Features &
Interviews

Chocolate Weasel
DJ Cam
DJ Method One
DJ Stratus
DJ 3D
Dwindle
Ed Rush
Electronica
Frank Lloyd Wright's California
Ganger
Gapeseed
Her Space Holiday
Holiday Flyer
ICU
Jungle Defined
Kim Salmon
King Rhythm
Laika
Latin Playboys
Lounge Lizards
Mark Robinson
Mixtapes
Monochrome
Most Secret Method
Music Appreciation 101
Pressure Drop
Terrastock II
Third Eye Foundation

Ui Lifelike CD
Ui The 2-Sided EP/The Sharpie CD
Stepping along single track trails through the local forest, you stare at your boots with each foot placement. Careful not to rape the local flora with your size 10 treads, or decapitate an unsuspecting local resident, you watch as each step makes an impact on the earth. While not hikers by trade, Ui place each semi-motorik rhythmic pulse and each note or tone with the care of an ecologically conscientious nature enthusiast. While visiting the real estate owned by its inhabitants, the forests that draw lines of circumference around many townships, hikers and climbers and bikers and horseback riders alike are careful to enjoy rather than exploit others' environs. Afterall, such lasting splendor should be maintained for future generations.
Like the forest, the CD consumers' personal space (and time) should be respected and maintained. Added to, rather than infringed upon, the environment offered by a one-to-one relationship between musician and fan is something we often lose sight of. We must not lose sight of the sanctity in forests' paths. In many ways, Ui strike the same chords with me as an enthusiast, that I get from Stereolab and Damon & Naomi records: a feeling of being present in the studio as their (human) creative drive manifests itself in a collage of sounds. The sound waves traveling from microphone and amplifier, from voice, guitar, and drum being the clay or the paint manipulated by the hands of masters.
Reflecting on the thousands of hours I have spent listening to song craft, Ui represented renewing friendships with the calming spasms of Half Man Half Biscuit, Stump, and Pere Ubu. Others' psychoses such as those charmingly eloquent passages by Long Fin Killie have made me who I am; and conversely through audience affect, it has made the artists who they are today.
Ui's presentations and the forest are pastoral preserves for us to relish in. Sharing these experiences with others in real time, or conversing about them post hoc, is part of the social currency that we invest in to remind one another we are organic. We are not machines. Ui and their compatriots in sound remind us of the vastness of the forest and the importance of each careful step through its bountiful majesty. (Southern PO Box 577375 Chicago, IL 60657) - Keith York

Uilab Fires CD/LP
Combine the lovely, droney vocalizations of Stereolab with Ui's smart takes on rhythm (and throw in a classic Eno arpeggio) and you have Uilab.

A clever concept it is, too. Ui's powerful rhythm section spars with Laetitia Sadier and Mary Hansen's groovy, digitized vocals and Moog-y sensibility - although that's probably not the intention. It's a successful marriage, nonetheless. Fires also offers enough recognizable sound bites to stir up some dialogue amongst taste-makers, including a cover of Brian Eno's "St. Elmo's Fire" (from Another Green World) and a bassline from Sun Ra's "Love in Outer Space" ("Impulse Rah!").

Drum machines, synthetic pulses and a swelling guitar crescendo towards the end, cap the radio and "Snow" versions of "St. Elmo's Fire." The "Red Corona" version brings in the respective licks of each artist that we really crave hearing. Ui frontman Sasha Frere-Jones' robotic, time-stretched treatment of Laetitia's vocals is captivating, and similar to a recent Autechre remix of Stereolab's "Refractions in the Plastic Pulse." Laika mastermind Guy Fixsen spins out a jogging, danceable beat in his "Spatio-Dynamic" remix.

Uilab breathes a little synthesized life into Sun Ra's original kicky bassline on "Impulse Rah!." Fortunately, the song doesn't deviate too much from the overall groove of "Love in Outer Space." Stereolab similarly breathes some life into Ui's Liquid Liquid-inspired funk rock, whose entirely rhythm-centric approach and oddball choruses (like the "rollerskate" song) can get tedious. (Duophonic Super 45s PO Box 3787, London, SE22 9DZ UK) (Reprinted from Resonance Magazine, Issue 16) - Esther Yoon

Unband Retarder CD
Testerone fueled barroom rock 'n' roll. Taking cues from AC/DC, Billy Squier (Retarder includes a cover of "Everybody Wants You"), Van Halen as well as Monster Magnet, Unband are over-the-top rock kitsch but ready for red-blooded AOR stations across this land. Taking cues from the garage pioneers from In The Red's stable, this trio dress it up for wider consumer acceptance. (TVT 23 East 4th Street, NYC 10003) – Keith York

Uncrush Was Ever Being So Born To Calamity? 7”
Two distinctly different personalities drawn from the same tap were stamped into this plastic. With one side of this two-songer the listener is treated with some old skool...early Engine Kid softness that wraps up in an explosion of crackling gunfire from a guitar. Uncrush’s alter ego appears on the flip, displaying its wide awake fury borrowing from a few Dischord acts that reside in this trio’s record collection. A great introduction. Pleased to meet you. (Crank! 1223 Wilshire Blvd. #173 Santa Monica, CA 90403)

Uni-V 75 Cents 7”
Pulsing like hot electricity through cords and wires and veins and muscles, Uni-V elicit the needed confident guitar wrestling to stun the listener. Settled, held down by their strength, you wait to learn what their next maneuver and slight of hand will steal from you. Tight like woven hemp, these two songs speak of nothing but blunt hardened confidence. (Crank! 1223 Wilshire Blvd. #173 Santa Monica, CA 90403)

Unsteady Double or Nothing CD
MU330 Crab Rangoon CD
Pot Shot Pots and Shots CD
Slow Gherkin Double Happiness CD
Ska, like hardcore, has its claws deeply embedded in the ebbing tides of youth culture once again - as it did a decade and a half ago when I was in high school. Teens wearing bomber jackets, their cropped hair snugly inside a helmet, ride abreast on Vespa and Lambretta motorscooters headed to the hotspot, likely the local espresso cafe. At the meeting place the kids discuss the fineries - original Specials and Selecter CDs (well, they were originally on LP...), how the Bosstones were cool for awhile ‘til they sold out to “the man”, and that bands like Unsteady are breaking all conventions within their tightly defined sub-genre. The crossover between ska and punkrock was inevitable and necessary to keep the sound fresh - and as an amalgamation someone needs to document it - Asian Man is doing a damn good job and giving the kids what they are hungry for (whether its from the US or Japan). (Asian Man PO Box 35585 Monte Sereno, CA 95030)

Up on In Steps for the Light CD
While instrumental rock is favorable for those in-the-know, and math-rock is something indie-rock cogniscenti are wildly passionate about, most folks haven't caught on. The trio of Zach Barocas (the percussion), Charlie Bennet (the basses), and Ryan Grayson (the guitars) have cut out something of a niche for themselves that is melodic while coldly calculated in its percussive signature. Upright and electric basses bob like Dianogah against guitars reminiscent of June of '44s early days. There's enough of the DC-area angst (Jawbox, Burning Airlines etc.) in this album to throw-off the indie-rock detectives sniffing around for Louisville clues (no members of Slint or Rodan in the mix). The Up on In are all about the swanky lounge atmosphere that could only be killed by the bacon grease of Cash Money as a headliner. Damn good. (Big Top 955 Massachusetts Ave. PMB 115 Cambridge, MA 02139) – Keith York

Urban Legends s/t CD
Hutch Harris' solo output has somehow surpassed his more noted work as a member of Haelah (with A-Set's Albert Menduno, and Her Space Holiday's Marc Bianchi who contributes keys to a couple of tunes on this album as well). Crunching some pretty tight Aspera Ad Astra sounding rock songs out of a 16-track, the Urban Legends rise to the cream of the crop of contemporary post-Shoegaze pop. Along with Marinernine, Lenola and even the Lilys at times, Harris' work as Urban Legends is a delightful rockin' romp around the apartment-turned-nightclub when this hits the stereo. (AIP 1625 Oakwood Drive San Mateo, CA 94403) – Keith York

USA Little Birds CD
Like a windup music box whose pace varies in accordance to the tension bound in its springs, USA's songs falter, noodle and flow with off-beat grace and an antiquated charm. The copper-tinged beats and thin, sprawling melodies create a distance from which guitarist and singer Gene Booth can croon in his dry, charming near-whine. At a distance is where I find myself when I listen to this album. Distance from both the music, as its unfamiliar progressions do not lend itself readily to intimacy, and from anything else that may have been
on my mind before I hit the play button. As the music box churns its melodies, it reveals its history to me and I am warmed by its honesty. USA will touch you from afar. It is an intimate feeling to admire such grandeur at a
distance. (Drag City) - Steven M. Brydges

US Maple The Wanderer CD Single
Displaying an evident departure from all things Shorty, the from-the-ashes-of combo US Maple profess dissonance as their weapon of choice. While only lasting eight minutes, this single emits an energy I haven’t heard since initial time spent with Slint and certainly not upon subsequent Slint exposure. US Maple make use of two guitars and a drum kit to explore their “fucked” approach to this recording. (Sonic Bubblegum PO Box 35504 Brighton, MA 02135)

US Saucer Hell, Yes! CD
While the Thinking Fellers’ Brian Hageman rests, his mind must roar with disconnected thoughts. Ultimately, hopefully, these ideas meld into his musical endeavors. He must stir in his sleep. US Saucer should make No Depression stir in their sleep. While mining the post-rock alterna/folk/country quarry, artists like Volebeats and Palace have reinvigorated many a record collection and added a new dimension to the kids’ understanding of music. Though broadening people’s horizons wasn’t high on Nick Cave’s agenda, he made some wonderfully depressing music for a few years. US Saucer is only now embarking on a journey that we will hold dear to our hearts for some time to come. As Hell, Yes! played through, I could see images of Billy Bragg and the Mekons in the studio together hashing out ideas and borrowing smokes from one another. This album takes us back to times when laying in a cradle or rocking chair was our perfect prescription. Now with our ugly dayjobs and responsibilities we often need times like those this album provides where we can drift off into sunsets Idaho and Red House Painters have mentioned. Twenty four hours is often too long to wait until we get to behold another colorful sky explosion as dusk (and therefore this album) often provides. (Amarillo PO Box 24433 San Francisco, CA 94124)

Uzeda Different Section Wires CD
I decided to forego describing the sonic imagery that streams across my mind when I listen to Uzeda, in favor of eaching as many potential listeners as possible. This band deserves an audience. They're from Sicily, but their
sound and work ethic is more native to Chicago than Chicago-style pizza. Uzeda rock in a way similar to Shellac. The guitarist spreads his angular lines like thin, live wires across tight, jarring rhythms. Over top and through it all, a most unique female vocalist shouts and stammers her words in a near-breathless staccato. She's not the only one gasping for breath by the time this record is over. The constricting angular riffs and beats have creased my windpipe. I'd opt for a ventilator, but I prefer instead to choke on Uzeda's sound. (Touch and Go PO Box 25342, Chicago, IL 60625) - Steven M. Brydges