Illoin, Pinafore (Notenuf)/Collision/Collider)
Lately there seems to be more and more abstract electronic music that bases its atmosphere on hip-hop as much as anything else. Pinafore, by the Philladelphia-based Illoin (the artist formerly known as Vertebrae), begins with a foreboding bassline and choppy rhythm that makes me expect an MC to come in. But instead you get a muzzled yet emotional pop singer, plus vibraphones and a swirl of noise. So while Illoin does seem to draw inspiration from hip-hop, there's so much more going on here - that fact becomes even more apparent as the album proceeds, pulling you into soundscapes that are melodic and enveloping, pretty yet menacing. There's rough beats, yes, and melodic synth parts that recall other electronic acts that go for beauty, but also snatches of sound straight from the worlds of classical music or international folk music. The title track sounds like a dirge played on a church organ…before the organ disappears as is replaced by stirring, more optimistic piano (still no beats or obvious electronics to be found). One song is called "Winter Songs All Sound the Same"; that's a funny joke, but also pertinent, as what hangs over the album is a melancholy mood that feels like winter. Yet at the same time, the songs here don't all sound the same, and none of them sound like anyone else besides the wonderfully unique Illoin, either.--dave heaton
Looper, MP3 EP #2 (self-released)
The scratching noise of an old record beginning to play leads into a string section that could have come from some long-lost Hollywood melodrama from the golden age of cinema, at the beginning of "Pale Blue E-Type," the first song on Looper's new MP3 EP, the second EP they've made available for free download on their web site. About 30 seconds after those strings begin, in comes Looper frontman Stuart David's voice and some funky drum beats (Looper's music is populated by beats that feel both retro and futuristic). "Pale Blue E-Type" is one of David's "story-songs," with him ruminating in poetic and humorous ways, in this case about automobiles. But his story has a fetching musical backdrop that sounds more sophisticated than just about anything Looper's done before. All three songs on MP3 EP #2 are more forward-looking than those on their first MP3 EP, all carrying Looper's proven strengths into new slightly new places. "None of That" is a catchy pop song about restlessness with a thick synth melody that works like a funky bass line. The EP closer "Fall At Her Feet" might be even more surprising than the other two: a straightforward piano ballad, a love song filled with longing and hurt that's sung in a gorgeous, sensitive way by David. It has the wee-hours melancholy of a classic jazz ballad, with the closing line," Forgive me tonight, I'm too drunk to stand." It's brave for a group known for using a textured sound based on synthesizers and beats to record a track that's mostly one voice and one piano, but what's more important is how amazing the song is, how it feels confident and sophisticated, not like an experiment at all.--dave heaton
Issue 18, December 2003