Boom Bip: "All Hands"

Ever since his loop-based beginnings, Bryan Charles Hollan — known better as experimental hip-hop artist Boom Bip — has been on the search for his optimal live-band incarnation. He seems to have found it.

In 2002, Seed to Sun demonstrated Hollan's ability to make compelling organic and instrumental hip hop. On his recordings since that time, nearly everything has been performed by hand, and the results have been admirable — but nothing has clicked quite like his newest effort, Zig Zaj.

Now Hollan is armed with a permanent live band, consisting of Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Eric Gardner (Gnarls Barkley, Charlotte Gainsbourg), and Josiah Steinbrick. Their chemistry is immediately evident on Zig Zaj, which also sports standout guest spots from Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand (for one very Depeche Mode track), Money Mark, Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun), Cate Le Bon, and Mikey Noyce (Bon Iver).

Partly because of the guests, the new material takes a poppier and more rock-driven direction. But there's still plenty of the old Bip underneath, as synths and electronics commingle with the bass grooves and delicate acoustic riffs. ALARM caught up with Hollan to find out more about the evolution of his band and what projects he has in the works.

Tell us about the evolution of the live band. How has that affected or led to what we're hearing on Zig Zaj?

The evolution of the live band has been like creating a new breed of dog. I've constantly been trying to fine-tune it to something enjoyable for me. This time, though, I got it right. The current live band is fantastic. With Zig Zaj, I certainly had the live show in mind when constructing the tracks. As a result, intensity became part of the equation, and you can hear that in the tone of the songs.

Coming out of the collaboration with Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals (as Neon Neon), what made you decide to scale back the dance elements for the new album?

The Boom Bip albums have always been more about the moment and trying to not have any limitations or concern for genre. I just let whatever comes out come out. I don't really think, "What genre does this fit into and what bin will this sit in at the record store?" Although it has become a game for me to see where it is placed. I've seen my album in everything from rap to avant-garde.

On Zig Zaj, did you tailor specific tracks to the artists that you were collaborating with? Or did you work with the artists to create a sound together?

Most of the time, I come up with the track, and midway through the writing process, I start hearing vocal melodies. I know at that point whether it should be male or female and the general tone of the vocals. I then dip into my pool of acquaintances and friends and see who best fits what I am hearing in my head and reach out. With Neon Neon, it was quite different. Gruff and I started from the ground up, and the tracks were catered to Gruff's style and voice.

Your music is almost entirely devoid of loops or samples. Do you feel that electronic and hip-hop musicians use samples as a crutch?

Not at all. I love hearing samples used in interesting ways. A lot of music benefits from a sample or the repetition of loops. My music used to be mainly loop-based out of the inability to write an actual song, but I have recently challenged myself to work with song structure and changes. I'm somewhere between a loop-based hip-hop producer and a pop-based songwriter.

Now nearly a decade after the release of your first full-length album, are you able to reflect on your musical progression?

I am definitely aware of some progression. When listening to the older stuff, I just hear what I could and should have done differently. With this new album, I actually did a lot of things that I wish I would have done in the past, mainly on the production end. As a musician or artist, you should never stop progressing. Some artists get worse over time, and their best work was made when they first started out. I don't feel that is the case with me. I can always and will always do better the next time around.

What would be your dream collaborative project, and why?

I get this question all of the time, and I really don't have an answer for you. I honestly don't think I have a dream collaboration, but if Nick Cave called, I wouldn't hang up on him.

What projects do you have coming up next, and with whom will you be working in the future?

I'm working with the visual artist Charlie White on a project involving preteen girls. We do a series of long interviews with the girls, and I construct music based upon their personality. It's going to be more of a installation in a gallery with a series of photos and media rather than a typical album. Gruff and I plan on finishing up some demos this fall for the next NN. Those two projects plus the live dates have my head spinning already.

When DeVotchKa landed a Grammy nomination for its contribution to the soundtrack of 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, it was a welcome vindication. The Denver-based quartet had been waging an uphill battle for recognition since the late '90s, when bandleader Nick Urata (vocals, guitar, trumpet, piano, Theremin) put together the first version of the band with largely different personnel.

“It took a long time to find the right quartet,” Urata says from his Denver home, where a blizzard rages outside. “I was a sideman for my whole life, so at the beginning [of DeVotchKa] I was having such a good time doing my own songs with my own band, I let anyone who wanted to play join in. When we finished the first record (Supermelodrama, 2002), everyone was done with school and needed to move on. [Multi-instrumentalist] Tom Hagerman was one of them, but in the long run it was good. It forced me to find people who wanted to play for a living. Finding Jeanie [Schroder] and Shawn [King] is a long story, but eventually Tom came back and we convinced him to stay.”

Urata grew up near New York City in a large Italian family. “My grandfather was a musician and had a great influence on me,” he says. “I began studying trumpet at age eight and was exposed to music from all over the world. There was always talk of Gypsies in our bloodline. As I got older, I began to pine for those old-world sounds.”

It’s those old-world sounds that make DeVotchKa so unique and hard to define. The band is tagged with blurbs like “Gypsy mariachis playing funky boleros at a Greek taverna” or “Eastern Bloc cabaret rock,” but its blend of rock and world music is part of a burgeoning new style one could call global pop. DeVotchKa’s mash-up of American R&B, Gypsy, spaghetti western, Argentinean tango, surf guitar, odd Balkan back beats, and angular funk sounds eccentric and strangely familiar, even to those unfamiliar with the band's myriad influences.

“Music-business people are always telling me there’s no place for [DeVotchKa],” Urata says. “But the fans are saying, 'Give me more, and the wackier, the better.' Almost every label in America turned us down. One of them, after a long courtship, walked away because we were too ethnic. Nine months later, right about the time they would have put our record out, we were featured in Spin as part of the hottest new trend in music.”

Undaunted, the band created its own label, Cicero Recordings, and followed up Supermelodrama with two more excellent recordings: Una Volta (2003) and How It Ends (2004). When the directors of Little Miss Sunshine put tracks from How It Ends on their soundtrack, it brought the band some well-deserved mainstream recognition, as did its one-off EP, Curse Your Little Heart, for independent label Ace Fu.

Enter Anti- Records, the adventurous LA label that’s home to Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, Billy Bragg, and Nick Cave. “We were interested in Anti- because they have Tom Waits,” Hagerman says. “They finally came to a show and signed us.”

A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa’s new album, is their most ambitious yet, featuring ten luxuriously produced tracks that brim with international rhythms, lush orchestrations, and Urata’s soulful croon. The band produced the album with Craig Schumacher (Calexico, Giant Sand), who also helped with Una Volta and How It Ends.

“Craig has great musical ideas and keeps us from hurting ourselves when we record,” Urata jokes. “He’s good at placing mics for maximum effect and coaching a good performance out of us.

“There was an urgency when we wrote and recorded the last two albums. This time we were more ambitious musically and little more relaxed. I felt like we could sit back and let this one be itself without trying to interfere with the creative process. We left a lot to chance, with more improvisation and input from the other members — more spontaneity. The last few I had mapped out before we recorded, due to financial constraints and lack of confidence.”

The tunes on A Mad And Faithful Telling are marked by a clear, clean mix that gives every instrument its own distinct voice. “Basso Profundo” begins the album with Latin-influenced spaghetti-western sounds before moving into a Russian Gypsy jam during the coda. The backing vocalists sing a merry wordless hook that instantly embeds itself into your brain, while Hagerman’s fiddle goes into overdrive, zooming through the mix like a hummingbird on nitroglycerine.

“For me, playing violin is the most potent musical expression.” Hagerman says. “Communicating an emotion through a wordless musical phrase is really powerful.” Hagerman also shines on “Comrade Z,” an instrumental rave-up that’s part Balkan brass, part Gypsy fiddle insanity, with a driving, irresistible bass line. “We tried to cram as many notes into the motif as possible,” Hagerman says of the tune’s frenetic pace. “It’s a tune we started a long time ago. The string quartet we use on that tune gave us more choices in orchestration. I like arrangements where the strings take over the melody or rhythms that are usually played on guitar.”

“The Clockwise Witness” showcases DeVotchKa’s growing confidence in the studio. Toy piano and staccato strings set up the rhythm while Urata’s guitar, Schroder’s bass, and King’s drums counter with a dance-rock groove.

“Tom came up with the toy-piano riff a couple of years ago,” Urata explains. “We played a different version of it on the road, but when it came time to record, Tom wrote an amazing arrangement for strings and oboe. The new arrangement has a strict metronomic beat and reminds me of the seconds of our lives ticking away. The lyrics ask, ‘Is there redemption in living the straight life, or should we just trample everyone in our way for immediate gratification?”

Another dark track is “Blessing in Disguise,” a military waltz with a lyric of lost love and regret, with a lot of swing in the drums and string charts despite the martial tempo. “I wrote this on my own,” Urata says. “I was having a terrible time writing and couldn’t find anything good for months, then it wrote itself all at once. I tried to explain that process in the lyrics. In those rare moments of clarity, you realize that losing love or facing death, although extremely painful, can lead to profound changes. I wanted it to be somewhere between a wedding and a funeral march, so we brought in marching band instruments and recorded it all live in the same big studio room.”

“Undone” sounds like Roy Orbison fronting a Gypsy band while singing the tango; “Strazzalo” employs an odd oompha waltz; “Transliterator” features rocking disjointed funk that sounds vaguely like the Talking Heads, one of Urata’s favorite bands during his youth.

A Mad And Faithful Telling takes its title from a line in Edgar Allen Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher, perhaps fitting because the lyrics Urata has crafted for the album are full of his usual concerns: mortality, lost or unattainable love, and the brevity of happiness. His vocals, which combine David Byrne’s uneasy yelp with Orbison’s powerful but restrained croon, often float free in the mix, adding another element of mystery to the music.

“I try to get across a mix of conventional wisdom and poetry, portraying emotional experiences with enough poetic license to make it interesting,” Urata says. “I like songs that are a little bit ambiguous. One day it means one thing, the next day it means something else, the way conversations you’ve had in the past can come back to you in a whole new context. The best stuff comes subconsciously; it has nothing to do with me. Once they’re finished, songs become their own entities that have nothing to do with you anymore. The vocal mix is dictated by what the song or that particular performance needs. Sometimes the band has to overpower the vocalist. I am a bit shy about putting the vocals way up front.”

Urata and DeVotchKa traveled a long road to achieve their current success, never compromising their sound or vision. Now that they’ve arrived, they find themselves lumped with other bands that are exploring Eastern European tonalities like Balkan Beat Box and Gogol Bordello, part of a so-called "Gypsy wave." It’s a pigeonhole that has mixed blessings.

“We have been type cast as a Gypsy band from the beginning,” Urata agrees. “In our case, it was a positive thing. As we got to know other like-minded bands like Gogol Bordello, we started telling people that Gypsy music has been going on for a long time, so where were you ten years ago? In fact, the Gypsy influence has been shaping music all over the world for hundreds of years. To say it’s some new anomaly is kind of laughable.”

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!"

It feels serendipitous that my interview with Nick Cave falls on a dreary Sunday morning. The sky is littered with thunderheads, and church bells sound ominously in the distance. As I sit in a modest Chicago hotel lobby waiting for the man to appear, I am plagued with anxiety. Cave has spent his career spinning yarns about murder, false prophets, and unattainable love, and in the process, he created a timeless mystique.

He is the other man in black: a novelist, screenwriter, and songsmith who has danced around the edge of the volcano and lives for investigating the dark sides of the human character. Suddenly, he appears, with his shoulder-length, jet-black hair slicked back against his scalp. It’s not even 10:00 AM, and he’s dressed for a dinner party in hell, resplendent in a dapper, pinstripe black suit and designer shirt. Moments later, we are alone in his small hotel room, with the blinds drawn as the first of the morning rain hits the windows.

On a whirlwind tour in support of their latest opus, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Cave and The Bad Seeds have completed the European leg and are in Chicago for a two-night stand at the Riviera Theater. Cave seems tired and rubs his eyes with a hand weighed down with several gothic-looking rings.

“So far, the tour has just been fantastic,” Cave says quietly in his slight Australian accent. “It seems like a long time since we’ve been in the States, and people are really liking it, and we’re really enjoying it.” Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! finds Cave mining themes close to his heart and has garnered overwhelmingly positive praise. The biblical Lazarus is substituted for a street-walking junkie named Larry, surrounding himself in sin and sex while searching for salvation, and the album is one of Cave’s most accessible and upbeat outings to date. It’s also, dare I say it, quite funky.
 

“You’ve got to go where you’ve got to go with songwriting,” Cave says. “I have ideas and places that I want to explore, and sometimes those ideas or albums are less popular than others. Sometimes I know that I’m doing something that people aren’t going to dig as much as stuff I’ve done in the past. The way Lazarus has been received is very different than the way [2003 album] Nocturama was received. We’ve done 13 records that have been vastly different, so you never really know what kind of response you’re going to get. But I just need to go in the direction that’s calling me. But obviously, it’s fantastic when people enjoy what you’re doing. It’s one of life’s true pleasures.”

Lazarus was shaped by the experience of Grinderman, Cave’s side project with fellow Bad Seeds Warren Ellis, Jim Sclavunos, and Martyn Casey. Its 2007 self-titled album, recorded live with few overdubs, is a lean and stripped-down machine, with no time for acoustic balladry or the congestion of the last Bad Seeds record, Abattoir Blues from 2004.

“Lazarus was definitely a product of the experience of writing and touring behind the Grinderman project,” Cave says. “I knew what I wanted the songs to be like, which is more naked and raw, and lyrically you just have to bang away at something for as long as you can until new ideas come. It took about a month working every day before I got something that to me sounded fresh and not like something I had already done. It usually takes a few weeks of writing to find a line that speaks to you in a different way than the stuff you’ve done in the past. Writing is always a solitary process for me, though. I don’t know of any other way to do it.”

Beginning in the mid-'70s with provocative Australian post-punk band The Birthday Party, Cave has been staggeringly prolific. At 51 years old, he is busier than ever, having just finished his second novel, The Death of Bunny Munro, which was hand-written during leisure time on the Lazarus tour. (“What I learned from my first novel, 1989’s And the Ass Saw the Angel, was that taking massive amounts of amphetamines is no way to write a book,” Cave offers.)

He scored the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford with Ellis, and the two have recently completed the score to the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. “[Director] John Hillcoat asked me to do it, and I’d pretty much do anything for him," Cave says. "He’s a very dear friend of mine, and what I like about him as a filmmaker is that he’s able to work just a bit outside the system. The film is amazing."
 

"The songs themselves provide a certain amount of consistency in my life, and it seems important to keep writing these songs. I’m not exactly sure why, but I seem to be driven to do it. It doesn’t provide any kind of catharsis.”

"What I liked about the book was that the apocalypse seems very real, and it’s not much different than what you’d see outside the window," he continues. "It’s not a science-fiction film in any way, but the apocalypse is very real. What John brought out in the film is what we’re giving up every day in our lives. Because the film and the landscape are so brutal, it gave us the opportunity to do something very beautiful musically, but there’s also some very nasty stuff as well.”

Hot on the heels of Lazarus, Cave has begun writing a new album as well. “It’s going to be a Grinderman record,” Cave says. “We’ve got a lot of ideas for it, but mostly they seem to change every week. Grinderman is a completely different thing. I’m engaged in a different way, in a way that seems much more free. The soundtracks and the extracurricular work all sort of inform what the new record is going to be. Grinderman influenced Lazarus, and now Lazarus is shaping what the new Grinderman will sound like.”

With Grinderman providing a new-found creative freedom, Cave has found that it has also freed him as a performer. “There are so many people in The Bad Seeds, and we wanted to get back to a more stripped-down sound,” he says.

“There is a historical kind of gravity around The Bad Seeds, a sort of weighted history, with a burden that really began to get to me. The Grinderman project blew that weight away, and Lazarus crawled out of that into something fresh for The Bad Seeds. We all felt like a weight had lifted. The way that we recorded it, and the way that I wrote it, and the way it feels to tour behind Lazarus all feels like we’ve cut a lot of those historical ties. It’s been great to see a lot of really young people come out for the shows, and these people reflect the kind of fresh approach we’re taking. These people are out here shaking it on the floor, and they’ve probably never even heard our early records. We’re just a band, and it doesn’t need to take on this kind of epic, mythic quality.”
 

For a man who many assumed would die a Morrison-like early death, the heroin-hardened Cave is contemplative and reserved, and carries an air of rock-star cool. Throughout the interview, he quietly sips his tea, while the storm increases in intensity outside.

“I don’t think that I’ve come to peace with anything,” Cave says as he twists a drinking straw in his hands. “I used to be a lot more peaceful when I was taking a lot of drugs. The drugs helped keep me peaceful. When I stopped using, I got let off the leash in terms of creativity, in terms of accomplishing what I want to do. I don’t do yoga or anything like that, which seems to be what a lot of older rockers get into. I’m just trying to get songs written. The songs themselves provide a certain amount of consistency in my life, and it seems important to keep writing these songs. I’m not exactly sure why, but I seem to be driven to do it. It doesn’t provide any kind of catharsis.”

I ask if his family provides some kind of peace, and Cave replies, “I don’t know if being a father helps center me. My kids are kind of chaos personified.” When pressed for what does deliver catharsis and peace in his life, Cave furrows his brow. “There’s something wrong with you, man; you’re so fucking concerned with my peace of mind. It’s all the peace, man; it’s all the peace. I don’t even really know if I’m ever centered.”

Cave falls silent and seems to ponder this last statement. I realize that my time is up, and I pack my things to leave. As I open the door leading to the hallway, Cave calls my name. He’s holding a rubber ducky, the kind that kids use in the bath, and he throws it to me. “I guess I’m not sure I’m really looking for peace,” he says with a smile.

As usual, ALARM leaves no genre unexplored in our list of this year's overlooked gems.

Sigh: Scenes from Hell (The End, 1/19/10)

Sigh: "The Summer Funeral"

With a history of fusing other revered genres to a doomy combination of black metal and thrash, Japan's Sigh used its eighth studio album to deliver symphonic, epic metal that calls upon classical instrumentation to top its rock foundation.

Brass, woodwind, and string instruments — as well as organ and piano — accent as well as lead sinister melodies that take surprising turns through fanciful themes. Raspy, menacing vocals coat each track, resulting in a dramatic presentation that isn't much at odds with its complex backdrop.

RJD2: The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections, 1/19/10)

RJD2: "Games You Can Win"

Following a divisive album that saw the introduction of poppy, soulful vocals, producer RJD2 returned with something of a split release — an album that leaves no shortage of accessible, vocal-driven tunes but that emphasizes some inventive instrumentals.  Whether or not you dig the soulful RJ, there's no doubt that the music on The Colossus is some of his best to date.

Chicago Underground Duo: Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey, 1/26/10)

Chicago Underground Duo: "Spy on the Floor"

For 15 years, the Chicago Underground Duo (and Trio, Quartet, and Orchestra) has been an avant-garde jazz outlet for prolific Chicago musicians Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Isotope 217) and Chad Taylor.  Boca Negra is an interesting dichotomy, as spiraling vociferation leads to upbeat grooves, shifting piano chords, harmonic electronics, and ambient samples.

Algernon: Ghost Surveillance (Cuneiform, 1/26/10)

Algernon: "Broken Lady"

The brainchild of guitarist Dave Miller, Algernon walks a thin line between melodically driven post-rock and instrumental unconventionality.  Ghost Surveillance places greater emphasis on synthesizers and sprawling song structures, but at its core is the combination of accessibility and technicality that has defined Miller's style. Noisy, circular rock riffs transform to tranquil, wandering passages. "Timekiller," the album's fourth track, is a beautiful, buoyant number — and one of the band's best creations to date.

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: Into the Wind (Ubiquity, 1/26/10)

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: "East"

In the hands of a marvel, the guzheng — a gorgeous Chinese zither — resonates with tactile beauty as its many strings are plucked with precision.

Bei Bei, a native of Chengdu, China, is one such musical technician. And this collaboration with Shawn Lee, a prolific producer who can man as many genres as he sees fit, is undoubtedly one of the year's finest albums.  Together, the two use Into the Wind to navigate through funky down-tempo jams, Kung-Fu flavor, hip hop, soul, and driving grooves.

Daníel Bjarnason: Processions (Bedroom Community, 2/1/10)

Daníel Bjarnason: "Bow to String I: Sorrow Conquers Happiness"

Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, composer Daníel Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé. Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work.  Powerful cellos scale and race with crackling percussions before settling into gently bowed and pizzicato string accompaniments; easily half a dozen strings battle for dominance in a sorrowful, harmonic piece that resonates long after hearing it.  Undoubtedly, Processions is a daring and original debut.

Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings / Distribution, 2/2/10)

Shining: "Fisheye"

Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, Norway's Shining — the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby — transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before delving into its darker side for a collaboration with black-metallists Enslaved.

Blackjazz pushes deeper into the band's dark recesses, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century.  Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams.  In all, Blackjazz is a new epic — and perhaps the best metal album of 2010.

Pillars and Tongues: Lay of Pilgrim Park, LP + download (Endless Nest, 2/9/10)

Pillars and Tongues: "The Center of"

With just three members, Pillars and Tongues manages to craft powerful folk abstractions and interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics. Both composed and improvisational, these shifting forms evoke spiritual vibes in their soulful essence, heavenly harmonies, and repeated patterns.

Dessa: A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree, 2/9/10)

Dessa: "Dixon's Girl"

The only female member of Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree, Dessa is a spoken-word vocalist, singer, and MC whose awaited full-length was finally released earlier this year.

On A Badly Broken Code, her true solo debut, Dessa's vocal diversity is matched by its underlying music, ranging from hard-hitting beats and rhymes to lilting harmonic overdubs.

The Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade: The Red List (20 Buck Spin, 2/16/10)

The Bastard Noise: "Mutant World of Shame / Underworld"

A spinoff of treasured "power-violence" hardcore group Man is the Bastard, The Bastard Noise is approaching its 20th anniversary of creating noisy electro-doom brutality.  For this split release with hardcore/punk experimentalists The Endless Blockade, the group utilizes the trademark drum-and-bass style of Man is the Bastard in combination with its far-out sounds.  The Endless Blockade contributes three tracks to the release — one 14-minute epic and two avant-garde remixes.

Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (Rhymesayers, 2/16/10)

Freeway & Jake One: "Know What I Mean"

Continuing his life after Roc-A-Fella Records, former freestyle star Freeway now makes his debut on Rhymesayers, a fitting new home — if only temporary before a move to Cash Money.  Fellow Rhymesayers standout Jake One provides a funky, malleable backdrop for Freeway's fiery delivery and lyrics that are alternately personal and light in content. And though Freeway deserves his accolades, Jake One's production is the MVP of this collaboration.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch, 2/16/10)

Carolina Chocolate Drops: "Hit 'Em Up Style" (Blu Cantrell)

Beholden to the traditions of Americana and early African-American folk, the string trio Carolina Chocolate Drops continues blurring the lines of old and new. On Genuine Negro Jig, the group's fifth album, a few original numbers and a trove of traditionals take root in banjo, fiddle, and percussion. Three-part harmonies shimmer on the famous folk tune "Trouble in Your Mind," and simplicity shines on gripping renditions of "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Kansas Joe McCoy and "Trampled Rose" by Tom Waits.  Most surprisingly, Genuine Negro Jig includes an enjoyable rendition of "Hit 'Em Up Style," an unintentionally farcical pop hit by Blu Cantrell.

Mako Sica: Dual Horizon LP (La Société Expéditionnaire, 2/16/10)

Mako Sica: "I'Itoi"

A translation of the phrase "land bad," Mako Sica has more than a nominal Native American influence; the trio's distant vocal reverberations and dirge-inspired tunes recall the spirituality of America's original inhabitants.

Between the vocalizations of Brent Fuscaldo, the melodies of guitarist Przemyslaw Krys Drazek, and the rhythms of drummer Michael J. Kendrick, Mako Sica maintains a strong balance of abilities — with a brooding combination of jangly guitars, reverberated vociferation, and instrumental dynamics.

High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music, 2/23/10)

High on Fire: "Snakes for the Divine"

Stoner-metal trio High on Fire has built a devoted following over the past dozen years as fans fell in love with Matt Pike's gruff vocals and thunderous guitar riffs. On Snakes for the Divine, Pike uses his throat to channel Lemmy Kilmister; meanwhile, the band has picked up its pace and crafted an album that isn’t as outstretched. Hard-hitting riffery leads an effort that, though diverse at times, may be the band’s most driving release.

Jaga Jazzist: One-Armed Bandit (Ninja Tune, 2/23/10)

Jaga Jazzist: "One-Armed Bandit"

Five years have passed since we've heard the powerhouse melodies of Norway's Jaga Jazzist, the post-rock/"nü-jazz" conception of brothers Lars and Martin Horntveth.

One-Armed Bandit, immediately the group's best album, resembles symphonic prog rock, arguably a few steps removed from parts of Frank Zappa's expansive catalog and closer to countryman Jono El Grande's diverse and theatrical style.  This album, however, is much more cohesive than either of those comparisons suggest, and at times it is nearly overwhelming with grooves and harmonious refrains.

Rob Swift: The Architect (Ipecac, 2/23/10)

Rob Swift: "The Architect"

Turntablist/DJ Robert Aguilar, formerly of the X-ecutioners, has long utilized his love of jazz, R&B, and other musical movements to create compelling hip-hop instrumentals while displaying his tight beat-juggling skills.

The Architect is Swift’s foray into the classical world. In addition to a multitude of sampled styles and sounds, classical cuts comprise a substantial chunk of this Ipecac debut. Rearranged strings, organ, and horns often make the foundation of a given track, occasionally evoking high-tension Italian Westerns, as Swift’s scratches dance atop banging beats.

Rotting Christ: Aealo (Season of Mist, 2/23/10)

Rotting Christ: "Aealo"

For more than 20 years, Athens' Rotting Christ has traversed different directions on the metal path.  With its previous release, Theogonia, the group released a striking, original album that fused its dark sound to the ethnic sounds of its ancestors.

Like its predecessor, Aealo features female Benedictine chants, lingual pipes, and a medieval feel. Combined with dueling high-pitched harmonies and powerful guitar work, these new elements highlight an album that should be among the most original metal releases of the year.

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani (Nonesuch, 2/23/10)

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: "Ruby"

As two of Africa's most internationally renowned musicians, guitar legend Ali Farka Touré and kora phenom Toumani Diabaté have displayed impeccable abilities while integrating the styles of other cultures into their ethnic sounds.

Each Malian, the two collaborated for the acclaimed In the Heart of the Moon in 2005, shortly before Farka Touré's passing in 2006. Fortunately, the two set aside time to record new material before touring for In the Heart of the Moon, and the result is another beautiful set of duets that sees a posthumous release.

Throughout Ali and Toumani, Farka Touré roots each creation in melodious African-blues pieces. Diabaté's virtuosity accents each track in the form of fanciful scales, which at times evoke classical harpsichord passages, perhaps most notably on "Sabu Yerkoy."

Fang Island: s/t (Sargent House, 2/23/10)

Fang Island: "Sideswiper"

Mostly comprised of ex-Daughters, the good-time rock quintet Fang Island was one of the most quickly ascending bands of 2010, jumping onto tours with The Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots following the release of its first full-length album.

The self-titled release is chock full of palm-muted and speed-infused indie-prog anthems, with über-layered vocal harmonies to go with a triple-thick guitar assault and distorted-bass bludgeoning.  It's one of those rare releases that feels absolutely radiant and thrashing at the same time.

B. Dolan: Fallen House, Sunken City (Strange Famous, 3/2/10)

B. Dolan: "The Reptilian Agenda"

Going way back with Sage Francis, rapper B. Dolan is a like-minded MC and slam poet whose style isn't terribly dissimilar to that of his long-time friend. Fallen House, Sunken City is Dolan's second full-length for Strange Famous, and it's full of the sociopolitical themes (if often in quick blasts or asides) and contentious delivery for which he's known.

In addition to some seemingly personal lyrics, Dolan takes passing shots at big business, taxation, the pharmaceutical industry, the concept of ownership of natural resources, the Israeli razing of Palestinian developments, and, among many other things, the so-called New World Order — dropping clips of Dick Cheney and George H.W. Bush in "The Reptilian Agenda."  On top of Dolan's socially conscious rhymes, A-list production by Alias makes this one of the year's top hip-hop releases.

Archie Bronson Outfit: Coconut (Domino, 3/2/10)

Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"
Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"

With its warbled vocals and driving percussion, British psych-rock trio Archie Bronson Outfit is like a more adventurous Wolf Parade — as comfortable burning up the dance floor with clean, bouncy riffs as it is turning up the reverb and rocking in a garage.

Coconut is the band's first LP in nearly four years, and it kicks off with a crunchy, swirling guitar line and a hypnotic bongo-laden beat. Produced by DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, Coconut gets spaced-out and drone-like at times, but it always offers a hint of pop accessibility amidst the static and haze.

Grinderman, the debauched incarnation of Nick Cave and key members of his Bad Seeds, is currently on tour in the US, with dates in Australia and England scheduled for early 2011. Contributing photographer Drew Reynolds attended the band's recent show in Chicago at the Riviera and captured the band's blues-rock swagger in high-contrast grayscale.

Check out the ALARM's recent interview with Grinderman and profile of its new album, Grinderman 2.

Grinderman: "Heathen Child"

Grinderman: Grinderman 2

In 2007, Nick Cave and three of his Bad Seeds introduced a debauched alter-ego to the world—a blues-rock engine fueled by testosterone and longing. Named Grinderman, the subset produced music that was more ragged and looser than the Bad Seeds’ compositions. Cave and his cohorts — multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn Casey, and drummer Jim Sclavunos — recorded the self-titled debut quickly and with a live feel, subsequently turning the veteran musicians’ process inside out. Sclavunos notes that at Grinderman’s inception, “We didn't know what Grinderman was, what it would sound like, or if it was in any way viable. In fact, the band didn't even have a name yet.”

On Grinderman, Cave played guitar for the first time, and Ellis played almost no violin, his signature instrument. Instead, Ellis focused on creating sonic loops. According to Sclavunos, “Warren is both a loop guru and a loup-garou. His loops are a great platform for us all to improvise over. And once he's set up a nice one, he can just let it ramble on and play other things on top.” Grinderman delivered “No Pussy Blues,” an instant classic that was strong enough to render the entire Grinderman experiment a success. Yet there are other tracks such as “Go Tell the Woman,” an itinerant romp that borders on performance art, and the swirling, furious “Depth Charge Ethel” that embody the freewheeling Grinderman spirit.

“We didn't know what Grinderman was, what it would sound like, or if it was in any way viable. In fact, the band didn't even have a name yet.”

It took three years for Grinderman to bring forth Grinderman 2. According to Sclavunos, the goals for the record were different, but Grinderman’s unique recording process was the same. “We went into the studio for five days and recorded pretty much non-stop,” he says. “All the sounds, rhythms, and riffs are impromptu.” The band chose the most promising sections of the raw tapes for Cave to take away and work over. Almost magically, Cave proceeds to “come up with some lyrics to sing over them, and before you know it, we've got an album's worth of songs.”

Before the first minute of Grinderman 2 is over, the band has offered a tiny sonic overture that encapsulates its second full-length. It begins with a few subtle bluesy notes that stop and then slam into crunching guitars while Cave warbles, “I woke up this morning and thought / What am I doing here?” When Cave sings, “See a lupine child with her hair on fire / little burning girl,” the song strikes another thematic mother lode: women. If women were on Cave’s mind, though physically absent from the debut, they are fully present on Grinderman 2. The full-frontal assault of “Heathen Child,” Grinderman 2’s first single, suggests an anti-heroine who, despite being armed with guns and poison, remains completely vulnerable to visits from Wolfman and Abominable Snowman while she is “sitting in the bath tub / sucking her thumb.”

Grinderman 2’s sonic range is wider than the band’s debut, perhaps because Cave is now composing on the guitar. According to Sclavunos, “Playing an altogether different and unfamiliar instrument, he's jettisoned all those songwriting habits that he's built up over the years composing on the piano.” Sclavunos added a heavily processed drum synth, which he notes “is definitely an unheard-of first for Grinderman.” Nowhere is the new breadth more evident than on the melodic and almost uplifting “Palaces of Montezuma.” Sclavunos explains, “[The song] didn't come from the original session. We decided that it made for a sunny respite from the unrelenting malevolence of the bulk of Grinderman 2.” And by embracing the experimental spirit that inspired its inception, Grinderman enables songs such as “Palaces of Montezuma” and “Heathen Child” to coexist.

“Now that the world is a bit more acquainted with Grinderman, we thought it appropriate to make the music more expansive, more ambitious, and more challenging,” Sclavunos says. Despite its formation from loose, clamorous connections, Grinderman’s music holds. Grinderman 2 documents the band’s ability to ransack and dredge rock music’s craggiest recesses.

Nick Cave has been a cult icon for 30 years, from his days fronting The Birthday Party through the 14 albums he has led with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. With the help of the dynamic Bad Seeds, he has championed a dark and unparalleled brand of alt-rock, and in 2007, he launched another lauded project, Grinderman, with the aid of longtime Seeds.

Marked by raw lyrics and impassioned vocals, the garage-rock side project now takes a sharp turn for its second album, presenting a much more sprawling, diverse recording. Layers of effects, noise, and backing vocals build each song into colorful stories of weirdness and absurdity, and all together, the album is a much greater studio labor than the twisted rock ballads of its predecessor. With 2, Grinderman has come into its own as a full-fledged group.

Grinderman: "Heathen Child"

The Bad Plus: Never Stop (E1)

Built around piano, bass, and drums, the hard-hitting jazz trio known as The Bad Plus is beloved for its inimitable originals as well as its radically re-imagined covers. Now, after an entire disc of covers, the trio follows with its first full release of original tunes.

The instrumentation never shifts, but Never Stop embodies the assorted tastes that have been reflected in the trio’s cover selections — all filtered through a powerful jazz style.  And though the explored territory isn't particularly new — other than perhaps a few more accessible melodies and straightforward beats — Never Stop contains some of the group's finest songs, including "The Radio Tower Has a Beating Heart," "My Friend Metatron," and the title track.

The Bad Plus: "My Friend Metatron"

Buke & Gass: Riposte (Brassland)

Take an altered baritone ukulele (the “buke”) and a guitar-bass hybrid (the “gass”) and run them through thick, fuzzy distortion effects. Add homemade foot percussion and the strong, über-melodic pop vocals of Arone Dyer (the buke-ist), and you get the shockingly effective duo dubbed Buke & Gass.

Listening to Riposte, the pair’s debut, is a great pop-rock experience, but seeing it come together on stage is something else.  The material gets a bit sugary at times, but between the duo's unique sounds, potent harmonies, and unconventional riffs, it's hard for Buke & Gass to do much wrong.

Buke & Gass: "Medulla Oblongata"

MF Doom f. Big Benn Klingon: Expektoration (Gold Dust)

Following an early and disillusioned career on a major label, Daniel Dumile birthed a Doctor Doom-inspired alter-ego — MF Doom — who blew up the indie-rap circuit while garnering critical acclaim.

The villainous persona spawned a few more characters and collaborations in the form of Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, Metal Fingers, Danger Doom (with Danger Mouse), Madvillain (with Madlib), and more.  No matter the name, however, Dumile's voice and delivery are spotted anywhere, delivering lyrical gems via a slightly garbled voice.

And despite the controversy surrounding his stand-in "Doom imposters" (who sometimes take Dumile's place on the road), Doom can kill it live — a fact that was first documented on the 2005 live album, Live from Planet X.

Expektoration (an alternately spelled word for the act of expelling sputum — or, in a sense, spitting) chronicles more of the Doom solo catalog, albeit much from the same era as Live from Planet X.  Split into two acts with an intermission, Expektoration mostly pulls from MM..Food, Madvillainy, and Operation: Doomsday, all of which were released between 1999 and 2004.  The sound quality is befitting a live album, but the album is worth hearing to experience (or re-experience) Doom's on-stage command.

MF Doom: "Beef Rap"

Blonde Redhead: Penny Sparkle (4AD)

It's been 15 years since Blonde Redhead's low-fi debut, and though the band's output has slowed since 2000, each successive album has marked a new chapter in the dreamy, experimental indie-rock trio's career.

Penny Sparkle is no exception.  The album was recorded with Van Rivers and The Subliminal Kid, a pair of hot Swedish producers who have worked with Fever Ray and have translated Blonde Redhead's trademark sound onto an electronic canvas.

As in the past, the trio's backing music remains its strength on Penny Sparkle.  Guitarist/vocalist Kazu Makino establishes the mood with another round of soft, often somber vocals, but it's the production that shines here.  Unfamiliar listeners may enjoy Penny Sparkle, and preexisting fans will appreciate Blonde Redhead in a new way.

Blonde Redhead: "Everything is Wrong"

Honorable Mentions

Azure Ray: Drawing Down the Moon (Saddle Creek)

The Black Angels: Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon)

Black Milk: Album of the Year (Decon / Fat Beats)

Black Mountain: Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar)

The Black Pacific: s/t (SideOneDummy)

Blue Cranes: Observatories

Cloud Cult: Light Chasers (Earthology)

Leonard Cohen: Songs from the Road 2xCD (Sony)

Dungen: Skit I Allt (Mexican Summer)

Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues (Bloodshot)

Lobisomem: Onze Pedras (Tall Corn)

Masters of Reality: Pine / Cross Dover (Cool Green)

Steve Reich: Double Sextet (Nonesuch)

Jason Simon: s/t (Tee Pee)

We Love: s/t (BPitch Control)

Within the hour, he'll be out feeding his chickens, or pitching in to help with chores at Grandma Whitmore's beautiful old farmhouse not 200 feet away. She ever is the matriarch and family historian around here, with a background as colorful as a character in a Howard Hawks movie.

"There's a barn around here that was built in 1866 by a long-ago relative on my mom's side with lumber that he floated down the Mississippi himself," Whitmore says via phone from his Iowa roost during a lengthy shit-shooting session. We were supposed to meet in person, but a blizzard left him snowed in for nearly a week.

"It might be the oldest building in the county still standing," he says. "Everywhere I look, there are fingerprints of my forebears. This area is my spiritual center. I'm just fortunate to be its steward during my time here on Earth. It will be here forever; I'm just passing through."

This probably sounds idyllic if you're one of this country's innumerable city dwellers, looking through your kitchen windows at overstuffed dumpsters, brick walls, and parked cars, or a suburbanite surveying your property while a familiar set of golden arches looms large on the horizon, keeping constant watch over a buzzing hive of interstates, strip malls, and outlet stores. And in a very real sense, it is. Like your dad always told you growing up, there's something to be said for a life of hard work.

But Whitmore didn't grow up much different than the rest of us, spending his afternoons in town with his cousin and his brother, skateboarding and raising hell while Black Flag and Public Enemy cassettes played in the background.

On that same stretch of road where the local cops used to tell them to "move it along," there's now a tattoo parlor run by a friend of the family. Here, everybody is family.

And though the meeting places of rural Iowa might now be the tattoo parlor or the sports bar up the road, that mythic American Mayberry sense of knowing your fellow man and looking out for your neighbor is alive and well here — something put to the test this past summer when the whole town came together to save the local watering hole from the swiftly encroaching floodwaters of North America's biggest river.

But don't let him fool you. Though a farm-boy heart beats proudly in his chest, William Elliott Whitmore has toured the world with nothing more than a banjo and a guitar for company. He learned French for an enthusiastic crowd in Paris, and has traveled from Copenhagen to Amsterdam to London, making all the stops between.

"I remember playing my first show in Rome," he says. "I'd never been to Italy. As kind of an icebreaker, I told the crowd how I'd recently played a show in Rome, Georgia, which was this cool little town where I'd been booked at an abandoned train depot that everybody said was haunted. They got a kick out of that."

According to the band, Grinderman 2 will be a totally different album than the first.  For a sneak peek of what's to come, check out the single "Heathen Child" on August 30 — and then be sure to catch the guys on their European tour, which begins on September 25.

Stay Gold is the latest new beginning for Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, a melodic jazz-fusion group that has logged more than 15 years under its moniker.

This disc, however, may mark its biggest change — which says a lot, because the group morphed from an octet to a trio early last decade (and to a quartet in 2008).

Founding member Reed Mathis and JFJO mutually parted ways early last year, coinciding with the free release of Winterwood, a masterful affair that was Mathis' final contribution. Taking his place is guitarist and lap-steel player Chris Combs, whose addition is the most noticeable different between Winterwood and Stay Gold.

Though Mathis' multi-instrumental abilities are missed, the soaring melodies of keyboardist Brian Haas remain front and center, with the rest of the band offering eloquent accompaniment and robust grooves and beats. Stay Gold is another compelling chapter in the storied history of JFJO.

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey: "Stay Gold"
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey: \"Stay Gold\"

David Karsten Daniels & Fight the Big Bull: I Mean to Live Here Still (FatCat)

Already championed by NPR, the pairing of neofolk songwriter David Karsten Daniels and big-band experimentalists Fight the Big Bull is a unique crossroads between two beloved genres.

Daniels, who lives in San Francisco, holds impressive vocal and instrumental chops, displaying a choir-tested voice and a music-composition pedigree. Fight the Big Bull, based in Richmond, Virginia, is every bit as talented, relying on a brass-heavy and woodwind-infused front-line to morph between any given sub-genre of jazz.

For this project, Daniels adapted poems from Henry David Thoreau to use in his sweeping style. Fight the Big Bull's work is crucial but unobtrusive, weaving flourishes and accents in and out without feeling forced.

Behind the creative lead of guitarist/composer Matt White, that natural accompaniment reflects a band coming into its own and growing more and more comfortable with others. The nonet is coming off a release with Sex Mob slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein, and this fall finds the group joining forces with Megafaun and Bon Iver as well as Karl Blau.

Guessing what each half of this collaboration has coming next should be as fun as actually hearing it.

David Karsten Daniels & Fight the Big Bull: "All Things are Current Found"
David Karsten Daniels & Fight the Big Bull: \"All Things are Current Found\"

Coliseum: House with a Curse (Temporary Residence)

The move of hardcore trio Coliseum from Relapse to Temporary Residence has come with a shift to minimalist hard-rock punishers.

A minute-long string intro notes that this is a "gentler" Coliseum, even if its sounds barely reappear. Ryan Patterson's gruff vocals and gnarled guitar still drive the band, but mid-tempo is the de-facto speed as push beats are nowhere to be found.

Tracks such as "Perimeter Man" hold similarities to Young Widows, a Temporary Residence labelmate that is led by Ryan's brother Evan Patterson, and tunes like "Isela Vega" vocally channel a bit of Nick Cave. Ultimately, however, the band's sound isn't fundamentally different, and fans should enjoy House with a Curse all the same.

Coliseum: "Blind in One Eye"
Coliseum: \"Blind in One Eye\"

Wovenhand: The Threshingfloor (Sounds Familyre)

Begun as a side project to 16 Horsepower, Wovenhand is now the primary endeavor of guitarist/singer David Eugene Edwards.

Focused on faith and a powerful folk aesthetic, Wovenhand has evolved into a full band, one that incorporates as many varied sounds (or more) as 16 Horsepower. In place of the latter's bluegrass, Appalachian folk, and forceful rock moments, however, are haunting chants, Native American influences, Middle Eastern motifs, and Medieval folk.

Agnostic or atheistic listeners may grow tired of Edwards' lyrical themes, and they can be a bit much at times. But the lyrics are personal and spiritual without being heavy handed, and they fit a style that channels otherworldly energy.

Wovenhand: "Sinking Hands"
Wovenhand: \"Sinking Hands\"

Honorable Mentions

Baths: Cerulean (Anticon)

Dave Douglas & Keystone: Spark of Being (Greenleaf)

David Weiss & Point of Departure Quintet: Snuck In (Sunnyside)

Diskjokke: En Fin Tid (Smalltown Supersound)

Fol Chen: Part II: The New December (Asthmatic Kitty)

Health: Disco2 (Lovepump United)

Super Chron Flight Bros.: Cape Verde (Backwoodz Studioz)