Last month in this space, I ran a list of my 10 favorite records of the year (in which I somehow failed to mention Air’s indispensable Moon Safari). Lest you think I spent all year listening to French chanteuses and German internationalist bands, this month is a list of my favorite local releases of 1998.
- Strawberry Presents (Nocturnal)
Strawberry Presents’ CD debut does a fine job surveying the range of their sound, from Velvet Underground-by-way-of Nashville rave-ups like “Distract Me” to densely atmospheric pop songs like “Just Another Day.” It’s not the best record they’re capable of recording, but it should open a few doors. - Mas Mamones – Aguacero y Parranda
Mas Mamones’ mambos, cha cha chas and boogaloos may hark back to Cuba in the 1950s, but their debut CD sounds fresher and more exciting than anything else to come out of the local Latin jazz scene. The dance record of the year. - Myshkin – Blue Gold (Binky)
A breathtakingly well realized collection of deftly drawn narratives and ingeniously eclectic music and instrumentation. Combining elements of both her folk and rock incarnations, Myshkin cuts a swath across the whole of Americana, from vaudeville, folk and swing to rock and funk. - The Royal Pendletons – Oh Yeah, Baby! (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
Yet another long awaited CD debut, the Pendletons whip up a collection of originals, pre-psychedelic rock and garage R&B into a stripped-down set that captures thew at their best. - Various Artists – Engine Engine Number 9 (Rhinestone/Skin Graft)
Miss Pussycat (of Flossie and the Unicorns fame) compiled this various 9th Ward artists cassette, featuring hits by subterranean superstars such as Famous Monsters, M.C. Trachiotomy, the Vice Girls, Rock and Roll Fantasy, the MacGillicuddy’s, Wet Daddy Empire and “New Orleans most feared and despised band Larry Lamborghini and his Hate Brigade. - Burnversion – One Lazy Revolution (Pop Secret)
Burnversion’s swan song represents a huge leap for the band in both songwriting and sonic clarity, including some honest to gawd melodies amid the noise. - Bobby Redbeet – Ladies Love Bobby Redbeet (Mermaid)
It would have been a tragedy had Bobby Redbeet’s tenure on the local scene gone uncommemorated on record. Comprising many of their best known hits recorded in atavistic beauty, Ladies Love documents the masters of herky jerky android polyester cheese punk. - The Rubber Maids – Arts and Leisure
The Rubber Maids’ four-track demo fills just the right niche in our testosterone-centric music scene. Breathy, melodic punk with sweet harmonics, Pixies-ish chord changes and thoughtful lyrics. - Urbosleeks – Rio Grande
A band to keep an eye on in ’99. Urbosleeks build songs around complex rhythms and unorthodox structures, though the dreamy, atmospheric result is more familiar than you’d expect. Something like Built To Spill, something like Brian Eno, something like Thinking Fellers Union, but not entirely. - Rhudabega – Gas Money (By H20 Music) – This six-song CD served notice that Rhudabega had officially arrived. Songs like “Whirlwind Psycho,” ”Tela,” and “Flower Dog I’d Bite” are strong rock songs with pop hooks built from the ground up on bass and drums, a nifty trick that proves they’re originals as opposed to a no-guitar novelty act.
Honorable Mentions:
Jill – Population My I.Q. (Rehab Records) – The late lamented Jill made a splash with a slick collection of rootsy alternative rock songs tailored for radio play. Commercial-conscious alternative rock is a crowded field locally, but Population My I.Q. positioned Jill near the top.
Zoom – Sleepy Ted Comes Back to This World (More Recordings) – Starting off with a Who soundalike, Zoom finds its own voice with a set of taut, edgy rock songs rooted in punk and psychedelia.
Permagrin – Nymphettamine – No one else in New Orleans is doing anything remotely like the instrumental duo Permagrin, whose debut CD combined ambient music, trip hop, jazz and progressive rock into a mesmerizing set.
Greg Wildes came up with the concept after deciding to recycle an automobile part found on New Orleans roadsides almost as frequently as daiquiri shops. Fashioning salvaged gas tanks with strings, PVC tubing and other attachments, Wildes built musical instruments capable of surprisingly rich, surprisingly diverse sounds when bowed, plucked, blown or beat. Thus was Gas Tank Orchestra was born.
That was about five years ago. Since then, the floating membership that performed initially at 9th Ward speakeasies has solidified into a regular five-member band that plays regularly at clubs around town. This month, Gas Tank Orchestra celebrates the release of their two-volume self-recorded debut, Olestra vs. Viagra, with a pair of record release parties.
They’ll be at the Dragon’s Den on Feb. 2 and at the Mermaid Lounge on Feb. 28. In between, on Feb. 5, you can catch them playing their monthly date with Myshkin at the Hi Ho Lounge. Olestra vs. Viagra, Vol 1. and 2 is urban industrial folk music, a series of tracks that evoke avant-garde, African and Asian music, not to mention the soundtrack to Planet of the Apes. Rhythms occupy the forefront, with the various instruments playing off of one another in a mysterious dialogue.
According to band member Kathleen Kraus, Gas Tank Orchestra’s music is completely improvised and, free form. “The idea is to listen and respond to the other music you hear,” she says, “It’s like a conversation. It doesn’t sound like modern jazz, but the process is the same.”
While the theory might sound ponderous, Kraus says the band is decidedly not. “I don’t think any of us would call ourselves musicians with a capitol ‘m.’ We do it because it’s fun. We want to do it because we like it and if y’all want to listen, that’s cool.
