30th Anniversary: The The - Soul Mining

My first introduction to The The, a.k.a. Matt Johnson, came from the pages of Rolling Stone magazine and their yearly feature Ten Bands You Must Hear, which also included stories on then unknowns Prefab Sprout and General Public. What struck me about the article on The The was that Johnson was the sole member of the band and had pretty much recorded every note on the album Soul Mining. Being from the relatively small town of Savannah in the 1980s didn't provide much in the way of easy access to alternative music, but one day in my local Record Bar was one shiny cassette tape of Soul Mining, begging me to take it home. Since that day, I have worn out approximately three cassette copies of the record, until I finally preserved it on CD and now digital media. This album is such a seminal part of my musical growth in the 80s that it amazes me sometimes that I forget to mention it in my top albums of all time. I tend to overlook it, not because it somehow is inferior, but because it is such a monolithic work that it towers so far above as to be god-like. What strikes me most about this album now is that it still sounds well ahead of its time with very little aging. Usually in these features I highlight one song that I like the most off a record, however, in this case, I like every song equally. If you have yet to hear this record, prepare to be blown away by its inventive sonic attack, brazen and witty lyrics, and the sheer melodic force of these tracks. For those that adore this record already, be prepared to be welcomed back into its warm cocoon. In honor of its 30th anniversary, Sony Music is reissuing the album. The re-packed and expanded version contains an authentic reproduction of the album, with newly remastered audio from the original master tapes (overseen at Abbey Road by Matt Johnson), as well as an extra 12” gatefold vinyl of alternative versions and remixes.

Album Review: Neneh Cherry - Blank Project

Neneh Cherry
Blank Project
Rating: Woof Daddy

Swedish artpop/R&B/hip-hop diva Neneh Cherry never follows trends, preferring instead to blaze her own. On her debut album Raw Like Sushi she combined elements of hip-hop, pop, R&B, rave, electronic music, and anything else she fancied, and distilled it into one of the most stunning debut records of all time. Despite hit singles like "Buffalo Stance," "Manchild," and "Kisses on the Wind," radio didn't quite know how to handle her, and her trajectory sort of flat-lined. Even with the brilliant follow up Homebrew, there seemed to be no place to pigeonhole her. Her third record, the underrated Man, was never even released in the United States. So instead of changing her sound to conform with popular conventions, Cherry just kept doing her own thing, collaborating with artists that she fancied (Gorillaz, Youssou N'Dour, Peter Gabriel, The The, Kleerup) and staying out the limelight. Only 18 years after the release of her last solo record, Neneh Cherry has come back stronger than ever on her fourth solo album, the blistering Blank Project. Recorded and mixed in a 5-day period, the record was produced by Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) and features work with prior collaborators RocketNumberNine.

What is most noticeable right off the top is how Cherry is still doing what she wants to do, without copping to current trends. Blank Project is a lean, minimalist offering, speaking to electronica, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and pop without directly referencing any of them. Starting off with the hypnotically austere "Across the Water," Cherry speak-sings over a quiet drum beat with no other accompaniment, the silences in between creating caverns of loneliness.



Things perk up a little more as the album progresses, however, aside from percussion and simple synth lines and bass buzzes, the focus is mainly on Cherry's voice, which has grown deeper and more mature. Title track "Blank Project" finds Cherry slithering around a pounding drum beat with a undercurrent of deep bass that pulsates and curls around her voice.



On standout track "Naked," Cherry brushes up against a skittering beat, 808 percussion, and simple synth lines. "Spit Three Times" is a slow burning track full of snarl and menace. Most of these tracks could find easy kinship with the best of Massive Attack circa Mezzanine. The tracks know when to explode and know when to hold back, always curled up like a snake ready to attack at a moment's notice. The squeltchy, slinky "Cynical" punches and spars against Cherry's sassy vocal, while Cherry slows things down to a hush on the mantra like "422" which is merely ghostly, atmospheric synths, muted percussion, and chimes.



While the album itself has a very bleak, dark feel to it, there are moments of levity, like on the collaboration with her Swedish compatriot Robyn "Out of the Black," which finds the two singers having a funky, fun lark.



And on closing track "Everything," Cherry mixes up cut and paste snippets of her vocals with her own one take vocal track. Her voice playing up against itself as she scats and sings over the 7+ minutes of art-blasted drone funk. It is a brilliant way to end the record and is Cherry's way of saying, this is me, accept me for who I am, or move on.



Blank Project is uncompromising Neneh Cherry at her best. There is almost no filler here, each track building off of and complementing each other. I only hope that it is not another 18 years before we get more new music from this trail-blazing artist. Blank Project is seminal Neneh Cherry.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Non-Sequiturs

Finally got to see one of my music heroes live this week. Kurt and I went to the IDentity Festival here in Atlanta. The festival is a traveling electronic music festival with three stages. Most of the artists are DJs, however, there was a smattering of acts that performed somewhat live. The last artist we saw was DJ Shadow. Have loved his music ever since Endtroducing.... Was a real thrill to see him as every other time he has been in town, I have had a conflict.

He played inside this sphere that had all sorts of cool videos and images projected on it and a big screen behind. The visuals matched up perfectly with his music and was a great audio-visual experience. He's such a nice guy, and also very cute.

Another highlight was finally seeing Hercules and Love Affair. Andy Butler and crew performed a DJ set with their three vocalists who, despite the heat and dismal crowd support, put on an energetic set. Andy is absolute adorable.

Rusko also put on an amazingly high energy set. He was dancing like a Tazmanian devil the whole time, and the crowd (whose drugs must have kicked in) was really into it as well.

Overall the festival was fun, however, the crowd was full of typically obnoxious 20 somethings that were rude and high as kites, the concessions were ridiculously overpriced, and it was brutally hot and even worse on the second stage which was out on a blacktop parking lot. I was able to see a lot of people I haven't seen, including Nero, DJ Chuckie, and Crystal Method. For the price, it was a good deal.

Interesting shuffle segue on my iPod, Burial's "Southern Comfort" bleeding into Jamie Woon's "Night Air" which was produced by Burial. Just sounded like a natural transition. Sublime.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"You said only a back page
Will get as read as the first page
Now you're observing the corners
And showing the first signs of aging
I'm not trying to read you anymore
Just keep on turning me through the days
Until the latest chapter unfolds

You look aroused
You look awake
You are the light
Turned on"

Tom Vek
"Aroused"

"You got me so riled
How can I ever deny
You got me so high
So high I cannot feel the fire
And you keep telling me
Telling me that you'll be sweet
And you never want to leave my side
And long as I don't break these
Promises
And they still feel all so wasted on myself"

Nero
"Promises"

"Sleeping when the day breaks
Dreaming as the evening falls
He's got no more headaches
Leaving us with empty walls
The last of many efforts

I know it's not my place
But I don't even wonder why
What commitment
What grace
To just refuse to be alive"

The Radio Dept.
"Sleeping In"

"Got struck by the first volley
Of the war in the courts
Never held my serve
Send'em a wire, give'em my best
This ammunition never rests
No one serves coffee, no one wakes up

Stop breathin'
Stop breathin'
Breathin' for me now
Write it on a postcard
Dad, they broke me
Dad, they broke me"

Pavement
"Stop Breathing"

"I've got too much energy to switch off my mind
But not enough to get myself organized
My heart is heavy
My head is confused
And my aching little soul
Has started burning blue

I can't give you up, 'till I've got more than enough
So infect me with your love
Nurse me into sickness
Nurse me back to health
Endow me with the gifts of the man made world

When desire becomes an illness instead of a joy
And guilt a necessity that's gotta be destroyed"

The The
"Infected"

Appealing Things

Nero DJ set
Seeing cute little DJ Shadow come out and introduce his set
Rusko's energy
Tom Vek
Cut Off Your Hands
Coupons
Skimpeez

Annoying Things

People who are so un-self aware they continually put their foot in their mouth
Girls who wear those really stupid furry boots to concerts
$11 beers
People who don't say excuse me
People who reheat fish at the office