THE FAINT CLICK NEW MUSIC REPORT ESSENTIAL August 20, 2001 www.cmj.com BEULAH TIGHT BRO’S From Plastic dreams SQUAREto the American road PUSHER RPM: PERRY FARRELL'S LONESOME "JUBILEE" MIC CHECK: WQFS'S ADAM THORN GOING FOR ADDS 8/14 STREET DATE 8/12 Contact: Tina Santomauro @ Tommy Boy: 212-388-8476/800-760-8950/[email protected] Planetary Group: 800-254-2543/[email protected] S.P.E.C.T.R.E: 323-644-3779/[email protected] 8/20/2001 Issue 728 • Vol 68 • No 10 FEATURES 8 The Pusherman unwashed) masses as they flock to his patch- On the eve of his first U.S. tour, England’s work mix of jazz, jungle and drum ’n’ bass. hardworking Tom Jenkinson (a.k.a. Ever the proletariat, Squarepusher admits, Squarepusher) stands poised to accept “I’ve always felt more comfortable talking to a America’s poor, tired (and hopefully, tramp than I did with a dude in a suit.” DEPARTMENTS 4 Essential 23 New World Corpse-shakin’ synth-pop from The Faint tops Chris Nickson chats with Baaba Maal and our list of new sounds. Also on tap: Beulah, reviews of Basque nationalist Fermin Muguruza Click Tha Supah-Latin and Tight Bro’s From and cross-genre supergroup Batidos. Way Back When. 24 RPM 6 The Week Reviews of new music from Cevin Key, Lee 8 Fans and friends mourn the loss of Acetone’s Burridge and DJ Wally, news on the Mekka Richie Lee. and Creamfields festival cancellations, and the real truth behind Song Yet To Be Sung, 10 Reviews the new record from alt-rock god-turned- Black Cat Music, Citizen Cope, The Clean, scratch-fiend Perry Farrell. Craig David, De Facto, Esbjorn Svensson Trio, Pram, Phish tribute album Sharin’ In 26 Triple A The Groove, Suicide Machines, and Zen Blue light special: Nick “The Basher” Lowe Guerrilla. cools down, while Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz goes a little bit country. 13 Jazz An IAJE convention update, J@LC’s new exec- 27 Hip-Hop utive director is announced, and both J@LC Reviews of Kurupt, the slimmed-down Arsonists orchestra and Los Hombres Calientes head out and a new 12-inch from Asheru and Blue Black on the road. Matthew Shipp spills the beans (formerly Unspoken Heard). about an upcoming album and reviews of new efforts from Malachi Thompson, Dave Douglas 28 CMJ Radio 200 and Gregory Tardy. Built To Spill at No. 1. 16 Loud Rock 32 Core Radio 75 16 Reviews of Judas Priest, Grade, Six Feet Built To Spill at No. 1. Under, Krisiun and Jag Panzer, plus the scoop on Mike Patton’s interest in the 33 Top 200 Adds Dillinger Escape Plan, some extreme extras & Going For Adds released by Century Media and Nuclear Rollins Band at No. 1 with 119 adds. Blast America, and an Ozzfest update with No One’s Murk. 34 Upcoming 22 Ñ Alternative 37 Airplay Tijuana alt-poppers Nona Delichas take a 53 Get A Job/Photo Ops page from The Cure and Salvador Dalí; and Monterrey hip-hop producer Toy Hernandez 54 Mic Check discusses Sistema Local, a collaboration Spotlight on DJ Adam Thorn of Greensboro, with King Chango’s Blanquito Man. NC’s WQFS. CMJ New Music Report (ISSN 0890 0795) is published weekly except the week of September 9, the week of Thanksgiving, and the last two weeks of December. Published by The CMJ Network, Inc. with offices at 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001. Subscription rates are $345.00 per year; 2 years, $575.00. Subscription offices: 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001. Tel 917.606.1908. Outside U.S. and Canada 917.606.1908. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. CMJ New Music Report is copyright ©2001 by The CMJ Network, Inc. all rights reserved; nothing may be reproduced without written consent of publisher. Unless indicated otherwise, all letters sent to CMJ are eligible for pub- lication and copyright purposes, and are subject to CMJ’s right to edit and comment editorially. Unsolicited manuscripts, pho- tos and artwork are welcome; please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope to facilitate return. 24 Postmaster: send address changes to CMJ New Music Report, 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001 3 CMJ AUGUST 20, 2001 ESSENTIAL THE FAINT Danse Macabre (Saddle Creek) With Danse Macabre, the follow-up to 1999’s breakthrough Blank-Wave Arcade, The Faint has refined its dark synth-punk sound (equally fit for a funeral pro- cession and American Bandstand) with slicker production, heavier keyboards and delicate cello accompaniment. As the band moves even further away from traditional instrumentation, guitars are now almost completely absent, replaced by an array of keyboard blips and throbs. Alongside the barrage of synth sounds, vocal distortion and cello are used to create a more calculated, fuller sound than on previous efforts. Todd Baechle’s vocals are hauntingly affecting and blend ominously into the dour sonic landscape. The Nebraskan quintet has also shifted its lyrical theme to the dark side: while Arcade was littered with youthful references to sex and cars, Danse Macabre creates a considerably more wicked tone. Tracks like “Let The Poison Spill From Your Throat” and “Posed To R.I.Y.L.: Kraftwerk, Human League, The Cure Death” highlight the contrast suggested by the album’s title — despite lyrics full Contact: AAM Phone: 212.924.3005 of morbid imagery, they are immensely catchy and danceable. The Faint contin- Email: [email protected] ues to push the envelope, creating smart music that refuses to sit quietly in one Release Date: Aug. 21; at radio Tour Dates: Iowa City, IA (8/29); Urbana, IL (8/30); genre or be pigeonholed. On the cheekily-titled track “Your Retro Career Bloomington, IN (8/31); Indianapolis, IN (9/1); Melted”,the group sums up its future with one simple lyric: “The crowd just Murfreesboro, TN (9/2); Louisville, KY (9/4); Columbus, OH (9/5); Allendale, NY (9/7) seemed to multiply.” — Alex Naidus BEULAH The Coast Is Never Clear (Velocette) On their 1999 sophomore effort When Your Heartstrings Break, San Francisco indie darlings Beulah employed no less than 18 guest musicians who plumped up the record with everything from accordion to horns. The result was a lush, voluminous pop sound that critics and Elephant 6 followers swooned over. For The Coast Is Never Clear, the band’s first proper studio recording, the original six-piece trades in the huge supporting cast for an old pre-synthesizer keyboard (to emulate strings). Despite the simplified approach, Beulah’s latest is still a richly melodious concoction. Layered vocal harmonies float dreamily above the pleasant din of the songs’ full-on instrumentation, and all the gorgeous flour- ishes are still in place, from the perfect piano tinkling on “What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?” to the energized trumpet bursts on “Silver Lining.” Psychedelic twee at its best, Coast is packed with hummable pop choruses that R.I.Y.L: Apples In Stereo, Of Montreal, Built To Spill, Pavement will have you grinning (and who wouldn’t be with song titles like “A Good Man Contact: SPECTRE Promotion Is Easy to Kill” and “I’ll Be Your Lampshade”?). “I heard he wrote you a song, Phone: 323.644.3776 Email: [email protected] but so what?/Some guy wrote 69, and one just ain’t enough,” frontman Miles Release Date: Sept. 25; at radio Kurosky wittily intones in “Popular Mechanics For Lovers.” Like a good love song, Beulah’s fresh pop is timeless. — Stephanie Valera R.I.Y.L. = Recommended If You Like 4 CMJ AUGUST 20, 2001 THENEW WEEK’S BEST MUSIC NEW MUSIC CLICK THA SUPAH-LATIN Square Won (Underload) On his third album, Square Won, L.A.’s Click Tha Supah-Latin champions the fundamentals of hip-hop, including the oft-underrated fifth element: the beatbox. Back in the day before rap became part of the pop machine, beatboxers like Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie and the Fat Boys’ Buff were an essential part of the scene. With Square Won, Click (an expert vocal percussionist himself) resurrects this art form, and man, is this guy nice. Check out his mouth artistry on the unadorned “The Fifth L.E.” (under rhymes by Reignman) and the inimitable “Beatbox Break” (capped off by the melodic hook from Salt ’N Pepa’s “Push It”). Square Won has an old-school vibe (there’s not a sample-heavy or electronica-laced track to be found here), as Click himself explains in the title track: “Many got the notion that for MCs to rhyme/ They gotta have loops, chords and phat bass lines… I’ll be the R.I.Y.L.: Rahzel, Emanon, Doug E. Fresh, Jurassic-5 first to flip that mic switch on/ Take you back to square one/ Show you all where Contact: Jon Doe I’m from.” Breakbeats are sprinkled with scratching, touches of piano and flute, Phone: 818.382.2515 Email: [email protected] and rhymes by Click (who proves he’s as capable MCing as he is making music Release Date: Sept. 25; at radio with his mouth on tracks like head-nodders “The Park” and “Get Live”) and guests like Derek Strong, Jurassic-5 and others. The family even gets some play — Click’s wife and kids are featured on “Family Freestyle” and his son Anthony (a.k.a. Click 44) jumps in on “Square Won” and “Diferente’” (the latter of which is dusted by a killer salsa-fied flute).