Stranger Flashback: The Julie Ruin in 2013: A Super-Sized Sundae with Chocolate Sauce

Here is a revived version of a 2013 Line Out post about Kathleen Hanna's band, the Julie Ruin (these posts were purged from the internet after The Stranger pulled the plug on their music blog in 2014).

Blogs Sep 16, 2013 at 10:25 am

The Julie Ruin: A Super-Sized Sundae with Chocolate Sauce

Kathy Fennessy

THE JULIE RUIN
Run Fast (TJR-Dischord)

"Peppermint Schnapps and super-sized sundaes with chocolate sauce."
--the Julie Ruin, "Run Fast"

There's a reason Kathleen Hanna disappeared for six years after the end of Le Tigre and before the beginning of the Julie Ruin (the band, not the solo record she released on Kill Rock Stars in 1998).

If you've seen Sini Anderson's documentary The Punk Singer, you know about her struggles with Lyme disease, and if you missed it, this Spin interview will catch you up. She may have also needed a break from music-making—as well as the adoration of some pretty intense fans—but she's back now and sounding better than ever.

If Le Tigre seemed like an odd fit for a major label, Hanna returns to her riot grrrl roots by putting out the first Julie Ruin album on her own. 

Nonetheless, it plays more like an extension of Le Tigre's electro-pop than Bikini Kill's agit-punk (the five-piece includes bass player Kathi Wilcox from Bikini Kill and keyboard player Kenny Mellman from Kiki and Herb). The emphasis on rubbery party grooves reminds me of the early B-52's, especially since Mellman handles the vocals on one song, "South Coast Plaza," while adding counterpoint to others. My favorite Mellman moment: when he contributes to the "Girls Like Us" chorus.

Though I've been following Hanna's career for a couple of decades, I was never one of her adoring fans (I've written about several documentaries in which she appears, but I've never actually reviewed any of her recordings). If anything, I was always a little skeptical, particularly after I caught Bikini Kill opening for Fugazi at St. Joseph's Hall in 1992, where the group made me uncomfortable—and not in a good way. I wasn't really feeling it, and after Hanna called out a male audience member who didn't appear to be doing anything wrong, I wondered if they might not be for me. Shows should offer a safe space for women, but I wasn't sure this was the best way to go about it.

But I always liked Le Tigre—"Get Off the Internet" seems even more relevant today than it did 13 years ago—and my appreciation for Bikini Kill grew after seeing The Punk Singer, which makes a case for their musicianship and not just for their third-wave politics or for their influence on most every female-driven act to follow in their wake, which includes the Vivian Girls whose bassist, Katie Goodman, opened for the Julie Ruin last night at Neumos with her band La Sera.

If Run Fast is less overtly confrontational than the projects with which Hanna has been involved in the past, it's just as spirited and energetic. Though it hews closer to pop than rock, Hanna yells, shouts, and swears: she's gotten older, but she hasn't gotten old. 

In the live context, the album took on more of a garage-punk dimension. The grooves still abounded, but there was more punch to Sara Landeau's guitar work, though Mellman proved to be the band's secret weapon with his singing, his playing, his moves, and his quips (as with Justin Vivian Bond's Kiki, he's a great foil for Hanna).

If I had to choose between the Julie Ruin live or in the studio, I would call it a draw. Both have their merits, but in different ways. If it took awhile for Mellman's recorded vocals to grow on me—he's a bit of a grumbler—I was frustrated that I couldn't hear him properly at Neumos (no such problem with Hanna). I also grew restless during the ballad the band played toward the end of the set, but then they came out for an encore and performed the dreamy, keyboard-driven "Run Fast," which concludes the album—and it sounded just as good live.

Right: Hanna described her skirt-free look as a "business outfit"

I'm glad Hanna is feeling better, I'm glad she's back, and I love the Julie Ruin.

Run Fast is out now on TJR Records through Dischord. Sundance Selects, a division of IFC Films, will be distributing The Punk Singer (release dates TBA). Images from Amazon (Run Fast album cover),  Sara Landeau (Kathleen on the mic, Sara on the guitar), and Philip LaRose via Flickr (Kathleen and Sara at Neumos).

Here is a revived version of a Line Out post about Claudia Lennear's 1973 album, Phew! (these posts were purged from the internet after The Stranger pulled the plug on their music blog).

BLOGS Oct 9, 2013 at 12:26 pm

Claudia Lennear's Lone Solo Record, Phew!, Rocks Hard, Defies Expectations

KATHY FENNESSY

• Real Gone Music-Warner Brothers

Claudia Lennear

Phew!

(Real Gone Music-Warner Bros)

Claudia Lennear, who came to fame as a member of the singing and dancing Ikettes, has a unique voice that combines strength and fragility. She can wail and shout with the best of them, but there's a certain vulnerability that always shines through (that incongruity describes her countenance, as well, which projects joy and sorrow in equal measure).

It's an appealing combination, though anyone who picks up Phew! expecting Tina Turner's brand of firepower may leave disappointed. Lennear had her own thing going on.

Her participation in Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which produced both a record and a concert film, gives some indication as to the eclectic sounds she laid down on her lone solo album, now available in a vibrant new reissue.

Despite the involvement of pianist and composer Allen Toussaint, who produced the medley-like side two, Phew! isn't strictly an R&B release (Ian Samwell produced side one and Ted Templeman produced the bonus track, Lowell George's "Two Trains"). Instead, Lennear draws more from the wells of rock and blues, with the exception of Toussaint's "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky," which holds its own with Lee Dorsey and the Meters at their groove-heavy, New Orleans best.

Once I got to that track, I realized how much she and the pre-disco Sylvester were on the same wavelength in 1973. This album and his twin rock records, Sylvester and the Hot Band and Bazaar, didn't attract the attention they should have, so I'm as grateful for this reissue as for Sylvester's Blue Thumb Collection.

---

In the documentary 20 Feet from Stardom—still playing at the Crest—director Morgan Neville catches up with Lennear and other prominent backup singers from the 1960s to today, like Gloria Jones ("Tainted Love") and Merry Clayton ("Gimme Shelter"), and finds that every single one of them has had a hard time making—or maintaining—the transition from the back to the front of the stage.

It's understandable that Lennear wouldn't want to toil for the infamous Ike Turner for the rest of her days, and with her talent, it's inevitable that she would step out of the shadows, but her time in the spotlight was relatively brief—she left the Ikettes in 1970—but at least she made the most of it. Phew! includes the cream of the Warner Brothers session crop, namely Ry Cooder (guitar), Jim Dickinson (piano and guitar), Jim Keltner (drums), and Spooner Oldham (electric piano).

As any 1970s photograph of her will attest, Lennear was also a shapely lady who once posed for Playboy, something Neville asks her about in the documentary—to her obvious discomfort. It's possible that listeners of the day didn't expect such a foxy mama to rock as hard as the shaggy men with whom she was associating at the time, like Leon Russell who tried (and failed) to sign her to his Shelter label.

Mick Jagger, who appears in 20 Feet, gets a lascivious look on his face when talking about his former tour mate. I had no idea, while watching, whether or not they had an affair, but his expression indicates that the thought certainly crossed his mind. (In a 1973 issue of Rolling Stone, writer Ben Fong-Torres refers to their relationship as "a romance." Responds Lennear, "It's very platonic." Later in the same interview, which appears in the CD booklet, Lennear backtracks: "That 'platonic thing'," she admits, "That was a lie.") The Claudia Lennear Appreciation Society doesn't end there: David Bowie wrote "Lady Grinning Soul" about her.

Since the 1980s, the California-based Lennear has been working as a foreign-language tutor and making music on the side. Unless another LP comes along, this 40-year-old recording, which hasn't aged a day, stands as her only solo effort. I'm sorry she never released another, but I'm glad this one turned out so well.

Lennear inspired the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar," Mick Jagger inspired "Not at All."

Phew! is out now on Warner Bros. Disclosure: I'm friends with Pat Thomas, who oversaw this reissue. Over the years, Pat has also overseen reissues from Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Nico, Linda Thompson, and Betty Wright. Images: Warner Bros (album cover), ArtistInfo (Claudia and cat), and MotArt (Claudia and Mick)).

Ty Segall's Transcendent Panache

Ty Segall,
Goodbye
Bread,
Drag City


Some
music
heavily
indebted
to rock's past transcends its historical baggage with more panache than others.
--Dave Segal, The Stranger ("Platform Boots on the Beach")

If I say I love Goodbye Bread, and I do, then I'll give the
impression I think it's great, when it's closer to very good.

If I had never heard Melted, my favorite record of 2010, I
would probably be more forgiving, but Segall's previous effort
was such a thoroughly transcendent guitar-rock extravaganza
that there's no way he could possibly top it. And so he hasn't,
but it's still a Ty Segall production through and through.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Click here for my review of Melted.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

I fell for the Bay Area musician's signature sound on Melt-
ed, follow-up to 2009's Lemons, and it permeates Good-
bye Bread, starting with that Barrett meets Bolan voice.



If anything, he gives his finest vocal performance to date on the
title track, which combines a gentle croon with a lovely falsetto,
and yet he never recalls one of those super-sensitive indie-rock
guys like Iron & Wine's Sam Beam or Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.

Not that those gentleman "can't" sing, but Segall is coming from a
more ragged, raw-boned perspective; it's a whole different thing.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

She said she wants to buy a couch...she wants a comfortable home.
-- "Comfortable Home (A True Story)"

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

And it has nothing to do with a lack of sensitivity on his part. Rath-
er, navel-gazing isn't part of Segall's arsenal, and that can lead to
a somewhat messier state of affairs. If Goodbye Bread packs
as much punch as Melted (I haven't heard Lemons), the hooks
aren't as sticky. And if Segall isn't in love, he's certainly got ro-
mance on his mind, which means it's also more introspective.

As noted in this post, I also hadn't noticed until Segall's latest
album and tour: at times, he looks and sounds a lot like Kurt
Cobain (and there's always been a John Lennon strain run-
ning through his music). Take "Comfortable Home," for in-
stance, which plays like a companion to Nirvana's "Breed,"
i.e. "We don't have to breed. We can plant a house, we can
build a tree. I don't even care. We could have all three."

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

You could go and meet my Mom. We could sit there all day long.
-- "You Make the Sun Fry"

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Just as Cobain dreamed about a cozy domestic situation, Se-
gall does the same. (May he have better luck in that regard.)

Some of the other lyrics can be pretty facile and/or nonsen-
sical, i.e. "We could eat the tasty pieces of the peaches on the
beaches"--been listening to the Stranglers much?--and "See
you next time on the Reading Rainbow," but what the heck.

Ty Segall isn't here to teach you how to live your life; he's
here to entertain. At that: He succeeds spectacularly.
 
Endnote: Ty Segall plays the Crocodile tonight, July 11,
with Idle Times. Doors open at 8pm. Image from L.A. Record.

CD Reviews: AM & Shawn Lee, Strong Killings, and Tasseomancy

AM & Shawn Lee, Celestial
Electric, Eighteenth Street
Lounge/Fontana [8/30/11]

Los Angeles-based vocalist AM and
London producer/beat-maker Shawn
Lee offer bossa nova-infused dance-
pop with bleeps, bloops, and airy synths. On the aptly titled Celestial Electric, man meets machine on the dance floor, like Eric Carmen (the Raspberries) fronting Kraftwerk in São Paulo.

At first, I wasn't feeling it, but the more I listened, the more I
found myself falling for this dexterous duo. Collectively, they've
worked and/or toured with Air, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Caeta-
no Veloso, St. Etienne, Money Mark, Phoenix, and Sigur Ros.



If you always wished that Melbourne's Cut Copy would funk
things up more, AM & Shawn Lee have fulfilled your desire.

Made with "cheapo Casio and Yamaha synthesizers," their de-
but includes a tribute to Dirty Harry ("Callahan") and a fuzz bass-
driven cover of 1974's "Jackie Blue," while Finders Keepers hon-
cho Andy Votel provided the liner notes and cover design.

 AM & Shawn Lee - Jackie Blue by AMSOUNDS

AM & Shawn Lee play live on KEXP at 9:30am on 9/13 prior to
their gig at the Sunset Tavern. Click here for my Line-Out review.

Strong Killings, self-titled, Don't Stop Believin' Records

Well, I'm all messed up, and I'm losing my shit,
Got a pounding in my head, and it just won't quit.
--Strong Killings, "Licked, Nicked"

Like a collaboration between Frank Zappa and Suicidal Ten-
dencies, Seattle trio Strong Killings offer smart-ass hard
rock with fast-paced instrumental passages punctuated by ad-
enoidal vocals and hip-hop touches. I like some of those styles
separately, but I'm less enthusiastic when they come together.

So, their first record may not be to my taste, but I admire the
striking packaging--detailed illustrations and hand-written lyr-
ics--plus it also features a guest vocal from Pearl "Dragon"
Nelson (Champagne Champagne) on "The Basement."

Tasseomancy, Ulalume, Out of this Spark [8/30/11]

I'm not normally into dramatic, drone-oriented folk, but
Tasseomancy are adept at what they do, and what might
not be for me, could be for you. I certainly respect their craft,
which revolves around close harmonies from sisters Sari (man-
dolin) and Romi Lightman (guitar) that dance atop delicate lay-
ers of organ, lap steel, autoharp, harpsichord, and french horn.

 Soft Feet (Heidi Mortenson's Gentle Dane Remüx)

Formerly known as Ghost Bees, Tasseomancy's second rec-
ord comes on like a cross between the Incredible String Band
(or latter-period Nurse with Wound) and Joanna Newsom--
but without the sharp edges (the press notes also cite Popol
Vuh and Julee Cruise). Bonus points for the abalone imagery
on the cover along with a foldout poster of a floral collage.

Click here for "Healthy Hands."

Endnote: For more information about AM & Shawn
Lee, please click here; for Strong Killings, here; and
for Tasseomancy, here. AM image from Austin2011.

Clear Some Space Out: Shabazz Palaces' Black Up

Clear Some
Space Out



Shabazz
Palaces,
Black Up,
Sub Pop



Clear some space out, so we can space out.
-- "Recollections of the Wraith"

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

After two well received EPs, Seattle duo Shabazz Palaces re-
lease their first full-length on Sub Pop. It was worth the wait: a
coup for the label, city, band, and genre. After all, the Northwest
wasn't really known for hip-hop until Sir Mix-a-Lot came along.

Then later: Common Market, Blue Scholars, They Live, and Mash
Hall (among others), but none of them has broken out like NYC's
De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, or Digable Planets (Ishmael
Butler's previous act). Shabazz has the means to do just that.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

I'm dressing like I was at the Ali-Frazier fight.
-- "Recollections of the Wraith"

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

And by break out, I'm not referring to commercial success, but
cultural impact. Shabazz deserve to make a living at their craft,
but they push the envelope too far to conquer Top 40, where
Mix-a-Lot made his mark, yet I can see them winning over new
audiences if a forward-thinking crew like Outkast were to take
them on tour, so I hope André and Big Boi make that happen.



I'm not suggesting that Shabazz are sui generis; they didn't spring
from out of nowhere. They have roots and influences. And they're
part of a community that includes Champagne Champagne and
THEESatisfaction, the duo who lend their voices to a few cuts.

But Black Up is spacier and more experimental than most
hip-hop albums--most albums, period. The Other Music de-
scription, which references sax player Albert Ayler and rap-
per Divine Styler (Marc Richardson) isn't off the mark (and
maybe they'll inspire more people to rediscover the latter).



Further, they don't hesitate to use the "n" word, though they
don't use it often. Does that make them less progressive than
many critics have claimed? Well, they're certainly musically
adventurous, but if they spent much time listening to 1970s
Miles Davis in their younger days, and I suspect they did,
then they're probably more comfortable with the word than
their white fans--and Shabazz listeners appear to span the
spectrum in terms of race, age, gender, and sexual orien-
tation (the ladies in THEESatisfaction are openly gay).



So, I choose not to take them to task when I'd rather see them be
true to themselves than anything else. And it's their refusal to off-
er any easy hooks, choruses, or lyrical concepts that makes Black
Up work as well as it does. And yet it isn't a schizophrenic mess.

That's a hard trick to pull off, and I'm not exactly the biggest fan
of avant garde music, but their pop instincts emerge from time to
time, which serves as a sort of anchoring device. This record does-
n't float off into the air; it has some weight, some ballast. I love it.



Endnote: Ishmael Butler / Palaceer Lazaro image from Analog Giant.

New Music: Visqueen, Brilliant Colors, and More

Visqueen, Message to Garcia, Local 638 Records

"Three parts punk attitude, two parts pop hookiness, and one part '70s rock swagger."
--Mark Deming, All Music Guide

I was a big fan of the first Visqueen album, 2003's King Me, and
remain convinced that guitarist/front woman Rachel Flotard,
who runs Local 638 Records, is Robin Zander's long-lost cousin
(I wasn't as crazy about 2004 successor Sunset on Dateland).

Like Cheap Trick's Zander, she has the definitive power-
pop voice. Flotard can scream, shout, and work it on out, but
there's a certain non-saccharine sweetness she just can't lose.

She's the yang to friend Neko Case's yin, and even sounds a lit-
tle like her redheaded doppelgänger on the country-oriented
"Beautiful Amnesia" (Case adds vocals to five of the 11 songs).

Message to Garcia isn't just a fine showcase for the skills
of Flotard and drummer Ben Hooker, but offers the kind of
wide-ranging pop-rock--a little bit country, a little bit rock
and roll--I wish Cheap Trick was still making. If you're just
as nostalgic for the halcyon days of "Surrender" and "I Want
You to Want Me," Visqueen's third has your name all over it.

Click here for my AMG bio.

Brilliant Colors, Again and Again, Slumberland Records

On their follow-up to 2009's Introducing, Brilliant Colors con-
jure up a familiar brand of jangle-pop, which does little for me, but
your mileage may vary, especially if you're into Seattle's Seapony
or Brooklyn-based label mates Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

As Margaret Reges has written, "At their weakest, they are oddly
forgettable; there really isn't one memorable track on Introduc-
ing, and it's puzzling." I feel the same about Again and Again.

When it comes to Slumberland, I prefer Belfast's Girls Names, who
pursue a darker muse than their other acts. That said, I give this
Bay Area trio credit for playing engagements with the inimitable
Swiftumz, who has a forthcoming full-length on Holy Mountain.

Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs, Alone in
This Together, Local 638 Records [7/12/11]

Click here for "Alone
in This Together."

Seattle's Star Anna of-
fers full-throated, heart-
on-sleeve alt-country.

Her third record is in
the torchy vein of Ne-
ko Case, but without
the noir overtones.

Pearl Jam guitarist
Mike McCready plays
on "Time," "Wolves in
Disguises," and the an-
themic title track.

9/1/11 update: Star Anna plays Summer Concert at Hia-
wath in West Seattle on 9/1 and the Triple Door on 9/8.



Street Eaters, Rusty Eyes and Hydro-
carbons, Bakery Outlet Records [8/2/11]

Click here for "Nation Builder."

I listened to Rusty Eyes once, and couldn't think of anything to
say, so I listened several times more. There's nothing particular-
ly off-putting or incompetent about Bay Area duo Megan March
(drums, vocals) and John No (bass vocals). I just can't connect
with some acts no matter how hard I try. All originals, except
for a punk-pop take on Jefferson Airplane's "Two Heads."

Rusty Willoughby, Cobirds Unite, Local 638 Records

Former Pure Joy and Flop leader Rusty Willoughby takes a
gentler tack on Cobirds Unite, a baroque-folk enterprise. The
Seattle singer/songwriter's warm, conversational tone hasn't
changed over the years, and remains his strongest suit (in the
credits, he also assumes authorship of "presumptousness").

"Find a Way Home," which combines reverb, hand claps, and
harmony vocals from Visqueen's Rachel Flotard, represents
the highlight of this solid 12-song set, which includes tasteful
covers of Dan Penn and Chips Moman's "Do Right Woman
(Do Right Man)" and Bobby Bare's "Streets of Baltimore."

For more information about Visqueen, please click here. 

Flotard and Hooker image from Land's End Canvas.

Curiouser and Curiouser: Tender Buttons

Broadcast, Tender
Buttons, Warp Records

"Tender Buttons' simplicity makes it more demanding than Broadcast's other work; it requires more than just a few listens to sink in.
--Heather Phares, AMG

I didn't give Tender But-
tons the chance it deserv-
ed upon its 2005 release. I
heard "America's Boy" and
"Black Cat" on KEXP, and they sounded fine, but more convention-
ally structured than before. It wasn't that Broadcast had sold out or gone pop, but that those two tracks weren't as strange or oth-
erworldly as the material with which I had first fallen in love.

Then they joined forces with the Focus Group for 2009's In-
vestigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age, and I got all the
strange, otherworldliness I could desire, so much in fact that I
wasn't sure what to think at first, but it grew on me in a big way,
and that convinced me to re-evaluate Tender Buttons. After
all, I had enjoyed everything else with which Trish and James
had been involved, including B-sides and other ephemera.

Now that Trish Keenan is no longer with us (she passed away
in January), I wish I'd taken time to explore this record while she
was still around, because it's hardly the misstep I feared. On the
contrary, it marks another triumph for the Birmingham duo.



Aside from the singles, other highlights include the swirling "Tears
in the Typing Pool," which features Keenan's most enchanting vo-
cal; the buzzing, crackling "Corporeal," which seems even sadder
in light of her premature passing ("Do that to me, do that to my
anatomy"); and the skeletal, bass-driven instrumental "Bit 35,"
which plays like a tribute to the great Young Marble Giants.

With most groups, it's usually best to start with their first re-
cord before exploring the rest of the catalog, but in the case of
Broadcast, you could start with Tender Buttons and get a
taste of the band at their best and most distinctive. A beauti-
ful way to say goodbye--even if that wasn't the intention.

Click here for a disquisition on black cats in the media.
 
Trish Keenan image from Warp Records.

The Doors of Perception: Moon Duo's Mazes

Moon
Duo,
Mazes,
Sacred
Bones
Records

"It feels as
if the doors
have been
flung wide
open."
--Zach
Kelly,
Pitchfork

I expected good things from Moon Duo's first full-length bas-
ed on previous EPs and this year's outstanding single "When
You Cut," but the new album has surpassed my expectations.

Though their influences have always been fairly obvious, Mazes
reveals more of their own unique personality. Their inspirations
haven't changed, but they bring a greater degree of warmth than
before. There's something surprisingly organic about these mot-
orik rhythms, even if "motorik" usually implies coldness (now
based in Colorado, they recorded in the Bay Area and Berlin).

I think it's partly that Ripley's vocals, though low in the mix, aren't
robotic or machine-like. Nor does he sound as agitated as Alan Ve-
ga or Sonic Boom, yet Moon Duo avoid the hippie-dippy trap of
sounding like '60s (or '70s) throwbacks. There's a freshness here.

As for influences, Ripley Johnson (guitar, vocals) and Sanae Ya-
mada (keyboards) may look to artists other than Neu!, Suicide,
Spacemen 3, Loop, etc., but those are the acts they bring to mind.



They may have a different set of influences, or no specific in-
fluences at all, but anyone who enjoys the spacier end of the
rock spectrum will surely find Mazes of interest, especially
those who appreciate song craft, because they have a grasp
on melody that some other outer-space travelers lack.

There's nothing wrong with a time-expanding jam here and
there, but that sort of thing bores me after awhile. I say it all
the time, but I need songs. Verse, chorus, verse. The whole bit.

"When You Cut" and "Run Around" are so upbeat they transcend
the Krautrock tag; the first by using dance beats, the second by a-
dopting a rockabilly rhythm, indicating that Moon Duo's influenc-
es are probably more diverse than a cursory listen would suggest.

I particularly like the way the record starts in semi-dark mode,
with "Seer," before lighting off, as it were, into brighter territory,
ending with "Goners," which is hardly as morose as it sounds. In
"Cut," Ripley sings, "I feel the walls closing in one me." It doesn't
sound like an ideal situation, but there's the sense that he wel-
comes it in some way. A little darkness never hurt anyone.

Moon Duo image from Covert Curiosity.

Echo and Chime: Girls Names' Dead to Me

Girls
Names,
Dead
to Me,
Slum-
ber-
land
[4/26/11]

"An old-fashioned style pop album, albeit one with a perverse haunted feel."
--press note description

I've given Crystal Stilts and Pains of Being Pure at Heart a try,
but I can't quite get with their program, though I can under-
stand the attraction. I love echo and chime, so you figure I'd
be all over those NYC outfits, but taste is a mercurial thing.

After one listen to Belfast's Girls Names, which shares a label
with the latter, I encountered the same exact ingredients, and
yet they appeal to me in a way their better known peers don't.

Click here for the "Bury Me" video.

While listening to Dead to Me, I've tried to pinpoint the differ-
ence, but I don't think it has anything to do with superior music-
ianship. If anything, the drumming seems a bit sluggish. It's part-
ly that they remind me of understated, dark-tinged UK guitar
groups like Felt. Their bio also cites the Walker Brothers, Oran-
ge Juice, Black Tambourine, and the Sound of Young Scotland.

It isn't goth or Joy Division-style post-punk, but there's a melancholy air to this material, starting with vocals mixed so low they melt into the music, much like another instrument, rather than
the focal point of the enterprise. They're just loud enough that you can hear some, but not all of the lyrics. The advantage to this approach is that one listen doesn't reveal everything. You have to
pay closer attention...assuming you're sufficiently intrigued.

Click here for "Séance on a Wet Afternoon."

The closing track, "Séance on a Wet Afternoon," marks the first
Girls Names song I ever heard. I don't know whether they took
the title from the book or the movie, but it's a great choice either
way, and aptly encapsulates the rainy-day mood of their debut.
 
Endnote: For more information, please click here. First im-
age from Your Music Today, second: Béla Tarr's Sátántangó.

Essential Charm: Keren Ann's 101

Keren
Ann,
101,
Blue
Note-
EMI
[3/22/11]

I've been
following
Keren
Ann's
career
since she
lived in France, sung in French, and collaborated with musi-
cian/producer Benjamin Biolay, who's since married (and col-
laborated with) Chiara Mastroianni. That was a long time ago.

[Image above from the album; click here for the single cover art.]

When she first signed to Blue Note, Keren Ann, who divides her
time between New York and Tel Aviv, still sang a few songs in
French, but her fourth effort for the label is an all-English affair.
(Though I've also followed Biolay's career, I've enjoyed Ms. Zei-
del's output better, since she has a greater facility with a hook.)

Fortunately, her essential charms remain intact. Every record is
slightly different than the one before, but it's hard to imagine her
selling out, as it were, or going down a completely new path--only
her mod Vidal Sassoon-like hairstyle marks a significant change.



There's a reason she shares a label with singer/songwriters like
Norah Jones and Priscilla Ahn--pretty women, pleasing melo-
dies--but I prefer her releases, since they offer more of an ed-
ge, which may not be evident at first listen...so keep listening.

******************************************************

My name is trouble, my first name’s a mess
No need to greet me, I’m here to confess
That if you let me hold you, I won’t hold my breath
And if you let me love you, I will love to death.

*******************************************************

As with previous recordings, her sixth album opens with an ex-
quisite pop gem, in this case "My Name Is Trouble," in which a
wistful vocal floats over a chiming, quasi-psychedelic keyboard
pattern. It's bouyant and noirish at the same time, reflective of
the cloak and dagger cover--just substitute pistol for dagger.



There are at least six remixes on YouTube, none of which im-
proves it in any way. This Hecedemon version, however, stands
out from the rest as it slows the song down instead of speeding
it up, and replaces playful organ with stately piano. Haunting.

The rest of the album, I'm happy to say, lives up to the promise
of the single. At times, 101 recalls the French duo Air, back when
a female vocalist was part of their arsenal (see Moon Safari, Virgin
Suicides, etc.). Keren Ann's songs are more succinct--no long, in-
strumental passages--but they give off a similar luxurious glow.

"Run with You" and "Strange Weather," in particular, feature a
vibrant mix of strings, heavenly choir, and effervescent keys.

****************************************************

79 Star Trek episodes, 78 revolutions per minute , 77
developing nations...72 virgins, 71 solar eclipses, 70 souls
in the house of Jacob...66 verses, 65 notorious crimes...

****************************************************

There's no filler, but the most distinctive material opens and
closes the set, ending with the title track, in which she counts
from 101 to 1. It's her most overt statement about her Israeli
heritage yet, though she includes pop culture references, too.

And that about sums up Keren Ann: as a student, she was prob-
ably at the top of her class, but she was also the first--maybe the
only one--to debate "Ginsberg and Korsow," sneak flasks into
school dances, and steal smokes behind the gymnasium. The
warm meets the cool, the tough meets the tender: the folk-
pop chanteuse meets the trenchcoat-clad femme fatale.

Click links for reviews of 2002's La Biographie de Lu-
ka Philipsen, 2005's Nolita, and 2007's Keren Ann.

Endnote: Click here for an interview with Keren Ann,
who plays the Triple Door on 6/17. For more information,
click here or here. Image from Blue Note/EMI Records.

Hypnotic: New Music from Moon Duo, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Seapony

Moon Duo,
Escape, Woodsist

Dark, buzzy, propul-
sive, and minimal.
--Andy Beta,
SF Weekly

San Francisco's Wooden Shjips came first, but Moon Duo (Erik "Ripley" Johnson and Sanae Yamada) has quickly acquired a similar reputation for gloriously unhinged guitar work and hypnotic motorik rhythms (yes, I overuse the word "hypnotic").

Last year's mini-LP Escape follows up on 2009's Killing Time
EP on Sacred Bones, and features only four tracks, but they're
plenty expansive (the release clocks in at 28:48 minutes).

While the band doesn't eschew vocals, they downplay them; those
that do materialize never compete with the oceanic instrumenta-
tion--guitar, organ, and drum machine--which takes center stage.

They're like a cross between Neu!, Suicide, and Loop (their AMG
bio also cites Spacemen 3 and Silver Apples). On the title track,
however, Johnson and Yamada speed up the pace, lighten the
mood, and evoke Jesus and Mary Chain by way of Suicide.

Click here for "When You Cut" from upcoming album Mazes.
 
Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Belong,
Slumberland/Collective Sounds [3/29/11]

I definitely see this album as keeping with what
we started doing at the beginning, only more.
-- singer/guitarist Kip Berman

Their first record was a hit, so New York's Pains of Being Pure
at Heart have upped the ante--and will probably meet with even
greater success. Belong doesn't represent a radical departure,
but rather a bigger, bolder version of their signature sound. Cre-
dit the participation of producer Flood (PJ Harvey, U2) and mix-
er Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain).

If anything, it's too slick for my taste what with the super-sized
guitars and drums. If John Hughes were still around, and still
making movies about disaffected teens, these songs would fit
comfortably on the soundtrack next to selections from Simple
Minds and the Psychedelic Furs, which is good news for '80s re-
vivalists, but I prefer M83's spacey, electronic take on the era.

Click here for my review of their debut.

Seapony, Go with Me, Hardly Art [5/31/11]

I am obsessed with this band.
--Marco Collins, KEXP

Seattle trio Danny Rowland, Jen Weidl, and Ian Brewer offer up
reverb-drenched pop in the C86/Slumberland/Simple Machines
vein. Tour mates Pains of Being Pure at Heart have helped to re-
vitalize this style, on which Seapony puts their sunny stamp.

Other than their timekeeper, an Alesis HR-16, though, there isn't
much new going on here, and I'd prefer greater urgency--"I Real-
ly Do" and "Nobody Knows" feel a little sluggish--but the tam-
bourine-shakes and handclaps keep things humming along.

Click here for "Blue Star" and here for "Dreaming."

Endnote: Moon Duo plays the Funhouse on 4/8, while Sea-
pony plays the Havana Social Club on 4/4 and the Crocodile on
4/22 with Pains of Being Pure at Heart. For more informa-
tion about the latter, please click here. Image from SF Weekly.

The Other Girls: Vivian Girls' Share the Joy

I don't
wanna be
like the
other girls.
--Vivian
Girls, "The
Other Girls"

Vivian Girls, Share the Joy, Polyvinyl Record Co. [4/12/11]

Intentionally or otherwise, Brooklyn's Vivian Girls have always
sounded like the Shangri-las for a new era: sweet vocals blended
with volume, distortion, and spoken-word vignettes. They began
as ladies with attitude, driving rhythms, and a sense of unease.

It was pop music, and it's still pop music, but sprinkled with
the gloom of goth-rock. They aren't predicting the end of the
world or even the end of love, but the trio favors minor key
melodies and harmonies that convey more sorrow than joy.
When they sing, "It's all all right with me," they don't sound
doubtful, so much as resigned, thinking they can't do better.

As Cassie Ramone explains in the press notes, "These songs
focus a lot on the themes of alienation, reconciliation, identity,
and trying to figure out what really matters in life. It's a dark
album, but unlike our first two albums, it has a happy ending."



A lot has changed since 2009's Everything Goes Wrong, about
which I had mixed feelings. The Girls moved from In the Red to
Polyvinyl, drummer Ali Koehler left to join ex-tour mates Best
Coast (Fiona Campbell now fills her spot), bass player "Kickball"
Katy Goodman issued her debut as La Sera, and guitarist Cassie
formed the Babies, whose self-titled release just hit the streets.

*******************************************************

They ain't comin' back, it's too late. They
shot my baby, but they killed my faith.
--"Sixteen Ways" (Green on Red cover)

*******************************************************

The good news is that these side projects are worth your while
if you have any interest in the parent band. More important-
ly, Share the Joy, which takes its title from a Burt Bachrach-
Hal David composition, is a solid effort from Cassie and crew.
I still prefer their first record, brief running time aside, but
they've tightened things up since Everything Goes Wrong.

In the end, though, it has the feel of a transitional release, like
they're still adjusting to these changes. Their third disc isn't bad,
but it isn't great either, and since they've proven they're capab-
le of that very thing, I have to admit I'm a little disappointed.

Endnote: Vivian Girls play the Vera Project on 5/6. For more
information, please click here or here. Portrait from Polyvinyl.

Don't Despair: Sonny & the Sunsets' Hit after Hit

Sonny
& the
Sunsets,
Hit after
Hit, Fat
Possum
Records
[4/12/11]

Girls, don't despair, 'cause soon, I'll be there.
--Sonny & the Sunsets, "Girls Beware"

This album arrived out of the blue. I hadn't heard of Sonny & the
Sunsets before, other than as a mention from their publicist. Suc-
cessor to Tomorrow Is Alright, Hit after Hit turns out to be a
pleasant surprise--something I wish I could say more often.

Click here for "Reflections on Youth."

If I had to select one term, I would say: party record. Their
sophomore effort isn't raucous, so much as celebratory. The San
Francisco quartet, which includes Kelley Stoltz on drums, puts
their stamp on garage-rock with male-female vocals, a hint of
twang, and lacings of reverb, like a better behaved Black Lips
(Ryan Browne and Tahlia Harbour round out the line-up).

The retro cover art and colorful song titles give some idea as to
where their collective heads are at: "She Plays Yo Yo with My
Mind," "Teen Age Thugs," and "The Bad Energy from LA is Killing
Me" (if anything, it's slowly poisoning the entire West Coast).


"An unassuming, low-key gem." --Tim Sendra on Tomorrow Is Alright

After listening to Hit after Hit, I visited YouTube to check out
their earlier effort, but I prefer this release, which rocks harder,
though their basic sound remains the same. And lest they seem
like a novelty act, the quartet handily dodges that deadly bullet.

Sonny & the Sunsets incorporate humor, but they aren't set-
ting jokes to music. They may inhabit a world of girls and boys
rather than women and men, but that doesn't make them juve-
nile either; they're just keeping the spirit of the garage alive.

Click here for "Mr. Lucky," B-side to "I Wanna Do It."

A friend cited Jonathan Richman--adding but "thankfully not so
gratingly infantile"--possibly in regards to Sonny Smith's aden-
oidal drawl, and I'd agree that there's a little of that here, too.

This fine record comes recommended to fans of the Monkees,
Thee Headcoats, and Holly Golightly. If you're throwing a house
party, and you're looking for something to get the toes tapping
and the heads bobbing: meet your new favorite soundtrack.

Endnote: For more information, please click here. In reading up
on Smith, I found that he counts John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees), Tim
Cohen (Fresh & Onlys), and Shayde Sartin (Skygreen Leopards)
as friends. He's in good company, for sure (at least two of those
gents have played with him). Image from Sonny & the Sunsets.

Pronounced Shift: Times New Viking's Dancer Equired

Times New Viking, Dancer Equired, Merge [4/26/11]

I don't know why Times New Viking switched from Matador to Merge, but they re-materialize on Dancer Equired minus a few rough edges. Since they're both fine labels, I can't say whether this marks a step up or down--guess it's more of a lateral move.

The press notes aptly and affectionately describe the trio's past methodology as "pissy histrionics." Instead of an over-amped garage band, however, the Cleveland combo now resembles a peak-era Flying Nun act with a trick bag of jangle and chime.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Click here for "Ever Falling in Love" and here for the mini-docu-
mentary Hello, We Are Times New Viking from Columbus, Ohio.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Vocally, the three-piece, which shares mic duties between
keyboard player Beth Murphy and drummer Adam Elliot,
doesn't sound like the Chills, on which Martin Phillips took the
lead, but there's a musical similarity. When Elliot sings solo,
they also recall Guided by Voices. Like that fellow Ohio out-
fit, these three prefer short snippets over epic workouts.



I'm reminded of the transformation the Ponys made when they
moved from In the Red to Matador. They also shed some of their
garage trappings, though they didn't pick up as many pop moves
as Times New Viking. And the latter has always been a pop
band at heart. Plus, Murphy's bittersweet keyboard playing
continues to lend a dreamy feel to everything they do.

Dancer Equired only took a few spins to work its magic. It
doesn't herald a major change in direction; rather a pronounc-
ed shift. I wish I could claim I was a believer from the start, but
I didn't discover the band until 2009's terrific Born Again Re-
visited. I can't predict how old fans will react to their fifth
full-length--for me, it ranks among 2011's best releases.

Still to come: Keren Ann - 101, Sonny and the Sun-
sets - Hit After Hit, and Vivian Girls - Share the Joy.



Endnote: Times New Viking plays the Sunset
Tavern on Tues., 6/21. Image from Clash Music.