backdrop over which to croon. Cellist Lisa Smith and soundscape guitarist Shannon Cole are especially indispensable. However, despite the air of doom 'n' gloom, there is hope. The shimmering textures of Cole and Wilson's guitars and the bright tinkling of Markus Krieg's keyboards give hints of better days coming, like the sun as it first starts to break through dissipating storm clouds. The almost-uplifting nature of "Pure" definitely indicates that this band doesn't brood all the time. It's this tendency not to paint everything in the same shade of washed-out gray that sets Legion Within apart from the usual Goth tropes, and makes Ayumi a solid base on which to grow. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Chameleons, Audra, the Mission UK

LIVING THINGS
Turn In Your Friends & Neighbors
(Living Things)
The raw rock of Living Things' debut EP Turn In Your Friends & Neighbors hints at the best of the current so-called garage rock revival while also recalling the vintage pre-punk of Detroit and New York. The St. Louis-based Berlin brothers, who've been playing together since before their teens, graft the classic punk rock sneer onto what are basically straightahead melodic rock tunes. Frontman Lillian snarls and grimaces like he's never quite gotten over his first breakup, while bassist Eve (did their parents want daughters or what?) and drummer Bosh support his bad mood by jacking it up. Some of the tunes seem a bit restrained; if you've got titles like "Bloody Nose," "Bombs Below" and "Pick Out the Meat," you'd think the music would be a bit more explosive. But it's kind of refreshing to hear a band seethe instead of rage—not every temper loss need result in broken furniture. "I can't wait to get away," Lillian calmly growls in "Bloody Nose," and his angry conviction says as much as any inchoate scream ever would. Still, it would be nice to hear the band on the verge of destroying its instruments once in a while. Maybe when Living Things gets around to a full-length record (which should be soon, as the band has signed to DreamWorks) it will pump up the volume a bit. Michael Toland

For fans of: the Mooney Suzuki, the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop

COCO MBASSI
Sepia
(Tinder)
Cameroon's Coco Mbassi has made a name for herself in African music as a background vocalist; with Sepia, she finally gets a chance to step out on her own. The mostly self-composed album blends Cameroonian acoustic folk, Afropop and American soul into a lush tapestry of black music. Beautiful piano and acoustic guitar-based arrangements compliment the gently melodic tunes, which gracefully teeter on the line between African pop and R&B balladry. Simply as songs, cuts like "Iwiye" ("In Truth"), "Oa Nde" ("You are the One") and "Muto" ("Woman") are unabashedly appealing, but as delivered by Mbassi's glorious voice, they're nigh-irresistible. "Stabat" manages to combine Afropop, jazz and bossa nova into a piece that sounds instantly familiar but utterly unique; Mbassi's performance makes it even sweeter. Make no mistake, as good as the songs are, it's definitely Mbassi's throat that's the centerpiece here; as such, a cappella tracks like "Bayedi" (a tribute to her parents), "Bila" and the intro/outro "Mbaki" ("God is Reliable") make the most lasting impressions. But the album as a whole is an exercise in beauty. Sepia is simply excellent stuff. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Henri Dikongue, Geoffrey Oryema, Ismaël Lo

SIR HEDGEHOG
Sir Hedgehog
(Lunasound/Abstract)
In case no one's noticed, the return of Big Rawk is in full swing. Young men (and some welcome women) have been cranking up the Les Pauls and Marshalls, airing out their Ozzy and Lemmy imitations and generally acting as if punk and emo never happened. Vancouver's Sir Hedgehog is the latest soldier in the army of rock, and a strapping specimen it is, too, if its self-titled debut is any indication. Bassist Brendy Marklinger and drummer Steve Oliver add just the faintest touch of swing to their bottom-heavy pummeling, giving this dinosaur a surprisingly graceful gait. Guitarist Paul Slater is a monster, 25% finesse and 75% muscle, covering the songs in frothing power chords and thick, bleeding riffs, but leaving some room for the occasional spacey chord progression and squealing solo. Singer Jonas Fairley can't seem to decide if he wants to imitate Soundgarden's Chris Cornell or Ozzy Osbourne, so he performs a gene splice and manages to recall them both. The musicians stomp all over the landscape as if they owned it, ravaging the community and taking the spoils as their due. "Freedom Guild United," "Mountain of Attention" and "Otherside" roar, roll and rawk like Godzilla and Ghidrah with guitars in their claws, while "Gimme the Bone" charges forward like Judas Priest armed with knives. "Bitchlord" is the obligatory Sabbath imitation all these bands attempt at least once, and sounds more like the Sabs than anything in Ozzy's solo career; "Olympus Mons" is the equally obligatory psychedelic epic. Needless to say, there's nothing new on this record (well, the unlisted cover of Blondie's "Call Me" is a bit of a shock), but there doesn't need to be. Consider your ass pounded. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Black Sabbath, Orange Goblin, Grand Magus

SLICK FIFTY SEVEN
The Ghost of Bonnie Parker
(Laughing Outlaw)
Dallas trio Slick Fifty Seven is apparently wistful for the days when its fellow travelers in the Old 97's hadn't yet surrendered to their power pop jones and still sounded like a bunch of cowpunks on ten gallons of coffee. On The Ghost of Bonnie Parker, the peppy cut-time rhythms, aggressive folk/country guitar strumming and frontman John Pedigo's aching twang (sort of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong if he had came from East Texas) paint the band in 20-foot dayglo letters that scream "alternative country." That's not necessarily a bad thing—strangely enough, not too many folks do this style in as raw and unrefined a manner as this band, at least not anymore. Tracks like "Nervous Wreck," "Swashbuckler, TX" and "Hemen Way" are no frills, no bells and whistles stuff, all guitars, harmonies and freight-train rhythms supporting songs about hearts both broken and about to be. The band is derivative as hell —the melody, wordplay and chord changes of "Jessica" point to many hours spent spinning Old 97's disks over and over—but if you want a good old fashioned blast of No Depression rock from a new name, The Ghost of Bonnie Parker is your haunted house. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: early Old 97's, the V-Roys, the Grievous Angels

VOIVOD
Voivod
(Chophouse/Surfdog)
It's amazing that Voivod has survived for nearly 20 years now with so little material success. Apparently a loyal cult following and the undying respect of your peers is all you really need. An unwavering belief in your own vision helps, too; Voivod is an excellent example of why the French Canadian band is a legend. In a sense, this record is both an encapsulation of and new beginning to the band's long career. It features the return of original singer Denis Belanger, whose raspy sneer has been sorely missed, and the debut of new bassist Jason Newsted, former of Metallica. It's probably the most straightforwardly rocking disk of the group's career; Newsted and drummer Michel Langevin hammer the rhythm forward, Denis D'amour lays out thick slabs of distorted guitar riffs and chords and Belanger growls like he's been waiting to be let out of his cage for some time. The songs aren't nearly as complex as on past opuses like Nothingface, though the band's high level of musicianship keeps the arrangements sophisticated. Songs like "The Multiverse," "Facing Up" and "Reactor" recall just enough of the band's glory days without sounding like an attempt to recapture the past that they sound familiar and fresh at the same time. This is the sound of a band moving forward, not falling backward. Not to put to fine a point on it, but no other metal band sounds like Voivod (the band) and Voivod (the album) is a bracing reminder of that fact. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Prong, Megadeth, Celtic Frost

Copyright © 2003 High Bias