Annoyed with the many hyphens used to review the sound of their first album, the Eternals deemed their style "rawar" and offer 11 examples in their defining of the new term. With help from the Chicago posse, this is most like a post-modern, hip-hop conscious version of what the Talking Heads came up with in their Brian Eno-led cross-sonic experiments. Unlike the Heads, the Eternals all bring considerable musical craftsmanship to the project, which might explain why the production of their complicated compositions is so clean — to prove that the magic is in the mind, not the mix. "High Anxiety" starts with a John Barry-like spy theme with high, taut bass and heavily-treated, reedy vocals by Damon Locks. His sing-speech is cut and clipped in production, removing bits of words and adding to the simmering chaos illustrating the song title. "Space Dancehall" suggests bits of that style heard in the 2003 hip-hop mainstream while exploding on a drum, and a gritty keyboard-led toast even more paranoid than "High Anxiety." By the middle, this edgy skitter settles down to weird, experimental Sun Ra-styled musings over downtempo beats. On "The Beat Is Too Original" perhaps, this jazz-rock crossover is the subject of their parody, coming off as a rather ineffectual Frank Zappa style critique of a trend which they (and their label, Aesthetics are most surely agent provocateurs for). By the final track "Gussy You Yourself," the steam runs out completely, and the anxiety has turned into low level social critique trudged in Locks' underwater beat poet style.

Not mongerous enough for ATL, huh?

recommended to shmoo and KPH especially.

Yeah, I had both of them in mind on that "half of Boston" thing... and mlle... and neuro...

apostle of hustle.folkloric feel
one of the many splinter bands featuring members of broken social scene. if "lovers spit" was your favorite song off of YFIIP, then this is for you.
recommended to shmoo and KPH especially.

Joseph Arthur - Our Shadows Will Remain

Whenever I think of Joseph Arthur, I think of a combination of Richard Ashcroft, Jim White, Elliott Smith and even PJ Harvey (she would do a killer version of "In The Sun") and Iron & Wine at times. Anyway, I think Amazon's description of the album is pretty good.

With Our Shadows Will Remain, Arthur has delivered the album that will connect with the masses. It is at once his most intricate and focused work to date, featuring the mesmerizing rock tracks "Can't Exist" and "Even Tho". With other songs ranging from beautiful acoustic melodies (Echo Park) to harder-edged, expansive driving rock (Devil's Broom), to deep and gritty programmed beats (I Am, Wasted), this album is a real, vital diary of the landscape of urban life and the album that most clearly reveals the breadth of Arthur's incredible talents. Our Shadows Will Remain is an instant classic, destined to make Joseph Arthur a household name.

You can hear sound samples at the site below.
http://www.bamah.com/josepharthur/oswr/

Gingersol---Eastern

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Charli might like that.

Mr. Airplane Man's third full-length, C'mon DJ, is the strongest record yet. The duo of Margaret Garrett on guitar and vocals and Tara McManus on drums have stripped off another layer of dirt from their low-down lo-fi garage punk sound. They have also taken another small step away from the blues and toward the girl group and classic rock & roll sounds they headed in on their previous album. The songwriting has tightened up some, too. C'mon DJ is a garage punk classic in the making, an extremely catchy blast of unbridled sexy desire with the kind of chord progression that'll make you want to learn how to play guitar just so you can play along. It starts the album off at such a peak that the rest of the disc suffers a bit, but there is still plenty of fine material to be found, like the downcast and lovely ballad "How Long," which sounds like Mazzy Star if they had come from Memphis instead of Beverly Hills, the rollicking "Red Light," and the heartbroken strut "Don't Know How to Love," which shows off Garrett's much improved vocals. Elsewhere you will be treated to excellent covers of the Dutch Outsiders' moody ballad "Sun's Going Down," the Wailers' pounding garage rocker "Hang Up," the traditional blues "Travelin'," and Howlin' Wolf's "Asked for Water," all delivered with a large dollop of grit, grease, and sweetness. A very nice combo indeed. If you thought you would make it all the way through the review without hearing any White Stripes comparisons, you were almost right. They are no doubt in the same ballpark as the Stripes, the whole guitar/drums duo playing the white blues and all, but they are not imitators. They are simply hoeing the same row and doing it in fine unpretentious and down-home style. When you tire of the Stripes and their rock star routine, c'mon over and check out the simple charms of Mr. Airplane Man's C'mon DJ.