Yes to Everything
THE WASHDOWN
Lookout!
When Tampa quintet The Washdown's original demo (recorded back when they were still The Dead America) saw release as a self-titled EP on Lookout! Records in late 2002, some folks were quick to file the band as a garage-rock coattail rider. Never mind that their sinewy, propulsive rhythms had far more in common with the still-emerging dance-punk sect, and that their vibe owed more to soul than to Kinks-isms or monstrous chunks of blues riffage. They're skinny guys with tight jeans and killer guitar tones, so there you go. Well, Yes to Everything should go a long way toward dispelling that notion — but may kick up a whole new round of more interesting comparisons.
Simultaneously more tightly focused and dynamically ambitious than its predecessor, Yes to Everything lets the guitars and grooves get crazier and more inventive, while coming up with better hooks at the same time. Savvy listeners who heard shades of [International] Noise Conspiracy and At The Drive-In between the EP's lines will find more of that energy here — particularly, with regard to the latter, in "Bad Connection w/A Lover" and "Say When" — albeit blown out and fragmented by nimble-bladed dual-guitar lines that rarely intersect, but always agree.
Both of the aforementioned tracks are highlights, as are the mid-tempo, piano-abetted "We've Listened to Your History" and wonderfully New Wave-informed "Pull. Out. Work. Space.," the two cuts where the band's growth and ingenuity are most proudly displayed.
Most of the album's second half relies more heavily on the overtly R&B-influenced sounds of the EP, but as with everything else here, the quality is cranked up a notch, and the execution lends an engaging sense of cocky adventurousness. "Killing Word" is about as good a way to end a record as it gets.
On the whole, Yes to Everything does a fine job of building on The Washdown's introduction without abandoning it. To call the band "garage rock" is ludicrous; the group's tightly coiled lashing doesn't trump the blues pack, it ignores it completely, balancing retro feel with a frenetic contemporary individuality. (Release date: Feb. 24, www.lookoutrecords.com) 
1/2—Scott Harrell
Breeding Resistance
TED SIROTA'S REBEL SOULS
Delmark
This Chicago quintet, led by intrepid and politically conscious drummer Ted Sirota, brings a vibrant blend of influences to bear on a style that stays essentially true to the jazz idiom. With all five members contributing songs, Breeding Resistance conveys a variety of feels, all of them commandingly played by the ensemble. Sirota is the most daring: The disc-opening "Saro-Wiwa" is a spirited take on Fela-esque Afrobeat, with the horn harmonies by trombonist Jeb Bishop and saxophonist Geof Bradfield evoking a rough-hewn, tribal sound. "Chairman Fred," an homage to the late Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, is the disc's freest piece, accompanied by tapes of Hampton oratory. The album's most original tune is "This is a Takeover," a beguiling slab of live dub, replete with echo-drenched drums and horns. On the other side of the spectrum are several engaging pieces that skew more toward jazz convention: bassist Clark Sommers' loping "Pablo"; guitarist Jeff Parker's contemplative "For Martyrs"; Bradfield's "Elegy," which captures the kind of still melancholia heard in Coltrane's "Naima." A series of imaginative arrangements — best heard on "Huntsville, TX," which begins as a trancey drum solo and builds succinctly to a controlled cacophony — generally gives the group a larger sound than other jazz quintets. Breeding Resistance does a terrific job of finding some fresh nooks and crannies within the jazz pantheon. (www.delmark.com) —ERIC SNIDER
Whiskey & Co.
WHISKEY & CO.
No Idea
Given Gainesville label No Idea's penchant for putting out quality rough-hewn, shout-along punk rock, it's a bit surprising that this alt-country release is so bloodless. Everything is in its place, from banjo and violin to Telecaster twang and references to booze, getting high and being a day late and a dollar short, but Whiskey & Co. lacks the conviction (or even the convincing appearance of conviction) on which punkers who go rootsy stand or fall. There are some decent songs here — in fact, all of them qualify as such, because all of them sound pretty much the same — and female vocalist Kim Helm has a nice voice that hits the notes with an engaging sort of lazy disinclination. However, the band's take on down-home Southern Americana comes off as by-the-numbers dabbling, and lacks the emotional resonance that makes the standout records in this genre compelling enough to demand repeated listens. (www.noidearecords.com) —Scott Harrell
Birdland 1951
MILES DAVIS
Blue Note
Culled from radio broadcasts, tapes of these three live Miles performances at Birdland in '51 circulated among bootleg collectors for years. Recorded not long after the influential Birth of the Cool sessions, they find the trumpeter back in rip-tempo, full-energy bebop mode, not notably different from his work with Charlie Parker in 1947-48. Despite having fallen into the throes of heroin addiction, Miles sounds robust and in command. On the first seven tracks (encompassing two dates), he is joined by trombonist J.J. Johnson, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins (well before his ascent to wider recognition), pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Tommy Potter and drummer Art Blakey. Tracks 8-10 are a more intriguing lineup: Blakey remains, and is sided by bassist Charles Mingus, pianist Billy Taylor, and tenor saxophonists Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Big Nick Nicholas. Both sax men were more associated with the prebop Coleman Hawkins school than with out-and-out bop. There are certainly some fine performances throughout Birdland 1951, but due to the tinny sound (drums rattling, piano a blur, bass a rumor, regular sonic drop-outs during horn solos), I can only recommend the disc to true diehards. Miles novices have a lot more ground to cover first. (www.bluenoterecords.com) —ERIC SNIDER
Other Victorians
EVENING
Lookout!
San Francisco is beautiful, foggy, romantic, young and tech-savvy. Evening is its sonic equivalent. The band (de-capitalized as "evening" for dramatic effect) hails from that same northern California town that reared such diverse acts as the Grateful Dead, Dead Kennedys and Sheila E. They play some dark-ass rock, represented by such glum tunes as "Wither in Bloom" and "Near Death." They play with enough paranoia-fueled fervor to make one miss the days when Radiohead used to rock out, before they became such annoyingly earnest knob twiddlers. Evening also take cues from contemporaries like Interpol and Mars Volta; not surprisingly, Other Victorians was produced by Alex Newport, a studio wiz who produced the latter's Tremulant EP. Evening falls on the more gadget-friendly side of the "new" New Wave, unwaveringly mathy in their pursuit of catharsis-via-synthesizers. It works most of the time, though songs occasionally take a myopic turn, like an extended moog jam on a lesser-known Brian Eno album. You think, "Dude, when are these guys gonna start, like, rocking again?" But when they do, you know it, and it's good. (www.lookoutrecords.com) 1/2—Mark Sanders
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2004.