Monday, October 19, 1998
Soundbites
Momus, ‘The Little Red Songbook’ (Wasabi)
This is one weird cat. The last half of Momus’ album includes an
instrumental replay of every song so that fans can record
themselves over his music karaoke-style. How clever. Why can’t
every album come so equipped?
But more than that, the poetic, soft-voiced Brit has the
pretentious nerve to back up his vocals with a harpsichord and make
snotty jokes about his powdered wig on the album cover. Excellent.
Way to go retro; like, out of control retro.
And his lyrics are all smooth, whispering about how he ‘was born
to be adored by women’ in the song ‘Born to be Adored’ and how ‘I’d
like to thank everyone I have ever slept with … you helped with
my career,’ in ‘Everyone I Have Ever Slept With.’
His music has a certain je ne sais quoi found in his turning of
phrases that goes unparalleled in standard pop albums. If pop is
the right term for it. For instance, in ‘Old Friend, New Flame,’ he
quips, ‘Satan possessed my soul/ As she stood watching me/ I
spelled out B-L-O-/ W space M-E.’
Though he may never reach the mainstream media, and though his
heavily sing-songy voice can lack the melody of a more instrumental
based album, it is worth a look-see. Especially for those smooth
pimps who want to woo the women back at their pad.
Vanessa VanderZanden
Vanessa Mae, ‘Storm’ (Virgin)
If anyone could ingratiate classical music with the
youth-oriented mainstream, it would be Vanessa Mae.
The 19-year-old violinist imbued the pop-rock music scene three
years ago with her debut effort, ‘The Violin Player.’ The album
introduced the MTV generation to a new take on old, stodgy classics
with her contemporary interpretation of ‘Toccata and Fugue.’
Reverting back to a more traditional approach for her next
couple albums, Vanessa Mae is now back in the style that thrusted
her into the spotlight with ‘Storm.’
Indeed, it is a storm of genres, talents and even languages.
Openers, such as ‘Summer Haze,’ ‘Storm’ and ‘Bach Street Prelude’
deceptively suggest a simple continuation of ‘The Violin Player.’
Then the rain begins.
Quite the Renaissance artist, she experiments with a diverse
range of musical genres from jazz to New Age to Americana.
It is on this album that Vanessa Mae abandons her trusty violin
for a microphone, providing lead and background vocals for the
latter half of the tracks, including ‘Embrasse Moi (You Fly Me Up)’
and a competent electronic-dance cover of Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel
Love.’
While the songs are well-mixed and have a soothing flow, the
narcissistic implications of a brilliant violin player marketing a
truly forgettable voice can be nauseating. Her disco stylings won’t
make it big, unless she adapts it to the bow and strings.
The unusual mish-mash of songs is surprisingly complementary. As
the musical prodigy dabbles and delights in a universe of sounds,
audiences will be fortunate to be privy to witnessing the artistic
storm.
Louise Chu
Mudhoney, ‘Tomorrow Hit Today’ (Reprise) Since the early ’90s,
Mudhoney has had trouble finding their place as the most
underappreciated exports of the Northwest. Their first two major
label albums, 1992’s spotty ‘Piece Of Cake’ and 1995’s excellent
but barely heard ‘My Brother The Cow,’ sold poorly and failed to
establish the band beyond their original underground following.
With ‘Tomorrow Hit Today,’ it sounds as if the band has stopped
trying to cross over into the ever-stagnating world of alternative
radio and returned to the garage roots of their early Sub Pop days.
The album may not win them a whole new following, but it has enough
anger, abrasiveness and cynicism to please long-time fans.
Producer Jim Dickinson focuses on the lumbering rhythms of
drummer Dan Peters and bassist Matt Lukin. There’s a low-riding
strut to tracks such as ‘Real Low Vibe’ and ‘Ghost’ that is absent
from the band’s previous work. Even Mark Arm and Steve Turner’s
guitar playing has progressed from primordial sludge to an
understated bluesiness.
Once again, Arm’s lyrics deal with issues of displacement and
disbelief in the world around him. In ‘Move With The Wind,’ Arm’s
world-weary vocal and fatalistic lyrics mirror Mudhoney’s place as
a band that has been producing different versions of basically the
same song for the past 10 years. ‘I Have To Laugh,’ ‘Poisoned
Water’ and ‘Beneath The Valley Of The Underdog’ all tread familiar
ground, but they sound like pleasant reminders rather than boring
rehashes of a slowly fading sound.
Even the title ‘Tomorrow Hit Today’ sounds like the unexpected
arrival of impending doom.
It’s as if Mudhoney knows their end is near but remain
determined to play their stuff loud and hard till the very end.
Adam Tolbert
Duncan Sheik, ‘Humming’ (Atlantic)
Well, Duncan is still breathing. After an extensive tour and an
extensive break, Sheik’s follow-up album ‘Humming’ picks up on the
same mellow croons that made ‘Barely Breathing,’ the longest chart
single of 1997.
A gentle collection of heartfelt tunes that play well for a cold
winter afternoon, Sheik’s music very much belongs in a couple’s CD
collection.
Grouped under the guise of light pop-rock, ‘Humming’ strictly
keeps to the mellow guitar trips and wispy drums and piano
stroking. The melodies are non-threatening mood music, no misplaced
guitar solo or a drummer with a penchant to let loose to break the
passive groove.
The musical composition is beautiful, but it’s an ordinary
beauty  nothing that strikes deeply.
Sheik’s lyrics toe the line between mediocre and noncreative.
His words live in a relationship of constant dilemma.
Whether he sings about kept feelings (‘Varying Degrees of
Con-Artistry’) or affirming his position as an eternally
heartbroken individual (‘Bite Your Tongue’), it all sounds the
same, but at least the delivery is impeccable.
‘Humming’ won’t have a problem capturing an audience that needs
consoling, but the songs will embrace like a hollow friend.
Trinh Bui
Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, ‘One Hour Mama’
(Fat Note.)
While neo-swing rages on in the music world, it seems to be a
sort of a boys-only club. Lavay Smith is a nice exception to that
rule. Backed by a killer band, Smith turns out a mellow,
jazz-flavored sound.
With her smooth, shimmering vocals gliding along over the
Skillet Lickers’ sax-heavy, eight-piece band, Smith captures the
essence of ’40s swing and ’50s R&B perfectly. The album could
easily pass for a re-mastered vintage album, retaining the tight,
big-band dynamics without all the hissing and popping of records.
The lengthy liner notes cite such musical giants as Duke Ellington,
Count Basie and Fats Waller as influences.
Their musical tutelage is definitely evident in the
sophisticated arrangement of ‘New Blowtop Blues,’ the driving
boogie-woogie of ‘What’s The Matter With You’ and the languid swing
of ‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.’ Smith and company
aren’t in the business of re-inventing the wheel, they’re strictly
paying homage to the masters. With their respectful handling of
these standards, it’s a fitting tribute.
Brent HopkinsMOMUS
‘The Little Red Songbook’
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