Richard Thompson, Dream Attic

By Chelsea Spear

In the early 1990s, British folk music hero Richard Thompson found himself the subject of a surprise revival. While his instrumental and songwriting ability had remained at a consistently high level throughout his career, his signing to Capitol and subsequent MTV success (with “I Feel So Good,” which would later appear as Puck’s unofficial theme on The Real World: San Francisco) brought him a younger, more diverse audience.
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Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Hawk

By Noreen Sobczyk

Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell are well-known artists, each in their own right, coming from The Screaming Trees and Belle and Sebastian respectively. On their three collaborations thus far, the duo often resembles the lazy, hazy ease of bands such as Mazzy Star or The Cowboy Junkies.

While the Campbell/Lanegan collaborations are often gorgeous, Hawk proves that this formula might have worked best in one concentrated dose—perhaps as one release—instead of being portioned out repeatedly over multiple efforts.
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The Prids, Chronosynclastic

By Jemiah Jefferson

Fully recovered from an intensely bad 2009, the black-clad Portland-based quartet emerges as if from a chrysalis, their sound now fully formed. These days, the Prids have a sound all their own, no longer reminiscent of New Wave pastiche and riffs cribbed from old goth favorites. The Prids are their own group now, with a sound as distinctive and unique as any of their inspirations while allowing enough room to shout out as the mood strikes.
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Sparks: No. 1 Songs In Heaven

By Matt Keeley

Sparks are awesome.

This is a given.

And, finally, Sparks have joined the rank of awesome things that have books about them. Two books, actually: Talent Is An Asset has already been reviewed in Popshifter, so now we bring you the other unauthorized Sparks bio, Dave Thompson’s Sparks: No. 1 Songs In Heaven.
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Candy Claws, Hidden Lands

By John Lane

I happily stumbled upon the duo named Candy Claws (now a sort of band) not too long ago. Their 2009 album, In the Dream of the Sea Life gives off a Wes-Anderson/Steve-Zissou vibe, from the quirk,y mostly-instrumental cinematic sounds right down to the design and packaging.

Sound architects Ryan Hover and Kay Bertholf return this year with Hidden Lands, an album that represents somewhat of a sideways progression. For hipsters clamoring for another boy/girl duo-combo (i.e., Beach House, She & Him), this will satisfy that need. What separates Hover and Bertholf from the pack, however, is the fact that there is a certain joyous naiveté that seems to guide them and makes their existence all the more curious and appealing.
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Los Lobos, Tin Can Trust

By J Howell

It speaks volumes about a band when, after 30 years and 19 albums, they remain vital. Los Lobos is just that, as Tin Can Trust demonstrates. For listeners who’ve slept on this institution of American music, or only know the cover of “La Bamba” from the 1987 movie of the same title, you’re missing out on one of the most consistently great bands, well, ever.

Don’t think you like Latin music? The cumbia “Yo Canto,” with its Marc Ribot-esque guitars, is brilliant. The norteno-flavored “Mujer Ingrata” bounces with such a joyous spirit that’s impossible to dislike. While the band does good by its Mexican-American roots, Los Lobos have always been masterful at incorporating all manner of American roots music into their work; Tin Can Trust is no exception.
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GOLD: Before Woodstock, Beyond Reality DVD

By Matt Keeley

GOLD: Before Woodstock, Beyond Reality is a 40-year-old lost film starring a comedy hero, Del Close. Like another film by a comedy hero, Savages (a Merchant-Ivory film written by Michael O’Donoghue), it’s a noble failure.
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A Play In Three Acts: An Interview With Ergo Phizmiz

By Greta Pistaceci

I first came across Ergo Phizmiz a few years ago, though I am not exactly sure where—the British artist’s cover of the entirety of the Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat was available as a free download somewhere or other online (I have a feeling this was probably the WFMU blog, or one that might have linked to his personal website).
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JG Thirlwell/Manorexia, The Mesopelagic Waters

By Julie Finley

JG Thirlwell’s The Mesopelagic Waters was released on John Zorn’s Tzadik record label during the spring of 2010. This is the third installment of Thirlwell’s Manorexia project, but it’s not a block of new songs. It is, in essence, an acoustic re-arrangement scored for tactual instruments, performed by virtuosos. However, that’s easier said than done!

So if you were hoping to hear new songs on this album that weren’t on Volvox Turbo or The Radiolarian Ooze . . . that’s not going to happen, so nix that thought! So now, if you are thinking, “Why bother?” read on, and I’ll explain why you should!
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K-X-P, S/T

By Ben Sullivan

In our current cultural moment of sonic permissiveness and fraying mainstream consensus, instrumental rock is no longer ghettoized to the skinny aisles of sub-genre. Prog is no longer a four letter word; electronic/rock hybrids are old hat. Even when the guitar is de-emphasized à la Out Hud—or completely absent, as with Add (N) to (X)—vocal-light bands specializing in sturdy rock grooves now enjoy growing audiences and heightened festival appeal.

That being said, the ubiquity of the guitar and the immediacy of its musical heritage still pay dividends. The six-stringers in Battles can still reliably benefit from stage-side guitar-nerds slobbering over their nervy chops. Post-rockers Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky have proven accessible enough for big-budget soundtrack work. So: whither the synthesizer in the expanding landscape of post-pop?

K-X-P’s synth-centric self-titled debut is redoubtably Teutonic. Driving, unfettered motorik grooves undergird a tasteful array of analog modules bubbling, reverberating, and panning towards dawn. Founder and lead wavesmith Timo Kaukolampi manages the density of his arrangements skillfully and with rockist panache, patiently staging his modulations over the insinuating groove of “Mehu Moments.” Kaukolampi expertly samples (and simulates) a gate-reverb-drenched guitar in “18 Hours (Of Love),” a credible club rave-up caught somewhere between Depeche Mode’s shuffle grooves and Alan Vega’s solo output.
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