CD REVIEWS
Jun 1, 2007 12:00 PM
DJ KENTARO
Enter (Ninja Tune)
Welcome back, champ
DJ Kentaro walked away from the 2002 DMC/Technics World DJ Championship Finals with the much-coveted title — he was the first Asian World Champion before showcasing his fast, powerful scratches and fader mastery on subsequent global tours and a hits jukebox of Ninja Tune's back catalog called On the Wheels of Solid Steel. Enter is such an apt platform for the Japanese turntablist because Kentaro's own material accurately mirrors his speedy live routines and his ample exposure to blending diverse sonic textures.
The breadth of Kentaro's compositions on Enter, his somewhat inconceivably distinctive full-length studio debut, bears great resemblance to his Solid Steel mix. An all-instrumentals LP would be more welcome, but the guests are quite productive alongside Kentaro's brilliance on Enter in outings that embrace glitchy electro, jungle and rugged, dub-tinged hip-hop. The Pharcyde flows over erratic cuts; jumbled, hasty drum breaks; and piano that sounds ripped from the People's Court theme on “Keep On,” while a psychedelic, clap-along freak-out called “Free” packs Spank Rock, a moaning woman and porno-type funk: A better-balanced meal is unimaginable. — Dominic Umile
THE ALCHEMIST
Rapper's Best Friend — An Instrumental Series (Decon)
Chill block-party beats minus MCs
He came up with Dilated Peoples and later worked with Mobb Deep. Now, L.A. son Alchemist earns a spot on the roster with the lords of less: DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Erick Sermon and DJ Muggs. Al's catalog isn't (yet) deep like those of the masters, but his beats are built with the same sway, swagger and care given to the space between notes. Had Ennio Morricone scored a Western starring Outkast, it might sound like “Tight.” “Stop Frontin,” with its horns, strings and reverb-soaked guitar licks, just needs a '76 Cadillac to be a proper gentleman-gangster anthem. — Dan Frio
BARK BARK BARK
Haunts (Retard Disco)
Individually rapped
Twenty-year-old Arizonan Jacob Cooper could have easily taken his quirky, pop-formatted songs and started another indie-rock band, but it's good that he didn't. His chosen format of noisy, broken beats and lo-fi keyboards mixed with vocal harmonies and acoustic instruments, all recorded and layered by himself, is ultimately more charming. Tracks like “I Love You But I Don't,” which freaks some slightly campy vocals and piano with an 8-bit Atari synth and rolling IDM beat, prove that if the milk bar from A Clockwork Orange opened a Tucson franchise, this guy would be the house act. — Markkus Rovito
BLONDE REDHEAD
23 (4AD)
Twelve years later
After 12 years of songwriting, Blonde Redhead's 23 sparkles like a starry evening. The band's self-produced swirl of compelling compositions on 23 is built with modest instrumentation but is polished and never sparse, even as frontwoman Kazu Makino beckons over shakers and muted guitar licks on the distinctive beach pop of “Silently.” Beat programming drives a grim, synth-powered “Publisher,” and album closer “My Impure Hair” adjourns the three-piece's affecting seventh LP with stoner breeziness, so that it's intimate and far-off all at once — a task Blonde Redhead pulls off with ease. — Dominic Umile
DATAROCK
Datarock Datarock (Nettwerk)
You'll sweat more than spin class
Looking more like European track stars circa 1979, Datarock — clad in trademark red jumpsuits — make music that will leave sweat on your brow. Their Nettwerk debut, Datarock Datarock, is like a cardio workout in a crystal ball-lit disco. Power-chord anthems over dance-rock drums, Casio tones and vocals reminiscent of Depeche Mode make for energetic dance songs. The first “Fa-Fa-Fa” even recalls the Talking Heads with its funk-driven guitars and Byrne-esque vocals. Datarock may have uncovered the latest workout-craze soundtrack and newest indie attire — the track suit. — Jason Jurgens
DEEJAY OM
Reheated Naan & Curry (Galapagos4)
East meets West with success
Deejay OM is not the first to sample East Indian music, but he's arguably one of the most creative hip-hop heads to ever do so. On Reheated Naan & Curry, this instrumentalist shows that there's much more to India and the Middle East's sonics than chirpy Bollywood soundtracks. Rarely has hip-hop inspired by this region sounded as tranquil as on the trippy “Ganeesha in Space” or as funky as on the cinematic “Middle Eastern Swan Song.” OM can use anything, whether a snippet of a female singing in Hindi or a tabla drum break, and turn it into something completely fresh. — Max Herman
DJ DIXON
Body Language Vol. 4 (Get Physical)
German DJ finds reward in restraint
This Jazzanova affiliate's contribution to this fast-rising Berlin label's mix series doesn't adhere to either camp's sound. Instead, he unhurriedly showcases ascetic beats that skirt the edges of house and techno without ever indulging fully. Many of the tracks were customized, and each offers something new as they stack up nicely. It starts with stark house impressions before Thom Yorke's gaunt “Eraser” materializes, marking a shift in sounds that builds to a Detroit treatment of Tracy Thorn's “It's All True” before a brash finale of Herbert's “Moving Like a Train.” — Noah Levine
GURU
Jazzmatazz Vol. 4 (7 Grand)
Still slick and retro-futuristic,br>It's been seven years since Guru curated a Jazzmatazz project, and although each successive release has moved away from the overt jazz thread that sparked the series, this chapter marks a return to form — thanks in large part to the beat-crafting prowess of Solar, whose stroke waxes equal parts funky (on Slum Village's “Cuz I'm Jazzy”) and ghetto-fabulous (on “Fly Magnetic,” which resurrects the incomparable Dionne Farris). Fueled further by the likes of Common, Bob James, Blackalicious and Caron Wheeler, Jazzmatazz Vol. 4 has more than the lift it needs to get airborne. — Bill Murphy
HOT CHIP
DJ Kicks (!K7)
Zany upbeat DJ magic
UK dance act Hot Chip has earned a well-deserved reputation of fun-loving groove kings, and their contribution to the popular DJ Kicks series will only serve to further that image. With what is surely the only mix to ever contain songs from both Positive K (“I Got a Man”) and Ray Charles (“Mess Around”), Hot Chip has put together an eclectic mix of music that is guaranteed to make you move. If you're not already a believer in Hot Chip's technical abilities and musical knowledge, just wait until you hear them blend consecutive tracks by New Order, Young Leek and Etta James. Weird? Yes. Fun? Definitely. — Dustin Glick
NINE INCH NAILS
Year Zero (Interscope)
Be very afraid
Two years after the release of With Teeth (rather than the typical five-year span between records), Trent Reznor is back with the apocalyptic concept album Year Zero. Not only is the Rez back with a new album so quickly, but he's also crafted a brilliant marketing campaign to surround it. The Year Zero concept puts us 15 years into the future, where the U.S. has turned into a police state. Reznor created a mass of tangled Websites (http://iamtryingtobelieve.com, http://anotherversionofthetruth.com, among many others) to deliver his message of what could be, where we learn how Americans are doped into complacency with “Parepin” (it's in the drinking water) and the government is, well, reading your mind. It's Big Brother times 1,000.
Musically, Year Zero contains a mix of dark, fuzzed-out synths (“Vessel”); tinkly, somber piano (“Zero-Sum”); creepy soundscapes (“Another Version of the Truth”); dreamy, heavily melodic synths over driving beats (“In This Twilight”); and masterfully manipulated squelches, blips and bleeps (“The Great Destroyer,” “The Warning”). The Nails haven't dulled over time; as Reznor's focus gets sharper, so does his music. — Lori J. Kennedy
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