Fluxblog Weekly #190: Art Brut, DJ Koze, Amanda Shires, Makaya McCraven
December 9th, 2018
There’ll Be No Rumours Or Blood On The Tracks
Art Brut “Hooray!”
It’s been quite a while since we heard from our old pal Eddie Argos! “Hooray!,” the opening track from Art Brut’s first record in over seven years, reacquaints us with the Argos shtick – imagine a much friendlier Mark E Smith crossed with a version of Jarvis Cocker without all the sexual charisma. A lovelorn weirdo who shouts clever stuff over uptempo rock, a party band led by the most neurotic guy in the room. Art Brut is the kind of band who will forever be in the shadow of their brilliant debut, mainly because it’s hard to recapture the immediacy and magic of songs like “Good Weekend” and “Modern Art.” But “Hooray!” at least has the right spirit, and leans into deliberate calculation in a way the earlier stuff seemed to lean into inspired improvisation.
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December 12th, 2018
That’s My Life
DJ Koze “Lord Knows”
“Lord Knows” is warm and familiar, a sort of sample-based song that gives me a sense of deja-vu even without trying to figure out if I can place the vocal samples. Like, you could’ve told me that this was The Avalanches or Fatboy Slim and I would’ve believed you. And this is no slight on DJ Koze – if anything, it’s high praise. The feeling that he creates here is not unique, but it is rare and special. It’s hard to get just right. This is a remarkable composition – in perfect balance, but also so full of energy that the beats land in a way that feels like the whole thing could rattle and fall apart, like when the engineer on Star Trek worries that the ship is moving too fast and could explode at any moment.
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December 14th, 2018
Shining Diamond Clear
Amanda Shires “Eve’s Daughter”
“Eve’s Daughter” is in many ways a song you’ve heard before – a country rock rave-up with lyrics that tell the story of a woman who fell in love, and then fell on hard times. But the execution feels fresh to me. Everything in the mix sounds like it’s in the red, and Amanda Shires sings with a raw, wild-eyed intensity that raises the stakes of every line of the song. It’s not quite shoegaze-y, but in terms of how country music is typically produced, this is just blaringly loud and abrasive, like the Stooges backing up Dolly Parton at the Grand Ole Opry. Traditional, but extra rowdy.
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December 14th, 2018
A Student Of The Drums
Makaya McCraven “The Newbies Lift Off”
Makaya McCraven is a drummer, and that much is fairly obvious by listening to the compositions on his outstanding and varied record Universal Beings – the other instruments provide melody and texture, but McCraven’s percussion is always steering the music. “The Newbies Lift Off,” one of my favorites from the album, is a perfect example in how its sections seem to stop on a dime to switch up percussive strategies. It keeps the music exciting and interesting in a way particular to the thinking of a drummer, particularly one who seems to be influenced by the way rap DJs and producers have cut up beats in the ‘90s. Listen to this – there’s no way this guy hasn’t heard Endtroducing a million times over, right?
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