CLIPPING
There Existed An Addiction to Blood
(LP/CD)(SubPop)
Daveed Diggs may be best known for his star turn in "Hamilton." As his own rapper as part of Clipping, he has a lot of potential. "Blood" is not as harsh as the previous two releases. Diggs' rhymes provide most of the rhythmic changes, with a very minimal drum machine whirr and various sounds as his backdrop.
Producers/collaborators Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson know how to keep the drama high without losing the lightning strike of Clipping's spartan sound. They impose 80's horror soundtrack ideas on "Nothing Is Safe" and the harrowing "La Mala Ordina." However, it is the Gil Scott Heron-esque "Blood of the Fang" that satisfies your addiction.
BATTLES
Juice B Crypts
(LP/CD)(Warp)
Battles have battled for a long time with being seen as an "Indie Rock Supergroup." Now reduced to multi-instrumentalist Ian Williams and drummer John Stanier, they have found the mix of maximalism and minimalism they were after. "Titanium 2 Step" continues the tradition of guest vocalists and simply hardwiring into the groove and riding it until you cannot hold on any longer (see also "Ice Cream”-with Matias Aguayo-). When Williams and Stanier "play" their vocalists like Xenia Rubinos on "A Loop So Nice/They Played It Twice," their sound is immediate, sharp and insistent. We have always know Stanier is a human drum machine. Listen to those subtle accents as he keeps time and propels the song against all the sounds Williams can throw at him. "Juice B Crypts" takes Battles further away from their awesome debut, but maintains their consistently creative Electronic Rock.
CODY JINKS
After the Fire/The Wanting
(CD)(Late August/The Orchard)
Jinks came into his own with "Lifers" last year. Releasing two records at once is a huge step for even the biggest artists (Guns N' Roses, Bruce Springsteen,) but for a new singer/songwriter it forces listeners to sit up and take notice. "After The Fire" is pure country. Songs are written in that distinct 80's Classic Country motif - burners and earners. "Aint A Train" is evocative and features a blazing fiddle solo, while the gentle sway of "Think Like You Think" could have easily been a hit for Possum or even Conway Twitty. "The Wanting" treads closer to modern Americana taking back Country. "The Wanting" cracks like Steve Earle, while his gravitas finally emerges on the magisteral "Which One I Feed." While both albums could have been stitched together (a la Jamey Johnson, clearly an influence on Jinks,) you are presented with two roads to decide to take.
JIMMY “DUCK” HOLMES
Cypress Grove
(LP/CD)(Easy Eye)
Holmes is the last of the Bentonia School Bluesmen. He learned to play the Blues like Skip James and Jack Owens in that wild droning minor tuning. Paired with producer Dan Auerbach (and a band,) his songs prove to be as tough to shake off as Yazoo clay. While it is not "pure" blues, it is close to capturing the immediacy and time-stopping voodoo groove of Hill Country Blues. "Catfish Blues" is a mix of tradition and modernism, while the tantalizing "All Night Long" sounds like John Lee Hooker playing with a Latin band.
CORRIDOR
Junior
(LP/CD)(SubPop)
So much of Indie rock has to be defined in other terms so that you can obtain a bite-size easy-to-understand synopsis of it (don't worry, guilty here as well.) Montreal's Corridor ease into the SubPop lineup with that sunny disposition of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, but quickly morph into a band far different than expected. Their songs are all single-worthy, the swoon-worthy "Pow" boasts a disco beat and twinkly keyboards. However, the band their vocals in the background (and en Francais) creating real mystery. "Topographe" separates the band's strands a little further exposing an abstract beat and slightly angular guitar line before layering almost Fleet Foxes-ian vocals above the fray. However, it's the blissful guitar tradeoff of "Domino" that you never want to end. "Junior" is chockful of simple ideas that are expanded and layered in a myriad of ways demonstrating this Montreal four-piece is already beyond some soon-to-be-dated Band-of-the-Moment.
