int'l +
COMRADES! Signatures were procured Friday, so we are happy campers here at Caravan Central. New discs from old friends THE CHURCH & THE CHARLATANS UK make us warm and fuzzy.....ROOTS TONIC get the Bill Laswell treatment....CAFE D'AFRIQUE, in a fit of odd marketing, chooses an exotic-sounding French title for this African electronica, despite nearly all songs being sung in English.....and int'l discs arrive from the likes of JUANA MOLINA and CIBELLE, as well as some French guys who call themselves BENET. Have at 'em, Mr Amusing!......Artist: The Church
Title: Uninvited, Like the Clouds
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Genre: indie
Grade: A
Uninvited has everything an adoring Church fan could want, and all the ammunition a detractor could carry: a bloated, beautiful, unsettling storm of a record that manages to celebrate improvisation and songcraft without any favoritism, resulting in their most cohesive record since 1992's underrated Priest = Aura. Uninvited, Like the Clouds -- like 2003's Forget Yourself -- won't win the group any new fans, but it may be the just a shiny enough apple to lure the brethren back into the garden. (4 stars)
Reviewer: James Christopher Monger, AMG
Artist: The Charlatans UK
Title: Simpatico
Label: Sanctuary
Genre: indie
Grade: B+
Sixteen years into their career and the Charlatans UK are roughly at the same place the Rolling Stones were at the same point in their career -- not in terms of popularity, of course (the Charlatans have never had anything approaching a hit in the U.S.), but in musical terms. Which is a roundabout way of saying that their ninth studio album, Simpatico, is the Charlatans' version of the Stones' Emotional Rescue: it's a groove-centric rock album, heavy on disco and reggae rhythms, where the overall vibe is more important than the individual songs. The disc works well on its own terms and is proof that the now-veteran Charlatans UK are building a reliably entertaining body of work. (3 stars)
Reviewer: Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG
Artist: Roots Tonic / Bill Laswell
Title: Roots Tonic Meets Bill Laswell
Label: ROIR
Genre: reggae / dub
Grade: A-
Laswell is arguably the biggest name in US dub, and Roots Tonic back Matisyahu, arguably the biggest name in US reggae. Basically a win-win for the home-grown enthusiasts.
Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
Artist: v / a
Title: Palace Lounge Presents Café d’Afrique
Label: Savoy Jazz
Genre: electronica
Grade: A-
Put together by South African producer Andrew Mitchley, the collection brings together the cream of the South African and European dance music scenes. Producers, bands, songwriters, and exquisite female vocalists come together seamlessly in this nonstop mix. All of these artists are held in the highest esteem in South Africa, so it's no surprise that prior to the U.S. release of this fascinating, toe-tapping collection, it was a number one-selling dance music collection in that country.
Reviewer: Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
Artist: Juana Molina
Title: Son
Label: Domino
Genre: int’l
Grade: A-
Molina’s latest set continues her mellow, acoustic aesthetic. Morning-friendly and specialty-show worthy.
Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
Artist: Benet
Title: Flora y Fauna
Label: Rasa
Genre: int’l / electronica
Grade: B+
Let’s see…the new-age Air? Electronica candle merchants (see booklet)? French global chillers? A good reason to dig out your old Ultramarine tapes? All of the above, for better or worse. Innocuously mellow!
Reviewer: bjorn ingvoldstad
Artist: Cibelle
Title: The Shine of Dried Electric Leaves
Label: Six Degrees
Genre: int’l / electronica
Grade: A-
Cibelle makes a bold move with her second album: away from the broadly appealing samba-lounge of her self-titled debut album and toward relatively abstract soundscapes and poetics that comprise a style that could be described as "folktronica" (i.e., heavy-handed studiocraft rustling around quietly behind Cibelle's mix of Portuguese- and English-language self-penned lyrics, with a few choice covers thrown in as well). It's a consciously artistic direction, for sure—a delightful surprise to those who enjoy their music heady as well as beautiful, and with a literate, worldly edge. (3 ½ stars)
Reviewer: Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
posted by Anonymous @ 7:58:00 AM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home