Review: Little Roy – Lithium
Veteran jazz-funkster Little Roy plucks another plum from his Nirvana heralding album ‘Battle For Seattle’. ‘Lithium’, is the sort of track that is out there to be embellished, but the task of jazzing it up isn’t as easy as it sounds. Little Roy’s gritting over of his vocals means that the murkily mysterious lyrics get drowned or horned out, at times.
Some of the grit and gruel is removed from the original, but the pedestrian percussion and hounding horn lag brings out a different forlornness. More of a groove inducing vibe is imparted to this classic grunge number and, Little Roy’s added profile gives the song a Jools Holland and radio friendly edge.
New Smiths Tribute Out December 13th
American Laundromat Records has enlisted a herd of indie-rock luminaries including The Wedding Present, Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch, Throwing Muses co-founder Tanya Donelly, Telekinesis and Stars to contribute covers of more than 20 classic songs by The Smiths for a new tribute album to be released December 13, 2011.
The double-CD set is available for pre-order in three configurations: a $13 bundle, which includes the CD and a one-inch promo pin; a $20 bundle, which includes the CD, a limited-edition 7-inch with three more covers, a download of those tracks, and the pin; or a $35 bundle, which includes the CD, the 7-inch, the downloads, the pin, a T-shirt and a “private preview of the album.”
Review: Aviv Geffen – Mr Down & Mrs High
Grandaddy skirting vocals cushioned by some swooning female backing, twists together with a spindling guitar led accompaniment, opening out this folk and pop fusing EP, through the title track. Geffen’s vocals possess enough elasticity to pull off the yearning build and then chilling out for the catchy chorus. It’s sincere, yet not too grating.
‘Highway’, is a stepping key-led indie touching sojourn, as Geffen’s vocals hover and soar to give off emotion and heart. Toe-tapping percussion touches rub in some needy rhythm, although the track does have a slight stale, one dimensional feel. The slow turning, soulful femme backing led ballad, ‘Jerusalem’ is a stern communication of bemusement at the modern world. This evergreen muso, whose debut album was released in 1991, tops off this searching and catchy EP, with a Finn Brothers mirroring, bounding effort, ‘When Summer Comes’. It’s a colourful pop pearl to be proud of and it underlines Geffen’s ever present enthusiasm for song-crafting. There’s worldly warmth on display that many artists of this ilk fail to capture and often sound false a result.
Geffen continues to ply his trade oblivious to the current fads and trends. This approach could lead to another colourful and ranging twenty years of releasing honest and heartfelt music.
Video: Low – Try to Sleep (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
YouTube – Low – Try to Sleep (OFFICIAL VIDEO).
From the Record, C’mon
http://www.subpop.com/releases/low/full_lengths/cmon
Directed by Travis Schneider
Featuring John Stamos
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