I had the privilege of enjoying Sir Richard Bishop’s opening set for teh Animal Collectivez during the spring 2007 tour when they premiered just about all of Strawberry Jam. The audience seemed to listen and enjoy the music, despite the fact no one was actually looking at him on the stage. It was odd, but understandable – unless you’re a guitar player yourself, the versatile guitar maestro and ex-Sun City Girl is just a bearded bro sitting down and noodlin’. However, if you’re one for tonality and next-level musicianship, the richness of his international musical vernacular, shifting modalities, pure dexterity, and evocation of ominous spirits through a Peavey amp at 120 decibels was a fucking shamanistic thing to experience.

Sir Richard Bishop’s latest, The Freak of Araby, is, as you could probably glean from the name, straight outta the Ottoman Empire. Most songs tend to air on the sparse side, which is as much for utility as mood – the tempo changes so often that very few percussions could probably keep up with the knighted one. When the rhythm does drop, though, the results are the best example of truly hypnotic music. The gypsy psych of “Kaddak El Mayass” and “Sidi Mansour” is a burgoo of eastern traditionals and western composition so seamless that David Byrne should probably feel retarded if he heard this. While The Freak of Araby offers no change of direction from earlier Sir Richard Bishop releases, his conceptual yet tangible explorations across desolate soundscapes and past (or possibly) parallel worlds are so unique that Bishop has placed himself in a position wherein he need not reinvent himself to sound “fresh.”

The Freak of Araby is out today on Drag City.

Fagen-Becker Quality Rating

MP3 :::
Sir Richard Bishop – Kaddak El Mayass
Sir Richard Bishop – Sidi Mansour

Wavves is the one-man project of distortion architect Nathan Williams, or as I call him, No Age Jr.  No Age is a good reference point for Wavves, as both groups consist of skateboarding SoCal dudes who appreciate noise-damaged pop.  Williams’ eponymous debut comes replete with Brian Wilson vocal harmonies, seriously hummable melodies, and swells of screaming, treble-saturated feedback.  Sure, that recipe sounds like Psychocandy, but since the Jesus and Mary Chain could never follow that album up themselves, I’m cool with other bands trying to do that.  And Williams knows exactly what he’s doing, as all the song titles almost exclusively featuring the words “beach,” “demons,” “goth,” and “girls.”

Despite the shtick, Wavves demonstrates solid songwriting on the askew sunshine pop of “No Hope Kids,” as well as an appreciation for ambient exploration on “Beach Goth.”  Wavves is a great listen, especially with the weather warming up.  However, I would also urge you to check Indianapolis’ excellent Marmoset.  They mastered the psychedelic no-fi garage thing long before the term “shitgaze” was coined.

Wavves is out March 17th on Fat Possum (strangely enough).

This was originally released in November ‘08 and flew under my radar.  Like the mighty Os Mutantes before them who rocket-launched Brazillian pop into extraterrestrial territories, Coconot, a trio that includes Pablo Díaz-Reixa (a.k.a. El Guincho), introduces tropicalia and calypso sounds to west coast psychedelia, kraut, dub, and a smorgasbord of other off-kilter genres.  The result is fresh and fantastic.

Masterfully weaving lush, sample-based textures with traditional Latin soundscapes, Cosa Astral is smart and mercurial. Vocal yelps, interstellar melodies, cascading drums, and structures that collapse and rebuild set the stage for this carnivale of light. At only three minutes, the ornate “Miles de Ojos” summons a rather epic, brain-burning crescendo equal parts playfulness and intensity. “Tao” cultivates a colorful Caribbean flavor as-informed-by Spacemen 3 and Lee Scratch Perry.

Though heavily rooted in traditional Latin and Caribbean sounds, Cosa Astral would fit perfect in your collection between Panda Bear and High Places – due in part to Coconot’s relentless experimentation, but also in part because the indie rock world is beginning to celebrate rich international sounds.

OH, and hey, you can hear these songs and more on my radio show Technicolor Underground, which airs tonight on WXBH-LP.  You can hear it in online stream form here, or on 92.7 FM if you’re in east Louisville.

- Kenny Bloggins

MP3 :::
Wavves – No Hope Kids
Wavves – Beach Goth
Coconot – Polen Muchacha!
Coconot – Tao
Coconot – Miles De Ojos