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Volume 27, Issue5, September 9, 2004

MUSIC

Album Reviews

BjÖrk
Medulla
(Elektra, 2004)

Dtoo-too, ooow-ooohw-oooh-ah-oooooow, bhm-bhmmp-bhmmpt, these are examples of the sounds found within Bj”rk's Medulla.

When Bj”rk declared instruments to be "so over," her fans were left foaming at the mouth in intrigue. The conception of an all vocal album is wrought with possible failure.

Bj”rk has overcome any doubts and delivered a boundary-busting, genre-crossing, emotionally complex work of artistic genius. The songs range from straightforward a cappella offerings to multi-layered ruminations on the aural possibilities of the human voice. Multiple cultural influences are represented, from the streets of Philly to the Inuit villages of Cambridge Bay in northern Canada, along with her native Iceland.

Medulla features contributions from, and collaborations with, production geniuses and artists with distinct vocal techniques. Rahzel, of the legendary Roots crew, improves upon his beatbox technique and vocal rhythms on "Where Is The Line?" His dabbling in basso profundo on "Who Is It?" was recorded in one take. Tanya Tagaq Gillis is an Inuit throat singer capable of combining vocal polyphonies with vocal percussion techniques. On "Ancestors" she lends the songs in a layer of drones and vocal underpinnings. Cult icon and multi-project frontman Mike Patton is able to reel in his eccentricities to lend support to another's vision

Medulla is not a minimalist affair; there's plenty of texture and layers to be found lyrically and sonically. Bj”rk has again joined forces with producers on the cutting edge of technology. The producers' expertise is evident in the fact that the listener is unaware of the lack of electronic sounds. They were able to "cut and paste" vocal samples to form well-rounded accompaniment. Admiration for the earliest instrument on earth is clearly apparent. From the use of backing drones to the complex vocal arrangements found throughout, Bj”rk keeps one foot firmly planted in the terra firma of history.

Her growth through years of performing has lent her voice an emotional depth, which overcomes the rather simplistic tags initially hung upon her by the media. Medulla lyrically embraces the strengths within the feminine and maternal. The album explores the affirmations of motherhood and Mother Nature. Songs such as "Pleasure Is All Mine" and "Oceania" offer the lines "women like us we strengthen most host-like," and "every pearl is a lynx is a girl."

Do not be afraid of this album. Several songs burst with commercial-radio hit potential. "Where Is The line?" and "Who Is It?" simply demand to be heard again. The art and layout are top notch as usual. Bj”rk's detailed handwriting can be found throughout. And, oh yeah, there are limitless possibilities for home DJ remixes and mash-ups.

- Chip Boehm

Dead Zone
original soundtrack
(Image, 2004)

Somebody once told Stephen King he wrote like he had the heart of a young boy... in a glass jar on his desk.

Stephen King's "The Dead Zone" is a TV series starring Anthony Michael Hall as a science teacher whose life takes a change for the paranormal when a near-fatal car crash leaves him with amazing psychic powers.

The Dead Zone soundtrack is an excellent combination of indie singer/songwriters such as Grant-Lee Phillips and Jeff Buckley, buzz bands like Stereophonics and some up-and-comers like Andy Stochansky.

A great performance on the soundtrack comes from the band The Woods, whose cut, "6 Feet Under," is an acoustic Americana tale of a man's wife lost to a suicide, the chorus proclaiming: "I'm free like you. I'm free like you, six feet under. Can you hear me? I wonder," as the storyteller considers suicide himself.

Anthony Michael Hall's contribution to this album comes in a version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," one of the most beautifully stabbing love songs of the century.

Unfortunately Hall, aka "Rusty Griswold," was allowed to re-record and destroy this song with fake growls and an obvious strain on his voice.

It's hard to picture the star of "Sixteen Candles" feeling it when he recites the lyrics "Love is not a victory march. It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah" and "All I've really learned from love is how to shoot someone that outdrew you" without expecting him to ask for the producer's panties or make a booby joke on the side of the microphone.

- Travis Scott Luther

The Autumns
The Autumns
(Psuedopod, 2004)

The LA based group The Autumns have spent the past two years attracting a rabid, devoted fan base with their distinctive blend of pop styles and their high-energy, immaculately executed live shows. At the same time, however, the band has been steadily stoking the ire and frustration of this growing group of enthusiasts by promising them a fresh and innovative album that never appeared.

Finally, after three years, The Autumns' self-titled release has emerged from its arduous and involved production process. For the loyal fans, the long wait is over. For the rest of us, the new release provides a chance to hear what all the fuss is about.

For all of the melodic diversity and stylistic shifts the band employs over the 13 tracks, The Autumns do a fine job of maintaining a stirring musical mood. Crisp, succinct guitar notes and emotive, falsetto vocals mark the album's myriad styles and structures, and whether it emulates the lilting harmonies and percussive snaps of 50s Doo Wop groups, as on the track "D‚sol‚", or revels in distortion and fuzz effects in the song "Wish Stars," the music retains a tender and poignant energy.

At its best moments, the album tastefully blends a keen sense of varied musical contours and effects, innovative experimentations with song structure, and a mature, poetic approach to lyrics. At its worst, the musical layers become too densely packed, and the overall effect becomes muddled. Still, The Autumns did not waste their three years in the studio; the album delivers on its expectations and is sure to attract a new wave of converts.

- Adam Goldstein

Talking Heads
The Best of Talking Heads
(Rhino, 2004)

Attempting to correctly define the overall musical genre Talking Heads fits into is a bit like attempting to define irony. Everyone thinks they can do it, but in the end most people make idiots of themselves for even trying.

Much in the same way that irony is best defined through experience, the experience that is Talking Heads is best defined through listening, as their genres spread from experimental, modest rock to rhythmic, African-style funk, and seem to miss nothing in between. Their influence is still evident in music today.

The Best Of Talking Heads, a record that contains, in chronological order, the best songs the band recorded, as selected by the original members.

This album is long overdue. It contains all of the Heads' major hits. Anthems like "Psycho Killer," "Take Me To The River," "Once in A Lifetime" and "Burning Down The House" defined popular music of the 80s. But they went further than that. These songs are widely popular, even today, and non-fans of the band find themselves shakin''' it on the dance floor when these hits come on.

The album also contains songs which were never huge hits, yet still showcase the brilliance of the musicians. Songs like "Uh-oh, Love Comes to Town," "Heaven," and "Memories Can't Wait" show off the band's superior songwriting ability, perfectly combining inventive rhythm, beautiful harmonies and insightful lyrics.

This is an album everyone should own, no matter what their musical preference. It is the kind of CD that makes the listener feel lost, without the desire to be found. The accomplishments and influence of this crazy little band from New York are far too great to ignore, and far too extensive not to praise.

- Adam Brown