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BONDE DO ROLE
With Lasers
Mad Decent/ Domino
When we argue about culture, how
much does the object itselt matter?
Usually, when a cultural argument
arises, it may concern a particular
artistic effort (like, say, A Million Little
Pieces, or the “Sensation" exhibit, or
UGA’s own Iron Horse fiasco from the
'50s), but it's really a debate over wider
principles: how much truth matters,
how valuable oflensiveness is, etc.
Few people ever really care about the
individual work that much, and you
don't even need to have consumed it to
take part in the discussion.
But doesn’t the object at hand
have a strong pull on the shape of
the argument, or even distort the
discussion of principles taking place?
For instance, while I like the abstract
ideas involved in the JT Leroy scam,
the tact that “his* works were horrible
makes me reluctant to rush to their
defense. If slaughtering an infant is a
necessary part of creating an incredibly
moving work of art. should you shun
the work itself?
The members of Brazil's Bonde do
Rol§ throw a welcome monkey wrench
in the argument about cultural tourism
surrounding baile funk, their chosen
genre, by being totally awesome
On “official" debut With Lasers.
they shout dirty things, mostly in
Portugi.se, over deceptively basic
beats that evoke Miami bass and Latin
rhythms. They do a lot with those bask:
elements: ‘Office Boy" uses electric
guitar to make a cheeky, bright pop
song, while "Divine Gosa" is dark and
sexy The electric guitars are key, and
while we could have a whole other
debate about dance music pandering to
rock kids, it's more fun to just put the
album on and have a party
Michael Barthel
Polytheistic Fragments, the
sixth solo album by Bishop—he’s
also a founding member of the
truly marvelous Sun City Girls—is,
stylistically speaking, not as all over
the map as could be expected from
its divergent influences. True, Bishop
explores gypsy, old-time, African
and other styles on this album, but
this is a complete work. Opener
“Cross My Palm With Silver" runs
seamlessly from its gypsy strum
into the mournful, wailing “Hecate's
Dream." Appropriately named after the
Greek goddess of the crossroads, the
piece is emotionally heavy with single
notes extended to a length almost
painful—to the heart more than the
ears—to experience. Southwestern jazz
piece “Elysium Number Five" places
the listener in fSmiliar territory before
the album shifts again to the unfamiliar
ground of ‘Rub’ At Khali."
The latter, a guitar ode to the
North African lute instrument the oud.
is stirring and anxious Bishop takes
up the piano on “Cemetery Games'
and “Saraswati." The former is a
jarring, beat-driven and dark tune,
while the latter, an unsettlingly pretty
composition, makes ample use of its
empty space If in naming this album
Polytheistic Fragments. Bishop meant
to introduce or pay tribute to the gods
ot various styles, nations and people,
that makes sense. It’s not a resume of
styles or a showy collection of talent.
Its a story to be experienced start to
finish. It’s up to you to determine what
he* saying—or rather, what his music
says to you.
Gordon Lamb
Sir Richard Bishop is playing at the
40 Watt Club on Saturday. Sepl. 1.
WARM II THE WAKE
Amtrican Prehistoric
Livewire
Bonde do Rote is playing at the
Drunken Unicom in Atlanta on Friday.
Oct. 12.
SB RICHARD BISHOP
Polytheistic Fragments
Drag City
Sir Richard Bishop plays like the
devil. Or so said the late, great John
Fahey And an honest assessment
ot Bishop's talent should place him
alongside other guitar greats like
Fahey and Robbie Basho, it not as an
innovator, than certainly as a peer
I know a lot ot people disagree
with me, but I find Wilco to be one of
the most execrable bands of the past
15 years Damnedest thing, though, is
how far reaching its influence is.
By the time the cult of Wilco
filters down to a listener, what you're
hearing is a copy of a copy of a copy
of the bands Wilco is copying. For
instance, take the title track from this
new Warm in the Wake album—it’s got
that jumpy, half-step feel ot Tweedy &
Co., complete with needless, pseudo-
spacey keyboard swooshes And it's an
unfortunate way for the Decatur band
to start things oft. because there are
a couple of really good songs on this
album
“Airport Girl’ has a great shuttling
back beat with a deliberate, pretty
piano melody and tastefully restrained
orchestration. The lyrics aren't much
to speak of (the whole album sutlers
from poor lyricism), but musically, the
track shines And “She'd Never Seen It*
features a killer chorus with plenty ot
sweet, mid-level harmonies
The main problem with American
Prehistoric is that it just sounds so put
on. In short: I don't believe 'em. Even
if the characters on this album were
culled from real people, they're not
treated with tenderness or respect, but,
rather, simply as song fodder. Similar
to photographers who exploit the poor
or the tragic to make their art, Warm
in the Wake wants to tell us about
authenticity but is possessive of none
to show.
This may well be the problem
of America itself (to say nothing of
the utterly phony genre Americana).
There’s a gut feeling among some of
the ensconced, gated, suburban and/
or collegiate crowd that there exists
something more real just outside their
walls. Bands like Warm in the Wake
exploit this desire by pretending that
one can experience authenticity without
getting one's hands dirty. The audience,
now tooled, walks away with little more
than the same experience they would
get during an afternoon at a shopping
mall. Authenticity can't be bought, but
it can be mimicked. Warm in the Wake
certainly has that down.
Gordon Lamb
Warm in the Wake is playing at the
40 Watt Club on Friday. Nov. 9.
MNA NASTASIA &
JIM WHITE
You Follow Me
Fatcat
The term ‘singer-songwriter*
has become nebulous. Its most
negative connotation ("sensitive dude
with guitar") is still common, but it
incorporates, technically speaking,
everyone from R. Kelly to Dan Deacon.
Nina Nastasia is a great example of the
good places this slippage has led. as
the albums released under her name
alone sound not unlike a brainy post
rock band
But by marrying those careful
sonics to a singer-songwriter's locus
on melody, lyrics and singing—
something that can be an afterthought
tor post-rock bands—she ends up with
a whole richer and more rewarding
than any of its parts
So by crediting as co-artist Jim
White, who's drummed on some
of her previous releases, Nastasia
is acknowledging the degree of
collaboration on You Follow Me The
whole album is just White's drums and
Nastasia's guitar and voice, and White's
inventive drumwork allows the songs
to grow beyond the limitations of the
singer-songwriter format The added
dynamic range allows passages to float
or pound, not just progress, and the
three elements sync up in remarkable
ways throughout the album
‘While it’s impressive that so limited
a palette works so well and so broadly,
the album drones on sometimes The
songs themselves are consistently
strong: “I Write Down Lists" lurches
like two drunks inettectually wrestling,
and "There Is No Train" conjures a
deceotive calm. It actually sounds
a lot like White* band The Dirty
Three, and the sound ot the missing
elements makes you wish they hadnt
limited themselves so strictly. Such
minimalism is, well, a little too singer-
songwritery.
Michael Barthel
STUPORHERO
Last Star Shining
Basement Taoe
Stuporhero is the boy/ girl/
mannequin indie pop band from Seattle
featuring the husband-and-wife duo
of Jen Garrett (bass, vocals, cello and
synth) and Will Troy (guitar, vocals,
trumpet and synth) and their plastic
companion Chuckles on drums.
When performing live. Will and Jen
play to pre-recorded drum tracks
while Chuckles sits behind a child's
drum set. Stuporhero* latest effort.
Last Star Shining, is a collection of
16 exuberantly peppy pop melodies,
jangly guitars and hopelessly
endearing lyrics.
The only negative to Last Star
Shining is the unflattering arrangement
ot tracks on the CD. It opens with
"Flying Discs." which is surprisingly
a bit of a snoozer. Second track
“Superball" has an incredible build
up that entices the audience to take a
closer listen, which would have been
more suitable tor an opener The rest o’
the album is packed with catchy upbeat
hooks and fleeting somber moments.
The best track on the album, “Vantage
Point," encompasses both ends of the
spectrum as Troy croons, “Let's bpen
up the windows and let in the rain /
Drive away and don't look back /1 don't
wanna remember us this way." The
album ends with the buoyant acoustic
•song “Punk like You," which dissolves
into hypnotic tabla and Wurlitzer over
chanting “Let your freak flag fly ’
Last Star Shining ends up being
one part Television Personalities and
one pari Guided by Voices mixed to
the beat of something resembling lo-ti
pop-punk, a generally happy little
album for generally happy little people
Charley Lee
ERl'C COPELAND
Hermaphrodite
Paw Tracks
Eric Copeland, ol Black Dice
semi-tame, has dropped his solo
debut on Animal Collective* label,
and I'm immediately shocked This
comes closer than I could've expected
to matching Person Pitch, from
30 FLAGPOLE.COM AUGUST 29,2007
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