I have got to start getting some more albums in...
NEW: Dave Matthews Band, Crash
AGAIN: Jeff Buckley, Grace; A.R. Kane, 'i'
Crash may be the most intoxicating Dave Matthews Band album I've ever listened to. The first side of the record is teeming with instrumental virtuosity and at times reaches such a fever pitch that it feels like you're listening to a visual feast produced by Fry's Holophoner in the last episode of Futurama -- note the swirling sounds of "#41" and "Say Goodbye" and try not to be swept up! The singles from this album are some of the band's best known tracks and are enjoyable romps in and of themselves. "Crash Into Me" is an extension of Under the Table and Dreaming's "Satellite" and "So Much to Say" and "Too Much" are practically the same single but don't hurt much from the overlap. The second half of the album drags a bit, but the boys pick it up again in time for the finale, "Proudest Monkey". All in all, this is a record for those who already love the Dave Matthews Band and want to dive deeper into their intensely layered musical world.
For bombastic, sting-laden, elegantly folk-driven rock, you can't do much better than Jeff Buckley's debut album. Grace was and is one of my favorite albums and remains astonishingly powerful almost a decade after its release. The death of its creator is truly sad considering the depth of talent on display here. "Mojo Pin" starts the party off with a bang, equal parts poetry and pointillistic guitar workout, the song hums with a romantic urgency and vibrancy that is carried throughout the record. "Last Goodbye" was the first single from the album and sounds like Led Zeppelin crossed with Coldplay... if that combination had been possible back in 1994. "Lilac Wine", "Hallelujah" and "Corpus Christi Carol" are three covers that work well within the context of the record and serve to highlight both the tone and themes of the album without diverging too much from the overall sound and feel of the piece. However, "Lover, You Should've Come Over" is truly the crowning achievement -- an epic, seamless, and effortlessly romantic song that distills the essence of Jeff Buckley down to just over six minutes. Heaven.
A.R. Kane's "i" is a spectacular record, postively filled to the brim with excellent music that in retrospect was way ahead of its time. I have yet to sort out all of the various musical threads running through the album, but I hear shoegaze, post-rock, techno, dub, neo-psychedelia, and dream pop floating through the mix, evolving over the course of the piece and delving deeper into the realms of stlystic fusion and blissed-out pop with every turn. This was 1989, folks, before most people had even heard of electronica or techno music! Unfortunately, the album has long been out of print -- so do yourself a favor and hunt down a bootlegged copy and give it a spin... it may take a few listens, but the effort is worth the payout. Pioneering oldies never sounded so contemporary!
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More to come!
8:49:17 AM 
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