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Oakley Hall I’ll Follow You 81% Merge Oakley Hall brings a bit of singer Pat Sullivan’s Oneida heftiness and tingling acidity to their folk-twinged Americana. This is their first album for Merge, and though the band has a number of long-players behind them, it smacks with the alertness of a debut. Settled into a six-piece after several lineup mutations, the group’s communal jams lilt on melodic curlicues; not just amber-gold guitars, but also twinkling harpsichords and usually bittersweet moods. Country-twanged but also psych-dappled, I’ll Follow You is a pleasant enough halfway point for a respite. BERNARDO RONDEAU book Irvine Welsh If You Liked School, You’ll Love Work 85% W.W. Norton & Co. Drugs, booze, sex, racial tensions and a car crash begin Irvine Welsh’s latest—nothing too shocking from the author who brought us an existential parasite (Filth) and the loveable band of Edinburgher heroin addicts in Trainspotting. Like those novels, these short stories showcase Welsh’s talent for transforming language into art; the clever, complex plots are no trite morality critique. Rather, the experimental methods and disastrously flawed characters Welsh is famous for compose an insightful, bizarre journey into the best and worst of societal relationships. BREANNA MURPHY Jamie T Panic Prevention 82% Caroline Jamie T’s full length debut is a cocktail of cheap beats and cockney rap, and while he’s certainly engaging, he’s not always enjoyable. Kind of like what would happen if you locked Mike Skinner in a garage with a guitar and some meth, Jamie’s brand of punk/ pop/hip-hop somehow manages to hold your attention for the length of a record. Panic Prevention may not be easy to like, but it’s also hard to ignore. ANDREA BUSSELL matt pond PA Last Light 84% Altitude It’s not that the signature strings are missing or the lyrics are less poignant, it’s just that Last Light finds them hidden behind a big ol’ indie rock rather than center stage amid swirling chamber pop. Utilizing a more sophisticated, self-produced sound while playing host to a gaggle of guests, Pond’s revved up guitars and clap tracks drive you out of the New Hampshire woods and into the Brooklyn streets. Though dive bars have long since replaced the tree forts of 1998’s Deer Apartments, mpPA reminds us the sun hasn’t set just yet. BRYAN CHENAULT video game Madden NFL 08 90% 360, PS3 EA Sports If tight pants and pigskin’s your thing, Madden ’08 is your Mecca. New in this edition are “weapons”—no, not grenades; rather, players with mastery in a particular skill. So if you’re down by two, 10 seconds to play, fourth down, bring in your “Elusive Back” who can superhumanly escape tackles—just watch out for your opponent’s “Brick Wall Defender.” Fluid animations and crisp graphics make this the next-gen Madden we’ve been waiting for. ZACH ROSENBERG Liars Liars 87% Mute Nobody predicted a return to ROCK after Liars released 2006’s love letter to “tribal” percussion and drone, Drum’s Not Dead. But the band’s self-titled fourth record takes only seconds to signal the triumphant homecoming of the guitar—in all of its grizzled, gurgling glory—on “Plaster Casts of Everything.” Still, we’re far from the punky Monument (or even the witch-rock of Drowned), as Dead’s vocal twirls and pummeled percussion play off Liars’ sun-burnt guitars in yet another new light. ROBBIE MACKEY Ferraby Lionheart Catch the Brass Ring 85% Nettwerk Los Angeles loves its lonely troubadours. You know the music: slightly theatrical, a little folky, each song’s sunny surface hiding a vague melancholy. The lyrics are reflective, the pacing slow and the piano prominent. Ferraby Lionheart is the perfect example—while not as distinctive as a Wainwright, Ferraby sings with the same slightly droopy intonation, letting the melodies slowly drip out of his mouth rather than spewing them forth like a Jackson Pollock painting. This troubadour may not be lonely for much longer. JEREMY MOEHLMANN The Mekons Natural 83% Touch & Go/Quarterstick With their chameleon-like tendencies and constant reinventions, the Mekons have ensured that they’re an acquired taste for most. Natural, their first album of all new material since 2002’s Oooh!, is more of their brand of 28 filter good music guide
BAR & ROCK CLUB sparse, postmodern folk that will mostly appeal to their already devout niche of fans. But with a handful of songs highlighting the beauty of their ragged and minimal punk melodies, they might just gain some new ones. ANDREA BUSSELL S H O U T ••• 729 N 14th St• Omaha, NE www.theslowdown.com 402.345.7575 ••• MAIN ROOM 470 capacity video game Metroid Prime 3: Corruption 87% Wii Nintendo Imagine all of the action of the last two MP games, but with the added radness of aim-and-shoot Wiimote controls. Your job is the same as always: be the sexiest bounty hunter this side of Zebes. Oh, and blast the crap out of anything that stands in your path—even if it’s your evil twin. And due to the recent swashbuckling craze, Corruption comes with 50 percent more space pirate and 75 percent more booty. ZACH ROSENBERG O U T L O U D S O U R I L L SMALL ROOM 140 capacity For bookings, email val@theslowdown.com ••• Open Daily 4PM-1AM Excellent selection of both tap and bottled beers Interesting wines by the glass Patio seating Pool Table Over 35 Board Games Ms. Pacman/Galaga Black and white photo booth Tegan and Sara The Con 86% Vapor Even in their humble Lilith beginnings, Canadian twin-sis duo Tegan & Sara hinted at the saccharine power-folk that would come to be their calling card. But it wasn’t until 2004’s rockcandy surprise, So Jealous, that the vigor actually muscled its way to the fore. Three years later, The Con is a startlingly dark, yet characteristically vibrant offering, featuring a band that’s learned to harness the energy-highs, while tempering pretty (even pastoral) pop-folk with a new, deeply-affecting brand of melancholy. ROBBIE MACKEY Emmylou Harris Songbird: Rare and Forgotten Gems [box set] 91% Rhino Emmylou Harris has never been given her proper due. In a career spanning four decades, the silver-haired beauty is known mostly for sharing her honeysuckle croon in collaboration with nasally-voiced powerhouses like Neil Young, Dylan, Willie and Gram Parsons, but whenever the time comes for accolades she modestly lets the boys shine first. Harris has always been way more than a backup singer extraordinaire, and Songbird thrusts her solo talents to the forefront, offering a four-disc sampler of live, unreleased and lesser-known tracks that’ll make cowpokes weep and lift our good spirits beyond the borders of the big sky above. PHIL EASTMAN W I L L S A L S O O U T N O W : SPOON Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 2007 Side One Don’t Make Me A Target The Ghost Of You Lingers You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb Don’t You Evah Rhthm & Soul Side Two Eddie’s Ragga The Underdog My Little Japanese Cigarette Case Finer Feelings Black Like Me Free play juke box T O N I G H T I H AV E T O L E AV E I T E P
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