EXCLUSIVES

Music Reviews
April 2004

Atmosphere - Seven's Travels

To most people not from Minnesota, the twin cities are as like to serve as venue for a spring break party as they are to nurture a burgeoning independent hip-hop scene. Of course, those who choose Cancun over Minneapolis have probably never heard of Atmosphere anyway. The group, rapper Slug, and beat-maker Ant, leaders of the cities up-and-coming Rhymesayer crew, has been accused of being Emo (whatever that means in terms of rap), and signing a distribution deal with vaunted punk label Epitaph probably won't help matters, but Seven's Travels continues where the group's previous discs, God Loves Ugly and Lucy Ford left off, providing listeners with a Gemini's paradox of introspective reproach and playfully confident tales of a traveling sybarite. More endless road trip than Emo, Atmosphere provides a healthy dose of both playful whimsy and hip hop atypical of the tick-tick boom-boom era.

Crystal Method - Legion of Boom

With their 1997 debut, Vegas, Crystal Method announced the presence of a vibrant electronic scene stateside capable of matching UK heavyweights Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Underworld. The group's distinctive sound fused electronic dance music with elements of rock, funk, and even a little soul, as evinced on their first major single, Trip Like I Do. The duo's latest album, Legion of Boom follows a worldwide tour during which the group reconnected with the essence of the electronic scene both in the states and abroad. But the group also infuses the disc with vestiges of their time rocking out on the Family Values Tour, juxtaposing the gritty club scene they toured through in 2003 with hints of Corn and Filter. The group's musical interests have also matured, with guests like Rahzel dropping by for a little technofied beat-boxing, and guitarists Jon Brion and Wes Borland laying done guitar progressions for the duo's basslines and groove patterns to flow over. Legion of Boom is both a nod to the club culture Crystal Method emerged from and a disc looking forward to where techno can go in the years ahead.

Federico Aubele - Gran Hotel Buenos Aires

In the span of a few short years Eighteenth Street Lounge has evolved from a little known bar in Washington DC into one of the largest independent down-tempo and international labels in the country. Spearheaded by Thievery Corporation, and playing host to the Sofa Surfers, Nicola Conte, and Karminsky Experience (see below), the label is also home to Argentine guitarist Federico Aubele. His debut album, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires, combines Latin guitar with dub, creating a dreamy soundscape that marries the feel of instruments played in a smoke-filled back-alley lounge with soulful Spanish crooning. While some of the songs are eerily reminiscent of Manu Chao's King of the Bongo (if only for their introductory, futuristic organ back-beat pattern), Aubele doesn't disappoint. Ante Tus Ojos introduces a Gotan Projectesque street fair sound to the gentle flamenco rhythms of Buenos Aires, while Contigo weaves guitars evoking dusk somewhere over the northern Pampas with the flair of Mexican horns and Spanish soul. Aubele impresses with his musicianship and Thievery Corporation infuses the disc with distinct down-tempo sensibilities.

Aesop Rock - Bazooka Tooth

Aesop Rock will grow on you like a lingering moss, but for some reasons, some of he's been branded as "backpacker" by both the indie and hop-hop communities, a label that implies sharing the CD-player with Phish and the String-cheese Incident more than it does a complex rhyme structure indicative of a rapper continuing to assert his voice in a medium saturated with thugs who've probably never backpacked much further than the Triboro bridge. But while Aesop Rock isn't for everybody, he certainly pushes the limits of the genre. His rhymes follow a frenetic meter that's probably addicted to Adderol and his beats, many self-produced, while simple, mine the edges of conventional percussion with spaced-out experimentation that's typical of his labelmates on Definitive Jux - probably the most cutting edge label in contemporary hip hop. Bazooka Tooth is laced with contrarian rhythms and hyperactive lyrics that follow a disjointed path from point A to point B. But while en route Aesop Rock spits mischievous, countercultural rhymes that critique everything in their path.

Karminsky Experience - Power of Suggestion

Martin Dingle and James Munns are obsessed with film soundtracks. After releasing three compilations for their native Polygram records and playing numerous shows in an around London, the duo signed with DC label ESL, who found the group when ESL bosses Thievery Corporation used the Karminsky Experience's "Exploration" on their 1998 DJ Kicks mix. Opening with, "Departures," a song reminiscent of something Dave and Hal 9000 might have listened too if they ever smoked but didn't inhale, the disc unfolds like a day at the drive-in, with elements of jazz, lounge, and down-tempo painting the stars as they glide by. While not groundbreaking (no one can a sitar is groundbreaking and keep a straight face), the group adds a new twist to down-tempo, mixing down low with way up high and sending the listeners ears somewhere in the middle.

Jay-Z - The Black Album

So far as retirement goes, no one seems to believe Jay-Z, who on his ninth album, promises to quit the game on top and cry all the way to the bank to count his billions. But what Jay-Z has done is assemble some of the hottest producers in hip hop - Kanye West, Just Blaze, 9th Wonder, and even Rick Rubin - who have laid done 14 future-looking tracks that Jay-Z has laced with his trademark braggadocio and wordplay, even managing a little introspection on the way. While many question Jay-Z's legacy, attributing his success to biting two of rap's most famous martyrs' lyrics - hint: Notorious B.I.G. and Big-L - and capitalizing on the void the same rappers left by dying young, critics would be hard pressed to deny how consistent Jay-Z has been since dropping the seminal Reasonable Doubt in 1996. Since then, Jay-Z has released on album every year, each of which has gone platinum, netting Jay-Z a record label, a clothing line, and a Reebok sneaker that have reportedly netted his business arm, Roc-a-Fella, nearly 4.4 billion. While the Black Album may not be Jay-Z's hurrah, it is an exclamation point of a conclusion to Jay-Z's domination of the mainstream rap game for the last seven years. Standout tracks include the Kanye West produced Lucifer, the Buchanans' track, What More Can I Say, Just Blaze's Interlude, and Rick Rubin's 1980s meets 2525 opus, 99 Problems.

All Night Radio - Spirit Stereo Frequency

Sub Pop Records established itself on the grunge bands that paved the way for the Nirvanas and Pearl Jams of the world, even laying claim to Nirvana's lesser known albums, Bleach and Incesticide. But following Kurt Cobain's untimely death, Sub Pop disappeared for much of the 1990s, reemerging as an indie powerhouse at the turn of the century. One of the label's latest offering, All Night Radio's debut, Spirit Stereo Frequency, is a new take on the 1960s pop-with-a-hint-of-psychedelia. Think early Pink Floyd (they even have a song called "skybicycle") mixed with the funkier elements of James Gang, and you start to get the picture. The group, comprised of Dave Scher and Jimi Hey, formed in 2002, after Dave took a hiatus from his group Beachwood Sparks. Utilizing elements of folk, pop, psychedelia, and ghost-like outer space vocals, All Night Radio crafts a both disc the Douglas Adams could have listened to while crafting A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and a disc the rest of us can turn on and drift off to.

The Visionaries - Pangaea

A lot of hip hop inhabits these pages. That's because hip hop, when it's not played out on a top-40 station owned by Clear Channel Communications, doesn't suck. But I digress. One of the most vibrant scenes hip hop has produced in the past five years, Los Angeles, plays host to the crew known as the Visionaries. On Pangaea, the group's third release, the Visionaries deliver a passionate, conscious blend of beats, turntablism, and lyricism that will immediately remind listeners of such previous LA standouts as Dilated, J5, and the Beat Junkies. But such comparisons serve as reference rather tan defining the group. The Visionaries lyrics are playful, introspective, and bombastic, and are backed by consummate production that advances the DJing philosophy practiced by LA heavyweight Babu. The combination of fresh beats, social-minded rhymes, and fat scratches represent the essence of the west coast underground sound, harkening back to fundamental hip hop traditions of yesterday lacking in much contemporary hip hop, while looking forward. Standout tracks include V-Peat, Believe It, and Pangaea.

The Elected - Me First

If you took Brian Wilson, Dave Crosby, Gram Parsons, threw them in a blender with both the seedy underside of the Sunset Strip and the golden sunshine of southern California, and mixed what came out with Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club, you'd probably get something similar to The Elected's debut disc, Me First. The Los Angeles group hearkens back to rock n roll's past with lead singer Blake Sennett's present-minded, plaintive lyrics and the rest of the group's pop sensibilities. Like other emerging west coast acts, including Seattle's Postal Service, the Elected incorporate elements of the future into their interpretation of the past, spicing up tracks with a hint of drum n' bass here, and country there. But at its core, Me First is a pop-disc laden with plangent emotion and melodic passion that serves yields introspection, while also providing a proper soundtrack to a languid walk through a slow California drizzle.