Merge Records helping shape future of young artists
William Tyler
Goes West
[LP/CD](Merge)
SNEAKS
Highway Hypnosis
[LP/CD](Merge)
Merge Records is renowned for nurturing its talent and giving them far more room for growth. Their premiere younger artists continue to shatter genre boundaries and even expectations on their latest releases.
William Tyler is a stellar guitar player. Already having wowed us with mood (2013's "Impossible Spirit") and an experimental travelogue (2016's "Modern Country"), "Goes West" is Tyler fully focused on blending his natural skill with a knack for songwriting. Where "Modern Country" was about the other instruments brought in to play with Tyler, "Goes West" always uses its synths and drums to accent Tyler. "Call Me When I'm Breathing Again" is very John Fahey in structure, but continues to evolve in all directions because of Tyler's challenging chord changes. "Fail Safe" runs enough scales to make the guitar players drool, but at its heart begs to be absorbed as a new folk song.
"Goes West" further accomplishes Tyler at the vanguard in new guitar heroes and pushes him even further toward being the beacon of instrumental music returning to Americana.
Eva Moolchan released two short masterful albums of bass-driven, drum-machine-purring minimalism that set critics on their ears.
"It's A Myth" woke up her hip-hop sensibilities and clearly leads us to the transitional "Highway Hypnosis." Unlike "Gymnastics" and "Myth," "Highway Hypnosis" seems out to feel different.
First of all, the mistakes are still in the mix. Like Pavement and those lo-fi artists before her - they lend charm to jams like "And We're Off." Working with producer Jacknife Lee, Sneaks' first real single, "Hong Kong To Amsterdam," gets a very M.I.A-ish make-under with skating beats and synth swirls. The remainder of the record carries a loose, dubby feel as Moolchan's tracks are allowed to drift.
Cuts like "Ecstasy" and "Beliefs" sound familiar, but Moolchan is learning to paint in the spaces between. "The Way It Goes" is banger that teases with electronic breaks, never giving you that big raging beat. "Highway Hypnosis," as an album, is largely about tantalizing. Moolchan has slowed her pace, but still programs fierce beats. She just wants to shed her post-punk phase to keep us guessing and listening.
LULA WILES
What Will We Do
[LP/CD](Smithsonian Folkways)
LEYLA McCall
The Capitalist Blues
[LP/CD]
EERIE WANDA
Pet Town
[LP/CD](Youful Noise)
This is a trio of new burgeoning female artists who are finding a way to revitalize music. The trio Lula Wiles has found a way to combine their unique voices where they can beautifully close-sing (a la The Roches) and then showcase their spectrum (a la Trio-Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt). The results are enticing. "Morphine" and "Hometown" are detailed visions brought to life and "Bad Guy" is a definitely unique new murder ballad.
Leyla McCall from Carolina Chocolate Drops is out to find a new palette of sounds for her banjo-led Americana. The largely socially conscious lyrics of the album are the one consistency throughout "The Capitalist Blues." Elsewhere, she swings wildly from song-to-song, cutting a visceral path for loose, bluesy tracks as well as Haitian Creole guitars, Trinidadian rhythms and the music of New Orleans.
Eerie Wanda a/k/a Marina Tadic hails from Croatia. Her ethereal and atmospheric production makes her delicate voice and plucked guitar sound otherworldly. "Pet Town" features small touches of keyboards and percussion that push her toward pop. But on her own, Tadic's wistful singing and weird lyrics make a concoction that we haven't heard since the days of K Records.
BACKSTREET BOYS
DNA
[LP/CD](Sony)
"DNA" is the biggest selling group in the world regrouping to prove they still have it. However, honestly, do we want it that way? The handful of singles definitely showcase the group’s crystalline harmonies. "No Place" could burst open from all its countryish cliches and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" feels strangely incomplete. But the slow-building, pulsating "Chances" shows they still have some edge and spectacle remaining.
THROWBACK OF THE WEEK
WARREN ZEVON
[LP](Elektra/Rhino)
Singer-songwriters were in their heyday during the Seventies. From Chicago to L.A., Zevon found himself roommates with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and admirer Jackson Browne ready to produce his debut album. After his songs were recorded by Linda Ronstadt, it was time to hear from the man himself. While the Eagles may help out, Zevon's savage wit always wins out. "Mohammed's Radio," "Carmelita" and "Desperados Under The Eaves" remain unmatched in their storytelling. "Hasten Down The Wind" and "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" are honestly better in his hands than Ronstadt's and "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" is the first of many twisted autobiographies. The first of four stellar albums that would anoint Zevon as the ultimate L.A. chronicler.
BIG STAR
Live At WLIR
[CD/LP](Omnivore)
In the Nineties when Big Star was rediscovered, this live session (previously released as "Big Star Live" on Rykodisc) was a lost gem. Caught on the radio shortly after the release of "Radio City," Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens are breaking in new bass player John Lightman, which truly makes this a showcase for Chilton. The band is more freewheeling in the beginning set ("Mod Lang" and a revelatory "O My Soul") and a little more tense in the back half ("You Get What You Deserve" and "Daisy Glaze" both have bite.) However, the acoustic set from Chilton in the middle is the main attraction. In his hands, "The Ballad of El Goodo," "Thirteen," and "I'm In Love With A Girl" sound lonely and lovelorn. His cover of Loudon Wainwright III's "Motel Blues" is urgent, desperate and dare I say better than the original.
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