Brown Bag AllStars: The Brown Tape
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
Brown Bag AllStars aren’t so much a supergroup as a collective of hip-hop supergeeks who work at Manhattan record store Fat Beats. Fortunately their talents as MCs and producers are as great as their passion for record collecting, which makes their debut project, The Brown Tape, 10 tons of fun. A digital reissue of their first mixtape (which they sold in the shop last year), the work’s golden-era influence is obvious through its generous use of cuts, scratches, samples and relentlessly goofy punch lines. “I’m Soul Khan/You know me/I only drink breast milk and Old E,” raps Soul Khan on “Get Up,” an album highlight along with “The City Never Sleeps” and “Undeniable (Audible Doctor Remix).” Mostly devoid of politics, whining about the industry, or current hip-hop production gimmicks, The Brown Tape is a throwback rap album of the best kind — the kind that doesn’t take itself too seriously. (Coalmine Records) 4 stars out of 5
It’s obvious that a collaboration featuring Black Lips, King Khan and BBQ would yield muddy forays into ’60s garage rock rhythms and gospel soul. When Black Lips were chased out of India for indecency, they holed up in Khan’s Berlin-based Moon Studios, and these 11 songs document the decadence of their eight days together. The field hollers of “All My Loving” and haunted moans of “Ghost with the Most” flow with urgency and echo. “30 Second Air Blast” is catchy but a little too juvenile, and BBQ’s Bill Haley wail in “Cone of Light” is the album’s shining star. “Bow Down and Die” rattles with beautifully busted fidelity, and “I’m Comin’ Home” resurrects the Mighty Hannibal’s war-torn Vietnam anthem, drenched in reverb. The album feels hastily assembled, like an excuse to jam, but isn’t the ongoing love affair with Black Lips built upon the band’s sense of spontaneity and abandon? Churning out fiery songs by the seat of their pants is what these guys do best. (Vice) 4 stars out of 5
Shafiq Husayn was a producer on Ice-T’s O.G. Original Gangster, and later became a member of Los Angeles group Sa-Ra Creative Partners, in addition to writing and producing beats for Erykah Badu. The music on his debut album, Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka, often veers closer to the neo-soul and experimental sounds of Badu’s New Amerykah, Part One (4th World War), however, than Ice-T or the electro funk and rap on Sa-Ra’s discs. Husayn’s title references Kemetism, a new age spin on an ancient Egyptian religion, and the album’s lyrics focus on spirituality, metaphysics and existentialism. They are difficult to follow, but Husayn’s production is quite accessible, despite floating from jazz to hip-hop to downbeat techno, sometimes midsong. He has enlisted such singers as Bilal, Fatima and Jimetta Rose, many of whom bring a Badu-like flavor to the proceedings. Overall, it feels like the debut of a man who has evolved and may even have found his true calling. (Plug Research) 4 stars out of 5
Mission of Burma has nothing left to prove. The group’s first two post-reformation albums, 2004’s OnOffOn and ’06’s brilliant The Obliterati, trump their already timeless ’80s output in terms of production, songwriting and girth. The Sound, The Speed, The Light finds the original Boston post-punks playing in top form, but from the onset of “1, 2, 3, Partyy!” it’s clear that Burma isn’t throwing any surprise punches. “Possession” finds the formula of mangled tapes interfering with the group’s signature pop geometry, which perfectly disrupts the song’s cognitive flow. “Slow Faucet” and the album’s centerpiece “SSL 83” are classic Burma rockers, carrying the post-punk aesthetics and discordant/angelic harmonies to the nth degree. But the album holds no tension whatsoever. MoB has reached cruising altitude and is sailing smoothly, but a little more turbulence might make the ride more exciting. (Matador) 3 stars out of 5
Before vocalist Jeremy Enigk found God, and before Nate Mendel (bass) and William Goldsmith (drums) found the Foo Fighters, Sunny Day Real Estate’s second album, LP2 (aka the Pink Album) hit alternating highs and lows for the harbingers of emo. From the onset of “Friday,” there’s more girth in the guitars, drums and bass — everything but Enigk’s whiney ruminations. Where his piercing wail gave ’94’s Diary character, here, his dramatic pronunciations of such words as “Matrimo oh nay” are just plain annoying. Enigk’s cheese factor was previously tempered with palatable, rainy day longing. But on LP2, a certain rasp in “Theo B” and “5/4″ grates the ears. “Waffle” finds Mendel, Goldsmith and guitarist Dan Hoerner congealing with chemistry like never before. Regardless, Slint did this sort of thing so much better. (Sub Pop) 3 stars out of 5
Blame Sunny Day Real Estate for emo’s rise to commercial accessibility. With its 1994 debut Diary, the Seattle foursome gave a pretty boy makeover to a genre that previously resided in the tortured noise and obscurity of hardcore. From the passionate swoon of “Song About an Angel” to the shadowy piano waltz of “Phuerton Skuerto,” SDRE spills its guts in an outpouring of everything but rage, creating a sound where the emotionally victimized could relate with their conflicted sentiments. “Round” and two untitled and previously unreleased tracks show some viscera through Hüsker Dü-like crunching guitar melodies; and it’s the terse, distressed melodies unraveling over vocalist Jeremy Enigk’s high-end wail that create the album’s tension. But Diary is a release for those who would rather commit suicide than homicide. Fifteen years later, it’s still a compelling album, despite the procession of sad sacks for whom it paved the way. (Sub Pop) 4 stars out of 5
This isn’t the career overview the late Atlanta blues guitarist deserves, and might still get in the future. It is, however, a terrific recap of Sean Costello’s earliest years, from his 1996 debut at the age of 16 until 2002. That makes it of particular interest to those in the Atlanta blues community who followed him during these years as he was finding his voice, style and stage presence while holding court at Northside Tavern and other local clubs. More than half of the 20 tracks are previously unreleased and every one is a worthy addition to Costello’s existing catalog. Label owner Michael Rothchild’s informative liner notes are tinged with bittersweet memories of the personal and professional relationship he and Costello shared. But it’s the music included here that backs up his claim that the guitarist was one of the country’s finest, most talented and committed contemporary bluesmen. (Landslide) 4 stars out of 5
By L. Michael Gipson
