![]() ![]() ![]() “1.) We are not Muslims, and as such, it is disrespectful and irresponsible for us to use the word jihad in our band’s name. New album from AJJ, the Phoenix, AZ band formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad. Isaac Brock’s unmistakable, marbled baritone vocals jump out on on “So Hazy” and traces of old Modest Mouse can also be heard in the discordant guitar and mechanical noise that interrupts or ends the album’s title track and “All Of My Enemies.”ĪJJ – The Bible 2 CD/LP+MP3 (Side One Dummy) The richly layered harmonies of Sarah Riddle, Annie Bethancourt, Colin Jenkins and Oberdorfer mirror themes about the power (and impotence) of the individual and the need for community. The record is also more groove-laden, with electronic experimentation pushed to the surface. While writing this record, the band’s leaders, Rob Oberdorfer and Tim Perry, embraced synthetic sounds and artificial textures– a marked difference from the organic and documentarian approach on their previous albums. The album’s lead track “They Want More,” also draws a line in the sand to confront the changing landscape of music, art, cities and lifestyles. Songs like “Kick Me Out” and “I’m Moving” describe the “manufactured wilderness” that former bohemian sanctuaries like Portland and other cities have become. With all members hailing from Portland, Oregon, the album explores what it’s like to watch your hometown implode in a frenzy of real estate development and lifestyle branding. Something To Ruin confronts the debris of our collective failures and asks whether we might be better off letting go and starting over. (And speaking of weird, Ryley says that in addiCon to Genesis, much of the album’s inspiraCon comes from “Australian extreme scooter riders on YouTube and balding gear heads on Craigslist.” Go figure.Ages And Ages – Something To Ruin CD/LP+MP3 (Partisan) Like Walker’s beloved Genesis, the pop element is never too far from the surface even when shit gets weird. Melodies in unexpected direcCons but remain downright hummable. Tricky Cme signatures abound but feel as natural as can be. Wiry guitars melt into gorgeous string secCons (arranged by Douglas Jenkins of the Portland Cello Project). But no maVer how complex it gets, the album is never overwhelmingly busy. Course In Fable’s songs are twisty, labyrinthine things, stuffed full of ideas (Walker half-jokingly calls it his “prog record”). The result is a rich, immersive affair - a headphones record if ever there was one. “I told him to take the mixes and have at it,” Walker says. ![]() But McEnCre was also inCmately involved with Course In Fable’s overall creative process. On the seven songs here, he delivers the signature shimmering and pristine sonics he’s become known for over the years. Seeing his name in an album’s liners is preVy much a trademark of quality.Īnother Windy City exile, McEnCre is based on the west coast these days, working out of the Portland, OR studio he’s dubbed Soma West. John McEn:re, Course In Fable’s producer/engineer/ mixer, can rightly be called a legend for his work with Tortoise, Stereolab, The Red Krayola, Jim O’Rourke and countless others over a prolific career that now spans more than three decades. Last October, Ryley went straight to one of the primary architects of the Chicago sound to make the LP. To put it simply: Course In Fable is Walker’s best record yet, full of active imaginationon and endless possibilies. Even though he emerged at first in folkrock troubadour mode, it makes sense that he’s arrived at this point each LP has grown more intricate and assured, his influences disClling into something original and unusual. Walker spent his formaCve years in Chicago, absorbing those heady sounds and finding ways to make them his own. The masterful Course In Fable, the songwriter’s solo effort, draws from the deep well of that city’s ferCle 1990s scene, when bands like Tortoise, The Sea and Cake and Gastr del Sol were reshaping the underground,mixing and matching indie rock, jazz, prog and beyond. But his latest LP is a Chicago record in spirit. Ryley Walker currently resides in New York City. LABEL: Husky Pants Records CAT NO: HPR008LP BARCODE: 687368313296 ![]()
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