Christos DC Takes The Long Road

Christopher Vrenios or Christos DC to his friends and fellow musicians has been surrounded by music since he was a kid. From his parents to hip hop and a deep appreciation of all things Sly & Robbie, Christos has always loved music but it was an appreciation of the tunes coming out of Kingston that pointed Christos toward his own musical direction and career. This journey and love of reggae music has taken him on the road with folks like Black Uhuru and The Itals and allowed him to develop his own personal style and sound. His second album, Long Road is almost truth in advertising about the the musical journey that Christos has been on since he was pointed in the right direction.

With a downtempo chilled reggae vibe Christos composes songs that are easy going, laid back, and unweighty. It's nice breezy stuff that's catchy and uncomplicated. With fourteen tracks the album is stuffed with enough reggae jams to make you feel as though you were in Kingston. Christos does a good job of coming off as authentically as possible without actually being from Jamaica. This is reggae on a modern tip and while it does tend to all sound alike by the fourteenth song, Long Road is still a very listenable album.

Christos' nice mix of modern vibes, traditional sounds, and dubbed out elements give the album depth and texture and give it a very non-American feel. Long Road is far more than frat boy reggae; this is as pure and true as anything you're like to hear come from the Caribbean. Nice work!

Chad Vangaalen Is Addicted To Shrink Dust

To say that Chad Vangaalen has an active imagination would be a bit of an understatement. This guy has so many creative outlets and so much work under his belt it's almost impossible to keep track of. He's in approximately 78038434 bands including two with his children. He does art, he animates, he recklessly experiments with musical instruments, and he's been described as Bob and Doug McKenzie in space. One listen to his album Shrink Dust and you'll see what we're talking about.

Imagine the Flaming Lips but weirder and fronted by a guy with Walt Disney's imagination on acid and you kind of have an idea of where Chad lives. He's the very definition of necessity leads to the mother of invention; case in point he wanted to score a science fiction movie so he decided to make one so that he could. That spirit of invention and imagination permeates every note on Shrink Dust. It's weird, atmospheric, adventuresome, experimental, and at times doesn't sound like it's from this earth. CVG (as his friends call him) throws twenty sheets to the wind and writes haunting songs that cast spells of unusual sounds, strange ambiance, and weird ideas. Shrink Dust doesn't sound the best or try to (apparently CVG has never been inside a real studio) and that's half the charm of it. In listening to Shrink Dust you can almost picture CVG playing all the instruments and tuning everything in a harrying pace in his living room while trying to keep his kids occupied. It's all very busy, strange and intriguing and while there's not a hit on this album you can't help but latch on to every note this guy churns out. Shrink Dust is a heartwarming and endearing effort because it has this peculiar innocence about it that sucks you in with curiosity. It's all very uncomplicated, free flowing, and childlike and as such is the perfect reflection of CVG. This is the soundtrack to having Peter Pan Syndrome and it's awesome.

Shrink Dust is an open window into the imagination and ruminations of CVG's life. It's a odd place to visit but you'll want to come back again and again and see what's new because every time you visit there will be something that you haven't seen before. It's the kind of record that people that are endlessly fascinated by everything will enjoy. It's music for people with brains that never stop working and I think that's why I've enjoyed it so much; it put my imagination in overdrive and left me in a bit of awe. Shrink Dust doesn't rock so much as it aimlessly wanders with a never ending sense of wonder and that's why it succeeds.

Lily Allen Might Just Be Bigger Than Sheezus

She's funny, she's smart, she's snarky, she's British and she's absolutely brilliant. Lily Allen is back with her latest and she wants to be more famous than Sheezus. Having given music up for several years Lily Allen went on to get married, have a child, change her name, settle down...you know normal adult stuff. But as any musician will tell you it's hard to just stop making music. Once that bug is in you it's in you forever and it's obviously got a very possessive relationship with Lily as Sheezus is the result of that insatiable itch to make a tune.

Well to say Sheezus doesn't disappoint would be an understatement. Sure, Lily is older, wiser, and has been out of the industry game for a while, but it's made her hungry, edgy, and so sharp you might just start bleeding from listening. Her wit is unbeatable and it pulsates through a vast majority of the songs here. Heck, the title track alone is gold simply because of her statement of intent and how she name drops more stars than a Grammy Awards show. It's really ironic when she mentions Katy Parry because one can't help but wonder if she would even exist had some US record exec not decided to make her the "American Lily Allen."

Anyway, the album swings back and forth between snarky moments like the title track and more sweeping swoony pop songs that shows Lily at her most vulnerable and insecure. Check, "Take My Place," and "Insincerely Yours," as examples of this. Sure they're heartfelt but there's still that bit of snappiness to them that's her trademark. While, I prefer the poppier moments on the disc, it's a nice change of pace and gives you time to catch your breath and share a “quiet moment” with the album.

Sheezus is a fantastic return to form and really a nice gift that I'd never expected to receive. I mean she did "retire," after all so the fact that she's produced a clever, wry, and brilliant album is awesome. Welcome back Lily it's good to have you back!

Afghan Whigs Do The Beast

It's been ages since Greg Dulli and his Whigs have released a record. It's been so long in fact that there's a generation out there that may not have even known that the Afghan Whigs were indeed one of Sub Pop's finest bands before Nirvana blew up. Nearly a decade and a half after their last release, Dulli got the band back together went home to SubPop and released Do The Beast. Half a surprise, half a blessed gift the album should go a long way to illuminating past generations of Afghan Whig's superiority.

Do The Beast is a mature effort that seems to easily pick up where the band left off nearly fifteen years ago. Dulli has crafted a fine set of songs here that are dramatic, edgy, rooted in all sorts of classical, swoony, and emotional influences. There are string sections, slow broody songs, out and out rockers, and hit after potential hit. Comeback album? I think not, Do The Beast is a fantastical return to form. It's as if the band never stopped and they've been recording all this time. While there's some of that characteristic old school Sub Pop stuff in this record there's so much more.

While Do The Beast is a beautiful sounding record that balances itself on a knife edge of influences there's a dark undercurrent to much of this record that's reflected in it's title. Songs of revenge, duality, violence, and death all appear on this record and it makes the imagination swirl with movie like scenes of drama. Dulli knows how to pen a lyric pretty well and this record is full of his senses and ideas running wild.
Do The Beast is not only a welcome surprise (that may or may not be the result of a live encounter with Usher!) but one heck of a record. This is an album that proves you can teach an old dog new tricks and that the Afghan Whigs still have bucket loads of songs yet to offer. Do The Beast rocks darkly and beautifully through maturity and one can't help but wonder if the adventure that this record is, is the result of all that time and creativity being stored in Dulli's brain unable to escape. Easily one of the best records of 2014 I hope this rebirth leads to even more adventures and adventurous records

Pacifika's Amore Planeta

South America via Vancouver band Pacifika are back with yet another album that sounds about as Canadian as an Australian. Led by native Peruvian Silvana Kane the band embraces the global community and world wide influences they represent with open arms. Amor Planeta (Love Planet) is a gorgeous trans-global exploration of sound that's firmly rooted in diversity, open mindedness, and brilliant musicianship.

Amor Planeta swerves and sways around labels like The Stig in a Ferrari. It refuses to be pegged down and integrates a whole host of sound palettes to make for a relaxing and beautiful listen. Samba, trip hop, rock and roll, jazz and a little bit of everything else finds it's way into the melting pot of influences that make this record up. What this means is that Pacifika don't stand still for very long and instead create songs that are designed around organic movement and emotions. The album almost breathes it's so alive with vibrancy and creativity. I really enjoyed how the first three songs seque from being ethereal to energetic and then subdued all with relative ease. Be it Kane's awesome vocal presence or the band's ability to craft songs that mesmerize while being diverse. It's also really cool to hear a Canadian band bounce between English and Spanish as if they were from Miami. Amor Planeta is a fun, beautiful, summery listen that's all over the shop in the best possible ways.

From Target like pop to trip hop and a few bossa nova's inbetween Pacifika have very few fears when it comes to songwriting. They Rock, they roll, they shake their hips, they crash on a couch...they are the very definition of energy. Amor Planeta proves that whether you're from the north or the south we're all Americans and we share elements of common culture no matter where our border lies.

KPM Bring Stock Music To Life

Working at a TV station and occasionally being involved in production one uses, from time to time, generic license free background music as beds for video, commercials, etc. These library of discs are all over the map from serious to funky, dramatic to touching. There’s a wide variety of music you hear constantly that someone somewhere has concocted for use as nothing but background music. What’s kind of depressing about that is some of the stuff I’ve heard over the years is actually very good and could be played out in a club, bar, and you could easily say it was someone famous and no one would ever know it’s just stock music. Well, that’s kind of where KPM comes in.

KPM is an interesting project from Time Love Lee & Shawn Lee that in their own words was done like this…Step 1: somehow find two copies of two rare 1970’s KPM 1000 series LPs featuring only the sparse rhythm section of bassist Herbie Flowers and drummer Barry Morgan, rather imaginatively titled Bass Guitar & Percussion Volumes 1 & 2 (stock music see) Step 2: Set out to faithfully bring the original recordings to their logical conclusion 40 years later by putting our dirty little overdubs all over them. So, in other words, Time Love Lee & Shawn Lee found a couple of stock, background music albums and set out to make them famous. I think, having listened to KPM Music Recorded Library, they’ve done just that. They’ve taken these snippets of sound and added so much on top of them and as a by-product created their own groovy library of stock songs. From comedic to sexy and everything in between, Time Love Lee & Shawn Lee have created a soundtrack to a fictional TV show that’s never existed. It’s imaginative, creative, and fun. It’s the sort of record that lets your mind run wild through shows like the Streets of San Francisco, Starsky & Hutch, or even something like the Rockford Files. Guitars, bass lines, horns, it’s all hear bringing to life the Bass & Percussion of Morgan & Flowers and it’s amazing.

While disappointingly short (like a true stock music CD), KPM Music Recorded Library is a fascinating look into the past and how two British music pioneers jammed together to make music for production purposes and nothing more. These guys have now been rightfully given their due and thanks to the Lee’s probably made their rock and roll dreams come true. If you work in TV (and have an ASCAP license) this little library is just about essential, if you’re a casual music fan this is a great listen and a fascinating peek into how music gets used for things outside of radio & TV. KPM Music Recorded Library is fun stuff and highly recommended.

Ani Cordero & Latin American Songs of Love and Protest

Multifaceted musician Ani Cordero has a fondness for looking back at history and the struggle for democracy in Latin America. This passionate interest came to the forefront while studying with Dr. Juan Allende, nephew of overthrown Chilean President Salvador Allende and it led to the idea behind Recordar: Latin American Songs of Love & Protest. Funded with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign and put together with a ridiculously amazing cast of musicians from bands as diverse as Arcade Fire, the E-Street Band, Man or Astroman, and even Lee Scratch Perry’s band Recordar: Latin American Songs of Love & Protest is a lovingly played and exceedingly talented offering.

Tapping into the struggles of the past Ani Cordero hopes to enlighten future generations of fans of the history that preceded them. Finding and embracing songs that originated in the 60's and 70's from Chile, Argentina, Columbia, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venuezuela, and even the Dominican Republic this Puerto Rican musician injects new life and new ideas into these classic songs of love and struggle. While obviously rooted in the originals, Ani’s updated versions breathe fresh blood into the traditional versions giving them an updated vibrancy. Weaving a rich musical tapestry that includes contributions from everything from accordion, trumpets, flugelhorns, Ngoni, Malian percussion and upright bass to traditional rock instruments the album is smorgasbord of sounds that are given depth and variety from the arrangements on each song. They might essentially be covers but Cordero and her musical collaborators make these songs their own as if they experienced each of these struggles and lyrics themselves.

Recordar: Latin American Songs of Love & Protest is unashamedly political but it’s painted with just beautiful strokes and played with such conviction that it never forces it's stance down your throat. While Ani Cordero’s goal here is to raise awareness about the significance of political art in social change even the most apolitical person in the world will find this hypnotizing blend of musical ingenuity entertaining. Beauty and brains…it’s a lethal combination and Ani Cordero has that and a ridiculous amount of talent and all one needs to do to see that is spend 45 minutes with Recordar: Latin American Songs of Love & Protest.