|
 Pocket
Change
By
Mike Hotter
Todd
Nelson
A founding
member of storied Albany new-wave outfit Fear of Strangers,
Todd Nelson is a preternaturally tasteful guitar player whose
jazz and blues-flavored improv skills have been utilized by
such varied acts as Aimee Mann, Hayseed and local rock &
rollers the Rumdummies. Billed simply as ·music for
guitar, bass and drums,· Here is a seven-song
affair filled with no-frills instrumentals that highlight
Nelson·s clean, clear electric guitar tone and always
interesting melodic sense. Comprising five originals, along
with arrangements for two traditional tunes, ·Into
the House· and ·The Blacksmith,· the
album is enjoyable from start to finish, ranging from the
Steely Dan-esque sophistication of ·Dinosaurs·
(co-written with Rumdummies bandmate Pat Conover) to the rueful
balladry of ·Crestfallen.·
Nelson impresses without ever showboating; while more nimble-fingered
than most ax-slingers (at times bringing to mind such heavyweights
as Bill Frisell and John Scofield), his guitar lines hew mindfully
to the emotional intent of each composition, and he is always
sure to leave plenty of space for both the melody and his
rhythm section. Composed of bassist Kyle Esposito and drummer
Manuel Quintana, this solid and ·in-the-pocket·
duo can usually be found backing up Hudson Valley songstress
Anna Cheek (alongside lead guitarist Nelson, naturally). It·s
a joy to hear this trio explore beyond the boundaries of the
standard singer-songwriter format.
Custom
built for fans of instrumental rock and jazz, Here is unpretentious
enough in its pleasures to please even those who don·t
consider themselves aficionados. What Nelson and co. have
made here is an exercise in melodic improvisation, well-built
and extremely well-played.
 Fennesz
Daniell Buck
Knoxville
This half-hour
CD was recorded at the inaugural Big Ears Festival in 2009;
the title is taken from the Tennessee city where that festival
was held. It captures the first musical meeting of a trio
of potent improvisers: guitarist David Daniell, drummer Tony
Buck, and Christian Fennesz on guitar and electronics. The
three enter their mutual yard with softly trod first steps,
the opening number talking shape as gentle weather patterns
meet metallic sonics bearing the character of child-sized
farmyard contraptions. Five minutes into the eight-and-a-half
minute piece, storm clouds appear over the prairie, vast and
magnificent. The next two numbers contrast with one another:
·Heat From Light· spends the bulk of its duration
boiling away, bringing to mind the unrelenting vigor heard
in Australian Buck·s long running band, the Necks;
·Antonia· then offers a prayerlike retreat inward.
The set concludes with the densely sparkling grandeur of ·Diamond
Mind,· a textured and undulating tunnel pointed towards
a flickering light that blinks as it keeps flying farther
away, like a distant star being towed into another dimension.
·David
Greenberger
 These
New Puritans
Hidden
Welcome
to post-Kid A rock & roll. It took a while but it was
bound to happen. Thanks to modern technology, your local band
could decide to abandon their guitars and begin using found
sounds, sequencers, choirs, 6-foot taiko drums, a 13-piece
woodwind and brass ensemble, and movie samples all at the
drop of a hat.
On Hidden,
These New Puritans do just that·and they create something
along the lines of a mix between Godspeed You! Black Emperor
and Radiohead·s more experimental albums. This is a
recording that represents the modern indie·brooding
tracks about life, death, love and war, built with pieces
of electro, post-rock, dance rock, the Arcade Fire thing and
hip-hop.
The album
seethes with imagination, thriving at its sinister, sci-fi
movie best. The album-opening ·Time Xone,· built
on alternative percussion, horns and strings, feels like the
intro of the film Inception. The following track, ·We
Want War,· is built on an eerie sample that starts
in the background but becomes increasingly prominent as the
song stamps along. Lead singer Jack Barnett is no Thom Yorke,
but what he lacks in glorious high notes and pomp he makes
up for with a narrative urgency that keeps you engrossed.
Listening
to Hidden is like reading the brilliant work of a first author·intimidating,
frustrating, but full of new discoveries and rewards. In the
end These New Puritans will likely achieve bigger things,
but if they were to never release an album again, Hidden would
still be revealing secrets and treasures in its labyrinthine
structure for years to come.
·David
King
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