Allan Holdsworth, FLATTire, Music for a Non-Existent Movie

Everyone knows by now that Allan Holdsworth is one of the prime electric guitar innovators of our era. He is a sound innovator, with a beautiful violin-like tone. He plays solos that have harmonic and melodic implications that too put him in his own league of crafty one-man stylists, a line-and-chord innovator.

Allan recorded his 11th album in 2001: FLATTire, Music for a Non-Existent Movie. It's been unavailable for a while but now resurfaces, slightly remastered, sonically enhanced and available for all to hear on MoonJune (053). Here we get a chance to listen to Allan not so much as guitarist--he appears only very briefly with a conventional instrument--but as musical thinker, as harmonist, melodist, as both spontaneous and methodical composer.

That is because everything else on this disk is generated by Allan with his synthaxe (except two cuts that bring in Dave Carpenter on acoustic bass). The instrument enables Allan to play on a guitar fretboard with strings and such, but then have that signal act as a MIDI-controller. So you can activate keyboard-sounding synth notes and chords (as you play the guitar setup), but you can also do whatever else a MIDI-controller does, including generate and control electronic drum beats.

So this is an album of Allan as self-orchestra if you like. It is Allan as he thinks melodically, as he thinks harmonically, minus the guitar attack and tone.

That takes a little getting used to. But in the end, this is first-rate cosmic electro-music as only Allan could and might piece it together. It's very much Allan and so it's going to get you smiling and digging it if you appreciate who Allan is underneath those amazing guitar runs. They are still there anyway, but as synth runs.

It's not for everybody maybe. And who is everybody? But if you clear your head and just listen without expectations, it's a damned fine album! I am glad to have it and glad it is back.

Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores, Sister Death

When you join bluesiness, avant psychedelic rock, folk rock and some kind of Goth in the spooki-est morbid-macabre way, you have something like what Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores give you on their album Sister Death (Cuneiform). This is a band that is so much of a piece it doesn't help much to say "it's a little like this" and "it's a little like that" because they aren't.

Alec sings and there's a female singer, too. And that works well because they both can sing. There is a kind of universal folk strain going on here, from all over the place, often taking on a minor key. But I hear everything there from Ireland to the Balkins by way of Transylvania and beyond. There's accordion in good measure, often electrified and altered. And keys in general make for distinctive ambiance throughout.

What else? The arrangements are worth the visit alone. They are very quirky and original. The songs come together as songs, dark and foreboding at times, rocking oddly at others.

This is one-of-a-kind music. You will do well with this if you are suited toward the corners of the musical universe, which most of my readers tend to pre-select themselves for. And if you like that spooky thing like I do.

Bravo!

dUg Pinnick, Naked

Someone who sings "all you got is you, what you gonna do?", who has come on hard blue times, scuffling, in a tough-chew of a world where things are not quite right...that person has my sympathy and gets my ear if there's music worth hearing that goes with it. This totally applies to dUg Pinnick and his latest, Naked (Rock Army MVD 5819A).

Who is dUg? He's leader of hard-rock trio King's X, but mostly on this he's playing everything--lots of guitars with thick drop-down growl, basses, drums, and of course vocals.

What I like about this is the edgy hardness of the group sound, good riffs and structure, songs with punch, and the in-your-face honesty of it all.

His singing reminds me of Smithereens vocals by Pat D. is it (?), but harder and no trace of power pop here, except, yeah there are definite SONGS that hit you full force after a while.

It's a slammer and it's well done!! Whoo!

Farthest South, Omens and Talismans

Something outside and captivating perhaps? What about the latest from the group Farthest South, Omens & Talismans (FSW 001)? It's an Israeli band.

I didn't know about these folks previously. This one stands out, though, so I surely know them now. Apparently it's their first, though they have individually worked in other situations. Barry Berko (35) and Yair Etziony (37) play some combination of guitars and electronics, but I am not sure who is doing what. Yair Yona (32) is the bassist. Albert Beger guests on sax for this set.

The album opens up a cavernous maelstrom of droning machine-like electronics and reverb drenched guitar, bass and sax.

There are some rather wonderfully spaced soundscapes and avant grooves to be had on this one. Recommended.

Thurston Moore & Loren Connors, The Only Way to Go Is Straight Through

Before I go into describing the music on the album at hand I should first say that this was/is an extremely limited edition release--a vinyl LP available only in physical record stores. From what I understand this was made available to select stores on Record Store Day last month. You may have difficulty finding a copy, in other words. . .

That having been said, what we are talking about is an electric guitar duet between Thurston Moore and Loren Connors. The album is entitled The Only Way to Go Is Straight Through (Northern Spy LP). Moore, most readers will know, was a key founder of Sonic Youth who has since gone on to new projects. Loren Connors is an avant blues and otherwise musician who has been involved in a number of associations and has assumed a kind of legendary status out there.

The two crank it up for two sides of feedback, droning bends, scratchings, etchings, melodic and anti-melodic expression, and general psychedelic mayhem. The two segments were recorded live, side one at The Stone in Manhattan, side two at Public Assembly in Brooklyn.

There is good pacing and variety to be had here, for those accustomed to the more noisy a-temporal sort of avant rock out there. It is a very good set of jams. Good luck finding it. Your favorite cool record store might have a copy left?

Ladyfinger (NE), Errant Forms

Today's post in a way is of a piece with yesterday's. We turn to another rather vital modern rock outfit, Ladyfinger (NE) and their third album to date, Errant Forms (Saddle Creek LBJ-177 LP/Digital). It is to be had as download or as a clear vinyl limited edition LP, the latter including a pair of 3-D glasses to view the cover with!

This is a band realizing a sublime sort of punk-classic rock maturity. The band drives hard with guitars and rhythm dominant, yet the songs, with notable vocals and lyrics both, have a subtlety that puts them in contemporary currency as not the typical rock group.

Like UUVVWWZ's second (reviewed yesterday), this Ladyfinger effort shows a musically drawn series of pictures that have been subject to some care. This grouping of new songs shows a bit more polish than the UUVVWWZ set, but both have power to spare. Both groups have given us some very first-rate songs to like. In both cases also the guitar-bass work has something much stronger and less cliche than some of what we hear these days and it has to do in part with the interesting structures the songs call up. There's a good deal to hear, ponder, grok on Errant Forms. Plenty to like!

And "like" I am doing with this one. Certainly one of the better "real" rock outfits playing today!

UUVVWWZ, The Trusted Language

OK, then. Here I am at 3:29 AM on a Tuesday morning. So why am I awake? I would like to say it's because The Trusted Language, (Saddle Creek LP/CD LBJ-179) the second album by UUVVWWZ, is so goddog interesting that I couldn't sleep. The reality is somewhat more mundane. It wasn't the band, though I feel strongly about this album. I am just awake, is all.

Since I am though, I could think of nothing that would keep my lids pried open more aptly than this four-tet. They hail from Lincoln, Nebraska, where perhaps the daily round there was such to allow them to devote two years to the songs on the album. In any event the time spent has paid off. The lyrics are off in an involved way and the songs themselves have a punky-skronky asymmetry that makes for provocative listening.

Lead singer Teal Gardner has a way about her, perhaps slightly out-of-control in a deliberate fashion, just a hair, though. I mean a little off of the pitch in a purposeful way, do you get me? There's an in-your-face matter-of-factness going on with her also, along with a cool sort of yodel for a second now and again. It's rough and ready and appealing what she does here. The band--guitar, bass, drums--has worked out some garage-y thrash that has twists and turns far beyond the norm--avant surf, zombie riffing, just off-of-center weirdness in general...

I find myself not tired of this record and I am working on listen number five as I write. Now that says something about the music. It's unexpected and non-cliche, so that I am still getting much out of my earful at this point. If you are going to listen to indie-windy-whatever-wave we-are-on music, then respect yourself and glomm onto this, for one. And whatever else of course. But I do recommend the thrust of UUVVWWZ to rocket you out of boredom and into someplace else better.

The album is pressed in limited quantities and includes a CD copy in the jacket, which is a very good idea. But it wont be available forever so unless you want to go with a download you should grab one soon.

There is no guilty pleasure here. It's a very good go! I hope they keep it up, too. Now would I post this one on my classical or my jazz blog? Duh, no. That doesn't take away from the real and original thing happening with these folks. So hoist one and be of good cheer. Or just listen.