The Cellardoor parties thrown in Johannesburg by DJs Marc and Martin have for a while been a highlight of the city’s social scene. Not only do you get a healthy dose of indie classics and killer new tracks, but often the cream of the crop in local music can also be found live on stage.
A few months back the parties took this formula to the next level with a seven-band extravaganza dubbed Cellardoor Live, which also served as the launch for this brand-new album. So why should you care? Well, the Cellardoor Live CD (Beyond the Box Music) offers 15 tracks by local bands, that’s why. You can stomp to the punk rock of the Diesel Whores, boogie to the rockabilly madness of Martin Rocka and the Sick Shop, grind to the country rock of Jim Neversink or just elevate yourself while soaking up not one but two tracks from Pretoria’s post-rock outfit Kidofdoom.
Also included are Japan and I, The Wild Eyes, The Hellphones and Harris Tweed, who do a great cover of Nick Cave’s Henry Lee. All up, this is a great CD that acts as a reminder of all those great gigs that regular Cellardoor punters will remember all to well. Go on, support local music, it’s the right thing to do.
ALSO ON THE SHELF
LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver (EMI)
New York’s James Murphy, who along with an ever-changing cast of cohorts is LCD Soundsystem, may make electro-rock, or dance-punk, if you prefer, but the resulting music never seems like a compromise or clash between two different styles. Rather, LCD make very organic music, which essentially comes across as new-wave-inspired rock made with synths and machines as well as guitars, just like new wave always has been.
There is a strong electronic element, but it’s as raw as any great rock. Its crowning achievement is that it is never rigid, even when using a four-four beat. Murphy’s dry, incisive lyrics, some of the best you will hear coming out of the current indie/electro scene, first caught my attention on LCD’s first-ever single, Losing My Edge. They are much sharper on Sound of Silver, the group’s second album, on which you will be told to “read all the pamphlets, and watch the tapes” produced by an America where “there’s no love and the kids are uptight”. There’s even a great surprise on the album, in the form of the final track, New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down. Completely different from anything LCD have ever done before, the track is a Lou Reed-ish ballad completely devoid of electronic noodling. It’s the best song on an album almost perfect in its imperfection. — Daniel Friedman
Dizzee Rascal
Maths & English (Just Music)
Dizzee Rascal, who has been grime’s poster boy since day one, has come a long way since the days of his debut Boy in da Corner. When the album was released in 2003, few outside London, with its sprawling network of pirate stations and menacing council houses, had heard of grime, an updated version of garage that took in hip-hop, drum’n’bass and dancehall. Whereas his third album is tough, scabrous and uncompromising both in its beats and in terms of his social outlook, it does not really advance the genre in any manner, except to dilute it with more samples and point it towards the Statue of Liberty.
Where’s Da G’s, which features United States rap upstarts Pimp C and Bun B of UGK, cleverly admonishes studio gangsters but is a tired appropriation of G funk and crunk, and detracts from grime’s fresh approach to production. Pussyole (Old Skool), a swipe at backstabbing suckers and, presumably, former mentor Wiley, uses a dated James Brown sample and an overly familiar 808 breakbeat. Having said that, however, Dizzee Rascal remains paranoid, conflicted and full of brotherly advice as on Hardback (Industry), where he offers tips on avoiding the pitfalls of the record industry. While Rascal still brings beats for connoisseurs of urban music, it might be time to look for London’s younger guns to get a sense of where grime is headed nowadays. — Kwanele Sosibo
Wilco
Sky Blue Sky (Gallo)
I like the new Wilco album; there, I said it! I have to admit I stopped listening to Wilco a while back; I lost interest when they went all experimental and everyone was calling them the American Radiohead. Ha ha, what a joke! While they were getting all motorik, I was longing for the Wilco of old, where just writing a simple, beautiful song was good enough. So I was really happy to hear their new album, Sky Blue Sky, which owes more to Seventies American rock than anything else.
Gentle, woozy guitar and rolling piano combine to create songs that ooze the spirit of The Eagles, Crosby, Stills and Nash and, surprisingly, Wings. All of which points to one thing: Wilco are on the verge of slipping into crass commercialism, which has haunted all of the above-mentioned artists. While this may be too much for indie kids the world over, desperate to keep their finely honed integrity in place, for me it’s the ultimate of guilty pleasures. The fact that the band have sold half of this album to Volkswagen to help sell cars irks me, but their money-grabbing ways can’t stop me from admitting that this is the best album they’ve made in years. — Lloyd Gedye
Grinderman
Grinderman (EMI)
There is a slash of guitar just to signal intentions and then a voice purrs over the speakers: “I’ve got to get up to get down and start all over again,” and with that Grinderman are charging off into the distance. If you somehow missed the memo, Grinderman are the new creation of Nick Cave, who has rounded up three of his regular Bad Seed cohorts and headed into the studio to create a fuzzy, distorted album that has hints of The Stooges and Suicide. Grinderman sees Cave on top form ripping through songs such as Depth Charge Ethel, a garage-rock number that takes in everything from doo-wop to electro. Ultimately Cave’s new creation is the sound of him cutting himself loose from the expectations of Bad Seeds albums, and although elements of his band still shine through, so does the sound of his earlier punk outfit The Birthday Party. Cave sounds alive and invigorated and like he’s having a shitload of fun. — Lloyd Gedye
Various artists
Guru’s Jazzmatazz Volume 4 (Just)
Geez, what’s up with this guy? He seems to be hung up on this Jazzmatazz series so badly one can’t help but assume the big daddy is gatvol with the industry, or vice versa. Enough slander. Guru’s Jazzmatazz remains killer material, though an overdone concept. The blingalingaling stupidity in today’s hip-hop obviously gets too kitschy for him, prompting more Jazzmatazz productions. Fusing hip-hop and rap as I know it with jazz is just a great way of thwarting the fallacy surrounding the supposed death of hip-hop.
On Volume 4, I bumped into seriously tasteful music, performed by the industry’s vocally articulate and most prolific artists. Most of the songs are pure art, perfected under the watchful eye of super producer Solar for 7 Grand Productions Incorporated. Spare a few minutes for State of Clarity, featuring Common and Bob James, and Infinite, performed with the ageless Blackalicious. Almost all tracks are collaborations, except the odd Look to the Sun, performed by the guru himself. Nothing wrong with featuring other artists in almost all songs. — Monako Dibetle
Fall Out Boy
Infinity on High (Sony BMG)
Fall Out Boy may be famous now, but as Thriller, the opening track on their new album, shouts out, they are not about to let the spotlight go to their heads. Infinity on High vents plenty at the fickleness of fame, but the layered, melodic choruses that we’ve come to expect from FOB are everywhere, proving that the band have been working hard to better the success of From Under the Cork Tree. Whether they’ve succeeded is up to fans to decide, and despite talk that this album smacks more of pop than punk, it’s kick-ass, loud and fun, so who cares? Lead guitarist and vocalist Patrick Stump sings his little heart out and so well that it makes you wonder whether he’d be able to hold some of those notes in a live performance without the magic touch of studio gurus. — Lynley Donnelly
Mika
Life in Cartoon Motion (Universal)
All hail Mika, the new king of pop. The pop world has been blown away by the man with the falsetto, and Grace Kelly might very well be the pop song of the year. Take a pinch of light Queen and Freddy Mercury, mix it with the Scissor Sisters and add the Pet Shop Boys and you get an idea of what Mika sounds like. The flamboyant performer certainly ejects a breath of fresh air into the stale pop world, but that air sometimes become a gale force as he flits from one fun tune to the other. Unfortunately it also gets a bit much sometimes. Fun to listen now, but after a few months you might ban the CD from any party you attend. — Yolandi Groenewald
The Veils
Nux Vomica (Sheer)
In 2004, a little-known New Zealand outfit released their debut album, The Runaway Found. Although well received, lead singer Finn Andrews then decided to break up the band. Fast forward to 2007 and he’s back with a new Veils line-up and an even better second album. This time Andrews has taken the Arcade Fire-esque indie rock of the debut album and combined it with some Jarvis Cocker-like swagger, some Nick Cave-like danger and some cocky Jack White rowdiness. As Finn ploughs through myriad styles it is his voice that rises to the fore; his raw and vulnerable delivery adapts to the fit of each song perfectly, creating a rich album that places the Veils firmly on the map as a band to watch. — Lloyd Gedye