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The Avalanches, Since I Left You (XL): The debut LP from Australia's-most-likely is a joyous ode to sampling, weaving a dense web of gathered sounds into a collection of grooves both contemplative and danceable. Since I Left You is filled with so much of the sound that inspires DJs: forgotten disco, warm funk, French-pop, droll spoken-word, syrupy strings, and proto-hip-hop loops. And every one of the album's 18 strung-together songs is complex beyond belief. Luckily, the album has an easy-going air that lifts it out of the realm of smart-guy assemblage and into sexy, summery territories. — AC
Sally Timms & Jon Langford, Songs of False Hope and High Values (Bloodshot): On holiday from the Mekons, singer/songwriters Sally Timms and Jon Langford have crafted a modernist collection of folk tales set to a hybrid country-folk-bluegrass sound — instrumentation includes banjo, mandolin and Hawaiian guitar. When they duet, as they do on "I Picked Up the Pieces," they echo that very British, very smart ethos of Richard and Linda Thompson, but their solo turns are equally sharp. Sally covers Floyd Rose's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and Dolly Parton's "Down From Dover." I prefer the originals, including "Horses" and "I Picked Up the Pieces," which transcend time and space. This album is issued in a limited edition of 2000 copies (I bought #1255). Locate one now, or pay the price. — Michael Goldberg Southern Culture on the Skids, Liquored Up and Lacquered Down (TVT Records/ EMusic): The North Carolina four-piece's latest is proof positive that rusty trailers, big hair and booze can translate into some darn fine hootin'-and-hollerin', farm-rockin' tunes. Southern Culture on the Skids make use of country, R&B, rockabilly, Tex-Mex and swampy blues to explore back-country (i.e. white trash/redneck) life. "Drunk and Lonesome (Again)" is classic Hank Williams-styled country with a classic morning-after lyric: "Did we meet in a bar?/ Did we talk about cars?/ I was drunk and alone/ That's how you took me home." — Jenny Tatone Low, "Dinosaur Act" (Tugboat): Angelic Minnesota minimalists Low return with dynamic fervor on "Dinosaur Act," an English-issued single setting the stage for their forthcoming album Things We Lost in the Fire. Continuing the expansion of sound shown on Secret Name, their last longplayer, "Dinosaur Act" finds distorted guitar, keyboards, and trumpet framing the band's most notable qualities: Mimi Parker's sparse drumming, and her pure vocal harmonies with husband Alan Sparhawk. On the B-side, "Overhead" revisits the delay-heavy sound of the Songs for a Dead Pilot EP, and "Don't Carry It All" straddles regal ground somewhere between exultant hymn and hushed lullaby. — AC PJ Harvey, Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (Island): With a bracing, droning rock-guitar jangle, Harvey sings: "Look out ahead/ I see danger come/ I wanna pistol/ I wanna gun/ I'm scared baby/ I wanna run/ This world's crazy/ Give me the gun." Like Bob Dylan circa Blonde on Blonde, Elvis Costello circa This Year's Model, and Patti Smith, who some people seem to think she sounds like on this album, Harvey sings with certainty about her internal life and the world around her. It's hard to keep from quoting lyrics when writing about this album, because they're so good. But flat on the screen, the words don't convey Harvey's vocal nuances in a line like "And he's the best thing/ He's the best thing/ He's the best thing/ A beautiful feeling." The way she almost whispers a word, and then lets minimal guitar notes fill the air — just a little longer than you might expect. Or sings "And when I watch you move," and then just holds that last word. This is one of the best albums of 2000. — MG more reviews |