Herman's Music & Movie Picks
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Polyphonic Spree- “Together We’re Heavy” The fully realized sophomore Spree hallmarks lushly textured, orchestral pastoral pop for the 60’s sunshine love and peace set. A symphonic Spiritualized pet sound of Sgt. Pepper and Flaming Lips, complete with horns, a Theremin, and booming choir. From the ashes of Tripping Daisy, epistle guru Tim DeLaughter, aided by 25 other robed agents of bliss recorded 2001’s “The Beginning Stages Of…” in two days, and started the whole world singing. The slow precision of over a year in the studio and fronting a national Bowie tour has poised the inspirational troupe for 2004 international acclaim. The
Cure-
“The Cure”
Fans of “Disintegration” era Cure
will enjoy the glimpse of
“Pornography” and see this as
something of a comeback album. Making
their “Curiosa” tour to rival the
defunct Lollapalooza with Interpol,
Mogwai, and The Rapture on 7/29
Atlanta, 8/14 Dallas, and 8/15
Houston. Sonic
Youth- “Sonic Nurse” These
Seminal NYC post punk rockers have
been creating audio alchemy for 20+
years, with an extensive catalog of
releases ranging from avant-indie-
punk to improv-jazz-post rock. This
new release sees them going back to
their roots, a la “Sister” and
“Daydream Nation,” recapitulating
their classic sound with seasoned
expertise. Two Lone Swordsmen- “From the Double Gone Chapel” Darlings of ethno-funktronica follow up their 2000 release with a new collection “From the Double Gone Chapel.” Think of vintage Joy Division and The Cramps with a dance rock fusion twist and you are half way there. Must have. !!!- "Louden Up Now" A funk-rock-disco-punk dance party straight outta the NYC underground. Their second full length album and second release on the uber-cool Warp label, this is a summer disc through and through. Arovane- "Lillies" The grand master of experimental, abstract computer funk is back with his first release in 4 years. Peppered with organic and traditional instrument samples and vocals courtesy of Japanese singer Kazumi, this is Arovane's pinnacle and will probably be his last release for some time to come. Color Filter-
"Silent Way"
This Tokyo based drum-and-bliss
collective release their newest full
length release, the first in 4 years.
Harkening back to the early days of
shoegaze and dream-pop [a la my bloody
valentine and Cocteau Twins], Color
Filter have a knack for making this
sound fresh by adding breakbeats,
bass, looped/layered electronics and a
lot of love. Excellent! hollAnd- "I Steal And Do Drugs" The newest material from artist/producer Trevor Kampmann aka hollAnd, this highly anticipated release is a 2 disc set of futuristic indie-electro at its best. The first disc is a DVD of short films that accompany 5 hollAnd tracks, while the second is a CD of 7 outstanding new tracks. Among the best of 2004. Gooom Tracks
vol 2. An EXCELLENT
compilation from the French Label that
introduced us to M83, Cyann and Ben,
Abstrackt Keal Agram and Purple
Confusion et al. The entire Gooom
roster appear with tracks exclusive to
this compilation, remixes by other
Gooom artists and a few surprises
thrown in for good measure i.e. an
appearance from Prefuse 73. A must
have release! Electrelane- "The Power Out" With a debut that sounded more like an instrumental homage to Moog-rock, Electrelane have pulled out the stops on their sophomore follow up with vocal harmonies influenced by The Pretenders, choral music, Pram and, yes, Stereolab. Of course this is complete with Moog and Farfisa drenched melodies and tight guitar work [a la Th' Faith Healers]- all encompassing the Too Pure "sound." Junior Boys-
"Last Exit"
From out of the blue comes this highly
acclaimed Canadian act- making
electronically poppy songs with
intellectual lyrics that don't
alienate the listener. Think New
Order, Pet Shop Boys or David Sylvian
with an indie slant. |
Older Music Releases Schneider TM- “Reconfigures” Dirk Dresselhaus has wowed both fans of
indie and electronica with his
quirky, offbeat pop sensibilities.
His latest outing is a limited
edition of 12 superb
reconfigurations [not remixes] from
the likes of Lamb, Pulseprogramming,
Ruby and Boss Hog. The
One AM Radio- “A Name Writ in
Water” Wispy
folktronica that is amorphously akin
to Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian
and The For Carnation. Violins,
trumpets, maracas and light drumming
lend to the traditional
instrumentation while the laptop
gurgles out rain washed sounds.
Ensconcing this are natural and
processed vocals which speak of
love, loss, life, death and
movement. Lali Puna- “Faking the Books” Leaning further away from the IDM/Lap-pop
textures, their 3rd LP
with beautifully jagged guitar
chords pirouette with the heavy bass
lines and synths along with Valerie
Trebeljahr’s chanteuse vocals.
It’s an invigorating mixture of
dream pop and indie-electro. Fennesz- “Venice” Ethereal sweet wash of My Bloody Valentine inspired
soundscapes blends easy dream pop
sensibility to
electro-experimentation. Múm- “Summer Make Good” Icelandic darlings of the indie-IDM scene
return with a more subdued, slightly
glacial take on their cherubic world
of sound. Innocent, yet otherworldly
female vocals mesh with digital
clicks, guitar, analog tape loops
and accordion into an indescribable
tapestry of fragile beauty. “For
when the radio is broken and
crackles like uranium orchids- Alan
Moore.” Architecture in Helsinki- “Fingers Crossed”- Australian
collective who make neo-psychedelic
quirk pop, could be the sleeper of
the year. A fun collage of
instrumentation [guitar, xylophone,
thumb piano, etc] and different
vocal styles to play at your six
year olds birthday party- and yours
if you like. Mirah- “C'mon Miracle”- If Elliott Smith and P.J. Harvey had a K
Records lovechild; Mirah would be
the result. She’s the Pacific
Northwest’s newest best-kept
secret. Her poetically cathartic
lyrics are delivered unrestrained
over layered indie-rock/
acoustic/neo-orchestral musical
movements, resulting in a life
soundtrack of sublime beauty. The Beta Band- “Heroes to Zeroes”- Scotland’s indie-psych rock
darlings have amassed a cult like
following and, with this, they
finally live up to the Hi-Fidelity
soundtrack. Organ drenched melodies,
electronically processed drums,
misty guitars and mystical lyrics-
all delivered with a quirky
breeziness. Stripped lean, this is
their best work. To
Rococo Rot- “Hotel Morgen”- This
seminal Berlin group have been
producing underground music since
before the iron curtain crumbled.
After a 3-year hiatus, they return
with their strongest release to
date. Their signature sound of
electronic minimalism [ambient sound
loops, beautiful violin samples,
romantic melodies] is polished to
perfection. -- Alex Slawson and Herman Snell
DVD Releases
Love
& Rockets: Sorted! (Over
100 minutes in non-compressed PCM Stereo
of all videos including “Haunted
Fish Tank”, interview, 4 Daniel Ash
videos, 1 David Jay video,
‘Bubblemen’ section, 4 rare audio
tracks, Easter eggs)
William Gibson : No Maps For These Territories (Award-winning documentary on the cyberpunk futurist writer as he embarks on a philosophical cross-country limousine ride with a camera rolling. He theorizes at great length on his life and work, the mind, the future, William Burroughs and more. Amazing and inspiring.
Six Videos by Dusan Makavejev (Six socio-controversial features by this Yugoslavian filmmaker. His work in sexual politics with a psychology background was banned and made illegal to own in his country. “Montenegro,” “Wilhelm Reich: Mysteries of the Organism” and four others.) |
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Jonathan McLeran – “The Romance of Plants”At our best we sometimes find ourselves and our opposite joined, at eternal odds, in stalemated singularity. Our most solid completeness and best art often comes from this constant and synchronous pulling in all directions from our inner most core. This sort of inspirational dichotomy is apparent in the Jackson, Mississippi based Popaholic Recording Artist, and one-man band known as Jonathan McLeran. His first solo release, “The Romance of Plants” is an instant infection of the 60’s psych-pop harmony of “Pet Sounds” era Beach Boys and The Byrds, juxtaposed against the modern indie-pop melody and hip fluidic sensibility of Pavement. The “Romance of Plants” at its surface is an immediate aesthetic of catchy; hook laden, pop mastery with the tongue and cheek lighthearted lyric wit of Beck, Sebadoh, and Of Montreal. McLeran’s whimsical wordplay keeps your attention without distracting from the music. He matches up well against contemporary Sub-Pop (circa 1992) and K Records indie influences, but refuses to get lost in the pretension and narcissism that is often all too apparent in indie music. His rhythmic prose stylings will have you humming some riff of wistful wit long after the disc is done. In some fit of compulsion, all your co-workers will no doubt go insane wondering why you keep humming the same damn infectious verse. Irresistible you’ll fix on the harmony in your head. Indeed,
all the hit hooks are there, but the
record’s full power is greater than the
sum of its parts. You can try on some
mp3’s at www.popaholic.com,
with national distribution on Parasol
Records, but the pastoral beauty of the
album lies in its reverberation in total.
The album should be put on with a pot of
tea and listened to from beginning to end.
It’s cohesive and eclectic journey in
and out its varied styles, meld seamlessly
into McLeran’s deeper influences of
classical string and piano arrangements
from his University of Southern
Mississippi training. The comprehensive
amalgamation of McLeran’s “Romance of
Plants” is an uncanny composite of indie
psych pop breed on a rich understanding of
more complex classical and jazz
composition. McLeran
is a native of Jackson, Mississippi and
began performing live in The Sunshine
Revival Band at 14 years old, with
brothers Joshua and Jakob Clark, of Living
Better Electrically. From those auspicious
beginnings, McLeran has continued to hone
the richness of each new instrument he
adds to his already diverse palette. He is
the 2nd artist to sign on with
Chris Nicholas’ Mississippi based label,
Popaholic Records. Eric Stracener’s
“Sockeye” was released on the upstart
imprint last fall. Bookmark the website, www.popaholic.com
and check it every so often for some of
the best new music the south has to offer.
You can buy “The Romance of Plants” at
www.popaholic.com
or in the Jackson, Ms. area at Be-Bop
Record Shops.
-- Herman
Snell |
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10.0:
Essential |
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TOP
MUSIC RELEASES OF 2003 by
Alex Slawson and Herman Snell |
37. The Decemberists- Her Majesty The Decemberists- Elephant 6 style indie-psych.
36.
Cat Power- We are Free- Heartfelt,
impressionistic balladry of the highest
order.
35.
American Analog Set- Promise of Love- Serenely
crafted soothing indie-pop.
34.
Spiritualized- Complete Work Vol. 1- Space
rock Gods best of collection.
33.
The Books- The Lemon of Pink- A
beautiful neo-folk and electronic sound
collage.
32.
Schneider TM- 6 Peace- Robotic
pop for the technologically possessed.
31.
Cyann and Ben- Spring- Space
pop and lo-fi indie merge to nocturnal
bliss.
30.
Fischerspooner- #1- Electroclash for the
underground club set.
29.
Irving- I Hope You’re Feeling Better Now- 60’s
tinged indie psych pop.
28.
Broadcast- HaHa Sound LP/Pendulum EP- Avant-electro
with retro sensibility.
27. Broken Social Scene- You Forgot It in People- Neo-Indie Art Rock.
26.
The Rapture- Echoes-
Dance
punk meets new wave of the 21st
century.
25.
Plaid- Spokes-
Angular, Escheresque, and soulful
Intelligent Dance Music.
24.
Menomena- I
Am the Fun Blame Monster-
Multi-phonic loop based indie-pop.
23.
Goldfrapp- Black Cherry-
Smooth
and sexy electro journey into a cinematic
world.
22.
Adult.- Anxiety Always-
Electro-clash
ala Joy Division having an anxiety attack.
21.
Rachel’s- Systems/Layer-
Post
urban melospheric symphony.
20.
Tricky- Vulnerable-
Trip-hop’s macabre
front man releases one of his best to date.
19.
Autechre- Draft 7.30-
IDM
gods release digital audio-sculpture for the
sensory savvy.
18.
Four Tet- Rounds-
Post-rock-folktronica
in neo-classical instrumentation.
17.
Aphex Twin- 26 Mixes for Cash-
2 cd set of reworks from the Godfather of
IDM.
16.
Medicine- The Mechanical Forces of Love-
Electroglitch
with a whiff of shoegaze.
15.
Wire- Send-
Seminal
Brit-punk legends revive their classic
minimalist sound.
14.
Clearlake- Cedars-
Brit-Indie-Pop-Rock
rooted in XTC and early Blur.
13.
Exploding Hearts- Guitar Romantic-
Power
Pop-Punk bred on The Clash/Jam.
12.
Yo La Tengo- Summer Sun-
Melodic
dreamy indie pop in quiet beauty.
11.
Prefuse 73- One Word
Extinguisher-
Leftfield
blip-hop with a cut and paste tonality.
10.
The Shins- Chutes
too Narrow-
British
influenced Indie-Rock from America.
9.
Sun Kil Moon- Ghosts of the Great Highway-
Neil
Young meets a mod Nick Drake.
8.
Mojave 3- Spoon and Rafter-
Pink Floyd
tinged spaced out brit-gaze indie-rock.
7.
Sweet Trip- Velocity: Design: Comfort-
Shoegaze
awash in IDM electro-glitchery.
6.
Radiohead- Hail to the Thief-
meshes
Kid A electro with OK Computer epic rock.
5.
Manitoba- Up in Flames-
60’s
psych rock with indie-electro and dreampop
tones
4.
Ms. John Soda- No P or D-
German
electro-acoustic lap-pop.
3. Guided By Voices-
Hardcore UFO’s-
Indie
legends greatest hits and rarities
box set.
2.
M83- Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts-
Synthgaze- Air meets My Bloody Valentine.
1.
TV on the Radio- Young Liars EP-
Incredibly
unique fuse of guitars, feedback, muted
electronics and soulful vocals (early Peter
Gabriel meets Seal).
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Submit Listings To : satorinow12-herman@yahoo.com or fax (601)510-9040
Herman's Music & Movie Picks
The Lounge List (Event Calendar) Mississippi Arts Planner :
Regional Music
Listings
January
- March
Music
Venue List
April
- June
Music
Blog
July
- September