OUR FAVORITE NEW MUSIC & MOVIES! - Amoeba Music

through the subtle, sinister pop minimalism in
between, Eno takes you on another transformative
journey!
Cass McCombs – Catacombs
(DOMINO)
One of the great underappreciated indie-rock
auteurs, McCombs has a hypnotic, edgy voice
and lyrics that are at once mythic, true-to-life,
and strange. Less postpunky and more folky this
time, with the directness & melodicism of Sam
Cooke or Tim Hardin.
!!! – Strange Weather Isn’t It?
(WArp rECOrDS)
Nic Offer & co. are back: faster, stronger, and
as lush & luxurious as a dub disco party at the
Lamborghini factory. They’ve toughened up their
drive into an unstoppable space-disco juggernaut
with stacks of percussion, slippy bass, and
Offer’s usual ranting. Blends Berlin club music,
Madchester acid-rave, and NYC no wave brilliantly.
Jail Weddings – Love Is Lawless
(WHITE NOISE)
Break out the champagne and brass knuckles for
this grand debut from LA’s finest UK big-band
soul combo! recalls the scruffy, unhinged joyfulness
of Dexys Midnight runners, The pogues,
and the Bad Seeds, with explosive tunes, horns,
girl-group vocals, and plenty of heart & soul.
Tough enough!
Sonny & the Sunsets –
Tomorrow Is Alright (FAT pOSSUM)
Wonderful Bay Area band plays world weary,
Modern Lovers/VU-esque ballads with yearning
vocals, unforgettable hooks, and often hilarious
52 MUSIC WE LIKE H Spring/Summer 2011
lyrics. Amazing homemade videos too! Nicely
captures the fun, low-key sound of early-’70s
pre-punk street hassle.
Ebo Taylor – Love and Death
(STrUT rECOrDS)
ghanian Afrofunk legend (and onetime Fela associate)
Ebo Taylor shows he’s still the king, with
a posse of young groovers throwing down some
heavy voodoo jams. A nicely toughened-up recreation
of classic Afrobeat.
Roots Manuva – Duppy Writer
(BIg DADA rECOrDS)
This great UK hip-hop emcee has long flirted
with digital dancehall, and on this one he finally
dives right in! Minimal future-roots ragga from a
modern beatmaster who really rocks the mic.
White Widow –
White Widow III
Mystical, tuneful new space-goth bubblegum
opus from this local drum machine druid! Sixteen
new sound sandwiches to launch you down
hallways of cosmic dream. A bit like if Joe Meek
sang for Uriah Heep, or if the Silicon Teens made
a ’70s rock opera. Dood!
The Dirtbombs – Party Store
(IN THE rED rECOrDS)
America’s very best modern garage-punk combo
keeps the fire-breathing spirit of Detroit
soul-rock alive on every sweaty note of every
record they make. This one is all covers of Detroit
techno classics, if you can believe it, which
is just as crucial to the Motor City music scene
as Motown, The Stooges, and The MC5. If you
rockers have a tough time understanding that,
this album might just make you a believer!
phenix dage m i n i
There is no such thing as “good music.”
I’ve learned that from meeting sooooo many
people that don’t like the music of Bob Marley or
The Beatles. If they didn’t make “good music,”
then damn me to hell, man…
Anyway, it’s all RELATIVE.
Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday
(CASH MONEY)
This girl is wicked. I’m a fan of her flow and
comedic sense. The music itself is not as hot
as some of the guest appearance stuff, but she
makes up for it with her lyrical content. keep in
mind this is commercial music. That being said,
no need to compare her to krS, Chuck, Lyte,
or…know what I mean. It is what it is!
R Kelly – Love Letter (JIVE)
Love it for the letter it is. This is one for the
ladies. Ain’t no club banga’s on here. Fellas, if you
don’t have a mixtape for gettin’ them draws,
put this on!! Highly recommended. “Untitled”
though, for the fellaz.
Madlib – Madlib Medicine
Show No. 10: Black Soul
(MADLIB MEDICINE SHOW)
My man digs DEEp!! Thanks for the medicine,
Mad. I knew somethin’ was wrong with me. Cop
this.
Cee-Lo Green –
The Lady Killer (ELEkTrA/ASYLUM)
“I see you ridin’ ’round town with the girl I love
and I’m Like F**k Youuuu.” Everyone knows that
song by now. The video is way cool. Supposedly,
the record was built around that song. If so, they
did a very good job of not showing it. Very entertaining
music!
Toni Braxton – Pulse (ATLANTIC)
Ronald Isley – Mr I (DEF JAM)
Tank – Now or Never (ATLANTIC)
Trey Songz – Passion,
Pain & Pleasure (ATLANTIC)
Once again, we cater to the ladies! Hey, that’s
his audience.
Donell Jones – Lyrics
(ENTErTAINMENT ONE MUSIC)
I totally slept on this. This guy is so talented.
Check it out.
Oh No – Ethiopium
(TrAFFIC ENTErTAINMENT grOUp)
Bangin’!
Charlie Wilson –
Uncle Charlie (JIVE)
This one is better than his new one. “Homeless”
is my favorite cut.
dAVE
CUNNINghAM
www.catorce.net
Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
(4AD)
Working at Amoeba provides me with the opportunity
to hear a lot of new music, and a fair
portion of it is good. But these days, in a world
where anyone can (and seemingly does) release
an album, the musical landscape is over-saturated
often to the point of canceling itself out. I’ll hear
something that gets my interest one day, but is
soon pushed to the background by something
else and nearly, sometimes undeservedly, forgotten
about. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt
so passionately about what a band is doing that
I keep playing their albums over & over again.
Which is why I’m so thankful to have discovered
DeeRHUNTeR. I find myself returning to
their albums repeatedly and getting something
new out of them every time. Their most recent
release, Halcyon Digest, has been on almost constant
repeat since its release a few months back,
and I have yet to get sick of it. I am loathe to
sit here and paint descriptions of the music, because
it would likely ruin the experience for me
a little bit, but I will say that there’s something
magically transcendent about this band and particularly
this record. I feel comforted when I listen
to it. It makes me feel like all is right with the
world. It reminds me why I feel so passionately
about music in the first place. It makes me feel
like I did when I was much younger and I believed
that there wasn’t much more important
in the world than the music I liked.
Tip:
Recent honorable mentions go to Crush by Abe Vigoda,
I Will Be by Dum Dum Girls, gemini by Wild Nothing,
and Congratulations by MGMT.
MUSIC WE LIKE H Spring/Summer 2011 53