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You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? 1 hour and 29 mins ago
Hey there! Still with us? Good. It's that time again — time to announce some more staff picks for your listening and/or criticizing pleasure. Enjoy.

clapton's Staff Pick:

DJ /rupture – Gold Teeth Thief

Genre: Electronic, Hip-hop, Experimental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=250013

Review - resident advisor wrote:

It's been nearly ten years since Gold Teeth Thief, and DJ /rupture's omnivorous musical appetite has clearly not abated in the slightest. Over the past few years he's released two mixes as ridiculously wide-eyed and educational as its famed predecessor. And yet Gold Teeth Thief remains lodged in the memory. Perhaps that's because you can still download it directly off his site. Or maybe it's the fact that you can't beat something that starts with Missy Elliot's "Get Ur Freak On" and ends with Muslimgauze. But I tend to think it's everything in between, a fearless free-for-all of sound that will gladly flub a mix if it means that we can get somewhere more interesting moments later.



MrE2Me's Staff Pick:

Sneaker Pimps - Becoming X

Genre: Trip-Hop, Electronic, Alternative, Downtempo

Torrents: torrents.php?id=18762

Review:

Terrific alterna-trip-hop debut that owes a lot of its charm and success to Kelli Dayton's (aka Kelli Ali) snarky schoolgirl vocals. (Sadly, she was asked to leave the band shortly thereafter, leaving fans to wonder what might have been.) Terrific production, dark riffs, funky beats and some downright lovely melodies (their version of the traditional "How Do" brings the album to a surprisingly touching close) make Becoming X essential listening.



hoth's Staff Pick:

Astra Heights - Ships Of Theseus

Genre: Rock

Torrents: torrents.php?id=721883

Review -

This is an album I found while searching for music with which I could highlight people using my np script on IRC. Then it turned out I liked the music as well.



Marienbad's Staff Pick:

Nico - The End...

Genre: Despair, Harmonium Drone

Torrents: torrents.php?id=238392

Review -

People complaining about the abundance of rock and electronic staff picks can eat this. The End... is the final album of a near-perfect trilogy of collaborations between Nico and the legendary John Cale, and in my opinion by far the best. That said, it is a brutal and draining listen. Melodies emerge slowly, often seeming random until halfway through the song or longer. On top of this, Nico's lyrics are relentlessly morbid, often referring opaquely to the death of her lover, Jim Morrison. This culminates in the cover of Morrison's "The End", for which the album itself is named. Nico's rendition is almost unrecognizable as a cover though, a fitting exemplar of Nico's place in the musical spectrum. This album is claustrophobic, dissonant and darker than anything I've ever heard by a metal or punk band, but its melodies and Nico's truly inimitable voice will haunt you for days. If you haven't listened to Nico, or only listened to Chelsea Girl (over which she had no creative control), I guarantee you've never heard anything like this harrowing genius.



oinkmeup's homage to Bob Marley:

Bob Marley & the Wailers - Babylon By Bus

Genre: Reggae

Torrents: torrents.php?id=59314

Review - Lindsay Planer (for allmusic.com) wrote:

Arguably the most influential live reggae album ever, Babylon by Bus captures Bob Marley and the Wailers during the European leg of their Kaya tour in the spring of 1978. The success of this set was not entirely unexpected, however. If the universal and widespread acclaim of LIVE! — their first concert recording — was an indicator, all involved knew that a Bob Marley & the Wailers performance contained unique energies and a vibe all of its own. Sharply contrasting the somewhat pastoral grooves of the Kaya album, Babylon by Bus possesses a more aggressive sound — which was a trademark of this particular band. Tyrone Downie's progressive rock keyboard flavors on "Exodus," as well his judiciously located percussive clavinet accentuations during "Punky Reggae Party," lock in with Aston "Familyman" Barrett's viscous basslines to create something akin to psychedelic reggae or even along the lines of Parliament/Funkadelic. Likewise, "Heathen" highlights Anderson's explosive guitar leads, which are distinctly reminiscent of Eddie Hazel from his early days with Funkadelic. The lead guitar solos on "Rebel Music (3 O' Clock Roadblock)" and "Is This Love" also define Al Anderson's innovative and decidedly Western guitar style, as it is seamlessly and thoroughly integrated with Marley and the Wailers. As with their first concert album, Babylon by Bus highlights material from the band's history up to that point. "No More Trouble" is placed in an entirely new context when linked with "War," which features lyrics taken from a United Nations speech given by Haille Selassie I, the Ethiopian emperor considered the father of modern Rastafarianism. Other early tracks, such as "Kinky Reggae" and "Stir It Up," prove to be not the only favorites of concert attendees. More recent offerings of "Is This Love," "Jammin'," and "Exodus" actually garner the most audible support. Without question, Babylon by Bus is an integral component of any popular music collection.



ChupacabraRAWR's TM Pick:

The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?

Genre: Indie, Rock, LoFi

Torrents: torrents.php?id=27225

Review -

Pop music gets off way too easily; so long as groups stick to only the sweetest melodies, throw in a couple of ba-ba-buh's and sing about how Stacey's mom "has got it goin' on," or some other such timeless verse, they're valued as somehow above the fray. It seems even the most venomous rock elitists can be defanged by a few simple hooks, turned endlessly forgiving by some easy harmonies. If Stalin himself had ruled with less of an iron fist and more Beach Boys-style harmonies, he might be remembered as much for his keen songwriting chops as for the wholesale slaughter of millions of his own people; such is the inexplicably titanic redemptive power of pop. That self-same blinding power is also why it takes a band as innovative as The Unicorns to throw the complacencies of pop into stark relief, to finally hold it accountable for such casual abuses.

When it's so easy for bands to stay behind the indie-pop curve that you'd think someone's handing out ice cream back there, The Unicorns are ahead. In fact, they're so far ahead that superficial distinction becomes virtually unnecessary; they're striking at the most fundamental structure of the pop song itself. Without scrutiny, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?, their debut album for the otherwise experimental Canadian label Alien8, can pass for the same sort of sugar-glazed jangle-pop that's been done to death, but has nevertheless been beloved for years in indie circles; all the elements I just derided are present in abundance, right down to a rare few instances of smarmy lyrics. The band traffics in the occasional oooh's and aaah's, and relies on retro-basic keyboards for the requisite flourish above and beyond the standard guitar fuzz. And yet, The Unicorns toe the line of bedroom intimacy and heart-swelling wonder as perfectly as any of the modern masters of the form.

In that sense, they rival The Shins, or The Magnetic Fields, or any of the innumerable indie touchstones, but what truly sets Who Will Cut Our Hair apart is the near-total absence of traditional verse/chorus/verse framework in their songs; to nail beautiful, memorable lines with such remarkable ease is a feat unto itself, but to do so in essentially formless compositions is a different class of achievement entirely. Songs shift effortlessly from segment to segment, never relying upon the crutch of repetitive composition to create the illusion of a powerful hook. That's not to say that motifs aren't revisited throughout a song, but elementary concepts of A-B-A structure are abandoned in favor of brilliant, sprawling whole-song compositions.

These days, when "epic" describes a line at the bank, it doesn't seem adequate to describe the scope of some of these tunes, but it'll have to suffice. "Jellybones" is a titanic wreck of styles and forms, offering glimpses of hooks that would serve other bands as whole songs like so many kittens; "Tuff Ghost" builds around two simple rhythmic shifts and never looks back, burning through a dozen variations of the song's central keyboard line. And the intricate plucking to open "I Was Born (A Unicorn)" gives way to a bizarre fiction: "I was born a unicorn/ I missed the ark, but I could've sworn/ You'd wait for me," then, "So how come all the other unicorns are dead?" This hilariously morbid variation on a typical theme of loss or abandonment is par for the course on Who Will Cut Our Hair, exemplifying how The Unicorns continually and effortlessly sap the drama from rock's favorite, most maudlin topics, and transform them into simple, charming, light-hearted fun. It's a big part of what separates them from all those careerist indie rockers getting by on everyday hooks and affected disinterest; even at their goofiest, The Unicorns' level of comfort with their material-- and the obvious confidence that engenders-- makes it all seem totally natural and new.

— Eric Carr, November 11, 2003



DiViNO's TM Pick:

Isabelle Boulay - Nos lendemains

Genre: Pop, Québécois

Torrents: torrents.php?id=600581

Review

Part of the Franco-country movement in Quebec, but entirely separate in tone from some of the older notables, Isabelle Boulay takes a more modern, more somber approach to her music, as shown on Nos Lendemains. The tone on her 2008 album is generally one of mild sadness, with Boulay imbuing her vocals with just a touch of melancholy. The tone, however, is served extraordinarily well by Boulay, fitting herself into the mood precisely and carrying the listener through a form of modern country music that doesn't come off as manufactured or simple, but instead suggests a Western take on something like Portuguese fado. The blues is inherent in her delivery, and her vocals can silkily portray that melancholy without becoming another drop in the proverbial river of down-spirited country music. With the exception of a couple of foreign-language pieces, the majority of Nos Lendemains is written specifically for Boulay (largely by French pop songwriters, with a few major names included), and capitalizes on the quality of her voice. Her quiet vocal tinkerings can easily outshine the boldest attempts to perform a simple country song by some of the more stereotypical Francophone divas. ~ Adam Greenberg, Rovi



spicypajamas' TM Pick:

Between the Buried and Me - Colors

Genre: Metal, Hardcore, Experimental

Torrents: torrents.php?id=11149

Review

punknews.org wrote:

In the year 2005, Between the Buried and Me released their third full-length album Alaska. It hit the market like a tidal wave, gaining praise from media and consumer alike. The appeal of the album was its intricacies and tempo changes. It moved between time signatures and musical styles like a 10-year-old with ADD while simultaneously showcasing a knack for writing the technical metal showcased on their earlier full-lengths. Following up such a successful album is no easy task, but BTBAM stepped up to the task and (discounting 2006's cover album The Anatomy Of... ) delivered Colors.

Keeping in step with their trend of progression, Colors is essentially one 64-minute song broken up into 8 tracks. The album flows as if it was recorded in one take and retains a truly amazing fluidity. The songs are distinguishable from one another but at the same time draw on ideas from earlier times and embellish them. Colors is a relatively light listen, considering its running time. It isn't weighed down with needless instrumental noodling and interludes, yet it contains more speeds, notes, tones and ideas than the majority of music today combined. The music swells and pounds, crescendos and decrescendos multiple times in each song. The album is all about balance. Enough musical experimentation but not too much to get boring is the key to the flow of the album.

The music stays similar to past offerings by BTBAM, just more fleshed out. When they thrash (see beginning to "Ants of the Sky"), they do so better than most bands that define the genre. When they hit the epic melodic high points (towards the end of "Sun of Nothing," f.e.) they let the melody hang out just long enough so that it leads right into the onslaught again. The album breathes very well, due to an effective amount of piano. They aren't interludes, they simply tone down things for a bit, as if the music is relaxing for a moment. It is brilliant to see all the styles of music encompassed by this album. Apart from the obvious styles of metal they touch upon, there are jazzy romps, electronic sessions and, yes, a country hoedown (that somehow manages to sound completely relevant and in place).

Simply put, Colors blows anything else considered to be "metal," or any other genre for that matter, out of the water. The technical ability, artistic vision and spot-on execution are absolutely confounding. Listening to it as a whole provides a truly unique experience that shows a band pushing themselves to their creative and musical limits and coming out with a monstrous work of art.



senatortom's TM Pick:

Souls of Mischief - 93 'til Infinity

Genre: Hip Hop

Torrents: torrents.php?id=25277

Review -

One of hip-hop's great lost masterpieces, 93 'Til Infinity is the best single album to come out of Oakland's Hieroglyphics camp, and ranks as a seminal early classic of the West Coast underground. The Souls of Mischief weren't even out of their teens when they completely redefined the art of lyrical technique for the West Coast, along with fellow standard-bearers Freestyle Fellowship, the Pharcyde, and Hiero founder Del tha Funkee Homosapien. The Souls come off as four brash young MCs who are too smart for their own good, yet they're so full of youthful exuberance that it's impossible to dislike them for it. They're also excellent storytellers, punctuating their tales with a wry wit and clever asides; still, they're able to take on the grittier subjects of violence and death with a worldliness beyond their years. The production -- all by various core Hieroglyphics members -- is just as good as the raps, driven by complex beats, unpredictable basslines, and samples drawn from spacy fusion records and East Coast jazz-rap crews. Main Source and Gang Starr both provide track foundations here, and it's possible to hear the intricately constructed loops of the former and the lean attack of the latter (circa Step in the Arena) in the record's overall style. A better comparison, though, would be to the effortless flow and telepathic trade-offs of A Tribe Called Quest. In fact, 93 'Til Infinity seems to actively aspire to the fluidity of the best Tribe albums; tracks often segue directly into one another without pause -- and the transitions are seamless. Although the title cut is an underappreciated classic, 93 'Til Infinity makes its greatest impression through its stunning consistency, not individual highlights. Put it all together, and you've got one of the most slept-on records of the '90s.



equal's TM Pick:

Chumbawamba - First 2 LPs

Genre: Anarcho-Punk, Pop

Torrents: torrents.php?id=728592

Review

Over a decade before Tubthumping made them the toast of sports stadia worldwide, a rather different Chumbawamba stalked the toilet venues of England's counterculture. This is an anthology of the anarcho-punk era of Chumbawamba's output. In 1986, as the rock world congratulated itself on its new, enlightened attitude to world poverty following Band Aid, a refusenik group of Leeds anarchists pointed out some of the inconsistencies behind the arguments. On the aptly titled Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records, Freddie Mercury, Cliff Richard, and Paul McCartney are ridiculed for their patronizing hypocrisy ("How to Get Your Band on Television"). Other targets included apartheid, multinationals, and cultural imperialism. The group's pervasive lyrics were augmented by music varying from punk-thrash to folk and jazz. This was a sophisticated approach entirely divorced from their fellow travelers (who contented themselves with sloganeering and three-chord bluster). For an album that adopted Crass' admirable but po-faced concerns about commercial exploitation of the planet and its inhabitants, the results were surprisingly listenable, and also extremely entertaining.

A year later, the Wambas set their sights on another mass televised spectacle: the electoral system. With yet another concept album, the band continued to forge a focused, tight, and interesting evolution of the Crass-punk sound. Whereas Crass were always interesting on paper, but a little difficult to listen to, Chumbawamba took that sound, refined it, and made it accessible, all while still promoting their beliefs just as strongly as any '80s hardcore band did.

If all you know of this band is the "I get knocked down!" refrain, prepare for a whole new world of sound.

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