New Music of Note 11/24/2020
Nation of Language, Dummy, Code Girl, Junk Magic, Laraaji & more
Nation of Language/Introduction, Presence
Formed in 2016, Brooklyn's Nation of Language is a band that uses synthesizers rather than a synthesizer band, if that's clear. Taking 1980s synth-pop and post-punk bands as a starting point, Nation of Language hits all the stops without sounding overly derivative. There are clear references to the sound of Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Simple Minds, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, and many others. But Introduction, Presence comes across as a lost album recorded contemporaneously with these influences, so great is its attention to detail. Ian Richard Devaney's baritone voice is perfect in conveying a sense of weary, yet hopeful ambiance of the lyrics. His guitar work is excellent as well, driving tracks like "Indignities" (which features Strokes’ drummer Fabrizio Moretti). Listeners are right to pick up on the influence of Joy Division and New Order here, but I think many have missed the influence of Echo and the Bunnymen and The Cure on Nation of Language.
While it's evident that NOL has been influenced by these past groups, they are not merely a synth-pop resurrection act. Introduction, Presence arrives fully informed by the work of more recent groups such as Future Islands, Destroyer, and The War on Drugs. These groups have worked to ensure that this thread of post-punk synth exploration remains a vital genre in contemporary music, and NOL caps it off by taking their influences seriously and yet branding the genre with their own personality.
Aiden Noell/Prepositional Phrase
Aiden is one-third of Nation of Language, handling most of the synth work for the band--no minor task. Here she offers a solo track that, frankly, is every bit as good as the music on Introduction, Presence.
Dummy/EP/EP2
Dummy describes themselves as "five people in Los Angeles making music informed by motorik pulse and minimal composition like the Velvet Underground and Cluster before them." Yes. It's all there--the drones, the dreamy shoegaze quality, the noisy guitar over a steady, driven beat. But Dummy finds the right balance that makes the alchemy work, turning these elements that so many groups try to work with into pure philosopher’s stone gold. And lucky for us, Dummy has released two EPs during 2020, so that's like an album's worth of music. On EP, released in May 2020, the group opens with the peppy but trippy "Angel's Gear," then follows that up with the very motorik "Avant-Garde Gas Station," which revs up heavily in the last minute, driving towards a flaming resolution. "Slacker Mask" and "Folk Song" take it down a notch with nods to Stereolab before the band closes with the very experimental "Touch the Chimes," a chill-out room piece of ambient music that distinguishes itself by exploring multiple textures. EP2, just released on November 6, is more of the same, which is to say it is fantastic. "Thursday Morning" is a dreamy, droney pop song that drifts into your head and won't leave. "Pool Dizzy" is psychedelic dance-pop with everything moving around a prominent organ drone. A lot of the rest of EP2 explores Dummy's imaginative soundscapes and brilliant approach to melding a series of inspirations into a new and oddly comforting sound. Both EPs are available as a digital download and/or on cassette from Born Yesterday Records. Order both on Bandcamp Fridays.
Mary Halvorson's Code Girl/Artlessly Falling
Mary Halvorson is ostensibly a jazz guitarist, but she really has defined her own aesthetic that draws just as much from modern avant-garde and outside rock artists. Equal parts Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Robert Wyatt (who provides vocals on three tracks), and Cara Bley, Artlessly Falling is a challenging record, but repeated attention to it brings additional rewards quickly. There are a lot of moments of great beauty on this record, including Halvorson's unique guitar style, but this is definitely a writer's record, both musically and in terms of lyrics and overall structure. Each track has lyrics that were written in a specific poetic form (sonnet, sestina, etc.), then had music set to them afterward. This is the second go-round for Halvorson's Code Girl group, and they play in a tight way, moving together from composed to improvised sections without a hiccup. Special kudos to Adam O'Farill (trumpet) and Maria Grand (tenor sax, vocals), who negotiate the complex musical settings smoothly and with a deep feeling for the music.
Junk Magic/Compass Confusion
Craig Taborn first convened Junk Magic in 2004 for a recording released by NuJazz label Thirsty Ear. That was a heady time when the label hired fellow experimental musician Matthew Shipp to curate its Blue Series of modern jazz and jazztronica releases. A lot has happened since then, and I'd argue that Taborn's decision to resurrect the band was in part because the veil has never been thinner between avant-garde jazz, electronic music, ambient soundscapes, and free improvisation. This is proving to be a time when jazz has flowered by recapturing its movement into modernity, taking in all manner of popular music as well as the means of creating it. These are the descendants of the free jazz and fusion explorations of the 1960s and 1970s, reconnecting with the music that was derailed by the backward-looking Marsalis/Crouch contingent in the '80s and '90s. Junk Magic didn't broach any classification by genre in 2004, and they still don't in 2020. Taborn and crew play like a group, complementing but not surrendering to the beats and loops that provide a great deal of texture. Junk Magic reminds me of Weather Report in the sense that they are restless and seeking, willing to explore and follow their ideas and see where they lead.
Kamaal Williams/Wu Hen
Kamaal Williams dropped this second album since going solo from the duet Yusef Kamaal, and the result is just as pleasant as his 2018 release, The Return. The only problem with that is that, just like last time out, the listener is left trying to recall the standout moments. There is some good blowing by saxophonist Quinn Mason, and drummer Greg Paul gives his energy to moving things along, but Williams himself is not especially noteworthy as a player here, though his role as producer and overall architect of the sound is clear. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson provides string arrangements, adding Philly soul soundtrack on three tracks: "Street Dreams," "1989," and "Tolouse." Both Wu Hen and The Return make good late-night records or Sunday afternoon records. The best is likely still to come from Kamaal Williams, but in the meantime, I'll enjoy repeated listens to Wu Hen.
Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson/Chicago Waves
Longtime collaborators Nino and Atwood-Ferguson were in Chicago in 2018 for the album release performance of Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings. Rehearsals and the final performance were held at the city's South Shore Cultural Center – “a historic gilded-era urban club-turned-public facility deep on Chicago’s Southside.” The two were invited to do a guest duo set the following evening, which is the performance heard here. Following the improvised set, Carlos Nino referred to the performance as 'Chicago Waves,' demonstrating that the city and the South Shore backdrop had influenced the duo's performance. The music is presented with each of the eight sections as separate tracks and also as two continuous sections containing four sections each. The thing about music like this is that you can describe the varied sounds that go into it, the effects laid over Atwood-Ferguson's 5-string violin or the wild variety of percussive textures and soundscapes that Nino throws out there, but it doesn't in any way prepare the listener for the variety and beauty of the music itself. Improvised music like this opens us up for new ways of hearing and processing what we hear so that our definition of 'music' is expanded on a regular basis.
Laraaji/Sun Piano and Moon Piano
Laraaji is familiar to many devotees of new age music due to the many recordings of him playing modified zither processed through varied effects. He would sell cassette or CD recordings he made at home when he played as a street musician, which is where Brian Eno first heard him, leaving him a card that resulted in the two musicians collaborating on the record Ambient 3: Day of Radiance. Sun Piano and Moon Piano were both recorded at the First Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, NY, on December 10 & 11 2018. Laraaji chose this space to play a series of simple piano improvisations as a way of getting back to the instrument on which he first began to play and learn about music. Recorded verite style so that at times one hears doors opening or a chair scraping or even ambient noise from outside the church, these performances are like glorious meditations. On Sun Piano, Laraaji plays the piano in a very open manner, with the left hand outlining the progression of relatively simple chords, sometimes taking the melody while the right hand delivers clusters of chords. Moon Piano is made up of more introspective pieces relying on a meandering, melodic right hand with minimal chord outlines from the left. Laraaji had this to say about his approach to the piano on these recordings: “I’d sit down, touch the piano and through free association, also blending it with my prepared mental state, I was able to tune in and affirm my highest sense of presence. The piano became an instrument for the imagination to suggest higher or finer worlds, to suggest a joy, euphoria, bliss, also to suggest silence, minimalism, relaxation, and contemplation." These two recordings, both available at Bandcamp, have been on heavy rotation for me over the past couple of turbulent months, and I've found them to be comforting, centering, and a musical palate cleanser.
Kaki King/Modern Yesterdays
Kaki King is a phenomenal guitarist who Rolling Stone described as "a genre unto herself." King plays mostly acoustic guitar steeped in blues, jazz, folk, and classical traditions yet played and presented with a style that sounds like no one else. The record also shows the influence of electronic and electro-acoustic production techniques. Modern Yesterdays, King's first recording for the Cantaloupe label, is co-produced by Chloe Alexandra Thompson and engineered by Arjan Miranda. The album has a definite 'covid aesthetic' with song titles like "Sanitized, Alone," and "Can't Touch This or That or You or My Face." Says King: "We’re all yearning in some ways for our modern yesterday, and in some ways saying well, there is clearly going to be a modern tomorrow too.” The album's final track, "Forms of Light and Death" was arranged by Icelandic composer Ulfur Hansson and is the only track to feature King on electric guitar.
I leave you today with a performance of “Genetic Engineering” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. This comes from their DVD of the concert, recorded in October 2014. You can read more about the live event here.
Wishing you a calm and peaceful week and a quiet holiday. Stay safe and stay cool. See you next week.