Various Artists
Classic Old-Time Fiddle
(Smithsonian Folkways)
Many contemporary fiddle albums are as slick as steam-pressed polyester and as authentic as a hothouse tomato. This collection turns back the clock to the days when Appalachian soloists and string bands plied their craft for local dances, diversion from work, and self-satisfaction rather than the marketplace. Many of the performances are raw, all are expressive, and quite a few are jewels in any time period. Plus we get to hear how musicians weaned on the folk revival, such as Bill Hicks, Tracy Schwarz, and Mike Seeger, drew inspiration from the old timers and added just enough sheen to make the music accessible to the masses, but not so much as to blind us with virtuoso playing.
—Rob Weir
Black Francis
"Threshold Apprehension"
from the upcomming Bluefinger
(Cooking Vinyl)
93-03, Frank Black's recent best of album, includes a track from his upcoming disc of new tunes, Bluefinger. According to the FrankBlack.net site, for this project he's returning as his original rock persona, Black Francis. The song "Threshold Apprehension" has many of the hallmarks of Pixies' songs—thrashing guitar, screaming lead vocals, a backup vocalist who sounds like she's too cool for school, and nonsensical lyrics about metaphysics, drugs and suicide. But this is not the Pixies. The sound is much more spare and punk than the sci-fi grunge the '80s band perfected. Still, the black, angry humor is there, and, even with that mouthful of a song title, it's fun to scream along.
—Mark Roessler
Johnny Irion
Ex Tempore
(Route 8/RCAM Records)
According to the press release, Johnny Irion titled his new album Ex Tempore to reflect the rapidity with which the songs were written. So let me suggest that revisions are in order. Irion sings in a high voice, straining at the edges like Neil Young, and many of his songs are lushly orchestrated and drenched in atmosphere, reminiscent of The Beatles' White Album. What's lacking is Young's sense of attention-grabbing hooks or the Lennon/McCartney penchant for catchy phrasing. Inspired moments such as the meaty electric riffs of "Madrid," or the stripped down earnestness of "Brush Your Teeth Blues," contrast with the essential lack of shape which makes other tracks well engineered but forgettable. Extemporaneous or rough draft? More of the latter, I fear.
—Rob Weir
Lavender Diamond
Imagine Our Love
(Matador)
Fans of the Delgatos and Belle and Sebastian will want to track down this L.A. outfit. Lavender Diamond is fronted by Becky Stark, a singer and performer who has studied and drawn on modern dance, Russian literature and semiotics. These songs have a lush, slow-blooming, confident beauty—acoustic frames with nursery-rhyme-like lyrical logic, aided by string arrangements, sleigh bells and piano. Sharp gets compared to Kate Bush, but I find Lavender Diamond much less idiosyncratic, self-consciously arty and off-putting than Bush. If anything, this disc suffers at first from a general harmlessness that leads toward slight lulls. Ultimately, the songs are strong and nuanced enough to make their quiet way in the world without a lot of bluster.
—John Adamian
