CMJ New Music Report - March 2012 - Tasting Grace

eSSeNtialS
TRIPLE A
dar WilliaMS
In The Time Of Gods Razor And Tie
With a career spanning
nearly two decades, Dar
Williams has nothing
to prove. However, she
continues to explore new
territory as a songwriter on
her latest album, In The
Time Of Gods. Williams manages to contrast
contemporary topics with tales of ancient Greek
mythology. Although many of the lyrics focus on
turbulence and chaos in the world, the musical
arrangements are layered simply, allowing the
richness of the instruments to shine through.
In only 10 tracks, the Gods shows Williams as
a strong singer and songwriter who has yet to
stop evolving. KB
releaSe date: april 17
radio: Kurt Steffek, ksteffek@razorandtie.com
Web: darwilliams.com
riYl: Joan Baez, Brandi Carlile, ani DiFranco
KeY traCKS: “I am The one Who Will Remember everything,”
“You Will Ride With Me Tonight,” “Summer Child”
of Note: In The Time Of Gods is Dar Williams’s first album
of original material in four years.
NEW WORLD
bola
Volume 7 Awesome Tapes From Africa
Bola is a singer/songwriter
of Northern Ghana whose
music forces a collision
between traditional folk
and avant-garde jams.
The kologo—a twostringed
lute that features
heavily in Ghanaian music—provides the
springy, syncopated canvas painted a vivid red
by the 27-year-old Bola’s raspy, hypnotic shouts.
Tracks like “Yine Mmema” and “Makamiba” are
spiraling displays of passion and percussion,
their closest (albeit distant) American parallels
being the jam-inflected roots groups of the
’70s. Volume 7 has a deep connection to the
storytelling tradition, but Bola’s addition of
synthesizers and drum machines brings the
classic kologo-based sounds into the present. ZC
releaSe date: april 3
radio: Brian Shimkovitz, awesometapesfromafrica@gmail.com
Web: awesometapes.com
riYl: haruna Ishola and his apala Group, Jagwa Music,
Professor Jay
KeY traCKS: “Makamiba,” “Yine Mmema,” “abayetidu Ma”
of Note: In Ghana, kologo performances typically happen
at bars, weddings, funerals and anywhere else that
serves pito, a local beer.
ñ ALTERNATIVE
Y la baMba
Court The Storm Tender Loving Empire
Taking cues from the
Mexican heritage of vocalist
Luz Elena Mendoza,
Portland, OR’s Y La Bamba
has made a mariachiinspired
art-folk album.
Mendoza’s strong, husky
voice stars against a backdrop of violin, guitar,
soft drumming and accordion. Songs are sung
in both Spanish and English, but the language
variation doesn’t detract from the cohesiveness
of the album. Lyrics about making the most out
of life, escaping souls and Guadalajara bars are
at the heart of Court The Storm, and Mendoza
shares them passionately, never losing the role
of storyteller as the songs waltz along. LP
releaSe date: out now
radio: Jennifer Daunt, dauntless2@earthlink.net
Web: ylabamba.com
riYl: Laura Gibson, Typhoon, Local Natives
KeY traCKS: “Bendito,” “Michoacan,” “Squawk”
of Note: “Squawk,” the opening track of Court The Storm,
features vocals from Neko Case.
RPM
ital
Hive Mind Planet Mu
Ital opens Hive Mind with an
isolated Lady Gaga sample
that builds up meaning and
power with each repetition,
like a Buddhist mantra. She
gibbers over a dark house
clomp and through a thicket
of vocoder effects until the isolated phrase—
“Doesn’t matter if you love him”—becomes at once
a declaration of nihilism and an element of a dance
track that is almost too heady to move to. Almost.
Hive Mind straddles the isolation of headphone
listening and the communalized experience of the
dance floor by mutating elements of dance music.
Gliding synths die off in mechanic breakdowns in
“First Wave,” and the pound of an 808 drowns
out the words of someone explaining, “I got kids,
man” in “Israel.” ES
releaSe date: out now
radio: Gamall awad, g@backspinpromo.com
Web: myspace.com/itallive
riYl: Blondes, Burial, Jackie o Motherfucker
KeY traCKS: “Doesn’t Matter (If You Love him),” “Israel,”
“First Wave”
of Note: Daniel Martin-McCormick was a member of
the band Mi ami and the sole member of his project
Sex Worker.
8
LOUD ROCK
CorroSioN of CoNforMitY
Corrosion Of Conformity Candlelight
Corrosion Of Conformity’s
last release came in
2005, making this
self-titled album highly
anticipated. And 2012 is
a good time for the band’s
return as it coincides with
its 30th anniversary. On its latest, Corrosion
Of Conformity takes the best of all of its
influences, from the thrash-punk drums to
complex jazz and funk guitar work. The range
of different elements on this record, held
together by catchy riffs, makes it appealing
to a greater audience than just metal fans,
but it will also satisfy those who’ve followed
the band for decades. KB
releaSe date: out now
radio: The Syndicate, hardrock@thesyn.com
Web: coc.com
riYl: alice In Chains, Clutch, Pantera
KeY traCKS: “Psychic Vampire,” “The Doom,” “Time of Trials”
of Note: on this record, Corrosion of Conformity returns to the
lineup last seen on 1985’s Animosity, featuring vocals from
bassist Mike Dean, rather than from guitarist Pepper Keenan.
REISSUE
PerSOnAL SPACe:
eLeCTrOnIC SOuL 1974-1984
Various artists
Chocolate Industries
The obscure electronic
soul of the ’70s and ’80s
surfaces in Personal Space,
a collection of underground,
self-produced tunes
compiled by DJ Dante Carfagna. Keyboardbased
tracks with heavy synth and simple
drums make for a jazz-inspired sound that
leads to outer space. Soulful vocals are
featured in several of the songs delivering
spark to tracks that were ahead of their
time. Carfagna curated Personal Space so
that even if each track is by a different
artist, they all transition into each other in
an album that digs up several dusty gems
and once again makes them shine. LP
releaSe date: april 10
radio: Chocolate Industries, info@chocolateindustries.com
Web: chocolateindustries.com
riYl: Shuggie otis, Flying Lotus, Janelle Monae
KeY traCKS: “I Finally Found The Love I Need,” “are You
Ready To Come?”, “Love Vibrator”
of Note: Personal Space’s artwork features aerial photography
by NaSa astronaut Donald Pettit.