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Outsight
Outsight: Democracy in Action
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Outsight brings to light non-mainstream music, film, books, art, ideas and opinions.
Published, somewhere, monthly since July 1991. Feel free to re-print this article.
Please, keep Outsight informed:
Email Outsight at outsight@usa.net
Ratings are (1) = :(, (5) = :)
Outsight Radio Hours Internet radio Webcasts with live interviews:
Sundays 6pm-8pm EST http://www.new-sounds.net
DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
Now, let's see if I can keep this up. I have found the Internet a convenient tool for letting local, stated and federal reps know my feelings on all sorts of political topics. In this "DEMOCRACY IN ACTION" I am going to try and let you know of one or two topics each month. The first topic is covered in Internet News. This is about the Internet Non-Discrimination Act that will make the Internet tax ban permanent. The bill breezed through the House of Representatives and is now in committee at the Senate. Get the latest on the bill. "Today we are one step closer to permanently ensuring that Americans are free from new taxes on their e-mail and Internet access," said bill sponsor Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA), "New taxes discriminating against Internet users would be unfair to our economy and our society. It is time to permanently ban them." Find out where your Senator is on the issue by contacting him or her through the Web… This next item is a Federal court case, but you should be aware of it. The band String Cheese Incident is trying to succeed where Pearl Jam failed by taking on Ticketmaster in court. The band is party to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Federal Court in Denver, Colorado during August. The band's ticketing company SCI Ticketing filed the lawsuit claiming that ticketing giant Ticketmaster has monopolized the ticketing industry, using its immense market power to prevent competition for the sale of concert tickets. Because Ticketmaster has exclusive dealing arrangements with so many venues and promoters, they have closed out independent, artist-driven ticketing companies like SCI Ticketing. Also, this monopoly allows Ticketmaster to set its own rapacious service charges. Mike Luba, co-founder of SCI Ticketing, says, "For bands like The String Cheese Incident, who depend on heavy touring and lasting fan relationships in order to succeed, services like direct artist-to-fan ticketing are essential. It allows fans to enjoy the complete String Cheese experience, from beginning to end," Luba said. "This involves giving the fans unprecedented attention for the essential part they play in the artists' career, and being able to offer fans SCI performances in high quality venues and with affordable prices." The band has a page for the lawsuit on its Web site…
STRANGE EXTRACTORS FROM THE TEMP
The fertile Acid Mothers Temple collective produced two new albums on the Strange Attractors Audio House label. Often music from this psychedelic family is fiery and even challenging. But, the Rebel Powers album Not One Star Will Stand the Night is eerie and otherworldly while remaining tranquil. This is the debut of a side project that includes Kawabata Makoto, Cotton Casino and original AMT drummer Koizumi Hajime with Telstar Ponies guitarist David Keenan. This is a minimalist and spacious album of disembodied composition. More of an unfettered catharsis is the noisy burst coming forth from Tsurubami on Gekkyukekkaichi. Here Makoto works in a trio with Emi Nobuko (drums) and Higashi Hiroshi (bass). This soul-purifying opus, which blasts without ever becoming totally unhinged, hearkens to pre-AMT days when these three were members of Tenkya Na Ta.
Listen to or Buy Rebel Powers at Amazon.com
Listen to or Buy Tsurubami at Amazon.com
READABLES
The Projekt label's publishing project is Beneath the Icy Floe. The premier issue of the half-sized serial features Human Drama as the cover story. Inside, the pages are black and white with articles, interviews and a review section. Of course, the focus is the Projekt roster, but the entire darkwave genre is sampled for subject matter. Bands featured include Claire Voyant, Steve Roach, The Brides and Voltaire… While in Bradenton, Ontario I picked up a mini-zine called The prog.ra(m) . This is the zine arm of a collective representing "grass roots audio video culture". The group's Web presence is just as tentative and promising as this Issue 0. The group is looking to reach out to independent artists, apparently mostly in the video realm, and promote the same… The Flush (POB 174, East Tawas, MI 48730) is a tabloid that claims to be "Northeast Michigan's Funniest Paper" and is a collection of anecdotes and jokes somewhere on the spectrum between "bumper snickers" and The Onion. Anyone from Michigan's "Up North" or the whole American population between rural and "rurban" living will appreciate the humor from Church Bulletin bloopers ("Remember in prayer those who are sick of our church…") to humorous stories and funny lists ("Top 10 Signs You're Being Stalked by Martha Stewart")… Another tabloid Reviewer. This free San Diego newsstand mag covers music, books, film and more. There are always a lot eye-catching photos in each issue, even though they may be black-and-white. For instance, Issue 316 has the artwork of Kate Wentz as well as GG Allin and Cramps pictures. There is always something titillating to, like the photos here of the working ladies of Club Exposé… Friction Magazine sent in the debut issue of this thick, perfect-bound journal of culture, music politics and more. This is the first of an annual print version of the site's content. Among the excellent articles is a story on Mexicans making a living off trash heaps and traveling with South American revolutionaries. There is a great interview with Joe Strummer as well as a series of short interviews with indie rockers on what makes them tick and how they balance their music and non-music lives…
MUSIC TO ROLE PLAY BY
Midnight Syndicate releases the first official Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game soundtrack. This features orchestral instrumental music blended with sound effects. This is the formula Midnight Syndicate uses in its other soundtracks. In aiming to allow DMs and players to enhance their gaming experience, "Our goal was to create the ultimate musical accompaniment to Dungeons & Dragons", said Edward Douglas of Midnight Syndicate. "We wanted to create a disc that was both a practical tool for players to use and an exciting musical journey that fans can enjoy even when they're not gaming." Ed Stark, Design Manager for Dungeons & Dragons, says, "The D&D soundtrack is just amazing. Every track really touches on something core to the Dungeons & Dragons experience. You can cue up single tracks and run them to repeat for particular scenes, or you can just let the music play in the background." For more info, visit the official Midnight Syndicate Website.
Listen to or Buy at Amazon.com
DEAD KENNEDYS VS. JELLO BIAFRA
The reformed DKs invited Jello to perform at the 25th anniversary show in Los Angeles that happened August 19. "We are absolutely serious in asking Jello to rejoin the band on our anniversary," said Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Flouride at the time. "This is not a prank or a publicity stunt. Last evening we sent word to Biafra and his representatives informing him of this offer. We wanted to make sure he was informed in advance, so he knows that we are serious in asking for him to participate. We'd love it, and I think the fans would love it, if we could just bury the hatchet." Showing that the most important of American political hardcore bands has not buried the hatchet, Biafra says it all is a publicity stunt. Quoth Jello in his own press release, "To put it mildly, this reeks of false advertising. They obviously aren't serious or they would have called me on the phone. Instead, their message came through their lawyers and their publicist." Throwing in a few barbs, Biafra asks, "What's the matter, not enough Hot Topic bozo teens flocking to stuff cash in their bikinis? Are they having that much trouble selling tickets to a bar that holds less than 600 people? If they really want to, 'bury the hatchet', why won't they stop suing me? They have been dragging me through court for almost six years now, and have refused attempts to compromise and settle. I feel sorry for anyone duped into paying top dollar for a ticket because they heard, 'I might be there'. But I hardly think I'm 'letting fans down' by refusing to be part of a nostalgia scam." In the release from the DKs, East Bay Ray suggests, "This isn't about nostalgia, there are serious problems in the world right now and Dead Kennedys' message of questioning authority and thinking for yourself is more important than ever before. Maybe we could settle our differences and play together while we are all still able to do so." While we may never see a DKs reunion, even for a night, there is a new Dead Kennedys DVD that does work for the nostalgic. It is distributed by Music Video Distributors and called In God We Trust, Inc. – The Lost Tapes. This is video from original recording of In God We Trust, Inc. (The audio masters deteriorated which meant the released EP was from a later session.) Video of the recording is included with live footage from 1979 to the bands penultimate performance with Biafra in 1986.
Listen to or Buy at Amazon.com
DVD Reviews *********************
A HOME ENTERTAINMENT JOURNEY
Waterfall Home Entertainment over a couple new, handsome distributed through Music Video Distributors. Both are subtitled The Journey and one is on Beatles, the other on Elvis Presley. As would be expected, both are biographical and attend to the highlights of the subject matter chronologically. Beatles: The Journey has much in common with another Waterfall title, George Harrison: The Quiet One. That is, we see much of the same footage and Harrison's death is a prominent chapter. The story is from a British point of view. That is, instead of a band springing fully formed upon the international scene with arrival in America and an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, we focus on a hard-working Liverpool band. Much is done to analyze early, pre-fame decisions like membership changes and gigging. The Australian tour, the first real and significant international Beatles event, gets more coverage than America. This is a well-thought package of Beatles storytelling, but Elvis: The Journey is more slipshod. The narrator is breathless and rushes through an overview of a rich and complicated life in just over an hour. (Beatles: The Journey is nearly identical in length but does not seem rushed at all and strikes the viewer as more complete.) Most interesting here is the detailed look into Elvis the GI through footage, photos and a revealing service buddy. Both editions feature audio CDs of interviews, not music, as well as 32-page booklets on their subjects.
Listen to or Buy Beatles: The Journey at Amazon.com
Listen to or Buy Elvis: The Journey at Amazon.com
Albert Collins
In Concert
Inakustik/MVD
Master showman The Iceman puts on a dynamic, animate electric blues performance in the 1988 concert recorded on this DVD. Collins' band is a real feature of the show and they stretch out on a lengthy intro before Collins takes the stage. This intro and the rest of the show exhibit the sensible, understated blues playing of second guitarist and John Mayall veteran Debbie Davies. The three-man horn section is Chuck Williams and Sam Franklin on saxophones with Gabel Flemmons on trumpet. There is a rhythm section of long-time Collins sideman on bass Johnny B. Gayden (Son Seals, Johnny Winter) and drummer Soko Richardson (John Mayall, Ike & Tina Turner). The closing number is "Frosty" with special guest Duke Robillard. The title of this song is one of chill-sounding pieces that led to him becoming The Iceman, although the playing is as hot on this instrumental as on the rest of the set. Other standout tracks include "Mastercharge", "Blackcat Bone" and the vocals duet with Davies "I Got that Feeling". The set draws largely off the then-current Collins albums Cold Snap and Ice Pickin'. It is amazing to watch Collins get crisp and precise notes and accentuating string bends effortlessly out of guitar in his unique style finger picking with a capo clamped high on the guitar neck. (4)
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Isou Hashimoto, Director
Shiryo No Wana 2 (Evil Dead Trap II)
Unearthed Films/Eclectic DVD
This Japanese horror flick with English subtitles nods to Hitchcock and Herschell Gordon Lewis as it covers the spectrum of horror angles. Hitchcock is summoned in a blood spraying shower killing and the Freudian motivations of a man with a haunted past. Well seasoned with rough sex and bare skin, this mix of stylish horror, female flesh and buckets of blood summons to mind the giallo directors of Italy, particularly Lucio Fulci and also Hitchcock-inspired Dario Argento. (3.5)
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The London Suede
Introducing the Band
Wienerworld Presentation/MVD
Goth pop band The London Suede found a perfect artistic match when they joined forces with the now late filmmaker Derek Jarman. This richly featured DVD is a celebration of the Jarman-Suede art of decadently large film backdrops on stage and often-homoerotic imagery that enhances the band's lyrical message. This is two hours of concert footage with the backdrop films shown separately with the songs as videos. There is also a lot of candid footage of the band on tour in Europe. The tour footage dates from 1994 and also here is exclusive archival film footage from the band's personal collection. (4)
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CD Reviews *********************
Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever
Web of Mimicry Recordings
This sextet has an interesting sound featuring Cambodian vocalist Chhom Nimol and saxophonist David Ralicke, who has toured in Beck's band. While Nimol delivers bright, multi-tracked vocals in her trebly Oriental inflection, Ralicke juxtaposes nicely on saxophone for a well-rounded sound. Guitarist Zac Holtzman (Dieselhead) provides angular, repeated guitar patterns that seem just suited to this Cambodian-indie rock concoction. This was just the idea of Zac and his brother Ethan (Farfisa organ) who went to Long Beach's Little Phnom Penh Cambodian community to enlist a singer that could deliver the vocal style they came to love from '60s Cambodian rock music. They lucked out when they found Nimol, a Cambodian pop start from a long line of entertainers that has even performed for the royalty of Cambodia. This album contains a mix of the Cambodian '60s rock the band started covering along with originals sung in Khmer. (4)
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The Remedy Session
The Remedy Session
The Redemption Recording Co./Recovery Records
This Fort Lauderdale trio offers a full sound, it could be a two-guitar ensemble we are listening to here, but it is just the guitar, bass and drums trio. The main vocalist is Chris Polito, but the tight female rhythm section of Alex Osuna (drums) and Lori Marsh (bass) offers its own vocals often in chorus and this adds to the songs. Dashboard Confessional fans may be interested in this because Lori is married to Mike Marsh of that band and was thus able to hook Polito up with Chris Carrabba's vocal coach resulting in his polished delivery, unusual in indie rock. (3)
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The Act
The Act
The Act
The Act calls its music "electro-glam-punk." This really surfaces on such tracks as its ode to the modern man "Self-Sufficient Guy". This gothic ode to the technophile bachelor is an ominous call from '80s post punk, a new wave visitation into the indie rock scene. Another unusual topic is in "Love Slave", a song about a Russian mail order bride. This 4-song EP, produced by Bryce Goggin, just whets the appetite. The band is going over great live in New York City, so we hope to hear more from them in the future. (4)
Lovewhip
Bouncehall
Juicy Juju Records
Erin Harpe (vocals/guitar) leads this world-pop group with a bright, bouncing sound drawing heavily on dub. Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club) produced this post-dancehall Boston quartet sophomore release. This lets you know the attention this ensemble of jubilant sunshine sounds is getting. Lovewhip's formula is to blend Africa highlife, soukous and juju with Jamaican reggae and ska in dance-pop delivery that takes these tropical rhythms into club accessibility. (4)
Deadweight
Stroking the Moon
Alternative Tentacles Records
This is a hard rock ensemble with a trio arrangement of violin, cello and drums. Listen casually and you would think that the string instruments in this band were guitar and bass, though. The band has a heavy, tight delivery with a lot of heavy double-stops on the stringed instruments to summon guitar-like sounds. (3.5)
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Calexico
Feast of Wire
Quarterstick
After two releases of thrown together tracks (Even My Sure Things Fall Through, The Hot Rail), Calexico regales us with a cogent, cohesive blend of their pristine, melodic, multi-instrumental alt-country. The Tucson project of Joey Burns, who studied classical music, and John Convertino (Giant Sand) continues to forge a compelling, rich experimental sound out of Southwestern styles with nods to Ennio Morricone's spaghetti Westerns soundtracks, jazz, and surf. (4.5)
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Cracker
Countrysides
Cooking Vinyl
Cracker's David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven) is upset with the music industry and his reaction has been to put out Countrysides. This homage to honky-tonk music was prepared sub rosa under the cover of the name Ironic Mullet in roadhouses. Check out the QuickTime video of Lowery telling off a Virgin executive and you will have an excellent visual aide to accompany the story of the corporate brush-off in "Ain't Gonna Suck Itself". This isn't alt-country to much as redneck country run through the Cracker mill. The album was done in spite of Cracker's label (Virgin) unwillingness to release it and "Ain't Gonna Suck Itself" summarizes that story and offers an anthemic chorus to the corporate music industry. (4.5)
The Tone Sharks
Four / Five / Three
Louie Records
Percussionist and drummer Dave Storrs continues to be a Northwest wellspring of exciting free jazz. This ensemble has two drummers and two bassists for an incredibly fluid and limber rhythm section. The post-Mingus ensemble circles melodies in a loose, cartilaginous fashion with vocalist Mark Bakalar snapping in and out with avant-bop vocals. This is fun, free jazz culminating in the casual experimentation and spontaneous composition of "Wake up Mark - Page Keep Going - She Sells Shark Sales" as if we were hanging in rehearsal room of The Tone Sharks. (4)
Calabrese
Midnight Spook-Show
Calabrese
Fans of Misfits and The Damned arise! Here is a new low-budget sound of low-budget horror. The group even has the Elvis-esque lead vocalist and ghoulish chorus of backing vocals that Misfits made so famous in its own B-movie homage. This 6-song EP is the group's debut and it should be noted guitarist/vocalist Bobby Calabrese is bassist in The Christy and Jim Calabrese (bass/vocals) once sang for goth-metal project Cast of Shadows. What the trio (all Calabreses) lacks in execution it more than makes up for in attitude and style. This is a promising debut. (3.5)
Death Before Dishonor/Nourish the Flame
Taking it Back
Spook City Records
Boston band Nourish The Flame is a cookie-monster band of a metal/hardcore blend with shades of grindcore. Nourish The Flame takes the first half of this split-CD and each band has an intro and outro to its half. It is the instrumental intro from Death Before Dishonor immediately following the outro from Nourish the Flame that is the highpoint of the album. Death Before Dishonor has less tortured vocals and does group vocals, but this vocal style in general has been done so many times before that the long instrumental passage of the two tracks back to back becomes the most interesting part. (3)
The Vacancy
EP
A-F Records
Anti-Flag's Chris #2 produces this album from Pittsburgh rock band The Vacancy. While the vocalist seems somewhat strained to carry it out, this group does a rowdy indie pop with a rooted, post-punk sound. The music is largely upbeat with an early '80s feel, but no keyboards. (The "no keyboards" is a good thing, and there is plenty of loud, distorted guitar.) This is a debut PL of seven songs from the group. (3)
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Enon
In This City
Touch & Go
Enon fuses trip-hop and breakbeat elements on this stylish electro-pop CD. The title track is present in three different mixes spread out over the CD, which gives an unfortunate repetitiveness to the album when listening all the way through. The instrumental mix of "Murder Sounds" is a funky but noir bit like dance music from Bauhaus. This standout track is also lightly seasoned with dub elements. This enhanced CD contains three videos of songs off High Society. (3.5)
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Third Grade Teacher
Third Grade Teacher
Pinch Hit Records
Are you hot for teacher? Sabrina Stevenson really is a third grade teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, but is also hot to take over the world fronting her dramatic post-punk rock band. (Check out the audio interview I did with her.) This is not your normal schoolmarm. This singer with Blondie-inspired stage moves instructs the faithful on the joys of herbal intake in "Roll it Up" with a message for legalization. The music is powerful stuff and this is a great album worthy of much attention for this hard-working L.A. band. (4)
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GG Allin and ANTiSEEN
Murder Junkies
TKO Records
This is the 10-track 1991 album of Allin with ANTiSEEN that defined what being a murder junky is. While it is all bloodlust on the opening "Murder for the Mission", one cannot but feel some comic relief on the rap-inspired "I Love Nothing". This re-mastered album includes an eight-page booklet of color photos. The murder is further beefed up with five bonus tracks from the Violence Now 7" as well as from GG's final recording session in 1993 as GG Allin & The Carolina Shitkickers. Bursting at the seams with explicit language, this is a continuation in TKO's Vault of ANTiSEEN series brining up from the vaults archival ANTiSEEN material. (4)
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David Thrussell
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Hard Word
Metropolis Records
Thrussell's soundtrack features a lot of tinkling piano offset by bass sounds, recalling the chilly soundtrack to Halloween. This is largely subtle, understated music that must work as both evocative and suspenseful for the film. Thrussell, the man behind Snog, uses little that is electronic instead offering a classically inspired score relying heavily on strings and hors. His only previous film score was composed for Angst and this sophomore effort is very sophisticated and mature. Hopefully Thrussell will do more scoring in the future. This is an excellent album to play in empty buildings at night. (4.5)
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cEvin Key/Ken Marshall
The Dragon Experience
Metropolis Records
Having helped found Skinny Puppy and spent time in Doubting Thomas, Tear Garden, and Download, cEvin Key is an icon of electronic music. This album reaches into Key's archives for works recorded and written 1984-5 to be reassembled into the present form of a post-psychedelic headspace in 2003. It is Ken Marshall (Skinny Puppy, Download) that helped refine this music into the weird and otherworldly ride that it is. As a result, none of this sounds mid-'80s, meaning either Key was way ahead of time or a lot of reworking was done for the pristine, thoroughly contemporary results. Masterfully moody without being impressive, this is a good record of slick beats with creepy sound bites (voices) from one of the greats. (4)
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Mando Diao
Bring 'em In
Mute
The two-guitar indie rock band Mando Diao reaches its highpoint on this album at "Paralyzed", a Rolling Stones-inspired rocked with urgent mobility and horns. The indie rock 'n' soul on this album has the energy, enthusiasm and unchained delivery of garage rock on the amped up tracks. The group offers charming teen beat on such smiling, sunny numbers as "P.U.S.A.". This is an exciting and promising debut from the Swedish band. (3.5)
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Daniel Patrick Quinn
Jura
Suilven Recordings
Jura is an "hour-long ambient drone piece", as described by the composer. It is a detached, floating piece that slowly evolves, organically offering oases of keyboard melody found on a start, entrancing desert of drone. The high-pitched, low-level wail that is the background drone is an electronic sound that recalls a church organ. Occasional reverberated sounds could be distant bells. The sense evokes and empty, high-domed church dimly lit. (3)
From Monument to Masses
The Impossible in one Hundred Simple Steps
Dim Mak Records
This sophomore release from From Monument To Masses was recorded at Louder Studios in San Francisco and engineered by Tim Green (The Fucking Champs, Nation of Ulysses). Green has taken many opportunities to step away from these two bands to engineer exquisite productions by Unwound, Tribes of Neurot, Melvins and more. This is a very organic indie rock taking elements of ambient music and breakbeats to go beyond a post-punk formula. The music has a lot of structure and depth from incorporating these albums given an indie-progressive feel akin to Godspeed You Black Emperor and Larval. This deep music resonates as an impression of the subconscious. Rather than sing lyrics, the band chose to offer a smorgasbord of soundbites from 9/11 news clips to Chomsky elucidating the causes of terrorism to Bush snippets to Arundhati Roy and more. Thus the album succeeds as a single opus (the tracks blend seamlessly) echoing the fitful dreams of world globally obsessed with terrorism, its causes, effects and responses. (4.5)
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Can
Out of Reach
EFA Medien / Marginal Talent
The hallmark representative of krautrock, Can inspired a cornucopia of musicians with a spate of organic, experimental albums released on EMI and then re-released on its own Spoon Records label. However, Out of Reach (1978) never came out on Spoon. Holger Czukay had left Can at this time (to rejoin later), so the vocalists we have are the Nigerian Rebop Kwaku Baah with bassist Rosko Gee, both coming to Can from Traffic. Baah was instrumental in giving an African touch to British pop and both musicians bring a percussive as well as pop influence to the Can sound. The result is very reminiscent of Cream at times, like on "Pauper's Daughter and I". This song is followed very nicely by "November" which guitarist Michael Karoli gives a very Latin feel, making this song sounds like a loose jam to arise during a Santana concert. All seven of the tracks are featured here digitally remastered by Dirk Buro. (4)
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David S. Ware String Ensemble
Threads
Thirsty Ear
It may be Ware's string ensemble, but he is still blowing horn in this group. He has three string players with him. One of which he is much identified with: bassist William Parker. There is also Mat Maneri (viola) and Daniel Bernard Roumain (violin). Drums come courtesy Guillermo E. Brown and Matthew Shipp is on hand armed with a sonic creation powerhouse, the Korg Triton Pro X, an 88-key music workstation sampler. However, Shipp supports the music strategically and never overpowers taking more the approach of an electric, if treated, piano. Ware appears almost as a sideman as the three string players create moody and mysterious, serpentine sounds. The album is Ware compositions for the string trio that Ware sensitively supports in his playing. (4.5)
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Primordial Undermind
The Shells of Revolution
Emperor Jones
Calling itself a "modern acid-rock collective" the Primordial Undermind is part of the contemporary indie psychedelic movement. Guitarist Eric Arn of Crystallized Movement leads the Austin band. The band offers fluid, shape shifting sounds on the lysergic track that eschew a clean, modern sound for something more rugged and analog. This guitar-led trip has more to do with Hawkwind then Sonic Youth giving this band a '60s throwback feel as evidenced on "There is a Time". Someone have Phil Smee do an album cover for this group! (4)
Pansy Division
Total Entertainment!
Alternative Tentacles
After a five-year break in recording, Pansy Division makes its Alternative Tentacles debut with Total Entertainment! Brimming over with renewed excitement by the queercore pioneers, this album explodes with energy and a spectrum of musical styles. I am sure the band gets the crowd to sing along to the anthemic album opener "Who Treats You Right". The proudly gay quartet plays rock with a big bottom suggesting Cheap Trick inspiration but with a post-punk joy that suggests Blondie. (3)
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Various Artists
Shout, Sister Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe
M.C. Records
Mark Carpentieri has done the world a heap of good by creating such a compelling and shining tribute to criminally forgotten gospel guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Featuring Maria Muldaur and through much of her effort, this compilation is a who's who of female artists covering the Sister's songs. This includes Joan Osborne, Odetta, Michelle Shocked, Victoria Williams and more. Many of the tracks feature the gospel-tinged blues of vocal group The Holmes Brothers. This is an excellent collection of material dynamically delivered and running the spectrum from the spiritual ("Two Little Fishes and Five Loaves of Bread") to secular ("I Want a Tall Skinny Papa"). It was that breadth of her art that caused such controversy in Tharpe's career and overcoming that adversity through her talents made her an inspiration to the talented artists on this CD, like Bernice Johnson Reagon of Sweet Honey In The Rock who performs "Precious Memories". (4.5)
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Outsight is non-mainstream music news and views. The content is wholly based on new releases and a focus on the the eclectic and overlooked.
