vibe, riding on the psychedelic-tinged swagger of “Lost and Found.” Midway through
the disc, however, brighter melodies and
tones emerge as the instrumentation gets
punchier. Despite this slow, subtle shift, the
album functions as a congruous set of songs
anchored by one person.
The momentum starts to build with “I
Don’t Hear the Sound of You,” an acoustic
strummer with a surprisingly jazzy instrumental section. Robinson handles all the
guitar and bass work, and even dabbles in
organ on a few tracks, most notably on the
near-seven-minute “Follow You Forever.”
Throughout the album, Robinson strategically employs his blues chops, though it
appears the folk-inspired Robinson wanted
a stripped-down feel for Crooked Sun, as the
chords and percussion could easily branch
off into epic rock jams. Robinson’s masterful
playing and ability to find the right outlets
give the song skeletons both supple flesh
and deep soul.
Other memorable moments include
“Hey Fear,” for its lingering melody (the
album certainly isn't lacking in good melodies, but this one really stays in the head).
The guitar firepower increases on “Bye Bye
Baby,” with Warren Haynes contributing
slinky slide licks while Larry Campbell contributes ethereal pedal-steel work.
On “Station Man,” Robinson dishes out
crunchy chords and arpeggios dotted with
vocal calls and responses, but still keeps
things from veering too far from the point.
The lyrics are fresh and thoughtful—poetic
even—but not drenched in sadness.
In general, the quieter Robinson
brother's voice is pleasant and soft-spoken—more singer/songwriter-like than
what you'd expect from, say, his work with
the Crowes. While his solo debut, 2004's
Paper, was a heavier, more riff-oriented
experiment, Crooked Sun benefits from
calculated subtleness that's wholly different
from the side he shows with the Crowes—
even though he's such a huge part of that
band's sound.
Despite being known primarily as a veteran guitarist, Robinson admirably pulls off
a triple-threat of feeling in epic riffs, great
singing, and interesting lyrics. As a result,
the songs stand on their own, rather than
coming across as songs written as a showcase for a guitar player. —Tessa Jeffers
MUST-HEAR TRACKS: “Bye Bye Baby” and
“Fire Around”
ALBUM
Russian Circles
Empros
Sargent House
Empros is the album
Russian Circles have
been striving to
concoct since the band’s inception seven
years ago. On the three previous releases,
the instrumental, post-rock juggernauts
honed their craft of incrementally building,
charismatic, Kraken-summoning riffs from
start to finish. But with this fourth release,
the Chicago-originated power trio used the
right amount of ingredients from its past
three recipes to achieve Iron Chef status
with Empros. The six-song album intricately
blends fat, grisly, discordant riffage with
melodic, atmospheric, proggy sprinklings to
create a sonically elaborate and raw package.
The opening track “309” goes from 0
to 60 mph on a dime, thanks to drummer
Dave Turncrantz’s abrasively musical beats
and bassist Brian Cook’s burly bass progressions. The rhythm section takes the clear lead
on the track’s first few minutes with fill-in
ambient noise-rock runs from guitarist Mike
Sullivan. About five minutes into the trek,
Sullivan reclaims the lead with a savvy combination of Meshuggah-esque riffing. “Mladek”
opens with chimey, delayed arpeggios—à
la the Edge—that slowly build. When the
song reaches ramming speed, it becomes
a musical warfare between all three members—Turncrantz’s expanding drum pattern,
Cook’s trembling bass lines and Sullivan’s
soaring single notes and eventual pulverizing,
palm-muting attack. The effortless ways of
“Schipol” and “Atackla” both organically rise
by delicately adding a piece to the microcosm
of Empros. The rhythmic layering of bass and
guitar parts are like Jenga pieces—feats of
excruciating genius—assuring that Russian
Circles will never need a vocalist.
Russian Circles and producer Brandon
Curtis strived to make a record embodying
the band’s sweltering live performances, and
with Empros they succeed by delivering their
most dynamically compelling and aggressively brooding batch to date. Each song possesses a clear, distinct evolutionary arc within
itself, but every song complements the next,
resulting in a cohesively intense rock journey
best enjoyed front to back. —Chris Kies
MUST-HEAR TRACKS: “Mladek” and “Schipol”
ALBUM
Andy Reiss, Ranger
doug, bobby durham
The Art of the Archtop
Archtop Records
If you’re a fan of
classic archtop
guitar, you’ll be
delighted with this
beautifully recorded
and relentlessly swinging set of tunes celebrating the f-hole sound. Backed by Bobby
Durham on upright bass (and sousaphone
on one track), Andy Reiss and Ranger
Doug perform timeless music on a collection of vintage D’Angelico and Stromberg
6-strings. Here’s the kicker: There are no
amps involved. This is strictly an acoustic
outing, so the sonic quality of these priceless carved-top instruments comes through
loud and clear, colored only by the room
and a few high-end mics.
