ALTER.NATION #56
Frankiie, The Babe Rainbow, Moon Duo, Kristin Hersh, Automatic, Twen, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Natacha Atlas, Krokofant, Shigeto, Joe Armon-Jones, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Alessandro Cortini
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"F u n n y F e e l i n g s"
ALTER.NATION #56 on DEEZER
Frankiie - Funny Feelings from Forget Your Head
An indie rock group founded in Vancouver behind singer/guitarist Francesca Carbonneau, Frankiie emerged in 2015 with a debut EP that revealed '60s inspirations including girl groups and surf rock. They strengthen what were subtler psychedelic influences and focus on the harmonic, noir-tinted climate where these styles all overlap on their full-length and label debut, Forget Your Head (Paper Bag Records). Ringing guitar tones and a simple groove set the tone on the first track, "Funny Feelings." Evoking a poppier Grace Slick or Exene throughout the album, Carbonneau's naturally graceful vocals are punctuated by punky shouts and bent pitches that fall in line with the spooky melodic bass, minor intervals, and touches of the distortion that mark the song...
The Babe Rainbow - Something New from Today
Their 2018 release, Double Rainbow, left listeners with something to be desired. It was far too hazy for its own good. Furthermore, it sacrificed the eccentric tendencies off of their debut record which gave them a unique sound. Given the opportunity to be an equalizer, Today finds itself committing the same bad habits.
“Something New” was not only the brightest single but it’s also the brightest cut on the entire album. It displays crooning vocals that are backed by a rich melody. At the root of it all is a groovy bassline that soothes the soul. It’s seductive, plain and simple. It also displays the band’s ability to craft well-rounded psychedelic pop.
Moon Duo - Flying from Stars Are the Light
The sounds that emanate from the speakers when first dipping into Moon Duo's seventh studio album, Stars Are the Light, are different enough from previous works that it wouldn't be all that wrong to wonder if maybe there was a mix-up at the pressing plant. "Flying" is languid and hazy, with Ripley Johnson's guitar dialed deep back in the mix, sequenced synths up front, a shuffling slow-motion funk beat slowly pushing the song forward while Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada's vocals are relaxed to the point of somnambulance, even more than usual...
Kristin Hersh - Glass from Crooked
...At the time, however, Crooked's pioneering release meant it wasn't quite as available to a wide audience as some of her other albums -- a shame, because it's a riveting example of everything that's compelling about her solo music. Crooked's songs are vivid yet open-ended, inviting listeners into Hersh's fascinating stories and confessions. Her songcraft is as startling and hypnotic as ever... and the album's 2019 vinyl reissue is a step towards it getting its proper due.
Automatic - Highway from Signal
On their first album, Los Angeles trio Automatic play a punchy yet detached form of post-punk with a slight sci-fi theme. The group are clearly familiar with early Rough Trade staples like LiLiPUT and Delta 5 (they've even recorded a cover of the latter's signature tune, "Mind Your Own Business," as a B-side), but their droning organs and absence of lead guitars point to Suicide as an equally crucial influence. It's probably worth mentioning that drummer Lola Dompé is the daughter of Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, Tones on Tail), ensuring that the group are well-versed in the darker side of alternative rock, yet they aren't quite brooding enough to be perceived as goth... "Highway," on the other hand, rides out its appropriately driving beat and New Order-style bass line, and manages to evoke a complete road trip without saying anything other than "I drive all night."... This sort of electricity-and-ice dynamic gives Automatic their unique sound and feel, and makes Signal an intriguing debut.
Twen - Honey Smacks from Awestruck
After meeting when they were both involved in Boston's D.I.Y. house show scene, Jane Fitzsimmons and Ian Jones came together to form Twen. A far cry from the unpolished punk and indie bands that incubated in the basement shows of their scene, Twen's slippery sound was moody, thick, and slightly psychedelic. Powerful, steady drumming and loud guitars suggested rock, but Jones' chorus-drenched guitars and Fitzsimmons' expressive and hook-laden vocal harmonies took them into catchier pop territory. After a lo-fi live EP, Awestruck is Twen's fully formed debut, an album that shifts between slow-burning rock moods and soaring ethereal pop. One of the first things to immediately stand out is the way Fitzsimmons blurs her vocals into pleasantly misshapen enunciations...
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - This Is the Place
...The title track, with its name borrowed from Tony Walsh’s poem in tribute to the spirit of Greater Manchester, has more than enough swagger to carry the Parka Monkeys all the way to city’s legendary indie club 42s. It picks up the space-rock (or “cosmic pop”, to use his brother’s words) thread he launched on the last EP and sends it into the future at fuck-off speed with some Stone Roses grooves propelled by proper fierce Primal Scream electro menace...
Natacha Atlas - Maktoub from Strange Days
There’s something extraordinary happening when musical cultures and genres merge to create new atmospheres described as “thesis + antithesis = synthesis” by the fascinating Anglo-Egyptian partnership of vocalist Natacha Atlas and violinist, composer/arranger and producer Samy Bishai. Atlas’s discography speaks of a solo artist who continually explores and develops her route through music, also collaborating with names including Jean-Michel Jarre and Peter Gabriel; and her arrival at large-scale project and album Strange Days marks a significant, visionary shift...
Krokofant - Q, Pt. 2 from Q
Since 2014, Norway's Krokofant trio have blasted across the improvisational landscape of European avant jazz-rock. Each of their previous recordings have intersected the savage energy of free electric jazz (think Last Exit), prog heaviness (à la National Health, Soft Machine, etc.), and riff-laden hard rock and metal. Guitarist Tom Hasslan, saxophonist Jørgen Mathisen, and drummer Axel Skalstad have collaborated on-stage with other musicians in the past, among them, keyboard player Ståle Storløkken (Supersilent, Elephant9) and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (the Thing, Scorch Trio). Hasslan felt his writing and playing would be well served by adding instrumentalists in order to expand Krokofant's sonic canvas. Given the live rapport that existed with the aforementioned pair, they were recruited for Q, a four-part, eponymously titled suite.
Krokofant initiates "Q2" with syncopated, funky tom-toms and single-note organ runs to introduce the ensemble. When they join, the whole band immediately spirals and spikes in jerky stop-and-start phrases that recall Van Der Graff Generator. Dynamics shift as Storløkken's organ solo becomes contemplative, exploring minor keys and EFX-laden overtones. At six-and-a-half minutes, the shortest cut here is the most "songlike" on the date.
Shigeto - MCW from Versions
Before he started producing electronic music and signed with Ghostly International, Shigeto (Zachary Saginaw) learned how to play drums while attending high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during the late 1990s. Mentored by Vincent York, he learned the art of jazz improvisation, and discovered how to play by intuition. He carried this technique over to his solo performances, incorporating live drumming into his electronic compositions. With his 2019 EP Versions, he comes full circle, arranging some of his electronic pieces for a jazz ensemble. He's joined by several close, frequent collaborators associated with Detroit's jazz, ambient, hip-hop, and house scenes, including Marcus Elliot (tenor sax and flute), Ian Fink (keyboards), Brennan Duncan Andes (bass), Dez Andrés (congas), and Christopher Koltay (modular synths)... The highlight of the EP is "MCW," which updates "Field Day" from 2012's Lineage, truly a hidden gem in the Shigeto discography. Slowing down the track's borderline jittery pace, the new interpretation makes the beat much more danceable, and transfers the song's lovely melody from keyboard to saxophone, making it come alive.
Joe Armon-Jones feat.: Georgia Anne Muldrow - Yellow Dandelion from Turn to Clear View
Turn to Clear View is very similar in sound and feel to its predecessor, perhaps because it was cut hot on its heels. Songs were penned quickly with basic tracks cut in just two days. Armon-Jones spent months overdubbing and in post-production, and the album is steeped in South London's nearly boundary-less jazz aesthetic, 21st century California funk and soul (think Thundercat), exploratory IDM, sunny hip-hop beats, and, to a lesser degree, Afrobeat and dub... Muldrow appears on the set's true highlight and single "Yellow Dandelion." Its caressing horns, twinkling synths, stacked chorus vocals, and sunny, swaggering electric piano recall Herbie Hancock's Fat Albert's Rotunda sessions as well as Thundercat.
Alessandro Cortini - Dormi from Volume Massimo
Throughout his solo albums for vanguard experimental labels like Important Records and Hospital Productions, as well as his extensive work with Nine Inch Nails and Ladytron, Alessandro Cortini has always fused technical mastery with pure emotional expression. Volume Massimo is his first album for Mute, and it pulls the pop elements of his compositions into a much clearer focus without actually being a pop album... Cortini's vibrating synth tones, coated in a tactile wash of fuzz, are often accentuated with wintry guitar textures, and even a few sly riffs...
