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June 21, 2006
Brightblack Morning Light, Espers - Southpaw $10 Didja see the big Sunday New York Times spread, "Summer of Love Redux"? Everybody’s getting in the act… And not only the Times. Tonight we have classic indie labels Drag City and Matador’s representatives of the contemporary post-hippie scene that’s often referred to as weird America or freak folk or weird beard or whatever… Brightblack, after being prodded along a bit by Will Oldham, have a new self-titled record of their own as Brightblack Morning Light - as Matador's token band of this scene. It’s a bit more straightforward and Southern than the work of their contemporaries (they’re from Alabama) and, organ and electric guitar based, seems to be some of the only music from this particular scene that has a slight connection with the sort of older Dead-informed Phishier food from a generation before. They have all kinds of press material emphasizing that they live in tents and cabins in northern California, sing about (surprise) Native American themes (apparently they also have some o’ that lost somewhere in their blood), and songs with titles like “We Share Our Blanket With the Owl.” Despite how trendy and obvious a lot of this is, and its unadventurous, rather pedestrian quality (which makes me imagine Brightblack will become the most popular of the bunch), they’re not by any means bad. But the image, the words, and the entire vibe is just a bit hard to stomach – particularly now. As
opposed to the once-great Matador, with their current singular representation
of every trend in sight, Drag City has made some more substantial
choices – including some of the better bands from the fringes
of the scene – the mind-blowing masterful maverick Ben Chasny'
Six
Organs of Admittance, whose new The Sun Awakens
may be the best of their impressive catalog, and, of course, Espers.
These Philadelphians have slowly become one of my favorites as they’ve
developed a deeper darker more dynamic sound. Their latest, Espers
II, one of the most compelling releases by anyone this year,
takes the Incredible String Band/Fairport-informed contemporary
fare (or fair, as in Renaissance) to the next level. Lonely echoes
of the ghosts of ancient Celtic folk songs haunting the gray haze
of Harry B. Smith's rocky American hills – spacious and cinematic,
with plenty of distortion, drone, and dissonant instrumental arrangements
to locate it in the 21st Century, and, of course their trademark
eerie vocal harmonies. Perfect music to be quietly and brutally
murdered in the middle of nowhere to – the sound of the new
Deliverance. MEDIA: Espers,
"Dead King" MP3 ALSO TONIGHT: Aretha
Franklin – The Apollo $77
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