Back by popular demand is the second installment of the Juke Joint Music Review. This time I have decided to include reviews of one new release and one preview of something great to come. Of course, what I mean is that unlike the older albums that were reviewed last time, in this set there are some new things that I have deemed worthy, or unworthy. You will have to read to find out. The new release is the new Islands album, Arm’s Way. The preview is of the forthcoming Silver Jews album, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea. Along the way I have brought forth my thoughts on several albums that have been at my ears lately. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I have: A few small changes from the first installment of the JJMR: -No more 10pt. scale ratings, I think they are stupid. -Instead of favorite songs, I have included my favorite moments, I think it offers more room for specifics.
cLOUDDEAD – Self-Titled It took me two full years of exposure to cLOUDDEAD for me to begin to enjoy their music. My first impressions of cLOUDDEAD were negative. I heard them in a friends car and I just didn’t like it. They were too weird. Their voices sounded bad and the music stopped or switched to a different theme just when I was starting to get used to it. Even though I didn’t really enjoy the music, I could tell that there was something there. This was unlike any other type of music that I’ve ever heard. After some years of sporadic exposure to the musical trio’s new-wave trip-hop sounds I finally started to “get it”. cLOUDDEAD’s mixture of lush aural soundscapes, the psychedelic lyrics and abstract delivery styles, make their music one of a kind. There are sounds that you can only hear when you play a cLOUDDEAD album. Odd Nosdam’s garage-sale vinyl samples and fuzzy sound selections seem all too familiar, like I have heard them all somewhere in my past. The lyrical exchanges between Yoni Wolf (Why?) and Adam Drucker (Doseone) are eerie snippets of observations that seem to have been written down on palms or napkins and the local diner. Doseone’s lyrics are reminiscent of the staccato and drifty lyrical style of Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony (if they were on LSD). I particularly love when Why? and Doseone switch between back-up and lead vocalist line-for-line. This album is best heard after a hearty dose of chronic or hash, with headphones and a cold beer. Favorite Moments: Apt A (1 & 2), And All You Can Do Is Laugh (1 & 2), the sample with the guy saying, “Can You Feel It?”.
Islands – Arm’s Way The first Islands album, Return to Sea, holds a very special place in my heart. This was my first exposure to the music of Nick Diamonds, Thornburn, T…. whatever he’s calling himself today. It is one of my favorite albums of the past 10 years and possibly of all time. From the sound of opening guitar riffs of Return to Sea Islands immediately gave me auditory pleasure. However once the music ended, Islands did nothing but upset me. When I had my first opportunity to see Islands live I made sure to show up to the venue (The Glass House in Pomona, CA) an hour before the band was scheduled to come on to make sure that I would see the full set. I sat through the painful Subtitle opening set and the somewhat more interesting Blueprint set. Finally, it was Islands who took to the stage. They started setting up equipment and when they were done, one of the band members came to the microphone and announced that because of the intensity of the previous two nights of shows at the Hollywood Bowl, Nick Diamonds (at the time) had lost his voice and wouldn’t be singing tonight. They played an instrumental song (Tsuxiit) to open the show and it was marvelous. For the rest of the set, the band played their songs, but instead of Nick singing, the opening act, Subtitle, came to lay his nonsensical freestyle rapping over the beautiful Islands songs. Basically, Subtitle ruined whatsoever I could possibly enjoy from hearing some Islands instrumentals. By the end of the show people in the crowd were yelling shit at the stage and very displeased with the whole performance. Subtitle even talked some shit to the crowd. He’s lucky I didn’t knock him out myself. The whole time Nick Diamonds was standing there hiding behind his synth array with his queer little scarf around his neck and a smug look on his face. Me and my friends came to the show Islands fans and left swearing on our lives that we would devote the rest of our lives to hunting down this rapper named Subtitle and ending his life. For the next few months, I really disliked Islands and refused to listen to their music.
A year or so after the show things started to make a turn for the better. Subtitle announced that he was retiring from music and Islands announced a new album in the works. I still had a sour taste in my mouth from my one live Islands performance. Then came along my second outing at Coachella Music and Arts Festival (2008), where I saw Islands again. I had a feeling that it was either going to be incredible or a complete let down (again). I showed up to the tent where they were performing 20 mins. or so early so that I could get a good view. I ended up waiting for what felt like 45mins-1hr for Islands to come out. Once they came out (late), we had to wait even longer for Nick T. (at this point) to grow some balls and come out to join his band, who were waiting just like the audience. From the way things were starting I felt for sure that this was going to be disappointing. The show was amazing. FINALLY! The Islands that I had been seeking out for the past couple years. They put on an amazing performance and they really play like a cohesive unit. Nick had his dramatic moment during one of the songs when he stopped playing and the other guitarist had to convince him to come back and finish it. There was another moment when Nick walked over to said guitarist while playing and he put his head against the other’s chest while they both played. It was a bit too gay for me. But the music was fucking great. Another thing, I noticed that the Islands looked different. They were no longer wearing all white. Instead it was mostly black and Nick had his face painted white. I guess changing his name was no longer enough for him, now he had to change his style and motifs. The highlight of the show was definitely when Busdriver came on for “Whalebone” and completely knocked everyones socks off.
When I bought the new album on iTunes a few days ago I listened to it straight through and recognized a lot of the songs from the show. The album is another great piece of art from Islands. The songs are less elegant and soft like the first album. This is more of a guitar-rock album. Let me tell you, the guitars sound great! There is still the electronic/Unicornsy influence there on some of the tracks and best of all: NO SUBTITLE! So basically my nutshell breakdown of Islands is this: they are an extremely talented group of musicians who are unfortunately headed by the brilliant but bitchy Nick X (as I call him), when they are actually playing music (and singing to it) it is one of the best performances you will see, but you may be disappointed along the way. Favorite Moments: The Arm, Creeper, Life In Jail, Abominable Snow, Subtitle announcing that he was “quitting”.
Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea I love the Silver Jews! In the last issue of the JJMR I exalted the albums Starlite Walker and American Water. Now I am here to praise the newest release from David & Cassie Berman and friends. Right off the bat I’m going to admit, I downloaded this album illegally. No, I don’t feel bad about it because I know that I am going to buy at least one version of the album (vinyl) as soon as it is released. The album is the next chapter in the Berman discography, and it definitely does not bog us down with recycled crap. The album is filled with new things from the Jews. They have not, however, forgotten their roots and there are definitely songs on here that sound like they belong on Bright Flight or The Natural Bridge. The album starts with the booming bluegrass-rock opener “What Is Not But Could Be If”. The lyrics are meaningful, sharp, and delivered excellently. Cassie’s banjo makes the song incredible. The next song “Aloyisius, Bluegrass Drummer” sounds like a rushed version of Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue”. Most of the songs are short, straightforward and sometimes sweet, as in the case of “Candy Jail”. That song describes a jail “where the guards are gracious, the lands are grand, and the warden keeps the data on your favorite brands”. “San Francisco B.C.” tells the story of a man who gets involved in a Reservoir Dogs style heist job that goes wrong. Perhaps the most “Silver Jew” song on the album is “Suffering Jukebox” which seems to be David telling his story as if he was a jukebox gathering dust in the corner of an old bar. “The Pillow is My Threshold” is an elegant song with haunting lyrics about dreams. Davids distorted guitars cry out on this track. “Party Barge” is a happy song about someone (David?) who turned depression into happiness. The song portrays this by telling us about someone who cuts down a “weeping willow tree” (Johnny Cash reference anyone?), and uses the wood to build a “party barge”. “Strange Victory, Strange Defeat” is a interesting song that is strangely uplifting. Named after two books about the Nazis during WWII, the song doesn’t seem to have anything to do with either. What stands out on most of the tracks of this album is Cassie’s amazing back-up vocals! She really has an amazing voice. Her chorus on “Suffering Jukebox” sounds like what I imagine the sirens to have sounded like in “The Odyssey”.
Overall I would say that this album is the Silver Jews most uplifting and happy album and is a very solid addition to the Silver Jews discography, but it is definitely not their best album. I enjoy it very much as a laid-back, front-porch album, but when it doesn’t do it for me when I’m yearning for the rockiness of American Water or the experimentation of Starlite Walker. As you can see the cover art is spectacular and at least the album ranks at the top in terms of Silver Jews cover art. Also an odd note that I made about this album is that it references squirrels in more than one song. Go out and buy this album as soon as it hits the shelves. Favorite moments: “Tennessee tendencies and chemical dependencies”, “Suffering Jukebox”, “The Pillow is my Threshold”, “Candy Jail”, “Party Barge”, “What Is Not But Could Be If”, “Things get kind of squirrely when you’re sleepin’ in the park”… the cover art.
This post is way too long as is, so I’m gonna have to save these for Chapter 3 of the JJMR:
-The Halo Benders; Don’t Tell Me Now
-Love as Laughter; #1 USA/Sea To Shining Sea
-Pavement; Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain/Wowee Zowee
Bye for now, thanks for reading!
“This album is best heard after a hearty dose of chronic or hash, with headphones and a cold beer.” – so fucking true. also we should get going on the brutal murdering of the lyrical waste spewing subtitle. he should’ve quit before he started.
By: greg johnson on June 10, 2008
at 1:03 am