The Wake

There are techno artists whose output sounds like nothing more than drum machines and synthesizers pounding out beats to keep the ecstasy-and-dance club crowd nodding. Then there are the actual musicians of the genre, whose work surprises even the most cynical listeners. Local musician Shea Bartel is a prime example of the latter.Following in the footsteps of electronica heroes The Books and Lemon Jelly, Bartel has crafted a concept album that’s nothing short of a joy to listen to. “The Last Planetarium” employs Bartel’s fluency in multiple instruments, as well as computer programs, to create songs similar to biology film soundtracks or tunes overheard in darkened rooms, glittering in man-made constellations.The CD, which came wrapped in a sheet of computer paper, is a surprising display of talent and originality. Bartel–a painting student at MCAD …

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As summer was winding down, The Tyde released their beach pop album, Three’s Co., on August 29. Though we can’t all appreciate the upbeat, summery sound of the CD while it’s still in season, the group fits nicely into its Los Angeles setting, where the Atlantic allows an escape all year round.Three’s Co. is The Tyde’s third release, following, fittingly, albums titled Once and Twice. In light of the simple progression of the discs’ names, the band’s tinny, simplistic sound features appropriately minimalist melodies that mirror their laidback surfer lifestyle.Don’t confuse their simple style with amateurism. In the early ‘90s, The Tyde’s members, brothers Darren and Brent Rademaker, started indie rock outfit Further, which was more closely related to ‘90s bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth than the brothers’ future projects. For The Tyde, …

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The bands that have emerged from Montreal obscurity in the past few years have damn near created their own genre. The Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Belle Orchestre, The Lovely Feathers— and they all to possess a sound that is consistently big and always building.. Though somewhat thieved from the Byrnes and Bowies before them, the sound is still undeniably epic in that chase - after - your - estranged - lover - in - an - airport - before - they - board - a - plane sort of way.Sunset Rubdown (arguably the frontrunner for best band name), is just one in the kaleidoscope of projects helmed by Spencer Krug. Providing vocals and instrumentation for aforementioned indie darlings Wolf Parade, the darker, more frantic Frog Eyes, Krug is the unlikely pioneer of …

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By now you’ve probably heard the name, now it’s time to face the music. Only a completely nonsensical moniker like Gnarls Barkley could be responsible for the scatterbrained perfection that is St. Elsewhere (Downtown/Atlantic). Is it hip-hop? Gospel? Funk? Doesn’t matter—classify it simply as your next party record.Gnarls Barkley is the pet project of the oft muumuu-clad, Goodie Mob crooner Cee-Lo Green, and wunderkind DJ Danger Mouse. The unlikely duo make music like a manic preacher praising heaven’s bad-ass beats. Nearly three years in the making, St. Elsewhere is a well-tuned catastrophe, sprinkled with schizophrenic confections that tackle feng shui, necrophilia and the Violent Femmes.The disc’s opener, “Go-Go Gadget Gospel,” leaps from the speakers like a church ballad on speed, swelling, swirling and threatening to tear down the roof and incur God’s wrath. Cee-Lo’s …

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Recording an album using Italian and Latin phrases paired with references to Eastern European mythology and geography is quite an ambitious project for an American band. Pretty Girls Make Graves has done just that with Élan Vital, while still maintaining the sound that put them on the map. Incorporating trumpets, saxophone, drum programming, piano and even whistles on Élan Vital, Pretty Girls Make Graves prove their multiple talents aren’t limited to their respective instruments. In fact, if the quintet’s instrumental repertoire were to be classified on a Terror-Alert chart, this album might very well put them at a threatening yellow. After guitarist Nate Thelen left Pretty Girls Make Graves a few years back, it seemed as though a major player would be taken out of the band’s two-guitar volley dynamic. His absence in Élan Vital …

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Even Calexico’s most loyal fans are likely to be thrown off-guard by the eclectic duo’s latest album Garden Ruin (Quarter Stick). Previously trademarked by an oddly striking blend of folk, mariachi and jazz, Calexico have chipped away at their distinctiveness and emerged with a new sound best described as, well, ‘rock.’ Maybe even ‘watered-down alt-country’ at times. At first, I desperately wanted to retreat back to the sensual outlaw flamenco that was 2003’s Feast Of Wire. But though their change was initially unsettling, it was still intriguing enough to inspire the second, third and even sixth listen that proved redeemable.Right away I noticed that Garden Ruin is Calexico’s first album free of their lush instrumental tracks, shifting from a once-familiar delicacy into the sinister minor-key opener “Cruel.” There is also now a bigger emphasis …

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Drive-By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse

The Drive-by Truckers win two awards in my book: first, they’ve got the funniest name I’ve ever heard, and second, they’re the only contemporary “southern rock” band that doesn’t make me cringe.The key to the Truckers’ success is sincerity—I believe every word that singer Patterson Hood says. The same goes for Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell. That’s right, there are three songwriters in this group. And while a southern rock band with three singers sounds like a recipe for disaster, this Athens, Georgia band makes it work.A Blessing and a Curse, the band’s latest release, finds the Drive-by Truckers continuing to craft their time …

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If Mattel packaged the Dresden Dolls, lead singer/pianist Amanda Palmer would be marketed as Barbie’s evil twin sister—her antithesis with dark hair, a purposefully pale face, and a penchant for black. Whereas drummer Brian Viglione would pose within the confines of his plastic packaging as Ken’s archenemy—a quiet menace with kohl-rimmed eyes. The self-proclaimed “Brechtian punk cabaret” duo’s second studio album exudes emotion wrought from the throes of passion (“Dirty Business”) and the bottom of a barrel (“My Alcoholic Friends”). The acid-laced lyrics on “Backstabber,” “Shit lover! Off-brusher! / Jaded little joy crusher!” are offset by Palmer’s melodic piano playing, which provides a consistent toe-tapping backdrop for her insistent vocals. Meanwhile, Viglione is careful not to overshadow her (occasionally) frenetic playing, by punctuating her piercing vocals with just enough of a punch.Not to be overlooked …

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The music of Montreal outfit the Unicorns is most accurately remembered as smart but sporadic, a catalog of scattered lo-fi scuzz-pop filled with painfully precocious eruptions. They were delightful and difficult and destined to eventually combust.Calling it quits in 2004 after the release of their sole LP, the genius Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?, members Nick Diamonds and J’aime Tambeur dabbled briefly in obscure side projects. (Anyone remember Th’ Corn Gangg? Neither do we.) Now they’ve banded together again, sans guitarist Alden Penner, as the bright and hopefully long-term Islands.“We noticed something glowing / and it was growing / things are about to change …” warbles Diamonds on Return To The Sea (Equator Records), Islands’ debut that strays from any prior awkwardness and instead unfolds like a well-mapped sailing of the …

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The Appleseed Cast is no stranger to concept albums. Their seventh CD, Peregrine, shows yet again why the Lawrence, KS-based quartet continue to do it better than anyone out there.Peregrine goes like this: in a wooded rural area a deranged father copes with murdering his daughter. She returns in the afterlife as a ghost to haunt him, and he struggles to live with the weight of her death on his shoulders. Later, in a type of mercy killing, a peregrine falcon ends the father’s misery. Pretty heavy stuff, but what about the music? This time around the Appleseed Cast brings it fervently, aggressively and, at times, delicately.Singer/guitarist Christopher Crisci’s echoed vocals set the scene over distortion-filled, pounding tracks “Mountain Halo” and “February.” Softer tracks “Ceremony” and “An Orange and a Blue” exhibit the band’s penchant …

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The evolution of the Flaming Lips’ music is nearly as trippy as the music itself. Starting out as a lo-fi indie rock band and progressing to fuzzed-out psychedelia, most recently they’ve been doing some of the best pop-friendly atmospheric noise orchestrations you’re likely to find. Half the fun of listening to their newest album, At War with the Mystics, is finding out what sound the band is taking on now.The thing is, there is no one sound to this album. It opens with a catchy ’60s-esque psyched-up singalong about the dangers of power, both personal and political. Immediately we’re transported to the ’80s with an electro-funk masterpiece that would make Prince himself proud. Titled “Free Radicals” (the best chemistry puns to ever grace the music industry), the song is a full frontal blast against fanaticism …

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I was listening to “Traces,” the second track on the new Built to Spill album, and trying to figure out why they included some guy saying, “Who is Mike Town?” in the background. But it’s not that bad, I thought, it’s just strange. And after all, it is Built To Spill; there must be some reason. Then I heard it again on the following track “Liar,” and realized I am a fool. The real reason is that I have peeked, opened early. I stole the album and Mike Town is an electronic watermark. So there. I’m a thief, but it’s only because I am impatient. I own the older albums and I have seen Built To Spill in concert twice and Doug Martsch by himself once. I love this band, and I want to strangle …

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The Unknown Prophets is a telling name for the Northeast Minneapolis hip-hop group. Local hip-hop veterans Big Jess (producer/emcee), Mad Son (emcee) and Willy Lose (DJ) will lay their hearts and souls out for any listener willing to listen. In such a bling-bling, MTV hip hop era, it’s refreshing to hear a group like the Unknown Prophets that actually offer poetic lyrics. The Unknown Prophets’ latest album The Road Less Traveled carries on with the same attitude. It offers tight production and lyrics that mean something. The title is appropriate considering the group’s ambition for reaching ears that are brainwashed by mainstream hip-hop. The album considers and comments on the mainstream music industry, mobilizing against the grain, and shedding light on the misfortunes in life that we can never predict. While playing with the …

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In the world of “bigger is better” rock music, bands with lineups in the double digits reign supreme. Amidst these giant ensembles, it’s the husband and wife duo Mates of State who ironically produce the most colossal sound. One listen to “Think Long,” the opening track on Bring It Back, will leave your head spinning.Bring It Back is Mates of States’ fourth full-length release and their first for Barsuk records. Without betraying their easily-identified sound, the band explores the potentials of the studio more than they have on previous records. Additional vocal layers and even a guitar or two find their way into the mix of the new album.The new songs show all the elements of the Mates of State repertoire: happy organ riffs, danceable drum beats, and insane vocal harmonies. Kori Gardner (keyboards, vocals) …

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Coming out of Oklahoma, the Starlight Mints are about as quirky as a band can get. From the throaty vocals of frontman Allan Vest to the extensive use of unconventional instruments, it’s easy to make the assumption they are trying to be original in the shadow of another unusual Oklahoma-based band, The Flaming Lips. However, as long as they keep their focus on general weirdness, they keep themselves in the Lips’ shadow. I get the impression that their intent was for a comparison to be made: “Holy crap, did you hear about that cutting-edge band from Oklahoma? They are, like, the next Flaming Lips!” With that said, the Mints’ upcoming release, Drowaton, is a testament to the fact that weird can be good. The album does not depart much from their first two releases, …

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