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IRIDESCENT VEIN
Appalachia
Ravenmocker
This record could have come out ot
London or New York, but Athens? Goth
duo Brian Macbeth and Jessica Wheat
Cook are onto something with this. The
two float in a dark, spiraling space con
juring images of Bauhaus. Syd
Barrett.and Bnan Eno.
As I listened to this dense collage of
sound, a storm rolled in over my
humble abode. I'm not speaking
metaphorically here. I mean a Georgia
summer thundershower During
“Ultraviolet Life," a bolt from ttie sky
slashed down and knocked out power
during the ‘lightning drive-electric
despair" section ot the song. This was
too perfect. After my stereo came back
to life, I was escorted into a foggy netiier
region by Macbeth's down-the-well
vocals. Graves, veins, blood, snakes,
stars, trees, sex and death flooded my
consciousness. “Hemlock" ushered me
to a dazed state reminiscent of an
incense filled college dorm which then
mutated into a tomb.
The trippiest area was called
“Appalachia." The long, minimalist
soundscape reminded me ot Arcadia
and Prince, but its anesthetic quality
kept me aloft like mid-'70s German
ambiance. The muddy mix and wonder
fully decadent artwork is the perfect
complement to the matenal. Somewhere
near the end of ‘Sleeping Sickness." the
storm outside blew away. As this record
ended, I could still hear it ofl in the dis
tance. (P.O. Box 1563. Athens. GA
30603)
Chris McKay
CALVIN, DON’T JUMP!
Crystal Clear Mississippi
Independent release
C.DJ! ringleader J. Kirk Pleasant's
pedigree (one-time Olivia Tremor
Control and Macha sideman. yeah,
yeah, yeah) and the opening track on his
full-length debut (your requisite asth
matic high school band tune-up) are
likely to convince you that th-s is
another Elephant 6 record. That's just as
well; i guarantee you've done something
despicable enough to deserve the recoil
that ensues. This is Syd Barrel without a
huggable stuffed dolphin in sight. While
most ol Ihe Neural Elf Control bands
tiptoe around the edge of insanity just lo
show they care, Pleasant plunges right
in. Crystal Clear Mississippi is a con-
loundmg Day-Glo lever dream that will
stunt your growth if you lei il gei that far
inside your ear canals At Ihe very least,
it'll haunt your waking thoughts and set
you back a lew years in your all-impor
tant “personal evolution."
Contemporaries like Jefl Mangum and
Kevin Barnes seem to pine for 5th grade
music class, but Pleasant is fast asleep
on his tri-colored naptime map. plotting
revenge Ever plotted revenge 9 You may
or may not get it. Either way. don't miss
out on “Seeds And Wings”: Stasis +
Suspension + Catharsis = 7P (965 N.
Chase St.. Athens. GA 30601)
Emerson Dameron
GENTLE READERS
Hi Honey
Flat Earth
The Allanta-based Gentle Readers'
'^w album is full of well-crafted jangly
folk-pop. The uniformly tasteful playing
is elegant arid modest at the same time.
"Center Of The Universe’ is augmented
by beautifully psychedelic Roger
McGuinn-style guitar. Susan
Fitzsimmons has just the right amount
ot twang in her voice to personalize
these reflective songs and spare them
from even more comparisons to Indigo
Girls. I found my head bopping along
involuntarily to “Difficult.' which despite
its title, is easy lo dive into and wade
through its confessions of “growing up’
and more adamant This tune's bubbly,
effervescent groove is driven by Linda
Bolley's drumming and Greg Partridge's
bouncing bass
Other highiighl include the har
mony-laden “California” which is
subtle, insightful, and to Ihe point lyri
cally and musically, and a countrified
cover of Sade’s “Tf« Sweetest Taboo.’
There is obviously a real life experience
that we re being let in on here I would
be irresponsible lo not mention Ihe
gui*ar and Wurlitzer work ot Lee
Cuthberf
Check this record out. everything is
in the right place at the right time. What
more could a pop tan ask for? (6900
South Gray Rd. Indianapolis, IN 46237)
Chris McKay
mamx ewsodb £
P-HOID
Manik Episodes
Dusibunny
In the improvisational classroom
that is the (slowly blossoming) Athens
hip-hop scene. P-Noid does his home
work a little too well. Over the same
tracks that would just as easily provide
wallpaper for Tragic's “Private Dancer’
(“Can I skeet in your mouth, bitch?), the
P insists on packing his lyrics with
double-time witticisms and
personal/social significance
Unfortunately for him and for us. his
music doesn't venture far beyond the
stuttering, barely connected fare made
famous by No Limit and Cash Money
(You know, the tracks where you wonder
if the rappers and the producers hooked
up at all.) Local legend Mealtime Brown
gives P-Noid his share of lush back
drops. but the two seem more often at
odds than in sync. Manik Episodes is
the frustrating sound ol two talents
looking for a place to connect
Only on “Free My Mind' does
Mealtime’s production stay in step with
P-Noid’s mathematical, rutnlessly self-
descriptive vision. (Coincidence or not.
that's also where Mealtime's alter ego
Parakeet Nelson stops by to sing a tew
bars.) It's a slow and brutal ode to lost
loved ones that transcends the genre in
the manner of Ice Cube's “Dead
Homiez" or The Geto Boys' “Six Feet
Deep.’ and it’s the only time this
promising record gels. (i.e. the producer
and the MC bump into each other.)
Here's hoping this happens more often
in the future; I’ve gotta free my mind,
too. (PC. Box 1012. Athens. GA 30603)
Emerson Dameron
MIKEL K BAND
Don't Say Hate
E
Listening lo this spoken-word, over
almost-funky music makes for a
preachy and contnved expenence.
Dangerously straddling the line between
so-called art and pop culture, Atlantan
Mikel K ranis and whines with little to
share, and he sheds light on even less.
His repetitive, monotonous dissertations
seem overwrought and. worst ol all.
self-righteous His voice is akin to
Chuck Moseley (from Faith No More's
early releases) and his band is alter
nately dissonant and "groovy." Mikel K
waxes philosophic with lines like “Will I
ever love again or will I always be in
quiet despair?" and “I am just a pained
beast with tears screaming out what I
don't know ’
A little humor goes a long way on
the most listenable tracks. "Just Stare At
Hookers’ and “Ken Doll," but for the
most part, this is a dull, labored, too-
serious extravaganza While Mikel's
heart seems to be in the right place. I
can't help but find it a bit offensive to
hear him speaking for African-
Americans on "We Are All Slaves ’ He
actually has the nerve to claim that he
knows how slaves fell, because he had a
difficult relationship with his father. I
mean. I'm sorry the guy had it rough,
but I’m pretty sure itls not comparable to
the greatest legalized injustice in our
country's history. Unless you re just a
die-hard poetry slam kind ol person,
you won't miss this. Check out the new
Rollins Band record instead.
Oh. and Mikel... lighten up a bit,
and you might find it easier to make a
point. (2768 Craigie Ave. Decatur. GA
30030)
Chris McKay
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El FLAGPOLE JULY
12, 2000