Two artists debut with DiFranco label
Andrew bird and Hamell
on Trial put out quality
albums on Ani DiFranco’s
‘righteous’ record label
By Aaron Shakra
Pulse Editor
Those with at least a modicum of
knowledge of the folk music scene will
probably equate the words "righteous
babe with Ani DiFranco. However,
Righteous Babe is also the name of a
record label, and not one that merely
serves as an outlet for DiFranco's releas
es (her next one's due on Jan. 20, by the
way).
Andrew Bird's "Weather Systems"
and Hamell on Trial's 'Tough Love" are
a great representation of the quality
artistry the label has to offer.
Ed Hamell is his full name, and
while publicity materials describe his
act as a "one man punk band," a more
fitting genre for "Tough Love" might be
folk-rock. Here is a well-rounded record
about love, patriotism and materialism.
two recent al
bums put
out by Right
eous Babe
Records, and
both provide
Yet throughout this dense set of topics,
Hamell never loses his sense of humor,
whimsy or playfulness. His writing style
tends toward narrative short songs —
the longest of the album's 16 tracks is
the opener, "Don't Kill," which clocks
in at about 3.5 minutes.
As the album progresses, Hamell's
vocals, at first quite jarring, eventually
reveal themselves as subtle and diverse.
The lyrics are always distinct, and fre
quently hilariously blatant. "Halfway,"
the second track on the album, has a
refrain of "I mean, fuck it, why go
halfway?" to verses such as, "You're a
world leader with your finger on the
button / thinking that history is smil
ing on you. / Blow the shit out of every
body that doesn't agree. / Do it in the
name of patriotism, what else should
you do?"
DiFranco is a frequent collaborator
on the recording, contributing her pro
duction talents, vocals and guitar.
Longtime DiFranco producer Andrew
"Goat" Gilchrist also co-produces
many of the tracks.
An easy highlight of the album is a
duet between Hamell and DiFranco
called "All That Was Said," which is
sung in the voices of a "girl" and a
"guy" likely involved in a relationship.
He says: "You didn't say / I didn't
know." She responds: "All that was said
/ you didn't hear." Is this not a central
tenant of most relationship difficulties?
While Andrew Bird's "Weather Sys
tems" is his Righteous Babe Records
debut, it's actually his sixth release
overall. The mood of "Weather Sys
tems" reflects a wintery, melancholy
state of being. The songs are tinged
with loneliness, but refreshingly, in the
context of celebration and empower
ment. The track "I," consists of three
lines that say, "We re keeping busy yeah
we re bleeding stones / with our
machinations and our palindromes /
anything but hear a voice that says
we're basically alone.” Later, the song
"Lull'' says: "Being alone it can be quite
romantic / like Jacques Cousteau un
derneath the Atlantic / a fantastic voy
age to parts unknown / going to depths
where the sun's never shone / and I fas
cinate myself when I'm alone."
The music is heavily oriented toward
Bird's unique violin playing, but pluck
ing technique should not go without
mention. Even though he is outnum
bered two to one by guitarists, Bird lays
the strings on thick. Nora O'Connor,
one of the guitarists, also collaborates
with Bird on vocals. The other is Mark
Nevers, who is credited with "space
guitar" in the liner notes. Kevin O'
Donnell rounds out the four-piece
band and is credited as playing the
Courtesy
■f.Q 1- . /'■'
Courtesy
Jet’s debut album reminiscent
of past rock n’ roll successes
A little bit AC/DC, a little
bit The Beatles, ‘Get Born’
mixes old-school sounds
for a successful debut
By Steven Neuman
Freelance Reporter
If I could choose to see any two con
certs in all of history, I would go see
The Beades play Shea Stadium in 1964
and the Rolling Stones play Hyde Park
in 1969.
Combine the era-specific sounds of
those two bands, add a splash of
AC/DC, cul
turally fer
ment for 30
years and
you would
- have pure
distilled
rock 'n' roll moonshine. You would
also have Jet, the latest band to crash
into the mainstream.
The Australian band's debut release
"Get Born" has garnered some high
profile attention. A featured spot in a
nationally broadcast Apple iPod com
mercial with their single "Are You
Gonna Be My Girl" has left feet tapping
(mine included) across the nation.
There's a sense of familiarity with the
song that makes you wonder where
you've heard it before, but this warm
feeling of recognition is a sign of Jet's
brilliance and stunning unoriginality.
Since emergence of bands like The
Strokes, record companies have
scrambled to tap into that cultural
phenomenon that is best described
as a form of retro nostalgia, and Jet
seems to fit the mold a bit too per
fectly.
"Get Born" is a bit of a fraud, like
the Abercrombie and Fitch "vintage"
T-shirt or the Hot Topic trucker's hat.
What looks authentic and feels au
thentic isn't always true. The whole al
bum seems cool in a vaguely calculat
ed way: The lo-fidelity style, the bits of
studio chatter, and the apparent lack
of production values are charming in
this post-rock 'n' roll era, but it also
leaves a bad aftertaste for this critic,
who is reminded of Donny Osmond
singing "I'm a little bit rock 'n' roll."
Songs like the hand-dap laden
"Take It or Leave It" and the bluesy
"Move On" seemed ripped from
some lost Rolling Stones recording
’ ' ‘ V, V.' ’ * ’
session and the dead on Jagger-like
vocals of brothers Chris and Nic Ces
ter don't help much. "Cold Hard
Bitch" is a song that rests squarely on
a massive instrumental guitar chords
with a beat and sound that screams
"Back in Black." Similarly, the high
octane "Rollover D.J." is like the bas
tard child of Kiss and Iggy Pop.
On the whole, let's music is deli
ciously fun to listen to and comes
across as a blend of anthem/arena
rock and meloncholy Paul McCart
ney-like soul-searching piano ballads.
The problem I keep facing is that the
band's influences are so blatant that
it's hard to supress comparisons,
"look What You've Done" sounds so
much like "Hey Jude" that I found my
self checking the liner notes to make
sure the band wasn't covering some
obscure song from a McCartney side
project.
Despite Jet's flagrant retread of the
great bands of the 1960s, I can't com
plain. The songs are adequate, if not
good, and you can buy this record
without fear of this being an album
with only one good track. Hopefully,
Jet will continue to explore their obvi
ous musical talent and avoid the path
of Oasis. That band learned the hard
way; while musical roots run deep, the
fans ultimately want change. Now, if
only we could get the Rolling Stones to
sound like this.
Steven Neuman is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
//AV.VVVA-VV.V.* 'V// .\.\.\<v •
drums and "etc."
An eight-minute documentary film
about Bird, his life and band members
is also included on "Weather Systems."
It requires a computer and Quicklime
6.0 software. Bird plays at the Aladdin
Theater in Portland tonight.
Contact the Pulse editor
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
www.daglyemerald.com
IVI.lVlHMi
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Pigeon John
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CD Release Patty with
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Paul Wright
■ Tuesday ■
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