Marla Mase:"Half Life"

Holding up to the True Groove Label's crusade to bring new music to 2014 on a monthly basis, Marla Mase is followis up her "Speak Deluxe" album with "Half Life". Since this is an ep, Mase doesn't waste time. She opens up with a driven punk number that caries the ambiance of Kim Gordon fronted Sonic Youth. The song brings to mind some of the more accessible moments from "Goo", laced with a PCP like hit of the Stooges.

Like her previous album their is no shortage of dynamics in the color spectrum of musical diversity that characterizes True Groove's Global Soul vision statement. The title track embraces elements of funk set against a Sade like simmer, while not forsaking Mase's alt-rock leanings. Her lyrics take a more introspective and personal turn this go around.She muses her idiosyncrasies with a sax backing the beat.

Mental health is tackled in her social dissection in "Things That Scare Me". The quirk in the melodies bring the B-52's to mind. Although this is a club mix is still rides the new wave line between dance and rock the Talking Heads once waltzed over. The distorted guitars keep a rock glaze over the song.

Bill Laswell pops up laying down the bass line to an almost Tom Waits inspired brooding number called "the Heart Beats". The lyrics ponder the universal truths music inspires, that is a familiar concept on True Groove projects. This is followed by the Rolling Stones like shuffle of "Gaping Hole".More lyrically self aware than Jagger's apologies for being a beast of burden, Mase instead questions the gaping hole the masses seek to fill with relationships as much as they do drugs of any flavor.

The reprise of "Drown in Blue" resembles the opener very little, instead taking a more intimate blues approach.Another True Groove alumni Charlie Funk contributes backing vocals to the blues rock of "Bitch in Heat" that finds Mase holding fast to her more subdued vocal approach while the groove winds around her. There is a pretty ripping guitar solo, I assume to be courtesy of Doncker , whose band once again backs Mase for this album.

The ballad "Hold Fast Your Dreams" is inspired by the Louise Driscoll poem of the same name. This goes back to the type of 1920's lounge , but with the air of indie rock to it, not unlike something you might hear in a more cheerful moment of a David Lynch film or even the Velvet Underground's Nico comes to mind.

This is more to the point than "Speak Deluxe" due to the abbreviated nature of the medium she chose to present these songs in, but sometimes less is more and this works for Mase as a more concise portrait of where she is . She continues to carry on True Groove's vision and does it in a very thought provoking manner. If you are in New York on June 12th , make sure to catch her at the Cutting Room and see how these songs translate live.
    

St. Vincent : s/t

Annie Clark earned her place on her by contributing vocals on the new Swans album, but she has also collaborated with Talking Heads front man David Byrne, so she runs in some illustrious Manhattan circles. This electro pop weirdness on this album is not unlike that from Bowie's "Scary Monsters" album. This is her 4th solo album, she got her start with Polyphonic Spree, though there is hardly a trace of their happy hippy pop.

The first single "Birth In Reverse" an ode to her bi-polar disorder, is poppy enough for the hooks to do their job, but not screaming sell out by any means.John Congleton of the Paper Chase produced this album. Clark calls it a part album you could play at a funeral, and I don't here this until the 80's synth ballad "Prince Johnny". It reminds me at times of Cindy Lauper. Despite having the talents of the drummers from Midlake and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings on the album, most of the percussive elements are programmed.

Though I would not call his album goth or dark wave as it's in the same sphere as maybe Imogen Heap, it still has the depressive undercoating to off set the more manic dance tendencies. The close to acid jazz "Huey Newton" might not carry the despair of Portishead, but expresses similar emotions. Normally electronic based music has a more plastic coating , but this album still manages to evoke a broad scope of emotions.

If you caught her performance on Saturday Night Live then you heard the very Prince influenced "Digital Witness". This vocal lines are also Sinead O Connor in the way the fuse quirky solemn phrasing with pop gloss.  "I Prefer Your Love" has kind of a "Nothing Compares 2 U" feel , but it is not as well crafted and is the first song that doesn't hit me on first listen.Lyrically I appreciate it. Her melodies are still better than whats on the radio today, but is the first awkward moment of the album.

Redemption comes in "Regret" a pop song of sorts that carries more punch, though her trademark seems to be to float out of  the groove in a more airy vocal line. It is some of her best guitar playing on this album. The song is arranged as a call and response. The song that resonates most with me on first listen is the often
acapella "Bring Me Your Loves" it has a dose of funk in space, that coils around her vocal acrobatics.

For the songs to be called "Pyschopath" it is very happy. The pulse of it is is cheerfully tense. The lyrics convey a similar state of mind, though bi-polar in they dynamic in way the chorus of this song juxtaposes it self against the pulse.The song works though it's not my favorite on this album but works better for me than "I Prefer Your Love". It's sense of movement keeps it going and compliments the often upbeat feel of the album. But she is upbeat in a similar manner to Xiu Xiu's more song oriented efforts.

The groove to "Every Tear Disappears" is pretty decent, but after you have delivered some pretty stunning moments, I think pretty decent isn't maintain your stride and falls more towards filler. I think the fact the vocal lines don't have the same attention to detail given in their construction is what keeps this song from soaring. The Sinead O Conner vibe returns on the slower paced "Severed Crossed Fingers" . As far as the albums slower moments go this song is stronger than "I Prefer Your Love".The melody is more defined and the music kinda floats behind it forcing her vocals to do most of the heavy lifting, but in this case it works.

I will give this one a 9.5 . I might grow on me, the songs I was lukewarm on were still good, they just didn't contribute to what I felt to be the album's momentum. The more amazing moments balanced things out and make this a pretty fun listen overall ,

Survival -S/T

 I had almost forgotten this  new project from Liturgy's Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, was still waiting in the wings. The self titled album finds Greg Smith, and Jeff Bobula from the hardcore band Crushed team up with former band mate Hunter from when they were in a screamo band called Birthday Boyz. The album has been in the making for five years and was finally put to wax with  Colin Marston from Krallice and  Dysrhythmia  who recorded this at The Thousand Cave studio and the album sounds great  it is warm, full and organic, in some ways it reminds me of Aesthethica if it were mixed with Tool the clean sung and heavily harmonized are like Hunter's screams in Liturgy not the focal point of the songs which take some twists and turns .

From the opening you can feel a little of the Smashing Pumpkins groove that Hunter has eluded to in interviews prior to this albums release. The harmonies are a little Alice in Chains at times as well, but the album wouldn't be labeled as grunge due to it's angular nature and the guitar tone isn't fuzzed out and Sabbathy for the most part. Most of the time the guitar sounds like smoothed over Liturgy devoid of all the blasty mcnasty. 

The Tool comparison comes in with the mathy way the riffs bob and weave around one another. Unlike Tool they are not headed towards a big arena rock chorus. There is also something more organic and rock n roll to their sounds where Tool is darker and almost industrial. "Original Pain" takes the groove of the first song and boogie to it before winding away in a similar maze of dizzying turns. I takes the first three minutes before the ears here distinguishable traits in the the path way set out for the vocals . 

"Freedom 1" winds its way to life from the labyrinth the other songs were crafted from, but with a more shimmering jangle to it's chords. Like Liturgy, when it comes to writing songs they are not a afraid to just let the riff sit on its own to be fucked with and devoid of vocals. In some ways on this one there is a Mastodon thing happening. "Second Freedom" has a vocal chant to it that floats over the syncopated punches that are scattered under the song like a mine field.          

 The reprise of "tragedy" is under a minute so it seems more like an interlude rather than a free standing song, it mainly vocal harmonies swelling. "Since the Sun" breaks down into a slower acoustic ebb, that is haunting but minimal. They come blaring back into the tightly wound Tool like syncopations on "Our Way" and "Freedom 3", which are both similar in tone. Freedom 3 sets itself apart in tempo of the verse and goes into a more droning punch which is pretty cool.    

  I think fans of Liturgy will be able to appreciate this, though most black metal fans were either open minded enough to like them or got caught up in the hipster element and never gave the band a fair shake. Hunter has said in interview he sees Liturgy moving away from black metal, as he doesn't want to repeat himself, so this album makes a lot of sense. 

I will give this one an 8.5 as it's a fun listen and still growing on me, though most of the songs have a very similar feel to them and sounds like variations on a theme, just set to different tempos, rather than building dynamically.  

Up From the Underground : The Como Brothers Band "Baby Steps"

It's easy to get tied into a genre or scene, especially in New York, where music community is tied into their local pockets. Yet the city holds a rich musical history and diversity and that diversity is what the these two brothers bring to their album "Baby Steps" . Getting their start in a Long Island  based Beatles Tribute band with Andrew as George and Matt as John, and the traces of the Fab Four still linger in their leap to original music, but is not hampered by it. The Beatles themselves employed a great deal of stylistic variance and that sense of adventure is what the Brothers took from that.   


The funk packed into the album's opener is pretty impressive, with a Stevie Wonder swagger that hits as pretty legit, even if its counter balanced by a more pop inflected take on the vocals. Where someone might Justin Timberlake takes on a colorblind affectation to adapt his vocal style, these guys seem confident in their ability to blend with whatever the musical back drop might be. "Numbed" comes across as more of a indie rock number as it shed the urban groove the opener held. These two have great ears for melody and know how to blend them into the cracks of the songs. The jump in stylistic changes might be a tad jarring, but the common ground is good catchy song writing.

They take a more mainstream approach on "Only Me" the lyrics narrate a tale of awkward romance, that is written in a very personable voice. This could be the theme song to any quirky teen sitcom, but not to dismiss this as bubble gum, as the song writing is highly refined. " Straight Face" takes on more of a Billy Joel feel, it feels like a New York summer in the Seventies, as it's very sax heavy.

The try their hands at folky ballad with a very western campfire feel, though some of the harmonies hold a hint of the Beatles on " Hang My Head" and then switch over into a more shadowy groove of "Late Nights" its hard to believe these are the same to guys who four songs ago brought you a frolicking teenage puppy love anthem. This song is miles of maturity away from that and comes across as a regret lament to hard living in the night life.

They return to the more beat up summer in Central Park vibes on "Hey Kristen," this song also comes the closest to dipping into blue eyed soul vocally. While definition this is pop music, it is in the same way Billy Joel or the Beatles more light hearted moments would be. This relatively guilt free pop music though I know for this site there is no such purgatory for some.

There is some really solid guitar playing on " Chasing Ambiance" the Paul McCartney influence returns in the vocals, though there is a slight indie rock indifference in the relaxed cadence. There's also a slight bit of David Gilmore in the soloing. The gears seem to be primed to returned to the blues slur of  New York grown pop. "Make a Move" opens with some doo-wop and then goes skipping into the bustle of the Big Apple.  The strummed guitar patten is pretty typical for Jason Mraz style pop but these  guys blend a very blue collar vibe to it.

They return to seedier funk groove on "Broken" in some ways it takes an indie slant a band like Minus the Bear might employ in  the casual approach to the melody. The western twang of re-verbed out guitar opens "Honestly" and leads into a more sweeping chorus. The song feels much like " Little Wing" by Hendrix, though the sweep to the chorus is much more  in the vein of say Travis or Coldplay. The album exits with a more funk tinged groove though it lies in the same neighbor as the their more Minus the Bear influenced rock moments.

The vocals are very malleable without losing their sense of identity, the back drop changes like that in a musical but there is not the sense these guys are just trying on different hats trying to find themselves but have already found their voice and like providing varied scenery for it .

http://comobrothersband.bandcamp.com/album/straight-face-and-late-nights-singles
https://soundcloud.com/comobrothersband/sets/comobrothers-album-preview

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-como-brothers-band/id509053062
CdBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TheComoBrothersBand