Chewing Pine

Oh No – Exodus into Unheard Rhythms (Stones Throw, 2006)

During the ‘90s when Lootpack was around, Wildchild christened Madlib’s younger brother “Oh No the Mischievous Rebel.” Now, he’s simply Oh No and has put out Exodus into Unheard Rhythms, his second full length release on Stones Throw Records. Stones Throw easily sits atop the pile of indie rap labels. And interestingly enough, Madlib has seen fit to reissue some rare discs as well.

Oh No’s release, although forward thinking in concept (he uses only the music created by Canadian Galt MacDermot of Hair fame), the album boasts a number of moments where a different path could have been taken.

The beats are unrelentingly pleasant throughout. The raps, however, aren’t always as exceptional. The inclusion of AG and the Cali Agents does make sense considering the locale of both label and rappers (AG recently recording his own discs on the left coast). But the album would be better served if more rappers in the vein of Posdnuos, who guests on “Smile a Lil Bit,” made appearances.

Wordsworth, another East Coaster, reminisces while displaying his deft talent on a track entitled “Know Better,” during which he recounts his years of mischief. Towards the end of Exodus, “Basement Interlude” appears and immediately signals why this album is not all that it could be. If one judged simply this track, it would be quite evident that Oh No possesses the ability to create beats that are entrancing. He just doesn’t harness that power. Instead Oh No allows a number of average raps (not rappers) drag down what could have been an incredible, instrumental album.

Tracklisting:
01 – Intro
02 – Beware
03 – Black
04 – Get Yours
05 – Interlude
06 – To Be an MC
07 – To Be an MC Reprise
08 – Keep Tryin’
09 – Know Better
10 – Second Chance
11 – Low Coastin’
12 – Hank
13 – No Aire
14 – Cut Session
15 – Smile a Lil Bit
16 – Keep it Lit
17 – Callin’ in T for Some Food
18 – T. Biggums
19 – In This
20 – Lights Out
21 – Basement Interlude
22 – Coffee Cold

Common Market – Self Titled (Massline Media, 2006)

This group seems concerned with not the just the state of the nation, but that of music and hip-hop in particular. Though the focus isn’t only on that culture, the self assured stance and performance of the group sets them apart from their contemporaries as well as Sabzi’s other group, Blue Scholars (at least on earlier releases). While there is a difference between Common Market and others right now, they aren’t actually advancing the music. Instead Common Market is contented with further defining a movement that began almost thirty years ago.

The group functions cogently and is intelligent, interesting, talented and above all else, has good taste. Ra Scion ends up sounding like Talib Kweli from either his Black Star or Reflection Eternal stints. Lyrically and musically, this duo has done their work, giving the listener one of the few clever plays on sucka mcs ever in “Succor MCs.”

But what this album does is prove that the “Daisy Age” concept and everything that runs in that style since still has legs. And as long as there are heads willing to sacrifice originality for solid performances, tenacity and sincerity it will work.

Tracklisting:
01 – Sacred Texts
02 – Do U (w/ Jerm)
03 – No Label (Esma Remix)
04 – Beautiful (GT Version)
05 – Sexcapism
06 – Racoon Rock (w/ Toni Hill)
07 – East Africa
08 – Don’t Cry For Us (w/ Khingz Makoma & Toni Hill)
09 – In This Together
10 – The Dirty 6
11 – It’s That (w/ Geologic)
12 – Third World Wide
13 – Warriors (Lovework Reprise)
14 – Chili Sauce
15 – Find A Place (w/ Rajnii Eddins)
16 – Lovework (w/ Toni Hill)
17 – Rest ‘O Me Dayz (w/ Khingz Makoma)

Nobody & Mystic Chords of Memory – Tree Colored See… (Mush Records, 2006)

A former member of Beachwood Sparks, Jen Cohen previously of the Aislers Set and a producer that, in the past, has worked with Project Blowed come together to create an album that should defy categorization. Instead Tree Colored See… avails itself to be just another second millennium electro/indie mash-up. If the first Mystic Chords of Memory album, filled with West Coast folk-pop, is familiar to you, simply add electronic production backing the entire endeavor and that’s what Mush Records has given the world here. The music is definitely soothing; you can make love to it, you can fall asleep to it afterward. Driving across the vast plains of Wyoming coupled with listening to this disc may be fatal though. Relatively strong song writing along with guest appearances, including Omid (another Project Blowed producer) keeps this offering interesting – at least on occasion. But, the hallmark of good collaborations is not being able to differentiate what party is responsible for what sounds. And on a number of occasions there’s no way of knowing who fashioned the melodies of Tree Colored See…

01 – The Seed
02 – Decisions, Decisions
03 – Broaden a New Sound
04 – Coyote’s Song (When You Hear it Too)
05 – Memory
06 – Klaw Prints
07 – Walk in the After Light
08 – When the End Meets the Beginning
09 – Feet Upon the Sand
10 – Softer Sail
11 – Floating

Beachwood Sparks Interview: You might think less of them after watchin’ this, but you get to see their house…

Dntel (Jimmy Tamborello) – “Umbrella” features a Chris Gunst vocal line.

Hallelujah Chicken Run Band – Take One (Analog Africa, 2006)

It’s said that mathematics is the universal language. But to those of us that lack that kind of intelligence, we settle for music being the intermediary between cultures. Ska bands play stadiums in Japan, German DJ’s come to the US and play venues that they wouldn’t consider in the father land. But the discourse involved in the world wide community of musicians and fans is propped up by openness and wonder.

While placing each type of music into a social and geographic context occasionally presents a problem, this posthumous release by Hallelujah Chicken Run Band allows listeners to explore what most likely would be referred to as afropop or afrobeat. Songs touch on sweet repetitive choruses, but also on elastic rhythms that drive dance floors.

Unfortunately for the vast majority of Westerners, the knowledge base for understanding how one speaks in Shona or Sindabele is generally lacking. So there really isn’t too much hope for understanding what Thomas Mapfumo is trying to impart to listeners. But again, music itself is a conversation. On “Morembo” a listener may extrapolate that the band is in good spirits by the manner in which the vocalist repeats “Cheba, Cheba” – but that might be incorrect. Ditching second guesses, the overarching feel of the music is jubilant, whether the lyrics reflect happiness or a need for uncompromising change.

There are call and response style slinky pop songs (“Tamba Zimba Navashe,” “Ndopenga”) and the stately, withdrawn horn lines on “Gore Iro.” But what makes afrobeat – and the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band specifically – remarkable is the ability of musicians to adapt different approaches to music in a way that is unique to their own culture.

Tracklisting:
01 – Mudzimu Ndiringe
02 – Kare Nanhasi
03 – Ngoma Yarira
04 – Manheru Changamire
05 – Tamba Zimba Navashe
06 – Mutoridodo
07 – Mukadzi Wangu Ndomuda
08 – Sekai
09 – Gore Iro
10 – Murembo
11 – Mwana Wamai Dada Naye
12 – Musawore Moyo
13 – Alikulila
14 – Ndopenga
15 – Ngatiende Kumusha
16 – Shumba Inobva Mu Gomo
17 – Tinokumbira Kuziva
18 – Chaminuka Mukuru

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – I Stand Alone (Anti, 2006)

(This originally appeared in Impose)

The story is this: While roaming the country playing folk tunes with the venerable Odetta, she and Jack Elliott made a stop one day to see Odetta’s family. Rather taken aback by Elliott’s stories, Odetta’s mother began calling him Ramblin’ Jack. Of course this story must be taken for what it is and considered in light of the source – Ramblin’ Jack himself amidst a show in Cleveland while drinking, telling tales of driving RV’s and recounting history.

Perhaps it’s accurate. Perhaps not, but regardless of that, Elliott’s abilities to interpret folk songs enabled him to tour Europe – even before the folk resurgence of the sixties and influence Dylan. Now, he has released an album on Epitaph subsidiary Anti-.

Through the vast catalog of this man, you won’t find a large number of original songs, but a collection of meaningful folk and blues tunes that speak to the populace at large. This concept actually seems to be missing from a great deal of music today; not everyone can relate to being angry at the government, and not everyone wants to hear about the inequities of the world. Often times, people want to hear simple stories that they understand. There is no shortage of that on I Stand Alone. There are songs about your body aching, there are songs about pets and songs about lost love. Most of the album, Elliott spends alone – just him and a guitar. Occasionally, he is accompanied by Flea and Lucinda Williams which serves to create a fuller sound. Williams seems to have the most incorporation into the album seeing as she and Elliott sing a duet on “Careless Darling.” Again considering Elliott’s catalog is greatly made up of his interpretations of others songs, this album, or any other for that matter, is a good place to discover his work for the uninitiated.

Tracklisting:
01 – Engine 143
02 – Arthritis Blues
03 – Old Blue
04 – Driving Nails in My Coffin
05 – Rake & Ramblin’ Boy
06 – Hong Kong Blues
07 – Jean Harlow
08 – Call Me a Dog
09 – Careless Darling
10 – Mr. Garfield
11 – My Old Dog & Me
12 – Leaving Cheyenne
13 – Remember Me
14 – Willy Moore
15 – Honey, Where You Been So Long
16 – Woody’s Last Ride

Coachwhips – Double Death (Narnack Records, 2006)

(This originally appeared in Impose)

John Dwyer sounds distant and disturbed as he yells at listeners through what sounds like a bullhorn in time to his dirty two or three piece band – depending on what track is dialed up. What this band does well, as it’s playing its own brand of thrashy, stop and go garage, is create rhythms that are pleasing even as the melodies are ridiculously simplistic. Pretty much all of these songs clock in at less than three minutes. So, you’re looking at less than an hour of music over the twenty-four tracks presented here. To conceive of all of these melodies, even if they reach their natural end in a short time, is still an incredible feat. And while this is not an album proper, but a collection of b-sides and rarities, it serves to survey the band’s style.

In addition to the original material there’re a number of covers towards the end of the disc. Included is an instrumental version of The Velvet Underground’s “I Guess I’m Falling in Love”, a Gories track and “The Witch” by The Sonics. The last track mentioned lends itself to the band nicely partially due to The Coachwhips’ uncanny ability to stay perfectly in time with each other while playing the stop and go game.

The DVD that accompanies this slew of music is what makes Double Death enticing. On the DVD various engagements the band had over its brief career are displayed. Video and sound quality vary, but in this case – for this band - that’s appropriate. No one will say that Double Death is the buy of the year, but it’s damned entertaining and makes the Black Keys and Holly Golightly look like a buncha hacks.

Dr. Octagon – The Return of Dr. Octagon (OCD International, 2006)

Sporadically surfacing, Keith Thornton (a.k.a. Kool Keith) releases an album with a bizarre title or concept, receives his praise and then soon after disappears for a time. The impetus for the Dr. Octagon character, only one of Thornton’s many guises which also includes the Black Elvis, may well be somehow tied to a traumatic childhood experience – and that conjecture is really just as crazy as the character. Dr. Octagon himself is a less than savory sort, but oddly enough on his second recorded effort decides to include a track about the environment being destroyed and an explanation of how human beings are very similar to ants. Regardless of the eco-friendly subject matter being broached, Doc Oc is accompanied by production from three German minds that make up One Watt Sun. The raps lean against robotic, eighties beats that occasionally incorporate a bit of strings or a dusty jazz sample. Musical setting aside, Doc Oc continues unleashing his share of surprising and warped lyrics. He mocks those who aim to emulate Al Green or Tracy Chapman, then shifts focus and begins a short narrative about obtaining a truck to make some obscure delivery. The Return of Dr. Octagon is everything that one might expect from the mind of Kool Keith and also probably a bit more than what is expected from most hip-hop that currently passes for creative.

01 – Our Operators Are Masturbating
02 – Trees
03 – Aliens
04 – Ants (w/ DJ Dexter)
05 – Don’t Worry MZ Pop Music
06 – Perfect World
07 – The Turtle Skit
08 – Al Green
09 – A Gorilla Driving A Pickup Truck
10 – Got Any Kids?
11 – Doctor Octagon
12 – It’s the Morning
13 – Jumpstart
14 – Eat It (w/ Princess Supastar)

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – The Letting Go (Drag City Records, 2006)

I don’t recall exactly when being folky got to be cool again, but I’m alright with it for the most part, save for Devandra Banhart. Charlie Parr, Iron and Wine and this gentleman, BPB, have been carrying on a tradition of old timey instruments with newer production and recording techniques to varying degrees. And regardless of what music one has encountered that has involved BPB before, his latest album, The Letting Go, comes across as not only more of a singular vision, but also one that is easily applicable to any and all that listen. A gloomy violin, which acts to almost recall a silent film score begins “Love Comes to Me”. The slight guitar figure compliment the voice of BPB as the hand drums add some motion to the song. This opening track sets the tone for the album and is recalled again on a few other tracks that also study the human condition. “Cold and Wet” has a pre-war blues feeling and the vivid couplet “Shoes are wet/Our skin is cold”. But this time it’s physical and emotional pain as opposed to simply the later. Finger picking isn’t lacking on this BPB outing and on “Big Friday” the listener gets a little sample along with a nice reverb soaked slide part. If you weren’t a fan before, or were a bit apprehensive, The Letting Go might be an open to door to begin falling in love with good ole Billy – swear.

Tracklisting:
01 – Love Comes To Me
02 – Strange Form of Life
03 – Wai
04 – Cursed Sleep
05 – No Bad News
06 – Cold & Wet
07 – Big Friday
08 – Lay And Love
09 – The Seedling
10 – Then the Letting Go
11 – God’s Small Song
12 – I Called You Back

The Everyothers – Pink Sticky Lies (Kill Rock Stars, 2006)

Pink Sticky Lies is the follow up EP to this group’s full length debut from a few years back. The general pop consensus has not changed much in those years; indie is cool, looking shaggy is glamorous and copping attitudes from the 70’s is the best way to become a rock star. The Everyothers take all these cues and in each song repeat them with little or no variety. This is rock n’ roll, no doubt. But the vocals, courteously of Owen McCarthy seem frequently strained. He wants to be a crooner and while he can hit those notes, those notes don’t always seem to fit with the musical venue which the band provides. When the vocal quiver begins the overall quality of the song fails. Never have I degraded music for being overtly simplistic, but I do hold in higher esteem those songs that have unique aspects. And this EP glaringly omits variety and invention. Kill Rock Stars is generally well regarded in indie circles: they have helped to create a number of underground stars. But in the release of The Everyothers album, KRS has assisted what seem like deluded musicians reaching for glory in a confusing time warp of lackadaisical hippness.

Tracklisting:

01 – Too Far
02 – Dive With Me
03 – Something Wrong
04 – Pink Sticky Lies
05 – A New Inebriation

Cale Parks – Illuminated Manuscript (Polyvinyl Record Company, 2006)

The young Cale Parks has played in enough bands to convince you that he’s in his late 70s or so. He’s been a part of Aloha, Cex, Joan of Arc and Pit Er Pat. And while, after that list, you may feel as if you have some sort of concept of what his solo album will sound like, you’re probably really bloody wrong. But first, considering the fact that all the noise on here was recorded by one individual, the question arises; why are these tracks given such names? I don’t aim to answer that, but I will say that there needs to be some low end rhythmic activity on some of ‘em. “Tiny Theme” is lily white Kraut rock, yes that’s right, the Midwest has made Kraut rock more white with the lack of low end depth. Not a bad track, just a little bitta something missing. Seeing as this was recorded by one person, the songs do tend to be a bit self indulgent. Not in an ‘80s metal guitar solo kinda way, but in a self pleasuring manner. The inclusion of sporadic female vocals on “Galaxy 8180” adds a bit more depth and width to this release. And after taking in all that there is on these twelve tracks, it’s easy to understand that Parks is well versed and entertained by disparate musics; the inclusion of a few unabashedly electronic numbers is proof of that. While the approach and attempt to get all those genres in there is admirable, a focused attack on electronic music might have yielded a stronger outing.

Tracklisting:
01 – Pretty Boring
02 – Galaxy 8180
03 – Tiny Theme
04 – Halls Of Avalon
05 – I Am The Arm
06 – Late Show
07 – Wet Paint
08 – Me At Home
09 – The Garden Is A Maze
10 – Fearsome Opponent
11 – Moccasin Bend
12 – Beat Masheen