When I was a stripper at the Cheetah III, we had a calendar on the wall that listed all the upcoming conventions so we’d know which nights the club needed extra dancers. Our favorite convention was “The Chicken Pluckers,” a huge gathering of those in the poultry game (and ironically, I detest chicken), whose members, if one were to judge by their behavior, were not audited on their expense accounts.
Music
Hopewell Announce Spring Tour
Indie psych rockers Hopewell will be touring for most of March in support of the release of their fourth album, Beautiful Targets, last summer on Tee Pee records. Mercury Rev references aside, though sonic ties are undeniable, Hopewell maintains a poppier, and, in general, more enjoyable attitude throughout their latest album, evidenced by the numerous positive reviews in the months following its release.
Valet: Naked Acid
Valet, the recent recording moniker of Honey Owens, is seemingly caught between two ideals: playing ambient music and playing rock ‘n’ roll. On her 2007 debut, Blood Is Clean, she bounced back and forth between sedate, nebulous exercises and fl eshed-out pop songs, though she never clung to either.
Less than a year later on her second album, Naked Acid, Owens has a similar M.O. The record’s eight tracks teeter between atmospheric psych-rock songs built on loose foundations and mellow, ambient tracks that maintain a user-friendly sense of melody.
The Matana Roberts Quartet: The Chicago Project
The Matana Roberts Quartet is led by saxophonist Matana Roberts, a Chicago-born New York resident that is accompanied by a list of Chicago luminaries: bassist Josh Abrams (Town and Country), guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise), drummer Frank Rosaly (The Dave Rempis Percussion Quartet), and 79-year-old saxophonist Fred Anderson.
Most of the ensemble lines in The Chicago Project are Parker and Roberts, but Parker’s tone, the album’s production, and Roberts’ strong playing make it sound like there’s a much larger lead section at work. With Abrams’ and Rosaly’s abilities to hold the rhythms down, these tracks click and bounce while illustrating the sum of the group’s parts. “Thrills” is grounded on some mean pseudo-ensemble playing, led by Parker’s nimble arpeggio. Rosaly’s drums dart between the main signature and a slower vamp, playing as out as possible without totally losing the downbeat.
Mahjongg: Kontpab
Comprised of seven members with a unique collective vision, Mahjongg makes Africaninspired left-wing dance music. The group speaks of a Matrix-inspired struggle between “The Grid” and “The Sphere,” and it gathers in performances dubbed “warning orbs.” Kontpab, a concept album on K Records, is the group’s second full-length.
Named after the ancient Chinese game of strategy, Mahjongg covets the asset of human knowledge. Much darker and moodier than their previous work, this record brings their ideology—the power of science and love—to the forefront. They do it with a haphazard approach. Musical ideas are all over the place, making the album hard to appreciate upon first listening. Their previous albums have been consistent in chaos, and Kontpab is no different in that regard.
Lyrics Born: Everywhere At Once
Bay Area MC Lyrics Born (aka Tom Shimura) has a reputation for combining inventive old-school funk with playful, tongue-tripping lyricism. Hip hop fans in search of sober authenticity may be turned off by LB’s booty-shaking R&B style, frequent skits, and insights on life’s mundanities like relationships and telemarketers. But anyone who’s already a fan of artists like Little Brother, who combine hip hop with a sly wit and a ‘70s-variety-show sense of silliness, will know what to expect from Lyrics Born.
Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-la-la Band: 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
Standing tall amongst slow-burn instrumental groups like Explosions in the Sky, Red Sparowes, and Do Make Say Think, the newest from Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band eschews the repetitive, amorphous soundscapes of their previous releases for more structure and thunder. Averaging fifteen minutes each, 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons’ quartet of aural epics demands the same undivided attention as a great novel, lest you miss its braided ebbs and flows that reach exhilarating, apocalyptic heights.
Oppenheimer: Take the Whole Midrange and Boost It
When they were young, Irish natives Shaun Robinson and Rocky O’Reilly were probably the type of kids whose curiosity got the best of them, pushing buttons that read “Do Not Push” whenever possible. Years later, joining under the name Oppenheimer (supposedly because it sounded cool, not in reference to the famed Manhattan Project director), the two are still pushing buttons and tweaking control knobs, but with the purpose of producing their own gadget–infused tunes.
ALARM Magazine Presents: Dub Trio CD Release Show at Subterranean
ALARM Magazine Presents:
Dub Trio CD Release Party in Chicago
With special guests Foreign Islands and Jai Alai Savant
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Subterranean: 2011 North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60640
21+. Doors @ 8 PM.
This show is FREE! Come early to make sure you get in.
Join ALARM Magazine in celebrating the release of Dub Trio’s latest record, Another Sound Is Dying, out now on Ipecac Records (vinyl available on ROIR).
Die! Die! Die!: Promises, Promises
Die! Die! Die!’s second album, Promises, Promises, has all the characteristics of a postpunk revival. The New Zealand-based trio attacks with the highbrow snottiness of Wire’s Pink Flag, while brooding with the moroseness of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures.