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This Euphoria
Davíd Garza
(Lava/Atlantic)
Of related interest: ELO, Donovan, Matthew Sweet It's puzzling how Austin songwriter Davíd Garza was able to sit, gargoyle style, on his cache of pristine home recordings for almost a decade with nary a label-bidding spectacle. The secular 26-year-old can sing about listening to the left side of the radio dial all he wants; This Euphoria's shamelessly catchy tracks were sculpted to brighten the dank frequency between adult alternative and college rock. Revamped from last year's 4-Track Manifesto, the Texan's major-label debut is a poignant collision of poetic reverb and supra-organic acoustics. The "hit" is undoubtedly "Discoball World," peppered with distorted "yeahs" and goofy lyrics: "You were so fine with your train-track smile/ your coffee eyes, your half-and-half white lies." Garza makes constant use of his choir-boy tremolo, especially in the border ballad-flavored "I Know" and "Lost," which is bathed in buttery guitar and likable despite its bound-for-VH-1 feel. "Float Away" infuses the singer's double-tracked falsetto with the springy charge of an unimposing drum machine, making a strong case for Jeff Lynne to get out of his armchair. Elsewhere, Garza slips a viscous thread of early Robert Plant through both the jaunty "Glow in the Dark" and opener "Deep in My Heart," with its prickly yet delicate syncopation. Kristy OjalaT Mezzanine
Massive Attack
(Virgin)
Of related interest: Tricky, Portishead, marijuana, Lee "Scratch" Perry Bristol, England's Tricky, Portishead and Roni Size have produced some of the most ominous, amniotic sounds put to record in the past two years. Almost lost in the shuffle is Massive Attack, a group that sparked the city's scene with 1991's Blue Lines and 1994's Protection. The band returns with the decidedly dark Mezzanine. Led by Daddy Gee, 3D and Mushroom, Massive Attack scrapes around gutters and fills its proverbial shopping cart with scraps of hip-hop, rock, dub and soul. Vocalists such as the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser and reggae maestro Horace Andy lift the music from its languid, bass-heavy undertow to enliven the murky soundscapes behind the introductory songs "Angel" and "Risingson." The real highlights come later. The jazzy bass, resounding drum and clinking piano of "(Exchange)" remind us from whence Portishead sprang. In "Man Next Door," Massive mastermind Daddy Gee takes a sample from the Cure's "10:15 Saturday Night" and stretches it into musical Silly Putty, which he pushes against a blueprint of rock and reggae for a marvelously distorted imprint. But songs aren't really Massive Attack's forte; this album gets by on vibe alone, and you won't find a creepier, more depth-defying record than this. Richard Martin Digilogue
Zoviet France
(Soleilmoon)
The Fires of the Borderlands
Rapoon
(Release)
Of related interest: Dead Voices on Air, Horizon 222, REM (the dream state, not the band) Beginning in 1982, Zoviet France melted the boundaries between music and memory, noise and nuance, the conscious and subconscious mind. Its brand of sonic experimentalism--hypnotic loops that evolved into narcotic reveries--earned the band a spot at the pinnacle of the intellectual/electronic scene, but recent years have seen key members depart and stagnancy set in. Digilogue finds the group floundering:The album,while far from awful, never escapes the gravity of ZF's past, and it seems the band simply relies on its famed repetition to provide structure. There's no discernible dynamic edge, no new ghosts haunting the spaces between the bleeps. Rapoon, the name ZF founding member Robin Storey assumed after quitting in 1992, similarly features rhythmic manipulations of esoteric sounds, though with a gauziness that makes the listener feel like a bandage wrapped around a pulsating artery. On The Fires of the Borderlands, the trancey, almost percussive qualities of past works are toned down in favor of free-floating drones and a dreamy spaciousness. Storey then paints his skies with a dusky brush, creating a shadowy masterpiece of ambient art. Bravo. John Graham |
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