MUSIC: OCTOBER

CDS WE LOVE...in which we cozy up to and share music that has struck our eardrums.
(The streams below will be available until November 1, when a new batch will appear.)

Heavy Trash:  MIDNIGHT SOUL SERENADE

(Big Legal Mess Records, 2009)

Before “rock” became an emasculated addendum to other genres of music (folk-rock, alternative-rock, indie-rock), rock & roll described a sound as flagrantly sexual as the term itself. Heavy Trash is rock & roll in the dirtiest and truest sense.
 
In MIDNIGHT SOUL SERENADE, Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray join forces to create a noir-surf soundtrack to the ecstasy and torments of a deadly romance. In “Gee, I Really Love You” and “In My Heart,” the opening and closing tracks, Heavy Trash reflects the naïveté and emotional transport of young love with reverb-drenched pop ditties. The cocksure rockabilly stylings of “Good Man” and the raw energy of “Bedevilment” speak to the power of seduction and the willingness with which we pursue our destruction.“The Pill,” a spoken-word piece about murderous hallucinations, and “Sweet Little Bird” with the grit and swagger of a spaghetti western, give voice to the psychological violence of jealousy and betrayal.

Love and heartache. Sex and violence.Rock and roll. “Midnight Soul Serenade” explores both sides of the same coin, indicating the wild ride ahead, but never telling which way the coin ultimately lands.

Hear This! “Good Man” by Heavy Trash

—BS

Mayer Hawthorne: A STRANGE ARRANGEMENT

(Stones Throw, 2009)

With an album cover that evokes some hybrid of a Handsome Boy Modeling School persona and a Wes Anderson character, the debut release of Mayer Hawthorne (né Andrew Cohen) respectfully incorporates the bravado and sentimentality of both. Hawthorne, having grown up in Ann Arbor, spent a childhood immersed in the sound of Detroit soul. Each song on A STRANGE ARRANGEMENT, including the title track, serves as an enthusiastic billet-doux to the spirit of Northern soul. His cover of “Maybe So, Maybe No” revives a lesser-known New Holidays’ dance-party standard. “Make Her Mine” sounds like a neglected Smokey tune, while “The Ills” delivers a socially minded mantra through an expert Mayfield impression. Hawthorne’s strongest performances lie in the minimalist tales of heartbreak, most notably in “I Wish It Would Rain” and “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out,” both ideal soundtracks for wistful gazing from a bedroom window and the most sincere executions of Hawthorne’s loving talent. Furthermore, Hawthorne’s soul-renaissance record is tight enough for the hipster patrons of his audiophilic Stones Throw label, but sweet and clean enough to play for your mother.

Hear This! “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out” by Mayer Hawthorne

—NE

Junk Culture: WEST COAST

(Illegal Art, 2009)

 
This nine-track EP from Junk Culture, the sampling/production project of Idaho native Deepak Mantena, marks the arrival of another bright young authority on found sound and experimental electronic music. Mantena, who grew up in a smattering of places across the country, recorded the EP while enrolled at the University of Mississippi, in effect finally giving the South some little claim to the post-postmodern electronic production scene. All of the samples are filtered through a handheld recorder to affect the grittiness of a field recording (and many of them are) then patched together in upbeat, cinematic collages. Admittedly not an easy listen for the pop-friendly set, Mantena’s work signifies a return to the DIY/found-sound aesthetic but folded and delivered in a futuristic envelope. Comparisons might include Prefuse 73 minus the overt hip-hop influence, Panda Bear’s spacey patchworks, and El Guincho’s weaving of folksy incantations. Get ready, because millennial music is moving towards this: rather than unlistenable, listening to practically everything.

Hear This! “My Two Hands” by Junk Culture

—NE