Hi all – as you’ve noticed, the reviews/postings have been a bit thin in the last week or so. I’ve taken a short hiatus, but will be back in full force this week to fulfill all of your review reading needs. I’m trying to update the site to include more interactive content, especially a music player so you can listen to the tunes I have reviewed. I apologize for not letting you all know sooner, but, hey, better late than never right? Be prepared next week to see an updated website!!!
Hugs,
Jason
Kaleena could pass for a sad Michelle Branch, but lacks the production of a pop singer/the hooky sensibilities that can nail a song into your head. I’m really hearing a lot of possibility in these tunes, but there’s a lack of musicianship – unfortunately something all too common with singer/songwriters on their first recordings – and this prevents the tunes from leaping out of the headphones and sticking with you for longer than the album’s running time. For example, the timing of the acoustic guitar on the opening track is completely off the drum machine-like beat punching throughout. I was missing any type of effect on the vocals throughout the album; some delays and/or reverbs would really serve her voice well, and move some of the songs forward. The mood of the album is sleepy and sad all the way until the last two songs, “Back to Gray” and “I’m Alright”. The songs themselves sound to me like ideas that need a bit more fleshing out – electric guitars/a punchier drum sound/ and a push from the low end is necessary to distinctly separate the lead vocal melody line from the rest of the music. With more professional musicians/producers and a little bit more presence, this offering from Kaleena could really connect with an audience – here’s to looking forward to her near future.
The Mike Michalak Band has us an instrumental gem with their new disc, Big Plan. From the first song, which I mistakenly took for a praise song (which it good be) I could tell this was an ensemble that was used to making really great arrangements. Unfortunately the more into the disc I progressed, the more apparent it was that the lyrical quality of the songs was far surpassed by the clarity and talent evident in the music. With clunkers such as ’make me some coffee, make it for me now, I really wish you would’, I kept wondering how they would allow themselves to write something that so obviously took the attention away from the truly wonderful mixing and absolutely stellar mastering of a disc so musically rich. There are times when you can get away with overly simplified lyrics, but usually it’s the overall feeling of the songs that will push past the shortfall. Without a really talented vocalist behind the mic, the lyrics get tiresome. Kudos to Chuck Kawal and Al Ursini on their aforementioned stellar mixing and mastering. Jumping from 80’s balladesque melodrama (Gonna Be Good) to a little reggae, (Stay) to classic rock (Sometime) – you can tell the members are all well-versed in genre and accomplished musicians – it’s essentially jam band music forced into 4 -5 minute packages of almost pop music, and I really enjoyed listening to the musical ebb and flow – but again, this was interrupted by some of the lyrical embarrassments that were dropped (Coffee, Turtleneck).. The guitar tone is really impressive throughout – the piano floats through the mixes appropriately and the lead parts are actual leads, and not the 4 note down-strums that have been passing for leads since Coldplay took the airwaves. The bass lines, especially the slap line in Pez I, were really impressive– bouncing and carrying the music without you realizing what you are actually bobbing your head to. These guys get 5 out of 5 stars for their musical ability and the production, but a 2 out 5 on lyrical ability.
Highlights include ‘The Wave’, and ‘Sometime’.
The disc is available on itunes, at CDbaby.com, or at www.myspace.com/mikemichalakband.
The Manifest annual urban arts festival is a celebration of all Columbia College
Chicago’s graduating undergraduate and graduate student bodies of work, representing each department. All events occur on Columbia’s vibrant South Loop Campus. Manifest 2009 will feature an artwalk & sale, music on five stages, screenings, readings, live radio, Web casts, the TICTOC performance art festival, the Transmission art car exhibition, and Spectacle Fortuna’s parade of creativity. Unless otherwise noted, events are free and open to the public.
http://www2.colum.edu/manifest/pdfs/dayofbrochure.pdf
Where else are you going to find free concerts by some of the most talented young people in Chicago? I’ll see you there.
Music brings you back – back to a morning, which, upon your blurry eyed and foggy brained wake, you are stricken with an internal fear. Your head won’t clear and in your heart you can feel regret starting to bubble up inside. Lying on your couch with waves of nausea passing through like stop and go traffic, you fend off bouts of panic with sure fire self awareness, “I wouldn’t do that. No way. I mean, why would I say that? There’s no reason…” Eventually your reasoning trails off and you resign to the depression, settle in, and wait for the treacherous, stormy, combination of alcohol and reality to drizzle itself off beyond the horizon. The Hoyle Brothers keep a square jaw while walking into the jaws of boozey, smokey bars, knowing full well what it’s going to feel like in the morning. Their revelry manifests itself in their affirming, defecating, and self defining histories sung in an easy going two-step that pays tribute to traditional country greats, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. With such an iron fisted grip on truth and self awareness, one might forget that there is more to life than gettin’ drunk, smokin’ cigarettes, and lamentin’ over loves long gone – but unfortunately it’s these very vices that most of the time lead to the highest and lowest points of our decidedly human lives – and THB refuse to let those self defining moments be forgotten. The music brings us to back to a simpler time, and their album, “Don’t Leave Yet”, leaves a lasting impression by staying away from the conformist so-called Country music that populates the current airwaves. You won’t be finding any nuggets of Fraternity friendly quotable wisdom (ahem, Kenny Chesney) here – but you will be forced to recognize a form of music that is the very foundation of what could arguably, with the exception of the blues (and maybe hip-hop/rap), be called the only original American music. The Hoyle Brothers have shown us that in staying true to oneself – about the good, the bad, and the ugly – you can become something more than just another person – you can become a self orating history lesson to all that cross your path. They leave us music in their wake, and fans of salt-of-the-earth country music should take heed, these guys are the real deal – having toured country wide, you can find them every Friday: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Empty Bottle for Hardcore Honkytonk Happy Hour.
Static in Verona, the alternative name to singer/songwriter, Rob Merz, shows significant growth on “life-sized replica” from his last EP, “Be Quite As You Leave”, although I have to say that it is a little bit more than obvious that he’s been listening to quite a bit of Death Cab for Cutie. (The melody of “forgetful” is a dead-ringer for “Your New Twin Size Bed”). There are a few stand out things happening on this EP that make it worthy of a listen or two – the first is most obvious, and probably the most enjoyable for me, was the production – absolutely stellar and clear as the Gulf of Mexico. Secondly, although the melodies could be pushed a little farther into “hook” territory, the harmonies throughout the album really pulled me into the songs – a major departure from the last EP. Lastly, SiV uses electronics sparingly, completely appropriate to the songs – and they add more than subtract from the songs – case-in-point “life-size replica” – the constant, overly eq’d and effected kick drum pours itself over the meloncholy strumming of an acoustic guitar. This EP is one for fans of Death Cab for Cutie and other bands of this ilk.
“That beat is raw.” is probably a phrase The Kickdrums hear all the time. Pounding bass, tight snares, a little bit of electro dance hall and a whole shit load of tight production make up the songs that put the Kickdrums on CIMR’s map. There’s a little bit of Ratatat influence evident, but only because of pulse pushing nature of the music they choose to make. Unlike Ratatat, these guys throw some rocking vocals in the mix as well – they’re crate digging workers who’ve risen to the top by sheer force of their own creative ambition. They are unafraid to mix sweeping strings with hip hop beats and dashes of real guitar, because this has done before to varying degrees of success (or failure) people will sometimes make the comparison to Gym Class Heroes or bands of that ilk. Although having produced songs for a cache of rappers, including 50 Cent, they stay away from trying to be rappers and when singing, do things that feel comfortable to them and therefore, it sounds more comfortable to the listener as well. Top notch production and a feel for what is relevant is what’s going to keep the Kickdrums behind some banging tracks for a long time.
Here’s some notable things happening this weekend in Chicago, lovingly put together by CIMR:
Friday night there are a few notable acts coming through the area – Rodriguez, of South African fame is back for an American renaissance of sorts – his music articulates the common man’s plight whilst eschewing the typical boy loves girl pop stereotypes – for all you singer/songwriters – this guy is the nitty gritty real deal and I highly recommend this show – it’s at Schubas tonight (Friday, May 08) for $20. Also on Friday night, for all you reggae heads, head on over to Milwaukee and Damen at the Double Door – Cold Water Mystic is opening for John Brown’s Body – there’ll be enough delay pedal action that you’ll feel like your body’s leaving imprints behind you as you bob your head through the crowd.
Saturday, Makeshift Prodigy is headlining a 21+ show at Double Door, Manchester Orchestra is playing at Metro, and Headlights, a indie rock pop band from Champaigne, Illinois is opening for Subpop’s newest Swedish wonder, Loney Dear at Schubas.
You’ll find me Saturday at the Double Door or Schubas, and Friday night, if I’m feeling cool enough, I might make an appearance to see Cold Water Mystic.
Support the local music scene and be sure to keep stopping by CIMR!!
Let me cut to the chase – the best thing about this album = it’s made with only a laptop and an electric guitar; the worst thing about this album = it’s made with only a laptop and an electric guitar. Distributed by Chicago record label, Sleepy Mammal Sound, Japanese musician Tadahiko Yokogawa has presented us with an album of Prog-Laptronica – (dibs on the genre name) – which takes you down whichever road you choose. Some of the record sounds strangely familiar – like a few friends got together with a bag of weed, a newly purchased delay pedal, a black light and went to work. Despite these long and self indulgent experimental circles of sound, the rest of Volo Interno takes minimalism to heart; sprouting forth and rising above the inspired infinite silence. Individually, some of the tracks can be grating – the delays and panned ring modulation forcing you off balance, but taken as a whole, they reveal themselves to be a cog in the wheel of a slow moving adventure. There are swells that rise like anger, but for the most part, Tadahiko errs on the side of chilly indifference, showing that sometimes it’s the most impersonal albums that are able to pull on the strings of our souls.
Madeline’s “White Flag” is American Gothic – her brush strokes are playful, swallowed vocals, minor key melodies and sleepy beats that move from 2/4 to 4/4 without a missed tap of the foot. Her palette is the landscape of a modern, romanticized rural America; steeped in tradition, vehemently denying evolution, but sternly and solemnly accepting its own fate. The album is very pretty, dancing along with downtrodden banjos, acoustic guitars and peaceful traditional country percussion – complete with a brushed snare snaking its way in and out of songs. Her ability to wrap the sounds of her words is almost Andrew Birdish, but never jumps into his overly pretentious vocabulary – Madeline stays firmly in the rural portions of the dictionary – “you, cannot break my heart, because it’s made of wires, glass, and little icicles, these are not tears I cry, no darling I, I have champagne flowing from my spectacles”. For those who do not appreciate the abstract, her music is akin to Wilco, The Decemberists (The Crane Wife), and previously reviewed local band, Rego. The performance on the album is heavy-eyed and lethargic but the music stays interesting enough to hold onto your ears until the end. There is a creepy undercurrent to Madeline’s tunes, it’s as if she’s hiding something behind her Jenny Lewis-ish vocals – but will never let you in to see it. I suppose this mystery could be attune to sexual chemistry, evident in my favorite song on the album, “Dirty South (Tie One On)” – but the countrified arrangements remove the sex from the rest of the album, replacing it with a steadfast and square-jawed representation of rural America by a talented songstress who’s not afraid to show you, in all the truth and beauty, who she is.
© 2010 Jason Petros. All Rights Reserved.
