The Minus 5 (self titled a.k.a The Gun Album)

Item: The Minus (self-titled CD)
Cost: $15.99 at Tower Records on W.4th Street

I recently spent an entire car ride home with the new Minus 5 album that was released in February. I actually wasn't aware that it had come out until a week ago and it was quite the welcome surprise. The last Minus 5 album was released in 2003 and was titled "Down With Wilco" though not as a battle cry to break up Tweedy and his bandmates. Wilco served as Minus 5 recording partners and put forth probably one of the Minus 5's best efforts to date. Minus 5 mainstay Scott Mccaughey still seems to be Down With Wilco as Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, and Glenn Kotche all make appearances on the album with the Gun on the cover. The album back cover reads like a veritable who's who of musicians with alt-country and indie cred as Minus 5 regular and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck returns, along with sometimes R.E.M. tour guitarist and Posies member Ken Stringfellow. The regulars are joined by Decemberists' Colin Meloy, and John Wesley Harding, amongst a slew of other notable performers and combine for a generally upbeat, inspired album of great pop songs.

My car ride was completely enlivened by this collection as I rocked along to raucous rock n' roll of "Aw Shit Man". An bouncy southern rock riff and opening lyric of "I had six white russians tonight and two of them were people" kept things rolling. I somberly swayed to the Colin Meloy led "Cemetery Row". I kept control of the car as I swayed, don't worry.

The chorus of "Hotel Senator" is enough to keep it on repeat for at least two listens. This album made me miss driving in my car and blasting music. I've taken my ipod off shuffle because of this album. Maybe I'm getting a little too high on it but I generally liked most of the songs on this album and find that it had very little to no filler. I think we're in the midst of another good run of Alt-Country (whatever that means) music. Golden Smog is coming out with an album in a few months. Let the good times roll.

Overall rating: A

CD Review: Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

Item: Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Cost: $9.99 at Tower Records on 4th St. and Broadway in Manhattan



This past weekend I caught Neko Case at Webster Hall and while I was vastly unfamiliar with most of the songs she performed I was blown away by said performance so I decided to pick up her latest album. I own two other Neko Albums and I've always been partial to 2000's Furnace Room Lullaby and her work with New Pornographers. Though I have to tell you since this weekend's performance and the subsequent purchase I've rediscovered her Blacklisted album as being quite a treasure. This latest album equally captures the essence of Neko Case as a singer and songwriter though not necessarily as a performer since seeing her live is a different reward in itself. She has a captivating, powerful voice that channels some old timey classic qualities but also has a self assuredness that shines through in the boldness of her delivery and the power behind her vocal. She is no lyrical slouch either as songs such as "Star Witness" provide at times cryptic and at times crystal clear observation. It sort of helped that I read what that song was about in advance. The chorus of "hey when she sings when she sings like she runs, move likes she runs" brings to mind a certain grace and beauty. After I found out that the song was about witnessing a murder, I thought twice about what that line might mean. However it made the line " Go on scream and cry /You're miles from where anyone will find you /This is nothing new, no television crew /They don't even put on the sirens..."make much more sense.

My favorite tracks on the album are probably the one's that mimic the old spiritual tunes such as "John Saw That Number" and "A Widow's Toast" that are of the same ilk of the gospel numbers that Jenny Lewis tries to mimic on the beginning of "Rabbit Fur Coat". I don't know what it is. Is it weird that I'm Jewish and I like the spiritual sounding numbers. Anyway, I'm sort of pussing out early on this review but I feel if I keep going that I'm going to try to review every song and I'll just say that I really like this Neko Case album and it's definitely worth the price. Also, you should see Neko Live if you get the chance.


Overall Grade: B+

Loose Fur: Born Again In The U.S.A.

Item: CD- Loose Fur- Born Again In The U.S.A.
Cost: $16.99 at Tower Records on 4th St. and Broadway

In November of 2005 I caught a Jeff Tweedy Solo show at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. At one point, the Wilco frontman was joined on stage by fellow Loose Fur bandmates, Drummer Glenn Kotche and Jim O'Rourke. . At the show they performed a song that would be on the 2nd Loose Fur album, that at that time I knew as "Whistling Jesus" (which appears as The Ruling Class on the album), not because they said that was the name of the song but because it was being circulated on the internet with that title. Since that show I have been looking forward to the new Loose Fur Record and luckily for me that time has comel

While the first Loose Fur album seemed hell bent on exploring and experimentation between the relatively new collaborative relationship between Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, Uber Indie Producer -artist Jim O'Rourke and Percussion Virtuoso Glenn Kotche, the group seem more focused on making things pop on their 2nd effort BORN AGAIN IN THE USA (I capitalized because I don't know how to italicize on this thing).




The first song "Hey Chicken" immediately hooks you in with a 70's Rock Riff and a catchy hook as Tweedy sings, "You want me broken/You want me dead/I'm living rent free in the back of your head." He then goes on to taunt the object of his ridicule by antagonizing "Hey Chicken You're all talk." The band continues to strut their stuff with the whistled fok pop hook on "The Ruling Class." Tweedy tells the tale of how Christ is spending his time now that he's back in town. "He's back Jack, shootin' smack, Find him if you wanna be found."

Like any good mix maker knows after getting off to a quick start it's necessary to slow things down a bit and that's just what mellow bittersweet ballad "Answers To Your Questions" accomplishes without diminishing the listeners interest one bit. And if one just so happens to zone out for a second, the upbeat tempo is quickly recaptured in the next three tracks, "Apostolic", "Stupid As The Sun" and "Pretty Sparks" which all do their job fitting into the mold of the 3 minute pop song. The latter of which is just what the title suggests, a beautiful melding of all the members' of Loose Fur's individual talents. Tweedy's vocals start off as the primary focus but each individual provides a spark to further the song whether it's a driving rock riff from O'Rourke or a flurry from Kotche's kit. When the tempo slows down, someone comes along to sweep it into a frenzy again.

The latest Loose Fur effort is not without the experimentation that seemed to be the uniifying factor in bringing these three individuals together. The instrumental "An Ecumenical Matter" is fairly sedate but nonetheless pushes the boundaries on an album whose strength lies in its pop compositions. Tweedy and company are also not afraid to try the patience of short attention spanned listeners as evidenced on the 8 minute plus but rather pleasant "Wreckroom".

By the time the album ends on a bouncy piano pop of "Wanted" you're expecting to be bounced into another catchy pop song only to have reached the end of the album. If the worst thing I can't say about this album is that I wanted to hear more than I guess Loose Fur have made a pretty good album.

Overall rating: A-