Review: Jaill, That's How We Burn

Jaill

That’s How We Burn

3 mustaches out of 4 (actual band statistics: 2/4)

Michael Chabon, musing on the possibility of a totally original novel, said that “All novels are sequels; influence is bliss.” The same is true in the world of music. This review will not be able to tell you whether or not Jaill’s new album sounds like The Soft Pack has a crush on XTC, or of what it is “reminiscent.” Nor will it contain a lengthy analysis (with spreadsheets and percentages) that charts the band’s influences from their toddler days, when they were big into Raffi to their teenage years spent idolizing Joe Strummer. This review is, in fact, significantly more concerned with how the name of the band is pronounced (I alternately envision the word ‘jail’ pronounced with a Southern drawl or a Jamaican saying ‘ja! ill!’) and the fact that one of the members is named Ryan Adams.

Regardless of influence, what sets this album (and any other) apart is what Jaill does differently from others who have come before. Sure, Jaill may not fully be the “psych-pop” band that they envision themselves to be, but they still know how to throw together some slick, catchy tunes. The guitar lick on the deliciously upbeat ‘Everyone is Hip’ is utterly irresistible. The sardonically titled ‘How’s the Grave?’ sports some quite fun guitar solos and ‘Baby I’, though a bit slower, has an equally catchy hook. Sure, ‘Snake Shakes,’ and ‘She’s My Baby” could have just as easily come from an early Shins album, but then again, you would never find Mercer and company crafting a song like ‘The Stroller,’ the most “psych-pop” song to be found here. The album does have a few duller moments, and it is clear that Jaill are at their best when they are rocking out, keeping things upbeat and tight, and surfing easily through pure pop riffs. Still, when all is said and done, That’s How We Burn would be a pleasant addition to any summer rotation.

-- Mark Waterman

Review: The Roots, How I Got Over

The Roots How I Got Over
8 afro picks out of 10

Evidently, while discussing the overall feel of his band’s most recent album, Black Thought opined that it had a more positive message than 2008’s Rising Down. Still, if you were expecting some sort of lighthearted album with a couple of nice summer jams, then you have come to the wrong place. The Roots may be “late night now like Here’s Johnny,” but they are still The Roots, and they will dumb it down for no man. Though a touch dark at the beginning, How I Got Over will make it such that no one forgets any time soon that The Legendary Roots Crew are still the best musicians in the game. Of course, Black Thought is no slouch on the mic, and with several excellent guest appearances, How I Got Over becomes yet another solid release from The Roots.

The Roots became the house band on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show in March 2009, which left fans of their live performances with precious few chances to catch them out at a venue, and, sadly, their performance at Earth Day was frequently marred by sound system malfunctions. Their LNJF Sandwiches (check it out if you want to spice up your iPhone ringtone Roots-style) were some of the only material available. Personally, I am impressed that the band found the time to record a full album while pulling double duty late at night, though I guess we shouldn’t expect anything less from such a dynamic group.

Until the title track ‘How I Got Over,’ the album dwells in rather dark territory reminiscent of Rising Down. “The road to perdition/guess I’m gonna get my plea on,” Black raps on ‘Walk Alone’ after verses from Roots regulars Truck North and P.O.R.N. “Trying to keep a singing man sane for the paying fans,” continues ‘Dear God 2.0,’ which laments the “Acid rain, earthquakes, hurricane, tsunamis” that leave Black “breakin’ it down/without an answer.”

Despite the dark message, I was super excited (and surprised) to hear the unmistakable voice of up and coming rapper Blu opening ‘Radio Daze.’ Apologies for the diversion here, but y’all, Blu is THE SHIT. He made it on a lot of “young rapper to watch” lists last year, but got low marks because he didn’t put out any material. Still, his ‘Soul Amazing’ mixtape from 2008 is still solidly entrenched in my playlist. Dude even raps over bluegrass and Spanish guitar beats (among many others) and kills it. If you need a good summer rap mixtape, look http://www.mediafire.com/?td3ybnyctut”>no further. It is worth mentioning that The Roots collaborated with Joanna Newsome (Right On), the Monsters of Folk (Dear God 2.0), and even Haley Dekle of the Dirty Projectors (Peace of Light) on this album. Clearly, they are not shying away from their more experimental… uh … roots. Even songs like ‘Peace of Light’ and ‘Tunnel Vision’, both sans lyrics, are well done.

How I Got Over is an album that starts dark buts get brighter. In fact, it seems that The Roots had a message in mind when they recorded it and placed the track order. The chorus of the title track seems to sum it up—“that type of thinking can get you nowhere, someone has to care.” As the album winds down we see a more hopeful message. “Whole new blueprint/Brand new layout” raps Phonte on ‘The Day,’ and Black wants to “move like a wise warrior and not a coward” on ‘The Fire.’ The albums final track, ‘Hustla,’ was the only one that I could genuinely not handle. The auto-tune baby cries make for quite a weird song, the album’s only miss. With plenty of interesting musicianship (if Kanye can be K-West, can’t we also have Q-Uest, am I wrong???) and still ample space for Black Thought to do what he does best, How I Got Over impresses. Lastly, if you haven’t had a chance to see The Roots live in concert, you really ought to do so. Not because I think they are going to stop touring or something, but because it will be worth the price of admission wherever they happen to be playing.

-- Mark Waterman

Review: Halsted, Life Underwater

Halsted
Life Underwater
5 medium-size strong-hold binder clips out of 10

Please understand my situation here. In need of a job, any job, for this summer, I somehow found myself as an intern at a construction company. Not only an intern, basically an accounting intern. Accounting would probably rank somewhere near the bottom five of any list of my most desired professions. For most of the day, I do things like split up a $4 lunch purchase between three different cost codes and then file it in five different places. Sometimes they let me match the owner’s receipts for stretch limousines to the credit card bill! Anyway, before I offend our numbers-loving reader base, let me get to my point. Anything to pull me from the monotony, like a good record, is manna from heaven. Nonetheless, Life Underwater, the latest release from Halsted, failed to impress even my stimulus-starved senses.

The album opens with a somewhat eerie, wavering synth, which led me to believe that it would be somewhat more experimental. However, my main gripe with the album was that it did not try anything new. Halsted sound like just about any other middle of the road modern rock band whose name you might see in a record store and probably not recognize. Listening to this record actually kept reminding of Jack’s Mannequin, a not-so-special band that some kids you knew were probably into around sixth grade.

On ‘Life Underwater,’ the title track, lead singer Ryan Auffenberg croons over a softly plucked guitar. His voice—which may be better suited to this sort of style—does not fit as well with the more rockin’ sets. Auffenberg, who has garnered some local acclaim for his solo album around California, sounds sort of like a one-man version of Iron & Wine (though he does shout out Missouri on his album, so props). ‘Sellout’ begins with the exact keyboard riff that begins Wilco’s Hummingbird, and the lyrics seem to acknowledge the rip-off: “it’s been said before.” Still, some nicely placed horns carry the song though. ‘Knock on Wood’ is rather cheesy, though it did lead me to remember the classic Mighty Mighty Bosstones tune (in which he never has to knock on wood) and to discover this gem. ‘Toy Soldiers’ falls in the same vein—some sort of attempt at a lament about the past (“hanging on a star/because all your toy soldiers are gone)—and also comes off as starkly unoriginal. Life Underwater is not without its brighter moments. The final track, ‘All You Want,’ was decent, and the musicianship throughout is of good quality, with even a few Americana-style licks thrown in early on the disc. In the end, however, the lyrics and vocals left me hoping for better.

-- Mark Waterman

Review: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Genuine Negro Jig

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Genuine Negro Jig

A-

Perhaps the fact that I tried to turn this interview in on a piece of paper (handwritten, no less, in this age of the blog) betrays the fact that I appreciate keeping it old school. The Carolina Chocolate Drops embody this prinicple better than most. One of the most interesting facets of their latest album Genuine Negro Jig is the album insert. It tells the listener the origin of each tune, with sources ranging from nonagenarian fiddle players to the Harlem Hamfats’ 1931 smash-hit “Weed Smoker’s Dream” to a few songs dating well into the 1800s. In fact, the Carolina Chocolate Drops themselves are a relic from times past: an all-black old-timey string band performing in an age when names like Otha Turner and Bill Monroe are little known.

In Genuine Negro Jig, the band mostly stays true to their style. In fact, the album’s weaker points are when they try to deviate, with a cover of “Hit ‘Em Up Stye” that is hard to listen to and a vocal sans-instruments song entitled “Reynadine” taking away from what the Drops do best: buck-dance string tunes. Each member of the band takes a turn at the mic (and on many different instruments), channeling Old Crow Medicine Show and Pokey LaFarge, alternatively. Still, one cannot discount the Drops’ attention to detail and their historical authenticity on an album that still has the ability to appeal to a modern audience (okay, maybe just me). There remain many excellent songs on this album, which will have you tapping your foot to the fast moving strings. When you are not doing this, take some time to appreciate the work of the forefathers who gave us the blues and Americana music as we know it today.  

Standout Tracks: Trouble in Your Mind, Sandy Boys, Cindy Gal, Peace Behind the Bridge

          

-- Mark Waterman

"The Cosmic American Radio Music Hour," Saturdays 2-4 pm on WGTB 

Concert Review (and Interview!): Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm

Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm

9:30 Club, Washington DC

Feb. 8, 2010

by Cole Stangler and Mark Waterman

Hosts, "The Cosmic American Music Radio Hour," Saturdays 2-4 pm on WGTB

At a mostly empty 9:30 Club—in stark contrast to the crowd that saw Galactic later—Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm took the stage for a short set of some hill country blues. Despite the sparse crowd, Burnside and Malcolm, known as the Juke Joint Duo and The Two Man Wrecking Crew, were not short on energy as they pounded out some edgy country blues.

With its’ gritty and unpretentious sound, the duo channels the great hill country and blues tradition of north Mississippi—launching into extensive trances without the smoother and predictable chord changes of standard blues. Although Cedric and Malcolm performed all original songs, their sound is unmistakably derived from hill country legends Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside, Cedric’s grandfather.

“Me, when I was six, seven years old…and a bunch of other grandkids…we be out there kickin’ up dust, you know to that music. That was our music. And that’s how me myself—I feel like I am the blues ‘cause I just grew up with the blues and it’s always been in me,” Cedric said.

(Read more and hear the full interview after the jump!)