High Places "03/07-09/07" 3 stars
Internet hype is a truly fickle thing. Its sway over the modern music community has led some bands to instant success and thrust others prematurely into the spotlight. The pace at which music is now reported on gives bands a shot at national acclaim at a speed unimaginable ten years ago. This is the only reason to how Brooklyn's High Places has garnered such deafening buzz.
The central problem with "03/07-09/07" is that it is not really an album. It is a collection of the band's previously released 7-inch singles and compilation tracks. It brings to mind last year's similarly compiled "Weirdo Rippers" by L.A. art-punkers No Age. The lack of cohesion that this method fosters clearly favors style over substance. Fortunately, High Places' style is engaging and demands repeat listening.
Multi-instrumentalist Rob Barber creates soundscapes that are both eerie and soothing, while Mary Pearson sweetly delivers bizarre lyrics about banana slugs and hermaphroditic flings. Anchored by tropical rhythms and ambient drones, the band has created a surreal sound that will hopefully develop into something truly unique. While it is exciting to enjoy High Places as the group begins to define itself, it is frustrating to know it is not ready for our attention.
- Adam Drosin
Amplive "Rainydayz Remixes" 3 stars
On this new compilation, DJ Amplive, an Oakland-based musician and a member of the hip-hop group Zion I, takes seven songs from Radiohead's moody firestarter "In Rainbows," remixes them and enlists some of rap's biggest cult stars (including Chali2Na of Jurassic 5 and Del the Funky Homosapien) to record some verses.
Amplive attempts to make this strange fusion genuinely cool. Unfortunately, this is an impossible goal, and "Rainy Dayz" does not quite accomplish it. The project is innovative but fails to leave a lasting impact, and it seems like a novelty now that the "In Rainbows" fervor has subsided.
The remixes "All I Need," "Faust ARP" and "Weird Fishez" have no rap verses, so their charm is minimal. But "Video Tapez" and "Reckonerz" add some grit to Radiohead's spacey instrumentals. On "15 Stepz," rap is entirely dropped for an excellent performance by R&B singer Codany Holiday, and while "15 Stepz" is not the best song on the album, it is easily the best representation of Amplive's goal to give Radiohead a shot of thug-life style. He does not quite pull it off, but it is a start.
- Anthony Benigno
Stephen Malkus and the Jicks "Real Emotional Trash" 4.5 stars
It's strange how the presence of Stephen Malkmus' backing band, the Jicks, continues to determine the quality of his solo records. When Malkmus goes it alone, as on his 2005 album "Face The Truth," he is unable to rein in his worst impulses. But on the albums on which he includes his band, his tendency toward half-baked melodies disappears.
Even the excellent "Pig Lib" did not prepare listeners for just how good "Real Emotional Trash" would be. Previous Malkmus records have blended his guitar skill with his old band Pavement's slacker ethos but always came up short. Here, he takes advantage of his extraordinarily talented sidemen.
In turn, he expands his songs to epic lengths. More than half of the songs on "Trash" stretch past the five-minute mark, earning their long run-times with their dizzyingly complex structures. Malkmus piles hook upon hook, turning songs in unexpected directions. The title track rides a guitar hook for its first five minutes, then devolves into a burst of noise. On standout "Hopscotch Willie," he suddenly switches from the song's main riff to a piano breakdown that may be the best moment Malkmus has ever had. It is moments like these that make the album an important step for one of America's finest songwriters.
- Alex Dorf
Goldfrapp "Seventh Tree" 4 stars
After the success of "Supernature," which sold over a million copies and spawned a string of hit singles, Goldfrapp has earned a break. On "Seventh Tree," the group substitutes its usual synth-driven disco for acoustic guitars. Despite this change in atmosphere, the band's strengths are still present.
Meandering opener "Clowns" contains all the lyrical obscurity you would expect from its title, with Alison Goldfrapp's murmured vocals complimented by gentle acoustic guitar strumming. "Happiness" contains the percussive 4/4 beat that has given Goldfrapp's songs their kick for years, but with its rough edges filed down. The band's emphasis on synths has been tempered, and Goldfrapp's coos resemble a singer-songwriter more than a disco diva.
Goldfrapp's signature iciness seems to have melted. While her vocals were just as audible on "Supernature," there is a vulnerability present that was missing from their previous albums. Few could have imagined this change in direction from a dance chart mainstay, and "Seventh Tree" may alienate some fans. But it is a bold move that establishes the group as skilled pop musicians, strobe lights or not.
- Roland Li
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