Jams of the Week: Kenna, The Kills, Adam Green, & Olga Kouklaki

I've lately been thinking about just what, particularly, I want to do here with The Spacing Guild to Good Music, and I've come to the strategic decision--after much thought (that is, after thinking about it for, like, ten seconds just before I started typing this), that I simply listen to faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar too much music to focus each entry here on but one or, at most, two different artists. So, I'm adopting a new format here: Jams of the Week! Each week, I'll post a round-up of the new artists, albums, and/or individual songs that have been fueling my groove engine during the week. Expect diversity. Expect silliness. Expect trans-Pitchforkian pretention Oops, I mean, expect insightful and metaphor-laden descriptions of music that I think you'd have to be an idiot NOT to be listening to. :) Oh, who am I kidding--my only purpose here is to point you in the direction of great new music that will get your booties moving and enrich your lives. Don't expect me to be timely here: some of the stuff I'll be reviewing has been out for...hell, in a few cases, decades--but so what? I'm not trying to break new ground here: I'm simplying trying to let you know there's Good Stuff Out There that may give you a special feeling.

 

So let's start with the album that has given me the specialest feeling of all for the past two weeks: Kenna's second masterpiece, Make Sure They See My Face. This is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, one of the most jamtastic albums I've heard in ages. Combining elements of New Wave, funk, post-punk, disco-punk, soul, hip-hop, goth rock a la The Cure, epic rock a la early U2 (you know, before they learned to suck), and balladry that could give Elton John a run for his money, Kenna's amazing second album--which is, incidentally, produced by one of the Neptunes--is an adventure in music styles. The first four tracks are saturated in the Newer Wave dance energy of The Faint, while the later tracks calm down a bit and begin to take on a more melancholy, but still driving, feel of straightforward pop-rock balladry. Kenna is a multi-instrumental genius, crafting his songs with all the deft, sonic-layering perfection of Prince at the top of his game. When listening to this album, you are guaranteed to think: "How is this album not burning up the charts? I mean, even the indie charts?" Have a look at his Allmusic.com biography for all the details on the long, strange trip Mr. Kenna's music has taken as one Major Label after another has dicked him around. I sincerely hope that some solid indie outfit, such as Decadance or SubPop, will contact Kenna immediately based on the strength of this album and offer him an honest, supportive contract that will allow his wonderful, adventurous music the love it deserves.

 

Next up we've got The Kills' Midnight Boom. Honestly, there's nothing special here: The Kills are a thoroughly average New Wave/post-punk outfit mixing guitars, booming dancefloor-destroying drums, and itchy synths along with snide, No Wave-style lyrics to produce an abum that sounds like it should've come out in 1979. But in the world of The Spacing Guild Guide to Good Music, this means AWESOME. The Kills are breaking no new ground with this album, but goddamn do they do what they do so well! The music is sizzling with energy and pure pop hooks, and surprisingly intriguing lyrics. "Cheap and Cheerful" and the almost-eerie "Black Balloon" stand a little taller than the rest of the tracks, but there truly is not a weak song on this album, as The Kills manage to keep the sacred power of The Jam pumping through all twelve tracks. Fans of The Sounds and The Start should seek out The Kills ASAP and add Midnight Boom to their early-Deborah-Harry-revival collection.

 

 

Adam Green

, on the other hand....How the hell does one describe his forthcoming album Sixes & Sevens? Here are a few of my attempts. Imagine if you took Neil Diamond, forcefed him a few tabs of the "brown acid", and then locked him in a recording studio and demanded he record an album...you'd have something like Sixes & Sevens. Here's take two now: Suppose Stephen Merritt of the Magnetic Fields and Future Bible Heroes one day went to a New York loft party where a bunch of hipsters were playing with a ouija board, attempting to summon up the spirit of Syd Barret. Well, the attempt succeeds, and Syd's disembodied, disembogued spirit invaded Mr. Merritt's body and forces him to collaborate on an album. Sixes & Sevens would be that album. There's just no adequate way to describe the surreality and rabid, yet loveable, strangeness of Adam Green's latest album (which won't be available for another few days, but, thanks to the wonder of the internet, is already available for previewing). Green's beautiful, rich voice (which really does remind one of Neil Diamond at the height of his career) delivering such incredibly Dada-esque lyrics as "Courageous doofus by design / blankets filled with iodine / lover come again just fine / made us in one day/ ring-ding battering ram / full dissect the battle plan / he who sells his percodans one day" (from "Tropical Island") worms its way into your subconscious and lures you to some strange alternate 1970s' Vegas lounge act from a Jonathan Lethem novel. Just...listen to it. You'll like it. It's better than drugs.

 

Olga Kouklaki's new album, Getalife (available from Amazon.com US as a DRM-free mp3 download for only $4) is a cold, mechanical, and yet dead sexy electronic offering that combines the electropop stylings of The Postal Service with the nervous jitter of Broken Spindles and the chilly futurism of Blade Runner without sacrificing that all important element: The Jam. This is music for replicant dance clubs. Ms. Kouklaki is a slightly rusty, but oh-so-sexy Goldfrapp for the android-dance circuit. Her bass is heavy, her hihats and synths are skittery and scattery, and her attitude just a step away from old-skool industrial...but her smooth, luscious voice floating over the textured electronics gives the album the same gynoid sexiness that Pris (Darryl Hannah) and the nervous human warmth that Rachel (Sean Young) brought to Blade Runner. I highly recommand this album to all transhumanists or dance-music enthusiasts always dancing one step into the future.

 

 

That's it for this week's tally of Guild-approved new music. Get thee to thy nearest Amazon.com window, independent record store, or BitTorrent search engine to seek out the above productions. Your Jam bone with thank you.