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fHontntbtr 23, 1994
AR WAX FACTS
DENOTE
Babe//TVT Records
Denote Is an amalgam
ation of styles from R&B to rap
to house to techno/jazz that
sort themselves out as con
temporary street jazz.1 guess
The troclit lift off with a sweet
R&B baHod. 'Now is the Time.*
immediately establishing a
conventional jazz feel and
birdlike vocals from Dee Mo
tor and Pamel-la Anderson
Fortunately this smooth, har
monious vibe gives way to
harder stuff in 'Judgement'
— stripped down to the tense
beat and groovy bassline
over which Krazy Cool D-Zine
flows political, complete with
Public Enemy samples and
608's boomin'. Things stay
ruff in 'Bronx Bull’ — a funky
techno workout with lines
from Scorsese s Raging Bull
being diced, sliced, grilled
and assembled into a da-da-
esq ue shiskebob Gears shift
for 'The More I See.' a reggae
dublike rap that trips on po
litical confusion, but mostly
impresses me for its smooth,
entrancing dub rhythm Now
that the ears have limbered
up on the sound, out of no
where come those blue trom
bones. sliding away and
away into a cyclical stand-up
bassline, then locking with a
tight drumbeat repeating
circles of groove iust in time
for D-Zine's laid back rap to
take control. This tune.
'Scheme of Things,' is mas
sive — the grooviest and
most transcendental tip of the
CD. firmly linking D*note to
the Massive Attock sound
The last tune. 'Devotion.'
planes out with serially loop
ing motifs of ambient strings,
piano and flute being pulled
along by lively congas and tri
angles — really a six minute
held note of ebbing and flow
ing. warm strings melting,
gently released away from
here, and an effective ending
for Babel
Originally released in En
gland by Dorado. Denotes
Babel is now available in the
USA via TVT Records Denote
ranks with the likes of Mas
sive Attack. UFO and Soul II
Soul and is also a smoking live
band, according to reports
from a Giant Step evening at
the Supper Club for the New
Music Seminar Matt
Wienevski, Denote s brain
child. songwriter and multi
instrumentalist. is responsible
for writing most of the songs
and pulling together his as
sorted bandmates He says. 1
think the last few years have
been a fertile time for music
and people trying to cross
things together That is the
way forword... it's denying
your own tradition The only
thing interesting obout jazz is
when somebody does some
thing different.* True to a
point, but really, with his use
of lydian scales and drum
mochines. Wienevski isn t flirt
ing with anarchy Sure, he
may piss off some 'purist*
worrybirds with his debased
machinations, but who gives
a flying biscuit? Bobel hap
pens to groove like a cat who
just doesn't give a f**k Now.
where did I park my space
ship? Next stop. Underworld
Isaac McCailo
THE FALL
Since 1975
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and Simply
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on the comer of Clayton and Thomas Streets
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NIGHTLY IMPORT SPECIALS
Only Twelve Steps Off Broad St. ^
137 N. Lumpkin * Downtown Athens
Almost A Cut
Above Your
Average Dive.
Mir-ntr * iaa*
Rt VOt T
The Fall.
Middle Class Revolt
aka The Vapounsahon of
Reality / Matador
Overwhelmed by the
choices that confront you when
you shop for alternative music 7
Afraid of taking a chance with
your hard-earned dolors on a
new CD? After aM. those suck
ers cost a bundle Maybe you
like to check out bands who still
have that brash punk attitude,
but who can at least play their
instruments competently and
write songs that seem to mean
something Then look no further
than the new album — their
25th — by that tireless bunch
of blokes from Manchester
known as The Fall Their ap
proach to music is simple, con
sistent and well executed, de
pending as it does on Mark
Smith s snarling, rasping incan
tations ond the throb of Steve
Hanley s bass, the skeleton
around which guitarist Craig
Scanlon and keyboardist Dave
Bush drape their modest attire
And. oh yes. two drummers
You'll be better off with
these cold-eyed chroniclers of
John Bull's decaying empire
than with the grunge darlings of
the nanosecond Go with the
tried and true Al their albums
are worth a listen, but thee re
cent recorded output for their
present label Matador seems
especially strong. The
Infotainment Scan was one of
last year's best, and Matador
has quickly followed up with
Middle Class Revolt The title
is rather enigmatic in political
terms, but The Foil is at least
more perceptive about cur
rent cultural politics and po
litical culture than 95 percent
of those whose angry oppo
sitional stance is purely a
marketing strategy The title
trock ond 'Surmount All Ob
stacles' signal more interest
ing than usual lyrics 'M5#1*
is a motorist's lament, U K
style, while "The S500 Bottle of
Wine’ is a sobering comment
on conspicuous consumption
'15 Ways' is an offbeat an
swer to Poul Simons '50 Ways
to leave Your lover'
Through it all. a dead-on
rockin' band is the perfect
counterpoint to Mark Smiths
deadpan Un-de-si cle deliv
ery Avoid musical collapse
Support The Fall.
Jim Winders
The Wrens
Silver/ Crass
Few bands have cast a
taller shadow over the land
scape of pop music as the
Pixies — and with so few imi
tators. which is supposed to
be a sincere form of flattery.
Well, Frank Black can't even
resurrect the chemistry of the
Pixies, so how could we ex
pect The Wrens to pull it off?
They do by infusing generous
dollops of Santiago guitar.
Black screwball, and some
thing that almost passes for
Kim Deal's la-la Adding to
this mix. however, is an extra
something that sets it apart
from Doolittle (which they so
obviously adore) Tight, tense
and maiestic in spots, this
manages to augment and
eclipse some of the Pixies'
later work Of course, by then,
even they were a walking
parody of themselves Thank
God for the Breeders And The
Wrens
J. E Sumrell
'J
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