Playing a little catch-up on a MONDAY - bringing you those NEW MUSIC FRIDAY finds to kick this week off
IN STYLE!
ALICE COOPER - Detroit Stories [LP/CD](EARmusic/The Orchard)
Alice Cooper, before the band and before the man, was Vincent Furnier born to an evangelist Father in bustling Detroit, MI. Because of Vincent's bouts with several illnesses, the family uprooted and moved to Phoenix, AZ - but Furnier never really left his Detroit music roots behind. After finding success in Phoenix, then moving the band to L.A. - it was back to Michigan in the early Seventies to sow the seeds of shock rock that would become Alice Cooper. Now fifty years later, Cooper, the man, has returned to Detroit to flex a little muscle with a band of fellow Detroiters (Wayne Kramer of the MC5, John Badanjek of the Detroit Wheels) and honorary Detroiter Joe Bonamassa. Fifteen songs of piston-pounding, engine-revving Rock N'Roll that range from twisted soul and searing blues to pedal-to-the-metal Rock.
ARAB STRAP - As Days Get Dark [LP/CD](Rock Action/Redeye)
As storytellers go, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton only seem to get better. The young lions and their once-bitter tales have mellowed in sound and fury only to find more colors for despair, doubt, and descent into several long dark nights of the soul. Now practicing a form of existential autobiography, “As Days Get Dark” is haunting with being ghostly, moody but not grim, and a gift for these grey March days. Moffat’s growl has warmed a bit as he intones characters and an omniscient narrator through his Scottish burr. The music of Middleton providing his complement and companion, frequently humanizing (“Sleeper,”) seductive (“Compersion, Pt.1,”) or evocative (“Kebabylon.”) “As Days Get Dark” unfolds like a set of short stories (the bracing and brave “The Turning of Our Bones” makes a fantastic opener) daring you to listen deeper to find the common narrative thread.
JANE WEAVER - Flock [LP/CD](Fire/Redeye)
Cannot understand why this British synthian singer/songwriter is not more celebrated. Since 2014’s “The Silver Globe,” Jane Weaver has consistently drilled out soothing and danceable German-meets-Italian-meets-Stereolabian Pop. Coming to terms with her elusive and illuminating style of writing takes maybe one song tops. That track on “Flock” is the magical and propulsive “The Revolution of Super Visions.” This dizzying spin of synth Funk, mystical post-Hippie sound, and alluring vocals are custom made for the dance floor that has become part of your room. Even in the places on “Flock,” where Weaver goes a little far into the avant-garde (the mix of scratching guitars and heavenly flutes on “Pyramid Schemes,”) her sense of melody always ropes you back in. Given that “Flock” is another stunner from start to finish - a living, breathing dream.
MOOR MOTHER and BILLY WOODS - Brass [CD](Backwoodz Studioz/The Orchard)
ANGRY BLACKMEN - HEADSHOTS! (Soulspazm/Deathbomb Arc)[CS]
Presenting: The future of Hip-Hop. Like the bracing, Afrocentric Jazz of Sun Ra and the embrace of Jazz via Native Tongue artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Moor Mother and Billy Woods usher in its Next Wave. A brilliant collage of sounds, words, and melodies, “Brass” is at times soothing and others completely frightening. “Brass” manages a panoply of voices and emotions but stitches it all together into a cohesive 21st Century glimpse of history and how it infects us today. “The Blues Remembers Everything The Country Forgot” is a blistering screed on the past tempered with Moor Mother’s “earth mother” singing gently nurturing the future. “Mom’s Gold/Chimney” is eerie and reminiscent of the soothing-yet-uneasy mood of films like “Ganja and Hess.” Like that groundbreaking movie, the cinematic “Brass” is always ready to turn on a dime with its supporting roles walking on for star turns (ELUCID, John Forte and Fielded,) while letting you float along on its waves of restlessness, righteous anger, and the continuous thread of history. Highly recommended.
This duo needs just eight songs over seventeen minutes to decimate the Industrial/Minimal side of Hip-Hop. Like Death Grips, they come at it with fierce intent and a razor-sharp sense of humor. Tracks like “PROPAGANDA!” filter old-school Hip-Hop through a keyboard-driven Nerdcore bent. If there is an ease to this style of attack, “HEADSHOTS!” knows its message and what it wants to reframe about the dichotomies of modern life. The slow nod of “DANCE!” should be their call out to draw in the dance floor crowd, however, they use it for their modus operandi. Still Chicagoans Brian Warden and Quentin Branch sling verses that find a relaxed flow while choosing words that prick up your ears. Each track has a cool background and the pair (with producer Gary G Beats) know how to frame their confessions/jeremiads very well. “HEADSHOTS!” is a must.
ADULT MOM - Driver [LP/CD](Epitaph/AMPED)
Adult Mom is mostly Stevie Knipe. Knipe has a definitive talent for the witty/sad lyrics and an almost Sundays-ian sense of melody. “Breathing” is a jangly alternative to all the threadbare indie-pop as of late. Knipe twists her words to paint unique images and “Sober” really showcases her ability to both recreate the reality of a situation but also apply her perspective to it. “Driver” carries its self with certain confidence yet Knipe’s voice is unique as she finds a completely different kind of longing than anyone out there. A promising start.
FLEETWOOD MAC - Fleetwood Mac (1968)/Mr.Wonderful/The Pious Bird of Good Omen [LP](Blue Horizon/Fat Possum)
The mystifying myth of Fleetwood Mac has some very earthy beginnings. When you really dive into the glossy Buckingham/Nicks/McVie front person triumvirate, you cannot separate their sparkling success from the rhythm section who still wears the band's name. "The Chain" would go nowhere without John McVie's powerful bassline. "Tusk" sails along so well under the guidance of steady Mick Fleetwood, they have to hire the USC Marching Band for the big finish. It all began with British Blues Boom in the Sixties. Jumping from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood, McVie, and guitarist Peter Green (a replacement in that band for Eric Clapton) decided to go their own way. Their 1968 debut is a no-frills Blues affair but is most notable for how quickly the band's chemistry gelled. Adding slide sensation Jeremy Spencer, Fleetwood Mac in 1968 released a Blues album that did not dote upon the popular Blues-based Rock of the day (Cream, Rolling Stones.) With blazing cuts like "Shake Your Moneymaker" and "My Heart Beat Like A Hammer," it quickly established the band as a critical and commercial entity. Given its success, the quickly recorded follow-up "Mr. Wonderful" adds horns and Christine Perfect on keyboards going after another glimpse of true Chicago Blues. Between success in the UK and trying to introduce themselves in the US, several of the cuts from "Mr. Wonderful" appeared on the US only "English Rose." Also, the band traveled to famous Chess studios in Chicago to record with a handful of Blues legends in early 1969 ("Fleetwood Mac in Chicago,"), and the band recorded with Blues pianist Eddie Boyd in London. All this confusion, the addition of third guitarist Danny Kirwan and their departure from Blue Horizon helped assimilate their early singles (and B-sides,) with two Eddie Boyd songs into "The Pious Bird of Good Omen." "Omen" remains the best place to start your early Mac exploration as it contains their first chart single (Green's classic "Black Magic Woman" - later made famous by Santana) and their first #1 single (the beautiful instrumental "Albatross.") Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac is often given short shrift in their long and circuitous history. However, now that the story can be told with this hodgepodge of British releases/Fat Possum reissues - Mac soars again.
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