Drew Gress The Irrational Numbers Premonition Records
The bold and talented bassist/composer Gress follows up on his acclaimed 7 Black Butterflies with the same stellar ensemble: Tim Berne on alto sax, Tom Rainey on drums, Craig Taborn on piano, and Ralph Alessi on trumpet. Gress plays both bass and some modestly incorporated electronics that serve more as an unobtrusive underpainting to his compositions than a face-layer element. Producer David Torn gives these 10 original Gress tunes a cohesively resonant feel, weaving lyric mellows and frenetic squawks together into something resembling a sonic story line.
As composer, Gress creates a quirky chordal architecture full of peculiar but not assaultive tone clusters that semi-resolve in irregular intervals into sweeter, quieter harmonic pastures. The effect on the listener is that of chasing some exotic, elusive, giddy animals through rough but ultimately pleasant musical terrain.
As a bassist, Gress is just plain marvelous. His touch is light, acrobatic, and tonally spot on. His is not bass as good-natured escort to the musical action. He's in the middle of that action, often favoring the instrument's higher registers.
The group gorges itself on the long, wild improvisations, but with a sense of direction and momentum.
Gress followers will be delighted. But it's also a good extended-improv album for listeners who aren't sure they like extended improv. Because while The Irrational Numbers (Great title by the way. Get it? Tunes for the subconscious?) pushes boundaries, it does so intelligently and with a respect for those boundaries' compositional purposes.
T U N E H E A D
Switches Lay Down the Law
Yowza! I said when I first popped this disc into my car player. A group that's funny but not all irony and riddles; that rocks, but isn't all swagger; that features rich harmonized vocals, but is neither stuck on nor ashamed of the fact. In other words, smart, tuneful, energetic, and complex rock that grabs and keeps the attention of ear and brain in equal happy measures.
It's unique, so let's not play "sounds like." But an English Fountains of Wayne might not be a bad approximation, with hints of '70s glam in its guitar sheen; of '80s new wave in its mixed bewildered-and-bemused songwriting by group leader Matt Bishop, coupled with splashes of bright vocal arrangement; and '90s in the scratchy ax leads that occasionally squiggle across the power-chord grid.
There's not a dud here, but highlights include the libidinous labyrinthe of "Snakes and Ladders"; the out-of-body bittersweet romance of "Coming Down"; and the Elvis Costello meets Terence Trent D'Arby postmodern ballad "The Need to Be Needed." which is just awaiting the right indie-film suburban comedy-drama to attach itself to. "Stepkids in Love" is in the same somewhat-sicko satyrical vein.
Don't be surprised to see some tracks from this album insinuate themsevles into U.S. alt and conceivably even pop charts. But don't hold that against them.
Polytechnic Down Til Dawn Shatterproof Records
Speaking of England, from Manchester we've been sent the jangly sounds of Polytechnic. Playful psychedelic rock glueing Brit cockiness to California daze, it has a hypnotic effect that intrigues for a while but gets old quickly. It's as if you'd befriended Mick Jagger's happy-go-lucky, trippy grand-nephew, and he and his pals brought you to a garage to play a few numbers for you.
It's easy to see how fans of the Breeders, the Strokes, and other groups whom Polytechnic has opened for would enjoy losing themselves for a while in this little shroomy cyclone of wonderment at the world. Truth to tell, though, the hypnotic becomes a little soporific by track 4 of 11, and I seriously hankered for some variety. I liked the whimsical chord changes of "Polling Card" and its moody wind-orchestration enhancements; the album would have benefited from more such slightly expansive thinking. Overall, though, "Running Out of Ideas" (track 11) seemed all too reflective a title.
Ana Egge Lazy Days Grace/Parkinsong
Ever read the paper or watch the news and think, Maybe the world would be a whole lot better off if everyone just stopped doing what they're doing for a spell? Everyone, that is, except North Dakota native singer/songwriter/guitarist Ana Egge, who has assembled a sweet, relaxed ode to indolence. Egge, who divides her time between Austin and New York, puts aside her songwriting pen for now, exploring covers such as the Kinks' "Sitting in the Midday Sun," Stephen Stills' "Johnny's Garden," Sandy Denny's "Crazy Lady Blues," and Harry Nillson's "Wastin' My Time." Not to be confused, of course, with Ron Sexsmith's "Wastin' Time," which is my favorite. "People love to talk about big things they're gonna do. . . . We can just remove ourselves. We don't have to prove ourselves," it goes. "...Where's the crime wastin' time with you?" Beautiful sentiment; beautiful song. A dozen musicians join Egge for these softly lush and lovely tunes. It's only now and then that it occurs to you that in their rapture over indolence, they all must be working quite hard. My initial fondness for the disc only increased when I read that some proceeds will go to a group raising awareness for research on Parkinson's Disease.
Rhonda Vincent Good Thing Going Rounder Records
Bluegrass-country singer, songwriter, and mandolin player Vincent has a whole lot of good things going on in this terrific album. She's got a nice blend of five original songs and seven covers and traditionals. She's got duet spots by singers Russell Moore and Keith Urban. And she's got first-rate backing by her road band, the Rage, on both the delicate ballads and plucky speedsters like "Hit Parade of Love," which gives banjo and fiddle an astonishing workout. Co-produced with her brother Darrin Vincent at Rhonda Vincent's own Nashville studio, Good Thing Going blends the title track's optimism with the bitter regret of numbers like "Scorn of a Lover" and the scalding opener, "I'm Leaving." Vincent wrote "I Give All My Love to You" as a wedding song for a friend, and if you have nuptials upcoming you could do a lot worse. But it's the duet with Urban, "The Water Is Wide," that I became instantly infatuated with. Delicate as lace and deeply soulful, it's enjoyed the repeat setting on my player for a few dozen spins; and I know it's got at least a few dozen more to go.
The SteelDrivers Rounder Records
Also from Rounder comes the first CD of all-original material by longtime rhythm-and-bluegrass pros The SteelDrivers. Lead vocalist/guitarist Chris Stapleton, fiddler/vocalist Tammy Rogers, mandolinist Mike Henderson, banjo player Richard Bailey, and bassist Mike Fleming meld country, blues, rock, and soul into an appealingly intense, earthy, but balanced sound of their own. Stapleton has one of those deceptively tough, gruff voices that's also nuanced and precise, and his harmonies with Rogers are razor sharp, as if the two of them were connected by one quick-thinking musical brain. The songwriting is also impressive. The mournful Indian lament, "Sticks That Made Thunder" leaves a specially stark, sad impression. And I basked in the seize-the-day finale, "Heaven Sent," that celebrates the present even as it looks back with regret-tinged wonder at the vigor of more youthful days.
