Adjective City
Astrud Astrud (Sealed Fate) Gentle analog synth pop from Spain that simultaneously sounds retro and futuristic. Some songs are in Spanish, a couple in English, but the sentiment lies mostly in the music. “Last Time” features a plaintive wavering high-pitched note that serves as the nodal point for a variety of melodies. The opening “Superman” will make you feel giddy and smile. (KC) • Bongzilla Methods for Attaining Extreme Altitudes (Relapse) If you don’t “get” what this album is about… well, seek help elsewhere. Three songs – “MELOVESPOT,” “High Like a Dog” and “Smoke/I (heart) MaryJane” – that are heavy in beat and repetition, like Black Sabbath deconstructed in the white hazy confines of a practice space. Put this in your pipe and smoke it. (AW) • Brother Cane Wishpool (Virgin) This is exactly the kind of band Beavis and Butthead quickly make fun of before switching the channel. (DLB) • Dirty Three Ocean Songs (Touch and Go) Ten emotionally charged, searing dirges of remorse and melancholy. The songs all sound alike/the entire body of work flows together smoothly. Stunning. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a copy with the bonus 3-song CD, more impassioned and up tempo. (EMC) • Ea! Oripandó (Tinder) Tinder seems to have a good finger on the pulse of things. Though I’m far from being an expert in Flamenco, this is the second record in that genre from the label that has really opened my ears to this unique form. Beyond the expected intricately rhythmed guitars and oddly-timed handclaps, there’s vocalist Pilar, whose voice is instantly recognizable as unique despite the music’s unusual demands. (SL) • EKO Keep It Shinning 12” (Moonshine) This one should find a home in every DJ’s crate. All three mixes instigate dancefloor activity, especially the bounce in the bassline of ‘‘Dave’s TKO Mix,” that really gets ‘em moving. Infectiously happy house. (RTT) • Fortitude Old Ethics (Revelation) AMAZING! One of the best records of ‘98 – if you are into old style hardcore, you know ‘88 style – GO! Here they are representin’ with the “posse of positive youth” crew. Hailing from the rough streets of Lake County Florida, this band came together from several different well-know bands of the past. This 4 song EP is very worthwhile; even if you hate hardcore, you’ll like this. Support local-gone-national bands! (BS) • Gangreen Another Case of Brewtality (Taang!) These guys are rockin’ for moolah! … and if I hear another cover of “Suspect Device” by SLF someone’s gonna die! (BS) • Honeymoons This Coherent Excitation (North of No South) Something from the way-back machine. Solid, late-‘80s guitar pop, coming all the way from Sweden (was this held up in customs all this time?). Oddly enough, my favorite song on the album, “Breathe On,” is a beautifully done acoustic number that sounds like a cross between Zep’s “Going To California” and Crosby Stills and Nash. (JP) • Bill Laswell Rated X ((White Label)) This is a cover of Miles Davis classic “Rated X.” Fully remixed and ‘translated’ by the King of Interplanetary Swing Bill Laswell. A trip hop bassdrum bombards the rhythm while the guitar is subject to the flutter of a wah-wah pedal. Background effects sustain the faint ambient, melody line while the bass works it’s way out. Fierce. (RTT) • Mixmaster Mike Valuemeal 12 Inch Combo Deluxe (Asphodel) Premiere turntablist Mixmaster Mike’s handiwork inherently comes off less impressive and less moving on recorded media than in person (where it stuns). This is a 3-song 12” that, whilst I am unable to evaluate its usefulness to DJ’s, is quite useful to me. Good stuff. (EMC) • Pimp Daddy Nash Year Of The Pimp 12” (Eighth Dimension) “Year Of The Pimp” is the phat lead single from Jon Curtis’ (aka Pimp Daddy Nash) debut LP, Private Leftfield Downtempo Fuzz. Generously, the boys at Eighth Dimension optimize their output and offer a duo of mixes, two D&B mixes of “Sixty Nine Affair” and two breakbeat “Private Leftfield Downtempo Fuzz.” Creativity and taste pervade throughout this groove-ridden 12.” Use it to diversify your set. (RTT) • R.U.O.K.? R.U.O.K.? (Quantum Loop) Half spoken, half ambient, all disturbing, this album is best suited for those who aren’t creeped out by the sound of a monotone voice intoning inanities over a swelling drone. Includes lyrics (!) and a spooky deconstructed rendition of Eno’s “Baby’s On Fire.” (CG) • Thoughts of Ionesco … And then there was motion (Makoto) To me, it sounds like metal and grunge smashed together… It’s got the power and precision of speed metal, coupled with the gruff and dirgy sounds of grunge. Very good production. This three piece has their “own” sound down! (BS) • Uzeda Different Section Wires (Touch and Go) The Italian Jesus Lizard? The similarities are striking. Drums that pound like an ill-kept migraine. Rhythms that manage to be inexorable and esoteric simultaneously. A bass that blankets the bottom end. Guitar that’s jagged and chock-full of riffs. Vocals that make you question the sanity of Giovanna Cacciola – wait. A female singer? An interesting twist on the recipe. Some might call it derivative, but I say it’s difficult for there to be too much of this stuff. (AW)
Who Wrote About Them:
David Lee Beowülf • Eileen M. Cannaday • Kurt Channing • Carl Glaser • Sarah Ludwig • Jason Plender • Brian Shelley • Richard T Thurston • Anton Wagner
Where To Get Them:
Asphodel, P.O. Box 51, Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10113 • Eighth Dimension, P.O. Box 1909, Orlando, FL 32802 • Fortitude, 20717 SE 157th St., Umatilla, FL 32784; x4t2dx@aol.com. • Makoto Recordings, P.O. Box 50403, Kalamazoo, MI 49005 • Moonshine Music, 8391 Beverly Blvd., Suite 195, Los Angeles, CA 90048 • North Of No South Records USA, P.O. Box 14128, Minneapolis, MN 55414 • Quantum Loop Records, P.O. Box 170100, San Francisco, CA 94117; http://www.quantumloop.com • Relapse, P.O. Box 251, Millersville, PA 17751; http://www.relapse.com • Sealed Fate, P.O. Box 9183 #120, Cambridge, MA 02139 • Taang!, 706 Pismo Ct., San Diego, CA 92109 • Touch And Go Records, P.O. Box 25520, Chicago, IL 60625-0520 ◼
