Finally Woken
JEM
ATO
Welsh chanteuse Jem has scored growing recognition with dancefloor hipsters and quirk-pop aficionados worldwide via the single "Wish I." If you're drawn to that tune's oddly infectious combination of cartoon-cabaret ostentation, nostalgic kitsch-pop novelty and hip-hop-inspired production, you'll love the whole disc — it all circles that formula in a fairly tight orbit.
Me, I can't tell if I love the whole thing or loathe it.
Guitars of both the crunchy and acoustic variety float in and out, but bouncy rhythms, saccharine synth loops and Jem's addictive, lighter-than-air vocals dominate. Pedestrian listeners may think they detect a modicum of funky soul in there, but they're wrong. Sure, those beats got some swing to 'em, but this is carefully constructed ear-candy — a canny update of Blondie's "The Tide Is High" and Siouxsie & The Banshees' more Broadway-influenced material built more on commercial rap rhythms than trip-hop. The grooves are made, not felt, and anybody who thinks otherwise is basing their argument on the assumption that US3's "Cantaloop" had soul to it. (It didn't.)
Still, most of Finally Woken is so engaging, swayable and smile-inducing it's crazy, and sounds fresh enough that writing it off as more fabricated pop bullshit would be selling it short. Sure, the Sublime-esque canter of "Come on Closer" is questionable, and the addition of nu-metal riffage to the otherwise fine "24" is just dumb. But just about every other airy, groovy, hook-laden track here scores, and hits discerning fans much harder than one might think it would, were they to see the equations laid out on paper. And I gotta give the record credit for that. 
1/2
—Scott Harrell
It's All Around You
TORTOISE
Thrill Jockey
Now that "post-rock" appears to have been excised from the music lexicon, Tortoise can go on being its subversive, category-defying self while free of pigeonholes. On its fifth full-length, It's All Around You, the Chicago instrumental ensemble uses the same lineup for a second consecutive disc — and it shows. The music sounds more like it was performed by a unit than constructed via ProTools (whether this is actually true or not, I can't say, but the playing sounds more organic). Additionally, the angular melodies, for the most part, sound more fully drawn than past Tortoise efforts, and there's less reliance on genre trappings (jazz, dub, rock, ambient, etc.). Even though Tortoise's music blends unique instrumentation (guitar, vibraphone, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion and other ad hoc sounds), it is not difficult to ingest; it can even have a familiar ring. Occasionally, the band comes off as too restrained for its own good, thus rendering the music nondescript in spots. When Jeff Parker breaks out with a noisy but brief guitar improv on "Five Too Many," it provides a welcome jolt, one that It's All Around You could've used more of. While the Tortoise sound is not overtly emotional, it's exquisitely detailed and varied in mood, be it sunshine, doom or ennui. 1/2
—ERIC SNIDER
Walking With the Beggar Boys
ELF POWER
Orange Twin
It is time for alternative rock to be fun again. For most of the '90s the camps were pretty divided: "serious" artists had to be morose, while anything less was considered fluffy or, at the very least, ironic. Maybe it was a backlash to the '80s, and we were flogging ourselves for all the spandex and boy-makeup of yesteryear. Elf Power is an example of how all that is way, way in the past now. Walking With the Beggar Boys is a sincere effort that'll put a smile on your face, and maybe even get your ass shaking too. The band is obviously influenced by the past 20 years — the '80s because they sound like the Cars or R.E.M. (strange bedfellows, admittedly), and the '90s because they've simply been around for nearly a decade. Elf Power's last effort, 2002's Nothing Is Going to Happen, found the band covering everyone from the Frogs to Husker D. On this one, they set the fuzz pedals on warp, ditch the covers, and emerge sounding like an entirely new band — aided, no less, by recent additions Eric Harris (Olivia Tremor Control) and Craig McQuiston (the Glands), and anchored by longtime frontman Andrew Reiger's elliptical lyrics and soapy vocals. Ranging from Moog-inflected melodies to subtle acoustic numbers, Walking With the Beggar Boys is a treat for any fan of guitar-driven pop.
—MARK SANDERS
The Complete Verve Master Takes
CHARLIE PARKER
Verve
Jazz history tends to most lionize Charlie Parker's sides for the Dial and Savoy labels in 1945-46, holding them aloft as the recorded birth of bebop. The alto sax titan actually spent more time on the Mercury and Verve imprints, where he worked from late '47 to late '54 (he died at age 34 on March 12, 1955). This three-disc collection of Bird's master takes for Mercury/Verve finds the artist mostly brilliant, very occasionally lethargic. Bird hungered to showcase his versatility, and label head/producer Norman Granz obliged, putting Parker in a variety of settings, some of which bore fruit, and at least one of which laid an egg. The most successful happened during two summer 1950 sessions that yielded the landmark album Charlie Parker with Strings, on which his sweet-toned alto played the role of lead vocalist over a cushy orchestra. His clumsiest effort was cut on May 25, 1953, featuring arrangements by Gil Evans and the work of a choral group. The heavy vocal schmaltz squanders some robust saxophone work. On Verve, Bird also played a variety of Latin pieces to varying effect, and did one regular big band date, which is of little distinction. Thankfully, a good portion of The Complete Verve Master Takes finds Parker working in a small, hard-swinging group — not as inclined toward blistering tempos as he once was, but still a fleet and extraordinary musician. 1/2
—ERIC SNIDER
Keepin' It Real
ROD PIAZZA & THE MIGHTY FLYERS
Blind Pig
Harmonica can be annoying in large doses, but not in the hands of Rod Piazza, the veteran California bluesman who has led the punchy, swinging Mighty Flyers since the late '70s. Keepin' It Real is a fun, raw, unpretentious showcase of a tight band and two prodigious instrumentalists: Piazza, who updates the Chicago blues tradition with better chops and myriad tones (from filthy to smooth), and his wife Honey Piazza, a sizzling, boogie-fied pianist. The album moves through an array of feels: the raunchy Bo-beat of "Pretty Thing"; the Kansas City sway of "Ain't Nothing Happening"; the effervescent piano boogie showcase, "Buzzin'"; and the urbane, strutting take on the classic "Good Morning Little School Girl." So many contemporary blues recordings are showcases for guitar wanking, so it is a pleasure to point out a disc that stands in refreshing contrast. (www.blindpigrecords.com) 1/2
—ERIC SNIDER
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2004.