It must have been destiny because listening to this chill, modern-day jazz recording was the perfect, and I mean perfect soundtrack to the first half of my ride. As I hit the recently-deserted-for-summer UNL campus, the third track “Short Strokes” began, which is a somber piece that perfectly expressed the lonely landscape of an eerily anti-hustle and bustle major college campus. As I made my way out to the country side, the mood that the record creates further found a perfect companion in the sunny, still, 75 degree, late spring Midwestern evening. Not to kick a dead horse but the whole thing really was perfect.

All good things must come to an end as did Barbee and the Mattson twins playing. I pulled off the highway onto a gravel road for some water and to make my second selection. As you can read in an earlier post, I have been listening a lot to Donald Harrison’s This is Jazz Live at the Blue Note, not so much for Harrison’s playing, but more for Ron Carter’s, who is one-third of the trio. Unfortunately, This Is Jazz hasn’t found its way onto my iPod yet, but Carter’s Dear Miles has been on there for years. Selection #2 was selected and pedaling resumed. I can’t say it was undeniably fitting as Barbee and the Mattson’s but it was a close second that accompanied me as I rode (literally) into the setting sun. I love interactive experiences with the music we love such as this one that I had tonight. And, oddly enough, it really had nothing to do with being an audiophile.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the band was releasing their second full-length just days after I stumbled onto their first. Nootropics, which was released on Ribbon Music, takes the band in a different direction. The swirling guitars are put to bed and the absence of them leaves a stripped down, krautrock version of the band’s initial offering. Hunter’s vocals have surfaced but perhaps only because there is less for them to be buried under. Nootropics is definitely a bit more mature then Twin Hand Movement but I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss those guitars a bit. In light of their absence, I still dig the record – a lot. Like Twin Hand Movement, it also becomes more and more familiar with each listen. Reflecting on these two records has me genuinely curious what else the band has up their sleeves. I don’t think Lower Dens will be garnering any big-time attention anytime soon – and that’s just fine. When fans of the band cross paths, they’ll know they are part of a secret society of sorts.

Donald Harrison is a new name to me. On a recent birthday record shopping trip to Omaha, NE, I was introduced to Mr. Harrison via a listening station near the jazz section at the record store. Yes, it’s a sad sign of the times that I have to drive an hour to get to a standard record store. Once there, I was like a kid in a candy store, being reminded of how much I missed the experience, the ritual, of buying music in a record store. The instant gratification of it all. It was great. Anyway, I bought Mr. Harrison’s newest offering which is a live recording of a trio that also includes Ron Carter on bass and Billy Cobham. Apparently, this trio has a few other recordings together so the three of them are no strangers to playing together. I wish I could say, based on this recording, that I’m a newly made fan of Harrison’s. But I can’t, so I won’t. Harrison (who plays alto sax) can blow good enough, I guess. He’s just vague. No phrase, no line, no statement (macro or micro) really sticks out and his solos lack articulation. He doesn’t suck but he doesn’t shine. Good thing Carter is there to save the day. I don’t typically think of the bass player in a classic jazz setting (even a trio) as one to be in the foreground. Here, Carter is front and center, and despite being in the twilight of his career, displays some of the freshest ideas and presentation both as foundation and in his solos. The first two tracks on the record are written by him so I guess he had a good launching point, but he is solid throughout. I was settling into the ho-hum nature of Harrison’s lengthy solo on “Cut & Paste” (tr. 1) when suddenly Carter takes over with his solo. His sliding notes and shifting tempos caught my attention and immediately redeemed the recording – and the quality remains consistent through the recording. Don’t let my critique of Harrison sway you away from the disc – Carter’s playing is so good, it makes tracking this disc down totally worth it. Sonics are above average, though I wish Harrison’s saxophone would have been mic’d a little closer giving it a bit more definition and intimacy.

This is the first full-length from Icelandic charming charmers Of Monsters and Men. My Head is an Animal is a folksy, familiar sounding record with anthemic elements thrown in that will have you humming for days. The dual him/her (Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir/Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson) Vocals work damn-near flawlessly with neither taking a back seat to the other. Seeing photos of the chunky Þórhallsson next to the long, dark haired Hilmarsdóttir, I can’t help but think of a young Black Francis and Kim deal. The launching point for the attention deficit crowd is “Little Talks” which is the obvious first single and nudge that got the Monster ball rolling. My Head is an Animal is not a record that has 4 minutes worth paying attention to surrounded by 40 minutes of filler, fluff and trash. On the contrary, with each listen, I have the oh-I-forgot-about-this-song moment over and over. Accordion and the occasional trumpet spice up the regular rock band instrumentation. Ultimately, to my ears, Of Monsters and Men is a band that makes music that reflects the wide-eyed, the-future-is-ours-as-we-drink-our-coffee-out-of-a-cup-half-full youthful bliss. I, on the other hand, am an old guy who just writes about music and uses too many dashes when doing so. The kids have chops though – and can actually play and sing. Watch and listen below if you don’t believe me.

Listen.

Watch.

The new Trampled By Turtles record came out this past Tuesday. Its a doozy. For those that aren’t familiar with the band, Trampled by Turtles play a percussionless form of “Nu-Grass” which is a punk tinged version of bluegrass. For those who are familiar with the band, Stars and Satellites is another chapter in the band’s book that I hope doesn’t end soon. TbT isn’t the type of band that reinvents itself every couple of records but rather slowly evolves into a better version of itself with each new release. Here we find the band as polished as ever playing both heartstring tuggers as well as their signature breakneck bluegrass blasts. I saw them play a few years back and the boys can back up what’s on their records. They can play at death metal speeds and do so in complete sync with each other, aurally defining the word ‘cohesive.’ Stars has a bit more studio work than previous records with vocal overdubs and such. Recorded in Duluth at Soleil Pines, the sonics are well done – warm and intimate – but still a studio recording. I picked up the CD at the usual big box/big chain store for a reasonable $7.99. You have no reason to not check it out.

Soundcloud.

via the Sonist Concerto 3‘s. Another oddity, John Zorn’s Taboo and Exile skips all over the place. But, once you get past the schizo nature of it, it begins to feel like a soundtrack almost – though the track order creates the story. Not necessarily an everyday listen but then this is John Zorn. If you break it down by tracks – there is something for everyone here. My personal favorite is “Koryojang” and “Koryojang (End Credits)” which are percussive tracks featuring Cyro Baptista and Joey Barron. Absolutely infectious. And, its on Tzadik so the production and packaging is top notch. Dig in!

Classic.

Candidate

Not from Unknown Pleasures – but great nonetheless

I know, I know. There has been no shortage of press and attention given to this record and the guy (Justin Vernon) who made it.  I would argue though that the attention is fairly given. Way to hurdle the sophomore slump, I say.

This story has to do with his first record but seeing it a few years back completely sold me on his down to earth, not-trying-to-sell-a-persona persona:

Bon Iver Interview

And here’s my personal fav from the new, self-titled (pictured above) record:

Bon Iver – Calgary

Erik’s a great guy and despite his nickname, is anything but an ass. He’s a really nice person, matter of fact, who is kind of like an older brother I never had. Among his many stellar qualities, Erik is a clever gift-giver. It has gotten to the point with him that when it comes time for my kids to open their gift from him on their birthdays, a subtle hush drifts over the other family members that are there in order to hear Erik’s explanation for the gift he gave.

Erik's Donkey Tattoo

For example, recently my daughter had a birthday and Erik gave her a gift certificate – which in and of itself is not necessarily anything witty. However, the gift card was attached to a red rug. As has become par for these events, everyone looked a bit bewildered, obviously wondering why Erik had given a girl celebrating her seventh birthday a red rug that was meant to go in a kitchen or bathroom. Erik went on to explain that every time he came to our house, my daughter was the first to greet him as she typically comes outside to say hello before he can even get to the front door. He went on to explain that this behavior always made him feel as if my daughter was rolling out the red carpet for him and since it was her birthday, he wanted the red carpet to be hers. See – pretty clever. Wouldn’t you agree?

So, along with being a great gift-giver, Erik is also a music lover and audiophile. I was over at his place the other day where he brought to my attention that he was currently going through a minimizing of his possessions – removing some clutter so to speak. Before I knew it, I had been given a Sony SCD-CE595 SACD player. Erik has been a fan of the format for years now and had accumulated a number of SACD players – having not one but two SCD-CE595’s. I guess it was stuff like this that he wanted out of his life. His only instructions were that if I didn’t care for the player, I needed to return it to him so he could pass it on to someone else.

Plain-Jane looking disc player

I’ve had brief experiences with the SACD format in my own system and though I thought it sounded better than red book CD, I was never completely sold on the format to the point that I was willing to buy a player and start accumulating SACD’s. That said, though Erik’s gesture of giving me the Sony was very thoughtful and generous (he could have sold it on eBay), I was kind of dreading hooking the thing up and giving it a listen. As someone who reviews audio equipment, these types of things can sometimes be a drag. At the same time, I would be an idiot to pass on the opportunity to at least play the thing a time or two and give it a fair shake. So along with the player, Erik leant me a handful of discs to play. What a guy.

I went home and hooked the thing up and loaded it with discs – it’s a 5 disc carousel. How un-audiophile! Its aesthetics aren’t very audiophile either as it shares the same look as its older, yet less refined siblings that just played CD’s decades earlier.

I’m not exactly sure what had me doubting the format earlier but I’m in Heaven now as the entry level Sony sounds absolutely wonderful.  SACD has been around for over a decade now so I’m not proposing that I’m shedding some new light on a format that appears to be heading for extinction. I am just sharing my experience with the format that I wish would stick around longer.

Miles Davis’ ‘Round About Midnight SACD is plush and textured and detailed. I’m experiencing all the things I have been reading about for so many years. Another SACD believing buddy of mine leant me Beck’s Sea Change – a record I love and am already very familiar with, owning it both on CD and LP. It sounds amazing – waaay better than the CD and toe to toe with the LP. There is just so much more information there and the subtleties are so much more apparent. When I switched to the CD version, the music became dull and lifeless and flat in comparison to the SACD.

Chich Corea’s Rendezvous in New York is another great sounding title with stellar playing to match – though I could probably do without the Bobby McFerrin.

The only SACD’s that I have been a bit disappointed in have been the various Blue Note’s that have been released. They don’t sound horrible but compared to the other SACD’s that I have been enjoying, I think they could sound better.

I would love any input and recommendations of particular SACD’s to seek out now that I have decided to commit on a format that is nearing extinction. Better late than never.

Thanks for the player Erik.

Erik and Thad