The Bees
- title
Punchbag
- label
We Love You
- format
- CD5
I first learned of The Bees when I bought their "No Trophy" single on We love You, mistaking then for The Bee Men, who I love (see gullbuy reviews on June 12 and June 19). The Bees are Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher. "No Trophy" was a reggae vocal track with Beach Boys harmonies. The B-side was a dub version of the song that I preferred to the original version. I started seeing articles on The Bees saying how great they were. The Bees had a track on the 'We Love You so Love Us Too' compilation. This single starts with "Punchbag", my least favorite of the three songs here. It reminds me of 10cc and Squeeze, with a horn part like the band Chicago. The song is OK with repeated listenings, but I guarantee that on initial listening you won't like this track either (I tested this on several people!). The second track "Town Version" has beach sounds with birds and a melody that sounds like The Temptations "Just My Imagination". A sax provides the melody over a reggae backing track. Some background vocals drift nicely in and out. Eventually a real voice says "everyone's free", then repeats "free" a few times. It is a fine cut that I like a lot, but not as much as the last cut, a cover of the Jorge Ben song (as covered by Os Mutantes of their first record) "A Minha Menina". The Bees perform this track with feeling and great sound. The sleeve says the track is taken from their 'Sunshine Hit Me' LP, so I guess we have a new record from them to look out for.
Faves: 2,3
I loved Birdie's LP 'Some Dusty' but ended up tired of too many subsequent singles from the record, and a sleepy samey sound. This 3 song EP is so much better than I expected! No new sound on it - just 3 new tracks, two of which I will sing along to gladly and play over and over. The third track ("Lift Up the sun") is not bad, I just don't like it as much as the other two. It is a soft track with Paul Kelly's harpsichord, flute and mellowtron, and the narcotically smooth vocals and backgrounds of Deb Opening song "Sidewalk" was written in sympathy for the homeless. Deborah Wykes sings how she "used to be so discreet, with the drifters out in the street, but now it looks like I'm going to be, searching in doorways for somewhere to sleep". The chorus knowingly tells us "You don't choose to sleep on the sidewalk". It has a super infectious melody with the trademark background vocals Deb perfected when she was a backing vocalist in Saint Etienne. The second track "Natural Star" is my favorite track on the EP. It has that drum / tambourine syncopation that the best Mod tracks always pull, an upbeat sound and the chorus "You may think I'm a fool, understand me; I wouldn't change if I could". They may as well be talking about their sound. It would be easy to rank on Birdie as a one sound band, but that would be crazy if you like that sound, which I quite do. A special note: the vinyl 7" version has a different B-side, "Send and Receive", which I've heard is a fine song.
Brain Donor is Julian Cope and two members of Spiritualized, Doggen and Kevlar. This is the second single from them. Julian Cope was the leader of the 1980 band The Teardrop Explodes, who released two incredible LPs, 'Kilimanjaro' and 'Wilder', before Julian went solo. Julian wrote several books and has remained as a solo performer for many years. Brain Donor is a project which goes far outside of any predicted path for Julian in 2001. The first single was like Iggy in his Stooges phase mixed with 1977 punk rock. "Get Off Your Pretty Face" is like Mc5 or Steppenwolf, complete with guitar solos. It is a heavy proto-rock track with Julian's voice shining through in this unlikely setting. My favorite track is the second cut "Who Will Entertain Your Moron?". The riff sounds very familiar - like a Stooges cut - though I can't quite place which. The voice sounds very different than Julian usually sounds (to those of you who don't know his voice, it is usually instantly identifiable in any track he's recorded). On this track he alternates between a low pitched voice and an over the top strained voice that could fit in an emo band. The song reminds me of the 90's band Laughing Hyenas. Best of all it just sounds like Brain donor, without hauling any real debt to anyone into its grooves.
Girlfrendo's latest 7" has one song from their recent 'So You Are Here Again, Shadow?' full length and three new songs. The A-side "10 000 km" sounds better here than it does on the full length, though it still pales next to their earlier material. On the B-side, "Brutal Mistake" is an acoustic song that does not do anything for me. It reminds me of the solo project Cat Skills that Nicholaus and Josephine had. "Ten Wishes" is the track to buy this 7" for. It rocks hard and has all the spirit that Girlfrendo ever had. Josephine's lyrics are about what she would wish for granted 10 wishes. Mostly she seems to be wishing to get even with an ex-lover (except for wish 8: a new pair of shoes)! It is so good to hear a rocking electric bass, hard hit drums, and an urgent electric guitar coming from Girlfrendo again. "I'm On Your Side" returns to the new sound with a soft song sung by Nicholaus.
It would be easy to miss out on this 12". It comes in a nondescript DJ sleeve with the Strut logo on it. The sticker on it said 'Music For Dancefloors Sampler". You might think it was composed of 3 of the best songs from the latest 'Music For Dancefloors' comp, but you would be mistaken. This 12" has 3 remixes of tracks from the comp. I love this single! Two of the remixes are from the Bergen Norway band Bobby Hughes Experience. Their 1999 'Fusa Riot' CD still ranks above the finest jazz fusion breakbeat of Compost or Pork Records. Both remixes they do are superfine. First they remix "The Race Machine" by The Marc Duval Big Band. The second remix they do is my fave of the 12". It is a mix of the Nino Nardini cut "Afro Syn". The original it was based on is entirely awesome. Bobby Hughes Experience just fine tune the coolness and give the cut a more contemporary feel. The B-side has a Bronx Dogs remix. Bronx Dogs are London DJs Richard Sen and Paul Eve. They first came to my attention through the 3 track promo remix 12" they did for Saint Etienne (2 versions of "Foto Stat" and a mix of "Sylvie"). Their cut on this 12" is an A-OK version of "Indianapolis 2" by Irving Martin and Brain Dee. What you have here is a remix 12" with 3 cuts that sound as good as the originals they were based on. The originals were recorded in the early 70's. The new versions are longer and have a bigger sound with a lot more bottom to them, but keep the beat that made them so cool to begin with. They sound like the best of the Tummy Touch stuff, or the newest Tutto Matto 12" on Voodoo Recordings. Can't lose with that.
When this record first came out in April I listened to it, then decided to pass on it. To me, the electronica scene had passed it's peak and artists like Pilote (Stuart Cullen) and Isan were putting out new records heard by more people, but not holding up to the strength of their earlier work. The situation is similar to that of the early 80's band Orchestral Manouvres In The Dark (OMD). OMD started off with their best release ever - the "Electricity" 7". Subsequent discs were heard by more people, but did not match the out-of-the-blue brilliance of that debut single. On a recent trip to Newbury Comics I noticed that the limited edition (w/bonus 10") of 'doitnowman' was marked down to $14.99. The bonus 10" turned out to be a 12" with grooves that start at the 10" mark. It has 2 otherwise unavailable remixes on it. Bonobo remix "Turtle", my favorite song from Pilotes debut LP (the track features a parrot whistling), and Twisted Nerve artist Sirconical (who I have always liked) remix "Microphones" from that record as well. Unfortunately the Bonobo side of the 12" is pressed slightly off center, causing a noticeable phasing of the track. My favorite song on the LP proper is "The Dialog" (A3). It has a conversation taken from the 1990 indie film by Hal Hartley called 'Trust' starring Martin Donovan and Adrienne Shelley. The coversation, between a runaway girl and a drifter combat vet, is set into an electronic piece. The guy talks to the girl and tries to teach her survival lessons, almost like a street version of the old master in the 70's show 'Kung Fu' talking to David Carradine 'Grasshopper'. I also like "Fairplay" (B1) which is somewhat bubbly and also includes spoken samples, though nothing as linear as the story in "The Dialog". "Nelson" (B2) is the current single from this LP. It is a decent song that has a touch of cut up hip hop vocal samples a la Prefuse 73. The last of the songs I like is "Here/Gone" (B5). It has plunky sounds that are kind of cool, and reverb soaked mysterious voices near the end. Mostly, Pilote plays somewhat peaceful pastoral electronica. If you like that genre your assessment of Pilote and this record may be more generous than mine.
The second best thing about the White Stripes' excellent show here a few months back was this fine quartet that opened. 'Til now, we only had one track by them, on the comp CD, The Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit. I have two questions: What do they put in the water in Detroit that makes bands rock so great and can we get some here in Boston? Actually, the MC5-influenced a-side of the single reminds me of some great local bands ('BCN Rumble (shoulda been) winners Cracktorch, in particular). The b-side is more mid-sixties sounding, recommended for fans of Thee Headcoats (though it's not quite as trashed out sounding). The album runs the gamut from R-O-C-K to RAWK!, hitting all stops in between with much finesse. Recorded by Jim Diamond and produced by Jack White (a guaranteed winning combination). The album is really really great and wide ranging. Dare I say "epic?"
550 Rondy are Matthias, Catarina Pratter, and Martin Stepanek. I don't know what significance the name 550 Rondy may have. What I do know is that this is the latest Cheap release, continuing a line of silver DJ sleeved 12"s which come with bonus 7" singles inside. The music is like a less chaotic DAT Politics. "Zero Data" has a sample of a physicist talking, plus sharp edged electronics, a shuffling beat, and a flute. "Yes We've Got Rhythm" sounds almost Uwe Schmidt in it's crackling transistions and electronic sounds, with a 70's library music bass beat below. "What Was I Thinking?" is a softer track with big gloomy synth sweeps and crackling sounds like in a lab. Onto the B-side, "Quart" has an old steam train starting (complete with whistle) and a 4/4 disco beat (complete with handclaps). A slap bass completes the illusion: is it Chic or Cheap? "Fabric" is another quiet song with a bongo drum filtered through a device to make it sound like far away calls from another tribe, received by an electronica camp outpost. To the 7": "Quart" pastes together sounds with a big fat synth bass sound slowly dominating like a spooky fog. Underneath, a shuffling drum part holds up some muffled spoken samples. On the flip is "Fancy Justin" with Caroline Hefer "singing" (more like talking) in French. It just may be my very favorite cut in this super set.
The second CD is this series, following up the comp of Fila Brazilia chosen tracks. Howie B is someone I've always heard about but never saw records from. All I had heard was his great "Ballade de Melody Nelson" remix which opens up the 'I Love Serge' compilation on Mercury France. This AnotherLateNight CD starts off with "What Is It" by The Undisputed Truth. It is my favorite cut on the disc; fortunate, as it is 8:40 long! "What Is It" is will knock you out. Very 70's Harlem sounding, with lyrics about living together despite differences of race. It is followed by Love Unlimited Orchestra doing "Loves Theme". As Peter Ledebur told me, "Love Unlimited Orchestra was a Barry White thing. Though everyone now thinks of him singing all those deep-voiced bedroom soul songs, he was also a very talented arranger and producer. Love Unlimited is Barry White sans vocals. And though Loves Theme wasn't used for the Love Boat, it was a big hit and used lots of places (commercials, etc). And connecting it with another band you mentioned in this week's buy, OMD either covered it or sampled it (I don't clearly remember) in the early '90s". It is a disco lite track that sounds much better now than you remembered it from then. My second favorite track is one that may also be familiar to you: The Blackbyrds "Walking In Rhythm", another disco lite cut that pumps like the finest Village People, but has killer harmony vocals like The O'Jays. There is a Santana cut from his Eastern mysticism/cult period, when he worshiped Sri Chimnoy. John McLaughlin was also very into it. And Pete Townshend (he wrote Baba O'Reily in reference). The song is"Mirage", the title track of the record with the same name. The Curtis Mayfield song "Summer Hot" has the disco lite feel with the genius touch he brought to all his tracks. There is a hippy instrumental in Gong's "Heavy Tune". It is a guitar based track that fits in this scattershot comp. As for current artists, Dilated Peoples do "Work The Angles", Quannum does "I Changed My Mind" and Pussyfoot artist Spacer does "Contrazoom". Howie B's own contribution is an instrumental version of "Under the Boardwalk" that is just OK, not great. It is a straight version with a slightly warped bass that sounds a little out (on purpose of course) everytime it hits an accented beat.
The new Aphex Twin single on a brand new label. The packaging tells you nothing about what the songs are called. It just says "2 remixes by AFX". One of the songs is a remix of 808 State's Flow Coma" mixed with part of a track by PJ Pierre, and the other is a remix of a track by October called "Drukqs". What I CAN tell you is what the songs sound like. There are 3 pieces on the CD. I don't know whether the vinyl has the last (short) piece, but if it doesn't I'd say it's no big deal. I kind of wish the last piece wasn't on the CD, as it consists of sampled modem connection sounds and is quite annoying, especially if you have developed a sensitivity to the sound of computers connecting with a dial up ISP. The first song is my favorite. The sounds on top of the digital percussion simulate a tape speeding up or slowing down, before a very 'Planet Rock' electro sounding keyboard melody dances on top. The first song has 'cool sounds'. The second half of the track has some electronically manipulated voice which fits right into the robotic sounds. The second song is hyper electro, kind of like sped up Ed DMX Breakin' All Stars track or something from the Shitkatapult label. A small amount of vocals are cut up and manipulated into the mix, but mainly it is very fast percussion and electronic sounds.
Louie Austen is a lounge singer who looks like Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek Next Generation and The X-Men) who seems to have more in common with William Burroughs than Patrick Stewart. He seems to be a degenerate - not at all the wholesome lounge singer your parents would love. He was just signed to Kitty-Yo Records and already has a 12" out with them, and an LP on the way. This record is on the Vienna label Cheap Records, home to many of the guises of Gerhard Potuznik, who provides much of the backing for Louie's croons on this disc. "Remember" (#2) has vocals like a goof on Sammy Davis Jr. in a Las Vegas bar. The music has the requisite tinkling piano, but also electronic beats shuffling below. It is an inspired combination that surely caught the ear of Kitty-Yo. "Hear My Song1" (#4) is the other song on this disc that takes the piss out of a full blown lounge-fest. It is a great track - I am not suggesting that either of these songs are merely entertaining for what they ridicule. In fact, I believe that Louie Austen is dead on serious about the sound he makes. His persona is an artifact - out of place in the daylight world, as outrageous as labelmates Peaches or Gonzales. "U're An Alien" (#9) is a strange cut where he puts down a lover in a monotone voice, listing the incidences of their lack of feeling till saying "but I love you, don't know why, I do love you, till I die". For out and out strangeness though, "Where Is Love?" (#10) can't be beat. It is not a song - it sounds like we are listening to a microphone taped to his lapel as he goes through a rotten night. His breathing is labored, he coughs, he needs a drink, he uses a phone, all with a slight music backing below. It is a gas! Some of the songs on the disc are instrumentals that probably feature Gerhard Potuznik. This record stands alone, as seemingly Louie Austen does like a beat down gumshoe from a crime fiction novel.
The Quarks are a German duo made up of Jovanka von Willsdorf and Niels Lorenz. With the electro-acoustic sound the Quarks produce, it is not surprising they are on the Berlin-based Monkia Enterprise--the same record label that has released other minimalist, electro artists such as Barbara Morgenstern, Contriva, and Komëit. All tracks on the Quarks latest full length are simplistically yet elegantly sung in German with layers upon layers of electronic tracks, pristinely polished by Stefan Betke's production. On top of it all are Jovanka von Willsdorf's ethereal, airy, and at times child-like vocals. These help to create a dreamy ambient atmosphere. The tracks on the cd range from catchy pop tunes like Gut (Besser) (Good (Better)) and the title track Konigin (queen), to more minimilistic sounding songs like Still and Vorbei (Past). Some the highlights of the cd include: Fallen, Nichts mehr", Alles + Mehr", and Zeit hin. Fallen is a pure pop tune with da-das and all accompanied my bouncy keyboards. The haunting bass line and slightly distorted vocals on Nichts mehr (No More) reminds me of walking down a dark ally late at night. The track layers a distorted version of what sounds like warbled clips from the ending of 'The Good, Bad and the Ugly' which helps to produce a creepy mood. Both Alles + Mehr (All + More) and Zeit hin ( Time Passed) contain layers of various plonks, bleeps, and pings of a modem put to a driving beat.
The Bran Flakes are 2 guys from Seattle that collage material they gather from vinyl thrift store finds and abandoned records like squirrels gather nuts. This CD has been one of my favorite discs since I first was turned onto it. It takes the ideas of bands like Russia's Messerchups, Cologne's Elektrotwist, or LA's DJ Me, DJ You to new heights. There are no guitars, basses, drums or keyboards in The Bran Flakes. I'm not sure, but I'll be that the only tool used by Bran Flakes is a sound editing program like Sound Forge. I remember when I first read about the UK band Bent. They said that they composed records out of snippets of awful LPs they found in car boot sales or the trash. When you listen to Bent, they sound like a very polished band, not at all what there description would lead you to believe. The Bran Flakes sound like a crazy conglomerate of things that shouldn't (and don't!) fit together. You'll hear the "Baby Elephant Walk" below a confessional some girl is making to her parents from one of those hippy era novelty singles you see in used record shops, with a Free Design styled squaresville chorus accenting her story. That describes "Dear Mom and Dad" (#6) just barely. At WZBC we have a public service announcement by Evil Knievel warning kids to wear helmets when bicycling. On "Evil Knievel" (#3) you will hear him making outrageous statements over a drumbeat and crazy samples including his name chanted. It is masterful. The masterstroke of the disc to me is "(Theme To) The Mickey Mouse Club" (#18). The traditional song of the club is looped on the "K" (making it KKK) and there are machine guns all over, making the theme into a scary military march complete with a drill sergeant. Every single song has some sort of special charm to it. There are 31 tracks, and only one you cannot play on the air (you can guess what the Smith Corona typing lesson teaches you to spell in THIS lesson). "Friendly Persuasion" (#11) takes some 70s crooner and runs a tremolo effect on him with a cool rock beat below. How did they think of these combinations? There is one song that could be played next to Chicks On Speed and would still stand out with outrageous music charm. "I Am A Groupie" (#30) is that song - it is almost perfect. While a girl declares "I Am A Groupie" drum breaks and other samples dance around her words with joy. Many advertising jingles are used in tracks. There is a segment which uses the Halls Cough Drop campaign 'The halls of medicine' ("Turn The Channel It's Another Commercial"). This segment reminds me of Negativland, though I prefer Bran Flakes myself (now wasn't THAT from an ad?)