Summer 2014 Pick of the Season: Nickel Creek - "A Dotted Line"

Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line

This was unfortunately my first experience with Nickel Creek. I'm not sure what kind of rock I was hiding under but the group has been around for over 20 years. Fortunately for me Jimmy Fallon present the stage for the rock to be removed on his April 1st show episode. It was an amazing performance. A great song that was sung with enough conviction to really engage even the TV viewer. Throw on top of that some solid musicianship and even better harmonies. My understanding was that they were a bluegrass band which had never interested me prior to this performance, but I got sucked in. From what I can tell it seems to be a departure from their previous albums (too broke at the moment to check out their previous work :-) ). The album has much more of an alternative/rock influence that what I had guessed coming in.  The basis of the ensemble is still the trio of mandolin/violin/guitar, but a bassist also joins them throughout the album as well as other instruments, namely percussion.

The album is unfortunately only ten tracks but they are a great ten tracks. It's not hard to believe the group has been around for a while as each track seems to make the most of what they are trying to accomplish. For instance, I often find myself adding my own harmonies to different songs/groups just because you kind of feel that it's more or less not complete. Not so for this album, it's well developed, creative, and produced just right. It has a seemingly intuitive flow to the album knowing when to pick up the pace and when to slow it down and utilizing the best instrumentation and effects to maximize each moment. 

Needless to say I've thoroughly enjoyed the album. It's an easy listen and has a wide appeal to a great deal of people. You don't need to be a fan of bluegrass to engage and indulge. I'd like link you to the that performance I mentioned, but I'm unable to find it. That being said, the below video will have to do and here is link to the album in iTunes. Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Willis Earl Beal - Nobody Knows (E)

Mr. Beal really has an amazing back story (which he hates), I don't have the space to get into it all here but you can get more info about where he's come from the Guardian. The highlights: joined the Army at 22, dishonorably discharged by 23, worked various odd jobs in Chicago and Albuquerque while struggling to stay afloat including a homeless stint in New Mexico.  He would leave his own handmade flyers about his music around town in attempts to get his music heard. Eventually, a friend posted three of his tracks on a website where they were discovered by a music writer and the rest is history, or so they say.

His music is likened to blues crooners the likes of Tom Waits, Scott Walker, and Cat Power (who makes an appearance on the track "Coming Through").  At times his voice is rough and desperate almost begging and pleading for help.  Other times the edginess of his voice becomes a monster threatening everyone listening. It's this juxtaposition that seems to paint the portrait of who Willis Earl Beal has been over the course of his life whether he likes it nor not.

Nobody Knows is startlingly frail, exposed, and honest. The opening track "Wavering Lines" begins with just Beal's vocals it's not until two minutes into the track that a pad of strings subtly enters.  It's a stark contrast to what most people will expect from an opening track and it serves as an invitation to catch a glimpse of his life as told by the music over the course of the album. The second track, the aforementioned "Coming Through" is a needed reprieve from the forced intimacy of the first track as the beat picks up and as mud of a feel good vibe as you're going to get from Willis Earl Beal is established.

The two tracks that stand out the most to me were "Too Dry to Cry" and "Ain't Got No Love". The first of the two tracks is yet another showcase of his ability to utilize stark instrumentation and still be incredibly effective. The twangy simple guitar line puts you on the porch of a house just off of a dirt road in the deep south. As the song builds and you delve deeper into his psyche the setting shifts to a considerably darker place. His own vulnerability and self-exposure can just as easily leave you feeling exposed. The later song, "Ain't Got No Love" has a more complex build, but just as quickly gives you glimpses of the dark places and experiences Beal has experienced. As the title of the song implies there is no love to be had here, and he's fine with that. It's his life and he's not asking for help. He doesn't care what other people think. He'll take it as it comes and keep to himself. Life is what it is.

This album won't be for everyone but it does have merit. Very rarely do we come across someone whose been through the kind of struggles Mr. Beal has and have them conveyed in such a way that gives an accurate (at least it feels that way) and visceral depiction of what it might be to have lived in his shoes. It's not always fun trip to take, but it does have its startlingly moments of realization that make it worth it. Get it here.


Broken Bells - After the Disco 

After the Disco is a result of the collaboration of The Shins frontman James Mercer and producer/DJ Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) and follow up their debut self-titled album, Broken Bells. The first album was well received, albeit I was a tad bit let down. I'm a huge fan of the work that they had done previously in previous projects. The Shins were seemingly a guiding force for me during certain parts of my collegiate experience and Danger Mouse's exploits include Gnarles Barkley, the Gorrillaz album Demon Dayz, Beck's Modern Guilt, and much more. Again, the first album was a good album, it just didn't blow me away as I was hoping it would. It did offer a new sound for the two of them though. If you have a chance to hear Danger Mouse's other work you'll start to get a flavor for what he brings to his collaborations and when you factor in James Mercer the result was definitely a new creation for the two of them, but not one you couldn't see coming. (That's easy to say in retrospect.) Basically, you get the idea that Broken Bells was the duo feeling each other out and After the Disco is a result of a more shared picture or idea.

After the Disco doesn't punch you in the gut or anything but one gets the impression that it is a more complete picture of the duos vision. The album is well constructed with a really nice flow and you get the impression that they both started to really open up to each other the work that they wanted to do, there is less holding back on their parts. James Mercer is much more direct with his lyrics, something your not used to if you're familiar with The Shins, and Danger Mouse brings a litany of loops and tracks that balance and blend the lyrics extremely well. The album, while not providing a ton of variety, still offers quite a bit of contrast knowing when to slow down and speed up on an album is ever so critical and really quite difficult. Not only this, but they also play a nice contrast in the sounds/instrumentations they use over the course of the 11 tracks.

As you listen through the album you'll likely find as I did that it goes by all to quickly.  Part of this is due to the fact that it is only 46 minutes, but it is also an engaging 46 minutes, even if your attention is 100% devoted to the listening. It's a very accessible album and really enjoyable to engage.  Here's a link to the album on iTunes.

Catching Up

Gungor - I Am Mountain 

Gungor has been one of the few Christian bands that I will listen to on a regular basis. (As a disclaimer, when I say Christian I'm implying that their lyrics are inherently Christian, not just the faith of the members.) They aren't your stereotypical four chords CCM that has plagued the Christian music scene for years.  They're talented, very talented in fact, well produced, and challenging. Let's look at a little bit of background on the band first.

Gungor is led by Michael Gungor, a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. It is his talent and vision that are the driving force behind the group. In various interviews he has described Gungor as a music collective, that is to imply that it is more so a community of musicians pooling their ideas together to form the band and its music. This may be true, but as I mentioned, Michael's behind the wheel. One of the members of the collective is his wife, Lisa, who plays various instruments and shares the vocal responsibilities. Together they are the worship leaders for a church in Colorado.

While they've been around for some time, Gungor's breakthrough album was Beautiful Things, released in 2010. They had a few singles on this album that were especially popular in worship services, most notably the title track, "Beautiful Things". They followed that one with a concept album, "Ghosts Upon the Earth". The name for the album was taken from a C.S. Lewis book, The Great Divorce, and makes reference to our time on Earth being passing and brief. The concept of the album is the creation, fall, redemption, restoration narrative that is ever present in the Christian realm. An excellent album, one that I didn't think they'd be able to top until I heard, I Am Mountain. They released another album, A Creation Liturgy, in 2012, but I have to admit I haven't listened to it yet.

I Am Mountain is a bit of a different sound than anything Gungor had produced before. In their previous albums Beautiful Things and A Creation Liturgy Gungor brought a much stronger praise and worship aspect to their music. With Ghosts Upon the Earth, they followed through on the idea of a concept album. Each album had a specific point and message. This isn't necessarily the case with I Am Mountain. Much of the songs are independent in theme from the others.  For example, the opening/title track is a recognition of how simple and small we are in the context of the universe with lyrics like, "I am mountain, I am dust, constellations made of us". It speaks to glory, imagination, and wonder that is God. Gungor follows this with a song entitled, Beat of Her Heart, a mythological tale in which Michael personifies a Satyr chasing after a beauty, even going to Hades to bring her back, only to lose her at the last possible second.

I could go on, but this is getting long. This album is gorgeous, although it's not necessarily thematically connected from song to song, it still carries itself as a complete album from beginning to end. Definitely worth your time and worth the price of admission if you get a chance to go see them live.

Video for I Am Mountain:

A killer acoustic version for their song, "When Death Dies", off of their album Ghosts Upon the Earth.

Hiromi - Move

Hiromi Uehara was first brought to my attention by my good friend, Ben Fisher (who's a fine pianist himself), while perusing through youtube videos. He shared with me a video of Hiromi playing her own arrangement of "I've Got Rhythm" (video below). As a musician, sometimes you hear people play and it inspires you to grab your horn and join in. Other people you hear, and it is so good it makes you want to quit because, "what's the point?" Hiromi tends to make me feel like the later. She has an amazing talent that has people comparing her to the likes of Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. It's not just that her playing is extremely technical, it's also that she's able to pass her passion and joy through the music to the listener as well. This may be most evident in the fact that she often smiles as she plays. You know she's enjoying it, and as a result we do to.

The album is themed around her day which always starts with the alarm clock's chirping on the title track, "Move". It then delves into the chaos most of us feel as we struggle to wake up and process what's going on around us. This carries through into the song "Brand New Day", I imagine this track is the "after the first cup of coffee" part of the morning. From there she gets a little funky, almost a throwback to Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" from Head Hunters with the synth she uses. Her three track "Suite Escapism"paints a pretty stark contrast between "Reality", "Fantasy" and "In Between". "Reality" is chaotic, constant, and fast paced. The "Fantasy" is very laid back relaxed and flowing. As you might imagine, "In Between" is just as advertised a nice balance of the chaos of "Reality" and the placidness of the "Fantasy".  The next tune opens up with a funk bass line which really lets you know what time it is, "Margarita!" time.  It's a fun tune that lets you relax, tap your foot, and groove along. The last song on the album, "11:49 PM", seems to be a reflection on the day and a relenting to see it go. The struggle to stay awake and say goodbye to the wonder that was the day that has passed and the unfortunate future that awaits with the alarm clock in the morning.

It is a very complete album from beginning to end, one that is very entertaining to listen to and engaging throughout. Hiromi's energy really comes through and captivates the listener. Very much worth your time and money, especially if you're looking for a new jazz album.

Quick Hits:

Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience: Part 1

I can barely believe that I: 1) even bought this album, and 2) liked it enough that I thought I'd mention it in a post. I remember driving up to D.C. to see a friend and getting upset with how much I was enjoying the album.  As you may or may not have guessed I don't really do the whole pop scene. At least not the current pop scene. I love me some Michael Jackson circa 1982. Which actually ties in to why I enjoy this album so much. Both had extreme talents performing at their peaks and both were extremely well produced. Don't get me wrong, Timberlake's album doesn't hold a candle to Thriller. Michael and Quincy were maybe the best two at their craft there has ever been, but that doesn't mean The 20/20 Experience: Part 1 was not well done. The album is very well thought out and it seems that JT is consistently trying to get the most out of each track, and for the most part succeeds. If you are looking for an album that's easy to take in and like the neo-soul/r&b sound than this might just be the album for you.

*Note: I intentionally left out Part 2 as it wasn't nearly as good of an album, although the single "Take Back the Night" was the best song of either album. Very much a throwback to MJ and "You Wanna Be Starting Something".

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones

This album came recommended to me by a friend after I had mentioned that I was enjoying the Yeah Yeah Yeahs most recent album, Mosquito. I'll keep this quick. With this album Karen O. gets in your face, slaps you around a little bit, refuses to apologize, and leaves you groveling at her feet, all in the span 40 minutes. So, yeah check it out.

Janelle Monáe - Electric Lady

Monáe follows up her big breakout album with Suites IV and V of what seems to be her seven suite masterpiece.  As the title implies, this album really is electric.  Monáe continues life as her alter-ego, Cindy Mayweather, an android freedom fighter from the distant future.  In terms of the overall concept of the album, and the suite, I have to say that this album makes a lot more sense and seems more complete as a result. The radio interludes, in which DJ Crash-Crash checks in on the vibe of the city, do wonders to facilitate the setting of the scene. In retrospect the album does wonders for helping understand and take in her previous album, ArchAndroid. Musically, this album continues the performances and creativity Monáe has given in the past. Lastly, if you can somehow manage to track it down check out her performance at the September iTunes Festival in London. At the end of her set I was thinking she was a female James Brown and have personally dubbed her, "The hardest working woman in show business"