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I think I may have found my new favourite band. An “introduction” to Dr. Dog, “Toothbrush” was made over the course of three years of tape machine bedroom recordings. Despite being gathered from different times and places, “Toothbrush” is a lot more cohesive than one would think, and only underlines the exultant enthusiasm that the brilliant “Easybeat” album serves as a spring for.

Thematically speaking, “Toothbrush” is a lot bluesier but its reach spreads as far and wide as bluegrass and soul, as demonstrated on the locomotive momentum of “How Dare” and the wailing “Jealous Man.” Once more, it’s clear that what Dr. Dog do best are their curtains of harmonies, and from start to finish, it feels like you’re being carried gently through “Toothbrush” on the crest of one long, gorgeous group vocal. The influences of the Beach Boys and the Beatles are still ever-present, but if, like me, you’ve well and truly fallen for their whole sound, it has no bearing on the overall experience.

Recorded on fourth generation cassette tapes, the lo-fidelity element is in full effect here, but it couldn’t be any other way – Dr. Dog bypass the need for glossy production values, and by doing so, should unearth (or at least re-ignite) your passion for good music on the most fundamental of levels.

Artist / Group:
Dr. Dog
Album:
Toothbrush
Label:
self-released
Released:
2002/2003, reissued 2005

Popularity: 1% [?]

There seem to be two sides to Jackie-O Motherfucker’s “Flags of the Sacred Harp”: there’s the serene, meditative folk, steeped in tradition…and then there’s the avant-garde, boundless explorations of atmospheric sound. Of course, Jackie-O Motherfucker are decades too late to be considered ground breaking in either field, but the difference between the two halves of their efforts is that the folkier side to things leaves you with a good taste in the mouth, wanting more…whereas the experimental element divides the album irreconcilably, rendering that taste a distant memory.

The cycle of the mantra-like “Nice One” start things off on a tranquil note, its calm-inducing waves making it easy to picture yourself lying on a beach with eyes shut as the sun rises. After it drifts into an extended run of static, droning interplay, “Rockaway” resumes matters with another slice of daydreaming acoustics, delivering some of my favourite lines from any album this year:

“I’m goin’ up to Heaven, gonna talk to the good Lord above / If I can’t get me no angel, send me back the one I love.
Tombstone is my pillow, graveyard’s gonna be my bed /
Blue sky is my blanket, pale moon’s gonna be my spread.”

This is as straightforward and simple as the quartet get, and arguably, their most effective…and that momentum, that warm, absorbing streak they seem to get rolling, is continued with the blissfully sedative “Hey Mr. Sky.” Combined, the crux of the opening three songs provide a brilliant, mouth watering invitation to float away on a slow burning album.

However, before its final notes have even completely faded out, an entirely different direction is undertaken, with the 11 minute long enigma “Spirits” proceeding to dismantle that climax by smashing it into smithereens.

Inspired and titled after an American songbook of traditional hymns and anthems from 1844, it’s doubtless that there is a deconstructive statement to be found here, but in music terms alone, Jackie-O Motherfucker leave the listener with quite a conundrum. A fragmented album stemming from two different entities, the potency it promises early on spills open and washes over whatever remains like the sour, rusty cello that picks at the bottom of “Loud and Mighty.” In the end, it will all boil down to how open you are to the lengthy and perhaps testing digestion process, but if you’re familiar with their oeuvre, you’ll know Jackie-O Motherfucker are not here to fit neatly into any system of comprehension.

Artist / Group:
Jackie-O Motherfucker
Album:
Flags of the Sacred Harp
Label:
Atp
Released:
5th December 2005

Popularity: 1% [?]

Arab Strap: The Last Romance

             Ostentatiously Scottish, Arab Strap’s “The Last Romance” is a harrowingly open insight into the bleak realities of dead-end relationships, meaningless sex, and drug-induced mid-week slumps. Not the most gifted vocalist or creative melodicist, Aidan Moffat’s lyrics often sound simply like spoken poetry, absorbing the focus of all the attention and virtually rendering the music secondary.

              Although one could just as easily perceive the hard rain of Arab Strap’s misery as either uncomfortably revealing or refreshingly direct, whichever way it strikes you, make no mistake – this does not make for easy or instantly accessible listening. In fact, it’s hard to believe that this is the same musician behind the serene, instrumental hypnotics of Lucky Pierre – a soundscape that now seems its polar opposite…a place far, far away from here.

Artist / Group:
Arab Strap
Album:
The Last Romance
Label:
Chemikal Underground
Released:
17th October 2005

Popularity: 1% [?]

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins: Rabbit Fur Coat

             In the opening few tracks of “Rabbit Fur Coat,” there’s a decidedly M. Ward feel to the flow of things: a bare yet crystal clear sound embraces touches of gospel, hymnal, traditional folk and blues while recalling the great white soul classics as it all comes together across the racing strings of an acoustic.

              With a resolutely strong and assured voice, Lewis continually asks questions about life and love, examining the hand that fate deals us in dulcet toned frustration. Pushing for answers on “Rise up with Fists,” The Watson Twins provide effective but subtle velvet descents as Lewis sounds as if she’s singing from the Dylan songbook.

              Thus it’s little surprise when The Travelling Wilburys are covered some time later with a version of “Handle with Care”; very much in keeping with the feel of the album (“The Charging Sky” in particular), co-producer M. Ward and label-head Conor Oberst are inducted into the ranks for the three-way vocal duties in what is a fun and light-hearted cover.

              From themes of loving a mirror image of yourself, to just not being understood in romance, this is a lovely album, and the Rilo Kiley singer shows that she is a solo songstress capable of producing some inviting gems.

              The sounds of “Rabbit Fur Coat” are so transparently vibrant and down to earth that there can be no mistaking what you’re getting here – this has all the quality of a veteran songwriter twice Lewis’ age.

Artist / Group:
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
Album:
Rabbit Fur Coat
Label:
Team Love
Released:
24th January 2006

Popularity: 1% [?]

A little Dr. Dog and Deerhoof heavy, but it reflects my recent listening.

1. Feathers – Old Black Hal with a Dandelion Flower
2. Wolf Parade – Modern World
3. Tremulous Monk – Drinking Holes
4. Dr. Dog – The Pretender
5. Dr. Dog – Oh No
6. Mirah – The Dogs of Buenos Aires
7. Deerhoof – Twin Killers
8. The Band – Don’t Do It
9. Dr. Dog – The World May Never Know
10. Deerhoof – After Me The Deluge (edit – last 2:28)
11. Deerhoof – Siriustar
12. Dr. Dog – Say Something
13. Nickel Creek – Eveline
14. Broken Social Scene – 7/4 (Shoreline)
15. The Howling Hex – Cobra Heart
16. Deerhoof – Midnight Bicycle Mystery (intro – 0:11 edit)
17. Deerhoof – Spirit Ditties of No Tone (edit – 2:39)
18. M. Ward – Green River
19. Nicel Creek – First and Last Waltz
20. Boards of Canada – Macquarie Ridge (Japanese bonus track)
21. Dr. Dog – Wake Up (outro – 1:49 edit)

Popularity: 5% [?]