High Bias aural fixations
July 20, 2003

MARI BOINE
Eight Seasons
(Northside)
Former schoolteacher Mari Boine (AKA Mari Boine Persen) is one of the most beloved musical artists in Scandinavia. Fiercely proud of her Sami heritage (the Samis occupy the Nordic region once known as Lapland), Boine uses her roots in the Sami vocal style known as joik (which is not dissimilar to American Indian chanting) as a base for her music. But she's no traditionalist—Eight Seasons is proudly contemporary, mixing her traditional vocal melodies with jazz, rock and electronics for a smooth, enchanting set of mostly original songs. "Guovssahasaid Ájagáttis" ("By the Source of Aurora B") and "Boadan Nuppi Bealde" ("I Come From the Other Side") benefit from the Tony Levin-style bass of Svein Schultz and the playful sax and flute contributions of Norwegian jazz star Jan Garbarek. The trance-like "Sielu Dálkkas" ("Soul Medicine") and "Liegga Gokcas Sis' ("In a Blanket of Warmth") will surely bring a smiles to the faces of fans of ethnofusion bands like Afro Celt Sound System. "It Diede" ("You Never Know") and "Duottar Rássi" ("Tundra Flower") almost sound like American folk songs with Garbarek flute. The haunting (and haunted) "Mu Vaibmu Vádjul Doppe" ("Hymn") is the closest thing to traditional joikking, and it's just as compelling as everything else on the disk. This is a world music album with just enough Western pop elements to seduce the newcomer, but its most impressive sounds are the most exotic, and Boine is a spectacular singer regardless of language and nationality. Eight Seasons overflows with groovy, beautiful stuff. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Peter Gabriel, Sinead O'Connor, David Sylvian

GENEROUS MARIA
Command of the New Rock
(Abstract Sound)
Generous Maria is the latest in what's becoming a ridiculously long line of nuevo hard rock acts from Scandinavia. The Swedish quintet doesn't do much on its debut Command of the New Rock that hasn't been done on a gazillion other records; the ten songs ooze growling vocals, psychedelic musings, sledgehammer rhythms and riffs as thick as sequoias. "All Good Things (Must Come to an End)," "Dumdum Bullet" and "A Bed at the Edge of the Universe" pound and roar, with just enough melody to keep from being thuggish, but enough noise to keep from being nice. GM breaks things up with the dreamy psychedelic ballad "Soulflight" (a showcase not only for the group's gentler side, but also for frontman Göran Florström's powerful pipes) and the trippy instrumental "Ashram of the Abstract," which starts with a refried rockabilly riff and ends with controls set for the heart of the sun. Mostly, though, it's meat-and-potatoes heavy rock of the stripe of which we've seen a great deal lately, not done differently, but done well. It's hardly groundbreaking work, but Generous Maria proves that a plain ol' hamburger, if made with care, can still be mighty satisfying. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: WE, Southern Gun Culture, Screaming Trees

THE HIGH STRUNG
These Are Good Times
(Tee Pee)
THE HIGH STRUNG http://www.thehighstrung.com These Are Good Times (Tee Pee) http://www.teepeerecords.com These Are Good Times, the latest album from Brooklyn-by-way-of-Detroit quartet the High Strung, is a near-masterpiece of garage pop. Simple as that. The band plays tight little pop rock songs with the enthusiasm of teenagers and the confidence of seasoned players, using the raw production to its advantage by eschewing frills and concentrating on performances. Best of all, the band builds it all on a rock-solid foundation of strong tunes. Singers/songwriters Josh Materman and Mark Owen combine an unfiltered emotional thrust, a witty sense of humor, knacks for memorable melodies and devastating hooks into a batch of instantly appealing songs that will stick in your cranium like lint on a wool sweater. The band kicks brash rockers like "Throwaway," "I Got Frustration" and "Wretched Boy" just as smartly as it nails midtempo pop ditties like "The World's Smallest Violin" and "Ain't That Something" and ballads like "Songbird." Co-producer Jim Diamond did little but turn on the analog tape machines and play a guitar solo on "Real Nice Boy," which is a good thing. The High Strung has all the goods it'll need in its own pockets, and with These Are Good Times we can all share. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Sights, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Venue

LEFTY'S DECEIVER
Cheats
(My Pal God)
Cheats is the fourth disk from Lefty's Deceiver, and while the Philadelphia trio has been shoved under the "math rock" banner for much of its career, there's scant evidence of convoluted arrangements and sculptured skronk here. Not that the band goes for easy chords or melodies, but the songs flow organically, as much through the straight rhythms and canny fills of drummer Mike Kennedy as through the busy riffs of bassist Kristine Muller and jangly arpeggios of guitarist Andy Williams. Offbeat hooks abound; Williams might not always play what guitar pop fans would expect to hear, but he's never dissonant without purpose and always keeps melody at the forefront. The thematic thrust of the record apparently involves a rage against complacency and conformity, but the lyrics rarely simply come out and say what they mean, preferring instead to make the listener use those expert decoding skills. Tunes like "Years and Years Ago," "Cincinnati on Replay" and the title track twirl gracefully around an undefined axis, while the unlisted tenth track adds some lilting folk to the mix. Lefty's Deceiver's greatest strength is its distinction; it truly doesn't sound quite like any other band out there, and Cheats occupies its own space on the indie rock shelf. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Modest Mouse, Death Cab For Cutie, Death of Marat

MENSEN
Oslo City
(Gearhead)
Norway's Mensen emerged from the same hard rockin' punk scene as contemporaries Gluecifer and Turbonegro, but has its own distinct identity on its sophomore platter Oslo City. Favoring punk song structures and nitroglycerine pop hooks to 70s metal, the Oslo quartet charges through a baker's dozen hooky rock tunes with little fuss and a lot of energy. It's a formula that's likely to be familiar to fans of the Donnas, but, in Mensen's defense, frontperson Mary Currie is a far more consistent songwriter than anybody in the quadruple Ds. Ultracatchy atomic blasts like "The Hard Way," "One Way Street" and "Keep Up!" would rock out with their cocks out if the band (except for bassist Rambling Roy) had any, and (slightly) softer cuts like "Sandy Starlight" and "Bosnia" prove the group adept at varying the mood. Best of all, the songs are instantly winning without relying on the softcore teasing that makes the Donnas both interesting and disposable; Currie is a strong writer who doesn't need to rely on parlor tricks to make her numbers compelling. Gender issues aside, Oslo City is simply a great album of smart, catchy rock & roll. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Sahara Hotnights, the Gits, the Donnas

OYSTERBAND
Rise Above
(Omnium)
Somehow the long-running Oysterband has put out 20-odd years of politicized folk rock without managing to garner more than a small cult following in the U.S. This despite amazing records like Deserters and Holy Bandits that perfectly balanced folky lyricism, punk rock energy, social commentary, compassion and wit. Sadly, it's likely few on these shores will notice the arrival of Rise Above, the British quintet's latest opus, and that's a shame, as this is the best record it's made since Holy Bandits. Bassist Chopper and drummer Lee provide pretty much a straight rock & roll drive, over which fiddler Ian Telfer adds his whirling dervish licks and guitarist Alan Prosser his unfussy folk rock chords and occasional solos. Frontman John Jones fills up the empty space with his squeezeboxes and clear, heartfelt singing. The traditional music that is the group's usual starting point is understated this time around, though still present, especially in the excursions of Telfer and special guest James O'Grady on pipes. But the band still writes great melodies, whether they're derived from folk or rock, and it's got a barrelful here. Angry, dramatic rockers like "Shouting About Jerusalem," "Uncommercial Song" and "My Mouth" confidently share space with more uplifting anthems like "If You Can't Be Good," "The Soul's Electric" and the title ditty. The group hasn't totally put aside its folk roots, of course, as the terrific versions of the traditional tunes "Wayfaring" (as a driving rocker) and "Blackwaterside" (as a soulful ballad) make happily clear. There's not a duff song on the disk and the band keeps its considerable energy level up throughout. It would be a shame if this LP never got past the circle of diehard Oyster cultists, since Rise Above is a classic Oysterband album. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: the Levellers, New Model Army, Wolfstone

OTIS TAYLOR
Truth is Not Fiction
(Telarc)
OK, here's the deal: Otis Taylor is the greatest bluesman in the universe. That may change next year, or tomorrow, and it certainly isn't meant to imply that he's necessarily better now than Muddy Waters or Howlin' Wolf or Blind Willie Johnson were in their primes, but right here, right now, Otis Taylor is the best. How do we know this? Because Truth is Not Fiction is his third undeniably amazing album in a row. That's a track record few current artists in any genre can match. Not that making music is some sort of merit contest, but let's face it: when an artist you love knocks one out of the park for the third time as you're watching, it's damned exciting. Taylor pretty much stays the course set by previous records, with a distinctive, droning country blues style that makes the most of repetition by endowing every moan, growl and note with pure emotion. Besides having a stunningly compelling voice, he's also a master at flailing the hell out of guitars, banjos and, for much of this album, an electric mandolin, an instrument one wouldn't expect to hear on a blues record but sounds on this one as if it was created for nothing else. As accompanied by bassist Kenny Passarelli (who knows how to work those root notes), cellist Ben Sollee (who plays the part usually filled by a blues harp) and lead guitarist Eddie Turner (whose solos on "Be My Witness" sounds like someone trying to channel a personal apocalypse into a few bars of music), Truth is Not Fiction is never less than sonically mesmerizing. But the best thing about this record, the engine driving this mighty frame, is the songcraft. Sure, Taylor can write a seriously suffering love song a la "Walk on Water," "Comb Your Brown Hair" or the withering "Nasty Letter," but he's also a master storyteller. "Shakie's Gone" (about the death of a slave family patriarch), "Kitchen Towel" (an American Indian ghost story), "Be My Witness" (a recounting of a black man driving through a white neighborhood in the 1930s) and "House of the Crosses" (an incredible tale of familial tragedy set in a Russian prison) may be complete fiction, but they have a loud ring of truth. Taylor's music is thrilling, moving, even a little disturbing, and for the most part almost unbearably intense—when the lightest track is a cover of the classic plea "Baby Please Don't Go," that says something about the man's commitment to his art. To put it baldly, Truth is Not Fiction is the best blues album since, well, the last Otis Taylor album, which also makes it one of the best albums of any kind on the shelves. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Junior Kimbrough, Corey Harris, Robert Belfour

Copyright © 2003 High Bias