It should only take a single listen for you to identify this music as something unique and interesting. That said, it may very well take several more listens for you to decide whether or not you actually like it. At least that was the case for me… but I’m pretty sure I do in fact like much of it now. I’m not gonna bullshit you - this band gets into some strange shit sometimes. Then again, it’s about as strange as one might expect for an Avant-garde metal group from Jakarta, Indonesia. But the great thing is there’s really no gamble for you since several of their albums are available for free [legal] download!

The three albums you can download from their website for free are: Audible Minority, 1000 Thoughts of Violence, and Acidity. Unfortunately, my favorite of their albums - The Habit of Fire - isn’t currently available for free. But I did include two audio clips from this one to try to entice you to buy it. This album has more of a “normal” progressive metal feel when compared to the other albums (although I’ve used the word “normal” in a very liberal sense; it definitely still has its weird moments). I guess a simpler and more accurate way of saying this is that it is a more melodic album. Audible Minority has a stronger experimental industrial/electronic flavor and honestly I find it a bit difficult to listen to. 1000 Thoughts and Acidity both have a melodic death metal vibe much of the time, but it’s clearly Kekal’s special brand.

I wouldn’t personally classify any of these albums as “amazing” or “excellent”, but there’s definitely some great music to be had here. And again, most of it is free. I should also mention that the singer’s voice does leave more to be desired in my opinion, then again maybe I’m just not accustomed to the Indonesian accent. Anyway, I suggest starting off by downloading 1000 Thoughts. If you like what you hear and want more then check out Acidity. Or, if you’re intrigued but want something a little different, purchase The Habit of Fire. You might even download Audible Minority if you’re feeling brave and adventurous, but don’t say I didn’t give you a fair warning.

This post is a departure from most of our other reviews on this site. Pretty much all of the others are for a rock/metal band or hip hop act. Rodrigo y Gabriela are a Mexican acoustic guitar duo with a background in metal. They just released a new album, 11:11, last week, although I haven’t had the chance to purchase it yet (but definitely will soon enough). I really like the concept of this new album; according to their official page, it consists of eleven original compositions, each of which was inspired by one of their major musical influences. These artists include Carlos Santana, Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia, and Pink Floyd, among others. To me this is a better way to show respect for one’s influences rather than just performing a cover of one of their songs.

But I digress… this post is not about their new album, contrary to what I may have led you to believe thus far. This post is about their two prior studio albums: re-Foc (2003) and Rodrigo y Gabriela (2006). Like I said in the intro, both Rodrigo and Gabriela have backgrounds in metal. And it really comes through quite often in their music, even though they exclusively play acoustic guitars. It’s easy to tell that Gabriela (rhythm guitar) really enjoys crunching down on those strings, and it’s not hard to imagine Rodrigo (lead guitar) shredding a solo on an electric guitar. Another aspect that comes through clearly in their songs is their heritage. Much of their music has a decidedly Latin/Hispanic feel to it, whether it’s from their Mexican homeland or something farther away like Spain’s flamenco music.

re-Foc is in fact just a re-release of their 2001 debut, Foc, hence the strange title. Unlike their follow-up, this one features intermittent violin and percussion instruments, and even vocals on one song (although no lyrics). A notable track from this album is Take 5, which, not surprisingly, starts off as a reinterpretation of Dave Brubeck’s famous jazz tune of the same name. The unsuspected turn, however, hits almost four minutes in when the song shifts to  Metallica’s One. After about a minute of that it switches back to Take 5. Frankly I’m still not completely sure how I feel about this. On the one hand it’s kinda cool, plain and simple. But on the other, it’s difficult to deny that it sounds a little segmented and forced.

Their self-titled album is actually very aptly named. No vocals or percussion instruments this time, and the violin only graces part of one song. And these elements really aren’t missed. A big reason for this is that they place an emphasis on using their guitars as percussive instruments by way of knocks, slaps, etc. Overall this album is more energetic and better recorded than their previous one. There’s also a couple covers on this release - Metallica’s Orion and Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven. I personally believe there should be a 10-year moratorium on all studio and live covers of Stairway to Heaven (and Skynyrd’s Free Bird too). That said, this version is a solid one, and it really brings a different perspective since it’s performed by an acoustic duo.

[9-23-09 Edit] Having listened to Rod y Gab’s newest album only a few times, I can already say it’s my favorite so far. Without getting into a whole new review just trust me - if you like their older stuff then you’ll definitely like 11:11, and if you haven’t heard any of them yet then this one is a good place to start.

]]> http://obnoxiouslisteners.com/profile/rodrigo-y-gabriela/feed/ http://obnoxiouslisteners.com/profile/animals-as-leaders/ http://obnoxiouslisteners.com/profile/animals-as-leaders/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:00:39 +0000 Dan http://www.obnoxiouslisteners.com/?p=4783 Download audio file (animals_as_leaders.mp3)

I’ll always have the utmost respect for Joe Satriani, but there is something lacking in his music. Despite the fact that Stu Hamm is a phenomenal bassist, most of Satriani’s music focuses so much on his guitar that the presentation is very much unbalanced. Actually, there is a whole slew of guitarists out there with the same problem. Maybe it’s just become the style for instrumental rock bands focusing on a stellar guitarist to let him shine, but it can get boring to me real quick if the whole band doesn’t keep up. What I really want from a band that’s choosing a shredder for their center-piece is to provide an all around amazing band… that just happens to have insane guitar work. If you do it right, they’re no longer guitar solos; they’re just part of the music.

At this point, you’re probably either pissed at me because you think I’ve dissed Satriani in some sort of convoluted manner or you know exactly what I’m talking about. I know there are many bands focusing around intense guitarists out there that actually do have a full band to match the guitarist (e.g. Liquid Tension Experiment), but they are severely out-numbered. Lucky for me, I just found another band that fits the bill. Animals as Leaders is a project based out of Washington D.C. with an absolutely phenomenal guitarist. Few people can eloquently harness an 8-string guitar and even fewer can actually bring emotion to shredding.  I was instantly hooked by the guitar, but it’s the fact that every piece of this band is just as incredible that got me addicted.

The whole package is so good that I think they’ll attract people that don’t normally get into guitar centered bands. So even though the guitarist in me says you’ll love Animals as Leaders if you love Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci, the eclectic rock listener in me says you’ll love Animals as Leaders if you love bands like Irepress, The Cancer Conspiracy, Indukti, or even Between the Buried and Me. This debut album is strong all the way through and exhibits just the right amount of diversity to keep obnoxious listeners like me interested beyond the guitar work. Every track was well-crafted and it’s clear these guys aren’t using the guitar as a crutch. Animals as Leaders (2009) is already one of my favorite rock releases for the year. Don’t let this one slip by unnoticed.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As I hope I’ve made blatantly clear, I’m always looking for bands that mix various musical ideas in ways I haven’t heard, or at least haven’t noticed. I’m also afraid of becoming that guy that has heard so much music that the only thing he can get into is extremely abstract. The only mechanism I have to battle that is to actually restrict the amount of new music I choose to listen to. I kid you not, I actually have a queue of about 20 bands I’ve never listened to beyond a few 30-second clips, but I believe at least a couple of those are bound to be a new favorite band. Gazpacho was on deck a couple weeks ago, and I’ve since purchased two of their albums. These guys show some real promise.

Gazpacho is roughly what I’d call a progressive rock band. They have the core of a progressive rock band but the surface appearance of an older rock band. Their singer immediately reminded me of an odd mixture of Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley, but what makes Gazpacho a bit on the outskirts of progressive rock is their ambient, art rock, and folk influences.

I first purchased their album Night (2007) honestly because I read that the album was essentially one long song… highlighting their ambient influence. This is no new idea of course, but it’s executed differently than I’ve heard before. Many of the other bands I’ve heard try this concept didn’t write one song so much as several that just happened to seamlessly connect forming distinct movements. Granted, Night has a few movements, but every track falls back to the same theme and focuses around a common riff. There are a couple departures that I personally feel don’t fit, but they didn’t detract enough from the album to make me less interested. Perhaps those of you with a fonder opinion of folk or world music will appreciate said departures more than me. But despite the genre flip here and there, somehow the underlying theme and riff are still evident. All in all, Night is a great album, but the very nature of it’s theme makes it hard to simply pick up this album. You’ll need time to hear the whole album to appreciate it.

Although I enjoyed Night, I had the suspicion I didn’t like them as much as I should. It was hard for me to get into Night because it effectively is a 53 minute song. If that sort of concept album doesn’t appeal to you, I suggest starting with Gazpacho’s latest album, Tick Tock (2009). Once again, they maintain a common theme through most of the album, but Tick Tock is much more energetic, less ambient… and not one enormous song. The theme is right in the album title. There is almost always either a synthesizer sample or a pedal tone from one of the guitars or bass guitar mimicking the tick of a clock’s pendulum. So once again, I give them props for maintaining a theme across an entire album; making it an album, not just a collection of songs. Of course, the album also has many of the other qualities I practically require in any album I purchase: creative song structures, eloquent syncopation, and natural transitions.  Sometimes they even throw some curve balls taking the song where you didn’t expect; and in a good way.

In the grand scheme of things, Gazpacho isn’t as great as other progressive rock bands like Porcupine Tree, Demians, or Riverside, but they are certainly an interesting departure from typical progressive rock. I hear a lot of stylistic choices that remind me of very ambient and experimental bands but they still have a strong, structured base that appeals to those not yet over-exposed to the underground music scene.

With similarities to bands like Yes, Supertramp, and (most aptly) Frank Zappa, Beardfish is a fresh, new take on classic prog rock. I have become familiar with their three latest releases - Sleeping In Traffic: Part One, Sleeping In Traffic: Part Two, and Destined Solitaire - so I’ll attempt to explain just what it is that Beardfish does.

I think Beardfish’s style can be accurately described as a mixture of classic prog and blues rock, with some soul and pop sprinkled in. The singer puts more of an emphasis on rhythm than pretty much any other vocalist I can think of right now - this should be more clear to you after listening to the second audio clip I included. I mentioned Zappa as a big influence on their style; that manifests itself in the music as well as the lyrics… sometime these guys play some pretty goofy stuff but I think it’s fun for all.

Similarly to practically all the great 60’s/70’s rock bands, Beardfish understands the important role that dynamics plays in music. This is most apparent in Part One. During some sections the drums lay out completely for an extended period of time (or an entire song) to result in a very soft and gentle mood. Of course this wouldn’t be powerful without the in-your-face sections, which obviously are included as well.

Some of Beardfish’s songs are more or less in the standard verse-chorus pop structure while others completely abandon this paradigm, and still others, perhaps the majority, are some hybrid of these two styles. There’s also the epic 36-minute Sleeping In Traffic from Part Two whose structure I won’t even attempt to analyze. As an example of what I mean by “hybrid” though, let’s take a look at the structure of South Of The Border (also from Part Two). It starts off with verse-chorus-verse-chorus, at which point one might be expecting a bridge followed by the chorus again. Instead, there’s 1:20 of what I’ll call the “breakdown” section, followed by 1:35 of what is essentially a third verse, except that it has a completely different feel from the first two verses. After that is a 55-sec extended bridge and finally a 30-sec conclusion, ending after 7:43 of music.

As one might expect, Part One and Part Two have a very similar sound. The first is more mellow though, and I also think the song structures are more nonlinear. The second is more active, and I think the songs show a little more maturity - this is my suggested starting point for listening. Destined Solitaire is a different beast altogether, although still clearly Beardfish. It’s a little crazier than the others I think… but maybe a little too crazy. Honestly, I don’t really think it’s a great album yet. I say “yet” because it may still grow on me…

[Aug 24 edit] I just want to clarify my statements about Destined Solitaire. Maybe it isn’t a great album, but it is a good one and definitely worth checking out if you like Sleeping In Traffic Part Two.

I’ve come across a band that has me questioning the already loose definition of jazz I thought I knew. Perhaps it’s just how modern jazz is evolving, or maybe it’s the blatantly different atmosphere painted by the band’s instrumentation. Whatever it is, Portico Quartet is without a doubt very unique. The band consists of drums, a saxophone, an upright bass, and a hang. What’s that? Never heard of an instrument called a hang? Yeah, me neither until I found Portico Quartet. It was apparently first developed in 2003 by a company called PANArt in Switzerland. Needless to say, the use of a hang rather than a guitar or piano has a very unique effect.

All of the jazz I owned prior to Portico Quartet had either a guitar, a piano, an array of horns, or any combinations thereof. But the heart of what makes Portico Quartet so different isn’t just that it doesn’t have any of these options, it’s that none of it’s melodic instruments play more than a couple notes at once. I suppose the upright bass player could strum four notes at once, which does happen from time to time. However the upright bass tends not to focus on chords. But I digress, my point is that a piano or a guitar is much more captivating by themselves than instruments that are physically constrained to play only one or two notes at a time. It may seem subtle, but having an instrument based on chords creates a much more solid core than one based on single notes. This is why I believe pianos and guitars are so prevalent. But beyond that, the lack of a chord focused instrument in a small 4-piece band could make for an overall disconnected presence. Pulling off such a line-up requires well-written compositions, great use of dynamics, and a very tight performance.

Despite all of the aforementioned downfalls of not using a chord based instrument in a small band, Portico Quartet is just as moving and riveting as The Avishai Cohen Trio, Phronesis, Kairos 4tet, etc. Portico Quartet got my attention immediately because of the hang, but the music is so solid that they would have kept my attention regardless of their instrument line-up. If I’ve kept your attention this long and the short audio clip strikes your fancy, I encourage you watch the video below and check out their only album thus far, Knee-deep in the North Sea (2007).

Chali 2na is a name that’s been invoked on this website a couple different times already. But seeing as how he’s one of my personal favorite MC’s - and considering he just recently released his first solo album, Fish Outta Water - I thought he deserved a dedicated post.

2na Fish was a founding member of both Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, and he made important contributions to six albums and countless concerts between the two groups. Unfortunately J5 has since disbanded, but Ozomatli appears to still be going strong. In addition to his new solo album he’s also had an official mixtape, Fish Market, in circulation for a few years now.

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing J5 in concert twice and Ozomatli once. Each time, Chali 2na commanded the attention of the audience unlike any other on stage. He’s truly a performer, and I suspect he probably prefers being on stage over being in the studio. I was actually able to meet him very briefly in 2006 before J5’s concert at the 9:30 Club in D.C. and he seemed like a real cool guy - the type that really appreciates his fans. He’s also huge… dude must be like 6′ 7″.

Fish Market (2004) is definitely a solid mixtape. Honestly, if he was just a little more choosy about which songs made it on (there’s 17) and if he spent a little more time/money producing it, he probably could’ve labeled it as an album instead of a mixtape and reached a wider audience. Some notable guest appearances include J5, Supernatural, and Dilated Peoples. There’s also a track from Linkin Park’s Reanimation album and Ozomatli’s Street Signs album, both of which Chali spit a verse on.

Fish Outta Water (2009) is the long-awaited and much anticipated first true album from Chali. Seriously 2na - what took so long? I remember him talking about this project back when J5 played Bonnaroo in June 2005. And usually rappers release a mixtape to build the hype, then follow it up with an album a year or so later. Anyway, Fish Outta Water was delayed many times and probably for many reasons, but it’s finally out now so there’s no more reason to fret. This album has on overall bright and feel-good mood to it with some R&B overtones. It doesn’t exactly break new ground or anything, but if you appreciate any of 2na’s prior work then you will most likely enjoy this as well. As usual, the hallmarks are Chali’s deep voice and rapid-fire, staccato-style flow. Guests include Talib, Raphael Saadiq, Damian and Stephen Marley, and Elzhi of Slum Village.

Both the audio clips I included are from Fish Outta Water. The first features rapper Kanetic Source from Ozomatli, and the second features soul singer Anthony Hamilton. Also check out Nirav’s Ozomatli post and Dave’s Jurassic 5 post; both of them include audio clips that feature Chali.

There’s nothing I love more than knowing I’m going to love an entire album before even hearing the whole thing. Then again, I’m a music junkie with little to no life. But that’s the feeling I got with both albums released by If These Trees Could Talk. I found their self-titled debut a few months back before their follow-up was released. I would have published a review sooner, but it got pushed back to accommodate several other new releases. Ironically, they had a new release right under my nose. No worries though, I highly doubt I would have listened to the self-titled album more than 50 times before getting the follow-up album otherwise.

I found If These Trees Could Talk (2006) via “listeners also bought” on iTunes (if you think I’ve been beating that process into your heads, wait till you see my editorial next week). I’m inclined to call these guys a heavier and guitar oriented God is an Astronaut. Granted, God is an Astronaut has a guitar player, but If These Trees Could Talk has three… now that’s something I haven’t seen in a while. Although they have the guitar presence to actually pull off Free Bird, endlessly layered guitar solos isn’t what they have in mind. If These Trees Could Talk is post-rock for those who also enjoy bands like Isis, Red Sparowes, Tool, Explosions in the Sky, and maybe even Onesidezero’s debut.

The self-title album opens with their strongest track in my opinion. Malabar Front let’s you know they are post-rock for the guitarist. Somehow three clean guitars all playing something different never feels cluttered. And when the song kicks in heavier and one of them goes nuts with the wah pedal, you’ll never stop and think, “Where are the vocals?” It might take a well-trained musician to isolate what each of the guitars is doing, and although that level of writing certainly raises my opinion of them, the guitars aren’t in your face enough to appear overly complicated. Subtle complication… what a beautiful concept. This theme is prevalent throughout the album if you listen carefully enough. The Friscalating Dusklight even has a 9/8 time signature thrown in. Maybe this is me making a mountain of a molehill, but it’s just a wonderful dichotomy of an unfamiliar rhythm executed in such a way that feels natural. The album as a whole is really quite solid, complete with good dynamics and tonal shifts. The only downside is that it probably shouldn’t be called an album being only 6 tracks and about 32 minutes long.

Need more If These Trees Could Talk? Above the Earth, Below the Sky (2009) was just released this past March and doesn’t disappoint. Once again, the opening track is a slam dunk. In fact, owning the first album and listening to a 30-second clip of From Roots to Needles prompted me to purchase the whole album.  Just like the self-titled album, Above the Earth, Below the Sky has its mix of heavy and mellow tracks, but the second track keeps the momentum from the first building to something barely recognizable as post-rock… maybe some sort of post-rock/post-metal concoction. Of course, the band still takes full advantage of having three guitarists. But what I failed to mention with regards to the first album, and is still true in the follow-up, is that having three guitarists requires a very strong rhythm section. This means tight execution and deft syncopation from both the bassist and the drummer. All in all, both albums are great and I’m looking forward to seeing where they’ll go from here.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I love it when great music finds me. It wasn’t long ago that I published an interview with Jasper Høiby regarding his band Phronesis. It turns out Høiby plays bass in another band that goes by Kairos 4tet (not to be confused with the California based Kairos Quartet). Kairos 4tet is led by a saxophonist, Adam Waldmann, which is a bit of a divergence from most of my modern jazz collection. I’ve been in a bit of a rut of finding only jazz trios consisting of keys, bass, and drums. This, along with the connection to Høiby, was enough to entice me.

Kairos 4tet is more mellow than my other jazz reviews. It’s a little hard to tell if it’s the music itself, or simply the fact that it has a sax in it. While I hate to say it, this simple addition makes the music much smoother. I hate that because there is a general connotation of smooth jazz, which I think is an inappropriate comparison to Kairos 4tet. Simply put, if you enjoy Avishai Cohen, Phronesis, or Esbjörn Svensson, you’ll enjoy Kairos 4tet. Waldmann’s sax is engaging and brings a unique identity the band. For the most part, this band is instrumental, which is exactly how I like my jazz (just a personal preference). However, the third track on Kairos Moment (2009) has a refreshing addition of vocals by Emilia Martennson. Her vocals aren’t just an addition, it’s a contribution and coordination. Her vocals work with the music just as any of the other instruments work with the band as a whole. It’s beautifully orchestrated.

As I said earlier, Kairos Moment is in general more mellow than much of the rest of my modern jazz collection. But that’s not to say some of the tracks don’t have some heightened energy to them. In fact, the album starts out with some building and suspenseful energy. This track, V.C., gives a great introduction to each member of the quartet… allowing each member to shine. The next two tracks mellow out a little, but the album picks up some more energy once again for Russell’s Resurgence. The album continues in that fashion, giving multiple peaks throughout the album allowing for a diverse and moving experience. Kairos Moment is certainly a very complete album in that each track flows, and no track track sticks out more than it should.  Although, Enough is Enough (Hotpocket) does stick in my mind a little more than others because of its exquisite use of syncopation. It’s almost as if the bass and sax are tag teaming the keys.  Sometimes the keys sync with the bass, sometimes the sax, and sometimes both despite playing different riffs. Kairos Moment is a very strong debut album with enticing melodies and excellent use of dynamics. Be sure to check out both Adam Waldmann’s website and the band’s MySpace page to check out some full length tracks. You can also purchase this album directly through Adam Waldmann’s site.

If you’ve been a hip-hopper since the 90’s or earlier you undoubtedly know about the Fugees. I’m not writing this review for you. I’m writing it for anyone out there who got into hip hop some time in the past decade and for whatever reason hasn’t gotten around to checking them out yet.

The Fugess consists of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras. Hill is in my opinion one of the most talented female musicians of the past fifteen years. Not only does she have an amazing voice but she also has a sick flow; she was really the anchor of the Fugees. After they disbanded she went on to record the wildly popular The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Wyclef is also a talented performer and producer. His Haitian/Rastafarian background really comes through in his rhyming and singing styles. Pras has a really unique flow. I’ll describe it as sloppy or lazy… but in a good way. I guess it’s just a more laid-back style than most others you hear; maybe it’s comparable to one of the guys from De La Soul.

They released two albums: Blunted On Reality (1994) and The Score (1996). One thing I like about the Fugees is that they took an active role in the creation of their music beyond just the recording, although I suppose most obnoxious musicians are the same way. Almost every track from their studio albums was produced by the three of them, and most of the remaining ones were at least produced by Wyclef and Pras.

Their debut features steady flows that are indicative of  early 90’s hip hop. Some groups that came to mind to me were Public Enemy, Naughty By Nature, and Salt N Pepa, although I won’t place much emphasis on any of those comparisons. What really sets Blunted on Reality apart from other good hip hop albums of the time is its prevalent reggae influence that gives it a cool Caribbean feel from time to time. This album has a somewhat more raw sound than their follow-up.

The Score is one of those rare albums that is universally praised by true hip hop critics that really know their shit, as well as being extremely successful commercially (18 mil copies sold, 2 Grammy’s, and many other various awards). It has a cleaner, more polished sound than ‘Blunted’ but still carries the quintessential Fugee qualities: conscious lyrics, a trio of different yet complimentary styles, and a reggae influence.

Usually I suggest a starting point for introduction to an artist’s discography. With the Fugees though you should just go ahead and purchase both of them immediately if you don’t already have them. You won’t be disappointed.