Phlox - Rebimine + Voltimine

Formed in 2000 in Tallinn, Estonia and having gone through several lineup changes, prog-jazz group Phlox's third album has a fitting and a demonstrative title. Rebimine + Voltimine is Estonian for "Tearing + Folding" and indeed the collective tears down everything that sounds stale and dull about jazz-rock and instead uses the raw materials to fold weird and idiosyncratic shapes. Nowhere near is this approach more evident than on the album opener called "Rähn": they blend jazz-flute (voiced by Ramo Teder aka Pastacas, an eminent Estonian alternative music artist), roaring fuzz guitars, hints at Brazilian jazz a la Hermeto Pascoal and the elements from Canterbury prog into a fusion (no pun intended), which is not only eclectic, but also very intense in its hard-edged sonic approach. The sextet has clearly taken a more rock-oriented approach and the album opener condenses their contemporary approach into a powerful and to-the-point seven minute composition that represents the Phlox today at its best.

The opening number is followed by an interesting juxtaposition heavy on contrasts: "Kraap" is a minute-long noisy live improv segueing into a studio-recorded composition "Habe". The contrast between the live recorded noisy improv and the composed studio recording is wide, yet the transition between the two tracks is smooth. The new version of "Habe" (as the original one is from their second album) is not only more polished and compact, but also more intense than the original. An abrasive alto sax solo from Kalle Klein (who otherwise plays soprano saxophone for the most part on this album) stands out. In contrast to the hard-edged aggressive approach on bulk of the album, the closer "Kurehirm" is a pastoral, yet eerie duet between electric piano and saxophone, where Klein uses a more textural approach on his instrument in the middle section. In between those two extremes there are compositions with psychedelic elements, such as "Hunt", where pastoral sax lines vary with thick fuzz-guitar riffs, hypnotic percussion supports the meandering spacy oriental keyboard solos. Nevertheless, the entire track sounds pretty cohesive and has a kinetic edge similar to the best kraut-rock improvisations, except that it's more proggy and jazz-influenced.

Those of whom who speak Estonian, might delight in the track titles which are quite humorous and occasionally filled with puns ("Sõjajalgne", for example is a play on "sajajalgne", which is estonian for "centipede"). This indicates that the musicians are not taking themselves too seriously and it also proves that the best jazz-rock comes from musicians whose attitude is graced with a healthy sense of humor. It's also remarkable to note that while it was tempting to compare Phlox to certain other 70s prog-jazz legends earlier on, the newest material by the band shows growth and the band is closer than ever to finding their own unique sound in the realm of jazz rock fusion style. Drawing obvious parallels not only comes across as a lazy journalism, but it also is to underrate the band's talents. While not all of the compositions on the album are equally memorable, Phlox nevertheless has evolved and grown throughout the years.

Jaga Jazzist - What We Must

What We Must sounds like the most consistent Jaga Jazzist release to date. They add some intense walls of sounds inspired by post-Kevin Shields sonic experimentations to their jazzy horn-driven leanings, while eschewing the frenzied electronic beats found on albums like A Livingroom Hush and The Stix. Outstanding tunes are the anthemic rock-driven "All I Know is Tonight" and a cinematic melange of droning horn arrangements, wordless vocals and odd time signatures and pastoral repetitive motifs that is "Swedenborgske Rom". Markus Schmicker of Pluramon is behind the production stool and a few moments like "Mikado" have affinities with the dreamy droning soundscapes that were on Pluramon's Dreams Top Rock, albeit in a more complex and multi-layered form. It's obvious that the band is working in slightly more accessible idioms as melodic themes like "Stardust Hotel" with its slightly oriental and distorted woodwind melody would testify, but this is nowhere near a sell-out. Instead of dumbed down trappings in songs, all compositions are densely multi-layered and each listening can reveal different things. If anything, Jaga is exploring and rediscovering, reinventing their sound and pursuing new directions. Some of the album copies are double CD edition where the 2nd CD includes the Spydeberg Sessions, and listening to raw and often embryonic versions of 4 out of 7 regular album tracks one can hear how Jaga was evolving and exploring their sonic possibilities. A successful effort over-all and a bold step forward for the band.

The Fall - The Unutterable

It is a bit of a curse to be prolific and have a career of longevity. Most long-standing prolific artists churning out albums left and right have records that vary in quality. Worse still, many of them might simply run out of ideas and lapse into mediocrity after the amount of classic albums that could be counted on one or two hands. It's a rare thing when 20+ years after your debut, a band is still capable of being an outstanding musical unit and also relevant. The Fall is one of those bands. On The Unutterable, released in 2000, band leader Mark E. Smith proves that with his trademark sarcastic and biting song texts as well as his unmistakably distinct powerful sing-speak snarl, he's still the underground rock personality par excellence he has always been. And the music is very good as well. There are synthesizers and other electronic embellishments on this record, that contribute to the dark, dense sonic picture of the band. Standout tracks include "Octo Realm/Ketamine Sun" that starts out with an odd slice of techno, but then transforms into a sludgy slow-burning rocker. Then there's "Dr Buck's Letter" with Smith's surreal and witty musings set to a haunting amalgam of droning guitars and menacing electronic rhythms. Aside the more experimental quirks, several tracks like "Two Librans", "Sons of Temperance" and "Hands up Billy" rock out really hard, while "Hot Runes" is one of the Fall's rockabilly-inspired numbers. With its crunchy guitar work, driving rhythms and brain-searing electronics, The Unutterable is a late-period The Fall classic that never fails to deliver a healthy dose of abrasive sonic density and it also manages to sound like a memorable musical experience.

At The Drive-In - Vaya EP (1999)

Before At The Drive-In recorded Relationship of Command (2000), they did the seven-song Vaya EP a year before. On this record, the band delves quite deeply into of experimentation, adding psychedelic, jazz and dub influences to their post-hardcore noisy indie rock core sound. Right off the bat, the EP kicks off with "Rascuache" that features time changes, dub percussion and a bit of jazz tinge along its trademark guitar attack and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala's passionate screams. "Ursa Minor" shows ATDI at their most angular with their dissonant heavy-duty guitar attacks with subtle electronics lurking underneath. There's still a bit of traditional punk/indie sound on this record and it seems that this EP would be the best indicator of the creative tensions between Bixler-Zavala, guitarist Omar Rodriguez and the rest of the members, the former favoring experimentation and eclectic arrangements and the latter favoring more straight-ahead rock/punk/indie sound. While musically the arrangements showcase an intelligent and inventive kind of a post-hardcore group and some of the songs like "198d" rank among the best melodic ATDI numbers, in retrospect one gets the feeling that a band as talented as ATDI never really managed to stabilize into a harmonious, self-sufficient unit. It seems no wonder that after Relationship of Command, ATDI would disband and split into Sparta and Mars Volta. Nonetheless, Vaya shows ATDI at their most daring and as such, the EP is a very impressive effort.

Elton Dean - Just Us

The late Elton Dean was the most free-jazz oriented principal Soft Machine figure ever. While he was pushing his parent band into the according direction in the early seventies, he recorded his first solo album in 1971 that is something of a lost classic. It has some affinity to the avant garde jazz orientation of the fifth Soft Machine album and thus, it's easier to judge it on its own merit for those who refuse to take post-Wyatt Soft Machine music seriously. With the dread of the bastardization of Soft Machine's moniker out of the picture, we can appreciate this Elton Dean jazz group album for what it is: an early seventies British avant-garde jazz album, and very good at that. It does, though, feature many Softs alumni or formally connected people: besides Dean himself on alto, saxello and electric piano, there are Marc Charig (cornet), Nick Evans (trombone, on bonus tracks), Roy Babbington (acoustic bass), Phil Howard (drums), Neville Whitehead (el. bass, he played on Robert Wyatt's almost similar solo album End of an Ear) and Mike Ratledge guesting on electric piano and organ.

The similarities between this album and Soft Machine's Fifth are apparent, most notable example being the 15min album opener "Ooglenovastrome" that, after 5 minutes of free playing, picks up a groove reminiscent of "Drop" from Fifth. Hearing more Phil Howard drumming than is available on few recordings from his stint with the Machine (1st side of Fifth plus a Peel Session from November '71) is a real treat as well. However, Just Us is more about free-spirited improvisation as opposed to the cold, almost Weather Report-ian clinical minimalist ambiance on Fifth. This album also provides a studio version of "Neo-Caliban Grides", a setlist mainstay for Soft Machine during the Fourth era. The Cuneiform reissue also offers 2 live bonus tracks from 1972, "Banking on Bishopsgate" and "Fun Cup".

Just Us is a recommended item to the music collection for anyone interested in either improvised free-jazz music, solo works by Soft Machine alumni, particularly that of Elton Dean, hearing more drumming by under-rated Phil Howard or for all of the above reasons.

Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People

Compared to Rock Action that added varied instrumentation and vocals to the mix, Mogwai scales back to the more classicist post-Godspeed You Black Emperor styled post-rock style for Happy Songs for Happy People. If there are vocals, they are either vocoderized or buried low in the mix. "Hunted by a Freak" with its vocoderized song manages to be quite evocative, some of the slower and shorter songs sound inspired by Spiritualized, such as "Moses? I Amn't" and "Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep" (the only track with non-vocoder vocals). For a good dose of classic quiet-loud dynamic based instrumental rock, look no further than "Killing All the Flies" and "Ratts of the Capital". Usually this is a very introverted and quiet album, sometimes quite lovely (like "Kids Will Be Skeletons") but occasionally a bit dull. Newcomers might want to check out Rock Action, but those who like the second wave of post-rock (that is, the variation of the genre based on brooding instrumental guitar rock with quiet-loud formula) might dig this one as well.

Blonde Redhead - Melodie Citronique EP

Melodie Citronique by Blonde Redhead is essentially a companion EP to the full-length 2000 release of Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons. As such, it's an interesting effort, featuring different versions of several album cuts, and most of the pieces are sung in either Italian or French. "En Particuleur" is virtually the same as "In Particular", but with a different mix and edit, and in French. "Odiata Per Le Sue Virtu" is "Hated Because of Great Qualities" in Italian with Kazu Makino's surprisingly sexy delivery in that tongue. The highlight however is an original called "Chi è e non è", a rare excursion to folk-rock territory and one of the best songs featuring Amedeo Pace on lead vocals. The rendition of Serge Gainsbourg's "Slogan" is a surprising, but then again expectedly logical, send-up of Stereolab style circa Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Expected, because Serge Gainsbourg was a heavy influence on The Lab, but it was recorded at the In Expression of the Inexpressible sessions, when BR was still firmly in their noise-rock phase. The track ends with dub-inspired percussion and effects. Closing track "Four Damaged Lemons" is a Third Eye Foundation remix of "For the Damaged", which does sound similar to the album version, but with electronic embellishments that predict Blonde Redhead's subsequent reliance on sundry electronic flourishes with synths, drum machines and other devices. This overlooked EP showcases a whole lot different, a more esoteric, more cosmopolitan still, side of the Blonde Redhead.