| Andre Karpov "Blending
different types of folk music, if done with at least some respect
for the traditions involved, is usually a good idea. In the case
of Andre Karpov & the Kazaks, it's a great idea, and involves
klezmer, Appalachian, and emo. (What, you didn't think emo was folk
music?) Sad, slow, and drenched in vocal harmonies, Karpov's songs
are made to sway along with; nothing that would spill your glass
of cheap red, but plenty to inspire overflowing romantic notions.
Charming and handsome, the bandleader tends to set girls' hearts
to fluttering anyway. The band counts Tom Waits and Neil Young as
influences, but neither of those guys makes such good use of the
accordion." Full Moon Partisans ~ "At their most pedestrian, the Full Moon Partisans sound like early Talking Heads if the art schoolars had been shoved into a gulag with the Stooges; at their most peculiar, they teeter on the edge of ye-ye, conjuring Francoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc, while playing footsy with the Birthday Party and Cornelius on a dusty Moog and a banjo. It's not right, which is just about perfect."" - SF Weekly Trainwreck Riders ~ "The
Riders collaborate to infuse three-minute, Ramones-like songs with
a bass line that's easy to imagine played on a jug. It's not –
a series of guest bassists (currently, Forrest Lawrence from All
Bets Off) completes the traditional lineup of guitars, bass, and
drums. Frauenfelder starts with a simple Johnny Cash-style guitar
melody, Andrew adds a second, wilder melody line above it, and punk
fan Steve does his best to trick them into playing faster by pushing
the rhythm section. The result is a catastrophically loud and unabashedly
joyful sound that makes the kids go wild but that even the band
members themselves are at a loss to pin down, stylistically. "I
think we're really into music that has its own personality,"
Andrew explains." |
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