Dancing Nancies
Say What You Wanna Say
[self-released]

by airhole

Many people complain that many local bands either do not have the groove or they are just out of tune. This is definitely a different type of local band. Not the usual grunge sound, or phase-laden guitar tones, this is a band that could and would probably make it big in the States.

A most promising debut with very hum-able tunes with lots of melodic hooks in their songs, the band compromises of Dharmadi on keyboards, Haikel on rrums, Djasman on percussions, Sharom on acoustic guitars and vocal duties, Dharmawan on bass and newest addition to the band, Royhan on guitars.

On first listening, they sound like Dave Matthews Band without violins and horns. Even Royhan's guitars do sound much like Tim Reynolds! But then again, what would you expect from a band whose name was derived from one of their biggest influences' songs?

We get a strong outing of 5 songs. The sound? A touch of pop, funk, rock, ethnic sounds and much of the jam band culture closely associated with the Dave Matthews Band. Well written and well executed, no overplaying and matured takes of each tune.

Track 2 ‘Crazy’ starts with an acoustic guitar intro, followed by the vocals. The beauty of this song is in its chorus. A neat, yet grand arrangement with the keyboards creates a huge impact upon the listener, as if to tell the listener to listen to the words closely.

Track 3 ‘Lies’ has a very ethnical flavour. The song flows in and out, rising and falling, telling a story to the listener. In the song, there is a bridge that allows the listener to meditate on the story.

The only letdown of this EP is its first track. It has a mosaic of clips from past live performances for up to 3 minutes before the actual song starts! It might just turn the listener off. So do remember to fast forward that song!

Providing a nice change of style in the local scene, the Dancing Nancies weave pleasant and catchy tunes for the listener. Definitely interesting, I feel the EP is a must-get. Even if you do not support local talent, then support good music instead.

All I can say is, I WANT MORE!

Bjork
Medulla
[Elektra]

by K. Vicious

The expansive sounds on Bjork’s latest album Medulla can be likened to the warm pulse of poltergeists hiding in the deepest cold ditch, breathing sheets of fire and ice. And if that description sounds horribly pretentious, well, do forgive the fact that I have only so limited an imagination for describing such strange, daring sounds. In a career trajectory that has always placed her a few giant steps ahead of her audience, Medulla may well be Bjork’s finest achievement, the masterpiece that has been simmering in her consciousness for years. Starkness reigns as the musicianship is downsized to bare-boned programming, piano and mainly human voices for the entire duration of the record, but Medulla still moves in epic proportions.

A listen to the abrasive a cappella beats pounding on ‘Where is the Line’ can gauge how far Bjork has forged ahead in her vision, a banquet of organic sounds that refuse to be dictated by the use of instruments. And what human voices she uses: an army of edgy beat boxers, haunting agrarian choirs, even a simulation of a horn section for the spectacular finale ‘Triumph of a Heart’. The singles ‘Oceania’ (which pass muster as an outtake from her pervious album, 2001’s Vespertine) and ‘Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)’ are the designated crowd pleasers here – though I am hard pressed to have anything conventional to comment about these two numbers other than that the human beats stutter patiently enough to sound like there are actually instruments playing them.

On the track listing itself, they are immediately followed by ‘Submarine’, her brilliant collaboration with Robert Wyatt, Wyatt’s shrill, unnerving vocals melding perfectly with Bjork’s singing to make for a truly weird and exhilarating listening. Things get even weirder on ‘Ancestors’, fostered by the vocal contribution from the enigmatic Tagaq whose shuddering vocal ecstasies are stitched together on top of sparse piano chords to sound like coital moans rising out of a heavy mist. It’s simply another incredible moment on an album clad in a surfeit of warmth – on Medulla, Bjork wants you to hear heartstrings soaring.

Marc Klock Group
Tentacle Dreams
[Fusion Studio Recordings]

by airhole

A seemingly eerie title for a fusion group, immediately the thought that its going to be space and alien music comes to mind. The Marc Klock Group consists of leader/guitarist/songwriter Marc Klock, legendary 5-string violinist Jerry Goodman (from Dixie Dregs), one of fusion bass pioneers Phil Chen (from Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow), Jimmy Paxson Jr. on drums and Ed Roth on keyboards.

There are 11 tracks on the album, starting with the interesting the first track, ‘Kaos’. The intro riff does make one think of an intergalactic battle between aliens, a chaotic shuffle of violence. The electric violin comes in and adds an extra dimension into the music, as if adding more minions into the fray... ending with an outro which seems to be sucking everyone into a black hole.

Track 2 ‘Mummy Dearest’ seems a mixture of Malmsteem and Dixie Dregs. Through the use of Phrygian modal licks and harmony, the shred-capable guitarist and violinist bring the song into a very interesting interplay of harmony. The keyboardist, using synth patches, sets a very futuristic atmosphere.

As the album goes on, the music does get mellower and mellower, with a very meditative track 9 ‘On Second Thought’ which features an almost Santana-esque guitar lead. However, the album ends on a weird-ass psychedelic, all-out experimental fusion in ‘Back From Mars’. On the whole, Chen, the bassist and Paxson Jr., the drummer basically hold the songs together with less fanciful but rock steady grooves to support the flights of fancy from the keyboards, guitars and violins.

In general, the album is a good fusion effort though some songs do sound weaker in contrast with others. The album on the whole is satisfactory for my fusion tastes. It’s definitely interesting to hear different tonal timbres from the effects used on the guitars and the different keyboard patches used for each song. However, some songs are not exactly memorable. Not recommended for the weak hearted non-fusion listener.

Check their stuff at http://www.marcklock.com/indexmain.htm.

The Delgados
Universal Audio
[Chemikal Underground]

by K. Vicious

“No one ever said to me that I should write a symphony but right, and now that I wrote it and the days are growing longer,” sings Alun Woodward on ‘Get Action!’, an obvious reference to the ambition (or folly?) of their previous record, Hate (2002), an album of more thick strings and more over-the-top Dave Fridmann production that you bargained for. By contrast, the moderated scope on Universal Audio finds the band scaling back to concentrate on their strengths: a brand of easygoing pop fare that Woodward and his main songwriting foil Emma Pollock always do best.

It’s almost as if the band realized that, well, working against the grain could only get you so far. “The City Consumes Us” is a fair example of a song whose elaborate structure and Pollock’s downcast sentiments might have fitted Hate like a glove, but sequestered here on this album their symphonic tendencies are kept in check. And so without the sudden changes in tempo and directions, Universal Audio plays like the radio freed their native Glasgow once again, the band turning into anachronistic hitmakers churning out one memorable pop song after another. And rewards are plenty in this breezy affair with the songs becoming major outlets for venting their influences as well: a fully furred take on the Go Betweens (‘Bits of Bones’) here, a Beach Boys harmony there (‘Girls of Valour’). Similarly, you will be hard pressed to find a more infectiously joyful tune this year than “Everybody Come Down”.

If you are one of those disappointed by the new Badly Drawn Boy – when is Damon Gough going to give us his full-blown Bruce Springsteen tribute anyway? – then Universal Audio delivers, just in time, an astutely illustrated guide to anglophile pop music circa 2004 in its full shambolic glory.

Luna
Rendezvous
[Jetset Records]

by K. Vicious

While not becoming quite the underground phenomenon Galaxie 500 was in the Eighties, you can still say that Dean Wareham had a pretty good second run with Luna too. As their final album Rendezvous would prove, Luna’s nonchalant music is never going to hit you on the head and make your room spin, but it does its job really well. Everything about this band seems so comfortable in its skin, whether it is crafting a perfect cocktail pop song in ‘Malibu Love Nest’ or gilding sweet little dreams on ‘Owl & the Pussycat’ – yes, Wareham must be wanting to be the modern-day Lee Hazlewood (and ‘Motel Bambi’?). Which is disappointing because I really liked the guy more when he used to write songs inspired by some Paul Auster book and his only fixation was the sound of the Velvet Underground.

New distractions aside, Luna mostly retains their moonshot sound on Rendezvous and the album’s appeal begins and ends with Wareham’s lackadaisical delivery. And for Wareham at least, this does not really spell an uncertain future, considering as well the nice little lounge album he did with Britta Phillips just last year. Anyway, thanks so much for all the superfreaky memories.