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Album Reviews

Music Worth Hearing

	Lyrics Born: Everywhere At Once [clean edit] (Anti-) - Berkeley California’s Lyrics Born restores one’s faith in hip-hop and its possibilities. Everywhere At Once is just that, a genera hopping, head bobbin’ stroll down the carnival midway. Flavors of 40 years of recorded history emanate along the way, as lays down rhymes from the heady, to the romantic, to the celebratory. Recommended.
	Chicha Libre: Sonido Amazonico! (Barbés) - Chicha was a corn-based liquor once distilled by the Incas. In the early 1970’s, artists playing the gritty Peruvian clubs began experimenting with a hybrid of Cumbia music by replacing the accordion with guitars and spacey Farfisa organs / Moog synths; it became known as Chicha. A similar transformation is under way in Brooklyn. Inspired by those sounds, Olivier Conan, owner of New York's Barbés nightclub and record label, put together the combo known as Chicha Libre. Steeped in tradition, they combine new and vintage works with modern production values and a light, playful attitude. Recommended. [Performing Sat., April 26 2008 at Capital Ale House]
	Moomaw: 26 (Gazebo) - Moomaw is Nathan Moomaw, a musician from San Francisco.  This album is called 26 because he wrote a song for every month he was 26 years old, hence the months as song titles.  They are jangly twee-folk songs; this is a very intimate album.  Listening to it almost feels like you are listening to his private journals or thoughts.  Quiet, simple songs accented with hand claps, toy pianos, and ukuleles.  All the songs on here are good.  Recommended.
	Etran Finatawa: Desert Crossroads (Riverboat) - Among the grasslands of the Sahel and the shifting dunes of the Sahara, Etran Finatawa was born of two nomadic peoples. The polyphonic singing of the Wodaabe and the bluesy guitar of the Tuareg meet at a Desert Crossroads, both facing change and fear of losing ones culture and identity. They draw you into their dieing world, a place where bluesy guitar, hypnotic percussion and varied vocal arrangements unite on a primordial, spiritual level. Engaging, Recommended. [performing April 21, 2008 at IOTA cafe and club, Arlington, VA]
	Colin Meloy: Sings Live! (Kill Rock Stars) - Sings Live! follows the Decemberists’ frontman on his 2006 solo tour.  Most of the songs are stripped down, acoustic Decemberists songs, plus a couple that Meloy wrote really really early on in his musical career.  For big fans of the Decemberists, this is going to be an exciting album.  Meloy’s voice sounds great, and the songs he picked sound really nice simply done.  Nothing is done differently enough to win him any new fans, but for those he already has, this is a good album.
	Cloud Cult: Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornados) (Earthology) - Cloud Cult’s sixth album, Feel Good Ghosts (Tea Partying Through Tornados), was recorded on a small organic farm in Northern Minnesota (fun fact: the band drives a solar powered van and all Cloud Cult products are made out of 100% recycled material!).  They play a quirky brand of indie-rock, blending philosophical musings and childlike sentiments.  They combine electronica, folk, and classical arrangements, creating music with something to please everyone.
	Jamie Lidell: Jim (Warp) - The third LP from British producer / neo-soul crooner Jamie Lidell broadens the pallet by mixing up sweet soul, gospel grooves, bumping R&B and synthy disco blasts. Piano riffs, organ and guitar ride atop tambourines, hand-claps, bass and drums to build loose jams which radiate warmth and passion. It’s well executed, upbeat Stevie Wonder style soul. Recommended.
	New Bloods: The Secret Life (Kill Rock Stars) - The first thing you notice about this album is the slightly twangy fiddle, which is interesting because this is a punk album.  On their Kill Rock Stars debut, New Bloods fuse Americana sounds with their droning, edgy harmonies (all three girls in the band sing.)  It is cathartic, driving, earnest music.  Recommended.
	The Wilders: Someone’s Got to Pay (Free Dirt) - The latest album from the Wilders is centered on an extended tale of “an old murder ballad come to life”. Someone’s Got to Pay is real hillbilly music that careens through many Americana subgenera along the way. Guitar, fiddle, dobro, banjo, mandolin and bass are the key ingredients, but others join here and there including Glenn Fields from the Red Stick Ramblers on drums. Recommended.
	Brad Mehldau Trio: Live (Nonesuch) – An exceptional two disc set recorded live during a six night engagement at New York’s the Village Vanguard in October 2006. This is the first live release featuring drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier. The trio’s playing is deeply intuitive and while the works are on the extended side (clocking in at 8:45 - 23:31), the arrangements and interplay keep you engaged. Recommended

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