((((( Perfect ((((Great(((Good((Mediocre(Coaster PHASES & STAGES

from docs like his own Westway DVDNDS to the World and vintage films such as Rude Boy, plugs into the BEATBOX THE CLASH electric fury and ferocious energy The Roots Revolution Rock that drove the Clash. It’s all DIY, outdo themselves (Epic/Legacy) of course: sporadically shoddy on eighth LP Rising Five years after Joe sound and off-kilter cameras, Down (Def Jam), Strummer’s death and 30 plus an awful narrative supplied ?uestlove & Co. years after the Clash’s debut, by Zane Lowe of the BBC that welcoming new the band’s alternating pattern fortunately comes as optional. bassist Owen Biddle of genius releases and near- Scorchers include the reggae into the mix of their misses balances out here. standard “Police and Thieves,” most band-centric Last winter saw the definitive “London Calling” from the group’s effort yet. Featuring PORTISHEAD Strummer bio-doc, Julien Temple’s The Future legendary stand at Bond’s NYC (more foot- spots from a whop- ping 12 outsourced Third (Mercury/Island) Is Unwritten (the DVD hits stores in June), age is apparently being restored for eventual MCs, jump-started Mid-1990s Britain yielded some ques- burnish the band’s righteous legacy. Now, release), beautiful bassist Paul Simonon tak- by straight fire from tionable pop pap, but Portishead was an Revolution Rock follows up, dealing 22 live ing over frontman duties in L.A. on “Guns of Mos Def on the exception. Singer Beth Gibbons, guitarist shots spanning 1977-83. Producer Don Letts Brixton,” and a deuce from NBC late-night, infectious title cut, Adrian Utley, and multi-instrumentalist of Big Audio Dynamite pulled much of the “This Is Radio Clash” and “The Magnificent Rising strips down Geoff Barrow no doubt spent the last previously unseen footage from his personal Seven.” Tom Snyder’s interview extra is also for the a cappella decade trying to shake a short-lived genre archives, which, side by side with excerpts worth a gander. – Dan Oko “@ 15” and souls (trip-hop) that never really fit them. Smartly, out on the Wale- the Bristol trio’s first studio album since chill of its inspiration, particularly in “Lies” and real attraction is Moorer’s voice, an instrument featured “Rising 1997 is free of the chopped samples and the banjo-laced “Psychotic Girl,” while “Oceans that’s muscular yet distinctively dulcet as well. Up.” Showstopper noir soundtracking that trademarked their and Streams” sways like Junior Kimbrough’s Nina Simone’s “I Want a Little Sugar in My “75 Bars (Black’s sound, allowing them to create dissonance Chulahoma. Burton’s masterful production Bowl” and Rainey’s “Daddy, Goodbye Blues” are Reconstruction)” more organically. There’s always been proves most evident on “Remember When (Side exceptionally effective for a singer whose work proves the Philly a spinning paranoia under Portishead’s A),” which slows the classic Thickfreakness of has long tilted toward country. With only one crew would’ve been just fine without all music, uncertainty never far from Gibbons’ its B-side counterpart to half-speed and treats self-penned song, the title track, Moorer’s song- the help. Over Deadringer-esque beats lyrics, and that hasn’t been lost on Third. it with eerie, haunted-house effects. All the writing career is seemingly on hold. The effort- (“Beautiful Humanity,” “The Cure”), The unsettling “Hunter” unfurls like some- Keys needed was a bit of black magic. less Mockingbird proves she doesn’t need to Portland, Ore.’s Braille dials up Pharcyde thing out of a David Lynch movie, Gibbons ((((N – Austin Powell write to make music that’s all her own. (Allison stylings on The IV Edition (Syntax/Koch), purring, “My thoughts are taking over.” Moorer opens for hubby Steve Earle at the nodding to the Beasties’ Check Your Head Her matchless voice remains another R.E.M. Paramount Theatre, Sunday, April 27.) with the organ-funked “ADDvice.” Flexing instrument and now, free of the witchi- Accelerate (Warner Bros.) ((( – Jim Caligiuri lyrical muscle, the Re-Up Gang’s Malice ness that dominated 1997’s eponymous Brooding disaffection brings “the realest shit I ever wrote – not sophomore LP, she shines ethereal in the about these Accelerate-d SANTOGOLD Pac inspired; it’s crack pot inspired,” on warm synth tide of “The Rip” and “Nylon end-times peaks on (Downtown) We Got It for Cheap, Vol. 3. The Clipse Smile.” The oscillations of Silver Apples “Until the Day Is Done,” Santi White has been clique trades even bars with Philly heads are carbon-copied on midalbum standout introduced in the lyrics hailed as visionary, cre- Sandman and Ab-Liva on Raekwon’s “Rainy “We Carry On,” and from there, Third really accompanying R.E.M.’s 14th album with ative, genre-bending, and Dayz,” Obie Trice’s “Cry Now,” and Dame starts droning, if you don’t count throw- Sinclair Lewis’ co-opted anti-Bush sloganeering. inventive – America’s Grease-produced “20k Money Making away banjo ballad “Deep Water.” “Machine Strangling jangle trademarks the Athens, Ga., answer to M.I.A. – but Brothers on the Corner.” With Ab-Liva and Gun” is Portishead’s most jarring song trio’s opening triptych, sealed by “Supernatural despite Santogold’s Sandman’s two Cheap solo tracks, as yet, a stream of rapid-fire drum beats that Superserious,” first cousin to Automatic for bloggorific buzz, her eponymous debut, while well as the latter’s Philadelphia Ego mix- smells like Germany 1981, and a psych- the People smash “Man on the Moon.” Where diverse, is no revolution. Aside from dubbed- tape, the other half of the Re-Up proves rock influence weaves into “Small,” which the previous indelible minored in ill-fated loon up standout “Shove It,” the Philly native and they’re more than simply Clipse sidemen. rides a killer organ line and allows them Andy Kaufman, here Harry Houdini plucks the former A&R rep forgoes 24 karat for gold filler. Edmonton, Alberta’s Cadence Weapon to jam. Closer “Threads” brings it back to rabbit out of Michael Stipe’s skullcap – protec- Opener “L.E.S. Artistes” could be a Yeah Yeah drops geek-hop “In Search of the Youth Portishead’s old gloom and doom, Gibbons tion from Peter Buck’s raw nerve-endings guitar. Yeahs outtake, “Creator” and “Unstoppable” Crew” with Afterparty Babies (Epitaph), an wailing, “I’m always so unsure,” over fuzzy, Accelerate isn’t Lifes Rich Pageant, however. water down Maya Arulpragasam’s politics, “My album dedicated to those conceived after foreboding riffage. Ten years later, they’ve The moody flair of “Houston” and buzzing Superman” oozes Siouxsie Sioux, and “I’m Ma and Pa got loaded. Running parallel managed to capture our paranoid times desperation that suffocates the title cut bet- a Lady” sews the three into a well-dressed, with what’s popping in the Rhymesayers and sound transcendent as well. ter reflect the group’s musical temperament. hypnotic frock. It might seem lazy to pull the camp, the neurotic Cadence stays industri- ((((N – Audra Schroeder As 34 minutes advance, songs get longer and comparison card, but the inflections are impos- al, and, though his energy’s to be applaud- less interesting (“Sing for the Submarine”), but sible to ignore. Santogold’s nothing more than ed, the results are nearly annoying. “Horse to Water” stomps, and “I’m Gonna DJ” catchy, simple, dance-worthy trivia that the kids – Chase Hoffberger THE BLACK KEYS (“at the end of the world”) doesn’t decelerate. will probably eat up with both hands whether Attack and Release This time, really, “It’s the End of the World as on the dance floor, falling in love, breaking up, (Nonesuch) We Know It,” only nobody feels fine. trying on American Apparel deep-Vs, or experi- together, tracks reborn in a rub-a-dub style, The Black Keys’ ((( – Raoul Hernandez menting. There’s nothing offensive to speak of, while nearly every 7-inch single has an alter- Nonesuch debut, just pure product. Don’t let the “indie” label nate version on the flip side. The Dynamics’ 2006’s Magic Potion, ALLISON MOORER fool you. Version Excursions follows in this timeless tradi- sounded a bit diluted Mockingbird (New Line) (( – Darcie Stevens tion – reduce, reuse, recycle. The French-based and formulaic. Enter Honey-haired Allison quintet reworks a dizzyingly diverse collection Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, Moorer follows her sister THE DYNAMICS of tracks from the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the beat scientist behind Gnarls Barkley, whose Shelby Lynne’s lead for Version Excursions and Bob Dylan to Wilson Pickett and Prince. The shape-shifting production – from the swelling a set of mostly covers. (Groove Attack) Dynamics manage to forge it all into a coher- organ of moody opener “All You Ever Wanted” While Lynne feted only Jamaican music gets ent, understated, soulful album, though no word to the backward guitar in the heavy blues of “I Dusty Springfield, Moorer’s sixth album features labeled green for rea- on how much they dropped on licensing. The Got Mine” – results in the Akron, Ohio, duo’s material by women celebrating their strength. sons beyond the island’s cooled-out Curtis Mayfield classic “Move On most diverse and subtly psychedelic work to The premise allows Mrs. Steve Earle a wide preoccupation with col- Up” is insanely good, and it’s hard to believe date (just check the flute solo on “Same Old berth to explore a sweep of styles and emo- lie herbs. After all, no the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” wasn’t Thing”). Originally conceived as a collabora- tions, choosing tunes from the unlikely combi- other country’s musical community does more penned in Kingston after hearing this dubbed- tion to include the late Ike Turner, Attack and nation of Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Ma Rainey, recycling. Riddims and sounds are continu- out cover. Release retains the anguished soul and ghostly and Chan Marshall. As with her past work, the ally and liberally borrowed and patched back ((( – Thomas Fawcett

72 | THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE | APRIL 25, 2008 | austinchronicle.com