nickels in the oven

Tristeza - A Colores
Released Nov. 22, 2005
on Better Looking

Sometimes music speaks louder than words. So go ahead and preview the entire new Tristeza album via the band’s e-card, or grab an mp3 of the lead single, “Bromas.”

If you’re looking for a little background information and some subjectivity, read on.

The review

Noticeably absent of any vocals, Tristeza’s sound relies on pure instrumentation. Cascading guitar lines woo moody synthesizers. Organic drum beats add another texture to the laid-back sound. Emotive and atmospheric, the entire album speaks volumes.

As the sticker on the outside of the plastic-wrapped CD cover notes, A Colores is “a colorful journey beyond instrumental post-rock, delving into the darker realms of modern psychedelia.”

Bassist Luis Hermosillo said to expect the band to add vocals in the future. He also explained the new direction:

We wanted to make the music more focused within its notes, grooves, timing, spacing, layering, etc. We want to dial into the whole aspect of composing—and most of all, we wanted it to be honest.

Even though Tristeza translates into “sadness,” the music often evokes an undeniably hopeful feeling.

Co-founder Jimmy LaValle left the band in 2003 in order to turn The Album Leaf into a full-time project. Many assumed his departure would mark the end of Tristeza. Instead, the three remaining members pushed on, picking up a new guitarist and a keyboardist along the way.

A Colores marks Tristeza’s first album sans-LaValle, and everything has fallen perfectly into place. I saw The Album Leaf this past spring, and the whole show was mesmerizing. Both groups have developed beautifully, and neither seems to be slowing down.

Currently on the road, Tristeza wraps up its fall tour in support of the new album on December 3 in Tijuana, Mexico, where much of A Colores was written. That same month, Jimmy LaValle will be recording the follow-up album to The Album Leaf’s In a Safe Place.

Skalpel - Konfusion
Released Nov. 1, 2005
on Ninja Tune

These two deejays dissect and reassemble sounds from old Polish jazz records with the precision of surgeons. The carefully-crafted, downtempo Skalpel songs fit in perfectly with the aesthetic of the Ninja Tune collective.

While many eastern European bands try to emulate Western styles, Skalpel’s Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudlo work instead within the framework of their native country and its history to produce a more unique sound.

It’s the sort of thing you’d expect to hear in a smoke-filled, dimly-lit club. It’s the sound of a bygone era reinterpreted through the ears of two audiophiles — an era when musicians held on to artistic freedom despite communist pressures.

In an interview with Pixelsurgeon, Cichy said that they did not start out to be ambassadors for Polish music and culture, but they could sense that it was happening. “We didn’t plan to be, but now we know that we are,” Pudlo added.

One thing mentioned in the album’s press release holds true for the best in sample-based music:

…this is a record brimming with ideas, with atmosphere, with the kind of intelligent cut and paste that makes it an artform instead of a form of theft.

The album comes with a bonus disc of remixes of tracks from the duo’s debut Ninja Tune release.

Blockhead - Downtown Science
Released Oct. 18, 2005
on Ninja Tune

Love affairs fall apart and pigeons take flight. Street musicians play rusted instruments, break-dancers flirt with sidewalks and commuters line subway cars. Some prefer to walk the city alone and breathe it all in.

On Downtown Science, Blockhead captures and arranges sounds as diverse as the people and sights found in downtown Manhattan. His sophomore solo effort serves as a fitting soundtrack to the city he has lived in all his life.

Strings and woodwinds mingle with synthesizers and horns. Harmonica and rock guitars add contrast. The funkiest track, “The Art Of Walking,” acts as a nod to the b-boy movement. Dusty vocal samples and downtempo breakbeats lace the album.

Despite the varied instrumentation and emotions, the ambitious work remains cohesive. Blockhead tells a magnificent story without lyrics. The music is enough.

“By the time [debut album] Music by Cavelight dropped I was already somewhere else musically,” Blockhead said in the new album’s press release. “The overall progression is a more complete sound.”

Downtown Science solidifies Blockhead’s status as a compelling hip-hop producer capable of standing on his own.

The CD comes with a DVD containing film interpretations of Music by Cavelight in its entirety.

Highly recommended.