University of San Diego Radio

I am the type of music lover that thrives on predictability, regularity, and fundamental rhythms. Due to that fact, I was almost deterred from one of the most unique, interesting albums that I have heard in a long time. Cerulean is the debut album from Baths, the creation of musician/producer Will Wiesenfeld, and I would have to say he is definitely putting his best foot forward, at least in terms of the whole album. Using looped samples and sweet beats this album will have your toes tapping and your head nodding. On a song-to-song basis, tracks are either lyrically or beat driven, and both groups have their ups and downs.

The bulk of the album has lyrics, which is always nice for people who do not enjoy music with an aurally human absence. Track two, “Lovely Bloodflow,” is the first presentation of Wiesenfeld’s haunting falsetto voice, and the repetition of the same line creates a serious potential for singing along in an equally high voice. (Just a disclaimer: I am a sucker for falsetto voices, from MIKA to The Darkness to the Bee Gees, and my review probably reflects this. Feel free to skip to the next paragraph if you disagree.) “♥” follows an instrumental interlude and offers its own beautiful piano rhythmic foundation and beat structure as well as some heartfelt words. My favorite track on the album has to be “Hall.” It leads with a very jagged setup, but when the beat becomes established, it fascinates for half the song before the lyrics even arrive. When they do, the hypnotic crooning of Wiesenfeld leads you down the hall that you do not want to stop traversing. “You’re My Excuse to Travel” immediately follows with a piano line that you never expect to become coherent, but add a clap, some drums, and lyrics and you got a dance going. Out of the final four tracks, only “Indoorsy” is worth discussing. “Rain Smell,” “Plea,” and “Departure” all seemed a little bland to me, but they are still pleasant in an ambient music/background sort of way. “Indoorsy,” on the other hand, might be the most fun track on the album. From start to finish, the combination of eccentric beats, simple tones, and distorted lyrics simply moves the listener’s body. This moving quality is also present in many of the instrumentals.

The initial track “Apologetic Shoulder Blades” honestly scared me that I would be stuck reviewing the album of some would-be-John-Cage. I found the beat a little too irregular to appreciate greatly, but thank goodness it was by no means a true indicator of what coming. “Maximalist” is the next primarily instrumental tune, and it is a much cleaner, rhythmic arrangement. It contains sound bites that are also very well placed and help to create a feeling of a “beat drop” popular in more aggressive techno music. Next, “Aminals” draws in the listener with a cute title and sound clips of children speaking, but then forcibly hypnotizes with a simple looped beat and beautiful variations on that beat. “Rafting Starlit Everglades” then takes you on what else but a serene raft ride down the everglades. It begins with bug noises, but they shortly become lost in the tide of drums rolling through the song.

Overall, Baths sounds a lot like a sort of Passion Pit/RJD2 hybrid. The album has qualities of both simplicity and intricacy. The simplicity and straightforwardness of songs makes them accessible to listeners while at the same time the intricacy creates the danceable and intriguing aspects. It is perfect for any activity from your hipster parties to napping in bed with your honey.

Rating: 6 of 10 “Olés”

“Lovely Bloodflow”

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“Indoorsy”

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Baths’ Myspace

Summer, is that you? Indeed.

You know what that means. A little down time? Perhaps, just a little. Time to roll down the windows, drive into the sunset and party on. In the summertime, though, it seems that more than usual people are looking for that perfect little soundtrack, music to really set the vaca-vibe, a sound some would refer to as “chill” music, something light, easy-going, a tad acoustic and flavorful. Looking for it? Still? Look no further than Trevor Hall, with his new release come June 29th.

Light, easy-going, a tad acoustic and flavorful? Check, check, check and check. All the above…AND all live recordings from his 2009 and 2010 tour. In this live recorded album, Hall asks his listeners for some love in his track, “Where’s the Love?” So, listen up, cool down, join in, chill out and show his album, Chasing the Flame: On the Road With Trevor Hall the summer lovin’ it deserves.

Each transition from track to track includes bits of Hall talking to, joking and making merry with his audience, helping to highlight what a fun and overall casual compilation this album really is. His songs, possessing strong reggae, rock, acoustic and folk influences not only have great rhyme and rhythm, but are seasoned with some insightful lyrics too. Hall asks his listeners to ponder some pretty heavy concepts, especially with the inclusion of “Poem” on the album. Hall’s “Poem,” backed by acoustic guitar is structured similarly to slam poetry – real lucid, free-flowing and stylistically meditative. Hall concludes this track with the repetition of the phrase, “Whoever brought us here, yes, shall have to take us home.” See? While this album has a light, easy-breezy overall sound, it also works in some food for thought, too.

With the inclusion of drums, bass and both electric and acoustic guitar, Hall really keeps his listeners entertained and asking for more. On the album, his audience gets especially rowdy when Hall breaks into “The Lime Tree,” one of his better known and more recognized tracks. Upon the start of this song on the album, listeners will hear loud hooting, continuous hollering, intense whistling and frequent clapping, all signs that Hall has really got the attention he needs and deserves. In this song he sings out, “Toast my glass to all my loved ones to let them know that the stars, well they still shine,” just as all his fans are making it pretty evident that he still shines, too.

So, enjoy that little bit of seasonal downtime with Chasing the Flame: On the Road With Trevor Hall.

Let’s hope this summer is…as hot as Hall.

Photo Courtesy Todd Roeth

A man born in South Africa, raised in Philadelphia and now living in Boulder, Col. could make nothing less than beautiful music. Gregory Alan Isakov, who names Bruce Springsteen and Iron and Wine as two of his main influences, released his most recent album, This Empty Northern Hemisphere, last summer, and is touring this summer in support of it. He plays Lestat’s tonight, June 10th, and I am more than prepared to take in a calming yet moving, beautiful display of his talent and melodic prowess. While a show review will be posted tomorrow, save your reading capabilities for a book and catch the show yourself tonight at 8. Lestat’s is located on Adams Avenue. More information can be found at their website, Lestats.com.

If you can’t make it, check out some of my favorite songs off the album. Album opener “Dandelion Wine” is swooning, while “Light Year” is pleasantly upbeat and “Words” has some of the most literary-ily romantic lyrics I’ve heard in a great while. Finally, “Master & A Hound” is beyond-words-incredible.

Dandelion Wine

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Light Year

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Words

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Master & A Hound

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Ellyn Maybe’s Rodeo for the Sheepish is a CD collection of ten poems which includes favorites like “All My Life I’ve Wanted a Great Love,” “Picasso,” and “Being an Artist.” For those “not in the know” Ellyn Maybe is a very popular poet and spoken word artist based in Los Angeles. She has performed all over the country at venues such as the Bumbershoot and South by Southwest Festivals, Lollapalooza, MTV’s Spoken Wurd Tour in Los Angeles, The New School of New York, The Poetry Project, and on many college campuses. She has also read and slammed in Europe. She’s published a handful of books and chapbooks of poetry and some of her work is anthologized. “Rodeo for the Sheepish” is her first CD.

Each of Maybe’s poems is backed by a soundtrack of R&B laced with pop and jazz. A few tracks feature hot licks of saxophone and trombone. Backing vocalists sing a line from each poem as it plays, creating a chorus-like effect, which thankfully doesn’t get in the way of the poem or the poet’s voice, except on one track, “I Heard What Sounded Like a Song.” It can be a bit frustrating to parse out Maybe’s words from the overlaid song lyrics, but considering the poem’s title, maybe that’s just the right kind of flourish.

On CD Maybe’s voice is slightly lower than her characteristically high-pitched “little girl voice” heard at readings and her delivery is not at its usual quick clip, but these aren’t drawbacks, necessarily. Finding these small but enlightening differences in tone and pacing between her live readings and this recording adds another dimension to experiencing Ellyn Maybe and her poetry. Her trademark quixotic wit is still very much intact and her words, now alongside musical accompaniment, sound familiar and brand new all at once.

It’s worth noting that Maybe recently spent two years abroad in Prague while attending film school. Her poems are the richer for it. They’re accentuated by multiple histories–personal, literary, and filmic–and it’s as much an education to read up on her references to Oscar Levant and Harold Lloyd as it is to hear her describe what it’s like to listen to Sylvia Plath on LP.  Ellyn Maybe shows us that we never really outgrow a certain awkwardness associated with viewing the world from an outsider’s perspective. Charlie Chaplin couldn’t have said it better, even in the age of silent film.

CD: Rodeo for the Sheepish
copyright 2009 Ellyn Maybe
Hen House Studios
$15; available through Amazon.com

Neon Indian is Alan Palomo. And his newest LP Psychic Chasms is a wondrous concoction of synth-beat, laid back, retro 80′s summer bliss. Psychic Chasms may be the album that allows us to achieve a year round summer (or at least an excuse to). With intertwining bloops and twangy chimes finding their way into multiple tracks you can’t help but find yourself really falling into the music, completely entranced by its simple and catchy rhythms. Fans of Memory Tapes, Washed Out or Fuck Buttons will thoroughly enjoy the artistic interpretation of Palomo on Psychic Chasms. Even if you feel you’ve been sucked through time and have been placed in a roller rink outside of Nowhere circa 1983…you’ll be happy for 2 things: 1. the music is groovy   2. you’re not wearing leg warmers.

With a quick intro track entitled “AM” the album gets you ready to experience a mass conglomeration of synth-electro-cassette-oriented-hazy tracks. Quickly following is one of my favorites entitled “Deadbeat Summer”. I try not to let the oh-so prevalent “ooohh’s” and “ahhhh’s” of many a song’s hooks or choruses get to me but “Deadbeat Summer” holds one of the most enticing back beat and vocal “ahhhh”-ing to grace my ears in some time. Not to mention I can’t go a single day without it popping up in my head and leading to awkward situation in the library (I guess I’m a loud hummer?) This 4-minute track will remind you of how “deadbeat” your summer truly was for not listening to this while playing bocce ball in your local golf course’s fairway. Tracks like “Laughing Gas”, “(If I knew, I’d Tell You)”, and “7000 (Reprise)” provide short, mostly sub-minute fills for the album but leave you craving for more. Another highlight is “Should Have Taken Acid With You” which was written in about 20 minutes after Palomo had to cancell his plans one evening to help produce a track for a friend. This led Palomo to a decision that likely held quite the hand in determining Psychic Chasms. The decision was that each song that would be the record could not take more than a day to write. And so began the epic, awe-inspiring creation of one of the best albums of this year.

Every single track on this album is a gem, a piece of the past wrapped up in so many 8-bit samples and new school lo-fi funk that you’ll make a a point to listen to it, to really listen and find the serenity in laying on a lawn chair outside with your coppertone within reach…and Psychic Chasms in your boom-box.

by Charlie Villyard

The Dodos have returned with their third album “Time To Die” released July, 2009. Dense with their familiar yet unpredictable sound this album promises to fill your hunger for eclectic folk rock with a dash of bluegrass on the side.

For those unfamiliar with the Dodos, a trio harking from San Francisco, CA.,  the band is composed of guitarist and vocalist Meric Long, percussionist Logan Kroeber and new addition Keaton Snyder playing the vibraphone. The whole album is full of Long’s powerful and playful guitar riffs, licks and chords that along his swift picking style produce a range of  ethereal, sharp and melodic sounds. Kroeber’s percussion  engrosses the album with thunderous drumming while newbie Snyder decorates with vibraphone stylings.

With a title like “Time to Die” one would expect a stark melodramatic sound, however; songs like “This is a Business” and “Two Medicines” have an upbeat nature, aiming to critique blandness and uplift.  On the other hand airy tunes “Acorn Factory” and ” Small Deaths” are more solemn but still retain a feathery feel.

“Time to Die”  has a complex sound, ready to enchant, entrance or simply make you want to jump around. At first listen it may come off as repetitive, but if given a tad more attention you simply can’t overlook the care and talent these San Fran. musicians have coalesced into this album.

So I went to the Audiotistic Festival last Saturday, the promoters called it a music festival, but the patrons called it a rave.  When I first got to college, my attitude toward raves was something like this.

Torero: Hey Drew, you want to go to a rave in LA this weekend?

Drew: uh….no………..?

Torero: Why not dude?

Drew: ……you are a clown..

(end of conversation)

Well I finally went, I went in open minded, and optimistic.  Sure enough, I wasn’t dissapointed.

The Audiotistic “festival” was the most fascinating experiment in human interaction that I have ever experienced.  Walking in I looked around and didn’t think that I saw anyone whom I could relate with.  It turns out, thats the whole point of the experience.  All prejudices dissapear, and 50,000 people interact as members of one common human family for 9 hours, enjoying music and eachother’s company.  I felt connected with the people whom I was with like never before.

On top of acquiring a newfound respect and appreciation for the human life form (no big deal), the music wasn’t bad either.  Audiotistic wasn’t like typical raves, as this one had a hip hop stage.  Luckyiam (Living Legends), The Cool Kids, Talib Kweli, DJ Z-Trip, and The Roots all threw down incredible sets.

I’m not much of a techno connoisseur, but Chromeo and Armand Van Heldan weren’t bad either.

The air was warm and the beats were slappin’, people from every demographic, age group, and gender all celebrated life together for one night. It was truly fascinating and I encourage any and all naysayers to give it a chance.  Maybe I’ll see you there next time?