Virginia Music Reviews

Virginia Music Reviews

Selected Discs From Regional Performers

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Labradford — Mi Media Naranja

(Kranky)

Despite the pretentiousness of its (non)song-titles — they’re all merely letters: “”F,” “WR,” “V,” etc. — this is one of the finest albums of the year. Labradford has been doing space rock since long before the hundreds of indistinguishable newer acts got into it, and they’ve matured on each of their four albums. Only two of the seven tracks on Media have vocals, and this allows the interplay of Carter Brown’s keyboards and Mark Nelson’s guitar to come through with clarirty. Good to listen to when you’re going to bed, but still sounds cool the next morning.

Low– Dodge and Burn

(Planetary Records CD available from 327 S. Cherry St., Richmond, Va. 23220)

Somebody in the Richmond-based, 2-femmes-1-guy trio does graphic design work for the record chain or somenot, and someone at the Plan 9 label sings on some songs, and John Morand produced it at Sound of Music (with Mark Miley), and Morand’s band Burst into Flames is also on the label and blah-blah-blah. Doesn’t sound like a new release you’d want to sample at the listening station, eh? But you’d be grossly mistaken (especially if you’re like a couple of people I’ve heard yakking who never even listened to this thing) if you pegged this disc as just another local-bizzer-circle-jerk. The opening cut (“Run Rabbit Run”) of Dodge & Burn is what you might expect when an ex-member of GWAR (bassist-guitarist Steve Douglas, the trio’s main songwriter) goes pop, but the rest of the disc yields more exotic, unexpected treasure: the scary vocal work of co-lead vocalist-axewoman Theresa Douglas on “Albert,” her equally sleepy-eyed closer, “Waiting,” and the industrial fable, “Waste” are standouts. In fact, none of the tunes here are bad and the trio (drummer Holly Harris completes the picture) shows some real range in their songwriting. No doubt (if anyone listens), they’ll find one of the regional finds of the year.

In essence: A very good debut. It is weird and ironic that the only things that aren’t impressive about this eclectic set of aggressive art rock songs are the garish cover art and the dull-sounding production work. Go figure.

Make Up— Sound Verite

(K Records CD available from P.O. Box 7154, Olympia, Washington 98507)

When I heard the first song on the Make Up’s Sound Verite, I figured they’d traded in their Live-At-The-Apollo-joint for Tom Waits’ Swordfishtrombones. And I was hoping for more. “If They Come In The Morning” is a groovy R-n-B sea shanty (with feeling) that lives up to the Forever Changes collage on the cover. Sound Verite is the only one of the DC band’s three LPs to be recorded in a studio, and as cool as their gigs are, you can only take a skinny white guy doing “Prisoner Of Love”—on record— so many times. The Waits jag lasts only one song, but the group hits a groove on Side 2, from “Hot Coals” to “Gold Record Pt. II”, that expands on their status as DC’s tightest live band.

The Make Up– In Mass Mind

(Dischord CD available from 3819 Beecher St. NW, Washington D.C. 20007.)

On their fourth and best full-length album to date, D.C.’s the Make-Up combine the best elements of their wild live sound and their equally fascinating studio experiments.

This one was all done in the booth, but you wouldn’t know that from the raw energy evident of tracks like “Live in the Rhythm Hive” and “Do You Like Gospel Music?,” et al. Every fifth track or so, the tone goes down and the band does dub-like zoners like “Earth Worm” (that one’s in two parts)— an advancement on things they tried on last year’s Soul Verite.

In Mass Mind is sure to be one of the better albums of 1998, even if the trite ramblings on the booklet are an embarrassment. Also worth seeking out are two recent singles from the band that aren’t on this album: “Wade in the Water” and (Yes!!) “Free Arthur Lee.”

Make Up– I Want Some

(K Records CD available from P.O. Box 7154, Olympia, Washington 98507)

Fans of the Make Up will probably have most of the 7″s that these 23 tracks come from. But anyone who’s been curious about DC’s best band,or who’s heard that they’re only worth it for their live shows, should grab this collection on the Olympia, Wa.-based K Records label.

It’s Punk-meets-Gospel-meets-’60′s garage-meets-Soul-meets New Wave cinema . . . All the early Black Gemini singles are here, along with more recent stuff like “Wade in the Water” and “Free Arthur Lee.” “Have U Heard the Tepes?,” from the “Substance Abuse” 7″ (all three songs included on this disc) might stand as the Make Up’s finest studio moment thus far.

Manishevitz– Grammar Bell & The All Fall Down

(Jagjaguwar CD available from 1703 N. Maple St., Bloomington, IN. 47404. jcargill@indiana.edu)

Since most of us at Grip’s Charlottesville branch know, work with, hang with, and generally worship Adam Busch, a.k.a. “the curmudgeon’s curmudgeon,” anyone out there looking for an objective review of the former Curious Digit leader’s startingly accomplished solo debut (as Manishevitz) should probably stop right here.

But I hear so many cool things in this 8-song set that I’ll throw journalistic integrity aside. This mostly contemplative affair (with shimmeringly bizarre production touches) is a winner, from the outstanding opening “Foxtrot” to the lovely and understated “My Creole Belle.” Some listeners may be put off by Adam’s offhand singing style, but you can’t go away unimpressed by the music here, or by the engaging what-the-hell lyrics. There’s so much ear candy– from the song about Lonesome Cowboy Dave Thomas to the swoony sample that wraps around the title cut like a bow. . . to the ragged fiddle and acid lyric of “Ice Pick”– that I’m inclined to believe that this one’s one of the best (if not the best) from the Jagjaguwar labs to date.

Malacoda– Cascade

(World Domination CD available in local stores or from 3575 Cahuenga Blvd West #450, Los Angeles, CA. 90068)

A retro-futuro duo signed to Dave “ex-Gang of 4” Allen’s World Domination label, Malacoda have actually been one of the few musical forces in the region that devoted themselves to the idea of Trip-Hop music– or “electronica” or whatever you want to call it– before most of us even knew what in the hell it was.

Problem is: Time might have caught up with ‘em; a cursory listen to their debut disc and an specialist is liable to think, so what? A lot of it sounds like a cross between Meco’s “Star Wars” suite and a MIDI sequencer at 16 RPM. Those with an intimate relationship with Kruder and Dorfmeister or pricey import compilations that supply mood over music and beats over melody, will probably halt the disc halfway through their listening station visit. But live with it awhile and you might find that something else is happening here. With its phase-shifting effects, and beeps-bloops-blips, and backward-tape effects, the Malacoda disc is quaint in the way that everything in Star Wars was quaint; this is a rusted and worn-out take on zone music that actually knows enough to pay props instead of steal samples. One tune (“Cathay”) even sounds vaguely like the early electro-novelty hit, “Popcorn.” Although nothing appears as breathtakingly progressive as “South Rising Sun,” the zonked-out track that the duo contributed to the 1993 Dixie Flatline CD when they were known as Somatron, there’s also nothing on this disc that wouldn’t make sense on a strobe-lit dancefloor in any era you choose.

After a few listens, the title track of Malacoda’s first full-length effort, in particular, stands as one hell of an atmospheric ride. . . and about half of the rest of this swirling and spacey instro-feast hits the synapses the way it’s supposed to also. If they’d lose the odd techno beat, Malacodans R.O. Guess and L.A. Sigler might even sound, well, progressive or something.

Mao Tse Helen– Maze

(Shameless CD, available from PO Box 502, Richmond, Va. 23218)

A Richmond math-rock extravaganza. If there were such a thing as taking an indie algebra test, this R-town band would cram and pass with flying colors. This is a consistent set of angular rockers, even if the songs aren’t always up to their eye-grabbing titles (like, for instance, “I’m So Happy To Be Alive, I Think I’ll Sing Myself a Happy Song”).

Midway— Poole Hall Sessions

(CD EP available from P.O. Box 10972, Blacksburg, Va. 24062)

Blacksburg rockers Midway borrow some equipment from Poole and enlist that band’s own Svengali Harry Evans to produce an EP for ‘em. The results are pleasant and tuneful pop-rock— not unlike Poole’s own brand of Mid-Atlantic ravin’ up— with ringing hooks and some melodic vocal arrangements. Like the bubblegum dispenser on the front cover, it’s chewy but, unfortunately, the flavor doesn’t last long enough. The slackers should get Poole to help ‘em do a long-player next. And be nice enough to pay a rental and production fee or something too.

Mr. Pink– Frontiersman

(Planetary CD 9008 available at Plan 9 Records outlets)

Back in the mid-’80’s you could go to the record store and it wasn’t cluttered with 1,001 new “alternative” albums. There was a small section of new releases on small labels that you could be pretty sure at the least good and at the worst interesting.

Richmond’s Mr. Pink reminds me of those days. Frontiersman is one of those albums you’d buy on a whim and after a week and 20 listens you’d be singing along with whenever you had a couple beers.

I was told this sounds like “punk rockers in cowboy boots, which is about right. Leona the lead singer has a wonderfully distinct voice that rolls perfectly with the sweating-in-a-frenzy folks behind the instruments. If anybody remembers Tex & the Horseheads, Mr. Pink carries on that rockin’ new wave tradition.

If at halftime of the football game you grab another beer and need some music to keep you pumping, Mr. Pink is a perfect choice. Just make sure to sweep up the mess before you go to bed.

My Guitar— Sugartooth

(Penny Cassette 002 available from 5124 Glen Alden Dr., Richmond, Va. 23231)

This self-released tape from the three piece My Guitar is a revelation: a smartly-produced, imaginatively-written set of killer pop songs from a band that prides itself on imaginative arrangements. Even coming from a town as packed with great power-pop bands as Richmond (Waking Hours, Los 10 Space, Knievels, Seymores et al), as well as so-so power-pop bands, this is a pleasant surprise. Songwriter / lead guitarist V.J. Jones has a real knack for the melodic hook (the T-Rex-ish “Dial-a-Loser” and the Beatlesy “Splinter” are genuine keepers— V.J. Jones: Call your lawyer!), and the crammed-with-juice production-style (amazingly: done on Tascam) adds clever touches and rhythmic ambience to bluesy changeups (“You Better Run”), Hollies-like vocalizing (“Raincoat Sugartooth”) and, yes, even stooopid old rock ‘n’ roll (the instrumental “Superball”). The band says they hope to record in a “real” studio in 1998 but they should stay where they are— in their bedrooms and work places. ‘Cause this sounds great

Pan American– Pan American

(Kranky)

Labradford’s Mark Nelson serves up a solo debut that is both what you would expect from the guitarist for mood rock’s most elusive band, but also a disinctive departure from the typically Labradford “wash” of sound.

After leaving Richmond for Chicago last year, Nelson compiled ideas from his various small-issue cassette projects– and the result is a beautifully textured, ambient netherworld, accented by minimalist guitar motifs and subtle drums and loops. More structured in many ways than the Labradford work but definitely a zoner.

Want me to prove it? I’ve been listening to two albums exclusively in the late night over the past few weeks: Dark Side of the Moon and this here Pan-American disc. It’s just that trippy.

Atmospheres, man. . . ozones of sound.

Phatness

(MAP CD available from P.O. Box 3640, Charlottesville, Va. 22903)

Let’s face it– if there’s a guy you can catch every night in the Charlottesville area, it’s Jamal Milner. Because of that, I had pegged Milner’s ever-evolving Phatness & Funk All Star combos as just another in a series of boring-ass funk-a-rock-a-jazz units jamming their way during Free Nacho Night. . .especially after hearing them a few times in places where tunes serve as background noise and funky jam-styled stuff functions as funksak (as in Muzak + Funk =) to drown down yer imports. But I’m going to tell the hippies to pipe down next time– this debut CD is the evidence that Milner and his crew are capable of, not only righteous and funky instrumentation . . .but actual songs! And sometimes great ones too.

Phatness can even get kinda country-fried: the martial, drum-plopping “Bickle Knob Breakdown” (Milner as one-man-band) sounds like a hillbilly blues picker with a big old pink lollipop in his mouth (by the way indie hepsters, you would love this song if it were on Jim O’Rourke’s latest!), and the sarcastic “Nipple Ring” is a lighthearted, free-jazz-meets-western-swing (!) broadside on fashion for fashion sakes that also sounds, to my ears anyway, damn commercial! Market it! Elsewhere on this disc, vibrantly produced by head guy Milner with distinguished comptrollers like Kevin McNoldy and Jeff Thomas, you’ll find understated jewels like “The River,” which has a stately gospel feel, the twangy-wacky “Jescoe On Glue” (the track I kept coming back to), and a poptific rock song called “Lila.” Hell, there’s even a pop single of the latter song– so someone’s looking

Hey, who said a funk band (who plays live around here every night– literally!) can’t play rock? Guess it was me. At least Phatness knows the difference between a live jam and a good record you’ll want to play again.

Products of Drama– “Maintain”

(Dramatic Music 2-song cassette available in local stores, or by calling 804-970-0753)

What? Hip-hop from Central Virginia? Well, I won’t bother to drop names like Lady of Rage from Farmville, Boogie Monsters from Tidewater, D’Angelo (well, he’s an R&B crossover) and Mad Skillz from Richmond, Camp Lo from Danville, and now we have Charlottesville’s Products of Drama.

I was pretty impressed with the A-side here, “Maintain.” The only other local offering I’ve heard to compare it to so far is Chris Greene and Rob Jackson’s “Bon Vi” 12-inch, another impressive local showing. The first tune starts out with a meaningful message that is surprisingly sincere, “This is coming from the Products of Drama to all y’all brothers / Society ain’t to blame, so y’all best to maintain.” While there is the requisite “keeping it real” boasting and posturing not unfamiliar to the tamest of hip-hop groups these days, these cats have a genuineness that you can’t get around.

The Rah Bras– Let Us Concentrate to Listen to the Rondo that We Christen King Speed

(Lovitt Constructions CD available from P.O. Box 4934, Richmond, Va. 23220 )

Are you constipated, mentally or physically? Happens to the best of us. Feel no shame. Ah, yeah. So… if you’re mentally constipated, might I suggest this CD with a name so long that it pretty much serves as toilet reading material for your first fifteen minutes on the way back to healthy bowels? It is so blissfully weird that it will dislodge, by sheer force if necessary, any nagging brain block you might have.

Themes, tropes and paradigms are alternatively juggled and thrown against the wall with idiot glee. Robotic keyboard sex and operatic alto diva-style belching lubricates and rolfs your frontal lobes (I didn’t say that you would enjoy this, not in so many words, anyhow).

You come out psychologically loose as a goose, for good or for ill. I’m still trying to figure this one. It goes like this: bwanga-wanga-wanga. Huh?

If you’re physically constipated, might I suggest going to see the Rah Bras live? The drummer gets out and sings this Barry White style number that made me reconsider the possibility of having sex with another live human being, if not actually loving them. Plus damn they were dropping bass enough to make me sick to my pants. Got me moving. You know it.

Real Cool Rain– Restless

(Orange Sound Rhyme CD avail. from P.O. Box 275, McLean, Va. 22101)

Ambient and cool one second, fiery and hardcore the next, then lulling & folkie, these avant-rockers from No. Va. are like a phatter Rollerskate Skinny. This is surprisingly immediate (and arty) stuff from this trio, who reportedly put out a previous CD. Just may some great stuff here– like the pick hit “Release.” Produced at Stillness Sound in Warrenton, Restless features imaginative (and spooky) lead guitar, pop hook dynamics and more than enough sonic blasts and drones to satisfy your feedback cravings.

Jae Sinnett– Listen

(Heart Music CD available from P.O. Box 160326, Austin, Texas. 78716-0326)

Norfolk-based bandleader / drummer / public radio personality Jae Sinnett has assembled an all-star jazz lineup (pianist Cyrus Chesnutt, bassist Clarence Seay et al) for his fourth CD release. The result is not unlike the man’s renowned work as a Tidewater jazz deejay— tasteful, alternately calm and fiery and supremely indebted to the idea that modern jazz (no fusion here, people) is alive, soloing and still quite modern.

Two different units here: Sinnett’s regular trio (featuring Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass and Allen Farnham on piano) and an all-star sextet that includes Chesnutt, Seay, trumpetmeister John D’Earth and saxophonists Billy Pierce and Jesse Davis). As a drummer, Sinnett is in a league of his own. . . as a bandleader and writer, he seems to bring out the best in others (especially– check Farnham’s turn on “Coco B” and Chesnutt’s on “Rina’s Avenue“– his piano players). This indie release, on a Texas-based label, is currently climbing the national jazz charts. Like the sounds on Listen, that’s got to make the bebop purists happy!

South– South

(Jagjaguwar CD available from 1703 N. Maple St., Bloomington, IN. 47404)

Sounds like Bedhead jamming variations from Steve Reich’s marimba music. Minimalist, quiet, small tensions building to small releases. Not everything has to be so damn extreme, you guys. There’s more to life than listening to Korn at 8 on your headphones. If you’d just stop slamming the Dew for five minutes or so, you might be able to appreciate a nice cup of tea with the barest hint of sugar.

What’s that have to do with music? Everything, Grasshopper. Contemplate this on the Tree of Woe. And listen to this CD while you’re at it. It’ll help.

Thelma Shook– Stoned

(Cement & Rodeo CD available from 25 N. Stafford St., Richmond, Va. 23220)

You have to admire the passion and the popcraft of this ad hoc Richmond duo (Dean Owen and Ric Withers)– their songwriting and production is both quirky and instantly accessible. The list of players backing them up here is impressive; more so because they don’t get in the way of things. A few of the songs, like “Buzz” (the band’s “User Guide” lists 20, from bands as disparate as Indecision, SaU and Kepone) and “Jessica” have more than their share of memorable hooks and would probably be worth shopping around to some different singers.

Ah, then we get to the singing. . . and the mumbling, omnipresent spectre of R.E.M. I simply can’t hear these songs– many of them sound like Stipe warbling over (admittedly) good goods; the singer is phrasing in a most Stipe-like way too, if you get my drift (there’s even a song called “Losing My Direction” and another that namedrops “religion”– uh, guys!!!!). Hell, on some songs this COULD BE MICHAEL STIPE.

Then Iggy Pop’s “Funtime” pops up and it’s. . . Michael Stipe doing an Iggy cover. And the guy does GOOD STIPE.

“Icepick” sounds as good as anything off of New Adventures in Hi-Fi and I really hope that’s a compliment. Because there’s some good songs here, even the ones that sound like the Talking Heads.

Trans Am– Futureworld

(Thrill Jockey 62)

Uh-oh, it’s Thrill Jockey time again. Imps of the Perverse time again. It’s high concept time again. There’s something about this label that gives me a headache. Every release they put out, I wanna like it real bad, because these are smart and talented people and they have an indentifiable and cohesive aesthetic, which can be summed up thusly: brainiac musicologists go wild in the city. Guess I wanna like it because I’d give my left one to have some of the chops these ‘Dexters have. But nine times out of ten, they’ve been coming up short. They’ve been using their powers for evil, not good. Or maybe they just want to do Volkswagen commercial soundtracks.

Exhibit 62 is the new Trans Am record. Haven’t heard anything from the D.C-based band since their second, Surrender to the Night, which was a pretty good slab of rock with little electric touches, and I was a little excited to see how their quest to marry rawk with Kraftwerk was going.

Found out it’s going too damn well. It’s not a marriage but rather a straight-up botanical grafting of a couple of chugga-chugga guitars on top of “We Are the Robots”. The first song, called (oh, natch my brother, natch) “1999” is fruitbag sax with a little reverb for maximum “We Are Now In Space and Space Is Cold” effect over top of synth whine and after that it’s not ‘away we go’ but ‘we ain’t going nowhere’. I know I keep saying this about Thrill Jockey stuff but dammit this is no fun! It ain’t no anything. It provoked absolutely no emotional responses from me whatsoever, but did manage to provoke some hard-core revulsion from Kadugan, the bonnie wee lunch waitress, who threw bread at my face until I took it off. Give ‘em an A for effort because they’re trying hard. But there’s a man who once asked, “What if you spent your entire life trying to get good at something nobody wanted to hear?”

The Trouble With Larry— Karaoke Bordello

(Good Kitty CD available from 201A N. Davis, Richmond, Va. 23220)

I was originally going to pass this along to one of the other Grip reviewers, in order to get someone else’s opinion on the record about the work of Richmond’s The Trouble With Larry. Then I said: Screw it.

Because, dammit, no one up here could possibly appreciate the never-say-quit Larrys like yours truly. Behind the times? Ahead of it? Powerful? Silly? The Larrys are, and have been, all of these things in their ten years-plus and, well, I dig the fact that they are who they are and always have been. . . and screw fashion. Previous computo-punk pop classix like “The Rodent Song,” “Otto Messmer” and the mind-bogglingly great “Kennedy Death Car” have never left my psychic jukebox, and last year’s teaser “New Songs” EP cassette— containing the stunning “Rock ‘n’ Roll Asshole,” an anthem for the ‘90’s— meant that the Larry’s 1998 disc was going to be a monster indeed.

And with the addition of a new bassist (Mike Schuman) and a handful of some of their most effective tunes yet are, the new disc is very impressive indeed. Vocalist / Guitarist Richard Sarvay and his fellow axeman Mark Abba wrap their sinewy electric fuzz around kinky-dinky drum programs and reveal a few new wrinkles in the formula. Eschewing the garish front and back cover art (hopefully that ISN’T Sarvay in a sun dress), the trio’s newest CD release, Karaoke Bordello boasts trademark riff-heavy piledrivers (“Monkey,” “Is This What You Want) but also some more subdued, quietly menacing tracks (“If You Really Knew Me,” “Love Story”)— and thankfully, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Asshole” and the culture-exhorting “Cult Heroes” are also included. A cover of the Stooges’ “TV Eye” is suitably rancorous. All through the set, Richard Sarvay’s growling voice is on top of its form— can anyone deny that this guy has one of the coolest set of tonsils in all the land?

Until someone up here beats me to the promo pile: God Save the Larrys.

Van– 7

(Red Velvet Entertainment CD available from P.O. Box 3613, Charlottesville, Va. 22903)

The Smiths meet Karen Carpenter, and we’re the winners. United by Lisa Van Fossen’s crystaline guitar tone and luxuriant honey alto, 7 marries desolation, emotional abuse, and quiet defiance to snappy melodies and gorgeous vocal work.

The outer cover is a combination of Wendy Repass’ and Shannon Worrell’s covers, with a prone Lisa (dead? unconscious?) on a bed of velvet holding a guitar above her head. And the inner sleeve has a terrifying found-photo of a stern patriarch’s menacing phallic pose forcing a small girl to drink syrup of ipecac at a “family” outing at Lake Sherondo. YIKES!

You can bathe in Lisa’s voice for quite a while before you notice the preponderance of phrases like “Don’t shout at me, I haven’t anything you want,” or “The undertow pulls me deeper,” or simply “nothing left.” The prettiness, warmth, and light of the whole affair, ably captured by Chris Kress at PMD Recording, is also heavy with loss, regret, and sublimated anger. Like the Smiths, morose subject matter is helped with a crack rythmn section. Mario Rodriguez on drums / percussion, with shades of Carter Beauford, and Lew Burrus on bass, echoing Tony Levin’s stick work, round out the band. They click best on the Afro-pop groove “Better Girl,” with the bass way up and drummer Mario bringing the funk.

For some reason, some area stores carry this Van EP for as little as five bucks!

Bargain hunters, Smithies, twee poppers, eclectic women, sensitive boys, and people who like their anger with a spoonful of sugar– get this disc.

Waking Hours— The Waking Hours

(ND101 CD available from 2513 E. Franklin St., Richmond, Va. 23223)

The songs are certainly there on the debut disc from these long-running Richmond practitioners of Beatlesque Rock– the opening “Picture Show” is a thrashy garage tune, “Nowhere” and “Hurt” are Badfingeresque power-pop confections and “St. Peter” is an honest-to-Ringo classic that weds a “Tomorrow Never Knows” verse with an “Eight Days a Week” chorus and even throws a little Velvet Underground guitar in for good measure before fading out into blissful harmony. Nice!

Still,as good as the songs are, the full-throttle production job of this disc can be a bit much; it crystalizes a gnawing theory of mine– the one about modern recording techniques (this was recorded at Sound of Music) drawing the life out of certain types of music. Certainly this is a well done recording, but it’s an awfully loud mix and at times the songs doesn’t need such all-the-bombast-all-the-time.

Oasis is a case in point of a band whose records have captured the melody of the Beatles and wedded it to the most heinous studio bombast. On a smaller scale, the Waking Hours eschew texture and dynamics– the hallmarks of the best ‘60’s-beat music– too often for a sound that is nothing but in-your-face Digital rock— and somewhat bloated at that (imagine a more textured “Work It Out.” Instead, this potentially-devastating psychedelic love song disintegrates into classic rock guitar and a repetitive vocal).

Still, you can’t deny these songs. Period trappings or no, “Hurt” & “St. Peter” are winners.

Sarah White– All My Skies are Blue

(Jagjaguwar CD available from 1703 N. Maple St., Bloomington, IN. 47404)

This Charlottesville-by-way-of-Frisco distortion diva goes cracked folkie in her solo debut away from playing axe in the threesome, Miracle Penny (who, without her, have morphed into True Love Always– editor). Sarah’s stop-start guitar figures and lo-fi rants sound like Rebby Sharp feeding downers to her four-track, and if there’s a few too many slow strum dirges, the effect is like that of a lazy afternoon spent ‘round the dining room tape recorder.

Some Fave Regional tuneage, EPs,

reissues, 45’s, LP tracks, etc.

Dock Boggs-- “Country Blues” & Carter Family– “Single Girl, Married Girl” (from Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music) / DJ Nabbee Swift– “Ode to Richmond, Va.” (from Sound of Ulterior Motives) / The Findells– “I Don’t Love You Anymore” (from Naked & Blue) / Friendly– “I am The Bomb” (from Cornshocker ) / Lungfish– “X-Ray the Pharoah” (from Indivisible) / Malacoda– “Cathay” (from Cascade) / Dave Matthews Band– ‘Two Step” (from Live at Red Rocks) / Stigma Rock Unit– “These Are Good Stars” (from Treasure Path to Soul Winning) / Ugly Head– “Iron 59” & “Evil Over” (from Silence Is the Mystery of the Future Age) / Useless Playboys– “The Moral of the Story of My Life” (from the Chesterfield soundtrack) / Elton & Betty White– “Menopause Mama” (from Third Hand Footage)

Also Recent and recommended:

Car Bomb Inc.– Locked & Cocked (CD available from www.cvaweb.com/carbomb) Hard-edged rockabilly and greasy blues from a Richmond band you’d swear was from Memphis.

C4 Productions– Scrimmage (CD available from 804-984-6597)

Goodie Mob meets RZA at Mobb Deep’s house. This limited edition debut from C. Lewis Jr.’s Charlottes-ville-based rap group is most impressive.

King Sour– Instrumentally Retarded (Morphius CD available from P.O. Box 13474, Baltimore MD. 21203)

Sinister instros from this always-evolving vocal-less combo. The soundtrack to a bad day.

The Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra– Refuge In a Gourd (RIGO CD available from P.O. Box 6561, Richmond, Va. 23230)

Novelty disc of 1997, or premedieval roots music? Buy this for that insufferable New Ager in your life!!

Poole– The Late Engagement (SpinArt)

Northern Virginia’s own purveyor’s of Brit-tinged wussy-pop score yet again on this second SpinArt set of Anglophile ringers. Beach Boys harmonies too!

September ‘67– Lucky Shoe (EMI-Enclave)

Now out-of-print. If you see a copy, snag it. Charlottesville diva-duo bliss.

True Love Always– When Will You Be Mine & Hopefully (TeenBeat)

Although Mark Robinson’s production does tend to “Air Miami” the atmosphere of this C’Ville band’s debut, you can’t deny the pure pop songwriting of John Lindaman or the propulsion of this trio’s power flowerings. . . the second record is a much better deal, with the standout being a rough and rumbling ode to Stonehenge.

In the past and still Recommended:

Various Artists– The Norfolk Rock ‘n’ Roll Sound (Ace compilation)

Anything by the Golden Gate Quartet.

(Compiled by Don Harrison, Brian Greene, Tyler Magill, Mark Leta,Stephen Head, Parker Paul, Dan Poarch, Steve Richmond, Tab Hutchins & Chuck Gimlet)