Just a quick moment to let you know what you’ve probably already known for weeks — The Black Lips are playing tonight at The Waiting Room with Quintron and Miss Pussycat, and Lincoln’s own Brimstone Howl. $12, 9 p.m. Go.
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The most surprising thing about Mick’s birthday concert Friday night was how well the bands sounded after being in mothballs for so many years. Janglepop, which broke up sometime earlier this century, sounded no different than I remembered. Actually, they sounded somewhat better on The Waiting Room’s stage. The Get also sounded tight, but I’ll be honest with you, I never really followed any of these defacto old school “Slam Bands.” That includes Musico, who everyone seemed most excited about seeing again. Darren Keen and the boys also sounded as good as I remembered the one time I saw them back in the day. The bottom line: the enormous crowd (which was like walking through a class reunion or a wedding reception) loved every minute of it.
Saturday night was spent slumming, and I may or may not go into great detail about it in this week’s column (which I have yet to formulate). Let’s just say I spent the evening “out west,” and that the entertainment had nothing to do with indie music.
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Tonight — two rather huge shows for a Monday. At The Waiting Room it’s Har Mar Superstar with Little Brazil and Talkin’ Mountain, all for $8. This one could (and probably will) sell out. Meanwhile, down at Slowdown, it’s Team Love’s most recent addition — The Felice Brothers — opening for Drive By Truckers. $20, 9 p.m.
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I’m just messin’ with ya, Mick. Mick ain’t 50. One of the creators and driving forces behind slamomaha.com is celebrating becoming a wee lad of 40 at The Waiting Room tonight with a bunch of bands that no doubt show his age (and, unfortunately, mine). Among them, The Get (check out the classic photo), Musico (One of Darren Keen’s early incarnations), and Janglepop (more bad-ass photos). Add to that new comers The Ground Tyrants and the funkalicious Satchel Grande and you do, indeed, have a party going on. $5, 8 p.m. Something tells me Mick is going to get smashed from all the free shots.
Also tonight, just down the street at PS Collective, it’s Hyannis, Honeybee and Sleep Said the Monster. $3, 9 p.m., while down at Slowdown it’s our old friends Malpais (fronted by that trouble-making troubadour Greg Loftis) and Landing on the Moon opening for Say Anything. $15, 8 p.m.
Tomorrow night’s spotlight show is Neva Dinova at Slowdown with Race for Titles and Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship. This may well be the closest thing we get to a CD release show for Neva’s new disc, You May Already Be Dreaming as the band will be on the road for the foreseeable future. $8, 9 p.m. Also Saturday night, David Matysiak of Coyote Bones and Eli Mardock of Eagle*Seagull open for Bassia Bulat at The Waiting Room. $8, 9 p.m. Get an early start on the evening by checking out the 5 p.m. screening of the Evan Blakely film Oscillations, featuring the music of Kyle Harvey at Westwood Cinema, part of the Nebraska Short Film Block of the Omaha Film Festival.
Finally, there’s a hummer of a show Sunday night at The Waiting Room, headlined by These Are Powers. These Are Powers is former Lincolnite Pat Noecker’s new band. Noecker was a member of seminal ’90s band Opium Taylor. He went on to form Liars with Ron Albertson (ex-Mercy Rule), which released the critically hailed They Threw Us in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top on Gern Blandsten in 2001 before he and Ron left the band, effectively turning Liars into shit. Along with Noecker, These Are Powers features Anna Barie (ex-Knife Skills) and Ted McGrath. Opening is Mahjongg and founder/owner of K Records, Calvin Johnson, whose former bands include Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, Dub Narcotic Sound System, and The Halo Benders. $8, 9 p.m.
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First, a correction to yesterday’s blog entry: The Focus Mastering open house is March 1, not this coming Saturday. Don’t go there this Saturday!
Column 161: Fresh Ears
More Doug Van SlounMore with Doug Van Sloun of Focus Mastering. If you haven’t already, get caught up by reading yesterday’s profile. We’ll wait for you.Van Sloun’s been busy mastering the first batch of music in the Focus pipeline. It includes new recordings by Alessi, Beep Beep, Son, Ambulance, Tilly and the Wall, M. Ward, Stephanie Drootin, Midwest Dilemma, Tokyo Police Club, Akita Ken (formerly Your Face), Montana Christian band Sky Collide, and Jerusalem rockers Man Alive.And the beat goes on. Fact is, while other areas of the music industry are in free fall, business is booming for Van Sloun. As CD sales continue to tunnel ever downward, more recordings are being made than ever before, especially with the advent of home recording.It’s a trend that Van Sloun saw on the horizon years ago. “I could tell more people were doing a lot more recording on a project-studio level,” he said. “I know a ton of people with studios in their basements. They’re doing modest work, but good work. Meanwhile, no one around here was doing mastering.” And that’s where he came in.But along with home recording came the challenge of finding new and better ways to apply lipstick on the same ol’ pig, Even worse, a pig that some guy built in his garage.Actually, Van Sloun said the quality of most home recordings he’s heard has been pretty good. And a new hybrid is emerging, where tracks are recorded in a home studio, then professionally mixed elsewhere. That’s how Neva Dinova’s new CD, You May Already Be Dreaming, was created. “It was home recorded, but mixed at ARC Studios by Ian Aeillo,” Van Sloun said, adding that most of the new Narcotic Self CD also was home recorded, then mixed by Jim Homan at Ware House Studios.In the end, artists that want to take it to the next level hand their recording over to a mastering engineer like Van Sloun, who approaches each project the same way — whether it was recorded at home or in a multi-million dollar studio.The advantage he brings to the project is “fresh ears,” having never heard the recording before. “And I also won’t listen to it a thousand times,” he said. “I max out if I listen to a song for an hour. Part of the process for me is to be decisive, fresh and subjective, and not biased.”How many times have you heard someone say that their demos sounded better than the record? “That’s because they’ve listened to it one way for so long,” Van Sloun said. “You can’t be unbiased when you’ve heard something a thousand times. It’s the classic demo-itis situation.”He lets them down easy by trying to figure out what they did wrong during the recording session. But what about just plain ol’ shitty music? There’s got to be stuff he doesn’t like, right?“I’m like a doctor. I can divorce myself from the content and not listen to it,” he said. “At the same time, nothing trips me out more than if it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do musically. If something is supposed to sound like Pantera but sounds like Benedictine monks, you’ve got a problem.”And there’s only so much you can do during mastering. “I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about stuff I can’t do anything about,” he said. “If something is out of tune, I hear it, but I can’t do anything about it.”I expected Van Sloun to be down on mp3 files like all the other audiophiles I’ve spoken too since the advent of the iPod. But he was less than dismissive. “It’s really a garbage in garbage out operation,” he said. “The better the recording going in, the better the chances of it coming out OK.”When anyone listens to music with earbuds, it all begins to sound the same, he said. “It’s that deflavorizing effect, where everything sounds homogenous, and mp3s do that to some degree, but it’s still a garbage in, garbage out situation. But it can also sound pretty good if the source is good. I don’t think mp3s are inherently bad. I think 128 kbits/s (compression) goes too far. My iPod is filled with 224 kbits/s and up. And the only time I listen to it is in the car with road noise, which covers everything up.”Does he get discouraged that the next generation of listeners may only hear recordings in mp3 format? “Yeah, it’s a little discouraging,” he said, “but mp3s are still better than most cassettes. There was a time when I was making a lot of cassette references for people, and that was frustrating.“When I started in ’93 or ’94, there were no CD burners. Cassettes were all we had. The pitch would be off a half percent, or more typically you had drop-outs and wobbles. And cassettes wear out. Whenever I start to get depressed about how mp3s suck and how no one will hear good music again, I think about the 8 Track tape and realize that mp3s are better than that. I would rather have a good AAC file from iTunes than a cassette tape.”
Someone asked me what I thought of the Tilly and the Wall and Beep Beep stuff that I heard at Focus. All’s I can say is hold onto your hats. One of the Tilly songs was a complete and utter departure from the usual tap-dance routine. In fact, it had no tap dancing at all that I could hear. Instead, it was a full-out dance-floor raver that, if released, will take the band into an entirely different direction. When I heard the Beep Beep stuff, I had to ask Doug a couple times, “Who is this again? This isn’t Beep Beep, is it?” It was. Doug played a couple songs that sounded like something you’d actually hear on the radio — incredibly tuneful, down-right laid-back. Exceptionally good. Yes, there were still the usual quirky numbers, but they weren’t nearly as sharp around the edges as the stuff on their debut. Doug had some good stuff to say about the new Son, Ambulance as well, but I didn’t get a chance to hear any of it (we ran out of time). Boo.
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I went to UUVVWWZ at Slowdown Jr. last night to see if that show at the Saddle Creek Bar a few weeks ago was a fluke. It wasn’t. That said, the band sounded better at SCB than at Slowdown. Who knows why? Had nothing to do with the sound system. The only time it seemed to make a difference was during a couple of the bluesy, slow numbers. When UUVVWWZ played them at SCB, they were more cohesive, each part blurring together in a gorgeous, gritty brew. Last night, however, there was too much separation between band members and Teal, and the result was disjointed and a bit staid. There simply is nowhere to hide within Slowdown’s premium sound system. I’m convinced that no two UUVVWWZ shows will ever be the same. You’ll get what you get on any given night — or even within the set itself. I’m also convinced that they’ll be one of the more divisive bands when it comes to crowd response. One guy next to me thought they were fun, and asked me if I ever heard of Deerhoof. “This is the closest this town will ever get to a band like that.” Meanwhile, another guy was freaked out by Teal, and didn’t care for the slow numbers (which are some of my favorites). He compared her to Diamanda Galas, of whom I know nothing. He did, however, like the bombastic rock numbers, which is where the band really took off last night. Recording these folks is going to be a challenge for whomever takes them on. In the right hands, their record could be ground-breaking. Looks like your next chance to see them in Omaha is at The Brothers on March 11 with Chinese Stars and Plack Blague.
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Benson is where it’s at tonight. At The Waiting Room it’s Capgun Coup with Simon Joyner, Bear Country and Noah Sterba. It’ll be Capgun’s first show in four months, and their last in Omaha before they go back on tour (this time with Tilly and the Wall, including a show at Noise Pop 2008 in S.F.). $7, 9 p.m. This show will be wall-to-wall. Meanwhile, down the street at PS Collective, it’s Shiver Shiver and Jenna Morrison. $5, 9 p.m.
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As a primer to the feature I just posted about Doug Van Sloun’s brand new Focus Mastering studio (here), you may want to read (or reread) my interview with Doug from 2003 (here). Then come back and read the feature about Focus, where Doug gives full disclosure on his new state-of-the-art mastering studio. Most readers of this site know who Doug is, but for the few who don’t: Van Sloun is the guy who mastered every major indie release out of Nebraska for the past 10 years or so. His name is as synonymous with Nebraska indie music as Saddle Creek Records, Mike Mogis and Bright Eyes. His new studio will blow your mind. Read about it, then check it out for yourself Saturday March 1, at his open house. I warned Doug that he’ll have more than just potential customers out there to hear what perfect sound sounds like. We go beyond the new studio in this week’s column, where Doug talks about mastering in general, the recording industry, mp3s and other fun stuff. Consider it part 2 of today’s feature, online tomorrow.
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Here are my misgivings about tonight’s show at Slowdown:
Ever have someone go on and on about a movie that you “just have to see”? They tell you how the film “changed their lives,” how the plot and acting and cinematography were beyond clever. How the sound track will make your head spin. How they laughed and cried and held on to the edge of their seats for what was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill ride. The words “Oscar” and “Best Picture” are tossed around matter-of-factly, along with phrases like “You MUST see it,” and “Unforgettable.”
So you go. And the movie might be good, but it never, ever lives up to the build up. And ultimately, you’re disappointed.
That’s what I’m worried about with UUVVWWZ. I hope I didn’t oversell them in my review a few weeks ago. Don’t get me wrong, they were frigging amazing. To me. But I don’t know if they’re going to be the answer to everything that ails you. I don’t want you going to Slowdown Jr. tonight expecting the second coming of PJ Harvey, Bjork and The Pixies all rolled up in one. UUVVWWZ isn’t that. They are what they are — which is one of the most talented new bands I’ve seen around here in years. And hopefully they’ll be that for you tonight. If they’re not, there’s always The Show Is the Rainbow’s usual fun-loving bag of tricks. Darren never fails to entertain. And from Edwardsville, Illinois, near St. Louis, comes tonight’s headliner, So Many Dynamos. Their name, as you may or may not have figured out, is a palindrome, just like Slap a Ham on Omaha, Pals. Spell it backwards and it spells the same thing. They began working on a new album last year with Death Cab’s Chris Walla at Tiny Telephone. Their stuff on myspace reminds me of early Dismemberment Plan. Odd, but spunky. $5, 9 p.m. As we used to say back in old days, Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog!
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Sorry about the lateness of this post, a post that will probably get lost in the shuffle as I’ll be placing my Focus Mastering/Doug Van Sloun story online tomorrow. That said, I see by the Omaha World-Herald (story here) that those Saddle Creek guys gave up on the idea of having a restaurant down at the Slowdown complex. Instead of having a place to get a bite to eat before a show, we will now be able to buy a variety of trendy clothing and under garments from American Apparel.
You can’t blame Kulbel and Nansel for taking AA up on their offer. The underwear store, known for its racy advertising and horny CEO Dov Charney, apparently were the only ones interested in that empty 3,800-foot stall. “I think I personally need to get over there not being a restaurant there,” Kulbel said in the OWH story. “Every time I walk past it I see a restaurant in there. I don’t think it will be weird for other people. It’s altered a bit, but I certainly don’t think it’s altered to the point of it being radically different.” He goes on to say other restaurants eventually will locate nearby. If only that were true.
It’ll be interesting to see how the addition of an American Apparel store will impact Urban Outfitters, who I have to assume was under the impression that it was going to be the only clothing store on the block. Or how the new AA store will impact Drastic Plastic, who’s been one (if not the only) American Apparel outlet in the Omaha area. At least we’ll be able to get a good cup of Joe before a show. According to the article, Blue Line still intends to open a “European-style café” in the Slowdown development. No word on when, though…
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Last week, one of the site’s more loyal readers posted a link to a new mousetrap myspace (here) on the webboard. The site consolidates all those mousetrap Youtube videos that have been floating around, along with a handful of classic mousetrap tracks, as well as a brief history of the band. Check it out. I wonder what this influx of mousetrap content could possibly mean?
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Again, tomorrow check out the feature on Focus Mastering, which includes an interview with mastering engineer superstar Doug Van Sloun that concludes with this week’s column on Thursday.
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Remember that scene in The Ten Commandments, the one toward the end when Chuck Heston as Moses climbs Mount Sinai to have a chat with his pal God while everyone down below was letting loose with the mother of all orgies? Remember them dancing around in their underwear, throwing gold baubles at Dathan (as played by Edward G. Robinson) while Aaron made the golden calf? Well, it was kind of like that Friday night at O’Leaver’s for the first of two final performances of Cloven Path. Debauchery at its finest. Lecherous chaos. Gluttony and debasement. What a way to go.
First up was The Shanks playing a by-the-book, no-kill set of gutter-punk that was relatively flawless and in tune. You read that correctly. The Shanks came off as real pro’s — a disappointment to everyone who expects utter chaos and/or the usual bloody shock and awe. Instead it was almost run-of-the-mill. Downright efficient. And (dare I say it) professional. What’s wrong with this picture? They’ve always said their stage theatrics were never planned; the violence was the natural by-product of too much booze and pent-up anger. So when they do explode, it’s an honest explosion. I suspect the days of fist-fights and cymbal throwing are far from over. Until then, we’ll have to settle for their buzzsaw, feedback-ringing, hump-thump punk rock, and that’s good enough for me (for now).
The timidity would not continue with Cloven Path. The duo is headed to some place in the center of Texas, just a few hours from all the biggest cities. The reason for their departure was rumored by many, but told by no one (including me). Needless to say, they’ll do better in the Longhorn state. After what I saw and heard Friday night, Omaha doesn’t deserve them. It was their most unbridled set, and their best. Half-naked guitarist/frontman Sii wandered all over the bar, grinding both his guitar and any patron that would let him/herself be ground upon (and there were plenty), while drummer Noraa pounded out clever, oddly timed bombshells. Former vocalist Kat joined in on one song, proving that these guys never really needed a vocalist for their unique style of electro-metal. They do fine on their own, especially when they have a crowd writhing in utter pleasure among the filth and puke of O’Leaver’s. I watched in utter awe, thinking about what Omaha will do without its Cloven Path. I then climbed upon the railing, Rolling Rock in one hand, stone tablets in the other, and proclaimed, “Where is your messiah now?”
Cloven Path apparently played another final show Saturday night at O’Leaver’s, but I didn’t go. In fact, that O’Leaver’s show was my only outing this weekend. I planned on going to The Waiting Room tonight to see Brad Hoshaw open for Sara Bareilles, but apparently Bareilles’ people insisted that there be no opening acts, and Hoshaw and Honey & Baby were dropped. On one hand, it’s a shame for Hoshaw who has been building some momentum recently; but on the other hand, few people other than myself were going to be there to see him anyway. I’ve listened to Bareilles’ music — it’s middle-of-the-road colorless, flavorless, inoffensive VH-1 “adult contemporary” dreck. Bland. The kind of blandness that sells hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of CDs to people who desperately crave music that they can ignore. Television commercial music. Shopping music. Greatest common denominator music. Pap. The last thing her fans want is to listen to something that’s intelligent, honest and emotionally moving. Like I said, Hoshaw is better off. Probably. Interestingly, he posted on SLAMOmaha this morning that he’s giving away at the door of the Bareilles show 50 copies of a six-song live EP recorded at Mick’s Jan. 5 (the show that I wrote a column about here a few weeks ago). There actually were nine songs performed and recorded that night. I have them all, and the collection is one of the best live albums I’ve heard around here in years. My guess is that none of the Bareilles zombettes will want one, so you may want to drop by The Waiting Room and see if the doorman will give you one. Why doesn’t Hoshaw peddle these at his shows? Actually, why doesn’t one of the more industrious local indie labels want to put it out?
That’s not the only show going on tonight. Omaha punk rock phenoms The Coffin Killers, along with dredge-rock masters Dim Light, are opening for Dax Riggs tonight at Slowdown Jr. Riggs used to be in Acid Bath back in the ’90s. $10, 9 p.m. There’s also a Todd Snider concert at Scottish Rite Hall. $18, 8 p.m.
By the way, the reviews matrix has been updated…
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Been playing depressing Gregorian chant music all morning, getting ready for tonight’s somber event at O’Leaver’s — the goodbye concert for Cloven Path. Details about their departure are sketchy and are probably too controversial to include here (and too dangerous). Needless to say, the band will be vacating the state, possibly forever. Your last chance to see/hear their ritualistic electroni-punk is tonight, that is if O’Leaver’s doesn’t burn to the ground during The Shanks’ opening set. Show of the year nominee? Maybe, maybe… $2, 9:30 p.m. Wear black.
Also tonight, Forty Twenty (winners of the OEA Award for Best Country / Bluegrass band) plays at The Waiting Room with fellow “country/bluegrass band” The Filter Kings. Actually, the odds of ever seeing these guys play at a two-steppin’ beer hall like Bushwacker’s is slim and none. This is bourbon-soaked country punk (but don’t tell the OEA music academy). $7, 9 p.m.
Down the street at Mick’s, Mark Olson of the Jayhawks is playing a set. $10, 9 p.m. While over at The Barley St. it’s Kyle Harvey and Matt Cox for free (9 p.m.), while The Killigans play at The 49’r.
Also tonight, Baby Walrus celebrates the release of its Slumber Party Records debut down at Bemis Underground with Flowers Forever. $5, 9 p.m.
Tomorrow night it’s the PS Collective “Birthday Bash” featuring Mal Madrigal, Coyote Bones and Brimstone Howl. $5, 9 p.m. It’s also an opportunity for those who want their music aired on the new Benson radio station, KIND, to drop off their recordings and fill out a release form. KIND Program Director Mary O’Keefe will be on hand to answer questions. A copy of the release form is available at the PS Collective website. More details here.
This is a good opportunity to clarify a few things I’ve been hearing and reading about KIND over the past couple of weeks. I asked Amy Ryan, station organizer and owner of PS Collective, for an update. She said the station’s non-profit application is currently being pulled together with the help of some folks at the Creighton Law School, while a business plan is being developed with the aid of The Non-Profit of the Midlands and SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and small business.
“After the non-profit has been established, which we are hoping will be within the next two months, we will begin to make contact with the FCC,” Ryan said. “Our attorney will work with this process, as it’s extremely complex. The history of KZUM in Lincoln is a good example of the lengthy process one can go through, as it took them many years to do. We are also considering an AM frequency, which seems to have more availability.”
So, does this mean KIND has decided not to pursue broadcasting at below 100 milliwatts (i.e., the Part 15 approach that wouldn’t require a license)?
“At this time we are beginning with a stream / podcast, while we pursue which route to take with the FCC,” Ryan said. “Although our initial thoughts were KIND FM 99.1, we have not yet made a firm decision on whether this station will be Part 15 (below 100 milliwatts as we first envisioned), LPFM community license, or even an AM license. At this time, all options are on the table, even as we begin to undertake the development of local content.”
It would be a shame if they decide to shit-can the Part 15 station concept. It might have kept things rolling until a more “powerful” solution was developed with the FCC over the next couple of years. In the long run, they’re probably doing the right thing if they want to establish a more permanent foothold in the Benson area. I’m not a big fan of streamcast radio and I never listen to podcasts, but I might start once KIND begins operation.
Also Saturday night, The Pendrakes and Sarah Benck and the Robbers at The Waiting Room, $7, 9 p.m.; and Scott Severin and Paper Owls at The Barley St.
One last thing: I got my copy of Magnet magazine in the mail over lunch. It’s their year-end edition, with their top-20 list (No. 1 was Ween’s La Cucaracha). The pleasant surprise was in the “Hidden Treasures,” which lists the “10 Great Albums Buried in 2007.” Among them, Brimstone Howl’s Guts of Steel. Said Magnet: “…there’s nothing reverent about these Nebraskans’ unholy hot-wiring of the Sonics, the Damned and the Blues Explosion.” Congrats!
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A reminder about the my simple rating system: “Yes” means yes, “No” means no. As Brian McNamee said in the Clemens trial yesterday, it is what it is.
Column 160: Winter Reviews Round-up
So what have you been listening to?The most common question I hear at the bar: So what have you been listening to? When dropped from the sky, I always come up blank and wonder, “Hmmm….what have I been listening to?” and then refer to my iPhone for the list, making a mental note to delete the albums that suck. Below is what I’ve been listening to (along with what I’ve deleted).Times New Viking, Rip It Off (Matador) — Call it hi-fi low-fi or arty low-fi or loud low-fi or technically perfect low-fi, but straight-up low-fi it ain’t. And for me, that’s a plus. Cut through the sizzle static buzzsaw and you’ll find plenty of tunes. Songs, too. This generation’s Slanted-era Pavement? If so, it’s apt that they’re on Matador. And it’s only a matter of time (and releases) until the static fades, replaced by perfect sound forever. Rating: YesFlowers Forever, self-titled (Team Love) — Derek Pressnall may be the grooviest guy in Nebr-indie music, from his role in Tilly and the Wall to his role in Goo, but that doesn’t mean he has anything relevant to say. Or maybe he does. Depends on whether or not you buy his “Change better come / We’re not fucking around no more” millennial reach-around — an approach whose sincerity is believable when it comes from the tap dancing band. When it comes from Vincent Gallo fronting a heavier version of Bright Eyes, it sounds less like a rallying cry than a threat that no one could possibly take seriously. Rating: NoHead of Femur, Great Plains (Greyday) — I was too quick to discard this as more bland indie pabulum on first listen (maybe I was in a bad mood?), but further listens revealed a soul cast in King Crimson and golden light, especially once you find centerpiece “Covered Wagons” with its lush strings and very real piano and more sincerity than you’ll likely hear anywhere else in indie land. The Femurs have become true balladeers since those Ringodom or Proctor days, which is another way of saying they’ve all growed up. Rating: YesDarla Farmer, Rewiring the Electric Forest (Paper Garden) — They need to come up with a name for this style of multi-instrumental (as in there’s brass) back-beat indie calliope that was so popular a few years ago. Clown car music? Spazz baroque? Indie cabaret? Good for theatrics and a crowded stage (and angry sound guys) but not so much for listening to in your car, where the guy who sounds like a girl (or a muppet) gets lost in the cacophony and the road noise. Rating: NoPeasant, On the Ground (Paper Garden) — The only way it’ll work is if you can get past Damien DeRose’ obvious love (or mimicry?) of Elliot Smith, to which his melodies (if not his voice) is just shy of dead ringer. Get beyond it, and you’ll discover sweet coffee shop acoustic folk that would fit right in on the latest indie movie soundtrack. More likely, though, it’ll make you stumble through your bookcase looking for your copy of XO. Rating: YesLightspeed Champion, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge (Domino) — What happens when you uproot a Brit and plant him in Omaha’s ARC studios with Mike Mogis behind the board surrounded by all the local talent that Saddle Creek can throw at him. The result is a smarter, older, more tuneful version of Tilly and the Wall (sans tap dancing) meets mild-swing Morrissey and Nate Walcott-arranged strings. Pleasant and fun (if you don’t take it too seriously). Rating: Yes.Neva Dinova, You May Already Be Dreaming (Saddle Creek) — Lyrically, Jake Bellows is Omaha’s version of Paul Westerberg. Clever, maybe too clever for his own good (but not for ours). Those clever words of love and loss and the joys of Tryptophan are apt to shimmer somewhere in a dream fog of a melody (fueled by Bellows’ bright croon) rather than a country backbeat (“She’s a Ghost”) or an electric rumble (“Cloud”). When they do rock (the skittery “What You Want”) it’s more of a fluke than a trend, short-lived until you can return to the usual slow and drowsy and buttery stuff. Those who can keep from nodding off will be grandly rewarded. Rating: YesStephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Real Emotional Trash (Matador) — Former Pavement frontman swerves dangerously close to jam-band territory, or does he? You might think so after the 10-plus minute head trip (the title track, his first ever) or the blues jam noodler “Hopscotch Willie,” but really, it’s the same old Malkmus, that songster with the adolescent Peter Brady meets Lou Reed mew, the king of indie-slacker melodicism, the last man standing from the ’90s that still makes good music. Compared to the more tuneful Face the Truth it’s almost a toss-off, but still worth your time. Rating: YesQuickies:Dead Meadows, Old Growth (Matador) — Since when does Matador sell stoner rock? More like stoner rock lite. These hippy fuzz-blues songs are saved by their brevity (and guitar work). Rating: YesDevastations, Yes, U (Beggars Banquet) – A moody uptick of Roxy Music with kinda, sorta Nick Drake darkness thrown into the mix. As deep and lush as it is, it suffers from a case of the samies. Rating: NoPanther, 14Kt God (Kill Rock Stars) — After the genius of bottle-tapping single “How Well Can You Swim” I so wanted this to be great. And it comes close on the Byrne-meets-Fripp “Beautiful Condo” and stuttering funk of “Pueto Rican Jukebox.” But that’s about it. Buy the singles. Rating: NoSons & Daughters, This Gift (Domino) — A kinder gentler version of Metric? Probably just frontwoman Adele Bethel’s vocals, which are loose and groovy on music that’s trying to be harder than it should (could) be. Rating: Yes
More reviews to come as I revamp and update the Reviews Matrix for 2008. I’ll let you know when that’s completed (probably over the weekend).
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Brooklyn singer songwriter Kevin Devine plays at Slowdown Jr. tonight with AA Bondy and The Jealous Girlfriends. The former Miracle of 86 frontman’s 2007 release Put Your Ghost to Rest is truly a beautiful thing, an acoustic-flavored rock album that recalls songwriters like Dan Wilson and Michael Penn. $10, 9 p.m.
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