P.O.S.: Never Better (Rhymesayers)
P.O.S. has saved hip hop. Minneapolis rapper Stefon Alexander, a.k.a. P.O.S. or that guy from the punk band Building Better Bombs, has made what is likely to be the best hip-hop album of 2009.
Never Better draws on Alexander's background in punk and rock music (he plays most of the live instrumentation on the record), making this is a record that categorically defines the indie in indie rap.
Freezing weather, bold racism, wheezy lungs, and zero-balance checking accounts create an unlikely backdrop to this strangely positive album, all delivered through Alexander's dynamic vocal cadence.
Read the extended review of Never Better by ALARM founder/editor Chris Force.
P.O.S.: "Goodbye"
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The Bad Plus: For All I Care (Heads Up)
Drawing inspiration from both Igor Stravinsky and Nirvana, veteran jazz trio The Bad Plus wields its chops with considerable force and eloquence.
The group’s live and recorded covers, often sprinkled throughout fantastic originals, showcase its broad musical palette. That holds true with For All I Care, the group's first all-covers release.
The album contains two firsts for The Bad Plus: renditions of classical material and the use of a vocalist (alt-rock vet Wendy Lewis). Lewis nails the material’s vocal melodies with stunning power and exactitude, allowing the group to explore other sonic colors.
Nirvana's "Lithium," The Flaming Lips' "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate," and György Ligeti's "Fém (Etude No. 8)" stand out as particular highlights.
The Bad Plus: "Lithium" (Nirvana cover)
The Bad Plus: \"Lithium\" (Nirvana cover)
Kevin Hufnagel: Songs for the Disappeared (Nightfloat)
Whirlwind guitarist Kevin Hufnagel, one third of math-metal trio Dysrhythmia, issues this beautiful, melancholy collection of tunes centered on acoustic guitars and percussion.
Musical themes come and go as quickly as Hufnagel works his frets, tossing around swaths of Spanish and Gypsy guitar before reverting back to haunting rock melodies. Prepared guitar (similar to prepared piano — placing objects between strings) gives tracks like "Hunter/Hunted" a distorted, effected, and percussive feel, making use of a simple method to create relatively rare sounds.
Kevin Hufnagel: "Hunter/Hunted"
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Marco Benevento: Me Not Me
Following last year's solo debut Invisible Baby, keyboardist Marco Benevento (The Benevento/Russo Duo) returns for another studio effort, this time mostly of covers. Benevento's handful of originals have a fuller treatment this time around, employing the type of layered, post-jazz instrumentation that highlighted Invisible Baby.
The cover material is especially interesting for those familiar with the original versions. Led Zeppelin, Beck, Deerhoof, Leonard Cohen, and more are remade, with the pretty piano of Cohen's "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" standing as one of the disc's best moments.
Marco Benevento: "Twin Killers" (Deerhoof cover)
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Zombi: Spirit Animal (Relapse)
Influenced by the work of Goblin and other 1970s horror soundtrack artists, ambient and cinematic acoustic/electronic duo Zombi showcases a sound that fits these films and any number of other retro soundtracks.
On Spirit Animal, the duo's songs are a bit more focused on modern rock sounds, and they certainly pack a punch. The album doesn't tread new ground, but existing fans of the genre are sure to love it.
Zombi: "Spirit Animal" sample
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Sabertooth: Old Days & The Island (Arena Rock Recording Co.)
Not to be confused with the Sabertooth that frequents the Green Mill, Chicago's storied jazz venue, this album is built around the gentle neo-folk songs of Nicholas Marshall. Far from the over-hyped indie folk and freak folk that have saturated the blogosphere, Old Days & The Island excels with lasting melodies, genuine vocals, occasional strings, and distant effects.
