musicXport.nl - Buma Cultuur

eviews
by Enrico Riva
musicXport.nl
50
Daily Bread
Well, You're Not Invited
(Excelsior)
Trio Daily Bread, from northern Dutch town Leeuwarden,
blend ‘60s garage rock to ‘80s electro and spice it up with
some Dada tactics. Their stripped-down sound – drums,
fuzz bass and a vintage ‘60s Philicorda organ – has a ferocious
attack, helped by the distortion of their homemade
effect pedals and voicebox. It results in a genuinly
odd mash of retro and futuro elements, transcending the
band’s instant novelty appeal. *****
Moke
The Long & Dangerous Sea
(PIAS)
Amsterdam-based five-piece Moke never have been
slouches and their second longplayer – the follow-up to
2007’s Shorland – finds them in full-tilt mode. The band
works from the Britpop template (part indie, part wave)
and channels its energy via arrangements that are a tad
more intricate than on Shorland and its take-no-prisoners
approach. This time around, Moke’s big-hearted musings
on big city life are wrapped in a big sound, beefed up by
orchestral flourishes. *****
Knobsticker
Forest Fruit
(Dox)
Synthi-pop duos usually are comprised of a singer and a
knobtwister stuck behind an ironing board. Knobsticker
(Falco Torenstra and Wim van Dam) has cooked up a
variation on the synthi-pop theme: a drums and synths
duo, with occasional vocals by Benny Sings. Forest Fruit
is a ragbag collection of weird tunes and even weirder
arrangements, more Jean Jacques Perry than Pet Shop
Boys. It scores high on novelty and will please deejays
looking for some off-beat relief. *****
Kindred Spirits Ensemble
Love Is Supreme
(Kindred Spirits/Rush Hour)
Kindred Spirits Ensemble is a 20+ congregation of
seasoned players, dedicated to celebrate the music of
jazz icon John Coltrane and his spiritual take on jazz and
music in general. This album contains a selection of live
performances, recorded at Amsterdam’s Paradiso (on
the night of Coltrane 80th birthday, virtually of course),
North Sea Jazz and Pure JazzFest. This is heady stuff,
orchestrated (not big band) jazz meets jazz&poetry.
Some tracks come across as overly precious, however,
Love Is Surpreme exudes good taste. *****
MilkMoneyMaffia
Milkshake
(Basserk)
Last year, the Amsterdam-based Basserk label released the
Musik digital mini-album by MilkMoneyMaffia, Greenland’s
hardest electrorocking producer – or so they want us to
believe. Three tracks of Musik – the best from the album,
by the way - have been remixed by various producers for
Milkshake, another digital mini-album release. The ‘Mr.
Oizo meets Uffie’ original tracks have been kicked around
by the likes of Kid Goesting, 3-1, Boemklatsch and DJ
Donna Summer. The reworkings retain the sense of satire
and goofiness of MilkMoneyMaffia’s razor-like electropunk
and dress it in weird party attire. *****
Moss
Never Be Scared/Don't Be A Hero
(Excelsior)
Holland’s Excelsior label is a bedrock of guitar-oriented
music and five-piece Moss fit that bill perfectly. What
makes their debut platter – which rated high in the critics
polls for 2009 – stand out from the crowd is a certain
naivety. Never Be Scared is not a kaleidoscope of the best
bits from their aggregated record collections, but a dip
in uncharted waters. It fuses elements from fifty years of
rock and moulds them into compact and catchy songs,
elevated by joyous harmonies. Fleet Foxes with added
punch, anyone?
*****