MD Web Log Archives

AB's Weekly Obsessions
2008-04-30

Well, they say the road to Hades is paved with good intentions. As much as I'd hoped to gushingly blog about my favorite new releases each week, reality dictates that this might just be a monthly relationship you and I share. But seein' as I still manage to fall in love with at least one new CD a week, how about we just cover more stuff, but a little less often.

This past March, ex—Geraldine Fibbers singer Carla Bozulich's Evangelista project released Hello, Voyager, an intense album laced with dirty urges and heavenly rhythmic pounding. Fans of art-damaged rock from Captain Beefheart to PJ Harvey should dig this music. I always find myself entranced by the exquisitely drum-less "The Blue Room," but on the way there I'm inevitably frozen in my tracks by the tumbling multi-man percussive assault of "Smooth Jazz," featuring JON CLAUDE, GAMBLE, and LUC PARADIS. Later, I again have the bejeezus scared out of me by SHAHZAD ISMAILY's snare-drum death march on "Truth Is Dark Like Outer Space," while the abstract backing to "Paper Kitten Claw" doesn't exactly lighten one's mental load either–but sure sets the imagination spinning. Sweet and evil stuff. (Constellation)

Worlds away in almost every sense, French band Monade, led by Laetitia Sadier, has been keeping me pleasantly occupied until the next album by Stereolab (the singer's main gig) arrives. Monstre Cosmic will immediately sound familiar to 'Lab fans, but the album's got its unique charms, not least of which is drummer XAVIER CHABELLARD's punchy, rolling approach to the bordering-on-prog numbers "Entre Chien Et Loup," "Invitation," and "Elle Topo." (Too Pure)

A couple weeks ago the new CD by Constantines, Kensington Heights, crossed my desk. All I can say is, it's Ramen Pride lunches for the next couple weeks, so I can save my pennies for their back catalog. What a great band! These guys might be Canadian, but they brilliantly elicit the heartland expanse of big-sound American outfits like Crazy Horse, Reigning Sound, even Springsteen's E Street Band (pre-Born In The USA, thank you very much). I don't mind telling drummer DOUG MACGREGOR I'm jealous as hell that he gets to kick those gargantuan guitars in the butt for a living. But Doug's the man for the job, whacking the toms like his life depended on it on "Shower Of Stones," rolling his snare like a tumbleweed on a mission in "Our Age," and propelling the opening cut, "Hard Feeling" with a ridiculously insistent four on the floor. (Arts & Crafts)

Ex-Morphine drummer JEROME DEUPREE makes us proud on Next On The Mic, a collection of spoken-word-with-improv'd-musical-accompaniment recorded at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The series has been going for ten years, and the mostly sax/drums/stand-up bass house band is sensitive, swinging, surging, slithering—whatever it takes to support the intense, often politically incendiary poetry. (Rounder)

One of my all-time favorite albums is Architecture & Morality by Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark. So I was pretty jazzed to receive Architecture & Morality & More, an album documenting OMD's May 2007 gig at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, at which they played their 1981 synth-pop masterpiece in its entirety. It would have been cool to hang with long-time drummer MALCOLM HOLMES as he prepared his gear for the tour. Replicating drum sounds from the Me Decade is always a dicey affair, but here Holmes supplies the goods. (Eagle)

There's been a lot of talk about Portishead's first new album in eleven years, 3. The group's 1994 debut, Dummy, was the sound that launched a thousand trip-hop groups. The band moved quickly away from that tricky business, but they've retained the luminous tones and emotional intensity. As one iTunes reviewer correctly put it, every instrument on 3 is treated as percussion, so even the tracks that don't feature the band's regular drummer, CLIVE DEAMER, possess intoxicating beats and textures. This is extraordinary headphone music, and should be studied by any drummer or musician interested in balancing rhythmic and tonal elements within the song format. (Mercury)

Adam Budofsky is Modern Drummer's managing editor.

One final note: A couple weeks ago we posted a blog by drummer Brian Bauer of Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears. While on tour recently, the group suffered a huge setback when their gear and transportation were stolen. We're doing what we can for them by spreading the word. Here's Brian's description of the event and the band's current situation:

Hello, friends. Tragedy has struck Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears. Our van, trailer, and all of our instruments were stolen the other night in Los Angeles. The band is stuck in L.A., and we're in desperate need of your help.

In my MD blog, I wrote about how passionate I am for my 1966 sparkle-blue Slingerland four-piece kit. This 42-year-old drumset was among the stolen instruments. My grandfather passed away before I had a chance to meet him, but he played on that kit. Needless to say, I'm devastated.

Please find it in your heart to help us out. I set up a paypal account to receive donations for the band. Please go to www.paypal.com, click on "send money" at the top, and the receiving account email is
bauer_brian@yahoo.com.

Thank you so much.

Love,

Brian Bauer of BSST