indy cd & vinyl

RACONTEURS—CONSOLERS OF THE LONELY

The above-mentioned Black Keys are not the only blues-rock duo of note in our musical universe, of course. Jack and Meg White have made the White Stripes almost a household word, what with Jack’s winning way with melodies and guitar licks and the duo’s eye-catching and memorable penchant for dressing only in red, white, and black. Jack apparently wanted to venture beyond the sound of his duo, however, and recruited the rhythm section of the Greenhornes, along with fellow Michigan songwriter Brendan Benson, to form the Raconteurs. Their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers, was a relaxed, yet hard-charging trip, combining strong, “Beatlesy” melodies (Benson’s strong suit on his own excellent solo albums) with dirty, “Rolling Stonesy” grit and spittle.  The whole affair came across as so casual and knocked off that one couldn’t help but develop a fondness for it. But the follow-up record, Consolers Of The Lonely, is a whole different affair. Sounding anything but casual, with tinkling pianos, overwrought guitar solos, mariachi and Broadway-style horns, fiddles, and whatever else can be thrown into the mix filling up every nook and cranny, this album is overstuffed to the point of  bloating. And that’s not to mention the orchestral passages redolent of Queen and keyboard parts that sound straight out of the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer school of bombast. Where Broken… took a minimalist route, Consolers… goes all maximalist. Where Broken… barely broke the thirty-minute mark, Consolers plows along for over an hour. This is not to say there are no redeeming qualities to Consolers…, as the principals involved are, to be sure, outstanding talents. White unveils some of his best slide guitar work yet, and when Benson and White harmonize, as they do on many choruses, all is forgiven. And while the final song, “Carolina Drama,” stretches on a little too long, it is an excellent foray into a sort of story-telling balladeering that feels exactly right for this combo. But overall, Consolers Of The Lonely is a perfect example of when too much is, in fact, too much

BLACK KEYS—ATTACK AND RELEASE

The guitar and drums duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have always gone for a minimalist approach to blues-rock, as befits their being only two people in the band. Crashing drums and searing or pounding electric guitar lines have been their stock-in-trade, and their excellence in pursuing this path has never seemed like much of a limitation when listening to their previous albums. With the addition of Danger Mouse (one –half of Gnarls Barkley) as their producer and co-conspirator on Attack and Release, however, we find out that, yes, sometimes more is better. Not that Danger Mouse has overloaded Attack and Release with symphonies or guitar armies. In fact, crashing drums and spare, yet searing guitars still dominate and drive the proceedings as before. When keys, synths, banjo, percussion, and even clarinet and flute are added to the mix, Danger Mouse’s genius is in largely keeping them as a sort of deep, sonic backdrop to the main event. And it is this added depth to the Black Keys formula that makes this album such a compelling listen. “All You Ever Wanted” starts the album with a soft voice, acoustic guitar, and lightly tapping percussion before storming in with drums, guitar, and heavy organ chords.   But the acoustic guitars and percussion never really go away, filling up the space (along with various keyboards) beneath the Black Keys’ stomp to glorious effect. The same technique is employed throughout the album, often giving each song its own unique feel, whether it be the “haunting” blues of “Strange Times” or the layered, echoing backdrop to “Psychotic Girl”. Despite this, it is obvious that Danger Mouse loves the basic sound of the Black Keys (he contacted them to see if he could work with the duo), with some songs (e.g., the appropriately titled “Remember When”) sounding almost identical to the Black Keys of old. All of this lends a variety to Attack and Release not present on their previous albums. And while these albums have all been outstanding in their own right, Danger Mouse proves his excellence as a producer by propelling this album beyond its forebears, but without losing any of the essence that makes the Black Keys what they are—a primal blues-rock juggernaut.

SOULSAVERS—It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land

The Soulsavers are an English-bred production duo who have previously specialized in downtempo electronica. Their sophomore effort, however, strays far beyond this territory thanks to the addition of former Screaming Trees/sometimes Queens Of The Stone Age/current solo artist Mark Lanegan on vocals (and lyrics). Lanegan’s smoky baritone always lends a dark, foreboding, even funereal presence to his musical undertakings, and this album dives deep into this abyss. With elements of folk, blues, country, and particularly gospel stirred into the drum loops and cinematic sweeps employed by the Soulsavers, It’s Not How Far You Fall… provides us with a rich, yet unsettling foray into Lanegan’s twin themes of penance and sin. “Revival” opens the proceedings with a drum crash and church-like organ, with Lanegan intoning “Say there’s gonna be a revival tonigh/Ohh-oh/I wanna see a revival,” and then lets the music sweep him away into the details of his quest.  “Ghosts Of You And Me” follows with a honking sax wailing in the background while feedbacked guitar loops provide the foreground for Lanegan’s talk of black cat bones and thoughts like “The cemetery is my home”.  Lanegan’s own “Kingdom Of Rain” is a beautiful piano-led ballad underscored by depressed musings such as “This rain beats down like death.” Film-noir-like instrumental passages add to the atmosphere, as do a surprising duo of covers. Tom Waits’ “Through My Sails” actually provides a momentary bit of uplift, as Lanegan and Will Oldham (aka Bonnie Prince Billy) sing a slow but optimistic love song, accompanied by steady bass and superb slide guitar.  The album closes with a tour-de-force version of the Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations,” transforming it from a country-blues to a haunting groover. So when you’re in the mood for something dark, yet musically superb, “It’s Not How Far You Fall…” will fill the bill in fine fashion.

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS—Real Emotional Trash

Stephen Malkmus headed up Pavement, one of the most seminal indie-rock bands of all time. Pavement was most often characterized by Malkmus’ off-handed lyricism and winning way with a melody. Occasionally, however, Malkmus would indulge his guitar jones. This seemed to happen most often when the band was lacking a full bag of catchy tunes for their next album. On Real Emotional Trash, on the other hand, what we have is an album chock-full of good tunes AND Malkmus putting down the best guitar playing of his career. The album is full of solos both short and long, taut and stretched out, all the while surrounded by great melodies and tight ensemble playing. The addition on drums of Janet Weiss, late of the much-missed Sleater-Kinney, may be key in this development, as Malkmus may well have found a musical foil with skills equal to his own. Whatever the reason, Real Emotional Trash ranks right up there with the finest work of Malkmus’ career. Opener “Dragonfly Pie” starts things off with a heavy metal-like riff, which gives way to a nursery rhyme chorus (with marimba!), which then circle back to the riff. And in the middle and end, a few loud and beautiful guitar solos find their place. Second song “Hopscotch Willie” seemingly tells the story of so-named small-time crook who says, “Can’t blame me for my guilty face/It was a gift from my mother and my father in place/Of all the love they should have given/They just left me with this dirty DNA”. It starts with a strummed acoustic and great tom-tom work by Weiss, and the adds some very sweet slide work, before concluding with another amplified wig-out. Tune after tune follow in this vein, contrasting sticky sweet hooks and melodies with indie-rock guitar-god excursions.  One gets the feeling that these songs will be powerhouses when played live.

BLACK MOUNTAIN—In The Future

Take the best parts of Black Sabbath, mix with the Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin and 80’s heavy metal, sprinkle lightly with Pink Floyd (keyboards), David Bowie, and Kansas(!),  and, voila,  Black Mountain results. While this reviewer generally treads lightly on referencing past bands’ sounds as a guide to current groups, Black Mountain openly proclaims their influences, both in print and on wax/disc. The trick, of course, is not just to “rip off” these influences, but to integrate them into something unique, and, with In The Future, Black Mountain achieves this goal in excellent fashion. Sabbath is the closest comparison, as In The Future resounds with heavy, heavy riffs, melodic vocals, and acoustic interludes, just like Paranoid, Volume 4, and Master Of Reality, the albums Sabbath made when they were at the top of their game (i.e, when Ozzy was in the band). But there are also differences, particularly when Black Mountain’s Amber Webber lends her female pipes to cushion the musical heaviness. And then there’s Jeremy Schmidt’s inventive, “churchy” organ parts which underlie so many of the group’s brilliant riffs. Add in drummer Joshua Wells’ fondness for martial beats to go along with his 4/4 pound, and you get heavy-metal goodness heretofore unheard in the new millennium. The album opener, “Stormy High,” starts with a plucked, reverbed guitar, which gives way to a straight-ahead beat and a chunky riff, all of which leads to a beautiful choral refrain which plays off against the heaviness to wonderful effect. It is this balance between bludgeoning riffs and beautiful interludes that goes on to define the rest of the album. Everything comes together in their 16+ minute epic “Bright Lights,” which moves effortlessly from riff to drone to heaviness and back again. Then the album closes with “Night Walks,” which contains some of the gentlest music on the album, headed by Webber’s gorgeous voice. While Black Mountain’s previous album and EP were both fine achievements, it is with In The Future that all their musical elements come together to provide a fine statement of heavenly heaviness and bombastic beauty. Black Mountain are clearly in it for the long haul. On the evidence of this album, it looks like it will be worth our while to tag along for the ride.