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The third and final Shakti recording from the '70s. The songs here are shorter than those on Shakti andHandful of Beauty, but no less impressive. The novelty of combining Eastern and Western musical styles had worn off and McLaughlin sounds comfortable. This allows for memorable compositions and interchanges, rather than the blistering virtuosity that characterized the first two releases. From the intense ("Daffodil and the Eagle") to the joyful ("Happiness Is Being Together"), Natural Elements stands as a milestone in McLaughlin's illustrious career.
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The self-titled album debut of Zaz is one of the more exciting French revelations of 2010, boasting a refreshingly unique gypsy jazz style as well as plenty of contemporary pop appeal. Thirty years old at the time of her solo album debut, Zaz is a seasoned vocalist with years of experience as a performer, and her vocals are indeed a wonder to behold. She's a talented jazz vocalist, for sure, and her resemblance toEdith Piaf is striking. In addition to her singing, Zaz is a gifted songwriter credited with either writing or co-writing six of the 11 songs on her debut album. French pop star Raphaël is credited with writing three of the remaining songs, "La Fée," "Port Coton," and "Éblouie par la Nuit," and Kerredine Soltani is credited with writing the standout lead single, "Je Veux." Moreover, Raphaël is credited with producing four songs on the album: the three that he wrote, plus "Trop Sensible." Alban Sautour, Germain Guyot, and Soltani are also credited with production, and their work is commendable. The gypsy jazz style of the album is tastefully produced, never sounding retro or clichéd and, more importantly, never taking anything away from Zaz herself. Moreover, the contributions of four different producers makes for a diverse sound, with the Raphaël songs in particular standing out from the others. Clocking in at 11 songs in 39 minutes, Zaz doesn't overstay its welcome and leaves you craving more after the awe-inspiring closing track by Raphaël, "Éblouie par la Nuit." Impressive from all standpoints, Zaz is a strong contender for French pop revelation of the year.
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Amoral kicks off with a sharp, springy bass riff leading into "The Dawn of Your Happiness," an aptly named slice of buoyant, Beatlesque power pop in the vein of XTC or Jellyfish. It's a stunning, unexpected opening move coming from a hiply appointed N.Y.C. rock band c. 2010, but it turns out to be something of a bait-and-switch. Although there are similar strands of melodic sweetness and gobs of '60s-sparked harmonies scattered throughout the rest of the album, they rarely come together again in such a distinct, indelible fashion, save perhaps on the much gentler "Violent Sensation Descends," a lovely bit of paisley pop with a particularly Shins-ish vocal turn from frontman Jorge Elbrecht, bookended by freakish noise barrages which sound something like the Zombies being devoured by actual zombies. Instead, Violenswork their way through a sea of arty guitar pop/rock influences, dredging up a slew of familiar post-punk, noise pop, and shoegaze touchstones, often all in the same track -- "Until It's Unlit," for instance, veers from a lite punk-funk groove oddly similar to Madonna's "Holiday" to dreamy, swirling psych-pop, to a crunchy, thrashing coda -- and often with pleasant results, but without ever settling on a coherent signature sound. Which is fine as far as it goes -- Amoral sounds quite lustrous, and yields a few worthy take-away moments, including the soft, gauzy "Trance-Like Turn," and especially the gritty, propulsive, cheekily titled single "Acid Reign" (which hints at the muscular majesty of School of Seven Bells -- a band, by the way, who manage to do something far more distinctive with a similar set of influences) -- but it adds up to a disappointingly undistinguished whole. Violens are descended from Lansing-Dreiden, a dormant-if-not-defunct band (or, as they'd have it, "art company") notorious for their opacity and anonymity, who were frequently accused of using enigmatic, overblown posturing to mask a fundamental lack of substance. It's a lot easier to figure out what's going on -- and what's not -- with this new incarnation, and even though there's still something slippery about their stylistic orientation, and perhaps a dearth of tangible content, it's great to hear these guys ply their considerable musical gifts in the interest of musical pleasure rather than high-concept artiness. Amoral or not, this album serves as a reminder that the superficial can still sound pretty super.
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It's hard to decide what the most impressive thing about Veckatimest is: Grizzly Bear's ambition, which is seemingly boundless, or the fact that this boundless ambition never eclipses these songs. The band already made such an impressive leap from Horn of Plenty to Yellow House that an album to catch their breath would have been understandable. However, Grizzly Bear are most comfortable when they're challenging themselves, and Veckatimest delivers everything that Yellow House did and more. Just as that album blew off the dust and noise that covered Horn of Plenty's lo-fi sketches, this album's production clears away any remaining cobwebs, revealing these songs in all their intricate detail. That detail includes string quartet and choral arrangements by composer and conductor Nico Muhly on some tracks, but all of Veckatimest has a more rarefied air than any of Grizzly Bear's previous work. The band hints at the just how big the album's scope is with its first two tracks: "Southern Point"'s psychedelic folk-jazz throws listeners into its bustling acoustic guitars, piles of vocal harmonies, swishy drums, and various sparkling sounds, making it a disorienting and dazzling opening salvo. The gorgeous "Two Weeks," by contrast, is the album's most immediate moment, its "Would you always? Maybe sometimes? Make it easy? Take your time" chorus teetering elegantly between pleading and reassuring as it's buoyed by backing vocals courtesy of Beach House's Victoria LeGrand. From there, Veckatimest ranges fromYellow House-like rambles such as "Hold Still" and "Dory" -- which plays like a kissing cousin to "Little Brother" -- to elaborate, quicksilver suites like "I Live with You," which builds from the Brooklyn Youth Choir's vocals into skyward-climbing chamber pop, to "While You Wait for the Others" and "Cheerleader"'s deceptively simp
le pop. At the heart of all these songs are negotiations with someone close, as on "All We Ask"'s admission "I can't get out of what I'm into with you." Though the sheer heft of songs such as "Fine for Now" could easily topple the album's balance between ambition and intimacy,Grizzly Bear knows when to come in for close-focus moments like "About Face" and the final track, "Foreground" which, with its plaintive vocals and simple piano melody, is one of the band's most beautiful ballads yet. It's clear that Veckatimest was made for a lot of listening. Nearly every song feels like the musical equivalent of a big meal: there's lots to digest, and coming back for second (and thirds, and more) is necessary.
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Fields, the debut album by José González's band Junip, was nearly a decade in the making, and it sounds like it. Not because it’s particularly elaborate -- actually, in many places, it’s nearly as spare as González's solo work -- but because the chemistry evident on these songs only comes with time. González and his bandmates, keyboardist Tobias Winterkorn and drummer Elias Araya, began playing together in the late ‘90s. Though they went in different directions for several years, with Araya studying art and Winterkornteaching and building a studio while González made a name for himself as a solo singer/songwriter,Fields' simple, confident, surprisingly easy feel shows that Junip was never far from their minds. They sound like a real band, and González is as much a team player here as the other two-thirds of the group; while “To the Grain” could have appeared on one of his own albums, most of these songs are fleshed out in their own unique way. “In Every Direction” kicks off the album with hypnotic beats and keyboards that have a much more rock feel than anything González has done on his own, while “Tide” closes it with big drums and drones. In between are songs filled with interesting, but not showy, textures and ideas, from “Rope & Summit”'s acoustic Krautrock motorik to “Sweet & Bitter”'s distorted beats. “Howl” is another standout, futuristic folk-blues with percussion that sounds like an impromptu rhythm tapped on a water glass. Elsewhere, jazz and the repetition-based Ethiopian music González grew up with make their presences felt, giving Fields a subtly exotic feel that sets a lingering mood. Indeed, mood sometimes overtakes songwriting, with tracks like “Without You” and “Off Point” focusing more on atmosphere than melody. Despite this, it’s a real pleasure to hear González thinking and playing bigger here with the help of his friends. Fields is intriguing in a low-key way that grows with repeated listening and will makeGonzález fans into Junip fans.
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The links between classical training and electronic music have always been apparent, at sometimes more clearly than others, so Aufgang's contribution to the field, given two of its three members' training at Juillard, is in many ways not surprising at all. The pianos that dominate much of the album range from the frenetic to the softly romantic, casting all of Aufgang in a slightly chaotic light. On balance, it is something of a frustrating album, certainly not terrible, but neither does it seem fully comfortable with itself, often feeling more like a showcase for the accomplished keyboard work than its own self-contained experience. Thus the opening "Channel 7" can't seem to decide whether it's meant to be contemplated as a soundtrack or used as a dance number or something else again, crunchy synths and the build-up of drums into bells creating another mood that's pleasant enough. At the band's most straightforward, they are often their most successful -- "Sonar," which almost feels like a salute to the early-'90s work of 808 State at points, isn't a re-creation of that sound or of the piano's driving role in so many early house records, but it comes close enough in feel to succeed in its own right. Similarly, the extremely calm "Prelude du Passe" and the swirling space rock drive of "Barok" add a little something more to the styles that the trio explores. In contrast, songs like the chaotic "Channel 8" has a lot of elements going for it, from synth zone to pulsing beats, but finds itself all stitched together under some sparkling touches that almost induce sugar shock. If not a full success, it is at least an interesting start on a full-length basis for the group.
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Produced by Iron Butterfly's Lee Dorman and Mike Pinera, Black Oak Arkansas introduced a three-guitar thunderstorm underpinning the scary basso profundo growls of lead singer Jim "Dandy" Mangrum. This was a sound unlike any other on the then-nascent Southern rock scene. With songs like "Hot and Nasty," "Lord Have Mercy on My Soul," and an otherworldly cover of Guy Mitchell's hit "Singing the Blues," Black Oak found a cult following through incessant touring with the likes of the Allman Brothers Band. This is not pretty music, but it does have a propulsive kick to it, with the guitars going in several directions at once while Jim Dandy's Howlin' Wolf-influenced vocals lay out a strange blend of macho sexual and religious imagery. Although the sound would quickly become cartoonish over subsequent releases, this initial release contained the spark of the new and different.
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