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Super Group
Good Charamel
No. they haven't merged with Cibo
Matto. Shonen Knife’s just added a
permanent (and new) bass player to
recreate itself as a full-time power trio
and released this new missive that is
both thoroughly rock and adorably
pop at the same time. “Muddy Bubbles
Hell." for example, is pretty ragin' and
demands to be played loud. “Pyramid
Power* is strongly riff-based, while
“Deer Biscuits* is a countrified bit of
novelty weirdness with a two-step beat.
“BBQ Party* merges the two, starting
out quietly and building in volume
and tempo as the girls chant “pig out,
pig out, pig out.* The group's cover of
the Wings song “Jet* may be the best
example of where the rest of the record
falls: enthusiastic, in love with guitars
and music—stadium rock, at least
in aspiration. Super Group is a touch
more polished than some of Shonen
Knife's efforts, but don’t expect the
personality to have been bleached out.
It's a fine introduction to the joys of
making music, and it’s nice to know the
band hasn't become jaded.
Hillary Brown
CURLEY MAPLE
Shawneetown
Old Time Idiots
Named for a type of instrument
wood popular among fiddlers. Athens’
Curley Maple waltzes stringband
music into the modern age on its debut
album. Comprised of longtime local
fiddler David Blackmon, singer/string
player Noel Blackmon, bassist Chris
Enghauser and vocalist/mandolinist
Christian Lopez, the group lays down
an abbreviated overview of old time
ingenuity on Shawneetown.
What's most remarkable about
the album is Curley Maples ability to
switch from the Appalachian mountain
stomp of tunes like “Seventeen Cents*
to the intricate old-world sound of
“Monroe's Farewell/ Elzic’s Farewell"
on a dime. They deftly avoid getting
stuck in one repetitive theme or style
as Shawneetown bounces irom rousing
instrumentals (“Jeff Davis,* “Forked
Dear’) to heartfelt ballads like “Across
the Blue Mo"ntains,“ on which Lopez
and Noel Blackmon's vocals harmonize
seamlessly with David Blackmon's
tender, slow-drawn fiddle.
Both revamped staples and original
twists on traditional themes come alive
on this hospitable, potluck recording,
which welcomes both bouzouki and
banjo. Good luck telling the difference
between the old and newly penned,
because the members of Curley
Maple are true pros when it comes to
embodying the charm, sentiment and
warmth of folk music's treasured past.
Michael Andrews
THAYBtSARRANO
King
Independent Release
Even if you didn’t know Thayer
Sarrano recorded this album in her
own home with a bunch of friends and
no heat on several winter mornings, .
you might well be able to guess. From
its opener, “Without Warning," King
recalls nothing so much as Matthew
Houck's work, measured, winding,
pretty, moaning songs full of soft,
Gothic touches that are undeniably
Southern. Even without the steel guitar
that sings throughout these tunes
(resembling Daniel Lanois' work), you
could peg it easily as originating in
a specific region: this one. Sarrano's
rooted in place, as is clear from her
work with many another band in Athens
and her plan to produce J,000 copies
of the CD. numbered and ornamented
with handmade artwork—and so is her
music. If you're not feeling patient, or
mopey, you might want to skip to track
six, “Nightlife* or track nine,'Hear the
Same Song,’ which have a little more
pep to them, but the rest are good for
a drizzly day when you want nothing
more than to be inside. Yes, they blend
together a bit much, and it’s been done
better before, but there’s something
about the way they sound that brings
to mind some of the romance of artistic
poverty and the hyperlocal focus that is
Athens' blessing and curse.
Hillary Brown
Thayer Sarrano is playing at Cind
on Sunday, Oct. 11.
GET COLOR
HEALTH
Get Color
Lovepump United
After its HEALTH//DISCO remix
album, the band probably best known
for its Crystal Castles remix embraces
the boombap BPM with a collection
of mostly abrasive dance tracks. The
vocals are again a My Bloody Valentine
mindfulness-breathing-exercise type of
airy disaffection. Such smooth vocals
provide due tension, as juxtaposed
against Brilto-padded and buzz-sawed
guitar textures and tribal drum patterns.
One could call the non-dance
tracks ballads, but a HEALTH ballad is’
more like the lull of being suspended
above a volcano before indigenous
pagans begin their sacrificial chant.
Yeah, if that reminds you of some other
band's visitation to “Mt. Heart Attack,*
you're probably familiar with HEALTH'S
stylistic conundrum. This is to say, if
nothing else, the existence of Get Color
legitimizes the hype around Brooklyn-
via-Germany-via-LA noiseniks Liars,
whose watershed album Drums Not
Dead provides most of the tonal and
textural cues for HEALTHS admit
tedly successful pastiche. Regardless
of influence. HEALTH’S blitzkrieg of
industrial dance-punk cool and sheer
visceral intensity makes for an exhila
rating listen.
Christopher Benton
SUPERCLUSTER
Waves
Studio Mouse Productions
There is probably no better name
for this band than Supercluster.
Featuring members of Pylon, Olivia
Tremor Control, Deerhunter, Casper
& the Cookies and many, many more,
the group is only about three members
short of having every band in Athens
involved in some way.
Waves could have become a study
on what happens when too many indie
chefs are in the experimental kitchen.
Instead, Supercluster's debut record is
a tightly knit community project with
only small hints to the musical lineage
of the members of the band.
It only sounds a tad like Pylon
because Vanessa Briscoe Hay is sing
ing. But instead of her usual short,
yelped phrases, there's a melody at
work, calling you further into the song.
Fellow Pyloner Randy Bewley contrib
uted guitar, but it’s an evolved sound
unlike any other he recorded.
If there's a single band that
Supercluster sounds like, it would
probably be Casper & the Cookies,
but even that is a bit of a stretch.
Songs like “Anyone" and ‘Mermaid’s
T ale“ have a more distinct pop feel
like a Cookies cut. Then a song like
‘Sunflower Clock" comes along and
demonstrates how a cello should prop
erly support a droning vocal.
The album is pleasantly confusing
with a criss-cross of traditional rock
instruments like guitar and drums
holding down the song while oboes,
cellos and even a paper bagarejossed
into the mix. Waves does lack a stand
out single, but that may be a good
thing in this case* All of the songs
sound unique, but there is still a cohe
sive element that helps the album flow.
The record is dedicated to the
memory of Bewley, whose artwork •
adorns the cover of Waves. There's no
doubt that he would've been proud of
the record. It’s a jumble of different
parts and people coming together to
create something new and interesting.
And if anyone has the talent and heart
to do it right, Supercluster does.
Jordan Stepp
HEIP REBUILD THE GEORGIA THEnTRE!
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Friday, Oct. 9
Special
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Proceeds From Ticket Sales To Benefit The Rebuilding Cf The Georgia Theatre
V.I.P. TICKET PflCMOE
The $lOO Package includes:
V.I.P. Pre-show catered dinner reception at 6:OOpm
Premium seating (first five rows)
Autographed concert poster
V.I.P. TICKETS AVAILABLE AT WWW.CLASS1CCENTER.COM
AND AT CLASSIC CENTER BOX OFFICE 706-357-4444
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OCTOBER 7,2009 • FLAGPOLE.COM 19