Album Reviews
THE NEVER
The Never
(MoRisen)
What do you get when you cross the late-period Beatles with the Cure and Weezer? I'd like to say it's Paul McCartney with heavy makeup and a geeky girlfriend, but, no, the result is closer to the Never. That's a slightly facetious description, of course, and unfair to the North Carolina band, but its devotion to sophisticated pop melodies, muscular guitars, creamy vocal harmonies and frontman Noah's nerd-with-an-attitude vocal approach serve as signposts for those looking. The brash romantic power pop of "The Astronaut" and "Bigger Than Jared" and the delicate piano noodlings of "Wendy Darling" and "Baba Yaga" represent the extremes; if either appeals, the middle ground will definitely make you smile. Michael Toland [buy it]
OLLABELLE
Ollabelle
(Columbia)
Ollabelle's first record is a haunting hybrid of roots, gospel and bluegrass drive by great vocals and soulful lyrics. The songs on this disc are clearly gospel-breathed, but arranged in a way that pulls the spirituality to the surface, particularly on "Before this Time" and "Get Back Temptation." One of the most noticeable things about this album is how the group so cleanly fuses all of these influences. On this debut (executive produced by bluegrass revivalist T. Bone Burnett), Ollabelle has set a high standard—not just for themselves, but other acts as well. Lance Looper [buy it]
SASQUATCH
Sasquatch
(Small Stone)
If there's a heavy rock band out there with a more appropriate name, I haven't heard it. L.A.'s Sasquatch is a great shaggy beast of a band, brandishing its squalling guitar riffs, burly vocals and stomping boogie rhythms like big tree branches swung by hairy paws. There's not a heck of a lot that's new here—this updates the 70s power trio tradition in much the same way as the band's fellow travelers in Dixie Witch. But the sheer force of pavement-crushing tunes like "Money Man," "Chemical Lady" and "Boss Hog" hold up nicely to the band's forebears, and the group's way with melody indicates a creative ambition not often found in 70s grunge revivalists. Long may Sasquatch crunch. Michael Toland [buy it]
ADRIAN SHAW
String Theory
(Woronzow)
Want proof that a good musician just gets better with age? String Theory, the latest solo album from Adrian Shaw (former Hawkwind/Camel bassist, current Bevis Frond bassist, British psychedelic icon, yadayadayada), is the multi-instrumentalist's best yet. His lush psychedelic rock undulates with hooks, his personable singing just keeps getting warmer and the songs here (especially "Bide My Time," the piano 'n' strings ballad "Oak and Brass" and the massive epic "Saving Grace") stand as his strongest batch so far. It doesn't hurt that he has excellent taste in guest guitarists, including his Frond partner Nick Saloman, psych rockers Bari Watts and Paul Simmons, his son Aaron and, surprisingly, former Only Ones string-slinger John Perry. Michael Toland
SUSPERIA
Unlimited
(Tuba/Candlelight)
Heavy metal is probably the most stratified genre outside of dance music, with tiny little categories for every headbanger who doesn't like to share. So it's nice to hear a band to whom specific derivations don't matter a damn. Norway's Susperia, not unlike its Swedish counterpart In Flames, remembers that death metal, black metal and plain ol' anthemic hard rock come from the same roaring, pummeling impulse. Singer Athera growls, snarls and sometimes even sings, the rhythms rumble hither and yon and riffs slash their way through the arrangements like soldier ants through flesh. Mean, melodic and METAL. Michael Toland [buy it]
TWO GALLANTS
The Throes
(Alive)
Two people, some guitars, a drum kit. Also a harmonica. Man, this set-up is the new Beatles. Fortunately, Two Gallants has the songs to make this already hackneyed approach sound fresh. Drawing more from folk than blues (though that's in there as well), Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel's tunes strip naked the boys' emotional soul, even if the details don't jibe with real life. "Fail Hard to Regain" and "Nothing to You" could be about anybody in the last 200 years—or the next 200—but the feeling behind them is timeless. Michael Toland [buy it]
UNBUNNY
Snow Tires
(Hidden Agenda)
It would be easy to compare songwriter Jarid del Deo's Unbunny project to contemporary acid folk/pop troubadours like Neutral Milk Hotel and Sparklehorse, but really, what we have here is a throwback to the exquisite craft and fragile confessions of the late 60s and early 70s. We're not talking James Taylor, either; we're talking Neil Young and John Lennon. Yes, it's that good. Not only do del Deo's tunes boast instantly winning melodies, but his sad sack demeanor in cuts like "I Knock Things I Haven't Tried" and "I Leave Stones Unturned" comes across as genuinely troubled, as opposed to pathetic. I can't help but root for this guy over the course of Snow Tires' 28 minutes, though as good a singer and songwriter as he is, I'm pretty sure he'll be all right. Michael Toland [buy it]
VETIVER
Vetiver
(DiCristina)
Apparently when I wasn't looking the indie rock nation discovered folk music. (The Harry Smith version, not the Will Oldham version.) Young 'ns like Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom and Sufjan Stevens rediscovered the Woody Guthrie troubadour thing and have taken to the streets and halls with acoustic guitars and simplicity. Add to this list one Andy Cabic, who records under the name Vetiver. The album of the same name, which includes guest duties performed by Banhart and Newsom, is not some ironic take on folk music—Cabic is perfectly sincere. Which is good, since tune like "Oh Papa," "Amerilie" and "Amour Fou" (co-written by Banhart) are fine creations and should be taken seriously. Good to hear a young generation putting new polish on the old tools. Michael Toland [buy it]
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Doom Capital
(Crucial Blast)
Black Sabbath must have had a dinosaur-sized impact on the D.C./Maryland area, because crunchmongering sludge metal bands proliferate there like mosquitos in stagnant water. Doom Capital gathers up tracks by a fistful of them, both veterans (Clutch, Internal Void, scene godfather Scott "Wino" Weinrich and his latest band the Hidden Hand) to up-and-comers (Leviathan A.D., King Valley, Life Beyond, who will be hailed as the next doom legend, mark my words). The appearance of three Dave Sherman projects (Earthride, War Injun, Los Tres Pesados) would seem like collusion if all three weren't pretty good bands. And whaddaya know, there's not a bad track here. Even if the lesser lights start to sound like the same band after a while, it's a damn good band. If you don't feel like you're really listened to music unless you're wiping mud off the speakers, Doom Capital is your pit. Michael Toland [buy it]
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Old Enough 2 Know Better: 15 Years of Merge Records
(Merge)
I love it when a label throws itself a birthday party. Merge, originally started by North Carolina's Superchunk as a way to release its own music, is nearly two decades old, and the imprint celebrates with a 3-CD compilation that benefits the Future of Music Coalition [http://www.futureofmusic.org]. The first two disks are packed with tracks from representative Merge acts like Neutral Milk Hotel, Polvo, M. Ward and, of course, Superchunk, but the killer is disk 3, which adds rare and unreleased cuts from folks like David Kilgour, the Clientele and Portastatic that stands up to anything officially released. There's also a great letter reprinted on the inside from Ronald Thomas Contle, Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster's rock snob alter ego. This is a great sampler of a pioneering label. Michael Toland [buy it]
