More Summer Sounds

Real Estate
Atlantic City Expressway
Self-Released

The boys of Real Estate, a four-piece from New Jersey, function as tour guides to a sunlit vacation shot on an 8 mm reel on Atlantic City Expressway, the band’s debut.

The weathered film metaphor seems especially appropriate here. It is a record that flickers a little and isn’t exactly perfect, but the care free nature of the self-released CD-R’s five tracks flow together in a way that makes the entire effort cohesively beautiful. At the same time, the music seems to effortlessly float just above the action it elicits, while never settling to just be background music.

This is our beach music, with Real Estate falling into other acts who have seen the summer of 2009 as the perfect opportunity to add a tropical, psychedelic influence to their classic pop tunes. Psychedelic is used loosely in this case – as it should be in most– the winding instrumental tracks never get all the way there, but there is a special undercurrent to the record that goes slightly beyond the pop structure.

It’s the perfect summer record, really. Although listening with too lazy an ear will keep some of its charms just out of reach.

On hazy album opener “Atlantic City” guitars, mandolin (?) and a very active drum rhythm collide in a two minute instrumental that is both layered and evocative, primitive in parts but not as a whole. And when it floats lazily into “Beach Comber,” it becomes exceedingly clear that what we have here is the perfect summer soundtrack.

It hasn’t received official release yet, only available on tour and Myspace, but check it out with beer and burger in hand.

Summer swing

Fab Moretti has it rough. Seen here with his new project Little Joy, he’s on holiday somewhere exotic and romantic.

And North Carolina summer looks nothing like this, but its fun to pretend.

So, let’s all live vicariously through the Strokes’ silly handsome drummer and his new bandmate/girlfriend Binky Shapiro.

It’s a hell of a song, too, the lead single off Little Joy’s criminally underrated self-titled debut. It’s a shame the summer-ready record came out back in November. I suggest moving it straight to the front of summer rotation.

Further Complications

Jarvis Cocker

Further Complications

Rough Trade US

Jarvis Cocker has always been a little too sure of himself. And for those of us maybe lacking in the self-assuredness category, imagining life as a character in one of his songs, can make the daily tedium all the more enjoyable.

As the lead man of Pulp, Cocker spent his night hitting on women out of his league with an alarming success rate and his mornings chronicling his nights.

Like all the good mod bands, Pulp was concerned with class and fashion. But they saw sex as their ammunition in the class war. Essentially, they were preaching the gospel of “If you can’t beat ‘em, sleep with their wives.”

And what a terrific life philosophy that is.

But Pulp disbanded after 2001’s We Love Life, and Cocker was left to fend for himself. His second solo effort, Further Complications proves he’s doing alright as the not-quite-handsome, cocksure bastard who can coo his way into any pair jeans he wants. And damn if that isn’t appealing.

There is more to listen to this time around. Aside from the voice and whip-sharp wit of the lyrics, the instrumentation is fuller and more varied than Cocker’s other efforts. Lead track “Angela” actually has a guitar riff. Like a real one. One you can shake a fist at. It’s the closest to cock-rock (sorry) he’s ever come. And while it isn’t the best thing he’s ever done (far from it) it is nice to see him trying something a little different.

It seems strange to highlight a remarkably average track simply because it is different when there are songs on this record with as much pop genius behind them. One is “I Never Said I Was Deep,” where Cocker puts the whisper that’s been getting him laid since Different Class on display to devastating results. “If relationships are a two-way street/Then I’ve been screwing in the back seat whilst you drive,” is just one of the memorable turns of phrase in this dimly lit, self-aware rationalization. “I’m not looking for a relationship/Just a willing receptacle,” sums everything up quite nicely.

This album puts Cocker back where he belongs, as the lead libertine in a parade of dandy charmers. He’s still uncompromisingly stylish and unflinchingly charismatic. But Further Complications pulls together everything his recent releases had been lacking, creating a cohesive whole.

So guys, hide your girlfriends, Jarvis is back and he’s still cooler than any of us can hope to be.

Heartaches by the Pound

The Rosewood Thieves

Heartaches by the Pound

Self-released

There are a few interesting things at play in the background of Heartaches by the Pound, the terrific new EP of Solomon Burke reimaginings (not covers) by New York City’s The Rosewood Thieves. First off, Burke isn’t exactly the most riveting of soul singers. I’d consider myself a soul-fiend and I don’t think Burke is even on the proverbial Mount Rushmore of soul/R&B. He lacks the passion of Otis, the pain of Sam and the twist-ability of R&B contemporaries like The Four Tops or the O’Jays. Even as I sit here listening to his 1969 album, Proud Mary, I can’t help thinking that if the world never heard another version of “These Arms of Mine,” “A Change is Gonna Come,” or even the record’s title track, no one would be upset.

Second, there’s that whole perception of a difference in “black” and “white” music. Rock n Roll was built on breaking down the barrier (Elvis, anyone?) and when done properly, as with this collection, it’s clear that swagger and bravado –standbys of soul – aren’t limited to one race over another. It’s all about passion, something the Rosewood Thieves have in spades.

So, the fact that the Thieves breathe new life into the old songs of a man who made a living singing and recording other people’s hits makes for an interesting backdrop for the EP.

These tracks are all Burke originals, but it’s as if they haven’t actually seen light until today. They needed the youthful passion of a band just starting out to really shake loose the dust they’d been gathering over several decades. And shake loose they do, melding Motown’s greatest themes – love and heartbreak – together with vigor and passion: two things often lacking in Burke’s limp handshake renditions of classic tunes. Once the cloud of dust bunnies finally settles, it’s the power of the songs that gives the collection its appeal.

There is pain in “Go on Back to Him,” a track that perfectly captures post break-up resignation. Angry on the outside, broken on the inside, vocalist Erick Jordan fires off, “You better go on back to him/I don’t want you to see me cry.”  When surrounding by metronomic drums and a guitar bit that borders on rock steady, it is a declaration that hits the mark, both sonically and emotionally.

But he gets over her, by the end, and stand out “You’re Good for Me,” closes things off with a classic keyboard riff opening and even more timeless statement, “You’re no good for yourself/you’re no good for nobody else/But you’re good for me.” Maybe Jordan is tricking himself – ain’t that what love’s all about – but he’s damn convincing.

That word – convincing – could pretty much sum up the whole release. The Thieves makes these songs their own, running laps around the originals with the youthful energy that self-proclaimed “King Solomon” always lacked.