Soundcheck
CD Picks of the Week
Each week, the Soundcheck staff digs through their inboxes for the best, catchiest, or strangest music they can find.
CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
May 12, 2008
The Weepies, "Hideaway" (Nettwerk)
If you’re looking for an album to put you in a summer mood, The Weepies might have the solution with their new album “Hideaway.” This husband-and-wife duo, originally from Boston and now based in California, has an admittedly silly name but writes insistently well-crafted folk-pop songs. They’re the kind of songs that film and television supervisors would cry for. --picked by Brian Wise
Firewater, "The Golden Hour" (Bloodshot)
Our next pick comes from Brooklyn via south Asia. Singer/songwriter Tod A leads Firewater, a world music/punk collective whose latest cd is called "The Golden Hours." Tod traveled through Indonesia, India, and Israel -- because he could. His goal was to get to Iraq and Afghanistan. That he couldn’t do. His recorded the local musicians in these various countries, and used them as a basis for his new songs. A few stick doggedly to the political views that sent Tod on his trip in the first place, but much of the album is a celebration of the enduring and infectious sounds of South and southeast Asia –- and how easily they blend with Firewater’s own. --picked by John Schaefer
Nortec Collective, "Bostich + Fussible: Tijuana Sound" (Nacional Records)
And now we go from south Asia to south of San Diego: Tijuana. That’s the hometown of Nortec Collective, a band whose name explains their sound: it’s is an abbreviation of Northern Mexico techno. You might have heard their music in the film "Babel" or in TV ads for Volvo and Fidelity Mutual. Their new album keeps their signature of mixing traditional sounds with new stuff -- like lots of Mexican horns next to loops –- and most importantly, plenty of irreverence. –-picked by Gisele Regatao
Ed Harcourt, “The Beautiful Lie” (Dovecote)
Our final CD pick this week is from British singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt. The onetime Mercury Prize nominee’s latest CD is "The Beautiful Lie." It’s been out for nearly two years in the UK, where Harcourt’s raspy voice, big string arrangements, and classy pop sound earned comparisons to XTC, Jeff Buckley and Tom Waits. Now, Americans are getting a chance to hear heartbreaker tunes like "You Only Call Me When You’re Drunk" and "Visit From the Dead Dog," from Ed Harcourt’s album “The Beautiful Lie.”--picked by Joel Meyer
CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
May 05, 2008
Paul Bailey, "Retrace Our Steps"
The term oratorio historically refers to a kind of unstaged opera, often sacred in nature. Handel’s Messiah is the best-known example. Paul Bailey and his Ensemble have recorded what they term a secular oratorio in 4 acts, and while it is nothing like Handel’s Messiah, it might be somewhat like Philip Glass’s early operas. The Paul Bailey Ensemble describes itself as an alt-classical garage band, and the first of Bailey’s four elliptical songs of alienation and dislocation is built around a text by Gertrude Stein. --picked by John Schaefer
Rica Amabis, Pupillo and Dengue, "Tres na Massa"(Nublu Records)
Our first pick sounds like a racy confessional soundtrack -- and that’s exactly what it is. Three Sao Paulo-based musicians conceived this album as the score to the erotic comic books of Italian artist Milo Manara. It’s called "Tres na Massa," or three in the dough, and it’s released by Nublu records in New York. Producer Rica Amabis, percussionist Pupillo and bassist Dengue then enlisted popular singers and actress to sing about desire and seduction. --Picked by Gisele Regatao
Michael Gandolfi, "Y2K Compliant" (BMOP/sound)
Classical compositions about technology can often be dry, rather charm-less affairs. But the Boston composer Michael Gandolfi has written a piece about computers that’s full of bright, quirky sonorities and bustling rhythms. It’s called “Y2K Compliant,” and, as the title implies, it’s a satirical response to all the doomsday predictions of the Y2K bug back in 1999. The piece was premiered in 2000 and it’s now just out on a CD by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Picked by Brian Wise
Santogold, "Santogold" (Downtown)
Our next CD pick of the week comes from Santogold, the stage name of a well-traveled producer and songwriter named Santi White. At age 32, White has already done time as a Sony A&R rep, fronted a punk band, and worked with artists like Spank Rock and Ashlee Simpson. Her self-titled solo debut generated lots of internet buzz before its release last week, thanks to high-profile outings at South by Southwest and Coachella. The baile funk and dub sounds on the record have drawn comparisons to another Brooklyn-based artist, M.I.A. But White rounds out the record with plenty of ‘80s dance pop and new wave. --picked by Joel Meyer
Soundcheck CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
April 28, 2008
Ralph Van Raat, pianist; Frederic Rzewski – "The People United Will Never Be Defeated!" and "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues" (Naxos)
Composer and keyboard firebrand Frederic Rzewski has written numerous works steeped in left-wing politics but one stands out as a modern classic: "The People United Will never Be Defeated!," his 1975 homage to Latin American liberation struggles. The piece is an hour-long set of variations on the protest song of the same name by Chilean composer Sergio Ortega, himself a leftist figure in South America. In a new recording, Dutch pianist Ralph Van Raat steers through the many different aspects of struggle, from angry modernism to nostalgic folk music and dense polyphony. - Picked by Brian Wise
French Kicks, "Swimming" [Vagrant]
Our next pick is the CD "Swimming" by the Brooklyn-based band French Kicks. Sometimes, new work in the post-punk genre can leave you with that cold “retro” feeling. But in the hands of French Kicks, the legacy of the Cure and early U2 sounds pretty fresh. The fourth album by this is filled with jangly guitars, galloping drumbeats, and enough “echo” for all the Bunnymen. Here’s “New Man” from “Swimming” by the French Kicks. - Picked by Joel Meyer
Cryptogramophone Assemblage 1998-2008 (Cryptogramophone)
In an era of declining album sales, some tiny labels find a way to survive in music niches. Cryptogramophone Records is a boutique label based in L.A. which specializes in cutting edge improvisation. They just celebrated their 10th anniversary with a week of shows in town last week, but if you missed it, you should check out Cryptogramophone Assemblage 1998-2008. It’s a compilation of the label’s history in two 2 CDs and one DVD. You might recognize many names there from the rock or jazz worlds, but chances are they will sound very different here. – Picked by Gisele Regatao
CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
April 16, 2008
Four stand-out new albums, as chosen by the Soundcheck staff.
Van Morrison, "Keep It Simple" (Lost Highway)
"Keep it Simple" follows a familiar pattern for Van Morrison: Record a handful of soul, gospel and blues numbers that recall some of his finest moments, then toss in some filler. While this album hardly matches the singer’s best “Moondance”-era work, his rich, emotive voice remains a compelling draw. Morrison particularly shines in the I've-been-screwed-over mode of lyric writing, as in the title cut and the song, "School of Hard Knocks." –-picked by Brian Wise
"Keep It Simple" is available from Amazon.com.
Orchestra Baobab, "Made in Dakar" (World Circuit/Nonesuch)
Senegalese Orchestra Baobab is one of the pioneers of Afro-pop. They formed in the '70s in Dakar to play a weekly gig at the local Baobab Club. Critics quickly named them the greatest group in Africa. Their new album collects songs from the band’s 20 records, some of which were only available on tapes. It's a fun and danceable mix of Portuguese creole and afro-Cuban rhythms that influenced many artists to come, like Senegalese star Youssou N'Dour, who appears on the track "Nijaav." --picked by Gisele Regatao
"Made in Dakar" is available from Amazon.com.
William Brittelle, "Mohair Time Warp"
Mohair Time Warp doesn’t really "mean" anything, though singer and composer William Brittelle likes the suggestion of being unhinged in time. Well, this song cycle is unhinged from genre, from conventional narrative, and even from conventional singing. Brittelle terms it a lip-sync opera, a forced result of a catastrophic vocal injury while leading his punk rock band The Blondes several years ago. The music doesn’t just combine elements of rock and classical -- it flits from one to the other with often neck-snapping speed. --picked by John Schaefer
"Mohair Time Warp" is available for download from Amazon.com.
Atlas Sound, "Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel" (Kranky)
The Atlanta-based ambient rock band Deerhunter had a breakout year in 2007. Frontman Bradford Cox's solo project Atlas Sound might remind you of Deerhunter, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth and other melodic noisemakers. But on "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel," Cox ratchets down the noise and opts for some highly personal lyrics. "Quartantined" might be about Cox’s teenage treatment and hospitalization for the genetic condition Marfan’s Syndrome. A solo outing that's great for experienced deerhunters and newcomers alike. --picked by Joel Meyer.
"Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See" is available from Amazon.com.
CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
April 10, 2008
Jonas Kaufmann, tenor Romantic Arias (Decca)
There's a never-ending competition in the opera world for number one tenor and soprano spots. One name to enter the post-Pavarotti universe is the German tenor, Jonas Kaufmann. Though active mostly in Europe until now, his debut CD on the Decca label “Romantic Arias” promises him a wider audience here in the States. The singer applies his dark-hued voice to thirteen big tenor hits, including Flotow's "Martha," an old staple that is now nearly forgotten. –-picked by Brian Wise
Nalle, "Voi Ruusuni (O Rose)" from The Siren’s Wave (on Locust Music)
Nalle is both Finnish for a small bear and a trio named after lead singer Hanna Tuulikki’s favorite childhood toy. The Glasgow-based experimental-folk ensemble liberally blends traditional instruments with modern noisemakers like Moog Oscillators and walkie-talkies to create exotic ethno-medieval flavored music. Hanna’s little-girl vocals have a unique stutter and slide about them that might remind one of Bjork on helium, while Aby Vulliamy and Chris Hladowski weave an other-worldly instrumental drones around her. –-picked by Irene Trudel
Meredith Monk: Impermanence
The avant-garde vocalist, composer, and multimedia artist returns with a Buddhist-inspired meditation on the fragile boundaries between life and death, memory and oblivion, joy and loss. I know, sounds unbearably serious. But Monk has always used the voice to express a wide range of emotions, some of which we don’t even have words for, and on Impermanence, she creates some of the most buoyant and colorful music of her 40+ year career. Of course there are poignant moments as well, and for the first time in Monk’s music, actual texts on 3 of the songs. --Picked by John Schaefer
The Black Keys, Attack & Release (Nonesuch)
What happens when a gritty blues duo from Akron, Ohio teams up with the superstar producer behind Gnarls Barkley? You get “Attack & Release,” the latest CD from the Black Keys. After four albums recorded in basements, this twosome enlisted the knob-twiddling wizardry of Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse. With Burton’s gentle touch, this dynamic collection of blues rock avoids that genre’s biggest pitfall: studio polish. —picked by Joel Meyer
Soundcheck's Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
April 02, 2008
Four stand-out new albums, as chosen by the Soundcheck staff.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Bach, “The Art of the Fugue” (Deutsche Grammophon)
French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard made a reputation playing some of the knottiest works of the 20th century literature -- from Boulez to Messiaen. For his debut recording on the Deutsche Grammophon label he chooses a much earlier –- and no less imposing -- monument from the piano literature: Bach’s “The Art of Fugue.” Bach composed this collection of fugues originally for organ in the last years of his life; Aimard makes it sound perfectly at home on a modern concert grand – bringing out the individual voices with utmost clarity and nuance. --picked by Brian Wise
"The Art of the Fugue" is available on Amazon.com.
Third World Love, "New Blues" (Anzic Records)
If you are a Soundcheck listener you probably know there are many Israeli musicians in the New York jazz scene. We’ve featured several of them in the past years and their presence here is partially explained by fellowships they get from the America Israel Cultural Organization. But they also bring something new to jazz: Middle Eastern and African sounds. The quartet Third World Love has three members from Israel: trumpeter Avishai Cohen, pianist Yonatan Avishai and bassist Omer Avital. The fourth member, drummer Daniel Freedman is a New Yorker. They met four years ago in Barcelona for a one-time tour, but as the story goes in their first tune they realized this was a “dream band.” It seems they were right. New Blues is their fourth album. --picked by Gisele Regatao.
"New Blues" is available on Amazon.com.
The Raconteurs, “Consolers of the Lonely” (Third Man/Warner Bros.)
The music industry hates music leaks. And Jack White of the White Stripes really, really hates them. Last year, he called a Chicago DJ to give her an earful for airing the last White Stripes album early. Then, a few weeks ago, he rushed to stores the second album by his side project, The Raconteurs. The idea was to skip advance publicity and get the jump on leakers. One problem: iTunes accidentally posted the album early, and it leaked before the hurried-up release date. Sadly, the controversy is overshadowing a solid album. --picked by Joel Meyer
"Consolers of the Lonely" is available on Amazon.com.
Spottiswoode And His Enemies, "That’s What I Like" (Criminal Records)
This NY-based septet, led by Englishman Jonathan Spottiswoode, has steadily built a reputation over the past decade with their surprising blend of indie-rock, folk, country blues, and touches of big band music. The unusual name of the band is just the beginning of a series of running gags about arch-enemies and criminals that run through the liner notes and Spottiswoode’s very entertaining web site, but the real entertainment lies in the songs and their clever arrangements. --picked by John Schaefer.
"That's What I Like" is available from the Spottiswoode web site.
CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
March 24, 2008
She & Him, “Volume I” [Merge]
Take Matt Ward, the offbeat singer-songwriter known as M. Ward. Add the film and television actress Zooey Deschanel, and you get … She & Him. While grammatically imperfect, the duo has produced an otherwise stellar debut called Volume I. Deschanel wrote most of its 12 songs, and her voice might remind you of Linda Ronstadt. M. Ward mostly hangs in the background, playing a lot of country-fried slide guitar, but he joins Deschanel for a tribute to another collaboration: Lennon and McCartney’s “I Should Have Known Better.” –-picked by Joel Meyer
The Orchard, Lizz Wright (Verve Forecast)
Artists often don’t like comparisons. So when 28-year old singer Lizz Wright drew comparisons to people like Cassandra Wilson and Nina Simone, she was flattered, but concerned. So she decided to work harder to carve her own voice. First Lizz went home, in rural Georgia, and took pictures of roads, cotton fields and the local church where she learned to sing gospel. Then she started to write her own songs for the first time. Her new album, The Orchard, features eight songs that she co-wrote, most of them in collaboration with songwriter Toshi Reagon. The record is an artist’s breakthrough and her voice is sensual and husky as ever. –-picked by Gisele Regatao
Jenny Scheinman “Crossing the Field” (Koch)
Violinist, composer, and singer Jenny Scheinman has been a busy force on the New York downtown scene for nearly a decade, headlining a weekly date at the Brooklyn club Barbès as well as backing up comparably mainstream artists like Norah Jones and Sean Lennon. She uses her Barbès residency as a laboratory for trying out a variety of musical approaches and that plays out on two forthcoming albums – one instrumental and one vocal. The instrumental album, “Crossing the Field,” which you’re hearing, features a lush, cinematic arrangements and a supporting cast that includes pianist Jason Moran, guitarist Bill Frisell and the string quartet Brooklyn Rider. –-Picked by Brian Wise
Ludovico Einaudi “Divenire” (Ponderosa)
Italian pianist and composer Einaudi is almost completely unknown here in the States, but he is huge in Europe, and this newest release shows why. Classically trained and adept at both orchestral writing and modern electronic technology, Einaudi is a fan of both pop music and the American minimalist music tradition. His works for piano and orchestra are graceful and lyrical; his solo piano works often feature the same looping and layering technology we associate with electric guitarists. --Picked by John Schaefer
CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
March 03, 2008
Four stand-out new albums, as chosen by the Soundcheck staff.
What Made Milwaukee Famous, "What Doesn’t Kill Us" (Barsuk)
This band is not, in fact, from a certain Wisconsin city made famous by breweries. The Austin, Texas-based group is named after a Jerry Lee Lewis song about an inebriated loser. But these guys are winning opening spots for the Smashing Pumpkins and Arcade Fire. Their second album rocks in all the right places, especially if you like Death Cab for Cutie or fellow Austinites, Spoon.--picked by Joel Meyer
Gilberto Gil, "Duetos" (Warner Musica Latina)
Gilberto Gil has been a star in Brazilian music since he helped create Tropicalia, in the 60s. But it was politics that almost killed his musical career. For the past five years, Gil has been the country’s minister of culture and he almost lost his voice after delivering many speeches. The voice problems are evident in some tracks of his latest album, "Duetos." The good thing is that the record spans over 30 years of his career, in duets with people as diverse as singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso and rocker Cassia Eller. Also here: late singer and composer Chico Science – one of the founders of the Mangue Beat cultural movement -- and rapper Marcelo D2 (De Dois).--picked by Gisele Regatao
Prism Quartet: Pitch Black, Music for Saxophones by Jacob TV (Innova)
The Dutch new music scene has been one of Europe’s wildest since the '70s, and the composer Jacob TV – real name Jacob ter Velduis – is one of its wildest stars. TV grew up a fan of rock music and American media – television and movies especially. In the '90s he began writing composed works built around sampled sounds from those sources, developing an in-your-face style that says as much about the media as it does about Jacob’s music. Philadelphia’s Prism sax quartet has just released an album of some of these insistent, often fiery pieces – the ones that feature saxes, obviously. --picked by John Schaefer
Bartok: String Quartets 1-6, Belcea Quartet (EMI)
Bartók's six string quartets are arguably the most important and revolutionary cycle of string quartets after Beethoven’s. Intricate, clever, and incredibly physical, these works are tinged with the folk rhythms of Bartok’s native Hungary. Britain’s Belcea Quartet has just recorded the complete cycle and prove here why they are one of the best of the younger quartets on the scene. They’re currently on a US tour that will take them to Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in April. --picked by Brian Wise
CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
February 27, 2008
First decade: Mahalia Jackson, "The Best of Mahalia Jackson. [Sony, 1995]
I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, in a religious family. My dad was a pastor and he wouldn’t allow us to listen or watch anything willy-nilly. That didn’t stop my cousins and me from emulating the Jackson Five, who were all the rage at the time. But for me it’s another Jackson that really demonstrated the power of music. Mahalia Jackson was the first queen of gospel and her voice was the soundtrack for hope -- at least in my household. I’ve seen grown-up people break down in tears listening to her. Now I’m that fully grown person, I still tear up too. This song is called "I Will Move On Up A Little Higher."
Second decade: Oscar Peterson, "Tracks" [Polygram, 1970]
My next CD pick represents the second decade in my life, when I got into any pop record that my older siblings would bring home: Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Kahn, Al Green. One day my brother came in with a dusty album of this older guy sitting grinning at a piano, looked pretty harmless. It was Oscar Peterson, from his 1970 self-titled album. Listening to him I realized I knew nothing about music, although I was playing trumpet in the high school orchestra and had three church jobs playing in a neighborhood band. Listen to this song, "Honeysuckle Rose," and you’ll know what I mean.
Third decade: Saint Seans, Tchaikovsky Concertos. Andre Watts, piano. Yoel Levi conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra [Telarc, 1995]
In college, it was a lot easier getting dates if you said you were a pre-med major. So I majored in biology at Morehouse. But that is not where my heart was ... and I went back to music, joining the Morehouse College Glee Club. One year, one of my professors gave me a ticket to a concert and pianist Andre Watts was the soloist. He is African American and when I saw him at the stage I thought… wow, he looks a lot like me, and he is taking total ownership of this music, which implied I could too.
Fourth Decade: Oswaldo Golijov, "Ainadamar," Robert Spano conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. [Deutsche Grammophone, 2006]
Now based in Boston, Osvaldo Golijov is Jewish and grew up in Argentina. So, his music reflects all the stuff that he’s interested in, which means a lot of cultures. I believe that is the direction that great music is heading: Inclusiveness, with many perspectives and voices treated as equals.
Soundcheck's CD Picks of the Week
Soundcheck
February 13, 2008
Wu Han, piano; "Russian Recital" (ArtistLed)
Pianist Wu Han wears many hats: co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the head of her own record label, ArtistLed, and of course, busy concert soloist. On the cover of her new album, it’s a big woolly Russian hat that she’s wearing. The album is called "Russian Recital" and it features piano works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. Picked by Brian Wise
Lo Cor de la Plana, "Tant Deman" (Buda Musique)
Lo Cor de La Plana is comprised of six male singers, four of whom also play hand drums, tambourines, and their own bodies. They are based in Marseille, but even if you speak French you can’t understand what they say: They sing in a disappearing language called Occitan. And their repertoire is music that used to be confined to churches. But when you hear the call and response, the African drums, the solo voices, it sounds anything BUT church music.Picked by Gisele Regatao
Jeffrey Lewis, "12 Crass Songs" (Rough Trade)
Cover albums can be, well, a little hit or miss. But when they’re good, cover albums make us re-think an artist we thought we had pegged down a long time ago. On his latest album, anti-folk singer Jeffrey Lewis gives us a fresh take on Crass, the anarchist, so-called “peace punk” band of the 1970s and ‘80s. Lewis detaches Crass from its D.I.Y. punk bluster and nestles the band’s social-message heavy in beautiful acoustic arrangements. And you know what? It sounds punk as, well, you know. Picked by Joel Meyer
Scroobius Pip, "The Beat That My Heart Skipped"
Crass is actually one of the bands name-checked in the video "Thou Shalt Always Kill," which was an underground hit last year for the bearded London rapper named Scroobius Pip. So far, Scroobius Pip doesn’t have a CD, so our final pick this week will simply be his MySpace page. On it, you’ll find "Thou Shalt Always Kill," a delicious satire on pop culture. And with beatmaster Dan Le Sac, Scroobius Pip also offers a Letter from God to Man in which the deity expresses pride in and regret for his favorite creation. Picked by John Schaefer
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- The Brian Lehrer Show: Rent Destabilized (May 12, 2008)
- The Brian Lehrer Show: New York Needs to Get Some Game (May 13, 2008)
- The Brian Lehrer Show: Out of the Shadows (May 12, 2008)
- The Leonard Lopate Show: Mario Batali's Italian Grill (May 14, 2008)
- The Leonard Lopate Show: John Turturro and Max Casella in “Endgame” (May 09, 2008)