Red Sparowes: The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer (Sargent House)
For its first full album in 3.5 years, atmospheric post-metal quintet Red Sparowes moves from Neurot to Sargent House and welcomes aboard guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle (of The Nocturnes) to replace Neurosis guitarist Josh Graham.
Like usual, resplendent melodies — courtesy of pedal-steel guitar as well as echoes and reverberations — top snare rolls and layers of harmony. On past albums, these movements have built to crescendos, but The Fear… more commonly alternates this with mountainous low end and steady, pounding rhythms.
The thickness and grooves are key elements, but Greg Burns' pedal-steel guitar again steals the spotlight. The mix has resulted in the band's finest album, one in which Red Sparowes best establishes its own voice — further distancing itself from the comparisons to Isis and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Red Sparowes: "A Swarm"
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Seeming to assimilate any modern sound that it desires, Nice Nice spans an expansive range of sounds simply as a duo.
Squiggly electronic flourishes, psychedelic scales wound around rudimentary rhythms, harmonized indie vocals, and near cacophony all are staples of the Nice Nice synthesis. Spastic moments are vital as well, and certain segments elicit comparisons to Hella and Lightning Bolt — vocally, rhythmically, and tonally.
It's cliché, but the duo has something for everything — whether it's tranced-out bliss (a lá The Flaming Lips), polyrhythmic complexity, or big, fuzzy beats.
Nice Nice is — forgive the pun — a band so nice they named it twice.
Nice Nice: "One Hit"
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Having built a reputation solely from production and remixes, Alex B now makes his full-length debut with a relatively unusual level of anticipation.
Throbbing electronics, hallucinatory synths, bouncing bass, and echoing piano are just the tip of the iceberg. Like Freud's theory of the preconscious and unconscious, most of Alex B's work is buried beneath the surface.
Moments is dense yet never noisy. A few guest MCs make their marks amid the sonic timberland, but the disc belongs to Alex B — a producer sure to team up with a few more high-profile cats after this makes the rounds.
Alex B: "You and I Both Know"
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Eskamon: Fine Objects single (Ancestor Media)
Brazilian DJ Amon Tobin — one of the preeminent avant-electro musicians in the world — is no stranger to field recordings, and he used them beautifully on his 2007 album, Foley Room.
Now, in collaboration with Eskmo (together as Eskamon), he continues his love of capturing, dismantling, and morphing any peculiar sound that he finds.
"Fine Objects" is the (potentially one-off) single from the two, and we can only hope that more is in store. Crunchy, punchy, metallic, warbling, alien — "Fine Objects" is all of these things with enough dance-floor foundation to get heads nodding. Here's to a future full-length.
Eskamon: "Fine Objects"
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Carlos Bica + Matéria Prima: s/t (Clean Feed)
Portuguese bassist and composer Carlos Bica, like many in jazz circles, is a fruitful artist. Splitting time between Portugal and Germany, Bica has worked with scores of established musicians in a pair of great jazz scenes.
However, in contrast to many of his contemporaries, Bica's material is forceful, dramatic, and unafraid to take chances. This disc, recorded live with his Matéria Prima group in 2008, exemplifies this approach.
The album's opener is driven by a looping Western guitar riff, which is topped by a reverb-soaked lead that weaves in and out. A striking cello, trumpet, organ, and drum kit accent the lead with power and precision, and a full beat begins a lively groove.
Much of the rest of the album could be filed under jazz, but Bica's unique arrangements add bits of blues, lounge, psych rock, and more while maintaining a coherent style. It's an accessible and engaging effort.
Carlos Bica + Matéria Prima: "DC"
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Honorable Mentions
All Leather: When I Grow Up, I Wanna Fuck Like a Girl (Downtown)
Ikonika: Contact, Love, Want, Have (Hyberdub)
In Tall Buildings: s/t (Whistler)
Javelin: No Más (Luaka Bop)
Jónsi: Go (XL)
Mi Ami: Steal Your Face (Thrill Jockey)
Monster Movie: Everyone is a Ghost (Graveface)
Murder by Death: Good Morning, Magpie (Vagrant)
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: I Learned the Hard Way (Daptone)
