Robert Wyatt, '68

Drummer-singer-songwriter for the original Soft Machine lineup, Robert Wyatt had much to do with shaping the sound of that band in its early days. His whimsical songwriting style, faux casual vocal delivery and busy progressive drumming stamped the band as a world apart. Of course Mike Ratledge on keys gave the band something critical too, but then his influence stayed with the group throughout its first quasi-psychedelic period and through most of its later jazz-rock incarnation.

That first period was something in its own right. The Softs carved a distinct niche as a proto-progressive rock art band that sounded like nothing before. At the peak of the band's initial exposure (after touring with Hendrix) Robert Wyatt recorded some sides in a New York studio, then more in California. Only half of it ever saw the light of day. But now the whole is out and you can hear it as '68 (Cuneiform). There's a limited edition LP and a CD version as well. And it is most welcome for its own special qualities and the light it sheds on the period.

Wyatt comes through with a set of often quirky unpredictable numbers, playing many of the instruments himself (though Hendrix is on bass for one, and sometimes the keys sound uncannily like Ratledge) and giving us quite a bit more of the songwriting he was doing with the Softs. There is even a first version of "Moon in June", that iconic Wyatt song that formed a side later on when the Softs reformed and recorded the double-album Third. Here it has its own trajectory--not better than the Soft version, but interesting in its own way.

If you love Wyatt and the early Soft Machine's approach, this will most certainly be a revelation. Not everything here is a masterpiece--some is a little silly, but only a little bit of it. The rest you won't want to miss.

It's probably the reissue/unissue of the year for me. So give it an earful, please.

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!

Song Sparrow Research, Second Album

Today an alt band from Seattle who have named their second album simply Song Sparrow Research (self released), which also happens to be the name of the band.

This is a brightly jangley and deceptively straightforward guitar centered rock band that has some real songs that can give things a twist and get in your craw.

The musicianship is tight and the arrangements direct in a band-oriented way, but that can be refreshing and in fact is. The singer reminds just slightly of Morrissey but ultimately goes his own way and carries a distinctive signature sound.

It's a good sign that I've heard this one a bunch of times and it continues to grow on me. It's art rock and I hope it gets a good hearing out there.

Elysian Fields and Their Thoughtful New Album "The Afterlife"

Elysian Fields is a group for a post-post-post world, for everything that comes after everything that went before. Very young people (like still in high school) don’t quite understand that world. It’s the nature of youth not to feel the weight of the recent past. And that’s good for them. For the rest of us, there is this music for us to savor.

The latest album by Elysian Fields, The Afterlife, has all the charm of their previous efforts, only there is a quieter, more reflective stock-taking in the lyrics and the music has that suspended on the edge of another epoch feel to it.

The group is Jennifer Charles on inimitable vocals and Oren Bloedow on guitars, with a solid cast of others. This is not heavy music in terms of edgy weight, thought it does have some push when needed. It is indie art song, if you pardon the phrase. It’s the darker side of life and love (and death), without dwelling on the obvious of what that means. The lyrics are thoughtful and poetic and the delivery by Ms. Charles puts the whole thing in the class of world-class dream. I dream you dream we all dream for. . . what? Elysian Fields tries to grasp that elusive feeling that is complex and ineffable, the post-post life out there to live, after what has gone from us remains only in memory.

Musically the songs are quite strong and have originally written all over (and under) them. The arrangements are very well-honed. Jennifer is in a vocal world that she owns; nobody quite has her quality. Super laid-back, impeccable phrasing and a dead-on pitch center that she has the ears and skill to play around with. This music triumphs! The album is out in a good vinyl edition and I’m sure also as a download. Their site www.elysianmusic.com has details.