Album Reviews

ABERFELDY
Young Forever
(Rough Trade)
Scottish songwriter Riley Briggs looked hard for the line between charming and cutesy, and now his folky pop band Aberfeldy is precariously balancing on it like a highwire artist carrying an elephant. One minute Briggs and harmony singers Ruth Barrie and Sarah McFayden are melting hearts with a lovely ballad like "What You Do" or downbeat pop song like "Surly Girl." But the next they're setting teeth on edge with a silly trifle like "Summer's Gone" or throwing in musical quotes to the Buggles in "Heliopolis by Night." The balance tips in the band's favor more often than not, fortunately, but the cringeworthy moments don't do Aberfeldy any favors. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE BLONDES, INC.
The Blondes, Inc.
(The Blondes, Inc.)
There are tons of young power pop bands crawling over the earth like ants on a sugar bowl, so you've got to have something special to induce Television's Richard Lloyd to offer, unsolicited, to produce your record. Young NYC foursome the Blondes, Inc. have that something. It's not that what the group is doing is particularly different than a zillion other bands of this stripe—its hooky riffs, urgent vocals and pulsing rhythms are par for the course. But tunes like "Wasting My Time," "You Got It" and "Friends" have that perfect mix of melody, energy and dynamics to indicate the potential for true greatness. Pick up on the Blondes, Inc. now before the band becomes ubiquitous. Michael Toland

THE BLOOD SHOT
Straight Up
(Doomedelic/Garage D'or)
Straight Up, the second album from Minneapolis' gnarly Blood Shot, is heavier, dirtier and just plain nastier than its debut, the stellar Wake Up and Die Right. Snarler Andrew Kereakos and his buds emulate their 70s metal and boogie rock heroes more fervently this time around, but the production is so raw and cheap that any pretensions to arena rock glory are dragged into a filthy alley and beaten to a bloody pulp. Few hit (with a nail-spiked baseball bat, from the sound of it) the balance of riffs, hooks and pure savagery like the Blood Shot does on tunes like "Bellringer," I Did Too Much" and "Crawlin' (Across the Killing Floor)." Cool cover of the Pentagram classic "Forever My Queen" as well. Michael Toland

COASTAL
Halfway to You
(Words on Music)
The first album by Coastal was all slow tempos, hushed sighs and atmospheric guitars, as if its creators set out to create the ultimate slowcore experience. I didn't think it was possible, but the Utah combo has become even more ethereal and airy on its second album Halfway to You. Jason and company remove most of the effects from the guitars this time, making the tracks so quiet they'd not disturb a sleeping churchmouse. "Drift" reinstates the pedals and picks up the pace a tad, making the tune a welcome respite on an album that's just a little too sleepy for its own good. Fans of bands like Low may feel differently, however. Michael Toland [buy it]

EDDIE GALE
Afro-Fire
(Black Beauty)
Trumpeter Eddie Gale's name is probably familiar mostly to those who read the personnel listings on Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor records, but he recorded a pair of visionary albums in the late 60s for Blue Note. Now he's back with only his fourth solo album in 36 years. Instead of the experimental jazz expressionism for which he was celebrated back in the day, Afro-Fire instead offers accessible, pre-programmed grooves over which Gale lays his improvised horn lines. I usually find this kind of jazz cold and stiff, but the combination of probing licks and appealing jazz-funk works better than usual here. Even when the melodies get a little gooey, Gale's acerbic trumpet keeps the music from sounding too much like the soundtrack to a late night softcore cable movie. Michael Toland [buy it]

GREEN MACHINE
The Archives of Rotten Blues
(DIW/Phalanx)
It seemed that Japan's Green Machine was a casualty of the demise of the Man's Ruin label, but the band has come roaring back with a vengeance on its third album The Archives of Rotten Blues. Like most bands that fit under the ever-widening banner of "doom" or "stoner rock," GM worships the almighty, dinosaur-sized, unstoppable riff, and every song just bursts open with 'em, like pimples left untended for too long. The band hungrily consumes its Motörhead, Slayer and Black Sabbath records, then dutifully projectile vomits the resulting half-digested mess all over the landscape, minus one brief acoustic, palette-cleansing acoustic interlude. If that sounds like a dis, it's not—Green Machines makes no bones about its influences and couldn't give a fuck what you think about 'em. This is some seriously headbanging shit, lit out for hammer of the gods territory and still going. Michael Toland

INTERNAL VOID
Matricide
(Dogstreet/Black Widow)
Internal Void has been around for well over a decade as part of the fertile Maryland heavy rock scene. The band's third slab Matricide is pretty pure as far as doom metal goes, all rhino boogie guitar riffs, dancing dinosaur rhythms and epic numbers with titles like "Window to Hell" and "All Smoke and Mirrors," all topped with J.D. Williams' theatrical growl. It may scan old hat on the page, but in practice this is the sound of a veteran band doing what it does best: write strong songs and perform them with passion and fire. It helps that guitarist Kelly Carmichael (also the current axeman for doom pioneers Pentagram) is one of the best pickers in heavy rock. If you want a shot of powerhouse thunder music you'd be hard-pressed to find a better dose than Matricide. Michael Toland [buy it]

BILL JANOVITZ & CROWN VICTORIA
Fireworks on TV!
(Q Division)
I used to be really fond of Janovitz's previous outfit Buffalo Tom, but as that band kept going it sounded less like a breath of fresh air in alternative rock and more like the consumer-safe version of same, giving rise to the Matchbox 20s and Sister Hazels of the world. I have the same mixed feelings about Fireworks on TV!, the new album from Janovitz's latest venture Crown Victoria. Too many songs on this record sound like Jackson Browne with power chords than the kind of rock cranked out by BT in the early days. I much prefer smashers like "Sinking," "In a Day" and "Florida" or unsentimental portraits like "I Found Out" and "Whisper to Yourself" to the easygoing but facile melodies of "One, Two, Three," "Minutes of the Day" or "Mary Kay." "Revealed," "Believe" and the two version of the title tracks—one puff and powder, one bash and crash—split the difference, thus standing as Janovitz's defining moments. Whether that's good or bad depends on what part of Buffalo Tom's history is your favored era. Michael Toland

KINGS OF CONVENIENCE
Riot on an Empty Street
(Source/Astralwerks)
My first thought when I heard "Homesick," the first song on the fourth album by the Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience, was "Wow, this makes Simon & Garfunkel sound like Nuclear Assault." Actually S&G aren't a bad point of reference for this record, as Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe have the same vocal chemistry and literary bent as the 60s folk giants. They even add some Latin rhythms here and there. But where Riot on an Empty Street differs is in outlook. If Simon & Garfunkel were folkies gone pop, the Kings are definitely pop classicists as heart, who simply find a folk presentation easier to construct. Though modest almost to a fault, quiet tunes like "Know-How," "Sorry or Please" and the almost rocking "I'd Rather Dance With You" boast memorable melodies and considerable charm. Just-right additions like trumpet and cello help flesh out the simple arrangements. If the Simon & Garfunkel parallel holds, this is the duo's Bookends. Michael Toland [buy it]

LAAKSO
I miss you, I'm pregnant
(Adrian)
On I miss you, I'm pregnant, Swedish songwriter Markus Krunegård leads his crew through what are essentially melancholic pop tunes, but the band plays like it's an amalgam of veteran folk and jazz musicians on a dark ale bender. The arrangements are energetic and loose, but never sloppy, and Krunegård's lonesome, untrained wail just makes it sound all the more like a group of buddies working out their issues through music and alcohol. Which isn't to say that the band doesn't tighten up occasionally. The dreamy "Baby Close" drifts along a firm axis and "Sensation of Fire" and "Eyes of Lust" are as sparkling (if emotionally desperate) a pair of pop tunes as you could want. And then there's the eponymous, orchestrally-enhanced anthem that closes the record. More typical, though, are ramshackle bursts of melody like "Aussie Girl," "Emmylou" and "Loiska Laakso." Either way Laakso's got something special going on. Michael Toland

TIM LEE
No Discretion
(Paisley Pop)
Former Windbreakers singer/guitarist Tim Lee returned to action last year with the fine Under the House, but, quite frankly, No Discretion blows it out of the water. Superficially, there's little difference; this record is the same mix of roots rock and power pop as House. But the hooks are sharper, the vocals stronger and the energy level noticeably higher than on the last platter. The combination of recording with a working band and with a variety of producers (Mitch Easter, Superdrag drummer Don Coffey, Jr., Fat Possum mainstay Bruce Watson) seems to have invigorated songs like "Keep Me Down," "Speak Up Girl" and the spectacular "Across the Tracks," while softer numbers like "More or Less" and the title track are more winsome than ever. No Discretion is a brilliant piece of work by a veteran finding new depths to his artistry. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE LIBERTINES
The Libertines
(Rough Trade)
It sucks being a buzz band—there's no way you can possibly live up to the truckloads of hype dumped on your head. (Just ask the Strokes.) It never helps when you've got an errant member who'd rather ingest controlled substances than write songs. Despite these obstacles, England's Libertines have managed to make a sophomore record that betters their debut, with catchier hooks, endearing harmonies (similar to the extremely ragged but somehow right charm of the Jacobites) and tighter construction. Cuts like "Last Post on the Bugle" and "The Narcissist" tickle the melodybone immediately, and the group expands its range to include doo-wop harmonies, C&W rhythms, pianos, horns and other signs that laurels are not to be rested upon. Fans of the first album's loose bashers will still find love in "Campaign of Hate," though. The band also faces up to its tabloid-friendly antics with a cheeky sense of humor on "Can't Stand Me Now" and "What Became of the Likely Lads," which bookend the album. It's still not the bid for rock immortality that proponents claim the Libertines have in them, but it's very entertaining nonetheless, and who can ask for more than that? Michael Toland [buy it]

ELENI MANDELL
Afternoon
(Zedtone)
I've heard a lot of good things about Eleni Mandell the past few years, but Afternoon is my first real experience. Rather than living up to her "psycho ex-girlfriend" rep, this is instead a witty, mature look at the foibles of romance. Fronting a band that offhandedly mixes blues, jazz, folk and country as if they were all the same music, Mandell gives as good as she gets on the honky-tonkin' "County Line," rockin' "Easy On Your Way Out," urgent "Just a Dream," sexy "Dangerous" and sardonic "Can't You See I'm Soulful." She really shines on the ballads—"I've Been Fooled" and "Sun's Always Shining (in Rome)" will break your heart and heal it simultaneously. Very impressive. Michael Toland [buy it]

KEB' MO'
Peace…Back By Popular Demand
(Epic)
Peace…Back by Popular Demand is a record with an agenda. In other words, dead on the launchpad. Everything in me expected to love this record, just like I have everything else Keb' has ever done. Peace is a collection of great anti-war songs, along with one Keb' original. But these tunes like Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a-Changin'" were written in frustration and anger. Keb's trademark laidback delivery of these songs sounds almost like a parody of the originals. However, Keb' has covered other great songs with political overtones on previous records that have been absolutely stunning—think "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Love Train." In fact, the record these two appeared on, Big Wide Grin (Keb's other concept album), would have been a terrific stand in for Peace. These two covers, along with "Everybody be Yoself," "Color Him Father" and "America the Beautiful" give Big Wide Grin the sincerity Peace lacks. Keb' Mo' is too talented, and his catalogue of songs with an impact is to large, to put out a record just because of election season. Lance Looper [buy it]