Casual Listening -- The Bird and the Bee, Mariza, Bruce Springsteen

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

January 30, 2009

* The Bird and the Bee – Ray Guns are Not Just the Future (rock)

Beguiling vocals by Inara George are enclosed in playfully retro beats and bleeps. Lush, late-night lounge music for the crewmember’s lounge on the starship Enterprise.

Listen to The Bird and the Bee “My Love”

* Mariza – Terra (world)

Nostalgic, emotionally intense songs from a powerhouse vocalist. This is Fado, a little-known Portuguese tradition which is enjoying a mini-revival thanks in no small part to Mariza. Jazz and flamenco influences also make appearances throughout the album.

Listen to Mariza “Minh Alma”

Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream (rock)

Springsteen’s rootsy rock has changed little in 30 years, but in a changing America, there are moments when his music really resonates. Now is one of those times. Stories of hard-hit ordinary people hoping against hope for a brighter day speak to the economic trauma and political possibility of the day. Not every song hits, but the ones that do would bring a smile to Woody Guthrie’s face.

Listen to Bruce Springsteen “Queen of the Supermarket”

and the theme from the motion picture “The Wrestler”

Master Musicians of Jajouka – Live vol.1 (world)

Jajouka is a small town in Morocco where one family is keeping alive some of the oldest musical traditions on the planet. Specialized flutes, oboes, and drums characterize a mesmerizing sound of droning tones and darting rhythms.

Listen to Master Musicians of Jajouka “If the Moon Loves You”

Bill Evans & Megan Lynch – Let’s Do Something (folk)

A contemporary take on the fiddle & banjo, Evans & Lynch pair inventive tunes and reflective lyrics with serious stringwork.

Listen to Bill Evans & Megan Lynch “Rocks and Water”

Grave Digger – Ballads of a Hangman (metal)

Fast and heavy. Although the macabre themes would suggest death metal, the clearly sung vocals and power-chord guitar work places this music in the realm of the speed metal of the late ’80s.

Listen to Grave Digger “Sorrow of the Dead”

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening -- Bon Iver, Andrew Bird, Beausoleil

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

January 23, 2009

!@&#% The Real Jane Martin – Simple Math (rock)

I reserve this absurdly high rating for those releases sharing a singular quality: recordings of me. TRJM is a folk-rock duo who released their debut album this week to wide critical acclaim. The songs are pages from a journal of urban life, with ringing vocals by Allen Rein and agile acoustic fretwork by Mark Burns. The group has assembled a stellar supporting cast, including yours truly contributing virtuoso harmonica stylings and Brian Zieske making magic behind the soundboard.

Hear samples of The Real Jane Martin here

Find them on itunes here

Or at CD Baby here

! Bon Iver – Blood Bank (folk)

Four very different songs constitute this anticipated E.P. The title track plugs in the guitar for a more conventional rock sound, while “Beach Baby” could easily have been included on For Emma, Forever Ago. “Babys” has a piano part that sounds inspired by Phillip Glass in its repetitive simplicity. The real gem is “Woods,” which repurposes an autotuner for a multi-layered a capella benediction. The resulting sound resembles a harpsichord, with punctuated trills and interwoven phrases of clear tone. Gorgeous.

Listen to Bon Iver “Woods”

* Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light

Quiet songs sung with a beautifully fragile voice with spare accompaniments of piano guitar, and strings. Aching, tender, and not easily forgotten.

Listen to Antony and the Johnsons “Her Eyes are Underneath the Ground”

* Andrew Bird – Noble Beast (rock)

Artfully composed orchestral pop with some well-placed whistling. Bird has made a seamless album with the attention to detail that rewards repeated listening.

Listen to Andrew Bird “Oh No”

Beausoleil – Alligator Purse (Cajun)

Good Cajun music is hard to find, so a new release by America’s best-known Cajun band is cause for celebration. This one has a heavy helping of traditional-style numbers driven by accordion, fiddle, and triangle, with a couple of blues-influenced tunes to boot.

Listen to Beausoleil “Rouler et Tourner”

(That’s Rollin’ and Tumblin’ for all you blues fans)

Anya Marina – Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II (rock)

Rebellious rock-edged cabaret energized by Marina’s sultry vocals. Warning: super-infectious.

Listen to Anya Marina “All the Same to Me”

Ben Nichols – The Last Pale Light in the West (country)

Rugged country-folk. Jagged-edged vocals and acoustic guitar with pedal steel and accordion flourishes conjure images of solitude and wide-open spaces.

Listen to Ben Nichols “The Last Pale Light in the West”

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion (rock)

Bright, busy electronics and copious reverb lend a psychedelic flair to a set of approachable melodies. Animal Collective comes across as Phish’s artsy cousin.

Listen to Animal Collective “Summertime Clothes”

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening -- Monkey, Late of the Pier, Blue Note 7

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

January 16, 2009

! Monkey: Journey to the West and Monkey Bee Remixes (world)

Sadly, I missed Monkey: Journey to the West when it came out last year – possibly the most interesting opera of the new Millennium. Damon Albarn (of Blur and Gorillaz) and Chen Shi-Zheng have drawn on Chinese classical and pop music as well as Western orchestrations and electronica to create a soundscape that bridges eras and continents. Monkey Bee Remixes is new this week, with two tracks from the original, and two remixes – enough to get a taste of what this project is about.

Listen to “Heavenly Peach Banquet” from Monkey: Journey to the West

* Late of the Pier – Fantasy Black Channel (rock)

Late of the Pier worships at the altar of 1980’s new wave, bringing vintage synthesizer sounds together with driving disco-rock that’s impossible to ignore. You’re going to hear this band compared to a crazy mismatch of acts that emerged from those years: Prince, The Cars, Duran Duran, Devo, Simple Minds, and Thomas Dolby for starters. Name-dropping doesn’t do justice to the energy and atmosphere that this group conjures.

Listen to Late of the Pier “Space and the Woods”

The Blue Note 7 – Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note Records

An all-star jam session put together for the record label’s 70^th anniversary. Nicholas Payton and Ravi Coltrane are among the more prominent players who dig into a set of substantial but lesser-known Blue Note classics. It’s a treat to hear these giants come together as an ensemble.

Listen to The Blue Note 7 “Outlaw”

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening - The 2008 Playlists

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

January 9, 2009

The 2008 Playlists

For your listening pleasure, 60 of the best songs of 2008, arranged in four sets to suit your mood:

Fiesta Mix

Rebellious Mix

Comfort Mix

Blue Mix

2008 Leftovers – 2009 releases won’t really get rolling for a couple weeks. Meanwhile, a couple of great ones that I missed in 2008.

* Metermaids – Nightlife in Illinoise (mash-up)

Hip hop duo Metermaids have decided to superimpose their album Nightlife over Sufjan Stevens baroque folk masterpiece Illinois. It’s an improbable success, with heavy beats adding to already lush orchestration. This one’s an ear-opener.

Free Download of Nightlife in Illinoise here

* Jose Feliciano – Con Mexico en el Corazon

The Nuyorican singer does a surprisingly authentic set of Mexican ballads. Mariachi orchestration and strong guitar work characterize these tracks.

Listen to Jose Feliciano “La Noche y Tu”

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.