Short Cuts, the winter edition Last year ended quietly for us. A bit to quietly actually, because we forgot to review some of the great records that were released in the last few months. Well, here they are anyway. Buy them and enjoy! Two Dollar Guitar - Trainsongs Two Dollar's third record is very different compared to the first two, which were beautiful but for some very depressing, almost country-like recordings. It was singer/guitarist Tim Foljahn's sonore vocals that mostly set the tone on those albums. On this third one, Tim doesn't sing at all, but it's still very much what Two Dollar Guitar are trying to create. The threesome consisting of guitarist Tim, former Cell bassplayer David Mothamed and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley make some very romantic music, that looks back on the whole history of American culture. This record pays a tribute to the railroad and the trains that used to drive people all across the American continent. That era is gone now everyone flies by plane. Two Dollar try to recreate that era by emulating the sights, the sounds, and the feeling, and they do it so good, that you can even smell it. Or is that the record I'm smelling? (Smells Like Records) [JV] La Lengua Asesina - Hotel Opera Tim on his own is more like the Two Dollar Guitar we know, but without the drums and bass the sound is so bare it sounds more like rough sketches of Two Dollar songs. Even on his own Tim uses many different instruments to play his songs and plays around with taperecorders and studio effects. This record is even more abstract than the Train Songs record. The last song 'Waiting Round To Die' gives an idea why this record was made. That song is by Townes van Zandt, who died right when Tim had planned to do some recording sessions with him, and is a desolate song about a person who is tired of living the rough life and is just waiting for death. This record is like that, not happy. But honest, necessary. (Smells Like Records) [JV] David Grubbs - The Thicket David is a veteran in the Chicago music scene. A year ago he left Gastr Del Sol, the collaboration with Jim O'Rourke, behind to go solo. And what a good decision that was. David Grubbs knows how to toy around with words as well as music. Together with acclaimed musicians like Jim McEntire (Tortoise) and Tony Conrad he sculpts some very strange and intelligent musical pictures for the listener. The way the sounds skittles on the opening track 'The Thicket', the way a lyric like To begin with it's a voice much like the one that last spoke, as an echo it edits it only tells half a joke sticks in the mind. David is the sort of guy that is surprised by the world around him, the things he observes, the sounds he hears and makes. This album can make you enjoy his sense of wonder. Let it. (Drag City) [JV] Seam - The Pace Is Glacial Another veteran. Seam's leading man, Sooyoung Park, has been making music since the early eighties and people are still comparing this to his first band Bitch Magnet. The title could be refering to Seam's release tempo, because it is Seam's fourth record in nine years. But it's probably a reference to Seam's view on life. Sooyoung Park is never a happy man and he uses his band to sing away his frustrations about life, not by being boldly obvious though, but from the intense music you get the feeling life has been pretty hard on Sooyoung. Still, The Pace is Glacial is probably the most uptempo and happy until now. It is nowhere near as good as the debut Headsparks or the second album The Problem With Me. But it is still good to hear Sooyoung has picked himself up since the bloodcurdling third album Are You Driving Me Crazy and is moving on in a more positive direction. This band still pisses down from a great height on most of the other Emocore bands that have become so popular in the States. (Touch and Go) [JV] Jonny L - Magnetic With all the boring techstep and jump up records of the past year, 1998 had become a bit of a bad year for jungle. And then this guy seems to come out of nowhere and throws in a record that sets a standard and at the same time a new set of rules for the scene to think about. Jonny L make loud aggresive and technically perfect drum'n'bass that pushes you forward. It must be like driving a car at lightspeed across the autobahn in the middle of the night. No cars in front of you, no cars behind, just you and this rumbling sound around you and the road ahead. Well if this the road ahead, I'm really anxious to know where Jonny and his friends are taking us. (XL Recordings) [JV] Silver Jews - American Water People keep forgetting Silver Jews were there before Pavement. But now that Pavement is overly popular, this band is still a secret to many. Hopefully people will take notice now Pavement singer Steve Malkmus has joined David Behrman's band again to sing with him. David is a writer by profession, I bet a good one considering his songs. He's no great singer with his awkward baritone voice, but his music is perfectly okay and happy and the lyrics are sheer genius, about puppies from kentucky, monsters that can't get along with other monsters or just about being blue and lonely: I know that somewhere waiting for me is a sad lonely lover with a bumper that reads: honk if you're lonely tonight. (Drag City) [JV] Fuck - Conduct The members of the San Fransiscan threepiece called FUCK are the uncrowned masters (the crowned masters are Guided By Voices and they have been for years) of making two minute popsong consisting of only one verse followed by nothing. No, no chorus, not even another verse. And although it can sometimes seem a little short and unfinished, Fuck songs are never boring. This, their fourth record to date and their second for acclaimed indielabel Matador is much better than the previous one. The songs have been slowed down somewhat, they put in less silly lyrics and there are even some serious notes to be spotted. But overal, Conduct is a fun affair by a fun pop band. (Matador) [JV] The Boxhead Ensemble - Recordings From The Dutch Harbor Film Screening Tour You may have forgotten, or you may not have read it at all, but last year we did a piece on a strange happening. A film about an Alaskan island range was shown around Europe, with a band joining the film on tour. It was a very interesting experiment that was the result of an earlier interesting experiment, the soundtrack itself, done by many different musicians from the Chicago area making music that fit the pictures perfectly. This record is a compilation of all the shows the Boxhead Ensemble did around Europe. Every show was so different, because many people in the ensemble would only do two or three dates in a row and every song was made by improvising on a loosely based structure. This record is just as beautiful as the first idea that spawned it all. A soundtrack to a soundtrack. (Atavistic) [JV] Various Artists - Jimmy Gime More Hausmusik is a small German label run by guys from The Notwist and over the past year it has regularly released many strange and wonderful records by musicians all across the musical spectrum. Depressing country music, electronic experiments, as well as loud rock. This record is a collection of exclusive songs you might hear on most Hausmusik releases. Mostly beautiful songs by: Blond, Couch, Notwist, Tied + Tickled Trio, Schneider FM. Just for the packaging alone it's a must have and there's no better introduction to the exciting music that is coming from Germany at the moment. (Hausmusik) [JV]