Harlem
Hippies
(Matador)
Opening with the lyrics “Someday soon you’ll be on fire/ and you’ll ask me for a glass of water/ I’ll say no/ you can just let that shit burn,” the threesome that comprise Austin-based Harlem risk coming off as seriously deranged to those not in on the joke. The punch line is all in the delivery.
Caustic words sung energetically over cheaply recorded garage rock fuzz never hit as hard as they sound in another context, and softer stuff lands harmlessly, inciting laughter more times than not. The lack of musical frills keeps things simple. Songs rarely go over three minutes and consist entirely of guitar, bass, drums and vocals. The melodies are bubblegum—guilty pleasures that sound like a ’50s beach romp, but sadly lack variety. It’s fun while it lasts, but even 40 minutes of this brand of fun can be difficult to stomach in one sitting. —Michael Cimaomo
Mingus Big Band
Live at Jazz Standard
(Jazz Workshop, Inc./Jazz Standard)
NYC jazz fans know Monday means a trip to the Jazz Standard to hear the Mingus Big Band. Those not fortunate enough to catch them live now have a chance to experience them at their fiery best with this release, recorded New Year’s Eve, 2008. The 14 musicians who played that night show that the 50-year-old Mingus oeuvre is still relevant, if not cutting-edge. Well-known tunes such as “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and “Moanin'” have fresh-sounding arrangements, with the former including trombonist Ku-Umba Frank Lacy’s vocals on the Joni Mitchell-penned lyrics. Veteran trumpeter Randy Brecker has a memorable solo on the rarely performed “New Now Know How,” and Jeff “Tain” Watts, for years the cornerstone of Wynton and Branford Marsalis’ bands, keeps the groove throughout. The ensemble brings down the house on the 12-minute tour de force closer, “Song With Orange.” —Jeffrey Siegel
Jesca Hoop
Hunting My Dress
(Vanguard)
Californian Jesca Hoop casts a spell that’s anything but stereotypically Californian. From the first strains of harmonized nonsense syllables, a dark and dreamy quality prevails. Hoop’s voice has the kind of peculiar edginess that makes singers like Bjork or Sinead O’Connor so compelling. Odd rumbles of percussion accentuate her sleepy acoustic guitar and voice, and washes of ambient sound often flow through. Touches like that transform what could be merely stripped-down acoustic singer/songwriter material into a highly individual sound that rewards close listening. She doesn’t sound like her mentor Tom Waits (who employed her as a nanny), but the multi-layered pleasures and rhythmic play of Hunting My Dress hail from a similar universe. This stunner of a CD rewards from start to finish, whether you’re a fan of singer/songwriter material or innovative ends of the indie chart. —James Heflin
