CD REVIEWS
Jul 1, 2007 12:00 PM
FEIST
The Reminder (Cherrytree/Interscope)
Feist goes a little deeper
Even in the quieter moments of Let It Die (Interscope, 2005), Leslie Feist's voice sounds on the brink of something — cracking, whispering or even unfurling into an all-out wail. On her splendid follow-up, The Reminder, she does all of those things but with incredible charm, wit and an endearingly wry romanticism that keeps her grounded as she dips and whirls through a clutch of emotions.
Given her natural vocal gift, Feist could surely holler with the best of them, but she wisely tempers bright, effervescent tunes with quiet, contemplative songs that showcase her dynamic sensibilities. Starting with the lovely “So Sorry,” Feist moves to skipping lightheartedness in “My Moon My Man” before charging into the irresistible swagger of “The Park.” From there, she takes a turn into quick-stepping urgency with “Sealion;” slides into the rambunctious, Southern-tinged rock of “Past in Present;” and dives into a seductive, sexy, slowburner of “The Limit to Your Love” before ending with the winsome duet “How My Heart Behaves” (with Kings of Convenience's Eirik Glambek Bøe). Feist maintains an intense intimacy through the very last note, making The Reminder highly personal, almost secretive, and irresistibly contagious. — Christine Hsieh
A-TRAK
Dirty South Dance (Obey)
Champ gets crunk
Rather than dumbfounding heads with more battle-tested turntablist skills, trophy-lugging DJ A-Trak holds the party down on his latest release, Dirty South Dance. A-Trak's mashups resuscitate an overutilized parlor trick here, as a slew of Southern MCs meet charged house and electro productions to the point of hysteria. Scratch work is secondary on Dirty's joints — A-Trak mostly subs in busier backdrops for Yung Joc, Clipse and Lil' Wayne — but he shreds Timbaland's “My Love” synths into Swiss cheese on the closer, so that they stutter even more than they did in 2006. This disc has barbecue hits aplenty. — Dominic Umile
ELLEN ALLIEN
Fabric 34 (Fabric)
Wild ride through the underground
The textures on this disc are incredible. Allien deftly combines tracks to create a brooding, pulsating mix that winds from haunting, jackknife house (Larry Heard and Mr. White in “Sun Can't Compare”) to ethereal vocals singed to crackling, wounded sensitivity, courtesy of Apparat in “Arcadia.” On the way, she whips through dark tribal techno with Estro's “Driven,” plunges into subterranean depths with “Mutter” by Roman Flügel and revels in Thom Yorke's skittish “Harrowdown Hill.” Another fine showing from Berlin's leading lady, made all the better by her careful mixing skills. — Christine Hsieh
BOOM BIP
Sacchrilege (Lex)
Cincinnati Kid drops the S bomb
Not content with years of experimental hip-hop and sample plundering, Cincinnati's Bryan Hollon (aka Boom Bip) switches gears here for an EP of floor-shaking dance beats, sequenced synth mayhem and humorous hands-in-the-air hooliganism. Sure, he's late to the Human League/Kraftwerk synth-bending game, but with his usual production savvy, Boom Bip makes Sacchrilege essential listening. The music is basically of one color, but the textures vary greatly, from the “Autobahn”-worthy glow of “The Pinks” and the nightmare effects of “One of Eleven” to the lo-fi Daft Punk-ian surge of “Snook Adis.” — Ken Micallef
BOY IN STATIC
Violet (Mush)
Beantown bedroom pop
The bleary sounds that Boy in Static's Alex Chen records exhibit a marked Loveless (My Bloody Valentine) fascination — heavily treated vocals and dense instrumental surges are Violet's primary elements. Chen taps out a piano lullaby melody for the title track with whispers atop bare key plinks and tape hiss. Backed by woozy guitar/organ combos and hushed confessions about “broken dreams,” the slow-cooking “Without Grace” bears a girl-group feel; its temperate fuzz is cut only by Chen's barely enunciated chorus and flickering atmospherics, but that can be said about any of these chilling pieces. — Dominic Umile
CHEMICAL BROTHERS
We Are the Night (Astralwerks)
A passport to cool
A foreboding minute's worth of metallic robotic chanting opens the electro-pioneers' latest offering and gives way unhesitatingly to the title track, a fusion of traffic-y synths and twinkling chimes. A diversionary collaboration with Klaxons (“All Rights Reversed”) keeps the wheels turning, moving onward through the airborne uplift of “Saturate,” the submarine placidity of “Harpoons” and the strikingly emotional closer, “The Pills Won't Help You Now,” featuring Midlake's Tim Smith. It's a cohesive set that flows from 1 to 12 with nary a speed bump to impede your listening pleasure. — Kristi Kates
DIMITRI FROM PARIS
Cocktail Disco (BBE)
Recapturing a long-lost dancefloor?
Dimitri Yerasimos describes “cocktail disco” as “the Sleaze sound, which was usually played after-hours” at clubs in the late '70s — an assessment that serves as both a blessing and a curse for this double CD. For stellar forgotten tracks like the Vast Majority's “Ocean's Apart” and Nightfall's “Keep It Up,” Dimitri should be congratulated for his discerning ear; unfortunately, dated duds like Astrud Gilberto's dead-tired disco version of “The Girl From Ipanema” or Ralfi Pagan's hysterically awful “Take Me With You” might have best been left in the bins. — Bill Murphy
ADAM FREELAND
Mexico City: GU032 (Global Underground)
Grooves that kill probably will
Known for his quirky forays into extreme breakbeat and electro styles, UK-based DJ and producer Adam Freeland wears his influences on his sleeve with the edgy choices he makes for this lively double-CD mix set. Disc one surges along on the strength of Australian prodigy KIM (with two remixes of his aggro-staples “Wet n Wild” and “By the Time They Reach You”), Spank Rock (Switch's mix of “Bump”) and Freeland's own “Silverlake Pills” — but the in-your-face mood later turns funky and psychedelic, with Spacemen 3's classic “Extacy Symphony” on the superior disc two. — Bill Murphy
FRIDGE
The Sun (Temporary Residence)
Timing is everything
Side projects garner notable acclaim for individual members Four Tet and Adem, but Fridge often stumbles into hypnotic collaboration on The Sun, the UK instrumental outfit's first LP since 2001. Dashes of chimes and subtle electronic chirps on weary, wandering entries like “Insects” and “Oram” keep daylong jam-session temptations at bay. “Clocks” is frenzied with sporadic air swooshes and thin, multitracked guitars, and instead of noodling into the late hours, at least on this gem, the band cuts out right after the peak; it's a lesson in timing that they shouldn't keep to themselves. — Dominic Umile
JUSTICE
✝ (Vice)
Harder, better, Dafter, stronger?
Ten years after Daft Punk's Homework, a newer French duo sensation — Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay — is carrying the torch for crispy, punchy, gated lo-fi drums; dirty, funky, distinctive bass and lead lines; and the strategic use of filters and vocoders in electronic music. Justice's debut full-length has all the chunky, raw sounds and slinky tech soul to challenge Daft Punk's legend to a new generation of club kids. Justice was discovered three years ago by Daft Punk's manager and Ed Banger records label boss Pedro Winter, so perhaps it's no coincidence that Justice also combines gritty electro sleaze with uplifting glitchy house in a way that could potentially both dominate the clubs and break into the mainstream consciousness.
Besides the two stellar tracks previously released on the Waters of Nazareth EP, “Let There Be Light” and “Waters of Nazareth,” ✝ has at least a few more potential instant classics, including the disco-break instrumental “Phantom Part II” and anthemic vocal tracks such as the hyper-edited “DVNO” and “D.A.N.C.E.” — sung by a children's choir that sounds like it's really feeling it. A stubborn inclusion of the lyrically grating MC Uffie on “The Party” marks the only blemish on a stunning debut. — Markkus Rovito
RAHEEM JAMAL
Boombox (Brick)
The Boston sound is for real
Emerging from the cultish underground that spawned Insight, 7L & Esoteric and the legendary Edo.G, Raheem Jamal has stepped up his rap game since he first rose to prominence on the 2005 single “Butterfly Theory” with Project Move. On his solo debut, he gets a leg up from the distinctly jazzy feel of beatmaker Raydar Ellis (no doubt informed by his Berklee College of Music background), who channels equal parts Funkadelic (“Women, Weed & Washingtons”), Chick Corea (“Goodvibe,” with Project Move) and vintage Def Jam (“The Thang”) with the confidence of a seasoned vet. — Bill Murphy
KRS-ONE AND MARLEY MARL
Hip-Hop Lives (Koch)
Formal rivals unite
Love him or hate him, KRS-One's longevity is undeniable. On his 15th album, The Teacha surprisingly connects with former rival Marley Marl for his most notable release in years. Not since working with DJ Premier has KRS rhymed over beats this consistently hard-hitting. While a couple of cuts, like the Latin-inspired “Musica,” sound forced, most of them feature this thunderous legend right on point. You can knock his preachiness, but listen to KRS keenly rap about hip-hop over Marley's melodic boom-bap on the title track, and you'll see why this MC doesn't plan on ever putting down the mic. — Max Herman
FEMI KUTI
The Definitive Collection (Wrasse)
Afrobeat's famous son remixed
Since father Fela Kuti's death in 1997, Afrobeat's most famous son has continued the cause of fist-pumping politics, relentless funk and high-octane percussion. Disc one compiles past hits, from the prominent brass section blasts of “Do Your Best” to the gospel chants of “'97,” a moving tribute to Fela. On the flip, disc two remixes Femi for the dancefloor. The Roots send “Blackman Know Yourself” even further afield on the endless jam, while Kerri Chandler's throbbing four-on-the-floor house remix of “Truth Don Die” proves that the beats don't plan on dying, either. — Rob Kirby
RATATAT
Remixes Vol. II (Ratatat Music)
A new Brooklyn bridge
On the second of the group's “mixtapes,” Ratatat reconstructs 14 hip-hop a cappella vocal tracks from Jay-Z, Biggie, the G-Unit crew and others. The two experimental post-rock guitarists from Brooklyn don't seem like hip-hop remixers on paper, but this project lets their off-kilter guitar interplay, slide-and-glide electronic production and multi-ethnic influences sit in the more straight-ahead pocket of hip-hop beats. The synth-bounce of Memphis Bleek's “Alright” and the filtered strings in Kanye West's “Diamonds” make one wonder if Ratatat may steal a few jobs from Pharrell and Chad. — Markkus Rovito
PHAROAHE MONCH
Desire (SRC/Universal)
A hip-hop savior returns
On Pharoahe Monch's first album in nearly eight years, this revered MC/producer delivers his most complex collection of songs yet. And with Desire, he unexpectedly delivers the highest quantity of commercially accessible material in his career. Putting aside his goliath sing-along single “Simon Says,” most fans are more used to Monch's cinematic form of lyricism and subterraneous beats (from his days in Organized Konfusion). But the growth Monch shows us on his latest solo shot comes as a welcome surprise.
When the album's lead single “Push” dropped last fall, heads discovered that they were in for something new upon hearing the gospel-ish vocals and warm horns on that upbeat track. And that was just the beginning. Desire reveals an artist who can craft a poppy hand-clapping soul throwback by himself (“Body Baby”) and then sit down with a producer such as Denaun Porter and unleash an unadulterated narrative about gun violence (“When the Gun Draws”). No doubt, this album is complicated, yet it's his most emotionally raw release to date. While it has been too long since we last heard from Monch, his lengthy hiatus ironically worked to his benefit. — Max Herman
RONDO BROTHERS
Seven Minutes to Midnight (Citrus to Citrus)
Genre-bendin' “rondozvous”
Producers Jim Greer and Brandon Arnovick test many genres as Rondo Brothers, and while some tries fall short, Seven Minutes to Midnight rewards often. Just like the moody “New York Kid,” “I Fell in Love” generates gloom; it's a likable head-nodder, grim with voice-overs, guitar stabs and breathy close-up choruses from Kelly Atkins. But bouncy rock numbers (“Sing Into the Machine”) can't compete as much with the Brothers' house or bluesy, psychedelic tendencies — those that Latrice Barnett quells on the sublime “Hooked on Hookers” should be encouraged more frequently. — Dominic Umile
STATELESS
Stateless (!K7)
Crossing the lines
DJ Shadow-approved UK act Stateless doesn't shy away from defying genre boundaries on its ambitious debut. While lead vocalist Chris James and the group's live musicians help provide a melancholy, indie-rock vibe, the inclusion of turntablism and electronic programming makes for an oft-unpredictable listen on these 10 tracks. From epic, trip-hoppy numbers (“This Language”) to gloomy piano ballads laced with sporadic scratches (“Down Here”), Stateless shows that they have got a respectable sonic range — and, more importantly, that they've got enough soul to not be just another lackluster hybrid band. — Max Herman
BJØRN TORSKE
Feil Knapp (Smalltown Supersound)
Norwegian DJ comes out from hiding
Before you've erased Bjørn Torske from your mental hard drive, the Norwegian maestro drops Feil Knapp on you. It's been six years since his last record, Trøbbel, and Torske still has the ability to craft an electronic album that is surprisingly melodic, despite living in a witness protection program. Well, he's not really in the program, but six years? Knapp captures his unique sound of island-flavored disco/house in an '80s video-game soundtrack. He's got a fondness for dub, too: On “Spelunker,” Torske nails the reggae vibe but makes it scary with distant blips and video-game loops. — Jason Jurgens
UNKLE
War Stories (Surrender All)
Draft this
Utilizing a more organic, live-performance approach and bringing in a plethora of guest musicians has added several interesting levels to UNKLE's latest, which is, by turns, aggressive and ruminating but never dull. Rich piano and strings course through “Chemistry,” while the gothic feel of “Price You Pay” is the perfect segue into “Burn My Shadow,” the first of Cult singer Ian Astbury's two wearily suave vocal appearances. Gavin Clark's sliding tones highlight another pair of tracks. And UNKLE's own James Lavelle even makes his first welcome vocal contribution on the “Don't Bring Me Down” sounds of “Hold My Hand.” — Kristi Kates
BEN WATT
Buzzin' Fly Vol. 4 (Buzzin' Fly)
Smooth soundtrack for chill days
The fourth installment of Buzzin' Fly isn't amped for the late-night hours or smoothed out to match the sunrise. No, Watt's latest is a steady blend of his label's tech-house sounds, and they fit just perfectly as the backdrop for a midday drive. There's plenty of energy in the 11 tracks he's spread over 70 minutes, but every time things get revved up, Watt tightens the reins and brings the next track to the fore. Highlights include The Green Men's flowing “Blink,” Martin Brodin's appropriately named “Freaky Bleepy” and Watt's own remix of “Silver Ponds” from Danish rockers Figurines. — Noah Levine
AJA WEST & FRIENDS
Total Recall 2012 (Mackrosoft)
Rare groove from grunge home base
We knew Seattle rain bred gloomy power chords, but this is inexplicable: slippery Emerald City love funk dressed in yesteryear sounds of Rhodes, Moogs, horns, Clavinets, loose-limbed drums and even violin. Producer/multi-instrumentalist West leads A-gamers like Money Mark, Les Claypool and James Brown/Herbie Hancock alumni through buttery Al Green-inspired jams that, aided by Reggie Watts' falsetto, fuse Parliament space travels (“Penny in a Fountain”) with the aftershocks of Prince's “Housequake.” Even the Al Jarreau cheese of “My Modo” heads straight for your loins. Irresistible. — Dan Frio
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