Music

The Invisible

Review: The Invisible’s Rispah

The Invisible: RispahThe Invisible: Rispah (Ninja Tune, 6/12/12)

“Protection”

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The sophomore album from London-based pop-rock trio The Invisible opens with thick, mournful swirls of keyboards intended as a send-off for guitarist/singer Dave Okumu’s deceased mother. Evoking a painful separation at the shore between life and the afterlife, the keyboards give rise to the contrasting buoyance of traditional Kenyan folk singing. Within seconds, Rispah (named after Okumu’s mom) announces itself as a work of rich ambiguity.

Green Carpeted Stairs

MP3 Premiere: Green Carpeted Stairs’ “Midwestern”

Green Carpeted Stairs: s/tGreen Carpeted Stairs: s/t (Fake Four, 6/12/12)

“Midwestern”

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Though Colorado-based Neil Ewing has found himself among underground hip-hop circles with his project Swimming with Models, he’s been making a name for himself in Denver’s experimental scene via indie venue Rhinoceropolis. And though his new Fake Four label-mates include such names as Busdriver and Sole & The Skyrider Band, his latest project, Green Carpeted Stairs, does not limit itself to any genre. Ewing instead crafts an aesthetic for himself that’s influenced as much by hip hop and R&B as experimental electronic music — something like a collaboration of 2012 Busdriver, The Postal Service, and Ritualz.

Giant Sand

Review: Giant Giant Sand’s Tucson

Giant Giant Sand: Tucson

Giant Giant Sand: Tucson (Fire, 6/12/12)

“Detained”

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Every writer of dusty Western laments has a few items on his or her bucket list. If you are Howe Gelb, of the long-running Arizona-based Giant Sand, recording an expansive country-rock opera was on it. Or perhaps, after nearly 30 years of making records, it was the only thing left to do?

Mucca Pazza

Review: Mucca Pazza’s Safety Fifth

Mucca Pazza: Safety FifthMucca Pazza: Safety Fifth (Electric Cowbell, 6/12/12)

“Boss Taurus”

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If Chicago’s tourism committee was serious about a new theme song—one that made people want to come to Chicago rather than, you know, kill themselves—they wouldn’t have chosen Chicago (the band), Buddy Guy, and Umphrey’s McGee. They would’ve chosen Mucca Pazza.