CD Reviews
Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM
Check out the latest CD reviews from Remix magazine
HI-TEK
Hi-Teknology 3 (Babygrande)
A hasty return
Only a year after dropping Hi-Teknology
On the album's lead single, the Ghostface and Raekwon-assisted “My Piano,” Hi-Tek expresses his love of music through a brief but blunt verse and high-powered guitar-tinged beat. It's here where his work sounds as driven as his influential Reflection Eternal tracks with Talib Kweli. Even a free-form joint featuring some of his unknown hometown brethren (“Ohio All Stars”) works well with the bouncy keys and drums leading the way. But some moments feel underdeveloped — especially “Life to Me,” in which Hi-Tek's supersparse drum programming and string loops don't do much to complement UK singer/MC Estelle's smooth vocals. While there aren't many duds on Hi-Teknology
— Max Herman
AL KENT PRESENTS THE MILLION DOLLAR ORCHESTRA
Better Days (BBE)
Dig out those platform shoes
The '70s have returned, embodied in Al Kent and his funky, funky crew. Disco aficionados will be tripping over their bell-bottoms to run and buy this one. These songs were recorded mostly in one take in a regular ol' analog studio, giving them an earthy, retro sound, with tracks like “Canal Street Bus Stop,” “Feel the Music” and “Funky Funky Beat” (see, told you it was funky) perfectly capturing the disco era. If you like that kind of thing, groovy; if you don't, then steer clear, because Al Kent's got himself a '70s time capsule, and he wants you to step on in.
— Kristi Kates
BLACK SPADE
To Serve With Love (Om: Hip Hop)
One-man team shows his craft
With Common and Mos Def going all Hollywood, St. Louis MC Black Spade arrives just in time to help you remember the days when hip-hop championed creativity and fueled a culture of poetic and hungry youth. Spade's flow falls somewhere between the aforementioned rappers, but where Common comes off sappy and militant, Spade breathes life into anthems of love and hate with his relaxed, introspective cadence and eclectic beats, as on “She's the One ('20s Love Song)”. Spade has vocal chops, showcasing a confidence to put his rhymes on the back burner and let the songbird out (“Actioneer”).
— Jason Jurgens
CAROLINE
Murmurs Mixes (Temporary Residence)
With faith intact
Worthy remixes landed on Murmurs Mixes, where producers retooled Caroline Lufkin's elegant chamber electronica. The stoned, nap-inducing swirls that Brightest Feathers conjured on “Sunrise (Sunset Mix)” mirror Lullatone's theory on his “Bicycle” entry, which exposes Caroline's intimate call notably more so than her record did. Aside from Lullatone's mild beat against her single-tracked vocal on a lengthy intro, these chilling interpretations emphasize the precarious balance of Murmurs: The hypnotic musical textures play up the action without overpowering Caroline's delicate voice.
— Dominic Umile
CASPA & RUSKO
Fabriclive.37 (Fabric)
Dubstep steppin' up
UK Dubstep producer/DJs Caspa & Rusko loaded their Fabriclive contribution to the gills with deep, structurally monstrous swabs of bass (Coki's “Sponge Bob”) and chirpy riddims, evenly stacked against swerving strings (Caspa's “Cockney Violin”). A generous helping of the hosts' productions and gratuitously rippling, echo-laden powerhouses from The Others, Matty G and Unitz quashes a minor complaint about the too-quick appearance of Distance's gritty “V.” Advocates of Skream's BBC Radio Essential Mix, where the host masterfully hogs a lot of room, should not pass this by.
— Dominic Umile
DEADSET
Keys Open Doors (Front Room)
Set to dance
Hobnobbing with the likes of Röyksopp and Justin Timberlake inspired the members of Deadset, Tom Mangan and Cass Cutbush, to attempt their very own album. Does it work? Mm, yeah, for the most part. The duo's cheeky street-dub-meets-house vibe is something you'll recognize, so you won't be jarred away from your stylin' dance moves via tracks like the hypnotic “Acid Radar” or the zippy “Brazil '70.” And a few novelty twists in tunes “Instructions” and “Tick Tock” keep things decently entertaining, even if you get a vague sense that much of this has been done before; but sometimes that's all a dancefloor needs.
— Kristi Kates
DISKJOKKE
Staying In (Smalltown Supersound)
Another fine Norwegian export
The sophisticated dance beats on this debut should come as no surprise seeing as the Norwegian producer is a big part of a scene that also produced Lindstrøm, Prins Thomas and Oslo's esteemed Sunkissed events. True to the course set by his countrymen, diskJokke's evocative music takes its influences from disco's descendants. The rhythms hang in the margins between breaks and house, as cuts like “Større enn først antatt” and “Interpolation” pair Italo synths and Chicago bass lines, and “Cold Out” employs rolling percussion and abundant bottom. It's another triumph for Oslo.
— Noah Levine
DUB TRIO
Another Sound Is Dying (Ipecac)
Dub and metal coexist harmoniously
This isn't your stoner roommate's idea of smoke-a-delic dub. While certain moments of Another Sound Is Dying will entice you to pack the pipe — with tobacco, of course — most will make you want to bloody your knuckles on an unsuspecting mosher. The marriage of dub and metal is odd but somehow works. “Mortar Dub” followed by “Regression Line” is an example of how one minute you're caught in a subsonic trance beat, then you're snapped back to reality by choppy guitar riffs à la Helmet and explosive drums. This fresh take on two “dying” genres makes for an amazing musical experience.
— Jason Jurgens
CLUTCHY HOPKINS
Walking Backwards (Ubiquity)
Mystery is clutch
The “Who is Clutchy Hopkins?” publicity smog can be stifling. Charades aside, Walking Backwards' dense, drifting instrumentals were built on dry snare thwacks, woodwinds and gloomy, dim-lounge organs. They can play well in the den — lethargic drum rolls tumble through “3rd Element,” with what sounds like melodica and Wurlitzers providing one of the few truly settling segments here. In its rampant loops-or-live ambiguity, Walking doesn't rest on its laurels. Armed with frequent countermelodies and flute spontaneity (“Horny Tickle”), Hopkins is a creepy one. Whoever he is.
— Dominic Umile
MOBY
Last Night (Mute)
Sixth time's a charm
Moby's sixth release starts slowly, creeping up on you with the offbeat electrodisco of “Ooh, Yeah.” It might sound low-key for starters, but it soon becomes evident that Moby's done it again; he might as well start making appointments with those ravenous ad agencies now.
Part of Moby's appeal — aside from his ridiculously obvious innate abilities and that distinctive Moby sound — is the clarity of his production work. Every instrument, every enunciation is crisp without sounding like it's being thrown into a tin can, yet there's still emotional and melodic depth. This is evidenced through the likes of “257.Zero,” with its repetitive spoken refrain (is it a flight number, a laundry ticket or the forming of a protein molecule? Who cares, when the auditory ambiance is this cool); “I Love to Move in Here” with the old-school rap cachet of Grandmaster Caz on the mic; the retro video-arcade loop of “Hyenas”; and the metallic patina and hypnotic wordplay of “Alice.” Elsewhere, “Everyday It's 1989” recalls the piano and soul feel of “In This World” without being a mere copycat, while both “Degenerates” and “Sweet Apocalypse” open the door to chill mode with their bass-y languidness. Yes, folks; there's something Moby for everyone.
— Kristi Kates
MIGHTY JOSEPH
Empire State (Urchin Studios)
The empire strikes back
Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox fame is stepping into '08 on the right foot with fellow NYC rhymer Karniege by his side. Going by Mighty Joseph, this new hip-hop duo updates the grimy, late-'90s Rotten Apple aesthetic with vivid lyricism and potent production from Karniege, J-Zone, Da Beatminerz and Madlib. The beats, which consist of robust boom-bap (“Beast”) and spaced-out funky backdrops (“Rock-It-Science”), are no doubt good enough to stand alone. But the MC's combination of street-side storytelling and witty wordplay markedly liven up the NYC-inspired instrumentals.
— Max Herman
CHRIS JOSS
Teraphonic Overdubs (ESL)
More like Tera-porn-ic
At its most slovenly, Teraphonic Overdubs seethes with retro-porn imagery; it screams “hump music.” Surely French producer/multitalent Chris Joss couldn't have meant for that to happen. His overtly colorful, late '60s-sounding instrumentals burst in splashes of brass and sitar, while Joss struggles to steady them with robust floor toms and maracas. Bouncy Hammond organ-rife pop like “Jungle Dolls” and “Surgelator Action” counter harpsichord and flower-child backups in languid boning soundtracks like “A Room With a Vu Meter.” Sugary, slick and straight-up porn-y.
— Dominic Umile
MIKE LADD
Nostalgialator (Definitive Jux/World's Fair)
Remember three years ago?
The U.S. issuance of Nostalgialator, a 2004 !K7 release from Paris' premium Boston import Mike Ladd, will no doubt have little appeal for America's style-blind hip-hop advocates. For the open-minded, Ladd demonstrates unpredictable musicianship amid Bomb Squad-esque noise; chilled, spoken-word outings such as “How Electricity Really Works”; and lo-fi, spaced-out blues in “Sail Away Ladies.” Granted, the cryptic rants and sporadic tuneless choruses are tough to take, but Ladd's ventures from punk and hip-hop to whatever are at least veteran artistry at work.
— Dominic Umile
GHISLAIN POIRIER
No Ground Under (Ninja Tune)
Keeping it riddim-driven
On his Ninja Tune debut, Montreal beatsmith Ghislain Poirier's riddim-driven tracks remain ever-pulsing, but he hardly sticks to one sonic framework, making this album consistently surprising. Arguably it was Poirier's move to work with a variety of Canadian hip-hop acts (Omnikrom, Ambitieux, et al. ) that helped inspire the inclusion of everything from sci-fi-sounding tracks (“City Walking”) to upbeat grime- and dance-hall-influenced numbers (“Blazin”). Some of Poirier's instrumentals aren't always as enjoyable, but all in all, No Ground Under is a worthy start for Poirier.
— Max Herman
ARMIN VAN BUUREN
Universal Religion 2008 (Ultra)
If “Ibiza” means “church”
Universal Religion 2008, a moniker that's shades away from becoming a Mitt Romney campaign T-shirt, is a robust live recording born at Ibiza's Amnesia nightclub. Holland-born award-winning DJ/producer Armin van Buuren can tack this onto credentials that include well-attended residencies, several studio albums, mixes and a weekly radio show that celebrated its 300th episode in 2007.
Although overjoyed crowd sounds — whistling, clapping — can be heard all over Universal Religion 2008, the forefront is baked in Van Buuren's specialty: trance. Mid-track breaks, surging, dissipating riffs…the whole nine. Displacing climaxes are top shelf here, with Mungo's “Summer Blush” a highlight. Before its soaring melody is pitched down and sent into the rattling undercurrents of Forerunners' “Lifecycle,” “Summer Blush” splits open in smothering keyboard swatches, and faux looped-guitar harmonics abound. For five minutes, you're neck-deep in a crowded dancefloor of half-naked partygoers, brimming with sexual tension. Then the subway pours you out into the gray street in front of the building that houses your cubicle. Sad, really.
— Dominic Umile
RAFTER
Sex, Death, Cassette (Asthmatic Kitty)
Lo-fi wiz takes it personal
Writing “4-track power forever, multiplied by computer power = ⋆” in his brief liner notes, Rafter Roberts sublimely sums up the aesthetic behind his mix of rock styles and world rhythms. Linking a fondness for idiosyncratic compositions and unimproved sounds with a precision plan for fitting them together, he's at his best creating the finest noise that just might have been recorded in your neighbor's living room. The most potent songs get personal as “Chances” channels the excitement of new love, “Slay Me” focuses bitterness of loss, and “Tropical” is a plea of concern.
— Noah Levine
THE RAVEONETTES
Lust Lust Lust (Vice)
Dull, dull, dull
Recorded with what seems like a strangely listless approach given the rather, er, straightforward album title, The Raveonettes' latest is unswerving throughout in its lack of enthusiasm. Perhaps that's what they were after — a contrast of words vs. sound? Either way, the whole thing seems too wearily calculated to make much of an impression, even when they do pep up occasionally. Instead of conjuring up dubious titles, perhaps they should've put more time into the songs themselves — “Dead Sound,” “Blitzed,” “Sad Transmission” — doesn't matter which one you're listening to; it's all one long, tepid drone.
— Kristi Kates
TUXEDOMOON
Vapour Trails (Crammed Discs)
This moon shines
Has Tuxedo Moon really been around for 30 years? Apparently so — but it hasn't dulled their sound. The avant-garde band still has a slightly wacky, striped-socks way about them, and they revel in their songs' details. Trumpeter Luc Van Lieshout is a big part of this album's sound, especially on “Dark Temple,” which seems inhabited by electro-toads that can only be tamed by horns and spoken word. Elsewhere, “Dizzy” takes a horseshoed gallop through a martini lounge, “Big Olive” matches up buzzy guitars with jazzy piano, and “Kubrick” sets a lo-fi tone with subtle bass and stage-actor ghost voices.
— Kristi Kates
URSULA 1000
Undressed (ESL Music)
Out with the old, in with the semi-new
Electro breakbeat maestro Ursula 1000 (aka Alex Gimeno) knows how to manipulate the shelf life of an album. Not satisfied with the original tracks of 2005's Here Comes Tomorrow, the multi-instrumentalist enlisted some of the coolest producers (Ladytron, Myagi) for Undressed. The resulting sound is a melding of eclectic styles, ranging from electro and techno to jazz and funk. The scat-heavy “Boop” shows off Latin jazz chops. Each track pushes the drums to the forefront, delivering crisp beats that get the toes tapping. Most impressive is the album's attention to percussion (“Kaboom”).
— Jason Jurgens
VARIOUS ARTISTS
BIPPP — French Synth Wave 1979/85 (Everloving)
Spiky sounds from gay Paree
While late-'70s/mid-'80s U.S. radio listeners enjoyed seminal synth-pop hits from Gary Numan and Soft Cell, Parisian underground chasers had a vast array of similarly minded artists to choose from, all espousing two-finger note-driven Casio synth sounds and pedestrian machine-drum rhythms. As current sounding as anything waving the retro-electro banner today, BIPPP offers 13 tracks of robotic fun, from Marie Moor's squeegee-infused “Pretty Day” and TGV's tribally ambidextrous “Partie 1” to the polymetric haze of Vitor Hublot's “Aller Simple.”
— Ken Micallef
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Disco Not Disco: Post Punk, Electro & Leftfield Disco Classics 1974-1986 (Strut)
The roots of today's dance scene
Consisting of 14 cuts from an illustrious international cast, this comp is the blueprint for the varied sounds that get modern hipsters onto the dancefloor. There's A Number of Names' proto-techno classic “Sharevari” and the robot rock of “Don't Lose Control” from Bill Laswell & Material. Konk's “Your Life” is one of many tracks showcasing the stomp of New York's elemental dance-punk, while “Love Tempo” from Quando Quango is a bit of early Manchester. These are the musical seeds that grew into today's club sounds.
— Noah Levine
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