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Written by Gregg Shapiro
Mar 24, 2011
The Ready Set performs on April 5 at The Rave in Milwaukee and on April 8 at The New Loft in Madison.
The Ready Set
Thanks to Owl City (a.k.a. Adam Young), one-person musical units operating under a pseudonym are on the rise. In fact, you can hear the influence of Young on “I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming” (Sire/Decaydance) by The Ready Set (née Jordan Witzigreuter). The Ready Set’s songs suffer from the same lack of variety and innovation as Owl City’s, providing further proof that the home computer and recording studio could turn out to be the downfall of popular culture and creativity. There’s something so insular about these basement-tape creations (see Lights’ disc “The Listening”) that it almost becomes a kind of exclusive club for electro nerds. It’s not a complete washout, however, with songs such as “Stays Four The Same,” “There Are Days” and “Spinnin’” offering a slight promise for the future.
Villagers
One of the things that sets “Becoming A Jackal” (Domino) by Villagers (a.ka. Conor J. O’Brien) apart from the disc by The Ready Set is that O’Brien had already logged time in a band (the short-lived The Immediate), so he had a foundation to pursue other musical avenues. What you get is a more varied and mature set of songs that rely less on technological trickery. That is clear throughout “Becoming A Jackal,” but is exemplified on the title track, “Ship of Promises,” “Home,” “The Pact (I’ll Be Your Fever)” and “Pieces.”
Sea of Bees
The league of assumed name musicians is not an exclusively male association. Sea of Bees, for example, is actually a queer woman named Julie Baenziger. Like St. Vincent and My Brightest Diamond, both aliases of female musicians, Sea of Bees has a distinctive sound that could potentially earn her a following through her album “Songs For The Ravens” (Crossbill). The deceptively bare “Skinnybone,” the understated heat of “Fyre,” the sweetened rock of “Marmalade,” the dream pop of “Willis” and the sinister “Won’t Be Long” all shine. The disc also includes access to the “Bee Eee Pee” MP3s.
Glasser
Definitely one of the more gratifying debuts of 2010, the well-rounded “Ring” (True Panther Sounds) by Glasser, the musical alias of Cameron Mesirow, never ceases to amaze. Beginning with the stomping rhythms and primal shouts of “Apply” to the hip-shaking handclaps of “Home,” Glasser gives provides every reason to go with the flow. The atmospheric “Plane Temp” sounds like the ideal soundtrack for stargazing, while the more grounded “Tremel” laps at the shore of your senses. Listening to the exotic “Treasure of We” feels like discovering a new country, and the CD’s closer “Clamour” subtly lives up to its name.
Peasant
“Shady Retreat” (Paper Garden) is the third full-length disc by Peasant, a.k.a. Damien DeRose. You can hear a strong Elliott Smith influence on the disc, although it’s not so overpowering that Peasant sacrifices his own musical identity. Highlights of the 10-track disc include “The Distance,” “Well Alright,” “Into The Woods” and “Slow Down.”
Marina & the Diamonds
When it comes to inspiration, the one-woman band Marina & the Diamonds (actually just the exotic Marina Diamandis) owes more to the truly original Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine and far less to the dim Lights on “Family Jewels” (Chop Shop/Atlantic). Captivating tracks such as “Shampain,” “Mowgli’s Road,” “Hollywood,” “The Outsider,” “Hermit The Frog” and “Numb,” are just a few examples. One can also hear traces of Imogen Heap on “I Am Not A Robot,” Lene Lovich on “Girls” and Fiona Apple on “Guilty.”
Lightspeed Champion
Formerly of noise-poppers Test Icicles, Devonte Hynes morphed into Lightspeed Champion, releasing a disc under that moniker in 2007. “Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You” (Domino) is Lightspeed Champion’s vastly better sophomore effort. Touching on a variety of musical styles over more than a dozen tracks, the disc, separated into four “sides” (complete with two musical “intermissions”), allows LC to dabble in his more theatrical side. “Dead Head Blues” soars like a potential production number, whereas “Marlene” gets down and downright funky. The plucky “Faculty of Fears” makes good use of strings and the piano dominates “The Big Game of Highsmith.” There are retro elements at play on “I Don’t Want To Wake Up Alone” and the flirty “Mamie Van Doren.” LC bares his pure pop soul out for all to see on the shimmering “Middle Of The Dark.”
Aqualung
Aqualung’s 2005 domestic debut “Strange & Beautiful,” which contained the popular title cut and “Brighter Than Sunshine,” introduced us to Matt Hale. “Magnetic North” (Verve Forecast) doesn’t veer too far off the map. Notable tracks include “Reel Me In,” “36 Hours,” “Sundowning,” “Fingertip” and “Hummingbird.”
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse, the acclaimed musical project of the late Mark Linkous, released a handful of acclaimed discs beginning in the mid-1990s. Dedicated to both Linkous and the late Vic Chesnutt (who performs on the disc), the final, posthumously released Sparklehorse album “Dark Night of the Soul” (Capitol) is a collaboration with Danger Mouse (and other musicians) and David Lynch. As the title suggests, this is not a lighthearted listen, but it nevertheless deserves to be heard. “Revenge” (The Flaming Lips), “Little Girl” (Julian Casablancas), “Daddy’s Gone” (Linkous), “Star Eyes (I Can’t Catch It)” (Lynch) and “The Man Who Played God” (Suzanne Vega) are particularly beguiling.
