Album Reviews
OZRIC TENTACLES
Spirals in Hyperspace
(Magna Carta)
Ed Wynne and his Ozric Tentacles have been genrefucking progressive rock, psychedelia, space rock and electronic dance music for 20 years now. I suspect the continuing appeal of the Ozrics is like that of the Grateful Dead, requiring a concert, light show and a crowd of likeminded fanatics soaked in mind-altering substances to truly appreciate. Wynne's aggressive guitar work and pulsating programming sometimes align just right for truly mesmerizing trance-out music; other times it sounds like fuzak shredding with half-assed backing tracks. Speaking for myself, I can space out for only so long, and it's not as long as this record lasts. Michael Toland [buy it]
VERNON REID & MASQUE
Known Unknown
(Favored Nations)
It's been way too long since Living Colour/Yohimbe Brothers guitarist Vernon Reid made a solo record. Unlike his previous album, 1996's wonderful Mistaken Identity, Known Unknown isn't an eclectic cornucopia, as Reid sticks pretty closely to jazz/funk fusion, leaning heavily on the former. "Down and Out in Kigali and Freetown" brings ambient guitar and jungle beats to the mix, but otherwise it's Reid trading jazzy licks with keyboardist Leon Gruebaum and ripping burning solos over his rhythm section. Reid is a great musician with a keen ear for melody, so this isn't just noodling for the sake of it. Great cover of Thelonious Monk's "Brilliant Corners" as well. Michael Toland [buy it]
THE SILVERMEN
Incendiary Luminary…
(Shindig)
Midwestern trio the Silvermen uses rockabilly (NOT psychobilly, thankyewverymuch) as a base for its revved-up roots rock sound, but there's more to Incendiary Luminary… than ducktails and reverb. There's plenty of country music here—of the trucker's speed variety, that is—and the 'Men ladle in splashes of jazz and easy listening as well. The best thing about this band, though, is that the songs aren't just pastiches of 'billy culture and clichés, but fully-formed creations that could stand up in other presentations. "My Can't Help It," "My Girl" and "Lawman" would be crackerjack creations regardless of genre. Michael Toland
TRES CHICAS
Sweetwater
(Yep Roc)
The immediate impulse is to compare roots rock vocal trio Tres Chicas' Sweetwater to the Linda Ronstadt/Emmylou Harris/Dolly Parton Trio projects, since each chica has her own acclaimed career (Lynn Blakey with Glory Fountain, Tonya Lamm with Hazeldine and Caitlin Cary with her post-Whiskeytown solo work). They'd probably be flattered by that comparison, but I think Tres Chicas beat that holy C&W trinity hands down. Their voices blend divinely, the songs, both originals and covers, are uniformly strong and the whole production just oozes soul. I usually think these buddies-in-the-studio deals can't hold a candle to the individual works (see: the Flatlanders), but in the case of Tres Chicas this record is just as good as anything these folks have ever done. Michael Toland [buy it]
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Further Adventures of the Telepathic Explorers
(Free City Media)
Nice to know there are other labels besides Woronzow and Camera Obscura dedicated to digging up the best contemporary psychedelia. The second in Free City Media's sampler series, Further Adventures of the Telepathic Explorers includes an otherwise-unreleased Bevis Frond track, the old-fashioned low-fi psych nugget "Under the London Wall;" that alone makes this a must-own for me. Fortunately, there's plenty of other excellent tunes from underground psych vets the Heads, Lucky Bishops and Dipsomaniacs and up-and-comers like the Bitter Little Cider Apples, the God Box, Patrick Porter and Troll. Plus there's a gem from the irrepressible Anton Barbeau and a nicely trippy collaboration betwixt label head Nick Bensen and Mountain Mirrors' Jeff Sanders. This is the best kind of label sampler, one that's listenable all the way through. Instead of just offering a handshake, Free City gives you a backrub. Michael Toland
