Backcatalog - Sirsy, Rough Guide To Undiscovered World

Sirsy

Revolution

Label: Funzalo
Released: 2010
Genre: Rock, Pop Rock

I picked this up on a whim from a tent sale at the local record shop - mostly because I liked the swirls on the cover art (yes, I'll buy albums based on cover art). I had no idea what I was getting into, though the band photo on the back - one guy, one girl & the colors (black, white, red) probably should have tipped me off to some kind of Red Stripes knock off.

Thankfully, not really. As far as pop-rock goes it's not bad, it's also not great. Just some generic, well produced, decently executed, radio friendly rock songs. If I had to draw some comparisons I might toss out 4 Non Blondes or Breeders, or the hundreds of mid-90s post-grunge bands whose names I never remember.

But that really wouldn't be fair, because it's not very 1990s rock at all. It's solidly 2000s indie rock in feel and styling. I kind of like it in that 'put it on in the back ground, or in a big playlist' kind of way. It's good enough that someone whose really into this style, or just this band, will likely love this album. Nothing made me want to turn it off (which is a win, honestly). The band hasn't been around too long, hopefully there will be more down the road I can run across and see how they're progressed.

The Rough Guide To Undiscovered World

Label: World Music Network
Released: 2012
Genre: Folk, various 'world'

Sometimes the Rough Guides that try and travel the globe, or even just one continent, are hit or miss. This one manages to be done better, or at least put together better. The songs seem to fit nicely, not in a pattern, or genre, or styling, but a song compliments the one that came before it. Making the whole album nice to listen to.

The one thing it does miss is the Americas, almost entirely. A few songs - ones from the west coast of Africa - pull in some Latin elements, but that's it. Which is kind of funny that a compilation called "undiscovered world" omits the "new world". The fifteen tracks we do have are definitely good, and from countries that don't get a lot of global exposure.

Sunday Morning Blues - Lead Belly (Take This Hammer)

Lead Belly

Take This Hammer (compilation, best of)

Label: Complete Blues (division of Snapper Music)
Released: 2004
Genre: Blues, Folk Blues, Country Blues

First a little history on the name of the album - because it's been reused at least half a dozen times by as many labels. All of them a 'best of' collection in some form or another. Ledbetter never put out any formal albums himself, only a large collection of singles through out his life (both in and out of jail). Take This Hammer, a famous folk song, was recorded once by Lead Belly and put out on a single in 1942. He died in 1949 and the first anthology to use this title was released in 1950. The one I found happens to also be a U.K. Release, technically an import into the US.

Some of the collections are long out of print, only a few ever made it out onto CD, under this title at least - he has literally dozens of collections out there. So what's in this one? Aside from being the most recent, and easily found collections (well, under this title...), twenty songs across his entire career. A pretty good selection from straight blues to faster jump and slower country blues. Leadbelly had a fantastic range in his repertoire, and this collection shows it off nicely.

While the collection is good at providing accurate credits of who wrote which songs, and any accompaniment (of which there are very few). It does not provide when or where these recordings were made. Some appear to have been pulled from his library of congress recordings, some from various sessions throughout his life. But I'm not entirely sure to be honest, just going by the quality of the songs. All are of good quality, but some are better than others. A Decent enough collection with a good diversity of songs on it.

Week Of 5/9 - Folk, House, Industrial

This week is a bunch of David Guetta, Sara Watkins, and Unter Null....

New Releases:
Sara Watkins
Sun Midnight Sun
Label: Nonesuch Records
Released: 5/9 2012
Genre: Folk, Americana, Pop

There's something interesting happening when I listen to this album. First, I was hoping for more of the fiddle Watkins is known for, never had heard her before and being a fan of a good fiddle. Alas, there is very little here aside from the opening instrumental song. After that, the album is good. Very listenable, the whole thing is oddly familiar though. I spend a moment or two on each song thinking 'hey, I know that...' and of course it's just triggering the idea of a different song. Her voice is familiar in so many different ways, like a dozen different artists, without actually being derivative or copying them. It's a very odd feeling having that many "I know this artist, I just can't place them" moments. But it's good, because it's not copying, just... familiar. Weird. Honestly, very weird. But I like her, and will be finding more of her work in hopes of hearing that fiddle some more.

Adding To The Collection:

David Guetta 
Nothing But The Beat
Label: Capitol / Astralwerks
Released: 2011
Genre: House, Techno

Of the Guetta albums I picked up, this one is the best. It's a solid throwback to 90s House without sounding dated and repetitive. I think it's mostly due to the sheer number and talent of the collaborating artists here. There's a lot of good stuff going on here, lots of poppy and catchy tunes, solid dance floor bouncers. Could do with less autotuned and modified vocals though, drowning a good vocalist in electronic distortion is just annoying. If you want a harmless dance-techno album to have on hand, this is a good choice.

David Guetta
Just A Little More Love / Pop Life
Label: EMI
Released: 2010
Genre: House, Techno

This is a double album re-issue of two Guetta albums - his first and third (2002 and 2007) albums. An odd choice to skip the second studio album in a double re-issue like that. I never really got into Guetta before, and listening to both these albums in full I can say I'm still not into his early stuff. Taking each in turn quickly.

Just a Little More Love is a nearly completely unimaginative facsimile of mid 90s house music of the most generic type. It is pure pop-techno, radio friendly and while you can dance to it, the DJ probably puts a bigger bassline behind it.

Pop Life, bit comparison, is a definite progression in ideas, sound, and form. This time taking the better parts of 90s House, less pop-techno, and tossing a little more variety into the mix. Five years did wonders for the style and form of Guetta's music here. It's still kind of generic feeling, but has enough variety to make it a decent enough album.

Unter Null
Moving On
Label: Alfa Matrix
Released: 2010
Genre: Industrial

The third album release, and the second on Alfa-Matrix, thought lost in a fire. The music is dark, a little foreboding, heavy and, at times, liberating and uplifting. A general theme of moving past poisonous relationships and ideas permeates, even as some of the lyrics are full of invective statements they still convey a sense of relief. A kind of catharsis comes through the heavy, if mostly slow, music. And some of it kicks up a notch, like the Obligatory Club Hit To Appease The Masses. A kind of manifesto for the album on the idea of appeasing fans instead of playing for them. It's really a great album, and her voice is not the standard female vocals, even stripping the layers of effects her voice is a little deeper, darker, than most acts. There's an unkindness coming through that fits the Industrial genre so well, I highly recommend this album.

Bonus Track:

Army Of The Universe
Take Control
Genre: Industrial-Rock

Army Of The Universe is one of my favorite new bands to emerge in the last couple years with a full release. Their album is great stuff, and this track had to get left off originally. Luckily they released it free for fans, and it's just more of the same great industrial-rock their album is full of. Seriously, you need to check out this band, I think they'll just keep getting bigger and better in the next few years.

Next Week:
More David Guetta, a double remix album. The new KMFDM single, taking one of the stronger tracks from WTF?! And .... well, I'll leave the rest as a surprise (meaning I randomly choose from my pile of waiting music next week).

Listen Hard!

Week Of 12/28 - Jazz, Modern Classical, Ambient, Scottish Folk, Modern Arabian

The last week of December 2011 saw... well, absolutely nothing new worth getting. Not even digitally. I did find a hardcopy of Burial's 2011 release, so that was a bonus "new release" - a last hurrah of 2011. A few compilations this week as well.

New Releases:
Burial - Untrue
Label: Hyperdub Records / Cargo Records
Released: Spring 2011
Genre: Ambient
This piece of dark ambiance, with just the slightest hint of dubstep under it (Burial is usually known as a dubstep producer), is really interesting. It reminds me a lot of early to mid 90s era Future Sound Of London, not in a derivative way. But in that nostalgic kind of way that nearly makes you think you haven't quite left that time period yet. The albums rolls forward smoothly, the ambiance is not in light in nature. It's deep rolling bass, kind of like an impending twilight, not afraid to create dance style rhythms, without ever quite reaching that club-level sound. All mood and background. Easily one of the best albums of the year, and to my shame I didn't seek out a copy earlier. The cover is a grey-scale piece, which perfectly sets the mood for this - things are dim, but not bleak, deep without being heavy thumpers. Absolutely go find a copy (digitally or otherwise) and add it to your collection.


Adding To The Collection:
Pizzicato Five - Unzipped EP
Label: Matador Records / Atalantic
Released: 1995
Genre: Modern Jazz, Pop
Another EP off of Pizzicato Five's brief dalliance with American exposure. They didn't become huge, but they had enough clout to toss out several singles off their one major US record. This EP comes from their addition to a soundtrack for the movie 'Unzipped' - hence the EP title. It contains four tracks, Happy Sad (from the movie), and a remix of it, If I Were A Groupie, and a remix of CDJ. Overall, it's decent, light, happy sounding, and just a four track EP. Unless you run across it as a cheap album like I did, nothing particularly great is here. That said, nothing particularly bad is here either. Like I said, light and happy sounding, poppy jazz rhythms and beats.

Unwoman - Wildness & Artifice (2CD Edition)
Label: self-released
Released: 2005
Genre: Modern Classical, Dark Ambient
This is the second full release from Unwoman, it's full of dark ambient rhythms from sythns and drums, and her cello, piano and voice. Most of it is of a modern classical bent, with some overtures towards downtempo styles and beats. It's far from dark itself, at least in total. Unwoman's voice is smooth, halfway between rock and trip-hop a lot of the time. The 2CD Edition (technically I have the digital version) comes with a 7 track 'acoustic' disc. Honestly, I don't particularly like the acoustic versions. It's just her voice and one or two instruments for each version. They lack the depth and even clarity of the non-acoustic versions with the percussion and beats behind them. A good early album, you can hear Unwoman's sound shaping up, gaining confidence in being a solo artist here. Worth picking up if you're an Unwoman fan.

Rough Guide To Scottish Folk - 2CD Edition with Maggie MacInnes
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2010
Genre: Folk, Scottish Traditional
Rough Guides are, as I've pointed out, great ways to get into a particular genre or region. It's easy to get Irish and Celtic music, Scottish contributions aren't as readily available. This compilation is full of folk music from the upper portion of the British Isles. It really sounds lovely, not overwhelming with bagpipes (as that's what usually pops into mind when you here "Scottish Music" - I'd actually wager bagpipes feature in less than half these tracks. Plenty of fiddle, guitar, soaring vocals, and dance numbers. Though, it's very full of arias and ballads. Less jigs and reels than I would have liked, but not so few that they're missed. Also, like many Rough Guides, it's a little haphazard in composition. Good to put on with other music in the genre (or near it) and hitting random, not as cohesive if you just hit play and listen. And, many tracks are sung in Scottish accents (as expected), which makes them a wee bit hard to understand to this American. Not a bad thing, just makes it difficult to sing along if that's your thing.

The bonus album is the album Bhon Chridhe from Maggie MacInnes, definitely a good deal to get two albums in one. Her voice is soft, her music is light, cheerful. It's not loud, it's not all fiddle and reels. A good album, though nothing stands out as magnificent, still worth the price either by itself (also on World Music Network) or with the Rough Guide. Another stack of songs to put on a random rotation when you need something Scottish in the background.

Between the two, I actually recommend finding a disc of two of Irish Folk and liberally mixing the two up, the sounds are similar enough they compliment and different enough to keep it moving.

Arabian Travels
Label: Sex Degrees
Released: 2001
Genre: Modern Arabic
Six Degrees compilations are just as good as World Music for gathering together a very diverse group of artists from a region or style in one place. It makes the album as a whole a bit non-cohesive, but that's hardly a problem. It's less a genre-compilation and more a region-compilation where the more diversity the better. This one goes to the Arabian peninsula, and bleeds into Persia and India as well, to find some of the best modern artists from that region. This one covers the gambit from exactly what you think modernized traditional Arabic music should sound like to Banghra House beats. It's almost a little too all over the place. Also, it's really a lot of English DJs and Producers who are of various Indian and Arabic decent that bring traditional music heavily into the future. It could due with a little more artists from the region and a little less modern house elements. Still, definitely a good album to put on at a party you want to keep things upbeat without actually having a dance floor spontaneously form in your living room.

Onto 2012:
No bonuses or surprises this week. The future holds more of the same next week (Indian, House, more Modern Classical and some Rock). But Sundays will, starting this coming Sunday, focus on The Blues. I picked up a massive 52-CD blues compilation that spans literally the entire history of the genre and touches on every major aspect (from Delta to Chicago, R&B to Rock N Roll influences) and about a hundred different artists. I'll be going through it, two discs at a time, for the first half of this year. Vinyl Files will get snuck into weekly updates occasionally, and pick up again over the summer on Sundays unless I find any more giant box sets between then and now.

Listen Hard!