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Random Albums

To Hear This Week

	Various: Umalali- The Garifuna Women’s Project (Cumbancha) - Prior to his untimely passing from a heart attack on January 19, 2008, musicologist and artist Andy Palacio uncovered the dying traditions of Garifuna. A unique culture centered on the Caribbean coast of Central America territories of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, Garifuna people are descendants of the survivors from two large ships of West African slaves that sank off the coast of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in 1635. These modern recordings document their heritage, a rich blending of West African and Native Caribbean music. The only disappointment is the relatively short play time of 38:17, however the music, enhanced media and 30+ pages of color liners make this a must buy. [The Andy Palacio Tribute Tour comes to Washington, DCs Lisner Auditorium 5/3/2008] ["Umalali" is the Garifuna word for voice]
	Autechre: Quaristice (Warp) - England’s IDM / glitch-tronic duo Autechre are masters of sonic texture. Using vintage computer equipment, they record, slice and loop sounds to build aural statements bridging the surreal and natural worlds. Envision cryptic message in a bottle, drifting in choppy rhythmic waters which occasionally pause upon pebbled synthy shores. Complex, multi-dimensional & recommended.
	White Hinderland: Phylactery Factory (Dead Oceans) - After releasing an album under her own name for Hush in 2006, Boston folkie Casey Dienel and company christen White Hinterland. With understated, jazz-influenced melodies and instrumentation of piano, Rhodes, keys, saw, vibes, cello, upright bass, etc.; her fragile voice reveals stored-away reminders of war, peace, ships and journeys. Cleverly titled, a phylactery is the tefillin worn by devout Jews; prayer scrolls placed in black leather boxes knotted upon head and arm. Recommended. RIYL Jolie Holland, St. Vincent
	Toumani Diabaté: The Mandé Variations (World Circuit) - Nonesuch is a label that encourages its artists to re-invent, and The Mandé Variations does just that. Following 2006s Boulevard de l'independence with the large Symmetric Orchestra of Bamako, kora master Toumani Diabaté flies solo for the first time in 20 years. On material that ranges from the traditional to contemporary improvisations, Toumani creates an amazing depth of sound with the 21-string West African harp by weaving bass lines into the melody. It’s moody, reflective and passionate. Liners include Toumani’s own song notes. Support true art, buy a copy. Recommended.
	Los Campesinos: Hold On Now, Youngster (Arts & Crafts) - Giddy, happy music for a good time.  This band sounds like they had fun making this music, and that is really nice to hear. Interplaying male and female vocals, heavy guitars, glockenspiel!  Maybe they sound like a punkier Broken Social Scene (who they have opened for on tour). [Pitchfork 8.4]
	Miwa Gemini : This Is How I Found You (Rock Park) - A classically trained pianist who taught herself how to play the guitar, banjo and mandolin. She sounds like Nina Simone meets Bjork, plus the banjo and mandolin. An interesting voice that makes you want to hear more. Piano ballads don't usually sound this soulful.
	The Heavy: Great Vengeance & Furious Fire (Counter Records / +1 Records) - One day while smoking pot and listening to Tricky, British quintet The Heavy discovered a chest full of records marked Memphis - 1960s. Fascinated with their new found treasures of Soul and R&B, they craft some of their own. Record noise and field recordings texture the sounds of funky grooves, country blues, hip-hop bump and trip-hop haze. Raw, soulful vocals revel in the drugs, sex and rock'n'roll world, as a gospel singers provides backup. [a purely fictional account of how it may have gone down] Recommended.
	Del the Funky Homosapien: 11th Hour (Definitive Jux) – High on mothership stardust, Oakland, California’s Del the Funky Homosapien (cousin of gangster rapper Ice Cube, born Teren Delvon Jones) time warps into 2008 with a mostly self-produced joint of old-school keys, bass and turntable based backdrops for his humor, politics and bravado rhymes. Good.
	Soundpool: Dichotomies & Dreamland (Aloft) - NYC based 5 piece shoegaze / space rock ensemble draw on the mid-1980s 4AD sound of artists like This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twins. Soft girlie vocals glide atop lush synth arrangements with spiraling, tripped out guitar swells. Propulsive rhythms keep things moving, while warm electro textures of Omnichord, Qchord and drum loops maximize the psychedelic haze. Recommended.
	Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater: West Side Strut (Alligator) - A great deal of modern blues artists get lost while seeking looking for terrain to cover, often aimlessly wondering in metal or rock, and that’s hardly new. Truth is tradition and blues are really one in the same. The true artists could be considered the American evolution of the African Griot. "The Chief" is one of those. A legend of Chicago’s West Side style, the southpaw blues guitarist’s energetic licks and weathered vocals, bolstered by some harmonica, horns, and organ will leave you schooled, and satisfied just the same.

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