Album Reviews

ABDULLAH/DRAGONAUTA
Abdullah Dragonauta
(Dias De Garage)
Here's a double shot of underground metal love. Cleveland's Abdullah returns from a record-rack hiatus with a half-dozen songs in its usual lyrical sludge style, like Black Sabbath's power with Iron Maiden's musicality. The breathless "Killing For Culture" is especially impressive, though the tracks' oddly muffled production isn't. Argentina's Dragonauta dispenses with subtlety on its five cuts, and just goes for the throat with an aggressive, razor-edged attack. The lyrics are in Italian, but considering singer Federico Wolman's carnivorous howl, it doesn't much matter. Michael Toland [buy it]

AMESTORY
Amestory
(Portia/Status)
Apparently, the West Coast is just teaming with soft, orchestrated pop sounds. Based in Thousand Oaks, CA, Amestory fits well into the tradition of Eric Matthews and Jeremy Enigk, all luscious melodies, delicate arrangements and androgynous vocals. The album starts with the perfectly reasonable but unspectacular "North," but don't be fooled: it only grows in power from there. Michael Toland

ASGUARD
Dreamslave
(This Dark Reign)
Like Iron Maiden being sodomized by Satan while the ghost of Euronymous films it, Belarus' Asguard combines the majesty of power metal with the brutality of black metal for a juggernaut of sperm whale proportions. Flesh-tearing vocals ride Viking horde guitars and stormbreak keyboards over a rumbling rhythm section, retaining a surprising melodic content despite the gratuitous violence. Sixteen songs worth of this aural pillaging may be a bit much, but there's no doubt that Asguard is rampaging toward the top of the black metal mountain with Dreamslave. Michael Toland [buy it]

AUDIO OUT SEND
A Broad Connection
(A Flashcard Project)
Oakland's Audio Out Send has been quiet for a while, so the band reminds us of its existence with the EP A Broad Connection. Call it indie rock or alternative rock or what have you, but tunes like "Feeding Tape," "Wizards of the Way Station" and the lovely "Oakland Seas" wring much heartfelt emotion out of their melodies, and do it with a way of being radio friendly without going for the easy clichés. Nice. Michael Toland

BLESSING THE HOGS
The Twelve Gauge Solution
(Goodfellow)
Remember the British band Iron Monkey, who mixed the ferocity of metalcore with the heaviosity of stoner rock and pushed the results over the edge? Blessing the Hogs recalls the Monkeys and obviously thinks they were a bunch of pussies. The Twelve Gauge Solution reeks of rage, hate and disgust, delivered with the intensity of a serial killer and a volume that would liquidate whatever's left of Ozzy's grey matter. The quartet covers the Melvins and Quicksand in its quest for maximum carnage, but I doubt either band would recognize its own songs here. Guided by underground metal god Billy Anderson, Blessing the Hogs gleefully smashes its way out of the abyss. Michael Toland [buy it]

BONGZILLA
Amerijuanican
(Relapse)
Now this is stoner rock. As might be inferred from the name and titles like "Stonesphere" and "Weedy Woman," Madison's Bongzilla is obsessed with the alleged healing powers of cannabis sativa. It's kind of hard for teetotalers to take offense, though, as the vocals are all delivered in an indecipherable black metal growl (though the cover may give right-wing army pundits some fits). Besides, the band is so good as the post-Sabbath grungegroove that the theme doesn't matter much in any case. Michael Toland [buy it]

JOHN CALE
blackAcetate:
(Astralwerks/EMI)
Hot on the heels of his amazing comeback album HoboSapiens, iconoclastic songwriter John Cale drops another smart bomb in the form of blackAcetate:. There's a diversity of textures here, from abrasive rock ("OuttaTheBag," "TurnTheLightsOn") and heartfelt ballads ("Satisfied") to atmospheric pop ("GravelDrive," "Wasteland") and the Calian version of Americana ("InAFlood")—all common (but by no means typical) Cale tricks. But the most intriguing thing is Cale's absorption of Neptunes/Timbaland-style production. "Brotherman," "Woman" and the very Prince-like "Hush" incorporate hip-hop like beats without sounding like the veteran is trying to co-opt youth culture, while "Perfect" and the bizarre "Mailman (TheLyingSong)" mix the rhythm tricks with Cale's usual personality. Despite the variety, the album never sounds unfocused, due as much to the connecting link of Cale's stately singing as his guitar-heavy vision. blackAcetate: manages to be defiantly quirky and amazingly accessible all at the same time. Wow. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE CLIENTELE
Strange Geometry
(Merge)
When I worked for the ever-vigilant a href="http://www.popculturepress.com/" target="_blank">Pop Culture Press, I was known, from time to time, to bitch about "pussy English bands." (Never mind the Trashcan Sinatras, Belle & Sebastian and Prefab Sprout albums in my CD rack. They're all Scottish anyway.) Groups like the Clientele, however, make me drag that size 10 foot out of my yapper. Gentle cuts like "Since K Got Over Me," "E.M.P.T.Y." and "My Own Face Inside the Trees" are just too beautifully tuneful and heartfelt for anyone but the most diamond hard-heart to reject out of hand. Even the introspective spoken-word piece "Losing Haringey" works wonderfully. Sweet and melancholy, Strange Geometry may very well be a concept album about the lost feeling that comes from the end of a relationship. Nonetheless, the record is a balm for even the most burned-out soul. Michael Toland [buy it]

COUSTEAU
Nova Scotia
(Endeavour)
Nova Scotia, Cousteau's first album since losing primary songwriter Davey Ray Moor, proves that the remaining members can still make smoky barroom soul without the aid of their original visionary. It helps that singer Liam McKahey's voice is still a thing of beauty and wonder. That said, the group hasn't yet produced a writer of Moor's caliber, though McKahey and bassist Joe Peet try. That's not to say there are any truly bad songs here; tunes like "She's Not Coming Back," Echoes" and "Sadness" certainly more than pass muster. But the current band members haven't yet developed Moor's lyrical deftness, and McKahey's magnificent pipes are all that get some tunes across. But there's no doubt Cousteau will reach the same heights as before with time. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE DANDY WARHOLS
Odditorium or Warlords of Mars
(Capitol)
The Dandy Warhols have always had difficulty balancing their instinct for catchy psych/glam/pop with their penchant for pointless screwing around. The band usually avoids disaster, if only just. Produced in the band's Portland studio/ compound, Odditorium or Warlords of Mars blurs the line between the yin and yang of the quartet's personality. It's impossible to say if this careless batch of underwritten tunes given half-assed performances is the pinnacle of the band's stoned self-indulgence or a big fuck-you to its record company in order to get out of its contract. The LP is at its most listenable with "Down Like Disco" or "Everyone is Totally Insane," but those tunes merely ape the Brian Jonestown Massacre. (What, didn't the band see DiG?) The Dandy Warhols have a great deal of talent, but they're almost defiantly wasting it here. Michael Toland [buy it]

STEVE DAWSON
Sweet is the Anchor
(Undertow)
One of the problems with reviewing so much music is that some worthy CDs inevitably slip through the cracks. I try not to ignore anybody (unless they deserve it), but it's sadly easy for a record to fall further and further down the list. The second solo album from Dolly Varden guitarist Steve Dawson was almost one of those albums, but I'm glad I rescued it from the black hole. Sweet is the Anchor is a beautifully written and performed set of songs that encompasses pop ("Temporary"), folk ("Ten Thousand Pounds"), country ("Out of Your Mind") and even soul ("Love is a Blessing") with a rare warmth and heart. Don't let this record slip by unattended like I almost did. Michael Toland [buy it]

DUNGEN
Stadsvandringar
(Dolores/Astralwerks)
Swedish aggregation Dungen has stirred up quite a ruckus in the underground with its acid folk opus Ta Det Lugnt, so much so that Astralwerks has claimed its 2002 sophomore album Stadsvandringar for American release. Leader Gustav Ejstes' Nordic folk influences aren't quite so prominent here (the instrumentals "Sol och regn" and "Krona" being significant exceptions); instead the band concentrates on the poppier end of the psych rock spectrum. As with so much Swedish rock these days, there's a strong 60s/70s feel vibrating through tunes like "Solen stiger upp Del 1 & Del 2," "Vem vaktar lejonen?" and the pretty ballads "Andra sidan sjön, and "Natten blir dag," but Ejstes' melodies are so strong and the combo's love of what it does so acute that any accusations of retromindedness don't matter much. Michael Toland [buy it]

EARTH
HEX: or Printing in the Infernal Method
(Southern Lord)
Surprising everybody by rising from its grave, Earth emits its first studio LP since the mid 90s with HEX: or Printing in the Infernal Method. It sounds like bandleader Dylan Carlson has been hanging out in the Southwestern desert (or listening to Friends of Dean Martinez, which amounts to the same thing), as HEX has an aura of dying campfires, sandy sunsets and loneliness. The band's instrumental drones rely less on the heavy crunge of old and more on atmospheric riffs, open air textures and the unmistakable odor of country music, though the rhythms' deliberate crawl remains. Tracks like "Tethered to the Polestar" and "An Inquest Concerning Teeth" are enticing and mysterious, the sound of slow meandering through the desert under a haunted moon. Michael Toland [buy it]