Issue #65 Album Reviews

Reviews of the latest by CocoRosie, Hank III, Jon & Roy and Konono N° 1

CocoRosie
Grey Oceans
Sub Pop
CCR: the next generation? Since 2003, we’ve come to know CocoRosie as the quirky sister-duet whose baby alien voices conjure the most poetic atmospheres and pornographic images imaginable. With the release of their fourth album, Grey Oceans, Bianca “Coco” and Sierra “Rosie” Casady welcome us into yet another dreamscape of Tantric chants, quivering Congo beats and their trademark twinkle-twinkle-little-starisms. For those who haven’t heard of CocoRosie, well, if you have a tendency to get lost in the deep space of contemplation, meditation or masturbation, Grey Oceans could be a very useful tool for your music box. What exactly are they singing? Who knows… but it sure feels good down there.
-Jules Moore

Hank III
Rebel
Within Curb
Boring, uninspired, and unoriginal . . . go ahead and add contrived to the list. The lyrics are shallow and full of more clichés than a highschooler’s LiveJournal, all delivered with a ridiculous cartoonish Southern drawl that feels more put-on than Clay Aiken’s heterosexuality. Listening to this was like having a conversation with someone who has the life experience of a 14-year-old with the brain deterioration of a 98-year-old. Instead of reminding us of Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Clash, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard or even Hank Sr., Rebel Within is far more reminiscent of a mixture of some modern linedancing Cotton-Eyed-Joe-Macarena bullshit, that slow Kid Rock song (the one from like 2001 or some shit where he used auto tune on his voice to hide how terrible a singer he is), every song by Flogging Molly, a little bit of Limp Bizkit and a whole lot of your dad’s buddy’s band that plays at that shitty bar outside of town on Thursday nights.
-Jeremy McAnulty

Jon & Roy
Homes
Independent
For those that are fans of Jon & Roy, huzzah! Homes is now here. Ranging from folksy lullabies, afrorhythms and reggae, the album once again showcases Jon Middleton’s talents as a songwriter and Roy Vizer’s skills at percussion. Homes provides a nice summertime release for those beer-swilling, fire pit party nights that we all so enjoy. My primary concern for the album is its overall relevance. It doesn’t seem to forcefully move the listener in any direction as it sort of just toddles along. This sentiment is nice for days of rest, but I think that Jon & Roy would benefit by getting outside of their comfort zone as they do have the talent. “Get Myself a Gun” and “Deerfoot” are my two favourite tracks, with the latter being one of the stronger closing tracks that I’ve heard this year. Worth a listen… especially at the beach.
-Dr. Ian Super

Konono N° 1
Assume Crash Position
Crammed Disc
I once had a conversation with a good friend of who worked in advertising. He told me that he dealt with the guilt of working in advertising because it gave him the resources to create artistic specta cles that previously were out of his reach. This conversation came to mind when reviewing the new Konono N°1 album. Not only are they going full out already by manipulating parts of dead cars to create their own PA systems to amplify traditional African instruments, Konono N°1 are going for broke in one fell swoop via the plethora of guest musicians littering the album (as well as employing a Konono cover band, who use electric guitars and basses). Much like the advertising friend they’re making something popular by taking ignored material and pushing it to the forefront. They are bringing together the contemporary history of Congotronics by mashing together their peers, their influences and their influence on the next generation of African street bands in one recording. Whether or not you like this, you need to listen to this artistic spectacle.
-V Vecker