CD review - Thomas Neptune, Down To Earth (2011)

Rich production and a great pop voice

Thomas Neptune is riding a wave of hype and excitement based on winning the pop category in the 2011 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for his song, Unbreakable. The multi-instrumentalist is capitalizing on this springboard with four song EP, Down To Earth, that melds a singer/songwriter persona with a strong, pop oriented sound.

Down To Earth features lush, full arrangements that emphasize Neptune's pop aspirations. They're carefully constructed with delicate layers and subtle touches that never sound thick or busy. It's an extremely polished sound that puts Neptune's strong voice squarely in the center.

Like his contemporaries Bruno Mars or Jason Mraz, Neptune's sweet spot is a modern R&B soul sound. But his voice seems richer and warmer than either of those guys. He handles dynamics well, hitting a Bryan Adams rock sound then dropping to an intimate conversational level on The Good Times.

The songs themselves are fairly pop oriented, colored with an Americana vibe. The vocal drive and production are top notch, but it's early yet to see what kind of depth Neptune will bring to his music over time. Right now, songs like We're Beautiful show off his upbeat side:

Some are on their knees, praying to the East
Others wear a rosary
Your skin ain't quite like mine, in fact it's rather light
Why can't we all be colorblind
...
Been all around the world and one thing's sure
We're beautiful

It's a wonderful sentiment, but the lyrics are simplistic. It's no sin -- it's a catchy song and it should spawn some wonderful moments in live performance.

Give Down To Earth a listen and evaluate the hype. I expect we'll be hearing a lot more from Thomas Neptune.

CD review - The Wednesday Club, So Claw/Sour Crow (2011)

Double release supports short attention spans, but offers indie pop gems

When the Wednesday Club simultaneously released So Claw and Sour Crow, they intended the two albums to be appreciated separately. Reading between the lines, though, it's more likely that the three members had each written a folder full of songs and this reduced the number they'd need to cut. Despite their unwillingness to triage the material, the songs are all fairly solid, albeit short.

Stylistically, the twenty songs bounce around between a few distinct approaches. Their 80s new wave pop influenced songs play like brief homages to the Cure and Modern English. The pop psychedelic tracks might merit a tip of the hat to Guided By Voices, but the influence is less overt. Similarly, the edgier indie rock songs might evoke bands like Pavement, but that's more of a point of context than a direct reference.

Regardless of influences or style, the Wednesday Club is adept at creating idealized pop music that goes beyond being merely catchy and memorable. Their songs all have an aura of familiarity. It may just be the vagaries of my taste, but Sour Crow is a bit stronger.

Sour Crow's opening track, She Eats Brains, plays like Robyn Hitchcock and Pavement teamed up. The opening starts out like the Jam's That's Entertainment. Garage rock, new wave slickness, and punk energy are stirred together into a satisfying amalgam. The little guitar jam is all too short, but wonderful nonetheless.

This leads into Duet, whose intro and verses channel Modern English's I Melt With You, with lyrics reminiscent of the Cure's Friday I'm In Love. Bouncier than either of those two songs, the lyrics seem catchy but don't stand up to much scrutiny:

These sheets are canvases
On which I'll paint my thoughts
Inconsequential
Though they are, they're all I've got
Until I put them in the washing machine...

It may be nonsensical, but it's foot tapping perfection.

The best example of the Wednesday Club's pop psychedelia is Rat Facts on the So Claw side. It start with a Velvet Undergrounds-style understated beginning. The mundane lyrics get subsumed by the building layers of sound that push the song into a headier space.

Cleansing the pop palate, The Punchening (So Claw) melds odd vocals to a Pavement oriented song structure. The vocal arrangment pairs half spoken lead lines with conversational "harmonies". Jerky rhythms transform hesitation into something more visceral.

The genre hopping song flow and shorter song lengths seem geared toward an ADHD audience. It might have been better to cut the songlist by a third and explore the remaining songs more fully. Still, despite the differences in writing style, the three members of the Wednesday Club muster plenty of enthusiasm for each others musical visions. That energy makes So Claw/Sour Crow worth checking out. Grab a free download here. I also recommend the lyrics sheet, which puts the songs into some kind of context.

Concert review - They Might Be Giants

3 November 2011 (Boulder Theatre, Boulder CO)

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants (TMBG) are touring with two fresh albums. Earlier this year, they released Join Us and their new album, Album Raises New And Troubling Questions releases later this month. As they played material from both albums, the band suggested that Join Us is better, but Album makes up for it in quantity. That kind of low key, self deprecating humor set the mood for TMBG, who delivered the full package for the excited crowd: quirkiness, humor, sincerity, and exceptional musical talent.

After the first song wrapped up, TMBG thanked us for coming out, "We know you have your choice of ossified alternative rock bands, and we're happy that you chose to fly with us tonight." This was a special show on the tour. On the downside, opener Jonathan Coulton didn't join the tour for this show. Still, TMBG performed their full album, Flood, albeit in reverse order. The rationale was that the conceptual second side of the album shared their real emotions and feelings as a band.

The show was structured with a short set at the beginning followed by Flood. Finally, they tagged the show with a 20 minute encore split into two parts. This gave them a chance to share a mix of old and new material.

The stage set up was roomy, giving guitarist John Flansburgh plenty of room to move around, hauling his mike stand with him. John Linnel spent the bulk of his time anchored stage center at the keyboards. A projected backdrop adapted to the various songs.

The first section of the set had a number of wonderful moments, from a spirited vocal performance on Alphabet of Nations (Here Come the ABC's) to new track Cloisonné (Join Us) featuring John Linnel on bass clarinet. The audience participation piece, Battle For the Planet of the Apes, was a lot fun and proved to be a recurring theme. The crowd often reverted back to chanting, "APE! APE!" or "PEOPLE!" at random moments, eventually leading Flans to blurt, "Please! It was just part of the show. It was not supposed to be the whole show" with exasperation.

As TMBG wound their way back through the songs on Flood, they stayed true to the band's earlier personality, but changed the songs to take advantage of having a full band. So, Hot Cha had a nice, jazzy interlude and We Want a Rock had a stronger, anthemic feel. The peak of the set, though, was Istanbul (Not Constantinople), which featured a wonderful "Miller Time" intro by guitarist Dan Miller. He riffed off the melody to start, but soon took off into a jazz interlude with elements of George Benson and Allan Holdsworth before settling into a flamenco groove.

In typical eccentric fashion, TMBG threw a break between the two theoretical sides of Flood. It was a tribute to Don Kirshner's Rock Concert with a song by their sock puppet alter-egos, the Avatars of They (and a photo of Meg Ryan!). The band wrapped up this hysterical break with a solid cover of Free Ride before getting back to Flood.

The only negative for the show (aside from the missing Coulton) was the sloppy musical mix in the house. The sound was fairly muddy, with an over-dominant kick drum. Birdhouse In Your Soul suffered the most from the mix problems. Despite this, They Might Be Giants gave the crowd both what they wanted and deserved: a great mix of old and new songs, an full night's show, and quality entertainment. Keep an eye out for their visit near you.

More photos on my Flickr.

CD review - Beats Antique, Elektrafone (2011)

World-tronica band evolves their sound, but keeps their quirks

Elektrafone is an evolutionary step for Beats Antique. They haven't abandoned their idiosyncratic mix of live instruments and electronic grooves, but their latest emphasizes glitchy electronica more than their world beat vibe.

Does this shift signal a weakening in Beats Antique's character? The opening track, Cat Skillz, shows off the newer sound and emphatically counters any worries. Their unique vibe is evident from the start. The tag groove is anchored by a baritone sax and synths that set up a stalking rhythm: step, step...pause. This gets ornamented with a shimmering layer of electronic sounds. The beat is fairly straightforward, but the syncopation stays interesting. The central theme is reworked through several voicing change ups. Additional horns fill out the sound.

When Cat Skillz fades down and the wonky strings and off kilter beat of The Porch kick in, the last doubts fade away. The violin melody offers a reminder of the band's classic sound.

My favorite track was Uneven, which calls back to a more familiar world-tronica groove. Wisps of sound coalesce to start the track. The exotic strings create an Indian feel that plays against glitch and scratch parts along with traces of dub step bass. The moody mix of analog old world and modern digital sounds hits that perfect balance that Beats Antique mastered in their earlier releases.

Siren Song was another intriguing interlude. The atmospheric track has a pensive tension, starting from the piano that tolls the opening notes. The glitched elements are offset by the discordance of the 20th Century classical tonality. The mood is thick as the violin line devolves into a chaotic wildness, only to pop back into place. Glitchy creaks and other sounds fit together to create an eerie vibe. It's a wonderful programmatic piece that would be a great backdrop for some of Zoe Jakes' choreography.

Elektrafone's celebration of glitch still supports Beats Antique's special character. Even with fewer Mideastern beats, old fans will appreciate how the band continues to expand the genre of electronic music.

Previous coverage

• Blind Threshold
• April 2011 concert