Nancy and Lee Again

July 9, 2009July 9, 2015 / David James / 2 Comments

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood comprised one of the most inimitable duos in pop music history. Nancy’s wise-beyond-her-years little girl voice serves as a perfect foil to Lee’s grizzled-but-tender cowboy delivery in a perfectly balanced duet of sweetness and spice. Hazlewood’s still-relevatory electro-tweaked countrified pop constructions take the entire production to the next level in this slice of coed harmonic bliss, hot and fresh after four decades.

Nancy and Lee

Their second release, Nancy & Lee Again, may not contain the iconic Some Velvet Morning (expertly covered by Slowdive) or their superb take on The Righteous Brothers‘ You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, but it’s the superior record to my ears. Here’s that cover:

The near epic Arkansas Coal (Suite) kicks off the set in dusky mysterious tones and quickly builds through an emotionally swerving narrative toward an anthemic horn blasted finale.

Mid-album highlight Down From Dover (prominently sampled by The Go! Team) is possibly the best showcase for Sinatra’s voice, a raggedly heartfelt turn which may surprise those who know her as a too-cool chanteuse from These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ or Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down). Capped off by the deliciously playful conversation of Got It Together Again, we’re privy to these final words:

Nancy: “I wish everybody would be quiet, and nice.”
Lee: “Yeah, and don’t throw rocks.”
“Yeah.”
“And don’t shoot guns.”
“Right.”
“And come home safe.”
“Right”
“Because we miss ya.”

This intimate exchange gives me a chill right down my spine. It’s exemplary of the whole album, an experience not unlike listening in on two sweetly adoring old friends as they sing like they’re the only ones who can hear, only for each other. We’re just lucky it was caught on tape.

[pick this right up on original vinyl at amazon (!!! yes!!!) or get it digitally via 7digital, as it’s not issued on CD. or you can get the excellent Fairy Tales & Fantasies collection, compiling almost every good track they recorded]

Meanderthals – Desire Lines

June 1, 2009July 22, 2016 / David James / 1 Comment

Meanderthals are a truly new hybrid project comprised of Norwegian DJ Rune Lindbæk and English duo Idjut Boy, and recently released their hauntingly unified musical cornucopia of a debut album.

Desire Lines manages to swallow up everything but the kitchen sink, every touchstone of the artists’ collective sound base, while retaining a densely unified sound and singular feel throughout. The entire trip is anchored by a heavy dub foundation and shrouded in a balaeric beach party ensemble, shot through with airy acoustic and scruffy funk electric guitar. Darkly futuristic keyboard lines weave into and around breathless moments of sunny ecstasy that lift the eargasm potential far above mere dance floor slow burns. Every moment is blessed with a loose, jazzy attitude which belies the group’s disconnection from the club and the more introspective nature of this heady excursion. All of these statements are true, yet merely dance around the compulsively head-nodding appeal of Desire Lines. This is an album to unwind to, whether out on the town or back at home. It’s something you’ll end up listening to alone most often, despite the instantly gratifying beats and approachable nature – any friend with a working set of ears would be thankful for an introduction – it’s just too engrossing a listen when surrendering full attention. One look at the cover art probably gave more of an impression than any of this paragraph, but if you have read this far, take my word that the visuals are certainly representative of the majestically dreamlike beauty captured by this album.

[submit to the sound at boomkat or cd universe – and be sure to show some love at the Meanderthals myspace]

Caural – Mirrors For Eyes

May 27, 2009December 22, 2010 / David James / 4 Comments

Caural is the artist name of Chicago native, multi-instrumentalist and producer extraordinaire Zachary Mastoon. This is his latest, and most fully fleshed out full length release.

Mirrors for Eyes is deeply saturated in hazy tones and heady, soulful beats. Spinning this is like dropping down a mental slide through treated drums, live guitar, organic synth lines; the slightly fragile production feels held together by the grooves of an ancient (but well preserved) vinyl from a connoisseur’s original Blue Note collection. Managing this fine balancing act is what makes the record so astounding: projecting a thoroughly modern and forward-leaning style while retaining the crackling edge of some classically forgotten gem – one recently unearthed from a hermetically sealed time capsule. Mixing fully instrumental and vocal tracks (some rapped, some sung) with a casual ease, this LP will eat 50 minutes and ask for more, stealthily working it’s way under the skin until the ghostly tones emerge in dreams and every paused, reflective moment throughout the day. The draw is narcotic and can relentlessly stick for weeks. Give it a spin; there’s no fear of addiction when the product’s this pure. For instant convincing, spin Re-Experience Any Moment You Choose and quickly find yourself hitting restart to get the whole picture.

[grab this at boomkat or cd universe, or the reliable standby amazon]

Air France

May 22, 2009July 19, 2009 / David James / 11 Comments

With only a handful of released tracks totalling over 30 minutes, Air France have become the favorite new artist many forward-thinking and fun loving music fans. Swathed in sun drenched woozy atmospheres and grounded with a fundamental understanding of beat centered propulsion, this enigmatic duo has managed to become both the hottest ticket from Gothenburg and the leading light in a balearic trance pop revival stretching around the globe. This is the pair of unfathomably striking EPs with which the group has garnered so much attention.

First we have No Way Down. Released in the summer of 2008 with little fanfare, it was luckily picked up on pitchfork‘s radar and received a glowing review, now echoed in hundreds of like minded gushing writeups. This is dangeously addictive electronic love-sound nirvana. Cutting through multilayered samples with the ease of Avalanches, they’ve also got an ear for pop hooks that would make other recent (and excellent) Swedish exports blush. There’s not a second wasted among the six equally brilliant tracks. Forced to pick a standout, Collapsing At Your Doorstep would fit the bill for it’s dreamlike sampled refrain, “sort of like a dream. no – better” flitting over weeping romantic strings and a beach party conga line of percussion. Truthfully, the entire record is required listening.

Speaking of beach parties, here is the first release, On Trade Winds, dropped in 2007. Beach Party is practically the group’s manifesto, the snowball which has since grown into an avalanche of attention. Too many people have listened to and loved the new EP yet remain ignorant of the burgeoning genius on display with these four tracks. Honestly, it should have gone first but recognition beats propriety. Flip these tunes on, line up the second record, and take the whole 36 minutes and 7 seconds in one hit. It’s as simple as that. Words, however eloquent, aren’t equipped to convey the blast of fresh air and heartpounding excitement this music evokes. Once it’s over you’re nearly guaranteed a repeat play. The only problem arises when the craving for more sets in. Hopefully Air France can keep the momentum and swing for the fences again with a new release in the near future. Is a full LP too much to ask?

[available separately as Swedish imports, and download-only from various outlets including klicktrack. Best option is the UK edition at A mazon which contains both EPs for the relatively low price of $17.49 us – an option I wish were available when I discovered them]

Lemon Jelly – Lost Horizons

May 12, 2009October 4, 2010 / David James / 9 Comments

Lemon Jelly are a mysterious instrumental duo who create sunny aural landscapes of undulating beats and warm synth swells, homespun string samples and comfortably worn woodwind accents. It’s an enigmatic yet inviting soundscape, enveloping and indulging the listener – a place to live, cocooned in gentle bliss. In this sense they could be considered, in a reductive way, as a Boards of Canada sibling who woke up on the right side of the bed.

Downtempo post-trip hop is often looked upon with condescending eyes, and for good reason. Beginning with the striking, exotic feel of early stalwarts Air, Thievery Corporation, and even Zero 7, most notable acts gentrified into a nearly adult-contempo vibe. The lowest common denominators of this sound are what I would consider “Starbucks music” – wallpaper to soothe yuppies as they drink overpriced milkshakes over a laptop. It’s only to the music connoisseur’s detriment that this fact obscures numerous incredible acts, leaving us out in the cold, unaware of the innovative treasures obscured behind the prominent bland façade of upwardly mobile coffeehouse bands.

Well enough with the negative. Time for positive: This is an uplifting album, as enthusiastic in its aim to please as a new puppy. There’s nothing abrasive or truly strange jutting out of the copacetic mix, no jarring transitions or moments where the proverbial rug is pulled from under the listener. What it lacks in moments of surprise it more than compensates with waves of agape-tinged, playfully melodic tones from the first track onward. It’s a dreamy world of laid-back grooves ensconced in cozy atmospheres. It’s an album-length getaway to the summertime destination of your choice, ready any time you are.

[cop this groovy masterpiece at cd universe (and check out their classy list of semi-related albums) or place an order at the always reliable amazon. or try to find the vinyl, as the artwork is widely considered gorgeous]

Underworld – Second Toughest in the Infants

May 7, 2009January 28, 2017 / David James / 20 Comments

underworld-secondtoughest

Underworld could have laid claim, at a certain point in time, of being the greatest band in the world. Of course, Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are modest Brits and known to loathe any self-aggrandizing boasts; the music speaks for itself, on record or in person. They truly bloom in a live environment, as a matter of fact. Where most of their peers are revealed, like the Wizard of Oz, to be little more than men with smoke and mirrors, Underworld unleash a godlike stadium-sized audio invasion. I’m here to share an album, not an experience. So from here we go crazycrazycrazycrazycrazycrazycrazy…

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Galaxie 500

April 19, 2009September 25, 2010 / David James / 1 Comment

Galaxie 500 are one of the greatest bands of all time.

Yeah, I just said that.

galaxie500-02

Standing as one of the highest monuments to the phrase “criminally ignored in their lifetime,” Galaxie 500 perfected the blueprint for absolutely blissed-out hazy love sounds in a mere 3 albums before acrimoniously splitting in 1991. Existing for five years and releasing music for just three, their acknowledged impact on music has grown exponentially in the intervening quarter-century.

Presaging shoegaze with their opioid rhythm section and warm liquid guitar tones, and possessing the unquestioned lineage of anything labeled “slowcore,” they could be unjustly mistaken for Music To Fall Asleep To. That’s a crying shame. Although oftentimes I would be hard pressed to think of a better time than lying in bed all day listening to Galaxie 500 on repeat, this music demands close attention. Allowing oneself to drift off to the narcotic tug is indeed a divine pleasure, but greater rewards await those who sit up, pay attention, and maybe get out in the sunshine while they’re at it. There is a spiritual element to this music that touches everyone who truly absorbs and becomes absorbed by its spare grace.

This is not to imply it is in any way religious, because it is not. This is music to truly uplift and affirm. To warm the soul, soothe frayed nerves, and leave the listener on a higher plane than before he pressed play. These songs have infinitely larger meaning in their feel than in anything so pedestrian as lyrical content. In fact, the lyrics are often vague, dreamlike, and understated; concerned with basic themes of disaffection, longing, ennui, and of course love, the words themselves are not groundbreaking. The heavenly atmosphere is engendered by the perfectly interweaved instrumentation, the egalitarian balance of every element in the mix, and the effortlessly captivating and timeless melodies Dean Wareham, Naomi Yang, and Damon Krukowski captured on record nearly two decades ago. These records can accompany a bicycle ride, day at the beach, even a nap perfectly. It’d be an even larger criminal offense if that’s all they are remembered for. Galaxie 500 carry the mind and soul aloft, to dance with ideals and hopes and dreams far above the day-to-day reality of earth.

Today, 1988

Key tracks: Flowers, Don’t Let Our Youth Go To Waste (godlike Jonathan Richman cover), Tugboat

On Fire, 1989

Key tracks: Blue Thunder, When Will You Come Home (one of my absolute favorite songs of all time, no question), Ceremony (excellent cover of early New Order single, arguably better than the original)

This Is Our Music, 1990

Key tracks: Fourth of July, Summertime, Listen The Snow Is Falling (towering, gorgeous cover of a Yoko Ono track – undeniably, exponentially superior to the original), Way Up High, and the bonus track Here She Comes Now (a thundering, aggressive, majestic cover of the Velvet Underground original. I am a huge VU fan yet still consider this better than the original, again, by a long shot). Also, hopefully you’ll notice the album is named after a certain Ornette Coleman classic, and aptly so.

Please remember, the ‘key tracks’ are to conjure interest. They’re entry-points, if you will. Each of these records are of a piece and meant to be heard as such. Not that you’ll have any trouble letting them spin after hearing the first track (which I’ve included as ‘key’ for each) and being comfortably locked in for the duration.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

So these are the three studio albums released in the lifetime of the band. Dean went on to form the much more successful Luna, and Damon and Naomi formed, well, Damon & Naomi, but no matter how they tried, never eclipsed the sonic glory of this brief engagement. As for the music, no individual description is necessary. I will simply offer that they are one of the most consistent bands to have ever existed. Though constantly evolving and updating their sound, breaking through subtle barriers with each subsequent release, the entire ethos and drive of the music remained rock solid from day one. From the moment you first hear Galaxie 500, these tones will have unrivalled distinction as unique as a fingerprint. Nothing else aproximates the quietly triumphant bliss conjured here.

[purchase Today, On Fire, and This Is Our Music separately at amazon, but keep an eye out at your local independent record shop, as I’ve found the CDs at entirely reasonable prices. plus you’ve more chance of finding the Peel Sessions, the Uncollected, and Copenhagen (Live) sets as well]

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