No Devoluci�n
Thursday (Epitaph)
?Disregard those dollar signs, they?ll buy the biggest house in hell,? howls Geoff Rickly of Thursday on ?Stay True,? from the band?s new album, ?No Devoluci�n.?
For the past decade, Rickly has put his money where his mouth is, piloting the ferocious post-hardcore band deeper and deeper into uncharted territory. Rickly never has cared about what radio programmers want, and with his band?s latest album, he has proven himself willing to challenge his loyal listeners, too. ?No Devoluci�n? is the group?s bravest departure: made with Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann, it amplifies and extends the art-rock experimentation on ?Common Existence,? the New Brunswick band?s 2009 set.
If ?Common Existence? was a quick trip to the outer edges of the whirlpool, ?No Devoluci�n? is a swan dive into the middle of the maelstrom. The band sounds like an entity in free fall, plummeting at terminal velocity toward something blunt, cold and supernatural.
For some fans of Thursday?s two-fisted guitar assault, the expansive, atmospheric sound of ?No Devoluci�n? is going to take some getting used to. Most, however, will probably see this as a move the band should have made years ago; Rickly has never had any particular attachment to pop hooks, and Thursday?s song structures have always been unconventional. ?No Devoluci�n? is the third album the band has cut with Fridmann, but the first where it feels like the musicians are taking his guidance toward the weird, the murky, the moody, and the willfully distressed.
They still hit as hard as ever, but they?ve learned the value of negative space, and pick their spots wisely. ?Past and Future Ruins? is a showcase for guitarists Tom Keeley and Steve Pedulla, who once again show how much dynamism and creativity they can bring to a four-minute rock song. Tucker Rule?s drums open ?A Gun in the First Act? with a thunderclap; when Thursday feels like referencing the Cure or My Bloody Valentine, he drops into a menacing, machine-like groove. The new approach opens up room for Andrew Everding?s synthesizers and he, too, proves to be a imaginative player, decorating ?Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart? with a colorful lead and adding pleasantly wobbly organ pads to the confessional ?Empty Glass.?
Unfortunately, ?No Devoluci�n? suffers from the same problem that marred Fridmann?s productions for Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips: there?s so much glaze on the lead vocals that it is often impossible to make out anything he?s singing. This is part of the producer?s aesthetic, and it has helped mask the lyrical deficiencies of some of the bands he has worked with. But Rickly is a good writer, and one desperate to communicate. When the singer emerges from the gauze on ?Turnpike Divides? with a straightforward punk-rock vocal performance, it?s a refreshing pit stop on this album?s trip into the wilderness of sound.
? Tris McCall
Lover Boy
Brett Dennen (Dualtone)
Because he?s a sweet-singing folkie who is not afraid to get (mildly) funky on his acoustic guitar, Brett Dennen has been likened to John Mayer and Jason Mraz. That comparison held well for his first two releases, but with ?Lover Boy,? he?s stepped out of the shadows ? and done so with a sound that owes as much to early-?70s light soul as it does to acts on the jam-band circuit.
Like Cat Stevens, Dennen is determined to be optimistic in the face of tragedy: If he?s ?Dancing at a Funeral,? it?s no disrespect to the fellow in the coffin, it?s just the rhythms of life taking him over. On ?Sydney? and ?Comeback Kid,? he basks in the splendor of love like a puppy in the sun.
That ?Lover Boy? never gets saccharine is a testament to the power of the singer?s high spirits. This is not everyday music, because not every day is going to be a waltz through the flower beds, but if you?re looking for something to spin at those summer block parties to come, it ought to keep your friends dancing all night.
? Tris McCall
John Popper and the Duskray Troubadours
John Popper and the Duskray Troubadours (Savoy)
Listening to John Popper play harmonica is one of modern rock?s last great instrumental pleasures. Like Robert Walter at his B-3 organ or Sheila Escovedo on the percussion tree, the Blues Traveler frontman has developed a fresh, inimitable style on an instrument that most rockers don?t use anymore. He escapes anachronism by coaxing new sounds out of his harp: on the slow blues ?Bereft,? a highlight of his new album with the Duskray Troubadours, he flutters like a hummingbird, squeals like the hinges of a vault and skids down scales like a kid on a water slide. Singing proves a bigger challenge. He doesn?t have much of an upper register and tends to slug his way through rootsy adult-alternative tracks that would reward a lighter touch. Happily, the songs on ?Duskray Troubadors? aren?t just there to kill time between harmonica solos. ?Love Has Made it So,? ?What Can I Do for You? and ?Something Sweet? ? co-written by Metuchen guitarist Bruce Donnola ? are sturdy heartland rockers in the Mellencamp tradition, and fine pegs on which to hang Popper?s virtuosity.
? Tris McCall
Virtuoso
Ray Chen, violin; Noreen Polera, piano (Sony Classical)
It takes a lot of confidence to release an album titled ?Virtuoso.? Violinist Ray Chen more than deserves the epithet, even if some of his choices are questionable.
He aggressively slashes through much of Tartini?s Sonata in G minor, ?The Devil?s Trill,? as arranged by Fritz Kreisler, but when he gets to its challenging high point, he achieves amazing, athletic feats. Pianist Noreen Polera sets a serene backdrop for Franck?s Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor, but is often overly subdued. Chen plays with elegant lyricism and a subtle but affecting approach. In the landmark Chaconne from Bach?s Partita in D minor for Solo Violin, Chen is at his best: agonized but dignified, with passages that are by turns fragile and searching, hymnlike and explosive. Every painstakingly difficult figure is integrated seamlessly into the musical line.
He occasionally meanders, with overarching structure not as clear as it could be, and some might want more tonal variety. Still, this is a distinctive and distinguished performance.
? Ronni Reich
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