Album Review: Vista Chino - Peace

Vista Chino - You may not be familiar with the name but you will be aware of their music. Their origins go back to 1987 when they operated under the name Katzenjammer and later Sons of Kyuss. The “Sons of” was dropped in 1990 and they went on to be one of the most respected rock bands of the 1990s. After four killer albums they disbanded in 1995 and passed into the annals of history. Fast forward to 2010 and the unthinkable happened: a Kyuss reunion. After a raft of legal disputes and line-up changes they briefly became known as Kyuss Lives before landing on Vista Chino. A good number of years have passed since their heyday and the members have shuffled around a bit but make no mistake, Vista Chino ARE Kyuss and their new album Peace comfortably sits alongside their very best work to date.

The core of Vista Chino is made up from mainstays John Garcia (vocals), Nick Oliveri (bass) and Brant Bjork (drums). Guitarist Bruno Fevery is the only newcomer but he more than holds his own. The elephant in the room is the exclusion of former member Joshua Homme but, truthfully, not only does he not need Vista Chino (you can hardly say that his day job with Queens of the Stone Age has been a failure) but they don't really need him either. It wasn't Homme's personality that really shone through in Kyuss but rather the almighty tone of his guitar and Fevery replicates it admirably while still adding his own flourishes. And that is the overall impression that the album leaves; it is recognizable while kicking at its own margins. Production duties were handled by Brant Bjork, severing the band's long-standing ties with desert rock visionary Chris Goss. It is to Bjork's credit that it will probably require you to look at the liner notes to notice anything has changed behind the mixing board.

The first few tracks on the album are absolutely killer even if they are starting to sound a wee bit familiar. That is not a knock on the band's material at all (the fuzzed out 'Dargona Dragona' could easily be an outtake from Blues for the Red Sun) but rather a reminder of their legacy. How many times has the name 'Kyuss' been used as a byword for hard-hitting stoner rock? There is no need to dwell on any of this because this album is more than up to the task of taking your mind off such concerns and sending it on a journey. John Garcia still sings like Ozzy Osbourne's trailer park dwelling cousin and he hams it up at every given opportunity. The rhythm section of Bjork and Oliveri are as impressive as always, creating a powerful bedrock for the album to rest upon. It is when all four men synch up that the sparks really fly. 'Planets 1 & 2' takes Sabbath-ian guitar riff, fuzzes it out, and rides it into the sunset. Songs like this are like a challenge to the listener, daring you to say that this doesn't live up to classic Kyuss. Just try it yourself and see how hard it is. The album closes out with its most unhinged track, 'Acidize? The Gambling Moose'. Something tells me there is a story behind the title but it never becomes clear over its meandering 13 minute duration.

What made Kyuss so engaging from the get-go was their redefinition of what this thing called “heavy metal” was and could be. Metal started in the basements and garages of 1960s England and by the 80s had flourished into a full-blown cultural revolution in America that packed out stadiums across the world. Kyuss pushed away from this metropolitan grind and took their music to the open expanses of the California desert. Their dedication to groove, riff, and feeling over masturbatory solos and reckless machismo spoke to a generation of those disillusioned with the genre's mainstream exposure. Vista Chino have not forgotten that point of difference and, if anything, lean on it even more heavily. There is unlikely to be a conventional single from this album as taking even a segment of Peace away from the context of the whole record could dispel some of the magic. The name on the label might be different but Kyuss lives!

Rating: A-

Recommended tracks: Dargona Dragona, Planets 1 & 2, Adara

Album Review: Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady

Janelle Monae – fashionista, visionary, iconoclast – has finally unleashed her second album, parts four and five of her Metropolis concept series entitled The Electric Lady. The title of the new record may not be as arcanely impressive as The ArchAndroid but it successfully piggybacks off the mystique of Hendrix's legendary opus, Electric Ladyland. Monae does not do things by halves – she is all in or all out – and her agenda of choice is to push R&B to weird, scary new heights. In that regard, and many others besides, The Electric Lady is an unmitigated success. The first real song on the album carries the loaded title of 'Givin Em What They Love' and it features a genuine figure of misfit-funk royalty: the one and only Prince. When you can pull somebody as ornery and reclusive as the Purple One on your record that in itself is enough turn heads, but she is not content to stop there. With the veterans such as Prince, Erykah Badu, (executive producer) P Diddy on one hand and newcomers Miguel, Solange Knowles, Esperanza Spalding on the other Monae is straddling across many generations of innovators at once.

It is impossible to separate Janelle Monae from her larger-than-life persona. Through interviews, photo shoots, music videos, and the albums themselves you simply cannot tell where the woman ends and the character begins. She is playing everyone like a well-tuned fiddle – the fans, the press, the critics, everyone. And musically she is a revelation at every turn. One minute she is stirring the infectious femme funk of 'Q.U.E.E.N', the next she is crooning like a songbird Sinatra ('Primetime'). Her transition between all of these modes is not only seamless but her dedication to the material is never less that fierce. Even at her most commercially friendly this is still powerfully uncompromising music. Her new single is the dance-floor baiting 'Dance Apocalyptic', the spiritual successor to Outkast's 'Hey Ya'. This tune is guaranteed to takes asses off of chairs and send bodies jiving with reckless abandon. “I really really wanna thank you for dancing to the end” is not only a delicious double entendre given the song's title but also the best party-going call to arms in years.

The gooey middle of the album trades in the rolling punches of momentum for a chance to sprawl outwards and seduce the listener even further into this world. 'Ghetto Woman' makes for a gaudy electro-pop diversion and the dreamy 'Look Into My Eyes' is a dead-ringer for a 1960s theme sci-fi theme song. Then on 'Sally Ride' Monae once again adopts her best Andre 3000 singer/songwriter hybrid (think The Love Below's 'Prototype' meets Tina Turner). The set rounds out with two songs that are so well constructed they have “classic timeless appeal” stamped all over them. I dare you to listen to 'Dorothy Dandrige Eyes' and 'I Want an Experience' back-to-back without wondering if you have heard them before. It's not because they are generic, far from it, but rather that they speak to eternal soul of … well, soul music with an unshakable authenticity. They could have emerged from some lost smooth jazz from the 70s or 80s rather than an ambitious 27 year old savant recording in 2013.

Even excluding the three skit interludes and the two instrumental 'Suite Electric Overtures' (which you absolutely should not overlook) the album still boasts fifteen proper songs. That is a long time to sit and absorb music, even when it is this good. And what of those interludes? Rather than the stoned comedy that hip hop albums have made us come to expect, Monae allows these non-music tracks to further the album's story and flesh out the universe she is creating. They take the form of radio pieces espousing the virtues of android love, preaching non-violence against robo-haters, and advertising a host of mechanical fun and games. If a few tracks were cut it certainly would make The Electric Lady a more streamlined listening experience. Still, Monae does whatever the hell Monae wants to do and it is one of her best qualities. This is an album that packs in highs, lows, and a roller-coaster thrill ride covering everything between the two.

Rating: A-

Recommended tracks: Q.U.E.E.N, Dance Apocalyptic, Givin Em What They Love

Album Review Wrap-up: Featuring Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Kendra Morris, King Krule, & John Frusciante

1. Arctic Monkeys - AM

It has been a long time since Arctic Monkeys set the world on fire with their coy, impish debut album. Since then they have set about the important tasks of growing older, more serious, and hanging out with Queens of the Stone Age. If albums like AM are the result of these changes in focus and attitude then they are definitely for the best. In the course of just under a decade they have progressed from being the soundtrack to a thousand sweaty teenage parties to the frosty walk home afterward. Opener 'Do I Wanna Know?' swings and stomps with impossible quantities of swagger. You can practically hear the spurs jangling as boots are stamped against the ground in time with the lumbering beat. This is light years away from 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor' and other such claptrap. Arctic Monkeys have the nocturnal mood pegged – some of these tracks feels like they should be wrapped in a blanket and accompanied by a night light. Fortunately, regardless of the step-up in quality, these boys remain quintessentially British. The high-camp of 'One For The Road' touches nicely upon the oft-ignored classic rock tendencies from their fabled homeland: touches of David Bowie, Queen, Thin Lizzy are all present and accounted for. AM is a solid rock and roll album from a band who move in leaps and bounds and have the potential for an infinitely bright future. They are all set, poised, and ready to take the music world by storm once more.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Do I Wanna Know?, One For The Road

2. Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action

Album number four appears to be quite a tricky proposition. Most bands tend to follow a clear trajectory over their initial trio of records: the ground-breaking debut, the lukewarm follow-up, and the game-changing number three. But what happens at four? That is exactly the question that Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand are attempting to answer on their new album Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action. This album is heavily front-weighted with three tremendously catchy, single-worthy tracks. The wave of momentum created by 'Right Action', 'Evil Eye', and 'Love Illumination' is formidable and is bound to grab your attention. Unfortunately that is where things peter out. We are treated to half-bake yawners and limp 80s pastiches and the fun is sucked right out of the room. Things pick up again with some clever song ('The Universe Expanded' and 'Goodbye Lovers and Friends' come to mind) at the back end of the tracklist. Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action may not be the strongest entry in their discography but it is a fun wee jaunt while it lasts. This album is a valiant, if uneven, stab at maintaining relevance in an increasing fast-paced music world. Things get hyped up, churned out, and cast away at such a rate these days it is impressive that a song like 'Take Me Out' is remembered at all let alone as popular as it is nearly a decade down the line.

Rating: B+

Recommended tracks: Evil Eye, Love Illumination

3. Kendra Morris - Mockingbird 

Kendra Morris is a charming soul singer from New York City whose 2012 album Banshee earned her a great deal of critical and commercial success. Rather than tease us with customary silence she has released a collection of cover songs to whet our appetite called Mockingbird. She has set out to put her own spin on “the classics”; be they classic rock (Bowie, Reed), easy listening (Bacharach), or alternative radio mainstays (Radiohead, Soundgarden). Cover albums live and die on the strength of the artist's song selections and in that regard Mockingbird is mostly successful. You get the feeling that these are tracks that Morris has been singing for years. For every unremarkable number there are two or three outstanding ones. She is chiefly a soul singer but with producer/guitarist Jeremy Page (That Handsome Devil) she has allowed herself to stretch and blur the lines. When you hear the throwback funk of Rolling Stones 'Miss You' it is just as authentic as the gospelized gravitas of 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond'. The boldest reinvention of the set is Morris' treatment of Metallica's 'Ride the Lightning', showcasing her psychedelic balladeer persona and bringing focus to the oft-overlooked lyrics. Page's fellow Handsome Devil comrade Godforbid shows up to duet on The Proclaimers' '500 Miles' to startlingly powerful effect and the two singers revel in the quiet desperation of the song. If nothing else, Mockingbird is a wonderful showcase for Kendra Morris' own record collection – a glimpse into the art that inspires the artist.

Rating: A-

Recommended tracks: 500 Miles, Ride the Lightning, Shine on You Crazy Diamond

4. King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath the Moon

You may have heard of King Krule (that's Archy Marshall to his folks), his name has been lighting up the internet for the past couple of years. You may have heard him too. That distinction is important because the character he portrays hinges largely on his unhinged vocal stylings. 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is his ramshackle debut album and it is an eyebrow-raising affait. You will find so many ideas crammed into this record that it is hard to keep track of the sounds and influences; indie rock, hip hop, jazz, dub, folk, noise – the list goes on. Some of these tracks feel only partially formed, sketches not used to their full potential. Still, it is hard to criticize an album for being raw when that rawness is its most endearing quality. When you hit a taut groover in stride, where gypsy jazz might be re-imagined as a kissing cousin of drum and bass ('A Lizard State'). If you can overlook lines about fucking fat bitches you can find plenty to enjoy here. The jump from there to the chilled out tones of 'Will I Come' is jarring, but that seems to be the whole point. Just a few tracks earlier the clattering, dubbiness of 'Ceiling' floated aimlessly in the abyss. These ideas are piled haphazardly upon one another. No single one of them stands out among the others and it creates a swirling mass of the fractured concepts that work against all odds. The voice of King Krule is always center stage and it is the improbable combination of Tom Waits and Joe Strummer. One minute he is smash-mouthed and violent, the next slurring and charming. It is one hell of a performance to be sure. 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is the best album about the disaffected youth of Britain since Tricky's Maxinquaye, an album released when Marshall was scarcely one year old.

Rating: B-

Recommended tracks: A Lizard State, Border Line

5. John Frusciante - Outsides EP

On Outsides, guitarist / general nutter John Frusciante continues his journey through the self-inflicted madness of his post-RHCP career. It is a double edged sword. Firstly the freedom that he now enjoys allows him to mine into stranger sonic territory than ever before (see last year's puzzling PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone for a salient example of experimentation gone too far). The downside is that fewer people are likely to hear about it; doomed to inhabit the fringes of cult following status. This EP is essentially a series of three related but distinct compositions. The centerpiece is the ten-minute-plus 'Same' in which he embraces his inner Robert Fripp more than ever before. Unlike some of his earlier, 'Maggot Brain'-aping, tracks 'Same' is an upbeat journey that follows this demented muse to its ultimate conclusion. Traces of that bizarre previous album still linger in the electro-style production on the track but, sonic weirdness aside, the guitar is the focus of the piece. The other two pieces do not fare so well. 'Breathiac' writhes uncomfortably over the tortured beat. 'Shelf' is only a little better really – slightly more coherent and saved largely by the sparse vocals that creep in at the end. It is inescapable that without 'Same' Outsides would never have seen the light of day. With every release that passes, it seems less and less likely that John Frusciante will ever return to Earth. Will he come back to us or must we, the fans, be constantly chasing him down these rabbit holes?

Rating: C

Recommended track: Same