gullbuy music review

April 27, 2004

The Everpresent Fullness

title:: Fine and Dandy
label:: Rev-Ola Records

The folks at Rev-Ola have kept on digging through the White Whale vaults of music and come up with a really wonderful reissue project with The Everpresent Fullness Fine and Dandy disc.

Two songs which stick out on this disc but that are really two of the best tunes here - You're So Fine (the much covered song best known by The Falcons) and the early Warren Zevon composition The Way She Is (which was written to sound like Herman's Hermits). Both tunes are catchy as all heck, and even veer towards some gummy goodness (especially on the Herman like Zevon tune).

Yukihiro Fukutomi

title:: Love Each Other
label:: King StreetRecords

Yukihiro Fukutomi followed up the Japanese released Timeless album with what amounts to an entire albums' worth of music on the US label King Street Sounds, sorted around the song Love Each Other (a song from Timeless) and other recent singles and remixes.

I found myself enjoying the instrumental tunes even more as I got lost in the propulsive rhythms.Gemi's Afro Grooves has a repetitious groove which I'm a total sucker for, so this afrogroove became one of my favorite tracks.

Library Science

title:: High Life Honey
label:: Happi Tyme Records

Library Science is a 4 piece dub reggae band based in Seattle. Two of the members also play in The Bran Flakes. 'High Life Honey' has live musicians to create the sounds, but these musician are skilled at using samples to outstanding effect in their other bands, so the final product (this disc) is a fine affair.

Some of the tracks have a downcast slightly dissonant fell to them. I like the tracks that are more upbeat and have lots of sounds (2,6,8,9 are my faves).

M83

title:: M83
label:: Gooom Disques

From the dramatic opening of Last Saturday to the epic closing track I'm Happy, She Said, M83 create a masterpiece in their self-titled debut album. The whole disc has a cinematic feel to it. It is not a pop album.

The disc takes you on a journey and seems structured to be digested in sequence. I like this album quite a bit because it is unified as a whole. It takes a few ideas and builds on them.

Scissor Sisters

title:: Take Your Mama
label:: PolydorRecords

Take Your Mama is one of my favorite songs from their record. It has a sound that could bring it into the pop charts. There is a 70s rock feel, complete with boogie guitar solos and piano throughout. The Backwoods Discotheque, pt. II is a good track.

I like the song a lot, but wish that the band had sided with fans instead of the charts, and had included a lot more music on this disc, even if it was a series of remixes.