Broken, Kicking, Boarding (3 New CDs)
We all get sad sometimes. And when we do, we don’t want to listen to the same old sappy radio. We might want something a little more cerebral- say Radiohead- so we can enjoy our depression. Or maybe we just want some emo (say, Cursive), so we can share our pain without actually making anyone else feel bad.
For moods like these, when you’ve just lost your job, girlfriend, or are feeling like maybe other people aren’t understanding… we present three new and upcoming CDs that may help. Please note: this review is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.
Annie, DJ Kicks: So, it’s not Chewing Gum (the single from her very popular album Anniemal), it’s still fun! This time, Annie remixes up a whole set of other people’s tunes, with the most interesting CD yet in the DJ Kicks series. Le Tigre, Death From Above 1979, and several lesser-known names contribute a variety of tracks that Annie puts her own spin on. “Rabbit Pushing Moon”, by Toy, is one of the most successful on the disc, along with her take on oldies (Alan Vega’s “Jukebox Babe”), and the infamous “Bongo Song” by Zongamin becoming quite a bit more funky and head-noddable. Not everything works: the La Bionda song “I Wanna Be Your Lover” ends up annoying and the remixes of her own songs don’t add much to the originals. A good CD to kick you out of the blues.
Broken Spindles, Inside/Absent: It won’t cheer you up much, but with “broken” and “absent” in the name of the band and album, what do you expect. No, we’re talking Radiohead-ish territory, with tracks like “Burn My Body” and “Please Don’t Remember This” combining weirdly personal lyrics with impersonal production and instrumentation (synthetics, spare percussion, occasional piano counterpoints). And it’s good stuff, melancholy, strained, but stirring. There are more than a few nice moments, if you can get past the slightly repetitive melodies and skip the awkward introductory track “Inward”. Highlight track: “This is an Introduction”.
Boards of Canada, The Campfire Headphase: Trippy, spacey, folksy, acoustic/electronic chill-out music. Their first two albums were excellent, and though recent bands like M83 and Four Tet have pushed the envelope of this type of sound, the latest Boards of Canada CD ups the ante by adding some guitars, and a few more layers to an already lush production. Never noisy, but never quite fading into the background, songs like “Dayvan Cowboy” and “Oscar See Through Red Eye” bear comparisons to electronica faves such as Moby or Peace Orchestra. Oh, and just so you’re not confused- they’re from Scotland.
